Tiny Houses & My Unhealthy Addiction To HGTV

Don’t ask me why, because there really is no good reason for it at the moment, but The Keeper and I (more I) have become completely addicted to HGTV. It started with the House Hunters series. Especially House Hunters: International. It was just so cool to see living spaces in other countries. And so cool to see living spaces that we could probably never afford. And so much fun to yell at people being stupid or ridiculous in their expectations or overly picky about things that really should not matter. But it didn’t stop there.

We started watching My First Place, Property Virgins, Holmes Inspection, Room Crashers, Holmes on Homes, Yard Crashers, Curb Appeal, and now All American Handyman. We’ve also watched a couple episodes of Design Stars, though neither of us is really all that interested in it. That one has mostly just been background noise once it gets too late for us to want to switch the channel and get invested in something. However, the most recent episode of Design Star introduced me to something that I think is super fun: Tiny Houses.

 

Apparently, these itty-bitty homes are a new trend among individuals and couples who want to live more of a green, small carbon footprint lifestyle. And they can be SUPER CUTE!

On the aforementioned episode of Design Star, the three remaining contestants each had to design the interior of one of these types of homes. The idea was to see who could use the minuscule space best while also making it aesthetically pleasing. 

They all did a pretty good job, but I realized something tonight when this episode was re-run and I had it on in the background. Every single one of them used the space just above the rafters as a sleeping space. They each had a carpenter assigned to them who could make anything they wanted to put into the space, but all of them chose to put the bed in the rafters. How did this show get down to the final three with such uncreative people?

The rafter space could have been some truly awesome storage. I’m sure they could have figured out some kind of drop down drawer configuration that would have been totally unique. And all of them missed the PERFECT opportunity for using Murphy Beds. They could have made a single person Murphy Bed that had a fold out table on the bottom so when the bed is up, a table could come out. Or, they could have made a two person Murphy Bed in two sections. One section could serve as a couch when the other section is folded up against the wall, and that other section could have the table underneath.

And that is exactly what I’m going to do if The Keeper and I ever decide we want a vacation home.

More Recommendations

Still unemployed and still devouring media. Unfortunately, this installation of Recommendations will not be including any book recommendations. I finished up the Jenna Jameson book and all the Ender’s Shadow books and just got stuck. I want to pick up something new, and I have plenty of books I haven’t read in the apartment, but nothing seems appealing to me for some reason. I’m sure something will catch my fancy eventually, but in the meantime I’ve been filling the time I had been spending on reading with TV instead. Netflix instant streaming has been a beautiful thing. Here’s what I’ve been watching:

• Bones. I’ve been watching Bones since the first season. I love all the characters and the developing relationships and dynamics. But, after Season 3 I somehow lost track of the show. I think something happened and the scheduled recording of new episodes I had set up on my DVR got erased or something. I tried to stream Season 4 from a couple different free sites online before I got Netflix and I didn’t have much luck with it. Then, shortly before The Keeper and I moved into our new apartment I got Netflix. I didn’t pay much attention to the Instant streaming option at first, but since I’ve been unemployed I’ve been watching more and more on my computer or through the XBox. I recently watched the entirety of Season 4 of Bones. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, so all I’ll say is this- Fucking hell. I didn’t think they could fuck with the fans any worse than they did with the ending of the third season, but by Goddess they managed to do it. Fuck…
• My Name is Earl. After I finished Season 4 of Bones, I kind of randomly decided to move on to My Name Is Earl. I’ve always liked Jason Lee and I have some friends who watch the show. Also, the one episode I had seen was pretty funny. So I decided to give it a shot. Man am I glad I did. I LOVE these characters. Most of them aren’t all that realistic (Patty the daytime hooker who got a 1500 on her SATs and has a Master’s; Darnell the ex-government operative who is happily married to a woman with about half his IQ and works as a cook at a local dive bar/seafood restaurant; etc), but somehow they all gain such depth the further you get into the show. And it’s also got a sweet message/morality about it. Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something light-hearted and funny.
• Justified. Unlike the last installment of Recommendations, this time I do have a new show to praise. FX has a new show called Justified which is currently in the middle of it’s first season. Timothy Olyphant plays a US Marshall with an itchy trigger finger who is transferred back to his hometown and has to deal with old friends and family who he’d hoped never to see again. It doesn’t sound all the great, but there’s a lot of awesome in this show. It’s a smidge of crime drama, but it’s way, way more character driven than most. And there’s Timothy Olyphant. Olyphant makes this show at least worth checking out, in my opinion.
• NCIS. Oddly enough, The Keeper’s paternal grandmother got us interested in this show. In general, I’ve kept away from the crime dramas whose titles are just letters. CSI, NCIS, JAG, etc. The advertisements never caught my interest and if I saw bits of the actual shows the characters always turned me off to the show. But then we were visiting The Keeper’s family for a holiday or something and his Granny turned on NCIS and after a couple episodes we got hooked. For a while we contented ourselves with TV reruns, but then a couple weeks ago we were in Best Buy and The Keeper decided it was time we saw things in order. We took our time with the first season, watching a couple episodes at a time every few days, getting to know and love the characters, seeing them develop and seeing how they all fit together. The characters really are amazing. Gibbs, Denozo, Abby, Ducky, Kate, McGee… they’re all just spectacular. And funny. They’re so funny. Kate and Denozo baiting each other and bickering like siblings with Gibbs looking on like some harsh but lovable father figure. Ducky talking to the autopsy subjects and going off on long winded but very interesting and informative tangents. McGee, a cute pudgy faced little nerd boy who gets picked on and hazed by Denozo and Kate. And last, but my personal favorite, Abby the perky goth forensics expert. The Keeper and I have just finished the first couple discs of the third season. He’s been buying each new season as we finish the last. It’s become an obsession that we share and I think if you give it a watch you’ll share it too.

Recommendations

During my unemployment I have been devouring a great deal of media. None of it is really all that new, I won’t be recommending any of the "new, hot" TV shows or any movies that are out in theatres (since I haven’t been to one since Alice in Wonderland). But you may not have seen or read these things and I think they’re worthy of praise and sharing with others.

• Orson Scott Card. Really, I recommend pretty much any of his novels/series. They’re all brilliant despite the fact that as far as I can tell he’s kind of an asshole and definitely a bigot. Right now though I mostly want to pimp the second half of the Ender series, the books that focus on Bean. Ender’s story was brilliant, but I think the characters in Bean’s story are far more likable. The only thing I wish is that Card could fully develop every character, not just one or two of them.
• Jenna Jameson. Oddly enough, I haven’t actually seen any of her porn. I started reading her autobiography one day in a book store while I was waiting for The Keeper to find whatever he was looking for. It was only out in hardback when I started reading it, and I wasn’t about to pay the thirty-some dollars it cost to buy it, but every time I went into the bookstore I would pick it up and read a little more. It’s finally come out in paperback, so I bought it today and I have to say, this girl is fascinating. I should see if she has a blog… Anyway, yea, I’m recommending her book, because it’s brilliant.
• Burn Notice. The Keeper and I have been watching Burn Notice. We have one disc left of the first season. It’s a USA show, so there’s only so much you can expect from it, but it’s pretty good. The main characters are pretty entertaining and it has Bruce Campbell in it. Really, that’s all you need, but there’s also a lot of eye candy besides Bruce (who looks really, really good for a guy his age) and the show is just fun.
• Demolition Man. An oldy but a goody. Watched this for the first time in ages last night and I have to say that for a cheesy early 90s Stallone movie, it’s really a lot less cheesy than I remember. Plus it has Denis Leary in it. All sorts of awesome.

And I think that’s all I have for now. Enjoy!