Pigs, Cattle, and Fall TV

Gratuitous stock photo of pork loin.

This may not be my healthiest recommendation, but last night I roasted a small pork loin from Costco (Swift Premium Chili Lime Marinated).  YUM!  It was so simple to do (just open the bag and plop it on a foil-lined baking pan and bake for 40 minutes (depending on the weight).  It was very tasty, juicy, and so tenderlicious!! Pork loins are relatively low in fat compared to other pork or beef roasts, so hey, enjoy.  We had baked sweet potatoes, green beans, and big salads (at least 6 ingredients, remember!) to alleviate the guilt factor.  As for the economy factor, it was only $2.49/lb., which is amazing for something you just pop in the oven!

Temple Grandin and Claire Danes



After eating our pork dinner last night, I watched "Temple Grandin" which I'd rented from Blockbuster.  [Oh please, I hope Blockbuster Kapaa doesn't ever close!  Sure you can rent easily over the internet, but nothing beats browsing "real time" among the thousands of videos in the store!]  I loved the movie, not just because it was about autism, but because Temple's story is so inspiring.  I wonder if she's considered doing for pigs what she did for cattle?  I certainly hope so!  For those of you who don't know, she revolutionized the cattle industry by introducing more humane--and at the same time more efficient and economical--practices by integrating her genius and her autistic sensitivities.  I wasn't a Claire Danes fan before, but now I understand why she won an Emmy for this role.

From touching and sensitive, we go to violent and stupid:  I'm sorry, but Tuesday night’s "Hawaii Five-0 turned me off.  The plots are so cheesy and ridiculously implausible for me. Gee, a team of only four (two of whom are "newbies" to the Hawaiian law scene) singlehandedly saving Hawaii every week from heavy duty mobsters–give me a break. It’s very corny to me, sorry. I really want to like this show because I try to support any series filmed in Hawaii, but last night’s episode was over the top.  My god, even on the NY crime shows you never see a daytime shooting at a high school football game. What are the writers thinking anyway? Can we please have an ounce of believability here? Please?  How about a bigger Five-0 team, or even some show of support from HPD instead of them arriving just as Danno's about to "book um"?  And pssst, I don’t like the Steve McGarrett character or actor, but I do like the others, especially Scott Caan, who plays Danno.  Apparently I'm not alone: Click here for a review in the Michigan Daily.

Let's go back to "sensitive":  I recently read Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol," which I enjoyed even more than "DaVinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" because it was more relevant for me.  Not that I've been to Washington D.C., but its theme was spirituality  and the founding of our country.  One of the subplots involved "noetic science"--the study of the mind and intuition--which has always intrigued me (see my blogposts here and here for two lists of my own experiences). 

Dr. Edgar Mitchell

One of the videotapes I rented from Blockbuster this past weekend was "Hunting the Lost Symbol," which was originally broadcast on the Discovery Channel in which they explore what was real and what was fiction in Dan Brown's book.  In it they cite the Institute of Noetic Science (founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell) on which Dan Brown bases his fictional Smithsonian counterpart and their very real studies which demonstrate the power of the mind.  For instance, a subject placed in a room in front of a video camera showed measurable reactions when remotely sent "good thoughts" by a viewer.  The subject had no idea when these "good vibes" would be sent, as the viewer only sent them intermittently when seeing him on a screen at random intervals.  Finding they've had success with this experiment supports the effectiveness of prayer, remote healing (such as Reiki), etc.  Very uplifting! Or scary, but I choose to be postive.   This page lists other studies they're doing, and these are completed projects.  Truly mind-boggling!

Lastly, here is a list of some of the Fall TV shows I've been watching and my ratings (* = bad, *** good):

The Good Wife *** (continues to be my favorite drama!)

The Middle *** (my favorite comedy!  This family is so lovably quirky!)

Modern Family *** (another funny family!)

Dancing With the Stars *  (I'm no Michael Bolton fan, but even the horrendous Kate Gosselin never got a 3!  And Kurt Warner gets 8's?!  I don't care for any of these "stars", thank goodness!)

Better With You ** (didn't intentionally watch this, but somehow the cast is really good!)

@*&! My Dad Says * (darn I wanted to like this)

The Event **  (Good grief, "3 hours earlier"  "2 weeks earlier" "5 months earlier" gives your brain a workout! I don't think I'll be watching this for very long.)

Glee **  (Fun to see who guest stars)

Law & Order LA * (Go back to NEW YORK!!!!  And please, no "at home" backstories, we just want the Law and the Order, not the Soap!!)

CSI's ** (Please stop with the creepy serial killers in jail, I hate those plots)

Desperate Housewives ** (I have a feeling this is their last season.)

Outsourced ** (Well you know I like Indians! They're fun!)

Big Bang *** (Big Fun!)

The Office ** (Uncomfortable Fun!)

As I'm trying to cut down on television viewing, I'm trying not to get attached to too many new shows. Yeh right.