Monday morning.
The kids don’t have school today because the schools have a professional development day. Which means I’m home with them while Kates attends meetings all day.
Right now, the kids are watching Nickelodeon. Which means I get to have some time reading and writing.
This piece about “Will & Grace” ran in The New York Times over the weekend, and I am laughing out loud just imagining how the characters will act in today’s “Age of Rage.”
Count me and Kates as viewers who will “gobble whole … At a time of political upheaval and civil unrest, liberal network programmers are betting that — like themselves — the masses are wistful for the Bill Clinton 1990s.”
I loved seeing the cast reunite for last year’s election video and I about jumped out of my chair when I read that NBC was bringing the series back. Shows like “Will & Grace,” “Friends,” “Frasier” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” helped me laugh my way through college. Although reruns are plentiful, having “Will & Grace” back on primetime will be a thankful sort-of escape to simpler times.
And speaking of “Friends,” the show is helping Latin players in Major League Baseball perfect their English. Who knew!?
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
9.18.2017
3.27.2015
Awesome Spring Break week
So the university's spring break was this week. Typically, that means the students are gone, but staff continue working and all is mostly quiet around the campus. But this week, for the first time in my six years of work there, I took the entire week as vacation. ... I was in desperate need of some me time, and -- as challenging as it was for me to ignore my university work for the week -- I took advantage of it. I had a glorious week.
Like I told Kates at the beginning of the week when she asked if still would take Faye to daycare each morning: I'm still going to work at 8. I'm just having a different kind of work day.
I spent almost all of Monday working in the yard, clearing brush and preparing the yard for spring. The weather was sunny with temperatures in the 70s. It was awesome.
Tuesday was quite the opposite. We had a wonderful thunderstorm roll in that produced some loud crashes at times, but the temperature also dipped considerably. The weather change reduced my mojo for work considerably and forced me to take on a lot of indoor work. But I was still productive, patching some cracks left in the walls from our foundation work last summer and continuing prep work on our new kitchen cabinets.
I took off Wednesday for a day of shopping. In all our years since moving from K-Town to The 'Ville, I have not set foot in a Menards store because the nearest one is nearly an hour's drive away -- until Wednesday. I made the drive in conjunction with some other stops I wanted to make and was overtaken with such excitement when I arrived that I could hardly stop smiling from the time I walked through the big sliding front doors. The store clerk who passed in front of me in the greeting area probably wondered if I was baked. (... That actually happened once. Years ago, my friend Jeff and I visited an electronics store in Madison, as part of a tour of the city during a day off from work. We were having a great time and, admittedly, were acting silly when a long-haired male store clerk pulled me aside, leaned in, looked me in the eyes and asked, “Dude, are you baked?” I laughed and answered, “No.” The embarrassed clerk apologized and I went on my way.)
Unfortunately, the temps have stayed cooler since Monday, and I've stayed in the rest of the week, continuing to take care of projects inside. Which is a good thing because they're are plenty of things to do -- that I can't focus on under normal conditions with two little girls running around the house.
Yep, it's been a glorious week. I need to take advantage more often -- like this commercial says.
Here are some of the awesome things I came across on the Internet during the last couple weeks ...
“The Office” premiered 10 years ago this week. To celebrate, Mashable posted 50 best moments from the show. Many of these made me laugh out loud as I read them. You were a good one, Office.
The Ridiculously Sweet Story Behind Mister Rogers' Cardigans ... This is awesome. I had no idea. God bless Mr. Rogers for the impact he had on mine and so many childhoods.
Amazing but true: America is only four presidents’ lives old ... Fascinating.
I've never gotten in to watching “South Park.” But, boy, do ever I remember the craze as ‘The Spirit of Christmas” made its way the floor of my freshman dorm -- and laughing until my side hurt. Here's a good read about how it came to be.
Here are clips from the “Harry Potter" movies cut as the opening of "Friends."
While I missed the video of the “crying 'piccolo girl,” I did catch her appearance on Monday's “Tonight Show.” Jimmy Fallon's a swell guy for inviting her on the show, and the girl was a great sport about it. Plus, she's going to see Taylor Swift!
Here's a good read from Rolling Stone about “Glee,” which apparently put a wrap on its show Friday night. I learned that only when I noticed the tweets start to come in late Friday night with links to recap stories. ... Kates and I bowed out early in Season 2 -- another casualty of the infamous exploding TV and our chaotic lives that year -- but as the Rolling Stone article fairly points out, the series was starting to losing its direction at that point. All the reviews I read about what we were missing did nothing to pull me back in, nor did the insistence on themed shows. In the end, I had no idea it had moved to Friday nights.
Like I told Kates at the beginning of the week when she asked if still would take Faye to daycare each morning: I'm still going to work at 8. I'm just having a different kind of work day.
I spent almost all of Monday working in the yard, clearing brush and preparing the yard for spring. The weather was sunny with temperatures in the 70s. It was awesome.
Tuesday was quite the opposite. We had a wonderful thunderstorm roll in that produced some loud crashes at times, but the temperature also dipped considerably. The weather change reduced my mojo for work considerably and forced me to take on a lot of indoor work. But I was still productive, patching some cracks left in the walls from our foundation work last summer and continuing prep work on our new kitchen cabinets.
I took off Wednesday for a day of shopping. In all our years since moving from K-Town to The 'Ville, I have not set foot in a Menards store because the nearest one is nearly an hour's drive away -- until Wednesday. I made the drive in conjunction with some other stops I wanted to make and was overtaken with such excitement when I arrived that I could hardly stop smiling from the time I walked through the big sliding front doors. The store clerk who passed in front of me in the greeting area probably wondered if I was baked. (... That actually happened once. Years ago, my friend Jeff and I visited an electronics store in Madison, as part of a tour of the city during a day off from work. We were having a great time and, admittedly, were acting silly when a long-haired male store clerk pulled me aside, leaned in, looked me in the eyes and asked, “Dude, are you baked?” I laughed and answered, “No.” The embarrassed clerk apologized and I went on my way.)
Unfortunately, the temps have stayed cooler since Monday, and I've stayed in the rest of the week, continuing to take care of projects inside. Which is a good thing because they're are plenty of things to do -- that I can't focus on under normal conditions with two little girls running around the house.
Yep, it's been a glorious week. I need to take advantage more often -- like this commercial says.
Here are some of the awesome things I came across on the Internet during the last couple weeks ...
“The Office” premiered 10 years ago this week. To celebrate, Mashable posted 50 best moments from the show. Many of these made me laugh out loud as I read them. You were a good one, Office.
The Ridiculously Sweet Story Behind Mister Rogers' Cardigans ... This is awesome. I had no idea. God bless Mr. Rogers for the impact he had on mine and so many childhoods.
Amazing but true: America is only four presidents’ lives old ... Fascinating.
I've never gotten in to watching “South Park.” But, boy, do ever I remember the craze as ‘The Spirit of Christmas” made its way the floor of my freshman dorm -- and laughing until my side hurt. Here's a good read about how it came to be.
Here are clips from the “Harry Potter" movies cut as the opening of "Friends."
While I missed the video of the “crying 'piccolo girl,” I did catch her appearance on Monday's “Tonight Show.” Jimmy Fallon's a swell guy for inviting her on the show, and the girl was a great sport about it. Plus, she's going to see Taylor Swift!
Here's a good read from Rolling Stone about “Glee,” which apparently put a wrap on its show Friday night. I learned that only when I noticed the tweets start to come in late Friday night with links to recap stories. ... Kates and I bowed out early in Season 2 -- another casualty of the infamous exploding TV and our chaotic lives that year -- but as the Rolling Stone article fairly points out, the series was starting to losing its direction at that point. All the reviews I read about what we were missing did nothing to pull me back in, nor did the insistence on themed shows. In the end, I had no idea it had moved to Friday nights.
It began eating its own tail, trying too hard to keep up with pop culture references and hit songs in an attempt to stay on top of the charts. Between Gaga-centric episodes and a lesson devoted entirely to twerking (no, really), most of these attempts to soak in the mainstream were ill-conceived. Worse, as Glee began to stray from its satirical roots, it found itself delving more and more into After-School Special territory.
8.29.2014
Awesome of the week
Some fairly awesome things I caught on the internet this week ...
Hello Kitty Is Not A Cat Because Nothing Makes Sense Anymore ... Phoebe is going to be crushed.
I missed the Emmys Monday night, but Billy Crystal's Robin Williams tribute had people buzzing the next morning. Rightly so. ...
Ever wonder how a basketball court gets painted? Or in this case, a legendary basketball court gets repainted? Check out this fascinating slideshow showing painters working on the Kansas Jayhawks' court at Allen Fieldhouse.
And finally some "Friends."
Here's an amusing video featuring Maggie Wheeler explaining how she came up with Janice's distinct voice. ...
And here's Jimmy Kimmel trying to live out his dream of being a "Friends" cast member ...
Hello Kitty Is Not A Cat Because Nothing Makes Sense Anymore ... Phoebe is going to be crushed.
* * *
I missed the Emmys Monday night, but Billy Crystal's Robin Williams tribute had people buzzing the next morning. Rightly so. ...
* * *
Ever wonder how a basketball court gets painted? Or in this case, a legendary basketball court gets repainted? Check out this fascinating slideshow showing painters working on the Kansas Jayhawks' court at Allen Fieldhouse.
* * *
And finally some "Friends."
Here's an amusing video featuring Maggie Wheeler explaining how she came up with Janice's distinct voice. ...
...
And here's Jimmy Kimmel trying to live out his dream of being a "Friends" cast member ...
8.11.2014
In the first place ...
My social media feeds are blowing up tonight on three subjects, and nothing else.
A few minutes before 6 tonight I had one of those jaw-dropping, take-your-breath-away moments that come every so often when a piece of shocking news pops up on my TweetDeck ...
I was introduced to Robin Williams as a kid through reruns of "Mork & Mindy." This scene was one of the first I remember. ... It remains one of my favorites and still makes me laugh to this day ...
Here's the entire pilot episode, which also included the hilarious crossover bit with "Happy Days'" Fonzi and "Laverne & Shirley's" Laverne. ... YouTube is loaded with this stuff.
Then came "Good Morning, Vietnam."
"Dead Poet's Society."
"Aladdin."
"Mrs. Doubtfire."
And of course, "Good Will Hunting."
Among a load of others I'm thinking I should see.
There also was his hilarious turn with Billy Crystal on "Friends." Another classic.
In college, I listened to a cassette tape of "A Night at the Met" for the first time, and I laughed so hard I cried.
And I whenever I saw he was appearing on the "Late Show with David Letterman," I was sure not to miss it, knowing I was guaranteed a solid 10 minutes of laughter. ... I'm sad none of those nights are left.
Rest in peace, Robin.
Good reads (Updated 08.13.2014) ...
= Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide
= "Mork & Mindy" and the Tireless Dervish That Was Robin Williams
= Conan, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers Pay Tribute to Robin Williams'
= Steve Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, more react to death of Robin Williams
= Watch Robin Williams' 13 Funniest Impressions
I had one of my longer board meetings tonight and arrived home in time to say good night to the girls. I read stories with Faye and put her to bed while Kates did the same with Phoebe. Then Kates went back to her classroom to work, and I retreated downstairs in time to catch the last two innings of the Royals game.
The Royals were up 3-2 as I watched them send down the A's in the eighth inning and then hold on in the ninth. The Kauffman Stadium crowd was chanting "Let's go Royals" so loudly and so in unison -- I didn't know Kauffman Stadium could be so loud. It was so awesome and it gave me chills. ...
So steady, Greg Holland put a cap on it, getting the final batter to fly out to Jarrod Dyson ... Who caught the ball, paused and then did a black flip as the crowd erupted. ... A fantastic win.
Cue the old-time ball player to come out and post the W. And tonight he brought the Royals South Korean super fan with him, who jumped and celebrated on the deck like a maniac. ...
All along I had been following the Tigers-Pirates game on AtBat. The Tigers lost, which means the Royals are back in first place. ...The Tigers are stumbling, and Justin Verlander's durability is now a question.
Meanwhile, the third story blowing up my Twitter feed is the riots burning up Ferguson after the shooting of Michael Brown. ...
A few minutes before 6 tonight I had one of those jaw-dropping, take-your-breath-away moments that come every so often when a piece of shocking news pops up on my TweetDeck ...
#BREAKING Actor Robin Williams found dead at home in Tiburon. Watch NBC Bay Area News at 5 for the latest: http://t.co/sifLTrKhwU
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) August 11, 2014
I was introduced to Robin Williams as a kid through reruns of "Mork & Mindy." This scene was one of the first I remember. ... It remains one of my favorites and still makes me laugh to this day ...
Here's the entire pilot episode, which also included the hilarious crossover bit with "Happy Days'" Fonzi and "Laverne & Shirley's" Laverne. ... YouTube is loaded with this stuff.
Then came "Good Morning, Vietnam."
"Dead Poet's Society."
"Aladdin."
"Mrs. Doubtfire."
And of course, "Good Will Hunting."
Among a load of others I'm thinking I should see.
There also was his hilarious turn with Billy Crystal on "Friends." Another classic.
In college, I listened to a cassette tape of "A Night at the Met" for the first time, and I laughed so hard I cried.
And I whenever I saw he was appearing on the "Late Show with David Letterman," I was sure not to miss it, knowing I was guaranteed a solid 10 minutes of laughter. ... I'm sad none of those nights are left.
Rest in peace, Robin.
Good reads (Updated 08.13.2014) ...
= Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide
= "Mork & Mindy" and the Tireless Dervish That Was Robin Williams
= Conan, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers Pay Tribute to Robin Williams'
= Steve Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, more react to death of Robin Williams
= Watch Robin Williams' 13 Funniest Impressions
* * *
I had one of my longer board meetings tonight and arrived home in time to say good night to the girls. I read stories with Faye and put her to bed while Kates did the same with Phoebe. Then Kates went back to her classroom to work, and I retreated downstairs in time to catch the last two innings of the Royals game.
The Royals were up 3-2 as I watched them send down the A's in the eighth inning and then hold on in the ninth. The Kauffman Stadium crowd was chanting "Let's go Royals" so loudly and so in unison -- I didn't know Kauffman Stadium could be so loud. It was so awesome and it gave me chills. ...
There are only goosebumps where my skin used to be. #1stPlaceRoyals
— Royals Nation (@RoyalsNation) August 12, 2014
So steady, Greg Holland put a cap on it, getting the final batter to fly out to Jarrod Dyson ... Who caught the ball, paused and then did a black flip as the crowd erupted. ... A fantastic win.
Jarrod Dyson just caught last out of Royals win in CF.. And did a back flip.. KC has won 8 straight, 16 of 19.. They're in 1st place!!
— Rob Carlin (@RobCarlinCSN) August 12, 2014
Cue the old-time ball player to come out and post the W. And tonight he brought the Royals South Korean super fan with him, who jumped and celebrated on the deck like a maniac. ...
Has anyone started a @kickstarter campaign to move @Koreanfan_KC & his family to KC? I'm serious.
— Andrew Zimmerman (@AndyZKCTV5) August 12, 2014
All along I had been following the Tigers-Pirates game on AtBat. The Tigers lost, which means the Royals are back in first place. ...The Tigers are stumbling, and Justin Verlander's durability is now a question.
Your new 2nd wild card team, Detroit Tigers.
— Blair Kerkhoff (@BlairKerkhoff) August 12, 2014
It's August and MO has a baseball team leading their division. That's normal, right? Oh, wait....which team? #Royals
— Ryan Silvey (@RyanSilvey) August 12, 2014
Meanwhile, the third story blowing up my Twitter feed is the riots burning up Ferguson after the shooting of Michael Brown. ...
Nat'l Media stuck on Robin Williams while Police is Ferguson, MO are shooting tear gas & rubber bullets at protesters. #TVJOURNALISMFAIL
— Donnell (@SoKo504) August 12, 2014
7.31.2014
1.29.2013
Random week in review
Oh, the graduate work is back in full force. Read 100 pages -- three chapters -- in my higher education law book over the weekend. Spent most of Sunday working on my three writing assignments -- one for each chapter -- and submitted them at around 11 p.m. last night.
Class this weekend and work on my research project has resumed.
... So if the pace of my posts slow down again, that's why.
This Digital Short was the best thing about last weekend's "Saturday Night Live," featuring Adam Levine. ... As I was watching Saturday night, I was thinking, "This is great! I would totally download this." Then -- bam -- No. 1 on iTunes.
We're getting into a good rhythm of enjoying some movies as a family. Some old favorites, some new stuff, and some that Kates and I haven't seen but Phoebe has at preschool so she suggests them to us.
Sunday night, we watched "Meet the Robinsons." It had been one of those that Kates and I always wanted to see, but never did.
It lived up. Good family flick.
A Miami Clinic Supplies Drugs to Sports' Biggest Names
Eye roll. ... When are these guys going to learn!?
This story made me miss "Lost." ... I think enough time has passed since it ended that, yeah dude, I could go back and be sucked into watching it all over again. ... Man, those were the days. We have seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. So that's a start.
And speaking of good TV, several friends have posted this one on Facebook recently. Mind-blowing.
Class this weekend and work on my research project has resumed.
... So if the pace of my posts slow down again, that's why.
* * *
This Digital Short was the best thing about last weekend's "Saturday Night Live," featuring Adam Levine. ... As I was watching Saturday night, I was thinking, "This is great! I would totally download this." Then -- bam -- No. 1 on iTunes.
* * *
We're getting into a good rhythm of enjoying some movies as a family. Some old favorites, some new stuff, and some that Kates and I haven't seen but Phoebe has at preschool so she suggests them to us.
Sunday night, we watched "Meet the Robinsons." It had been one of those that Kates and I always wanted to see, but never did.
It lived up. Good family flick.
* * *
A Miami Clinic Supplies Drugs to Sports' Biggest Names
Eye roll. ... When are these guys going to learn!?
* * *
This story made me miss "Lost." ... I think enough time has passed since it ended that, yeah dude, I could go back and be sucked into watching it all over again. ... Man, those were the days. We have seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. So that's a start.
And speaking of good TV, several friends have posted this one on Facebook recently. Mind-blowing.
7.30.2008
Swirling
... One of my all-time favorite scenes in Friends has been playing repeatedly in my head today ..."Ok, ok I give up! Ross, here... Phoebs wanna fly a plane? Better make it a spaceship so you can get back to your home planet! Ross, phone call for you today, Tom Jones ... He wants his pants back! And Hornswaggle!? What, are you dating a character from Fraggle Rock?!...Aaaah!"... The way Chandler screams at the end of his rant, sticks his fingers to his head and flops down on the Central Perk couch in utter relief? Yeah, that's kind of the way I've been feeling. Waaaaaaay too many thoughts swirling in my head ...
To cap my afternoon -- in the Are you kidding me!? file -- the news comes across that the Tigers have traded Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth.
Granted Rodriguez's numbers are down this year, and he's going to be a free agent at the end of the season ... But for Farnsworth!? Seriously!?
... So much for the good old days when the Tigers were finally serious about winning again.
Then I got to come home and watch Phoebe play and discover her hands and feet for 15 minutes. That's the kind of stuff I live for these days.
12.08.2005
Joey meets Eddie ... again
OK. Who's brainy idea was it to pit Adam Goldberg on 'Joey' as his long-lost high school buddy!?
Any semi-Friends fan knows Goldberg as the guy who played Chandler's freaky new roommate, Eddie, during a stint for the second season of 'Friends.' And knowing that made Thursday night's 'Joey' hardly worth it to watch ...so I only watched the last 10 minutes.
And another thing -- when is NBC going to quit with its exaggerated promos ... All last week NBC aired commercials promoting a 'big reunion' with scenes of a giggly Joey embracing a guy who we only saw from the back but looked like Chandler, for sure. Alas, there were no signs of Chandler and only the frustration that NBC had only overhyped a mediocre show again ...
I'm just saying ... !
Any semi-Friends fan knows Goldberg as the guy who played Chandler's freaky new roommate, Eddie, during a stint for the second season of 'Friends.' And knowing that made Thursday night's 'Joey' hardly worth it to watch ...so I only watched the last 10 minutes.
And another thing -- when is NBC going to quit with its exaggerated promos ... All last week NBC aired commercials promoting a 'big reunion' with scenes of a giggly Joey embracing a guy who we only saw from the back but looked like Chandler, for sure. Alas, there were no signs of Chandler and only the frustration that NBC had only overhyped a mediocre show again ...
I'm just saying ... !
9.26.2005
Keepin' up with the tube
The cable guy is coming Wednesday … He’s actually coming to upgrade us for digital cable, but I say Kates and I are sooooo getting a DVR.Because it’s happening. My worst fear is coming true …
At the start of summer I heaved a huge sigh of relief when the last season finale aired and I could turn off the tube set for the summer -- well, except for Cubs games and a few episodes of ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time.’
Then.
Now.
We’re barely two weeks into the fall TV season and there’s gotta be like a record number of new -- and very good -- shows on TV. Forget baseball pennant races. I now find myself glued to the TV about two hours each night to watch the most talked about shows just so I can keep up with the talk. … I don’t even want to think about the VCR tape full of the hours of television I couldn’t watch last week because I was too busy watching other shows.
And yet I love every bit of it. I just hate that I can’t pull myself away and I’m becoming one of the people I hoped I’d never become …
Sunday nights are loaded. In a season of change, the opening scene of ‘West Wing’ couldn’t have been more clever -- a graying Jed Bartlet, cane in hand, walks into his presidential library three years into the future and happily greets CJ and Toby, although it’s no secret they’ve had some great disagreements. Although I would’ve liked to see Rob Lowe’s character in there too
… And then Josh suddenly scurries into tell Bartlet that ‘the president’ has arrived. But of course we only see ‘the president’ step from his vehicle and the opening credits begin before the camera can focus on his face. But the bigger question was, ‘what was Josh’s role!?’
Then you’ve got ‘Desperate Housewives’ returning over on ABC. Ooooh
yeah! … So we know for sure now that Rex died, but we saw no signs of Paul, although Mike said he didn’t shoot him, which Zack didn’t do to Mike. And Susan knows that Mike is Zack’s father. Got all that? It’s ok if you didn‘t, the best part of the show was watching Bree duke it out with Rex’s mother and then change Rex’s ugly orange tie DURING the funeral. I laughed hysterically.
And all I have to say about 'Grey’s Anatomy' is: Consider it the new ‘Friends.’ Yes? OK, there will never be another ‘Friends.’ But seriously. Is there a more likable and fun cast on TV right now? Meredith, Cristina, George and Alex are feisty but adorable, and vulnerable but strong-willed. Then you bring in “The Nazi,” Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Burke and Dr. Webber and you’ve got a completely new layer. …It’s funny. It’s dramatic. And it’s got a heckuva soundtrack. It’s smart television.
That’s Sunday.
But the week is just starting.
Monday nights on CBS are loaded. Forget Thursdays on NBC … ‘King of Queens’ and ‘Two and a Half Men’ are now tenured comedy acts and ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is smushed in between with all the makings of a smash. …Yeah, we’ve seen the storylines before (five 20-something buds trying to find themselves in New York City and gathering at the local eatery), but the storylines still seems fresh and real … I barely stopped laughing during tonight’s show.
I won’t waste my time talking about ‘Out of Practice’ though. CBS has got it at 8:30 p.m., but I’m thinking maybe they should put it on the shelf …
Back to Sunday and catching up on that VCR tape … Fox’s ‘War at Home’ is still pretty hilarious and I hope it stays and keeps its somewhat unusual format of breaking out of scenes to offer an exclusive on the character‘s exact thoughts. . . It’s too bad it’s got such tough competition.
And ’Head Cases’ … well, let’s just say we were barely halfway through watching our taped version of last week’s episode when I realized I was bored with it and muttered aloud, ’I think I’m done watching this.’ Then I discovered it’s already been canceled.
Oh, the burden of keeping up with the TV ...
Gotta go. Still gotta watch last week’s episodes of ‘Reunion’ and ‘Inconceivable,’ so I can be ready for this week’s showings of ’The Office,’ ’Amazing Race’ ’Lost’ (… by the way, did you see its ratings last week? Martha doesn’t stand a chance), ’Invasion’ and NBC Thursday.
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