To ma'am or not to ma'am...

Back in April, I wrote a blog post about Glee's Mark Salling and how the folks in LA were giving him a hard time about using "ma'am."

This past Sunday, I had lunch with two old friends, one of whom now lives in San Francisco while working on her doctorate. When I asked Candace if she missed anything about the South, one of her answers was manners.

She explained that in many parts of the country, use of the word "ma'am" is really a f*** you; it's something you say to old people to get them off your back or out of your face when they're complaining about something or droning on and on.

Huh. "Ma'am" as a f*** you. It never occurred to me that someone might use it in such a capacity. I suppose it should have; after all, depending on the situation, "You have a nice day now," might be legitimate good wishes or it might really be "I hope you get hit by a bus and die a slow and agonizing death."

When I was handling calls for the Maytag dishwasher recall (BORING!), I was criticized by the QA people for using "yes sir" too often instead of using the caller's name. In this case it was intentional on my part - there was no way I was going to pronounce his name correctly and I thought he would be less offended with a "sir."

What do you think? Are we odd and archaic in the South for observing social niceties? Is the rest of the country rude in actuality or are they just straight forward? Be sure to let me know what you think!

What's the deal with True Blood?

I've been ruminating on this topic for awhile. There are way too many storylines going on this season; I also think there are way too many new characters being introduced for old favorites to be adequately serviced. Witness the under-use of the always fabulous Pam. Be sure to check out her guest appearance on Baby Jessica's vlog where she gives some great fashion advice. I get it: Jason's dumb and continually makes bad decisions, Tara is crazy and has the worst luck, Sam's family is bad news, etc.

So what is it about this show that keeps me watching? I've often wished that it was really the Eric & Pam show featuring Lafayette and introducing Baby Jessica. I still stick by that although I'd now like to add "with special appearances by Alcide." (that guy is HOT!)

Another thing about this show that drives me up the wall are the accents. Most of the vampires are hundreds of years old and not from the South, so why are they attempting the accent? I think everyone would be better served to just use a regular, middle american accent. Except for Steven Moyer (even though his accent is the worst, lol.) - I love the way he says Sookie.

I think what it comes down to in the end, is that it is so fantastically campy and over the top, that I can't wait to see what happens next. The eye candy doesn't hurt either. ;)

Be sure and let me know what you think!

Hey, sex-ee girlfriend!

Just kidding. This post is not about Sixteen candles or Long Duc Dong. ;)

Does a song ever just get stuck in your head? No matter what I do, I have Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend stuck in my head. I find myself singing it in the car, in the shower, humming it to myself at work, you get the idea. I kept getting odd looks at Walmart before I realized I was singing out loud.

So, in an effort to remove it from my head and put it in yours, here is the video:



What songs get stuck in your head? Before "Girlfriend" I had Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner. It took ages to get THAT out...

True Blood Season 3 - 7 episodes in

Um, yeah. A few brief thoughts about TB 3.7. I may add more at a later date...

On the plus side: Sookie killed Lorena. On the minus side: it was REALLY gross. Bill then proceeds to drain Sookie almost dry in an effort to replenish himself. Thank goodness Tara and Alcide were in a position to rescue her.

If it hadn't been so pathetic, it would've been amusing to watch Jason deal with the realization that he was going to be making some major decisions about Sookie and her care.

At this point, I'm considering giving up TB after this season. I really don't like what they've done with the characters I love and there are story lines they spend way too much time on that I could care less about. I haven't completely made up mind though...

The Great American Road Trip

This blog is inspired by the fact that my friend April is on vacation in Washington, D.C., right now and I'm jealous...

One of these days, I'd like to take a real vacation and go on what I call The Great American Road Trip. I have friends and family that I'd love to see all over the country and think it would be fun to just get in the car and drive, stopping to see points of interest between destinations.

Towards the top of my places to see are the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, The Golden Gate Bridge, The Art Institute of Chicago, Gettysburg, Ellis Island, and at least 100 other areas of historic and/or cultural significance. I've also wanted to visit Savannah, Ga., in the worst way ever since Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil came out.

I think I'd also like to make a list of excellent local places to stop and eat, sort of my very own Diners, Drive-ins and Dives special edition.

Do you dream of a road trip or vacationing in a specific spot?

Musing about acting...

The other day my sibling and I were discussing Olivia Wilde, the actress who plays "13" on House. I don't remember how the conversation was started or what it was about, really, but I referred to her as "13" and James referred to her as "Jenny Riley," which was the character she played on NBC's short-lived crime drama The Black Donnellys. (For the record, I always think of her as Alex, Marissa's experimental lesbian love interest on The O.C.) From that point we started talking about how some actors are so identified with roles that they've played, that you have trouble separating the two.

I think it's a little different between t.v. stars and movies stars, maybe because you have so much more time invested with t.v. stars. T.V. stars tend to become the character they portray, whereas movie stars just remain themselves in every movie there in.

Actually the best example of this (in terms of movies, anyway) is probably John Wayne. I don't think anyone could argue against the point that he was basically John Wayne in every movie he ever made. I guess with movies, that's what makes the star.

There's something about their personality or appearance that appeals to moviegoers and that's why people pay to see them over and over again - but only as long as they have that bit of mojo. Poor Meg Ryan is an excellent example of this. In the late 90s and early 00s, she was one of the reigning ladies of romantic comedies. But when was the last time she was a lead in a truly successful movie?

Likewise, Sarah Michelle Gellar was so fantastic as Buffy that people have a hard time separating her from that role. Think about it - even if you weren't a fan of the show, when you see her or hear about her, you instantly associate her with Buffy. Hey! It's Buffy in a movie! or Buffy guesting on a t.v. show!

Same with Kristen Bell. Every time I see her, I think Veronica Mars. Hey! Veronica Mars is on Heroes or why is Veronica telling us about the lives of Upper East siders on Gossip Girl? You know she hates oh-niners.

Think about the cast of Cheers. When you see George Wendt come on screen, you think, "Norm!" and maybe even find yourself calling it out. Ted Danson, even though he's had successful runs on other shows, will always be Sam "Mayday" Malone. You get the point.

I'm not sure anymore where I was going with this post, so I'll stop now, lol.

What actor do you associate so strongly with a character that they've played that you have trouble separating them?

Geek @ Heart

I've realized that I'm a geek. I don't know why this comes as a surprise to me, but it does. I should have known this. I've always been a fan of sci-fi - movies, books, t.v., you name it.

A regular reader asked where I've been all week. The answer is that I began watching Farscape which aired on the Sci-fi Channel in the early 00s. I've watched three seasons in less than a week (and that's in addition to going to work). It's really well written and acted, even by the puppets from Jim Henson's studio. Yes, that's right. Puppets. Two of the main characters are actually played by puppets.

It's filled with action and intrigue and there have been some really interesting plot lines about prejudice and what it means to serve others. I still have a season and a made for t.v. movie to go. I understand that it was cancelled unexpectedly and the movie is to tie up loose ends. At least it got that much which is more than I can say for Deadwood, Pushing Daisies, or any one of numerous other shows.