Recent finds

...and no, I don't mean Christmas Trees and Apes, though who doesn't love a good Christmas tree and an ape to boot?!

Well, you may know that I was quite an addict to all things T.V. while growing up (and still somewhat to this day...though the bambino has changed much of that!). Anyhow, it has been a while since I've added any shows to my 'much watch' list, but there are a few recent additions I wanted to share with you, in case you find yourself with some extra hours here and there:



Parenthood
After much prompting from Danielle, we tuned into Parenthood. It's loosely based on the old 80's movie Parenthood (which I probably watched well before I should have, but who's counting?!), and it's definitely worth tuning in. It's just real life, honestly. And it's not pretty, and it's not taken care of in 42 minutes. And they used a Bob Dylan song for the intro, so there ya go.

Who Do You Think You Are
I stumbled upon this over the weekend, actually, during an extended naptime that I was trying to take advantage of. Thanks to our Roku and Hulu, I've been able to watch a few of these here and there. And honestly, it's been really neat. If you haven't heard of the show, it basically follows various celebrities as they trace their ancestors. I've never been one for genealogy, but it really has been neat to watch these people dig back through time. It's also been educational, as they dive into various parts of national and international history. Anyhow, fun to watch, and sometimes sad.

Sports Night
Now no, this isn't currently on t.v., but Amar and I are big Aaron Sorkin fans, and so we queued this up on Netflix and have been watching it (it also has ties to Parenthood via the main character). So if you like the West Wing(!!!), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, or just good tv, then you should check it out. Note: we also recommend The West Wing (!!!) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip if it wasn't obvious in the previous sentence...and while we're on the topic of Aaron Sorkin: see also The American President.

Parks and Recreation
So I caught this over the holiday break, and I wasn't that enthused about it. But when there was a household of sick people, I had some good TV time to burn. And I was pleasantly surprised. Even moreso now that Rob Lowe (um, West Wing alum!) has joined. Goodness all around.

The Biggest Loser
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't really watch this show. It just comes on either before or after Parenthood, and so I wind up catching a bit of it here and there. And honestly, I think it's great. They take people who are morbidly obese and just kick their butts right off. I'm not a huge fan of reality tv (with the major exception being Project Runway...which I miss, by the way. Where are you PR?!), but this reality show actually saves lives. These people are on the fast track to a short life, and to be honest, I cry whenever I watch it. Yes, I realize that 90+% of the time, these people have gotten themselves into this condition. But they are making a change, and keeping their family from the pain of losing them early in life.

Online shopping

Amar was looking for "something whimsical" to get as a wedding gift for his newlywed brother...so he had me type "husband and wife coffee mugs" at Amazon.com

This was the search result:



Which one doesn't belong?

Superbowl XLV: Musings and Observations

My thoughts upon watching portions of the Superbowl (and the commercials):

• Either Troy Aikman is a giant, or Joe Buck is tiny. I googled their heights mid-game, and still, I think the data has been falsified. My current working theory: Joe Buck has a long neck making his shoulders look really short compared to good ol' Troy.


• The Steelers' head coach looks like Omar Epps. Arguably, Wikipedia does not have a good picture of either man, but trust me on this one. Doppelgangers.


• I don't care what you say, I still get a kick out of the Etrade talking baby commercials. Good stuff.


• Also, on the marketing front, I'm digging the Snickers commercials. They took the cake last year with Betty White getting tackled. And this year with (ick) Roseanne Barr and (ick-ish) Richard Lewis getting smacked around. Also good stuff.


Taking a brief break...we just heard a crash outside and the back of the house shook...Amar is going to investigate...

...and we're back. Initial investigations didn't yield any findings. I'm off to investigate shortly.


• Not Superbowl-related, per se, but I'm contemplating starting a Twitter account. Anyone have any strong feelings either way?


• Not really looking forward to either of the upcoming Johnny Depp movies. Cartoon lizard? Pass. Yet another installment of Jack Sparrow? Meh.


Off to go check outside...and, nothing. But I did see a shooting star. And apparently when Amar went outside the first time, the neighbor was also outside checking things out with a flashlight. Strange happenings in Central Austin, I tell ya.


Back to the musings:


• Half-time show? Seriously. People wearing neon light-up suits dancing around with boxes on their heads? Pass.

I'll leave things there for now. Best wishes for all of your Superbowl watching adventures!

Rama Weekly Wrap-Up: 2

In this, the 2nd installment of the Rama Weekly Wrap-Up, we have some hot topics to cover! So grab your favorite beverage, pull up a cozy chair and settle in.

Update 1: The nanny
We love our new nanny, Bethany! And better yet, so does Anjali. Seriously, it's been great. So for all you inquiring minds, yes, all three Austin-based Ramas are still fully intact and thriving thanks, in part, to Miss Bethany (ok, so she is married, but "miss bethany" sounds better that "mrs bethany" to me...just deal with it).

Cute baby picture #1..just to keep you reading:


Update 2: Apple products invade (bonus: smartphones arrive!)
We are now inundated with various Apple products at Casa de Rama. We got an iPad late last year. we got a cube thingy a few weeks ago to replace a (very!) dated desktop unit we got when we first got married. But are we done? Apparently not. Today, we welcomed a new member to the family - the MacBook Pro. Goodie! (Seriously folks, Amar may need an intervention at this rate.) Also, we finally joined the revolution and upgraded our phones to new ones. We are now both sporting the MyTouch 4G, and thanks to an employer discount and Amar's negotiating class at his Executive MBA program, they were practically free. Bingo!

Cute baby picture #2...work with me people:


Update 3: Snowpocalypse 2011
Yes, I realize that other parts of the country actually have, what are they called again? Oh yeah, seasons, but around here, not so much. There's essentially an on/off switch for summer, and if it's off, it's basically 50 degrees. If it's on, double that.

But with the rest of the nation facing a blizzard, we were feeling left out. And voila! Snow(ishness)! Here's what it looked like at our house for a few hours on Friday.