Don't Call it a Comeback...

I'm back, kids. I really could've started blogging a couple of weeks ago, but I've had some weird things going on (in addition to the medical stuff) that have put me in a funk and not at all in the mood for it. But, hopefully I'm over all that and am ready to get back in the saddle.

I thought about doing a brief overview about what's been going on this past month, but it's really not that interesting. Lance Bass is gay (shock of shocks!), more celeb couples broke up (Carmen and Dave, Kate and Chris), and Mel Gibson revealed that he's not a fun drunk. Whatever. I stick to the things that interest me. And since I've been spending a lot of time at home these days, most of those "things" are on the TV.

So let me start off with some news on one of my addictions - Project Runway. I love, love, love this show. However, since it is a reality show designed to grab ratings, I obviously don't agree with everything that goes on. Like every other reality show, sometimes the judges' choices are so transparently made for them by the producers that it almost makes me not want to watch.

Case in point, last week's cut of Allison. The challenge was to make clothes out of recycled materials. To put it more accurately, the designers were set loose in a recycling center (aka "garbage dump") in Newark and expected to find junk to make an outfit with. It reminded me of the Derelict campaign in Zoolander. I was waiting for Mugatu to come jumping out of the shadows at some point and start insulting everyone. That would have actually been fun.

Anyway, Allison was having some problems with her design so she scrapped her original idea and tried coming up with something else. Her entire dress was made out of paper. It really didn't look great, but compared to goofy Vincent's "walking art," it was stunning. Basically, Vincent took a giant 4th grade art project and slapped it on his model, and was actually proud of it. It came down to Vincent and Allison, and I knew that they were going to vote off Allison. Vincent is very weird - in fact, most of the other designers seem to think he might really be insane. Therefore, we all know that the "crazy one" can't be eliminated this early. They have to leave the wack jobs on because it's supposedly good TV. Allison is very mellow and polite, so she brings nothing to the show. Oh, except for the fact that all of her designs up to this point have been awesome, and some of Vincent's have been pretty questionable. Being that this is a show about fashion, you'd think that might mean something. But, as was demonstrated last week, the cynical view is correct. Project Runway cares more about ratings than finding the next great designer. Because Allison could definitely have been it. I'm not saying she was a shoo-in, but I think she should have made it to at least the top 3 or 4.

On the flip-side of reality-TV conpiracy theories, I think that So You Think You Can Dance? was judged pretty fairly. I was a bit surprised that Benji ended up winning it all, but only slightly. I thought Travis was the best dancer, and he seemed to be a fan and judge favorite. But every week, Benji seemed to get the loudest screams, so I thought he might end up pulling it out. I was kind of pulling for Heidi too. She was a pretty amazing dancer. Still, I liked all the dancers in the top 4 so I really have no problem with the result.

The one problem I did have was the constant comments on Donyelle's "booty" and hearing other people (including my roommate) refer to her as the "bigger girl." What the hell?? I just read in TV Guide that she is a size 10. Sure, she looks bigger next to Heidi who is a size 0, but so what? She's voluptuous and athletic. I felt like there were way too many sly little comments being made about her size. It's ridiculous that a size 10 is considered big these days.

Then there is the latest incarnation of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge - Fresh Meat. First thing I noticed? No Timmy. Booooooo. It's still been kind of an enjoyable diversion. Human turd, Wes, is always being voted into Exile, which is kind of amusing. However, he and his whiny wasteoid partner, Casey, always manage to win and get to stay on the show. Not sure how they're doing it. And then the strongest team, Coral and Evan, had to leave due to medical problems. Coral never fails to crack me up, so I was bummed to see her go. Now, I really don't know who I want to win. I like fresh meat Kenny, but can't stand his partner, big-mouth Tina. I like fresh meat Chanda, but Theo kind of gets on my nerves. I guess Derrick and Diem are my pick right now. Maybe Darrell and Aviv. Who knows. I just want all these kids to get real jobs.

Finally, I have to admit that I got hooked on another MTV show, Making the Band 3. I can't stand Puff the Magic Diddy or whatever dumb-ass name he goes by now, but the show was always interesting to watch. Not to mention that Diddy always came off as the giant jackass that I imagine him to be, so it was kind of refreshing that MTV didn't try to make him seem like a nice guy. He didn't make anyone walk to Brooklyn to buy him cheesecake like in the first season, but he still acted like a major ass clown. I loved watching him try to tell the girls that they needed to "bring it," and other annoying cliches. Why didn't he just save everyone some time and say, "Hey girls, pick out some songs that are already popular, we'll sample them and call them new songs and then you can just kind of yammer some crappy new lyrics over the beat and we'll all get rich. It worked for me!"

Luckily, the girls of Danity Kane (yes, the name they chose is quite stupid) are much more talented, hard-working and likable than their boss. Well, most of them are likable. Aubrey's constant whining about only being recognized for being pretty got old really fast. Please. As if she doesn't use her looks to get everything she wants on a regular basis.

I can't figure out why they chose to go with "Showstopper" as their first single. I'm guessing this was a Diddy decision. Yeah, he's an idiot. There were a bunch of new songs previewed throughout the show's run and a lot of them were very catchy. However, "Showstopper" is one of the most annoying songs I've heard in a long time.

So, that's what's been on my mind recently. I have some other things rolling around in my head, but I'll get to that stuff later. Don't want to strain myself on the first day back!