Day out with Thomas

So last Friday we took Jackson to see the real live Thomas the Tank Engine. This thing looked so much like the real one that for once, a capitalist marketing ploy to sell you toys and t-shirts was totally worth it. Thomas has been the one thing that has kept Jackson's attention for more than a few days. He's been totally into all things Thomas for well over a year now, which in kid terms is forever. It's almost half of his life. And considering all the loud, brash idiotic crap that kids are into these days(I'm looking at YOU, Spongebob!), a show made up entirely of some guy's train set, with narration by The Late George Carlin is okay in my book.

My dad happened to be in Oklahoma for the Gene Autry Festival* which is near Ardmore, so he drove up to OKC to hang out with us and Thomas. It was held at the Oklahoma Railway Museum, so we were able to look at trains and things while waiting for our trip on Thomas.

Everybody really had a great time.

In other news:

Heroes doesn't seem to suck this season, so that's awesome.

Um... I think that's it.

-JP

*Don't get me started. My dad has this weird fascination with '50s Coyboy culture.

Ramblin'

Well, I've been meaning to post about a great number of things, like the current state of the election, and our trip to Wichita over the weekend, and gushing on my new phone, but every time I sit down to write, I either get distracted or nothing comes out.
So I'm just going to ramble a bit about Internet TV.
I've been a little slow at work lately. Well, not really "slow", but I seem to get everything I need to get done by about noon or so. I guess "fantastically efficient" would be a better phrase. To help pass the time, I re-enrolled in college to get what amounts to an associates degree in web design. The cool thing there is that I can take about 98% of the classes over Internet.* But even that I'm fantastically efficient at. I've been filling the reaming time watching TV shows I can't watch at night because I actually play with my kids. I watched the entire run of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. If you think in your head that the third movie never existed (as I'm sure Claire Danes is), and that plot holes are just a part of science-fiction/time travel movies anyway(How in god's name did Marty McFly's parents not know that their son looks amazingly like the guy that got the together?!?! AND has the same name!), then the show is actually pretty good. They beef up the conspiracy aspect to account for mountains of terminators suddenly running around Los Angeles, which is okay. They need things to do other than just run away from the Terminator of the week. Not even Brian Austin Green could ruin it, and they balance that out by putting Garbage's own Shirley Manson in it (Whom, BTW, I still have a crush on no matter how mediocre her music has become).
So as long as I don't have to keep track of it (ie.: it stays on hulu), I'll keep watching.
I also downloaded all three seasons of The Venture Brothers, which is the best animated show on the air right now. I've seen most of the eps before, but not all in a row. Awesome stuff.
I tried to watch the new Knight Rider. I watched the pilot, and didn't think it was that bad. Mostly because I loved the original when I was 7. I thought maybe the show would have some potential. It does not. Not even Val Kilmer as the voice of the car saves it. Don't bother.
Other bright spots: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and maybe Life on Mars. The original British version was phenomenal, and I am weary of the American version, due to a leaked pilot I saw a few months back. They have since re-tooled the show with better actors and a tweaked plot, so we'll see.

That's all I got.

-JP

Shoes