Meaningful Ends

I came across a delightfully provocative article in the A.V. Club earlier today entitled A Meaning to an End, where the author, Noel Murray, discusses how important it is to consider how television series end. Murray makes the observation that:

At its best, TV can be as moving and artful as the best movies or the finest novels, but at the end of the day it's still an episodic medium that parcels out its pleasures, and that withholding is as much a part of TV art as performance or plotting.

I will not discuss Murray's keen insight into the medium of television. Rather, I would like to celebrate a recently concluded television show which, over the course of several years, has brought much joy to the Borra household. Au revoir, Scrubs! In lieu of flights of angels speeding you to your rest, let me commemorate your passing by posting a snippet of how elegantly you ended. Enjoy!

In Lieu of Geekery...

In lieu of Benjamin Loong's eagerly anticipated essay on the comic book industry, I've decided to pay homage to secret nerds paying tribute to not-so-secret-nerds. First on the list is Bill Simmons of ESPN, who unveils his hidden nerditude in his latest article for ESPN The Magazine:

A few weeks ago, I spent a Saturday at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, or as I dubbed it, Dorkapalooza 2009! A slew of statistical rock stars showed up: Dean Oliver, Aaron Schatz, John Hollinger. Panels argued topics like "Where are basketball analytics headed?" and "What's more important, coming up with a cool formula or kissing a girl?" The hottest celeb? My friend Daryl Morey, the Rockets GM, who was hounded by MIT students as if he were Britney among the paparazzi. I dubbed him Dork Elvis. Even he admitted that was funny. Begrudgingly.

That's the thing about stat geeks: They have a sense of humor about themselves. And yes, I count myself among them. I played entire Microleague baseball seasons on my 1984 Apple and kept handwritten stats. I've played fantasy baseball since 1982. I frequent the Prospectus sites and devour their books. I try to hide my inner geek, but believe me, it lurks. Remember, I'm the guy who figured out Hickory High's title-game box score.

Lastly, let me pay tribute to the granddaddy of all guilty nerd pleasures (which is concluding its television run this season), the precursor to my current favorite, Chuck. Click on the video. You know you want to.