what is a blog? and why is everyone doing it? i'm not going to sit here and go through my day [they would throw me in a cold, dark prison...] so what is left? philosophical ruminations? perhaps, though i'll try to keep 'em short. i'm wondering about why everybody blogs. it is not just a diary, it is a way of communicating with the world. we all want to write something and become famous just for the way we think, and so we blog, and nobody pays attention. it is way past time for people to realize that we are mostly going to live boring, pathetic lives and die in a retirement home after our children abandon us. blogging will not help. not that i am saying life is bad - it just won't get a whole lot better than when you are sitting writing your poorly-thought out opinions on a computer terminal. think about it - if paid columnists can be so thick-headed sometimes, then what makes you think you've got 'it'??? and while you're at it, drop the burberry plaid (hello! overused like a communist airbrush...) and the sanctimonious crap about how you could solve the israel/palestine situation. nobody cares! until you realize that your wealth and your personality are as fluid as that overpriced bottle of aged grape juice you bought, you will remain a cog in the machine. jump out - strike back, but don't sit there and take out your conservative, white-bread, suburban rage on a blog. mispell things on purpose. spread false rumors. set up dummy corporations and hide your debt in it. get away with it because you think you can. you are ready to understand, but the thing is, as long as you reach understanding, it doesn't matter what the hell i am doing. i could be juggling - in fact i am, and you will still reach enlightenment. just be sure when you get there to give me a call - i hear the world cup is on and since i don't have tivo, i can't miss a minute.

tv is a medium that seems to have reached its limits in recent years. breaking the fourth wall, flashbacks, dream sequences, and even using puppets and animation seem both cliched and gimmicky these days. but one show this year pushed a hardening envelope to deliver much more than your average television show...'24'

the concept was simple - each episode would be one hour in the day of a counterterrorism officer (ostensibly working for the CIA) who was having a very bad day. he must protect the life of a presidential candidate while dealing with bad guys who kidnap his wife and daughter so that he will kill the candidate himself. complex? you bet.

the hour concept even extended to a running clock that would appear during the show, heightening tension while adding continuity. but the real key to '24' was hiring name actors and keeping the story tight and focused. keifer sutherland was the big gun, but others helped out, including dennis hopper as the evil mastermind behind it all.

and the story? what a story. plot twists, subplots, deception, fake deaths, the list goes on and on. it was as if someone turned a soap opera into a spy movie and then made sure that every episode was directly related to the last...this was another major accomplishment - you really did need to watch every episode to understand what was going on, but fox and f/x helped out by showing reruns of the show three times a week.

it has been renewed, though uncertainty exists about the cost and scope of the project - reportedly the viewership couldn't justify the millions spent on the show. but if the fox execs are listening, and they should be, this show kept millions glued to the screen every tuesday night like clockwork. that type of brand loyalty is hard to match in our jaded, cynical world. maybe we liked heroic characters like jack bauer and senator palmer. or maybe we liked more complex characters like senator palmer's campaign manager (very crafty!) and jack's boss at ctu (political and very intriguing!). but most of all we liked being treated to a movie event, every tuesday, where we could suspend disbelief (the cia acting like secret service? huh?) and watch as jack took down the bad guys while saving his family. we can only hope next season is as brilliant...