Just in case you missed it, the direct-to-DVD continuation of the Stargate SG-1 Ori storyline, “The Ark of Truth,” is to be released next Tuesday, March 11th.
You can apparently pre-order it from Amazon. If you’re gonna buy it anyway, use this link, and help a brother out… every nickel helps support my wife’s coke habit.
(Okay, it’s diet coke, but it’s still expensive in these kinds of quantities…)
Technorati Tags: stargate, direct-to-dvd
Smallville will be back for an eighth season next year! But without Lex, and without Lana. Michael Rosenbaum and Kristen Kreuk are calling it quits after this year. Apparently they’re both open for guest spots next year, but that’s it. I’m okay with Lana leaving. I think they’ve milked that character for all it’s worth at this point. Dropping Lex, however, is a potential death knell for viewership. The interplay between Lex and Clark, and the demise of their relationship, is truly the center of this show. They’d have to find an equally compelling focal point for the series next season, and I don’t think that would be easy.
Dr. Who, as previously noted, will only have 4 specials in 2009, rather than a full season. The rumor mill continues to go back and forth as to whether David Tennant’s 10th Doctor will regenerate during those specials or after the 2010 season. Annoyingly, there seems to be agreement that we’ll be on the 11th Doctor by 2011.
Torchwood has all sorts of changes flying around the rumor mill. Apparently the “family friendly” versions of the show are doing pretty well, and they’re thinking of moving just to that format. It has not yet been renewed for a third season, so nothing is definite (what ever is?) but the word is that three of the major characters, including the show’s centerpiece, Captain Jack Harkness, will be gone. That would leave the character of Gwen and the transplanted Dr. Who companion, Martha, to run the show.
I think it’s a mistake to remove Jack. I think John Barrowman does a great job with the part, and he’s certainly an interesting character. That said, I think there are a couple ways the show could go on without him - though I still think it would suffer. Plus he’d apparently be around for guest spots.
So it’s mixed news for each show, apparently. Hmmm. Kinda leaves me rather apathetic.
Technorati Tags: smallville, doctor who, torchwood, michael rosenbaum, tom welling, kristen kreuk
This article spurred a long night of reading about virtual personal assistants and other ways of “lightening the load” of some of the tasks we all have to do in our lives. I like the concepts. There are some things I can probably do that would help me make the most of my time. In fact, I can think of a couple of tasks I’ve performed in the last 2-3 months that I specifically thought “I really should hire someone to do this so I can get on with my life.” Comparison shopping for my new computer comes to mind. Maybe even some Christmas shopping. I’m also interested in looking more seriously at having someone prepare and deliver a few meals to the house on a semi-regular basis.
In the end, though, most of what I found convinced me that at this point in my life I can’t really justify a personal assistant, virtual or otherwise. It’s not worth the money to me for most of the things I’d be willing to have them do. Now, if I had a side-business that I was running in addition to my job, I’d have plenty of things for an assistant to do for me, and I’d probably easily justify the relatively minimal expenses involved.
For now, I’ll try to reduce the frequency with which I read emails and get better about organizing my day. That should get a little easier once we hire someone to take the tasks I acquired when my former co-worker left the company last year (and the process is finally moving on that!!!!).
Technorati Tags: productivity, tim ferriss, vpa
Literary characters - some obscure, some well known - abound in these graphic novels. The main players (Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, and - to a much lesser extent - Mina Harker/Murray) are well established, and the gimmick of putting them together is the initial draw. It took me a little effort to get into the style of faux-1800s dialogue, especially in the narrative boxes, but I quite enjoyed the first volume’s story. It didn’t take itself too seriously, and yet there was a lot of mystery and discovery. Nothing ever really seems to be completely answered, but it gets close enough that you’re satisfied, and the opening for further mystery is part of it’s charm.
Volume two was much more straight-forward - not a lot in the way of mystery or intrigue. That would have gotten in the way, apparently, of the violence and the sex. And given that this story was, in many ways, centered on the simple, straight-forward, violent character of Hyde, I suppose that makes sense.
There was a lot of Hyde in this book. Hyde’s a bad dude. A bad, baaaad, dude. Don’t mess with Hyde. Seriously. Even if you’ve got a nasty heat ray. And hiding from Hyde’s not really an option either. Best to not get on his bad side. That’s pretty much the message I got from this book. Loud and clear.
Aside from the voyeurism of the book, though, I gotta say the story wasn’t as compelling as the first volume. Even some of the surprises at the end were not that impactful. I also think Mina, and to some extent Quartermain, were underused, despite having a large number of pages dedicated to them. Neither were really used for the talents that made them interesting as characters.
Did I mention Hyde’s a bad dude? I was forewarned that something was going to happen with him, and still had a “whoa” moment when I realized what was going on…
This one definitely ain’t for the kiddies.
Technorati Tags: jekyll and hyde, vampires, comics, literature
Loading ...