Black as midnight on a moonless night

I've been sick the past couple of days, which kind of saps my energy every time, and taxes my capacity for diagnosing the brilliance around me.

But every day I've wanted to write about David Lynch. Who I adore for some many reasons. I may have to spend a week on his work alone.

My husband and I just recently bought the David Lynch organic coffee. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I figure a man who is so obsessed with it is going to make a damn good brew himself. And it is quite good. Interested? You can find it here.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

It starts around 3:38. The deadly cobras are whispering to each other "... when the bungalow is empty, we will again be King and Queen of the Garden..." Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the brave mongoose will have to stop them.

I saw this when I was a kid and the image of that cobra wrapping himself around the basket and hiding in the bathroom has stayed in my brain for, oh I don't know, probably the last 20 years. I believe the story takes place in India. The bungalow, with its outdoor garden, gazebo and tiled floor was my first introduction to life in hot climates. The exotic vases, the latticework, the sitar in the soundtrack, all of it has stuck in my mind after all of these years. I love the story by Rudyard Kipling, the animation by Chuck Jones, and the fact that someone thought this would be a good cartoon. And the soundtrack, full of ominous beeps, tones and echoes, is both fitting and unexpected. But I think the voiceover, by Orson Welles, is the coup de grace that puts Rikki-Tikki-Tavi on my list of brilliant works.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Okay, I know I'm in the minority on this one. I actually liked Riley, and Faith, and I count Season 5 as one of my favorite seasons of Buffy, mainly becuase I thought Buffy's death scene was amazing and terrifying in ways I am still processing today. Like every time I see a construction crane lurking over the skyline I think of Joel Grey.

So...

But the folks at Pajiba do an awesome job dissecting Season 2 and making the case for why this one is the best. And while I loved Season 3 too, I have to admit that as they mentioned each scene, I was able to recollect it crystal-clearly. That is saying something for a show that hasn't been on for 10 years.

By the way, WHY is it that every Buffy clip on YouTube is a fan video set to some crappy music? They point that out in the article, but I noticed it too when I was looking for a clip of Buffy jumping off the crane and into her death in the Season 5 finale. I appreciate the showcased talents of would-be music video editors as much as anyone. But can't someone just post the scenes as they are?