SYTYCD

I’m a little behind, but I’m only going to comment on this week. I can’t talk about Hok leaving and not making the tour, it upsets me. Just kidding, although it is sad, I can see that although he was my favorite, he wasn’t as versatile as the other guys.

So this week, first I want to talk about all the anti-war stuff. I can’t believe there are still people that would be upset over that Wade Robson routine. I am 100% pro service members, and 100% against this war. I personally think the two go hand in hand. Saying that someone who is FOR peace doesn’t support Soldiers or Marines or Sailors or Airmen is VERY short-sighted. The two will never be mutually exclusive. Patriotism doesn’t mean blindly following the leadership of this country into whatever debacle they create. In fact, if you look at the roots of this country, it’s clearly the opposite. Questioning authority is what we’re all about! And about Mia’s jacket - I’m kind of against civilians wearing military uniforms. BUT, I’m sure she didn’t realize what she was wearing. I’m especially against civilians wearing military insignia - like rank (which is what she had upside down on her sleeves) - because people work hard to earn that - in my mind it’s like people buying Olympic medals on eBay and wearing them around (maybe a little extreme, but you get my point), but I still think she had no idea what she was wearing, and she was obviously sorry. I thought it was unfortunate that she wore that jacket on the same night that all the dancers did a peace dance. Whoops :)

Now, about the dancing - I thought Lauren was phenomenal. I like to think that the fact that I called in and voted 5 times for her, and only voted for Jamie once had something to do with the results :) I also thought it was time for Kameron to go - for the same reason as Hok. They’re really getting down to the best dancers now - Sabra is still my favorite girl, and I guess Dominic is my favorite guy. I hope he can hang in there for a while with those really awesome jumpers.

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

How is it already the end of the season? Sheesh - it seems like it just started. I’m sad - I thought these last two episodes with her in England and Ireland were hilarious. My favorite thing about her is the totally ridiculous situations she finds herself in in her quest for A-list status. I’m pretty sure that Nicole Kidman would never find herself wearing that tweed dress with the big bow in the drag queen shop. Or on a date with that weird performance artist guy. What a kook. I can’t wait until next season!

The Singing Bee

Man, I would love to be on this show. I’m not sure if I could get up there and do a silly white-girl dance while I was waiting for my chance to mess up the lyrics, but I would love to try.

1 vs. 100

I watched this for the first time last week. I really like the premise, but really am not crazy about Bob Saget. My husband and I really laughed at all the extra information the people always give when they answer. “Well, since my son doesn’t have an ePod, I’m going to guess C., IPOD!” Thanks, dude. For all the extra commentary. Get on with it, already! That’s why I didn’t watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire either.

With that last bit of judgment, I’m going to end my extra commentary :) Good thing I’m perfect! ha ha ha…

This weekend, we visited my brother in law at his new duty station, Ft. Irwin. I’m not going to sugar-coat it, it’s an awful place. The term “God-forsaken” is about as apt as you can get. We encountered many a strange insect and animal in his backyard, it was ridiculously hot, and very very isolated. I feel so bad for him. I was hoping he’d find a little joy and purpose in his job, but as of now (he’s been there a little over a month), it’s not going so well. He’s a Staff Sergeant (E6) in a job (MOS) that has too many Staff Sergeants, and very few Sergeant First Class (E7) positions, so he can’t get promoted until some of those people get out of the Army or get promoted to E8 - of which there are even fewer positions. So even after two tours in Iraq, one to Kosovo and one to Bosnia in the last five years, his promotion potential is very very small. Add to that an inordinate amount of confusion and mismanagement in his new unit, and he is very unhappy.

We talked a little about his first tour in Iraq, and we all got teary eyed because it’s such a depressing situation. He spoke of the good he did (building a school, playing soccer with Iraqi children) but he also spoke of the Iraqi’s inherent distrust of Americans and the lack of trustworthiness of many Iraqi’s.

It’s really an awful situation that our service men and women are in.

After 14 years of service, my brother-in-law is seriously considering getting out. Not because of deployments that have ruined his marriage. Not because he missed the whole first year of his second daughter’s life. But because the Army doesn’t make sense to him anymore. The war in Iraq overrides everything. This means he will forgo his retirement. He’s that unhappy. And this is someone who REALLY REALLY REALLY loved being a soldier. It breaks my heart.

Recent Study…
I was listening to the daily news brief on NPR today, and they read a story about how an Army Task Force conducted a study and found that the length of deployment is related to instances of mental health problems. This story is on the heels of another story I read online at Time Magazine speaking to how the mental-health needs of the military and their families aren’t met, according to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association.

Right now, Soldiers are supposed to be deployed for 15-months (recently increased from 12 months) and then be home for 12 months. Marines are deployed for 7-8 months, then come home for 7-8 months.

More after the jump… more »