Glee

Since the end of LOST, I have been trying to find a t.v. show to follow to fill the empty space left behind by the genius of J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindeloff, and Carlton Cuse. Unfortunately, the college lifestyle doesn't allow for leisurely t.v. watching. However, there is one show that fits into my schedule.

Glee.

I watched the season premiere of Glee and just couldn't get into it, so I abandoned it in favor of greener, more mature pastures. But when LOST ended and I had nothing better to do, I gave GLEE another try. I watched the entire 1st season and although the music is annoyingly catchy, overall the show just made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. Yes, as a musical theatre freak, I wish that I could walk down a busy hallway singing a sad love song without anyone taking notice. But from Lea Michele's contorted faces while she's having a Lady Gaga showdown in the bathroom with a foreign exchange student to pregnant high school girls dancing a bit from the Pas de Quatre from the ballet Swan Lake holding eachother's pregnant bellies instead of hands, I find myself often minimizing the Fox Online viewing screen until the awkward moments pass. Which brings me to my next point.

Last night, the 2nd episode of the 2nd season, Brittany/Britney aired. I didn't get to watch it until this afternoon. And I was absolutely shocked.

Someone please tell me what Glee's target audience is. I was under the impression that it was a show they wanted to appeal to a wide range of ages, like from 12-24. But I'm obviously mistaken. Because if my child was a 12 year old Glee fan, I would have flipped my shit over last night's episode and my child would have to find a new show to watch on Tuesday nights. Because what Fox aired last night was incredibly inappropriate in my opinion. I know Glee is known for pushing the envelop when it comes to the topic of sex (see the youtube video below from Glee's famous Madonna episode). But if the makers of Glee still consider their product the kind of show that a parent can watch with their teen or tween, then a huge, flashing neon line was crossed last night.

The episode was the much anticipated Brittany Spears episode. And it seemed innocent enough at first. The school guidance counselor, Emma, get's her dentist boyfriend (played by John Stamos..the reason I was actually excited about this episode) to speak to the Glee club about dental hygiene. He discovers that a few of the members of the Glee club have teeth in serious need of work and the majority of the rest of the episode shows those members having Brittany Spears fantasies induced by general anesthesia. In the first fantasy, the character Britney is shown wearing a few very famous Brittany Spear's costumes, including the red jumpsuit, a giant boa constrictor, and the sparkly nude jumpsuit (in which she is dancing around and on a submissive John Stamos while he's lying on a dentist-esque chair). The next fantasy was all that with a dash of Santana rubbing a black cane between her legs (hmm...I wonder what that's a metaphor for). The next two fantasies were relatively tame. Lea Michele's character fantasized that she was in the music video for Baby One More Time and Artie did a rendition of Stronger.

The episode culminated in a performance of Toxic in front of the entire school. The choreography featured suggestive dance moves and a boy in the audience that was so turned on by the performance that he was jumping around and reaching orgasm right then and there. Even coach Sue Sylvester says, "It's a Brittany Spears sex riot."

I have no problem with a t.v show showing that sort of content. I am in no way a supporter of censorship or believe that television show producers need to follow guidelines or anything of that sort . I just think that Fox and the producers of Glee need to seriously consider what kind of show that want to air. They are marketing to adults as well as young tweens. The show airs at a slot often reserved for somewhat family friendly programming. But last night's episode was one that I feel was not appropriate for their younger audiences. They either need to change their marketing approach to avoid the tweens or give some serious thought to their programming. Because last night was a sex riot.


"Like a Virgin" from Glee's famous Madonna episode.


What do you think? Am I just being a prude?

When I Die...

...I want to come back as an LSU Squirrel. I'll have all the french fries I want and I won't worry about the fact that they came out of the garbage or that they are loaded with fat. Because I'll be a squirrel. And squirrels don't have to care about hygiene or fat content.



I took this picture outside of the LSU Student Union today.


Oh, and on a completely un-Squirrel related note, IT'S COLD. It's unexpected (even though weather.com has been warning me about this), but quite nice. Like a free cookie or a nice message on your dorm door whiteboard.

Hide Your Heads!

Apparently, within the next couple of weeks, a ginger hunt will begin at LSU.

I'm kind of freaked out.

My roommate warned me tonight after she saw a redhead in a movie. Apparently, people will start creeping on me and taking pictures of me. I'm not okay with this. I'm not some one who particularly likes spontaneous pictures being taken of me (because, frankly, I'm not that photogenic). So the idea that I might become a target for cameras does not settle well with me. All google searches for "ginger hunt" are coming up empty (except for people actually named Ginger Hunt. What mean parents), so I really have no idea what to expect.

Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I'm getting to a point where ginger discrimination (that's not quite the right word, but you know what I mean) stops being funny and starts being seriously aggravating for those of us who are the target or comments, jokes, and "movements." The term ginger didn't really become popular until South Park's 137th episode, Ginger Kids. At first, the episode didn't seem that bad. The only people who got offended were redheads who were looking to be offended. I thought it was funny and started using the term my self. I didn't think anyone would take it seriously. But then it seemed to spark an "anti-ginger" movement. Gingers became thought of as unhuman and subpar to "normal" hair colors. Red hair was a deficiency. "Kick a Ginger Day" started to show up on school playgrounds and in facebook events. Here's a link to one ginger student's account and opinion of "Kick a GInger Day":http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2009/11/59759/kick-a-ginger-day/. If such a practice were to emerge singling out another race, culture, or group, people would flip their shit. What is it about my strawberry-blonde hair that makes singling me out ok?



I don't mind the use of the term "ginger." Like I said before, I use the term and I have friends who use it as a term of endearment to refer to me or other redheads. But events like "Kick a Ginger Day" or "Ginger Hunts" that single me and other redheads out, I do have problem with. Just because I have red hair doesn't give people the right to take pictures of me without my knowledge or consent because it's part of some sort of game. It doesn't it mean I'm any less intelligent or talented than non-redheads. It doesn't mean I don't have feelings or that I don't get frustrated and angry when redheads are treated like objects instead of people.

Yes, I have red hair. And I love my hair. It's one of the many wonderful traits that's I've inherited from my wonderful grandmother. Every hairstylist I've ever been to has told me to never dye my hair. And people rarely give me problems over my hair color or even notice it. But every now and then, some movement like "Kick a GInger Day" or a "Ginger Hunt" will pop up and suddenly I'm regarded as human anymore. I am simply an object for ignorant entertainment. And it's frustrating and angering and saddening.


At least ask for my permission before you take my picture.

What do you think? Am I overreacting? Is it all just in good fun and I need to accept it? Should I just invest in a bottle of hair dye or a baseball hat and ride this out? Is anyone even reading this?


Here's another interesting more scientific viewpoint from fellow blogger and ginger Andy Einstein. I found it looking through pictures on Google to post here (just create a new tab and copy/paste the link into your search bar):

http://andyeinstein.blogspot.com/2008/09/face-it-people-with-red-hair-are-better.html

Red hair was thought to indicate beastly sexual desire. What, like that's a bad thing?

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck If a Woodchuck Could Chuck Wood?

Geico has the answer.



I freaking love those commercials. My favorite is below.

Secret Sundays

Every Sunday, I check www.postsecret.com too read/see the week's Sunday Secrets. Some Sundays, a Secret will stick out to me. Today, this one did:



One day, I will be brave enough to write my own secret on a postcard and mail it to Frank Warren.