November, 2008
November 1st, 2008, 2:01 p.m. - Strangely, I never wanted an Acteen crown
51. Trespassers Will Be Baptized (Elizabeth Emerson Hancock)
Up next: Testimony (Anita Shreve)
November 2nd, 2008, 10:16 - One of my go-to quotes
"I Was Told There Would Be No Math"
November 4th, 2008, 11:11 p.m. - Why so happy?
Oh, no reason. Maybe because I helped make history tonight. Maybe because for the first time in eight years, my vote actually counted. Maybe because I helped a man beat the odds. Maybe because I was there to see our country transform itself into something new. Maybe because when my family tells my nephew, my nieces, and my future nieces, nephews, and children that they can grow up to be President, the one who happens to not be white can really believe it.
November 7th, 2008, 8:38 p.m. - Maybe Bailey and Hunt's Anatomy?
The Amazing Race: - "Please Hold Me While I Singe My Skull": How can people be so smart one week and so dumb the next? Eh, I guess that applies to humans in general. Toni and Dallas are the two I'm really rooting for, and I'm glad they keep running such solid legs but aren't taking the race so seriously that they don't enjoy it. Future racers should look at them as a good example of what to do. Rating: 3 necklaces made of rupees
How I Met Your Mother - "Happily Ever After": Eh. Once again, not horrible but not terrific. I'll take it over horrible, though. Rating: 3 almonds
America's Next Top Model - "The Final Five": Good, Elina's gone. I felt like I had to suddenly become serious every time she was on screen. That girl needs to chill out. I'm guessing Marjorie will go next week, because there's no way Tyra is going to keep putting up with her. Can you imagine her trying to do the Cover Girl commercial in the final three? That's a disaster waiting to happen. An Analeigh/Samantha/McKey final three sounds good to me. Rating: 3 slow boats
Survivor - "Apple in the Garden of Eden": I probably shouldn't be surprised by any of the contestants' stupidity anymore, but Marcus saying he wouldn't write down Crystal's name and he would have to throw out his entire game plan because he knew her cousin was pretty high on the list of all-time dumb decisions made in this game. And it wasn't even what got him voted out. Better him than Ken, though. I'm really liking Ken, and I think for the rest of the game he's really going to start pulling out the strategy. I'd rather see him win than almost anyone else left in the game (Bob and Sugar being the exceptions). Rating: 4 totally wasted immunity idols
The Office - "Customer Survey": Awesome episode all around. I especially loved the scene with Jim, Dwight, and Michael on the phone, and Pam shouting, "That's what she said! That's what she said!" The writers should keep in mind that episodes heavy on John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson are the better ones. Rating: 5 coffee mugs
Grey's Anatomy - "Rise Up": I know everyone's upset about Brooke Smith being let go, but I really can't bring myself to care that much. Yes, she's a great actress, but I just couldn't stand her character. And there are so many cast members that seeing one leave doesn't make me that sad. Yes, I know it makes the writers seem anti-gay, but with such a diverse cast and the decision to make Callie gay in the first place, I just don't think the writers are discriminating against anyone. (And don't forget who backed who in the Isaiah Washington debacle.)
As for the plots this week, I was expecting the husband of Bailey and Derek's patient to die after his wife did, demonstrating that one just couldn't live without the other. I actually kind of liked Alex this week for the first time in so long I can't even remember. I'm to the point where I'm merely tolerating Izzie, but if I had to put up with her to see Denny, that's fine with me. George is once again possibly the best resident, since he brings a balanced mix of bedside manner and skill to the table. Lexie needs a plot, quickly, before I get tired of her. Meredith was such a non-entity this week that I seriously can't even remember what she did in the episode. The real stand-outs for me were Bailey (as always) and Hunt, who is exactly what the show needs. He makes everyone look at things in a different way. And he managed to bring out Cristina's humanity, which is a major plus. Rating: 4 corpses
November 8th, 2008, 7:51 p.m. - Thanks, idiot reviewer
52. Testimony (Anita Shreve)
Up next: Reading the OED (Ammon Shea)
November 9th, 2008, 11:06 p.m. - "Please do not offer my god a peanut"
November 12th, 2008, 10:44 p.m. - You wish you were A.J. Jacobs, don't you, Ammon Shea?
53. Reading the OED (Ammon Shea)
Up next: The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb), which better be good, because I've really been looking forward to it
November 14th, 2008, 5:10 p.m. - Melissa George ruins everything
The Amazing Race: - "My Nose Is on Fire": So, so satisfying. And I'm still loving Toni and Dallas, which makes me really happy. I always enjoy picking a team to root for at the beginning of the season and then learning week after week that they're totally worth the trouble. Rating: 4 birds
How I Met Your Mother - "Not a Father's Day": The highlight of the episode for me was drunk Lily. The rest was pretty meh. Rating: 3 little socks
House - "The Itch": Granted, I wasn't giving the episode my complete attention, but I found it pretty meh as well. I think there's a reason they haven't been using Cameron and Chase as much as they have in the past - they're freaking boring. Rating: 3 bullet fragments
America's Next Top Model - "Good Times and Windmills": If Marjorie had gone to panel drunk, I would give this a 5. As it was, things happened pretty much the way I expected and the way I thought they should - Analeigh and McKey did well, Samantha and Marjorie didn't, and Marjorie was eliminated. We're left with a great final three and the realization that the winner will be an actually likeable person. Yay! Rating: 4 glasses of wine
Top Chef - "Melting Pot": It's hard to comment on early episodes because I can never remember anyone's name. But right now I like Eugene and Leah. I think. I have no idea. Ask me again in a few weeks. As for the episode itself, it was way too long, partly because there are so many people. Around the serving in the elimination challenge, I started zoning out. Rating: 3 apples
Survivor - "The Brains Behind Everything": Remember when the season first started and everyone thought Sugar wouldn't survive two Tribal Councils? Don't you feel silly now? I do. Also, Bob rocks. Rating: 4 fake immunity idols
The Office - "Business Trip": As annoying as Michael can be, I finally felt sorry for him at the end, when he blasted David for sending Holly away. I think David needed to hear that he really hurt Michael, and that as annoying as Michael is to him, he does have feelings. Of course, I loved the Jim/Pam stuff, too, because I'm a sucker both for them and for romance. And the Oscar/Andy scenes were terrific. (Remember Jeff Richards as the drunk girl on SNL? That's exactly what Andy sounded like when he was drunk.) I can't wait to see the payoff of Ryan and Kelly getting back together. My only real problem with the episode was that they missed a great opportunity to cut to Angela in bed with Dwight while chastising Andy for being drunk. Rating: 4 Long Island iced teas
Grey's Anatomy - "These Ties That Bind": You know how deep my hatred for Lauren from Alias runs? I already hate Melissa George's character. Also, why do we need another new character? Also also, I rarely use the term "jumped the shark" because I think it's so overused, but if it turns out that Izzie doesn't have a brain tumor or something (and by the way, watch General Hospital much, Shonda Rhimes?), then yeah, the show jumped the shark. I don't put up with ghosts. Rating: 3 sweaters
November 16th, 2008, 10:20 p.m. - Yeah, I went there
"Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
November 18th, 2008, 5:36 p.m. - Insert your own "Lamb to the slaughter" joke here
I tend to want to read reviews of books I'm reading or want to read, just to see what other people think of them. Usually I rely on Entertainment Weekly, as I usually agree with their opinions on books (with Special Topics in Calamity Physics being a huge exception). Today I found Washington Post Book World reviewer Ron Charles' review of The Hour I First Believed, and as I read it, I just kept nodding my head. Never has someone so perfectly described exactly how I feel about a book. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about the story, because I was starting to think that A Entertainment Weekly gave the book was a fluke. I do like the book to a certain point - I find myself wanting to continue it - but there's just way too much going on, and it's fitting together just a little too precisely. It feels like it should be two books instead of one.
More when I finish. Which could be a while. Sheesh, Lamb, did you set out to write a book as long as the Harry Potters?
November 21st, 2008, 6:22 p.m. - Bob is my hero
The Amazing Race: - "I'm Like an Angry Cow": Yay, Sarah and Terence are gone! Now if we can just get rid of Dan and Andrew, we'll have a nice final three. Oh, and if Dan and Andrew outlast any of the other three teams, I'll scream. Rating: 4 glasses of milk
How I Met Your Mother - "Woooo!": I WANT TO WORK IN THE BRAIN OF A TYRANNOSAURUS REX. Who doesn't? Rating: 5 pigeons
House - "Emancipation": I'm surprised House went the whole hour without making an emancipation/slavery joke at Foreman's expense. Is that considered growth? Also, can we get rid of Thirteen and keep faux Sophia (Fauxphia, if you will) around? Or the two little kids Foreman dealt with? They were cute. Rating: 4 vitamins
America's Next Top Model - "America's Next Top Model Is...": I would have liked to see Analeigh win, but I was fine with McKey. I definitely wouldn't have predicted it at the beginning of the season. Still, she's gorgeous and can really model. It's also nice to see a really likeable winner. Rating: 4 Dr. Seuss hills you have to run up
Top Chef - "Show Your Craft": I just don't get how Jill can go home before Ariane. Usually it's a lot longer into the season before we see the one chef who really shouldn't be there (ahem Lisa ahem). I guess now we have someone to root against. Rating: 3 ostrich eggs
Survivor - "Nothing Tastes Better Than Five Hundred Dollars": Chekhov is quoted as saying that a gun shown in the first act of a play must later go off. He would be proud of the editors of this episode. Last week we saw Bob make his fake hidden immunity idol, and this week he showed it to Sugar early in the episode. In the last act, it went off. (This is especially fitting since Bob compared having the idol to having a gun - you don't have to use it, you just have to let people know - or think - that you have it.) For the whole second half of the episode, I was just praying that the plan would go off without a hitch, and I was so pleased when it did. Possibly the most satisfying episode ever. Rating: 5 cookies
The Office - "Frame Toby": I don't get why Toby wants to keep working for someone who's so horrible to him. Too bad they can't let him go to New Hampshire and have Holly come back. In other news, Jim is adorable, and Kelly is an idiot. I really can't figure out where that plot is going. Rating: 4 creepy clown paintings
Grey's Anatomy - "In the Midnight Hour": What does it take to get fired from Seattle Grace? Because every one of those doctors has done almost everything imaginable and is still working there. And like I said last week, if Izzie doesn't have a brain tumor or some other type of illness that makes her hallucinate, this show has completely gone off the deep end. Hey, just like Sadie! Rating: 4 appendices
November 22nd, 2008, 12:16 p.m. - Sigh
54. The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb)
Up next: Just After Sunset (Stephen King)
November 23rd, 2008, 10:31 p.m. - Yeah, I know, lame title
"In Soviet Russia, Flour Carries You!"
November 28th, 2008, 1:04 p.m. - "Florida counts?"
The Amazing Race: - "That Is Studly": I think it's entirely possible that Dan and Andrew are the dumbest team to ever make it this far. Seriously, do they read anything? Or do they just assume that they'll be safe no matter what, so they might as well just do whatever they want? It's getting ridiculous. Rating: 4 bowls of borscht
How I Met Your Mother - "The Naked Man": Well, that was weird. It didn't really seem to go anywhere, though. Rating: 4 reasons to have sex
House - "Last Resort": For any other show I would probably complain about the obvious grab for ratings, but this is House, which doesn't do that a lot (or at least not as often as it easily could), and the acting made up for it. It was pretty much House doing what he usually does, just while someone was threatening people with a gun. Also, was anyone else disappointed that Zeljko Ivanek's character didn't shoot himself, since that was the last thing I saw a character of his do (on Damages)? No? Just me? Okay, then. Rating: 4 desk drawers
Top Chef - "Foo Fighters": Aww, Team Rainbow didn't last very long. I hate it when the entertaining people go over the boring and/or annoying ones. But yeah, those s'mores did look pretty bad, so I guess Richard deserved the boot. I was pleased with Leah's team picks, partially because they let us know that the other chefs can see who the apparent frontrunners are (and that for the most part, they're the same people we think are the frontrunners). The Foo Fighters were fun, and I like that we got some guest judges who aren't food experts. Sometimes the chefs get snobby about cooking for people with "unrefined palettes" (AKA the hoi polloi), and this week those people had some say in their fate. They should do that more often. Rating: 3 MacGyvered grills
Survivor - "I Was Put on the Planet For This Show": I'm so happy that this was an actual entertaining clip show. I also like that it had a theme - the rise of the underdog contestants. Some people have been saying that none of the remaining players has really earned a win, but when you see the season presented like this, it gives you more information. Also, Corinne has some major issues (not as severe Randy's, obviously, but still). She's just an overall unpleasant person. Rating: 4 servings of paté, which some people don't eat, Corinne, because they have different tastes and less money than you, not because they're idiots or unemployed, which you seem to equate for some reason. In other words, shut up, Corinne 5:26 p.m. - I'm not answering the phone after weird dreams anymore
55. Just After Sunset (Stephen King)
Up next: Your Heart Belongs to Me (Dean Koontz)
November 30th, 2008, 10:58 p.m. - Gah
Hancock and I have a lot in common: we're both ministers' daughters, we both were raised in the Southern Baptist church, we both went through Girls in Action, and we both went to Harvard and were Miss America contestants. Oh, wait. Well, except for those last two, we both know what it's like to grow up with everyone watching you because of who your father is, and we both know what it's like to have to figure out who you are in terms of the people around you. I'd love to read a follow-up to know how Hancock made the transition from pastor's kid to ex-pastor's kid, and how her faith stuck with her through adulthood.
It says a lot that even after a reviewer ruined some of the major plot points (thanks a LOT), I still really liked this book. Wonderful writing and characters, and some innovative storytelling. Good thing I read it even after I knew what was going to happen. (Yeah, still bitter about that.)
A short, fun little read, but not as good as it could have been. If you want to read about words, I recommend Jacobs' The Know-It-All instead.
I pretty much said all I wanted to say (well, Ron Charles said it for me) on the 18th, so I'll just add: IF I WANTED TO READ ABOUT THE HISTORY OF RHEINGOLD BEER, I WOULD READ A BOOK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF RHEINGOLD BEER. Sheesh again.
The collection is slightly uneven but mostly good. I'll take each story by itself: