Blog Archives
Only a Week Behind
Well, as stated in the last post, my spring semester goal was to try and hit one post a week. I figured that even if I couldn’t blog to the extent I’d prefer, at least a structured schedule would give me that little bit of disciplined stability I crave. And then….yeah. So the first part of this semester is dedicated to jamming out the formal proposal paper for my capstone applied project…yes, that same unholy beast that kept me awake many a night over holiday break. I have a psuedo-clear picture in my mind of what it will entail now, but the realization of said plan turned a little more complicated than I expected, so I have spent the last couple weeks freaking out (a lot), completing a human-subjects research training course, and filing a ton of internal review board (IRB) applications. WTF? Very confusing stuff, and nothing I originally expected to need for this process, but hopefully it will yield some delicious professional fruit down the road. Hard to say right now.
Anywho, I have to be honest and also say that lately my down time / entertainment mechanism has shifted away from favorite DVR’d shows due to waning interest on my part, the cancellation of a couple favorites (Medium, RIP. I may never recover from the trauma of your series finale episode. sob.), and of course general lack of time. So, what other activity fills the late-night need to detox from textbooks, research designs, evaluation instruments, and pretend play with the five year old genius? Why yes, internet, I have resumed MMORPGing with FF on a limited basis. It’s brainless in real-world terms, but demands more immersion and interaction than TV, and diverts my brain from other stresses better than books. And I go through books too quickly to keep enough new material around anyway. (One of my longtime fantasies is a deserted island with nice weather, a sturdy hammock, and a VIP comped Amazon account.)
So how to close a post with little to no substance or topical organization? Why, with pictures of course. Who doesn’t like fresh(ish) pictures?
A cute Vegas pic, post-M&M world visit. Everyone say hi to the random drunk people in the backdrop.
Beautiful ballerina! She loves getting all girl-ified for dance class. ONLY for dance class.
We scored the cutest baby penguin chick you ever saw at Target! The penguin family is happily expanding.
Barber shop time, Dad! The awesome irony is when you observe how horrifyingly messy her own head is.
She has been diligently trying to master the fine art of bubble blowing.
TV Season Wrap-up
Well, since my DVR is alarmingly empty and the regular TV season has wrapped up, it seems like a good juncture to do a postmortem analysis on my cadre of preferred shows. Generally speaking, it seemed that the trend this year was less focused on sensationalistic cliffhangers and more toward complicated, nuanced storylines with a smidge of ‘feel-good flavor’ thrown in for good measure.
- NCIS: I have to admit, I figured that some day, Gibbs’ past actions would pop up in a storyline somewhere but I was left feeling a little…underwhelmed…at the execution. I found the Col. Bell / skanky-lawyer-chick angle difficult to follow this season. I liked the way they twisted Franks in at the end of the season closer, but have to say that I found it fairly predictable overall. Leon continues to carry a bit of mystery in his aura, but overall they seem to be working hard to nudge him further and further into the “good guys” club. I miss the long-past sophisticated and subtle character spectrum showcased by undercover Tony-in-forbidden-love. How much longer can they ride the sexual tension factor between him and Ziva? yawn.
- Bones: True confession: this season closer made me cry. They have great character chemistry here but I’m getting pissed off at the inevitability of them stringing along the non-relationship thing for another upcoming season. FF contends that I should get over it and accept that if Bones and Booth got together, the show would end. I still think it is pretty lame to indefinitely ride the whole show on the tension of unconsummated love. For gods’ sake, couldn’t they still effectively tackle interesting cases in between rounds in the sack and long moony love-stares? Side note: I am kinda happy that Angela and Hodgins reunited but I wish she had had a few more interesting girl-girl flings first!
- Medium: This season closer really disturbed me, so I guess in that sense, it worked as an objective story line, but HOLY CRAP, really?! Not the part about her dying by any means, but the horrifying substory with Ariel. It just made me cringe inside on a parental level. I know, I know, it was necessary in order to pull the whole storyline through, but I still feel slightly….disgusted…as if the story was asking us to bear silent witness and passively enable insidious emotional child abuse / manipulation. Double-cringe.
- Law and Order SVU: Another what I’d call “generic” and “typical” season-closer story, but on a personal level, I was really disturbed watching the guest actress in all her Euro-glory because she reminded me of our last landlady…still a raw and upsetting chapter in my life. Anyway, I thought the gratuitous shooting of the medical examiner was a little silly and forced, but I could still roll with it. I still miss the cutey Chester, and I wish they had brought Wong in more episodes this season – he’s my favorite! Not sure yet about the Sharon Stone thing…I have a really hard time thinking of her as a lawyer OR cop.
- House: I admit; I’ve become something of a House fan this season. I never really watched the show regularly before this season but I just kept getting more intrigued with the characters over time. Regarding the closer: HOLY SHIT! I was totally rung-out mentally and emotionally by the end of that hour! They definitely busted out all the dramatic stops, but for the most part, it worked. I was genuinely surprised at the ending, and yet pleased too. It will be really interesting to see where they take it from here. I still don’t like Wilson getting back together with his ex. Just for the record.
- Human Target: This was a filler show for us this season. For all its improbability and silliness, it still has a bit of boyish charm. I’m not sure if it is going to be renewed or whatever, but oddly enough, this is the only season closer I saw that actually had what I would call a traditional cliffhanger ending. Go figure.
- Legend of the Seeker: Meh. Reportedly, this show has not been renewed for another season, but it was just getting really…out there, so I am not too heartbroken. I finally got around to reading the book series this spring (more about this in a future post), and even though the show has diverged significantly from the books, I still enjoyed it in a compartmentalized kind of way. However, towards the end of this season, the storylines kept getting weirder and feeling a lot more…forced. The closer episode was conventional and pretty much exactly what I expected. It ended on a positive note, so I can mentally put it to bed with no distress. Kind of like the feeling of relief one might get when a significant other says they want to break up, after you’d been trying for weeks to figure out a way to end it gently. So long; no hard feelings; have a nice life!
- Ghost Whisperer: I could copy almost word for word the last paragraph and apply it to Ghost Whisperer. Even though I have been inexplicably obsessed with this show and JLH for years, I am really not that sad to see it go. Over the years, I have found their “continuous” storylines to be highly incomprehensible. The discrete individual ghost stories were always pretty formulaic, yet satisfyingly interesting. Like eating a few cookies for a snack; sweet and satisfying, but not in the same ballpark as a hearty steak dinner. The point is, they should have stuck to their identity as snack cookies, and never tried to be a steak dinner — it was just way too confusing. So long GW – I loved you, but I won’t really miss you.
A Bleh Couple of Days
Not much exciting going on over here. Mostly just homework, more homework, and more homework. Everything feels very disorganized and confusing right now. I hope that getting a couple more weeks further into the semester will remedy some of that, but we’ll see. Either way, it sounds like that pied piper of vacations, my own dear mother, is trying to talk everyone into a short Vegas trip on spring break!
Well, we went over to babysit K2 and Squishy for awhile this weekend while the parental units went out and finally saw Avatar. FF and I saw it in Vegas after Christmas and even though I had certain (somewhat negative) expectations, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. If you don’t overanalyze it, it’s a pretty damn engaging story. I’d like to see the 3D version before it is out of theaters, but am worried that it might make me a little motion sick, since I can’t even ride in the back seat of a regular car for more than a couple minutes without needing to vomit. But we’ll see.
Anyway, Squishy actually did pretty good except after her nap and snack, I logically figured it would be a good time to change her diaper. Apparently this was the worst insult imaginable and she cried during and after for a good 20 minutes. Serious crocodile tears and all. Geez kid, I thought I was finally in your club! 
I’ve come to the conclusion that there are a finite number of ways you can rehash the same basic concepts in discussion board forums. I feel like I am playing virtual magnet poetry with the same set of words relating to education + technology over and over again. And I find it to be reprehensible that people who should know better (ed tech faculty and researchers) can design their courses so poorly. What gives? Is it all just a test to see if we’re paying attention?
I never used to watch TV. In fact, I went through most of my childhood, and all of my college years basically never watching serial TV programming; sticking to periodic movies, both old and new. My weakness was cheesy snake / misc sci-fi movies, the more ridiculous the better. But amazingly after I got married, and was in a period between college and having a child, I actually had something called “time”. And darn FF for introducing me to the wonders of TV. Now my brain is ruined and I actually like watching TV and have a whole list of favorite shows. Of course, the miraculous DVR life-changing experience is directly related to this metamorphosis. I’ve written about this before but I fear it is time to catalog/comment on some new favorites:
- We’ve started watching Dirty Jobs more religiously. I admit it; I find Mike Rowe to be entertaining in a boyish, charming kind of way. Some of the episodes gross me out but most of them are funny and interesting. Especially the debacles that he and the crew get into. Fire ants in your pants, anyone?
- I’ve lost touch with CSI this season. Without Grissom, the light has gone out of my furnace. I really like Fishburne a lot, and I’m not bitter that he took over…but I just can’t drum up the desire to watch the show anymore. I may try to watch the whole season on DVD later. Maybe.
- I tried out NCIS LA since I’ve become a total whore for NCIS, but this relationship was never meant to be. The chemistry just isn’t there for me with this crew.
- I’ve had a flirtation with House for awhile, but overall FF has been more into this show than I have. However this season, I’ve been watching it more, and honestly I’m not sure why. I just like his crankiness and the improbable random medical cases they come up with. It fills the same disturbing niche as Mystery Diagnosis (which I haven’t set up the DVR to record in like, a year!)
- The Food Network is responsible for the REAL train wreck in my TV love-life lately, however. I tried really hard to resist the allure of Chopped, but alas, it has sucked me in. I am REALLY hooked on that show and after watching a veritable weekend marathon, I found myself dreaming about it and going through withdrawal until the next new episode. I attribute this obsession to the fact that I’m in love with Ted Allen (he’s such a cute little puppy dog!) and that it’s like watching a faster paced mini Iron Chef. Totally awesome.
- Basically ditto on “worst cooks in America”. I caught a couple episode reruns because I like Anne Burrell and found myself inexplicably enjoying it. Now I am totally committed to riding it out to the end. I think the overall concept is fairly ludicrous but whatever, I can’t help myself. I probably need some therapy.
- Lastly for the Food Network, I am also really enjoying “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” because there is just something stupidly engaging about people (not just everyday people but CELEBRITY CHEFS wax poetic about their favorite foods. I dare you to watch this show and not find it at least somewhat interesting. Or I dare you to watch this show and not find yourself drooling. Take your pick.
- Sanctuary had a totally bad-ass, totally WICKED 2-part season finale recently and I’m SO annoyed that the season won’t return for another NINE MONTHS! I could hatch a damn baby in that amount of time! Come on people, you can’t leave me hanging with the image of an angry gigantonormous blue aquatic psychic demigod spider that can shift tectonic plates!!! SO NOT FAIR.
- Antiques roadshow. I am so addicted to this show. I have never before in my life exhibited the slightest interest in antiques, or known anything about them. Yet there is something so compelling about seeing these rare, crazy items with crazy stories behind them.
- America’s Test Kitchen. This is a FF favorite and I enjoy it too. They have some wild techniques but their overall shtick is pretty cool. And I really like the tasting lab/equipment corner. I wonder what it would be like to have a job where you just cook the same recipe over and over and over until it is perfect? I mean, how many times do you think it would take to perfect a banana bread recipe? What do they do with all the duds?
A Few More Random Shows
…to add to the list of my DVR lineup (mostly to combat off-season slump) and now that school is over for a precious few weeks, I am rapidly catching up on shows after K goes to bed each night.
- Primeval: a wonky british Sci-fi show about time-shift anomalies that start showing up and spilling out various man-eating critters. It’s soooo formulaic and funny to watch, and they even have a conspiracy sub-plot!
- NCIS: I have a conflicted relationship with this show. FF and I started watching it about 2 seasons ago as a filler to watch if we ran out of anything interesting. And while it is a very interesting show with creative characters, we ended up ditching it at the time because there were too many other shows we were hooked on. A couple months ago, FF started recording it again, to have something to watch while I was doing homework occasionally and now I have rekindled an interest in the show (obsessed with Abby of course). However I find many of their story lines near impossible to follow. Never said I was the sharpest marble. So I both love and am irritated by NCIS in equal measure.
- Dr G, Medical Examiner: While yes, disturbingly morbid, this show is fascinating from the forensic angle. Dr Jan Garavaglia is a very interesting person and the show recounts investigations she has done–some criminal and some just garden variety “why did that guy die while riding a roller coaster” type.
- Mythbusters: I don’t always watch this show, while I think is amazing and fascinating, but not something I am neurotically attached to (cough) like my other regular DVRed faves. Who is your favorite mythbuster? I think I would have to say Grant. He is so nerdy and delicate compared to everyone else.
- My Own Worst Enemy: Ok so this show got cancelled mid season and abruptly taken off the air but I was kind of grooving on Christian Slater arguing with himself. I liked the story concept mostly, and am bummed they didn’t even wrap up the series. Stupid network execs!
DVR Love Affair
I LOVE my DVR. If I could find a way to elope and marry it, I probably would (sorry honey). The addition of DVR into our lives approximately 3.75 years ago was literally and truly a life-changing experience. I’d heard people rave about Tivo and such but little did I know that cable DVR service was going to SAVE MY LIFE.
We had just gotten DVR a couple months before K was born and as with most new shiny toys, I was relatively nonplussed at first. (also not being a parent yet–watching TV when it was actually ON, didn’t seem like such an exotic thing.)
Within a few weeks of K’s birth, the reality of being up all night, and having to try and stay at least minutely alert (so as to not drop/lose/misplace/mangle said infant) was taking its toll. By some serendipitous chance, I caught a rerun of Law & Order SVU late one night, and thought hey–that’s a pretty cool show, I should queue it up on DVR and watch the old episodes. So hubby set it up for me (remember, I had a mewling, half-starved, miniature suckerfish attached to some part of my body for approximately 22 hours out of each day at that point).
Miracle of miracles…hours and hours of glorious entertainment began filling my DVR to meet our every middle-of-the-night whim. It was quite literally the one thing that got us through many a tough night. And the best part? Not falling asleep during commercials!! Holy praise the lord for that fast-forward button! If I had a clip of that sound effect where something is revealed and you get the epic/reverent “aaaahhhhhhh”, that would totally fit here. Nor was this amazing revelation limited to us–bro and sis in law also had the DVR life-saving, middle-night realization too as they were on their own sleep deprivation path with K2. We’ve never looked back since.
So I sometimes don’t get to catch up on these shows until weeks/months after they are on live, but hey, at least I GET to watch TV every now and then, which would be impossible without the joys of DVR.
So in no particular order, here are my regularly DVR-ed, favorite shows: [feel free to mock as necessary!]
- CSI (the one, the only, the original)
- Law & Order SVU (yep still a fan to this day!)
- Medium (FF got me hooked on this one and then later decided it wasn’t his cup of tea, something about mushy girl storylines)
- Ghost Whisperer (I have NO idea why I like this show. But I do, and this is another one FF actually got me started on and then later abandoned)
- Eleventh Hour (1st season newbie here, but I like the main actor dude–he was in A Knight’s Tale)
- Bones (Love David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel–great chemistry)
- Sanctuary (New Sci-fi series, love Amanda Tapping as a British middle-age hottie supernatural superintellectual)
- Ghost Hunters (woohoo!)
- Legend of the Seeker (new series, book adaptation. Satisfies the urge for fantasy, wizards, and witches, oh my)
- Mystery Diagnosis (Discovery health channel series to FREAK PEOPLE OUT OVER WEIRD DISEASES YOU’LL NEVER GET!)
- In the food network corner:
- Ace of Cakes (Duff rulez)
- Dinner Impossible (Robert Irvine, yum)
- Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (I’ve seen Guy Fieri in person!)
- Iron Chef America (woohoo food network cheeseball show!)
- Good Eats (FF got me obsessed with Alton Brown long ago)
PS: Even a few of K’s favorite shows (ahem, Little Einsteins, Wiggles) get queued up every now and then. I heart my DVR so, so, so much.
