Eww. Lee has a fish muffin.

This sounds lewd. Is it sweeps week?

Jon Carroll wrote an excellent column about his Project Runway love and why reality shows often have more compelling narratives than scripted shows.

I don't think he makes that case, David. It seems he's saying that reality TV can play with the big boys, not that it often wins.

There seems to be a positive value judgement here:

Reality shows also deal in narrative; the editors take the raw footage and make a story. Since the story must have some grounding in what happened, the story is not predictable. Good guys do not always win. Bad people are sometimes rewarded. Also: no exploding cars, no gun play, no vertiginous close- ups of the sinus passages. Remind me again why reality television is supposed to represent the decline of civilization.

Jon Carroll needs to watch HBO...IJS.

Hec, a fish muffin is not the same thing as a fish taco, which IS lewd.

the Chris Carmack cover issue of Out this month...

I miss Big Gay Luke.

There seems to be a positive value judgement here:

Positive != often more compelling narrative.

As I said -- I think he says it can play. The sentence "at its best, reality television can be better than most TV dramas and, indeed, most movies" sums that up for me.

My officemate uses "partner."

Anyway, re: the Project Runway article-- the funny thing is that when Austin ended up modeling the uniform last week I too thought, this is what's great and surprising about reality television-- that would never happen in scripted television. Not that that's a bad thing, just that it wouldn't work unless it was real. Also, Jay rules.

I have a working theory that the best seasons of reality television are the first ones, and part of that is the collaborative spirit of the contestants/stars.

Partner usually means romantic to me, too.

Maybe Kiriko next?

And it's right near krav! Not that it's relevant. It's just a thing.

Sounds like a plan. I'll email you.

Didn't we have the baby yellowtail the first time we Humped?

Yes.

Have you seen it? He's wet.

I think it needs to do on the wet site, so we can all see it.

I have a "oh, we messed up" e-mail to send out today. I'm so very terribly not looking forward to it.

Hate those.

Will people yell at me if they see me here before about 12:30? I need to work.

Work? Work? No, Lee, don't do that.

I think I'm putting my finger on why I love makeover shows (are you listening, jesse?). I think it's the idea that someone sees potential and has a totally different perception of a person than that person has of himself or herself. It's the idea that someone can do finite things to bring that potential to surface in a way that is totally different than the way you see yourself. It's cool.

Also: no exploding cars, no gun play, no vertiginous close-ups of the sinus passages. Remind me again why reality television is supposed to represent the decline of civilization.

Because there are no exploding cars.