TV

[sgip]

I posted a bit about a family hoarder in the Real Estate board last month. I have two hoarders in my family, one on Soylent Red's side and one on mine. Soylent Red's father passed away a little over 60 days ago. It took about 12 Construction Dumpsters (about 2 feet higher and 5 feet longer than large dumpsters), 3 trips by a metal scrapper with an F-150 and side rails, plus about $15,000 of labor to clear out the junk. The gardener's taken another $4,000 to bring the yard back into the 21st century. So far I've taken about 300 gallons of paint to the recycler with another 100 gallons to go. I'd post pictures but don't think Soylent Red would like me to. Trust me. The few snips in the show you see of the hoarders house is as bad, if not worse in reality.

Hoarding is a permanent mental condition. There is no known cure. Even anti-depressants can't curb the habit of collecting. Both of our families hoarders were children back in the 1930's and 40's when times were a great deal tougher than they are today. I think that sense of material loss/poverty drives some of the habit. Because of this the old time hoarders I can understand. These 30-50 year old hoarders I don't.

Can't watch the show at all. I turn the channels whenever a promo/preview comes up. The kids need to seize legal control of their parents institutionalize them but they never do. I hear the show ends up with a "so and so has been in therapy and is no longer collecting junk" tag line at the end. Check back in 24 months and then I'll believe there's hope. 

 

[socal78]

Is there any show that both of us watch/ have watched?

Good question. Let me know if you watch any of these so we can discuss them:

- Deadliest Catch
- 20/20
- Dateline
- World of Jenks
- The Office
- Through the Wormhole
- 5 Ingredient Fix
- My 600 Lb. Life
- Barefoot Contessa (sometimes)
- Mad Men
- Dark Matters: Twisted but True (I stopped recently 'cause I got bored.)
- Catfish
- Lockup
- Teen Mom 2
- Dog and Beth: On The Hunt
- Gypsy Sisters
- Mob Wives
- Snooki & Jwoww (I'm embarrassed to admit this.)
- Honey Boo Boo
- Real Housewives of OC
- Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
- True Life
- Friend Zone

... Give me your list. Do we have any matches???

 

[cubiczirconia]

None of the above..
House of cards
Modern Family
Middle (once in a while)
Last Man Standing
How I met your Mother

Planning.. Tudors. Game of thrones may be..

 

[jayl23]

Been watching the Nat Geo series: The '80s: The Decade That Made Us.  Great series, especially if you grew up during that time and didn't pay much attention to the news back then.  It's amazing the enormous amount of TV programs available today, ever since the cable TV revolution started back in the 80s.  I still remember when I first came to the US from Taiwan and getting my daily dose of American culture from watching MTV, when all they did was play music videos.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/the-80s-the-decade-that-made-us/

 

[sgip]

I'm sorry you found out about American "culture" through MTV.

Anyone watching the BBC program after "Dr. Who" called "Orphan Black"? Looks interesting from the previews but haven't seen an episode.

 

[socal78]

None of the above..
House of cards
Modern Family
Middle (once in a while)
Last Man Standing
How I met your Mother

Planning.. Tudors. Game of thrones may be..

I've never seen a single episode!

 

[cubiczirconia]

None of the above..
House of cards
Modern Family
Middle (once in a while)
Last Man Standing
How I met your Mother

Planning.. Tudors. Game of thrones may be..

I've never seen a single episode!

As long as both of us haven't seen Notebook, we have something in common (TV/movies)!

 

[cubiczirconia]

I'm sorry you found out about American "culture" through MTV.

You will be very sorry to hear that someone once told me they watch Jerry Springer to know what Americans are truly about I told them to watch Judge Judy also so that they have a better understanding.. kind of like Americans claiming they know all about Indian culture via Slumdog Millionaire

 

[jayl23]

I'm sorry you found out about American "culture" through MTV.

Hehe, I guess it was a combination of TV and actually living and growing up in suburban NJ that I learned the American culture/way of life.  I credit my perfect no accent English to countless hours of exposure to TV and radio shows, as well as my school teachers.

Yea, Americans are great at exporting their 'culture' through all the Hollywood movies and TV shows.  Can't really blame foreigners for having the wrong ideas if they watch crazy shows.  Garbage in, garbage out.

 

[sgip]

Perhaps for another thread: What TV show closely reflects America to anyone living outside of the continental United States? "Seinfeld"? "Weeds"? "30 Something"?

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Perhaps for another thread: What TV show closely reflects America to anyone living outside of the continental United States? "Seinfeld"? "Weeds"? "30 Something"?

Upper middle class in SoCal? "Modern Family"
College scene? Anything on MTV
Fantasy housewife life? Obvious answer here.
Kentucky criminal activity? "Justified"
US after zombocalypse? "The Walking Dead"
US after worldwide blackout? "Revolution"
OC dream job? "Flip or Flop" 

I don't know if there is one show that reflects most of America... I get my information about places outside the US from "The Amazing Race". 

 

[cubiczirconia]

Perhaps for another thread: What TV show closely reflects America to anyone living outside of the continental United States? "Seinfeld"? "Weeds"? "30 Something"?

What! You didn't include How I met your mother? Barney Stinson is not the typical Investment Banker?  ;-)
SoCal, add Friends, Sex and the City and Seinfeld to my list. Though I watch Seinfeld only if someone is watching and I multitask during that time. I used to love Friends.. Don't know about understanding the culture, but before Urban Dictionary days, it helped me a lot to understand certain words/ terms/ language.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Idol is getting close to ending... not sure how they can retool it next season so that it's better... but they should not try to fix the finalists to be all girls like they did this season. Seems like voting is still skewing caucasian so that means either Kree or Angie. I think Candice is one of the best singers but it seems like she has some meanness in her.

The Voice just finished the Knockout rounds... and I think there were some mistakes. My pick to win is Judith Hill but my other pick, Ryan Innes, got eliminated by Usher last night. Still not sure Usher knows what he's doing. I guess you can say The Voice is more guilty of stacking the deck... but I find it a bit more entertaining than the ramblings of Nikki Minaj and her overexpressive faces.

 

[socal78]

Whatdya mean the show fixed the finalists to be all girls. How did they do that? You mean by not using the "Save" on one of the men?

I am like 3 or more weeks behind. The episodes started dropping off the DVR. It's become a chore to watch. I think after this season I've decided not to watch anymore. I want those hours of my life back that I spent watching AI this year. The talent mostly sucked and I'm tired of the super cheesy group performances. They're so plastic.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Whatdya mean the show fixed the finalists to be all girls. How did they do that?

It was actually before the public voting... when the "judges" were choosing who would be in the top 10. They made it seem like the audience chose the final 5 guys... but the 10 guys they had up there weren't the best of the crop. There were a few WGWG who we didn't see or the "judges" did not let move forward.

When was the last time you saw such a weak crop of male singers on Idol?

The talent mostly sucked and I'm tired of the super cheesy group performances. They're so plastic.

At least the group songs are live... one of the seasons they were lip-synced.

 

[socal78]

Is it just me? When I watch the American Idol group performances, I have flashbacks to the Brady Bunch. "Sunshine Day", "Keep on Movin'", and when Peter's voice cracked on "Time to Change" (<-- Who remembers that one?!). Ultimate cringe-worthy performances.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCCG7QkM_c[/youtube]

 

[socal78]

At least the group songs are live... one of the seasons they were lip-synced.

The only thing missing is Jazz Hands.

 

[socal78]

It was actually before the public voting... when the "judges" were choosing who would be in the top 10. They made it seem like the audience chose the final 5 guys... but the 10 guys they had up there weren't the best of the crop. There were a few WGWG who we didn't see or the "judges" did not let move forward.

When was the last time you saw such a weak crop of male singers on Idol?

Yeah, I remember in the beginning of the program, they showed clips of the contestants saying, "It's time for a girl to win"... "it's been 6 years" - or something like that. It does seem a bit "prophetic".

I wasn't paying attention to WGWGs. Were there any this year at Hollywood or beyond? I really don't remember.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

It will probably end up Kree... although Angie (Mylie Cyrus 2.0) might win too. Past winners Jordin Sparks and Fantasia give Candice a good chance to win... I just don't know if she can... she has a great voice... but something about her personality is a bit off to me.

 

[qwerty]

It will probably end up Kree... although Angie (Mylie Cyrus 2.0) might win too. Past winners Jordin Sparks and Fantasia give Candice a good chance to win... I just don't know if she can... she has a great voice... but something about her personality is a bit off to me.

im pulling for Angie - she seems the most versatile, Kree will likely be huge in the country world. And i agree with about Candice, there appears to be a sense of bitterness to her