TGIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God It's Xanax!!!!!!!!!!

My better half, the Crotchety Old Lady is extra cranky in the morning, and lately, has been really cranky all day long.

She has been going through a lot of personal strife and she has been letting it get to her. (imagine living with me every day--and I'm one of the bright spots lol) So, after all these many days of sadness, she has gone to see her doctor. He believes that she is beginning to get depressed. And he prescribed Xanax for her.

What a change it has made in her life!!! No longer is she a cranky wench in the morning. She has actually smiled in the morning for the first time since I met her. She still has many issues to deal with on a daily basis, but at least she is able to cope with them. We both are against medication unless absolutely necessary, but we are pretty glad that she made this choice.

It has been suggested (by her and anyone who knows me) that I would benefit from some drug therapy, but for now, I'm going to resist.

I already have such a sunny disposition and optimistic outlook, why mess with it? I wish I had a font for sarcasm.

Putting my usual real world outlook of impending doom and suicidal tendencies aside, I do intend to look into this medication for myself. I guess I'm just afraid I'll turn into a grinning idiot instead of the somber idiot that I usually am.

Little People, Big World

This show is on TLC (The Learning Channel.) I'm not sure when it is on, but like most shows on cable, each episode is repeated endlessly. So, if you miss one, not to worry, it will be on 6 more times in the next month. The family featured in this reality show (yeah, I'm addicted to the genre) is the Roloffs. Dad, Matt, and Mom, Amy, are two little people who married and started a family. They have 4 kids. Three are average while one of the twins has the dwarfism gene. Each show features some of the challenges faced by little people (Matt also has a disability) but the best part is that it shows family interplay that has nothing to do with the size of their bodies. One recent double episode featured the family trip to Hawaii. Matt, who is driven to guide his kids to have the best possible childhood squeezed in a month's worth of fun and activity into a week or so. The family took a zip line trip, scuba dived, surfed and went shopping. I was exhausted just watching them. Matt had a very limited childhood due to his various illnesses and his physical limitations. He is trying to ensure that his kids have no such limitations. He also wants to be sure that they never miss an opportunity to try new things. The shows are very fun yet thought-provoking. I rate this show a very solid 6. http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/lpbw/lpbw.html

Gene Simmons Family Jewels

I've seen a bunch of episodes. Celebreality is not my favorite thing. I never tune in, it is usually the Crotchety Old Lady who turns on the channel. But, once it is on, I just can't turn away. I'm not sure whether it is the numerous beautiful women (especially Shannon Tweed, Gene's long-time lover and mother to his 2 kids) or the fact that Gene Simmons is funny. Not in the sense of a comic funny, but that he is just goofy. I meant that as a compliment. He's like a buddy you would like to hang out with. He is always up to something, and mixes in a lot of fun. Gene is involved with a million (at last count) business ventures. In a way, he is like Ralph Kramden, assuming Ralph was an 80's rock god.The episode I saw last featured Gene's newest venture--the launch of "Gene Simmons Bikini Car Wash." What's not to like? Beautiful women in bikinis washing cars. I want my own franchise. But I digress. The show is just plain entertaining. His two kids are absolutely wonderful. They are both well aware of the camera and love to make fun of their dad. Usually, you sense that they really do care about him. They know that Gene isn't the average dad.And Gene throws money around. One episode, he went to a spa with Shannon. It was a health based exercise, and not what he thought it was going to be. Almost no food, no TV, no fun, and he slept in a seperate room from Shannon. Naturally, he heavily bribed a staff member to bring him junk food and a TV from outside the compound.Of course, Shannon caught him, so some of the hi-jinks appear to be rather contrived.Gene's office is featured very prominently in many episodes. The office is in his palatial home and he has on display tons of Kiss items. While some of it is real memorabilia, most of it is Kiss Dolls, comics, and all the assorted crap licensed by Kiss. Gene's family is great, and the behind the scenes glance at this marketing maven is interesting (no one word will really do justice and convey the feeling) I'm going to rate this show a very solid 7.69.

The Soup

This show on E has been the launching pad for stars. Greg Kinnear was the old host years ago when it was called "Talk Soup." Today it is hosted by Joel McHale and just called the Soup. The show is a wrap-up of all the goofy moments from shows on many different channels. The best (worst?) of reality shows in less than 5 minutes. All those hours and hours of daytime talk shows that no one can sit through? You get the best in about 3 minutes. It is 22 minutes of funny clips with some very short skits done by the show's writers.
I consider it can't miss TV.
I rate it very highly, a very solid 8.

Stupid Yankees

Less than 24 hours after the biggest sports debacle in recent Yankees history, I sit here and still try to figure out what happened.
I can understand them getting beaten. In a short series, anything can happen. Look at the red-hot Twins getting knocked out in 3 games. Never expected that. Who would have? Espcially considering the A's were pretty much off the radar all year long. Few, if any, even thought of them as a post season force. And the Cardinals, who were all but given up for dead just a few weeks ago, can clinch today. Pretty much unexpected.
But, never in a million years would I have predicted that the Yankees got beaten the way they did. They scored in just 3 innings in the last 27+. Damon hit a 3 run blast for all the offense against Kenny Rogers.
Kenny Rogers? The nearly washed-up old man, who hasn't beaten the Yankees since 1993.

Then they were shut out by a rookie.
And, the biggest humiliation of all was the final game., Another rookie shut them down. I saw the veteran team, the guys who were part of the greatest offense ever assembled, looking like an overmatched group of Sunday afternoon beer leaguers.
Maybe they could have taken a pitch? Just a thought.
Bonderman pitched a 7 pitch 1st inning. And he was into the 5th having thrown less than 50 pitches. May have been less than 40, even.
What the hell was up with this team? And Williams, Sheffield (twice, last I looked) struck out on pitches that were at least a foot out of the strike zone. Hell, Williams needed a friggin golf club to hit the one he struck out on. And Sheffield would have missed if he had a friggin tennis racket.

Should I shred my A-Rod Jersey, or just burn it? Or should I do both?

Antiques Roadshow

PBS is the little channel that could. In between the many beg-a-thons, some decent programming takes place. I'm a big fan of the Britcoms, particularly the older ones like Fawlty Towers. But they have to provide many hours of programming, so, this show comes on. The crew of expert antique appraisers show up in a town and every booger eating moron within hailing distance shows up with some stuff they have had in their attic since Truman was President. The appraisers then, well, give an appraisal. It is interesting to learn about all the stuff, but it just pisses me off at the reaction the people have.
For example, some yahoo shows up with some original artwork done by Grandma Moses. His family bought it many years ago from Grandma herself. Probably paid about 10 bucks. The appraiser gives an estimate of 5 or 6 figures and Goober is so surprised. What friggin rock was Goober living under so that he had no idea an original piece of artwork by a reknowned artist would be worth mega-bucks? And worse yet, why did he wait for Antiques Roadshow to arrive? If I had a major piece of artwork, I sure as hell would have at least been aware of its incredible value.
I'll have to give this show 2 seperate ratings.
It gets an 8 for educational purposes. But, for the incredibly dumb reactions from the yahoos, it gets a 5.
Overall, it would be a 6.5.

A quick review of my ratings system:
10--a prime show. The Sopranos or 24 would rate a 10.
9-- definately worth watching. Think South Park or Seinfeld re-runs. Not as funny as the first time, but still great TV fare.
8-- Pretty darn good stuff. If you can't be home, you'd consider setting up the VCR. Some solid 8's would be Earl, or Everybody Hates Chris.
7-- Not quite good enough to tape. But you can look forward to watching. The Office is the first show that comes to mind as a 7.
6-- Now we get into the shows that are ok, but only a first choice if other shows are re-runs. You won't mind watching a 6 at a different time. Britcoms are 6's.
5-- Think of a movie you liked, but have seen a dozen times or more. You'd choose the movie over the program, then the program is a 5. Mash and almost everything on TVLAND has become a 5.
4-- Crappy show, but with some redeeming quality, like it features hot chicks. Any show with Pam Anderson would be a 4.
3-- Only worth watching if the only alternative is infommercials. Fishing shows are 3.
2-- About the same as a good infommercial. QVC is a 2.
1-- Infommercials, unless they are The Knife Collector Show. They sell swords!