Best Cable shows

One of my favorite new shows of the season actually started this summer on the Cable network AMC. It is called Mad Men. It's about complex, interesting people (so few shows are). They all happen to work in an advertising agency in Manhattan in the 60s. This isn't why I like it but it does provide an awesome view of life back then. (As a woman it really makes you appreciate how "easy" we now have it!)

The show is a fascinating history lesson done in the sexiest way possible! It's a great way to learn about life in the 60s without reading about it in a dreary text book.

The show wrapped season 1 today so if you missed it, either wait for the DVD series or watch for them to rerun it from the beginning!

Please watch this show!

The best show you aren't watching is 30 Rock. Please please tune in and help this little show that could. It is so smart and so funny. The season premiere hilariously used Jerry Seinfeld. I thought I was going to die of laughter. If you haven't given this a first or second shot, please do. You'll be pleasantly surprised, I promise! It's on Thursday nights!!

New Fall TV shows

I'd like to start this entry by saying that it's my job to watch TV. I have to know what the smart new shows are on TV so I can advise my clients on them. So stop thinking I'm a loser for watching so much TV!

Actually thank goodness for Tivo (oops, don't tell anyone that I don't watch the commercials) or I'd never have the time.

So I've tried to watch at least a few episodes of as many of the new shows as I can fit in. Here are some of my thoughts...

BIONIC WOMAN
I told you earlier that this would be a good one. And after two episodes, I do still like it. As I forewarned, it's very similar to Alias. Maybe so much that I'm a little let down because it just isn't as good. They're trying to keep it a little more "dumbed down" than Alias so the mass audiences will watch it. But it suffers because of that. The plots have been pretty see-through but I do like the characters so far. So I'm going to give it a few more weeks.

BIG SHOTS
Speaking of Alias, I have two words: Michael Vartan. I really wanted to like this show because I really loved him from Alias. But this show is painful to watch. Parts of it are funny and parts of it are serious and parts are just plain stupid. They have an identity crisis...which are you? I can't handle all the personality switches so I'm done. But I'm begging them to please find a decent vehicle for Michael Vartan on his own!!

K-VILLE
It's a cop show set in New Orleans. They film it there and are therefore pumping money into the economy. That alone sold me. But the two lead characters are fabulous and they have smart writing. And with the situation in New Orleans now, they can come up with some interesting new plot twists in the oldest genre. Tune in, it's a great show! And it gets the male vote, my husband likes it.

JOURNEYMAN
A married man randomly travels back in time to help people. He has no control over his own comings and goings. He finds out his old girlfriend, who supposedly died, is also a time-traveler. This is great new territory. The lead actor is great. The writing is really smart. And it has a great reveal quality to it where each week you learn a little more. They assume you have a brain and can remember what happened. Thumbs up!

PUSHING DAISIES
This is so original and so fun! The setting is a "cartooney" world (think Dick Tracy or Batman) where the main character has a magical power to bring people back to life by touching them. But when he touches them again they die. So he uses the ability to help solve crimes. And to bring his childhood sweetheard back to life after she is killed. The lead characters are adorable. They're madly in love but cannot touch each other. It's different and its smartly written. Even my husband liked it, which says alot. I thought he'd think it was too fluffy but he liked it because it was so different.

PRIVATE PRACTICE
I am a huge Grey's Anatomy fan. I really want to like this show but so far it's just whiny and annoying. These are wickedly smart people (supposedly) but they do not know how to deal with the most basic real life issues in their own personal lives. And the great chemistry they had shown in the pilot between Tim Daly and Kate Walsh has not been revived. In fact there isn't really any chemistry between any of the characters. Help!! I can only sit through a few more episodes before I will be forced to make a decision they clearly could not, which is to erase it from my DVR cue!!

DIRTY SEXY MONEY
This had been lauded as a great show. I only saw one episode but I couldn't watch anymore. Like Private Practice, it was just a bunch of whiny, miserable people. No thank you. I usually like to give things two episodes, because the pilots must pack a lot in. But I just couldn't do it here. And I haven't read to see how the show is being received. This will probably be the one that becomes a wild hit and I missed out! Oh well I'll just rent the DVDs later!

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

I have been wanting to read this book about the Vietnam War for some time, and have actually checked out and returned to the library at least two times. This week, I finally had the opportunity to sit down and read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

O'Brien originally from Worthington, MN has written multiple books on his experiences in Vietnam, this book however is his most celebrated, being nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1990.

The Things They Carried tells of O'Brien's experiences while in Vietnam, it really is a cathartic journey though key moments of his journey. The title reflects on the items soldiers bring to war and the significance those items have to the men and their survival. The first chapter of the book details the things they carried, after you get a feel for who these men, rather boys, are O'Brien begins his story.

The book gives such an accurate, graphic at times, depiction and lets you feel that you are really there in a foxhole waiting and waiting. Honestly, my only other exposure to the Vietnam War has been through movies (Born on the 4th of July, Platoon), however with this book I was able to visualize what it was like to be there. O'Brien explains his feelings in the simplest of terms and you truly see what a struggle it was for him and his fellow soldiers.

I have done a bit of research since finishing the book on who O'Brien is (a Creative Writing professor) and the impact this book has had since published 17 years ago. I found that the book is often taught in high school/college classes either in its entirety or chapters. At first I felt this was a bit too graphic/gritty, but after giving it thought I feel it is perfect for people this age, because O'Brien was in fact closer to their age when he went to war. I remember reading All Quiet On the Western Front and The Red Badge of Courage, so it really is no different.

I know the Vietnam War may not be the most uplifting topic, but it is part of our history. I appreciated this book for what it is - a comprehensive glimpse into a complex moment of this man's life.

4.5 out of 5

Driving Lessons

Watched a little independent film last night called Driving Lessons. It has Laura Linney, Julie Walters, and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) from Harry Potter.

I really love Julie Walters, she is especially good in this role. However, I found it a little unsettling that she and Rupert Grint were cast together again, she plays his mother Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter films.

This film has some very funny moments, Ben (Grint) is a suppressed 17 year old living with his minister father and zealot mother (Linney). His mother suggests Ben should find a job, so he begins working for washed up soap star Evie Walton (Walters). Evie is the best part of the movie, she drinks like a fish and swears like a sailor, but is rather broken and alone. The duo (Ben and Evie) go on an adventure and ultimately become friends.

Overall, I wouldn't really recommend this unless you too are a Julie Walters fan. By the way she is going to be in the screen adaptation of Mamma Mia! with Colin Firth, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan - rather odd cast if you ask me, but I will go see it because Colin is in it.



2 out of 5

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Earlier this year I put myself on the wait list for Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen based upon a review I saw somewhere or another. So, one day I went to pick up my library holds and there it was, I read the first few pages and couldn't imagine how I would be able to read a book about a circus. Circuses really aren't my thing, so I put it down and returned it when it was due. Never really gave it a second thought.

Until recently.

My aunt selected the book for our book club this month, so I picked it up at Target and planned to read it on our vacation. I started reading it on the way up to Bay Lake, couldn't put it down and finished it by Friday. Let me just say, I loved it, completely loved it.

It is a very strange little tale of a vet to be Jacob Jankowski and how his life takes an unexpected turn on the eve of graduating from Cornell. He begins a wild journey after he literally goes off to join the circus. The characters are all broken, tragic, freakish really, but that is what makes this book so good.

I won't spill anymore of the story, but just trust me - read it.

5 out of 5

The Bourne Ultimatum

Susan had told me it was good. She was right! Afterward I realized that as much as I love Matt Damon, this movie is about the clever, clever writing and the filming. They have a solid script that is actually believable (doesn't happen often with action flicks) and the filming/editing is so edge-of-your-seat tight that it's wonderful to watch. And actually I think Matt Damon has about 100 words of script. His character is not a big talker, which is as it should be!

I read an interview in EW with Matt where he talked about this fact. They had filmed scenes with a lot of dialogue and in the end it just seemed wrong. So they edited it down to looks and action and it just works!