This is not Project Runway 8, Episode 1

Apparently that wasn't an episode of Project Runway I watched last night. How could it have been? They kept saying it was the last stage of the audition process and the 17 of them weren't on the show yet. So if they had to survive that challenge to be on the show, then clearly that 90 minutes of sewing, Loreal ads, and Lifetime promos wasn't Project Runway.

This is why I'm not sure I want to blog the show anymore. All I seem to do is bitch about the things that annoyed me or pissed me off.

Like keeping backwards-kimono-salon-smock-bowler-hat-wearing-so-insecure-in-my-sexuality-I-have-to-constantly-make-a-display-of-my-straightness dude on the show. (All you Bay Area theatre peeps, didn't he look exactly like Gabriel Marin? I know, right.) Ok, I'm not necessarily saying I would have kept Utah-Dreadlocks in his stead, but at least her dress was sewn and not stapled and pinned. (And how exactly can I link to her profile on the website if she was never on the show?)

Or picking that incredibly blah black thing as the winner.

So you see my conundrum? Was there anything about the show last night that I actually liked? Hearing Nina Garcia speak Spanish was fun and seeing Tim Gunn get his own confessional interview. I hope that becomes a regular thing. Other than that, the episode was pretty boring.

Did the extra time make it boring? I don't know. I definitely noticed the difference in pacing. I think they'll hit a sweet spot about halfway through the season where 90 minutes is just the right amount of time. Right now, it's still not long enough for that many designers. At the end, it will be too long for so few.

So in the meantime, as the next few weeks go by with me likely too busy to post, I'll see if I can come up with a new hook or angle to keep my posts interesting. Because catty bitch-fest might be cathartic, but it's getting old.

Knockbusters

From The Asylum, the same production company that specializes in direct to DVD knock-offs of blockbusters (or "knockbusters"), the very same folks who brought you Snakes on a Train (yes, I said "train"), comes the sequel you've all been waiting for:

Titanic 2


(Thanks BMR for tweeting it.)

Project Runway Season 8

Project Runway Season 8 premiers Thursday night. I haven't written too much about it yet as I find myself largely unenthusiastic about the show these days. Honestly, I was more excited to watch this week's Project Runway inspired episode of Warehouse 13 than I am about the impending premier.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to blog every episode or leave that responsibility up to my sister (check out her season 8 preview post). Or maybe I'll come up with a new way to blog about it to keep myself interested, because who am I kidding? I'm still going to watch every episode. I may as well write something about them.

The format change from 60 to 90 minutes has me mildly intrigued, but it also forces me to choose between Project Runway and new Futurama episodes. Curse you Heidi Klum! Although, I imagine producers weren't too worried about alienating the Futurama/Project Runway crossover fans when they made their programing decisions. I'm sure the 5 of us will find a way to cope. I'll just be a week behind on my Futuramas I guess, although the folks at Planet Express will provide a convenient escape option if PR is particularly yawn-inducing.

Of course, I'll miss a few weeks due to my nuptials and subsequent honeymoon. Well, I'll probably watch the episodes, but don't expect a timely blog about them.

Comedian

I'm not generally a big fan of Jerry Seinfeld. I never particularly liked the show. But I found this trailer for his upcoming movie funny:

G'Bye Lou, Hello ?

Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced he's retiring after this season. That's really no surprise. Everyone assumed he would.

I also just assume that current Cubs Tripple-A affiliate manager Ryne Sandberg will get the job, but I forget that people actually want to manage the Cubs these days. Why? Because they're decidedly on the economic "have" side of the "have and have not" spectrum.

Sandberg's biggest competition could come from former team-mate and current Yankees skipper Joe Girardi. The Cubs were his first choice 4 years ago. After Lou beat him out for the job he "settled" for the Yankees. Sure, he won a World Series last year, but he's never been as popular as Joe Torre. He's also in the last year of his contract and might be eager to leave the Bronx Zoo for a shot at bringing the Cubs their first championship since the Teddy Roosevelt administration.

Another intriguing possibility is current Cubs color commentator Bob Brenly. He's done the commentator-to-manager jump successfully before in Arizona, leading the Diamondbacks to the title in 2001.

The Cubs even currently have two former managers on staff, in bench coach Alan Trammell and pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

My sister's dream is of course to hire Girardi as the manager and bring Sandberg in as a coach. While I'm certainly not opposed to that, I don't think Sandberg has been putting in all this time as a minor league manager just to end up a bench coach. He clearly wants to manage. Odds are there will be other big league openings next season.

Four years ago, I wanted Lou Piniella. No offense to Girardi, but I think Lou was the right person at the right time. The Cubs needed a firebrand after the easy-going Dusty Baker, and he paid off with two consecutive play-off appearances. Sure he mismanaged pitchers, but Joe's been accused of that too. I don't think there's a manager out there today who can manage a pitching staff. (Pitch counts are the devil.)

Today, I'm not sure who I'm rooting for. I guess, a winner.

Here's Lou's tirade from June of '07 that started the Cubs on a two year winning streak:

Talkin' Softball, Ozzie and the Straw

When Ken Griffey, Jr retired earlier this year it marked the end of an era. Yes, true, he played for over 20 years, but that's not the era of which I speak. You see, Griffey was the last player featured in the Simpsons episode Homer at the Bat to retire.

The episode first aired February 20, 1992 and featured guest appearances by 9 Major League players: Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia.

There's lots of interesting tidbits about the episode on its Wikipedia page. Such as:
* The players recorded their parts over 6 months whenever their teams were in L.A. playing the Dodgers or the Angels
* Jose Canseco made them rewrite his part to look as heroic as possible.
* Ryne Sandberg and Carlton Fisk both turned down the chance to be in the episode.

Now they're all gone and retired. I wonder who Mr. Burns would hire these days to be his ringers?

It's one of the best episodes of the Simpsons all around, but the best part was the song at the end. Terry Cashman rewrote his song Talkin' Baseball for the closing credits. Enjoy!

I Write Like UPDATE

I Write Like is all over the blogosphere and the interwebs. According to this article in SFGate, it's almost entirely keyword based, and it was written by a Russian who speaks English as a second language.

It's easy to find a laugh. Obama's Oval Office speech in June? David Foster Wallace. Lady Gaga's lyrics to "Alejandro"? William Shakespeare.

What I find amusing is that the guy who created it lists Agatha Christie as one of his favorite authors, but when I plugged her into the site, she came back as H.G. Wells.