You see, Jewel spent much of last week in Alaska. She played three concerts, and didn't cancel anything. I even got to watch one of those concerts (the curse is lifted!). The concert was amazing. I'll probably write more about it later, when I have time to get those thoughts together.
Where I start to feel guilty is that I also discovered her twitter last week, and as I was following it, I realized that she's a very sweet girl who missed Alaska while she was gone. Apparently that luscious cowboy husband of hers wasn't convinced that Alaska is a cool place to be. I hope he's changed his mind - the summers are pretty freaking sweet (and he can start Professional Moose Riders!).
In an interview, she also mentioned that she felt like a lot of Alaskans were acrimonious toward her. I hope she does not include me in that category. And I don't mean that just after the fact. I've spent half my life now with her music, singing along, learning to play it, finding comfort in it. I've bought all her albums. As cranky as I sounded, I was always a fan, and I wouldn't have been so cranky if I didn't care. I won't say mean things again...well, unless plans change.
If you could get your exercise by taking a pill, would you? Why or why not? Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow. |
I hate my body just enough that I certainly would. And I'd probably make sure to get my exercise anyway. If I can believe that I'm gaining even when I'm losing, then you know that's an area of insecurity that marketers can exploit.
I haven't written recently. Life's been a little tough.
The big event is that my boyfriend and I are no longer together. We made it 8 months...well, technically, it's almost 9 now. I can't bring myself to actually make the phone call. He's never present around me. He'd be physically there, but still seemed distant. When I asked him about it, he said he couldn't show his emotions to me because it would make him vulnerable to me and I wasn't emotionally supportive enough for him to be comfortable doing that, since he'd been so hurt before. I honestly don't understand. Any time I asked him what he was thinking or how he was feeling or if there was anything I could do for him, he'd shrug off the question. I can't support emotions that I don't know exist. So I give up.
That giving up has somewhat carried over to work. It's not a conscious decision that I've made, but I can't seem to get anything done. I'm working, yet not accomplishing much. It's discouraging, and that doesn't help my motivation any. Every day I go to work thinking that I'll break out of it, but the malaise persists. It's a cruel fight, but I'll win eventually.
This summer has been crap for outdoor activity. All my plans for frequent camping, plenty of hiking, and even some summiting some mountains fell apart. Some of it was because boyfriend doesn't like it. Some of it was because I just couldn't get it together. I'm most sad about having to cancel my big expedition because my partner injured her foot. I guess there's always next summer for these things. At least I was pretty successful in geocaching. Almost 175 finds this summer, which is about 3 times as many as last year.
I've learned a little about myself. I retreat into my head when I'm unsure. When I'm in my head, I feel insecure. When I feel insecure, I believe i'm gaining weight, even if i'm losing. Seriously. Three days ago, I was thinking about writing how I'm such a tubby moose right now. Then I buttoned up a blouse that has never before closed without puckering over my breasts. Huh. Today I wore one of my smallest leotards as a shell, and there weren't even pantylines. That's not supposed to happen. Yay dismorphia.
On a related note, my most hated body part is now the left ankle. Mine apparently developed osteoarthritis, so rainy and cold weather are painful. Add this to the more than decade-old general weakness of the joint, and it's safe to say that I want a new one.
I also learned that what I really want in a man is a Jewish Russell Crowe. Somebody smart and curious, with a sense if humor, a stronger sense of adventure, and somehow manages to maintain his masculinity despite his obvious sensitivity. If you know this man, please let me know.
On the very up side, my dog has come a long way. Juneau used to be kind of a pain in the ass, but I loved her because she's mine. In the past few months, we've mastered walking on the leash properly. No more pulling and trying to lead. We've also made huge strides in following commands. She knows to go lay down when I tell her to. She stops playing rough with the cat on cue. This is very good.
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I just don't know if I can do it with him. You see, he thinks that I don't trust him. But he doesn't even trust me enough to show his emotions. It's very difficult to trust somebody completely when you never know what they're thinking. When I try to engage him in conversation, I get short, vague answers unless it's a "discussion".
We've had two "discussions" in the past two weeks. In the first one, I asked him to at least tell me what he's feeling. His version of that was to tell me that he thinks that my relationship with my family is weird. He got mad when I did what my dad asked me to do and trusted my dad unconditionally when I don't do that for him. It was actually just a small favor, but he blew it out of proportion. The part that really gets me is that I just did that for him two days ago. He asked to borrow $1500 worth of my gear, and the closest thing he got to an equivocation was me trying to figure out when he needed it and how to get it to him.
I'm also troubled by the fact that when I shared that I feel like I don't really know him, even after 8 1/2 months of dating, he agreed with me that I don't know him. And he didn't see a problem with that. He said that he does it because he's been hurt before and that saves him a lot of pain.. He specifically said that he's incapable of falling head over heels in love with somebody. When I said that I think I deserve that, he said that I should "toss him away". Like he's nothing, garbage, damaged goods.
We're all damaged goods, to some extent. But he holds himself back, so spending time with him, it's like he's only 25% there. When I said that, his reply was "oh, lately, probably even less than that". And yet he still expects me to want, need, and love him. Want, need, and love what? 15% of someone I barely even know?
He's a very good man. Very kind, very generous. Great with kids. Before we started having problems, people said we made a good couple. He's going through a rough time right now. A year ago, he moved to my city. In October, the friend he moved at least partially to be with is moving back. The military family he's been living with will likely be reassigned to another state. He hates his job, but he's staying there because he's good at it...and because of me.
I just don't know what to do. So we're taking a break for a week, to think about our future(s) and to figure out what we really want and to start working on whatever it is in ourselves that's holding us back. Hopefully that helps to clarify things. I know you don't know me and I don't know you, but any advice would be appreciated.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/06
Also worth noting: she's traveling with her middle daughter only - no whorey Bristol and no photo op ready Piper. And no Trig.
What are some simple things we can teach kids to do to take care of Mother Nature? Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco. |
The simplest and most effective thing we can do to teach kids to take care of Mother Nature is to teach them to be outside. It is difficult to appreciate wilderness without exploring it. It is almost impossible to appreciate clean air without breathing it. It is hard to imagine the effects of pollution without seeing how offensive litter is in the middle of nowhere.
Where I'm from, there are two essentially two types of people who play outside. There are those who go on foot, and those who go on machines. The foot-powered ones tend to be more the treehugging variety, but even the fossil fuel burners appreciate nature more than those who stay in the city. Everybody I know whose hobbies bring them outdoors understands the importance of balance in the ecosystem. We granola crunchers want to ensure the sustainability of the environment, but we often forget that the hunters do, too. If everything falls apart, there are not enough game animals to go around.
It doesn't matter what you do outside, it just matters that you get out there and enjoy it. The rest will come... naturally.
I thanked her for the map and set off for some scouting. I decided that it would be pretty cool to be near Explorer Glacier and the map said there might be beaver activity there. Where there are beavers there are often deeper areas in creeks, so I headed that way. I made a slightly wrong turn that turned out to be a great place. I think it's the old Beaver Pond Campground; it looked like it had been a bit developed at one time. They closed that campground a few years ago, so that would make sense. I found a spot where the creek looked about waist deep and it was a beautiful place, so I hid a geocache. Then I realized that the snow cavity I was looking at was the remains of an avalanche and not Explorer Glacier, so I drove on to find the Explorer Glacier outlook point.
The Explorer Glacier area was perfect. The water was blue in the way only glacial water can be. I also noticed that the water was shallow for about a meter out and then there was a steep drop off. Exactly what I was looking for. So long as there were no people in the area, that would be the place. I would have moved my geocache to my mikveh, but there was already one nearby.
Now just to wait for my friend who doubled as my witness. A family was throwing rocks into the creek right at my chosen spot. They left a few minutes later, so it was time. As I took off my clothes, I thought that this might not be such a good idea. The ambient temperature was 53 degrees, and it was very chilly against my skin. I was not looking forward to getting wet on top of that. I stepped into the water. At about my knees, I wanted to leave, but my friend encouraged me to push on. I got about waist deep, and I was too cold for comfort. My friend again encouraged me, and I dunked under. I popped up, and believe me, I knew I was alive. I was very cold, and I said the first blessing as fast as I could. My friend said I looked scared, but I think it was a purely physiological reaction. My body was not interested in staying in that water, but my brain knew I had two more dunks and another blessing. I did them, and by the time I was done, it wasn't so bad. I felt peaceful, rather than cold. I can't promise that was a spiritual experience and not a physiological reaction, but it was nice.
I had a hard time putting my clothes back on. I had forgotten my towel, so I had to wiggle into them still soaking wet. When I got to my car, I used my t-shirt to wipe off excess water and put on my raincoat to keep the water off my car seat. Then I drove back to the Visitor Center, got dry, and changed my clothes.
Then I drove back to Anchorage. My friend hosted a Shabbat dinner; the food was wonderful. It felt nice to be around Jewish people and hear the blessings for the first time as a Jew. My friend tried to get me to light the candles, but I didn't know the melody for the blessing, so I asked not to.
After dinner I had to run to the synagogue for services. I had already told my Rabbi that I would be there, so he was planning to do my naming ceremony. I couldn't miss that. He surprised me and had me light the candles at the beginning of the service as well. I almost laughed, but I did it. I just recited the blessing and just about biffed it. I almost forgot l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat. Toward the end of the service, my Rabbi called me up to the bimah. He brought out the Torah and read a passage about how the Torah is the Jews' greatest treasure. Then he handed the scroll to me and asked me to say the Sh'ma. I asked him if I should sing it or if I should recite it, and he told me I could choose. I sang it, because it didn't seem right to say it. Then he said that I have been known by the name my family gave me, and I will always be that person, but I will also be known by my Hebrew name, Miriam Tzipora.
It was a good day.
I don't feel much different. It's kind of like the difference between Friday and Shabbat; almost imperceptible, but significant only because I've made it so.
They completely messed up the moose myth in the first one. A real Alaskan moose weighs about twice as much as the moose dummy they used. That's definitely going to have an effect on the physics. Also, they used tiny little cars in their crash tests. While they might be common in California, relatively few people here drive them. On the highway in the wintertime, you're much more likely to see an F-250 or a Tahoe. I drive a Ford Escape (hybrid), and I'm usually one of the smaller vehicles on the road. FAIL.
This year, the myths are about pykrete boats and snowplows. To the best of my knowledge, there is no connection between Alaska and pykrete, other than ice. Pykrete is a mixture of ice and sawdust that was dreamed up by a Brit. FAIL.
The snowplow myth bothers me, too. I've never seen a wedge-shaped plow up here. Ever. And despite their claims that Alaskan fans wrote in about the myth, I've never heard it and I've spent my entire life up here. I think they made it up (it's much more likely that Alaskans wrote in about the lame moose analogue). FAIL. Double fail for substituting Wisconsin for Alaska.
Palin appoints a real piece of work for Attorney General.
She's also got to appoint a Democrat to the State Legislature. She doesn't really want to do that.
Prospective AG gives her legal advice that she wants to hear (sounds a little familiar, right?) about the appointing process.
Legislature disagrees with possible AG's legal reasoning and refuses to confirm him.
End result?
No Wayne Anthony Ross as Alaska's Attorney General. Yay!
Sarah Palin looks slightly foolish.
So she does what she always does when she looks a bit foolish; time for name callin'!
Palin gives a statement about how the Legislature doesn't care about gun control, because that really riles up the Alaskan folk.
She also says that the Legislature should be called out for their "hypocrisy", since they issued a citation praising Ross as a distinguished Alaskan, and therefore he clearly deserves to be AG.
Anyone else see the problem here?
You know, besides the random accolade somehow being a job qualification part.
The citation from last year came before the election. It's now a different Legislature. Sure, some of the people serving are the same, but some are not.
That and he make this fuckup last year.
Not to sound sympathetic to that WAR asshole, but...being Palin's AG is rough on the old reputation..
Those teaparty assholes are standing on the corner near my office. I know this because I've been serenaded by honking horns my entire lunch hour. This gets on my nerves.
I want to shove them all into traffic and clean out the gene pool.
They have their rights to free speech and freedom of assembly, but can't they be stupid someplace out of my hearing? Effing republicans.
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Here's the latest story. A Senator from Juneau, a Democrat, resigned. That means that the Governor gets to appoint the replacement, but she has to choose another Democrat. Juneau residents made it clear who they wanted. So what does Palin do? She appoints someone completely different. Someone who just registered as a Democrat a few weeks ago, switching over from the Republican side. Of course, he says that he never meant to be a registered Republican. He works for a Democrat, and his father was a Democrat, so it's impossible that he could be anything other than a real Democrat. But apparently, it's been very important for him to vote in Republican primaries for the past couple years, and somehow his registration got a few mistakes on it, but he has no idea how. He swears up and down he's a "conservative Democrat". Want to know another word for those? REPUBLICANS.
This feels more than vaguely unethical to me. But it makes sense. The person Juneau wants has been, shall we say, critical of Palin since August.
They will probably think that I'm a crazy, but I did it anyway. My state legislators are both Republicans, so odds are it won't make a difference. I just couldn't stand idly by, though. If nothing else, at least I made an effort to get my voice heard.
Then again, neither of them list the NRA as an organization they are involved with. That's a slightly good sign. I hope they can be pragmatic.
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When she first took office, there were rumors that she'd appoint Wayne Anthony Ross as Attorney General. After all, he had been the co-chair of her campaign. I was very pleased when she did not, instead choosing Talis Colberg. While Talis didn't come with a political pedigree, or much of a pedigree at all, I knew him. He's from my hometown and went to high school with my mom. He was just a quiet small-town lawyer with a good reputation.
Then shit happened, and the quiet small-town guy found himself in an ugly political situation. He didn't tell his boss that she was fucked. She continued to fuck up, and he couldn't get her out of it without taking the fall. He stepped down. Boss gets to pick somebody new.
So she went ahead and picked Wayne Anthony Ross. I don't hate many people on this planet, but I hate him. He stands for everything that I am against. He is one of those big-personality lawyers who fills up a courtroom with rhetoric and doesn't leave room for reason. He drives a big red Hummer, one of the original ones, with a custom license plate reading "WAR". He's a high-ranking official with the NRA and advocates for almost no gun control.
He would take any criminal defense case that involved a carrying a gun and try to get the guy off. There are certain gun laws in Alaska that are strict liability, like possessing a gun while intoxicated. When I worked at the DA's office, we had two such cases defended by Ross. In one of them, the defendant was found in a parking lot, repeatedly ramming into a parked car. The defendant was drunk, and he had a handgun in the glovebox. In Alaska, this counts as both DWI and possessing a firearm while intoxicated, because he had control over both the car and the firearm. Naturally, Ross argued that the parking lot was not a public roadway, so he did not commit DWI and the gun remained in the glovebox, so he did not possess it. He also made a bunch of discovery requests for items that he had repeatedly been told do not exist. My favorite was when he stood in front of the judge and claimed that the DA had never provided him with any discovery, and this was a violation of the rules of court, and thusly, the DA should be sanctioned. I happened to be in court that day, assisting the DA. I handed the DA the discovery receipt showing that Ross had previously received the discovery, as well as fresh copies (which he then refused to pay for). His guy ended up convicted on both counts, I believe.
The other case involved a guy walking down the sidewalk on a very busy street, carrying a rifle. Only the guy wasn't so much walking; he was staggering. Ross argued that the gun was not loaded, and thus was not a danger. He also argued that the gun was an antique and incapable being fired. Apparently, the defendant had been given the gun by a friend and was supposed to clean it. Again, misconduct involving weapons under this section is strict liability. The man had the gun. The man was drunk. The rest didn't matter. When the DA refused to back down, Ross agreed to a plea deal for a fairly lenient sentence. However, the deal fell through when Ross realized that the terms of the deal included forfeiture of the gun. Turns out, Ross had agreed to defend the guy in exchange for the gun.
This guy is awful. Want to know who else he defended
? Vic Kohring. You may or may not remember him, but he was a state legislator who went down on corruption charges for accepting bribes from VECO. VECO was an oilfield services company who was trying to make sure that the oil companies would enjoy low taxes in order to assure VECO would get fat contracts. I know I'm picking on his criminal defense work a lot here, and it probably sounds like I think all defense attorneys are scum. I don't. I think everybody is entitled to a competent defense, and it is a vital part of our adversarial system. What I don't like is that he picks cases according to his own agenda, and that bothers me. It also concerns me, given his choice to work for Kohring, especially since Palin ran for governor on an anti-corruption/ethics reform platform. Instead, she's choosing to work with someone who approves of the old regime, even in the face of multiple ethics complaints against her.
He's a trophy hunting and trophy fishing advocate, both of which I very strongly disagree with. You should hunt and fish for food; not to keep your taxidermist in business. He also has taken issue with subsistence hunting, saying that sport hunters have a Constitutional right to equal access to game. I disagree. People who are going to eat the meat deserve first dibs on a limited resource. But he thinks that it's more important to allow a guy to have a beautiful rack of antlers on his wall than for someone else to feed their family. Combine this with the Hummer, and it's clear that he isn't much of an environmentalist. This is not what we need right now, as we look global warming in the face. He's already issued a statement agreeing with Palin's position on energy development: anybody remember "drill, baby, drill"?
My other problem is not with his religion. My problem is that he sees no problem with legislating his religious beliefs, thereby forcing everybody else to live by his moral standards. I find this unacceptable. If I have an abortion, it is none of his damn business; it would have no direct effect on him. Likewise, if I marry another woman, it is none of his damn business; again, it would have no direct effect on him. But instead, he thinks that getting Roe v. Wade overturned would assure him a ticket into heaven. This is dangerous thinking, and there is no room for that in a country founded on the separation between Church and State.
G-d help us all.
I can tell you what my little 8 year old hands were doing: making my first protest sign.
I wasn't much of an artist, even for a child. But I felt like I had something important to say and I very much wanted to say it.
I got a piece of blue-lined notebook paper. I can't remember if it was spiral-bound or not, but I do remember the three-hole punch. I got my markers. Crayons would never do for such an important task. Luckily, I had all the Crayola marker sets: classic colors, bold colors, and pastel colors. 24 markers in all.
I drew a boat. A very boxy boat, with a smokestack and curly smoke going up into the sky. There was a fat man standing next to the smokesack. I used a black marker to draw a wavy ocean and colored it blue underneath. I drew green fish with x eyes in the water. I drew a big whale with x eyes. I drew puffins with x eyes floating on the black waves.
In the sky, in big black and red letters, I wrote "FIRE EXXON!!!!" and underneath that, I wrote in smaller letters "(oil spill)", just in case somebody didn't understand what I was talking about.
After I got done, I took my sign to my mom, and I asked her to take me to the line. She didn't understand what I meant. So I tried to describe it to her, and eventually, she understood that I meant the picket line. I wanted to march in protest against this company that was killing all the animals and wasting all the oil. She didn't know where to take me, or at least that's what she said, so I didn't protest.
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I'm kind of disappointed in my recent progress, though. I've only lost 5 pounds in the past month. Will have to work harder. I want to lose 10 or 20 more pounds before the end of May.
But I am noticing a big difference in my physical abilities. Even without as much exercise as I really should be doing, I have a bit more endurance and I feel stronger, as well.
You'd think I would be happy, but I'm really only back where I was last summer. I wanted to lose weight then, too. I'll make it. So help me, G-d, I'll make it.
Do you know what you just did? I don't believe you do. I will tell you.
Rejecting funding for education is a stupid and short-sighted idea. Always. In this case you think that you have a good enough reason. You don't.
Education prepares people for citizenship. This means that in school they will learn about their rights and their responsibilities to the State. For these purposes, I mean State both in the context of "State of Alaska" and "the United States of America". Getting to the point that you care about, school is where people learn about voting.
They should also learn basic knowledge about life skills like making a budget or, let's say, learning how interest rates are calculated and what effect that can have on a person's budget. This is the type of knowledge that could have prevented at least some of the mess that we currently find ourselves in. It's something we should be teaching our kids.
You know what we should also teach our kids? Marketable job skills. As you well know, not everybody can go to college. Some people have other altitudes; they may choose to make their living working in labor-oriented fields, like perhaps on the North Slope. Or they could have a child young and the responsibility of caring for their family takes priority over higher education. These people shouldn't be left to figure out how to write a good résumé or balance their checkbooks.
Speaking of taking care of family, that brings us to my next point: some folks can't. When people are out of work, they have to cut back. They can only cut back so far. Rent has to be paid, and if you're not making much money, that can be a sizeable chunk of your income. Not everybody owns a home and a cabin and some other land; the folks who don't also tend to be people with lower incomes who are struggling right now. If people don't pay rent, they get evicted. This takes priority over food, in many cases.
Bringing this back to your foolish idea to reject stimulus money meant for schools, some of that money was meant to supplement the nutrition program. That means free and reduced-price lunches. That means kids that might have had a hard time getting food at home would be assured a decent meal at school. Hungry kids don't concentrate well, which means their education is less effective. Less effective education stunts their earning potential. And, let's face it, kids whose parents are struggling to make ends meet not only have a higher drop-out rate, but they are less likely to seek higher education, which definitely impacts their earning potential. The only chance many of these kids have to get to college is to win scholarships. This is difficult to do if your grades suffered because you were hungry.
Congratulations, you just screwed over a generation of poor kids. And there are a lot in Alaska. Good job.
Your concern was that the education funds would not stimulate the economy. I shouldnt have to tell you that this is foolish. But evidently I do, so here goes: it's foolish.
School districts across the state, and probably the country, are struggling to provide adequate services. Read that carefully. Adequate services. Not excellent services. Not even good services. Adequate services. We are not satisfied with adequate, and we shouldn't have to be. I know that you are not, which is why this decision seems so out of character (we'll talk more about this later).
As you are aware, tax revenues in Alaska are based on how much the oil companies make per barrel of oil. You are also aware that oil prices are down, so the State budget requires revision. That means budget cuts. You are always very proud of your budget cuts. But you shouldn't be proud of these ones. You shouldn't be proud of initiating a hiring freeze. As the head of Alaska's biggest employer, you're essentially bragging about leaving your constituents out of work. That's admittedly a slightly differentrant, but here's the connection: budget cuts for schools force layoffs. That means more unemployed folks, and fewer people to accomplish the goal of preparing the State's future residents for adulthood and all that implies.
Education prepares a workforce. Education helps people get, and keep, jobs. Education keeps people from the unemployment lines. Employed people stimulate the economy. Unemployed people often require State assistance, which also comes from the State budget. I know you like saving money by cutting funding, but I'm telling you, the education budget is not the place to do it. I would argue that more educational funding will reduce the necessary public assistance funding significantly. That's a smarter move. But you didn't choose that.
All of that bothers me. But, you know, the part that really gets me is what I alluded tobefore: it seems out of character.
Alaska, for better or for worse, has always been an earmark-enjoying bunch of folks. That didn't change when you took the helm. It changed when it became politically unpopular.
To be sure, earmarks can be a game of Russian roulette in a state where so many legislators have gone down on bribery charges. But only some of the bribes were about getting earmarks for friends' companies. Most of them were about oil and gas taxes, which oddly enough, was your specialty back in the day. I'm not saying that you had corrupt reasons for resigning your position on the gas pipeline board. Not at all. I actually think you might have had the State's best interests, as you understood them, at heart. Then. In contrast to now.
The funny part of this tomfoolery about the stimulus package and your sudden aversion to earmarks is that it's not so unpopular up here, where your fan base constituents live and work, sometimes with wages paid for by earmark funded projects. It's mostly only unpopular in the Lower 48, where none of your voters live.
So I ask: who are you, Sarah Palin, trying to please? It does not appear to be the residents of your State, many of whom voted you in to the office you currently hold, and many of whom supported your running mate during the Presidential election. Your high approval ratings also come from these people, whose children will be attending less well-funded schools.
The people who likely approve of your decision are the talking heads of the Republican Party. They're very anti-earmark. You only became anti-earmark when you started hanging out with them. They also think that the stimulus package is very Socialist. Do you remember when you started using that word as a perjorative term? Hint: it was during the Preidential election of 2008.
As an Alaskan, you know that elements of Socialism are not bad. You've received a Permanent Fund Dividend every year since 1981. Taking the interest from tax revenue and distributing it to the masses? That's very Socialist. Do you know what's even more Socialist? Taking unexpectedly high tax revenues due to high oil prices and distributing it to the masses. Do you remember the energy rebate in 2008? It was a very Alaskan thing to do. Whose idea was that? Did you call yourself a Socialist then?
Probably not. You made that call before you were the Republicans' poster girl. Back before those rumors about 2010.
Ms. Palin, I urge you to think like an Alaskan again. Think about what will be best for the people you govern, the people who elected you. Stop thinking about what the other Republicans will think. Stop thinking about 2010 and letting your personal ambitions get in the way of your job.
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Ty Murray is adorable. I hope Jewel appreciates how hot her husband looks doing the quickstep.
They just cut to her. She does. I wish she didn't drive me crazy.
Shawn Johnson is also adorable. I can't help but like her. She just seems like somebody I'd have been friends with hen I was her age. You know, only more successful.
It's hard for me to like watching a beginner do salsa; it's my favorite dance, an I have very specific ideas about it. Shawn did well. Her technique was very good. Given her age and her apparent inhibitions, it was good. I agree with the judges: she's very charming. In a couple years, she might get good at this. The only thing missing, really, is the torso action.
My boyfriend thinks she's very thick for a gymnast. She is, but it's a bodytype thing. The dress was probably not the best for her.
Seriously? Diamonds are a girl's Best Friend for L'il Kim? I don't know why that bothers me, but it does. I think it's because I think she doesn't get the irony. I didn't like it much.
Melissa Rycroft might not so much be a celebrity, but she did a damn fine salsa. That was the one that made me want to move. I'm glad my boyfriend didn't see that one. He'd never let me teach him to dance if he thought that's what I was expecting to accomplish. The only part I didn't like was the Risie Perez pumping, but the rest was freaking sweet.
I'm pretty sure I could do that. :)
Funny that the two biggest stretches for "stars" are the best dancers. I liked Gilles' quickstep. I think Cheryl Burke must be an excellent dance teacher, because her partners are almost always well trained. I also just realized that she looks just like Angela on Bones. I was wondering why I thought I'd seen her face before.
Even my DVR is frustrated with Jewel. It didn't record her performance. Haha. That's what you get, FAKE ALASKAN.
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I've been a fan of hers since 1995, back before the rest of the world had even heard, much less been annoyed by, "Who Will Save Your Soul?". That year, she did a little concert at UAA. My cheerleading coach's daughter was supposed to get tickets for me (you had to have student ID to get the early-release ones), but she didn't. The concert sold out, and I didn't get a ticket. Not Jewel's fault. But it was her fault when they asked her to do another night and she refused because they wouldn't give her a whole heap of money.
On to 1996. The Alaska State Fair chooses Jewel to be its headliner. Only, guess what? She backs out in order to go on tour elsewhere. I couldn't help but feel like it was karma when her State Fair replacement, LeeAnn Rimes, won the Grammy award they were both nominated for.
In 1999, I was feeling pretty darned homesick my first semester away from home. I cherished everything I could get my hands on that reminded me of Alaska, including Jewel's music. I was very excited to find out that Jewel was going to do a New Year's Eve concert in Anchorage. I was even more excited to learn that my mom bought me really amazing tickets for my birthday. Every ounce of excitement turned to anger when she, again, backed out, this time because Y2K had her scared that she'd be stuck in Alaska. Jon Stewart made fun of her on "The Daily Show" for it, and that made me incredibly happy, mostly because I was surprised he'd pick up on something like that.
Also in 1999, I went to college in North Dakota. My dorm mates noticed that Jewel's name is the same as my Grandma's name, and wondered if it was just a common name in a weird place like Alaska. I was like, "um...no, it's just a coincidence". Except, as I found out later, it isn't. My grandparents had the homestead next to Jewel's grandparents, and our grandfathers were good friends. Jewel-the-singer's dad admired Jewel-my-grandmother, and always remembered the name, eventually giving it to his daughter. Oddly enough, Jewel wasn't Grandma's real name; it was her middle name, but she wasn't a big fan of Alice, so she went by Jewel. My dad likes Alice, and made it my middle name. Now that I know we're named after the same woman, it annoys me even more that she keeps disappointing me.
In 2006, I really thought Jewel was going to make it up to me. She released a new album called "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland", which I thought was very cool, since at that time, I knew where her name had come from. She gave interviews saying that she was going to do a lot in Alaska in connection with the new album. She didn't. The sales weren't so great, and I guess plans changed. I wasn't super angry about this one, but to this day, I can't seem to keep a copy of that album. I've bought two, and I can't find either, not even digital copies. Grrr.
Which brings us to 2009. Even though I haven't liked "Dancing with the Stars" since the second season, I was planning on watching it this time because Shawn Johnson is on. Then I found out Jewel and her husband were also going to compete, and I thought that was pretty awesome. Before I could get too excited, though, she shocked me and dropped out. Okay, fine, I wasn't shocked, and at least she had a pretty decent reason, being injured. At least they replaced her with another Alaskan girl: Holly Madison, who grew up near Ketchikan. Take that, Jewel!
On a slightly unrelated note: if that ballroom guy teaches Shawn to flick her wrists, I am going to kill him.
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