Impermanent State

365: Debrief

2011-12-31T12:10:00.000-06:00

I started this year with a crazy New Year's resolution: blog every day of 2011. I started out writing lengthy, thought-out blog posts, even planned several days ahead. But there just isn't enough stuff going on to sustain that kind of content, so things have devolved into "here's a photo."

Here's a photo.

All things considered, though, I'm putting this year's resolution in the "win" column. Why? Because, including today, I posted on 359 out of 365 days. I missed less than a week in total, which is incredibly impressive for me, knowing my habit of leaving projects unfinished.

I won't try to write some deeply introspective summary of this year and what it's meant for my family and me. I'll think about it, certainly, but -- especially after this particular year -- that's not the kind of thing I want to share with all and sundry who might stumble across this corner of internet. Suffice to say that 2011 has been a year of experience, and may 2012 bring some brighter days for everyone.

My daily-blogging experiment is at an end, and I think I'll be emigrating from the Impermanent State, for a while, at least. So with that, I'll end this year the way I began: with someone else's photo and a wish for a very Happy New Year.

Best wishes for 2012!

364: Millennium

2011-12-30T22:29:00.000-06:00

Made it to a movie theater for the first time since June to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's a faithful adaptation of the book, and at least as good (if not a little better) than the original Swedish version with Noomi Rapace in the title role. This English-language version actually seems to be more faithful to the original novel in some ways -- though I could be wrong, since I read the book a while ago. I really enjoyed Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig was good (if very, very British) as Mikael Blomkvist. I actually had trouble looking away from Mara whenever she was on the screen, which is saying something when she's acting opposite Daniel Craig.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of this adaptation, though, is the Trent Reznor-Karen O cover of "Immigrant Song" that ran over the teaser trailer and plays during the title sequence:

Speaking of the title sequence, it reminded me very strongly of the titles for Quantum of Solace, which might be why the whole movie sort of seemed like it could be an alternate-universe James Bond flick. Also, Daniel Craig.

All told, Dragon Tattoo gets a thumbs-up from me, and I'd highly recommend it (to those old enough to see R-rated films, of course).

363: Things I missed in 2011

2011-12-29T20:37:00.000-06:00

Pete Campbell and his bitchface

(delayed; due 2012)

The crew of the Enterprise

(endlessly delayed; due 2013)

Jack McCoy and the 27th precinct

(cancelled)

Snow.

362: Tumbling Downton

2011-12-28T17:42:00.000-06:00

via whatisaweek-end on Tumblr

Lovely late-19th century sketch of Highclere Castle, which plays the role of Downton Abbey.

The second season starts airing on PBS's Masterpiece Classic on January 8th! Huzzah!

361: Wishlist

2011-12-27T16:53:00.000-06:00

Vintage Whirling Eye Sterling Wide Cuff Bracelet from Mindi Lyn Jewelry

The next time I have $260 lying around, this will be the first thing I think of.

360: The city of old

2011-12-26T20:29:00.000-06:00

Random Tumblr find of the day:

via Robot Cosmonaut on Tumblr

Minneapolis has some nice-looking office towers, but the drive through downtown would be a lot more interesting if the storefronts still looked like this.

359: Come on and let it snow

2011-12-25T15:37:00.000-06:00

My favorite terrible Christmas song comes from the movie Love Actually, and it's the only holiday song I keep on my iPod year-round. Enjoy the awful, really inappropriate music video for "Christmas is All Around" by Billy Mack (AKA Bill Nighy):

Merry Christmas!

358: Yule Log

2011-12-24T16:45:00.000-06:00

I can't stream the Yule Log, but I can offer this:

2009.

From snowless Minnesota to wherever you are, a merry Christmas Eve to you!

357: Festive

2011-12-23T09:45:00.000-06:00

So we got an iPad for my grandpa to use as an ereader, so I obviously have to play with the camera.

2011.

'Tis the season.

355: Reading is fun-damental

2011-12-21T21:11:00.000-06:00

(click to view full-size)

These are the books from my completed-and-then-some 2011 50 Book Challenge on Goodreads. I actually read more than this; I left a bunch of the romance novels off because the covers were just so heinous I couldn't bear to have them in the graphic. With ten days left in 2011, I've read eighty-four books, seventy-two of which can be seen above. One of the benefits of working only sporadically is that you get a lot of time for leisure reading. On the downside, you're working only sporadically. Ah, well. Here's to a 2012 full of books and paychecks, yes? Yes!

354: Bling

2011-12-20T20:11:00.000-06:00

The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara
source

I lost at least an hour to The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor this morning, after a commenter on Tom & Lorenzo linked to it. I'm a total magpie and fascinated by all those royals, so...it's kind of the perfect storm of casual interests.

Also, shiny.

353: Parapluie

2011-12-19T22:51:00.000-06:00

Notre-Dame de Paris, France, 2007.

I feel a little bit like this umbrella today. Just...blerg.
I don't remember why I decided to shoot this photo, but I do remember standing outside Notre Dame on a very sunny day in Paris and seeing it sitting in the shrubbery.
Pauvre petite parapluie.

352: Gondor needs no GPS

2011-12-18T16:43:00.000-06:00

File this under "things that have amused me today":

1) Go to Google Maps.
2) Get walking directions from "The Shire" to Mordor"
3) Profit:

351: Macro

2011-12-17T19:54:00.001-06:00

2010.

Super-closeup moss stitch.
(Buy these gloves here.)

350: OMG WTF GOP

2011-12-16T20:17:00.000-06:00

Because LIGHT BULBS are the real problem facing our country today:

video platform video management video solutions video player

(I love that even the reporter starts laughing at Sen. Coburn's secret lightbulb stash.)

This is the most ridiculous thing I've seen all week.

I can't even.

349: Overhead

2011-12-15T21:55:00.000-06:00

2008.

This photo is three years old, but the bare branches look pretty much the same. Now all we need is some snow.

348: Crossover fun

2011-12-14T20:59:00.000-06:00

via ~Atlantistel on deviantart

This is wonderful.

347: Tributes

2011-12-13T20:18:00.000-06:00

If it's nerdy to be excited about nail polish based on The Hunger Games, then LET'S NERD IT UP:

Each color corresponds (or at least seems to correspond) to one of the Districts in the series. Via The Hob, they are:

Luxe and Lush – District 1 (Luxury)
Stone Cold – District 2 (Masonry)
Riveting – District 3 (Technology)
Hook and Line – District 4 (Fishing)
Electrify – District 5 (Power)
Fast Track – District 6 (Transportation)
Mahogany Magic – District 7 (Lumber)
Dress Me Up – District 8 (Textiles)
Harvest Moon – District 9 (Grain)
Foie Gras – District 10 (Livestock)
Agro – District 11 (Agriculture)
Smoke and Ashes – District 12 (Mining)

Don't mind me over here, I'll just be saving up my pennies.

346: Happy Valentine's Day, No One

2011-12-12T20:11:00.002-06:00

I realize we're nowhere near Valentine's Day, but I just stumbled across this old 30 Rock clip, and it's still delightful:

345: Christmas at Downton

2011-12-11T17:20:00.000-06:00

The Downton Abbey Christmas special looks awfully exciting. Murder trials! Punching! Snow! But will it ever air in this country?

344: Lights and sound

2011-12-10T20:14:00.000-06:00

We put up the Christmas tree today. In celebration, here's my favorite Christmas lights video:

343: Alcoho-ho-ho

2011-12-09T20:48:00.000-06:00

If you're in Minnesota, North Dakota, or Wisconsin, consider buying yourself a Finnegans beer this month. Why? Let the Star Tribune tell you:

Throughout December, beer distributors will give donations that match sales of Finnegans beer, doubling the money going to food shelves. To find where it's sold near you: finnegans.org.

(During the other eleven months of the year, 100% of profits from sale of the beer goes to local charities.) Read the full article about Finnegans at the Strib's website here.

Relevant because I'm halfway through a bottle while writing this post. Trufax.

342: Cold outside

2011-12-08T18:26:00.000-06:00

I haven't seen most of the Sing-Off Christmas special, but this was darned cute:

341: Retro tourism

2011-12-07T20:35:00.000-06:00

We're hosting Christmas for the first time in at least a decade (it's just too difficult to get a wheelchair-bound nonagenarian over the river and through the 'burbs to anyone else's house), so there's a lot of panicked cleaning and a little bit of discovering fun old stuff, like the late-seventies tourist brochures from Montreal:

sad shoe worm.

There was also a guide to food in New Orleans and the merch brochure for the 1970s(?) King Tut exhibit.

This concludes the crappy iPod photo slideshow.

340: Picturesque

2011-12-06T17:50:00.000-06:00

Look at this gentle frakking snowfall.

It's just so goddamn picturesque.

(from this morning)

339: Harrowing

2011-12-05T20:52:00.000-06:00

I admit it: I made an impulse buy today.

via TeeFury

Because seriously, I can't not buy the $10 shirt featuring the only Boardwalk Empire character I still like.

Appropriate graphic:

338: Bloopers

2011-12-04T21:22:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you just want to watch a bunch of blooper reels.

Here's one to get you started:

337: Winter

2011-12-03T20:10:00.000-06:00

I wish I had a wintry photo of my own, but I was too busy trying to see through the snow while driving to pull out whatever camera-enabled devices I had on me. Alas. Here's one found on the Minneapolis tag on tumblr:

by dmd.hashw on Flickr

336: Chandelier

2011-12-02T18:12:00.000-06:00

Semple Mansion, Minneapolis, 2009.

I'm not sure if I like this or not.

Slightly creepy.

335: Unsolicited sharing

2011-12-01T18:29:00.000-06:00

Unexpected TV crushes from the last 365 days

Corey Stoll (Detective TJ Jaruszalski, Law & Order: Los Angeles)
Jack Huston (Richard Harrow, Boardwalk Empire)
Tobias Menzies (Brutus, Rome)
Alan Cumming (Eli Gold, The Good Wife)
Matt Bomer (Neal Caffrey, White Collar)

Although, honestly, I should’ve seen that last one coming.

334: The Broken Ones

2011-11-30T20:44:00.000-06:00

Dia Frampton was my favorite from the first season of The Voice. I...don't really know what's going on in this video? But I like the song, and I'm looking forward to her album.

333: Campus flashback

2011-11-29T20:16:00.000-06:00

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2006.

Going way back into the archives for this shot of my daily commute from the U of M's West Bank to the East Bank campus, back when I lived in Middlebrook Hall. I believe this part of the Washington Avenue bridge is now fenced off and inaccessible during Light Rail construction. Trufax.

332: Consumer ennui

2011-11-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, Internet, but I just cannot get into the whole Black Friday-Small Business Saturday-Cyber Monday thing this year. I mean, yes, I did buy the Law & Order: Los Angeles box set for 67% off this afternoon, and a snow shovel for half off at the local hardware store on Saturday, but everything else I bought this weekend was just stuff I would have gotten anyway -- like food.

Maybe it's because I've been waiting for three weeks for a paycheck. Maybe it's because I want everything to cost less than $30 (and therefore irrationally hold out for a better sale, when I can almost guarantee there won't be deeper price cuts any time soon). Maybe it's because almost nothing I had my eye on went on sale this weekend. All of the above, probably.

In any case, I hope everyone else had a better thrifty money-spending weekend than I did.

331: When in doubt...

2011-11-27T17:25:00.000-06:00

...post a photo of animals making faces.

Minnesota Zoo, 2009.

Check.

330: Jingle Bells

2011-11-26T19:04:00.000-06:00

Well, it's that time of year. The day after Thanksgiving is when I put all my Christmas music into rotation, and the first holiday song came up in shuffle today. It was one of last year's additions, Straight No Chaser's "Twelve Days of Christmas," which everyone should know, because it is hilarious (to me):

329: Stuffed

2011-11-25T22:53:00.000-06:00

Well, our Thanksgiving was predictably chaotic. Belligerent 90-year-olds will never make it easy, so we didn't make it to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Therefore, he brought leftovers over this afternoon and we had our turkey dinner tonight. Thus I am stuffed and groggy, and I hope that you, anonymous blog reader, had a similarly satisfying food encounter whenever and wherever you celebrated the big day.

Now, bring on the holiday music season.

328: The Butterball Hotline

2011-11-24T19:46:00.005-06:00

Possibly my favorite Thanksgiving clip ever, and certainly the best from The West Wing. President Bartlet calls the Butterball hotline:

Happy Thanksgiving!

327: Soft on Turkeys

2011-11-23T19:45:00.000-06:00

On the day before Thanksgiving, allow me to share my second-favorite Thanksgiving storyline from The West Wing. This is from season two's "Shibboleth":

Allison Janney is a national treasure.

326: Focus

2011-11-22T19:43:00.000-06:00

2010.

I'm not sure any part of this photo is actually in focus.

325: I don't even

2011-11-21T22:29:00.001-06:00

This is the sort of thing that happens when you spend too much time thinking about what would happen if the Doctor met characters from your other favorite shows.

The body was fresh. At least, that was Lanie’s best guess. “Drained dry,” she told Beckett. “As far as I can tell, your victim’s got no blood.” An officer pointed out a man among the looky-loos and said he’d asked to speak to the lead detective. Beckett followed the uni to the tape line and gave the guy a once-over. Tall, white, thirties. Unruly hair. Brown pin-striped suit, long trench coat. Sneakers. Interesting.

“You’re in charge here?” he asked as she approached. He had a London accent.

“Detective Kate Beckett. Who are you?”

"I’m the Doctor,” he replied, as though it meant something. “Tell me, Detective Kate Beckett, do you have a bloodless murder victim in that alleyway back there?”

Beckett narrowed her eyes. “How did you know that?”

“Because somewhere in this city, there’s a Plasmavore hiding in plain sight, just waiting to drain someone else dry. You’ll never find him with fingerprints or forensics, and if you don’t find him soon, the Judoon will sweep in, and believe me, you do not want them scanning first and asking questions later. You need an expert, Detective. You need me.”

Beckett laughed. “In this job, Doctor, I can believe a lot of things, but that line of bull you just fed me? Not one of them.”

The stranger looked grave for a long moment. Suddenly, a wide grin lit his face. “Oh, we’ll see about that, Kate.”

324: Specs

2011-11-20T16:56:00.000-06:00

Because "trying on" glasses via computer is never not awkward.

Also, a website that refuses to provide prices for its frames is probably a website I can't afford.

Trufax.

323: Doing good

2011-11-19T19:40:00.000-06:00

2011.

Stopped by the only liquor store in the area that sells Finnegans (100% of profits go to local charities!) to stock up before the snowstorm. Of course, then I headed back out to go to lunch at Good Day Cafe and steered through the first skid of the year! It's going to be a long winter...but at least we'll have beer.

322: Beware the Ides of March

2011-11-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

Yup, just blasted through season 1 of Rome while alternately a) chatting with friends who were also watching it, and b) feeling gross and running a fever after my flu shot. It's basically a show about the most British Romans you ever did see, navigating the wretched wasteland of the past. It's also sometimes a show about how much the Roman gods love Titus Pullo, and go out of their way to let good things happen to him at the unlikeliest of times. It's a well-written series in which you know that no one will ever be happy, and most of the characters will die in horrible ways, but damn if you don't just want to find out what happens anyway.

Highly recommended. I'm starting season 2 this weekend.

321: Haircut redux

2011-11-17T16:06:00.000-06:00

Seven inches shorter. Heck yes.

320: Bling

2011-11-16T20:29:00.000-06:00

Instagram, 2011.

Sometimes you just want to wear the fancy earrings.

319: Coppers

2011-11-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

Law & Order: UK proves that every show, no matter how serious, should have a blooper reel.

(see also: Criminal Minds' gag reels)

318: May the odds be ever in your favor

2011-11-14T20:57:00.000-06:00

Everything is The Hunger Games and there is nothing wrong with that.

317: Floral flashback

2011-11-13T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ferry Building, San Francisco, 2008.

Because winter is coming, and we'll need some bright colors.

316: Beautiful Portals

2011-11-12T22:22:00.000-06:00

by Derek King on Flickr
via Beautiful Portals on Tumblr

I've been hanging out on Tumblr for a while (and appreciating television with a friend). I always like when posts from Beautiful Portals come up on my dashboard, because they're always nice to look at (see above).

315: Veterans Day

2011-11-11T18:02:00.000-06:00

Jardin des Plantes, Montpellier, France, 2007.

Whether it's Veterans Day or Remembrance Day in your part of the world, take a moment to commemorate the service and sacrifice of those who fought and those who are still fighting.

And to all veterans, including my grandfather (a Korean War vet), thank you for your service.

314: One-eighty

2011-11-10T17:32:00.000-06:00

So, one of the odd and difficult things about living with a nonagenarian with a myriad of health problems is that she can be impossible to get out of bed -- or deadweight when you do get her out -- one day, and wheeling herself around the kitchen, back to her more-or-less-healthy baseline two days later. My mom and I actually cleared a path the other day for what looked like an inevitable visit from the paramedics. But now, the patient is back to getting herself in and out of bed, when it took three of us to get her into the wheelchair yesterday.

So who knows what might be next? Not me, certainly.

313: Ugh.

2011-11-09T14:08:00.000-06:00

It's been another washing-urine-soaked-sheets couple of days, so...this half-assed blogging project is taking a backseat to real life.

That is all.

311: Look at all this paper

2011-11-07T17:37:00.000-06:00

Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni on The Good Wife makes up for all the soapy melodrama with Alicia's life. She has trouble with technology, appreciates cupcakes, and wants her parking validated. She also likes that color on you.

(Also-also, I love that Carrie Preston is married to Michael "Ben Linus" Emerson in real life.)

310: Nîmes

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-06:00

Nîmes, France, 2007.

Reinforced arches at the Roman arena in Nîmes.

309: Somebody stop me

2011-11-05T17:07:00.000-05:00

Downton meets Boardwalk.

No, really, I don't want to talk about Photoshop, Downton Abbey, or Boardwalk Empire.
Or what I do with my spare time.

308: "I'm a soldier."

2011-11-04T20:42:00.000-05:00

Look, I don't want to talk about my Photoshop problem or my weird fascination with Richard Harrow on Boardwalk Empire.

Okay?

307: Yuck.

2011-11-03T21:59:00.000-05:00

Not really in a blogging mood. Everyone's vomiting, falling down, going blind, or exasperated tonight, so...I'm taking the night off.

306: Nothing but charm

2011-11-02T19:57:00.000-05:00

via Flickr

Oh, don't mind me, I'm just planning for my imaginary dream house.

305: Gastown

2011-11-01T20:26:00.000-05:00

Vancouver, Canada, 2011.

Vancouver's Steam Clock, from my trip in August.

304: Witches' Brew

2011-10-31T18:44:00.001-05:00

Back in the old days, we used to sing this in music class with Mrs. Ryan every Halloween, and everyone loved it. So in the name of nostalgia, have some "Witches' Brew."

Also, 20 years ago today, we were buried under three feet of snow and I was dressed up as a princess. In snowpants. Happy Halloween/Blizzard Anniversary!

303: Portal

2011-10-30T22:10:00.000-05:00

via Flickr

Photoshopped? Sure.

Still awesome? Obviously.

302: Goldy

2011-10-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

The athletic fellows from my alma mater apparently beat Iowa today, but the real entertainment -- for me, at home, on Twitter -- was Goldy Gopher's Halloween costumes:

First quarter: Buzz Lightyear

Second quarter: Donatello

Third quarter: Gladiator

Fourth quarter: Austin Powers

Never change, Goldy. Never change.

301: Color wheel

2011-10-28T20:51:00.000-05:00

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2006.

Old, old photo from some event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

300: Everything is better in noir.

2011-10-27T22:02:00.000-05:00

If the first episode of Downton Abbey were a film noir.

Otherwise known as "misuse of Photoshop"

299: Cooper

2011-10-26T21:26:00.000-05:00

I got fancy with Photoshop today.

Somebody really ought to revoke my animation privileges.

298: Tourism flashback

2011-10-25T18:50:00.000-05:00

Flatiron Building, New York, 2010.

This was taken the day I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge up to Midtown Manhattan. It was also the day I discovered I had the wrong lens on my camera, which is why this one turned out looking...odd. I think I was standing a block and a half away and could still only get this much of the building. Ah, well. These things happen.

297: Buy a vowel

2011-10-24T22:51:00.000-05:00

I enjoy Scrabble and Words with Friends, I do, but these tiles were just ridiculous.

296: Main Street

2011-10-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

via siftingforseeds on Tumblr

Milwaukee Street in Minneapolis.

I've never seen it in person, but maybe I'll go snoop around this fall.

295: Bibliophile

2011-10-22T20:27:00.001-05:00

2011.

The local library's book sale was today.

Beat-up copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and a collection of detective stories from 1929: a grand total of $2.00

294: Timesuck

2011-10-21T21:42:00.000-05:00

THIS GAME IS SO ADDICTIVE.
SEND HELP.

293: Vélo

2011-10-20T22:19:00.000-05:00

2011.

Playing with shadows.

292: Spiral

2011-10-19T20:26:00.000-05:00

via Flickr

More architecture envy.

I love those windows on the tower. Spiral staircase?

291: Golden Gate

2011-10-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

San Francisco, 2008.

Taken from a boat in the San Francisco Bay.

I may have posted this before. Oh, well. I still like this one.

290: Chores

2011-10-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

2011.

No longer on the trees. This took about three hours to get in bags. Still not done.

Pass the aspirin.

289: Puppies.

2011-10-16T21:51:00.000-05:00

click photos for sources.

I watched Downton Abbey and now I feel empty inside, so I'm going to look at puppies for a while.

288: LP

2011-10-15T20:47:00.000-05:00

I'm digitizing LPs for my mom today. Lots of Leo Kottke, a little of The Carpenters.

Why? Because vinyl will always sound warmer than anything on iTunes.

287: White Collar

2011-10-14T22:36:00.000-05:00

Because I don't watch enough television (HA), I started watching the first season of White Collar this week. Three episodes in, it's the perfect blend of drama and comedy, and a cross between the buddy-cop show, straight up procedural, and Burn Notice-style crime caper. I love some fun, creative criminals (e.g. Danny Ocean, Michael Westen) who get to be the protagonist instead of the elusive bad guy, and man does Neal Caffrey ever fit the bill. It doesn't hurt that Matt Bomer is ridiculously pretty:

click for source

Of course, the FBI gets to be fun and very competant as well, which satisfies my procedural crime drama-loving heart. It helps that Tim DeKay is so lovable as Agent Peter Burke, and that the chemistry between DeKay, Bomer, and Tiffani Thiessen (as Burke's wife) is great. It's a fun show that fits right into the USA Network stable of light-hearted procedurals with a twist (the aforementioned Burn Notice and Covert Affairs, for example).

The only problem now is the length of the waitlist to check the DVDs out of the library.

286: Bus stop

2011-10-13T18:23:00.000-05:00

Downtown Minneapolis, waiting for the bus.

285: Hemingway

2011-10-12T20:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, as a matter of fact, Hemingway is the best thing about Midnight in Paris.

284: Curb alert

2011-10-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

I did a Craigslist "curb alert" today for an old bike we've had in the garage for years. It used to be my mom's, but she quit using it when a dent in the chain ring started making the chain fall off anytime you tried to change gears. I stuck it out by the mailbox after lunch and it was gone in about ninety minutes. I don't know if Craigslist people even got a shot at it, or if someone in the neighborhood picked it up. I'm still shocked it was gone so quickly. Never underestimate the allure of the word "FREE" on a piece of cardboard.

283: Crossover

2011-10-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

“Ah, sorry, yes— hullo! I’m new in these parts, and’ve managed to find myself a tad lost. Mind you, I manage to live my whole life being ‘a tad lost’. Anyway, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Downton Abbey. Big place, very grand and… abbey-ish, you know the sort. Only, I’ve heard reports of things going on; odd things. Odd, not-very-good things. They’re a specialty of mine. Anyway, I thought I might be able to lend a hand. Lady Crawley, am I right? Pleasure to accidentally bump into you. I’m the Doctor.”

(via pondingly on Tumblr)

I love a good crossover. The weirder the better. True Blood/Law & Order: SVU? Heck yeah. I like the idea of Doctor Who crossed-over with anything, because by virtue of being a space- and time-travel series, the Doctor could turn up anywhere at all.

Even at Downton Abbey.

282: I don't even know

2011-10-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

...

Never leave me alone with a camera and a photobooth app.

281: Penguin

2011-10-08T20:40:00.000-05:00

via Lexy Levin on Flickr

I love the clothbound editions from Penguin Classics.

280: Autumnal

2011-10-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

2011.

Backyard foliage.

279: Interest-ing

2011-10-06T23:07:00.000-05:00

Let's talk about a new fall TV series. Of the shows I've checked out (New Girl, Pan Am, Person of Interest, part of Suburgatory) Pan Am is the winner in terms of quality (after two episodes), and I still have hope for New Girl, in spite of literally cringing at some of Jess (Zooey Deschanel)'s antics. But I'm most interested in the world and mythology of Person of Interest. A show about preventing violent crime in post-9/11 America using stolen information from a government threat-assessment computer? A J.J. Abrams project with Lost veteran Michael Emerson as one of the stars? I was all in from the get-go. The fact that Jonathan "Brother of Christopher" Nolan, co-writer of The Dark Knight, is the creator is just icing on the cake.

Person of Interest's Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Finch (Michael Emerson)
via TV Fanatic

Here's the short version of the premise: in the wake of 9/11, a rich genius computer programmer (Michael Emerson) built the U.S. government a Big Brother machine to identify potential terrorist threats. The machine, however, identified all potential violent crime, so the "irrelevant," small-scale crimes are disregarded -- and sent to the programmer, Finch. He gets a list of Social Security numbers of people who will be involved in crimes, either as a victim or perpetrator. Finch recruits an ex-CIA agent, John Reese (Jim Caviezel), to do the boots-on-the-ground work of preventing these crimes using a combination of technical savvy and old-fashioned brute force.

Much more under the jump. (I started rambling. Whoops.)

The writing is a little spotty -- if I'm thinking about how the lines looked on the page, it's too stiff -- and the show seems to have a preoccupation with making sure people know exactly what the premise of the show is ("If the machine gave us her number, it means she's going to be in trouble, and soon!"), as though they assume we haven't seen the previous episodes (which may be a fair enough assumption, this early in the season). But once the story really gets started, there are a fair number of twists and enough action to keep me engaged as a viewer. In spite of some questionable dialogue -- and some that is so British that it's jarring to hear it from American actors -- Jonathan Nolan has managed to surprise me in every episode so far, which I love. I've been watching procedurals for a couple decades, and if I can't predict the twist at the twenty-minute mark, chances are I'll commit to the show, just to see what the writers can come up with.

I'm much more impressed with Emerson as an actor than I am with Caviezel, which is interesting -- Caviezel is ostensibly the big-name movie actor, but his delivery can occasionally sound like he's reciting his grocery list. Against Emerson, who is always colorful and engaging (and has the benefit of Finch's pronounced limp to give the character a distinct physicality), Caviezel's performance is a little bland. He is, however, aesthetically pleasing, and I appreciate his grizzled good looks. (What? I'm only human.) Of course, anyone who watched Michael Emerson as Ben Linus on Lost knows that he can do the full spectrum. I still remember spending weeks trying to figure out whether or not he was lying when "Henry Gale" was first introduced.

There's a third star, Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, who plays Carter, a NYPD detective intent on tracking down Reese. I understand the reasoning behind the character; it makes sense to have an indication that someone notices what Finch and Reese are doing (because you can't really run around New York, firing flash grenades into oncoming traffic, without someone noticing), but Carter's storyline always feels like it's been shoehorned into a complete episode, like they realized in the editing room that they needed some women on the show. Tonight's episode (the show's third) did a better job of integrating Detective Carter into the story, but unless the writers can find a way to keep her involved without making her Ahab chasing the white whale, she's going to feel superfluous very quickly.

In conclusion, some stray observations:

The awful fake beard they glued onto Jim Caviezel in the pilot made me realize that he's basically an upmarket Matthew Fox. I wonder if all J.J. Abrams' TV leading men have to match the salt-and-peppered-fortysomething model in order to get the job.
I have a feeling the guest stars are going to be the roll call of New York actors -- Kalinda's pet detective from The Good Wife's first season and the late Captain Montgomery from Castle -- and there's already been one Lost alum (Goodwin!). I'll look forward to seeing hey-it's-that-guy actors over the course of the season.
I read a review of the second episode that mentioned the show needed a Big Bad. That is, an unusually powerful antagonist who pulls the strings of lesser bad guys over a longer period of time (the Quantum to Finch and Reese's Bond, if you will). It looks like we got one at the end of the third episode, so I'm interested to see where they're going with "Elias."

278: Pioneer

2011-10-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

The Apple homepage is a simple (and somehow poignant) tribute:

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs.

277: OMG indeed

2011-10-04T21:25:00.000-05:00

via OMG that dress

As someone who enjoys Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and Downton Abbey as much for the costumes as anything else, OMG that dress! is a how-did-I-not-know-about-this discovery. I'll just be off scrolling through the archives now.

276: Grenade

2011-10-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I like The Sing-Off. What of it?

275: Sunday Sunday

2011-10-02T17:11:00.000-05:00

Can't bear to think about the Vikings anymore.

Just staring at pictures that make me happy.

(via Flickr)

273: Fairytale

2011-09-30T18:49:00.000-05:00

2008.

(Part of a warped-fairytale photoset for a digital photography course in college.)

272: Dapper

2011-09-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

I really have to figure out a way to wear my bowler hat out of the house.

Photos via We Heart It.

271: My kingdom for a library

2011-09-28T22:01:00.000-05:00

In today's installment of Things My Imaginary Dream House Has:

A library!
Preferably with ridiculously high shelves and a sliding ladder to access them.

(all photos via We Heart It)

270: Empire

2011-09-27T21:22:00.000-05:00

via We Heart It

Boardwalk Empire is back, and along with it one of the creepiest, most unnerving characters out there -- not to mention interesting -- Richard Harrow, played by Jack Huston. On a show like this one, where the plot crawls along at a snail's pace and I tend to zone out and just marvel at the sheer amount of atmosphere, I always have to pick a character whose scenes I watch attentively, so I know what's going on with at least one person. It looks like Harrow's the one this season: between his sweet/creepy scrapbook of happy family pictures and his connection to the small faction trying to undercut Nucky Thompson's bootlegging business, it promises to be an interesting season for ol' Tin Man here.

269: Flashback

2011-09-26T18:17:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn Bridge, New York, 2010.

(Running out the door to a birthday party, have a photo from last year.)

268: Glam

2011-09-25T17:02:00.000-05:00

from MyVintageVogue, via We Heart It.

Let's pretend this is what I'm wearing today, instead of sweatpants and a shirt I got for free at a 5K.

267: Doing it wrong

2011-09-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

Instagram photo, 2011.

Drinking hard cider and browsing sweater patterns. Clearly another thrilling Saturday night.

266: Narcissism, Part 1000

2011-09-23T22:40:00.000-05:00

2011.

Photographing vintage to list on Etsy inevitably leads to far too many photos of ME ME ME.

265: Tile

2011-09-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

via Parisa Yazjandoo on Flickr

Forget politics and cultural divides. I think we can all agree:

Iranian tilework is gorgeous.

(click to view larger on Flickr.)

264: Composition

2011-09-21T21:24:00.000-05:00

Thanks to TunnelBear, I saw the premiere of Downton Abbey's second season on the ITV Player. And then:

Erstwhile footman Thomas Barrow's act of desperation that will send him home to Downton.

This broke my heart. And I don't even like Thomas.

Absolutely beautifully shot.

Let's all ship Thomas/dignity.

263: This is a Zooey Deschanel appreciation post

2011-09-20T21:08:00.000-05:00

via We Heart It

Having just watched The New Girl and appreciated its Lord of the Rings references, its quirky humor, and, perhaps most of all, its hilariously abbreviated theme song, I'd like to take a moment to say -- haters to the left -- that I really like Zooey Deschanel, and I hope this show works out.