Upon hearing about the show (August 24, 2006):

I just heard on t.v. that the 13th season of Survivor will be segrated by race… “white”, “black” “Hispanic” or “Asian”. We don’t have enough things going on, so I guess CBS wants to spice it up a little! Possibly an attempt to homogenize us again… sorry CBS you’ve missed the mark, many of us are of mixed race, not to mention people who were adopted or married someone of another race.
I think there were problems with the racial balance on many of the shows but this is NOT the answer! We need more examples of racial diversity being a positive thing, wouldn’t it have been nice to have a tribe of different/mixed races working together to win the challenges? (only show I can think of is Star Trek, of course a white male was in charge, but at least it looked good). Instead people will huddle to their corners and root for the teams by their ethnicity, don’t even giving the tribes names, people will just call them the “” group. For those of you wondering, I’m not sure if I will watch this season… I’ve started each season and only 3 or 4 have stuck for the duration.

After Watching Two Episodes:

I am so done with this show! This is the lamest version yet! CBS you need some new energy going on! Your gimmick did not work!

Soon my wonderful, sweet husband will spend countless hours in front of the t.v. watching sport center or, if he’s lucky… watching the actual games. As you can probably tell, if you are very sharp, I will NOT be watching those games with him. I will be bored to death on the couch, or I will pester him about things I want to do or get done.
In some cases, I will pack 1, 2 or 3 kids and head out the door to “do something”. He will likely respond that he is “doing something”. I may leave to go shopping, visit a neighbor, or visit the Children’s Museum, maybe this year I will venture out to a kid movie, it doesn’t matter as long as I get away.
In other cases, he will go with us, but I can tell by the look in his eye, he really wants to be home watching “the game”. If we go out to eat at a place with t.v.’s, he will try to postition himself to watch the scores. If another man comments about his team wear (sometimes I know he picks the opposite team from the regional favorites!). Then I have to listen and smile politely as if I’m interested (I really don’t HAVE to, but like to be viewed as ‘nice’). Usually when the person leaves, I will have to get a breakdown on what he said, why he said it, how he’s gonna wish he never said it (when they lose)…. or on the other hand, he will agree whole heartedly and explain his reasoning (this part can last a loooong time).
I wish I could be in involved in this part of my husband’s life, he really cares about the game and the players. I’ve tried but I find it so boring, can’t they do something interesting during the game? I don’t know what they could incorporate but losing that “stadium music” would be a start. Not to mention that song about “those twins” if they play that again, I’m going to vomit for sure. And all the Gatorade things, how annoying, then when they have the players wearing Gatorade headbands or headscarves… give me a BREAK. And all those MEAN, angry looks from the coaches make me so mad, I want to scream out, “you’ve got it made, you’re on t.v., you make lots of money!! Smile!” The only time *I* cheer is when the coaches get dunked with the drinks!

hi everyone, my kids have just started watching Handy Manny on the Disney Channel during playhouse Disney. They like the show and the musical segments as well as the “tools”. Little C thinks it’s funny everybody else talks to the tools. The Spanglish aspect is almost as annoying when people do this in real life. For those who do not know, Span-glish is mixing English & Spanish in the same sentence. Growing up in New York, I am so used to it, it’s nice that they are introducing this to our children! Gracias Disney! A positive point is that they learn a Spanish word in every episode, so that’s enough justification for me — watch away!

I just finished watching Ugly Betty on ABC t.v. I love it! As an x-Queens girl myself I can relate to the whole “ugly” aspect. I remember when we didn’t even have a Gap store! Queens was scary, lots of big hair and fluroescent clothing a lot longer than they should have been legal to sell. I remember when I got my first job in Manhattan - it was like I was on a different planet. I love this show and can not wait to see the next episode. I also love that I can catch the episode online for free if I miss it!

Looking for something new for dinner? Need a good basic recipe that is easy to follow? Oxtails may be what you’ve been looking for.

Ingredients:
a tea kettle’s worth of boiled water
oxtails
tomato or tomato sauce
red wine
onion, garlic, scalions to taste
salt/pepper any spice you wish to include
oil

I usually count for 2 pounds per person and throw in a little extra for good measure.

Heat up a big pot. Put in some oil. When hot, throw in your oxtails and sear on all sides. Salt & Pepper at this point, you always want to flavor each step of your dish! When you’ve seared all the sides, throw in all the onions/garlic/scallions and saute for a sec, while opening the can of tomato sauce OR just use a few tomatoes. Add the boiling water on top of all this until it is all covered. Bring the whole pot to a boil. You can add the a little red wine at any point. Once boiling, bring down the heat medium or low and cover. Now set your timer for about 1 hour… BUT don’t forget to keep checking it. I like to let it simmer for 2 or 3 hours, that’s just me, I like it to fall off the bone!

This is the perfect dish to serve with rice. Since I watch Survivor, I know many people don’t know how to cook rice. It is so simple! 1 part rice to 2 parts water! that’s it! The best tip is to use boiled water while it is hot. I like to saute the grains before, put some oil in a pot, add your 1 part rice… saute over medium low heat. Add salt, garlic to taste. Keep on with the saute. When you see the rice is totally seperated from eachother, add the 2 parts HOT water. Now bring the whole thing to a boil… make sure your pot is big enough and won’t boil out of the pot! Once boiling bring way down low and cover, generally 25 minutes does the trick but check at 20 to make sure.

Serve both together and enjoy.

As you can see T.V. has weighed heavily on my mind in recent days. I guess it’s the start of the new season that has me glued.

Anyway, the other day Little C begged me to watch Sponge Bob Squarepants. He’d been good and we were away from the t.v. all day, so, I said, “yes”. I turned on the t.v. and set the channel… then I quickly drew my curtains, locked the door and cleaned the house in my super-speedy way.

Why did I draw the curtains? was it the glare or to make sure no one would see I let my child watch this show? I’m not even sure why I’m ashamed of letting my son watch this show, heck, I don’t even understand if they are in the sea or an aquarium. If they’re in the sea, as my son insists, why would they live so close to eachother and relatively safe. I’ve never seen one when they’re in danger. But if they’re in an aquarium why does the song say, “… lives in a pineapple under the sea…”. I remember how upset my son was when the blow up Sponge Bob was stolen from the top of the Burger King’s, he thought it was the “real” one at the time and was worried.

I’ve also heard talk that the character has homosexual tendencies. I don’t know about that but I’ve never noticed it. I’m bringing this up, because eventually I will get to writing articles about the artwork in my home and the books that we read. I don’t want anyone to think that I’m miss mommy perfect… I’m a work in progress and make mistakes like everyone else, so in full disclosure, I let Little C watch Sponge Bob sometimes. Can we still be blogging buddies?

Dreams: here’s my next idea for you.

You know how they have dance offs on t.v. and in movies?

Well, I’m looking to host a WRITE OFF!

I’m thinking one person will post on the hour, the other person will post on the 1/2 hour. Who’s game? and who will the spectators be? we need an impartial jury to decide the winner of the WRITE OFF so quality content will be a major deal… not just any old garbage will do!

I hope to hear from you soon for the ultimate BATTLE of the Writers! One may write novels, the other may write and get paid 2 cents per post @ a paid forum w/$50 payout. Who will the people choose? Do you have what it takes to be a WRITER?

After watching tonights second episode about the video gamers and the competitive parents… I am OUTRAGED! Why are people so extreme? I understand that this show attracts people that have gone over the edge.

Really, the dad from the competitive family said they don’t display second place trophies because no one cares. Has he lost his mind? That is so wrong, we should teach children to take part and compete… not that they have to be number one, ALL the time! I can see this with kids around my son’s age. They are super agressive and grabby… uggh, that just burns me up! The parents just sit there with smirks on their faces, after watching this, I realize they most likely approve of this “win at all costs” attitude.

Little C has been involved in several sports so far… t-ball last summer, soccer right now… I don’t care if he “wins” or “loses”… I just want him to get out there and have fun and also, learn the rules of the game. He received a trophy for the t-ball and we have that sitting in the living room.

The video gaming family was just plain sad. The kid was so lonely, we all need to be so aware of our kids needs. They are like little collection points, soaking up all our attention, wether they show it or not.

I really enjoyed this show’s entertainment value but it is sad that it is based on people’s reality.

I’ve decided to use this “X” designation when what I’m posting about doesn’t fit in to the other sections.

Gmail is a great free web-based email provider. There is plenty of storage and they really stay on top of the spammers so you don’t get much. This is especially good if you have kids reading over your shoulders and don’t want them reading/seeing inappropriate things.

The nice thing is if you get multiple emails from the same place it will combine them instead of looking like seperate email. This saves so much time if you are subscribed to receive updates from forums and the like. You can open the first email and go to the link to see all your responses.

If someone out there wants to open a Gmail account but does not have a cellphone it is suggested to use a friends phone or get an invite from a friend.

I was totally disappointed by the 3 season premiere tonight. It was so boring, I was tempted to get on the computer instead of paying full attention. All the story lines are horrible. Don’t get me wrong, the story lines last year were not much better but this was not even worth the embarassment of watching. I give this episode three thumbs down. 1 thumb down for Gabrielle’s hair. Second thumb down for the Gabrielle in restaurant being very rude. Third thumb down for the Lynette’s husband love-child thing.