Dec 4, 2006

One of the side effects of my cough syrup is long-winded blog posts. Brace yourselves.

Grandma's out of the woods and at home. I, on the other hand, managed to catch a nasty bug at the hospital, rendering me useless of interacting with other humans for a week. Fever, runny nose, raspy vocal chords, the works. My head felt as if its insides have been carved out with a spoon. Now, after 5 consecutive days of sickness I am pestered with the irritating cough phase; once triggered my entire body shakes, my lungs ache and I sound like a moose in heat. I've never actually heard a moose in heat... but humor me, I'm sick.

So, what have I been up to, except recovering from The Plague? Well, since I couldn't go in to work and didn't need to actually dress I just padded around the house in my large, plaid, flannel robe and its overstuffed pockets with used tissues doing small, insignificant tasks like cleaning out drawers and cupboards to make myself useful.

And when the excitement of all this got too much I got online and made my eyes redder by reading and downloading stuff.

Here's a couple of serious Internet readings that I found particularly interesting:
  • This piece of news about a woman (in the US) being sued for putting up a Christmas wreath in the shape of the peace sign on her house made quite an impression also.


I also had plenty of time to catch up on my favorite TV shows and seek out new ones.

Somewhere out there in blogland I read a good write-up about a new tv series 'HEROES'. Downloaded the first 10 episodes and me likes. I have no idea where it's actually leading, a little dark but hopeful, newfangled concept which I like for the time being.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The very first episode with Judd Hirsch's monologue got my full attention. My interest has been wavering as the episodes progress but I enjoy the ambiance of anything 'behind-the-scenes' as well as the camaraderie between leading men Whitford and Perry.

Slowly catching up on HOUSE MD second season. I'm savoring House's spank-me-hard sarcastic quips. Hugh Laurie should have been allowed to keep his British accent for this role, it would have been even better.

Gilmore Girls, season 7. Hello? Where's the fast paced dialogue and snappy comebacks? I hate Lorelai being married to him but NOT to him. I guess she has to come full circle before everything makes sense. (Or at least drag out the seasons). This season, so far, is a bummer.

Hold on there's more. (I can wait until you go to the bathroom).

On my Internet entertainment rampage, I was sucked into a huge banner advertising the 25 year anniversary of soap opera's supercouple from 'General Hospital'. Wow! What a trip down memory lane that was! I had totally forgotten about my high school addiction to GH, rushing home to catch the last 20 minutes of the show.

Before you go rolling your eyes, I have to confess that I respect daytime shows because
a) My mother learned English from watching these shows when we immigrated to the US; her favorites were 'All My Children' and 'General Hospital'.
b) There were a few cool anti-heroes and story lines that were view-worthy; Luke and Laura of General Hospital were one of those.

When I was in high school no one was ever home waiting for me after school, except General Hospital. My parents worked 14 hour shifts, my brother was permitted to participate in all sorts of after-school sporting events, whereas, I, the obedient little Greek geek, had to come directly home. Television played a very big part in keeping me company, whether I actually watched or not.

I was 14 when the Luke and Laura romance took off; fascinated by Anthony Geary's performance and cool demeanor and so envious of Laura's adventures with him. Like many viewers I was hooked on the innovative storyline. I never got to see their actual wedding because by then I had graduated and moved to Europe and, unsurprisingly, forgot all about General Hospital.

As it turned out, this year ABC decided to milk the Luke-Laura love story as much as they could since it's been 25 years since they tied the knot first time around. In five minutes I caught up on 25 years: They're divorced (twice?), she's been in a catatonic comma for 4 years after killing her step-father, he's re-married, they have 2 kids, Laura also had a son with Luke's arch enemy while she had been abducted and kept hostage(!), the show's writers found a miracle drug to bring Laura out of the comma, long enough to have a mock-wedding (unbeknownst to ill Laura) because her last memory was of Luke asking her to re-marry him. Days later, Laura relapsed and went in a comma again. The end? No way!

Geary, who plays Luke, has aged well, is still WAY COOL and [*blush*] I still have a crush on him. I liked his honesty in an interview where he had left GH for eight years and said "I would rather put out my eyes with hot pokers than return to play Luke Spencer again". Well, he went back and 29 years later he's still there. Oddly, I felt like I had found an old lost friend. Isn't it unusual how some characters, whether they're from books, movies or even soap operas, stay lodged in your mind?

Last but not least, I uploaded my blog's new masthead for December 2006. Season's Greetings to all and ho-ho-ho to you!

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