The Fortnight in TV

The past couple of weeks, with most network shows being on hiatus and all, Brandy and I have found ourselves watching a lot of Discovery Channel shows. They may be "reality" shows, but they're a lot more entertaining and informative than a bunch of idiots hurting themselves, eating scary/disgusting things, or playing politics in the midst of pointless, forced activities.

A brief recap, then, of the shows that have recently entranced us.

We've watched MythBusters for a while now, and since my parents turned us on to it after season one, Deadliest Catch as well. If you haven't seen either of these shows, I would highly recommend programming them into your Tivo. The great thing about Discovery Channel (if you're late to a show): they repeat the episodes all the time and broadcast mini-marathons on occasion. 

Man vs. Wild

On a tip from one of Brandy's co-workers (damn you, Jennie), we started watching Bear Grylls struggle to survive in and find rescue from a number of hostile locales. The Florida Everglades, the African Savannah, the Moab Desert, the Costa Rican rain forest, Mount Kilauea (crossing active volcano fields, people), this guy's parachuted into and gotten himself out of all sorts of crazy places, usually equipped with only a knife and a water bottle.

Brandy and I have decided that: A.) Mr. Grylls is an adrenaline-junkie and/or crazy and B.) no matter what else he might be, he is supremely good at making fires. I think that information alone might make this show worth watching. Definitely our favorite of the new programs we've discovered.

Cash Cab

OK, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I love trivia game shows. As a former Academic Challenge team member, I've always been a giant dork sucker for shows like Jeopardy and Weakest Link. Cash Cab is just light-hearted fun in that vein, but it really makes me want to visit New York City to just look for minivan cabs all day.

And while winning some money is nice, why wouldn't you go for the video bonus at the end? At the very worst, you just won a free cab ride. You would lose only money that you never had (i.e., the house's money) while you could potentially double your winnings. To those who take the money and run, I say, "pussies."

In other TV news:

• We're happy The Closer has finally started its new season. Sometimes Kyra Sedgwick's character makes me want to pull my hair out (how can someone be such a trainwreck in her personal life and so effective at work?), but that's part of the show's charm.
• Why has Studio 60 (a wordy yet witty drama, and one of last season's best new shows) been cancelled while 30 Rock continues to dull the already-tarnished image of the half-hour sitcom? (And yes, I'm sticking to that assertion despite one of the best musical montages of Cleveland this side of the Drew Carey Show intro.)
  
  
  
• I still hold that one of the Big Four networks would be wise to pick up Veronica Mars now that it's been cancelled by the CW (right, like you had so many better and better-rated shows that VM was dragging the network down). Throw some real marketing dollars behind the show's winning cast and intelligent, teen-friendly writing, and some network could a have a real target-demographic winner on its hands (hello, stodgy CBS or desperate-for-viewers NBC).

And don't even get me started on all the European travel shows we've been Tivo'ing...

Feeling Moist

Granted, this is probably something about which I could just as easily twitter, but it seems more fun to post here. Besides, you don't get to post these provocative titles on twitter, either.

In any case, I have a confession to make.

I use body wash, not bar soap.

"Oooo... manly," you're thinking.

Abso-fucking-lutely.

But seriously, I just don't like feeling all waxy after I'm done showering. I do use bar soap a couple times a week, but I've found that body wash (Lever, for those of you who are interested) makes my skin feel better. Not softer to the touch, just more healthy and hydrated. Yes, my manliness is just stunning your pants off right now.

Well, I was in Target a few months ago, when I saw a new Olay body wash. It was on sale and smelled, at the time, not too floral and slightly of raspberries, so I decided to try it. (Looking at their page, I'm now feeling cheated because Target only had the one kind, Crème Ribbons with Almond Oil, and I'm sure I would have chosen the Aloe kind instead, had I been given the choice.)

Anyway, I used it for the first time recently, and I've had a stunning and horrifying epiphany.

This body wash makes me smell like a stripper.

Guys, you know the smell that I'm talking about. It's that slightly sickening stench of... freesia, I think. Floral with hints of stem that make it smell like she's on the verge of developing bad B.O. Floral that, when combined with the sweat of lap dancing and the accumulated bacteria slick of the pole, becomes a miasma of suffocation much like the field of poppies in The Wizard of Oz, except not at all pleasant. Curse my highly developed sense of smell.

And if that weren't bad enough, it's almost greasy. Yes yes, I know it's supposed to be moisturizing, but this is ridiculous. It's almost as if I've mixed Vaseline and soap into a bottle of cheap freesia-scented body spray and smeared it over my body.

But I'm not going to throw it away.

Why not, you ask?

Because it's the perfect camouflage. If ever I want to go to a strip club without Brandy knowing, all I have to do is use the damn Olay. Then I can just tell her that I smell like strippers because I used the stripper body wash that morning.

Now if I could just figure out a way to make sure I get all the glitter off my face...

 

Justin Verlander: 000 000 000 0 0 0

Oh, and as a rabid Tigers fan (and a proud Justin Verlander fantasy owner), I would be completely and utterly remiss if I didn't make any mention of the Tigers' first no-hitter since 19-freaking-84 (coincidentally the last season the Tigers won the World Series?).

A beautifully funny write-up at Roar of the Tigers. This kid, she writes some really funny shit. It's turned into a daily must-read for me.

Blog title courtesy of the MLB Fanhouse courtesy of the Mack Avenue Tigers.

Woo hoo! Go Tigers!

 

By now, you must think I'm really old

On Sunday, Brandy and I did Date Night at the Symphony™. Again.

We went to Indigo for dinner beforehand. Again.

We sat in the Terrace seats. Again (although this time, we sat on the other side, behind the percussion).

We heard them play a Mahler symphony. Again (this time, it was Symphony No. 7, the one for which they won the 2006 Grammys for Best Classical Album and Best Orchestral Performance).

And once again, we had a wonderful evening. For those of you who live in the Bay Area, I cannot recommend enough the cultural experience that is the San Francisco Symphony. I highly recommend seeing them when Michael Tilson Thomas conducts, especially when he conducts a Mahler piece. Just breathtaking.

You know what's even more breathtaking? Sitting behind the percussion section during a percussion-heavy piece. Tympani (with wood mallets even), bass drum, tambourines (which, when played in an orchestral setting, is much cooler than it sounds), bells, four low bells, cowbells, gong, and even a rare appearance from a snare drum. Sweet.

In other news, I volunteered to be an Ambassador at the 2007 MLB All-Star Game. There were a bunch of positions from which to choose, but my best fit was definitely helping out at local hotels, getting people to and from All-Star Week events (they weren't taking volunteers for the actual All-Star Game). There were, however, many more applicants than positions available, and they were also doing background checks (through the FBI no less), so if I don't actually get to help out, you know why.

I should find out one way or the other by sometime next week.

 

A little curious?

Because I promised to post this on my blog...

I didn't see any rules on the original, but I think it goes something like this: if you ask (in the comment section) for me to do you, I will answer (in the comment section) the below questions. I know there will probably only be one or two of you who submit to this sort of public sharing, but c'est la vie.

1. I'll respond with something random about you.

2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.

3. I'll pick a flavor of Jello to wrestle with you in.

4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.

5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.

6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.

7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.

8. If I do this for you, you must post this in your own blog

Alright, kids. Who's it going to be?      :)

Another weekend of culture

Hey, all.

After working yet another Saturday night (I can't wait until Pedro's ready to fly solo on Saturday nights), I was ready for a nice Sunday of rest and relaxation. Instead, Brandy and I went to see the Vivienne Westwood exhibition at the de Young Museum on Sunday.

Yes, we went to a museum. Yes, she's a fashion designer. Yes, I'm straight.

For those of you unfamiliar with her body of work, Westwood was essentially the costumer of the punk revolution. Together with her then-boyfriend, Malcolm McLaren (who managed the Sex Pistols), she dressed an entire generation of groundbreakers, establishment-shakers, and malcontents.

The audio tour was nice, but probably unnecessary. I did enjoy hearing some of the interview clips, however.

The exhibition ends on June 10, so if you want to go, go soon.

After our trip through the punk looking glass, we had lunch at the museum cafe, which was surprisingly good, then we walked through the Deborah Oropallo exhibition as well. Trippy.

But Brandy and I have this fascination with glass and glass sculpture, and some of the pieces at the de Young are very cool.

The Chihuly stuff, of course, but there were some cast glass pieces that utterly entranced us. I'm not sure how cast glass sculptures are created, but I'm sure I'll be even more impressed when I find out.

 

Germano-Canadian Asian w/ heavy Russo-Irish Blackness

What are you? Answer the questions and see if the highest score matches your ethnic origin.

Australian
[] you wear flip flops all year
[] you call flip flops thongs not flip flops
[x] you love a backyard bbq
[] you know a barbie is not a doll
[] you love the beach
[x] You're a sports fanatic
[] you are tan / or kind of tan
[] you're a bit of a bogan
[] you have an australian something
Total=2

Italian
[] the Sopranos is a good show.
[] your last name ends in a vowel.
[] your grandmother makes her own sauce.
[x] you know how a real meatball tastes.
[] you know a lot of italian songs.
[x] you have dark hair and/or dark eye color
[x] you speak some italian.
[] you are under 5'10"
[] pasta is one of the best foods in the world.
[] you talk with your hands.
Total=3

Hispanic
[] you say member instead of Remember
[x] you speak spanish/ or a little
[x] You love tacos.
[] yoU TyPe lIkE ThIs On Da CoMpUtEr.
[x] you know what a Bodega is.
[] you talk fast
[] you are a girl & you have dyed your hair.{HIGHLIGHTS COUNT}
Total=3

Russian
[] you say villian as: Vee-lon
[x] you can get short tempered
[x] you know of sombody named natasha
[] white skinned
[] you get cold easily
[] snow is fun for you
[x] you get into contests often
[x] You can easily make do with the cold weather
[] screw beer, it's about the vodka.
[x] you curse like crazy.
Total=5

Irish
[x] you think beer is the best
[x] you have a bad temper.
[] Your last name starts with a Mc OR Murph or O' or Fitz or ends with a ley/ly,on,al,el,un,EN,an,er,RY,ny.–one of em.
[] you have blue or green eyes.
[] you like the color green.
[x] you have been to a st.pattys day party.
[] you have a family member from Ireland
[x] you can be very loud
[x] you are/can be a happy person
Total =5

Black
[x] you like rap or some rap
[x] you talk with slang (sometimes)
[x] you know how to shoot a gun.
[x] you like chicken
[] you like watermelon
[x]you can dance
[] you can sing gospel
total= 5

Asian
[x]you have slanty eyes
[x] you like rice a lot/sushi
[x]you are extremely smart
[] you can play the piano
[x] you have family from an asian country
[x]you laugh sometimes covering your mouth
[] most people think you're chinese
[] you call hurricanes typhoons
[] you go to Baulko
[x] you know how to speak any asian language
Total=6

German
[x] you like bread
[x] you think American Chocolate would be better with less Sugar
[] you drink your coke without ice
[x] you Speak a little German
[x] you know what Schnitzel is
[] you are Catholic, -Christian-, or Lutheran
[] you hate it when stupid people call you a Nazi
[x] you went to Kindergarten/Pre-school
[x] you're at least or over 5'4?
[] when you get angry some sort of accent comes out.
[] techno is your favorite that goes well with drugs.
Total = 6

Polish
[x] you start laughing out of no where
[] you laugh with a high pitch
[] you like techno
[] you have to ask someone how to spell Polish
[] you have a round shaped head
[] you have dark brown, or blonde hair
[] you dont get tan in the summer
[] you know that your not called Polish your called a Pole
[x] you are at least 5'5 or taller
[] you are athletic
Total=2


Canadian
[x] you like/play/played hockey
[x] you love beer
[x] You've said eh
[x] you know what poutine is
[x] you speak some french
[x] you love Tim Hortons donuts
[] at one point you lived in a farm house
[] you have watched degrassi
Total=6