Friday's Fetish
Almost midnight. I'm a bit late posting, but it's been one of those daze here at Chez McGann.

Before I do anything, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIAM!!! Love you little man! He's eleven today, going on 21. Really - he thinks he is already a playah :) We didn't get to celebrate tonight because he had baseball practice, which subsequently got cancelled, so we're going out to dinner and doing the cake thing tomorrow. He has only one request, and that is cold, hard cash. Keep your giftcards - it's greenbacks or nothing. Grandparents arriving tomorrow as well. Yay!!! Added bonus - more cold, hard cash. In other exciting news, it's also Mr. Lincoln's 201st birthday.

Hubby had a doozy of a Friday. He woke up with some crazy-ass allergic reaction, in the form of a massively swollen epiglottis (can honestly say that's the first time I've ever typed that word), which then caused his airway to be obstructed so he couldn't breathe or swallow properly. We were back and forth to the doctor all day, getting two sets of shots (antihistamine and steroid) but it's still pretty inflamed. If it's not better tomorrow morning, we are headed to the ER. Fun stuff.

So...Friday's Franchise is going to be Friday's Fetish instead. Note the change in the lineup at right. (think I may have mentioned that I have carte blanche?). Way more topics available if we go the fetish route...minds out of the gutter, People, that's not where I was headed. Okay, the thought did occur.

There's no way I could possibly not make my first, foremost, and finest fetish be my number one crush at the moment, the incredibly talented Ricky Gervais *fans herself with a magazine to cool off*. Coincidentally, Ricky-poo also happens to be a franchise. He is the Podfather, a fantastic stand-up comic, a writer, an actor, an unbelievably funny man, and generally...the master of his own empire. He has a great blog: (http://www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php). You can almost hear him talking as he writes - guess that's probably because he writes scripts for a living. Rocket scientist that I am, still have the need to make ridiculous statements here and there to throw everyone off a bit.

Anyway, it's safe to say that anything he touches these days turns to gold, including his gig hosting the Golden Globes back in January. I started watching the US version of the office back in the fall, for the first time ever (still on season 3), and knew nothing about Gervais other than the fact that he wrote the show. The curtain was recently lifted, suddenly there was light *angels sing*, and (ironically, with the angels in the background) all Hell broke loose. Apparently I yell his name out in my sleep now and Hubby is starting to have a complex.

I downloaded all 1428 podcasts, the stand-up shows (Animals, Politics, and Fame), the UK version of the Office, his very clever "Guide to..." series, The Invention of Lying (released on DVD last month), and anything else I could get my hands on. Also just pre-ordered his new children's book from Amazon.com.

Check out the video on Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flanimals-Pop-up-Ricky-Gervais/dp/1406323586?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242998722&sr=8-11
and link to his other books
http://www.rickygervais.com/flanimals.php.

Have I mentioned that I'm a bit obsessed? Turns out, children's books, more specifically pop-ups, are another one of my guilty pleasures, so it will no doubt be a good day when this one arrives on my doorstep. Easily amused is an understatement.

So, in honor of my fling with Ricky and in keeping up with my end of the bargain(it's gonna happen, he just doesn't know it yet.he.he), I'm thinking I should be supportive and shamelessly plug the movie and tv show that are coming down the pike shortly.

The movie, Cemetery Junction, looks FAB. Here's a link to the the trailer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDeHIszUqA


Not many reviews out there yet, but the trailer looks great. Somewhat of a chick-flick, in that it's a coming-of-age romantic comedy, but it's more drama than anything. In his blog this week, he says "If The Office is 80/20 comedy/drama and The Invention of Lying was 50/50, then Cemetery Junction is probably 20/80."

Strange to watch his stand-up, or The Office for that matter, and then ponder him in a dramatic role. The fag hanging out of his mouth in this photo seems all out of place, but I do in fact get that it's acting.



Can't wait to see it. It's being released in the UK on April 14th, but I haven't found a US release date yet. Hmmmmmm.....?? May have to pop across the pond for movie night if they make me wait much longer than that to see it here. Just picturing Hubby's face when I inform him of my grand plan.

And, now onto the more exciting news...the new HBO series, The Ricky Gervais Show *the crowd goes wild*. If you've never listened to his podcasts, which btw have been downloaded more than any other podcast EVER in the UK and probably more than most top 40 hits, check them out. It's great stuff, and easy listening in the car. Definitely not for everyone, but I dig it. Gervais has two sidekicks, his co-writer Stephen Merchant and unlikely Karl Pilkington, who started out as the producer on the original Ricky Gervais radio show. The new HBO show is the animated version of the podcasts, which in and of itself is a pretty novel concept (i.e. they've taken the previously recorded audio clips and animated them). Here are a bunch of HBO's promo clips:











Effing brilliant, and I CANNOT wait to watch the show.

PS-in the event that you don't know what faffin' (faffing) is, neither did I until about three minutes ago. According to the urban dictionary (not actually a reliable source, but still...), it means time wasting or feckin' around. Big smile on my end, as I love British English. Everything except that extra 'u' in some of the words, anyway.

PPS-another cool link - http://www.pilkipedia.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page, covering newsworthy tidbits about the three nutballs.

Officially bedtime for me. Until tomorrow...
xo.