Odds and Ends for Tuesday

Did any of you catch the season premiere of "Chuck" last night? What did you think? I really enjoyed it - it seemed like a tighter show with a faster pace and better direction. The gags were good and the actors really seem to be settling into their roles. One sad note, though: the green Buy More salesman outfit does nothing for our beloved Adam Baldwin. Can't they change it to a more flattering color? Is that too much to ask?

In other news:

• Hey, guess what? Players of EverQuest II are not hideously obese and deformed, study says. Also, they are not all men. Craaazy.

• After spending many, many miserable hours of my life in New Jersey, this just seems so fitting: the 2008 Culture of Contact Festival, a conference on alien encounters and extraterrestrial life, will be held in Jersey City. The festival will focus "on extraterrestrial-inspired arts, what an Obama presidency would mean for UFO disclosure policy, and whether the ancient gods were, in fact, visitors from outer space." Jersey, you deserve one of these festivals for each and every time you got me lost on your turnpike. Just accept your punishment and give me back my quarters...

• The Comics Reporter had this nifty list of 50 Things That Every Comic Collection Truly Needs.

• And if you're looking for something to get you through the day, just remember you can pick up the "Iron Man" DVD tonight after work. The special two-disc Ultimate Edition has scads of extra goodies including a two-hour documentary and Robert Downey's screen test in which I'm assuming he just stood there looking sexy and was instantly given the job.