Dog Days of Summer....Or Are They?

Hey everyone! Used to summer tv was a time for re-runs, tennis/golf tournaments, soap operas, and trials (or at least it was if you lived in out in the country in OK and got between 1 and 3 channels). Not anymore! Networks and cable are now releasing new shows in the summer - sure most of them are reality shows, but we got a few scripted ones as well. Here are a few that have made an entertainment junkie like me happy:

• Brat Camp: I didn't watch this when it first came out, but I kept reading good things about it so I gave it a try after it was about three episodes in and was instantly hooked. They took 9 kids (aged 14-17) to Sagebrush, a camp in located in some desolate part of Oregon in the middle of winter. I never thought that's what Oregon could look like - I kept guessing it was New Mexico. For two months, the kids had to follow an extremely structured schedule for two months with lots of hiking, group and individual therapy and other activities. They slept in a teepee and cooked their own extremely bad looking food. But the progress most of them made was unbelievable and, I'll say it, heartwarming. By the end of this week's finale, I was rooting for all of them to make a success out of life, except for evil Jada the true spoiled brat/compulsive liar of the group. The show caught back up with the kids 6 months later. Most of them had continued to improve except for Isaiah who's accused of spray painting racial slurs on a neighbor's house and Evil Jada who rammed a family with a boat. The only thing that scares me is how messed up these kids are at the beginning. I just can't imagine what it took to create such monsters - nature or nurture? It's very nice to know though that a lot of them can be turned around though. I hear that applications to Sagebrush have skyrocketed since the show aired. There must be lots of little monsters out there.

• Wildfire and Beautiful People: Both of these are new scripted shows from ABC Family, a smaller cable station. I'm convinced that Wildfire was lifted straight from my all time fav show as a kid, Fury. It's about a juvenile delinquent girl who is sent to work on a horse farm and is besotted with a troubled horse, Wildfire. It's a little teen oriented, but worth a look. Beautiful People stars Daphne Zuniga (remember her as the girl who sparred with then fell for John Cusack from The Sure Thing) as a mom who moves to NYC with her two daughters - one who's a scholarship student at an elite prep school and the other who's a struggling model. I am addicted to this show! It makes being raised by a single mom in NYC look like so much fun, so I know it's fantasy, but still.

• Tommy Lee Goes to College: The title says it all - Tommy Lee (the one from Motley Crue who was married to Pam Anderson) somehow gets accepted and attends Univ of Nebraska in Lincoln. The great thing about the show is that it spends most of its time making fun of Tommy and not the student body. For instance when Tommy is interviewing roommates, he asks one guy his GPA because he says he really wants to excel in school and needs a similarly inclined roomy. The guy replies that he got a 3.5 last semester. Tommy is stunned and says it won't work out. The guy tells him that's 3.5 out of 4. Tommy says he's used to things being out of 10 points. Tommy may not be the smartest student in school, but he makes up for it by being extremely curious and enthusiastic. Plus he worked super hard to be able to make the drum line for the school band. I'm sure this has gone a tiny way to adding a hint of cool to the dreaded band uniform. I could have only wished for such a thing back when I was a sophomore in high school. One warning: the show is obviously very scripted, but Tommy's innate charm makes up for it.

• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: This is a new comedy from F/X. It follows three guys and a girl in their late 20s/early 30s who own a bar. They are all marvelously immature and remind me a little bit of a slumming version of Seinfeld. The show is hilariously politically incorrect, mocking everything from race to abortion to underage drinking. But in true Seinfeldian fashion, the four leads almost always come in last. This show proves to me the sitcom is not yet dead.

• And finally, Laguna Beach: This year's been a little tough for me because Kristin is the narrator rather than my beloved LC. Laguna is a beautifully filmed, but somewhat scripted documentary that follows several rich and beautiful high school students. Kristin is every high school student's worst nightmare. She emasculated her boyfriend of last year, Stephen, and then dated Matt Leinart, the USC quarterback. This year she's trying to steal her ex-best friend's boyfriend. Let's just say there's lots of drama involved. Laguna could not be more different from my own high scool experience at good old Dickson. Maybe that's some of its appeal for me. In a stunning triumph, I also managed to get my brother hooked on it. To sum it all up, the theme for last week's Winter Formal at Laguna was "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". And I don't even think they were being ironic. Laguna also introduced me to my new fav song , "Since U Been Gone", by Kelly Clarkson. I've adamantly avoided listening to any music of hers as she was the original American Idol, a show I have never seen but detest on principal. Now I so want her new cd. Just like last year I wanted Ashley Simpson's and the year before Avril Lavigne's. I figure I'm allowed one cd that Thomas can endlessly ridicule a year.

-sunday

Festivarians of the World Unite!

Lyons, Colorado's version of Woodstock came to town this weekend in the form of the annual Lyons Folks Festival. Cyd, Cari and Rhonda spent the entire weekend there - they even camped on site two nights - and I traveled up to meet them on Sunday. I've never seen such a large assembly of tie-dyed shirts, hula hoops, anti-Bush paraphenilia, tatoos and naked babies in one place. Cyd and I went to this festival several years ago and it has really grown since then. Just parking was a major production. You parked in one lot and then a bus dropped you off at the festival. There were lots of booths set up selling everything from incense to funnel cakes. I enjoyed one of the culinary highlights of my summer from the Oskar Blues booth: sweet corn on the cob grilled in the husk. That alone was worth the trip.

The musical acts that we caught were the Subdudes (or Subduds as we called them. We were a little bitter because their bus got stuck forcing us to wait for quite awhile in the parking lot), Todd Snider, and Kasey Chambers. I've never heard any of Snider's music before but he put on a great show. It was just him singing and playing the guitar and another guy playing the mandolin. His lyrics were great and he also had personality to spare, telling several anecdotes between songs. Our fav song of his was "My baby's mother was incarcerated". An instant classic! I also appreciated that Snider dedicated his set to Hunter S. Thompson, whose ashes were blown out of a cannon in Woody Creek, CO the day before (Johnny Depp paid almost two million on this extravaganza - read about all the details and other celebs who attended here.) As Hunter's wife Anita said, "He loved explosions." I would have loved to be there for many reasons.

I've liked Kasey Chambers of Australia for a few years now after listening to one of her cds. I got to hear my favorite song of hers, "The Captain", and then knew it was time to go. By this time it was getting dark and I figured the night couldn't get better than that. Plus a huge storm was rolling in. This meant that I missed the final performer of the evening, Arlo Guthrie. As everyone, including my brother told me, he would have been the act to catch. But I really don't think I've heard any of his songs - even the famous Alice's Restaurant. Maybe next time. We all had a great time catching up, listening to tunes, trying our best to figure out the origin of Snider (Oregon, surprisingly, but with several yrs spent in Texas), and annoying the people in front of us.

Earlier in the weekend, my parents were in town. We had a great time - eating out, shopping, and catching up. Thomas and my dad also did a lot of cigar-smoking on the deck, thanks to all the cigars Thomas brought home from Mexico. I'm not sure which of the two is the worst influence on the other. Saturday morning I took my parents to the Boulder Farmers' Market. They also had an arts and crafts fair going this weekend so there was much to see and tons of people there. Not sure if this has to do with school being back in session today or not, but Boulder and the Flatirons mall were both packed. Meanwhile Thomas headed up to Creede with Matt to meet Tom and check out Plan B. They spent Saturday driving the Alpine loop, but hopefully he'll write all about that in his blog. I talked to him yesterday after I got back from Lyons and found that they'd just finished hanging out with my parents and brother. Creede is in Creede for a few weeks before moving to Denver. We'll finally be living in the same town again - this hasn't happened since I was 17 so I'm really looking forward to it.

I have another blog to recommend - my friend Joe's. Joe was one of the founding members of the Prosperites and is an original thinker so you should check it out. He also has lots of good books and movie recommendations!

Lyons Bumpersticker of the Day: Proud to be a North American.

-sunday

Just Who is the Mudblood Prince?

Hey everyone! I am soooooo mad at myself for not writing about Harry Potter yet. Getting this book was definitely one of the highlights of my summer. I pre-ordered the book months ago and sure enough, it arrived right on July 16 (even I'm not immature enough to have gone to Border's at midnight to get my copy - though I can't say I wasn't tempted). I was upstairs when the UPS man knocked on the door around noon. Thomas, aka my knight in shining armor, answered and swears it was his funniest delivery yet. The poor guy was loaded down with copies going door to door in Gold Run. He handed the book to Thomas, shook his head like he didn't get it and said, "Here you go". When Thomas brought the book to me upstairs, I was beyond thrilled. I'd spent the prior week worrying that ordering it online was a bad decision and my book would be delayed. Instead, there it was in all its special Potteresque cardboard bearing the words "Do not deliver before July 16, 2005!" and "Who is the mudblood prince?". I knew right then from the packaging that this was going to be a great read. I also knew though that it would be at least two years before I got the final book so I paced myself and deliberately spread out the 652 pages through the following Sunday. This meant I read about 72 pages a day and I had to force myself to stop each time. And I wasn't the only one. Thomas heard a really funny story on NPR where one lady said that the morning after her 10 year old son got the book she woke up and found him passed out at the kitchen table on page 500. This says it all - if you can get little boys away from video games, it's a miracle.

Anyway, the book. If you haven't read the book stop now because there will be spoilers. And getting the book spoiled would be the worst thing imaginable. It is a MIRACLE that I did not know about the death prior to reading about it. Given my addiction to all things entertainment, it was quite tough. I avoided websites, newspapers, magazines and tv news. This was a necessary precaution as Anjali accidentally read on the COVER of USA Today that children were grieving because of the death of one of Harry's friends. Luckily, she didn't read exactly who died, but still, the agony of knowing even that is too much. The media is beyond evil. Okay, I've given you fair warning, so here are my pros and cons for the book:

Pros:

• Harry - he's grown up a lot and wasn't quite as surly as he was in book 5. Given that he's The One, he's written in a very realistic manner. He's a complicated kid that you don't always like but you do always root for.

• The flashbacks - Rowling has taken some hits for not fully exploring Voldemort (Rowling pronounces his name minus the T at the end). In Book 6 she remedies this with several flashbacks from different characters. I really enjoyed all of these. It seems like Voldemort came from bad blood and bad circumstance and both of these contributed to his love of the dark side. This guy was born bad, loved being bad, was a lost cause from the start. You get background on his parents, his childhood in an orphanage, and his years at Hogwarts where he was the golden child to pretty much all but Dumbledore.

• The Mudblood Prince - This one really did keep me guessing. I'd heard it wasn't Voldemort, but I still suspected it might be, I also thought it could be one of Harry's parents or perhaps a deatheather, and I thought it could be Snape. But clues later on in the story convinced me it wasn't Snape, but sure enough it actually was. And she explained it in a way that made sense to me and didn't make me mad.
  

• Snape - He also kept me guessing throughout the book. Is he good or evil? I went back and forth several times and after he killed Dumbledore I fell firmly on the side of he's evil!!! However, after talking to Anj, she convinced me there could be more to his story that'll play out in book 7.

• The interaction between the Prime Minister of England and the Minister of Magic. Very funny and I like her tying in the real world a bit more.

• Harry taking Luna to the dance.

• Malfoy's story, particularly at the end where you learn he's being manipulated by Voldemort, but he doesn't have it in him to kill Dumbledore. Will he join the Order of the Phoenix?

• The writing - Rowling's writing keeps getting better and more complicated as the series progresses. There's a world of difference between books 1 and 6. I also love all of her wordplay.

Cons:

• Dumbledore dying and Snape being the one to kill him! I was shocked by this. I still can't believe it and when I read it I took the scene pretty much at face value. I really really hope I'm wrong and that his whole phoenix persona will mean we see him back in book 7. I do have to say though that the final fight scene was a riveting read. I re-read it.

• Harry and Ginny's relationship. I like that Harry had a crush on Ginny and think Rowling went a long way to developing Ginny's character in the last couple of books and that she'd be a good match for Harry. But once they finally get together at the end of the book, there's only a few pages on their relationship and then Harry ends it to protect her. This was really given short shrift. Plus it's pretty sexist. And as Anj said, it's a knockoff of Spiderman.

• Not enough Neville! By the end of book 6, Neville was one of my fav characters (probably right after Harry). Plus he got a great story - in that he could have been the chosen one rather than Harry. I thought Neville would feature much more prominently in this book, but it was not to be. I think she dropped the ball on this.

• Not enough Luna! Same story with Luna, but at least Harry invited her to a party.

• Ron. A part of me just really doesn't like Ron, but I have to say he's realistically written for a teenage boy. But he's soooooo immature! Hermione deserves better.

• The fact that Ron, Harry and Hermione won't be going back to Hogwarts for their final year! I am just heartbroken over the ending. I don't know how children can bear it.

My big questions for Book 7:

• Will Dumbledore rise from the ashes?
• Is Snape still a deatheater or in cahoots with Dumbledore?
• Will Harry, Ron and Hermione really not go back to Hogwarts?
• Will Voldemort be killed once and for all?
• Who is R.A.B.?
• Will Ron and Hermione get/stay together?
• Will Harry and Ginny get back together?
• What side will Malfoy choose?
• Will Neville play a bigger part?
• Will she leave us hanging at the end or wrap it up nice and neat?
• Who else will die?
  

All in all, this was my 2nd favorite book in the series - Book 3 was my favorite. I loved every second I spent reading the book and don't know how I'm going to wait 2 or more years for Book 7. It will be torture. On the bright side, I did see a movie poster for Book 4 at the cinema the other day. So there's that to look forward to.

-sunday

My Summer Vacation, by Sunday ****

Hey Everyone! Wow, it has been forever since I've posted. I've been ready to post now for the last couple of weeks, but the thought of trying to recap my summer has been too daunting, so I've put it off. As one of Thomas's fav Boulder Bumperstickers says: Procrastinate Later. I've taken this a little too deeply to heart. So, the abridged version:

• We went to Creede for the 4th of July and met up with my parents, Thomas's parents and Allison and Jess. All in all it was a great time. There was some off-roading, rafting, fireworks-viewing, fish frying, parade-watching, music listening, and plenty of talking and eating. The Creede parade and fireworks were a little weird this year. Both ended more quickly than expected. The parade definitely suffered from the absence of Elvis (aka Thomas) this year, and there's speculation the fireworks finale was cut short by the Forest Service. But you never really know with Creede. After that Allison and Jess came back to Boulder with us for a couple of days. One night we went to Denver and while Thomas and Jess went to see the Rockies (they actually won the game, so that was a bonus) Allison and I went to Izba Spa to get a banya and massage. I don't think it's an experience we'll ever forget. The massage was wonderful and the banya alternated between excruciating and hilarious. I highly recommend it if you've never been.
  

• The next journey we took was to Cancun, Mexico. I've never been to Mexico and before I went I had about 50 people tell me how sick they got there. Also, a week before we went Hurricane Emily paid a visit to the Aventura Spa on Playa del Carmen - our hotel (we got relocated to the Moon Palace on Cancun). I then read way too many articles about stranded American tourists sleeping on elementary school gym floors to make me comfortable. Finally, the morning we departed our clock radio woke us up with the news that the State Department had issued a warning to Americans visiting Mexico. By the time we got to DIA, I felt like I was headed to jail rather than vacation. Typically, my worries were for naught. We didn't get sick, killed, arrested, kidnapped or hit by a hurricane. Yippee! Plus I got to practice my Spanish and the resort was pretty awesome. The beach was a little seaweedy and it was the hottest/most humid place I've ever been, but it was uber-relaxing. And the food was good and the service was amazing. It was an all inclusive resort and I feared that would mean since they already had your cash, they'd slack off. Instead, the service was like nothing I've ever experienced. It was the kind of place where you'd be hanging on the beach at 2:00 in the morning and a waitress would be trucking down trayloads of drinks to you. As you sat by the pool you could make any kind of request (coffee ice cream for one) and it would appear. If you broke your flipflop, they would fix it. I could get used to all that. The other great thing about the trip was that we were there for Tim and Brenna's wedding, so we knew lots of people there and every nite we would gather for dinner. The groom was handsome, the bride was beautiful and she got to ride up in a horsedrawn carriage. Very dreamy.
  

• My next trip was to visit my brother in Guymon, OK. Shockingly there are more Mexicans and Spanish language billboards in Guymon that in Cancun. I kid you not. I'd been there once before for one night but didn't get a good look at the place. This time I did. There isn't much to do there. They even shut down the movie theatre for tax fraud. In summer, in the panhandle of Oklahoma, that ought to be against the law. We did entertain ourselves by going bowling and for the first time in my life I bowled 3 games over 100. My high was 117. I think I might be some kind of bowling savant, so a trip to Pinz in Broomfield is in order to check out this theory. Our other source of entertainment was the Great Fried Okra Tour of 2005. Fried okra is a delicacy that is particular to Oklahoma so much so it could be called Okrahoma (okay, they do make it in other parts of the South as well) but good fried okra is not to be found in Colorado. So we made a point of ordering it at practically every meal. Yummy.
  

• Last weekend was the annual BEA picnic. It was the absolute perfect day for a picnic. They had it at Boulder Resovoiur on Friday afternoon and the weather was ideal as was the company. We even got to see Rich roll his kayak. I was very impressed. After that we drove to Lyons to our fav pizza/brewery/blues joint, Oskar Blues. If you haven't been, you must check it out. This wkend is the Lyons Bluegrass festival. Cyd is in town for it and hopefully I'll get to venture out on Sunday to see a couple of acts.
  

• And finally, this weekend, my parents are coming to town. My plan is to take them to the Boulder Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. Thomas and I went last wkend and got all sorts of great things - steak, tomatos, peaches, mead, and soap. Except for the soap, it was all delicious! I think they'll enjoy the spectacle.

Next time: Movie/book update and summer tv extravaganza.

Boulder Bumpersticker of the Day: Boulder: 27 square miles surrounded by reality

-sunday