Day 21

Today's Procrastination Website: MadMenYourself.com

Ever wondered what you'd look like if you were a member of the 'Mad Men' cast? Wonder no more! This is a pretty awesome website with a number of options at each step, so you can play around for a while and figure out how exactly to look like Joan or Don Draper.

I would write more about it, but the library is closing. Enjoy! Procrastinate! Do nothing!

Day 20

Shows You Need to Watch: 'Castle'
Third in an occasional series

Every time I think about recommending this show, they air an episode that is not that great. Case in point: This past Monday, it was predictable and lame. However, it was great the week before. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and recommend this show, with the caveat that it is inconsistent so far this season, even more so than 'Glee'. (Which was also not up to last week's standard; seriously, lose the shaky hand-held camera.)

Just when I thought I'd had enough of cop shows, this one came along. While I do enjoy a good 'CSI', I only really like the original one; NY basically hits you over the head with the fact that it's set in NY, and David Caruso drives me freaking crazy. Also, after eight or so years of these shows, they're apparently running out of ideas and getting predictable. Plus, they're on all the damn time.

So I was ready to bid farewell to the cop procedural drama, but I saw previews for this and was intrigued that Nathan Fillion was in it. I've seen him in other things and liked him; he does a good snarky aside as well as any one. Essentially, I started watching this show for that reason, but enjoyed the entire premise. Yes, it's a cop show, but it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it has good dialogue. As you are well aware by now, I enjoy a good banter, and 'Castle' has it. That and some amusing characters, plus a plot that is (usually) interesting and wraps up by the end of the show -- that's some good TV.

To be clear, this is mindless Monday night TV. It's not a show that'll make you ponder the meaning of life or the depth of humanity. But it is entertaining and a fun way to spend an hour. (Also, it's on opposite Leno and 'CSI: Miami', so.)

'Castle' is on Mondays at 9.

Day 19

More reasons to love 'Community':

• Naming the bio lab rat Fievel -- I laughed so hard at this!
• Joel McHale = awesome
  
• 'Offer them a sandwich.'
• Greene Daye
• Troy jumping onto the lab counter, screaming and petrified

In real-world news: The people with whom I most recently interviewed want to fly me out there! Looks like it'll be a really long day trip, but at least it's a non-stop flight. Renting a car and driving myself around an unfamiliar place, on the other hand, is not looking too appealing..

Day 17

Shows You Need to Watch: 'Community'
Second in an occasional series

Oh, this show. This show has taken over the spot in my heart where 'The Office' used to be. It makes me laugh out loud, which very rarely happens with TV shows. Every one of the characters is funny. (except maybe Senor Chang, I find him obnoxious and over-the-top) I absolutely make time for it whenever it's on.

Let's break it down, shall we? As you may have gathered from my previous ramblings on 'Glee', I enjoy a program that has relatable characters, lets those characters play off of each other for a while, has quick and witty dialogue, and contains callback references for those loyal viewers. The checklist for 'Community' looks as follows:

1. Relatable characters: check. Everyone knows a Britta, Troy, Annie and/or (to a lesser extent) Jeff. Abed is unpredictably delightful; you never know what he's going to say or do, and it's always funny. Bonus: Abed sometimes provides meta commentary on the show, which I think is hilarious.
2. Characters playing off of each other: check. I think they've been paired up differently in each episode so far, and each combination has been great. Though the Troy/Abed closing tags win, in my opinion, especially the "Donde esta la Bibliothequa" rap.
3. Fast-paced dialogue: check. So many one-liners in this show! Sometimes I miss some, because I'm still laughing at the previous dialogue. Example: When the community college dean left the room in one scene, he cheerily called out, 'Dean you later!'
   
4. Callbacks: check. When this show makes a joke or a reference, even in passing, it follows through. Cases in point from last week: The men's basketball team, which is suspected to be gay ("Nice try, Bruce!"); the Greendale Human Being (which is creepily hilarious).

In conclusion, watch this show, Thursdays at 8. You will love it, and you will be my best friend by helping keep it on the air.

Day 13

Segueing a bit from yesterday's 'Glee' post.. Wednesday's particular episode also reminded me of a reason why I want to live in the US, rather than Germany or elsewhere: American schools try exceptionally hard to mainstream kids with disabilities. I'm sure viewers the other night didn't think twice about seeing a student with Down syndrome or a kid in a wheelchair. But in Germany, special ed students are completely segregated from their peers at an early age. Since kids are funneled into schools on different tracks (college prep, technical school, etc.) starting in fifth grade, I'd say segregation definitely is set by then, if not before. I mean, they have entire special ed schools so that these students aren't in the classrooms with their peers. During my two years working at college prep schools, I didn't even encounter anyone in a wheelchair, let alone students with other disabilities. The homogeneousness (?) was a bit frightening, actually. Americans may have other faults, but our treatment of kids with disabilities reflects our respect for all students and our commitment to treating people equally. If you don't teach that by example starting in elementary school, where do you expect kids to learn it?

In other news: Happy Friday the 13th! Don't walk under a ladder, cross a black cat's path, or break a mirror. Or perhaps do those things in pairs so they cancel each other out.

Addendum 2: I had a job interview today. It went pretty well, I think, though you can never tell with these things. The position is not specifically my interests but is in my field. The pay is pretty low, but some salary is better than no salary, I suppose!

Addendum 3: I am in love with NBC's Thursday night lineup. Expect a post on 'Community' sometime soon, it is brilliant.

Day 12

Shows You Need To Watch: "Glee"
First in an occasional series

Not to get all gushy, but OMG you guyz did you see glee last nite? it was totes awesome!!!!1!!one! It's been a long time since I was thoroughly enamored with a new TV show -- probably since 'The Office' came out -- but this is a show that I really look forward to watching, every single time. It can be hit or miss; sometimes too sappy, sometimes loose ends are wrapped up entirely too neatly, and the whole "Will's wife is a shrew and faking her pregnancy and overly possessive" plotline needs to end. But it's often funny (especially the callbacks!), occasionally touching (surprisingly -- take Sue's character development last night as an example), and contains musical numbers as an added bonus. I will admit to a soft spot for musicals, especially when they're done well. And the songs in this show are both well-chosen and incredibly well-performed. (Sometimes too much; can a high school glee club really be that polished?) Plus, the characters are relatable; they all have their quirks and flaws and it's interesting to see how they're going to bounce off each other from one episode to the next. I know they're eventually going to make it to finals, but I keep watching to see how they get there.

Anyway, enough parentheticals and asides -- go watch 'Glee', Wednesdays at 9. You may have to watch more than one episode to get hooked, but it'll happen, trust me.

Day 11

The internet has been down all day but has finally decided to start working, and I am watching 'Glee' right now, and I would much rather continue to do that rather than put together a blog post. So that's what I'm going to do. Don't be too disappointed.

Day 7

Following up on yesterday's 'Office' post, here's a very interesting article comparing four countries' versions of 'The Office'. It's a couple years old, but still pretty accurate, I think; the author describes how each country's version of the show reflects that nation's culture, sense of humor, and attitude towards work. Having seen three of the four shows (though when in Germany, I never realized 'Stromberg' was their version of TO and only saw it once or twice), I'd agree with the points made. It also helps me better articulate why I like the US version better than the UK version, though I like both for different reasons.

Day 6

I enjoyed Thursday night TV last night, and I've been torn about 'The Office' for a while now. So far, I would have to say the hierarchy of seasons goes:

2>3>1>5>4=6

I'm sort of torn about this season, though. I'm definitely not invested as much as I used to be, when I'd scour the interwebz from the UK to find the most recently-aired episode... and was often disappointed. (Thanks, writers' strike.) And last season was just sort of there; I haven't gone out and bought the season 5 DVDs yet because there aren't many moments that I'd like to be able to see again. This season, though... I don't know. At first it was painfully unlike the show I'd grown to love; the characters have turned into caricatures, arcs have been dropped completely (Do Jim and Pam want to leave Scranton or not? Does moving up in the Dunder Mifflin universe really constitute ambition?), and I'm just not invested in the characters anymore. They're becoming downright mean, and I just can't root for people like that. (Pam and Kelly, I'm looking at you.)

But last night was somehow returning to form. The lunch out was super-awkward and cringe-inducing, which was what the show goes for in the first place. Toby telling Pam how to throw a punch = awesome. And many people seem to dislike the Dwight-Andy politeness war, but I thought it was hilarious and a nice return to classic office shenanigans. The show's not all the way back yet, but maybe it can get partway there. And then it definitely needs to end at the end of this season.

What do you think? (Quotes also welcome.)

Day 5

Late night TV is a pretty sad state of affairs these days. Conan can be pretty good but seems sort of hit-or-miss, Letterman is basically phoning it in, and Jay Leno at 10pm makes me want to gouge my eyes out, it's so unfunny. (Fortunately, I opt for not watching it, instead of the more painful method.) Craig Ferguson, though, that guy's awesome. Sadly, I haven't seen a whole lot of him, since I tend not to stay up that late and prefer not to spend hours on YouTube, but what I have seen is thoroughly entertaining. For example, compare the monologues:

Letterman/Conan/Jay: 1. Joke setup 2. Punchline 3. Overenthusiastic audience laughter 4. Repeat, with an unrelated joke.

Craig: A monologue that actually builds on itself, segueing from one topic to the next.

Last week, the power went out on the set of the Craig Ferguson show, and he just kept going. And it was funny. Would the other late night shows do that? I'm not so sure.



Moral: Craig's show needs to be on earlier, when people (read: me) will actually watch it.