Last night I dreamed that I was on So You Think You Can Dance, and then I woke up convinced it was real. The weird thing is, I remember so much about this dream, and most of the time, I only remember vague images and random plot lines, so to speak.

But I remember that Danny from Season 2 was my partner, which was awesome, because I love Danny, I still wish he'd won. And we were doing a Mia Michaels dance, and I can remember certain moves we did. My hair looked really pretty, and I was wearing this burnt rust/orange-y colored dress, which looked much prettier in my head than how it's described here. And so we're doing this dance, and it's obviously emotional, and my face is just not moving AT ALL. Like, my eyes are down at the floor almost the whole time, and I look Botoxed and pissed off. It's so strange. And I remember the song we were dancing to (the Jason Mraz song that Jeanine and Jason danced to this past season, "If It Kills Me"), and I thought it went really well, until we got to this one point and I had to put my left leg up in arabesque, and for some reason I could neither lift nor straighten my leg, and I looked like an ungainly cow.

So then we went to stand in front of the judges, although for some reason we came up behind them (don't ask me why) and I'm assuming Mia was crying because her eye makeup was all smudged, and then, if I'm remembering correctly, I just started saying "buttocks" over and over again for no reason.

And then I watched the video of us dancing on YouTube and all the comments were like "OMG that Robin girl sucks" and they were right, I did suck. And then I woke up thinking that all of this really happened, and that I needed to go watch the video to see if I sucked just as bad as I thought I did. I actually had to remind myself that I have never been on an nationally televised dance competition.

The End.

The world requires a mashup of this. It would be glorious.

After many months of scoping out leads on the internet, I finally started the actual apartment hunt today. And I very nearly applied for one. Normally, I don't consider myself an impulsive person, but thinking back on my previous forays into apartment rentals, this is the one area that seems to be the exception to that rule. I was about to go to the bank and take out a chunk of change for a deposit, but then I called my boyfriend and my mom and they were both like "whoa, squirrel, what?" (this will make sense in a bit) and I realized that maybe I should look around a bit more.

I looked at two places today. I'll start with the second one, because I immediately ruled that out. Even before I saw it, I knew it was out of my price range, but it had laundry facilities in the basement, and it was in this really gorgeous historic house, and so I wanted to see it. And I'm glad I saw it, but seriously? The bedroom was tiny, the bathroom was smaller than my utility closet at our current place, and there was practically no closet space. Apparently, laundry facilities are a great excuse to jack up the price on a place.

Anyway, back to the first one: I am almost in love with this place. Let me count the ways:

-It's hella cheap, especially for the size. I was shocked at how much space there was. Also: first month's rent is free, and if I move in in mid-November, I can count December as my first month (Actually, I think I totally kinda scammed them about that, and I didn't even mean to - it was more like they scammed themselves, and I just went along and nodded and smiled really pretty.)
-It has carpeting. Not that I don't love hardwood floors, but hardwood floors means you just have to go out and buy a rug or two, and that shit gets expensive.
-There are two huge closets, both of which have shelving, plus a storage nook type of thing in the kitchen. YAY SPACE TO PUT STUFF. Pack Rat Robin is pleased.
-The kitchen is huge. Not that I'm all about cooking, but I don't like tiny kitchens, they make me feel claustrophobic. And, again, space to put stuff.
-The bathroom has a good-sized tub, a big mirror, and a very big counter top. I am all about the big counter tops.
-It's in this nice old house that is within walking distance of work, in a neighborhood I know really well.

So. All that is great. But, when I first went in and looked around, I couldn't help noticing that there was a bunch of crud on the floor in the kitchen, and that something plastic bag-y looking seemed to be hanging from the ceiling. As I got closer, I looked up and noticed a GIANT GAPING CEILING TILE-SHAPED HOLE. Fortunately, I had my handy-dandy camera with me, and as I was already taking pictures of the rest of the apartment, I took some shots of this mess as well.

When I got back to the rental office, I said to the lady, very nicely, "I love this place except for the giant hole in the ceiling." I expected her to nod knowingly and explain it, but she just looked at me as if I'd started speaking a foreign language. I pulled out my camera, showed her the picture, and she and her colleagues said "why don't you come back here." They let me into the back part of the office and asked me to show the picture to the maintenance guy, who was also shocked, but informed me that apparently there had been a squirrel in the building, and the squirrel catcher dude probably removed the ceiling tile in his attempts to get the squirrel. Or something. He assured me that they'd fix it.

And then I almost put down a deposit on the place because, despite the squirrel, I really did like it. But then I talked to Brian and my mom, and they brought me back to reality. I know I should look around for other (hopefully squirrel-free) apartments, that I should keep my options open. My fear is that I won't find anything better, and that by the time I go back to this office to apply for the apartment, someone else will have gotten it, and then I'll be screwed. I just have to hope that whoever looks at it can't see past the giant gaping hole. Fingers and toes crossed.

The past two weeks of Project Runway haven't really been worth mentioning, or even remembering. I don't remember much of either episode. Two weeks ago, they had to design something blue. That's all: something blue. Apparently blue is kryptonite to this group of designers. Somebody won, and somebody else went home, and almost everything was awful.

Last week, they had to turn an old wedding dress into something new for divorcees. Tim likes that word, "divorcees". He kept saying it over and over again, to the point that it didn't even sound like a real word anymore, it was something he'd made up to try and make this dreary challenge more interesting, but it didn't work. Girl who talks to herself a lot cried, and Epperson got sent home for something that was not at all bad. I can't even be angry about the fact that they didn't send whatshisface home for the shiny garbage bag dress. I just don't even care anymore.

Because honestly, if Nina Garcia can't even be bothered to show up, why the hell should I?

Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland over the weekend. And a lot of people have opinions about that fact. Most of them go something like this:

-"HE RAPED A 13 YEAR-OLD CHILD."
-"OMG he's evil and should rot in jail forever."
-"I can't believe they gave him an Oscar, this is why people hate Hollywood."

Yes, he drugged and raped a 13 year-old. The details of the case are horrifying. He was arrested, he submitted to authorities, pleaded guilty to "unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor", spent over a month in state prison for psychiatric evaluation, and then, when he realized that the judge was going to renege on the plea deal, he ran. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't have all the information about the case. But I think I know more than some of the people who've been ranting on the internet all day. I remember watching the documentary about the case a year or so ago, and the prosecutor on the case said he didn't blame Polanski for running. The victim in the case has repeatedly asked that the charges be dismissed, for the sake of her husband and children, and yet people continue to bulldoze over her feelings and wishes because "for good or ill, the justice system doesn’t work on behalf of victims; it works on behalf of justice."

I'm so conflicted about this, because I also don't want to be one of those people who says "he's a great artist, so he should be forgiven." I don't believe that's true. I would never try to convince anyone that he's a saint, but I also don't believe he's evil. He is another example of why you sometimes have to separate the art from its creator. I remember when Michael Jackson died, and as much as we wanted to celebrate his music, the molestation allegations were so much on everyone's mind. I think Ta-Nehisi Coates put it best at the time, and I've been thinking about this today: "I guess I could stop separating art from men. Regrettably, I think, I wouldn't be left with much art worth admiring. Sometimes awful people, do beautiful things. One doesn't cancel the other. And mourning the loss of human life, does not excuse the sins of that life."

I remember when Elia Kazan was given a lifetime achievement Oscar, and there were a lot of people who were truly angry about that, because of his actions during the McCarthy hearings. I think that was the first time I ever realized that you didn't necessarily have to be a good human being to create lasting, vital works of art. If Elia Kazan hadn't named names, would he have made On the Waterfront? And would Arthur Miller have written The Crucible? If they hadn't, our cultural landscape would be completely different; maybe it would be better, maybe worse. I'm not saying that making a great work of art absolves a crime. But people want things to be so black and white, they want only good people to create good things, and that's just not how it works. It seems foolish to reject something important and meaningful because it comes from an imperfect source. All I know is, when I watch Marlon Brando pick up Eva Marie Saint's glove on that playground, my heart stops at the beauty of that moment captured on film, and I am so grateful that I get to see it.

I'm going to watch Chinatown now. I've never seen it, and we have it on Netflix. Tonight seems as good a time as any to watch it.

I have just about had it with Project Runway. The challenge this week was to design a costume for a made-up character in an imaginary movie. That seems relatively straightforward. There were several genres to choose from, including film noir, period piece, and Western. My understanding, based on Tim's explanation, was that the design had to stay true to the chosen genre. Easy to do with action or sci-fi (not for Ra'mon, although - WHAT IN THE WHAT? - I will get to that later), because the boundaries are less clear. But for the first three I mentioned, you are working within a pretty specific framework. And yet for some reason, the judges penalized Gordana for her period-appropriate flapper dress because, although it was pretty and detailed, it wasn't "interesting" or "surprising" enough. And then they fucking loved Christopher's sleeveless halter top "Victorian" (I wish you could see the ginormous air quotes I'm making in my head right now) vampire runaway bride poofy thing.

Here's the thing: if the challenge were to reinvent a period look with a modern twist, I would have been 100% on board with Christopher's design. But that was not the challenge. At least I don't think it was? Because it seems to me that the parameters of the challenge changed sometime between Tim's explanation at the beginning and the runway show. Rather than looking for costumes that stayed true to their chosen genre, the judges seemed to be looking for things that were innovative and designer-y. And that's fine, that's what they're used to doing - BUT NOT FOR THIS CHALLENGE. I have never been so frustrated by this show as I was tonight. This is not even to speak of the continued unexplained absence of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia (the first of several times I yelled at the TV during the episode - LIFETIME, WHAT DID YOU DO).

I couldn't believe how flummoxed Epperson and Shirin were by the idea of doing a costume in the Western genre. What, did they think they had to make their models look like John Wayne? Seriously, people, think of Grace Kelly in High Noon. Think of the Widow Garrett or Joanie Stubbs on Deadwood. Miraculously, Epperson's look ended up being my favorite of the night (it was maybe a little too revisionist, I wish he'd used something other than denim, but compared to Christopher's sleeveless "I have no use for period, it's gonna be my version of period" dress, it was perfect). Shirin's looked like a costume for the dream ballet in a high school production of Oklahoma.

Nicolas won for his sci-fi ice queen thing that looked a lot like everything else he's designed. It's impossible to feel happy for the guy - he has the most repugnant personality. Althea was safe for her too-slutty-to-be-in-an-actual-film-noir look. The action-adventure looks were black and leathery and unmemorable.

I also cannot believe they sent Ra'mon home - WHAT IN THE WHAT indeed. I have nothing against Louise, but she has been aggressively mediocre and inoffensive the whole time, and her dress was not at all noir (and her explanation for her character was stupid), and Ra'mon took a chance and it looked like something out of Barbarella, it looked science-fictiony and I cannot think of any time I have been so completely flabbergasted and appalled by every single decision the judges have made on this show. I am seriously thisclose to never watching it again.

I've been so busy this week, what with working like crazy and socializing with people on more than one occasion (I know, I couldn't believe it, either), that I didn't get to watch any of my shows. But that's why I have DVR. It's nice to not feel like I'm overpaying for my cable (even though I probably am). But then the dilemma becomes avoiding all the recaps on various blogs that I read so that I don't get any spoilers. I read too many blogs. But I must know what is going on, even if I don't care!

So we watched Top Chef and Project Runway last night, and I remember that they were both quite entertaining, but beyond that...um...? Well, as always, Top Chef made me hungry, so we ate frozen pasta. It is deliciously ironic that while watching a show about how cooking can be an art form if done right, we usually end up eating something from the freezer. Top Chef doesn't make me want to learn how to cook; it makes me wish I had lots and lots of money so that I could go to some amazing restaurants and have people cook for me.

Project Runway FINALLY presented us with an interesting challenge, and yet I was still pretty bored, and I'm not sure why. I mean, making a garment out of newspaper is pretty difficult, I'm sure, but it didn't feel that way. The biggest drama was Johnny Meth Addict Guy revealing himself to be a painfully insecure pathological liar, which really wasn't surprising. And also, that zen calm I was talking about last week looked more like laziness this week. So I'm not sad he's gone. I wish Nicolas hadn't been such a jerk on the runway, but he was right, and at least it provided some drama. Other than that, the biggest "issue" in the workroom was the fact that Shirin talks to herself while she's working, and this pisses some people off. Whatever.

My main problem this week is that Michael Kors and Nina Garcia are still not there, and I am really tired of this. I watch this show for them as much as anything else. I don't care what Tommy Hilfiger has to say about Althea's newspaper dress (although, surprisingly enough, I totally dug it; I wish she'd won for this dress instead of last week's weird three-piece thingy). I'm sure Nina's underling at Marie Claire knows fashion, but I don't care. I want Michael and Nina back. If they're still MIA next week, I will probably throw an Eloise-style temper fit.

Last week's surfwear episode was mostly meh for me. Mitchell was finally sent home because the judges realized he was incompetent and lazy, and the producers realized he was boring. You should've known, Mitchell: if you're going to be a waste of space, you have to be compelling about it. Hosea from Top Chef knew this: he made his quest to be The Worst an epic journey full of twists and turns, complete with cheating on his girlfriend with Leah (aka The First Runner-Up of Worst), consistently butchering seafood all the while claiming to be a seafood chef (from Denver...), and getting into constant pissing matches with Stefan, who was so obviously superior to Hosea that it should have been laughable. And it was laughable, until Stefan was done in by his hubris and Hosea was rewarded for his persistent, unprecedented badness by winning his season, something which still causes me to cringe every time I think about it. When he made and appearance on Top Chef Masters last month, eating and critiquing the food of chefs who are light years beyond him in every respect, I nearly vomited. Every time they showed him making a comment, I said, very loudly, "shut up, Hosea, you're The Worst." I'm not even lying.

But good gracious do I digress: Surfwear. Um...ok. Whatever. I'm sure that, somewhere, Ari and Malvin are sitting there going "seriously?"  Ari would have made a dress that looked like a surfboard, and Malvin's would have been made out of sand, leaving a trail in his model's wake. And those would have been their every-day looks; I can't even begin to try to think about imagining what their avant garde looks would have been like. My brain doesn't bend that way. Whatever either of them made would have been hideous and unwearable, natch, but at least they would have been INTERESTING, MY GOD this season has been so boring. The challenge felt really perfunctory (we're in California! Let's do something...beachy? With surfers? Sure why not!), and the word macrame was used a bajillion times and the only dress I really remember was Ra'mon's lime green neoprene concoction with the weird gray dye splotch that actually wasn't too hideous. Also, it was the only avant garde look that seemed to have anything to do with surfwear. And I have to like it, if only because it sealed Mitchell's doom. And Michael Kors was again MIA, and I still haven't figured out what Rachel Bilson added to the conversation (when Lindsay Lohan offers better, more thoughtful and constructive criticism than you do, yikes).

Moving on to last night's episode:

CAN WE PLEASE SHOP SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN MOOD? Don't get me wrong, I love the weekly trips to the fabric store, but that's just it, they haven't had to use anything other than fabric to make clothes. These people are getting off light, and yet they continue to whine and moan and break needles. I so want Austin Scarlett to flounce in as only he can flounce and contemptuously throw ears of corn at them all. It would be glorious.

Anyhoo: Oh, the model-as-client challenge. Yet again, several of the models display an astonishing lack of fashion sense and/or an inability to coherently convey what they want to wear.  Several designers blather on about staying true to themselves/their instincts in defiance of their clients' lack of taste. Tim dispenses sage advice, and several people listen to him. Epperson talks to his family and cries and my heart melts, and I kinda love his dress, even though I wouldn't be caught dead in it. Logan takes his clothes off, because apparently that's his schtick. Michael Kors AND Nina Garcia are nowhere to be found, which I find very worrying.

Quick impressions as the dresses came down the runway:
-Qrystil's dress is nice and boring.
-Nicolas's dress is white.
-Irina's looks dowdy.
-LOVE Gordana's dress.
-Shirin's is boring and short.
-Logan's is a prom-ish nightmare.
-Christopher's is actually good.
-Epperson's looks really cool.
-Addict guy's dress is bad.
-Althea's is meh.
-Louise's is cool, i dig the neck.
-Ra'mon's has a giant flower.
-Carol Hannah's model looks old. Beautiful and classy, but old.

The scary lady guest judge told a model to her face that she has no fashion sense. It was awesome in a "wow, what a raging bitch" kind of way. Marc Bouwer is wearing more makeup than Heidi, but his hair is gorgeous. In the previews, Heidi said one of the dresses aged the model, and as soon as Carol Hannah's model turned the corner, I thought Heidi was talking about her. But no, she was referring to Qristyl's model, who I didn't think looked old, just boring as all hell. Shows what I know. Logan's dress is really, memorably ugly. Addict Guy seems to have reached a zen calm, so, good for him, make some better dresses now. The judges loved Epperson's dress, and I thought he might win, which would have made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

But Althea won? Seriously? Again, shows what I know. You crazy fashion people.

And finally, FINALLY, Project Runway remembers the rule that hideously ugly is always better than boring, and Qrystil gets sent home for her basic black dress. Logan lives to strip on camera for at least another episode. And, based on the previews for next week, I think we might finally get some unconventional materials to work with. It's a Festivus miracle!

While I wish that Joe Wilson hadn't made an ass of himself (upon hearing that it was a representative from South Carolina, all I could do was shake my head and say "of course it was"), it did lead to my absolute favorite moment of last night's speech:



LOOK AT HER EYES. On second thought, don't, because I'm pretty sure there are lasers shooting out of them, directly into Joe Wilson's head/heart/groin. Good lord, in that moment she's like the Borg Queen and Bellatrix Lestrange and Vigo the Carpathian combined. My immediate reaction was "Nancy Pelosi looks like she's going to kick someone's ass when this is over."

Random observations and things that stuck out in my head:

-Malvin was wrapping himself in the drapes for some reason. Maybe he was watching The Sound of Music?
-I keep forgetting how long this season has been sitting on the shelf - when they shot this, Rebecca Romijn was pregnant, and Lindsay Lohan still had credibility.
-I can't believe they sent Malvin at home - yes, his concept was stupid and hideous, but at least it was a concept, and it was made well. Why did they give Mitchell another chance? Even if it had been constructed well, which it wasn't, his look screamed "pregnant teenage prostitute" - and for some reason, all the lady judges seemed to like the idea of it. Oh, Hollyweird.
-But seriously, this is the second poorly constructed piece that Mitchell has sent down the runway, and they let him stay? In the past, Nina and Michael would have ripped him to shreds for such an offense, and he would have been gone faster than you can say "chicken thighs." I guess he's just lucky that the judges seem to have less patience for crazy than they used to
-Only one of the designers seemed to think about the idea that pregnant women generally have huge boobs. You couldn't wear a bra with 90% of those looks. Ow.
-I loved Shirin's dress and coat combo. I want to be pregnant (but not really) just so I can wear the whole outfit. The way she braided the fabric was a simple yet mind-blowing touch.
-I have a love/hate relationship with this type of challenge, the ones in which the designers are told to design for someone other than a 6' tall stick figure (in this case, a 6' tall pregnant supermodel, but whatever): on the one hand, it helps to draw a distinction between those who are really talented and adaptable, and those who are not. So many of them just flailed around like children who'd never encountered fabric before, and there were some truly atrocious garments that went down the runway. The only difference between this challenge and those from past seasons is the positive attitude with which most of the designers met the challenge, and I think this can be attributed to the fact that this non-stick figure was an actress and model, as opposed to a regular person. In the past, the "regular people" challenges have always brought out not only bad clothes, but bad attitudes (remember when Jeffrey treated whatsherface's mom like crap? Of course, Jeffrey treated everyone like crap, but you get what I'm saying). If it had just been a mundane old pregnant lady, I think we would have seen and heard a lot more whining.
-Apparently, Nina Garcia and I are on the same wavelength, because when Malvin's look went down the runway, I said it looked like she had already had the baby and was carrying it in a sling. Then, during her critique, Nina said the same thing. Go me.
-Do the designers not get to choose their models anymore? Would I know the answer to this question if I watched the show about the models? I don't need to know that badly.

All in all, Shirin is now my favorite, I hope Mitchell goes away very very soon, and I want Michael Kors to come back now please.

Reading Rainbow is going off the air. It's been on the air almost as long as I've been alive. I am so upset about this, and I don't even know why. I haven't watched the show in years and years. But it feels like another part of my childhood is dying. I think the only thing like this that could make me sadder is if Sesame Street went off the air, and I think there would be riots in the streets if they even talked about that happening.

And the reason it's happening is so stupid:

...the decision to end Reading Rainbow can also be traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming. The change started with the Department of Education under the Bush administration, he explains, which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading — like phonics and spelling.

Grant says that PBS, CPB and the Department of Education put significant funding toward programming that would teach kids how to read — but that's not what Reading Rainbow was trying to do.

"Reading Rainbow taught kids why to read," Grant says. "You know, the love of reading — [the show] encouraged kids to pick up a book and to read."

Why to read. That's such an excellent way of putting it. Who gives a fuck if a kid can read if they see it as a chore, something to be avoided, as work? Reading Rainbow made reading seem like fun, like an adventure, because that's what it is, what it can be.

The book that is sticking out the most in my mind right now is Gregory, the Terrible Eater. I remember this episode so clearly. I don't know why it's this one. But I loved this book, and it's because of this show.

I'm trying not to cry, because surely, in the grand scheme of things, this is not a tragedy. But it feels like a giant leap backwards, and it makes me sad that kids won't get to experience what I did, that they won't have the opportunity to see books and reading the way I did. I guess I should be grateful that I was born when I was. Because damn, this sucks.


 

The White House is apparently ready to drop the public option from the proposed health care bill. This is such bullshit. I want to scream.

I posted the above link on Facebook, and a friend of mine asked "so then what exactly ARE they going to give us?"

My reply was somewhat incoherent, but considering that this entire debate has been hijacked by a bunch of racist morons who don't know their ass from their elbow (let alone what is actually in the health care bill) but can yell really loudly and cry on camera, it's somewhat fitting:

I feel that the universe is conspiring against me.

I finally ordered my shoes for the wedding on Sunday, and paid extra for one-day delivery, so they'd be delivered today, which would give me time, if I needed it, to return them and find something else if they didn't work or whatever. So today I've been checking the UPS website to make sure everything's on schedule, and about 20 minutes ago, it said that they had tried and failed to deliver the package, and they would make a second attempt. Cue Robin's Not-So-Epic-But-Still-Quietly-Impressive Freakout. And I was trying really hard to be calm and collected today. But when are they going to make a second attempt? Today? Tomorrow? What if they try and, again, there's nobody in the apartment office (which seems to be the case today)? We're leaving on Thursday morning, I am on a deadline here, and I have enough to figure out without having to worry about whether or not my shoes are going to arrive on time.

Add to this that today I had to get my car inspected, and I had to get new wiper blades to pass inspection, so I ended up spending more money than I'd planned to, and slowly but surely that nice chunk of money I was saving is dwindling, and it's pissing me off.

This is why I don't make plans, because every time I do, they get fucked up, and I get angry and stressed out and it's just bad news bears all around.

ETA: NEVER MIND. They've been delivered. *sigh*

My impressions from last night's episode of So You Think You Can Dance, via Twitter:

• What fuckery was that? Gah, I KNEW it was a Tyce Diorio routine. That sappy, literal bastard.
• "Melissa can adapt to any style..." EXCEPT HIP HOP! Why hasn't she had to do hip hop? It's fishy, that's all I'm saying.
• This is not one of the pieces I was dying to see again. Although I have missed Shirtless Will.
• YAY YAY YAY I love the door dance. Also, I would like to make out with Twitch.
• Hot damn I forgot how much I love this tango.
• MARK! And Chelsie. MARK! Bleeding Love! Luuuuuuuuuurve this routine. And apparently the props/sets hate the season 4 peeps tonight.
• EVAN?! WHAT?! WHAAAAAAT? I...what? I love him but...WHAT THE HELL? Just...what?

Honestly, the whole night I was more excited by the fact that several of my faves from last season had come back to perform their Emmy-nominated routines, than by the actual show.  And watching Mark and Twitch and Katee and so on, I was struck by the realization that I remembered those routines better than I remember almost anything from this current season.  For some reason, this season just feels flat to me, and I'm not sure why.  But even though some of the routines were a little rusty (especially Joshuer and Chelsie's tango, which otherwise was hot), they still somehow resonated far more than almost anything I've seen this season.  The judges keep saying that this year's Top 20 is the best they've ever had, and maybe that's so.  Maybe they've just been given sub-par material.

As to the final four...I'm mostly happy.  If Janette can't win it (stupid Ameriker), then I hope Jeanine does.  She's quietly grown on me ever since she lost the dead weight also known as Chbeeb, and the Travis Wall routine she and Jason did a few weeks ago is my favorite dance of the whole season.  Also, she's adorable and funny and versatile, and what more could you want?  If not her, then I hope it goes to Brandon, because, well...he's amazing.  Kayla's gotten a lot better for me recently, but I still don't think she'll take it.  Which leaves Ade EVAN?!  WHAT THE FUCK?  Ok, calm down.  I love Evan.  But he is so obviously outmatched by the other three dancers he is left with, by Ade, by several other dancers who've been sent home already, even Evan seemed to know something was a little weird.  I don't think it's a voting glitch, I don't think they've rigged the system.  I think the tweens and their moms who love this show are just in love with his harmless, sexless, old-Hollywood puppy dog vanilla milkshake personality.  And that's fine.  But even Gene Kelly had sex appeal while being adorable, and Evan...does not.  If he wins this thing, it will be a travesty.

Final thought: Tyce Diorio must be stopped.  The opening number...my jaw dropped when the music started (the Judy Collins version of "Send in the Clowns"), and there was a giant box on the stage, and then they all popped out...in sad clown makeup and costumes.  It was atrocious.  I watched the entire dance in open-mouthed horror.  And I still can't believe he got nominated for that Jessiker and Will piece, unless the Emmy voters love Shirtless Will as much as I do.  Hmmm...

Me: I think I'm gonna go take a shower.
Him: Not that you need to.
Me: Yeah, I probably do.
Him: I know, I was just trying to be nice.
Me: That's how I know you were lying.

I am DISPLEASED in the extreme. What the fuck is wrong with you, America Ameriker? Why did you not vote for Janette? What makes Kayla the ice princess so compelling? Is it the hope that next week she just might develop a personality? Did you vote for Kayla because her grandpa is just so darn cute? I know he's adorable, but that is not a good enough reason for Janette to be going home!

This is what I hate about this show sometimes: they get to the Top 10, and suddenly everything is turned over to the American public, even though everyone knows the American public has shit for brains. And so we get ridiculous results like this: the magnificent Janette, who could and should have taken it all, gets sent home, while Evan isn't even in the bottom two.  And I LOVE Evan. I've loved him since last year when he almost made the Top 20. I'm so happy he's gotten as far as he has, but even I know that he should have gone home last night. Jason was really starting to shine, while Evan had plateaued, proving to be (adorably) awkward in several genres. If he wins this thing, it will not be right.

And don't even get me started on Melissa. I like her, I really do, I think she's great, I love that there's a ballerina on the show, I love that she's positively ancient by dance standards. And that is precisely why she shouldn't win. You watch her dance, and you can tell she's holding back in a way that someone ten years her junior wouldn't, and I understand why, because she has that adult knowledge that her body is fragile, that if she pops her hip out too far, she could be limping for a week. But she hasn't had to do hip-hop yet. How is that even possible on this show? Instead, she got to do a classical pas de deux, which, while beautiful, completely gave the lie to the idea that these dance styles are picked randomly each week. Nobody else could have done that dance, but she got to show off in her own style while everyone else had to struggle. That is not fair.

As for the cancer dance (I don't know what else to call it, I think Tyce Diorio would be offended if I didn't refer to it as the cancer dance). It felt icky to me. It felt icky, and crudely emotionally manipulative, and literal. In most things, literal is good. But not in dance. In dance, I want metaphor and abstract imagery and magic, not a blatantly obvious headscarf. I knew before they went to commercial, when Melissa and Ade were smiling for the camera, before they even started talking about the thing, that it was going to be about cancer. The subject, the inspiration, overwhelmed the choreography and the dancing, which was actually very nice (although I've seen better on this show), to the point that it was impossible to judge the piece on its own merits. It became the piece that, if you were to criticize it at all, would mean that you were a mean person who hated people with cancer, and that's just not fair. I don't like it when the choreographers do that, taking a subject like death or illness and building a mediocre dance around it and bringing everyone to tears. This is a competition, and manipulating the judges and the audience like that really rubs me the wrong way. I'm not saying that they shouldn't try to evoke an emotional reaction; I love watching dances that take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes, but I find that I am more often moved by dances that I didn't expect, from unexpected inspirations, the little things rather than the Big Issues.

I went to Target today, to get some necessities and to waste time, as is my wont.  While I was there, I saw some cute t-shirts on sale for $6.  I was about ready to throw one of every color in my basket, but then I decided that, even though I felt sweaty and gross, I should probably try them on.  And I'm glad I did.  These shirts are a textbook example of how one superfluous flourish can ruin a perfectly good shirt.  See, they have this little pocket that looks cute when they're on the hanger, but put one of them on, and the pocket looks completely out of place, throwing off the proportions of a perfectly decent v-neck tee.  And this might be forgivable if the pocket were actually useful, but it's not.  Of course, maybe the useless pocket isn't a problem for someone without a chest.  I wouldn't know.  Harumph.

In happier news, it's Patrick Stewart AND Captain Jean-Luc Picard's birthday!  What a coincidence, that they were born on the same day!  They could be twins!