Showing posts with label reality shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reality shows. Show all posts
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Santa Clara's drumline does NOT rule
In the world of DCI, the Phantom Regiment does. Literally. They brought their own slaves to the semifinal competition last Thursday, and had them carry the drum major onto the field--when they weren't otherwise abusing them.
All assertions from Cheryl about the superiority of Santa Clara's drumline aside, they placed sixth, along with their overall corps. The DCI theater telecast was great, both in coverage (really good camerawork and sound) and in comfort (A/C, cushy seats.) I had forgotten how entertaining these productions are, with bunches of people who can run--not march, run--around making formations while playing the Waldenstein Sonata in C Major, Movement 1.
Like the Phantom Regiment, who did "Spartacus," most corps' shows had a central theme. My biking nut friend Jamie really enjoyed "Tour de France," with the color guard in full biking attire. Good thing it included helmets, they threw bike wheels at each other.
Other interesting themes--a boxing match, and "The Pursuit of Happiness," (yeah, whatever, people.) One of my favorites was the Cavaliers Samurai theme. They whipped Santa Clara too, check out the Cavalier's Kodo drums in the youtube clip. Hard to compete with that. Poor Santa Clara. Outgunned in the percussion department.
All assertions from Cheryl about the superiority of Santa Clara's drumline aside, they placed sixth, along with their overall corps. The DCI theater telecast was great, both in coverage (really good camerawork and sound) and in comfort (A/C, cushy seats.) I had forgotten how entertaining these productions are, with bunches of people who can run--not march, run--around making formations while playing the Waldenstein Sonata in C Major, Movement 1.
Like the Phantom Regiment, who did "Spartacus," most corps' shows had a central theme. My biking nut friend Jamie really enjoyed "Tour de France," with the color guard in full biking attire. Good thing it included helmets, they threw bike wheels at each other.
Other interesting themes--a boxing match, and "The Pursuit of Happiness," (yeah, whatever, people.) One of my favorites was the Cavaliers Samurai theme. They whipped Santa Clara too, check out the Cavalier's Kodo drums in the youtube clip. Hard to compete with that. Poor Santa Clara. Outgunned in the percussion department.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The kitchen from Hell
My latest reality-TV obsession: Hell's Kitchen. Think "The Apprentice", but with Chefs. It's much more entertaining to watch people compete for money by try to whip up a signature dish instead of an ad campaign.
The latest drama in Hell's Kitchen: a fainting, cramping, and sweating retirement-home chef/contestant was sent to the hospital. I knew he was going home when he had to be dressed by two of the other contestants. One contestant pulled cooked pasta out of a garbage can and attempted to serve it to unsuspecting diners. Her signature dish is now Spaghetti a la Homeless Dumpster Diver. Another dished out stinkingly rancid crab, and was only stopped by Gordon Ramsey, who is the show's equivalent to Donald Trump. He fires a chef or two at the end of every show. In between he curses a lot, smears undercooked food on contestant chefs, and generally terrorizes the lot of them. His cursing has a British flair. I had never heard the epithet "you f*cking donkey!" before watching this show.
In the category of "Gee, what a surprise": the contestant who is a Waffle House cook kicked @$$ preparing breakfast for 100 soldiers and sailors. Is there a time when you can walk into a Waffle House and not see an egg cooking? She's my favorite so far.
The latest drama in Hell's Kitchen: a fainting, cramping, and sweating retirement-home chef/contestant was sent to the hospital. I knew he was going home when he had to be dressed by two of the other contestants. One contestant pulled cooked pasta out of a garbage can and attempted to serve it to unsuspecting diners. Her signature dish is now Spaghetti a la Homeless Dumpster Diver. Another dished out stinkingly rancid crab, and was only stopped by Gordon Ramsey, who is the show's equivalent to Donald Trump. He fires a chef or two at the end of every show. In between he curses a lot, smears undercooked food on contestant chefs, and generally terrorizes the lot of them. His cursing has a British flair. I had never heard the epithet "you f*cking donkey!" before watching this show.
In the category of "Gee, what a surprise": the contestant who is a Waffle House cook kicked @$$ preparing breakfast for 100 soldiers and sailors. Is there a time when you can walk into a Waffle House and not see an egg cooking? She's my favorite so far.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)