Enough with the Drama... except you, HBO. You are good with the drama.

Why is it that after a weekend where you get a lot of stuff done - like cleaning off the dining room table and actually ironing - when you feel really good about what you got done on the weekend and you head into the workweek on a high... why is it that those Mondays f**cking suck?!?! (sigh) Seriously, people, stop busting my groove...

On to better topics, last night saw the debut of True Blood on HBO. I watched it with S_ and K_. Perhaps not the best choice, given the drooling that took place. As K_ so eloquently put it, "The problem with most shows is that they limit themselves to one hot guy. Here, there's one hot guy, and another, and another. It's wall-to-wall hot guys!"

Right.

Ok, so the series is gong to grow on me, and I am definitely going to have to go back and reread Dead until Dark. Good things are

1. I like the way they portray the redneck culture of Merlottes. It's exactly right. I didn't grow up in the South, but I was around some serious white trash (The Rusty Nail was the local bar, and no, I am not making that up.)

2. Anna Paquin as Sookie. I love how they are playing up the lack of thoughts from Bill as a balm to her weary psyche. You can just see her relax every time she touches him and the other voices fade out.

3. OK, S_, you win. Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton, the new vampire on the block. While not as convinced as my wife of his inherent sexiness, I do like the subtle look they give him that is reminiscent of his civil war past.

4. I can't wait to see Fangtasia next week.

Do. Not. Like.

1. Tara's abrasiveness. While I'm fine with making the character black, her abrasiveness does not seem natural somehow. It seems forced.

2. The opening credits. Song is fine, but they are just trying to be a little too weird. And that decaying fox? squick...

3. The grandmother. I like that actress, but here she is just rubbing me the wrong way. Especially when she says "My stars".

4. The rattlesnake vampire fangs with their "click" extension sound. Ugh.

All in all, I'm still excited about it and looking forward to next week. And finally, 442 miles to Rivendell makes today's total.