Will You Be My Constant?

Will you be my constant? My anchor through jumps in time? I need you so my brain won't short-circuit...

Okay, if you don't watch Lost you will not understand this post. Last night's episode was so intense and thought provoking that Hubby and I had to rewind (thank God for Tivo! The world's greatest invention.) to catch what was going on between Desmond and Faraday. It was especially heavy at Faraday's Oxford office (1996) with Desmond learning that he needed a 'constant'. Essentially someone to anchor him through time so his brain won't short-circuit. Of course Desmond chose Penelope as his anchor. It was all slightly convoluted but made more sense during the second last scene when he phones Penny, as promised on Christmas Eve 2004, and thereby saves his brain from being fried. The final scene has Faraday going through his journal and seeing the note he wrote to himself in 1996 (after he meets Desmond) that says something like Desmond will be my constant. Maybe the word constant could become a term of endearment. Greeting cards will ask 'would you be my constant?' Oh, the possibilities...

Firemen & Food

Hubby and I live in a revitalized urban neighborhood which has lots of retail and restaurants within walking distance. When Hubby is at work I am just a short stroll to pick up items at the market. Usually I try and run errands in the morning when it's cool, since this is Texas, and when I can safely jay-walk without fear of some speed demon running me down. Did I mention that there are quite a number of crazy drivers in Dallas?

Anyway, it seems like whenever I am at our neighborhood market there is always a fire engine parked outside. At first I naively thought that they must have a problem with people pulling the fire alarm -- some people have strange kicks. Then I noticed a couple of firemen with shopping carts buying food. So, what's the story with firemen and food? Is it because they have spare time between fires that they indulge in gourmet cooking? Perhaps it is to renew their energy in preparation for the next alarm. Wouldn't that make a great show on the Food Network? Have someone visit different firestations and have the guys prepare their best dishes? Or, maybe focus on one or two firestations? Of course, that could be problematic if an alarm sounds and the chef has to run to fight a fire. Very dramatic, though.

Political Ads

The political advertisements running on local Dallas television networks have hit a feverish pitch this week, what with the Democratic primaries taking place here on March 4th. At this point in time I am sick to death of them. One moment it's Obama, next it's Clinton...it's driving me crazy since this isn't even the presidential election yet. What's it going to be like in autumn? Americans really go crazy during elections. Just imagine the millions of dollars that have been paid so far for media advertising. There really should be a cap on political advertising in the US.

Oscars = Big Yawn

I was so hyped last night about watching the Oscars, what with the WGA strike settlement finally ending the award-show drought. But, it was a complete and utter waste of air time. Even the red carpet coverage was blah. By the end of the night did I really care? Maybe it's telling that this is the first time in more than a decade that I haven't seen any of the films nominated for best picture. Big yawn. At least 'No Country For Old Men' was filmed in Texas.

Saturday Night Addendum

I can't forget to mention the couple that were standing in front of us on Saturday night. Whenever the woman went for a smoke I had a perfect view of Dylan, but we never tried to squirm our way in. So, towards the end of the show her boyfriend/partner motioned for me to move ahead when she went for her latest cigarette break. We chatted briefly, but man-oh-man this guy reminded me of Spicoli. You know, Spicoli, Sean Penn's character from 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High', although he had more facial hair and wore a bandana on his head. The voice was so Spicoli, which makes me think the dude must have been from California.

Bob Dylan Swings the House of Blues

Saturday night's Bob Dylan concert at the House of Blues in Dallas proved that he can still rock, but with a little swing.

Hubby, his colleague from work, and myself set out for the show just before 6pm so we could grab a bite for dinner at the House of Blues restaurant. Unfortunately we were unable to sample their cuisine since there was a 40 minute wait list for a table, meanwhile the tables on the porch were empty because there was no service outside. What is the point of putting tables and chairs outside? They missed out on making lots of dough that night. We headed across the street to Luna de Noche for a Tex-Mex dinner. The enchiladas were the best I've had so far in Dallas while the decor was elegant and hip. Great place to go while waiting for the doors for GA to open at House of Blues.

While getting into the House of Blues for the concert were were checked by the metal detectors, and then my handbag was checked. Since this is Texas I just assumed they were checking for concealed weapons, but no, they were checking for cameras. Of course, that's the night I just happen to pop a camera in my bag. Hubby was kind enough to run it over to the car while we waited outside. Perhaps they should print 'no cameras allowed' on the tickets. Ironically most people have cameras built into their phones and there were plenty of photos being taken. Also, one would think Dylan would be more concerned about the audience recording the concert.

The crowd was a variety of ages but the majority appeared to be over thirty. We found a place to stand with a bar for drinks towards the back where you could catch glimpses of Dylan. With guitar in hand, he opened with a rocking rendition of 'Rainy Day Women' and then followed with 'Lay, Lady, Lay'. The songs were well received by an exuberant audience. There was a bizarre moment during the first song where a young fan climbed up on stage and appeared to try and speak with him. Luckily the fan was scooped up by security and Dylan cooly played on.

After the first two songs Dylan then proceeded to the keyboards, which were strangely placed to the side of stage left, not facing the audience but rather more facing stage right so that those standing in the right side of GA got a great view of Dylan's backside. Why wouldn't they place the keyboards front and center stage if he was going to be playing there for all but two songs? Perhaps he has a bit of stage fright?

His supporting band was awesome. Loved the use of the stand-up base. They really worked well together as well as with Dylan. Most of them wore hats including Dylan. Since we hadn't heard his new CD we were surprised by the rockabilly swing of some of the new tunes. Dare I say that this style really suits him? The music had me trying to get Hubby to dance. Okay, I danced and he just stood there holding me and twirling me several times, but still, I never would have thought I'd be dancing like that at a Bob Dylan concert.

I was holding out hope that he would sing 'Girl Of the North Country' as an encore since the review in the Dallas Morning News said he did a rendition of it on Thursday evening, but he chose a rousing version of 'Along the Watchtower' instead. Guess he's trying different playlists before the start of his South American tour. Nothing holds back this grizzly troubadour from unleashing his songs to a new generation.

Last Night's Lost Episode

Loved last night's Lost episode, and, yes, I was slightly surprised by the ending. The episodes was named 'Eggtown' and the first scene featured Locke frying a couple of eggs for prisoner Ben. Then we are led to believe that Kate has, well, 'shed her egg' after refusing to get it on with Sawyer...of course, since this is television, nothing is really stated. Ironic how there are television advertisements for 'feminine protection' but no one actually speaks of it...This makes me wonder how the women survivors on Lost make do when 'Aunt Flo' makes a visit. I don't mean to be gross, but really what do you think they used before they discovered all the Dharma loot in the hatch?

Anyway, the big surpise is that Claire's baby Aaron made it off the island and Kate has everyone believing that he is her child. What's happened to Claire? Is she dead? Is she still on the island? And, why is Jack unwilling to see Aaron. Is he filled with guilt regarding what happened to Claire? Did he ever discover that Claire is his half-sister? What we can deduce from the episode is that the Oceanic Six got paid a huge sum from the looks of Kate's beautiful, huge home in California not too mention the nanny for Aaron. Also, from Jack's courtroom testimony we discover their 'cover story' is that eight people survived the plane crash, and six actually made it off the island. So, did they get paid a huge amount of dough to cover-up the existence of other survivors? Maybe this is guilt money because once they were rescued they could not find the exact location of the island to go back and rescue those who remain.

Dylan at House of Blues

From Barry Manilow to Bob Dylan, that's a week in the life of yours truly. Hubby and I were lucky enough to get tickets to one of the three sold-out shows Bob Dylan is giving at House of Blues in Dallas this week. Last night's show got a good review in the Dallas Morning News, so here's hoping I'm able to recognize at least one of his songs tomorrow evening.

Honestly, I've seen Bob Dylan in concert once before. That concert was a double-bill with Joni Mitchell at the Corel Centre in Kanata in Octobert 1998. My friend Amanda will remember that one because it was her friend that drove us there in his gigantic pick-up truck...and then he proceeded to get quite stoned and unable to drive us back to the city. So, since I could barely see over the steering wheel, Amanda drove the huge truck back into the city...Good times.

Fanilow

Yesterday evening I dragged Hubby to see Barry Manilow in concert at the American Airlines Center. Manilow's music was part of the soundtrack of my childhood during the 1970s, so listening to it is a bit like going home. When I heard he was coming to Dallas I knew we had to go...even though it was months away. No, I didn't wait in line all night for tickets like 'Will & Grace', but yesterday I realized why someone would become a 'fanilow'.

Manilow is not just a performer, he is an entertainer and his show was slick and smooth while keeping the audience enthralled for every moment of the 90 minutes he was on stage. It was incredible to realize that everyone (okay, excluding Hubby) was singing along and waving the Manilow Glowsticks in the air. The woman next to my husband started hyperventilating when he started playing 'Looks Like We Made It'...really. Another Fanilow came with her mother and daughter -- complete with yellow feather boas. Loved when he talked about his grandfather in the middle of 'I Made it Through the Rain', a man who was a major influence in Manilow's life.

Manilow really has a wide-appeal when you look at the young, old, and middle-aged audience, although it was predominantly female. After last night's show I can't wait to see him in concert again.

Nip/Tuck Keeps Shocking Audience

Last night's episode of Nip/Tuck was shocking. After Gina's unfortunate demise a couple of episodes ago and the strange demise of the CAA agent by the crazy-teddy-bear-making-Sean-obsessed-wannabe-agent, I really did not think this show had any boundaries left to cross. But, I was wrong, the writers found another line to cross and cross it they did. This time it is a major taboo. After we see Matt in bed with the young woman from Georgia I was happy that he had finally found a 'normal' girlfriend. That is until she mentioned that she had finally met her 'father'...who just happened to have performed laser treatment on her several days before. Yes, that would be Christian who is blissfully unaware and happy that Matt has found a 'normal girlfriend'. Yikes!!!! Okay, they're half-siblings, but it's still so weird. Ewwwww!!!

On top of all this strangeness, Julia finally realizes that Eden has been slipping mercury into the fruitcake and confronts her. Eden just happens to find Julia's gun and fires a shot at her accuser. Is Julia dead? Will anyone find out that Eden has been poisoning Julia? Kudos to the fearless writers on this show for never ceasing to surprise, and sometimes offend, their audience.

Needles

Let me start this post by professing my aversion to needles. Can't stand them; can't look when I'm getting blood drawn. This is a common aversion, so when I decided to try acupuncture I'm sure I'm not the only person to be terrified when I went in for my first session. Wearing glasses instead of contact lenses helped because I have no peripheral vision and could not see the needles going into my skin. It's interesting how some points are more sensitive than others all depending on the energy that needs to be channeled and balanced. Now that I'm over my first session I'm no longer terrified, although I still choose to look away while the needles go in. Wish I could bottle the overwhelming feeling of relaxation, and yes balance, that happens after acupuncture.

Superbowl No-Show

Okay, I must admit that I did not buy into the Superbowl hoopla this year. It could be because I really did not care for either the Patriots or the Giants. Why watch a football game when you don't want either team to win? The Patriots were playing the perfect football year to the point of being annoyingly brash with confidence. Everyone loves cheering for the underdog team, but I just could not bring myself to cheer for the Giants. This dislike stems from their play off victory over the Cowboys when their defense kept knocking Romo down. The only consolation I could draw from the end of the game was the fact that they kept knocking Brady down, and with it the Patriots' dream of a perfect year. What meaning does winning have when you lose your one and only season game at the Superbowl? So, here's hoping the Cowboys will be in the big game next year.

Last Night's Lost Premiere

Hubby and I have been awaiting the premiere of the new season of Lost for weeks. Okay, well, maybe I've been anticipating it more than Hubby, but we've both been catching up by re-watching last year's episodes on DVD -- where the picture quality is phenomenal.

Last night's episodes was intriguing because we discover that only six people make it off the island as Hurley (flash forward) refers to being one of the 'Oceanic Six', and something mysterious happened on the island because Hurley asked if Jack came to visit him to see if he would tell what they 'did'. So, if only six people were rescued what happened to the other castaways? Were they murdered? Did they decide to stay on the island? (Of course, Locke more than likely decided to stay island-bound.) Or, were they left on the island so the other six people could be rescued? Hopefully we'll get answers by the end of the season, although there are only eight episodes completed before the writers' strike so who knows what will be solved.