No one likes admitting they were wrong.  I am no different.  Back in May, I predicted that Sleepy Hollow had a 50/50 shot of being the first of Fox’ new series offerings to get cancelled this season.  Not only is that not happening, but it’s also the first series on ANY network to get a second season pickup.  How is this possible?

After the initial ratings of Sleepy Hollow’s first episode, I was blown away.  How could it be Fox’ highest rated series premiere in like five years? From the trailer it looked like a complicated mess of time travel, National Treasure, Sleepy Hollow (the actual story), cheese, and bullshit.  So I took the bait and watched the first episode.  It was everything I thought it would be minus the bullshit part.  It’s just a fun, dumb show and it is fully cognizant of what it is.  It has a blockbuster pedigree coming from writers Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci (the Transformers movies, the Star Trek movies, Lost, Fringe), so they seem to really have a handle on what masses of people like.

The show plays like a mystery-adventure of the week in that the time displaced Ichabod Crane, and his partner, officer Abbie Mills investigate weird paranormal ghost,witch, and monster stories that have been prophecized by the Book of Revelations.  Best yet, is that George Washington was using Ichabod Crane as a spy to track and kill the Hessian soldier who would become the famous Headless Horseman.   Oh and by the way, the Headless Horseman is also one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.  Yup.  This show is crazy. You can tell the writers probably snicker once or twice a week as they are making this shit up.  Bonus points to them for showing the Headless Horseman, now in modern times, using an M-16 to blow away cops.  Hilarious. Just hilarious.

Besides a ridiculous premise that, oddly enough is working, the cast is pretty great.  The buddy cop pairing of an old-timey Englishman, and a black woman, is refreshing.  It shouldn’t feel weird to see a black woman as the lead on a major network show, but it is.  Scandal and Sleepy Hollow ftw.  Another plus of the show, is that it apparently knows when enough is enough.  Myth heavy shows struggle to air 22 episodes.  Many end up collapsing on themselves over time, so Sleepy Hollow is taking the 13 episodes per season route.  That will enable the writers to keep the story much tighter over the run.  Cable has shown that we’re getting to the point where less is more.  Next season of Sleepy Hollow will only have to worry about 13 episodes, bringing it’s total count to 26, instead of 44.  Think about all the throwaway episodes we wont have to worry about now.

Fox took a huge gamble in airing Sleepy Hollow and after three weeks, it’s their highest rated show, scripted or otherwise.  I don’t think it’s the smartest show on tv by any means, but now that Breaking Bad is over, it’s nice to have a show to watch that doesn’t require all of my brain or any of my emotions.  As far as network tv is concerned you can do so much worse than this.  I encourage you to give the show a shot.  If you liked Fringe, but wish it didn’t take itself so seriously, or if you want to watch an entertaining hour of tv that does not weight on your conscience, give it a go. It’s on Monday nights at 9:00 on Fox, so unless you’re into the Monday Night Football or Dancing With The Stars matchup, it’s your best bet.

The post Show With Promise Alert: Sleepy Hollow appeared first on Rookerville.

Redemption Island

The beginning of the episode is very explosive at Redemption Island. First, Galang got a glimpse of the person voted off from the Tadhana tribe last episode, Rachel. Tyson is not shocked at the vote as he figured Tadhana would try to get him to switch to weaken Galang. As expected, Tyson offers to switch places with Rachel if she wants. However, she realizes that Tyson is in a great position in his tribe and has the advantage of previous experience in the game. He has a great chance to get deep into the game. As the goal is for one of them to win, she wisely declines the offer. It is a decision I greatly respect. It is selfless as it is her first time playing and I would not blame her if she wanted to see how far she could get in the game. Nevertheless, Tyson is furious with Tadhana for voting out his girlfriend and warns them that they have no chance if they face him at Redemption Island. Specifically, he lashes out at Brad Culpepper. Moreover, Marissa curses at Brad for his role in getting her voted out. She correctly points out that the votes have been questionable as Tadhana has been voting out strong players. As a result, the tribe will continue to lose challenges because of that strategy. Rachel piles on and throws Brad under the bus for running the show on the tribe. This scene illustrates how Brad’s alliance is brilliant in allowing him to take the role of leader. He is not actually in charge. As I noted before, he is the figure head that is taking the bullets.

Next, there is no redemption for Colton on Redemption Island. He came into the show trying to show everyone that he has matured as a human being and not the bad person he appeared to be in Survivor: One World. He failed in every way possible. First, he did not adapt to the veteran players he is playing with in the current season. Colton was able to control and intimidate the players on his first season. However, the returning players in Blood vs. Water are too smart to allow Colton to get his way. Like a spoiled brat, Colton has temper tantrums and whines when things do not go his way. When his whining makes things worse for him, he outright quits rather than accepting responsibility for his shortcomings and get voted out. He does not even try to redeem himself by trying to convince his tribe mates that he is a better person and fighting to the end. It speaks very poorly of his character. Instead of showing that he is a better person than he is perceived, he hurts his image even further by also showing that he has no intestinal fortitude and toughness. With so many people waiting in line to play Survivor, it is disgraceful that he quits when he was given a second chance to play. Jeff Probst is infuriated with Colton quitting and calls him out. First, he mentions that Colton feigned appendicitis in Survivor: One World. As such, Jeff suggests that Colton quit in that season rather than being medically evacuated. Jeff completely piles on by calling Colton selfish. Next, Jeff suggests Colton is a quitter in life when things do not goes his way and a person who is better suited to stay on his couch to watch the show rather than get off it to play. As a final insult, Jeff says Colton can keep his buff instead of putting it in the urn to burn as that right is only reserved for players who compete. I agree with everything Jeff said about Colton.

In the duel, the players have to create a stack of blocks that will fall like dominoes to reach the end of the course to release a ball that will break the plate. Again, Candice has razor sharp focus and finishes quickly. As a returning player, she has a huge advantage in experience and staying calm. She is also very athletic, competitive, and intelligent. She will get more and more confidence each week and will be an extremely tough person to eliminate at Redemption Island. The new players, Marissa and Rachel, have a much more difficult time as it takes them awhile to finish the duel. Eventually, Marissa is able to complete it before Rachel. Tyson embraces Rachel before she leaves the game. He asks is she had fun in the game and she responds that she did.

Aftermath

Brad definitely has a huge target on his back as Galang holds him responsible for voting out its loved ones. It also hurts his wife’s position in her tribe and alliance. Monica worked her way into the majority alliance. However, Brad is being blamed for voting out the loved ones of two members of her alliance. As a result, her alliance could turn on her for retribution. Brad does make an excellent point when he notes that “In the past, you vote someone off and their dirty laundry goes with them. Now, you vote someone off and the dirty laundry comes back at you”. With loved ones in the game, voting out a player also results in her loved ones coming back at you and potentially making your loved on a target. The Blood vs Water twist also adds a lot of emotion to the game. Tyson has tears in his confessional when he speaks about Rachel being voted off. Tyson is a pretty care free guy and would never cry in the game if his girlfriend is not in the game. It makes Survivor more personal for every player and helps the viewer get emotionally attached to the game.

Caleb and Tyson are in better strategic positions with their loved ones leaving. When Colton leaves the game, Caleb is completely calm, understanding, and remains unnerved and ready to continue to compete. Both Caleb and Tyson are likeable people and in the majority alliance in their tribes. Without their loved ones in the game, their alliance has no reason to vote them out anytime soon. As Candice wins the duel again, she gets to give another clue to whoever she wants. Of course, she chooses her husband again. It is a gift and a curse.

Immunity Challenge

The immunity challenge is a one on one battle between players. The players are given pads and need to knock the other player off the platform. The first tribe with five individual match victories wins immunity. There are some interesting matchups. The first is between Gervase and Brad who have been trash talking to each other. Gervase puts up a good fight at the beginning. However, Brad is a former, NFL player and it is no surprise that he wins. Gervase did well to keep it competitive. John distinguishes himself for Tadhana as he quickly beats Aras. However, Aras redeems himself later when he faces his brother Vytas. Despite Vytas getting in a cheap shot in a move that Jeff calls “one of the biggest unsportsmanlike moves”, Aras still wins the matchup. Tadhana loses immunity because their two women, Ciera and Katie, go 0-4 in their matchups including losses to their mothers. The ineptitude of Ciera and Katie supports the opinion that Tadhana foolishly voted out their stronger women because of their loved ones on Galang.

Five Guys?

With a third consecutive loss in the immunity challenge and the women to blame, it appeared certain that the five guy alliance would stick together and vote out one of the women. However, Brad sees that Candice is doing very well and is concerned about her reentering the game as John’s allegiance would definitely be to his wife. Another factor in targeting John is that he has both clues to the hidden immunity idol and everyone knows it. As the idol is always a threat, John is a natural target. John completely mishandled the clues. Everyone knows he has it. As such, he should have just shared the clue with his alliance to keep their trust. Even when he tries to gain Brad’s trust by telling him the second clue, John messes up the situation by seeming suspicious by telling Brad he does not need him to help find the idol as he wants to find it himself. Brad gets the support from his tribe to vote out John. However, I do not agree with the decision. It is overplaying too early. It is way too early to be worried about Candice reentering the game. Voting out one of your strongest players in the challenges when the tribe has yet to win an immunity challenge makes no sense. Moreover, his alliance begins to distrust Brad as he showed he can turn on his allies quickly. Nevertheless, Brad’s alliance would be foolish to vote him out before the merge. Brad has taken the blame for all the decisions of Tadhana. As such, him and his wife would be targets for everyone near the merge and keep the attention off the other players in his alliance and their loved ones.

The post Survivor: Blood vs Water Episode 3 Notes appeared first on Rookerville.

Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics

Detroit Tigers (93-69)

Overview:

The Detroit Tigers swept the New York Yankees in last year’s ALCS to get to the World Series then got swept themselves at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. In the Jim Leyland era, the Tigers have been to the World Series twice but are 1-8 in 9 games. The Tigers are hoping to get another chance and win it this time. They took care of business in the regular season by winning the division and have another very good shot at going deep into the playoffs. However, the injury to superstar Miguel Cabrera is a major issue for that quest.

Hitting:

R: 796 (2^nd) AVG: .283 (1^st) OBP: .346 (2^nd) HR: 176 (7^th)

Despite the injury late in the season, Miguel Cabrera had another monster season. The 1-5 hitters in the Tigers lineup is the best in baseball with Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Victor Martinez. Hunter has been a great offseason acquisition. However, if Cabrera is compromised in the playoffs, it is a different lineup. He is the best hitter in baseball and they need him to carry them to another World Series. Because of the injury, Cabrera is a wild card.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.61 (9^th) WHIP: 1.25 (9^th) K: 1,428 (1^st) BB: 462 (10^th)

Justin Verlander is no longer the best pitcher in baseball. His velocity has decreased and his walks are up. Nevertheless, a 3.46 ERA in the American league is more than respectable and he is still a presence. More importantly, he finished up very strong with a 2.27 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 48 Ks compared to 10 walks in September. He is pitching his best baseball heading into the postseason. The best pitcher in the American League this year has been Verlander’s teammate, Max Scherzer. After years of inconsistency, Scherzer finally put it all together going 21-3 with a 2.57 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 240 Ks compared to 56 walks. Anibal Sanchez also had a great season with a 2.57 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 202 Ks compared to 54 walks. Doug Fister is also an excellent number 4 starter. The Tiger pitchers struck out the most men in baseball. Their rotation can win them a World Series. While they had a closer problem last year when Jose Valverde imploded in the playoffs, Joaquin Benoit has pitched great this season in the role.

Oakland As (96-66)

Overview:

For a few years, it appeared that GM Billy Beane lost the advantage he needed with a small market team when he revealed his tricks in Moneyball as the big market teams adopted his analytical strategies for building a team and the As had bad teams. Nevertheless, Beane has done it again and rebuilt the As on a low budget. They were ahead of schedule last year and ended up losing in 5 games in the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers last year. They proved that season was no fluke as they backed it up with another division title, pulling away from the Texas Rangers in a close race going into September. They are looking for revenge against the Tigers in this series.

Hitting:

R: 767 (4^th) AVG: .254 (14^th) OBP: .327 (8^th) HR: 186 (3^rd)

The As really took a step forward offensively this season and had one of the best offenses in baseball. They get it done with the Moneyball way: get on base and hit a lot of homeruns. Third basemen Josh Donaldson had a breakout season hitting .301 with a .384 OBP, 24 homeruns, and 93 RBIs. However, the As have built their lineup by having a deep lineup with a lot of good hitters rather than having a couple of big sluggers. The wild card for them is Yoenis Cespedes. He had a sophomore slump batting only .240. However, he still had 26 homeruns. As he showed in the homerun derby this year when he won it despite the fact that he was not an All-Star, he has as much power as anyone and it can change a series.

Pitching:

R: 3.56 (7^th) WHIP: 1.22 (3^rd) K: 1,183 (23^rd) BB: 428 (3^rd)

The As have done it with veteran Bartolo Colon rejuvenating his career and being the ace of the staff while surrounding him with young, promising pitchers. While Colon cheated with PEDs, an 18-6 season with a 2.65 ERA and 1.15 WHIP is still impressive at his age. They have an army of young and improving pitchers in Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, Dan Straily, and A.J. Griffin. I really like that they attack the strike zone and do not walk too many batters. Their weakness is that they are relying on an older Colon as their ace and the young pitcher are not top pitchers yet despite their continued improvement. On the other hand, the As also have a deep and effective bullpen.

Regular Seasons Series:

It was very competitive with the As winning it 4-3.

The Matchup:

Last year’s playoff series went the full five games and the As edged the Tigers in the regular season series. I expect another close series this season. Statistically, these two teams are even in every way. However, stars shine in the playoffs and the Tigers have Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, and Prince Fielder. Moreover, the Tigers four starters are clearly better than the As starting pitching.  However, the health of Cabrera can change things drastically.

Prediction:

Toss Up. Tigers in 5 if Miguel Cabrera is healthy and provides a presence even if he does not have a monster series.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox

Tampa Bay Rays (92-71)

Overview:

It was a close race for the AL East until the Rays went into a swoon at the beginning of September and the Red Sox pulled away from them. However, the Rays have rebounded and is one of the hottest teams in baseball winning 15 of their last 20 games and beating a team that was on a 7 game win streak, Texas Rangers, and another team on a 10 game win streak, Cleveland Indians, in back to back elimination games en route to the ALCS. The Rays have top starters and a much improved offense. They are legitimate contenders to win it all.

Hitting:

R: 700 (11^th) BA: .257 (12^th) OBP: .329 (4^th) HR: 165 (11^th)

The Rays are a different offense when Evan Longoria is healthy and a presence in the middle of the lineup. Rookie Wil Myers was a great acquisition in the offseason and has made a significant impact forming a 1-2 punch with Longoria. Ben Zobrist is underrated and continues to be an excellent hitter year over year. The wild card in this offense is Delmon Young. He raises his game in the playoffs. I have seen him destroy the Yankees in the last two postseasons. In the Wild Card game against the Indians, Young put the Rays ahead with another postseason homerun.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.74 (12^th) WHIP: 1.23 (5^th) K: 1,310 (3^rd) BB: 482 (15^th)

Ace and reigning Cy Young winner David Price struggled mightily at beginning of the season. However, he rebounded in a big way to have another big season. He was completely dominant against the Texas Rangers in the elimination game to break the tie for the second wild card. Alex Cobb broke out this season and established himself as the second best pitcher on the staff and a rising ace. Matt Moore and Chris Archer are also a couple of rising aces that pitched great this season. Moore is the Game 1 starter and can be as dominant as anyone. His one negative is too many walks. Nevertheless, the Rays already have a rotation that is ready to win them a World Series. While closer Fernando Rodney struggled at the beginning of the season after a historic 2012, he rebounded nicely. Rodney and setup man Joel Peralta form an excellent back of the pen.

Boston Red Sox (97-65)

Overview:

The Red Sox went from last to first within a season. They cleaned up the atmosphere in their clubhouse by getting rid of the problems and bringing in character guys like Shane Victorino, Ryan Dempster, and Mike Napoli to go with their core of Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Jacoby Ellsbury. The return of former pitching coach John Farrell to manage the team has been a great hire as he has completely turned the pitching staff around.

Hitting:

R: 853 (1^st) AVG: .277 AVG (2^nd) OBP: .349 (1^st) HR: 178 (6^th)

The Red Sox have built a deep lineup. Each hitter gives a tough at bat and works the pitcher. It is an unrelenting lineup and there are no easy outs. Accordingly, they have the highest team on base percentage in baseball. Additionally, they cash in on those runners on base as they hit a lot of homeruns. Especially in Fenway Park, this lineup is devastating. The one weakness is that it strikes out a lot which could be a problem in the playoffs against the top pitchers in the league. The wild card is Mike Napoli. He strikes out a lot (187 Ks this season) but is a game breaker with a ton of power.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.79 (14^th) WHIP: 1.30 (15^th) K: 1,294 (7^th) BB: 524 (7^th)

John Farrell really made his presence felt. Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, and even John Lackey had rebound seasons. Buchholz was limited to 108.1 innings due to injury but pitched like an ace when he was healthy going 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Jake Peavy was also a very good midseason trade for the Red Sox. However, I do not think the Red Sox have a sure ace that other teams do. In addition, their pitching staff walks too many batters. Their offense can slug them through a series but they will need Buchholz and Lester to come up big in the playoffs if they want to win the World Series. Offseason acquisition Koji Uehara had a monster season taking over as closer after both Andrew Bailey and Joel Hanrahan were lost for the season. Uehara’s stats are ridiculous with a 1.09 ERA and 0.57 WHIP. The playoffs are always a different animal with amplified pressre. It should be interesting to see if Uehara can continue his dominance.

Regular Seasons Series:

The Red Sox won decisively 12-7.

The Matchup:

Despite the regular season series, I will always take the better pitching in a short playoff series. The Rays have the much better starting pitching. While the Red Sox beat up Alex Cobb and Chris Archer, Matt Moore and David Price dominated the Red Sox lineup this season and could pitch in at least 3 out of the 5 games. On the other hand, Lester, Lackey, and Peavy were not great against the Rays. Buchholz dominated the Rays and did not give up a single run to them this season. However, he is still recovering from his latest injury and is only pitching in one game this series.

Prediction:

Rays in 4. However, I think Lester will pitch the Red Sox to the next round if it comes down to a Game 5 in Boston.

The post ALDS Preview appeared first on Rookerville.

For the last three years, I have set my watch to Timmy’s Party at Call Box Lounge.  Why? Because I like knowing exactly what I am going to get when I go out.  I’m getting older.  I’m almost 30 and at this point in my life, I don’t have the energy to try the coolest, newest bar or dj night.  There’s nothing wrong with doing that, but I love an “old reliable.” Timmy’s Party is that in the best way.

DJ Timmy (baller name right?) basically spins every song you used to rage or grind to from the early 90′s, but also plays the newest Miley, Ke$ha, or Ace Hood tracks on the radio/internet.  In between all of that, he’ll play crowd favorites, reggae, and whatever Beyonce song is #1 on the charts.  His library is as expansive as your imagination.  So the Dj gets a thumbs up.

The venue itself is nothing you would ever expect to enjoy from aesthetic perspective.  The picture at the top of this article is a fairly recent photo of the bar’s exterior.  Nothing fancy.  The inside doesn’t look much different.  If you ever went to a 10th birthday party in a bowling alley, you’ve been to Call Box.  It’s the most un-fancy bar in Brooklyn, and that is part of it’s charm.  Outside of Timmy’s parties, Call Box serves the Brooklyn natives – the people who were here before Brooklyn became the 20-something Mecca it is now.  It’s divey without trying to be and the drinks are very cheap.  I wouldn’t come here for their cocktail selection, but you can do much worse than a bucket of 6 domestic bottles for $20.

The only flaw with Timmy’s Party at Call Box Lounge is that it’s hard to anticipate when the next dance party will be held.  I drunkenly got his number one night, just so that I could be better kept in the loop of when the next party will be.  The safe guess tho is to expect a party every 3-4 weeks on a Friday or Saturday night.  This Saturday (Oct. 5th), Timmy will be at Call Box doing what he does so well and I highly suggest you make it out.   He usually begins DJ-ing around 10pm, but if you are new to his parties or Call Box, do not show up before 11:30pm.  You will ask yourself why you decided to come there.  It’s not crowded.  No one else is there, and the music isn’t really on fire yet.  If you want to assure yourself a great time, come at 11:30-Midnight and you’ll see the turn.  Stick around for a few hours and you’ll understand why I love these nights.  The last thing I’ll say about Timmy’s Party is that if you get drunk hungry, which I am often wont to do, go to the McDonalds across the street.  THEY LET YOU WALK THROUGH THE DRIVE-THROUGH.

I hope to see some new faces at Call Box Lounge this Saturday night.  It’s guaranteed to be a good time.

The post Call Box Lounge. Timmy’s Party. Always Fun. appeared first on Rookerville.

Hopefully, what we have to look forward is stuff like ABC’s Trophy Wife, which in its tone and wit reminds me of the way-underrated Suburgatory. It’s not that Trophy Wife doesn’t do a lot of the things I’ve already claimed that contemporary (and, let’s face it, traditional) family sitcoms do: it affirms family values, its central family is so white you need sunglasses to watch them, they live in a comfortable upper-middle class neighborhood, etc. Product placement abounds, from the cars to the phones to the hilarious prop that is (of all things) a water bottle.

But Trophy Wife has wit. And maybe that’s what I was getting at in the beginning of all this: our 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s sitcoms had reliable formulas that made it clear which ones were shit and which ones were great, because they were so stripped down that the jokes themselves were front and center. Trophy Wife is not a mockumentary, so none of the jokes are in the editing. The jokes are actual jokes, right there in the dialogue and the premise, and they’re good ones, too. The premise is that Kate (Malin Akerman) meets Pete (Bradley Whitford) after a meet-cute at a karaoke bar. They end up in the hospital together and fall instantly in love, but then Kate finds out he had two former families. Mercifully, the show spends almost zero time dragging this set-up out (it’s all handled in a quick flashback w/ helpful narration), so instead we can just dive right into the chaos. Kate’s both overwhelmed by the fact that she’s had to give up her party-girl lifestyle so suddenly and also a little peeved that no one takes her seriously enough to let her parent any of the eight million kids running around. The series essentially follows Kate as she tries to adjust.

Maybe that’s one thing I like about Trophy Wife: it treats family like something you have to adjust to, rather than the steady rock that everyone turns to in relief from the Big Bad World outside the home. Akerman, sounding like Cameron Diaz but with a less self-consiously goofy vibe, is a kickass choice for someone to carry the show, but even if she weren’t, the rest of the cast is great, too. Bradley Whitford is welcome to come back to TV any time, and Marcia Gaye Harden (!) plays the stone-faced, humorless former wife who has little patience for what she calls a “child bride.” (There’s also an adopted Asian kid, I guess because the series premieres after Modern Family, and they needed some crossover reference or something; long story short is that it’s the one annoying aspect of the show, this need to create a rainbow world despite the fact that white people still dominate the cast).

Even the situations—the “sit” of sitcom—are funny, and smart too. Pete’s son writes a spin-off of the Odyssey (!) in Homeric prose that devolves into a sex fantasy about his new stepmom. And Pete’s daughter sneaks vodka into school by putting it in a water bottle. When her mom is about to catch her, Kate bails her out by chugging the whole thing, making for the best second half of an episode of any comedy I’ve seen in at least a year.

I like families. I do. I like them so much that I think it’s wrong to use them, to see them only as potential consumers to whom we have to consistently proclaim, “You’re doing great! Family rules!” Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it’s hard. Trophy Wife gets that, or at least tries to.

The post Family Values Tour: Trophy Wife appeared first on Rookerville.

Tsinghua University Hospital v. the International SOS Hospital

I shouldn’t have had the water.

They brought me to a room that was small. It had maybe a dozen seats, and setups for IVs. It wasn’t a bad room, but it was unfamiliar. I didn’t know what my expectations were, but what I noticed was that it looked somewhat dirty; the paint on the walls was faded, and the equipment looked old and worn. Wear and tear from past patients.

Over the last 18 hours I’d lost 9 lbs. because I drank the water and it made me sick. Now I was at the Tsinghua University hospital waiting to hear them tell me so.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying, whether they thought I was going to be just fine, or not. But I never really got the chance to think about it.

The nurse came to give me the IV in my hand. I held my breath as she poked me, biting down for the brief second she pushed hard but couldn’t break the skin. It hurt for a second, and then everything went black and there was a loud buzzing sound. I came to, could hear and feel footsteps, and several echoes of voices, two of which were speaking in Mandarin. They sounded aggressive. The floor cooled my face. It was an oddly nice sensation.

The doctor, and my friend grabbed me and sat me back in the chair. They panicked, seeing how pale, and cold I was. Or maybe it was seeing my head bounce like a basketball. I don’t know if that happened though. This is what it’s like when I get a shot, or have my blood drawn, but I forgot to tell everyone, hoping maybe this time it’ll be different.

The doctor and nurse got louder, and one of my friends started to laugh. “They’re blaming each other.”

They decided they couldn’t treat me. The SOS hospital wasn’t far. The doctors there spoke English, beds had mattresses, rooms had a private bathroom with shower, and you could stay the night.

I signed in, eager for the IV. I knew I needed the drugs

They gave them to me and I started to feel better within the hour. After the antibiotics they gave me glucose and I got my strength back. I felt incredible. I thought of Michael Jordan when he came down with the flu during the playoffs.

In the middle of the night I could actually walk myself to the bathroom dragging the cart with the IV. I was part mechanical now. Poked and prodded, wheeling the new part of me around, hunched over and supporting my weight with it. By the next morning, I could drink water, cold, continuous and uninterrupted gulps. It felt like the first time in my life I’d had water.  The gulps were so big I hurt my throat with a few of them.

When I signed out I regretted not getting treatment at the University clinic. There was lots of paperwork.

I knew when I looked at it, I’d made a big mistake. There were too many columns of text. The university clinic would’ve been enough to get me on the road to recovery. Their plans were the same essentially, antibiotics and glucose. It was the bells and whistles that I focused on that distracted me from telling the staff my little idiosyncrasy, “I am going to pass out, I should be on the floor.” I had expected fresh linens, reclining beds, and a private bathroom.

I focused on all the wrong details.

The difference? The university’s treatment would’ve cost me about 300 kuai, or somewhere under $50.00. The international SOS? $1,800.00. All of it going to comfort. No significant difference in treatment. Though I did like the bed and that I got to spend the night there.

Food for thought.

When I told a Chinese friend of mine from the University about my story, he had a description of my fear I’ll never forget, or truly understand, though on its face I’d have to say it’s accurate. He called it a “shadow spirit.”

NOTE: you might see me on NBC’s Revolution for the next five or six episodes. Check it out Wednesday, 8PM EST!

The post I Lost 9 Pounds In One Day After Drinking Tap Water appeared first on Rookerville.

No one wants to go down with the ship.  I just finished watching Dexter and my TV life is worse for it.  That being said I am extremely careful with the shows I sample now.  I watch them, I follow their ratings, and I even check to see how many/what hashtags a show can generate.  This is all in an effort to never go down with the ship again.  The following series of articles is designed to give you an idea of the new broadcast shows I’m sampling in hopes they stick around for a few years. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Lets start right out by saying that Brooklyn Nine-Nine is funny.  It’s probably the best out of a weak network crop of comedies this fall.  The premise is not all that new (funny cops), but the cast is excellent.  Coming from the creators of Parks and Recreation, Dan Goor and Michael Schur, the show was already going to have a long leash for me.  If you look back on Parks’ first season, it was pretty terrible.  It had a great cast, but it wasn’t very funny.  It takes time to build that proper ensemble chemistry.  To that end, I think BKNN has already figured out a great deal of it’s issues.  I’d like to see it focus on the minutae of work as an officer and less so on the actual cases themselves.  Murders aren’t too funny, so hopefully it keeps that balance in check.

The chief concern of the writers of BKNN should be Andy Samberg’s character, Jake Peralta.  In the pilot, while everyone else at least SEEMED like they could work in a Brooklyn police precinct, Andy’s character, didn’t look like he had any business working anywhere.  He was drawn as far too silly to ever be a legitimate cop.  In subsequent episodes, it looks like they’ve taken some strides to dial his goofiness down, but that’s the big tonal issue.  Joe Lo Truglio, Chelsea Perretti, and Terry Crews, should really shine in a format like this.  The only complaint I would have to say is it’s lead-in, Dads.  We all know Dads is awful, but a bad lead-in can kill a quality show.  Community has been the worst lead-in possible for most of Parks and Rec’s life, so if they really want Brooklyn to succeed, they should drop it behind New Girl.

All that being said, if you want to watch a funny show, that has all the potential in the world to get even better, you should check out Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The post Show With Promise Alert: Brooklyn Nine-Nine appeared first on Rookerville.

Dads is bad. Dads is painfully, totally, in spots off-the-charts bad, made with the kind of primitive humor and style that makes you wonder whether anyone involved had ever seen a sitcom before. It’s the only multi-camera, laugh-track sitcom of the lot here, but that’s not what makes it regressive. It regresses to a time long before the advent of multi-camera sitcoms.

Dads’ premise is simple enough: two guys (Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi) work together designing videogames. They have a hot, young Asian secretary who does everything they want her to do, including dress up in Sailor Moon outfits. One day, their dads decide to move in to their apartments (because of the economy or something; I swear the telling is so clunky and awful that I can barely recall the set-up).

I teach a unit of my class on media ethics, wherein the students are required to determine what the demographic (age, race, gender, etc) and psychographic (attitudes, worldview, political leanings, etc) for a given television show is. Sometimes that’s tough. In the case of Dads, it’s easier to tell who the show’s written for than it is to remember any of the characters’ names. I mean, they design videogames for a living? They can’t work unless they’re stoned? Their secretary has no work to do—seriously, none—aside from walk in and throw in a few punch lines? How much pandering does a show have to do before it just turns into one giant circle jerk?

Unsurprisingly, the dads are un-PC and deliberately offensive. Very surprisingly, someone actually convinced Martin Mull and Peter Riegert to play the dads. It’s depressing to have to watch them deliver dusty old lines that would make Archie Bunker roll his eyes at the lameness of. “I was going to eat a piece of chocolate,” says Riegert, “but then I remembered it’s for women!” Ha ha? “The Chinese are an honorable and noble people,” says Mull, “but you can’t trust them!”

I mean come on. It’s not even like the show is actually offensive in any way—it came under fire recently for its handling of Asian stereotypes, but I just assume that’s because Seth McFarlane is involved, and everyone likes to wring hands about Seth McFarlane. Truly offensive humor might even make it fun for the shock. It’s simply lame, the kind of sitcom that we’re (hopefully) almost done with; at least it’s hard to imagine members of the current generation, reportedly the most tolerant generation the world has yet known, playing curmudgeonly racists in forty years, but who knows?

The post Family Values Tour: Dads appeared first on Rookerville.