Catalogue of ills

Been sick since Saturday. Sore throat plus a rotating cast of complications. It hasn't ever been as bad as it was Saturday night — constant shivering under a pile of blankets, then sweats, tread-carefully nausea, and a blinding headache — but I'm still having trouble staying on my feet long enough to take a shower, and my right tonsillar lymph node is still the size of a robin's egg. The back of my throat looks like a special effect from a Cronenberg movie. I've got general muscle aches and a weird frisson going on with my skin, like all my hairs are standing on end all the time. Also, I'm peeing every two hours, though adfamiliares says that's not a symptom, it's just what happens when you drink a lot of fluids. I suspect strep throat, and if I'm right it should resolve itself today or tomorrow.

Pretty miserable for now, though. I can't focus enough to work on revisions, and obviously I haven't been out on my bike or gone to work. I keep being snagged by TV glances — here a Joe Strummer biopic, there a lurid Australian movie about teen suicide called 2:37. I went out Sunday night, to do my usual Diesel thing, but caffeine did nothing for me, and I went home feeling loopy. I did go to Scottish last night (though I didn't dance), and was pathetically happy to see other humans from my chilly little seat in the corner, though now I'm worried I've infected everyone. (I don't think so — I washed my hands a lot, and didn't touch or breathe on anybody, apart from the two people I hugged.)

I hope this passes soon. There are two fun things happening this weekend: the Godfather of Gore documentary premiere and Spookadelica. (Both at the Somerville, both $10.) I've been looking forward to them for a long time — the documentary will be followed by Blood Feast and an interview with Frank Henenlotter (director of Basket Case and Frankenhooker), and Spookadelica promises a live exorcism, a Satanic ritual, and burlesque dancers, all sponsored by my favorite schlock distributor, Something Weird Video. Rah rah, leukocytes!

Television man: 2010

I have my rituals. In a perfect world, I would have one new episode of a TV series to watch during my solitary late-night supper every night of the year (barring vacations). That's 7 nights a week for (let's say) 50 weeks, or 350 episodes. Assuming an average 22-episode season, that means I should follow 350/22 or ~16 series¹. (Half-hour shows count as a half-series, since I'll watch two of them over dinner.)

Tivo makes this easy: the shows trickle in as new episodes air, trail off during summer and other hiatuses, and I take one spoonful each day, with meals. After last season's cancellations and conclusions, I was left with these, ranked more or less in descending order of enthusiasm: Fringe, Bones, Chuck, The Good Guys, Caprica (½), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (½), The Mentalist, Medium, Survivor (2), The Simpsons (½), V, American Dad (½).²

The non-math-majors among you will have already added those up and gotten 11. (We'll wait here a moment for the math majors. All set? Good!) That means I need to find five new shows this season to engage my interest.³ Good luck to me! Here's what I've got lined up: ( Cut for Fall 2010 premieres )

So, with one of the three new shows I've seen so far being watchable, I need half of the remaining 8.5 to pass muster if the math is to work out.

¹ This count excludes the handful of shows I watch irregularly with adfamiliares: Doctor Who, Project Runway, Top Chef, Top Chef: Just Desserts, The Amazing Race, The Office, Futurama, Mythbusters and Family Guy.
² Caprica only runs a half-season at a time, so it's half a series despite being an hour long. Survivor runs two complete seasons each year, so it counts as two.
³ There are other extant shows I want to watch, like Mad Men and 30 Rock, but I would need to catch up on DVD first.