Swandives

A few weeks ago we decided to eschew a Foxtel subscription to buy DVDs. We figured it would be cheaper and so far it’s definitely worked in our favour. Imagine my delight when we discovered the local video store was selling Northern Exposure discs! I have the most wonderful coffee mug branded with the show’s title and the tagline: may the moose be with you. If there was every anything on television that spoke to my sensibilities, that show was it. I’ve since turned to eBay to round out the collection.

Nearly 17 years later, it’s still good! Actually, probably better. I’m rediscovering the wonderful nuances of the characters and, more interestingly, seeing things in the context of life experience that I simply didn’t have when I was younger. For example, the Shelly-Holling story arc was never really on my radar. Now, married to a man 21 years older than myself, I see it with an entirely different perspective. And it was so daring; I suddenly realised that we live in much more conservative times for all the changes and ‘forward progress’. I doubt the show would be a hit today because I doubt audiences would get it. Actually, I’m surprised it was ever a hit, truth be told. Surprised, and very pleased.

Northern Exposure always seems to be described as ‘quirky’ but on second viewing, I’d call it ‘accepting’. I realise this concept was the underlying theme of the whole show, but juxtaposed with the undercurrent of fear and hatred of today’s world it stands out as extraordinary. As a friend once remarked to me after watching an episode: “I feel at peace with myself and the world.”

The show first aired in 1990 so these days it’s considered a retro classic - which is not really a word I’ve ever associated with Northern Exposure until I realised there little to no technology onscreen. No internet. No mobile phones. Chris opines into a microphone where today he would no doubt be tapping away at a keyboard or podding. It is all the more wonderful for the lack of gizmos and gadgets. I am reminded of the joys of an analgue world. Then I remember that without digital, my Northern Exposure DVDs wouldn’t exist, and everything falls back into place.

So sore. 10-odd km yesterday and 17-odd today. Four more weeks and I look forward to sitting down to dinner with a bottle of wine (or champagne) and just celebrating. I mean, there’s birthdays, wedding anniversaries and the like to celebrate, but I think what I’ll really be celebrating is the end of the running season. My body has had enough I tells ya!

The Swandives theme has changed again. Very short attention span, I have…plus I love a good redesign. Actually, I’m sitting here waiting for the men’s 100 m sprint final to be televised on SBS. (Despite pledging that I would no longer watch the channel until Mary Kostakidis was back on air…but you just can’t beat it for top sports coverage. Plus. Les is still at the helm.)

Oooh…final’s on…oho! Boilover! American Tyson Gay beat the race favourite Asafa Powell! Man, I didn’t think he could do it, but Powell ran third. Wow. Gay has some serious acceleration going on! Ok. Now I can take some Nurofen Plus and go to bed.

It’s Friday night (thank goodness), which normally means I’d be parked in front of the TV watching Big Brother. But there’s no more Big Brother. And it’s a week or so until Idol begins. I’m looking forward to Dicko being back on board as I really rate him.

Anyway, as I predicted Aleisha won Big Brother, over Zach, the flamboyant gay boy. Yes, I can pick ‘em. I think Zach’s a legend and I’d have loved to see him win, but I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t. Australia loves the ordinary. But the most interesting thing about Big Brother this year was that, amid the vote counting fiasco, a bit of magic occurred: we actually got to see some reality tele.

You see, the votes were apparently so close that it took almost an hour extra to count them all, forcing the poor crew to pad it out in the meantime. I’ve heard a lot of criticism about that but all I can say is: to the knockers - you try doing it. It’s bloody hard, and I think Gretel and Mikey et al did a fantastic job. But that’s by the by. The real gold happened when, needing to get through the show and still count the votes, the decision was made to let the parents of the finalists into the house.

What followed was the most wonderful 8 minutes of reality television you could imagine. There was the emotional reunion, which was expected. But then everybody sat down and actually ‘talked’. Not like people on tele. Like they were a family, with all the baggage that families have, catching up with each other. The audience didn’t know who they were talking about and it didn’t matter - just watching the interaction was enough. It was sweet, with a depth and a pathos that you just can’t contrive. It rose above the pre-planned, scripted psyco-rubbish that is Big Brother’s bread and butter, and it went somewhere wonderful. And it happened because of something unplanned.

All those who bag the show or bag the host or both miss the point entirely. They’re so busy getting their knickers in a knot about a rubber chicken throw that they fail to see the nuggets of gold that sometimes appear in the Big Brother vein.

Please stop with the ads mid-program!!
Sorry. I got sidetracked. That wasn’t actually why I was posting. My original plea was to buy this show and put it on before Iron Chef on Saturday evenings. It’s called Ninja Warrior and it’s tops:

Hahaha…I’m sorry. I’m watching the finale of the The Biggest Loser and I kid you not, they just introduced and applauded the scales!

ROFL!

That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.

Ah, those Chaser boys - you can’t take them anywhere

Spent today in a fascinating seminar about collaborative initiatives in education. Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, gave the keynote speech and there was a lot to like about the entire day. But it was the Chaser’s Ten Questions directed at Mr Wales that really stole the show:

1. How are you enjoying Australia?
2. How do our computers compare to the ones in America?
3. Why does everyone in IT look so nerdy and yet you look like a daytime soap star?
4. Mac or PC? Do you really give a shit?
5. There are 1.7 million articles on Wikipedia. How long did it take you to write them all?
6. Craig Reucassel is a bit unhappy with the photo on his page. Could you upload, maybe, a better one for him?
7. My dog, he’s got this little scabs [? couldn't hear this] under his chin. I don’t know if you could recommend the number of the local vet?
8. Jessica Rowe and Peter Overton. Will it last?
9. Cracked pepper?
10. How do you feel about the fact that when I looked you up on Wikipedia this morning, I changed your page to say that you were a teenage drug lord from Malaysia?

It was funny because Jimmy was just about the only person who didn’t recognise Andrew Hansen so everybody cheered and applauded at the end, and poor Mr Wales thought we were all mad. I have a suspicion he thinks Aussies really are from another planet, because they also showed the classic advertisement about the rabbits in China which he didn’t get and had to have explained to him. I didn’t realise it was a cultural thing until today, although it’s fairly obvious when you think about it.
All that malarky overshadowed what was a really interesting presentation. And I found out that Wikia (the relatively new for-profit Wiki venture) has more than 12,000 articles about the Muppets! Now there’s a project after my own heart.

I notice the SMH has an article about the Chaser gag online at the moment. Boy, they’re the flavour of the month aren’t they? It’s great to see an ABC show getting that kinda attention.