Guilty Pleasures

This week: 10 Guilty Pleasures on TV

OK, most of the shows I go out of my way to watch are not ones I would consider to be guilty pleasures. And on occasion, if I am flipping the channel and something catches my eye, I'll sit there and watch it, at least for a little while to see how good or bad (OK, usually bad) it is ...

1. America's Next Top Model - I have actually watched a few complete episodes of this, and find it to be hilarious (I know it's not supposed to be). My favorite was the time they were doing a Q&A with the contestants, and a judge (Twiggy, I think) told the girl that she reminded her of Audrey Hepburn. The girl responded (excitedly), "Oh thank you! I loved her in 'Lunch at Tiffany's!'" Then she realized she had made a mistake and said, "Oh! I mean 'Dinner at Tiffany's!'"

2. Beauty and the Geek - as with the show above, I've seen a few complete episodes of this, and have nearly fallen off the couch laughing. My favorite was the time one of the "beauties" was responding to answers in a History Quiz Challenge. Questioner: Who was the President who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation? Beauty (after much thought): Herbert Hoover? Questioner: No, it was Abraham Lincoln. Beauty (stomping foot): Oh that's right - Herbert Hoover is D-Day!

3. The Biggest Loser - actually not a guilty pleasure per se, but it fascinates me. And it's one of the few reality shows that actually seem to be looking out for the contestants.

4. South Park - rude and stupid. But "Helen Keller the Musical" is classic!

5. Family Guy - rude and stupid. But they get in some good digs and get away with it.

6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - ridiculous and wrong. But so worth it.

7. Dexter - should I really like a show about a serial killer? Especially one who you worry will actually be caught?

8. Dr Phil/Jerry Springer/Montel Williams/ - I can't usually stomach an entire episode of any of these types of shows, but a few minutes of Which Man is My Baby's Daddy?, or My Daughter is a Slut Because I Dress Sexy, etc. makes you feel a lot better about yourself.

9. Charlie's Angels (first season with Farrah - RIP) - occasionally I'll come across a rerun of this. Oh my God - such hair! Such dialogue! Such plots!

10. Hawaii Five-O - once again, an occasional rerun. Jack Lord had such range - he could act every emotion from A to B. "Book 'em, Danno!" (Why didn't Danno ever just let him have it??) And it was just so lame in every other way ...

That was fun! Any winners you'd like to mention?

Three Day Weekend!

I have really been looking forward to this weekend, since I have today, tomorrow, and Sunday off - that hasn't happened in months, plus since the middle of May, I've been working both days of every weekend. So what luxury to be able to be leisurely for so long ... Plus, The Tim has been on vacation this week, so we have some whole days together to drive each other nuts!

Today was an excellent mix of accomplishing things and taking time to relax. I have a list in my head of what I would like to do, but have decided that it will only happen if I am inclined to do it. Tomorrow we are getting up early to head to the shore for most of the day. It will be my first visit this summer, so I can't wait!

A couple of other things I'm still hoping to do this weekend are finish the knitting on Dotty, so that I can make an appointment with Lisa or someone else at Rosie's to help me cut the steeks, etc. Just a few more rounds are left ...

I also want to cast-on and get going on the second Jaywalker sock. Hopefully this one will not take me more than a year to complete!

And oh, remember this?

An ill-fated project from the start. I say "ill-fated" because I started it over at least five times before I got this far. Then I put it aside for about a year, since I was working on socks for holiday gifts. Then I picked it up about a month ago, determined to get moving on it again.

But you know what? The pattern was still annoying to me, and I just hated working on it. So on one of my last days off work, I frogged it.

Yes, I know I'm the one who started a Clapotis KAL. It's a beloved/popular pattern, and some of the ones I've seen have been gorgeous. Others in the KAL finished - some even made more than one - but now I'm giving up. It would have been nice to get it knitted IF I had been enjoying it. But I wasn't, and so now it's history. Maybe someday I'll want to give it a try again, but for now - RIP, Clapotis.

I do, however, have an idea of what I want to do with the yarn. I saw this pattern, and fell in love. I think the yarn would work well with it, so I ordered the pattern, and am hoping to do some swatching soon.

Maybe even this weekend ...

Go Team!

Once again, it's Ten on Tuesday time. This week's topic:

10 Favorite Sports Moments Ever

I will admit that I am a sports fan, even though I often rail against organized sports and the money, violence, etc. Then a team I like is playing and all of a sudden I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, "Kill him and get the ball!" When I was in eighth grade, my dream was to be a sportswriter. That was pre-Title IX, so it was doomed to remain a dream.

Anyway, here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings for this year's Stanley Cup championship! (My first hockey game that I attended in person was long ago, but it was the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it was incredibly exciting. Up until then, I didn't think hockey was interesting at all - but seeing it live made all the difference!)

2. The Phillies win the 2008 World Series!!!!! (Worth every nail-bite and late night involved.)

3. The Pittsburgh Steelers win the 2009 Super Bowl, making them six-time winners, an NFL record. (Another nail-biter, and once again, worth it.)

4. Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception in 1972, in a game between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders. (Go Number 32!)

5. The Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1971 and 1979 World Series. (The days of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell ...)

6. The New York Mets win the 1969 World Series. (This is when the Mets were plain awful, even on their best days. This is also the last sporting event that I watched with my father before he died (a month later) and for about three days afterwards, he kept saying excitedly, "I just can't believe they did it!")

7. Secretariat winning the 1973 Triple Crown. (He was the first horse to win the Triple Crown in my lifetime, so it was particularly exciting!)

8. Brandi Chastain scoring the winning goal in the 1999 Soccer World Cup with a penalty kick.

9. The 1980 Men's Olympic Hockey Team wins the Gold Medal at the Olympics.

10. Anytime/every time that someone beats the Dallas Cowboys!

So, you may have noticed a lot of my favorite moments are related to Pittsburgh sports teams, and I live in Philadelphia ... well, I am originally from Wheeling, West Virginia, and though we moved a lot, the Pittsburgh teams were always our "local" team. We may have also liked whatever teams played wherever else we were living, but Pittsburgh still had our primary allegiance.

Happy Father's Day!

I found this image while poking around online for a picture representing Father's Day - this was listed as a "Free Vintage Father's Day Card," and well, I think it just speaks for itself ...

(I don't necessarily think it's saying anything about Father's Day, but honestly, would you keep looking after you found it???)

I hope those of you who celebrated with someone special to you had at least this much fun.

Penitentiary Life, Week 12

"Don't you get scared, working here?"

I get this question from visitors to Eastern State at least four or five times a week. And the short answer is no, I don't get scared. Which is saying quite a lot, as I am at heart a true chicken.

Last week, I got this question from an elderly woman, who was with her daughter and her grandson (I know this for certain because she told me ... in great detail). When I gave her my usual answer, she asked me why, and I said it was because I felt like I knew my way around well enough that I wouldn't be likely to get lost. And that's true, a lot of the time when something scares me, it's because I am not familiar with it at all, and if it's a place, I don't like the idea of not knowing exactly where I am. Anyway, she mentioned that she thought it was a scary place, and though she was enjoying touring with her family, she would never, ever want to come back.

When she told me that, it made me think about some of the people who have come to visit, and seemed to be really hesitant upon arrival. They often turn out to be the most enthusiastic about the place when they are leaving, saying that they will have to come back, bring their friends, etc.

I then remembered a trip about 20 years ago, to San Francisco. As one of our day excursions, we visited Alcatraz. I really enjoyed it, and found the whole place to be eerily fascinating, but I do recall being relieved when we got on the boat to head back to the city. The idea of an abandoned prison was interesting to me as far as the historical aspects of the place, and from having read about it and seen movies like "The Birdman of Alcatraz." But I was creeped out, thinking of the people who had probably lived in those cells, and what they had done to end up there. I was shocked to learn that there was a school there, for the children of people who worked there as guards, cooks, etc.

So now, here I am, a tour guide at an abandoned, historic prison. I have met some of the individuals, and/or members of their families, who either worked at Eastern State, or were incarcerated there while it was an active prison. For those people, it was where they worked, or where they lived with their families (for a while, the warden and his family lived on site), or where they spent a lot of years serving their sentences. They tell their stories just like the rest of us do, when we talk about family vacations, moving and going to a new school, or getting a new job.

Did I ever imagine myself in this type of place, talking about prison life and inmate activities as part of my job? Nope. But as a result, I have learned that the world can be even more interesting when you aren't scared.*

*(Now, if only I weren't still scared of the other 10,000 things that worry me ...)