Oink!

Today's Holiday Greeting: Happy Chinese New Year! It's The Year of The Pig so break out the ribs and the pork chops!

Boob Tube: According to my friends Theresa and Joe, a commercial for the Muncie Civic is airing locally that features the cast of Moon Over Buffalo which includes me. I have yet to see it, but I remember it was filmed during one of our later rehearsals. Though I dread to see how I appear in the spot, it's kind of nice to know I'm back haunting the local airwaves. It's been a couple of years since I stop making my little public access show and I miss knowing my massive mug could be seen in someone's unsuspecting TV set every Thursday night at eleven. Glory days...

Cruel Nicknames I Have Given People at Work: Moose. Swamp Witch. King Zombie. Grandpa Woman. Little Frigidaire.

Question of The Day: Is it me or does prefecture sound more impressive than state?

Current TV Crush: Last week's episode of The Office involving the bat was chockfull of comic bliss. From the pandemonium of the bat "attack" (Especially Angela's roll on the floor) to Michael's candy bar lecture to Pam's heartbreaking art show turnout (I think we both painted the same cup), the episode had all its bases covered and hit a homerun. Bonus points for the great use of Creed and Meredith. All comedies should be this good.

Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration

Vote!: Today's the day, folks! Get out there and make your voice heard! And let's hope this year's results will not be as depressing as 2004! Vote!

Possible Career Path: Recently I was working on a composite for a high school faculty at Touchy Feely Fotos and I noticed they had a study hall monitor listed as a member of the staff. Can you actually make a living as a study hall monitor? If so, sign me up! If I remember all of my study hall experiences correctly, the job would just require me to sit at a desk, read a newspaper, and shush talky students every now and then. Piece of cake! Of course, my luck you would need a college degree in study hallology to apply.

Observation: There are a lot of short women running around at my dead end job. There must have been a surplus this year.

As Seen on TV (Good): I've been enjoying the second season of The Office the past couple of weeks. The show really found its wings this season and was able to fly out of the original's shadow to become its own show. Highlights for me include Michael tearing up after winning a yogurt lid medal for buying his condo ("Office Olympics"), the Yankee Swap ("Christmas Party"), Jim spraying water on the injured Dwight and Michael in Meredith's booze wagon ("The Injury"), Michael's amazing Photoshop abilities ("Conflict Resolution"), and whenever Jenna Fischer is on camera (I have mentioned before that I think she's a sweetie, right?). Thanks again for the loan of the dvd, Nick! Now I just have to buy my own copy.

As Seen on TV (Bad): Okay, I haven't seen the episode, but I know what happened: Lost killed off Mr. Eko. I know there were several reasons for the move, but it's pretty disappointing when a show kills off one of its most interesting characters. Despite this, I'm still enjoying the ride, but I'm more wary as well.

Remember: Vote!

Who's The Boss?

Company Retreat: Well, I missed the big presidential briefing the other day at Touchy Feely, but I caught a glimpse of the prez as he and his entourage toured the plant, occasionally chuckling about something. It's always a delight to hear overpaid people laugh.

As Seen on TV (Good): The first two new episodes of The Office were very enjoyable, especially the episode concerning the unfortunate outing of Oscar. The kiss at the end was so painfully awkward and wrong on so many levels, but brilliantly funny. Definitely a show firing on all cylinders. Plus Jenna Fischer is a sweetie!

As Seen on TV (Feh): I wasn't too impressed by the second episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I enjoyed some of the dialogue and it does have a great cast, but it didn't really grab me. For some reason, I can't buy Amanda Peet as a network president and most of the scenes felt too stagy for my taste. I never got enthralled by Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and I think that's going to be true about Studio 60, too.

Credit where Credit is Due: Special thanks to Nick Grove for being my TiVo man!