"Don't eff with Topangs"

Do you know why September 24, 1993 is such an important day?

It was the premiere of Boy Meets World. In other words, it was the day your life changed forever.

I don't believe that is an overstatement. Even if you didn't start watching the show at the time because you were 6 or 7 and thus most likely too young to appreciate it, chances are you spent many Friday nights perched on the couch glued to the TGIF line-up as a pre-teen, so you became VERY familiar with the lives of Cory, Topanga, and Shawn. I will even go so far as to say that you probably secretly dreamed of having Mr. Feeny as a neighbor/principal/teacher/professor. Oh yes, the man of way too many hats would have been a lovely addition to any life, right?

So did you celebrate yesterday, the 18 anniversary of when Boy Meets World premiered, by doing anything special or memorable?

No you say?! How could you forget such an anniversary? For shame.

Well, although you might have gone about yesterday like every other day, Danielle Fishel celebrated the anniversary of the day her life changed forever by getting into a fight at a rock concert! Huzzah! Wow, September 24 is like a really special day in her life.

This is one of those moments I love Twitter and the obsession people have with using it to post the deets of their life.

So, what happened? What could cause the loveable Topanga to snap and throw a fist at a stranger? Well, the answer is hair pulling coupled with threats of "effing" her up. And I quote (via Twitter):

"Ok...deets from last nights fight. 2 girls in front of us, SITTING DOWN at a rock show, got mad because my bf (it helps the story if you picture Cory Matthews as said bf) bumped into the back of their Chairs. They stood up & got in his face, i stepped in front of him & said "what's your problem?" Chick said "don't eff with me "topanga, i Will eff you up" & then pulled my hair. So i clocked her in the face. Hard. She started crying and security threw them out. My first fight!"

And...caption the photo: "I swear to God, i just got into a fist fight with a girl. Don't eff with Topangs, i will punch your lights out."

Oh Topanga, you are so badass.

Maggie Smith wins an Emmy

The Emmy's happened today and the lovely Maggie Smith walked away with an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries for her work in Downtown Abbey.

This is cause for celebration. Chocolate Frogs for everyone! And Butterbeers, all around!

Baby Gryffindor says, "Rawr!" Which roughly translated means: "We love you Professor McGonagall! Congratulations on the win!"

This win is very convenient as I was looking for a way to justify posting one of the adorable Gryffindor inspired pictures I took of my nephew.

Thank you Maggie Smith for making that possible. And you're welcome ahead of time for the smiles this picture induced.

Cory and Topanga Forever

Just because seeing this in my Twitterfeed kind of made my day

Ben Savage is probably the only Cardinal/Tree I could love.

Who Am I?

I think I'm gonna mix it up a bit on the Who Am I? segment. Instead of just having celebrity children, I am also going to start including pets and recent pictures of celebs we haven't seen in a while. Since some of you rely heavily on the clues, then the change should not effect your ability to guess, so no complaining, please.

To begin:

-Pictured on the left is Candace Cameron Bure (that'd be this little hockey player's mom), and on the right is an actress who guest starred on Bure's claim-to-fame show.

-"I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes. I saw the sign."

-Even though she has a quite full resume, I will always remember her as the best friend and bad influence to Bure's onscreen middle sister.

-Ironically, she has had a quite boring (i.e. drama-free) public life whereas her former onscreen best friend has had her fair share of drama including a drug addiction and (so far) 2 failed marriages.

Netflix Time Wasters, Eureka

A few years ago I found myself unemployed and spending a whole lot of time in front of the TV. This mostly consisted of CSI marathons on Spike, but then one day I happened upon a Eureka marathon on Syfy network and my life has never been the same.

The show is part sci-fi, part drama, part comedy, and ALL wonderful. Per the shows IMDb page, the show is about a northwestern town where: "The best minds in the US are tucked away in a remote town where they build futuristic inventions for the government's benefit." The show can make anything happen, no matter how absurd, because sci-fi shows have the priviledge of being beyond what we think is real. I get really frustrated when regular shows (or movies) try and sell me a story-line that is NEVER gonna happen in real life, but when a sci-fi show feeds me that I eat it all up and enjoy it.

In the show, former US Marshal Jack Carter (played by Colin Ferguson) serves as the sheriff of the small town where seldom a week goes by without something crazy happening. He also is the lone "normal" person in the town. With an I.Q. of just 111, Carter is the dumbest person in the town of geniuses and yet he manages to save the town everytime. I just realized, he is kind of like a superhero. While everyone else uses logic and brains, Carter uses guts to solve a problem. He is constantly putting the towns safety over his own because his duty is to the people first. Very admirable.

Aside: Colin Ferguson who plays Sheriff Jack Carter was in the American re-make of fellow Netflix Time Waster, Coupling.

The show is Syfy's greatest hit (that is total opinion, although the ratings do suggest it is doing pretty well). Currently wrapping up season 4.5 on Syfy, the latest season has boasted an incredible list of guest stars, including: Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Stan Lee, Dave Foley, Wallace Shawn (Inconceivable!), and Ming-Na.

Unfortunately, the cost of production now exceeds the profit, and thus the show was recently cancelled. The silver lining to that utterly horrible news is that there are still 13 episodes for season 5 plus a partially animated Christmas episode which have been filmed but not yet aired.

Weeks before the network announced the shows cancellation, I had the dream come true of seeing some of the stars and creator at Comic-Con in Ballroom 20.

Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), and Neil Grayston (Fargo) at the Eureka panel at SDCC 2011

Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Neil Grayston (Fargo), Wil Whaton (Isaac Parrish), and Felicia Day (Holly Marten) at the Eureka panel at SDCC 2011


This show basically opened up the door for me and sci-fi, and helped solidify my standing in the world of nerdiness and for that I am grateful. I mean, I loved Space Cases as a kid so I think sci-fi was always gonna be a part of my life, but I denied it for years until this show. Plus, after I started watching it I found out quite a few of my friends watch it which means it is obvi a great show.

For now, I suggest you spend some time watching seasons 1-3 on Netflix, then catch a season 4 marathon so that when season 5 starts up next year you can join me in mourning the cancellation/celebrating the shows life.

Does Anyone Remember...Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears

When children come home from school in 2011, is there an awesome afternoon block of cartoons and/or other kids programming for them to enjoy? We had so many fabulous afternoon shows, yet when I switch on the TV in the late afternoon all I find are talk shows and news programs. What do children do for fun these days?! Dear God, please don't let the answer to that question be: 'check facebook.'

I promise I didn't spend all my chidhood in front of the TV, but I watched enough that show characters almost feel like childhood friends. I think that is totally normal.

Gummi Bears was just one of the many shows on Disney channel in the late 80s/early 90s that I remember watching with my brother after school or during the summer when both our parents were at work. TV was so awesome when we were kids!

Much like Bobby's World, I don't remember much in regards to plotline. I remember thinking the Gummi Bears dressed like Robin Hood, and I believe there was a great deal of bouncing done by the Robin Hood-looking bears. I also remember the catchy theme song:

Lyrics from ST Lyrics
Dashing and daring,
Courageous and caring,
Faithful and friendly,
With stories to share.
All through the forest,
They sing out in chorus,
Marching along,
As their song fills the air.

Gummi Bears!!
Bouncing here and there and everywhere.
High adventure that's beyond compare.
They are the Gummi Bears.

Magic and mystery,
Are part of their history,
Along with the secret,
Of gummiberry juice.
Their legend is growing,
They take pride in knowing,
They'll fight for what's right,
In whatever they do.

Gummi Bears!!
Bouncing here and there and everywhere.
High adventure that's beyond compare.
They are the Gummi Bears.
They are the Gummi Bears!!

I hope you have that song stuck in your head the rest of the week!

Adele, New Girl, and Pottermore

So many fabulous guests!

Thank you, Momllr, for letting us enjoy Adele with you in St. Paul. Don't cha' know how fabulous you are?

Of course, thank you, The Soooz, for reviewing New Girl and the wonderful (though slightly flustering) evening we had at The Roosevelt.

Well friends, I received access to Pottermore so I might be obsessively involved with the Potter-world for awhile so let me know if you want to guest blog, *nudgenudge* *winkwink*

Just kidding. Well, only slightly.

Here is the deal, the site is fabulous and you should all join when it opens to the world in October. At times the journey seems a little lacking, just pretty graphics but no new information, and then you stumble upon one of the as of yet untold secrets of Harry Potter and you just fill with total excitement. J.K. Rowling is a fantastic story teller, and with Pottermore you begin to see more how detailed the lives of everyone of the characters are. No spoilers here, but the other day I teared up reading the "New from J.K. Rowling" note on Professor McGonagall.

Potter fans, get excited to discover even more about your favorite witches, wizards, and muggles.

Who Am I?

The game: guess my celebrity mom and/or dad

I debated for quite some time over whether I should edit this next photo to crop out the famous mom, but I ultimately decided to keep her in for two reasons: 1) I'm not confident in your ability to recognize her/remember her name, and 2) On the chance you do remember her name, there is still a great possibility you won't remember who she is married to.

So prove me wrong.

1) Mom (pictured above) just filmed the 100th episode of her hit TNT crime-show drama
2) Dad's film credits are too numerous to count. Many of his movies are large ensemble pieces, including this years Crazy, Stupid, Love and X-Men: First Class
3) I totally went to the studio where The Closer (see hint 1) is filmed last summer and saw famous hubby drive into the studio lot, which basically means I'm 6-degrees of separation from EVERYONE!
4) Married September 4, 1988 --I include this mainly because that is a major feat that should be acknowledged and appreciated

Who's that Girl...It's Jess!

Hi all, another guest blogger here. Want to know another cool perk of being friends with supposedlyceecee? Attending cool showbiz events in Hollywood! Thanks to some prodding by Cindy, I entered a Socialite Life contest and won a ticket to a private advanced screening of the new Fox show "New Girl," starring the always adorable Zooey Deschanel, at the Roosevelt Hotel.


Despite the short notice of tickets (they let me know Wednesday, the event was Thursday night) and the 90 minutes in traffic from my work to the Roosevelt Hotel, we made it to the screening right on time and in one, relatively un-flustered piece. The Roosevelt is a beautiful, old Hollywood-esq hotel, very classy. The only way I can describe it is it looks just like the Tower of Terror hotel at DCA (aka Disney's California Adventure, for those not in the know).

The screening was in a small conference room on the second floor. Once checking in like the VIPs we are (no snickering, please), we assessed the situation and agreed that the best course of action was to get in the (semi-long) line for drinks first, while Karla (Cindy's mom/date) grabbed seats for us in the screening area at the far end of the room. While in line, we noticed several people were holding and looking through these incredibly cute bags. Cindy was bold enough to ask the two girls in line behind us where they got them, and we discovered that if we took a picture with the promotional cut-out we passed when we came in and then posted said picture to Twitter or Facebook, we too could own those bags! Obviously after free drinks, comes the free swag.

Once we got our drinks (a Heineken for me and for Cindy, despite her better judgement, a special, promotional cocktail called Simply Adorkable), we went to take our picture and claim our prizes. Aside: Cindy went for the "I'm adorable and quirky!" Jess pose, while I just tried to blend in with the less-than-impressed guys and model bff.

Then, of course, we proceeded to pass the time by taking funny pictures and discovering all the wonderful things that came in our swag bags (lipstick/gloss, mascara, shampoo/conditioner/face wash samples, notebooks, gum, Vitamin Water, tickets to a movie screening, and other such little goodies). We also tried to assess our fellow screening guests and decided there wasn't anyone famous in attendance (sad, I know) and that most were either contest winners brought in to create buzz for the show or in some way worked with the show or Fox. Finally, the lights were dimmed and it was time for the screening.


Now, let me start off by saying that I had seen most, if not all, of the commercials promoting the show prior to this screening. If you have as well, you've seen most of the funniest moments of the first episode. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the moments are pretty funny. Zooey is "adorkable" as an awkward girl fresh off a bad break-up that knows little about really being girly and getting a guy's attention. She does, however, know how to sing, making up songs about herself constantly (reminiscent of Marshall from HIMYM). For me, one of the funniest moments of the Pilot is a flashback to a spot-on young Jess singing her heart out to a less than enthused crowd at her bday party. Hilarious perfection.

The guys she moves in with include a personal trainer, Coach (Damon Waynes Jr,), a guy - who's name I've already forgotten - prone to douchey moments (for which he has to put a dollar in the Douche Bag Jar) who only wants her to move in because she is hot and her bff is a model, and a slightly awkward guy who too just got dumped. Though initially put off by her weird ways (including her non-stop watching of Dirty Dancing and nonstop crying), they - led, of course, by the sympathetic roommate who just got dumped - rally around her when stood up by her rebound guy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Pilot, though, as a big fan of Zooey's, I have some concerns. Most importantly, I hope the show doesn't turn out to consist of just funny moments strung together without a strong plot. I don't want another Glee. If they can put together a strong, funny plot with this crazy yet lovable cast of characters, I think I've found another Fox-Deschanel pairing to love.

The New Girl premieres on September 20th at 9pm on Fox.

Does Anyone Remember...Magic Nursery Baby

As a child, I never had a Cabbage Patch Doll. I'm still not completely over the fact that I totally missed out on that experience, but Penny Lane is helping me come to terms with that as an adult.

(NOT a Magic Nursery Doll! Meet Penny Lane, my first Cabbage Patch Doll)

In place of a Cabbage Patch Doll, I did have what is called a Magic Nursery Baby. Very few people seem to remember this doll, everyone was so absorbed with cabbages, but I absolutely LOVED these dolls. So much did I love these dolls, that I had at least 4 different Magic Nursery Babies:


1- Magic Nursery Baby

Photo credit: Children of the Nineties

With blonde curly hair, this doll had basically everything I wanted as a child (naturally curly hair). Like all the Magic Nursery dolls, she had a pink heart on her left cheek that, when I kissed it, would turn to a star and automatically tell you that she belongs to me.

2- Magic Nursery Pet

Photo credit: Ghost of the Doll

I'm pretty sure I had the pink puppy, though I can't be certain because the kitten and puppy look an awful lot alike, and so does the pink and peach color. I think my sister had a green pet, this must have been before my green obsession was recognized by my parents.


3- Magic Nursery Back Pack

This was probably my favorite Magic Nursery doll because the back pack/diaper bag was really a pregnancy pouch that, when you pushed against it, would mimic a heartbeat sound and baby kicking. At this age, my younger brother was really young and my sister may not have been born yet, so I probably had a fascination with being pregnant like mommy.
Besides making you feel like a real pregnant child, this doll was also awesome because you could have a multiple birth surprise! I wanted triplets so badly but all I got was a single baby :( To make it worse, my BF Sovanna got triplets. I played with her dolls a lot.


4- Magic Nursery doll with eyes that open and close with water
(no photo available)
My older sister and I both had this doll, and we got it at the same time. My mom use to take us to Toys R Us and let us pick one toy, and that particular day my sister picked the same toy I wanted! I was not about to have the same doll as her so, while she went for the light skinned version of the doll, I got the darker skinned version. True story. I loved all dolls, no matter their skin-tone. I hope I still have this doll because she is totally worthy of passing down to my children.


Do any of you remember Magic Nursery Babies???

Rockin in St. Paul

Hey people! I have the privilege of being a guest poster today. You're probably asking yourself "How can I get in on this action?" Turns out you just have to be friends with CinR and attend a concert or some other celebrity related event that's too cool for school. Enjoy!

                                                         image via twincities.com
After buying tickets in March, having the concert canceled twice in June, and having the rescheduled concert relocated from the small and quaint First Ave to the big and commercial Xcel Center, I had a lot of anticipation going into Adele's sold out concert in St. Paul last Thursday with two of my friends (compare it to the amount of anticipation you have for this sentence to end).

Before I talk about Adele's performance I need to tell you about two other things. First, my awesome friend Ryan was nice enough to go down to the ticket office in the middle of a work day and exchange our First Ave tickets for Xcel Center tickets. He waited in line for some period of time (I believe more than 15 minutes, but I won't give him credit for a full day) and made friends with all the other people in line, most of whom happened to be nice mom aged women. If you've ever met Ryan you are his friend, that is just the sort of person he is. Or as he would say: "People just like me." Since they all waited together Ryan and all his lady friends ended up with seats near each other. It was fun attending Ryan's mini reunion at the concert, discussing grandchildren, boasting about our die-hardedness, and what not. 

Second, Wanda Jackson opened for Adele. Dubbed the Queen of Rockabilly, Ms. Jackson toured with (and rumor has is had some sort of romantic affair) with Elvis Presley back in the day. For an accurate picture of this performance think of your grandma, add black hair if her hair is not black, and imagine her rocking it out. Awesome. I did a little bit of research and Ms. Jackson recently put out an album with former White Stripes front man Jack White. Composed entirely of covers, Ms. Jackson provides the vocals accompanied by Mr. White and the band. Apparently, there are lots of guitar solos and opportunities for rocking out. Jack White was not at the Adele concert, but still, as you can imagine rocking out with a legend is pretty cool.

Okay, so back to Adele. This was definitely one of the best concerts I've ever been to. She played most of the songs from her new album, 21, several songs from her previous album, and a few covers. The stage was understated, decorated with old rugs, lamp shades hanging from the ceiling, a simple podium for her doxie adorned mug, and a burnt orange back drop. In all honesty it was a little too hipster for me, but it went with the vibe so whateves. Adele is incredibly down to earth. Between most of her songs she told the crowd stories about her exes, her friends, and her feelings, peppering everything expletives. I'm not sure if it's her accent or the fact that she says it with a smile, but Adele can drop as many f-bombs as she wants without sounding the least bit crass or offensive. She did her best to make the audience feel at home often requesting the house lights be turned up between songs so she could see us. She confessed feeling nervous about the big crowd, invited one fan on stage for a photo op, and invited the crowd to sing along to Some One Like You and Rolling in the Deep (not that everyone wasn't already singing along to every other song she sang).

                                                        Pre-concert photo op. Look at all those people behind us!

No joke, Adele sounds better in real life than she does on her CD. Her best songs were just her and the piano. I don't think I really appreciated how heavily piano-centric her music is until seeing her perform live. I was talking to a friend once about the song Someone Like You and we agreed that even if you don't have someone like that in your life you still feel connected to that song--like if you did have someone like that, that's exactly how you would feel. It almost leaves you wondering if you really do have someone like that because after listening to her song you're pretty sure your heart has been broken. So basically, all that to say Adele and her music is SO easy to relate to. I don't like admitting that I was so easily taken in, but I was. At least I wasn't as emotional as the 40-something guy in the row behind me with tears streaming down his face.Yeah, that happened.

The not so awesome part of this concert? Well I had to go work the next morning. I am getting way to old for staying out late on a week night.

Teen Dream Revisited: Andrew Keegan

photo from Zimbio

Wow, now that is something my 10-13 year old self had on her wall. Don't act like you don't remember sorting through Tiger Beat, Bop, and 16 and picking the best of the best pictures to coat your walls. I'm pretty sure, in a binder somewhere in my brother's attic, I have a collection of glossy magazine prints of my favorite actors. I might try and find that hidden treasure...

What can I say about Andrew Keegan? For starters, he was the first person I saw on television who made teen parenting attractive. That is not to say he inspired a generation of young teens to become parents. I don't even remember how his role as teen parent was portrayed, but based on Brenda Hampton's latest "hit" Secret Life, I'd say it largely misrepresented the harsh realities teen parents face. That being said, I totally would have been a teen mom for Andrew Keegan. Don't you remember how adorable he was on 7th Heaven as single daddy, Wilson? Am I the only one who thought to myself, "Wilson, you deserve someone who will love you regardless of the situation. You need someone like me." At 12 years old I was pretty confident that either he or Simon Camden, were my soul mates.

So, where is this fine fella now? His days of teen parenting and modeling (10 Things I Hate About You) are over, but he is just as attractive today as he was then. Most recently, in 2010 he guess starred on an episode of CSI:NY. His IMDb page also has him linked to a 2011 short thriller called Sold, which tells the story of a young journalist who is "captured into a human trafficking ring while doing an investigative article on the treatment of illegal immigrants in America."

Unfortunately, his life has not been without drama. In May TMZ reported that Keegan and some friends were attacked when leaving a charity event, Keegan had to get a few stitches as a result. The incident apparently left Keegan inspired to create a community outreach group. Sounds like a nice guy, right?

Then, in July, TMZ reported an incident (with video) of Keegan being handcuffed and detained by police. There may have even been tasers involved. It is all very sad to watch. Supposedly the incident was regarding loud music. Police claim no tasers were used, but the video seems to suggest something other than words was used. Keegan claims the cops treated him unjustly and that he remained cooperative.

I will choose to remember Keegan in a less drama-filled manner, and I suggest you do the same. To get your mind off his police run-in, you should remind yourself of how attractive he is. I'm not saying beautiful people should be allowed to get away with stuff, but my research indicates there is no proof that he did anything more than play loud music, so don't feel guilty about admiring his good looks. If you are not sure if he is still worthy of eye candy, check out his IMDb profile picture and see for yourself how great he looks these days.

If you still aren't sure you can revisit this old flame, I recommend Eric Balfour as a replacement. Balfour is strangely reminiscent of Keegan and when I watch him on Syfy's Haven, I can't help but fall for this bad boy.