I am happy for the Chinese pair that won the figure skating gold medal. I thought they were fantastic. I am not one to watch figure skating. I get bored after about a minute of watching them twirl. Yeah, the jumps are exciting, but they are rare, especially in pairs skating. The rest is just emoting and waving your arms around and looking intense.
Here is my one question: Why is the US so terrible at pairs skating? Both of the US teams were pretty bad. Yes, I know, I just said pairs skating is boring, but some emotion is better than just skating around with a partner!
They were graceless. Empty. Lifeless. No passion.
And they weren't even very good technically speaking.
I think part of the problem is that they have a 16 year old out there. Come on, 16 year olds are ok for singles, but in a pair? I just didn't buy it. To me, they looked like randomly selected pairs. Why wasn't Amanda Evora skating with her guy-whatshisname? Seems like that would make more sense and produce some more sparks on the ice.
I am sorely disappointed. And the NBC critics were hilarious as well. They kept saying things like "Well, this is the chance of a lifetime. They have learned so much." Nothing about the actual quality-because they were terrible! And had no chance of winning a medal.
We need to STEP IT UP!
However, I think I will watch men's skating. Now there are some jumps!
As for the women, I don't even know who the top US contenders are.
I may watch the women, but again, in an Olympics where events last 20 seconds or so, I simply don't have the patience to sit and watch a 4-5 minute routine set to sappy/annoying music.
Lastly, I am loving the Olympics in general. Even with NBC's terrible broadcasting. I love the excitement of competition! The agony of defeat! The massive wipeouts on the ski hills and on the ice!
I did NOT enjoy the luge. I was very sad about the whole thing, and I could not believe that NBC kept showing the footage of the young Georgian luger. That was awful and exploitative. I refused to watch it, actually, and I switched the channel when it came on and avoided all internet links to video.
Other than that, I have been enjoying myself. It's great timing-just when we are in the lowest pit of winter, out comes the Olympics to set everyone afire with passion!
It has even motivated me to start running-outside in the cold! If they can be outside racing around, then I surely can stand a few minutes of running outdoors!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Toyotas
Preface: I occasionally read a blog about consumer issues. They post articles about companies and their anti-consumer policies. They post about cars. They are sponsored by Consumer's Union.
I am interested in following the news about the recent Toyota recalls. I find it interesting because I am now a (happy) owner of a GM car. I thought that perhaps these recalls would cause a shift in attitudes about the supposed superiority of foreign-made cars, specifically Japanese brands such as Toyota and Honda.
Well, I am annoyed to say that, after reading an article about how the price of Toyotas are dropping because of the recalls, people on the article are commenting about how they're in the market for a new car and they can't wait to get a good deal on a Toyota. Because to them, a Toyota that might possibly accelerate and lead you off a cliff is better than a Chevy or a Ford.
I blame this on Consumer Reports. Let me just say, despite what they say, Consumer Reports is NOT unbiased, especially when it comes to cars. People spend way too much time reading the Car Issue as though it is the ultimate Truth in car buying. I don't believe them. I have been reading Consumer Reports car issues for the past few years, and I (and my parents, I might add) have noticed a trend: Consumer Reports ALWAYS rates foreign cars, especially Toyotas and Hondas at the top of their "good cars" lists. Conversely, GM cars are almost always at the bottom.
I am not sure why this is. If you read the reviews of the cars, focusing on the "Pluses" and "Minuses" section, you'll notice a great amount of subjectivity. For example, CR lists the Hummer H3 as having an "uncomfortable" ride. Well, based on whose opinions is it uncomfortable? My mom loves her H3. She has driven to Minnesota and back in it, with my dad. I have driven in it. A variety of family members have ridden in it. It is not uncomfortable, plainly stated. In fact, I think it's one of the most comfortable cars I have been in! So how are they rating this?? What standards do they use? They never say....
For my car, they list a major minus as the "finish" on the car. Seriously? That's a major flaw worth taking of several quality points?
So it seems like there might be an issue with the power steering in Camrys. On the radio today, the CR guy in charge of vehicle testing said something like "Well, when we tested it, we noticed that the steering was a bit loose." But yet, Toyota has gotten complaints about this issue. One woman said she lost control of the car and ran into a fence. Instead of presenting this as a negative, the CR guy spun it into something like "personal preference as to how loose you like your steering wheel." Really?
If that were a GM car, they would say something like "steering wheel is loose, may cause potential problems." And they would rate it "LOW."
I am so sick of everyone pandering to the Toyotas and defending them, even in the face of problems.
I just don't understand why opinions of American made cars are so low. It's not fair, and I think a lot of the reason why this is the case is because of Consumer Reports and their efforts to effectively destroy the US auto makers.
I am interested in following the news about the recent Toyota recalls. I find it interesting because I am now a (happy) owner of a GM car. I thought that perhaps these recalls would cause a shift in attitudes about the supposed superiority of foreign-made cars, specifically Japanese brands such as Toyota and Honda.
Well, I am annoyed to say that, after reading an article about how the price of Toyotas are dropping because of the recalls, people on the article are commenting about how they're in the market for a new car and they can't wait to get a good deal on a Toyota. Because to them, a Toyota that might possibly accelerate and lead you off a cliff is better than a Chevy or a Ford.
I blame this on Consumer Reports. Let me just say, despite what they say, Consumer Reports is NOT unbiased, especially when it comes to cars. People spend way too much time reading the Car Issue as though it is the ultimate Truth in car buying. I don't believe them. I have been reading Consumer Reports car issues for the past few years, and I (and my parents, I might add) have noticed a trend: Consumer Reports ALWAYS rates foreign cars, especially Toyotas and Hondas at the top of their "good cars" lists. Conversely, GM cars are almost always at the bottom.
I am not sure why this is. If you read the reviews of the cars, focusing on the "Pluses" and "Minuses" section, you'll notice a great amount of subjectivity. For example, CR lists the Hummer H3 as having an "uncomfortable" ride. Well, based on whose opinions is it uncomfortable? My mom loves her H3. She has driven to Minnesota and back in it, with my dad. I have driven in it. A variety of family members have ridden in it. It is not uncomfortable, plainly stated. In fact, I think it's one of the most comfortable cars I have been in! So how are they rating this?? What standards do they use? They never say....
For my car, they list a major minus as the "finish" on the car. Seriously? That's a major flaw worth taking of several quality points?
So it seems like there might be an issue with the power steering in Camrys. On the radio today, the CR guy in charge of vehicle testing said something like "Well, when we tested it, we noticed that the steering was a bit loose." But yet, Toyota has gotten complaints about this issue. One woman said she lost control of the car and ran into a fence. Instead of presenting this as a negative, the CR guy spun it into something like "personal preference as to how loose you like your steering wheel." Really?
If that were a GM car, they would say something like "steering wheel is loose, may cause potential problems." And they would rate it "LOW."
I am so sick of everyone pandering to the Toyotas and defending them, even in the face of problems.
I just don't understand why opinions of American made cars are so low. It's not fair, and I think a lot of the reason why this is the case is because of Consumer Reports and their efforts to effectively destroy the US auto makers.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Smug
I pride myself on not being addicted to the television. One of the cool things about J and I is that, while we enjoy certain tv shows, we don't really talk about them all that much. We don't get overly upset if we happen to miss a favorite show. This is perhaps due to the fact that we don't live near each other, but it seems like compared to many people, we just don't see tv shows as a big part of our conversations.
This is not to say that we don't enjoy tv shows. The ones that we both enjoy are The Office, Lost, and House. Other than that, well I have my shows that I enjoy, like ANTM, Project Runway, Mad Men, but I can't really say that my life would be significantly affected if these shows were to suddenly disappear.
So I guess this is where the smugness (or perceived smugness) comes in. Sometimes I wish I could just cancel my cable all together. I don't need tv. Of course I will never do such a thing, due to societal pressure and the fact that there are some shows that I do enjoy, and I don't like watching shows on the internet. But still....I think it would be so liberating to be free from the television. DVR already makes a lot of this liberation possible. I was too lazy to sit down and watch the whole 2 hour episode of Lost last night. Of course I DVR'd it, so I will easily be able to watch it today. And it will be less than 2 hours because I fast forward to the commercials. I can't even remember the last time I watched a commercial voluntarily.
I know that it's a bad idea for me to get rid of the tv though. I do need to relate to people. I noticed that in the past few weeks, I barely had any idea of who was running in the primaries. I don't watch local tv commercials, I don't listen to any radio except NPR or XM radio, and I don't read the newspaper or news websites.
So for me, not having a tv contributes to my isolation-I start to live in my own world, comprised of the gossip websites that I read and the facebook updates that people post. And the articles on Wikipedia that I read.
Did you notice something about that last sentence? Perhaps I am the ultimate hypocrite, because while I can live without the TV, I absolutely cannot live without the internet. I read gossip blogs like a fiend. While I don't care for any celebrities, nor do I watch any of the ridiculous amounts of reality shows that they are on, or even the movies that they are in for that matter, I do like knowing what goes on in their lives. I love salacious "blind items." I am addicted to looking at pictures of outfits from various awards shows, even if I don't watch the shows on tv. I guess this is part of my personality as an information gatherer. I want to know everything-and I enjoy reading it more than watching it. I am a profoundly verbal person. I have trouble sitting and watching a movie for two hours, but I have no trouble at all looking at websites and reading articles for 2 hours or more.
To each his own.
I was inspired to write this by some facebook statuses, if you must know. So many people doing Lost countdowns and using way too many exclamation points. I mean, I was reasonably excited, but geez. Is it really necessary to countdown every day with things like LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12 days!!!!!!
I don't know, I guess I just get annoyed easily. Or I am a curmudgeon and don't let people express their joy. Or I am apathetic and don't care about people's opinions. Whatever, maybe I am just tired of the constant oversharing by people on facebook about every. little. thing.
I'm not going to quit facebook because of it of course. I could never do that. But I can complain. And I figure, it's ok to say that here, because people must deliberately come to my blog in order to read my posts. Unless they have an RSS feed or something, no one is obligated to read what I say. Not so with facebook!
This is not to say that we don't enjoy tv shows. The ones that we both enjoy are The Office, Lost, and House. Other than that, well I have my shows that I enjoy, like ANTM, Project Runway, Mad Men, but I can't really say that my life would be significantly affected if these shows were to suddenly disappear.
So I guess this is where the smugness (or perceived smugness) comes in. Sometimes I wish I could just cancel my cable all together. I don't need tv. Of course I will never do such a thing, due to societal pressure and the fact that there are some shows that I do enjoy, and I don't like watching shows on the internet. But still....I think it would be so liberating to be free from the television. DVR already makes a lot of this liberation possible. I was too lazy to sit down and watch the whole 2 hour episode of Lost last night. Of course I DVR'd it, so I will easily be able to watch it today. And it will be less than 2 hours because I fast forward to the commercials. I can't even remember the last time I watched a commercial voluntarily.
I know that it's a bad idea for me to get rid of the tv though. I do need to relate to people. I noticed that in the past few weeks, I barely had any idea of who was running in the primaries. I don't watch local tv commercials, I don't listen to any radio except NPR or XM radio, and I don't read the newspaper or news websites.
So for me, not having a tv contributes to my isolation-I start to live in my own world, comprised of the gossip websites that I read and the facebook updates that people post. And the articles on Wikipedia that I read.
Did you notice something about that last sentence? Perhaps I am the ultimate hypocrite, because while I can live without the TV, I absolutely cannot live without the internet. I read gossip blogs like a fiend. While I don't care for any celebrities, nor do I watch any of the ridiculous amounts of reality shows that they are on, or even the movies that they are in for that matter, I do like knowing what goes on in their lives. I love salacious "blind items." I am addicted to looking at pictures of outfits from various awards shows, even if I don't watch the shows on tv. I guess this is part of my personality as an information gatherer. I want to know everything-and I enjoy reading it more than watching it. I am a profoundly verbal person. I have trouble sitting and watching a movie for two hours, but I have no trouble at all looking at websites and reading articles for 2 hours or more.
To each his own.
I was inspired to write this by some facebook statuses, if you must know. So many people doing Lost countdowns and using way too many exclamation points. I mean, I was reasonably excited, but geez. Is it really necessary to countdown every day with things like LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12 days!!!!!!
I don't know, I guess I just get annoyed easily. Or I am a curmudgeon and don't let people express their joy. Or I am apathetic and don't care about people's opinions. Whatever, maybe I am just tired of the constant oversharing by people on facebook about every. little. thing.
I'm not going to quit facebook because of it of course. I could never do that. But I can complain. And I figure, it's ok to say that here, because people must deliberately come to my blog in order to read my posts. Unless they have an RSS feed or something, no one is obligated to read what I say. Not so with facebook!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)