Monday the 2nd

Commute:

• Finished off this weekend's Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, and the This American Life episode on infidelity. I hadn't listened to any This American Life podcasts for a while - and flat out deleted a few of the Planet Money themed ones. I enjoy them separately. In this instance, I do not want the peanut butter all over my chocolate.

Nighttime:

• HIMYM. It was OK. Still not all that enthused about Barney/Robin - I am almost longing for a Ted storyline.


• Modern Family, the football episode. I love Cameron. His cannonball at the end was fantastic.


• Big Bang Theory. Also about football, and I especially loved this one because my friend Ravi, despite being a very cool hipster, could totally hang with the nerds on this show. And like Sheldon? Is from Texas, and magically understands football. It is a fascinating phenomenon.


• The Soup, Something About Smackdowns. If it weren't for this show, I might have to watch even more crappy reality TV. So I'm glad this summarizes.
  
• And it's taken a while, but I have hit a show I don't really want to admit to watching. Little People, Big World. I don't watch it often - in fact, I may not have seen any last season - bc I feel like I'm watching a train wreck. The dad isn't very likable, the mom is passive-aggressive, and I feel guilty not liking all the kids bc - they're just kids.
  
• So I changed the channel to watch The Colbert Report, just in time to see Dan Jansen. He has aged WELL. If the Colbert Nation does sponsor U.S. Speed Skating, I will have to start paying some of my Colbert Nation taxes. Is this actually happening, because... awesome!

Monday the 19th

Morning Commute:

• Planet Money, something about economics that I tuned out but would probably be able to follow if there was a quiz. Maybe they should add quiz segments!

At work:

• I realize that "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys has been featured in many things, but for some reason I had to download it after hearing it on "The Debarted" episode of The Simpsons. I kinda felt like leaving it on repeat all day. And signing along in my cubicle. That wouldn't alarm anyone.

Evening:

• HIMYM. Aw, a Canada episode. This one actually felt a lot better to me than the last few. I could sympathize with Ted's feelings of loss -it's hard when your best friend is in a couple and doesn't realize that while you genuinely like their partner you still want to have your friend to yourself sometimes. I thought that storyline came off true but not overly sappy.


• The Simpsons. Catching up on the new season, starting with "Bart Gets a Z" - poor ol' Ms. Crabapple.


• The Big Bang Theory. Silly, but not noxious.


• Fringe. The one where the cop crystallizes and EXPLODES. Wait, that could actually be any episode, huh?

Monday the 12th

Morning and Evening Commute:

• Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me podcast. Mildly entertaining, Ashley Judd was a guest bc she's currently a grad student at Harvard, and that's all I remember. Oh, except I totally missed the "Bluff the Listener" - turns out that a Denver weekly is actually hiring a marijuana critic. No, the outlet is not the Mile High Times. (See, I could totally be a Wait Wait panelist.)

Nighttime viewing:

• HIMYM. Start being funnier, show. I am growing even less tolerant of forced hilarity. I was actually OK with Marshall and Lily's over-the-top terrible hosting, but the ending was ridiculous. Robin and Barney? Too good for that.


• Mad Men. Don is not very likable this season. Not showing many redemptive qualities. It was thrilling to see Roger put him in his place, even though the point he had to make was that the agency has to find a way to keep themselves endeared to their horrible clients. They could take lessons from poor Carla.

Sunday the 11th

Morning Coffee Walk:

• NPR:Books Podcast. I loved the interview with Madeline Albright about her pins, and think she used them well as a diplomatic tool. There is a lot of wisdom in putting a point of view in a very obvious place where it can be noted and used to set a tone.

Between Things:

• Started catching up on Season 2 of Fringe. Who else was annoyed when they didn't check Charlie's palate from the get-go?


• HIMYM, "The Possimpible". I'm going to start channeling my visio-tivity right now.

Evening:

• Went to see Whip It, and was pleasantly entertained. Fun, cute, and rewatchable. Drew did a good job, and it was fun to see her give herself such a ridiculous rough and tumble character.

Late Night:

• TAR - and how was it possible only 2 of those teams recognized Jackie O?? Pathetic. I was very disappointed with the outcome this week, and don't really care who wins now. The dad & son, I guess. Or the Globetrotters. The rest of them are all grating.

Nightstand:

• Rereading Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. It was my second nomination for book club - originally, I had said we would read Woman on the Edge of Time because I remember reading it for a fem. stud. class back in college and that it provoked interesting discussions. What I had forgotten is that it is stilted and unreadable, so I retracted it and suggested Cat's Cradle instead, because given the option? I would probably be a Bokononist myself.

Monday the 5th

Commuting:

• Polished off Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and then watched the "Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody's Ass" episode of It's Always Sunny on my iPod.

Nighttime viewing:

• Watched the baseball park episode of Man vs. Food. Adam Richman is totally one of my TV boyfriends - I love his good-natured enthusiasm and appreciation for the ridiculous. The concept of the shore is, of course, appalling - food challenges no one should attempt - and yet it is done with such unabashed glee.
  
• HIMYM, something about Robin school. Total meh-pisode. Keeping the Robin/Barney relationship as a focus is dangerous, shark-jumping territory.
  
• Trauma. Episode 1 - First thought, is that first guy is a "That Guy". Turns out to be Herc from Friday Night Lights. (Thanks, IMDB!) And so far... not looking like this is gonna stay in the DVR recording list. Watching car accidents occur in places where you drive is creepy. Also, the set-ups and the characters just seem so artificial. I think the idea of first response medical teams is dramatic enough without starting the characters off with a flashback to give them a "Troubled Past!" and "Complicated Relationships!" or characters with nicknames who holler catchphrases. Fast-forwarding to see where they filmed... and... HEY! It's Buddy from Friday Night Lights! I love when that happens, when you see multiple actors from one show on another. Anyway... fast forward... and... we're done. That was dumb.
  
• Starting on episode 2... and... realize I do not care at all. I don't need to watch this to see where they film because I live here, and can also just GO OUTSIDE to see San Francisco. But I do find it funny that people are just walking by in the location shots and ignoring the paramedics. I kinda think that's more likely to happen with film crews than with actual paramedics. City dwellers are jaded, but still full of schadenfreude.

Nightstand:

• Might push through to finish off Alive in Necropolis tonight.

Tuesday the 29th

Morning Commute:

• NPR Story of the Day from Saturday (Orthodox Jews blessing themselves with chickens. Tradi-tion!) and Sunday (tapestry made of spider silk. I now want one.)
  
• Planet Money podcast from Friday, about the G20 conference. Somedays I put this on and just figure something might leak through by osmosis. I do recall that a brewer in Pittsburgh came up with a special brew using major export ingredients from each of the representative countries.

At work:

• NPR World Cafe, featuring King Sunny Ade. Some of the happiest music in the world.
  
• NPR All Songs Considered, featuring a mixture of things I'd listen to again and things I felt tormented by. Although the rambling spoken word piece made me crack up - "Remember that science report you did about a rep-tile, about an iguana, and you didn't have an iguana? That was funny."

Evening:

• "The Fight" episode of HIMYM. I love that Marshall is actually the only badass.
  
• An episode of Property Virgins that I didn't really pay attention to, bc it was about a woman buying a model home, and those are actually kinda dull to look at.
  
• Saturday Night Live .I could not pick Megan Fox out of a line-up. And she landed the premiere? Was Kevin from The Office busy? Fast-forwarded and got this down to under 20 minutes, bc it was TERRIBLE.
  
• SYTYCD! That first kid had amazing legs, and I mean that in a dance critic way. For once, I was grateful for previews of the annyoing argumentative auditioner bc it meant I knew I could fast forward when his segment came up. The show could really spare the maudlin moments, though. I get that the one-armed dancer is inspiring without being told repeatedly. I'm bright like that.
  
• Marquis event - Sons of Anarchy! Why isn't anyone else I know watching this yet? It is AWESOME.

Still languishing:

• Premiere of Trauma. I'm curious bc I saw them filming, but I also know it's probably crap.

On the nightstand:

• Alive in Necropolis

Monday the 28th

Morning Commute:

• Walking to bus stop, listen to NPR: Story of the Day podcast from last Friday, about Chicago sending Oprah and Michelle Obama to bat to try to get the Olympics there. Feel a bit unpatriotic for thinking I'd rather see Rio de Janeiro win the bid, since America gets to host pretty frequently.
  
• On the bus: NPR: Wait Wait Don't Tell Me podcast. Both Paula Poundstone and Roy Blount Jr. are on the panel this week, so I'm pleased. Wonder if I will ever get the trifecta of Paula, Roy, and Mo Rocca. If I do, I should probably just retire the podcast afterwards.

At work:

• KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast, featuring The Decemberists. One of their female vocalists on the new album grates on my nerves. Her voice is overly dramatic and reminds me of watching a goth fairy tale. And being bored. I'm not enough of a hipster to claim I have been listening forever and wish they'd return to their roots - but enough of a listener to say when I do like The Decemberists it's because of the lead vocals, which are nasal and yet still charming. Remember that episode of Mad Men that featured "The Infanta"? That was awesome.
  
• Current random mix playlist, titled "Feelin' It". Freebies mixed with a bunch of Shawn Colvin, who I'll be going to see at Yoshi's in October.

Evening

• "Ability" episode, last on disc 5 of the Fringe: Season 1 DVD series. I don't love the show, but I enjoy it. I just wish some of the episodes weren't so nauseating. There are some episodes where I shout "Oh come on! We already saw the brain goo and it was gross! We get it! Stop showing it!!" Like most programs, my shouting has little effect. If it were really cutting-edge sci-fi it would respond to me and say "So sorry, we'll just go to a humorous shot of the cow next time."
  
• The Amazing Race premiere. I do not like the twist of leaving a team at the starting gate. It is mean and unnecessary. And did not immediately eliminate the "we-fight-a-lot-and-this-will-determine-our-future-as-a-couple" couple. Sometimes I find it hard to watch TAR because I WANT TO DO IT. I don't wanna watch people start whining in the first leg, or yelling at the locals. And watching people not read clues or figure out puzzles is excruciating. Now if only I could find a clever hook... with someone who can travel well... Anyway, to close: What I Have Learned About Relationships from The Amazing Race: If you are constantly complaining about all the problems your partner has... you. Are the problem.
  
• How I Met Your Mother. First off, Neil Patrick Harris was STILL robbed. Stupid Emmy voters. Probably with no room left on their DVRs to even record HIMYM because they're full of Frasier reruns and still sad it isn't on the air and they can't just keep voting for that show ad infinitum. In fact, I bet it's the most popular write-in vote. This one was a decent episode - I like Ted best when everyone is telling him what a jackass he is, because Ted is kind of a whiny jackass. Although I don't actually fault him for picking on spelling errors in menus. Spell check is not that hard, folks. (She says clicking the spell check button.)

What's Still Languishing in the DVR

• Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. One day I will watch it and it will be awesome.

From the Nightstand

• Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst. It's the SF Reads book of the month, but I didn't know that when I picked it up at the library. I actually checked it out because the main character's name is Michael Mercer, which is weird, because I work with Michael Mercer. Who apparently is unable to see dead people.