Month: November 2007

Novembery November

It’s starting to feel a lot like November…

Mark “The Minimalist” Bittman of the NY Times demonstrates the making of a pan-fried pizza. Pan-fried pizza! It looks sooo good…

Seems quite interesting that the New York City Bar is putting out its statement in support of the Pakistani bar. Plus a rally to support the legal system. Rule of law, not rule of man indeed; something the world is going to have to learn and adapt.

The tv writers’ strike continues. I’m trying to keep up with the coverage. I’m hoping for a not long strike, but things aren’t exactly looking optimistic. Then again, my tv viewing has been pretty limited since I found myself increasingly uninterested in stuff. “House” is actually more interesting once Dr. Foreman has been back; Drs. Chase and Cameron have this weird vibe with each other, since in real life, they broke up (or at least ended their engagement). Still waiting for actor Kal Penn to do something on the show other than act silly. I mean, come on – actor John Cho got to do some grizzly stuff when he did his episode of “House” (admittedly, that was Season 1, and if I recall at all, he was a patient and patients don’t do much more than get really sick).

I really do like the show “Life” on NBC. Yeah, actor Damian Lewis is acting all weird; but he’s quite watchable. I don’t care for this seemingly unsolveable conspiracy that his character’s trying to unravel. Otherwise, it’d be nice if more viewers can give it a chance. The writers’ strike might make things a little difficult though.

“Heroes” finally got really interesting – the characters are joining forces, which is way more exciting. And, of course, actor David Anders – once they brought him on “Heroes,” I’m all “hmm; this guy was Sark on ‘Alias’ – amoral and irritating in his charisma. Is he really going to be a good guy on ‘Heroes’?” Plus, for a guy who’s really American, the tv people like having him play British, which means he can’t quite be a good guy, huh? (well, we’ll see, in the middle of this possible strike-shortened tv season).

And, what’s with McDonalds? I thought the Angus burger ad was a little funny – chubby Asian guy debating on whether to get two ketchup packs; resisting because well, you just can’t go there; don’t go wild and crazy, as the narrator said. Seemed funny enough – and chalk it up to having an Asian on tv. Then, Thursday night, on Channel 11, before the sports on the news, there’s a McDonalds ad for breakfast food – and I swear it’s James Kyson Lee (“Ando” of “Heroes”)! He played this office worker who is suckered to do favors for another co-worker because she bribes people with McD’s food. Playing an apparent APA (not just an Asian)!

(although, do you really want to encourage more Asians to eat at McDonalds, when there’s enough incidence of diabetes and heart disease? Oh well; take your pros and cons; and I’m a bit of a hypocrite, since it’s not like I’ve quit eating McD’s – just trying to lay off on the fatty stuff).

And, last but not least, these Christmas ads on tv are already irritating me, and we’ve still more than 10 days before… Thanksgiving. It’s going to be a long Christmas ad season.

Election Day

Celebrate the idea of representative democracy; go vote.

The situation in Pakistan hasn’t been too great. Mainstream people aren’t doing so hot; the lawyers are protesting and getting punished for it. There’s something to be said about seeing people in suits trying to get about doing the business of making law happen – making the business of government keep running. Lawyer Power is important stuff – at the least, rule of law is something worth fighting for. Slate’s Explainer explains why Pakistan’s lawyers are trying to make things move forward.

Slate has a fascinating slide show essay on Georges Seurat’s drawings.

The spy world opens up – kind of: the head of Britain’s MI-5 makes a speech, Time Magazine reports.

A November in NY Weekend

NYC Marathon is just something that makes people happy, I think.

NBC’s Brian Williams on Saturday Night Life. I watched the opening skit – Hilary Clinton’s Halloween – funny stuff; plus a real Barack Obama!!! Oh, yeah, and Brian Williams. I watched the opening monologue – funny; part of the skit where he’s a firefighter (funny fake New Yawk accent in play; funnier, since Williams was once a firefighter before he became a news guy). The skit where Alternate Universe Brian Williams (a self-important anchorman, whose favorite person is himself, and who makes fun of the Today show’s Al Roker and Matt Lauer by throwing coins at them from upstairs) – funny scary. I didn’t think Real Brian Williams lost his credibility, but the idea remains: yeah, you have a sense of humor, but what were you thinking, Brian (as he said it himself in the opening monologue).

Fred Thompson, aka Arthur Branch, the ex-DA of NYC… umm, on tv, people. ON TV! NY Times’ Jodi Kantor profiles Thompson’s acting career.

And, speaking of tv, the whole tv writers’ strike thing kind of makes me nervous. We’ll at least have episodes of stuff until January. I’d likely end up watching my many tapes rather than watch crappy reality tv, so at least that’s okay. I do see the tv writers’ point – how can the networks/production companies leave out the writers in residuals on dvd’s or other multimedia? And, there are apparently a multitude of issues that go over my head. Labor strikes don’t make things easy.