Steve Wozniak probably isn’t long for the Dancing With The Stars world, but I think his amazingly upbeat attitude sends the world a much-needed message.

Living in a world focused on overachievement - where I see parents freaking out over academically rigorous preschools (whatever the hell that means) and drilling their kids with extracurriculars - there was something so pure and refreshing about The Woz’s joy last night. Yes, he’s an uber achiever professionally, but there’s something to be said for the manner in which he is embracing something that clearly does not come naturally or particularly well to him. At one point, in the face of the judges’ criticism, Wozniak said something along the lines of, “How can this feel disappointing? I get to dance with Karina Smirnoff. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Credit: People.com

That simple statement stopped me in my tracks. Because for as much as I bristle against the overachieving tide and encourage Laurel (and myself!) to try new things for fun – not mired with worries of perfection or what it means for the future – I know that deep down I still have some work to do there. For example, a few weeks ago I had the ridiculously fun opportunity to sit down and interview Olympic figure skaters Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, after which I was invited to hit the ice for their skating clinic.

I did, in fact, have my skates in the car (I’ve only been out a handful of times with Laurel, but we had such a blast that I bought a pair) but I was paralyzed by the prospect of getting on the ice. I rationalized to myself that I didn’t want to cut into the clinic time of the others at the rink, and to some degree that was true, but likely the bigger issue was that I didn’t want to make a complete ass of myself in front of Tanith and Ben. Or that I didn’t want to be the worst skater amidst the (um, 3-6 year old) beginners group.

Undoubtedly, that was my once in a lifetime opportunity to skate with Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto and I missed the fun in the face of fear. It makes my brain hurt thinking about how idiotic that is! But thanks to gleaning wisdom from Steve’s attitude, if provided a similar opportunity (or anything else fun and possibly embarrassing, for that matter) in the future, I won’t hold back.

As I wrote here and here, I’ve already been obsessing about the Dancing With The Stars lineup, and now Jewel and Nancy O’Dell (both injured) will be replaced by Holly Madison (of Girls Next Door fame) and the chick who got ditched on The Bachelor.

This all intrigues me for several reasons:

1. I’ve written before that Hugh Hefner totally freaks me out. And after watching a few episodes of Girls Next Door a while back, I started feeling rather sympathetic for Holly Madison. She always tried to be bubbly and perky but I swear, during those episodes where she and Hef were looking over photos of candidates for the anniversary issue, the sadness on her face was palpable.

2. I don’t watch The Bachelor but reading my Twitter feed during the finale was freakin’ unreal. I almost was tempted to tune in, but was fairly certain I might start throwing things at the TV. And our TV is already sorta broken.

3. So unless DWTS was organized enough to have understudies in the wings (unlikely I think), how the hell are Holly and the other chick going to hang with the folks who have been rehearsing 6+ hours a day for weeks already? I guess the judges will probably give them leeway, but at any rate, it will be interesting to see how this spectacle pans out.

Oh, TV! I’ve been away from you for a long, long time but I’m ready to come back.

I wrote a few weeks ago about how Dancing With the Stars has figured out a way for there to be a little something for everyone roster-wise. People.com recently unveiled their Season 8 Pair Photos and I’m even more intrigued. What can I say — I’m a sucker for spectacle.

I know I’m biased towards gymnastics, but how adorable yet grownup does Shawn Johnson look? And actually, now I wonder how tall Mark Ballas is. Shawn’s little, and even in a knees bent position the height match looks good. Actually, it would make sense if he was on the shorter side, and subsequently gets matched with smaller contestants, since he was paired with Kristi Yamaguchi.

And is it just me or is it really apparent that Steve Wozniak refused to wear a blingy costume? Though maybe it was a big deal for him to wear a pink button down… Hope he cuts loose on the dance floor!

Image credit: People.com