Reality TV....

Normally, I HATE reality shows. I mean, I liked them back in high school (like the Real World), which is probably part of why I hate them now. I like to think my taste is much more dignified and I have moved on to finer things.

Editor's sidenote: Anyone else remember the Real World New Orleans - the season with Julie, Matt, Jamie, Kelley, etc.?! That was quite possibly the best season I ever caught. What are they all up to now? I think I once saw the uber-hot gay guy in a spot on Dawson's Creek. I believe I read somewhere the Julie was supposed to be on September 11th's United 93 flight, but I'm not really sure. I would sacrifice all dignity and reservations about the real world to watch a reunion of this season's cast. Sigh. Anyhow. MTV, for a stupid as it might be at times, was really quite possibly ahead of the curve on the reality TV phenomenon.

Ok. So there are two reality shows that I absolutely LOVE....Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. I feel inspired when I watch SYTYCD, cause, quite frankly, I think I can dance. Anyhow -the new season starts tonight. I can't wait. There's always something good. I mean, sometimes Mia is being a bitch and Nigel's hair is a little out of control (well, that, and if you can get past the fact that Nigel doesn't really have a dance background like the other judges), but it's really some great TV out there.

My favorite dancer on the show is still Allison Holker from season 2 - I was SO MAD when she left the show before her time. GRR. I'm over it. I think. Almost. Well, it takes me a long time to get over things. She was in High School Musical. I wonder where she is now....maybe hanging out with the cast of the Real World New Orleans. Hmm.

It's Been a While Since the Last Book Review....

So I recently finished the book "Dear Zoe" by Philip Beard - it only took me four days. In a word, excellent.

It is very brief and to the point (only a little under 200 pages). It was actually written by a man from the perspective of a teenage girl (although it was more from the perspective of a human than a woman, per se). I think he did a very good job - he didn't go in-depth on the trials and tribulations of being an adolescent woman but moreso on the struggle of her and her family after losing the youngest sister on 9/11/01 in a separate accident.

Anyhow, in a short period of time, he really crafted some interesting and highly believeable characters. I don't really know how to describe how he did it so well all that well, but he just did. It was fiction but not boring, predictable, generic, or over-dramatic. And it appears as though most everyone on amazon.com agrees with me.

Anyhow, kind of embarrassing. I am NOT an emotional person. I honestly cannot remember ever crying at a book or movie (Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, or any of the other traditional tearjerkers didn't do it for me). In fact, normally these types that try too hard to go for the emotional factor just make me want to groan and roll my eyes. However, something about this book got to me.

Not a big deal, ONLY I was reading it on the el while packed in like a sardine ON THE WAY TO WORK. I was, for a moment, one of THOSE GIRLS. I'm sure the people around me wondered what had happened to me this morning (if they read the book, they might understand). Em, THIS is why they make waterproof mascara. Anyhow, I get to work before almost everyone else I work with, so I was able to do enough damage control in the necessary amount of time. Crisis averted.

In fact, I'm going to have to cut this post short because I'm writing it in a public place right now - work - and thinking about this book is starting to get to me again.

Anyhow. Move along, nothing to see here.

Remembering....

I cannot believe yesterday was the seven year anniversary.  It is most definitely the most universal event of my generation's lifetime; the one moment we all remember exactly where we were when we heard the news.   

I wish nothing but the best for the those who were, in some way, directly affected by this event through a family member or themselves.   

I hope for America, as a whole, as a family, that we have in some way completely recovered and survived.  There is some statistic that states the likelihood of parents divorcing after the loss of a child being something around 50%.  Some would argue that a bond strong enough will survive anything; alas, all bonds are human, all bonds are imperfect and therefore susceptible to faltering.

Are we really where we were before the attack?  Are we on the same track we would be?  Are we afraid to admit we are not?  Step one is admitting you have a problem; however, admitting a loss at the hands of your worst enemies seems to be a sign of weakness and defeat.  What is the healing process from something so unfathomable?  Have we, as America, fully recovered?  Could we admit it if we didn't?  Do we need to? 

So many thoughts - it could fill an endless amount of history books.  And it will.