Vacation Recap: Los Angeles

dodgerstadium

We left off yesterday with me in a rental car leaving San Diego behind and heading towards the city of Angels.  The plan was to stop at Dodger Stadium on the way to my hotel and take in an afternoon matchup between the Dodgers and the Giants.  I’d given myself 3 hours to make the 2 hour drive so I would have time to get to the stadium and acclimate myself before the game started.  Trip Issue #3!  Things were smooth sailing until I got closer to LA, when traffic started to swell.  All told, the 2 hour drive ended up taking closer to 4, and I arrived in my seat during the 4th inning, by which time the Dodgers had fallen far behind.  One Dodger Dog later and many Giant home runs later, the game was over and I found my way to Glendale and the local Hilton, which would be my home for the next 4 days.

Saturday night, in search of a nice dinner, I headed out for a drive and decided to just wing it.  Somehow I ended up driving through Griffith Park and seeing some of the sights, but I didn’t find anything interesting as far as food went.  Eventually I ended up back at the hotel, where I caught the end of the Wisconsin loss in the NCAA tournament along with a tasty hamburger at the hotel bar.

muppet_starsSunday was the only day I didn’t have anything specific planned, so, after a morning walk to the local Starbucks for a nice breakfast, I headed down to Hollywood to check out the Walk of Fame and to get a good look at the famous Hollywood sign.  To be honest, the Walk of Fame was mostly creepy, other than the block or so around Hollywood and Highland, where Jimmy Kimmel’s theater is located.  I tracked down all of the Muppet-related stars and a few others of interest, including Ricardo Montalban, Mister Rogers, and George Takei. Continue reading →

Post Mortem – Zero Hour

zero-hourABC thought they had something special going on with Zero Hour, a conspiracy show seemingly modeled after The DaVinci Code, which featured the return of Anthony Edwards to his first television role since leaving ER in 2002.  What they got instead was a hot mess, which aired three episodes before being pulled off the air.  The conspiracy revolved around Edwards’ wife, played by Real World alum Jacinda Barrett, being kidnapped because Edwards character is the spitting image of a Nazi who owned a clock.  If that sounds like the kind of thing that floats your boat, rumor has it that the remaining episodes will be burned off starting on June 15th.

NBC Upfronts

communityNBC jumped the gun and announced many of their renewals early, including the surprise 5th season of Community.  Over the weekend, they presented their full schedule.  The slate includes new shows with James Spader, Blair Underwood, Mike O’Malley, Sean Hayes, and Michael J. Fox.  Revolution loses its plum post-Voice slot on Mondays and will have to fend for itself leading off Wednesdays.  Parenthood inherits the once-exclusive Thursday night slot held by ER, but which has become a wasteland since that show went off the air.  Community starts on the bench, waiting once again for one of the new comedies to falter.  No word yet on the fate of Hannibal, which is piling up on the DVR and will likely be watched only if it gets renewed.

Overall, NBC is in a world of hurt.  The only returning shows on their fall schedule that I am currently watching are Revolution, which has not grabbed much of my attention since it came back after a looooong hiatus, and Parenthood.  None of their new shows looks promising on first glance.  I guess there is a reason they are languishing in the ratings race.

Goodbye, iPhone 3G – Music Edition

As I wait for tomorrow’s delivery of my new iPhone 4S, it is time to say goodbye to the 3G that has been my trusty companion for nearly the past 3 1/2 years.  We’ve traveled the world together (well, at least Canada and the UK) and have listened to a lot of music.  Here is every song (all 1597 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary!

He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 100
Gordon Beckham Intro 91
Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 87
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 84
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 83
sox05_montage 75
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 73
Boom P.O.D. Satellite 70
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 69
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 65

No surprise that the top 10 are all part of (or were part of) my White Sox victory playlist.  This gets played on the way home from every White Sox winner, plus the occassional ride to a game.  Continue reading →