Sabrina the Teenage Witch Series Review

Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
The Complete Series
1996-2003



The show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which aired on ABC from 1996 - 2000 and on the WB from 2000 - 2003.  The show is about Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) who, on her 16th birthday, discovers that she is half witch and half mortal.  She lives with her two aunts, Hilda(comedian Caroline Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick), and their cat, Salem Saberhagen (voice of Nick Bakay), a warlock who got turned into a pet cat for trying to take over the world. The show is based upon the Archie comic of the same name.

The show did a good job of "modernizing" magic and making it current, including many references and appearances by mythological characters, fairytale characters, pop culture references, etc.  The show had many guest starts, the best of which were Phil Fondacaro (as Roland) and Barbara Eden (as Aunt Irma).

The show ran for seven seasons.  In the first four, Sabrina is in High School, and the supporting cast are her friends Jenny (in season one), Valerie (in seasons 2-4), Harvey Kinkle (seasons 1-7), and Libby (seasons 1-3).  Harvey is her main love interest and friend in High School, while Jenny and Valerie are her friends and confidantes.  Libby is the school snob, and popular girl, and is her chief rival.  Mr. Kraft is the school principal.  The first four seasons are the best of the seasons, with a tangible rival relationship and a long courtship between Sabrina and Harvey.  The rivalry with Libby and the courtship with Harvey lead to many interesting "spells" and experiences.

After this, the entire case is changed, replacing Valerie, Jenny, and Mr. Kraft, and Libby with a new cast - her college roommates Miles, Roxie, and Morgan.  Josh is also introduced as her new love interest.  Harvey remains in the cast, as does Zelda, Hilda, and Salem.  The new cast is less interesting - Morgan is among the most annoying of the characters, a pale reflection of Libby, but a friend to Sabrina instead of a rival.  However, Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster) was a highlight of the new cast, playing Roxie King, Sabrina's roommate and best friend.

The show changes at this point as well, as no one knows about Sabrina's secret, besides her aunts and Salem, except for the occasional appearance of Harvey.  Neither Miles, Roxy, or Morgan ever find out her secret.The show is no longer about learning magic, it is about using it in her everyday life, and there are very few episodes focused on her keeping the secret of her magic - most of the new cast just accept that weird things happened and leave it at that. 

In season 7, the cast changes again, Hilda and Zelda leaving, and being replaced by the cast of a Boston magazine, Scorch. This cast is dropped halfway through the season, being replaced again by her new love interest, Aaron.  The entire last season is the worst season, as Hilda and Zelda are gone and their chemistry with Sabrina and Salem is missed, quickly, and often.  .  The entire Season 7 is just a battle between new love interest Aaron and old love interest Harvey, which comes from nowhere after a full two seasons where this is barely even mentioned.  The one high point of Season 7 is the final episode, in which Sabrina is finally reunited with her "soul mate" - her true love, and they ride off together in a rather unexpected fashion. 

Overall the series was best when she was in High School, and the quality severely decreased once she left.  It then got even worse in the last season mostly due to casting changes, specifically the loss of Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda, two of the main draws of the show and two of the more interesting characters.

Overall, the show was well done, and fun, but the later seasons could have used more of the cast from the earlier seasons.  The last episode was a pleasant surprise.

3 1/2 out of 5 Stars

Psych You Out in the End: Psych Season 1 Review

 Psych: Season 1

USA Network

To be honest, the only reason I purchased Season 1 of USA's Psych was because it was on sale for 14.99. This wouldn't be the type of show I would normally buy. I'm not usually into the whole police/cop show. That being said, this is one of the funniest shows I have seen in quite some time. After I saw a few episodes, I went out and bought Seasons 2 and 3.


The show stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer and Dule Hill as Burton “Gus” Guster. The show is about a perpetual slacker (Spencer) with a photographic memory who uses this memory to convince the police that he is psychic. Shawn and Gus then start a detective agency and Shawn also convinces his clients that he's psychic. Gus is the “smart” one and the skeptic, and often assists in solving the cases using his intelligence, and always assists in getting Spencer out of trouble.


The way in which Spencer has his “visions” is often hilarious and ridiculous. He and Gus solve almost every case using his unique skill set, in which he was trained by his former police officer father when he was a child. The chemistry between Gus and Spencer is the highlight of the show, often entertaining in it's own right.


The supporting cast, police officers Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara also contribute to the entertainment of the show, O'Hara by her quiet acceptance of Spencer's abilities, and Lassiter by his complete dismissal of Gus, Spencer and his abilities (both real and imagined).


One of the most impressive aspects of the show is its utter lack of sex and violence, especially in a TV landscape filled with both.


This show reminds me of another show, Eli Stone, that ran on ABC for two seasons. In that show, though, the visions were real, and often assisted Eli in solving the cases. This show is less serious, and more humorous, though certain aspects are similar.


I look forward to the next 3 seasons of the show. Hopefully the casts can keep the chemistry and humor that they share this season.


4 out of 5 stars

100 million users public Facebook information collected and published

100 million users public Facebook information collected and published

A security consultant used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles and collect data not hidden by user privacy settings,  The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, has spread rapidly across the internet. 

The security consultant that collected the information, Ron Bowles, said he collected the information to highlight Facebook privacy issues.  Facebook says the the information was already public.  The list contains the URL's of every searchable user's profile, their name, and unique ID.

On the Pirate Bay, a popular file sharing website, over 1,000 people have already downloaded the file.

Bowles did not include personal information such as birth dates, e-mail address, phone numbers, and postal addresses, but someone else easily could.

This highlights the importance of making any and all sensitive information private.  Take this as a warning everyone who shares all of (or too much) personal information on Facebook - those privacy settings are there for you to customize so you are only sharing what you feel comfortable sharing, with whom you feel comfortable sharing it.   Never leave the default settings, as you could be sharing your personal information with the world. The privacy settings are understandably confusing, but you owe it to yourself to protect your personal information.

Protect your private information: Customize your Facebook privacy settings.

Read the story here

Being Human isn't as easy as it sounds

Being Human: Season One
Episodes 1+2
BBC

This is a BBC Three supernatural drama-comedy about three friends who are sharing a house in Bristol and trying to live a normal human social life despite being a vampire, werewolf, and ghost.

Annie Sawyer is a ghost who haunts the house in which she and her fiancee lived when she was alive.  Annie can only be seen by humans depending on her state in mind, but she can always be seen by supernatural creatures. 

John Mitchell is a vampire, who has been one for many years.  He must control himself at all times as vampires are dark creatures by nature, and  prone to feeding on humans.  He can survive in the daylight, but is sensitive to light.

George Sands is smart, but socially awkward.  He is a werewolf, human most of the month, but during the full moon transforms (very painfully) into a werewolf.  During this time his senses are stronger than a normal human's. He's in deep denial about being a werewolf.

This show has the right mix of comedy and drama, and explores what being human is all about.  The framing of the show - supernatural characters attempting to be human, allows us to see humanity though a different light.  The three main characters, Annie, Mitchell, and George, are all very compelling each with their own character flaws and strengths.  The writing on the show is top-notch, and the show has been nominated for a British Academy of Television and Film award for best drama. 

The first couple of episodes introduce a few supporting characters, human , vampire and werewolf and eventually start introducing various threads that seem to be building towards a war between vampires and humans. 

It's a pity the first season is so short as the show has a lot of style, and the characters have a lot of charisma, and their flaws make them more human.

The show is so popular that SyFy has ordered a 13-episode first season of a U.S. remake, which is supposed to air sometime next season.

4 stars out of 5

Freedom of Infidelity (for a price)

As I was on my way to work this morning, I noticed an article in the Boston Metro that highlighted a service that is not only highly unorthodox, but also (in my humble opinion) highly immoral. It is so immoral, part of me doesn't want to post the website because I don't want anyone I know to go there. But I'm gonna do it anyway. I love a good, healthy debate.

Ashleymadison.com is a service to assist people in having a discreet affair. Their slogan is "Life is Short. Have an Affair". As the article states, the service has been described (negatively) as “a business built on the back of broken hearts, ruined marriages, and damaged families”. It's advertisements have even been banned from Toronto streetcars.

The founder, Noel Biderman, claims to have perfected infidelity. He claims that his website does not make people more likely to have an affair, just assists them in not getting caught after they've already made the decision to have one. To top it all of, this site claims to save marriages, by making infidelity safer and easier.

The logic here is tenuous at best – just as with anything else, the easier you make something for people, the more likely it is that people will go through with it. Yes, many people have already made the decision to take that step. What about those who haven't yet? A service like this is bound to make it look easier and more attractive to those that aren't sure whether it is worth the risk – an affair is much easier to rationalize if there is little to no risk involved.

Ashleymadison.com was started in 2002 and currently has over 6.4 million members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Initial registration is free, but a full membership will cost $249 plus other fees to contact members. The website offers an “affair guarantee” that refunds the $249 if you haven't found a match within three months.

Wouldn't waiting three months to have an affair with a perfect stranger take pretty much all of the incentive out of it? I guess “spur of the moment” is out of the question.

So not only is this service immoral, but it also charges you $249 dollars to find a match within three months when you can go to any dating website (many of them free) and have a list of people within hours. I'm not seeing the upside here. Biderman promises that the site is “secure, password protected and prevents accidental disclosure”

It is pretty disturbing that 6.4 million people out there are using this service without their spouses knowing it. SPOUSES of the world, take note – be on the lookout for AshleyMadison.com. Check your spouses credit card bills, their internet history, and their wallet! Don't let this service go unpunished!

I know I sound like I'm going overboard here, but isn't this just so wrong? Is this a case of society finally accepting infidelity as an inevitable part of a relationship?  Or is this a case of an egotistical company trying to take advantage of the freedom of today's consumer culture and prey on the insecurities of the modern adulterer (or adulteress)?

I Got a Right to Sing the Blues True Blood Review

Review of I Got a Right to Sing the Blues
True Blood Season 3
Episode 6
Airdate: 7/25/2010
(Spoilers On)

This week, True Blood ramped it up a notch.  This season, the episodes moved a bit too slowly, but this week the action and the blood was rampant.  This is the kind of True Blood that I like, with the violence, blood, and gore to match.

The plot pieces started coming together this week, we now finally see that Bill really was trying to protect Sookie the entire time.   He can't protect her from Russell and Eric, and gets swatted by Russell like a fly. However, he takes out one of Russell's vampires in the process.  He's going to pay for that later.  It loosk like Eric has chosen sides, and has chosen Russell, betrayed Bill and Sookie in the process - but my guess is he has another agenda in mind. We'll eventaully find out more - he seems to be trying to hard to get cozy to Russell. 

Russell seems more interested in Sookie than anything else, and makes quite an effort to learn her true nature. Unfortunately, he saw her power display last week, so she couldn't hide the truth if she tried. She tells him what she knows, which isn't much, and it is clear that he plans on using her to his advantage. 

We cut to Tara and Franklin (also in Russells mansion) and Tara plays psychopath to ger Franklin to free her.  Tara finds out Sookie is at the mansion, and ti becomes clear that she's going to do something rash - if she doesn't, she's going to be forced to marry Franklin and become a vampire next episode. 

They do the nasty, and there's a scene where Franklin tells Tara to bite him.  You can see her hesitate - but she does it, if only to get Franklin to trust her, and I'm sure the V doesn't hurt either. It's quite a grusome scene. Franklin's blood and flesh is torn, while he screams in pain (pleasure?).  When he's asleep, she thinks (so Sookie can hear her) that she'll ge tthem out of there, they just have to wait until daylight.

In the meantime Russell charges Lorraina with killing Bill.  She tortures him for awhile, while he continues telling her hows she's a perverse diseases being, and how he wishes he never met her.  She clearly doesn't want to do it, so turtures him until he's barely breathing.  He's pretty close to dead when Cooter and Deb come in to "check on him" thinking Lorraina would have gone to sleep by now (it's daytime).  They ask her if they can drink from him, and she says yes.

Tara and Sookie get free after Tara kills Franklin (I can't see im living thorugh that) and they beat the crap out of a werewolf guard.  Tara goes to escape when Alcide comes to find Sookie.  Sookie finds her way to Bill, and just as she's about to save him Lorraina pops up and throws her agains the wall. She then bites Sookie, as Sookie screams.

There were also a couple of scenes in Bon Temps in this episode, but they didn't amount to much.  Jesus finds out Lafayette is a drug dealer and doesn;t want to have anything to do with him.  Jessica tries to make friends with Arlene (in her won way) and feeds from one of Merlottes patrons (but doesn't kill her). 

Sam finds out that Tommy is being used as part of a dog fighting ring, ans that's how his birth parents make their money - of course, her rushes to save the day.

Jason finds out that Crystal is engaged.  There's still something not right about Crystal, but I'm sure we'll find out more soon.

All in all, this episode was action packed, and blood filled.  Much better than the previous five episodes.  The previews for next week look promising as well.  I have a feeling Russell is in for a big surprise sometime down the road, and I have a feeling Talbot is going to be the one giving it to him.

4 out of 5 stars

Senior Driver Testing: An Issue for the Masses in Massachusetts

Elderly Driving continues to be an issue.  In Massachusetts, a quick search can find no less than 10 notable incidents in the last year where people over the age of 60 have crashed their vehicles into people and property, both homes and businesses, causing loss of life and massive property damage.

This issue was brought into the national spotlight when in 2007 a 76 year old crashed their car into Brockton Hospital, injuring 6 and killing a doctor.  It became a national issue again in June, 2009 when a 4 year old girl was struck and killed by an 88 year old driver.  Since then it may have left the front page, but it continues to be an issue.  The links below highlight only some of the instances, and they only highlight the recent issues in Massachusetts.  It is likely that a national search would turn up even more results.

In other states, there are restrictions on drivers over a certain age, and re-testing for drivers over a certain age.  This issue is one that can not be avoided, as our populations is slowly getting older, and if nothing is done, the property damage and loss of life is likely to increase.

A bill that went through the Massachusetts legislature in late 2009 proposed mental and physical exams for elderly drivers, but the bill that was finally approved and signed in July 2010 didn't even closely resemble that.  Gov. Deval Patrick said that vision testing required every 5 years after drivers turn 75 was the best he could get.  Even so, Patrick supports cognitive testing for elderly drivers and says the issue is likely to be revisited.

This issue needs to be revisited.  The stakes are too high, between the loss of life and property damage.  It is only logical that as you get older, vision and hearing gets worse, you forget things more easily, become more easily disoriented, and your reaction time decreases.  These should be red flags for all of us.  When i am elderly, I do not want to be responsible for someone else's death or injury or even property damage.  I can't imagine the guilt they must feel.

Opponents of elderly testing paint this as an issue of ageism against senior citizens, but this is not ageism.  These laws, restrictions, and testing guidelines are for the safety of all of our citizens, seniors included.This is a public safety issue. 



July 24: Car Crashes into Grocery Store in Yarmouthport.  Driver was 89.
July 23: Car Crashes into Newburyport Medical Building.  Driver was 78.
July 1: Car Crashes into Haverhill House. Driver was elderly.
June 22: Car Crashes into Elderly Woman in Chelmsford Parking Lot.  Driver was 89.
June 2: Car Crashes into Danvers WalMart. Driver was 93.
May 28: Car Crashes into Arlington Home.  Driver was 66.
March 17: Car Crashes into Peabody Medical Building. Driver was 69.
October 20, 2009: Car Crashes into Boston Market in Malden. Driver was in their 60s.
September 16, 2009: Car Crashes into Department Store in Westboro.  Driver was 74.
September 20, 2009: Car Crashes into Transformer and Hudson deck.  Driver was 65.
May 21, 2009:  Car Crashes into Orleans Salon. Driver was 80.

Joss Whedon confirmed as director of Avengers

As i mentionned earlier today, at Comic-con today, Joss Whedon, eager to please his fans, finally confimed what we all knew - that he'll be directing Marvel Entertainment's The Avengers, to be released in 2012.

The current cast includes Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

It is rumored that Mark Ruffalo is in talks to take over the part of Hulk, last played by Edward Norton.

Scarlett Johansson is rumored to be in the film, again as the Black Widow, as is Don Cheadle as War Machine.

There are also some rumors that both Ant Man/Hank Pym and Wasp/Janet Van Dyne will be in the film.  The most rumored actors for these roles are Eva Longaria and Nathan Fillon (but these are just rumors).

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3-D Audience Fatigue - Real or Imagined?

Before the massive success of Avatar, the idea of having the best and the biggest movies of the year released in 3-D sounded like something reminiscent of the 80s.  Since then 3-D has been saved for horror movies,and the occasional animated film.

These days, you'd have to be living under a rock to miss the trend. With the massive 3-D ticket sales of Avatar, Clash of the Titans,  Alice in Wonderland, How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, and Shrek Forever After, studios have been snatching up every property they could get their hands on and releasing them (or panning to) in 3-D. This means they can charge a few dollars more per 3-D ticket in a year when theater revenues are down across the board.

Part of the problem is that many of these films, such as Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans, were not shot in 3-D, they went thorough a 3-D conversion after the fact.  These 3-D films are much less impressive visually, and often times the 3-D effects look thrown in (because it wasn't necessarily designed as a 3-D film).

It seems that audiences are feeling the 3-D fatigue as the opening weekend 3-D revenue percentages of recent 3-D films has plummeted to under 50% for Despicable Me.  3-D Conversions have likely hurt the trend.  It's also much more expensive to buy a 3-D movie ticket, then a regular movie ticket, and particularly for family films, that means 3+ tickets at an inflated cost.  Additionally, due to the technology of projecting the films, without a digital projector (which most theaters do not have) the films are often dimmer (much dimmer) which is detrimental to some of the darker films.

It isn't important how much 3-D technology has improved over the last twenty years when you consider the current state of the economy - there's always going to be better places to spend those extra dollars. What do you think?

Films Being Released in 3-D:


The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (2011)
Alpha and Omega (2010)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked (2011)
Amphibious 3D (2010)
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Captain America (2011)
Cars 2 (2011)
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
Contagion (2011)
Drive Angry (2011)
Frankenweenie (2011)
Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)
Green Lantern (2011)
The Green Hornet (2011)
Gulliver's Travels (2010)
Happy Feet 2 (2011)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010/2011)
Hugo Cabret (2011)
Jackass 3D (2010)
Judge Dredd (2012)
Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (2011)
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2012)
Mars Needs Moms! (2011)
MegaMind (2010)
Men in Black III (2012)
My Soul to Take (2010)
One Way Trip (2011)
Piranha 3-D (2010)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
The Power of the Dark Crystal (2011)
Priest (2011)
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
The Ring 3D (2012)
Rio (2011)
Sanctum (2010)
Saw 3D (2010)
Shark Night 3D (2011)
Spy Kids 4: Armageddon (2011)
Step Up 3-D (2010)
The Smurfs (2011)
Tangled (2010)
Thor (2011)
Titanic 3D Re-Release (2012)
Transformers 3 (2011)
Tron: Legacy (2010)
Yellow Submarine (2012)
Yogi Bear (2010)

What do you think?

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Lights out for the CITGO sign

Iconic CITGO Sign Will Go Dark
Company Plans To Replace Bulbs In Iconic Landmark

Boston has one landmark that shines above all others, and if you've ever been to Kenmore Square or Fenway Park, you've probably seen the giant beacon of commercialism that is the CITGO sign. It has been there since 1965, and other than for 4 years in the seventies, has always been lit at night.

If you have never been to Boston, here's a picture of the sign (during the day- i wouldn't want to show you what it looks like at night right now).

It's a very welcoming sight to see when you're on the train and you see the CITGO sign. For me it means I'm almost home, for some it reminds them of Boston, of Fenway Park, of Boston University, or of the Green line trolley.

In any cityscape picture of Boston, one of the most recognizable landmarks is the CITGO sign. These days it looks great from a distance, and it looks great in the daytime, but have you really gotten close to it at night and looked at it? Without all the bulbs lit (a number of them are currently out) it's kind of an eyesore. Strike that - it's a major eyesore. Take the word of someone who has to look at it every day.

It frustrates me when people complain that they should wait until the end of baseball season to replace the 218,00 LED lights. In the meantime all the tourists coming to visit Boston will be thinking that we're just too cheap to fix it. Luckily it will only be out for two months.

They promise that the sign will be back up for the playoffs.

The sign has been an eyesore for months (maybe even longer) and I'm glad someone has finally noticed.

Geek Virus is Spreading this Weekend!

It's time again for the yearly phenomenon known as the San Diego Comic-Con (July 22 - 25). For those of you non-comics fans, this is the largest comic con of the year. Each year the Con gets bigger and better, moving father away from its roots as a Comic Convention for Geeks, This year the Con boasts an impressive line-up of non-Comic related content, larger than any previous year.




Nikita

It's not just for comic fans anymore. The lucky attendees will get to screen the first episode of this falls CW show Nikita (a new show based off La Femme Nikita).


Geek Gods + The Avengers

Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse) and J.J. Abrams (Felicity, Alias, Fringe, Mission Impossible III, Cloverfield, Star Trek and the new fall series Undercovers) will also be there.

Joss will also have a panel of his own later in the con where it is expected that he'll be announced as the director of the Marvel Comics (huge) movie the Avengers, a follow-up to their Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor movies, bringing the characters together in a shared universe.


Anti-Hero Panel

Michael C. Hall will be there to discuss Dexter, and Mary Louise Parker will be there discussing Weeds.


Being Human

The 2nd season Premier of Being Human will be screened by the BBC as well. I just ordered the first season from Amazon - if you have a chance and this seems interesting to you, you should check it out. I caught a few of the episodes On Demand a few months ago, and it is an interesting show.


The Walking Dead

The starts and creators of AMC's new zombie show The Walking Dead (based on a comic book) will be there discussing the new show.


The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is having a special screening, and a panel with Will Wheton (Star Trek: TNG), Johnny Galecki (Roseanne), Kaley Cuoco (Charmed), Simon Helberg (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), and Kunal Nayyar (NCIS). Jim Parsons, another of the series stars will also be there. He has been recently nominated for an Emmy for his character on the show, Sheldon. I can't even begin to tell you how finny this show is. If you haven't already checked it out, you should do so. The first two seasons are out on DVD, and it's well worth watching. It's a funny show, and I don't think I've ever seen a geekier person nominated for an Emmy!


The Cape

There will be a sneak peek of NBC's new fall show The Cape, along with a panel including its cast. Two members of its cast are well-known to me, as Vinnie Jones was in X-Men 3 as Juggernaut and Summer Glau was River in Firefly and Cameron on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Reading the description of this new fall show, it doesn't seem very interesting.

Before judging it though, watch the trailer for the show. It looks like a really interesting show. I urge you to check it out here.


Other Panels

There will also be panels with Special Guests from the varios shows, and some will have sneak peaks of the fall season:

Chuck (I love this show)
V
Sanctuary
The Event
Eureka (Great show)
Haven
True Blood (I also love this show)
No Ordinary Family screening (Looking forward to this show)
Warehouse 13
Vampire Diaries
Smallville (Final season 10 airing this fall)
Supernatural
Merlin
Glee (Nominated for 19 Emmys and already renewed for a 2nd and 3rd Season)

As you can see the virus know as geek is spreading like wildfire, so join in before you miss the boat.

The Nature of the City: A Walking Contradiction

When i left the house this morning, I decided to bring my camera. I love taking pictures, especially of nature and city life. I thought I'd have a good opportunity to take some decent photos on my daily walk from Kenmore Square to Hynes Convention Center. What i like about this walk is that the area is very city, but there's a fair number of trees, and even a park in the center of all the city madness. Contradictions like this have always interested me. That's why I like Boston so much, it's such a city, but if you know where to go, you can find patches pure nature in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the big city. The best examples of this would be the Boston Common, the Boston Public Garden, the Arnold Arboretum and the Emerald Necklace, but there are smaller ones scattered around the city as well.

As you'll see in the photos, you can take the trees out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the trees.

Welcoming Boughs

Hole in the Middle of the Park

Sleepy Time

Prudential Beauty

Tree, Shrink-wrapped

Statuesque Beauty

Fangtastic True Blood Issue 1 Review

TrueBlood # 1 Comic Review

For the last few years, there has been an invasion of vampires in popular culture. Vampires are now trendy and hip, from Blade to Buffy to Twilight to the Vampire Diaries to TrueBlood. Vampires have gone from horror antagonists to sympathetic anti-heroes in a matter of years.

I have always been a sucker for a good vampire story, so it's no surprise that one of my favorite shows is HBO's TrueBlood. The show is created by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and based off of the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.

When i saw that IDW had released issue # 1 of the new True Blood comic today, I only had to think for a second before picking it up. I don't often buy comic books (or books) adapted from TV shows or movies because the writers often don't get the already established voices of the characters right. Unless the writer of the show is the same as the books, it's tough to keep all the voices consistent, and that makes the writers job twice as hard. Not only does the writer have to tell a good story, but they have to stick to pre-established voices for each of the characters. Often times these stories take place in between seasons, so a sense of danger is often lost as well, since nothing can really happen to these characters (since they'll all be back to themselves for the season premier!).

True Blood # 1 is written by Mariah Huehner and David Tischman, neither of of whom I have ever heard of. Needless to say the voices of most of the characters are pitch perfect. The one gripe i had here was Eric Northman, the vampire sheriff of area 5 was far too passive. I take this to mean that he will not be the focus of this particular story, but it is a bit off-putting because if you've watched the show, he is anything but passive. The main cast is all here - Sookie, Bill, Eric, Jason, Lafayette, Sam, and Tara. Each of their voices is pitch-perfect.

The book is drawn by David Messina and Gaetano Carlucci, with colors by Giovanna Niro. A book like this relies a lot on the artistic interpretation of the character, and the artists often draw the characters to resemble the actors slightly, or it looks like they traced them directly from real life. The characters in this book look exactly like the real actors, and it's done well. The only exception to this is Sam Merlotte. When every character in the book looks just like the associated actor, except one, that one character stands out a fair amount. This is the case here. Sam is drawn well, and resembles actor Sam Trammell, but not in the same identical way that the other characters do. When you get past this, the art is beautiful, and for a dark comic, the colors pop.

The story itself starts off with a mysterious narrator, and ends with a bit of blood and a creature that seems to be more powerful then even the combined might of two vampires. It is still the first issue, but I want to see what comes next. I'll definitely be there for issue number two.

And at least these vampires don't sparkle.

3 out of 5 stars

A Night out at Pags

Today, instead of going straight home after work, I took a trek into Boston to meet my father and my uncle Russell, visiting from Pennsylvania, to go out to dinner. Whenever my family gets together, we always go to the same restaurant in the North End (the Italian section) of Boston. My father, my sisters, and I have tried many of the restaurants in the North End, and suffice it to say none of them come even close to measuring up.

Ig you're ever in Boston and you have the opportunity, I strongly recommend Pagliuca's Ristorante Italiano, located at 14 Parmenter Street. The ambiance is of a (very) small Italian restaurant with a traditional old-world flare. They just recently added a private dining area to the basement floor of their small building, a building which my family has been going to for around 15 years. This tells you how successful this small family owned restaurant is. Even on a Tuesday night, such as tonight, the place is so busy that we had to wait for a table.

This restaurant is one of the few in the North End which still sells tripe. My father and uncles almost always get the tripe, and they tell me that you'd be hard pressed to find a better tasting dish of tripe, anywhere.

On this trip, however, both my father and uncle tried something they don't often try. My father got the veal verdiccio, which was a tasty, tender dish flambeed in Verdiccio wine. My uncle Russell got the veal cacciatore, a dish of the most tender veal I've ever tasted in a rich cacciatore sauce. It was delicious.

The highlight of my dining experience, however, was my regular order of Chicken, Vinegar, Peppers, and Potatoes. If you like vinegar, this is by far the best thing on the menu. The whole dish is cooked in vinegar. The potatoes are good, with a slight ting of vinegar. The chicken is more acidic, with a stronger vinegar flavor. The highlight of the dish, however, is the red peppers. They soak up the vinegar to such an extend that that is pretty much all you can taste, leading to an explosion of vinegary goodness in your mouth.If you like pork, they also have a dish called Pork, Vinegar, Peppers and Potatoes. The pork holds the vinegar flavor slightly more than the chicken, so this is a slightly more flavorful dish, but i prefer chicken, so i order this whenever I'm there.

I strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone planning on dining in Boston, and have recommended this restaurant to people in the past, everyone of them giving it raving reviews.

5 starts out of 5

Breaking Bad Episode 1 + 2 TV Review

I was at Best Buy today and a DVD that caught my attention was the first Season of Breaking Bad airing on AMC starring Bryan Cranston. The only thing i know about Bryan Cranston is that he was the father on the woefully under-appreciated Malcolm in the Middle.

The show is about Walter White, a High School chemistry teacher who learns that he has lung cancer and is dying. In order to provider for his family, including his physically handicapped son and pregnant wife, he and delinquent High School student Jesse Pinkman start cooking meth in an RV.

In episode one, Walter is diagnosed with cancer, and we get a view of Walter's monotonous life at his first job, a chemistry teacher, and second job, as a car wash attendant. He decides that he needs to provide for his family before he is gone. Seeing his brother in law (a DEA agent) bust a meth lab, and in the process, seize $700,000 cash from the lab. Being a brilliant chemist, he decides this is the way to provide for his family.

In episode two, Walter and Jesse are dealing with the repercussions from the accident at the end of episode one, including how to keep this secret from his wife and what to do with a dead body.

The acting in this series is superb, and the plot is interesting. I can't help but think of the Showtime show, Weeds, which I am a huge fan of. The comedy in this show is far more subdued, as this is much more of a drama then a comedy, and Weeds is more of a 50-50 split. Although this show is covering similar ground, it does it in a much different way.

I'm not sure about the rest of the supporting cast after just two episodes, but both of the main characters Walter and Jesse are very entertaining, superb actors who play off of each other very well. The uptight teacher vs the delinquent student is a tired, cliche dynamic, but it is used here to full effect in a new and entertaining way.

I give these two episodes 3 1/2 stars out of 5. I imagine it will remain interesting as the rest of the characters are fleshed out, and as we see more how Walter's uptight personality conflicts with the world of illicit drugs.

...and wait until you see what they do with the body!

Response to Law Takes Bite Out Of 'De-Barking' Surgery

Law Takes Bite Out Of 'De-Barking' Surgery
Mass. First State In Nation To Ban Surgery



On Wednesday, the state of Massachusetts becomes the first state in the nation to ban de-vocalization of dogs and cats. This is a horrible procedure that cuts an animals vocal cords to stop if from barking or meowing, which often causes the animal pain and suffering, life-long coughing or wheezing, infections, and vocal chord scarring.

I've seen an animal this is done to - it's really very sad. The dog still moves it's mouth to bark, but the noise hat comes it is pathetic and sad. The surgery is only used on animals that will otherwise be euthanized or put into a shelter.

When our kids get too loud, do we remove their vocal chords? No. I don't think it is right to remove an animals vocal chords for any reason unless there is something wrong with them to begin with. If an animal is too loud, there are alternative methods such as obedience training, or muzzles. It is also very possible that the problem lies with the pet owner and not the pet itself. TO torture a dog or cat, just because their owner can not (or doesn't know how to) take control of them and quiet them down is just plain wrong.

I totally agree that this law should be illegal, but the thing that surprised me is that Massachusetts is the first state in the USA where this is illegal. That is appalling - to think that if you want your little poochie to be quiet, all you have to do (in 49 states) is rip his vocal chords out.

Supporters of the surgery say it can allow families to keep a vocal pet that would otherwise be surrendered or euthanized, and it can help diffuse potential neighborhood issues spurred by noisy pets.

Those neighbors should be ashamed of themselves as should the owners for allowing it to get to the point where they have to rip out the vocal chords of a living, breathing animal, so they can get a good nights sleep. At ant point did anyone consider how well that poor animal will sleep?

That "noise" as the owners call it is not just for fun. Dogs and cats use it for communication with other animals, as a defense mechanism, and to express emotion such as fear, pain and excitement. An animal who somehow got out in the wild would find it very hard to get along without their vocal chords. Not to mention this very same pet would likely be euthanized anyway if their owner decided they didn't want them anymore because, really, who wants a dog or cat that can't bark or meow?

It just disgusts me that we still do barbaric things like this these days to poor defenseless dogs and cats instead of learning to train and discipline them. If the dog or cat were the owner, do you think they would ever put us in the same situation? No, to our pets, we are the world, the most important thing ever, and they love us unconditionally. To take advantage of that trust and love is immoral and wrong on every level. They trust us to make the right decisions for their health and well being - and ripping out a necessary part of their defense and communication system strikes me as betrayal on every level.

People who do this should be ashamed of themselves for not being devoted enough and loving enough to find another solution.

The measure, named Logan's Law, was signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick in April after it received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Legislature.

I applaud the men and women of the Massachusetts legislature for overwhelmingly approving this law with bipartisan support.

And let's be honest, i almost never applaud the Massachusetts Legislature for anything.

X-Men # 1 Comic Review

1991's X-Men # 1 sold over eight million copies, partially fueled by the speculator's market at the time, becoming the best selling comic book of all time. This is the first time since 1991 that Marvel Comics has released an X-Men # 1.

While the first X-Men # 1 was written by X-Men and Comic legend Chris Claremont, this time Marvel took a different approach. This issue was written by crime novelist turned comic book writer Victor Gischler.

The artist here is Paco Medina. The art here is good - perfect for an X-Men comic. The figures are recognizable, and not all the same. The coloring is bright and colorful. The art is not too photo-realistic for this type of comic, and it doesn't look like all the faces are traced like many comics these days.

22 pages is the length of a standard comic, and usually that is enough to tell an issue's worth of story. Unfortunately, as this is the beginning of not just a new story, but also a new series, I found it lacking. Marvel should have gone for a double sized issue (or at least 32 pages) because not too much happened in this issue. I expected some setup, but this issue was all set up. I have faith that given a few more issues, the action and characterization will be ramped up, but for a # 1, this issue is not likely to create any new X-Men fans.

The issue starts off with former fan-favorite kid X-Man Jubilee (she lost her powers a year or so ago) and current fan-favorite kid X-Men (taking the place of Jubilee) Pixie sitting at a table talking somewhere in San Francisco (where the X-Men are now based), while this big guy wearing a mask and full trench coat starts walking towards them. Pixie conveniently goes to get nachos just as big black Trench coat guy reaches his destination.

He opens his trench coat and "BWOOOOOM" he explodes, getting big black trench coat guy goo all over Jubilee.

Keeping in mind that the storyline is called "Curse of the Mutants" and it was advertised as an X-Men Vs. Vampires storyline, guest starring Blade, the vampire hunter, the characters proceed for the next twenty or so pages to dance around the word vampire, avoiding it at all costs.

I'm not sure if the writer wasn't aware that it would be advertised this way, or if he thought it would be a neat thing to do, but it wasn't. Especially with the previous weeks tie-in issue "Death of Dracula" also written by Gischler. This just seemed forced and to that effect, the characters wasted an awful lot of words dancing around the word "Vampire" when they could have just said it and been done with it.

Back to the story, we see Jubilee being tested by the X-Club (a group of X-Men scientists) and it appears she has a virus, caused by the vampire bomb. So next issue..Vampire Jubilee anyone?

That aside, characterization is solid throughout the issue. We learn that the Vampire Bomb target was in fact Jubilee, which right now seems pretty random, but i imagine this will be explained later.

The main X-Men we see in this issue are Wolverine, Pixie, and Angel. They have a good action scene later in the issue, doing some scouting work where they get attacked by a few vampires.

There are a couple more gripes i have with the issue, such as why send a kid (Pixie) to fight what you think are Vampires? In the X-Men universe, they are a pretty big threat. Also, it was frustrating that Angel didn't turn into Archangel once in the issue (something that likely wouldn't be known if a new reader were to pick this up).

My final problem with the issue is its accessibility. We see Cyclops Jubilee, Pixie, Storm, Angel, Dr. Nemesis, Dr. Kavita Rao, and Wolverine. If a new reader were to pick this up, besides Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and possibly Angel, they would have no idea who these characters are. At the very least, text boxes introducing the characters should have been used here, like they are in many other comics, including Matt Fractions Uncanny X-Men.

I give the issue 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. I see potential for this series, but a lot of rookie mistakes were made in this issue. Hopefully things will get ironed out in the issues moving forward.

Six Feet Under TV Series Review

Six Feet Under is a drama that aired on HBO from 2001-2005. The plot revolves around three siblings, Nate (Peter Krause), David (Michael C. Hall) and Claire (Lauren Ambrose) and mother Ruth (Frances Conroy) coming to grips with the death of the family patriarch Nate Fischer, Sr. This leaves the two brothers Nate and David to run the inherited family business, Fisher & Sons funeral home.

While often gruesome, the show deals with death in a very mature way throughout. It eases you into it, and though there is at least one death in every episode, the show is entertaining and dramatic without being depressing. In fact, it surprised me how much i look forward to each episode. The plot is at times a little slow moving, but there is enough going on, and the writing is so superb, you don't even notice the speed.

The characters are (very) flawed, but believable. Nate makes some monumentally bad decisions in the course of the shows five seasons, but more often then not, i found myself rooting for him and hoping he makes it through. He was by far my favorite character on the show. I even feel bad for him when his bad decisions come back and bite him in the face.

A recurring plot device of having the recently (and not so recently in the case of the father, Nate Fisher Sr.) deceased have conversations with the various characters (mostly David and Nate) is well used and adds to the ambiance and themes of the show. It even sometimes helps to move the plot along, especially in the case of the father, Nate Fisher Sr. who dies in episode 1.

The main reason I wanted to watch this show to begin with was because I had heard that the series finale, titled "Everyone's Waiting" was considered one of the best television series finale's of all time. After watching it, I now understand why. This episode tied all the plots up beautifully, in a sophisticated manner, and even served to tie into the shows themes of death and family. It is hard to discuss this episode without spoiling it, but I will say what they did with the episode serves to perfectly tie the entire series together without taking anything away from it. The last ten minutes of the episode are heartbreaking, peaceful, and beautiful at the same time, and suffice it to say should not be missed.

The creator and producer of this show, Alan Ball, also created and produced another show I have been watching recently, True Blood. Though the subject matter is much different, both shows deal with death, the writing is superb (and adult) in each, and you can definitely see the similarities.

I recommend this show to anyone interested in drama. The themes of death, the afterlife, peace, family, and growing up are all central. Some of the plots are sexual in nature and should not be viewed by children, but everyone else should check it out. The writing is superb, the cinematography beautiful, and the last episode, again, is not to be missed.

Response to A Marvel Writer's Plea to stop downloading his comics April 1 2007

My response to "A Marvel writer’s plea to stop downloading his comics" April 1st, 2007

“If the person downloading had no intention to buy before downloading, then no money is really involved either. Revenue can only be considered to have been forgone by the publisher if the download is of an item which would otherwise have been purchased by the downloader had the download not been available.”

If the person downloading had no intention of buying then they shouldn’t be allowed to read the comic.

So you’re saying I don’t have the right to let my brother/uncle/whatever borrow it and read it? Because they’re not willing to pay for it?

If they can’t afford it or it’s out of reach then they should wait for the trade. Yeah the system sucks and somebody should create an ITunes system for it or whatever Chris Hunter is describing but that hasn’t happened yet so you should just deal with it. It’s not the big events that are being affected here, it’s the smaller books that are always on the razor’s edge of being cancelled.

Maybe the reason that some of the best titles are so close to being canceled is that the comic buying population is so inbred without newsstands that all the majority wants to read is the moderate titles – those that are not great but not bad, also those that are squarely in the center of their respective squared universes (aka receive the most publicity, etc)and any way of garnering new customers (accepting the cash cow that is civil war/cap 25) is almost impossible.

And every argument that’s being thrown around about Slott’s download record isn’t changing the fact that if She-Hulk get’s cancelled then everybody who downloaded it, liked it, and never paid for it should be punched in the face. We’re not talking about royalties so much as whether people have a JOB next month.

Just because you like something does NOT mean that you would be willing to spend 40 dollars a year buying issues of it.

This doesn’t make it right, but it also is a reality. People download music and movies illegally.

They’re having the same issue, except for unlike those other two, comic book collectors/readers are collectors, not just readers, so it’d be near impossible to get rid of the written comic book (but i do see a future without CDs and once internet technology catches up, without DVDs)
I’ve been collecting comics since i was a child, and i can tell you i HATE the comic book format. It is flimsy, easy to rip and crinkle, etc. the stories are never long enough, and the ads these days detract majorly from the content. Not to mention that there has been a lot of junk put out over the last ten years.

Would i spend more money on X-men if i got a novel sized story every month? Without a doubt. But that’s not going to happen and waiting for paperbacks is painful since by the time you read it, the team is on their next storyline, moving forward without you.

Comic Books are books. You can go to the library and read about your favorite novelised heroes there. Is this copyright infringement?

Would there be less people downloading comics if they were available at their local library? Perhaps, but why is this library any different from downloading? Didn’t the author only get the revenue from that book once (just like if it were a comic book). Should we close down all libraries?

Plus it’s insulting to the people who shell out our hard earned money each month for a comic to tell us it doesn’t matter whether somebody paid to read it or not. We’re the ones who have to decide whether to add something to our pull list or drop it. So to tell us that it’s fine for YOU to be able to download whatever you want as long as you pay for what you can when you feel like is just a shot bird in the face. If you can’t afford it then don’t read it. Buy what you can. Deal with the way things are until the inevitable change finally comes.

Without any easy access to comic books today (where i lived when i was a kid, the nearest comic book store was in a part of the city that my parents would never go to) many people can’t get to a shop. Is that their fault? They could order online, but in my opinion, this brings to light a falsity in thinking. This is no ones fault but the publishers. if they really longed for those sales, they’d be available at more than just your local comic book store, which may be 25 miles away.

The perfect places to sell these comic books would be at places like Toys R Us, Best Buy, Gamestop, Barnes and Noble.

Book Stores
Video Game Stores
Movie Stores
Toy Stores

all places where their future base readership is quietly fading away due to lack of availability and mainstream presence.

If everyone just “deals with the way things are until the change inevitable comes”, then guess what, that change will not inevitable come. Do you think if Marvel and DC could be promised thats they wouldn’t have to deal with people trying to illegally download comic books ever again, that they would ever get to the point where comic books are a digital medium? No…the thing pushing them to make it digital would be the illegal downloads. Just like for music and movies, the illegal downloading is the push the industry needs to grow into its digital form.

“Infringing copyright. Not stealing. Not even illegal in many countries. ”

Whether you like it or not, “infringing copyright” by definition is wrong. Morally, ethically, and most of the time LEGALLY wrong. When your argument comes down to whether or not something is stealing of just infringing on copyright then you’ve totally lost the moral high ground and the point.

I submit that copyright infringement is breaking a US law. Do not, however, say that breaking a copyright is by definition wrong. Many countries have no copyright laws.

In my opinion, the copyright code has to be rewritten for a downloading age, it is so archaic that it can’t even work any longer within its own established rules and regulations.

And to the argument about sharing with a group of friends being no different: Well there’s a difference between 3 or 4 friends and 3 or four HUNDRED “friends” now isn’t there?
Only if any of those 3 0r four HUNDRED friends would have bought it otherwise, which isn’t always the case.

Many people see free, and read it anyways, even if they otherwise wouldn’t. Some of these people who download are the people that skim the books in the shops or wait for spoilers online, etc. None of those are illegal, and yet they have exactly the same effect.

In all these cases, no one without half a brain would say “this is bad for the industry” because it isn’t. It is helping the industry grow to areas where it otherwise wouldn’t – including online, places without access to shops, and don’t forget – if you read something for free and then enjoy it, you might just pick it up at the store next time you see it or heaven forbid search out more from this character or more from the artist/writer. and this time you may be willing to PAY for it!

Must be bad business when companies scare away profits. That’s what the music industry ended up doing by suing college students. What is happeining now? Itunes is slowly removing DRM protection from it’s songs…

All things in time come full circle..

Past Online Works by Eric

Accessible Works
Scaduto, Eric T. ""Bring it Back" at Tv.com
Scaduto, Eric T. ""Underappriciated" at Tv.com
Scaduto, Eric T. Rain Will Fall. Lulu.com, October, 2004.
Scaduto, Eric T. "Our Hearts" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "Real" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "Sea" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "Sonnet" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "Sun and Moon" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "The Hunt" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "Wisdom" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "You" at Poetry.com
Scaduto, Eric T. "Cure hits and new Jewel please listeners" in The Heights. November 20, 2001.
Scaduto, Eric T. "New discs from Daft, Zero 7 miss the beat" in The Heights. November 13, 2001.
Scaduto, Eric T. "Fleck goes classical, Garbage shows pop side" in The Heights. October 15, 2001.