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newnumber6So yeah, as you might be able to tell from the title, I'm sick again. It's not even terribly bad sickness, it's just a cold. ANOTHER cold. I spent almost the first two months of the year fighting off a cold that just would not die, had about a month and a half of grace, and then I catch another one. I blame kids. At my Dad's birthday party I spent a bit of time entertaining some of my step-nieces, playing tag and such in between helping get things set up, and though they weren't sick that I could tell, it's well known that kids are disease vectors so I'm going to blame them anyway, it helps to blame someone.
Anyway, like I said, it's not terribly bad... cough, sore and congested sinuses, bit of a sore throat. The main problem that's kicking my ass right now is the tiredness. The combination of symptoms is just making it difficult to sleep, at least a full night's sleep. I get a couple hours, then I wake up with a mouth super dry so I have to get up for water, then before I get back to sleep my cough starts up again so I have to take a Halls, and while waiting for it to dissolve so I don't choke in my sleep, I have to go to the bathroom from the water I just drank, and by the time all that's done, I'm TOO awake that I can't get back to sleep again if I try, my body thinks it's time to get up. I make up for some of that with naps during the day, but it doesn't entirely satisfy, and I've been a bit zombielike the whole weekend.
But I don't want to make this post a total whiner post. So let's move to an up note. My TV. I found a sweet spot, and so now I not only get the channels I used to get (save one I barely watched, and I could probably get if I moved the antenna a little and re-scanned), all in digital (save two, one which isn't yet broadcasting digital, and one which I get the regular but haven't yet been able to tune in the digital version - I'm hoping that when the official changeover occurs they'll be broadcasting digital in higher power and that'll make the difference), but also all of the major broadcast networks of the US, and PBS (three channels, although two are just the same programming in SD or HD). Finally managed to tune in NBC. And with the NBC affiliate comes a sub-channel they carry called "Retro" which has all kinds of old shows... so far none have appealed to me overly much, but I might check them out occasionally. Anyway, perfect clarity from digital for free, yay. Occasionally a channel does drop out for brief times, but compared to analog antenna reception, it's still spectacular.
And, I get Saturday morning cartoons again! Well, a little. The only problem is, Saturday Morning Cartoons kinda suck. FOX dropped theirs, it seems, and while CW still has them, at least this weekend it was almost exclusively Sonic X, DBZ, Yu-Gi-Oh, none of which ever appealed to me. The Retro Channel carries Ghostbusters (but not the REAL Ghostbusters), He-Man and She-Ra, and an Archie series that was abysmal. I might check out a bit of it for nostalgia's sake. Hopefully some better stuff will be airing, either soon or when the season's change.
The other plus is I get reruns of Stargate: Atlantis, which plays on the CW affiliate. Universe too. SG's always had a high rewatchability factor (although SG1 is best for it), so that's a nice plus to have it.
Since we're on to TV, let's talk about some of the things I've been watching lately. Well, one is Outcasts. Finally got around to watching it, at least the first episode. It's a UK SF serial, set on a colony world that's had an arrival of more colonists from Earth, but that's expected to be the last because of a tragedy. It was low rated and poorly reviewed in the UK, and already confirmed to not be getting another series/season, but I kind of liked the first episode. It's a bit slow and ponderous at times, but some nice stuff, I'll keep watching it. Maybe it turns to total suck later on.
I rather like the UK sensibilities in SF. Not for Doctor Who (which I also enjoy, but it seems to have some of the same mass-market tendencies as a lot of US TV), but for their attempts at other series, Outcasts, Survivors, even going back to Cruel Earth and Invasion: Earth in the late 90s, where they seem to take their time a little, do slower stories where I don't feel like I can predict exactly where they're going because they're not writing to quite the same formula (where everything has to be status quo by the end, or even if there is an arc, it's minute progress taking place over 20-30 episodes), and take ideas that just COULDN'T work as a full series. I enjoy that they don't mind having sad, even bleak, endings, and I love that they keep trying even when they get ratings failures.
Speaking, of, sort of, I came across something the other day. It's sort of a "trailer" to a SF series that somebody wants to get into production as an actual series. This isn't just some fan-made thing, it's like some independent UK media production company or something I think and it's got some real actors in the sizzle reel (Sean Pertwee, son of the Third Doctor). Of course, the trailer was done in 2009 and the latest word seems to be "they're still working on getting it to series but no word yet" (but the word was just back in Feb so I guess it's not completely dead).
It's called Slingers, and the trailer's here. It's sort of... imagine Firefly if, instead of being partly inspired by the aesthetics and tropes of the Old West, it was inspired by 60s rat pack films like Oceans 11. A team of mercenaries on a stolen ship travelling through space committing heists along the way. But it's got kind of a neat aesthetic and if a show was produced that lived up to the trailer, I would watch the hell out of it. Even if they don't, I'd love to see them get some kind of SF show on the air - I first learned about them because of an entry for a "48 hour SF short film challenge" (where you have to write, film, produce, and completely edit a short SF film in 2 days), where they produced "Precision", which wasn't perfect, but that's hard when you only have 48 hours to do everything, but was impressive for osmething on that timescale). Clearly they have a like for SF and I'd like to see them get something big working. Hopefully Slingers.
What else? Doctor Who's only a couple weeks away, but otherwise it's kind of a dead zone. Probably a big Book Foo post in the next couple days, but not now, this post is long and rambly enough
Thunderstorm coming, so I guess I'll just close it up.
Anyway, like I said, it's not terribly bad... cough, sore and congested sinuses, bit of a sore throat. The main problem that's kicking my ass right now is the tiredness. The combination of symptoms is just making it difficult to sleep, at least a full night's sleep. I get a couple hours, then I wake up with a mouth super dry so I have to get up for water, then before I get back to sleep my cough starts up again so I have to take a Halls, and while waiting for it to dissolve so I don't choke in my sleep, I have to go to the bathroom from the water I just drank, and by the time all that's done, I'm TOO awake that I can't get back to sleep again if I try, my body thinks it's time to get up. I make up for some of that with naps during the day, but it doesn't entirely satisfy, and I've been a bit zombielike the whole weekend.
But I don't want to make this post a total whiner post. So let's move to an up note. My TV. I found a sweet spot, and so now I not only get the channels I used to get (save one I barely watched, and I could probably get if I moved the antenna a little and re-scanned), all in digital (save two, one which isn't yet broadcasting digital, and one which I get the regular but haven't yet been able to tune in the digital version - I'm hoping that when the official changeover occurs they'll be broadcasting digital in higher power and that'll make the difference), but also all of the major broadcast networks of the US, and PBS (three channels, although two are just the same programming in SD or HD). Finally managed to tune in NBC. And with the NBC affiliate comes a sub-channel they carry called "Retro" which has all kinds of old shows... so far none have appealed to me overly much, but I might check them out occasionally. Anyway, perfect clarity from digital for free, yay. Occasionally a channel does drop out for brief times, but compared to analog antenna reception, it's still spectacular.
And, I get Saturday morning cartoons again! Well, a little. The only problem is, Saturday Morning Cartoons kinda suck. FOX dropped theirs, it seems, and while CW still has them, at least this weekend it was almost exclusively Sonic X, DBZ, Yu-Gi-Oh, none of which ever appealed to me. The Retro Channel carries Ghostbusters (but not the REAL Ghostbusters), He-Man and She-Ra, and an Archie series that was abysmal. I might check out a bit of it for nostalgia's sake. Hopefully some better stuff will be airing, either soon or when the season's change.
The other plus is I get reruns of Stargate: Atlantis, which plays on the CW affiliate. Universe too. SG's always had a high rewatchability factor (although SG1 is best for it), so that's a nice plus to have it.
Since we're on to TV, let's talk about some of the things I've been watching lately. Well, one is Outcasts. Finally got around to watching it, at least the first episode. It's a UK SF serial, set on a colony world that's had an arrival of more colonists from Earth, but that's expected to be the last because of a tragedy. It was low rated and poorly reviewed in the UK, and already confirmed to not be getting another series/season, but I kind of liked the first episode. It's a bit slow and ponderous at times, but some nice stuff, I'll keep watching it. Maybe it turns to total suck later on.
I rather like the UK sensibilities in SF. Not for Doctor Who (which I also enjoy, but it seems to have some of the same mass-market tendencies as a lot of US TV), but for their attempts at other series, Outcasts, Survivors, even going back to Cruel Earth and Invasion: Earth in the late 90s, where they seem to take their time a little, do slower stories where I don't feel like I can predict exactly where they're going because they're not writing to quite the same formula (where everything has to be status quo by the end, or even if there is an arc, it's minute progress taking place over 20-30 episodes), and take ideas that just COULDN'T work as a full series. I enjoy that they don't mind having sad, even bleak, endings, and I love that they keep trying even when they get ratings failures.
Speaking, of, sort of, I came across something the other day. It's sort of a "trailer" to a SF series that somebody wants to get into production as an actual series. This isn't just some fan-made thing, it's like some independent UK media production company or something I think and it's got some real actors in the sizzle reel (Sean Pertwee, son of the Third Doctor). Of course, the trailer was done in 2009 and the latest word seems to be "they're still working on getting it to series but no word yet" (but the word was just back in Feb so I guess it's not completely dead).
It's called Slingers, and the trailer's here. It's sort of... imagine Firefly if, instead of being partly inspired by the aesthetics and tropes of the Old West, it was inspired by 60s rat pack films like Oceans 11. A team of mercenaries on a stolen ship travelling through space committing heists along the way. But it's got kind of a neat aesthetic and if a show was produced that lived up to the trailer, I would watch the hell out of it. Even if they don't, I'd love to see them get some kind of SF show on the air - I first learned about them because of an entry for a "48 hour SF short film challenge" (where you have to write, film, produce, and completely edit a short SF film in 2 days), where they produced "Precision", which wasn't perfect, but that's hard when you only have 48 hours to do everything, but was impressive for osmething on that timescale). Clearly they have a like for SF and I'd like to see them get something big working. Hopefully Slingers.
What else? Doctor Who's only a couple weeks away, but otherwise it's kind of a dead zone. Probably a big Book Foo post in the next couple days, but not now, this post is long and rambly enough
Thunderstorm coming, so I guess I'll just close it up.
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Date: 2011-04-10 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
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