Well, it's that time of the year again... the crippling stress, the fisticuffs and cat-fights over a TMX Elmo, the ever-present Fox News manufactured "War on Christmas"... it's enough to get anyone down.

Be that as it may... let's take this time to be thankful for what we have, for our families and friends, for lots of gifts, and for glass after glass of "Nog-a-sake" to help smooth out all of the rough edges.

I'd also like to thank everyone for participating on the blog page here, for supporting and listening to our little podcast, and for giving me a reason to get out of bed in the morning (oops, did I say that out loud?).

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, everyone!

I've mentioned John Hodgman on the show before-- he was a veteran of THE DAILY SHOW, and is best known as the "PC guy" in those annoying Mac ads. He's also hilarious.

Not only that, but he recently wrote a book entitled THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE, which he describes as "a compendium of COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE."  Publisher's Weekly further illuminates the contents of the book:


Funny stuff, indeed... but the REAL reason I'm posting this is to let everyone know that iTunes is currently GIVING AWAY a 6 hour audiobook version for FREE.  Hodgman reads the book in his usual dead-pan fashion, and his friend/comedy partner Jonathan Coulton (who we heard on TWSS with his song "Code Monkey") provides musical accompaniment.  I've listen to the first 2 hours so far, and I am enjoying it immensely. 

Check it out... it will definitely help fill the void as we wait for January 4th.

So as we thought, NBC has started the usual weekly trickle of deleted scenes.  The two new scenes posted today show a side-plot where Ryan and Kelly experience their OWN trouble in paradise.  Seeing as we know they manage to get things patched up before the big karaoke session, I guess we can rest easy.

"Don't dump me while I'm in the dumpster!"

edit:


Scene #4 features more Kelly and Ryan in the dumpster.



Scene #5 has Michael calling Carole from the restaurant... sometimes it's best NOT to ask certain questions.



Scene #6 Shows Michael's literary side... I agree, man -- Shakespeare just doesn't get enough credit these days.


Scene #7 Gives us a peek into Angela's human side... something we didn't see much of during the actual episode.

Episodes # 10 and 11 of THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID find both Matt and Ian wishing for the days when they only had ONE party they didn't want to go to... We've got two tickets to paradise, folks, but we're left with nothing but trouble. Who would have thought a little photoshop could cause so much heartache? When Michael's down, though, it's Andy to the rescue with the rebound hook-up at Asian Hooters. The rest of the office find themselves caught between scylla and charybdis-- margaritas and karaoke, or angela and double fudge? What's a drone to do? Incidental music provided by the Podshow Podsafe Music Network. Email us at TWSSpodcast @ gmail.com, or leave a comment on our blog page at thatswhatshesaid. libsyn. com. iTunes reviews are always appreciated! Help spread the word!

Listener Louis was lucky enough to see Rainn Wilson in Scranton, PA today... live from the fabulous Steamtown Mall.  He filed this report:

NBC has added a new feature to their website for The Office-- a virtual tour!

Start in the foyer and make your way up to the Dunder-Mifflin offices on the 2nd floor.  Explore the office, the conference room, the break room, Angela's "death nook," the warehouse, and much more.  Zoom in and out, rotate the camera... read the full text of Dunder-Mifflin's "mission statement"!

I'm probably making this sound way more fun than it actually IS, but it's worth checking out... definitely helps give a sense of the actual layout of the floorplan in our favorite workspace.

EDIT:

Best.  Episode.  Of.  The.  SEASON!

:)

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Only a few more hours left until the longest episode in the history of THE OFFICE. 

The Boston Herald TV critic has already called this episode an "instant Christmas classic," and hopefully he's not just engaging in hyperbole.  I've  always enjoyed Harold Ramis, so hopefully he'll work some of his patented magic here with the Dunder-Mifflin crew.

I knew it would happen sooner or later-- we have a "copycat."

I'm not going to dignify it with any links or references, but another "The Office" related podcast has reared its head on iTunes.  Perhaps not surprisingly, it is structured very similarly to this one, even starting off with a "#0.5" episode, and using the Dwight "scuttlebutt" sound clip.

Highly annoying. 

EDIT:

On further reflection (and after drinking a few beers), I've calmed down a bit.  There's room in the world for more than one show, I guess.  Ian and I will continue to do the best job we can, and hope that what we have to offer is valuable to fans of "The Office."

Another day, another deleted scene added to the NBC.com website. 

This is quite a strange one-- basically an extension of the scene in the episode where Michael tells Dwight to "be cool." 

"Sometimes you....umm... behave LESS well... than anyone has EVER behaved."

"That strikes me as the pot calling the kettle black... Michael, what's going on? Are you in danger?  Blink twice if you're in danger."

edit:

Scene #4 is up on the site now, which gives us MUCH more insight into why Martin would quit (which we complained about in episode #9). Watch Angela flee before the scary convict, and gasp with amusement at Dwight's cunning display of kara-tay.

edit:

Scene #5 is up as of today... more between Michael and Dwight, discussing why Martin, the convict, is not to be trusted.  Look in Martin's personnel file?  That's unconstitutional.  Don't worry-- constitutions are made to be broken.

edit:

Scene #6... Oh, what can one say about scene #6? 

Simply this-- Goodbye, Meredith. Nice knowin' ya.

LAST EDIT:

Aw, sheesh... *9* deleted scenes now up for "The Convict."  You know where.

Episode # 9.0 of THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID finds both Matt and Ian locked in the conference room of life, just trying to finish the Junior Jumble. Gird your loins folks, there's a fox in the henhouse, and his name is Martin Nash... this hardened ex-con is spreading his anti-office propaganda, and Michael refuses to stand for it... and not just because he's black. Do the jammers in the room have reason to celebrate, or is jim just being a dick? The very worst thing about this episode of TWSS? The dementors. They hoit! Incidental music provided by the Podshow Podsafe Music Network. Email us at TWSSpodcast @ gmail.com, or leave a comment on our blog page at thatswhatshesaid. libsyn. com. iTunes reviews are always appreciated! Help spread the word!

Last week, while Jenna was back in her hometown of St. Louis receiving a "women in the arts" award, she sat down for a very lengthy interview with a reporter for local NEWSCHANNEL 5.

Check out the interview on the link above.  Some good stuff, although nothing real die-hard fans of THE OFFICE haven't heard before.

For some reason the video would ONLY work when I used IE7 (it doesn't like Firefox, I guess).

Skype and eBay are teaming up to auction off chances for average Joes like us to have a 10 minute private chat with various celebrities.

Between November 30th and December 10th, you can visit this page and place your bid to chat with such celebs as Rainn Wilson (Dwight), Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Paul Lieberstein (Toby).  There are also a handfull of OTHER stars on the list, including Veronica Mars' Kristin Bell, Rob Lowe, Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane, and Henry "The Fonz" Winkler.

All proceeds from the auctions will go to benefit  The Young Storytellers Foundation, a Los Angeles based arts education organization.

(Good luck... The top bid for Jenna is sitting at $630 right now... with 7 days left to go! Only $157 for Flenderson, though... here's your big chance, ladies of the blog comments page!)