House P.I.

The only network show (non-reality) that remains on my viewing schedule is House. And even it is on thin ice. Last season was horrible. The 13 storyline just never seemed to end, and Kutner's exit from the show seemed like an arbitrary invention when Kal Penn decided to go to Washington. It was a shocker reminiscent of Lt. Colonel Henry Blake's departure from M*A*S*H. Kutner's character was one of the few that I liked other than Wilson and House. The whole romance with Cuddy seemed like a desperate subplot by writers who ran out of ideas two seasons ago.

The first episode of the new season was refreshing if only because House wasn't surrounded by the same cast of characters. But that is only one episode. We've seen these individual episodes before, only to have House return to the same tired formula.

Rumor is that one of the major characters is being kicked off the show in November. And again it is one of the better characters on the show, only this time it was not the actor's decision.

If I was writing the show I would kill House M.D. In its place would be House P.I. Ok, stop laughing. It makes perfect sense. House's powers of observation would make him a great detective. We already know that House and Wilson are Holmes and Watson in another form. So why not just go back to the source and turn House into a master detective? Mark my words, it would work!

Face Value

Here's a story about Ticketmaster's new paperless ticket system. It actually works, and I used it when I was able to acquire tickets for the recent Nine Inch Nails show when Ticketmaster made some last minute "tickets" available a few hours before the Friday night Chicago show last month. It's a little weird to take out your credit card at the actual venue. The person who took my card was just standing at the gate with a swipe machine in his hand. The article also mentions resale possibilities, but Trent did not allow that on the Nine Inch Nails tickets. Since you have to provide your credit card at the venue, after which you walk right in, there is no possibility of handing off tickets to someone else. The few people that I heard about "scalping" were only providing one ticket, and the actual scalper had to walk in with the scalpee. Not very convenient for the scalper, in other words.

Sardines Aren't That Bad

The explosion of new housing options at UI since the early 90s has always been perplexing. Part of the answer is the increase in enrollment, which has gone from 36,081 in 1991 to 41,918 in 2008. Why the increase? It isn't like the campus needed more students. Consider that the groups that have increased the most are the grad and international students, which are both sources of higher tuition. This additional tuition money was needed to make up for the decline in state funding, I suppose.

The Return of Det. Munch?

It sounds like there is going to be an Arrested Development film. I'm going to go celebrate and eat a banana.

Infamous

Quickly, while it's rotten to the core-All About Steve currently has no positive (fresh) ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know if a mainstream release has ever been entirely shutout, so this might be one for the record books. Not that I believe it will stay this way. Even if no critics actually like it, I believe at least a couple attention seeking critics will fabricate positive opinions.

Please Please Me

I am looking forward to the upcoming release of the remastered Beatles albums, particularly the mono versions. That being said, I'll hold off on any purchases until the finicky reviewers have weighed in. Those finicky opinions have kept me from fully enjoying Beatles music, with the knowledge that the music sounds better on the original vinyl, allegedly, than on the 1987 CD releases. In addition my samplings of the mono versus the stereo version of The White Album have resulted in the conclusion that the mono versions are better, so that mono box set looks mighty appealing. It would look more appealing if the price were cheaper, and if it were actually available. The mono box set sold out several days before the release date, thanks to a limited edition status. The rumor is that this "limited edition" is actually not so limited, as the current sell out is due to a lag in production, rather than a hard limit that would make the set an instant collector's item. All this is moot if it turns out that these remastered CDs don't sound any better than their first incarnation.