4/10/09
Better off Ted
I don’t get a lot of the new “comedy” shows on TV. I’ve tried to sit through “The Office” and “30 Rock” and was left with the feeling of what the heck did I just watch. I could see the set up to jokes, I could see where the joke was supposed to be placed, but the “jokes” just seemed never to arrive.
So when “Better off Ted” came on after “Scrubs” I groaned, thinking it would be another humorless comedy.
Then I watched the set-up. A guy in charge of the research and development department at a huge corporation. I thought cool, that’s my idea of a dream job (Yes I’m a geek) all the benefits of being a mad scientist without having to do the hard work.
Then they introduced “the kid”. Kids in comedies are really a hit or miss thing. It is very easy for a kid’s performance to be technically perfect, but fall completely flat. The actress they got was spot on and delivered a great performance and was given just enough airtime to shine without getting annoying.
Then came the love triangle. Portia de Rossi was fantastic as the emotionless boss. She played the unsocial and unapproachable woman so well it comes off sexy as hell. That’s not an easy thing to do.
Andrea Anders does a good job as the quirky Linda. It’s a tough role being quirky without being all out insane, right now I think she (and the writers) are playing it a little too safe and not letting the character really let loose, but if the network lets the show continue I’m sure they can have a great deal of fun with her character and Anders does show the potential to run with it.
The researchers Lem and Phil have great chemistry right off the bat, you really get the feeling that these two have worked together so long that they have that weird non-gay long-term relationship that develops between people who have to spend years together.
Altogether I love this new show, I haven’t wanted a comedy show to succeed this much since I first saw “Scrubs”.
Unfortunately, my batting average for comedies is pretty bad. Almost every new show that I like gets canceled immediately. Hopefully this will change once ABC sees that “Better off Ted” has the full support of the vast “Project Savior” blog network behind it.
“Better off Ted” airs Wed 8:30 EST on ABC.
4/9/09
black and blue
wish I had some words
of wisdom,
but I don't;
wish they worked
to change me,
but they won't;
only loving black
because it goes so well
with blue,
and only looking back,
because Then still
includes You.
April 9, 2009.
Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.
of wisdom,
but I don't;
wish they worked
to change me,
but they won't;
only loving black
because it goes so well
with blue,
and only looking back,
because Then still
includes You.
April 9, 2009.
Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.
Surf Titan
For a truly unique getaway with lots of fun activities it’s hard to beat Saturn’s largest moon Titan.
Titan is the second largest moon in the Solar System and the only moon to have both a thick atmosphere and liquids on its surface. This allows for some activities that can’t be performed anywhere else in the Solar System.
For the surfer Titan’s oceans offer some totally gnarly surf. The tidal forces of Saturn and Saturn’s other moons make Titan’s liquid Methane oceans home to some truly epic waves and its low gravity means they don’t hit the coast with the same force as waves on Earth, so an experienced surfer can tackle a 40-50 footer easily.
For a truly unique experience Titan is the only place where humans can fly like a bird. The combination of low gravity and dense atmosphere allows humans to put on some wings and achieve lift off.
For the adventurous mountain climbing on Titan is a great experience. Even though the mountains of Titan don’t meet Earth definition of mountains, the highest peak is roughly a kilometer high. The 500 meter cliffs in the Xanadu region offer a great free climb experience. The low gravity allows you to free climb using only your hands and if you do slip the dense atmosphere enables you to glide to safety with a simple wing suit.
The nitrogen/methane atmosphere continually rains down liquid methane forming great river systems. This provides for the greatest white methane rafting anywhere in the solar system. The low gravity means when your raft gets air it really gets air and the slow descent allows you time to enjoy the experience.
For those interested in one-of-a-kind geologic wonders, the volcanoes on Titan spew hydrocarbons; some of these hydrocarbons combine to form a natural wax. As the stream of wax is released into the cold atmosphere the outside cools and hardens insulating the wax on the inside. This interior wax continues to flow rapidly forming wax tubes that race across the flat surface of Titan much like the lava tubes in Hawaii only much faster.
The one thing that you will not see on Titan is Saturn hanging overhead. Although science fiction movies and artists love to show the scene of someone on the surface looking up to see Saturn with its rings hanging in the sky, the atmosphere is too dense to see through. All that can be seen from the surface is the Rosy Red sky.
Before leaving Earth make sure to talk to your travel agent about getting booked on a very fast ship. Traveling at the speed the Apollo spacecraft that took men to the Moon it would take roughly 31 years one way to reach Titan. Although Titan offers some once in a lifetime opportunities having to spend 62 years of your life traveling would limit the amount of experiences to compare it to.
Titan is the second largest moon in the Solar System and the only moon to have both a thick atmosphere and liquids on its surface. This allows for some activities that can’t be performed anywhere else in the Solar System.
For the surfer Titan’s oceans offer some totally gnarly surf. The tidal forces of Saturn and Saturn’s other moons make Titan’s liquid Methane oceans home to some truly epic waves and its low gravity means they don’t hit the coast with the same force as waves on Earth, so an experienced surfer can tackle a 40-50 footer easily.
For a truly unique experience Titan is the only place where humans can fly like a bird. The combination of low gravity and dense atmosphere allows humans to put on some wings and achieve lift off.
For the adventurous mountain climbing on Titan is a great experience. Even though the mountains of Titan don’t meet Earth definition of mountains, the highest peak is roughly a kilometer high. The 500 meter cliffs in the Xanadu region offer a great free climb experience. The low gravity allows you to free climb using only your hands and if you do slip the dense atmosphere enables you to glide to safety with a simple wing suit.
The nitrogen/methane atmosphere continually rains down liquid methane forming great river systems. This provides for the greatest white methane rafting anywhere in the solar system. The low gravity means when your raft gets air it really gets air and the slow descent allows you time to enjoy the experience.
For those interested in one-of-a-kind geologic wonders, the volcanoes on Titan spew hydrocarbons; some of these hydrocarbons combine to form a natural wax. As the stream of wax is released into the cold atmosphere the outside cools and hardens insulating the wax on the inside. This interior wax continues to flow rapidly forming wax tubes that race across the flat surface of Titan much like the lava tubes in Hawaii only much faster.
The one thing that you will not see on Titan is Saturn hanging overhead. Although science fiction movies and artists love to show the scene of someone on the surface looking up to see Saturn with its rings hanging in the sky, the atmosphere is too dense to see through. All that can be seen from the surface is the Rosy Red sky.
Before leaving Earth make sure to talk to your travel agent about getting booked on a very fast ship. Traveling at the speed the Apollo spacecraft that took men to the Moon it would take roughly 31 years one way to reach Titan. Although Titan offers some once in a lifetime opportunities having to spend 62 years of your life traveling would limit the amount of experiences to compare it to.
4/8/09
I Love You
the thunder booms,
sending everyone inside;
the dog's tail droops,
and his face shows concern;
I work at my desk,
trying to be funny, not forced;
later, sitting in the car,
this reflection comes to me,
and I get out a piece of paper,
fold it into quarters,
and pull out my pen;
the paper stares at me,
mockingly, as the pen refuses to move;
then, as the rain intensifies,
the words begin to come to me,
and I see the pen
slowly move across the page,
line by line, until I finally write:
I Love You.
April 6, 2009.
Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.
sending everyone inside;
the dog's tail droops,
and his face shows concern;
I work at my desk,
trying to be funny, not forced;
later, sitting in the car,
this reflection comes to me,
and I get out a piece of paper,
fold it into quarters,
and pull out my pen;
the paper stares at me,
mockingly, as the pen refuses to move;
then, as the rain intensifies,
the words begin to come to me,
and I see the pen
slowly move across the page,
line by line, until I finally write:
I Love You.
April 6, 2009.
Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.
A Few Minutes with Betty, Chapter 5: "Let's Become a Comedy Writing Team" (or, "Remember My Pocketknife, Shakespeare.")
"Did you miss me?"
"Hi there, Betty. What's going on?"
"These stories that you have been writing about our chats, are you making any money off them?"
"Um, no, at least not yet. But I am thinking about collecting them into a book."
"Well if you do make any money off them, I had better get a cut, mister."
"Well our chats give me the basic themes, but I juice up the chats considerably. That's where my skill as a humorist comes into it."
"I'll give you juice. I have apple and orange. And my cut of whatever you make off the book, not half, but something. I should get paid for all this witty banter, not to mention having to put up with you. Just putting up with you should be worth a fortune."
"We do this well together, this witty banter. Maybe we could do this as a team, ya know, like writing for Hollywood. Make us an official writing team, like Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam, or Mike Nichols and Elaine May."
"We probably could."
"I think so. It's something to think about at least."
"We would just need a plot to wrap around those brilliant words."
"Well yes, but that's not that hard, I don't think."
"Well, if you don't think, that would make it really hard, Shakespeare. I think the key IS thinking."
"See, you are doing it right now; this is fabulous stuff already and all you are doing is pulling my chain."
"Oh, so you are not really going to have to juice this up, then, Mr. Humorist?"
"Probably not very much. This is great stuff so far."
"Then I want half. No juice, half. Juice, I'll settle for less than half. George and I do this sort of thing all the time, only he laughs too much and distracts me."
"Well the beauty of you and me is that we do this like this and not like you and George do it. So the whole distraction element is greatly reduced."
"George is a line stealer. We go to parties, I make an off-the-cuff remark to him, and then he uses it on the entire room for laughs. Sometimes I just want to stab him in the eye with my pocket knife."
"Well, that and making him finish you first probably evens out the score, and hurts much less than the knife-in-the-eye thing."
"Please. I want it at least three times or he gets the knife."
"Dammit, you women are so greedy sometimes."
"Snort."
"Wait, you mean like three times in a week, right?"
"No."
"Oh dammit, in one night?"
"In one sitting."
"Good grief."
"I'll settle for two, but only if they are really good."
"Poor George, I always thought he had it so good, and now this news."
"He's never complained. And sometimes, I just tell him let's do it because I have 10 minutes. He rarely says no to that."
"Wow; you seem to have George trained pretty well there."
"I pull his tail and he does what I want."
"Ah, Curious George; of course. And here I thought that was just a series of cute children's books. The whole thing is really a handbook for female domination, isn't it?"
"Aren't most things?"
"Apparently so, as I am slowly discovering."
"Seriously, I mean. Men make more money, but everything, EVERYTHING, is marketed to women. There are hidden messages everywhere."
"I'm not sure that this is going to work well in a humor piece, though. And your message doesn't seem to be hiding very much, pulling his tail and all."
"I don't hide things. I just say it or make it known."
"I see that clearly now. Like the old knife-in-the-eye thing."
"This is why work people seem to hate to talk to me on the phone."
"Plain speaking, Betty-style."
"Yes, that, and the implicit threat of my pocketknife."
"Yes, that would do it for me. I gotta go, I have a story to cover in about an hour. Talk to you tomorrow?"
"Sure, so we can work out the details of our comedy writing partnership. And remember, I have a pocketknife, and I'm not afraid to use it."
April 6, 2009.
Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.
"Hi there, Betty. What's going on?"
"These stories that you have been writing about our chats, are you making any money off them?"
"Um, no, at least not yet. But I am thinking about collecting them into a book."
"Well if you do make any money off them, I had better get a cut, mister."
"Well our chats give me the basic themes, but I juice up the chats considerably. That's where my skill as a humorist comes into it."
"I'll give you juice. I have apple and orange. And my cut of whatever you make off the book, not half, but something. I should get paid for all this witty banter, not to mention having to put up with you. Just putting up with you should be worth a fortune."
"We do this well together, this witty banter. Maybe we could do this as a team, ya know, like writing for Hollywood. Make us an official writing team, like Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam, or Mike Nichols and Elaine May."
"We probably could."
"I think so. It's something to think about at least."
"We would just need a plot to wrap around those brilliant words."
"Well yes, but that's not that hard, I don't think."
"Well, if you don't think, that would make it really hard, Shakespeare. I think the key IS thinking."
"See, you are doing it right now; this is fabulous stuff already and all you are doing is pulling my chain."
"Oh, so you are not really going to have to juice this up, then, Mr. Humorist?"
"Probably not very much. This is great stuff so far."
"Then I want half. No juice, half. Juice, I'll settle for less than half. George and I do this sort of thing all the time, only he laughs too much and distracts me."
"Well the beauty of you and me is that we do this like this and not like you and George do it. So the whole distraction element is greatly reduced."
"George is a line stealer. We go to parties, I make an off-the-cuff remark to him, and then he uses it on the entire room for laughs. Sometimes I just want to stab him in the eye with my pocket knife."
"Well, that and making him finish you first probably evens out the score, and hurts much less than the knife-in-the-eye thing."
"Please. I want it at least three times or he gets the knife."
"Dammit, you women are so greedy sometimes."
"Snort."
"Wait, you mean like three times in a week, right?"
"No."
"Oh dammit, in one night?"
"In one sitting."
"Good grief."
"I'll settle for two, but only if they are really good."
"Poor George, I always thought he had it so good, and now this news."
"He's never complained. And sometimes, I just tell him let's do it because I have 10 minutes. He rarely says no to that."
"Wow; you seem to have George trained pretty well there."
"I pull his tail and he does what I want."
"Ah, Curious George; of course. And here I thought that was just a series of cute children's books. The whole thing is really a handbook for female domination, isn't it?"
"Aren't most things?"
"Apparently so, as I am slowly discovering."
"Seriously, I mean. Men make more money, but everything, EVERYTHING, is marketed to women. There are hidden messages everywhere."
"I'm not sure that this is going to work well in a humor piece, though. And your message doesn't seem to be hiding very much, pulling his tail and all."
"I don't hide things. I just say it or make it known."
"I see that clearly now. Like the old knife-in-the-eye thing."
"This is why work people seem to hate to talk to me on the phone."
"Plain speaking, Betty-style."
"Yes, that, and the implicit threat of my pocketknife."
"Yes, that would do it for me. I gotta go, I have a story to cover in about an hour. Talk to you tomorrow?"
"Sure, so we can work out the details of our comedy writing partnership. And remember, I have a pocketknife, and I'm not afraid to use it."
April 6, 2009.
Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.
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