Ready to fly...

...or at least I will be after an inadequate amount of sleep and a shower. Got my bags packed (one, really; the guitar is a pretty simple deal), and it's not even midnight. Could be a record. Not one to brag about, really, since I have to leave the apt. at 6:45, but still a marked improvement over the past. I checked the weather in Cape Town and traded some long-sleeves for T-shirts. Looks like a hot week ahead (I'm glad I have Fahrenheit numbers to look at, otherwise I'd be getting out the calculator).

I checked the TSA list of allowed items; very interesting reading.

I found $40 I had tucked away at some point during last year's trip; that's always a treat.

Now to treat myself to a taped episode of "Studio 60" (I'm up anyway). I'm choosing to be patient with the weak spots, such as the often klunky portrayal of the Christian character on the cast-within-the-cast; I can't help feeling they did their research on Christians by watching TV, but I'd like to know more on that point. A nice effort nonetheless. It is a fact that Victoria Jackson was not shy about professing her beliefs while she was on SNL, though she didn't get the chance to do it during the show, for obvious reasons. In an interview I read with her in the Wittenburg Door (a Christian satire mag--yes, they know it's misspelled--I wasn't there to help), she came off pretty sharp, especially given her bubblehead image.

Also, as Mad TV pointed out last week in a wicked satire, "Studio 60" does have a hard time avoiding an exaggerated sense of self-importance, given that it's not about life-or-death situations like on "ER" or the international balance of power as on "The West Wing." It's a TV show about a TV show. On the other hand, on a spiritual and social level, TV shows can make a pretty big impact on shaping our thinking and emotions, and so ultimately, our beliefs and actions. Like blogging when you should be sleeping or watching TV as you planned.