Reality TV vs. Game Show TV

I watch a decent amount of what is generally described as "reality TV"; Hells Kitchen, The Next Food Network Star, The Amazing Race, and Pawn Stars are some of my current favorites.  I think, however, that many of these shows have been mislabeled in recent years, as they aren't so much reality TV as much as they are  game shows. And while one could make the argument that game shows are reality TV, I think there is a distinct separation in today's entertainment world.

When I think of reality TV, I think of The Real World, Road Rules, The Hills, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, John & Kate plus Eight; essentially any program where a bunch of people do very little to warrant a camera following them around on a day-to-day basis except for the fact they have some kind of personality quirk, are stinking rich and spoiled, or are freaks.

The undisputed "Mother of all Reality TV" is MTV's The Real World, which (ironically) looks nothing like the actual real world.  MTV's cash-cow reality program started out innocently enough with seven strangers shoved into a Manhattan loft where they had a camera stuck in their face at every interval.  The cast (or real people) were a "diverse" collection that included three musicians, a male model, an aspiring dancer, a poet/writer, and a painter.

The seven strangers spent much of that first season doing little to nothing (with an occasional shouting match sprinkled around the living space).  In fact, you could argue that not much happened in the first two seasons of The Real World, at least when compared to the seasons that would follow.  The number one reason for the multitude of boredom was likely due to poor editing.  In today's reality TV world, a good editor can make two guys sitting on the couch drinking beer and watching NOVA into an entertaining event.  In 1992 and 1993, The Real World editors hadn't hit their stride and as a result, most of us slept through entire episodes.

Does anybody know what a non-stick pan is? Ask Chef Ramsay.

Strasburg eBay Auction: Big Scam or Big Hype? (UPDATED 2x)

There is currently an eBay auction that is quickly turning into either the biggest scam in eBay history or the big hype.

An auction for an autographed rookie card of Stephen Strasburg, the young pitching phenomenon of the Washington Nationals, is currently sitting at $999,900.00.

The key to investing in anything is to buy low and sell high.  The bidder for this card is either a) full of shit, or b) thinks this card be one of the most valuable in baseball history in the future.

One of the rarest and most valuable baseball cards of all-time is the T206 Honus Wagner, a card that has generally sold for around $2.6 million.  It took decades for that card to reach that level of value.  The Strasburg card features a player that has been pitching in the Major Leagues for about three weeks.

I feel comfortable in writing that whomever is bidding $1 million for a baseball card of a pitcher that has thrown four games is an idiot.  Seriously, Strasburg could blow out his shoulder or elbow next year and the winning bidder would be left with an autographed piece of cardboard of the 2010 equivalent of J.R. Richard.

While we can question the bidder in this auction, the seller is an absolute genius if he actually gets $1 million for this card - THAT would be buying low and selling high.  I'm guessing he'll be silently mumbling the word "sucker" under his breath as he collects his cash.

UPDATED: Looks like that $1 million bidder was full of shit since his/her bids have been deleted and the top bid is now $500,000.  I have a hunch that the $500,000 bidder is probably full of it too as it simply doesn't make any sense to see this type of bidding on this card.

UPDATE #2: Looks like many of the "big bidders" on this item were full of shit as now we can't even view it (the listing is for pre-approved buyers only).  Sadly, the seller won't be getting a million dollars off this card...or $500,000...or much of anything except some decent publicity.

Go blow a horn!

I'm not sure what has been worse this World Cup: the unimaginative and sterile play on the pitch, or the ridiculous horns. I gotta lean towards the horns.

Bad Day for Baseball: Ken Griffey, Jr. retires and umpire blows a chance for a perfect game.

While it's sad to see Griffey's career come to a close, anyone that had watched any of his at-bats this season knew that it was over. He's certainly my favorite player of all-time and I am thankful that I got the chance to watch him in his prime.

The blown call in the Tigers/Indians game was beyond abysmal. I'd say that I'm not sure how a Major League umpire can miss a call like that, but I remember Game 6 of the 1985 World Series when the St. Louis Cardinals were denied the series clinching a critical out by a clueless umpire. Some things never change.

I have no desire to discover the Discover Card

Here's a friendly piece of advice for the people in the marketing department of Discover Card: You've been sending me card offers for the better part of twelve years. I have yet to ever respond to any of them. I'm not going to respond to any of them. I don't want your ridiculous credit card. Stop sending me your shitty junk mail. Thank you.

I get an offer for a Discover Card about once every week to two weeks. Without exception. And I've been receiving these offers since the late 90s; that's no exaggeration. Every week to two weeks I get a letter from Discover telling me about all the great benefits of their card and asking me to sign-up ("You're pre-approved for up to $50,000 credit!"...yeah, sure I am.) I never sign-up, yet they never stop sending this crap to my house. At this point, even if Discover was the greatest credit card in the known universe I wouldn't sign up with them because I am sick to death of their junk mail.