notes from a cynic, an optimist, an enthusiast, a romantic and me: a blog

keeping it crafty

2010-12-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

A lot of times when I set out to do something crafty it rarely works out well. It's either too time-consuming and I give up mid-way through the craft or it's just not fun. Somehow I always pick out a craft that is way beyond my skill-level. It should make me appreciate it more when I see a photo of how it should look, but I don't appreciate it at all. I'd rather go to target or watch tv than spend more time on a really difficult craft.

All that to say I made something this week that I really like! They're candle holders made from soup/vegetable cans. First, let's go over how much this costs.

1. a can of soup - about $.69 right?

2. tealight candles - a pack of 12 can be bought for $5 or less

3. ribbon (optional!) - I have a spool of about 4.5 yards that cost $3.99

So, you can make a cute, handmade, thoughtful gift for 12 people for around $20 (unless you don't have a hammer and a nail). That's pretty great.

Here are my two candle holders I made this week all thanks to a snow day:

NOEL and PEACE, for Christmas of course.

What you'll need:

1. a can

2. a black permanent marker

3. a nail

4. a hammer

5. ribbon (optional)

6. a tealight candle. I use tealights instead of votives because I don't like cleaning the remains of votive candles out of candle holders.

Here's what I did:
Choose a can; that's important. This is a larger can that had green beans in it:

Next, take a black permanent marker and make dots of where you want your lettering or design. They're kind of difficult to see, but they're there. The ridges on the can might seem hard to work around at first, but they actually help keep the text lined up so that it's all in a straight line and the dots are evenly spaced.

Now, choose a nail! I tried a thin and thick nail and the thick nail punched the holes faster through the aluminum, but they make bigger holes so be aware of that while marking the dots.

This can be a little tricky. It's good to tap the nail in it's spot lightly a few times to make a small dent. The dent will help hold it in place when you're hitting the nail harder to make the hole. They have a tendency to slide around sometimes.

Here's a line of punched holes:

And here's the entire 'P' in 'Peace'.

To keep the can steady while punching the holes, I keep it classy and sit on the floor, hold the can between my heels and hammer away. I know. It's as awesome as it sounds, but it works! I've also heard of filling the can with water, freezing it, then taking a drill and drilling holes in it while the water is still frozen. The ice helps keep that shape of the can, but I haven't had any problems with it flattening out or warping in any way by using a hammer and nail. Plus, I know that cans of ice would sit in my freezer for days or weeks before getting thought about again. Just one more craft I would abandon.

Now, just tie on a ribbon at the top or bottom of the can if you want, drop in the tealight candle, light it and enjoy!

These are definitely a quick gift to make and they look really nice when lighted. It took me 30 minutes max (after a bit of hole-punching practice with the other one) to make the large PEACE holder.

Merry Christmas!

I once was Lost, but now am found.

2010-05-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

I know people might be sick of all the Lost talk these days. But don't worry. Unfortunately for most, it'll be over soon. I'm not about to try to recap the series finale of Lost. I'll leave that to Doc Jensen. I would just like to offer up some general musings on what I took from it.

I spent all day Sunday, May 23rd with an eerie mix of anxiety and excitement building inside me. Yes, it was all because of a TV show, but if anyone has had a conversation with me for about 10 minutes they should know how big a part TV plays in my life. Lost was on the verge of coming to an end with each passing hour and it was all I could think of. I was ecstatic and and tragically sad; nervous and somewhat relieved. All at the same time. All this for a TV show? Yes.

For six years we, as an audience, demanded answers to each new mystery every episode seemed to bring about. But did we ever once stop to realize that having those answers equaled the end of Lost forever? Probably not.

For six years we got to know these characters inside and out and maybe better than they knew themselves. We theorized, applied our learnings to our own lives, or simply just enjoyed a really great hour or two of television every week. And all the sudden it's time to let that go.

I've never felt so strongly about a TV show/series finale as I did this one. Sure there were times when I wasn't sure where the series was going, but I had faith; something so many of these characters were searching for and I believe they found.

I've written and rewritten paragraphs over the past five days (because let's face it, I'm still trying to process the events of the finale) about the omnipresent spiritual/religious/faith-based tone of the show. But mainly about the character of John Locke (my absolute favorite character). I think Terry O'Quinn said it best in the retrospective that Locke, the Man of Faith, "was a man that was desperately seeking faith, not (a man) who had faith. What drove him was the need for it. If he could simply find something to commit to; something to hold on to. That's what he was always after." Locke was searching for his faith and his purpose; something that I think a lot of people have in common with that character and certainly why I was so drawn to him.(I often have grand ideas for what I could do with my life, but I never seem to act on them. It boils down to my being too scared. Faith and Fear just don't go together very well.) At times Locke felt invisible, he didn't know why he was "here" until he landed on the Island. He was at an all-time low on Flight 815, but then asked in season two by Sun how he found himself, his purpose, he said, "The same way everyone finds something that is lost. I stopped looking." As frustrating and difficult as that can be at times, it's usually when we let go and move on that we really find our way, and sometimes we have to hit rock-bottom in order to do so.

I think that's a great lesson that can be learned from this show and something I really struggle with. I tend to have a hard time letting go of things, be it relationships, grudges, whatever. Moving on into the unknown is scary.

Every week after a new episode I would impatiently wait for a recap from Jeff Jensen (whom I referenced earlier) over at ew.com. His reviews range from 6 to 12 pages (13 for the finale!) of talk about the mystical Island. I don't pretend to understand half of the literary references he throws out, but it's fascinating. He's a true fan, not just a critic and seems to actually understand everything that ever happened on Lost. The next paragraph is from Part One of his review of the series finale. It made me cry the first time I read it. I believe it sums up so well not only the journey of Jack Shepherd, but of all the castaways.

His final scenes on The Island — the final moments of Lost ever — were puzzlingly poetic. I will try to describe them without crying. We saw him twitch back to life in the jungle, near a stream. I was reminded of Jacob finding the empty shell of his brother after the Holy Wormhole burped up the black smoke of MIB's corrupted soul. Jack got to his feet. He pushed through the bamboo forest. He found the spot where he had fallen from the sky some three years earlier, next to the tennis shoe dangling from a tall green stalk. He laid down. He clutched his bleeding, wounded side. He prepared for The End. Once upon a time, Jack Shephard was a man who could not believe in anyone or anything else except himself, and he was lost. But this Doubting Thomas found faith and healing by humbling himself and committing himself to a community of fellow flawed and fallen souls also yearning for redemption incapable of doing it alone. As he lay dying, he saw the airplane carrying his friends home, and he rejoiced for them. And then he saw into another world, where he was welcomed with open arms and bear hugs, and he rejoiced — for himself. Earlier in the episode, Jack told Kate he took the job of guardian because he had made a ruin of his life and that The Island ''was all [he] had.'' He was wrong, as he had been wrong about so many things in his life, but this time, he couldn't have been happier. And then Vincent trotted up and snuggled against his side. Jack's eye closed. He let go, and he was gone.

A lot of people have been really cynical about the finale. I can understand their arguments and I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I thought it was perfect. For what the show has become especially over the last season, I feel like this was the ending it deserved. We saw things come full circle, we saw everyone happy, we even saw these people in their afterlife! What more could you ask for, really? For a show that at some times was so complex it was difficult to keep up with the time frame of one episode, this simple ending was exactly what it needed.

I'm sad to see this show end. It really was groundbreaking and it will be hard to find a replacement that's so addicting. But I'm thankful for what I've taken from it, for what I have learned and have yet to learn.

Namaste!

I like my friends

2010-05-10T09:02:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I have "movie moments" in my head. These are times when I think to myself during certain situations that my life is playing out like a movie. Usually, though, they're not as exciting or funny or fill-in-the-blank as a real movie. But last night a had a movie (or in this case, TV) moment and it was perfect.

I tend to be a big fan of television shows that have large families. Right now I love Brothers & Sisters and am catching up on Parenthood. Both of these shows have families with adult siblings who seem to be very close in age. When they're all together (usually at a dinner table with lots of wine), they all seem to be having so much fun.. even when they're fighting. They're loud, maybe sometimes obnoxious, but they love each other and are simply enjoying the company of their family. It's nice to see. (Not that I don't enjoy the company of MY family.. i love them! we just aren't as entertaining as a tv family. we don't drink wine.)

Last night was Sunday dinner at Haley and Sarah's house. This is usually a weekly occurrence (of which i am new to) but it had been on hiatus for a while. We gathered, grilled food, made a pesto pasta (which i really wish i had right now) and casually watched last week's episode of Modern Family.

Sarah was a little late to the game because she was driving back from visiting her family in Mississippi and as we were sitting at the dinner table, passing food and filling each other's plates, I had two thoughts: 1) I hoped that everyone's family knew that we all had a good meal and friends to be with that night. Sometimes I still feel like a college student when I'm around all my friends. Most aren't from Nashville, so I immediately get in that mind-set that we're poor and eat cereal every night for supper. But we don't because 2) we're kind of adults. And this was my "movie moment". Here were 6 people from different parts of the country sitting around a dinner table with a really great meal in front of them that they had prepared themselves. Laughing about stupid things, talking about helping the flood victims and sharing the recipe for pesto pasta (it was so good). It may not seem like a lot, and you may be thinking "duh. this happens every day". But it's comforting. I almost didn't go because i was tired and had just started watching season 1 of Lost and didn't want to stop. But it's a good thing i did.

a very hobo christmas

2010-01-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I made a goal for myself to wrap all my presents without using wrapping paper. It was tough. I never realized how handy wrapping paper was until I banned it from any gift I was giving.

However, I'm pretty proud of what I came up with.. I'm just sad I don't have more photos to show.

Here's a gift for my dad that IS wrapped in paper, but seeds are embedded in the paper and you can plant the entire sheet and have some nice little flowers in the springtime!

The bow is made from scraps of 100% recycled aluminum foil. This was my first attempt at making a bow from aluminum foil and I'm pleased with how it turned out, I must say.

Here's another gift I wrapped with the same aluminum foil then I hand painted some stars on it and added another bow. I thought it was a nice touch.

I waited too long to take the photo and it did get a little crinkly. It only gives it character, though.

As proud as I was to not use any wrapping paper, when my gifts were all sitting together they all looked like they were wrapped by a hobo. (no offense to any hobo's reading..) Things wrapped in fabric and dishtowels don't really make for the prettiest gifts, but at least there's very little to throw away afterward.

2009-09-24T09:23:00.001-07:00

How cute is this?

That is all.

2009-09-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

Spotted: A once enjoyable show now on a steady decline toward shark-jumping territory. Could the once and future Queen Bee be dethroned before November sweeps? Seems like it. I think it best to abdicate that throne and save itself from further shame.

That's right. I'm sad to say that Gossip Girl is more than certainly getting dumped by yours truly this week. I can't handle any more of Serena's pouting and bad hair. Really. Someone needs to take a brush to that mane of hers and get it out of her face.

The college experience so far for these characters has been ridiculous. I mean, who really takes the microphone at a roof party and explains to everyone that they're there to get a fresh start and make a change for themselves? Really. I could have made a drinking game out of how many times they said "let's make a fresh start" in this episode. I don't ever remember saying stuff like that when I went to college.

And poor Nate. No storyline AGAIN this season! I know we're only two episodes in and I'm sure this will change, but really? Stuck in a bedroom with his new girlfriend "until they get sick of each other". I can see where this arc can get interesting. She's a Buckly, and he an Archibald. Her Capulet to his Montague. But it's been done and I don't think I can wait much longer to see it play out.

The thing I'm most sad about is giving up my Chuck Bass. AH! I love his manipulation, his pride and the softer side of him that usually only us viewers are privy to. I'll miss him a lot and will maybe tune in every now and then to check up on him, but I don't think I can put myself through an entire season of his less-than-stellar cohorts.

Ah well.

xoxo

2009-09-03T14:44:00.001-07:00

I came across this photo of SJP filming SATC2 today.

Can someone tell me why she looks like this? Please?

The clothes are fine.. It's actually nice to see Carrie in some Chuck Taylor's. But the hair! And the make-up! No, thank you. I hope it looks better on the big screen.

My Overwhelming Fall TV lineup

2009-09-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

I just looked at a schedule of all the fall tv premiere dates and decided to highlight all the shows I'm interested in watching. The grand total came to...

27!

27?! Yikes.

I think this is an all-time high for me. As much as I love TV (and that's a lot) I know not all of these shows will last. Basically because I don't have the time nor the DVR space to allow it.

Here are the new ones I'm trying out and am thinking/hoping will make the cut:

Community- Thursdays on NBC

The Good Wife- Tuesdays on CBS

Cougar Town- Wednesdays on ABC

Modern Family- Wednesdays on ABC

Glee- Wednesdays on FOX

I'm super pumped about theses. The most anticipation might be for Community. Joel McHale and Chevy Chase?! Yes, please. Also, Cougar Town is from Bill Lawrence, the same genius who brought us Scrubs so that seems really promising. And Glee has already made the cut! I can't wait to see more jazz hands!

Here are the new ones I'm trying out but am thinking they could easily get left behind:

The Vampire Diaries- Thursdays on CW (I just love Vampires so much)

The Beautiful Life- Wednesdays on CW (I admit this sounds ridiculous, but I just want to watch an episode or two to see if Mischa Barton's acting classes did her any good)

Eastwick- Wednesdays on ABC

Mercy- Wednesdays on NBC

Flash Forward- Thursdays on ABC (Thursdays are going to be a SERIOUS problem for me)

Trauma- Mondays on NBC

Three Rivers- Sundays on CBS

V- Tuesdays on ABC

Now, I don't know much about any of these shows. Just a few I've seen commercials for and others have a lot of hype so naturally they're in my lineup. But who really needs to watch three medical dramas (NOT including Greys)?

And finally, these are the ol' standbys that I can't get rid of.. ever:

Project Runway-Thursdays on Lifetime

Fringe- Thursdays on FOX (Why did it have to move to Thursdays?!)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia- Thursdays on FX (hehehe)

The Office- Thursdays on NBC

Parks and Recreation- Thursdays on NBC

SNL Weekend Update- Thursdays on NBC

I'm really tired of typing Thursday..

House- Mondays on FOX

Grey's Anatomy- Thursdays on ABC

SNL- Saturdays on NBC

The Amazing Race- Sundays on CBS

Brothers & Sisters- Sundays on ABC

Desperate Housewives- Sundays on ABC

30 Rock- Thursdays on NBC

This really is overwhelming.

And I Just realized I have my mid-season replacements:

Chuck- Mondays(?) on NBC

Scrubs version 2.0- ?? on ABC

Better Off Ted- Wednesdays on ABc

and eventually Friday Night Lights- Fridays(?) on NBC

There's got to be something else I'm missing..

I've officially lost count of how many hours of my life this schedule consumes. And while typing this sentence I remembered LOST will be back in January/February. AHHHHHH!

I love Fall.

Project Runway: Getting rid of the Crazies ALREADY?!

2009-08-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

Man, oh man. Who's going to entertain us for the rest of this season of Project Runway? For the second week in a row, the Loony Bin has come to pick up what's rightfully theirs. Oh, Malvin. You seem like such a tortured soul without even trying.. maybe. I guess it's true though; you ARE too conceptual for America. Where are you from again? New York, right? Ok. Malvin, find me a pregnant woman who's about to burst who actually wants to wear an outfit inspired a chicken and an egg and I'll take your place in the Loony Bin myself.

In all, this was one of my least favorite challenges in the history of Project Runway. It was entertaining for sure, but just a little awkward as well. Seeing these stick-thin models with ENORMOUS bellies be-bopping down the runway was pretty hilarious. Though most of the designs were good, I can't for the life of me understand how Epperson was safe. His jacket was fine; a bit oddly shaped, but when the model took it off.. HI-Ooooooh! That was a serious fake belly she had on. (I really wish I could find a picture of it to post. I tried really hard. There are just some things a slow computer won't let me do.) That with the shiny WHITE (!) fabric was too much for me. Call me crazy, but I don't think many hugely pregnant women would want to walk around head to toe in white.

As for Mitchell. I was reeeeally hoping he would redeem himself after last week's catastrophe. I really liked the smocking situation going on last week and would have liked to see where it was heading. But that's beside the point. He smocked a collar and made it into a moo-moo and I'm kind of surprised he didn't get auf'd. But thank goodness he was back or we wouldn't get to see his attempt at making some GIANT pleated shorts. Ok. Like the judges, I really liked the idea of this one too. The top and sweater thing were cute (I didn't think the top was too tight, Nina!), but the shorts. Please. Why didn't he just make a skirt? That's what they looked like anyway and wouldn't a skirt be easier, too? I'm no expert, but..

One more thing that bothered me: come on Ra'mon, do you really need to quote past winners? Is that really going to make you more likable? Do you think it will take the attention off your poorly constructed bowling ball bag dress? No. So please stop quoting Christian (He did it twice with a "hot mess" and "fierce!"). And we all know you've more than likely watched seasons past of Project Runway, so no need to name drop past contestants (Stella and her love of all things "leathah"). Really.

Now to the good parts! I liked all of the top 3 designs. The lacework on Louise's dress was so pretty, but I wish the dress itself had been just a smidge longer. Althea (I always think of one of the best episodes of Friends EVER when I hear her name. The 2:10 mark. "Nice shooting!") scored points with me for making a long one. I like long dresses. That's that. But Shirin was clearly the winner from the beginning. Her draping reminded me of Rami (love him!) And the jacket! So pretty. Well played, Shrin. Well played.

Lastly, I just have to say that at the 28 minute mark there is a pillow from Pottery Barn on the bed behind Mitchell. I love spotting things like that. That's one main reason I still watch Desperate Housewives. I think they buy most of their props from PB. So thank you, Project Runway and Desperate Housewives for keeping Pottery Barn in business!

Spoiler ALERT!

2009-08-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

I just came across this photo of John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer filming some scenes for the new season of The Office! Apparently these pictures surfaced DAYS ago. How am i just now seeing them?! I love everything about it!

I wish they were real.

Two of my favorite things.

2009-08-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the Project Runway theme, InStyle has asked 9 designers (including Christian Siriano) to sketch their versions of Bella's wedding gown from Breaking Dawn. I can only imagine this scene being incredibly cheesy in the movie, but these sketches made me wonder what they'll go with when the time comes to actually choose a gown. We all know how bad the wardrobe was in Twilight. I'm really hoping things are better in the rest of the movies. I mean, come on.. Rosalie is described as "the most beautiful girl in the world." Would she really wear stone-washed skinny jeans with stripper shoes? I know the budget was low, but I'm pretty sure they could have found cuter stuff at Target for way less money.

Here are the sketches in all their glory. I do like what Christian came up with, but my favorite would have to be either Monique Lhuillier's or Lela Rose's. I think they both fit the description from the book really well. And seriously, someone please tell me what Brian Reyes was thinking when he sketched his gown. Even after reading the description I still can't see any semblance of a dress.

YIKES.

"Where's Andre?!"

2009-08-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

In honor of the return of one of the best reality shows on TV (isn't THAT an oxymoron?), I've decided to start up the ole blog again. Several times I've started to write a new entry, but nothing seems important enough to share with the world. (And by world, I mean the handful of readers I've probably lost during my 8 month hiatus. Ah well!) Nothing important enough until the return of Project Runway! That's right, the return of high fashion, insanely short deadlines, all-nighters that make me tired just from watching them AND Tim Gunn and his ENORMOUS vocabulary. I mean really, how does he remember all those words?

Anyway, I'm excited about this for many reasons, and here they are:

1) The challenges are actually that: CHALLENGING. When would making an evening gown out of recycled material, flowers or nothing but denim be easy? It's impressive to me how creative the brains behind PR are. Is it really someone's job to think of these challenges for the contestants each season? I wouldn't even know where to begin if asked to construct something for a fellow contestant's mother. Yikes. That could get ugly. (And it did.) Put that with a tight budget, and even tighter time limit and you've got a real challenge in store along with some great entertainment. But what's more is that these challenges are also..

2) Rewarding! I guess it's rewarding to eat a grasshopper or lay in a pile of poo. Wait, no. No it's not. Is it? Color me crazy, but I'd feel better about myself by winning a challenge that had me make an outfit based on a famous piece of art rather than solving a riddle or not getting kicked of the island.

3) The contestants on PR aren't there just for the fame or money. Sure it's a bonus. I'd admit that. I don't know if they get compensated for their time on the show (I would think so?), but these people seem to really care about what they do and want to further their careers. Even though it's a reality show, PR is a great way to do that. I stopped watching any reality competition on MTV a long time ago because it was always the same old characters (and that's just what they are: characters) coming back to get paid so they don't have to get real jobs. It's disturbing.

4) The time limit. I mentioned it earlier, but some of these times limits are crazy short. I used to argue that they needed to lengthen them by maybe a day or even just 12 hours, but seeing what Christian Siriano did last season in a manner of minutes was baffling and made me take my arguments back. Now I just sit back and make guesses at who will be the first to crack under the pressure.

5) Michael Kors. He's hysterical. Even when he's completely ripping someone's creation to shreds, he comes up with the funniest sayings.

6) Nicole Kidman!! Okay, this is just for tonight's episode, but she's making a "cameo" to announce what the challenge will be. Sadly, she won't be guest judging (that seat will be filled by... Lindsay Lohan?! Since when has she EVER dressed appropriately?) Anyway, I was thisclose to seeing Nicole at the movie theater a couple weeks ago and have come to terms that I may not ever see her around town.. just the rest of my friends will. But I do have a theory: Either I'll never ever see her and my dreams will be crushed, OR I'll get to meet her, we'll be the best of friends, I'll babysit little Sunday Rose (what a great name) when she and Keith are busy. She'll introduce me to an Aussie fellow back in Sydney and we'll marry and I'll obtain dual citizenship and I'll split my time between the states and OZ and become part of Nicole's entourage..

But I digress and promise I'm not crazy. I'm just a fan! (That's what they all say...)

Anyway, I'm more than excited about Project Runway tonight! The countdown is on and I'm hoping the contestants are as fun and entertaining as they have been in seasons past.

'Tis the Season!

2008-12-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just two days away and the much anticipated premiere of Scrubs (on abc) is January 6th!! What better way to celebrate BOTH than with A Charlie Brown-Scrubs Christmas?

Enjoy!

finally.

2008-12-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

Much to my surprise, this past week I actually finished school. I'm done with it. FOREVER. And while it feels pretty final right now, it probably won't really hit me until January when I should be going back to class to start my spring semester.

But I'm officially a "professional" now and looking for a job. If anyone knows of anything...

We had our Senior Show on December 6 at O'More and as quickly and spastically as we put it together, I thought it went really well. Here are some highlights!

These are my super cute friends who were nice enough to come out.

This is me and my portfolio-ready work!

This is a close-up of my work.

These are the four graduates: Caity, me (I should have taken my shoes off), Sarah and Chelsea.

And finally, me with my parents after they decided to show up!

2008-12-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

My dream come true!

2008-11-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

I really hope they were still filming The Hills when this happened so that we can see everyone's reaction. Or maybe there was a camera crew with them so we can even see it being ~~reenacted~~ filmed live for ourselves!

Seriously?!... SERIOUSLY?!?!

2008-11-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

My night just got really bad. Three of my favorite shows just got canceled and we're obviously still feeling the effects of last year's writers strike. Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money were some of the best premieres of last fall and they took a serious drop in ratings this year when people forgot about their not-so-full previous seasons along with the little promotion they got this season.

I'm kind of at a loss for words. Eli Stone was a highlight to my Tuesday nights and I so looked forward to every Wednesday when I got to see PD and DSM on the same night. What will I do without Lee Pace and Peter Krause?!

This also raises another serious question: How did Private Practice (which is sandwiched by PD and DSM) escape a death sentence? Are their ratings really that much better? Yes, I watch it and yes it's pretty good, but it still has it's major flaws. I'd choose to watch any one of these canceled-too-soon shows over Private Practice any day. And to top it all of it's moving to Thursday nights after Grey's Anatomy.

The plus side of this? Scrubs returns January 6.. for it's final season. And this also gives me some serious free time.

I think I'll go finish my Vampire books now. Woe is me..

The Twilight Obsession

2008-11-19T13:03:00.000-08:00

A few months back Emily asked me who Edward Cullen was. We had both noticed all the flair dedicated to him on Facebook. I was completely confused and worried I had missed a big moment in pop-culture history. I'm usually pretty up-to-date on things like this even if I'm not really "into it". But Edward Cullen and his maniacal following had completely evaded me.. until now.

This isn't the best time of the year for me to get entirely consumed in something other than finals for school, but it's happened and there's no turning back now. About a month and a half ago, my friend Caity at school was reading Twilight. I asked her what it was about and she said it was about Vampires. Really?! She isn't the type of person I'd ever imagine reading about Vampires, but I listened to what the basic plot was and how good she said it was. Every day she had the book in front of her face and she said she even read in her car at stop lights.

I had to find out for myself how good it really was.

I started reading the first book on friday, november 7. I finished it the following monday morning and bought the second book that evening. I had that book finished on wednesday and started book three that same day. I just finished book 3 last night.. or early this morning really.. and am debating whether I should buy book four myself, wait to borrow it from Caity, or spend a few hours in a book store every day. (It's not out on paperback yet and I want it in paperback so it'll match the other books in the series.. I'm weird.) Dilemma! I really don't think I can wait much longer to find out how it all ends. Book three ended in a crazy cliff-hanger!

Anyway, I highly recommend these books to anyone. It all starts out seeming like a romance novel for teenagers, but it gets much much better.

Crafty

2008-10-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not a very crafty person. I watch Martha Stewart and am envious of what she does, but every time I try something similar with glue sticks or glitter it looks like an actual 5 year-old did it. And thats not something I'm proud of. But recently I've come across a series of books.. if you can call two books a series.. full of crafts that seem to have been thought up just for me to do!

The books are called Simply Green. One book is Simply Green Parties and the other is Simply Green Giving. I know, I know. Enough with the "green" stuff already! I know it's a subject that some people don't even care about, but the ideas in these books aren't what you're probably thinking. You don't have to wear burkenstocks while you do them, nor do they call for you to eat only beans and rice or give up on your daily hygiene routines. Rather, the ideas given are just suggestions on how to reuse items you already have or items that cost next to nothing. It's being resourceful and creative at the same time. A win-win situation! Plus it's super cheap and gives you a reason to buy weird things at Goodwill or garage sales.

Here are a couple of projects I did last night. The chair project is from the Parties book and the luminaries is from the Giving book:

I have these two chairs along with two others that I got with a small round dining room table for super cheap. They were in great condition, but the seat cushions were a little ugly and dirty and I've been wanting to reupholster them for a while. The Parties book gave the idea to take an old sweater you don't wear anymore, cut it open and use it to reupholster the seat for a "Winter Warm-Up" party. Even though these aren't specifically for a party or any kind of entertainment, they look good! And I didn't have to give away two perfectly good sweaters that I haven't worn in at least two years.

The cost of this project: FREE!

These are three luminaries I made from birthday cards that were given to me and I had kept because they're pretty. But my bulletin board was getting a little overwhelmed with so many things stuck on it. This idea was in the Giving book and is one of my favorites. You take two cards near the same size (I like it when they're a little off) and line up the outside edges. Take a hole punch and punch as many holes in it you like then set them up in a square shape. Then you thread some twine or any kind of thread through the holes to keep them together then set them over a candle! So easy and super cute.

Cost of this project: again..FREE!!

"You know you love me.."

2008-10-13T17:16:00.001-07:00

The TV season is in full swing! And while I have to say I'm not as into it as I have been in years past (possibly because I have too much to watch that my focus is spread too thin), there are a few shows worth watching. I've divided everything into categories to help anyone who still isn't sure what they should tune into:
"Must Watch New Shows", "Must Watch Returning Favorites", "Biggest Disappointments" and "Why is That Still On?!".

Must Watch New Shows:
possibly my favorite category. It's so fun to find new characters to invest a lot of free time in!

1. FRINGE. The latest from creepy suspense mastermind J.J. Abrams. And to top it all off it's Joshua Jackson's TRIUMPHANT return to television. Yes. The one-two punch of my two favorite J.J.'s. While I'm not sold on lead actress Anna Torev yet, the combination of J.J. #2 with John Nobel who plays his father Walter, is hilarious! I find myself laughing more than once every week from some type of interaction between the two. Also, in true J.J. #1 form, the supporting characters are just as good and each week we're left with a cliff hanger that actually makes you want to watch more.

2. Gossip Girl: a.k.a The O.C. on crack in NYC. I know I know. This isn't technically a new show, but it's new to me. I caught up with it a couple weeks before the new season premiered and I. Am. Hooked. The cattiness of these girls and their spoiledness is unbelievable. The best part of the show? An underrated actor by the name of Ed Westwick. Just watch and you'll understand.

3. Worst Week. I never actually planned on watching this show, but I caught it on demand one night and was pleasantly surprised. It's actually kind of cute and you feel REALLY bad for the lead guy played by Kyle Bornheimer. He's actually the best part of the show. I think if this show doesn't make it (which I can see it being pulled soon), then he should have a good career anyway. He's like a toned-down version of Vince Vaughn. I think he, John Krasinski and Zachary Levi should make a movie together. They're like the same person. Jack Pot!

Must Watch Returning Favorites:
This is a favorite category for me as well. It's like a little family reunion every fall when these shows come back on.

1. The Office. This is just a given. Even when the show was kind of in a slump (all thanks to Karen Fillipelli and the Stanford branch) it was still one of the funniest shows on tv. Each week Jim Halpert sets my future husband standards even higher. The Office has just started it's 5th season so the standards are through the roof at this point.

2. Brothers & Sisters. Man I love this show. The addition of Emily VanCamp a couple of seasons ago was perfection, but reminded me how much I miss Everwood (may it rest in peace). In every episode it's obvious the writers are just trying to think of ways to get the entire cast together so they can all argue in either comic or dramatic fashion, but it works and it's not gimmicky which is a huge reason i love this show. Ensemble shows should use their ensembles together. Don't split them up! They work best together. Example: every episode of Friends where all six actors were in scenes together. Pure comic genius.

3. Chuck. I've loved this show from day 1. Zachary Levi is too cute and would NOT be considered a "nerd" or a "geek" in real life. That's the only unbelievable aspect of this show. Oh, and also the whole secret spy story line. But it doesn't take itself seriously so it's successful.

4. Dirty Sexy Money. Why are the wealthy so fascinating?! This is another show with a great ensemble cast. I'm trying to think of more good things to say about it, but there are too many. Just watch and you'll see. It's such an addictive soap opera worth getting involved in.

Honorable Mention:
Pushing Daisies. This was dead even with Dirty Sexy Money, but this gets honorable mention. Why you ask? Because I'm not as excited to watch it before the viewing begins. With DSM I'm pretty much counting down the minutes before I get to fire up the TiVo. But I do love Pushing Daisies. Lee Pace is fantastic and could be a good addition to my movie starring Kyle, John and Zachary.

Biggest Disappointments:
1. 90210. Honestly I didn't think it would be all that successful in the first place, but I'm still a little disappointed that I don't like it. I care about none of the characters; the story lines are completely predictable and done and everyone on there needs to eat a sandwich or two. That is all.

2. Desperate Housewives. I was hoping DH would come back this season in full swing, but it's just plain dumb. I don't like how they went 5 years into the future.. Really?! Teri Hatcher doesn't change AT ALL in 5 years?! Plus her boyfriend isn't attractive at all and Lynette needs to loosen the reigns on her poor husband. Let him have a life. She used to be my favorite character, but over the past couple of seasons she's become almost unlikeable.

Why is that still on?!
1. Private Practice. I'm kind of eating my words on this one. I had a lot of hope for it; I have defended it endlessly and have watched every episode. There are good things and bad and I'm finally realizing the bad outweigh the good. I liked Addison Shepherd on Grey's (more on that soon), but her move to L.A. wasn't good for her. I only really care about one of the supporting characters (thank you Paul Adelstein!), but naturally he has an awful ongoing story line and isn't used enough. Some of the story lines involving the patients (when the show actually focuses on them rather than the skanky personal lives of all the doctors) are actually pretty good, but they should have stayed at Seattle Grace to help out...

2. ...Grey's Anatomy. Yikes. Again I had high hopes for this show, but I agree with everything Katherine Heigel has said about the show over the past couple of seasons. The writing is pretty awful and the patient's stories, while still the best part usually, aren't as great as they used to be. I've NEVER been a fan of Meredith and I'm sick of hearing her constantly talk about her and Derek. Poor Christina. I wouldn't want to be Meredith's "person".. EVER. One thing that may keep me coming back for a little while at least is the addition of Kevin McKidd. He was on the short-lived and underrated Journeyman that premiered last fall. While I don't like that he immediately hopped on a cot with Christina, I dug his character in the one episode I saw him in.

Honorable Mention:
Lipstick Jungle. Granted I've only seen the first episode of this season, but I never fell in love with that show anyway. I don't care for any of the lead actresses let alone their characters. And who is named Neiko or Victory in real life over the age of 30? I don't buy it. I preferred the almost identical Cashmere Mafia that got the quick ax last season all due to the curse of Lucy Liu. Let's hope she doesn't do the same to DSM.

And that's it for me for now. It's taken me two nights to write this and I'm al tv'd out.. plus my red sox are losing 11-1 and i'm not happy.

More analysis' to come soon!

XOXO

2008-10-09T14:50:00.003-07:00

This looks like an ad for the worst sitcom ever!

I bet it would air on CBS.

What would it be called..?

Best. News. Ever.

2008-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

yay

Pop Quiz.

2008-08-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

Are you as sad to see the Summer Olympics over and done with as I am? Have no fear! ESPN has a quiz to test all your knowledge of everything you've learned over the past 17 days of competition. Scandals, trash-talk and prophylactics! It's all covered right here.

How do you measure up?

(my favorite is number 26)

2008-08-19T12:31:00.001-07:00

I nearly fell out of my chair again (who knew it could happen twice in one week?) when I came across this article.

Thank the Lord for Michael Ausiello and his never-ending love for all things Kristen Bell.

Seeing Double.

2008-08-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Who has the best headline graphic? SI.com or ESPN.com? I'm leaning toward ESPN. I like that they used a photo showing him right after he won rather than some generic photo from who knows what race? Although I did just notice the nice little black and white image of Mark Spitz up there on Phelps's shoulder. That's right.. keep reminding Mark how slow he's considered now and that he's no longer the greatest swimmer of all time. Sorry, Spitzy. I also like the nice fade on ESPN's photo. They only do the fade on special occasions so that's when you know something really big has happened. And it doesn't hurt that Aaron Piersol is right between Phelps's arms in the photo.

I'm a little disappointed with the headline, though. Not that I've come up with anything better, but isn't "Eighth/8th Wonder" a little obvious?

But I couldn't be happier that he just broke this record and made jaws drop around the world. Some people (that's YOU Katie Hoff) were upset about all the attention Michael Phelps has been getting during the games. But doesn't he deserve it? I think if anyone swims 17 times in one week, wins 8 gold medals and sets 7 new world records while doing it, then he should get all the attention that comes his way. Hey, Katie Hoff, why don't you try not to lose 2 races in 2012 and then maybe you'll get some deserved attention as well.

UPDATE:

Today, the day after all these events, the images have changed oh so slightly.

Here on ESPN.com we see Phelps hoisting the American Flag with his gold medal hanging in front of it. That's a nice image.

And here Sports Illustrated dot com has decided to extend their same image to take up just a little more room. (side note: This is how it looked early this morning, but I just checked it again and it's back to it's original slimmer format. weird).

8 more months

2008-08-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

REALLY? This happened? Just when I had another movie to finally look forward to seeing since Sex and the City.

Yummmm..?

2008-08-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

I wish I could eat like this.

nice..

2008-08-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

I found this on EOnline yesterday and nearly fell out of my chair.

How could I have not seen the similarities before?

Brenda Hampton does it again!

2008-07-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Brenda Hampton, the creative genius behind the very wordy 7th Heaven, has come up with yet another preachy television show. I'm just going to get straight to it: The Secret Life of the American Teenager is possibly the worst show on television. Yes, I take into consideration all reality tv or any CBS sitcom, but folks.. this is bad. So bad that I can't stop watching.

The basic plot line is that a girl in high school gets knocked up at band camp. Yep! BAND CAMP! But not only does she get knocked up; she gets knocked up by the most popular boy in school who, get this, already has a girlfriend!! omg.

Ridiculous.

Three episodes in (this one entitled "I feel sick") and Amy the pregnant one is starting to show and has a fake boyfriend whom she's held hands with at school. I missed the second episode unfortunately, but it seems as though some people found out about Amy's fragile condition including her fake boyfriend - I don't even know his name - but lucky for Amy, he's totally fine with it. Right. As if a 15 year old guy would be so accepting of his fake girlfriend being with child.

But maybe this is a different world. A world where curfews are 9:57 p.m. and parents look an awful lot like struggling actors from The Dukes of Hazzard, Melrose Place and just about any 80's high school movie.

Who's in charge of casting?! A genius, that's who.

There's just too much to say about this show that my brain feels like it's going to explode. I had so many jokes saved up and actually wrote some down while watching the pilot, but sadly I've misplaced them all. However, I feel a weekly blog about this great program is in the works.

Stay tuned!

My Meatless Ways: Part 2..?

2008-06-19T20:19:00.001-07:00

As many people know I recently gave vegetarianism a try. I wrote about it around the time I started doing it and why I chose to do it. Mostly for health reasons. I really did feel better after every meal that wasn't loaded down with greasy meat. My moral stance was that I didn't like the way the animals were killed, but I ultimately believed that that's why animals are here.. to be eaten. Do they have feelings? Sure. But what other purpose do they really serve?

I had to give up my vegetarianism a month ago because I started doing Body For Life and the meals for the program are heavily based on a balanced portion of protein and carbs for each meal. So I decided to forego my vegetarian ways - at least for this three month process - so I could be fully committed to this. (Plus my hair was falling out in major chunks and my nails started peeling off due to serious lack of protein)

But now I'm having second thoughts..

One of my favorite, underrated shows returned 3 weeks ago. 30 Days airs on FX on Tuesday nights at 9 and of course all during the week because it's cable. For those who've never seen or heard of it, it's from Morgan Spurlock who did Super Size Me and it's the same concept for different experimentation's each week. So far this season we've spent 30 Days as a coal miner in West Virginia, we've seen a retired professional athlete spend 30 Days in a wheelchair and last week we saw a meat-eater/hunter spend 30 Days with a vegan family. Here's a preview. The whole episode isn't on the site as of right now, but it should be soon and I recommend everyone watching it. It really made me think about how awful and unnecessarily cruel people are to animals. There's no point at all for their actions and this show brought me to tears on several occasions.. especially the part about putting down a perfectly healthy dog because there's no room for him and no family would take him.

Sorry to be all Debbie Downer, but I think it's something worth watching!

OUCH!!!!

2008-06-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine this being at all healthy.

American Idolatry Finale: Our Journey has ended.

2008-05-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Yowza! I have to say I really enjoyed this year's finale of American Idol. Going in to it I really thought little David would win it all, but still had a small feeling.. or hope.. that there could be a huge upset on the way for Rocker David.. and there was! I'll be the first to admit that I've never loved David Cook. I just didn't ever have that excitement of seeing him perform like I did with my little Castro or Michael Johns. I always really liked what he did every week taking well-known songs and putting his "rocker" spin on them. He's very talented and Simon was right when he said early in the competition that if the contest were to be an actual talent competition that David Cook should and would win. So I'm glad he did.

On to the recap!

I always have mixed emotions when I see the top 12 together again in each of the finales. I'm reminded first of all of how little choreography they have to learn for the medleys, but it still looks so unnatural. Then I'm reminded of the contestants that were voted off too soon.. and of course the ones that made me want to stop watching the show all-together.

I nearly lost it when the David's Archuleta and Cook dueted on "Hero". That fabulous power ballad from Spiderman that I'll never tire of. Funny thing; I heard that song on the radio the other day for the first time in years probably and I thought it would be the perfect song for David Cook to sing. Lo and behold.. I'm psychic.

Oh, Castro! How great it was to see you on the Idol stage again.. by yourself (the only Idol to have an actual solo!).. singing one of the greatest songs ever written. I could hardly contain myself. I really don't know what it is about Jason Castro, but I just can't get enough of him. And even though he rushed ahead of the music a couple of times, he gave a super performance that I've watched three times already.

(side note: why did Castro sing by himself? did the producers not care enough to get anyone to sing with him? Obviously he couldn't sing Hallelujah with Jeff Buckley for obvious reasons, but I've heard Castro's a big fan of Ray LaMontagne. Why not try to get him or someone like him on the show? Come on Idol!! Branch out a bit!)

Amanda Overmeyer. Your group performance awkwardness never ceases to entertain me. I absolutely love the look on your face. The disdain for everything choreographed and peppy. I especially love how you don't even try to hide the fact that you are extremely uncomfortable singing Donna Summer's songs with 5 other girls vying for the spotlight. I say give it to them. They know how to use it better.

Possibly my favorite performance.. or duet.. of the night had to be Carly Smithson and Michael Johns singing "The Letter". Two singers who were obviously eliminated before they should have been. There's no denying this girl can wail and she looked like she was having a lot of fun (not so during the actual competition). But who wouldn't have fun singing with Michael Johns? He's foxy. And if these two ever make an actual recording of the song (here's hoping!) I'd buy it for sure.

I was also really fond of the Graham Nash and Brooke White duet. This is the type of music Brooke sings best, and for the first time since the Beatles weeks she didn't seem like she was about to spontaneously com bust on stage from nerves, or being overwhelmed or whatever always had her in a tizzy. This was the first time in a while that I enjoyed hearing her sing.

Those were the high points for me. I did like the Brian Adams medley, but it would have been better had he sung "Everything I do (I do it for you)". George Michael was surprisingly good, too. I actually skipped through his performance during my first viewing of the finale, but went back and gave him a listen. Not bad.. but why does Paula have to cry during every meaningful song ever sung? It doesn't make her seem less crazy.

I'd love to go into the details now of how excited I was when I heard Seacrest say "Cook" after a pause that would put to shame the pauses usually reserved for "This....... is American Idol", but I didn't get to see much after that moment. My recording didn't anticipate an extended Idol crowning celebration, so my Idol finale ended mid-hug for the David's. There was no flying confetti, no warbly singing of the This-is-my-now-moment anthem, no giant group hug from the top 10 plus the other two that no one really got to know because they're not going on the tour.

Ah, well. I'll find it somewhere out there on the interweb. But for now I'll just remain glad that "rocker" David won. I'll also hope that he doesn't have to put out a cheesy first album and that his version of the Guitar Hero commercial will continue to air. I thought it was genius.. until there was one for little Archie as well. That just didn't make sense. He should have been on a Dance Dance Revolution commercial dancing to the my boo song. That I would have liked.

My Top 25

2008-05-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

Everyday I find myself reading from top to bottom what seems like the entire site of ew.com. Hey, my subscription ran out.. what else am I to do? Today they have an article by Steven King. In it he lists the true Top 20 songs in his iTunes library. These are the top 20 songs with the highest play count. It's interesting. Most of them I've never heard of and will probably check out and maybe (illegally) download them. As I was reading his list, I got to thinking.. or worrying.. about mine. I love my taste in music, but many times the music I listen to I wouldn't want others to know about. Like, who would fess up with me that they also listen to a Broadway show tunes mixed cd.. that they made themselves? I could only name a couple of people who fit that description. So, I decided to reveal my list as well. It is in no way altered; I didn't spend five minutes just now starting a song and skipping to the end repeatedly to up the play count. No, no. This is my true Top 25 (I did 25 because that's how many came up in my most recently played playlist. The number is how many times it's been played).

Here goes!

Number 25

Age of Aquarius

by The 5th Dimension (9)

Nothing wrong with this one! Not at all. Turn it on and try not to sing along after the transition to "Let the Sun Shine in". I have a secret dream of wearing a long dress with flowers in my hair and performing this somewhere where no one will laugh at me.

Number 24

Crimson and Clover

Tommy James and the Shondells (9)

I've liked this song ever since I was little. It was one of those songs they played on the Oldies station (Oldies 96.3!), but they didn't play it every half hour like most of the other songs. It was a treat whenever I heard it.

Number 23

Time for Me to Fly

REO Speedwagon (9)

I imagine this would be a good song to sing at the top of your lungs after a break-up. Since I've never been involved in a break-up this is purely speculation, but I still sing it quite loud in the car. Windows rolled up, of course.

Number 22

Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games

Of Montreal (9)

A friend of mine told me about this song so I downloaded it and recognized it immediately. It's the song in the Outback Steakhouse commercials, but the original version is much better. I recommend it highly.

Number 21

Sunshine (Go Away Today)

Jonathan Edwards (9)

A good "Take this job and shove it" song. And surprisingly upbeat!

Number 20

Hope for the Hopeless

A Fine Frenzy (9)

All her music is really mellow and good to listen to while working.

Number 19

I Call Your Name

The Mamas and the Papas (10)

Who doesn't love Mama Cass? This is one of my favorite songs by The Mamas and the Papas. Their harmonies are pretty much flawless.

Number 18

Green Tambourine

The Lemon Pipers (10)

Another song from when I was younger that wasn't played much on the Oldies station. Always a surprise and fun to hear.

Number 17

The Way I Am

Ingrid Michaelson (10)

I learned of her from Zach Braff. He has a lot of great musicians in his top friends on his myspace page. This is where I found her.

Number 16

The Luckiest

Ben Folds (10)

This is just a really great song and every time I hear it I want to cry and I wish Ben Folds had written it about me.

Number 15

I've Just Seen a Face

The Beatles (12)

The Beatles can't really do anything wrong. This has become a favorite recently. I borrowed the soundtrack to "Across the Universe" from a friend a few months ago and this song was on there. I couldn't remember the original version very well, so I went back and listened.. and haven't really stopped since.

Number 14

Say

John Mayer (13)

This song is on our new cd we listen to at Pottery Barn. It makes me happy.

Number 13

Falling Slowly

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (13)

If you haven't seen the movie Once, stop what you're doing, go to Blockbuster and rent it. Thank me later.

Number 12

Sea of Love

Cat Power (13)

Any song that brings to mind Michael Cera is a good one.

Number 11

Everytime

The Frames (14)

This is a cover of a Britney Spears song. I know, I know! It's weird. But this version of the song makes the lyrics so much better. Trust me.

Number 10

Lay Me Down

The Frames (14)

I randomly downloaded this after I discovered Glen Hansard in Once (he's the lead singer of The Frames) and it's quickly become a favorite. I like strings.

Number 9

Little Boxes

Death Cab for Cutie (14)

This is actually the theme song for Weeds. Every episode they have a different band perform the song and I dug this version. It's only 49 seconds, but it's still good. I didn't realize I listened to it enough to get it in my top 25, though!

Number 8

Breathe In Breathe Out

Mat Kearny (15)

There's no specific reason why I like this song so much. It's just all-around good.

Number 7

You're All I Need to Get By

Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell (15)

Another song that would be fun to perform. I don't know what exactly brought this in to iTunes rotation. Let's just assume I heard it on TV in the past year.

Number 6

Goodbye My Almost Lover

A Fine Frenzy (16)

Speaking of TV.. This was featured on an episode of The Hills last season. Specifically when Audrina and Justin Bobby had their "final" relationship-ending throw down. It was serious.. I mean, she didn't even speak to him during the car ride home! Another good break-up song. Obviously!

Number 5

Glascow Love Theme

Craig Armstrong (17)

This is where my musical weirdness shows. Why did it have to be in the top 5?! This is instrumental music from Love, Actually; a fine motion picture that gets harshly critiqued way too often. This is the music playing when Keira Knightly is watching the videos her friend who she thinks hates her recorded during her wedding. The videos are all of her because really he LOVES her and kept the camera on her the whole time showing sure signs of a future in stalking unattainable women. Still a good movie.

Number 4

It's All Wrong But It's All Right

Michael Johns (18)

Oh, Michael Johns. You were eliminated too soon. I thought you would have made it to the top 5 at least. Especially after this bluesified, sexified version of a Dolly Parton song I had never heard. A for effort!

Number 3

Songbird

Eva Cassidy (18)

Another song from Love, Actually. This is when Paulo from Lost is at Laura Linney's apartment after the Christmas party. It's pretty and Laura Linney deserves 5 Oscars, if not more.

Number 2

PM's Love Theme

Craig Armstrong (18)

Hm. I must have been on a Love, Actually kick within the past few months because we have another song from the soundtrack right here! This is the big dramatic music that's played at the end while the kid's running through the airport and all that jazz. I really like it. I'm not exactly sure if this is the actual title of the song, though. Who or what is PM? I'm not sure. Does this make sense to anyone else? I illegally downloaded it so someone could have easily renamed it, I'm sure.

Number 1

If I Fell

Jason Castro (20)

Who better to hold the number 1 spot than my flavor of the week, Mr. Jason Castro? This is the first song of his I downloaded and I apparently liked it more than I realized. But really, he has a great recording voice and I love this simplified version of the song. Like I've said before (see blog below) he doesn't have a strong voice that distracts from what he's singing about. I think that's what music needs now rather than 15 year olds who sing songs about "freaking out" with a techno beat in the background. That's just my opinion, though.

But really, if you want to hear how good Jason Castro really is, download these: "If I Fell", "Over the Rainbow", "Forever in Bluejeans", "Travelin' Thru" and "I Don't Wanna Cry". I know I've been singing his praises a lot, but he's completely underrated.

Aaaaanyway. There's my top 25. I'm actually not as embarrassed as I thought I would be. Sorry for the mostly long-winded explanations of all the songs. I like to give a little background information from time to time.

What songs are in your iTunes top 25? I want to know.

Oh, no Castro!

2008-05-07T00:59:00.001-07:00

Whoa. What happened tonight? Who decided it was "let's tell Jason Castro how 'horrible' of a singer he is" night?! I mean really. It kind of made me angry.. maybe too angry. But I have a deep love for this kid. Randy, Crazy Paula and Simon should all know by now that Castro does not have a naturally strong voice like the other three remaining contestants. He can't screech and yell like Syesha nor can he hit impressively high notes without a little warble in his voice like David One and David Two. But I happen to like the warble. I happen to like that he doesn't use the band (tonight was the first night!). I happen to like that he covered a Bob Marley song. I thought it was actually good. He performed. He moved around on stage more than he ever has. HE THREW HIS HANDS UP IN THE AIR! What more do they want? If they don't understand that that's who Jason Castro is, then maybe he should leave the show. I'm thinking he will anyway. It would be quite a miracle if he were to stay what with The Untouchable David's and Syesha's mysteriously controllable waterworks. (Didn't it seem like she was able to stop crying really easily after her second performance? She is an "actress" after all. And by "actress" I mean she's in commercials in Miami. And no, I don't like her.) I actually liked both his performances tonight. I thought the first one would get good reviews. I was wrong. The second I was excited about when in his talking head he said he was going to sing "Tambourine Man".. then he forgot the lyrics. What is it with these guys and forgetting the lyrics this season? Maybe Wayne Brady should be the guest mentor every week. There's an idea!

Anyway. It'll be sad to watch American Idol without my little Castro. I always thought we'd be good friends. I picture us laying barefoot in hammocks side-by-side on a beach somewhere.. I'd tell him repeatedly how much I love his dreads and we'd talk about how nervous I'd be during interviews, too.. just like him! I'd also have an ongoing dialogue with myself about how much pot I think he smokes on a daily basis. And I'd wonder if he'd ever share with me.

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T11:53:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. This isn't about The Masters. I haven't had time to put up pictures and explain my frustration with Tiger Woods or my new-found love for Brandt Snedeker. I don't know if it will happen. But I do know that it was fun, very pretty and very green!

And speaking of green...

Today is Earth Day and that means we get to celebrate the planet that we're slowly destroying!

YAY!

Happy day, Earth. I hope you're around 50 years from now so we can still celebrate you then!

(please recycle, compost, unplug things you're not using and turn your air up just a couple degrees. it's a big difference!

that is all.)

The Madness: Week Two

2008-04-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, I missed a lot of the games this weekend. But it's not because I wanted to. It's been a busy few days. but I did see the Davidson/Kansas game. Poor Davidson. I kind of wanted them to win even though it would have killed my final four (I think I only have 2 right). But It's neat that Kansas won and it's the first time ever that all four #1 seeds have made it to the final four. It's funny.. before I panicked and analyzed my bracket, I had all the #1's reaching the final four as well. humph.

There's always next year.

Go Tar Heels!

It is what it is.

2008-03-25T01:53:00.000-07:00

Why do I like sports so much? It's a question I get asked a lot. Probably because my love for pretty much any game came on so quickly. It's a small question with a big answer that I think a lot of people would have deep down if they really thought about it.

Rather than give my real answer whenever asked this question, I say "because they're just fun to watch" or "I really like such-and-such team/player". It appeases the person asking, but not the person answering. And for all those times I've wanted to go back and say, "No, I'm wrong. Here's the real reason why I like sports so much.." I give my reason now.

I like sports so much because it's like an escape. For however many hours of the day I can sit in front of my television and be completely lost in someone else's struggles, someone else's achievements, someone else's defeats, someone else's victories. There's no worrying about what project is due the next day, or if I have to work next weekend. All I have to worry about is if I'll be late to dinner with my friends because the game went into overtime.

I like sports so much because they're full of surprises. You never know beforehand when someone will score 42 points on senior night or when the underdog will beat the number 1 team in the nation back to back years. You also never know when a coach will get ejected from a game or when a team that should have won loses in embarrassing fashion. Good or bad, it mixes things up a bit and in the end makes it that much more memorable.

I like sports so much because they're comforting. Each December I get to look forward to climbing the (what seem like) thousands of stairs to the upper deck of Memorial Gymnasium with my mom and sitting in the same seat I've sat in for the past 6 years. It's seeing the family you barely know, but feel like you do because you've sat with them in those same seats for so long. It's knowing that that couple will always show up late and leave early. It's knowing that that guy over there will be wearing orange when UT comes to town. It's routine. It's my basketball family.

I like sports because they're uniting. For however many hours of the day, thousands of people are hoping for the same thing. They're reacting the same way be it happy, sad, disgusted or just plain maniacal. They all want their team to win, to be the best, to earn them bragging rights. For however many hours of the day - if you're for the same team - there's nothing to disagree about. No politics, no religion, no black, no white. It's all grey.. or orange and blue, or crimson and white, or black and gold, or purple and gold, or... you get the idea.

I like sports because it's an escape, it's surprising, it's comforting it's uniting, it's a game winning field goal as time expires, it's a walk-off home run in the 13th inning, it's a 5 hour 5 set tennis match lasting into the early hours of the next day, it's beating a country synonymous with swimming in the men's 200 meter medley relay in the 2004 Summer Olympics, it's crying at the end of Rudy, it's receiving your World Series ring at home in front of the Yankees, it's getting the ball the length of the court in .07 seconds to win the game, it's having your jersey retired, it's scoring 42 points on senior night, it's knowing that having that talent is bigger than you, it's losing your voice from screaming at the top of your lungs, it's hugging a stranger after your team made the first touchdown during the #3 versus #5 game, it's beating your biggest rival 6 years in a row, it's the deafening roar of thousands of fans after a good play, it's winning the World Series after 86 years, it's winning the World Series 3 years later, it's watching the eagle fly above the people at Jordan-Hare Stadium and getting chills in the middle of August, it's crying during Andre Agassi's retirement speech, it's winning 5 green jackets, it's Steve Bartman and wondering what could have been, its wondering if it ever will be, it's being thisclose to winning the triple crown, it's Teddy Dupay, it's the Music City Miracle, it's getting text messages of scores when you can't be at the game and are no where near a television, it's looking down at the seats behind the player's bench and seeing players from years ago still supporting their team, it's seeing the student section packed full two hours before the game even begins, it's 800 career wins, it's rushing home to watch sportscenter to see highlights of that game you just saw in person, it's tivoing the entire game you just saw in person, it's the Cameron Crazies, it's the Terrible Towel, it's having a court named after you, it's being the winningest NCAA coach of all time, it's the greatest comeback in sports history.

it's the thrill of victory, it's the agony of defeat.

it's a feeling that, after all these examples, is still hard to put into words.

It's just plain fun.

The Madness: Week One

2008-03-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Oy! My bracket is pretty much busted. I still have 3 of my final 4 teams in it (stupid Georgetown), but i'm still a little disappointed with how I'm doing. I chose some good upsets (thank you West Virginia and Davidson!). But I also chose some head-scratchers.. they will go unnamed.

My South region is the best so far. And by "best" I mean "the region with the fewest red marks on it"; only two! And they really could have gone either way. I chose St. Mary's over Miami; a 10-7 match-up and I chose Oregon over Mississippi St; a 9-8 match-up. So really.. I'm not stupid. Two bad picks isn't so bad I guess, but I can't help but think of the first time I ever filled out a bracket back in 2001. I got an entire region correct down to the championship game (Duke won that year). I've never been able to do that well since then and it frustrates me. I'm way competitive even though I don't show it very much (or do I?!) I've been thinking that I may try not filling out a bracket next year. Or at least I won't be in any pools. I'm not in a pool involving money this year (thank goodness), but I'm in a small one on facebook and that one.. as meaningless as it is.. has me stressing out whenever the team I chose goes down by a single point. It's too much stress to endure during the most wonderful time of the year.

So I think I'll give up pooling next year and just enjoy the games. I love pulling for the underdogs and when I haven't picked the underdogs to win, I feel like a rope in a game of tug-of-war who's constantly advertising bad CBS sitcoms.

Like I said earlier, I really feel this is one of the greatest times of the year. I'm serious. I know it's just a bunch of college kids - most of whom I'm older than now, which is scary enough - but it's a great thing. For those of you who actually read this, later in the week I'm going to tell the story of how I fell in love with the game of basketball and how that led to my love of pretty much every other sport. And I'll also tell the story of why sports are so great.. or at least why I think they're so great.

Until then, so long sports fans!

This week on American Idol

2008-03-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

*GASP*

In a surprise elimination I think very few saw coming, Amanda Overmeyer was ousted last night. While I'm glad she's gone, I would have much rather seen Kristy Lee Eyebrows or Ramin Noodle Malubay sent packing. I think of it this way: If I were to pay money to see the American Idol concert, who would I most like to hear sing for 2 hours of my life? I'd much rather see Amanda than either one of those other girls. Her awkwardness during the group song and dance numbers is too funny not to want to see in person. But alas, we can't have more than one person eliminated from now on, so I knew there'd be someone I didn't care for on the tour.

American Idol: Redux - 3.18.07

2008-03-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Who should be in the bottom 3?

1. Amanda Overmeyer - she sounds like her mouth is full of mashed potatoes.
2. Kristy Lee Cook - she has no stage presence and her eyebrows are too dark.
3. Ramiele Malubay - she's boring tries to win votes by being "cute and pouty".

Who should go home?

All of them. Let's really shake things up and have a triple elimination show!

How much do I love Jason Castro?

SO much.

My Meatless Ways

2008-03-13T00:59:00.000-07:00

I've become a vegetarian! For the past 10 days I've been seeing how things go without eating meat. Surprisingly, it's gone really well. I still eat fish, which may seem like cheating to some, but I'm okay with that.

This is really exciting for me. For anyone who knows me well (or even a little) you know I don't eat just anything. I'm picky. I like 2, maybe 3 vegetables and usually everything I put on my plate is yellow. Purely coincidence! So the first thing people ask me when I tell them about my new experiment is "What do you eat?" Jokes on them, because I actually have an answer! I've become a fan of meatless soy products! It sounds horrible disgusting, but it's actually good. And for me to say that, well, it must be good or I'm a little crazy.

The second question I get asked is "Why are you doing this? Moral or Health reasons?" I guess I'd have to say both. I know I eat way too much red meat and if I decided to "cut down" on red meat we all know that would never happen. So I wanted to see how I would do if I cut out all meat. I must say I do feel better. I can't really pinpoint how, but it's true.
It's also a little moral issue as well. I had been thinking about it for a while, but then I stumbled upon this website thanks to a daily email I get from idealbite.com. I have to say it's not an easy video to watch. I was affected to say the least.

I'm still torn with the morality of it all. I do think that animals were put on the earth to eat. It's all part of the food chain. But like most people I can't agree with the treatment of the animals. i'm not going to get all weird and preachy, but they do have feelings and I doubt they enjoy half the things that get done to them. I wonder what they'd say to us if they could talk. That I'd like to hear.

I know I say this a lot, but..

2008-03-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Best. Game. Ever.

It may not have been against the "Number 1" team in the country or a downward spiraling basketball dynasty, but Mississippi State is ranked in the Top 25 (#25) and every season turn out to be a team where people say, "Where did they come from?!" They've always been a tricky team to get past and this year was no exception.

I won't go into detail about how it all ended, but I'll just say that a one point win in overtime with a 42 point performance from Shan Foster on senior night is not a bad way to end the season at home.

Keep Blockbuster in Business

2008-02-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

I'm sad to say that this year I saw a paultry ONE movie that was nominated for an Oscar. ONE. That's just sad. I'm usually the person tyring to see as many as I can before the big night. Not that I had a lack of interest this year (excep for Sweeny Todd), I just didn't have the time I guess.

There was one movie I really wanted to see which was Once. Learning that it was filmed in such a short time and in Dublin and that the guy is the singer from The Frames, I was intrigued to say the least. So Wednesday night I get crazy and decide to go to iTunes and try renting Once from there. I thought it would be easy and I wanted to see how good the quality was. I purchase the movie and it downloads fine. I get in my bed so excited to watch a new movie and it won't play. I drag it out of iTunes onto my desktop and try opening it in Quicktime. Nothing. i start to panic. I just lost $4!! That's a huge amount of money to me right now! that can buy me a cup of coffee on my way to class! I shouldn't have given that up so effortlessly. I'm instantly ashamed and hate that I spent my money on such an impulse. But there's nothing left to do but file a complaint. So I go to my purchase history in iTunes and report a problem with the download. The next day I get an email saying they've put a fresh copy of the movie in my download queue and that everything should be fine this time. Long story short, I download the movie and about 6 hours later... it still won't work. It's the last straw for me and I respond to the email and tell them I want my money back in no uncertain terms.

it should be back in my account by next week!

the moral of this story: don't be lazy and think renting a movie from iTunes is a good idea.

winner winner chicken dinner

2008-02-26T21:54:00.001-08:00

skillz.

Simon Says

2008-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

I've been a long-time watcher of American Idol. I started about midway in season 1 and have missed few episodes since. I really love the show, I have to say. It's surprising that so many people really have made an actual career for themselves and it all started with a reality show. A FOX reality show, at that. But the last two or three seasons have left me puzzled. Each year they claim they've found the best top 24 in American Idol history, but each year I'm unimpressed with what I initially see. Sure the weakest of the top 24 get weeded out by America during the first three weeks after auditions, but I still wonder how some of the contestants make it to HOLLYWOOD let alone the top 24. Also, I know a lot of it is nerves. It's different singing in front of millions of people compared to a handful. But I feel that if these people really want to "make it" and have this as their career, they shouldn't show their nerves as much as some of them do.

Take for instance Amy Davis. I mean.. come on! I had to watch her performance a couple of times to make sure it actually happened and that that noise came out of her mouth. She clearly got on this show for her looks because she has a terrible voice. I'm glad she's gone-it was the right choice-but for some strange reason I wanted her to stay at least one more week just to hear how bad she'd be again. That's mean of me, I know.

We seem to possibly have a FEW Sanjaya's this year, but the front-runner got the boot early. Poor Garrett Haley. I had high hopes for him before I heard him sing. He was funny in his pre-performance interview with Ryan Seacrest. Witty, dry humor always gets me. But then they showed his audition.. his nasally, falsetto-filled audition.. and I knew it was over.

Colton Berry was one that may have been eliminated early. I thought this performance was pretty good.. definitely not the worst of the night. He's very theatrical, had a boring stage presence and didn't change up the arrangement AT ALL (okay maybe he did deserve to go home), but I would have had two others go home before Colton; namely Luke Menard and Jason Yeager. Yikes. No good, guys.

But then again, this is only my opinion.

The early front-runners on the guys side are clearly Michael Johns and David Archuleta. They both have very different styles, but are both really great (how much cuter could David be?!). But, Michael Johns was my favorite from the start. A) He's an Aussie B) He lives in the south and C) He's got some great taste in music.. and he's not bad looking either. Let's just say he's got a lot going for him at this point. I think he'd really have to screw up to get eliminated

However, no one-NO ONE-will ever take the place of one Chris Richardson.

He will always hold a special place in my heart.

Barack says we can

2008-02-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not a political person by any means. I've tried so hard to be interested in the goings on of the world, but aside from listening to "My Life" on tape, I have little interest in politics. Finding the candidate who actually believes that Global Warming exists and that there is a way to stop it is the only reason I'm going to the polls this November.. if I get registered before then.

However, my goal is to become as informed and knowledgable about the candidates as I can in the coming months. If anyone has any tips for me on how to reach my goal, they would be greatly appreciated right about now.

And I do have to say that this video is pretty fantastic.

On a more humorous note, this is a pretty funny website to play with whenever you have downtime or just need a distraction from more important things (just keep clicking).

enjoy.

Fashion.. with a sense of humor.

2008-02-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love to wear jeans and a t-shirt? No one, that's who. Especially me. But I don't always feel super cute when I'm super comfortable. All that has changed now with the wonderful world of Threadless! You can find really funny and witty t-shirts on this site without having to look at shirts that say "I get frisky when I drink whiskey". I mean, really?

I've been a fan of Threadless for a couple of years now ever since one Mr. Zach Braff mentioned it on his very own blog. I'm actually wearing a shirt from Threadless now. It says:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

Who can't agree with that?

C-A-T-S... spells disaster

2008-02-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Or last night it did anyway. Why so sad, fellas? Maybe it was the 93-52 loss at Vanderbilt. Maybe...

Oh, Happy Day

2008-02-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's official!

Amazing Discoveries

2008-02-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago in my Package Design class my teacher handed out articles about new and different ways of packaging certain items. My article happened to be about self-heating packaging for liquids like coffee and soup. It was written in '04 or '05 and was talking about how these self-heating containers would be everywhere and more prominent in '07. I had never heard of them before I read the article so I was a little skeptical about it even existing at all.

This past weekend I was at Kroger with my mom and sister and in the middle of an isle was one of those huge bins overflowing with containers of what I thought was cocoa mix. I walk over to it to look at it because I'm a sucker for cocoa/coffee/or any hot beverage and I wanted to see what these were all about. To my amazement, they were the self-heating containers!! I was so excited I bought 3. They were $2 each so I couldn't buy too many just yet. But I had to see if they worked like I hoped they did and OH DID THEY! It was quite a day for me and my nerdiness. I even emailed my Package Design teacher to tell her about my findings. Needless to say, she was excited as well.

Here is the website about the products. It's pretty great and everyone should try one at least once. Just to say you have and to enjoy the experience of a self-heating container.

WARNING: You must be patient. I went through the steps of heating one of the and thought I had a dud. It took a lot longer for it to heat than my first one did. I got discouraged and moved on to my last one. But of course the way the universe works against me, my first drink started getting warm after I had already started the second one. Be patient with the coffee drinks. They take just a little more time to heat up! I had to drink two coffee drinks Sunday afternoon and I was wired for the rest of the day. It was nice.

Since all my other blogs have been about televsion (and this one obviously hasn't) let me say that I am now going to watch an episode of Mad Men, which is possibly the best new show this season. Had self-heating containers been around in the 60's, I bet these characters would use them.

WGA + AMPTP= BFF??

2008-02-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Sadly, no. But the Writer's strike is thisclose to being over with. It's really too good to be true. I've forgotten what it's like to see new episodes of The Office and Scrubs. If all goes well, some shows will be back to writing mind-numbing goodness this week! I'm such a tv nerd that this is the best news I've heard in quite some time.

Here is a good place to get a list of what shows you can expect to see back on the airwaves before the tv season officially comes to an end.

Here's hoping it all goes as planned and that we can get a full season of LOST.

WHAT?!?!

2008-02-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

This past year along with the rest of the country, I became ridiculously obsessed with The Hills. It amazes me that all these people have to talk about is media-arranged coupling of Spencer and Heidi and how much everyone hates this gruesome twosome.

There are no words to describe Heidi and her foolishness for putting up with Spencer the tool. It's just sad. I found this video on youtube a few months ago and was in shock at the thought of Heidi trying to pursue a music career and having Spencer backing her up and encouraging it. It's sad to see him so happy for her in the video.. honestly does he not see how bad she is at pretending to sing?

And now I've stumbled on to THIS. I don't know what to say to this. Her gestures are awkward and she looks like she doesn't know what to do. The only reason I'm posting this is because of it's awfulness. It's like a train wreck that I can't stop watching and I feel more people need to see this tragedy.

You're welcome.

What ever happened to predictability?

2008-02-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

I've noticed a recurring trend over the past few years in television that's started to disturb me. It's the continual lack of an opening theme song on new television shows. Rarely do new shows have them anymore. Nowadays it's a quick flash of the show's title and a few nice graphics around it, then it's right back to the show. Now I'm not complaining about how quickly they're getting us back to our regularly scheduled program-in fact I really like how most shows don't cut to a commercial break after the opening title shot, but is it really necessary to completely cut out the theme song? Is there no compromise at all? Even shows that have been on for ages (that's you, ER) are getting rid of their opening sequences. I loved ER's theme-James Newton Howard really can't do any wrong. Why get rid of something so great? (Okay, so I might be the only person who watches ER anymore, but it's not the only show that's given in to the trend.) I know some shows like Ugly Betty still play a short musical quip that they try to pass off as a theme song, but it doesn't count. I want a song! Something I can sing to myself later even if there aren't any words. I want pictures! I want to see the people along with their real names so I can know who's who! Is that too much to ask? I guess so.

However, some newer shows haven't completely given up on me and still kick it old-school and show their credits in a time-span lasting longer than 10 seconds. Thank you, Flight of the Conchords, Mad Men and Journeyman. Sure the latter has since been canceled, but it was a great opening sequence and I doubt that was the reason for cancellation-nobody watched it (why?... WHY?!?).

I first noticed this happening back in 2004 when a little show called Lost debuted. The screen went black and four blurry letters slowly flew toward me and came into focus with a creepy sound that's actually kind of difficult to describe. But Lost doesn't need a theme song. Can anyone picture a bouncy song being played in the background while each character turns and smiles at the camera? No. That's why it works. But just because something works for one show, doesn't mean it has to be copied by everyone else.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. Agree or disagree? What's your favorite theme song? Bonus points to anyone who can name which theme song my blog title came from.. and does anyone else out there watch ER with me?

***

In the spirit of great theme songs, here are a few shows with my favorites:
Weeds
Flight of the Conchords
My So-Called Life
Scrubs
Everwood (the season 1 version was the best)
House (Teardrop by Massive Attack-download this song now!)
Mad Men
30 Rock
Felicity (seasons 3 & 4 only)

There are more, I know, but this is a good start.