Doctor Who Christmas specials and forced family bonding....KE

First let’s talk about this and how disappointed I am that we will not be together for it….Sherlock!

http://www.wirewax.com/sherlock

So freaking excited. Did you look at the interactive trailer?

Things we will be together for- Doctor Who Christmas…. Then we can hold each other and cry.

Three more nights here in the desert before I get on a plane to go home for the holidays. I was thinking the other day that even with some Christmas decorations up in stores (even though this is a Muslim country, so many things are catered for Westerners) it doesn’t really feel like the holidays in the hot, dry desert. However, I was thinking about how Christmas is partly about the birth of Jesus (I say partly because of the all the Pagan traditions and changing when Jesus’ birthday to match Pagan traditions) and yet I am closer here to where Jesus was actually born than at home. Strange, huh? Christmas started here in the desert. (These are the things I think about )

I’m a bit behind on TV this week… I had Parent Teacher Conferences, and shopping and Christmas gatherings, and sitting on the beach before coming home to the very cold! It’s been a busy few days.

We have many things to do when I get home though… some Supernatural watching… ranking all How I Met Your Mother episodes… baking… playing Catan… Christmas tree getting and decorating… watching Muppet Family Christmas… Love Actually drinking game… Football watching (the real kind)…(these things are in no particular order). Am I missing anything? Forced family bonding at it’s best!

Oh and we can watch the Doctor Who Christmas from 2010 that we both somehow missed. (Well I've already watched now and you might have too...but we can watch it again- together). Not sure how we missed it- I mean Dumbledore is it! I guess when it's not on Netflix and maybe it was a time when BBC America wasn't showing Doctor Who Christmas specials at Christmas.

That's all for now...Keeping things short-ish- because we will be together soon!

After Sarah sits out a turn she then has to decide how to get passed the mermaids without a getting into another altercation. Turn to page 43 if she should decide to use transfiguration  to change into a shark. Turn to page 25 if she should eat gillyweed to breath underwater.

One Week - JE

First and foremost, Men at Work returns January 15th.  I just saw this preview on TBS and I wanted you to know as soon as I knew.  Cause that show cracks me up.

You are going to be here in ONE WEEK!  I mean a week from right now we will be partying in the ham.  Like we do.  Which means we'll be at a party with our parents trying not to fall asleep.  You'll have the excuse of jet lag, whereas I just can't hack it on Friday nights.  Which is why I am in my Santa pjs at home right now.  I pulled out the Christmas boxes today, but that is as far as I got tonight.  Mostly I needed them so that I could put in a Christmas movie in a little bit.  All my Christmas movies (most of which are on VHS) are in the Christmas boxes.  But that is later.  First, we need to review today.

I know we've already discussed this a bit, but today was an epic day for Seattle sports.  As we gear up for the big game on Sunday (when our Seahawks head down to the Bay Area to take on the 49ers), our other favorite sports teams made some major moves.  First off the Huskies hired (now former) Boise St coach Chris Petersen.  In Petersen's tenure at Boise St, the Broncos are 92-12.  Say what you will about their schedule, but that is damn impressive.  And they play on that ridiculous blue field.  Think of what he can do on a regular field.  I think things are looking up on Lake Washington, and I think when Sark brings his Trojans back up here, we're gonna kick his ass.  That's right, I said it.  

Not to be outdone, the Mariners dropped 240 million on Jay Z's client, Robinson Cano (pending physical and all that technical stuff).  Yes, that Robinson Cano, the one who used to play 2nd base for the NY Yankees and wanted a 10 year contract that they were unwilling to offer (their 175 million over 7 years was actually more per year).  It is an obscene amount of money.  Whoever signed Cano was going to pay crazy amounts of money, that was a given.  That is the level of player that he has been and that is the way things go in the MLB these days.  In the long run, it may or may not be the best investment.  But the Mariners have been relatively inactive in off-season deals for far too long.  They needed to make a big move to put someone in their offense that the other team fears.  That will protect the rest of the lineup and make the team stronger as a whole.  They are a few moves away from where we want them to be, but this is a big step that shows us that the ownership and Jack Z are serious about moving this team forward.  They are telling King Felix that they appreciate his commitment to this city and this team and they are willing to pony up to get some offense.  And I feel the need to insert one more time that this is an insane amount of money and I hope that Cano will prove to worth a good portion of it.  Also, I hope he is a team player when it comes to the 2014 commercials.  We'll be watching.  

To answer the question you just asked me in an e-mail, I was aware that Downton was already happening and assumed you knew and just hadn't chosen to watch it yet.  It does not air in the U.S. until 2014.  Early though, I think it starts right after the new year.  And then Sherlock starts her a couple weeks later.  I am not super excited about Downton (although I'll definitely watch it), but I CANNOT wait for Sherlock.  Also, for Teen Wolf.  Have you seen the crazy Teen Wolf teaser trailers?  It's going to be so crazy and awesome.  I'm pretty excited about it.

I am fairly confident that there were some other things to bring up, but the sports news of the day has trumped all other things.  Except for the fact that you are coming home in 1 week and I am super excited! 

Sarah gets into a fight with some mermaids and is temporarily out of commission.  Her turn is skipped.

I finally started Newsroom and too many HIMYM spoilers...KE

So last week I was inspired to watch Thanksgiving episodes of West Wing and then decided it was time to start The Newsroom. I am now almost finished with the 2 seasons of Newsroom and I have decided I actually have a love-hate relationship with all things Sorkin (Aaron Sorkin). I love everything he does, but I hate how he can make me feel all the things… and I usually end up crying… for good reasons, but still. There is only so much emotion a girl can handle, especially around the holidays when I am watching a large amount of Christmas movies anyways which also make me feel lots of things.  I might have to follow up with The American President… even though it is not a Christmas movie (well it kind of is because there are some holiday parts).

I loved the article about Peeta as the stereotypical girlfriend role in the Hunger Games series… but I think my favorite part was the comparison to Gale. And then at the mention of how tall he is- He’s Thor’s brother! Classic.

So right after I read your post I went on facebook. Usually the facebook HIMYM page is pretty spoiler free, but right at the top of my feed was “Barney brings Canada to Robin” –“tell us what you thought of Barney’s surprise”. REALLY? It’s not even 24 hours after it aired and you posting surprises. What area do you live in that you don’t realize many people DON’T watch episodes of shows the same night they air. Now I don’t know if I would have figured out Barney was planning a surprise for Robin the whole time or if I would have just been confused by Barney’s stupid behavior. Also- it was a great episode… but an episode without Marshall is always just a little bit lacking. He was there very briefly at the beginning with all the Canada jokes… but that was it. 

About the drones… that shit scares me… along with computers that are thinking like humans. That’s a thing now too apparently. Why? Why would you do it? Machines rising up… taking over… it’s bound to happen.

 

I have 2 buzzfeeds this week to share… this is one, because of both of our love for wine.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/23-excellent-reasons-to-drink-more-wine

And this is SOOO happening at Christmas. I’m sending it to Sarah too. I mean, how did we not write this?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/this-love-actually-drinking-game-is-the-best-time-ever

Home in 9 days!

Sarah is first offended by the term "monster" in referring to Nessie... we're trying to move away from those type of negative words. Nessie is really more of gentle creature. In fact Nessie offers to give a ride to where the sword is... but it's the bloody mermaids you have to watch out for.

An Entertainment Filled Thanksgiving - JE

Greetings & Salutations!

Sorry for the delay, Thanksgiving was very busy.  Okay, there was a lot of sitting around and eating, but it's hard to blog from Mom & Dad's.  My plan for this post is to give a review of the various movies and shows I watched on my 5 days off, but first, can we talk about Amazon drones?!?!  Did you see this: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/12/02/248170316/drone-delivery-amazon-says-a-new-era-looms 
Crazy or brilliant?  Terrifying or inevitable?  Both?  Has Jeff Bezos kicked off an exciting Jetsons future, or are we just a few short years from Skynet.  I can't wrap my head around this yet. 

Back to Thanksgiving entertainment.

Wednesday was filled with TV catch-up.  Everything from Hart of Dixie to The Blacklist.  I'm still behind, but hopefully with the upcoming hiatuses I'll finally get on track.  Then the standard Thanksgiving activities: Wednesday night drinks during the poker party, Macy's day parade, football, setting up the table with the giant plywood, appetizers, cooking, trying to time all the dishes in 2 ovens, so much dessert that there was 1 pie/dessert per 2 people, subsequent food comas, and a kickass cousin slumber party.  Isn't that how everyone spends Thanksgiving?  

Then, Gaga & the Muppets.  Sarah stubbornly claims that this was great and she loved it, but I'm here to tell you, it was pretty disappointing.  Lady Gaga mostly sang songs from her new album, and her interactions with the Muppets were a little awkward.  She has a great voice, and the other parts with the Muppets that didn't have her (or even better, Muppets with Kristen Bell) were very entertaining, but overall it fell flat and was disappointing.  When the Muppets get a special, I have expectations.  This was like a promo for the new Lady Gaga album that also had Muppets.  If I find it in me to watch any of the Sound of Music Live this week (which I doubt will happen), we'll see which pains me more.  (Side note: Sound of Music Live with Lady Gaga I would totally watch.  Can you imagine the train wreck?)

So after that, we had nowhere to go but up.  Which was appropriate as the evening's entertainment choice was Catching Fire.  I can't really spoil it, because you've read the book, but I still don't want to give away their choices or anything.  I'll just say that it was brilliant.  Even better than the first one, and the new cast members were as well cast as everyone from the first film.  Woody Harrelson continues to be the perfect Haymitch, and Elizabeth Banks will break your heart.  Finnick is exactly how I pictured him, and Jena Malone's Joanna is spot on.  Jennifer Lawrence continues to be, well, perfect.
Also, Sarah sent me this link, good article:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/11/25/247146164/what-really-makes-katniss-stand-out-peeta-her-movie-girlfriend

So then Saturday, wait for it... Mom & I watched Pitch Perfect.  Did we tell you this already?  Dad went out for a bit and Sarah was seeing Catching Fire again, so instead of watching football, we looked for a movie to watch.  And after contemplating our options, we decided to go with Pitch Perfect, which I have seen several times and Mom was curious about.  And you know what, she liked it!  Because it is hilarious and cute.  After that it was back to football and more games of Catan than I can count.  So much Catan.  We did all pause for the end of the Auburn-Alabama game, because it was epic.

Then it was time for the Hobbit.  So, here's the thing about the Hobbit.  It's a great movie.  I really enjoyed it, and it is absolutely beautiful.  Like, breathtakingly beautiful scenery.  And Martin Freeman is perfectly delightful, and Ian McKellan is Gandalf, and the dwarves are great.  But it's almost 3 hours.  And it's one of 3 movies based on 1 book.  And it's a shorter book than the 3 Lord of the Rings books, which they made into a movie a piece.  It's way too long.  I mean 2 movies would have been crazy enough, but 3 is preposterous.  Is the second one going to be Bilbo and Smaug and the gold for 3 hours?  I really don't remember all of the plot details, but it's just too long.  That said, it's still beautiful and I may still want to see the next one in the theatre.  
We followed that with Skyfall, and I already gave you my review.  I wasn't in love with it.  I thought it was solid, but I enjoyed the first Daniel Craig Bond film much more.  Javier Bardem was super creepy though, extremely well done.  It's concerning how well he plays truly disturbing characters.

So finally, last night I was all ready to watch Once Upon a Time and Revenge, only to come to the end of Once Upon a Time and discover that Revenge was not on.  What was on was this stupid Hallmark Christmas movie about this grumpy man (Andy Garcia) who builds a ferris wheel in his backyard for his sweet dying wife (Mary Louise Parker).  And Mandy Moore is the hospice nurse.  And I should have turned it off, because I knew it was just going to lead to tears, but I didn't.  And I watched the whole thing AND all the sappy Hallmark commercials that aired during it.  You are not allowed to watch this ridiculous movie.  So many tears.

Something amazing happened at the end of HIMYM tonight.  I can't wait for you to watch this.  So funny.  They really have gotten into a beautiful groove.  I turned it on because the Hawks were up 34-7 and I figured I could take a little break.   Speaking of which, that was also the final score.  They were dominant tonight.  It was fantastic.

Sarah comes to a lake that has healing powers and hidden swords and the Loch Ness monster.  She pauses to contemplate taking her chances with Nessie in order to acquire a new sword.