I'm worried that I'm starting to come down with something, so I'm going to make this quick. Here's a new countdown! It's a great one!
Think healthy thoughts for me!
Countdown #119
***Featuring***
Air Traffic Controller
Alex Clare
fun.
Green Day
Imagine Dragons
The Killers
Linkin Park
The Lumineers
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Of Monsters and Men
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Shy Around Strangers - Shy Around Strangers EP
So, I have finally heard the rest of the debut EP from Shy Around Strangers (click the label at the bottom to see the other posts about them) and, though I wouldn't have thought it possible, it's so much better than the first two singles would suggest.
I'm worried that that sounds like a backhanded compliment or something. But I hope you understand me: I was already stoked to hear this thing. I knew it would be special. I just didn't realize it would be THIS special.
I saw another review that ended by saying that they are anxiously waiting for a full-length. Add me to that list.
You can stream the EP here or here
And then when you fall in love with it like I have, you can buy it on iTunes, Amazon, or (and of course I'd recommend this option if you don't have GC's to spend) the band's website.
If you buy it from the band's website, you also get acoustic versions of the songs I've posted by them in earlier posts. Also, it's the least expensive of the three options. So, more songs, for less money. Whatta deal!
This is my 300th post. I'm glad that this is what I posted about on my 300th post.
I'm worried that that sounds like a backhanded compliment or something. But I hope you understand me: I was already stoked to hear this thing. I knew it would be special. I just didn't realize it would be THIS special.
I saw another review that ended by saying that they are anxiously waiting for a full-length. Add me to that list.
You can stream the EP here or here
And then when you fall in love with it like I have, you can buy it on iTunes, Amazon, or (and of course I'd recommend this option if you don't have GC's to spend) the band's website.
If you buy it from the band's website, you also get acoustic versions of the songs I've posted by them in earlier posts. Also, it's the least expensive of the three options. So, more songs, for less money. Whatta deal!
This is my 300th post. I'm glad that this is what I posted about on my 300th post.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Toad Tuesdays: Meursault - Something For the Weakened
This is going to be a new feature on my blog for a bit. This summer, Song, By Toad Records released several new albums and Matthew sent along review copies during the time I didn't have a working computer. So when I got one, I decided that I not only wanted to write about the three albums that came out this summer, but I also wanted to write about the other bands on this label that I have loved in the past couple years.
What you're going to find in these Toad Tuesday posts is that I have a hard time figuring out Song, By Toad artists. I don't know what it is, but I can't put into words why I can't stop listening to them. And it's true for every band/singer I've heard on the label. It makes it hard to write posts about them, but it makes the effort so worth it.
And now without any further ado, Meursault.
So I'm on the treadmill (it's still a kind of new thing and it's weird for me to start a blog post by talking about it) and I'm laughing.
I wanted to listen to Something For the Weakened one more time before I started writing about it and the thought occurred to me that I could be listening to it while I ran. I was laughing because the impression that I had of the music was that it was very enjoyable, but not uptempo and kind of a downer.
Don't get me wrong, I like music that fits that description. Alicia Silverstone called it "sad bastard music" in Clueless, if I'm not mistaken.
But the music that came into my ears tonight while I ran was anthemic. It was inspiring!
"We will not be weakened anymore"is the mantra that makes up the majority of "Thumb", the first track. And when I heard this, I felt the weakness leave my body. I felt stronger, more confident. Now, maybe I was just taking that feeling and reapplying it to the music that followed, but the rest of the tracks I listened to had this glint of sunshine that I hadn't noticed before.
I know that there is a track-by-track breakdown of what the thoughts behind each song were, but I'm too excited about my interpretation to look it up.
Listening to Meursault (and this is true for many SBT bands) is a little like being in a dream. I am fully engaged, loving my surroundings, excited and curious about what's around the next corner. And then it's over. And I'm disoriented and have that nostalgic feeling I sometimes get upon waking. The only solution to this weird feeling is to listen again. And again and again.
Yes, I'll be returning to this particular dream many times.
Meursault - Thumb from Something for the Weakened (buy it here!) (or here!)
And you can go HERE to look at all the splendor of the Song, By Toad Catalog. It'll help prepare you for future installments of this little feature!
What you're going to find in these Toad Tuesday posts is that I have a hard time figuring out Song, By Toad artists. I don't know what it is, but I can't put into words why I can't stop listening to them. And it's true for every band/singer I've heard on the label. It makes it hard to write posts about them, but it makes the effort so worth it.
And now without any further ado, Meursault.
So I'm on the treadmill (it's still a kind of new thing and it's weird for me to start a blog post by talking about it) and I'm laughing.
I wanted to listen to Something For the Weakened one more time before I started writing about it and the thought occurred to me that I could be listening to it while I ran. I was laughing because the impression that I had of the music was that it was very enjoyable, but not uptempo and kind of a downer.
Don't get me wrong, I like music that fits that description. Alicia Silverstone called it "sad bastard music" in Clueless, if I'm not mistaken.
But the music that came into my ears tonight while I ran was anthemic. It was inspiring!
"We will not be weakened anymore"is the mantra that makes up the majority of "Thumb", the first track. And when I heard this, I felt the weakness leave my body. I felt stronger, more confident. Now, maybe I was just taking that feeling and reapplying it to the music that followed, but the rest of the tracks I listened to had this glint of sunshine that I hadn't noticed before.
I know that there is a track-by-track breakdown of what the thoughts behind each song were, but I'm too excited about my interpretation to look it up.
Listening to Meursault (and this is true for many SBT bands) is a little like being in a dream. I am fully engaged, loving my surroundings, excited and curious about what's around the next corner. And then it's over. And I'm disoriented and have that nostalgic feeling I sometimes get upon waking. The only solution to this weird feeling is to listen again. And again and again.
Yes, I'll be returning to this particular dream many times.
Meursault - Thumb from Something for the Weakened (buy it here!) (or here!)
And you can go HERE to look at all the splendor of the Song, By Toad Catalog. It'll help prepare you for future installments of this little feature!
Monday, September 3, 2012
MacGyver Mondays: "Slow Death" (Season 1, Episode 19)
Sorry it's late, folks. But I suppose it's not THAT late. Enjoy!
MacGyver: A man puts a gun to my head and tells me he's not a terrorist, I take it with a grain of salt
So, Lefty is talking to Quick Draw about the status of the conductor and Mac is doing something with salt. And a seltzer bottle. And some olives.
Quick Draw walks by to go the sleeping cart, Mac drops the jar of olives on the floor. When Quick Draw pauses to berate him, he hits the seltzer with his elbow, it goes into the bowl of salt and the salt/seltzer combo goes into Quick Draw's eyes.
Mac grabs a jug and runs out and two other terrorists follow him onto the roof of the train car. He pours a line of the liquid that's in the jug (local moon shine: tastes and burns like kerosene) along the length of the car and, as the terrorist reach the top of the ladder, lights it. He manages to light a match on the top of a moving train, so I KNOW the train is magical.
The flame races towards the terrorists and they both leap off the train.
Mac goes to the engineer's compartment and tells him what's up. The engineer tells Mac that they are being followed on foot but that they'll never be caught. They just have to make it past the bridge up ahead and they'll be out of bandit country. The bridge is the one that they've been loading with explosives for the whole episode, btw.
The engineer picks up speed, confident in his train.
A guy on a horse has a gun ready, another guy has a detonator ready. The gun guy fires, the detonator guy detonates. And detonates. And detonates.
The engineer brings the train to a halt. A whole band of guys on horse and foot with guns and stuff approach.
Meanwhile, a guy we've seen a couple times, but who hasn't had a character establishing mini-scene with MacGyver, stows a briefcase in one of those drop down bunks that trains have. Like in North by Northwest.
Mac rigs the (WARNING: complex train jargon ahead) train-starter-thing to shock anyone but him or the engineer if they try to start the train. Also not being shocked: anyone who sees the bright copper wire wound around the starter thing.
So the fat guy with the gun tells his guys to bring all the westerners out of the train.
Lefty and DD are still tending to the conductor and when Quick Draw tells them to get out, Lefty shames Quick Draw into letting DD stay. There's kind of a romantic theme playing.
Fat Tony talks to the Westerners. He talks about how his villagers all pitched in to buy medicine from two Westerners for the children of the village. The medicine didn't work and 26 people died, including Fat Tony's son. But he doesn't know who the two Westerners are. He tells all the Westerners that they will not have food or water until they find out, among themselves who the two guys are.
So, two guys, one of whom is the shady who hid the briefcase and the other whom we haven't met before come up to MacGyver saying that they need to find these guys. Now, I'm no TV genius, but that seems suspicious, no?
Romeo (the guy who got the girl to agree to marry him before) wants to steal a horse. Juliet is freaking out, but Mac comes over and consoles them both, but he also tells them that no one is going to miss them for a week, so they're on their own.
Lady (I didn't want to call her Black Lady, but I think that distinguishes her more) comes and finds MacGyver. They have some sweet chat.
Lefty and DD are still treating the conductor. Lefty has brought soda to keep the conductor hydrated. And also he brings some charm. It's soul-baring time, folks. He also talks about ghost pain, which is a fascinating aspect of amputation, to me.
DD asks Lefty how he lost his arm. He got it shot off by a shotgun wielding maniac. Yikes. That's awful. He's so brave.
She bares a little soul. And then they kiss.
Black Lady and Mac are talking about this whistle Mac has made from a spigot of some sort. It bugs the horses. Look for it later.
Mac and Black Lady give Fat Tony grief about the wounded conductor. He tells them about all the people that died. But they make the point that death won't bring his son back.
The sun is up. And they're still sitting there. Mac is saying inspirational stuff about mornings. They go inside the train.
Juliet is sleeping, but Romeo gets up. He thinks no one sees him, but Shady Guy is watching him. He sneaks off the train and goes under it, army crawling along the length. He's getting pretty far. He gets out and starts to run. Shady Guy yells at him, Fat Tony comes towards him with a gun. There's turmoil. But then Mac comes and like jump kicks into a guard and runs in between Romeo and Fat Tony and blows his whistle. This pretty much calms things down.
Everyone's outside of the train now and The Other Shady Guy points the finger at Shady Guy for calling attention to the escape attempt. He says that maybe he was trying to draw attention away from himself.
Shady Guy's accent is ALL OVER THE PLACE, PEOPLE.
Mac suggests that they should look in his compartment. He pulls down the bunk and finds the briefcase. And it's lots of money. Shady Guy says that the money is his and that he hid it because he didn't want them to steal it. But Fat Tony confirms that they didn't pay in paper money, but rather in gold. So Shady Guy was just a Red Herring! Gotta love red herrings.
This whole situation has given Mac an idea. He's constructing a lie detector from a blood pressure cuff and an alarm clock (naturally. what do YOU make your lie detectors from?)
He's hooking Romeo up to it. Everyone's watching.
So when the alarm goes off, it's a lie. He demonstrates with Romeo. He declares his love for Juliet and the alarm goes off. Mac tells Fat Tony that that was love, not lying.
Fat Tony says that he intends to have the two men administer the medicine/poison to themselves, killing themselves.
Mac says he won't condone murder. He makes Fat Tony agree to accompany them to Rajmir (I'm not sure how to spell it) where the culprits will stand trial.
Other Shady Guy doesn't trust Fat Tony. MacGyver responds that he does trust him and that Other Shady Guy should go next. He asks Other Shady Guy if he sold the poison. OSG doesn't even say anything, but the alarm goes off. He leaps from his seat and the other conductor (the young British one that I didnt even think to mention!) pulls a gun and gives it to OSG. OSG runs off and Mac follows. OSG shoots at MacGyver but (stormtrooper aim) misses. He runs into the steering compartment. Mac takes off his shoe and throws it onto the roof.
But OSG isn't fooled. He punches MacGyver, but then he tries to start the train and gets shocked and killed.
Fat Tony asks Lefty to be the Village Doctor. DD offers to join him. Dragon Lady questions her sanity, but she stands up to her. And Dragon Lady is pleased and proud. Aww. She offers her help if they need anything.
And then the non-Westerners come back and the little girl gives Mac the doll back.
THE END.
Hmm, the phrase "Slow Death" didn't appear at all in the episode, that I noticed. I thought it was part of something MacGyver said about revenge or harboring anger or something being a slow death, but I guess I was wrong. So I'll say it.
Harboring vengeance or anger in your heart is like a slow death, kids. Don't do it.
See you next week!!!
NEXT WEEK: THE ESCAPE
Title: Slow Death
Airdate: 4/2/1986
My Age at Airdate: 2 years, 8 months, 17 days
Episode Type: Hostage, Hijacking, Didactic (I may stop putting this one if MacGyver keeps teaching lessons every episode ;-) )
Y'know, a lot of people say reading these MacGyver Monday posts is like a slow death. STOP LAUGHING! :)
OPENING CREDITS
A train is rolling by. At the wheel is a Hispanic man with VERY large glasses. Ok, maybe not Hispanic. I immediately regret saying he was Hispanic.
So between looking at some of the passengers on the train, we are seeing a bunch of guys pulling sticks of what appears to be dynamite out of boxes and loading them near the tracks. I suddenly remember this episode, I think.
Now MacGyver is racing along the side of the train in the back of a taxi. All the passengers are looking and laughing at him. The engineer refuses to stop the train for a bit and then he gives in. With basically no further argument than "C'mon! Please?"
Mac is friendly with everyone and particularly to a young girl who is staring at him. He does a little magic trick. Wait, no. Not a magic trick. He's making her a doll. Awww :) What a sweet little moment.
Ok, they're still loading explosives onto a bridge.
And Mac finishes the doll. The girl smiles widely.
The two factions are about to meet. The bandits are communicating by flashing sunlight with mirrors.
This one-armed Englishman (I KNOW he's English. He has an English accent.) is asking Mac if he wouldn't like something to drink with his sandwich that he's ordering in the dining cart. Bourbon and rye, perhaps. And MacGyver, being MacGyver, orders a glass of milk. He's so wholesome!
An awkward left-to-right-handed-handshake is given. Then the train lurches and the guy I guess goes to catch himself with his right hand and stumbles. Mac catches him and says that a recent loss of limb can be hard. A lady also tries to console him but he says that he's a cripple and she's black and neither is a case for sympathy and storms off. Mac apologizes to her and she says that she noticed her color a long time ago. Very intense race stuff already in this episode.
They introduce themselves and sit down to eat.
Meanwhile, the guys with the explosives are now unspooling fuse line. This attack is taking FOREVER. But I guess you have to get all the characters on the train introduced.
Mac tells the Lady that he has hijacked proof of an illegal arms deal and so he's rushing it out of the country in the hopes of preventing a war. But I think she doesn't believe him.
Now we're on this American couple and the guy is trying to get the girl to say that she loves him. But she's reluctant to.
This episode might be the most complicated yet.
Wait no. They met in Spain, hit it off, and now are about to return to America and he wants to marry her. Whoa. He convinces her in half a speech. Geez. This is the train of effective arguments.
And still the terrorists lay their explosives. You know, the way things are going, they could probably just ask for whatever they want. The people on this train are easily convinced.
Lefty comes back to Lady and apologizes and then they're ok (this train!)
So I guess the last characters we need to talk about are this mom and her daughter. Or, put another way, this woman and her mom. Her mom is snooty and says things like "kids of your generation have no respect" and even MacGyver refers to her as a dragon to be slain.
This episode is very heavy on the characters, isn't it? Also, I have remembered what the title refers to and it's pretty cerebral. I'll let you know when we get to it.
Now a guy blows a goat horn and two guys on the train draw knives and guns and hijack the train. They shoot the conductor. Lefty says that he's a doctor and he should tend to the guy. The hijacker says that shooting him was an accident.
You couldn't show this episode on TV, I don't think.
Dragon Daughter offers to help Lefty and Dragon Lady (her mom, if my code is too intricate) says that she'll only be a hindrance, but DD shakes her off and goes to help.
The guy that shot the conductor says that they are not bandits. Mac asks what they want. And Quick Draw replies that they are looking for two men on that train. And that it's a matter of justice. They want to execute these men.
So, Lefty is talking to Quick Draw about the status of the conductor and Mac is doing something with salt. And a seltzer bottle. And some olives.
Quick Draw walks by to go the sleeping cart, Mac drops the jar of olives on the floor. When Quick Draw pauses to berate him, he hits the seltzer with his elbow, it goes into the bowl of salt and the salt/seltzer combo goes into Quick Draw's eyes.
Mac grabs a jug and runs out and two other terrorists follow him onto the roof of the train car. He pours a line of the liquid that's in the jug (local moon shine: tastes and burns like kerosene) along the length of the car and, as the terrorist reach the top of the ladder, lights it. He manages to light a match on the top of a moving train, so I KNOW the train is magical.
The flame races towards the terrorists and they both leap off the train.
Mac goes to the engineer's compartment and tells him what's up. The engineer tells Mac that they are being followed on foot but that they'll never be caught. They just have to make it past the bridge up ahead and they'll be out of bandit country. The bridge is the one that they've been loading with explosives for the whole episode, btw.
The engineer picks up speed, confident in his train.
A guy on a horse has a gun ready, another guy has a detonator ready. The gun guy fires, the detonator guy detonates. And detonates. And detonates.
The engineer brings the train to a halt. A whole band of guys on horse and foot with guns and stuff approach.
Meanwhile, a guy we've seen a couple times, but who hasn't had a character establishing mini-scene with MacGyver, stows a briefcase in one of those drop down bunks that trains have. Like in North by Northwest.
Mac rigs the (WARNING: complex train jargon ahead) train-starter-thing to shock anyone but him or the engineer if they try to start the train. Also not being shocked: anyone who sees the bright copper wire wound around the starter thing.
So the fat guy with the gun tells his guys to bring all the westerners out of the train.
Lefty and DD are still tending to the conductor and when Quick Draw tells them to get out, Lefty shames Quick Draw into letting DD stay. There's kind of a romantic theme playing.
Fat Tony talks to the Westerners. He talks about how his villagers all pitched in to buy medicine from two Westerners for the children of the village. The medicine didn't work and 26 people died, including Fat Tony's son. But he doesn't know who the two Westerners are. He tells all the Westerners that they will not have food or water until they find out, among themselves who the two guys are.
So, two guys, one of whom is the shady who hid the briefcase and the other whom we haven't met before come up to MacGyver saying that they need to find these guys. Now, I'm no TV genius, but that seems suspicious, no?
Romeo (the guy who got the girl to agree to marry him before) wants to steal a horse. Juliet is freaking out, but Mac comes over and consoles them both, but he also tells them that no one is going to miss them for a week, so they're on their own.
Lady (I didn't want to call her Black Lady, but I think that distinguishes her more) comes and finds MacGyver. They have some sweet chat.
Lefty and DD are still treating the conductor. Lefty has brought soda to keep the conductor hydrated. And also he brings some charm. It's soul-baring time, folks. He also talks about ghost pain, which is a fascinating aspect of amputation, to me.
DD asks Lefty how he lost his arm. He got it shot off by a shotgun wielding maniac. Yikes. That's awful. He's so brave.
She bares a little soul. And then they kiss.
Black Lady and Mac are talking about this whistle Mac has made from a spigot of some sort. It bugs the horses. Look for it later.
Mac and Black Lady give Fat Tony grief about the wounded conductor. He tells them about all the people that died. But they make the point that death won't bring his son back.
The sun is up. And they're still sitting there. Mac is saying inspirational stuff about mornings. They go inside the train.
Juliet is sleeping, but Romeo gets up. He thinks no one sees him, but Shady Guy is watching him. He sneaks off the train and goes under it, army crawling along the length. He's getting pretty far. He gets out and starts to run. Shady Guy yells at him, Fat Tony comes towards him with a gun. There's turmoil. But then Mac comes and like jump kicks into a guard and runs in between Romeo and Fat Tony and blows his whistle. This pretty much calms things down.
Everyone's outside of the train now and The Other Shady Guy points the finger at Shady Guy for calling attention to the escape attempt. He says that maybe he was trying to draw attention away from himself.
Shady Guy's accent is ALL OVER THE PLACE, PEOPLE.
Mac suggests that they should look in his compartment. He pulls down the bunk and finds the briefcase. And it's lots of money. Shady Guy says that the money is his and that he hid it because he didn't want them to steal it. But Fat Tony confirms that they didn't pay in paper money, but rather in gold. So Shady Guy was just a Red Herring! Gotta love red herrings.
This whole situation has given Mac an idea. He's constructing a lie detector from a blood pressure cuff and an alarm clock (naturally. what do YOU make your lie detectors from?)
He's hooking Romeo up to it. Everyone's watching.
So when the alarm goes off, it's a lie. He demonstrates with Romeo. He declares his love for Juliet and the alarm goes off. Mac tells Fat Tony that that was love, not lying.
Fat Tony says that he intends to have the two men administer the medicine/poison to themselves, killing themselves.
Mac says he won't condone murder. He makes Fat Tony agree to accompany them to Rajmir (I'm not sure how to spell it) where the culprits will stand trial.
Other Shady Guy doesn't trust Fat Tony. MacGyver responds that he does trust him and that Other Shady Guy should go next. He asks Other Shady Guy if he sold the poison. OSG doesn't even say anything, but the alarm goes off. He leaps from his seat and the other conductor (the young British one that I didnt even think to mention!) pulls a gun and gives it to OSG. OSG runs off and Mac follows. OSG shoots at MacGyver but (stormtrooper aim) misses. He runs into the steering compartment. Mac takes off his shoe and throws it onto the roof.
But OSG isn't fooled. He punches MacGyver, but then he tries to start the train and gets shocked and killed.
Fat Tony asks Lefty to be the Village Doctor. DD offers to join him. Dragon Lady questions her sanity, but she stands up to her. And Dragon Lady is pleased and proud. Aww. She offers her help if they need anything.
And then the non-Westerners come back and the little girl gives Mac the doll back.
THE END.
Hmm, the phrase "Slow Death" didn't appear at all in the episode, that I noticed. I thought it was part of something MacGyver said about revenge or harboring anger or something being a slow death, but I guess I was wrong. So I'll say it.
Harboring vengeance or anger in your heart is like a slow death, kids. Don't do it.
See you next week!!!
NEXT WEEK: THE ESCAPE
Sunday, September 2, 2012
New Countdown: Your Labor Day 2012 Fix For Alternative Music
It's another lovely day in the neighborhood of Alternative music. I hope that you have all enjoyed the first half of the three-day weekend (or, if you're going back to work tomorrow, the first half of the two-day weekend) and that you're ready for some great tunes!
Countdown #118
***Featuring***
Alex Clare
fun.
Green Day
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
The Killers
Linkin Park
The Lumineers
Mumford and Sons
Of Monsters and Men
Countdown #118
***Featuring***
Alex Clare
fun.
Green Day
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
The Killers
Linkin Park
The Lumineers
Mumford and Sons
Of Monsters and Men
Saturday, September 1, 2012
September 2012 Media Update
In my last Media Update, I was gearing up for "BLOGPOCALYPSE 2012!!!" which didn't turn out as amazing as I had hoped, but I suppose I did overhype it even more than I admitted to in the post....oh well :)
August was another blur and, as I mentioned at the end of last month's post, K is now back in school and we are getting on track for all of that. I can't wait for Fall to get into full swing!
August was another blur and, as I mentioned at the end of last month's post, K is now back in school and we are getting on track for all of that. I can't wait for Fall to get into full swing!
Last Song/MP3 I listened to: So I went to the grocery store tonight. As I was finishing, I started the MP3 "Cassandra Geminni - Faminepulse II" which comes from the middle of this 32 minute epic at the end of The Mars Volta's album Frances the Mute. See, the song was split into 8 parts on the CD pressing due to some rule that Soundscan has (or something?) where if your album only has a certain number of songs, it doesn't count as an LP, it counts as an EP. I'm not sure if this is still a rule that's in effect or if it's just folklore or what, but that is the reason I heard given for why that last song was split up like that.
Last TV show I watched: Well, I watched some of an episode of Teen Mom with K tonight, but the last FULL EPISODE of a show that I watched was the latest episode of Awkward. which continues to amaze me with the surprising comedy that it can muster up. The episode was called "Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me" (there aren't links to individual episodes and Hulu is waaayyy behind on the episodes it has available).
Last Movie I watched: We rekindled our relationship with Netflix sometime last week. We made Snickerdoodles and had hoped to watch "Betty and Veronica" which is the episode of Veronica Mars in which she makes Snickerdoodles and when we originally watched the series, we first made Snickerdoodles (and I had my first taste of a Snickerdoodle, ever) after watching that episode. BUT Veronica Mars isn't on Netflix anymore. Boo. So, instead, we watched Morning Glory which is a lot better than I thought it would be. Although, I felt like Harrison Ford was a LITTLE stiff for a lot of the movie and Diane Keaton wasn't used enough. But Rachel McAdams was GREAT.
Last Written Work I read: You guys, I'M CAUGHT UP WITH NEW YORKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finished the most recent issue yesterday. I submitted to the caption contest, I voted on the nominees of the other caption contest that's going on. It was great and I feel so nice being caught up like that! So, I decided to work on my Star Wars books. I am currently reading the relatively new book Darth Plagueis which is telling the story of the guy who trained the guy who would be the Emperor in the movies. It's really good so far. And I have checked it out of the library onto my Kindle app on my iPad and iPhone so I have lots of opportunities to read it.
So it was a big month for Media! Next month, TV shows will be in full swing, so there might be some interesting things to talk about there!!
Monday, August 27, 2012
MacGyver Mondays: "Ugly Duckling" (Season 1, Episode 18)
 |
| Mac faces his most powerful enemy: A sarcastic teenager |
Airdate: 3/12/1986
My Age at Airdate: 2 years, 7 months, 24 days
Episode Type: Computer Hacking, Self-Esteem, Didactic
Alright, I seem to recall that this episode is NOT about MacGyver caring for a young waterfowl. I think that it might be a metaphor. But we'll see.
OPENING CREDITS
We open on a storage facility. A man is guiding a truck that is backing up. Uh oh. The truck is full of USAF missiles. So the two guys are unloading the missiles while a bunch of black-clothed figures are belaying down from the roof.
One of the trips and suddenly the guys are alerted to the ninjas (because what else could they be?) presence. The ninjas drive off with the truck.
Cut to the end of a drum solo at a happenin' club. MacGyver is there watching the band and looking about 25 years older than everyone there. Oh. Except the band and the two obviously bad guys that are watching the band. The camera keeps looking at the saxophonist. This might be because he's soloing, but I bet it's also because he's a character in this episode. The band finishes and the saxophonist walks over to MacGyver. They're friends!
Saxy is apparently a professor who has detected a glitch. He is a mentor of a student (just like he was for MacGyver) who broke into the Defense Department's mainframe or something. Mac just wants to talk to her.
Saxy wants assurances Girl Student won't get in trouble and then he'll meet with them.
So then Saxy is walking outside the club and a car speeds up and the two bad guys get out and try to get Saxy. But Mac comes out and they have to shoot at him instead (Stormtrooper Aim, natch). Mac sets off a car alarm while Saxy struggles with the two gun-wielding thugs. And of course he gets shot. He has a very emotional and touching death scene. But he does, in fact, die. And the camera flickers in and out of focus while the couples watching all around them hold each other.
Mac debriefs with Pete. Apparently the thing that Saxy designed/tested makes Surface-to-Air missiles into programmable weapons with pinpoint accuracy.
So Mac has to go find Girl Student before the bad guys AND the government find her.
Now the two bad guys are debriefing. Mustache and Balding. Wait. Mustache is Balding's boss. He sends Balding after MacGyver assuming that Mac will find Girl Student for them.
Girl Student comes in. She looks kind of like Corey Feldman. She has an attitude. It's mostly the hair that makes her look like CF. I always confuse Corey Feldman and Corey Haim.
They're back at Girl Student's house. Her Mom is there. Mac tells what she did and Mom is appalled. She's very proper.
There's a knock on the door. GSMom goes and answers it. Two men identify themselves as Defense Intelligence and Mac comes over to inspect their ID's. He shows them basically the same disdain and attitude that GS has been showing him. And I think it's pretty ballsy to come over and deal with them when he's a guest in their home, but I suppose he is sort of an expert or something.
The DI guys want to take GS downtown to ask some questions. Mac and Mom advise her to go. And they take her.
So now they're asking her questions. They're trying to play hardball and it's working. They want to know how she broke in. She asks to use the computer in the room. She reaches a password prompt screen and asks them what the password is, explaining, with attitude that it will save time. HAHA and then it just goes to a READY screen. She types in ACCESS MISSILE DATA INVENTORY.
So basically, she has gained access again. If the only thing keeping her out was the password, then she's not showing them anything about how she broke in, is she?
Ok, so there ARE further restrictions. It's not as simple as all that.
Meanwhile, Mac is arguing with Pete (who is wearing THE BIGGEST GLASSES EVER) and he offers Pete a deal. He'll find out how she broke in AND what the glitch in the system is, if Pete can get the DI guys off her.
So now GS has (off-camera, of course) gotten through the security restrictions. While the DI guys freak out about the hassle of the security breach, she hacks into the computers in the building and starts messing around with the printers and the elevators and the door security and everything. And then the Fire Alarm. And then she hits the power. And she's gone :)
She's a pink and I like her.
Now we're in the Farmhouse with Mustache and wait I assume is a Texan. Texan wants a demonstration of the guidance system. He doesn't know what the target is yet but he will figure it out.
GS comes back to the lab and Mac is working on the computer. I can tell that he likes her and that she reminds him of himself.
MacGyver is trying to break into her computer. Trying different passwords. Trying to get to know her to try to get her password out of her. She's super sensitive about her self-image.
He types in UGLY DUCKLING and that's the correct password. She says "That's mean." But the really interesting thing that Mac brings up is that it's HER password. It's not him saying that she is. It's her.
He tells her that she's special and that she should feel good about it.
He puts the file on a disk and they go to leave, but uh oh Balding and his partner are there. Mac pins Balding's gun hand and kicks him and locks the door. He runs with GS to the lab and finds a sound oscillator. The bad guys get in right as Mac turns on the oscillator, gives GS some noise-cancelling headphones and puts some on himself. He cranks the amplitude all the way up and the bad guys writhe in pain. He slowly pushes the device towards them and the door.
GS notices that the machine is about to become unplugged. She tries to warn Mac, but, of course, he can't hear her. The plug comes out and instantly the bad guys are back up and surrounding them.
Balding knocks Mac over the head and they take the girl.
He wakes up with a splitting headache. He thinks that maybe GS has left him a clue on the computer. He tells the computer to LOAD DUCKLING and it does and it has the answer to the glitch. It's a frequency. He calls the FAA and has them scan the western United States for that frequency.
XC4479
--Mac's DXS ID
GS is in the farm house. She has this radio that she put in her pocket back at the lab and she sends a signal on it, but stashes it before the bad guys come in. We have Balding, Mustache, and Cleft Chin.
Mustache tells her that he is going to get the information. He has a syringe of Sodium Pentathol so he can get it from her with or without the injection, it's her choice.
Oh I get it. The frequency she gave Mac was the frequency that she sent her beacon out on. It's like a homing device. So now Mac is watching them from a hill. They're going to do a test firing. GS is understandably upset that they'll be firing in the United States.
They lock her away. And she immediately starts to try to escape. Saxy must be the common link here. She hooks up the prison bars to a battery, electrifying them.
Mac has taken the guard out with Chloroform? What, does he have some WITH HIM at all times? Sketchy.
I guess GS took the jumper cables off the bars before she hooked them to the battery. So now she has one cable on the bars and is slowly touching the other one...and sparks fly. OH. She has a coin in the one she's touching to the bars. It's an arc welder thing like one that Mac has used before this season! It's cool to see it at work again.
Mac and GS reunite and he commends her on getting through a prison bar, but it's too hot to squeeze through. So he goes and finds a spray can (with hydrocarbons ) to cool it down. So then they're out. And chasing after the bad guys in Mac's Jeep.
GS tells Mac that they're communicating via walkie talkies. Then she expresses guilt about having told them how to fix the missiles.
He tells her that we all make mistakes and we have to learn to live with them. She is really grateful for this advice and tells him hesitatingly that he is her first friend. A touching piano version of the MacGyver theme plays in the background.
Mac's the best.
They have the exact same haircut, I just realized.
MacGyver and GS are going to triangulate the radio signals, but Uh Oh her radio is dead. That's ok. They'll use the acid from the cactus that's right by them. Easy Peasy. They're going back and forth coming up with the plan and it's really cool to see their minds working on the same.....frequency.
GS: All for one!
Mac: And one for all! I can't believe you just said that!
--I remember watching this episode for the first time and DYING because of the way he says that last part. It feels real. Like she ad-libbed the "All for one" part and he finished it but it tickled him that she said that. It's a lovely moment.
And then they get to work.
Meanwhile, Balding is getting the missile ready. All they need are the coordinates for the target.
Mac and GS get to work triangulating the signal. They find it and use their watches to calibrate for direction. So they can figure out where the missile is, but will they get there in time!?
Mustache is on the phone with Texan. Texan gives him the coordinates. They're going to take out a bridge. In 27 minutes. The Texan says that traffic should be lowest around when they're going to fire but Mac remembers that a marathon (that he has run in twice (brag)) is being run across that bridge today! Hundreds of people are in danger! They speed off in his jeep.
Now the Jeep pulls up to the site. They only have 12 minutes to figure out what to do.
They're going to use the shotgun that Balding has. They're going to use the mirrors from the Jeep and the lens from some binoculars to harness the sun's energy.
6 minutes to launch.
They have a very clear beam of sunlight focused on the shotgun, heating it up. The gun explodes, and the jeep that it's leaning against goes with it.
Haha. GS takes a moment to marvel at the fact that it worked.
Mustache wonders why the countdown hasn't started and Mac tries to fake it by counting down. But Mustache recognizes him as not being Balding (who has been knocked out by the explosion). Crap. So now Mustache is going to fire the other missile that they have stolen.
So the plan is that Mac and GS need to override the guidance (turning their missile into a heatseeker) and fire it within seconds of Mustache firing his.
Mustache fires his, Mac fires his. The marathon goes on. There are some tense beats and then
BOOOOOOOM Mac's missile hits Mustache's! They did it!
Texan watches and is disappointed.
Now they're in the club that they started at. GS is talking to a boy and looking more like Demi Moore now that she's wearing earrings.
Mac tells her that everything else worked out and that she will basically get her own lab come graduation time, but she keeps looking at the guy she's with. Aww...the ugly duckling has become a swan!
Lovely ending :)
See you next week
NEXT WEEK: SLOW DEATH
Alright, I seem to recall that this episode is NOT about MacGyver caring for a young waterfowl. I think that it might be a metaphor. But we'll see.
OPENING CREDITS
We open on a storage facility. A man is guiding a truck that is backing up. Uh oh. The truck is full of USAF missiles. So the two guys are unloading the missiles while a bunch of black-clothed figures are belaying down from the roof.
One of the trips and suddenly the guys are alerted to the ninjas (because what else could they be?) presence. The ninjas drive off with the truck.
Cut to the end of a drum solo at a happenin' club. MacGyver is there watching the band and looking about 25 years older than everyone there. Oh. Except the band and the two obviously bad guys that are watching the band. The camera keeps looking at the saxophonist. This might be because he's soloing, but I bet it's also because he's a character in this episode. The band finishes and the saxophonist walks over to MacGyver. They're friends!
Saxy is apparently a professor who has detected a glitch. He is a mentor of a student (just like he was for MacGyver) who broke into the Defense Department's mainframe or something. Mac just wants to talk to her.
Saxy wants assurances Girl Student won't get in trouble and then he'll meet with them.
So then Saxy is walking outside the club and a car speeds up and the two bad guys get out and try to get Saxy. But Mac comes out and they have to shoot at him instead (Stormtrooper Aim, natch). Mac sets off a car alarm while Saxy struggles with the two gun-wielding thugs. And of course he gets shot. He has a very emotional and touching death scene. But he does, in fact, die. And the camera flickers in and out of focus while the couples watching all around them hold each other.
Mac debriefs with Pete. Apparently the thing that Saxy designed/tested makes Surface-to-Air missiles into programmable weapons with pinpoint accuracy.
So Mac has to go find Girl Student before the bad guys AND the government find her.
Now the two bad guys are debriefing. Mustache and Balding. Wait. Mustache is Balding's boss. He sends Balding after MacGyver assuming that Mac will find Girl Student for them.
Girl Student comes in. She looks kind of like Corey Feldman. She has an attitude. It's mostly the hair that makes her look like CF. I always confuse Corey Feldman and Corey Haim.
They're back at Girl Student's house. Her Mom is there. Mac tells what she did and Mom is appalled. She's very proper.
There's a knock on the door. GSMom goes and answers it. Two men identify themselves as Defense Intelligence and Mac comes over to inspect their ID's. He shows them basically the same disdain and attitude that GS has been showing him. And I think it's pretty ballsy to come over and deal with them when he's a guest in their home, but I suppose he is sort of an expert or something.
The DI guys want to take GS downtown to ask some questions. Mac and Mom advise her to go. And they take her.
So now they're asking her questions. They're trying to play hardball and it's working. They want to know how she broke in. She asks to use the computer in the room. She reaches a password prompt screen and asks them what the password is, explaining, with attitude that it will save time. HAHA and then it just goes to a READY screen. She types in ACCESS MISSILE DATA INVENTORY.
So basically, she has gained access again. If the only thing keeping her out was the password, then she's not showing them anything about how she broke in, is she?
Ok, so there ARE further restrictions. It's not as simple as all that.
Meanwhile, Mac is arguing with Pete (who is wearing THE BIGGEST GLASSES EVER) and he offers Pete a deal. He'll find out how she broke in AND what the glitch in the system is, if Pete can get the DI guys off her.
So now GS has (off-camera, of course) gotten through the security restrictions. While the DI guys freak out about the hassle of the security breach, she hacks into the computers in the building and starts messing around with the printers and the elevators and the door security and everything. And then the Fire Alarm. And then she hits the power. And she's gone :)
She's a pink and I like her.
Now we're in the Farmhouse with Mustache and wait I assume is a Texan. Texan wants a demonstration of the guidance system. He doesn't know what the target is yet but he will figure it out.
GS comes back to the lab and Mac is working on the computer. I can tell that he likes her and that she reminds him of himself.
MacGyver is trying to break into her computer. Trying different passwords. Trying to get to know her to try to get her password out of her. She's super sensitive about her self-image.
He types in UGLY DUCKLING and that's the correct password. She says "That's mean." But the really interesting thing that Mac brings up is that it's HER password. It's not him saying that she is. It's her.
He tells her that she's special and that she should feel good about it.
He puts the file on a disk and they go to leave, but uh oh Balding and his partner are there. Mac pins Balding's gun hand and kicks him and locks the door. He runs with GS to the lab and finds a sound oscillator. The bad guys get in right as Mac turns on the oscillator, gives GS some noise-cancelling headphones and puts some on himself. He cranks the amplitude all the way up and the bad guys writhe in pain. He slowly pushes the device towards them and the door.
GS notices that the machine is about to become unplugged. She tries to warn Mac, but, of course, he can't hear her. The plug comes out and instantly the bad guys are back up and surrounding them.
Balding knocks Mac over the head and they take the girl.
He wakes up with a splitting headache. He thinks that maybe GS has left him a clue on the computer. He tells the computer to LOAD DUCKLING and it does and it has the answer to the glitch. It's a frequency. He calls the FAA and has them scan the western United States for that frequency.
XC4479
--Mac's DXS ID
GS is in the farm house. She has this radio that she put in her pocket back at the lab and she sends a signal on it, but stashes it before the bad guys come in. We have Balding, Mustache, and Cleft Chin.
Mustache tells her that he is going to get the information. He has a syringe of Sodium Pentathol so he can get it from her with or without the injection, it's her choice.
Oh I get it. The frequency she gave Mac was the frequency that she sent her beacon out on. It's like a homing device. So now Mac is watching them from a hill. They're going to do a test firing. GS is understandably upset that they'll be firing in the United States.
They lock her away. And she immediately starts to try to escape. Saxy must be the common link here. She hooks up the prison bars to a battery, electrifying them.
Mac has taken the guard out with Chloroform? What, does he have some WITH HIM at all times? Sketchy.
I guess GS took the jumper cables off the bars before she hooked them to the battery. So now she has one cable on the bars and is slowly touching the other one...and sparks fly. OH. She has a coin in the one she's touching to the bars. It's an arc welder thing like one that Mac has used before this season! It's cool to see it at work again.
Mac and GS reunite and he commends her on getting through a prison bar, but it's too hot to squeeze through. So he goes and finds a spray can (with hydrocarbons ) to cool it down. So then they're out. And chasing after the bad guys in Mac's Jeep.
GS tells Mac that they're communicating via walkie talkies. Then she expresses guilt about having told them how to fix the missiles.
He tells her that we all make mistakes and we have to learn to live with them. She is really grateful for this advice and tells him hesitatingly that he is her first friend. A touching piano version of the MacGyver theme plays in the background.
Mac's the best.
They have the exact same haircut, I just realized.
MacGyver and GS are going to triangulate the radio signals, but Uh Oh her radio is dead. That's ok. They'll use the acid from the cactus that's right by them. Easy Peasy. They're going back and forth coming up with the plan and it's really cool to see their minds working on the same.....frequency.
GS: All for one!
Mac: And one for all! I can't believe you just said that!
--I remember watching this episode for the first time and DYING because of the way he says that last part. It feels real. Like she ad-libbed the "All for one" part and he finished it but it tickled him that she said that. It's a lovely moment.
And then they get to work.
Meanwhile, Balding is getting the missile ready. All they need are the coordinates for the target.
Mac and GS get to work triangulating the signal. They find it and use their watches to calibrate for direction. So they can figure out where the missile is, but will they get there in time!?
Mustache is on the phone with Texan. Texan gives him the coordinates. They're going to take out a bridge. In 27 minutes. The Texan says that traffic should be lowest around when they're going to fire but Mac remembers that a marathon (that he has run in twice (brag)) is being run across that bridge today! Hundreds of people are in danger! They speed off in his jeep.
Now the Jeep pulls up to the site. They only have 12 minutes to figure out what to do.
They're going to use the shotgun that Balding has. They're going to use the mirrors from the Jeep and the lens from some binoculars to harness the sun's energy.
6 minutes to launch.
They have a very clear beam of sunlight focused on the shotgun, heating it up. The gun explodes, and the jeep that it's leaning against goes with it.
Haha. GS takes a moment to marvel at the fact that it worked.
Mustache wonders why the countdown hasn't started and Mac tries to fake it by counting down. But Mustache recognizes him as not being Balding (who has been knocked out by the explosion). Crap. So now Mustache is going to fire the other missile that they have stolen.
So the plan is that Mac and GS need to override the guidance (turning their missile into a heatseeker) and fire it within seconds of Mustache firing his.
Mustache fires his, Mac fires his. The marathon goes on. There are some tense beats and then
BOOOOOOOM Mac's missile hits Mustache's! They did it!
Texan watches and is disappointed.
Now they're in the club that they started at. GS is talking to a boy and looking more like Demi Moore now that she's wearing earrings.
Mac tells her that everything else worked out and that she will basically get her own lab come graduation time, but she keeps looking at the guy she's with. Aww...the ugly duckling has become a swan!
Lovely ending :)
See you next week
NEXT WEEK: SLOW DEATH
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