"A long time ago, we used to be friends..." ~the dandy warhols

Random post for my TV-obsessed readers: there's something else I've wanting to mention just because it really pissed me off and I feel like venting. I'm mad at Rob Thomas (the creator of Veronica Mars). He killed off my favorite character (besides Veronica, of course) last week. Not cool, Rob, not cool. Couch Baron, who is also upset (like most fans are), explains his frustration:

I'll keep this short: I think this death was totally lame. It's not that I don't respect a show that's willing to kill off a main character in an unexpected way, because I do. That's the sort of stuff that can keep television fresh. And I think integrating Lamb into the college setting hasn't really worked all that well, so for that reason alone I can get behind the decision to get rid of him. It's just that the way the death occurred was totally pointless. Sure, officers of the law die like this all the time. That's completely irrelevant: as this and other programming demonstrates to us all the time, just because it happens in real life doesn't automatically make it good drama. As much as this show strives for continuity, it isn't vérité. I doubt there's going to be any fallout from Lamb's death, I don't think any character is going to be the slightest bit affected by it after this episode, and I don't think there's any lesson the show wants us to learn here. I mean, Landry seems to be pushing the idea that Veronica's too good for the PI game, which could be interesting. But rather than force her to make that decision herself, the show's giving her an easy way out by breaking up Mars Investigations. So beyond a little shock value, what do we get out of this, other than Keith becoming sheriff, which frankly I don't see the need for? Very little, and I think it's a shame to give a popular and hardworking regular such a crappy sendoff. It feels rushed and lacking in intention. I mean, I had no problem with the show giving Teddy Dunn such a nice sendoff, but would it have been too much to ask to do something decent for Muhney, who's ten times the actor? It makes you think the writers never really knew what they had there, which is quite a shame.

CB is totally right; Michael Muhney was one of the best actors on that show, and he was incredibly under-appreciated. He also promoted the heck out of the show, moreso than most of the other actors. He didn't deserve to be killed off that way. It was pointless and unfair and stupid, and now the fans are angry (and rightfully so). Michael has been really classy about the whole thing and hasn't spoken up about it. Hopefully someone else will realize how talented he is and scoop him up and make him a star.


Another TV-related item:
During the last two episodes of Grey's Anatomy, there was some seriously good acting going on. Patrick Dempsey definitely got his Emmy FYC episode submission last week, and it very well might be enough to score him a win. His scene with Kate Walsh was particularly good. But I was especially excited to see Kyle Chandler and Jeffrey Dean Morgan back for a couple of eps. I love JDM. I was offered a job as a PA on a movie he was in last fall and I seriously wanted to take off school to go make the movie. He's so charming and gorgeous; I just had to take a screen cap of him.

*melts*
Okay, that's enough TV-related rambling for now. I need to do plan some lessons.

"It's no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest. It's no secret ambition bites the nails of success. Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief. All kill their inspiration and sing about the grief." ~u2

I've been really into Achtung Baby lately. I think it's my favorite U2 album (which is saying a lot, because they're my favorite band in the world and they've made 14 stellar albums). The more I listen to it, the more I love it. It took me some time to fully appreciate some of the songs, but now I feel like every single song is strong. Hearing some of them live really turned me on to those songs.

So I haven't written for a while. Synchro has been occupying all of my time up until today. Here's a recap of my life in the past few days:

Thursday: Went to see my high school's production of The Boy Friend, which was very good. One student with whom I'm pretty close had a big role, and she was amazing. It made me so happy to see her up on stage dancing, singing, and acting her heart out, especially when she had spent a few of her lunch periods that week crying in my classroom. She's such a great girl, and she's very talented, but she has a tough life right now. I can see that she loves and is passionate about theater, and I really hope that she can keep pursuing it wherever she chooses after she graduates high school.
Thursday night: Sprained my ankle walking from my car to my apartment. The night before I was scheduled to leave for my last synchro meet ever. Good move, Claire.

Friday: Went to the health center, where they gave me crutches and pills. We left for Southern Regionals at the University of Georgia on Friday afternoon. It was a 9-hour bus ride, and there were no empty seats because there were four teams sharing the bus. It wasn't bad, though. We watched 4 movies on the way there. I love my synchro girls, so I enjoyed spending time with them on the bus.

Saturday: Luckily my ankle felt much better and I was able to swim with no problems. My trio did really well. As we were swimming I had the biggest grin on my face; I was thinking about how much I love synchro and how I wanted to make that swim memorable and special because it was my last swim. It was such a great feeling.
My grandparents came to watch, which was amazing. I can't tell you how excited I was to see them. I love them so much. We went out to lunch and ended up at McDonald's because we got lost and didn't have much time because I had to be back at the pool to swim Figures. I wish I could have spent more time with them.
In Figures, I got 6th out of 42, which made me very happy. Somersub was my last figure, and as I was waiting for my turn I kept thinking about how I was about to do my last figure ever. I was nervous. I nailed it, though, and it was a great way to end my season.
Saturday night: We walked around downtown Athens, which is a beautiful little city. It reminded me of a bunch of Cary Streets put together. We ate at a cheap but good local restaurant.

Sunday: After the awards ceremony, we headed back to Virginia. We watched 4 more movies on the bus and the time passed relatively quickly.
Sunday night: I started watching the Oscars immediately when I walked in my door (around 10pm).

My Oscar reactions:
Best Picture: I was very happy to see The Departed win best picture; I probably would have preferred Little Miss Sunshine, but The Departed was my second choice and I thought it was deserving. I watched it for the second time on the bus ride home that day, which made me like it even more. Although as we were watching it I had to keep explaining what was going on to everyone else on my team because they hadn't seen it before.
Best Director: I seriously went crazy when Martin Scorsese won; I was so incredibly happy for him. If he had lost I think I would have destroyed the TV. I. Love. Him.
Best Supporting Actor: I wanted Jackie Earle Haley to win; he was amazing in Little Children. I thought that one of Little Miss Sunshine's main strengths was its fabulous ensemble cast in which no single actor stood out, so I didn't think a single actor from the movie should be recognized, but I do love Alan Arkin so I was happy for him.
Best Foreign Language Film: Seriously? I can't believe Pan's Labyrinth didn't win. Then again, that category was screwed up when the nominees were announced; I still can't believe Volver wasn't even nominated.
Best Score: Should have gone to Notes on a Scandal.
That's all for now. The other main awards (best actor, best actress, best supporting actress) were very predictable. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the results.

I'm sorry if this post is incoherent; I am seriously sleep-deprived. Hopefully I'll be able to start catching up this week.

"Sleeping is giving in, no matter what the time is. Sleeping is giving in, so lift those heavy eyelids." ~the arcade fire

Mood: excited

Check out the cover of NME's current issue:

Do you see who's on the cover? The Arcade Fire, with the title "The Second Coming of the World's Greatest Band." The World's Greatest Band. How frakkin' awesome is that?! I don't know if I can agree that they're the world's greatest band, but they are most definitely among the top 5 bands in the world (in my humble opinion), and they deserve all possible recognition for their music. I LOVE The Arcade Fire. I can't tell you how excited I am for Neon Bible. I preordered it a couple of months ago, and it finally comes out next month. It seems like I've been waiting forever. I've actually decided to avoid listening to the leaked copy, which is killing me, but I think it'll be worth it when I get the real CD and I can listen to it for the first time with great sound quality in all its glory. The album has already gotten fabulous reviews. Hot Press said, "The Arcade Fire are unquestionably the real deal. And to prove it they’ve now thrown in another contender for ‘best record of the decade’." Yeah, that's right, best record of the decade. The Sunday Tribune said, "It is impossible in 100 words to convey the brilliance of this Montreal six-piece's sophomore album....There is not one flaw here." I could go on quoting, but I'll spare you (I know I've already rambled about The Arcade Fire on this blog before). It just really excites me.

I'm teaching Paradise Lost to my kids now. Yesterday I started it with two of my classes, and it was an absolute disaster. They didn't understand it at all. Today was better, though; I changed the lesson around, and today's class actually seemed to "get it," although we moved a lot slower. I started teaching in my drama class this week, and that seems to be going okay. The focus is on acting, with which I have no experience, but I think (hope) it sounds like I know what I'm talking about.

On Friday I leave for Georgia! Our synchro team is competing in Regionals there. I'm excited. My grandparents are coming to watch, which I think is really sweet. Hopefully it'll be really warm there.

Today one of the AP kids asked if I was married. Heh. I got a laugh out of that. Usually the problem is that I seem too young. Now some kids are assuming that I'm married.

"I'm a liar; it's my secret, no one knows. I'm a liar, yeah, I know it doesn't show." ~8mm

Mood: lethargic


I'm so good at procrastinating. I've blogged so many times in the past few days; I've definitely set a personal record. I just don't want to plan lessons.

Studio 60 was soooo good tonight. I'm afraid it may have been the last episode ever to air, which makes me really, really sad. I want to see Jordan and Danny as parents. Supposedly it's just being "shelved until a later date," but whenever that's the case with a TV show, the later date never comes. This is such a smart show, too. In honor of it probably being the last episode, here's part of my favorite scene from tonight (this isn't exactly one of the show's smartest, most intellectual moments, but it was funny to watch, especially because Amanda Peet and Bradley Whitford are such good actors). I even took a screen capture for you:

I love the look on Jordan's face. And the way that Danny is trying to get away as fast as possible.
[This is after the prop guys have turned Jordan's $600 Baby Care doll (that cries and needs to be fed, burped, rocked, etc.) into a pimped-out jack-in-the-box with eyes that pop out and a head on a spring, after its head got chopped off.]
Jordan: (screams) What was that?!
Danny: That never happened while I was taking care of it.
J: What did you do do it???
D: I'll tell you what I did to it, okay? The baby was in an accident, as babies sometimes are, and I rushed it immediately to a doctor of some sort.
J: What kind of accident?
D: A freak accident.
J: What kind of freak accident?
D: (pause) It was decapitated in an 18th century French guillotine.
J: Uh-huh. And what kind of doctor?
D: Our property master and our director of special effects.
J: Danny!

I had one of those dolls in high school for a couple of days; it was for my Child Growth & Development class. I had to wake up 4 times in one night to take care of it, and I had to step out of class a few times because it started crying. It was not easy. I don't blame Danny for allowing Jordan's to be decapitated.

"I've got everything that you want. I've got everything, and someday I'll be President." ~counting crows

Mood: crazy

I know I used that opening lyric recently (I posted a freakin' paragraph on how I love the way he sings the word "President"), but it's appropriate today.

My Presidential Hottie Soulmate is:
James Madison - the Emo President

"Maybe he was a little short, a little moody, a little sickly, but the man had a mind like a steel trap -- all the better for remembering anniversaries or your favorite pizza toppings or what song was playing the moment you first met. He was sensitive and brilliant, and you guys could have stayed up 'til 4 am just talking and talking and talking and never once gotten bored. Even better, he was totally laid back in his relationship -- his wife Dolley was the number one party girl of her time, and he totally let her be herself even though he was more into, well, politics. He was one of those stealth hotties -- the kind where first you're like "Madison? Yeah, he's cool. He's super interesting." Then eventually you're like, "I love that guy. He's my best friend." And then, one day you wake up and you love him to the depths of your soul and can't live without him."
Of course I'm not surprised that I got "The Emo President" (I'm totally into emo), but I didn't realize that would be James Madison!
Thanks to Gen for alerting me to this quiz.
Happy President's Day!