Friends on Netflix. I will not apologize for watching Friends. I was 25 when friends started and as their lives changed, so did mine. Sure, I was living with my mom in southwest Wisconsin and not some fancy apartment in New York and my urban family/friends were spread across three states, but as I went through my 20s and 30s, I went through many of the same thing life phases. I struggled to find a decent job. I dated some unfortunate me. I found a career and then left that career. As friends came to an end I had been out of library school for less than a year and was settling into my second career and new town.
Friends is on pretty constant syndication rotation, being able to just binge watch or pick and choose episodes is cool. And all these years later, what really stands out? Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow. Both of them are pretty amazing.
Jane the Virgin. I cannot get over how much I like this show. So very much.
Reading
Bad Feministby Roxane Gay. I have been reading this off and on for a while. It's a book of essays so it's easy to start and stop. In some cases, I am fairly sure she is in my head, especially the essay about being a first-year professor.
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I've had this book on my ereader for awhile, but I finally got around to reading it. I am so sorry I wanted so long. It was sweet and wonderful and really great.
Funny Girl: A Novel by Nick Hornby. I haven't read it yet. I haven't even purchased it yet. But I will be, soon.
Listening
No Cities to Love, Sleater-Kinney. I don't buy much music anymore and don't put a lot of effort into finding new music. But when Sleater-Kinney announced their new album last fall I pretty much freaked out. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting. I was so worried I would be disappointed. Then it was released. Was I disappointed? Fuck no. And I have been listening to it almost non-stop. A month after it was released and it is still the only thing I want to listen to when I go to the gym. I cannot get enough of it. No Cities to Love, New Wave, Bury our Friends, and Hey Darling are the four songs I keep going back to. And as much as I love Carrie Brownstein and Corrin Tucker, Janet Weiss kicks some serious--and I mean some SERIOUS--ass on this album.
And I have ticket so see them in May. I CANNOT wait.
I've had a few things to blog about but when I tried to put it together in my had, it never worked. Plus, I've been busy. And tired. And exhausted.
A few topics:
A friend's wedding. A good friend married the woman I have been calling his wife for seven years. After two kids and a mortgage, they decided the time was right. I almost didn't go because the wedding was the same weekend I moved and the wedding was in Seattle, but I knew I needed to be there. I'm glad I went. It was small, low key and nice. In some cases, those might be seen as bad, but they aren't. It was everything it should have been, no less, no more.
Got mostly unpacked. Then stopped. I got about 90% unpacked and then just stopped. I haven't even tried to finish. Someday I will. But when I was in Ye Olde College Town I had one box I never unpacked. It was open, I kept looking at it, but for 3.5 years, it was there, mocking me and my laziness. Now I have three boxes behind my couch, some baskets sitting under my kitchen counter, and two boxes of shoes in my bedroom. Someday, I'll unpack them. Maybe.
I still love the new place. A lot. Even more than when I first moved in. The big thing: I'm sleeping better. My other place was super stuffy and lacked fresh air. And the bedroom faced a walkway. I would regularly wake up in the middle of the night and not know why. And this is weird because I was one of those people who would sleep through loud, rocking thunderstorms. In my new place? Lot of fresh air and quiet. And all of a sudden, I'm sleeping better.
Comcast still sucks. I was able to work out a decent deal with them and lower my bill. Awesome. The person that handled that told me to call her when I was getting ready to move and she'd take care of it. I did, and she said it was taken care of... and that she would waive the move fee. Did she? No. And then I paid my bill, assuming my account number would stay the same. But with the move I have a new account number. And a bill for almost $300. Why? My move fee was not waived. And I am being charged for two months because the payment I made shortly after I moved (which was not for the past month, but for the future month) seems to have disappeared into the ether. So I call back the person who "took care of it" and she tells me she merged my accounts. Which apparently means nothing. And I am still being charged for a month I already paid. How much time have I wasted trying to get answers? More than I care to admit.
It took me awhile to get around to watching this show. I'm sorry I waited so long because holy crap, it's great. I didn't grow up in Texas and I know Texas people think they are the only ones who love and understand high school football, but Midwestern small towns revolve around football, too. When I was a kid, in small-town Iowa, Friday night was about football. I remember when my cousin was on the Homecoming court (I don't remember is she won or not). I wanted to be both a cheerleader and a football player. The stands, the game, the lights... everything about it, I loved. As I got older and after my parents split, I'd still go to the small-town games. Instead of watching them from the stands, I watched them from an ambulance. My dad was a fireman and at the time, the fireman were also EMTs. And since there was always an ambulance at the game... well, it was warm in the ambulance.
I also hung out in the ambulance because it wasn't my town. I knew a few people, but they weren't my people. I did sometimes go to the football games at my school, but I went to the big well-funded school. Out team played home games in the local university's dome. And we were good. We regularly played state. We had multiple football coaches (they also taught PE).* We regularly won state. (And state playoffs were played on our home field but we always had to be on the visitors side because somehow that made things fair. So, yes, my high school football team played indoors. It was fine and I still have fond memories, but it wasn't the same.
So Friday Night Lights and all of it's small-town football worship? I get it.
The other great thing about the show? The music. It's amazing.
Drunk History
I stumbled on the second episode on Comedy Central, the one about Chicago, and I almost hurt myself laughing. Then I looked into it and found out Drunk History has been a thing for awhile. And then I watched all the online versions and I began DVRing the Comedy Central shows. Because holy shit, it's brilliant.
Drunk people describing an historical event and actors acting it out, including all the drunk ticks. It's like someone recorded almost every drunken conversation I had in college.
*We also had multiple wrestling coaches because it was Iowa and wrestling is huge in Iowa. And the wrestling coaches taught driver's ed.
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted. I watched The Mary Tyler Moore show as a kid. I like reading behind the scenes stuff about pop culturey things. This book seemed like a good bet when I read about it in Entertainment Weekly and promptly preordered it. I started it on my trip back to My Old Stomping Ground, but didn't really devote much time to it until Memorial Day Weekend--and I finished it in a couple of days. Reading about the show and how it portrayed women in a way that had never been done and how women contributed to the show was interesting. But this is the thing: As a little girl, I never saw Mary Richards as someone to look up to. Why? Because it always seemed like the only thing she was concerned about was on making other people happy. That's it. And she cried all the time. Neither of these things impressed me when I was a kid. So reading about the development of the show and how Mary was perceived by society and how she did empower many women was interesting. If I had been older and closer to Mary Richard's age and single and had people asking me when I was going to get married, have kids (which I did experience when I was that age; now people have stopped asking), etc., I'd probably see the show in a different light. As a kid without those preconceived notions of what women were supposed to do or be, Mary Richards didn't seem all that independent. Looking at it now, I see her becoming independent and successful and having a full life without all the things society said she was supposed to have. The book discusses the development of the show, but also focuses on the people behind it, including how women rose through the ranks as writers--a first. Recommended, for sure.
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. I started this shortly after it came out, but honestly, I'm having a hard time getting into it. I adore David Sedaris, but this book feels kind of been there, done that.
Watching
I'm watching the same worthless crap I always have.
So You Think You Can Dance. Some seasons I watch this show when it's on, some seasons I don't. This season I am.
Newlyweds: The First Year. I find this show utterly fascinating. But I have to say that John and Kathryn are an uncomfortably awkward couple to watch.
Mad Men. It's on, I'm watching it. It's more uneven than past seasons, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it. And that one scene with Pete Campbell smoking pot with Janis Joplin playing the show out? Awesome.
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset/Before Midnight. I was talking to a friend about the Before movies and how they are films I assume everyone my age has seen. I saw Before Sunset on TV a few years after it came out. I remember hearing about it and thinking it sounded good, but I never saw it. When it was on TV I almost missed a company event, I was so wrapped up in the film. While living in Ye Olde College Town, some friends and I watched them both. In preparation for the major release of Before Midnight, I watched them both over Memorial Day weekend. Twice. God, they are good. I saw Before Midnight last night after avoiding any and all press about it. So good. Just so damn good. But I'm not even going to try to explain why. Just go read Linda Holmes' summary over at NPR's MonkeySee.
Speaking of NPR, watch this:
I am such an NPR geek that my favorite parts are the cameos. Ari Shapiro is a favorite since he's an NPR hottie. And Carl Kasell in the elevator because he's Carl Kasell.
Listening
Honestly, the things I am listening to other than my iPod on shuffle are Big Star's Third/Sister Love and They Might Be Giants' Flood. Big Star because of this, and TMBG because somewhere along the line their album Flood was deleted from my iTunes. I still have the CD but it's in storage and I am too lazy to dig it out. So while I was in My Old Stomping Ground, D and I went through each others iTune library to swap songs (as is the norm for us) and he gave me a copy of Flood. (Actually, I lost everything from They Might Be Giants (three or four albums, total, but Flood was missing the most.)
Shortly after I moved to Ye Olde College Town, I was telling Frenchie about this guy I went to grad school with who, when we were discussing TV-related stuff in class, would always announce, "I don't have a television." This was the same guy who spoke to his kid in Russian, but was not Russian (it was actually very fascinating to watch them interact), claimed his wife was allergic to electricity, and once said he couldn't listen to or learn from one of our profs because she used the British pronunciations of some words and it threw his concentration off.
Anyway, when I mentioned how annoying he was based on his no-TV statements, French said, "I don't trust anyone without a TV. And at that moment, I had a 1) new friend, and 2) a new philosophy. I told this to a friend/coworker shortly after I arrived here since there is a big "I don't have a TV" contingent. He told me when he moved here he tried at almost every point during a conversation with a new person to talk about what he had been watching on his television just to figure who he wanted to talk to and who he didn't want to talk to.
My point? I bought a new TV. A big one. Well, bigger than the 19" TV I bought in 1998 that I have been using for three years after my five-year-old TV broke. It's a 40-inch smart TV. And it's awesome. I mean awesome. I could lie on the couch for days and watch shit on TV or Netflix or whatever all damn day. Because I am that much of a slug. I do not care.
I thought this quarter would slow down yet for some reason the exact opposite happened and somehow my work day has become me, sitting in meetings. And the state of mind I am in after six hours of meetings? It's pretty much what I was like after pulling an all-nighter as an undergrad... except I don't fall asleep in the hallway outside my classroom. At least that hasn't happened, yet.
A few things:
The new Community? Sucks. I was hoping it would just go on with some small things that may be different. But it didn't. It's just terrible.
Project Runway. This season is all about group work. I thought I would hate it but I don't. At all.
Top Chef. I loved seeing in Seattle, especially the trips to Uwajimaya.
House of Cards. If you have Netflix go watch this. Now. Stop everything and just watch this. If you don't have Netflix sign up for a free one-month trial and watch this. Holy shit, I loved every single second of this series. And, now Sweet Pickles, I haven't watched the original yet.
This is the time of year when transfer students show up on campus. There is a big info fair that includes lunch and whatnot and tours and course registration and so on and so forth.
I stood at our info table a couple days ago. I was next to another table where the person working the table was there... and joined by a friend. I don't think the friend ever stopped talking.
Let's see.... she mentioned her non-gay gay friend. Basically, a straight dude who liked to shop. She graduated and is broke and apparently doesn't like one of her roommates. She discovered the show Girls from a friend (possibly the non-gay gay friend) and she really wanted the friend she was sitting with it to see it because it was so her and so them and they could so identify with it. But watch Tiny Furniture before, because it's the same girl who plays the main character in Girls (she didn't know names). It was about girls who had just graduated and they were broke and it was just so very good.
I've blogged about Girls before. I like it. I wasn't sure at first. I warmed up to the characters. (Shoshanna being my favorite and realizing that the character Adam is really a decent human being. And cringing at Hannah's twenty-something selfishness. And being amazed at how much Jessa reminded me in looks and personality of my friend Cori.) But all around, what drew me into the series was the relationships between the friends. I think how they react to each other, how they hurt each other, and how they love each other is fairly real.
But, this girl at the info fair, I so badly wanted to turn to her and say, "You and your generation didn't invent angst. You aren't the first to feel adrift after college. You aren't the first to move back in with your parents because you had no other choice. You aren't the first to resent the generation before you."
Us Gen Xers did the same thing. We resented the Boomers before us. Most my friends weren't the kids of Boomers and we knew we fell between two large generations--meaning we'd be forgotten. We moved back home because we didn't know what else to do. And even then, the parents of a high school friend of mine told me--when I was feeling like a failure for moving home--that when they were my age, most of their friends (themselves included) moved back in with their parents in order to save money and get started on their lives. And most of their friends were married when they moved home. And when talking about it with my mom--living with her, working minimum wage job--she told me she thought me and my generation were doing it the right way. We were taking the time to figure out what we wanted first. Her generation did it the other way: They did things because they were supposed to, finding out too late that what they were supposed to do wasn't what they wanted.
So, basically, I wanted to turn to this girl and tell her that she wasn't special. Neither were her friends. Everyone goes through this crap. But I didn't.
I didn't want to be that Get-off-my-lawn kind of person. Or the back-when-I-was-your-age person. But it did make me think back to an afternoon in 1993, I sitting in some fast food restaurant with my BFF, trying to decide if I should drop out of grad school. This was a big deal since going to grad school was the only thing I had wanted for two years. And now I wanted out. I was tired. I was burned out. I just wanted a job. But did dropping out mean I was a failure?
Sitting there, moping, I asked: "Why does life have to be so hard?"
BFF said: "If life were easy it would be boring."
I responded: "Who said that? Because that's bullshit."
BFF: "You did. You said it to me [during a particularly bad break up she went through a year earlier]."
Me: "Yeah? Well, then it's fucking brilliant. I'm fucking deep."
Not long after that, I withdrew. I made an expensive mistake, but it was the right decision. I moved home. It took me two years to find a steady job. And it sucked. Seriously sucked. But it set me up for what turned out to be a pretty decent life.
So, there you go, Girl at Info Fair. Your angst is real. It's legit. But don't let it take over your life. Learn from it. Grow. Push yourself. But, remember: You aren't the first group of twenty-somethings to go through this.
I love this show. That is well documented. I've watched it from the first season. And, yes, I do feel somewhat superior about this. I saw the pilot. I stumbled on it on a Thursday night during season one when AMC was replaying previously shown episodes. I don't know if I stumbled on it during the first week, but I did see the pilot. I was hooked. The style. The acting. John Hamm. I began reading about it. I began watching it. And I distinctly remember when a thunderstorm knocked out my cable during the season one finale... I missed the second half. Luckily, AMC was still showing each episode twice a week.
Anyway, season five just finished. This was the season that almost wasn't. And you know what? I loved it. I mean loved it. I thought it was one of the best seasons of any television show ever. I understand some of the criticism that each episode was too thematic, that each episode focused on a character or theme or whatever. I don't care. I think it was well done. As mentioned in this season wrapping article from the AV club said, there were times it almost spun out of control, like The Other Woman, which, honestly, was the episode that both upset me and sucked me in the most. There was part of it that felt like a betrayal to these characters, yet true to them. It shows Peggy standing up for herself when she needed to. It showed Joan being treated in a way that insulted me as a woman and her behaving in a way that was both upsetting yet understandable.
Do I need to recap it? Simply put, SCDP pimped out Joan. Now, Joan is a grown up and makes her own decisions, so, yes, she made the decision. But this was the first time in a long time, if ever, I seriously talked back to my television during a fictional program. When Pete went to Joan with his bullshitty proposal, I flipped off the TV. And this episode haunted me. It kept me awake, just thinking about it. The bad thing about this show being on a Sunday night is that I stay up thinking about it, mulling over the plot points and characters. And on Monday, I read everything I can about it.
One thing I have always loved about this show is how they handle social change. Social change happens in the background, because that is usually the way it works. Sure, some people are down in the trenches, but even during a tumultuous time like the late-1960s, change happened while most people were living their lives. And before that, the assassination of JFK happened while everyone was living their life. And just like most major national events, the news trickles in and different people hear about it at different times in different ways. The lack of black characters has been one of the biggest criticisms, I think, but like change, I think the portrayal correct for these people in this geographic location, in this situation. Granted, I wasn't alive yet, so what do I know?
What I liked about this season was that it felt transitional. The year? 1967. They're moving from mid-60s to the late-60s. Vietnam is beginning to build. The Beatles moved from bubble gum pop to Revolver. (And I don't care what anyone says, the use of Tomorrow Never Knows was fucking brilliant.) To me this season saw these characters move from what they knew and safe or normal to the unfamiliar. Roger did LSD, opened his mind, and got divorced. Joan dumped the jackass of a husband, and do what she needed to do to take care of herself, and yes, that included some not-so-comfortable things. And she did this so she could take care of her and her son without help from Roger, her ex-husband or her mother. Lane, well... Lane tried to live up an ideal that was only real in his head. And he couldn't. Pete's weird. Pete has always been weird. Pete has always been a dick. Pete has always felt inadequate to others. And now Pete has been emasculated and has lost his mojo by moving to the 'burbs.
Don went somewhat straight. He had Megan (who, as a character, I ended up liking so much more than I thought) and then he lost Megan when she left SCDP. And, I think, looked very young. That isn't a bad thing, but she is just starting her life and Don is established. Since so much of this season is about the clash of multiple generations, using Megan's aspirations of being an actress is a way to show just how young she is.
Peggy. I have a soft spot for Peggy. And this was Peggy's Season. Peggy left. Peggy striking out on her own was magnificent. It was heartbreaking. It was liberating. And seeing her in her red power suit, even if she looked a bit uncomfortable, in the season finale, was pretty awesome. And, yes, Peggy, you have indeed come a long way, baby.
Other things: I loved seeing a bigger role for Sally. I loved seeing Roger's sense of humor. And Roger on LSD was pretty spectacular. Harry got creepy. I don't remember Harry being that creepy in the past. They way he kept talking about his wife, I assumed at some point we were going to find out that she left him and he was talking shit to make it seem like she was still there. I want to see more of Stan Rizzo. And, yes, I even liked the addition of Ginsberg.
And while the season finale was somewhat slow compared to the rest of the season, I loved the cut to black when the young woman in the bar asked Don if he was a lone. And you know what? I liked the pace of the season ender. Why? Because the shows leading up to it were hectic. And strange. And unfamiliar. Kind of like the 60s. And then there was some calm while people can catch their breath. Little do they know what 1968 will hold and how much more things will change.
So, you let Dan Harmon go as show runner for Community. You replaced him with people from other shows: Happy Endings and Aliens in America. Listen, I like Happy Endings. It's a snappy ensemble sitcom and I DVR it. I am pretty sure I was the only person who watched Aliens in America, but I liked it. I'm sure being stuck on the CW is why it never went anywhere. Or maybe people weren't ready for it. But I liked it.
So, people from good shows. But these shows aren't Community.
I'm a just a little attached to this show. I'm invested in this show. I identify with this show on so many different levels. I am one of the loyal viewers who follows Dan Harmon (@DanHarmon) on Twitter. And, yes, I read his reaction to being fired on his Tumblr page.
Listen, Sony Pictures and NBC, I don't know what you're thinking. I was happy you ordered thirteen more episodes of Community for next year. I don't even care that NBC relegated it to Friday night after that horrible show Whitney. To me this meant it was the last season. But this also meant we were going to get thirteen episodes of Dan Harmon insanity as he took the show out in a blaze of meta-glory. In a sense, I was looking forward to it.
And then you canned him.
If you wanted an ensemble show, like Happy Endings, make one. Community is an ensemble show, but it is a unique ensemble show. It does have limited appeal. I get that. If you wanted one that had broader appeal, make one and put it on Thursday night or some other night when people will watch it. Leave Community alone to the freakazoid lunch table that is Friday night. Let the rest of us enjoy it to the end.
But for whatever reason, you couldn't do that. You're gonna try to makeover the freakazoid in the lunch room to fit in with the cool kids. And just like all the other attempts to make over the weird quirky kid to meet the so-called norm, by firing Dan Harmon you will rob Community of all it's soul and character.
So, two unrelated television shows. For the four people who read this blog, I'm curious if you are watching these and if you are, what you think.
Girls (HBO).
Unless you live under a rock or don't care about TV or pop culture or whatever, you've heard about Lena Dunham's show Girls. I don't have HBO, but I watched the three episodes available online. Why get invested in a show that I can't see more of? Well, the talk and the buzz got to me. The conversation about Girls on, wait for it, NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is what really made me curious.
After three episodes, I can say that I like the show but dislike the characters. Well, I kind-of like them. I like then enough that I want to know what happens to them. Okay, I'm intrigued by them. Hannah's OBGYN expressed part of it: You couldn't pay me enough money to be 24 again. Because I agree. I remember being in my mid-20s and people telling me what a shitty age it was and I would get all defensive. I'd be all "I'm a grown-up and I know who I am, stop treating me like a child." And maybe some people saw me as entitled, but I don't think I believed the world owed me anything. (I'm sure there are plenty of people who would challenge that.) I was a Gen Xer. I think I was too cynical to be entitled.
Anyway, the attitude of entitlement that Hannah has is one of the big things I both like and dislike. Yes, Hannah is entitled, but I wonder if the character was written as a way to both satirize this and try to explain it. As Hannah tells her parents when they cut her off: She is trying to be the best person she can be. She is doing what everyone told her to do. She is trying to be who she is. She is trying to be the person that all the best schools told her she should be. She is special. She's going to be the voice--or at least one voice--of her generation.
How she figures out how to take care of herself is what intrigues me. But there is also part of me that thinks, "Been there, done that. Why do I want to watch a rich kid try to figure out how to take care of herself?" I guess because it's just plain entertaining.
After three episodes, I wish I had HBO because I would like to know how this show plays out... but I don't care enough to pay for HBO.
Finding Your Roots (PBS).
Is anyone else watching this? I love this show. So very much. Simple put, it follows the ancestry of famous people. it's similar in concept to Who Do You Think You Are on NBC. I've seen the one on NBC, but I prefer Finding Your Roots. Finding Your Roots is just as much about the history of our country as is it about the ancestry of famous people.
*edit: I had a different version of this post up earlier. I rewrote parts of it because I decided I sounded like an idiot. Maybe I still do.
Mad Men. If you aren't watching this, you are missing out on some of the best television on TV right now. And before you say something stupid like, "Given what's on TV right now, that's not saying much," let me just say this: Shut up. This season of Mad Men, each show has been better than the last. Also, if you are watching it and not following the discussion over at Slate's TV Club, please start.
This Post on NPR: Wanted: Mavericks and Missionaries to Solve Mississippi's MD Shortage. I went to the Mississippi coast a few months after Hurricane Katrine hit Mississippi and Louisiana. After seeing that, I decided to donate money instead of buying presents for my family. I looked at what people lost and thought, "We have everything. We need nothing." I sent money to the Mississippi Library Commission, a children's center on the coast, and an organization for volunteer fireman. The reaction from my family was so great, I did it again the next year. The next year I sent a check to a Jonestown, Mississippi health clinic. Why? After seeing the documentary short Bodies and Souls at my local film festival, I had the same feeling I had after seeing the MS coast after Katrina: We don't need anything. I put a check in a card, mailed it with a note saying it was sent in the name of my family. A few days after Christmas, I received a phone call from a doctor at a Mississippi Delta health clinic. He told me he wanted to thank me personally for the check I had sent. They didn't get a lot of support from the community. When he opened up my card, he had to leave the room in order to regain his composure. I was flabbergasted. My phone number wasn't listed. And while it probably wasn't too difficult to track me down, it still took some effort. But we talked for a bit. He told me he had grown up there but went to med school and had done his residency in the Midwest, but he was really happy to return to his home and help his community--much like those in this NPR story. This all happened almost six years ago. My mom sent a check to the same place last year and it was returned. I fear the clinic closed. Some days I question whether the clinic that received the check was the one featured in the film, as the doctor didn't seem to have any clue what I was talking about when I mentioned it. But you know what? I don't care. It went to an organization that needed it and it made a difference. Even now, I get a little choked up when I think about it.
Vegetarian Pho Starter from Pacific Foods. I have no clue how this tastes, but I was happy to find it. I love pho. We have many pho places in town and I have my favorites. But sometimes I feel like throwing some rice noodles in some broth with tofu and veggies and having some pho. I found what I would call pho bouillon cubes at one of the local Asian grocery stores... but it's all in Vietnamese. I assume you just throw it in a pan with some water, but I've still never made it. So finding premade pho broth? This makes me happy.
So I watched the first half of the second-season premiere of The Killing. I only saw the second hour last week because I forgot it was a two-hour premiere.
I still have mixed feelings about this show. I want to like it. I loved it when it started. But then I began reading the recaps. Recaps can kill a show for me. The people recapping The Killing began pointing out the ridiculousness of many, if not most, of the plot points. I tried to watch the first hour but I kept thinking about the things that didn't make sense or just seemed stupid.
I'll probably stick with it because I want to know who the murdered Rosie, but, you know, I'm just not that into it.
Did you see the finale of Project Runway Allstars? Or are Mary and I the only people watching it? Anyway, if you aren't watching it, you missed Austin Scarlett describing his final collection.
"It's a story of a vampire from the 18th century who has lived for many hundreds of years and now resides in Williamsburg and occasionally borrows her clothes from her hassidic dandy friends."
You can watch it on Hulu. Fast forward to about 11:34 to see Austin describe his collection. It is the best most awesome yet totally ridiculous description ever. Kind of like Austin. And I mean that in the best possible way.
And I give you... Mad Men: The Game (in the style of old Nintendo). This is so addictive. If you look carefully, you will even see the lawnmower.
So... Top Chef is back. And it has been for some time.
While I was staying with My Gay Husband back in My Old Stomping Grounds, we spent some time talking about Top Chef. MGH doesn't have cable, and MOSG is located in an area where you can't get any TV without cable. I don't know if he watches online or if he watches it at a friend's house... Because they are both total foodies. Anyway, I always figured MGH would think he was above reality TV, but a show about food may be different. The current season of Top Chef had just started and I hadn't seen the first episode, yet. I was poking around MGH's cookbooks when I stumbled on the Top Chef cookbook. I was surprised. And then he started talking about the first episode and how he thought I would really enjoy it (I did). And then he asked: If the judges were to come to your town, where would you take them? I didn't know. We had a four-star restaurant in town but it closed. There is a large locavore movement here, so most places use local, seasonal ingredients. I mentioned a Vietnamese place in a strip mall that I like a lot. Okay, that I love. Their Pho is amazing. They use seasonal vegetables. They have this great pineapple tofu dish... It's comforting.
Anyway, I have been half watching this season because I keep getting distracted by other things and never get around to re-watching what I missed. But last week's show? With Heather? Taking Beverly to task for what happened in the last challenge? What the fuck? Let it go. And her overall attitude? Shitty. And grumpy. And bitchy. There is always the cliche chance that she was edited to look bitchy, but I suspect that most people who are edited bitchy are bitchy. So, Heather? The bitch of this season.
Edward, the Korean dude from Kentucky? At first, I thought he was going to be the asshole of the season. And maybe he is, but he's growing on me, especially for calling out Heather on her overall bitchiness. And for pointing out that the person you throw under the reality show bus may be your partner in the next challenge. He's growing on me.
I do miss Chuy. Because I wanted to see more scenes of him drinking talking about how his dad built the entire city of San Bernardino with his bare hands. The other guy I like is Paul, the dude from Austin.
And the other Bravo show that I adore this season? Work of Art. Seriously. Awesome.
The Comcast tech came by on Sunday. Turns out I was being billed for two DVRs--a standard and an HD DVR. He fixed that. The box I had was in fact a DVR, but the code had been messed with so much it was easier to swap it out for a new one. The tech got it all set up.
Then I tried to program the DVR. Nothing. Okay, I'll wait. Next day? I set some recordings and went to work. After working late I got home to find out nothing had recorded. I tried again to record. Nothing.
So... tonight, I called. Again. I was explaining what went wrong, the Comcast person on the phone reset it, and then we were cut off. I don't know if I was hung up on or if my phone dropped the call. I was not yelling. I was not getting mad.
I called back.
I calmly (seriously) explained how many times I had talked to someone at Comcast and all the back and forth. The guy on the phone told me I was calmer than he would be. I told him this wasn't the norm. After resetting the DVR three or four times the Comcast dude said, "I hate to tell you this...." And a tech would have to come out. There was a chance, he said, that the DVR might work in fifteen minutes or so (after it reloaded) but wasn't holding his breath. Neither was I.
More bitching on Twitter and the Comcast Twitter people wanted the full story so they could investigate.
And then my DVR began to work.
Honestly, dear reader, I do have other things, other going on in my life other than my freaking cable TV, but they're things I can't really go into detail about on a blog. So... this is it.
My Comcast On Demand service has been acting weird for a few weeks. It would work and then not work. The payback would catch. Or I'd get audio but no video. I eventually got sick of it and got in touch with customer service. I'm not a fan of their chat service, but I didn't feel like talking to anyone, so I did the chat thing. The tech "person" (because part of me thinks it's nothing more than a machine is on the other end spitting out random crap) tried to reset the signal but it didn't work. I was told to unplug it and then plug it back in. Didn't fix anything. And... I guess that meant the box was broken.
So, I had the choice of picking up a new box or waiting for a tech. I said neither--I wasn't doing a damn thing or altering my schedule to sit around and wait for a cable dude. I was told I was shit out of luck.
What do I do? Go to Twitter. Within a few minutes a Comcast guy said they'd ship me a new DVR.
Excellent!
It arrives. I set it up. I activate it. I let it do it's thing, and I run some errands. When I get home 2.5 hours later it still isn't working. I call customer service. This person tells me I was sent the wrong kind of DVR and that my account won't work with it. If I want to use it I will have to pay more each month. Oh, and she thinks my original problem wasn't the DVR but the signal. I kind of lose my shit. She tells me she can set up a temporary fix but eventually I will still need to swap out this machine. We set up an appointment for a tech to come to my house. I'm still not happy about having them visit. Last time they were here my tv broke. And I don't like giving up my time for the cable dude. But, I don't have a choice, whatever she did to my account meant that when their system refreshed my service would stop working.
Jesus.
So, I head back to Twitter. I am told the tech I spoke to was wrong. After some back and forth, the Comcast Twitter dude called me and we straightened out my request, the tech visit on Sunday, and we got it worked out. Excellent.
But one thing: My DVR still doesn't work. I ask Twitter dude about this. Oh, oops... you weren't sent a DVR, it's a box used for some other Comcast service.
Are you fucking kidding me? I pay how much a month for this bullshit?
Yeah, people are starving in this world and people are homeless and here I am complaining about my DVR. I know. I know. In the big scheme of things this is ridiculous. But c'mon... is one person at Comcast competent? At all?
Supposedly I have HBO free for three months because of all this. I don't care, honestly. I just want the shit I pay for to work.
I may as well get started since this season of Project Runway is now two episodes in. Right now, there are still too many designers to remember their names and whatnot. But, as I told a friend, of all the shitty reality TV I watch, Project Runway is the one I take seriously.
Two episodes in, this is who I like (and I did have to look up their names)
Bert. His week one dress was lovely. And, he said he wanted to push himself. That's why I was really disappointed in his attitude and dress in week two. If you don't want to make dresses out of aquarium rock, they why go on Project Runway. But, still, I think he'll do well.
Anthony, AKA: One-ball Dude. I liked him during week one. I loved him (and his dress) in week two. He should've won.
Becky: I think she is an underdog. Plus, I like her. And the fact that she used to be in a Christian Cult. I liked her Pet Store outfit.
Joshua and Viktor. I liked both of their dresses from the Pet Store challenge, especially Joshua's. But almost more importantly, I liked them together as an incredibly flamboyant and entertaining pair.
Two weeks in, this is who I don't like
Oliver. Raised in Columbus but speaks with a British/Italian/Eurotrash accent. I know, I know... some people pick up accents more than others. But he's, what? 22? He left home when he was 16? He acts like he has never been to the US and does not understand or strange ways. Whatever. But, really, like Bert, I hated his attitude during the Pet Store challenge. If he doesn't work with non-fabric items, why go on Project Runway? And this is my issue with the judges, but since it involves Oliver, I'm dumping it on him: They loved his design. Why? It fit so badly. But more than that, they ripped into the guy they sent home (Josh?) for using fabric. Oliver used fabric. He may have used it better, but he used fabric. And for all their obsession with styling, the judges didn't let those freaky eyebrows count against Oliver. Why the hell not? Maybe he'll win me over, but right now I am not counting on in it.
Anya. First of all, was I the only person not falling over myself to praise the pants she made last week? And am I the only one who thinks she is lying through her teeth about being so inexperienced? But.... I have to admit, I really liked the top she made for the Pet Store challenge.
On a a different note: The upcoming cycle of America's Next Top Model? ALL STARS. I may have to watch this.
1) Please don't be predictable. Please.
I've mentioned this show several times, and I will start this by saying that I still love it and I still think it is worth watching. But... The season finale? I found it frustrating as hell. And while I gasped like I was supposed to gasp at the end of last week's episode, a few minutes later, after thinking about it, I got irritated. The plot direction seemed so predictable. You have two loosely tied together events, and while they cross a few times throughout the season, they are still disconnected. So pulling them together at the end of the season is, well, predictable.
2) The foreshadowing is too heavy handed and obvious. Or, find ways to distract me from the foreshadowing.
Based on that second-to-last episode of the season, together with the end of last night's season finale, I have a definite opinion of who did it. Why and how? After a season of this show I have learned to pick up on the lingering shots, because they mean something.
The Killing isn't the only show to do this. Mad Men does this, but Mad Men is awesome. And The Killing is great, but it isn't holding my attention like it was in the beginning and that means I begin to notice the lingering shots and whatnot more. I don't like noticing those things. I like being so caught up in that very moment that I am not trying to figure out what the coffee cup on the table may or may not mean.
So... I'm frustrated. Really frustrated. I suppose if I wouldn't be so frustrated if I kept reading The Onion's AV Club's summaries, because they point out all the things wrong with it.
3) For the love of god, STOP IT with the rain that you can hear.
I have to thank Frenchie for pointing out this article on EW.com about the how the Pacific Northwest is portrayed, because I've found the rain in the show really distracting. (And I think she's tired of me mentioning it.) Yes, it's set in November in Seattle, but we rarely get rain showers--we get mist. And while real rain is most likely to happen between November and January, but it is often accompanied by some hardcore wind. And fog. Lots and lots of fog. Another thing, and this is a regional thing, but people don't carry umbrellas. I didn't get it at first. Why not carry an umbrella when it rains? But it's because we get mist and an umbrella doesn't do jack shit against mist. A hat or a one of those fugly REI jackets is better.
And at one point, I swear I heard thunder on the show. We get thunder once or twice a year. And when we do, people lose their shit because it rarely happens.
Stop showing people running from the rain. In three years, I don't think I have ever seen anyone run to get out of the rain.
3) Maybe you should actually visit Seattle. Or at least get a damn map.
The Killing wasn't filmed in Seattle. There are lots of sweeping shots of Seattle and whatnot, but it was shot in the Vancouver, BC area. I'm okay with that. But my advise to the producers is to spend a little more time in Seattle before they film the next season. In one episode, there was a foot chase through "The Market." The chase happened when they tracked someone down to 5th and Union. Linden referred to that as the location of The Market. Uh... I'm going to assume The Market is the Public Market AKA Pike's Place Market located at 1st and Pike. The Market is one of those iconic places in Seattle. Other than the Space Needle, I don't think anything is identified more with Seattle than the Public Market Sign. This is 5th and Union. Yeah, not even close.
And the foot chase through the market? It was light, bright, and there was room to turn around. That's not the Public Market. The Public Market in Seattle is dark, narrow, and is usually so packed you can barely move (yet I still love it). I've never been to the Public Market on Granville Island in Vancouver, but I have been told it was really nice... so my guess is that is where it is. But, seriously, for the love of god, if the characters are going to the Market--at least get the address right.
Oh, and the scenes in shot in SeaTac? Not SeaTac. SeaTac isn't anywhere near that nice.
But, people in Vancouver do carry umbrellas. Maybe the producers are just going with the local culture.
The Onion's AV Club has been posting a series of interviews with the creator, Dan Harmon. It's been a great read that walks us through the development of each show this season. I really liked the behind-the-scenes view of how characters and specific shows and story lines were developed. As of today, they have posted three of the four. (*Edit: Part 4 has been posted)
Yeah, it's a tired way of saying I'm on vacation, but I am. I was in a use it or lose it situation with some vacation time, so I took a week off. I was going to go to Seattle or maybe one of the local state parks, but like the week I took off at Thanksgiving last year, I decided to just putz around at home. People still ask me if I am going or went somewhere. Nope. I had some things to do around here--some of them I have done, some I haven't because other than yesterday, it has been fucking gorgeous here this week. And as I mentioned a few posts ago, after months and months of clouds, drizzle, and fog, being out in the sun is amazing.
So... I'm halfway through my vacation. Things I have done so far: dentist (for a check up); cleaned, kind of; napped, a lot; wandered.
I was going to rearrange furniture and clean and scrub and all that. Instead, I did my laundry, took an hour nap, scrubbed the stove, oven, bathtub, and sink. And I vacuumed. Thing is, you can barely tell I did any of those things. I give up. I really want to declutter. I may start that process this week. Or maybe not.
Anyway, Watching, Reading, listening. Or today: Reading, Watching, Listening.
Reading
I walked down to our local indie bookstore this morning. A friend sent me a giftcard after helping her out on a project she was working on, so I thought it would be a good time to spend it. I spent well over an hour wandering, looking, texting Frenchie, asking her what she has or hasn't read. If you know Frenchie, you may find this is hilarious because she's the librarian who doesn't read. But... It made sense to me because we have similar tastes and attention spans. If a book is on her list to read, then I know I will probably like it. If she read some of it or maybe even all of it and liked it, I will probably love it. If she read it and felt "eh" about it, I will hate it. And if she read it willingly (without the pressure of a book club), finished it, and loved it... then holy shit, it must be the best book of the year.
So... In the end, this is what I came away with:
Vegan Express, Nava Atlas. I had planned on stocking up on cookbooks, but eventually changed my mind. But this one had simple and quick recipes using ingredients I already have or that I buy regularly.
Crooked Letter Crooked Letter, Tom Franklin. This is how the text exchange with Frenchie began. This was on her list and it was getting awards. It came highly recommended by the bookstore staff. And the whole crooked-letter crooked-letter hump-back hump-back thing is how I learned to spell "Mississippi" when I was a kid (except for me it was in relation to the river, not the state).
Gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson. I know nothing about this book other than the title was familiar and it was a cheap used copy.
A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan. I grabbed this as I was about ready to leave. A quick scan of the back cover (aging wanna-be punk rocker music dude who thought he was the shit, his assistant....blah blah blah). I was hooked.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot. Also a recommendation via Frenchie--not from her, but from a list put together by another friend. It looked great. And my mom also recommended it.
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels, Sarah Wendell, Candy Tan. When I was young, much, much younger, I read romance novels. I think that's when a lot of girls read them. I don't read them much anymore, but every so often, in the middle of summer, I want to spend a weekend reading trashy novels. Well-written trashy novels. I think romance novels get a bad rap. They aren't all bodice rippers. They aren't all Harlequin Romance Novels where the woman hates the guy, calls him an ignorant boob, but then falls in love with his rugged good looks. Some are funny with well-written characters, so on and so forth. I don't regularly read the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog much, but I think I will have to start. This book was recommended by a friend who, like me, likes to waste a few weekends a year reading trashy novels and Linda Holmes, founder of NPR's MonkeySee blog and my new pop culture guru, recommended the Smart Bitches blog. The bookstore didn't have a copy of this, probably because, you know, it's about romance novels and indie bookstores like to pretend their customers are above romance novels... Okay, I'm generalizing, but still.... And they ordered me a copy.
The other book I wanted that they didn't have was Nick Nornby's Fever Pitch. The woman thought it was out of print (it's available on Amazon, so I doubt that) and told me she couldn't find me a copy. I'm still not sure about that. Fever Pitch and Juliet, Naked are the only two Nick Hornby books I haven't read. I have a copy of Juliet, Naked--I just haven't read it. So Fever Pitch would round-out the collection.
Watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Oh man. Man oh man oh man. This show. I don't know what to say about it. It's sensational in every sense of the word. It's fascinating. It's intriguing. It's weird. It's... it's just kind of awesome.
Sister Wives. I watched the first few episodes of the the first season but stopped because the husband creeped me out. TLC was showing the second season leading up to the episode where the family leaves Utah for Las Vegas. Kind of like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, I find this show fascinating. For a reality show, I find it fairly honest and eye-opening. I like the sister wives and the kids. But I still think the husband (Kody) is extremely skeevy. I have no problem with their family or how it's set up. The women are there willingly. All but one (there are four sister wives) grew up in polygamous families. As one said, she wanted a family, not just a husband. I get that: It does take a village to raise a child and multiple spouses means a large family community. I like that. They don't talk about the religious side of things and if they did, I probably wouldn't find it as interesting. And I still have issues with one husband having multiple wives. It seems to me that polyamory is more equitable than polygamy. But anyway... I find this family fairly frank and open about the various issues facing a family like this: day-to-day stuff like getting people out the door, holidays, vacations, so on and so forth. What I find refreshing is how honest the women seem to be with each other about issues like jealousy and the fluctuation of their relationships. I think that's why I find this show so interesting: the women seem so real. Too bad the husband comes across as such a scumbag.
Listening
I've kind of gotten lazy again when it comes to music. I've been setting the iPod on shuffle mainly because I haven't had the time to really focus and concentrate on music lately. Although I was in a Wilco Summerteeth mood today and a Social Distortion mood yesterday.
