Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s School Photo!

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That is awesome – look at the size of those glasses! We all know how much I cannot stand that woman (click here to read my other post on her), and then to see this school photo on yesterday’s View…oh the words. Looks like someone had a bit of an awkward stage growing up…I’m sorry, but why would parents buy their daughter a pair of red glasses that take up nearly 2/3 of her face?!?  That’s just cruel and will lead to nothing but ridicule.

Watch the video of the segment here as the the ladies debate the merits of school photo airbrushing (god help us all).

(Note: I hate to admit this, but I have a fourth grade photo that rivals that of Elisabeth, but I’d like to think I’ve grown into a more bearable woman, as in not so freakin’ high-pitched, delusional and annoying).

Northern Voice 2008

My last day of school will be spent attending Northern Voice, a social media conference covering blogging, videoblogging, Facebooking, etc. etc.  But the best part?  Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress, will be giving the keynote…he’s rather young-looking, no?  Internet techies usually are, I guess.  I look forward to hearing what he has to say in his speech entitled “Blogging & Social Media: Where do we go from here?”

I don’t know, Matt, where do we?

If given time between graduation and packing for my highly anticipated move back to the United States, I may have some insightful things to report on in this blog for once.  Stay tuned : )

Lost on “Lost”

Perhaps it’s because I am stressed, overworked, and sleep deprived. Or…perhaps I’m just an idiot when it comes to putting together the pieces on Lost. But I think a more accurate factor affecting my confusion is how distracted I get when Evangeline appears on my computer screen. Damn. Her body…rocks. Is hard as a rock, rocks my world, how I’d love to rock her world…ok, I’m done. You get it.

So luckily I searched WordPress for some Lost synopses to ensure I was caught up on what the hell was going on before proceeding to watch the week’s latest episode. I guess I wasn’t quite sure what they meant by the “Oceanic 6,” but at the risk of sounding like the lone idiot, maybe I will rephrase and say I didn’t process it. I was passively watching the show, and that is simply unacceptable for a loyal follower. I am angry with myself, and I promise to do better this week. Evangeline, you will not distract me from key plot points anymore. One more look at this goddess…

I just got an idea! I could watch it twice! The first time would be strictly an emotional viewing where I could get all “hot and bothered and flustered” with every Evangeline scene (and even that Australian chick – accents always get me). Then, once that’s all taken care of, I can focus my attention on the plot and all the crazy, psychological shit that goes with it. And finally, I check the synopses from Stiffcat’s Lost Blogtastic for further clarification and assurance that I’m following along.

Sounds like a plan. Amazing the clarity you get when you sit down and formulate a solution using the written word.

Must get back to work.

Happy F***n’ Valentine’s Day

To all you relationship-y people out there, today is a joyous day where you get to celebrate the love you share with that significant other. And for us single folk, today is the day we take a moment to wallow in our loneliness, binge on the chocolate cake we took the liberty of treating ourselves to, and consider that maybe today is the last V-day we celebrate alone BECAUSE…things are going to pick up from here on out.

Yeah, right.

Where’s that damn bag of M&Ms…

Ok, clearly I’m just jealous of all the people out there sharing this day with a special someone.

Continued Thoughts and Complexities on Male/Female Friendships

Wow, thanks to those who provided feedback! I thought I’d start another post since my comments were so long : ) Perhaps others would like to chime in!”Girls give out a lot more than they even realize. Any kind of flirting will get a guy thinking he’s got a chance because we’re too often naive and foolish; also lead by the little guy down below so to speak. Innocent flirting is dangerous. Women know they have advantages over men that they exploit too often for their own advantages.”

– Andrew

I appreciate your point about women giving off mixed signals. I’m not going to deny that we like the attention men give us and often respond in very flirtatious ways. It’s probably not fair to men, but women are often dealing with their own insecurities, so when given attention, we tend to thrive on it. I’m not trying to excuse women’s flirtatious behavior. I hear what you are saying and agree that women do exploit this “power” they have over men…that’s what we call a cock tease, right? Yeah, I’ve been guilty of that before…not fair and I need to remember that, especially if my friend and I are to have a healthy living situation.

“Considering you are into women it might possibily work, but I have a feeling you will need to be the one to keep the hold on the friendship and keep it there. Face it, men are men and men think about sex like every three seconds. I’m not sure how many guys have told me this, but it’s also a proven fact.”

– theycallmecurlysue

You raise very good points as well, and I agree that it will be up to me to keep our friendship in check and stand firm in the event that my friend and I start walking that fine line again (which usually happens when we’ve been drinking and our inhibitions are lowered).

I think part of the reason why I have blurred the lines in the past is that I’m still trying to figure out my own sexuality. I grew up in the Midwest where homosexuality is not as tolerated as say, LA, and my parents are still very much in denial and unwilling to talk about it, so part of me still has a lot of “coming out” to do, meaning I need to be open in the gay community and date people. I have not dated a woman since my first and only girlfriend 4-5 years ago – god that’s a long time! But I think that because I am still growing as a person and trying to figure out, and be comfortable with, my sexuality, I gave in several times to sex with my friend partly because I was curious to see whether I could enjoy it, to see if perhaps I was missing something, that I wasn’t gay? I don’t know….bottom line is, I’m gay and do not enjoy sex with men.

As for men thinking about sex all the time, I think sex is probably on my mind just as frequently because I’m horny as hell and not having any! In fact, that’s one of the great things about my friend! We can talk about how hot chicks are, how we’d like to “bend her over” (we often get vulgar) and about the “sessions” we needed to have on any given day! LOL…he’s really a great friend! I’m confident everything will work out…he’s too important to me for it not to!

Thanks for your comments!

Save Friday Night Lights!!!

I voiced my appraisal of Friday Night Lights, but I fear it may have seen its last days. There is speculation that last Friday’s episode may be the last of the series. It appears NBC has not renewed another season (or commissioned more episodes), whatever the case may be, whether it’s because of the writer’s strike or mediocre ratings. But fans need to be vocal about their appraisals of this show – sign petitions, write on message boards, let the network know we want more!

I am appalled by the thought of its demise and feel the need to do something to save yet another quality program in jeopardy. First the networks pulled Arrested Development, then they pulled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. And now Friday Night Lights hangs in the balance! This is why I want to work in television – this doesn’t make any sense, and I want direct involvement in such decision-making, to be able to assess and proactively do something to ensure quality programming subsists. It starts with the fans, and I am confident this show has the fan base necessary to warrant further seasons.

Perhaps NBC needs to reconsider this whole Friday night spot for a show with “Friday” in the title. I think the fans can handle the discrepancy between the Friday football-themed show and the actual night it airs. This is television people, and let’s face it, Friday nights are the worst – people are out on the town after having slaved away at work or school for the past five days. Those few that are home (which happens to be me) are watching, but it’s of course not enough to garner the ratings shows such as Grey’s and Lost and House receive during the week!

Perhaps they should reconsider how it’s marketed. My hesitation to commence watching this show had to do with my perception that its primary focus was high school football. Sure, I happen to be a football fan, but I have no interest in exploring a glorified high school football team and the complexities of the game. But this show is so much more than that. It uses the football team as a reference point to connect the cast of characters, but it explores real life situations – dating, marriage, high school bullies, arrogance derived from stardom, absent parents, rape, rivalry, religion, underage drinking, career challenges, racism etc. etc. Every dimension of this show is multifaceted.

When I think of quality television, this is what I mean. It perfects the balance of reality and entertainment I seek in programming, and it did not take long for me to realize that I had been missing out on something really great. It was exciting! I locked myself away for an entire weekend to watch the first season’s 22 episodes and then raved about it to all my friends. I’m proud to say I got at least 3 people hooked!

So I conclude by saying, let us continue to spread the word and let NBC know they’d be making a huge mistake pulling the plug. Let our appreciation of this show become viral so that we may continue to explore the lives of the characters we’ve grown to love.

Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights

I feel I must present a more positive analysis of a television show after having spent the last three posts criticizing some of the worst representations on television, and I have one of the most deserving programs in mind – Friday Night Lights.

What a refreshing program – beautifully shot documentary-style, realistic storylines (though it took time for me to accept that they treat high school football like it’s the pros down there in ol’ Texas), and a wonderful cornucopia of characters played by some of the best talent television has seen. Basically, Friday nights aren’t so bad if I’m financially strapped and unable to hit the town – all I need is a comfy couch to curl up on to enjoy this show that makes me feel (and I’m not kidding) all warm and fuzzy inside.

There are plenty of characters to enjoy, like the transformation of Matt Sarasen, the striking, rebellious nature of Tim Riggins, and the blossoming romance between Tara and Landry, but my absolute favorite characters on that show are Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, played by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.

Ok, aside from my overzealous libido kicking in as I swoon over Ms. Britton (definitely in my Top 5 category of hottest actresses), the Taylors exemplify THE DEFINITION of chemistry onscreen. Their scenes are such a joy to watch – the way they have their cute little husband/wife disagreements over family matters, or when they cuddle up next to one another after a long day’s work, so aware of how deep and fulfilling their love is for one another.

To be honest, part of my adoration for these two characters stems from how much their relationship resembles that of my parents. They are so in love with one another, so committed to their marriage…it’s beautiful to see such a positive portrayal of a married couple on television because, as much as it is a rarity in both real life and onscreen, it does exist. People marry and stay married until the day they die, and observing this through both my parents and the fictitious Mr. and Mrs. Taylor instills hope in the idea that true love most definitely exists. It may not exist for me (I may have issues with commitment), but it’s out there and for some reason, that’s comforting to me (especially when you see such horrendous interpretations of love on such shows as Nip/Tuck).

So for those of you not watching this show, please start. Rent the DVDs, stream it online (www.sidereel.com), or download it…I don’t care how you do it. There is so much crap out there, aren’t you in need of a refreshing change of pace?

Oh, and another thing. For those of you who do watch, why is it that neither Kyle nor Connie have been nominated for a major award? Baffling to me. These two actors are very deserving of such an honor. They can surely hold their own against the Hugh Lauries and the Kyra Sedgewicks…let’s give ’em a nod.

Nip/Tuck sucks…enough already!

What happened to this show? The first three seasons were awesome, filled with cutting-edge plots and magnanimously flawed characters, but now the past two seasons are just too much. They are no longer “pushing the envelope” of cable television because what they’ve done is gone beyond “the line” and ventured into “ridiculous territory.”

From Rosie O’Donnel’s stupid character, to Christian’s uncontrollable sexual urges and inflated ego, to Sean’s mid-life crisis bordering on perversion, to Matt’s (aka Michael Jackson’s) drug addiction and consistent failures, etc. etc. The only reason I continue to tune in is because of the writer’s strike and lack of original programming these days. But come on, this is just STEEWWPPPIIIDDD.

I think television is supposed to take real-life drama and escalate it to the next level, to transport audiences beyond everyday perceptions of reality, but Nip/Tuck has gone way overboard.

What’s more, it paints women in an extremely ugly light (and I’m not the only one noticing). If they’re not whores, they’re greedy, conniving, narcissistic bitches. And then the men…Christian is the most pompous, egocentric, misogynistic piece of shit human being, but this show elevates him to the status of kings (scary to think there may be men out there, or impressionable young boys, vying to become such a person). His degradation of women is absolutely appalling, which in the beginning merited some exploration for the sake of character building, but now after five seasons, it’s a tired flaw that’s highly offensive. And if I have to see one more ass shot, I swear to god…

Bottom line: Nip/Tuck needs to be Nip/Plucked from television. A change of location is NOT enough to warrant this show’s continuation. It’s going to take a lot more than that, folks.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck – Mind getting pregnant again?

Why is Elisabeth Hasselbeck still a cohost on The View? In fact, how did she ever manage to get a job on that show? What does she bring to the table but a yappy mouth spewing conservative crap. I mean, seriously, how has she continued to remain on this show for five years now? What is Barbara Walters thinking?

I wonder what her cohosts think of her. I’m sure Joy thinks she’s one of the most annoying people she’s ever encountered, especially since Elisabeth consistently talks over her. Sometimes I catch Sherri Shepherd (who I also cannot stand by the way – what is with those wigs?!?) looking at Elisabeth like, “Girl, you need to shut your trap!”

I’m sorry, but isn’t there someone else out there that would be a better fit? It seems a lot of people are discontent with Elisabeth’s presence. It’s great when she’s on maternity leave and they have guest cohosts fill in. What a nice break from that high pitched, shrill voice that forces its way into almost every dialogue. It’s getting to the point where she has become the most vocal one on there! And the questions she poses to the guests often don’t make much sense or warrant acknowledgement. She’s embarrassing to watch!

Please, Barbara, find someone else to replace this poor woman. Her claim to fame is having appeared on a season of Survivor, for god’s sake.

I’m not naive. I realize replacing her at this point is a remote possibility (the show seems to exploit the controversy surrounding her to increase its ratings), so perhaps I’ll just hope for Tim to knock her up again.

Elisabeth, sweety, time to get pregnant again, and think about taking some permanent maternity leave this time around. Did you ever consider switching over to Fox – you’d make a great fit…I heard they’re hiring…just please leave…you consistently ruin my perfectly good mornings with your irritating babble. I just want to enjoy my coffee and “Hot Topics” without the chirping.

Pick *me*. Choose *me*. Love *me*. Meredith Grey – The Most Unsympathetic Character on Television

Meredith Grey. The lead character on the show, Grey’s Anatomy, who happens to be the WORST character on the show (apparently others think so as well). I am so sick and tired of listening to her whine about her relationship with McDreamy and her estranged father. Meredith, just shut the fuck up already and get a fucking life! Grow up and quit being so goddamn dependent on men! And for god’s sake, be a friend to those around you and listen to what THEY have to say for once in your life! The world does not revolve around you!

There are so many pathetic qualities about that character, I don’t even know where to begin. I can honestly say I was never a fan of hers from the beginning. The ambitious, confident Christina and the sweet, vivacious Izzie are my type of characters, people I could relate to and respect, probably because they are strong, independent, and do not evaluate their worth based on how many guys are after them. But Meredith, she’s a sorry excuse for a woman. She plays mind games with men, constantly talks about HER problems like she’s the most unlucky person in the world, and CANNOT make a decision for the life of her.

You know, I’ve seen these women before. I had a friend in high school who was “that” girl…you know, the one the guys were always after, the homecoming queen, the sports star. She constantly sought to be the center of attention, and often was. In fact, people followed her around like little lapdogs, especially the men. She constantly had a boyfriend, which is fine, but she couldn’t survive without a boyfriend. And it continues to this day! In fact, she’s marrying a guy who is so wrong for her, but since everyone else is getting married, she cannot get left behind! She cannot have her friends be engaged well before her! Heaven forbid! I give it less than a year…

But back to Meredith. What a poor example for women out there. She drags men into her sick little drama of a life, whines and constantly complains about her inability to commit, faces her biggest crisis of having to choose between two men (oh god!), and uses her friend, Christina, as a therapist she should be paying $300/hour for! In fact, what’s up with her friendship with Christina? I find it hard to believe someone so strong-willed and refreshingly blunt would put up with Meredith’s shit. It doesn’t make any sense – Christina would be the first one to slap the bitch across the face and tell her to give it up! But whatever…they need the characters to interact, so they made them friends. Oh, and it lends itself to another stupid little plot point – Izzie’s jealousy. Izzie, seriously, nothing to be jealous about.

And what about Meredith choosing not to swim when she fell in the water, or whatever the hell that storyline was all about. Fucking Derek should have let the bitch drown. But instead, he dives in, rescues her, realizes she gave up on life like the selfish little bitch she is, but STILL fails to acknowledge how pathetic she is, how unworthy she is of his love and attention. Shit, Derek’s just as bad as she is! I guess they deserve each other! Sure, he appears to finally be giving up on her and moving on, but we all know THAT’S not going to happen. That stupid lovey dovey conflict is the storyline that show loves to exploit. But if they keep doing that, they’re going to alienate their audience (if they haven’t done that already) and quickly find themselves with a series finale.

One final point, quit being such a bitch to your stepsister! She didn’t do anything wrong, she didn’t set out to hurt you! She had nothing to do with your estranged relationship with your father! Don’t you get it? Your father knew you were a sad, sad soul! Your mother was a bitch, and now you are a bitch! Get it together, or you’re going to find yourself out in the cold with no one willing to give you the time of day. Time to start acknowledging the people around you…sit down and have a chat with your sister…you may learn something from her…like how to be a decent human being.