Virtual reality
I've been a major slacker with this blog. And I suppose this and this are the reasons for it. I've been meaning to get one for a while, and it does kill two birds with one stone -- game console and DVD player that isn't my computer (it's already taking enough of a beating). Maybe I'll have updates on my electronic seasons when I feel like it. Oddly enough, I think I've been playing as well as Northwestern, which means not all that great -- there's a bit of a learning curve, I suppose.

Welcome to the nest
As for other things, I was at this barnburner and lucked out even more when our group won the drawing for an upgrade to a suite. It was very helpful for our alumni group, so we could meet a bunch more people. It was fun seeing our group split 50-50 rooting for the Bears and the Falcons. The crowd was a sellout, which is good, but for some reason I wasn't impressed with the crowd noise despite all the people. Then again, the Georgia Dome is not that great a facility, although the dome came in very handy because it was raining the whole day.

Note to self: Stock up on Windex
As I continue to catch up on movies, I finally got around to seeing My Big Fat Greek Wedding over the weekend. Somehow, it's emerged from indy hit to $100 million-plus in box office gross. It's a very funny and cute movie, and as the ads go, you could probably replace Greek with a multitude of different ethnic groups and get the same effect. Nothing special or earth-shattering, it was just a good time, especially when you could relate in one way or another. It helped in my case that I was watching with a friend of mine from a Greek family, so she really could relate. I wasn't keeping too close tabs on the film as it shot up the charts, but Lainie Kazan seemed to be the perfect person to play the mother. John Corbett for some reason looked like John Travolta with less slick hair, and I couldn't help but bust out laughing when Joey Fatone showed up on screen (and not because of his comic timing). At least he wasn't going nuts with the dances.

Notes from the ad critic...
--As odd as it was seeing Jamie Lee Curtis selling cell phones, it's even crazier to see Catherine Zeta-Jones taking over the ad campaign once the name changed over to T-Mobile. However, those ads actually make her feel a lot more accessible, especially those print ads where she comes off as cute as opposed to the elegant, aloof air she's had pretty much since burst onto the mainstream. Seeing how this ad campaign has turned out, maybe that's why the big stars don't usually show up in ordinary ads -- it strips away some of the air of star power they've got.
--Does Alyson Hannigan have a sister, or did she just lighten her hair for this newest UPS ad? Either way, it really does look like Willow doing business for skater dudes.

Game show reviews
Monday was premiere day in the game show world, starting with revamps of Hollywood Squares and Family Feud and the debuts of the syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Pyramid. I don't have much of a reaction or review of the first two, but Steve Beverly's Game Show site has good reviews of those two.

As for WWTBAM and Pyramid, which are on during the 4 p.m. hour on the NBC affiliate here (and right after Dr. Phil), I was impressed with both. Outside of the elimination of fastest finger, which was becoming irrelevant with regards to contestant searches, everything seemed the same. Meredith Viera is fine replacing Regis. Nothing out of the ordinary yet not too bland, either. It'll be very easy to get back into the swing of things watching this show if you were a fan before.

Pyramid underwent a few changes since its glory run during the '70s and '80s, which I still adore watching. Donnie Osmond seemed fine as a host (I had the sound down at work so I wasn't paying that close attention) and the tweaks to the game format (get six right in 20 seconds now, compared to seven in 30) weren't anything drastic. The set does take getting used to, but it's 2002, so changes were expected -- although the laptop setup to give clues as opposed to the hidden TV monitor in the desk was very funky. One thing I've noticed in both the first episode and in past episodes in the Dick Clark era, categories where all the answers are famous people are a bad idea. One really notable celebrity in a list of everyday words/terms is fine (ex. "Things that make you cringe when you hear it" had an answer of Lewinsky), but a whole list becomes a tough trivia contest (ex. celebrities who wear glasses; Drew Carey and Larry King caused many problems as answers). For this show, it will take some getting used to, but it's still got much of the charm of the old days.

All of the reality shows are back soon. Honestly, the game play factor of Survivor gives me just enough incentive to look at the pretty people eventually wilt away in the wilderness. As for The Amazing Race, I don't watch it, but I was intrigued to find out one of the contestants this time around was in my graduating class at Northwestern. The name and face were familiar, but I didn't know her. ESPN may have something interesting with Beg, Borrow and Deal, although it seems like it will either be a blast or a tremendous bust (and speaking of which, was it their intention that being a cheerleader had to be a prequisite to get one of the female slots?).

Going on the TV tangent, I might as well plug my entry in the Alison LaPlaca Open -- a pretty good TV dead pool.

Not sure you ever saw this in Bexley, Ohio
Finally, I'll end my blogging catch-up with the stunning news of Bob Greene's resignation from the Chicago Tribune after he admitted having relations with a teenager more than 10 years ago. I've never been a fan of Greene's while I was in Chicago, instead sticking with Mike Royko and following along with Eric Zorn, and I'd often make fun of whatever piece that was on his head that he probably bought from the same place James Traficant shopped. However, he was an institution there, and the paper does lose one of its most distinctive voices in a controversial way.

I'm not sure Greene deserved to be fired (he officially resigned, but you get the picture), although his ethics in this instance were very much in question. However, this isn't an R. Kelly situation, the girl was of legal consent. And it does sound somewhat that this relationship took place after he finished reporting on her for a column way back in the day, although it is definitely frowned upon to be taking advantage of such a situation in a personal manner. Plus this happened while he was married (but for some reason in this case, it has little importance professionally although it's a huge thing morally). I still don't know the details about what the woman wants now out of this situation, if anything, so that remains to be seen. But in the case of a nationally known columnist who's written about family, children and other such issues along with his myriad topics over the years, it puts him under a much bigger microscope and stuff like this can take him down.