Haven't had much time to visit. Started a consulting job in November which turned into an company employee gig (yeah, don't have to pay for my insurance) and that's kept me really busy.

Recently saw "Watchmen" - boo hiss! I know women don't usually get a good deal in superhuman/hero movies, but I thought this one was extra hateful to women. The only good thing about the movie was that a preview of "Wolverine" played - Hugh Jackman on a big screen is always a good thing. I'm really hyped for this movie - trailers look awesome. Yes, I'm biased!

TV

Jill Scott in "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" adaptation premieres on HBO this weekend. "Eastbound and Down" was uneven, but some parts were funny. "Flight of the Conchords" - don't know if it'll be back. Don't know if the 2 dudes are really New Zealanders, but they ripped on Australians alot this season. It was fun to see Lucy Lawless guest star. Lucy was also a guest host on Rupaul's "Drag Race". Now that show was informative, scary and more entertaining that "ANTP"! "Camerooooooooon"

Trivia: Lucy Lawless recorded a duet with RuPaul back in 2006.

"Big Love" season finale was last week. The season was good, alot happened, but it was too short. New to my TV line up are "Breaking Bad", "Reaper", and "United States of Tara". "Lost" has been good - Sawyer has come into his own (and is looking mighty fine). Glad "Medium" is back. Still hanging in with "Heroes". Stopped watching "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters" - just got bored with the squawking. "Supernatural" is on the upswing, but I hope the new cast rumors aren't true.

Books

Anxiously awaiting the next Sookie/Southern Vamp book by Charlaine Harris in May and Jim Butcher's next Dresden book in April - "Turn Coat". Even interested in the next Anita Blake/Laurell K. Hamilton book - I hope Anita is back to kicking ass in this one. Picked up 2 newer series that are decent: Mercedes Thompson by Patricia Briggs, Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. Some Moning fan did a cool mash-up/book trailer "starring" Kristin Bell http://www.karenmoning.com/videos/trailer.html

Music

Surprisingly, I actually like Kanye West's "808s and Heartbreak". Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra "Kiss the Sky" was featured in both "Nip/Tuck" and "Eastbound and Down" recently - great song.

April is fast approaching, stores are full of Easter candy. I hope Spring (or whatever season is coming to your part of the world) is full of promise, renewal...and chocolate!!

Haven't been around much, just doing some quick visits among blogs. Started a new job last month and stepped into a major whirlwind - working lots of extra hours and weekends. Things quieted for awhile at end of last week. Decide to post a short one, give the blog interface a quick spin.

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TV

Been catching up on programs since I haven't watched much lately, not that there's anything great to see:

Heroes - *sigh* I'm hanging in there, hoping next chapter is better.

Mr. Monk and the Miracle - I had gotten bored with the series, but happened to catch this Christmas episode and found myself chuckling aloud.

Supernatural - This season has been pretty great overall. Heaven and Hell - Jensen Ackles (Dean) did an excellent job in the scene telling Sam what happened in Hell. Also had me digging out my Bad Company cd - Ready for Love was featured in this episode.

Desperate Housewives - really enjoying the season, but I was hoping the object of this season's crazy/vengeful dude wasn't who it was revealed to be in last episode - obvious, but makes sense.

Really looking forward to return of Lost, Big Love, Nip/Tuck and Medium this winter. Disappointed in season finale of True Blood, hoping next season will be better.

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Deadwood - As usual, I'm late to the party. When the series aired from 2004-2006, I clicked by 1 episode and didn't return. HBO has been airing it recently and now I get hooked! I'd be watching Sheriff Bullock, Calamity Jane, and Al Swearengen - as I'd eat dinner, exhausted from another long day, before I hit the bed - speaking in the most elaborate and *colorful* language. They kill me!

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I wish you all Happy Holidays and an amazing New 2009! Have fun, be safe, eat some yummy holiday fare, drink lots of bubbly (soda or champagne - depending on your age). Enjoy!

Haven't been in mood to blog, but I'm procrastinating - should be working on a little project that's due tomorrow night, but can't seem to work up the urgency yet. I have been reading friends' blogs (at movietome) and posting to forums (quick stops on TV.com). I've seen the updates from team Blackout/Top 5 and a few mod responses - which are positive.

What I've been watching:

True Blood - So far, so decent. Still being patient to see where Alan Ball is going with the series.

Mad Men - Latest episode threw main character, Don Draper, into a totally unexpected place and preview for Sunday looks as if he is heading back to his past.

Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Dexter - good building blocks for the season.

Not remembering to DVR or watch Fringe. Where is Eureka? (I know on a hiatus)

Most surprising "me likey" item: My Own Worst Enemy (Christian Slater, Alfre Woodard)

Edward is a jaded spy, former super military dude. Henry Spivey has office job, wife and 2 kids. Edward volunteered for experiment in which he "sleeps" as Henry when not saving the world. Henry was created less than 20 years ago, doesn't know about Edward. Each begins to seep into the other's life - at worst times for Henry. Edward has kept secrets from his org's mgmt. They leave msgs for each other (vids, notes ala Memento).

Not a fan of Slater (or a hater) and I thought the premise was that his character knowingly lived a double life, so I hadn't planned to watch. Granted, not earth shattering concept, but the pilot was really entertaining.

Music

Couple of weeks ago, during the premiere of DHw, an extended trailer for Jackman/Kidman movie Australia played and a song from the band Explosions in the Sky played during 1st part. Of course I was lusting after seeing Hugh , but their music really struck me. Fans of Friday Night Lights will be familiar with this instrumental group. Reminds me of 80's U2 (Edge) and 60's California/surfing music.

Check out The Only Moment We Were Alone at http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=FtW67TCAn0E

First Breathe After Coma at http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=wWywl5RvNsw

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Happy TV.com-versary to twopratt!

Well wishes to all.

I wasn't interested in logging in today, but I wanted to follow through on my community commitment.

So, here are my changes/suggestions most of which I have posted to the Redesign Feedback forum - it's hard to wade through it.

1. Whiteout Zone - Either change the background or give us the "skins" options mentioned in the survey. There is a random survey which was floating around the Emmy area which offered customized look/feel - get to it. Yes, I used some CSS to change the color, but I would guess the majority of users here don't want to load a script or do it themselves.
2. Make that random survey a static one on the homepage and Feedback Forum to get quantitative input from us. Make us feel like we're included by sharing the site plans in a more uniformed way. I appreciate some of the staff blogs which are doing so, but wading through the forums is just too time consuming.
3. Don't do major upgrades during Fall TV premiere time. Such bad timing. Prior to a major upgrade, pull some volunteer testers from the site. There was a long fix list as soon as the upgrade was implemented - those are the low hanging fruit (I can't believe I'm using that cliche!) which should have been corrected prior to this release.
   
4. Increase "my tracked blogs" to at least 10 or provide an option for me pick the number I want to see in my preference settings.
   
5. Implement expand/reduce lists on "Favorite Shows" and "My Feed". I like blogging/reading blogs, show forum posting and submitting information to TV.com's db. Give me the option to unclutter my space to do what I enjoy.

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It really doesn't feel like my fun community anymore and it was easy to stay logged off. I do believe the staff is working quickly to fix bugs, but the changes did add steps for which the sole purpose seems to be for advertising. I added a "flash" killer to avoid the ads and to relieve forum thread "locks".

Any other comments about the redesign or my suggestions will be in the site forum after today.

I won't be on the site for a minimum of 24 hours in support of a communal protest on the implementation of the untested "upgrade" that happened recently on TV.com. For me and many others, it's about the loss of "my" community.

While I miss the character of the old site and understand that various members of the community use this site in varying degrees, I have:

• spent hours doing careful research and adding to TV.com's db
• participated in forums about shows
• blogged and built my own user community

I am participating in "my" community's protest because I want to provide feeback as a "client" of this site. Yes, I appreciate that it's free and the infrastructure behind the site which keeps it running. I especially appreciate the unpaid moderators and staff members who patiently facilitate user community traffic.

I don't appreciate the rush for the upgrade without having long-time/advanced users do user testing and the really poor timing. I'm sure there would have been eager volunteers to have performed this duty. To implement a change during Fall Premieres? Bad idea.

There's no going back, but I hope in the future, changes will be handled better. I don't enjoy the site now and I don't feel like spending research time to add to the db.

Maybe the goal is to remove the blogging/community feature and focus on show forums only? I would loose most of my enjoyment of TV.com if that is the case. Whose loss is it?