Sex and the Media

So I guess I'm turning into the most random blogger ever, in addition to being very unproductive at the ol' office. I was supposed to work through my lunch, however, this isn't working out quite to my satisfaction because my boss left for lunch without giving me another project. Now I must ponder the ethics of whether I am still allowed to leave an hour early...
A discussion of last night's episode of LOST led one of my co-workers to state that LOST would be an even better show if it were on HBO or Cinemax, and so could employ the plot twists of cussing and boobs. This from a man, obviously, concerned with the fact that people cuss and have sex in real life, so it should be on LOST too. He and another co-worker cited all of the HBO shows that are superb because of their lack of censorship on non-network programming. These guys love LOST already. But the argument for boobs irriated me a bit. He already loves the show, loves it, is obsessed with it, nevertheless, he wants some boobs. Boobs, he argued, would make LOST a better show.
Surprisingly (and I think to his own surprise), my other male co-worker took my side (sort of) in my claim that boobs would not make the show better nor more realistic. The creators and writers already make an excellent show without resorting to using nudity and language to entertain viewers. They craft intricate story lines and characters to lure their viewers in, and they have generated an incredibly wide and devoted audience. All without gratuitous flashes of Kate's or Claire's boobies. Sex sells, for sure, but don't confuse making the show "better" with your desire to simply see the actresses naked. It might make the show more "movie-like," but it would not make the show more realistic, which, given the willing suspension of disbelief required to watch the show, that's a ridiculous argument for sex on LOST.
I am fairly new to actually sitting down and watching LOST, but I love the conspiracy theories and the lust for the show that viewers have. Shows like Sex in the City, The Sopranos, Big Love, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, and Rome all featured "adult" language and violence and moderately graphic sex, but in some cases, the sex was an integral part of the show (i.e. Sex in the City). LOST, in my personal opinion, would be a very different show than it is now, if it were on a network like HBO, with far fewer limitations. They're obviously already doing something that appeals to much more than a little flash of skin. I guess my point is, just say that you want to see boobs, but don't argue that it makes for a better show.
In a slightly related story, I read this article on cnn.com today. Certainly, sex sells. Everyone uses it. Scantily clad women and rugged men are always getting it on, or leaving the viewer to infer that they're about to, in commercials, from ads for Uncle Ben's Rice to designer jeans. But if anyone should be able to use lingerie and sexy women to sell their products, shouldn't it be a lingerie company?

Disappearing Knife Trick

I put the dishes away this morning, at work, which sometimes pisses me off when I think about how some people here don't do it at all and just leave it to others to take care of things that they use just as much as anyone else. But ooh, let's not get me started on that one. The point is that I noticed our knives are disappearing. We used to have a lot. Today we had two. It's been kind of an issue with all of our silverware for the last few months.
Today it made me wonder whether people are hoarding them now that they've noticed our supply is shrinking, like the gas shortage in the 70's. I can just see people furtively hiding "their" knife in their desk drawers for future use. If only I'd used this method to remain in possession of my cool Starbucks mug, which disappeared after 1.5 weeks here in the office. And no one will fess up to stealing it, even though I know that's what happened.

Funky Tiddly-bits

I'm in a weird funk. I don't want to drink. I don't want to share. I want to stay at home and be domestic.
A Value Vet is opening in Hermitage. I'm excited about that. My dog smells like a$$. I'm not excited about that. It takes a while to pump up my enthusiasm for washing him. My boyfriend has pretty much never done it. When we got our dog, he smelled like chocolate. I have yet to find that delicious shampoo.
I'm pissed off about never having any money. I'm not poor, 'cause I survive, but one more car emergency could finish me. I don't shop for fun. I have a credit card debt that won't go away. When I budget my money for the week, there's barely any left for groceries. Getting paid on Friday and having $0 by Monday is not a common occurrence, it's the common occurrence. Where can I get more money? I need to get some more. Life is expensive. It takes money.
Argh. I'm a pirate. A slightly frustrated and pissed off one.

Mama Wants a Wii

So yeah. I have the Wii bug. I've only played it once, but I want one real bad. There's this cow racing game, where your little Mii sits on the back of a cow and you run down a little track. There are hurdles that you have to jump over and little scarecrows that you get points for hitting. We also played this fun fishing game and some kind of Brain Quest game that I was mucho good at. Tony and I were talking about how so many people like the Wii because it's the anti-video game. I have to kind of agree, because it does not require the traditional hand-eye coordination that most games need. Once they went 3D I pretty much lost all hope. Well, Wii is the game for me. And I will have one.
I also want this super-cool mirror that's hanging out at the Opry Mills mall in a store that I can't remember the name of to save my life. The mirror's kind of quirky and seems pretty one-of-a-kind. We still don't have anything on our walls, and it's the first thing I've seen that I really liked. I'm debating whether to purchase it or not. It costs slightly more than I want to pay for it. I'm wondering whether I'm allowed to haggle or not.
I won the $400 pot for our Super Bowl squares last week, and there was this entire list of things that I wanted to splurge on. But I ended up not getting any of the big ticket items that I wanted...so I guess that's what this blog is about. Other things I want:
-new clothes...lots of new clothes
-a new bathing suit
-teeth whitener
-photos and frames for my apartment walls
Ah...I suppose that's enough coveting for now.

Want, want, want.

Err

Our computer is on the fritz. We've ended up with some spyware or something on it. Or a virus. It's sad how little I understand this realm of computerworld. So anyway, I really wanted to get started with the Long Tall Sally and start being more prolific in the way of blogging, but it looks like it might not be until next week. I'll try to sneak some in during my lunch breaks, I guess.

Stepdad-isms

I don't know if this is standard, if it's something in the gene pool or generation pool or social pool that makes some more prone than others to adopting catch phrases, or if we've all got them, and we just don't notice them in ourselves.
I saw my stepdad this past holiday, and things have been swirling around in my head since then. He and my mom are now divorced, and she's remarried to DB#1, but since my stepdad is my brother's dad he's still around, and since I spent my formative years growing up with him, he'll always be my stepdad to me. If I'm talking about my parents in a collective sense, like, "My parents used to take us here," I mean my mom and stepdad. Any reference to parents as a unit would be describing them.
Anyway, I wander. Key exchanges from my childhood/adolescense:

Stepdad (after any clumsiness or erring): Smooth move, ex-lax.

Nichole: Gosh, my neck hurts.
Stepdad: Oh really, 'cause your face is killing me!

Stepdad: I'm so hungry, I'm seeing dead relatives.

Stepdad: Are you going to the movies?
Nichole: No.
Stepdad: Well, then why are you picking your seat?

Stepdad: Comet...
It tastes like Listerine.
Comet...
It makes your mouth turn green.
Comet...will make you vomit.
So buy some comet, and vomit today.

I think that there was another one about diahrea, cha cha cha. Oh yeah, and "Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot, the more you toot, the better you feel, so eat your beans at every meal."
Funny how things stick with you as you get older. What sticks with you and what falls away. These turns of phrase pop into my head at random times. I long to say, "Well, your face is killing me! Ha ha ha!" when someone complains of a sore back or something. Yet I refrain, for fear of being thought as silly as I once thought my stepdad. Now I realize that these are ingrained in my mind as part of my home life. My childhood. The life with my mother and stepdad before things took a turn or two for the worse and they became miserable together.
He came over to my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve...quite chatty, although the cause of that was quite evident based on the bobbing and weaving. He said, after a discussion of how the in-laws in our family are referred to as outlaws, how he's the only one who's still invited to family events after divorce, he pats my shoulder and says, "And this...this is still my favorite ex-daughter."
Priceless. Dysfunctional. And totally priceless.

Ruminations

The Holidays
Were good, but weird. Not entirely traditional. I am very happy to be home, I must say. Boom supremely enjoyed his vacation, I think. An entire week of kennel-free life, along with sprinting the entire expanse of my grandparents' three-ish acres, five dogs for the humping, and the opportunity to roll in something dead. I felt like the wicked witch this morning when I had to lock him up in his crate for his first nine-hour stint in a week and a half.
Benson's Market
It's this little mom & pop grocery down the road from us. The only place that I've ever been that offers cat food, potted meat, dishwashing liquid and diced tomatoes all in one aisle, with a view of the raw meat at the end. I always expect this great, hometown service when I go there, and I never get it. Never a warm smile, no small talk. Perhaps it's got something to do with my always running in there when they are about to close. Or maybe I'm hoping for too much. I sort of feel like it's a civic duty to go there and buy something, to help keep the little man in business. Maybe they don't appreciate the favor? Maybe I'll just go to WalMart then! So there.
New Year's Resolutions
I'm formulating them in my head. I haven't written them down yet. But I'm feeling really positive right now. I want to make some changes and stick to them. I know that's what everyone wants at this time of year, so I guess just lump me in with the masses. But I had my Y membership before January, so I'm at least still feeling confident about that. More to come on these later.