So That Happened...

Thank You For Being A Friend

Oh my God, you guys: I just learned through the wires at work that Estelle Getty has died.  I am SO SAD about this.  Seriously.

Happy Fourth!

(Photo taken by me at Dodger Stadium - July 1, 2004.)

Happy Independence Day, everyone!  I hope you and yours have a safe yet fun day.  And for those of you reading this who do not celebrate this holiday, Happy, er, Fourth!

Finally, just because I can, here is a photo of George Takei and me taken on the same day as the fireworks photo.  The flag in the background makes the photo that much more patriotic.

Commercials That Annoy Me

I've been really busy lately and haven't watched as much TV as I normally do (shocking!), but even in my limited TV-watching I've come across some ads that set my teeth on edge.  Here are just a few:

• The Cadillac Escalade "Cupholders" commercial featuring Sofia Vergara.  I've read some reviews in which people complained about her accent; that isn't what bothers me.  What gets under my skin is her fake driving: she's "steering" the vehicle as if she is on the Bumpiest Road Ever and has next to no control over her GIANT SUV.  Yeah, that's the person I want behind the wheel of a massive vehicle.  Way to sell it.  Has she ever driven a car before?  No one drives like that on a regular basis.  I know she's not known for being the greatest thespian, but come ON.  Someone should have told her to make it look like she was driving in a straight line and not on Autopia at Disneyland.
• The Nutrisystem "Pretty" commercial featuring Jillian Reynolds.  I want to shoot the writer who thought of the words "I'm not your average gal - I love sports.  Football!  How many girls can do that?"  SHUT UP.  What?  There are woman who like sports?!  INCONCEIVABLE!  Excuse me while I clutch my pearls.  I have girlfriends who live and breathe sports: it's not a foreign concept.  I'd also like to know how many takes were shot for the one of Jillian actually catching the ball since she is totally not the sporty type.  Also?  I hate Nutrisystem's (and any other weight loss program's) before and after shots: in her "before" she's wearing her maternity dress even though she's already given birth and is in flip-flops and under bad lighting, but in her "after" she's got the bikini and heels on with makeup and good lighting.  Whatever, Big Fat Lying Company.  Finally, I hate that the website promoted in the ad (which you don't see in the Youtube clip) is actually www.nutrisystem.com/pretty.  PRETTY.  Really?  My God.  Shut up, commercial.

Okay, so this isn't a long list.  What about you?  Which commercials make you want to punch someone?

And I Didn't Even Bring Up Knots Landing

Look who I met yesterday!

Awesome, right? For the record, she was extremely nice.

My Current Favorite Commercial

Meat Loaf + '80s pop star Tiffany +  Adam Cagley as their son + the dove! = COMEDY GOLD.  Thank you, AT&T GoPhone!

Note: this is the long version (!) of the commercial, which I found here.

Star Trek: The Tour - A Preview

More pictures and write-up to follow!

Is It Cold In Here Or Is It Just You?

Damn, Victorya - could you be any more icier? If I ever need a beverage chilled in, like, thirty seconds, I'll just ask you to hold it or something. I mean it. Sheesh.

Dear Carmen,

SHUT UP. You're upset because people weren't more upset over you being eliminated? YOU DIDN'T MAKE A GODDAMN SHIRT, WOMAN. YOU WRAPPED FABRIC AROUND YOUR MODEL AND DARED EVERYONE TO JUST WORK WITH YOU ON THE "ESSENCE" OF THE SHIRT. GOD. How dare the other contestants not stage an uprising and demand your return! How RUDE of them. Just SHUT UP.

Finally, Chris? You're my fan favorite.

My Favorite Grammy Moments

I do it every year: I say I won't watch the Grammys yet I inevitably have the show on in the background because I don't want to miss a great performance or, say, another Soy Bomb.  (Can you believe that was ten years ago?  Neither can I.)  You could say I get hooked in because of work, or to be more exact, my annual Grammy rant at work about who I hate: why this artist blows, why this other artist is a talentless, overrated, overexposed hack, you get the picture.  Like I said to my co-workers, 'Music makes me cranky.'  It does, at least in Grammy form, but there were a few moments last night that made up for the suckage.

1. PRINCE!  Prince can do no wrong in my eyes.  NO WRONG.
2. Morris Day and the TIme!  That was awesome.  I'm going to listen to "Jungle Love" all day.  I am not including the part when Rihanna starts singing because I'm about the one person on Earth who doesn't care for that "Umbrella" song. 
3. Kanye West's performance - stupid sunglasses and all.  He is an arrogant ass, but I'll give credit where credit is due: he was great.  Too bad he burned off any goodwill he fostered within me from his emotional delivery of "Hey Mama" by being a total jackass later that night. 
4. Vince Gill's on-stage shutting down of Kanye.  Hilarious.  Who knew he had it in him?
5. The Herbie Hancock/Lang Lang/John Mauceri "Rhapsody in Blue" collaboration.  It made me cry, it was so good.  I promptly bought the 2007 recording by the Los Angeles Philharmonic (conducted by  Leonard Bernstein!) off iTunes.
6. Amy Winehouse's via-satellite performance, but I loved her reaction to winning record of the year even more.  (Watch the clip here before it gets pulled - go to 1:41.)  She made me cry, too!  Damn you, Winehouse!  Now just stay clean and buy a new pair of ballet slippers.  Speaking of, Natalie Cole complained to a few local TV stations afterwards about Amy's win, saying she didn't approve of it because it was rewarding destructive behavior.  It kills me that I can't find a clip of this for your viewing pleasure, but I saw it with my own two eyes.  Oh, really, Natalie? 

Don't even get me started on the Steely Dan Part Deux moment that was Herbie Hancock's album of the year win.  I have great respect for Herbie - c'mon, he brought us "Rockit" - but an album of jazz covers of Joni Mitchell songs is the best album of the year?  Really?  I have no words.

Friday Night Lights: Where Have I Been?

My friend Heathyr has gone on and on to me about how amazing Friday Night Lights is ("Oh my God, you will cry and cry" is a sentence she has said more than once in reference to it), but for some reason I never watched the show. Don't ask - I can't answer the question. What I knew is of the show is that hot hot hot Kyle Chandler stars in it. (Hello? Can I get a Homefront shout-out up in here?)

Anywho, because I knew Heathyr would appreciate it more than anyone, last night I took her to an event at the Academy. We watched the episode set to air tonight and guess what? I cried and cried. Okay, it was more like tears welling up as I can't sob in public unless under extreme duress, but that happened at least twice, so that counts. GodDAMN, this is a good show. Wait - "good" doesn't even cover it. It's better than that, it's bigger than that. It's the kind of TV show that when an episode comes to its conclusion, you don't want it to end; at least that is how I felt after watching it last night. I wanted more! Sniff. This is the TV show I've always wanted but didn't know it.

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to watching FNL's first season on DVD. Heathyr said it best last night when she said she was a little jealous of me because I get to experience what she describes as "a perfect season" for the first time. I'll make sure to keep a box of tissues at the ready.

All That's Missing Is Sophia's Purse

This will be the cutest thing you've ever seen: a creative genius has made felt dolls of the Golden Girls! Aren't they awesome? Don't you want to buy them and sit with them in the middle of the night at your kitchen table around a giant cheesecake? I do, and I don't even like cheesecake. (Seriously, I can only have a few bites of the stuff. I'd rather have cake, thankyouverymuch.)