This Fill-in-the-Blank Friday was meant to be.

After yesterday's post about not judging me for my TV preferences (you're not, right?!), fate has collided in the form of Fill-in-the-Blank Friday: it's entirely TV-centric! Hurrah for the telly!

1.  My favorite current TV show is The Choir. I can't help it; the love of music with the love of students and teaching and education. It's heartwarming, with lovely music too!

2.  The TV character I can relate to most is Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel in Glee).  Not because I've given up a baby or adopted or anything...actually, we have pretty much nothing in common. But her line where she says like she feels her life is a "broken promise" when she didn't make it big on broadway resonated with me. I understand I haven't lived enough life to really have a promise broken, but I definitely feel like I'm not living up to expectations and potential these days.

3.  My life is like (fill in with TV show and why).... Friends. Because it's me and the ones I love living life, searching for love and career and meaning with a lot of funny happenings at the same time.

4.  My all time favorite TV show is Friends. I know, I'm so typical. But I have an undying devotion.

5.  A TV show that is ridiculously stupid, but I continue to watch is Jonas. I KNOW.

6.  My favorite TV couple is Barney Stinson & Robin Scherbatsky.  I know they're not a couple anymore, but I loved them together.  And Temperance Brennan & Seely Booth from Bones--even though they're not technically a couple, either.  Wow, I sure know how to pick 'em!

7.  One TV episode I could watch over and over again is "Theatricality" from Glee; "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" from Big Bang Theory (the Christmas episode with the Sheldon/Penny hug!); and several Friends episodes, though most notably PIVOT! and "He's her lobster!"

Happy Weekend, everyone!

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Judge Me Not for the TV I Watch

Unlike my musical tastes, I've never really been one to hide my TV preferences. It's generally acknowledged what is and is not shite TV, and like a good disaster, none of us can look away. Yes, TV is subjective, but there's an odd way in that one can have shame about a show while simultaneously being proud to watch said shameful show.  I don't get it, I don't really want to get it.

A few shows I wear proudly as a viewer: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. How I Met Your Mother. The Big Bang Theory. Modern Family. 30 Rock. Glee. Top Chef. Bones. and so on and so forth. (I watch a lot of TV...)  Others...not so proudly: Design Star. The Next Iron Chef. Project Runway post-Lifetime move.  But I'll still at least admit to it.

And then there are the few that I have no business watching, but always will. Because some are so bad I can't not watch, others because they're surprisingly funny and good to me.  I'll always admit to it, but it will usually follow with some embarrassed brush off or attempt at sarcastic humor to lessen how much I really, really watch it.  And have all future episodes set to record on my DVR.  It's time to come clean, my friends.

• The Rachel Zoe Project. Unlike most of my friends, I have zero real interest in fashion. I like it for the stories, the inspiration, the visual appeal (of a collection, not on an individual); not so much the actual clothing.  But The Rachel Zoe Project sucks me in and I can't turn away!  I'm fairly certain it's because Brad is the cutest patooty on the block and I just want to be BFFs with him and his fab bowties. But I tell you, it is weird when all of a sudden I'm stressed out because OHEMGEE Taylor stole samples! or the Versace gown has been taken by a random messenger! or when I'm laughing along with them about the diamond rings being so blasé for a gown.  But I've not called anything "major" or "bananas" so there's hope for me yet!
• American Pickers. I have literally never watched the History Channel before I got sucked into this show (want to know what led me there? I saw a program about the history of hamburger components. That's real, y'all), but the idea of digging through people's old stuff got to me (unlimited access to a person's life? YES PLEASE). All of a sudden I'm seeing huge porcelain signs and gasping at their luck or being like, "WOW an old rusted hood ornament!"  The show actually tugs at my moral lining a bit (the idea of paying a family $20 for an item while knowing it is actually valued at $200 doesn't sit well) but the history and how unique some items are pull me back.
• iCarly. I get a toooon of shit for watching this show, but this is one where I AM DAMN PROUD. Because hell, it is funny. I get that the webshow part (the "real" iCarly? Hmm) is super annoying and in reality I would never watch it--but the rest of the show is comedy gold, my friends. The expressions and timing and situations are absurd. It's childish and occasionally slapstick and I love it.

• The Choir (on BBCA). It was advertised as a real life Glee--how would I not watch this show?! And when the first school visited was in Northolt, literally 2 metro stops away from where I was born, I had to stick around. From there, I was hooked. I am completely enamored with these hilarious and endearing students. I have a deep love for choir and chorale music, and blending it with British accents, British humor and heartwarming stories...hello, Ashley's life.
• Glee. This is an odd one on the list because I am an up front Gleek, as is the rest of the world (so it seems)-which is why I listed it as a show I'm proud of. But I still get a lot of shit for this, and sometimes I simply don't want to get into the debate of how they ruin classic music, have shitty writing, can't act, etc. I've never said Glee was quality TV, and I'll be the first to say duh, Journey's original of Don't Stop Believin' is obviously better than the Glee cast one. But it's fun and dramatic and the Dawson's Creek of this generation, just minus the uncomfortable horrible sexual tension and adding music. That's a win in my book.
• Jonas. I debated long and hard about putting this on the list, because I am that ashamed of this. I can't justify this. I know. I deserve all the judgment you want to dish out. But fact is, I've got 2 eps on my DVR, the Sunday one set, and I want to freakin' know what Macy does about Frankie Jonas (the worst of them all, and that says something) having a little schoolboy crush on her even though she's with Nick. YES, I AM CRYING TEARS OF SHAME RIGHT NOW.  You are free to shun me.

(I bet you thought Jersey Shore would be up in this bitch. NOPE.  Even though I met Ronnie, that can't even convince me to hop on that bandwagon.)

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If You Really Knew Me...

So, anyone else watch this MTV show "If You Really Knew Me..."?  I still can't quite figure out how scripted it is, how edited down and shaped it is, but I'll take it at face value.

For those who don't know what it is, it's marketed as a real life "Breakfast Club" (which I have to say kiiiiiiiind of offends me).  Each episode focuses on one high school and follows 5 kids who are all from different "cliques": jock, loner, band geek, cheerleader, etc.  These kids go through "Challenge Day," an in-school seminar that focuses on getting to know your peers, getting you to open up and discover who someone is.  A small section is when they put about 8 students together into a group and are supposed to finish the sentence "If you really knew me, you would know..."  The kids open up, some choosing to come out as homosexuals, some revealing they are self-abusers (cutters), some telling how lost they are, even the star-quarterback admitting he doesn't actually like football.

Regardless of how altered the show is, it is still a relatively good message.  You simply never know the story, the life of anyone around you. The person you walk past could be suffering, may have a broken home, may be considering suicide. The person you walk past may have just had a racist act committed against them, may feel guilty for something they had, is somehow unsatisfied with their life. You simply never know.

The universal sign for "I Love You." 
The show uses this during their Challenge Day seminar to express support.

We did something similar to this in my high school.  It was really early into high school, and I'm not sure how much of it was to overcome barriers so much as to simply get everyone to know each other.  Whatever the goal, it did have an impact on me, even then.  I was partnered with a guy I've mentioned on this blog before, Cook.  He's a stoner through-and-through, having been coming off a high when we were doing the activity.  It was odd and surreal and to my 9th grade brain I was utterly confused about the situation, but I still remember a fondness that overtook me about him after he told me a few things about who he is.  When someone exposes parts of your life that you know most others aren't privy to, a certain caring is instilled regardless if you want it or not.  And to this day, that fondness for him is still there; even though I do not approve his drug use at all, even though we don't talk anymore and rarely talked after that day, even though he chooses to smell roses in the field rather than get the baseball and I get traumatized as a result.

It's said often, but the lesson always bears repeating.  Don't judge others, because you never really know what they're going through or who they are.

If you really knew me...

....you'd know I feel much more than I let on.

....you'd know I don't let myself love anyone because I'm too broken to try.

....you'd know that I constantly feel disappointed in myself.

1/2

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