Let's Make It Interesting...

It's official - Fox is preparing to cancel Fringe. Any day now I expect to hear the news.

Okay, it's not actually "official" in the sense that Fox hasn't actually said they're going to cancel it, but the signs are there. It's been on the edge since it started playing on Thursday nights in 2008. It's now on Friday nights. That, my friends, is the Prime Time kiss of death.

I don't know all of the statistics about TV ratings and network schedule planning. What I do know is that Friday night television shows are generally crappy. There are always a few exceptions, but Friday nights tend to be a dumping ground for the iffy shows. I can't only postulate that's because most people are out doing things on a Friday night (though I doubt many of them are in church like your's truly). No matter where they are, if they aren't at home, they aren't watching the tube. And if they aren't watching the tube, the shows aren't getting the ratings. And if the shows aren't getting the ratings...if I have to finish this thought process for you please contact me privately.

It breaks my heart to think of Fringe disappearing. As far as sci-fi shows go, this is truly one of the better ones. It's not nearly as cheesy as the shows on SyFy (maybe they've gotten better over the years...I haven't checked recently). And it's not quite as disturbing as Buffy or Angel (I'm sorry, but there are no good demons, but that's a whole different subject).

My point is that Fringe fills the void for us sci-fi fans - we deserve top quality weirdness (thank you J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman). Since I fear that this may be my last season of Fringe, I'd like to offer the writers a suggestion - let's make this interesting. Here are my ideas:

- Faux-livia is pregnant with Peter's child: give the baby some kind of medical condition where s/he can only survive in this universe. Then Walternate will have to decide - kill this universe, or let his grandchild live.
- Destroy this universe: Let Peter pick Faux-livia, go to the other side and overthrow Walternate.
- Build a time machine: You've toyed with it before. This time, make it happen - let Walter go back in time to heal his Peter. Since it's this side that figured out how to travel between universes, neither side would ever be harmed because Walter never would have crossed over. Therefore Fringe Division would never really exist, thereby making the entire series it's own alternate reality.

So there you have - my suggestions for ending a good run. I hope to see you around again next season, but, in case I don't, I'd appreciate it if you would consider my suggestions.

Yooper Stewart: A Tribute to Matt

This is the man I married - a crazy haired guy with a 1982 Camaro (which is now for sale, let me know if you're interested).

This guy went to bed when I woke up, drove a beat-up Suburban (in addition to the Camaro), and turned to his sister when his clothes needed to match. He thinks Camo is one of the primary colors, and he has a hoodie for every occasion. It wasn't uncommon for him to disappear into the woods for days at a time, re-emerging only to go to work. I fell in love with Grizzly Adams.

We got married.

We started a family.

I was happy as a clam with my mountain man. And then...

Here's what you need to understand: Matt proposed three months after we met. We married five months later. To say that we hardly knew each other is an understatement. Having grown up with two sisters I wasn't prepared for life with a man who could pack a tent in 2.5 minutes but couldn't fold a t-shirt.

Considering all of our differences, nothing could have prepared me for the biggest surprise of life with Matt - Yooper Stewart. While Matt is very much a Yooper (for you non-Michiganders, imagine a red neck without the racial prejudices), he also has tendencies of the Martha Stewart persuasion.

Matt loves the holidays, and nothing says "It's the season!" like coordinating kitchen towels. These are two of his favorites. They don't get much play time each year, but their colors and texture really speak to the guy.

Along the same line we have coordinating dishes. Matt's a big fan of Kohl's St. Nicholas Square holiday patterns. Here are a couple that we've accumulated.

We even have the matching bowls...

But it's not all about the seasons. Matt likes other things to match, too. When we bought our house, he wouldn't install new door knobs/locks until we had two that matched. Even though there's no possible way to ever see the front and back door knobs at the same time, he insisted. Recently he purchased some new bag clips for our groceries.

We have four sets of matching clips.

And like any blue collar, camo wearing, hygiene-apathetic northern Michigan man, he likes to have a drink before bed.

Tonight he went with the Sleepy Time instead of the Tension Tamer (it was a tough call).

I love you, honey!!!

The Lost World: A Review Worth Reading

Matt and I decided to start the day with a good old fashioned cheesy movie. Hulu has a fabulous selection of dumb movies (67 pages worth), so we had no problems finding a flick. We decided to go with the 1992 classic, The Lost World. Really - who wouldn't want to watch this movie:

Two rivaling professors, a journalist, a young wealthy woman and a teenage boy travel through Africa in search of "The Lost World": a place where dinosaurs still roam.


We could tell from the beginning that this would be epic. We were right. In the movie's defense, I was only able to stay awake for the first five minutes, then woke up for the last thirty. It might have been a good show while I was asleep. In fact, Matt said, "This was a B-movie when you were sleeping. Now it's a C-movie." I can't help it that I helped him notice the movie's flaws.


The hook pretty much sums up the story. Matt and I agree that it would have worked much better if there had been a little more production money left over for special effects, props, set, and screen writing. I'm pretty sure they spent most of their budget on hair gel to make sure Erik McCormack maintained that helmet head look.


I admit, as soon I started watching this it turned into Mystery Science Theatre 3000. I just couldn't help myself. It definitely made the time pass more quickly.


When it was all said and done, Matt and I have decided to rename this movie. You won't understand this if you haven't seen the movie (and it may confuse you if you don't know my niece), but here you go: 


Man Ho and Ugly Slut Take on the Good Ones and the Bad Ones (then release Percy, who becomes Rodan of Japan)

I don't always complain - see!!

I noticed it had been a while since I posted here, but I don't really have much to say (I wish Castle had been on last night, and I'm glad I'll get to see NCIS tonight, but do you really care?).

I decided to prove to you that I'm not a gigantic whiner. I can (and do) recognize and acknowledge the pleasantries in life. That's why I'm giving public props to AVG.

Not only do they provide a fabulous product (if you're looking for an anti-virus program, I recommend this one), but they could teach Delta a few things about customer service (FYI - my next flight is scheduled on Southwest...sorry Delta, you've lost me).

I digress...

On Black Friday I bought AVG for my 'puter and it came with two rebates: $20 for buying it, $30 for proving that you switched to it. I sent in my paperwork and waited. When I got the rebates, they came in the form of credit cards.

If you haven't gotten the rebate credit cards, you aren't missing much. They're okay (I've discovered that they don't always work at some locations). That's what happened to me - I charged $24.99 of my $30 card for a book that I wanted (needed, craved!) from an online source, then spent $5.01 elsewhere. After I'd used up the card, I had the sales clerk cut it up and toss it. When I checked my email later that night, the card had been declined, so I still had $24.99 on it, but no card. (Is this making sense so far?)

I decided to give AVG a call to see what they could do. Not only were they able to verify that I did still have some money on a card, but they immediately reissued it and put it in the mail. Less than a week later I opened an envelope to find another $30 card (not the $24.99 I'd been expecting)!

Not only did the original phone call take less than 10 minutes, but they gave me a little bonus (even though I'm the one who tossed the card).

So I'm an AVG girl now. I hope you'll give them a chance, too.