I'm watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies as I type this. It's a politeness thing. If, in the next couple of weeks, any of my Chinese acquaintances e-mail me and ask if I've been watching the Olympics, I can honestly say yes. I'm assuming they'll all be tuning in during the games, as the Olympic hype was already going on back when we stepped off the plane in 2005. Of course, it could be that nobody back in Yunnan is watching--that they're going to be watching some other channel. My watching the show will have been for naught.

Well, not exactly. I could really care less about the Olympic games, but I am enjoying the spectacle. Real time interruption: Hmmmm, cool. The athletes aren't marching in according to Western alphabetical order, but rather in order of the number of strokes in the first Chinese character in the country's name. Anyway, I have to confess that I'm enjoying the show. Once again: Hmmm, the Taiwanese athletes got a real rousing reception by the stadium crowd. Of course, they were following the Japanese... Anyway, I'm not writing much. I could have written during the last annoying commercial break, but I ran upstairs to get a Pop-Tart. Hmm, and now I have another annoying commercial break in which to write. It's been a while since I've endured network TV. Anyway... I find that I'm getting a bit excited over this. I know the politically correct thing to do is to be wearing a frowny face and hoping that Hu Jintao will spill his beer or do something else embarrassing. But when I think about China gaining face over these Games, I don't think of the government that deserves a lot of criticism over its actions, I think of the kids I met in Yunnan who can bask in some national pride. So I'm hoping everything goes well.

Anyway, I'm going to shut up now. I don't know if I'll be able to stay awake during the next commercial block.

Labels: China, commentary, TV

What a wonderful week for brain candy! Not only has Sluggy Freelance started a new Harry Potter parody (the jokes of which I will now be able to get), but I also borrowed a mess o' Doctor Who DVDs from the library. I first put in a request for them a couple of months ago, after reading something about the latest series on the 'net. (Jack's blog, maybe? I forget.) My name sat in the hold queue for weeks on end until -Blam!- I find that the disks are in transit. Watching the series (the first of the ninth doctor, Christopher Eccleston) brought back memories of experiencing the good Doctor back in the 80s. They've done a good job of capturing the same wonder and sense of humor that was so appealing in the older series. I was also a bit surprised to recall that Doctor Who is in many ways a horror series. As I've left my handful of Doctor Who tapes gather dust on the shelf, my memory has been fading so that I had recalled the series as being more of a science fiction adventure vehicle. But as I watch Rose run from a Dalek, or Autons terrorise a mall, I realize that really there were a lot of grisly deaths and scary monsters back in the old episodes. (Well, scary until it's revealed that those long shadows were cast by a guy in a rubber suit.) So, as has been happening way too much lately, I find myself putting off useful work around the home and dragging the comfy chair in front of the telly to lose myself in 45 minutes of fantasy. It's a pity I have to waste so much time working for a living.....

Labels: life, TV

I know, I'm a couple of days early, but odds are I wouldn't find the time to blog in those two days. I'm a bit surprised that I managed to find time today. Interesting how much my blogging seems to spring as much from the time to write as it does from the desire to write. Ah, well. Anyway, during the past week or so, there were a few things that I wanted to blog about, so I should just write down the short versions.
+++
The last weblogger's meetup gave me the incentive to update the old blogroll. One interesting addition is My Shrapnel, where Gila is posting various writings dealing with her survival of a suicide bombing. Gila's a good writer regardless of the topic, but when she's recounting something so compelling as this, she's fascinating.
+++
A link at Unshelved led me to this blog, where I discovered this post about comic book super-heroes. All I can say is that Eric Burns has perfectly captured my own feelings on the matter.
+++
I got another e-mail from Bloatmeal the other week, asking me if I was ready to switch jobs yet. Surprisingly enough, I felt a moment or two of temptation. Those higher paychecks and benefits were nice to have. Of course, once I started recalling acid reflux and stress headaches and lack of sleep and corporate b.s. and all that, I had an easier time replying, "no."
+++
In a tangential vein, my current boss' last day is Thursday. The whole company is invited out to a dinner/retirement party after work. We're also taking up a collection for a farewell gift. I have to admit that I had a moment of resentment over that. He's the one selling out for big bucks, right? sigh. I can't believe I've gotten so stingy....
+++
I finished Season One of Stargate SG-1. It's so... American. Take the episode "Singularity", where the crew find out that the little girl they've rescued has a nuclear time bomb implanted inside her. A great bit of drama. If it were Farscape, the bomb would have exploded and the crew's anguish and sorrow would have played out over a number of episodes. Instead we get a bomb that magically defuses and dissolves away once the child ventures far enough away from the stargate. Not very satisfying television. Ruminator is right--I should be seeking out the new Battlestar Galactica.
+++
I had a busy Saturday: a Bible class, a memorial gathering and a program on making comics. The memorial was for Anita Rowland. It was nice to hear again how wonderful a person she was. She truly deserved to be loved by as many folks as she was. (Or should I say "as she is", since that affection hasn't gone away.) It did feel a bit weird being there, though. I really didn't know her all that well, and her friends and family even less. I kind of slipped in late for the program and then slipped out early during the socializing. I felt like a ghost mourner, come to pay my respects.
+++
Regarding the comics program, it did give me an idea for a creative endeavor. One of the presenters, David Lasky, gave a workshop on mini-comics, where we were supposed to create our own. While throwing out starter ideas, he wrote down the title "My Most Embarrassing Moment". It occurred to me that a mini-comic might be just the vehicle to tell the tale of my most embarrassing moment in China. It's something that takes up many pages in my writing steno book, but might be able to be condensed into a short, illustrated tale. Of course, if I don't have time to type in a blog, when will I find time to illustrate a comic?

Labels: blogging, China, comics, life, money, TV, work

I've started watching through Stargate SG-1, having finished watching all of the collected Farscape episodes. Like Farscape, I'm borrowing the DVDs from the Library, so weeks after I put in my request, I end up with a two week glut of watching television. The thing was, with Farscape, I had to exercise self control to stop myself from watching just one more episode. With Stargate, I can take it or leave it. The series concept is far more promising, but it fails to deliver. I find myself forcibly suspending disbelief so as to continue watching the episode. I can't believe that Farscape got axed after four seasons, yet this series ran for ten. It reminds me a bit of the various Star Trek series. Week after week I'd watch mediocre stories just for a chance to enjoy some likable characters and with a distant hope that this episode might be good.

There's also another Star Trek parallel. I started watching that series ten or so years after it first ran. Now I'm starting on Stargate after its tenth anniversary. Of course, the way I'm watching it is worlds apart. Instead of trying to catch a commercial ridden rerun at whatever time the TV station chooses to schedule it, (It was 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon back in '77, if I recall correctly.) I get to watch whatever uncut episode I want, when I want... well, assuming the DVD player's working, and nobody else in the family needs to use the TV. What progress! Now if only the writing would follow suit...

Labels: life, TV, whining

I don't make a good monk. For the past two years I was living in a foreign land, doing without a number of luxuries that we enjoy in these United States. So did that allow me to break my addiction to comfort and materialism. Heck no. Now back in the States I struggle with the temptation to make up for lost time. The most notable addiction I'm gratifying this week is TV. Shopping for English videos overseas was kind of like shopping for vids at the grocery stores. Unless you want the latest blockbusters or older films that nobody else has bothered to buy, you're out of luck. So anyway, I spent the last two years missing a lot of vids I liked, including episodes of Farscape.

Since I eschew cable TV, I missed Farscape when it first aired. I did start watching the series a DVD at a time, thanks to Scarecrow Video, but hadn't even finished the second season before we left. When we got back, on my second trip to the video store, I finished out Season 2. Then, on a whim, I decided to see if the Library had any Farscape disks. Lo and behold, they did! I went ahead and got in line to borrow season 3. I am so glad I voted for the Library bond back when! Anyway, my turn to borrow the dis arrived last week and I was left with two weeks to watch all of Season 3. sigh. I still like the show, but watching a Farscape episode every evening is not the same as getting a 4 episode DVD every couple of months or so. I even wonder if by the time I return the discs I will even like the show any more. Ah, well. Sometimes desire is better than fulfillment.

Labels: life, TV