Day 633: Wacky Website of the Week – Hats Of Meat

Honestly… I really don’t know what I can possible say about this website.

Enjoy!

www.hatsofmeat.com

Day 632: TV Review – ‘Pushing Daises’ and the Writers Strike of 2007

Have any of you seen “Pushing Daises”? I loved this show! It’s was smart and witty and quirky and very fast paced. It was REALLY good. But, like may shows from 2007, the writer’s strike ruined its momentum. I’m sure you guys remember this strike… it lasted 100 days! For “Pushing Daises”, they had only completed 9 episodes prior to the strike… and when it was called off on February 12, 2008, there just wasn’t enough time to put shows back into production.

So, the networks ended up canceling a bunch of decent new shows once their initial order of episodes finished like “Carpoolers”, “Women’s Murder Club”, “Big Shots”, “Aliens in America”, “K-ville”, and “Cane”.

Hell, even the producers of battle-tested shows like “24” wrote off the entire season opting to regroup for the following year.

However, some lucky shows premiering in 2007, like “Pushing Daises”, they were brought back for a second season… unfortunately, it was a rather pointless season. “Push Daises” was canceled during its second season after the completion of its initial 13 episode order. Thankfully, the networks gave them enough notice to rework their final episode offering some semblance of closure for the show. “Pushing Daises” was not alone. It was one of many writers strike survivors who ultimately bit the dust midway through season two. Do you remember any of the following shows: “Samantha Who”, “Reaper”, “Dirty Sexy Money”, “Life”, and “Eli Stone”?

Sadly, I was a loyal fan of all these shows. Thanks to my tivo, I’ve slowly been catching up on each of them watching their final episodes. “Pushing Daises” is on my mind because I finally caught up on the show last month. Watching the final eight episodes over the course of a week, I remembered why I loved the show so much. As far as crime solving shows go, “Pushing Daises” was light and refreshing and was unlike anything else on TV at the time or any other time. Its cancelation makes me sad… even two years later.

Whelp, I now have eight episodes of “Reaper” to watch and I will be official caught up on all these very unfortunate shows.

Oh, and you’re probably wondering… what new show’s premiered in 2007 before the writers’ strike and returned successfully? Well, here they are: “The Big Bang Theory”, “Chuck”, “Private Practice”, and “Gossip Girls”… that’s it. Only four shows premiering in 2007 made it to season three.

Day 631: London Series – Airlines of Questionable National Origin

Now that the epically long Birth Experience Series is over it’s time to move onto other topics, like our non-birth related misadventures in London. I’ve been hearing from various folks that I haven’t given enough attention to that part of our stay… so now, I guess, is as good of a time as ever to talk about London… which was a very interesting and fun city to live in, even if it was for only two months.

Now, many of you, who read this blog religiously, know that I have an eye for the strange and an equally “off” sense of humor… so to begin this new London Series I would like to tell you about an Airline of Questionable National Origin.

Every day on my way to work I would pass the London office of this Airline. Every day, I would see an attendant stationed at each of their five or six computerized kiosks ready to assist customers. Every day, I never saw customers… yet they were always fully staffed. They must have been keeping up appearances.

Anyway, my confusion over their bizarre staffing patterns hit home one evening when I was walking home. You see, the Airline’s kiosks are situated perpendicular to the street, so when I walked to work, I saw the kiosks from the customers perspective… however, when I walked home, I saw these kiosks from the employee’s perspective. I never really took notice of the employee perspective until about halfway into my stay in London. Most nights I would glance over to verify their complete lack of customers… but on one faithful night, I glanced over and saw what was on the closest computer screen. I stopped… and then I look down the row of kiosks… and they were all doing the exact same thing… all of the employees of this Airline of Questionable National Origin were playing Solitar.

Day 630: Product Review – Transformers Animated Activators

To describe this product line as “crap-tastic” would be giving Hasbro too much credit for their “engineering marvels”. By engineering marvel, I am of course referring to their success in making a successful product… that is… if the product was intended to make children cry and parents frustrated.

Bravo!

Last October, I went back to the States for a week to attend a funeral. I took this trip solo. Before leaving, I asked Grayson if he wanted me to get him something. As any young child being successfully raised, Grayson’s only request was the Transformer “Bumblebee”. How could I deny his one request?

During my trip I ducked into a Target and found an overwhelming number of Bumbleebee options. Models for all different age groups. Since Gray was 3 at the time, I settled on the “Animated Activators” line of Transformers. It was advertized 4+ and featured an activator button, which, when pressed, “Pops” the action figure from car mode to robot mode. Perfect, right? The price was right too, so I also picked up Megatron and Grimlock as well.

This was a mistake. These Transformers are made very cheaply and feature arms and legs that easily pop off. Furthermore, the activator buttons for Megatron and Grimlock never worked properly, so it was near impossible to transform them into their not robot modes… they would immediately pop back into robot form.

This became very frustrating for both Grayson and me. You see? Although Grayson loves transformer, at 4 years old, he can’t really manipulate the transformation process… which is why the activator buttons are fun. He would turn it into a robot and then give it to me to turn into a car, dinosaur, or helicopter. As pieces began to break off and activator buttons stopped working (within minutes to opening the package), Grayson couldn’t do anything with the figures.

As for me? If I knew my son wouldn’t be able to use the action figure advertized for his age group… and I would be stuck transforming it for him… I would have forked out the money for a really nice one. One that wouldn’t break and one that would be fun for me to transform. One that would work.

In the end, I threw Grimlock and Megatron away. They weren’t worth the hastle. Bumblebee is still okay… it seems to work a little better.

Bumblebee: http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Animated-Activators-Bumblebee-Action/dp/B0019AI5MU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1269856015&sr=1-3

Grimlock: http://www.amazon.com/Fireblast-Grimlock-Transformers-Animated-Activators/dp/B002MC5LCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1269856015&sr=1-1

Megatron: http://www.amazon.com/Megatron-Transformers-Animated-Activators-Action/dp/B001JP53DO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1269856015&sr=1-5

Day 629: The Birth Experience – Wolf Moon

So, this is my final post about our birth experience. Hurray! Right? Lol. I know… I’ve been prattling on. But don’t worry; this one is going to be pretty loose.

Since having Grayson and Serena becoming a certified labor doula I have learned more about childbirth than any man should. Honestly… I know way too much… I thought I had filled every nook and cranny of my brain with useless TV and Movie trivia knowledge… apparently I didn’t.

The hilarious part about childbirth is that it’s nothing like they show in the movie… or television. Well, unless you’re watching Grey’s Anatomy where they cut out every baby. Anyway, I digress. You know what I’m talking about. Every time someone is ready to give birth on a television show or movieits the same thing every time: “Oh! Honey, my water just broke, it’s time to go to the hospital.” Folks… this isn’t normal. Only about 8 to 10 percent of women have their water break prior to labor actually beginning. So, the idea of Serena’s water breaking was the farthest thing from our collective mind. It’s just so darn rare… well… unless you’re an actress… or it’s the “Wolf Moon”.

The Wolf Moon is the nickname for January’s full moon… and it also marks the moment each year when the moon is closest to the Earth physically. Well, apparently, the Wolf Moon is also known for sending women into labor Hollywood style. Serena’s water broke before labor started. And once it broke? Woo baby… labor started.

I for one would call something like the “Wolf Moon” hog wash… however, over the three day weekend of the Wolf Moon, the maternity ward at St. John and Lizzies Hospital filled up. I believe they had close to 10 births that weekend… and all 10 moms started labor due to their water breaking. For a birthing unit which normally delivers one baby every day and a half… 10 is a lot… and due to their starting patterns seem like much more than a coincidence. It’s spooky!

Hmmm…

Day 628: Movie Review – Funny People

Have you ever heard of a man named Tom Schulman? No? Well, Schulman won the Oscar for Best Original Screen Play in 1989 for “Dead Poets Society”. Awesome movie, right? Well, in Hollywood, Schulman wasn’t really know for writing Oscar worthy movies... his other work includes “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”, “Welcome to Mooseport”, “What About Bob?”, “Holy Man”, “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag”, and “Medicine Man”… sure, these movies may be entertaining, however, none of them contain any substance comparable to “Dead Poets Society”.

What made “Dead Poets Society” so different from the rest of his work? It’s because Schulman lived it. He grew up in a prep school. He based Robin William’s character on a real professor he had while at the Montgomery Bell Academy for boys.

What’s my point? Every writer has a “Dead Poets Society”.

And for Judd Apatow, best known for “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”, “Funny People” is his “Dead Poets Society”. He wrote a movie about his experiences as an up-in-coming stand-up.

The movie has the look and feel of a REALLY LONG James L. Brooks movie. I emphasize the long part because the movie runs around two hours and fourty-five minutes… which explains why “Funny People” wasn’t a box office dynamo. Even with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen at the helm.

However, I wouldn’t suggest the film to be trimmed down for time. The film builds in very interesting, emotional, and comic ways. The lives of these characters are real and believable… and over the course of the movie they grow… and you grow with them… and as an audience member you see genuine moments where friendships are forged. It’s a really beautiful movie. The movie may be long, but the audience needs to see the character build over time for them to be believable.

But don’t get me wrong… the movie can be rough and vulgar at times, after all, it’s a movie about stand-up comics. But it’s a REALLY GOOD movie about stand-up comics. Film critics should have gotten behind this film more… it was solid. It’s a truly great Dramedy with really great performances.

Go see it and let me know what you think!

Day 627: The Birth Experience - House Calls

The most interesting experiences regarding Serena’s birth in London were the house calls made by trained midwives after we went home.

I remember one of the most annoying and nerve racking thing associated with Grayson’s birth, after leaving Northside, were the multitude of doctor’s visits. It seemed like every few days we had to pack-up the whole family, drive to the doctor’s office, sit in the waiting room for about an hour, only to spend enough time with the doctor to hear the worlds, “everyone looks great!” It’s a waste of time and energy if you ask me.

Now, although Gilliam isn’t a British subject, he does have a British Healthcare number. So, when Gilliam’s birth was registered by the Hospital, he was immediately put into the system, which meant healthcare would come to us, rather than us going to healthcare.

St. John and Lizzies handed off our file to another hospital, which was geographically closer to our apartment. At which point, the new hospital’s roving midwives were now responsible for us.

About a day after we returned home, Serena received a call from Roberto, our assigned midwife. And yes… you heard me correctly… his name was Roberto. Comically, when Serena first talked to him she thought he said “Roberta”… and took note of “her” rather deep voice. When Roberto arrived in our apartment for the first time it completely threw Serena off. She had complete programmed herself to expect a woman. Who would have thought otherwise?

Anyway, I never met Roberto, but Serena loved him. Smart, funny, helpful. And the whole idea of having a midwife visit us at home is so novel that we can’t criticize or complain.

Two thumbs up for house calls!