If you've been paying attention to the news lately, the story that seems to be taking our minds off Libya is Charlie Sheen's antics online and in the media. If you have been paying attention, be sure to check out the piece on Saturday Night Live last week on Weekend Update. 

If you haven't been paying attention to Charlie Sheen, here's the skinny...  He's discovered Twitter and he's also been doing a lot of not very well thought out media appearances. Certain terms are coming up such as Tiger's Blood and Adonis DNA.  I'm not even going to try to figure that out, but if you're interested in catching up on his screen work, here's what you can get here at SJPL!

Platoon - Part of Oliver Stone's Vietnam War trilogy. This film was based on Stone's experiences in Vietnam.

Wall Street - Charlie Sheen portrays Bud Fox, an up and coming stock broker who isn't very scrupulous. Another Oliver Stone film.

Two and a Half Men - The successful television series that Sheen was just fired from. He portrays a non-apologetic carouser.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Sheen has a small role as a drug addict.

Scary Movie 3 - Sheen plays a farmer who discovers a crop circle in his field. 

Full Dark, No Stars is Stephen King’s latest and the title is appropriate! These “long stories” are dark indeed, featuring rats, murder, rape, murder, the devil and murder. Each creates a unique world:  I thought the creepiest were the first, "1922," (which reminded me of The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption) and "Big Driver," in which a writer of cozy mysteries finds herself a character in an all-too-real work of horror.

At the same time I was reading Mr. King my daughter introduced me to the new AMC series: The Walking Dead; the whole first season is "on demand" on Comcast Cable, but is not out on DVD until March.  This series is the real zombie deal, with good special effects, make-up and acting while being character-driven and well-produced and directed. However, the violence and mayhem on the television (heck, I also was watching the 5th season of Dexter - about everyone's favorite serial killer - on HBO which is not yet available on DVD!) while reading Stephen King, who can always be counted on for more than you were bargaining for, created some interesting Thanksgiving weekend dreams. I had to stop everything and watch the Amazing Race to clear my head!

Everyone and their mothers have been telling me that I should pick up the series Dexter, and having a mild case of thanatophobia (my vocab word for the day; it means fear of death), I figured passing might be okay.  I was wrong.

Do not pass on Dexter.  There is intensity in this direction and it’s the good kind.

Meet Dexter.  He's just a normal guy except he's kind of a sociopathic serial killer raised by a cop foster father who taught him to kill by a certain code.  The need to kill is instilled deep within him and it feeds often.  He also works in the forensics department of the Miami PD.

But there’s a new serial killer in town that the homicide department is tracking down: The Ice Truck Killer, known as such because he likes to drain the blood out of his victims when he chops then into slices with the aid of a chilly environment to slow down the flow of blood.

The Ice Truck Killer already kills in a way that sends Dexter shivers of excitement; but when Dexter finds out that he’s being called out by his fellow serial killer, he needs to find out how they’re linked.  He digs into his past, trying to find out about the memories his mind is blocking and how he became the sociopath he is.

Probably not suitable for children.

The BBC4 Series The IT Crowd (is absolutely a must-watch for anyone with a job involving any technology at all.  And if you're in tech support, the tag line "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" will resonate with you truly.  Beyond that, pretty much anyone who works in an office setting will find this hilarious as well.  Much along the same lines as the original UK version of The Office, The IT Crowd is often slapstick to the point of ridiculousness.

The poor unappreciated IT guys down in the basement, Roy and Moss, get a new boss, Jen, with no knowledge of technology at all.  In fact, she doesn't know what IT stands for (that Information Technology, hey!).  Hilarity ensues.  Not many shows make me actually laugh out loud, but every episode of The IT Crowd does just that.  I'm such a fan that I have a "Team Moss" t-shirt that I will not part with for anything.

The Library has the first three seasons, with the fourth one just released and soon to come.  So start watching from the beginning now and be ready for more!