I'm a Massachusetts girl born and raised, and have lived in Maine for only about a year now. I'm sadly deficient in knowledge of my new state, having traveled around it very little. This past weekend I made up for that a little bit. I was treated to a tour of Bar Harbor, thanks to my friend Nicole; I also got to play in a rather famous Freeport destination in the company of my friend John.
Now, Bar Harbor is absolutely gorgeous, and I had a great time there. I could try to wax poetic about the beauty of the cliffs and the water and the sky, but that would be a lot of words, and probably wouldn't be that interesting to read. I'm not so good with the poetry. A glance at some photos of the area is enough to make you want to go there if you haven't been already. I'll just share a few random thoughts from my journey.
First, it's a great idea to take in your surroundings on the way there (especially during a long drive). I was inordinately entertained by "Pete's Pretty Good Ice Cream" and was disappointed that it wasn't open yet as I drove by so that I could verify that the ice cream was, in fact, pretty good. Not great maybe, but pretty good. Also, I swear I saw the restaurant from the Goonies along the road as well. It was all run down and boarded up, and I think the Fratellis might have escaped and been hiding in there...
Second, a word of advice: the popovers at Jordan Pond House are worth it, especially if you are trying them for the first time. However, it is not all that advisable to hike up the South Bubble immediately after eating said popovers and drinking chai. But if you do, at least you won't feel bad about the calories consumed!
The day after returning home from my lovely Bar Harbor trip, I continued my Maine education with my first real visit to an iconic Maine institution: LL Bean (using the bathroom there after a Wallflowers concert didn't count), in Freeport. You can't miss the place; right out front is a giant boot. One might wonder, however, why this particular product was chosen as the symbol for the store, given that those boots are, well, pretty ugly. It also begs the question of whether there is a giant ass somewhere that it is meant to kick. In any case, within the store you can purchase not only the footwear itself, but vanilla cookies created in its image.
Once you cross the threshold, you find yourself in a wonderland of outdoorsy items. Are you a fan of firearms? You'll love it here! Want to check out the local varieties of fish? You're in luck; not only is there a trout pond, but also a tank at which you can look those fish right in the eye due to an indentation in the bottom of the tank, below which is a chair. Then of course there is the clothing, footwear, home goods, and food items. It's a fabulous place in which to wander aimlessly and take it all in.
Speaking of food items, apparently A. Wilbur's Candy is closed on Monday evenings. Just a heads-up so that you, dear reader, may be spared the disgruntlement we felt whilst not being able to fulfill a chocolate craving. We were forced to return to LL Bean, where they do have a decent array of candy, some of it actually from A. Wilbur. Beware of the gummi worm container; it's pretty disturbing. Why would you label a sugary treat with a drawing of an astonished worm impaled on a hook, watching as an open-mouthed cartoon fish approaches to devour it? I can recommend the dark chocolate-covered cashews, although the price is a little scary. Mmmm... dark chocolate-covered cashews...
On that note, thus endeth my travelogue this time around. Until next time...
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Guest Post: Movie merits of ‘Star Trek,’ ‘District 9’
Here it is, folks... my very first guest post! (And there was much rejoicing... yaaaaaay!) Thanks to my good friend John Swinconeck for contributing to my humble blog. Enjoy his take on a couple of the notable big screen events this summer.
Movie merits of ‘Star Trek,’ ‘District 9’
Well, the summer movie season is at last behind us. It’s time to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, napkin up the blood and entrails, and take a look at the damage done. A quick look at movie grosses on Rotten Tomatoes reveals, none too surprisingly, that the top films of the summer were sci-fi adventure. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the highest grossing popcorn flick over the summer. (Interestingly, the amount of money it took in, over $400 million, is inverse to its mere 19 percent ranking on the tomato meter.)
I confess I didn’t see Michael Bay’s tribute to gigantic digital explosions. Summer was a busy time of year for me, as I was occupied by all manner of sock-drawer sorting. Also, teaching my parakeet not to defecate on my arm is quite involved (he still has a long way to go). Plus, I was real busy sorting my collection of DVDs and rating songs in my iTunes library. So you see, there just wasn’t time to watch the runny, fecal splatter of Michael Bay’s latest cinematic abomination.
Star Trek was the fifth-highest grossing film, taking in over $257 million, making it the most financially successful film of the venerable franchise. It has a 95 percent freshness rating, although it was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who also wrote the Transformers film, leaving me scratching my head so badly that large clumps of scalp and hair have fallen out, revealing large patches of pink, suppurating tissue and the occasional glimpse of bone that is my skull. Perhaps I should call my doctor.
My sock drawer sorted and my parakeet sequestered, I managed to see Star Trek twice. Once was in a regular, Ma & Pa humble theater with stadium seating and booming digital surround sound. My other screening was much more recent, in the film’s second run in IMAX. You need to see it in this format. Only IMAX, with its enormous screen and crystal-perfect picture, reveals every detail of Zachary Quinto’s five o’clock shadow and the mole near Chris Pine’s ear.
Paramount had a lot riding on director J.J. Abrams’ reboot, and the results paid off spectacularly. It’s not perfect, and Roger Ebert’s C+ rating resonated with me (I had read his review shortly before going to the IMAX screening). This film doesn’t strictly adhere to Star Trek creator and noted philanderer Gene Roddenberry’s vision, wherein the Enterprise’s crew was more likely to mentally out-maneuver the god-like aliens that were frequently adversaries. Abrams’ vision is louder, more flashy. A lot less talk and a lot more frying of Romulans using 13,000 instances of lens-flare. Still, it was fun to share an adventure with these familiar characters again – revisiting the Enterprise’s bridge was like coming home for us Trekkies (Side note: Trekkies who insist on calling themselves Trekkers ought to just give up the ghost and refer to themselves by their proper name: douche bags.)
It’s no surprise that Star Trek, Transformers and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Jingoism did so well over the summer. These are big, slam-bam films with hefty promotional budgets that carry on a franchise.
The dark horse sci-fi film of the summer was District 9, an allegory against allowing mid-level bureaucrats to get too close to the giant crickets segregated in a Johannesburg slum. You’ll just find that he gets some form of alien barbeque sauce squirted in his face and before long he’s growing a freaking lobster claw out of his shoulder.
There was some mild debate when the film finally opened in South Africa in August over its apartheid analogy. District 9 deals with forced segregation and the forcible removal of alien refugees from their camp, and recalls the forced relocation of black South Africans from the real-life District 6 area of Johannesburg during apartheid.
By no means was it a perfect film. However, any work that stirs debate over its message, or delivery thereof (as opposed to debating the merits of public Autobot urination) deserves credit. Like Star Trek, it was worth seeing twice.
Live long and prosper, and don’t tinker with the special sauce.
John Swinconeck is a photographer and writer. His music blog should be read religiously at thefiver.net.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
I read pretty much incessantly. I visit the library on a regular basis, and more often than not come home with a pile of books, of nearly any genre. One area into which I had never ventured was that of comic books, or graphic novels. A few months ago, however, I picked up the first volume of the Sandman series, both because I love Neil Gaiman, and on the recommendation of a few friends.
As I just mentioned, I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman and have read almost all of the novels and short stories he has published. (In fact, my web address name for this blog was inspired by The Graveyard Book, one of the best things I've read in a very long time. Maybe ever.) So, despite some skepticism, I decided to give the graphic novels a try. I certainly didn't regret it.
Initially, I had to adjust to the style of the graphic novel format. When reading a regular book, the author paints a picture using his or her words, which you interpret in your imagination; with a graphic novel, you interpret the pictures that have been drawn for you while you also take in the story. After reading the first volume in the series, I judged it merely very good, but continuing through the books, I saw Gaiman beginning to hit his stride, and collectively the series became an amazing piece of work.
So many elements are combined throughout the Sandman series. Gaiman incorporates myth, religion, literature and history in telling the stories of Dream and his dysfunctional (and fascinating) family of the Endless. Much like in his novels, the horrifying and the humorous are interspersed, and the "real" and "imaginary" are not clearly delineated, but mixed together until they become inseparable. Sometimes the Sandman takes center stage, and sometimes he is merely a presence in the background of the story. His moral ambiguity, and his development throughout the series, add to the uniqueness of the work. The artists change from volume to volume as well, each giving a different visual rendering of Dream.
I am not alone in my regard for the books; each volume features an introduction by such illustrious names as Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Harlan Ellison. As soon as I finished the last volume of the series, I picked up the first one again at my next library trip. It's that good. Whether you are a comics devotee or, like me, had never picked up a graphic novel before, I highly recommend the Sandman books.
As I just mentioned, I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman and have read almost all of the novels and short stories he has published. (In fact, my web address name for this blog was inspired by The Graveyard Book, one of the best things I've read in a very long time. Maybe ever.) So, despite some skepticism, I decided to give the graphic novels a try. I certainly didn't regret it.
Initially, I had to adjust to the style of the graphic novel format. When reading a regular book, the author paints a picture using his or her words, which you interpret in your imagination; with a graphic novel, you interpret the pictures that have been drawn for you while you also take in the story. After reading the first volume in the series, I judged it merely very good, but continuing through the books, I saw Gaiman beginning to hit his stride, and collectively the series became an amazing piece of work.
So many elements are combined throughout the Sandman series. Gaiman incorporates myth, religion, literature and history in telling the stories of Dream and his dysfunctional (and fascinating) family of the Endless. Much like in his novels, the horrifying and the humorous are interspersed, and the "real" and "imaginary" are not clearly delineated, but mixed together until they become inseparable. Sometimes the Sandman takes center stage, and sometimes he is merely a presence in the background of the story. His moral ambiguity, and his development throughout the series, add to the uniqueness of the work. The artists change from volume to volume as well, each giving a different visual rendering of Dream.
I am not alone in my regard for the books; each volume features an introduction by such illustrious names as Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Harlan Ellison. As soon as I finished the last volume of the series, I picked up the first one again at my next library trip. It's that good. Whether you are a comics devotee or, like me, had never picked up a graphic novel before, I highly recommend the Sandman books.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A Tale of Two Shows OR Why I Love One Longfellow Square
This past week I volunteered at One Longfellow Square two nights in a row, for two very different shows. While pretty well tiring me out, the experience was also illustrative of how much I enjoy this little venue.
Wednesday night the alt-folk singer-songwriter duo Vandaveer came to town, bringing with them a dry wit and mellow and involving sound. Pink-haired Rose Guerin wanted to look more like an Indian, and Mark Charles Heidinger managed to flout state law by the cunning use of a coffee cup.
Thursday night actually began with a "pre-show" outside the building in the square that Lucy says I can't tell you about. Never a dull moment. Following the unplanned entertainment was the opening band, Over a Cardboard Sea; this is a local act which plays music from the era of 1890-1939 with the use of ukulele, singing saw, bicycle bell, and other fascinating instruments, not to mention a show-stopping giant fake moustache. The main act for the evening, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, somewhat defies description. These boys from North Carolina have a style that blends jazz, rock, bluegrass, ragtime, and many other genres into one fascinating package. They are also possessed of an extremely energetic performance style (or maybe just possessed)... I feared that someone was going to jump backward right off the stage, or perhaps crash into another bandmate with banjo or trombone as they leaped around. Unique and entertaining.
As I thought about my two evenings at the venue, I realized that they rather encapsulated what I like so much about the place. I don't know where else I could have heard such diverse and enjoyable types of music in successive nights. Not only that, but I get to interact with the artists as they enter and set up; invariably they are friendly, interesting folks. Oftentimes the headlining artist is from elsewhere in the United States, and it is their first time playing in Maine. Thus I get to hear their reactions to our lovely little city of Portland. So, in a nutshell, these are the reasons why I love One Longfellow Square.
Check out the websites for the venue and the bands:
http://www.onelongfellowsquare.com/
http://www.myspace.com/vandaveer
http://www.myspace.com/sailingoveracardboardsea
http://www.myspace.com/hgtr
Wednesday night the alt-folk singer-songwriter duo Vandaveer came to town, bringing with them a dry wit and mellow and involving sound. Pink-haired Rose Guerin wanted to look more like an Indian, and Mark Charles Heidinger managed to flout state law by the cunning use of a coffee cup.
Thursday night actually began with a "pre-show" outside the building in the square that Lucy says I can't tell you about. Never a dull moment. Following the unplanned entertainment was the opening band, Over a Cardboard Sea; this is a local act which plays music from the era of 1890-1939 with the use of ukulele, singing saw, bicycle bell, and other fascinating instruments, not to mention a show-stopping giant fake moustache. The main act for the evening, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, somewhat defies description. These boys from North Carolina have a style that blends jazz, rock, bluegrass, ragtime, and many other genres into one fascinating package. They are also possessed of an extremely energetic performance style (or maybe just possessed)... I feared that someone was going to jump backward right off the stage, or perhaps crash into another bandmate with banjo or trombone as they leaped around. Unique and entertaining.
As I thought about my two evenings at the venue, I realized that they rather encapsulated what I like so much about the place. I don't know where else I could have heard such diverse and enjoyable types of music in successive nights. Not only that, but I get to interact with the artists as they enter and set up; invariably they are friendly, interesting folks. Oftentimes the headlining artist is from elsewhere in the United States, and it is their first time playing in Maine. Thus I get to hear their reactions to our lovely little city of Portland. So, in a nutshell, these are the reasons why I love One Longfellow Square.
Check out the websites for the venue and the bands:
http://www.onelongfellowsquare.com/
http://www.myspace.com/vandaveer
http://www.myspace.com/sailingoveracardboardsea
http://www.myspace.com/hgtr
Friday, August 21, 2009
Aliens! (But not the kind that break your leg and do a jigsaw...)
On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to see District 9 at a local Cinemagic theater (side note: that damn Cinemagic jingle that plays before the movie is still floating around in my head... I miss the little cartoon wizard!). I'll say right off the bat that seeing this film is an experience that I'd definitely recommend. (Side note #2: thanks to John-the-kindred-lacrosse-ball-spirit for coming along and hanging out even though he'd seen it already... and for introducing me to a lovely little place called Ricetta's Brick Oven Pizzeria. Seriously. If you find yourself in southern Maine, please do yourself a favor and go here.)
I went into District 9 knowing almost nothing about it. I was aware that there were aliens involved, and that Peter Jackson played a role in the production of the film. The best way to approach this movie is to know as little as possible beforehand; it's the easiest way to get drawn into a visually stunning and, yes, intellectually and emotionally skillful piece of work. It's the smart alternative to the summer blockbuster, with blockbuster elements built in.
I won't reveal the plot points and lessen the experience for those who have not seen it. Suffice it to say, this is not your typical close encounter chronicle. It's nominally an alien movie, filmed alternately like a documentary and war movie, with a heavy layer of social commentary. The filmmakers take a bald look at the worst side of human nature, and examine the paradox of gaining a sense of humanity while losing humanity. For those who are attending to see some intense action sequences, there is much for you to appreciate as well. There's a good chance you've never seen anything like District 9 before.
District 9 certainly isn't perfect, but all the things that it does right can cause the audience to overlook or forget any contrivances or inconsistencies. It's also an impressive feature film debut for director/screenwriter Neill Blomkamp and actor Sharlto Copley. I'm looking forward to seeing what these newcomers bring us in the future.
Anyone else have thoughts on the movie? Please feel free to share!
(By the way, the obscure reference in the title of this post, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is from Red Dwarf.)
I went into District 9 knowing almost nothing about it. I was aware that there were aliens involved, and that Peter Jackson played a role in the production of the film. The best way to approach this movie is to know as little as possible beforehand; it's the easiest way to get drawn into a visually stunning and, yes, intellectually and emotionally skillful piece of work. It's the smart alternative to the summer blockbuster, with blockbuster elements built in.
I won't reveal the plot points and lessen the experience for those who have not seen it. Suffice it to say, this is not your typical close encounter chronicle. It's nominally an alien movie, filmed alternately like a documentary and war movie, with a heavy layer of social commentary. The filmmakers take a bald look at the worst side of human nature, and examine the paradox of gaining a sense of humanity while losing humanity. For those who are attending to see some intense action sequences, there is much for you to appreciate as well. There's a good chance you've never seen anything like District 9 before.
District 9 certainly isn't perfect, but all the things that it does right can cause the audience to overlook or forget any contrivances or inconsistencies. It's also an impressive feature film debut for director/screenwriter Neill Blomkamp and actor Sharlto Copley. I'm looking forward to seeing what these newcomers bring us in the future.
Anyone else have thoughts on the movie? Please feel free to share!
(By the way, the obscure reference in the title of this post, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is from Red Dwarf.)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Cabers and cartoons and Wallflowers, oh my...
Now that I've nearly recovered enough, I'll blog about my marathon day this past Saturday. It began when the alarm rang at 5am, and I actually got up. At 6:45am a bleary-eyed John came to the door to pick me up for our trek to Brunswick, the site of the Maine Highland Games, where he was to take many lovely photos of the athletics competition. The Highland Games is rather a fascinating thing; the first step for those not already initiated is to get used to seeing a whole lot of men (and women) wandering around in kilts. Once one gets past this element, amazement sets in at what these men and women in kilts are doing. We witnessed extremely heavy stones and weights being hurled for height and distance, heavy sheaves being tossed backward over a bar with a pitchfork, and the most popular event of all, the caber toss. In this competition, the participants lift and balance a giant log (one was 19 feet and 134 pounds), then run forward to raise momentum and attempt to throw the log hard enough to perfectly overturn it. The level of strength, balance and skill that these athletes possess is difficult to comprehend. Especially since the temperature outside was nearing 90 degrees. I personally sat in the shade of the tent for most of the day; poor John apparently brought home a vicious sunburn as a souvenir. Thanks go out to Leroy and Cindy McDonough for running an excellent games, and for providing me with a free ticket so that I could tag along with the photographer!
Food was next on the agenda, as not much was consumed during the day due to the heat. My recommendation to all you readers: if you should ever find yourself suddenly ravenously hungry after a long day in the sun and need sustenance to continue, Friendly's loaded waffle fries are a good bet. I'm not sure how long it took to clean the plate between the two of us, but we may have set some sort of record. Having filled our bellies, we felt well enough to proceed to the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport for the free Wallflowers concert.
I'll sum up the basics quickly:
Wild Light - opening band. I'm trying to think of a way to be tactful, but I just can't. Picture the worst elements from all the emo bands you can think of, mix them all together, and this is the mess you get. I think our reaction alternated amongst shock, horror, and hysterics.
Trippy old-school cartoons - played on the monitor between acts. Without sound. It was rather entertaining to try to fill in the blanks ourselves, and began the recovery process from the trauma of the opening act.
The Wallflowers - simple, excellent performance. There's not much else to say. Highly enjoyable. Now we just need to speak to them about their choice of opening acts...
For more detail, photos, audio clip, and a wonderful exercise in live micro-blogging, you need to visit John's review on his site, theFiver: http://thefiver.net/?p=612
Although I was nearly delirious after being returned home around 11pm, I was contented after a long, interesting, and all in all really good day.
Food was next on the agenda, as not much was consumed during the day due to the heat. My recommendation to all you readers: if you should ever find yourself suddenly ravenously hungry after a long day in the sun and need sustenance to continue, Friendly's loaded waffle fries are a good bet. I'm not sure how long it took to clean the plate between the two of us, but we may have set some sort of record. Having filled our bellies, we felt well enough to proceed to the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport for the free Wallflowers concert.
I'll sum up the basics quickly:
Wild Light - opening band. I'm trying to think of a way to be tactful, but I just can't. Picture the worst elements from all the emo bands you can think of, mix them all together, and this is the mess you get. I think our reaction alternated amongst shock, horror, and hysterics.
Trippy old-school cartoons - played on the monitor between acts. Without sound. It was rather entertaining to try to fill in the blanks ourselves, and began the recovery process from the trauma of the opening act.
The Wallflowers - simple, excellent performance. There's not much else to say. Highly enjoyable. Now we just need to speak to them about their choice of opening acts...
For more detail, photos, audio clip, and a wonderful exercise in live micro-blogging, you need to visit John's review on his site, theFiver: http://thefiver.net/?p=612
Although I was nearly delirious after being returned home around 11pm, I was contented after a long, interesting, and all in all really good day.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Follow-up: This is reality? Then send me to dreamland...
I got so many great comments on my last post about reality television that I decided to write a follow-up post to address them, and to share a few more thoughts. Thank you to Joanna, Deanna and John for your insightful comments, and for giving me more blog fodder! Much appreciated.
First of all, I can't believe I forgot about Moment of Truth, which was truly reprehensible. I must have blocked it out. Although disgusting, it is also instructive as to what lengths people will go for money.
A couple of the comments also suggested further categories for these shows. In my last post, I mostly addressed the 'relationship' and the 'created competition' categories. As I don't have very many channels, I have never been exposed to many of the shows mentioned, but these are the ones most likely to push my buttons and set off a rant such as in my post. As far as the 'true competition' shows, as I mentioned, my only real addiction is So You Think You Can Dance. While most of the others are relatively harmless, if rather irritating, I frankly just don't much care. I am gratified to hear about the contestants in Top Chef Masters cooperating and donating money to charity. We don't see that sort of thing very often these days.
Which brings me to another reality show that I can be found watching on occasion (although not on a weekly basis): Extreme Makeover Home Edition. As scripted and over-the-top as the show undoubtedly is, it just makes me happy to see good things happen for people who are in a tough situation, and who in turn have done wonderful things in their communities. It's nice to be able to think that there is some kindness left in the world.
One category that I completely left out is the sub-genre of "normal" people allowing their daily lives to be filmed. Once upon a time, in the first few seasons, I watched the Real World. (I'm not even going to think about how many years ago that was. And Joanna, it was indeed an RV that the Road Rules crew drove around in.) In its initial stages, this type of show was novel and entertaining. However, these days it seems that it has turned into a forum for people behaving badly. Outlandishly so. I don't find this to be good entertainment; I find it painful. Sometimes it is like a train wreck from which you can't take your eyes. Deanna, I felt that way about the episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey you had me watch in which the one woman overturned the table at her dinner party. Appalling, but strangely mesmerizing. It's rather sad that this reaction in the audience has caused this type of show to proliferate and provided an atmosphere in which more and more people are encouraged to act like idiots.
I think you are correct, John, when you say that the same elements occur in more traditional forms of entertainment. Perhaps it is easier to stomach because of the fact that it is dressed up as "entertainment" as opposed to "reality".
The reality genre appears to be making money as well as being relatively cheap to produce, since so many variants keep popping up everywhere, so lots of people must be drawn in for one reason or another. We shall have to see what further gems the networks unveil in the coming years.
First of all, I can't believe I forgot about Moment of Truth, which was truly reprehensible. I must have blocked it out. Although disgusting, it is also instructive as to what lengths people will go for money.
A couple of the comments also suggested further categories for these shows. In my last post, I mostly addressed the 'relationship' and the 'created competition' categories. As I don't have very many channels, I have never been exposed to many of the shows mentioned, but these are the ones most likely to push my buttons and set off a rant such as in my post. As far as the 'true competition' shows, as I mentioned, my only real addiction is So You Think You Can Dance. While most of the others are relatively harmless, if rather irritating, I frankly just don't much care. I am gratified to hear about the contestants in Top Chef Masters cooperating and donating money to charity. We don't see that sort of thing very often these days.
Which brings me to another reality show that I can be found watching on occasion (although not on a weekly basis): Extreme Makeover Home Edition. As scripted and over-the-top as the show undoubtedly is, it just makes me happy to see good things happen for people who are in a tough situation, and who in turn have done wonderful things in their communities. It's nice to be able to think that there is some kindness left in the world.
One category that I completely left out is the sub-genre of "normal" people allowing their daily lives to be filmed. Once upon a time, in the first few seasons, I watched the Real World. (I'm not even going to think about how many years ago that was. And Joanna, it was indeed an RV that the Road Rules crew drove around in.) In its initial stages, this type of show was novel and entertaining. However, these days it seems that it has turned into a forum for people behaving badly. Outlandishly so. I don't find this to be good entertainment; I find it painful. Sometimes it is like a train wreck from which you can't take your eyes. Deanna, I felt that way about the episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey you had me watch in which the one woman overturned the table at her dinner party. Appalling, but strangely mesmerizing. It's rather sad that this reaction in the audience has caused this type of show to proliferate and provided an atmosphere in which more and more people are encouraged to act like idiots.
I think you are correct, John, when you say that the same elements occur in more traditional forms of entertainment. Perhaps it is easier to stomach because of the fact that it is dressed up as "entertainment" as opposed to "reality".
The reality genre appears to be making money as well as being relatively cheap to produce, since so many variants keep popping up everywhere, so lots of people must be drawn in for one reason or another. We shall have to see what further gems the networks unveil in the coming years.
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