Slingbox

In case you haven't noticed, I've been watching a lot of TV lately. One of the things I've been looking at is a Slingbox. It's basically a box that allows you to watch your cable/satellite programming remotely from a computer. Meaning, if you want to watch CSI but you are away on business, you'll be able to watch it on your computer in whatever city you are in. Pretty neat, huh? I don't think I know anyone that owns one so I don't know how well it works. But it would be pretty awesome if it did.

TV review: Paranormal State

I get hooked on the weirdest programs. Lately, I've been watching a lot of A&E's Paranormal State. It's not like Ghost Hunters on SciFi or anything. This is about a society/club from Penn State that go around investigating paranormal situations. Clients will contact the society and, if they think it is necessary, they will go check it out. It's not a great show. I think it needs to be one hour instead of just a half hour. There are definitely some other things they could expand on. Yet it's something that you get addicted to watching. Sometimes it's spooky, sometimes it's funny but it's always interesting.

iCarly

Now that you've watched the opening to iCarly, let me tell you more about the show. The main characters are Carly Shay, Sam Puckett, Freddie Benson and Carly's older brother (and guardian), Spencer. Carly, Sam and Freddie are middle-schoolers that run a video webcast called iCarly. While they don't really talk about how popular their webshow is, it seems that a ton of people watch it. (Note: There are clips and segments on the actual iCarly.com website too.) Spencer is the goofball of the bunch. Despite being 26-years old (and having attended law school for 3 days), he always acts like a little kid: running around and seeing the fun things in life instead of being a 'boring adult.' (He probably has a Seattle injury lawyer on call for when his stunts injure other people....) But he's definitely the most fun character.

I have to admit that, even though the show is aimed for kids and young teens, it is a pretty awesome. Carly is an upstanding, intelligent young girl that is a great role model for kids. Sam is the prankster who is always getting into trouble but everyone knows she really has a heart of gold. And Freddie, well, he's mostly around to help Carly and get picked on by Sam. I'd much rather watch this than another episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

Xbox Live + Netflix = Fun!

I'm sure many of you know about this now. I'm going to talk about it anyway. If you have an Xbox 360 that is Live enabled and a Netflix account, you can stream movies and television shows right to your television. And it's not just a huge list of crappy movies either. My daughter is a big fan of Hannah Montana so we've queued up the entire first and second seasons of the show for her. My husband likes Red Dwarf so we have the last three seasons set up for him. I love Japanese dramas and anime so there's things like R.O.D. the TV on my list. It's a great way to spend a relaxing weekend - catching up on old TV shows or watching movies. If only there were more hours in the day for me to work through our queue!

American Cancer Society's Relay For Life

The Relay for Life is a 24-hour walk-a-thon relay that takes place once a year. While people can participate as individuals, most are in teams. Each team needs to have at least one member walking on the track during the 24 hours. Last year was my first year participating. Despite some major thunderstorms, it was a nice time. I am participating again this year. This is the American Cancer Society's signature event. You can find more information about sponsoring me on my Relay For Life webpage. If you know of a company or organization looking for a charity to donate to this year, please feel free to let them know about the Relay.

Thank you!

Jdorama review: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Special

Title: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Also known as: HanaKimi Translation: For You In Full Blossom Broadcast date: 10/12/08 Genre: Romantic comedy Cast: Horikita Maki, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma Plot: Six months have passed since Mizuki has left Japan. During a Valentine's Day contest, Nakatsu tries to figure out exactly when Sano fell in love with Mizuki. What is good: More HanaKimi! What is bad: This isn't the special episode that should have been filmed. Letter rating: C Overall: I really enjoyed the HanaKimi television series. So why did the producers decide to stick us with this? Instead of a special involving the boys' trip out to California to visit Mizuki, we get a slew of flashbacks. A majority of the special is supposed to take place between episodes 7 and 8. However, someone made a decision to introduce a new character, Julia, to try to get Sano to confess his love to Mizuki. Not only is Julia unnecessary but she is also annoying. I would have preferred a special dedicated to more of the hijinks of the various dorms instead of focusing on something that was already determined in the series - Sano loves Mizuki. There is no need to try to figure out the exact moment that it dawned on him.