My Small Corner

Mayhem

I love the Allstate Mayhem commercials.  The boys know to pause the TV and call me when one comes on.  The best one so far:  GPS.

Details

I just finished watching an older episode of NCIS where a serviceman appeared to spontaneously combust in a hospital after surgery.  From right off the bat, they concluded that a build up of oxygen in the man's chest cavity caught fire.  The rest of the episode was focused on how it ignited and why it was done.  They wrapped it up by explaining that a lit cigarette wrapped in a full matchbook provided a timer while the oxygen built up.  When the matches lit, the oxygen burst into flame, providing a corpse the looked like it had burned from the inside out.  Except...

Random Observations On Man Verses Wild

There isn't much on TV this evening so I'm flipping between channels and I land in the middle of a Man Vs. Wild episode, which The Husband absolutely hates.  Bear Grylls is completely naked.  Here is the conversation:

• Me:  Oh look, another naked Bear Grylls episode, what is it one in every four episodes?
• TH:  *Peering over his book*:  That's a pretty small blur.
• Me:  *Laughing hysterically*:  Wow, and they say that women are catty!
• Both of us:  Random conversation, some involving mimicking Grylls looking for a sheep (hey, I'm not proud of this) and some about the guy looking for another opportunity to get naked.
• Me:  Of course the blur was small, he was in the early stages of hypothermia.
• TH:  Not my problem.
• Me:  *Again, laughing hysterically*:  I am so going to have blog this.
• TH:  Whatever.

Super Bowl Commercials

A little early but with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, my favorite commercials so far:

#3  The Thriller dancing lizards
#2  Bud light caveman invents the wheel
#1  The Bud light "I can fly" FOD*

Anyone else have any favorites?

FOD is an acronym for foreign object damage or foreign object or debris.  In aviation circles, it is often used as a crude joke about people, like a stewardess or flight deck assistant, who are inadvertently sucked in jet engines.

Rabbis Are So Wise

Last night we saw Shalom in the Home for the first time.  It is amazing how much of his parenting advice I agreed with.  The best was this quote:

"You didn't have kids to have the life sucked out of you."

The End of An Era

Tonight we said goodbye to the West Wing.  Politics aside, this was a great show.  While I really would have liked another season with Jimmy Smits as president, I respect their decision to go out on a high note.  This past season has been a reminder of well written this show was.

Republican or Democrat, what this show was really about was how we all wish government would be:  Honor over popularity, morality over polling numbers, integrity over campaign financing, respect for the office over partisan politics, government by the people for the people.  Unfortunately there will be no scenes from next week's episode.  Back to reality.

The Only "Reality" Show I Watch

I have to admit that I am hooked on "Deadliest Catch".  It is like a train wreck for me.  I have found that it bothers me that people are willing to risk their lives to provide a high priced dinner (spoken as someone who won't touch seafood).  Of course, it is really about money - supply and demand, our capitalist system at work.

What I didn't realize was how much some of these guys love what they do.  They risk their lives every moment they are out to sea, but they really seem to enjoy what they do.  Sometimes they hate it, they miss their families, it is hard, it hurts and it kills, but they have fun and joke and play.  The nastier the weather gets, they more fun they seem to have (coping mechanism?).

It is narrated by Mike Rowe, who I could listen to all day - hey I don't knock it, if Barry White works for you but, um, too personal, anyhoo...  It is over-dramatized, which I don't think is necessary as these men are risking life and limb all of the time, but that is a staple of reality tv.

This show has always featured music, some good and some bad.  The last few episodes they have featured a musical piece that is either a serious remix or just inspired by "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot.  The lyrics, while about Lake Superior fit perfectly with fishing on the Bering Sea.  The music (while a little repetitive in the original as in a lot of Lightfoot's music) is haunting and beautiful.  I enjoy listening to the variations they use. 

The downside is that it is on opposite of House so you miss it tonite like me, they replay it over the weekend and again during the hour before each new episode.

Random Thought

Has anyone else noticed that the "help me I've fallen and can't get up" people are looking younger and younger?

It's Polka Time!

If you like the music from Lost, then this video is not for you.

Too Busy Right Now Update

Here is a link for the extended commercial for "Addicted to Lost" from the superbowl.