Author: Shawn

Posted on

Take what you can get

[Originally posted on shawnbakken.blogspot.com]

Okay, so I’m still trying to figure out how to regain the content of my old blog, get it reposted… just get shawnbakken.com running again. Since that doesn’t seem to be an option, this’ll have to do for now. I may have lost a whooooole bunch of people who used to check it out—it’s only been, what, five weeks since the site disappeared? And because I didn’t know the nature of the beast, I couldn’t warn them ahead of time where they should look in the future. Sucks to be me, huh?

But I’m rambling (which is pretty much what you can expect from me a lot of the time). Suffice it to say that until shawnbakken.com is online again, this is the best I can do to keep the legacy alive! … Or at least keep something on the web for public consumption, because Yahoo 360 and Myspace have a limited accessibility. (Actually, that was kinda nice for preventing my family from snooping on me. It’s kind of annoying to write “This is what happened” or use potty-mouth words like “shit” and “fuck”—not that I ever use those words—and then get grilled about it a couple hours later.)

So this is it, folks. This is what we’re all stuck with when you watch the show replaying on MTV and need to ask me why I didn’t know a second disease you can get from ticks. Thus, until further notice: Welcome to my home.

Posted on

Does the end loom near?

I hope not, but the web provider I’ve been using is moving over the weekend and plans on jacking up its prices to $150 a month. If that’s the case, my friend (who’s running the server) will probably decide the fun we get out of our blogs isn’t very cost-effective. Can’t say that I blame him, so unless you all want to sell lots of boxes of Girl Scout cookies for us in the next couple weeks, shawnbakken.com may disappear by March 1st.

If it does, hey, we still had fun. Glad I could bring a little joy and happiness into all of your lives. … Most of your lives. … At least some of your lives. … One of you? … Glad I could get a couple laughs out of it for my own sake. Hope to keep talking to you real soon.

Posted on

S3, Episode 7: Echoes of the past

During Seasons 1 and 2, the editors revealed the evil people’s softer sides. Richard wasn’t as much of an obnoxious smartass and Cher seemed to genuinely care about and support her teammate. Naturally, those sides were there before; they just weren’t shown on the screen. Cecille… no softer side. Why? She doesn’t have a softer side.

I don’t think it means anything that Cecille and Nate were dancing and singing inside while Scooter and Megan spent their time outdoors, but I would have preferred doing the latter.

If you want to look cool while hip-hop dancing, forget about t-shirts that say, “If sexy is wrong, I don’t want to be right”—go with the plaid shorts and argyle socks. Totally.

“Hey, we’re ‘So Long Princess’—we do college concerts, weddings, bar mitzvahs and national TV!”

“Okay, Scooter, it’s 293-0. Want to stop for another water break?” I say she should have thrown a point to help him feel better about himself, but then I thought about him tackling sheep and decided that was a pretty good self-confidence booster right there.

Mmmm, hiking… All I wonder is if I would have puked before or after our awesome meal with the gorgeous view looking down on the city.

I remember being at the mansion towards the end and thinking I was still in it for the experience and the money was just a number off in the distance. Nice to know that Nate felt the same way: the number was off in the distance and Cecille needed to learn from the experience.

I feel bad for Piao, Tori and Sanjay. Because the final elimination ended so quickly, those three never got the chance to stand in front of the group and say, “Nate, you’re awesome, but CeCe’s a bitch, so I choose Scooter and Megan.” (Remember what I said about payback a couple weeks ago? Andrea must have been thrilled.)

In her final interview, Cecille said that any beauty who thought she could learn anything from her geek was just stupid. After watching the final episode, I can guarantee that she learned one of two things from Nate: self-sacrifice or sabotage.

Posted on

Love is in the air…

February 14th. A day of love, a day of passion, a day of sexual frustration. The biggest day of the year for people who sell flowers, chocolate, pink and red cards so bright they make your eyes water even when you’re not looking at them. And also a big day for bars, where people order large quantities of beer, multiple shots of Jagermeister, the occasional glass of water to make sure there’s more than alcohol draining from their systems when they urinate. Yep, there are people who like to celebrate with their loved ones and there are people who want to jump up on tables and cry out, “Fuck Valentine’s Day!”

So I started thinking about it: is one really the loneliest number? Sure, if you’ve got two of something, they can keep each other company. If you’ve got none, then there’s nothing to feel lonely. But isn’t that a limited conception of “one”? I mean, if you’ve got a group of 37,145,982 people, that’s one group. Does that mean the group is lonely? But if another person joins the crowd and it swells to 37,145,983, then everyone’s happy and no longer lonely. Except now there’s one group of… ah, forget it. Fuck Valentine’s Day!

(Aside from all that, if you’re reading this blog entry and want some Shawn love, I’ve got enough to share with everyone. Just don’t expect any flowers.)