So I was just listening to a conversation between stupid and anorexia, two of my coworkers. Anorexia's brother is getting married soon. She, of course, hates the bride-to-be, as does the rest of the family (so she claims) and she is making this wedding as difficult as possible for everyone in her attempts to get her brother to cancel it from frustration or cancel it because suddenly his sister has made him see the light about the whore he is about to marry and calls it off. Yeah right.
Now I have no idea if this fiancee is cool or not because anorexia is an entirely unreliable and biased source. And she's fucking crazy. Regardless of these factual bits, the point is that the bride-to-be registered at Target. God forbid, not Target, which to them, is a six letter word scarily similar to the dreaded *said in a whisper* Wal-Mart! GOD NO! NOT TARGET! When she mentioned that bride to be had registered there, I said "Oh a lot of people do though." WHICH IS TRUE. First of all, some people don't give a crap about 300 thread count sheets and Vera Wang China. Secondly, some people do care about that stuff, but also register at places like Target that sell quality things that aren't through the roof expensive. This ups your chance of actually getting things that you registered for and provides an opportunity for guests who can't afford to spend $300 on a place setting of china to get you something nice. But like I said earlier. Target is a six-letter swear word to these girls. As Anorexia said, "why can't she have some fucking class and register at Crate and Barrel?"
I sat in utter disgust for a moment, then started to think about my coworkers and how fucking catty they sounded. Seriously. They sounded like girls who were in high school who had just lost for prom queen. Whiny and ranking on other people. Then I realized everything about these bitches is superficial. Anorexia is obsessed with her looks. We all say "ugh my thighs/lovehandles/belly/whatever could use some trimmin'" SHE says "I can't eat that, too fattening" or "I do between 500 and 600 sit-ups a day, and if I can't get a six pack, YOU certainly couldn't" or "Allison will probably eat my share of dessert AS WELL as her OWN" (translation, Allison is fat and a pig) She only wears name brand clothes, particulary Ann Taylor Loft, because they're the only clothes that really fit her shrunken frame. She will only sport a coach or kate spade bag and looks disgustedly at my Vera Bradley old lady tote (which I think is DA BOMB! It's got elephants on it!) and thinks that making homemade gifts for people is horrifying and that the amount of money you spend on a gift is the only way they'll know you love them - she was horrified that I gave my boyfriend a scrapbook for our one year anniversary. She was like "oh that's nice, but I am giving my boyfriend a magazine signed by Jay-Z cause he loves Jay-Z, like, a lot."
Stupid, my other co-worker, is just that. Really fucking dumb. She isn't as superficial as anorexia and will sport the non-namebrand items, but she does stuff socially because it's the "thing" to do. She's one of those people who just goes with the flow. She does stuff like drinks beer cause all the cool kids are doing it, even though she hates beer. Every night the Sox are home, she announces "I'm going to the game." Me: Hey, I'm out, have a good night. You have plans? Stupid: *tosses hair* Um, Yeah, going to the game Me: Oh awesome, you got tickets then? Stupid: Oh God, no, we depend on someone on the street to sell us theirs. She pretends to be SO INTO the Sox, yet she doesn't know the players. Another coworker, the ONLY cool one in this office, and I were talking about Doug Mirabelli and stupid was like "um whoooo????" I wanted to be like "For someone who goes to "every" home game, you don't know who Mirabelli is?YOu must be dumb. She also goes to the cape every weekend. I think she goes just so she can tell us she is going. "Um it's TOTALLY a CAPE WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!" She also loves to come in in the morning and go "Oh my God, Cape traffic? So bad, ugh, it took me, like, hours to get down and back." IT's sad that she can't do anything originial. And pathetic and superficial and lame.
These girls are bitches. But you know what else? THey're miserable bitches who fool themselves into thinking they are actually happy. They fill their meaningless lives with kate spade bags and tanning salons and scalped red sox tickets trying to fill the void of pointlessness in their lives. The best part is that they're also clueless and have no idea that everyday their bitchiness and stupidity gets broadcasted to no less than 10 of my friends, just so the rest of us can realize how great our lives are ;)
Monday, June 05, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
Musings
Finally after three weekends in a row of travelling, I am going to hunker down at home and do some cleaning and crafting, about which I am very excited.
Plans for the weekend were to spend the day on Martha's Vineyard tomorrow, but given the ominous weather report, those plans will probably be cancelled as we are going out there without a car, or I should say, my sister and I will be without a car while my dad takes the one vehicle we're taking over to a traffic safety demonstration. I think we envisioned ourselves shopping, hanging out and maybe even lounging on the beach, but in the rain, those plans really take a nosedive, especially with the lacking transportation. I hate to even admit, but I was slightly relieved to hear the weather. These past few weeks have certainly been enjoyable, but grueling. Living out of a suitcase every weekend can be irksome, but make that three weekends in a row, throw in driving an average of 1,000 miles a week, and then add in 10-12 hour days at work so as not to lose precious vacation hours you get one tired person. At least all the travelling I have done has been for fun: sister's graduation in Virginia, cousin's graduation in New York, two-year reunion in Northampton, relaxing getaway in Maine. But still, my relief at sleeping late in my own bed is great.
Of course my bedroom is a huge disaster. My sister has been keeping some stuff in there while she moves around her room and unpacks her stuff and moves things she doesn't need at this moment in time to storage. I don't mind that there's a bookcase, a box of something that I forget and a large wheelie suitcase in my room, but this does make moving around somewhat of a problem. And since I can't access things easily, like my closet, for example, I think "hell I'll just wait to unpack." Deadly choice. Last night we finally moved the bookcase out, and instead of putting away my packed clothes, I dumped them in the middle of my floor, rolled up my duffel (Vera Bradley, Citrus Print!!) and watched Primetime instead of being productive and cleaning up my shit. argh. Now I have some work ahead of me. I am optimistic about it though, cause HOLY CRAP I have two entire full days at home! I am even playing hooky from volunteering, which I feel slightly guilty about. But only slightly since they've been a little bitchy about people coming in only on weekends. Ha. I know the directors mean well, but their job is running the sanctuary. Mine is working at this cancer hospital. 8-4. Mon-Fri. I wish I could work at the shelter, but it's not gonna happen. I think because I used to work there every day while semi-employed the directors are kind of bitter that I got a job and can only come on weekends, and though they have an overflow of volunteers they feel bad about telling me not to show up on weekends because I was once uber-committed. Ah well.
Anyways. Other optimistic things about this weekend are the multi and varied crafts that lie ahead of me. Firstly, I have an entire "fix it" table that needs to be dealt with. Broken clothes mostly, or half finished sewing projects. The purses I have made are big ones, they are just stacked on my fix it table. Some I haven't even made yet, like several for my sister, and I think the timing for making them is just right. Her fabrics are pretty and summery and since she is not a large bag whore like me, they would be just about the right size for her, so that will be fun, especially since I now know that plastic mesh is the key to getting the form of the purse just right. I think I need to fix a few of the purses I made for my mom too. So I'll do that. Then there is much scrapbooking to be done. I am working on a secret scrapping project, plus I want to do my basic Kenya album. There are going to be two Kenya albums. The first will be like my other album, simple 8 1/2 by 11 black paper. The pics will be mounted right on the paper, I think, with stories explaining the situation. I will put every single one of the 300 pictures I took in that album, with a few added in of the London side trip, which won't be in the "artful" scrapbook." The artful scrapbook will be the one I show guests. It will have about a third of the pictures as the big book, and they are my personal favorites/bests, along with some taken by other people on the trip. This is supposed to be my masterpiece, set up perfectly with stickers and quotations and mounted photos and colored paper. This may take a while, but I am really looking forward to getting it just right.
If I get sick of any of those projects I might try some others from the craft blogs I've been stumbling upon left and right. So I started reading Loobylu after Dooce featured some artwork of hers. Then I kind of got into littlebirds, which then led me to wee wonderfuls. I don't recall how I stumbled upon whipup or luckybeans, which has crafts but I mostly read because the author and her family live in Zambia, and as an Africaphile I will read anything that has to do with the great continent and reading a first hand account of life there is wonderful. I'm sure the author is like "my life is so average, why would anyone but family and friends read this (besides creepy internet stalkers)?" but I look forward to each new posts and love the pictures, even if it does make me "homesick" (is that the right word?) for Kenya times 1,000,000,000. Sigh. Ok, wandering off topic; point: crafty blogs have given me soooo many fun crafty ideas, like this divine colored pencil holder, which I intend to modify and make for my knitting needles! Maybe even with felt numbers.....oooohhhhhhh good idea...........
The only bad things about the weekend: rain so I can't garden. While this isn't heartbreaking or anything, I noticed that my small garden which is lovely from afar is unkempt as hell. It needs edging and weeding. And de-lilybugging, though I am tempted to rip up the tiger lilies altogether as those little lily beetle bastards destroy them every summer. Also, I feel like I really need to reign in my life. The past three weeks have been a flash of gas-consuming, food-consuming, nearly unconscious purchasing of goods and gifts. So when I read Suze Orman's column in Oprah about a young girl who was out of school but still lived with her parents, had $8,500 in credit card debt despite working two jobs and student loans, I thought it sounded hauntingly familiar. And then when I read Suze's advice to "stay put and get out of debt" I thought "shit I am never getting out of this house." Which turns into "I am not getting out of this house until I get married," which turns into "I can never afford to get married," which turns into "even if I do get married, I won't be able to afford a house, and we'll have to live with my parents." Once the thought process gets that far, I start to panic. I think this time the whole deal hit me hard enough to actually REALLY do something about it. I feel like I'm lazy with finances. I pay my bills on time (except the car) and pay more than the amount due, but I feel like I'm slacking because I could really be working hard at paying down the cards. Moreover, I should only have about 6 car payments left at this point, but I have more like 9. Awful! Especially when you consider that I could have an extra $325 a month to mess around with and put towards credit card debt. With that kind of spare change I bet I could be debt free in a year! Argh! So yeah, that's my other weekend mission. Fix life. Hahahahahah not like there's much on my plate is there? At least I'm no longer feeling like I'm about to have a nervous breakdown, LOL.
Plans for the weekend were to spend the day on Martha's Vineyard tomorrow, but given the ominous weather report, those plans will probably be cancelled as we are going out there without a car, or I should say, my sister and I will be without a car while my dad takes the one vehicle we're taking over to a traffic safety demonstration. I think we envisioned ourselves shopping, hanging out and maybe even lounging on the beach, but in the rain, those plans really take a nosedive, especially with the lacking transportation. I hate to even admit, but I was slightly relieved to hear the weather. These past few weeks have certainly been enjoyable, but grueling. Living out of a suitcase every weekend can be irksome, but make that three weekends in a row, throw in driving an average of 1,000 miles a week, and then add in 10-12 hour days at work so as not to lose precious vacation hours you get one tired person. At least all the travelling I have done has been for fun: sister's graduation in Virginia, cousin's graduation in New York, two-year reunion in Northampton, relaxing getaway in Maine. But still, my relief at sleeping late in my own bed is great.
Of course my bedroom is a huge disaster. My sister has been keeping some stuff in there while she moves around her room and unpacks her stuff and moves things she doesn't need at this moment in time to storage. I don't mind that there's a bookcase, a box of something that I forget and a large wheelie suitcase in my room, but this does make moving around somewhat of a problem. And since I can't access things easily, like my closet, for example, I think "hell I'll just wait to unpack." Deadly choice. Last night we finally moved the bookcase out, and instead of putting away my packed clothes, I dumped them in the middle of my floor, rolled up my duffel (Vera Bradley, Citrus Print!!) and watched Primetime instead of being productive and cleaning up my shit. argh. Now I have some work ahead of me. I am optimistic about it though, cause HOLY CRAP I have two entire full days at home! I am even playing hooky from volunteering, which I feel slightly guilty about. But only slightly since they've been a little bitchy about people coming in only on weekends. Ha. I know the directors mean well, but their job is running the sanctuary. Mine is working at this cancer hospital. 8-4. Mon-Fri. I wish I could work at the shelter, but it's not gonna happen. I think because I used to work there every day while semi-employed the directors are kind of bitter that I got a job and can only come on weekends, and though they have an overflow of volunteers they feel bad about telling me not to show up on weekends because I was once uber-committed. Ah well.
Anyways. Other optimistic things about this weekend are the multi and varied crafts that lie ahead of me. Firstly, I have an entire "fix it" table that needs to be dealt with. Broken clothes mostly, or half finished sewing projects. The purses I have made are big ones, they are just stacked on my fix it table. Some I haven't even made yet, like several for my sister, and I think the timing for making them is just right. Her fabrics are pretty and summery and since she is not a large bag whore like me, they would be just about the right size for her, so that will be fun, especially since I now know that plastic mesh is the key to getting the form of the purse just right. I think I need to fix a few of the purses I made for my mom too. So I'll do that. Then there is much scrapbooking to be done. I am working on a secret scrapping project, plus I want to do my basic Kenya album. There are going to be two Kenya albums. The first will be like my other album, simple 8 1/2 by 11 black paper. The pics will be mounted right on the paper, I think, with stories explaining the situation. I will put every single one of the 300 pictures I took in that album, with a few added in of the London side trip, which won't be in the "artful" scrapbook." The artful scrapbook will be the one I show guests. It will have about a third of the pictures as the big book, and they are my personal favorites/bests, along with some taken by other people on the trip. This is supposed to be my masterpiece, set up perfectly with stickers and quotations and mounted photos and colored paper. This may take a while, but I am really looking forward to getting it just right.
If I get sick of any of those projects I might try some others from the craft blogs I've been stumbling upon left and right. So I started reading Loobylu after Dooce featured some artwork of hers. Then I kind of got into littlebirds, which then led me to wee wonderfuls. I don't recall how I stumbled upon whipup or luckybeans, which has crafts but I mostly read because the author and her family live in Zambia, and as an Africaphile I will read anything that has to do with the great continent and reading a first hand account of life there is wonderful. I'm sure the author is like "my life is so average, why would anyone but family and friends read this (besides creepy internet stalkers)?" but I look forward to each new posts and love the pictures, even if it does make me "homesick" (is that the right word?) for Kenya times 1,000,000,000. Sigh. Ok, wandering off topic; point: crafty blogs have given me soooo many fun crafty ideas, like this divine colored pencil holder, which I intend to modify and make for my knitting needles! Maybe even with felt numbers.....oooohhhhhhh good idea...........
The only bad things about the weekend: rain so I can't garden. While this isn't heartbreaking or anything, I noticed that my small garden which is lovely from afar is unkempt as hell. It needs edging and weeding. And de-lilybugging, though I am tempted to rip up the tiger lilies altogether as those little lily beetle bastards destroy them every summer. Also, I feel like I really need to reign in my life. The past three weeks have been a flash of gas-consuming, food-consuming, nearly unconscious purchasing of goods and gifts. So when I read Suze Orman's column in Oprah about a young girl who was out of school but still lived with her parents, had $8,500 in credit card debt despite working two jobs and student loans, I thought it sounded hauntingly familiar. And then when I read Suze's advice to "stay put and get out of debt" I thought "shit I am never getting out of this house." Which turns into "I am not getting out of this house until I get married," which turns into "I can never afford to get married," which turns into "even if I do get married, I won't be able to afford a house, and we'll have to live with my parents." Once the thought process gets that far, I start to panic. I think this time the whole deal hit me hard enough to actually REALLY do something about it. I feel like I'm lazy with finances. I pay my bills on time (except the car) and pay more than the amount due, but I feel like I'm slacking because I could really be working hard at paying down the cards. Moreover, I should only have about 6 car payments left at this point, but I have more like 9. Awful! Especially when you consider that I could have an extra $325 a month to mess around with and put towards credit card debt. With that kind of spare change I bet I could be debt free in a year! Argh! So yeah, that's my other weekend mission. Fix life. Hahahahahah not like there's much on my plate is there? At least I'm no longer feeling like I'm about to have a nervous breakdown, LOL.
Friday, May 19, 2006
The very necessary venti latte, Starbucks Cup #90, Beth Israel Deaconess, Boston
The Way I See It #90
If we really want to understand
innovation and collaboration, we
have to explore shared space.
Consider Watson & Crick: How
many experiments did they do to
confirm DNA's double helix? Zero.
Not one. They built models based
on other people's data. These
models were thier shared space.
Their collaboration in that shared
space powered their Nobel Prize -
wining breakthough. If you don't
have a shared space, you're not
collaborating.
--Michael Schrage
MIT design researcher
and author of Serious Play.
If we really want to understand
innovation and collaboration, we
have to explore shared space.
Consider Watson & Crick: How
many experiments did they do to
confirm DNA's double helix? Zero.
Not one. They built models based
on other people's data. These
models were thier shared space.
Their collaboration in that shared
space powered their Nobel Prize -
wining breakthough. If you don't
have a shared space, you're not
collaborating.
--Michael Schrage
MIT design researcher
and author of Serious Play.
Lately I've been all pessimisstic and embittered by Starbucks Cups. I've been like 'shut up you' and 'who died and made you Jesus.' Just as I started to write a snide remark in response to Michael's comment, some ponderance about how if you don't communicate well or hate your coworkers you have the antithesis of collaboration, I took a second to think about my job.
Now I don't love every minute of my job. If I did, I wouldn't blog at work. Ha. No it's no great secret that I am not the hugest fan of my job, and in the very beginning it used to break me down to a blubbering sobbing mass (oh, not AT work, after work, late at night while talking to boyfriend). Maybe after a year my senses have been dulled, but I think the year that has passed has allowed me to understand that my work is actually valuable and is useful. And it's really all about collaboration. My job is to enter people into an anonymous non-hodgkin's lymphoma database. Big deal, right? That's what I thought. But then I realized that there are doctors throughout the country that depend on my data to write their papers. The papers, in turn, are presented to conferences throughout the world. They talk about who has what cancer, who got what treatment, and what their outcomes were. So technically, I am setting up a framework. That framework is used by doctors and researchers. Maybe someday the framework I set up will lead to the key that's needed to find the cure to lymphoma. It's all about collaboration, people.
Now I don't love every minute of my job. If I did, I wouldn't blog at work. Ha. No it's no great secret that I am not the hugest fan of my job, and in the very beginning it used to break me down to a blubbering sobbing mass (oh, not AT work, after work, late at night while talking to boyfriend). Maybe after a year my senses have been dulled, but I think the year that has passed has allowed me to understand that my work is actually valuable and is useful. And it's really all about collaboration. My job is to enter people into an anonymous non-hodgkin's lymphoma database. Big deal, right? That's what I thought. But then I realized that there are doctors throughout the country that depend on my data to write their papers. The papers, in turn, are presented to conferences throughout the world. They talk about who has what cancer, who got what treatment, and what their outcomes were. So technically, I am setting up a framework. That framework is used by doctors and researchers. Maybe someday the framework I set up will lead to the key that's needed to find the cure to lymphoma. It's all about collaboration, people.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Signs You Are on the Verge of Having a Nervous Breakdown (not really, but still)

1. you wish the Poland Springs dispenser in the office was filled with vodka
2. you fantasize about standing on the seats of the train and screaming "shut the f*ck UP" to everyone making the least bit of noise
3. you wish there were more hours in the day so you could do all the crap you need to do AND sleep
4. you get pissed off that the dryer takes nearly 40 minutes to dry clothes and bust out a hairdryer to speed up the process
5. you have major deadlines at work but all you can do is google celebrity gossip
6. people ask you to hang out the next night but you tell them you can only plan in hour time blocks no more than 4 hours ahead of current time
7. you actually consider selling all your sh*t and running the f*ck away, but gas is too expensive
8. you actually consider selling all your sh*t, asking your boyfriend to runaway with you and elope, but gas is too expensive. Oh, and that's just silly ;)
9. you have this psychotic urge to tear up all the calendars in view. with your teeth!
10. you consider leaving work 4 hours early to wander aimlessly through Boston Common
11. your eyes won't close because they have been trying to focus on work on a screen for WAY TO LONG
12. you go to the cafeteria at work just for a change of scenery
13. you go to the bathroom just to have a quiet place to sit
14. you blog about your issues
15. you talk to your pets - they're the only ones that "get you" anyways, LOL
16. you talk to your plants. They are the best listeners ever
17. you wear a skirt to work not even realizing you have hairy legs (I thought that day would never come. sigh)
18. you make an afterwork to do list that has 20 items that must be completed in 4 hours and include such monumental tasks as "7. compose symphony" or "13. make lobster thermadore for dinner, baked alaska for desert" or "19. detail car" Insanity
19. you spend an hour at work looking up good places to stay in Iceland
20. while sitting in your desk chair, you throw your head back and see if you can find hidden designs in the ceiling tiles
why I will see this movie even if every critic in the world says it blows
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
black and white make grey's anatomy
So.
I was procrastinating by looking at photos from the season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" because I think I am still recovering from it two days later. So the photos lead me to seek out truth to the rumor I heard that Ellen Pompeo doesn't like her character. I found an interesting interview about that here After reading the interview, I stumbled upon a Grey's Anatomy fan site that had a link to the Nightline interview with certain cast members. I found this one of the single most interesting things I have watched in a long while.
So they're talking about race on TV, specifically about race on Grey's Anatomy. Maybe I'm clueless or maybe my thought processes are different than most people, but I find it funny that I never once looked at the cast and thought "black, white, asian, white, white, black, black." My thought processes were more like this: "oh wow, YES Dr. Burke KEEP taking your clothes off" or "Meredith, tell him off. TELL HIM OFF!" or "If you say "vagina squad" one more time, Alex, I will come through the TV and smack you myself" or "Thank you, I am now adding the term "va-jay-jay" to my everyday vocabulary." Nightline, however, explores the racial aspect of the show, as does Time, but what I love about Shonda Rhimes are her interviews talking about how she wrote the characters as having their own unique flaws and quirks and never as a specific race, ethnicity, etc. I love that! I never really thought about it, I guess maybe because the shows I tend to watch faithfully have a somewhat diverse cast, as in not so glaringly one race (except Most Extreme Challenge where they are all Japanese, hahahahha).
No seriously though. I mean, yeah, Lost is kinda unrealistic in the fact that it looks like the UCLA volleyball team crashed on the beach, but then you kind of look more closely and see that there are unusual characters on there. Yeah, you got a lot of white people but you got some black folks, asian people, a fat man, a latina (ok HAD, she's totally dead) ummmm oh oh! the iraqi dude, a brit addict, a nigerian drugrunner turned priest, etc etc. Oh and NOW Dr. Clue. Frickin Dr. Clue. You even have a biracial couple rocking out. And then there are the reality shows. America's Next Top Model, where half of the girls are white, half are black, asian or like Jade, a biracial butterfly, LOL. And "Everybody Hates Chris" is the FUNNIEST SHOW ON TV RIGHT NOW! WATCH IT! But like I said before, I don't tend to notice these things. I don't watch Grey's Anatomy and think "Oh my God the chief of staff at the hospital is BLACK!" or "Oh my GOD Joanie and Danielle on ANTM are two different races but they're FRIENDS! How shocking!" But apparently people do watch TV with a little internal mental label maker going "black.....asian......white, and BLONDE!..........asian.....black....black.....black....what is with all the black people here??"
I am happy that Shonda Rhimes decided to defy the rules and just write a show. Just write a show where the character's paths were predestined and did not depend on a certain prototype. In the case of Grey's Anatomy you can seriously argue that the show is colorblind in the fact that it was written without "color" so anyone could've landed the roles. Shonda did steer the boat by demanding interesting actors during casting. So interesting. Nightline even called it "revolutionary" or something along those lines. I basically think it's great. But maybe it's cause I try not to be a racist person (ha ha yeah, I know I should've given some white guy a chance, but I'm happy with my black man thank you very much, LOL) the reality of it all is that I watch Grey's Anatomy every week because it's fabulous. The fact that it has given actors the chance to play what is for them an atypical role (Isiah Washington as a surgeon and not a thug, though imagining him cast as a thug is perhaps one of the most ridiculous and hilariously absurd things I've ever heard. Dude, do casters just look at him and go "great, black man, you're a thug" I mean COME ON PEOPLE! He's Dr. Burke! He plays the trumpet! He's ELOQUENT DAMMIT!) but I don't watch it because it's making any sort of statement. No way. I watch it for ten bajillion other reasons. It's got drama, romance, weird medical issues, people with issues, people with more issues, people with serious issues, and SEX. And hey, let's face it, we ALL know it's the biracial sex that really gets me hot anyways, so to Shonda Rhimes and Grey's Anatomy I say "BRING IT, BITCHES."
I was procrastinating by looking at photos from the season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" because I think I am still recovering from it two days later. So the photos lead me to seek out truth to the rumor I heard that Ellen Pompeo doesn't like her character. I found an interesting interview about that here After reading the interview, I stumbled upon a Grey's Anatomy fan site that had a link to the Nightline interview with certain cast members. I found this one of the single most interesting things I have watched in a long while.
So they're talking about race on TV, specifically about race on Grey's Anatomy. Maybe I'm clueless or maybe my thought processes are different than most people, but I find it funny that I never once looked at the cast and thought "black, white, asian, white, white, black, black." My thought processes were more like this: "oh wow, YES Dr. Burke KEEP taking your clothes off" or "Meredith, tell him off. TELL HIM OFF!" or "If you say "vagina squad" one more time, Alex, I will come through the TV and smack you myself" or "Thank you, I am now adding the term "va-jay-jay" to my everyday vocabulary." Nightline, however, explores the racial aspect of the show, as does Time, but what I love about Shonda Rhimes are her interviews talking about how she wrote the characters as having their own unique flaws and quirks and never as a specific race, ethnicity, etc. I love that! I never really thought about it, I guess maybe because the shows I tend to watch faithfully have a somewhat diverse cast, as in not so glaringly one race (except Most Extreme Challenge where they are all Japanese, hahahahha).
No seriously though. I mean, yeah, Lost is kinda unrealistic in the fact that it looks like the UCLA volleyball team crashed on the beach, but then you kind of look more closely and see that there are unusual characters on there. Yeah, you got a lot of white people but you got some black folks, asian people, a fat man, a latina (ok HAD, she's totally dead) ummmm oh oh! the iraqi dude, a brit addict, a nigerian drugrunner turned priest, etc etc. Oh and NOW Dr. Clue. Frickin Dr. Clue. You even have a biracial couple rocking out. And then there are the reality shows. America's Next Top Model, where half of the girls are white, half are black, asian or like Jade, a biracial butterfly, LOL. And "Everybody Hates Chris" is the FUNNIEST SHOW ON TV RIGHT NOW! WATCH IT! But like I said before, I don't tend to notice these things. I don't watch Grey's Anatomy and think "Oh my God the chief of staff at the hospital is BLACK!" or "Oh my GOD Joanie and Danielle on ANTM are two different races but they're FRIENDS! How shocking!" But apparently people do watch TV with a little internal mental label maker going "black.....asian......white, and BLONDE!..........asian.....black....black.....black....what is with all the black people here??"
I am happy that Shonda Rhimes decided to defy the rules and just write a show. Just write a show where the character's paths were predestined and did not depend on a certain prototype. In the case of Grey's Anatomy you can seriously argue that the show is colorblind in the fact that it was written without "color" so anyone could've landed the roles. Shonda did steer the boat by demanding interesting actors during casting. So interesting. Nightline even called it "revolutionary" or something along those lines. I basically think it's great. But maybe it's cause I try not to be a racist person (ha ha yeah, I know I should've given some white guy a chance, but I'm happy with my black man thank you very much, LOL) the reality of it all is that I watch Grey's Anatomy every week because it's fabulous. The fact that it has given actors the chance to play what is for them an atypical role (Isiah Washington as a surgeon and not a thug, though imagining him cast as a thug is perhaps one of the most ridiculous and hilariously absurd things I've ever heard. Dude, do casters just look at him and go "great, black man, you're a thug" I mean COME ON PEOPLE! He's Dr. Burke! He plays the trumpet! He's ELOQUENT DAMMIT!) but I don't watch it because it's making any sort of statement. No way. I watch it for ten bajillion other reasons. It's got drama, romance, weird medical issues, people with issues, people with more issues, people with serious issues, and SEX. And hey, let's face it, we ALL know it's the biracial sex that really gets me hot anyways, so to Shonda Rhimes and Grey's Anatomy I say "BRING IT, BITCHES."
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
why if I liked girls I would want to hook up with Potes from televisionwithoutpity.com
How hilarious is this:
Jade is next. She says that Danielle is a little ill, but when you model and travel you have to do well on shoots no matter what. Jade is ready to rock. She is ready to rock you with her stupidity, as well, as she says that she'll never forget shooting on the elephant, which reminds her of an ancient dinosaur. She adds, "'Cause they are in the dinosaur family." Yes, and birds are blind. And my cat, Miss Itty, pees apple juice. Is there some sort of National Geographic For Dummmies that we could buy from a charity drive, and then send in bulk to the show? Jade does not do a spectacular job and has trouble taking Jay's direction. Jay tells her that she's thinking about it too much, and notes that Jade becomes instantly stiff when he gives direction, and perhaps thinks it's a critique. Joanie agrees that Jade was stiff and looked uncomfortable with what she was doing. Sutan, the makeup artist, lies to Jade that she did well. Never trust a man who dresses like Tyra Banks, mostly because it means he shops at Victoria's Secret.
I generally like the reviews on televisionwithoutpity.com. They're funny, the people who write them have a great sense of humor, BUT mostly I just skim along for a few pages and then abandon ship because they get boring after a while. Maybe because you don't need to read a detailed review of Grey's Anatomy. You were there. You watched it. And you like McDreamy, so when you read an entire page dedicated to how much he has been sucking lately, even if you agree you're kinda like "yeah ok, know it, don't need to read it." The one exception to the rule would be Potes' s reviews of America's Next Top Model. First of all, ripping apart a reality tv show is great because you get to rip apart REAL PEOPLE without them EVER knowing (unless you know them. which would suck, cause then there would be all this bullshit and guilt about hating them and you would hold back in your real enraged criticism of their suckage). Anyways, I read Potes's thumbnail sketches on Wednesday morning after the episode and eagerly await her full length reviews later in the week because they are that hilarious. And because she hates Jade. And so do I. Maybe, just maybe, the ugly biatch will be eliminated tonight. Grrrrrrrr.
Personally, I like BJ and Tyler. Yeah, they're hippies, they have long disheveled hair and look like they do not bathe, but they're FUN. Everyone is always ranking on them (both on the show and in life) People are like "they're hippies, they're creepy, they're loud, they're annoying, they say that lame catchphrase "TTOW" all the time." That is jealousy, my friends. Why? Because twice they have been almost eliminated and had all their money taken instead in the non elimination round, a
nd you know what? They were actually better off! Yeah, yeah, you can claim it was because other teammates gave them money and clothes, but seriously, it's cause they got mad skill when it comes to collecting money, begging, performing WHATEVER! I have different personal reasons for liking them. One is that they actually make an effort to embrace their surroundings. Yeah, there are people who accept their surroundings and make due, but most teams are kind of distant. Like Ray and Yolanda are awesome (I think) and they seem nice, but their attitude is very much get in, do it, get out. BJ and Tyler, even if they only speak a few words of the local dialect, will make an effort to communicate. They are respectful of local customs and habits. Basically, they don't act like freaky Americans in a foreign land. Which is not to say they don't act freaky, they do, but people seem to like it. Maybe because inside they are saying "lookit those freaky Americans" which to me is wwaaaaaayyy more desirable than "lookit those rude Americans." I'm not sure if I'm being clear, but quick examples of stupidity:
Lake (hick accent): Woman I should've made you do the challenge where you had to dive for the clue in the pool
Michelle: Laaaake....would you have really wanted me to? In front of Russian men? In a bathing suit?
MoJo: Can we get tickets to Palller-moe? Paller-mo? Palomino?
Airline ticket counter man: "Palermo"? (said "Pah-lairrrrr-mo" with a very italian rolled "r")
MoJo: Yeah Paller-mo
Airline ticket counter man shoots them look of death
Fratboy 1: hey we need a ticket to Palermo
Fratboy 2: hey ladies
Alitalia ladies: hello, ciao
Fratboy 2: hey ladies, uh, you got hickies?
Alitalia ladies stare bewildered: wha?
Fratboy 2: y'all got hickies? is that why you're wearing scarfs around your neck?
Alitalia ladies shoot them looks that says "please die now"
Fratboys:
Well the above comment spells it out for you. They suck. They think they're the shit. When they did an underwater challenge and came out in speedos (shudder) they were like "good think this beach is empty, otherwise there would be ladies all over us." They've told both Yolanda and Monica that they were lucky to have men with them otherwise they would've been in "trouble" several times. Ha. Monica may have liked that comment, I'm not sure, but Yolanda's look in response to that comment was like "I would not touch you with a ten foot pole. ps. seen my boyfriend Ray? I guarantee you his dick is twice the size of yours, maybe even THREE times, bitch." Heh. I hope they do not win, though I am not sure that they have the best chance. Yes, they are actually pretty good players, but they've made some pretty damaging tasks in the past, especially when it comes to reading maps. They may be doomed because they can't read. Maps, I mean, they can't read maps. Though if they were in fact illiterate, I have to admit, I wouldn't be shocked.
Ray and Yolanda:
Nice folks I think. I mean Yolanda even got ahold of BJ or Tyler's purple p
ants when they lost everything in the non-elimination round. That is so chill. But that is Ray and Yolanda to a T. They are chill. Almost too chill. They need to get fired up if they are going to win, and their chill-ness makes me want to take a lighter and hold it close to their skin and be like "yo does this burn, cause you two are slightly bot-like." Well, except for that time they were fighting. Maybe they need to fight again? That way, Ray could get all pissed off and be like 'You didn't drag me here for nothin' bitch, I'm gonna get that million dollars even if I have to share it with you" He would actually show emotion. And we know Yolanda's not gonna pull a Monica and get all weepy and shit. She will get vengeful and be like "Fine Ray, I'll show you exactly what I can do and how much better than you I can do it." Ha. If that happened, I think they would win.
Time
will
tell.
Jade is next. She says that Danielle is a little ill, but when you model and travel you have to do well on shoots no matter what. Jade is ready to rock. She is ready to rock you with her stupidity, as well, as she says that she'll never forget shooting on the elephant, which reminds her of an ancient dinosaur. She adds, "'Cause they are in the dinosaur family." Yes, and birds are blind. And my cat, Miss Itty, pees apple juice. Is there some sort of National Geographic For Dummmies that we could buy from a charity drive, and then send in bulk to the show? Jade does not do a spectacular job and has trouble taking Jay's direction. Jay tells her that she's thinking about it too much, and notes that Jade becomes instantly stiff when he gives direction, and perhaps thinks it's a critique. Joanie agrees that Jade was stiff and looked uncomfortable with what she was doing. Sutan, the makeup artist, lies to Jade that she did well. Never trust a man who dresses like Tyra Banks, mostly because it means he shops at Victoria's Secret.
I generally like the reviews on televisionwithoutpity.com. They're funny, the people who write them have a great sense of humor, BUT mostly I just skim along for a few pages and then abandon ship because they get boring after a while. Maybe because you don't need to read a detailed review of Grey's Anatomy. You were there. You watched it. And you like McDreamy, so when you read an entire page dedicated to how much he has been sucking lately, even if you agree you're kinda like "yeah ok, know it, don't need to read it." The one exception to the rule would be Potes' s reviews of America's Next Top Model. First of all, ripping apart a reality tv show is great because you get to rip apart REAL PEOPLE without them EVER knowing (unless you know them. which would suck, cause then there would be all this bullshit and guilt about hating them and you would hold back in your real enraged criticism of their suckage). Anyways, I read Potes's thumbnail sketches on Wednesday morning after the episode and eagerly await her full length reviews later in the week because they are that hilarious. And because she hates Jade. And so do I. Maybe, just maybe, the ugly biatch will be eliminated tonight. Grrrrrrrr.
Evil has a name: JADE
Meanwhile on Amazing Race, we are also down to the last three after the glorious elimination of MoJo. I'm thinking it's the season finale, though the strategy may be to squeeze one more episode out next week, I'm not sure exactly.
So we're down to:
BJ and Tyler.Personally, I like BJ and Tyler. Yeah, they're hippies, they have long disheveled hair and look like they do not bathe, but they're FUN. Everyone is always ranking on them (both on the show and in life) People are like "they're hippies, they're creepy, they're loud, they're annoying, they say that lame catchphrase "TTOW" all the time." That is jealousy, my friends. Why? Because twice they have been almost eliminated and had all their money taken instead in the non elimination round, a
nd you know what? They were actually better off! Yeah, yeah, you can claim it was because other teammates gave them money and clothes, but seriously, it's cause they got mad skill when it comes to collecting money, begging, performing WHATEVER! I have different personal reasons for liking them. One is that they actually make an effort to embrace their surroundings. Yeah, there are people who accept their surroundings and make due, but most teams are kind of distant. Like Ray and Yolanda are awesome (I think) and they seem nice, but their attitude is very much get in, do it, get out. BJ and Tyler, even if they only speak a few words of the local dialect, will make an effort to communicate. They are respectful of local customs and habits. Basically, they don't act like freaky Americans in a foreign land. Which is not to say they don't act freaky, they do, but people seem to like it. Maybe because inside they are saying "lookit those freaky Americans" which to me is wwaaaaaayyy more desirable than "lookit those rude Americans." I'm not sure if I'm being clear, but quick examples of stupidity:Lake (hick accent): Woman I should've made you do the challenge where you had to dive for the clue in the pool
Michelle: Laaaake....would you have really wanted me to? In front of Russian men? In a bathing suit?
MoJo: Can we get tickets to Palller-moe? Paller-mo? Palomino?
Airline ticket counter man: "Palermo"? (said "Pah-lairrrrr-mo" with a very italian rolled "r")
MoJo: Yeah Paller-mo
Airline ticket counter man shoots them look of death
Fratboy 1: hey we need a ticket to Palermo
Fratboy 2: hey ladies
Alitalia ladies: hello, ciao
Fratboy 2: hey ladies, uh, you got hickies?
Alitalia ladies stare bewildered: wha?
Fratboy 2: y'all got hickies? is that why you're wearing scarfs around your neck?
Alitalia ladies shoot them looks that says "please die now"
Fratboys:

Well the above comment spells it out for you. They suck. They think they're the shit. When they did an underwater challenge and came out in speedos (shudder) they were like "good think this beach is empty, otherwise there would be ladies all over us." They've told both Yolanda and Monica that they were lucky to have men with them otherwise they would've been in "trouble" several times. Ha. Monica may have liked that comment, I'm not sure, but Yolanda's look in response to that comment was like "I would not touch you with a ten foot pole. ps. seen my boyfriend Ray? I guarantee you his dick is twice the size of yours, maybe even THREE times, bitch." Heh. I hope they do not win, though I am not sure that they have the best chance. Yes, they are actually pretty good players, but they've made some pretty damaging tasks in the past, especially when it comes to reading maps. They may be doomed because they can't read. Maps, I mean, they can't read maps. Though if they were in fact illiterate, I have to admit, I wouldn't be shocked.
Ray and Yolanda:
Nice folks I think. I mean Yolanda even got ahold of BJ or Tyler's purple p
ants when they lost everything in the non-elimination round. That is so chill. But that is Ray and Yolanda to a T. They are chill. Almost too chill. They need to get fired up if they are going to win, and their chill-ness makes me want to take a lighter and hold it close to their skin and be like "yo does this burn, cause you two are slightly bot-like." Well, except for that time they were fighting. Maybe they need to fight again? That way, Ray could get all pissed off and be like 'You didn't drag me here for nothin' bitch, I'm gonna get that million dollars even if I have to share it with you" He would actually show emotion. And we know Yolanda's not gonna pull a Monica and get all weepy and shit. She will get vengeful and be like "Fine Ray, I'll show you exactly what I can do and how much better than you I can do it." Ha. If that happened, I think they would win.Time
will
tell.



