Archive for the ‘Entertainment & Media’ Category

May 20th, 2011

Was Your TV Show Canceled?

Were any of your TV shows canceled?
I’ll go first.

Brothers and Sisters: It was time. I don’t think I saw one episode from this past season. I’m not sure why. Oh, wait. I remember now. It sucked. That show was done awhile ago. What was up with the Sarah sister hooking up with the guy from…? I don’t even know where he was from. All I know is that they had no chemistry and the whole relationship was stupid. Even if you loved that show, you have to admit that relationship was all kinds of wrong and the show stunk worse than a dressing room at Loehmann’s. Rob Lowe was such a smartie to jump ship when he did. It’s like they didn’t know what to do with him. They made him really mean, and then nice again, and then he died. Good for him. Death was the right choice. He’s rocking it out over at Parks and Recreation and every time he says “litrally,” he “litrally” makes me giggle.

The Defenders: I’m not going to lie. I liked it. I did. It was a CBS show. Does that make me a senior citizen? Should I get one of those bathing suit cover ups with the bikini printed on it? Should I run out and buy some coral lipstick and matching coral nail polish on the way to my early bird dinner? I know that‘s what you‘re thinking. I don’t care. I liked that show, and I’m sad to see it go. Keep reading this post »

May 19th, 2011

Ode To Prednisone

A Little Poem…

I have lower back pain, and although I try to deal
It makes for a rough day and I miss shoes with a heel.

For my back discomfort I blame my dad
It’s a problem he always had.

If  it’s in the genes, then I have no fear
for my kid from China–she’s probably in the clear.

You know what? That’s so not fair
She already has great hair.

She’s totally getting a free pass
Instead of driving me crazy, she should be kissing my ass. Keep reading this post »

May 17th, 2011

Are We Closing The Book On Bookstores?

The movie You’ve Got Mail (1998) was primarily about love blooming over the internet even though the lead characters were business rivals in real life. It also explored the demise of the independent book store at a time when “mega” bookstores were first starting to take over. It’s a solid example of art imitating life. Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores were popping up all over the place, king kong’ing many (if not all) of the small, local bookstores that stood in their way.

I remember getting angry as Meg Ryan’s character walked through the “Fox Books” super bookstore. It was a big store and, to me, uninviting. Sure, it boasted nice discounts, fancy coffee drinks and more variety, but it lacked the charm and warmth of “The Shop Around The Corner.“ I pointed at that “Fox Books“ and thought to myself: You big bully bookstores! You just wait. You’ll get yours one day!

Well, I think that day is here. Keep reading this post »

May 15th, 2011

Sheryl Crow: Irony or Insurance Policy

Sweet Pea, my four year old, has a CD that she has had since we got her from China. I don’t remember who gave it to her but it’s a mixed CD and she still plays it quite frequently. There are only a few sucky songs so I don’t really mind. The opening song is by Sheryl Crow. I love Sheryl Crow. The song is called “Light In Your Eyes” and the lyrics go like this:

You gotta talk to the One who made you
Talk to the One who understands
Talk to the One who gave you
All the light in your eyes
All the light in your eyes

I wonder if Sheryl Crow recorded this song before she adopted Wyatt not knowing that she was going to eventually adopt a kid. If that is the case, she might have some explaining to do if he one day holds up the CD and says: I want to talk to the one who made me—you said I could. Keep reading this post »

May 13th, 2011

Bullying?

Yesterday when I was doing the morning drive drop-off, I got to hear a little Drew and Mike in the Morning in between snippets of a song coming from Sweet Pea, my four year old, in the back seat. Sweet Pea was singing something about how her daddy likes to eat bagels in the bathroom (he doesn’t) and Drew and Mike were reviewing audio of a kid from a Milford, MI high school. The kid was talking about how his days are filled with relentless bullying. (The Justin Bieber t-shirt he insists on wearing probably isn’t doing him any favors, but I know that’s not the point).

When I got home, I grabbed the mail from day before and although I was short on time, I somehow found myself flipping through the latest issue of People, Style Watch magazine. I landed on Tim Gunn’s Who Got It Right? segment. It was then that I realized that bullying doesn’t necessarily only happen face to face and it doesn’t necessarily end when we become adults. It seems to me that there is a “Bully Spectrum” and it ranges from “Horrible” to “Acceptable.” Keep reading this post »

April 27th, 2011

Teach Them Well

Thanks to everyone who participated in the DS&D Blog Contest. Below is the winning topic I chose to write about:

How about pre-school kids getting kicked out because they are screaming, due to anxiety? What a horrible injustice it is to them. How they then feel that they can scream and get out of everything! How poorly some teachers handle things because they are not educated…

When Whitney Houston said “I believe the children are our future,“ she was right. Granted, she also said “crack is whack“ while she was a raging crackhead so she might not be the most credible person to refer to, but since crack really is whack, I guess she’ll do. Keep reading this post »

April 24th, 2011

Contest!!

I’m holding a contest!!

This is my first one. I’m excited. It’s not hard and if it were me, I would totally enter.

Here’s the deal:
I feel like I don’t know a lot of you because our relationship is very one-sided. I do all the talking “Blah Blah Blah” and then I leave. Not only do I do all the talking, but I pick the topic too. Who wants to be friends with someone like that? How about YOU pick the topic and then I’ll do all the talking and then I’ll leave? It’s not the most ideal relationship, I agree, but it’s something.

I want to know what YOU want to hear about. Keep reading this post »

April 21st, 2011

Self Reliance

When the Seal song If You Don‘t Know Me By Now came on the radio the other day, my 4 year old daughter Sweet Pea said: “Mommy, I don’t like this song.”

You know why you don’t like it, Sweet Pea? BECAUSE IT BLOWS.

Why did Seal do a remake of that song? I don’t get it. Was his label pushing him with a release date for the album and he ran out of time? Maybe he was just too busy with his hot wife and 20 kids to do another song, so he fell back on a cover tune. Whatever his reasons, it made me sad when I heard it. Seal was good. He is good. I expected more from him. The song doesn’t make him stand out all (at least not in a good way) and what‘s more, his version didn’t seem to be any different (or as good) as the original. Keep reading this post »

April 3rd, 2011

Stop The Madness

There is an epidemic sweeping our nation. An LOL epidemic. It’s in our emails, our Facebook pages, our t-shirts (not mine), our text messages, everywhere.

To my knowledge, LOL is internet slang for laugh out loud. It’s quite the compliment when someone responds to something you’ve written with “LOL.” Receiving a “HAHAHA!” or “You’re so funny!“ is also pretty good because your humor has been acknowledged, but a full-fledged LOL response means that you actually made your reader laugh out loud. Nice work.

Somewhere along the way, however, people have started to use LOL with reckless abandon. They drop it arbitrarily and haphazardly in places where it doesn‘t belong, they use it within their own dialogue and, perhaps most importantly, they are using it when they’re not really laughing out loud.  Keep reading this post »

March 20th, 2011

Cutting Corners

There are some parents who are really on top of things. I am not.

I do what I can, but I admit, sometimes I don’t suit up. It’s not so much laziness as it is choice. My choice is to let some stuff go. I cut corners. Not on everything, but some things. Just thinking about adding more items to my “To Do List” or calling my kids out on every little thing makes me tired. Here and there, something has to give. Following is a list of some of the things that slide. Keep reading this post »