What's On Tonight: Gervais' standup, Greenwich stabbing

Little late in posting today. Sorry. Computer problems. And rain. It was raining a lot. But the fist three things here will be repeated all weekend, so work with it, people.

As Ricky Gervais navigates that tricky road from comedy TV hero to Hollywood movie star, he puts in the requisite comedy showcase.

"Ricky Gervais: Out of England - the Stand-Up Special" (HBO, 9 p.m.) has about everything we love about the English comic -- his quick wit, deft accuracy at creating scenes and characters and his willingness to go just over the line to let you know where that line is.

He's a lot like his characters were in "The Office" and "Extras" -- full of themselves and dense to know it. The opening bit about playing up the downplaying of his charity work is first rate. He's best when he creates little scenes within his monologues using the kind of characters you'd expect in his BBC comedies.

But some of the material is quite old, most tellingly when he goes on about odd information in AIDS-avoidance pamphlets. The special's main problem may be going on too long: The first hour is way better than the final 30 minutes. Yet I wouldn't have wanted to miss that section about the wrongheadedness of sending horses let alone all of the king's horses to reassemble Humpty Dumpty.

Also On Tonight

Chandra Wilson already has an Emmy for her work on "Grey's Anatomy." But she's gunning for another with her portrayal of a homeless woman in the TV movie "Accidental Friendship" (Hallmark, 9 p.m.). Angry, fiercely independent and determined, she distrusts the female cop trying to befriend her. Despite its occasional excesses, it underscores, on the eve of National Hunger and Homelessness Week, that homelessness can happen to anyone. Ben Vereen and Kathleen Munroe also star.

One of the most lurid chapters in Greenwich history is relived even before the murder trial is held. John Stamos stars as in the TV movie "The Two Mr. Kissels" (Lifetime, 9 p.m.), portraying the man who defrauded creditors for millions before he was found dead in his mansion in 2006; he was preceded in death by his brother, whose wife was convicted of killing him in Hong Kong. Robin Tunney has a splendid time playing the waitress turned millionaire's wife.

Yes, it's too early: Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TBS, 7:30 p.m.). And I usually associate "The Wizard of Oz" (TBS, 8 p.m.) with Easter. But in truth it's always great to see. I fear our children don't have the proper knowledge of it that we did, which is a pity.

Paul Rudd hosts the first new "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) since the election, with Beyonce the musical guest. So don't expect Tina Fey back as Sarah Palin - ever. The quick departure of Amy Poehler has left Kristin Wiig as just about the only woman cast member, though (Casey WIlson is just a "featured player"). So two new women make their debut tonight -- Michaela Watkins from the same Groundlings troupe that produced so many "SNL" stars -- and Amy Elliott, who is from what may be the first family of comedy (Chris is her dad, Bob is her grampa). Welcome to them.

It's also the first "MadTV" (Fox, 11 p.m.) since it was announced that the show was ending after this season. They'll try not to show their disappointment.

The newest episode of "Eating Connecticut" (CPTV, 6:30 p.m.) concentrates on restaurants in South Norwalk. I'll have to catch a rerun.

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It's a he said/she said for Mindy McCready

The girl isn't even out of jail for a month and already she's got the drama going on.

Mindy recently did an interview with Inside Edition but now is saying that much of what the TV show is reporting is false. The main info in question is whether Mindy wanted to marry Roger Clemens, they say she did, she says no she didn't.

Well being that it's her words, I'd think she'd know, but considering she's had so many major issues in the past, who really knows.

Mindy tells the NY Daily News, "I didn't want to get married to him and I don't want to get married now."

"He should have done right by his family - if a person is unhappy in their marriage and spending all their personal time with someone else, you need to do right by your marriage. He should have just told Debbie and been honest with her. If he didn't want to be with her and wanted to be with me, he should have told her."

Also she says she never met Clemens wife, Debbie Clemens, something that Roger had said in the past, but if she had the chance she'd apologize.

"I would apologize to her and say I was young," McCready told The News. "I now know better."

We can only hope she does.

Mindy is currently shopping around a reality series and has a new album in the works. Guess we'll soon find out if drama does, indeed, sell.

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What's On Tonight: Einstein Fax n' New Moon Pix

The story of "Einstein" (History, 9 p.m.) is told again in another two hour documentary that follows both his personal life with its failed marriages and shunning by other scientists and his discoveries, with the turning point a race to capture a solar eclipse that would prove all his theories.

Actual locations in the U.S. and Europe are used in telling the story of the 15 years before his greatest discovery; experts such as Walter Isaacson, Thomas Levenson, Jeffrey Crelinsten and Matthew Stanley are interviewed. And of course Neil DeGrasse Tyson pops up as he usually does.

Tonight's offering in National Geographic's Expedition Week goes the furthest for its story. "Live from the Moon" (National Geographic, 9 p.m.) seems pretty far afield from the pyramids and dinosaurs that otherwise populate the week's fare, but the new report is a fascinating one, especially for those who want to try out their HD sets to see the remarkable high definition footage caught by a Japanese lunar orbiter launched last year that brings crisp detail to the surface first reached in 1969. The Kaguya flew so close to the surface of the moon, it sent images of the original landing sites of Apollo 11 and 17, which don't seem to have been disturbed.

If you didn't see it before, "Oswald's Ghost," rerun tonight on "American Experiemce" (CPTV, 9 p.m.) is a fascinating new approach to the assassination of John Kennedy and its effect on the culture, in advance of the 45th anniversary of the shooting on Saturday.

It's down to the final four on "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 8 p.m.) and it seems nothing short of another injury will stop Brooke Burke. NFL star Warren Sapp seems the most inconsistent of those left, but he's probably got a stadium full of fans calling in; Cody Linley has a different constituency: young "Hannah Montana" fans, and the main problem for Lance Bass, is getting past scolding judge Len Goodman.

"CSI: Miami" (CBS, 10 p.m.) marks its 150th episode with a baby abduction. Teri Polo guest stars.

Cast member Chad Michael Murray wrote tonight's "Casablanca" themed episode of "One Tree Hill" (The CW, 9 p.m.).

Now it all makes sense: Fred Willard is Sam's dad on "Worst Week" (CBS, 9:30 p.m.).

Reminding you of the time when "SNL" had a lot of talented women, Cheri Oteri guest stars on "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m)

It's Thanksgiving on "Gossip Girl" (The CW, 8 p.m.) because those girls are always rushing things.

Here come the bad Christmas movies: "Santa Baby" (ABC Family, 7 p.m.) and "Holiday in Hancduffs" (ABC Family, 9 p.m.) and an Easter one: "The Passion of the Christ" (Showtime 2, 7:55 p.m.).

Charles Laughton is the star of the month on Turner Clasic Movies, seen tonight in "Payment Deferred" (8 p.m.), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (9:30 p.m.), "The Old Dark House" (11:30 p.m.) and "The Centerville Ghost" (12:45 a.m.).

See it while you can: "My Own Worst Enemy" (NBC, 10 p.m.) is not long for this world.
College basketball rarely gets so local: University of Hartford at University of Connecticut (WCTX, Channel 59, 7 p.m.) from the XL Center in Hartford.

It comes on the night of the tip-off marathon in which UMass at Memphis (ESPN, midnight) followed by back to back games all night tonight and all day tomorrow until 9 p.m. Don't think I'll be setting the alarm for Idaho State at Hawaii (ESPN, 4 a.m.). March madness? Maybe. November numbness? Not so much.

And its Browns at Bills in Monday Night Football (ESPN, 8:30 p.m.).

Daytime Talk
Regis and Kelly: Jenny McCarthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Miss Jay Alexander, David Bach. Bonnie Hunt: Florence Henderson, Adam Rodriguez, Gery Deer. Ellen DeGeneres: Kate Walsh, Brooke Burke, Derek Hough.

Late Talk
David Letterman: Emma Thompson, Michelle Felicetta. Jay Leno: Kiefer Sutherland, Lisa Lampanelli, Barry Manilow. Conan O'Brien: Snoop Dogg, Brian Regan, Blitzen Trapper. Jimmy Kimmel: Chris O'Donnell, Rocco DiSpirito, Kanye West (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Poppy Montgomery, Nick Hornby. Carson Daly: Wayne Brady, P.O.D. (rerun). Stephen Colbert: Tom Brokaw, Malcolm Gladwell) .

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Slumdog Millionaire

Even in Laughter the Heart May Ache

Slumdog Millionaire / Daniel Carlson

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is the latest example of why the director is so good at making movies in different genres: It's got the connective thread of emotional honesty, fidelity of character, and devotion to the story's specific universe that links it with everything from Boyle's drama Shallow Grave to the horror of 28 Days Later to the children's film Millions. Boyle can jump from one style to another because he always brings a level of truth to his films, and that's one of the many things that makes Slumdog Millionaire such a joy to watch. The film is beautiful, sad, sweet, uplifting, and thoroughly entertaining, but above all it's honest, a paean to life and love that stands firmly rooted in reality even as it reaches for the heavens. The story bounces around in time and often rapidly shifts location or mood, flirting with everything from comedy to drama to a blend of fantasy and reality that's completely engaging and works on every level.

The film opens with a multiple-choice question: "In Mumbai 2006, Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it? (a) He cheated. (b) He's lucky. (c) He's a genius. (d) It is written." The small moment encapsulates everything that will follow, from the sense of being against the odds to the chance that sometimes, destiny just takes over. The first few minutes of the film are hectic ones that smash between Jamal (Dev Patel), an Indian teenager, sitting in the hot seat on the local edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and his being tortured and interrogated in a grimy holding cell by a slovenly guard who wants to know how the boy cheated. Jamal is punched and cut, has his face plunged underwater, and is even briefly hooked up to a car battery, but he holds to his story -- that he knew the answers, that he won the game show honestly -- even when the sergeant turns him over to the inspector (Irfan Khan). At this point, it becomes clear that Jamal's time on the game show is the hub around which the rest of the story will revolve, and Boyle keeps coming back to it before shooting off on other connected spokes. The inspector puts in a tape of Jamal's appearance on the show and plays it from the beginning, and as Boyle slides into the past and back into the present, the questions on the show become springboards that launch Jamal's story to the inspector and send the viewer back through the young man's life.

The screenplay from Simon Beaufoy, adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A, evolves in elliptical bursts, beginning back when Jamal was just a small boy getting into trouble with his older brother, Salim, and other boys flying through the alleys of what was then Bombay. Boyle and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle capture the city as a teeming mass of people and animals and filth all writhing under a hot sun and corrugated tin roofs; the camera is almost never still, and the frame often slides off balance or pushes in for a close-up as if the city itself is rising up like an ocean. Although the scenes with the older Jamal are performed in English, the flashbacks switch to subtitles that appear at random places on the screen and against blocks of color, a gimmick that forcibly calls attention to the dialogue made visible but also makes it work on a larger scale; it's as if Boyle isn't just making the film, he's presenting it, making it into something punchier and more evocative than you'd expect. Jamal's life unfolds in sections that often culminate in heartrending reveals tied into the questions he will be asked a decade later on a primetime quiz show, from his run-in with a national celebrity to his firsthand account of gang wars and religion-fueled murders. Boyle's stylized storytelling is like an epic storybook blended with gritty human drama, and it gives the characters an air of playing a role in something larger than themselves without turning them into caricatures or place-holders. These are ultimately real people going through real trials and changes.

Soon enough, Jamal and Salim meet a young girl their age named Latika, and it's this triangle that propels the rest of the story forward. And it's not the predictable set-up of a girl coming between two boys; or rather, the emotions manifest themselves differently than in most stories. From childhood, Jamal is drawn to Latika, but Salim views her at best as a friend, usually considering her something to deal with instead of care about. Instead of firing up a trite love triangle, Latika's presence in the boys' world highlights their conflicting worldviews, with Jamal viewing Latika as end and Salim only seeing her as means. Even as they grow up and drift apart and come back together, Jamal never stops loving her or, when he has to, searching for her: That's simply the way he's wired.

As the film continually circles back to the game show and Jamal's amazing run at fame and fortune, it becomes clear that his entire life has fed into this chance at redeeming himself and putting back together the family and relationships that he's never been able to maintain. Estranged from Salim (played as a young man by Madhur Mittal) and still searching for Latika), this is basically his last shot at putting his life back on what he thinks is the right track. Patel is wonderful in the role, charming enough to seem believable as a kid who's struggled just to get this far and perfect at capturing that feeling of impossible angst and youth, as if nothing could stop you from getting what or who you wanted.

At its heart, Slumdog Millionaire is another of the billion stories of what it means to be fully and helplessly human. Boyle has made a true coming-of-age film that balances technical skill with emotional heft, and that marries heartbreak with hope. It speaks of joy and sacrifice, of redemption and atonement, and the sense of destiny attendant with the unstoppable perseverance of selfless love. Perhaps the ultimate testament to Boyle's skill at crafting a story that's engaging on every level and an actual pleasure to watch is the inability to say more than that: It's almost impossible to sum the film up or even get close without either completely blowing the plot or wandering into dangerous abstraction, into wonderings about fate and love and the feeling of being infinitely strong and young. What else can I say? It is written.

Daniel Carlson is the managing editor of Pajiba and a low-level employee at a Hollywood industry magazine. You can visit his blog, Slowly Going Bald.

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How to be trendy!

Stock, money, houses and even gold can lose value sometimes. Water, oil, energy, and food is scarce and becoming scarcer by the day. However, there is one thing that is rock solid these days: information.

Every day we delve further into the Information Age defined by our constant production, collection and stockpiling of ones, zeros, bits, bites, uploading, downloading and Googling.

Hopefully by now you are aware that what you are reading right now–and just about everything else out there–is being tracked. This WORD, this blog, this website, this server, and the possible Google search that brought you here are all being tracked.

I love information. I like to collect things. I like facts and figures. I love to see events developed into trends in society and how that affects all aspect of our lives from the way we dress to the TV we watch. I like to make those little connections. You know the connections where you nearly say out loud, "Ahhh, that's why" or "hmm, that's interesting."

So lately, I have been geeking out on trends and analyses of all kinds of fun things. My favorite thing, of course, is tracking this blog and my website (more to come on this around new years), but after that, I look at Google.

If you want to know what is going on in the world you should look toward Google and their Trends App. Trends shows users the hottest keywords being searched and the list is generally a good indicator of events happening right now. After showing you the list, Trends can also link you to news stories or websites related to that particular keyword.

People and society, ie Google users in general, can change faster than the fastest writer at LATimes.com can publish to your iGoogle so it's like the modern-day police band radio or Twitter for the world. Google has even launched an app that tracks cold and flu trends based on searches for symptoms which can be days or weeks faster than the CDC can work, which can be a huge medical step in preventing the spread of more cases. Imagine what else this can be used for. Hourly-based decisions one which advertisements to run and where, anybody?

I could go on for hours, but I know 78% of you lovely people stay for just three minutes and 13 seconds before moving on. So I will leave you with this minute's top 100 Googles:

1. howobamagotelected.com
2. how obama got elected
3. jennifer bini taylor
4. extortion
5. clubpenguin.com
37. lance bass
38. saturday night live beyonce
39. air battle
40. thurgood marshall
41. john ziegler
42. santa baby
43. justin timberlake snl
44. broward community college
45. wolfram rule 34 wikipedia
46. gossip girl spoilers
47. feufollet
48. pinocchio s mouth
49. georgetown basketball
50. twilight pictures
51. twilighters anonymous
52. preseason nit
53. storiesonline
54. carol channing
55. paul posluszny
56. coe college
57. jackanapes
58. two and a half men pinocchio s mouth
59. eri yoshida
60. hp g50 112 nr
61. brady quinn girlfriend
62. rihanna rehab lyrics
63. aol.com.mail
64. marv levy
65. garnett bogut
66. free movies to watch online
67. star trek trailer 2009
68. how obama won
69. twilight red carpet premiere
70. alliance defense fund
71. philip defranco
72. debbie matenopoulos
73. vince foster
74. sheba puppy cam
75. princeton review
76. johnny depp mad hatter
77. emily bear
78. trevor boehm
79. lawrence golub
80. buffalo weather
81. erika medina
82. ncaa soccer tournament
83. abc dancing with the stars
84. white chicks
85. mark cuban movie
86. jamal lewis
87. robot chicken star wars 2
88. black friday 2008 sales
89. buffalo ny
90. club penguin play
91. twilight movie reviews
92. heidrick struggles
93. dan coudreaut
94. mamma.com
95. tesla coil
96. buffalo new york
97. isis king
98. macy s sale
99. santa claus indiana
100. watch monday night football online free

http://findingisaacviel.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-to-be-trendy.html

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How a Sophomoric Leftist With Terrorist Friends and No Serious Credentials Could Get Elected President

Watch and weep:

Their votes counted as much as yours.

The interviews above are backed up by a multiple-choice Zogby poll. Some of the results, via Stix Blog.

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Tuesday 11/18 A.M. Quickie:Cuban, AL MVP, T-Mac, NFL Refs, More

I think the consensus is that while Mark Cuban's outrage at the SEC is entertaining, taking on the government isn't usually a winning strategy, as outlined in today's SN column.

Quickie scandal management is predicated on a few simple steps: Admit to something. Fix it. Move on. Whether it is allegations of insider trading or confirmation of NFL reffing screw-ups, the playbook is simple.

(It's particularly questionable in Cuban's case: It's not like he's facing jail time. What's a couple million in fines? Hell, David Stern pings Cubes for that every season.)

Meanwhile, the AL MVP race is by far the most up-in-the-air of any in this fairly straightforward MLB awards season. Split ballots may yield a very interesting winner.

NBA: T-Mac's knee is pretty messed up, as is my preseason pick of the Rockets winning the NBA title. So I'd rather concentrate on the breakout season being had by the Spurs' Roger Mason.

CBB -- so on fire, it's ridiculous. 14/19 FG, 9 assists, 4 steals (on top of 10 steals in the season-opener). Blake Griffin is pretty good, too. I can't stand that the Establishment has already determined that Tyler Hansbrough is going to win Player of the Year.

Finally, can we all agree that the Steelers-Chargers outcome wasn't fixed -- Occam's Razor would suggest that, as usual, it was inept officiating, pure and simple. At this rate, the NFL won't have any officiating crews left for the Super Bowl.

Tons more in today's SN column. More later.

-- D.S.
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