Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Who Am I?

The game: guess my celebrity mom and/or dad



Two pictures because this child is adorable, and because his huge family of reality stars love to share their lives with the public.

Hint:
1) You can Keep Up with my whole family on our family reality show
2) I was recently the ring bearer in my Aunt's wedding to an NBA star
3) My mom's dad was an American attorney, best known for serving on the legal team of a good friend who is believed to be responsible for the murders of his wife and her friend

Monday, August 29, 2011

Netflix Time Wasters, Coupling

Once upon a time, TV watching was done on the TV. These days TV and movie watching is done instantly on Netflix and the world is a better place as a result. My social life might suck, but that is an opportunity cost I'm willing to take. Besides, I'm meeting all kinds of new people as a result of Netflix, they are just fictional which is one step up from imaginary so I think I'm doing alright.

Let me take this time to introduce you to some of the great people I'm meeting on Netflix. To begin, meet the characters of Coupling (U.K. edition): Steve Taylor, Susan Walker, Jeff Murdock, Sally Harper, Patrick Maitland, and Jane Christie.

Coupling was suggested to me via Netflix, Netflix is so good at recommending shows to me, it is kind of scary. Not only does this show feature British actors equipped with accents, but it also falls in the category of British Comedy which I am discovering to be quite fantastic. It is like a British version of Friends, but with only 4 series (U.K. for seasons) and a total of 28 episodes, it moves quickly and thus feels a little bit more fulfilling (you know how U.S. shows will just drag on and on, the writers making us suffer, U.K. writers are much more kind to their viewers). Steve is a mix of Chandler and Ross, Susan is Monica (kind of the leader of the group), Jeff is an extreme version of Joey only without Joey's skills with the lady (Jeff is so NOT a ladies-man), Sally is a more uptight version of Rachel, Patrick is actually a bit of Joey (total ladies-man), and Jane is all the ditz of Pheobe but with a total ego-complex. Only, those comparisons should not be taken literally because the show is not just a copy of Friends, it definitely holds its own.

The first three series were great, I'm on the fourth series right now and it gets a little weird with a lot dream sequences and the departure of Jeff Murdock, but I'm still laughing loudly and disrupting my mom as she watches actual TV (I suppose it is more difficult for older people to break the habit).

Check it out, and stay tuned for more to watch on Netflix.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

MTV Still Plays Music Videos?

The MTV Video Music Awards was tonight, woohoo!

Wait a minute, MTV still plays music videos?

That would be a negative.

Actually I have no idea. Does anyone watch MTV for the music anymore? The last time I checked the channel was mostly comprised of lame reality shows. How sad to see that MTV fell into the same fate as it's sister network, VH1. I use to love I Love The .

Regardless of the reality show to music video ratio, apparently MTV still thinks it is enough invested in the music industry to host a music video award. Truthfully, I think an MTV Reality Show Awards show is more appropriate, but whatevs.

So anyways, here is what you should know about what went down tonight.

1) Selena Gomez hosted the pre-show and had an awkward (or adorable, you decide) interview with BF Justin Bieber that was sealed with a kiss for the whole world to see

O-M-G. Did he really just say "my snake's name is Johnson"? So many things wrong with that statement coming from a 17-year old in an interview with his girlfriend!!!

And to make it more awkward/inappropriate:
@ddlovato: @biebcyrusx: @justinbieber showing @ddlovato his SNAKE ! HAHAHA LMAO. 30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqo422d…” @justinbieber you're crazy!!!!



2) Beyonce showed off her pregnant self. Yes, that is right, the future ruler of all music is currently brewing in Beyonce's belly.

3) Kanye and Jay-Z performed, and according to Victoria Justice:
@VictoriaJustice: HAHA. The funniest & most bizarre thing just happened during the Jay-Z & Kanye performance. I hope they show it, u guys have to watch.
That tweet was preceded by:
@VictoriaJustice Omg guys!!! Jessie J just performed "Price Tag" & I saw someone FALL off the top balcony behind her!! I'm freaking out. I hope they're OK!
Really? You think you see someone fall from the top balcony and you think, "I must tweet this to let my fans know." Sounds like a fabulous evening.

4) Demi Lovato looked all kinds of confident in a tight silver dress and big smile. Unfortunately, haters gotta hate. In response to some comments about her weight, Demi took to Twitter (at the show) to tell them off
@ddlovato: I've gained weight. Get over it. That's what happens when you get out of treatment for AN EATING DISORDER :) #UNBROKEN #920
I like the placement of the :) after the all caps statement, it really tells us that she is mad, but she is not gonna let those haters rain on her parade.
And then fellow Joe Jonas ex-gf, Ashley Greene, tweeted right back to Demi
@AshleyMGreene: girl... your beautiful @ddlovato
@ddlovato: @AshleyMGreene this is why you're my friend.. Thank you girl.
proper your/you're usage: Demi-1, Ashley-0
If J. Jonas-exes can make peace, then surely the rest of the world is not far behind. Demi continued to confront the bullies
@ddlovato: Guess what, I'm healthy and happy, and if you're hating on my weight you obviously aren't. :) #UNBROKEN

I love that Demi is not afraid to address the ridiculous comments publicly, especially because if media outlets are the ones commenting on her weight than chances are many young girls are going to hear that criticism and be fed these insane and unrealistic ideas about how women should look. Demi looks beautiful, so just get over it hyper-critical perfectionists who don't know what it looks like to be healthy and happy, and who criticize others in an attempt to hide their own insecurities. Team Demi!

And, just because, let's look at what Casper has to say about Demi
@DevonESawa Demi Lovato looks like a beautiful young lady. http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2 Via @cadlymack

Well, friends, that about sums it up for you. If you didn't catch the show, don't worry I didn't either. But, now you can totally contribute to conversation about the event and pretend like you did.

Your welcome.

I kid. I kid.

You're welcome.

Does Anyone Remember...Bobby's World

Bobby's World was one of those shows I know I watched (probably religiously because TV was my religion as a child) but I remember next to nothing about.



Dontcha know I can't remember plot line or characters, but I can not forget Mrs. Generic's voice. I hear that voice everywhere. I especially hear this voice when Molly falls into her Minnesota accent. Now, I'm not entirely sure where the show takes place and thus what the actual accent is. Howie Mandel is Canadian, but I tend to think Canadians and Mid-Westerners speak with similar pronunciations, and for that reason "Dontcha know" is both my go-to Mid-West phrase and my go-to Canada phrase. Also, I'm pretty confident that phrase is as popular out there as "hella" is to my NorCal friends.

In my quest to learn more about this long forgotten show, I did some research. Did you know this show ran for 8 years? I do not remember it spanning that much of my childhood. How about that Howie Mandel, in 2006, mentioned the desire to remake the series? Bobby even had a guest spot on Deal or No Deal.

Man, I'm learning all kinds of stuff from Wikipedia today.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Taylor Swift Speaks Now, August 24 At Staples

I remember the first time I heard Taylor Swift. Molly, Jackie, and I were driving to San Diego for Christmas Conference the winter of 2006. I immediately loved the music and the singer and brought it back to Berkeley where Susan and I would listen to it on repeat for the rest of the year. Actually longer. I listened to it on repeat until 2008 when it was replaced by Fearless, which would ultimately be replaced by Speak Now in 2010.

Almost five years later, Susan and I got to see Taylor Swift in concert with like 15,000 other people (including Emma Stone, the Jenners, and Jason Mraz) at the Staples Center on August 24. And like the true champs we are, we rocked the show from the back row

Holla! Although I'd love a front row seat, since I don't have the connections or the money to afford such an amenity, I am happy to accept the seat in the back that cost almost $100 (Thanks, Santa!). It is not the first time, nor will it be the last time I get to party hard in the back row.


Taylor Swift put on quite a spectacle. Acrobats swinging from giant bells, a floating balcony, a gown shaped like a pastry, 9 wardrobe changes, even more instrument changes, and Jason Mraz.

The Jason Mraz moment was probably the highlight of the show for me. I mean, Taylor Swift is wonderful and I fully enjoyed the performance and the elements added to make it intimate for all ticket holders, but Jason Mraz is so dreamy <3



The Tuesday show had Justin Bieber as a surprise guest, and when I heard that I said "Dear God, please let the Wednesday show have a better surprise guest than Justin Bieber." Evidence that God answers prayers, regardless of how ridiculous they might be:



Seriously, if Jason Mraz was not engaged I'd be so all over that. In the meantime, I've switched my attraction to Mr. Josh Groban. Josh has that totally goofy nerd thing going for him. Argh! I can't resist that in a man! Plus he has that beautiful voice...*swoon*

Anyways, to conclude:
Taylor Swift concert = enchanting fairytale
Jason Mraz = attractive (but taken) fella on the guitar
Josh Groban = my future husband

For more pictures...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Brenda Song To Join Mommy Club


Though I have yet to hear any confirmed reports (the Cyrus clan has remained mum on Twitter), SUPPOSEDLY Brenda Song and Trace Cyrus (above tattooed individual) have a baby on the way. Chances are you recognize Ms. Song from the Disney channel (Suite Life) but she also played crazy/psycho gf who burns things in The Social Network. As for the baby daddy, if you have heard of Trace it is probably because of his last name. I like to think I know my audience, and so I'm fairly confident none of you listen to his music, and therefore you may have heard his name thrown around in some Cyrus related news/drama. Also...erm, he may have dated Demi Lovato.

Twitter has been abuzz with the Brenda Song/Trace Cyrus story and everyone has a thought or question about the news.
@Dreamsdcometrue Brrr, I wouldn't want to be pregnant with Trace Cyrus' baby. He scares me :|
@xoxomitchiexoxo I was looking at the tweets about Trace Cyrus & someone called him 'gothic'. Labels are for soup cans people.
@Skyscraper4Demi What if Trace Cyrus's & Brenda Song's baby comes out w/ tattoos covered head to toe & the baby's first word is YEY MEE

I even read someone mention an unexplained desire to stab Trace; people be cray-cray!

I for one think the excessive tattooing of the body can only lead to postponed regret. Your options will be some hefty medical bills later in life for laser removal treatments, and/or serious regret when the skin starts a' sagging and the tats look disgusting, and/or regret when the tattoos become no longer relevant. Personal choice, I know. I personally choose not to and when asked I will advise against it for above reasons.

For most people, I think the news is just surprising because Trace is the anti-Disney to Brenda's clean-cut Disney image. Is this her act of rebellion? Disney stars are kind of bred to be perfect little role models, and then they grow up and throw it all to the wayside. Is Brenda trying to shed her Disney appeal? Will her role of unwed mother (unless of course they do a quickie before the baby is born) affect her appeal among viewers, parents, and Disney executives?

My initial thought is, who cares? And then I read comment sections of articles and realize that some parents really analyze that type of stuff. Since I am not a mother, and all of my loyal readers (at least the ones I know about, not so sure about the creepers) are also not mothers, I want to know as a not-parent, what your thoughts are.

Let's look at the facts:
He is 21 and she 22, so they aren't kids anymore. Although she still seems to be cast in kid roles. Additionally, the Suite Life ceased production so its not as though parents will have to explain to their children why London Tipton is pregnant

Brenda Song is not the first (nor will she be the last) Disney starlet to depart from the wholesome Disney upbringing, so feel free to consider the alternatives (Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Auntie Miley Cyrus, etc.).



Who Am I?

The game: guess my celebrity mom and/or dad

Not gonna lie, I've been pretty disappointed with your overall inability to identify these children. Now, I can't blame you entirely. I realize that my clues have been sometimes too vague and that I shouldn't expect you to all have the same obsessive knowledge of celebrities. Thus, I shall try and give more clues within my clues to help you. However, I stand by the fact that my clues for the last Who Am I? were superbly written and you should all be disappointed in yourselves since my mom figured it out on the first clue alone.


1) Our mom first garnered fame when she explained it all as the lead in a popular Nickelodeon sitcom in the early 90s.
2) She then spent 7 years as a teenage witch before briefly retiring from the role as lead in a sitcom.
3) In 2010 she returned to TV and joined a male 90s TV star on a new ABC Family sitcom that shares both their names.
4) Our mommy is....


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Two Degrees Of Separation: Tom Felton


Me -> Jason Isaacs -> Tom Felton

Ok, I realize technically that connection doesn't count because I don't know Jason Isaacs I just got a really great close up view of him at a panel, but I don't care. I love my life.

Remember that time I posted from Comic-Con about the new NBC series Awake, starring Jason Isaacs? Let me refresh your mems:

The Awake panel was great, despite the noticeable absence of Tom Felton. We got to watch the pilot episode and it was great. Jason Isaacs plays a man lost between dream and reality when he is in an accident that kills his wife and/or son. He lives to lives, one in which his wife is killed and son survives, and the other in which his son is killed and wife survives. Unable to tell which is dream and which is reality, he struggles to come to terms with his situation. When he falls asleep in one life, he wakes up in the other. Meanwhile, he goes back to work as a detective and must see a psychiatrist to help him deal with the grief. The only problem is that he has a different psychiatrist in each life and both have very compelling arguments on why their storyline is real and the other a dream.

The show was quite exciting and compels you to watch more to find out where the line separating dream and reality exists.

Now you can watch the ah-maze-ing trailer for the show and get sucked into the story just as I did:


I've had it running for about the past 30 minutes on repeat in another window, this is my new obsession.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Does Anyone Remember...Cherry Merry Muffin

This evening, while perusing my Celeb Twitterfeed, I can across the following tweet from Christina Applegate:
Does anyone remember they have a myspace page? I just did. Forgot about that...mmm

This got me thinking about all the things that have been left by the wayside of life. Toys I thought I couldn't live without, movies I watched so much as a child that to this day I can recite the dialogue from memory, and for me there was that one pair of shoes I wanted to wear everywhere regardless of practicality or style.

I know I'm not the only one who has jumped from one fad to another, we (Americans) are a very fickle people. Social media, like Myspace and Xanga, is really just one of the more recent trends. The list of things we thought we couldn't live without one minute, only to toss it aside the next is endless (quite literally since we are constantly creating new and forgetting the old--pun intended).

While some of those things might make you cringe with regret, even more of those things, I believe, elicit a comforting feeling of nostalgia when you remember them.

To begin this new segment:
Meet Cherry Merry Muffin

"She cooks sweet and looks sweet and smells sweet too."
Upon watching this commercial again, I realize there may be some subliminal messaging regarding females in a kitchen, but that does not in anyway change my feelings about this collection.

Cherry Merry, Chocolottie, Betty Berry, Penny Peppermint, Lily Vanilly, I had them all and I loved them all. My love for them was so intense that it created jealousy in the hearts of people close to me. In fact, when I was younger, my older sister became jealous of my love for these dolls. She was so jealous that she had the nerve to chop off Miss Betty Berry's hair. I cried. After I cried, I unleashed revenge on one of her unsuspecting Barbie dolls. Poor Betty Berry was never the same after that...

I wish I knew what became of these dolls in my life. I miss them. Like so many toys, they have disappeared from my life with no explanation. I remember the noise the gingham trim made when I walked them from oven to table in the kitchen set. I remember that the Cherry Merry Muffin refrigerator was shaped like a carton of milk. And, I remember the smell of the dolls and the muffins, each doll had her own unique scent that matched the muffins she baked. Let me just say, they really did live up to the "smells good too" jingle. That smell lasted. When I was in middle school or high school, I found a set of Betty Berry muffins while sorting through old toys and they still smelled delicious despite the years.

If you, like me, are looking to relive some of those childhood memories involving Cherry Merry Muffin and the gang, you should totally check out Merry Muffin Land. Also, there are some surprisingly great deals on ebay.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Exes Joe Jonas And Demi Lovato Make Nice

Sheesh, no one told me it'd been 12 days since I last posted. I promise it is not because I haven't thought about posting. I have thought so many times about posting, and there have been some pretty great things I was gonna post about too. However, words without action are just lazy.

But here is something quick because my computer battery is about to die and I want to post something now before I let another 12 days go by unposted.

Demi Lovato is about to celebrate her 19th birthday, and what a year it has been. From Joe Jonas to a treatment center to a new album, she has kind of had an eventful 18th year. Despite it all, one thing that has always been evident is that she does not want drama (ok, I realize the whole punching her friend in the face was kind of dramatic, but besides that). Demi has tried to keep things simple, unlike some stars, Demi never starts drama regarding exes or friends who have done her wrong. She keeps it civil, and I think that shows she has class.

Recently Demi performed her hit single Skyscraper for the first time at the Do Something Awards, and even took home a couple awards herself. She and ex-Joe Jonas shared the win for "Do Something Song" for their Disney duet, Make A Wave. Keeping it all professional and drama-free, the two shared congratulations last night over Twitter.



Now, I gotta admit I've been a hater of Joe Jonas for at least a year (maybe two). I mean, boy is a playa. When Taylor Swift told us how Joe broke her heart while he was giving his heart to Camilla Belle, and then Joe Jonas broke up with Demi and hooked up with Ashley Greene! Seriously, boy, you have no class.

Well, turns out that this recent exchange of friendly tweets coupled with the fact that Camilla broke Joe's heart and now the playa is no longer living with Ashley Greene, I may be warming up to the idea of him being not a total jerk.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Teen Choice Awards 2011

The west coast feed just concluded, so now its time for some highlights from the TCA...

1) Fergie's look of disgust when hubby, Josh Duhamel, lost to Ashton Kutcher for Choice Movie Actor: Romantic Comedy. I love how the cameras always pan to losers after a winner is announced. You'd think people would be better prepared for that and hold their composure.

2) Ashton Kutcher's adivce to teens during his acceptance speech, "Don't ever charge anything on a credit card if you don't already have the money in the bank to pay for it." Truth. I wish more people had told me that. Also, I think high schools should be required to teach basic home economics to ALL students because I could have used some of that to prepare for the real world. Balancing a check book, using a stove, washing your clothes, etc. I know people that I went to college with who did not have these skills.

3) Seeing Taylor Swift and Ashley Greene seated next to each other during Emma Stone's presentation of Taylor Swift as "Ultimate Choice." And those two were acting like friends, hugging and holding hands. I bet the two and Demi Lovato have an "Exes of Joe Jonas" club; of course, Camilla Belle is probably not invited to that club.

4) Ellen Degeneres winning the award for Choice Comedian. I love that woman, and her wife, they are so funny. I'm declaring them my favorite lesbian couple.

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 taking the award for Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Take that Twilight: Eclipse, you can't win them all. Here is a freindly picture of Tom Felton and Robert Pattinson at the TCA.


Changing the subject to something I don't understand, let's talk about Justin Bieber. I get that he has some talent and I totally have him on a mix CD in my car stereo (his song is strategically placed right after Selena Gomez's song, Rock God), but I totally don't understand his "white-boy thug" persona going on and his walking like he literally has a stick up his butt. Is that what teen girls are into these days?

Who was our generations Justin Bieber?

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Who Am I?

The game: guess my celebrity mom and/or dad

Two children, two celebrity parents


Hint:
1) Dad is a famous musician who is the lead singer in a Good band with his brother
2) Mom is a former reality star, an author, a designer, and then some. She was born in Berkeley, CA (that fact is just for you)
3) Grandpa (mom's dad) is a famous musician who taught us our first word, "Hello" <---that is a blatant lie, I just have that song stuck in my head