NBC greenlit American Gladiators for their Sunday night programming.

American Gladiators.

Here's a show that couldn't succeed 15 years ago because it was hokey. What is most amusing is that, from what I remember, it is almost exactly the same as it was back then. And it was NOT good back then.

For crying out loud, they should bring back Fear Factor if they want off-the-wall reality television. That show at least was entertaining. I mean come on, how can you go wrong with coagulated blood pizza sauce over a bile-based crust?

I'm surprised Hulk Hogan and Tatyana Ali even signed up for this. Um, never mind -- not really.

OH MY GOSH, the one dude just started crying because he's been waiting 14 years to come on the show... and he lost. Tough break.

Hm, I've never heard the word hierarchy pronounced as "air-arky" instead of "higher-arky."

Have I just been sheltered until today?

60 degrees in January? Let's stop hating on global warming, people - ok?

I'm looking forward to the day my home in Kenmore is worth 30x its current worth. You know... Beachfront property and all...

As I mentioned last week (e:mrdeadlier,42720) I'm going to report in every Tuesday with my weight for the sake of accountability.

So here goes...

174

I've lost 3 lbs in the past week, but that's how it always is for me. The first 5 or 10 slide away pretty quickly and then it's the drudgery of 1 lb a week for the next however long until I reach my goal. But I think that's how it's supposed to be.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with all the helpful information last week. Especially e:james for suggesting the Cron-O-Meter app. I've yet to jump into it but I think it's going to end up being pretty useful to me.

I was pretty lax in my calorie counting yesterday and then ended up in the middle of a face-feeding bender this afternoon.

Just sticking at 174 is going to be an accomplishment this week.

My little Chloe used to be such a trooper at bedtime, sometimes she would even decide when it was time -- pointing at her crib and giving the hint that she was done for the day.

But in the past few months, the switch finally flipped. Now she is all about fighting off the sleepiness and throwing fits (sometimes), declaring her defiance.

I think it all began when we moved her from the crib to the "big girl bed." Which is just the crib lowered all the way down and one side removed. Perhaps the newfound liberty is a lot to adjust to, but at her age and size (20 mos, 31 lbs) there really is no alternative.

Right now I'm in the hallway listening to her and Delaney jabber back and forth. I'm occasionally throwing a loud SHHH but at the same time this is probably good bonding time, right? They must have exhanged "I love yous" 10 times by now. Awwww!

But if they don't get to sleep soon tomorrow is going to really suck since neither do well with even the slightest bit of sleep deprivation.

Oh, the joys of parenting...

I'm watching the Seattle @ Green Bay game right now and it is snowing quite steadily. Awesome! I get such a kick out of watching the players just before the snap with their breath clouding up in front of their faces every second and a half. I love Lambeau Field with the natural grass field and the "frozen tundra" (which is kind of like saying "hot fire"). It really is a crime that Brett Favre isn't in the playoffs every year. As much as a 32 year-old can have one, that dude is totally my hero (some ex-Presidents, Nobel Peace Prize winners, writers and other historical figures notwithstanding). 17 years and he still keeps up with everyone around him. There are rookies on his team that are only 3 or 4 years older than his daughter. Crazy.



The Packers just scored and tied up not only the game, but with the Seahawks help tied a postseason record with 28 pts in a first quarter. Nice.

BUT, now it's time for Shrek the Third since I promised the girls earlier today that they could watch it after dinner. I totally forgot about the games today. And since my wife is out for the night, it's just me so it's not like I'm going to skedaddle off to another area of the house to watch it.

As I said yesterday... oh, the joys.

My barber made a great point this week. This is the best weekend for NFL football. The wildcard week is out of the way, meaning that the scrub teams (his words, sorry e:Drew) are gone and now we've got 2 days of the best teams playing each other with their respective seasons at stake.

I love the Super Bowl (but it's often a blowout, like 75% of the time) and next weekend is our Fantasy league's "banquet" as we hand out awards and goof off while watching the conference championships, but this weekend is just jam-packed with NFL goodness.

I'm already feeling bummed about the season being over. As the carol goes, the first week of September through the first week of February is "the most wonderful time of the year."

So I'm walking down Carlton St. at the moment seriously fighting the urge not to dance while I've got Franz Ferdinand jamming in my earphones. Might be hard to explain should I run into someone I know or work with. Sigh.

Sorry -- not sure exactly why I felt the need to share this.

This morning I weighed in at... (Drum roll please)

172

So far I've lost 5 lbs, 2 in the last week.

This past week doesn't make sense since I cheated a LOT, especially from Friday to Sunday, but maybe I was just overexaggerating to myself. Maybe, just maybe -- as my wife has been preaching to me the past 8 years -- life really is all about balance. (I tend to go all OCD on whatever I've got going on at any given juncture in my life).

Hm. Well, "go me" I guess...

I've got a date with the Seneca Niagara Casino's buffet this weekend so we'll see how next Tuesday goes!