Popular Reality TV

Jeopardy! had a “reality of TV” category last night as part of the Teen Tournament, and its answers included Survivor and The Amazing Race. TAR 16 winner Jordan Pious tweeted , “My brother and I were a clue on Jeopardy tonight! This is crazy!” The clue, he wrote , was “In 2010 Siblings Dan & Jordan hit the finish line in San Francisco to win this CBS show’s $1 Million prize.” That was deemed a harder question than the one that included Survivor Tocantins’s final two. Its runner-up, Stephen Fishbach, tweeted that being included in a clue was “the single greatest moment of my life.” The $200 clue, which he photographed , was: “J.T. outwitted, outplayed & outlasted Stephen & all the rest to win $1 mil. on the Tocantins edition of this show.” View the original article here

The question about reality TV on last Saturday’s SAT exam has prompted minor uproar from students on a message board now has the media in a minor frenzy, because, of course, there’s nothing else to cover right now. While I’ve argued that the topic of the question was perfectly legitimate , the writing of the question itself was pretty horrendous for an organization that suggests it’s capable of measuring students’ ability to be successful in college. (Disclosure: For two summers, I worked for the College Board scoring AP English exam essays. I also teach at a university where standardized test scores are an optional part of the application process but are required for merit scholarships.) College Board communications VP Peter Kauffmann told The New York Times that “everything you need to write the essay is in the essay prompt.” And by that he meant the answer, because the College Board actually answered its own question in the prompt. Genius. Here’s the whole prompt, as reproduced i...

« American Idol: Scott MacIntyre Has One of the Biggest Holiday Indie Singles of 2010 | Home | Dancing with the Stars: Lesson of the Day–Don’t Break Kelly Osbourne’s Heart » December 28, 2010 09:00:17 by Shayla Perry Dating and relationships are difficult, so who better to ask for help with your biggest dating dilemmas than a member of Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker team, like Destin ? Check out Destin’s skills in action as he takes on one viewer’s very common dating problem–age vs. maturity. I’ve only had a handful of relationships, which is fine. My problem is in the history of my life I’ve never had a guy really stick around. I find guys who are still stuck in the teenage mentality and want me to make all the decisions. Or I find guys who are older and I have very little in common with. I don’t necessarily want a ring, but an adult committed relationship would be great. Someone to grow and share life with. Why does this seem so hard to find? -Kelly N. What’s the common denomin...