Drive

Dear Fox,

Of course you cancelled Drive. Why should I have ever believed you would do otherwise?

But answer me this, if you cancel every single show that doesn't perform as well as you would have liked right out of the gate, why would anyone keep watching your shows? Wouldn't it be better for me to NOT check out that show that sounds interesting just in case it doesn't get as many viewers as you want and you prematurely cancel it? Why waste my time on something if you don't really care about it?

I get it. I get that television is a business. But not every show that is a hit now was a hit in its second week. Shows need a chance to grow. To spread by word of mouth. To let people catch up on episodes they miss when you broadcast three hours in the first week and people fall behind because they don't realize the scheduling or they came into the show late and need to figure out what's going on. Just because the audience isn't there in week 2 doesn't mean they're never going to show up.

Sure, people say you gave it a chance because you broadcast a lot of ads. But that doesn't change the fact that there were a lot of things you could have done if you really cared. You could have re-launched in the summer. You could have put on multiple encores each week to get people to watch instead of reruns of other shows that have already "made it." You could have put the first episode on after Idol instead of 2 hours all by itself with no lead-in and no lead-out, since we all know how much of a bump Idol can give a show - you would have at least had those people watching to see if they liked it. You could have started the show when other shows were starting and NOT when other shows were in the middle of their seasons and people were already committed (this is why I'm worried about Traveler, not that you would care). But generally a lead-in is key. Why start any new show on Fox without giving it a post-Idol berth for a premiere or even an encore? It just seems like an easy choice to me.

I made a list today of the shows that I am upset that the networks cancelled and you, Fox, had the longest list by far. I don't know what it is, whether you're trigger-happy or what. I'm surprised you stuck with Bones for so long - I was worried about that show constantly. And its numbers improved as more people started watching it based on word of mouth and its placement near Idol. (At least that's what I hear). Things don't take immediately - I told my parents about Bones for weeks but it still took them a few episodes before they had a chance to catch it and now they watch it every week. Real hit shows take TIME. And the impatience and cancelling of serials this season has really made people re-consider whether they want to invest the time in a new show when the likelihood of cancellation seems higher than ever. I know I'm going to think twice about whether I want to care next season.

I could fill in plenty of other names from this season (like Justice), but I'm going to concentrate on Drive for now. Sigh.

Signed,

Disappointed

TAR 11.10

In August 2005, Alvin and I went to Macau for a day trip from Hong Kong.  I had wanted to go to Macau for a long time - I had been to HK twice before but had never gone to Macau.  Most people from HK thought I was crazy for wanting to go there for any reason other than gambling (like, say, sightseeing). 

 

But we packed our bag, including water from our hotel, and headed off on the MTR to the ferry terminal to take Turbojet to Macau.  Turbojet was pretty nice - comfortable seats, a smooth ride, I took a nap on the way there and woke up with a view of the big Macau bridge that connects the islands.  We didn't really have a set plan other than trying Macanese food and seeing some sights, which all looked walkable on the map.

 

It was an interesting day trip.  The things that looked walkable on the map weren't so close to one another (tiring).  We went into a casino hotel (I think the Sands) just to see what it looked like inside but ended up walking through a metal detector and they confiscated our unopened bottled water (aggravating).  We had a Macanese lunch at O Porto Interior - a basket of Macanese snacks, African chicken, minchi and a big bottle of Tsingtao (yummy).  We went to an area with historic architecture to find that inside the buildings were chain stores (interesting).  I tried to find a postcard (difficult) and couldn't find one until going to a bookstore (of all places) and then went hunting for stamps (even more difficult) and ended up having to get them in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental (pretty).  We went to the Temple of A-Ma (beautiful) and then tried to get a cab afterwards (frustrating).

 

It was at that point that I told Alvin that the Amazing Race should go to Macau because, with how difficult it was to get a cab, it would be total madness. 

 

I didn't intend to make life difficult for Oswald and Danny, my favorite team ever to run the Race (I've seen every season and they've always been my favorite).  But, wow, I could completely understand why it was so frustrating getting around Macau.  It was a good experience for us to go, but we didn't have an easy time of getting around at all.  The food was good though.

 

It was good to see some familiar things on TV, like Turbojet and the bridge to Taipa (I always wondered if we should have just spent the day in Taipa... although I wanted to see some of the historic sights).  But mostly, I was wishing that somewhere in the past couple of legs we could have seen the teams on the MTR (currently ranking as my favorite public transportation in the world).  Why take a taxi all over HK when they have efficient subways that aren't very expensive?  Oh well.  Maybe next leg.  After all, I don't think you can fly all that many places directly from Macau.  Or maybe things have changed.  After all, it is supposed to be getting to be bigger than Vegas.

 

It doesn't look like this week is shaping up to be as good as last week in reality TV.  That was one of the best weeks ever.  Danny and Oswald in first place in HK and winning a trip to HK, the site of their infamous shopping spree (that was the best!).  Clyde went home, and he was the worst dancer left.  Sanjaya went home, and he was the worst singer left.  And the "four horsemen" completely shattered at tribal council in one of the best episodes of Survivor this season.  It was a good reality TV week last week.  Let's see what this week brings...

Walking

I love it when the weather is nice out. It was in the high 70s both days this weekend, sunny and gorgeous. As a result, yesterday we walked at least 5 miles (hard to measure on the gmaps pedometer when we were walking around non-marked roads in Central Park) and today we walked almost 6.5 miles (Hudson River Park). Add in Kati rolls, Peruvian food, Pinkberry, lots of sunlight and small dogs and nature, and it's been a fabulous Earth Day weekend!

Pictures

I would like to post more pictures on this blog, but I am having issues with the new way the photos are set up and am trying to save quota space.

Here's the problem:

I started using Picasaweb for my photos back when it first opened up, even paid for extra storage space. Now, the new Blogger-Picasa integration places photos from the blog into the web albums associated with your login. Fine... except now if I upload a photo to the blog and have also uploaded the photo into the web album, it counts twice.

Of course, you can link from the web album and put the link to the image directly into the blog. Great, except for the fact that my picasaweb name includes my full name and that kind of defeats the purpose of not revealing that on the blog.

So... I am stuck with the problem where I can upload directly into Blogger in order to protect my privacy and have the same photo in web albums and have it count twice... or I could just not upload photos. (I think there is another alternative but I'm still thinking about that one). I would like to be able to write to Blogger to ask them if there is any way to "cloak" the link or something so as not to reveal my email/login name (who knows if that's even possible), but my multiple circles around the help section does not enable me to do this. So Blogger people - if you are reading this, that is my complaint and I do not know how to ask the question. I feel like I'm being backed into a corner where I either have to reveal my full name or I can't post pictures, which frankly kind of sucks and is very frustrating. I realize there are storage limits, but I'm already paying for extra storage so it's not like I am trying to take advantage of the free storage. I just wish there were another way to do this. Or that my email name didn't include my full name... I don't think it's an issue yet, but with the number of photos I take, it's bound to become an issue at some point. Sigh.

Sludgie

RIP Sludgie.

 

I remember being so excited when I heard about the whale swimming around.  Sludgie!  A nickname and everything.  And then the next day, the news was reporting that he died.  It was so sad.

 

http://www.gothamist.com/2007/04/20/whale_1.php

Plans

So this proposed congestion pricing thing for NYC... I am totally in favor of it.  If it can be done in many other places, why not here?  And this is coming from someone who owns a car in the city.  What do you think about it?

Blackberry

I love how the Blackberry service problems/outage last night/this morning is considered headline news.  NY1 was talking about it when I woke up (they actually said it affected the whole hemisphere, I think), but it was like a big news story!  They were in Times Square interviewing people on how they were affected by it.  The funniest part of the segment were the people who didn't even realize anything was wrong or who hadn't actually checked their blackberry.  The news person was like, "clearly, not everyone is addicted."  Hahaha.

 

As for me, I noticed a delay in messages (although I got some last night...) but figured it was due to the blackberry reception problems my old (old, old, old) model seems to have.  It doesn't always get messages so this didn't strike me as anything different!

 

Thank you America for sending Clyde home on Dancing with the Stars!  Now please take Sanjaya off my TV and keep Drive on it!

Drive

Dear Fox,

 

Please, please stick with Drive.  Perhaps you should have aired the premiere after American Idol.  Maybe then it would be putting up better numbers.  But it is a ton of fun and I like the conspiracy aspect of it, and it really has potential, so please don't kill it like all the other shows!  Please keep it!

 

I'd like to send a similar message to those people whose viewing choices actually count.  Sigh.

DVR

How do DVRs determine how many hours to erase? The DVR just erased 8.5 hours in order to tape 6.

Panda Meals

RCSP from San Diego Zoo, November 2006. It was so relaxing to just hang out at the zoo and watch the pandas and other animals going about their daily routines. It's the type of vacation I think I need!

Scales

Those digital food scales are flying off the shelves on QVC... nevermind, they just sold out. Are people buying it because they don't want to end up eating 800+ calories worth of raisin bran every morning? Maybe they should just use a smaller bowl...

Ego

I'm not sure what the person is carrying in the graphic... is that a pizza? Bread?

You Are the Ego

You take a balanced approach to your life. You definitely aren't afraid to act out on your desires - even crazy ones. But you usually think first. Morals drive you as much as hedonism does. You've been able to live a life of pleasure... without living a life of excess.

Are You Id, Ego, or Superego?

In the Kitchen

I think "In the Kitchen with Bob" is my favorite QVC show. They had that juicer I loved a couple of weeks ago, and now they just had this thing called "Micro Grill" where you can grill things in the microwave. It looks like a George Foreman grill (like black with the ridges) but it gets put in the microwave and you can put the plates in the dishwasher. Pretty nice. I even thought about getting one, but I haven't actually ever ordered anything from QVC.

It's pouring outside all over the East Coast. Even Bob at QVC was saying it was pouring there. A couple of days ago, they had been predicting a noreaster up here. I wonder if this still qualifies. When I heard about the weather, I planned to stay in - I have enough stuff to do here - and I'm glad I don't have to head out into that downpour.

If you are a fan of the Amazing Race, go to CBS Innertube and watch the bonus episode clip called "Oswald Hates Cookies." It is the one of the best things ever. :)

Dinner

This wasn't tonight's dinner but it came up in the RCSP. The dish in the forefront is one of my favorites at Wing Shing in Brooklyn, a restaurant we go to for family dinners. It is a Toisan-style dish with chicken and an assortment of vegetables; I'm not even sure what the vegetables are called but they're good. The chicken dish in the back you have to order in advance, usually a day in advance. I'm not exactly sure how they make it but it's probably some sort of marinade, and it's covered in onions and scallions and this distinctive great taste that I can't describe very well. Let's just say they're good. :)

Recycling

(Spoilers again)

I guess the food-wasting is offset by the roadblock where they are gathering newspapers to recycle?

Cookies

(Spoilers)

I am really disappointed with TAR tonight and the detour. What a WASTE OF FOOD on the cookie detour. If you have to bite every cookie in 600 boxes... what a waste. It all ends up on the ground... and it's just so... wasteful. (I have no other word for it). I love this show, but I'm really disappointed in the detour. Sigh.

Juicer

That Breville 700 watt Compact Juicer they recently had on QVC looked so cool.

Clouds

And just as quickly as the sun came out, the thick layered clouds moved in.  I guess it's not as bad as Cleveland though, which went from 80 degrees on Tuesday to 32 and snowy today (according to the Weather Channel).

 

I can't believe Sanjaya and Phil are still on Idol.  And that Gina isn't going to make it to Bon Jovi week.  Argh!!!

Weather

I guess it's good that I didn't wear my "bad weather" boots to work today.

 

I just looked out the window and it's sunny.  When I left the apartment, it was snowing.  Yesterday, it was pouring.  This is all so bizarre.  And the fact that the temperature was in the 30s... this is not Easter weather!

Breathing

It is oh-so-much-fun to wear a dust mask around the apartment so that I can breathe. Except with the decreased breathing ability due to spring allergies and asthma, I'm not sure how well it's working. Wheeee...