Aaaah. Nicole & Derek! All is well with the world.
This is the first season (I can remember) that the final 3 all deserved to be there. Nicole rocked all the way. Evan slipped a bit, and Erin rose steadily. I admit, I didn't see her in the final 3 at first, but I'm glad she was.
I thought it was very cool that they all chose the Argentine Tango for their final dance. Wonderful to see this dance done well, and in 3 completely different routines.
But WTF was up with some of the fluff that filled the 2 hours?
Why oh why was Kate Goslin given such an important spot??? She danced as horribly as ever, in fact, worse, but they made a big production out of her spot. She got special interview time, in which she plugged her reality shows, of course. Ridiculous and ugly waste of time!
Buzz Aldren's spot was pretty cool with the "beam me down, Scotty" thing, but his attempt at a Paso Doble was out of this world sad.
Pam Anderson didn't get enough air time. If Kate got to do her thing (whatever that is), why couldn't Pam do hers. I'm sure it would've been something to see.
And a really big WTF for the Jake/Vienna thing! I don't understand why this particular spouse-to-be (maybe) who wasn't a contestant rated dance floor time.
The other real contestants only got a minute of exposure for their encore dances.
What I'd like to have seen more of instead of that drek was more of the audience celebrities. Many were there from previous seasons but there wasn't enough air time left to more than flash past their faces, and then not even all of them rated face time I'm sure. If it wasn't for Nicole's mention of Gladys Knight at the end, we might not even have known who that was.
I enjoyed the college dance team contest, but I would've preferred the junior ballroom contest as in past seasons.
For the most part, a pretty good season, and I'm so glad America has finally recognized that this is a dance contest, and good dancers should win.
Next week, my favorite dance show - So You Think You Can Dance. Can't wait! America's Got Talent also begins. Not my favorite, but I watch for the circus.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Random musings
DWTS - week whatever it is:
Coming down to the finale with 4 standing.
Nicole and Derek danced an outstanding Paso Doble! I mean show-stopping, perfect score, encore, outstanding! As you know (if you've been reading along) this is one of my favorite dances and I love to see it done well. It was done so well!
The other 3 stars...soso. Judges thought so, too. Go, Team Nicole!
My very favorite dance show is coming back soon. So You Think You Can Dance. Yay! The teasers say we'll see our favorite past finalists paired with contestants. That will be very cool!
So what else is on my mind?
The subject of regional stereotypes came up. In particular, the south. Being northern-bred and raised, I was among the masses who bashed the south a little. But only a little. I worked with many southerners who migrated north for jobs and I was used to the drawl and other quirks. I was even married to a southerner for a while. Yeah that didn't last too long. In that case, north and south didn't mix.
Having traveled around the south some, I've noticed differences in southern accents, tastes, and culture. Some of the differences might be due to the how the ethnic population is concentrated.
For instance, in South Carolina, barbeque (shredded pork on a bun with red sauce) seems to be a staple of the state's diet. There's a BBQ joint on nearly every corner. There's also a larger population of African-Americans than in the other southern states I've frequented.
In the north, the BBQ sandwich isn't that common even though blacks make up a good portion of the people. BBQ refers to cooking outside or sauce, not a sandwich.
In Tennessee, African-Americans aren't common, but Latinos are. So we have more Mexican restaurants and very few BBQ joints.
The thing in Tennessee that makes me feel a bit out of place more than anything is religion. At least in my county. There's a church or a sign for a church on every corner. This has to be one of the churchiest states in the country! I overhear church talk...meetings, groups, god bless, etc, everywhere I go. Even my bank manager writes a sermon in the little newsletter that goes out with bank statements. Church seems to be the main industry. Maybe this is why the state is so poor. My earlier blog about the lack of economic contribution from the church could explain this. Religion also plays a big part in the politics of the state. Yet again, church and state are not separate.
Of course, this means Sundays are pretty dead around here. Oh sure the big chains are open, and weekend flea markets are big business. But I can't even get local news on tv on Sunday. One Sunday in one of my first years here, I headed for the big flea market and a little shopping in town. The entire world was dead! Closed. Nada. No traffic. Not even Walmart or McDonalds could be found open. WTF! Then I remembered it was Easter Sunday. Really??? I had never seen that before. Christmas maybe, but not Easter.
What else? How about music?
I'm a rock & roller. At least I can find decent rock stations here. It would probably kill me if the only music was country and gospel. One of my guilty pleasures for short attention span tv is music videos. If I can't find anything to watch but want to watch something, I'll tune into MTV, etc. VH1 Classics is my favorite for classic rock videos, but I like current pop videos on MTV, Fuse, etc, as well. Love the graphic artwork. One of the unlikely (for a rocker) musicians I like to watch is Lady Gaga. She's a freak show and I can't stop looking! Brittany Spears is another wreck I'll slow down for. Anything unusual, especially if it involves dance, gets my attention.
BTW, I can remember when MTV was all there was, and videos was all it did. 24/7 music videos. I even remember the first video, "Video Killed The Radio Star". Sure is a shame that much of the day is taken up with stupid reality shows. I do enjoy the occasional musician biographies and chronicles, but when I tune in, music is what I want to see and hear.
One last musing brought to mind by that last paragraph.
Reality shows. What a waste! People watch them, so the stations keep producing them, and since there's no stars or script or anything, the producers make them for next to nothing. I find it so appalling that viewers support this shit. People desperate to be famous or infamous will do anything to appear on these shows. Apparently an awful lot of small-minded people get off on these public displays of human desperation. Those of us who have a brain are hard put to find quality prime time tv. Thank the techno gods for DVR and DVDs.
All for now.
Coming down to the finale with 4 standing.
Nicole and Derek danced an outstanding Paso Doble! I mean show-stopping, perfect score, encore, outstanding! As you know (if you've been reading along) this is one of my favorite dances and I love to see it done well. It was done so well!
The other 3 stars...soso. Judges thought so, too. Go, Team Nicole!
My very favorite dance show is coming back soon. So You Think You Can Dance. Yay! The teasers say we'll see our favorite past finalists paired with contestants. That will be very cool!
So what else is on my mind?
The subject of regional stereotypes came up. In particular, the south. Being northern-bred and raised, I was among the masses who bashed the south a little. But only a little. I worked with many southerners who migrated north for jobs and I was used to the drawl and other quirks. I was even married to a southerner for a while. Yeah that didn't last too long. In that case, north and south didn't mix.
Having traveled around the south some, I've noticed differences in southern accents, tastes, and culture. Some of the differences might be due to the how the ethnic population is concentrated.
For instance, in South Carolina, barbeque (shredded pork on a bun with red sauce) seems to be a staple of the state's diet. There's a BBQ joint on nearly every corner. There's also a larger population of African-Americans than in the other southern states I've frequented.
In the north, the BBQ sandwich isn't that common even though blacks make up a good portion of the people. BBQ refers to cooking outside or sauce, not a sandwich.
In Tennessee, African-Americans aren't common, but Latinos are. So we have more Mexican restaurants and very few BBQ joints.
The thing in Tennessee that makes me feel a bit out of place more than anything is religion. At least in my county. There's a church or a sign for a church on every corner. This has to be one of the churchiest states in the country! I overhear church talk...meetings, groups, god bless, etc, everywhere I go. Even my bank manager writes a sermon in the little newsletter that goes out with bank statements. Church seems to be the main industry. Maybe this is why the state is so poor. My earlier blog about the lack of economic contribution from the church could explain this. Religion also plays a big part in the politics of the state. Yet again, church and state are not separate.
Of course, this means Sundays are pretty dead around here. Oh sure the big chains are open, and weekend flea markets are big business. But I can't even get local news on tv on Sunday. One Sunday in one of my first years here, I headed for the big flea market and a little shopping in town. The entire world was dead! Closed. Nada. No traffic. Not even Walmart or McDonalds could be found open. WTF! Then I remembered it was Easter Sunday. Really??? I had never seen that before. Christmas maybe, but not Easter.
What else? How about music?
I'm a rock & roller. At least I can find decent rock stations here. It would probably kill me if the only music was country and gospel. One of my guilty pleasures for short attention span tv is music videos. If I can't find anything to watch but want to watch something, I'll tune into MTV, etc. VH1 Classics is my favorite for classic rock videos, but I like current pop videos on MTV, Fuse, etc, as well. Love the graphic artwork. One of the unlikely (for a rocker) musicians I like to watch is Lady Gaga. She's a freak show and I can't stop looking! Brittany Spears is another wreck I'll slow down for. Anything unusual, especially if it involves dance, gets my attention.
BTW, I can remember when MTV was all there was, and videos was all it did. 24/7 music videos. I even remember the first video, "Video Killed The Radio Star". Sure is a shame that much of the day is taken up with stupid reality shows. I do enjoy the occasional musician biographies and chronicles, but when I tune in, music is what I want to see and hear.
One last musing brought to mind by that last paragraph.
Reality shows. What a waste! People watch them, so the stations keep producing them, and since there's no stars or script or anything, the producers make them for next to nothing. I find it so appalling that viewers support this shit. People desperate to be famous or infamous will do anything to appear on these shows. Apparently an awful lot of small-minded people get off on these public displays of human desperation. Those of us who have a brain are hard put to find quality prime time tv. Thank the techno gods for DVR and DVDs.
All for now.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
DWTS 5th week
Actually, I can't remember what week it is. There are now 5 left standing.
Alas, Pam was booted. Too bad. I was really impressed. She was gracious, cute, and subdued. It wasn't all about her figure, and the costumes even played that down (as best they could). She was amazing when portraying characters. She channeled Marilyn Monroe and Dolly Parton perfectly. I was a bit disappointed by her Argentine Tango (as a brunette, no less). She could've killed with that dance but it came off too soft.
I meant to blog when Kate was gone but didn't get a round tuit. So a belated YAY! Jake was also gone last week. Poor little bachelor cried and his tv fiancee looked crushed.
My picks are still Nicole and Evan, and I think they'll be the last two standing. I hope Derek comes up with a kickass free-style to clinch the deal for Nicole. Evan is really good, but his skating style shows too much for most of the dances.
I would have preferred Niecy left before Pam. She's not a terrible dancer, but Pam was better.
Surprisingly, Chad (football guy) has grown into a decent dancer. I don't think he'll win (god I hope not!), but he's not that hard to watch now.
Erin hasn't improved much. She was good, but she's still just good.
I see either Niecy or Erin leaving next week.
What else I'm watching:
"Flash Forward" I love love love this show! I stack a few episodes up on the DVR and watch several in one sitting. I want more more more!
"Merlin" I thought it was cancelled after its run last year, but they've picked it up again. SyFy ran the 1st season back to back so I DVR'd it to watch again.
"The Vampire Diaries" I have mixed feeling about this show. Elena is annoying. Stephan is not good-looking. But I've fallen in love with Damian. He's such a bad boy with a spot of good in his undead heart. I could watch his facial expressions all day!
"V" Not my fav but I'm watching to see where it goes. I never saw the original series so I don't know the story other than what I've seen so far.
"Smallville" This season is a little hard to watch. There's the season's bad guy Zod played by an actor (don't know his name) I've seen in the same type of roles elsewhere. His spitting sneer is getting a little old. I'm fascinated by Chloe's dark side, and her affair with Green Arrow is an unexpected pleasure. The Lois angle? Meh. Lois is annoying but I guess that was the character from the beginning in all the Superman mythologies. BTW, when is Clark going to learn to fly?
"The Soup" Why is this show only a half hour??? Joel McHale is so cute and funny, and I'm sure he could fill an hour. I also watch "The Dish" which is similar but I wish they'd keep her comments shorter. An awful lot of time is wasted on those stupid skits and ramble-ons she does after each clip. You could fit a couple more clips in that time.
"Glee" How can you not love the song & dance routines?
"Grey's Anatomy", "Private Practice", "Supernatural" (currently catching up the previous seasons)", "Happy Town".
Returning soon:
"Warehouse 13" I thought it was cancelled but it's coming back. Cool!
"Leverage" Another show I really liked. It's just plain fun!
All for now.
Alas, Pam was booted. Too bad. I was really impressed. She was gracious, cute, and subdued. It wasn't all about her figure, and the costumes even played that down (as best they could). She was amazing when portraying characters. She channeled Marilyn Monroe and Dolly Parton perfectly. I was a bit disappointed by her Argentine Tango (as a brunette, no less). She could've killed with that dance but it came off too soft.
I meant to blog when Kate was gone but didn't get a round tuit. So a belated YAY! Jake was also gone last week. Poor little bachelor cried and his tv fiancee looked crushed.
My picks are still Nicole and Evan, and I think they'll be the last two standing. I hope Derek comes up with a kickass free-style to clinch the deal for Nicole. Evan is really good, but his skating style shows too much for most of the dances.
I would have preferred Niecy left before Pam. She's not a terrible dancer, but Pam was better.
Surprisingly, Chad (football guy) has grown into a decent dancer. I don't think he'll win (god I hope not!), but he's not that hard to watch now.
Erin hasn't improved much. She was good, but she's still just good.
I see either Niecy or Erin leaving next week.
What else I'm watching:
"Flash Forward" I love love love this show! I stack a few episodes up on the DVR and watch several in one sitting. I want more more more!
"Merlin" I thought it was cancelled after its run last year, but they've picked it up again. SyFy ran the 1st season back to back so I DVR'd it to watch again.
"The Vampire Diaries" I have mixed feeling about this show. Elena is annoying. Stephan is not good-looking. But I've fallen in love with Damian. He's such a bad boy with a spot of good in his undead heart. I could watch his facial expressions all day!
"V" Not my fav but I'm watching to see where it goes. I never saw the original series so I don't know the story other than what I've seen so far.
"Smallville" This season is a little hard to watch. There's the season's bad guy Zod played by an actor (don't know his name) I've seen in the same type of roles elsewhere. His spitting sneer is getting a little old. I'm fascinated by Chloe's dark side, and her affair with Green Arrow is an unexpected pleasure. The Lois angle? Meh. Lois is annoying but I guess that was the character from the beginning in all the Superman mythologies. BTW, when is Clark going to learn to fly?
"The Soup" Why is this show only a half hour??? Joel McHale is so cute and funny, and I'm sure he could fill an hour. I also watch "The Dish" which is similar but I wish they'd keep her comments shorter. An awful lot of time is wasted on those stupid skits and ramble-ons she does after each clip. You could fit a couple more clips in that time.
"Glee" How can you not love the song & dance routines?
"Grey's Anatomy", "Private Practice", "Supernatural" (currently catching up the previous seasons)", "Happy Town".
Returning soon:
"Warehouse 13" I thought it was cancelled but it's coming back. Cool!
"Leverage" Another show I really liked. It's just plain fun!
All for now.
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