What. The. Heck.

For an April Fool's Day, today wasn't so bad. Sure the morning was a little rocky but it got better! I didn't fall victim to any pranks, the only one was a theatre student who had a very convincing shiner. (She did a great job.) Anywho... I found out via a friend that "Pushing Daisies" season two is going to be released on July 21st. There are three episodes that haven't been aired and I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! I WANT CLOSURE! Ahem.

Speaking of closure, "Life on Mars" wrapped up tonight. I was excited for most of the day because I just didn't know what was going to happen. How was Sam's life in 1973 going to be explained? What was up with all the space man references? What about the rocket ships? Or the space cruiser robot thingys? Rather than go the BBC route and explain it away with a coma induced fantasy, ABC went to space. Mars, actually. Sam, Gene, Ray, Chris, and Annie were all on a two year journey to Mars that required an induced coma for ease in traveling. Sam was supposed to be in 2008 but his "dream maker" thingy got messed up and it sent him back to 1973 with his 2008 memories. As it turns out Gene and Sam are father and son and Gene had the same tattoo as Vic, Sam's pretend father. It was weird. Although, not as weird as the dinky little pony tails sported by Ray and Gene. They got rid of the facial hair but they couldn't just chop the hair as well? Heck, Annie was wearing a really bad wig with little stringy bits hanging off the front. I'm not so sure if I liked how they wrapped it up. The last episode was pretty exciting up until the end.

My sister is coming to visit this weekend. I'm really excited. AND I am going to my mission reunion. Hopefully it will be a good time.

Why ABC, why??? and What is wrong with this?

First, it was Pushing Daisies and now, it's Life on Mars. Two fantastic shows that were cancelled. I just watched last night's episode and it was FANTASTIC! The storyline has really veered from the original British plot but it works. In the original series Sam Tyler was hit by a car and while he was in a coma in 2006, but he was living in 1973. At the end of series two, Sam woke up and then jumped off a building, an act that sent him back to 1973 but really just killed him. In the American version Sam isn't in a coma (or so the information in TV Guide states) and the "solution" is totally different. I don't know what it is but I'm excited to see how it ends next week.

Maybe it is a good thing that it was cancelled. The writers had almost exhausted the two season series of source material and why not end it on a high note? I'm just trying to look on the bright side, I guess. It's a bit like the Beatles. They broke up before their music got horrible. I also think that being "older" isn't so bad. My life is relatively drama-free, I don't have any attachments to high school, I can communicate with members of the opposite sex, and I can rent a car (I haven't done it yet but I could!) There is also a sense of independence that I feel I have now as opposed to five or six years ago when I was petrified to do things on my own. I do have a slight fear that I will grow too fond of my independence someday. Hopefully that won't happen.

What does it mean to be "too accomplished" or "intimidating" or "too independent?" I've heard these words thrown around quite a bit lately, sometimes in connection with me. Just because I have a bachelors degree, I served a mission, and I am a graduate student; I have become a scary, accomplished, intimidating, and independant person? How does that disqualifiy me in the dating scene? If anything, I think those would be positive qualities! Heck, here are some more, just for good measure:

1. I have no student debt. I have no credit card debt. I am currently a paying off my car.
2. I can cook. Just yesterday my roommate's home teachers walked in and said, "Wow, it smells good." I can also bake.
3. I have a vast knowledge of things both useful and non-useful.
4. I love trying new food.
5. I like adventure movies more than romantic comedies.
6. I am clean---my room is clean, my interests are clean and my record is clean.
7. I have ambition.
8. I believe that church is a priority.
9. I can carry on an intelligent conversation (thanks in large part to #3 on this list.)
10. I have opinions. There are few things worse than people who have no set opinions. These are people who usually "just listen to the radio" or like to do "whatever."

Hopefully this list will be useful for anyone who might be frightened of RM grad students. Just a heads up.

Sad, Exciting, and Strange

Word on the street is that Pushing Daisies has been cancelled. This is really sad news because I liked that show. It was funny, it had mystery, it featured pie (who doesn't like pie?) it seemed to have a really high production quality, Jim Dale was the narrator, and it had Lee Pace as Ned!

Quick Ned, touch the show! Bring it back to life!

Fortunately not everything this past week was sad. My friend had an insanely wonderful medical miracle, another friend went to the MTC, and I had fun with friends on multiple nights. On Friday I went with my super cool party people coworkers to dinner and a movie. Yes, the movie was Twilight, and it was better than I was expecting. Strangely better.

I was also able to log on to my grad school's website and register for classes. It's strange how something as small as knowing that you have a new e-mail address for a new shool, can be so comforting. It's as though the letter wasn't enough to let me know it's official. It was all cemented with an e-mail address? Weird! Lindsay.Keller@aggiemail.usu.edu

And now for the strange:

Exhibit A: British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

Exhibit B: Terry Jones, actor, director, writer, Python.

See the resemblance?

Just wondering.

The Week In Review

This week was sort of weird as far as consistency goes.
Monday: I spent the day doing homework and working. Not too strange.
Tuesday: Not only did it snow but I drove up to Weber twice, all in the name of my patriotic duty. I'm so glad that I voted. I'm pretty sure that I giggled a little out loud. I've noticed that I do that, it's something I'm working on. Unfortunately I had a set back at school and for about 24 hours I thought that my chances of graduating were out the window (Midterms are VERY important.)
Wednesday: I had a bit of a realization, I'm down to mere WEEKS at Weber. I made a cool hooter-hider for Hil. Although I had instructions, I didn't follow them so it took a lot longer to make it. It turned out.
Thursday: I turned in my midterm, with a penalty of some kind. A lesson to everyone-keep an iron grip on EVERYTHING. Yeah, it's vague. I went to the temple after work with my ward and it was wonderful. I'm really going to miss my kickin' ward. They are fantastic.
Friday: Apart from receiving a very reassuring e-mail concerning Utah State, I spent the morning watching: The Office, Life on Mars, and 30 Rock. It was fantastic (ooh, I already used that word) it was splendid.

My favorite moment from 30 Rock:
Kenneth: "Oh I don't believe in hypothetical situations, Mr. Donaghy. That's like lying to your brain."

Which brings me to Life on Mars. I was fully prepared to hate this show because I loved the original so much. Here's how they stack up, character-wise.

On the top is the US version, and the UK version is on the bottom.
First up, the battle for Sam Tyler.

UK Sam earns points for being the first but US Sam earns more points for showing more emotion AND being more attractive. Sorry John Sims but Jason O'Mara is just hotter than you.

Next up, Gene Hunt.

Sorry Harvey Keitel, but Phil Glenister will ALWAYS be Gene Hunt. He's guv. No contest. (And apparently not very many words either.)

The Annie throw-down:

Not only did the US writers totally change Annie's last name (from Cartwright to Norris) but they also totally changed the character. Annie Norris is much more intellectual and ballsy than Annie Cartwright who was more sympathetic and girl-friendish towards Sam. It's a bit of a toss up here. The UK Annie seemed much more emotionally invested while USA Annie is more logical, especially when talking to Sam about his theories. I was fully prepared to hate Gretchen Mol because I was under the impression that she was a terrible actress whereas I hadn't ever heard of Liz White.

Ray Carling:

Michael Imperioli wins this one based solely on his impressive mustache and hair. Dean Andrews loses it further due to the horrible perm his character gets in the next series, "Ashes to Ashes." US Ray is also much tougher, and he is slightly more intelligent. UK Ray seemed a little too blunt, not too much activity going on upstairs, just lots of punching and stupid comments.

Which leaves...

Chris Skelton

Once again, the US version is much more attractive than the original. Despite that I'm going to have to go with Marshall Lancaster as UK Chris. His depiction seemed much more real, he seemed like he had much more of a inward wrestle between his loyalty to Gene and his admiration for Sam. He also seemed to have much more of a personalty. Granted, Jonathan Murphy does cut a cuter figure.

And the results:

Sam Tyler: Jason O'Mara

Gene Hunt: Phil Glenister

Annie Cartwright: Liz White

Ray Carling: Michael Imperioli

Chris Skelton: Marshall Lancaster

UK: 3

USA: 2

I really enjoy this show. It's like a cop version of Pushing Daisies.

This isn't meant to offend but...

As a casual watcher of "American Idol" I was really kind of pissed off tonight when Carly was voted off. She did really well last night and she was STILL voted off? I guess the voters must have been deaf because did they not hear Jason and Brooke? Jason was horrible, he was off time, and he sounded like he was singing out of his nose. I usually like Brooke, she has a Carly Simon vibe to her. I wasn't buying it last night. She seemed like she was teetering on the edge of bursting into tears during the song. It might have been the fact that she stopped at the beginning and started again. Heck, I would be terrified to be on national television much less sing.

In other reality show news, Lauren was voted off America's Next Top Model. I couldn't figure out why she was still there, she was photogenic but that was about all she had going for her. It's hard to say who is going to win because there are several girls who seem to be doing well. Katarzyna (sp?) looks a lot better now that her hair is short. It's so cute that I almost feel inspired to cut my hair to the same length. I probably won't because I'm trying to grow it out. Anya is really funny. She's won the most recent competitions and her pictures turn out. I like that she seems like a genuinely nice person, maybe not the smartest, but very sweet. Her accent cracks me up. I think Fatima got screwed over last week. How didn't the producer of the show know that he had set an appointment up at the embassy at the same time as the photo shoot? I guess it makes for good television.

I wonder when the new season of Project Runway will start...