Ratings, Races...and Races (you'll see)

So now that the new tv season has started, I'm struggling to maintain 2 existences...the previous life where I Tivo'd everything on the planet and spent every day doing nothing but watching tv with Emily...and my new and improved life, where I actually get off my ass and do fun things all the time. In fact, I've recently promised myself I would give myself some more "down time", just relaxing and doing various Zen-like activities. But alas, there are so many good tv shows! Shit, what do I do. I've made a decision. I will watch only really important shows, like Amazing race and Alias. Now before I get started in the unfortunate irony and hilarity in last night's premiere of Amazing Race, I must say...I realize there is still a ratings competition among networks even during a disaster like the recent hurricanes, but I feel that it's getting a bit out of control. Media is playing the American public like a harp with this disaster stuff, doing whatever they can to get better ratings. I'm just waiting for ABC to begin their coverage each day with Hank Williams, Jr. singing "Are you ready for some FEMA!" And if I see G.W. or Dick Cheney "surveying the damage" one more time I'm gonna throw up. Like he gives a rats ballsack. Dick Cheney is the last person they need in a disaster area. Medics are so busy with him they hardly have time for the victims.
I digress.
So back to Amazing Race. For those of you that saw this latest season opener, the "Family Edition", where teams of four are continuously screaming and yelling at each other, then I'm sure you noticed the most obvious piece of entertainment in the whole show.....that's right, the one and only one black family on the show. And I'm not saying they were funny because they were black, I'm saying they were funny because their last name BLACK. Now this would be mildly comical on its own (albeit somewhat racist), however the issue that arose was that CBS needs a way to show you which family is which as the race goes along. They do this by constantly putting a caption up when they show that particular family. The caption gives the name of the family, along with the makup of the team (e.g. The Aiello Family- Father, Mother, son and daughter). Well you see where I'm going with this. Throughout the show, you would see at the bottom of the screen, "The Black Family". Well we just thought this was the funniest thing since MC Hammer pants. But if you think about it, there's really no better way to identify the family. I thought about changing the phrasing to "The Aiellos" and "The Paolos", but then they would just be "The Blacks", and thats even worse. So there they were the whole show with that caption under them. Then at the end when (WARNING: SPOILER COMING UP) they came in last place and were eliminated, the host (Phil for those of you in the know) had to address them and tell them in a very somber tone that they had lost...."Black family...I'm sorry to tell you that you've been eliminated". How do you do that with a straight face!? I give him tons of credit just for that. Ok I'm off to try and reinstall everything on my laptop, as the system restore CD's finally came in the mail from shitty-ass horrible ball-sucking IBM customer service. Wish me luck.