Raymond M. Reskusich

I had a good, long weekend. My überboss gave the department the day off, partly because half of us were changing offices, partly so we would have time to get ready for the departmental holiday party. This was held at Parlor Billiards over in Bellevue. It was the best of the Microsoft holiday parties I've been to. The food was tasty, including what seemed to my untrained palate to be some pretty nice oysters. The drinks were abundant and top-shelf, although for the life of me I could not get across the idea of a Dark and Stormy. The pool tables were good, providing a nice refuge for those, like me, who can only take so much small-talk.

Saturday we got to a slow start. Eventually, we got out the door and took the bus down to Pioneer Square to get some Christmas shopping done. Oh, Elliot Bay Book Company, how I do love thee! Afterward we caught a showing of Juno, which pretty well rocked. Go see it. The dialog was fresh, unrestrained, and so funny that many lines were drowned out by audience laughter. I look forward to the video release so that I can hear what I missed. Ellen Page was fantastic. Two of my favorite bit players, J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, also put in excellent performances.

Sunday, we got up far too early to catch the second day of the ski season up at Snoqualmie Summit with lizzelda. Sadly, when we arrived the lifts were motionless. A power outage at the resort pretty much wiped out the whole day of skiing. We stuck around for about an hour and then sought solace in a pub lunch, a couple of beers, and televised football. The power outage apparently lasted until 2pm, two hours before the slopes were to close.

Mel and I spent the rest of the day around the house, watching old West Wing episodes, making gingerbread cookies, and finalizing some holiday plans.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip premiered last night. I've been looking forward to this show since I first heard about it, maybe six months back. The writer/creator of the show, Aaron Sorkin, is probably the best television screenwriter I know of. He created and wrote most of Sports Night and the first four seasons of The West Wing, both of which were excellent. After his departure, The West Wing fell apart, and Sorkin hasn't really had any work in the public eye since then, until last night.

I had some trepidation about the show prior to its premiere; the commercials did not really portray it in a good light, and part of me always expects writers that I appreciate to disappoint me as time goes on. As it turned out, the pilot was good. There were definite signs of Sorkin's signature witty dialogue. The show concept is right in his wheelhouse; nearly everything he has ever written has centered on a workplace filled with intelligent, idealistic people doing work that they are passionate about. In this case, the workplace is the studio of a television sketch comedy show. I was pleased to see that Sorkin brought Bradly Whitford with him from the West Wing. The pilot even had a cameo from Felicity Huffman, who shone in Sports Night many years before being discovered by Desperate Housewives fans. It is too early to come to any firm conclusions about the show in general, but I am optimistic. Did anyone else catch the pilot?