The Grandfathers of Pop Culture

Some people have TV boyfriends, but I have a list of people in pop culture who I wish were in my family. When my grandpa died in my toddler years, I tried to cheer my grandma up by suggesting she marry Mr. Rogers. (Soon afterwards, my plan was ruined when I realized he was married. Thanks, Mrs. Rogers.) Today, I'm discussing the reasons I love the grandfather types on my list.

1. Steve Martin - Oh, Steve. His Twitter posts are so delightful, they almost make me not despise Twitter. (That's impressive.) The Jerk is one of my most-watched films. Everything he does is hilarious.

2. Roger Ebert - It really concerns me that Ebert is so ill. When it comes to film reviews, I trust no one... except him. His negative reviews are often his best - he's not afraid to point out every ridiculous moment in a bad film.

3. Steve Jobs - To paraphrase Fake Steve: He invented the frigging iPhone. Have you heard of it? Steve Jobs makes my technological world go round. He's kind of a jerk, and I love him.

P.S. Thanks for taking that calligraphy class in college, Steve - OS X fonts are the greatest.

4. Bob McGrath - Bob from Sesame Street taught me about the people in my neighborhood, and how one of these things is not like the others. I hope he continues to hang out on Sesame Street for a very long time.

5. Ringo Starr - He's not the prettiest Beatle. He's not the most talented Beatle. He's not the most successful Beatle, either. He IS my favorite Beatle. Look at his honking cute nose! It's Muppet-like! His harmonica skills are underrated, too.

6. Carroll Spinney - The Muppeteer behind Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird gets my vote, because he's not obnoxiously happy 100% of the time. There may or may not be other, irritating Muppeteers like that... I can't imagine how Sesame Street will replace him.

7. John Cleese - See here.

Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc - $7.00

"Wine is to be enjoyed, not critiqued." I received this advice from a wonderful man, possibly the owner, of a Belmont Beverage on a recent adventure to branch out into Sauvignon Blanc. Indeed, my friend, it is. But I hope you were not insinuating that I am snobby or cliche. I am really just trying to figure out what I like and how to describe it. Except for "chewy". I don't understand the usage of that word yet.

Now that my obligatory moment of near-crippling insecurity is out of the way, I hope to make a regular feature out of my quest. You see, sometimes librarians need to indulge themselves. And I decided that wine, though it sometimes mixes badly with my antacids and Benadryl, is going to be my indulgence. You know, along with all the food I eat and the television I become fanatically obsessed with.

Tonight's selection comes from Chile. I decided that to honor both the Chilean miners and the $7 price tag, I would try Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc. I normally like reds, but this is a crisp, clean divergence from my routine. It has peachy hints of tangerine, and it's not too sweet or dry. I would definitely try it again, and I will probably try Terra Andina's reds as well. Num, num. I am on my third glass, so it's probably great that my computer is set to spell check automatically.

Cheers.

TV Couples

If I actually calculated the amount of time that I spend thinking about television...well, there is a reason I have not done that. It would just be a ridiculous amount of time. I mean, well-functioning members of society could accomplish major goals in the time I spend thinking about television. Don't get me wrong, I am totally okay with this...I just know it's not exactly something to brag about in many social circles. Anyhoo, I have looked at some TV Couple top ten lists, and I do not agree with a LOT of them. It's downright enraging. So, I decided to come up with my own. There is also a blogger out there in the blogosphere that does top eleven lists, "because top ten lists are for cowards". I like this blogger, so I am following in that example.

1. Homer and Marge

I don't even really know how to start explaining the wonder that is Homer and Marge. I mean, their marriage has lasted for 20 years. Sure, they are cartoons and sure time is a little more fluid on The Simpsons. But, after everything they've been through, they still love each other and their family before all else. Maybe even doughnuts. If you want a glimpse of how truly touching their union is, just watch The Simpsons movie and try not to shed a tear. I dare you.

2. Mulder and Scully

Okay, Mulder and Scully are one of my absolutely favorite TV couples for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason being, they aren't terribly romantic. I mean for most of the series, there was sexual tension and adorably charming flirting, but they were partners. They had each other's back and respected each other. Ahh, respect.

3. Buffy and Angel

As far as I am concerned, Bella and Edward can suck it. That is a different issue, but I just wanted to get it out there. She is a slayer and he is a vampire with a soul. As Giles pointed out the whole situation was, "rather poetic...in a maudlin sort of way." Their story didn't stop there. Nope. [SPOILER ALERT] In a moment of pure happiness, Angel loses his soul. Angelus is no sparkly vamp. We are talking evil. This couple survived that, a spin-off series, temporal folds, stupid Riley, and more than a few resurrections. Also, they fought along side each other...again with that respect thing.

Soul crushing moment, right there. Thanks, Joss.

4. Desmond and Penny

Okay, so there is this thing called a constant... Okay, it's kind of hard to explain. Just trust me, they are amazing. AND, they named their son Charlie after our favorite, fictitious rock star. It was just the cutest namesake ever.

5. Sam and Diane

Ah, the 80's. They were both at that special bar where everyone knew your name...and just loathing each other. She was pretentious, independent, and really uppity. He was low-brow, sleazy, and a womanizer. It was the classic opposites attract scenario and it definitely worked. They were on again, off again for the first five seasons of the show. Then Shelley Long became too good for television and made classic films like Troop Beverly Hills. Regardless, Sam telling Diane to have a good life as she leaves Cheers gets me every time.

6. Jim and Pam

In an office full of insanity and awkward shenanigans, Jim and Pam are normal. They are kind, fun, and just so freaking cute that they make you want to choke. Cynical viewers all over hated themselves for how much they loved Jim and Pam. I personally think The Office deserves major props for not making them a, "happily ever after" kind of couple. Well done.

7. Dan and Roseanne

Okay, we are not counting the ninth season because...well, why would we? They were a family...a dysfunctional family, sure, but an awesome, hilarious family.

8. Lucy and Ricky

Lucy and Ricky Ricardo were the first  biracial couple on television! Yay, trivia. She wanted to be in the show, but she had no talent. Ricky said she couldn't be in the show, so Lucy said whatever and did what she had to do. Because this was the 50's, this was awesome. Even though the "real-life" marriage of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball didn't work out, they remained very close. I know this because I watched the PBS special about I Love Lucy. Do NOT watch this special unless you want to cry like a newborn with colic.

9. Lynette and Tom

Tom and Lynette are the only couple on Wisteria Lane to not break-up at one point (knock-on-metaphorical-wood). That is pretty impressive over seven years of insanity, lies, and total deceit. They love and respect each other...and procreate all the time. They are also very real and hilarious because of it. I definitely love Team Scavo, so Marc Cherry better leave them alone...or it will kill me.  

10. Ross and Rachel

Ross and Rachel are not my favorite couple on Friends. I mean, if I were to pick a favorite, it would be Joey and Chandler. However, they were the Sam and Diane of the 90's. He was stuffy and she was flighty. Were the on a break of not? Even though they weren't my favorite couple, I found myself rooting for them in the end. Well done, writers!

11. Agent Dale Cooper and his cup of damn, fine coffee.

This Twin Peaks love affair was true and undying...maybe with a little pie on the side.

Honorable Mentions:

Sayid and Shannon

Okay, so yes Sayid loved Nadia and they were married. But, let's get some perspective here people. In life, you often love more than one person and that is also true on cosmic, metaphysical islands. Sayid was a former torturer and Shannon was self involved and materialistic. However, they saw each other for who they were and became the people they wanted to be as a couple.  [SPOILER ALERT] Shannon's death was also the death of Sayid's hope. It's true, the LOST Encyclopedia said so!

Xander and Anya

I can't even explain how much I love them. Just watch them and you will see how great they are.

Matt Albie and Danny Tripp

They were the amazingly cute writer/producer team. They loved and looked after each other through drugs and soul-crushing break-ups. It's too bad no one ever saw it because NBC ripped it mercilessly off of the air causing me to hate them forever.

George Michael and Maebe Funke

 

"You can't touch your cousin! I mean my cousin!"

LOST Book Club: The Beginning of the End

Okay, so we have talked about starting our own recreational LOST Book Club for a while. Now that the show is over and I have a giant void in my life, I think now would be a good time to get things started. What do you all think? Of course you don't have to participate or anything, but it could be delightful and also a great excuse to eat LOST themed food again...or just to eat. Who doesn't want to eat? For everyone who wants to particpate, we have some fun decisions to make. Mostly, what kind of system do we want to have? These are all of the literary works that, in some way, have something to do with LOST. Thanks, Lostpedia! ABC.com also had their own book club that we can use as a reference or something, if we want. As you can see, I may have borrowed their logo a bit. We definitely won't be reading all of the books on these lists. I mean there are a lot of them, and personally, I am not really all jazzed about the idea of  reading Moby Dick again. So...how do we want to handle this? What do we want to read? How should we pick? Let's just throw some ideas around and see what we come up with, eh?  Don't worry, you won't get kicked out of this book club!

TV Confession

I've majorly denied it for a while...but Modern Family is growing on me. I'd even say I like it. When early reviews of the show called it "the new Arrested Development," hating it forever out of bitterness and loyalty to the Bluths seemed like a completely rational option.

Enter the iPad. When I learned there was an episode ("Game Changer") centered entirely around a character's quest to become an early adopter of the product, I couldn't not watch. I laughed, assumed that the only reason the episode was funny was because of the Apple jokes, and set the show aside, planning never to return.

As much as I tried not to, I kept catching bits and pieces of episodes here and there, and kind of enjoying it. The half-hearted, secretive viewing cycle continued until this season started. The season premiere was highly entertaining, and I have officially decided to stop complaining about the "next Arrested Development" and become a regular viewer. Guess what? It's NOT even close to the genius of Arrested Development (TV critics - don't call it that!), but it definitely beats most sitcoms currently on the air. The writing is good, the characters are hilarious, and it hasn't been cancelled yet - way to go. They need to ditch those cheesy voiceovers at the end of most episodes...but even with that, I'll take Modern Family over Cougar Town and similar useless sitcoms any day.

Also, if you actually watch Cougar Town, could you please explain why? Just curious.

Top Ten: Songs That Drive Me to Tears Edition

1. Tori Amos - 1000 Oceans

2. Sarah McLachlan - Prayer of Saint Francis

3. Judy Collins's version - Bird on a Wire

4. Neil Young - Philadelphia

5. Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna

6. Pretty Much Anything Michael Giacchino wrote for Lost

7. Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl

8. Bright Eyes - Let's Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and to be Loved)

9. Nelly Furtado - Like a Bird

10. Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City

There's plenty more, but why push it?

I Was Wrong

That's not a huge shocking statement or anything; I'm not The Fonz or anything. However, when it comes to television characters, I rarely change my initial opinion. If I wanted to be pun-y, I could say I have a good judge of character. However, I was wrong when it comes to three specific characters, and I feel the need to own up to it, so here goes.

(WARNING: Spoilers Below)

Jack

When it comes to being wrong about characters, Jack is definitely the first that comes to mind. Mindy, I promise I'm not just saying that! When I first started watching LOST, I often found myself getting frustrated with Jack...always not wanting to push the button and being all paternal towards Kate. But then, LOST did something fairly epic. They made their characters human. By human, I mean they showcased the greatest and worst parts of humanity. The transformation of Jack as a character through the series was just amazing. I started having a change of heart in Season 4, and by the time The End rolled around, I was really surprised to remember how I felt about him at the beginning. I'm sorry, Jack. I'm also sorry, Mindy.

Jack also perfected Island stubble.

Kate

Oh, Kate. How little I cared about you. At the very beginning, I was intrigued. She was a fugitive on the run? Awesome. Then, she was the romantic lead. Is she better with Jack? Is she better with Sawyer? While I loved that she punched rather than slapped, I just found myself not caring about relationship Kate. She had so much promise to just be...the love triangle lady. Then came the final season. Suddenly, she wasn't about being with Jack or Sawyer, she was about finding Claire. She had a purpose, and it didn't involve a Y chromosome! She also took out Flocke. Awesome.

Faith

Moving away from LOST, my last unjustly judged character is undoubtedly Faith. When she slayed her way on to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", I was all, "Who are you, and what is this 'five by five' nonsense?!" Then she was all shooting poisonous, vampire-killing arrows at soulful vampires, and I was just done with her. I was okay with coma-Faith appearing in a few prophetic dreams, but I wasn't looking forward to her inevitable return or anything. Then, Riley happened. I was continually hoping that Riley would be eaten by a demon...or even better, that he would just leave on a Parker-esque note. Once Faith came back, my hatred of Riley made me see that she wasn't so bad. Then, her character transformation in "Angel" sealed it. Faith was an okay slayer in my book. By the time she returned in Season 7, I was actually happy to see her! As, long as she didn't bring Riley...

Jamie's Nerdy Adventure in Cult Television

This will come as a major shock to everyone, I know, but I love television. I love it in a completely dependent, sad kind of way. I may not care that much about this "real life" that everyone is so obsessed with, but I do care about television. These feelings are intense, and while some might label them as "pathetic" I prefer to thinking of it as love. It's super healthy, I know. It's not just that I love watching television, but when I love it, I have to know everything about it. It's not as though all of the earth's oceans will dry up if I don't, but I really feel a nice level of satisfaction when I do know everything about it. This is especially true when it comes to cult television. All cult television viewers know the inevitable angst and heartache of watching a "cult classic". You know that the likelihood of a show's life being snuffed out at the hands of greed-centric grim reapers, otherwise known as network execs, is pretty high. Since I haven't said this in the last twelve hours, I should take this moment to say that I will never forgive NBC for killing Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip after it's inaugural season. I digress, there is something absolutely enthralling about cult television and the amount of dedication given to it by its followers. To have a television show that goes as far as musically scoring themes for its characters or including overarching literary themes to correspond with the unfolding plot stands far above the average sitcom. I have definitely loved many a sitcom over the years, but it doesn't influence my life in the same way. I mean, I love a good mushroom Swiss burger, a lot, but I never think of it the same way as I recall the first time I had pumpkin soup. Food obsessions are an entirely different story, though. My point here is that I love, appreciate, and swoon over cult television. This is why I am making it a goal to learn as much about it as I possibly can. Because I will explode with epic amounts of nerdoplasm if I don't share my newly gained information, I am going to share it here. I am both very excited and very sorry to unleash this all your way, Co-brarians.

Listless Listing

The title may be misleading. I am intensely interested in a lot of things; I just tend to get distracted or discouraged easily. Easily enough to say that I actually do lack interest. I always have enough interest to make lists, though.

I list the things I want to learn to do: play piano, knit, sew, grow things, and so on. I list the things I need to do to lose weight: um, exercise, eat less (especially less delicious, delicious cheese), try this diet, try that diet, and so on. I was quite disturbed to realize that one commonality among each new obsession/interest was the necessity to consume. I will need healthy groceries, new shoes, seeds, yarn, and of course, instructional materials. When I lose interest from lack of time, lack of talent, or whatever, I need to find something new complete with a list of things I need. My lists always end up as shopping lists.

This summer, I vowed to learn to use my Simplicity Fashion Pro sewing machine that has been sheltering spiders in the basement for years. It would have been a perfect way to break the cycle of picking up hobbies as an excuse to consume. I cleaned up the machine and toted it up to my over-flowing bedroom/creativity station. Oh, what fun! I had to clean and organize to find room for the machine, and I did this to a great soundtrack. I already have plenty of thread and old cloths to tear up and practice with, so this was going to be great.

After I succeeded, after three tries, to wind the bobbin, I attempted to load the bobbin case. Only, there wasn't a bobbin case. Anywhere. I ended up having to order one from E-bay. I thought I wouldn't have to buy anything until I needed material.

I have always wanted to be more crafty. I need something to do, and why not do something with a tangible end result? I hope to have my bobbin case by next week. In the meantime, I plan to make use of the sock yarn I have.

Sometimes I think I make these involved realizations about my personality that may actually be exaggerations of character traits that I find repulsive, but do not really describe me wholly. I think over-consuming is icky, okay? I really, really hope I am not too guilty of it. I do like to shop for certain things. I do not conserve as much as I could. I recycle, but my commitment pretty much ends there. I need to find consistency in something that I do moderately. I need to maybe wake up early and do sit-ups instead of morphing into Jillian Michaels. I need to eat less and make healthier choices without totally changing my diet. I need to just relax and knit a damn sock without going all Little House. Maybe that's the self-discovery.

Top Ten: Driving Music Edition

We all compile the soundtracks for our lives. I have mental playlists for cleaning, cooking, exercising (seriously), showering, pondering, and you get the idea.

These are the top ten musicians and artists who automatically get cranked up when I drive alone. Don't judge me.

10. Journey

9. Pink (Yeah, I know.)

8. Genesis or Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins (They're the same, right?)

7. Guitar-based singer/songwriters

6. Radiohead

5. Back Sabbath

4. Anything Motown

3.Bruce Springsteen

2. Piano-based singer/song-writers

1.Bob Dylan

What about you?

Out of the Mouths of Librarians

Let's face it, we say some entertaining things. We, of course, being librarians. There is something deliciously hilarious about servicing the masses. Perhaps the hilarity comes from what servicing the masses does to our brains. Either way, we are pretty funny sometimes. That is why I am going to start cataloging the quotable quotes (to the people who make those fun mugs and notebooks, I mean no copyright infringement in saying those two words together).

Darcy: I mean...I'll drink anything.

Darcy: "I hate when people use "I" instead of "Me" because they think it's correct. Me hates that."

Jamie: I don't know that I LOVE Sawyer, but I definitely like him better than Jack. Jack is stupid.
Katelyn: You know I don't know who any of these people are, right?
Jamie: I don't care, Katelyn.

Jamie: I just dropped a bagel...
Mary: Well, do you want it?

Mary: He's pretty snarky... you know, for a pigeon.

Jamie:Why is AT&T mad at you?
Sadie: Because I filed a complaint with the FCC. The rural broadband initiative website that the government created told me to

Now, I don't have a direct quote from Mindy, but that is not because of any lack of humor. She just isn't here right now and I don't have anything she has said written down. Mindy is very hilarious, though...especially when Nathan Fillion is involved.