(in the dark) the shine of small things

Randomly, I am in an SG-1 kind of mood. It has been awhile since I've watched any eps of the show from the original cast days, and I find that I miss it. (Sorry, Ben. Sorry, Claudia. Sorry, Corin.)

Perhaps a mini-marathon this weekend? Off the top of my head, maybe:

Crystal Skull
Urgo
A Matter of Time
The First Ones
Point of View
The Fifth Race

I adore One False Step, but I think I've watched that episode a dozen times already. Then again, I've probably watched all the above episodes a dozen times.

For the handful of SG-1 fans on my f-list: what are your favorite episodes from the first 5 seasons? Maybe I'll mix it up and watch some of those instead :)

Saw Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa this weekend. I was not a big fan of the first one, but the daughter of a family friend wanted to see it, so I took her. Surprisingly, it was one of those rare sequels that is better than the original; I enjoyed it. The penguins got a lot more to do in this one, which was great because pretty much everything they do or say cracks me up. It was a little saddening to hear Bernie Mac's voice again, though.

The trailer for Monsters & Aliens ran beforehand. Terrible title aside, it looks rather funny. Between M&A and Up, 2009 might not be a bad year for CGI-y animated films.

While I was across the bridge, I also went to BJ's, where I spotted all the seasons of Babylon 5 for $18.99 a piece. Aggravating, that. You know, since I distinctly recall buying seasons 3 and 4 from BJ's for at least $50 a piece when they were first released. I hate when that happens! I usually avoid it by not buying any boxsets until they've been out for a year or two, but I do love me some Babylon 5, and the lure of commentary tracks was too much.

On the plus side, BJ's also had all five seasons of La Femme Nikita for $18.99 a piece. So tempting! I ended up buying season 1, because I fail at not buying more stuff until I watch the stuff I have. What can I say, me and that show go back. Like I'm pretty sure I belonged to a usenet group for that show back. Peta Wilson has such a great face, and for my money, her Nikita had one of the sexiest voices on tv. I loved the way her Australian accent refused to be suppressed entirely, and she had that husky thing going? I was a fan. Plus that show had great music. I have no idea if the show holds up - I haven't seen an episode in at least 8 years - but I figured it's worth $19 to find out ;)

I open up the new issue of The Advocate (4/10 cover story: WHO'S GAYER? They're politically correct on gay issues. But what do Barack and Hillary really think of us?) to spy the following teaser for a story on advocate.com:

WILL LT. GAETA COME OUT?
Since season 1, the writers of Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica have been dropping hints that Lt. Felix Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) might be gay. Is this the season he publicly embraces his sexual orientation?

I couldn't find the story on the website, which is really irritating. Because seriously, what hints? Unless we're just talking about the fact that he can be soft-spoken and wears a lot of gel in his hair. I think johnnybvo and I have joked about it, but I'm hardpressed to point to anything in particular that the writers have done (besides making him the only male regular not involved with any of the female regulars) that should "hint" to us that Gaeta is homosexual. Also, I guess no one told the writers at The Advocate that the third season ended this past weekend. Whoops. Guess you'll be holding your breath til 2008, guys.

SI listed the best games of 2006 and a handful of baseball games made the cut. NOT the terrifically fun OAK-LAD 17 inning matchup, incredibly, but that 12 hour marathon game between the Sox and Yanks, as well as a couple of last season's 18 inning NL games are on the list. And of course NYY's crazy comeback against the Rangers. NLCS Game 7 was the only postseason game to rank. The baby fish were also featured, courtesy of Anibal's no hitter :) Still, Huston did not blow a single one of those games, so that list is hella lacking and fundamentally flawed. (There was one Brad Lidge blown save, though. ♥)

EW ranked BSG the third best drama on television this past year, behind only The Wire and Friday Night Lights. And, damn, I've known for a couple years now that I should be watching The Wire, but I guess [Bad username or site: acroarcs / @ livejournal.com] really is onto something with FNL. TV Guide ranked BSG #1 and FNL #2, and The Wire didn't even make their top 10 or honorable mentions. But Deadwood did. ♥. 24 and The Office made both lists - validation, yay. BSG, The Office, The Wire, Heroes, FNL, and 24 also all made AFI's list of ten best '06 shows.

Of course, the AFI voted Happy Feet and Little Miss Sunshine onto their list of the ten best films of '06, so. You can't win 'em all.

God, I love baseball - I dreamt last night that the A's traded Bobby to the Brewers (what?) and that the Mets announced they were pulling out of the Zito clusterfuck. Woke up to the news that the Rangers have given Barry Zito an ultimatum. They want a response on their contract offer by this weekend. That seems like a bad move on the Rangers' part, considering that the Yankees allegedly want to jump into the mix, provided they can unload Randy Johnson soon. It's one thing for the Mets to say this is our offer and we're not gonna change it. It's another for the RANGERS to be trying to get all mafioso and shit. I mean, I understand their not wanting to be used...but they are the TEXAS FUCKING RANGERS. What did they think they were being pulled into this thing for? They are like the Orioles, but with an owner who writes blank checks. Supposedly if Zito doesn't accept the ~$102M/six year offer, they're pulling it off the table. Hee. Good. Because it was just gonna be embarrassing when he signed with the Mets for a shitload less. And I love how the GM said their offer will change considerably if Zito doesn't sign now. Because obviously, if he wasn't going to sign with you for $100M, he could always realize the error of his ways in a couple weeks and sign with you for WAY LESS. Morons. It took them this long to figure out Boras was using them to try and drive up the asking price? Sure, over$$$$ worked with A-Rod, but I guess they think everyone missed how that has played out for him in the long run.

I read elsewhere that Mark's decision is down to the Rangers and the Cards (ahahaha! THANK YOU FOR FUCKING OFF, ARIZONA) which I hope against hope is a nobrainer for him, no matter how much the Rangers offered him. Come on, Markus. You've got a lovely wife, with a good name. Impossibly long legs and the tiniest hips in all of sports. Great hair. A World Series ring. Memories of a sun-drenched honeymoon to last you til the divorce a lifetime, and probably a pair of twin little Markuses on the way. Playing for the Texas Rangers does not complete this picture. Well, unless they guaranteed you two years at 20 million or something.

eta: Interesting. Bet at least half of those names leak in the next year. So that should be fun times.

Good morning! No game last night, stupid weather, so I watched The Nine. I liked it. ( uberquick, unspoilery reaction )

At some point, Moose became a complete non-factor in my fandom life, which is kinda weird after 8 years of him being the answer to the secret security question on every account I own, but after offspeed posted a quote from the pre-game conference, I had to go find the video. It's vintage bitchy snarky Moose. It amuses me when he starts an answer off with "Obviously...", because the implication is that the writer's a fucking idiot to have asked the question. You can stream the video on the YES website, or, if you have too much self-respect for that, I ripped the vid - (wmv,20mbs) // (asf,20mbs). Great moment at -1:57 when a guy is asking him about the Detroit lineup. The asf is skippable, the wmv is not.

(Shame, btw, that MLB.com doesn't carry the pregame conferences since they carry the postgame conferences. But anyway.)

Guantanamo teach-in today, and then class at 2pm. Which will interfere tremendously with my ability to watch the game, but I'ma tape it so I guess I'll survive. Was Zito on Cold Pizza yesterday? I thought I saw something to that effect on the ESPN ticker in the morning, but I forgot to set the vcr before class.

Quick poll, which is way overdue:
[Poll #837494]
eta:: Huston, on getting whacked by a foul ball yesterday ~
"(Scott) Sauerbeck would appreciate it," Street said, referring to the Oakland reliever who did not make the Division Series roster. "His whole deal is 'man-tosterone.' That's a word he created. He says guys with man-tosterone don't move when the baseball's hit into the bullpen. Guys who don't have enough man-tosterone scatter. I was trying to raise my level of man-tosterone. It was foolish. The more intelligent thing would be to move."

Street did the same thing in Colorado during interleague play and got hit in the head, but in fairness, Sauerbeck didn't join the A's until July, so the first one is Street's fault alone.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, nobody gets hit," he lamented. "I've been hit twice now." - Street gets save after foolishness. LOL. Oh, Huston. I don't even know where to begin.