Windowseat Weblog by Laurel Krahn

updated Dec 22 @ 7pm CST by Laurel Krahn laurel@windowseat.org Minneapolis, MN AIM: lakrahn ICQ: 509473 Weblogging since November 1998 Media . Tech . Science Fiction . Art . Humor . Books . Music . Film . TV . Toys . Net . MN . Culture Home TV Picks TV Portal previous Dec 13 - 19 Dec 6 - 12 Nov 29 - Dec 5 Nov 22 - 28 Nov 6 - 21 Nov 1 - 5 Oct 18 - 31 Oct 11 - 17 More . . . now playing Alloy Boiled in Lead Christmas Blues Holly Cole Trio Home Deep Blue Something Count Your Blessings Holly Cole, Jane Siberry, Victoria Williams, et al now reading too many magazines to read queue Dragon Steven Brust Ender's Shadow Orson Scott Card Mind Changer James White Too many others to list favorite recent movies The Iron Giant American Beauty Being John Malkovich Toy Story 2 places to go Minn-stf events 1/25-27 - Tara MacLean @ Loring, Coffee Gallery 4/21-23 - Minicon shop amazon.com Dreamhaven emerchandise Lush Restoration hardware my wish list weblogs YAWL whim & vinegar unobserved utterances turlyming The Stuffed Dog strange brew Screenshot Robot Wisdom Rebecca's Pocket rc3.org Pop Culture Junk Mail pith and vinegar peterme The Other Side The Oracle Speaks Obscure Store nubbin NowThis More Like This MiscMedia metascene Mermaniac Memepool Medley Media gossip Looka! kottke.org illuminatrix Honeyguide dog . . . on the radio Bradlands bifurcated rivets Bad Hair Days Anita's LOL more . . . journals James Lileks Michael Rawdon Al Roker / archive columns Jon Carroll Roger Ebert Michael Finley James Lileks other stuff AICN Brunching Shuttlecocks City Pages daily instigator Ditherati HLotSLinks HNN NewsDroid The Onion /. startribune suck TeeVee TV Barn TV Ultra My TV Page Word a Day X-Review Search Google altavista dejanews Newsgroups alt.tv.homicide rec.arts.sf.fandom alt.sysadmin.recovery alt.fan.warloard rec.arts.sf.written mn.general Lists TV Picks windowseat signal-to-noise leadheads ecto minicon-l sportsnight siblings weblogs Subscriptions Dirty Linen Entertainment Weekly In Style Interactive Week * Internet Week * Locus Movieline PC Week * Performance Computing * Premiere	December 20 - 22
	Bolander (Ned Beatty): "Christmas is when Jesus was born. That was a miracle. That's why we remember him, celebrate it." Munch (Richard Belzer): "Why?" Bolander: "Because we have to celebrate miracles, that's why." Munch: "How come all the miracles that ever happened, happened in the past?" Bolander: "What?" Munch: "Name one miracle that happened in your lifetime." Bolander: "How about the fact that I haven't killed you yet." (from Homicide: Life on the Street)
	It's still really cold here in Minnesota. Further proof from ariana @ the nubbin: the man who fixed my tire said that there was a tear in the sidewall. he hardly ever sees something like that, he says, and the likely cause is that the tire was frozen to the ground. frozen to the ground. then he added, "Tires aren't supposed to do that." Only a couple people who read this log will understand why spherical cows will always remind me of Steve Brust and Fourth Street Fantasy Convention (gone, but not forgotten). [Spherical Cow link via peterme]. A spherical cow of uniform density walks into a bar . . . illuminatrix just made it onto my weblog list solely on the strength of lotsa talk of Phil Ochs recently. Not that there's not other fine stuff to recommend it, but that's what made me sit up and say "gotta add that one so I remember to visit it". I'm sure there are other fine weblogs out there that I'd like-- if you know of one not on my list that you think I'd like, tell me about it. Heck, if you're a weblogger who reads this log, I'd love to hear about yours. Fabulous Records has a webpage! Cool. Fabulous Records is a small record label run by Adam and Betsy Stemple featuring music from The Flash Girls, Lojo Russo, The Tim Malloys, Bedlam, and other fabulous folks. Plus stories from Jane Yolen. And it's gotta be at least honorary home of legendary band Cats Laughing. Ahem. [link via Jane Yolen on the Leadheads mailing list]. Joyce Millman looks at Twenty Ways the '90s Changed Television. She covers the biggies and gives honorable mentions to the likes of Nowhere Man, Get A Life, The Ben Stiller Show, Kids in the Hall, and Cop Rock. Cool. Lots of fab stuff, but of course I'm quoting the bit re Homicide: Life on the Street: "Homicide" was the cop show of the decade, a tough, jazzed, midnight ride into the unquiet soul of the Baltimore "murder police." Its pseudo-realism, chaotic squad room scenes and use of pop music to underscore mood, as well as its unforgettable roster of heroes and anti-heroes, borrowed from previous NBC trailblazers "Hill Street Blues" and "Miami Vice." But "Homicide" (created by Paul Attanasio and produced by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson) took it all a step further, faster, deeper and blacker (this show had the best-written, most prominent African-American characters of the decade). At its finest, "Homicide" was the most uncompromising police drama on the air. Never a Nielsen hit, "Homicide" spent all of its six-year run in danger of cancellation. But that's how it was for most challenging network dramas during the high-stakes '90s. Though if I hear one more critic refer to Homicide's six year run, I shall scream. There were seven seasons of the series, honest (much as some would like to forget the seventh season). Granted the first season only had 9 episodes and the second season only had 4 episodes, but still. Seven seasons. Ahem. Just what you want for Christmas: A Seamonkeys Aquarium Watch. [Thanks (I think) to Felix Strates for the link]. Many of the sites formerly hosted at radparker.com have moved to moonpost.com. I work with plenty of these folks, that's why I care. May put up some stuff myself at moonpost.com if the whim strikes me. Good bleat today from James Lileks and he's right about how cold it was here in Minnesota yesterday. My poor van made a sound I've never heard before yesterday-- if a vehicle could scream itself hoarse, that was the sound. It's used to life in a heated underground garage, after sitting for 9 hours in a parking log in subzero temperatures, my poor van wasn't happy. I'm just glad it started. I was gonna wait for it to warm up, but I finally gave up and drove home in a hunched over - my - god - it's - cold - i - need - to - find - my - gloves - and - warm coat position. Honestly, we'd had temps in the 30s and 40s and 50s (!) and no snow until just this week. Now there's enough snow to be a nuisance (and it seems more of it is on the roads and in the parking lots than in yards and parks and such). And it's below zero with really really cold windchills. Ugh. Yuck. Anyway, a fine bleat that includes this astute observation re Spencer Gifts: Every time I go to Spencer Gifts - which isn't often; they're like Archie McFee without the irony or humor - I am reminded that more than likely THIS is America, not me. I stood agog before a display of KISS merchandise - statues, posters, mugs, wine glasses with KISS members curled around the stem. If all these items were tracking devices for the truly stupid, and at some point a series of space-based lasers would vaporize the people who bought things at Spencer Gifts without an ironic subtext, I'd be happy. I think when I was younger I briefly thought some items at Spencer's were neat, but few items. Or maybe it just all seemed darn risque to a sheltered middle class white chick from the suburbs. Now it just seems tacky. I never in a million years thought I'd want Court TV, but they've been doing some good things. Now if only they wouldn't chop the Homicide reruns to bits (at least they could do a better editing job if they must edit them for time). Anyway: Court TV, which has seen its primetime ratings jump 500% since expanding its definition of programming compatible with its mandate, has "Wiseguy" on its mind and "Homicide" in its heart. Court TV has acquired the rights to 45 of the 75 existing episodes of "Wiseguy," which will join the network's weekend lineup next month. It also has the rights to repeat the "Homicide" reunion movie four months after it airs in February on NBC. Court TV intends to do all it can to make the "Homicide" movie an event. The last few episodes of the series, which ended its six-year NBC run in the spring, will be telecast on Court TV before NBC airs the movie, which wraps up several dangling story lines. An article about the Royal Fontana Company (okay, actually just the bunch of actors who seem to show up on Law and Order and Oz and Law & Order: SVU and Homicide. A Generic Mac & Cheese Gallery. I'm sure y'all will be swiping that bit o' wallpaper . . . And Everything I needed to know I learned from Starsky & Hutch. (Actually, untrue . . . I've only ever seen one episode of the show, but hey). [Both links via email from Bruce Schneier. Thanks (I think), Bruce]. Last week's Boiled in Lead show at the Cedar Cultural Center was fabulous. Dean MacGraw sat in with the band, too. Anyway, all you Leadheads who make the pilgrimage to Minneapolis for St. Patrick's Day might want to consider planning trips to Mpls in December if this show becomes traditional (as it seems to have). Wonderful. How a band that only now plays together twice a year can sound that good is beyond me. Sometimes I think there are plenty of bands I like better than Boiled in Lead, that I'm just overly nostalgic 'cuz I've been attending their shows for 15+ years . . . and then I go to another show and fall in love with them all over again. I ordered some Holly Cole CDs from her website and I got them within a week. Just wanted to let y'all know as Cole's stuff is fabulous, I was pleasantly surprised that my CDs arrived so quickly especially given the time of year. Excellent service, fabulous music. Christine Lavin has a new live album out and it's only available online from her website for now, will be available elsewhere in February. Sounds fabulous. There are plenty of other cool things to see @ Lavin's website, too. If you're a fan, you've probably already checked it out (or will posthaste). If you're not, um . . . trust me, she writes cool songs and does a lot of work promoting new folk talent, too. You know, I always thought things were a bit strange here in Minnesnowta. And I sometimes wondered if in other states people were bribed with boxes of steaks and savings bonds and gift certificates by folks who want to replace your windshield glass for you . . . A recent insurance industry study found the price of auto glass work in Minnesota to be the highest in the nation, 69 percent above the U.S. average. This is a fabulous site that houses a bunch of screen captures from Homicide: Life on the Street. Get into ye olde holiday spirit and check out a page of screengrabs from the holiday episode "All Through The House"-- page 1, page 2, and page 3. Be warned, these will take a while to load as each page contains a bunch of full size images from the show. Looks like my current contract job will be going permanent for the New Year and will change a bit, too, as one of my coworkers leaves to pursue other interests. I expect I'm gonna be busy (boy am I) for awhile and as a result I'm unsure of what my update schedule here will be. Well, more unsure than usual. My officemate also took all his cool jazz posters down, leaving me with far too much bare wall space in my equipment strewn work-cave. Wanna send me posters and/or postcards or other stuff to deck my walls? Or have suggestions for cool wall-art I could buy or print out my own darn self? You should know how to reach me by now (if not, too many details are available here). I'm also on the lookout for a new coworker . . . someone in the Twin Cities metro area who perhaps prefers to work afternoon/evenings. Who knows Macs inside and out. Maybe has some perl scripting skills or wants to learn. Has some familiarity with UNIX systems. Who doesn't mind (or even likes) doing support (mostly for Macs). Maybe even likes tearing systems apart and messing with networks. If this is you or someone you know or you're curious, email me for details. This week's weblog s permanent URL is http://www.windowseat.org/weblog/archive/991226.html.
<- Previous log Home / Why a Web Log? / The Usual Sources / Archive / Mailing Lists / TV Picks Got suggestions? Comments? Let me know what you think would improve this page. Don't hesitate, just write. Feedback keeps me going. I read all feedback and do my best to respond with, at the very least, a thank you. If you'd like to email or snail mail me cool stuff (for this weblog or not), I'd love that. This page created and maintained by Laurel Krahn who can be reached via email to laurel@windowseat.org. Copyright ©1999 Laurel Krahn unless otherwise noted. May not be redistributed without permission.