Torchwood

Chatting with my British coworker over lunch last week we somehow got on the topic of Dr. Who. He mentioned a spinoff called Torchwood that was “incredibly gay” that I should check out. He tried to watch some with his nine-year-old son but they were a bit racy, which further piqued my interest. He brought me in a set of rips from the second season. I didn't get to watching the first episode until today.

Not knowing the series' characters or even story/backdrop of the new Dr. Who, I was a little lost but amused at the “Blowfish in a Sports Car” the crew was chasing down. Seemed like something I could get into despite being the traditional overly-attractive cast toting semi-original technology while making pithy remarks (the British accents certainly helped).

Then the evil doer appeared. The camera follow him walking after killing some ruffian and my jaw dropped when I recognized him: Spike! From Buffy!! And it got better. The cute-for-a-Brit Captain guy races off to corner Spike at some bar. They approach each other all full of menace… then kiss! Hello fanfic fantasies some true. After the brief lip lock they proceed to beat the crap out of each other. Hawt'ness.

When the crew arrives there's extra story about how Spike and the Captain were caught in a two-week time loop for five years. They argue about who was the wife and who's was smaller. Spike insisted that he lasted longer. *swoon* So yeah. I just ordered first season on DVD. Can't believe I don't have friends telling me about this earlier.

Funny… a friend and I were talking last night about how Gay is so 90s anymore because we're mainstream now. Personally I think that's great… especially when it allows some diversity in love scenes on TV. *snicker* He pointed out it may weaken our press for basic equality by blurring the lines. I believe that social integration will make legal awareness natural and unavoidable.

I Don't Know What I've Done to Deserve You

Though it was leaked a while ago, I managed to acquire Portishead's new album Third last night. While there are 5/5 stars on every track from the three previous albums this one will be different. We Carry On is a little long and rather annoying. Still not very happy with the one that's been released, Machine Gun. Maybe they'll grow on me; already in love with the nine other tracks. Guess it's silly to be critical of two tracks, but it is Portishead and I've been waiting almost a decade. Wonder if I can get the deluxe version in the States.

Mobility Temporarily Impaired

My afternoon got short-circuited by a large crash near one of the major East exit arteries from downtown. At first I was mad at myself for taking the often faster, more public route despite the belief that it should be quick since it was the middle of the day. Then I saw all the commotion. Spent nearly an hour on the pavement. I opened the moon roof, reclined the seat, and observed the angry heads bobs and pointed hand motions with amusement.

Finally passing the scene I could still see it was pretty ugly. Jack-knifed semi in a position that made no sense. One car was essentially a crumpled black box whose make and model was completely unrecognizable. On my way home after the gym there was still congestion. While a number of people were angry at the inconvenience, I'm sure there are a few families with heavier matters on their minds.

Die, Insect!

Blizzard's April Fools announcement is pretty amusing. My favorite part of the video was the “Skinning a Bear Should Aggro All Bears Within Forty Yards” scene. The concept art was also exceptional. Should never have gotten rid of my Atari 2600.

Thankfully my last day off is a patch day so I've been semi-productive around the apartment this morning, with distractions provided by the Sixth Season of Married with Children. Time to hit the gym then a pass through the MIA.

What In Gay Hell...

I'll be in St. Louis in less then twelve hours! Four days and three nights out of one 21"x13" carry-on. *cries* Sometimes being gay is such a pain in the ass.

Portability Returns

The last time I bought a laptop was when I quit my day job to go back to school. When my Grandfather died my sister said I'd probably get more use out of his laptop than I would as I was going back to the U for my Psych degree. No educational plans behind this one though:

HP Pavilion DV9740US 17" High-Definition LCD Entertainment Laptop Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 Processor/ 3 GB /320 GB/Blu-ray ROM/dual DVD writer/Quad-mode Wi-Fi/Nvidia GeForce 8600M 512MB/Webcam/Digital TV Tuner QAM/FM Vista Home Premium

Though not as fast as my primary machine, it has better video, more hard drive space, and a better video card. This will also be my first Blu-ray player. It's factory recertified so, with a Google Checkout coupon and free shipping, it cost me $980. Caught flack from friends about the brand and being reconditioned, but I'm not that concerned. Great specs for a fantastic price. So long as the first thirty days go well, I'm confident it will last me a long time. It left Chicago this morning so I'll probably be fiddling with it tomorrow night. Interestingly my sister just ordered a Gateway laptop from HSN. It was a little overpriced but she loves the HSN experience. She had called for advice while I was checking the shipping status of my own. Coworker told me that a Taiwanese company purchased Gateway so he avoids them. Hopefully my sister got a solid one.

Keep It in the Closet

On the way into work the iPod chose Janet's Nasty Boys which got me thinking how I always loved her work over her brother's. Haven't even bothered to tune into XM Radio's 24/7 Michael station they have going to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the release of whatever. Thriller was great, loved the video, but his time is done. Not sure why I don't get nostalgic for his stuff like I do for so much other 80s and 90s stuff.