Archive for the 'life' Category
Hey everyone. Long time no writing. Because so much has happened. At least to me. I have now become a shin splint sufferer.
Shin Splint: Shin splints are pains in the front of the lower legs caused by exercise
Cause: Tibial shin splints are very common and affect both recreational and trained athletes. Runners are often affected
Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov Medline Plus.
So there you have it -No running for the last 6-8 weeks. Instead many physician visits even more melt downs and lots of self-medicating. A huge burden for me and the people surrounding me. I know that worse happens to people all the time but for me not being able to run is pretty pretty bad. It’s so frustrating since I’ve always followed all the rules and was self-disciplined in every aspect and still something like this happens. Anyway yesterday I tried to shoot tiny electric currents through my leg with some device. One time my hand slipped and I accidentally turned the voltage very high. My leg is still hurting - I probably destroyed some important blood vessels. But otherwise electro therapy seems to be quite helpful.
Watched the season premiere of Entourage on HBO yesterday. It has really been a long time since the last episode (exactly one year as just checked on www.tv.com ) so I was really excited to see Ari and the gang back in action and I really wanted and still want to fly to that place in Mexico where Vinnie and Turtle hung out over the last months. That really was a “Fantasy Island”. I didn’t totally get the story behind that script and why it was all a set up in the end. I will rewatch tonight and then hopefully get it. I loved the episode and to quote “the TV addict” “the show was over way too fast” Can’t wait until “Unlike a Virgin” next Sunday. So I have just rewatched the episode (it is now one day later) and I understood that Vinnie was used to negotiate a better deal with that other actor Emilio something. The episode didn’t get any less entertaining the second time I watched it. I love that Drama has a Girlfriend who’s hot and in France and totally gets him.
The next show I have to comment on is “Gossip Girl” Just how fabulous has it become? It also seems like the actors are actually learning to act and the show’s funny and the chemistry between the acters is noticable and it seems like the show has made a considerable leap into the right direction. The most remarkable scene in the season premiere was when Blair and Chuck were standing outside of the party while the Lord (what was his name?) was getting the car and there was so much tension and chemistry between the two that I was longing for Chuck to say those 3 words Blair was asking him to say out loud. But of course he didn’t because that would be boring and we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the twists and the drama and the constellations revealed during Blair’s party in episode two of this season. Let’s see if I got it: Blair is dating the Lord (really forgot his name) who’s mother is dating Nate (Nate is getting hotter by the episode don’t you think?) who is Blair’s ex. Chuck has sold his Night Club and given the money to Nate’s mom - Mrs Archibald because she is knee deep in financial trouble due to the departure of Mr Archibald. Nate is upset about this so he accepts the offer of Catherine - the Duchess and the Lord’s stepmother to pitch in with a little of her money. What’s wrong with Nate that he rejects financial help from his best friend but accepts money from his affair. That is just a disaster waiting to happen. Well anyway, Blair interrupts Catherine and Nate while making out and makes a deal with Catherine that she will keep quiet if she (the Duchess) accepts Blair’s relationship with the Lord. While all this happens Serena can’t keep her mind off Dan not to speak of her hands. I would be surprised if they’re not officially together be the next episode. The only one who seems to miss out is Vanessa but let’s save that storyline for when it has actually evolved into a real storyline.
What show really disappointed me to the point that I turned off the tv ( this hardly ever happens….ever) was 90210 2.0. The highlight during the first two episodes was the title music that reminded me of the original show in a way but that was about it. At least in other shows they try to compensate the lack of acting and storyline by finding hot and beautiful actors to do the job or there’s at least good music playing while you’re waiting for the show to turn good (Hidden Palms comes to mind - I would love to watch Hidden Palms again) But none of that was to be found during BH 90210 2.0. Luckily my friend and I had fries, pizza, springrolls and brownies (yes in that order and yes -all of it) to get over our disappointment so we were able to handle it.
Speaking of the CW and its shows about rich and spoiled Teenagers lets move on to the next show called “Privileged” which I had the chance to watch earlier today. I wasn’t expecting anything big but was pleasantly surprised. A young Yale graduate writer called Megan Smith (Joanna Garcia) is offered the job to tutor the two rich grandkids of Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer) with the goal to get them into Duke University. The two girls Sage (Ashley Newbrough) and Rose (Lucy Kate Hale) have lost their parents in an accident and are living in this huge estate in Palm Beach. At least Sage isn’t too eager with Megan’s studying plans and it’ll not be such an easy mission to get both of them into studying mode. Of course there are potential love interests such as Charlie Hogan played by Michael Cassidy (you might remember him playing Zach in The O.C. or Cliff in above mentioned Hidden Palms and Will Philips (Brian Hallisay) as well as Megan’s family issues such as a sister she has had a difficult past with and a father who was overwhelmed with his single parent role - both of them also residing in Palm Beach. The music is good and the location is beautiful so with all the above factors the foundation for a good show has been laid. Let’s wait and see how it evolves and let’s hope for the best. Nowadays in a post-Gilmore Girls post-Veronica Mars post-O.C. post-Men in Trees age I have lowered my expectations while accepting that we just have to make the best of what we get and that fabulous shows just don’t come around every day.
And with these words enough of TV - will go for a swim now and enjoy the last days of summer because winter is waiting to happen and that’s something I’m not exactly looking forward to.
(Picture Source The CW www.cwtv.com)
Tags: Gossip Girl, Shin splint, entourage, entourage hbo, Fantasy island, Vincent chase, jeremy Piven, Blair Chuck, Blake lively, Serena van der woodsen, Blair waldorf, Leighton Meester, Nate Archibald, Chase Crawford, Chuck Bass, Ed Westwick, BH 90210, The Cw, Privileged the cw, BH 90210 the cw, jennie garth, Shannon doherty, tori spelling
TV Shows, life, Entourage, Gossip Girl, 90210 2.0, Privileged | September 11th, 2008 by admin | No Comments
I watched the first three episodes of “Monk” season 7 the other day. I think it’s comforting to know that you can always depend on this show being entertaining. It’s really sad and I hadn’t heard until then that Stanley Kamel playing Dr. Charles Kroger had died of a heart attack in April of this year. They dedicated the season’s premiere episode to him. Actually I wondered afterwards that they must have started filming the new episodes before April and that when Kamel passed they had to re-shoot the sequences when Monk’s in therapy. Dr Bell played by Hector Elizondo (Hotel Manager in Pretty Woman) was introduced and I think he is an excellent successor to Kamel. I guess they just changed the setting of his office and sat him in the chair and replaced the scenes. Well, they had no choice did they? Other interesting factor in “Mr Monk buys a House” was the guest appearance of Brad Garrett (Robert Barone in Everybody loves Raymond) as Jake Phillips a.k.a. Honest Jake who turns out to be “The Guy”. I mentioned recently that I was rewatching the whole ELR series so it was a surprise seeing “Robert” as the murderer. But it was fun to watch nevertheless. The following two episodes were great as well especially the one with the check player who kills his wife (Mr Monk and the Genius) and always seems to be one step ahead of Mr Monk but of course in the end Mr Monk gets him.
I love this time of the year. Finally the weather is so great that you can go to the beach and sit outside late into the evening, have barbecues and not have to wear 800 coats before you leave the house. What makes everything even better is that one after one the first shows are coming back on the air. For me Monk and Weeds were the shows that kicked of my TV season 2008/2009. It’s all very exciting and at this point I do appreciate every new episode just a little bit more than during mid season but really we’re just talking about a little bit here.
Last week was a good week. I celebrated my birthday and had some friends over. Apart from the getting older part the weekend was a blast and I love when all your friends come together. I also spent the first night ever in a camper. For someone like me a big deal. Usually when I travel I prefer not to share my bathroom with fellow travellers and I do not mean to sound spoiled but I really do like hotels and hotel restaurants for that matter. I was prepared for the worst though and I was coming along voluntarily so I intended to live like a real camper and not to complain..out loud… for that matter. I think it might have been different had it rained those couple of days but we were blessed with the best summer weather and after a while I really enjoyed it (the nature). Then on the other hand after two and a half days I was glad I was to see my own bathroom again and refrigerated food but while we were “out there” I was totally in the spirit of things. I must say though that the bathroom concept on those campers needs work. I definitely can’t befriend the idea that you have to dispose of what is in the toilet at the end of the trip. I think pipes are a wonderful invention. I therefore preferred to just follow the call of nature outside which wasn’t that easy given the fact that we were parked on the parking lot of a well-frequented sports club. But what’s life without the risk of being discovered while peeing?! It is also strange how loud trees can be at night when there’s a little wind blowing and you’re so close by i.e. no real walls separating you from the wildness. It can actually keep you from sleeping at least during your first night in a camper…Anyway when I was exclaiming that I was pretty proud I was holding up so well and in fact had hardly complained the whole stay my sister informed me that what we were doing was hardly camping but some luxurious version of camping. The real camping does not include a camper but a tent and there isn’t even a toilet but it can get as bad as that you have to do your business into a urin container. And can you believe it camping isn’t even that inexpensive. Well I draw the line at having to pee in a container… and I need a bed… and a door…
The first spoilers for the fall tv season are coming out and it’s really hard to elude oneselve from all the information. I’m really excited about a lot of established shows and where the producers will take them this season. For one there’s Desperate Housewives. I think the leap in time was a smart move and probably the next season will spend most of it’s time demonstrating to the viewers on how the characters landed were they did in last season’s finale. Greys Anatomy should also become interesting with the relationship between Callie and Hahn as well as Izzie and Alex. I hope that all these rumors about Katherine Heigl leaving the show will finally come to an end. I swear that her leaving the show would seriously damage it. She belongs to the key characters and you can’t just cut them out one by one. And apart from some annoying scenes last season I do like her character and consider her a vital cast member. I hope that they get rid of Ava or Rebecca or whatever her name is. She’s been in the show long enough and she’s starting to really annoy me. Of course I can’t wait for Brothers & Sisters. All this gossip about Balthazar Getty and Sienna Miller just reminded me of how much I really miss the show. I hope the story won’t repeat itself too much and the plot evolving around the mysterious sibling “Ryan” will be something new and not the “Rebecca” story all over again. “Entourage” is scheduled for some time this fall and I must say: it’s about time. It’ll be almost a year since we last saw Vince and his entourage in Cannes. Oh yes and I can’t wait to see Ari (Jeremy Piven) again. Will cross thumbs for the Emmys.
Ok am suddenly too tired to continue writing. Will rest and be back.
(Picture Source www.welt.de)
Tags: Mr Monk, Monk USA, Mr Monk buys a House, Mr Monk and the genius, camping, Brad garrett, Hector elizondo, Stanley Kamel, Katherine Heigl, Grey Anatomy, Greys anatomy Season 5, Brothers &sisters, Balthazar Getty, sienna miller, Getty miller, entourage hbo, entourage, desperate housewives, Izzie Alex, Callie Hahn, Pretty, Woman, Jeremy Piven, Ari Gold, Emmys, weeds showtime
Greys Anatomy, TV Shows, life, Brothers & Sisters, Monk, Entourage, weeds | August 3rd, 2008 by admin | No Comments
I really wish I could make a living with my running. At least I’d have a deeper reason to spend so much time in my running shoes. I’ve been thinking about becoming a running pro but people keep telling me I’m too old for that. Well what do they know. I could do it! I just need to work out a way to speed things up a little. On the other hand I think that running is like the sport with the lowest prize money. For example you just have to manage to get through the first few rounds in a tennis tournament and you’ll already receive some good money. In a Marathon or a Half Marathon you have to be one of the first 3 or 5 finishers and then the prize money still can’t be compared to what a tennis player or even a football player gets. I’m not unrealistic - I know it’s going to be quite hard to be faster than all those young pros. Yeah maybe I should think of something else. Like cooking! I can do that. Enough of me and my silly dreams. I hate the summer hiatus because it makes me yearn for fall which comes before winter - which is the season I hate most. And there you have it.
I love what we’ve seen of Weeds on Showtime so far this season. It seems as if the move to - were exactly did Nancy move her entourage to? Let’s say somewhere near the Mexican border was exactly what the show needed. And I like that Nancy is less whiny. The whole setup is more fun and her “cooperation” with Guillermo has given the whole show a new much needed substance. Oh and the new storyline with the mayor is actually fun to watch. I also think that the non-family characters such as Celia were introduced into the new setup very smoothly. Let’s see what happens next but after a relatively slow last season I must admit that I was positively surprised with what the producers have done with the show.
What else is new. I think milk makes me fat. I stopped drinking it in the beginning of this year and started again a few months ago - ever since I’ve been gaining weight probably not recognisable to anyone but myself but still…Ok I know this is probably the most boring stuff I have ever written on my blog. I blame it all on the hiatus and my very unsatisfying job. I could write a lot on that end but common sense tells me I shouldn’t. The problem is that I love what you can do with milk. The whole variety - baking, cereal, cocoa and shakes! First I thought I was lactose intolerant but it now seems that my body is tolerating milk very well and on the contrary knows exactly how to process it. Right into my hips. Enough of me and the milk. In my next post I will share my chocolate fountain experience with the world. Yeah right - it comes right after the fries vending machine I reported about last year whereas if you load enough chocolate into the fountain and have the right accessories such as fruits and marshmellows the chocolate fountain experience can last way longer than the fry vending machine experience does. Unless of course you have enough cash to buy many portions of fries. But more about that later.
I must say if it weren’t for the occasional references about me running quite a bit readers of this blog could possibly get the impression that I indeed love my food and my TV and that I probably look that way. Well thank God I run!
How’s everybody feeling about the much talked about Beverly Hills 2.0? I say as long as you don’t try to see it as a sequel to the original series I think you’re good. I was just thinking about when my friends and I used to religiously watch BH90210 every week and watching the show was a vital part of the day. It was always followed by Melrose Place. I guess everyone used to watch those two shows. I think that mainly our target group - the mid twenties to mid thirties - will compare the show with its origin, especially now that parts of the original cast are said to return. Yey Brenda!!! The target audience for BH 2.0 will probably be the same that Gossip Girl is focusing on - the teens and perhaps early twenties. As far as I know these kids never watched the original shows unless they bought them on DVD or watched reruns. But why should they? - there have been enough newer and more talked about shows for them to watch. So for this younger audience Beverly Hills 90210 2.0 or whatever they are going to call it will be just another show focusing on young, rich and spoiled teens. Well at least the CW has both the East Side and the West Side covered with a Teen show now. But far be it from me to complain - I will accept my fate and look forward to September when both shows kick off on the CW. Really got a little excited there when I first heard the new but still familiar soundtrack of BH 2.0 on the CW website. Yey!!!
(Picture Source: www.thetvaddict.com)
Tags: Weeds Showtime, Marie Louise Parker, weeds tv, 90210 The CW, The CW, BH 90210, BH 2.0, Shannon Doherty, Gossip Girl, Chase crawford, Jenny Garth, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, running marathon, marathon, training marathon, ausiello files
TV Shows, life, weeds, 90210 2.0 | July 23rd, 2008 by admin | 3 Comments
Hello my friends. It has been a long time since I’ve posted and many things have happened:
1. I have bought the most beautiful and most comfortable little car. It’s blue and has seat heating and air condition and a cup holder - yes the cup holder is vital! I’m very proud and just a tiny bit hysterical about it. I’m one of those people who stands next to her car when somebody tries to park next to it just to watch whether he or she might accidentally damage it. Yesterday we were down by the river and a car came towards me - 4 senior citizens sitting in it and the very confident and at the same time very old driver had to swerve to the right to pass my car. He did do that and came dangerously close to my car and I naturally started to yell and made wild hand gestures but he just smiled and passed my car with perhaps 1 inch in between. The old man made me feel like a stupid beginner (which I’m not) and I sware he couldn’t have known his car so well that he knew that there was still one inch. Yes I know. This is not really an exciting story…
2. More exciting is the fact that I mastered my first Marathon and am still alive! yey! It was the most exciting thing I have ever done. It was so hot that day and for the majority of the runners the first warm day of the season. Except for the travellers amongst us nobody had had the chance to train under these temperatures. Even before I crossed the start line I experienced side pains which accompanied me until kilometre 18 or so. Therefore I said good-bye to my time goals and replaced them with one goal - to arrive in time before they closed the finishing line. What went on in my head during km 27-32 or so is hardly describable. It is a battle between your mind and your body and your mind again. My mind kept telling me to stop, to lie down to rest and against all my ambitions to abort the race. Then another voice started speaking up and it felt as if two voices in my head (no, I am not crazy and yes other runners are experiencing the same) fought over what I was supposed to do. In the end I kept running and the elation I felt during the last few kilometres can not be compared to anything else I have ever experienced. I think finishing a marathon will always be a very special and extremely satisfying feeling but running into the home stretch and crossing the finishing line for the very first time in your life will be something that you will never forget. I just decided to buy two photos they shot of me during the final minutes. These companies must make a fortune since the pictures are totally overpriced but what are you going to do. Gotta have those pictures so that I can admire them forever.
3. Our shows are back - at least some of them. I really enjoy Desperate Housewives and especially the evolving relationship between Bree and Katherine as well as Gossip Girl. The show has developed its own special dynamic and really is entertaining to watch. Also Greys Anatamy is back and is it only me or have they increased the level of how much bowels and loose scalp we get to see? I hope they’re not doing that to up the quotes. Really, that’s not the reason I’m tuning in. Apart from that the storyline was fine and it was nice to see all the characters back in all their glory.
OK, will hopefully be back soon with more on Brothers & Sisters, Men in Trees etc.
Tags: Marathon 2008, Marathon, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Greys anatomy
Greys Anatomy, TV Shows, life, Gossip Girl | May 2nd, 2008 by admin | No Comments
Tell me one thing. Why do so many men feel threatened by strong women? I ask myself this question every day. I consider myself a strong women - I stand up for myself, I know what I want and when I’m treated badly I deal with it openly and I confront people. This applies to my everyday life - be it at work or in private. I think that in order to develop a strong character it takes a lot of strength, courage and determination. I think that for a women to become so strong she must have gone through some tough times. But this is only my view. The problem is while strong women admire each other for these traits men feel threatened and often attacked. I’m confronted with these situations on a regular basis. Especially insecure men behave very generously when it comes to critizising their opponent. They can’t stop dishing out and afterwards they feel much better about themselves. But shame on you should you dare to reciprocate. Then you’re considered an unstable and hysterical bitch. The ironical thing is that these kind of men take themselves way too serious since they think that we really want to spend our time dealing with them. No, we don’t - I can just talk for myself here. We’re just smarter than to let them boost their self confidence on our account. I would like to quote Mr Adrian Monk here: “It’s a gift and a curse.” Once you’ve stood up for yourselve you can’t back off the next time you get attacked and let me tell you my friends, it’s pretty tough sometimes. Alright, just had to get that off my chest before the weekend.
Now to the important things: A belated congratulations to Hillary Clinton for winning Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. She so much deserved to win after this horrible last month. I admired her on Saturday Night Life doing that scene with Amy Poehler and also laughed at her humor in the Daily Show on Monday when Jon Stewart asked her what she was doing going on an interview with him on the evening before the primaries. Her response “It’s pathetic” was just hilarious. I admire her strength and really hope that she can turn the dynamic of the race to her favour. It seems like it won’t go without the delegates of Michigan and Florida though so lets see with what kind of a solution the Democratic National Committee comes up with. Bill Clinton said something during a speech he held at the University of Wyoming yesterday and it corresponds well with with what I’ve been writing about in this post: “There is an indefinable quality you also need in a president, it goes beyond the ability to speak, to inspire, to think, to be smart, to come up with the right policies. You need somebody that you know is rock solid. (NY Times, Julie Bosman, 03.07.2008)”
Yes! Just read on www.tv.com that Friday Night Lights is saved - at least for now and will get its third season. Apparently the satellite-television provider DirecTV will support the show and add it to its game plan. I’m not sure whether this information is confirmed by either NBC or DirecTV but I do hope so. It gives me hope that for a change studios do care about their shows and make an effort to save them even if their ratings suck and nobody seems to watch them. People do have to start watching them though. Same goes for Men in Trees on ABC. There’s still no news on the renewal of the show for a third season and instead of getting slightly panicky I command everyone out there to watch the last two episodes of the show! I have watched every episode at least twice. I had nothing else to watch and Men in Trees is one of the few shows you can easily rewatch and still be entertained. Especially in the last episode I felt very involved: I cried when Marin did and I wanted to toss things when she did, I was overcome with joy when she saw Jack walking down the peer and I would have also wanted to have sex with him in that pickup truck. He’s just so gorgeous. Men in Trees is one of those shows where you become attached to every single character and where the town itself counts as a character as well. It reminds me of Twin Peaks where I wanted to move to during and after having seen the show and also of Gilmore Girls. I think every Gilmore Girls fan wanted to move to Stars Hollow and live with the Gilmores at least once. One of my favorite episodes was where Marin and Jane were visited by a bear and Jack had to rescue them (so sexy!) There’s just no annoying factor in Men in Trees so far. Not even Lynn disturbed me that much. I mean I was glad when we got to see her leave the town but while she was still there the episodes were written in a way that the viewers didn’t have to hate her. Not like Oliver in The O.C. man was he awful. And so far I must say David Rosenthal whom I found listed in the shows credits is doing a much better job here than he had done in Gilmore Girls. To his defence - stepping into the Palladino’s shoes was a “Mission Impossible” to begin with.
Later M.
(Picture Source www.a.abcnews.com)
Tags: Hillary clinton, Wyoming, Bill clinton, Friday night lights, Save friday night lights, NBC Directv, NY times, Yes she will, Men in trees, men in trees abc, jon stewart, daily show, Saturday night life, amy poehler
TV Shows, life, Monk, Friday Night Lights, Men in Trees, Politics | March 7th, 2008 by admin | No Comments
So the strike is over and the returning dates of most of the shows have been announced as you can see in the TV Guide’s Strike update by Michael Ausiello. But since most of the shows won’t return until April/May 2008 the waiting doesn’t stop just yet. While I’m very much hoping that Men in Trees will be renewed by ABC I have picked up “Lipstick Jungle” which airs Thursday nights on NBC. After having watched the first four episodes I haven’t quite made up my mind whether I’ll continue to watch it once the other shows return. The show describes the ups and downs in the lives of three of New York’s most powerful women. They are played by Brooke Shields (Wendy), Kim Raver (Nico) and Lindsay Price (Victory). I’m not really a fan of any of these actresses and the show hasn’t turned me into one so far. The storyline isn’t very innovative but keeps you just interested enough to tune in for the next episode. Viewers who expect to find witty dialogues, demonstrations of deep friendship or true interpersonal drama that occurs when one must balance career and private life will have to keep looking - for now. I think the whole concept has potential and the writers are definitely exploring the right issues but for now they are merely scratching on the surface and the plots seem somewhat superficial. Each character is facing very individual problems and emotions but somehow I can’t feel it. I absolutely couldn’t relate to Victory and her relationship with the billionaire. Is she so impressed by his money that she has to put up with his attitude? He doesn’t want to be a part of her life enough to be interested in her friends but merely wants alone time with her. His romantic gestures are almost always of materialistic nature like flying her around in his jet and showering her with gifts that used to belong to famous designers. It seems to me like a healthy und longlasting relationship… I’ll stop criticizing for now. It has only been four episodes-Let’s give the show a real chance to take off before we crush it-
What else is new? I had the most exhausting run ever on Sunday with my Marathon training group. It’s one thing to brag about running the marathon and another to actually follow through and prepare for it. There was a storm hovering over my city, airplanes nearly crashed while landing (not kidding!), people where asked to stay inside of their houses during the weekend and what did we do? We went running throught the woods. Like crazy people. For almost 3 hours through the mud up and down the hills. Mid-run I got these bad stitches in my side which emerged right after I hid behind a tree to follow nature’s call and the remainder of the run I really had to bite my teeth together in order to get rid of them. I at least made it through the run - something I wouldn’t have managed if it weren’t for my friend who motivated me through the painful period and stayed by my side until we caught up with the group.
Hillary Clinton visited this weekend’s Saturday Night Life as well as yesterday’s Daily Show but I haven’t seen the shows yet. Will catch up on them tonight.
So long!
(Picture Source: www.ew.com)
Tags: Hillary for president, Obama clinton, Lipstick jungle, lipstick jungle nbc, michael ausiello, men in trees, anne heche, brook shields, lindsay price, kim raver, marathon, the daily show, jon stewart, saturday night life, SNL amy poehler, poehler clinton
TV Shows, life, Men in Trees | March 4th, 2008 by admin | No Comments
Recently I have come to the conclusion that there’s nothing more frustrating than running against the wind. At least in my life which I guess means that my life doesn’t suck too much. With the marathon only 2 months away and training units increasing by the week I have lately been in a constant state of euphoric exhaustion… provided that such a condition actually exists. Despite being tired most of the time it doesn’t keep me from feeling excited everytime I put my running shoes back on and the feeling of elation during and after the run makes all the effort totally worth it. It just seems that I have been born into the windiest city ever and no matter what route I choose I keep running against the wind… Icy wind that pushes you back and deprives you of your well-portioned energy. I just hope that the harder the training is the easier the actual marathon will be. Yes I know I’m living in fantasy land. My parents keep asking me why I don’t just take the car but running has become like a drug to me. I can’t live without it. The perfect day in my life must always include a run, some excellent shows (we will get to that in a second) and good food. The rest is more or less optional. The weather forecast just gave a storm warning. Guess I’ll be having one of those fun runs tomorrow morning.
I’ve been reading a lot about the effects of the writer’s strike especially on new shows which are in their first or even second season. Initially I had the opinion that the strike would harm new shows that haven’t quite established their fan base yet and are still struggeling with low ratings. I thought that these shows wouldn’t make it through and after the strike and would face cancellation. But it seems that I wasn’t quite right. Bill Carter wrote in the NY Times back in November that shows like my beloved “Men in Trees” and “Friday Night Lights” would benefit from the fact that networks would begin running low on original scripts as the strike progresses. He claims that executives won’t waste episodes they’ve already paid for and will definitely air them. Now after the strike most of the established shows are in a hiatus while the studios are working 24/7 to produce as many episodes as they can for the remainder of the season. Shows like Men in Trees still have some episodes left like tonight by the way and hopefully will attract more viewers - viewers that might have had enough of the reality shows filling the gaps our favorite shows have left behind. Therefore the marginal shows as they call them might benefit from the weakened competition. Also the lineup for new fall shows might turn out very differently this year. Since less pilots could be produced executives might turn to shows that otherwise might have been cancelled and renew them. I personally hope that Men in Trees and FNL will be amongst these shows. At least hopes are up for FNL since NBC is considering sharing broadcasting duties of the show with networks like The CW or TNT. This solution might be FNL’s only chance to get a third season and so I embrace the idea and appload the efforts made by the NBC execs.
My brother recently brought ABC’s Men in Trees to my attention and what can I say, after a few episodes I was hooked and intrigued. And I know everyone could see the 
whole Jack/Marin romance coming in the series pilot but I nevertheless find the whole story convincing and sweet. People who know me will confirm that I’m not much of a romantic person these days and when I say I was practically melting away during Jack’s confession on Marin’s voicemail when she was in NY (First season) this really means something. When he chose Lynn over Marin I was ready to rip him into pieces. I love the whole Alaska setting and the other characters in Elmo and I’m so addicted to the show right now that I’m backing up Michael Ausiello on today’s “Ask Ausiello” and urge all of you out there to turn on your tv tonight and to watch ABC’s Men in Trees!!!
I can’t stop writing this post without quoting my favorite comedian/brilliant actress/producer Tina Fey who said in last Saturday Night Life that “Bitch is the new Black” when she tried to convince viewers to rethink their choice of voting for Obama and instead to vote for Clinton. Last Saturday’s SNL showed a parody of journalists promoting and pampering Obama while being overly tough on Clinton. Yesterday’s Cleveland debate between the two candidates looked very similar to that parody and SNL was even referred to by Clinton when she asked whether “Obama was feeling comfortable or if he’d like a pillow”. Alessandra Stanley brings it to the point in today’s NY Times article 20th Debate: Reality Show or a Spinoff? The direction the media coverage takes can very much affect how the the audience perceives a presidential candidate - or better said anyone and anything in the public eye. The favoritism surrounding Obama does not stop when it comes to the press. While Obama is often displayed from his graceful and calm side Clinton is being portrayed as a panicked and unsteady candidate who has no clear direction and has practically lost the race - therefore giving people the impression that she has and therefore changing their voting intentions from voting for Clinton to voting for Obama. I for myself must say that I tend to ignore the media’s attempts to influence the electorial behaviour and will base my decision solely on the hard facts: qualifications, experience etc. Of course media coverage that supports Clinton’s campaign is fine by me.
See ya!
(Picture Source www.etonline.com)
Tags: Obama Clinton cleveland debate, Men in trees, Marin jack, ABC Men In Trees, Friday Night Lights, Friday night lights CW, michael ausiello, ask ausiello, Tina fey, Saturday night life, Bitch is the black, bill carter NY times, Alessandra Stanley
TV Shows, life, Friday Night Lights, Men in Trees | February 27th, 2008 by admin | No Comments
I hate it when I don’t get the chance to write my blog. Presently I have no PC at home - a state which I couldn’t have imagined myself living in just a few weeks ago. Weirdly enough after some weeks of getting used to being cut off from the outside world I find it somewhat refreshing. There is so much more to read and to check out when you let the information gather over night and the weekend. I even caught myself turning off my cell phone last Friday after work and didn’t turn it on until Saturday evening. How fun! Anyway, the only time I have left to write my blog is during my office time which is obviously a bad time. So I have to get up earlier and stay in the office later in the evenings which also sucks.
In times of strike I have come to appreciate my shows even more knowing that there most probably won’t be any after January 08. Every episode will at least be watched twice. Sometimes I wait a week (!!!!) to view an episode. In order to distract myself from thoughts about the devastatingly nonexistant TV program in 2008 I decided to rewatch all seasons of Sex and The City which totally didn’t help since it only took me about one week and now I’m back to where I started. I must say though that SATC is the only show that I can watch over and over again. It simply doesn’t get boring. Then I had the glorious idea to play a game like Monopoly or something but evidently other people still have a computer and therefore were less in the mood to play games with me. Then I became sick so all of a sudden I had even more time on my hands. I couldn’t even go running. I know I know - why don’t I get myself a back-up hobby - something like knitting or reading or picking fights? Well I do read - at this time Hillary Clinton’s Biography and I started “Anybody Out There” by Marian Keyes. I usually love the books written by her and tend to devour them within days but this one sort of disappointed me. The book starts off really strong but after 100 pages or so the reader (the smart reader anyway) at least suspects what has happened. I went on to the last page to check whether I was right (I never ever do that normally) and I was! So why read the rest of that book when Hillary’s life is way more entertaining.
Oh, I just read this about the WGA being confident that a deal will be closed soon. I say give the writers what they want and what they’re entitled to and let’s end this strike as soon as possible!!
And before I forget it I must mention that “Womens Murder Club” on ABC is just perfect. It reminds me of the time when I was 13 and used to watch Columbo religiously every Tuesday night (with pizza) It’s the same feeling except maybe that in WMC the main characters who are solving the crimes are hot women who are also members of a cool club which makes this show even better. I will kill should it not get a second season (perhaps they (ABC) have already announced something that I’m not aware of due to the shortcoming of the world wide web in my life). WMC also gave me the opportunity to see actress Laura Harris as someone else other than Marie Warner - the cold-hearted terrorist who was willing to kill her whole family. I hadn’t seen her in any of the shows like “CSI” or “Dead like me” etc. and was first confused and then eventually glad to see her in her present role. It surprises me how some acters will always or for a long time be associated with a strong character they played during their career and how a majority of viewers will find it hard to look at them neutrally when they play a new role. I guess that can be pretty tough and challenging for the actors. For example I will always think of Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer and I will always think of “BOB” when I see Ray Wise somewhere on screen. I think a lot of people will always see Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw. Am I right or what?
Amongst other shows that should be mentioned because they are so brilliant is definitely Gossip Girl. I saw the Thanksgiving episode yesterday (yes, I know I’m behind!) and it was just so entertaining. Nothing we haven’t seen before but there was a plot, wonderful actors and somehow it had a Beverly Hills 90210 meets The O.C. in Manhattan vibe but in a good way. And I totally agree with Perez when he calls Chase Crawford a.k.a. Nate Archibald ”so so hot!!!” I just paid Perez a visit. There is so much happening out there…
Also in an effort to get you guys to watch one of the best shows on TV I will constantly emphasize how spectacular Friday Night Lights is. If this show gets cancelled I will again kill someone. If Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler don’t get an Emmy for their performances I might also kill someone. I’m not a violent person (I might give that impression) I’m just referring to Landry who has killed someone and has chosen to tell the police in last weeks episode. Hopefully not too late. He chose to do so although they were probably never going to find out. Yes yes the conscience can be a very powerful thing.
Okay will stop writing now. Bye y’all!
(Picture Source: www.tvchronik.com)
Tags: Womens Murder Club, Womens Murder Club ABC, Laura Harris, Kiefer Sutherland 24, WGA Strike, Marian Keyes, Anybody Out There, Living History, Ray Wise, Sex and the city, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chase Crawford, Nate Archibald, Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights NBC
TV Shows, life, Veronica Mars, Books, Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, Womens Murder Club | December 5th, 2007 by admin | 1 Comment
While drinking tea this morning I read an article in last month’s Cosmo about the five most dangerous places for women nowadays. 1. Parking lots (obviously!) 2. Cabs (Didn’t know that) 3. Streets on your way home (goes well with point one) 4. your car (always lock your doors!) and 5. at home (where I feel totally safe now) read more at www.cosmopolitan.com or borrow my copy. I’m actually very aware of above mentioned potential dangers and was already following almost all of the rules that they advise you to follow in that article. I think you should always be careful, conscientious and aware. You might consider it a waste of precious time or feel that people might make fun of your cautiousness or ridicule you (I have experienced the latter myself) but at the end of the day it’s our life we’re talking about and I never want to be in the situation were I tell myself “if only I’d been more careful” or “I shoulda done that…”. This doesn’t only apply to personal safety but also to other aspects in your day-to-day life. If people in your environment choose to be negligent or incautious about certain things it doesn’t mean that you have to be yourself and I tend to fight people on certain subjects but if they adhere to their opinions then drop it and let them make their own decisions.
Okay enough of my life wisdom for today. Whats new on the TV horizon?
Friday Night Lights gets better every week. “Let’s get it on” was just excellent. I loved the home scenes between Eric and Tamy. Connie Britton is so amazingly hilarious (I know I’m repeating myself). It’s also highly appreciated that Matt actually had lines that consisted of more than four words when 1. he told the coach how he and the team felt about him leaving Dillon and heading off to TMU and then coming back and expecting everyone to celebrate his return 2. he cancelled the date with Julie and informed her that he would not jump when she suddenly decided to want him back. You go Matt! There isn’t really anything to criticize about this episode. The writers just created the perfect scenes and even gave questionable plots like the “dead assaulter brings Landry and Tyra together and therefore makes Landry’s father suspicious storyline” the required depth. And last but not least how can you not love Lyla’s character. Excellent acting and a load of chemistry, tension and everything during the scenes of Lyla, Tim and Jason in Mexico.
Greys Anatomy’s “Kung-Fu Fighting” had a lot of the old Greys’s spark back. Shanna on the TV-Cocktail gives a fine description on this episode. How brilliant were the 3 attendings and the Chief together? They could cancel Private Practice and create a Spin-Off with Hahn, Webber, Steamy and Dreamy and we would be having the best time ever watching it. It’s also nice to see “pretty and prettier” (Dr. Hahn called Shephard and Sloan that) getting along again.
And reading the NY Times yesterday I found this article about the WGA strike explaining the content of the strike, the demands of the writers (which in my opinion are totally justified) and the consequences a strike similar to the one in 1988 could have for the industry. I seriously hope both sides don’t let it go too far.
So gotta get back to work now. Bye for now!
Picture Source (www.ew.com)
Tags: Cosmopolitan, Friday Night Lights, Connie britton, Tyra and landry, let\\\\\\\'s get it on, Lyla Garrity, WGA Strike, NY times, Grays anatomy, Izzy and george, Mc steamy, Mc dreamy, Erica hahn, Kong
Greys Anatomy, TV Shows, life, Friday Night Lights | November 6th, 2007 by admin | No Comments
What can I say? Moving sucks! I have just completed a major Office/Home moving ordeal which I wouldn’t have managed without my entourage who have helped me where they could. Thanks again to y’all! The worst part was that my internet and telephones were temporarily offline which made me feel like an alien. Oh pardon me, there was an even worse part: I wasn’t able to watch my shows for about a week and am still catching up on the recordings. There was just no time. I’m still really exhausted so that I will merely make a few comments that have been flying around in my head during the last days:
First of all: There is a lot of Brooke Smith to be seen on TV nowadays. Which answers my questions from a previous post regarding the wherabouts of Dr. Erica Hahn - Brooke’s character on Greys Anatomy. I think she’s brilliant. I was watching “the silence of the lambs” the other day where she plays Buffalo Bill’s latest victim which gets rescued by Jodie Foster. In the last episode of Greys Hahn was offered the post of Chief of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery by Webber so fortunately we will see more of her in the future. Loved her scenes with Sandra Oh. Another memorable character of hers is in Weeds where she plays the first wife of Peter Scottson and a short-time friend of Nancy.
Friday Night Lights is clearly one of the best shows I have seen lately. It stands right up there next to Brothers & Sisters at the top of my personal TV rankings. I think one of the things that make these shows so unique is the great acting and chemistry of the acters. The other shows can definately learn a thing or two from these two.
The news about the WGA leaders calling for a strike is pretty shocking and while I strongly believe that one should fight for what they believe I hope they will find an agreement rather soon and that the effects will not be that drastic. Read the full report here.
Guys you have to watch Gossip Girl. It’s perfect - sometimes they overdo it a bit - like with the masked ball (which I totally loved) but all in all it’s what we needed on TV. It seems like Desperate Housewives has finally understood what makes it lovable and the fourth season has exceeded expectations so far. Obviously the choice to put Dana Delaney a.k.a Katherine Mayfair as well as the gay couple (forgot their names-will follow up on that) on the cast of the show was one of the best decisions the directors have ever made. Right from the beginning the new characters have been well integrated into the show’s storylines and in my opinion have already become indispensable.
I am still so damn tired that I will leave it at this and promise to share my undying wisdom with you guys in a couple of days. Tata
Picture Source: http://tvcocktail.ivillage.com
Tags: Brooke Smith, Dr Hahn, Erica Hahn, the silence of the lambs, Greys anatomy, Sandra oh, Peter and nancy, Friday Night Lights, Brothers and sisters, kitty pregnant, WGA strike, Gossip girl, Gossip girl the cw, Dana Delaney
Greys Anatomy, TV Shows, life, Brothers & Sisters, Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl | November 2nd, 2007 by admin | No Comments