pimblr.com

So now we know what’s coming back (Eli Stone, yay!) and what isn’t (Moonlight, boo!). And after glimpsing clips and snippets of the new stuff on most of the networks—sorry, NBC, I would have preferred to “experience” a taste of your new line-up instead of a carnival of empty hype—we’re even feeling a bit of buzz (welcome back, J.J. Abrams!) about the new season to come.
Looking back at a hectic week of TV, off and on screen, some reflections:
The Big Five networks are introducing a mere 16 new series collectively this fall: down significantly from the 20-something of a year ago and roughly half of what we used to see back when the networks were still serious about comedies. One upside: a lot less chaos and confusion, and the networks can focus their promotion on behalf of a handful of shows that might actually break out. Another upside: Fewer new shows means fewer freshman shows got canceled. Shows like Chuck, Life, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Samantha Who?, Eli Stone—all of which can be relaunched in the fall with as much fanfare as we used to see for brand-new shows.
The downside: With fewer new titles to sell and tease, there may be an overall lack of excitement when September rolls around. (Though not in my corner. I can’t wait for my sophomore faves to return, especially those cut short by the writers’ strike.)
So what stood out? J.J. Abrams’ Fringe on Fox, naturally. Looks slick and scary, and reminiscent of Lost, it begins with an airborne catastrophe (though ending far less happily). My main concern at this point, about this and Joss Whedon’s midseason Dollhouse, is that if the high-concept premise is too complicated to convey easily, it may have trouble breaking out beyond cult status. And with House as a mighty lead-in, Fringe may look like it’s not pulling its weight. But expectations are that it will open big (with a splashy two-hour premiere the week before Labor Day). I can’t wait.

seattlepi.nwsource.com

THE DREAMSCAPE: First, there was Hope [Paglaum]. Then came the Pledge or Promise [Panaad]. They are the pathways to the New Century. The lines and contours of the dreamscape are well-defined and indicative of the right direction, the various challenges not withstanding.
Pana-ad [Promise] is not only the Festival of all festivals but definitely a firm and solid temple of a dream to be fulfilled. It is time to move on despite the crisis.
The current economic imbroglio is an opportune time to study the various factors and premises, which trigger the worldwide financial bubble, let alone the apocalyptic nuances of terror with pseudo-religious underpinnings.
But let us do away with bad metaphors and confine ourselves to our own way of looking at our problems at home. Take note that even the well-known political economy theorists and ideologues are lost in the mist of erratic forces of the economy as well as the moral breakdown in the political spheres.
Let us have Sugarlandia dreaming: with our vast resource in terms of land, minerals and manpower, we don’t have to look beyond our horizons to explore the possibility of realizing our goals.
After Pana-ad [the Promise] we have to work for the fulfillment [Pagtuman] of such beautiful dream. It is time to do the spadework towards ‘Pagtuman’- Fulfillment.
As it was written, it shall be fulfilled. The late Gov. Alfredo Montelibano Jr. started the ‘paglaum’ (hope); then followed by former Gov. Lito Coscolluela with ‘pana-ad’, and to work on that promise, we have to charter the tracks towards ‘pagtuman’- fulfillment.
With the crisis inflamed by the seemingly endless price-rising of fossil fuel, Negros Occidental can effectively thwart the crippling fuel costs by making the whole province the bio-fuel center of the country as correctly pointed out by Sen. Miguel Zubiri, contrary to the opinions expressed by another senator who is intellectually-challenged about the economics of sugar.

sunstar.com.ph

“I SEE a little silhouetto of a man, scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango?”
Well done if you recognised that as a lyric from Queen’s perennial hit Bohemian Rhapsody, but what’s the next line?
If you’re now singing, “Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening, me,” maybe you should have a go at new gameshowDon’t Forget The Lyrics (Sky One, Sunday, 7pm).
The premise is pretty simple, each contestant on the show has to sing a string of well-known songs - but it’s probably best we let the show’s host Shane Richie explain.
“I’ve had to learn this parrot fashion,” he says with a beaming smile. “The punter comes on to sing with the live band, and the words come up on screen for them.
“Then when the band stops, the lyrics disappear.
“The first song’s worth £500, the second £1,000 and it goes up like that to £250,000. It gets harder; you start having to know maybe three words, then you have to know nine or 10 in the later rounds.
“You get nine categories on the board, rock, pop, divas, 60s, 70s, and so on, and behind each category is a choice of two songs.
“So you choose a category, then a song, then you get to sing along with the live band.
“The musos in the band are amazing too.
“Some of them play for Amy Winehouse, others are in David Jordan’s band, so there are some great musicians on the show, absolutely first class.”
As a former holiday camp Blue Coat, and the star of various stage musicals, you might expect Shane to be a dab hand at the game himself, but he admits to being as clueless as some of the contestants, mainly due to the pressure of being in front of a live studio audience.

manchestereveningnews.co.uk

The only problem I’ve ever had with “Lost” is that they tend to follow high-action, high-intensity shows with episodes that are a little more lulling. Now this is not to say these episodes are bad. I’ve never thought anything the Abrams crew has done was bad (save for Nikki and Paolo which writers have completely owned up to). I guess I’ll resign to look at these episodes as the little downturn on the roller coaster right after you’ve taken that giant, exhilarating drop.
Ok on with the show.
In “Something Nice Back Home” we learn that…
…Jack’s appendix is indeed on the verge of bursting. Dr. Juliet and Nurses Kate and Bernard to the rescue.
…flash-forward Jack is living with Kate. Together they are raising Aaron. So, wait, we already know that Jack hadn’t had much contact with Kate from the “We have to go baa-aack” scene. And we further know that Jack said he didn’t want to see the baby from the after-court scene in the parking garage. So when does this all take place?
…ahhh. It takes place before Jack goes down the rabbit hole into a drug and alcohol-induced stupor.
…Rousseau is in fact dead. Quite a surprise to many of us. An interesting scene as well when “ghost whisperer” Miles stumbles across the location where our French woman and Carl had been shot. Kinda creepy when Miles digs the bodies up.
…Daniel and Charlotte might not be there to actually save the castways but I’m not sure they are all bad. They seem willing to help when Juliet needs medical supplies. And Jeremy Davies, you deserve an Emmy if not only for your awesome delivery of my favorite line of the episode, “Your very bad attitude.It’s exactly why they don’t trust us.”
…Juliet seems a little jealous of Kate. Too bad, ’cause thanks to this episode, we know who wins.

blogs.news-journalonline.com

KENNY Rating 3 A mockumentary from Australia about a philosophical chap who’s in the rental toilets business. Directed by Clayton Jacobson. 14A. 100 min. Ridge Theatre.
LEATHERHEADS Rating 2 1/2 George Clooney directs and plays a cocky 1920s football star in a fledging professional league who recruits a golden-boy college star (John Krasinski) to revive its waning fortunes while hoping to score with a feisty young journalist (Renee Zellweger). Parental guidance. 114 min. Tinseltown, Van East Cinema, Park & Tilford, SilverCity Metropolis, SilverCity Coquitlam, Richmond Centre, SilverCity Riverport, Colossus Langley, Empire Guildford, Grande Surrey, Rialto White Rock, Meadowtown Centre, Paramount Chilliwack, SilverCity Mission, Towne Abbotsford.
NIM’S ISLAND Rating 3 When her scientist father disappears, a young girl teams with the reclusive author of her favorite literary character. With Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin and Gerard Butler. General. 100 min. Dunbar Theatre, Tinseltown, Park & Tilford, SilverCity Metropolis, SilverCity Coquitlam, Richmond Centre, SilverCity Riverport, Colossus Langley, Criterion White Rock, Empire Guildford, Grande Surrey, Meadowtown Centre, Cottonwood Chilliwack, SilverCity Mission, Towne Abbotsford.
ROLLING STONES: SHINE A LIGHT Rating 3 1/2 Director Martin Scorsese collected an all-star team of cinematographers headed by Robert Richardson to capture the Rolling Stones in concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre. With guests Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy and Jack White. Parental guidance. 122 min. CN Imax at Canada Place, SilverCity Coquitlam, SilverCity Riverport, Colossus Langley.
THE RUINS (Movie not reviewed) A group of friends’ trip to an archeological site in Mexico turns into a terrifying struggle to survive. With Jonathan Tucker and Jena Malone. Directed by Carter Smith. 18A. 91 min. Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver, Esplanade, SilverCity Metropolis, SilverCity Coquitlam, SilverCity Riverport, Colossus Langley, Empire Guildford, Grande Surrey, Meadowtown Centre, SilverCity Mission, Towne Abbotsford.
SEX AND DEATH 101 Rating 2 1/2 A successful executive and ladies man, who has finally found “the one,” and is getting married in a little over a week, has his life turned upside down when he receives a strange e-mail that includes the names of everyone he’s had sex with … and ever will have sex with. With Simon Baker and Winona Ryder. 14A. 118 min. Granville. (Movie not reviewed)

canada.com

You just found your glasses - now, if you could only remember where you put your car keys. Perhaps you should first look for the Loc8tor Lite personal tracking device. Packaged with two homing tags that can be attached to commonly misplaced items, the pocket-sized tracker uses audio and visual directional cues to guide you to lost items up to 400 feet away. The closer you get to a misplaced object, the stronger the device’s signal becomes. The gadget, which also ships with a magnetic mounting bracket, key ring loops and adhesive strips, is $80.
Don’t let the minuscule size of the SanDisk Sansa Clip fool you. Even though the MP3 player is smaller than a box of Tic Tacs, the 4-gigabyte model has enough memory to hold 1,000 songs. Weighing about 0.9 ounce, the silver player comes with an FM tuner, a built-in microphone, a display screen, a scroll wheel and a rechargeable battery that delivers 15 hours of playing time. Using the detachable clip, you can attach the player to a belt loop, backpack or purse. It ships with earphones and a USB cable for a PC connection. Compatible with a variety of music services, including Napster, eMusic and Rhapsody to Go, the player costs $80.

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