Glossary of Terms - Part 1 (Jamie starts)

Apparently Kacey & I speak our own language.  It generally consists of a plethora of quotes and references to our various pop culture obsessions.  Or something that started as mocking ("winning" or "totes") just takes on a life of its own, no matter how much we wish it would stop.  Some of these are familiar to a wide audience and some are quite random and obscure.  We thought that we would attempt to share with you all the sources of some of the things you are likely to hear if talking with us, or more likely when listening to us talk to each other.  This is part 1 of... well, many.

"Cause it would hurt a lot Warren” Source: Empire Records, Lucas says this to Warren (the obnoxious little shoplifter) in response to Warren asking why Joe didn’t shove the CDs up his ass.  This is always said in a fairly condescending tone, just like Lucas says a lot of things.  It is not always said in reference to something hurting (although usually), sometimes it’s just randomly said.

“Legendary” Source:The one and only Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother, on the off chance that you’re new here).  Generally said in the more popular format: it’s going to be legend… wait for it… I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the next word is… dairy.  Legendary.

“Dear tiny baby Jesus” Source: Talledega Nights, spoken by the always amusing Will Ferrell.  While we are all big fans of Mr. Ferrell and find him to be hilarious, he’s not someone who usually motivates us to write up blog columns.  He is, however often quoted.  In addition to this little gem from Talladega Nights (which is often followed by comments of preferring to think of Jesus as a ninja), “I’m kind of a big deal” is quite popular (generally used by and in reference to Sarah, who is kind of a big deal), although like the above noted legendary, not particularly obscure.

“NO TIME!” Source:That 70s Show, in one of our favorite episodes of this show, the parents eat an entire pan of Hyde’s “special brownies.” This results in them having the munchies and this line is spoken when they are searching the fridge for food and find some hot dogs.  Kitty says she’ll start boiling the water, to which Red responds adamantly, “NO TIME.” It never fails to make me laugh, and we use this phrase with the appropriate intonations whenever we are pressed for time.  Or whenever it seems funny to act like we are pressed for time.

“Lawyered” Source: Another How I Met Your Mother gem, this time from everyone’s favorite lawyer, Marshall Erickson.  We are obviously not lawyers, but this is definitely used whenever we are able to logically argue our point.

“You get a _____, and you get a ____, everybody gets a ____” Source: Oprah, duh.  Were you born under a rock?  Remember when she gave away all those cars and she freaked out as much as everyone else, and then later it was a bit of a fiasco because of taxes and such? Regardless, it is still a memorable moment.  Arguably the most memorable in the history of the Oprah show… well, there was that one with the couch jumping, but we don’t talk about that one because it scares Kacey.

“Jesus is okay with it, but don't tell dad” Source: Sheldon Cooper, and not just Sheldon Cooper, but Sheldon on drugs.  Wolowitz drugs Sheldon when he is staying over (counting Catwomen and X-men) and returns him to Leonard.  Sheldon is supposed to be keeping a secret from Leonard for Penny, but he isn’t very good at it.  When Leonard presses Sheldon for the secret, the first one that comes to his drug-addled mind is: “Mom smokes in the car, Jesus is okay with it, but don’t tell dad.” His second secret is the equally hilarious “I’m Batman!” which we also say all the time.

“BAM, said the lady” Source: This is either a Nathan Fillionism or a Castleism, but since I am not sure, let’s just give them both credit, since Nathan plays Castle.  (With apologies to the writers if they came up with it).  Bonus points for using this in a conversation when Mom is the lady being referenced.

“Really smart” Source: Another Big Bang Theory moment, this time it’s Penny who provides the quotable line.  Sheldon teaches Leonard football so that he can fit in with Penny’s friends, however when practiced it doesn’t go so well and Penny’s football loving friends think Leonard is a little bit special.  He leaves just before halftime and Penny notes: “so… that’s my boyfriend, he’s… really smart”  We use this phrase, mimicking her tone when someone’s actions have not been particularly intelligent.

More to come...

Books read: 33

Coming Soon:  Sarah is taking a brief hiatus to study this glossary in an attempt to better understand Kacey & Jamie's conversations. At least that's what she told us, she's probably just watching Dawson's Creek on Netflix.

Jamie's Emmy Nod Highlights

While most of the west coast slept, the nominations for this year’s Emmys (which take place September 23^rd) were announced this morning.  I have some initial reactions for you.  Of course.

Modern Family domination – Proving that they are truly a brilliant ensemble; all 6 of the principal adult actors on Modern Family are nominated in the supporting actor in a comedy series categories.  You can talk all you want about Mad Men & American Horror Story racking up 17 nominations each, but that is the real story to me.  No lead actors and everyone gets recognized.  Well, except the scene stealing younger cast members.  I would argue they deserve to be there as much as the adults, but regardless I love seeing this intelligent and hilarious show get recognition through its talented cast. (Even though I don’t watch it regularly, shhh… don’t tell or they’ll take away my TV card)

Supporting Actor – I am elated to see Max Greenfield here for the New Girl.  I love this show and Schmidt has definitely developed into one of the funniest characters on TV.   I am disappointed that yet again, Nick Offerman (Parks & Rec’s Ron Swanson) was overlooked.  I have noted my love for the adorable Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt on Parks & Rec), and I would knock on doors for Leslie Knope, but that show is made by Offerman’s brilliantly hilarious, steak eating, secret saxophone playing, government hating, government bureaucrat.  He’s amazing.  Also notably left off was Neil Patrick Harris. I feel like he could have fit in there somewhere amongst all those Modern Family guys, because I just want NPH to win all the awards. 

Mini-series/Movie vs. Series – This year I am finding the mini-series vs. series thing to be a little strange. Sherlock, American Horror Story, & Luther are all in the mini-series/movie category, even though they all have had or are going to have multiple seasons/series.  I guess I don’t really understand how that works.  It’s not like they are just picking on the British shows because of their strange schedules (and because they call their seasons “series), since Downton Abbey is sitting in the drama series category, and as noted, American Horror Story is not.  That said, I am convinced the 17 nominations pretty much means that this award will go to American Horror Story instead of my favorite, Sherlock, but that’s okay because…

Benedict Cumberbatch – The man with the greatest name in the history of names is totally going to walk away with the award in his category.  Kacey & Meryl assure me that Luther is fabulous, and I am a big fan of Stringer Bell, I mean, Idris Elba (I mean, how could you not be?) but I’m putting my money on Cumberbatch all the way.  I bet I could actually put my money on him in Vegas.  But I probably won’t, the odds would probably not result in a very big payoff.

Drama, Drama, Drama – Have you seen the drama category?  The subtitle should be: 6 examples of how TV is kicking film’s ass in the game of quality.  I don’t even watch most of these, but their reputation precedes them.  I think this is easily the most anticipated category of the night; any one of these shows could walk off with the award. 

Big Bang Theory – I would be remiss to not mention my favorite show, as the Big Bang Theory was nominated for best comedy and the incomparable Jim Parsons (well, maybe I would compare him to one Mr. Cumberbatch, but no one else) is up again for his role as the, well, also incomparable Sheldon Cooper.  However, mostly, I am super excited to see Mayim Bialk (Amy Farrah Fowler on the Big Bang Theory) up for best supporting actress.   I really think the addition of Amy & Bernadette as regular characters has pumped new life into the show, which continues to be funny week in and week out.  It’s a great blend of allowing the characters to evolve and change, but not losing what made it so brilliant in the first place.  Also, if she wins, I hope she gets a shiny new tiara (to be honest though, I kind of hope it goes to the late Kathryn Joosten, how can you not want Mrs. Landingham to win?).

The rest – Apparently, I need to see Game Change.  And American Horror Story.  I wasn’t sure about it, and I am sure that I will need to watch it when it’s light outside, but let’s consider it officially “on the list.”  Supporting actor in a drama is a tough category.  I’m partial to the gentlemen from Downton Abbey or Tyrion (partially because Peter Dinklage is amazing and partially because he is my favorite character in the books), but I know that the Breaking Bad guys are highly regarded.  Plus I think that John Noble should be on there for Fringe, but the Emmys are a little slow with the sci-fi love.  And when I say “slow” I mean, they pretty much ignore it.  I don’t understand how you could ignore Walter. 

Looking forward to watching who wins in September, but of course I’ll be changing the channel when they get to the “reality” awards.

Books read: 32 (finally finished a Storm of Swords, but I’m still ahead of pace and working on the Dovekeepers for book club)

Coming soon:  Sarah reviews The Dark Knight Rises with a particular focus on the character of Bain. Oh, I’m sorry, it’s not a liberal conspiracy against Mitt Romney and the character is Bane?  Well, I’m sure that her piece will still be riveting. We hope that you can respect her opinion so that we don’t have to turn off the comments like Rotten Tomatoes.  We’re confident our readers are more mature.

Kacey and Jamie Go On a Road Trip…

First thing to know… which I think Jamie has mentioned… she doesn’t drive. So when we go on a road trip I do all of the driving. Jamie does make an excellent navigator/DJ/reader-of-signs. A few years ago we drove as far as Florida. This last weekend wasn’t quiet as epic…but still highly entertaining.

We went to Forks, WA, home of vampires, werewolves and helpless teenage girls.

Wait… don’t judge. We went to primarily watch 10-12 year olds play in a girls’ fastpitch tournament. The location was just a bonus…because even though Jamie and I have read all the Twilight books we would never travel there because of it. Instead we find an appropriate excuse like a fastpitch tournament and then go there.

Mom and Dad went too. Sarah was MIA… mentioning something about Settlers of Catan tournament.

David the Gnome (the “G” is silent) went as well.

This is David leaving Seattle on the Ferry… because cutting across Puget Sound on a boat is much quicker than driving around the Sound to get out to the Olympic Peninsula. (This also where Jamie would say “where we’re going we don’t need roads”. A statement she made multiple times throughout the weekend since the Peninsula lacks for roads. The truth is, we do need roads because our flying Delorean is still a work in progress.)

We arrived in Forks, WA which is…how do I say this nicely… not much to look at. If you blink, you might miss it (but not because there are angel statues everywhere). However, there is Twilight paraphernalia everywhere. It was noted that in the Thriftway you can stand in one place and reach Chocolate, Toms (the shoes) and Twilight things without moving. What more could you need?

Our first stop was to drive out to La Push to see the ocean. We had to drive over the Vampire/Werewolf treaty line to get there and- no joke- there is a giant sign “No Vampires, Treaty Line.”

I laughed so hard I missed the turn.

However we did find the beautiful beach and David much enjoyed the stop...

...until I buried him.

  

The second day was filled with fastpitch watching, but we did take a break to drive out to the other beach that I missed the turn to the previous day due to the laughing.

We attempted to fly a kite…

(small red dot in sand is kite.)

On Sunday we  drove home, but not without a few stops. We (including mom and dad) had a little adventure out to Cape Flattery which is the most western point in the continuous 48 states (obviously Hawaii and Alaska are further west). There was hiking involved and signs about cougar sightings. We later realized the sign was from last year, but first mom did demonstrate for us what to if we saw a cougar (there were noises and waving of arms). Ultimately we made it- one more thing to check off the bucket list.

Then we took a little different route home. I claimed it was to drive along the water and add to our sightseeing, but it was really to avoid driving past Lake Crescent again. Lake Crescent is a beautiful lake, in a serene mountain setting. It is 12 miles long and most people would enjoy the drive along the lake. However, if you are my sister the lake is just long enough that you begin over think the length of it. Pretty soon you are concerned we are stuck in an infinite time loop and that we are doomed to drive the lake forever. She says this out loud to me… in a joking manner. But pretty soon I hear her say “I haven’t seen those houses yet… those houses are new.” Needless to say we made it past the lake, but I thought it was best we didn’t drive past it on the way home.

Plus our alternative route led us past Rosie (the fish with legs).

All-in-all our trip was survived. We met no vampires or werewolves, well at least not to our knowledge. The vampires would have been hiding from the little bit of sun that we saw (it’s true the sun does not shine there often) and the werewolves were only in human form. Plus, there were no helpless teenage girls as far as I could see. All the young girls I saw had bats in their hands and were cheering enthusiastically about hitting things and striking people out. Not really the Bella Swan types.

Coming Soon: Sarah discusses her rigorous Settlers of Catan training and her ultimate goal for taking part in a tournament.

Jamie's June Fave Five

We can’t stop now, we are on a roll!  Kacey got a post up on Saturday AND we went to see Les Miserables at the 5th Ave. Which was brilliant, for the fourth time.  I think it’s my favorite, and I don’t say that lightly.  I love musical theatre in general, and I have a number of favorites (Rent, Hairspray, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Avenue Q, etc). But I think that Les Mis may top even RENT.  And that is saying something for someone who will be seeing RENT for the seventh time in August.

But anyhow, another month has come and gone so it’s time for another internet fave five.  Here’s what I loved in June (and, okay, the first couple days of July).

1)        No White Noise: Buffy Re-Watch – I have not been participating in the Buffy re-watch that this blog is doing, for a couple reasons.  1) The “live” re-watch is Monday nights, which interferes with Eureka and 2) I just did a full Buffy re-watch a few months ago.  That said, the hilarious recaps from a first time watcher (see what I did there) are inspiring me to want to catch up, or at least join in.  Reading someone’s initial reactions to one of my all-time favorite shows, complete with hilarious screen shots/captions is priceless.  Even if you don’t join the re-watch (or first time watch), I recommend reading their recaps, which generally get posted on Tuesdays. ,

2)        Nerds Fixing Internet Errors – Back to the Future – Speaking of screen shots, if you were anywhere on the internet on June27th, you probably saw the screenshot of dates from Back to the Future?  It was posted around with people making comments that we were supposed to be in the future and where the hell were our hover boards.  Generally this is a valid question (along with jet packs, I mean, why don’t I have a jet pack yet??) However, the true nerds and BTTF fans spoke up to note that this was just a little photo shop and we really have another 3 and a half years until we should panic about the lack of hover boards.  The true date from Back to the Future 2 where they travel to the future to check out Marty & Jennifer’s less than awesome future is October 2015.  I just loved how quickly the internet nerd community policed itself, because we certainly wouldn’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves if we are not living up to the promises of the future from a 1980s time travel comedy.  An iconic film, yes… but a film nonetheless.

3)        Top Ten Sherlock Quotes – I read a lot on the website Hypable (which I mention on here a lot) because instead of being an entertainment site that is obsessed with the details of the TomKat divorce of who is getting the first pictures of the newest oddly named celebrity baby, it focuses on the kind of nerdy fan stuff that I really care about.  Whether it’s leaking spoilers or casting news for my favorite show or a highly anticipated film, or starting a lively debate over the best TV theme songs of all time, Hypable never fails to keep me coming back for more.  Multiple times a day usually.  This little piece on the top ten quotes from the brilliant BBC Sherlock series was one of my favorites.  Not only did the author pick out some of my favorite Sherlock quotes, but they also used the word plethora in the opening paragraph.  Bonus points for that.

4)      Paul & Storm - Write Like the Wind - Now, I am only halfway through book 3 of the amazing Song of Fire & Ice series, but I'm fairly confident that I will catch up before George gets another book done.  So I'd just like to say that I totally support this plea (which, for those who have not read/watched Game of Thrones, is totally spoiler free) from Paul & Storm that he get on it with writing more books.  They posted this fabulous song on the brilliant Geek & Sundry YouTube channel. 

5)        Lego Settlers of Catan – Well, let’s just make this post as nerdy as possible and round off my fave five with this link that a friend sent to me of this awesome lego version of the game board/pieces.  I didn’t learn to play this game until a few months ago, and now I’m not certain where it has been all my life.  Not only that, but I left the game with my parents and apparently my mother is a little obsessed.  We might have to make an intervention banner. 

Books Read: 31 (Only a few hundred pages left, but A Storm of Swords is so good… and intense… and emotionally devastating.  I might have been cursing George R.R. Martin in a manner I typically reserve for Joss Whedon after a particularly upsetting character death)

Coming Soon: Sarah analyzes what will need to happen for us to get to a future where we don’t need roads.