MMM: Amazing Race, Crais, Spokes, Subbatical, Over
filed in baseball, books, life, sports, tv on Sep.29, 2008
I’m not what you’d call a Reality TV junkie. But I’m not a Reality-Hater either. I enjoy Survivor sometimes, American Idol occasionally (although there’s less and less to enjoy every year), So You Think You Can Dance due to its superiority, and The Amazing Race immensely. It’s on again, and it’s still just incredibly awesome. Why is it awesome? Well, because, unlike Survivor, it’s a show I’d actually like to be on. Who wouldn’t want to race around the world for a million bucks?
And I love watching the teams melt down after weeks of constant stress. My favorite team thus far is one where the guy (it’s a couple) keeps talking about how he just wants to be held, and how it bothers him that the girl keeps talking other teams. They’re hilariously strange.
Unfortunately, the Oregon Connection (beekeepers who look like they just escaped Woodstock) were the first team to go. Bummer.
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Robert Crais writes good crime fiction. Just lettin’ you know. I’m reading Chasing Darkness, and it’s just incredibly readable and engrossing. Some language, and the subject matter is crime, so be forewarned. But if you’re into private-detective-type-stuff, Crais is a good choice.
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I’ve been having a great time bike-commuting to work. But evidently I’m just too fat, and one of my spokes is now broken. So I must get it fixed. Bummer, that.
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My Subbatical has ended. Eight weeks flew by, and the guy I was covering for is now back. Fortunately, he doesn’t really want to take back over the stuff he handed off, so I get to keep doing his job. Which is okay as jobs go.
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The baseball season is over. Unless you’re a Twins or White Sox fan. The awesome thing is, Twins fans still have a reason to watch baseball, and the Twins have already played their 162 games. But the White Sox have only played 161, and they have one fewer win than the Twins (which means, Jill, that they’re a half-game back). Since they’re both in the A.L. Central, the Sox have to play a makeup game today (making up a rainout). If they win, they tie the Twins for the Central Title. And then they’ll have to play a one-game-playoff to decide who wins the division. But if they lose the game today, the Twins take the division without the playoff. Clear?
Ethan was surprisingly unbummed about the Mariners’ season being over. He just said, “now we’ll have to watch the Cubs and the Dodgers and the Angels.” Yeah, he knew those three teams were in the postseason, just off the top of his head. That’s my boy!
September 29th, 2008 on 5:45 pm
Love the amazing race…my dvr makes sure I watch it every week.
But…it is not better than Survivor. I could write a blog on why, but the bottom line is that we don’t get enough of the back story like Survivor.
September 29th, 2008 on 9:01 pm
What? Blasphemy!!! I’m not sure a fair comparison of the two shows could really be made. The Amazing Race is like one long reward/immunity challenge, without much of the strategy element, and you’re right that it totally lacks that depth of what’s going on between all the players’ ears.
Somehow I just like AR better. Again, it’s probably just that it’s the show I’d rather be on.
September 30th, 2008 on 7:48 pm
I would second the recommendation for Robert Crais. I too read Chasing Darkness and enjoyed it greatly. I will be looking for more of his books. He reminds me of Lee Child (the Jack Reacher books).
October 1st, 2008 on 1:02 pm
The Two Minute Rule was pretty good. Chasing Darkness was my first Elvis Cole, and it made me want to catch up on the series. When I get a slot cleared on my reading list, I’ll try to check out The Monkey’s Raincoat, which introduced the character.
October 1st, 2008 on 4:00 pm
My introduction to Robert Crais was the latest Reader’s Digest Condensed book called ‘The Watchman’. I enjoyed it so bought Chasing Darkness at Costco.