I know, ever since we got back from leave I just haven’t really picked any fights for the weekend. Sorry. It’s just that what’s been in the news has been so silly that I just can’t bring myself to take a serious side on anything without melting down into a complete case of the giggles and snickers. The extreme but vocal/verbose fringes of both sides are so far removed from where I stand these days, that I simply can’t pick a side and seriously make a case without rolling my eyes and doing Ctrl/A del. We’ve simply got too much real life going on to care about the lathering of others. Beautiful Wife’s Dad is not doing well and since we’ve just started to finish grieving over her Mom and Stepdad, it’s a very grey cloud over our heads. And we’ve just learned that an old friend from Germany has a very aggressive cancer and has just started chemo. So you’ll excuse me if I don’t give a rat’s ass about some lady’s meltdown at the President’s ranch or the “news” that liberal democrats have ripped off a charitable fund to support their radio station. I grew up in Chicago dammit, this has all been done before…and better I might add.

I would love to write more about really good new music…and as soon as I find some, I’ll write about it. But talk about a complete crap-alanche of summer music. Nothing stood out. The fact that “Holiday” off “American Idiot” has finally been released as a single ought to tell you something about the state or our music scene. It’s a great song, but it’s almost a year old. Come ON. Thanks to Gorgeous Daughter, I’ve at least had Bif Naked to break up the monotiny. I think I need to hang out with young people more often, they listen to stuff I like.

Movies? All the summer “hits” have come and gone and again, nothing really stood out. The anticipation and discussion of Star Wars Episode III was much, much bigger and better than the movie itself…which was actually better than I expected. “The Island” by all rights and expectation should have stood out as the thrill ride of the year, but the studio didn’t even try to sell it. What do I mean by that? I mean that if I don’t see a Sci-Fi movie advertised on Friday Night Sci-Fi, then the studio is either trying to have it tank, or they’re just clueless as to what the geeks are up to. And what do us geeks have to look forward to for the rest of the year. “Serenity” is coming but it simply won’t be enough. That’s just going to rustle up a new herd of Firefly fans and maybe get a series of movies going. Harry Potter? Okay, good stuff there, but after this one, there’s only three of them left. And it’s not new. It’s old…and most of us have read the books so we know how much of the story isn’t being told. That kind of bites in and of itself. King Kong is coming and looks great but this is version number three. Do we need a version number three? I’m just askin’.

Televison? Other than Friday Night Sci-Fi, is there anything to look forward to? Oh well, at least we have another season of “Survivor” and “American Idol” to look forward to. And here’s a confession, I watch them, but I don’t much like them, there’s just nothing much else on Tuesday or Thursday nights. Have I mentioned that I can’t wait to get back to the Pacific? Something about being able to just go snorkling again when I’m bored makes me happy. Nine months and counting.