What Made You Smile Today?

[Doctor Hmmm?]

You know the drill.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I watched three episodes in a row just now ... and I wasn't feeling it. I don't think I'll do that again.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Oh, you're kidding me! Oh, well. I guess you can't account for taste. But the first two seasons are pure gold. Season 3 and the Netflix season...your mileage may vary.

ClarkKent_DC said:

I watched three episodes in a row just now ... and I wasn't feeling it. I don't think I'll do that again.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

I loved Arrested Development. I agree with WS though. The first two seasons were the best, season 3 had some misses. I never saw the Netflix  season.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Today I was sitting at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis eating lunch with my niece (as well as the rest of my family...). My thought was, "The last time I was here, I met Doctor Hmmm?"

Oh, other things that made me smile--looking at the Terra Cotta Warriors, the dinosaur exhibit, the planetarium, and the model trains with my niece. Reminded me of what it was like to be there when I was a kid.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

This:

Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man said:

Today I was sitting at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis eating lunch with my niece (as well as the rest of my family...). My thought was, "The last time I was here, I met Doctor Hmmm?"

Oh, other things that made me smile--looking at the Terra Cotta Warriors, the dinosaur exhibit, the planetarium, and the model trains with my niece. Reminded me of what it was like to be there when I was a kid.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Doctor Hmmm? said:

This:

Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man said:

Today I was sitting at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis eating lunch with my niece (as well as the rest of my family...). My thought was, "The last time I was here, I met Doctor Hmmm?"

Oh, other things that made me smile--looking at the Terra Cotta Warriors, the dinosaur exhibit, the planetarium, and the model trains with my niece. Reminded me of what it was like to be there when I was a kid.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Richard Willis said:

Arrested Development is a wonderful show. We recently started watching it from the beginning on Netflix. It's really out there.

ClarkKent_DC said:

I watched three episodes in a row just now ... and I wasn't feeling it. I don't think I'll do that again.

Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man said:

Oh, you're kidding me! Oh, well. I guess you can't account for taste. But the first two seasons are pure gold. Season 3 and the Netflix season...your mileage may vary.

I tried, but too much about Arrested Development just rubbed me the wrong way.

In the first episode I watched, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was guest-starring as a lawyer who had been hired to be a surrogate mother for two gay male police officers who wanted a child -- except she didn't go through with it. She "outsourced" the baby-bearing and faked her pregnancy.

Will Arnett was the smarmy brother far too convinced of his own charm. In one episode, the brother played by Jason Bateman fired him from the family business, but Arnett wouldn't admit that, and consistently (and confusingly) lied to everyone throughout the rest of the episode that he had done the firing rather than been fired himself.

In another episode, he was being sued for divorce from a woman (played by Amy Poehler) with whom he had had a one-night-stand ... except he hadn't actually slept with her. That's an easy way out of a divorce, right? It would be if his ego wouldn't be bruised by telling the world he hadn't actually slept with someone. That didn't strike me as funny, just dumb.

Then there was the sister, played by Portia Rossi. Bateman complains that she hadn't been living up to her agreement to clean the house. Does she do so? No; she accosts her mother's maid on the way to work and makes her do it. While there, the maid falls for the sad-sack brother with the hook for a hand; when she's caught sleeping with him, the mother promptly fires her.

There's more, but that last bit put such a sour taste in my mouth that I didn't want to see any more.

Fundamentally, Arrested Development is a show about Rich White People with Rich White People problems, and my tolerance for such is very limited. Three episodes was enough to breach it.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

I am in charge of the Veterans' Day program at school. Today, I found out that the kid whom I had trusted to give the major speech of the program had chipped his two front teeth over the weekend while playing basketball. This kid could be the next John F. Kennedy, but when he got up to the mike, he said, "On behalf of our thtudenth and thtaff, we would like to thank you for your thervith to our nathion." Don't get me wrong; I still trust this kid. I also think everyone else will have a warm spot for this kid in their hearts this time tomorrow.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

In Lego Batman 3, when you put Wonder Woman in flying mode, the game starts playing the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman theme music (including the backup singers singing "Wonder Wo-maaannn!!!").

That made me laugh out loud.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Technically, this was last night...

The wife and daughter of my neighbor across the street came knocking at my door last night as I was wrapping Christmas presents. This was at about 8:30 on Christmas Eve, mind you. I was watching Star Trek Into Darkness all the while...

Mom: We saw you were at home, so we made you some special Christmas treats.

Daughter (probably about four years old): My mom can't remember your name!

Me: My name is Jeff. What's your name?

Daughter: Abby!* I was about to guess your name was Jeff!

Me: Well I must look like a Jeff!

Abby: You do! You DO look like a Jeff!

I smile still just thinking about it.

*Not her real name. But she sure was a cute little kid.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Nice one, Jeff!  (And you DO look like a Jeff!)

Technically, this was two nights ago ...

Action Lad read the Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony using his Movie Trailer Guy Voice and it was ... actually, pretty entertaining.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, everybody!

[Richard Willis]

Wandering Sensei said:

Me: Well I must look like a Jeff!

Hopefully not this Jeff.