Gossip Folk
Yesterday I heard the news that Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey officially separated. Can't say that I'm all that surprised, based on what we all saw in their 2 seasons of Newlyweds on MTV.
What's interesting to me is that it seemed like the tabloids have been reporting that for months, if not more than a year, about their separation. All along, both sides fiercely denied the stories, from what I can remember. But in the end it looks like they turned out to be 100% right.
I honestly don't follow the "celebrity" gossip as much as some people, so I can't write that much in depth on the subject. But as a general observation, I'm starting to wonder if maybe these entertainment shows and magazines actually do know a lot more than we give them credit for.
Like with the whole Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie love triangle, it started with just rumors that Brad and Angelina had a thing developing on the side. Like Nick and Jessica, they all blew off the stories at the time. But next thing you know, Brad and Jennifer break up. And since then, what do you know, a relationship between Brad and Angelina seems to be revealing itself more as time passes.
Of course, there's the times when it's pretty obvious that the stories are being manufactured or blown out of proportion to attract more attention. When you take a picture of Matt Damon kissing some actress as they're shooting a movie together, and use it to suggest that those two are hooking up, that tends to not be so credible. Or if you run a headline in huge font that asks a question like "Is J-Lo marrying her 90 year old gardener?" and then force readers to turn to page 28 to find out the answer is "No", you can't realistically expect me to fall for that trick more than 8 or 9 times before I get wiser.
I'm just wondering if maybe there's really something to these "experts" and their analysis, like how they read between the lines and break down quotes of what the celebrities say in interviews to figure out what they're really thinking.
Or there's also the more obvious stuff such as a couple not showing up to an event together, not wearing their wedding rings, etc. Although with those kinds of things, I suspect it could all just be games their publicists play to work the media. You gotta think that when the celebrities say or do certain things in public, they must know that it's going to be studied under a microscope by people who do it for a living, so they better be extra careful. Some of the "clues" they drop might be subconscious, but it's hard to tell sometimes.
Then again, maybe these gossip shows are just throwing random crap out there to see what sticks, and when stuff actually comes true, they take credit for it for breaking the news first. When it doesn't, it's easily forgotten.
Maybe I just lack understanding of the industry, like there is some sort of hierarchy of gossip magazines with varying levels of credibility Like I get the sense that US Weekly is one of the most "respected" sources, while other magazines on the same rack may not be as believable.
Now that I think about it, the same stuff happens in the sports world too, except not in the "who's dating who" kind of story. More like who's getting traded, who's getting fired, who wants to move from one team to the next. I've lost count of the number of times a rumor comes out that some coach is about to get canned, followed by the team publicly denying it and giving him a "vote of confidence", then a few days or weeks later they give him the ax anyways.
Or if any of you follow college recruiting, the rumors that fly on the internet seem to come true more often than you would expect, all coming from nameless "sources". One kid will name School #1 as his leader, then all of a sudden another school's name will pop up, followed by his parents and coaches saying "no, the School #1 is still his leader, we still like them the best", but in the end everyone is surprised when he dumps School #1 for School #2.
The whole Larry Brown "saga" of last year might be the best example. All of a sudden he decides to take time off from the Pistons because of health reasons. Meanwhile everyone is speculating that he is unhappy in Detroit, and it's all a ploy to get him released from his contract, so he can take the position as the Knicks' coach, which was his dream job all along. Not saying he completely made up his health problems, but look at where he is now. Coincidence? I think not.
Anyways, what is my point in all this? That we should all run and believe whatever rumors we hear on Access Hollywood or read in US Weekly? Of course not. As much as we as a society need to be grateful to the industry that brought us such brilliant nicknames as "TomKat" or "Brangelina", I don't think it's the greatest idea to take these people's word as gospel.
After all, most of us probably remember the day Princess Di was killed in a car accident as her driver was trying to outrun paparazzi. Don't be fooled by the pretty faces of Maria Menuous or the tower of manhood that is Pat O'Brien. These aren't the most respectable people who are bringing you all those photos and dishy details.
I guess what I'm saying is, don't believe the "celebrities" themselves either (and certainly not their "publicists" of all people). Someone denying a story has almost as little credibility as someone floating a rumor, at least it seems to be the case with these things.
So yeah, don't believe anyone, and you're good.
*****
Eric Gordon Verbals to Illinois
By the way, I can't mention the subject of college recruiting in a blog, without including a note of excitement for the newest future star of Illinois basketball, Mr. Eric Gordon!
As many Illini bball fans know, there hasn't been a whole lot to be happy about as far as recruiting goes in the past few years. In fact there's been a lot of downright terrible moments I could name. Just a few days ago I was reading a feature on Jon Scheyer in my ESPN the Magazine that made me want to puke. Among the highlights, "[Coach K] really gets me. I feel like he has my whole life planned for me", and him talking about facing racism on the court for being white. Poor, poor Jon.
Honestly, I didn't think I would ever see us win a recruit over Duke, and that just makes this news all the more notable. Hopefully this will be a watershed of more to come, but that remains to be seen.
Of course, as I've said before, recruiting and high rankings aren't everything. It's definitely nice to get guys who stay 3 and 4 years to watch them develop, instead of players who play one year and then declare for the NBA. But from everything I've heard about this kid, it sounds like he's going to be a great player, with a great background and attitude. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him in that orange jersey in 2007 and beyond. Assuming nothing big happens before then, of course. After all, we did witness the Bill Self/Villenueva debacle only a few years back. But I'll not ruin this fine moment with talk of those things right now.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
True Life: I'm Not A Professional Gamer
MTV has been running one of their True:Life "documentaries" recently that covers people who are so good at video games that they started to play for a living. I don't know if any of you have seen it yet, but I thought it was a pretty interesting show and recommend that you keep an eye out for it.
If nothing else, the segments featuring the girls who play in Counterstrike tournaments is very lovely. Made me feel like I was a high school boy again, when I always had crushes on pretty girls who were out of my league. Okay, so I never really did that in high school, so I guess it basically made me feel like a 25 year old loser who falls in love with girls on TV who happen to be awesome at video games.
In all seriousness, though, I have to say I was impressed with how much "work" these kids put towards video games. The one girl was saying how "at LEAST 11 hours of practice per day is a must", while the SMASH Bros. guy stayed up till 6am playing the game like it was nothing. I mean in college we had our share of video game marathons, but I don't think it even begins to compare to these psychos.
And their payouts actually weren't bad either. At first when the SMASH Bros. guy was saying how he made $100 for a day of playing, I was like, "haha, $100, big deal". But then I thought about it more and realized that hey, I don't make that much more than $100 a day myself, after taxes. And they're playing video games while I gotta actually engineer stuff. Not to mention he was probably going to make more after signing with a managing company and playing in bigger tournaments.
I think it just goes to show you that you can do pretty much anything for a living, if you work hard enough and can get good enough to be one of the best at what you do. Obviously some professions are going to be more profitable than others, especially if you consider the long term prospects. I can't imagine anyone could stay on top of their game for more than a few years, and after that, how helpful are your video gaming skills going to be to finding another profession?
But there's still something to be said for doing what you love and making enough money to support yourself by doing it. Ideally it would be something that helps society, but that's another discussion. I do admire these kids (even the T-Squared guy, who's pretty much a tool outside of his Halo skills), for the fact that they found something they know they excel at. And since they know 100% that it's what they want to do, they can wholeheartedly devote all of their time and energy to it and become even better.
I compare that to my job and it's not like that at all. I go to work, usually 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and get paid fairly reasonably for it. But that's it.
I don't find myself waking up early or staying up late to become a better engineer. Not because I don't have ambition and not because I don't have the work ethic for it. I don't see anything wrong with working way more than 40 hours a week, and in fact I believe you need to do that to be truly successful at anything.
The only problem is that unlike these "professional gamers", I can't say wholeheartedly that what I'm doing now, is what I was meant to do. What I was born to do. Maybe one day in the future that will change, but right now my job is just my job.
To those kids their job and their passion is one and the same. If I could feel about my job, the way they feel about theirs, there's no question in my mind that I would work as hard and as long as they do, and maybe even more so. But as it stands, being an engineer means not much more than something I spend 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week on, and in return allows me to pay all of the bills.
Anyways, I didn't mean to turn this entry on a MTV show about teenagers who play video games for money, into another long discussion about myself which nobody else really cares. But yeah, if you all haven't seen this show, I recommend it because I thought it was pretty interesting and entertaining. Or you can just watch it for the pretty girls.
(Watch out for the girls team from China, though. They should have had a disclaimer: The following scene contains extremely unattractive FOBs. Viewer discretion is advised.)
*****
Oh, and on a side note, 60 Minutes did a segment this past Sunday about online poker and how it is a thriving industry despite being illegal in the United States. This was definitely not as interesting or well done as the MTV show discussed above. Kinda sad that I'd consider a MTV True Life show to be more worthwhile to watch than 60 Minutes, but that's my honest opinion and I'm sticking by it.
(Not saying all of the MTV True Life shows are good, but at least the "Professional Gamer" one was.)
MTV has been running one of their True:Life "documentaries" recently that covers people who are so good at video games that they started to play for a living. I don't know if any of you have seen it yet, but I thought it was a pretty interesting show and recommend that you keep an eye out for it.
If nothing else, the segments featuring the girls who play in Counterstrike tournaments is very lovely. Made me feel like I was a high school boy again, when I always had crushes on pretty girls who were out of my league. Okay, so I never really did that in high school, so I guess it basically made me feel like a 25 year old loser who falls in love with girls on TV who happen to be awesome at video games.
In all seriousness, though, I have to say I was impressed with how much "work" these kids put towards video games. The one girl was saying how "at LEAST 11 hours of practice per day is a must", while the SMASH Bros. guy stayed up till 6am playing the game like it was nothing. I mean in college we had our share of video game marathons, but I don't think it even begins to compare to these psychos.
And their payouts actually weren't bad either. At first when the SMASH Bros. guy was saying how he made $100 for a day of playing, I was like, "haha, $100, big deal". But then I thought about it more and realized that hey, I don't make that much more than $100 a day myself, after taxes. And they're playing video games while I gotta actually engineer stuff. Not to mention he was probably going to make more after signing with a managing company and playing in bigger tournaments.
I think it just goes to show you that you can do pretty much anything for a living, if you work hard enough and can get good enough to be one of the best at what you do. Obviously some professions are going to be more profitable than others, especially if you consider the long term prospects. I can't imagine anyone could stay on top of their game for more than a few years, and after that, how helpful are your video gaming skills going to be to finding another profession?
But there's still something to be said for doing what you love and making enough money to support yourself by doing it. Ideally it would be something that helps society, but that's another discussion. I do admire these kids (even the T-Squared guy, who's pretty much a tool outside of his Halo skills), for the fact that they found something they know they excel at. And since they know 100% that it's what they want to do, they can wholeheartedly devote all of their time and energy to it and become even better.
I compare that to my job and it's not like that at all. I go to work, usually 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and get paid fairly reasonably for it. But that's it.
I don't find myself waking up early or staying up late to become a better engineer. Not because I don't have ambition and not because I don't have the work ethic for it. I don't see anything wrong with working way more than 40 hours a week, and in fact I believe you need to do that to be truly successful at anything.
The only problem is that unlike these "professional gamers", I can't say wholeheartedly that what I'm doing now, is what I was meant to do. What I was born to do. Maybe one day in the future that will change, but right now my job is just my job.
To those kids their job and their passion is one and the same. If I could feel about my job, the way they feel about theirs, there's no question in my mind that I would work as hard and as long as they do, and maybe even more so. But as it stands, being an engineer means not much more than something I spend 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week on, and in return allows me to pay all of the bills.
Anyways, I didn't mean to turn this entry on a MTV show about teenagers who play video games for money, into another long discussion about myself which nobody else really cares. But yeah, if you all haven't seen this show, I recommend it because I thought it was pretty interesting and entertaining. Or you can just watch it for the pretty girls.
(Watch out for the girls team from China, though. They should have had a disclaimer: The following scene contains extremely unattractive FOBs. Viewer discretion is advised.)
*****
Oh, and on a side note, 60 Minutes did a segment this past Sunday about online poker and how it is a thriving industry despite being illegal in the United States. This was definitely not as interesting or well done as the MTV show discussed above. Kinda sad that I'd consider a MTV True Life show to be more worthwhile to watch than 60 Minutes, but that's my honest opinion and I'm sticking by it.
(Not saying all of the MTV True Life shows are good, but at least the "Professional Gamer" one was.)
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
ESPN the Universe
On a typical day, my clock radio alarm goes off in the morning to Mike and Mike on AM 1000. Once I'm awake enough to reach for the TV remote, I turn on the TV which is usually set to ESPN or ESPN 2 (from the night before). As I'm getting ready for work, I boot up my computer and open a web browser whose home page is set at ESPN.com.
As I head to work, it's more Mike and Mike on the car radio. Throughout the day, I'm periodically checking ESPN.com for updated news stories and articles. Lunch time is especially a time I like to read the latest Sports Guy article and/or blog at my desk. Or if I go out for lunch, I usually end up listening to Dan Patrick on the car ride there.
After work, it's more ESPN. If it's not Baseball Tonight, Sportscenter, NFL Live, or a good game on ESPN, it's World Series of Poker coverage, the Hot Dog eating contest, or Stump the Schwab on ESPN 2. Even ESPN Classic gets some play once in a while. Sprinkle in more browsing of ESPN.com on my computer. Even when I'm in the bathroom, none other than ESPN the Magazine serves as reading material.
That can't be healthy, right? I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'm going through ESPN overload right now.
What bothers me is that I don't even think ESPN is that great anymore, yet I still find myself watching, listening, browsing, and read as if it were a religion.
I can't stand half the personalities on TV, first of all. Woody Paige and Skip Bayless on Cold Pizza are a downright joke. Sean Salisbury is a loudmouthed know-it-all, and why should we take him seriously to begin with, considering he was never anything more than a mediocre backup QB? Don't even wanna talk about Steven A. Smith, quite frankly. Mike Greenberg on Mike and Mike really annoys me for some reason, and Dan Patrick's show is borderline unlistenable at times, how he constantly beats dead subjects into the ground. It actually makes me miss Jim Rome, to be honest.
The more general trends I'm seeing with ESPN are disturbing too. I think I've written before about how there's too many shows like PTI and Around the Horn, where all they do is argue for the sake of arguing. Seriously, I get the feeling that none of these "experts" actually have a real opinion, they're all just trying to create a spectacle to get attention.
Not only that, but it seems like they rarely talk about the actual sports anymore. It always seems to be off the field stuff. Steroids, player salaries, legal problems, personal feuds, the list goes on. Whatever happened to discussing X's and O's on the basketball court? Breaking down defensive coverage schemes or offensive formations on the football field? Analyzing a batter's or pitcher's weaknesses in the baseball diamond?
I know it's because that stuff doesn't attract as much ratings, but I guess that just means that I'm in the minority as far as the way I feel. From what I remember, ESPN wasn't always like this. I used to think Sportscenter was such a fresh show, and looked forward to watching every night because all of the anchors seemed genuine and likeable. The show was lighthearted and simple, and to me, that's what a sports network should be like, because that is the nature of sports.
Sure, there are many things about the sports world that transcend into the "real" world, and it's not wrong to observe that now and then. But in the end, we're still talking about a game. And the great thing about sports as a game is that it provides a temporary escape and release from life's more serious side.
My point is, there are already plenty of news media outlets that are supposed to discuss politics, economics, legal issues, that kind of stuff. Can't we have just one channel that just talks about pure unadulterated sports?
I picture some high-powered executive just walked into ESPN's corporate offices one day and said to everybody in the boardroom:
"We need to squeeze out as much profit as we can from this company. Having two TV channels isn't enough. We need ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN U, and the Ocho. And now that we have all these channels, we obviously will need to come up with more shows to fill up our programming schedule. Let's give Steven A. Smith his own talk show. Let's make a whole bunch of reality shows and game shows like MTV does. Don't forget to explore all adjacent markets with shows such as ESPN Hollywood.
Besides TV, make sure to expand into radio, magazines, even restaurants. Our website definitely needs to maximize its profitability as well. Let's make people pay for the same articles they used to read for free, and call it 'Insider'. Also, Page 2 isn't enough of a divergence from sports, so create Page 3. Finally, use the most intrusive ads possible because they pay the most, even if it does piss off a lot of people."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everything ESPN has added in the past few years is bad. I mean I liked "Teammates" and "Stump the Schwab", and as I said before, every once in a while there's a game on ESPN Classic that's definitely worth watching.
But overall, I think it's simply become too much. Like when I walked into ESPN Zone a few weeks ago and found myself surrounded by mugs, t-shirts, jerseys, just about everything emblazoned with the ESPN logo and overpriced to boot. Or when I flip on the TV and see AC Slater hosting a show that really belongs on the E! Network. And when they actually have made up "cartoons" on ESPN.com (I'm not talking about the Sports Guy cartoon or Off-Mike either, there's one that's actually completely fictional), it's clearly going too far.
Which brings me back to my question of why I continue to let ESPN dominate my life, despite the fact that I don't even like it that much anymore. Maybe it's because the alternatives suck more. Like Mike and Mike might not be the greatest morning radio show out there, but at least it doesn't make me want to pour acid in my own ears, which is the urge I get everytime I happen to listen to Drex in the Morning for more than a couple minutes.
Anyways, if there's anything I learned from the whole Terrell Owens saga of last week, it's that ESPN has taken too big a chunk of my daily life. In other words, when I find myself reading reports about how much of a tip TO left for a pizza delivery guy, it's probably a sign that I need to make some changes.
On a typical day, my clock radio alarm goes off in the morning to Mike and Mike on AM 1000. Once I'm awake enough to reach for the TV remote, I turn on the TV which is usually set to ESPN or ESPN 2 (from the night before). As I'm getting ready for work, I boot up my computer and open a web browser whose home page is set at ESPN.com.
As I head to work, it's more Mike and Mike on the car radio. Throughout the day, I'm periodically checking ESPN.com for updated news stories and articles. Lunch time is especially a time I like to read the latest Sports Guy article and/or blog at my desk. Or if I go out for lunch, I usually end up listening to Dan Patrick on the car ride there.
After work, it's more ESPN. If it's not Baseball Tonight, Sportscenter, NFL Live, or a good game on ESPN, it's World Series of Poker coverage, the Hot Dog eating contest, or Stump the Schwab on ESPN 2. Even ESPN Classic gets some play once in a while. Sprinkle in more browsing of ESPN.com on my computer. Even when I'm in the bathroom, none other than ESPN the Magazine serves as reading material.
That can't be healthy, right? I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'm going through ESPN overload right now.
What bothers me is that I don't even think ESPN is that great anymore, yet I still find myself watching, listening, browsing, and read as if it were a religion.
I can't stand half the personalities on TV, first of all. Woody Paige and Skip Bayless on Cold Pizza are a downright joke. Sean Salisbury is a loudmouthed know-it-all, and why should we take him seriously to begin with, considering he was never anything more than a mediocre backup QB? Don't even wanna talk about Steven A. Smith, quite frankly. Mike Greenberg on Mike and Mike really annoys me for some reason, and Dan Patrick's show is borderline unlistenable at times, how he constantly beats dead subjects into the ground. It actually makes me miss Jim Rome, to be honest.
The more general trends I'm seeing with ESPN are disturbing too. I think I've written before about how there's too many shows like PTI and Around the Horn, where all they do is argue for the sake of arguing. Seriously, I get the feeling that none of these "experts" actually have a real opinion, they're all just trying to create a spectacle to get attention.
Not only that, but it seems like they rarely talk about the actual sports anymore. It always seems to be off the field stuff. Steroids, player salaries, legal problems, personal feuds, the list goes on. Whatever happened to discussing X's and O's on the basketball court? Breaking down defensive coverage schemes or offensive formations on the football field? Analyzing a batter's or pitcher's weaknesses in the baseball diamond?
I know it's because that stuff doesn't attract as much ratings, but I guess that just means that I'm in the minority as far as the way I feel. From what I remember, ESPN wasn't always like this. I used to think Sportscenter was such a fresh show, and looked forward to watching every night because all of the anchors seemed genuine and likeable. The show was lighthearted and simple, and to me, that's what a sports network should be like, because that is the nature of sports.
Sure, there are many things about the sports world that transcend into the "real" world, and it's not wrong to observe that now and then. But in the end, we're still talking about a game. And the great thing about sports as a game is that it provides a temporary escape and release from life's more serious side.
My point is, there are already plenty of news media outlets that are supposed to discuss politics, economics, legal issues, that kind of stuff. Can't we have just one channel that just talks about pure unadulterated sports?
I picture some high-powered executive just walked into ESPN's corporate offices one day and said to everybody in the boardroom:
"We need to squeeze out as much profit as we can from this company. Having two TV channels isn't enough. We need ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN U, and the Ocho. And now that we have all these channels, we obviously will need to come up with more shows to fill up our programming schedule. Let's give Steven A. Smith his own talk show. Let's make a whole bunch of reality shows and game shows like MTV does. Don't forget to explore all adjacent markets with shows such as ESPN Hollywood.
Besides TV, make sure to expand into radio, magazines, even restaurants. Our website definitely needs to maximize its profitability as well. Let's make people pay for the same articles they used to read for free, and call it 'Insider'. Also, Page 2 isn't enough of a divergence from sports, so create Page 3. Finally, use the most intrusive ads possible because they pay the most, even if it does piss off a lot of people."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everything ESPN has added in the past few years is bad. I mean I liked "Teammates" and "Stump the Schwab", and as I said before, every once in a while there's a game on ESPN Classic that's definitely worth watching.
But overall, I think it's simply become too much. Like when I walked into ESPN Zone a few weeks ago and found myself surrounded by mugs, t-shirts, jerseys, just about everything emblazoned with the ESPN logo and overpriced to boot. Or when I flip on the TV and see AC Slater hosting a show that really belongs on the E! Network. And when they actually have made up "cartoons" on ESPN.com (I'm not talking about the Sports Guy cartoon or Off-Mike either, there's one that's actually completely fictional), it's clearly going too far.
Which brings me back to my question of why I continue to let ESPN dominate my life, despite the fact that I don't even like it that much anymore. Maybe it's because the alternatives suck more. Like Mike and Mike might not be the greatest morning radio show out there, but at least it doesn't make me want to pour acid in my own ears, which is the urge I get everytime I happen to listen to Drex in the Morning for more than a couple minutes.
Anyways, if there's anything I learned from the whole Terrell Owens saga of last week, it's that ESPN has taken too big a chunk of my daily life. In other words, when I find myself reading reports about how much of a tip TO left for a pizza delivery guy, it's probably a sign that I need to make some changes.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Laguna Beach, Season 2 Finale
Well, looks like this Monday will be the finale of Laguna Beach, Season 2. This season hasn't been as "good" as the first, but still entertaining. As a tribute to the enjoyment that watching the last 2 seasons of LB have brought me, I have decided to write some notes about each of the main characters:
*Steven*
He went from the guy who was dating Kristin, hooking up with LC on the side, and who had a model at some fashion show tell him he was "super gorgeous", to this unbearable loser who couldn't get either girl in the end. After season 1 you would've thought he would be scoring with chicks left and right in college, but that does not appear to be the case. Instead, the world seems to have passed him by and now he's just a whiny loser. So sad.
*Jason*
No other character cracked me up as much as Jason. This guy did it all. Making out with Jessica in front of his LC and her entire family and all her friends while they were supposedly dating, goofing around on the basketball court with his buddies when Alex was trying to talk to him, and best of all, the following scene:
[Before their date, deciding how to get to the restaurant]
Jessica: So, should we drive together or drive separate?
Jason: Drive separate
Jessica: (rolls eyes)
*Jessica*
Supposedly she was in the first season, as Dieter's girlfriend, but I don't remember her. Anyways, most of the drama of this season seemed to surround her. At first, I didn't like her at all. Then, I kind of felt sorry for her. After that, she got annoying again. At one point, I actually started to think she was kind of cute (not just physically). Finally, I realized she was dumb as rocks and that was that.
*Kristin*
By far my favorite character. Wouldn't wanna date her or anything, but she's definitely the most attractive one on the show, and with the most interesting personality (notice I said "interesting", not "great"). I think my favorite thing about her is how she talks. I wish I could talk like that or at least had a friend who talks like her. It takes ditzy to a whole new level. Very very entertaining to watch.
*LC*
I know others will argue me here, but I always thought her face looked funny. That aside, I think she was the most well-developed character in the show up until a few weeks ago. Her high point in my opinion was probably the final scene of Season 1 when Steven picked her up from the airport. But I still think her little "fling" with Jason of the past few episodes was set up by MTV producers just to manufacture ratings. They probably just thought it was their chance to showcase their acting abilities. Not good enough if you ask me. And it ruined the show for me.
*Alex H*
Thank goodness for someone normal like Alex H. In a weird way, she was possibly the one person I identified with. In the midst of all the drama, and emotional ups and downs of her friends, she was a constant. Never one to stir up controversy, and generally a voice of reason who was usually very likable. She never was the center of attention and was content with that role, but there's something to be said for someone like that. I like people like her, maybe because they remind me of myself. Alex H was also was very underrated in the looks department, maybe due to her unassuming personality. She'd probably be the one I could most see myself dating.
*Alex M*
Perhaps the polar opposite of the other Alex. By the way, is it just a Cali thing, or did everyone decide to name their daughters Alex 18 years ago? I always thought Alex was a guy's name, but there was at least one other mention of a girl named Alex in this show, which makes at least 3 in the same high school class. Anyways, this Alex was about as unattractive as you get, both physically and personality wise. I honestly don't see how anybody would ever think she's good looking (sorry Chras), especially considering what a psycho she is. If I lived in Laguna I would steer clear of that girl at all costs.
*Talan*
Last year when I first saw this kid, I thought he looked like a runt and couldn't figure out why girls liked him. This year, I still don't see it. But hey, I don't want to hate on him too much cause he's got a somewhat likable personality at least. The only other thing I have to say about Talan is that they should show more of his mom.
*****
Many of you out there who don't watch the show, if you didn't stop reading this entry already, probably wonder why I waste my time watching a "reality" series about high school kids.
Don't underestimate the power of Laguna Beach. Not only did they resurrect an old Journey song months before White Sox fans adopted it as their anthem this October, but they added words like "Done-zo" to our vocabulary, and introduced such awesome jokes as "What comes before Part B? Part-Ay... tee-hee-hee".
But it goes deeper than that. There are valuable lessons to be learned from watching this show. For example, now I realize that I had it all wrong back when I went to high school. Instead of being a nerdy Asian kid on Math Team, I definitely should've been a slutty white girl. Some very poor decision making on my part. My life would be so much more interesting and glamourous right now if only I had been dumb as rocks too.
Like tonight, when a bunch of the "cast" will be at Crobar for some KISS-FM event. When I was 18, I had never even been near a club, but right now people are actually buying tickets to go see them as if they were celebrities! Or a few days ago, when Paris Hilton crashed her car into a parked vehicle and among her passengers, of all people, was Talan. You don't see Paris hanging out with many engineering students, do you?
Well obviously it's too late for me now, but see, these are the kinds of things that our nation's youth need to know early on in their development. That "whatever happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo". That they should "hate the player, not the game". That graduating high school is overrated, as long as you look like you're 25 and act like a jackass to every girl you hook up with. What better role models for America's teenagers to have, than a bunch of rich kids who are never shown going to school and always seem to be partying in some lavish setting?
My only regret is that this will most likely be the last season of LB that I end up watching. They have announced Season 3, but supposedly there will be no connection between next year's characters with Seasons 1 and 2. More importantly I feel that the integrity of the show has been breached, as I alluded to earlier, with the sham hookup of LC with Jason. In the grand scheme of things I plan to pretend that storyline never happened and get on with my life.
Don't stop.... belieeeeeeevin'....
Well, looks like this Monday will be the finale of Laguna Beach, Season 2. This season hasn't been as "good" as the first, but still entertaining. As a tribute to the enjoyment that watching the last 2 seasons of LB have brought me, I have decided to write some notes about each of the main characters:
*Steven*
He went from the guy who was dating Kristin, hooking up with LC on the side, and who had a model at some fashion show tell him he was "super gorgeous", to this unbearable loser who couldn't get either girl in the end. After season 1 you would've thought he would be scoring with chicks left and right in college, but that does not appear to be the case. Instead, the world seems to have passed him by and now he's just a whiny loser. So sad.
*Jason*
No other character cracked me up as much as Jason. This guy did it all. Making out with Jessica in front of his LC and her entire family and all her friends while they were supposedly dating, goofing around on the basketball court with his buddies when Alex was trying to talk to him, and best of all, the following scene:
[Before their date, deciding how to get to the restaurant]
Jessica: So, should we drive together or drive separate?
Jason: Drive separate
Jessica: (rolls eyes)
*Jessica*
Supposedly she was in the first season, as Dieter's girlfriend, but I don't remember her. Anyways, most of the drama of this season seemed to surround her. At first, I didn't like her at all. Then, I kind of felt sorry for her. After that, she got annoying again. At one point, I actually started to think she was kind of cute (not just physically). Finally, I realized she was dumb as rocks and that was that.
*Kristin*
By far my favorite character. Wouldn't wanna date her or anything, but she's definitely the most attractive one on the show, and with the most interesting personality (notice I said "interesting", not "great"). I think my favorite thing about her is how she talks. I wish I could talk like that or at least had a friend who talks like her. It takes ditzy to a whole new level. Very very entertaining to watch.
*LC*
I know others will argue me here, but I always thought her face looked funny. That aside, I think she was the most well-developed character in the show up until a few weeks ago. Her high point in my opinion was probably the final scene of Season 1 when Steven picked her up from the airport. But I still think her little "fling" with Jason of the past few episodes was set up by MTV producers just to manufacture ratings. They probably just thought it was their chance to showcase their acting abilities. Not good enough if you ask me. And it ruined the show for me.
*Alex H*
Thank goodness for someone normal like Alex H. In a weird way, she was possibly the one person I identified with. In the midst of all the drama, and emotional ups and downs of her friends, she was a constant. Never one to stir up controversy, and generally a voice of reason who was usually very likable. She never was the center of attention and was content with that role, but there's something to be said for someone like that. I like people like her, maybe because they remind me of myself. Alex H was also was very underrated in the looks department, maybe due to her unassuming personality. She'd probably be the one I could most see myself dating.
*Alex M*
Perhaps the polar opposite of the other Alex. By the way, is it just a Cali thing, or did everyone decide to name their daughters Alex 18 years ago? I always thought Alex was a guy's name, but there was at least one other mention of a girl named Alex in this show, which makes at least 3 in the same high school class. Anyways, this Alex was about as unattractive as you get, both physically and personality wise. I honestly don't see how anybody would ever think she's good looking (sorry Chras), especially considering what a psycho she is. If I lived in Laguna I would steer clear of that girl at all costs.
*Talan*
Last year when I first saw this kid, I thought he looked like a runt and couldn't figure out why girls liked him. This year, I still don't see it. But hey, I don't want to hate on him too much cause he's got a somewhat likable personality at least. The only other thing I have to say about Talan is that they should show more of his mom.
*****
Many of you out there who don't watch the show, if you didn't stop reading this entry already, probably wonder why I waste my time watching a "reality" series about high school kids.
Don't underestimate the power of Laguna Beach. Not only did they resurrect an old Journey song months before White Sox fans adopted it as their anthem this October, but they added words like "Done-zo" to our vocabulary, and introduced such awesome jokes as "What comes before Part B? Part-Ay... tee-hee-hee".
But it goes deeper than that. There are valuable lessons to be learned from watching this show. For example, now I realize that I had it all wrong back when I went to high school. Instead of being a nerdy Asian kid on Math Team, I definitely should've been a slutty white girl. Some very poor decision making on my part. My life would be so much more interesting and glamourous right now if only I had been dumb as rocks too.
Like tonight, when a bunch of the "cast" will be at Crobar for some KISS-FM event. When I was 18, I had never even been near a club, but right now people are actually buying tickets to go see them as if they were celebrities! Or a few days ago, when Paris Hilton crashed her car into a parked vehicle and among her passengers, of all people, was Talan. You don't see Paris hanging out with many engineering students, do you?
Well obviously it's too late for me now, but see, these are the kinds of things that our nation's youth need to know early on in their development. That "whatever happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo". That they should "hate the player, not the game". That graduating high school is overrated, as long as you look like you're 25 and act like a jackass to every girl you hook up with. What better role models for America's teenagers to have, than a bunch of rich kids who are never shown going to school and always seem to be partying in some lavish setting?
My only regret is that this will most likely be the last season of LB that I end up watching. They have announced Season 3, but supposedly there will be no connection between next year's characters with Seasons 1 and 2. More importantly I feel that the integrity of the show has been breached, as I alluded to earlier, with the sham hookup of LC with Jason. In the grand scheme of things I plan to pretend that storyline never happened and get on with my life.
Don't stop.... belieeeeeeevin'....
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Cheap Gas
For as long as I can remember, we've always complained about gas prices being too high. This summer was especially bad when prices jumped up to almost $4 a gallon around here.
But in the weeks since then, the prices have been falling steadily back to normal, and if I'm not mistaken, even lower than they were before the summer spike. They're in the $2.50 range now, which lets me fill up a tank for less than $40 again, even at premium ("Hey, that smells like Regular... she needs Premium dude! PREMIUM!!! DUDE!!!"). Still a lot to pay, but not nearly as bad as before.
I'm not sure how the numbers compare in the larger picture of historical trends or whatever, but if I had to guess, I'd probably say these are much lower prices than they should be, when you account for inflation and everything.
I guess I'm bringing this up because like I said, it's rare that we ever hear people talking about falling gas prices. So rare that I'm not sure how we should be reacting to it.
Should we feel thankful, to whoever/whatever is responsible for reducing these prices?
Should we feel suspicious, that this is just a knee-jerk reaction by the oil industry and/or government to keep this country addicted?
Or should we just enjoy it while it lasts, while fully expecting the prices to reverse any day now and continue its long term upward trend?
*****
Did I really just hear a remake of a Seal song, done by Alanis Morissette? What is this world coming to?
For as long as I can remember, we've always complained about gas prices being too high. This summer was especially bad when prices jumped up to almost $4 a gallon around here.
But in the weeks since then, the prices have been falling steadily back to normal, and if I'm not mistaken, even lower than they were before the summer spike. They're in the $2.50 range now, which lets me fill up a tank for less than $40 again, even at premium ("Hey, that smells like Regular... she needs Premium dude! PREMIUM!!! DUDE!!!"). Still a lot to pay, but not nearly as bad as before.
I'm not sure how the numbers compare in the larger picture of historical trends or whatever, but if I had to guess, I'd probably say these are much lower prices than they should be, when you account for inflation and everything.
I guess I'm bringing this up because like I said, it's rare that we ever hear people talking about falling gas prices. So rare that I'm not sure how we should be reacting to it.
Should we feel thankful, to whoever/whatever is responsible for reducing these prices?
Should we feel suspicious, that this is just a knee-jerk reaction by the oil industry and/or government to keep this country addicted?
Or should we just enjoy it while it lasts, while fully expecting the prices to reverse any day now and continue its long term upward trend?
*****
Did I really just hear a remake of a Seal song, done by Alanis Morissette? What is this world coming to?
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