Same Same Santino

I have been surprised that nobody has called out Santino for his persistent use of the same style of bodice with skirt and adornments in several of his designs. Wondering if my memory was not serving me well, I reviewed all of Santino's designs. It appears to me that Santino can't make a dress unless he makes a fitted bodice and adds a gathered skirt.

Week One-the muslin dress. I don't know all the dress terminology but I see a 'baby-doll' or empire waisted dress with some kind of ruched trim making up the decoration of the bodice and acting as straps for the dress. The rag things hanging of the sides of the skirt are kinda different.




















Week two: the clothes off his back became a leather skirt and a bustier-type top made out of what was his shirt. The bodice is heart-shaped and there is ruching down the front panel. This might be the most original design of the set for my money.




















Week three: the Barbie dress in shades of purple. The bodice is accented by a tie in the center--a decoration which is repeated twice. The dress gives an impression of ruching although that may be a fit problem. Note the way the skirt is attached to the dress, with the seaming out and visible rather than hidden. The trim is in the shoulder straps reminds me of week one dress but the Barbie hair hides it somewhat. The skirt is point-y like a handkerchief skirt but not floaty.





















Week four: Painful deer tormenting week. The trim lavishly applied to the bra and panties seems to again duplicate whatever trim Santino learned how to make back in the day when he learned to sew. It could be actual lace though. Maybe.




















Week five: This week's dress is pretty but the bodice brings back memories of the bodices from week one, two, and three put together. The center gather provides form-fit and the trim has gone wild on top, although admittedly, the cord is a new touch. We see the heart-shaped neckline in its asymetric form for the first time here. The little knotted bow thingy in the center is just like the Barbie dress. Seriously, am I imagining that seen in a sequence the designs are not that fantastically different from week to week?





















Week six- we will not include because it was collaborative with Nick which is the only reason the bodice is a halter, I believe.

Week seven: also known as weeping turkey week. Turkeys who gave up themselves--their feathers--only to be disrespected for their sacrifice. Note the ruched or gathered bodice. The skirt attached so that the seam and it's gathers are shown. It's also the third pointy-type, hankerchief hem if anyone's counting. (and I am.)





















Week eight- Inspiration week. And Santino's inspiration is a dress that looks like it was inspired by all the things that had previously seemed to work in his other designs. The gathered skirt with the seam attached so that it showed. The bodice is practically right of the silver dress from week five. Asymetrical bodice--cups off-center, twisty scarf like trim wrapped and pinned down.




















Now if I were more energetic, I'd do this very same thing with all the other designers sets. I am lazy however, and I still haven't written my synopsis of the Inspiration week show.

Project Runway--Inspiration

Sorry to be slow slow about blogging the Inspiration episode. Work. Sheesh.

Our show opens with a confident Zulema telling us that "anyone could be eliminated." One senses she doesn't really believe it. Too bad. Santino, meanwhile, concedes that his outfit for Sasha Cohen was "ridiculous and horrible". He's not going to take any chances in the new challenge and see where that gets him.

Heidi comes out to explain the challenge. Wow! She looks gorgeous. I love her hair and makeup. "What drives your creativity as a fashion designer? What's your inspiration?" They'll be visiting Michael Kors at his shop to learn about his creative process but first the moment we've all been waiting for, Zulema wants a walk-off.

The reaction shots to Zulema's request are hilarious. Heidi, Rachel-the model, Andrae all could be in the movies based on their ability to convey shock, amazement and anger. Who made up Rachel? Ew, she can barely hold her eyes open she's wearing so much makeup. I've seen hookers in less blue eye shadow. Everyone is upset by the possibility of losing their model. I hadn't realized until now how interdependent the model/designer teams had become. After the walk-off, Zulema steals Tarah from Nick who is upset. Rachel is furious at being dumped but happy to go to Nick who is her favorite. Now we know the models discuss the designers. Zulema sums up her attitude to the whole thing, "I can't be concerned with Nick. Do a good job, win next week and take her back." Well, okay--maybe he will. So there.

We head for Michael Kors and hear about his process and Doris Duke then everyone gets digital cameras and an hour to take photos from which they will select one for their inspiration. One hour to take photos of anything you want in New York. That's not really enough time to go that far what with traffic and the limitations of walking. Guess everyone better hope their inspirations are close by.

Oh but, Daniel V. finds his inspiration while still at Michael Kors. He should win a prize for efficiency. Chloe focuses on buildings. Nick can't focus on anything but his sense of injury. Andrae shoots gutter water. Santino shoots to excess--would we expect anything else from Santino, whose name is now being used as an adjective in the show? Zulema struggles and finally takes a pic of an African woman in a red dress. Kara shoots signs.

The show spends a great deal of time with Nick who is nursing his sense of ill-use regarding the model switch. "If you're not kind, you're not going to get kindness back." He can't understand or respect Zulema's decision. He was inspired by his model....whine whine bzzz bzzzz....only now he has a different model....shouldn't that make it easy to be inspired anew? Apparently not. It was the OTHER model that inspired him. Nick, Nick...as Cher said to Nicholas Cage--"Snap out of it!"

We buy fabric we go back to the workshop. Now Tim Gunn brings in the big guns so to speak--he wants to have a come to Jesus talk with everyone. "Wake up! The work has been lack-luster!" Then he zeros in and gets personal.

Daniel-you excite early, lose momentum, fall short of potential. Ouch.
Chloe-push the envelope, step out of comfort zone, don't risk being a one-note. Okeydokey.
Kara-you haven't won anything yet, step away from work that we could buy on Madison Avenue. She didn't listen to that at all!
Zulema-take risks. She argues about time management. I thought she had great sewing skills--where's the time management problem coming from?
Santino-you're in serious jeopardy. Ya think?
Andrae/Nick-Be More Ambitious. Andrae handles that advice well'; Nick...not so much.

Tim reviews the designs with the designers. Dan's going for Japanese sleekness. Maybe I don't understand Japanese sleekness but that is not how I would describe what he ends up with. Santino thinks he'll try something tasteful and beautiful. That would make a nice change. Tim gets to Nick and suddenly we get a hilarious inside view of modeling that I didn't know was out there. Tim is horrified that Nick is stuck with Rachel and her "gumby legs" because she's an "elongated marshmallow" who walks stiffly. Strangely, Nick is not encouraged by Tim's reaction to his misfortune and continues to spiral downward mentally. Nick is "over it" and wants to "be done with it." Daniel, however, snaps him out of his lengthy funk and Nick resolves to go for it.

Zulema, meanwhile, spends some time sulking because she senses the dismay her actions have brought into the show. She thinks people aren't being nice even though they are being cordial. They are looking at her funny. She talks herself into defiance. She'll just keep switching models everytime she wins. Yeah. That's what she'll do. You know, if she wins again...

Santino's impersonation of Tim is hysterical. Dead on.

Tim advises Dan, "Don't get seduced by the Santino effect or we'll all crash and burn." Oops, Santino is right there! He overhears. He's bitter. "Now I see how you talk about me when I'm not here." Ahem, Santino--you do realize you've been impersonating Tim when he's not there, right?

At the end of day one Zulema has nothing, or nothing she likes anyway. Karma is quick, I'm thinkin'.

When the models arrive we see that Tarah is unhappy to be stuck with Zulema. She must sense this move is not going to lengthen her time on the show. She doesn't like the dress, it's unfinished and Z stuck her with needles while she was sewing her into the dress. Muy mal, si?

Rachel, meanwhile, has a giant-size grudge against Z. now, so she's going to model "extra-hard" for Nick. Hmm, model "extra-hard". I pause my dvr to consider what this can mean. Nope... still don't exactly understand it, so I proceed with the show.

Tarah, on the other hand, is jealous. Take heart, Tarah, Tim didn't say that you had gumby legs. That's gotta be a comfort, right?

The show proceeds:

Andrae-Love it, beautiful. The beading perfectly captures the inspiration photo.

Kara-simple dress with yellow diagonal stripe going around the hip.

Santino-I've seen the bodice before, the skirt looks like a garbage bag belted around her ribs.

Daniel-very couture. The collar comes up really high, the top is very pouffy. I don't like it as well as Andrae's but I recognize that the judges will love, love, love it.

Chloe-very cool dress with what looks to me like, complicated pleating vertically and horizontal ribbons of alternating colors. She has used her favorite blue again.

Nick-he talks about his model's walk the whole time. The outfit is a two piece; halter top with ruffle in a print and a solid navy fishtale skirt.

Zulema-she talks about Tarah's body and walk the whole time too. She thinks Tarah's look will complement her design. The dress is red, with a layered chiffon skirt and overskirt with a print.

When the models join the designers on the runway I can't look away from the sight of Chloe's model next to her. She looks like a red-haired giantess next to tiny Chloe. The effect is comical.

Critiques--

Dan-Beautiful, well-executed.

Chloe-Not geometric enough according to Jay. Nina likes the juxtaposition of soft and hard.

Kara-big talk which the dress doesn't match. Kara thinks her dress speaks volumes. Michael thinks the dress is very literal.

Andrae-Jay offers the opinion that this was the most inspired dress. He totally got the inspiration photo. Taking ugly and making pretty. Heidi thinks it's expensive looking. Michael thinks it's pretty great looking.

Nick-Paris Hilton? Mikonos? Oy, what's that about? Michael thinks the top is pretty great looking.

Zulema-Poorly executed for the THIRD time according to Nina. Z tries to explain the dress' relationship to the inspiration photo by saying she used a "western cut" and other elements like color...to get from there to here. Nobody's listening they are still to caught up with what a crappy job she did sewing the thing.

Santino-Jay says "Austin's scarlet Grammy dress". I haven't seen season one yet (still holding on to it.) Santino says, "oh my god" I am unconvinced, however, that he didn't know full well that he was using the same fabric. His reaction was so flat. He displayed no surprise. Heidi thinks the skirt is perfect for hiding a big butt. Michael compliments Santino for pushing past his usual thing.

In private the judges makes the following remarks which I'll follow with the end result:

Chloe's dress was pretty. Not fully fleshed out or finished, but pretty. She's in.

Kara's dress was a tube dress with a piece of tape. She's in.

Nick's dress was not memorable and just another fishtale skirt. He's in.

Andrae's dress is Jay's favorite. Finished, sophisticated, well-made, expensive looking and translated exactly from the picture. He's in. Did they edit out extra compliments for Andrae? The judges said nothing about how much they liked his dress and how he almost won.
Dan's dress is Heidi's favorite. Well-executed, sophisticated. Michael is a FULL DAN FAN. The dress is chic and great-looking. Dan changed our eye, it was unexpected. Dan is the winner!

Santino's dress is unfinished, not part of his usual shtick. He's in.

Zulema's dress is a nightmare. No inspiration from the picture, no energy and poorly executed. She's out.

I wonder if in hindsight Zulema wishes she hadn't introduced the model changing tension into the process because one has to wonder how much the opening of that Pandora's Box--so to speak--affected the outcome of the show. All the tension draining away creative energy and causing distraction. Zulema caused the upset sure, but she suffered from it as did Nick.

The other thought that I had was--if execution by which I assume they mean, sewing--meant so much. How did Z stay in so long over people who executed better and were equal in design ability. I'm thinking of Daniel Franco.

It's not personal, it's just business

No time to post more on last night's eppy of Project Runway--so the key quote of the night will have to do for now. Zulema seemed surprised that karma came back at her so quickly. Needless to say, this episode rocked and I'll enjoy posting more tomorrow.

Memory in Death

I spent last evening reading Memory in Death by JD Robb the latest Eve and Roarke adventure . I'll warn those who don't want to know any details, avert your eyes because I'm going to give some away.

I enjoyed MID, which was no surprise. As I've previously mentioned I really love all the characters who inhabit the world of Eve & Roarke. I could spend more time with the secondary characters and not mind a bit--Peabody & McNab, Mavis & Leonardo, Dr. Mira & Mr. Mira...they're fabulous. This book will be a particular favorite as time goes by, I'm sure, because it is quite a bit lighter on mystery and mayhem than some of the others in the series. I'm kind of a wimp, with respect to violence and suspense. I worry something bad is going to happen to a secondary character, it makes reading a little tense-making sometimes. MID, compared to the heart-wrenching Survivor in Death, (the scene in the morgue--I could cry thinking about it right now!) is a walk in the park. A lovely chance of pace--no serial killers--no injuries among our near and near--and more of Eve & Roarke at home, which I especially liked. For once, Eve & Roarke gave a party and murder didn't interrrupt it. We also got to enjoy Christmas at home. Usually the book ends with Christmas or weddings or vacations which then happen off-stage, so to speak. Not this time--yea! We get Christmas! We do learn more about Eve's backstory which, as always, has its painful moments. But whatever the woman suffered in her past, her present more than makes up for it with Roarke! (Yeah, yeah--I know it's fiction.)

Latest Reading and Women's Lib

In spite of all the new books I purchased just a week or so ago, I have once again been glomming an author. (For an explanation of glomming, go here.) A few weeks ago I discovered Anne Weale's blog "Bookworm on the Net" and was inspired to get out my collection of her books. I also discovered there were a few of her books that I didn't have yet. I don't understand how that can happen, since I carefully review lists of "coming" books online and in a magazine. It's a mystery. Whatever. So I ordered three of these books online and I'll keep looking for the one I could get. (Man, I love being able to order online--it's so convenient.) I was then further inspired to re-read some of my favorites.

Strange, perhaps to some, I have owned 10? or so books by Ms. Weale, some for years which I have never read. I like to think of that as both an example of my ability to delay gratification and as a way of stockpiling reading material against the possibilty of a disaster. Maybe the book industry will go belly-up, for example, and then I'll need all these books I've been hoarding for years and years. It's not as crazy as you might first think, with book readership down, that worst case scenario could happen! The books that I have been reading for the first time, are all early novels, written in the 60's. Reading books from this era has reminded me of the Dell Shannon 'Luis Mendoza' mysteries which are set in the 60's. I might have to start re-reading them next. I love when the book references the cost of things. For example, in a Luis Mendoza mystery--really wealthy widows (they're frequent characters for some reason) make like 600 bucks a MONTH. Whew. That's livin' the high-life, isn't it? I also like it when the books have the characters wearing hats or gloves it such a contrast to our current casual style. I digress, as usual. Anyway--reading these early romance novels by Ms. Weale, with their references to women's liberation have made me wonder. When did the women's movement start? I thought it was the late 60's at the same time as the sexual revolution. But even the book written in 1960 makes reference to women's equality with men. Oh, rats...I'm going to have to look this up.

University of Illinois Basketball

Happy news, today, although not happy watching since I am living in the Big Ten basketball desert. Illinois beat Northwestern at Northwestern. That may seem like no biggie--Northwestern isn't known as a basketball powerhouse after all, but they can be tough on their home court. Two years ago, I think, they did beat us. It was mortifying but inspired greater effort after. Here are some factoids about Illinois basketball:

• Illinois is the second-winningest team in the nation over the past five-and-a-half seasons. Illinois has won 157 games since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, which trails only Duke (167 wins).
• Bruce Weber is the second-winningest coach in the nation over the past four-and-a-half seasons. Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season, Weber has won 131 games, recording 52 wins in his final two years at Southern Illinois and 79 wins in his first two-and-a-half years at Illinois. He trails Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (132) by one win over this time period.
• Illinois and Duke are the only two schools in the nation to win at least 25 games each of the last five seasons.
• Illinois, Duke and Oklahoma State are the only three teams to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 each of the last two seasons.

In other basketball news, Georgetown beat Duke--thus ending speculation about Duke's potential undefeated season. Take it from me, Duke fans, better now than the last game of the regular season which is what happened to Illinois last year. By then your run is BIG news and the team that takes you down is really obnoxious. Ohio--ick--they reaaalllllyyy enjoyed beating us. Georgetown was over the top happy today, I gather they stormed the court, but it would have been worse later in the season.

Meanwhile, I am interested to note that we played Georgetown earlier this season and beat them by 10. Does this mean Illinois would be a contender against Duke, the monolith? I can't say, but I can dream, can't I?

Thoughts on Happiness

The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase;

if you pursue happiness you'll never find it.

C. P. Snow

I think this is very true. Trying to be happy usually involves thinking about yourself a lot. What will make me feel better? I need to give myself something or do something just for me. Actively trying to be happy is the ultimate selfishness, thinking about me-me-me.

I do believe that people are mostly self-absorbed and at any given time their inner dialogue is about their place and comfort in any given situation. So consider that the baseline of the human experience, to think only of self. Now consider this question; how are people who are more highly developed in their humanity or personality (insert whatever word you think fits best here) going to show that they are more highly developed? That they are more than they started out being, that they have raised themselves from the baseline of me-me- me thinking. How is this demonstrated? By their ability to NOT think of themselves only, but by their ability to subsume self and think of 'other'.

So to become involved in something outside of, and perhaps greater than self reveals greater personal development. That something may be another person or people; lover, children, friend, the homeless; or music, art, quilting, blogging...whatever shifts your attention from the me-me-me to the outward.

As a society we make value judgements about the 'other' that people choose. We praise those whose 'other' is charitable or artisitic. We condemn those whose 'other' is trivial. So does blogging make me a better person? I'm taken out of self and into other. But wait, I blog about self. Rats. I'm the trivial...the less developed of my thesis. Maybe I should have taken a philosphy class in college and I wouldn't have written myself into this corner. Dang it. How do I get out of this trap? Well--it started out about happiness, right? So my opinion, when we have the 'other' we have happiness. And that happiness will be ours even if the 'other' is a toy train collection or volunteering in a Habitat for Humanity project. Society will think more of the volunteer, sure, but both will likely be happy. Maybe being happy ought to make us want to share happiness through charitible efforts but that's really taking me further in my post than I intended to go. Here's the big finish:

Happiness isn't something you experience;

it's something you remember.

Ocar Levant (1906 - 1972)

This n That

I worked late Thursday and Friday of this week, and now I'm heading off to put in a few more hours. This information is for those who think educators work a shorter day than the rest of the population and never put in overtime. Paperwork, documentation, reports; those are things every professional can never keep up to date on without extra effort, I suspect. After I put a few hours in on lesson plans and averaging scores and documenting service provision, I'll be heading to Target to return my dvd of House. Think I can't return a dvd that's been opened? I'll bet they let me when I show them that my box contains two disk 1's and no disk 2, along side its disk 3. Thus, was ruined my ability to view the House episodes in order. Yes, I could have waited to watch disk 3 until I had exchanged the faulty set for the new hopefully perfect set, but I'm addicted to House and I couldn't wait. I mean it, I couldn't wait.

Project Runway-On Thin Ice

The key phrase heard in this episode uttered by the redoubtable Michael Kors: "What's worse, not going far enough or going too far?" That tells you everything you need to know about the outcome and the rationale for this episode of the show. It also covers nicely the reality show imperative of good tv with dramatic participants. But really, I'm skipping to the end when the journey was so delicious. I wasn't intending to post about PR before the episode had barely finished airing. I have work in the morning after all. (Oh yeah, I'm an insomniac so I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.) I also wasn't intending to make notes about the episode as it proceeded either. My absent intentions don't seem to matter however. Here is some background, and events or quotes that struck me as interesting throughout the episode.

As we expected our task was to design a figure skating dress for Sasha Cohen. Designers had 30 minutes to sketch, $150 dollars to spend and two days and a little more before the runway. While shopping the designers were expected to wear ice skating outfits. Emmett, in particular, looked hysterically funny as he added his little trademark hat. Santino's fur Cossack-style hat gave his outfit added flair. He was the luckiest of the men because his shirt was white while Andrae, Nick, Emmett and Daniel V. were arrayed in not flattering rainbow shades. Of the ladies, Zulema looked best in her skating dress but the gold eye shadow was reminiscent of Mimi on the Drew Carey show. Chloe, cute as she is, was not flattered by the outfit she was given, as it made her look stocky. We visit our usual fabic store and also get to visit ? (didn't catch the name) to purchase trims, sequins, feathers, and beads for the costume. Daniel V. notes he spend 2/3 of his budget on trim.

As the show progresses, I note Daniel V. makes a couple of negative comments about people. I don't have any specific recollection of him saying anything remotely mean before. Is the pressure building or are people just getting more on his nerves as time goes by? Of Kara, he remarks that her dress looked basic and not in a Calvin Klein kind of way but a JC Penney basic kind of way. I think we can safely assume Daniel V. will not be getting a job designing for Penneys in the future. He also said something negative about Emmett, along the lines of; Emmett doesn't have the skills needed at this point in the competition but I didn't write down exactly what.

Andrae was a hoot with his over-dramatic, fake English accent. He wastes valuable time fixing overlock machines for people who are his competitors and who won't thank him for it. His "inordinately dreadful" comment about the overlock machines breaking down was a gaffaw-inducer at my house. His self-critique that his dress is "bad valley of the dolls" also sparks amusement and agreement. A boa? A boa? I can't quite get my head around that.

Nick's starting to think about the win--"I'm not teaching today." He responds to Kara when she solicits his help. Good for you, I think. Then moments later we see him critiquing and helping Kara. No, no, Nick, don't help others. This is a competition!

Santino states the obvious when he explains that his design philosphy is "to make the biggest statement I can". Duh.

Now for the runway--

Nick -Beige/white with an assymetrical bodice. It's pretty although one of the cups of the bodice looks skimpy to me.

Andrae- much better than the views in progress suggested. He limited the use of the boa to one shoulder. It is dark, maybe black.

Kara- black with a fringe skirt which I liked.

Chloe- very different from all the others. Tiers or ruffles of turquoise (Chloe blue?) with a halter top. The dress is shaped like an inverted V. This could win because it's original and pretty.

Daniel V. -burgundy, modern design, unusual skirt with triangle shaped panels--very dark, looks sort of like lingerie and too old for Sasha.

Zulema- ivory with a lacy pattern created by the sequins. The bodice is awfully low. I'm worried if Sasha raises her arms her nipples will be exposed. The pleated skirt is nice. No rear exposed in this dress.

Emmett- a navy spangled dress with a web-like design of sequins in the neckline and back. A simple ruffle skirt. The skirt appears to be straight although I thought he was going to make it asymetrical. Maybe Chloe and Kara talked him out of that, they didn't seem to like the look when he asked their opinion.

Santino- what can one say. It's an odd cross between a turkey and varigated red rags that someone threw up onto a dress. It's so ugly words almost fail me. I'm not sure he could have added another detail to the dress with the ruching and the crap hanging off of the front and back. Sacha would be overwhelmed by this dress. I'm not sure she could walk in it as it must also be heavy with 50 pounds of junk hanging on the rear end. Kinda hard to land a triple jump in this.

Nick, Daniel V. Andrae, are allowed to leave immediately. The discussion on the runway commences.

Kara says she was inspired by the 1920's and All that Jazz. Our panel of critics think the dress screams Vegas, and the fringe is unflattering to the thighs of a figure skater (which do tend to be bulky) and the dress would have no flow or shape on the ice.

Chloe gets compliments for her unusual color and style. Sasha is concerned the shape is not right for her figure and Chloe says that she did consider that and modified something about the ruffles to account for that. The panel think Chloe's designs are modern and woman-friendly. She is a contender for winning the challenge.

Zulema gets many compliments as well. Nobody seems concerned that the front is skimpy so maybe I'm worrying about nipple exposure for nothing. Sasha likes the color and the pattern of the sequins that almost looks like lace. It's sexy without being vulgar. Chic and elegant are also descriptors. Zulema goes on to win, thus fulfilling all our expectations because of the model walk-off comment. Winning today fits in with my view of the exit order of the remaining designers mentioned here.

Emmett gets no credit for this outfit. The skirt is too short, it's "old lady ice skater'. The panel feels he showed no imagination and it's dowdy and vulgar at the same time which is a trick to accomplish.

Santino gets the worst of the comments. Sasha is hard-pressed to say anything nice. She likes the ruching on the stomach but thinks there is "lots going on" a masterful understatement. Carmen Miranda on acid, something you'd see in a Thanksgiving pageant--worn by the turkey with pilgrims in pursuit, not flattering. Heidi is quite annoyed that Santino willfully ignores the client's wishes. Santino's hauls out his tired excuse that he was "taking a risk". They discuss whether or not Santino will ever be able to rein it in. Heidi would like to say good bye to Santino today. Well she said she wanted to say 'auf weidersen' but I knew I couldn't spell that properly so I was trying to avoid using it. Presumably fans of the show will know her catch-phrase despite my pathetic spelling attempt.

Once I heard Heidi say she wanted to send Santino home, I was pretty sure he wouldn't go. Which takes us back to the start of our post. As Michael Kors said, "What's worse, not going far enough or going too far?" Emmett was unimaginative but he did provide the client with a dress she could actually ice skate in. It wasn't spectacular but she wouldn't have been laughed off the ice either. Santino provide a dress that looked like someone vomited ruffles and feathers, it also couldn't be skated in and would have been laughed at if actually worn. Other considerations: Emmett is too low key and dignified to warrant much air time relative to volatile Santino. Santino has had some spectacular highs and lows while Emmett has stuck to the middle of the pack. This was Emmett's first appearance in the defend your design portion of the show, I believe. All that considered, I don't mind that Emmett went home but I don't want to see Santino end up in the final with such an uneven body of work behind him and after his repeated disregard for the clients wishes. I'm still having nightmares about the lingerie challenge frankly. PR does have to balance good reality show television with good design. Now my thoughts turn to who will go next.

Update: I've added links to the actual outfits on the PR website. It's amazing how differently the dresses look than I remember from viewing the episode in realtime. I need to pause and study the outfits more before I blog. I noticed in the blogging that so far, Daniel V. and Emmett have the number 1 & 2 spots in voting. Interesting but it's still early in the process. I'll have to check in after some time has passed to see if the publics opinion is holding steady.

Border's book run

As you know I'm waiting impatiently for the new JD Robb. I didn't really have any particular reason to go to Borders other than I just really, really like buying books. So here's the latest list:

The Lion's Daughter by Loretta Chase: a reprint from '92 which I've never read by a great author.
Bitten & Smitten by Michelle Rowen: a new author for me with a complimentary cover blurb by MaryJanice Davidson and its about vampires. (I have a weakness for vampires.)
Blessed is the Busybody by Emilie Richards: a mystery by a well known romance author--the first in a series.
Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris: famous for the Dead as...vampire mystery series, this is the first of the Lily Bard mysteries.
Billionaire's Proposition by Leanne Banks; Banks is a guarantee good read and I like the idea of hooking up with a billionaire. Be honest--doesn't everybody?
Valentine's Day is Killing Me by MaryJanice Davidson, Leslie Esdaile and Susanna Carr: an anthology of stories about Valentine's Day (duh) and crime and bad boys.
Much Obliged by Jessica Benson: an historical/regency. I think I've read Benson before and liked her (hey, I read ALOT of books, sometimes its hard to keep track) and the back cover sounded fun.
Everyday with Rachel Ray: the second issue of her new magazine. I love Rachel's 30 minute meals and I've actually made one? of her recipes which is amazing considering how little I cook. To give some context here, I actually have an Arch card for McDonald's.

Blog Frustrations

I'm slowly but surely adding skills to my repetoire of blogging. I've learned how to link to other sites. I managed to put my favorite sites in the side bar. I've even learned to upload pictures. Today I changed the font size and one color of the font (although I'm not actually sure which one changed color..I think it's the darker green one). Since in Robin-world, were I am both Queen and President, bigger is better, the text has been upsized. It seems to make the blog load a little slower though, which I totally don't get. The majority of the blog is still text afte all.

Skill-wise, I'm not where I want to be yet though. I want my blog to look different and unique from others. I want to change the photos in the header and at the same time personalize them. Not that I have a digital camera yet, but that's next on my list. I don't really understand code though. That's kind of a barrier, I'm thinking. I go into the template I change things...I regret it. You see how this is going, right? I'm like those doctors on House whose cure is worse than the original illness. But I'm finding that blogging is satisfying enough that I want to keep trying to improve my skills and knowledge even if it's frustrating and time consuming so that my blog will be read. There, I admit it. I want people to read my blog.

Thoughts on winning and losing

If you can react the same way to winning and losing,

that is a big accomplishment.

That quality is important

because it stays with you the rest of your life.

Chris Evert

Alas, I'm a lesser being and when my beloved Illini are beaten by Indiana, well, it ain't a happy moment. Is it just me? Or do people just celebrate in an unseemly way when they beat Illinois? ::sigh:: Winning feels very good. I'm just being selfish because I don't want any of the teams who play Illinois to have that feeling. On to Northwestern with a 16-2; 2-2 record.

Memory in Death

Seven more days till the latest JD Robb , the alter ego of Nora Roberts, arrives in bookstores. I'm eagerly awaiting Memory in Death, the latest in the continuing story of Eve Dallas and Roarke. I read a review somewhere...All About Romance, maybe? that gave some great hints about what 's coming. Roarke's take-no-prisoners approach to protecting Eve shows up. Yeehaw!

Last year my twin sister moved to Maryland ahead of me and I lived alone for six months for the first time in twenty years. It was a difficult time. Part of my coping strategy was re-reading the In Death series. I started with what was then the latest release and then I read the series in reverse, backwards. Now that was freaky! Reading about things that were past but in the current book were future events. I've never done that before what with my need to see it, and read it, in sequence- OCD- thing. Anyway, finally I got to the beginning of the series but I still wasn't ready to let the characters go and so I read the series forward to the end again. This, admittedly, odd behavior got me through two months of deep winter and living alone but for my sick cat. Re-reading a book series like In Death, it really is like visiting old friends, you open up the page and suddenly you are hanging out with people that you know well from all the hours spent with them.

So, seven days to go..wish I didn't have to wait.

Beth Nielsen Chapman

A few posts ago I mentioned the new cds that I purchased at Barnes & Nobel. My mini-review is a thumbs up for Beth Nielsen Chapman's new cd Look. I've been listening to it all week and I enjoy it more each time.

I've liked Beth's music since forever. I saw her in concert as an opening act for Dan Fogelberg once back in the day. I don't think Dan Fogelberg even tours anymore so that tells you that it was a while ago. She was wonderful and I desperately wanted her to sing "Emily" still one of my favorite songs by her. I was too shy to shout out the suggestion to her.

I remember the concert well, partly because I was incredibly annoyed by the rudeness of the audience during her act. I try to be polite to opening acts in general, since usually they're not who the audience came to see specifically. The man behind me talked to his girlfriend throughout her set, heedless that others might have come to see BNC as well as Dan. The same guy also sang along with Dan which frankly, is a serious offense at a concert. I was too nice, being a mid-westerner, to turn around and tell him to shut it. I regret that now because even years later his inconsiderate behavior is irritating to me. I'd probably be philosphical about it if I had vented properly to him at the time.

For the uninitiated, though, Beth's finest cd is Sand and Water. There was a long delay after her first two cds came out, both of which had hits you'd probably recognize if I had any clue how to attach a music file to this blog, which I don't and if it probably wasn't illegal, which I'm not even sure about. Anyway--I was checking in the the record store regularly to get her latest and years went by, to my great frustration. I'm afraid I was a bit unkind about her artist process while waiting for my gratification. Did I ever feel like a HEEL when I read in her liner notes that the long delay was because her husband had died of cancer. Now I check in at her website and avoid those kinds of faux pas. That said, what a tour de force Sand and Water is. That cd is so gorgeous and moving I can't imagine anyone not being blown away by the music. Add to that its theme of grief and anyone who has lost a loved one would be deeply affected. Seriously, it is that good.

Cost per Wear and other fashion thoughts

In the early..well, never mind what decade--some time ago., I read a book which referenced the idea of "cost per wear" which I found to be brilliant. (To give credit where credit is due, I read about this idea in a book by Anne Weale, an author who I imagine to be nearly perfectly groomed at all times based upon the books she writes.) Anyway, cost per wear is an way of looking at clothes/accessory purchases with the idea that spending more on classic, long-wearing and well-made fashion items makes better sense financially than buying cheap items which are faddish and must be replaced more frequently. Say you buy a winter coat for $300 dollars. (I'll remind everyone, I work in the public schools, that's a lot of money to me.) How many times in one winter season will you wear the coat? 90 times, in a cold climate? And how many years can you wear a good winter coat? Three or four? The cost per wear of such a garment is less than a buck over time. See? Now take a special occasion dress, something you might wear at a wedding. How many times might you expect to wear such a dress? Once, three times? If you spend $300 dollars on such a dress the cost per wear is around $100 dollars!

I try to apply cost per wear to almost all of my purchases. It is why I buy good leather shoes which last forever, even though they cost more than leather-looking shoes from Walmart or Target. I also pay more for purses.

In the fall, while going through my In-Style magazine I fell in love with a Cole Haan purse. It was gorgeous and keeping in mind cost per wear, and my new higher salary I was contemplating splurging on this purse. You carry an everyday purse EVERYDAY and you can put them away as the seasons change and bring them out again year after year. It's good cost per wear calculation. Here's the purse, Cole Haan's Stud hobo:

I love it. Everything about it appeals to me. Then I found out it was $650.oo dollars. It was a dagger to my heart. Even with cost per wear I can't justify buying this purse. ::sigh::: I've looked for cheaper look-a-likes. I haunt e-bay. I've even tried to put the purse out of my mind. It has a hold on me though. I haven't been able to buy another purse since I first saw this one. And you thought unrequited love was something people felt for other people. How I wish I was still so innocent.

Rupert Brooke

Back in college, I read a book which used the poem "The Call" by Rupert Brooke. Romantic that I was, I was inspired to check out a book of Brooke's poetry and in the front page was this photograph. I fell in crush, mesmerized by this beautiful man with a tragic story. Here's the beautiful poem that inspired me to read more.

The Call

Out of the nothingness of sleep,

The slow dreams of Eternity,

There was a thunder on the deep:

I came, because you called to me.

I broke the Night's primeval bars,

I dared the old abysmal curse,

And flashed through ranks of frightened stars

Suddenly on the universe!

The eternal silences were broken;

Hell became Heaven as I passed.

--What shall I give you as a token,

A sign that we have met, at last?

I'll break and forge the stars anew,

Shatter the heavens with a song;

Immortal in my love for you,

Because I love you, very strong.

Your mouth shall mock the old and wise,

Your laugh shall fill the world with flame,

I'll write upon the shrinking skies

The scarlet splendour of your name,

Till Heaven cracks, and Hell thereunder

Dies in her ultimate mad fire,

And darkness falls, with scornful thunder,

On dreams of men and men's desire.

Then only in the empty spaces,

Death, walking very silently,

Shall fear the glory of our faces

Through all the dark infinity.

So, clothed about with perfect love,

The eternal end shall find us one,

Alone above the Night, above

The dust of the dead gods, alone.

I've always seen this as the ultimate love poem. Over the top in its imagery. I can't imagine that you could read this to a lover nowadays, because it would seem too much...something. I read Brooke's biography, more than one actually, trying to figure out who he wrote the poem for--what great love. The answer to the mystery was a little freaky because apparently, Brooke wrote it about a brother who had died. Is it just me? Does that seem normal? It was the turn of the century but still...

Occam's Razor

After an early morning run to Target (early for me which means noon-ish) the afternoon has been spent watching the first three episodes of House. I'm beginning to see, with serial viewing, a template for episodes in which patients get worse before they get better and House prefers to treat illness diagnoses (oy, what is the plural of diagnosis?) in order to prove the diagnosis by its response to treatment. Thus, nearly killing the patient by causing the aforementioned 'getting worse' and finally, House is given some tiny inconsequential bit of information which allows his brain to connect all the dots and cure the patient. I'm basing this opinion of the template on viewing around ten episodes, so the show may not always stick with that model. Even knowing the template, however, I adore the show. That said, episode three was titled "Occam's Razor". Mentally curious as I am, in all the potential meanings, I looked up the definition or background of Occam's Razor and I'll generously share what I learned with my single, unknown reader out there. ;o)

Occam's Razor

one should not increase, beyond what is necessary,

the number of entities required to explain anything

Occam's Razor is a principle of logic. Well, that explains why I'd never heard of it. Logic and I do not have a relationship. I'm a go with the flow, intuitive leaping kind of thinker...when I think. It is the basis for scientific modeling and theory building. It is associated with a guy from medieval times named, you guessed it, William of Occam. I'm taking a leap here, as I am wont to do, and guessing the razor references the cutting away of extraneous junk which muddies the waters when attempting to compose an explanation for something. Hmm, there you go, now the day is not wasted because we've learned something. Someday this bit of trivia may win someone money on Jeopardy! or...or...a radio call in program. You just never know. Wonder what that principle is called? Uh oh...now I'm going to have to do another internet search.

Update: In quantum physics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that one cannot assign with full precision values for certain pairs of observable variables, including the position and momentum, of a single particle at the same time even in theory. I looked it up, I shared it with you, I'm stopping now. This isn't Numbers after all.

Insanity & Consequences

Quote of the day...

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

Thought for the day...

When you choose an action, you also choose the consequences of that action.
Cordelia to Miles, an inexact quotation from one of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series which I believe is profound.

U of I Win Number Sixteen ;o)

Well, (an overused word I agree but euphonious) Illinois has moved to 16-1; 2-1 in conference play, I believe. Whew. The game against Michigan just finished with a squeaker. When you consider how the Illini typically dominate in home games, a 79-74 final score squeals like a pig about to be slaughtered. Not that I have any personal experience with pig slaughtering, but it's a colorful metaphor. Speaking of colorful, a home game in Assembly Hall when almost 17,000 people are dressed in bright orange and the Orange Crush is chanting and standing through posession after possession and bouncing rhythmically is an overwhelming experience for opposing teams and a thrill for fans. I highly recommend it.

Since moving to the mid-atlantic region where Duke, Maryland, and North Carolina (ptew, ptew, yep--still holding a grudge) are the teams of interest; seeing Illinois on tv is a rarity. Toto, we're not in Big Ten country anymore. This is ACC ground. Sigh. National interest in Illinois being low, I followed the game on the internet after virtuously paying my bills. I have considered paying for Full Court, but I've been feeling cheap. A feeling particularly unchanged after paying bills. It's an indulgence, after all, and I already indulge myself plenty in books, music, and clothes. Hey--an educator's paycheck only goes so far, darn it, which takes us full circle back to my post on winning the lottery.

Back to Illinois basketball, I'm still convinced that losing at Iowa was a good thing. I noted in the sports commentary after the loss that the phrase "undefeated no more" and its ilk were used in excess. Considering that any reasonable sports interested person knew that Illinois had seen limited conference play and hadn't played any particularly super-ranked opponenets in pre-conference play--the impression given was of knocking off a goliath and that's just not consistent with the facts. Or maybe I'm just paranoid about the way Illinois is perceived by the sports media. Whatever.

In other basketball news, I enjoyed reading that Kansas State beat Kansas and ended an extremely long 30-something winning streak by Kansas. Heh, heh. Yep, still holding a grudge against Self. I was holding the grudge when Kansas was playing well, but not surprisingly, I enjoy my grudge much more now that they are tanking. Hey, human nature, whatcha gonna do?

Project Runway Redux

I keep thinking about how few designers are left. I hate that we lost two in one week. What a waste! It's not like the Apprentice where multiple firings are a relief because you are starting to dislike so many of the candidates. This is a cool show! More designers means more designs to critique. Duh! Oh, why didn't I become a tv producer? Seems like the people who make shows don't actually watch tv so they don't understand what the tv viewer is looking for in their entertainment.

(Believe me, if they did there wouldn't be all these dreadful final episodes in series. I'm still scarred by the finale of Quantum Leap. I shouldn't let myself get started, but I'm still sick about poor Sam leaping from lifetime to lifetime and never getting to go home and the leaps getting harder. Oy, what a crappy ending that was--I cried for hours. But I digress, as a warned you I often do.)

Anyway, returning to my point...I keep remembering how Zulema was shown in a clip at the beginning of the series asking for a model walk-off. That means she wins one of the remaining episodes and one of the following: Nick, Santino, Emmett, Chloe, Daniel, Andrae, or Kara will be eliminated instead. (Is that everyone?) That's kind of amazing to me. In my guesstimation, the elimination order would be the following: Next, Kara-she seems to be losing it; Emmett--his reputation is the next weakest OR Zulema--I haven't forgotten the show your keister dress; Santino--purely wishful thinking; Andrae--he seems weaker than Daniel V.; and a toss up between Chloe, Nick or Daniel V. for the final two designers. That's how I feel right now, anyway--it's subject to change with each new tidbit revealed.

So, will Zulema win the ice skating challenge? "On Thin Ice" is next, that doesn't really seem like Zulema's forte, but I can't really see her outlasting more than just Kara or Emmett. I wish I could remember some of the really nasty comments made by the panel about the ice skating dress during the runway Q & A in the previews. Someone made a really vulgar dress--Santino? Ordinarily I'd pick Zulema (yep, the bare butt thing still) but I know she still has to win one before she goes. According to my cable info button the next after next episode is called " Inspiration" and the description says that the remaining designers find inspiration from their surroundings. That gives no clues as to who might be stronger competitors in the challenge because it is still pretty barebones.

Ah well, thus is my drive-time entertainment, pondering the mysteries of Project Runway. Btw, I've decided to hold off on watching Season One of PR, so as to not confuse the two seasons and to extend my viewing pleasure timeline.

Jayne Ann Krentz-All Night Long

I finally got my turn to read the new Jayne Ann Krentz, All Night Long on Sunday. Usually I read new books first because I read faster than my sister. Unfortunately, she found the book in Barnes & Noble first, so that gave her dibs. It took her forever, too. I think we bought the book Thursday night and she didn't finish it until late Saturday. That drove me crazy. Anyway--I enjoyed it. The heroine was a journalist on a mission to solve a mystery that seemed related to a tragic event in her life. She had a serious phobia about the dark which was different. The hero was an alpha male, former marine and a philospher. Just the kind of hero I like, complicated. It was a fun read and I devoured it quickly. I started Sunday morning and finished by early evening and that's with some blogging in-between. I'm still a little peeved about not getting to read it first. Slow readers, like slow drivers, should allow faster drivers and readers to pass instead of hogging the road.

House-the continuing obsession

I dvred two episodes of House either Monday or Tuesday (who can remember exactly when, it's Thursday already) and then the latest new episode as well, which meant, to my joy, that I got to watch House for three straight hours, less fast-forwarding through the commercials. I love this show so much, especially the character of Gregory House that I watch in spite of my hypocondriac tendencies which should send me screaming to the doctor with symptoms that I see on the show AND in spite of the fact that the actor who plays House (I'm too lazy to look up who it is) has a slight speech impediment. We speech language pathologists just don't do well when watching adults with uncorrected speech errors. I ordinarily would notice it everytime he says a word with a ch or sh sound. I usually would yearn to fix it. But yet, I love that grouchy genius and smart-mouth doc so much that I turn a blind eye to it. That's obsession, folks.

Now my big problem is that I'm seeing the show episodes out of order and if you've read my profile you know that something I just don't like. So--I'm gonna have to buy Season One on dvd. I'm trying to be good but it's just a lost cause. Obsessions rule, that's why they're called obsessions. I'm confused about too many elements in the show to tolerate it anymore. For instance, when did the new chairman of the board come on the scene? Is he still around? Why is Foreman being called House's boss? These are questions I need the answers to and I'm not waiting for the once a week episode on the USA network to give them to me. They should have House on every night like they do Law & Order. I wonder where I can write that suggestion to USA network?

Project Runway-Window Shopping

I was pretty tired last night, and I intended to go to bed and watch Project Runway on dvr today. My sister, however, had different ideas and once I saw the start of the show I couldn't leave. I was in a state of nervous tension at first that Chloe and Emmett would go but as the show proceeded I began to see that they were doing fine compared to the train wrecks happening with the other teams.

My first favorite outfit was Daniel V. & Andrae's dropped waist dress and white jacket combo which was very pretty and perfectly appropriate for both work-wear and an evening event. My second favorite was Chloe and Emmett's reversable jacket and halter/skirt combo, which was lovely and clever! Their model did a great job showing the jacket too, she was very smooth in the transition. It was dressier than Daniel and Andrae's outfit so perhaps that's why it wasn't as popular with the BR crowd. (I do wonder how many votes they actually got altogether, that box looked kind of empty to me.) Next, I loved Kara and Zulema's dress, and agreed with the judges that the jacket thing was just wierd-looking. I was appalled by the latest from the duo of Santino-I'm-the-king-of-the-world/Nick-I'm C.O.A. because I told him it was too much. That outfit was just odd looking. What's up with the bat-wing things. Don't be insulting Japanese fashion by saying they inspired you to throw flaps of fabric on the skirt! Finally, Diana/Marla never really had a chance. Diana just never seemed capable of working outside her wierd math/science inspired fashions to do something that would work for BR and Marla didn't bring anything to the table at all. Why did they do Diana's design if Marla was never on board with it? Could it be that Marla had NO idea, so any idea of Diana's was better? Diana needs to develop some certainty of vision. She became wishy-washy in the end and that didn't fix the problem Look how being full-steam-ahead pulled Zulema and Kara out of the line of fire.

I'm pleased with the outcome of the show because I think the right people went. Some faith has been restored in the integrity of the show in the last two weeks. I took delight in Santino's humiliation, especially after all the mean things he has said about others. I don't understand why Nick thought he'd be better off with Santino than with Emmett. Especially since he'd already worked with Santino and knew his limitations in collaboration. Was there some kind of strategy behind it? I suppose Nick may agree that Emmett is one of the weaker designers but that really hasn't played out on the runway. When has Emmett had to suffer through defending his designs? He's always been solidly in the middle of the pack.

Blogging by remote..

I wondered as I drove home today if blogging by remote from whereever you are would be a good thing..I'm driving...I'm thinking...what if my thoughts could just appear in my blog through some weird telepathic connection? How cool would that be? So I begin the ponder my potential blogs...the Alito hearings....Project Runways latest episode...my obsession with House and the mini-marathon I watched of it on Tuesday night....why do people keep their Christmas lights up so long, it's January for pity's sake...I need to fill up the car, when should I do that now or tomorrow morning?..it's dark now, I'll wait till morning...starting a new job in a new town is a lot of work, I'm actually working longer hours than in my old job even though I'm doing the same thing....if you're at a four way stop and there is no traffic to the east or west, can't the north-south traffic just go without waiting on each other...if nobody is turning left then there's no way to have an accident...people are such stupid drivers...is it cellphones?...what about the last few books I've read...I could blog my review of them..the Jayne Ann Krentz was good...I can't wait for the new JD Robb...why can't they just release books whenever...I hate waiting for a certain date....

And then I had an epiphany. I realized that remote, telepathic blogging is a bad, bad idea. My brain is a mess! I'm a go with the flow, this makes me think of that, kind of person. My thought patterns are utterly disorganized and that's not even getting into the catty, nasty stuff that floats across the surface. No--thank goodness technology cannot yet transfer my thoughts directly to the blogspot. My blog's not the most interesting thing on the planet, although I'm givin' it the ole college try, but the detritus(I learned that word watching CSI in case you're wondering) floating through my brain unedited is much, much worse.

St. Bernadette-- or an example of my odd interests...

I finally finished reading The Song of Bernadette, the fictionalized biography about Bernadette Soubirous which I started before Christmas. It made me teary at the end because the poor girl suffered so much. It's a fascinating book upon which the movie is very closely based. In general I don't like fictionalized histories or biographies because I am always left wondering what was true and what was added to spice up the story. With that in mind I wandered some websites looking for more factual information. This website on Catholic saints includes lots of interesting information and pictures of Bernadette, also known as Sister Marie Bernarde. I note Amazon.com has several books available, one St. Bernadette Soubirous , by Francois Trochu, by which I was very tempted but I'm trying to control my compulsive book buying.

I don't consider myself of morbid bent but I was curious about what actually killed Bernadette since she died quite young (age 36). My impression from the movie was something like tuberculosis of the bones of which I have never heard. I think perhaps it must have been bone cancer. The websites I've browsed refer to her asthma and ill-health but aren't really specific. The movie makes her illness and suffering quite mysterious because Bernadette lifts her habit to show another nun something which causes the mean nun to gasp in horror and dismay and results in a complete change of heart in the other nun. (Spoiler--apparently it was a tumor on Bernadette's knee which was quite large.)

In the last chapter of the book there are some fascinating tidbits about the fact that Bernadette's body didn't decay normally. Presumeably this was considered further evidence of her sainthood. . The Catholic Saints website I mentioned above, has several pages devoted to the examination of her body on the three separate occasions. The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati by Joan Cruz got good reviews at Amazon as being a through examination of the phenomena. Not being Catholic I had never heard of such a thing and am having to resist mightly not to order the book. I also didn't know that the word "beati" was the plural for the beatified either, or so I'm guessing. Beatified adj : Roman Catholic; proclaimed one of the blessed and thus worthy of veneration [syn: blessed ]. So hey, this day was a success because I learned something new. (Useless, but new.)

Morning Meanderings

I check the blogs that I read everyday, most of the time after work. On the weekends, I might check the blogs I read several times a day depending on whether I'm on the go or just hanging out. I like the blogs I read. I like their authors even though I don't know them personally and I'm always on the look out for more blogs to read. Something about reading blogs feeds some inner curiousity of mine about the internal mental workings of others, as well as, how they spend their time. Blogs give us some insight into that by what topics people choose to write about and the things they share about what they do in their "real" life.

Following that line of thought, I try to blog something most days because hopefully someone is reading and I don't like to disappoint them when they visit by having nothing new to offer. That would be like someone dropping by your house unexpectedly and not having any refreshments to offer. Of course, blogging daily means sometimes the topics are frivolous, but since that's the stated objective of my blog, it would be stupid to obsess about it whether that makes me seem like a doofus.

This morning while I sat in the drive-thru at McDonald's waiting for my morning diet Coke, I noted the presence of seagulls. That is an unusual sight for a former midwesterner. I was charmed. Then I pondered how people who live by the water probably detest seagulls because they are a very aggressive bird. Still, I was charmed. Perhaps in time I, too, will dislike the seagull but for now, it's a very pretty bird that is graceful in flight.

My thoughts continued to meander down the path of the differences between Maryland and Illinois. Geography: Illinois is extremely flat in the central portion; Maryland seems to be a rug someone forgot to flatten the ripples out of. Population: I previously lived in twin cities of over 100,000 people, spread out over a flat space there was plenty of room for all; now, in the outer reaches of Baltimore County there are people everywhere and traffic is a phenomenon of significance. Weather: January used to be sub-zero temperatures and dread for the next snow; here, I've only scraped my window of frost once and I wore a courderoy jacket to work the other day.

What do I miss the most? What do I miss the most? Sonic Drive-In Restaurants. Ahh, let me wax poetic. Sonic has the best "fountain pop", as we call it in the midwest, of any restaurant. Lovely crushed ice, styrofoam cups that keep your drink cold longer and flavorings like vanilla. Oh, how I wish there was a Sonic in Maryland. Please Sonic people, build one? I miss Sonic so much, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that I should take a vacation just to go and stay by a Sonic indulging in my drink of choice, Vanilla diet Coke.

University of Illinois Basketball

In my life I've have obsessively followed only two college basketball teams as a fan. I do watch other teams, but I've only been emotionally invested in two teams. The first, back in the day, was the Indiana State University basketball team which began with the 1977 NCAA Championship Runner-up team with Larry Bird. That magical season with Larry Bird (who has never really gotten the credit he deserves for his talent, in my opinion) ended in a crushing disappointment. I've also had a lifelong grudge against Magic Johnson since. Still, I went on to follow the team for the rest of my college-life in spite of their subsequent poor performance. I confess I was motivated in part by the crush I had on point guard Steve Reed at the time. I learned a lot about basketball though.

My second committment to a team came when I moved to Champaign/Urbana Illinois, the home of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. After Lou Henson left I began to follow the team. The coaching carousel caused some problems. We (note the use of the possessive here, I'm fully invested in mental ownership of the team) hired Lon Kruger but he left after two? years to go to the NBA. That didn't work out too well for him, but we did great out of the deal because we got Bill Self.

Things were looking up. Our team was developing into a nationally ranked and respected team. Our recruiting was competitive. Bill Self is and was a very successful recruiter. Then, diasaster as Bill decides to jump ship for Kansas. Hmm, a pattern is developing..that hasn't worked out too well for Bill Self so far. Since he's been at Kansas things haven't been great for him. I'd be lying if I suggested that I feel badly about that. I hold a grudge. Being a fan of a team is comparable to partisan politics after all. Somethings you just don't get over, forget or change your mind about.

But the good news...we got Bruce Weber. Ron Gunther, the U of I AD is brilliant. Bruce Weber is an extremely talented coach and a man of character. What follows next is a steadily improving program which culminates in a number one ranking and a nearly perfect season. The disappointment of our loss to North Carolina in the NCAA 2005 Championship cannot be understated. Like all partisans, I can only look at the loss from our perspective. Sean May cheated. ;oP His under- the -basket bumping with that massive body should have been called as fouls. I'm not required to be objective about this. (I was so saddened by the loss I had a serious case of hives for a week after, it was awful.) Still--what a team, what a season. It could have ended better but wow, what a ride. I'll forever love that team. Deron Williams, Dee Brown, James Augustine, Luther Head, Roger Powell, Nick Smith, Jack Ingram--they were the best.

This year's team is off to a great start 15-0, which is something nobody imagined in a rebuilding year. As I post this, I hear the away game at Iowa is turning into a loss. That's disappointing, but maybe not a terrible thing. Last year all anyone could talk about was our perfect record until when we finally lost at Ohio, it had assumed a huge significance. An early loss will shut up all the comparisons and allow this team to create its own story. I-L-L-I-N-I! Go Illini!

Basketball like politics is entirely partisan.

Star Trek Voyager

Continuing my frivolous posts, let us discuss Star Trek Voyager. I am currently watching season five. As I mentioned in my profile, I like dvd collections of televisions shows because I enjoy watching shows in chronological order. I didn't watch Voyager when it was a first run show. I did see many episodes in reruns and got hooked, however, I was frustrated by the way they jumped around in time in the series. I could never figure out what had happened to Kes and where Seven came from. Thus, I started to collect the dvds of the seasons. They are pricy being around a hundred bucks a set, but that's reasonable when you considered the higher production cost of the series.

There's been a long pause in my viewing of my Voyager dvds. I finished season four last spring while living alone for the first time in almost twenty years. It kept me busy and occupied my mind. Then I got busy with the move to Maryland and...well, time passes. One of my christmas gifts this year was season five however, and I'm settled in my new home, time is once again on my side.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the characters of Voyager. I think the series improved with the addition of Seven of Nine. Her conflicts with Janeway (Not my favorite captain in the ST franchise that is Picard forever, amen.) add something that was missing to the show. I know most of the ST series have had a limited core cast, and the added element of being lost in the Delta quadrant and having no support from Star Fleet gave this series a tenuous setting which made compelling viewing. Once the Maquis and Star Fleet angst settled down the lack of internal conflict within the crew however, (everyone had to stick together in the dangerous situation, after all) the show got a little flat. Chakotay supported Janeway no matter how wrong she was, so, when Seven came along and began to butt heads with Janeway things just got better.

My favorite episodes so far, have been Night and Drone. I love the episode Night because the plot focus was on Seven and her personal growth. Her understanding by the end of the episode that she needed relationships and interaction with the crew was very well done. A masterful episode when you think about how much of the episode Seven carried and how little dialogue they used to develop the audience's understanding of Seven's internal transformation. In Drone, we are shown that the Borg are not inherently evil and selfish. One makes a Christ-like sacrifice of self to save the crew, after all. Shades of the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. (A classic line everyone should know.) The episode begins to set up the idea that the Borg queen is the author of Borg evil, so to speak, in the Borg universe. I loved the character of One and wish he hadn't had to die to prove his point.

People roll their eyes about Star Trek and the various series have been virtually ignored for awards or Emmy's since the very first. It's too bad because the shows are written and acted so well that they've deserved recognition. It's the weird fans that give the whole franchise a bizarro world slant. Frankly, I'd place an episode of any Star Trek Next Generation or Voyager up against Desperate Housewives or West Wing for writing and acting anyday.

Project Runway-The Socialite Episode- The Live to Tape Blog

Having finally gotten the opportunity to watch my dvr of the Project Runway-Nicky Hilton episode, I attempted to low-tech "live-blog" it. Since I don't have a laptop, I used an old fashioned pad and pen and took notes as the show played. Here are my observations extemporaneously:

Nicky Hilton claims "...my standards are high and my taste is exquisite..." no wonder Santino wins--that's the kind of egotism he brings to the show. Frankly, I've seen pictures of NH at events wearing things that refute that claim.

So, the challenge is to design a dress with $150.00 which will be appropriate for a run carpet and fit Nicky Hilton's persona.

Santino--"I can make $150.00 look like $150,000.00" Riiiiight---all those ruffles and braids you like to throw on must really drive the apparent cost of a garment up.

Marla realizes right away that her pre-ideas of what a socialite would wear aren't any good and won't work because they are things she would wear. The fact that this idea is a revelation to her is a little disturbing. Oy, the woman's haircut is dreadful--it's a safe bet even NH wouldn't wear something Marla would wear.

Kara realizes right away that it's all about keeping the client happy. Well, she's the first to verbalize that idea anyway.

30 minutes to sketch and 30 minutes to buy. Oh, the pressure for some. And what was that outfit Emmett was wearing? It looked like a ice cream vendor suit or maybe Captain Kangaroo, but I only got a glimpse. This episode is flying by with all my notetaking and catty comments.

Andrae's idea is to make a dress that won't be noticed. Hmm...that's a little tricky. Don't most fashionistas like to be noticed for what they're wearing? I'm pretty sure Sarah Jessica Parker wants people to notice her dress. Of course, she has talent, so maybe Andrae is right.

Zulema wants to design something that sets her apart. Yep, leather and chiffon are definitely going down a different road.

We lose valuable dress making time with the dress form fight of 2005. Unfortunately, nobody attacks Santino. ::sigh:: What a disappointment.

Diana interacts with Tim. He's puzzled. So am I. The little bit of fabric she has sewn looks weird and the taped lines things on her dress form, what's up with that? Is this lingerie bondage redux? Oh, but the sketch is beautiful.

Lupe wants to test the boundaries. Hey--even if I hadn't known she was going to go that would have been a BIG cue--watch out, loser here! What were those famous words uttered by Raymundo? I want to de-sex little girl fashion? Ignoring the challenge mandate seems to be the road that leads to "out"-ville.

So far nothing about Emmett but the glimpse of his outfit while buying fabric.

Daniel V. crisis--great pink print --uh oh---BROWN fabric. Quel horreur! He's going to rely upon the kindness of near-strangers to get the black fabric he needs for his design. That's probably over-optimistic of him.

First look at Chloe's design--seems very reminiscent of her dress from the party clothes. Maybe it's just the blue and black color palate.

Lupe--that's just weird. Blue flowers, ugly green trim and I'm not even going to mention the stuff happenin' on the booty.

Santino--first look--ugh. This wins? It's derivative. Braid and junk all over the bodice with a flowy skirt. Scarily similar to dress number one from the muslim challenge and with hints of party outfit. Nice color though. But wait, he's going to wear stilletos to the party, shoes always get you the sale.

Emmett--first look-it's nice.

Chloe's model is in her dress and all I can see is bony chest. Lots of bony chest. Feed that model for pity's sake.

Party Time:

Daniel V. very intelligently goes in to NH first and his dress has turned out great! I love the fabric. The little bit of black (who gave him that I wonder?) contrast really pops. I love everything about this dress and it suits NH's body type well.

Santino is smarm-city. Handing out his card. He's working it. She seems to love his dress.

Nick does well. His dress speaks for itself. Well cut. Well made. Striking color. I agree with his discomfort about having to 'sell' the dress to NH.

Andrae's jersey dress is a total surprise. I love it. Great sparkly fabric, beautiful cut, the ribbon straps are great.

Kara's baby-doll/empire waist in black. Nice, but well, you know--it's black. It's an empire. What's to say.

Diana's looks fussy. The texturizing of the fabric isn't shown to best advantage.

Chloe gets good reviews for her braid. I love how NH jumps in with how she's using braid in her Chick line. Uh--how'd she get to be a designer--oh, yeah, she's rich. Wonder if she realizes she is in a room with real designers, excluding Marla.

Dirty Diana- I love it. She's a good dancer and she looks fab in her sparkly tunic with jeans.

Zulema's dress is striking. I like the stark contrast of white and black. The leather/chiffon contrast doesn't really stand out through the medium of tv. I think the bodice is a little skimpy though.

Lupe outed Marla's copycat dress. Wonder if that counted against her in the end? Lupe's explanation of her dress is bizarro. Japanese inspired? In what way? And the color palatte is awful.

On the runway- hit the link to see the real thing.

Nick-great, sophisticated, good color, beautiful draping
Santino-same ole same ole
Marla-how could you pretend this was an original design? Dreadful
Chloe-pretty but shades of same ole same ole
Diana-looked better on the runway than at the party, you missed the skirt detail at the party
Kara-baby doll/empire somewhat similar to Emmett's although the bodice is a halter
Daniel V-LOVE IT!
Emmett--great fabric.
Zulema-good but that bodice is skimpy and the gathering in the front seems crooked
Lupe-Ugh. The back is a mess, the color is awful.
Andrae-Pretty. Great fabric.

Lots of flowy-uneven skirts. Diana, Emmett, Kara, Marla, and Santino all had similar style skirts.

Defense of the dresses:

Lupe-it's about texture, detachable things to personalize (although these particular flower things are not detachable) and it's japanese influenced. Maybe the Japanese ought to formally protest the repetitious slander of their influence through their embassy or something.
Expert Comments: "idea too far", "alot going on", "too much trim, ruffles"

Marla-acts surprised everytime she's told she ripped of the dress from the portfolio. Is she impaired? Her bad haircut leads me to think so.

Diana-played with pattern and texture, belt adds chic.
Comments: "bottom not flattering, people might think you have a big butt"

So,in the end the rationale between Lupe vs. Marla was that Lupe's dress would have put Nicky Hilton on the worst dress list, while Marla's would simply be considered boring and derivative. It's not great, but it is a reason. I think Marla should have gone because even ugly was original and Marla doesn't have the skills necessary to advance in the competition.

Now explain why Santino won. Personality? Clearly NH did not spend enough time with him. Maybe it was all the sucking up he did at the party while Nick was uncomfortable with NH. I don't think Nick should be disappointed about his "loss". It's all about staying for another week and he did with a design of which he can be proud.

Whew--this taped "live-blogging" of PR is exhausting!

New Music and Books

"Wear the old coat and buy the new book."
Austin Phelps

I thought this quote was apropos my lifestyle and a good starter for this post. I just got back from a quick trip to Barnes & Noble. I wasn't actually intending to buy anything. Funny how it so rarely works out that way when I visit a bookstore. I came away with Beth Nielsen Chapman's cd Look and (don't laugh) Donny Osmond's cd somewhere in time (I said don't laugh! ;o). Books purchased included: Jayne Ann Krentz' new hardcover All Night Long, and a Grace and Favor mystery by Jill Churchill: Who's Sorry Now? and a book for Judy's career called Flipping the Switch: Unleashing the Power of Personal Accountibility Using the QBQ by John G. Miller. We also picked up the Sports Illustrated The Best of 2005. The SI had an article about my beloved University of Illinois Fight Illini basketball team so I couldn't pass it up.

Project Runway Report

Doesn't it just figure? I was bored out of my gourd (as we former midwesterners say) over my Christmas vacation and I couldn't wait for the January 4th Project Runway. Then on the day it airs, I'm swapped with work and personal responsibilities which pretty much wipe me out. I was too tired to watch! So the newest edition of PR is faithfully waiting inside by DVR. I will hopefully get it watched by Saturday so I can post my opinions and impressions. I've stayed away from any info about the show so I'm still clueless about who the socialite is and I don't know who was "out".

In other better news, my Project Runway Season 1 DVD arrived Tuesday. I didn't find it in the foyer of my apartment until Wednesday morning since the mail hadn't arrived when I got home from work Tuesday. I was horrified to discover the box had been stomped on and ripped open. On a happy note, the would-be thief apparently had no interest in the DVD since they left it in the destroy package. Yea! For once have weird tastes in entertainment has paid off for me.

**UPDATE**

Alas, I was unable to keep from learning about the PR episode. Unsuspectingly, I bopped over to Manolo's Shoe Blog and his first posting was about the results of the episode. Once I knew that Lupe was ousted, I read to the end of the article. I forgot Manolo discusses PR too. Shoot.

Scripps Howard Spelling Bee

In my former position in another time and another place (hmm, sounds lyrical, someone should write a song using that phrase) I was in charge of our local Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Or maybe it was just called the Scripps Spelling Bee...whatever. My point, if I can get there, is that I used to do a spelling bee every year with the goal of sending someone to Washington DC for the national competition. Unfortunately, spelling wasn't all that popular where I used to teach and the kids who participated sometimes actually lost on purpose. They could not have been more different from the kids who make it to Washington every year.

That said, imagine my surprise when ESPN aired a marathon of the national spelling bees yesterday. I confess *I* wouldn't have watched more than a few minutes (painful memories of disappointment, doncha know) but my twin sister became obsessed. I mean, obsessed. She watched them all. She even dvred the last few that were on through the night. (Now you know what I'll be watching tonight, FYI.) She reviewed the footage in order to see champions who were in more than one bee, and she eventually went online to check out who the winners were in the bees that she'd missed. In short, she went gaga. (That is the technical term, in case you're wondering.)

After watching numerous bees I have some observations about the marathon myself. First, ESPN should have shown the darn things in chronological order. Jumping from 1997 to 2003 to 1999 was just irritating. Second, those kids are different--and I mean that in a good and bad way. They must be incredibly dedicated to put in the time required--I know what those lists looked like before they said just learn the dictionary and even then it was a darn hard list of obscure words, so imagine how much harder it is now! Thirdly, watching the contest behaviors--the stalling and asking for definitions and starting and stopping-- was a hoot. Those kids were good. Some of them had to be instructed to start spelling every single time they hit the mike. Talk about performance anxiety. No do-overs in a national spelling bee, nuh-uh. And how about all the asking for the word to be repeated while saying it incorrectly to see if the pronouncer might slip up and over-emphasize a word part that would give you an edge in spelling it? Brilliant. Finally, those kids ought to be getting a full-ride scholarship after making it to the final round because if you can master that much spelling--heck, your potential is unlimited!

House

My newest revolving tv crush is House. I was all set to buy the dvd set of season one when I discovered that it was going to be replayed on the USA network. Yippee, money saved--I'll just set the ole DVR. I like shows that have clever banter and repartee. West Wing, back in the day, and the short-lived SportsNight were good examples of shows with excellent dialogue.

I wouldn't need a new tv crush if it wasn't for the poor quality of tv right now and the fact that Amazon let me down terribly. I was all set to marathon on Project Runway- Season One but unfortunately--it STILL hasn't come. The only good thing about going back to work on Tuesday is the fact that Project Runways-new episode is on Wednesday night. Tv programmers really should consider all the couch potatoes out there who take vacation over Christmas and need decent entertainment! Give us some new episodes, please!

Lyrical Sunday

I've been visiting the Daily Meme blogsite to get ideas for posting. I'd like to be interesting and diverse if possible. (Wouldn't we all!) Today's suggestion hit a good note with me (bad pun, I know) because I just got an Ipod for Christmas and I spent yesterday loading it up with some of my cds. I got the 30 gig video version. I calculate I can fill my Ipod with the contents of about 650 cds. I don't have that many, so that means, everything I've got will fit. So what did I prioritize? Mostly what was handy, ie, already on the computer desk. Since I just bought the Garth Brooks box set--all those cds, as well as, Tanya Tucker; Tim McGraw; Faith Hill; Carrie Underwood; Phillips, Craig, & Dean; FFH; Second Chapter of Acts; Luther Vandross; Kelly Clarkson, Jars of Clay; and Toby Keith. I just can't get over what gorgeous sound the Ipod has. I feel I'm being surrounded in music. I haven't figured out all the tricks yet, for example, I just realized that I've had the Ipod on pause since last night. I'm thinking I'll need to recharge. :o)

Happy New Year!

...and may God grant us peace in the coming year.