Tori Amos

Years ago, she was scheduled to perform at the Caravan of Dreams, but a water pipe broke, and the performance was canceled. The Caravan of Dreams, alas, is no longer there, but I'm finally going to hear her perform live at the Nokia Theater Saturday night.

Da Vinci's Inquest

I'm not especially interested in current TV programming.....mostly I just listen to the lies they tell on the news until I can't stand it anymore.

But we recently stumbled onto a very different kind of "cop show" from Canada on Chicago's WGN TV station called Da Vinci's Inquest. I can't really describe what makes this series unique, but for some reason it appeals to me. The characters are interesting and likable.....in their own special ways........sorta hard for me to explain.

The main characters are a Vancouver coroner, Dominic Da Vinci, and a couple of homicide detectives, Leo Shannon and his younger partner Mick Leary. Other characters are interesting, too, though they don't get as much "character development" in each episode.

If you can get WGN on your cable or satellite, check it out.

ROME......HBO Style

HBO is currently running a series about ancient Rome. And, no, I haven't watched much of it.....just enough to convince me that I don't need to.

This series would lead you to believe that ancient Rome was populated with 21st Century Britons, complete with accent. It's almost as bad as Cleopatra with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, but at least the acting in Rome is done well.

A period piece loses it's credibility, in my opinion, when it fails to reflect the ignorance and prejudices of the time. Rome, like HBO's previous successful series, Deadwood, reflects only the ignorance and prejudices of our time.

I know it might be impossible to determine the actual mind-set of any ancient civilization, much less depict it in an entertainment venue that would be accepted by contemporary society, but HBO could have at least made the effort.

James Blunt - High

For my wife and daughter.


Update: This video link is no longer available.