January 30th, 2004

Delays, But Mostly TV

We are getting more snow here and school is on a two-hour delay again tomorrow. That makes thrice this week, and it should actually be the fourth time. Tuesday should have been a two-hour delay. As it was, the kids got released early on Tuesday.

This is kind of a new phenomenon for me. I grew up in Wisconsin and traveled about 25 miles to school every day. I don’t remember ever having a two hour delay. and school being canceled was almost unheard-of.

That being said, I must be getting old. I don’t really like to drive anyway, but when the roads are even slightly bad, I dislike it even more. They aren’t as equipped as Wisconsin was to handle the snow, so back streets don’t get plowed for a loooooong time, if ever. There are so many hills here that it makes driving difficult. I even saw a police car trying to make its way up a hill this evening and it was having trouble. You might think now would be a perfect time to commit crimes, but I refer you to an earlier post in which warn you of the dangers of being a burglar in this kind of weather. Well, I imply that it’s more difficult, but I guess I don’t really list the dangers. I was specifically thinking of the footprints issue, but the slipperiness issue would also be a factor.

There’s a song they play on the radio these days that starts out “It’s the perfect time of day.” There ought to be a law that says they can only play this song once a day. If morning is the perfect time, then how can afternoon or evening be the perfect time? I can see that the time may be different in different parts of the country, but each station should only be allowed to play it once per day, whatever time they decide (by vote, if need be) is indeed the perfect time of day.

You may have noticed I haven’t commented on the Oscar nominations yet. Maybe you didn’t notice. If you didn’t, you should try to pay more attention. I don’t know that I need to comment on every nomination, but I will say that Return of the King ought to win Best Picture just because. Sure, there were better movies this year, but RotK deserves it because the series as a whole deserves it. I’m very glad that Danny Elfman is up for another Oscar for his score for Big Fish. I say “another” because he has been nominated before, though he has never won. I don’t think he’ll win, as I think the RotK score will, but I’d like him to get an Oscar at some point. I like his music a lot, but I may be prejudiced because most of his scores are for Tim Burton movies, and I am a HUGE Tim Burton fan.

Speaking of Big Fish, I never got around to writing my review of it, but you really should go see it. It’s a fanciful tale and an enjoyable spectacle.

Another thing you should be watching if you’re not is Monk. I’m not usually a detective show fan, but I really enjoy this one. Tony Shalhoub (Jeebs from the Men in Black movies, and I think he was in Wings) plays an obsessive-compulsive detective. His neurosis makes him difficult to get along with, but his eye for detail is what makes him such a great detective. It’s on Friday nights, but USA replays it throughout the week. (Now, watch – since I’ve recommended it, the next show will be awful or something.)

And do I need to mention Smallville again?

Survivor fans will want to remember that Survivor All-Stars premieres after the Super Bowl this Sunday. I’m even thinking about watching this one, and I haven’t really watched Survivor since the second season. After seeing who is in it, I’m hoping that, by some freak circumstance, they are able to vote Jerri, Susan, and Richard off all at the same time in the first episode.

Okay, that’s enough for now.

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