New TV Season

Well the long awaited Fall TV Season is finally here! I'm really excited about some shows and others have already turned me off.

Here are my A list:

Criminal Minds--never dull, every single time I say 'this is the best episode yet' they outdo it the next week!

NCIS--my favorite show! I love Mark Harmon and the rest of the cast is wonderful. I've come to think of them as family that I actually like! LOL Great show and I hope it stays on the air for another decade!

Chuck gets an A because it's Chuck! I just love the show. Characters are fun and engaging and I love them all--just wish Ellie wasn't quite so WHINY! That makes me crazy!

Supernatural--like Chuck, it's on the A list because I love the show. I'm really looking forward to seeing where it goes this season, especially since it was supposed to have ended last year. Getting back to some good old-fashioned monster butt kicking will be great! And I hope we get to see the Ghost Facers this season!! I love those guys!

New shows added to my A list are a bit of a surprise to me actually. Chase, Nikita and No Ordinary Family are all shows I watched (online) with a hint of 'bet I will hate this' in the back of my mind only to be shocked and surprised when I loved the shows. Each offers something different and while I will most likely still catch episodes of them online (especially those up against my other more established A list shows) I will still watch.

My B list shows (meaning they are good and have the potential to grow on me) are The Whole Truth and Detroit 1-8-7, both those shows have a lot of promise. I enjoyed both pilots and I'll stick with them as long as they continue on the same route. Detour too much and I might stop watching.

Honorable mention goes to The Event and Undercovers. These shows still haven't proven they are 'don't miss' worthy, but I haven't written them off completely yet. The Event has one thing going for it--Blair Underwood. But the fact the network is touting it as 'if Lost and 24 had a baby, it would be The Event' is enough to make me cringe. The pilot left me feeling just like Lost did--with more questions than answers and a little bit duped by the hype. I'll give it ONE more episode. If it isn't a lot better than the pilot, then I'm afraid even my love for Blair Underwood will not be enough to keep me watching.

Undercovers is a fairly decent show. The characters are engaging and I do love Gerald McRaney. I liked it for the same reasons I like Chuck. This one has me interested. As long as they stay on track, I'll keep watching, but if I miss an episode here or there, I won't be too upset over it.

Shows that got lower scores are Hawaii-50. This one had me saying 'give me a break' and 'OMG!" over and over again. It is so far from the original series as to be a slap in the face to anyone who remembers loving it. If you can't IMPROVE on a classic, don't try. But when you try and fail this miserably, at least have the decency to cank it before you let folks see how badly you screwed the pooch! Those too young to remember the original and those who like to see things blown up and cars running through buildings might watch this one and if there are enough of those, this one may be on the air longer than I would like, but it will go on without me. While I disliked most of it, I didn't dislike ALL of it. There were some funny one-liners--not enough to get me to waste another hour of my life on this show, but enough to keep it off the FAIL list. I give it a D.

Raising Hope gets the first official F List nod. This one was so bad, I turned it off after 6 minutes. The jokes are juvenile and only fans of Jackass and Borat could possibly be impressed by them. As I said, 6 minutes and that was as much as I could stand. Definitely an F- in my book!

Some other shows I'm still anxious to see this season are MEDIUM and FRINGE. I've enjoyed the last couple seasons of both and do not expect this season to change that opinion much at all.

So how about YOU? What grades are you giving this season's line up? Have any new favorites? I'll update my list as the season wears on. Some may be added to the list, others may fall off of it. Only time will tell for sure.

Until next time folks,

Laine

Spring Has Sprung---with a vengeance!

The pollen count is the highest it has been in the last seven years here in Eastern North Carolina. Experts say that is possibly related to the longer winter we had and trees that normally flower earlier and just now getting around to doing so, thus more pollen. All I know is my husband's red car was more of a peach color yesterday and the Kid Unit is suffering greatly from the effects.

However, the warmer temps do bring a lot of opportunities for enjoying the great out of doors and that is a welcome treat. There is just so much to do here when the weather is cooperating--contrary to some of the more widely held opinions of the area.

I'm really looking forward to the first rain, knocking some of that pollen out of the air and giving us a better chance to enjoy the outside.

The winter blahs are over---bring on SPRING FEVER!! :)

Until next time,

Keep it between the lines.

Laine

Passing on a good thing...

My pal Marta Stephens is committing to writing something new on her blog every day this year. And not just any old thing, but her thoughts and ideas and hardships and JOYS (here's to hoping for loads of those) as she goes through her writing process. I don't know about you, but for me, that will be a blog worth reading!! :)
In case you want to follow her as well, here's the link:
http://mstephens-musings.blogspot.com/

GOOD LUCK MARTA!! I look forward to reading all about it! :)

Until the next wild hair,
Laine

WOW..Time Flies When You Get OLD...

Mercy Me! Where did 2009 rush off to in such a big fired-up hurry? I have heard about how your life flashes before your eyes just before you die, I hope this is no indication of how my 2010 is going to go! LOL

This time of year I like to reflect on new things I discovered, or interesting places I've been (or hope to go) or just life in general. I've come to realize that as I age the things that in my youth were of ultimate importance to me are really of no great consequence and the things I never considered to be important in my youth are really the only things that truly matter.

As a child, I was told to be nice and share and hold my temper until I got all the facts. I was having none of that! Now that I'm older, I see why that is really important and even though those are not always my first responses, I am happy to report that I tend to get there eventually--most of the time.

As a teen, the opinions of other people had about the same affect on me as water on a duck's back. My opinion was the ONLY one that mattered. To a degree, this is still the case, however I have learned to appreciate the opinions of others, even if I don't always agree with them. I have learned that just because I don't agree with another person doesn't always make either of us WRONG. It simply means we come from different places and our journeys have lead us down different paths to the same spot. Because our paths were different, so is our perception. I try to learn from the differences and if it changes my perception and my opinion, then my path is different for the rest of my journey. I just hope for nicer scenery.

Now the things that matter most to me are not always tangible. Time is very precious to me. I try not to waste so much of it on frivolous ventures that go nowhere. I try to look for the positives in every situation. Sometimes the only positive is the fact that I have moved on in my life and that situation is behind me. I try to learn from my mistakes because otherwise I will only repeat them.

I can only hope that 2010 is a great year for all of us.
My very best wishes to you and yours,
Laine

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

DARE TO DIE--Carolyn Hart. I DARE you not to LOVE IT!

DARE TO DIE by Carolyn Hart--I dare you not to LOVE it!

"She came in the rain. Alone. On a bicycle" and Iris Tilford's arrival will open old wounds and scare someone into committing murder to hide old sins.

Annie and Max Darling are back! This time they are thrown into the middle of an investigation into the death of a former Broward's Rock resident who has come home after a decade away to put things right--one of her twelve steps to sobriety--when she is murdered at a party Max is throwing for Annie to celebrate their new home.

Someone doesn't like the Darling's meddling and chooses arson to try to put a stop to it, but it'll take more than that to derail Annie and Max from finding out who killed Iris.

With the help of her husband and Broward Rock's own resident "Jessica Fletcher"--famed mystery writer Emma Clyde--Annie manages to draw the ire and attention of some very powerful people who for their own personal reasons want events of the past to remain buried. That just isn't how life in a small town in the South ever works, but someone is willing to commit murder to keep the past in the past. Will the one of the Darlings be the next victim?
Carolyn Hart is a master at her craft. Her books are perfect How-to-Write-a-Mystery-Novel Textbooks. Ms. Hart breathes life into her characters and makes them as real as relatives we all have (and a few we all avoid at the family reunions) endearing them to fans of cozy mysteries and just great stories as well. A wizard with words, Ms. Hart never disappoints and DARE TO DIE is another must read in a long list of the great reads she has provided to us. Thank God for Carolyn Hart and her love of a good mystery, a great story, and a fantastic sense of humor. She blends those talents with ease and we all reap the benefits.
DARE TO DIE--I DARE you not to love it!

New Blog No New Concept

I've started a new blog. I want to keep this one clear for my book reviews and things, so I started one where I can put my opinions about those things that really don't belong here so much.
This one is along the lines of a Dear Abby kind of thing, people can ask me questions and I'll share my wisdom on the topic with them. I do have people asking me what I think a lot, so why not blog it?
If you want to check it out, go to http://dearlaine.blogspot.com/
If you want a question answered, just leave it in the comment section. If you wish to comment on any of my previous answers, go ahead!

Just remember, follow my advice at your own risk! I do not even pretend to be right about what you should do in your own life. I can and will offer my opinion and you are free to follow it OR NOT. If you don't and wish you had, don't blame me! If you do and realize you shouldn't, also DON'T BLAME ME. I fully believe in free will principle! :)

Until I have something to report,
Laine