TV - End of Season Round-up

Sometimes, I just want to take a break and write about something frivolous - like my favorite moments from the end of this year's TV "season". The idea of TV seasons is pretty artificial, because TV has all kinds of seasons these days. Nevertheless, I'm going to say I played right into the advertiser's hands by being glued to my television throughout the May sweeps.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite moments from TV's finale season - in no particular order (although some didn't come during the actual finales).

WARNING - THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD.

If, for some reason, you're saving these shows on your DVR, for GOD'S SAKE WATCH THEM ALREADY. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Beckett and Castle behind closed doors. (Castle) Castle is one of those shows that slides down like chicken soup. It's comforting (hooray for procedurals!), quippy, and the cast isn't bad to look at. It even has a wise child character. The great thing about it is that they do the cliches with such skill that you really don't care if you've seen it all before. In the penultimate episode of the season, Beckett and Castle went rogue and went to L.A. to solve a murder, and their long-simmering sexual tension (well, more like love than sexual tension) came to a head. Castle told Beckett how amazing she was. She left and went into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. And then came one of those totally cliche scenes where both of them were behind those closed doors, thinking about throwing the doors open and rushing into the other one's arms. But they didn't, of course. It worked, because Castle makes those things work.

House performs surgery on himself. (House) I just like self-surgery scenes. Usually they happen in historical dramas, in brutal scenes of battle that take place before the days of field hospitals. But of course, Greg House is fighting his own personal Civil War in every episode. Totally bad-ass.

Leslie knows all about the dorms at Johns Hopkins. (Parks & Recreation) There were about fifty amazing moments in the last few episodes of P&R. (L'il Sebastian says good-bye, Ron's swivel desk, everything Donna says). The one that really made me shoot soda out my nose, though, was when Ben and Leslie were sent on a road trip and Leslie was afraid that she would crack under the pressure of all of the sexual tension between her and Ben. So she brought along tapes of whale sounds and horrible banjo music and incredibly-detailed talking points about the dorms at Johns Hopkins, where she was never a student. Hilarious. It was completely appropriate when they finally succumbed to love ... when Leslie handed Ben some receipts. (Also, can I just give P&R a big ol' FEMINIST shout-out, because Ben fell in love with Leslie because she is good at her job. Competence is a big turn-on for all the ladies, but we don't often see a guy on TV who gets hot for giant binders full of work ideas).

I realize as I write this that a lot of these are romantic ... hmm... what does that say about me? But here's one that's not...

Alicia lashes out at Kalinda. (The Good Wife). So, Kalinda didn't exactly betray Alicia - I mean, they didn't even know each other when Kalinda traded sex for help from Alicia's husband Peter (hmm... I bet that was pretty hot, come to think of it). But The Good Wife recognizes that any woman, including a good wife, is going to be pissed at the other woman, no matter her excuses. Alicia told Kalinda that she knew Kalinda had slept with her husband, Kalinda tried to explain, and Alicia snapped: It is selfish to say anything after that. True dat.And still, our hearts broke when Kalinda broke down.

Penny goes to a hipster party. (Happy Endings). OK. I just put that in here to say, I really like Happy Endings and I want it to stick around. It may not be the best show ever. They obviously showed the episodes out of order. It's a total post-Friends Friends-rip-off. Yet... the characters talk about the things my friends and I talk about (zombie apocalypse!), they make fun of the things we make fun of, they try to be adults and fail just like we do. And Oh. My. God. Do they make me laugh. Never harder than when Penny (the divine Casey Wilson, who could sing and was funny yet still got booted off SNL) went to a 90's bar mitzvah-themed hipster party, and Penny declared that she loved a crappy 90's song. "And not ironically."

Stefan returns to his roots. (The Vampire Diaries). Usually, Stefan is the most boring part of VD. I mean, I understand what Elena sees in him (square jaw, tall hair, extremely thoughtful, not pushy). He's just ... eh. We knew that in his past, he'd done some bad things. But we'd never really seen it before. Not until Klaus came and told us that Stefan used to snack on whole villages, then made the sweet Salvatore drink bags and bags of blood. While Damon was dying picturesquely (and sweatily), Stefan was suddenly becoming interesting.

Peter changes the game. (Fringe.) Yeah, yeah. We've heard it before. Best season of Fringe by far. We tripped between Walter and Walternate, Olivia and Fauxlivia (and don't forget Bellivia!), and it was good. And all the while, Peter, the most normal person in the Fringeverse - the only one without multiple identities - was our surrogate in the world of weird. But when his moment of greatness came, and Peter saw the future, he couldn't choose one world over another. He chose both. And then he disappeared.

River and the Doctor share their first/last kiss. (Doctor Who). River Song has got to be one of the greatest characters on TV right now. As embodied by Alex Kingston - she of the curly hair and curvy hips - River has a sexy swagger usually reserved for male characters on TV. The fact that we have to puzzle out her story backwards only adds to the mystery. It's hard to explain if you're not down with the Who-verse, but River and the Doctor are having ... some kind of relationship ... moving in two different directions through time. Confusing, I know. I'm confused too. Except when River and the Doctor kissed (the Doctor all flapping hands and stammering words) it was suddenly, heart-breakingly clear: the Doctor kissed River for the first time, which meant that she would never kiss him again. Her self-awareness, in a single glance, was shattering.

Booth glances sidelong at Brennan. (Bones). Here's the thing about Bones: lots of people talk about the will-they-won't-they aspect and the Moonlighting-curse. Should Brennan and Booth get together? everyone asks. But Brennan and Booth have been together for years. They may not be in a romantic relationship, but they firmly root themselves each other. And yes, in the penultimate (super-excited I get to use this word twice in one post!) ep, it was hinted that Brennan and Booth finally slept together, though all we saw was a sweet hug in the middle of a devastating night. When Brennan announced she was pregnant at the end of the finale, and that Booth was the father, it was confirmation of what we thought we knew. But I think the real confirmation came earlier, when Booth stole a glance at Bones, while both were in white-trash undercover gear at a bowling alley, that was so full of love we should all be so lucky were anyone to glance our direction with that look in his eyes.

We lay eyes on Fort Hawthorne. (Community). It's a bold move, for a show that's been accused of being gimmicky, to repeat their best gimmick - a paintball game that turns into a cinematic tour de force. But Community is all about bold moves. It's a show about love where the key characters aren't all that lovable. It's all about real emotion, and yet the backdrop of the narrative is anything but real. Which, in my book, makes it almost mythic. When community college paintball turned into an Old West shoot-out, Pierce Hawthorne created an old-West style saloon, a haven from the fight. And it was beautiful ... and set us up for the carnage to come. And yes, Community rewards close reading, and I'm sure a few Ph.D. dissertations will stand on its shoulders, but it's still laugh-your-ass-off-funny when it comes right down to it.

Tyrion matches wits with Catelyn. Guess who wins? (Game of Thrones). There are many great moments in Game of Thrones - probably because it's based on a book about how moments shift the fates of nations. And many of those moments belong to Tyrion, played by Peter Dinklage. He's the son of a great man, yet has the misfortune of being born a dwarf. Captured by his family's enemies, he bets his freedom, and his life, on a duel between champions - but his champion is a mercenary. When Tyrion suggests the duel, his captor, Catelyn, sees instantly that she is lost, but events carry her away. In a land where chivalry rules, she has no choice but to obey the laws of knights and swords.

Luckily, we no longer face a summer full of re-runs like we did in the old days. I'm looking forward to So You Think You Can Dance, White Collar, True Blood, and Torchwood.

How about you? What were your favorite moments of the TV season?

Back soon!

Hi, friends!

I'm not neglecting you. I simply have VERY limited internet access this week. Let's just say, it's not quite the dial-up era here while I'm visiting my mom, but close.

See you soon.

This 'n' That

A few random thoughts:

• This morning I was watching the Today Show while I worked out, and I saw an ad for a new parking lot at Houston's airport: Eco-park. They have more environmentally-friendly little vans, which is probably a good thing, since those vans run almost constantly.
• And yes, I've so far kept up with my weekly workout goal of working out 5 times a week.
• Sure, wine in a box evokes porch sofas and trailers. Since so many people are looking for good deals these days, box wine is getting another look. My friend Kelly tried out some Black Box brand wine at Costco and she was so impressed that she bought some. Since then we've been trying some different varieties. The Black Box sauvignon blanc is especially good. And the packaging in box wine takes up less space and uses less energy to produce.
• The world is ending on Saturday, apparently. In celebration, I've been asking everybody what they would do on Friday if the world really was ending on Saturday. Me? Call all my family and tell them I love them, then gather up all my friends and head down to Galveston (stopping in Kemah to ride the wooden roller coaster), get some wine and some food (probably Kentucky Fried Chicken), and then hang out on the beach.
• WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

The Nose Knows

Does anyone remember that old Jewel song that goes: "I'm sensitive, and I'd like to stay that way"?

Well, I'm sensitive.

Scent-sensitive, that is.

I realize this makes me sound like a Victorian weakling fainting away, but in all seriousness, the scent of most modern cleaning products gives me an instant migraine. Sometimes, when I'm traveling and I look at a beautifully-made hotel bed, then slip between the cool, white sheets, my first thought is I'm nauseous. The smell of various detergents sends me into a tailspin.

Don't get me wrong. I like stuff that smells good. It's not like I go around trying to sniff rotting garbage. But to me, "smells good" means "smells natural". I love the smell of fresh rosemary, lavender, or jasmine. Not so much, the chemical versions of these scents.

This hits home every time that I'm around most modern cleaning products, especially when I put on clothes washed in regular detergent. All of these cleaning products have "Fragrance" listed as an ingredient.

If you go to the Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database page on "Fragrance", you find that this vague ingredient category rates an 8 (out of 10!) on their hazard scale. The fact is, most companies don't disclose what makes their cleaning products smell good. And so we're kept in the dark. What we do know, however, is that if companies don't reveal any more about the exact ingredients they're using, they fall into the category of immunotoxins.

Through some very unscientific experimenting, I have created my own test for whether a scented product should be in my home.

I'll keep something if:

1) the scents come from essential oils.

Cool. I'm down with this.

2) the scent disappears soon after use.

I know, I know. Don't we all want our homes to smell like flowers? But natural smells tend to fade quite quickly. If you wash your clothes and the scent of detergent stays for several days, then you're dealing with Fragrance with a capital F which stands for ... well, you get the idea.

It's hard, because smelling awesome is one of the gifts of modern society. I mean, no one wants a return to the days when you carried a bouquet 'cuz everyone was so stinky. But I think we've gone a bit too far in trying to make everything smell fabulous.

If I have to choose between my immune system and my detergent, I choose my immune system.

(Illustration courtesy of the Graphics Fairy)

Recipe - Lemon Rosemary Chicken

I know that I usually post meatless recipes, but I do cook poultry or fish about once a week. And this recipe is just so good that I wanted to share it with you. It's also incredibly easy, and I'm lazy, so I like things that are easy.

You could use chicken breasts to make this recipe, but I have no idea why you would. It's so weird that Americans have decided en masse that we like a dry, stringy chicken boob, discard the rest of the chicken if you please. Who knows what they do with the rest of the chicken - maybe grind it up into nuggets? Anyway, I prefer to use thighs. They are cheaper, moister, more flavorful, and you know that at least one part of the chicken isn't becoming garbage. You could also use a cut-up fryer to use even more of the chicken.

I've been making variations on this for a few years, and here are a few tips for making this recipe as green as possible:

• If available, choose organic ingredients. Better for the soil, better for you.
• If you're lucky enough to live in a city with a specialty market or butcher shop, buy your meat there to avoid excess packaging. In some areas, you can even find farmers who sell fresh meat.
• I use two gallon plastic zipper bags in this recipe for marinating and for coating the chicken with breadcrumbs. Because it's not really clean to reuse a chickeny bag, even washed, use bags that you've already used several times so they can go to their end in peace.
• Use panko breadcrumbs instead of regular. These usually have a much shorter ingredient list than the classic American-style, and they are more delicious.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

At least 4 chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless, skin or no skin -- but skinless will be less fat)

For marinade:

juice of 2-3 fresh lemons

1 tbsp olive oil

3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary, stems discarded and chopped fine

salt, pepper to taste

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed, or garlic powder

1 or so cups of panko breadcrumbs

Step 1:

Place all of the marinade ingredients into a gallon zipper bag and shake to mix (zip it first!). Then place the chicken inside and put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. The marinade is quite acidic, so I wouldn't leave it in for much longer. You'll see that it starts to break down the surface of the chicken.

Step 2:

When it's almost time to cook, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees or thereabouts. (I've also cooked this on the stovetop in a heavy saute pan). Prepare a baking dish by spraying with an olive oil spray or greasing with butter.

Step 3:

Put the breadcrumbs into a different gallon zipper bag. Using a fork, transfer the chicken from the marinade into the breadcrumbs. Zip the bag and shake.

Step 4:

Put chicken in the baking dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes. You'll know the chicken is done when you insert a knife into the chicken and the juices run clear (instead of red). When it is done or nearly, spray the tops of the chicken with olive oil or olive oil spray and put under the broiler for about 3 minutes.

Voila! This is a nice springy-tasting dish, so it's great with some baby arugula and some asparagus.

For the Mamas

Love you all! I'm allergic to sappiness, so I thought I would just share a couple photos of some of the mamas in my family:

Here's me (yes, I'm the baby). My mom, Frances; grandma Eleanor; and great-grandma Amelia are with me. All of the women in my family did amazing things - great-grandma (Nanny) escaped Russia during the revolution to start a new life in the new world (Northern California, then Guatemala). My grandmother (Grammy) married her childhood sweetheart and raised four kids while he was getting his Ph.D. My mom (Mom) left the comfort of Southern California for the wilds of North Idaho and a rural life that sometimes included melting snow so we could have water when the electricity went out.

My grandma Florence, far right. She raised EIGHT KIDS (seven were boys!). Throughout her life, her faith in God was the sustaining force that got her through poverty, grief at the loss of several children, and a changing world.

My sister, with her husband and my nephew Henry. Our parents raised us both to be activist-types, and my sister got her master's in social work while being a mom and working full time. She now helps protect other people's children.

I'm so lucky for all of the amazing moms in my life.

Dingle, Sturjen, Krypto, Caits, Connie, Kelly, Sara G., Sarah S., Elizabeth A., and my many internet friends - this is for you too! Much love and blessings. I'm so glad that you are raising such amazing little people.

2011 Learn Go Do - April Reflection

In 2011, rather than having one New Year's resolution, I created a list of intentions for the year. You can read that list 2011 Learn Go Do by clicking here. This is my reflection on how April went.

Learn

If you've been reading my other monthly reflections, you know that one of my intentions has been a real beast: learning to knit lace. Usually I feel like I can conquer any knitting challenge. However, knitting lace tested all my powers of concentration. While I knew all the right moves, I kept getting tangled up and starting over. However, I think I've got it! (Knock on wood). The picture above shows how I'm doing. Hopefully, the sweater I'm working on will be finished before the end of the year.

Go

April's new restaurant was the Jarro Cafe, a Mexican place out in the Spring Branch area of Houston. It's worth the trip just because they give you seven different kinds of salsa with your chips. They are known for their tacos. I had mole enchiladas. In case you are unfamiliar with mole, it is a chocolate-chile sauce. It was pretty good, but a little sweeter than I like my mole. Next time I'll have to try the tacos. The prices were very reasonable, which sweetens the deal.

Do

Since January, I have been working my way up to exercising five days a week. This past week was the first week I tried it. Man, I have been sleeping like a champ these past five days. I have to say, I kind of enjoy it. I've been a regular enough exerciser at different points in my life to know that I never get to the point where I just LOVE exercising. I hate sweating, I hate being hot, I hate exercise clothes, I hate spending time on it. That never really changes, no matter how much I do it.

My friend Liz has this belief that exercise should involve three pieces of gear or less, and this is something I subscribe to as well. Driving to a gym seems like a waste of money and fossil fuels (and those places must just suck energy, with all of the TVs and machines!). I like to do things that are simple and can be done at home, so that I'm not spending extra time preparing or driving. Some simple workouts I like:

• Yoga. I've been practicing yoga on-and-off my entire life, and so this is something I can do at home with only my iPod and a mat. It doesn't annoy me as much as other types of exercise because it's really more of a spiritual practice than workout.
• Walking outside. Always free! Always something different to see! Houston is full of amazing walking trails, and during the spring and autumn it's a great place to walk or run outside. (I don't run. But other people do).
• Walk at Home videos. Leslie Sansone is the creator of the Walk at Home series, and everyone I know who has tried them really likes them. One reason I like Leslie is that she's kind of goofy and not an exercise-tyrant. While she's leading the workout, she talks almost exclusively about health - not about losing weight or how you should look. Her positivity is infectious. The videos have easy steps to follow, but they are fun and the time passes quickly. Great for those of you who hate exercising. (A great money-saving tip -- if you already have cable onDemand or Netflix streaming, a lot of exercise videos are available).
• So You Think You Can Dance workout DVDs. These DVDs are a different kind of fun. I grew up dancing, and sometimes I miss it. These DVDs teach you some dance routines, instead of just having you do a bunch of random "dance" moves. All of the leaders are dancers from So You Think You Can Dance, and they really explain how to do the moves. You can put together your own workout, combining a warm up with different dances and a cool down (they also have segments where they teach the dances very slowly, which are also great for toning muscles).

So, April was exhausting! I'm looking forward to May, where I plan to try to continue working out (5 days during at-home weeks, 3 days when traveling), accelerating work on the sweater I'm knitting, and trying some new restaurants around town.