I'm so underwhelmed by most reality TV series, I forgot to check in on The Bachelor last night, so I missed 2004 Miss Tampa Erin Gardner getting her walking papers on Monday's show.

Watching my TiVo-ed episode this afternoon, I was reminded why watching the show is such an ordeal. It's basically a long courtship ritual among a host of vapid, pretty people, and there's so many slap-your-head moments, that my brain gets sore before an episode's end.

On Monday, that moment came when one of the contestants fell down the stairs and needed to be taken to hospital for treatment. The accident wasn't shown much onscreen -- footage from a camera rushing to the stairs and then footage of ambulance workers carrying out the contestant.

Because I know the show, I could guess why the scene was so vague: Drink flows freely at these reality show tapings, and I wouldn't be surprised if the contestant's tumble was alcohol related, though I have no proof (to add to the head-slapping factor, when the contestant called the Bachelor from the hospital, a competitor said "I wanted to know how she got his phone number." Umm...maybe the producers? Who wanted a touching moment onscreen? Because you're in a highly-manipulated reality show?)

Sigh.

Later, the contestants pick one among their number to rip apart, backbiting one girl because she brought her book of modeling shots to the contest (like a child, the gossiped-about girl flees crying to a friend). As if every other women there isn't thinking about her modeling career, the bachelor's money or some combination thereof. It's 2007 ladies; everybody does reality shows to help their career.

At least, with the Florida  ladies gone, I don't have to watch this crap anymore.

Me and a Few Times Pals Win at the Florida Press Club Awards

I feel guilty mentioning this, because I didn't tout wins for my friends this year in the much more prestigious American Association of Sunday Features Editors competition or the Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting or the Paul Hansell Award.   

But I did win two awards in this year's Florida Press Club awards contest, so I'm gonna at least mention them here.

My first place award, for Minority News reporting, was for three stories which included this piece I did on racial identity and Barack Obama, which I'm proud of. And I'm pretty sure that it also included this piece I did on the fear some hip hop fans have that the music they love may be destroying black culture.

Can't remember the other stuff I entered and I don't know what my colleagues submitted. Still, here's the list of Times wins.

MINORITY NEWS
Class A
1st Place: Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times
2nd Place: Dave Breitenstein, The News-Press
3rd Place: Seth Robbins, Daytona Beach News-Journal