The Beauty of "Mad Men"

I absolutely LOVED last Sunday's "Mad Men"! The tension, anger, respect, loyalty, trust, protectiveness, and friendship between Peggy and Don gives me goosebumps and chills, and it makes my mind bounce like a pinball. It was the episode of the fight number 2 between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston. The fight was the historical event used to help the audience that was alive during that time put things into perspective and help people like me learn a little bit about sports history. As for the story line, the writers broached the long questioned topic of the relationship between Peggy and Don. What is it between the two of them? I can't decide if I do or I don't want Peggy and Don to have a romantic relationship. That's what makes the story line so fantastic. I want them to end up together, but simultaneously, I know it'll ruin everything if they do. They couldn't possibly. When it comes down to it, Peggy might just be the young female Don.

While so many episodes are tedious and frustrating, we need them to get to episodes like this one and the finale of last season, season 3. Every character in "Mad Men" is neither completely likable nor dislikable. That's what makes the show so alluring, so addicting. In the first episode of the first season, I was furious at how women were treated. Then my mom oh-so-reminded-me, it was just the way. Obviously, not everyone agreed with my mom's mentality or women wouldn't have come so far, but no use in getting upset about the past now that it has changed. I have just learned to appreciate the artistry of Mad Men". Even during the boring slow episodes, I still enjoy learning about how it was versus how they wanted us to see it, meaning just because TV showed couples sleeping in 2 twin size beds 4 feet apart didn't mean people stopped having sex.

This week's episode returned to the usual less eventful anger-provoking, slow-moving solution-lacking stories. We feel so sorry for Joan, and then in true fashion, "Mad Men" makes her hateful and human. Even within that chaos of dissatisfaction, the viewer knows it's bound to end somewhere awesome. Why? Because the show has endless possibilities. While teen dramas decline when they go to college, while adult dramas decline when the main problem is solved, "Mad Men" has no expiration date and no overlying conflict. It is real, it happened 40-some years ago so the writers have a show that could potentially be on forever, as long as advertising still exists, "Mad Men" has material.

I suppose the Rachel Zoe Project is the only show on TV worth my comments as of now. It doesn't mean I think it's particularly well-done or that I necessarily like Rachel Zoe. It just happens to be an off season. Actually, like Project Runway, most shows on HGTV besides Sarah's House, which is the greatest show ever... right now(yes I see the irony), and America's Next Top Model, I fast-forward the majority of the dramatic junk and play only the artsy material. In this case, the fashion shows. I actually think that I fast-forwarded through an entire hour of Project Runway last night just to see the actual runway pieces.

In the case of Rachel Zoe, however, I watch the scenes between her and her husband because I kind of like Roger. As I mentioned in my previous blog, the theme this season has been whether Rachel will get pregnant or not. I thought she was in her late 40s, but apparently she's only 39, a bit risky for a pregnancy, but not unheard of. Roger really wants a baby and continues to press Rachel about it. She clearly is uninterested in spreading her love, or is just incapable of the emotion, regardless, a child seems like something that she'd just be doing to please her husband. I actually don't think that's an awful reason to have a child. No matter what, she'll love the child unconditionally when the little tyke joins the world so to me, the reason you get pregnant is unimportant. It's what you do during the child's life that counts.

I assume that the show will predictably announce that she is indeed expecting in the season finale, but I'm really really really hoping for twist. I want Roger to announce that he's leaving Rachel for a girl in her early twenties and that the new girl is actually expecting his child, and they plan on having several more as the girl is the fresh and ready child-bearing age. I think that would be the best finale EVER!

The Rachel Zoe Hypocrisy

As with most experts in their trades, I really don't care what their personality or psychosis is. I care about their talent. Whatever Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey do when they're not singing is none of my concern. All I know is, when they belt out those vocals, very few can beat them. The same goes for Michael Jordon and Tiger Woods in their respective sports, and I'm embarrassed to say this, but Tom Cruise, as nuts as he may be, is a good actor so as far as Rachel Zoe and her personality go, it really doesn't matter to me other than the irony that's going on in her new season.

While Brad is much funnier, light-hearted and relaxed without Taylor around, he's a bit bitchy whenever she's mentioned. The whole reason she was fired (besides the alleged theft) was that she had a bad attitude. So why are Rachel and Brad bad-mouthing her every chance they get? Aren't they doing the one thing they criticized Taylor for? And as far as her stealing items, to me, that seems like par for the course. That would be the one perk of the job of a styling assistant to keep some of the merchandise. Why else put up with all the chaos that Rachel throws her way? Brad keeps saying that he hopes Taylor's replacement is lacking the drama, but with every insult he speaks, he becomes more and more like Taylor. Truth be told, is Brad as talented as Taylor? I don't know yet, but even with all of Taylor's complaints and chips on her shoulder, she had amazing sense of style, and I believe that many people in Hollywood won't care one bit about her past with Rachel Zoe, as long as they look good. I certainly wouldn't.

Moving on, I've always said that my dream job would be that of Sarah Richardson of Sarah's House on HGTV. She completely guts and reconstructs fixer-upper homes with a budget of more than a million dollars. I think my number 2 job would be that of a stylist. All they do is shop and borrow items all day long. Hardly any exchange of currency is involved; it's just free advertising for the designer. It's absolutely amazing. The only reason it wouldn't be number one is because you'd have to deal with celebrities.

And finally, did Rachel say, "When I'm pregnant..." ???? How old is she? I thought she was like 50. Jeez. She needs some steak and a nap.

Ooh, That Denzel!

I love Denzel Washington. My boss thinks he plays the exact same character in every single role. I don't necessarily disagree, but I know he's likable in every role he plays, and more importantly, he's likable in real life. I started really liking him after a David Letterman interview when Denzel thought David was commending Gary Oldman's acting talent. Letterman was actually complimenting Washington, and when he realized the confusion, he actually seemed genuinely surprised and flattered that David Letterman thought he was a talented actor.

Most recently, I watched an interview with him about The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. This time he mentioned that the makers of the movie had talked to him about the role, but he thought they were actually considering someone else for the part. Ha. If Denzel Washington is interested in a movie role, then the producers aren't looking elsewhere for any other actor. He is the actor you want for the role. If you get him, then you stop looking.

What a cool guy, huh?

What's the Meaning of "Dress-Up"

My husband and I were recently invited to very important party in his home town, a very small town, not near a big a city. The party was actually the first birthday of his brother's daughter. I know this doesn't sound like that momentous an affair, but because of a genetic disorder, there was a good possibility she wouldn't make it to see the age of one. By the grace of God, she did make it to this birthday, and at the last minute, they decided to have a celebration/fundraiser in honor of this day.

While my sister-in-law (the wife of my husband's brother) is young and hip, and for not having lots of money, still has very good taste, I've always described my husband's family as "for being one state over from my family, they may as well be from a different country". They are wonderful, loving and very supportive people; they just have a completely different way of life, and sometimes it's a culture shock to me.

When I received the email about the birthday party from my father-in-law, the Evite read "This is a Dress-Up Party". I, of course, growing up close to a big city, and having attended "dress-up" parties my entire life, wanted a bit more specificity on what "dress-up" meant. I asked my father-in-law. He repeated what the email said, "Dress-up." I said, "Yeah, I got that, but what kind of dress-up? Formal, semi-formal? Ball gown, cocktail? Business formal? or just going out clubbing on a Friday night get-up?" His answer, "Dress-up."

Okay, "What is my sister-in-law wearing?" He said that she was wearing her prom dress. With this, I have to suspend what I've formerly known as proper prom attire. Girls in this state dress very differently to their proms. Where I'm from, girls wear sexy, slinky, form-fitting dresses, usually the most expensive one you can get your mom to buy you from Neiman Marcus, and it isn't necessarily short or long, but certainly one that no one else will have.

In this state, girls wear these over-the-top, froo-froo cake-topper ball gowns. When I first moved here, I thought that they just hadn't caught up to the rest of the world when it comes to style and fashion, but it's been 8 years and they still wear these huge dresses to prom so I think it's just their thing, like cowboy boots in Texas.

The day of the event, I actually texted my sister-in-law and made sure that she was wearing a ball gown. I told her that I had one ready to go, but I didn't want to be over-dressed. She lol-ed and said that she was indeed wearing a fru-fru pink ruffly, lacy dress. Okay, good. Mine was a bit different, but it was definitely a ball gown. I had borrowed my mother's mother-of-the-groom dress, a gorgeous lavender empire waisted embellished Pronovias full-length ball gown.

When I arrived at the party, about 4 girls were wearing ball gowns, a handful of others were wearing cocktail dresses and every other girl was wearing a top and a skirt. I don't know why it's taken me so long to figure out the specific fashion in this very small town. It's probably because I find myself in so many different apparel situations that I get confused as to what's appropriate in each city. Since this small town used "dress-up" to cover so many bases, I decided to look up what exactly "dress-up" means.

I didn't actually expect to be satisfied with the definition, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first one I came across described it as "to wear one's best clothing". Now it all makes sense. Fashion is unimportant in this tiny little po-dunk town. Where I'm from, there are so many definitions of "dress-up" that the degree of "dress-up" needs to be distinguished. Where fashion doesn't matter, "dressing-up" basically means, No Jeans, No Home-Team-Football Shirts.

I finally understand, if I ever get invited to a "dress-up" event there again (and holidays aren't included, football t-shirts and jeans are welcome.. ha, it's like a foreign country), I will wear a timeless skirt and a simple blouse. It seems to be appropriate 100% of the time in this situation and aside from my being several inches taller than most women, will allow me to blend in much better.

Just 'cause you edu-ma-cated, don't make you smart

I unfortunately and accidentally heard a commercial while doing dishes tonight. I didn't have the remote nearby to fast-forward through it. It was for Mutual of Omaha. A woman named Altheia was proudly announcing how her mom was the first of several children to graduate from college. She then held of a photo and said, "This is a picture of my mother and I at my undergraduate degree." Altheia then went on to brag about she now had a masters degree.

Would it be possible to call Mutual of Omaha and ask them what awful degenerate low standard college gave this Altheia a masters degree yet didn't explain to her what an object of a preposition is? They actually put a woman in their commercial bragging about her high education while simultaneously making one of the most elementary grammatical errors in the book. I don't even know what Mutual of Omaha is, but I assure you, they will NEVER have my business.

By the way, if you're confused about what is upsetting me, the proper syntax would have been, "This is a picture of my mother and me."

Lack of Attention to Detail in Casting T.V. shows

At first the topic of lack of attention to detail in T.V. casting for me went no further than the height difference between parent and child. One of my many pet (or should I say petty?) peeves is when shows cast actors who are noticeably shorter than the the actors playing their parents. I will expand on this topic shortly, but now I've spent the last week watching live television in real time because our DVR broke and rather than slitting my wrists, I'm "patiently" awaiting our replacement. This means, I can't fast forward stupid, annoying, pointless drivel and I'm forced to watch every painful minute of every T.V. show. Wow! Who knew there was such garbage on so many channels? Even more importantly, who knew there were so many easily fixed mistakes?

Now back to my height issue. It all began with the first season of 24 when Vicellous Reon Shannon was cast as President David Palmer's son. Palmer, played by Dennis Haysbert (the Allstate Insurance guy), is 6'4 1/2". His son, while an exact age was never given, was portrayed as a man in his early 20s, full grown, and looked to be about 5'8". Have you ever in the history of your life met someone that much shorter than their parent of the same gender? First of all, I don't think I've ever met an adult in my life who is indeed shorter than their respective parent, and if I have, it certainly hasn't been by 8 1/2 inches. After seeing this discrepancy, I've polled many people on the topic, and even people whose voices got a little higher with their answer, "Well, I'm not taller than my dad. Maybe the same height." Still not shorter.

I couldn't pay attention to any scene with Palmer's son in it because all I did was dwell on the inexplicable height difference. An easily fixed solution? Yes. Is Shannon that great of an actor that he couldn't easily be replaced by another young black man who happens to be closer in height to Haysbert? Have you ever heard of him until now?

Ironically, the only person I can think of who is actually shorter than their parent is Kiefer Sutherland, nearly by the same difference as Shannon and Haysbert. It's quite strange. I wonder how short Kiefer's mom is or was. Still doesn't excuse the discontinuity of the casting of Palmer's son. The Sutherlands are probably one in a million, and 24 already cast an amazon man as Jack Bauer's dad so they used up their one genetic anomaly with that.

In the most recent season, Dalia Hassan, played by Necar Zadegan, is the 5'9" mother of her adult daughter played by 5'4" Nazneed Contractor. It's like Kiefer needs reaffirmation that there are other kids out there who happen to be bizarrely shorter than their parents.

Since then, I've been conditioned to notice this error in casting. Past shows like Home Improvement made the mistake of not checking with the parents of Jonathon Taylor Thomas or just not thinking the show would stay on as long for the youngest son to reach full height. The oldest and youngest sons on the show stood nearly a foot taller than JTT. I never really watched that show anyway. It was just something to make fun of if that topic was ever brought up.

Most recently, in the show Modern Family, the oldest daughter played by Sarah Hyland is only 5'2". I truly thought she was like 13 years old until I saw the episode where she gets her driver's license and decided to look her up. She is seriously 19 years old. If the show lasts several seasons(which I hope it will because it's hysterical), how will they explain the foot height difference among her, her siblings and the two tall actors cast to play her parents. It's bothersome. I believe the harmonious unlikely concept of the show more than I believe that 2 tall parents could spawn a daughter that short.

But now having to pick a show that's on at the actual time I want to watch T.V., I'm finding myself watching shows I normally would have skipped or at least only half watched, like Law & Order: Criminal Intent. They have now a new actress, Saffron Burrows, playing Det. Zach Nichol's (Jeff Goldblum's) partner Detective Serena Stevens. Her American accent is terrible so I obviously knew she was British (another pet peeve... Really? No American actress in all of Hollywood was better than a Brit playing an American). I actually don't mind Burrows that much in this role, though, so maybe she really was the best actress for the job. What bothers me is that her background is as a detective from Chicago. Ha. I'm from Chicago, and I've never heard a cop talk like her. Maybe she should go watch the Fugitive a hundred times and study up on those detectives in that movie (they're not real actors, they ARE actually Chicago cops). An easily fixed solution to this error in continuity besides changing where she's from: Nichols says, "You're from Chicago? You don't sound like it." Stevens answers, "My parents are British." Boom! 2 lines and the show moves on. They spend more time on suspense music than they would need to fix this error in her accent.

Finally, a major error in detail that has stuck in my mind for several years is from "That 70s Show". It was the episode when they all go to visit different colleges in Wisconsin, and they mention the Marquette Golden Eagles. Marquette didn't acquire the Golden Eagles mascot until 1994. Up until then, they were the Warriors.