In which V. has been incredibly slack about posting, and makes a feeble attempt to sum up lots of things.

1. I saw Finding Neverland this week. People, listen to me when I say that this film is amazing. Totally amazing. I wept buckets at the end, and it takes a hell of a lot to get me to cry over a film (See also: Schindler's List, The Plague Dogs, Grave of the Fireflies). Pity that it's largely untrue... I really hate when that happens. You see a film based on (or inspired by, etc) "actual events", and you get completely sucked into the world that the film creates for you... and then you find out later that most of it was made up to make the film more compelling.

So yeah, there was this whole big weepy tragic romance angle, and I was totally absorbed in it. And then afterwards I find out that... no. No actual romance happened in real life. It's kind of less compelling when you realize you've wept buckets over A BIG FAT LIE. But hey, it was still a great film. Johnny Depp is a beautiful man and a hell of an actor (possibly the best of his generation).

2. I keep seeing this TV advert for some shop called Chico's. It pisses me off. You see these people dressed in cheesy ultra-conservative linen capri pants in whimsical patterns, frolicking on a beach (note: by "frolicking" I of course mean prissing around on the sand as if they find the concept of wet feet distasteful). Meanwhile, a guy with a deep, lounge-lizard kind of voice says "It was a Chico's kind of day... all week long."

WTF? This is totally asinine. Exactly what IS "a Chico's kind of day"? If a Chico's kind of day involves attempting to walk on the beach without getting sand on your whimsical linen capris, I'll take a pass. A Chico's kind of day, my ass. I think it's the narrator's voice that is pissing me off the most. You can almost hear him making that combination-point-and-wink gesture when he talks. Hey baby, I'm Chico. Wanna come over to my pad and have a Chico kind of night?

I haven't the words to explain how horrifying it all is. And it seems to be everywhere. I've seen it on Court TV and Soap Net, so I can't watch my Forensic Files or 90210 without being subjected to whimsical linen capris. Fuck. Fuck, I say.

3. Don't you just love The Killers? I do.

4. CSI: New York is beginning to wear a bit thin. I really really obsessively love the original CSI. And even CSI: Miami is good fun, if you watch it with the understanding that it is top comedy and not meant to be taken at all seriously. But New York? Nah.

I've been making a real effort to get into it all season. About 50% of the time, it puts me to sleep. The rest of the time, I don't know what's going on. The characters are so two-dimensional, I don't even know their names. On the original CSI, I know who everyone is, I know their history, their relationships. Ditto Miami, more or less. On CSI: New York, I don't know a single character's name. There's Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump, there's some woman with a lot of hair who looks very very similar to the woman with a lot of hair on CSI Miami. There's a rather surly young woman, a dorky guy, and a cop who looks a little like Nick Cave. At least, I think he's a cop, I honestly don't know for sure.

It's kind of pathetic when you watch an entire season's worth of a show, and you don't know a single character's name (let alone what makes them tick). Eli told me Lieutenant Dan's character's name last night, but I have already forgotten it.

Also, at the risk of stirring up controversy and strife, I really wish Lieutenant Dan would just stop with the "I continue to be traumatized by the 9/11 attacks" thing. It's a cheap emotional card to play.

5. I don't think I have anything else to say. I'm gonna go watch this horror film, and if it's good I might write it up for y'all.