Cultural Cuisinart

Da Foozball Stuff

ESPN has a great in-depth article up about Matt Ryan that I know several of you readers out there would enjoy. He seems like a really nice kid, so I hope that he and his team have continued success in the future.

You know which rookie WON'T be having success this season? Felix Jones, who just got put on IR by the Cowboys, ending his season. Dammit. I've been holding on to him all season, waiting for him to get back in, taking up a valuable roster slot on my bench, and it's all for nothing. Grrrr. I hope that ESPN's The Talented Mr. Roto is right about Steve Smith and Peyton Hillis this week.

I didn't watch much of the Steelers game last night, as I was busy watching NBC's Thursday lineup while Ugly Betty was recording on the other channel. A girl's got to have her priorities straight. I'm pretty irritated that the NFL is insisting on pushing forward with these Thursday night games. One, it screws up fantasy football, because it forces you to make lineup decisions early in the week before full injury reports are available. Second (and more importantly), it's not fair to the viewers. Thursday is a busy night for TV fans, with the blockbuster shows like CSI and Grey's Anatomy airing, plus the less-watched but even more worthy 30 Rock and The Office. It sucks to have to choose whether to watch your favorite show or to tune into the game. That assumes, of course, that you even GET the NFL Network, which isn't available in a lot of cities. Again.. not very fair to the fans, if you ask me.

Game to watch on Sunday 1pm: Jets vs Titans
Game to flip to during commercials: Dolphins vs Patriots
Game to watch at 4pm: Panthers vs Falcons
Game to flip to during commercials: none - take a bathroom break and get yourself a snack

TV Stuff

I'm very disappointed to see that ABC execs have canceled Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies. While DSM was good soapy fun, and Donald Sutherland was particularly magnificant in the role as patriarch Tripp Darling, I could possibly live without this show. However, the cancellation of the magical, wonderful Pushing Daisies is simply inexcusable. It's rare that you see a show that's truly fresh and original, and it's sad to know the Pie Hole's doors will soon be closing forever. Meanwhile, shows like Private Practice are still on the air.

Shows you need to catch up on, if you aren't watching them already: run out and buy the DVD sets of these shows so you can catch up and see what all the fuss is about

• Mad Men
• True Blood (first season is just ending, so you may be able to see it on HBO on-demand)
• Pushing Daisies
• 30 Rock
• Battlestar Galactica (seriously, if you're not watching this show, I'm going to drive to your house and punch you in the face)
  

Video Game Goodness

I am very excited because last night I finally got around to downloading the new Valve game Left 4 Dead. I'll post a review of it sometime next week, but I'm very excited to get down to playing it. I've played Resident Evil before, so it's not like it's my first foray into zombie killing, but what intrigues me the most is the 4 player co-op mode, where you and 3 friends team up to slaughter the zombie horde (or, you can choose to be a team of zombies attempting to kill another 4 man team playing as survivors). Feedback from my Team Fortress 2 clan mates has been very good, and Valve has done a genius job with multi-player fun in the past, so I have high hopes. If you want to get together with me and play (PC guys only), my Steam ID is mad_typist - just shoot me a friend request and then we can play together (or post your Steam ID in the comments).

I'll finish this post off with a gameplay video from my friend, Mr. Snuts!*, who is just an insane sniper in Team Fortress 2. Seriously, this is sick stuff:

Untitled from Jeremy Harris on Vimeo.