Saturday, April 25, 2009

Golden Girls loss



Most notable "It would not be until season three that Arthur would win that Emmy bookend. With Getty also winning that night, the quartet joined "All in the Family" in the Emmy record book as the only sitcoms with an entirely award-winning cast. ("Will & Grace" would become the third such show when Debra Messing finally won her Emmy in 2003.) "

I just want to say that Golden Girls is a ground breaking show for lots of reasons; first recurring gay character; first prime time show to deal with women's sexuality in that way; and amongst the winningnest ever. These three shows that hold these records are all ground breaking in terms of material. Do they have that in common or just an incredible cast?

Although my favorite Golden Girl was Sophia (Estelle Getty), who sadly also passed, its hard to imagine my life without watching this show constantly. I hope Bea Arthur, as well as Estelle Getty, is always remembered for her contribution to the discussion of important issues of society and family. I know I will never forget what this show means to me.

American Idol 7 finalists

Anoop Desai went home finally, but really? i think he just didn't have a fan base - where were all the Indians? He was so good and so cute. Honestly, I think his fan base was missing. He kept getting picked on even though the judges frequently said he was so good. I forgot that he made it top 13 instead of top 12 though - maybe he did better than expected then.

I wonder if Indians just don't watch this show in large number? And shouldn't the UNC base have helped him out quite a bit? I guess when there are so many millions of votes, its tough. Sorry Anoop, if I had been in the US, I'd have voted for you a good 20 times. Love the facial hair though!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Top Chef: New York

Long time no write, oh well. The new Top Chef series inspired me to begin blogging again.

The first challenge is incredible. I love the relay race element of the "Skills tournament" of it that culminates in cooking. I can't help but think about how Hung would have destroyed these contestants in the knife skills, though.

I need to rewatch the episode, but why do Patrick and lauren say they just reconnected? What are they long lost fiances or something? I mean, its nice to see an old friend, but they could just exchange cell phones and keep in touch. Such melodrama so early. I can't help but feel bad for any person who gets eliminated in the first episode of a reality show. They get such crap forever for being the "worst" even though they are incredibly talented (probably). They don't even get the face recognition of being on the show!

This incredible NY pad continues the trend of making the first season look like "Top Chef on a budget." San Francisco must have had places as large as this place in NY. It's just ludicrous that in such a high rent city, they could fit Season 1's entire house in Season 5's foyer. Well here's to Padma instead of Katie and hitting it big with new sponsors and ratings. My first Top Chef love will always be Harold though.

Okay, so already chefs are nervous saying they've never cooked Indian - or the dude who said he hadn't used a paring knife. Am I the only one who finds this kind of stuff unexcusable? Haven't they seen the previous series? Basic knife and cooking skills are tested throughout the competition. Versatility across ethnicities, across ingredients etc are important. And if someone says they don't have at least two desserts in mind, I might scream. Seriously, microwave connoisseur that I am, even *I* know some basic things I would work on before going on this show. At bare minimum, I'd take the previous 4 seasons challenges and try to do them all on my own, but whatever. Maybe I should make a guide book consisting of the criticisms of all the judges and previous challenges. It'd be a "judge philosophy" book for chefs!

one of these women reminds me of Tiffany because she's a bit stand offish and seems very focused on cooking and winning. Mostly, her comment about liking to cook in silence reminded me of Tiffany freaking out in the kitchen and asking everyone to be quiet.

Okay, so winning the first one may or may not mean winning TC according to them, but as we've discussed, the REAL factor is not winning the first elimination but winning my affection. (Yeah, last season disproves that - oh Ryan - so pretty, so not talented enough). I like Gene and Jeff, though. They're cute!

Ok but the elimination challenge - the judges were ridiculously rough. Not one of them learned by using recipes in a book? All of them by experience? really? not a single book? I find that hard to imagine. And, the expectation that if one is in New Jersey they should be able to see all parts of NYC? They've gotten harsher and meaner.

Also, Patrick was robbed. The judges table is very inconsistent - I thought basic culinary sins were worse than not having inspiration? I wish they had an actual rubric set up.

A total aside, Top Design was not that awesome this season but oh my goodness was the finale a debauchery. Perfect Preston should have won!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Podcasts now live!

The Dartmouth Debate Workshop lectures, which are available on our website free of charge - http://ddw.wikispaces.com - are also now available as a podcast. More lectures will be added in the coming weeks. You can either go to this url
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284449482 or search within the itunes store "Dartmouth Debate Workshop."
Please feel free to leave feedback on itunes!

Stay tuned for the various Dartmouth Debate Institute lectures which will be available on our website - http://ddi.wikispaces.com - and which will also be available as podcasts.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Arrested Development - Episode 2, Top Banana

A delicious whodunit, after this

George: I haven't taken a vacation in years. I'm exercising, eating well.

Tobias: we are just about ass to ankles here maebe, you wanna hop on your cousin's lap?

Lindsay: I have a job Michael. It's called supporting my husband

Lindsay's accomplishments in high school had always overshadowed Michaels (Lindsay: best hair. Michael: most likely to succeed)

Michael to George Michael: You're staying on top of her, buddy. Do not be afraid to ride her . . . hard

Roger: Remember how crazy our hair was in high school?

George: There's always money in the Banana stand

GOB had not mailed the letter but in an act of defiance, dramatically through it into the sea. This proved a more difficult challenge than he expected.

Mom Bluth: Don't take that tone. He's my son and I want you to make him stop calling me

Lindsay: I was going to say you may want to lean away fromt he fire because you are soaked in alcohol.

GOB: I should be in charge. I'm the older brother.
Michael: do you want to be in charge?
GOB: No, but I'd still like to be asked.

Michael to GOB: You mailed that insurance check, right GOB?

George: There was 250,00 lining the walls of the banana stand!

Arrested Development Episode 1

I know I'm late on this trend, and in my defense, I have seen some episodes at random. So instead of having non-earth shattering opinions about how funny this show is, I'm just going to type my favorite quotes.

GOB: illusion, Michael. Tricks are what whores do for money . . . . . or candy

narrator: Yes, this is his family. So why is Michael so happy? Because he's decided to never speak to these people again

Michael: I wonder how I can talk you out of ever making that face again

George: Sorry, it's not the right time.

George Michael: I knew it was against the law

Michael: Buster? the guy who thought that the blue ont he map was land?

Michael: I'd love to call it an imposition

George Michael: I'm tempted to kiss againt o teach them a lesson

George Michael: I quit
George: Well, that's probably a smart career move

George: They can not arrest a husband and wife for the same crime

George Michael: You love it here?
George: ah, I'm having the time of my life!

Awesomeness

If you are looking for a website with easy debate lesson plans, lecture videos, citations for arguments like RPS, Climate Change, Business Confidence, and many Kritiks, check out ddw.wikispaces.com The Dartmouth Debate workshop has uploaded videos of virtually all of its lectures and talks in order to allow year-long learning.

Plus, for my three loyal readers, I set up the wiki so you should support the best debate camp wiki around.

Also check out ddi.wikispaces.com - the ORIGINAL debate camp wiki, which will also be handling videos once the Dartmouth Debate Institute starts.