It's A Sweet Gig

You know what I would love to be my next job? Casting Director for Dancing With The Stars. Now, I never watch this show, but it has become one of those programs which crosses over to the mainstream enough that who is on it has become actual "news". I just think casting this show has to be really easy, because people openly campaign to be on the program. It appears you can simply sit back, let them come to you, send any undesirables away on a whim and pick and choose who will remain. Erin Andrews campaigned to be on the show and now she's in. Chad OchoCinco said he wanted to be on and, boom, he will be part of this year's cast. Then you've got your stream of reality show rejects who we all know are, by nature, attention-whores. All you have to do is ask and they'll sign up for the chance to extend their 15 minutes any way they can. Oh sure, I would assume you get the occasion "star" who is insulted that people think their career has fallen that far, but wait a year and they'll call back begging to be on national television again. It all seems very straightforward.

As for this year, I will still not be watching, but I'll pick Erin Andrews for the girls (former Florida Gator cheerleader, naturally athletic, got the whole girl-next-door thing that the rest of America will just eat up) and Evan Lysacek for the guys (his job already essentially calls for him to ballroom dance on ice, so I would imagine it'll be a pretty easy transition for him). My first as an early exit? Kate Gosselin. I think America's pretty tired of her already and she won't make any new friends with statements like, "I don't know how I'll find time to practice with 8 kids." Please, you have a small battalion of assistants. Never stopped you from being on TV before. I may call in to vote against her in principle.

-Here's my Road Rage Rant of the Day: when you are at a train crossing that double as an intersection and the guards are down, I feel it is common courtesy to leave enough room between your car and the car in front of you so that any cars coming from the side street could pass through and turn, should they want to head in the direction that is away from the railroad tracks. However, that doesn't mean you can slide through that opening without giving the courtesy wave. The opening, which means you don't have to wait for the guards to go back up, should not be taken for granted. I could very easily pull forward, not give the room and leave you stranded there. And good luck getting an opening to take a left when two lines of cars that have been waiting 10 minutes for two trains to pass through start going again. I'm doing you a favor, the least you could do is give me a 'Thank You' wave.