adventures in hdtv

a nasty virus befell the other half, leaving us sequestered inside our 3/4 demolished home, camped out on the floor, rapidly working our way through netflix (quinceanera - thumbs up, and with a surprise appearance by two people we know; sherrybaby - another thumbs up, but i never quite believed maggie gyllenhaal in the role), pay-per-view (idiocracy - worth watching; who killed the electric car - not great, but worth watching, with another surprise appearance by someone we know; and matthew barney: no restraint - not sure what to say about this one except probably more enjoyable for an art nerd), dvr'd shows (the sarah silverman program - genius!) and, finally, the grammy telecast, in hdtv.

hdtv can be amazing at times (nature, on pbs, for instance) and frightening at others (any current footage of sharon stone not shot from 300 yards away). i wasn't quite prepared for some of what i saw this evening in very hd close-up.

the good: mary j. blige, rihanna, carrie underwood (down to the surprisingly symmetrical chicken pox scars on each cheek), ludacris, beyonce, jennifer hudson and her 'twins,' and the list goes on.

the bad: john mayer (must he make that face??), james blunt (those dilated pupils were definitely due to something other than the bright lights shining in his eyes as he haltingly made his way through the carnage that is 'you're beautiful'), and justin timberlake (attention award show and video directors: don't ever again give this guy a camera to shove in his own face)

the highlight? the dixie chicks winning every single award they were up for, sweeping every major category. i love that natalie maines continues to make snide comments at the expense of the country music establishment. as far as i'm concerned, they've got it comin' as long as she wants to keep dishin' it out. word! to your mama!