It would be nice to save the nearly $90/month we are currently paying for satellite. Here is a list of the shows our family DVRs. I'm now going to try to figure out where else we can catch these shows. If I can match up enough of these, I'll be convinced to drop Dish Network. I've put the shows that I couldn't find full episodes in bold.

( Read more... )

James May was reviewing a Rolls Royce. He's going through his spiel, when Calvin turns to me and asks if the car is using the "Merlin engine."

"HUH!?" I replied.

"Does this car use the Merlin engine? It is the same engine as was used in the P-51 Mustang."

I had NO IDEA what Calvin was talking about. Somewhere in my noggin, I had a glimmer of an idea that Rolls Royce probably made plane engines during the wars. I decided just to tell him that although car companies may have made plane engines during the war, they wouldn't use the same engine in both a car and a plane.

Just a little while ago, I decided to Google "Rolls Royce P-51." Don't you know that Rolls Royce made the Rolls Royce Merlin engine that was, in fact, used for the P-51 Mustang! I hesitate to assume everything he says on these sorts of factoids are true, but every time I've researched what he's told me (when I have no idea what he's talking about), the boy has been right every time.

Here is a list of the timers set on my DVR to regularly record shows. This is for the family DVR, so there is a mix of kid stuff in this list too.

( The 57 Timers on Cory's DVR )

In the March 14th edition (I guess it's this week - my subscription expired and we're back to getting them second hand from JD's mom), they have a big section on new pop culture debates. While some were interesting to me (Judd Apatow's movies are 20 minutes too long and X-Files vs. Lost), it was the "Ye Olde Throwdowns" that made me want to chime in on the subject.

The following is merely a measure of my preferences and not me trying to be an impartial judge to which is "greater" in some way.

( Beatles VS Rolling Stones )
( Star Wars VS Star Trek )
( Diane VS Rebecca on Cheers )
( Spielberg VS Scorsese )
( Mean Girls VS Heathers )
( Spiderman VS Superman )
The last one was Mary VS Rhoda, which I have no opinion whatsoever.

Before Christmas, I would let Calvin watch a segment a night of the animated-Who's "Infinity Quest" on YouTube. I had the Doctor Who soundtrack playing one day when I picked him up from school and he kept wanting to hear the theme song over and over. He keeps asking about the show, but I know he's definitely not old enough for most of the episodes.

What you must know is that this boy is scared (I mean full-on tantrum and crying and gnashing of teeth) to watch Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and every other classic children's movie. On the other hand, he LOVES all the CGI dinosaur specials and shows such as Prehistoric Park, the Walking with Dinosaurs series, and Before the Dinosaurs. Cruella DeVille is too much, but an allosaurus dining on the carcass of a prenocephale is hunky-dory.

Today, BBC America was airing "The Runaway Bride" and I knew that the first half with the car chase and such would likely be fine, so I asked him if he wanted to watch. SURE! Nigel was gung ho and crawled onto the couch to watch. Both of them wanted to see the opening credits a few times because they "like the way the box spins and moves from side to side." I spent much of the time summarizing the dialog and explaining why Donna was so mad and the Doctor was confused. Calvin got a little antsy during the car chase because he didn't know, and I wouldn't tell him, how the scene was going to end. The tension was getting to him. But he wanted to watch more. Nigel was all about the eye-candy and loved the robots, spaceships, the flying TARDIS scenes, and the Racnoss.

We kept going and I paused before the lead baddie showed up in the scary costume to let him know what was about to happen and remind him what other shows we could watch instead if he wanted. Onward, Daddy! He thought the "spiderlady" was "really cool" and he wanted to do makeup like that sometime. I skipped through much of the climactic double-crossing, threats, and yelling...all while summarizing what's happening in the most basic of terms. Calvin was a little concerned about whether or not the Doctor would win but remained optimistic and eager to continue. He took the death of the bad guys well and cheered when the crisis ended.

I really should look more into what Who stuff is available for small kids.

If you haven't caught an episode yet, please take the time to watch this under-appreciated show some Tuesday night (or catch some of the clips and promos on YouTube). Reaper constantly surprises me with its intelligent turns, an excellent portrayal of Satan (an actual tempting, evil character and not some hip, funny, Hollywood version one might expect), and good acting from this cast of mostly unknowns.

I should have posted about this earlier today to give folks a heads-up, but...well...sorry. Anyways, the best horror story I've seen on TV EVAR is airing tonight on Sci-Fi. It's Doctor Who - "Blink." Here's a snippet. Before you press play, turn off all the lights! I dare you!



Damn, I just wet my desk chair.

I am completely addicted to Scott Baio is 45...and Single on VH1. One afternoon they had a 10 minute teaser for the show and I was hooked.

While you get to see the ass Scott has been for much of his life, there is something to be said for his honesty on camera - especially during his sessions with Doc Ali. Here's a quick primer of the show:

As the title says, Scott is 45 and single...but interested in marrying and having kids with his current girlfriend. He is set up with a life coach who is doing an 8-week program with Scott to help explore his fear of commitment. Just like everyone else in Hollywood, Scott has an entourage of friends he hangs with (including the actor who played the big brother in The Wonder Years) and one person of the crew is pure poison. Anyways, part of the therapy is that Scott is celibate and isn't allowed contact w/ his girlfriend during the project. During the course of her working with Scott, she gives him little assignments. Many of them involve going back and discussing things with ex-girlfriends. If you liked the first half of High Fidelity, then you should give the show a try.

What has me foaming from the mouth this week is that I know that Johnny V is about to get his come-uppance from Doc Ali and, hopefully, Scott. The bastard is such a creepy leech on Scott's life, I am very anxious to see what happens.

I'm typing this through tears of laughter...

I don't remember ST:V as funny as I've found it since I started watching it on Spike these past few months. Today I'm having to pause and skip back on the Tivo frequently during an episode where the Doctor/EMH has daydreams. In particular, it took me a while to recover from when he dreams the warp core is about to blow. A great line from this moment is when the computer announces "Warp core breach even sooner than you think!"

Damn, I'm looking forward to the new job and getting out and around people more. It's nice to sit at home and watch TV during work, but I'm ready to move on to something more like "work."