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  • Troll! In the dungeon!!

    I am so bored. I have nothing to talk about, and no desire to do so, even if I did have something to say.

    Many apologies.

    Oh, I know. You can all discuss amongst yourselves in the comments if you think bailing out the auto industry will work or not, with or without an adjusted business plan, and/or what your ideas are concerning this latest ass-up of the Big Three.

    Enjoy your weekend.

    monologum interruptus

    Many, many moons ago, there was this lovely but preachy show about a coroner on the cutting edge of forensic science. In the midst of determining that yet another suspicious death was in fact a murder, he'd monologue a bit, explaining the whyfors and the whatnots as well as occasionally making us all feel bad for generally not being better people.

    During the next two decades, multi-lead formats were developed for dramas and the monologue/diatribe took a back seat to edgy dramatics. At least, until Homicide, Life On The Street. It was a multi-lead drama that where the detective pairs would sound off ideas with each other in order to solve the crime. This was an excellent plot device, and was utilized to the best effect on this show.

    Crossing Jordan expanded on that as Jordan, a coroner, would reenact the suspicous death with her retired-detective dad. Later, CJ expanded again to include other members of the cast in her reenactments and soundings. Because the others were coroners or a very high-strung but not clever FBI agent, it didn't work as well. That did not deter writers on that show or in the future.

    The current crop of dramas has strongly suggested that the monologue requires the services of a coroner, too.

    I enjoy watching dramas, especially when they are not so formulaic. Numb3rs is an excellent choice for me because it blends geeks and detectives. I also enjoy Criminal Minds, mostly because of the excellent cast and gripping plots, but because it's far enough from the CSIs and Law&Orders to be unique. House is formulaic, but not of other shows, only of itself. But they all have the same drawback, and it's one that has gradually grown into a serious peeve with me.

    None of the characters in any of the new crop of dramas seems to get to finish an explanation all by themselves. One will start explaining something, and within a sentence or two a colleague will butt in with the next one or two sentences, and then another will butt in, and so on until the situation has been explained. Oh, and they all seem really pleased that the others chimed in. The thing is, generally, the characters are speaking to each other and they are all experts in the same field. The explanations are obviously for the audience, but bouncing from one to another is downright annoying.

    Please, will someone cast a Resurrection spell on the monologue?

    Legendary Status

    Not once but twice since we've moved to the delightful state of Georgia, USA, I've received some interesting mail from the United States Marine Corps.

    According to the two letters I've received, they want to talk to me about my options. Perhaps I'd be interested in a new career. A new career with the United States Marine Corps.

    First of all, let me say, "Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"

    Secondly, of course they aren't going to know me, or anything about me. It's just a mass-mailer aimed at a person at an address.

    It's just funny. Me, at my age, with my health issues, being recruited by the Marines, an organization I had thought was restricted to just men. :P

    Wii will wok you

    A friend living abroad recently acquired a Wii gaming system. I have one, but I haven't played since The Great Wii Olympics Incident of Christmas 2007. This friend has asked that I link up so that we can share emails via the Wii. We already keep in touch via email and blog posts. However, I'm a giving sort of person, and would do as much as I could to help any friend feel more at home no matter where they are in the world.

    I discussed this development with Mister, because I had no idea how to link up the systems (I have since learned). Our conversation went something like this:

    Soo: Hey, did I tell you Floyd has a Wii now? (I'm calling my friend "Floyd" to protect his identity)
    Mister: No. Doesn't he already have an X-box? How much time does he have?
    S: Well, he plans on maybe keeping in touch with his friends that way. He's already got his Mii up and running. I've got to figure out how to get my Mii out there, so he can see my Mii in the big parade.
    M: You know, I think Nintendo is missing a much wider market. Everyone's got their own Mii online, why not an inflatable Mii?
    S: I don't think Floyd's wife would approve of his having an inflatable me. I mean, Mii. I mean, what?!

    Paging Sarah Connor...

    Here's a pro-tip:

    If you have serious plans for the next day, do not--I repeat, do NOT--stay up way late watching election returns you know--YOU KNOW!!--are going to be talked to death all day long, except for the channels that show soaps.

    Holy crap, I'm tired. And I have insomnia, so it just makes it worse.

    On a normal night, I'll be asleep by around 1 am, if I'm lucky. I get up between 5 and 6 am to start my day. On weekends, I let me sleep until about 8 am.

    But last night, I just had to watch the celebrations and the statistics and such, and didn't make it to bed until still h1 am. I know--you're thinking that it's no different from any other night. Unfortunately, I still had to participate in the required tossing/turning that occurs every freakin' night.

    And don't you know, I just could not make me nap today. So I worked on The Boy's bedroom today, putting his furniture in place and removing junk to take to the thrift store. Five boxes in total were removed from his room and the hallway along with a bag of trash. I've got three more boxes to remove from his room, he's got one to empty on his own, and then his room will be finished. Finally.

    The Girls will be getting a room overhaul starting on Friday. Wish me luck.

    And sleep.

    The Big Throwdown

    We've been friends for a long time. Well, long for me, anyway. We talk about things while not intensely prying into our deepest affairs. I think that's what keeps us civil, don't you?

    But I cannot remain uninformed no longer. I have to know!

    Are you eligible to vote? If so, did you register? If you registered, did you vote?

    If you answered yes to the first two but no to the last, please don't talk to me, I'm mad at you right now.

    If you answered yes to the first but no to the second, please slap yourself rather hard once and then don't talk to me, I'm mad at you right now.

    If, however, you are ineligible, please be patient, your time will hopefully come. And when it does, I hope you do not shirk your single most important contribution to America.

    I voted this morning. I arrived right at opening, and only waited about 45 minutes for my turn. My precinct had 6 running booths and one spare. I wish I could have voted twice, it was so exciting!

    The neighboring county hosted "early voting" last week, averaging over 3,000 voters each of the five days. I'm very eager to read the final national tally. I anticipate that today's voters are going to turn out in record numbers, and, quite frankly, it's about damn time. I've always been of the opinion that as the population grows, so too should the number of people who actually cast a vote. Unfortunately, the opposite happens year after year.

    If you are registered but have not yet made your way to the polls, please go. Brave the weather, wear comfy shoes, take a book, hell--even take a lawn chair. Just go!

    And if you are eligible but did not register, please be aware that in my opinion you have no recourse for complaint if you do not approve of your upcoming government and its policies. You did not help try to shape it, you can't complain about it later if it turns out to really suck.

    But here's to hope that it all turns out well, eh?