For All You 24 Fans

Some facts about Jack Bauer:

1. You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.
2. If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
3. If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
4. Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.
5. Jack Bauer let the dogs out.
6. Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
7. 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
8. Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
9. Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
10. Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.
11. Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
12. If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.
13. Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
14. Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
15. The reason why terrorists attacked New York City was because Jack Bauer was in LA.
16. Jack Bauer got Hellen Keller to talk.
17. Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
18. Let's get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
19. People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.
20. When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.
21. When you open a can of whoop-ass, Jack Bauer jumps out.
22. When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists.
23. Jack Bauer hates lemonade.
24. Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
25. It would only take 1 bullet for Jack Bauer to kill 50 Cent.
26. The quickest way to a man's heart is through Jack Bauer's gun.
27. Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.
28. Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30

24

Another of my favorite TV series is 24, so named because each season covers one day in the life of Jack Bauer, an agent for CTU, the Counter Terrorist Unit. Each episode covers one hour of real-time events, a unique format for a TV series. When the series first began we chose not to watch it, the only reason being that we did not care for Keifer Sutherland, who plays the main character, Jack Bauer. A co-worker kept telling me how great the show was, but I really had no interest in watching it.

The following September, the cable channel FX ran the entire season non-stop on Labor Day and I decided to tape it. When I got finally got around to watching it, I was hooked. This is another example of how a particular role that an actor plays can completely change your opinion of them. I now love Keifer Sutherland as an actor and think he's brilliant as Jack Bauer. Jack is tough, smart and not above going rogue if need be in order to protect his country.

In addition to the unusual real-time format, another thing that sets this series apart from others is the fact that no character (except Jack) is safe from the possibility of being killed. Just like in real life, there isn't always a happy ending. After Jack's wife was killed in the first season, I knew not to count on anyone making it out alive.

The West Wing

Sadly, I learned today that one of my favorite TV shows, the Emmy award winning political drama, The West Wing, has been cancelled. NBC, experiencing its worst season in history, is making some changes to its schedule, including moving one of my other favorite series, Las Vegas, to Friday nights. Apparently, the decision to cancel The West Wing was made even before John Spencer, who plays Vice Presidential candidate and former Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry, died of a heart attack on December 16. After its move to Sunday nights, ratings began to plummet.

Over the past seven seasons, I have come to know and love each of the charaters on the show, even though I may not always agree with their political views. The dialog is fast-paced and witty, and frequently sprinkled with comedic repartee. It is not uncommom for my son and I to turn to each other at the end of an episode and remark that The West Wing is "the greatest show on television."

Much of the current season has focused on the upcoming Presidential election and the race between the Republican candidate, played by Alan Alda, and the Democratic candidate, played by Jimmy Smits, making it entirely possible for me to believe that the show would have still be a favorite of mine even with an entirely new administration on board. Most amazingly, the performances of both of these actors have caused me to completely change my opionions of them personally and professionally, especially Jimmy Smits.

The series finale is scheduled for May 14 and will be preceeded by a one-hour retrospective. Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, who created the series and guided it through its early years, will not be part of the finale. Sorkin is also known for his comedy series, "Sports Night," known around our household as "the greatest sit-com on television ever."

The loss of The West Wing will result in a void that NBC, or any network, will be hard pressed to fill. So long, West Wing, it's been a great ride.

Bumper Sticker

"Some people are like a Slinky, not really good for anything. But you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs."

The Best Laid Plans...

I usually face the new year with anticipation, full of plans and New Year's Resolutions. So far this year it's been a completely different story. It began a little over a month ago when right in the middle of our eagerly anticipated vacation to Disneyland, I came down with the flu. At the time I didn't know it was the flu. I was trying to convince myself that it was just a cold and all I needed was a good nights sleep. Not so, my illness knocked me to the ground faster than Nancy Kerrigan after she was clubbed in the knees. My mom came down with it around the same time I did, with my Dad following a few days later. Mercifully, my son was spared. Turns out, we all had a special strain of the flu regionalized in the Southern California area.

There's nothing worse than being really sick when you're away from home. Unless, it's being sick when you're at Disneyland. Or, having to fly in an airplane. Or, having to call in sick to work after already being off for over a week.

Very slowly, the major symptoms subsided, and now I'm left with a slight cough and a major feeling of lethargy. The only thing I anticipate now is my next nap. I'm guessing that part of the problem is that I haven't been to the Gym since before we left for vacation. It's a Catch-22. Working out would probably give me more energy, yet I lack the energy to go to the Gym to work out.

Today, I'm forcing myself to go to the Gym and walk the treadmill for just 15-20 minutes. I'm going to try that for the rest of the week and see how it makes me feel.