- Calling something a desolate wasteland is a severe statement, certainly not something you throw around lightly, but last night the selection of shows on TV was absolutely a desolate wasteland. I knew it was going to be bad because for the first time since last century, Gilmore Girls wasn’t a part of the lineup for the CW/WB in its usual Tuesday, 8 p.m. time slot. Furthermore, Veronica Mars had also been cancelled by the CW, and those were my two Tuesday night staples. However, I wasn’t even close to prepared for the absolute horr-a that I found when I turned on the TV. NBC was sporting one of the many fat people reality shows on TV, The Biggest Loser. CBS was offering up something called The Power of 10, which I guess is some sort of quiz show or game show based on popular opinion polls. I don’t know exactly what the show entails, but I do know that it’s hosted by Drew Carey, which is more than enough reason for me to skip it. Then you had the CW, perhaps the worst of all the major networks in this (and any other) night, with two full hours of Beauty and the Geek, which continues to crack me up, but not in a good way. How hilarious is it that this show is still being billed as a “social experiment,” when in reality it’s an excuse to laugh at nerdy guys and air-headed bimbo girls who are usually sporting fake racks and arrogant personalities. Oh, and now the CW is trying to push the idea that this is some sort of growth experience for these contestants to better themselves and become more accepting of others who aren’t like them? Yeah, because clearly this is an altruistic endeavor through and through. This show in no way exploits people who fit into an easily mockable social category. Making matters worse was that ESPN, a network I rely on for my sports fix, had neither a college football game nor a professional baseball game on. So what was ESPN rocking on this night? Yup, you guessed it, poker. For the last freaking time, poker is not a sport and it does not belong on a sports network. Welcome to Tuesday nights in Fall 2007, TV’s desolate wasteland…..
- Style can come with a price, but that price usually isn't a serious injury by way of an escalator. Kids wearing Crocs, the popular soft-soled clogs, are paying the price firsthand. An increasing number of incidents involving young children having their shoes get caught in escalators have been occurring lately, with most of the children escaping with minor injuries. These mishaps have occurred not only in the United States, but also in distant locations such as Japan and Singapore. Apparently the way Crocs are designed makes them susceptible to getting caught in the “teeth” at the top or bottom of escalators, or in the crack between the edge of the steps and the side of the escalator. One injury involving Crocs and elevators occurred in northern Virginia last month when 4-year-old Rory McDermott was riding up a mall escalator with his mother when his right foot became entrapped and he lost most of the nail on his big toe and suffered heavy bleeding after his mom was able to dislodge the foot and pull him free. Crocs Inc., the manufacturer of the shoes, predictably claims it doesn’t keep records of reported injuries to people wearing Crocs, but they’d better start doing so because I have a feeling they’re going to be getting sued by angry parents whose kids were injured while using their product. Some of those lawsuits will probably include the malls and the escalator companies too. However, I think we can all agree that at day’s end, the important question to ask is whether the kids look stylish in their Crocs and if so, what’s a little personal harm in the name of good fashion? Well done, Crocs Inc., you should be very proud.
- Saudi Arabia has long been the only country in the world with misogynistic driving laws. A group of women in the Middle Eastern nation is looking to change that, forming a committee to lobby King Abdullah to give women the right to drive. Currently, Saudi laws ban women from getting behind the wheel, and observers believe that those laws are likely to remain in place because the issue is a highly controversial and divisive one and the king unlikely to make such a major change. “We would like to remind officials that this is, as many have said, a social and not a religious or political issue,” explained Fowziyyah al-Oyouni, a founding member of the Committee of Demanders of Women’s Right to Drive Cars. “And since it’s a social issue, we have the right to lobby for it.” First, Fowziyyah, you all really didn’t do a great job of choosing the name for your committee. You do know that making your name excruciatingly long and cumbersome doesn’t have any effect on your impact and persuasiveness, right? But getting beyond the name, yes, you do have a right to lobby for driving privileges, but a monarchy is not a democracy and the will of the people often gets quashed by the rulers in a monarchy. Your king is going to take one look at your request and shoot it down, even if it is unfair and unjust that women are banned from driving simply because they’re women. Personally I’d like countries all over the world to ban drivers who can’t figure out how to use their gas pedal correctly, who can’t grasp the concept of not pulling out in front of people who are two seconds away from them and who drive in the freaking left lane even though they’re the slowest car on the road, but that ain’t happening either. For now, Saudi women are stuck riding the horses and camels, which actually get much better gas mileage than most cars anyhow, so be thankful for that.
- So the question has been answered: Sarah Wayne Callies will NOT be back on Prison Break. She had been out on maternity leave and gave birth to a daughter, then decided not to return to the show. It was apparently her decision, as per TV Guide’s word, but that bit of hope thrown out to fans during the season premiere when her name was mentioned by multiple characters and the storyline of Sara and L.J. being caught and held for ransom was nothing more than a tease. However that storyline plays out, it won't end with screen time for Dr. Sara Tancredi. As I wrote Tuesday, while it would have been nice to have Callies back, her departure from the show isn't a fatal blow from where I sit. This show is just so layered, fast-paced, detailed and is always weaving new characters into the plot to the extent that losing one character, albeit an important one, isn't a death blow. Obviously things couldn’t continue with out Michael and Lincoln, but other than them, anyone else’s departure can be overcome. This doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for this season at all, and best wishes to Callies for whatever she decides to do next.
- Personally I think that anyone wasting their time at a John Kerry speech should run the risk of being Tasered, but that doesn’t mean I think it was right for university security to bum rush University of Florida student Andrew Meyer, 21, simply for taking up too much time in the Q&A portion of the speech and asking too many questions. Yeah, because when a dude starts asking Kerry if he was ever in the same Skull & Bones group that W. was reportedly in, you need to cut him off. Better yet, you need to tackle him and have three or four university cops hold him down and administer a Taser blast when he resists. What, did you all think he was some drunk pro athlete who refused to obey your directions when you pulled him over? That’s when you use a Taser, when you have some 300-pound lineman getting belligerent and threatening to harm you. You don’t need a Taser when one officer with a pair of handcuffs could subdue some guy whose biggest crime is being annoying. UF President Bernie Machen called the incident “regrettable,” a vast understatement and a bit of a disappointment in vocabulary from a man who certainly could come up with a better word to describe this egregious abuse of power. Hey kids, come to the University of Florida, where you can't ask too many questions and will be brutally assaulted by the police if you dare to challenge anyone in authority!
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