Mypods and Boomsticks

Well, this week's episode was pretty good. As usual with "The Simpsons," it seems a little late to be making fun of America's resurgent racism in the wake of 9/11. Not to mention "24's" fanning the flames of the above. On the other hand, it helps that we just elected someone who's last name is Obama for president, which they subtly mentioned. Where has that subtlety been? Anyway, the subplot was all right, especially the 1984 commercial reference. I have an iPod myself, but the screen is still in dark gray and light gray. Add to that, if Microsoft's next operating system has the same problems as Vista, I'll be getting a Mac. But no iPhone. My crummy Motorola phone is just the kind of phone that takes calls and text messages. I haven't even used the Internet browser on it. I also keep it on vibrate all the time, so forget ringtones. Just a bread-and-butter phone... that cost me 140 bucks! Harking back to April 2007, when I was temporarily homeless following the evacuation of my dorm at St. Andrews, the Alltel store in Laurinburg ripped me off when I was in a dire situation and very desperate. But I digress. Hugely.

Thanksgiving weekend went by without a hitch. So now, I'm staring down what looks like a gloomy holiday season. I've actually been expressly forbidden from buying presents for my parents. I'm not even certain why, but I think it's the economy. If it truly is better to give than to get, I'm gonna be in pretty bad shape in a month or so. So to all those Grinches in Washington, Bush, Cheney, and Hank Paulson: Thanks for nothing. Bah, humbug!

A comment about advertising

Tonight, a new episode of Monk aired. It was a pretty good episode. One thing I noticed: Natalie has a new car, her fifth car since she started on the show in January 2005. That's not even four years. So far, she's had a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Buick Lucerne, a Ford Escape, an Audi, and now a Nissan Sentra. In other words, product placement run amok. Maybe not the Jeep, but definitely the Buick and the Audi, which Natalie, working for the very cheap Monk, would certainly not be able to afford otherwise. The Buick actually was part of an aggressive ad campaign by Buick and USA, which lasted long enough to permanently make its mark on the show and the show's website, but has since been abandoned. Another phenomenon I've noticed: on YouTube, they've gone as far as putting ads in the videos themselves. And I don't mean in the same style as TV commercials. I mean pop-up ads that actually obscure part of the video. I HATE THOSE. I never watch those videos, if I can help it. Which I usually can. Even if it means I can't watch the only source of those video clips on the internet. It's just terrible. So, knowing that even though, as both I and my parents work for newspapers and thus advertising is where the money for my and my family's paychecks come from, I still feel compelled to say this: These guys have gone too far. Enough is enough.

I'm still here

There was no Simpsons last night, so no review. I'd been meaning to post sooner, but things have been kind of rough lately. On Wednesday, I finally got to see a specialist about my leg problem. He said it wasn't my prostate like my regular doctor thought. It's my quadriceps, having spasms. That does explain a few things. Unfortunately, I'm no closer to solving this problem. The muscle relaxer he prescribed doesn't seem to be working. It's still really painful.

How do these things happen? One minute, you're all right, having a good (enough) time, but ten minutes later, your life is in a complete mess. Well, that happened to me tonight. I won't go through what happened. All I will say is that I'm going to skip this week's Simpsons review and that I briefly considered discontinuing the reviews. I won't, but with what I've been through in the past hour or so, you'd understand why I thought about it. I should be okay, though.

Dangerous Curves

In this episode, there were a few gags that had me laughing. The unraveling bark on the tree is a real standout. But aside from those, this episode was just okay. Didn't they just have a flashback episode back in January? And wasn't that one so bad, you'd think they'd never make another flashback episode again? As for the last scene with everything splitting... I think I oughta go out to the movies more often, because I have NO idea whatsoever what movie that's referencing. And don't tell me it isn't, because everything's a movie reference these days.

The burning on my upper leg is still pretty bad. The antibiotics didn't work, at least not permanently. I'm going to see a specialist, but I can't until the 19th. So this ice pack has to last me the next 10 days. I'll probably have to duct tape it to my leg.

Results

The two candidates I supported the most, Barack Obama and Kay Hagan, have won. But North Carolina, which became a swing state four years sooner than I thought it would, still hasn't been called either way in the electoral college. This is apparently because there are a large number of provisional ballots, each of which need to be checked for the voter's eligibility. As of right now, Obama is ahead by less than 12,000 votes. I'm almost wishing that the race was closer so it would all come down to North Carolina for once. The other 49 states and DC would see what life's like here. On the other hand, I don't think I could stomach another 2000-esque recount. There were other things on the ballot that didn't go so well. None of the four Johnston County school board candidates I voted for won. And the same-sex marriage-banning Proposition 8 in California, which, if passed, would show just how far this country has to go towards equality, passed. That's just sad. If anyone wants to debate me on that subject, here are two rebuttals. For those who object on religious reasons: "But there's no other reason other than that." For those who object, believing that same-sex couples should only get "civil unions": "What exactly makes them different enough that they can't get a real marriage?"

Treehouse of Horror XIX

Not a moment too soon, The Simpsons has finally made a good episode this season. The first segment was good, but it ended kind of abruptly. The second segment was okay. They kinda missed an opportunity to have a treasure trove of single-line guest voices... which, now that I think about it, is for the best. I know my mom was looking forward to the Mad Men parody. She loves Mad Men. The last segment was pretty good. I'm not a big fan of anything Peanuts-related, to tell you the truth. I just don't get it. But I know all the gags. Marge's trombone playing was a good joke. So, things are looking up for this season. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down.

Anyways, the burning sensation mentioned 2 or 3 posts ago has returned. And my original supply of antibiotics has run out. I'll see the doctor tomorrow, if possible.

The election is Tuesday. If you haven't voted yet, go vote Tuesday. Enough said.