It's almost 24 hours past the equinox and the traditional new topic hadn't been created yet. Everybody must be busy. Hope it's "fun" busy.

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Originally posted by pegasus_x:
It's almost 24 hours past the equinox and the traditional new topic hadn't been created yet. Everybody must be busy. Hope it's "fun" busy.

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Not too busy. How are you? It's a beautiful day here in the Valley of San Fernando. :-)

I know it is Spring, but is also 30 degrees outside.

Thanks Pegasus!
We had a nice, if not very warm, first day of spring with forsythias beginning to bloom and I spotted one magnolia tree with flowers already. But the temperature is stil a bit on the nippy side and my heat is going on from time to time. But around here, it could suddenly turn to air conditioning weather, so I'm not complaining!
Busy time- my husband's family is in a very stressful period right now with his mom and medical stuff-all complicated by Alzheimer's. (he's driving their car up from Florida as I type) His future employment situation is still uncertain so we've been trying to not get sucked into the blues too often. On the day that he found out he was wrong about one particular investment that we thought we could use for college without incurring a penalty, my daughter got accepted into Bennington-one of her "expensive" schools! We'll see if they offer her any money. That letter is supposed to come next week. I am busy updating my resume and trying to prepare myself for the hoops I am going to have to jump through. I am so used to being my own boss, the transition should be interesting to say the least. (shocking will be more like it!) It's been a long, long time. I guess I will be needing an interview outfit!

ITTOT- what did you think of the Stargate season finale? I thought it was very exciting!

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Originally posted by cassandra:
ITTOT- what did you think of the Stargate season finale? I thought it was very exciting!

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I liked it -- had a good time watching it with a bunch of other Gaters. Why couldn't they have written more shows with the team interacting like this, this past season? Color me baffled!

The weather was (I'm sorry to say for your Northerners) fabulous this weekend. I had an out-of-town visitor over the weekend and it was great to have easy-going company. Yesterday we went to the beach and it was glorious. It's pre-stifling-humidity weather right now; the sun was shining and there was a nice, steady breeze coming off the gulf. I got a little tan (after my coworker called me "Casper" on Friday).

When do we spring forward on the time? Yuckers.

I just heard that the temperature is supposed to dip to 49 tomorrow. Urgh!

"49" sounds like warm-up to me, WALKER.

Woke up to 20 degrees today, but it is supposed to be 60 by Thursday. I'm just glad it's not raining or snowing!
Is anyone else a CSI fan here? My husband got me into watching that show and now it's one that I don't like to miss. I know we have no trouble finding things to talk about here (besides the weather!) but it might be nice if we could find one show that everyone watches. Maybe we could all list our regular shows and see if there is one we have in common. I'll go first.
Everybody Loves Raymond
Scrubs
Angel
Friends
Will and Grace
CSI (not the Miami one though)
Stargate
Monk
Dead Zone (if it ever comes back on)
Oliver Beene
Simpsons
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

And as far as syndicated shows go- Buffy, Simpsons, Friends, Seinfeld, and oh, yes, the occasional XFiles!

I have now watched 9 episodes of Stargate Season 6!

Other shows I watch (depending on availability):

Smallville
24
Frasier
The West Wing
ER
What Not to Wear
Sex and the City (it ends here this week)
Stargate (when it's available)
The Shield (when it's available - usually about 6 months after the season ends)
Nip/Tuck (starts about 2 months later)
Alias

1. This Old House
2. Monk
3. Trading Spaces
4. What Not To Wear
5. Nova
6. Antiques Roadshow
7. Extreme Makeover (the people one)
8. Peacemaker
9. Any TLC/PBS/Discovery/History show talking about the Universe, time, Einstein's theories, quantum mechanics - you know, all that weird stuff.
10. Barefoot Contessa (cooking show on HGTV)

Shows I don't miss:
Monarch of the Glen
Angel
PBS period "reality" programs (1900 House, Frontier House, Manor House and the soon to air Colonial House)
NewsHour withJim Lehrer

Shows I try to catch:
Everwood
One Tree Hill
Daily Show w/Jon Stewart
Martha Stewart Living
Barefoot Contessa
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Jaques Pepin and Julia Child

Reruns I love:
Friends
Seinfeld
That 70s Show
Buffy
Angel

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-23-2004).]

I've never heard of Monarch of the Glen -- what is that?

I dunno how much more Martha Stewart Living you're going to get..... Hmmmmmm.

Should she go to the slammer? Oh, probably for a little while, I think.

For those of us answering to date, we haven't listed one common show that I can see.

[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-23-2004).]

Monarch of the Glen is a lovely little BBC program about a son who returns to the family estate the Scottish Highlands to save the estate from ruin. It's a really nice show (and Archie is very easy on the eyes). It's usually on Tuesday nights (PBS) but it wasn't on last week. :-(

I've decided to be in denial about Martha's fate.

p.s. http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/monarch/

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-23-2004).]

Govt, looks like both you and I watch "What not to Wear". I do wonder where the people actually *find* the clothes they wear. I doubt I'd have any trouble spending the $5000 on a new wardrobe.

Do you mean the old clothes or the new clothes, when you ask where they find their clothes? I think you mean the old clothes. I hear ya. Where are some of those clothes sold or manufactured? Skirts like tents - T-shirts with big faces on them, etc. etc. YIKES!

Me too. I could EASILY go spend the $5000. I enjoy clothes and putting outfits together and I'm amazed at some of the really dreadful wardrobes some of the people have. The one that gave me the most laughs was the guy whose wardrobe consisted of about 7-10 black t-shirts, a really ugly old ski sweater, and some black pants - that was it! And, he owned a company of some kind!

[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-23-2004).]

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Originally posted by cassandra:
Is anyone else a CSI fan here?

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Yep. A fan of forensics oriented TV shows since way back before "Quincy".

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... it might be nice if we could find one show that everyone watches.

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The West Wing
The Shield (my husband only)
CSI (Las Vegas one)
CSI: Miami
Nova
also govt's TLC/PBS/Discovery/History show talking about the Universe, time, Einstein's theories, quantum mechanics - you know, all that weird stuff.

Yeah, loved that one about string theory, "The Elegant Universe". However, my husband is easily disgusted by nature shows that depict predators killing their prey so I don't get to watch such very often.

PBS period "reality" programs (1900 House, Frontier House, Manor House and the soon to air Colonial House)

Everwood (husband only again but I have watched a few lately; tends to have too much teen angst for me.)

NYPD Blue
Crossing Jordan (Watch only because of the forensics. The stories are not that well written.)
Enterprise (getting tired of the cliches and the catering to the lowest denominator - but just love Porthos!)

Still looks like no show in common.

I really enjoyed "The Elegant Universe" too. Mr. govt gave me the book for Christmas. I've worked my way through a little over half of it...but cannot report that I have understood everything. Brian Greene, the author, tried very hard to keep the math at a minimum (and puts the math back in the endnotes for those so inclined - I looked at a few of those endnotes and decided I would be better off trying to read Greek). But, his explanation of "time" as a dimension was an eye opener. I've long heard about time being a dimension, but never could grasp that concept. Well, his explanation near the front of the book was like a light bulb going on - an "Ah Ha!" moment.

Anyway, this book/Nova show is all about "string theory" - trying to explain the Universe in that unified theory. As I understand him, he is saying these vibrating strings, which theoretically make up THE smallest thing in the Universe, have no mass - and I'm thinking, how can that possibly be?

[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-24-2004).]

Very interesting lists...too bad we don't have a common denominator though! Govt- maybe we could talk everyone into watching Monk.
I'm not a big fan of shows that have to do with clothing or make-overs; I would probably qualify as someone that they would want to make-over! I've watched a few episodes of Queeer Eye with my daughter. I have some issues with the whole idea of changing people- I know, as my daughter says, I should lighten up, but I guess I still have memories of my first husband (who was gay, BTW) trying to change me and I have a problem with people thinking that their way is better. When people see my clutter and dorm-style house, I figure they usually go back to their own homes with a new appreciation for their own style. I would find a world of well-dressed people with nice furnishings to be very boring! As long as personal hygiene is followed, I don't care about much else.
I am also not a fan of reality TV, but I find the upcoming Colonial Life on PBS a bit tempting. Educational reality TV!
Reading about The Elegant Universe made me wonder if anyone else has read The daVinci Code? A parent of one of my students loaned it to me and I am now intrigued by the number PHI. It is interesting that having been a math phobe in my youth, I now find it a compelling and intriguing subject that I wish I understood better.

[This message has been edited by cassandra (edited 03-24-2004).]

Cassandra, we have the Buffy/Angel series in common but Buffy is off and Angel will soon join her. :-(

Have you seen any of the other PBS period shows? I first caught 1900 House almost 4 years ago and really liked it. The poor wife was livid that her burden was so great, while her husband just went off to work everyday and left her and her children to labor in the house. Her hands suffered from the lye in the clothes detergent; her husband gave her live chickens for her birthday; and her daughter had to stay home from school every Monday to assist with laundry. Also, she was a vegetarian and her diet did not give her adequate nutrition, given the heavy labor she had to do. It was very enlightening.

Frontier House showed modern-day Americans in a less than favorable light. One family felt very competitive (like those reality shows), the other family kept cheating, but the newlyweds were a lovely couple. In the end two of the families would have fared very poorly through the winter as they had not enough food for the animals or themselves and not enough firewood to keep themselves warm.

Manor House was great! I loved the insight into manners and social positions of that time.

I'm really looking forward to Colonial House.


[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-24-2004).]

WALKER: It seems like the vegetarian participant might have considered re-thinking her late 20th century notions in order to survive - after all, that was one of the points of the show. I must admit, I have no sympathy for her "predicament." I'm not up on the history of vegetarians, i.e. whether people were doing that back in 1900.

CASSANDRA, I've been trying to figure out why the re-decorating/makeover shows fascinate me. I think it is the process more than I think anyone needs to do those things. Also, I'm a bit of a neatnik (though definitely NOT compulsive) and I like my house, my office, my clothes, etc. to be "pulled together." So, watching someone/something get "pulled together" must satisfy my own tendencies to be that way. How's that for psychoanalysis?

Regarding "Monk" - Mr. govt and I had not watched that show until USA had a "marathon" - I think it was around New Year's. We flipped it on, got engrossed, and then watched all the new episodes. It is a great show...really good writing and a lot of truly funny lines...plus good acting especially from the police captain and the other police officer Sherona (sp?) is always sparring with. Speaking of Sherona - I'm not sure why she dresses like a prostitute.

GOVTLAWYER: According to the show's historians, vegetarians were rare in that time. A woman simply could not sustain herself on a vegetarian diet given the heavy work load she had to bear. A woman of means, on the other hand, would not have had to do much work and she could indulge in a low protein diet. However, this would have been difficult as well because, unlike today, fresh vegetables were not available year round and they did not have the variety of vegetables. The food fare was ... slim pickins.

There was a scene where the butcher brought a basket of meats to the house (as did the baker), as it was the custom to do. The wife was "disgusted" at having the meats put right in front of her.

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-24-2004).]