My apologies for the long hiatus. I was sick for quite some time and then I've just been busy. I needed a good reason to get back into blogging mode and I've finally found it.

Television.

Yep, I sure do love tv. Movies, beh, but a good tv show--yep, I'm in heaven. With the advent of cable tv creating their own original series', the traditional "wait till fall" feeling has pretty much been eclipsed. Still, though, I do get excited at the thought of all the new shows that are going to start, because you never know, one of them might be the best show you've ever seen. It has certainly happened to me before.

I figured today (as it is pretty slow at work...have you SEEN the weather outside--gorgeous!) would be a good day to check out some new and upcoming shows. Most of what I currently watch (Leverage, Burn Notice, My Boys) are cable shows and they run on a different schedule, so they've all ended their seasons. This means that I am in between shows until the fall season starts. I am looking forward to the only two remaining network shows that I watch, both of which are returning for a 5th season this fall.

Criminal Minds is a drama that deals with the FBI profiling team hunting down serial killers. It is the most interesting crime procedural I've seen, coming at it from a completely different perspective. They deal with the WHY of a crime and leave the rest of it up to the local law enforcement. There was a HUGE cliffhanger at the end of last season and I am worried that one of the main characters may not be coming back.

The other show I watch you've probably heard me mention because it is easily one of the best shows I've ever seen. It has made me laugh hysterically, I get scared, I've cried, I am completely engrossed, it makes me think and on top of all that, the main characters also serve as eye candy. Supernatural is returning from its best season ever to try and top it in season 5. The creator of the show has long said that this would be a 5 year show--so I've been thinking that this is it, the final season. However, I just read that the network is trying to extend the show to at least a sixth season. Here's to hoping and I'll be sure and keep you posted.

Beyond those two, I don't watch anything on the networks. Mostly I think that cable shows are better and they seem to respect the fans a bit more. But still, you never know where that show will crop up, so I keep a lookout.

What I found is that there are lots of upcoming shows that sound good, but until you actually watch an episode or two, you have no idea. I am pretty excited about Three Rivers, a medical drama that deals specifically with patients in need of organ transplants. I'm not a huge fan of medical dramas, but this one stars Alex O'Loughlin (formerly of Moonlight) and he's enough reason for me.

But here's the real reason for this post: I was watching a preview for a new ABC show called Eastwick. It is based on the novel by John Updike and the movie The Witches of Eastwick. Rebecca Romijn is one of the stars and I've always found her to be enjoyable. The preview I watched online is pretty vague but alludes to the three main women each making a wish in a magic fountain. It seems that all of their wishes are about a man. The preview then cuts away to a shadowy shot of "the man" that is going to fulfill their wishes (if I understood the preview correctly). They only show the guy's mouth and chin, but I swear I looked at it...backed up the video to take another look and said to myself "he looks familiar". I know it sounds crazy to recognize someone from a one second glimpse of their mouth, but it definitely rang some bells in the back of my brain.

Not being remotely willing to wait until the premiere on September 23rd to find out who the mystery guy is, I turned to IMDb to see who is playing him. Honestly, when I saw his name you could have knocked me over with a feather. I (no lie) actually gasped.

Paul Gross.

See, I bet no one else reacted to that at all. Maybe my mom, but that's it for sure. Paul Gross is a Canadian actor who very, very rarely appears in American productions. To the best of my knowledge, this will only be the second time. The first was a movie called "Aspen Extreme". He also starred in the Canadian tv series "Slings and Arrows", which was very good, but mostly because of him. The reason I about fainted when I saw his name is due to the role for which he is best known, on the tv series "Due South".

*Brace Yourself*

Due South was a Canadian produced mini-series back in the mid-90s that got picked up by CBS because it was so damn good. They let the Canadian company turn it into a series and aired it on American tv. While I often will refer to a show as "my favorite", that pretty much means favorite in its category. When dealing with overall, number 1, greatest show I have ever seen....I am ALWAYS talking about Due South. It stars Paul Gross as a Canadian Mountie who ends up moving to Chicago and partnering with a wise-cracking detective to solve crimes. I know, I know, it doesn't sound impressive at all--but it is. It premiered in 1994 and was on for two years then it was canceled by CBS. But the Canadian company that produced it kept on making the show. Due to overwhelming fan outcry, after a one year hiatus, CBS actually brought the show back for the third season and then canceled it again. Again, fans were PISSED. The fourth and final season was in production at that time and we wanted to know how it would end. Eventually TNT bought the rights and showed the whole series in reruns so us poor fans could find out how it ended. It was 1999 before I got to see the finale of the series...I hadn't seen the show in two years but I kept on waiting because it is just that good. The show is absolutely brilliant in its execution and firmly cemented Paul Gross in my heart. I now own the entire series on DVD and Thank God for that. Now, 15 YEARS after it first aired I still consider it my favorite show and nearly fainted when I saw its star on a new show. THAT is quite an impact, wouldn't you say?

So be still my heart, Paul Gross is returning to American tv (!) as the mysterious man in Eastwick. I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed with the preview, it made the show look kind of stupid, but there is no way in hell I'm not watching it now. Now I just have to hope it doesn't get canceled so I can see as much of him as possible. Really, really, really can't wait.

I am almost as excited about this as I am about Supernatural and my mom (who watches it as well) hasn't been able to get me to shut up about that since it ended last May.

Yeeikes! I am excited for fall. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Soooo...
Naturally, I had to wake up reasonably early today to go into college and collect the shitty envelope.

As it often goes... We have the good, the bad and the ugly.
But mine is the reasonable, the shit and the unexpected.

The shit of course, is my English Language.
Go and fuck yourself AQA - you pile of wank with your dodgy as fuck exam papers and your shitty coursework.

Put it this way, if I'd gotten a D - I'd be deleting all of my writing and never writing another sentence. As far as I'm aware, DATWBSVOH, TFATH, #1263 and the rest of them are still in their folder.
You are supposed to get two grades lower than your GCSE results.
So I was supposed to drop from my sexy A* to a B - BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

The reasonable is my Photography.
I expected a C - I got one. No harm done.

But it's hilarious - I was the 4th highest in the group for sketchbook marks.
PAUL'S SKETCHBOOK MARKS - hence the reason everyone's got a shock today, he marked them all wrong.

Michelle was first, Ash was second, Shelly was third and I was fourth.
Exam results determined that...

I came first! :D
I BEAT ASH. I BEAT ASH, I BEAT ASH, I BEAT AAAAAASSSSSHHH!!!
Mwah ha ha, that's all I wanted to do. :D

I beat her by seven marks. We both got C - which is alright. :)
But the real shock came when Michelle got a D and Shelly got a fucking E!
I knew Paul's marking was fucked but I hadn't realised HOW fucked.


And now for the unexpected.
Going with the 'drop-two-grades' theory - I should have gotten a B for Media Studies.
Nah. I didn't do that.
GOT A FUCKING A INSTEAD. LMFAO.

Well, my coursework was totally epic and the exam was a pile of piss.
Lewis and Ash both got the same grade for coursework. :D
We all got Bs for the coursework and As for the exam - which just goes to show, I wasn't the only one who pissed all over it. Take THAT, AQA!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd barely had my results in my hand for a second when mam had taken them off me and Sarah had swooped over, asking how I'd done.
To which I simply responded: "I don't know, I've only looked at them for A SECOND."
Sarah was pleased with me - she even said that if I carry on the same standard at A2, I could end up with an A*. Sounds alright, but will it be possible?

I passed Dianne on the way out too. She was more pleased with me than my mam was...
And as I was leaving, I had the voice in the head that was saying: "OMG, DIANNE JUST SAW YOUR MAM."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the way home, we stopped off at Hairwaves.
Debbie was outside having a cigarette. She was more pleased with my results than my mam was as well.
Of course, I pulled my modest face. Well, it was sort of modest - sort of embarrassed at how shit my fucking English grade was.

I got my eyebrows waxed. :)
It was weird this time, I actually had it done in the upstairs room, laid on this random bed with some weird arse piano concerto coupled with ocean sounds playing in the background.

I've discovered that apparently I have beasty follicles - which apparently makes waxing my eyebrows hurt a lot more than it'd hurt anyone else.
But it proper DOESN'T hurt. :/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we got home, I played Super Smash Bros.
I managed to finish the single-player mode with Samus, along with finishing one or two of the shitty bonus levels - with thanks to video tutorials on YouTube. :)

Mam came up, she'd been out and bought me a reward for my results, along with a card that was addressed to "MEDIA GENIUS".
Inside it said: "We are VERY VERY VERY proud of you" - I wonder if she means that. I'm pondering, is mam like me? Is she far better in words than she is in speech?

Either way, she gave me cards to give to Shelly and Ash too.
I rang Ash not long after I'd gotten home - her mam is proper buzzing off the walls.
And she's gotten her place at university - good on her. :D

But back to the point, this is the arrangement of stuff that I pulled out of the bag she presented me:



Modelling clay and Haribo Maom! :D
It's a very colourful collection of stuff.

So naturally, I started making things, as I listened to Rammstein and ate chews. :)
All I have to do is look around my room and there's endless characters jumping out at me.
There's Link, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, various Pokémon, various Simpsons characters, Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Wario, Cortex and several Happy Tree Friends characters.

So of course, I can't decide who to make first!
I've made three today:



There's Pikachu - my first. :D



Made on request by mam - Psyduck.
When I asked who I should make next, she said "that orange duck who always had a headache" :)
There's the figure to compare it too, but I think I made him a bit TOO orange...



And straying away from the Pokémon theme - Homer Simpson. :)
He was proper staring at me from my collection of action figures on top of the bookshelf, so I made him too. :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I went downstairs after this and watched telly with mam for a bit.
We watched Come Dine With Me and Roar.

Then I persuaded her to come play on the Wii with me.
We started out playing Wii Play - but she got fed up with me winning dramatically every time, so we swapped to Guitar Hero.

Now this persuasion worked a little TOO well - we were playing from 4PM till 7:30PM. :)

We started out on Expert-Guitar, Easy-Bass combination, but then mam wanted to go on vocals.
So I swapped to drums - so then we had Medium-Drums, Easy-Vocals combination.

We went through all the songs on GH: Greatest Hits that she knew, then we switched to GH: World Tour to play more.
In all, we must've played over 40 songs in total.
Fucking hilarious at some parts though, mam's freestyles were just EPIC.

"I don't want to freeeeeeestyle, coz it's embarraaaaaaassing... But I get points, soooooo...!!!"

We had to keep pausing the game though, because people kept ringing us both to see how I'd done in my exams. We had nana, Ian, Paul and even Tracey had congratulated me over Facebook.
But of course, dad didn't even ring me up. This gave mam something else to moan at him about, but...
At the same time, this upset me. He was even in my room at one point - the two cards for Ash and Shelly, along with my results slip was ON THE DESK. He put them on the bed without even glancing at them or sparing a thought. :(

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Then I ate chicken legs and chicken noodles. A mint combination. :)
I watched How Clean Is Your House? with mam, then this random documentary about this woman who tried to smuggle cocaine through Cuba.

At 11, I spoke to Shelly on the phone for an hour.
It was a conversation with mixed emotions.
I had my occasional shout at her when she started being stupid, talking about how she's starving herself to get to a size 14.
Seriously, if she ends up thinner than me, I'll feel so fucking self-concious.
I'd never have sex with someone if they were smaller than me. Bigger is fine and the same size is fine too.
I don't care how fat someone is, as long as they love me for who I am.

But if they were thinner than me, I'd utterly refuse to be naked with them. :(

Know what's cool about librarians? They always look stuff up. People ask me things, even in daily life, and I am somehow compelled to look them up, just so I know.

Even if no one is asking, there is this thing inside my brain that can't stand the not knowing. Which is how:

A couple days ago, I was watching this rerun of the tv show Burn Notice. (LOVE this show, FYI). I had seen the episode before, but somehow, this particular part just passed me by. Then, on this viewing, it jumped out of the screen and straight into my brain. It went something like this:

Michael: (he doesn't want to kill the men guarding the house they need to enter) I'd like the body count a little lower.

Victor: Come on, I'll take the first one and rochambeau you for the other.

Now, mind you, that's not an exact quote, but it's close enough. So, suddenly, I catch the use of this word, rochambeau. (BTW, I had no clue how to even spell it when I started looking it up.....that was fun). I got the gist the other times I saw the scene but this time I really heard that word being used and realized I had no clue what it means.

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Well, then, must not be librarians in the crowd. Lucky me, I have this brand-spanking new laptop that was sitting near me. So, while watching it, I boot it up and start me some googling. Eventually, I tracked down the correct spelling and then I click on the link to see what it means.

*Drumroll, please*

Rock, paper, scissors. No lie, it is a fancy word that is just another name for the game rock, paper, scissors. I guess Victor wanted to kill all the men and was trying to give Michael a chance to win the right to kill his fair share. Seriously, if you watch the show at all, you'd understand that it is way more funny now that I know exactly what Victor was suggesting. It had me cracking up.

But, the fun part of the story is that now whenever the opportunity comes up, I'll be able to use rochambeau instead.

Where do you want to eat?

McDonalds.

I'd rather have Subway.

Rochambeau?

Wow, the possibilites. See how much you can learn from tv?  (Or a new laptop!)