Olympic Obsession

Posted inColumns, Olympics, Sports, TV

I think my obsession started with the “Guinness Book of World Records.” We always had one lying around the house when I was a kid so you could check the distance of the longest grape toss which someone caught in their mouth.

The book also had lists of Olympic medalists in every sport. I used to study those lists and dream of my own Olympic glory. That’s how I ended up writing a sixth-grade essay about how I would defeat Roman Dmitriev, the Russian lightweight wrestler, to win my first gold medal in 1984.

Instead, I ended up in the seats at those Olympics watching with my two brothers. Dmitriev didn’t make it either because of the Soviet boycott, so I guess he gets half the blame for me not having my Olympic moment at 16. He had also retired at that point, but that’s extraneous to my fantasies.

I bring all this up because the 2012 Summer Olympics start this weekend. That means I feel a little distracted pretty much all the time. I don’t just get obsessed with who will win the wrestling competition. I get into pretty much everything.

Say It, Don. SAY IT!

Posted inTV
I have not had this feeling for two or three years. I don't have an episode of "Mad Men" awaiting me. I didn't get into the show until a few…

Worst Week

Posted inColumns, TV

I hate this week. I should really love it because you can sense the beginning of summer, and Memorial Day gives us a four-day work week. But an awful stench lingers in the air for me.

The television season has come to a close.

I will get over this feeling soon when I start to embrace the freedom to read on the porch past 8 p.m. without running inside to catch one of my favorite shows or, at the very least, popping in to make sure it has started to record.

Dan Harmon Will Be Fine

Posted inTV
A lot of angst and worry has filled Twitter and other online communities because of Sony's decision to cut "Community" creator Dan Harmon loose from the show last week. With last…

Change in TV Comedy?

Posted inTV
The good news is that it looks like I will continue watching my favorite shows like "Community," "30 Rock," "Parks and Recreation," and "Cougar Town." At least that's the way…

Getting Closer

Posted inAmerica, Columns, Olympics, Sports, TV

Sometimes, a milestone comes and goes with very little notice. That’s what happened a couple of weeks ago when we passed the 100 days mark before the beginning of the Olympic Games this summer.

I saw a brief mention of this news on Twitter or Facebook, but just went about my business. A few days later, I started to realize I should have paid more attention.

One hundred days until I can pretty much fill 24 hours with sports, both popular and obscure. Of course, I can kind of pull that off now with all the cable channels and online options available, but that’s not as much fun as the Olympics.

‘Mad Men’ Decision

Posted inTV
As white people everywhere know, "Mad Men" returns to the air on Sunday. We have suffered silently and whitely for more than 500 days. Well, not all of us. I…

Admitting My Shameful Secret

Posted inColumns, Movies, TV

I admitted a deep, dark secret to some friends the other day. I felt much better afterwards, even though they gave me some grief for my transgression.

While I feel good about taking this step with some people close to me, I don’t know if I can bring myself to make the same admission here. With time, understanding and an opportunity to right this wrong, I might muster up the courage eventually.

We had somehow fallen into an online discussion about television and movies. I would say I don’t know how we ended up on the topic, but I know exactly how we did. We love television and movies.

What I don’t know is how the conversation pushed me to list the iconic American movies I have never seen. Trust me, it’s quite a list. Luckily, a few people made me feel better about my admission by baring their movie-not-watching soul a little bit.