LTAFS And LGSAP

The next two posts for Let's Talk About Fictional Sex are up: 

Sex and Power Dynamics

Sex Scenes and Character Dynamics

And for an entirely different topic, I was back on the Let's Go Steal a Podcast to talk about the pentultimate episode of the original run of "Leverage" - "The Toy Job".  

What Watching Chopped Will Teach You About Feedback

1. Sometimes you left an ingredient off or you screwed something up and you just have to sit there and take your lumps.

2. Sometimes they love one thing and hate another. 

3. Sometimes it seems like they wanted to critique something.  Like I loved the crunchiness but it was a little too crunchy.  

4. Sometimes they just wanted you to do something else. They will tell you you should have gone more Greek or should have picked a different cheese. You should have fried it instead of sauteed it. Sometimes they might be right. And look, the judge's feelings are valid. But sometimes the only important part of the feedback is they wanted something else.

5. Sometimes you made a technical error, and because they were watching they spotted the problem and have basically been waiting the whole round to tell you.

6. Sometimes they will start making the critique about you and not the food. They will tell you you didn't respect an ingredient or that you seemed too flustered or too nervous, or basically will talk too much about you and not the food. 

7. This is especially true if you are a young chef. Or a female chef. Obviously being critiqued is part of the show.  But sometimes, especially in a show that asks you to do something entirely different than the whole rest of your career, you have to accept that very little of what they can tell you will be useful going forward. 

Let's Go Steal a Podcast - Boys Night Out

I was back on "Let's Go Steal a Podcast" to discuss the "Boys Night Out Job" episode, the companion episode to the "Girls Night Out Job" episode.  

"Let's Go Steal a Podcast"

I was back on "Let's Go Steal a Podcast" to chat about "The Ho Ho Ho Job", with Christina and Robin.  Parker believes in Santa and snow, and also, some delightful guest stars.  

Dear TV Folk

Since I will be "Glee"-less for the next few months (it returns in the spring), I appreciate that "Better Off Ted" is back and "Project Runway", "Burn Notice" and "Chuck" are coming back. That should help. Especially, since Mr. Sepinwall said "Chuck" season 3 is both "fun and awesome".

A Little Something Special

I want to say I have no words. But really, it's just so - well - so that I don't want to spoil it except to say that this is a very interesting approach to holiday celebration and really, if you've been searching for what to get that special lady in your life, please do not use this as your guide.

(Yes, I realize the advice is good. But really, no one said, hey, maybe there's a better way to present this message. No one?)
Hat Tip to the Monkey See blog.
ETA - Apparently last year they did one aimed at 'shopping' for men.

Apparently I am Poor(ish)

Or I have rich tastes. First there was a news that I make less that the median incomes of both metro and bus riders. (I appear to be bringing that median down. Interesting. And yes, I know, that median is not mean.)
Now apparently, I have much better paid company in my gLeekhood. Oh, and "Community" too.

(Don't worry, I'm not job hunting just so I can fit in better on the metro. I just found it fascinating.)
Hat tip to the Monkey See blog for the "Glee" link.

Sign I am Easy to Please

I think "NCIS: Los Angeles" is sort of a placeholder show. It's got potential, but sometimes, I feel like it is a better show if I don't look to close. But, I adore Hetty, played by the lovely Linda Hunt.
Well, so, although I know she is fictional and all, I feel somewhat proud that Hetty and I have the same phone.

The Denominator Gets Lower

I want to state that I do not think reality television, in and of itself, is evil, bad or mind-rotting. But certainly there have been some really horrid premises. Yes, well, over in the UK, plans are in the works for "Plane Crash". A plane will be deliberately crashed so they can view the wreckage. Supposedly this will provide insight into safety issues.
The promoters are very proud of the idea that nothing like this has been attempted before.

Where I Gleek Out

I am going to bring together two things that have been talked about a little recently. One involves "gLee". (Did you know the first gLee soundtrack is out soon? Did you know I may get tired of typing it gLee?) Now people always say that muscial TV shows don't work, pointing to "Cop Rock" and "Viva Luaghlin". I actually think "Cop Rock" wasn't that bad (can't say the same for "Viva Laughlin", even having Wolverine there didn't help). But clearly "Cop Rock" didn't find the right audience and got pulled early. Of course, there was this little show called "Fame" that had singing and was also had other things that people say don't work (movie spinoff, diverse cast, high schoolers that actually graduated) and it managed to survive pretty well.
(Did I mention that the gLee soundtrack is coming?)
With the apparent weak opening of "Amelia" the latest discussion is whether or no women can open movies and if it's that women won't watch movies about women that aren't fun group movies. I think honestly when I can watch movies on my phone, getting me to a theater has to offer me an experience that justifies my needing to be in a special place, at a special time, for a "special" amount of money, with only "special" snacks and surrounded by people who might cough or whisper about where they saw that guy before*. It has to be something that I think the movie screen will make better than watching on my couch. That's why I think visually interesting movies are doing well. Or movies where you can gather all your friends for dinner and a movie (because my couch is only so big.)
So, in the Post article about the end of movies with strong women, I think it totally ignores the possibility that people didn't want to see "Amelia" because it's possibly boring, or a movie where you know the main character dies in the end and instead said, oh, it must be because it's about a woman. (I am not unbiased on the subject of Amelia Earhart, but still.)
I think the important thing is this quote from Dergarabedian "Ultimately, everything comes down to the movie. If the movie's good, it can cross over all kinds of lines and break all sorts of rules."
And that's really the end result, people see movies that intrigue them. People watch TV shows that intrigue them. I ignored "Buffy" because vampires creep me out. (And it was on opposite "Ally McBeal".) But I heard and read enough things that made it sounds like something I might like until I finally checked it out. And loved it.
I love "gLee". (Did I tell you the sound track is out soon?) I love it despite it's faults. I love the singing and the dancing and I love the little moments they get right, the little bits in the midst of the crazy.
Now, I agree with the point by March Hirsch over at Monkey See that more live singing, or less produced stuff would make it even better. And yes, the kids sitting around singing was better than the crazy over produced version of "No Air". ("No Air" was still fun, but let's face it, it was clear we had crossed over into a music video with not even the tiniest bit of reality left.)
I also think a great point is made by there, that yes, we know it's a TV show, but there is a point where all the things that remind you this is just TV add up to too much and it starts to be less fun. (My tolerance level is usually raised when people sing for me. The gLee sondtrack is coming, had you heard?)
So in the end, I think the point is people watch stuff not because it's "good" or "about a strong woman" but becuase they think they will enjoy it. And while everyone's standard for that is different (and certainly about a strong woman might well be your benchmark) people watch stuff they wouldn't necessarily choose in a survey when it looks good enough to get over their other issues with people singing, or period pieces, or biographies or blood and gore or whatever their normal not for me's are.
Hey, had you heard about the gLee soundtrack? Since the Monkey See Article had the jam session, I will leave you with this. (Yes, it also looks like a video, but it;s so great, that I don't care.)

*It was George Clooney! And no this wasn't young people being disruptive, they were senior citizens.

This Needs a Better Name or an Acronym

Once there was a TV reporter who spoke of TiNo, all those shows stacking up on your DVR that you want to watch and yet keep skipping over until you face the icon that tells you the show(s) are in danger of being deleted and you face that for whatever reason, you don't really want watch these shows. You just wish you did.
Well now we have the Shelf of Constant Reproach. I don't have (m)any classics on mine because I have made peace with those I read and am okay with those I skipped. I usually have non-fiction sitting and staring at me, in part because non-fiction takes me longer to get through and so I usually reason that I make a larger dent in the TBR pile by tacking the fiction. (Yes, it is a bit circular.)
Lately I've been sticking stuff that's stayed on the shelf awhile on PBS, figuring if someone else requests it before I read it, then they can have it. (See, I'm being altruistic here.)
Some samples:
The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
Past Perfect by Susan Isaacs
Now my plan is to get around to all of these. I just keep waiting for the right mood. (And okay, the Great Deluge is big and doesn't travel well.) But, yeah, they are kinda staring at me.

The World Likes Cranky Doctors

Or something like that. I remember hearing years ago that "Baywatch" was the USA's most exported item. Now, I watched the entire first season and a smidgen of the second season, but really out of all the TV shows the US was making in the 1990's this still struck me as a bit sad. But it made sense, let's face it, the show did not require a lot of translation. So, I find it fascinating that the top show for the aughts (or this year at least) is currently "House".

Popcorn Bust

There was a summer where my sister, her friend and I watched "Real Genius" incessantly. We were working together at a summer camp offering us additional opportunities to quote it to each other. ("This is ice. This is what happens to water when it gets to cold.")
I watched it again recently and discovered that the special effects for the climactic lasered popcorn house scene, were not as impressive as I remembered. But the important bits were still there and still funny.
Well, apparently a recent "Mythbusters" recreated that scene and determined while you can use a laser to pop popcorn, it will not make the house explode. That's okay, it's probably because they didn't have all those geniuses building the special laser and setting it off from space. I'm sure that's it.

Tim in a Cape

I adore Tim Gunn, just so we're clear. So, I can imagine very little more amazing than the idea of Tim Gunn as a superhero.

Yay for Chuck!

Oh, and the TV gods were (mostly) smiling on me as news has come that "Chuck", "Better Off Ted" and "Dollhouse" will all be returning next year (although "Chuck" will return after the Winter Olympics.)
So, if you were considering those, now you have time to catch up on them before next season.
Monkey See has some thoughts about how the return of "Chuck" might indicate some changes in the network model.

Because It's All About Me

I have particularly enjoyed the locations of the last two legs of "The Amazing Race" since I have been to both Guilin and Beijing, although Beijing's construction pace (and the Olympics) mean that the skyline has changed drastically since I was there. It was particularly amusing since I got a foot massage (although in Guilin, which our tour guide assured us was known for it's massages) and I will tell you that it does kind of hurt, although my reflexologist was a bit kinder. (The ones in the detour seemed a little more focused on the pain aspect. Although my friend - who opted for a full body massage in Guilin, had a therapist who did not seem familiar with the words ouch, or softer, and she did end up with actual bruises, small though they were.)
And yes, my focus on the location is partly because we have reached that sad part of "The Amazing Race" where I dislike at least one person on all of the remaining teams. (Yes, if I went on a reality show people would dislike me too, especially if I had been travelling for two weeks straight. Doesn't help me like them more.)
Along the Li River

View From Elephant Hill in Guilin

Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Chuck!

Alan Sepinwall over at NJ.com posted a letter to NBC indicating why he thinks "Chuck" (season finale airs Monday) should get a season 3. I agree. Sure, it's got some plot holes. But it's a fun show and I really, really want to know what happens next.

TV and Book Sychronicity

I coincidentally had three stories in my lineup that I read while in or on the way to Vegas that mentioned Vegas. (I did not plan that. Seriously.) Although, now that I've been there, plus having watched all those episodes of "Vegas" as research, people calling it LVPD ticks me off. As much as people calling it DCPD. (It is the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department respectively. Yes, I see how that can be confusing to readers. But not using it ticks off people who know better.)
And, tying in to "Dollhouse" I am partway through a story that involves both Las
Vegas and human trafficking.
And there has been knitting synchronicity since after knitting several patterns with
multi-wrapped stitches, I have now ends up with two patterns that used arrowhead
lace. (Promise, I will work on catching up with knitting blog posts.)

A Different Kind of Sport

In another kind of synchronicity, on the same day I heard the story about the softball players, I played the episode of Food Network's "Challenge: Surprise Engagement Cake". For those of you unfamiliar with "Challenge", four teams compete over several hours in front of a live audience to create some sort of cake or dish. In this challenge, a gentleman had convinced his girlfriend to attend with him, telling her they were going to participate in the challenge, perhaps as assistants. In fact, he proposed to her and the challenge for the teams was to create an engagement cake - at least three feet tall - for them. As regular viewers know, sometimes the most interesting part can be when they have to move the cake to the judging table. Anyway, one of the contestants Marina Sousa, was looking pretty flushed and mentioned not feeling so well. Everyone kept commenting she looked a little stressed out. And then, a few hours in to the event, she passed out. The other contestants stopped, medical assistance was called for, and she ended up be taken away in an ambulance. Since they were teams of two, her teammate Dawn Nemec remained and the judges kindly asked her if she felt able to go on. She did. And Jason and Joshua Russell - from a competing team looked at each other and went up to her together to say that they could help. Their cake was mostly completed, and as one of them said, they were tired of looking at their cake anyway. So they helped Dawn complete the cake and get it carried to the table, in addition to finishing up their own.
In the end, neither team won, but it was a lovely example of how teamwork and generosity can extend outside the ballpark.

If You Don't Want Change

The thing I find fascinating about makeover shows - for both people and places - is the number of people that participate and yet think that not much will change. Now, for the purposes of today I am excluding shows where you are surprised and only talking about shows such as "Trading Spaces" or "How Do I Look?"* or "Restaurant Makeover".
Now I recognize that part of this is the process, after all people do not intentionally dress badly or design their room or space badly. But once you have agreed that it is time for a change - well, it's time for a change. And part of that hook of these shows is that the change is, well, different. If it was just a coat of paint or a haircut - well, you wouldn't need a show for that. And as with the rest of life, when other people are giving you money to do stuff, you lose control - they get input. Or, with most of these shows, they get to decide it all, and you get to live with it. I understand that it's all easy for me to say this from my couch, but, still. And of course I am sure they edit it to make the contributers look more worried because people who are relaxed and happy are not generally considered good TV for some reason.

*I know some people on "How Do I Look?" are nominated by others, but the subject agrees so the show starts after they have agreed to participate.