I know… I’ve been bad and haven’t blogged in two weeks. I don’t know how it happens. I get super busy at work and just sort of crash when I get home so I’m not as attentive as I should be. Apologies and whatever… now get over it cuz I have a life… Now on to business…

Dexter 4.2 and 4.3

Because I’m behind in two of my reviews, I’m going to sum these up really quickly:

• Episode 4.2 was so frantic that I wasn’t sure where the writers were trying to go with the storyline. I’m guessing that the feverish tone of the show was supposed to convey to the watcher just how jumbled and frantic Dexter must have felt trying to find the missing body parts. Otherwise, there just was no excuses and I would chalk it up to bad writing.
• Do we really need Quinn as an added storyline? Can anything good really come of it? The whole reporter affair is so obviously going to blow up in the end but do we need to add in that he’s a dirty cop too? Just one storyline that needs to go away…
• And speaking of going away… We still haven’t been told what ever happened between Batista and Bawbwa [come on... I know I'm not the only one who noticed that Batista can't pronounce his R's]
• In Episode 4.3 we find out it was the delinquent kids father that was the vandal. Really? Like we didn’t see that coming from a mile away…
• So disappointed in Lithgow so far… Please writers, allow him to nurture his inner psycho… He just comes off as milquetoast creepy instead of Hannibal scary… “You, sir, are no Hannibal!”
• Astor needs a beat down… Am I wrong in thinking that she’s ten years old? Are the writers aging her and not letting us know? Last year she didn’t have boobs… This year she’s angst-ridden PMSing in every episode!! Rita doesn’t help any when she just gives a little sigh, rolls her eyes and says stupid shit like “you can’t treat her like a little girl anymore”. Ummmm… yes you can… she’s 10!!!
• And lastly… Rita… sweet “Karma Karma Karma Chameleon” Rita… little miss “you already had your coffee” Rita… I am dying to watch Dexter stick the knife in her chest… please let it be next episode… please…

Apparently, my tag cloud post was not included when the spider searched my blog… nor the post entitled “Quarterly Bitchfest”… which reminds me… I’m about due for a new one, aren’t I? Stupid spider… I deserve an R rating for sure… In fact, I might just go steal Sissy’s from her page and put it on my own… errr… borrow… I meant BORROW…

My nerdy blog friend (and I say that with deep geeky love), Jenners, challenged her readers earlier this week to write a version of William Carlos Williams’ poem, This Is Just To Say, with our own little twist to it… Before posting my own, I read hers and had to giggle deliciously at her Dexter version… A passion we share… If your reading, be sure to visit her blog and read the poems concocted by other bloggers as well.

I couldn’t pass up the chance to join in so I’ll start off with the original…

This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving for
breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

And now my two versions…

And to all of you out there in bloggy land… Have a super fantastic weekend!

Spoiler Alert!

If you haven’t watched the first episode of season four… stop HERE! Do NOT read any further as you will find out that Batista is bonking Laguerta! SHOCKER! (And also completely off base but I’ll go into that more in a bit)

This season starts off about three months after the birth of Dexter’s new son, Harrison Morgan… yes, little Harry… Dexter has jumped into fatherhood and a “normal” family life with both feet and it seems to be taking it’s toll… The beginning scenes show Dexter as a tired, forgetful imbecile… totally NOT the Dexter I’m used to seeing and it almost made me a little angry… Angry at the writers for making him look so stupid but also at Rita for running this poor man into the ground… Isn’t she unemployed at the moment? I’m assuming that after the death of Miguel Prado last year, Syl probably didn’t keep Rita on as a real estate assistant… So if she isn’t working than why is it necessary for Dex to be up at all hours when he works full-time? Just sayin’…

Shortly after the intro, we are introduced to a bare-buttocked John Lithgow (surprisingly not half bad for his age… I’ve seen worse) who will be playing this years’ serial killer who needs to end up on Dexter’s table… The appearance of this new serial killer also brings back Special Agent Frank Lundy who has apparently been chasing after Lithgow for fifteen years without so much as one shred of evidence. I’m a little torn on this new development… For one thing, I’m not completely convinced that Lundy even has a good reason to think it’s Lithgow. He only states that he thinks that it may be him but “the son of a bitch keeps getting away with it”… In my book, if he’s getting away with it than you aren’t doing your job very well, Agent Lundy… perhaps you should have been crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s a little better to dig up more evidence?!? OR perhaps this is just a way to throw Lundy back into the Deb dating pool mix…

Another reason why I’m not thrilled with Lundy’s reappearance is poor writing. We learn that Lundy no longer works for the FBI and has retired… I don’t know how it REALLY works but if he’s retired how can he just waltz around the police station as if he works there (which he never did)? How can he ask questions about a case when he really doesn’t have a “need to know”? I think I’ll try that the next time some serial killer strikes the Wilmington area… I’m sure the police detectives won’t mind me showing up at the crime scene and asking cryptic questions… I’m sniffing and it just smells like bad writing…

Back to Lithgow… Call me sick but I’ve always been a fan of him so I’ve been anxiously anticipating his character… He’s one of those actors that just plays “over the top” well… It doesn’t matter if it’s a comedic character or a deranged psychopath, the scenes that he truly shines in are the ones where he is playing it to the hilt… the times when you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s pure acting and he isn’t finished until he is OVERLY done… Raising Cain, anyone?

As I mentioned in the spoiler alert, we find out during the first episode that Batista and Laguerta are now an item. It was a total “WTF” moment for the audience and an apparent “WTF were you thinking” moment for the writers… In one scene, another police officer approaches Batista and asks him whatever happened to Barb Gianna (who Batista was dating at the end of Season 3) and his curt reply was “We broke up.” Really? That’s the best you can do, Dexter writers?!? Somehow, I get the feeling that this sudden break up will play into a plotline in Season 4… At least I should hope so… Otherwise, I’m at a complete loss as to why this new lust line figures into the story… Let’s just say I’m not overly pleased…

I was also not impressed with the quick meeting between Deb and Lundy… The opening scene between Anton and Deb shows a happy couple. Deb above the bed covers with obvious pleasure on her face and then Anton coming up for air… I thought black men didn’t do that?!?! (Go ahead… call me a racist) But when Deb sees Lundy in the police station later, she is completely taken aback and almost looks ashamed of the picture of herself with Anton on her desk. Lithgow does overly dramatic well… Deb does not…

The closing of the episode shows Dexter finally making his kill, chopping the guy up and stuffing parts of him into the back of his vehicle. He has to rush home to bring medicine to his new son for his ear infection. Again, what is wrong with Rita going to the store and picking it up herself? THIS WOMAN IS L-A-Z-Y!! and I think she was wearing a nightgown through most of the show?!? A haggard Dexter has a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel (see what you’ve done, Rita?) and realizes that his victim’s body is still in the trunk of the car!

Curtain closes…

Let’s see… have I forgotten anyone?

• Masuka = Back to his usual twisted self which I just LOVE
• Astor = Full of pre-teen angst and needs to be spanked… HARD!
• Quinn = Still hot… hot… hot…

In all, I thought the episode definitely gave me a taste of what is in store for Dexter this season. I’m sure I’ll end up hating Rita even more and I can only hope for a divorce by Season 6. A girl can dream, right? I’m also hoping that the writing gets better or at least the loose ends will somehow neatly tie themselves into a twisted knot of a story some time soon.

Starts tomorrow night!

Melanie Mumford

by Francis Duggan

She is not broad shouldered or physically tall
But she stands for something big ‘a fair go for all’
She stands for the Stateless and for those by war displaced
And only worthy causes by her are embraced.

Brave Melanie Mumford none greater than she
Admired for her sense of fair play and for her humanity
She speaks for the people who are disempowered
The asylum seekers unlawfully jailed by Prime Minister Howard.

If everyone were like her the World would be free
Of human rights transgressions and of poverty
And the flower of peace it would bloom Worldwide
True greatness of her it cannot be denied

She doesn’t seek the glory and she doesn’t seek the fame
This marvellous Australian remember her name
The Melanie Mumford’s of this World are few
To her higher self she will always be true.

She speaks for the Homeless, The Stateless and downtrod
The people who have been forsaken by God
A true Humanitarian worthy of note
To such worthwhile causes her time she devote.

Good on the brave Melanie is all we can say
She possess that marvellous gift of fair play
She speaks for the Stateless those who are oppressed
The people by Warlords who were dispossessed

For those who didn’t know this already… my name has changed multiple times over my 38 (almost, eek!) years of life… This was the very first… And I’ll let you guess what my middle name was at the time…

From time to time, I get letters from friends who apparently don’t read my blog… If they did, they probably wouldn’t be asking me some of these questions about their relationships. {snicker} I received this one the other day and thought I would post it…

Dear Melanie,

I’ve been dating this great guy for about four months and have been really enjoying his company. He gets along great with my pet cats and enjoys all the same things as I do. As you already know, after my last two relationships, I’m an incredibly mistrustful person. No matter how much I think this guy may like me, I’m still waiting for “that other shoe to drop”. In my obsessive search for something ‘wrong’, I ended up checking his email. You don’t have to tell me, I already know its wrong but I couldn’t help it… Now I wish I hadn’t.

It turns out that he still keeps in contact with his last girlfriend and the two of them have been exchanging emails. Some of them are just little updates but its the ones where she tells him that she misses talking to him that bother me the most. And from what I can tell, she doesn’t know about me at all.

To top it all off, over the past week or so, he has started deleting the emails. I think he’s hiding them. Why would he do this? And how do I confront him?

Sincerely,
Miss Trusting in Maryland

First off… Although I can completely empathize with you, I can’t condone your invasion into someone elses privacy. I can understand that after being lied to repeatedly in the past, you feel the need to cover your butt so you don’t feel like a fool later down the road… But at what point do you just accept a guy for face value and not question his intentions? I’m just throwing that out there because honestly I don’t know the answer to that either.

Now, on to your actual problem… Firstly, I’ll confess that I still keep in contact with B frequently… by frequently, I mean sometimes it’s daily… sometimes it’s weekly… I truly believe it’s only natural since B is one of my closest friends and has been for over two years… We have a lot in common when it comes to kids, music, TV shows, books, you name it… However, I don’t hide my conversations with him… In fact, it’s common knowledge around the household that I still frequently converse with him… Hence my first point… Your guy is hiding it and that is the Numero Uno reason to be suspicious… What does he have to hide? Is it the fact that he still converses with her and he doesn’t want you to be hurt? But what could possibly hurt you within a simple conversation? Yeah… I’m skeptical concerning the hidden nature of the conversations… Relationships need to be upfront and honest… otherwise it’s just stupid to keep trying…

I’m reminded of the time that I found out B was still perusing match.com even though I sort of considered our ‘relationship’ (for lack of a better term) to be exclusive… I was hurt… he felt like I was checking up on him… but it was more than that… He was hiding it and I found it… Relationship Point #1: If you are hiding something, you shouldn’t be doing it… Period…

Issue #2 is the simple fact that he hasn’t told this woman about you after how many months? Why? My guess (and this is just me being my bitter self) is that he is hedging his bets… He may be skeptical that the relationship between you and him is going to last therefore he needs to keep her in the dugout, ready to go should you strike out… In my opinion, he just wants to eat his cake AND save it for later and it just doesn’t work that way…

Issue #3: You can honestly confront him any time you are ready to hear his excuses because that’s all you are going to get… At first, he will get angry because you invaded his privacy (see above regarding match.com and B). Then he may or may not feel regret and decide to either #1 - break it off with you for being a controlling bitch or #2 - tell her about you, explain that it’s over and done and to never email him again… My bet is on #3 - beg forgiveness and secretly continue emailing her but learn how to hide it better… Honestly? And I’m really sorry to say it… the damage is already done, isn’t it? You already don’t trust him… Even if he did choose option #2 (best case scenario), how long would it take for you to stop checking his email account to see if he’s still contacting her? Does he need to prove it to you for your curiosity to be satiated? In my book, the damage is already done…

Bottom line: By hiding the conversations from you, he’s lying to you… By hiding you from her, he’s lying to her… Both of you lose out… But really, HE’S the biggest loser for being an ass and keeping up the facade…

Just my opinion… take it for what it’s worth…

I know it’s been a while since I last posted and I apologize… I have missed you… Rest assured that I am doing well but have just been incredibly busy…

I’ll be back again soon!

Just because I’m spoiled rotten.

Three of the children were visiting others this weekend, so we decided to treat Abby to a night out all by herself. She decided that we should have Chinese buffet again this evening (even though we just went to the same place last night for dinner but at least this time it was half the price!). I always get tickled watching her browse the assortment of food and I’m pleased when I see that she loads her plate with mostly green beans and mushrooms.

Both of the girls had talked about wanting to see Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs and I even mentioned to Beth that we might go while she was gone. She was dismayed that I would even THINK about going without her but, really, why should I punish Abby by NOT taking her just because Beth chose to go elsewhere? So, we went to see the movie…

Mr. McD hadn’t seen a 3D movie since back when they didn’t do 3D right so it was kind of fun hearing him say “wow” as they ran the previews for the new Disney production of “A Christmas Carol” (with Jim Carrey and it looks FANTASTIC!).

First off, I love taking Abby to the movies… she really gets into the movie and likes to interject her thoughts and emotions without any worries as to what others around us may hear… Sometimes it can be a real hoot… other times incredibly embarassing… tonight was a hoot…

I’m a fan of Ice Age even though I find the storylines, in general, sappy and usually very predictable… I know… it’s a kids movie so what SHOULD I expect?? This one wasn’t much different except the introduction of Buck, a fearless weasel with the voice talents of Simon Pegg. Some of you may already know that I’m a big Simon Pegg fan (see Star Trek review) so I was extremely pleased to see him bring Buck to life…

Scrat and a new lady love were also a running storyline throughout the film offering brief comedic relief in between action scenes for the main characters. Some of the scenes between the two had already been featured in previews but watching them again was visually wonderful — especially in 3D!

Overall, the animation continues to improve with the addition of 3D, the movie plotline has thinned itself out enough for me. How many sloth vs. mammoth jokes are there really? I’m not waiting on the edge of my seat for an Ice Age IV… unless, of course, Buck happens to make an appearance… My score: B+