Staining the playset -- this was taken before I ended up staining myself

Girls in love on The N

The N is one of those high-numbered cable channels that I and a lot of people don't get. But having seen some fan-created montages from "South of Nowhere," I'm interested. It is, apparently, a show about some teens new to LA. So it's that familiar fish outta water thing. But two of the characters are girls in love (yup, that's them with the guy). Which is always nice to see. And it's clearly inspiring to a number of people who have created videos on YouTube:

I only watched a couple, but there are a lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rm9poP4JG4

(my favorite, because I really like the Del Amitri song "Roll To Me")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYjuIxDNJfY

(also good, and a little more au courant with the song "S.O.S." by Rihanna)

Wikipedia has an entry on the show, which describes main character Spencer Carlin (Gabrielle Christian) as "confused" about her sexuality. She doesn't seem that confused to me -- she seems like she's falling in love, or already there, with her best friend Ashley Davies (Mandy Musgrave). But getting to that point has involved some boys (as happens in real life, I can attest) and drama (also real). Apparently the topic is handled with the richness it deserves, and some realistic dialogue. Cool.

A new member of the Diet Dr. Pepper family to love

Had my first taste of Berries and Cream Diet Dr. Pepper, and it's so rich and yummy it's like a dessert in a can. And I mean that in a good way, not a cloying, yucky way. It's similar to the vanilla cherry Diet Dr. P in that my first taste seemed almost too rich, but my second spelled addiction.

(Of course, we'll see if I feel the same when the cold medicine wears off.)

What can possibly be next? Diet Dr. Pepper chocolate and cheese? Diet Dr. Pepper syrah? The mind boggles. And yes, I realize that other people get this excited about beverages such as wine. Bully for them.

Oh, it was definitely insufferability. I don't miss people like this.

From Gawker:

Today’s (New York) Observer calls attention to Times metro reporter Sewell Chan’s signal accomplishment of the last year: 422 bylines, nearly 100 more than his closest competitor and more than twice the total for most other reporters. What we can’t quite decide is whether Gabe Sherman’s piece is designed to celebrate Chan’s accomplishment or to demonstrate his insufferability. We suspect the goal was the former, but we’re pretty hung up on the latter. To wit:
“I guess I’m really old-fashioned, but I’d rather be the one writing about the news,” Mr. Chan said, declining to comment any further.
He has been known to shower famous journalists with detailed praise, including specific citations of their work.
“There’s a lot of great, ambitious, smart reporters in the newsroom,” [Chan’s former editor Wendell] Jamieson said, “but he’s the only reporter I know who actually pitched me a story while I’ve been standing at the urinal in the men’s room.”

No blood donation for me today (that 35 needs to be up around 38)

There's a waterfall in the middle of Seattle! I had no idea! (It's in Pioneer Square, at 3rd and Main)

The bus zone

In a relatively short time I have become amazingly good at sleeping on a multi-ton moving missle (aka the bus). And I gotta say: there's something intensely satisfying about closing my eyes in Federal Way and opening them in downtown Seattle. Or closing them in downtown Seattle and opening them in Federal Way.

A lot of people sleep on the bus. A fair number read and/or listen to music. Almost none write, as I'm doing (first longhand, then I'll transfer it to the 'puter). Literally never have I seen anyone but me pull out a laptop, though more people may indulge themselves on one of the buses that offers wifi. But the truth is that a bus isn't a great place to use a computer. It's kinda bouncy, sometimes really damn bouncy, which means that if you type with both hands, you might not be able to react in time to a potentially laptop destroying bump in the road. And there's not always a lot of room. Hence, my notepad/prewrite method.

I'm also listening to music as I write this, and getting more used to plugging in by the day. It's kind of nice to hear something besides the engine whine. (A review of my new Shure "noise-isolating" headphones will be coming soon.) I don't usually like to cut myself off from the world, but there's not much interaction to miss out on when you're commuting.

Superman comes out as straight (but that's what they all say)

this from Reuters:

LOS ANGELES - After weeks of Internet buzzing that the new Superman movie portrays the Man of Steel as gay, the director of the film issued a strong denial on Friday and said it was the most heterosexual character he has filmed.
Superman "is probably the most heterosexual character in any movie I've ever made," said Bryan Singer, director of "Superman Returns," a new movie about the crime-fighting superhero that opens June 28. "I don't think he's ever been gay."
In recent months, the movie's ability to lure its target audience has been questioned by Internet buzz probing the superhero's sexuality.
Young men are the movie's target audience and the film needs to attract millions of them to earn a profit and relaunch the "Superman" film franchise.
A major gay magazine, The Advocate, ran a cover story with the headline: "How Gay is Superman," and the Los Angeles Times weighed in with its own story on whether being gay might hinder or help the movie's box office receipts.
After all, gay romance "Brokeback Mountain" won awards and raked in $178 million worldwide.
So he wears a leotard and flies around in a red cape. Big deal, Singer said, noting Spider-Man wears tights. The X-Men do too, and they aren't gay. Singer ought to know, he directed 2000's "X-Men" movie and 2003's "X2: X-Men United."
Singer said his version of the Man of Steel, who is played by Brandon Routh, is a "very romantic icon" -- handsome, virtuous and vulnerable.
In the movie, Superman comes back to Earth after a five- year absence. Early on, audiences learn the love of his life, hard-charging reporter Lois Lane, has moved on from her infatuation with him. She has a new boyfriend and a child.
Yet when he re-enters her life, Lois still has that sexy gleam in her eye, and he can't wait to fly her to the moon.
"We were all scratching our heads," said Paul Levitz, president and publisher of Superman owner DC Comics. "He's not a gay character."

Two views of celebrity that couldn't be more different

"I was Russell Crowe's stooge"

the inside story of Russell's manipulation of a journalist, who, like pretty much any human, has a hard time resisting the trappings of fame.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/when-i-was-russell-crowes-stooge/2006/06/06/1149359738242.html


And then, to clear your palate with something more real (I hope):

http://www.rosie.com/sections/ask-ro/

Now that Rosie O'Donnell is getting famous again, she may not be able to continue this. But it's a pretty amazingly open exchange with fans (and non-fans).

Whatcha got under the hood?

Is there room in the cul de sac for both of them?

Eddie gets his motor running ....

Reason No. 473 to love Joan Jett

This is from an interview with the mighty Joan Jett conducted by Seattle P-I repoter Molly Yanity (find the full piece here -- http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/sports2day/273577_s2djett.html):

"I'm a sports fan. A big fan. I've always been supportive of women doing whatever they want to do, whether it's play basketball, be a musician, a doctor or a stay-at-home mom - that's work, too. But I bought season tickets without thinking anything about it, before I really knew anything about the WNBA, just to be supportive. But I've turned into a huge Liberty fan. I still have season tickets and go whenever I can."

She's got a new album coming out. She's rocking the Warped Tour. (Oh, and she likes the Seattle Storm too.)

"The Storm, I'm very familiar with them. Last year in a game (in New York) Lauren Jackson even made a comment to me from the court. She said something about my music and she was a fan. That was really cool of her. I root for the Liberty, but I like her and I root for all the players. You never know when someone might actually be a player with the Liberty. I just want to see good games. That was really cool."

She's also a HUGE Baltimore Orioles fan, and pretty much likes every sport (something she goes to great lengths to point out).

Fondues and Fon-don'ts

So we had fondue for dinner at the Melting Pot. It's the kind of dining experience that lightens your wallet and widens your ass. Cheese, chocolate .... who needs the main course when you've got those perfect delights to bookend your experience?

We took the boys, which went amazingly well considering that 3-year-olds were not exactly made for three-hour dining experiences featuring screaming hot burners and pans in the middle of the table. Chas actually burned himself a little last year, when we first dared to brave the Melting Pot. Lesson learned, I guess.

The boys are now playing with the neighborhood kids, whom they adore. And we've had a breakthrough with the battery powered car: Eddie will now drive it. They've had it since March, but have been to afraid of it to actually use it. I guess I let Eddie drive the real car with me enough to gain confidence. (Both of those driving experiences only happen in the cul-de-sac and our driveway. And once, at the Trader Joe's parking lot.)

That flame is there on purpose (it's fancy fondue time)

FabChannel ... cool music, especially if you like obscure stars like Maria McKee

So my job involves investigating video online. I wish it involved more of that, since it's actually a lot of fun. One cool site I found is called fabchannel. It's basically a conglomeration of streaming concerts from somewhere in Europe. Biggest name I saw was Presidents of the United States of America, which tells you something.

But I was thrilled to find a show by Maria McKee, former lead singer of Lone Justice, and fabulously talented songwriter. She has some things resembling hits, mostly in countries other than the U.S. But that was a long time ago. Her sound veers from a sort of carny rock to alt-country. I prefer the former. Many others prefer the latter, and that's what this fabchannel show is. So, it's a mixed blessing. But since Maria won't be coming to Seattle anytime soon, I'll take it.

The Office -- please God don't let this be a shark

OK, so we missed the last episode of The Office. Our TiVo was just too full. And despite my efforts I heard what happened. I heard Pam and Jim kissed.

Pam and Jim, in case you don't know, are colleagues. They sit near each other ... close enough for their souls to touch. But as Pam sunk inevitably closer to marriage with a guy who seems not to even know her, it became nearly unbearable to see Jim pine. Good unbearable. Tune-in-next-week unbearable.

Anyway, I'd not seen the kiss. And after my experience buying "Lost" off iTunes (great if you like pixelation), I wasn't going to make that mistake again. However, in my wanderings around the site I found a number of clips from the show, including the moment in question. And just enough surrounding moments to provide context:

http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/office_hl_221.shtml#video

I've now watched it a couple of times, admired the writing, the performances. And now I will commence to worrying about where they will take the story. Much-craved kisses are often shark jumps. Don't let this be one.

No dialtone ...

I've been on the job for a month now and only used my phone a handful of times. That will change, now that I've got a headset and now that we're moving closer to reality with our project. And I will get used to the fact that while my phone looks like a phone and acts like a phone, it's an imposter: It's an internet phone. No dialtone, unless I choose to hear one. I can just dial the number and hit the headset button , and boom. Or I can hit headset, and hear the dialtone in case I want to pretend it's 1989.

Famke Janssen is my new hero ….

She's six feet tall, has size 11 feet -- what's not to love about the X-Men star (and Nip/Tuck star and former Bond girl)?

She's also over 40, which is even cooler to me as I approach that fabulous milestone. I also love that she is the star of a hot film. Too bad they producers of Superman Returns didn't cast HER as Lois Lane.

And she's my current choice as I cast my personal Batwoman movie. (You know, until I get myself skinny enough for the suit).

Techworld vocab lessons

In my new, non-journalism line of work, I've been exposed to a whole new realm of jargon. Instead of nut grafs (the part of the story where you boil everything down to its essence, i.e., the point) and promos (the things at the top of page 1 that whip to stories inside and sometimes below) and whip (tell people to go here).
Now, it's words like:

blocker (what it sounds like -- something to keep you from completing a task)

synch up (people sharing info -- a term I knew best for devices)

bandwidth (how much a person can take on, i.e., instead of saying "I have too much on my plate," you say "I don't have the bandwidth to do that.")

blocker (something to keep you from getting a task completed)
but there are a couple I needed help with:

mezzanine level (a theater-ish metaphr, i.e., not as up close and detailed as we need, but workable -- comes up in the context of, say, computer files that aren't quite in the form we want)

skunkworks (the messy, "stinky" early going process when all hands are working to get a project rolling)

And there are probably other words that have started dropping into my conversation without me even knowing it. Which is kind of fun, just 'cause it's different.
Next step: making up my own jargon and spreading it around

Adios, carbs ....

So my experiment with reintroducing carbs to my diet has gone about like this:

Carbs yummy!

Ass and thighs bigger!

I like the first part, but am truly bugged by the second, as I had grown used to being (comfortably) a size 14, and I don't want to have to squeeze into my clothes. Or buy bigger ones. Or face my doctor, who had been so proud of my (other than the 100-point cholesterol jumps from the all-bacon breakfasts).

So, I'm getting back on the low/no carb wagon.

Batwoman is a sister!

While trolling for my daily tidbits of inspiration yesterday, I learned that Katie Couric squeezed out her first farewell tear at 7:24 a.m. (Gawker breathlessly blogged about other media breathlessly blogging about it). And I learned from Deadspin that you do NOT want to mess with Jacque Jones' mama, no matter how bad a baseball player her son may seem. But the Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper spewing moment came when I stumbled across the following Gawker entry, buried in the middle of a list of near toss-offs:

• DC Comics’ Batwoman returns as a lesbian. Rival Marvel vows to introduce their new superhero, Rugmuncher, who plays acoustic guitar at an independently-owned coffee shop.

The picture is attached. Wow. (And for reference, there's an old-school Batwoman image as well. With her "utility purse" and all.)

Want details? Well, here are some from BBC:

Comic book heroine Batwoman is to make a comeback as a "lipstick lesbian" who moonlights as a crime fighter, a DC Comics spokesman has confirmed.
Batwoman - real name Kathy Kane - will appear in 52, a year-long DC Comics publication that began this month. In her latest incarnation, she is a rich socialite who has a romantic history with another 52 character, ex-police detective Renee Montoya.
52 will be published in the UK as a graphic novel by Titan Books in 2007. The series is set in a world in which established superheroes Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman do not play a part. Reinvention The new-look Batwoman is just one of a wave of ethnically and sexually diverse characters entering the DC Comics universe.
Others include Mexican teenager Blue Beetle - who replaces the character's previous white incarnation - and the Great Ten, a government-sponsored team of Chinese superheroes.
Regular characters Firestorm and The Atom, meanwhile, have been reinvented as black and Asian heroes respectively. The characters are part of a wider effort to broaden the make-up of comic-book creations in line with society as a whole.
Batwoman, who first appeared in July 1956, has not been seen since September 1979 when she was killed by the League of Assassins and the Bronze Tiger.