Re: I Don't Want To Watch The Wire

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Battlestar Galactica (while the guy who played Face on the A-Team is cute, I don't see what all the fuss is about),

Is that a joke? I hope.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:21 AM
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Interesting. You've given up on novelistic TV, I've given up on novels. One more and we've got a NYT Styles article on the death of...something.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:22 AM
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1: Yes, it was. But I'm glad someone half-fell for it.

2: It's the attention thing -- I can't focus with the level of intensity that seems to be necessary for an hour. I fall asleep, or I start thinking about something else, or something, but I'm always lost in difficult TV.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:25 AM
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You know what TV is good for? Formulaic sitcoms

Also: gag comedy.


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:26 AM
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The death of attention! Who wants to write it up?


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:27 AM
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Along with my no-relationship policy, and not completely unbrelated, I have a no-TV / no-movies policy. You sound like a possible convert.

I cheat on the movie policy, but am not at all tempted by TV. That is, given the choice between watching TV, and drinking beer while staring at a bare wall and cursing the darkness, I choose the latter every time.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:30 AM
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I can't focus with the level of intensity that seems to be necessary for an hour. I fall asleep, or I start thinking about something else, or something, but I'm always lost in difficult TV.

I get that. But there's actually a fair bit of interesting TV out there these days, and I don't think that most of it is difficult. Leaving out the HBO shows, there's still stuff like Lost.

Do you think that good/difficult TV requires more of you than good/difficult novels, somehow? (I'm thinking mainly of having to make sense of so much sensory information, and maybe the fact that it paces itelf independent of your needs.)


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:32 AM
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Seriously, I think DVDs and PVRs are changing what you can do with TV. The fact that you can watch an episode more than once gives a show much more leeway in how complicated or "difficult" in can be. There's prejudice and habit that TV is supposed to be pablum, and saying that you ought to watch an episode more than once seems silly, but I think that's just prejudice and habit.

Your other point seems right to me though: for some people, keeping track of what's going on in The Wire, for example, isn't all the difficult; but other people have trouble even following the basics.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:33 AM
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Your other point seems right to me though: for some people, keeping track of what's going on in The Wire, for example, isn't all the difficult; but other people have trouble even following the basics.

We didn't all come up hard like you, ogged.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:35 AM
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it paces itelf independent of your needs

This is it, and that I can't safely ignore the dull bits. Reading a novel, I'm at a reasonably high risk of missing a bit of necessary information if it's hidden in a several-page burst of scenery description, but I can generally look back and straighten myself out if that happens. In TV, if I missed it, it's gone. And I've never found a sort of entertainment I didn't want to skip big chunks of.

(Well I don't have that sort of trouble with movies. If I've paid $10, and I have a vat of popcorn and some Jujyfruits, I can stay focussed. But not at home.)


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:36 AM
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Ain't that the truth.

You know, I once saw Honeyboy Edwards play, and he told a bunch of stories about hanging out with Robert Johnson, riding the rails, carrying their clothes on their backs, playing for money to eat every day.... And he just said, "I done come up the hard way, but I made it through."


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:38 AM
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First Just Shoot Me, and now Jujifruits. My heart just broke a little bit.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:40 AM
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I only eat them at the movies. (And actually, I don't know that I've seen them for ages. But if they're for sale, they are a necessary movie accompaniment.)

Whaddaya got against Jujyfruits?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:41 AM
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Whaddaya got against Jujyfruits?

They're nasty.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:47 AM
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Jujyfruits are the tool of the Capitalists, used to.... No, I have nothing against them. There's just nothing for them, either. Junior Mints are better, as are Red Hots. And, in all honesty, I get all the sweetness I need from the store-made cokes.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:47 AM
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Whaddaya got against Jujyfruits?

Christ, first B is praising salt water taffy, and now Jujyfruits? Put the pipe down people.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:52 AM
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Eh, I'm not going to defend them as actually tasting good or anything. They're a traditional part of the moviegoing experience.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:55 AM
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The only thing Jujyfruits are good for is the removal of dental hardware.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:55 AM
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15 -- what store do you shop at, that makes cokes?


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:56 AM
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16 is omitting LB's first initial.


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 10:57 AM
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19: I just mean the Cokes that are mixed at the theater's concession stand. Usually, they add extra syrup. (I think this is rarer, now.)


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:01 AM
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16 is omitting LB's first initial.

No, B as in Bphd.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:01 AM
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But she said nothing about Jujyfruits!


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:02 AM
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given the choice between watching TV, and drinking beer while staring at a bare wall and cursing the darkness, I choose the latter

Exceot when using the treadmill. Show with lots of T&A or automatic weapons firing alleviate the tedium and there's no need to follow the crap that passes for plot & character.


Posted by: Biohazard | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:04 AM
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In TV, if I missed it, it's gone. And I've never found a sort of entertainment I didn't want to skip big chunks of.

A DVR might solve this.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:05 AM
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I guess in some respects I preferred TV when it was all formulaic sitcoms: I could just ignore it back then.


Posted by: Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:05 AM
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25: You can't scan for information the same way you can in a book -- even if you rewind, you can't hear what anyone's saying unless you actually rewatch the whole thing.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:09 AM
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Jujyfruits are revolting.

I kinda hear LB on the must-see television thing. I haven't had cable in years, and I have to admit I really don't miss tv. I feel a li'l left out of the tv convos, and I might get around to getting a netflix sub at some point, but it kinda seems like the presence of a kid means there's no fucking time to watch television any more.

Goddamn kids.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:13 AM
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Speaking of tv, I was only 8 or so when the original Miami Vice was on. They show it on that Sleuth channel now, and you know, it's better than I expected.

But looking at the IMDB pics you'd think the show was about a gay couple.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086759/photogallery


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:14 AM
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I just got a DVR and it has increased the trashiness of my movie viewing tremendously.

I have recently watched:
"planet of the apes" with charlton heston
"what's up doc" with barbara strisand and ryan o'neil
"dirty rotten scoundrels"
"the wedding crashers" and
"back to the future part II"


Posted by: joeo | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:19 AM
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There was TAL a while back that included a story about a woman who found reruns of shows she didn't even like comforting. I kind of get that, and LB seems to be describing the same or a similar phenomenon.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:21 AM
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Hey, I like Planet of the Apes!


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:23 AM
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Tivo Series 2 boxes are really really cheap now. I saw one on sale at Circuit City over the weekend for something like $30. You still have to pay for the service and all but wow.

The real issue in the movie candy debate is that a lot of movie theaters are getting rid of the "traditional movie candies" for ones where I assume they are making higher profits. A movie with Snickers Popables is just not the same as a movie with Twizzlers, Junior Mints, Raisinettes, or even Jujyfruits.


Posted by: Becks | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:26 AM
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a lot of movie theaters are getting rid of the "traditional movie candies"

Sure, but until the local drug store takes the same steps, why is this relevant?


Posted by: washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:28 AM
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You know what TV is good for? Formulaic sitcoms.

TV would be vastly improved if all the filler material between the commercial advertising were eliminated.


Posted by: RSA | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:34 AM
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I used to follow 24, but one of the seasons, 4 or 5, was so poorly managed that you could follow the arc of the entire season by watching the last ten minutes of each episode. Nothing important was going to happen midway through, it would all be right before the final 'dooot... dit.... doooot.... dit' of the credits.

I started to resent the show for making me watch for an hour when it obviously only had ten minutes of content to show me.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 11:51 AM
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This post is so totally true. Of course, if I had written something like it, ben would be calling me an "elitist" and so on, but it's still true. I used to like to explain why I watched tv but not movies by saying that tv didn't pretend to be better than it was. Harder to say that nowadays--though with dubious thanks to reality tv, not impossible.


Posted by: JL | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 12:34 PM
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In TV, if I missed it, it's gone. And I've never found a sort of entertainment I didn't want to skip big chunks of.

This is, as many people have said, the beauty of TiVo.

I'm glad to see a shout-out in 33 to my favorite movie candy, Raisinettes. I once kept myself sane during a second theatrical viewing of "What About Bob" by concentrating on eating an entire box of Raisinettes using only chopsticks.


Posted by: mrh | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 12:41 PM
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The best movie candies are nonpareil. Or sour patch kids.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 12:46 PM
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What did you do on during your 42nd televised viewing of "What About Bob"?


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 12:47 PM
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Also: Malt balls, bitches!


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 12:47 PM
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Trust me, Clownæ, after twice in the theater, I was pretty much done with "What About Bob." I haven't been able to watch a Richard Dreyfus movie since.


Posted by: mrh | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 12:52 PM
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Luckily, every Richard Dreyfuss movie since then has been horrible, unless you count "James and the Giant Peach".


Posted by: Cryptic Ned | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:02 PM
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I just like resisting the peer pressure.

I went thru the Buffys and Angels, every episode, and then thru them again on DVD, and now every morning, if I am up and I bother. There is a committment, an appointment, an emotional involvement. And not enough payoff. I now forget why I cared so much about Willow & Spike.

So no TV except basketball games, History Channel etc, and lots of movies. Over & Over. The other night it was Seventh Seal followed by Virgin Spring followed by Wild Strawberries. Better than sex, better even than dope.


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:32 PM
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Maybe you should try better dope, bob.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:44 PM
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Dope also works well in combination with movies. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:49 PM
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TV except basketball games,

There's the shard of genius amongst the tangle of crazy. Though I think the Mavs may not be ready for a resurgent Suns team. Or even (dare I hope) an unexpectedly good Lakers team.

(w-lfs-n, am I correct in not adding apostrophes to Suns and Lakers?)


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:51 PM
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(Gripe: on Friday I watched "The Lady Vanishes", intending to get good and high beforehand -- but events intervened and made me watch it straight, which the paranoia in it was a little too convoluted to really buy without a bit of impairment. Also, fuckin Netflix sent me a damaged or dirty disc -- every so often the action would pause for a few seconds, then resume. I am new to Netflix -- does this happen very frequently? It's sure annoying. Is there some kind of DVD cleaning kit I should get and use before I watch the movies?


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:52 PM
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)


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:53 PM
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Did watch Seventh Seal on acid, back in the day. For the most part, sex distracts from good movie watching tho. Turn over baby, Death's got a mate in three.


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 1:53 PM
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I am new to Netflix -- does this happen very frequently?

Not terribly infrequently. Dish detergent and water will clean gunk off the disk.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:10 PM
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Luckily, every Richard Dreyfuss movie since thenhas been horrible, unless you count "James and the Giant Peach". Rosencranz and Guildensturn are Dead.

The best movie candy is Reese's Pieces. Eat a few before you eat some popcorn, and that whole salty/sweet thing, mmmm!


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:15 PM
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(w-lfs-n, am I correct in not adding apostrophes to Suns and Lakers?)

w-lfs-n isn't allowed to comment on sports.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:17 PM
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And besides, that question is better directed at our resident Apostropher.


Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:20 PM
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42: Your views on What about Bob? are defective. Please report for reeducation.

43: I don't love the movie, though I know people who do, but there's nothing particularly wrong with The American President.


Posted by: washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:22 PM
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LB, what's your stand on nonforumulaic sitcoms, such as Arrested Development and the improv-based stuff such as Reno 911 and Lovespring International? Too thinky?


Posted by: Magpie | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:27 PM
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I'm no ben w-lfs-n, but I wouldn't use apostrophes there.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:28 PM
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43:Dreyfuss, starring Dreyfuss, produced and directed by Dreyfuss, written by Emile Dreyfuss, was really earnest and educational.


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:43 PM
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Also, fuckin Netflix sent me a damaged or dirty disc -- every so often the action would pause for a few seconds, then resume. I am new to Netflix -- does this happen very frequently?

I find about one in three Netflix discs needs a little cleaning - as Lizardbreath says, gently handwashing with hand soap or dish soap does the trick. Wipe from center to edge, not circularly - radial scratches are easily corrected by the system, rotational ones aren't. Dry it with something soft and non-scratchy -- ideally a lint free cloth, but a random hand towel works fine.

In the last three years I've only received a couple of discs from Netflix that were too scratched up to play; in those cases you can get them to send you a replacement without waiting for you to send back the bad one.


Posted by: Hamilton Lovecraft | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:45 PM
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57: Reno 911 is the only one of those I've seen, and was funny-ish. I'm not all that fond of cringe-driven humor (well, other than The Office) but it certainly didn't set off the "This is too complicated, I'm bored and confused" reaction I have to 'quality' dramas.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 2:48 PM
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55. "The American President" bothered me for one scene, when Michael Douglas is more conflicted about bombing an enemy site. He gets all weepy about the janitor doing his job, etc. He has either forgotten, or does not care about the troops killed in the attack that this is a retaliation for. I think an American President would remember that, and comment on it when ordering the strike. That scene spoiled what was otherwise an entertaining movie.


Posted by: Tassled Loafered Leech | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 7:17 PM
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He has either forgotten, or does not care about the troops killed in the attack that this is a retaliation for

Or he's a decent human being who can still mourn the lives lost even in a "necessary" retaliation.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 7:24 PM
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I understand that, but I felt that not mentioning the Americans killed was an oversight that the President wouldn't make.


Posted by: Tassled Loafered Leech | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 7:29 PM
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I find myself getting more and more surly and resistant about watching anything that's been recommended as artistically meaningful TV. I watched a couple of episodes of Battlestar Galactica (while the guy who played Face on the A-Team is cute, I don't see what all the fuss is about)

Don't write off The Wire preemptively just because you weren't impressed with Battlestar Galactica. BSG is a pretty decent action show that's been mistaken for the Second Coming by some overeager genre fans whose expectations have been lowered by decades of cheap crap. The Wire is genuinely excellent storytelling.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 8:12 PM
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He has either forgotten, or does not care about the troops killed in the attack that this is a retaliation for

Oh, wank, wank.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 8:14 PM
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stras, you left off the part about the crying.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 10-16-06 9:20 PM
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Oh, wank, wank.

Heh.

I actually did like The American President, and had forgotten that Dreyfuss was in it.


Posted by: mrh | Link to this comment | 10-17-06 7:04 AM
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For the benefit of impatient people with TiVo, here's a trick I've used more than once: turn on the Closed Captioning on your set & then view on the lowest setting of fast-forward. The captions remain visible, so you can more or less keep up, but the pace is (roughly) doubled.

I've found this very useful for getting to the best parts of movies I've seen before, skipping B-plot scenes with TV characters I'm not especially interested in, and surviving political panels that include Pat Buchanan.

And yes, I do in fact have a life. Kinda.


Posted by: Rah | Link to this comment | 10-17-06 1:47 PM
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Oh, that's clever. I may do that.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10-17-06 1:51 PM
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