From the Inside Out

For one week only, you can watch Joss Whedon’s latest project online for free. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a humorous musical story of a low-rent super-villain, a hero who is completely infatuated with himself, and a cute girl from the laundromat.

This Internet miniseries event stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. The characters, story, and songs are well-crafted (not that you would expect anything less from Joss Whedon). For those Buffy fans out there, the musical elements are reminiscent of the “With Feeling” episode he did on that show. If you are a fan of Joss Whedon, you’ve got to see this. If you’re not, check it out anyway. It starts a little slow, but keep watching. It’s hilarious.

Act one and two are available for viewing now. The final act will be posted on Saturday, July 19th. Don’t delay because these episodes will be removed at midnight on Sunday, July 20th.

Click here to watch now

View the trailer

And now for something completely…funny!  With the weekend coming to an end and Monday quickly approaching, I wanted to share a good laugh.  I’m doing research for Saturday Night Life at ALC, and I ran across this sketch.  It’s features one of my favorite Amy Poehler characters, Kaitlin, with her stepdad at the mall.  Check it out….love it! :) 

Entertainment Weekly recently published its list of 18 “Awesome” Imaginary Worlds. These are the fabulous locales that you might like to visit if they really existed. While I agree with many of the locations on the list, there are others that I’d like to visit too.

With that in mind, here’s my customized list of “Top 5 Imaginary Worlds” in no particular order:

• Narnia: I wasn’t surprised to find this imaginary world on EW’s list — not only is it beautiful, but it also has its own rap song (check out the video by Andy Sanberg).

• Stargate Atlantis: Who wouldn’t want to live in a city created by the “Ancients” and be able to visit a new planet every day? If not for the pesky Wraith, it would be ideal.

• Lost Island: Mix the Dharma initiative with an island that looks like Kaui, and you’ve got a fantastic place to visit. A gorgeous blue ocean, luscious green scenery AND mystique — it’s the perfect combo.

• Mars (Life on Mars): Life on Mars is an original BBC police drama that premiered a couple of years ago. After a car accident, Sam Tyler finds himself in Manchester in 1973. The world he created while in a coma is full of interesting characters, and as an added bonus, there are the fabulous 70s fashions.

• Middle-Earth (Lord of the Rings): Another world on EW’s list, “Tolkien’s Middle-earth is home to hobbits and dragons and elves and jewelry of imponderable power.” Hobbits and dragons are cool. Jewelry that holds magical powers is every little girl’s dream.

That’s my “top 5″. What are yours?

Fans of Joss Whedon may soon have reason to rejoice. He’s working on a new show with Eliza Dushku (some may remember her as Faith from one of Whedon’s other popular television shows). 

According to comingsoon.net, his new show titled “Dollhouse” revolves around a group of young men and women, aka “Dolls,” who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. They have no memories of their previous lives, until Echo (Dushku) begins to try to find out who she was.”

The show will air on Fox, most likely in the Fall. Amazingly enough, Joss Whedon came up with the idea and the title by accident. He was having lunch with Eliza and offering career advice when it hit him.

A few days after lunch, he wrote a treatment and then an episode guide, pilot outline and poster. A couple of days later he approached Fox with the idea for the pilot. Soon after, they wanted more than a pilot. They offered a seven-episode commitment.

Wouldn’t it be nice if others could get their ideas picked up that easily! Of course if your name is Joss Whedon, you have instant credibility with the studios. The man is a genius. I envy admire his writing — it’s witty, smart, and unique.

I can’t wait for the Fall premiere.  It will be a breath of fresh air when Joss comes back to the small screen. It’s been lonely (and a bit boring) without him.

In one of the opening monologues of the Seinfeld show, Jerry Seinfeld did a bit that I’ve never forgotten.  Why, you ask?  Well, it resonated with me.  Some might argue that it is me.  It’s certainly how I felt after last night.  Here’s the bit:

“I never get enough sleep. I stay up late at night, cause I’m Night Guy. Night Guy wants to stay up late. What about getting up after five hours sleep? Oh, that’s Morning Guy’s problem. That’s not my problem, I’m Night Guy. I stay up as late as I want.

So you get up in the morning, you’re cranky, you’re exhausted, groggy…oooh, you hate that Night Guy! See, Night Guy always screws Morning Guy. There’s nothing Morning Guy can do. The only thing Morning Guy can do is try and oversleep often enough so that Day Guy looses his job and Night Guy has no money to go out anymore.”

It’s funny, but it’s also true.  My “Night Guy” stayed up so late that Morning Guy only got four hours of sleep. The sad thing is I wasn’t doing anything important or fun.  I just didn’t want to go to sleep.

Today was tough, especially because I was scheduled to sing in both services at church.  So, I got up at 6:45 am, muddled through practice, and tried to fake being awake during both services.  I put forth a valiant effort, but my concentration was greatly impaired. 

According to Sleep-deprivation.com, inadequate rest impairs our ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system and to moderate our emotions. In fact, sleep is so important to our overall health that total sleep deprivation has been proven to be fatal: lab rats denied the chance to rest die within two to three weeks.

Without adequate rest, the brain’s ability to function quickly deteriorates. The brain works harder to counteract sleep deprivation effects, but operates less effectively: concentration levels drop, and memory becomes impaired. Insufficient rest can also cause people to have hallucinations.

So, I’m not going to let Night Guy win this evening.  I’m signing off early before I start hallucinating. 

Have a great week!