Stuff I do besides linguistics

Now that my thesis is finished, I might have an occasional non-linguistic moment.

• I work on Blackwell Publishers' Linguistics resources web pages.

• You might occasionally discover me (or my VCR) watching TV -- if you catch us at exactly the right moment (note: this link goes to a very old database manager written in Perl -- hasn't been updated for years).

  I even write about it for HoleCity (which gets syndicated various places). It means I get to see episodes before they air, how cool is that? Here's a link to see the pieces I've written. I've also written all of the Active Server Pages/VBScript code for the new redesign of the system. Ooo, so smoooth.

And then there are links to certain things I've watched or watch or watched others watch.
• er. "Thank god for metamers," remarked Ted Adelson in the introductory neuroscience class, "They're what makes color television possible." Indeed, but ER is what makes it matter.
• The X-Files. Apology is policy. Believe the lie.
• The Simpsons. A noble heart embiggens the smallest man. (Jebediah Springfield, 3F13). You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. (Moe Szyslak, 5F07)
• Sports Night. Very good. Wouldn't have known it from the name.
• West Wing. From the Sports Night people. Very patriotic.
• The Practice. Another DEK show about lawyers in Boston. And with Donna Hayward.
• Law & Order. These are their stories. Two per day on A&E, and NBC keeps up its end.
• NYPD Blue. Viewer discretion is advised.
• Red Dwarf. It's an acquired taste.
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I'm giving this one the benefit of the doubt for a while, but it hasn't been stunning yet.
• Futurama. It's ok. The Simpsons is better. And now it's landed in a terrible time slot.
• King of the Hill. It's not really the Simpsons, it's not really Beavis & Butthead. Not sure really what it is.
• Ally McBeal. Another DEK show about lawyers in Boston. And without Donna Hayward.
• Frasier. I'm listening.
• South Park. Kids say the darndest things.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's hilarious. Who'd have known?
• Two Guys and A Girl. Joy turned into Sharon, but stayed in Boston. Better than you'd have expected, even without the pizza place.
• LateLine. Is it on NBC? Yes.. wait! no.. wait! yes.. wait! no. It's on Showtime now.
• Dilbert. It's never lived up to the comic strip, but it's a diversion.
• Friends. Can a show BE any more predictable?
• Felicity. It's no MSCL, but it's close.
• Sliders. Back for a season on the Sci-Fi channel. And with a new episode like every month and a half.
• Nash Bridges. The 'Afterschool Special' of cop shows, but whatever. It's got Cheech Marin and Mr. Katimsky in it though. Yet it may have been the death of H:LOTS. What can you do?
• The Pretender. You know, if Saturday weren't such a programming wasteland, one wouldn't have to stoop to this.
• 90210. Will we see them turn 30?
• Bill Nye the Science Guy. Not that bad..!
• The Weather Channel. Fairly self-explanatory.
• CNN. This... is CNN.
• Ah, heck. Practically anything else that comes on.

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  Things of note I used to watch...

• Homicide: Life on the Street. How can I live in Baltimore and not watch it? Hooray for CourtTV, Boo to NBC.
• Picket Fences. A consistently near-perfect show. Rerunning on FX.
• Northern Exposure. Reruns, on A&E.
• Action. Peter Dragon's dead now, after much too short a stint.
• Space Island One. Near-future near-real life on a space station.
• Blake's 7. Surprisingly good British sci-fi. Hard to find, but MPT does what it can.
• Babylon 5. The series has ended, but hooray for TNT nevertheless. Plus, Scott Adams was in "Moments of Transition"..
• Seinfeld. These pretzels are making me thirsty!
• Millennium. Worry. This is who we are.
• Ellen. ABC canceled it, but Lifetime picked up the reruns, two per day..
• Cupid. Way better than you'd ever have thought, but killed off way too soon.
• Doctor Who. I used to watch it as a kid, and MPT still plays them. Watch the British special effects which are neither special nor effective.
• My So-Called Life. Really good show. No kidding. Despite the fact the MTV has the reruns.
• Twin Peaks. Quite possibly the best TV show in the world.
• Crusade. Kind of flaky--no B5--but TNT took it off the air way too soon.
• The Critic. It's got great moments, it's got stupid moments. Comedy Central keeps all of them alive.
• NewsRadio. Sadly, less Billbastic. Scott Adams was in an episode ("Review"), though.
• Mad About You. Me...? Not so much.. It's never gonna happen, my friend.
• Caroline in the City. I saw them tape "Caroline and the critics" (aired 4/15/97)..