Started watching TV again.

I saw half an episode of Desperate Housewives for the first time in who knows how long. I’m not sure it’s possible to create characters I care for any less than I do these guys. The show I saw was attempting edge of your seat, bite your nails, holy crap the red-head is going to die drama. But since I can’t be bothered to learn their names right, much less follow the plot, good luck, red-head. I don't know what happened to you because I changed the channel.

I also caught the movie, Spanglish. Now I know what you’re thinking. Why on earth would anyone watch that? I was curious. It is about a single mother from Mexico and her daughter. The movie was narrated by the daughter in the form of a college application essay. She talks about how her mother struggled to make her aware of who she was and where she came from after their move from Mexico to the US. Heartwarming, no?

Not especially.

The main reason I wanted to see the movie was to see how they used language. The title got my attention. Spanglish happens when you mix English and Spanish together. For example: Creo que yo left-o my cell telefono en el restaurante. = I think I left my cell phone in the restaurant. Traditionally, it’s what people who speak just a little bit of either language use to communicate in the language that isn’t theirs. How was it used in the movie? It wasn’t used at all! The Mexican mother finds work as a maid with some rich, white family in California. They are all like, “This is America, woman. We speak English, and you’ve got to learn how to talk like us!” No one in the family speaks a word of Spanish. Not one of them is interested in learning. Well, I do have to hand it to the movie for being culturally accurate. The best part was when the Mexican mom/maid buys a bunch of tapes advertised to help you learn English as fast as humanly possible. Within a few weeks, she is fluent. For someone interested in language acquisition, this is maddening. What an annoying film. The title made no sense and it was all about nothing!

On a brighter note, I was happy to find an episode of Will and Grace the other day. It was the one where Will and Grace decide to have a baby together. They want to artificially inseminate. Thing is, Will’s sperm gets switched with a bag that has Jack’s lunch which in turn gets mixed up with a whole host of things. In the end, Grace’s doctor has to tell her that corn chowder will not get her pregnant and Karen’s maid winds up using Will’s sperm as floor-cleaner. What a great show about nothing!

I also saw some Chilean soap called Descarado. Pretty girls run around wearing short skirts and big earrings. Men stare at them. I didn't need to sit on my couch to see that! I could have just walked outside!

I hate TV.