August, 2010
August 3rd, 2010, 7:53 p.m. - And now, random Degrassi musings!
I've thought about including Degrassi in my weekly TV babbling, but I've always been an on-and-off watcher, so it's easier just to talk about it periodically. Also, this four-episodes-a-week thing (or, as I call it, A Degrassi a Day Keeps the Boredom Away) is killing me. It only took about two days for me to fall behind.
Despite the annoying schedule, I like the new format with each episode leading to the next, and multiple plots going on at once rather than just two each episode. Of course, that means you can't miss an episode or you'll be really lost.
Here are my random (and in some cases, I do mean random) thoughts:
August 4th, 2010, 10:48 p.m. - Sorry, coulrophobics
August 5th, 2010, 11:06 p.m. - Yay!
August 6th, 2010, 6:22 p.m. - Tiffany FTW!
So You Think You Can Dance - Top four perform and one goes home: Yay for the final three! Sorry, Adéchiké, you're great and all, but I like Robert more. It's definitely Kent's to lose, but we've had upsets before, so you never know what could happen. Rating: 5 balloons
Big Brother - Week five: Is it bad that I kind of like Britney now? I'm not proud of it, I'm just being honest. She's actually really funny. Maybe it's because she's not whining anymore. Speaking of which, can someone please put a muzzle on Rachel? Rating: 3 hippietards
Top Chef - "Foreign Affairs": Yeah, Tiffany! Two wins in a row = AWESOME. She's definitely my favorite person on the show. And I love it when my favorite actually has some skills to back it up. I was sure Kevin and Kelly would be in the bottom three, so nice fake-out there. I kind of like, Kelly, too, so that was nice to see. Rating: 4 tamales
August 10th, 2010, 10:38 p.m. - 34 years of magical thinking
22. Amen, Amen, Amen (Abby Sher)
Up next: Backseat Saints (Joshilyn Jackson)
August 11th, 2010, 10:58 p.m. - Everyone is awesome! Yaaaaaaaay!
August 12th, 2010, 11:37 p.m. - Awww, it's over!
August 15th, 2010, 3:35 p.m. - Ding dong, the ding dong's gone
So You Think You Can Dance - Top three perform and someone wins: Yay, Lauren! I really would have been fine with any of the top three winning, but I think she had the best season over all. She really did tackle every style like a pro and barely had a misstep in any routine. I think I was the happiest with this finale out of all the seasons, not just because of the winner (and by the way, I have never been disappointed by any winner) but also because of the routines chosen to be danced again. This was a stellar season, I thought. I think some people had problems with the season, but for the most part, I didn't. Rating: 5 bottles of Gatorade
Big Brother - Week six: I only got to see one episode this week, thanks to the So You Think You Can Dance schedule, but Rachel went home, so yay! I'm glad this season they're getting rid of the crazy people first. Rating: 3 Diamond Vetoes, or whatever they're called
Top Chef - "Restaurant Wars": Kenny went home over Amanda or Alex? KENNY? Does that make sense to ANYONE? Are the producers trying to raise our blood pressure? I guess we should all be consoled by the fact that Alex can in no way be long for this competition. And Angelo didn't win again. Rating: 3 delicious-looking chocolate ganaches
August 21st, 2010, 3:55 p.m. - Oh, (Saint) Cecilia, you're breaking my heart...
23. Backseat Saints (Joshilyn Jackson)
Up next: I'd Know You Anywhere (Laura Lippman)
August 22nd, 2010, 7:46 p.m. - Tiffany FTW, part 2!
Big Brother - Week seven: I got to watch all three episodes for the first time all season! Okay, it wasn't actually that exciting. The Ragan/Rachel smackdown was nice, though. As was Britney winning HOH. Let's see what the Brigade does now. Hopefully their first step will be dropping that ridiculous name. Rating: 4 hilarious scenes of Rachel and Brendon looking for each other in two different places
Top Chef - "Covert Cuisine": Both challenges this week were very clever. And, of course, I love that Tiffany won both challenges just a couple weeks after she swept another episode. She's really proving to be worthy of this competition, especially for someone who doesn't have as much training as, say, Angelo. See, Angelo? You can be awesome without be egotistical. In fact, it's preferred. Rating: 5 secret notes for Leon Panetta
August 25th, 2010, 9:59 p.m. - I subbed for Big Brother and all I got was this lousy penguin costume
August 28th, 2010, 4:12 p.m. - Another author I'm glad I gave a second chance after some not-so-great books
24. I'd Know You Anywhere (Laura Lippman)
Up next: Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
August 29th, 2010, 3:36 p.m. - Amanda used to do drugs, right? Because there were a few times I thought she might still be on them...
Big Brother - Week eight: I think Matt was the only person on the planet who was surprised that he was evicted this week. And if he hadn't been so untrustworthy, he would have probably gone all the way to the final four with his alliance, a pretty good feat. I guess it just goes to show, you don't mess with the Meow Meow. Rating: 4 times I shuddered over Jessie's return
Top Chef - "Making Concessions": FREAKING FINALLY. Amanda was FINALLY eliminated, about five weeks too late. I was hoping that was the reason they showed her talking so flipping much in the episode. Seriously, she would not shut up. If only Angelo would get eliminated next; we would have a mostly pleasant final four of Tiffany, Ed, Kevin, and Kelly. Definitely not the four I expected to see at the end, but a good group. And I would be incredibly happy if Tiffany won it all. Rating: 4 helpings of gray tuna tartare that no one would ever eat at a ballpark
9:26 p.m. - I mean, what's a Big Brother recap without a little Tennyson?
I wasn't expecting such a deep, heartbreaking, beautifully written memoir from a comedian. Sher writes candidly about her numerous struggles - with her father's death, with her overdependence on her mother, with her eating disorder, and especially with her OCD, which, like Jennifer Traig's, caused her to perform rituals revolving around her Judaism. I took longer than usual to read this book partly because I needed to savor pieces of it rather than rush through them. Many times I sat down to read for a few minutes, and when I emerged from a chapter, I realized that more time had passed than I'd planned.
I'm really glad I gave Jackson another chance after The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, because I really enjoyed this one. I like how she took a minor character from gods in Alabama, her first novel, and told her story. She also turned that character into a strong woman without relying on clich�s.
I really enjoyed this one...until the end. I felt like there was a lot of buildup with very little payoff. Still, it was a ton better than Lippman's past two or three books. I'd Know You Anywhere got a lot of good reviews, all well-deserved.