galax-arena

This. I get loud and rambunctious and hyperbolic with my comments because, I don't know, for me that's part of the fun. But once the show is over for the season, so am I. Other people continue to post in the forums during the off season, but I usually don't. Out of sight, out of mind. I used to vote, back when I first started watching the show and before I realized what a farce the competition really was. Now I just don't care enough. At this point, DWTS is a distraction for me, something to keep me occupied on Monday nights. And honestly, I think the only reason I even continue to tune in is because a fellow DWTS viewer and I always IM each other during the live show, and that's fun. On the occasions where she can't IM for whatever reason, I don't even bother tuning in for that night's ep. Or if I have to miss it because I'm away, I don't care enough to watch the episode later on DVR. Oh, DWTS, how far you've fallen...

As long as we're talking about being overinvested.... If I'm giving Derek grief for wearing a fucking fedora*, I feel like I'd be amiss in not giving James equal grief for wearing a fucking fedora, too. Actually, James was probably worse because he was wearing his at some sort of ridiculous tilt. Was that supposed to make him look particularly rakish? Because he just looked like a dolt. But then, that's what most young guys nowadays look like when they wear fucking fedoras. Dolts, all of them. Yes, I realize it was for his dance. But still. Kill the (fucking) fedora. I know how to focus on the important things here, that's for sure. * And all its variants. I just say fedora because it's easier than typing out "fedora-type hats." Trilbies and pork pies also fall under the umbrella of "Hats that make guys look like assholes unless they are Frank Sinatra or Indiana Jones. Or this cat."

I feel tempted to start a prayer circle asking God to help Maks not screw up the freestyle again. But maybe God's too busy watching Candace.

So Amy should be treated with kid gloves? Her condition was a pre-existing one. She knew what she was getting herself into. Just as I don't have any sympathy for older celebs who sign on and then complain about having to compete against twentysomethings, or non-athletes complaining about going up against athletes, or non-ringers bitching about ringers, I don't have sympathy for someone with a pre-existing handicap being expected to dance at the same level as people without said handicap. (To give credit where it's due, I realize that Amy isn't the one complaining here.) Fine with me. I'd rather see Candace win than Derek at this point. And I'm writing Derek's name there instead of Amy because let's be honest, this partnership is once again mostly about him. Amy's just along for the ride.

Yep, that's it. I'm a member of a couple of figure skating forums, and people. are. PISSED!!1!! about Charlie's elimination and using it as more motivation to vote for Meryl. Dunno if it'll actually accomplish anything - it's not like the figure skating fanbase is anywhere near as powerful or numerous as a lot of other sports' - but at the very least the fanbase won't be split anymore.

Mulan was definitely the biggest badass IMO, but I'm not sure that she was the first, either! Don't think a man rescued Pocahontas. But I think Mulan was probably the first of the Disney "princesses" (I know she's not a literal princess, but she's part of the Disney princesses line-up) to have hardly any focus on romance, period.

I didn't really care about Meryl one way or another before the show. Now I like her, but that's despite Maks, not because of him. Or maybe it is because of him, but only because I am seriously impressed with how she manages such a temperamental asshole.

TPTB are so transparent. As soon as Amy and Charlie were announced as being in jeopardy, I assumed that Meryl would be called under the red lights as well, and that if Amy was safe, she'd be called first so that the show could play up Meryl versus Charlie. On the plus side, at least this consolidates Meryl and Charlie's fanbase. I was worried that if Meryl and Charlie both made it to the finals, they'd split the votes and let Derek win again. Of course, Maks might still let Derek win, depending on whatever potentially shitastic freestyle he comes up with. Could the fawning over Derek (and Amy) have been any more nauseating? "Derek, I salute you." "Derek, you redefine choreography for this generation." Why not just offer to blow Derek and be done with it? Amy seemed like a total afterthought. And it was crazy that they acted that way over yet another routine where they wasted so much time on a chair - I'm sorry, I mean table. I know that Candace and Mark used chairs in their jazz routine as well, but in the latter's case at least it didn't feel like a total crutch. Speaking of Candace, I haven't been that enthused about her, but it was pretty endearing to see her go crazy when she was announced as safe. So over Maks and Meryl's partnership being so much about Maks' insecurities. Meryl has the patience of a saint, but I guess she's used to dealing with drama in her sport. It's so fitting that Derek likes to wear fedoras/trilbies/pork pies.

I liked Frozen when I saw it. It was cute. But it has seriously got to be one of the most overhyped, overrated Disney movies. It's like people don't feel comfortable squeeing over it just because it was fun and cute, so they have to make it out to be the most progressive and feminist Disney film EVER. I've seen people say that it's the first Disney movie to show that you don't need a man to save you. I'm sorry, but no. Just no.

I'm not sure how unpopular this is - seems like it's more unpopular here and on TWOP, less unpopular elsewhere - but Once Upon a Time is godawful and has been that way for a while. When I heard that they brought on , I thought, "Sounds about right." Elaborating further on my earlier post about Chris Colfer: I'm annoyed with the idea that people should cut him some slack about his Glee episode because he's "only" 23 and this was "only" his first TV script. Who cares? If Chris wants to run with the big boys and play in the professional sandbox, he can take the critical lumps that come with it. People were saying the same thing about his movie and books, too.

Don't worry, the judges more than make up for Derek and Amy's "lack of due" on the message boards with their constant ass-kissing.

I could have done without Mark's singing - stop trying to make "fetch" happen, Mark - but the actual dancing for the opening routine was pretty nice IMO.

Ugh, I'm bummed that Danica left. I felt bad for her. When the show was milking the Chmerkovskiy rivalry, it felt like she got the short end of the stick with all the fawning over Meryl. In the Chmerkovskiy sandwich, Val and Maks were the two slices of bread, Meryl was the meat, and Danica was the lettuce. Abby Lee sucks, but so does Maks, so I was rolling my eyes at his response to Erin's question. He sounded like such a petulant baby. And maybe before he starts lecturing people about being condescending, he should stop being such a douche in general. ...Derek's going to get into the finals again, isn't he? The fawning is getting nauseating. And then he'll be the only one to put together a halfway competent freestyle, while Maks brings out a bed. I swear to god, if Maks fucks up the freestyle for Meryl... The judges are totally handling Amy and Derek with kid gloves, but I have a feeling that when it comes to the freestyle, Maks won't do anything to help Meryl's cause.

There was one New Zealand show that I absolutely loved a few years ago, This Is Not My Life. I think some American studio purchased the rights to it and intended to make an American remake, but I haven't heard anything since then, so I've lost hope. Of course, I'd rather America just import the original and air it here in the states, but I'd settle for the remake.

Considering today's rape culture, I wouldn't be surprised if some people on a modern-day jury would say that Cersei consented. Or they'd say that she couldn't have been raped because she and Jamie had slept together consensually before and were already in a relationship. Or they'd put the victim (Cersei) on trial and say that she was a bitch who had it coming. We already have the director and people like Nikolaj hemming and hawing over whether it was really rape or not.

That was seriously ridiculous. Amy did really well, considering. I noticed that she actually had more jive content and bounce in her routine than a number of Derek's previous partners. But best kicks and flicks ever? Is Carrie Ann on drugs? Seeing Maks and Meryl this week just made me lament that Val couldn't continue partnering her, even though I wouldn't wish Maks on Danica.

I will not stand for Tom Bergeron throwing shade at Super Mario.

I know there's been a lot of debate re: Jamie and whether he was on any path to redemption to begin with. And there have been a lot of people pointing out that he's always been a monster, considering that his first episode involved pushing a little child out a window. And, you know, I've never personally cared for Jamie due to that. But I did have a more visceral reaction to the rape, and I think that's understandable, because IMO you can't divorce how things are portrayed on the show and their real-world implications. Media doesn't happen in a vacuum. And I don't live in a place where there's an epidemic of children being pushed out of windows and then being blamed for it, although I suppose I shouldn't speak for anyone else.

Chris Colfer is not the bestest thing about Glee and I want him to fade away into obscurity after the show is canceled. On-camera obscurity, at least; I won't mind if he finds his niche behind the scenes as a screenwriter, although I don't think he's a great writer (yet) either. Struck by Lightning was some self-indulgent shit, honestly. I'm definitely more interested in following his growth as a screenwriter though, because there's a lot of potential. He just needs to get over himself. Oh, and speaking from a purely shallow perspective, while I know Chris has been working out and his body is pretty nice, no one with that face should qualify as a sex symbol.

Yeah, seems like it's been an open secret in Hollywood for quite some time. I have to wonder how much actors like Ian McKellan and Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart knew, since they've known Singer for ages. Ian's close friends with him IIRC, and he worked with Singer on Apt Pupil, which was also the target of a lawsuit. Egan was apparently working with Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg on a documentary expose about sexual abuse in Hollywood. Amy previously worked on Deliver Us From Evil (about the abuse in the Catholic church) and West of Memphis (about the West Memphis Three).

It depends on the frame of reference, I think. I'm only going by some old numbers from a 2008 report (the first thing I found when googling, but I know there have been more recent stats since then), but going by those 2008 numbers compared to the 2010 US census, the percentage of white people is about accurate, black people are slightly overrepresented, Asians are slightly underrepresented, and Native Americans and Latinos are underrepresented. However, when you take into consideration how many shows take place in diverse metro areas like Los Angeles or New York, then it becomes total bullshit. Plus, how many of those roles are true lead roles? That 2008 report was for all roles. But there's a difference between playing the sidekick and playing the hero.

Let's look on the bright side: At least Derek didn't put on any "tribal" face paint this time.

Val and Meryl were fantastic. It was the first time I was truly in Meryl's corner, although I'm not sure how much of that had to do with the fact that she wasn't with Maks, whom I dislike. Either way, loved loved loved their AT. I wish Julianne would just go away. Did her Hollywood career flop that badly? (Yes. Yes it did.) She was such a fucking brat tonight, my god. To reiterate, I'm no fan of Maks, but I thought she was completely out of line in saying that he was just phoning it in. She was so imagining herself as some sort of Simon Cowell-like figure. ("I'm brutal Julianne!") Such a tryhard. Bless Carrie Ann and Bruno for throwing shade at Derek by commenting on the amount of footwork that Mark gave Amy. Carrie Ann's comments in particular were beautiful and made me almost want to forgive all the other stupid shit she's said over the seasons. Almost. I'm sure I'll be annoyed with her again next week. :D So next week they're dancing to Disney songs? If someone doesn't dance to "I'll Make a Man Out of You," I'm going to cut a bitch.

I just watched Derek's movie "Make Your Move." It was pretty hilarious seeing him try to play a bad boy delinquent. Don't quit your day job, Derek.

Reid on Criminal Minds is annoying and should go away. And Matthew Gray Gubler is gross. I like Eleanor on Black Sails. I was annoyed as anyone else with the way Twisted turned into the Jo Show, but Jo herself wasn't that bad in the second half of the season. The way the show revolved around her was irritating, but Jo turned out to be fairly likable once she got over her obsession with Danny. And while Jo/Danny as a ship was awful - "It's always been you, Jo!" Gag me with a spork - Lacey and Danny weren't much better, so I didn't get all the fuss for the latter as a couple. And an even bigger Twisted UO - there's a part of me that wants to see the show renewed, just to see it devolve even further into a hot mess. Maybe I'm a masochist.