“…I’ll Be as High as That Ivory Tower You’re Been Living In...”

I’m not in the habit of watching HBO’s Costas NOW. But some how, the deities of fate put a repeat of the 4/29/2008 episode on my television after dinner tonight. And what did they put on my T.V. as a treat? Well, let’s just call it “blog content” and you can see it for yourself:



After this taped introduction, there was something they called a roundtable, but I’m not exactly sure that’s what it was. You see “roundtable” infers equality and level headed discussion. Yeah…not so much in this clip. WARNING: This clip contains some harsh language…clear the kiddies from the room or plug in your headphones:



Who died and made these guys king of all writing?

Seriously – Bissinger gets on his high horse during the roundtable and rides around as the crusader for “true sports journalism” defending it from the ignorant hordes of bloggers that line the path of today’s information superhighway. His quibble is that the writing on the internet blogs is loose and reckless and has no journalistic responsibility. Since it has none of these, he and Michael Wilbon (who was interviewed for the piece) are saying that blog writers have no right to be a part of sport culture’s dialogue. In Bissinger’s eyes, what right do bloggers have to criticize professional athletes? They’re nothing but hacks and childish idiots who choose to point out negative and useless details in sports today.

Which is ironic coming from Buzz Bissinger who came under fire after his book, Friday Night Lights came out in 1990. The non-fiction book about a season spent observing a highly competitive Odessa, TX high school football team came under the criticism that he only chose to highlight the worst possible things about the town and its people. (And before I get ripped for not knowing my subject – I read the book in the summer of 1992, Mr. Bissinger)

…but I digress…

As a very (to the infinite power) minor blogger, it just really just pisses me off the way people like Bissinger and Wilbon look down upon the blogosphere. His tirade may have been an indictment on the world of sports bloggers, but it can be easily applied to ALL people who write blogs.

The blogosphere is where we commoners come to vent nowadays – whether you like it or not.

What Bissinger & Co. fails to see is that blogs are the modern soapbox. They are the pulpit from which common society can put their two cents in. They empower the public to express themselves so that they can be heard. Joe Schmuck no longer is nameless and faceless – he’s got a post name and a piece of internet real estate and he’s not afraid to use it.

Tell me this Bissinger: When did writing become sacred ground? I do not have a degree nor do I have the experiences that you have. Does this disqualify me from writing out my opinions? Opinions have been freely given since the dawn of man. The only difference now is that it is more accessible. People like Will Leitch on Deadspin.com are doing what most guys do over a few beers and stale peanuts at the local sport’s bar – telling it how THEY see it.

Are most blogs journalistic? Do they have integrity? Are they unbiased? NO. If I wanted that, I’d read a newspaper, magazine, or book. Are they at times juvenile, uncivilized, and rude? Yeah, but that is often the case with a bunch of guys shooting the breeze.

And P.S.: Most bloggers also hate bad grammar and pointless posts. But rather than mumble in a corner about it, we normally eat our own through public comments.

Bissinger doesn’t seem to consider us real journalists or writers, which is fine…most of us don’t either. A majority of bloggers don’t hold out any aspirations that their internet work will win a Peabody Award or Pulitzer Prize. But that’s the difference between us and them – most bloggers I know write for themselves. They’re just lucky to have developed a following of like minded readers. There’s probably millions of blogs out there and very few people make money off of it. Bloggers write because bloggers love what they do.

Mr. Bissinger, I’m sorry you hate sports bloggers that much. But it’s your own fault. You mistakenly view the guys at Deadspin.com and Fire Joe Morgan as competition. The fact is – they’re out of your league. Literally. Those guys aren’t writing for anyone but themselves. God bless them for it too.

There are bad bloggers just like there are horrible newspaper columnists. There is no accounting for one’s taste. I may not like what you have to say, but you have every right to say it. But, instead of bitching about it, grow a set of balls and do what you do when you read something you don’t like: Turn the page.

Oh…and by the way…if anyone can tell me how you can actually “piss the sh*t out of someone,” drop me a line. I’m fascinated how that might work anatomically.

Pictures are Worth a Thousand Laughs

As Filipino-American, it is encoded in my DNA to love anything that has to do with pictures and graphics. As much as I fought having a phone attached to my camera until recently, I find myself pulling it out at any opportunity that my regular point-and-shoot camera is not available.

I also find during the course of my internet exploration, I save picture links to interesting things and forward them to friends and family. LOL Cats being a frequent target as of late.

My name is Lily White…and I have a picture addiction.

But who cares at this point? My pic addiction has provided me with blog content this week! I present to you a small collection of pics and stories I have come across in the past week:

THE ODD…

This one came from my own personal collection. I think Lenny and I snapped the photo about 4 years ago for a joke gift at a Speech & Debate banquet with our students. Someone reminded me about it and I went digging into the archives. I giggled when I viewed it again. I’ve never walked into Mandall’s Shooting Supplies…I don’t know even if it’s open anymore! But the sign is still there years later, looking over a busy street in Scottsdale, AZ.

I’m not sure what’s more disturbing: The fact that they CHOSE a teddy bear with a machine gun as their mascot…or that they got someone to actually DRAW it on their sign! I guess this is one gun enthusiast’s way of making guns appear more “approachable” or “cuddly.”

THE SUGGESTIVE…

Picture yourself sitting at your cubicle having a really crappy day. You’re training customers on a simple piece of technology you taught them a mere 2-weeks ago. You’re arguing with your boss because you believe they’re choosing a path that causes you more work. All you really want is for the day or the week to end and in desperate need of a good laugh. Looking at your clock you realize that the prior isn’t happening fast enough. However, just when you lose hope, you get an invitation for a free lunch provided by a locally renowned BBQ joint…

…and then you commence choking on your own breath while laughing…

If it has to be explained to you…don’t worry about it.

THE PLAIN DIRTY…


Ahhh…you crazy Brits! Last week, Her Majesty’s Treasury unveiled the above new logo for the Office of Government Commerce. You paid 14,000 GBP (approximately $27,700 in USD) for this?

No doubt, the new logo conveys a sleek and sophisticated image. To bad it loses all credibility when you turn it 90-degrees. No, I’m not going to post that here in the open; we do have a little decency here at MGF Blog. But the juvenile and toilet-humor minded self allows our more mature audience to see it here.

Brings a whole new meaning to a government’s intention to use the logo “…to signify a bold commitment to the body’s aim of ‘improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement.’”

Now that you’ve had a laugh…please enjoy your week MGF Faithful!

A Country Full of Prudes

As I recently told everyone – on of my favorite ways to waste time is watching stuff on BBC-America. This past Saturday, I found myself engrossed in mini-marathons of Dr. Who and Torchwood. This being season finale weekend for both shows, I had some catching-up to do.

During the course of my TiVo assisted afternoon, I got to see a lot of the character, Captain Jack Harkness. Jack is a popular character in the British sci-fi. He first appears as a companion in the venerable Dr. Who. But after becoming immortal – ends up getting a spin-off on the campy Torchwood. Decidedly American, this charismatic and undeniably handsome, Jack is the modern day hero who runs around Cardiff keeping the world safe from aliens in the 21st century.

Jack, in every essence of the word, is the epitome of a clean-cut America hottie. Think Errol Flynn mixed with George Clooney. As a Torchwood fansite describes him, Jack is “lethally charming…good looking and utterly captivating.” Wearing a WWII officer’s wool coat over his suspenders and button down shirts, one gets the image of a traditional hero. Nevermind that he spends his time chasing aliens – Jack works to make things better, cares about his friends, and is ultimately on the side of good. On the show, he and his crack staff of dedicated and loyal people stand in defense of humanity against evil extraterrestrials. They don’t have super powers, but they’re a picture of modern day heroes you could look up to.

If only they weren’t all raging bisexuals.

Okay, I’ll be fair. Many of them had same sex kisses over the last two seasons because they were possessed by spirits/aliens or under duress while saving the world from Weevils, avoiding an Abaddon, or running from Cannibal Villagers (Oh yeah…The X Files have nothing on this show!). However, there still is a serious same sex relationship and sexuality is not a problem they shy away from. And while I adore this show, I came to the realization that fact is fact.

A different kind of hero...sort of.

My campy and ultra-cool little British import would never fly as an original U.S. series on network T.V. Why? We are a country of Prudy McPrudersons. Forget everything about gay or bisexual characters…we are afraid of seeing any intimacy of any kind.

I know some people would argue with me regarding that opinion. There are many who would argue that there is too much sex on television American television. But in comparison to Canada and most of mainland Europe, we are decidedly still very shy about what gets shown on television.

This is the same country that made Lucy and Ricky Ricardo as well as Rob and Laura Petrie sleep IN SEPARATE BEDS! When Ellen DeGeneres decided to have her alter ego come out, her network slapped a parental advisory message before the show. Janet Jackson flashed us a covered nipple during Super XXXVIII, the FCC wanted to fine her and ban her from television completely. And to top it all off, I often hear from people who have been abroad that European television is filled with loose morals and could use a dose of ambiguity.

What about the intimate nature of sex and sexuality do we fear as a country? Groups of people will tell me that sexuality is something that is unnatural. We are meant to hide these things. But when you view history, most of the great civilizations had this “seedy” underside where people actually enjoyed their sexuality and weren’t ashamed of it. Check it out – at the very least, watch a few episode’s of HBO’s epic Rome.

While I think we’re prudish, I don’t believe that we should remove all the lines and have some random free for all. That’s what we have cable for, right? I completely agree there is a time and place for everything and there is such a thing as “too much, too soon” for youngsters. But as a society, we could probably loosen up a bit.
By limiting ourselves so, we cut out a lot of experiences and lessons we could be learning. For a discerning viewing public that demands to be shown the truth – we always seem to hide the situations and relationships that we are most ashamed of. And when does one learn but from your own (and other’s mistakes). Entertainment has a golden opportunity to be our era’s version of morality plays. Instead, we’d prefer to create “reality” by making people embarrass and debase themselves competing for cash prizes.

Advocate groups are constantly hammering the entertainment industry to provide solid and adequate role models in television and movies. But why limit that to only heterosexuals? A person’s orientation is a big part of their character and there is a large section of the population that deviates from social norms. Characters like the aforementioned Capt. Jack Harkness do better than they do harm.

The man fights evil, what do I care that he’s currently dating a guy?

MGF Rewind: If They Told Us to Jump Off a Bridge…

Ever forget you wrote something? Ever had it kick some sense into you. Yeah, that's this thing. I figure if this helped me, it might help someone else! :-)

I snorted and laughed as Lenny read from the article. Somehow he had stumbled upon a Netscape article entitled “Her Top Apres-Sex Requests” (A fancy way of saying: What She Wants to Do After Sex). Now, when he first clicked the article, about four guesses came to mind. I figured that those were “gimmes” so, being a girl who was brought up on Cosmo and Glamour’s love/sex advice, I wondered what new and exciting things the article would say.

What Lily Guessed: Cuddling, a nap, to talk, and/or take another “spin around the block.”

What the Article Was About: (directly quoted) She Wants to Cuddle; She Wants to Chat; She Wants to Do It Again; and She Wants a Nap.

I kid you not! Except for the order, I called exactly what the article was about. I sat there flabbergasted and frustrated. I wanted to stand up and scream “No shit, Sherlock!”

With the speed of light, my mind started working. Lenny took one look at me and said, “You’re going to write about this aren’t you?” My answer? Please refer to the previous paragraph.

My frustration comes to this: When did we stop listening to the point where we had to be told simple things? The Netscape article is really a great simple example. How far did they have to dig for those answers? If you are even halfway awake, its common sense to know that your chances of landing her in bed again are GREATLY diminished when you simply roll over and go to sleep. And come on guys…since when has a woman NOT told you what they want in some way, shape, or form about what they’re looking for after hitting the sheets? We are a bit more vocal these days.

We’ve stopped thinking and listening for ourselves and depend way too much on what other people tell us. The loss of independent thinking is greatly disturbing to me. Humans are willing to be led around by media or groups of people we have placed blind faith in. Think about the last time you went to a doctor. How much of that information did you really digest on your own? Probably not a lot of it. Because there was a degree on the wall of the office, you probably figured the doctor knew what they were talking about. They spent 8 years going to medical school – they should know best about your body, right?

But, taking second and third hand information and accepting it as fact is just not a gamble I’m willing to take. Doctors are human. They have been known to make mistakes (like the emergency doctor who sent me home with gall stones).

Parents – you wouldn’t even think of sending your child to a school nowadays without doing some research on it, right? I know parents who visit the potential high schools or colleges with their kids. Their decisions are not based on what their next door neighbor said. Most of time, it’s a combination of many resources and bases of research. In some cases, I’ve seen parents comb the internet for message boards, interview teachers, and even had their kids shadow students for a day.

But these are the same parents, who after all that research, time, and effort – don’t bother to see why their children are failing in school. Oh no, the kids tell them it’s because the teacher sucks. And we all know that kids wouldn’t stoop to tell a lie to get out of trouble, right? Unfortunately, some parents fall for it every single time instead of talking to – oh, I don’t know – the ADULT in the classroom?

Take control of your knowledge, people. Research more than one source. Listen and go with your gut feeling. That more than anything will help you come to a reasonable conclusion. And we need more reasonable conclusion in this world! Far too often, we just sit back and take what’s given to us…and it’s usually news we could have found on our own.

Want to lose weight? Eat less junk food. Want to have a happy marriage? Be honest with each other. Bored with your job? Find a new one that excites you. Want to get good grades? Study more. Want to get a second date? Don’t be a dickhead on the first one.

These aren’t great discoveries. They’re actual things we’ve been doing our entire lives. But because it’s in a glossy magazine or slick website, we think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.

We have all the answers. We just have to believe we’re smart enough to use them.

We Have Better Things to Do, Right?

For whatever reason this past Friday night – the television in our bedroom was turned onto Big Brother After Hours. I guess this is all the “excitement” you miss in the edited 1-hour versions on television. Like all reality television – one stops to view it like a passing car accident. Or in my case, half listen to it because I was folding laundry.

Basically, a girl and guy housemate was on the couch and she was squealing. She was saying something about, “Well, don’t get it all over me!” Her protests were loud enough that I turned to see what was going on. I was shown the female housemate holding up a pillow and blocking her face. Why? Because the male roommate was laying on the couch gleeking at her.

All I could think was: This didn’t get on T.V. on its own…PEOPLE asked for this!

I spent 30-seconds too long looking at the screen and I will never get those seconds back. And then I stayed on, hoping I was wrong about humanity. But no, they moved on from gleeking to counting the bar patterns in the carpet. At that point, I decided to go wash my hair.

My problem with this kind of programming is twofold. First, as a people, we seem to be settling on the equivalent of watching an aquarium and calling it entertainment. Second, and most importantly, we’ve reduced ourselves to the status of a voyeur.

And on that latter topic…we’re not even COOL voyeurs! We’re BORING and EASILY AMUSED voyeurs! We’ll watch anything. At least a Peeping Tom got something provocative out of his sneaking around. We get gleeking! All we have to show for our viewing hunger is YouTube clips of people doing just about anything to become famous. From video diaries of to juvenile pranks like setting off firecrackers near a sleeping friend – we are supposedly drawn to this stuff because it’s about “real people.”

Oh…if that were true it’d probably make the whole Big Brother After Hours thing less bothersome to me!

It all seemed so innocent when it started, didn’t it? Seven strangers got together just to live with each other on an experiment called The Real World in 1992. Sunday nights at my family’s house was filled with child blooper, crotch hitting fun starting in 1989 with America’s Funniest Home Videos. Every week, ordinary people were encouraged to mine their family video moments for the funny things we do in the hopes of winning the $100,000 Grand Prize.

And yes, that’s exactly who all those people were: Real, everyday people just like you and me. Somewhere along the way though – they became “characters” instead of “themselves.” How many times have you watched a reality show lately and categorized the participants as one or more of the following: The Gay One, The Bitch, The Ethnic One, The Innocent, The Good Guy, or The Jerk?

What you’ve just done is commonly known as “casting.” And with the addition of “casting,” you can certainly subtract out the “reality” from the show.

Have we seriously nothing else better to do in our own lives that we have to watch OTHER people live and debase themselves for cash or fame? It seems so hard to draw the line. A funny moment is a funny moment – but at one point do you become a mindless watcher or someone else’s recorded history?

That’s what bothers me the most. By doing something as innocent as watching Big Brother After Hours, we’re feeding into the mentality that you can make a difference in the world by making an ass out of yourself. Or worse off, we watch these clips and shows because we don’t like who we are and long to be someone else. How else to explain our fascination with people like Tila Tequila, and other self-made social networking/internet stars?

I guess the new escapism is forced reality. How sad for us...

I know that the juggernaut that is YouTube or the continuous production of new reality shows post Writer’s Strike really isn’t going to slow down. But it doesn’t mean that I have to settle with whatever is being fed to you. I can only hope that, much like the sweeping revolution of the internet freedom, there comes another revolution of finding ourselves and taking advantage of the technology and programming we have for good.

The sooner we stop feeding the machine – the sooner Big Brother After Hours gets off my damn T.V. set! Gleeking was gross last Friday as it was in 7th grade!

It's Just a Matter of Time

When I was in my early 20’s, I remember hearing the poem ”When I am Old I Will Wear Purple” by Jenny Joseph’s. The poem is an ode to the freedom that old age brings. I remember how cool the poem sounded because it was the words of a woman who was too old to care!

As a younger woman who was still trying to find her place in the world, I found the idea of leading a life where I could spend my money “on brandy and summer gloves and satin sandals.” It would seem you were beholden to no one and you really could just let yourself go! Be scandalous…wear the color of royalty and don a red hat of a racy woman. Live life on your terms and not have to apologize for choices you make.

It was an anthem to me, and countless other women that said “Go ahead, do it! YOU DESERVE TO LEAD THE LIFE YOU WANT!”

But from where I sit now, I look back on Joseph’s poem and say: Why wait to wear purple when I’m old? Why not now?

I get reminded from time to time how life doesn’t stand still or wait for you to get older. The world goes whizzing by every day and at some point you turn around and wonder where the time went. I mean seriously – can you believe it’s April already? Wasn’t it January just yesterday? Time doesn’t wait for us, so why should we wait until it’s almost too late?

A great example about putting things on hold is my ballroom dance class. It took me 6 years to find a class and time to haul Lenny to, but we’re doing it and I think we’re a better couple for doing so! I have lost count how many times I have heard from others, “Wow, my spouse/significant other wish we had started to dance at your age.” And while most of the time it is meant as a compliment to how Lenny and I dance, I feel bad because somehow I think they regret not starting sooner.

Think about it for a moment. How many times in your life have you said out loud, “I’m going [fill in activity here] when I get older?” I’m not sure what the heck we are waiting for! We always seem to come up with excuses as to why we can’t do certain things. Worse off, we always seem to make the excuses sound like we’re martyring ourselves for a higher cause.

Think about something you REALLY REALLY want to do. Now think about how many of these excuses you have used to NOT do it: It costs too much. Oh, it’s so far away. I don’t even know where to begin. I’d totally embarrass myself or my family. I don’t want to go by myself. I have work. I’ll have time when I’m older. I’m too busy. It’s only a dream. I’m scared.

Instead of waiting for your golden years to wreck havoc on the world by wearing purple, we should be heed the words of gypsy punk rockers, Gogol Bordello:

“Start wearing purple wearing purple (da da da da da)
Start wearing purple for me now
All your sanity and wits they will all vanish
I promise, it's just a matter of time...”

We are never too young to start wearing purple, so to speak, because eventually, we’ll all be too old to do anything. If we’re all headed in the same direction, then there is no point in delaying it. We’re born, we live life, we get older, and we die.

It all seems pointless to save everything for the end when we could be wallowing in joy right now. Can we really afford to “wait until we’re older?” If you are reasonably secure financially and (more importantly) in yourself, there really is no excuse to put your life on hold. We should be out there living every day like it is our last. Waiting until we’re older just seems like a waste of time.

I’m pretty sure Jenny Joseph’s intent in writing “When I am Old…” was to let us know that we all eventually control our own destiny and happiness. And while that is very true – we definitely shouldn’t be putting that control on a late time table.

Never too early to wear a purple top people!

	Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Exercising the Body and the Mind

When I hit the weight loss track two years ago, I had no clue what I was in for. No one mentioned that I would always worry if I was doing enough exercise. No one cautioned me that calorie count WOULD ALWAYS sit at the back of my head, even if I wasn’t counting them. And for sure, NO ONE prepared me for the fact that I’d STILL be in the same pants size two years later.

Lately, it’s been really tough to stay the course. When I look in the mirror, I still cannot see this “change” everyone around me seems to noticing. The scale isn’t moving downward as fast as I think it should. While working out, I have become frustrated because everything still hurts and I’m still stuck in “basic moves” after 6-months of class attendance. Meanwhile, everyone around me seems to be dropping pounds and sizes by just thinking it.

It’s all pretty damn frustrating if you ask me.

Not only must you deal with yourself, but everyone around you as well. To the outside looking in, they don’t understand why I would feel so frustrated. I’m losing weight – isn’t that what matters? I guess I really can’t be mad at them though. They probably have no clue as to what I’m feeling because I haven’t opened my mouth about it. And when I do open my mouth, it just feels so patronizing when someone nods their head and pats my hand saying that they understand my frustration.

Deep down I want to scream: YOU DON’T! YOU REALLY HAVE NO CLUE!

I should feel more gratification at this point in the process. But why do I feel like it isn’t enough anymore? I started out wanting to get healthier and if I happened to lose some weight, then great! Last week I ended up chucking a skirt at my bedroom wall because it didn’t fit (despite being my regular size). The gap between the aspirations of losing weight and the realities of doing it is very wide and I wasn’t sure how to traverse it until just recently.

I picked up this book at Borders on Friday in their sales bin. I’m maybe only a quarter of the way through it – but I’m thoroughly enjoying Wendy McClure’s I’m Not the New Me. McClure’s memoir, according to writer Jennifer Weiner, is “A brave, bittersweet look at weight, loss, and elusive happy endings.”

McClure (a former size 22) really dives into her personal experience and examines the most important lesson about weight loss: It’s not just the physical that affects you, but the emotional as well. Media today makes losing weight sound so easy. As a well-meaning family member once told me, “Just eat less and exercise more.” If it were that easy – everyone would be doing it! But as I’ve demonstrated so far…it definitely is NOT that easy.

Regardless, what I’ve read so far from McClure makes me feel a little better. And a little is better than none. Losing weight is a daunting process and no amount of bullying (from yourself or others) is going to get you through it. There will be setbacks and things NEVER go as fast as you believe they will.

Oh, and it’s totally okay to be jealous of those skinny bitches who can shop anywhere.

But most importantly, it’s given me a clearer picture of my “Fat Girl Reality.” Getting down to that goal size or weight isn’t the end of the story. Not only will you give up the weight, but you will lose things within yourself that you may have to find again. And at no time, should I ever have to justify my self-esteem issues. I have a right to feel bad some of the time because what I have chosen to do is VERY difficult.

I’m hoping that having found something in McClure’s story that I can relate to will help me out of my weight loss funk. In the bigger picture, I hope it makes me more aware of myself and the plight of others in the same boat. No longer can I just plow through my three days of workout hoping for the miracle.

My heart can be in it all it wants…but without my head, my body isn’t going to go very far.

BrownSuga's sweet spot: ABC Weekends

ABC Weekends



I’ve seen this book a few times while at my local bookstore but I finally picked it up last week. Now I will preface this with the book itself isn’t all that great. The IDEA behind the book (a.k.a the plot) is what attracted me to the book.

The basic idea behind the book is: There is a guy who believes him and his best friend would make the perfect couple. She on the other hand doesn’t think so. So he asks her to spend 26 weekends with him doing an activity that begins with each letter of the alphabet. And he feels that by the letter Z she will agree that they belong together.

I also read today an article listing a few things women should do while single and some of the ideas mimicked things I’ve added to my list. But here is a link to the article read it. Single- Girl things to do before you marry

Now I’m not looking to convince anyone that we should be together but I have given myself a year’s test to see if I’m “all talk”. I’ve been blaming others for things I’m not doing and that’s not fair. So to see if it’s really their fault (i.e. they are holding me back) or it’s my own fault I’ve started a list of 26 things I want to do within the next year and if I can at least do half of them I’ll feel accomplished. So below is my list. I’m missing some letters send me suggestions for any letter!!!! Or help me choose between the choices.

A. (Acting workshop, aerobics, abseiling, arcade, amusement park)
B. Baseball game (NY Yankees)
C. Camping
D. Dancing lessons (salsa)
E. Eagles (football game)
F. Feist concert
G.
H. Hiking/Hockey Game
I.
J. Jazz bar/concert
K.
L. Language lessons
M. Massage
N. New Hampshire
O.
P. Parasailing
Q. (quidditch?)
R.
S. Scuba diving
T. Traveling
U.
V. Vineyard
W. Waxing
X. X-games
Y.
Z. Zoo