No offense to my gracious New Years host (well, hopefully they won’t take offense anyway…), but the activity for the night is South Park Uno.

Shoot me now.

Vodka, take me awayyyyyyyyy.

To all those who bailed on my party–you suck. This is on your head. Happy happy to everyone out there!

Been going through the cold cycle this week. Today’s malady? Phlegm. I hate phlegm day.

Starting January 10, one of the finest TV shows ever broadcast is coming to regular-ass cable. BET has signed up for the first two seasons of The Wire. Set your PVR’s and watch the best show HBO has ever produced (sorry Sopranos, but it’s true) from the beginning. I have no idea how the edits and overdubs will change the show, but hopefully they won’t be too intrusive.

Take it from Patton Oswalt:

The Wire is one of the few times you’ll watch TV and not feel like the people making TV think you’re a fucking idiot.

Thanks to the Bossman for the fun afternoon of no work and good eats. We took off at noon, had lunch and then went bowling. Oh, and Q and I had lotsa beer. Whee! Merry Beermas everyone!

The kids and I are back from our trip to Daytona. Not a terribly exciting place, but we had a good time nonetheless. I’ll be upping pics to Flickr at some point, but until then here is a taste:

Flickr pics are here.

Two more days until I leave Chattanooga behind and head for the sunny shores of Daytona Beach. I’ll be picking up Knee in Atlanta, then catching up with Alg in Florida. Hooray for Boy’s Weekend–sunny skies, warm weather, and fruity rum drinks! From my perspective tomorrow is Friday, and I’m planning to have a nice 6-day weekend.

Merry cold & snowy Christmas, suckers!

I’m watching last nights Jimmy Kimmel Live. Tipsy Tatum O’Neal? Still getting it done.

Probably looks like hell in real life or on HDTV though. Yet another reason I’m happy with standard def for the time being.

November sweeps are over, it’s time to check in with my TV impressions at the halfway-ish point of the season:

Dexter – My favorite new show, and a contender for my favorite current show. I can’t praise this show enough. I’ve read the book it is based on, and for the first time in recorded history, the show is better. Michael C. Hall is really good, and the rest of the cast is equally strong.

Veronica Mars – A satisfying conclusion to the first of the mini-mysteries. I’m disappointed that both Mac and Wallace have been mostly absent, but it is probably scheduling conflicts or budget constraints. Dialogue, as always, is superb. Still one of the best shows on TV.

Heroes – After a shaky start, this show has found its legs and is really going strong. Even some of the more unlikeable characters have found their place or at least been shuttled out of the storylines for the time being. They saved the cheerleader, but it seems as though there is a way to go before they save the world. I’ll be watching.

Battlestar Galactica – Ronald D. Moore managed to take the worst sci-fi episode framing device in history, the boxing match, and made it one of the shows finest episodes. Unbelievable.

Studio 60 – I bailed on this one when it was on cancellation watch a month or so ago. I kept recording it, so I will be catching up during re-run month.

Homicide: Life on the Street – WGN has started showing this forgotten gem. Kyle Secor, Andre Braugher, Yaphet Kotto, Clark Johnson, Melissa Leo, Richard Belzer, and so many others make up the ultimate ensemble cast. The real star of the show was probably “The Box”, the interrogation room that let these actors really let loose and chew scenery. This show paved the way for current cop shows like The Shield and The Wire, and for that I am grateful. I’m thankful to WGN for giving me a chance to see some of the episodes I’ve missed without shelling out for the DVD’s.

House – I can’t decide if I like the Tritter storyline yet. It gets in the way sometimes, but it may well pay off and I’m willing to wait until the resolution before I weigh in.

Jericho – Terrible, but somehow strangely compelling. I’m watching, but I don’t know why.

Smallville – The first good season in a while. The Green Arrow has added a needed boost to the show, even overshadowing Supes to a degree. I would have preferred Green Lantern, but the CGI needed would have killed the budget.

How I Met Your Mother – The only 1/2 hour comedy I’m watching right now. Great cast chemistry and memorable setups / lines / payoffs, almost reminiscent of Seinfeld. Seinfeld had “The Contest” and “The Soup Nazi, HIMYM has “Swarley” and “Slap Bet”.