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selenayEveryone can skip on by this post in which I reveal the depth of my Strictly Come Dancing shameful addiction.
I didn't have time to watch this week's show on Sunday, so I'd planned to possibly save it for Friday. Then I was listening to the Chris Evans show (seriously, there are no radio stations here that can match BBC) on Monday and he mentioned who left and thus I had to watch it, the spoiler having been revealed.
In fact, I had to watch it because, if Zoe had gone, then I kind of knew there were only two or three other couples she could have been against and been eliminated. I was insanely curious.
Also, the reason for the mention was applauding Len for his outburst about how silly and unfair it was that those two ended up in the dance off. This year's Strictly is definitely turning out to be about audience favourites rather than actual dance ability.
I had a bad feeling about who Zoe had been against as soon as we saw Ali and Brian's pre-dance reel. OMG, that must have hurt so much. If the bruising is that bad, and the pain that intense, then I'd imagine she's broken her little toe at the very least. I remember doing that and just how awful it felt. My entire foot refused to bear weight for a week. Hiking on it three weeks post-break undid all the healing and I ended up crippled again. My foot wouldn't go into shoes comfortably and wouldn't even go into my slippers for the first couple of days.
Despite all that, I thought Ali still managed to dance better than most of the other couples. Yes, her passo was a bit more tentative and delicate than it should be, but we're talking about a dance that requires very definite foot action on a foot that should have been raised and iced. Eep. Maybe not up to her usual standard, but still very good.
Zoe was also very good. A bit nervous and her ballroom is definitely her strong suit, but a great dance and thoroughly deserving of her high points from the judges.
As soon as I saw how badly injured Ali was, though, I had the bad feeling that she would be the one in the dance off and forced to dance again on that foot. Ouch.
And I was right :-(
They both mucked up in places during that dance off. Zoe really has no excuse, which is why I'm glad she didn't get saved. Ali was visibly in pain, she'd abandoned the dance shoes (probably because her foot would no longer go into them) and her mistakes all seemed to be due to her inability to put her full weight on the injured foot. Frankly, she did very well to get to the end of the routine.
Len was totally right, though. There were five other couples that deserved to be in that dance off more than those two. The only reason that Craig is still there is because the public are saving him. He cannot dance. The other four at least can dance, a bit, and are showing progress. Craig simply cannot dance. But then, Jo Wood stayed in week after week and she's worse than Craig!
It was exceedingly frustrating to watch and I'm glad that Len had his outburst. I know that it's an audience vote thing, I know that they are easily swayed by personality but this week really did show that many of the viewers don't give two figs about dancing ability.
If there is any fairness, then the finale will come down to Ricky Wittle and Ali Bastion. They're the strongest dancers of the lot and I can't actually choose between them. Sadly, I suspect that Ali will be gone soon and it might come down to Ricky v Ricky or, even worse, Ricky W v Tuffers. Urf. If we don't see all the women eliminated over the next three or four weeks, I'll be honestly shocked.
Why did I do this to myself? Why did I start watching?
In other news, apparently Spooks started airing last night. Guess I know what I'll be watching this weekend :-D Yay Spooks!
I have the first episode of V on my DVR. V/Spooks double bill?
My release has been pushed back to Tuesday. At the earliest. We're starting to get worryingly close to the date that our server is being upgraded to an Oracle 11g box and we still need to test that none of this blows up on the new box. Eeep! And since writing this, we had determined that changes we need to make are going to ensure that we won't even hit Tuesday. This year sometime, maybe?
My Tubey sweater is coming along fabulously. Only a few more inches (maybe four or five) and then I can bind off. I've been weaving in ends as I go, mostly, so there is not much finishing to do on it - I may be wearing it this weekend! Or, er, finding a good day to debut my new knit. I'm feeling really pleased with how it's turned out, though.
There is a tiny part of me that's panicking about not having another big project lined up ready to go when I bind off, but actually this is a good thing. I've got a number of small projects that I've been intending to do: a baby jacket for a friend, a couple of cowls, a couple of Christmas gifts and, of course, some socks for myself. I've got more than enough to keep my occupied until the end of the year and I intend to buy a sweater's worth of something in the John Lewis sale while I'm over so that will be my next big project. 2009 has definitely been my most productive year of knitting.
For this first time in my life, I'm seriously considering a work out video. It's not that I need to lose weight, but I need to improve my overall fitness levels and the treadmill is so dull that it's hard to keep myself going, I could go out and spend a few hundred on another type of fancy equipment, or I could see whether a dance work-out video or two would work better for me. I'd be getting a work-out and also concentrating on learning the moves (I've got my eye on a Bollywood one and a Latin dance) which would hopefully keep me interested. Even watching TV while on the treadmill is failing to keep me motivated. Reading while walking on a treadmill is not exactly safe and I suspect that, even then, I'd be struggling. So I'll think about it and probably order at the weekend.
I used to have a tradition of writing something for Christmas. Last year I did Yuletide instead (and with my lack of power during Christmas week, I'm glad that I didn't try to have something posted on Christmas Eve) but I have usually tried to do something. I'm doing Yuletide again this year and I'll be in England, but I think that maybe I'll give Donna and the Doctor a Christmas adventure. Or something. Anyone going to be free in December for a quick beta if I pull this off?
Only ten days to new Doctor Who! Not that I'm counting or anything...
I didn't have time to watch this week's show on Sunday, so I'd planned to possibly save it for Friday. Then I was listening to the Chris Evans show (seriously, there are no radio stations here that can match BBC) on Monday and he mentioned who left and thus I had to watch it, the spoiler having been revealed.
In fact, I had to watch it because, if Zoe had gone, then I kind of knew there were only two or three other couples she could have been against and been eliminated. I was insanely curious.
Also, the reason for the mention was applauding Len for his outburst about how silly and unfair it was that those two ended up in the dance off. This year's Strictly is definitely turning out to be about audience favourites rather than actual dance ability.
I had a bad feeling about who Zoe had been against as soon as we saw Ali and Brian's pre-dance reel. OMG, that must have hurt so much. If the bruising is that bad, and the pain that intense, then I'd imagine she's broken her little toe at the very least. I remember doing that and just how awful it felt. My entire foot refused to bear weight for a week. Hiking on it three weeks post-break undid all the healing and I ended up crippled again. My foot wouldn't go into shoes comfortably and wouldn't even go into my slippers for the first couple of days.
Despite all that, I thought Ali still managed to dance better than most of the other couples. Yes, her passo was a bit more tentative and delicate than it should be, but we're talking about a dance that requires very definite foot action on a foot that should have been raised and iced. Eep. Maybe not up to her usual standard, but still very good.
Zoe was also very good. A bit nervous and her ballroom is definitely her strong suit, but a great dance and thoroughly deserving of her high points from the judges.
As soon as I saw how badly injured Ali was, though, I had the bad feeling that she would be the one in the dance off and forced to dance again on that foot. Ouch.
And I was right :-(
They both mucked up in places during that dance off. Zoe really has no excuse, which is why I'm glad she didn't get saved. Ali was visibly in pain, she'd abandoned the dance shoes (probably because her foot would no longer go into them) and her mistakes all seemed to be due to her inability to put her full weight on the injured foot. Frankly, she did very well to get to the end of the routine.
Len was totally right, though. There were five other couples that deserved to be in that dance off more than those two. The only reason that Craig is still there is because the public are saving him. He cannot dance. The other four at least can dance, a bit, and are showing progress. Craig simply cannot dance. But then, Jo Wood stayed in week after week and she's worse than Craig!
It was exceedingly frustrating to watch and I'm glad that Len had his outburst. I know that it's an audience vote thing, I know that they are easily swayed by personality but this week really did show that many of the viewers don't give two figs about dancing ability.
If there is any fairness, then the finale will come down to Ricky Wittle and Ali Bastion. They're the strongest dancers of the lot and I can't actually choose between them. Sadly, I suspect that Ali will be gone soon and it might come down to Ricky v Ricky or, even worse, Ricky W v Tuffers. Urf. If we don't see all the women eliminated over the next three or four weeks, I'll be honestly shocked.
Why did I do this to myself? Why did I start watching?
In other news, apparently Spooks started airing last night. Guess I know what I'll be watching this weekend :-D Yay Spooks!
I have the first episode of V on my DVR. V/Spooks double bill?
My release has been pushed back to Tuesday. At the earliest. We're starting to get worryingly close to the date that our server is being upgraded to an Oracle 11g box and we still need to test that none of this blows up on the new box. Eeep! And since writing this, we had determined that changes we need to make are going to ensure that we won't even hit Tuesday. This year sometime, maybe?
My Tubey sweater is coming along fabulously. Only a few more inches (maybe four or five) and then I can bind off. I've been weaving in ends as I go, mostly, so there is not much finishing to do on it - I may be wearing it this weekend! Or, er, finding a good day to debut my new knit. I'm feeling really pleased with how it's turned out, though.
There is a tiny part of me that's panicking about not having another big project lined up ready to go when I bind off, but actually this is a good thing. I've got a number of small projects that I've been intending to do: a baby jacket for a friend, a couple of cowls, a couple of Christmas gifts and, of course, some socks for myself. I've got more than enough to keep my occupied until the end of the year and I intend to buy a sweater's worth of something in the John Lewis sale while I'm over so that will be my next big project. 2009 has definitely been my most productive year of knitting.
For this first time in my life, I'm seriously considering a work out video. It's not that I need to lose weight, but I need to improve my overall fitness levels and the treadmill is so dull that it's hard to keep myself going, I could go out and spend a few hundred on another type of fancy equipment, or I could see whether a dance work-out video or two would work better for me. I'd be getting a work-out and also concentrating on learning the moves (I've got my eye on a Bollywood one and a Latin dance) which would hopefully keep me interested. Even watching TV while on the treadmill is failing to keep me motivated. Reading while walking on a treadmill is not exactly safe and I suspect that, even then, I'd be struggling. So I'll think about it and probably order at the weekend.
I used to have a tradition of writing something for Christmas. Last year I did Yuletide instead (and with my lack of power during Christmas week, I'm glad that I didn't try to have something posted on Christmas Eve) but I have usually tried to do something. I'm doing Yuletide again this year and I'll be in England, but I think that maybe I'll give Donna and the Doctor a Christmas adventure. Or something. Anyone going to be free in December for a quick beta if I pull this off?
Only ten days to new Doctor Who! Not that I'm counting or anything...
