7.31.2007

Ocean of Fear: Sharks are SO Misunderstood!

It's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I usually wouldn't really care about this, given that I'm not especially fond of sharks, but the promos for Shark Week are everywhere...all the time. And especially the show, Ocean of Fear, about a real-life ship wreck and the shark-infested waters that followed. For weeks now they've been billing this special as a document of the "worst shark attack in history" in which several hundred men were killed. I was blowing it off until Entertainment Weekly called it the "Must Watch" of the week, and that's when I knew I had to tune in. It was a 2 hour special and it aired this past Sunday and Eric and I watched it. And, well, I feel mislead.


Since I didn't pay THAT close attention, all I can give you are some vagaries about the real-life incident. A US ship was on it's way back from delivering the first A-bomb to some US port, but on its way back home it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Close to 1,200 men were on board and only 900 men made it off the boat. And this is when the shark stuff comes into play. Most of the footage from the show consisted of underwater shots of sharks circling several rafts with men inside. However, most of the time, they just circled, they didn't attack. What the sharks did attack were men who had already died from other causes - most often lack of water. In fact, I think that there were less than 5 attacks on men who were still alive. Over a 5 day period, only 300+ men survived. It was sad to watch, but I got the feeling about 3/4 of the way through that sharks weren't the enemy on this occasion. 5 attacks? 900 men? You do the math. It was primarily a special on what NOT to do when you get lost at sea. And the answer to that, my friends, is don't drink salt water! You'll go down faster than you would have without it.

The attack is still on record as the worst in history, but that's mainly because of the number of people and sharks in one place at one time. I was expecting some serious shark brutality and what I saw was that sharks are not so bad. Maybe they're misunderstood...and maybe I don't care because they're freakin' scary!

Oh no they didn't...

For those of you that don't know, House Hunters is a neat little show on HGTV that I frequently enjoy. You get to see three houses for a person to choose from and it makes buying a home seem just that easy. Part of me would like to say that I only watch it because it's the summer and there's nothing else on TV, but that's simply not true. I enjoy the show. And I've gotten damn good at choosing the house the people end up choosing.



I settled in last night to watch a new episode and imagine my disgust when the infamous Star Jones Reynolds popped up on the screen. I think I actually said aloud "What the hell?" and then somehow kept from throwing a pillow at the TV (I didn't want to frighten the dogs). There is nothing wrong with Suzanne Whang (the normal host) and there is nothing right about Star. Nothing.


From what I've read online, this is a guest stint as host. I certainly hope that's true. I'm not sure if I can truly enjoy House Hunters with SJR as the host.
P.S. SJR was "intentionally evasive" about gastric bypass surgery. As if we didn't know!

7.30.2007

McCopyright Infringement?


There are a few places that Eric and I really miss up here in Michigan. Sonic, Shake's and Chik-Fil-A are just a few of them. It's toughest with Sonic, because they run commercials for delicious drinks all the time, and yet, there are no Sonics in sight. Chick-Fil-A gets us, too. Their chick-n-biscuits are one of the best breakfast treats I can think of. Plus, the chicken sandwhiches, with a simple treatment of just pickles, are some of the best around.

So good, in fact, that McDonald's has decided to straight up copy them. They introduced the Southern Style Chicken Sandwhich recently and it's basically the exact same thing as the Chick-Fil-A sandwhich. Eric and I were then faced with a dilemma. Stay true to Chick-Fil-A, the original? Or go to McDonald's as quick as we possibly could and order 2 of them - to go! I doubt I have to tell you what we did.

The knock-offs were tasty, I will admit. And we've had a hankerin' for another one since then. I feel so guilty betraying dear Chick-Fil-A...but I love me some chicken, so what're ya gonna do?

7.27.2007

Like a cow in a rainstorm...


This is pretty much how I felt yesterday. Except without the rock hard abs. And I was wearing a shirt. And I'm not a man. Okay, truth be told, I couldn't find a cool picture of a woman running in the rain. So this is what you get. Anyhooha, I went for a little run yesterday and halfway through it, there was a downpour. I mean, it was raining hard. I was pretty far from my house so I decided to embrace the rain and finish up my run.


When I finally reached the end of my street, I sprinted towards my house. I imagined myself looking about like this guy (except again, no abs, with a shirt and as a woman), and as I stood on my porch drenched and drained, I felt great. Now I realize that I probably looked more like a cold, wet calf (baby cows strike me as awkward) running through a rainstorm, but whatever.


Why was I running at all, you ask? And that's a great question considering my apathy towards excercise. But, I'm thinking about running a half-marathon. Don't even ask what makes me think this is a good idea, because I have no good answer. But I'm in my initial training and the first two weeks have been good. I enjoy my runs, even in the rain, except of course when I see lighting strike about 3 feet away from me. I'll decide in September whether or not to sign up for the half-marathon. And I'll keep you ladies posted. For now though, just call me Running Rudy.

7.25.2007

It's like changing purses for different seasons


I had to change the blog again. Blame it on boredom. Blame it on my love of changing desktop backgrounds. But I think it's a lot like when a girl changes her winter purse for a summer tote. It just makes sense to change every once and a while. Beyonce knows.

Oh, and I added a poll section. This first poll is just a tester. If it works out, then we can do more!

Are you kidding me?


Lohan. The name doesn't really conjure up the image of the sweet, talented young actress of yore, does it? Not anymore. Now it comes with loads of baggage. Alcohol problems, drug addiction, ex-boyfriends, crazy parents, and more. And that's just her personal life. Apparently she's rarely on time and sort of a diva on set. Surprised? No. Not when everyone caters to her and the other young women of Hollywood. It's really ridiculous when Lohan is covered on CNN - and it's BREAKING NEWS! I saw a video clip of an anchorman (bless him) who tried to refuse to read the story about Lohan during a live broadcast! It went something like this, "And Lindsay Lohan was arrested...I'm not going to read this..." SILENCE "They're telling me I have to read this." And while it was kind of embarrassing, he made his point. It's not REAL news! I miss the days when CNN was a legitimate new source. Or, rather, I miss the days when famous people were sort of normal, or secretly crazy. I do kind of blame paparazzi for this. But c'mon. There are a TON of celebs that stay below the radar and are probably straight crazy. How hard is it to stay inside one night a week? Maybe even not drink when you're wearing an alcohol-monitoring bracelet? Leave the coke at home? Just a few tips that might have served Lohan well jsut a few days ago.

7.24.2007

Drew Carey as Bob Barker?


So this is what it takes to get the blog back up and running... Drew Carey. Now, I generally find Drew Carey pretty funny. He seems like a nice guy. I can picture him as one of my dad's friends or something. But I simply cannot endorse the decision to make him the new host of "The Price Is Right." I just can't do it. And to be quite honest, I don't have any reasons why. It's not that my reasons aren't good, it's that I really don't have any.
Does anyone agree and if so, do you have a reason why?