confess what makes you tune in.
I expect to live long enough to hear a woman running for president asked what she would do if she found herself pregnant.
The Governor of Illinois made a rather startling announcement regarding his state's death penalty policy -- what was it, and why did he do it?
(The previous question was just too boring.)
(Don't send me your answers. This is just a little way to expand your horizons. Honest.)
Darin and I had to get up early this morning, after not getting to bed particularly early last night.
DIANE attempts to open the shower door. She's not
doing it very well.
DIANE
I'm suffering that special
stupidness that only a lack of
sleep conveys.
Very long pause.
DARIN
Confers.
DIANE
Oh. Right. Confers.
DARIN
I knew it was one of those con-
words.
DIANE
Like I was saying.
When we're both sleepy and stupid, it's like we have a half a brain between us. Considering we actually have three brains between us at the moment, this is not a good sign.
Are they dwelling as much on this Alaska Airlines crash in your neck of the woods as they are here in LA? Or is this simply because it happened near LA? We hardly ever watch broadcast TV (thank you, TiVo), but we have the past few nights because there's been no new episodes of our favorite shows, except The Sopranos. Every time we turn on the TV there's another live-shot from the crash site --
(Have I mentioned how ridiculously overused the "live from the scene" is used here in LA? The existence of satellite uplink and ability to be remote has in fact dictated that they must be remote to make their reports. Our favorite example is the 11pm broadcast that had the reporter standing outside a darkened school saying, "Educators met here at noon today...")
-- and it's making me crazy. Partially because I hate pandering sensationalism (February sweeps! Sex and scandal, 24/7!) and partially because I'm finding myself emotional and maudlin about this kind of thing, whereas I never was before. I wanted to cry when I heard about this crash, whereas usually I pay that sort of thing no heed.
People in Arkansas and Texas, please don't let any children fall down wells until I've given birth; I don't think I could stand the strain. (Although my hormones probably won't right themselves for a while afterward.)
I think this a rather common side-effect of pregnancy: fear that something terrible's going to happen to Darin and I'll be left alone. He fears that something will happen to me too, though not quite on the same scale -- he has always been several orders of magnitude calmer than me anyhow, and he is not blessed with the type of morbid imagination that allows me to envision any calamity, even ones that have not happened.
One of my weird quirks -- short, shameful confession time -- is that many times at an intersection I'll see someone do something stupid that could have caused an accident, and then I'll imagine the horrible accident happening and actually react to it, which gives Darin a start because there I am, freaking out at something that's not happened.
However, today's upside is: it's Sweeps Month, which means
- there will finally be new Buffys, dammit, and
- the local news will start their promos for the most ridiculous "special reports," which are always so important they get shown during the last 30 seconds of the broadcast.
What's the silliest sweeps promo you've seen so far? What shameful attractor will get you to watch the news where you wouldn't have thought about it for two seconds before? I confess that anything having to do with sex will make me consider tuning in, even though I usually forget by the time the show actually comes on -- watching TV endlessly is not my idea of a good time.
I am also still looking for snacking suggestions. I bought another package of Pinwheels and am eating three at a time. Honestly, it's like I get possessed or something.
Several e-mailed to tell me the "cat herding ad" was from EDS and where it is available online. That is a damn funny commercial.
Jeliza also told me about the Ad Critic site, where you can watch all the ads without having to watch the game. Isn't technology great?
The answer to yesterday's question: The surprising thing about John McCain's win in New Hampshire is its size -- McCain got 49 percent of the vote, Bush got 31 percent. Evidently neither campaign predicted that McCain would win by that much (although I cannot find a source for this, I believe they both thought McCain would win) or that McCain would win in every demographic, from independents to serious conservatives. The size of the victory reportedly has Bush's people somewhat nervous. Until they get to a state when money for TV ads means more than personal appearances, at any rate.
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Copyright 2000 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com