Lost funnies, tv musings

On tonight's episode of Lost: Jin comes back, is found by Sawyer. Jin is devastated when his wife Sun is not there and he's shouting in Korean. Sawyer gestures to Miles Strom, played by Ken Leung, to "translate!"

Miles: "Translate what? He's Korean. I'm from Encino!"

On another note, has anyone else given up on Grey's Anatomy? I never thought it would happen to me, since I do love Christina Yang, but is it any wonder that Katherine Heigl and J. R. Knight actively want off a sinking ship? I mean the economy is bad enough that it could be hard to find a new gig, and yet they can't get away fast enough.

Last, I LOVED the 30 Rock Valentine's Day episode - it was spot on! Not the best 30 Rock ep ever, but really great. I can't decide if the best 30 Rock ever is Jack imitating Tracy's parents or if it's Jack as El Generalissimo.

Dead of winter

Recently I have been feeling the need for nature, for verdant life and the tranquility of trees. I miss the leave-dappled sunlight falling on me as I take a leisurely hike in the mountains.

I don't know if it's my work, my personal life, or the failing health of those around me, but I felt a very desperate need to escape to the countryside that has yet to be fulfilled.

In lieu, I bought some green beans from the market and boiled them, without even stripping away the stems. I have been biting into their green juices and feeling the sweet crunch of life.

It is a pale substitute for time spent connecting with the earth, but it will have to suffice for now. My heart has been heavy, my thoughts weary and belabored for a while. I need some form of release, a weekend by the water or the foothills.

In this dead of winter, I am trying to taste the vitality that the earth provides and sing an ode to friends here and gone. Instead I bury myself in sleep.

Goal

Become more organized. Else, mishaps follow.

Friday Night Lights, part 2

I read the wiki entry on the show, and it's pretty funny because I am far from a white male who gives a shit about football, but I do love the authenticity of the show:

This early strategy caused several marketing problems for the long term the most notable of which is the lack of women viewers. The early marketing campaign created an audience of almost exclusively young men and all but repelled women with its football heavy slant. This in turn deprived the show of a large audience who would enjoy the more character-driven soap elements.

. . .The show’s producers decided at the outset to allow their performers leeway in what they say and do on the show. Though scripted like any hour-long television drama performers are given great leeway in the delivery of their lines and the blocking of each scene. If actors feel that something is not true to their character or that a mode of delivery doesn’t work they are free to change it provided they still hit the vital plot points.^[19]

The freedom that producers have extended to the performers is complemented by the fact that the show is taped without rehearsal and without extensive blocking. Camera operators on the show are trained to follow the actors rather than actors standing in one place and having cameras fixed around them. This allows performers to not only feel free to make changes but to feel safe in making those changes because the infrastructure will work around them. Executive producer Jeffrey Reiner described this method as “no rehearsal, no blocking, just three cameras and we shoot.”^[20]

I love this show because it is so real and the emotions and relationships feel real and the writing is excellent. Watch it!

Flipping stereotypes

The Onions flips the stereotypical Asian fetish so that a Japanese teenaged girl has the hots for sweaty bald overweight white men.

"I can't explain it," said Nakajima, dressed in a pleated miniskirt and pure white knee socks. "There's just something about American men who are at least twice my age and nearly three times my body weight that totally drives me wild."

Added Nakajima, "They're so hot."

Though she finds all pasty, middle-aged men intoxicating, Nakajima said balding Midwesterners who carry most of their weight in their stomach particularly turn her on. According to the sexually inquisitive teen, she often daydreams about sleeping with a 43-year-old divorcé with poor hygiene habits.

While not full on brilliant, it is pretty good.