Sunday reading

... Our church services and my Sunday school class was canceled this morning thanks to this latest winter storm ...

A friend of ours called Kates and I last night to let us know things might be called off if we actually got the huge amount of snow the weather forecasters were predicting. If we only got a dusting, she said, the regular Sunday schedule would still be on ...

I went to bed pretty late last night, seeing little snow falling but still hoping that perhaps things would be canceled. And when I got up this morning, there was barely any new snow on the ground ... So I got ready for church.

Still, the news stations were scrolling dozens of church closings. And ours wasn't being mentioned ...

So I ate breakfast with just minutes to spare before I would be heading out the door ...

Then the phone rings ...

It was Amy. No church activities today. The ice was so thick, the pastor couldn't even open the door ...

Praise the Lord!

... But don't expect me to be feeling so thankful tomorrow. We had 40s last week!! 40s!! We thought spring was on its way!! Enough snow and cold already!!

My point?

It's a good day for cozying up on the couch, doing some reading and watching the biggest basketball game of the season ...

Here's some good reads from the past week ...

Sports ...
a 2007 could be the end of an era
a Jacque Jones happy with another year with Cubs
a Ivy League or bush league? Cubs last team to place ads on outfield walls
a Early to rise? Cubs ready to go
a Cubs' Ramirez hustles to remove lazy label
a Santo wants Hall selection 'very badly'
a Daytona Offers Hollywood Ending ... I'm not a Nascar fan, but watching the finale to last weekend's Daytona was one for the ages ...

Entertainment ...
a So bad they're good: This year's Oscar field is rife with characters who reside in that shame-filled land of Those Who Should Know Better
a Defense of 'Studio 60' becomes a moot point ... Every Monday night we let our DVR record Studio 60, and every week I seem to put off watching it more and more. But the cast -- a lame excuse, I know -- is the only reason I keep watching. It should be really good, right? But it only seems to get more boring and aimless each week ... Just cancel it already.
a 'Long Way' to Grammys: Was the Dixie Chicks' big win fueled by politics? ... In all the excitement the day after the Grammys, a friend asked me if I thought the Dixie Chicks' Grammy success was actually because of their album or politics. I told her it was both: The Dixie Chicks sang their message and political views loud and strong on their "Taking the Long Way" album, and that resonated with people; it's what music is supposed to do. But it didn't hurt that the album also is really good musically, from top to bottom.
a Guide to the Academy Awards ... I rarely get excited about the Oscars, mostly because on most years I've haven't seen many of the films. This year, the only Oscar-nominated film I've seen is "Little Miss Sunshine." But have at it ...
a Specter of Hudson haunts Fox's 'Idol'
a Twenty-three reasons not to see "The Number 23"
a Britney is bald, but not the first celeb to be so bold
a Britney, Anna Nicole, our obsessions - What's the lesson here?

Everything else ...
a What's next? Defining the new generation of young adults
a Chicago readies itself for visit by U.S. Olympic officials ... oh, to have the Olympic games in Chicago. Talk about a dream come true ...
a Palming off the Ash Wednesday dirty work
a Young Voters Find Voice on Facebook
a 450-year-old receipt proves Michelangelo stayed in St. Peter's
a Maryland to Unveil the Page That Began a New Chapter
a Web site points the way to latest attractions ... The Grand Canyon skywalk sounds so freaky -- and soooo cool!!

And from news of the weird ...
a Sword seized after man mistakes porn for rape

Sunday reading

... The Shins strong -- and overdue -- showing on SNL last night inspired me to pull out my Shins CDs this afternoon. Great stuff ...

Here's some good reading (and cartoons, courtesy of Cagle's Cartoons) that caught my eyes this past week ...

Entertainment buzz ...
a What does Oprah believe?
a It's Not All About the iPods, Oprah
a You'll likely read more about Britney in '07
a Comedy writers aren't laughing about 'Studio 60' ... I have to agree: It's a show about a comedy show, but the comedy in the show that the show is about isn't funny at all!! ... I so wanted it to do well, but at this point NBC would be wise to let it fade away ...
a Who's that 'Studio 60' nominee? ... whatever. I've admired Sarah Paulson long before Studio 60 came along ...
a Matthew Fox talks about his dark side
a Vieira Settles In, and 'Today' Gets Ready to Go Long
a Tween actress' sex scenes raise ire ... Oh, Dakota, why must you grow up so fast? Please don't become a ruined child star ...

Music ...
a Ain’t it odd? Song lyrics defy grammar rules music ... Get over it, English teachers. Alanis Morrissette's ironic is one of the greatest songs ever, whether you like it or not ...
a Will compact discs go the way of the LP? ... Whatever. I'm still buying them -- heck I'm still buying LPs. The sweet cover art, liner notes and that feeling of tearing off the wrapping -- like opening a new toy on Christma morning -- is a big part of what makes certain music so special and enduring ...

News & trends ...
a Theme party ideas for February's major events ... As cheesy as some of these suggestions are, these parties could be a lot of fun to host! Who's in?
a After laughter, action ... Great column. So true.
a Too Casual To Sit on Press Row? Bloggers' Credentials Boosted
a 1870s dead horse photo sparks mystery ... Great story!! from Sheboygan!!
a Is there a new calling for Apple? ... My friend Sean appears to be obsessed with the iPhone; his eyes looked as though they were going to pop out every time the mega-hyped gadget was mentioned this week. I, on the other hand, prefer to use my phone as a phone and for calling people only, thank you very much.
a Kathleen Parker: Clicking on death ... So true.

Baseball ...
a Suppan joins Brewers after dinner, $42 million contract ... Now let's hope he holds up. If he does, it could be a very good Brewers season ...
a Don't Expect Hall Call, Big Mac

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that caught my eye during the past week ...

In TV ...
a ‘Grey’s’ actor as busy as a medical intern
a TV theme songs are practically a lost art ... darn right! I have a huge collection of them on my iPod, which can make for some fun road trips ...
a The People's Republic of YouTube
a 'Friday Night Lights' is on the ropes ... Frankly, I hardly care. Weren't a book and movie enough? ... and if NBC is so giddy about this "splendid for-all-ages, family friendly show," why did it kill of the gem they had in "American Dreams" ... I'm just asking ...
a 'Heroes' separates from the pack to find its own way
a It's gonna get really ugly in TV land
a "Studio 60's" fictional focus on ratings is becoming a real-life scenario at NBC ... pretty much.
a Couric needs some urgency ... ditto.
a Bob Newhart covers his life, career, comed in book ... I love Bob Newhart.


In Music ...
a First Beatles remix is set for release ... looking forward to it!
a Who knew? The Who returning at end of October with first album in 24 years

The World Series ...
a Trammell sings praises of Leyland
a Fired Trammell insists he’s proud, not spiteful
a '84 Tigers reflect with pride on achievements of '06 team
a Tigers have shot at emulating 1984 World Series champions
a Detroit Tigers would like to recapture magic of '84 World Series team
a Tigers' success a novelty for younger generation
a Cards might as well go all the way
a Cards Straggle Into Detroit for Series
a Leyland and La Russa Downplay Friendship

Fall TV

So I just finally got around to watching Wednesday night's premieres of 30 Rock and Twenty Good Years ... I doubt I'll be watching 30 Rock again, which is too bad for all the star power and talent involved. The premiere hardly made me laugh. The jokes were dumb. And Rachel Dratch's talents were wasted. The whole thing plays like Tina Fey said 'Hey, I wanna do a sitcom, I'm going to steal some people from SNL, we'll just mess around and see what we can do ..." ... Twenty Good Years, however, has some potential. Ok, so the jokes weren't much better. But the carpe diem plot is intriguing -- John Mason, the surgeon, is forced into semi-retirement, and judge Jeffrey Pyne is dealing with the death of his wife. And Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow seem to have the type of chemistry that could carry the show for awhile ...

And now my fall TV-watching schedule is a little bit clearer ...

... On Sunday nights, a lot has changed. Then again, not much has changed at all ... West Wing is gone. And three weeks in, I'm still trying to get used to the void that used to be the start-to-the-week-pick-me-up that was Grey's Anatomy (which is holding its own on Thursday nights ...) ... Kates and I still have Amazing Race. Love the ethnicity this season. And it wouldn't be Amazing Race without a trashy couple bickering in every show. The Beauty Queens, the Cheerleaders, Alabama -- they all drive me nuts at some point. And the coalminer and his wife -- well, it's all entertaining ... Glad to see Desperate Housewives has returned to its former self. Before the season started, I heard a radio interview with James Denton that had him talking about how messy and chaotic things were behind the scenes last year. Cast members were getting scripts handed to them as they were walking on the stage. Things were screwed up and the show suffered because of it. Denton explained how the writers and everyone involved knew the show had to be turned around. And they've delivered -- the quick wit is back. The deep mystery, the suspense, the tension -- all of it is back, mostly compliments of Orson, who gives me the creeps just looking at him ... Then you have Brothers & Sisters. Eh. The premiere was pretty decent, but ultimately it's probably going to be Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths and the interesting dynamic among the brothers and sisters that keeps us watching, plus the fact that it's on after Desperate Housewives ...

... Come Monday, Kates and are still attached to the CBS sitcoms ... The Class, a pleasant surprise, is charming and fun to watch with its cool and quirky ensemble of characters ...How I Met Your Mother -- Love it. As good as ever ... Two And A Half Men is still strong ... As for The New Adventures of Old Christine, I watched the first couple episodes last spring and barely watched much more. When it won an Emmy, I didn't understand 'Why?' But some of this season's episodes have had us laughing 'til we cry ... At 9 p.m., we're switching to NBC for Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. The cast is phenomenal and it's hard not to love Aaron Sorkin's racing, walking-the-halls dialogue ... But I think the best new show on television is, by far, Heroes! A sci-fi, comic book, X-men fan I am definitely not. But I've liked watching Hayden Panettiere since Remember The Titans and I was again drawn to the ensemble cast. I watched the first episode and I was hooked! I love the complex characters, although some a more than others (Hiro rocks!) and every twist and turn blows your mind more than one before ...

... on Tuesdays, there's nothing on. Whew! ... at least until According to Jim and Scrubs return mid-season ...

... Wednesday comes and we're all about Lost, dude. Kates and I had half my office over and hosted a Lost party to watch the premiere (... apparently I wasn't the only confused one...). It moves as slow as molasses, but it's a darn fascinating show. Classic story-telling. Fantastic character development ...

... Thursday night arrives ... Five years ago, Survivor didn't stand a chance of showing on my TV, then Friends went off the air, NBC tanked, the Survivor producers added some new twists, added the whole exile island and reeled me in last season. And here I'm back again for this season, even though the point of the racially-divided tribes was ... ? By merging the tribes, the producers rendered their little experience pointless. Either way, I've been rooting hard as heck each week for the Aitu tribe. Yul, Becky, Flica, Jonathan, Candice, Ozzy, Sundra -- what a likable group ... Then the marathon continues when we pickup The Office on the DVR at 8, followed by Grey's Anatomy and the ancient, but rarely dull ER ...

... And on Fridays ... we rest.

TV reads ...
10 fall tube tips
NBC Completely Revamps Fall TV Schedule
TV Commercials Move Beyond the Box
What’s new next fall? Shows to get your blood pumping

Sunday reading

...I've gotten way behind on my posts again. Feel free to blame it on all the new fall shows (the subject of one of the posts I need to write ...)

Some decent reads to get you by ...

a After raising white flag, Phillies making a run ... I've said it before, I'll say it again: The Tigers are my team this year. Now if only the Dodgers could squeak by the Padres to win the West and the Phillies could hold to the Wild Card ...
a Journalism: 10 years, 10 days ... if you're a journo, you'll understand ...

Music ...
a See you again on ’The Dark Side’
a Elton John back on track
a Turbulent times mean no lazy, hazy, crazy tunes this summer
a Long Lost Listener Has to Relearn Top 40

TV ...
a 'Studio 60,' your blog is so bleah
a Super, within reason

Sunday reads

Some good reads from this week and beyond...

Baseball reads...
a Bonds conserving his anger, too
a Bonds, Pujols Could Make for Quite a Show
a Ten worst baseball teams of all time
a Excuses have kept Cubs, Baker busy

Movies reads...
a Critters Offer Consumer Retorts in 'Over the Hedge'
a Studios avoid critics’ pan of movies that click with fans

Music reads...
a The Wreckers Shine On Debut Album
a Dour Dixie Chicks ‘Taking the Long Way’ back
a Dixie Chicks find way outside of country

TV reads...
a Doing what it takes to steady their grip
a NBC Betting on Aaron Sorkin's New Drama
a TV Highs and Lows: Taking stock of the TV season's memorable and forgettable shows

Still thinking

... the talk around our water cooler at work today, of course, was more of last night's pitiful Grey's Anatomy finale ...

... It seems none of us will get over Izzy going so psycho for Denny anytime soon, and the more we discussed how the rest of the interns reacted, and the lack of punishment they recieved, the more frustrated we became ...

... Izzy should've been gone before she had time to even think about quitting. And the punishments for the rest of them should've been far more severe than helping organize that cheeseball prom for the Chief's daughter, niece, granddaughter or whoever she was ...

... and then that dirty Meredith-McDreamy sex ... It was about as creepy as watching George and Meredith earlier in the season. I was past McDreamy and Meredith as a couple, and really latching on to them as the adorable pals joking around in the elevator or walking in the park. As if poor Addison hadn't suffered enough ...

... As one cohort quipped: one of the best things to happen on last night's show was that Denny finally died.

sigh.

A sign of good TV, I guess. We can't stop talking or thinking about it ...

Then to cap off the morning, we catch the headline that ABC will move 'Grey's Anatomy' to Thursdays ... Fine. Whatever ... Course, I'll be making the switch with it, and I'm liking the idea of Grey's giving CSI (...talk about an overrated show ... ) a run, but's it a risky move for ABC, messing with its stellar Sunday night lineup ... and P.S., NBC, you'd better move your highly-touted Studio 60 off Thursdays now if you have any hopes of it surviving ...