The smartest TV shows of all time?

I came across this story on the internet where A big MENSA muck-a-muck (Jim Werdell, chairman of MENSA international) made a list of what he thinks are the smartest TV shows of all time. This is a topic I hold very near and dear to my heart, because in addition to being a fairly smart guy, I also watch a great deal more TV than I should. I was extremely surprised by most of his list, which I'll share with you instead of making you read the story:

Top ten smartest shows of all time (in no particular order):

1. M*A*S*H
2. Cosmos (with Carl Sagan)
3. CSI
4. House
5. West Wing
6. Boston Legal
7. All in the Family
8. Frasier
9. Mad About You
10. Jeopardy

What's on this list bothers me, but less than the glaring ommisions bother me. There is no mention of ANY sci-fi show, for starters... and you can't tell me that the new Battlestar Galactica isn't just as smart as many on this list. Also, while I appreciate CSI, you're not gonna sit there and tell me that it's smarter than Columbo or Monk. I like that Cosmos is on there, but where the heck is NOVA? And excuse me, but Mad About You? All this list really shows me is that MENSA membership is not rewarded because of good taste.

In any event, I have come up with my own list of the ten smartest shows of all time, in no particular order:

1. Northern Exposure- Smart and vibrant characters were the hallmark of this show ten years before anyone heard of Gilmore Girls. If you are unfimiliar with this show, I highly advise checking it out.
2. The Twilight Zone- It's one thing to be smart, it's another thing entirely to be as consistantly smart as Rod Serling week after week, with entirely new characters and situations.
3. Soap- This show was so smart and so ahead of it's time, it couldn't find the audience it needed to survive. It had among other things the first openly Gay regular character in prime time.
4. Mythbusters- Educating and entertaining. Need I say more?
5. Dr Who- With complex plots, characters, historical accuracy, and flair, Dr. Who manages to be smart by simply never talking down to it's audience.
6. NOVA- the first and still the greatest PBS science show ever produced.
7. Dead Like Me-It always bothers me that this show never seems to get its due. It's very smart and clever in it's execution, and in the way it examines how we as a species deal with our own mortality.
8. House- Smart and very, very funny. Still I wonder how many unusual cases they can come up with before he starts treating common colds and such...
9. Firefly- Just edged out Galactica for a spot on my list. The details of this show are what make it smart... the amount of thought that went into creating the 'Verse that the crew of Serenity lives in are an uncommonly rich and full world for us to explore.
10. The Daily Show- Not only smart, but consitantly edgy. Political satire isn't easy to do, but they do it really, really well without talking down to their audience. Their coverage of "Indecision 2000" should and probably will go into the ranks of classic television.

But then again, that's just my opinion... Maybe i'm just too cool for MENSA. Discuss?

I am so there.

Best. Year. Ever.

To all that posted on their blogs wishing me a happy Birthday/Robbie Gras, I thank you all for your kind wishes and warm fuzzies... but I think Melinda won the comedy award this year, by saying this:

For those of you who don't know, today marks a holiday celebrated throughout the United Federation of Planets, Robbie Gras! Today, the great and powerful Rob has completed yet another trip around Sol. But don't give him too much credit. The planet did most of the work.

Short, to the point and very, very funny. I laughed for at least five minutes.

Robbie Gras 2008 started out for me at 5 am with my clock radio belting out my favorite Billy Joel song. Silverfox even rolled over and said "Wow... that's kinda weird... Your favorite song on your birthday?"

"Through Robbie Gras, all things are possible, my dear."

We went out to the Metarie Parade Route to set up Camp Kahunah, (Pictured below with Brouhaha in front of the tiki god acting like his usual ham-tastic self.)
Note the palm tree cooler and tiki god... it was quite a sight.

I sat out on the parade route by myself for a while to reserve our territory, as Silverfox had to head back home to load up the food, kids, and my Dad. As I watched others clamber about in the early morning light setting up folding chairs, tents and ladders I had some time to think.

This has been an extraordinary year to be Rob... and it's only February. I'm finally getting the hang of this "Dad" thing, My birthday fell on Mardi Gras which fell on "super Tuesday", I'm with an incredible, funny, charming woman that can cook an equally incredible barbeque meal for me and thirty of my closest friends, my Dad came down to visit for the first time in years, the Giants won the effing super bowl, and had their victory parade on my birthday as well.

I'm truly beginning to think that somebody up there likes me.

Robbie Gras prep...

I've been a little busy lately, what with Dad in town and Mardi Gras parades, that I haven't posted in a while... Still I had to share the cake that Silverfox made me for tomorrow with the world:

I don't know what I did to deserve someone as smart, funny and talented as Silverfox in my life, but I'm so glad I did it.

Robbie Gras 2008

Friends, compadres, well wishers, and true funk soldiers...

As many of you are well aware, the stars and planets have aligned to make it that Robbie Gras (my birthday) and Mardi Gras will both fall upon February 5 this year. The Krewe of Kahunah will be celebrating this rare event in style this year on the metarie parade route. Pops Kahunah and I are feverishly working on resurecting my beloved paper mache tiki god from the ashes just for the occasion, and the lovely Silverfox is woking on special "Krewe of Kahunah" medalions as well.

We will be eating, drinking and enjoying the wonders of mardi gras at Camp Kahunah, which will be located on the Veterans neutral ground across from houstons. We will have much food, drink and good times to offer any that wish to join us, but more food, drink and good times are always welcome.

All who read these words are invited to attend, and we hope to see you there. Please RSVP with either me or Silverfox.

Dad in his element

Dad is in town for a few days. Rather than hit the french quarter, we hit a muddy rail yard. That's dad for ya.

Adventures in parenting...

From the Big Book of parental lessons, Volume 1... Why you should never give your child a cardboard mailing tube:

Pint Size had endless fun wacking me with it over and over again. You'll note that instead of helping me avoid further pummelling, Silverfox took pictures. Clicking on it will pull up the animated version of my humiliation at the hands of a toddler. I refuse to take that test circulating the internet of "How many 5 year olds could you take in a fight". The answer is none.

After an I.V. ...

pint size is feeling like a new man. A new man that can buy the ' I survived having mono' t-shirt from the gift shop.

Ya wanna check that again, doc?

Another parental milestone tonight.. First trip to the e.r. with pint size. He was all muckusy and puking all day, so silverfox thought it prudent. After many tests, the docs determined he has mono. Yes, i said mono.

In 2008, less is more...

In 2008, rather than make any resolutions that I'll just abandon by Robbie Gras, I have decided I will instead try to do the following:

Eat less, exercise more.
Drive less, walk more.
Work less, write more.
Worry less, laugh more.
Watch TV less, read more.
Plan less, travel more.
Complain less, do more.
Hate less, Love more.

I'll let you know how it goes :)

The full story....A red hot New Year's eve

It all started out to be a fun and happening New Year's eve, with a nice diverse crowd showing up for our party... here we see Dizzy, Fin, and Finwife reasonably in the spirit... what is Finwife looking off camera at you ask?
She's looking at my nominees for "Cutest couple of the new year"... Mrs and Mr Ringo! They were just adorable last night.
So we got together in the parking lot of the complex to watch the fireworks... being surrounded by rich folk has it's benefits, because at midnight, the entire skyline around us exploded with color as they all tried to outdo each other. It was pretty spectacular. After midnight, Silverfox gathered everyone together to toast the new year and give thanks for the past one. I admit, I blushed a bit when Silverfox said that she was thankful for finding a man that taught her the "true meaning of being rich beyond words." Pretty sure she meant me, I joked around a bit and for my toast, said "Back at ya toots. To a loving home and the company of friends." It continued around the room, and I realized that 2007 was an incredible year for so many that touch my life. It was a heartwarming moment, and a great start to the new year. We entertained our guests till about 2:30, playing board games and such.

Silverfox and I then cuddled together on the couch, chatting a bit about our hopes and goals for the new year, when we heard someone going door to door pounding on all the doors in the condo complex. Before he got to our door I stuck my head out, and was told that our building was on fire. Apparently, embers from the local fireworks alighted upon the roof of the building, and had been smoldering there since midnight. From the other side of the pool, Silverfox and I watched as our New Years hopes we had been talking about just moments before were in danger of going up in smoke, quite literally.

Three fire engines full of Kenner's bravest responded to the scene, and got the fire under control fairly quickly (quickly being about twenty of the longest minutes I have ever spent)
For a while there, it looked like we would have to find somewhere else to stay for a few days, as the fire damaged the building's electrical system... but the fire marshal inspected the wiring, and said that we were clear to go back in. Some of our neighbors weren't so lucky, as the fire damaged three of the units in the building.

Our adrenaline pumping in overtime, Silverfox and I chatted some more before falling asleep, and I told her that when it comes down to it, all of the stuff that was in danger were really just things... that the most important thing in my life was standing next to me by the pool that night.

Uncharacteristically mushy, I know... But she was right. We are truly rich in ways beyond monetary or property value. It will be a great year... no matter what life throws at us.

In other news, Pint size learned to climb all the way up the stairs in the condo. (Nearly gave Silverfox a heart attack) till he slowly and carefully started climbing back down again. We're so proud.

The morning after...

the fire was pretty bad. It damaged three units in our building . In the photo above, me and silverfox's place is on the left side of the building. We got very lucky.

New years fireworks...

at 3:07 new years eve , after our last party guests left, our building caught fire. Happy new year! We are fine. More to come.

The last Meme of the year...

Culled from RPP’s Blog, just before Melinda tagged me for it anyway…

The 2007 meme- What you do is take the first sentence of the first post of each month for the whole year… doing so will cause you to see some great revalation and enlighten your way into being one with the bloggosphere or something. I don’t know. It still sounded cool, though… so here goes:

January- Apparently, we have a bit of a situation here in southeast louisiana... the entire half of the state is slowly sliding into the gulf of Mexico like a very lazy avalanche.

February- Culled from the Back Porch: The Thursday Thresome is a weekly meme of three silly but related questions... enjoy!

March- WARNING: This blog entry may not be suitable for children. Parental discretion is advised.

April- As many of you know, it is one of my lifelong goals to pull off a sensational hoax.

May- Over on Trading Up, I am off to a rousing start in my quest for a boat, and I couldn't be happier.

June- A trucker who has been out on the road for two weeks stops at a brothel outside Atlanta.

July-This clip is enough to make me buy this product immediately, and a box for everyone I know.

August- I’ve got a fever that only a Play-Doh Cowbell can cure.

September- Stumpy and his wife Martha went to the state fair every year.

October- I hate being sick.

November- For those of you that don't know, November is National Blog Posting Month.

December- I did it!!!!

My Great revelation: I joke around a lot.

Wait, that’s no revelation. I feel gypped. :(

Fun with photoshop...

A few people have asked me about the photoshop web site I mentioned last week, Worth 1000. Specifically, they wanted to know what kind of stuff I have produced for their contests...

the first one I entered was "stained glass 3" which was to create a stained glass window you'd never see in a church... I like the way it came out, but I don't think I got the face to look glassy enough. The next one was "out of their environment" for which I put a cow on a glacier...
The next one I entered was "soap bubble world" which had you replace any element of an image with a soap bubble... the hot air balloon seemed an obvious choice...

The most recent one I entered asked you to add extra limbs or appendages to any image, thus the giraffapede:I have more, but Blogger only lets me post so much at a time... I think I've gotten better over time, tho...

Sweeter...

Which Colossal Death Robot Are You?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

Although I would have been more psyched if I was Gigantor...

How dumb am I?

Like, I'm real dumb. Totally!

Quoth the web quiz: "If you're lucky, your abject stupidity will become the stuff of legend. For decades to come, people will recall how you ran into a lamppost at your cousin's barbecue, or how you brought the world to the brink of nuclear war by peeing into Jiang Zemin's bidet.

Not that you know who Jiang Zemin is. Or what a bidet is. Fool."

How Dumb Are You?
A Rum and Monkey stupidity.

Sweeet.

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

I really wish I could say I'm surprised...

We interrupt this broadcast....

For the following Movie Trailer.

I am so there.

A very geeky Christmas- part 12- Norad tracking santa...

For those of you that don't know, NORAD tracks Santa's trip around the world using the latest satellite technology to follow Rudolph's nose. Short Stuff and I have been checking on his progress every few hours, but when we saw that St, Nick had hit Mexico, we decided that Short stuff and Pint size needed to be in bed.

For those of you that have never heard the story, a department store in Colorado accidentally printed a NORAD phone number as a "Santa hot line" one holiday season. As a result, hundreds of kids called NORAD instead of the recording the store had set up. Rather than be grumpy about it, the NORAD staff told each child that called that they were tracking Santa's sleigh, and it was heading their way soon. NORAD volunteers have done the same thing every year since.

Now, I have a date on the sofa with Silverfox and some egg nog while we watch the fire burn low... But to all that read these words, May your Christmas find you wherever you are, and may you have as much Joy and Peace this holiday season as you desire.

Merry Christmas, everyone.