Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Summer is Coming
It's California and I have no right to complain but I'm tired of the cold: cold fingers and toes, a cold bedroom, a cold chill when I'm getting out of the shower in the morning.
But today, the sky is blue, the sun is warm on my pale skin, there's a light breeze rustling the hair about my face and all around me is a sense of genuine gladness - children laughing, BBQ's being fired up, windows sliding open to let in the fresh air - in the coming season.
Flip flops and brightly colored toenails, bathing suits and shorts, lying around at the beach with the sand in my toes, driving with the windows down hot and sweaty and parched for an ice cold glass of water, that blurred cool darkness of walking into an air conditioned house after a long day in the sun - I welcome all of this.
Two things: 1). I would never be able to live in Minnesota and 2). I'll probably be complaining about the heat by August.
Right now though? The prospect of summer on the near horizon is glorious.
(It also doesn't hurt that the Lollapalooza lineup was released today and I'm starting to have flashbacks of last summer - the kind of memories you can smell and taste on your tongue, leaving you wanting nothing more than a return to those moments.
I. CAN'T. WAIT.)
But today, the sky is blue, the sun is warm on my pale skin, there's a light breeze rustling the hair about my face and all around me is a sense of genuine gladness - children laughing, BBQ's being fired up, windows sliding open to let in the fresh air - in the coming season.
Flip flops and brightly colored toenails, bathing suits and shorts, lying around at the beach with the sand in my toes, driving with the windows down hot and sweaty and parched for an ice cold glass of water, that blurred cool darkness of walking into an air conditioned house after a long day in the sun - I welcome all of this.
Two things: 1). I would never be able to live in Minnesota and 2). I'll probably be complaining about the heat by August.
Right now though? The prospect of summer on the near horizon is glorious.
(It also doesn't hurt that the Lollapalooza lineup was released today and I'm starting to have flashbacks of last summer - the kind of memories you can smell and taste on your tongue, leaving you wanting nothing more than a return to those moments.
I. CAN'T. WAIT.)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Need a smile?
... watch this video.
You know that scene in Despicable Me where Agnes sees the unicorn stuffed animal for the first time and screams, "IT'S SO FLUFFY I WANNA DIE!"? This video gives me those kinds of feelings.
"IT'S SO CUTE I WANNA DIE!"
You know that scene in Despicable Me where Agnes sees the unicorn stuffed animal for the first time and screams, "IT'S SO FLUFFY I WANNA DIE!"? This video gives me those kinds of feelings.
"IT'S SO CUTE I WANNA DIE!"
Sunday, April 10, 2011
this is what boredom does
I had nothing else to do this weekend so I threw in the first season of Dawson's Creek on Friday and have since been sucked back into the world of Capeside and the never-ending drama of Dawson and Joey and Co. Honestly, I only meant to watch the first couple episodes in some kind of weird "oh look how young they were and look how cheesy this is" nostalgia tour but dammit, I still love this show. Oh of course, it's cheesy and I want to smack Dawson in the face half the time for his "why won't Jen have sex with meeeeeeeeee?" whine-a-thons but on the whole it's actually pretty decent entertainment.
No matter what, this show's always going to mean something to me. I was obsessed with it in high school, the characters and I graduated the same year, the music is cause for instant flashback to my own high school memories and for better or worse, the characters touched me. Sure, maybe I never had an incarcerated father or a crush on my best friend, I never slept with a teacher or was involved in a schoolmate falling to her death off a pier, but something connected.
And then of course there's Pacey, who is even better than I remember. Sure, he had that whole thing with Ms. Jacobs and it was awkward and a little yucky (Oh MAN I remember how scandalous that was at the time. And now everywhere you look, on every television show featuring a character in high school, SOMEONE'S getting it on with a faculty member) but then he became PACEY WITTER. He helped Andie through her breakdown and bought Joey a wall and built a boat and became a chef and he was tortured and his family sucked and he almost didn't graduate and he was dry and sarcastic and a hundred billion trillion times better than Dawson and... okay, yes, ten years later and I still have a crush.
Anyway, I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane. Maybe I should watch Roswell next. Or Felicity. Or Popular...
Maybe what I'm trying to say is, I miss the WB.
No matter what, this show's always going to mean something to me. I was obsessed with it in high school, the characters and I graduated the same year, the music is cause for instant flashback to my own high school memories and for better or worse, the characters touched me. Sure, maybe I never had an incarcerated father or a crush on my best friend, I never slept with a teacher or was involved in a schoolmate falling to her death off a pier, but something connected.
And then of course there's Pacey, who is even better than I remember. Sure, he had that whole thing with Ms. Jacobs and it was awkward and a little yucky (Oh MAN I remember how scandalous that was at the time. And now everywhere you look, on every television show featuring a character in high school, SOMEONE'S getting it on with a faculty member) but then he became PACEY WITTER. He helped Andie through her breakdown and bought Joey a wall and built a boat and became a chef and he was tortured and his family sucked and he almost didn't graduate and he was dry and sarcastic and a hundred billion trillion times better than Dawson and... okay, yes, ten years later and I still have a crush.
Anyway, I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane. Maybe I should watch Roswell next. Or Felicity. Or Popular...
Maybe what I'm trying to say is, I miss the WB.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sounds of Winter
1. Creep - Scala and Kolacny Brothers
2. Down to the River - Paul Noonan and Lisa Hannigan
3. Fancy Footwork - Chromeo
4. Fight for this Love - Vampire Weekend
5. Harold T. Wilkins - Fanfarlo
6. If You Run - Boxer Rebellion
7. Just a Dream - Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie
8. Little Shadow - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. Pioneers - Bloc Party
10. Ring of Fire - Jack Savoretti
11. Rise - The Frames
12. Rolling in the Deep - Adele feat. Jamie xx and Childish Gambino
13. Runaway - Kanye West
14. Shell Games - Bright Eyes
15. Soldier - Ingrid Michaelson
16. Some Surprise - Gary Lightbody and Lisa Hannigan
17. Time After Time - Matt Ketteman and Cameron Mizell
18. Trust - Generationals
19. Window are Rolled Down - Amos Lee
2. Down to the River - Paul Noonan and Lisa Hannigan
3. Fancy Footwork - Chromeo
4. Fight for this Love - Vampire Weekend
5. Harold T. Wilkins - Fanfarlo
6. If You Run - Boxer Rebellion
7. Just a Dream - Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie
8. Little Shadow - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. Pioneers - Bloc Party
10. Ring of Fire - Jack Savoretti
11. Rise - The Frames
12. Rolling in the Deep - Adele feat. Jamie xx and Childish Gambino
13. Runaway - Kanye West
14. Shell Games - Bright Eyes
15. Soldier - Ingrid Michaelson
16. Some Surprise - Gary Lightbody and Lisa Hannigan
17. Time After Time - Matt Ketteman and Cameron Mizell
18. Trust - Generationals
19. Window are Rolled Down - Amos Lee
Friday, April 1, 2011
In Which I Cry Over Television
I can't help it okay? I'm an emotional person. Check the list of 100 Random Facts. There are at least 15 things on there dedicated to what makes me cry. It's who I am. I sort of hope that never changes.
Greek
I realize that I never talked about the series finale, an episode that made me cry like a ridiculous baby. A lot happened and it did feel a little rushed but overall I was pleased with how everything was resolved. The friendly and romantic pairings of Cappie/Evan and Cappie/Casey both got happy endings and I didn't even mind the still slightly disconcerting hook-up of Ashleigh and Rusty. As for the part that killed me? They tore down the KT house! In four seasons that house had practically become a character itself and I was as devastated as the characters to watch it destroyed.
Upon watching this last episode I began to realize how much I'm going to miss the show and the crazy assortment of wonderful characters. Overall I think it portrayed the college experience in a really realistic way and unfortunately, this seems to be rare. So often shows like Gossip Girl or 90210 devolve into over-the-top exploits and serial killers and sex, sex, sex all the time and no one ever actually goes to class. Or talks about class. Or worries about class. And it's ridiculous. So thank you Greek, for being a lovely show that I can relate to. You will be missed. (I've started re-watching a bunch of episodes on Hulu though to dull the pain. It's fun to see how far everyone has come. Especially Casey and Rusty. She actually enjoys his presence now! Awww.)
Castle
This show is delighting me in a hardcore way. Maybe because the flirting between Castle and Beckett has been amped up since the freezer incident and almost every subsequent episode has had some adorable moment where I find myself screaming, "Dump the doctor boyfriend Kate! Be with Castle! He's funny and sweet and smart and a good dad. And most importantly? HE LOVES YOU."
I'm hoping it's all leading up to something.
Fringe
Once again I'm amazed at how this show has managed to make me care about an episode featuring a bunch of characters that haven't even been around since the beginning. It's always been Olivia and Peter and Walter and Astrid. And now we have this alternate universe with characters that look familiar but are so different and at first they were supposed to be the enemy - the ones we didn't care about. But I do! I love that a version of Charlie is still alive. I ADORE Lincoln. I empathize with Walternate. And when I thought Fauxlivia had died in the last episode I got legitimate tears in my eyes. I have no idea how this is all going to get resolved but I'm pretty sure it's going to be devastating for everyone. Including me.
OH! And the most important thing: The show was renewed for Season Four!!! I'm kind of shocked because the ratings are so bad but it's a pleasant surprise. And with that I'm officially not worried about any of my shows anymore.
(And I do feel bad saying that because Chuck hasn't been renewed yet but honestly, my heart's just not in it anymore. Zachary Levi is still completely delightful but I just don't feel as invested as I had been in past seasons. I do hope it's renewed but I'm not stressing.)
Community
Last week's episode was being billed as a Pulp Fiction homage so I turned in expecting - I don't even know - Non-linear storytelling? People getting accidentally shot in the head and overdosing on coke? Something Quentin Tarantino-esque at least. But no. Once again this show smacked my expectations in the face and gave me a My Dinner with Andre homage (A movie that I had honestly never even heard of). I spent the first half of the episode being as confused as Jeff. What the hell was Abed even doing? His mannerisms were so far removed from his normal stiff, monotone self that it was kind of freaky (But holy crap was Danny Pudi amazing at transitioning between these two personas). When the truth was revealed that it was all just a movie homage I had my "Ah-ha" moment and everything made sense but Jeff didn't take it quite as well. After all, he had poured his heart out and shared a painful story from his past. (Who would have guessed from the beginning of this show that this character was so tortured? - Calling a phone sex hotline and telling them you're fat just to seek out affirmaiton? Lordy, there's a lot there to deal with there.) But in the end we get another touching Jeff/Abed scene where these two connect in a way that is really compelling. They are completely different kinds of people and yet they seem to be able to learn so much from each other. And wow, this feel so ridiculous to write about a half an hour sitcom. But there's just so much there to talk about and dissect.
There also WAS a bit of Pulp Fiction sprinkled in amongst the MDWA stuff and it was the main source of laughs for the episode - Annie and Troy as Honey Bunny and Pumpkin holding up the restaurant, Jeff and Britta re-enacting the dance, Shirley as Samuel L. Jackson (complete with sideburns, Pierce (disturbingly) as The Gimp and Chang as Bruce Willis's character. It was weird and strange but as always, genius.
The Office
First, it must be said: Steve Carell does not have an Emmy for the role of Michael Scott. THIS is a travesty. Especially after this last episode which was maybe my favorite this season, maybe in the last few seasons. There were tears. A lot of tears actually. Because after six and a half seasons of watching this guy strive so hard just to find a place for himself, find love and create a family - he's finally attained there. His proposal to Holly was lovely and perfect and as soon as he opened the door to the break room to reveal everyone standing there with candles I lost it. So perfect and weird and Michael.
So we now know how the show will be writing him out and the end it so near that I can't help but just feel sad. Michael Scott, you're awful and cringe-worthy and I hate half the things you do but I'm going to miss you so much.
Make it Or Break It.
Yup. Guilty pleasure alert. But I'm talking about it here for the express purpose of making two points:
1.) Angsty Sasha is hot.
2.) SIMON MOTHER-FREAKING TAM.
That is all.
Mad Men
UGH. It's not coming back until March of 2012. At the EARLIEST. What is this? How is it conceivable that an entire YEAR will go by without this show on the air? Again I say, UGH.
* We're heading into finale time soon. A season that always makes me nervous because shows tend to explode into insanity and people dying and getting married unexpectedly and having babies and making confessions and kissing people they're not supposed to be kissing and then *BOOM* Fade to black. See you in the Fall. SO MUCH STRESS.
I am making my list of shows I want to catch up on this summer though. I'm thinking Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, Parenthood, The Good Wife and The Vampire Diaries. Any other suggestions?
Greek
I realize that I never talked about the series finale, an episode that made me cry like a ridiculous baby. A lot happened and it did feel a little rushed but overall I was pleased with how everything was resolved. The friendly and romantic pairings of Cappie/Evan and Cappie/Casey both got happy endings and I didn't even mind the still slightly disconcerting hook-up of Ashleigh and Rusty. As for the part that killed me? They tore down the KT house! In four seasons that house had practically become a character itself and I was as devastated as the characters to watch it destroyed.
Upon watching this last episode I began to realize how much I'm going to miss the show and the crazy assortment of wonderful characters. Overall I think it portrayed the college experience in a really realistic way and unfortunately, this seems to be rare. So often shows like Gossip Girl or 90210 devolve into over-the-top exploits and serial killers and sex, sex, sex all the time and no one ever actually goes to class. Or talks about class. Or worries about class. And it's ridiculous. So thank you Greek, for being a lovely show that I can relate to. You will be missed. (I've started re-watching a bunch of episodes on Hulu though to dull the pain. It's fun to see how far everyone has come. Especially Casey and Rusty. She actually enjoys his presence now! Awww.)
Castle
This show is delighting me in a hardcore way. Maybe because the flirting between Castle and Beckett has been amped up since the freezer incident and almost every subsequent episode has had some adorable moment where I find myself screaming, "Dump the doctor boyfriend Kate! Be with Castle! He's funny and sweet and smart and a good dad. And most importantly? HE LOVES YOU."
I'm hoping it's all leading up to something.
Fringe
Once again I'm amazed at how this show has managed to make me care about an episode featuring a bunch of characters that haven't even been around since the beginning. It's always been Olivia and Peter and Walter and Astrid. And now we have this alternate universe with characters that look familiar but are so different and at first they were supposed to be the enemy - the ones we didn't care about. But I do! I love that a version of Charlie is still alive. I ADORE Lincoln. I empathize with Walternate. And when I thought Fauxlivia had died in the last episode I got legitimate tears in my eyes. I have no idea how this is all going to get resolved but I'm pretty sure it's going to be devastating for everyone. Including me.
OH! And the most important thing: The show was renewed for Season Four!!! I'm kind of shocked because the ratings are so bad but it's a pleasant surprise. And with that I'm officially not worried about any of my shows anymore.
(And I do feel bad saying that because Chuck hasn't been renewed yet but honestly, my heart's just not in it anymore. Zachary Levi is still completely delightful but I just don't feel as invested as I had been in past seasons. I do hope it's renewed but I'm not stressing.)
Community
Last week's episode was being billed as a Pulp Fiction homage so I turned in expecting - I don't even know - Non-linear storytelling? People getting accidentally shot in the head and overdosing on coke? Something Quentin Tarantino-esque at least. But no. Once again this show smacked my expectations in the face and gave me a My Dinner with Andre homage (A movie that I had honestly never even heard of). I spent the first half of the episode being as confused as Jeff. What the hell was Abed even doing? His mannerisms were so far removed from his normal stiff, monotone self that it was kind of freaky (But holy crap was Danny Pudi amazing at transitioning between these two personas). When the truth was revealed that it was all just a movie homage I had my "Ah-ha" moment and everything made sense but Jeff didn't take it quite as well. After all, he had poured his heart out and shared a painful story from his past. (Who would have guessed from the beginning of this show that this character was so tortured? - Calling a phone sex hotline and telling them you're fat just to seek out affirmaiton? Lordy, there's a lot there to deal with there.) But in the end we get another touching Jeff/Abed scene where these two connect in a way that is really compelling. They are completely different kinds of people and yet they seem to be able to learn so much from each other. And wow, this feel so ridiculous to write about a half an hour sitcom. But there's just so much there to talk about and dissect.
There also WAS a bit of Pulp Fiction sprinkled in amongst the MDWA stuff and it was the main source of laughs for the episode - Annie and Troy as Honey Bunny and Pumpkin holding up the restaurant, Jeff and Britta re-enacting the dance, Shirley as Samuel L. Jackson (complete with sideburns, Pierce (disturbingly) as The Gimp and Chang as Bruce Willis's character. It was weird and strange but as always, genius.
The Office
First, it must be said: Steve Carell does not have an Emmy for the role of Michael Scott. THIS is a travesty. Especially after this last episode which was maybe my favorite this season, maybe in the last few seasons. There were tears. A lot of tears actually. Because after six and a half seasons of watching this guy strive so hard just to find a place for himself, find love and create a family - he's finally attained there. His proposal to Holly was lovely and perfect and as soon as he opened the door to the break room to reveal everyone standing there with candles I lost it. So perfect and weird and Michael.
So we now know how the show will be writing him out and the end it so near that I can't help but just feel sad. Michael Scott, you're awful and cringe-worthy and I hate half the things you do but I'm going to miss you so much.
Make it Or Break It.
Yup. Guilty pleasure alert. But I'm talking about it here for the express purpose of making two points:
1.) Angsty Sasha is hot.
2.) SIMON MOTHER-FREAKING TAM.
That is all.
Mad Men
UGH. It's not coming back until March of 2012. At the EARLIEST. What is this? How is it conceivable that an entire YEAR will go by without this show on the air? Again I say, UGH.
* We're heading into finale time soon. A season that always makes me nervous because shows tend to explode into insanity and people dying and getting married unexpectedly and having babies and making confessions and kissing people they're not supposed to be kissing and then *BOOM* Fade to black. See you in the Fall. SO MUCH STRESS.
I am making my list of shows I want to catch up on this summer though. I'm thinking Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, Parenthood, The Good Wife and The Vampire Diaries. Any other suggestions?
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