Lady T Well I am finally out of the backwoods of West Virginia. Took me days to maneuver my way out of there. Now I am on a first class private jet to meet History Detective. I am meeting him at the Castel Sant'Angelo on the banks of the beautiful Tiber in Rome. History Detective Lady T! How lovely it is to finally meet you.
Lady T Likewise, did you have a nice trip?
History Detective I had a blast just watching the Roman policeman with their capes on walking by. Yummy! Maybe we can stalk them later.
Lady T There is nothing like an Italian man I always say. Shall we begin? Good.So what show brought you to the boards?
History Detective I first discovered RTVW during the first season of “The Apprentice” when I did a google search using the phrase “hate Omarosa.” I read a few threads and then forgot about RTVW.
Lady T You forgot about us? How could you?
History Detective Trust me, I have been lamenting that fact ever since. Should have stayed. So once in a while, I would do the same search again to find my way back, but it wasn’t until the end of last summer that I felt the need to actually post something. I don’t remember what it was that sent me over the edge, but something on “Big Brother 5” made me register and start posting. Once I got comfortable in the “Big Brother” forum, I started exploring other forums as well.
Lady T How did you find OT?
History Detective Zombiebaby was the first peep to invite me to OT. The first time I visited OT I was so confused that I didn’t come back for at least a week. I mean, there didn’t seem to be any sort of organizing principle; it was just a bunch of completely unrelated threads all over the place. I’ve since discovered how tidy OT really is when compared to other boards. Any time I venture out somewhere else I just end up with a headache and make my way back to OT. Once I got comfortable with the internal logic of OT, I jumped in head first.
Lady T What are your favorite shows?
History Detective My favorite reality show is “The Amazing Race.” I’ve always liked it because it depended on a combination of skill and luck rather than just manipulating or bullying people. I’ve also been a fan of “Survivor” since the beginning. I find it sociologically fascinating to observe the creation and destruction of alliances on that program, though I was so disgusted by all the testifying in the Marquesas that I had to take a “Survivor” hiatus for a couple of seasons. Of course, I like “Big Brother” too, mostly because it is so interesting to follow along with the live feeds and see how the network offers a completely different narrative when the show gets edited together for broadcast. I think that Drew was the most vile person on that show last year, but he got the wholesome boy-next-door edit for some reason. I know that I’ve hit on only major shows so far, but I do like some of the less popular ones as well. I thought that both “Joe Millionaire” and “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé” were brilliant and I’m not above laughing at people on shows like “Mr. Personality” and “I Want to be a Hilton.” I also like the PBS “House” series. I’m planning to team-teach a history course using “Colonial House,” “Frontier House,” “Manor House,” and “1900 House” with a colleague sometime during the coming academic year, pending approval by the university.
As for non-reality shows, I’m mostly into dramas right now, though I would watch comedies if there were more of them that didn’t feature a dumpy hubby with an inexplicably hot wife and their precocious children. I’m still a “West Wing” fan. I even think it improved this last season. I used to love “Alias,” but I miss the days when viewers had to think in order to enjoy the show. “Lost” is another favorite. Of course, I love “History Detectives” on PBS too, but I think you already knew that. I’ve recently discovered a program called “Monarch of the Glen” on BBC America so I’m watching that one now. It doesn’t hurt that the male lead is very cute!
Lady T Who are your favorite contestants and least favorite contestants?
History Detective Do you even need to ask?!
Lady T Well apparently I do since I don't know the answer. Are you going to answer?
History Detective Of course the answer is Chip Arndt, the co-winner of TAR4, who is my all-time favorite contestant. If the two of us ever move to Canada to get married, we’re going to have the ceremony in Skye’s backyard and all the OT peeps will be invited. (I’ll be sure to post a thread to let them know where we are registered.) I respected Bill Rancic during the first season of “The Apprentice.” For whatever reason, I also liked Bob and Joyce, the older couple from TAR5, and Linda and Karen, the bowling moms, also from TAR5. They all just seemed like fun people to have over for a dinner party.
I have never liked Rawb and I liked him even less when he became half of Romber. He said some rabidly hurtful things about gay people during his first stint on “Survivor” and I’ve never heard him apologize or recant those statements. In fact, when his wedding was televised, he made a point of commenting that he and the wedding planner wouldn’t be hanging out in the same bar. Omarosa is a delusional #####. Drew, the winner of BB5, rounds out this unholy trinity. I don’t care that he manipulated Diane’s feelings to win the money because that is what everybody does on that kind of show, but the slimemonkey also manipulated her feelings so she would continue to give him handjobs in the BB5 house until he could get out into the real world and find a woman that he actually wanted to be with. For some reason, the network decided not to offer that part of the narrative.
Lady T What show do you think you would excel at and what show do you think you would do so bad at you would be the first one out?
History Detective I think that I would do well on “The Amazing Race.” I know how to read a map, I have a good sense of direction, I’m reasonably fit, I can be patient, and I think that most of the tasks look like a lot of fun. I think that I could manage to do fairly well on “Survivor” because I like to strategize and I’m good at compartmentalizing information.
I wouldn’t be any good at any of the “dating” shows, mostly because I wouldn’t play along with the humiliation that producers want to put those contestants through. Plus, I can’t even think of a dating show that makes gay men look like anything other than a punchline. I would be the first one out on “Fear Factor” since I don’t care for snakes or disgusting food challenges. I probably wouldn’t do very well on “Big Brother” either, because there is absolutely no way to get away from the other houseguests and no privacy at all. I would bite my tongue for all of two days before telling some asshat off.
Lady T That makes sense. Now if you won a million dollars, what three totally selfish things would you do for yourself.
History Detective Wow! That question is harder than I thought it would be. I guess that my first thing would be to take a trip around the world, hitting all the continents and relying on air travel as little as possible. That means lots of driving and trains so I can see the countryside --- and cruise ships to get from continent to continent so the trip is truly leisurely.
I would purchase the best possible home theater system and a complete DVD library of all those shows and movies that I have always wanted to see but never had the time or the money to afford.
I’d also hire a personal trainer to help me get into shape. I know that’s not glamorous, but it is selfish since it is something that I have never had the money to do.
Lady T Tell us about yourself, what do you do, etc. Here is where you can tell us anything you want about yourself.
History Detective I am a Ph.D. candidate in the History department at Johns Hopkins University. I am finishing a dissertation about advertising and consumer culture in eighteenth-century Philadelphia. So, I spend a lot of time with printed documents and account books that are two-hundred years old. Most people in my field think that advertising during the period was confined to newspapers and broadsides, but I’ve identified more than a dozen different forms of advertising media, including magazine wrappers, trade cards, furniture labels, catalogues, billheads, subscription notices, and even junk mail, er, circular letters that found their way into the postal system more than two-hundred years ago. This fall I will be teaching my own course at Johns Hopkins: “Advertising and Consumer Culture in America, 1750-1970.” This is the first time this course has been offered at the university, so I am very excited about it.
As of recently, I’m single … and since it is doubtful that Chip Arndt and I will ever get married in Skye’s backyard, I’m on the lookout for tall, dark, and handsome gay men who are good husband material. I never planned it this way, but I end up dating non-Americans more often than not. There can be hundreds of guys at the dance club, but somehow I will end up talking to the one guy who happens to be from Malta or Peru or Croatia.
I think that one of my most formative experiences was working as a peer minister at the Wesley Foundation United Methodist Campus Ministry at the University of Michigan during my undergraduate years. The weekly worship services, bible studies, communion services, fellowship gatherings, volunteer activities, and all those meals taught me how to combine my Christian faith with an interest in peace and social justice issues. Our ministry offered a progressive alternative to some of the other campus ministries out there. I formed my closest friendships there, especially with the other six peer ministers who graduated the same year I did. Four of them went on to become ordained ministers, so when the seven of us get together the two engineers and I are outnumbered. One of my friends is a chaplain in the Navy. I envy her that opportunity, but neither the church nor the Navy will take me.
Lady T Wow, color me impressed. You are smart! And what do you like to do in your spare time?
History Detective I watch reality television, of course! I do like to spend time on the elliptical trainer while watching television. I’m trying to get into better shape since I did not have access to a gym during the five months that I was away on a research trip.
I like to hang out with my real life friends, most of whom are straight. I’ve never had a lot of gay friends, not wanting to seclude myself in some sort of gay ghetto. I’ve been very fortunate that I have made friends who don’t treat me like I am gay. What I mean is that they extend me the same courtesies that they do their straight friends. It was very important to my friend Amy, one of the ministers that I mentioned, that my then-boyfriend and I knew that we were welcome to dance at her wedding.
Anyways, I got off on a little tangent there. Sometimes my friends and I watch TV and drink. My best friend specializes in sixteenth-century Irish history, so we drink lots of whiskey together. We recently discovered a scotch called “Sheep Dip.” I hope that I get Seana’s name when it is time for OT Secret Santa. I know that she would love a bottle of “Sheep Dip.”
Another favorite pastime is going out to eat. I love to try new restaurants, especially ethnic food. One of my biggest fears is that I will eventually get a job at some small college in the middle of nowhere and not be able to get ethnic food, just meat and potatoes. I also like to eat at brewpubs. Beer samplers are wonderful, though I tend to prefer darker and heavier beers.
My friends and I also spend a lot of time playing board games (mostly strategy games) and cards.
I like to go to the club on a Friday or Saturday night and dance, but the music in Baltimore just sucks. I think it is worth the drive to Philly just to go to Woody’s and dance to some decent music. Before I even make it to the dance floor, I like to spend time in the video bar, enjoying a cold beer and watching the videos --- and the guys too!
I try to live on a graduate student budget, so I do a lot of window shopping, but not much actual purchasing. I can make a day of just browsing at the mall.
Lady T Well it seems like you lead quite an eventful life. How about we take off from here and go men watch?
History Detective Lady T, that sounds awesome.
TishyTime
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