This blog entry is a big infomercial, so feel free to skip it if you don’t want to hear about a TV show.
I’ve been very obsessed with a television show called America’s Next Top model. It is hosted by Tyra Banks, who acts like a beneficent dictator over her minions. She has an inner court of judges who are Top in their respective modeling related fields, though I’ve never heard of them. She has a small group of devotes who are vying to become America’s Next Top Model, though I’ve not really seen much happen with last year’s winner. They are fighting for a modeling contract and a make up campaign. Every week they face insurmountable challenges like who can produce the smoky eye shadow effect closest to Tyra’s and who can be the sexiest dancer. Then the judges make them feel insecure and kick one off. There is lots of crying as they have all become best friends.

My favorites have already been kicked off, unfortunately. Catie who used to cry about how bad her oatmeal tasted and Jenascia who was a sassy Hooter’s girl are long gone. You can still enjoy Camille the cocky girl, Yoanna who the judges constantly say needs to work on her body, Mercedes who has Lupus, Shandi who is the ugly duckling turned swan, and April the cold calculating Asian who the judges say shows no emotion.

Check it out and feel free to e-mail… I love to talk about this show. I would also love to see someone I know on Season 3.

I was just looking over the America’s Next Top Model website from last season and fondly remembering some of my favorite parts. There was a Christian contingent that lasted till the last couple episodes and was very offended by the heathen behavior in the other half of the girls. Also, who can forget the anti-grease showdown… Ebony was told by Tyra that as a black woman her skin should be like “butta” and proceeded to start a regiment of extreme moisturizing. I think the website explains what happened next very well with…

GREASE IS THE WORD
The Tokyo room was in an uproar over Ebony's excessive lotion problem. In the isolation room, Elyse explained, "Giselle said she was going to tell Ebony to wash her hands before she touches anything, so I can't wait for the Giselle versus Ebony anti-grease showdown. I sincerely hope I'm there."

They couldn’t convey the editing that chose a really mean looking picture of Giselle they froze on right before commercial break during the words “anti-grease showdown”. It was really hilarious.

Anyway... sorry about that guys, but if it gets even one more person to watch this show with me, it will be worthwhile.

porn virus hysteria

I’ve been tired or sick since I’ve been back from Seattle, so there have been few updates, but there is a comedic hysteria going around the office. We got some sort of virus that is putting porn on the shared folders and occasionally making peoples’ computers beep like Atari games. It is all very fun. It is not often pornography talk is flying around the office.

Layover fun!

Well there have been many other days in Seattle. I’ve ridden the monorail and taken the bus tunnel and as a touring transportation planner they have proven to be quite interesting. I saw the space needle and the rock n’ roll hall of fame knock off and as a tourist who doesn’t want to be a tourist didn’t pay to get in. Went to the market where they throw the fish and scoffed at the other tourists while using their bathroom. I’ve eaten lots of vegan food at lots of vegan restaurants and bought lots of books at lots of used book stores. I’ve walked through parks designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead and at the grounds of former natural gas processing works. I took a trek cross city on foot and over draw bridges and dodging cars on roads not meant for pedestrians.
I’ll do more Seattle observations when I’m bored at work… Don’t want to spend too much vacation time working on the blog.
The trip is coming to an end soon, though and it will be off to Chicago for a 3 hour layover before heading home. I’m trying to talk some Chicagoans into hanging out for these hours at O’Hare, with some success.

Sickness in Seattle

Right now I’m in Seattle. I felt pretty poorly during the flight. Is air sickness something one can acquire over time. I felt half like I had the flu and half that the air pressure change made my sinuses, stomach, and intestines full of air that didn’t want to be there. I was very concerned that I had a mild case of the flu. I couldn’t eat and had a headache and I thought the whole trip was going to be wasted with me being sick. But my friends Sarah and Rachel hooked me up with vitamin C, lemon-Ginger-Echinacea drink, lemon-eucalyptus-zinc-Echinacea tea, and garlic-secret bled of herbs and spices-eardrops. After some sleep and these treatments, I feel much better, but I was still up at 7, but I guess that is like 11 east coast.
Of course as someone who couldn’t eat yesterday, I’m famished now and I tried to eat my airline bagels, but I am shocked to find another house that doesn’t have toaster. I realize when we are all on the Atkin’s diet we won’t need one anymore (for those of you truly un-American folk who don’t know what the Atkin’s diet is it is a way of losing weight by eating lard all the time. Malnutrition while eating pure protein is hot over here now). Until then, I want to see a toaster in your house! I burned them in the stove.
Anyway, now I can’t wait for fun adventures now that I feel up to them. In my sick filled stupor and bad attitude, Seattle seemed like a giant Clintonville (Columbus, Oh) with much more interesting geography. There is lots of water and mountains and mid nineties euro box architecture. I bet I’ll be more impressed when I’m not feeling like pooh.