Game Shows

Yes, it is almost time for me to go back to work. But til then, I got stuff to say.

I have always loved game shows. Jeopardy...the best. Wheel? Love it. Millionaire with Meredith Viera? Check, Sorry Regis...Uncheck. Annoying.

There is actually a Game Show Network on cable and it is full of old reruns full of people who are now dead but who will be forever young, There are new shows and remakes of old shows too. The oldies are better but I like Lingo and Chain Reaction although the contestants seem a little...ummm...scarily clueless and unimformed.

I'd like to see my 2nd favorite....after Jeopardy...an old show called Split Second with Tom Kennedy as the host. Loved that show. GSN are you listening?

Oh, and Alfonso Riberio looks a little constipated. Carnie Wilson is kinda creepy. Chuck Woolery is Dick Clark scary young and can hold his own and does not need a bimbo co-host. My friend Drew wants to be a game show host and he'd be fabulous on any of the shows. GSN are you listening?????

White Collar

I'm not a complete grump on this blog.

I love 'White Collar", the FBI/Con Man show on USA. I don't know the FBI agent actor's name although I have become a fan. I'll get it. But the con man is Matt Bomer, the hottest and last Ben Reade on Guiding Light. I thought the kid was pretty talented then but he has certainly come into his charming own as Neil Caffrey, the con who was released into the FBI agent's custody to help out with a case and who has now become his quasi partner. Neil 's alternate motive is to find his
ex Kate, who has disappeared. But while he's trying to figure out the Kate mystery, we get to watch his sexy intelligence, his beautiful blue eyes, his flirtiness and his chemistry with everyone around him.

Love it, love it, love it!!!

Joy to the World? Not really,..

I am admittedly not in the Christmas spirit. I'm facing my 1st Christmas without family and have for years had a hard time with the holiday season. It's cliche but I hate the commercialization of Christmas. I hate the Christmas stuff in the stores in September. I hate advertisers taking traditional Christmas carols and changing the words to suit their products. I hate the unrealistic Hallmark families singing in front of their Wii and the pictures of them sitting around the candlelit table while dad carves the turkey.

I warned you that I'm grumpy.

Today I went to the mall, a horrible place in general. I went for a few things. First I went to Barnes & Noble to see their new reader called a Nook. I have read about it and know the release has been delayed til January but was hoping they would have a demo but nada. The guy hoped to have at least a demo by Christmas. Too late for me. I've made my last trip to the mall. Not here by Christmas? What a brain fart. Actually the 2nd one. Moving to the mall was brain fart 1.

My 2nd stop at the mall was the Salvation Army Angel Tree, a Christmas tradition for me for t he last 20 or so years. This year, there were ornaments on the trees...1st names and ages only. In the past years, they had sizes and wishes but this year, nada. I'm told by the person manning the tree and they man at the office that they made a decision this year to let me make the call for the gift. Me, the person who has no kids. The person who does not know what size a 12 year old is. The person who does not know what toys are hot. The decision I decided to make was to walk away and not get either of the 2 ornaments I normally get. The guy at the office said their donations have doubled. It's December 1st. I have a BS flag to throw on that one. I predict whining on TV about the hard times before this is all over.

My 3rd stop was Dillards to buy new perfume since mine is almost empty. I wear Armani Mania, a not really cheap perfume that they apparently have either stopped making or Dillards has stopped carrying. The perfume floorwalker actually turned her nose up at me and told me that I might get it a Drug Emporium. The good news is that I did.

Any future purchases will be made online. Buh bye mall.

I don't want to feel this way. I remember Christmas as a child and I really looked forward to it. But in the past few years, it's been little but fighting for holiday time slots and the obligations of buying presents because it's what's expected. I find no joy, thats for sure. Only 26 shopping days til it's all over.

Fake Authors

I went to the library today and saw a new Bourne book. Jason Bourne is a Robert Ludlum character but the book is not by Robert Ludlum. It would be kinda impossible because he died in 2001. This book was written this year by another author whose name is in small print on the book. Robert Ludlum's name is twice the size.

Lawrence Sanders died several years ago and is still writing too. The first book I read after he died had only his name on it but the 1st clue I got was when his 35 year old character Archie McNally now had a sister. After several books and after getting to know old Archie, this was a complete surprise to me.

And today I saw a new Sidney Sheldon book and you guessed it. Dead. V C Andress? Dead.

James Patterson does it too...he's alive...but he has "co-writers"...the part of the books he writes is apparently his name on the cover.

Are these people channeling with someone like Whoopi in Ghost? Are they just semi-talented ghostwriters who cannot come up with their own characters? We all know the bottom line is $$$$. I know the estates have to agree to this so the bucks can keep rolling in but where is the respect? For the original writer? For the integrity of his work and talent? Where is the respect for his readers? I personally feel ripped off and will be utilizing the library a little more than normal because these imposters and estates are not getting my HONEST hard earned dollars.

Kinicke

Today 'Grease' was on TV and one of the things I've always loved about movies is that on film, the actors are are constant...young, handsome, haunting, brilliant, troubled...and they are not yet what they will later become, again good or bad. In Grease, John Travolta has escaped Kotter but hasn't lost his precious son. Lorenzo Lamas was a young geek. And Jeff Conaway had a future ahead of him unlike now where his claim to fame is Celebrity Rehab and possibly the most pathetic trainwreck I've ever seen on any screen. How in the world does someone get in such a condition? Continued bad choices, drugs, toxic relationships. I have a feeling he is not long for this world.

But he will always be Kinicke.

An Affair to Remember ***Spoiler****

Tonight I saw one of my favorite old movies, 'An Affair to Remember'. For anyone who has not seen this movie or 'Sleepless in Seattle', this movie stars a very sexy Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr as a couple who are both about to be engaged to other people who meet and fall in love on a cruise. They agree to break things off with their others and meet at the top of the Empire State Building in 6 months. They both do as they promised and on the fateful day both head out but only 'Nicky' makes it...'Teri' gets hit by a taxi and ends up in a wheelchair. Even worse she ends up being a teacher to a group of raggety, tone deaf children who sing 2 terrible songs that don't belong in this movie or anywhere else. But I otherwise love the movie.

The romance on the ship was extremely sexy in chaste way. They tried to be discreet and amusingly everyone on the ship knew exactly what was going on. When 'Teri' doesn't show up 'Nicky' wallows for a while and then becomes a successful artist. A chance meeting at a play leads to finale where 'Nicky' says some very mean things to Teri before figuring out as he's leaving that she hasn't gotten up the entire time he's been there. The look on his face when he figures things out is heartbreaking. And they live happily ever after. Woohoo!!!

Lubbock Homeless

Today was the Komen walk and it was great, as usual. The survivors have balloons and release them at a specific time that represents how long they have been survivors. It's a cool moment.

It was a cold morning so a brisk walk was a good thing. At the end, there are lots of goodies awaiting the walkers...food, drink, goodies. After the walk I returned my library book and there are homeless people who hang out at the library, which is next to the civic center where the walk was held. As i was leaving one came in carrying a pink bag and announced to his homies that there was was free food down at the finish line. The guys all headed down for breakfast. It made me sad and a little happy there was food down the path.

Then I was driving home down Ave Q, going about 30 mph and a man who was probably also homeless actually stepped out in front of my car hoping I'd him. I'm grateful foir brakes. I missed him by inches and he stood there looking me straight in the eye. It was pretty scary.
A S S H O L E !!! A man who saw it all pulled up beside me at the light and rolled his window to tell me he lived in the neighborhood and these guys do this all of the time. I hope
the food was all gone by the time these guys got there.