Coolest Summer Show

So You Think You Can Dance is totally my new favorite show! That is, until Big Brother comes back in a few weeks. Then my life will be all Big Brother, all the time. But for now, my heart belongs to SYTYCD!!! My favorite choreographers so far are Napolean & Tabitha. Their routines are the coolest! If you've never watched SYTYCD, give it a try. I guarantee you'll be entertained.

R.I.P. George Carlin

Today is a sad, sad day, because we have lost a beloved comedian and a lovely man--George Carlin. I'm a record enthusiast. I think records have a much purer sound (and are just generally better in many, many ways) than Compact Discs. I'll discuss that in more detail at a later time. Since I began collecting them when I was probably a junior or senior in high school, I've received a great many albums from a lot of my friends' parents who wanted to get rid of them to make more room for Compact Discs (fools!). One of the albums I received (I'm getting to the point now, I promise...) was George Carlin's 1972 recording, "Class Clown." It's one of my favorite comedy recordings ever. My favorite part is when George asks the audience to collectively stick their fingers in their mouths and make that popping sound you can make when you do that. It sounds so cool...plus it's funny. George was drunk with power that night. I know that's not much of a George Carlin anecdote, but it's all I've got. Here's hoping that wherever he is, good ole G.C. is chillin' and havin' a laugh.

Movie Magic

It's Saturday night and I'm sitting in bed watching "You've Got Mail." I probably should be feeling sorry for myself about now, but there's something to be said for spending a quiet evening alone. Actually, to me, watching a movie at home (or in the theater) is one of the best ways (if not the best way) to spend an evening. I just love movies, that's all.

I try to see a movie in the theater every week, and any week that I don't end up doing that is a sad week. Last week I saw "The Happening," and if you read my last post then you know how I felt about that. Before that, the last movie I saw in the theater was "Sex and the City: The Movie," which I loved. I figured it would be kind of like watching four episodes of the show back to back, which is was. It was funny, heartwarming, moving--everything you could hope for! My friend Kate and I agreed that one of the best moments of the film was when Carrie runs over to Miranda's house to comfort her on New Year's Eve.

One of the cool things about the Sex and the City franchise is that, yes, it's about relationships between men and women (all you guys out there should watch it--it's eye opening on lots of topics!), but it's also about women's relationships with one another. It makes me wonder if we treated our love-relationships more like we treat our friendships if they wouldn't last longer. We put so much pressure on our relationships to be "perfect," but we don't expect our friends to be perfect. Just an observation... See! Movies aren't just an excuse to eat a boatload of popcorn (although, that is a perk)--they're also a means for self discovery and reflection!

My ex-boyfriend used to tell me that I expect too much out of life. He used to say that I was just waiting for my life to be like a movie or a TV show, and it was never going to be like that. But my response was always the same. TV shows and movies are born out of peoples' imaginations. They are a manifestation of peoples' hopes for what the world could be, for a what a relationship could be, for what love could feel like. I refuse to give up hope that my life could be like a movie. I've already had movie moments in my life, and sure, they were fleeting, but they were great. Why should I settle for anything less than movie magic?

Here's a list of movies to watch if you want to feel inspired to live life differently (with more heart and more guts):

"Say Anything"

"It Could Happen to You"

"Patch Adams"

"Erin Brockovich"

"Legally Blonde"

"Under the Tuscan Sun"

TV shows:

"Felicity"

"Gilmore Girls"

"Sex and the City"

"Everwood"


Go ahead, call me corny.

Not so "Happening"

If you were planning on seeing M. Night Shyamalan's new film "The Happening" this weekend, I suggest making other plans. Look, I love M. Night as much as the next girl, but "The Happening" is the worst made-for-TV movie (that wasn't made for TV) I've ever seen! There was literally NO PLOT. Come on, now, I expected a little more from the writer-director of "Signs" and "The Sixth Sense."

I totally dig Shyamalan's minimalist Hitchcockian style...innocent people thrust into dangerous situations in which they must use their wits (not their fists...or machine guns as the case may be) to come out alive. I love the quiet eeriness of it all. Hell, even in this last (albeit unsuccessful) attempt at horror, there were a few moments where I was legitimately afraid of trees. However, on the whole "The Happening" felt to me like one big political statement. We get it, M. Night, global warming is bad and we have angered the plants. I'm doing everything I can to stop global warming. I don't drive an SUV. I recycle. What more do you want from me? Going to the movies is supposed to be fun, interesting, exciting even--an escape. If I wanted to watch "An Inconvenient Truth," I would have.

Still, I could probably get over the extreme soapboxiness if there had been even an ounce of chemistry between Zooey Deschanel and Mark Wahlberg. I love Mark Wahlberg, but in this movie he literally wore one expression on his face throughout--confusion. After the first 20 minutes, I'd had enough of his wrinkled brow...even if it is a handsome one. And Zooey Deschanel, please! She looked like an alien, spoke like a robot, and her character was about as interesting as a day old bagel. John Leguizamo was great as usual, but critically underused in the film. And please, no more close ups of him! The teeth! I'm sorry John, but I could hardly focus. The writing was terrible. Newsflash, M. Night, people don't talk like that!! People don't react to apocalypse-type situations by shrugging their shoulders and commenting about how hot dogs are underrated.

There was a glimmer of something good in "The Happening," a scrap of a good idea, something that (with a lot more work) could've been fleshed out into a truly groundbreaking and perhaps even terrifying film. Instead, the movie played out more like a 7th grader's book report reads--unfocused, awkward, and seemingly written the night before.

I heart Fred.

I think I have found the answer to the Chicago single woman's woes...and his name is Fred. Listen up, ladies, because this guy is the real deal. Bachelorette Deanna Pappas gave Fred the boot last night, and in possibly the saddest and most hopeful limo-moment yet, Chicagoan Fred spoke about what he hoped his future would hold...love, marriage, and having a "bunch of kids." Fred is handsome, funny, and down to Earth. While some guys boasted to Deanna about having bought previous girlfriends (and ex-fiances....um, what?...red flag much?) bags and bags of rose petals (who would want that, by the way?), Fred said that his idea of romance was a quiet getaway to Lake Geneva...a boat cruise, some good food, some relaxation. Sign me up, Fred! While Deanna appears to favor standoffish scruffy bad-boy Graham, I can't help but see the glory that is Fred. Ellen Degeneres agrees! She awarded Fred a rose when the guys came to visit her show on one of their group dates. So, Chicago ladies, I implore you--look Fred up! He's a solid gold pocket watch in a world of "bling."

Check him out!