Whine & Cheese

TAR-AS: Chew On Some Guam

Thoughts on the penultimate episode of TAR: All Stars, "Oh My God, The Teletubbies Go To War"... Oswald's reference to seeing a running Charla in military gear.

It seems like we've waited a long time to get down to the final 3 teams... but, as the poet T.S. Eliot wrote, will the season end "not with a bang, but a whimper??  Even the editors couldn't muster up too much excitement in the episode...  there were no changes in the order of finish from the previous leg (yes, I know Schmirna technically finished ahead of Crabby and Whiny)... and despite a desperate attempt to make the final Philimination look competitive, Danny and Oswald still finished in last place... thereby not even creating any real or false sense of tension with the 30-minute penalty.... and let's face it, Guam wasn't that exciting either... thus scratching off one destination off my "1,000 Places To See Before You Die" list.

I was sad to see Danny and Oswald go... though much like their first time, they seemed to hit the self-destruct button as the end neared... and they avoided some controversy... I'm sure it wasn't quite fair when their "lost" pilot waved his water bottle to get Oswald's attention during the "rescue" mission.

A couple of fun lines... thanks to Schirma... most memorably when they took the "high road" detour with the humanitarian challenge... because, after all, they "like to help people."  That would have been nice, if actual people were being helped (at first, it sounded "real" but then just an exercise) or if afterwards, Mirna didn't insist they fly the plane a little faster since... umm, we're kind of in a Race here.

Also, Mirna gave us another "hook on phonics" lesson earlier in the episode... where we learned that while in Hong Kong, the correct pronunciation of "airport" is... air-port (English is one of the official languages of Hong Kong).  But Mirna continues on "You have to try to do the right accent. It makes all the difference in the world"... so this explains it... so it's just not adding an "o" onto the end of every word?!   Nevertheless and defying all odds (mine included), Schmirna earn a spot in the final three and become the darkest of horses and subterranean-ish underdogs.

Waltzing to first was the thus far unmentioned Beauty Queens who won yet another crappy first place prize, this time ATVs (shockingly sans any product placement).  Phil continues to pump them up as the possible first-ever all-female winners of TAR.  I guess Schmirna doesn't rate in that department.  In the "deserving" category, the BQs are my lesser of three evils choice to win it all.

Leaving Eric and Danielle as my "anyone but" pick... probably not quite the level of disdain my all-time least favorite winners... TAR6's Freddy and Kendra... and while I made a comparison to TAR3 winners Flo and Zach... I only meant that Eric would likely have to drag whiny/"I can't do this" Dani over the finish line, but the huge difference is that Zach was a likable guy... unlike Eric, who has been just miserable throughout much of this Race.

Express Lane: Issue 28

Quinn's wish is granted, eventually - I know he's the "it" boy of the gay blogosphere, but this "always picked last" kid had to chuckle when Golden Boy Brady accepted an invitation to a private waiting area, away from the glare of the TV cameras, after not being among the top 10 players at today's NFL draft.  He was ultimately chosen by Cleveland, the 22nd pick. (4/28/07)

Old Mike, New Christine - This headline is no joke or a story about a sitcom... meet the LA Times' soon to be transsexual sports writer. (4/26/07)

Rosie O'Donnell leaving `The View' - While no big surprise, still a bit of one given the proverb that there is "no such thing as bad publicity"... and Rosie has given the show and network plenty of publicity this past year.  Now the show returns to its post-Meredith and Star, pre-Rosie slumber... (4/25/07)

TAR6's Hayden and Aaron get married - Remember when TAR's Aaron found out that I had identified him as "Fine Wine"?  Well, I'd better leave him alone since, as of this past weekend, he's a married man. Congrats! (4/25/07)

More bad news for NBC - The peacock network continues to sink... averaging only 6.2 million viewers a night (its lowest total in over 20 years)... and only 3 shows in the Top 30... two of them 'Deal or No Deal'... ouch!  (4/24/07)

Spider-Man set to swing to Broadway - Do you think they'll keep the "Spiderman! Spiderman!" cartoon theme song?  Before you think this a joke, look at who's involved... 'Lion King' director Julie Taymor with music by U2's Bono and The Edge.  (4/20/07)

Get a Whiff of 'Earl' for Sweeps - Here's a blast from the past, the NBC sitcom will have a special "scratch 'n sniff" episode in May... cards will be available in TV Guide. (4/19/07)

Firth among the crooners for "Mamma!" - The cast for the movie version of the ABBA musical continues to round out nicely with Colin Firth and Christine Baranski... joining the already signed up join Meryl Streep and Pierce Bronson. (4/17/07)

Agassi inadvertently hits wife with racket, Graf requires stitches - Ouch!  I was wondering when the whole "I have more Grand Slams than you do!" thing was going to come to a head! (4/15/07)

Crowded House

We are bracing for a lot of little legs running around our house...

Later today, we are picking up Todd's parent's dog Lucy for a week long visit.  We've had the 3 dog/2 cat combo before... but this is the very first time Rocky is part of the mix.  Lucy has been up for a visit, but that was only for a few hours... and was not quite enthusiastic about her newest cousin.  II should be an interesting week. 

Rocky (or any puppy for that matter) is a much bigger presence than their actual size!

Speaking of which, give or take a few days, we've now had Rocky for 2 months... and he is 4 months old. 

Also on this afternoon's agenda is Rocky's 3rd puppy plan vet visits... just another round of shots.  The 4th and final visit can also include the snip-snip.  I can't believe we are already at that stage!

I have been very bad about not taking pictures, but here's one I snapped earlier this week:

Much bigger since last time, right?! 

But as you can see, he is just now the size of the cat (our Lola nicely providing the point of reference... though I couldn't get them to look at the camera at the same time).  This is the first of a sequence of 4 photos I took... if you are looking at this now (late April 2007), go over to my Flickr page and see how this all played out.

Rocky's ears have "popped"... though we are not quite sure if they will ever be in proportion to his head... but he is still pretty high up on the adorable scale. 

And that adorable-ness is quite an important defense mechanism.  While I know it is all my fault, we are still in the throes of housebreaking... yeah, he's growing... bigger clean-ups!   And while we're on that subject and it's really a no-win situation (umm... maybe put down that bagel or sandwich)... when business is properly taken care of in the yard, we've been have a "recycling" issues... his enthusiasm and persistence for this is oh-so not adorable.  Cats get the gold (platinum!) star when it comes to both housebreaking and utter disdain of that "stuff."

Nevertheless, Rocky has been a wonderful addition to our household... a loving little guy with a great personality... but it's gonna be a crazy week!

The Road (#12)

Good thing I was pretty impressed with my latest book.  I would have been fighting a serious tide of positive thoughts and critical praise.  I first became aware of it when it was named one of the Best Books of 2006 by Time and People... since then, it has reached the masses thanks to being Oprah's latest book club selection... and last week it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction... and its biggest endorsement yet, my blogger buddy Scott-O-Rama is reading along as well (don't worry I warned him this was coming... though I usuallly don't give much away plot-wise in these book recaps).

If you haven't figured it out... or glanced to your left... it's Cormac McCarthy's The Road.  Despite being called one of greatest American authors alive today, this was my very first attempt at McCarthy (perhaps best known for All The Pretty Horses).  While I don't mind a challenge, he had a reputation of being difficult to read... and has even compared to William Faulkner (and you know how I feel about that!)... so with that reputation and the omnipresent "so many books, so little time" scenario, it just never happened.

... and I'll be the first to admit, even after having the book in my hand I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen.  Foolish or not, I decided not to read an excerpt on O's website or even page through it at the bookstore.  It was going to be a leap of faith. 

10 pages into it, I was wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into?!?  I didn't quite grasp what was going on and his prose seemed much too "lyrical" for me.  But whether I "got it" or not it was quick reading... so I continued on... and I am glad I did.

I don't know if it was just a matter of getting the rhythm of McCarthy's prose... or just waiting for things to gel plot-wise... but I got sucked in and started to understand what all the critical fuss was about (sidenote: after I finished the entire book, I re-read the first 20 or so pages... and I still found them difficult to read).

The story is not a happy one... an unnamed father and son walk "the" road through a post-apocalyptic America.  Though we can certainly make a guess, the reader never knows the exact details of the what, why, and where of the devastation.  I found this to be one of the more fascinating parts of the book, though for others it may be one one of the most frustrating aspects.  A lot is left up to the reader and answers are in short supply.  Is this ultimately a tale of despair or hope?  The father often refers to themselves as the "good guys" fending off "bad guys" on the road, but what's really good and bad (or does either even exist) in this doomsday scenario?  So a lot of good stuff to brood over... and ultimately it is one of those books that haunts you for a bit.

But back to the McCarthy's style... stick with it.  It's very minimalistic/stark (much like the novel's landscape) and it does have a rhythm and poetic quality to it... unlike anything I have read before. If you have feared McCarthy like I did or had a bad past experience, the NY Times back-cover blurb calls The Road his "most readable" work. I have a hunch they know what they are talking about when it comes to McCarthy's body of work.

Often I like to pick out a favorite line from a book... this one was my keeper:

People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didnt believe in that.  Tomorrow wasnt getting ready for them.  It didnt even know they were there.

I have read some very good books in my 2007 10K challenge and we aren't even to the halfway point yet... but I'm thinking The Road will be competing for a spot on my own year-end "best of" list.

2007 10K Reading Challenge:  + 285 pages (Total Pages: 3693 pages)

AI6: Charity Cases

Last night on American Idol... excuse me, Idol Gives Back... it was music of inspiration and hope!  Overall, not a bad show... at this point, we're down to folks who can pretty much sing... but there was more than an eyeroll or two over all the charity stuff.  Now, it's wonderful that the show is using its power to bring attention to some of the ills of the world... but, at times, it was like the Idol folks were the first ones to discover that there was poverty and hunger in the world... and gasp!... even here in the United States.

And it was all a bit self-serving... we're meant to feel all warm and fuzzy about major corporations contributing to the cause... and getting some good advertising, goodwill, and tax deductions along the way.  Over at reality blurred, there's mention that Idol generates $30 million of ad revenue a week... so how about donating a week's worth of that.  Idol is now selling mp3s and videos of each contestant's performance on their website... how about donating the revenues for that (or at least a portion)?  Simon allegedly makes $25 million a year just for appearing on Idol... how about a million dollar personal donation?  Or in tonight's bloated 2-hour results show, how about each of tonight's multi-millionaire performers cough up say a six-figure "appearance fee."

The public gets their chance to donate their own money tonight... but last night with "the most important phone call of your life" a corporation donated 10 cents to "save a life."  It would have been more interesting to see what the vote tally would have been if it was a 900 number for the night and say 99 cents a call. 

Anyhow... there were performances last night, right?  Yesterday afternoon (hours before show), I put the numbers next to each contestant... and what do you know, I didn't have to make any changes.

#1 - Melinda ("There Will Come A Day"/Faith Hill) - Again this week, I give the edge to Melinda who really has yet to show a vocal crack this entire competition (something I don't think we can say about any past Idol contestant).  The only complaint is that I think it got a little too loud in the middle, vocally and with the band... but it all gave me goosebumps.

#2 - Jordin ("You'll Never Walk Alone"/Various) -  Ok, I am a believer... with Jordin stepping up while others have stepped down, our AZ Idol seems to be clear candidate for the finale.  Idol loves the glory note, and Jordin can dish 'em out and serve 'em up like a fish fry on Fridays.      

#3 - Blake ("Imagine"/John Lennon) - I am a bit torn on this one... while I like when Blake does his "thing" there are songs that shouldn't be tampered with... and this is probably one of those.  I agree with Randy that it was a bit of a flat-liner... and it could have soared a bit more... but again, it's kind of the nature of the song.   

#4 - LaKisha ("I Believe"/Fantasia) - For a second week in a row, Kiki does a song by a former Idol winner... which I am not sure is a terribly good idea... only made worse when you don't do a better version of it.  Again I agree with the judges that Fantasia "made it her own"... and that LaKisha over the past few weeks has seemed more shouty than powerful when it comes to the vocals.

#5 - Chris R ("Change the World"/Eric Clapton) - I thought this one started out really rough and quite flat.  Thankfully, for Chris more folks will remember the finish than the start... and Chris did bring it home.  You know the drill... still a bit too twangy and whiny for me... but not bad, though I was still a bit taken back by the universal praise from the judges.   Which is the same thing I can say about...

#6 - Phil ("The Change"/Garth Brooks) - The usual stuff bugged me about Phil this week... yes, you're a daddy who misses your babies... yes, we saw the salute to remind us of your service to our country... yes, you have very big and point ears... and yes, the singing was a bit ouch-y this week.  For me there were way too many long notes... and during each of the them my head twitched like a puppy hearing a dog whistle.

Elimination Prediction:  Not sure Dial Idol (click "Predictions" on the upper right bar) is really relevant (or ever was!) this week with the double phone numbers, but if you need to know... only Jordin is deemed safe this week.   

Still can't quite get the vote-off right... got Sanjaya's ouster correct last week, but didn't have LaKisha or (gasp!) Blake in the bottom 3. 

Not sure how the eliminations are going to work tonight... probably an after-thought due to all the Idol Gives Back fuss... heck, even Ryan gets sidelined by a bit tonight by Ellen Degeneres.  With only 6 left... is there going to be a top and bottom three?  Three groups of two? 

If it's Bottom 3... I think it's LaKisha, Chris, and Phil.  I think Blake gets a voting bump after last week's "scare" and I can't imagine Melinda or Jordin making their first bottom appearances tonight. 

If it's only Bottom 2, I will go with Chris and Phil.  While LaKisha is fading, like Blake I still think it was a bit of surprise that it was down to her and Sanjaya for the Daughtry  "You're Going Home" Walk of Shame. From there it's a toss-up, but I will go with... Phil.

UPDATE: Well, nice "results" show, huh?  Reality Blurred said it better and much more succinctly than I (and I suspect many, many other folks) could have:

"So, let’s get this straight: The subject matter is so serious that it’s not okay to eliminate someone, but it’s okay to lie to the audience and emotionally manipulate a 17-year-old (Jordin)? What sadistic assholes produce this show, and how can they continue to pretend that their show is so wholesome? And how delusional are they to think that that little trick will do anything but ensure that people don’t tune in if they ever do Idol Gives Back again?"

Blending In With The Crowd

It's not often that my MINI Cooper doesn't stand out in a group of cars... but even I had a hard time finding my Cooper in this picture...

It kinda looks like the second one in on the left... but actually mine is sorta hiding behind the palm tree on the right hand side (next to the red one).

So why all the MINIs??

Saturday was the MINI Cooper Owners Appreciation Rally... apparently every year the Arizona MINI dealership invite owners up for a get-together and a free lunch!  Of course, there are vendors... contests and prizes... and just the opportunity to gawk at MINIs.

As you can see, the turnout was quite good.  I knew the local Cooper club was going to have around 30 cars there... so I figured, maybe a dozen or so more and that would be it.  Did I get that wrong (and again, never underestimate the phrase "free food")... we pulled into the rally and it was just Coopers everywhere!  In one of my other pictures, I counted 85 cars... and there were more than that... easily 100+ Coopers.

And I doubt any two were the same... people really trick and customize them out... so while a car may have looked like mine, it only took a few dozen seconds to find out some difference.  It was cool to see the new 2007 models ... and there were even a handful of classic Coopers in attendance as well.

There are a few more pictures from the rally over on my Flickr page... the above pic "exclusive" to W&C, so you can only see it here... don't you feel special now?!

As I think I have hinted around, our "big" vacation plans this year are MINI-centric.  The destination is a MINI Cooper gathering, but our journey will be a 30-hour, 1,800 mile round-trip road trip.  Hopefully, our relationship will survive... in all these years, we've never been in car together (let alone a MINI) for that long.  We've started to shop around at hotels and such...  once we make some reservations and officially register for the event... I'll fill you in on all the details.

Robin Sparkles Repeat!

Quick programming note!

Do yourself a favor and record/TiVo/watch How I Met Your Mother tonight (Monday, April 23rd) on CBS (check your local listings).

By far this was one of my favorite episodes of this entire television season!  (Even CBS is promoting it as such... well, not that that it is one of my favorites... but some "real" TV critic/publication).

In the episode, we learn about Robin's secret past as a teenage, Canadian, mall-touring, 80s-ish pop princess named Robin Sparkles!

If you have never watched the show, no worries!   We just started watching this season and this was one of the earlier episodes we saw... and c'mon its a half-hour broadcast network sitcom... so how complex can it be?! 

At the end of the episode, you'll see just part of the music video for Ms. Sparkles' greatest hit, "Let's Go To The Mall!"... containing just about every imaginable early-MTV video cliche.  The song is pretty infectious as well... I even managed to trackdown an mp3 version of it... so its on our iPods, though one has to show some self-restraint when it comes on during a dog walk.

If you haven't seen the full version of the video, it's available on the HIMYM site or right here at W&C!

TAR-AS: Yielding For Dollars

Thoughts on last night's TAR: All Stars episode "Good Doing Business With You"...

After all these years, how does this show keep on tricking me?  I thought for sure we would be down to our final 3 teams tonight and off to the finish line next week... but I missed a couple of things... a) a yield usually means a non-Philimination and b) our TiVo did not dutifully pick up the Monday The Early Show (wishlist: AMAZING RACE & TALK SHOWS) and the interview the philiminated team.   So I pretty much thought Danny & Oswald were about to Cha Cha Cha themselves out of the Race.

Alas, let's start at the beginning.  The teams head over to Asia's answer to Las Vegas and a jump off their version of the Stratosphere, the 600-ft Macau Tower.  The whole thing still makes me weak in the knees to watch... but the extra wires seem to make it slightly less scary and a bit more controlled than a full-out bungee jump... but I still could not imagine taking that first step or leap off the tower. 

However, before the "marked for Philimination" love birds Cranky and Whiny can get over to the tower, it's Danny and Oswald "deal or no deal" with the devils in disguise, Kandice and Dustin, to yield them.  The $45 transaction just baffles Miss Morals (aka Mirna)... who wonders why they would ever do that?!?  At this point, my palm smacks my forehead... race, competition, winning, because you can can can!   That's frickin' why!!

The bitchin' and moanin' surrounding the Yield is getting just as bad as the Survivor finales when the jury members cry about [gasp!] being lied to and misled... this "woe is me!" reaction to "it's frickin' part of the game" needs to be addressed in the next edition of the "15 Minutes and You!" reality television player handbook.   

The yield drama swirls for the remainder of the hour.  The rightfully remorseless Beauty Queens tee-hee-hee their way to first place... Eric obsesses of different ways to send the Miami boys to their demise which makes Mr. "Yes You're Hairline is Receding"'s last yield battle cry of "dirty pirate hookers" seem innocent... Danny and Oswald are too busy believing the yield creates bad karma and thus are blind to the reality that a combo of an incompetent cab driver and stubborness/lack of persistence are the real issues at hand... and well, Schmirna continues their bat-shit crazy ways, with Charla comically going into "talk to the hand" mode.

Finally, I have to make brief mention the detour... as shown in that middle photo, I'm thinking "making noodles" might just become a new euphemism for having some fun in the bedroom... what do you think? 

To avoid looking like a fool yet again, I will not make my Final 3 predictions or desires (you can just go back and look at my last two TAR entries!) this week... but I just checked... the season finale is May 6th... so next week, we should be down to our final Racers.

Armchair Traveler

You know we are die-hard fans of The Amazing Race.  So it will come as no surprise that our TiVo's Now Playing list more often than not has some kind of travel-related program on it.  Actually, since we got HD, it seems like we're watching even more travel stuff.  It's almost like we're there... well not exactly, I know my eyes couldn't see things that clearly!

Granted watching all this just leads to frustration.  While money is an object to a certain extent, having the time to travel is more the issue for us... so many places to go, so little time... plus these shows just end up adding to the list... which isn't particularly helpful either!

Here are three of my favorite travel-oriented programs... all available in (but not exclusive to) HD.

First up, is Smart Travels with Rudy Maxa on PBS (and, I've come to learn, public television's first ever HD series)... also airing on the Fine Living channel.  There are two different series... Europe and Pacific Rim.  They are half-hour episodes led by public radio's Rudy Maxa... the ideal fatherly (or grandfatherly) type.  I swear your blood pressure will go down listening to his calm and soothing commentary.  Rudy hits all the major spots (but goes off the proverbial beaten track)... with a lot of tips, tricks, and advice along the way.  (And he is exponentially less creepy than his PBS travel show counterpart, Rick Steves).

If you are looking for the polar opposite of Rudy Maxa, I could think of no other person than Zane Lamprey, host of INHD's Three Sheets... while this one does require HD television, you can watch some of the full episodes online (click that link and explore).  As you may be able to guess by the show's title, comedian Zane explores the "drinking cultures" of the world... in other words, he goes to places and gets drunk... sometimes, extremely drunk.  Zane has become oddly appealing to me (note to self: do a post about guys I find oddly appealing).  It's a very funny and very fast half-hour of television.. and goes to some not so typical locales (Belize, Costa Rica, Croatia).

Our latest travel show addition is 1,000 Places To See Before You Die... based on the bestselling book and airing on Discovery HD and also The Travel Channel.  It would be easy to really hate Albin (yes, Albin) and Melanie Ulle.  On a lark, the newlyweds auditioned and won hosting duties for my dream job -- basically The Amazing Race... without the racing and challenges,  with plus 4- or 5-star hotels!   But after watching just two episodes (Alaska and Peru/Machu Picchu), they are really quite likable... and ummm... given the above pix, you can probably figure out what else we "like" about the show (goshdarnit, when is that Hawaii episode going to air in HD?!!).  This is a one-hour show... so a bit more leisurely paced than the other shows... and thus far, it has certainly lived up to its name.

A Tree (Kinda) Grows In Phoenix

We've had a short-lived spring heat wave or two here in Phoenix, but otherwise it has been a pretty mild spring... even a bit chilly, it doesn't seem like it should be in the mid 40s in the mornings here this time of year... or maybe I am just getting wimpy after 16+ years in the Valley.

This week, we finally dealt with a remnant of the winter.  You may recall we had a few very unusual sub-freezing mornings here in January... that bit of cold snap had some serious repercussions our plants and trees.  Seemingly overnight the whole neighborhood turned from green to brown... with frost killing a good deal of the foliage.

This is what our backyard tree looked like earlier this week.

Todd feared the tree was dead.  I just couldn't possibly imagine a tree of that size would be killed by just a couple of cold days.  Alas the answer was somewhere in between.

Our tree was just one of dozens (and dozens!) of trees that looked like this around the 'hood -- one house has about 6 of these same trees, yikes! -- so we took a "watch and wait" approach... see what everyone else was doing about it.  For quite a long time, it was nothing.  But just like the house painting frenzy a couple years ago, it only takes one or two houses to get the ball rolling... a couple of weeks ago, a seemingly daily parade of landscaping and tree companies were clogging our streets.

Good news ... our tree was not dead. 

Bad news ... it had to be cut back, waaaay back. 

Here's what it looked like yesterday afternoon.

As you can see there is some new growth on it (so we knew it wasn't "dead" dead)... but I have a feeling it is going to take some time to get back to its former glory (I know a picture probably exists of what it used to look like, but I'm too lazy to find it).

It only took the tree company only about 45 minutes to cut down and clear the tree... as well as some work and fertilization on our palm trees.  A pleasant surprise was that it cost us less than $500... we feared it was going to be at least a $1k (a tree "trim" in the past, with another company, had been hundreds).  But thanks to the volume of tree work that needs to be done around town, perhaps this company priced things reasonably to get more business... either that or cheap illegal immigrant workers!

The next step is to try to get grass to grow around the tree... since we moved into this house (over 5 years ago), some areas of the yard haven't seen any sun... as you can see, that has definitely changed.