No no no no no no no no - JE

In the immortal words of Robin Sherbatsky when she finds that ring in the bottom of her champagne: No no no no no you cannot do this to me, no no no no. Harry & Hermione? No. Not at all. Hermione is, as we all know, the brightest witch of her age. And she picks Ron, who is loving and loyal and imperfect. And not as smart as her and that is perfectly okay. And maybe he goes on to run a joke shop with his brother while she does crazy genius things. And she appreciates the balance that he brings to her intellectual activist life. And he, after the therapy that they will all need after that ordeal, is perfectly okay being in her shadow because he has more than established his worth because after years of being the sidekick to the boy who lived, not to mention decades of being the youngest brother he finally gets that the spotlight is just that, a spotlight. It doesn't determine your worth, it just makes you visible. Ron Weasley is no fool and he has witnessed what comes with the kind of glory he wanted when he first looked into the mirror of erised and he is just fine being Mr. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best mate.  There is no, Harry and Hermione make more sense. The brainy girl with big teeth and crazy hair is suddenly beautiful and ends up with the leading man? Where have we heard that before? Oh, I know, everywhere. You can't develop this relationship over 7 books and come back and say, eh, should have completely re-written that. That epilogue that is way too pretty (so much post-war therapy) and if you want to discuss that, then perhaps. But leave Ron Weasley alone. He grew beautifully over 7 books and more than merited the love of the girl who saved all their asses repeatedly. 
Not to mention, by making it always Hermione & Ron, and not a question, it made it so that the book was about everything else.  It wasn't which one will she pick (unless you were a little delusional) because it was established that Harry & Hermione were fantastic friends.  There wasn't Team Ron vs Team Harry because that would have been completely foolish in so many ways.  It was Team Trio all the way.  Or maybe Team Hermione, cause we know who the real hero was (sorry Harry, you are very brave and talented too, but that isn't the point of this post, so just get over it)

Ms. Rowling, I am a tremendous fan of your work and will continue to be so, but in this case I will stick to the wisdom of one John Green. Once they are out there, books belong to their readers. This reader will be ignoring this ridiculous revelation.

Okay, now that I've gotten that taken care of, let's see what else.

Currently I have the Olympic Opening Ceremony on in the background.  I had thoughts of a little live blogging, but I missed the first 45 minutes and now it is just the athletes parade and while the sweaters are certainly intriguing, I don't think I can come up with that many creative things.  I could just make Putin jokes, but I don't want to lose any potential Russian audience by getting blocked. 

So, I certainly don't want to defend the media, but the State of the Union was kind of uneventful.  Obama was like, you losers can't do anything, so here is what I'm going to try and do with executive powers, anytime you want to try and accomplish something, I live right down the street.  Whereas the Beiber antics might get him deported.  Okay, not really.  I don't think we deport Canadian pop stars, but we probably should when they commit crimes.  

Interjecting: Team Bermuda for the win, they are wearing shorts.  Apparently no one told them it was the Winter Olympics or that they were going to Russia.  

I am pretty sad about Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Such a horrible waste, a horrible thing for his 3 young children, and on a purely selfish level, I am just sad that there will never be another film that is improved by his perfect performance.  There are not many performers on his level (I'm thinking Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis... in my opinion Amy Adams & Christian Bale are close or at least getting there... a few others) where every role is extraordinary and unique and exactly what the movie needed.  At least from the work that I saw, he made bad movies good, good movies great, and excelled when the movie was truly exceptional. Drug addiction is terrible and tragic and I hope that from this high profile death, a few people take notice, pay attention, and maybe think about getting some help.  I think Aaron Sorkin, someone who certainly knows about addiction, wrote a simple but elegant obituary here: http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/05/aaron-sorkin-philip-seymour-hoffmans-death-saved-10-lives/

Interjection: With the cyrillic alphabet, I never know who will be coming out next.  It's just all over the place.  But don't worry, Canada is here!  I love those guys.  I also love when countries have just one athlete.  Like Kyrgyzstan. And Malta.

Okay, since we are talking about the Olympics, I think the most interesting thing is the addition of a team figure skating medal.  So while they will have the normal competition for the individual and pairs medals, there is also a team medal, which means more figure skating (which I enjoy) and better team spirit, which is nice.  Someone Nancy Kerrigan is thinking, really?  Where the hell was this idea when I got clobbered in the knee?  And Tonya Harding is like, eh, wouldn't have stopped me.

So, I didn't go to the parade on Wednesday.  I really thought a lot about it, but I decided I didn't need to go.  Although maybe I should have because it all still feels a little surreal.  I can't really wrap my head around it.  Superbowl champions.  With the intensity of the NFC championship game and the one-sidedness of the Superbowl, I can't help but think of the 2004 World Series.  After that legendary ALCS, the Red Sox's World Series win and ending of their curse was completed in an anti-climatic manner.  The real series had been that ALCS agains the Yankees.  
But ultimately on Wednesday I had way too much to do at work, it was ridiculously cold (not polar vortex cold, but close), and I knew it was going to be crowded and delayed, and I could just watch it on my computer.  I just love how excited everyone was and that there were more people downtown than live in Seattle proper.  Speaking of the World Series... when we win that, I'll be one of the people camping out on the street the night before.  But you already knew that.

I have seen more Oscar flicks, as you know, but will wait until I've gotten through them all for a full review and award prediction post.

I mentioned the polar vortex and now Sarah is in a real life winter wonderland.  Portland has been blanketed with snow.  I haven't seen Frozen yet, so I don't know if this means she succeed or not on her last mission, but she is going to have to wait it out with her Bailey's & hot chocolate.

We are the Champions of the World...KE

Again with the delayed this response… but so many things happened this week! Mom and Dad came to visit me here in the sand land...which kept me pretty busy for about  a week, so I’m playing catch up now.

So where to start…where to start…. Hmmm…

Oh yeah… THE SEAHAWKS WON THE FREAKIN’ SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And to be more specific the Seahawks didn’t just win… they DOMINATED leaving no doubt with their 43-8 win. Mom and dad were able to get the game in their hotel room so I got up at 3:30am and went over there to watch until I had to go to school. The only disappointing thing was that that we didn’t get to watch the commercials. I have seen some on the internet since… but I will need your notes and reactions regarding the commercials.

And did I mention that the SEAHAWKS WON THE SUPERBOWL.

And not only did we win, but we kick Peyton Manning’s ass who is probably one the greatest QB… which leads me to my favorite post Superbowl buzzfeed list:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/times-peyton-manning-looked-super-duper-sad-during-the-su

Okay a few other things I need to comment on for this week…

State of the Union happens in the USA… and Justin Beiber make headlines above that. America epic fail. Although it’s not that I’m really that surprised. I just continued to be disappointed with the news priorities. Where is Will McAvoy when we need him?

JK Rowling announced that she made a mistake putting Hermione with Ron instead of with Harry and Harry and Hermione should have ended up together. I get it. It does make more sense. However, I don’t think she should have said as much. There is an argument to made for Hermione and Harry both needing  a platonic sibling relationship that they found with each other. She already told to world that she almost killed off Ron and now she tells us he shouldn't have gotten the girl. I love Ron. He’s probably one my favorites. She should have just let it be… but it nice to know that she continues to think about them so much… perhaps her writing days of that world aren't over.

And…THE SEAHAWKS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!

Also, seriously glad you have now watched all the Sherlock so I don't have to keep from chatting about it. Because the second episode with John's wedding was my most favorite episode ever. I laughed, I cried and I feel a little more in love with Sherlock. 

Fault in Our Stars preview was released and made us all tear up... I really hope it comes out here… and it’s okay if you don’t wait for me to see.  However, if it doesn't come out here you’ll need to see it again with me.

Sad news… Philp Seymor Hoffman. I honestly wasn't aware that he had substance problems. So sad… such great talent. I hate when actors I really enjoy watching die…it’s sad.  (Yes I am aware I just use sad three times… I call it as I see it.)

And to not end my blog on a sad note…

AH!!! More Bad NFL bad lip read… you know how much this makes me laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRqKYXcL-2U 

Okay… spending my weekend TV catching up… although not too far behind. I make HIMYM a priority always… the return of all the cameos was pretty good this week. Mostly focusing on watching Blacklist, Teen Wolf and Supernatural. 

And I'm not sure what a Polar Vortex Musical is... and I have yet to see Frozen... but I have faith Sarah survived...or performed well?

Lessons in the apocalypse from Sam & Dean... JE

I really thought that I had the whole apocalypse thing down.  I mean, how many did Buffy face?  But they never really got into the whole four horsemen/witnesses/Revelations thing.  How did they miss that?  Maybe it was a reluctance to get all biblical?  I think I have to assume it was a focus on their own lore that obviously utilized things from other places (like the concept of an apocalypse), but had a different origin story.  The first evil and the creation of the slayer were at the core of their storylines, and they stayed pretty focused on that, especially as the seasons progressed.  So I am glad to have a new show in Supernatural that is giving us a Revelations 101 lesson.  And I really appreciate this because Sleepy Hollow is similarly dealing with a pending apocalypse and there are four horsemen (including a headless one, who is Death, see how it all relates) or at least four pending horsemen, and I'm so glad that I have this background knowledge from Supernatural so I have a little better grasp on what is going down because I've never read Revelations.  I'm strongly considering it though, it clearly has some awesome shit.  That said, I have stopped for a bit (not too long though), 3 episodes into season 6.  Season 5 is absolutely my favorite season so far.  So many things, and I really love Cas and Crowley, because they are awesome.  But as soon as you get close I'm going to watch again, because I am on a mission to catch up for Comicon.

Sherlock - Not only did I watch the premiere last weekend (love all the conspiracy theories about how he did it worked into the episode, and also, I love Molly and Mary), but I watched it the night it aired even though it didn't start until 10 pm.  And I'm probably going to do the same thing tonight.  Which is foolish because, you know, I have to work tomorrow and that is way past my bedtime, but it's Sherlock.  And it's totally worth it.  

Cannot wait for HIMYM this week, it's the 200th episode and apparently it's going to be from the Mom's perspective.  How she met Ted.  Super intense episode this past week.  Who do you think Lily called?  Her new friend the Mom? Ranjit? Her dad?
They renewed Parks & Rec for season 7.  I am really curious how they will go about keeping the show as "Parks & Rec" while still having Leslie move on to the bigger and better than she deserves.  This week Ann & Chris leave, so that will be a little emotional.  

Oscar Moviepalooze has officially begun.  I went to American Hustle on Friday.  I think it's a good movie, with amazing performances and a really interesting story.  It was, however, a little slow in the middle.  Jennifer Lawrence steals every scene she is in like the phenom that she is, and Amy Adams is near perfection.  Christian Bale gives the type of performance that I expect from him.  Jeremy Renner gives a great performance as a populist politician who is willing to do whatever to help his community.  Bradley Cooper's over-eager FBI agent is so intense that I actually felt anxious watching him continue to overstretch.  My only criticism there would be he is a little similar to his Silver Linings Playbook character, but stick with what you're good at.  While he obviously started with amazing talent, I think the director, David O. Russell, deserves some serious credit for pulling some of their best performances to date.  Fantastic supporting appearances from Robert DeNiro and Louis CK.  I really want to see Dallas Buyers Club, but I saw something about it being on DVD (and potentially iTunes/OnDemand) in a couple weeks, so I may wait and instead see Her or The Wolf of Wall Street next.  

I have been saving up links (mostly buzzfeed, of course) for you since my last post, although one of them was the Full House thing for the Superbowl, so we'll skip that.

1) You don't really need evidence, but you will appreciate this Marshall appreciation: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mwiggins/18-reason-why-you-want-marshall-eriksen-to-be-your-iau3

2) Since we have been all about the buzzfeed quizzes of late, here is another: http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/quiz-which-disney-prince-is-your-true-love    I got Aladdin, which is pretty awesome I think.

3) Since we are getting VERY close to your birthday, I thought this was appropriate: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/29-awesome-things-about-being-29

4) We are also getting relatively close to the Veronica Mars movie, and there was a pretty awesome trailer, which is broken down here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/krayford/the-25-best-parts-of-the-veronica-mars-movie-trail-ep5q  I was discussing some things about this with Sarah, and I've been giving some thought to the Logan vs Piz discussion.  I love Piz.  He's clearly the right choice, and in real life, we'd tell our friend to ditch Logan and stay with Piz.  But this isn't reality, this is the movies.  I don't go to the movies to see my characters make healthy life choices.  I want drama and tension and attempted reforming of bad boys (well, not too much reforming).  So I just want to be clear going into this movie, that I am 100% Team Logan.  And I'm totally hear for Piz if he needs to cry on someone's shoulder.

5) I just want you to know, for 60,000 and an Oscar nomination I would also do a 6 month movie shoot with Marty.  http://www.hypable.com/2014/01/22/jonah-hill-wolf-of-wall-street-pay-cut-oscar  Also, love Jonah Hill.

6) Finally, this list is amazing, and I follow this woman on tumblr, largely because (as this list demonstrates) we understand each other http://www.buzzfeed.com/bookoisseur/31-fantastic-fictional-characters-i-would-spend-a-fbwc  I particularly like her emphasis on the importance of forts.

Okay, that's about it for now.  Back to my Revolution catch-up marathon.  Somehow I was 4 episodes behind instead of the 2 I was on just about everything else.  I put the ABC and CW apps on my phone, so I have been watching shows on those channels on my commute.  Today I'm trying to get on top of the NBC, Fox, & CBS shows.  Did I mention I watch too much TV?

Sarah was protected in San Francisco by the Legion of Boom.  She escaped without injury, no new knife cuts.  Her journey back was uneventful, but immediately up her return she found herself in the midst of a polar vortex musical.  She has seen Frozen several times so she feels up to the task.

Getting Caught Up....KE

AH! 12 days since the last post… sorry this is delayed…things have been busy…and I’m way behind on everything (including finishing my report cards- but let's prioritize). Plus you’ve been emailing/messaging me all this things, but I feel I haven’t been able to properly respond… so I’m spending the weekend playing TV catch up, blog catch up and general life catch up.

First- The Seahawks… We’re going to the f-ing Super Bowl!  I love these guys… however the challenge is finding a place I can watch the Super Bowl here in desert  (at 3:30am)- AND mom and dad will be here. And remember how we were talking about Pete Carroll…and then we concluded that he was the “Danny Tanner” of the NFL with his loving lecture ways. Well now apparently this is happening during the Super Bowl…. http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=2&from=en-us_msnhp#/video/2ac0b243-6c0e-4c01-82df-b3655980d678. 

Can’t wait to see the actual commercial!

Second- You’re like WAY ahead on Supernatural… so you just need to slow like WAY down or we won’t be able to discuss! I’m spending the weekend doing some catch up… but I also have regular TV scheduling to catch up on. (I’m a bit hung over today (Friday) so I’m finding TV the perfect activity.)

Third- Your Golden Globes review was awesome… it was inspiring to point of going to Hulu and watching the highlights per you’re reactions.

Fourth- Um, has Sherlock aired yet? Because if it has I’m not sure why you haven’t watched yet… or if you have watched you have yet to inform me! Please make this a priority.

Fifth- HIMYM…. The end is getting SO close. But they are leaving no stone unturned. This week finding out about Barney’s job, but then Lily and Marshall’s fight. SO many things.  Despite a  few disappointing episodes and especially the disappointing (and slightly offensive) slap episode this last season is doing well of bringing everything back around.

Sixth- I’m Parks and Rec caught up. I spent an evening working on the puzzle currently spread out on my dinning table and watching this season. So I’ve got that going for me- plus I like the way they went about the recall. Leslie had to lose so she could go onto to bigger things without the show having to wait around for her city council position to play out.

Okay… I think that gets me somewhat caught up… onto recovering from a “I’m too old for this stuff” sort of night and cleaning a bit because mom and dad come in 6 days! (You know how that is)

Sarah Update: Sarah’s portkey took her right to the middle of San Francisco during the Seahawk-49er game…it’s was just about as dangerous as it could get… not yet sure how she survived. 

Golden Globes - Live reactions from Jamie

Ah, the Golden Globes.  Everyone’s favorite televised celebrity party.  There’s dinner, drinks, and for the second year in a row, the best hostesses around, Tina Fey & Amy Poehler.  I am terribly behind on Oscar movie viewing - having seen nothing that is likely to be up for the main award, but thankfully the Globes cover TV as well and I am well versed in that arena.  The red carpet show is under way, so I’m just going to react and give some commentary, so it’ll be just like you watched it.

Red Carpet rambling:

The show is on NBC, so we’ve got the Today show crew covering the red carpet.  Matt & Savannah, and I think they were cutting away from Carson Daly when I flipped it on.  If anyone can make me wish for Ryan Seacrest, it’s Carson Daly.  Oh look, I can flip to Bravo with Giuliana and Seacrest instead.  And am instantly rewarded with a Jim Parsons interview. And then a little Jared Leto.  After a six year hiatus from acting, he found a script he loved (Dallas Buyers Club) and now he’s got nominations all over the place.  Flipping back to NBC for a little Leo action.  Talking about The Wolf of Wall Street, his 5th film with Scorsese.  Jimmy Fallon!  Everyone loves Jimmy Fallon.  Pockets!  Julianna Margulies’ dress has pockets.  That is always a good life choice.  Kevin Bacon’s daughter is Miss Golden Globe.  They keep cutting to people in the background to show dresses.  Cate Blanchett is so beautiful.  I think I like Taylor Swift’s dress, they should back to it.  Could be because it’s red.  They are timing this pretty well, so when there is a commercial, then I go to the other channel, and sometimes it’s the same people I just saw, but often I find someone new.  A quite pregnant Olivia Wilde looks lovely in green.  Matthew McConaughey and his beautiful wife look fabulous together.  Okay, Jennifer Lawrence’s dress is strapless and I am just terrified she’s going to lose the top.  Because that is who that will happen to.  I think Julia Roberts has like a button up white top with a strapless black dress over.  I don’t know what to feel about it.  And now here’s Taylor Swift.  I do like the dress, but there is a poofy bow thing on the back that I don’t love.  But it works for her. And now Taylor Swift & Jennifer Lawrence are gushing over each other in an awkward and adorable way.  Tom Hanks is so awesome.  You already know that though.  Oh, Chris Pine.  He is kind of dreamy.  Nope, completely dreamy.  There is no kind of about it.  Did you know that Robin Wright was dating Ben Foster?  Just a note.  Hayden Panettiere’s hair is a distraction.  I already forgot her dress.  Kerry Washington is beautiful and super pregnant.  And rocking the white dress in a way that would make Olivia Pope proud.  More things… blah blah blah… time for the show!

Our leading ladies look beautiful.  And continue to be the funniest people in Hollywood.  Great intro, kind of a like a standing Weekend Update, but about people in the room and nominees.  

Oh, and presenters are coming up from the floor.  Maybe just for the first award?  

First award goes to Jennifer Lawrence, supporting actress for American Hustle.  She looks shocked, but she’s going to have to get used to this, cause she’s gonna win a lot of these.  Great speech, giving lots of props to her director David O. Russell.

The supporting actor/actress awards for TV are ridiculous.  They combine all genres and just seem so bizarre.  Jacqueline Bisset just won for something I have never heard of, and I don’t know if anyone expected it because she was way in the back and its taking her a while to get to the stage. She is super nervous and rambling after a lot of pauses.  And they are trying to play her off now and she just keeps talking.  And no one knows what to do.  I am uncomfortable.  Okay, finally wrapped it up.  No idea what just happened there.

Best mini-series or movie is up next.  As always there seem to be lots of interesting things, and I haven’t seen any of them.  Behind the Candelabra wins, which is pretty unsurprising given its dominance at the Emmys.  It takes people too long to get to the stage.  Someone didn’t think this through as it is distracting.  

I never really understand the order of these awards.  Next category is actress in a TV movie or mini-series.  It goes to Elizabeth Moss.  An amazing actress in her own right, but I’m sure she’s just in her head going, “did I just beat Helen Mirren and Jessica Lange”?  Cause i think that is what I would be thinking right now.  And then she said “oh shit,” so they bleeped. But she pulled it together, like Zoey Bartlett and Peggy Olson would.  

A sharp looking Matt Damon presents the clip of Captain Phillips.  I really need to see that movie.  I feel like it should be available on iTunes or onDemand soon since it came out a while ago.  

Best actor in a TV drama, aka the award that Bryan Cranston will probably win, but has some pretty serious competition with Kevin Spacey, Liev Schreiber, Michael Sheen, & James Spader.  And of course, the award goes to Mr. Cranston for the final season of Breaking Bad.  Although apparently his first Golden Globe for this role, perhaps he usually just dominates the Emmys.

Followed by TV series drama.  Cannot figure out the order of these awards.  Other than TV first, for the most part?  And Breaking Bad wins this one too.  

The real life Philomena!  I don’t know if I knew it was a real story.  That is pretty cool.  She introduced a clip of the film with writer and star, Steve Coogan.

Original score goes to the movie that stars only Robert Redford.  It’s just him on a boat.  I would expect that good music would be kind of critical and can see why he might win.  

The original song award goes to Bono.  And the rest of U2.  For the song from the Mandela movie.  Puffy was pretty excited about that win.  Yes, P-Diddy was presenting with Usher and Kate Beckinsdale.   I’m sorry Kate.  U2 is a bunch of classy gents.  Bono had everyone else go first, because they knew they were less likely to cut him off, and they talked about how personal it was for them to write a song for this film.  

So now we’ve moved to supporting actor in the “all the TV” category, which is going to Jon Voight.  He is kind of a big deal.

Olivia Wilde presents the clip of Her.  I really want to see this.  

Robert Downey Jr!  Oh, you are so funny and charming.  Giving out the best actress in a musical/comedy.  Cause the ladies love him.  Oh, who am I kidding, everyone loves him.  Winner Amy Adams!  Love it!  I really, really need to see this movie.  

But I’m still having trouble keeping track of the award order.  And I’m basically writing this all down and I still don’t know what is happening.

Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon adorably introduce their daughter as Miss Golden Globe. Then Tina introduces her adult son, Amy in a wig.  They are so funny.

Best actress in a TV drama.  I can’t even stand it. Robin Wright is the winner.  She is really evil on House of Cards, a fantastic performance.  And pretty cool that this category included two actresses from Netflix shows.  But seriously, did no one watch Orphan Black???  It is heads and heads and heads above everything else. And when I say "it" I mean Tatiana Malsany. Okay, that’s it. That's all I'll say on that for now.

Jim Carrey presents American Hustle clip.  Gotta see that.

Best supporting actor in a movie.  The guy who played the main pirate in Captain Phillips is nominated and it was his first role ever.  But the award goes to Jared Leto.  Okay, I think American Hustle and Dallas Buyers Club are officially at the top of my must see list.

Emma Thompson just came out with a martini in one hand and her heels in the other.  She is amazing.  Giving the award for best screenplay.  The award goes to Spike Jonze for Her.  This may be 3rd on the to see list.  

Laura Dern is presenting the clip for Nebraska, starring her father Bruce Dern.  I know that Bruce Dern has had a full and impressive career, but all I can think of when I see him is The Burbs.

Best TV comedy actor goes to Andy Samberg.  Okay, I kind of need to watch this show.  Seth Meyers was one of the producers and he was pretty excited.  Andy Samberg is pretty adorable, given it was a pretty standard thank you speech.

All bits where Amy & Tina mock Julia Louis-Dreyfous and she plays along are hilarious.

Melissa McCarthy got hit by a sand bag back stage and thinks she is Matt Damon.  I am dying.  But she and Jimmy Fallon are giving out best actor in a mini-series or movie.  And Michael Douglas wins.  Because apparently he is brilliant in this role.  He thanks Matt (also nominated in the category) and says “the only reason you’re not here is because I had more sequins.”  Adorably playing along, Matt tries to point that “Matt Damon” is on stage in the form of Melissa McCarthy, but Michael either doesn’t see or doesn’t get it.  Either way, good fun.

Animated feature film to Frozen.  Sorry minions.  Remember earlier when I said I was going to see the potential Oscar nominee movies.  I’m really going to see Frozen first.  What, it'll totally be up for animated feature.

Colin Farrell presents a clip of Inside Llewyn Davis.

The very stacked category of best actress in a TV series comedy.  Amy is getting a back massage from Bono.  YES!!  And Amy is the winner!!!   Leslie Knope rules the world!!  

The Cecil B Demille award goes to Woody Allen this year.  Diane Keaton is accepting and talking about him, which is appropriate, although odd that they are giving him this award and he isn’t there.  But maybe he doesn’t go to award shows.  I am going to look it up.  Apparently he does not.  So there’s that.

Ah, Ben Affleck.  Aka, Battfleck.  Giving out the best director award to Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity  Impressive category, although per usual, total sausage fest.  

Switching back to TV for the best comedy show and the winner is Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Again, guess I should be watching that.  

Best actor in a comedy (presented by Jennifer Lawrence).  Winner is Leo DiCaprio.  I typed that as drama at first, just based on the nominees (which included Joaquin Phoenix and Christian Bale).  Wonder if Leo will get an Oscar nod this week.

Reese Witherspoon presents the clip from 12 Years a Slave.

Thor, um, I mean Chris Hemsworth, is presenting the clip from Rush with the real guy from the movie. Love it when they get the real people!

Getting down to the big awards.  Best comedy film goes to American Hustle.  

Best actress in a drama to Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine

Best actor in a drama to Matthew McConaughey.  And that is after some serious competition.  And he is dancing onto stage.  And he just started his acceptance speech with “Alright alright alright.”  And ended it with “this film was never about dying, it was always about livin and to that I say, just keep.”  Quality.

Bringing out the big guns to wrap things up.  But oh, Johnny, I really hope that hair is for a movie.  And the award goes to 12 Years a Slave.  (Side note, the director’s name is Steve McQueen, but obviously he’s not that Steve McQueen)

So that was a lot of rambling nonsense, but here is the takeaway:

My dream dinner party is Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Meryl Streep, and Emma Thompson.  I just think we could drink some wine and laugh.

I appreciate that even when given only a couple minutes, Robert Downey Jr. is always entertaining, and never forfeits an opportunity to prove that deep down, he is Tony Stark.

Idris Elba and Chris Pine are the sexiest men alive.  

You can give Matthew McCouaughey good roles and he will do great things, but deep down he’s still that guy from Dazed & Confused and he will keep on L-I-V-I-N.

Tatiana Malsany did not win, but she is an amazing talent and her nomination tonight is the first of many.

I know I’m not supposed to watch new shows, but I think Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a safe choice because it’s only a half hour sitcom.  

Finally, I have a lot of movies to see.

Okay, rewatching the opening monologue.  

My 12 Role Models....KE

I love the Seahawk list! Finally Seattle is getting a team that is getting noticed…it’s been a while! Although, now I am even more sad that the timing of the playoff games suck so bad for my viewing pleasure. I have to either get up REALLY early or stay up REALLY late on a school night! When mom and dad come to Abu Dhabi it will be Super Bowl time and if the Hawks make it that far, I’m not what we are going to do then. We’ll have to find a solution to that.

Blacklist- So you’re totally convinced he is her father. I mean it seems to make the most sense… but I guess I’m waiting for some sort of twist. And Agent Ressler is totally in love with her… and I like him a bit better… but he’ll have to stay that way. He did piss me off a few times.

Let’s talk about the other Buzzfeed list- the 12 intelligent TV woman who should be your role models http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/fbsp/intelligence/12-tv-heroines-who-should-be-your-role-model.

I think the fact that I don’t watch many of those shows makes me disagree with some of their choices and perhaps the retro aspect. I loved your add ins (Sydney Bristow, Kate Beckett, Dana Scully, Olivia Pope, Olivia Dunham, Claire Huxtable, CJ Craig). I think what I would want/suggest would be a “classic TV” list and a “currently on TV.” Or maybe even a comedy verses a drama break down. And really, there a lot more than 12 woman out there on television that are worthy of role model status.

However if I HAD to choose 12 fictional female characters from television who I think are worthy, this would be my top 12:

Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Veronica Mar (Veronica Mars)

Claire Huxtable  (The Cosby Show

Sydney Bristow (Alias)

Leslie Knope (Park and Rec)

Olivia Dunham (Fringe)

Mackenzie McHale (Newsroom)

River Song (Doctor Who)

Jessica Day (New Girl)

CJ Criag (West Wing)

Max Black (2 Broke Girls)

Starbuck/Kara (Battlestar Galactic.)

New Year update- So far I haven’t watched a single movie from the list. Nor have I practiced the Ukulele. I also have not read any books yet. 2014- 1, me- 0. (I have managed to stay away from new shows and stick to my current viewing list)

Golden Globes this weekend? I expect your next blog to be about that.

Sarah- She has the sword….WHAT it was really a portkey!

Following up on all the things - JE

Blacklist follow up with spoilers (not for you, but for those who don't watch):

He is totally her dad. I mean yes, he has a demonstrated ability to care about people (his team was obviously quite important to him), but nothing like his loyalty and commitment to her. I do like that we are questioning/debating what seemed so obvious in all the show promos. And her husband is totally evil. He's probably Alan Alda's minion.

And how are we feeling about Agent Ressler after 10 episodes? I mean, I know he isn't amazing, but he grew on me. And I'm pretty sure he's totally in love with Lizzie. And when her husband is revealed to be an evil secret spy, he is totally going to sweep in. Except Lizzie has way too much going on for that, she needs to focus on Lizzie, so he'll have to wait.  

I like your resolutions. The no new show thing is probably a good idea. I caught the Almost Human pilot the other night (show with Bones from the new Star Trek and his android with feelings partner). It was pretty good and I am contemplating watching some more because that actor is coming to Emerald City Comicon. But then Downton is back Sunday and Teen Wolf is back Monday. And Sherlock on the 19th. And seriously, don't even tell me if you watch it. I'm having enough trouble with my damn tumblr feed. And I thought Revenge was off until March like OUAT, but it's back on Sunday. I need some winter hiatuses to catch up.

I have to get going on my Oscar prep. I pretty much need to see everything, but I'm thinking it probably won't happen until next weekend. And then it can't interfere with football. So many things!!

I am glad you got to watch Austenland. I loved that movie. Mostly because of Jennifer Coolidge, but also because the main guy who looks like Tom Hiddleston, but isn't, is very attractive. And Brett from Flight if the Concords is also adorable, although not so endearing. And I want to see About Time, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

So my buzzfeed list of the day is this: http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/fbsp/intelligence/12-tv-heroines-who-should-be-your-role-model

And I think it's an okay list. I mean it's a decent spread of intelligence and physical strength among other traits. Plus it's got Abby, Buffy, Veronica & Starbuck, which is pretty solid. But I started to think about who was missed (Sydney Bristow, Kate Beckett, Dana Scully, Olivia Pope, Olivia Dunham, Claire Huxtable, CJ Craig, all other west Wing women, etc etc) and I decided that really the list is just too short. Should have at least 100. 

And can we just talk about the Veronica Mars trailer? I cannot wait for March 14th. I just hope that Rob Thomas doesn't go all Serenity on us and kill off beloved characters. I mean, I think Serenity is great, but so many tears.

Finally, I'm just going to leave this here http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/reasons-you-should-be-rooting-for-the-seattle-seahawks-to.  

Thanks to that Nintendo game we had, Sarah knows exactly how to defeat Ursula.  So she rolls the appropriate number so she can flick her tail and capture other sea creatures in bubbles and throw them at the sea witch.  Of course, once you defeat her she comes back even larger.  And the only logical choice is to find a broken ship to steer into her. 

The Blacklist and New Year Resolutions....KE

I am not skipping you’re turn without permission. You said it was okay because I had things to tell you about.

So when I originally started this blog I was going to tell you I started watching the Blacklist. I have since told you that and caught up to the current episode. It’s very Alias minus the JJ Abrams flair plus... James Spader (he needs to call me). It's fabulous...I just never know who to trust. And I have new thoughts and theories all the time…here are a few I thought I would share. (SPOILERS!)

-First- I feel I have to say that there is still a possibility that Red is Lizzie’s father…even though he told her he wasn’t. I don’t think he would tell her if he was. However, that being said, I don’t really think that he is (obviously I spend some time debating this with myself).  

-Second- I think that Red had a daughter and something awful happened to her (as they keep pointing out). Then he went away and he could have done some sort of Dread Pirate Roberts thing with Lizzie’s real father (we know he was a criminal)… and Lizzie’s real father is dead but Red feels he needs to take care of Lizzie because her dad was his mentor.

-Third- Lizzie’s mom plays a part in this somehow. If I learned one thing from Alias is never count out the mother. We don’t really know the whole story with the fire- only flashes of Lizzie’s memories. Red could be connected to the mom somehow.

-Fourth I totally don’t trust her husband (no matter how cute). He's a Russian- probably.

Stay tuned for more thoughts on this.

On my way back from back to Abu Dhabi I watched only a few movies: Austenland and About Time. I enjoyed both. (I also started the Blacklist on the flight) I know you’re already seen Austenland and also enjoyed it. About Time is like a less intense version of Time Travelers Wife (which I’ve only read the book) and it’s more about the time traveler than his wife.

I came up with some New Year Resolutions for this year:

-To practice my Ukulele and get tour ready.

-Don’t start any new TV shows until my list is caught up on.

-Watch more movies from my “list” of academy award winning films (I started last year but didn’t get very far).

Read 25 books (I set this goal every year- in 2013 I got to 21 and half- thank you Game of Thrones)

Actually rank all HIMYM episodes once the show ends in March.

Also- I didn’t know this existed…my mind exploded.

http://www.trendolizer.com/2013/10/alan-rickman-off-with-benedict-cumberbatch-and-jimmy-fallon.html

Which leads to my next debate- do I wait to watch Sherlock at the same time you get in the States to watch it… or do I go on the internets and just dive in… by the time you read I may have already made a choice. But I promise no spoilers.

Sarah turns to page 43 and transfigures into a Shark. However, between her and the sword is Ursula, the sea witch. She'll have to roll the dice to get past Ursula!

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.