Hometown Buffet

Went to Hometown Buffet yesterday, for the first time ever. It's the first non-Asian buffet I've ever gone to (aside from college dorms). It was not bad (I was picturing a pretty bad experience). There was a line to get in (waited over 5 minutes) and when we got to the cashier, a wedding party arrived. Nothing wraps up a classy wedding like a reception at Hometown Buffet. (They, however, were above bothering to phone in a reservation ahead of time).

I ate the standard fare - fried chicken, mac n cheese, pizza, fried shrimp, french fries (yum!), fried fish... mostly just a little sample of everything. And pink lemonade - I always have to get pink lemonade when I eat out.

For dessert, cheesecake! It was a little melted, but still. Cheesecake is cheesecake.

And then the wedding party band broke out into some mariachi-like music. Yay. (Other customers kept looking towards the separate room where the wedding party were seated - why couldn't they shut the door so we didn't have to hear their music?)

Got some soft serve for the way out. Overall, a good experience. There was one lady who was complaining about no coffee, no cups, little food left and wanted a refund. Not sure how that turned out. Then another family (~8 people?) couldn't find a table, because some of the wedding party were sitting at the regular tables (they couldn't all fit in the separate room). They stood there for over 5 minutes (one of the daughters stated that they should get a refund and go elsewhere) before finally asking someone on staff to help locate a seat.

Privileged

"With great power comes great responsibility"

Courtesy of Uncle Ben. That's Spiderman's Uncle Ben, not my Uncle Ben. Or Megan Smith's.

I love love love The CW's Privileged, which starts Joana Garcia as Megan. Disclaimer - I think she's a great quirky comedic actor (from Reba and Welcome to the Captain). Hmmm, maybe that's the only reason why I like the show. It's clearly not for heiress brat Sage Baker, but I guess she is the necessary villain.

The dialouge is quirky and funny. That scene with Megan, Sage and Sage's grandmother (Laurel) was great. It was the one serious scene in the episode (Laurel fired Megan because Sage complained about her; Megan took Sage to task and uttered that line from Spiderman - I haven't seen any Spiderman movies) and then on the way out, Megan added the "that was Spiderman's Uncle Ben, not my Uncle Ben". Which turned the scene to the funniest scene in the episode.

Not sure how much growth there is to the show, considering it's basically Sound of Music in a modern setting, but I'll watch it. Something a tad more wholesome than 90210, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.

Scary Movie

Watched Scary Movie (the parody film) on tv Saturday. It was funny. One part I remember is where Cindy (the main girl) is talking on the phone to the killer in the Scream mask and then the call waiting beeps and she has to take the phone call. And when she finally gets back to the original call, she apologized for taking so long...

It was so silly that it was hilarious.

SYTYCD - Part Trois

I think, anyway it goes, the dancers who will make it to the final will all be lyrical dancers. Here's the breakdown of the remaining 10:

Girls - all lyrical (or modern/jazz)
Guys - 2 lyrical, 2 hip-hop, 1 ballroom

So the odds aren't great if you're not a lyrical person.

If you're one of the classically trained dancers (ballet, modern, lyrical, jazz), I'm going to say that you would have a much, much easier time with the routines. The only style that may pose a problem is hip-hop (remember, Craig and Melody were criticized for not being grundgy enough) - but the chance of pulling "hip-hop" out of the hat is slim. And even if it's not "hip-hop" enough, the lyrical dancers can usually fudge their way through.

Even ballroom wouldn't be a huge jump - although dances like the Quickstep would require fancy footwork, the lyrical dancers don't have to be reminded about the "top line" (the way the upper body is held).

For the breakers, both ballroom and lyrical pose a major problem. They haven't been trained to maintain good posture during dancing nor have they been taught how to articulate their feet. And since the judges are all classically trained, they know to look for it. Both Allan and Ryan (I think) were criticized for it. To top it off, ballroom is subdivided into different dances - quickstep, tango, samba, etc - so the probability of choosing one of the ballroom dances is much greater than picking hip-hop or lyrical. Ask Jamile - four out of the five dances he did were ballroom.

Here's my analysis-

Artem vs Snow : both are ballroom dancers. The difference? Artem has nice, clean lines (a plus for lyrical) and performs (connecting with the audience and his partner) well. He's able to move from one style to another - maybe not perfectly, but certainly competently. On the other hand, Snow's only dance moves were those ballroom-style steps and some strange arm movements. She may have been the greatest performer (according to Nigel; I disagree), but she lacked technique big time. She didn't even have any tricks to showcase in her solos (neither did Artem, but his movement quality makes up for it). So I'm glad that she's gone.

Melissa vs Ashley vs Melody vs Kamilah vs Destini vs Nick vs Blake : they're all the same. Lyrical, lyrical and more lyrical (although some may be "jazz" or "modern" dancers). They have fairly good technique (guys better than the girls), good performance abilities, but not much else. Even though the judges claim they feel the connection between the couples when they're dancing, I don't. It's just been pirouette, leap, run to each other and pretend to emote, followed by more tricks.

Not to mention many of them have that cheesy talent show expression on their faces when they dance (must get rid of that stupid smile). It's horrendous. And they rely on their technical ability too much (how many times do we have to see Melody do a penchee, with her hip open at that?).

Jamile vs Ryan (vs Allan) : Sorry to say but these guys will be out of the competition. Their freestyle moves are crazy-good and they're great at their form of dancing but it's just too difficult for them to crossover into other styles.

So anyway, I really hope that Artem doesn't get kicked off any time soon. I'd wish that he wins but the chances of that are slim (very slim), especially since the judges love Blake and Nick. As for the girls, I can't say that I care. Sorry, but they're all too alike, which makes them boring.

Fasting Girls

Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa, by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, is an interesting look into the history of anorexia (duh). From medieval times where pious young women would claim that they didn't need to eat to more contemporary times where advertising and tv influence women in society.

This book is a bit dry, takes a while to read, but if you're truly interested in stuff like this (as I am), I was willing to read the whole thing. Actually, I think I read the first version, published in 1994?. This book was an updated version, although there was only 1 chapter added on.

SYTYCD Part Deux

I've been watching So you think you can dance? on FOX. Makes me want to start learning some new choreography. But not the stuff their learning - I'll stick to ballet, thank you very much. I don't think I would be too bad in the hip hop class, at least in picking up the combinations, but to make it look natural? Well, that's a whole different story. And the freestyling... uh, no. I'd just stand there and not know what to do.

As for the ballroom and latin dances, I wouldn't be too bad. I'm okay in partnering (helps that I'm on the short side, not super tall like that poor Ashley Purl). But I would probably have trouble letting the guy lead, especially if he didn't know what he was doing.

And that lyrical class... it's more modern than lyrical. The combinations would have been fine. All that emotional junk? Uh, that's not going to happen either. I'd be just like Kasper, standing there, wondering what everyone else was crying about. Geez, get a grip. And those people that started crying just because other people were? Lame.

Blake, IMHO, is a big wimp. He has a dog named Pancake. How girly is that? And he had to bring her along? If I were Allan, I'd send an anonymous note to the hotel or the producers or something. Well, it's not like the judges/producers won't find out (they apparently review the tapes). I so looking forward to Blake getting ripped for saying that the hip hop choreographer was just jealous. Blake needs a personality transplant. And it's funny - if he's this hot, wonderful dancer already (since he's already in Dance Spirit magazine, I think that was) - why is he on a reality show called So you think you can dance? As the blond hip hop choreographer said, yeah, they do think they can dance.

The two girls who faked injuries - completely stupid. What idiots. The two female choreographers - I don't like their attitudes. Maybe they think they're all that, in their respective genres, but they are so aggravating (esp. the ballroom lady). I don't have a problem with not allowing mohawks and funky hairstyles (or clothing) in a dance studio, but this is reality tv. No one cares.

And the salsa class - I think I know the petite lady who was dancing with the teacher. It sure did look like her.

So You Think You Can Dance?

I watched So You Think You Can Dance? on FOX last night. It was okay - there were good dancers who got cut and bad dancers who didn't (just because they had personalities that Nigel, one of the producers, liked and as he said, "I'm casting for a show"). How come the producers were all Brits? And Carrie Ann Inaba - I was like, hmmm, that kind of looks like the lady from Dancing with the Stars (which, btw, John O'Hurley got ROBBED, there's no way Ms. Soap-lady-who-thinks-she's-all-that was a better dancer, but she works for ABC, and the judges want to keep their jobs, so why not?). But she (Carrie Ann) looks different - is she skinnier, fatter, hair down instead of pulled back? Couldn't figure it out.

Anyway, I thought the one black guy who did a lyrical/contemporary piece was very good. Excellent technique, nice extension and lines, and well-pointed feet. I didn't like the ribbon a la rhythmic gymnastics (Nigel had a field day with that one) but I didn't think it detracted from his dancing. Just an odd choice, especially since he was so technically sound to begin with. He got cut after the partnering section - I flipped over to Veronica Mars on UPN during that time so I don't know how he did but apparently not well enough for the producers. I have to disagree with what Nigel said - that he needed the male dancers to dance masculine. Uh, if you ask me, dancing (like most arts) is a bit girly. Just get over it. Who cares? One girl who danced to drums of some sort was dancing kind of masculine-ish. But that didn't exclude her from the competition. Shouldn't girls be dancing feminine? (I'm being facetious here).

I think the dancers who are primarily into commercial dance (i.e. hip-hop, breaking, maybe a little jazz) AND who have had some dance training have it easier to make it through the audition. Because they're used to the commercial styles that Carrie Ann puts into the routines. Whereas someone who was classically trained in ballet may have more difficulty with the commercial stuff and someone who has had no training would have difficulty with learning and replicating choreography.

And the attitude on some of those contestants. . . wow. They think they are so good and they're not. Like the guy who said he was an ocean lifeguard (as opposed to a pool 'guard, I guess) - he started doing these little kicks reminiscent of Elaine on Seinfeld. I think the producers themselves don't know what the show's about. Is it about dancing, and if yes, what kind? Not all forms of dancing are created equally. It's too much of a mixed bag, although I guarantee you will not see serious classical dancers (whether ballet or modern) auditioning. And for Sarah, who complained about the choreography and quit because she said that (because of the style of dance they were asked to learn) all that would be left are white Europeans. Uh, not true, did you see how many blacks and non-whites there were? Although they did cut that tall Asian boy. They didn't even bother to show him dancing for long. Guess they'll try to get diversity and everything but Asians don't count...

The Last Season

The Last Season: A Team in Search of its Soul- Based on the journal he kept for personal purposes, Phil Jackson brings us into the foray of the drama of the most popular franchise in history, during a trying and troubling season that won't be easily forgotten.

I liked this book. There was criticism after the book was published that in-house problems should be kept, well, in-house. But there was nothing in this book that I didn't already know (except that Shaq has his injuries "taped up" by a different guy, because he feels Gary Vitti is too close to Kobe)- everything had already been discussed and dissected in the local newspapers and national television.

The book gave me a chance to relive the high- and low-lights of the improbable season. I give it an A.

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And since the Lakers will be heading off to summer vacation early this year, I thought I'd write a little something myself about the last season:

For Laker fans everywhere, the 2003-2004 season brought a ray of hope. Following the devastating at-home loss in the previous playoffs and the shock of criminal charges being brought against one of their marquee players, the Lakers looked to regroup and recharge, scoring a coup in signing seasoned veterans Karl Malone and Gary Payton. With their strong one-two punch, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the team looked unbeatable.

The superstar team had its problems from the beginning. Personality conflicts between the top two players, O'Neal and Bryant, were still unresolved and seemed to worsen. Payton and Malone had difficulty learning the triangle offense that had brought the Lakers (and Jackson) so much success in the past. Vital role players Derek Fisher and Rick Fox were unable to perform to their past ability- Fish, a starter for the past two seasons, was now coming off the bench and struggled with consistency. Fox, who had surgery on his achilles tendon over the summer, was recuperating and even when he returned to the court, was unable to be as productive as he once was.

Injuries started to pile up as the team unraveled. Malone, rarely injured for the 18 years of his career prior to joining the Lakers, suffered a severe knee sprain which kept him out for much of the season. O'Neal was hampered with a nagging calf injury. Bryant sprained his shoulder, then cut his finger and then sprained his shoulder again. One by one, the players sat out for various ailments- each day was a different story.

Somehow, the Lakers, possibly being divinely knighted as being The Team to Beat, bulldozed their way through the obstacles and won the Pacific Division title. Here, at the playoffs, is where the Lakers truly shine. With only 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 versus the San Antonio Spurs, Fisher hit a jumper, securing the victory for the Lakers who then went on to win the Western Conference Finals. By all accounts, the Finals series (vs the Detroit Pistons) would be a cakewalk- the only question was how many games would it take the Lakers?

However, the championship, the season, this Lakers team, just was not meant to be. The Lakers faltered against the defensive-minded Pistons. They managed to win only 1 game (Game 2, at home) before losing the next three games and the title. The Lakers, who had overcome so much through the regular season, was no more. Jackson was let go, players were traded or released. The team that had so much promise was dismantled, piece by piece. Truly a sad moment for Laker fans.