I downloaded and played around a little bit with the new Left 4 Dead demo on Xbox Live this afternoon, and here’s some early thoughts:

1. Maybe I missed something, but it seems that the demo is only playable in a live matchmaking mode. While it does allow you to see and play the actual game, it would have been nice to be able to get a better handle on operating the game first instead of just diving right in. For instance, I still have no clue how to heal myself or others, so I just ended up dying a whole bunch and having to watch everyone else play. I would have liked to have seen a short out-of-game tutorial rather than the in-game suggestions that randomly pop up right as you’re being attacked by monsters, aka the most inopportune time ever.

2. Controller options. It took me four or five tries to finally find the option for inverted play, which is my preferred style. I still don’t know how I found the inverted option, since the controller menu is pretty much just a giant diagram of all the button layouts and the presets for each different config.

3. The graphics are really good- the short film before the game was incredible. With what limited play I was able to see on the demo, the game doesn’t look fantastically different than the first- but if the short is any indication, I could be very very wrong about this. I hope I am.

I love my bike. I can’t imagine riding anything else. The first time I walked into Upgrade Cycle Works here in Chicago, I knew I wanted a Masi. A few months later, with my parent’s blessing, my friend Eric was setting up a brand new Masi Speciale Fixed with my name on it. He was kind enough to take the time to install a much shorter stem and help me get the handlebars and seat tube adjusted to my liking because let’s face it: most road bikes are built for men.

Which is why I think that Sweetpea bikes are so neat. Natalie builds bikes specifically and only for women, which seems to be a largely ignored population of the riding community. Not only does she build bikes set up for commuting to work or hauling loads of groceries around town, but she builds bikes designed for female cross racers, as well.

My Masi is quick. It’s nimble. The geometry of my 51 is such that I’m comfortable riding it for relatively long periods of time- but simply not all the time. I can’t help but think about all the things I’ve read that stress the importance of owning a bicycle that truly fits you, and a part of me wonders just how much of a difference is noticeable between riding what is- for all intents and purposes- a factory bike, and riding a bike that is solely manufactured for me.

So kudos to Natalie and her Bike Fit Manifesto- for taking into account the fact that women and men are physically different; whether it be shorter legs or longer torsos, aching backs or old injuries. I can’t imagine not riding my bike, but I hope that someday I can imagine riding my bike and being 100% comfortable on it 100% of the time. After all, comfort comes at a price that I just can’t afford right now.

I still hold that The Wire is one of the most well-written television shows I have ever seen aired, despite being told otherwise by the sweaty counter kid sporting a peachfuzz ‘stache at the local hipster video rental store.

That being established, I don’t think I know that much about television. At least, I didn’t until that damned Hulu started up, and now I tend to plan my mornings off from work around which sitcoms I can watch the day after they’ve aired. Sometimes a girl just needs something that is in no way constructive to fill her time, and here’s some shows that fill that criteria:

FlashForward: Once again, ABC tries out the LOST formula of having some huge cataclysmic event occur, only to dance around the issue by introducing new characters and situations to take our minds off of the obvious question- which is, of course, “WTF?” I think having JJ Abrams on staff should be a pre-req to this model. I understand concepts like suspension and drama and plot, but really. At least LOST was somewhat original; This show is crap.

Modern Family: Hey, let’s make a documentary-style sitcom about three families who are totally different, but who all have to get along because GUESS WHAT THEY’RE RELATED. Tired concept, but this time it’s EDGY because they’ve got a gay family with an adopted daughter. So far, the obvious gay jokes that most sitcoms seem to rely on haven’t been overused, so it may not turn out to be all bad. Plus, I personally think it’s great to see Al Bundy back on the couch bitching about his wife again.

Glee: It’s nice to see a sitcom about dorky high school kids that aren’t totally comprised of fat band nerds and the computer geeks with thick glasses and acne. Also, I think it’s hilarious that so many online communities are throwing fits about the way the show’s wheelchair-bound character gets wheeled around by the other characters. I absolutely LOVE make-believe drama. Anyway, this show is pretty terrible too- married Glee Club teacher has crush on school counselor, but it’s okay because his wife is an inconceivable shrew. High school kids are pregnant, but OH NOES it’s because she was cheating on him with his BFF. The characters are parodies of every stereotype you can think of. The plot lines are predictable and the holes in them are huge- but come on. The singing is pretty phenomenal, and Jane Lynch is like the Ari Gold of this show- it’s entirely worth watching for her alone.

And now, a throwback- Amazing Stories

Imagine a nicer, more pleasant world, where episodes of the Twilight Zone didn’t make you fear the world. Around the time of the second Indiana Jones and the Goonies, Steven Spielberg created a show where episodes told an independent story, each with some little twist- moral in nature at best, quixotic at worst. I choose to mention Amazing Stories here because often the episodes are creative little vignettes, shown in the classic Spielberg manner- no jump cuts or CGI here, just some creative videography and (by today’s standards) lower-budget special effects now and then. This show gets an honorable mention for being a completely enjoyable and watchable show, long before the likes of Jerry Bruckheimer came along and destroyed the average television viewer’s ability to focus on anything that isn’t exploding for more than five seonds.

All of the above shows are being streamed on Hulu the day after they air- save for Amazing Stories, which can be found on Netflix.