Speechless

hate. kenley. so. much.

I'm so enraged by tonight's show, I can barely speak. Suede's outfit wasn't great, but Kenley's was god-awful. I can't even talk about this. I'm going to have to write more when I've calmed down.

True Blah

I normally love vampire stories, so I was kind of excited to watch the new HBO series, True Blood. And the fact that it's produced by Alan Ball was also a plus for me since I loved Six Feet Under (that last episode still makes me cry every time). T & I tivo'd the first episode a few weeks back and have just caught up with the three eps that have aired so far. And so far, the verdict is...meh.

The premise is intriguing: vampires "come out of the closet" and try to become a part of mainstream society; there's several mentions of a 'vampires' rights amendment' or something of the sort, which I assume is a nod to the civil rights movement. But the fact that the bulk of the show revolves around a backwater town in rural Louisiana gets very old, very fast. I may have a high tolerance for cheesy vampire shit, but I definitely do NOT have a high tolerance for cheesy southern accents.

I'm not going to go into tremendous detail here. I'll just say that the first episode had a lot of promise, but I've spent every one since waiting for something big to happen, some revelation or connection between all the pieces. And it still hasn't. I only have so much patience for a new show, even an HBO one. All the characters just seem so trite and two-dimensional: the sassy black girlfriend, the shallow womanizing brother, the doting grandmother. The murder-mystery seems somewhat predictible, and there's not enough of the revelations of backstory or mythology surrounding the vampires (or even the main character's psychic abilities) that are what I personally find most fascinating. As I watched each episode, I found myself mentally comparing it to Anne Rice or Buffy, and all in all, it's sorely lacking. But of course, like the sucker I am (no pun intended), I'll probably still watch it.

Speaking of lameness, I'm also already feeling kind of over Entourage. I think they jumped the shark with the whole Medellin storyline (although, check out the trailer on the "official" Medellin website - it's sweet). It just dragged on way too long, and the fallout of it being a bomb is just plain boring.

The initial appeal of the show, at least to me, was that it was pretty light-hearted. Kind of a fun insiders' look at young Hollywood and how ridiculous the lifestyle is. But now I feel like it's starting to take itself a little too seriously, especially after all the comparisons of it being the male equivalent of Sex and the City. So they're going to try and build Vince up to be some sort of serious actor. Bah. This is one of those times that I wish I could hit fast-forward on the tivo and jump ahead like, 3 episodes to when it gets good again.

What year is this?

So, in case you've never noticed, I am Asian. Chinese, to be specific. My parents are actually from Taiwan, but I was born here in the U.S. As a child, I never ever had a single doll that looked anything like me. If I could find one that had brown hair, it was a banner day. Now I know that 30-odd years ago, it was simply not possible to find Asian-American dolls. But you'd think that we've come a long way since I was a kid, right? Well....I'm starting to feel not so sure about that.

For instance, the toys pictured up top. Those are real toys, currently for sale on Oompa.com, under the title of "Asian Family." I mean, seriously? Those border on freaking caricature. Who is buying those for their kid's dollhouse? Not me, that's for damn sure. And then I found these dolls, which might be even more horrifying, if that's possible.

So now that I have a daughter of my own, I've been on the search for some Asian dolls for her to play with. Let me tell you, the pickings are SLIM. For one thing, don't even bother looking in a brick and mortar store. At least, not here in Texas, and definitely not at any of the major chain stores. I've focused the bulk of my search online. The results I've found have varied from comical to downright horrifying. Let's take a gander, shall we?

The first doll that usually comes up in a search is this Corelle one. Corelle dolls are (I'm told) very high quality and expensive - I think they're French, if that means anything. This one's name is "Yang," (rolling my eyes) and in all honestly, she's not that bad. But I just don't find her to be very cute. Her hair is awful, and she looks like she's frowning, which I think is weird.



Corolle also makes another Asian doll, known as "Choquette Kim," although she's not listed on the Corolle website. Except for the black hair and slightly less peachy skin tone, she looks just like all the other dolls in the same line - meaning, she has big old round-y eyes. I think this is my biggest peeve: when they take a white/Caucasian baby doll, add some black hair and call it good. Grr.


Then we start to get into some of the weirder stuff, the ones that really bug me. For instance, the other type of doll that comes up a lot when you google search for "Asian dolls" are white dolls dressed in "traditional Asian" clothing. Like this one, which looks like some sort of Asian version of a Precious Moments figurine. Barf.


Last, but not least, there are the cloth dolls where they usually just draw a nice slanty line for the eyes, like this one. Also a bit of a peeve. I mean, I know my eyes aren't super round, but they aren't freaking little tiny slits either.


So there are a few dolls that I do like. This website called the Children's Factory actually has a pretty wide selection of ethnic dolls. Here are some of my faves.





But I'm super picky, so there's still things about each of the above dolls that I don't quite like. Although, I probably will buy the potty doll when we get ready to potty train. I finally ended up buying this pattern so I could make a doll myself. Here's the finished end product.


Not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it for now.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, we do already have one doll that I'm pretty happy with. It's the American Girl Bitty Baby with light skin, dark hair, and almond eyes. She's not super Asian-looking, but she does have almond eyes that are not outrageously slanty, so I'm satisfied. However, I would never pay that much for a doll, especially for a very small child. I'm way too much of a cheapskate. My sister-in-law loves American Girl dolls and bought it for E when she was born.

And then there were five...

OK, first off, a little rant:
I am so. freaking. sick. of Kenley! Ugh!!!! I don't think I've hated a Project Runway contestant this much since...Wendy Pepper. That's saying something. I mean, one of the first things they show her saying on last night's episode is how Tim Gunn just doesn't "get" her and she's not going to listen to him.

OK, how many freaking times do I have to say it? ALWAYS LISTEN TO TIM GUNN! The man is right about 99.8% of the time! And if you don't care what he or the judges think, then why bother being on this show? I hate hate hate people who think they know more than the judges. Or refuse to accept constructive criticism in order to grow and learn. Yes, I'm talking to you, Miss "I don't pay attention to other collections." Um, OK, that makes sense. Because you know, if you're so freaking smart, then why aren't you the editor of a major fashion magazine or the head of a multi-million dollar fashion empire? I'm not a huge fan of Michael Kors only because he's not to my personal taste, but I will admit that the man does know what he's doing.

T gave a perfect description of Kenley during one commercial break. He said that she's like the girl you meet at a party that seems really cool. She's all cute and hip with her vintage Bettie Page hair and clothes. But then you get to be friends with her and after a month or two, you realize that she just plain sucks. She's a bitch who has nothing else going for her but her surface appeal and her ability to bag on everything and everyone around her. (Ok, I embellished his words for that last sentence, but it's true.) When she busted out laughing on the runway at the judges' comments about Joe, I wanted to reach through the screen and smack her. I mean, seriously, show a little respect and self-control.

And this show has reflected that perfectly. After the first episode, both T and I really liked her, thought she was talented and cute. But the allure quickly faded as we realized that she's sort of a self-important bitch. And Jerel hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that she really only has the one look that she just keeps shuffling out there over and over and over again. In fact, Jerel has pointed that out about more than one contestant, and guess what? All the other ones are gone. After seeing the previews for next week, I cackled with evil glee at the thought of Kenley possibly finally getting her comeuppance.

Overall, I thought last night's was a good show. I love makeovers! I thought Jerel's look was amazing. He totally deserved his win. I don't think anyone else had a chance. Korto's look was cool. I was kinda surprised that she managed to pull off the burlap jacket. It was looking pretty dicey there for a while. Everyone else was...meh. Suede's and Joe's outfits were both pretty horrifying. As soon as Joe started talking about doing a suit from menswear fabric, my heart sank for him. I mean, I know he's not the most trendy hipster guy on the show, but sheesh man, a blue skirt suit? For a graphic designer? Really? He was doomed from the start. But Suede gave him a run for the money with his awful crazy ugly jacket. Anyone else notice how the much the references to himself in the third person have subsided now that he's on the chopping block?

So I think the top 3 are pretty clear. Jerel, Korto and Leanne. Although I'm sure Kenley will find a way to sneak in there, especially if they end up sending 4 instead of 3 to Bryant Park. I don't think Suede stands a chance. And Joe should have been happy to make it as far as he did. Yes, you're straight. Dude, we get it.

Fashion Week was actually last week, and I know all of the final 6 showed collections. I've refrained from reading much more than that because I want to preserve the suspense till I watch the finale.

teehee

I'm not usually a big fan of Jimmy Kimmel, and I rarely watch his show, but a friend posted this on the mom's board I'm on and it's too funny not to share.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Color me unimpressed

Am I the only one who is a bit disappointed in Project Runway this season? Like, maybe they decided to cast for drama instead of talent? I swear, I am SO sick of listening to contestants bitch and moan about how misunderstood they are. Ugh! The last two weeks of whining have just made me so irritable. In fact, I was beyond disgusted to have to even look at Keith's face again last night. That guy sucks beyond belief. I can't believe they brought all those people back. I never really get it when they do stuff like that. I mean, you have all these people who've been booted, some of whom have GOT to still be bitter (ahem, Keith), and they have zero incentive for helping their partner! I would probably say screw you and take a nap too.

Also, is anyone else starting to hate Kenley as much as I do? I really liked her after the first episode or two, but man is she irritating now! Between the annoyingly fake laugh and the general overconfidence and refusal to accept criticism, she's fallen far and fast in my book. And I've hated the last few outfits she's made too. Last week, I was stunned when she ended up in the top two. And last night...blech.

I was also a little surprised that Jerel won last night. I didn't care much for his outfit. I guess I'm just not in sync with the judges this season. I was glad to see Blayne go, and a little surprised that Suede escaped the axe. I liked Terri, but I have to admit that after one of the other contestants pointed out that she was sort of a one-trick pony, the charm started to wear off.

So now we're finally down to a more interesting and manageable six contestants. Again, not hugely impressed with any of them. I do like Leanne quite a bit after she got over her early missteps (and ditched the fugly glasses). And Jerel, while inconsistent, seems to be a pretty solid contender as well. But everyone else...meh.