Carter Carter Carter

Okay so Penner is gone from Survivor Philippines.  He had the opportunity to save himself.  Carter could have saved him (possibly) by winning the challenge but didn't.  I guess it was just his time, wasn't meant to be etc. etc. etc.  But now I actually have a new favorite.  I kinda would like to see Carter stick around and give Malcolm a run for his money.  Malcolm seems to be playing such a perfect game and no bitter jury members.  I really think Carter is the only one with the slightest chance of taking it away from him.  But he has to do something realy grand 'cause he's been under the radar too long.  Lisa and Skupin really don't have a chance.  But will Malcolm cut Denise loose to take  weaker players to final three?  I still jhave to say again this is the best Surivor ever.

Penner, Penner, Penner

I just hate it when they edit tv reality shows to fool you.  And they did it to me last night on Survivor.  I was so afraid that Penner was going to go home with an Immunity Idol in his pocket or maybe back at camp with he rest of the stuff he wouldn't have taken to Tribal Council...because he was just so sure that he was... not... going,,. home.  I didn't like this guy the first time I saw him on Survivor Cook Islands cause of that mutiny thing that happened but then I kind of grew to like him.  but geez he has got to stop thinking he is immune to being blindsided.  As I said earlier it was probably just the way it was edited but it really looked like Jeff and Carter were going to send him home or at least try to flush the idol out.

And as far as that reward challenge goes....REALLY?  Were those two teams so evenly matched that someone couldn't find a way to push that wicker ball over the line?  Another Survivor first.  A team that forfeits reward for rice, and not that much rice at that.  And I'm a little disappointed in Mike Scupin.  I think somehow the legend that he was just never was real.  He is just an ordinary guy who fell into the fire.  Just as Colby, as he got older, wasn't quite as legendary as we wanted him to be.

Ah..Survivor, I truly love this show even when I hate it.  I re-watched all the seasons a year or so ago and would like to do so again.  I think this may turn out to be one of the better seasons even tho there isn't anyone really flamboyant or wacko left.  The potential for weirdness seemed to be centered in one tribe and they all fell victim to lost challenges quickly. But those of us who really love the show don't need a Philip, or a Rusell Hantz, or a Colton to make the show interesting.  i'm looking forward to see hat happens-especially after the merge. 

Blinded by the headlights

I saved the last episode of survivor on the DVR because I thought it was so funny I just had to blog about it.  I saw myself running back and forth from the TV to the computer (in two different rooms) quoting the survivors precisely and making witty comments.  After telling my husband about the show and getting him laughing about the cookies, headlights and booby traps, I thought I could write up a really good post.  But here it is Tuesday, almost time for a new episode and the DVR is full.  Got to erase something and it isn't going to be Breaking Bad yet.  But about Survivor-it looks like it's going to be a good season and not necessarily because or in spite of the returning players.

I had hopes for Denise the "older woman."  "Older" women don't usually last long on survivor but she latched onto Malcom and if she had gotten rid of Angie that might have forced him to stick with her.

Angie might just be playing the "dumb blonde" role on purpose to have folks underestimate her.  Hey it's possible.  When Jeff asked at tribal what would she change about her tribe she thought for awhile.  It's possible that the obvious answers to that question were so obvious that it made the question seem a bit ridiculous.  Sorry Jeff but I thought the question was a bit ridiculous.  So she came up with the first ridiculous thing that came into her mind--COOKIES!!  I bet Big Bird was her favorite on Sesame Street.

And Malcom.  Malcom, Malcom, Malcom  Spellcheck says I'm spelling your name wrong so I checked.  It's Malcolm, Malcolm Malcolm.  Sorry.  Please don't be stupid.  Big tall good looking guys don't always last on Survivor either-not if they are seen as an immediate threat.  Paired with an "older woman" and/or a "dumb blonde"?  I do not know.  Things are different with three teams to begin with and now one team is down two players...?

And Roxy.  Alas we hardly knew you.  And what we did know made about as much sense as Jeff's question and the answer COOKIES. But the vote was 4-1 so Denise must have convinced Russell to vote Roxy also even tho he thought he needed her.  Or....let's just call a shovel a shovel maybe he thought she was annoying too.  I didn't think she was but then I didn't have to live with her.

Can this tribe win a challenge before they switch things up?  I don't know but they probably won't be as entertaining without Roxy.

Really?? I mean really???

So I'm already ticked off because they've three shows I want to see-- all on opposite each other.  We need to choose between CBS, NBC and FOX.  Reality shows all of them. And competition reality-my favorite.  So I decide I can probably see The Voice tomorrow on ON Demand and I might not get to see The X Factor or Big Brother because  I don't think they put them on ON Demand.  And I don't have the Hopper so I can only DVR two shows.  Not that I would ever go with DISH in order to be able to DVR multiple tv shows since they don't carry AMC.  But I digress.

I watched Big Brother because of Dan from Michigan.  Because he won last time out and because no one gave him proper credit for doing so.  Because he changed his game and could win again this time.  And because if he doesn't I hope Ian does.

And then I switched to The X Factor and now I'm ticked again.  We have a Brittany look alike who can't sing at all.  But this audition is so important and singing is so exactly what she is meant to do, and smiling wide during the comments after her performance she is so devastated that her final comment is "Oh, well."

Then we have the guy who used to sing with Brittany,  and he can't sing either.  But he knows he may have made her feel as uncomfortable as  as he was.  And now I'm thinking that we the viewers are being manipulated.  It isn't enough that we've got these two new judges that actually sing and make a living from it, the powers that be have to exploit that (and them).  There was some humor involved with the 22 year old bank teller, but the guy?  That was just sad.

Next they bring out the brunette who looks a little bit like Demi Lovato, is the same age, with the same tattoo and was bullied in middle school and high school.  Maybe her voice is ok, they all loved it.  But it just wasn't my cup of tea and besides she was so emotionally overwrought;  I couldn't understand the words.  She will not make it very far in the competition but she will probably never realize how she was used to manipulate the audience.

I did like the three guys ("We are not a boy band!!!) and the 18 year old who names Pat Benatar as and influence.  Want to hear them again.

And the guy from Phoenix? PULLLEESE.  Are we supposed to believe this crap?

Tomorrow I watch The Voice.  And if the try to reach me with sad stories I will forgive them (I guess) cause there will be humor and talent and Carson Daly.

Bachelor Pad

God knows I'm embarrassed to admit that I watch  all of the Bachelor-Bachelorette stuff though last night it was truly worth watching.  Actually I DVR'd it and watched after The Voice.  And I truly did enjoy The Voice as well.  But because I've come to expect a lot from The Voice and not so much from the Bachelor Pad (other than a couple of laughs) I was pleasantly surprised.  It was-as they say-amazing.  I was amazed.  From it's continual use on the Bachelor-Bachelorette franchise we might believe the word amazing means wonderful, or beautiful or a lot of fun, but it actually means surprising or if more so-astounding.  OK I was surprised that quiet, under the radar,almost boring Nick chose to make a statement and TAKE IT ALL.  The meek shall inherit the earth, but I'd rather have the 250 thousand.  So he wasn't part of the in-crowd.  He didn't embarrass himself.  All he had to do was hang in there until the time was right.

And in a slightly sappy but quite believable moment Tony and Blakely got engaged!!  I'm thinking they are just right for each other.  Just not sure why.  But I like it.

And finally Chris showed once again that he is just a child and a spoiled child as well.

Falling Skies etc.

First let me say that I have had a crush on Noah Wyle since the very beginning of ER.  I mean we're talking 20 years here.  Maybe that's why I'm just a bit disappointed in the season finale of Falling Skies this year.  Just not as good as last year folks.  And that is bound to happen when a show tries too hard to all kinda things to all kinda people.  We the viewers want to be shocked and surprised but we want them to make sense and we want answers to our questions.  Like why did the let Tom go and shoot down everyone else who was captured.  Did I miss something?  And in what way is Ben different from the other harnessed children?  Or the other de-harnessed children?  And do I really want to know what that creature was that came out of the sky at the end?

I know I shouldn't be surprised when some of the good guys get killed off, but the black guy AND the Asian???  And we like bad boys (a la Sawyer in LOST) but they've either got to be witty or good looking.  Or have some redeeming characteristic.  Pope was funny when we first met him but something is missing now.  Of course I will watch next season (assuming it comes back ) but I'm hoping it will do better writingwise. characterwise also.

Gotta say before I go that I really like Perception and hope it sticks around.  Looking forward to Survivor.  And I'm liking Big brother this year.  REALLY want to see if Person of Interest can maintain.  Guess that's about it for now.

Looking back I wonder...

What was I thinking when I wrote that last post?  I remember starting out with the title and thinking how much more conservative ( both fiscally and socially ) I am now, than I was before.  Of course I've mentioned before that I considered myself a Democrat in college and was totally anti-Vietnam war.  Later I thought Reagan was a good enough president.  Later still I thought Bill Clinton was ok even though he had some personal responsibility issues of another kind.

So does that make me a flip-flopper?  Probably. Or maybe just maybe.  If somehow we were able to get out of this horrible mortgage that we can just barely afford, or if we qualified for food stamps or other assistance and accepted it, does that mean I am refusing to be responsible for my mistakes?

I still believe the way things are going will eliminate the middle class.  Eventually people will either be rich--or on some kind of assistance from the government.  Again I am talking gloom and doom.  Gotta stop and talk about television.

Good news is my soap opera comes back on today.  I've been watching Days of Our Lives off and on since it began over 40 years ago.  Big changes after two weeks off during the Olympics.

Big Brother is looking good. Tempted to change my opinion about Boogie.  Maybe there is honour among thieves.  He wants to keep his word to his alliance and not get rid of Dan even though Frank wants to evict him.  I'm also happy with the way The Glass House is progressing.  Wish I would have paid more attention earlier.

Next time I want to talk about Falling Skies, Breaking Bad and Hell on Wheels.

Personal Responsibility

Is there anyone other than myself that believes we should all just suck it up and take responsibility for our lives, our mistakes, even misfortune and acts of God over which we have no control whatever?  It seems to me that somany of us look to government or employers or society in general to take care of us when we have trouble taking care of ourselves.

Right now my husband and I are podding along this path right on the brink of financial disaster.  Three steps forward two steps back, sometimes three steps back.  Upsidedown in our mortgage and we don't qualify for any relief.  Yes, we never should have bought this house when we were both in our fifties.  Way too old to take on a 30 year mortgage.  And now we are stuck.  And just recently we had to replace our 14 year old car putting us further into debt.  Scary, no wonder I have trouble sleeping.

But it is what it is and we will get through it. Or we won't.  But we will hang in there as long as we can trying to figure it all out.

random thoughts

This has been a most eventful year.  I just can't wait for it to be over.  But then the Mayan Calendar ends and some people believe everything will be over, or at least drastically changed.  And a free numerology report I got online says I can expect more change to come.  Wonderful, I just love not having any stability in my life.

One of the best summer replacement shows this year has been Dogs in the City. The last one made me cry for the beagle that was too noisy to get adopted until Justin calmed him down.  I also really like The Great Escape, even though I can always predict which team will win.  Or-maybe because I can predict which team will win.  And then there's NYMed which reminds me of a similar show with a different name (and I can't remember it) that was on either last summer or the summer before.  Good shows all of them though I don't suppose they would be successful other than as summer replacements.  Which reminds me of some thoughts I have about serial drama on television.  I'm beginning to wonder why success as a TV show is determined by how long the show runs.  It seems like when you write a show like Everybody Loves Raymond or Friends or I Love Lucy you could write forever based on your characters and what they would do in certain situations.  But when writing a show like Lost, or Terra Nova or Alcatraz you gotta know where you are going and how long it takes to get there.  And everything in between has to make sense.  There was a show called Fast Forward awhile back that ran into problems where I think if the writers had tried to make one really good season instead of drawing things out to make for multiple season....Well I don't know.  But I really did like the show Awake.  It lasted just one season and ended in a way that satisfied me and I would call that show a sucess.

just old...and getting older

So much going on that I haven't been able to post--medical stuff with my husband mostly-but I have still been able to keep up with the best of the TV shows that I follow.  Had the last show of Awake on my DVR when it died.  But I did get to see it online and it turned out to be far and away one or the most satisfying endings ever for me.  American Idol--ok,  DWTS-- almost ok. Person of Interest of course was very good and The Voice was adequate.

So I need to put TV aside for a little while and concentrate on those health, wealth and work issues.  Heard on the radio the other day that there is no such thing as age discrimination.  REALLY?

person of interest

These last to episodes have been very satisfying and surprising too.  We learn about John and we learn about Harold and we get way happy and way sad about what we learn.  Last week we learned that some of the people we thought John killed are really in a Mexican prison.  This makes me happy.  And this week he asks the hit man if he knows why he is supposed to kill this guy and the hit man answers that he didn't ask.  And then John kills him.  There is a moral compass in there somewhere.

And then there is Harold.  And we discover that he had a life, and fiance and how he chose to protect her.  And by the way, I think the actress who played her is Emmerson's wife.  Need to research that fact.

And to the writer's of this show--Please please do not screw this up.  And I hope you know where you are going.

the voice

So I gotta say I wasn't  terribly impressed with this season of the voice.  Until the finale.  Had to work so I dvr'd it.  Considered saving it but I can't put it on my mp3 player so I guess I'll go to itunes and spend some money.  I'm not sure I would have chosen these four as finalists but I have to admit they each have their own voice and at least in last night's show each was impressive at least two out of the three times they sang.  Though I didn't get to vote I would have chosen Tony if because Christina didn't like him.  But they were all so different, it  was like choosing between apples and bananas--depends on your mood.

But the really cool thing is that the competition between competition shows is making all ot the shows better.  I think.  Maybe.

survivor kim vs. survivor jay

Now that Colton (the gay republican racist elitist who tries to be funny but isn't) is gone the game is really getting interesting.  The men may rue the day they got rid of Jonas since it looks like the women are going to stick together.  Except they had to get Jay and Troyzan to go with them so they could keep  some of the women clueless and they might not appreciate that fact.  I do think Jay needs to go with his gut here or he will indeed be next as he predicted.  Probably the reason that these folks are so intent on getting rid of the threats is that there are so many threats and they've all been able to stay under the radar while Colton was "in charge".  Looking forward to next week.  If the men can latch on to a couple of those clueless women kim might be in trouble.

survivor

This is such a weird season of survivor.  They voted off Jonas last night and its all Colton's fault as Alicia would say.  Everybody liked Jonas.  He was a good cook.  Worked hard.  So they voted him off.  With the merged tribe at twelve people they vote off the guy that takes care of them, not the guy they can't stand or any of several that might be dangerous at challenges.  I can't remember the name of the lady who wanted to keep him around a couple of days--but I think she's got a shot at the whole thing if Troyzan self destructs and I think he will.  I liked Jonas and am very sad that he didn't at least make the jury.  I don't like Alicia didn't like Colton and really wanted Monica to stay around.

And that leads me to a question.  Those of us who have watched Survivor since the beginning have favorites from each season.  Sometimes my instant favorite didn't get to the end, sometimes they blew it right near the end.  And I wonder if editing has something to do with my feelings about some of these folks.  But I really wonder if when I choose someone that I want to win a million dollars--am I subconsciously choosing myself?  Someone like me?  And am I choosing them because their strengths remind me of me?  Or because their weaknesses remind me of me? 

old school or just old

I've said before that I used to feel kind of important being a part of the baby boomer generation.  Many of us were active politically.  Back them I thought of myself as a liberal; now I'm much more conservative.  But lately I've been hearing the phrase "old school" and I'm not sure whether it has a negative or positive connotation.  I've heard it in connection to music.  A very young performer talked about "old school" rock and roll.  To me that sounds different than the phrase "classic rock and roll".  Things have changed  quite drastically in the world.  And when everything is just fine and dandy that's ok.  But when things are difficult- economically or politically.  Or when things are dangerous.  Those of us who might be a bit older,  who might not be quite able to keep up with the changes for economic or other reasons or especially those of us who might think these changes are not an improvement and possibly a detriment-we will be called old school.  It's just a shade more politically correct tha old-fashioned.  I've seen lots of fashions come and go--and come--and again.  But I feel like the world is in a difficult place right now and innovation can work with experience.  Old school and new school if you will-we need both.

walking dead finale

This TV show is so satisfying on so many levels.  I don't especially enjoy the violent gory parts, but there are people who do, and I'm sure that they enjoy this show.  I've been a Stephen King  fan for years, and I would tell you that I don't especially enjoy the violent gory parts of his books either.  But there is something about surviving adversity, dealing with fear, dealing with loss that is compelling.  We do it in real life every day.  Yeah I can lose my job and still keep going.  I can deal with the ups and downs of the stock market and wonder if I will ever be able to retire.  My spouse might leave me, but I will survive.   But there aren't any walkers or any other kind of monsters after me yet.  How would I manage that?

Anyway...this final episode did so much of what I expect from TV.  It gave us Darryl and Carol on a motorcyle-love that.  It gave us Maggie and Glen.  And Glen forces Maggie to give up the driver's seat.  The group comes apart (what do we do?? what do we do??) and then the group comes together again.  And Rick is the leader and Rick is pissed.  I was impressed by Rick's speech.  And I was glad Andrea survived so far.  And a little scared of the new character.  And a bit confused by the admission from Rick that the doctor at the CDC had told him that everyone was infected.  And that's why Shane and Randall came back as walkers?  But what about the bodies they saw in the cars on the highway?  Why aren't they walking?  And how and why did they just die sitting in their cars?  I think there is more to this that we will find out.  And I am looking forward to it.  And the helicopter.  And the prison (or Wal-Mart as they said on the Talking Dead show after the finale).  Looking forward to all of it.  thanks guys for a great TV show.

tv sunday night and monday

Amazing Race- I was so surprised to find myself very supportive of Brenden and Rachel, Brenchel, or "team green" as that mean girl called them.  I was never very fond of them on Big Brother.  But I've got to admire their willingness to just lay it all out there.

The Good Wife- As always very good, but kind of sad at the end.  Alicia has kept those broken family feelings inside for so long---or maybe I thought she never had that sadness--but it all just came up and hit me in the face.

Walking Dead--This show never fails to amaze me in some way.  Here in reality we struggle to make a good life for ourselves facing ethical decisions and minor pitfalls.  But out there in Walker Land the stakes are much higher and the determination to stay alive and still do what's right is harder to maintain.  Rick kills Shane does what he has to do--but still maintains his humanity.  But Shane has already become something else.  Shane has already killed Randall, we think because he believes that is the best way to protect the group.  But then we realize that Randall and Shane very quickly become Walkers--faster than Andrea's sister did.  And neither one of them were bitten.  More questions, more dangers and I don't think next weeks finale will answer all of the questions, maybe not any of them but I'm already looking forward to next season before this one has ended.

Had planned about talking about Monday TV but it was so disappointing--The Bachelor? unbelievable.  I mean literally unbelievable.  I just don't believe it.  And The Voice?  Pretty predictable.  Maybe they are saving the best for last.

Oh and I was able to watch the shows that conflicted timewise on Sunday, later in the week.  I still like Once Upon A time.  And Harry's Law was back with a different kind of ethical question.  Cool.

television shows i'm about to give up on

1.  GLEE--Sorry guys I just don't care anymore.  After watching The Glee Project last year I was kind of interested in seeing where the writer producer guys would be able to fit the winners of the project into the group.  But it looks like they are not fitting in anywhere.  And the one guy hasn't shown up at all.  And this after concentrating so much gay relationships and bullying and such.  Anyway maybe I'm too old or too straight or they just don't sing my kind of music anymore but I'm finding it difficult to stay interested.

2.  Grey's Anatomy--Again I've stopped caring about the people with the most prominent story lines.  Cristina is an idiot, Meredith is boring.  Give me more Lexie and the guy with the beautiful eyes.  I can't remember his name, but he's got gorgeous eyes.  I may be old but I'm not dead.

3.  The Firm--I thought I would really like this show and I did except they moved it around and skipped a week or so and now I don't know what's going on anymore.  And I think younger people probably have even less patience with time changes and such.  Why do networks do that?  And where the heck is Harry's Law anyway?  I probably will have to give up on that one too.

Okay I'm off topic now so I'll just stop complaining and go watch American Idol.

the walking dead returns

Before the Walking Dead returned for the second half of it's second season AMC reran both the first season and the first half of the second season (yea).  I totally appreciate that even tho I didn't really have time to go back and look at everything I did re-watch some of the episodes and DVRed some of the others to maybe take a look at again.  I usually hate it when a network interrupts a season for what seams like forever for holiday programming, or sports games or awards shows or whatever reason.  Anyway it wasn't really necessary for me to re-watch anything.  Once that show started I was right back in there.  But watching most of the first season again made me see just how much STUFF they crammed into six episodes.  This season seemed  to be moving at a much slower pace.  I'm hoping this is deliberate to further the story.  We all know what happened with LOST.  I think the writers of that show never believed it could last six seasons.  They had the beginning and they had the end (sort of) but then threw all kinds of stuff in the middle that they had to try to explain when they knew when the show would end. 

Anyway to wrap it up in as few words as possible Lori is a pain in the butt and desrves whatever happens to he.  Shane is way to whiny and defensive.  I don't know what is going on with Daryl, or Dale either.  And Andrea is doing remarkably well for someone who wanted to stay behind at the CDC and get blown up.

AND the scene at the bar with Rick and Glen and Herschel and the northerners from Philidelphia was priceless.  I think we all knew what was going to happen.  And then when it did it was like-dang did you see that??  And that still wasn't enough for some viewers--they wanted more zombies--more zombie deaths.  I prefer to call them walkers.  All in all I think this is a special show and I hope it stays that way.

alcatraz

Ok so JJ Abrams created this show, so I should like it as much as I did LOST -from the very beginning.  And I don't, but there are many things that I do like about it.  The music is the same, provides the same feelings I had when I was just getting to know LOST.  Look at me, I'm talking about LOST like it's a person, a friend that I've......lost.  Anyway I was discussing Alcatraz. I will certainly continue to watch there is something interesting about the concept and I'm not one of those viewers that need to have all the answers all at once.  Nor does everything have to make sense to me right away--or even ever under certain circumstances.  I just like a good story with interesting characters--and that's where the problem
is--the characters.  I don't really care enough about these people to even remember their names.

Okay I left this post sit for over a week to see if my feelings about Alcatraz would change after another episode or two.  And the actual story seems to be progressing. It is getting interesting but the one character I really really want to know about is the young Ray (Madsen) Archer.  I wonder how the writers might do that.  I'm starting to remember some of the names.  I really want to like Diego but he is soooo good as a sidekick but not to this young Madsen chick.  Maybe I will like her later.  I will keep watching.

Television shows I've loved before

I was a little bit obsessed with LOST, but not enough to cause me to deny its importance just because the last season wasn't quite right.  I was already a little bit suspicious, thinking maybe the writers hadn't planned the story well enough.  As far as the ending goes, yes I got the meaning of it, and I accept it as a reasonable way to end the show.  It's just that at a time when the writers should have been revealing things, we the viewers felt they were still hiding things.  At least I did.  But I loved the show, particularly the mix of characters. It was a show I never missed.  If I had to work, it was recorded first with my VCR then later with the DVR.  And I bought every season on DVD.

Back a few years before LOST I was a bit addicted to ER.  It conflicted with my work schedule the first couple of years but eventually I wasn't working quite so many nights. And later it showed up in syndication  on TNT and I was more able to do the VCR thing.  And eventually I think I saw every episode except maybe some of the last season.  I also always watched Law And Order.


Going way back there was St. Elsewhere, Cheers, Night Court, and Quantum Leap-oh I just loved Quantum Leap.  And in high school all I needed was Dark Shadows, the Man From U.N.C.L.E. and all the music shows.  And then there was Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare before that.  And The Mickey Mouse Club before that.

I had hoped there would be some common thread tying all my favorite shows together,  but I just don't see one.  I'll have to think about that before I talk about all the TV shows that I love now.

forgetfulness

Woke up at 5:45 AM  recently feeling like I had forgotten something really important.  I had been wanting to write something about how once one gets past a certain age their opinions, choices, preferences don't seem to count as much.  I seriously believe that people who sell stuff, and especially people who advertise stuff don't care about us old folks any more. But as I was trying to go back to sleep I remembered reading in the newspaper about that cruise ship that went aground somewhere in the Mediterranean and how was that going to affect the cruise business.  A lot of their business comes from the baby boomers.  And if we see a lot of special rates advertised it will mean that the accident scared people away even though these things are really really rare.  I took a Caribbean cruise in 1979.  It was February.  I was single, living in cold wintery Wisconsin.  And it was really really fun.  Four of us went together and I don't think any of us slept much that week.  It's more than 30 years later and I would go again, but I wouldn't try to DO so much.  Then again, I live in Arizona now so I don't think I would be so appreciative of the weather.  It's almost always nice here and not so humid.

And in the middle of all of these thoughts I realized that I had forgotten to take my blood pressure pills.  THAT was the really important thing that I had forgotten.

Waiting for February 12

I am so looking forward to the return of the Walking Dead in February.  I can only compare it to how I felt when the show Lost was on.  I hate it when they break the season up into two parts, but it seems like everybody does it now.  I guess it has to do with the holidays, and sports (football) and awards shows and stuff.  Anyway I am not a kid anymore and anything that forces me to change my routine upsets me just a bit.  Plus I forget stuff.  Anyway I am waiting and only hope I'm not disapointed.  I am also wondering if Madmen will be as good as it was when it finally gets back on the air.  Anyway I say again-I'm waiting.

the bachelor-good-bye Jenna

I gotta wonder how much of how we think about these people on this show is determined by editing.  Probably a lot huh?  How stupid was that statement?  Jenna had to go even if she made for entertaining television.  I think Ben might have been trying to find a reason to keep her.    But the look on his face during their "one-on-one" time together makes me think she never said anything ever that made any sense.  Where do they find these ladies?  And was I one of them?  Back when I was single and much much younger?  Last week I thought all the crying had to be because she drank too much.  And I guess all the tension could have caused everyone to drink too much this week too.

I like Kacie B.  She and Ben seemed to have fun on their date, but I don't know if I saw any sparks flying.  That bit at the end with the police cars going by outside the restaurant was kind of funny.  I could be wrong here, but I'm thinking Courtney wants to win just because she wants to win.  And Blakely?  God knows what her motivation is.  Assuming I see this through to the end, this will be the third Bachelor season that I watch.  And so far I like this one better than the other two.  I thought Jake made poor decisions all the way through but just had to keep watching.  And the other guy?  I can't remember his name but he actually had two chances on the show and screwed them both up.

Well... it's a reality show.  And it's a competition.  But it's not the same as the Amazing Race, or Survivor.  Come on February!!  I can hardly wait.

ben.....and steve

I think it was about 12 years ago when reality tv first started, and before I watched any of it I pretty much decided it wasn't for me.  I didn't see the first Survivor, but everyone was talking about it so much that when they re-ran it I watched and I was hooked.  I didn't see the first American Idol either, but have tuned in for at least part of most every season since.  And I held out much longer for the Bachelor and Bachelorette Series.  I've only seen a couple of seasons all the way through.  But it's kind of like seeing a couple of police cars on the side of the road--you gotta look to see if you can see something.

So...last season, The Bachelorette--Ashley, Ben and what's his name--and she picks what's his name.  I kinda thought Ben was a bit sappy but cute and so was Ashley, perfect couple right?  He had no idea that he would not be chosen.  And I really liked that he got a bit angry--no sugar coating allowed.  So I was looking forward to this season of the Bachelor.  And I must admit that Ben does seem more interesting even witty in some of his comments. But still a little clueless with regard to his choices.  Unless...do you think maybe they force these guys to choose at least 2 or 3 totally inappropiate women just to create conflict on the show?

Now Steve.  I put Mobbed on my DVR because I like Howie Mandel, have since St. Elsewhere.  So when I watched the latest episode I absolutely fell in love with Steve--five year phone relationship with a girl who likes bad boys with tatoos and she says yes!!!  Maybe I was tired and stressed from a difficult day at work, but I must admit I started to tear up a bit when they got to the Journey song.  There's sappy and then there's sappy and you never know what's gonna make you cry.  How is that for a song title?

happy new year

At work last night a customer told me that if you eat cabbage on New Year's Day it will bring prosperity.  So I took the leftover ham from Christmas Eve, carrots, potatoes, onion, and cabbage and cooked it in a chicken broth.  Yum.  Hope it works on the prosperity thing 'cause we will be experiencing the post-Christmas cut in hours soon.  I will be cut to 28.5 hours the week after next.  Ouch!  That pretty much takes care of the extra holiday pay I will get for Christmas and New years.

But--on a happier note we have the new season of TV coming up.  The bachelor starts tomorrow and I always have to watch that show even if I always wish I hadn't when it ends.  And then there is Winter Wipeout.  And Grey's Anatomy will have new episodes starting this week too.  Alcatraz sounds like that might be interesting.  And then of course the is American Idol and The Voice.  I've had enough of Glee-don't care what happens to it,  but I would like to see more of Grimm and Once Opon a Time.  And I would imagine House will be back with new episodes too.  I don't think that show suffered too much without Cuddy.

I'm ready and waiting.  Nothing much left on my DVR worth watching.  Was flipping through channels the other night looking for something to watch and ran into Julie and Julia a movie I'd wanted to see but never had.  I really liked it, and wondered how they made Meryl Streep appear so much taller.  Or maybe she is that tall.  I don't know she just seemed taller.  I almost wanted to go out and buy Julia's cookbook.  But I didn't.  I don't think I could master any art of any kind of cooking.  I'm just a meat and vegetables and more vegetables kind of person.  Maybe I'll go make coleslaw from the rest of that cabbage.  Happy New Year.