Moving to a new site

Hey all, I've recently decided to migrate my blog over to WordPress. Mainly because I needed something new to get me blogging again. I seem to need an outlet for being reflective and don't have a good one right now. So head on over to chloesdad.wordpress.com for my newest entry!

The Speedway

OK, I've been threatening to blog about this for quite some time and finally got the inspiration to do so. My wife and I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood filled mainly with young families or retired folks. So it always strikes me as odd when we hear some car or truck flying down our street at high speed. According to the Kansas DMV Handbook, the speed limit in non-industrial areas is 30 mph. But we regularly hear cars go by that have to be going 40 or over. So, we have jokingly taken to referring to our street as The Speedway.

At first, it was funny to us but as we get nearer to having children of our own (two weeks or so) it has started to seem more dangerous than funny. I guess we should be grateful that the city finally posted a yield sign at the intersection near our house. For the first few years we lived here there were no signs at the intersection at all. All the high-speed traffic makes me appreciate the speed bumps that I encountered driving in Mexico a little more.

I'm baaaaaaack

Friends have been asking me to blog again for a while. I've been avoiding it because all of my posts during my first blogging phase seemed fairly reflective and possibly even deep and meaningful. Not that I don't still have those kinds of thoughts, but life since then has been full of change (marriage, job change, expecting a baby) and I suppose it is fair to say that I don't have those kinds of thoughts as often.

So...every time I've thought of blogging again, it has been about things much less reflective and of course I've felt like they somehow don't count or aren't worthy of blogging. But if I'm going to start again, I suppose I've got to start somewhere, so I'll start with the seemingly mundane - SciFi and Fantasy TV programming!

A couple of friends have asked recently what I think about the new Joss Whedon series Dollhouse. After only two episodes, here are my thoughts: So far, I'd give it an OK. It didn't have the WOW factor that the first episode of Fringe did, but it was, well...OK. It also doesn't seem vary Joss-y: the dialogue doesn't have that smart quality typical of his previous work, the characters (not just the dolls) don't seem to have much personality yet, and I still don't understand what makes the dolls want to go sit in the chair at the end of each mission but maybe that will be explained later.

Also in my SciFi cue this spring is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I know the ratings are needing some help, but I'm a sucker for the show. The characters are interesting, the drama is intense, the action is great and hey, it's Terminators for crying out loud. I actually had the thought the other day (and this could be Terminator heresy) that Lena Heady is a better actress than Linda Hamilton. Now, before both of my readers have heart attacks just remember that Linda was my first celebrity crush. But Lena simply has a better range of emotions she can portray. She can do intense, sympathetic, tender and everywhere in between. Aside from the screen full of endoskeletons, losing her from TV will be the saddest part if the show is cancelled - so watch it!

I'll finish on the Fantasy side. I'm pretty sure the only fantasy show on regular TV right now is Legend of the Seeker, a syndicated series produced by Sam Raimi of Xena and Hercules fame and based on the Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. Don't worry, the show won't be giving Lord of the Rings a run for its money any time soon, but it is notably better than Herc or Xena. The writing is better and it feels like they are majoring on trying to tell a story, not showing as much mid-riff as possible. If you are a fan of the genre, it will be enjoyable, it not, well...there is a lot of other stuff on TV. :)