Territorial Bloggings

Sure, all the blogging guides say you shouldn’t post something just to say that you haven’t been posting anything, but what’s the fun in running your own blog if you can’t do whatever you want whenever you want why-ever you want? I’m just saying…

Some more questions & answers…

Still watching TAR:AS? Yup. I’m rooting for Cha3 (aka Danny & Oswald) & my Blondes. I’m shocked & appalled that Schmirna is still in the race & prospering, as I would’ve much preferred my “villains” to be the Guidos or Teri & Ian. Cha3 & my Blondes more than make up for that, however, as they are both teams that are entertaining to watch & easy to root for, ’cause they are such strong racers with good personalities.

Still watching The Apprentice? Sure, although I really think that the show’s concept is played out. The changes made by The Donald for this go-around (LA, tent city, no Carolyn or George, winning PM as 2nd boardroom viceroy…) have not panned out. The showmance between Tim & Nicole was only vaguely interesting. And The Donald’s penchant for bending his own rules (ala this past week’s change from firing a team of 2 to firing 1 from each of the 2 bottom teams) is just annoying. After 6 seasons, The Donald’s oft capricious actions are not as entertainingly endearing as they once were.

Still watching Survivor? Of course. The current installment is certainly not the best/most interesting that they’ve ever broadcast, but it’s still fun to watch. I think they’d be better off if they stopped stunt-casting for some preconceived notions of “diversity” and focused on getting folks who love & want to play the game, though…

Still depressed? Eh. It’s up & down. It’s downright bizarre at times to be aware on a logical plane that I’m mired in a dysfunctional mindset, and to know that I should do something about it (even what I should do to fight/stop it…), but to be ultimately unable to just, you know, do it. It really adds to the whole mix & makes it snowball even more. As pretentious as it sounds, sometimes being too aware is just flat out worse than not being aware at all.

Surely church helps, no? Well, yes, ultimately. I do, however, feel very aware of Satan’s influence in trying to get me to dwell too much on the fact that I’m a hopeless sinner. I.e., focus on the fact that I cannot effect my own salvation, so why even try. The good thing is that, even at the worst, God is gracious enough to never leave me to my own devices – He always keeps that seed of faith alive in me so that I don’t totally succumb to the despair sowed by the enemy. So, even as it’s always a struggle, I’m fully safe & comforted in the knowledge that God will allow me to prevail through His grace.

How are the wife/kids? Good. A sizable part of what keeps me going is that I know that I have vocational responsibilities as husband/father. Even as I might despair at my ability to successfully execute those vocations, I know that I must keep trying, and that God will use even my feeble efforts for the good of my beloved family. I thank God every day for the blessing of my family and the fact that they love me even though I so often feel like a failure.

Getting things done? I’m trying to still get that properly systematized & implemented. I can see that the structure that GTD affords/encourages is something that will benefit me in the hopefully not-so-distant future. It’s tough, though, because keeping track of things doesn’t equal actually doing them. And there’s an awful lot that I don’t necessarily want/like to do. It sucks how life is like that…

Gonna keep blogging? Certainly. Even when I’m in a phase right now of wondering why I keep such close tabs on traffic/hits/readership stats. It’s a useful outlet for me, even though I can’t be quite as forthright as I sometimes want to be (for example, I try not to blog about work, because I’m a bit paranoid about there somehow being negative blowback from entries dealing with how I feel about work…). I struggle with the “why” of doing this sometimes, particularly WRT theology. I want to be useful/helpful, even as I also want to selfishly show how obviously smart & learned I am. The thing is, when I get too far into the selfish motivational side of things, I tend to worry about stats & I get easily frustrated. I don’t ever want to write something just because I think it’ll somehow get more people to read. Ultimately, I just want to write what interests me, and what I feel like writing, and then just be satisfied with what happens in terms of stats/traffic/readership. Oh yeah, and make big sis giggle…

That’s enough for now. Time to start preparing for tonight’s AI presentation of “Sanjy on the block”…

-ghp

Just a quick few notes on last night’s realitytv shows…

Deal or No Deal: Yes, we’ve given in & started watching DoND. We held out as long as we could, but that Howie Mandel is not to be denied. And it’s not really that bad of a show, for a big old fluffy pile of empty game show calories & all. (Note: My favorite DoND model? #14, Pilar – rowr!) It was a nice convergence last night, what with them bringing on WWE wrestlers John Cena & Bobby Lashley (good guys/faces), and Randy Orton & Edge (bad guys/heels). It made for a nice episode, as the contestant was the good kind of crazy, not the annoying kind they so often get on the show.

TAR:All-Star: The good? Dave & Mary are gone, Romber finished first again, and my Blondes didn’t have to pay a price for being, well, blonde. The bad? Schmirna are still on my tv for another week! Seriously, I don’t know if I can handle another week of their drama — Charla, at least, is tough. Delusional, but tough. Mirna, though, is just flat out crazy. Afraid of fish? Check! Afraid of going to check for a key by herself? Check! Hypocritically trying to bogart Teri’s session with the airline clerk? Check! Truth be told, I would’ve preferred to see Dave & Mary stay in the race than these whack-jobs. The Guidos had better get their act together, because they are just running a really sloppy race thus far. Cha3 were, as always, fabu, and I just about died laughing when Danny made the observational comment about Charla falling in love at the finish mat…

The Apprentice 6: A double-firing is always good, especially when the Donald gets his sensibilities offended like he did with Derek’s “white trash” faux-pas. Sometimes, like Bradford in season 2, someone really is just so stupid they need to be fired for it, even when they’ve been (or promise to be) an otherwise stellar candidate. The rest of the episode was more or less pedestrian, but two things did stand out for me. First, seeing the old fogeys at the Lexus dealership reminded me of a certain Lexus-driving couple I know (right big sis? ). Jenn & Kinetic made a really bad miscalculation about the demographic associated with the Lexus 460 type of crowd — they’re older and wanting luxury & pampering. They’re not really your prototypical go-kart driving crowd. Second, I found Randal’s constant interrupting of the Donald during the boardroom to be just hi-frickin-larious. Honestly, I think that added to his Trumpness’ general level of crankiness. The looks that the Donald had on his face made me think that he wouldn’t have minded firing Randal! Trump just pegged the unintentional comedy meter…

So, it was a good night.

Tonight, though, will be even better, with two of my scripted favorites — Heroes & How I Met Your Mother!

-ghp

What a great week it’s been for fans of good reality tv (and, no, that’s not an oxymoronic statement, thankyewverymuch! )!

A brief recap:

• Monday – The Apprentice — Roxanne shines, Lee leads well, & Andrea gets the ziggy that her disagreeable personality has deserved all season long…
• Tuesday – American Idol — Good performances, Kat’s yellow dress, a decent theme, good celebs, and the weakest member of the top 6 gives the worst performance…
• Wednesday – American Idol — A 30 min. results show, a Frenchie that looks like my Hammie, and Pickler gets sent packing, yielding the best top 5 ever…
• Wednesday – The Amazing Race — Interesting locales, the Frat Boys return to their barely latent homo tendencies, the Hippies & MoJo get snarky, & the whiny, annoying old folks get elimnated…
• Thursday – Survivor — Terry wins another immunity & Cirie emerges with one of the best late/end-game strategic gambits that I’ve ever seen, cementing herself as being the only member of Casaya that is truly worthy of beating Terry based solely on merit…

Yup, a good week!

-ghp

Ok, since it’s been a few weeks since I’ve commented on it, I figured I’d make a few observations about The Apprentice…

I found last night’s episode to be interesting, if only for this reason: The Donald certainly seems to have a big old hate on for Lenny. And I just don’t get it. It’s not like I think Lenny’s the best candidate out there, and I don’t think he should win (although I certainly do find him amusing! ). On the other hand, though, he’s better than either of the overbearing, pompous, & hugely annoying pricks, Tarek & Andrea.

Lenny had no reason to be anywhere near the final boardroom last night. Quite frankly, if his team had listened to him wrt voiceovers vs. text, then they might’ve avoided the boardroom altogether. I also think that The Donald was off the beam in his criticism of the concept. While it wasn’t the best concept I’ve ever heard, and the execution of that concept was certainly lacking, the concept itself was neither offensive, nor firing-worthy.

But The Donald certainly had it out for Lenny. I mean, he all but commanded Dan to bring him back, along with the two that Dan had selected (Tarek & Lee). I actually admire Dan for sticking with his guns & not bringing Lenny back — his reasons for doing so were quite valid, and it was nice to see someone not roll over automatically at the first hint of an opinion by his Trumpness.

I know why Trump fired Dan. And I know why Dan should’ve been fired. Unfortunately for Trump, they are two different reasons. Dan should’ve been fired for underutilizing his team & not keeping Tarek under lock-down — not for failing to bring Lenny into the final boardroom.

In the end, it really should’ve been Tarek who got the ziggy. That he got to skate by again is the biggest injustice, even more than Dan wrongly getting the axe. If ever there was a night for a nice double-firing, last night was it…

-ghp

As I’ve been remiss in writing about Survivor the past few weeks, and I haven’t even mentioned The Apprentice or The Amazing Race 9, I figured I’d just whip off a short posting with some observations about what’s been happening on these shows…

Survivor:

• We’ve now reached the point where I want Shane to stay, if only because morbid curiosity has kicked in, and I want to see just how psycho he can really get…
• God help me, but I’m actually starting to enjoy Cirie & how she’s playing the game strategically…
• Exile Island turned out to be a very interesting twist last night, what with Sally getting sent there instead of heading to certain elimination at tribal council (and kudos to Casaya for recognizing the proper strategic move!)…
• Not only that, but her banishment might just give Sally the opening needed to really go far in the game, post-merge…
• It was too bad to see Dan sent home, but I must say that I was impressed with both his attitude, as well as with the overall mature attitude of all 4 guys in dealing with a bad circumstance…
• No new episodes for 3 weeks is not a good thing…

The Apprentice:

• It’s an interesting group so far, and the first two episodes have been quite enjoyable…
• Ivanka, while certainly being no Carolyn, was surprisingly focused & intelligent…
• Bill has an awesome edge to his comments & insights, and I think I actually prefer him to George…
• Tarek is a pompous ass, and he must be removed from my TV at the earliest moment possible…
• Brent, while certainly a wildcard (social-skills-wise), was completely in the right in his battle with Stacy…
• Roxanne is a player! I like her attitude, and I think she could go far…
• Lenny is awesome. I just hope that (as I read elsewhere) that the situation arises to get him to say the words “moose and squirrel”!

The Amazing Race 9:

• It’s great to see them back where they belong — going to foreign countries with teams of two…
• My favorite team is Dave & Lori — They’re such cute nerds! I find them hugely entertaining, sweetly sincere, and just adorable to watch & root for…
• Teams MoJo & Boricua are current favorites if only because they’re smart, entertaining, and have very, very cute girls (Monica & Desiree, to be precise… )…
• Team In-The-Closet (Eric & Jeremy) is sooo annoying — I mean, come on, could they be any more blatant in their over-the-top hetero-horndog behavior that seems to be nothing more than a dead giveaway to some painfully obvious homoerotic tendencies (ewww, why did I just type that? )…

And, finally,

Skating with Celebrities:

• I enjoyed this show far more than I ever thought I would — it was pure cheez, but it was good cheez …
• The right 2 teams were in the finals (John/Jillian & Lloyd/Kristy)…
• The wrong team won — My take on the competition as a whole, and on the finals in particular, is that John & Jillian far outclassed everyone else, technically and artistically.
• Lloyd & Kristy certainly did improve quite a bit, but not enough, IMO, to legitimately beat out John & Jillian…
• Jillian was far superior to Kristy…
• Lloyd was superior to John…
• In the end, I think that Lloyd being better than John was the significant thing…
• I’m disgusted by what happened with Lloyd & Kristy outside of the show, and that certainly tainted my reaction to what happened in the finals…
• Oh yeah, and Jillian is quite possibly the prototypical “guy’s girl” — hot, into sports, well spoken, hot, athletic, and well you know, hot…

-ghp

I haven’t written about the Fall TV season’s reality shows. I’ve enjoyed them all, but I just haven’t felt the need to express my opinions about what was happening. That was in spite of the fact that there was a whole lot of good & fun to watch stuff happening on Survivor: Guatemala, The Amazing Race: Family Edition, and The Apprentice 4. There were people/teams to love (the Linzes & Bransens on TAR), and villains aplenty (the Weavers on TAR, Judd on Survivor, and Alla on The Apprentice). Just nothing that made me feel like writing.

That continued through the finales of Survivor, where Danni’s win was a deserved one (even though I think Stephenie played a slightly better game), and TAR where the Linzes were fabulously deserving winners (though I would’ve been quite ok with the Bransens winning – just so long as the horridly hypocritical Weavers didn’t win!). In fact, I was looking forward to a relatively easy/pleasant viewing of the Apprentice finale last night, mainly because both Randal and Rebecca were such likable & worth finalists.

Little did I know that the Apprentice finale would be the one that caused me to finally write…

At this point, let me defer to one of my favorite reality recappers, over at Reality News Online, Betsy Wasser, who concluded her recap of the finale thusly:

Randal is hired.

Randal jumps out of his chair in triumph and goes to shake hands with the other candidates. But wait! There’s more! Trump asks Randal to sit back down, and the music stops just in time, leading me to believe Trump had this trick up his sleeve before this moment. This would be the point that many of my readers predicted. In a season marked by multiple firings, Trump will end with a multiple hiring, offering a job to Rebecca as well.

Trump says that he’s thinking about hiring Rebecca too, and wants Randal’s opinion. Randal says that while she’s good, the name of the show is The Apprentice, not The Apprentii, so there should be only one. Okay, Trump says. He was thinking about hiring Rebecca, but now he won’t. Randal continues to celebrate as the credits roll.

What the hell was that? Randal has been saying all along that Rebecca is a worthy oppontent, and that he respects her and thinks she’s talented. But he doesn’t want Trump to give her a job. Not because she’s not good enough, but because he doesn’t want to share the glory? And Trump decides to take the advice from someone who has worked for him for less time than it takes to pour a cup of coffee? That’s pitiful. This doesn’t have to be a zero sum “I win, you lose” game for Randal. He’d still have the job he wanted, and he’d still be Trump’s first choice, but Rebecca would have a great opportunity as well. Yet Randal refuses to share even a little bit of the glory. In that very quick moment, I was no longer able to feel as happy for Randal. This really ended things on a sour note, and I’m disappointed.

I agree. I was aghast at how selfishly & gracelessly Randal handled that opportunity. IMO, he took all the goodwill that he had banked over the course of the season, including his rep as a truly nice guy, and flushed it right down the crapper. He acted like a selfish, cutthroat, arrogant prick.

He had already won. Trump made the choice — Randal was the best. The first choice got job of his choice. He was then given an opportunity to be gracious — in a way that would have only burnished his status, and IN NO WAY would’ve EVER diminished his status as the “Apprentice.”

If the goal of the show/job-interview was truly to get to work for Trump, then Randal achieved that goal. Now, if the goal is to hog all the glory to yourself, no matter how classlessly you have to act to do it… well, then I guess Randal achieved that goal too. During a process in which Randal had consistently raised himself above the fray, he ultimately sullied his accomplishment by lowering himself to Alla’s petty, vindictive level.

And that’s sad.

-ghp

I’ve been ignoring the non-American Idol reality shows of late, so here’s a quick roundup of my thoughts…

Survivor: Ulong has got to be the most pathetic, inept, dysfunctional, & stupid tribe that Survivor has ever seen. 6 immunity losses in a row! Nary a lucid strategic thought to be found! I had hopes for at least Stephenie being the single intelligent member of that tribe, but I cannot understand just what she was thinking with her stupid, stupid vote in this last tribal council — she had nothing to gain from reneging on Bobby John. In the end, she voted against James anyway (rightly so, as there was no need to put herself at risk of elimination by the fabled “Purple Rock o’ Death”…), so forcing an initial tie vote did nothing but weaken her position. Stooopid! Ulong’s soon-to-be-legendary ineptitude has, rightly, kept the focus off of Koror. Soon enough, however, they’ll have to turn on themselves, and it’ll be interesting to watch unfold.

The Apprentice: Last night was a treat to watch, if only to see video proof of the fact that pride does indeed goeth before the fall. Erin deserved to be fired because she gave up on her team, and thought that she could just talk & charm her way out of any danger. I think she’s probably a great lawyer, but someone who has that high an opinion of themselves needs some seasoning before they’ll impress someone like Carolyn, George, or the Donald! At this point, with 8 folks left, I really would like to see Tana win, and I think we’ll see a Tana/Kendra final.

The Amazing Race: Ah, my favorite, saved for last… The stars of this edition of TAR are most definitely Romber (Rob & Amber) of Survivor fame. The other teams are focusing on Romber to the point of obsession, and Romber are using that antipathy to their advantage. It’s truly amazing (no pun intended) just how much Rob has been able to use Survivor-style manipulation in a more seemingly straightforward game like TAR. It’s just way too enjoyable to watch Romber yank the chains of the other teams (especially Team Birdcage, with their stereotypical flaming gay behavior). It’s also nice to see that there is such genuine affection between Rob & Amber — as much as he can antagonize the other teams, he treats her like gold, and he’s also unfailingly nice to folks who are a part of the race (e.g., drivers, guides, locals, etc…). Oddly enough, considering that I usually have 2 or 3 teams I would like to see win the race, I’d have a real hard time picking who I’d like to see win in the unfortunate event that Romber doesn’t win.

Well, there you go — a nice quick tour of my thoughts on matters of significance in our culture!

-ghp

Well, given that the only feedback to my inquiry was positive, y’all have only yourselves to blame…

TV — I watch it, and like watching it, both probably more than I should. My mind is cluttered with a plethora of useless pop-culture trivia… TV, movies, music, sports, etc. – particularly as relates to the 80′s. I must also confess that I like “reality” TV. I know it’s not “real” reality, it’s unscripted TV, where the Heisenberg Principle is fully in effect; however, when it’s well done, it can be highly entertaining without being unduly exploitative.

My wife & I started watching the genre back with what I would contend is the granddaddy of them all, The Real World. The first season (New York) was actually quite interesting, and nowhere near the cesspool that TRW has become. The 2nd (L.A.) season went downhill & wasn’t all that good, and the 3rd season (San Francisco), while beginning to show signs of the seedier side of the genre (e.g., Puck), was quite interesting. The 4th season (London), quite honestly, sucked, and we stopped watching TRW.

All was quiet, then, until Survivor arrived. I fought getting drawn into the hype, until about halfway through that first edition. After that, though, I was hooked. In many ways, that first Survivor was the best, because it was the “purest” – the participants more or less invented the game, while those since have merely refined it. The strategic & interpersonal elements of Survivor are also quite interesting to watch. It’s not high art/culture, but it is entertaining.

Read more…