What a great week for Reality TV. And by ‘Reality TV’ I mean Big Brother 9. This week Chelsia&James were HOH and put Alex&Amanda up for nominations, along with Matt&Natalie. Good nominations because Amanda is an obnoxious *female dog*. It’s also mildly amusing because of ‘Operation Condor,’ the premise of which is that Alex&Amanda’s pictures are on the top of the wall, and like a condor would swoop down and take its prey, they will swoop and knock out the top row. That’s creative, I guess, but not witty at all. Either way it worked, and Alex&Amanda went home with a 3-0 vote.
This week I started to like Chelsia&James a lot more, despite him having a pink Mohawk and her hair not being equal length on both sides. I think they’re my ‘favorite’ couple.
Also, this week there were two near-death scenarios (okay, maybe not). I love me some hypochondriacs.
The definite best part of this week was tonight after Sharon&Josh won new HOH. Julie Chen (easily the worst host in the history of any show) asked them what they would want to bring into the house, and after some standard stuff, Josh said, “Asking for too much would be you in my bed, Julie.” Obviously even better since, A) Josh is gay, and B) the studio and/or Julie were so offended that she kept going full speed, not acknowledging it and hoping no one would notice, and C) it was really funny.
Predicted nominees for next week: Allison&Ryan (this one seems fairly obvious), and a shot in the dark, Adam&Sheila. We will see.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Big Brother -- a Week in Recap
Likes/Dislikes
Links Of The Week....
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Blackout in Miami
Florida experienced a massive blackout today.
When the lights went out, I walked around downtown Miami to hear a handful of rumors. The streets were smoky, and smelled of fire. Between the library and the South Florida Historical Museum, a ventilator was billowing with black smoke.
“A generator beneath the library blew up,” said a man sitting on a bench, outside Government Center.
“The power’s out? Fine by me,” he said, pulling a hardback murder mystery from his back pack.
“I’m an I-T tech in that building up there. I’m still getting paid, so now I’ll actually be getting paid to do something I like,” he said, turning to the page where he had last left off.
Some cell phones were working, some weren’t. Various text-messages coming into my vicinity claimed a power outage from Daytona to Homestead. Still didn’t know why though.
A few hours later, we heard that Coconut Grove’s power was back on. Towards Biscayne’s skyline, the metro-rail could once again be seen traveling its singular course north to south.
In Overtown, we were still in darkness.
“It’s because we’re in the ghetto,” a coworker said.
But eventually, an hour later, our power came back on as well. Our boss told us there was a problem with FP&L, and that an outage had occurred from Tampa to the Keys.
Ever the cynic, I thought this would make the perfect case for FP&L to get their new power plant built in the Everglades.
My mom in Lake Wales said her power hadn’t wavered, but my brother in Melbourne had been sent home from work due to the outage. It felt like a hurricane except without the wind, the rain and destruction—just the pleasant disruption of daily routines across the state.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Men are From Mars Women are from Middle School
My wife is a teacher at a middle school and recently, amongst papers that she had collected, she found a highly informative chart written by one of her students. The chart goes into detail explaining body language and how it relates to boys. It offers an insightful look into the inner workings of the female (middle school) mind. It is printed here in it's entirety:
Post-Oscar Commentary
What a great night Sunday was. The Oscars could not have gone much better. Almost all of the winners were the 'should have wons,' and that's great.
Jon Stewart, a second time host, was much better this year. Better jokes, less awkwardness.
The two best moments were Marion Cotillard's win (watchable on youtube here, and pay attention to Cate Blanchett's response -- I love her) and when Markéta Irglová was allowed to come back out and deliver her thank yous. These moments are what make watching Oscars worthwhile.
Sadly I went 15-9 on predictions, which isn't too bad. Especially considering I guessed blind on both shorts, both documentaries, and a few other tech categories. I went 12-3 on what I claimed to 'know,' so I rule. I won't get over my underestimation of The Bourne Ultimatum. Oh, well.
Two years in a row where the best movie won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Maybe the AMPAS has wised up after all. Here's to next year.
PS, there is a 'worst part.' America is out of taste with their movies, lots of people claiming they haven't even heard of the nominees. I'm going to restrain a rant, here, but something doesn't have to be 'popular' to be 'good.' In movies it's often the other way around. However, the general public being clueless means this year had the lowest number of viewers in 20 years. Sad? Yes, yes it is.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Oscar reminder
The Oscars start in about an hour and fifteen minutes. Just shooting out a reminder that I have some in-depth predictions posted from before.
Tomorrow I'll either look like a genius or a amateur, so we'll see. Happy watching!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Yay, Development!
In today's edition of the Lakeland Ledger, an article reveals that Polk County is "outpacing both the state and national averages" in terms of population growth. The article provides population estimates and growth percentages for different cities in the county, and compares this growth to other counties in the state.
However, nowhere in this report does Mr. Rufty address the environmental costs of this growth, or whether this type of growth is sustainable and healthy for existing communities.
The so-called I-4 corridor is reported to have experienced the most growth, as it is developing into a bedroom community for employees in Osceola and Orange counties.
Is this something to be proud of?
East Polk is providing cheap land to large developers, and encouraging excessive commutes, suburban sprawl, and the environmental degradation that too much of this state has already experienced.
I understand that not every report will contain an analysis of how rapid growth impacts the environment and the quality of communities, but this article had a great opportunity to do so, and didn't.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Big Brother -- a Week in Recap
I've never watched much reality TV before this year, but my roommate watches a lot of reality TV, so now I'm getting hooked. My gig is Project Runway, but for him, Big Brother is where it's at.
For those unfamiliar, I will just summarize that Big Brother is like MTV's The Real World, except people are voted out every week. Oh, and the show is on three times a week (Tues/Weds/Sun). The link for the latest season is here.
The interesting thing this season is that there are pairs, 'teams,' and everything is done in twos. Winning head of household, being nominated, and voted off. Everything in twos. What makes this interesting is that one real-life couple came on the show, and were paired with other people. And this week the couple was nominated, so regardless one would go home.
Thankfully the right decision was made. The girl (Jen), straight up, said, "Ryan [her boyfriend] is also a racist." Direct quote. Then lied to him about saying that. You don't think he'll watch this show eventually? Also Jen's partner, Parker, was just an idiot, so them being eliminated is good.
What's funny about this season is that there isn't a single pair in which both people are reasonable and likable. I really like Allison (Ryan's partner), but Ryan sucks.
Hopefully next week Amanda will go home. Watch the show for ten minutes and you will understand why. Not only does she have an annoying voice, but she talks more than anyone else. But right now everyone hates her, so maybe next week I'll be happy. Check back to see if I am.
Other Problems the Military Can Solve for Us
If the US Navy successfully shoots down that falling satellite today, or in the next few days, I have a another suggestion that maybe they could handle for us.
Evolution Brings Youngsters to Jesus Camp
There is a common misnomer that Florida is not the bible-belt, that the Deep South ends at Georgia's southernmost border. However, when it comes to the debate of creationism vs. evolution, when it comes to science at all, this state appears insistent upon keeping students in the dark ages.
NPR and the Miami Herald ran reports today which included criticisms of the State of Florida’s science curriculum in public schools. We are hardly teaching science at all, it seems. And now, it has been mandated that schools teach the “scientific theory of evolution.” A mandate on evolution ought to mean an improvement, but pay special attention to the language of this ruling.
This means that a graduate of Florida’s public school system will go out into the workforce, the real world, college, etc., thinking evolution might have taken place, but that the evidence just isn’t all that clear to be sure—after all, it’s only a theory.
In other news, it has been reported that the number “four” is the theoretical sum of two plus two. Also in hot debates is the “scientific theory of evaporation” (formerly known as evaporation). It is being questioned as to whether a conversion from liquid to vapor actually takes place through “heating”. Other forces have not been ruled out as of this time.
Yes, the State of Florida launches astronauts into space, but no one actually knows how, or what this “space” thing is all about.
At least that’s the way some people make it seem. John Stemberger, a representative from pro-creationism Florida Family Policy Council, told the Herald these new standards go too far, and actually “unfairly muzzle teachers.” He went on to say mandating evolution will drive more families to home-school education. Anyone who has seen the documentary Jesus Camp will know why this is terrifying.