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barack

2008-02-06T00:16:00.000-05:00

Can't tell you how much I love this guy after tonight.

"WE are the ones we've been waiting for."

i [heart] you joey joe

2008-01-29T01:24:00.001-05:00

There was a rumor this week that the New Kids on the Block may be staging a reunion tour, a rumor that Danny Wood denied on his MySpace page. That being said, NKOTB.com seems to have a new song from the band on its home page so who the hell knows. But man, I hope it's true!!!!!!

Anyways, in looking for NKOTB info, I found this blog that someone runs called NKOTB are Still Kicking Ass and it's all about the members of the band still kicking ass! Yeah! But then...well, I found a scary entry. It had photos of a girl's room plastered with New Kids posters and well, my first reaction was "Wow! That looks just like my old room! And her posters are even closer together than mine!" And then I realized I was jealous that her room looked more like "New Kids wallpaper" than my room in which you could still tell what color the walls were. :( That being said, I was able to identify at least 15 posters/centerfolds/pin-ups in her room that I also owned. I can't believe I still remember that.

So this of course brings up a crazy question: what band would you go see if they reunited? Now, I'm not talking about the Beatles or something -- everyone has to be alive for one. I'm talking about that band you loved when you were a kid that you would pay to see for nostalgia's sake now that you have your own paycheck to spend and don't need your parents to drive you to the arena. 'N Sync? New Edition? Wham? Ohhhh....Wham! That would be sweet. Or are you one of those Smiths fans that want to see them back together even though that's not going to ever happen because of the animosity among the former members? Comment with your band so we can all point and laugh at you.

wikit: bobby fischer

2008-01-22T02:13:00.001-05:00

Last week, Bobby Fischer died and since he is an elusive pop culture icon, I figured I should mention him. So here are some weird facts about Bobby Fischer from Wikipedia.

-- only American to win the World Chess Championship
-- beat a Soviet chess player at the height of the Cold War. Nifty.
-- had his US passport revoked after playing in Yugoslavia, going against an UN embargo
-- was half-Jewish but an anti-Semite near the end of his life
-- lived in St. Louis for a few years before moving to Brooklyn

But really, the reason I'm posting this is because I told someone at the office that we should post an MP3 of "One Night in Bangkok" to go along with the story and he had no clue what I was talking about. How can you not know I'm referring to a song from the musical Chess that was written by the Bs part of ABBA?

Yes, I am a geek. Why do you ask?

So here you go everyone. Enjoy some Murray Head. I think I downloaded the original musical version because it has a bit of a long instrumental intro.

Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok

lady liberty

2008-01-22T01:58:00.001-05:00

When I was six year old, I went as the Statue of Liberty for Halloween. Swear to God and it was sweet! My mom made me a robe with stars on the bottom, then wrapped a flash light and a crown from Burger King in tin foil. Let it never be said that my mom rocked!

I bring this up because apparently they destroy the Statue of Liberty in the new movie Cloverfield. I say "apparently" because I've been warned by two people to not go see it. That being said, Maxim did a whole thing about five movies that manged the lovely lady. I would rather link you to the discussion on Oh No They Didn't because Maxim? Really? Exactly.

My favorite Statue movie moment is below. I mean, the Ghostbusters, pink slime, and the Statue of Liberty. What could be better?

wikit: a day that will live in infamy

2008-01-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

On this date in 1920, a very very sad thing happened: Prohibition started.

Ah, the 18th amendment of the Constitution. I hardly knew you. Actually, I never knew you considering you're the only amendment to ever get repealed because you were stupid.

Let me explain it this way: My law abiding Catholic grandfather, God bless his soul, used to make moonshine in his bathtub during Prohibition. When you criminalize alcohol, it's only the criminals who have it I guess.

Now, I will admit that yes, there are bad people who don't drink in moderation or drive drunk or don't feel the need to have a properly functioning liver. But for those of us who are responsible drunks, I say screw you, 18th amendment!

So everyone have a drink tonight and make sure you make a toast to the awesomely amazing 21st amendment.

Btw, here's a picture of prescription form in case you had to get a prescription for medicinal liquor. Medicinal liquor? And I thought California was crazy for having medicinal marajuana. Apparently, there are alot of things out there that are good for you after all.

the boring but cool awards

2008-01-14T02:56:00.001-05:00

Because of the writers' strike, which you all should be supporting, the Golden Globe Awards this year consisted of a boring half-hour long press conference. Good thing about this: totally short awards. Bad thing about this: not enough drunk people. Seriously, the Golden Globes is all about the open bar and watching celebrities get their awards at the end of the night while being totally drunk. Or, you know, stuck in the bathroom as one winner did a few years ago.

At least Mary Hart is still looking good after all these years. I think it's plastic surgery, Aaron thinks it's just good genes. Maybe she's got some Dorian Grey-type portrait in her office at Entertainment Tonight or something.

As for the awards themselves, I give them an "eh" for being blah. First, the only Office nomination was for Steve Carell as best actor and he lost to David Duchovny. What the hell is this -- 1999? Not that I'm complaining considering David is making a new X Files movie and is easy on the eyes. But other than that, I just don't know. I read Ian McEwan's book Atonement a few years ago and didn't much care for it so I don't plan on seeing the movie so who cares if it won best drama? I may have to see Sweeney Todd now at the theater and same with Mad Men on my Tivo.

But other than that, I'm surprised I missed making fun of drunk people in hideous dresses. I thought I was less superficial than that. Apparently not.

the sci fi nerd in me is revealed

2008-01-09T17:32:00.001-05:00

Entertainment Weekly did a list of the top 25 sci fi shows and movies of the past 25 years. I thought I would check ou the list and realized that I love about half of the stuff on it. Crazy! I mean, a 30-year-old woman should not be this in love with stuff on the list, right? But then, when some of you see the list, I think you would agree that it's hard to not love some of these things. Among the shows/movies:

-- Back to the Future -- I had such a crush on Michael J. Fox back in the '80s. Mmm...Alex P. Keaton. Plus, who didn't want a DeLorean after that movie? That car still looks damn cool all these years later.

-- ET -- Damn, did I love that movie! I remember my parents actually taking me to that one way back in the day. I'm going to have to put this movie on my Netflix list so I can see it again. After all, who doesn't love an alien that eats M&Ms and gets drunk?

-- The Matrix -- As the article mentions, the second and third movies in this trilogy were disappointing, but that first flim in 1999 was so amazing and proved to some nay-sayers out there why I loved Keanu Reeves so much.

-- Lost -- Can't wait for the new season to start. Of course, I always sit back at the end of every episode, bewildered, and say "What the fuck was that about?" But isn't that half the fun?

-- Firefly [tv] and Serenity [movie] -- This has become a recent love of mine and I can't wait for this writers' strike to be over so I can buy the DVDs for both the show and the movie. I decided to watch this show because I love Adam Baldwin on the show Chuck and he's also in this series. Between him and Nathan Fillion, there's plenty of eye candy for the ladies out there, but it really is a good show content-wise as well.

-- The X-Files -- Oh Mulder and Scully, how I love thee. To see I'm totally geeked for the new movie is an understatement. Plus, did you know they've released the entire series on DVD in one big box set? I saw it on sale at Costco and started salivating.

So fess up -- what are your favorite shows and movies on this list? And what do you think they ignored that you want on there?

chuckles

2008-01-04T00:59:00.001-05:00

Alright, so one of my New Year's resolution this year is to write more on this blog and since I've been getting crap from some of you, I guess I have no other choice, eh?

Has anyone else been feeling the pain of the writer's strike? Yeah, me too. My poor shows that aren't on the air because of some greedy bastards that own the networks and have way too much money. I'll write more about why you should support the WGA later.

In the meantime, let's celebrate one of my missing shows. You should all be watching Chuck and the funny thing is that it turns out some of you actually are watching the show. I was back East for break and talking to my cousins and at least two of them love this show as much as I do. Yeah! So what's it about? Basically, this guy's brain turns into a super computer when he downloads a bunch of classified information into it. So he's now a guy making $6 at the Buy More [like Best Buy] as a Nerd Herder [think Geek Squad] and yet has to be protected by the CIA and NSA because of the info he knows.

Chuck is played by Zachary Levi and he's absolutely awesome! You all need to check out this show for him alone. In addition, there's an amazing supporting cast that really makes this show cool. Plus, they blew up a car three blocks from my apartment for the last episode of the season...so far. How can a show like that be bad?

headline stupidity

2007-09-20T12:50:00.001-05:00

I love reading the New York Times, but sometimes even the Times goes a little wacky. Here's the front page headline for this story: MTA Failed During Flood, Report Says. Really? The subway flooded and people couldn't use it, so the people who run the subway failed? Wow. That's some awesome reporting there, New York Times. [end sarcasm]

By the way, this reminded me of the time they had a huge fire in a subway station in Lower Manhattan a few years after 9/11. We were supposed to have a safer subway system, you know, because of terrorists and stuff. Despite that, apparently a homeless person's shopping cart caught on fire and shut down the entire C line for months. Good job, MTA.

Sometimes, I don't mind having to deal with traffic on the 405 if I don't have to deal with these crazy people.

vma train wreck

2007-09-10T19:31:00.001-05:00

Every year, I watch the MTV Video Music Awards hoping this year will be different. This year is going to be better than last year. This is the year that MTV will prove that all those past horrible shows were just a fluke.

Every year, I am proven wrong.

Seriously, the whole show last night was a train wreck and you knew things weren't going to be good when Britney Spears opened the show. Her "comeback" performance was awful. She half-assed the singing, the dancing, the wardrobe, and the hair weave/wig on her head. The only good thing about the performance was her make-up. I don't know who her make-up artist was, but if that person had been in charge of that entire performance, it probably wouldn't have been the debacle it was.

People, if you make a comeback during your career, you should follow in the footsteps of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. Now, THAT was a comeback! Britney's crappy gyrating and horrible lip syncing? Not so much.

Did anyone else watch this horrid awards show? The only good thing about it was when Justin Timberlake performed at the end. I mean, Justin was awesome last night! He was the only one.

rated s because it sucked

2007-09-10T19:14:00.001-05:00

So the motion picture board watches movies and then decides what to rate them. The thing is sometimes they give a certain reason for the rating. Most times, this would be normal. But there are occasions when it's bizarre. Alien vs. Predator got a PG-13 for slime and Twister got a PG-13 for "intense depiction of very bad weather" [scary!]. I still sometimes movies need to be given a rating to warn people that the movie is crap and you shouldn't see it. Like Glitter or Gigli or something. Those movies need special ratings just for the scariness of them.

trip across us part two

2007-08-30T00:41:00.000-05:00

So here is Part One from a month ago. Sorry it took so long to finish this story. And even with this, it's not done!

After Colby, Kansas, it was more of the same -- nothing. I thought that when we would cross into Colorado, it would magically change and be awesome. Yeah, that didn't happen, although we did see the magical sign that told us the speed limit there was 75 mph. Yeah, no joke. Finally, though, we could see something on the horizon. The Denver Airport! Yeah! People! The drive through Denver wasn't too bad, but once we got into the mountains, things were a little hairy. It's definitely not easy driving in the mountains and if you don't get a good run up a hill, you're screwed for about a mile as you try to get up to speed. On the other hand, if you're going down a hill, you just have to ride it out so you don't burn out your brakes or get hit by the truck behind you who is also riding it out. Our Garmin keeps track of several things, including our fastest speed, and I think I hit our high speed of 85 while going down a mountain.

We finally made it to Vail and met my parents at the condo. It was the first time Aaron had been out there so it was good to finally have him along for a trip. My sister and her boyfriend had arrived a few days earlier so the six of us – parents, Aaron and me, sister and boyfriend – headed out to dinner that night at our favorite restaurant in town. My dad is turning 60 in August so we decided to do an early dinner with all of us in celebration. Lots of fun and totally yummy as always!

The next morning, Alix left bright and early at 5 a.m. Blech. But being the good sister that I am, I woke up to send her off…then promptly headed back to bed. After getting the whole gang up and ready – again – we headed for the mountain. Vail has a gondola that runs up the mountain in the winter for all the skiers, but in the summer, you can also ride it up and either hike around the top of the mountain or hike down. We decided to just stick to the top, forgetting that there were some uphill climbs that were not fun. Mom and I gave up early and headed back to relax in the shade and take in the view. Aaron and my dad kept chugging along and even got as far as the Game Creek Bowl chairlift, which not only was quite an impressive hike, but is also the chairlift we favor when we hit the slopes. Apparently, Aaron does, too. Here’s proof.That night, we had dinner in nearby Avon and then waited for the fireworks…and waited…and waited. Aaron got pretty bored, I got yelled at by “security” for breaking into a roped-off area to use the Porti-Potty [it wasn’t roped off when I went in], and I was denied cotton candy by my dad…well, and the long lines. At least the fireworks rocked!

The next day we headed out to Vail for the cheesy Fourth of July parade, which was a bit of fun but also a bit of a walk. We ended seeing some very old neighbors from way back when I was a kid and laughed at the pageant mom who was chiding Ms. Little Vail Valley [estimated age: five] on how to properly way to the crowd. I was laughing, yes, but it was quite disturbing. Then Aaron and I decided to go on a date and headed to the Transformers movie in nearby Edwards. I actually enjoyed the movie, but we got there an hour early to buy tickets and no one was there. I mean, biggest movie of the summer, lines out the door in NYC, and we had no problem buying tickets at the only movie theater in a ten-mile radius showing the flick. How embarassing. After that, it was dinner with the parents and home. And then instead of the ordeal we had in Avon, we watched the fireworks from the condo. Much better.

Bright and early the next morning, we drove to Piney Lake, a 15-mile drive on a dirt road. It was totally worth it. Look at this scenery!
We did some hiking and Aaron ran ahead because there were too many bugs. He was trying to swat them away and kept losing the battle. It was so cute. After that, we had lunch and then the two of us rented a canoe to take around. We actually did a great job with the canoe – never tipped it – and made it back just in time to miss the rain.
By then, we were all a bit beat so we headed home. On the way back, the car in front of us slammed on its brakes and we couldn’t figure out why. Turns out there was a moose with a baby on the side of the road. We’ve never seen moose back there before so it was a great treat.
We saw another one a little later as it bounded across the road in front of us. The thing was as big as a horse, but really agile and just seemed to hop on by. Crazy.

But back home we had to go to pack for our drive the next day. We had a lot of road ahead of us and many, many hours before we got to Vegas. As we pulled out of Vail, Alice chimed “Stay on I-70 for 212 miles.” Ugh. Thanks, Alice, you stupid GPS lady.

california rocks my world

2007-08-09T16:25:00.001-05:00

Last night, I was up at 12:58 surfing the Web when I felt a jolt and my desk shook. Weird. So I called to Aaron in the next room, "Did you feel that?" And just as I saw him walk into the living room, the apartment started shaking. We both kind of hovered in the doorway of the bedroom until the second shake subsided. Turns out California welcomed us with open arms by giving us a nice little earthquake. Lovely. It didn't seem very nice or little to me, but most Californians are saying it wasn't that bad. Um...the earth moving below you isn't that bad? Good thing I haven't hung up my shot glasses yet.

The U.S. Geological Survey has a cool Web site that updates instantly with earthquakes, which is where we checked first. The big square on this chart is what we felt. We're just south of Santa Monica on the map.

celebrity sightings

2007-08-09T15:48:00.001-05:00

So I can officially say I've made it in LA now that I've had a celebrity sighting of mine posted on Defamer's Privacy Watch. My friend Heidi took Aaron and I out in her neighborhood and we were apparently are very cool because celebrities followed us in! First, Jason Segel from How I Met Your Mother, then Mandy Moore, and then Vince Vaughn. Vince Vaughn! I'm that cool.

Last night, I went to the Arclight in Hollywood to see Hairspray [and sing along with the words at the bottom of the screen]. It turns out that they were hosting the premiere of The 11th Hour there last night, which is Leo DiCaprio's documentary about global warming. I didn't see Leo, but I did see Adrian Grenier from Entourage. Man, that guy is definitely hotter in person. Like really hot!

So yeah, I'm awesome...or a starfucker. One of the two. And by starfucker, I mean hanging around celebrities, not actually...you know. I have a husband for that.

sunny day

2007-08-02T02:47:00.001-05:00

Sweeping the clouds away...Does anyone else remember that song? Yep, it's the theme song to Sesame Street and the 38th season of the show is starting this month. Yikes! I remember watching this show as a kid so that makes me feel old. Anyway, the premiere is going to include all kinds of celebrities from Rachael Ray to James Blunt. Plus, Anderson Cooper is going to be reporting for Grouch Network News from a garbage can. I don't care if Anderson smells like trash, he's still hot. Oh, Anderson!

So here's where we all travel down memory lane. Does anyone have a favorite episode of Sesame Street? My favorite was when everyone found out that Snuffulupagus [spelled it right the first time!] was real. That episode features Phil Donahue as a guest. There was also the one where Mr. Hooper died and I learned about death, which they made seem really nice. So what were all of yours?

And holy crap! So I did a search for the Sesame Street Christmas Special on YouTube and Ethel Merman and Michael Jackson were in the special. No joke! I think that's also the part where Bert and Ernie meet O. Henry.

mom pants

2007-08-01T22:25:00.001-05:00

You know those unflattering pants that your mom wears? The ones with the pleats in the front and the zipper that goes all the way to her navel? Yeah, well, I think Kate Holmes Cruise is wearing those pants in this picture. And even worse, there are pleats in the back, too! Luckily, it seems dlisted agrees with me and also posted a few more of these pictures so you can see just how bad they are.

This reminded me of the Mom Jeans commercial that aired a few years ago on Saturday Night Live. You all know what Mom Jeans are and you all know that moms who forget all fashion sense wear them. They are not nice things to be wearing, people. Pleats, long zippers, and elastic waist bands should not be encouraged. In fact, I told my husband a few years ago that if I ever walked in wearing Mom Jeans, he had every right to tell me to take them off and burn them immediately. I just need to know that I have someone watching out for me in case this happens.

And by the way, who dresses their child in a Burberry dress? That thing probably cost $300 and you know it's going to get kid goop all over it.

harry, pot her

2007-07-30T14:36:00.000-05:00

How come the British adult covers always look so cool? I want those now! Anyway...

So I know you all have finished reading the last Harry Potter book and loved it as much as I did. But we all know there were still a few unanswered questions. The good news is that JK Rowling actually answered a few of them in a live chat through Bloomsbury, her UK publisher. Among the revelations? Dumbledore saw his family in the Mirror of Erised, she changed her mind about having someone do magic late in life, Lockhart is still mental, and Harry is gay. OK, not the last one, but everything else is true.

In other news, someone took the Harry Potter audio book and edited it to sound...well...let's just say that Harry isn't as innocent as we all thought he was. Be aware that this YouTube video link contains not safe for work material -- really not safe for work -- but it's totally awesome. You can hear it here.

trip across the US, part one

2007-07-20T01:10:00.001-05:00

OK, so I started writing this and it's more than 2000 words and not even done. So I'm going to break this up and hope you all enjoy!

Where to begin? Try Bloomington, Indiana where, after the movers packed us up and we scoured the place cleaned, our apartment management company felt the need to mark everything as "Not Clean". Bitches.

And with that, we started our long trek across the country. We bought a Garmin GPS thing we named Alice, who was nice enough to tell us exactly where we were supposed to be going, although we didn't need much help once we got going. We drove on our last Indiana backroad, which dumped us onto I-70 near Terre Haute. Ah, I-70. This highway was going to be our home until it ceases to exist somewhere in Utah.

The drive wasn't too bad to get to St. Louis -- well, until we got to St. Louis. It was around 9:30 at night and Alice the Garmin Lady was being a bitch. We were trying to find our hotel and learned our first lesson about Alice: she's accurate until you get close to your destination. Then you should throw her out the window. She told us we were approaching the hotel, but for some reason, the hotel looked like a freaking bank parking lot. Luckily, we finally found the place and luckily, it had two beds. So Aaron laid down on one to watch television while I sat on the other to knit. It was the farthest we would be from each other that day and we needed the break.

The next day, my college friend Kristen stopped by the room and we headed to lunch at the hotel before getting dressed for a fancy wedding. Our friend Christian from college was getting married and we had to look pretty. The Garmin once again took care of us for the most part until we got close to the church and it wanted us to turn into someone's driveway. Stupid Garmin.

The wedding itself was really beautiful and it was good to see some of the old college crowd. Can't believe it's been so long since I've seen many of them. The reception was awesome -- open bar! -- and I had a great time dancing with the two daughters of friends of mine. Plus, apparently, there are a few people I went to school with who now keep up with The Office Web site I work on. Crazy! So after the reception, a few of the old group headed to a bar -- and Aaron and I headed to bed. Boring, I know, but we had a big drive the next day.

So the next day -- woke up early, packed up the car, and headed to Columbia, Missouri, to meet some friends for brunch. My friend Jeremy lives in town with his wife and two kids and, coincidentally, my friend Brad was in town visiting. So there was Jeremy, Brad, and I sitting at The Heidelberg just like old times...well, except for Jeremy's wife and kids and my husband. It was definitely a great time, but I don't think Aaron was all that impressed as we stood in front of the bar waiting for everyone and I explained that the very gutter we were standing a foot from was the gutter I puked in on my 21st birthday. Ah, good times!

The best known landmarks on the University of Missouri campus are The Columns on the Quad so I had to get a picture of Aaron and I in front of them. So weird to have my husband on my old college campus and yet so cool.
Then we had to bid adieu to Jeremy's family and Brad, and head west. We had to drive another eight hours before we got to our hotel in the middle of nowhere Kansas. Along the way, we drove by the Kansas City Royals' stadium. Here's a picture -- they were playing the Chicago White Sox as we drove by.

And then it was nothing. Like nothing. OK, there was something. Corn fields. Lots of them. For miles and miles and miles. We ended up stopping somewhere along the way at a Sonic to get dinner [yum! tater tots and limeade slushes!] and here's a picture if you don't believe me when I say we were in the middle of nowhere.Then there was this weird oasis ahead that I thought looked like a bit of humanity amid the cornfields. I jokingly told Aaron that would be the metropolis we were staying in that night. As it turns out, it wasn't a joke. Crap.

Colby, Kansas was in the middle of nowhere and yet our Garmin still screwed up. We got off the highway and Alice told us to turn right. I knew this was wrong when I got about a half-mile down the road and realized I was already on the outskirts of town. So we turned around and sure enough, there was the hotel right off the highway -- if you turn left. Stupid Alice.

christmas in june

2007-06-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Here in Indiana, it's hot and muggy...and hot. There is no snow and no chance of snow. So for those of you who, like me, are boiling right now, I give you a little Christmas cheer to cool you down a bit. And who could resist the Christmas cheer of Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown Christmas Performed by the cast of Scrubs -- So some producer at Scrubs got the stars to mouth new words to the classic cartoon. It's so good with JD playing Charlie!

Hey Ya! -- Apparently, Charlie and Co. are big fans of Outkast because here's a video they did for the song Hey Ya! as they dance around in the school auditorium.

SexyBack -- That's right, kids! Christmas is all about bringing sexy back. At least, that's what Linus says.

So kick back by the pool with frozen margaritas and enjoy the YouTubes!

for the fathers out there

2007-06-19T10:45:00.000-05:00

Did you ever wonder what Father's Day will be like 30 years from now for people like Suri Cruise and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt? Well, wonder no more! There are some definite similarities -- I mean, who expected Blanket Jackson to NOT have a blanket on his head 30 years from now? I did. And Suri has a Scientology minder, which is always adorable.

In the meantime, I spent Father's Day with my dad at the Formula One race in Indy. It was quite enjoyable and not at all as brain-controlling as being the child of a celebrity so that was nice.

i give a damn

2007-06-13T16:53:00.000-05:00

The American Film Institute tends to put out all these movie lists -- top 100 movies of all time, top villians of all time, etc. I found this YouTube video of the AFI 100 Greatest Movie Quotes and I have to say, it's pretty cool to watch. There's definitely some heavy representation of certain movies and certain actors. Marlon Brando shows up a few times, including twice in the top ten, and Casablanca and Gone With the Wind are well represented. And of course, there's some great lines in the montage. My favorites?

-- "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."
-- "Rosebud."
-- "Here's looking at you, kid."
-- "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody."

And the best one is one that I thought rightfully ended up in the top spot. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Ah, Clark Gable. You were so awesome in that movie.

speed

2007-06-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

Kropp will probably be the only person who appreciates this post, but I'm making it anyway.

Lewis Hamilton won his first Formula One race, which is totally awesome because Lewis is The Next Racing Genius. Just forget all the Dale Jr. talk -- it's lame. Start talking about Lewis. Btw, I'll be seeing him this weekend at Indy for the US Grand Prix. It's going to be awesome!

Also at the race last Sunday was a wicked bad accident where Robert Kubica went airborne in one of the nastiest accidents I've ever seen. He ended up with a sprained ankle and mild concussion and hopes to race on Sunday at Indy. It's amazing how advanced the cars and safety of the drivers has become to have a driver walk away from a crash like that.

rip mr. wizard

2007-06-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

So apparently, I'm old because even my husband doesn't remember this guy. Anyway, Mr. Wizard was on Nickelodeon back in the '80s and taught kids about science using everyday stuff. I specifically remember him doing an experiment with a bunch of mouse traps in a box with a ping pong ball on each one. He had a kid drop a ping pong ball in the box and all the mouse traps went off. It was awesome.

But then Nickelodeon cancelled his show, and now they have crap on the station, and Mr. Wizard is dead. I feel old.

If you need to jog your memory, here's the YouTube of the intro to the show. You will remember it as soon as you see it. Well, except for my husband.

reality tv round-up

2007-06-04T13:54:00.001-05:00

Because I suck, I haven't updated this blog in AGES! So here you go now with my reaction to the reality TV finales from last month.

American Idol -- I'm glad Blake came in second. I think it's gotten to a point with this where second is actually better than first. You don't have as many restrictions on your work and can be more creative without Clive Davis breathing down your throat. And really, I liked Blake the most. What can I say? Beat-boxing to Bon Jovi was just damn cool.

Dancing with the Stars -- So check out the entry two down from here where I predicted that Joey Fatone or Apolo Anton Ohno would win this thing. I was so right! They were the top two and Apolo won and I love that. He was just so good! So yeah, count me among the old ladies who thought he was cute.

ballad cheese

2007-04-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite bands to pick when I rarely and randomly go out to karaoke is Journey. It's cheesy, everyone sings along, and...it's cheesy. EW.com recently ran a piece called The Ultimate Cheesy-Ballad Playlist that included Journey, of course, as well as some other great ones:

-- "Could've Been" by Tiffany and "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson -- When I was in fifth grade, owning the albums by both of these teenagers was mandatory. Man, I loved Tiffany.

-- "Crazy for You" by Madonna. This and "Live to Tell" are my all-time favorite Madonna songs.

-- "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls. Remember the summer when this song was on every single station all the time? I ended up seeing the Goo Goo Dolls in concert in Columbia, Mo. when I was in college. I got kicked in the face by a crowd surfer [yes, a crowd surfer at a Goo Goo Dolls concert] and took an elbow to the eye, which resulted in my losing a contact lens. My roommate had to drive my car home because I had no depth perception. Who knew a crazy night in college would be at a Goo Goo Dolls concert?

-- "Please Don't Go Girl" by the New Kids on the Block. The person on EW.com who mentioned this was mortified to be admitting she still listened to this song. I don't understand why you would be embarassed to admit that? I mean, I still listen to that song...

You know, that is a pretty mortifying thing to admit.

And in case you want to download and slow dance with your honey to Journey, here you go.
Journey - Open Arms

why i'm a nerd

2007-04-11T16:43:00.000-05:00

Among many other reasons, I got geeked out last night during the Dancing with the Stars Results show when Drew Lachey made a guest appearance doing his freestyle dance from last year. You have to admit though, it's a pretty awesome freestyle dance. That being said, "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" is now stuck in my head, which is all kins of suckiness.

That beings said, is anyone else watching the show this season? It's been interesting so far, but I have to say that Leeza Gibbons' leather number the other night was pretty scary. In fact, I think a few of those dancers outfits are pretty freaky considering I'm always ready for them to break a strap and have the whole thing fly off. They must have to have a tape delay for that or something.

So far, I'm predicting Apolo Anton Ohno and Joey Fatone in the top two. We'll see how that holds up.

why we have easter bunnies

2007-04-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

So now that you have your Easter candy in hand and went to church yesterday, I figured you should know why bunnies are a part of the Easter celebration. St. Peter was a bunny who ate eggs for Passover. Don't believe me? Go to South Park's Web site and watch video from their most recent episode about St. Peter. I would link directly to the video, but it's not on YouTube because Viacom made them pull it.

Speaking of Passover, I made matzo ball soup for the first time ever last week. I didn't try it, but Aaron said it was good. And yes, it was from a box. So what?

i was on tv

2007-04-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, CNBC's Mad Money show came to Indiana University and The Husband got us tickets. I was on national television! No, seriously, I was! You can see me in this clip when Dan starts talking about Spartan. I'm behind his shoulder in the Indiana sweatshirt. And if you can't see that, just ask my dad. He saw me!

In the meantime, here's a picture of a bunch of us with Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Yes, MARK CUBAN! My forehead can be seen right above Mark's head and the face just to the upper right of Mark is recognizable to many of you as my husband. Also in the picture are our friends Adam, Brian, and Grant [thumbs up!].

my humps

2007-04-03T14:44:00.000-05:00

Remember that annoying song called "My Humps" from the Black Eyed Peas? Well, Alanis Morrisette covered the song and even did an awesome video for it!

No, I'm not joking. I'm a huge fan of cover versions of songs and this one is near the top of what I've heard before. It reminds me alot of a cover Tori Amos may do for a song in which is completely changes the melody of the song to make it sound completely different from the original.
But with Alanis, as much as the song is great, you need to see it with the video that goes along with it for extra awesomeness!

In the meantime, here is another one of my favorite covers for you to download.
Travis - Baby One More Time

And another cover from Alanis.
Alanis Morrissette - King of Pain

bookmark this

2007-03-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

Here's a story about what librarians find when they open the books you return: bookmarks. Now before you say "Boring," there are actually a few interesting finds in books. For example, librarians have found condoms and cash as bookmarks not to mention love letters, fake fingernails, and unused toilet paper. I guess that explains where some people read those books.

I go the traditional route with my bookmarks. I did needlepoint on one and own this Harry Potter set. I also have some of these bookmarks an Office fan made that I love -- especially when I can coordinate the book cover color with a particular bookmark. Yes, I'm a book nerd.

So what do you use to mark your place? Bookmarks, ticket stubs, receipts, the print out the library gives you with the due date on it?

poor ferrari

2007-03-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

OK, did anyone else see the story this week about actor Eddie Griffin crashing a Ferrari? Did anyone else get a little choked up like I did? Yeah, I figured it was just me.

Anyway, some idiot that owns a $1.5 million Enzo Ferrari thought it would be a good idea to have an actor [not a race car driver] with no idea how to drive a high performance sports car drive his high performance sports car. And he crashed it.

To give you an idea of how bad this is, consider this: in order to be able to buy an Enzo Ferrari, you had to own at least three Ferraris already and then you had to be invited by the company to buy the car. And there are only 400 out there. Well, make that 395 as of now. They even made one for the Pope!

To better understand this, I give you this great quote from an AOL Sports story entitled "Eddie Griffin, You're an Idiot":

"You just wrecked a friggin' Enzo Ferrari. The car was probably worth more than your house, Eddie. There are probably other Ferrari owners and supercar nuts that are crying today because of you."

And yes, even I would love to drive an Enzo Ferrari, but even I would not actually do so if given the chance. It's not like driving a normal car and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be responsible for crashing someone else's $1.5 million Ferrari.

lloyd dobler kills people

2007-03-26T13:52:00.000-05:00

Here's the new trailer for the movie War Inc starring John Cusack [yum!], Joan Cusack, Marisa Tomei and...Hilary Duff? As a Russian pop star? Um...OK.

By the way, in this movie, John once again plays an assasin just like he did in Grosse Pointe Blank. Great movie. I think that movie is ten years old. Ten years, man! TEN!

And if you love John [and who doesn't?], here is a video montage of all of his movies. Pretty cool!

pieces of flair

2007-03-26T11:31:00.000-05:00

Ah, Office Space. You don't realize how real that movie is until you start working in The Real World. Then you realize how sad it all is. The PC Load Letter not working, having a boring boss, wanting to just knock down that last cubicle wall.

So to entertain some of you at work, I give you YouTube clips. First is Office Space Wars. It's what would happen if you put all the actors in Office Space in Jedi get-ups, gave Jar-Jar a red stapler, and made Darth Vader the new boss. "Yeah, Obi-Wan. I'm gonna need you to come in Sunday, too."

Then, of course, there is Office Space: The Thriller. Ack! That red stapler so wants to kill me.

A music video for the song "My Cubicle" with clips from Office Space. It's so sad. Get some Kleenex for this one.

And finally, why mess with perfection? The "beat the crap out of a fax machine" scene. Don't play this with your speakers on at work -- there's some bad language. You've been warned.

So on that note, look down and tell us all how many pieces of flair you're wearing.

dear celebrity

2007-03-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

Ack! I've been a bad blogger but I'm back!

Ok, so Entertainment Weekly ran a little thing about writing fan letters to celebrities and included in the list was Jordan Knight of the New Kids on the Block. I actually wrote a letter to the New Kids on the Block when I was a fan. I actually never sent it, though, because I was too nervous to put it in the mail because I loved them so much. Yeah, pathetic, I know. I don't remember much of the letter, but I do know I wrote two drafts before I copied it down in my best handwriting. I also know I told them I loved seeing them in concert and while The Beatles could play instruments, they couldn't dance as awesome and the New Kids!

I'm so glad I never sent that letter.

On that note, if anyone knows anyone that can get me a job at Entertainment Weekly, I would love you forever. I mean, I could write stuff like this and be awesome!

that's what she said

2007-03-14T16:40:00.000-05:00

"Wait...you said what?"

My favorite show on TV right now is The Office on NBC. Man, I love that show! If you don't believe me, click on this link to read the blog entries I've posted on a Jim and Pam Web site.

Now in addition to that, one of my favorite nights to watch TV is Thursday night. NBC has a whole hilarious line-up with a bunch of great shows. OK, fine, I'm not a huge fan of My Name is Earl, but the rest is awesome. It's so good you can go all night long with it [that's what she said]. I mean, it always leaves me satisfied and smiling [that's what she said]. Because it is just so impressive [THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!]

So check out this great YouTube video highlighting all the cool shows on the Thursday night line-up to a little ditty called "That's What She Said."

sunshine laws

2007-03-14T12:48:00.000-05:00

So I've been a bit lazy and I come back on just to promote Sunshine Laws? Yeah, weird, I know.

Anyway, for those of you who are non-journalists and such, Sunshine Laws are put into place to shed light [get it? sunshine?] on to what the government is doing. They're actually pretty vital to the relationship between the government and the media [and normal people too]. Congressional Democrats have labeled this wee as "Sunshine Week" and will be pushing through several bills to promote easier access to government information by making the Freedom of Information Act stricter, for example.

So go read about it and I promise to be back with something funnier.

beam me up, gmail

2007-03-07T17:56:00.000-05:00

When I was in fifth grade, I wanted to be an astronomer. The only problem was the whole science, math, and working at night stuff.

But man, if I worked with stuff in space, I could have sent email to space. That would have been cool. For example, you know the crazy lady over at NASA that's part of this whole weird love triangle thing? Well, apparently, part of the case against her is being based on naughty emails sent from one astronaut on the ground to her boyfriend who was in space. Hmm...they have the Internet is space? Wow. And I thought I was addicted to the World Wide Web.

By the way, Nowak, the crazy astronaut lady in question, was fired by NASA today. Today? Yeah, because it makes me happy to know a diaper-wearing crazy lady was allowed to be an astronaut despite the fact that NASA knew she was a little loopy. Whatever.

kyle's mom's a bitch

2007-03-06T21:23:00.000-05:00

What? She is. I'm just telling the truth.

So Rolling Stone is putting South Park on their cover and in their honor, RS.com posted the top 25 South Park moments. There are some great ones including:

South Park as The Simpsons
Stan learns about bloody orgies
Tom Cruise: trapped in a closet
Lemiwinks
Cartman's hand becomes J. Lo

I know I'm old school, but I still say my favorite episode is the first one ever when Cartman gets an anal probe. Anyone else care to dispute that?

Also, check out the Wikipedia entry for South Park. The list of people they have offending is long including most major religions, Scientology, and Isaac Hayes. Despite that, did you also realize the show has championed gay rights and the environment? I guess it makes sense when you consider the creators of the show are hippies from Boulder, Colo. Or something.

fashion sense run amok

2007-03-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

So Pete Wentz, the bassist for Fall Out Boy, is working on a line of clothing. Well, of course he is. Who isn't? But that's beside the point. The point is that this stuff is horrid. Here's the description from Women's Wear Daily via ONTD:

"Executives at DKNY Jeans also took notice of Wentz's creative ability and signed him on to a partnership in which he works with the DKNY Jeans design team to create Clandestine Industries for DKNY Jeans. The line, which includes graphic T-shirts, dresses, jeans, sweats, skirts and jackets, is fully inspired by Wentz. The colors are all mostly dark, such as the black leather jackets and dark-indigo denim jeans, but there is a bright pink pop of color found throughout on jacket linings and some T-shirts. There's a graphic print T-shirt of his pet bulldog, Hemingway, who tours with the band regularly, and other prints inspired by Wentz's own extensive tattoos."

Yeah, because I want to buy stuff that's all about Pete and looks like stuff Pete would wear and Pete, Pete, Pete. Did Pete design a line of clothing or a line of clothing for himself?

Seriously, ignore all that is wrong with the models in this picture. Would any of you even wear shoes like the ones below? Blech. Just because some rock star designed them doesn't mean people should wear them in public.

i ain't sayin's she's a gold digger

2007-03-05T16:18:00.000-05:00

But I wouldn't blame her if she was, especially when the person is question can spend $3,900 for dinner.

That's right! Kanye West is going to have almost $4,000 spent on food for a meeting Wednesday night in New York that is being flown over from England. Apparently, there is no good food in Manhattan so he has to have a random restaurant in another country cater the meeting. What. The. Hell.

By this time next year, it will be all over some VH1 show about the lifestyles of celebrities and how much they spend on stuff.

i still love paris

2007-03-02T19:43:00.000-05:00

Ah, gay Pari! Anyone else ever been there? The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the bread. Oh, the bread!

Oh wait, wrong Paris. Anyway, it was announced this week by the Associated Press that they conducted an experiment in which they didn't cover any story about Paris Hilton. And you know what? No one cared about not getting their Paris news. In fact, most AP subscribers didn't even realize what was going on until the AP announced their temporary black out.

The AP finally ran a story this week about Paris getting her car impounded and potentially going to jail. Frankly, the thing that most disturbed me about that story was that Paris's car -- a $170,000 Bentley Continental GTC that had to spend time in the impound lot with some vastly inferior cars. That poor Bentley!

the force is with her

2007-03-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

Apparently, I missed some big Oscar news. George Lucas had a date. Yes, unbelievable! I know! But true.

The lovely lady is Mellody Hobson and based on her bio, I don't think those Star Wars geeks can hold a candle to her. She's the founder of an investment management firm in Chicago with assets of $21 billion. She's on the board for the Chicago Public Library and the Field Museum as well as corporations such as Starbucks, Estee Lauder, and Dreamworks [hmm...so Spielberg is now a matchmaker perhaps?]. In 2004, she was named one of the 50 Women to Watch by The Wall Street Journal.

So yeah, she's smart, she's hot, and I don't think she will be asking George any geektastic questions about Star Wars anytime soon.

ahhhhhhh!

2007-02-28T17:20:00.000-05:00

NBC announced today that DirecTV customers can now subscribe to Chiller, a new station dedicated to horror movies. Um...yeah, I won't be subscribing to that anytime soon. No, thank you.

I love action movies and, ok, the occasional chick flick. But horror movies? No. No way. I've seen enough to know that I don't want to see anymore. For example, when I was in third grade, we watched Poltergeist at a friend's sleep over party -- and then they made me be the one that had to sleep next to the television that night. When I was six, I think I must have seen a clip or something from Jaws and from then on, I was always worried that a baby shark would squeeze out of the drain at the swimming pool and eat me alive. Eek! And does anyone remember the TV movie version of Stephen King's It? I had to stop watching because it was making me afraid of clowns and I actually wanted to continue to enjoy them.

So yeah, do with that information what you will. I'm erasing it from my memory.

pretty birthday

2007-02-27T22:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it's late, but I have to get this in before the day is over. Apparently, it's Elizabeth Taylor's birthday today. She's gone a little nutty in the last few years and she's friends with Michael Jackson, but in her prime, she was smokin' hot!

random bar story

2007-02-27T18:09:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had a random bar moment that I must post about because...well...it is pop culture related.

So I was standing in line for the women's bathroom [what's new?] when the bar started playing Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself" over the loud speakers. For some reason, this motivated some random guy to start singing along to the song while looking at me.

Why is this a problem? Why did I get grossed out? Well, first of all, I'm married, so I had to use my patented scratching my forehead move that shows off my wedding ring. Apparently, the guy would not be deterred -- or else he was drunk -- because he kept singing along. This further grossed me out because "Dancing with Myself" is about, well, pleasing yourself. No, seriously, it is.

So yeah...married girls freak out when you sing songs about, you know, having sex by yourself to try and pick them up at bars.

Video of "Dancing with Myself" [YouTube] -- Note the apocolyptic/Blade Runner vibe. Apparently, some things in the future never change. Like dancing with yourself.
Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself [MP3 via sendspace]

r.i.p. [rip] studio 60

2007-02-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

[Oh! It looks like IMDB did a redesign!]

Tonight, NBC is starting a new show called The Black Donolleys that is apparently awesome. I'll let you know later. But they're putting it in the Studio 60 time slot. For those of you who don't know alot about TV, this is a kiss of death for a show when you're bumped for a midseason replacement with no idea of when you are going to return.

I started watching Studio 60 when it was totally hyped as the new Aaron Sorkin drama. Since then, it's sucked. Ok, one or two shows are good, but that's usually followed by three episodes of crap. A snake is stuck in a vent with a ferret and a coyote? Let's play pretend parents with a doll they use for high school sex ed classes? People are drug addicts? UGH! The worst was when they would have all the religious debate that would go something like "Well, we did this skit that pissed off the Christians so they aren't showing Studio 60 this week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where all the crazy Christians are." And NBC wondered why no one in the Midwest watched this show. On the romance front, that was all kinds of bad. Aaron Sorkin has no idea how to write romance. They hyped the two main couples, who I could care less about, while I waited for that 30 seconds each episode between this minor couple that was the most interesting on the show.

What makes this even more frustrating is that the cast was amazing! Matthew Perry was so awesome. So awesome! And I loved the interaction between D.L Hughley and Nate Corddry. Hell, just give Nate his own damn show -- without Sorkin writing it! -- and I would be all over that damn thing. And can I just say how much I love Lucy Davis? Because I do.

It's just a shame that such a great cast was saddled with such horrendous writing. So goodbye Studio 60! It was good getting to know you, but I'm glad you're gone.

the oscars aren't dead

2007-02-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

They're merely departed. Ok, who else was so freaking excited that The Departed won best picture? I was so geeking out when they announced that. Yeah yeah yeah!!!!!

Other highlights:

-- Martin Scorsese winning best director. Not only was it cool, but you knew it was going to happen as soon as Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas came out to present the Oscar. It was so awesome! You could tell he really is loved by the movie people and it's not some showy kiss ass thing.

-- Alan Arkin winning best supporting actor. If you haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine, get your ass out there and find a way to watch it. Such a great movie and Alan did a great job.

-- Helen Mirren is hot. I mean, hot. I hope I look that good when I'm her age.

-- Loved the musical number about not getting nominated as a comedic actor. Will Farrell, Jack Black, and John C. O'Reilly were all great in that!

-- Speaking of singing numbers, who else loved the Dreamgirls performance? I'm sure one of those songs would have won an Oscar, but with three in the same category, they split the vote. That being said, Melissa Ethridge's song was great.

-- I saw Al Gore on The Daily Show when I went to a taping of the show years ago. He was hilarious and I remember Jon Stewart asked him "Why weren't you this funny during the campaign?" He brought the funny again last night and I loved his little thing when he was about to announce something and then the orchestra played him off.

-- Ellen's fangirl schtick where she gave Martin Scorsese a script and had her picture taken with Clint Eastwood.

Disappointments:

-- I was really pulling for Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg to win. Mark's performance was awesome in the movie. As for Leo, that guy deserves an Oscar win sooner or later. He may be a cute guy that all the 14-year-old girls love, but don't let that fool you. He really is an amazing talent.

-- My Tivo cut the show short because I only programmed it to add an hour. What the hell was up with that? Long show.

So go see The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Queen. You're welcome.

i'm back

2007-02-26T11:15:00.000-05:00

Apparently, my parents' computer can't handle the Blogger interface because I could NEVER log in. Grrr. So I'm home and I promise to update, starting with a post about the Oscars. Wasn't that a great show? It was.

what's the buzz

2007-02-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

Who has turned into the new Sinead O'Connor? Britney Spears!

I think those are her bodyguards, but I'm not sure. Frankly, I think the bodyguards aren't doing their job. They need to work harder at protecting Britney...from herself. I mean, really? You think someone shaves their own head and that's healthy? Anyway...

So in the past week, Britney was in Florida, then went to some harsh rehab in Antigua, then flew back to L.A. to be with her kids [at least they weren't with her during all this], then shaved her head, got some crappy tattoos, and went out with a wig that looks like it cost $5.

This girl has to be on a path to self-destruction because I don't know where she's going otherwise.

trl gets requested to leave

2007-02-16T17:00:00.000-05:00

Remember when MTV's TRL was the biggest thing in the world. Well, Just Jared is reporting that the show has officially be canned. Yeah! Ok, it was good when it first started and I didn't realize Carson Daly was a tool. But then it just got horribly bad. I mean, when you know the votes are being staged, what's the point of watching? And it didn't matter what was voted on anyway considering you couldn't actually watch the video because of all the "shout-outs" like "Oh my God! Hi Susie!"

Rumor is that MTV may just replace it with more reality television. Um...that's part of the problem, not part of the solution, idiots.

growing pains make you fat

2007-02-15T14:12:00.000-05:00

Remember Jeremy Miller? He was Ben on Growing Pains. He's also the "celebrity endorser" in this new crappy McDonald's ads about The Dollar Menuaires or something who buy stuff from the dollar menu at McDonad's because they're that rich. Ok, I'm currently unemployed and even I'm not desperate enough to buy stuff from the McDonald's dollar menu. Maybe a Burger King chicken sandwich every once in awhile, but I frankly don't remember the last time I was at McDonald's.

Ah, Growing Pains. Remember when Matthew Perry died on that show? And Leonardo DiCaprio was on that show for a season or something! Now, he's an Oscar nominee. Again.

Oh, and for those of you who are business school students lurking around, here's the six-month stock chart for MCD. I don't give a rat's ass if that stock gained $10 in the past six months -- I'm still not buying it.

stuff that's not funny

2007-02-15T14:06:00.000-05:00

You know what's funny? Jon Stewart making fun of Bush being an idiot and Kerry being boring. You know what's not funny? The "fair and balanced" Fox News trying to make their own version of The Daily Show. It was be fine if it was smart, intelligent comedy that attacked the idea of stupid politicians. It's not so funny when it's snide and malicious and obviously only going after one half of the stupid people. What? You couldn't go after EVERY stupid person? Why not? Oh right, you're Fox News.

Here's the post from Oh No They Didn't about this crappy show. You can see the crap they call "comedy" from this YouTube link. Oh, it's so bad.

Remember when O'Reilly was on The Colbert Report and vice versa? That was funny. And yes, this will probably be the ONLY time I post a picture from The O'Reilly Factor.

i don't know about this

2007-02-15T13:53:00.000-05:00

There are rumors that Hollywood will be making a movie about Milli Vanilli. Yeah, the lip syncing Milli Vanilli. Apparently, the VH1 Behind the Music wasn't enough to whet our appetite.

Oh, but spoiler alert! This is how the movie ends. At least, how I assume it ends. From the article:

"[Writer and Director Jeff Nathanson] has secured the cooperation of Milli Vanilli alumnus Fabrice Morvan, who has been pursuing a comeback for years, as well as the estate of his colleague, Rob Pilatus, who died of a drug overdose in 1998."

You would have known this if you had seen the updated Behind the Music. Another spoiler alert? In Titanic, the ship sinks at the end.

So in order to remind you of the whole having to return the best new artist Grammy, I give you this MP3:

Milli Vanilli - Blame It on the Rain

And if you want to know what Fab is up to, he has a Web site with his new single.

be my valentine

2007-02-14T14:26:00.000-05:00

I don't like Valentine's Day, but I know people who do so I give you a Valentine's Day pop culture post with some links.

YouTube of NKOTB signing Valentine Girl in concert [This is from the No More Games tour, which I saw in Detroit. Twice.]

Fark.com's Valentine's Post [Share your best/worst dating stories in this thread. There are some good ones in there.]

Wikipedia's entry on St. Valentine [Apparently, there were many. So much for monogamy...or whatever.]

Dwangela's Valentine's Day Mix [Office fans, this is for you. What if Dwight gave Angela a mix tape for Valentine's Day? Right click to download this zip file for the answer.]

Pizza Express [Where The Husband and I will be ordering pizza from instead of going out in the freezing cold for a two-hour wait at a crappy restaurant where we will be shoved in to one of the extra tables said crappy restaurant squeezed in because of the crowds. The food will suck, the place will be fire code violation, and the noise level will be so high you have to yell at your honey just to get heard. So for $15, including tip, we're going to have a large pizza, breadsticks with garlic sauce, and two drinks as we watch something on our Tivo. Much better.]

wikit: marky mark

2007-02-13T16:41:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have to say that Mark Wahlberg did a fantastic job in The Departed. I'm just saying that now so people don't get the idea that I'm ragging on him.

That being said, I saw him in concert in 1993 and yes, he did strip down to his underwear during the show. He also told the crowd what hotel he was staying at and his room number. Some friends and I took that information and called the hotel to speak to him and were denied by his entourage. Perhaps it's because we were 15 and 16 and called at 11 o'clock at night from a pay phone in a McDonald's parking lot. No, none of us had cell phones at the time because no one had cell phones at the time since it was 1992.

Oh, and that picture above? It just to hang on the back of my bedroom door -- as a huge poster. I still wonder why my parents let me do stuff like that.

Little known fact: Mark has a third nipple. Yes, it's true.

Little known fact: Mark was one of the original members of the New Kids on the Block, but dropped out. His brother Donnie, however, stayed in the group and became rich off of it.

Little known fact: The show Entourage is loosely based on Mark's life when he arrived in Hollywood and he's one of the executive producers for the show.

So with that, here is a Marky Mark song you'll all enjoy. It required me to find the CD and then rip it. Yeah, I'm a nerd who still owns the CD.

Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch - Good Vibrations

And yes, he is an Oscar nominee.

gram of grammys

2007-02-12T15:37:00.000-05:00

Did anyone else watch the Grammys last night? I did, but learned a valuable lesson when I rewatched it with the husband. It would have been a much better idea to just let the Tivo tape the show and then watch it. Seriously, I was able to reduce a four-hour Grammy show to a half hour with Tivo.

Now don't get me wrong, there were some highlights like:
-- The Police reunited!!!!! [YouTube link here]
-- Justin Timberlake's two performances
-- Mary J on fire as always

But then there were some...I don't know how else to describe it except complete crap performances like:
-- Chris Brown "performing" a song that he sang probably ten whole words of the whole time while dancing the rest and letting his back-up singers do the heavy lifting
-- Ludacris rapping a song about some runaway girl [yes, I understand that some kids live troubled lives, but there's a difference between bringing attention to their plight and over doing it just to have people think you're a "serious" rapper]
-- Shakira's performance was ok, but you have to wonder how interesting a two-hour concert is when all she does is shimmy around the same way over and over again. Not only do her hips not lie, but they don't shut up, which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that they say the same things over and over and over again

The big winners last night were the Dixie Chicks and I do like that one song about not wanting to place nice but all those Grammys were too many. Justin Timberlake should have at least gotten a few that went to the country chicks. As the husband and I talked about later, it's always weird with the Grammys. More than any other award show, when an artist starts to get momentum in the first hour of the award show, you know they're going to sweep everything. Even the Oscars aren't like that.

So yeah, did anyone even pay attention to this or was it just me?

paris is tacky

2007-02-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

At least that is what you could assume based on the horrendous invitations that Eva Longoria and Tony Parker sent out for their wedding. I'm assuming Tony didn't get a say in these invites because wow. Any man with even a little bit of taste would have put their foot down after their fiancee said something like "What do you think about a red and gold invitation with a huge Eiffel Tower on it for our wedding in Paris? Yeah!!!!" My husband would have looked at me like I had three heads if I showed up with this thing and presented it to him as our wedding invitation. Hell, my husband picked out our invitations and they were classy and gorgeous. He has more taste than a rich actress.

Anyway, if you click the link above to see the photos on X17, you will easily assume this wedding is going to be tackytacular.

sloths

2007-02-12T13:41:00.000-05:00

I don't know if any of you watch Saturday Night Live anymore, but be thankful -- or not -- if you don't. That show, without fail, is uneven, usually based on how good or bad the guest is. For example, this past Saturday was really really bad.

That being said, there were maybe two good sketches including an educational video about sloths that you just have to see to believe. For example, did you know sloths sleep 18 hours, but party 24? They also eat bamboo, but prefer your girl's...um...I don't know what they're referring to there. Too many stars and not enough letters that I can use to fill them in with.

Anyway, this YouTube link will teach you all about sloths.

wikit: adam ant

2007-02-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

Before Johnny Depp made pirate attire chic again, there was only one pirate: Adam Ant. Now, I didn't know too many New Wave pirates -- hell, I didn't know any -- but there is something about Adam Ant that I wish I could replicate now. Maybe Halloween this year or something.

Not so little known fact: Adam Ant is not his real name. No kidding. His real name is Stuart Goddard. He was very smart to change it.

Little known fact: The band was originally called Adam and the Ants and was managed by the Sex Pistols' former manager, Malcolm McLaren. Malcolm then talked the other three members of the band into leaving Adam to go solo. That band, Bow Wow Wow, was a one-hit wonder and never got close to the success Adam Ant had on his own.

Little known fact: He once dated Jamie Lee Curtis. At least that's what it says on Wikipedia.

Little known fact: Adam got in some legal trouble in 2002 for brandishing a firearm at a pub in London. Turns out he has bipolar disorder.

So below are two great Adam Ant songs that may not be as well known to some of you. The first -- Desperate But Not Serious -- is an '80s classic and the second -- Wonderful -- comes from Adam's 1995 album of the same name.

Adam Ant - Desperate But Not Serious
Adam Ant - Wonderful

please explain my addiction

2007-02-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

I admit it, I like the new Beyonce song Irreplaceable. No, I'm not planning to get rid of my husband, but there is just something about that song that just gets in my head. "Everything you own in a box to the left." It's all in one little box because Beyonce is a sugar mama despite the fact that in real life, she's dating Jay Z. But anyway, I still like the song. Just a warning: clicking on that link will make you get this stupid song stuck in your head, too. Proceed at your own risk.

And no, I have no idea why she feels to the need to pose with her hands on her head during a Red Carpet. I know I didn't tell her to do that.

rip or something

2007-02-08T17:06:00.000-05:00

Poor Gerald Ford. When he died, he got his picture on CNN.com, but it looked much less glamorous than Anna Nicole Smith. Interesting that they all made fun of the trashy stripper turned billionaire with big fake boobies and now they're acting like she's this amazing talent who died too young. Whatever.

I think the biggest question now is will they add her to the Remeberance montage at the Oscars? After all, according to imdb.com [and yes, CNN used imdb as a source on the air], she was in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33 1/3. Also, she starred in several episodes of Entertainment Tonight and E! News Daily as herself and did a bunch of Playboy something or others.

By the way, don't even try to waste your time getting on to Oh No They Didn't -- I think the excess traffic shut the page down. Oh, and check out fark.com for their take on it. There's more than 1000 comments in the thread on her already. And finally, if you do need a laugh, there's always Slutty Smurfette from SNL.

you put what where?

2007-02-08T12:07:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I admit it. I like Justin Timberlake's new album. I wouldn't mind seeing him in concert, too. There, I said it.

Apparently, the concert I really wanted to see was last night at Madison Square Garden when JT came out with Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live to sing "Dick in a Box" -- a song originally performed on SNL back in December. Last night included the bad outfits, the strategically placed boxes, and a slight change of words. The holidays you can now give your loved one a dick in a box include Valentine's Day and Flag Day. Good to know.

Oh, and for those of you not familiar with the sketch, you can find the uncensored version here.

the more money, the less clothes

2007-02-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

What is up with all the trust fund prima donnas taking their clothes off? You would think if they have money, they can afford to keep them on. Apparently not. And yes, you will notice this post has neither links nor photos. Do the work yourself.

Ok, so first we had the whole vagina display from the rich starlets in Hollywood, namely Britney Spears.

Then last week, we got parisexposed.com, a site selling Paris's stuff from a storage locker that she forgot to pay for. Here's the deal: If you smoke pot, do cocaine off of some fat guy's gut, have a friend who likes to wear nothing by tube socks -- on his feet, and take bubble baths, DON'T get photographic evidence of it! I don't need videos, pictures, or any of that crap. Just the idea makes me sick.

And on top of that, it now looks like another debutante is going to get her 15 minutes of fame with a sex tape. Most people didn't know who Paris Hilton was until her sex tape showed up. Now, you will all be hearing about Kim Kardashian, daughter of OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian, because of a sex tape scandal in which she may or may not have planted a sex tape for sale to get more attention. Just remember her name. Trust me.

Seriously, people, won't you think of the rich bitches the next time you put a sweater on. Please, send them some clothes!

dis or dat

2007-02-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

Remember that computer game from the '90s called You Don't Know Jack? The sister and I loved to play that back in the day.

Anyway, it's online with Dis or Dat! Today's is perfect for the snow outside in Indiana -- ah, a weather-related Dis or Dat. Also have fun with:

I Can Count to at Least Two
Sharpen My Crayon, If You Know What I Mean

And thanks has to go to my friend Christian for letting me know this existed online. I've become an addict.

the day after

2007-02-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

It's the day after the Super Bowl and I finally live in a state that has a Super Bowl champion! Sorry, but I used to live in Detroit. I was born in Cleveland. This is pretty remarkable for me.

But who cares about football? This year, as with every year, it's about the Super Bowl ads. So far though, it sounds like they were pretty unforgettable and I tend to agree. For me, the best were the Career Builder ads featuring offices in the middle of the jungle and the in-house CBS ad for Letterman's show featuring Oprah Winfrey.

Check out the MSNBC Interactive Super Bowl ad showdown to pick your favorites and weed out the duds. [Thanks for the link, Jenny.]

the muppets: behind the music

2007-02-02T15:53:00.000-05:00

Like most of us, I grew up watching The Muppets when I was younger. But as we all know, that show had to finally be cancelled when Kermit became a cocaine addict. You know, it was the '80s and everything and he tried to live like a rock star.

Fine, Kermit never did cocaine, but The Muppet Show finally went off the air after many seasons and we were all left wondering what happened to our favorite frog and pig. Well, our questions may be answered. There are rumors that the Muppets are going to do a mini-series to explain where they've been. And good news! They may be getting back together. Woot! Although, I have to say, I always fond that Miss Piggy high maintenance. What was up with that?

super bowl shuffle

2007-02-02T15:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm totally going to be a bandwagon fan and root for the Colts this weekend because this is the first time I've ever lived this close to a team going to the Super Bowl. I mean, I'm from Detroit. What do you want from me?

Despite that, I'm sure no one can forget the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl win in 1986. They totally trounced the New England Patriots [yes, things have changed in the past twenty years]. The team also had some great players including William "The Refridgerator" Perry, the legendary Walter Payton, and Jim McMahon, who always wore sunglasses because his eyes were sensitive to light after a freak accident as a kid when his brother poked his eye with a fork.

So with that, I give you the always entertaining Super Bowl Shuffle.

wikit: prince

2007-02-02T15:10:00.000-05:00

In honor of this weekend's Super Bowl, I give you a wikit for Prince, who will be playing the halftime show for the big game. By the way, the above picture is from Prince's rehearsal for the show. No, I don't know if he actually wears bright orange suits everyday or just for special occasions like Super Bowl rehearsals. I have to say though, I kind of like that chick's dress-- you know, if it was a little shorter to cover my ass.

Not little known facts about Prince: He's from Minnesota and he likes purple.

Little known fact: He once stood behind my friend Stacy's dad at the check out line at the local grocery story in Minneapolis.

Little known fact: A song by Prince made Tipper Gore start the Parents Music Resource Center, which is responsible for those Parental Advisory labels on albums. Tipper heard her 12-year-old daughter playing "Darling Nikki," a song from the Purple Rain soundtrack about a sex fiend. Well yeah, that may not be the best for a 12-year-old to be listening to. That being said, Prince ended up winning an Oscar for his work on the soundtrack.

Little known fact: The whole symbol thing wasn't to be weird and artistic or something. It was rebel against his record label at the time, whom he felt were treating him unfairly. I don't know why you need a symbol for that, but there you go.

And so I give you my favorite Prince song, which he may or may not be performing on Sunday. Let's hope he at least doesn't have some sort of wardrobe malfunction.

Prince - Let's Go Crazy

be deathly afraid

2007-02-01T17:19:00.000-05:00

First, I don't like the title for the seventh Harry Potter. There, I said it. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows does not roll off my tongue the way I want it to. Hell, it doesn't roll off my tongue at all. I'm going to have to refer to it by an acronym like "Harry Potter and the DH" or something.

That being said, I'm excited about it's release on...July 21! It's official, people. Although the date annoys me, too. Why not July 7 [07/07/07] or July 31, Harry's birthday? These book people don't know how to properly sell a book. I mean, Book Seven on July 7th! How can you forget that?

And I have to go see the next Harry Potter movie on July 13 and then start the book a week later? Yes, July is Harry Potter month. That Harry Potter kid is getting so rich off of me.

Speaking of the Harry Potter kid, Daniel Radcliffe is starring in a play on London's West End soon [the British version of Broadway]. The promotional pictures recently sent out leave little to the imagination. As David said on Hogwarts Herald, "Daniel will be acting in the outfit God made him." That's one way of putting it.

don't take your bus to town

2007-02-01T17:01:00.000-05:00

Especially if that bus was stolen.

I was watching American Idol the other day and they had this chick and her mom on with this really long hair. Somehow I remember that Crystal Gayle had really long hair. Why I knew about a country singer that was popular in 1983, I have no idea.

Anyway, that's when a friend brought up the fact that Crystal's tour bus was recently stolen. How can you steal a tour bus? A Toyota Corolla I can understand, but a tour bus? And it turns out the guy drove it to Daytona Speedway. Well, of course, a country fan who stole Crystal Gayle's tour bus would take it to the Mecca of Nascar racing!

So if you own a tour bus, I recommend you lock the doors when you get out next time.

crap i liked: robin hood: prince of thieves

2007-01-31T17:19:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when your parents drop you off at the movie theater one summer with your friend without thinking. Don't let bad movies happen to your kids!

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves spawned all kinds of crap. First, it was Kevin Costner with an accent he couldn't figure out how to get right. Second, the theme song for the movie, although Bryan Adams did predict my current position. Everything I do with this blog, people, I do it for you. Or something.

The only redeeming thing about this movie was Alan Rickman and it pains me to say this, but even that doesn't totally fix this movie. I think I need to go see him play Snape in a Harry Potter movie just to help me cleanse the badness of Robin Hood from my brain.

And what's up with all the medieval crap I watched in the '90s? I swear I've only gone to two Renaissance fairs in the past 15 years.

crap i liked: vanilla ice

2007-01-31T14:37:00.001-05:00

Seriously, what was up with those outfit, dude? Did you mom make that?

I remember the night before my first day in seventh grade, the local radio station played The Song of the Summer over and over and over again on a loop as a way to send us stupid kids back to school. I think the DJs used it as an excuse to get high in the booth or something. Anyway, that song was Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby. I loved that song back then.

About eight years later, I had a friend admit to me that part of his hazing to get in to a frat on campus included having to memorize that song. Sounds about right.

Yo DJ! Let's kick it!

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

By the way, this was back in the day where you were walking a fine line between getting sued and not getting sued. Totally different than today when Diddy just rips off another song by The Police for his latest crapfest. Anyway, Ice contended that he put an extra "dun" in his bassline so he wouldn't have to pay David Bowie and Queen any royalties. Judge for yourself.

David Bowie & Queen - Under Pressure

crap i liked: roar

2007-01-31T14:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so today I'm posting crap -- all kinds of it -- because I frankly need to fess up to some of the stupid stuff I've gotten into in the past.

For example, Roar. This show was like an Irish version of Xena. Despite the fact that it was crap and therefore cancelled after eight episodes, I held on to a tape I had of those episodes for all least two years before finally tossing it. Why wait that long? Five words: Heath Ledger in leather pants. I think that was 99% the only reason. I mean, he was so hot in leather pants I totally ignored the fact that the show was absolute garbage.

In search of pictures today to illustrate this post, I found one of this crazy banshee chick or something that was part of some story line. Anyway, Banshee Chick looks familiar to me and holy crap! It's Vaughn's crazy evil wife from Alias!

So yeah, Banshee Chick got to make out with Vaughn and Heath Ledger moved in to my neighborhood in Brooklyn right when I left. Go figure.

burn in hell, fox news

2007-01-30T16:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, so everyone knows that Fox News shames anyone in the journalism field. It's like a plague or something.

But this time, Fox News went too far! As TMZ.com reported, Fox News took out a two-page ad in Television Week calling Anderson Cooper the "Paris Hilton of television news." Ok yeah, Anderson is dreamy, but what makes him even better is that he's a smart reporter and is great at his job. So why all the animosity? From TMZ:

"The spat erupted last week when Cooper took a shot at FOX News for hyping Insight magazine's incorrect story that Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama had attended a radical Islamic school as a child in Indonesia. 'Others are reporting the heat. We are sticking to the facts,' Cooper said at the time."

There you go, kids. Anderson Cooper calling it like it is. Regardless of your opinion of CNN or Anderson, you have to admit the guy has a point.

And don't even get me started on how Fox is trying to hurt Obama more than a year before the election by acting like it's a big deal that he went to a Muslim school when he was a kid in Indonesia. Um...Fox News? It would take you five seconds to look at Wikipedia and find out the country is 86% Muslim so yeah, not really weird that he went to an Islamic school.

federline fries

2007-01-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

So I have to give a shout out to Pop Sugar for posting Kevin Federline's Super Bowl ad on YouTube. Yes, it's as bad as you think it is but at least it will amuse you. Nationwide was very smart to pay him to do this, although I don't know if I want Nationwide on my side if they have K-Fed working for them.

actors awarding actors

2007-01-29T14:18:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's definitely one of those "scratch my back and I'll give you a SAG" kind of thing, but the Screen Actors Guild had their own awards show last night with a few surprises. First among them was the fact that Little Miss Sunshine won for best movie ensemble, beating out casts from The Departed and Dreamgirls among others. If you haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine, you need to. That being said, I still don't think it has a chance at the Oscar this year, but that's just me.

On the other hand, a few shoe-ins were shoe-ins again last night. Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson won for their work in Dreamgirls and Helen Mirren won for The Queen. All deserved. And dare I say it, but Helen Mirren is pretty awesome.

On the TV side, well, all you have to know is The Office won for best comedy ensemble. That really is all that matters. If you're not watching The Office, something is seriously wrong with you. Watch it now if only because John Krasinski looks hot in a tux.

Little known fact: those SAG statues are 12 pounds. That's alot of pounds.

when you wish upon a "star"

2007-01-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

So USA Today ran an article about Disney's new ad campaign for its Year of a Million Dreams. The photos were taken by Annie Lebovitz and include such notable celebrities as Scarlett Johannsen dressed as Cinderella and Beyonce as Alice in Wonderland.
But for my money, the best picture is this one of David Beckham as Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty. [click photo for larger image] Yes, Becks is a little too flashy for my tastes and yes, I'm going to get sick of hearing about him over and over when I'm living in L.A., home of his new team the Los Angeles Galaxy. That being said, if I was in a magic-induced coma, I would want to have someone as handsome as David Beckham save me. Plus, Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney movie of all time so I'm partial.

wikit: say anything

2007-01-26T15:31:00.000-05:00

My friend Kropp made a reference the other day in a comment about the John Cusack movie High Fidelity. Great movie, but it reminded me of the best Cusack film of all time: Say Anything.

Oh, Say Anything. Many of us would have been much better off not seeing that movie. Instead, we all fell in love with Lloyd Dobler and wished we would be able to find a guy like that to marry. Unfortunately, Lloyd is not real. In fact, he's very unreal. This love for Lloyd is so crazy that Chuck Klosterman once lamented in his book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs that no woman will ever be satisfied because of their Lloyd Dobler compex.

But really, how could you NOT love Lloyd Dobler? Yeah, he had no direction in life and yeah, it took him forever to finally ask out the girl of his dreams, but who wouldn't feel sorry for a guy so completely heartbroken when he gets dumped? Who doesn't want a guy wooing them with a boombox under her window? Because unless the guy is a creepy stalker, every girl wouldn't mind something like that and rarely, if ever, does it happen in real life.

Plus, I think this movie is quoted almost as much as Caddyshack. "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen." Or "If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like Gas 'n Sip on a Saturday night, completely alone, drinking beers, no women anywhere?" Or what about Lloyd trying to explain to Diane's dad that he doesn't want to buy, sell, or repair anything for a living?

Little known fact: The band The Smithereens wrote a song called "A Girl Like You" for the movie. The movie's producers rejected it, saying the lyrics gave away too much of the plot. The band released it anyway on their own album and it was their first Top 40 hit. Here are the lyrics -- decide for yourself.

And of course, what would any Say Anything post be without this Peter Gabriel gem?

Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

all hail the queen

2007-01-25T11:45:00.000-05:00

In my bid to see as many Best Picture Oscar nominees as possible, I went and saw "The Queen" last night, which was actually pretty good. The story revolves around the death of Princess Diana and the way the monarchy reacted to it. That being said, I was quite surprised to realized that by the end, they had never used an actress for Diana, just news footage.

As for Helen Mirren, who plays the queen, her nomination for Best Actress is well deserved and I'm calling it now -- she's going to win it. So suck on that, Dame Judi Densh!

The rest of the cast was pretty good as well. They didn't look exactly like their real-life counterparts, but close enough. And as for Will and Harry, I think I maybe saw those two actors in a scene here or there. It was much more about the queen, which I thought was pretty cool.

So yeah, go see it before they take it out of the movie theaters again. And yeah! The Departed is back in Bloomington! I so need to see that movie.

wikit: morrissey

2007-01-24T17:04:00.000-05:00

So I've been listening to Morrissey lately and thought I should post a little about him so you can all enjoy my wonderful taste in music.

Morrissey used to be in 80's emo band The Smiths back before emo was cool and I know you've all heard their song "How Soon is Now," which is always used in emo-type movies. So be it.

After that, Morrissey struck out on his own and recorded such songs as "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" and "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful." True, but why do you have to keep following me to let me know that?

Little known fact: Morrissey's moodiness has made him enemies with several musicians including Madonna, George Michael, and Robert Smith of The Cure, who once was quoted as saying, "If Morrissey says don't eat meat, then I'll eat meat, because I hate Morrissey." And this is coming from one of the most goth emo singers out there. Go figure.

So here's to moody emo before it was popular. And with that, I give you one of my favorite Morrissey songs.

Morrissey - Everyday is Like Sunday

because i'm a nerd

2007-01-23T17:26:00.001-05:00

I admit, I have geek tendencies. I watch The X-Files -- still -- and I love Star Wars. Oh, and I like to laugh at those stupid anti-drug ads from the 1980's. So I give you this. Only those of you who are also nerds will appreciate it.

grudging approval

2007-01-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

Ok, so John Mayer is dating Jessica Simpson, which I can't approve of. I frankly can't approve of anyone dating Jessica Simpson. Even Nick Lachey became cool when he got a divorce from her.

Anyway, as much as that's annoying, the guy has a pretty cool blog. For those of you who are Grey's Anatomy fans, there's been some controversy about Isaiah Washington calling another one a slur on the set. So based on that, John Mayer thinks Isaiah's character needs to come out of the closet and admit that not only is he gay, but he's also a Scissor Sisters fan. John did all of this in script format on his blog for you to read and, well, I grudgingly admit, it's funny.

Also, as most people know, I love the show The Office. In the Christmas episode, boss Michael Scott did a karaoke version of John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" and rather than getting paid in royalties for the use of the song, John simply asked to be paid with a Dundie. The show gave him the "Tallest Music Dude" award for his efforts.

But Jessica Simpson? Seriously?

oscar the grouch

2007-01-23T13:54:00.000-05:00

The Oscar nominations came out today with a few big surprises.

First, "Dreamgirls" was nominated for eight Oscars, making it the highest nominated. That being said, it is NOT up for Best Picture. Yeah, that's right. Best picture is not one of its potential wins. Quite a shocker.

So what happened? The Academy this year decided to nominate a few dark horses. First among them was "Little Miss Sunshine," which I can't say enough good things about. The movie was nominated for best picture as well as supporting nods for Alan Arkin and adorable Abigail Breslin. I'm sure she's not going to win this year -- she's up against Cate Blanchett and shoe-in Jennifer Hudson -- but she's still so good in that movie.

The Best Picture nominees are "The Departed," "Babel," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen." I've only seen one of these so far so I have to get on the train and start checking all of them out, starting with "The Queen" this week. I just hope they bring "The Departed" back and have some of the smaller films make their way to the middle of Indiana. And is anyone else surprised that "Letters From Iwo Jima" was nominated, but not its English companion "Flags of Our Fathers"?

I'm getting all kinds of excited for this year and will be pulling my tiara out for whatever local party I'm going to. YEAH!

Edited to add: Did anyone see the list for Original Song? Prince won the Golden Globe for that and didn't even get nominated for the Oscar. Meanwhile, there are three songs from Dreamgirls nominated, one from Cars, and apparently a song written specifically for Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Really? We'll see how this category shapes up. All five nominated songs are performed at the Oscars [it's the music portion of the movie awards show] so this should be quite interesting. At least there's no 3 6 Mafia this year.

And in the documentary category, Al Gore could win an Oscar and what's better: Being President of the United States or an Oscar winner? That being said, he's up against a movie called "Jesus Camp" so this could be quite the interesting category.

Full list of nominees is here.

don't be a rock star

2007-01-22T16:39:00.000-05:00

Jobs that have a short life span: rock star. According to this Web site, the average age of death for a rock star is almost 37 years for rock stars, but 78 years for us normal people. Seriously. Things to avoid if you are a rock star: heart attacks, drugs, cars, airplanes, your own hand, and unknowns. Surprisingly, there weren't many deaths due to alcohol. Go figure.

Oh, and weird deaths: falling out a window and hit by a train.

dancing with that one guy...

2007-01-22T14:22:00.000-05:00

I Love the 90's called. They want their dancers back.

Apparently, someone at ABC is starting to leak the names of the dancers on the next installment of Dancing with the Stars. Ok, you can stop laughing at me now for liking the show. Anyway...included on the list are Joey Fatone from 90's band N Sync, Billy Ray Cyrus who sang the 90's hit song Achy Breaky Heart, and Ian Ziering from 90's show 90210. If you don't recognize his picture on the left, you're probably under the age of 18. Just a guess.

So please tell me I'm not going to be the only loser watching this show. I am, right? I do have to admit though that this show is another reminder of why Tivo is so great. Set up the Tivo to record the show, but don't start actually watching the show until at least 15 minutes in. That way you can skip the commercials and the really bad dancers [re: Tucker Carlson and Master P] and yet still find out who gets kicked out LIVE instead of on your Tivo delay.

beyonce and the supremes

2007-01-19T14:25:00.000-05:00

So I headed out to see Dreamgirls earlier this week and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Beyonce can actually act and Jennifer Hudson was perfect for her role. And wow. Did not expect Eddie Murphy to be as good as he was. That was a pleasant surprise.

The movie won three Golden Globes for best drama, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. I think she probably won her Globe for her rendition of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going". Yeah, the rest of her acting was ok, but if you saw her sing that song in the context of the movie, you would be blown away. Hell, you would be blown away hearing it without seeing the movie first, so I give you an MP3 to bask in the awesomeness of this performance.

Jennifer Hudson - And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going

Also, check out Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie, perform the song at the Tonys [via YouTube].

wikit: nkotb

2007-01-18T17:22:00.001-05:00

This is the first of what will maybe be a regular feature to make you waste your time at work or at home. So you know how you can end up spending hours of time on Wikipedia? I'm going to help you!

First, I had to highlight an oldie but a dearie. As anyone who knew me when I was 13 can attest, I was in love with the New Kids on the Block. And why? Because I was a teenager with baby-sitting money to spend and they were a band that took my money.

NKOTB, as they were later called, were a successful boy band out of Boston who rocked to fame with such hits as "I'll be Loving You (Forever)" and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" [what the hell was up with all the parenthesis?].

Little known fact: MTV at first didn't play the band's videos because the station thought they were a marketing phenom and not a music one? Now, all they play on MTV are marketing phenoms. Is that ironic or coincidental?

Little known fact: Maurice Starr also founded New Edition, but that's for another wikit.

Little known fact: I still know the full names of every single band member and their birthdays. My favorite was Joe [aka Joseph Mulrey McIntyre, born Dec. 31, 1972, and no I didn't have to look any of that up]. My first concert was the New Kids at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Nov. 17, 1990.

Little known fact: I know way too many little known facts.

So with that, I give you my favorite New Kids on the Block song of all time. I dare you to download it!

NKOTB - Please Don't Go Girl

And I think I had a really big button with this picture on it. Oh, New Kids. You were so dreamy once.

luxury rehab

2007-01-18T12:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, if you didn't expect Lindsay Lohan to go into rehab sooner or later, something is wrong with you. So yeah, the starlet headed to the only place for starlets to go -- a fancy schmancy rehab facility for celebrities in California. The best part was the description from Us Weekly of her entourage as it made its way to the facility.

"She arrived at the facility in a blacked out SUV followed by a caravan of two other cars. Looking somber, the actress carried a dark Balenciaga bag and a Jamba Juice, she wore black tights, a green flannel shirt, a leather jacket, and a black baseball cap that said 'Lola.'"

You know you have problems when you show up at rehab with a caravan of three SUVs, your Balenciaga bag, and a hat with your name on it so you can remember who you are.

On that note, I just realized I don't know what other labels to put on this post except "Lindsay Lohan." Should I add music? Movies? What the hell is her talent besides being a celebrity?

red carpet interviews

2007-01-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

I love watching all the pre-show coverage before the Golden Globes or the Oscars to see what people are wearing or hope I catch a glimpse of one of my favorite actors or singers getting interviewed. But as I watched all the entertainment coverage on Monday, I realized that there are certain criteria to get a job being an red carpet interviewer. First, you have to look pretty. Second, you have to dress pretty. Third, you have to be a vapid idiot.

For example, let's say I'm given the chance to do a red carpet interview with Leonardo DiCaprio at the Golden Globes. Here are some things I would ask:

-- The Departed is your third movie with Martin Scorcese. Why do you like working with him so much?
-- How did you learn the accent you used in "Blood Diamond" and how long did it take you to get it right?

You know, things like that. Instead, these were the questions that Leo was asked.

-- Who are you wearing?
-- How long did it take you to get ready today?
-- Who is your date?

Really? That's all you can come up with? It gets worse when the different outfits make celebrities look stupid with hokey pokey garbage. These things would include:

-- The rotating platform that Entertainment Tonight made people stand on while being interviewed by Mary Hart.
-- The Glam Cam on E!. Make sure to stand still while we take a full body shot of your outfit as we zoom up your legs to your crotch, your cleavage, and finally, your face as an afterthought.
-- The Insider Confessional Cam! Confess your darkest secrets, Sheryl Crow, or you won't get free Moet champagne.
-- The Insider Two-Way Mirror. Because wouldn't it be embarassing if a celeb's dress was accidentally tucked into her underwear before she went it?
-- The E! Post-Show Interview Lounge with an open bar! It started lame and then the chick from E! put Helen Mirren's Golden Globes on some stupid stand that rotates around and accidentally dropped one. Yes, she dropped Helen Mirren's Golden Globe. Awkward.

So yeah, it's times like these when I'm glad I have a Tivo and a mute button. I will admit, I Tivoed all the shows mentioned above, but I was also admit that it only took me 20 minutes to get through three hours of that crap before deleting it forever.

minnesota idol

2007-01-17T11:17:00.000-05:00

So American Idol started up again last night and luckily for me, I Tivoed. Why luckily? I never realized how crappy these two-hour audition shows are until I was able to fast forward through them. Here's the formula: bad singer comes in and thinks they are good, they're always there because they want to be the next American Idol, they sing horribly, they want a second change, they beg to go to Hollywood, and they always make sure to mention in the post-audition interview that the judges don't know what they're talking about. Believe me, they do. You sucked. Also, it's pretty much a given that if you dress up like Apollo Creed or sing like the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz that you're going to get cut.

Last night, there was also the added bonus that tryouts were in Minnesota. For the most part, no biggie except for the first girl they had on the show who went into a detailed description of her job at Glamor Shots in one of the best Minnesotan accents I ever heard. It even topped my friend Stacy's accent when she would come back to New York after being home for a week and start dropping long O's everywhere.

So yeah, this will remain a Tivo staple for now, but from now on, I'm going to watch it after it airs so it only takes me 45 minutes to watch a two-hour show.

let me entertain you

2007-01-16T11:39:00.000-05:00

I figured this would be a good start for my MP3 posts for all of you given the title.

If you haven't heard of Robbie Williams, no one would blame you. The guy is huge in Europe -- HUGE! -- but never feels the need to tour the U.S. so he never gets news coverage here. Despite all that, he lives in Los Angeles. Maybe it's because no one knows him here.

Anyway, for a guy that started out in the British version of the New Kids on the Block [Take That for those interested], the guy has gone a long way. Oh, and according to Wiki, he likes to look himself up on the Internet so if he ever makes it here, well, then there will be two of us reading this blog.

Below is a SendSpace link to his song "Let Me Entertain You" from the 1999 album The Ego Has Landed. If you haven't used SendSpace before, it's easy. Click the link below, which will take you to a page to download the song. Click the link there and viola! Robbie Williams on your computer!

Robbie Williams - Let Me Entertain You

it's here

2007-01-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

So finally after much talk and hype, I'm getting this thing going. I figure everyone on the Internet wants to know my opinion so why not give it to them? This crazy thing will cover all the crap in pop culture out there today from the good to the bad to the Ugly Betty, which won the Best Comedy Golden Globe last night much to my chagrin. And yes, there will be a CCP logo. I'm just not feeling it today.

So have fun coming by over and over. I'll be trying to do a few posts a day so there will always be something! And if you have ideas, the email address is on the right so send them along.