Ah, back amongst my people. So much reality tv talk missed. Frickin' frakkin' conference.

I don't even know where to start. Hmmm . . . AI result was pure baloney and ridiculous. I guess that the country folks have nowhere else to turn but Kristy Lee. At least she has the good grace to look embarassed about it. I am still loving Brooke, Jason, and yes, David A. (though I'm now more sure than ever that the curse of all 17 year old AI boys is going to catch up with him and he'll not win) Super excited about most of the mentors this season. Dolly! Neil! Sir Andrew "I MADE over the top" Lloyd Webber! Although I foresee an absolute trainwreck when Mariah week rolls around.

MMaSM: I really want a Holly win, but I think it highly unlikely. Since this is audience vote, I think it's well within the realm of possibility that Ronnie could win, but I don't think he should win. Among the guys left, I'd actually go with Ben (shock!) as I do think that with a little coaching and the development of another look besides Blue Steel, he could be the most versatile one there. Perry's just too stocky/square Frankenstein. (And I'm still freaked out by the Silence of the Lambs photo shoot) And best guests ever in Naomi and Christian. Oh what I would've given if they'd put those two together to do . . . well, just about anything.

ATNM: Soo much better than the Tootie season. I am loving Claire and hope she can take it all.

TC: Still love the Kiwi. Those mushrooms looked foul. I thought the blini's looked like those angel food cups you put strawberries and Cool Whip in to make the fake strawberry shortcake.

And I love America's Best Dance Crew! It's like watching Step Up 2 the Streets every week (which prominently featured Jabbawookeez, btw). I have also loved this season of Making the Band solely because it presented a weekly opportunity for Diddy to lose his damn mind. And it was hilarious. It could only have been better if Boomkat had come back.

Is that it? Am I done?

I don't know why she insisted on serving them. Yes, the judges asked about them, but they could have said that they did not turn out well, so they decided not to serve them. And to add the cheese and not taste it was just stupid.

MMaSM:

And best guests ever in Naomi and Christian. Oh what I would've given if they'd put those two together to do . . . well, just about anything.

Oh my total god, you are so right. Christian is just a ball of energy, isn't he? I love that the models totally listened to him, because he was so crazy. I hope he manages to keep that in his career ahead.

Perry's shoulder thing. What is that? Is it just that he's too squarish? That he carries his head too far back? I don't really get what it is, precisely, about his shoulders.

Also, they go on and on about the symmetry of Ben's face, but I never notice it. My face is asymmetrical, but I don't know how to notice it particularly about other people.

On the weight issue, I don't know that I can deal with it at all. I really feel like on one level, the whole premise of modeling is flawed. So I don't know how to say, okay, this is outside of the norm, but I accept it for these reasons, or whatever. I mean, I look at the models and I can see what they see in looking for Ronnie to be more cut or Holly to be more trim. I can see the difference, and I don't know how to say, yeah, you should really abuse your body more for my entertainment. But then, they're in that career. We've asked them to make those sacrifices and they evidently have tacitly agreed. Athletes do terrible things to their bodies in the name of our entertainment, too.

I guess it's just more personal because it's entirely about the body. That's the product.

I mean, I couldn't be a model, even when I was a kid and wanted to be, but at the time it wasn't my weight that would have stopped me, it was my height. And so I just said, hum, can't be a model. If there was some crazy procedure I could have done to be taller so I could have been a model, would I have tried?

Not sure where I'm going with all this. Guess I just feel conflicted about it. I don't really blame the judges for their comments, I guess. And I at least appreciate that they've always tried hard to explicate the difference. "These are not the standards for normal people, just for models." At least they've expressed that, because a lot of these shows don't.

And I at least appreciate that they've always tried hard to explicate the difference. "These are not the standards for normal people, just for models." At least they've expressed that, because a lot of these shows don't.

This. Very much so. If I thought too hard about the real life message that comes through when someone with a body like Holly's is deemed "too flabby", I'd never be able to watch any of these shows. But I do think that MMaSM does a better job than any other model show in stressing that their critiques of the participants' weight is being given within the context of the show and the warped standards of the modeling world. I also like that they are just as critical and hard on the boys as they are on the girls. And their hard nosed criticism has produced finalists who can actually work and have careers post-show (unlike another model show fronted by a fivehead, former super model who's put on a few pounds herself).

unlike another model show fronted by a fivehead, former super model who's put on a few pounds herself

OMG, the other day they had Paulina walk past/in front of Tyra while in the judging room? And you could see that Paulina was literally about half tyra's size. It was kinda sad...

OK, I admit I saw Step Up 2: The Streets, but I've only seen two eps of Dance Crew: where were Jabbawookeez in SU2? Were teh the "410" crew? Cause I remember the masks, at the beginning. That was nice.

If I thought too hard about the real life message that comes through when someone with a body like Holly's is deemed "too flabby", I'd never be able to watch any of these shows.

I really don't think it's about size, though. It's about tightness, and some people are more naturally tight and some people have to work out to get that -- at any size. I have a friend who's much heavier than I am, but looks way better than I do in strappy tops, because her arms are just firm. They might be bigger, but they aren't flabby like mine are. You know?

Anyway, now I'm sucked into the dance crew show, damn you all, and I can't believe no one talked about Kaba Modern's wardrobe during the evolution of dance number! That was HOT.

Also, they were contrasting from a few weeks back, and noting that Holly and Ronnie had been crapping out on their workouts (which I think they both copped to). It's like pro athletes who take the summer off and have to "get back in shape." By any broader standard, it doesn't make sense. But in the tiny universe of pro athletes, it's a different measure.

I found the weight discussion about the other girl from way back much more disturbing, because if she wasn't the right body type, why put her in the show in the first place and then harangue her about it?

My inlaws brought Dirty Jobs DVDs to the family easter. Mike Rowe: I'll be in my bunk. Bonus: mr. flea loves the show, and hasn't noticed that I am faint with lust for the host!

Mike Rowe has that kind of appeal that other men totally don't get, I think.

brenda, I definitely agree about Katie. They were all, "I knew this was going to happen." So, then why did you cast her? And I know she was an audience vote-in, but they cast her up to that point. And so was Ben an audience vote-in and he's apparently done fine with his fitness, from that first "I've been working out with Ronnie" moment on.

Ooh, on the dance crew thing. I missed the history show. I appear to only sporadically be watching it, but since it's on eight million times I've mostly been able to keep up.

I think the dance show I watched this morning was the most recent, so yeah, it should be on 52 more times in the next 48 hours.