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The Amazing Race 7 ? Rob & Amber
Forget my prediction that Rob and Amber would get married on Valentines Day. Apparently they were too busy competing in the Amazing Race.
This is the third reality game show outing for each of them; as you will recall, both competed on Survivor before appearing on Survivor All Stars, where Amber was the million dollar winner and Rob was runner-up.
You can tell the other contestants really want to hate them. Wisecracks began almost before the initial race to the backpacks. One gay contestant (as I recall it, and my recollection may not be strictly accurate) told his mom, ?I watched Rob on Survivor and he?s dumber than a hammer.? Not that dumb, apparently, as they managed to finish third, right behind Momma?s boy.
The thing was, I wanted to hate them too. I never liked Boston Rob on either of the Survivor series he appeared on. He was cocky, snide and brash. Amber, I never cared about one way or another. She flew below the radar, and was as far as I was concerned just another hottie female put on the show for eye candy.
But you know, on a show where bad behaviour towards your partner is the rule rather than the exception, they were just so darned sweet towards each other I couldn?t help pulling for them. Perhaps this is what the producers want you to think, or even what they themselves want you to think. At this point they should be no strangers to the art of manipulating an audience.
But they really do seem to have a genuine bond. They are building their trust with one another, they seem to be friends, and though engaged they are not rushing into marriage. If anything will be the test of that bond, this experience will be it. I know it?s JUST TELEVISION, but the race is also a stressful, competitive situation, guaranteed to bring out the weaknesses in any relationship.
Though they don?t exactly need to win another million bucks, at this point I kind of hope they make it ? in the game, and with each other.
Filed under Pop Culture, Mar 2, 2005
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He's Everywhere, He's Everywhere!
Last night I decided to do my staying up late downstairs on the couch in front of the TV instead of upstairs in bed in front of the TV (which I?m given to understand is a really bad thing to do insomnia-wise) because Redman had to go to bed early owing to an early wake-up call for an early run this morning and I didn?t want to disturb him. I started flipping around for a movie to watch and the first thing that caught my eye was something with Keanu Reeves.
Now, having just the previous evening watching the dubiously entertaining Johhny Mnemonic starring the ever-wooden Mr Reeves, I passed on. Now, sorry, but Keanu Reeves as a popular actor is right up there on my list of things I ?Just Don?t Get?, along with Jessica Simpson, the Olson twins, and Madonna. (OK, Madonna is a pretty good actress, but I really do not get the whole constant fawning over her in Rolling Stone thing.)
Anyway, I just did not feel like sitting through another one of KR?s pathetic attempts at expressing any emotion stronger than ?tired?. Next thing I came across Coppola?s Dracula, which was just starting... and which stars, you guessed it, Keanu Reeves. Are they running a KR film festival right now or something? Must be he?s about to come out in another major flick, as it seems like what they usually do when any major star is coming out with a new movie is the networks drag out all their past films. Not for any commercial incentive, I?d imagine.
Anyhow, I stayed to watch because I love that movie, in spite of ?Chinless Wonder? Gary Oldman and all the mildly silly parts. Actually what I did was put on the DVD because I figured I?d get to see the whole thing in widescreen without commercial interruption. Did that the other week with The Fifth Element, too. Sort of like Low Tech TiVO. That?s one of the things that makes me a geek, I guess.
Filed under Pop Culture, Jan 17, 2005
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Hawkes Harbor
This novel by S.E. Hinton caught my attention because I had heard it was a vampire novel. Since Anne Rice has written her last (and possibly the worst) of the Vampire Chronicles, I thought this might make a good read. Investigating the book further, I found out it was actually written originally as a Dark Shadows novel, and since I was in fact a D.S. aficionado back in the day I was intrigued. I put the book on my Christmas wish list and my brother-in-law?s girlfriend (who is one of the few people in my husband?s family who actually ?gets? me), got it for me.
I read the book in about three days over the holidays. Can?t say I was impressed: puzzled is more to the point. Yes it was certainly a Dark Shadows novel, detailing the relationship between Willie Loomis and vampire Barnabas Collins. Except in the book the Collins family becomes the Hawkes family, Barnabas becomes Grenville, Willie becomes Jamie Somers, and the entire cast of characters get their names changed (except on Page 189 where apparently the author?s search and replace function slipped up.) Willie/Jamie has been given a somewhat interesting back story as an orphan and pirate, but it seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the book.
This book could have been so much better. Hinton is an acclaimed author of books for young people (Rumble Fish and The Outsiders, which Zack read in grade 9.) This novel reads like a book for kids except with some sex thrown in. There?s no nuance in the storytelling, little atmosphere, sparse character development and not a lot of genuine horror. Details are glossed over and entire plot points are missing. Barnabas/Grenville is ?cured? of his vampirism by Dr. Kahne/Hoffman but we don?t ever find out how, he just turns up one day, human and on his way to becoming a nice guy. If you had never watched Dark Shadows you would not have known the torture of the injections or Dr. Hoffman?s treachery/blackmail and Barnabas? redemption from evil. If one were reading this book cold, I think there would be a bit of confusion.
What mostly puzzles me is that if Hinton had written this originally as a D.S. novel, why it was not published as such? I can only presume that the publishers didn?t think there?d be much of a market for that. But why, if they decided to publish under a different banner didn?t Hinton take more pains to change the plot? Even if I hadn?t known this was supposed to be based on D.S. I would have known it as soon as we meet the Hawkes family, and I would have been crying ?Rip Off!?. All the family members from the series are there, albeit under different guises, but there are people mentioned who have NOTHING to do with furthering the plot. They are just there because there are ?supposed? to be there.
Right after I read this book I read The DaVinci Code. Thankfully, that got the bad taste out of my mouth. What a great read that was!
Oh? and as a P.S, henceforth, Zack would like to be known in these chronicles as ?Lloyd?. Don?t ask me why.
Filed under Pop Culture, Jan 13, 2005
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