Jamie talks Christmas on TV

I’m not talking about the annual airings of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Those are very important, but that’s not what this post is about.  Instead, it’s about how some of my favorite TV shows have celebrated the holidays in the past, let’s say 15 or so years.  Here are some of my favorites:

That 70s Show – Whether they are stealing toys meant for poor children or putting on a pageant, there is a never a dull moment for Eric Foreman and friends when the holidays come around.  I would argue that the holiday episodes are among the best for this sitcom.

The O.C. – Love it, hate it, or roll your eyes, how can you not love Seth Cohen’s enthusiastic celebration of Chrismukkuh?  Seriously, try and watch the Chrismukkuh episodes of this ridiculous (but lovable) show without falling in love with Seth Cohen.

The West Wing – While the show always seemed to get into the spirit of the holidays, the best by far is "In Excelsis Deo."  You’re laughing, then you’re crying, and when it's all over you feel like you’ve been a part of something truly special.

Friends – Do I really need to say more than the Holiday Armadillo?

The Big Bang Theory – Christmases come and Christmases go, but only on "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" do we see a truly overwhelmed Sheldon carry multiple bath gift baskets from his room for Penny, only to ultimately realize that the only thing he can do to show his appreciation for her epic gift, is hug her.

How I Met Your Mother – While “How Lily Stole Christmas” is certainly a favorite, I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with this year’s Robin-centric Christmas episode.  Not only for the emotional performance from Cobie Smulders, but for including an ACDC light show in the apartment.  Come on, ACDC light show equals instant classic.

Glee – Obviously, there is singing.  Christmas singing. So that's awesome. But nothing tops the gang’s efforts to help Artie walk just a little, not so much for Artie, but so that Brittany will continue to believe in Santa.  It’s cool Brittany, I believe too.

Doctor Who – I’m talking "The Christmas Invasion," the first full episode with 10^th Doctor David Tennant.  The Doctor accidentally starting to quote the Lion King is pretty quality.  Also Christmas, aliens, good times.  I'm sure there are others, but I've only watched a few Doctor Who seasons, so this is the one that I love.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – I just watched the Christmas episode from season 3, "Amends," the other day, and I must say it is a wonderful episode.  A little intense with our first introduction to The First, but then there is snow!  In southern California.    

My So-Called Life – Let’s call it saving the best for last. In the most touching episode of the short lived series, we see Angela helping a homeless Rickie on Christmas with the help of a homeless girl (or angel?) played by Julianna Hatfield.

I'm sure I've missed some classics (and new classics)... what else do you love?

Jamie's Fall 2011 TV Review

As shows wrap up for a brief (or in some cases long) hiatus over the holidays, I am offering up my two cents (or a little more) on how my favorite shows, old and new, started off their 2011-12 seasons:

1) The Big Bang Theory - The word for the season is consistency.  In its fifth season, this show continues to be laugh out loud funny week in and week out.  Highlight: Yet another brilliant performance by Laurie Metcalf as Sheldon’s God-fearing mother in what has got to be one of my all time favorite episodes.  The scene in the church where they each talk to God was one of the best ever.


2) How I Met Your Mother - We’re getting a little real over at HIMYM.  Last year it was Marshall losing his dad and Barney meeting his, and this year it’s all about Robin & Barney as they deal with all kinds of issues, both individually and together.  Thankfully this show keeps us laughing between the occasional tearjerkers. Highlight: The most recent episode where Robin talks to her fictional children.  I thought it was incredibly well written with a great performance by Cobie Smulders.  Also, there was an ACDC light situation.  Epic.

3) Parks & Recreation - I wrote about my undying love for this show in my last post, so I will say that while I continue to love it, love Leslie & Ben, think it was wise to give them a little relationship obstacle, I’m hoping to move beyond the episodes centered around their relationship.  Hoping that the conflicts in the rest of the season come from outside of their relationship (and I think it will in the form of this city council race).  Highlight: I loved (tears!) her team stepping up to run her campaign in the Christmas episode.  Ben showed his support in the prior episode, so it made perfect sense to have this be about her Parks & Rec team (plus her BFF Ann, of course) giving her the best gift ever.  

4) NCIS - This show is always great, but I will say I miss having that season-long story happening.  I am sure that the stuff from the premiere with Scott Wolf’s character will come back around and so I am anticipating an exciting second half for this show.  Also, I think we could use a little more Abby, but really, who doesn’t think that. Highlight: I think that Dinozzo has been very solid this season.  And I love the addition of Jaime Ray Newman. I hope she sticks around.

5) Castle - Continues to be the show that I wish was on 7, or maybe even 8 days a week.  If they wanted to make that many episodes, I would watch them.  All.  Okay, maybe that’s a little excessive. (but it's not)  Highlight: Beckett.  Her falling apart in the episode with the sniper shootings was fantastic, I mean, the performance, it's not great that Beckett is dealing with this, but it's so good... you know what I mean.  Stana Katic’s performance was riveting in the best episode of the season.

6) Hawaii 5-0 - Who knew, when we first saw the commercials last season that I would continue to tune in weekly for more than just Alex O’Loughlin’s shirtless moments?  Definitely not me, but this show continues to impress with intriguing storylines plus excellent casting additions - making Masi Oka a regular cast member was brilliant.   Highlight: The best bromance on television, Steve & Danny.

7) Glee - I’m totally jumping on the bandwagon of saying “Glee is back”!  Not that I think it really went anywhere, but the first half of season 2 was certainly a little shaky and only with the focus on Kurt and the bullying, plus the addition of the adorable and multi-talented Blaine, did it really come around last year (specifically the Furt episode, which makes me cry, and Darren Criss’ Glee debut singing Teenage Dream, which is far higher on my iPod alltime played list than I care to admit).  While some episodes have been stronger than others this season, I think the whole thing just feels more coherent (thank you Marti Noxon perhaps?).  Highlight: Mike Chang - Not only can that boy dance, but the storyline with his parents is incredibly touching.

8) Bones - It’s been brief, but it’s great to see the team at the Smithsonian back solving murders, and I think they have handled their two leads suddenly being very much together and pregnant very well.  Looking forward to the next step, Booth & Bones with a baby.  One question: What happened to Parker?  Will we see him when the baby is born? Booth does remember that he already has a kid, right? Highlight: New intern Finn.  A great addition to the rotating cast of interns, which I think was a great choice for this show post-Zach.

9) New Shows - The New Girl, Once Upon a Time, Hart of Dixie, & Two Broke Girls
    The New Girl - Can’t stop laughing. Highlight: Any time the boys step it up to support Jess
    Once Upon a Time - Totally hooked. Highlight: Getting a new piece to the puzzle each week.
    Hart of Dixie - Stop judging me, I love this show. Highlight: Lavon’s pet alligator, Burt Reynolds.     Also, Wade.
    Two Broke Girls - I just hope that isn’t the last we see of Chestnut. Highlight: Why is Kat Dennings only just getting her own show? She is one of the funninest people on TV, and absolutely the reason I watch this show.

Jamie loves Parks & Rec

Okay, I am finally going to try and put into words what it is that I love about Parks & Recreation, in an effort to convince Kacey that it should jump to the top of her Instant Watch priorities. 


Here's my best attempt at 5 reasons why you should change the channel to NBC immediately following Sheldon on Thursday nights:


5) It's not The Office.  Before the show even started, there were comparisons made with The Office, which, don't get me wrong, is a great show.  It's funny, well written, well acted, etc.  But it never really caught my attention in a "I must watch every single episode of this show and tell everyone how much I love it" kind of way.  Steve Carrell is a wonderful actor, and Michael Scott is a great character for him, but there has always been, for me, too much of that "oh my god I can't watch this train wreck" stupidity with the show, mostly with Michael.  At least for me to want to watch week in and week out.  So, when Parks & Rec started I resisted because I wasn't interested in that type of show.  But it is so not like that.  Yes, it uses the same mockumentary style (like both the Office and Modern Family), and the characters all work together, but that is where I think the comparisons stop.  While the crew at Parks & Rec is dysfunctional and incompetent at times (okay, a lot), there is never that feeling that they won't be able to overcome the obstacle, or that there won't be a heartfelt attempt.  Even when they don't care about the task at hand, they care about each other (or one person in particular) to make it work.  But if you (like my mom) assume you will not like this show because you don't like the Office, well, give it a chance.
4) Brilliant ensemble.  I'll highlight some individuals later, but this is definitely a show that relies on every member of the cast contributing each and every week.  If you picked up any one of these characters on their own, I'm not convinced they would work.  But put them together, and it's near perfection.  Aziz Ansari's wannabe Tom Haverford is beyond annoying, but it works because everyone else laughs at him.  Chris Pratt's stupid but adorable and sincere Andy is too dumb to believe, but you fall in love with him right along with... um... everyone else.  And Nick Offerman's government hating Ron Swanson and Amy Poehler's government loving Leslie Knope need each other, and so does the Parks Department (if only people with opposing views worked so well together in Congress) 
3) Adam Scott, i.e. the addition of.  I have to be perfectly honest, I have a huge crush on Adam Scott, and an even bigger crush on Ben Wyatt.  I don't know where it came from exactly.  Perhaps the first part of that one Veronica Mars episode where he was the teacher that everyone loved but was then accused of having an affair with a student, and I just tuned out the end where he did actually have an affair with a student.  Regardless of where it started, it was definitely increased by the brilliant Party Down (which you should watch immediately if you haven't, but that's another blog entry all together).  He is the perfect cute nerd (if he played Nate Silver in a movie I would see that movie many, many times), and just avoids being a hipster.  I loved the first two seasons of Parks of Rec, but when they added the character of nerdy, former teenage mayor turned government wonk Ben Wyatt, they hit a whole new level of excellence.  No offense to Paul Schneider, who did a fine job in the first two seasons, but with the addition of Ben (and to a lesser degree Rob Lowe's overwhelmingly optimistic Chris Traeger), I barely remember Mark Brandanawicz.  And again, I loved the first two seasons.  They were awesome.  It's just that Ben is there now, and he makes it more awesome.
2) Ron & April.  These two together are hilarious.  The way that the writers and these actors have developed this father/daughter-like relationship for the head of Parks & Rec and his now-assistant is comedic gold.  Every time they have a scene together, I know I'm going to laugh.  Plus, their negative attitude are what make it possible for me to unapologetically love....
1) Leslie Knope - Like I said, this is an amazing ensemble, but there is only reason this rag tag group of government employees can pull it together, and it is the one and only Leslie Knope.  She's crazy and energetic to the point of annoyance, but her ambitious is contagious and she's just the type of unyielding person you wish would work in your local government.  Her co-workers (except Ben & Chris) find her enthusiasm to be draining, if not horribly annoying, but like the audience, they can't help but root for her.  When the shit hits the fan, they are all there to chip in and make sure that things get done for Leslie.  Even if they don't care about the project or whatever is happening.  They do it because Leslie is a genuinely good person who takes care of everyone else around her. She loves her job, her friends, waffles, and most importantly, the town of Pawnee.  So much that it makes you kind of love the town of Pawnee too.


This is why I've resisted writing this, even though I love this show week in and week out.  When I get down to it, it sounds so sappy and that is not the show at all.  People far more cynical than I am love this show.  I mean, just watch a few minutes of any scene with Ron Swanson (especially if there is a Tammy involved), and you'll see what I mean. 


Basically, I just love this show as much as Leslie loves waffles.  And you should watch so you understand how much that is.

Jamie has Questions about Once Upon a Time - Already!

I am still trying to put together my thoughts for a blog the properly conveys my new found undying love for Parks & Recreation so that it doesn't contain any significant spoilers for Kacey since she hasn't watched it yet, but makes her neglect her life to catch up on Netflix.  However, while that is still in the works, I wanted to write a little bit about how much I am enjoying Once Upon a Time, the new fairy tale show on ABC.  The show is aesthetically pleasing (beautiful visuals!) with great characters (excellent casting) and a plot that I am already trying to figure out (even scouring the internet for what other people think).  I love it when I am left asking questions and wondering where all the pieces fit in, not to mention I get to discover this whole new world with its own rules and structure. I could not be more excited.  Here are my questions/thoughts so far:

1)  Does Regina remember that she is the evil queen or not?  I assumed that she did following episode 1, but after last week there was some ambiguity that made me think her spell may have had some unforeseen circumstances that resulted in her being a little bit clueless. 

2) Mr. Gold! Talk about the key to the whole curse.  We learned so much last week despite his minimal screen time, but he is clearly the puppet master.  Does he know everything in this new world, or just enough? I'm sure it'll come back in part to the power of names, but I am definitely intrigued.

3) Who did the Evil Queen lose?  I was thinking that it was a child, which is why she clings to Henry, but this week it seemed that Henry was more a fill in for her father, so perhaps it was a love interest/husband.

4) Where does the show go from here?  This is honestly my only concern, how long can this go on?  Of course, since everyone is making Lost comparisons (fair, since the creators came from there), I will note that one of the reasons I didn't watch Lost when it started was that I wasn't sure how long they could drag out people on a deserted island. I mean eventually they had to get rescued, right?  Given that I was wrong about the rescue meaning the end, I'm sure that the creators have a plan for our fairy tale friends.  And if nothing else they can just call up their friend JJ and use some red matter to start an alternate timeline. 

Kindergartners boost the ego

This week I was told I was genius by one student after explaining the simple act of peeling off the crayon paper to help the coloring process. Then I was told that I "know everything" after I explained what an oil pastel was to another student.

What is there to conclude from this week in kindergarten? We do a lot of coloring.

Jamie Confesses to Watching (& Liking!) Hart of Dixie

When I saw the preview for a new Rachel Bilson show on the CW about a young New York City doctor who is forced (by whatever circumstances the writers invented) to move to Alabama, I rolled my eyes and gagged a little.  I mean, it was called "Hart of Dixie."  But then on the night it premiered, I was flipping channels (because no matter how many times Ashton Kutcher gets naked, Two & a Half Men cannot hold my attention that long) and stopped, just to check it out. 


Before we continue and I confess to enjoying this cheesy new show far more than I should, I need to tell you two things.  First, I love the movie Sweet Home Alabama.  A sassy Reese Witherspoon gets to choose between New York with the dreamy politician's son Patrick Dempsey, and Alabama with the ruggedly adorable Josh Lucas.  It's a win-win.  Plus the supporting cast, especially Candice Bergen, is fantastic.  I can't actually listen to the song Sweet Home Alabama anymore without thinking, "show some respect y'all," which is a little ridiculous for this Pacific NW native.  So there's that.  And, I love Rachel Bilson.  While I could take or leave (well, mostly leave) the Ryan & Marissa part of the storyline on the O.C., I kept on watching for Seth & Summer.  I've already covered my love of Seth Cohen (nerds are so hot, and so is Adam Brody), but I'll just add here that Rachel Bilson managed to make what could have been an annoying and ditzy character, absolutely lovable, so that we were able to approve of her having won over our favorite nerd.  I have been a little disappointed with some post-O.C. efforts from Bilson, namely I thought her first guest appearance on HIMYM was overhyped and the episode underdelivered (not really her fault, and her follow up appearance was much improved), and that horrid ice cream commercial where she steps on the cars for a Magnum ice cream bar (seriously, who names an ice cream bar Magnum?).  Okay, that explanation got a little long, but to sum up, 1) love Sweet Home Alabama, 2) love Rachel Bilson.


So I start watching, and I'm hooked.  Bilson's Dr. Zoe Hart is awkward, doesn't fit in with the town, but we can see that she is a good person and a good doctor, just completely unfamiliar with small town life and country issues.  The supporting cast of characters is solid.  There's the nemesis: Lemon, the girl you hate (and who despises Zoe), and her father Brick, the doctor who owns the other half of the practice that Bilson has inherited, both of whom make you cheer a little harder for Zoe than you might have otherwise.  Then the ever important potential love interests: Lemon's fiance/Zoe's crush, George, the golden boy who has returned home to marry his high school sweetheart after a stint at a big law firm in the NYC, Wade, the somewhat attractive, slightly redneck, obnoxious jackass who rents the place next to Zoe on the mayor's property, and the mayor, Lavon Hayes - former NFL player and more importantly to the people of Bluebell, former Crimson Tide star player (on the latter, they seem to be keeping Lavon & Zoe as friends, and I hope that continues because I like that dynamic between them).  The helpful new friends, aka my favorite characters: Rose & Mrs. H, the latter being the nurse at the clinic and the former her daughter.  It seems that Mrs. H, played with a great deal of charm by Nancy Travis, may have been a guest spot, but I am hoping they find a way for the big city, podcast and comic book loving Rose to stick around.  Her interactions with Zoe are my favorite, and on episode two, her interactions with Wade made for one of my favorite moments.  The best part of episode two, however, was the ladies on the bench gossiping, which I hope they will continue in the coming weeks because it is hilarious.


So we've got our big city doctor trying to make it in a small town, which sounds just about as cheesy as the title, Hart of Dixie, implies.  But for some reason, it works for me.  In both episodes they've managed to make me root for our heroine, as she learns a little more about the town and how to be a good doctor.  Each episode (well, both episodes) combines the drama of the small town and her trying to fit in it with her extra efforts to help those few patients who are willing to see her instead of Brick, from the pregnant girl with the awful mother to Brick's own niece who hasn't told any of her family & friends in Bluebell that she has MS.  So I think I'll keep watching it, I've got to stick around at least until George breaks up with Lemon.  She really is awful.


But the name is ridiculous, so I'm just going to call it the new Rachel Bilson show.  At least for now.

Kacey makes apple cider...

Last weekend my family gathered in a barn in the country (at my aunt and uncle's house) and pressed apples into cider. Jamie was not present, as she lives a fair distance away and doesn't drive, but Sarah was there along with some aunts, a few uncles, my awesome cousins and pretty much the dopest grandparents ever. We rocked it.

As I helped chop apples and fill jugs with apple cider I couldn't help but wonder- "who does this?" In modern day American who sits in a barn for a few hours, with their extended and presses apples into cider. The Amish? Even more so, who does it and ENJOYS it? Okay, so yes there are probably others out there- but it's rare.

To get some perspective of my weekend activity my mind wonders to some of my favorite families and I wondered- would they?


The Huxtables:
There is one obvious reason this classic 80s family wouldn't be found in a country barn making cider: they live in the Bronx. However, they did have a small backyard and could see it as one of Cliff's crazy ideas that all the kids would grudgingly do. Then they would probably invite over some wise, old friend of theirs like a poet, musician or professor (from Hillman of course) and all the kids would listen respectfully as they told stories and made fun of Cliff. It would be awesome.

The Tanners:
Again here we have to problem of a city family. But, that aside, the Tanners would possibly plan a cider making day. However, it would be major drama. DJ would get mad at Stephanie and need a talk from Danny; Joey would just make some joke and annoy Uncle Jessie, and Michelle would just do something cute and be totally useless. Then cue the music... the dramatic reconciling... and then maybe some cider would be pressed.

The Foremans:
I was originally thinking that the Bradys would be a good choice to reflect on, but I honestly know very little about the Bradys and in terms of 70s era families I think the Foremans better represent. The apple cider making would probably never happen at the Foremans unless Kitty insisted. While Eric got in trouble from Red because he was being a dumbass, Fez and Hyde would concoct a plan to ferment the cider, and ultimately Kelso would cause the whole thing to fall apart. Then they would do that thing where they all sit in the circle...

The Bennets:
I not sure if cider making was something done in 19th century England, but I would imagine it was somewhere. However, Mrs. Bennet would probably NEVER allow her daughters to partake in such an activity unless they is resulted in one of them getting married. Not that would stop Elizabeth, who would probably enjoy something like that (and Jane would as well). Plus the house hold staff would probably do most of the work.

The Weasleys:
Yes they would make cider. But it would be done of course with magic after Mr. Weasley would have figured how to charm a muggle apple cider press. However I foresee something going wrong, maybe with some help from Fred and George, and ultimately they wouldn't get very far. (Important to note- apple cider pressing takes place in the fall and all the kids would be at Hogwarts anyway, so it depends on what sort of timeline were talking.)

Jamie is Elated that TV is back!

Nothing against my much-loved summer replacement shows, or my Netflix instant watch queue (yes, I have some opinions on that topic, but that is for another day), but I am loving the return of TV.  There is an abundance of crap on TV, but that just makes the stuff I take the time to view seem all the better.  The quality of what I watch varies, but it all entertains me, so here are my preliminary thoughts after a week of premieres.


Castle, Hawaii 5-0, & NCIS: There is a new sheriff in town.


Each of these shows lost a person in a position of power at the end of last season, Captain Montgomery was killed in a gun fight, Wo Fat killed the Governor, and the Sec-Nav had to step down after a scandal.  These people are all in positions of power that greatly impact the lead characters on the show and we saw right away in the premieres how the changes would impact things.  The new no-nonsense captain on Castle is in no mood to put up with her department's resident writer, no matter who his friends are, which should add for some quality conflict where we deal with the reality that there is no way a writer should in this position.  In Hawaii the Lieutenant Governor reinstated 5-0, but not with the same red-tape cutting abilities that they had previously.  We saw the new Sec-Nav at the end of last season, giving Tony a special assignment, but we saw a whole lot more of him in the NCIS premiere as we all pieced together the last few months along with DiNozzo.  A lot more happened on these shows to set up the season - Beckett lied about what she remembered as Castle hid the truth to protect her, Alex Mack, I mean, Larissa Olenik's character is actually (surprise!) working with Wo Fat (who killed off Victor Hess, so there go all my vampires battling in the sunlight comments), and we have new nemesis on NCIS (and Scott Wolf, who finally looks almost as old as he actually was when he played a high school student on Party of Five) - but I think the biggest adjustments for our characters will come because of these leadership changes.  They don't just have a new challenge this season, they will have to alter the way they go about taking them on, or work harder at keeping their real efforts from the boss.


How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, & Glee: They just keep making me laugh.


Drunk Marshall, Sheldon trying to figure out what Penny & Raj did, Barney & Robin's dance, Brittany, drunk Marshall, Amy's excitement about a sleepover with her bestie Penny, Howard & Raj making out via Skype, Leonard's attempt at cyber sex via Skype, Bernadette yelling at Raj but still being nice, the red chair, Marshall on the internet, Martin Short, Sue Sylvester, Emma thinking Kurt & Rachel were an item, Blaine & those red pants singing Tom Jones, & of course drunk naked Marshall. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  The premieres set up a great new season for all, and I even think Glee is back on track after an entertaining but scattered season 2. 


The New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, Ringer: New shows!


Last season Hawaii 5-0 was the only new show that I really got into, but I am giving 3 (so far, I do intend to check out the fairy tale show(s) as well) a try this year.  The New Girl was brilliant and by far the winner.  Zooey Deschanel & her supporting men have a great chemistry and I laughed at the entire show.  I hope they can keep it up.  2 Broke Girls had me laughing as well, although I am not sure if it's just Kat Dennings or if the show as a whole will be able to keep my interest for long, but regardless, I was entertained.  After the premiere of Ringer I was left a little uncertain.  I love Sarah Michelle Gellar, but I'm concerned about the soap opera gimmicky nature of her playing multiple rolls (no matter how well she does it).  That said, if they can play up the mystery elements with just the right level or drama, I will probably get hooked.  I haven't watched the second episode yet (The New Girl is going to win that battle on a weekly basis) and will reserve further judgment at least until I watch that.  There was a great deal of exposition in the pilot, so I feel viewing a "normal" episode is only fair. 


That's my review of premiere week.  This 8 day wait thing has started with Fox apparently, so we'll have to see how that works out (and if I cave and try out Hulu+), but regardless of how/when I watch it, I am glad that new TV is back!

Kacey is Alive...

Okay I am alive and feeling bad about letting this slip, especially after Jamie's awesome posts. I particularly enjoyed the last one about MSN's top boyfriends. Jamie is fully aware of my love of Pacey Witter so I agree and he should top any list. However, the list is truly generational and lets face it Jamie (I would type "Jam" as I usually shorten her name but then it just looks like jam) kids these days just don't know Dawson let alone old school 90210. But well written my lovely sister.

My summer was awesome and I did live in tipi for some of it (while I worked at summer camp- I don't just own a tipi that I decided to move into for a short amount of time).
Things to know about living in tipi: it's dirty, spiders and mice live with you, it's dirty, it's wet when it rains, if you leave the door rolled up don't be surprised to find deer inside, it's dirty, mosquitos will bit you and it's pretty much the most awesome thing ever. I recommend it.

So I think my next blog post will be about this upcoming weekend. Jamie, Sarah and I are taking place in some family bonding activities. Saturday is us, plus Bekha (like a sister), Alex (cousin) and maybe Meryl- Jamie's roommate- in Seattle having some bonding time. Then Sunday we're making cider with our extended family while celebrating some birthdays. Our family is always entertaining and stories will be sure to follow.

Next important business- things to look forward to this fall:

Kacey and Jamie talk fall TV (so far SOOO good)
Kacey tries teaching 26 kindergartners
Kacey watches all Harry Potter films in a weekend
Kacey lives at home (with mom and dad)
Kacey watching football (my mom calls me Cheryl is reference to the little girl in Remember the Titans)

Jamie Judges MSN's Best Boyfriend List

While perusing the MSN homepage, I came across their list of the best fictional high school boyfriends.  Needless to say that while they had a few gems in there (who doesn't love Seth Cohen), overall I was underwhelmed, and feeling a little old.  So I'm posting it here with my commentary, approval/disapproval, and of course my alternatives, most of which highlight my age.

1. Gossip Girl's Nate Archibald - I have to admit that I have only watched a couple episodes of this show and they were from the first season, so all I know about Nate is he cheated on Blair with Serena.  And he is their top choice?  Seriously???  I am using this as an opportunity to bring up the number one neglected person on this list, and that is Pacey Witter.  Hell, I would put Dawson Leary on this list above a lot of these guys, but I don't know how we are even having a conversation about high school boyfriends without Pacey Witter.  He bought Joey a wall.  A wall.  That's not even mentioning anything from his relationship with Andy.  If you need to recall all that is Pacey, please see this sweet tumblr dedicated to his awesomeness.
2. Twilght's Edward Cullen - Yeah, we all knew he would be on the list (and to the dismay of the Team Jacob folks, there was a total lack of wolf love on here), but if century+ old vampires count, then I'm totally substituting Angel here.  Not in high school you say, well, Buffy was in high school when they dated and that is at least as valid as Edward "in high school for the 80th time" Cullen, graduate already. 
3. High School Musical's Troy Bolton - I have no complaints about including a little Zefron love, but first, Link Larkin of Hairspray is the superior choice, and second, Troy Bolton has nothing on Danny Zucco, from the original high school musical, Grease.
4. 90210's (the new one) Dixon Wilson - I know nothing of this character, but I will give this guy points since the actor was on The Wire (see also one of the best shows ever created). I was never really a 90210 fan, but as far as sexy bad boys go, you really can't skip over Luke Perry, aka Dylan McKay.  I don't even know if Dixon is a bad boy, so we can also add Brendan.
5. Glee's Finn Hudson - Now here is a new show that I can talk about.  I have no real objection here, other than I would rather date Blaine.  But Finn is adorable, and a much better human being when dating Rachel.
6. Mean Girls' Aaron Samuels - I am again okay with this choice.  Is he top 10 material, probably not, but he's so dreamy and I could help him with his math. 
7. iCarly's Freddie Benson - I am too old to judge this, and I've never seen this show.  From the description given it seems this is a friend you don't notice in that way type.  I'm going to throw Xander in here, because he deserves some love.
8. Percy Jackson - This should be automatically disqualified because the film absolutely destroyed this story. Also, made Percy too old, and prevented sequels.  It's like they didn't want to make money.  So while Percy is pretty cool, he has nothing on Harry Potter, or one of the Weasley twins, or Oliver Wood.
9. Ramona & Beezus' Henry Huggins - I haven't seen this movie and I only vaguely recall this character from the few books of this world that I read.  So, let's see, substituting literary alternatives let's go with guys in John Green books.  Will, Quentin, Colin, Miles, Tobin. 
10. Jonas' Joe Lucas - I can't condone this no matter how adorable Joe Jonas may be.  I am going to use this as an opportunity to point out that Jake Ryan has been left off this list, and that is a tragedy.  So we are adding him here, right over the top of this Jonas brother.  You cannot neglect the type of guy who will get your underwear back from a geek.
11. True Jackson, VP's Jimmy Madigan - I don't know who this is, but I am going to put Better Off Dead's Lane Meyer here.  He's so dedicated, albeit to the wrong girl at the start, and just adorable.  Plus, he takes the (right) girl to a baseball stadium at the end of the film. 
12. The OC's Seth Cohen - I am still waiting for my Seth Cohen to stand on the coffee cart and declare his love. 
13. Gilmore Girls' Dean Forester - I have a little thing for Milo Ventimiglia, so I can see why Rory dumped Dean for Jess, but that said, early Gossip Girl Dean was such a nice guy.  Later, with the wife and the cheating, not so much, but since we are talking high school I have to give him mad points.
14. Degrassi's Sav Bhandari - I don't watch this show, so again, I'm going to find an alternative. Ah, yes, how about the men of Veronica Mars.  For ultimate boyfriend, you've got to go with Duncan, who will stick by you no matter what.  Well, unless he thinks you might be his sister, but I think that is totally legit.  Personally, I'm a Logan fan, but there are strong arguments to be made against him.  And of course, I don't think you would be at all disappointed to go with Wallace or Weevil. 
15. Bring it On's Cliff Pantone - I always liked Cliff, and I even like this movie, even though, well, to put it politely, I am not the biggest Kirsten Dunst fan.
16. 10 Things I Hate About You's Patrick Verona - Bad boy who is not actually that bad, portrayed by Heath Ledger, has a hot accent, likes smart sassy chicks, what is not to like.
17. Juno's Paulie Bleeker - Definitely Michael Cera's best boyfriend roll, and how can you not love Bleeker.  I'd want to put orange tic tacs in his mailbox too.
18. A Cinderella Story's Austin Ames - I have a weakness for Chad Michael Murray.  Not unlike my weakness for Milo Ventimiglia.  So I think that I liked this character, but I'm pretty sure that he was helped significantly by CMM.  Is that a thing, can we start calling him CMM, kinda like JTT.
19. Transformers' Sam Witwicky - I kind of like this selection, but I am a fan of the nerdy, funny types. 
20. She's the Man's Duke Orsino - I didn't see this.  Is he a bad boy?  I want to find a spot to throw in John Bender.  Cause you know you'd give him your diamond earring in the closet too.
21. A Walk to Remember's Landon Carter - I think this movie made me cry and I recall that he was an exceptional boyfriend.  But if we're going with Mandy Moore films, I like that cute kid in Saved, that dates Jenna Malone's character even though she's pregnant with her gay ex-boyfriend's baby.  That is a boy who is smitten.
22. The Princess Diaries' Michael Moscovitz - Well played.  Again, the whole high school limitation means that Chris Pine's character in the sequel is omitted, but this nerdy brother of the best friend choice is very well played by the creators of this list.
23. One Tree Hill's Nathan Scott - I assume Lucas was omitted because Chad Michael Murray is on here earlier, but I have to say Lucas over Nathan any day.

I am sure that like MSN I missed some quality fictional high school boyfriends, who did I miss?

Jamie Watches TV on the Internet - A Mini-Rant

I came across this article: "Fox Starts its Web Pullback and ABC Gets Ready to Follow" via Felicia Day's twitter (@feliciaday).  Not surprising to see the creator of an awesome web series (The Guild) taking an interest in this story, and I'm so glad that she posted it to her world of twitter followers because it gives me a chance to give you all my two cents on the topic.  So here is my open letter to cable networks.  I recognize that I could probably solve some of my own problems, but what the hell is the point of a blog if not to complain to strangers.  And I'm pretty nice about it.


Dear ABC, CBS Fox, & NBC:


Despite putting some awful crap on television, you each have some shows that I find thoroughly entertaining.  There are a good half a dozen (sometimes more) that I take the effort to watch each and every week.  However, I also have a life.  Contrary to what some may think, I don't sit on my couch every night so that I do not miss my favorite shows.  Alternatively, I can't always stay up long enough to watch the shows you put on at 10.  So I greatly appreciate that within the next day or so, I can pull up your website, see all your lovely ads and pop-ups, and stream the show when I have the time to watch it.  Thanks to my friend Krystal, I can even hook the computer up to the TV and watch it as you intended.  Then I'm not behind and should I find myself on the couch the next week at the time when the show is on, I can watch it.


This 8 day wait concept is ridiculous.  If I miss one week, then have to wait 8 days, I am never going to catch up.  I'm also not going to watch the show "live" again until there is some kind of hiatus, because I'll be behind.  I'll probably start watching something on another channel.  I'll see the commercials they are showing.  All because you couldn't get it together to put my show up online right away.


I don't have a DVR/Tivo, which would be a viable solution to this problem.  But you, of all people, should love me for that.  I have to watch the commercials you put online.  And I totally don't care that they are there.  I have watched TV for most of my life with commercials, I know how to tune out the inane and I even appreciate those that are well-crafted.  So please, keep putting those ads up for me to watch, because then I know that you are getting some money for my favorite shows. 


Speaking of credit and money for my favorite shows: linked in the article above is another article talking about how the creator of Modern Family doesn't even want his show online, because his show is not getting anything out of it.  I kind of knew this was the case, but how long do you have to be so behind the times?  When are you going to get it through your heads that ratings have got to include online views and DVR?  Who are these Nielsen people?  Did they kidnap your children?  (If so, I know some great TV detectives that could help you out) I kind of doubt they did, so let's just bring it back to me for a minute, I watch a lot of TV.  A lot.  But I watch so much of it online that sports and the ABC Family Harry Potter weekends when they air the extended scenes are pretty much the only reason I have cable.  I also know that I'm not alone.  And that the population of people who watch stuff online is only going to grow.  So figure it out already.  It's not rocket science.  It's not like you aren't easily able to track views online. 


You can embrace the changes that have already occurred, much like you have been before this ridiculous pullback crap, or you can lose.  Because if I miss a show too much, especially a newer show that I'm not as attached to yet, and I can't catch up online.  I'm not going to buy DVR, I'm going to lose interest, and just cancel you altogether.  And I'm going to stop watching.  Or worse.  I'm going to watch it illegally.  I don't want to do that, but the internet is clearly smarter than you.  And if you don't put it out there, with your revenue-generating ads, then I'm going to find it without.  I don't want to do that.  And you, the network, can't complain about it that much (not the way your shows should), I mean you're not even properly counting my view in the first place.


Good luck figuring this out,


Jamie
Who remains a fan of TV, despite what you have done to it with your Bachelor and Jersey Shore bs.

Jamie loves NPR... and Twitter

It's pledge week on my local NPR station. I've made my pledge and am getting my first ever NPR tumbler in a few weeks. I find pledge week a little trying, but I try not to complain too much, because if that is what is needed for NPR to keep on keeping on, it's a small price to pay. And I don't just mean because of all the great programming and news coverage, like the great story this morning on a hotly contested city council race that I am still undecided about. I need NPR so that I don't the majority of my news from Twitter.
For entertainment news, Twitter is the best. I can keep up on just the things I want to know, like when Wil Wheaton is going to be on The Big Bang Theory, that NPH is hosting the Tony's, or how Alison Hannigan is filming a new installment of the American Pie films. I used to read a lot of Pop Sugar, but I got so sick of Britney and Lindsay's meltdowns and anything to do with anyone famous because of a reality TV show. Thankfully the only time I hear about the Kardashians (I hope I spelled that wrong) on Twitter is when they help out the No H8 campaign, and I am in favor of hearing about anyone helping there. So for pop culture info, I love my Twitter feed. And some news is okay, especially political tidbits from Nate Silver or WA Dems. But getting all my information there would, to me, be sad. So I am grateful for NPR. Watching the news on TV is out. The local news is depressing or ridiculous, and cable news is a frustrating joke. With the exception of The News Hour, national nightly news lacks the breadth I get from NPR in the morning, especially when I take a really long time to get out of bed. I skim headlines in the Seattle Times, but one more stupid editorial or endorsement (no on the $$ for metro??? Really Seattle Times? Do you hate me?) is going to push me over the edge (or maybe that last one already did). And I only use my 20 free NY Times articles for 538 and the occasional Op Ed or major news story. I guess I could pay for that, but I'd rather give the money to NPR. Partially because I think it's better, but mostly because I am a little lazy, and I am in favor of getting information while still lying in bed. Plus,if I'm half asleep it can lead to some highly unusual dreams, the story about narwhals was good for that, or mass confusion, like when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, or the time that Ke$ha was on NPR (seriously, look it up).
The only place I am coming up short with this combination of Twitter (for entertainment) and NPR (for everything important) is sports, but that's okay, there's an app for that.

Summer Hiatus - Jamie's Excuses

You may have noticed a complete and utter lack of posts this summer.  And now, Kacey is done with school for the quarter and you'd think that would mean more time and more posts.  But instead she is in an internetless teepee on a secluded island.  So what is my excuse, you ask?  I don't have anything good like an island with limited connectivity, but here is a list of what I have been doing instead of writing blog entries this summer. Think of this as a mid-summer "how I spent my summer blog-cation" type of post:

• Watching all 24 episodes of the IT Crowd.  This takes a lot of focus, especially when watching at the gym.  It is very easy to laugh so hard you lose your balance and nearly fall off the elliptical or treadmill.  Watch it, but please use caution. 
• Watching summer replacement shows.  Rizzoli & Isles being the best, but I also love The Closer and Franklin & Bash.  Wishing I was caught up on Eureka so I could be watching that as well, but it'll have to wait.
• Attempting to watch Twin Peaks with Meryl, but I don't know how far we are going to make it.  I want to know who killed Laura Palmer (without googling it), but I'm not sure how many more dancing midgets in red suits I can handle.
• Staying up way past my admittedly early bedtime for the first Pottermore clue so that I could track down the magical quill to see if I am indeed magical.  As I suspected, I am, and in a few weeks I will be perusing Pottermore during the beta period.  I can't properly express how unbelievably happy this has made me. You have a few days left to catch the remaining clues and see if you're magical. 
• Reading!  (I feel the need to emphasize that while I spend a great deal of time watching TV, it is not the only thing I do).  I re-read Harry Potter and that kicked off a reading frenzy where I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Midnighters series, Fire, Gift from the Sea, The Good Year, and A Great and Terrible Beauty.  Oh, and the 2nd volume of the Walking Dead and the 8th and final volume of the Buffy season 8 comic (can't wait for season 9).  So, yeah, see, I do more than just watch TV.
• Cleaning a deck with gross disgusting chemicals (I will never undo the damage I did to the environment, but it was not my decision to use them, and I am really sorry about it), staining that deck, and panting the rail on another deck.  These are quality family bonding activities and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
• Telling everyone else to be patient and quit whining because summer would eventually show up, with less and less certainty with every passing day.  This week I finally feel like I might be right.  Better late than never.  And if it sticks around Meryl says we may actually get tomatoes.
• Having my hopes raised and then crushed by the Mariners.

So that, along with an insanely busy work schedule and an uber-nerdy adventure in Florida (Leaky Con) are my excuses as to why there has been a complete lack of posts. 

Kacey's Talks Teaching

I am currently in school to get my elementary school teaching certification (I've decided to save the world one young mind at a time). In my experience I have been able spend a great deal of time hanging out in kindergarten (mostly by chose!) And I now know this:

Kindergarten is awesome. Where else can you have serious discussions about escaped gingerbread men, consider the possibility of sand coming from play-doh and rainbows and learn to read all within one day. And kindergartners make create some of the most entertaining quotes and stories... so stay tuned, because come fall I embark on my internship into a kindergarten classroom.

Here are a few gems I've recently picked up:

Student 1: "Where is the Grand Canyon?"

Student 2: "I know where it is! The Grand Canyon is in Narnia."

Girl Student: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Boy Student: "A Unicorn Owner"

Jamie & Kacey Review Season Finales & Predict Next Year's TV

Wow, May was pathetic. Instead of writing any blogs in May, we were watching TV, so it would seem only appropriate that our first (of more than one) June blog entry would be a recap of those season finales (SPOILERS included) and our predictions for next season. Our favorites that we both watch are How I Met Your Mother, Castle, NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, & Glee.

HIMYM: First of all, totally called it as soon as Lily started puking. I win. There are no witnesses, but I just want to be on the record here. Now, about Barney getting married. We saw his face when he saw Nora, we saw Robin's face. Who will it be? Being as this show just got picked up for a few more seasons I am going with Nora, but the wedding never happens as we have some kind of Ross/Emily/Rachel friends scenario. Barney can accidentally say Robin, she can interrupt it, doesn't matter. No way Barney gets married to not Robin. Unless he is getting married to himself. I am imagining that episode now... so funny.
Kacey's Comment:I'm pretty much on par with Jamie's thoughts. I think the Rachel/Ross/Emily scenario is most likely. The only other thought I had was that Barney getting married before Ted is going to be an issue for Ted, so I'm curious to find out how far into the future the wedding is.

Castle: OMFG. I can't even handle it. I was a wreck during the whole finale, even though I was sure weeks before that the Captain was going to be the one to bite it. And I called that he was "Cop #3" as soon as they put that on the white board. Despite my certainty, it was still intense and emotional and awesome. And then the end, and Beckett, and Castle said, and... I am pretty sure that cliffhangers like that are considered torture if you're going by the Geneva Conventions (the CIA would probably call it enhanced interrogation, and for the record, I would spill all my secrets and start making some up for a glimpse that the premiere). That said, I am confident they will not kill Beckett, and almost as confident that she will not have heard Castle drop the l-bomb. Cause, you know, they gotta keep taunting us somehow. Side note, Ryan & Esposito have gotten more and more awesome each season (each episode even) and this week they were both brilliant.
Kacey's Comment: All I have to say is that if they kill off Beckett I'll be torn between refusing to watch and my love for Nathan Fillion. But they won't, they just won't.

NCIS: So that was pretty intense. My only criticism is that it is not as intense as last season. And now, who is Tony investigating. My first and obvious thought is EJ, I mean what the hell did she take out of the dead guy's wrist. And it wouldn't be the first time Tony's love life got complicated, but then again, it would be very NCIS to throw us for a loop. If it's one of our favorites, then I am guessing that Tony will of course discover that this new Sec-Nav is wrong and the whole thing will be a big complicated mystery for our team to solve. Or maybe it's Ray, that would certainly complicate things, but they did say it was a Navy person, right? Guess I'll just have to watch next season. Oh, wait, I was planning on doing that anyway. And McGee... timing is everything dude, and you did not have it, but I still love you (and so does Abby).
Kacey's Comment: I hope it's EJ and she's bad because I don't like her. But more likely it's what Jamie said- just a complicated mysetery. I had another theory that it's the big guy that is Abby's friend but they'll keep it a mysetery for a little while.

Big Bang Theory, or really, Sheldon & Friends: Hilarious. Seriously, this show just cracks me up. And the end was perfect, with core group in a slightly disheveled state, staring awkwardly at each other. I am not sure where they are going to go with Priya. Will she really leave? I must say that even though I do not like her (and I don't really think we're "supposed to," whatever that means), she has served her purpose well. The other women on the show have bonded more (Penny, Amy, and Bernadette hanging out together is amazing), and relations between the guys have clearly been shaken with her & Leonard's relationship. At this point, she's made an impression, so I say we can all move on. But I'm okay with whatever as long as we get to keep Amy. If she was on a little more I would refer to the show as Sheldon & Amy. I might do that anyway.

Glee: On a scale of 1-10, I would give the episode as a whole a 6.75, I would give the ending a 10, and I would give Rachel & Kurt singing For Good on the Wicked stage a 12 million. Seriously, I cannot listen to that song without a few tears, and those two singing it was beautiful. Should they be cast as the two leads, I would watch that. Kurt would be a fabulous Galinda. Plus, what a great song choice to

really capture the relationships between glee clubbers over the last two seasons. There is a little hesitation to accept the impact the other person has as first, there is some apologizing, and then finally "I do believe I have been changed for the better, because I knew you, I have been changed for good." Okay, done with my sappy over-analysis for the moment. The hype for New York was too big and I found it lacking a little. And Mr. Schu deciding to just change his mind was a little quick. Although I never bought that he even wanted to go that bad, so I guess it all works out. Also, Johnathan Groff is gorgeous and amazingly talented, but I am so over Jesse St. James. If they just want to have him sing (when he sang the Adele song with Rachel during the Prom episode, I think I may have gasped a little), that's fine, but his character is a douche and I kind of want to punch him in the face, or just hope that Finn does. Why the end was the best: 1) Blaine and Kurt. Like I need to say anything else about that. 2) Mercedes and Sam! Love it! 3) Hello Rachel, you are in high school, it's not like you and Finn are getting married next week. I'm so glad we can just move forward with them, I like Finn better when he's with Rachel, he is a loser when he dates Quinn, and I like her better when she's not focused on getting him and being queen of whatever. 4) Brittney had a brilliant line (anxiously awaiting to find out if Mike & Tina's babies are Asian too) and yet was sweet and profound. 5) I like that Glee doesn't feel the need to leave us with big cliffhangers over the summer (and I couldn't take it after Castle anyhow). We have all the drama within the season and then get a nice little ending. Much like the show overall, it's not perfect, but you still feel happy about things and even about 12th place.
Kacey's Comments:I might rate it a little higher- maybe like a 7.5.
New York build up was lacking a little- I was ready for a New York musical number at the very beginning... but then had to wait about 10 minutes in, which was awesome!
I had no idea what Mr. Shu was singing (maybe it was from his own album?) but I didn't really like it.I also really liked the Britney, Quinn and Santana scene in the hotel room. I was glad they didn't draw out the Quin drama. Because sometimes I really do WANT to like Quinn.
And when Mr. Shu stays- I loved that Puck was the first to hug him. But I always love Puck.

Kacey Reveals “How I Met Your Mother” Must Know References

I love the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (or “HIMYM” as it will be referred to from this point on). When I was thinking about writing this blog I was trying to figure out how to describe why I love it so much. Besides its comic awesomeness and just overall awesomeness (yeah it’s pretty awesome) one of the things I love about it most is that it can be referenced almost daily, in all situations, and well, it should be. We three sisters have compiled a list of the awesomeness of HIMYM and the references we use often.

The first 10 are probably most commonly used amongst our sister speak and the second 10 are because we couldn’t really keep the list to just 10. (Truth be told the list could have been longer)

Legendary
Lawyered
Suit Up (or something else "up")
Major Problem, General Idea, etc
Woo Girls
Intervention
I'm too old for this stuff (Murtaugh List)
Pineapples
Challenge accepted
Bro Code


Slap bets
Oh Honey
Pants, Pants, Pants
Red Cowboy boots- “Pulling-them-off”
Slapsgiving
Going to the Mall.
Have you met...
Drunk or Kid…
Graduation Goggles
But-um

Kacey Wraps Up Alias

I so love Jamie’s Sark/Spike comparison. Arguably two of the hottest/coolest TV villains of all time.

So I finished Alias… just a few things I wanted to make known:

WARNING CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS:

I knew Vaughn wasn’t dead. No one really dies until the very end on Alias. Even then the writers couldn’t totally kill off Sloane. But then again death was too good for him.

Jamie comments: I totally thought he was dead, but only because I am pretty sure that Jennifer Garner was actually pregnant with Ben Affleck's baby at the time.  And I knew that Jennifer Garner & Michael Vartan had dated during earlier seasons of Alias, and I was thinking, it would kind of make sense to have him leave because playing the father of the child that she is actually having with her new man... well, that could be awkward.  But clearly, they are both professionals. Or maybe I have the timelines messed up.  Who knows.

I had reservations about new characters in the 5^th season, but ended up liking all of them. And as Jamie reminds us- Rachel does get the best lines regarding Sark.

Plus more badass chicks- Rachel, Renee, Peyton (even though she’s evil)

Jamie comments: I like Rachel because she helps us come back to Syd at the beginning, having no idea that she is not actually working for the CIA and then having to deal with that.  I like Amy Acker in general (Come on, who doesn't love Fred on Angel), and Peyton is an excellent addition to the dark side. 

HOWEVER- I’m not sure what the point was of having story about Thomas Grace and his dead wife, until, I guess, he got to be the hero at the end. That was sad.

Jamie comments: I liked how the character of Tom showed us a different path for someone who loses a loved one due to their job.  We've only seen Syd, so this darker, sadder take was interesting.

I never did trust Irina. She is a bad mommy.

Jack became one of my favorite characters in the 5^th season. I loved when he said “this is personal for me too” (or something similar) in regards to finding out who “killed” Vaughn. And I cried when he died (but who didn’t).

I was beginning to get angry when Sark didn’t reappear for a while… but then there he was and all was right in the world.

Jamie comments: I love him.  I also love Weiss (proving that it is possible to like both bad boys and nice guys) and wish there was more of him. 

What happened to Quentin Tarantino’s character? That was some first class acting. He reappeared once and then disappeared again. Was he working for Prophet 5?

Other awesome guest start that I forgot to note in my prior post:

Ricky Gervais- I think the first serious role I’ve ever seen him in.

Jason Segel- Because of my love for Jason Segel, it only made me love Alias more.

All in all I really liked the ending, It left me with that- “spies are everywhere and you never know who is watching you” sort of feeling.

COMING SOON

How I Met Your Mother Must Know References

Jamie's Top 5 ways Sark is like Spike

Now that Kacey has finished Alias, here it is, the top 5 ways in which Sark (Alias) is like Spike (Buffy).  I spent some time thinking about this because, well, these two deviants are among my favorite television characters of all time.  There are some Buffy season 6 issues that complicate some of this as tortured, in love with Buffy, but still doesn’t have a soul Spike is complex… to say the least.  (minor spoilers in the list, significant spoilers in the last paragraph)

1) Blonde. Thanks to a weekly dye job for Spike (or Captain Peroxide as he as been called), both are blonde.

2) Neither actor is actually British. Seriously. I was surprised too.  Especially since David Anders (Sark) is also British in his role as Adam on Heroes.

3) Flexible Loyalties. In other words, they are survivors. Sark flat out says that his loyalties are flexible. He is constantly changing sides to save his own ass and come out on the winning side.  Plus, I think he gets bored and just likes to change things up.  While Spike is very loyal to his lady love of the moment, after that he is certainly all about survival. If he needs to team up with the slayer to make sure Angel doesn't end the world or steal Dru, he has no problem with that.

4) They like to cuddle. Arguably the best line in all of Alias (at least as far as lines not said by Marshall), definitely of season 5, when Rachel makes clear, just in case she dies, that it was Sark who wanted to cuddle after their ill advised but very hot one night stand. And come on, we know that Spike is a cuddler. Between the poetry and his manly admission that he is love’s bitch, he is clearly not opposed to some serious cuddle time.

5) Respects the skills of their female nemesis. They often belittle their male nemeses, but seem to prepare more for the ladies, who can kick their asses. This probably says more about the creators/writers of these shows (than the characters themselves) that one characteristic of their most beloved villains is that they never underestimate the skills of their opponent just because she is female. Evil, selfish, sadistic, yes.  But they are practically feminists. 

Both of these shows are so wonderfully done, and have such brilliant, badass leads that it makes me appreciate even more the complexity of their nemeses.  And unlike some (many?), I love the end of both of these shows.  Now, the penultimate seasons of each show can be a little challenging to stick with, but I think it’s worth it to make it to the last season and their respective finales.  Sydney lives happily ever after, and Buffy, well, she lives on to fight another day.  [Coming soon: a look at the Buffy Season 8 Comic because the story there is too awesome to end.]

Kacey Responds To Jamie Re: Twitter To Follow

Jamie,

While you covered most of my favorites- @maureenjohnson, @wilw, @Lord_Voldemort7, @NathanFillion, @ConanOBrien, and @sesamestreet there are few others that I thoroughly enjoy.

@rainnwilson- he cracks me up... and is a little twisted at times. All in all- good fun!

@TheEllenShow- I love her random tweets with funny pictures.

@ActuallyNPH- Often very funny... and I just love him- plus cute pictures of babies!

@S_SylvesterGLEE- its really a continuation of the hysterical things that Sue says on Glee.

@StephenAtHome- it's Colbert... it's awesome...

Jamie's Twitter Recommendations

We have a number of blog posts in the works, but it's been a while and I think it's bad form to go too long between posts.  So I was trying to come up with something quick, but fun... and what better fits that than something related to Twitter.  I may also be doing this to suggest that Sarah get a Twitter account.  Mostly because I think she would be hilarious.  So, here are my top 10 favorite people to follow on Twitter:


1) @maureenjohnson - I'm just going to call her the queen of twitter.  While there are many whose followers far exceed hers, there is no one with more committment to this particular form of social media.  Maureen is an author (young adult fiction to be precise) who is funny, random, and somewhate unstable, but in a loveable way.  Follow her, she'll put your essence in a jar and care for it until the end of time, or maybe even longer.


2) @wilw - Since we're calling Maureen the queen of twitter, then Wil Wheaton is to be dubbed the king of the nerds.  Highlights of his twitter posts are when he relays random conversations or his pets' thoughts, and I am personally a fan of his frustrated sports fan viewing posts. 


3) @Lord_Voldemort7 - Kacey actually just suggested this to me and I can't believe I hadn't always been following the Dark Lord.  This feed is so funny that I might switch sides.  Just kidding.  But maybe.


4) @ConanOBrien - Always good for one quality post a day.  He is especially good if you prefer to follow people who do not tweet excessively.


5) @NathanFillion - I don't know if it's that he is exceptionally skilled at this (any more than a number of other actors I follow), but he is consistently entertaining and come on, don't you want to know what this ruggedly handsome actor is doing.  All the time.


6) @minheeshock - Someone I actually know and would recommend following for all her random political, pop cultural, and other posts and thoughts.  If you are a french dip fan like me, you may also want to check out her dedicated french dip twitter account, @FrenchDipSEA.  Yes, she has a dedicated french dip twitter account.  Let's just say we understand each other.


7) @Pres_Bartlet - You really should follow the real President too, but whoever runs this President Bartlet account does an excellent job.  They have the voice down brilliantly, you can hear Martin Sheen saying these words.  Warning, the volume is a little high.


8) @billprady - This is really just for Big Bang Theory fans like me, but if you love Sheldon & friends, then you'll want to follow show co-creator Bill Prady. 


9) @sesamestreet - Don't you want to know what Big Bird, Grover, Elmo, Abby, Bert, Ernie, and all the other Sesame Street characters are up to?  You know you do.


10) @thatkevinsmith - I would recommend making a seperate list for Kevin Smith because he can, well, dominate your feed.  He is precisely what the "list" function was made for, and I suggest using it accordingly.  You can even do what I did and add all the various other Smodcast family folks to the list.


Okay Kacey, you're up, who are your favorite people to follow on Twitter. 

Jamie Goes to The Triple Door for Nerds & Music

The Triple Door is my favorite venue for live music.  It's just so... well, cool.  And classy, it's definitely classy.  It's best if you sip martinis or order from the overwhelmingly large wine list while you watch the show.  So when I saw that a show titled "Nerds & Music" would be playing there, well, I couldn't help but be amused.  And of course, I had to buy tickets.  I am big fan of what I am going to call nerd rock.  I don't mean to imply that I coined this term as I'm pretty sure that I got it from a blog or an article or a video somewhere, but I'm going to go with it.  Nerd rock, for my purposes, is music that covers any kind of nerdy or pop culture topic.  Like Star Trek, Pirates, Harry Potter, or Robots.  My love of this genre (yeah, I'm calling it a genre and I suggest you all check it out) combined with my love of the Triple Door meant this show was for me.  Also, it started at 7:30, which meant I could get my roommate to come with me, and we could make it through the entire show.

Other than the removal of the salt and pepper calamari from the happy hour menu (which is a tragedy!) before the show, the evening did not disappoint.  The lineup included Mike Phirman, Hank Green, & Paul and Storm.  I had heard a little of Mike Phirman from his performance on the Nerdist podcast.  In addition to performing solo, he is part of the musical comedy duo, Hard N Phirm with Nerdist podcast host Chris Hardwick - these days a nerd extraordinaire even though people my age more likely remember him as the host of Mtv's Singled Out, back when the non-music video time on Mtv stood out.  On his own Mike Phirman does a little stand-up and plays some hilarious songs.  His use of the looping machine as well as his eloquent song titled Chicken, Monkey Duck were inspired.  
After Mike came Hank Green.  And a lot of cheers.  The audience was full of nerdfighters.  What's a nerdfighter you say?  Well, technically a nerdfighter is someone who, instead of being made of bones and guts and blood and such is actually made of awesome, and they seek to decrease world suck.  Also, they watch videos made by Hank & his brother John, aka the vlogbrothers, on YouTube.  Anyhow, as I was saying there were a plethora of nerdfighters, all of whom were quite excited to see Hank play.  Hank was... nervous.  He even took off his shoe to shake out a fear bubble.  But he powered through admirably (and quickly) and played a number of my favorite of his songs including Book Eight (about Harry Potter), What Would Captain Picard Do? (Star Trek), This isn't Hogwarts (Harry Potter), and various other songs, a number of which were also about Harry Potter. 
Finally, it was time for Paul & Storm.  I have seen Paul & Storm only one other time, which was at Wootstock last May.  Wootstock is a sort of nerd festival put together by Paul & Storm, Wil Wheaton, & Adam Savage, with music & stories and mythbusting.  For my overall review, I will say that these guys are not only musically talented, but also very, very funny.  I know that musical comedy is not for everyone, but I firmly believe that they could make anyone laugh at some point in their show.  There are two things, however, that I want to highlight, so you are prepared in the event that you have the opportunity to see them.  First, the cover band jokes.  Throughout their set you will hear the following joke.  One of them will say something (doesn't matter what), and the other will follow with, "that" (thing they just said) is the name of the ________ cover band.  Example, S: "blah, blah, blah savoring the awkward", P: "Savoring the awkward is the name of my Hank Green cover band."  It's a bit of an inside joke, but the kind of inside joke that you get by the first of second time they do it, and by the 10th time that night, you will be coming up with them on your own.  The other thing to know about a Paul & Storm performance is that when they get to their last song, which is about pirates, you should probably order another drink.  This will last at least 20 minutes.  On a good night it can go on for 40+.  The song itself is maybe two and half minutes, but with commentary and the audience participation and additional cover band jokes, well... you should just sit back and enjoy the show.  All of their songs are entertaining, but the Captain's Wife's Lament is definitely the highlight.
So that was my evening of nerds and music, which, for lack of a better term was nerdtastic.

Kacey Watches Alias

For someone who doesn’t have cable I watch a quite a bit of television- mostly thanks to the internet and Netflix. My viewing choices are widely varied, but all totally awesome. I have a particular love for anything JJ Abrams- I only recently learned Felicity was JJ produced and I totally watched that; I watched Lost religiously through the end and currently look forward to the wackiness of Fringe each Friday (well usually Saturday because I have to wait until it gets posted online), however it wasn’t until rather recently did I decide to watch Alias after Jamie watched it and communicated how incredibly awesome she thought it was. So I began about a month ago to watch it. I actually spent most of my Spring Break not even waiting for the disk to arrive in the mail, but instead finding sources online to watch it. I now have one more disk in season 4 left.

So this is where I’m at: CAUTION MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Sydney might be one of the most famous badass female characters of all time- definitely up there next Buffy.

Rambaldi: The Rambaldi stuff is the reminder that Alias is not only an awesome spy show but, as Jamie put it, a reminder that it is a JJ Abrams creation. It’s weird, you’re never quite sure what the “endgame” is, and it just gets more confusing each week.

Where is Sark? Jamie has this whole idea that I will let her explain to you that Sark is like Spike from Buffy. But since he escaped (again) I have yet to see him… Where is he? (He’s my favorite bad guy)

I knew Irina wasn’t dead- sort of like a soap opera, it seems you never really die on Alias.

Sloane=Ben Linus:

• You never really know when to believe him because it seems he ALWAYS has a hidden agenda.
• Sloane believes in the Rambadli blindly much like Ben believed in the island.
• They both had weaknesses for their daughters.
• Both very creepy and even when they seem good I still kind of hate them. 
• Just when you think you’ve got him figured out, he does something to confuse you.

I love Marshall.

I miss Will, (well a little bit just Bradley Cooper in general) but can appreciate that the complication of Sydney having civilian friends could only go one for so long, even Buffy had to tell her mom after a while that she was the Slayer.

FINALLY: I have to admit I have become a little paranoid. CIA spies could exist anywhere and most people would never know it. I find myself walking down the street and wondering if people are really who they say they are. I probably shouldn’t be writing about this or think about it too much if I don’t want to end up like Will. So please disregard- I don’t think CIA has hidden agents everywhere….

An Official Introduction

Greetings and Salutations


As the title of this page and the sidebar imply, we are 3 sisters.  And this is our blog.  Kacey wanted to call it 3 sisters discuss movies and TV and books and other important things, or something along those lines, but she has been convinced that may be a little long. 
For our first post we complied a list of things we feel are vitally important to knowing and understanding about us and wanted to share it with all those who are eagerly awaiting to read it.


1) If _____ was a character in Harry Potter she would be:

Jamie - Hermione because of her cleverness and highly logicalness… and she likes to go to the library.

Kacey - Mrs. Weasley, she takes care of everyone but is still a total badass

Sarah - She would have the wittiness and entertainment value of the Weasley twins, but the feistiness of Ginny.
2) If _____ was a How I Met Your Mother character she would be:

Jamie -  Marshall- she can lawyer you with her smarts and she is eagerly looking forward to carving a turkey with a lightsaber… well actually it will probably just be safer if she watches

Kacey - Lily, because she's a teacher and she loves Marshall

Sarah - Robin, sometimes she's a Woo Girl and sometimes a little goofy (and the only sister to have ever shot a gun), but overall totally awesome.
3) If _____ was a movie genre she would be:

Jamie - Musical… she has a soundtrack for everything and if she had any singing ability she would sing everything instead of say it.

Kacey - Children/Family drama, the kind where you cry because you're so happy.

Sarah - Action comedy
4) If _____ was a drink she would be:

Jamie - Wine, because it gets better with age and because she drinks a lot of it
Kacey - Anything with one of those little umbrellas in it

Sarah - Jagermeister, she can mix it, bomb it, and shoot it.
5) If _____ was a movie the song that played in the trailer would be:

Jamie - Take Me Out to the Ball Game… or some other sports pump up song like Zombie Nation.

Kacey - Don't Rain On My Parade

Sarah - Reggae Music
6) If _____ was a crayon color she would be:

Jamie - Ocean Blue….or sand color… something beachy.

Kacey - Pink

Sarah - Bright orange or yellow 
7) Which That 70s Show Character would she date?

Jamie - Eric Forman….definitely Forman

Kacey - Hyde

Sarah - Kelso
8) If _____ was a Buffy character she would be:

Jamie - Giles…and not just because she’s the oldest, but because she kind of a nerd who is actually totally awesome and will kick your ass. And she does take care of us.

Kacey - Cordelia once she moved to L.A. and got the visions

Sarah - Buffy, she's a badass who just wants to save the world
9) If _____ was a Muppet she would be:

Jamie - Scooter

Kacey - Miss Piggy, for the style alone.

Sarah - Statler & Waldorf, she's funny and would totally go see Fozzie's Ma at Christmas
10) If _____ was a cartoon character from our childhood she would be:

Jamie - Rainbow Bright

Kacey - Elmer Fudd

Sarah - Launchpad
11) If _____ was a Disney female lead she would be:

Jamie - Anastasia. She can totally take care of herself. And plus- John Cusack

Kacey - Belle, she loves books, appreciates inner beauty and could definitely handle talking cutlery and furniture

Sarah - Meg, again with the feisty.
12) If _____ was a food she would be:

Jamie - Anything you can put on a BBQ…. she is a master griller.
Kacey - Meatloaf

Sarah - Spicy Mexican, or more likely just bean, cheese, and a tortilla
13) Her superpower would be:

Jamie - reading at lightning speed and retaining tons of information… and picking the slowest line at the supermarket.

Kacey - Teaching anyone in the world to do anything.  And probably making them obey her.  But she'd totally use that power for good.  Mostly.

Sarah - Bringing people together to "love each other"
14) On Captain Planet _____ would be:

Jamie - Linka- no-nonsense, take charge kind of lady and wind

Kacey - Earth

Sarah - Ma-Ti, big heart and can talk to animals
15) Her job on Firefly would be:

Jamie - Can she be Beckett on Firefly? Does that work?

Kacey - the mechanic as Serenity would certainly talk to her and she would rock that pink dress

Sarah - the muscle, she would get stuff done. Jayne would fear her.
16) If _____ was on Lost she would be:

Jamie - Charlotte

Kacey - Penny

Sarah - Miles or Saeed
17) If _____ was on Glee she would be:

Jamie - Blaine with a little of Ms. Pillsbury's OCD

Kacey - Kurt or Mercedes

Sarah - The Beast or Puck