I saw the best commercial last night. Apparently, on July 7th (I think) there will be Celebrity Family Feud featuring . . .
The cast of the Office vs. the American Gladiators!
How awesome is that! I know no one else watches Gladiators, but the commercial showed Phyllis facing off against Wolf (see here, http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/bios/wolf.shtml). It was priceless. Since both casts are funny, it should be a pretty amusing show. I just can't get over that image. I think I laughed for five minutes.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Let's Go To The Mall!
The title must be sung Robin Sparkles style. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch How I Met Your Mother. That song makes me laugh every single time I hear it. I am going to Cambridgeside today. I probably shouldn't buy a bunch of clothes, but I probably will anyway because I don't go to a normal mall very often and I like to take advantage of decent prices when I can. Does anyone else find it weird that there are no mainstream/non-luxury malls in downtown Boston? It seems like a mall like Cambridgeside with stores like Old Navy, H&M, Borders, Sears, etc would do really well in the downtown area. I guess most of the stores have individual locations in Boston, but it would be nice to have them all in one location that wasn't an hour away on the T.
I've been feeling very materialistic lately, which makes me feel guilty and selfish. I really want to buy clothes, books, and shoes. The problem is that I somehow have a bunch of extra money this month to indulge my materialistic urges. I guess it happened because May was a five paycheck month and I got that government stimulus money. Still, I did go on a vacation and put a bunch of the government money into my savings account. I guess having more money than anticipated is not a bad thing, but it means I'll probably buy stuff I don't really need.
On a random note, does anyone know of a low brow used bookstore that will buy books from me? Most of what I want to sell is genre fiction or general fiction (not hugely literary) and the used stores I know of only take more scholarly material.
I've been feeling very materialistic lately, which makes me feel guilty and selfish. I really want to buy clothes, books, and shoes. The problem is that I somehow have a bunch of extra money this month to indulge my materialistic urges. I guess it happened because May was a five paycheck month and I got that government stimulus money. Still, I did go on a vacation and put a bunch of the government money into my savings account. I guess having more money than anticipated is not a bad thing, but it means I'll probably buy stuff I don't really need.
On a random note, does anyone know of a low brow used bookstore that will buy books from me? Most of what I want to sell is genre fiction or general fiction (not hugely literary) and the used stores I know of only take more scholarly material.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dumb Reality Shows
I'm excited for the Olympics, but until August I'm stuck watching dumb reality shows to kill time. I have been watching The Mole and Next Food Network Star. Does anyone else watch these? If you haven't seen the last episodes of each of them, don't read the rest of this post.
The Mole
In order of likelihood, I think the mole is Victoria, Craig, Clay, or Kristen. I think it is definitely not Paul, Nicole, or Mark. I also had ruled out Ali and Bobby, the two people who were eliminated this week, so go me! I don't like this new version as much as the older ones. The people on this cast seem more like generic reality show stereotypes and they don't get the concept that they need to work together to add more money to the pot. Plus, there are some horrendously annoying jerks on this one and no Anderson Cooper. I'll probably keep watching though.
Next Food Network Star
Sometimes I don't understand how these contestants could have been chosen from thousands of applicants. I can't really see any of them as a star and a great number of them have produced horrible meals in multiple challenges (like raw eggs). That said, I think the remaining African American man, the one who is bald and made fancy salad dressing in the Martha Stewart challenge, should win. He has the most "tv" personality, seems like a fun and down-to-earth guy, and has received good reviews for his cooking. I'd watch a show with him.
The Mole
In order of likelihood, I think the mole is Victoria, Craig, Clay, or Kristen. I think it is definitely not Paul, Nicole, or Mark. I also had ruled out Ali and Bobby, the two people who were eliminated this week, so go me! I don't like this new version as much as the older ones. The people on this cast seem more like generic reality show stereotypes and they don't get the concept that they need to work together to add more money to the pot. Plus, there are some horrendously annoying jerks on this one and no Anderson Cooper. I'll probably keep watching though.
Next Food Network Star
Sometimes I don't understand how these contestants could have been chosen from thousands of applicants. I can't really see any of them as a star and a great number of them have produced horrible meals in multiple challenges (like raw eggs). That said, I think the remaining African American man, the one who is bald and made fancy salad dressing in the Martha Stewart challenge, should win. He has the most "tv" personality, seems like a fun and down-to-earth guy, and has received good reviews for his cooking. I'd watch a show with him.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Review: The Tony Awards
I mostly watch the Tonys for the performances and I was excited that they had so many shows perform this year. It made the broadcast go faster. Of course, there were a bunch of shows that, in retrospect, I could have done without. Here are some quick thoughts on the overall production.
Whoopi
She was okay. I didn't find any of her segments funny, but she didn't annoy me overly much either. I much prefer Hugh Jackman though. I think the frequent costume change bit has been overused at award shows.
Performances
My Favorites
Of the shows I was unfamiliar with, Cry Baby intrigued me the most. It seemed old school, but catchy and high energy. Plus, I think huge dance numbers are fun. I wasn't into In the Heights at the start of the song because I had a bad impression of the lead guy and I didn't like the spoken word/rapping style much. I did enjoy it more towards the end, however, especially when the Asian woman began singing over the rapping. She had a really gorgeous voice.
Pretty Good Performances
I don't know Gypsy very well, but I've never really liked the song Everything is Coming Up Roses. Patti Lupone was good obviously, but I think I would have appreciated her performance more if I had seen it in the context of the show (all I know about the plot is that she plays a crazy stage mom). It did annoy me a bit when people gave her a standing ovation. I can't say exactly why it bothered me. If it had been during a performance of Gypsy, it would have been cool. It just seemed rude to all the other performers from other shows to do it in the middle of the Tonys when no one else received a standing ovation.
The Rent tribute was decent, but nothing special. I loved the cute Idina and Taye look at the beginning. Overall, not the best rendition of not the best song from that show. Everyone really seemed to care though. Darn, that Mimi was scary looking!
Although I didn't care much for the song they sang, I enjoyed watching Sunday in the Park with George and being able to see a bit of the much talked about "modern technology" set. It was very cool. I also loved the male performer (Daniel Evans?). He exuded boyish charm and hope and had a pleasant voice. The actor just seemed like a fun and nice guy whenever they cut to him in the audience. He even sang along with Seasons of Love!
Xanadu also seemed harmlessly fun and good natured. I bet the actual show is very funny.
Performances I only half-watched
Yes, the costumes in Lion King are amazing, but, sadly, they get less amazing when you've seen Circle of Life a zillion times. I could do without Lion King for awhile.
South Pacific was well performed, but I hate most of the music. I'm don't usually like Rodgers and Hammerstein or older "classic" musicals in general. I respect that they laid the foundation for current shows, but I just don't enjoy them. South Pacific seems so dated. I know the big deal with this production was that it made it feel relevant to current events, but I didn't get that at all from this medley. Also, I felt vaguely embarrassed for the girl when she was running around giggling to herself.
Painful performances I wish I hadn't watched
Passing Strange's performance completely crushed any desire I had to learn anything more about that show. Stew (Note to Stew: if you're going to use only one name you better be really famous or extremely talented and you're not) basically just shouted one phrase over and over again for at least three minutes. How is that a musical theater song? It wasn't even a good rock song.
The rejected shows medley should have stayed rejected. All of them just looked bad. I swear that Faith Prince missed a bunch of notes.
Nothing can redeem Grease. Granted, the show is not great to begin with, but the stars need a presence to pull it off. The two leads faded into the background. I wasn't even sure who Sandy was at first. Ouch.
Speeches
Award show speeches usually annoy me by being boring, narcissistic, babbling, gimmicky, or way too long. There were plenty of all of these things. The In the Heights guy's rap speech really made me dislike him. It liked it a little better when I realized that that was the style of some of the show lyrics. Granted, the rap was clever, it just was so gimmicky and pretentious to me. He seemed so full of himself every time they showed him. His show seemed entertaining and deserving of the win, but he acted like it was this huge groundbreaking event of theater. Sondheim, yes. Rent, yes. In the Heights, not so much.
The worst was the best actor in play winner from 39 steps. I was already disappointed because I wanted Patrick Stewart to win and then this guy tells this totally nonsensical "story" that isn't funny, comprehensible, or remotely related to theater.
I like people who seem genuinely thankful. The younger women from Gypsy seemed nice for example and honestly thankful and excited and the August: Osage County winner who told the audience how she always watched the Tonys on tv and only did regional theater was sweet too.
Whoopi
She was okay. I didn't find any of her segments funny, but she didn't annoy me overly much either. I much prefer Hugh Jackman though. I think the frequent costume change bit has been overused at award shows.
Performances
My Favorites
Of the shows I was unfamiliar with, Cry Baby intrigued me the most. It seemed old school, but catchy and high energy. Plus, I think huge dance numbers are fun. I wasn't into In the Heights at the start of the song because I had a bad impression of the lead guy and I didn't like the spoken word/rapping style much. I did enjoy it more towards the end, however, especially when the Asian woman began singing over the rapping. She had a really gorgeous voice.
Pretty Good Performances
I don't know Gypsy very well, but I've never really liked the song Everything is Coming Up Roses. Patti Lupone was good obviously, but I think I would have appreciated her performance more if I had seen it in the context of the show (all I know about the plot is that she plays a crazy stage mom). It did annoy me a bit when people gave her a standing ovation. I can't say exactly why it bothered me. If it had been during a performance of Gypsy, it would have been cool. It just seemed rude to all the other performers from other shows to do it in the middle of the Tonys when no one else received a standing ovation.
The Rent tribute was decent, but nothing special. I loved the cute Idina and Taye look at the beginning. Overall, not the best rendition of not the best song from that show. Everyone really seemed to care though. Darn, that Mimi was scary looking!
Although I didn't care much for the song they sang, I enjoyed watching Sunday in the Park with George and being able to see a bit of the much talked about "modern technology" set. It was very cool. I also loved the male performer (Daniel Evans?). He exuded boyish charm and hope and had a pleasant voice. The actor just seemed like a fun and nice guy whenever they cut to him in the audience. He even sang along with Seasons of Love!
Xanadu also seemed harmlessly fun and good natured. I bet the actual show is very funny.
Performances I only half-watched
Yes, the costumes in Lion King are amazing, but, sadly, they get less amazing when you've seen Circle of Life a zillion times. I could do without Lion King for awhile.
South Pacific was well performed, but I hate most of the music. I'm don't usually like Rodgers and Hammerstein or older "classic" musicals in general. I respect that they laid the foundation for current shows, but I just don't enjoy them. South Pacific seems so dated. I know the big deal with this production was that it made it feel relevant to current events, but I didn't get that at all from this medley. Also, I felt vaguely embarrassed for the girl when she was running around giggling to herself.
Painful performances I wish I hadn't watched
Passing Strange's performance completely crushed any desire I had to learn anything more about that show. Stew (Note to Stew: if you're going to use only one name you better be really famous or extremely talented and you're not) basically just shouted one phrase over and over again for at least three minutes. How is that a musical theater song? It wasn't even a good rock song.
The rejected shows medley should have stayed rejected. All of them just looked bad. I swear that Faith Prince missed a bunch of notes.
Nothing can redeem Grease. Granted, the show is not great to begin with, but the stars need a presence to pull it off. The two leads faded into the background. I wasn't even sure who Sandy was at first. Ouch.
Speeches
Award show speeches usually annoy me by being boring, narcissistic, babbling, gimmicky, or way too long. There were plenty of all of these things. The In the Heights guy's rap speech really made me dislike him. It liked it a little better when I realized that that was the style of some of the show lyrics. Granted, the rap was clever, it just was so gimmicky and pretentious to me. He seemed so full of himself every time they showed him. His show seemed entertaining and deserving of the win, but he acted like it was this huge groundbreaking event of theater. Sondheim, yes. Rent, yes. In the Heights, not so much.
The worst was the best actor in play winner from 39 steps. I was already disappointed because I wanted Patrick Stewart to win and then this guy tells this totally nonsensical "story" that isn't funny, comprehensible, or remotely related to theater.
I like people who seem genuinely thankful. The younger women from Gypsy seemed nice for example and honestly thankful and excited and the August: Osage County winner who told the audience how she always watched the Tonys on tv and only did regional theater was sweet too.
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