Whine & Cheese

Foot Massage - Ancient Chinese Secret?!

As I tweeted/status'd (amazing what words come into being thanks to the Internets!) yesterday, I was pretty stoked about last night's episode of The Amazing Race as it brought the contestants to Beijing.  My international travels have been pretty limited, so it was fun to have them finally go to some place I had actually been!  (I know they've been the big European cities, but in the past seasons... not the after I had been there!)

Overall, I was a bit disappointed as they arrived... and pretty much all of last night's activities took place... at night... and they even arrived domestically, so I couldn't even recognize the airport terminal! 

I got excited when they said they were headed to the natatorium... so thought they were headed to where we saw water polo!  But alas, it wasn't the natatorium (Yingdong)... but a natatorium (Guangcai), which apparently there are quite a few of in Beijing... even sporting the Olympic logos (but they were everywhere... and apparently still the winter after the Games).

And while the episode ended at the well-known/tourist spot of the Drum Tower (oddly enough, the location where those American tourists - family members of the US Volleyball coach - were killed in the opening days of the Olympics), we didn't make it there and/or (???) only saw it from afar.  But it looks like from next week previews, we'll see a bit more Beijing...

Anyhow the one thing we did recognize and pretty much laughed our way through was the foot massage roadblock... which also inspired the name of this episode "Having A Baby Has Got To Be Easier Than This":

While we didn't go to this particular foot massage palace, there was a lot of things that were quite recognizable... from the very gaudy interior design, to the massage room set-up an chairs, to the bucket/plastic bag set-up (which you can kind of see in the picture to the left).

I will say immediately that ours was not nearly as painful as what was going on in this episode.  I think they were told to go easy on us and to give some indication if it was too rough... something I don't think the Racers had the option of requesting with their full-on service.  We were also given tea at the start, but it wasn't awful tasting as Kisha suggest (again, could have been something totally different).

Now, I will say it was uncomfortable... very uncomfortable at times!  Our massage lasted over an hour... so more than 10 minutes on the feet... but also some rhythmic slapping of our feet, calves and thighs (again, personally not terribly pleasant)... and a neck/head massage (which Todd painfully describes in the comment section!).  Thankfully I was the only one (there were 6 of us in one room) NOT to get upper body treatment as I was in a seat/chair that couldn't be moved or for someone to squeeze behind... that said, it was tad awkward to be sitting there watching everyone else get it done!

Now, we pretty much thought we were in the minority... most folks in our group really seemed to enjoy it (a couple even fell asleep towards that end... granted it was after our long flight over/on our first full day in Beijing)... and even my friend James, who lives in Beijing, voluntarily gets this done on a regular basis (!!!)... plus these huge facilities (I wasn't joking when I said "palaces") suggest there is very high demand for this... so we had just made peace that we just didn't "get" it.

All this said, we (well, particularly myself!) are not a huge fan of any kind of massage... again, one of those quirky people who don't like to be touched... feet or otherwise... so that was personal roadblock #1... but also that this was the replacement/"oops, sorry!" activity for not going to the Opening Ceremonies (that was promised for 5 months in advance)... well that didn't provide any improvement over getting a foot massage either.

It was really a big thrill to see TAR last night and see folks not enjoy it as much as we did... haha!  Heck, even James stumbled upon a "non-relaxing" one not too long ago! (Update: James clarifies in the comments that it was not a foot massage... my bad!)  So at least we're not crazy... while not a highlight of the trip, it is still one of those things that we will always remember about our trip to Beijing! 

Express Lane: Issue 63

'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' Author Inks Six-Figure Deal - Not sure I can get through the Jane Austen classic again - even with zombies! But it sound like Graham-Smith's rumored next book "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" will be more up my alley! (4/10/09)

Earth Hour 2009 - The Big Picture - Best TBP Ever! It's interactive, click on (most of) the pix and watch the lights fade off (or back on) for Earth Hour! (3/30/09)

Signs of Spring - The Big Picture - After the last TBP photo set I posted re: the recession, this one of hope and renewal is a lot more inspiring... and pretty too! (3/23/09)

CBS Renews "Men," "Big Bang" - Could care less about the Charlie Sheen sitcom, but thrilled that Sheldon & Leonard & Company got a TWO-YEAR pick-up! (3/18/09)

Scenes From The Recession - The Big Picture - Not the most uplifting or inspiring set of pictures, but always interesting ... and a couple shots of the real estate bust right here in Phoenix metro area. (3/18/09)

Stacy Keach Recuperating After Stroke - Was supposed to see Keach in the stage production of "Frost/Nixon" (playing the latter), but I think chances of returning to to the show by early April are pretty slim. (3/18/09)

Holi: The Festival of Colors - The Big Picture - That wild and crazy throw paint and powder at each other Hindu festival that I only learned about thanks to 'The Amazing Race' (3/13/09)

The Philiminator Strips Down

No surprise that screen caps of The Amazing Race host Phil Koeghan are making the rounds this morning on the Internet. 

I think the show has really stepped up the challenges this season, which is saying a lot since it's on the 14th installment!  Anyhow, last night one team member had to strip to the underwear and run 1.4 miles... in Siberia!!  While I was a bit disappointed that Victor had his sister complete the run, that was all forgotten after Phil provided quite the exclamation point upon finishing his explanation of the road block...

I am sure we weren't the only TiVo/DVR owners to hit the 3-second "did I just see that?"/double-take rewind button.  After winning however many Emmys (4 or 5??) for Best Reality Show, I think Phil is definitely wondering what happened to his nomination for Best Reality Show Host in its (quite painful) debut this past year.  I think Phil says touche to last year's nominees like Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, or even the first winner Jeff Probst (though he has dropped trou as well - click the link, then the pic)! 

I also have to say (and I am sure I am not alone), that I was surprised how fit Phil is... not that he's gonna get any modeling contracts... but heck, he's my age (41 going on 42)...  I would be quite happy to have my abs look like that after gaining the 30 (lbs) at 40. 

The Amazing Race 14: Teams Revealed

It's a W&C tradition, he's your look at the new teams for The Amazing Race!

Back Row (from left to right):
Amanda/Kris (Age 23/24): Dating

Mel/Mike (68/38): Father/Son, Mel is gay (but stayed married to Mike's mom until both of their kids were in college), Mike's writing credits include "Nacho Libre" and "School of Rock"

LaKisha/Jennifer (28/24): Sisters, both former Divison 1 college athletes

Preston/Jennifer (28/26): Dating

Margie/Luke (50/22):  Mother/Son, Luke is the first ever deaf TAR contestant

Brad/Victoria (52/47): Married

Front Row (from left to right):
Cara/Jaime (26/29): Former NFL cheerleaders (ugh)

Mark/Michael (48/51): Brothers/Stunt men... and both are 4'9" !!

Christie/Jodi (37/40): Flight attendants

Linda/Steve (52/43): Married

Tammy/Victor (26/35): Siblings/Lawyers

The new season kicks off Sunday, February 15th from Long Beach, California!

Express Lane: Issue 57

Stevie Wonder In Talks To Join 'Dancing' - After moderate success with a deaf and an amputee "star," the first rumored contestant for the next season of DWTS is a doozy! (12/12/08)

Griffin on Clay: "He Was Not Very Nice" - The Gay-ken's diss of Kathy backstage at the Rosie Live show probably just got him back into her act in a big way! (12/4/08)

Grease Revival Will End Broadway Run in January 2009 - Yikes! According to my quick count, this will be the 10th Broadway show that will close up shop after the New Year. (12/4/08)

Olympian Kerri Walsh Expecting First Child - Those gold medal volleyball gals sure get the job done... Misty started dancing the minute she got home and now Kerri thinks she got knocked up even before she left Beijing. (12/4/08)

ABC Sets 'Dancing with the Stars' Return - With Brooke's win barely a memory, news that DWTS's 8th (!!) season will return in early March - no "stars" mentioned or, to my knowledge, even rumored as of yet. (12/3/08)

Amazing Race, Survivor Return February - After just one show per season of late (or so it seems), the Philiminator returns for his 14th trip around the world in mid-February. (12/3/08)

TAR13 Dallas is dating Starr, missed the finale because of lost passport, which was returned - I guess that pretty much says it all, except that Dallas also notes a mic change from the TAR production crew was partly to blame and bad editing that made it look like he just didn't run after the cab. (12/2/08)

TAR13 Final 3

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. It seems like it has been such a long time since I did anything productive, that it is going to be a struggle to get going again!

I have been pretty mum about The Amazing Race this season.  I stopped doing my weekly updates a couple of seasons ago when I started expressing a bit of fatigue with the show... it is still one of my favorites in the reality genre for sure, mostly for the travel aspect of the show.  Much like Survivor (which I have stopped watching), it seems like we've seen all these folks before...

That said, I still have opinions and figured I would chime in with my thoughts about the teams headed into next week's finale.  But first a farewell to the always painful 4th Place Philimination... mother-son team Toni and Dallas.  Last night's episode was pretty much Todd's absolute, keeps him up late at night nightmare... losing one's passport in a foreign country (and $$$ too!).  While Dallas was a natural for the Race (filling the "dumb jock" slot quite nicely), I was impressed with Toni's ability to keep up with him.  Oh, of course there was the nude self-pic of Dallas that floated around the Web and rumors that he bats for my team (allegedly!) didn't exactly hurt either. (Update:  Or not, apparently the flirtations on the show were genuine as he has been dating Starr!)

This season (as sometimes happens), I am not so much rooting for one team... but rooting against a couple of others...  

Thus, pretty much by default I am "rooting" for the brother-sister team of Nick and Starr (above left)... who have pretty much dominated the Race for much of this season.  While they have been sneaky, they haven't been the incarnation of evil to make you hate (or love to hate) them.  Again, not hurting is the whole gaydar whoop-whooping with the Clark Kent-ish Nick... and this time I feel a bit more confident in my assertion as he does make his living via musical theater (plus Starr was an equally fabulous Dallas Cowboy cheerleader).   Granted it would be a bit of a yawner if these overwhelming favorites win, but they are certainly deserving.

While not the worst couples in TAR history (Colin & Christi, Freddy & Kendra, and of course the mother of all terror couples... Jonathan & Victoria), Ken and Tina (above middle) certainly made this season into one big couples therapy session... and while the cheating, ex-NFL-er Ken was the immediate bad guy in this globe-trotting relationship rescue attempt, we've all seen that Tina is not exactly a prize herself.  Even going into this last leg, if Tina is looking for Ken to "show her something" than I think she may already have her answer... and once she's figured that out, perhaps she can realize that every time she does something nice for someone (anyone!), they don't automatically "owe her"... geez, she must be a horror at gift giving/receiving around the holidays!

Finally, we have the WTF!?! finalists... Andrew and Dan, who have to be the most incompetent team to make it into the final 3... well, maybe since Zach dragged Flo's ass across the finish line in TAR3.  And I can even muster up any enthusiasm for them either being the "underdogs" or that they're my fellow Arizona State alumni.  If I was in this Race and was eliminated, I think I would be kicking myself to see that these guys made it to the end, which okay... I guess does deserve some credit even if it was by scratching, clawing, and hanging by a thread.

The Amazing Race 13 Cast

Since I teased it yesterday, here are the teams for The Amazing Race 13 - returning after what seems like a pretty long hiatus (remember TAR12 champs TJ & Rachel?).  Ok, I looked back at my own blog (duh??) an the last season ended early this year - so not that long ago.. anyhow, here are they are:

Back Row/Standing (from left to right) - ages in parentheses

Ken & Tina (51/48) - Married, but separated, Ken is a former NFL player
Mark & Bill (41/42) - Friends/Comic book aficionados, Mark is Comic-Con CFO
Aja & Ty (25/25) - Dating long distance
Anthony & Stephanie (32/32) - Dating again after a year's separation
Anita & Arthur (63/60) - Married hippies/bee keepers
Andrew & Dan (22/23) - Frat brothers
Toni & Dallas (51/22) - Mother and son
Marisa & Brooke (22/24) - Friends/"Southern Belles"

Front Row/Sitting (from left to right)

Terence & Sarah (35/31) - Dating
Kelly & Christy (26/26) - Best Friends/Divorcees
Nick & Starr (22/21) - Brother and Sister

Although TAR is one of my favorite reality shows, I have to admit I grew a tad weary of it in the last couple of seasons (the same thing happened with Survivor, which I stopped watching altogether - the only thing that might bring me back this upcoming season is that it's shot in HD)... so we'll see if after this self-perceived extended break, if I'll have a renewed interest in the show.  What I definitely will have ... is a new respect for the Racers... having had an Amazing Race travel year of my own - I really don't know how they do it now!

The new season premieres on Sunday, September 28th.

Express Lane: Issue 52

'Amazing Race' Honcho Teases New Season - Seems like TAR has been off the air for awhile (well not that long if it still got an Emmy nod), but TAR13 returns on Sep. 23rd.  As the article title suggests, expect mild spoilers if you choose to click the link. (8/1/08)

Thomas Jane Gets 'Hung' - Not sure if it's a compliment or a curse to be cast as the lead in an HBO comedy about a guy with a big... well, you know...  (8/1/08)

No 2nd Season for HBO's 'Tell Me You Love Me' After All - While it was a depressing and intense show, it was quite good... so a tad disappointed that HBO has had second thoughts about bringing it back. (7/26/08)

`Desperate Housewives' Creator Says End in Sight - Much like 'Lost,' Marc Cherry gives the ladies of Wisteria Lane three more seasons. I like this trend of shows having an end... get focused and get out while the getting is still good.  (7/18/08)

Amy Poehler Says She's Bound for `Office' Spinoff - It's been a big year for Amy - a movie, baby on the way, an Emmy nod today... and now word she'll star in the likely one of the more high-profile shows of the upcoming new TV season.  UPDATE: The show is not a true spin-off, just has the feel/sense of it... ala 'from the creators of...' - and also the show will likely not debut until 2009. (7/17/08)

Express Lane: Issue 43

Broadway's 'The Color Purple' Will Close Feb. 24 - The show comes to an end after a 2 1/2 year run... guess Fantasia really was a big box office draw. (1/24/08)

Amazing Race 12's Jen and Nate are Still Together - Well, knock me me over with a feather!  After a post-Race break, the two say things have "never been better" (though that's was a pretty low bar). (1/16/08)

Clinton Chooses Dancing Over Singing - Asked by Tyra Banks what reality show she would prefer to compete on, Clinton chooses 'Dancing With the Stars' - now once I know where Obama and Edwards stand on this issue, I think I will finally be able to make up my mind. (1/15/08)

Oprah Winfrey Getting Her Own TV Network - Perhaps ticked that Ellen Replaced Her As Favorite TV Star the Discovery Health channel will become her OWN... OWN as in Oprah Winfrey Network.  Yes, that's the name... not making this stuff up! (1/15/08)

Woman Who Made Hillary Cry Votes Obama - A pretty funny footnote... ok, I'll give you "emotional moment," but frick sake she didn't cry! (1/9/08)

'Big Brother' Returns to Showtime - Wasn't sure 'After Dark' would return for the first non-summer BB edition... sinc the premium channels are hurting for programming like the networks, but the wildly addictive (and unedited) 3 hour nightly block returns to ShoToo. (1/8/08)

TAR12: The Final 3

Well it appears I kept to my plan of taking a "vacation" from weekly TAR posts...

This is only my 3rd post about TAR12.  It was nice to not have the pressure of coming up with something for the next morning.  I had felt like things were getting repetitive both with the show and thus what I had to say about the show... so I encourage my fellow bloggers if it stops being fun, stop doing it (and don't apologize for it either!)... if we wanted homework, we'd go back to school right?!

The last thing I wrote about TAR12 was nearly two months ago with a post centering around the two old guys - Grampa Donald and "Who's Your Mean Daddy?" Ronald - and you lie like a rug if you used the either of their names and the phrase "last leg" meaning they would actually be on the last leg of The Amazing Race!

All credit to both of them.  While Nick pulled a bit more of the weight (often literally with those backpacks!) with Donald, we're still talking about a 68-year old man racing around the world.  Ronald has undergone quite the transformation with daughter Christina... or else Nate/Jen were hogging all the "I hate you!" come editing time... and we haven't heard "boo" about the hernia for a couple of continents!   While I believe Ronald always had good intentions, one only hopes this new-found respect (or maybe just improved communication skills) spill over to their post-Race lives... it was nice to see.

Feel good "old man" stories be damned, it is hard not to consider TK & Rachel the favorites going into the final, and usually grueling, final leg.  While Donald is the elder-statesman this season, TK & Rachel's combined age is 13 years younger than Ronald!   Given the immaturity we often see on the Race from folks far older, it is hard to believe that TK & Rachel are 22 & 23 (if you're too lazy to do the math, that makes Ronald 58 years old)... and while one can certainly question their intensity level (they're nice/likable enough... granted pretty bland, but almost refreshingly so, reality TV-wise), they are competitive enough that coupled with their youth and relative fitness they seem have to the winning edge...

... and with the demise of Nate/Jen, we are left with the quite rare villain-less TAR finale.  And for that, I hate them!!!!  I hate them!!!!  I can't even stand to look at them!!!!!  (Just wanted to see what that felt like)... not really, this time around it'll be the nice guys and gals not finishing last but 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.