Back in LA and Ready to Rock

... And I'm back in LA. After a long day of travelling on Monday, it's back to the grind, baby. The flight from Hartford actually wasn't THAT bad, just very long and drawn-out, as I went from Bradley airport to Nashville, to Las Vegas, and then finally to Burbank. Luckily, none of the flights was full, so most of the way I got to stretch out a bit, make a large dent in The Stand (finally!), sleep, and not worry too much about being squished. It was nice to escape the biting New England cold, though it does make you realize how relatively boring the weather is here in LA.

Anyways, every time I go home and then return to CA, I always come back feeling momentarily refreshed and refocused, and then I feel like I go to work the next day and am pretty quickly sapped of all that surplus energy and can-do attitude, as I remember that all those great things I've planned on doing are in fact competing for time with a demanding job that requires a ton of focus and energy each day, but also has me sitting in front of a computer for long, headache-inducing periods. Not to complain too much, it's just a continual effort to come home from work each day and be motivated to do all of the many things I want to do that don't have anything to do with my job.

So here is a little reminder to myself: go get 'em!

Meanwhile, while I figure out the rest of my life, here's some non-me-related stuff to chew on:

- So what does it take to put away the Clintons? Last night I was really hoping to see Obama deliver a knockout blow to Hillary, and now it looks like we're in for one of the most drawn-out primaries of all time, one that could extend all the way to the Democratic Convention. It just frustrates me to hear some of the pundits create these little sound-bytes that don't really make sense - ie that Democrats are having "buyer's remorse" when it comes to Obama, etc. Um, it's not like people are voting and then taking back their votes, and it's not like all voters belong to some hive-mind that thinks as one, either. The most telling thing is the document that Tim Russert cited last night from Obama's own campaign, put out months ago internally and then leaked out, that predicted down to a state what has happened thus far in the primaries, with one exception I believe. In any case, while the headlines go to Hillary today, in terms of delegates won it's still a decent lead for Obama. Unfortunately, it's now going to be an even more protracted battle ...

I do think that Obama's speech last night, while good, needed to focus in a little on Hillary and the issues of the campaign. It kills me when people say Obama isn't a policy person, as in all of the debates he's talked over the issues in great detail. But it's true - his speeches tend to be big-picture, and it's not the issues that even need to be talked about, necessarily, but his opponents. Hillary has gotten in some ridiculously biting jabs at Obama of late - especially her "3 am phone call" shot at him - a line that seems to be crying out for a rebuttal. I'm not asking Obama to take cheap shots, but, I wouldn't mind seeing Hillary get a bit of her own medicine either.

- So let me talk for a minute about SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. It's amazing how the show is getting all zeitgest-y again, despite the fact that its political content of late hasn't been all that funny or smart. I mean, the two debate sketches they've done so far have been inarguably weak, and the weirdest thing is that Hillary is almost benefitting from the fact that the sole okay thing about the sketches has been Amy Poehler as Clinton. Meanwhile, Fred Armisen is playing Obama as a near-mute Muppet - why, I have no clue. I sometimes like Armisen, but I have no idea what he's trying to do with his Obama - is it some meta-commentary or something? Just a bad impression? So strange ... but in a weird way it's almost hurting the real-life Obama because he comes off as so lame in these sketches. I'm not trying to overstate the reach of SNL, but in this age of YouTube, who knows how many people actually watch these sketches.

- And there's a good transition into TV STUFF ...

- While I'm talking about SNL ... I feel like since the strike the show has been decent but still very inconsistent from sketch to sketch. It's funny how the strengths of the show have changed so much from a few years ago. It seems like the political and pop cultural stuff has been the weak link, while the highlights have been the more random bits of humor, the digital shorts, etc. There's a lot of talent in the cast - but only Daryll Hammond is still leftover from the previous era where he's a guy that can do the impressions needed for political and pop culture parody. The strongest members of the cast, like Andy Samberg, Kristin Wiig, and Bill Hader are clearly more comfortable doing the weird, random stuff than they are with parody - and hence the highlights of SNL the last few weeks have been things like the "Grandpa" digital short or the Kristin Wiig-as-hot-air-balloon-saleswoman sketch. Still, the show at least feels like it has a pulse now, and it is slowly gaining that must-watch feeling, even if only one or two sketches a night are worth talking about the next day.

- I still haven't seen the two-part SARAH CONNOR finale, but man, I watched the two prior episodes on my flight back from CT, and for the first time I found myself getting really into the show, as in, I was eager and excited to see how the season wraps up, and was just generally pumped about the show. Up until now, it's been uneven at times - you could feel it trying to find its legs. Now, a lot of that potential seems to finally be getting realized. Good stuff.

- I also still haven't seen last week's LOST. I know - must watch ASAP.

- I thought all three of FOX's Sunday night animated shows were decent. There seemed to be a trend of all three telling solid stories but skimping on the laugh out loud moments. THE SIMPSONS had a pretty decent Departed parody - it was a well-done episode that felt a bit old-school in how relatively down to earth and straighforward a story it told - just not many big laughs to be found. Similarly, KING OF THE HILL had a nice little episode, but after the last few weeks of great KOTH eps, it felt a bit run of the mill, and a riff on the tried-and-true Hank-as-gullible-citizen theme. FAMILY GUY took the long-running Brian-in-love-with-Lois storyline to its logical extremes, while still manageing to avoid the essential problem that Brian is, in fact, a dog, so him having a relationship with Lois would be slightly strange, even for Family Guy. Anyways, it was a decent ep, again just lacking a lot of really funny moments to compliment the dramatic arc. So yeah, "B's" all around.

My Grades: Simpsons: B, King of the Hill: B, Family Guy: B

- As for FOX's newest sitcom, UNHITCHED ...? The less said the better. Just terrible on all accounts - cliched, unfunny, and a waste of some decent talent like Rasheeda Jones. It's shows like this that remind us why the sitcom is essentially dead.

My Grade: D -


Alright, like I said, back to the grind. But even as I sit tied to a desk, bleary-eyed from the everpresent computer monitor, I must remind myself that yes, I am ready to rock, and possibly, to roll. Sayonara.