The General Public . . .

I know that television networks base their shows contracts on viewers' preferences. The more people who click in, the more rave reviews and recognition a TV show and its cast receives, the better the chances are that the show will continue on for seasons to come.

Examples: Desperate Housewives, ER, Friends. Shows that the public have gone absolutely nuts over. And the seasons kept on rolling on out. Or keep on going, in Desperate Housewives' case. But what is the deal with the newer shows, or am I just now noticing the trend?

The sex/drugs combo sells, and it seems that lately, it has been selling quite well. Nip/Tuck, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, even a newer show where a rich family has its own dirty laundry of sex and drugs that is probably going to enjoy a long spot on its network all seem to have people tuning in religiously (or Tivo-ing, in more and more cases).

This blog isn't to rant on an amoral society. I don't like that stuff, so I steer clear. What I'm annoyed over is the fact that the shows that I like -good shows with strong followings!- are getting the shaft! Come on, people, one season of Firefly? I KNOW Firefly has a huge following, even now, and yet it was only one season long. I blame a lack of advertising. I'd never even heard of it until it popped up one day on SciFi. And what about John Doe? I'm just now getting into it, right into season one, and I realized that one season is really all I'm getting. And why do I have a feeling that Bionic Woman is going to go the way of these others?

The only science fiction show that has really taken off is Battlestar Galactica. That thing is like a soap opera and a scifi flick all wrapped into a nice burrito of oh snap, that just happened. It's as though if a show does not keep our ADD public constantly inundated with more and more drama, the show isn't worth it. Not fast-paced enough? Good-bye, show. Someone actually knows their baby's daddy? Trash. The in-laws aren't killers? Not worth the effort.

All I'm saying is this: we geeks like our techie, geeky, fact-full shows. So support a geek, and give our shows a chance. We'll thank you for it by making books and crazy fan fiction and hosting conventions and dressing up in crazy-weird outfits for the movies that will inevitably come. :) Oh, and we'll probably shake your hand. . . if you come to our conventions.

Making History

In my previous post, I mentioned the books I bought on a recent shopping trip. I started the first one from that grab bag of goodies today, and I am going to have to say something unprecedented, not only about the book, but just in general. My sister was right.

Queen of Babble in the Big City, by Meg Cabot, is already annoying me, and I've only gotten through the first chapter. She talks. A lot. In fact, she blabs on about worth-less things that I'd really rather not have to read about. And she does it in a manner that makes her sound like she is still in the sixth grade. I've noticed a trend among Meg Cabot's characters, and that is that they are all the same. They have the same cadence when they speak; the same sense of humor; the same attitude. It's like she's using the same character in every book and is just applying different names.

Usually, I'm inclined to give a book a chance, but I think I'll lay this one aside and pick another. The Queen of Babble will just have to wait for a day when I have nothing better to read.

It's Driving Me Nuts!

On another book lovers blog, I discovered a neat little tool that can "read" your blog and rate its readability. You can find it and utilize it for your own blog here. I'm not sure how low it goes, but the golden star for me would be to achieve "Genius" status (I'm a geek, so sue me). My problem happens to be that I have not even reached "College." I'm stuck at "High School" level. And that drives me nuts. Has anyone been to high schools lately? Kids these days (which is a phrase I thought I'd be saying a lot later in life) are complete idiots. Most high schoolers do not possess the reading skills of a third grader. Seriously, I am not making this stuff up!

I was once a reading and English tutor for one of my local colleges, and most of the students I tutored were older than I, however, they usually had a grade level reading ability. Some of them were excusable. For example: one student spoke English as a THIRD language, so I can understand that it must be hard to get through some of the reading assignments, not to mention the labs and writing assignments, but most of the students I tutored simply did not pay attention, or did not stay in classes, long enough to achieve an appropriate reading skill level. It's anyone's guess as to how they graduated high school, but the entire point is to say that a "high school" readability level for my blog is insulting. Yet somehow, no matter how I tweak and change and whatnot, I still maintain a steady "high school" readability. NOT FAIR!

Can You Say Annoying?

Since I've been so busy with finals week and wonky hours at work, I haven't really had much to blog about, except finals (boring) and work (uneventful). Well, uneventful except for today. When I was hired on as a part-time worker at my current place of employ, it was understood that I was a student, and there was no dress code stipulated. As a result, my fellow student co-worker and I dress like what we are - college students. Jeans, t-shirts, and flip-flops? No problem. As long as we wear our tags stating that we actually work there. My co-worker has already been "talked to" however, by our department head for wearing a dress. First of all, let me point out that the department head IS NOT our head boss. If what we wear is really a problem, our head boss would be the one calling us on it. Second, allow me to mention that the only "immodest" part of this dress was the fact that it had little straps, and not sleeves, however my co-worker wore a little jacket over it, so it was not possible to really tell.

Today, I was "talked to" as well. I wore what I always wear: jeans and a t-shirt, and a comfortable pair of cute slip-on sneakers by Sketchers. Allow me to explain my problem: I am petite, and very slim, yet my legs and torso are long for my frame. As a result, it is hard for me to find jeans that fit around my waist (or hips, as the case is) and are still long enough. Shirts are impossible: I wear an extra small, which fits me except that I have a bust size, which I'm guessing designers don't realize some small women have, so my shirts are usually a little on the short side. However, if I buy a regular small, the shirts are baggy and ill-fitting and I look like I'm wearing a potato sack. So, my issue (which I didn't realize WAS an issue until today): you can see a small strip of bare skin right at the top of my hips, right above where my pants rest and just below my shirt's hem. The director of my department told me that I "need to cover up." I assessed the damage and realized that I wasn't revealing much at all. Even my behind was covered.
Not only was I mortified that she felt the need to point that out, but I was really irritated. So what did I do? I went into the main office, and asked another co-worker for two pieces of packing tape. Then I tugged and taped my t-shirt down. My co-worker thought my department head was "weird", which just goes to show that I wasn't revealing excessive amounts of skin, and I just muttered to myself because I was darn pissed. Grrr.