tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56508272012-01-15T06:11:28.777-05:00Tosy and CoshRandom, Disjointed, and Self-Righteous Thoughts on TV, Music, Movies, Comics, Musicals and MoreTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.comBlogger9491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-24687282667099434452011-05-13T20:12:00.000-04:002011-05-13T20:12:26.487-04:00Paging Matthew Broderick
So I was hearing that Hugh Grant almost replaced Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men. And when that deal fell through, we heard today that Ashton Kutcher has been cast instead. What both these data points suggest is that the producers are looking to cast a character at least roughly in the Charlie Harper mold--a womanizing, drunk, misogynist (no offense to Hugh Grant, Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-57937660369263671272011-05-09T19:38:00.000-04:002011-05-09T19:38:20.894-04:00Song of the Week - "Criminal" - Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple is one of those artists who I knew of long before I actually heard any of her music. I pretty much stopped listening to the radio with the advent of mp3 players, and so, even though I knew the name and that she was supposed to be famous, I knew nothing of the actual songs.
Oddly enough, I can't even remember what compelled me to finally Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-34410696398431242482011-05-05T21:43:00.000-04:002011-05-05T21:43:25.323-04:00Game of Thrones – Episode 3
Apologies for the tardiness, but a business trip combined with my still-somewhat-atrophied blogging rhythms combined in maleficent ways this week. I’m hoping to get back on tracks as we go along.
Anyhoo, for episode three, the scene I wanted to focus on is the Baratheon scene, with the king and two members of his Kingsguard discussing their first kills. (A side noteTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-9060249915598689822011-04-29T18:31:00.000-04:002011-04-29T18:31:31.149-04:00Song of the Week - #1
Yes, I am shamelessly stealing this idea from the Samurai Frog; what are 'ya gonna do. My sense is that he just posts about a song he likes, which if of course a fine methodology, but my idea will be to interject a little more chance into the mix. The idea is simple. I will use the shuffle feature to randomly select a 5-Star song (as per my own individual, byzantine rating Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-50936924357778053782011-04-28T19:38:00.000-04:002011-04-28T19:38:43.027-04:00Truly, a Time of Wonder
A few nights ago, when I really should have been heading to bed, I sat on my couch and browsed through a list of every Saturday Night Live episode from the 1970s. Making mental notes to catch the Paul Simon eps, the Elvis Costello ep, and several others, I stopped in shocked delight to see that there was a Bob Dylan ep! Within a minute I was watching the 70s "I found Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-50706841759230024112011-04-25T23:10:00.001-04:002011-04-29T18:07:00.067-04:00Game of Thrones – Episode 2, “The Kingsroad”
Casting can make or break you. I mentioned this last week, but the sheer casting of Joffrey does a lot of work all in and of itself. Jack Gleeson, the young man who plays him, may well be an absolute sweetheart of a human being, but he looks like an unbelievably smarmy prick. So before we had heard a single word from the young prince we distrusted Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-23217219028322929832011-04-21T20:50:00.000-04:002011-04-21T20:50:48.929-04:003x3
Three things I liked about The Station Agent.
This was one of those movies that I had been hearing wonderful things about for years but had never gotten around to viewing. I was reminded of that dereliction of duty by the presence of Peter Dinklage on Game of Thrones and finally shunted the film up to the top of my Netflix queue. And boy was I glad I did. More than anything it's the tone ofTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-43535808913198982792011-04-18T21:20:00.001-04:002011-04-18T21:27:06.831-04:00Game of Thrones – Episode 1
If you are a fan of the kind of episode-by-episode TV blogging that’s become extremely popular over the last few years, and if you are looking for reactions to the premiere of Game of Thrones, you have no shortage of places to satiate your needs. Alan Sepinwall’s site at Hitfix. James Poniewozic at Time. Mo Ryan, formerly of The Chicago Tribune, at Stay Tuned. Todd Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-36806535896464290772011-04-14T23:56:00.001-04:002011-04-15T11:21:55.813-04:00That Big Box of Vinyl
I've been participating in a CD mix exchange, off and on, with some old friends for a few months now, and I thought this month's theme was worth sharing. The theme is "music you remember your parents listening to." Now, I grew up with my mother and step-father, and saw my father on weekends. My father listened to CBS FM out of NY pretty much exclusively, and I don't think Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-67106935244173409122011-04-13T23:20:00.000-04:002011-04-13T23:20:31.019-04:00An Unlikely Chameleon
Tracy Chapman gets a bid of a bad rap (albeit not a completely undeserved one) for being a bit of a one-trick pony. Her albums can have an unfortunate feel of sameness, with many mid-tempo, slightly melancholy, acoustic guitar-driven songs drifting in and out of each other. I'm a fan (I know--I'm getting there), and even I have trouble keeping her albums straight in my headTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-43962808842610243122011-04-12T23:20:00.000-04:002011-04-12T23:20:16.486-04:00What's Real?
One of the things that's most fascinating about having kids is seeing the acquisition of culture, including pop culture, at play in real-time. Now my kids (seven-year old twins), as long-time readers may recall, are, how you say? Scaredy-cats. They have a history of finding any kind of drama, or conflict, too intense too deal with. When we saw Tangled, they both spent about half theTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-27700951527308429132011-04-07T22:57:00.006-04:002011-04-08T10:54:14.015-04:003x3
Note: 3x3 contains spoilers about the films, books, and TV shows discussed.
Three things I loved about Broadcast News
This is going to be hard. This was simply a great movie--one of those you finally watch, after years of hearing how good it is, and find the hype completely justified. Limiting myself to just three things I liked? Eep. OK, how about the cast? Holly Hunter, as producer Jane Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-45139004304914447582011-04-06T21:02:00.000-04:002011-04-06T21:02:51.085-04:00Jammin' and having fun
In all of my excitement over the impending arrival of Game of Thrones I had kind of forgotten that Treme was coming back soon. Silly me.
I found Treme to be very much a slow burn in its first season, but by the time the finale arrived I was completely and wholly invested. The show got a bit of a hard time for being somewhat plotless, and while I sympathize with the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-16590689481110770572011-04-05T20:12:00.007-04:002011-04-06T09:26:59.654-04:00How Unreliable Are We Talking?
I recently finished reading a very, very good novel called The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore. The central conceit is quite simple. Bruno is a chimpanzee who has learned to speak. He is dictating his life story to an off-stage transcriber, and this is the story we are reading.
Before I dive into the point of this post, let me say that the novel is everything I Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-87166280603117517552011-04-04T20:29:00.000-04:002011-04-04T20:29:15.630-04:00Winter, It Came
Spoiler-free—for readers of the books and non-readers alike
So, as I mentioned in my “why I am returning to blogging” post last week, one reason is to have a space to try out the kind of episode-by-episode television review blogging I never really did during Tosy and Cosh’s first incarnation. And with the imminent arrival of HBO’s new fantasy series A Game of Thrones, the time Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-65687472636264030372011-03-30T19:37:00.000-04:002011-03-30T14:42:01.385-04:00The Ineffable Effect of Art Direction
As I mentioned on Twitter, I've been re-watching the first season of Dollhouse, primarily because it's a) on Netflix streaming and b) it's a show I liked but never finished watching when it aired. I saw almost all of Season One, but missed the end of Season Two, and I was intrigued enough to want to give the whole thing a go.
Last night I watched Episode 5,Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-88814734565928391002011-03-29T23:06:00.001-04:002011-03-30T12:54:52.918-04:00"I am Lazarus, risen from the grave!"
So it looks like I'm going to give this thing another whirl. After a few years of more-or-less regular posting I abandoned the blog almost two years ago. A hell of a long time for a battery re-charge, eh?
So what's compelled me to pick up quill and ink again? A few things. The advent of Twitter and Facebook has linked me in new and interesting ways to an Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-6368287355757174222009-05-28T11:48:00.003-04:002009-05-29T11:51:43.164-04:00I Am a ClicheYou guessed it. The de riguer hiatus. In the past few weeks I've started to post several times before giving up. Not really sure why, but can no longer pretend that the feeling of burn out isn't real. So, rather than fight it, I've decided to give into the ennui and take a break. A few months is what I'm thinking now, but who knows. In the interim, feel free to e-mail me at Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-54897335812256058592009-05-20T14:26:00.002-04:002009-05-20T14:31:26.549-04:00Discovering SongsAfter watching the Scrubs finale I simply had to go get the song used in the fantasy future montage at the end - Peter Gabriel doing a cover of The Magnetic Fields' "The Book of Love."I did not know this song, either the original or this cover, before, but was instantly smitten, which almost never happens for me with songs on a first hearing. What I find very surprising is that Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-58802217838608451592009-05-12T14:38:00.003-04:002009-05-12T14:49:30.205-04:00Random TV Notes(That Also Contain Random Spoilers)The House finale was fun, but I really hope they don't abandon the "House in a loonie bin" angle too quickly. There's lots of potential there, but I fear that, come Fall, the show will revert to the status quo too quickly to make use of it.I appreciate that, on The Big Bang Theory they are trying to take a very slight hand to the by-now obligatoryTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-43498831069372774872009-05-06T14:26:00.004-04:002009-05-06T14:55:05.708-04:00He’s No SupermanIn honor of Scrubs’ series (season?) finale tonight, here are my ten favorite uses of music on the show, in no particular order:J.D.’s first emotional connection to a dying patient is scored to – NOT Jeff Buckley’s "Hallelujah,” but John Cale’s!Turk and Carla, and J.D. and a brief girlfriend whose name I don’t remember, settle down to watch Sanford and Son, with Turk singing Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-18183102670319976922009-05-06T13:56:00.002-04:002009-05-06T14:00:07.205-04:00I Sound Like I’m From Joisey. Who Knew.If you are not listening to the all-cover songs, all the time podcast Coverville, well than there’s no hope for you. Brian Ibbitt puts together a roughly thrice-weekly show full of cover songs, with pretty much each show unearthing a great cover you probably never heard before.As part of his “request” shows, Brian features a “musically challenged” trivia Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-24434691917428546822009-05-05T16:56:00.002-04:002009-05-05T17:00:03.827-04:00Three by ThreeSPOILERSThree things I liked about The ReaderKate Winslet’s performance, which was better than I had heard. Sure, she’s winning for not only doing a Holocaust film, and an accent, but for doing the whole “old-age makeup” thing as well, but she is really good here.The piano-heavy score, by newcomer Nico Muhly (whose name makes him sound like an old Italian composer, but who on the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-27727643107668491542009-05-04T14:25:00.002-04:002009-05-04T14:28:13.331-04:00And the Streak ContinuesI’ve never been to a smoky, wood-floored, gritty bar on the Mexican border. And yet I can’t help but imagine that Bob Dylan’s new album captures what being in one would feel like. Is this a masterpiece on the order of Love and Theft? No. But it is a remarkably strong album, with the old-timey, Tin Pan Alley colors and flavors of that album, or the in-the-groove 50s dance Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-39415731521831520032009-05-01T14:12:00.005-04:002009-05-01T14:53:54.528-04:00Doin' the Friday ShuffleFor today's shuffle, I'm shuffling in only songs I've labeled "Rock" (which in my system really just means rock and pop) and that have been labeled four or five stars:1. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" - The Beatles - Rubber SoulA wonderfully lilting melody, with that step-wise melody in the verse. Still, I'm often struck by how much of the Beatles catalog is barelyTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-2225202858382879912009-04-30T15:13:00.002-04:002009-04-30T15:16:37.686-04:00Old NewsA few weeks back, when Danny Gokey did "Stand By Me" on American Idol, I was surprised by how few people called him out on such a soulless rendition, one that did absolutely nothing to honor the song. In fact, his lifeless version called for a tonic.And here it is.I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you've already seen this, but it's eminently worth posting nonetheless. Such a simpleTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-23514654313190786602009-04-28T16:18:00.005-04:002009-04-28T16:46:47.735-04:00Movies I Will See in Six MonthsIn what has become a yearly tradition, here are the summer films I'm most looking forward to, along with a numerical pegging of my excitement (on a ten-point scale) and the percentage chance that I will actually see them in a theater.X-Men Origins: WolverineBad buzz aside, I love Hugh Jackman, I liked all three (yes, all three) X-Men films, and am intrigued by the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-21232497057527984412009-04-27T13:59:00.003-04:002009-04-27T14:04:08.396-04:00Things That Are Great #470Jimmy Stewart getting impassioned.I just watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the first time, and was reminded, quite forcibly, of what a joy it is to watch Jimmy Stewart get all impassioned about something. Watching the film also reminded me that I need to see more Frank Capra - I think that this and It's a Wonderful Life are all I've seen. It also spurred me to Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-28007983135311717142009-04-22T16:43:00.002-04:002009-04-22T16:57:04.227-04:00Well, No Pictures Is there anything I don't love about the anual Best American Magazine Writing editions? The best magazine articles of the year, offered up in one wonderful package. It's simplicity at its best, really. This year's edition was as good as its predecessors. The highlights, for me:China’s Instant Cities, Peter Hessler, National GeographicAn engaging, detail-laden, very in-the-momentTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-20847029463461916842009-04-21T16:59:00.006-04:002009-04-21T22:41:26.837-04:00How much does a typical newborn baby weigh? What is the smallest weight of bowling ball typically found in a bowling alley?Seven Pounds may well be the worst movie I have ever seen. SPOILERS AHEAD I like Will Smith. But I'm not sure what he was thinking here. Apart from the sheer over-the-top drama of the premise there's the way the story is told. First, the premise: A man, driving home Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-2351211228396646022009-04-17T13:18:00.003-04:002009-04-17T13:34:10.388-04:00Is It Plagiarism If You Steal From Yourself?From John Williams' score for Memoirs of a Geisha. (listen from 2:30 - 2:55)From John Williams' score for Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith (from 1:40 - 2:48)You make the call.Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-37471240981757404152009-04-15T21:13:00.003-04:002009-04-15T21:27:19.464-04:00Failure of NerveI, after being prodded by many friends familiar with my musical theater affinity, finally watched the film Camp last week. Camp is a small indie film about a musical theater summer camp, a camp where the kids who are to some degree outcasts in their high schools can be themselves.It's a sweet film, if a bit underbaked and kind of embarrassingly badly directed and acted and edited.Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-79994874988954755142009-04-10T14:59:00.002-04:002009-04-10T15:02:03.705-04:00All I Ask Is That You Listen To MeHas there ever been as big a gap between the front-runner and the rest in the history of American Idol? In any case, next week is Movie Songs, and I'd love to see Adam Lambert bust out some Jesus Christ Superstar.Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-55355323136018543642009-04-10T13:47:00.002-04:002009-04-10T14:04:51.973-04:00Doin' the Friday Shuffle1. "Time of the Preacher" - Willie Nelson - Red-Headed StrangerEvery year I become more of a Willie fan. This is a lovely little country ditty.2. "Walk of Life" - Dire Straits - Brothers in ArmsI remember this song as being omnipresent when I was in high school. I also remember vividly the sports bloopers video. What was all that about?3. "Finale" - Kander & Ebb - Cabaret Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-66602464622256564092009-04-09T10:28:00.002-04:002009-04-09T10:31:25.202-04:00LogoFor the curious, the sources for the letters in the new logo are:T - Star Wars logo.O - The one true ring from The Lord of the Rings filmsS - Shawshank Redemption film posterY - Playbill mastheadAnd - From the Broadway Beauty and the Beast logoC - Classic Captain America logoO - The good Captain's shieldS - The original Sweeney Todd Broadway logoH - The SimpsonsUntil WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-2525304542519682482009-04-08T16:56:00.002-04:002009-04-08T17:01:03.601-04:00Where'd I Put That Cane?A post over at A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago about the 10th anniversary of The Matrix made me realize that, hey, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace came out (almost) 10 years ago. I suddenly feel very, very old.I still remember seeing this first trailer, on Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood. I remember taping it so that I could show some friends, Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-79151657607883105562009-04-08T15:33:00.002-04:002009-04-08T15:37:08.258-04:00The Power of MoviesI watched Monsters, Inc. with my twin five-year old daughters over the past few nights, and in the process was very strongly reminded once again of how powerful movies can be. For me, there are two moments at the end of Monsters, Inc. that tear at my guts – when Sully returns Boo to her bedroom, and has to say goodbye to her for the last time, and the very last moment in the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-46452601779888257442009-04-07T13:23:00.003-04:002009-04-07T14:04:45.109-04:00As It Turns Out, Not That Big a OneFollowing in Jaq's and the Samurai Frog's footsteps, I will now respond to this meme, designed to test the level of your geekiness:() You spent a day watching all of the Lord of the Rings/Star Wars/Star Trek movies.I'm pretty sure in high school I and some friends watched the first three Star Wars films, but even that I'm not sure we got through all of them. I;dTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-22228032633133693232009-04-06T15:20:00.003-04:002009-04-06T15:27:09.691-04:00Three by Three Three things I liked about Monsters v. Aliens.The action sequences, which were clear and easily followable while at the same time taking full advantage of the advantages of animation. Animation can show comic book action better than any other medium, but only if time and money is spent. I really hope one day we get Pixar-type renditions of classic superheroes, if only so that this Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-35768684561760642652009-04-03T15:59:00.004-04:002009-04-03T16:21:53.371-04:00Doin' the Friday Shuffle1. "A Well Fed Man" - The Kinks - JunoOne of those songs I know without knowing I know. Didn't recognize the title at all.2. "Wiggly Wiggly Christmas" - The Wiggles - Wiggly Wiggly ChristmasAn original Christmas tune from those Australian geniuses.3. "Kiss Me Kate - Corrective Casting (Jerry and Liza)" Cole Porter and Gerard Allessandri - Fordibben Broadway Strikes BackIn Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-27675542244411981612009-04-01T15:46:00.001-04:002009-04-01T15:47:32.791-04:00Great CoversI sometimes forget how useful YouTube can be for uncovering (hah!) covers you might not normally hear. Exhibit A - Elvis Costello doing U2's "Please." Tosy and Cosh nirvana.Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-78817348760034181242009-04-01T15:34:00.003-04:002009-04-01T15:37:14.295-04:00Stuck on the Road Again with the Small Town BluesAccording to Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, and Willie Nelson will be touring together this summer, laying minor-league ballparks. I absolutely love this mix of artists - such a canny mix of laid-back, American rock and country vibes. I never would have thought to mix them, but it totally works.Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-86475217055917423402009-03-31T15:26:00.002-04:002009-03-31T15:39:24.715-04:00Random Top TenRandom Top Ten!!Top Ten Police Songs10. Can’t Stand Losing YouI like how this song both gently mocks and takes seriously the archetype of the breakup song.9. Every Little Thing She Does Is MagicBuoyant and joyful, and a great evocation of the feeling of falling in love.8. Murder by NumbersThe Police do a dark, jazz thing about the business of murder. Wonderfully archetypical.7. Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-8440715979774824422009-03-31T14:54:00.002-04:002009-03-31T14:57:43.578-04:00Where or WhenOne of the cool things about working in the city is that performances are happening all around, all the time. And today, in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center, where I work, Diana Krall did a quick six-song set to promote her new album, Quiet Nights. Now, the acustics in the Winter Garden are pretty horrendous, and I was standing at the back of a big group of people, Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-54030629706554001792009-03-30T14:09:00.002-04:002009-03-30T14:15:07.758-04:00U2 RankedIn ranking (nearly) all of U2's songs, my original plan was to post on ten songs at a time. But then I realized that I've posted on every song in every album already. And the whole exercise began to feel pretty stale. So - no more song reviews; just the list. Here's how I rank (nearly) all U2 songs. (I haven't slotted the songs from No Line on the Horizon into this yet, as they are too Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-87461932599232343572009-03-30T10:23:00.001-04:002009-03-30T10:24:31.939-04:00I'm InI will not miss two U2 tours in a row.I may be sitting in the upper tier at Giants Stadium. And I may be going by myself.But I'm going.Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-31674776070254708032009-03-27T15:25:00.001-04:002009-03-27T15:28:23.957-04:00Look Out!If you haven't seen this, well, you should. The kind of feel-good story that's just right for a Friday.Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-32834045252976236722009-03-27T11:59:00.002-04:002009-03-27T12:16:56.754-04:00Doin' the Friday Shuffle1. "Dice are Rolling" - Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice - Evita (Original Broadway Cast)Evita's moment of triumph, as she convinces her husband to take power.2. "Nobody Needs to Know" - Jason Robert Brown - The Last Five Years (Original Cast Recording)A great example of a slow-burn song that build and builds slowly but surely over its length. Nicely dramatic.3. "A Call to Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-35793235012925894692009-03-26T16:22:00.002-04:002009-03-26T16:24:24.179-04:00Random Lost Question #2,482Weren't Juliet and Ben a couple in New Otherton? and if so, doesn't that mean that Adult Ben remembered the mechanic from when he was a kid when she came to the island? And isn't that a little creepy?Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-78108642665809022152009-03-26T15:59:00.002-04:002009-03-26T15:59:52.250-04:00New LogoOK, who can guess the provenance of the letters in the new logo? (some are, of course, gimmees).Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-33940783100933795582009-03-26T14:59:00.003-04:002009-03-26T15:07:18.520-04:00Three by ThreeThree things I liked about Wet Hot American Summer:Chris Meloni is as good as legend would have it as the bat-shit crazy camp cook. He hedges the performance not one bit, committing fully to the character's unhinged lunacy.The kids. By and large, they cast very well, and elicited great, non-grating or show performances from the campers.Jeneane Garofolo and David Hyde-Pierce, who notTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-36734188750269096802009-03-25T15:26:00.002-04:002009-03-25T15:49:26.109-04:00Prognosticatin'Given that U2 will be doing stadiums in the Fall I am more optimistic than I expected to be about getting tickets. And as I've been thinking about the tour, I've been trying to predict what songs will make the cut this go-round. So, assuming that they stick to the Vertigo model and do 16 or so songs and then a six-song encore, what will we hear?From the new albumThe four songs theyTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-15074489185618429022009-03-24T16:20:00.003-04:002009-03-24T16:23:01.336-04:00My New Favorite Line About Television"Part of the joy of watching a theatrical repertory company is seeing the actors play a variety of parts. Television especially is our national repertory theater and seeing a variety of performances from a single actor is part of the pleasure it gives us."That's from the #21st installment of Tom Stempel's "Understanding Screenwriting" series over at The House Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-11005177125913973592009-03-24T15:31:00.003-04:002009-03-24T15:38:56.392-04:00Do I Like Fantasy?I always thought I did. But in recent years, I've wondered more and more. Not if I like it at all - I do - but if I'm really a fan. I can't decide. Maybe you can. The evidence.As a kid I read Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series at least three times.I've never read the Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit and The Fellowship, and the beginning of The Two Towers, yes. But not any more. Nor Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-29738568903073766692009-03-20T14:34:00.003-04:002009-03-20T14:56:55.013-04:00Most PlayedSo according to iTunes, these are the 10 songs I have played most often over the past year and a half.10. Spirit on the Water, Bob Dylan - 29 playsWhen I got Modern Times I listened to it a lot. This is the second track, and since I will often listen to an album and not finish it, this ends up pretty high.9. Hoop de Doo, The Wiggles - 30 playsThe kids have a bunch of CDs in iTunes, andTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-80612188460222487152009-03-16T14:57:00.002-04:002009-03-16T15:07:19.405-04:00Reason George Lucas Is Still Pretty Cool # 68I've been watching the new animated Clone Wars series and have been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy it. Part of this is just the sheer fun of seeing those many glorious Clone War battles that Obi-Wan hinted at 32 years ago. But an even bigger part is the sheer quality of the action. See, as a big Marvel fan I was very excited when the company Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-49918212933140678932009-03-12T16:28:00.003-04:002009-03-12T16:43:11.600-04:00Random Top TenRandom Top Ten!!!Top Ten Mandy Patinkin Songs10. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"This is for me the archetypal Patink performance. Start off slow and build to an impassioned, slightly manic finish.9. "If I Loved You"Here, he takes this model and expands on it. Just when you think he's done he comes back with a final, bellowed, gorgeous repeat of the final verse.8. "Color and Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-32515574594830575382009-03-11T15:22:00.002-04:002009-03-11T15:37:45.612-04:00FudgingI'm watching War Games currently, a movie I haven't seen in many years. I may have seen this film in the theaters when it was originally released in 1983, when I would have been nine years old. I had forgotten what a good little movie it is - how good Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are (and how cute Ally Sheedy is!) as the naive teens at the center of the plot; how suspenseful that lastTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-90910913012515919372009-03-04T15:02:00.004-05:002009-03-04T15:15:15.155-05:00Three by ThreeThree things I liked about The Ice Storm.The design - costumes, sets, props - all worked seamlessly to evoke a very specific time and place. Even the architecture - the split-level house, the big, open windows, all very specific to that era. And the way they got the ice storm itself, and its effects, on screen was brilliant - I assumed they filmed in a real ice storm, but it was Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-2984263591668731042009-03-02T11:46:00.006-05:002009-03-02T14:09:29.246-05:00First Impressions1. "No Line on the Horizon"An excellent opener. U2 has for a while no been opening their albums with the first single, meaning that the new album's sound and feel has been introduced by a more radio-friendly song ("Beautiful Day," "Vertigo," "Discotheque"). Here, they revert to the Joshua Tree/Achtung Baby gambit of opening the album with a bit of a more challenging cut that moreTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-56471249388664716682009-02-27T11:18:00.001-05:002009-02-27T11:21:12.443-05:0025 Milepost AlbumsThis has been going around, and it sounded fun. Here are 25 albums that mark important moments in my life as a music fan.1. The Muppet Movie (Soundtrack)The first album I can remember listening to, and seeing around the house and being interested in. The first time I recognized music as being something separate from the radio or TV that you could play on demand.2. Born in the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-51741798250008717932009-02-26T16:08:00.004-05:002009-02-26T16:25:02.504-05:00U2 Ranked - #s 119-128128. "Lady With The Spinning Head" – “Even Better than the Real Thing” B-SideA few U2 B-sides that have turned up are pretty clearly just earlier versions of songs that made the album. Such is the case with this upbeat song, which sounds like a happier shiny version of “The Fly.” Nonetheless, this is one of U2 fandom’s more popular “lost” songs, and it’s dance rhythms and Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-13932822746781290372009-02-24T16:16:00.003-05:002009-02-24T16:27:42.164-05:00Three by ThreeThree things I liked about Gattaca.The concept and execution of a near-future society in which your genetic code serves as the basis for a new class system. It's a neat concept, and a very believable one. The scene in the beginning, with the nurse taking the just-born baby's blood and dispassionately reciting its chances of contracting major diseases was chilling.Its depiction of Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-63040476393725209182009-02-20T15:53:00.003-05:002009-02-20T15:59:36.135-05:00SurpriseI am not an audiophile. I listen to mp3s almost exclusively now, the speakers on my computer came with it, and my beautiful new flatscreen TV is hooked up to an eight-year old Dolby 2.0 system.But I am curious. I hear all the time that CD sound is superior to standard mp3 sound. OK. But can I tell the difference? So, I pulled my Achtung Baby CD out of my CD drawer and put it into my DVD Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-31435213833792949572009-02-20T15:47:00.003-05:002009-02-20T15:53:14.173-05:00Reason I Love the Internet #2,392In 17 days, the new U2 album, No Line on the Horizon, will be released.Nine years ago, when All That You Can't Leave Behind was released, I had to wait until the day of its release to hear it. I had to drive out to the local Tower, buy the CD, and put in in the CD player - starting with the CD player in the car on the way home from said record store.Today, as we Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-35473398009808654922009-02-16T14:26:00.005-05:002009-02-16T15:01:00.430-05:00U2 Ranked - #s 129 - 138138. Drowning Man - WarA simple guitar-strummed figure alongside a fey martial beat, with a meandering Bono vocal on top. Not a bad song, and it does evoke a nice mood, but in the end it never really goes anywhere. U2 would later learn how to do a much better job with this kind of repetitive, simple song - see Zooropa's "The First Time."137. Elvis Presley And America - TheTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-20857725350264633532009-02-13T09:58:00.002-05:002009-02-13T10:45:26.856-05:00Project XA few weeks back, the good folks over at A List of Things Thrown Ten Minutes Ago linked to a list by JBev at JamsBio magazine, in which the writer ranked, in order, all 185 original Beatles songs. Now, I'm not the world's biggest Beatles fan, so the specifics of this list didn't hold too much interest for me. But the idea of the list most certainly did. And it got me to thinking, of Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-70417049251270782212009-02-09T17:24:00.003-05:002009-02-09T17:31:52.744-05:00Ten TV Things That Made Me Grin RecentlySPOILERS FOR STUFF1. Smash calls Mama Smash "Mommy" when he gets into college on Friday Night Lights2. Smash thanks Coach Taylor for all he's done on Friday Night Lights3. Reading that FX might do a TV show based on Brian Michael Bendis' Powers comic4. The 13th time Adama reacted to a shock or threat with stone-faced hard-assery on Battlestar Galactica.5. Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-32256336873280239132009-02-06T14:03:00.002-05:002009-02-06T14:09:30.060-05:00SpoiledAs I posted about a few weeks back, we've entered the world of hi-def. 40inch Samsung, 720p, Hi-Def cable. and it's great. But, man, do you get spoiled quickly.A few weeks back I started watching I Am Legend (which was, for the first 45 minutes I got through, anyway, much better than I expected.) on HBO OnDemand. Last night, I went back to the OnDemand site to call the movie back up. And Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-80711491040152993062009-02-05T16:51:00.004-05:002009-02-05T17:09:28.411-05:00Random Top TenRandom Top Ten!!!Top Ten Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits songs10. "Sailing to Philadelphia" (Mark Knopfler and James Taylor)A historical ditty sung in character as Lewis and Clark.9. "Private Investigations" (Dire Straits)His most theatrical song, full of pomp and big dramatic flourishes. Starts off as a hushed, spokem detective story, to melancholy piano, and ends with a big crashing Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-51629315603159789282009-02-03T16:28:00.003-05:002009-02-03T16:30:16.179-05:00Stupid FiOSI do not have the Sundance Channel. I am, therefore, unable to keep up with Elvis Costello's most excellent talk show, Spectacle. However, as I have just discovered, there are a nice collection of clips at the show's website, here.My favorite so far?Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-44652200718081872392009-02-03T15:56:00.003-05:002009-02-03T16:05:45.582-05:00Suddenly I Am Hit By a Truck SPOILERS AHEADI just finished Chuck Klosterman's debut novel, Downtown Owl, and am about as poleaxed as can be. For the first 90% of the novel, Klosterman takes us through the lives of three primary characters, residents of the small-town Owl, ND. There's the high school's back-up quarterback, Mitch; newly arrived schoolteacher Julia; and the elderly Mitch. In Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-55832186824754286932009-02-02T14:14:00.003-05:002009-02-02T14:28:23.345-05:00Three by ThreeThree things I liked about The Searchers.The pretty pictures. Suddenly, all of the praise heaped on John Ford that I've read over the years makes sense. I'd never seen a Ford (or John Wayne) film before, and in this one is way with the landscape and the people in it is evident. From the way he bookends the film with shots looking out at Wayne out in the land, as framed by dark Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-83623683174146311892009-01-29T16:19:00.003-05:002009-01-29T16:20:52.301-05:00Sexy BootsJust read that U2 will be performing at the Grammys. Excellent! Now, the question is - will we hear the live debut of "Get On Your Boots" or will it be something else? I'm very curious to hear teh new song live, so I'm pulling for teh latter.Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-65055844950365748412009-01-23T16:22:00.003-05:002009-01-23T16:24:43.712-05:00First!The Internet is big. Very big. So it's always neat to be the first to notice something. Take a listen to Michael Giacchino's "Kate's Theme" from Lost:Now listen to the "Prelude" to Jake Heggie's opera Dead Man Walking.Neat, huh?Until WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-43275323115802853892009-01-23T14:39:00.003-05:002009-01-23T14:55:25.167-05:00Doin' the Friday Shuffle1. "Why Trust a Shark?" - Thomas Newman - Finding NemoNewman's Nemo score is not the equal of his transcendent WALL-E score, but a good 'un nonetheless. I like the ominous electric guitar here.2. "Anakin's Betrayal" - John Williams - The Revenge of the SithA gorgeous, heartbreaking piece of music. I really don't think Willilams' Sith score got the kudos it deserved. This Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-9613042006347822762009-01-22T14:38:00.003-05:002009-01-22T14:48:16.892-05:00Madison, The Grouch, MayerAs per the usual, I've seen very few of the nominated (for anything) films. so my reactions are pretty limited. As in:Really would have liked to see WALL-E get a Best Picture nomination, and find it a little cliche that the surprise nominee is a Holocaust film. I haven't seen The Changeling, but find myself very much doubting Angelina Jolie deserves a nomination.Very Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-89154237323272834252009-01-21T16:33:00.002-05:002009-01-21T16:44:11.322-05:00Up With Which I Shall Not PutSo, four and a half years after the debut of "Vertigo," we finally get the debut of a new U2 single. "Get on Your Boots." Prepositional awkwardness aside, what does this relatively hardcore U2 fan think?I love the quick cascading drum figure that opens it and the dirty and fuzzed out guitar figure that spills out of it. The way that, as the singing starts, the guitarsTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-44487640993510723722009-01-20T09:59:00.005-05:002009-01-20T10:17:34.407-05:00Me! Me!! ME!!!Pilfered from SamuraiFrog:1. Were you named after anyone?I am technically Tosy and Cosh the Third, so yes.2. When was the last time you cried?Watching WALL-E a few weeks ago.3. What is your favorite lunch meat?Rare roast beef.4. Do you have kids?Two. Twin girls, will be five in a little over a month.5. If you were another person would you be friends with you?Probably not. I'm a bitTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-89872329104440946432009-01-16T15:41:00.002-05:002009-01-16T15:45:26.074-05:00He Thinks He's SpecialIf you're a cast member on Saturday Night Live, the opening credits are a well-defined ritual, right? You do some social/New Yorky thing (buy a hot dog, sit in a bar, go to a barbecue), Don Pardo reads your name, and you look at the camera and try not to mug. Easy right?So what's up with Fred Armisen? In the current credits, every cast member looks at the camera, except Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-65152070880886414462009-01-16T15:23:00.002-05:002009-01-16T15:27:53.346-05:00Baby FacedI've been slowly watching the first season of my beloved Chicago Hope on Hulu and this week got to episode seven, which was about the sudden discovery of a terminal illness for one character and, in the B plot, the struggle of Mandy Patinkin's Dr. Jeffrey Geiger as he prepares to operate on a mobster in witness protection.I had forgotten about it, but there was a running bit in the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-82446591386642674382009-01-15T11:31:00.002-05:002009-01-15T11:36:30.363-05:00They Both Wear TuxedosI've been watching the special features on the new SportsNight set, and a little time is devoted to the stroke that Robert Guillaume suffered during its run. Guillaume is also featured in some of the present-day talking head pieces, and hearing his only-slightly spurred speech (no Dick Clark, he) reminded me, somehow, that I had read somewhere that he did a stint as the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-21774912652553551912009-01-14T16:30:00.002-05:002009-01-14T16:38:54.334-05:00Settling in to HDI had done some research before getting our HDTV and knew a few things going in. I knew that standard definition programming would actually look a little worse on the HDTV than it did on our tube. I knew that not all channels were available on HD. I knew that even on some HD channels not all shows would be in HD. And I knew that HD shows would take up more space on the DVR than Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-13347101210573772592009-01-12T12:10:00.004-05:002009-01-12T12:15:05.565-05:00The Man Can WriteAs you may have heard, Bono will be contributing op-eds to the New York Times intermittently. His first has appeared, and its, well, it's just great. Bono's style is unique, and takes a little getting used to, but once you've acclimated, just how good a writer he is becomes evident. As a lyricist, Bono is very good, but not great; he's a little too quick to fall back on cliche Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-56234783312342869452009-01-12T11:12:00.003-05:002009-01-12T11:36:15.271-05:002008 AlbumsSo - did I purchase ANY albums released in 2008 (ish)? A few:All I Intended to Be, Emmylou HarrisA quiet and very pretty album that I hasn't really hooked me yet.Atonement, Dario MarinaelliA gorgeous, piano-laden score. The scoring for the much-commented on single-shot scene at the beach is really just as accomplished as the shot it accompanies. This is rapidly leaping up my all-time Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-26017422041849854052009-01-08T11:00:00.006-05:002009-01-08T11:11:20.749-05:00Who Needs a Dream?Alan Sepinwall is, as is his wont, blogging about the TV critics press tour, and notes in today's entry that this summer sometime PBS will be broadcasting the Chess benefit concert that was done some time last year, starring Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, and Adam Pascal.(Really bad hand-held video here)This is exciting news for the subcult of Chess fans, of whom I am a casual Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-44034143606514169242009-01-05T13:47:00.003-05:002009-01-05T14:00:03.861-05:00My New ToyFor the last year or two, we have been toying with the idea of buckling under and buying a flat-screen TV. But it's only in the last month that I started doing serious research. Here's what I found:If your screen is under 50 inches, the difference between 720p and 1080p is vanishingly small. We ended up going with a 40 inch for our family room (which, while not small, is set up in such Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-64851477843869797422009-01-04T16:25:00.002-05:002009-01-04T16:27:52.168-05:00These Are a Few of My Favorite ThingsThese hiatuses are becoming too much of a habit. My blogging energies and impulses are waning seriously these days, and yet I like having this outlet, and I like the body of commentary, slight as it may be, I’ve accumulated over the past few years. So – here’s to a more engaged 2009 from Tosy and Cosh!! Let’s see if that’s one resolution I can keep.I don’t Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-55716337524096155162008-12-12T14:31:00.003-05:002008-12-12T14:56:47.082-05:00Every Year It Gets WorseNot the Grammy's themselves, or who wins, but my knowledge of who these artists are. So - my annual look at categories I actually know nominees in:Record and Song of the YearI like that Coldplay song, sure.Album of the YearI'd like to get the Coldplay album, and agree that In Rainbows stands tall with Radiohead's best, so nice to see that there. and the Krauss/Plant album Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-39163448536638407332008-12-05T11:49:00.006-05:002008-12-05T13:25:15.844-05:0050 Things I Loved About WALL-EThat the first sound we hear isn't a spaceship, or majestic orchestral sounds, but Michael Crawford singing "Out there!"That all of WALL-E's movements have a mechanical, logical origin - you can see how he works, and how he fits together. Compare to the very unconvincing spatial logistics of the transforming robots in Transformers.The sheer beauty of those opening Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-91187563369574796882008-12-03T15:03:00.003-05:002008-12-03T15:41:15.989-05:00The Butler Did ItI know I'm not the first to notice this, but it's kind of remarkable just how much of television drama is at heart, based on mystery stories. The ways in which we and the characters figure out who committed the crime change, but that core of a crime, suspects, and a reveal are at the heart of so many series. I mean, look at the current network lineup:Cold Case - Cops solve old Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-41710408385546573802008-12-02T16:23:00.003-05:002008-12-02T16:31:26.789-05:00Meme PilferyFrom his frogness:1. Five names you go by:(almost none anymore or in real-life though - in real-life I'm just John)a. Tosy and Coshb. Supec) Sweetnessd) Gampse) JC2. Three things you are wearing right nowa. A purple dress shirtb. Grey slacksc.) Black shoes3. Two things you want very badly at the moment:a. An HDTV TVb. The complete Deadwoodc. An eggnog latte4. Three people who will Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-2222697959233720672008-12-02T16:13:00.003-05:002008-12-02T16:21:19.708-05:00You . . . Shall . . . Not . . . PASS!David Foster Wallace is trying to defeat me. But he won't. I am about 220 pages from the end of Infinite Jest and I refuse to be defeated. I will finish it. That said, I don't think I've ever read a book that I'm this conflicted on. There are breathtaking set pieces here that remind me of Neal Stephenson in their epic scope and insane level of detail. There isTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-13527218509133123332008-12-01T15:52:00.003-05:002008-12-01T16:12:50.950-05:00Random Top TenRandom Top Ten!!Top Ten Covers10. "The End of the World" - John Mellencamp (orig. Skeeter Davis?)Sometimes you know why songs grab you. Sometimes not. This is a pretty straightforward reading of an oldies station classic, a bit countrified, but man does it work.9. "The Man Who Sold the World" - Jordis Unga (orig. David Bowie)I had high hopes for Junga after that first season of Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-24592778992780817252008-11-20T16:23:00.006-05:002008-11-21T09:19:28.722-05:00Doin' the Friday ShuffleI haven't done a shuffle in a long while. For today's, I am shuffling only within my "5-Star Rock" playlist - all pop/rock songs I've rated at 5 stars (477 songs, to be precise).1. "The Only Living Boy in New York" - Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled WaterThis is one of those album cuts that never became a hit (or, I'm guessing, was even a single), but that is no Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-20176778321511604362008-11-20T15:18:00.002-05:002008-11-20T15:21:02.749-05:00And the Countdown BeginsUntil WheneverTosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-90358274891145306892008-11-19T15:54:00.003-05:002008-11-19T16:06:28.635-05:00Three by ThreeThree things I liked about Forgetting Sarah MarshallThe fact that there was no asshole character, even the Aldous character. Sarah wasn't some horrific bitch, but a mildly self-absorbed actress who in the end couldn't deal with the withdrawn nature of the Segel character.The portrayal of sex as more than just some movie-magicked wonderland, but as a real, often clumsy, physical Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-63107926040401892212008-11-18T12:53:00.002-05:002008-11-18T12:56:20.332-05:00Plot Hole?Maybe I'm missing something and someone can help me out, but:In Toy Story, it's established that the toys can move and speak in the presence of humans, they just don't. After all, Andy and the misfit toys scare Sid off by talking to him and moving in his presence. So when they flop down when Andy bursts into the room, that's a choice, not something out of their control.But for Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-17566241547340099262008-11-17T15:12:00.003-05:002008-11-17T15:38:44.999-05:00A Bookish QuizJaq's back!! And giving me quizzes to steal!!What was the last book you bought?The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane, a historical police drama. I've been waiting for this book for a few years now, as it's taken Lehane longer-than-his-usual to write it. Alas, when it finally came out, I had just started Infinite Jest. And as I'm still plugging away there, I haven't cracked the Lehane yet.Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650827.post-86309494834978016792008-11-13T22:12:00.004-05:002008-11-13T22:28:20.296-05:00The Power of Story For the last month or so, I've been reading The Wizard of Oz (the original Baum novel) to my four-year-old twin girls. Both girls have a history of being skittish about conflict in stories--they watched Cinderella for a while but then got too distressed at the meanness of the step-sisters as they tore the dress. They watched Finding Nemo but after a while couldn't take the Tosy And Coshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.com4