I lied, I haven't left TV.com. My last journal was an extremely emotional and irrational response to what I thought - and STILL think - was a grave injustice. However, it is just one member lost, which doesn't change that the community in general, which I like.

I still hate CNET, though.

After the departure of The_Huntsman, I'm done with this site. My loyalty now lies with TVRage. The only reason I have left to still visit TV.com is the Foster's Home community, since 1) the forum here are active while the one on Rage is dead and 2) the rest of the Rage community seems to really hate the show... and to be honest, with episodes like "Imposter's Home"(Thought I'd sneak in one final swipe!) and a central character as morally bankrupt as Bloo, the criticism isn't entirely unjustified. In any case, I'll still post on the Foster's TV.com forums and maybe even put up some more reviews... at least until Rage unrolls their own reviewing feature.

My anger isn't directed at the entire TV.com community, as it's actually pretty cool compared to other places I've been. It's to the corporate jerks who have to scare off decent people like The_Huntsman. To those of you I've looked up to(And probably won't care about this, but ah well) that will choose to remain here, good luck, and try not to get stung by CNET's greed and idiocy. Considering that The_Huntsman was sticking up for the site when pretty much everybody else was bashing it for killing TVTome... quite frankly, that'll be a very hard task.

Bye. I'm off to defend Foster's at the Rage.

So, WrestleMania 22 is this Sunday. PPV prices are too high to my liking, so I'll try to see if I can catch it at a nearby sports bar. Instead of doing a full prediction rundown, I'll just say that I'm hoping the following don't happen:

1. Mark Henry ends The Undertaker's
2. Triple H AND that no-good overrated moron Randy Orton walk out as world champions

If they do happen, I'm not watching WWE until WrestleMania 23... or at least Survivor Series this year, which I hear is coming to Puerto Rico.

Another year, another Academy Awards ceremony. This year, I just couldn't watch it whole. Well--I was tuned in from the pre-show to when Crash upset Brokeback Mountain to take Best Picture--but often I was doing other things like using the computer and doing homework, paying attention when something actually important was about to happen.

I confess, I haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees or some of the other major films, but I will soon. I already have Cinderella Man on DVD. I've lately been getting into Johnny Cash and I admire Joaquin Phoenix, so I'll definitely see Walk The Line. I'm a sucker for anything Steven Spielberg, so I'll see Munich the moment it hits DVD shelves. Good Night & Good Luck--it's a good thing I'm impartial to US politics, so I won't have any trouble unbiasedly judging it's artistic merit. Brokeback Mountain--hyped to be a bigger lock than Titanic and Return of the King combined--I have no bull**** bias or prejudice against homosexuality, so I'm just concerned about stomaching Ledger's and Gyllenhaal's privates.

And then there's Crash. Even with the last minute murmors of it winning Best Picture, I didn't believe it--and was shocked when it did. I won't join the vitriolic internet crusade against it(Reading the angsting is fun, though) and instead wait until actually seeing it... but it didn't scream standout in the same way as previous winners. Maybe it was because it was released just weeks before Star Wars Episode III, but the hype and reviews--while good--didn't indicate to me that this would be the next Best Picture winner. Ah well, I should shut up until I actually see it.

(Fanboy rant alert)

And speaking of Star Wars--I don't think I'm ever going to forgive the Academy for the way they snubbed Episode III this year. How is it that it's absent from the Visual Effects category when it's BY FAR the year's best offering in visual achievement. And, less noted but equally unfortunate, why didn't Trisha Biggar get the appreciation she deserved for her costuming work in all three prequels? Why?

...oh, I know: "because George Lucas is a soulless hack and he deserves it for caring too much about the CGI and not enough about the story and characters!"

Fine enough. (I'd argue otherwise to these points, but I won't--I don't like arguing and would just rather everybody have their own individual views) But if you're going to use that logic, then why did MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA get so much attention and love in the technical awards last night? That may be perhaps one of the most critically reviled movies in recent memory to be nonetheless treated like a major Oscar contender. Funny thing, it got a nice trashing by critics(35% at RottenTomatoes) and is believed to be a glorified soap opera... while Episode III received a positive critical reaction(82% compared to the mid-60%s for the previous two prequels) and believed by many to be the best Star Wars film since Empire Strikes back twenty-five years ago. Huh?

But at least, there were smart people among the animation voters this year. All three nominees deserved to be there, and none of the cynical, mean-spirited, over-popcultured CGI films this year.

I made my routine visit of Borders last night, expecting only to look around--but instead, I made two unexpected and surprisingly cheap purchases.

I was browsing around the music section as usual, scouting for likely future purchases to my growing CD collection. As I left, I was struck by a great surprise--Arctic Monkeys' debut album, which finally seems to have hit non-UK stores. But here's the kicker: it was available for $11.99. Which, with a 30% coupon, is rounded off to $9.99. Which is compared to the limited-time $15.99 for other new CDs, and the typical $20 for most CDs overall. Not bad for an album that has unseated Oasis' Definitely Maybe as the highest-selling UK debut of all-time, and not bad for a band that's pretty much the biggest thing in the UK.

Since I've liked what I've heard of them(Though frankly, I'm convinced the hype is going to kill them sooner than latter), I picked it up without hesitation. As I waited in line and perused the nearby bargain section, I saw what would be my second spontaneous purchase-- something a little more relevant to this site.

"The Pythons: An Autobiography by The Pythons"

$7.99

Rewind: I'm not very well-versed on Monty Python and haven't seen any of the movies. However, I watched a few episodes of Flying Circus on BBC America, and absolutely loved what I saw--now THAT was the kind of humor I enjoyed, not the mass-produced sitcom garbage. I was intending to get into Python; however, other TV interests caught up with me(coughfosterscough) and I forgot about them.

But when I saw this book availabe at a damn bargain: "Why the hell not?" With this and hopefully more devout watching of FC, looks like I'm back on track.