All Sidebar Updates, all the time!

Wow, I've gone from neglecting the Sidebar Update for weeks on end to seemingly doing nothing but Sidebar Updates, while neglecting everything else. My laziness goes in cycles.

This week's Object of My Affection is the lovely Famke Janssen. Oh my goodness gracious she is a vision. I've been a fan -- as have most men, I'll wager -- since her turn as the best ever (yes, I said BEST EVER, debate that, my friends) Bond Girl, Xenia Onatopp ("Onatopp?" "Onatopp."), in one of my favorite Bond films, GoldenEye. And of course I just saw her onscreen this week in X-Men: The Last Stand, where she manages to look hot even while she's got a spider-web of veins covering her face because she's eeeeeeee-vill.

I finished Terry Pratchett's Thud! and am now on to the penultimate book in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the aptly titled The Penultimate Peril. It's good fun so far, as have been all the books in this dark, funny, smart series. I think after two goofy fun books in a row, I need to tackle something heavy next. Could it finally be time for me to finish Quicksilver?

I've been going through all the saved-up programs on my TiVo, now that the regular TV season has ended and I have time to catch up. I just finished the five episodes of Alias I had stored, and that was quite a roller coaster ride. Mostly satisfactory, although it was a shame Vaughn was written out for most of the year, while those two new agents filled in, to lackluster results. The final hour, though -- very nice. What a wickedly appropriate end to Arvin Sloane, at the hands of Jack: "You beat death, Arvin, but you couldn't beat me." SWEET. Now I've got several episodes of 24 lined up and ready to go. Maybe I'll get to them some time later this week; today, it's so damn hot in my apartment that as soon as I finish this post I'm bailing out of here to seek out air conditioning. I'll go see The Da Vinci Code if I have to. I'm not bluffing!! It's that hot!

Listening to Fountains of Wayne's Utopia Parkway, which I bought yesterday. It didn't win me over as quickly as their most recent album, Welcome Interstate Managers, but it's catchy and hooky and funny and I imagine it will grow on me in days to come.

Hating MTV's My Super Sweet 16. The AV Club's Kyle Ryan recently made the case for this being the most offensive show on television, and I'm inclined to agree. Have you seen this abomination? Each episode documents the 16th birthday parties -- which are about as elaborate as the Super Bowl halftime show -- of these rich, entitled, vile, spoiled, worthless teenage brats, who make outrageous, unreasonable, ultra-expensive demands and literally call their mothers "bitch" at the slightest wrinkle in their plans, yet still wind up with both an SUV and a sports car as presents. Seriously, parents, let's see a little discipline for once. Your kid calls you a bitch, the party is fucking off. Not even Chuck E. Cheese for you, you little monster.

Lyric of the Week is from my man Hoyt Axton's ode to the rewards of hard work: "Work your fingers to the bone, what do you get? Boney fingers." I'm with you, Hoyt!

And I am out of here. Damn, it's hot!