Today's topic is Arrested Development, the funniest show on television. At least, it's the funniest show on television until about 9:00 tonight (central time), after which time it will no longer be on television.
Much of my anger regarding the cancellation of Arrested Development has been focused on Fox. The network has not done a good job of marketing the show. This season, they had it leading into Prison Break, and were upset when it didn't generate a big carryover audience for the new drama. Now, I'm no network executive, but what kind of idiot do you have to be to think Arrested Development and Prison Break would share the same audience? And for tonight's big finale, they've scheduled the final four episodes of Arrested Development to run opposite the Olympics opening ceremonies. Could it be any more obvious that they just don't care about this show? Yes, Fox has done mighty ill by Arrested Development. It's almost as if they didn't want the show to succeed.
However, while Fox is largely to blame here, I'm more disappointed with American viewers. Yes, Fox didn't get the word out about this great show. No, they didn't program it well. But that wasn't the only problem. The ratings were bad because people just didn't tune in. I've come to the conclusion that Americans are too stupid for a show like Arrested Development. You have to pay attention to this show. It doesn't deliver the obvious laughs that you get from the many generic sitcoms out there. Arrested Development asks a little more of its viewers. Too many Americans lack intelligence and patience, and thus Arrested Development was doomed.
The American public doesn't deserve a show like Arrested Development. I just wish those of us who do appreciate it didn't have to share the punishment.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Podcast obsession
I am obsessed with podcasts. I know, I'm about a year behind the curve. All the cool kids became obsessed with podcasts long, long ago, and now merely think of them as an indispensable part of life. The only people who didn't beat me to podcasts are the occasional grandmother who isn't online (I don't actually know any, but surely there must be some out there) and the Amish. I'm amazed by the variety of podcasts I can download and listen to without paying a penny. Yesterday, I loaded up my iTunes with NOVA's ScienceNOW podcast, a six-part series of Noam Chomsky discussing the War on Terror, several NPR podcast offerings (including Science Friday, All Songs Considered, and Wait Wait--Don't Tell Me!), and a They Might Be Giants podcast--all free! I was irritated to discover that every episode of This American Life will cost me four bucks, but I can't really blame them. They gave me my chance to listen for free. If I didn't manage to tune in to the radio station at the right time, that's my problem. Rumor has it my favorite celebrity chef, Alton Brown, will soon start having his own podcasts. I can hardly wait! I'm learning a lot from these podcasts. For example, Senator Barack Obama's podcast informed me that the senator voted to extend the Patriot Act for three months. What?? Obama voted in favor of that? I'm shocked. Here I've been thinking of him as the perfect senator, a man who does no wrong. I'll have to reevaluate. I've been listening to Al Franken's Air America show via podcast--this way, I don't have to listen to those annoying AM radio commercials. Al's show keeps me up-to-date on the latest vicious lies spewed forth by Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and their ilk. Infuriating, but informative. Also, Al keeps me frothing at the mouth about current Washington scandals, including the Jack Abramoff business and the wire-tapping travesty.
Here's the problem with podcasts, and every other form of media--I lose at least a quarter of everything I attempt to listen to, watch, or read to the cries of needy babies. I know Al was talking about Valarie Plame today, but I can't for the life of me tell you what he was saying. I get a pretty spotty picture of current events these days.
And if you'll excuse me, this post is going to be cut off by the cries of needy babies. Maybe I can finish that Al Franken podcast later today. I'll let you know what he says.
Here's the problem with podcasts, and every other form of media--I lose at least a quarter of everything I attempt to listen to, watch, or read to the cries of needy babies. I know Al was talking about Valarie Plame today, but I can't for the life of me tell you what he was saying. I get a pretty spotty picture of current events these days.
And if you'll excuse me, this post is going to be cut off by the cries of needy babies. Maybe I can finish that Al Franken podcast later today. I'll let you know what he says.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Yale or bust
Here's what's on my mind today: college tuition. Lots of it. Come autumn of 2023, I'm looking at not one but two new college freshmen. That gives me just over 17 years to save up approximately $176,961 times two, assuming the girls go to an Illinois state college. Given our government's propensity for cutting student aid programs of late (they just cut funding for student loans by 30%), I don't think we can count on any outside assistance to pay for tuition. According to one estimate, we need to be saving $9,000 a year, starting now, to make sure we're ready come 2023. Our little family's income barely manages to cover all the formula we need from month to month, so we don't exactly have nine grand just lying around.
I've emailed both of my senators, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, about this. I hope they'll email me back and let me know what their proposed solutions are, but I'm not holding my breath.
Here's my proposed solution. We've already decided that the girls will be musicians. (We'll let them choose their own instruments--we are very lenient and open-minded parents.) All they have to do is get into Yale's music school. Recently, a $100 million anonymous donation made it possible to for Yale to waive tuition for its music students. So there's our answer--the girls will just have to get into Yale. We'll be starting those Suzuki violin lessons next week.
Oops. Upon further investigation, it looks like it's just Yale's graduate music program that's free of charge. Looks like we'll need another solution for those bachelor's degrees.
How about this? We put together a Save Karyn-style web site and just beg for money. For those who aren't familiar with the site, Save Karyn was a site built by a young woman who, through her own folly, managed to get herself in way over her head with credit card debt. She used the site to beg kind strangers to donate money to her cause and help her pay off her credit cards. Repulsive, if you ask me. But successful. (She also used the site to plug her eBay auctions--she was selling off lots of the designer accoutrement she bought, which is how she racked up that debt to begin with. That's slightly less repulsive.)
So something like EducateEvieAndSophie.com, perhaps? We'll beg strangers for $20 here, $50 there, all for a good cause. We'll post adorable pictures of the girls, and maybe quarterly updates on how well our college savings investments are doing. There can be a little clock counting down the days until we need to come up with those huge piles of cash: "Only 17 years, 6 months, and 24 days until the girls start college!"
Could it work? Hmmm.
I've emailed both of my senators, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, about this. I hope they'll email me back and let me know what their proposed solutions are, but I'm not holding my breath.
Here's my proposed solution. We've already decided that the girls will be musicians. (We'll let them choose their own instruments--we are very lenient and open-minded parents.) All they have to do is get into Yale's music school. Recently, a $100 million anonymous donation made it possible to for Yale to waive tuition for its music students. So there's our answer--the girls will just have to get into Yale. We'll be starting those Suzuki violin lessons next week.
Oops. Upon further investigation, it looks like it's just Yale's graduate music program that's free of charge. Looks like we'll need another solution for those bachelor's degrees.
How about this? We put together a Save Karyn-style web site and just beg for money. For those who aren't familiar with the site, Save Karyn was a site built by a young woman who, through her own folly, managed to get herself in way over her head with credit card debt. She used the site to beg kind strangers to donate money to her cause and help her pay off her credit cards. Repulsive, if you ask me. But successful. (She also used the site to plug her eBay auctions--she was selling off lots of the designer accoutrement she bought, which is how she racked up that debt to begin with. That's slightly less repulsive.)
So something like EducateEvieAndSophie.com, perhaps? We'll beg strangers for $20 here, $50 there, all for a good cause. We'll post adorable pictures of the girls, and maybe quarterly updates on how well our college savings investments are doing. There can be a little clock counting down the days until we need to come up with those huge piles of cash: "Only 17 years, 6 months, and 24 days until the girls start college!"
Could it work? Hmmm.
What kind of mother am I?
Here I am, three posts into my new blog, and I haven't yet posted a picture of the girls. I'm ashamed of myself. That lapse has now been rectified.
Why this is here
So here is my shiny new blog. I thought I might have a few things to say. I like to rant and rave, but I have a rather small audience these days, and a large percentage of that audience is as of yet unable to participate in adult conversation. I thought it might be fun to, every now and then, as something occurs to me that I think might interest others, share my ideas with the wide world. So here goes. I'm still sorting out this blogging business. Not sure what to do or say, not sure how this site works, not sure I really can sustain something like this for more than, say, seven posts. We'll see.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Post the First
Why is it that blogs almost always use serif fonts? I've long preferred the sans serif fonts, myself. Serif fonts scream of typewriters, movable type, Gutenberg, days gone by. So I'm struck by the fact that so many bloggers (not all, I know, but many) choose to go with your Times New Roman, your Courier, your Bookman Old Style. Is it a yearning to reach back to an earlier time, to connect with the earliest roots of publishing? Is it linked to the fact that many bloggers are frustrated writers using any outlet they can to share their ideas with the masses, and somehow a nice, reliable serif font best gets the message across?
I don't have an answer to this burning question. And I can't tell you why I'm going with a serif font right here on my very own blog, where I have complete control and could subject you to Comic Sans if I so chose. I don't know why, but a sturdy, time-honored serif font just feels right.
I don't have an answer to this burning question. And I can't tell you why I'm going with a serif font right here on my very own blog, where I have complete control and could subject you to Comic Sans if I so chose. I don't know why, but a sturdy, time-honored serif font just feels right.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
All About Kelly
Things you might not know about me:
1) I love my life.
2) I am married to my best friend and soul mate and have been since July 12, 1997.
3) Okay, I don't actually believe in "soul mates." But if there were such a thing, Airan would be mine.
4) I have the smartest, prettiest, and overall best twin girls on the planet, born June 10, 2005. My little sweeties were born 12 weeks premature and weighed in at not quite 3 pounds each.
5) I have (and the twins inherited from me) osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic collagen deficiency that causes brittle bones and low muscle tone. Fortunately, we have the mildest form of the disease, so it doesn't have too much affect on our daily lives.
6) I really wish I could be a vegetarian, but I must eat red meat for medical reasons. (See item 5.)
7) I am a huge sci-fi geek.
8) I am atheist.
9) I have a BA in English from the University of Northern Colorado.
10) I can touch my nose with my tongue.
11) I think of myself as a liberal, but I'm not so thrilled with the two-party system these days.
12) I sing for pleasure. I used to want singing to be my career -- specifically, I longed for opera divadom. Now, I'm content to take lessons when I have time and belt the occasional jazz standard for the twins.
13) Here I am in my early 30s, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Sometimes I want to go to pastry school. Sometimes I want to study physics. Sometimes I want to be an opera singer. (See item 12.) Most of the time, I want to lie in bed and sleep all day, maybe read some good books, occasionally turn on the TV, and then roll over and go back to sleep. However, the twins don't allow that lifestyle.
14) I grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado, but have lived in Chicago since 1998. I could live here for the rest of my life.
1) I love my life.
2) I am married to my best friend and soul mate and have been since July 12, 1997.
3) Okay, I don't actually believe in "soul mates." But if there were such a thing, Airan would be mine.
4) I have the smartest, prettiest, and overall best twin girls on the planet, born June 10, 2005. My little sweeties were born 12 weeks premature and weighed in at not quite 3 pounds each.
5) I have (and the twins inherited from me) osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic collagen deficiency that causes brittle bones and low muscle tone. Fortunately, we have the mildest form of the disease, so it doesn't have too much affect on our daily lives.
6) I really wish I could be a vegetarian, but I must eat red meat for medical reasons. (See item 5.)
7) I am a huge sci-fi geek.
8) I am atheist.
9) I have a BA in English from the University of Northern Colorado.
10) I can touch my nose with my tongue.
11) I think of myself as a liberal, but I'm not so thrilled with the two-party system these days.
12) I sing for pleasure. I used to want singing to be my career -- specifically, I longed for opera divadom. Now, I'm content to take lessons when I have time and belt the occasional jazz standard for the twins.
13) Here I am in my early 30s, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Sometimes I want to go to pastry school. Sometimes I want to study physics. Sometimes I want to be an opera singer. (See item 12.) Most of the time, I want to lie in bed and sleep all day, maybe read some good books, occasionally turn on the TV, and then roll over and go back to sleep. However, the twins don't allow that lifestyle.
14) I grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado, but have lived in Chicago since 1998. I could live here for the rest of my life.
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