The Wry Side of Life

My title sums how I feel about my first semester. If you want to really torture or wear yourself down grad school is the perfect place to go. All you will do is read and write papers. Your whole existence for a semester will be that you have to read this book or that article by Wednesday and be prepared to discuss it in class. I don't know what I was thinking after a seven year absence from university level work I decided to go back for my Master's. It's tough going back. It's hard to pick up where you left off. I often wondered if there was anything left in my brain or if I could will myself to finish that ten page paper by next day's deadline. All in all life is about picking yourself up and not quitting. I can't tell you how many time I wanted to give up. One thing stopping me is I would be throwing a thousand dollars down the drain, and the other is I can build upon what I did this semester. Case in point, I finished a 10 page research paper for class. I was...

I know this is late, it's been about a week or so. But I have to say I'm totally enthusiastic that David Cook won American Idol. Simon really had me nervous when he had nothing but praise for David Archuleta while he criticized David Cook. I was nervous about his inaugural song, but "This is the Time of My Life" really fit him and it wasn't corny. I look forward to buying the album, hopefully they will give him either decent songwriters or allow him to write his own songs. He's such a gentlemen and he deserves to win.

I had pretty much abandoned watching American Idol during the season when it was Carrie Underwood/Bo Bice. The problem I always find myself in is that my tastes in music do not correspond to popular tastes. So when Bo Bice didn't win I said I had it and haven't watched since. Now that Itunes is offering sound clips (why didn't someone think of this earlier?) I tuned it to get a feel for this year's contestants. I have to say they confirm why I stopped watching in the first place. I think there are some talented singers, but the one thing they lack is stage presence. Too many of them seem intimidated and don't want to interact with the crowd. I can see this spelling the end of this show.

It's been quite a rough year for All my Children. A lot of upheaval and stupid storylines. I can't blame the actors for wanting to leave. I have been watching soaps ever since I was a little kid and primarily ABC soaps. I listen at work on my tv radio from 12-4. I'm really don't like General Hospital and how it's being written. I prefer to instead talk about AMC and how much I love that Debbie Morgan is back as Angie Hubbard. She is breathing life into this show. I loved her opening scenes with Tad Martin. I teared up when she realized it was her son that was the patient she would be treating. I'm really interested in how they are going to work in Jesse. He had died from a gunshot wound and was a ghost on the show. Glad to have her back! One thing I don't really care for is Rebecca Budig back as Greenlee. I have to admit that Sabine Singh grew on me and gave this character another side. Rebecca's acting is flat and lifeless and if they put ...

Bored out of my mind with nothing new to watch on TV, I rented some movies. I've decided to created a section called one line slams. Basically I give a one line description of what I thought sucked about the movie. Pirates of the Carribean: World's End This movie made me feel like the world was ending because it seemed like the movie would never end. Live Free or Die Hard CGI action sequences can't live up to the real thing. Rush Hour 3 You better rush and return without watching if you want to save a couple hours of your time.

I'm disturbed by the idea that the Catholic League feels it necessary to boycott the movie The Golden Compass. I have listened to the whole trilogy on audio book, and I have never felt so many emotions from a book. The author Phillip Pullman is an atheist. I do see their point about the book having an anti-religious bent, but there is so much more to the book then that. The ultimate theme of the book is love. You have parents sacrificing themselves for their child. You have a girl and a boy learning what love is. I don't see how this is a good reason not to see a movie. I believe I read somewhere that they didn't bother to read the book or see the movie, before they started the boycott. I'm a firm believer that just because you read, watch, listen to music, movies and books doesn't mean it will influence your behavior. After listening the trilogy I didn't feel like I hated religion or the Catholic church because of it. I was more compelled by the characters in t...

I came to an interesting conclusion yesterday as I was at a holiday luncheon. We went to this restaurant located in Beverly Hills. It was one of those steak houses. In a nutshell I came to realize that rich people seem to like bland food. Most of it seemed flavorless to me, and stuff I could have probably cooked out home. Would you go to an expensive restaurant to have mashed potatoes and gravy? Can get the same thing at Kentucky Fried Chicken for less. I realize it's a whole status thing to pay more for things, but what about the quality? My favorite place to go in Glendale is a buffet restaurant called Q Q's. They have a wonderful selection of food. Anything from fried chicken, orange chicken, pizza, crab legs and even frog legs. My favorite is the oyster in black bean sauce. I've never tried oyster before, but I had to try it. For me, how things taste is important. There is something about the way the flavors just mingle in your mouth.