My TV Schedule (And Two Gay Nays)

In the past I've talked about how I decide whether or not to watch a new TV show -- basically, I need something to pique my interest in it, or else I just happen to watch on a whim. So with the new fall TV season under way, I thought I'd update you on what I'm currently watching (or considering watching, or tried to watch). There have been a few changes in my schedule.

SUNDAY: I've still got "The Simpsons" (which, let's face it, at this point I'll never stop watching) and "Family Guy" (which I can't quite get rid of). With "Desperate Housewives" gone, though, I don't have another Sunday night show. I'm considering trying "666 Park Avenue," only because Vanessa Williams moved from Wisteria Lane to this address. Apparently (as you can guess from the number) there are devilish doings going on. I'll try it.

MONDAY: It used to be a quiet night until Fox moved "Bones" here. I also sampled the debut of "Partners," one of the two new shows with heavy gay content. It co-stars Michael Urie, one of my faves from "Ugly Betty," which is why I watched it. Urie's character is gay and his best friend (played by David Krumholtz) is straight. Their significant others are Brandon "I'm no longer Superman" Routh and Sophia Bush, respectively. I may watch another episode because I really like Urie, but I think they'd be better off if they ditched the truly dull Krumholtz and Routh entirely, and maybe Bush as well.

TUESDAY: At least "Partners" isn't the other big gay sitcom, "The New Normal."

Why The Mayan 2012 Thing Needs To Happen

I saw an article online today and the title of this post came to mind. I thought that maybe the whole end-of-the-world event supposedly predicted by the Mayan calendar should actually happen. Then I kept reading, and found more things that solidifed my view. What were these things? Did Mitt Romney get caught saying something stupid again? Did another pro athlete say or do something homophobic? Did the NFL's scab referees make another bad call? (Oh wait, they're gone now. Our long national nightmare is over.)

Not quite. Just sample the headlines:

Honey Boo Boo Declares, 'Everybody's A Little Bit Gay'

Ke$ha: I had sex with a ghost

50 Cent tweets four-step plan to stop masturbation

Now, far be it from me to discourage Ke-dollar sign-ha from having ectoplasmic orgasms. I just dislike her and don't want to see her or hear about her. But for 50 Cent to cite the Bible as a reason to not masturbate while he's probably out banging groupies every night, well, that's unacceptable. Sorry, man-whore, but masturbation is all some people have. (Looks around nervously, walks away slowly...)

And the simple fact that my sacred blog has now been tainted by the inexplicable phenomenon/unadulterated mess that is Honey Boo Boo is reason enough. Come on, Mayans, put us out of our misery!

One Of These Things...

...is not like the other...

I can understand how Outsports is similar to me -- gay, sports -- and as for Jai Rodriguez, well, it's obvious, isn't it? We're both extremely attractive, youthful men. But the Wharton School? And it's "promoted." Or, in other words, an advertisement. I think Twitter needs this...

Taking A Picture

After I visited the new 9/11 memorial at the Schuylkill River Trail I was headed back up the ramp towards Market Street and noticed a woman (see bottom right corner) stop to take a picture (or video, perhaps) of 30th Street Station and the Cira Centre in the background, so I took one as well. The bridge shown is Market Street where it crosses the Schuylkill.

By the way, why is the official spelling "Centre" for the Cira Centre -- we are in the USA, after all -- and if that isn't odd enough, why is their website URL ciracenter.com?

Phils' Wild Card Hopes...

I just finished watching the Dodgers score 2 in the 9th to stun the Cardinals. What it does, besides LA and St. Louis now being tied for the last NL Wild Card position, is keep the Phillies within 3 games despite the Phils' disgraceful two losses against the putrid, worst-record-in-baseball Houston Astros.

I hate to say it, but although there seemed to be real hope going into Thursday, I think the Phils' chances of pulling off the miraculous comeback are almost dead now. They're a game behind the Pirates and a half-game behind the Brewers, thanks to those two losses to Houston. So with 16 games left, the Phils are back to having to pass four teams in the standings. And after St. Louis leaves LA, they have a week of games against those same lowly Astros (who just managed to beat the Phillies twice) and the almost-as-bad Cubs.

I do think it would be fun to see the Phils sneak in as the second Wild Card, beat Atlanta in the single-game Wild Card round and then beat Washington (if the Nats finish with the league's best record) in the Division Series, thus "winning" the National League East despite finishing in third place. But with each day (and each loss to Houston...notice how I keep harping on that? You can't lose to the worst team in baseball, you just CAN'T) it seems more unlikely.

Philly's New 9/11 Memorial: Good, But...

After I toured Eastern State Penitentiary this afternoon (pics will be posted at some point), I walked down towards Center City and decided to check out the city's new 9/11 memorial, which was dedicated on Tuesday, the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The steel beam, from one of the Twin Towers, isn't lying flat or standing straight because the artist says it symbolizes how our society is not as secure post-9/11. It's set in granite and includes plaques with the names of three Philadelphia residents who died in the attacks.

It's a little stunning to actually see a piece of one of those buildings. The placement of the beam is clever. It's certainly a fitting memorial. However...

The 9/11 Memorial

I have a bunch of pictures from my three-night stay in New York City at the end of July. I haven't figured out how exactly I want to present them -- whether in one big album or in smaller ones devoted to each of the places I visited on this trip. But with the arrival of the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it seemed fitting to put the pictures from my visit to the 9/11 Memorial into a separate album. And since I used the Picasa photo service from Google, I'm even able to embed the slideshow.



And since this is the 1,000th post on this blog, it's nice that it's not about a more trivial subject.

Holy Cow, A Sports Blog Post!

I was planning to write a little post about the Eagles, with their season beginning tomorrow and all, but events have inspired me to make this post about a few different topics.

For one, the Phillies are 6 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL Wild Card because the Cards lost while the Phils, after a long delay, were rained out. People think of last year, when other teams made huge comebacks to get into the playoffs -- that very same St. Louis team not only got in, but eliminated the Phillies and won the World Series -- and think that the Phils could do the same.

But it's so extremely unlikely. The Phils have to pass not only the Cards, but the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Pirates and Brewers. The Pirates are fading fast. (Sorry, Kurt.) They're 9-19 over the last month. But the Brewers are on fire, 15-4 in their last 19. In addition, the Phils have no games left against any of these teams, which means even if they finish strong, they'll have to rely on all of these other teams losing enough games to get the Phils in. So there's really no reason at this point to get excited.

On another baseball note, normally I'd enjoy a team that's been an underdog for so long making a strong run at a championship. But then there's the Washington Nationals. From this spring's sad attempt to keep Phils fans out of their ballpark, to Jayson Werth's various comments since he left town, to their butthead general manager whining like a baby when Cole Hamels hit their hyped rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch, to their continued mediocre attendance despite a new ballpark and a winning team, I've developed a bit of a dislike for the Nats.

And the last straw is how they've completely mishandled Stephen Strasburg.

Spider Web

On my way home from the supermarket this evening I noticed this large web running from the branches of a tree down to the mailbox. So I ran back out with my digital camera, figuring it (instead of my cell phone cam) was the best shot I had to get pictures that actually showed the web. I'm not sure my pics do it justice, but here they are. You'll have to click on them for the larger versions. UPDATE: Apparently you can't click on them for the larger versions any more. Instead, you get the same size but in a slideshow. Thanks for NOTHING, Google/Blogger...okay, go to these four links to see the really large versions: One Two Three Four

I think these next two are the best at showing both the size of the webs and the bits of debris (and bugs) that got caught in the web.

Northern Liberties 2nd St. Festival

Last month, on yet another hot summer afternoon, I strolled along 2nd Street for the Northern Liberties 2nd Street Festival. Stuff for sale, food and drink (lots of beer), and performances, including one by the house band of the School of Rock. And yes, I took photos. Here's a sampling:

Why do you suppose I took this picture? ;-)

Little Baby's was just a mobile cart operation but now they have their own
store. Very unusual flavors that I'll have to check out sometime.

Quick Reviews: Hope Springs, Premium Rush

As I sit down to write this, it occurs to me that this might be a good pattern: two movies in one post. That way I won't feel too pressured to get a post done immediately after I see a movie, but at the same time I don't get too far behind. Of course, if I disciplined myself I'd post right away anyway.

"Hope Springs" had a much more serious tone than I expected. Either that or the attempts at humor fell way flat. It was odd to me. A long-married couple, Arnold and Kay (Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep) are so set in their routines that Kay becomes unhappy and, against her husband's wishes and using her own money, books a week-long trip to coastal Maine for intensive couples' counseling with a therapist (Steve Carell). Much of the movie I felt like it was more of a drama (again, maybe I just didn't connect with the jokes or something). I also felt like Arnold was a total jackass and his wife should've just dumped him. But hey, this was meant to be a comedy, or a comedy-drama, and that just wasn't going to happen. I didn't really start laughing until we got to the point where Kay was about to practice oral sex by using a banana, and the real reason I laughed was because, let's face it: MERYL STREEP WAS ABOUT TO GO DOWN ON A BANANA. Still, it was well-acted, and if I ever need couples' counseling I want Steve Carell to be the therapist. My grade: B-minus.

Never feeling serious at all, despite the action and violence, is "Premium Rush," in which the always-awesome Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Wilee, a bike courier racing against the clock in New York City to get a very important envelope delivered, while a corrupt police detective (Michael Shannon) is after him, intent on getting the envelope himself. It was interesting to see the slo-mo technique used to see how Wilee (yes, that's how it's spelled and yes, there are references to Wile E. Coyote, although it's not an apt comparison considering how the bike courier is actually more like the Road Runner) instantly calculates the safest way to zip through crowded intersections. It might be interesting to see someone use this technique and show what's going through the mind of Peyton Manning as he makes his reads before firing a pass. Anyway, this is another example of mindless summer movie that's easy to sit through. My grade: B.

Some Philly Baseball Photos

Once again I bring you images from my camera. These pictures, taken on various occasions between April and August, have a baseball theme: my first visit to Citizens Bank Park this year (and my first look up close at the new Harry Kalas statue that was dedicated last year), games on back-to-back nights in June (one being a fireworks night), plus my trip to the sites in North Philadelphia where two previous Phillies homes once sat. I also visited the Negro Leagues Memorial (which would mean I saw the locations of three old ballparks). A sample of the pics are below. The full album is here.