Cleanup

sorry for the random and sporadic posts. I'm not sure why, to be honest. I've been...distracted. I'm not sure why. I guess I've been feeling not much like writing for some reason. So some totally unconnected and random things.

1. Reality TV heaven
Both The Apprentice and The Amazing Race premier(ed) this week. Though some folks on the TWoP boards were lukewarm, I really liked the first episode. Wonderfully bitchy, and I already have an evil person I don't like (I'm sorry, but going around and bragging that you're in Mensa is sort of annoying, and being smart does not mean you are a good leader or the right person for this show. I'm not in Mensa, but I'm relatively smart and have a grasp of random things like being able to talk coherently for five minutes about the Runnymede treaty, but it doesn't mean I can lead a team to victory in some lame Apprentice assignment), and a couple potentials that I do like.

The Amazing Race. I'm astounded. The first episode is almost over, and not one person has screamed at their partner in a way that I find irritating and annoying. Some couples I don't like (Lake and...Michelle? Annoying, especially him. Eric and Jeremy? Hate.), but some I do like (Dave and Lori? Totally cute nerdy couple. Bj and Tyler. Self styled hippies, but seem pretty savvy and are well traveled, but not Guido well traveled (we lived in Paris for two years)). And some I don't actively dislike, but are annoying (southern screamy sisters, Boston guys). I will say, that John, one of the Boston guys, even if sort of irritating, is really embracing the spirit of the race in the first leg. He seems like someone who has sort of lived in self imposed fear, and is using this opportunity to sort of free himself of his fears. Which I can appreciate. Oh, and one couple that's been dating long distance for five years (five years? What's the point in that? Someone has to move eventually) and are "getting to know each other better". Yeah, a national tv show is ALWAYS the best place for that.

But for the return of Phil Keoghan on Tuesday nights I am truly thankful.

2. New music.
Specifically, the podcast NYUB. I don't love everything he plays, but it's all independent and unsigned music, and I rather gather he was an early propenent of the Arctic Monkeys, who are being hyped as the The Next Big Thing. He's a kiwi, but is broadcasting out of London. He pulls music from all over the world, but it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, "world music". He's very personable, for the four minutes he talks during a podcast that runs anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or more. I don't respond to everything he's playing, but I like enough of it to keep listening.

3. GW Colonials. Currently sitting at 23-1, beaten only by Charlotte, who we'll be meeting again on Saturday, March 4. Great season for them. I'm so happy for the seniors on the team, who have stuck with it and really played hard and well for the team. They'll get a bye into the NCAA tourney, and they'll play well in the A-10 tournament, I'm sure.

That's it. Hey, I directed you to a cool podcast, so just shut up.

Form, People! Form!

I love going to the gym and watching people lift weights. Now, I had a whole theory until tonight about the difference between men and women lifting weights. Usually, when I see women lifting, they're diligent about "doing it right". They've talked to a trainer, they've learned exactly the right way to do it, and they do it the same way every time. Men, on the other hand, tend to be interested in showing how much weight they can handle. You're never going to see a guy at the gym who is doing bicep curls using 12.5 pound weights. No way. They are doing at least twenty pounds, and they are going to impress everyone with how easily they lift them. And I sit there and watch them power their way through their sets, rocking back and forth, counting on momentum to carry the weight. It's actually sort of painful to watch them, because I wonder, are they sore from it the next day? What kinds of results do they get?

Anyway, my gender theory was completely blown to crap tonight. Because this woman appeared (my trainer, who was there with a different client, said that she suddenly is there all the time), and her form is....atrocious. Not only that, but she hogs the equipment. And she doesn't let people work in, either, from what I hear. And, worst of all, she wears a weird visor.

So, I guess bad lifting form isn't completely gender keyed. Unles....she's a transsexual. That's what it is! All is righth in my world again.

The Verbization of a Noun

Dear Sports Commentators,

I am writing to warn you, in this Olympic year, that it is grammatically incorrect to make verbs out of nouns. Specifically, the repeated usage, begun sometime in mid-1990's, of the noun "medal" as a verb. As in: "Bode Miller lost his chance to medal in this year's Olympics when he was disqualified in the Alpine Combined event." Now, does that really read correctly to you when you actually say it to yourself? To medal? I medal, you medal, we medal? It makes no sense. May I recommend the addition of three small words that would make the sentence grammatically correct, but still concise? "To earn a." See how that helps the sentence make sense? To earn a medal. It practically trips off the tongue. Good grammar costs nothing.

Love,
PopCultureMaven

Joey Cheek: Official Olympic Cutie

I'm in love with the guy. Last night I thought he was a cutie, and then I was completely moved by his donation of his Olympic bonus money to Right to Play. And then tonight they just showed the medal ceremony, and he was totally heartbreaking. He is so happy, and he was sort of crying and beaming and was totally proud as they played the national anthem.

Also? His name sort of sounds like something out of a 40s gangster movie. I just keep imagining Edward G. Robinson saying, "It wasn't me that done it! Yeah, it was Joey the Cheek that done it. Yeah."

Ahem.

Okay, I'm better now.

What Do You Mean Football Isn't An Olympic Sport?

So, I had this dream on Saturday morning. One of those "I'm only awake right now because the cat poked at my nose and I'll be asleep again in about five seconds" mornings. Just, you know, so you know. Anyway, it was one of those really vivid dreams you have when you've managed to convince yourself to go back to sleep for a while even though you really should be getting up.

So, I'm at the Olympics and I'm in this really square and really, really tall stadium. And the American football team is playing...some other country. Hard to determine. All the American players are wearing Redskins uniforms. All the players from the other country...aren't wearing football uniforms. One guy is in a gray business suit and he's wearing this massive sunglasses. Another guy is wearing some sort of traditional clothing that looks like it landed on the field after making a stop off in the Stargate SG-1 costuming shop (natives section), and he has this fabulous headgear that sort of looks like Nerfertiti's hat, only with a bunch of fringe on it. And I get worried because these guys are going to be a symphony of broken bones in about two minutes when the Americans plow into them.

So, this dream could mean many things. It could mean that I'm worried about Americans beating the crap out of less fortunate countries at the Olympics, or economically. It could mean I'm worried about the war and possible other actions that could be coming down the pike. It could mean that, despite my best efforts to avoid football, it's encoded into my DNA, much like my fight or flight response. It could mean I ate too close to going to bed the night before. Or I could have visited an alternate universe where all this really happened. If only I'd woken up clutching the game ball.

I'm Only Going To Say This Once, People

STOP PAYING MONEY TO SEE THE FINAL DESTINATION MOVIES IN THE THEATER!

It just encourages them, and really, do we need three of these films in this world?