Oh man, the theories that surround this one

I got home to this interesting little tidbit of news.

Matt Leinart To Be a Dad : People.com

Our prevailing thought in Casa de Gatto here is, "Oh, man, how stupid is he?" Not that I have any idea what Matt's life is like or what his relationship is like with Ms. Cameron. But I would say that getting a girl knocked up so near a $51 million contract does in fact question a) her motivations and b) his intelligence. At least it wasn't someone random, Matt.

I hope that it's actually love on both sides that this child will be born into and not any one of the theories that have been floating around here. My personal favorite is, "Oops, I forgot to take my birth control for the last three months."

UPDATE:

The Cameron family don't seem very pleased about this situation. Read what this story doesn't say:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5918236

MySpace and underage users

Megan and I were talking about this yesterday, so I went and looked about MySpace's safety measures for users under the age of 16. Here's what I found out:

MySpace safety statement - More on MySpace - MSNBC.com

I honestly had no idea all the controversy surrounding MySpace and all the missing kids. Parents - do a simple search for your kids on Google and on MySpace. Know what is out there about your kids and what other people can find. That's the best way to keep them safe. Many children (and adults for that matter) don't think about what they put online. It's out there for everyone to see.

The Simpsonmaker

I've decided that Jared must be cool in a geeky kind of way, because I post half the links he sends to me. Today it's the Simpsonmaker...you can create your very own Simpsons inspired character!

http://www.devilducky.com/media/41026/

Have fun!

Good Aspects of TV - Part 1:Economic Efficiency

My friend Brian posted the other day a flippant comment that TV is bad. Indeed, a couple of my friends do not own a television at all, and a few have the television, but only to watch DVDs. Since I recently posted an ode to TV, I feel that I need to comment further on that wonderful boob tube, the pacifier of the masses, today's babysitter: the television.

First, yes, for years and years, I had a television but didn't often watch it because I, too, believed that television watching was innately bad. Not bad in little pieces, and certainly not bad as social commentary in general, but bad in that people seemed indiscriminate in what they watched on and how long they watched television. I had a TV mainly to watch videos and VH1 Behind the Music, and until my sister bought me one for my birthday, I never owned a DVD player. We'll just say that Legally Blonde was my first DVD, if that gives you any indication when I got my first DVD player.

Today, though, I am a proud owner of a Samsung 61" HDTV and all the brilliant trappings that go with it. I'd like to say that it was Joel's idea to buy this television, but really it was mine, and maybe I wouldn't have this television if I wasn't so comfortable staying at home, but it's really been great to have such a large and in charge piece of machinery in my home.

I think at the end of the day, having this television is way more economically efficient than not. It's seems a little absurd to think of it this way, since it's a $2,000+ piece of technology in my living room. But the going rate for a movie is $10/person, not including driving there and back and parking fees, and definitely not including super expensive concession stands. Really, two people going to the movies tops out at least $40 per movie. And that's a movie. Say I wanted to go to a play. Why not? LA is the home for actors and the entertainment industry, after all. Well, going to see John Goodman play Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof set us back $90 for the tickets, $10 for parking, and I don't even remember if we went to dinner before this. That's not including the fact that we had to drive 20 miles back and forth to the theater on the other side of LA.

There's a certain premium to being entertained outside the house. Given, there's little price to walking, hiking, and the like, but that's a different sort of entertainment all together and I love doing these things as well. But, there's a certain beauty to watching a drama, being entertained by comedy, and being moved by a tragedy. To get the same entertainment I get on television without it, I would need to spend hundreds and hundreds. Reading is an option, but often a more engaged one that takes more time, effort, and focus. I can watch a television program and simultaneously fold laundry, exercise, or even just pet my cat. Moreover, television gives a visual and audio stimulus, and one can watch and appreciate how visual symbols interplay with words and music. It's a different experience entirely.

So I don't think that television is bad. I think there are a lot of bad television shows. In fact, I believe that my trusty friend the television is assisting me in saving for a new house while keeping me entertained.

No Loitering

no loitering
Originally uploaded by Tina Pham.

Crazy downtown Los Angeles. I noticed this sign in the parking structure as I was waiting for the elevator. Does this mean I should only loiter around the trashcans downstairs? Or perhaps, did they really mean "No Littering"? You decide.

Summer TV's almost over...

I've been watching a lot of television in my spare time this summer. With a new 61" HDTV, HD cable service, and a Blockbuster.com subscription, it's really a recipe to watch A LOT of TV.

First I have to say that I'm upset that my few summer TV friends will be leaving me for the summer. I LOVE Entourage. I have to say that I was pretty disappointed in HBO post-Sex and the City. I didn't get HBO for The Sopranos like a lot of my friends (I got it for Sex and the City), and I really feared that Curb Your Enthusiam, which my old roommate absolutely loved, was the best HBO could do post-Sex. No offense to those that like Curb, but I did not enjoy it at all. But Entourage has reaffirmed my faith in HBO original programming. I'm going to be sad when Vince and the boys go away - they have been one of my few comforts in a summer of little original programming and lots of bad reality shows.

Of the reality shows, Project Runway is on right now, and like last season, I'm totally addicted. It will luckily see me through to the fall since I think there are at least two more months of Project Runway programming left. More so, I've become addicted to Design Star on HGTV. The rest of the summer reality shows have honestly been tedious. It's a hard investment to ask me to watch the same show more than once a week, so that dance show and the rockstar shows are kind of hard for me to follow.

I think cable TV has it dead on right with putting out great summer television while the networks go on vacation. I've actually never gotten the whole season of television thing. Do people really stop watching TV in the summer? I like watching TV all year round. But Entourage and The Closer have really saved my summer night TV viewing.

What I'm absolutely excited about is that Grey's Anatomy is coming back very very soon. No more reruns! I first watched the show mainly because it featured some of my old roommate's songs, but I had a lot going on during Season 2 and only watched about half of the season. Thankfully today every hit TV show goes to DVD at the end of the season, so as of September 12th, I will be the proud owner of Grey's Anatomy Season 2. It'll give me a couple weeks to rewatch seasons 1 and 2 on DVD before the season 3 premiere!

Grey's Anatomy is probably one of the best things to happen to my TV in a really long time. I mean, for a long time post-Sex and the City, all I watched on TV was the Food Network and the Style Network and lots and lots of DVDs. With Grey's, my friends and I talk about the characters as if they were real, and I absolutely adore the characters that the creators have made. The characters are so archetypal, and the show is so intelligently done, how could anyone help not loving it?

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

abandon all hope
Originally uploaded by Tina Pham.

Walking into the Ernst & Young building in downtown today, I was struck by this statue of a headless businessman slumped dejectedly underneath the building's address. Now, I'm all for public art and everything, but this made me feel like working here was not a good idea at all. I mean, you could lose your head over it. Or your identity. Or your will to live.

Someone should rethink this one.