
I decided that I want to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, because I never have. I started once, but only got through the first chapter and then lost interest. I have seen the movie adaptations, though, and now feel that it's time to give it another shot. I'm only a few chapters in to The Fellowship of the Ring, which is starting slowly, but it needs to give some backstory first, which I understand. Regardless, I am remembering why I gave up last time. But I'm going to stick with it, because I know it gets better.
I'm still enjoying Boardwalk Empire. There is a distinct difference between it and The Sopranos; I think anyone who's watched more than one episode has picked up on that. Both shows are character-driven, but I still knew that many fans of The Sopranos got the most excited when somebody got killed; otherwise it was a "boring, meaningless" episode. Well, so far there hasn't been a lot of mobster shoot-em-up in Boardwalk Empire, and I could see a lot of people turned off by that. Part of the reasoning is that this show is based on real people and events. We aren't going to tune in some week and see Al Capone get killed. Historical fiction works differently.
Here's a recent Old Spice commercial that I find amusing:
And now here is a parody of that commercial with Grover: