Puppies, the return of Spike and oh, a book

If you're not that interested in either the Giants or the Patriots (or the ads in between the football), Animal Planet offers an excellent alternative to the Superbowl: Puppy Bowl IV. Mr. Mouse and I have watched this for the last couple of years and it is hilarious, heart-warming and oh-so fuzzy. There's a kitten half-time show but my favorite part is the Bowl-Cam. Be sure to check it out.

The season premiere of Torchwood's Season 2 was last Saturday night and it was fantastic to see James Marsters guest-starring as a blast from Captain Jack Harkness's past. Marsters was channeling early Spike for sure, full of swagger, sex appeal, British accentyness and unrepentant evil. And that much ballyhooed kiss between him and John Barrowman? DAMN sexy. Marsters is said to be returning for several more episodes as the season goes on to which I say bravo.

Finally, I guess I should mention the last book I read: Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout. I'm not giving this one a full review because I didn't really like it. Set in a mill town, the story is about a single mother struggling to raise her 16-year old daughter. The writing was fine if unremarkable; I didn't like any of the characters; and the reveal of the mother's big harrowing secret turned out to be an inconsequential let-down. Anyway, I'm putting it in the "already read" stack and moving onto something else.