Whine & Cheese

Cheated Cheetah

I see the media/cyber-world is already inappropriately and overly outraged over last night's elimination on Dancing With The Stars.  Here at W&C, I would also like to have a moment of silence...

R.I.P.  Team Sabrina

Don't worry, I am not devastated.  Surprised?  Yes.  A little sad?  Okay, just a wee bit.  But this is a reality show and oddly enough my life appears to closely resemble what it was just 24 hours ago when I believed that Sabrina Duncan and her partner Mark Ballas would dance another day. 

While I wasn't aware of Sabrina before DWTS, I figured she was safe for awhile.  Besides being the best dancer... as a Cheetah Girl (apparently in the same popularity tornado realm of High School Musical and Hannah Montana ... which I know absolutely nothing about other than it's HUGE!), I figured she had a solid fan base... and one that would be more apt to vote.   

But I think it came down to the usual recipe for reality show "shocker":  a slightly "off" week, over-confidence that they would be safe, and folks rallying to save the bottom dwellers (Jane needing votes after last week's bottom 2 showing and the lowest score this week... and Marie still feeding off goodwill over the fainting spell, that is still being shown on a continuous loop).  Likewise, Sabrina may have been hurt if folks thought she had an unfair advantage as a singer/dancer (granted not "ballroom")... but still she lacked that "fish out of water" quality that folks love about this show.

For me, it still qualifies as the biggest pre-finale upset in DWTS history.  Sure there have been many couples who should have lasted longer over lesser competition, but I don't think there has ever been a couple I thought should have made it to the finale but didn't...

We will certainly miss Mark Ballas and admit to bit of school-girlboy crush. Lately, I have been referring to Mark as Todd's "other boyfriend"... a list that is somewhat lengthy, but tends to change frequently (in fact, today's "birthday stud" Dermot Mulroney is one of Todd's Hall Of Fame "other boyfriends"... no worries, I have my list too!).  Todd is going to miss the next two weeks of DWTS... in his own words, "there's no one good left" so the timing worked out pretty well.

Before we say goodbye for now (let's hope Mark will be back for future DWTS seasons), I did stumble on some Mark Ballas Shirtless (here google, google) pix.   Granted they are a bit Tiger/Teen Beat... but what the heck, he's of legal age so I'm posting 'em!

Her Heart Hair Will Go On

Wholly moley! 

Is this what happens when a diva leaves her Colosseum (picture left) and attempts re-entry into the real world (picture right)?

After wrapping up her 5 year stint at Caesars Palace... rather than rest or, as previously rumored, get another baby out of the freezer... Celine Dion will take just a two month break and than head out on a 5 continent, 25+ country, 100+ city tour starting in February 2008.

Dubbed the Taking Chances World Tour (a CD of the same name, drops in a couple of weeks), given the above pictures I am not sure it is wise for Celine to "take the chance" and re-enter the world where she can not control the temperature and climate... the Colosseum stage was kept at a climate bubble of 75 degrees and 55% humidity.

More Birthday Fun

Not too much to report this Monday... or, more accurately, probably just not in the mood... some work stuff is making me mildly crabby.

Although Todd's birthday is this coming Friday, the celebrating and gift-giving ended up happening this weekend... surprise!   We had lunch with Todd's parents over the weekend which served to both honor Todd and his mom's birthday (last week)... and heck, I guess a little of mine too since it wasn't that long ago.

I had a dilemma with Todd's gift.  I wanted to get him a new computer, but it seems that if the person you are giving it to has any computer literacy they should be involved with decision.  Todd's current computer was several years old... so pretty much anything would be an improvement... so we ended going with pretty much with a mid-range priced item.  I won't bother telling you the brand/model... like I said, nothing terribly schmancy... just the pretty typical 3-4 year upgrade... for Scott's sanity sake... of course, it's an Apple with the new Leopard OS.

Best Buy proved (once again!) that they will be out of stock with the item you first pick out... which worked okay, since we ended up a slightly less expensive model.  Granted we got stuck with another printer... in yet another "always at Best Buy" scenario... it is cheaper to get the computer, monitor, printer package than to just by the computer and monitor.  Conveniently enough, Todd's parents were having troubles with their printer... so Mom went home with a surprise birthday gift of her own. 

I also bought Todd a "lap desk" since he has been regularly searing his lap when trying to work from home and keep up with our TiVo backload. 

Now I am pretty much screwed for not saving anything for his actual birthday... but shortly thereafter he is headed off on a multi-country business trip to Asia (and hopefully he'll recover as he got walloped with a head cold yesterday)... so I figured it would be less fun to give him presents with no  time to enjoy them.

New Banners

It was time to come up with some new banners for some old favorites... and it made sense to give the re-furb to two of our current favorite TV shows... The Office and Brothers & Sisters.

The Office had previously been sharing a banner with My Name Is Earl... why I don't know... when creating this new banner it was tough deciding which Office cast members to leave off, let alone what pix to use of the ones that did make the cut!   The new banner also serves as a demotion of sorts for Earl... still watching it, but not quite feeling it this season.

Next up, Brothers & Sisters... the goal was to get all the siblings of the title into the banner.  Though when I created the original B&S banner, I don't believe "bastard" child Rebecca hadn't even been on the show yet... plus I was never quite pleased with the Nora (Sally Field) pic.

Since the banners take up the whole length of the screen and I am too lazy to create smaller versions of the banners... if you want to check them out, head on over to the W&C Banner Gallery.  At the moment (subject to change), they are the first two banners on that page (you can page down to see the old/retired versions). 

Else you can always keep hitting reload until to they randomly pop up above.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Kiva Style

Had some lending fun on Kiva this morning.

Lately, it's been even more fun of since I have started to have some Kiva credit to work with.  This is money that has been refunded back to me after the people I lent it to have paid it back.  To date, that's already happened 5 times.  I still have one more to "recycle."  But now I have 4 -- what I have dubbed -- "second generation" loans... old money going to new people.  It's very exciting. 

It's alway fun to "connect" with one of your lendees... and that was the case this morning.  I was looking around and stumbled across I Wayan Landep from Indonesia (pictured left) who is hoping to plant a crop of hot peppers. 

Our love of hot and spicy food is fairly well-documented here at W&C... so it was perfect match to support a hot pepper farmer.  Knowing Todd would feel the same, I quickly e-mailed him about the loan.  He was able to get in on time (loans still get scooped up pretty quickly) and contribute to it as well... and using Kiva credit from one of his repaid/refunded loans!

Granted it is hard to always find that kind of connection, so another thing that I am doing is venturing into as many new countries as I can... to date, I have (or had!) loans in 21 different countries, some of which I hate to admit I wouldn't have been able to point out on a map prior to my Kiva loan (ok, some of them I likely still can't... c'mon Cameroon??!).

If you are interested but still hesitant to get involved with Kiva, a couple words of advice...

Contribute the minimum of $25 per loan... just like the puppies at the shelter, the loans will be funded... I doubt many last more than 24 hours.  Diversify!  I have two "delinquent" loans... on one of my first loans, I decided I wanted "full ownership"... honorable, but stupid... I should have "spread the wealth" and not have had so much tied up in one person.  Remember there are no guarantees that the loan will be paid back!   Which is a nice segue to...

Check out the "risk rating"... this is a relatively new feature and it will give you an idea of how reliably loans have been paid back (and likely factored into that is the "delinquency rate," which is also provided on each loan page).

Mix it up!   Look at the "repayment term"... if you just contribute to loans that are going to take 12+ months to be re-paid the wait to "recycle" the loan might get frustrating. I have many loans in the 3-6 months range that should keep my re-loaning pretty regular.

Doggie Report Card

While we were in Vegas, the dogs headed to the "pet resort" for a long weekend of their own.  This is the second time we have used this place, which for me ... by the mere fact it provides all-day play-time makes it the most guilt-free alternative when it comes to boarding the dogs.

Pretty much, every time and everywhere we have boarded our dogs get glowing reviews... pretty much that they are the most wonderful dogs on the planet.  And while I am certainly biased and while I certainly love to hear it, I know it can not possibly be the truth. 

So it was a little surprising to get a bit of the usual "blah-blah-blah" feedback for this visit... and while genuinely appreciative, I would have been just as happy to have the usual pleasantries... since my mood had turned a bit grumpy after getting that $1600 car shop estimate.

Now, it wasn't horrible.  I'll take the "see you next time"as a sign that Toby and Rocky have not been banned from the resort... and what I was told is stuff that we have seen in our recent visits to the dog park. 

With regards to Toby, I was told "we will miss his howling."  Now this something that is not terribly unusual for a basset hound... though Toby does not tend to be a barker/howler unless there is a good reason.  At the dog park, it is often comical to hear Toby howl because it is more out of frustration in not being able to keep up with the faster and ... ahem... more athletic dogs.  While the resort does not have the acres of running space of the park, I can see Toby still being befuddled by a group of dogs running around in circles or dodging back and forth.

Rocky was "bossy" and "needed some time-outs"... again, no surprise.  You may recall, that Rocky was doused with a bottle of water some lady at the dog park who thought he was getting into it with another dog.  He is still very much a puppy and given any kind of stimulation it takes a verrrrry long time for this little guy to tucker out... and what can, understandably so, be misinterpreted as aggression is him trying to be a 'lil "toughie."  I agree he still needs to learn when to back-off when another dog has had enough... though I am not sure what we can do except continued socialization (and supervision) with other dogs.

Mission Accomplished

Last night I passed my 2007 Reading Challenge Goal of 10,000 pages!

Now there has been little tension that I would not do it.  My enthusiasm to reach 10k got me off to a pretty quick start... but heck when you are doing something you truly love, it's not a difficult task... or even a task at all.

While it has slowed down, I do not believe my "pace" ever dipped below the 10k mark.  Right now (and for the last couple of months), I am on projected to pass 12k... but for awhile there, I was hovering around 13k.

It took me 299 days to reach 10,000 pages... including days when I didn't pick up a book at all... and there were over a month's worth of those... 36 days, but still a respectably low 12% (and, ironically enough, many of those days while we were on vacation -- often the only time when folks do read a book!).

If you are wondering how I am pulling all these numbers out of my ass... well, it's because of one of my other loves... spreadsheets!   I am pretty certain part of my Reading Challenge success is thanks to me being able to regularly (even daily!) update a spreadsheet.  Ok, now I've admitted something far nerdier than having my nose in a book whenever I get the chance!

It will take the book "review" post after the next one for it to officially show up... but I still felt right to mark the actual day.  Another post is on the way... so it's not like this one is just a quota filler for the day!

The ATP Tour Wants You To... Feel It

The men's tennis tour announced it's new "Feel It" campaign today.

I sense my mind is making "it" into something much more literal than "it" is intended to be...

But they are certainly helping by going on about Nadal and Federer in "a one-on-one gladiatorial battle, full of intensity and passion" ... like I need that image dancing around in my head?!   

I bet it's hot and sweaty too?!?  And Rafa grunting and...

Oh, are you still here?  For more info about the campaign, go here.

Amazing Race 12: Teams Unveiled!

In case you missed it on my sidebar, as expected by many (myself included), Viva Laughlin has been canceled after two airings allowing The Amazing Race to slip right back into its Sunday night slot.  The new season kicks off on November 4th.

Here are the teams... 8 of the 11 hailing from the Los Angeles area:

Ronald & Christina (58/26):  Father/Daughter
Kynt & Vyxsin (31/29):  "Dating Goths" (Can't wait to see them try to catch a cab!)
Lorena & Jason (27/33): Dating
Azaria & Hendeke (27/27): Brother/Sister

Kate & Pat (49/65): Married Ministers, TAR's first all-lesbian team (first lesbian ever?)
Shana & Jennifer (32/32): Friends
Donald & Nicolas (68/23):  Grandfather/Grandson
Nathan & Jennifer (24/23): Dating

T.K. & Rachel (22/23): Newly dating
Marianna & Julia (25/26): Sisters
Ari & Staella (21/23): Best Friends (Yes, it's spelled Staella and Ari is described as "catty" which I am guessing means he's gay)

UPDATE:  Ah yes, my TAR buddy Gail reminded me that there has been an "out" lesbian on the Race before ... and not too long ago, Father/Daughter Duke & Lauren from TAR10.   Boy, my mind really is starting to go!?!?  Though they did only last 3 episode (4th team Philiminated... that was the season with the surprise first leg double Philimination).

Scratch & Sniff(le)

I mentioned another MINI Cooper drama in yesterday's post...

I have to say for a car that has brought me so much happiness, it has also brought its fair share of misery too.   Barring a dead battery (or two), my two previous cars over 15 years were pretty incident free... but not even two years with my Cooper we've had the windshield ding, the accident, the "get stuck in the middle of nowhere in 107 degree weather because they did something wrong when fixing the car" incident, the out-of-state speeding ticket (which btw is resolved... but took a lot of time, worry, effort and $$$ for what the actual ticket fee ended up being)... and now we add another chapter...

As we headed back to the Cooper for our drive home from Vegas, my Cooper had been "keyed" (I think that's the term for it)... the scratch started at my driver's side door and continued all along the side with, the above pictured, final swipe at the back of the car (aka "the boot").

Yesterday, I mentioned that I didn't think it was all that bad... however, that was before my trip to the body/paint shop for an estimate.  I guess it depends on your definition of what "bad" is... but I don't think it qualifies as "good" that I now have a $1600 scratch... that is going to have my Cooper back in the shop for 7 business days.

Needless to say, I am pissed.  While I would have been ticked over say a door ding, at least that seems like something that "happens"... but having the car being deliberately vandalized is just infuriating.  I have heard that Coopers have been "targets" (of course, I read that after I ordered mine!), so I guess now I know firsthand!

But this won't stop me from driving to car to certain places... that only emboldens the enemy, those who hate my freedom to drive and park my Cooper wherever I damn want!

While my parents think a perpetual black cloud follows them around, I try to maintain a more positive view... however even I am starting to think "What the frick next with this car?!"