I'm sure all the Whedon admirers have seen the first 2 episodes of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The cap above is from ep 1 @ 5 mins in when Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) is singing about his crush - doing something between the Harlem Shake and a shimmy. Just made me bust out laughing. Ep 2 was even better than 1, so I'm looking forward to the final act.

What's with the title? "Do you speak Ubbi Dubbi"? - a "language" (gibberish) I first heard on Zoom.

I had forgotten about it until a friend and I were reminiscing about programs we watched as kids. I had a teacher in elementary school who would show us Zoom and The Electric Company as a "treat" almost every week. She would turn out the lights and read or grade papers while we watched - hmmm, this was probably more of a treat for her than us.

Zoom - This wasn't a favorite show, but here is a clip of a cast member speaking UBBI DUBBI. "(rhymes with "hubby"), you insert "ub" (pronounced to rhyme with "hub") in front of every vowel. Usually the "ub" syllable is stressed more than the vowel that it precedes"

I can't understand anything this kid says.

The Electric Company - Okay, this was cool. This was aimed at kids in primary school - after Sesame Street. It originally aired from 1971-77. Music, skits, cartoons and episodes of Marvel Comics Spiderman (Spidey Super Stories). Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby and Morgan Freeman were adults in the cast. Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks and Joan Rivers narrated animated clips. The kids were members of "The Short Circus" - Irene Cara (who sang "Fame" from the movie) was a member.

Morgan Freeman was the groovy Easy Reader. He sings in this segment with Rita Moreno - @1:30 - "reading stuff is out of sight!" Dig those threads, man!

During Saturday morning cartoons, the ABC network showed SchoolHouse Rock clips which presented history, science, math, U.S. legislative process, and grammar. Looking back now on the history ones - it's startling to see how "clean" a version of our history is presented. Make sense for kids, but 1 called "Elbow Room", about our Manifest Destiny deal, takes on a whole new meaning.

Here are 2 of my favorites:

The Great American Melting Pot

Conjunction Junction

I'll end this trip with one of my favorite songs from the 70's - Shame by Evelyn "Champagne" King. The same teacher played this at a cl@ss party and tried to get us to dance with each other - no way!!!

& Hari

I was returning from a visit "down country" to see my 86 year old aunt and taking the last exit home when a doe and her twin fawns began crossing the lane (above pic is not mine). I stopped and began scrabbling for my camera and checked the rearview to see if any other cars were approaching. Mom and twin 1 got across, but twin 2 turned to head back into the brush. Still can't find my camera, checked rear view again, and began repeating to myself "come on baby, go across". Twin 2 turns back to the road, hesitates (no camera, no other cars, "come on baby, go!") and then quickly trots over to join mom and twin 1. They disappear into the brush and I still can't get my camera out of the depths of my purse.

It's been awhile since I've seen twin fawns. Fawning time ranges from May to August, but June and July are usually the peak times. They were so cute.

Back to my aunt - I swear this little lady accomplishs more in a morning than I do in a weekend. She had hand-washed clothes, hung them up outside, cleaned half her house, got the clothes of line, ironed them, cooked a complete meal and remodeled a skirt on her 60 year old sewing machine before I showed up around 1 pm.

3 shows away from Doctor Who season's end for my viewing schedule. Those who told me the episodes continually improved after (and including) Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead were so right! I liked this episode and was creeped out because I was watching it in the quiet dark of 2 AM.
***SPOILER***

What I've Been Reading

Or trying to read in this case: Remember the book list making the rounds a few weeks ago? Possession by A.S. Byatt was on it and another mid-year book list about "new cl@ssics". I was looking for new reads and gave it a try. Snooze city! It was a fight to get past the first 3 chapters, I skimmed a few more and put it down. Summary: Roland Mitchell is researching an author Randolph Henry Ash, finds a letter to a lady, Christabel LaMotte, from Ash. Roland becomes possessed with finding out the relationship between Ash and LaMotte. Roland meets Dr. Maud Bailey, a LaMotte expert, and she joins him in this quest. The author did a lot of work on this book - she's created letters, poems, and diary excerpts for Ash and LaMotte along side the growing relationship of Maud and Roland. I found it dull. Critics think that Ash is really Robert Browning and LaMotte is Christina Rossetti.

Weird related trivia of my week: Rossetti's poem Goblin Market is quoted in the DW Midnight episode.

I had better luck with Time travel, interaction with well-known characters from books, humor and a little dithering romance. Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is my next read.

Joga video directed by Michel Gondry - Did you see Gondry's The Science of Sleep? I liked it, but wasn't a big fan of Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind

a composition of a youtuber's favorite things - and she hits upon some of my favorite things!

Finally... this just makes me laugh

Thanks for visiting,

Hari

"The anti-Spider-Man by way of a Fight Club/Matrix mash-up" was 1 reviewer's summary of Wanted. McAvoy isn't an actor I instantly would pay $ to see; I've seen him in 3 films - Rory O'Shea Was Here, Narnia (not memorable) and Last King of Scotland. A friend really wanted to see this movie, I was bored and went with her.

• Suspend disbelief at door - check
  
• Don't expect much of a plot - check
• Restrain myself from grabbing the loudest box of candy I have ever heard from the noisy lady next to us? - check (barely)
  

McAvoy is likeable as the lead and does a pretty good American accent. Freeman and Jolie are good in their roles. Some humor and interesting visuals. The action sequences, esp. the car chases were pretty cool and relatively smooth w/ all the CGI. I rate it a 6/10 for actor "likeability" and action.

TV

Nothing interesting on over the past week, but July brings some premieres and "back from hiatus" returns:

Avatar: The Last Airbender July 14-19 (concludes with 2 hours series finale)
Monk season 7 July 18
Mad Men season 2 premiere July 27
Eureka season 3 premiere July 29

Doctor Who returns on July 11 with Midnight on Sci-Fi. I'll be carefully avoiding spoilers, so I may not visit some of my favorite blogs until I've seen the last 4 episodes. As much as I want to know the season's ending, I want to delay gratification and savor DT since the season just got good.

Mad Men - I watched sporadically last season, so I don't know if I'll make it through all the shows this season. Good actors, but that period sexism and other -isms can be hard to take at times. This season will be start a few years in the future from last, so that may squelch some of my complaints.

A friend told me about this series - I was really skeptical at first. I thought it would be like other manga based anime with gigantic eyes, choppy dialogue and sappy ballads. Instead I found it to be a kind of "Epic Fantasy 101" with some of the best animated action sequences I've seen, humor, and a great soundtrack. Yes, the show is idenitified as being for 8-12 year olds, but adults can see the more complex/layered themes.

Summary: This world has 4 nations: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Each nation has a bending form (based on martial arts). Aang is the Last Avatar (= Chosen One), raised by monks in Air Nation, who has been in a suspended state for 100 years. A brother and sister from a Water tribe - Sokka and Katara - find him and become his companions on his quest to save the world. Aang knows air bending and must learn the 3 others quickly to fight the Fire Lord who wants to dominate all nations. Katara has raw talent in Water bending and also needs a teacher. Not everyone can do bending - Sokka can't, but wants to be a warrior. They are pursued by an exiled Prince of the Fire Nation who wants to capture Avatar to prove his worth to his father, the Fire Lord and regain his legacy. By end of season 2, Aang and Katara have learned Waterbending. Another companion was added in season 2, a sheltered blind girl named Toph, who can teach Aang Earthbending.

Themes: Eastern religion and mythology, martial arts, quest/adventure fantasy (self-discovery, personal growth, good v. evil), Inuit culture, death of a parent or friend, betrayal

The show is in the season 3 which is the final and has been on hiatus SINCE Nov. 2007! Fans have been buzzing since an April NYC Comic-con when a trailer for rest of season aired and I'm surprised that there wasn't a mass assault on Nick HQ when airdates were changed. The final episodes and 2 hr. finale will all be aired during 1 week. I'll miss this sweet, simple and fun adventure.

An enterprising and dedicated fan did some trailers for the remainder of the season; she could make a career out of this! Check out her An Outside Looking In Production of Series Finale Trailer or Intro to Avatar

Also, visit the Track Team's Myspace where the composers alternate clips of their soundtrack work for the series. I love the music.

Have a great week...

* all pics, except DT, are links to TV.com pages or youtube *

July 4th is Independence Day...kids in the neighborhood are already setting off fireworks (and annoying me).

TV

A little better this week...I gave up on USA's In Plain Sight after the 3rd show - the lead was just so annoying and circumstances not believable in the context of witness protection/marshalls. I did watch the first 2 episodes of ABC Family's and it was pretty darn funny - like I actually laughed out loud funny. SCI-Fi with quick dialog, lots of allusions and camp - more subtle than old Adam West Batman, but still there. The pilot featured Mary Lynn Rajskub as a scientist doing experimentation on gorillas - she is good at deadpan comedy. I don't recognize the actors playing the Middleman or sidekick Wendy Watson but I like them. I believe their schtick, not that annoying marshall in In Plain Sight. Okay, I'll stop complaining about that show.

FINALLY! Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

This was the best of the season so far and Donna didn't annoy even once. In fact, I daresay, I really liked her in these episodes. Stephen Moffat does excellent stories. The Doctor was great, I liked the kid and everyone got a Second Life. 2 week hiatus on SCI-FI channel until next ep - UGH!

Music

What song always makes you dance?

I rediscovered my Madonna You Can Dance cassette tape - yes, I said cassette tape - haven't bothered to replace it. Oddly enough, my 2003 Toyota has a cassette player, so I popped it in, opened my moonroof and windows and blasted and had my own little party. It made me remember the days of dancing til the wee hours - with a new partner for each song, with my girls or by myself - sweating, not caring how I looked, just exhausted and dying of thirst because we had been dancing so hard. I haven't vacationed with my dancing friends in a while, but we would usually look for interesting clubs - didn't have to be the hottest, didn't care if it was full of straight or gay men - we just needed to hear some bumping music to go in and have fun. Boy, I miss that...but as soon as I get a FT job and more solvent, we are going to travel together again, find a club and SWEAT!

I came across Telegraph's 50 songs to make you dance compiled by their music critics. Most of the songs are linked to Youtube to discover/rediscover. Some artists I never heard of, like Chaka Demus and Pliers, Original Nuttah, but I was familiar with most.

I was happy to see 1 of my favorites #25 Standing in the Way of Control by The Gossip. They do a cover of Aaliyah's Are You That Somebody that I like.

#9 Can't Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue - I like most of her dance songs. My favorite is a Chemical Brothers' remix of Slow.

#1 Crazy in Love by Beyonce - who hasn't tried to shake it like this young lady.

My list of danceable tunes would have included the above, and a few more, like:

I Can't Wait - Nu Shooz

LoveStoned - J. Timberlake annoys me (you'll are asking who doesn't at this point), but I couldn't ignore that it is fun to dance to.

IF - I don't remember anything else off this album, but I loved this song.

Lovin Is Really My Game by Brainstorm - The pic is from Noah's Arc 1x4 Don't Make Me Over in which the guys dance to a cover of this song and the tall guy in the center does a full split in like 4 inch boots. I loved that show - it was corny, a little overacted, and need work, but nothing else like it on TV. Boo-hiss Logo channel! If you want to see that clip, check segment 3 starting at -7:40 at spike.com.

I can't believe Shout by The Isley Brothers was not on this list. Every (drunk) college kid has danced to this song, at least since the film Animal House featured it in the 70s. It's a small right of passage - along with seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show (maybe now, it's BtVS Once More With Feeling).

Let's go dancing soon!

Well, I was tagged by lae10 so I shall comply....

1. I'm a Pisces. This week's horoscope: Monday through Wednesday is a time of great power and possibility for you.....By Saturday, you'll be feeling great and be ready head out and find a new love (hmmm, see #4).
2. In the past, I called myself an atheist.
3. I'm afraid of heights.
   
4. Currently single, not living w/ a BF now. Never been married, don't have kids.
5. I don't own an MP3 player (well, my phone may be 1, but I don't use it).
6. I hate black licorice.
   
7. Comfort movie: The Fifth Element.
   
8. Comfort food: PB & J on toast (eat while watching #7).
   
9. I have an older sister and 1 niece.
   
10. Favorite new song: Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend