Studio Kissme

This week brought us the second installment of Aaron Sorkin's new drama, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. If you're looking for an impartial read of the show so far, stop now. Read TWoP. They'll be mean if it's warranted. Not me. I'm telling you now that any discussion of this show will only be an extended love letter to Mr. Sorkin. Love. Him. OK, let's get started.

A few West Wing staffers have migrated to L.A.: Bradley Whitford, Timothy Busfield, Evan Handler. Other familiar faces include Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Steven Webber, and D.L. Hughley.

Like Sorkin's West Wing and Sports Night before it, character drives the drama at Studio 60. The series begins as veteran producer Wes Mendell (Judd Hirsh) bemoaning the current state of television to a live national audience....sorry didn't finish this one!

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

So, my esteemed alma mater, Gonzaga University, has recently changed its logo. The large blue image of the Ad Building with the spires of St. Al's has been replaced by a slick, flashy logo, with red spires and the name "Gonzaga" in large, blue font. Well, as you can imagine, my initial reaction was outrage. How dare they mess with tradition! Clearly the old logo is embedded with a history that can't simply be replaced and altered, as though it meant nothing! Have we traded substance for style? IS NOTHING SACRED?

After the initial shock faded, things came into better focus. I've taken critical thinking. I know how to be rational. I employ reason when making judgements. What can I know? Red is an awfully pretty color. What should I do? Change, it's good, no? I can accept change. I should accept change. What can I hope for? An even better logo than before? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

I have to say, I may be coming around. I think the press release really says it best: "What researchers found was that the former logo contained many strong attributes, including the tradition and heritage of the school. But it also had shortcomings. It was difficult to reproduce in smaller sizes, the pen and ink drawing of the Administration Building and St. Aloysius Church was indistinguishable to those who had not been on campus before, and the word GONZAGA lacked prominence." Word.

Change doesn't come overnight, but I think with some reflection and a lot of prayer, I'll be able to fully integrate this new part of the Gonzaga family into my worldview. It's important. So, the logo has been "refreshed." How can I argue with freshness? It's like a chemical peel for the soul. Or the logo.

"If there is a god, he did not mean this to be so." --Moses (the one from the Bible, not Planet Wackjob)

Bumpwatch is over: Apple now has a little brother. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have welcomed their second child into this cruel world, and given him a name guaranteed to haunt his social interactions and personal relations well into his second round of rehab. Ladies and gentlemen, say hi to Moses. Apple and Moses Martin. I feel like there has to be a joke here somewhere, I just can't quite find it. Maybe something to do with Kabbala. Maybe not.

However, it does seem curious that ABC's miniseries version of The Ten Commandments premiered tonight, on the very day Moses Martin was called into being. Coincidence? Yeah. Maybe.

Feeding Calcutta? That's hot.

Only Paris Hilton's involvement in a film about Mother Teresa could confirm the absence of God or any sense of goodness in the world. That's right...Indian film director T. Rajeevnath is considering casting Paris as the Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun because of the very obvious "facial resemblance" between the two. Paris denies it, of course. Teresa's way too wrinkly. Didn't anyone ever teach her about SPF?

Productivity is Low

Things that must be accomplished in next few days:
1.) Laundry (or at least buy socks).
2.) Read White Teeth.
3.) Change sheets.
4.) Reassemble shelves that where knocked down during boozy spring break.
5.) Write bios for NEA website.

Today's accomplishments:
1.) Went to gym. Things started out promising.
2.) Napped.
3.) Wrote NEA bios. (Hey, that's one in a row...)
4.) Napped.
5.) Showered.
6.) Had two beers in front of a pregnant friend.
7.) Drove to Fedex to retrieve package that was not left by Fedex guy earlier (see nap #1). [Editor's note: I see now that listing beer and driving back to back looks like a bad thing. It was actually cider, and there were a few hours in between that were so very lackluster they don't even merit mention. So no danger there.]
8.) Stopped at CVS to buy Cadbury eggs.
9.) Ate Cadbury eggs.

That pretty much brings us up to date. Now I'm watching What Not to Wear. Something must be done. I need some motivation and a meth habit to get things going.

ungrounded outlet

Lately I've been a bit...what's the word...argumentative. Confrontational. Quarrelsome. Scrappy, perhaps? It's been a laugh, making people cry and feeling superior in most conceivable ways, but apparently others aren't enjoying this quite as much as I am. Since I have no intention of altering this behavior, it occurs to me that perhaps I should just talk about these people behind their backs. Like, instead of telling A.C. he's a moron on the official messageboard, I could do it here. Where I have every right to call a moron an idiot. And, you know, vice versa. Mean? Of course. Spiteful? You betcha.