Speaking of TV...

...these are the pilots, Disc 1s, and first seasons we have waiting in our Netflix and Hulu queues. If you have an opinion on whether or not we should watch any of these shows, let us know what you think. We might take your comments to heart, or we might say, "You're a doodyface," and watch the shows anyway.

Huff
Freaks and Geeks
Roswell
Stella
The Tick
Sliders
The Book of Daniel
Extras
Dexter
Good Neighbors
Weeds
Dead Like Me
30-Second Bunnies Theatre

EDIT: Never mind on Stella. We tried it today, and it was inordinately stupid. Very disappointing.

TV Reviews (Just for Fun)

As many of you know, Eric and I both grew up without cable and were perfectly content to be blissfully unaware. Between college and free cable at our last apartment, though, we latched on to a handful of favorites, and now we have--what we consider to be--a reasonably healthy number of shows that we follow online at Hulu.com and ABC.com (whose episodes will soon be featured on Hulu!). Since many of the season finales have just aired or will soon air, I thought I'd do a little review of those episodes and the shows as a whole.

*Warning: I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but if you haven't seen the finales of any of the following, you might want to steer clear anyway, just in case: House; The Office; Scrubs; Ugly Betty; The Unusuals (series finale-ish); Pushing Daisies (series finale-ish); Sit Down, Shut Up (series finale-ish); Family Guy; and The Simpsons.

• House (FOX): Due to its captivating mystery element and irresistable characters, this is definitely one of my favorite shows on television. It's exciting, smart, and still somehow a guilty pleasure. This season has brought some weird and truly shocking developments (including the final [?] appearance of one of my favorite characters), but the season finale left me wondering what really happened and what was just a product of the title character's substance-enhanced imagination. It ended with Dr. House checking himself into a certain location--inevitably yet still surprisingly--and with lots of questions unanswered, so I await next season's premiere with bated breath.
  
• Scrubs (season 8, ABC; seasons 1-7, NBC): This season's finale wasn't officially the series finale, but it might as well be, since the main character (played by Zach Braff)--whom I (and most others) consider to be the lifeline of the show--will not be returning as a series regular. Braff's character, Dr. J.D. Dorian, narrated most episodes, and although the rest of the ensemble cast is excellent as a whole, I know that the show will not be the same without him. The send-off they gave him in the season finale was exceptionally heartfelt and hilarious, in keeping with the style of the series. Since I followed Scrubs from the beginning, my favorite scene from the finale was the final of hundreds of J.D.'s fantasies: many of the series' regular, recurring, and guest characters bidding him farewell as he left Sacred Heart Hospital for the last time.
  
  If Scrubs gets renewed for next season (and that's a big "if"), I for one probably can't be counted on as a return watcher for any future seasons, since many of the series' storylines were resolved and its mysteries solved (well, sort of). There is also a spin-off in the works, to star the new generation of medical interns who came on board last season. I probably won't tune in for that either, even though it stars Sarah Chalke, because I wasn't really too excited by the interns' contributions to the original. I was glad that ABC saved the show by picking it up from NBC for this most recent season, but I agree with a lot of others that the show kind of went downhill as of late, so now that everything is neatly tied up, I'm content to let this one go.
  
  For those looking for a silly and heartwarming show to watch from beginning to (pretty much) end, I definitely recommend Scrubs. For those who just want a little taste of the silliness and heartwarmth without committing to eight seasons, please enjoy these links to my favorite episode of all time, which you can mostly enjoy without knowing the characters' backgrounds ahead of time: Scrubs 6/6 Part 1, Scrubs 6/6 Part 2, and Scrubs 6/6 Part 3.
  
• The Office (NBC): Here's what I think about The Office. This is another one I've been watching since its creation. In the beginning the humor was so out there that it was "in"; it expertly walked the thin line between uncomfortable and laughable. Now, five seasons later, that humor is still there, but sometimes it takes a major backseat to story development. I understand the importance of furthering the storyline, but the off-the-wall tomfoolery--the very element that made the show successful in the first place--should be the last thing to suffer when a story arc comes forward. This was a major issue mid-season in my opinion, but some rays of inappropriate sunshine started shining back through as the season came to an end, so I can only hope that next season will bring more awkward laughs.
  
  That being said, I am totally wrapped up in the storyline that I just ragged on. In the season finale, they hinted on a huge happening but didn't come right out and say it. If that hint becomes a total Native American gift on next season's premiere, there will be lots of unhappy female Office watchers out there, this writer included.
  
• Ugly Betty (ABC): Okay, this show really IS a guilty pleasure. It's basically a glorified soap opera, but funny. The storyline gets more and more outrageous by the minute; this element, along with a protagonist you can really root for and one excellent--and a few other good--supporting characters, makes this a series that I can really stick with. Like a lot of other series, Ugly Betty is big on cliffhangers. The two-part season finale had about six on its own, just about one for each series regular. Sometimes these plot devices seem to be compensating for weaknesses in the show, considering it definitely isn't as sprightly and fresh as it once was. Despite (or because of) this Scheherazadean unfinished business, I keep coming back for more. Like The Office, this series insinuated a major plot point without fully revealing all of the information. Unlike The Office, however, I and other Betty fans will no doubt be pleased (albeit tricked) if the finale didn't really end the way we thought it might have.
  
• The Unusuals (ABC): This show has been officially cancelled, which left some unanswered questions in the final episode. The Unusuals never really got the audience it deserved, and I'm not really sure why. I did notice that the kooky, off-the-wall nature of the tv and web spots did not really match the feel of the show. That element--the silliness and unexpectedness--is there, but it's not the focus of the series; the combination of that element and a serial mystery element, along with really interesting character stories, is what really drove the show.
  
  It makes me wonder if the advertising misled viewers and when they found out it was a dramedy, they were no longer interested. I almost didn't keep watching after the first episode--probably because it wasn't at all like the show ABC led us to expect--but now I'm really glad I did. I got really involved in the exciting cases, mysterious characters, and twists and turns. It's a shame that now I'll never know if Delahoy and Banks survive (literally!) their separate battles. Or if a perpetual perp--a pretty dumb one at that--ever learns his lesson. Or if the victim in the last case, the image on which the final episode ended, was ever able to move on. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but I'd like to think that that last image gave a little clue about the answer to my final question.
  
• Pushing Daisies (ABC): Resumes May 30. Check back.
  
• Sit Down, Shut Up (FOX): Resumes June. Check back.
  
• Family Guy (FOX): This is one of those shows that really doesn't have a story arc from one episode to the next, so the season finale is usually just another episode. That was the case with Family Guy's finale this season: just another mildly funny episode dominated by pop culture rip-offs and offensive humor. Why I thought those things were funny before is beyond me--maybe before they were pushing the envelope, and now they're just being gross--but at any rate I probably won't be watching in the fall. EDIT: I found out that this wasn't actually the season finale, but it's the official Hulu subscription finale for this household.
  
• The Simpsons (FOX): I didn't really get it. I think after twenty years, they're running out of stuff to talk about. EDIT: This wasn't the finale either! There is a new episode waiting for me in my Hulu queue, so maybe Groening and friends will redeem themselves in this longtime Simpsons fan's mind.

Even though TV does not rule my life (contrary to what this post may lead you to believe), I am looking forward to the return of all of these in the fall (with the exception of you-know-which). In the meantime, we have the summer season premieres of Monk, Psych, and Project Runway to look forward to in the next few weeks, so we will remain entertained until the cliffhangers are...whatever-ed this autumn!

Our House...

...is getting there. I haven't done a post about it before now because I was going to wait until it was finally ready so I could say, "Our house...is ready!" But it's still a work in progress. We love it...but there is definitely still some work to do!

First of all, there are a few big time repairs to be made--the AC repairman is here as we speak--but thankfully the owner is taking care of that. We still have a little bit of unpacking and organizing to do, which will I hope get done this week. After that, painting a couple of walls, arranging few things, and THEN I'll get to say, "Our house...is ready!"

When everything is all put together, I will have some photos or a video so everyone can see inside. If you wanna see the outside, here's a picture I took of it with the Goodyear Blimp flying overhead! If you don't wanna see the outside, here's a picture anyway.

An Out of This World Day

Eric and I decided to take a little stay-cation to Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. Neither of us had ever been, and he was particularly excited to see both shuttles simultaneously out on the launch pads for the very last time. It was a beautiful day, and there was lots to do, so we got busy early on. Exhibits we checked out were a display on early space travel, the Rocket Garden blossoming with historical vessels from missions past, and the Astronaut Encounter! No, the latter is not a ride; it's a really awesome and unique opportunity to meet a real live astronaut, hear him (or her, but we met a "he") speak on his missions and other accomplishments, ask him questions, and have a photo op! We met Astronaut John Blaha!

You can also reserve a special lunch with an astronaut, but since it was such an un-crowded day, I got to ask Astronaut Blaha a question myself during his Astronaut Encounter presentation. He was very down-to-earth (haha).

We also got to have a (kinda) close look at the shuttles on their respective launch pads ready for Monday's Atlantis launch (Endeavour is being prepared just in case).

Atlantis

We also got to see a Saturn V rocket up close, touch a real moon rock, get jiggled on the Shuttle Launch Experience, and see a spectacular Imax film, Magnificent Desolation, about the moon missions. It's a really fascinating and well done movie produced and narrated by lunatic Tom Hanks. Lots of celebrities voiced poignant quotes from the Apollo astronauts; I recognized Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaghuey, Gary Sinise, and John Corbett, but the rest slipped through the cracks.

Overall, we had a very educational and cool day at KSC. We've been wanting to go for quite awhile, and it was definitely worth the wait. Loads more photos are waiting for you here!

Who thought of this?

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Feeling Ozmopolitan Today

No, I did not make up that word...but someone else did. Eric and I went to see Wicked in Jacksonville on Tuesday night! Mom and Dad met us for dinner at the Landing, which was very nice, and then we walked next door to the Times-Union Center to see the musical. It was a great show! All of the performers were wonderful, the story is captivating and touching, and the music is out of this world. I give it two thumbs up.

Here are a few interesting facts about the musical, just for fun:

• Wicked, A New Musical is based on Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a novel by Gregory Maguire.
• One of the main characters, Elphaba--who grows up to be the Wicked Witch of the West--was named by Maguire after the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum.
• The musical score features a six-note theme that reappears in different tonalities and moods throughout the story.
• A seven-note musical motif, the Unlimited theme, is the first seven notes of "Over the Rainbow," a tribute to the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.
• Some notable celebrities who have performed in different reincarnations of Wicked include original Broadway cast members Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, and Carole Shelley; Ana Gasteyer, Taye Diggs, Joey McIntyre, Ben Vereen, Carol Kane, Tom McGowan (who played The Wizard in the tour we saw and whom we saw on the street before the performance!), and Jo Anne Worley.
• The citizens of Oz have their own captivating vocabulary (see Subject), including words like rejoicify, proudliest, outuendo, confusifying, linguification, de-greenify, disturberance, scandalacious, hideodious, devastrated, braverism, discoverate, disrespectation, and festivating!