I LOVE Veronica Mars! Thanks to MSN & the “new” CW network, the S3 premiere is available online now!

CLICK HERE FOR VERONICA MARS GOODNESS

I’m planning to watch it tonight, but I did fire it up to make sure it would work. Much to my delight, it doesn’t seem that the new network will affect the brilliant casting if nothing else. Who is the first teacher we are introduced to at Veronica’s new college? Professor Lasky. Or Patrick Fabian if you prefer. Or…the professor from Saved by the Bell: The College Years!

I’m man enough to admit it…I squealed with glee a little. Veronica is BACK!

I am now firmly of the opinion that so long as YouTube exists, it will never cease to entertain and amaze me. Words cannot express the brilliance of the following clip:

And if you just HAVE to know what the hell is going on, see this site.

All hail YouTube! (Thanks go to Deadspin.com)

More fuel for the “Tennesseans are idiot inbred redneck hicks” stereotype. The second story on the Chattanoogan news site?

Kudzu-Eating Goat Died Of Natural Causes

No one is going to take us seriously so long as we keep having front page news stories that include the words goats, kudzu, guard donkeys, and critters. Sigh.

Don’t let anyone ever tell you that yelling and being mean won’t get you anywhere. Because it will.

I went back to the offending ATM today out of sheer curiosity and it worked like a charm. Score one for Angry B!

I’m a First Tennessee Bank customer. An often disgruntled one, but I stick with them for the sole reason that they are really close to my office and we have direct deposit with them. I’ve about had it. Last week they sent out new cards to all of their customers. They are super-special and semi-transparent and something something and I have no idea why we needed new ones. Anyway, I used it all weekend as a debit card with no problems. Today, I went by the bank to get some $$ out of the ATM. This is something that I’ve done several times in my life, and it isn’t normally that hard. Unless their stupid ATM won’t recognize their new ATM cards. I was…perterbed. So, in need of a good venting, I came back to the office and decided to give them a call. I yelled at the CSR moron for about ten minutes, but the highlight was the following exchange:

CSR: You used a First Tennessee Card in a First Tennessee ATM? That should work…

Me: (Heavy sarcasm) That’s what I thought! And when it didn’t, I was kind of mad.

CSR: I don’t see any record that you tried to log in to the ATM.

Me: No, I don’t imagine you do. (Raised voice) It – didn’t – recognize – the – card!

I think next time I’m going to try the ATM baseball bat.

I cannot think of any rational reason for it, but my customers just love to get themselves all whipped up into a panic and then start leaving me voicemail after voicemail after voicemail. Here is a tip: I only need ONE. I WILL call you back, but if you leave me 13 messages, then it will take me a while to call you back because I have to sit and LISTEN TO ALL OF YOUR DAMN MESSAGES! People just love to do this first thing in the morning, which means when I walk into the office my phone is ringing off the hook and my message light is blinking and my inbox is full. All before my first coffee.

In addition to the constant messages, they love to then start calling my boss on his mobile phone, who in turn–you guessed it–calls me. Which means I have more phones ringing and more messages. People, at 9:02 am, I just don’t care about you. Sorry, but it’s true. Calling and calling isn’t going to make me care more, it makes me care less. It also pissed me off so that I have to sit and calm down a bit before I actually take care of your problem. The more you pester me, the longer it is until I actually get to your problem. So bugger off.

I hate people.

Things seen or experienced on my trip to Catoosa County this morning:

- Florist with “Genesis is Fact” on one side of their sign, “Evolution is Fiction” on the other.

- Some Georgia Redneck flopping open the door of his 1970′s big-as-a-house Oldsmobile so that he could spit his chaw juice all over the road. Charming.

- Trying to use the restroom while some guy was going on and on and on about his terrible diarrhea and how he couldn’t take a sick day just because he had the squirts but it was all OK because today was pay day so it was all worth it.

I’ve never been so glad to return to the class and civility that is Chattanooga.

Update on my Fall TV Watching:

Vanished – I’m done. I watched three eps, and had to force myself to make it through those three. I wanted to give it a chance just in case it suffered from bad-pilot-syndrome.

Standoff – I still haven’t watched one since the pilot. They are stacking up on the PVR, but I can’t bring myself to watch them. Maybe some weekend I’ll either catch up or dump it for good.

Studio 60 – Really good pilot episode last Monday, I’m definitely on board for this show. Aaron Sorkin writes a preachy soliloquy better than just about anyone.

Jericho – Promising pilot, but we’ll see how things pan out.

Smith – Premiered last night, but I’m waiting to watch it when I can give it my full attention.

Mind you all of these shows are just an appetizer for the Oct 3 premiere of Veronica Mars!

*update*

I watched Smith last night and loved it. Granted, I was predisposed to liking it what with my love for all things heist related, but I think that it was good on merit as well. Perfect, no. But I enjoyed the pilot more than say, Ronin or The Score. I appreciated that the creators didn’t try to make this a merry band of Robin Hoods stealing for the fun of it or for some lofty goal. I’m not sure that we know exactly why they do it yet, but for at least some of the crew the motives are not altruistic. Some (if not all) of the characters are just bad people. I like that idea a lot. It looks like the format of the show will not be a heist per week either, and the consequences and ramifications of the jobs will follow the crew. I’m in.

I’ve really cut back on my movie going over they last few years, but not because I don’t love them anymore. I still love movies, I just don’t love the experience of going to the theater. I will make an exception for highly anticipated movies every now and again. What movies get that kind of consideration? For fun, Casino Royale looks like the ticket. I never really understood all the hubbub over the Daniel Craig selection, and from the trailers it seems like he was an excellent choice.

The other movie that I am highly anticipating, but will probably not get to see in a Chattanooga theater, is Jesus Camp. I love a good documentary, and this looks like a good one. It also looks like a sobering, frightening, and downright creepy one. I’ll reserve full judgment for the film (and its subjects) after having seen it, but I’m fully expecting it to be the scariest film since, well, ever.

The first clip I saw from the movie is here. It is part comedy (Who’s in the House? JC!!!!) and part horror flick (Let me say something about Harry Potter…Warlocks are enemies of GOD!!!) and I sat with rapt attention through it all.

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the aforementioned mower:

I couldn’t find a Husqvarna with a Honda motor over 5.5 HP, so I went with a Briggs & Stratton engine. 6.75 HP baby! The autowalk trigger is a bit stiff and my hand gets a bit cramped from holding it, but I think I’ll get used to that. The true test will come in a few more weeks when I have to start mulching up the leaves for the compost pile.

My other yard project has been to aerate the lawn. I fell victim to the “my yard isn’t that big” syndrome, so instead of renting a gas-powered aerator, I bought one of these:

Yes, I’ve been aerating my lawn two holes at a time. Yes, the bottom of my feet are bruised. And yes, I’m an idiot.

Why don’t we get any fun / delicious chip flavors here in the US? Slashfood says that PepsiCo (who owns the world, including Lays) is releasing super duper awesome chip flavors overseas. The UK, with its bad reputation for food, has the most appealing lineup to me: Lamb and Mint, Beef and Onion, and a puffed snack with Spicy Tandoori Masala flavor.

Screw Sour Cream and Onion, I need me some Spicy Tandoori dammit!

Latest CD’s I’ve received from lala:

Kevin Gilbert – Thud
Bullet For My Valentine – The Poison
Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
Ani Difranco – Knuckle Down
Camper Van Beethoven – Key Lime Pie

The Kevin Gilbert purchase was kind of an impulse / “give it a whirl” selection. I love the Toy Matinee CD, and have heard a couple of Gilbert’s songs on Pandora that were pretty good, so what the heck. I can’t believe I didn’t already own Appetite, but I didn’t. I think it is one of those CD’s that everyone else always had, so I didn’t need to own it. Now that college is a distant memory and all of those CD swapping friends of mine are far away, I needed it. Sometimes, a guy just needs to hear My Michelle. Key Lime Pie is a great Camper Van CD. Enough said.

My TV diary continues…

Standoff was pretty bad. Saving grace? Michael Cudlitz starring as an FBI sniper. The exact same role he had in “The Negotiator”. He has also played a cop / military guy / government agent on Wanted, Sleeper Cell, Medical Investigation, Fastlane, CSI, Band of Brothers, 24, Prison Break, Over There, JAG, and Walker Texas Ranger. But I’ll always remember him as recurring character Tony Miller on 90210, most notably as Brenda’s prom date.

But back to Standoff…the female lead isn’t pretty or likeable enough, and Ron Livingston isn’t allowed to be Ron Livingston. Then it is cliche after cliche after cliche. Gina Torres is trying to play the badass Police Captain made famous by Beverly Hills Cop, etc. The two leads are (of course) having a relationship that interferes with their job. Guy has a bomb strapped to his chest in a diner. Agent takes a daring personal risk to save the hostages. Blah, blah, blah. Oh, and the background music is terrible.

It is possible that it was just a REALLY bad pilot. I’ll probably give it another shot, but I’m not hopeful.

It is a good time to be alive, here comes the new Fall TV Schedule!

What I’ve seen:

Vanished – A mess. And not a good mess. Rebecca Gayheart is normally enough of a reason for me to watch, but not this time. I’ll be shocked if this one makes 10 airings.
Prison Break (S2) – It is ridiculous, but so long as they maintain a fast enough pace then I don’t care. It is when things slow down enough for me to think that I consider dumping it. Sometimes it is nonsensical fun, sometimes it is a tedious chore to watch. The good moments happen JUST often enough to keep me tuned in. Kind of like Smallville.
Eureka – Summer cable fun.
Bones (S2) – Pardon my lecherous moment…but Emily Deschanel and her magnificent juggery was all that kept me watching early last year. But the show improved as the characters gained a little depth, and is now a perfectly enjoyable procedural. I’m still wondering where Heavy D went though.

Going to watch soon:

House (S3) – Starts tonight. My prediction for the season? House will insult some people and be mean. Yes! One of my current favorite TV shows.
Standoff – I like Ron Livingston and Gina Torres, so I’ll give it a shot.
Nip / Tuck (S4) – Also starts tonight. Another show that has just enough good moments to keep me watching. I’m going to pretend the whole Carver thing never happened, and hope the series refocuses on the practice.
The Wire (S4) – TheWireTheWireTheWireTheWire!!!! It’sBackIt’sBackIt’sBackIt’sBack!!!! One of the best shows on TV. Ever.

New stuff I’m hopeful about:

The Nine
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (this will be the first Sorkin show I’ve started from the beginning–lets hope it has the longevity of The West Wing and not Sports Night)
Jericho (maybe, it will probably suck though)
Heroes
Smith (GREAT cast, and I love me a good heist story)