Hello wonderful readers! I have no idea what to write about as I am so tired (Premiere week--YAY!). Just watched Journeyman, soooo good! Will be watching The Office and Earl (love Jamie Pressley) tonight, taping the encore of Reaper over on the CW. So tell me, what have you been watching? New shows, movies, entire seasons on DVD? Too busy playing Halo 3?


Gwyneth Paltrow is 35 today.
Red Sox up by 3, October is fast approaching, which means major juggling of my tv schedule. Should I break and buy a TiVo? Or stick with my trusty VHS??

Gossip Girls---TRASH!

You know those people who say they hate rap music but never actually listen to it? I don't like those people. I actually was on my way to becoming one a few months back, but I was against the Gossip Girls book series by Cecily Von Zigesar. Not because of the content, mind you. But because of the negative portrayal of teenage girls I was just sure it depicted.

Well, I decided that if I was going to bad mouth a book that millions of girls loved, the least I could do was read it. And something surprising happened....I was right: the girls are depicted in a negative fashion, all snooty and self-absorbed and doing things that I didn't know existed at that age (lotsa sex, alcohol, and drugs). But here's the surprising part: I LIKED IT! Couldn't put the damn book down. Oh sure, I was reading the book in the safety of my own bedroom, so no one would see, and I was still embarrassed! And when WHDH TV, (channel 7 to those of us in Beantown), ran a segment on the Racy Reads teens can find at the library, I immediately got on the defensive. There is nothing worse that a teen reading, right? I mean, omg, the library may actually be entering the realm of coolness just by having these books in their collection. Way to go, 7 news. Let's not promote all the awesome things libraries are doing for teens, let's focus on the trashy reads....and that is exactly what the GG books are...fun, mindless trashy reads. Just wait til they make the movie, I thought after seeing the segment. **Please note: the article isn't as negative as the actual tv spot was, but it was all I could find.**

Well, I wasn't too far off. Last week gave us the premier of GG: the series (Loved it, loved the guy who plays Dan, and I love Josh Schwartz). More Cruel Intentions, less O.C. But when I ever saw that 7 news was "taking us behind the scenes of the CW's newest hit teen series", I almost puked. The 60 second bit gave us clips of the show, stars, and a positive blub on the series, no doubt put together to increase promotion for the show. But how dare they not mention the basis of the show. Wouldn't want to come off as a bunch of hypocrits, would we? Promoting the show, and trashing the books.

Just my thoughts on the matter. Sure it won't be my favorite show of the fall, but like the books, it's a nice filler while waiting for something better to come along. Kinda wish they launched it as a summer series; this summer was boring! And no, I will not tell you if the books/series are appropriate for your teen. That is a decision you, as the parent, have to make.


Tom Felton is 20 this weekend. 20!
Red Sox up by 2, but are currently (as in this instant) beating the Devil Rays 5-2.

Pink and Sparkles-my two favs at the Emmys

Greetings, fair bloggers! Sorry about the delay in posts, Gigs was getting subpoenaed by K-Fed.

We won't spend too much time discussing the Emmys, as they were such a BAD show (the exception goes to Terry O'Quinn of Lost--keep rockin' the pink and sparkles--you looked awesome and happy to be there! Congrats on your well deserved win!)

Did I call it or did the masses finally listen to me? It looks like Kanye has outsold 50 Cent-by 300,000 copies! And it turns out that Jay-Z, producer on Kanye's album has also lent his talents to Fiddy, as a contributor to the remix of the song "I Get Money". Why do I feel betrayed? Then again, it will probably make me like the song, just as his additions made me like Umbrella by Rihanna and (don't kill me for saying this, Dan) Rehab by Amy Winehouse. That song got so much better with a Jay-Z beat and rap.

And while we're on the topic of 50, have you seen his new video? So stylish and sleek...almost made me forget who the artist was. The half naked girls reminded me. This might be the first song by Fiddy to make it to my iPod. Great beat, great vocals, and I kinda dig the dressed up 50. Put some clothes on the girls and I might become a fan. Seriously, the amount of half clothed girls on MTV (and I'm talking about the video chicks, the reality star,etc.) is just plain embarrassing. Put some clothes on! What's that? Skin sells? Well, ok...I suppose you can show JT without his shirt once or twice. No wonder people from other countries think American girls are sluts. If I had to base my opinions on what I saw, I'd believe it too!

Rosemary Harris is 80 years young today.
Red Sox are up by only 3 games, and no, I don't want to talk about it. It will be ok.

Perez Hilton...who is this guy?

So for today's post, I thought it'd be fun to attempt to find out just who this Perez Hilton is. I mean, yes, he's a celebrity blogger, but recently he seems to be everywhere! VH1 gave him his own show, Backstage at the VMAs. Victoria Beckham confronted him on her reality special, Coming to America:

"Let's talk about some of the names you've called me..., VB says.
"I may have called you....a robot with really big boobs.", Perez responds.
"Really? (pause) Do they look that big?", VB asks.
Perez:"Well, they're squished in today, are you wearing a bra?"

Classic! That Victoria, at least she as a sense of humor. I like her.

Anyway, I digress. Perez Hilton, according to Wikipedia, was born in Florida, and used to be an actor. But he started blogging about celebrities in late 2004. Within 6 months, he was at the top of Hollywood's Hate list. He claims that over 8 million people viewed his blog on July 3, 2007. Not as of July 3, but just on July 3. He's known to have outed some celebrities--even when they haven't confirmed the details. (Off subject: I could care less what sexual orientation celebrities are. I'm gonna like/dislike your work regardless.)

He also calls himself a journalist. Well, hell, then I am one too! Yippiee! I've always wanted to be a journalist!

That's about it. That's all we know. I don't know what the fascination is, his blog is messy and he draws on people's pictures: coke lines and captions. But then again, I'm sure I've posted tidbits that can be traced back to Perez. So, ok I'm still sick of him. No more reality tv for Perez; hire Victoria Beckham instead!!!

Kimberly Williams-Paisley is 36 today.
Sox up 6 and are prepping to kick some Yankee ass!

Savage brothers! TV needs you!

Sorry about my lack of posts the past few days. I was away on a top secret miss.....I mean, I was visiting my mother. Yes, that's it.

So Jon Stewart is hosting the 2008 Oscars. All I have to say is...thank goodness it's not Ryan Seacrest! He's doing the Emmys, AI, The Superbowl opening ceremony, and quite frankly I'm sick of him. Not that I have an ill feelings toward him, but buddy, give some gigs to the funny people. My pick for new hosts for any events: Ricky Gervais, Rainn Wilson, in full Dwight Scrute-mode, and Stephen Colbert. And hey, since I'm dreaming, let's add Stephen's own Papa Bear, Bill O'Reilly, as a co-presenter.

Kanye says he is through with MTV, stating that they exploited Britney and him to gain ratings at last week's VMAs. Um, duh? When has MTV not exploited anyone? Madonna, countless cast members of The Real World, and others are why MTV is so popular. And, sad to say, even if Britney hadn't performed, they would have had their ratings, simply with them rumor of her performing. Come to think of it, they should have put her on last. That would have guaranteed viewers for the whole show.

With all the talk about Britney, no one has even bothered to mentioned the amazing performances of young Chris Brown and the always awesome Foo Fighters. This is what I wish MTV would be about: amazing live sets featuring people who actually play instruments and sing out loud! Actually, it's possible Brown wasn't singing live, but who could blame him with all the shimming and jumping he was doing. At least it looked real.

OMG: Ben Savage is all grown up. When did that happen? He's 27 today.
Red Sox are up by 6 games.

Awards, embarrassments, and birthdays

JT and Andy Samberg won the Emmy for Best Original Music and Lyrics. JT also had quite the night at the VMAs. He won 4 awards including Male Artist of the Year.

His former girlfriend, Britney, well...she opened the show with her new single "Gimmie More" (gim-ey, gim-ey more, gim-ey oooh, gim-ey more) Give me less, please. Waaaaaayyyyy less. Good Golly! I'd like to know who talked her into: 1. Wearing that outfit 2. Recording that song 3.Putting the "It's Britney, bitch." at the beginning of the song. Like there was any guess that it wasn't Britney's song. And please don't refer to me as a bitch. Makes me reminisce about the skin colored bodysuit days. Still, I don't think we have seen the last of Ms. Spears. I hope not....I think she's due for an amazing comeback. Whether it's good or bad remains to be seen.

And I won't dwell, but High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens has had some private pictures go public. Good news: Disney is standing by her. Wonder if they would have made the same decision over, say, Lindsay Lohan back in the day. And I wonder how it would have changed things.

Mr. Colin Firth is 47 today. Sadly he is still married (thought happily for him and his wife I suppose).
Sox are up 6 games.

I Love Musicals!

No I don't actually, but I seem to be getting awfully excited about a few of them in recent months. The movie Hairspray was awesome! I had such a good time, I went twice and I think it just might be my favorite movie of the year (certaintly the only movie with no deaths in it to make my top 5 list). And I've been dying to see Avenue Q for about 5 years, and my friend and co blogger Dan invited me to go see it when it comes to Boston next Spring. Also coming to Boston is Sweeney Todd, and I am going to see that too! Spring Awakening has been all over the news, and well, I just can't wait til it tours, so I'm planning to trek into NYC for a matinee one of these days.

Which leads us to today's BIG scoop...remember that day you heard the anguished wails of parents all over Britain and the squeals of all the girls ages 11-98 around the world? That was the day Daniel Ratcliff announced he was starring in Equus in the West End in London. But here's what brought the screams...he appears naked (HORRORS...not that!) for a part of the show! And now it looks like he's bringing the nudie show to the U.S.

So to answer the big question....why would Daniel, who is so loved and adored by millions of girls worldwide, strip down on stage? Because he is an actor (say it with me: actor). He is not Harry, nor any other character he has played. Let's face it: Harry is all well and good, but talk about being typcasted. He's barely out of his teen years, and he will forever be remembered as a 13 year old wizard. So, please, let's not make a big deal over this. Equus won rave reviews in London, and I'm sure it will here. Parents, don't like what Daniel's doing? Don't let the kids see the play.

Oh, and the worst kept secret in showbiz has been confirmed: Britney will perform at the MTV VMAs on Sunday. Whoo-hoo.

Michael Emerson is 53 today.
Sox won, we're up by 7 games.

Even slower news day

My apologies for today's post. It seems that there really isn't too much going on in Lala Land.

Premier Magazine has listed it's top 20 movie plot twists ever! Sure I agree with a couple of them....Fight Club and The Usual Suspects, but I can't believe they left off the biggest plot twist ever! Was I the only one who never saw that Paul Walker's character in The Fast and the Furious was (GASP!) an undercover cop?!?! Could have knocked me over with a feather! What a great twist! Cop proves himself to bust up an underground ring of illegal racers and thieves and then befriends the leader and macks on his sister! The leader then goes on the lam from cops, doing stints as a nanny and a maybe-human with glowing eyes. Unfortunately, I am not joking about the generic twist in The Fast and the Furious, and I enjoyed the movie much more sitting in my little world of oblivion. "I live my life a quarter mile at a time.". Me too, Vin. Me too.

Now don 't get too excited (didn't stop me from screaming like a 12 year old at an High School Musical concert), here's some casting info on J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot. Never saw the show or any of the movies, but my ass was there on opening night b/c it was an Abrams flick. Then I hear that Zachary Quinto signed on to play Spock, and my ass was in the center of the last row (best seat in the house) on opening night. NOW comes news that Nathan Fillion is rumored to be up for the role of Captain Kirk! Add Eliza Dushku to the cast (I don't care how) and I will be one of those lame people that camp out for movie tickets a week before they go on sale! Thanks to DD corespondent, Mr. J, for this story.

Swoozie Kurtz is 63 today.
Red Sox lost, Yankees won. Boston is STILL 6 games up!

Slow news day

Not much going on today...

Halle Berry is pregnant.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is the new face of Agent Provocateur, and she's beautiful enough to make even the straightest girl swoon! Except the chair picture, that one scares me.

We're one week away from knowing if 50 Cent will leave the recording business (pretty please, you promise?) Next Tuesday, Fiddy's new CD comes out and he and Kanye West, whose disc will also be released that day, are in a sell off, with 50 saying he'll retire if he doesn't outsell Kanye. So who does yours truly think will win it? Well, 50 does have JT on his first single, but as far a quality and air play, I think Kanye's Stronger won that round. But my pick is....Kenny Chesney! NEVER underestimate the power of a hot man in tight jeans and a cowboy hat! His songs are pretty good, too. Like Trace Adlkins says, Ladies Love Country Boys (and Maggie G.)! Not sure about middle American white teens, cuz you know that's whose buying all those Fiddy discs.


Bob Newhart is 78 today.
Red Sox are 7 games up, after beating the Blue Jays last night at Fenway.

D**k in a Box Censored!

How bout this? You're on SNL for the second time and the whole world could care less what you do, as long as you reprise your role as a lyric skewing mascot in a funny costume. I wonder if that's what Justin Timberlake was thinking last December when he hosted SNL's Christmas Show. Of course, he did the mascot skit--which, I have to admit, is probably the funniest reoccouring character played by a guest since The Continental by Christoper Walken. Anyway, imagine his surprise (or maybe not) when Justin woke up the next morning and found that everyone was taking about a new skit, a song performed by JT and Andy Samberg, the aforementioned D**k in a Box. Now why the bleeped our word, you ask? Well, that's how it appeared on tv, but the uncensored version can be found here. I strongly recommend taking a look because the random little ditty earned JT and Samberg an Emmy nomination! No joke. What's more is that the Emmy committee asked JT and Samberg to perform it at awards show, censored, of course. Read the full story here. While we won't know for sure what their decision will be until show time, it's reported that they have declined. Could it be because they don't want to recreate a censored version for the masses (hey, it's been a long time since the "masses" watched SNL and I really don't think they could find their way out of a paper bag online, let alone watch the skit on YouTube) or because the best song Emmy is given out almost a week before the broadcast, at the "your're important, but not that important" show, aka the Creative Arts Emmys. Whatever the reason, I hope they win just so some hoity toity presenter has to say that the Emmy goes to JT and Andy Samberg for "D**k in a Box"!


Beyonce is 26 today (is that all?!)
What a weekend! YAY Buchholz! Sox up by 7 games!

Superbad ***Spoilers below***

So I finally made it to the theaters to see Superbad. I say finally because I am a big Apatow/Rogan fan, from the Freaks and Geeks days. So really, I should have seen this already, plus it's totally my kind of movie, and by that I mean it's a "gross out teen comedy". But here's the thing, it's not. It's only disguised as a gross out teen comedy. It's really a very sweet look at two friends growing up. I'm not going to use this post to summarize the movie, as I'm sure you've seen the trailers, read the synopsis.
I will say that this movie took the genre up a notch, and (dare I go so far as to call it) a respectful teen comedy. What do I mean by respectful? Yes the characters, like many, are obsessed with having sex. Yes, they go to great lengths to impress their crushes, even though it seems that they are liked just fine at the beginning of the movie. But instead of the usual 2 hours of accidental run ins with strippers, spying on the hot neighbors undressing, etc, I am proud to say that Superbad didn't feature one exposed body part--no boobs, no butts-- (unless you count the naked girl on the porn magazine, which I don't). The other element I was so proud to see was a conversation about safe sex. Not done as a caution or lecture, but just as part of the conversation. The term "safe sex" wasn't even spoken, and it was treated as though this is part of the rule, not the exception. Condoms and spermicidal lubricant were just as important to the teens as the alcohol, but much easier to acquire, apparently.
So does this make Superbad better, more respectful of teens than teen flix of the past? I don't know. I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure that it will be strong enough to start a movement.
And not to end on an I told you so, but I knew Seth Rogan would be the breakout star of Freaks and Geeks, I just thought it was going to take longer. I am so glad it didn't. If anyone that knows these guys is reading this, please tell them I would be honored to work with them in any capacity. For more about Superbad, click here.