ER checks out

... So I finally watched the big 'ER' finale last night. Yep, three months after it aired and it's long-been forgotten and surpassed by a summer of weird weather, celebrity deaths and our bottomless economy problems ...

Ah, well.

The thing was so old it had been buried at the bottom of our DVR list, and was probably just days from being deleted -- not by the machine, but by Kates and I out of a simple lack of time an interest. In fact, Kates was already there and had no interest in watching it; I was the one still holding on ...

So last night, alone and in desperation for something different and interesting to watch before heading to bed, I flipped it on

Even at three months old, it was still pretty darn entertaining ... I enjoyed the appearances by "ER" alums, although I thought their returns were a little overplayed, based on what I remembered from the promotionals last May. ... I enjoyed the way a lot of the stories that have unfolded over the years sort of came full circle -- Sam connecting with Tony and getting a car as a birthday gift from her formerly troublesome son Alex; and Dr. Greene's daughter showing up at the hospital to begin her career... I also couldn't ignore the feeling that I was watching a new generation of young actors slowly and skillfully making their marks on the TV landscape -- people like "Gilmore Girls" Alexis Bledel and "Brothers & Sisters" Emily Rose.

In the end, I couldn't keep from smiling as the final scene played out with the old, familiar faces rushing to the ambulance dock and a slew of ambulances pouring in with patients from an explosion. Dr. Carter was back at the hospital and seemingly returning home. The classic theme music played in as the shot pulled back on the hospital and an utterly Chicago scene, complete with an el' train passing on a rail line overhead.

A memorable ending for a very memorable show.

I'm sorry I didn't watch it earlier. But I'm glad I saved it just long enough ...

Here's some good reads I collected way back when the finale actually aired ... (I had some others, but the links no longer work. Go figure.)

a The 'ER' finale did what it did best for 15 seasons: It made us laugh and cry
a ‘ER’ Goes the Way of Nurses’ Caps
a A flood of memories comes alive in 'ER's wake
a 'ER' calls its time of death
a 'ER': How It Almost Flatlined At the Start
a 'ER' and the end of Nurse Shirley

Sunday reading

Here's two weeks of reads I found to be interesting ...

Baseball ...
a 'Good citizen's' spot in Cubs' lore secure ... When the Cubs got rid of Kerry Wood last week, I was a little susprised given the strong season he'd had. Then again, the Cubs should've gotten rid of him years ago. But even through all of the injuries, he was a good personality to have around.

Politics ... from the day after the election ...
a A new morning in America
a America turns the page
a Shift in tone will bring a watershed for nation
a Nation crosses hopeful bridge
a Now, Promises to Keep, and Divides to Be Bridged
a Obama and America
a No Time for Laurels; Now the Hard Part
a For Many Abroad, an Ideal Renewed

More politics ...
a Light in November ... I became a fan of Kathleen Parker a couple years ago, but her stuff during this election cycle has been wonderfully entertaining.
a A Moment for the Ages, Many Years in the Making
a Finally, a Thin President
a Sitting on top of the world
a Thinking of Good Vibrations
a 'Renegade' joins 'Twinkle,' 'Rawhide,' 'Lancer' on list of Secret Service code names
a Obamas just like us except ...
a 10 most viral videos of the campaign
a What's up with Obama's Sox hat?
a For Obama and Family, a Personal Transition
a The Election Lives! ... This is a good one about the yet-to-be-decided Senate election in Minnesota.
a Tolerance fails T-shirt test ... Astonishing is one word to describe this one.

The Internet & media ...
a Google at 10: Searching Its Own Soul
a Election’s Over, So What’s Next for the Cable News Channels?
a Freaky hologram on CNN recalls 'Star Wars' ... Who wasn't saying this after the election?!
a In Era of Blog Sniping, Companies Shoot First
a Remember Me? The One With the 'O' Button?
a The Monitor embraces its future - a digital one
a Rejected Tribune Front Pages ... My friend Liz tipped me off to this one. My favorite is definitely the WHOOPS. page.
a We are not bemused. Or are we? A word's dueling meanings

Music ...
a Elvis mystery solved! ... and how the Tribune solved it.
a Shawn Colvin: Wild Child, Now 52, Finds Fun In Her Music
a Van Morrison discusses 'Astral Weeks,' which he'll perform at the Hollywood Bowl

TV ...
a Flagging ‘Heroes’ Attempts Self-Rescue
a In Its Final Season, 'ER' Is Embracing Its Roots
a 'How I Met Your Mother' fans await big reveal day
a Talking Obamas, Huxtables with Bill Cosby

Entertainment ...
a Fanning is a big girl and a big star now

Life & other stuff ...
a Toy Hall of Fame points to new addition: the stick
a Massive waves a mystery at Maine harbor ... This is fascinating.

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that caught my eyes during the last week ...

Baseball ...
a Maddon's unorthodox thinking pays off with playoffs for Rays
a To the finish, nothing comes easy for them
a Most valuable half-pint
a Picture quite bright for Rays
a The Dodgers are best in the West, but are they playoff-worthy?
a After Saying Goodbye to Playing, Piazza Returns for Shea’s Farewell
a To Pilots, Shea Is Less Ballpark Than Landmark
a Top 10 immortal years in sports
a Winning slogans sure to inspire baseball's also-rans
a Where Yankees fans thrive
a How Yankees fans survive in Red Sox Nation

TV ...
a Through it all, 'ER' won her heart ... My affection for ER isn't what it used to be, but there's no doubts the show holds a special place.
a 3 Questions about this fall's TV

Politics ...
a Guilty by association
a A father's charm, absence: Friends recall Barack Obama Sr.
a Sarah Palin should bow out ... You know it's bad if a conservative columnist is causing for Palin's resignation.
a Into the wild of Wasilla, Alaska, where Sarah Palin once ruled
a Palin's policies in Alaska weighted toward development
a Sarah, talk. Joe, stop
a McCain’s Suspension Bridge to Nowhere
a Steering the McCain Campaign, a Lot of Old Bush Hands
a Thinking About McCain
a Don’t Blame the New Deal
a The Bush Doctrine?
a The Truth About Politicians? It's At Snopes.com ... Ah, Snopes. Great site ... Though when I tried to reference it in a story once, my editor discounted it as a legitimate Web site. The irony.

Internet & media ...
a New Chicago Tribune publisher Hunter called a 'change agent'
a Columnist's 'dream come true' nears the end
a Music Critic vs. Maestro: One Loses His Beat
a Two Stories That Pushed Some Buttons
a Spinning through online entertainment and connected culture
a Some Facebook users aren't fond of website's new face ... Like all changes, it's going to take awhile. I didn't like it initially, either. But I'm learning to like it.
a The Dangers of Auto-Replace

Music ...
a Juliana Hatfield on life after the spotlight fades
a Going Down to Yasgur's Farm, Almost 40 Years Later
a New Kids on the Block soak up love on reunion tour ... Here's a review of their show in Boston on Friday night -- to which Kates and I tried to win tickets. We failed.

Life & other stuff ...
a We’ll Fill This Space, but First a Nap ... Yeah, consider I was up at 5:30 this morning doing "work."

Sunday reading

... I know. I've been slacking.

Here's some of the good reads I've come across the last several weeks.

Baseball & Sports ...
a 104-year-old Cubs fan wants to throw out first pitch during playoffs at Wrigley
a Edmonds winning over Wrigley fans ... I told you it would happen.
a Fukudome tops Cubs' list of problem areas
a Columnist Mike Nadel takes heat for Erin Andrews column ... I personally really enjoy Erin Andrew's commentary. Though I don't disagree with Trenni Kusnierek comments.
a Leyland shocked Sheffield is unhappy with his role ... I should've known Gary Sheffield wasn't going to retire happily with the Tigers.
a A Shutout at Cooperstown
a Why the Rays have what it takes to stay in the AL East race ... This one may not read as well now that Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria are out -- but it's still interesting considering the Rays' pitching.
a There's Something in the Air, Other Than Another Ball Headed for the Fence
a Fans cheer Favre during penalty lap

Music ...
a After 10 years, New Pornographers still search for their true identity
a Katy Perry never ‘Kissed a Girl’ ... Turns out more people do remember Jill Sobule's version other than me.
a Randy Newman, back in the saddle
a Dave Matthews tries to dispel fans' uncertainty
a Concert Era Draws To A Close As Rock Legends Age
a Still fabulous at 50: Pop icons Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson

TV ...
a The Office takes over the world
a Campaign underway to save Mister Rogers
a Characters may perish by ‘ER' end
a That 'Office' spin-off may be a little slow in coming
a NBC's plan for late night spurs question: What's Leno's future?

Movies & theater ...
a Rainn Wilson Is Ready to Rock
a Broadway-bound '13' explores teenage angst

The Internet & media ...
a Constructed Criticism: Just Hit 'Send' on Those Helpful Insults
a News Under Our Noses ... a good take on the media's reporting of the John Edwards affair.
a CNN, 'SNL' and TV Critics' Primary Concerns ... Ah, that was a great episode.

Life & other stuff ...
a Revelation About Singer Leaves That Syncing Feeling
a Children see man decapitate fellow passenger on Greyhound bus in Canada ... this, compliments of my corhort Nick, is plain awful.
a More hotels are evicting phone books from rooms
a Price Of Gas Rises To Four Expletives Per Gallon ... from The Onion.
a Johnson & Johnson Introduces 'Nothing But Tears' Shampoo To Toughen Up Newborns ... also from The Onion.
a Waterfalls make Oregon state park a photographer's paradise
a The Extreme Reality Makeover Show