a neon light that split the night

For the past two and a half days, I have been sick. No, not merely mild sniffle with an achy throat sick, but full blown I-can't-stand-for-too-long-because-I-don't-have-the-energy sick. Not fun sick. As a result, I have watched more TV than I thought humanly possible over the past few days. Things I have realized:

-Friends plays at least once an hour. While this isn't great, as Friends was never a great show, it provides consistent entertainment: you know what you're getting in an episode of Friends. You'll get Ross being geeky, Phoebe being odd, Chandler being sarcastic, Rachel whining, Joey being dumb, and Monica being a neurotic headcase. And while their bit gets old after a while, at least every episode is DIFFERENT, from varying eras in the show's bloated run (which can be measured by the bloat on Matthew Perry's face).

-MTV can always be counted on for cheesy entertainment. I have watched so so much of Next and True Love (which I actually rather enjoy now), and even have started Newport Beach, which is the new Laguna Beach. I have to say, the main character is every bit as whiny as Lauren was, but she also has some serious daddy issues, which makes watching her attempts to win the boy she so desperately covets (the unfortunately named Clay) both pathetic and hilarious. Also, there needs to be more episodes made of My Super Sweet 16 so they don't have to show the same one all fucking week. Just saying.

-I have refallen in love with The O.C. This is not a new revelation, as MuchMusic has been airing the first season for 2 weeks now. However, rewatching just makes you realize how good it was before Seth became the focus of the show (and therefore the most annoying part), how awesome Anna really was, and even, gasp, how likeable Marissa was. Unfortunately, the latter fell to pieces after the T.J. episode, a mere 7 episodes in, so that has not withstood the test of time. Also unfortunate? Their clothes haven't withstood either. The colours seem pretty garish, but that might be Much's characteristic oversaturation or perhaps the cast members it is most noticeable on (Julie Cooper and Summer, most noteably) were intended to be garishly coloured from the start. Or perhaps that is just the warm sunny glow of California transcending the screen. Regardless, I enjoy that it plays every afternoon and evening (at 4pm and 7pm), so you can watch it serialized like Saved by the Bell from back in the day. And if you miss an episode, the 4pm one is a replay of the 7pm one from the night before! Awesome!

-The Rogers digital cable channels do very little for me. In fact, it gives me more shit to sift through, and all the shit is the same shit I've skipped over back in the 10s. I don't care if I can watch the same show on 5 different channels at the same time. I like time shifting, and I like specialty channels, but don't just become lazy fucks and give me the same shit repeated - it means more work for me, and I should be the only lazy fuck in this relationship, TV.

- I finally watched the first episode of Flight of the Conchords, and I have to say, I kind of loved it. So thank you to everyone who has been recommending it to me.

But really, having sick days just reminds me of how awesome tv was back in the good ole' days. Remember Sally Jesse Raphael? And the Price is Right when Bob Barker was still on? And when Jeopardy wasn't shown in the middle of the day because that is just sick?

I've just learned there's a film adaptation of Atonement coming out, which delights me greatly. I'll admit to very much liking both James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, and even that chick from Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (who was terrible at an American accent but danced with both old leatherface Swayze and young hearthrob Diego Luna well). The fact that film adaptations generally do disservices to the books they emulate deters my heart naught, because I've come to the conclusion that anything starring that McAvoy boy is good in my eyes (and his track record is good), but also that the trailer is GREAT. No voiceovers, no plot giveaway, and a bit of naked Keira Knightley. It looks like it will be simply stunning, and I can't wait until December to see it. But you can watch the trailer here, if you'd like to see for yourself.

That's enough from me. I have blue Jello waiting for me upstairs, and with that, I have all.

Amanda