The Return Of The Magic Box

• What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
• Oh, pop culture, how I have forsaken thee. With the conventions and football, I've put you off for far too long. The TV season is starting back up, so here we go.
• On the season premiere of Entourage, Ari tried to find a job for Vince but then yelled at Eric because he couldn't get Vince on the phone. Then, Ari yelled at Lloyd until he could get hold of Eric. Meanwhile, Vince was doing something that rich people do and Turtle was getting high and/or drunk and hitting on women. Johnny got into a crazy argument over something having to do with his appearance/pride. Sound familiar? It's the plot of EVERY FREAKING EPISODE! There were some funny lines, but I've established in the past how I generally feel about the show.
• On Weeds, Nancy did something that she should, by all rights, be killed for; Celia said something demeaning to her daughter/husband; and Andy and Doug did something wacky and sexual. Are you getting my point yet about half-hour cable comedies?
• Since I haven't yet watched 90210 (have it on my laptop), Monday brought the first season premiere of a network show that I watch with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It's good; I still say it's a fine replacement for the last season of 24. It's kind of weird that Garbage's Shirley Manson was on it, but the last scene was pretty cool. I'll remark again on how CGI has become affordable enough that even TV shows can use fairly advanced stuff.
• Tonight, J.J. Abrams premiered his new show, Fringe. Think X-Files meets Lost. No, wait, don't think. If you do, the horrible dialogue will hurt your head. It was cheesier than I would like and it's quite derivative, but I suppose that Abrams deserves a second chance. I don't have tons of time for new shows though, so I doubt I'll stick with it.
• Random Thoughts/Links:
• I did decide to skip the series premiere of Liar: The Sarah Palin Chronicles. Line of the Day: "On the same day that dozens of news organizations have exposed Governor Palin's phony bridge to nowhere claim as a 'naked lie,' she and John McCain continue to repeat the claim in their stump speeches. Maybe tomorrow she'll tell us she sold it on eBay," Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.
• How great is life when the Yankees don't make the playoffs and the Raiders stink? All we need is for the Cowboys to have their usual playoff choke and all will be right with the world.
• Here's the hilarious ending to this past week's The Soup. The Clip of the Week is funny enough, but the part afterwards? Pure comedy genius.
• Daily Rant:
• I've been walking around all week with a ridiculous scratch on my forehead. During the storm on Saturday (Tropical Storm Hannah, the second straight named storm I've been in!), a tree in my neighborhood blew to a 45-degree angle. I walked the dog on Sunday and while doing so, I was talking on my phone and looking down, when I ran smack into a branch that was hanging down from said slanted tree. A thick branch. Now I look like my temple took a punch from Kimbo Slice. You'd think it would give me street cred but, unfortunately, booboos from walking into a tree are not considered tough.