Now he’s going home to nail Boof

This is the first, and quite possibly only time I’ve ever posted about the NBA. The fact that I even saw part of an NBA game should be as shocking to you as it is to me, but I just finished watching something amazing.

Cleveland just beat Detroit in Game 5 in Triple Overtime 109-107. Lebron James scored 48 points in the game. Impressive, but my big playoff game standards it’s good, not magnificent. But get this. He scored the last 25 points for Cleveland, spanning the end of regulation and all three overtimes. Get that? He was the only person on his team to score in all three overtimes.

He hit threes under pressure. He drove to the basket. He even got a steal. Outside of Detroit, I can’t imagine that there was any one in the country watching this performance who wasn’t rooting for him to get this win. I was. And the fact that I was rooting for anyone to do anything in an NBA game is astounding.

I haven’t seen a performance like this since Scott Howard wolfed out and carried Chubbs and the gang to the championship. The only thing Lebron didn’t do was steal the ball from his teammates. I’m out of words here. That was amazing.

I used to just write “Have a good summer.”

Year books were handed out today, accompanied by the usual flurry by every student to have them signed by everyone. One of the 3rd grade boys was signing everyone’s yearbook in the following manner.

I hate Emily
  – Josh

He made it through about 4 or 5 yearbooks before the teacher saw this and (sadly I think) put an end to it.

I say good for him having convictions and being willing to put them in print.

JT

I’ve got a suggestion

Hillary is letting people vote on what her campaign song should be. Here’s the list.

This wasn’t on the list, but who can honestly say it shouldn’t be.

Rivalries never die

As a pulled into the parking lot this morning and parked my car I noticed the prominently displayed Purdue University window decal.

As I walked past the car I looked in the back window I saw about 10  Chicago’s Pizza delivery warmers. It makes me feel good to see Purdue grads reaching such high professional heights.

That’s Right Tom Cruise

This is either an allegory about how God created the world, then gave us all direct advice about what to do that we ignore without fail, or it’s a cartoon about gay unicorns. You be the judge.

Take that TV industry

This week was a big one for those of us who follow TV, and have an interest in such things. It was upfronts week. This is the week that each of the major network and both of the red headed step networks. Here are the things worth mentioning, at least to me.

1.) The CW is retarded.

There are many of you who only read that sentence and thought, "yeah? You’re just coming to this now? We knew this when we realized we weren’t Jr. High girls." But for someone who is a fan of the pretty-people-with-problems genre this is sad. The CW is of course the bastard amalgamation of  the UPN and WB networks. The networks who brought you Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Felicity. OK, those were all from the WB, except the last couple of seasons of Buffy. This week the CW canceled both Gilmore Girls (OK, seven seasons. I’m not gonna kvetch about this one, but I’ll miss it) and Veronica Mars. Canceling Veronica Mars is ridiculous. It’s one of the few network shows that had quality writing, interesting characters, and inventive story lines, so of course it had to go. It is being replaced by these new shows. Yet, another season of Beauty and the Geek, The Pussycat Dolls Present, Farmer Wants a Wife, a reality show about a farmer finding a woman, and America’s Next Top model, and AN ENCORE PRESENTATION OF AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL!!!! Dear God, they’re canceling really good scripted show and keeping on the air 4 vapid, brain dead reality shows. I find myself wishing the Vinnie Delpino got that job as a network programmer that he always wanted. It was after all his idea to put Rocky on after a Ronald Reagan press conference. He’d stand up for VM.

2.) This is an idea 20 years too late

ABC is putting a show on Tuesday nights based on the fucking caveman Geiko commercials. The thing that bugs me the most about this. What commercials could have been made into hit TV shows?

A Where’s the Beef show. It could have been a mystery about a woman who goes around solving beef related crimes. I’ve seen the dialogue on any CSI show. It couldn’t be worse than all of their act breaks.

A I’m not Herb show. A show about an amnesiac who spends all of his time trying to regain his memory and learn who he really is, all the while denying that he is Herb.

Those two guys from Bartles and James stumbling around old and drunk on wine coolers, but very very polite.

A summer camp show based on the McDonald’s commercial where the kid writes home to the tune of  "Hello Mother, Hello Father"

Those Wasssup guys. I’m sure their lives are interesting. Maybe they own the budweiser frogs.

Mr. Whimples fighting off numerous sexual harrassment lawsuits as his need to squeeze things finally gets the better of him and he begins to squeeze the asses of female shoppers.

Maybe a Ring Around the Color thing. I don’t know. Sweaty people can be funny.

I guess my point here is, this has got to be one of the worst ideas for a television show ever. ABC, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

3.) This isn’t about upfronts but National Bingo Night premiered tonight. I forgot to watch, but this idea is just about as good as the Caveman thing.

I’ve run out of steam after the Caveman thing, but there are so many awful shows on TV now. It’s a shame they can’t keep the one or two good ones they’ve managed to put on.

I have smote the TV industry with my wrath. Everyone can now sit back and watch it change. I am blogger. I have power.

And the Silver Sow goes to

I’m not sure I’ve ever come on here and said, go buy something, or at least put it on your Netflix, but this needs to be said.

I would imagine that most of you who read this have some memory of this show, but for those who don’t. WKRP in Cincinnati Season 1 has finally come out on DVD. This is perhaps one of the greatest sitcoms ever. It’s one of the few that you can watch today and still laugh at. All in the Family, Seinfeld, Cheers, The Simpsons, Southpark and WKRP. That may be it. If I’m missing one, please let me know, but for consistency, that may be the list.

The hold up on this DVD has been getting the rights to the music that was in the show. When this show was first aired no one thought to get the rights to sell these songs as part of the show in a format like DVD, so getting that all worked out has been something of a chore, and from what I gather, they mostly just had to give up on it and replace the music. I haven’t seen the new DVDs so I hope it doesn’t ruin the experience, but the music isn’t what stands out to me. It’s the characters.

Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson, general manager of the radio station. Horrible at his job and only in it because his mom owns the station. A much less scary Michael Powell.

Herb Tarlek, the sleavy sales manager in the plaid jacket, who wants nothing more than to bang the receptionist.

Jennifer Marlowe, the hot receptionist, who happens to be the highest paid employee in the company.

Less Nessman, newsman, with a bandaid and a dream. To have walls.

Dr. Johnny Fever, the drive time DJ brought in after he was fired from another station for being vulgar.

Bailey Quarters, Mary Anne to Jennifer’s Ginger

Venus Flytrap, overnight soul brotha, way too smooth for the rest of these jokers.

and Randy Travis, the Program director brought in to try and run this mess.

It’s a fantastic collection of characters in a great setting. Do yourself a favor, if you remember it or have never seen it, go get it. Watch it. Love it.

Oh, yeah, fellow babies. BOOGER!

Don’t Blame Me. I voted for Steve Sanders

Our long national nightmare has ended. I am no longer watching Dancing with the Stars. After tonight’s show, where Ian Ziering was one of the low level stars getting it done on the dance floor.  Well, Ian pulled out his Elvis impression, made famous in the episode where the gang flew to Vegas to stop Brenda from marrying Stewart (they stopped her, in case you were wondering) but it wasn’t enough to beat the other three "stars" left. I watched this show the whole season. It’s pretty damn near unwatchable. If not for the DVR and my fast forward button I don’t think I could have done it. It’s just not that interesting.

I was in it 100% for the 90210 factor, which doesn’t make me any less pathetic, I realize this, but I own my own OKness. We’ve been over this and over this. I’m OK, you’re OK. That there’s what it is. This circle is me. I won’t be sent into a shame spiral. I am a human being, not a human doing, or vice versa, I can’t remember which is the good one. And WE LIKE ROY!

Anyway, I voted last night. I used my 5 total votes. All for Steve Sanders with a cap on. All for naught, and all for love.

What makes me the saddest about this whole thing (aside from watching Billy Ray Cyrus dance) is that I fear this is the last we may ever see of Ian Ziering on television. I hope not. I hope he gets the post primary bump from this and gets a pilot or at least some guest starring role in whatever piece of shit Jason Preistley gets cast in next, but this may be it for this star that hath shone so brightly, if ever so briefly.

So that may be it for Ian. It’s certainly it for me and Dancing with the Stars. That is until Tim Reid, or Bronson Pinchot end up in next year’s show. I’d go out and buy whatever they were advertising to see Bronson Pinchot work in the Balki dance into the Cha Cha Cha, or the waltz.

I was just there to get directions for how to get away from there

Yesterday I had a student who was absent. At lunch he comes riding up on his bike to the playground and I said,
"Mulder [for the purposes of anonymity all of my male students are named Mulder and all of my female students are Scully], I thought you were sick today. What are you doing here?
Mulder: "I just wanted to come and tell you why I couldn’t be at school today. We were at first communion parties until really late so I couldn’t come today.
Me: "But you came here to tell me that. Why didn’t you just put your uniform on and come to school?" You clearly could make it here, because you are here."

At this point a very glazed and blank expression spread across Mulder’s face. I asked him about it again this morning. I’m still not sure he gets it.

I’m going to talk to the English teacher about introducing them to irony later today.

I wish I had more days like these

Today I took 5th graders into the computer lab to learn about the database biography resource center.  Each student had their own important figure in the arts, sciences, history, or politics.  When I went over to one girl getting frustrated why she couldn’t find any information on her individual, I noticed that she typed in Yo-yo mama instead of Yo-yo ma.  From that point on every time I saw a picture of the famed musician, I couldn’t help but bust out laughing.  Another girl did another funny move but not funnier than Yo-yo mama when she typed in her own name in the search box.  Now, who hasn’t tried experimenting to see if you are listed among famous figures, but when you honestly don’t get the premise of the assignment, well, thats another story.  If I had more moments like this I wouldn’t feel so burned out every week.

Laura