Watching, Reading, Playing

I've been meaning to do this type of blog for some time....

Despite being a librarian, I don't read much. Not that I don't like to, I do. But I am one of those people who will start a book and then not stop reading until it's finished. Even if that means staying up all night.

Reading

The last book I read was The Help. I loved it. I suggest you read it right now. I bought a copy of Franny and Zoey after JD Salinger died. I started it, but never got anywhere with it. I read it in college and loved it. I don't know if I will feel the same way now.

Watching, TV

Project Runway. I am digging this season of PR. The last two were shitty--the last one on Bravo you could tell they didn't give a shit. The first season on Lifetime the producers didn't seem to know what to do with it. But this season the show seems back on track. It's more about the process, the talent, and the fashion. And while I love some bullshitty drama, I liked that OR could still focus on the fashion. I'm glad they've gotten back to that.

American Idol. People complain about how bad it is this year. That squirrelly little boy needs to go. And Tim Urban makes me want to throw things a the TV. And the robotic girl who sang "Let it Be" annoys the hell out of me. And Siobhan? People rave about her, but I can't stand her. Her screeching. Her version of "The Long and Winding Road" was unbearable. Big Mike? I like Big Mike. Lee is decent, and getting stronger every week. But Crystal Bowersox? I love her and coffeehouse, dreadlocked style.

America's Next Top Model. Like "Project Runway," ANTM seems to have gone back to what made it great: tearing young women down to build them back up to be insecure models. Now that Tyra Banks has come to accept that little girls aren't dreaming of being on "America's Next Top Model" and that she isn't going to change the modeling industry or the world by choosing a "plus-sized" model, by going green, by banning smoking, or by choosing "short" models. I know ANTM is probably everything I should dislike about TV and mass media, but as someone who spent my mid-teens watching "Style with Else Clinch" on CNN and buying the fall Vogue and pouring over it like it was a bible... Well, I like ANTM for what it is. What I don't like is when it tries too hard to be something it isn't and teach me a lesson.

Shear Genius. I don't know why I watch this show. I love hair. I love the Bravo drama, but this show sucks. Yet I watch it. And I hate the woman who won. Not because I disliked her or her canary yellow hair (I liked her hair, actually). I hated the ridiculous bows she put in her hair.

Ugly Betty. I haven't been watching this on schedule. I keep screwing up my DVR so it doesn't record right. Ugly Betty lost it's way after the writer's strike and never recovered. But now that it is one episode away from ending, I want to see it to the end.

Glee. SO HAPPY IT IS COMING BACK NEXT WEEK.

Top Chef Masters. It's fine until Top Chef comes back, but I miss Top Chef.

Watching, Movies

9 to 5. I found this listed on On Demand during one particularly dreary Sunday afternoon. I loved it all over again. And I sang the theme song for several days.

The Hangover. I saw this a while ago... But I loved it, so I thought I would mention it.

Hot Tub Time Machine. This was awesome in so many ways I am already planning on buying it when it comes out on DVD. My favorite teen movie reference was John Cusack and the reporter from Spin sitting on the counter, a la Sixteen Candles. Just awesome.

The Blind Side. I will eventually see all the Oscar nominees, but I decided to start with the most feel-good of the bunch. Having some personal ties to this story made me want to see it, too. I liked it, but I understand the criticism. And they left out the fact that Michael Oher took ten-day correspondence classes in order to raise his GPA. I laughed at some things that only a few people would get (I'm looking at you, Frenchie). I thought Sandra Bullock was fine. But I don't know if the performance--or the character or film--were Oscar-worthy.

Playing

Words with Friends. It's an iPhone version of Scrabble and I am completely addicted. I tend to have several games going with several people, but I can only beat one of them. I've had several games with Cindy over at PooBou.com, and let me tell you, she is a master player. She can kick some word game ass.

Pop Culture

I love pop culture. I love music, TV, films (even though I am extremely lazy about watching movies), and all around pop-culture trash.

I watch and follow pop culture because I like it and find it entertaining. But I also thinks it says a lot about us--some good and some bad.

Something I find fascinating is the difference between the US and Canadian versions of the same shows.

Take American Idol and Canadian Idol.

American Idol
Contestants are pigeonholed early on: the rocker, the diva, the R&Ber, the singer-songwriter, etc. The only contestant they weren't able to pigeonhole was Adam Lambert. But all the other ones? Done. This moves into their clothes, the style of the arrangements, what the judges expect form them, etc. Judges like Simon Cowell tell the contestants right out: You don't look like an American Idol. People criticize him or boo or whatever. But you know what? He's right. We are an image-conscious society. We need everything in a neat little box before we will accept it. I'd like to think that I am different than that, that I am not that shallow... But, well, I'm not. I don't think I am as spoon-fed as some... but I am. I watch a lot of TV, so I think it is kind of a given.

Anyway... then there is Canadian Idol.

Canadian Idol wasn't on this year, and I didn't watch all of the season in 2008, but it was so different. The contestants weren't as polished in look or sound. Several of them were indescribable. One guy was the big ballad crooner. He won. But the other final four? One guy had an odd little voice. If he were to be labeled something it would be the singer-songwriter. When he sang songs they were like stories. He and his odd little voice were often compared to Paul Simon. He didn't sound so much like Simon, but I could see the similarity in style. Another guy would be the Rocker. But he was different. I would label him as more of the garage rocker, like he should have been in The Strokes or one of those other garage-rock-revival bands. The other guy? He could barely sing, but you couldn't stop watching him. He stomped around the stage with what looked like no rhythm. If he tried out on American Idol he would have been on the gag reel. But he was fascinating. I couldn't figure out what people saw in him until one of the judges compared him to Tom Waits. And then it all made sense.

My point? (And I do have one.) The Canadian Idol guys were so very different than anything you'd see on American Idol. They weren't as polished in look or image. They were unique, where those on American Idol seemed to all merge together by the end of the show (except this last season and maybe the one before that). But, also, the more traditional contestants? They were voted off by the viewers. Now the guy who won was the traditional belter of ballads, but he was incredibly talented. But the others that went to the top with him were far from traditional.

Why do I care? Because I wonder how much this represents the difference between Canadians and Americans. Now, I'm not saying that the guys on Canadian Idol were perfect or totally genuine and not mainstream or whatever. But what I want to know is were they molded into specific "types," too? What are they? And how are the Canadian types different than the American types.

So, yes, I love pop culture because it's fun and dumb and it allows me to be catty and judgmental. But I am also interested in the difference between American pop culture and the pop culture of other countries and how it represents the difference in the societies.

What brought this all on? Some day, I want to go to the National Popular Culture & American Culture Conference. Seriously.

Partly because I am interested in the topic. But part of me wants to know if this is where all the academics who don't fit into the "I don't own a TV" academic mould go. Is this a conference of Gen Xers, moping around because the Boomers and their kids STILL get all the attention? And do they remedy this by standing around quoting John Hughes' movies complaining about how the other academics hate them? Will they then smoke some weed, go through each others purses and wallets, and dance in the library?

Separated at Birth?

Bat Boy

Scott McIntyre from American Idol

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for this.

Hollywood!

American Idol is back! American Idol is back!





I know. I know. I'm a shallow, horrible person.

Canadian Idol

I am watching Canadian Idol.

It has the same logo and same intro song. The host is smarmier than Seacrest. The judges? No clue. But there is a chick, a guy who appears to be very uptight, and, of course, a beefy black guy who wears crazy shirts. Oh, and there is some guy who seems to be the rocker judge--maybe he is supposed to be the Canadian Simon. He is the only one that has a something of a personality, even if it does appear manufactured. He was the guy who said the difference between Idol performances and bar performances are that bar performances had alcohol. I don't know if he is a permanent judge or guest judge. And they talk in backwards order: Canadian Uptight Judge, Canadian Paula without "drug," and Canadian Randy, and then the Canadian Rocker/Simon Judge. (update/edit: I was wrong, the talk in random order, but the sit in backward order.) They give comments and all, but even their worst comments aren't very bad--there is no cattiness. There is no "dawg" or "pitchy." The audience doesn't boo. (udpate/edit:yes, they do boo but the judges don't have much negative to say.) The judges have Subway (subs) cups in front of them on the table. And if you are a Tellus customer, you can text your votes in. And they're talking about it being Canada Day and what they would normally be doing to celebrate Canada Day.

Amazing how Idol isn't nearly as interesting without Drunk Paula. And A'ight Randy. And, well, Simon.

It's like Bizarro Idol. With Canadian commercials.

Canadian Idol is on CTV. And they show an odd array of American TV, including The Daily Show, the Colbert Report, The View, various US soaps, Mad Men, and The Hills.

Update/edit: I kept watching CTV after Idol. There was a show on after idol about an apartment house (and the people who live there) in some city in Canada. I assumed it was Vancouver, but since this was the first time I had watched it, I'm not sure. But I do know it was original programming. The best part? Dave Foley, who we all know and love from Kids in the Hall and NewsRadio, plays the part of the new landlord: an American from Texas. Or as Sweet Pickles would simply say, "A Texan, because no other explanation is necessary." So very awesome.

And the Idol Winner is?

David! Cook! Thank god it wasn't David Archuleta. There isn't room in the Idol realm for him, the puppies, kitties, ponies, and rainbows that follow him wherever he goes. David Cook was packaged as the "rocker" of the group but he had a personality and his own complete thoughts--unlike Archuleta. Of course, my favorite was the perma-stoned Jason Castro. Yes, him. Why? Because of the perma-grin and his version of Hallelujah.

The low point of tonight's final. Boy, where do I start? The Bryan Adams medley? Or the appearance of Mr Adams himself? The USC marching band? Or, possibly, yes, I think the low point was the George Michael medley and GM himself. I had some serious problems with the American Idols telling me they want to be my "preacher teacher." That, and George Michael looked like Linda Richmond.

But I have to say David Cook's reaction to being named the winner was sweet.

Vanilla is as Vanilla Does

Dear David Achuletta,

Oh, David. David, David, David... Your voice is nothing more than vanilla, perma-grin Up with People crap.

Thank you.

I finally figured it out

I've been trying to figure out why Phil Stacey looks so weird. I mean, he looks like someone, but I haven't been able to put my finger on it. Then tonight it hit me, he looks like Fire Marshall Bill from In Living Color.

Fire Marshall Bill

Phil Stacey

And American Idol Begins

Yeah, so it actually started something like six months ago, but the top twelve started tonight.

Guest star/"mentor": Diana Ross.

Memorable: Melinda. My god she has an amazing voice.
Memorable, but not in a good way: Sunjaya's hair. What the fuck was that on his head?
Semi-memorable: LaKisha. I wasn't paying much attention. I was bored by the time she sang. I would like to point out that she didn't sing a Diana Ross song, she sang a Billie Holiday song that Diana Ross sang in Lady Sings the Blues.

Uhhhh....: Blake's favorite performer is Michael Jackson because he likes people who are good performers. Um wha? But I liked his version of the song he did.

The rest? I really didn't care.

Other TV: Last night Comedy Central showed the Anal Probe episode of South Park. Dear God, I almost peed my pants, laughing.