January, 2008
January 1st, 2008, 12:27 p.m. - Happy New Year! Here's stuff to think about while you're returning your Christmas presents
1. Punching In (Alex Frankel)
Frankel spent two years working "undercover" in various retail jobs (at an Apple store, at Starbucks, at Enterprise, etc.) and reveals the differences and similarities between the companies and their goals. Usually I'm bored to tears by business, but Frankel is a great writer and made his subjects intriguing. He also revealed something surprising - UPS is a great place to work. Part of it's because of the company, but mostly it's because the employees are very dedicated to their job. Frankel's work is a bit of an exposé, but it's mainly a study in how different companies work and what it takes to keep your employees loyal. Sound boring? Trust me, it's not.
Up next: I'm going to do it! Don't try to stop me! See you in 1,000+ pages: The Stand (Stephen King)
January 6th, 2008, 2:16 p.m. - Hee hee hee
The GOP Primary Field in Buffy Villains. Very clever. Just keep in mind that they're all dead, except Angelus (assuming he survived the end of "Not Fade Away").
10:49 p.m. - The schedule's back to normal...just wait until Idol starts...
January 8th, 2008, 9:33 p.m. - No Anderson Cooper, but still!
The Mole, one of the best reality shows ever, is coming back. Awesome. Maybe Darwin from season 2 can be the new host!
January 10th, 2008, 6:03 p.m. - I subbed for Project Runway and...yeah, I can't think of any more good Carrie references
"Hide the Pig's Blood, It's Time For Prom"
January 12th, 2008, 1:09 p.m. - Fact
It is a very bad idea to sneeze while reading The Stand.
I thought I'd post an update on my progress, since it's going to take so long to get through the book that I won't be posting my usual take on it until...well, maybe June? I'm liking it a lot, and strangely, the length of the book is motivating me to keep plowing through (that and the fact that my big stack o' books isn't going to get any smaller the longer it takes me with this one). I'm liking the characters I can tell are going to be the main characters (in other words, the ones who aren't dead), and I like that even though there are a lot of them, they're all drawn distinctly and vividly.
One of the main reasons I got The Stand in the first place (about two-and-a-half years ago) was that I knew the creators of Lost had been majorly influenced by it, and back when Lost first started, I was hungry for anything related to the show, especially anything that would give me answers. So far I've seen only a few parallels, but I've definitely seen the parallels between the characters: Stu is Jack, Frannie is a mixture of Kate and Claire, Lloyd is Sawyer, and Larry is Charlie. I would say that Nick is like Jin, as his inability to hear and speak seems to match up most to Jin's inability to speak English among a bunch of English-speakers. I'm hoping the others will become clear soon.
January 13th, 2008, 10:38 p.m. - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
January 16th, 2008, 10:41 p.m. - The Idol Monster got me, y'all
January 20th, 2008, 10:32 p.m. - Seriously, I want one of those
January 23rd, 2008, 10:58 p.m. - Apparently I can only post after 10 p.m.
I'm almost done with The Stand; I have fewer than 200 pages left. I've found a few more parallels: Randall Flagg is Ben (or possibly Jacob, Leo is Walt (which I guess makes Larry partly Michael - thank God he doesn't run around yelling, "Leeeeeeeo!"), Kojak is obviously Vincent, Glen is Locke (sort of - Locke doesn't really have a match), and I'd say Dayna is Juliet. I want to say Mother Abagail is Rousseau but that's another stretch.
Oh, and Jin should watch his back. And not just because of Daniel Dae Kim's DUI.
Then there's Julie. Julie, Julie, freaking Julie. I should've known she'd reappear. I hope someone gets to smack her really hard, because I can't.
January 26th, 2008, 2:19 p.m. - Insert predictable "I can't believe I read the whole thing" joke here
2. The Stand (Stephen King)
First I liked it. Then I was bored. Then I kind of liked it again. Then I just wanted it to end. Then it did. And now I'm going to read something else.
Up next: Empire Falls (Richard Russo)
January 27th, 2008, 11:03 p.m. - Yeah, that's right, that's James Marsters!
January 30th, 2008, 9:42 p.m. - Rambling to follow!
"Little Miss Sunshine" - I would just like to state for the record that I decided to name the recap "Little Miss Sunshine" when I learned the auditions were in Miami, and when the short girl showed up, I started giggling because it fit so perfectly. Thanks, show!
Dang, this Pop-Up Lost is really addictive.