Who wants sweet?

I enjoy reading about television and I think that most TV critics are underrated. There are no Eberts of Kaels in the realm of TV criticism and I think that's too bad.

Anyway two of my favorite sites offer insight and criticism about Television on a very regular basis -- Television Without Pity (criticism is less broad and found in the insights of writers who "recap" episodes of various shows) . The other site is Teevee which offers a host of critics writing about various issues in television -- advertising, TiVo, Olympics coverage, etc.

This week they wrote about a show that I've really come to enjoy a lot -- but it's still a flawed show. The folks at TeeVee think that Andy Richter Controls the Universe is clever and innovative but ultimately the show has a sweet, nougaty center.

I don't like the sweet center! This show isn't mean enough? How many sitcoms do we need where the poor schlub does the right thing and learns a lesson? If you're going to be an edgy show then please feel free to be edgy -- show me the guy who keeps sleeping with the horrible anti-Semitic hottie instead of dumping her from all the guilt. (The moral dilemma about sleeping with a super hottie who is also anti-Semitic came up in a recent episode.)

Someone recently told me he read an interview with Mr. Richter (we haven't found said interview online yet) where Richter said he doesn't write the show, but that he generally likes what is written. However, Mr. Richter said the show has a little too much heart.

I concur! I’m looking forward to future shows with a little less heart (you know big, red and heart-shaped like a valentine) and more like a black void in the chest where the heart (the valentine one you might have found in Operation) should be.

Insomnia is in!

So we've sprung forward! Yaay! More light! Less dark!

And ultimately (at least for a few weeks) that means less sleep for me. But I'm not alone. The National Sleep foundation released a study saying that about 60% of Americans suffer from symptoms of sleep disorders at least one day a week.

I've been an insomniac for about 15 years. As a kid I apparently slept like a log and had no problems sleeping long and hard all through the night. I slept in the car, at school, at home, in the living room, at my desk -- everywhere. Now I sleep lightly for a few hours each night. If I can get 4 hours without interruption I'm thrilled.

Insomnia, at least for me, is something I have learned to live with. I can manage it pretty well most of the time, but every once in a while I fall off the wagon and go through a prolonged spell of sleeplessness. It's not good. The fastest way to break a human being is to deprive her of sleep.

Anyway, about this time of year I get a little turned around for a few weeks. Daylight savings does that to me.

I blame Indiana for this phenomenon. We never had to change the clocks. The state decided to abstain from participating in Daylight savings and so half the year we were in the Eastern Time zone and the other half in Central.

I never had to change my clock until I went to college.

And so with a heavy heart I spring forward this year. In a week I'll be fine. But at least for this week, as my alarm sounds each morning I'll wish I could hit snooze for a few minutes more.

Movies, movies, movies!
Over the weekend we rented a fine little film called Session 9. It's creepy and atmospheric without being overly gorey or contrived. I think you can see where it's heading, but the journey is enjoyable.

This was clearly a very low budget movie, but I really liked the creative use of camera and lighting by the director. I strongly encourage people who enjoy a suspenseful, psychological thrillers to check out this film.

We also went to the movies which is really becoming a challenge. The movie we wanted to see was sold out at 9:30 last night so we went to see it at 11:45 this morning. The jury is still out on my opinion of the movie. More on that later...

Queenie
I’m not the only one voicing a little sadness over the loss of the Queen Mum. Now I’m disappointed she’s passed on because I’ll miss those lemon chiffon duds of hers. I think others might be taking it a bit more seriously.

The last entry about my eyeballs
Many people wrote in to voice their concern over my pending blindness. Happily I can report after a weird experience in dilated eyes – the peepers are healthy and happy. No worries and my prescription probably won’t change much until I’m about 40. Good news!

Who is murdering the gross pigeons of Evanston?

Someone is killing pigeons. Sure pigeons are gross, and many people view them as rats with wings. My relationship with them has never really been that hostile. So, I wouldn’t care except that I’ve had three unfortunate run-ins with pigeon parts – a pigeon head, a pigeon wing and a partial pigeon leg with foot attached. All three parts had been ripped off – it was gross and a little horrifying.

I was thinking that the culprits were cats. But that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me because I’ve never actually seen a cat running loose in Evanston. I’m sure it happens, but in all the years I’ve been here I haven’t seen it. Plus, all the parts were in the more “urban” downtown region of Evanston where there is nary an animal in sight.

Yesterday the mystery was solved in as much as I’d like it to be. On top of the old Marshall Field’s building lives some Peregrine falcons. The building has been converted to condos and no one can do any work on the roof because the protected birds have been roosting there for a while. Apparently the falcons are fond of your run-of-the-mill pigeon. And I guess the Peregrines are messy eaters.

So the moral of this story is that if you’re ever on the north side of Chicago and see pigeon parts, it could be a cat – how pedestrian – or it could be a Peregrine falcon.

Case closed.

Toodles to the Queen Mum
I’ve never been a Royal watcher or Anglophile, (although I do enjoy many fine BBC programs) but I have pulled my head out of my own life for a short moment to think of the Queen Mum. I guess I liked her. I know absolutely nothing about her except that she was the Queen’s mum, she was a cute old lady and she had a fondness for big, bright, flowy dresses with giant, smart hats. And of course the pumps and purse matched. She was old school and she was clearly the most fashionable Royal after Diana.

You’ve got to admire a woman who’s not afraid to wear a poofy, lemon yellow dress with a matching hat.

What's a girl to do?

I'm worried about celebrities.

See, I've figured out things in my own life and now I've found time to clean my apartment (sometimes), organize old photos (okay, I bought a nice box to shove them all in) and worry about the problems of famous people.

It's a special case -- I don't know if this guy knows he has a problem yet. I worry about Jon Stewart.

We all love him. Deeps and I have the unspoken agreement that The Daily Show is appointment television (M-Th) whenever possible or there's a new episode. I like Jon Stewart's snarky little glances, his oddly tall hair and his hilarious deliveries. He's the best thing to happen to Comedy Central and certainly the best host the Daily Show could ever hope to have. And finally he's come into his own and receiving the accolades and attention he deserves.

Plus, with the hubbub about Letterman bailing on CBS or ABC eyes are turning to Stewart as a possible replacement for Letterman if he jumps ship. This is why I worry. What success spoil our Jon? I think it might.

What if?
Let's play "for instance" -- if Letterman jumps ship for ABC and CBS pulls Stewart into its clutches with promises of fame, money and audience, I would be hard pressed to believe Stewart wouldn't go. But this has happened before! Remember MTV. The Jon Stewart show was hip and cool and totally hilarious. Then it got transported to "proper" Network TV and died a horrible death. All irony, edge and wit were displaced and the show suffered until finally put down a scant few weeks later.

What if the same thing happens? Comedy Central won't take you back, The Daily Show is already suffering under the un-funny weight of the likes of Matt Walsh and worse, Lauren Wederman. And there's some new chick with horrible lipstick. They're so bad I long for the days of Mo Rocca. The 2 Stephens/Stevens are making only weekly appearances if we're lucky, since they've both found more lucrative and rewarding work outside the gray halls of Comedy Central studios. What if it all goes horribly wrong!

I just want to be assured that no matter what happens, I won't lose my 4x a week dose of Jon Stewart -- whether I want him or not. I just like to know he's there. And I hope that the giant Viacom machine doesn't chew him up and spit him out. He's smoother and savvier and smarter now, right? I shouldn't worry....of course...I'll just overlook that Grammys fiasco.

Next week -- my fears about Roger Ebert.