November Sweeps is Here!

It’s November, and that only means one thing: fall sweeps! As the first leg of the TV season comes to a climactic end just before the holidays, some shows will reign and others will be left behind. Some new shows have already been cancelled without even making it this far. Here’s my rundown of what new shows to watch, which to ditch (if you haven’t already) and which returning favorites have the most in store.

Top 5 New Shows:
Chuck
Pushing Daisies
Samantha Who?
Big Bang Theory
Journeyman

Worst 5 New Shows:
Bionic Woman
Big Shots
Cane
Cavemen
Carpoolers

Best Returning:
Bones
House
Heroes
Ghost Whisperer
How I Met Your Mother

Read Less, Know More?

I get an online newsletter at work with the tagline "Read Less, Know More." Not to be nitpicky, but doesn't that phrase contradict the entire purpose of a newsletter? They certainly aren't marketing their own publication very well with such an oxymoronic catch phrase. How do they suspect subscribers will actually come to "know more" by reading less? By reading less of their competition? By reading less of the National Enquirer? Or by reading less altogether? Are we receiving all of this knowledge through email osmosis? Are they anticipating delivering a newsletter that requires no reading? In any case, the whole concept of reading more to know less is just plain ridiculous. What a way to educate, there, online newsletter. I would unsubscribe you if I could.

Fall Premieres: ANTM, Gossip Girl, Kid Nation

Last night were the first fall premieres on my list: America's Next Top Model (Cycle 9), Gossip Girl, and Kid Nation

America's Next Top Model- While I was completely underwhelmed by last season's cast and ultimate winner, I still find myself drawn to this show. And not because I actually care about who wins, especially since the winner's only career is doing bad "My Life as a Cover Girl" spots during the ANTM commercial breaks. I think I am drawn to this show because I like watching the makeovers, the photo shoots, and the critiques. If they could cut the show down to 30 minutes, get rid of all of the house drama (this isn't the Real World), then I might like it even more. For now, I'll keep watching, if only to see what they'll do next.

Gossip Girl- I think I watched 2 episodes of the OC and One Tree Hill before I swore them off. I never got into these shows, about overprivileged teens with little supervision worrying only about their social lives and never about their homework. At least Dawson's Creek (which I didn't really watch either) spent some time inside the classroom. But despite these recipes for badly written and even worsely acted teen drama, I was compelled to check out Gossip Girl, starring Blake Lively, who has such a down-to-earth charm and such a natural look about her. Although her character, Serena, has quite a mature fashion sense for still being in high school. But her other actions--a one-on-one with Blair, skipping the party, and making a graceful exit when she inadvertently wound up there--are all a glimpse into the life of a girl who's had to grow up much too fast. In fact, everything in the show is a bit too mature for me to believe--the hotel serving them martinis (and the girls drinking them- wouldn't they prefer a wine cooler?), the sophomore-year "affair" between Seren a and Blair's boyfriend, even Chuck's desperate attempts to force himself on any blonde thing that moves. Maybe things really are different in the Upper East Side. But for now, I'll keep watching. There's a lot of things still left to unravel.

Kid Nation- I'll keep this one short. While the premise of kids running their own town is clever, they really aren't running anything. Their tasks are given to them, their leaders are chosen for them, and now they are only working to win a monetary prize. So the kids are camping out and doing chores- maybe this is really a parenting show in disguise. Aside from the "aww" moments and the laugh-out-loud moments that can only come from the innocence of childhood, this show seems pretty contrived and useless. Sorry Kid Nation, it's time to make room on the DVR for Pushing Daisies.

It's Still Just an MP3 Player...

Have you seen the new iPods? Frankly, I don't think there was anything wrong with the old ipods, but I guess Apple is losing steam on the iPhone. So what are these "terrific" new offerings??

*80 GB and 160GB iPods. Seriously, who even has access to that much music? Apple figures everyone who buys one will eventually spend a grand at the iTunes store.

*The new nano. It looks like a squatty version of the "classic" iPod. It's definitely not as sleek as the previous line. The big change is that the new Nanos play videos- but who wants to watch them on such a tiny screen? Want to watch a movie? Get a DVD player.

*The iPod Touch. Also known as the iPhone without the phone. I hope it comes with a free cleaning cloth to wipe off all those fingerprints.

Veronica Mars is My Hero

The best news I've heard all day: Kristen Bell is joining the ranks of NBC's Heroes. She will appear in a multi-episode arc beginning in October. Here's the story from USAToday.

Some Mad Hope

I've been listening to Matt Nathanson's new album, "Some Mad Hope" in my car since I bought it. It's musically more mature and polished than his previous release, "Beneath These Fireworks," revealing an even more real and contemplative side to the San Francisco-based artist. A review on Amazon pegged Nathanson as somewhere between Bono and John Mayer, but anyone who has even listened to this album all the way through would know that this statement couldn't be further from the truth. Arguably, one would be flattered to be compared to such successful, award-winning artists who have undoubtedly left their marks in pop culture. But, unlike either Bono or Mayer, Matt Nathanson's music is not commercial propoganda, and is not filled with any political agenda. Instead, Nathanson is passionate and raw. My favorite tracks are "Car Crash," "Gone," "Still," and "Falling Apart"; they just ooze with the emotion that can only come from personal experience. "Wedding Dress" is probably the most hard-hitting, as Nathanson describes so blatantly the extreme feelings no one else can fathom putting into words.

Still Renting Videos?

Maybe this new Jack Black Movie will change your mind.



Thanks to Matt at work for the info!

Once More, With Feeling

For all of you BTVS fanatics out there, you can see the Season 6 musical on the big screen. Marc told me about it a while back, and it's officially coming to Dallas and other select cities. You can buy tickets here.

Matt Nathanson on Tour

Matt Nathanson, one of my favorite musicians is releasing a new CD and going back out on tour. The CD, Some Mad Hope, comes out on August 14. You can pre-order it at Amazon for $9.97 or through the Aware Records Store for $12.99, which includes an autographed copy, sticker, and 3-song acoustic ep. You can listen to some samples on Matt's Myspace page.

As for the tour, he'll be hitting Chicago on October 6 (House of Blues), Austin on October 23 (the Parish), and Dallas on October 24 (House of Blues). Tickets are $12. Hope you can make it, Matt's not only a great musician and singer, but he's quite hilarious, and just a nice guy! So go check him out!

My Christmas List

I know, it's a bit early for Christmas. But with Nintendo Wii holding two awesome new additions until November, it's only fitting that I put them on my list. Heck, maybe I'll put them on my Hanukkah list too!

Wii Fit is a follow-up to the interactive Wii Sports. The "Balance Board" supposedly works your core while you pretend to hula hoop, play soccer, and do yoga. Looks like a great alternative for those days I can't make it to the gym!

I may even be more excited to fire up Super Mario Galaxy, a 3-D, planet surfing game featuring everyone's favorite Italian hero. It looks like it has better graphics and more lively playing than the current Mario offering, Super Paper Mario, which combines features of the original Mario trilogy (bricks, goombas, etc.) with RPG elements. For the most part, it's too slow a game, and the puzzle angle is often quite frustrating. And I must say: Chapter 8-3 is a bitch!