Online today…

- If you’ve ever wondered what’s going through the mind of a big-shot television writer, here’s your chance to find out. Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men) puts a “vanity card” at the end of each episode of his current shows. He’s been doing this for years and some of them are pretty funny.

- Taylor Swift is my hero. Other than the slightly creepy feeling I got when Joe Elliot looked right at her and sang “You’re all I want/My fantasy,” this performance is pretty envy-inducing! On a side note, what’s up with Joe’s hair? Eek!

- Two Clint Eastwood movies coming up! Changeling, which he directed, and Gran Torino, in which he stars and directs. I think Clint Eastwood is one of the finest directors of our time and it makes me so excited to get two movies from him this season.

- Wow! At over six minutes, this French “Thriller” video may set some sort of record for impressively lengthy tracking shots. I’m impressed at the planning and blocking this must have taken!

Peace. Out.

Online today…

* Burn Notice and Psych have been renewed for third and fourth seasons, respectively. More Michael Westin? Yes, please!

* There are several deleted scenes from Battlestar Galactica online today. Don’t know if these will last long, so watch while you can! They’re definitely spoiler-y if you haven’t seen through the end of the first half of Season 4 (stupid writers strike…).

* If you’ve ever thought about making the movie The Holiday a reality, you may be interested in this home exchange blog.

Peace. Out.

“She can run the White House, just not her own house.” Or, things that made me pause online today…

I had a lot of downtime today, so I ended up surfing the Internet quite a bit in between phone calls and emails. Here are the things that caught my attention:

- The Southern Baptists are apparently having a bit of trouble with Sarah Palin’s VP nomination. Considering they don’t approve of women acting as leader of a household or a church, can they really be okay with a woman leading the country? Apparently, it’s fine. Just as long as it doesn’t take away from her duties at home.

- It was fun to relive some of Jim’s best Office pranks. The faxes from Future Dwight have long been a favorite of mine.

- I always think I’m going to like The Colbert Report because I like Stephen Colbert himself so much. But then I watch it, and I’m reminded that he really annoys me as a host. I feel like he’s matching his tone of voice and sentence structure to Jon Stewart’s, almost pitch for pitch. Here’s his kind of crash-and-burn interview with one of my all-time favorites, James Taylor.

- Being somewhat disappointed in the Colbert interview, I was prompted to seek out other clips of James Taylor on YouTube. My favorite:

You also might like to check out ol’ James’ sweet dance moves. Or listen to him sing my favorite song. Or my second favorite song. Or one more. Okay, okay. I’ll stop. But you just heard some sweet music. So quit complaining!

- Finally, here’s the winning entry in the Tropfest NY 2008 short film competition. It was shot completely on a cell phone. Entire film budget – $57. It’s one of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching things I’ve ever seen.

Peace. Out.

BSG 4×1 – He That Believeth In Me…

So, you might not have heard, but the Battlestar Galactica Season 4 premiere was on this past Friday. :-)

I had high hopes for the premiere, and it didn’t disappoint. Here are some thoughts about the episode and the general direction of this season…

* The title of this episode intrigues me. It’s a clear reference to John 11:25, “Jesus said, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live’” (KJV). I think the title is meant to refer to Baltar’s interaction with the sick boy. The boy was almost dead, his mother believed Baltar could save him, and – ultimately – it seems that he did. Baltar seems to be truly believing in the One True God of the Cylons based on his private prayer over the boy. Baltar believes and, therefore, his life is spared when threatened by non-believers. I wonder if the title could also be referencing Starbuck. In other words, “Those who believe in Starbuck will ultimately live.”

* I loved all of the fun the writers were having with the Final 4/5 in this episode. I feel like these characters will take a turn for the serious sooner rather than later, so I was glad to see a few “wink, wink” moments to kick things off (i.e. Starbuck telling Anders “If I found out you were a Cylon, I’d put a bullet between your eyes.”). Considering who the Final 4/5 are brings up some interesting questions. They all keep saying, “We must have been Cylons from the beginning,” but I don’t think that’s possible. If that’s true, then Cylons age just like humans. Plus, in Sharon/Boomer/Athena’s case, we see that when Cylons are “resurrected,” they come back as adults, not babies. I think it’s more likely that all of the Cylon human models are based on real people. Those people have either been cloned or destroyed in the process. In the case of the Final 4/5, I think they waited to see which humans would be placed in key positions before becoming “embodied.” Tory is connected to the President, Tigh is connected to Adama, Anders is connected to Starbuck, and the Chief holds a prominent position himself. At some point in the recent past, I believe those people were replaced with Cylon sleeper agents. They haven’t been Cylons all along.

* Ron Moore has said that the final member of the Final 5 is not in the Last Supper-like promotional photo of this year. Hmm. A lot of people thought it would be Starbuck. Or Adama. Or Roslin. Or Baltar. But they are all in the picture. I never really thought it would be Starbuck, but her connection to the Cylons can’t be ignored. I’m most puzzled by her returning in a brand new ship. Whaaa…?

* Finally, I’m very excited to have read a quote from executive producer David Eick saying that every episode will be important this year. He went on to say they basically don’t have to worry about gaining a broader audience this season. They have their audience and they’ll be rewarding them with each episode. Yay!

Peace. Out.

So, yeah…

…I’m going to keep blogging about Battlestar Galactica, even if no one else is interested. This is a great record of information for me!

Two great articles I found today:

- A lengthy interview with series creator Ron Moore that includes some spoilery info.

- A detailed recap of the series in general, plus each individual season. Also includes an introduction to key characters and terminology.

I’m doing my best to get you guys to watch this show! It’s amazing and I’m so excited for Friday night. Can you tell?

Peace. Out.