November 14, 2006

When my Dreams Reveal the Subplots of Television Programs

OK, so this is pretty weird, for those of you who watch House, MD. I was watching the show regularly back when Lily's sleep schedule allowed it, not so much these days. But, she fell asleep early last night and I caught most of an episode. We all enjoy House's pithy put-downs and witticisms, but I always wonder why he's so damn angry and misanthropic. I had a dream last night that may have answered my questions. I was in New York with the family, and Adam was having his tattoo worked on. In the meantime, I accompanied House to the hospital. To see a doctor about gender reassignment. When we left the doctor's office, we headed to Trader Joe's to get groceries, House dressed in a blonde bob wig, tan skirt suit, and fawn suede pumps. He was complaining about having to walk around in high heels, and I explained that it wasn't required that he wear shoes with heels that high. So, mystery solved. House is really a woman, and that's why he's so full of supressed rage. See what I get for turning on the TV?

Posted by mwashburn at 12:50 PM | Comments (3)

July 25, 2005

Reality TV I Can Get Into

I'm not generally a fan of reality tv, but TLC and FX have actually caught my interest lately. Miami Ink is about a bunch of guys opening a tattoo parlor, and so far is pretty interesting. One thing that irked me in the debut, though, is that they were all pissed off when the sign for their shop turned out crappy. They took a sketch to a sign shop, and the sign shop... blew it up and made their window sign. One of the guys said "I figured they'd straighten out the lines and Photoshop it or something to make it look good." Newsflash—sign shops don't do design work. They print what you give them. Not to mention the fact that logo work, if you do hire a graphic designer, is not cheap and takes lots of time. You don't just "photoshop" something hand-drawn, bingo, easy as that. I just forget how little the rest of the world knows about graphic design. It's not easy, or else everyone would do it.

FX has been showing 30 Days, Morgan Spurlock's (of Supersize Me fame) new series exploring what happens when people live in someone else's shoes for 30 days. He and his girlfriend were the guinea pigs for the first episode, in which they lived on minimum wage for 30 days. Other episodes vary in profundity, from the truly eye-opening ("Muslim in America") to the disturbing but somewhat superficial ("Binge Drinking Mom"). I recommend the show; in some cases though it is so frustrating to watch people not even try to open themselves up to someone else's perspective. The subject of "Gay/Straight," a midwestern Christian farm boy, has no clue how ironic he's being when he gripes that he's "being judged for one opinion" he holds.

So yes, kids, I am still managing to watch some television here and there. Mostly because Lily found her thumb this past week.

Posted by mwashburn at 03:30 PM | Comments (2)

July 12, 2005

Simply Terrifying (A Television Program Review)

Because I am now a mother, I occasionaly find myself sampling children's programming on television, seeing as I will be subjected to at least a little bit of this fluff sooner or later. I was familiar with the Teletubbies, and, truth be told, I think they're kinda cute. However, some of the shows being beamed in from other countries are very, very, scary. I've heard of The Wiggles. I know some people don't like them, but they look pretty harmless. The one that is currently haunting my dreams though, is The Doodlebops. Courtesy of our brothers and sisters "up north," this show features human beings in bizarre outfits reminiscent of those really creepy battery commercials out a while back. The nonsensical plot had something to do with the brothers and sister Doodlebop skipping around town while their talking... um.. robot thing was repaired by some sort of combination bus driver/Maytag repairman. I hope to never have to watch this show again.

OK, I just heard an explosive poopie sound from the other room. Presumably it was flying from the butt of my cheery one-month-old, so I shall close. See what I've become???

Posted by mwashburn at 03:35 PM | Comments (7)

May 17, 2005

I am concerned about Dave Chappelle

So the stories are flying fast and furious about what happened to Dave Chappelle. I really hate the whole celebrity-mongering thing (which, it seems to me, is part of the poor guy's problem right now), but I'm a fan and I hope he gets his shit together and makes a triumphant comeback soon.

Posted by mwashburn at 07:42 AM | Comments (5)

February 15, 2005

Ahhhhh... OZ

Finally, finally, finally, the long wait is over. Season four of HBO's Oz has been released on DVD. It's the only program I've ever watched where every single character is a complete bastard, yet you can't stop watching. And Season Four is even more filled with full frontal nudity, gory killings, and prison rape. (I can only imagine the hits my blog is going to receive now, with those keywords ripe for the picking...) Anyhow, the only problem is that we're burning through the episodes so quickly that we are going to face another long hard season of waiting for the next release...

Posted by mwashburn at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2004

SVU

Some of you know that Adam and I are pretty obsessed with Law & Order. This extends to Law & Order SVU, which I like even better. However, Vince DiNofrio's Shatner-esque performances on CI have rendered it completely unwatchable by either of us... "I know you... think... we can't... touch you... but wait... until... the DA... finds out... about your little... field trip..." It's painful.

OK, on to the matter at hand. Now that we have the wonders of DVR, we have been able to religiously watch the brand-spankin' NEW episodes of SVU every week. So I am absolutely distraught that Eliot's wife is leaving him. What is up with that? Why? They were such a strong family? Aaaaargh! And then, last week, when Eliot kept asking Dr. What's her name (Mary Stuart Masterson, and I do not, by the way, approve of all the celebrity appearances on the show these days) to help out with the schizophrenic rape victim because Dr. Wang Huang was in DC, well... Olivia was not happy. She said something along the lines of "I know you're on the rebound, but if you could keep it out of work, that would be great." Oh snaps. That wasn't very nice at all. Is she jealous? Does she want a piece of Stabler? Are we suddenly going to be subjected to some X-Files like level of sexual tension between these two detectives? I really hope not. I mean, I know most viewers lap that shit up, but not me. I liked the professionalism of those two. It just wouldn't be right...

Posted by mwashburn at 09:27 AM | Comments (2)