The standee for "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People" hadn't done much for me, and the title is entirely too long, but the trailer was terrific, and the movie was starring Jeff Bridges, Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox, all of whom I like.
Unfortunately, I found that the expectations which had been set for me from the trailer were not fulfilled in the film itself. The movie tried very hard to be really funny, but I could see that it was trying without really ever getting to where I think they were going. There were bursts of laughter and good moments, but there were also a lot of awkward moments where something was supposed to be funny, but it didn't work, so it just sat there like a blob. Sure, there were lots of funny stuff that was in the trailer, but those moments didn't work very well in the flow of the movie itself, and you really need more moments than what are just in the trailer.
I think what ultimately didn't work for me was that Sidney truly sold himself out. It wasn't that he changed his perspective, but he really did just plunge right in there, all to just get Sophie's attention. He didn't really like what he was doing, and he became the very thing he hated.
The trailer for the Mother Teresa film was pretty hilarious though, and it reminded me a lot of the trailers from "Tropic Thunder". And yes, they made a website for it too. You can see the trailer on the website. And the film about Mother Teresa - it's rated NC17! I love that they're all doing this!
One of the major pleasant surprises of the movie is Gillian Anderson, who is absolutely fabulous as Sophie's high-powered publicist/handler. She definitely steals the scenes that she's in.
Simon Pegg was ok, but I wasn't as enamoured of him as I normally am of Brits. But I'll see him again next year, as he'll be donning a Scottish accent to play Scotty in the next "Star Trek" movie.
Jeff Bridges was ok in the film, but he really didn't have all that much to do other than to spout four-letter words in a couple of scenes.
I did think Kirsten Dunst was quite good in this, hitting the right notes at the right time.
But as for Megan Fox, I have no idea why she agreed to do this role. It was mostly a nothing role, so I guess if she wanted to prove that she could play a vapid airhead, she's proven she can do it. She mostly just gets to look beautiful and sexy in this film, which is all well and good, but she's got a lot more going for her. If I hadn't already seen how terrific she was in "Transformers", I probably wouldn't have thought much of her based on her performance in this film.
But on a semi-related note, I did find it amusing that the first time you're introduced to Sophie, standing right next to her is Brian Austin Green, who is Megan Fox's real-life boyfriend/fiance (not sure if they're engaged or not).
I can't really recommend this movie, even though I didn't hate it. I'd say that if you're interested, wait until it's out on DVD.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
"Survivor: Gabon" - October 9, 2008 episode
After tribal council, Kota is discussing the events of the night, and Ace realizes that Kelly voted for him, so Ace targets her next.
At Fang, Randy sees that the rice is still being depleted too quickly and wants to cut down to one meal a day, but again, he clashes with GC. Randy then forms an alliance with Dan, Susie and Matty against GC, Ben and Crystal.
The tribes are gathered and are asked to rank their individual tribe members from top to bottom according to importance to the tribe. Each member fills out their own questionnaire, and then the results are tabulated. For Kota, the order of importance is Marcus, Ace, Bob, Charlie, Jacquie, Corinne, Sugar and Kelly. For Fang, the order is Matty, Dan, Randy, Crystal, Ken, GC and Susie.
Jeff then tells them that they're mixing up tribes, with Marcus heading up the new Kota tribe and Matty heading up the new Fang tribe. The new teams are as follows:
Kota - Marcus, Dan, Charlie, Randy, Corinne, Susie and Bob
Fang - Matty, Ace, Crystal, Jacquie, Ken, GC and Kelly
Charlie was just entirely too happy that he was chosen to be on Marcus' team, but then again, Charlie is in love with Marcus. It was totally funny that GC was the last picked on his team. And I guess Ken decided to vote for the underdog since he is often on, and he picked Kelly, over Ace's objections.
Since there's an odd number of contestants at the moment, Sugar is left unchosen. She is sent to Exile, where she will stay until after tribal council, and she will join whichever tribe ends up sending a member home. Since she's already found the hidden individual immunity idol, she chooses comfort and gets to enjoy the hammock and the fresh fruit. She's actually the perfect person to go there since she's going to be there for a little while, but she doesn't have to spend all that time working and looking, but instead, she can just relax. She hopes that Fang ends up at tribal council and that they vote off Kelly so she can be with Ace again.
Kelly, meanwhile, is completely happy with her new Fang tribe since she doesn't like her old Kota teammates.
At the immunity challenge, it is a sort of field hockey (or jai alai) on the water. Each of the members has a small round float, and they have a paddle with holes at the bottom. Jeff will toss a ball into the water, and they have to get to the ball and pass it to other team members to score a goal in the opposing team's net. First team to score three wins. Kota kicks complete ass on this challenge, as Marcus is motoring around just fine, getting the ball each time. And each time, he manages to get the ball to Randy, who is positioned near Fang's goal. Randy ends up making all three goals for Kota. The first one, he had to shoot around goalie Ace; the second one, he had a free shot because no one was protecting the goal; and the third one, he had to fight some since Fang was finally putting up a fight, but in the end, he managed to score the winner. Most of the members of Fang just sat around, either not being able to move their floats or not even trying at all, just sitting and staring. The husband figured out the problem some of them might have been having when a couple of the floats flipped upside down. There was a big plastic keel on the bottom, so if someone was paddling with the wrong orientation, they wouldn't really be able to move. They'd have to know to paddle with the keel facing forward. Ben mentioned that he just kept spinning in circles, so the husband figures he was paddling facing the wrong side, which would have made him to that.
As Fang is coming back into their camp, there is a shot of Jacquie and Kelly, and with them both wearing a swimsuit top and shorts and their team buff around their midsection like a tank top, and their blonde hair braided, they almost look like twins. An alliance of sorts is formed among Matty, Crystal, Ken and GC. They initially want to vote out Kelly because she's so weak, but Kelly has told the others about Ace's closeness to both Sugar and Jacquie, and they know that Sugar will be joining their tribe, and they're concerned about the threesome as a team. They think about voting off Ace but decide that they still need him to help the team, so they target Jacquie instead. When Jacquie hears about this, she does a valiant effort of pleading her case to Matty and Ben and Crystal, but in the end, it's in vain, and she's voted out, with Sugar due to then join the Fang team.
At Fang, Randy sees that the rice is still being depleted too quickly and wants to cut down to one meal a day, but again, he clashes with GC. Randy then forms an alliance with Dan, Susie and Matty against GC, Ben and Crystal.
The tribes are gathered and are asked to rank their individual tribe members from top to bottom according to importance to the tribe. Each member fills out their own questionnaire, and then the results are tabulated. For Kota, the order of importance is Marcus, Ace, Bob, Charlie, Jacquie, Corinne, Sugar and Kelly. For Fang, the order is Matty, Dan, Randy, Crystal, Ken, GC and Susie.
Jeff then tells them that they're mixing up tribes, with Marcus heading up the new Kota tribe and Matty heading up the new Fang tribe. The new teams are as follows:
Kota - Marcus, Dan, Charlie, Randy, Corinne, Susie and Bob
Fang - Matty, Ace, Crystal, Jacquie, Ken, GC and Kelly
Charlie was just entirely too happy that he was chosen to be on Marcus' team, but then again, Charlie is in love with Marcus. It was totally funny that GC was the last picked on his team. And I guess Ken decided to vote for the underdog since he is often on, and he picked Kelly, over Ace's objections.
Since there's an odd number of contestants at the moment, Sugar is left unchosen. She is sent to Exile, where she will stay until after tribal council, and she will join whichever tribe ends up sending a member home. Since she's already found the hidden individual immunity idol, she chooses comfort and gets to enjoy the hammock and the fresh fruit. She's actually the perfect person to go there since she's going to be there for a little while, but she doesn't have to spend all that time working and looking, but instead, she can just relax. She hopes that Fang ends up at tribal council and that they vote off Kelly so she can be with Ace again.
Kelly, meanwhile, is completely happy with her new Fang tribe since she doesn't like her old Kota teammates.
At the immunity challenge, it is a sort of field hockey (or jai alai) on the water. Each of the members has a small round float, and they have a paddle with holes at the bottom. Jeff will toss a ball into the water, and they have to get to the ball and pass it to other team members to score a goal in the opposing team's net. First team to score three wins. Kota kicks complete ass on this challenge, as Marcus is motoring around just fine, getting the ball each time. And each time, he manages to get the ball to Randy, who is positioned near Fang's goal. Randy ends up making all three goals for Kota. The first one, he had to shoot around goalie Ace; the second one, he had a free shot because no one was protecting the goal; and the third one, he had to fight some since Fang was finally putting up a fight, but in the end, he managed to score the winner. Most of the members of Fang just sat around, either not being able to move their floats or not even trying at all, just sitting and staring. The husband figured out the problem some of them might have been having when a couple of the floats flipped upside down. There was a big plastic keel on the bottom, so if someone was paddling with the wrong orientation, they wouldn't really be able to move. They'd have to know to paddle with the keel facing forward. Ben mentioned that he just kept spinning in circles, so the husband figures he was paddling facing the wrong side, which would have made him to that.
As Fang is coming back into their camp, there is a shot of Jacquie and Kelly, and with them both wearing a swimsuit top and shorts and their team buff around their midsection like a tank top, and their blonde hair braided, they almost look like twins. An alliance of sorts is formed among Matty, Crystal, Ken and GC. They initially want to vote out Kelly because she's so weak, but Kelly has told the others about Ace's closeness to both Sugar and Jacquie, and they know that Sugar will be joining their tribe, and they're concerned about the threesome as a team. They think about voting off Ace but decide that they still need him to help the team, so they target Jacquie instead. When Jacquie hears about this, she does a valiant effort of pleading her case to Matty and Ben and Crystal, but in the end, it's in vain, and she's voted out, with Sugar due to then join the Fang team.
Plaza Inn - breakfast review
The Disneyland Resort has a number of locations that offer not just a meal but also interaction with various characters. It has been a number of years since I've been to Plaza Inn - the last time we were there, it was still themed to the 100 Acre Woods characters (and one random friend). It has been themed to Minnie and Friends for some time now. When Disneyland was recently open very early in the morning because it was closing early for a special event, we decided to give the restaurant a visit for breakfast.
We arrived at the restaurant later in its operating time, and the restaurant wasn't terribly busy. I checked in with our reservation, and our group of five adults was herded to have our picture taken by the official photographer. I actually wasn't very happy to be forced to do it, but I suppose if I really objected, they would have relented. We then paid for our meals and then were taken to our assigned table, and we each picked up a themed button on the way. By this time, most of the diners were indoors, with very few people seated at the table outside.
Plaza Inn's character meal is a buffet, though not all character meals are buffets. I was actually a little disappointed with the food selections because it was truly a breakfast buffet. When we've done a breakfast buffet, we've usually gone to the Chip and Dale breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe, and that's actually a brunch selection, with a wider range of offerings. Plaza Inn had a small omelette bar (which also had whole eggs, so I was able to get two fried eggs, over easy, which I prefer to having an omelette), and then they had a separate section where you could get scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, link sausage and oatmeal. Potatoes were the only vegetable available, and I would have liked to have some other choices as well, maybe grilled tomatoes or something. They also had a section where you could get various pastries, muffins and croissants as well as Mickey-shaped waffles and fruit. Cereal selections are also available. Drinks are also included with the meal, but for some reason, both juice dispensers were out of order. Instead, they were putting out the small kid's juice boxes of orange juice and apple juice. I get that sometimes, things go wrong, but it doesn't bode well for business when both juice dispensers are out of commission at the same time.
When we've gone to character meals, we've generally gone with all adults, but that hasn't put a damper on our character interaction. We like to talk to the characters, and they seem happy to be able to interact with adults in a way that they don't with small children. We had a fairly weird visit with Tigger, and a very nice visit with Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. We were also able to observe Genie's antics, especially when he stole Captain Hook's sword. By the end of our visit, there weren't very many people left, so most of the characters came around, which included Minnie, Chip, Dale and Eeyore.
During our meal, a cast member came by with the picture that had been taken of our group, and everything was already printed up to see if we were interested. We all declined. That seems to be much more of a hard-sell, though I guess people might be more inclined to buy the picture if they see it in person rather than just on a screen. Seems to be a waste of paper to print all the pictures for all the people who don't end up buying them.
Because I wasn't that happy with the food selection, I don't expect a return visit anytime soon, maybe every several years just to give it a try. For my money, I'd much rather do the Chip and Dale breakfast.
The Plaza Inn breakfast is $24 for adults, with a 10% discount for premium annual passholders. The breakfast closes at 11am, and I wouldn't recommend a reservation later than 10am to make sure you have enough time to enjoy your meal and interact with the characters.
We arrived at the restaurant later in its operating time, and the restaurant wasn't terribly busy. I checked in with our reservation, and our group of five adults was herded to have our picture taken by the official photographer. I actually wasn't very happy to be forced to do it, but I suppose if I really objected, they would have relented. We then paid for our meals and then were taken to our assigned table, and we each picked up a themed button on the way. By this time, most of the diners were indoors, with very few people seated at the table outside.
Plaza Inn's character meal is a buffet, though not all character meals are buffets. I was actually a little disappointed with the food selections because it was truly a breakfast buffet. When we've done a breakfast buffet, we've usually gone to the Chip and Dale breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe, and that's actually a brunch selection, with a wider range of offerings. Plaza Inn had a small omelette bar (which also had whole eggs, so I was able to get two fried eggs, over easy, which I prefer to having an omelette), and then they had a separate section where you could get scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, link sausage and oatmeal. Potatoes were the only vegetable available, and I would have liked to have some other choices as well, maybe grilled tomatoes or something. They also had a section where you could get various pastries, muffins and croissants as well as Mickey-shaped waffles and fruit. Cereal selections are also available. Drinks are also included with the meal, but for some reason, both juice dispensers were out of order. Instead, they were putting out the small kid's juice boxes of orange juice and apple juice. I get that sometimes, things go wrong, but it doesn't bode well for business when both juice dispensers are out of commission at the same time.
When we've gone to character meals, we've generally gone with all adults, but that hasn't put a damper on our character interaction. We like to talk to the characters, and they seem happy to be able to interact with adults in a way that they don't with small children. We had a fairly weird visit with Tigger, and a very nice visit with Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. We were also able to observe Genie's antics, especially when he stole Captain Hook's sword. By the end of our visit, there weren't very many people left, so most of the characters came around, which included Minnie, Chip, Dale and Eeyore.
During our meal, a cast member came by with the picture that had been taken of our group, and everything was already printed up to see if we were interested. We all declined. That seems to be much more of a hard-sell, though I guess people might be more inclined to buy the picture if they see it in person rather than just on a screen. Seems to be a waste of paper to print all the pictures for all the people who don't end up buying them.
Because I wasn't that happy with the food selection, I don't expect a return visit anytime soon, maybe every several years just to give it a try. For my money, I'd much rather do the Chip and Dale breakfast.
The Plaza Inn breakfast is $24 for adults, with a 10% discount for premium annual passholders. The breakfast closes at 11am, and I wouldn't recommend a reservation later than 10am to make sure you have enough time to enjoy your meal and interact with the characters.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
"Lakeview Terrace" - spoiler movie review
Living next door to a police officer can be a good thing, but as "Lakeview Terrace" shows, it can also be a very bad thing.
Overall, I liked the film a lot. I was surprised that it was only PG-13, but then, there's not that much overt violence, and there's one suggested sex scene, and there are two f-bombs dropped in rapid succession. It's mostly a psychological thriller.
The film reminded me some of "Pacific Heights".
There's a part of me that can empathize with Abel Turner, and being subjected to crap as a police officer can certainly screw up your life. But he seems to have been on that road anyway. He's very strict with his two kids, and the third anniversary of his wife's death makes him still wonder where she was going with her boss when their car was hit head-on and they were killed. It's rare to see a case this overt where a black man has issues with white men, but in this case, it's really about the interracial pairing of the new neighbors.
I get that Chris and Lisa are excited about having a home and want to "christen" the pool, but they can't be dumb enough not to know that since the neighbors' houses are two-stories tall, they'd be able to see directly in the pool, and their loud giggling with all the lights turned on certainly wasn't going to hide anything.
And I know that Chris didn't want a baby at that time, but how cold was he when Lisa told him she was pregnant?
I loved Abel's line to Chris about listening to hip-hop music all night long, but in the morning, he's still going to be white.
OK, so when Lisa sees the intruder that Abel set up, why didn't the guy just keep running? What was Lisa going to do? She wasn't going to chase him, and she didn't have a gun or anything. If he'd just run down the stairs and out the back, he would have gotten away before anyone else could get there. What did he think he was going to get Lisa to be able to do by trying to talk to her or shut her up?
And as for Chris, you knew that he was goading Abel at the end, to get him to pull out the gun he had in his back. But apparently, Chris is too slow to react, since he did get shot by Abel before the cops shot Abel? I mean, he was the one who knew what he was doing. Wouldn't you think that as soon as he saw Abel flinch, he'd duck? Yeah, Abel's a cop and probably faster, but still, it didn't seem like Chris tried to get out of the way of the bullet at all.
Samuel Jackson was terrific in this film. He was great at being able to turn his expression on a dime, and that scene with him at the neighbors' housewarming party was just amazing. Although, I have to say, that one lady was pretty rude to make comments on an aside right in front of him.
There were some nice cameos of people I recognized - Ron Glass from "Barney Miller" fame as Lisa's father, Robert Pine from "CHiPs" as a police captain, and Eva LaRue from "All My Children" and "CSI: Miami" as another police officer.
Overall, I liked the film a lot. I was surprised that it was only PG-13, but then, there's not that much overt violence, and there's one suggested sex scene, and there are two f-bombs dropped in rapid succession. It's mostly a psychological thriller.
The film reminded me some of "Pacific Heights".
There's a part of me that can empathize with Abel Turner, and being subjected to crap as a police officer can certainly screw up your life. But he seems to have been on that road anyway. He's very strict with his two kids, and the third anniversary of his wife's death makes him still wonder where she was going with her boss when their car was hit head-on and they were killed. It's rare to see a case this overt where a black man has issues with white men, but in this case, it's really about the interracial pairing of the new neighbors.
I get that Chris and Lisa are excited about having a home and want to "christen" the pool, but they can't be dumb enough not to know that since the neighbors' houses are two-stories tall, they'd be able to see directly in the pool, and their loud giggling with all the lights turned on certainly wasn't going to hide anything.
And I know that Chris didn't want a baby at that time, but how cold was he when Lisa told him she was pregnant?
I loved Abel's line to Chris about listening to hip-hop music all night long, but in the morning, he's still going to be white.
OK, so when Lisa sees the intruder that Abel set up, why didn't the guy just keep running? What was Lisa going to do? She wasn't going to chase him, and she didn't have a gun or anything. If he'd just run down the stairs and out the back, he would have gotten away before anyone else could get there. What did he think he was going to get Lisa to be able to do by trying to talk to her or shut her up?
And as for Chris, you knew that he was goading Abel at the end, to get him to pull out the gun he had in his back. But apparently, Chris is too slow to react, since he did get shot by Abel before the cops shot Abel? I mean, he was the one who knew what he was doing. Wouldn't you think that as soon as he saw Abel flinch, he'd duck? Yeah, Abel's a cop and probably faster, but still, it didn't seem like Chris tried to get out of the way of the bullet at all.
Samuel Jackson was terrific in this film. He was great at being able to turn his expression on a dime, and that scene with him at the neighbors' housewarming party was just amazing. Although, I have to say, that one lady was pretty rude to make comments on an aside right in front of him.
There were some nice cameos of people I recognized - Ron Glass from "Barney Miller" fame as Lisa's father, Robert Pine from "CHiPs" as a police captain, and Eva LaRue from "All My Children" and "CSI: Miami" as another police officer.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
"90210" - October 7, 2008 episode
Annie and Ethan are in a class together where students are paired up to take care of a baby. They're paired up as a married couple with her being a lawyer and him as a stay-at-home dad. The two share the task of taking care of their baby, and the interaction draws them closer, leading to an almost-kiss. OK, so what's up with Ty?
At one point, Annie couldn't find the baby and finally found it underneath her jeans in a corner of the bathroom. How funny was Debbie's line of "Nobody puts baby in the corner"?!
Tracy (Naomi's mother) talks to Harry and tells him that she wants to hire a private investigator to look for their son that she gave up for adoption. Harry talks to Debbie and they agree that going to the adoption agency and filling out paperwork so that if the son wants to find them, he can, is a good idea. However, when Harry goes back to talk to Tracy, she has already hired a private eye. She says that Harry might still be getting used to the idea, but she's been thinking about their son since she was 19. When Harry gives her a comforting hug, she misinterprets the gesture and kisses him, but he pulls away. He later tells Debbie, which infuriates her, and both wish that Tracy wasn't in their lives, but the existence of the joint son makes that impossible. So Tracy going after Harry for real finally begins.
Silver is celebrating a half-birthday, and she gets a bunch of people to attend a screening of "Psycho" at Hollywood Forever. Dixon isn't really into horror movies, so she tries to show him the ones she really loves, but it's not really taking. He does try to take an interest in things that interest her. You would *never* catch me agreeing to see a movie in a cemetery. No.way.
Naomi sees Adrianna and says that she hasn't talked to her in a long time. Adrianna says that she's been really busy with auditions and stuff, and Naomi fills her in on all the bad things happening in her life. The two reaffirm their BFF status by switching the matching necklaces that they're wearing. Adrianna has the audition for the slasher movie that afternoon, and she and Naomi arrange to meet afterward to hang out. Adrianna gets the part but ends up celebrating by doing coke with her other friends, standing up Naomi instead. When Naomi confronts her the next day at school, Naomi is really worried, moreso when she sees a telltale lipstick container. It seems that Naomi was the one who introduced Adrianna to "c&c" - coke and champagne - and the lipstick container was what Naomi used to hold the coke. She's appalled that Adrianna has it and is still using. At that moment, drug-sniffing dogs enter the school, and Adrianna panics that if she gets caught, she will be suspended or expelled and will lose her movie. Naomi takes the lipstick container from her, runs to the bathroom, and dumps out the contents, but she's caught with the container, which still has residuals of the coke. She's taken to jail, and she thought her father would be able to get her out of the mess, but he says he can't. Annie had seen Naomi take the container from Adrianna, and she and Ethan implore Adrianna to tell the truth and bail Naomi out. When Adrianna later goes to see Naomi, Naomi also asks her to fess up, which Adrianna agrees to do. She goes home to break it to her mom first, but her mother reveals that they were about to lose the house, but now that Adrianna's gotten the part, everything's going to be fine. OK, one slasher film can't pay all that well - that's going to save the house? Doesn't the mom work? Naomi and her father meet with a lawyer, and Naomi keeps telling them that Adrianna is going to show up and explain everything, but Adrianna never does. Naomi then leaves a scathing voicemail for Adrianna, telling her that she's dead to Naomi. Unbeknownst to Naomi, Adrianna has overdosed and is being treated by paramedics and her condition is unknown.
There's this new girl in Annie's class named Kimberly, but she's really a bitch and rubs everyone the wrong way. It turns out that she's actually an undercover police office with the narcotics division to try to bust the drug ring in school, and Harry is aware of her real identity.
What was up with the striped shirts that looked like referee-wear? There were a couple scenes where 3 or 4 people were wearing shirts like that.
At one point, Annie couldn't find the baby and finally found it underneath her jeans in a corner of the bathroom. How funny was Debbie's line of "Nobody puts baby in the corner"?!
Tracy (Naomi's mother) talks to Harry and tells him that she wants to hire a private investigator to look for their son that she gave up for adoption. Harry talks to Debbie and they agree that going to the adoption agency and filling out paperwork so that if the son wants to find them, he can, is a good idea. However, when Harry goes back to talk to Tracy, she has already hired a private eye. She says that Harry might still be getting used to the idea, but she's been thinking about their son since she was 19. When Harry gives her a comforting hug, she misinterprets the gesture and kisses him, but he pulls away. He later tells Debbie, which infuriates her, and both wish that Tracy wasn't in their lives, but the existence of the joint son makes that impossible. So Tracy going after Harry for real finally begins.
Silver is celebrating a half-birthday, and she gets a bunch of people to attend a screening of "Psycho" at Hollywood Forever. Dixon isn't really into horror movies, so she tries to show him the ones she really loves, but it's not really taking. He does try to take an interest in things that interest her. You would *never* catch me agreeing to see a movie in a cemetery. No.way.
Naomi sees Adrianna and says that she hasn't talked to her in a long time. Adrianna says that she's been really busy with auditions and stuff, and Naomi fills her in on all the bad things happening in her life. The two reaffirm their BFF status by switching the matching necklaces that they're wearing. Adrianna has the audition for the slasher movie that afternoon, and she and Naomi arrange to meet afterward to hang out. Adrianna gets the part but ends up celebrating by doing coke with her other friends, standing up Naomi instead. When Naomi confronts her the next day at school, Naomi is really worried, moreso when she sees a telltale lipstick container. It seems that Naomi was the one who introduced Adrianna to "c&c" - coke and champagne - and the lipstick container was what Naomi used to hold the coke. She's appalled that Adrianna has it and is still using. At that moment, drug-sniffing dogs enter the school, and Adrianna panics that if she gets caught, she will be suspended or expelled and will lose her movie. Naomi takes the lipstick container from her, runs to the bathroom, and dumps out the contents, but she's caught with the container, which still has residuals of the coke. She's taken to jail, and she thought her father would be able to get her out of the mess, but he says he can't. Annie had seen Naomi take the container from Adrianna, and she and Ethan implore Adrianna to tell the truth and bail Naomi out. When Adrianna later goes to see Naomi, Naomi also asks her to fess up, which Adrianna agrees to do. She goes home to break it to her mom first, but her mother reveals that they were about to lose the house, but now that Adrianna's gotten the part, everything's going to be fine. OK, one slasher film can't pay all that well - that's going to save the house? Doesn't the mom work? Naomi and her father meet with a lawyer, and Naomi keeps telling them that Adrianna is going to show up and explain everything, but Adrianna never does. Naomi then leaves a scathing voicemail for Adrianna, telling her that she's dead to Naomi. Unbeknownst to Naomi, Adrianna has overdosed and is being treated by paramedics and her condition is unknown.
There's this new girl in Annie's class named Kimberly, but she's really a bitch and rubs everyone the wrong way. It turns out that she's actually an undercover police office with the narcotics division to try to bust the drug ring in school, and Harry is aware of her real identity.
What was up with the striped shirts that looked like referee-wear? There were a couple scenes where 3 or 4 people were wearing shirts like that.
"The Big Bang Theory" - October 6, 2008 episode
Sheldon's online, multiplayer game of Conan is interrupted by Penny unsuccessfully getting in her apartment because she put her car key in the lock rather than her door key. She's depressed because she's been in L.A. for two years and has never gotten an acting role, she hasn't gotten a raise at work, she accidentally ate a fly, and the locksmith will be there when he's there to help her out. Sheldon reluctantly invites her to wait in his apartment, where he then introduces her to the Conan game.
How cute was that little calico kitty licking her melting ice cream?
Sheldon unwittingly creates a monster because Penny gets addicted to the game, playing non-stop, neglecting everything else and hounding Sheldon day and night, wherever he is when she needs help. Leonard tells him to just ask Penny to stop, but he says he has texted her and even sent a very emphatic Twitter message! All to no avail.
Sheldon even signs her up for an online dating service, but she has zero interest in the firefighter who shows up.
At one point, Penny is playing, and a stranger joins her in the game. It's Howard, who invites her to the local tavern, which Penny accepts. That's when Penny knows she's gone too far and needs to quit.
How cute was that little calico kitty licking her melting ice cream?
Sheldon unwittingly creates a monster because Penny gets addicted to the game, playing non-stop, neglecting everything else and hounding Sheldon day and night, wherever he is when she needs help. Leonard tells him to just ask Penny to stop, but he says he has texted her and even sent a very emphatic Twitter message! All to no avail.
Sheldon even signs her up for an online dating service, but she has zero interest in the firefighter who shows up.
At one point, Penny is playing, and a stranger joins her in the game. It's Howard, who invites her to the local tavern, which Penny accepts. That's when Penny knows she's gone too far and needs to quit.
"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" - October 6, 2008 episode
There's a new terminator in town, something called the "triple 8", who seems to be like the normal exo-skeleton terminator in the first movie. They didn't say more about how this is distinguished from something like Cromartie or what its special/different abilities might be.
Triple 8 is going around killing all the people named Martin Bedell in the phone book, kinda like how in the first movie, terminator was killing all the women named Sarah Connor. Martin helps John start the resistance in the future, so I guess since they can't get to John, they'll go after Martin.
The first Martin Bedell has already been killed, so the group moves to the other two. They figure out which Martin Bedell they really need to protect, and Sarah reluctantly lets John go off with Derek to protect him. Sarah wants to protect John and keep him safe, but she also has to learn to let him go, so that he can develop the skills and leadership and character to become the John Connor that he's going to need to be.
Derek and John head off to the military academy where the real Martin Bedell is currently located. Derek says that he wants John to be enrolled, and the head of the academy agrees to let him try for a few weeks, but he also enlists Derek's help to be on staff temporarily. As a cadet, John actually meets Martin, and they strike up a friendship. Derek is a little unnerved by certain aspects of being at the academy, and when he's in front of a group of the cadets, he doesn't have much to say. However, when one of the cadets asks about his experience in war and asks how many kills he got and pretty much treats battle like a game, Derek gives him a serious dressing-down, describing the horrible and fatal realities of war.
Meanwhile, Triple 8 has moved onto the second Martin Bedell, who is a young boy. Sarah manages to save him in time, and she and Cameron hide him. Sarah has to reign in Cameron when Cameron is blunt to Marty about the truth behind what Triple 8 is and wants, and Cameron is a bit too forceful with Marty when he tries to call his mother. After Sarah gets Cameron to go a little easier on him, it was funny that Cameron still had Marty lifted by the shirt off the ground, and in her softer-voiced inflection, Cameron asks him, "Would you like a bedtime story?" to which Marty terrifiedly nods his head.
Triple 8 finally figures that he's at a dead end with Marty and heads to the third Martin Bedell. Derek and John set up a trap for him at the academy, and it was cool that while Sarah is playing mom to Marty and they're reading "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" together, the voice-over is done over the scenes of Triple 8 at the academy and the attacks on him. Oh, and Derek's and John's assumed last name at the academy was Baum. Triple 8 hones in on his target, Martin Bedell, but John gives him an even bigger target by presenting himself, distracting Triple 8 from killing Martin since killing John is a higher-priority directive. John manages to lure Triple 8 into a trap where John and Derek are able to disable and dispose of him in tar. John is later crushed when Derek reveals that in the future, Martin gave his life to save a truckful of prisoners which included John himself.
On a separate front, Ellison is still working for Catherine, and he is investigating the problem at the nuclear plant. He figures out that there are actually two machines and that they were fighting each other, and he also discovers that Sarah was involved somehow when he sees her in a picture taken at the local bar where the employees hung out. I'm not sure where this story is going, and I'm not all that interested at the moment. There was a side story about there being another person investigating, and Catherine needed to get rid of him. Yeah, I figured out pretty immediately that the hot girl hitting on him was actually her in disguise and that he was going to buy it.
Triple 8 is going around killing all the people named Martin Bedell in the phone book, kinda like how in the first movie, terminator was killing all the women named Sarah Connor. Martin helps John start the resistance in the future, so I guess since they can't get to John, they'll go after Martin.
The first Martin Bedell has already been killed, so the group moves to the other two. They figure out which Martin Bedell they really need to protect, and Sarah reluctantly lets John go off with Derek to protect him. Sarah wants to protect John and keep him safe, but she also has to learn to let him go, so that he can develop the skills and leadership and character to become the John Connor that he's going to need to be.
Derek and John head off to the military academy where the real Martin Bedell is currently located. Derek says that he wants John to be enrolled, and the head of the academy agrees to let him try for a few weeks, but he also enlists Derek's help to be on staff temporarily. As a cadet, John actually meets Martin, and they strike up a friendship. Derek is a little unnerved by certain aspects of being at the academy, and when he's in front of a group of the cadets, he doesn't have much to say. However, when one of the cadets asks about his experience in war and asks how many kills he got and pretty much treats battle like a game, Derek gives him a serious dressing-down, describing the horrible and fatal realities of war.
Meanwhile, Triple 8 has moved onto the second Martin Bedell, who is a young boy. Sarah manages to save him in time, and she and Cameron hide him. Sarah has to reign in Cameron when Cameron is blunt to Marty about the truth behind what Triple 8 is and wants, and Cameron is a bit too forceful with Marty when he tries to call his mother. After Sarah gets Cameron to go a little easier on him, it was funny that Cameron still had Marty lifted by the shirt off the ground, and in her softer-voiced inflection, Cameron asks him, "Would you like a bedtime story?" to which Marty terrifiedly nods his head.
Triple 8 finally figures that he's at a dead end with Marty and heads to the third Martin Bedell. Derek and John set up a trap for him at the academy, and it was cool that while Sarah is playing mom to Marty and they're reading "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" together, the voice-over is done over the scenes of Triple 8 at the academy and the attacks on him. Oh, and Derek's and John's assumed last name at the academy was Baum. Triple 8 hones in on his target, Martin Bedell, but John gives him an even bigger target by presenting himself, distracting Triple 8 from killing Martin since killing John is a higher-priority directive. John manages to lure Triple 8 into a trap where John and Derek are able to disable and dispose of him in tar. John is later crushed when Derek reveals that in the future, Martin gave his life to save a truckful of prisoners which included John himself.
On a separate front, Ellison is still working for Catherine, and he is investigating the problem at the nuclear plant. He figures out that there are actually two machines and that they were fighting each other, and he also discovers that Sarah was involved somehow when he sees her in a picture taken at the local bar where the employees hung out. I'm not sure where this story is going, and I'm not all that interested at the moment. There was a side story about there being another person investigating, and Catherine needed to get rid of him. Yeah, I figured out pretty immediately that the hot girl hitting on him was actually her in disguise and that he was going to buy it.
Monday, October 6, 2008
"Knight Rider" - October 1, 2008 episode
The episode was something about trying to catch people who are trading or smuggling high-tech stuff, and Michael had to get in good with some people who happened to be into racing, so he was doing the macho racing thing with them for pink slips like something out of "Grease", and then predictably at the end, his bestest bud from the Army was in on it and turned on him and then he drove his truck into a ravine and went crash-boom-explode-fireball, and Michael was kind of sad, and then K.I.T.T. was apparently learning things from watching Westerns. Most of what I remember is that during all the driving scenes, it was painfully obvious that the actor/actress was sitting in a fake vehicle with a rear-projection screen behind him/her. It looked absolutely awful.
I tried to stick with the show because I wanted to give Justin Bruening a chance, but really, he's wasted in this show. He actually had something to do in the pilot, but these two first episodes give him nothing to show his abilities. He just looks good with the car, but sorry, that's not enough for me.
The husband is still watching, but I'm out.
I tried to stick with the show because I wanted to give Justin Bruening a chance, but really, he's wasted in this show. He actually had something to do in the pilot, but these two first episodes give him nothing to show his abilities. He just looks good with the car, but sorry, that's not enough for me.
The husband is still watching, but I'm out.
Halloween costume
I am not a costume person.
I've never been into costumes. My parents didn't really get the whole Halloween thing when I was a kid, so we never really had costumes when we would actually go out for trick or treating. I've done costumes for plays and such, but otherwise, I'm usually one of the people at a Halloween party who doesn't wear a costume. It doesn't mean I'm a party pooper or that I have no idea how to have a good time like some militant costume people have spouted - it's just not my thing.
But for some reason, I apparently became a costume person this year. OK, so it was a really simple minor costume instead of some elaborate thing, but I actually made an attempt.
Disney has had a Halloween event for the last couple years, which includes a separately-ticketed event at DCA on a couple nights in October. I've been every year and never worn a costume. The husband and I have gone to Mickey's Halloween Treat every year in just regular clothes and still had the best time. For some reason, this year, they decided to change the name to Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party, even though it's exactly the same thing. We were going to be meeting up with various friends during the course of the event.
Sometime earlier this year, I had actually come up with a rather strange idea for a costume, completely out of the blue. I have a plug-in cup warmer at work, and I wanted to get something like that, but one that was battery-powered so I wouldn't have the plug to deal with. Then I was going to get one of those squishy balls shaped and painted to look like the earth. I would put the earth ball on the cup warmer (without the batteries since I didn't actually want to melt the ball) and - voila - my costume is global warming! Well, I never really got around to getting the cup warmer.
About a week and a half before the event, I happened upon a new costume idea, which sort of took shape haphazardly. So, when we went to the event this past Friday night, I was actually costumed.
First, I started by getting this t-shirt from thinkgeek.
You do know the significance of a red shirt in the "Star Trek" universe, right?
I wore black leggings and black tennis shoes with the t-shirt.
And then last weekend, the husband and I were in Michael's, and we were wandering the aisles looking for things we needed, but then I happened to wander into the aisle with boas. Hmmm, maybe I need to dress up my outfit. If I'm going to be a red-shirt sacrifice on the planet, I should go out looking good, right? So I picked up a feather boa that looked something like this.
The boa I got actually had more gold highlights in it, which I like better. This one is a little too subtle.
Now, those who actually know me know that I'm not a feather boa kind of person. I'm not a frilly girl and have never had an occasion to need a boa. Heck, even in this situation, I didn't need a boa. So why did I decide to add a boa to my make-shift costume? I have no idea. I don't know quite how weird I looked with that particular outfit, but hey, it was a costume, so you can wear things you wouldn't normally wear, right? Yeah, no, I don't get it either.
And to complete the outfit, I brought someone to protect me from actually being killed on the planet.
This is Q, dressed from the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint". Hey, our colors even matched, mostly. Q looks a bit weird in this picture, but my Q is actually cuter.
I don't think anyone else knew what my costume was, but my friends seemed to enjoy the joke of my shirt. I don't think anyone asked why I had the boa. Q seemed to go over pretty well, even with those who had no idea who he was.
So, there was my costumed event, and I don't expect I'll be doing another costume anytime soon.
Oh, and if I got any girlie points for buying and wearing the boa on Friday night, I think I lost them again on Sunday night. On the way home, we decided to stop for dinner. The husband gave me the choice of Mimi's or T.G.I. Friday's. I picked Friday's because I figured they'd still have the Sunday Night Football game on.
Did I mention I'm not a girlie girl, feather-boa-ownership aside?
I've never been into costumes. My parents didn't really get the whole Halloween thing when I was a kid, so we never really had costumes when we would actually go out for trick or treating. I've done costumes for plays and such, but otherwise, I'm usually one of the people at a Halloween party who doesn't wear a costume. It doesn't mean I'm a party pooper or that I have no idea how to have a good time like some militant costume people have spouted - it's just not my thing.
But for some reason, I apparently became a costume person this year. OK, so it was a really simple minor costume instead of some elaborate thing, but I actually made an attempt.
Disney has had a Halloween event for the last couple years, which includes a separately-ticketed event at DCA on a couple nights in October. I've been every year and never worn a costume. The husband and I have gone to Mickey's Halloween Treat every year in just regular clothes and still had the best time. For some reason, this year, they decided to change the name to Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party, even though it's exactly the same thing. We were going to be meeting up with various friends during the course of the event.
Sometime earlier this year, I had actually come up with a rather strange idea for a costume, completely out of the blue. I have a plug-in cup warmer at work, and I wanted to get something like that, but one that was battery-powered so I wouldn't have the plug to deal with. Then I was going to get one of those squishy balls shaped and painted to look like the earth. I would put the earth ball on the cup warmer (without the batteries since I didn't actually want to melt the ball) and - voila - my costume is global warming! Well, I never really got around to getting the cup warmer.
About a week and a half before the event, I happened upon a new costume idea, which sort of took shape haphazardly. So, when we went to the event this past Friday night, I was actually costumed.
First, I started by getting this t-shirt from thinkgeek.
You do know the significance of a red shirt in the "Star Trek" universe, right?
I wore black leggings and black tennis shoes with the t-shirt.
And then last weekend, the husband and I were in Michael's, and we were wandering the aisles looking for things we needed, but then I happened to wander into the aisle with boas. Hmmm, maybe I need to dress up my outfit. If I'm going to be a red-shirt sacrifice on the planet, I should go out looking good, right? So I picked up a feather boa that looked something like this.
The boa I got actually had more gold highlights in it, which I like better. This one is a little too subtle.
Now, those who actually know me know that I'm not a feather boa kind of person. I'm not a frilly girl and have never had an occasion to need a boa. Heck, even in this situation, I didn't need a boa. So why did I decide to add a boa to my make-shift costume? I have no idea. I don't know quite how weird I looked with that particular outfit, but hey, it was a costume, so you can wear things you wouldn't normally wear, right? Yeah, no, I don't get it either.
And to complete the outfit, I brought someone to protect me from actually being killed on the planet.
This is Q, dressed from the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint". Hey, our colors even matched, mostly. Q looks a bit weird in this picture, but my Q is actually cuter.
I don't think anyone else knew what my costume was, but my friends seemed to enjoy the joke of my shirt. I don't think anyone asked why I had the boa. Q seemed to go over pretty well, even with those who had no idea who he was.
So, there was my costumed event, and I don't expect I'll be doing another costume anytime soon.
Oh, and if I got any girlie points for buying and wearing the boa on Friday night, I think I lost them again on Sunday night. On the way home, we decided to stop for dinner. The husband gave me the choice of Mimi's or T.G.I. Friday's. I picked Friday's because I figured they'd still have the Sunday Night Football game on.
Did I mention I'm not a girlie girl, feather-boa-ownership aside?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
"America's Toughest Jobs" - October 3, 2008 episode
The job this week is bridge maintenance, set in San Pedro, California at the site of the Vincent Thomas Bridge. Their initial tasks include pulling up supplies and cleaning the bridge, from about 20 stories up in the air. Chris' fear of heights gives the other contestants quite a laugh. The hardest task is having to walk up the suspension bridge to clean the lights. Most are ok with it, but Chris' fear is getting the better of him, but prior arguments aside, Sandy is his cheerleader and gives him a pep talk to strengthen his courage and resolve, and he admits that she was the one who got him through it. The last task is to paint a part of the bridge, with the group divided into two teams and Ben as the supervisor. Sandy makes a grave error, though, and almost puts a ladder in the path of an oncoming car.
Ben is deemed the best of the group, and the bottom two are Sandy, for her huge safety error, and Chris, for his performance. The face-off challenge between the two is having to climb the bridge again, but this time, at night, to turn on four lights. The person taking the most time to complete the task loses. Sandy is humbled by how losing focus and making a stupid mistake put her in the bottom two, and she's determined to do better, racing to finish her job. For Chris, though, without Sandy's assistance, he can't bring himself to make it to even the first light, and he gives up, so when Sandy returns after completing her task, he is eliminated. Sandy is happy that even though they clashed previously, she has at least won some respect from Chris. I'm glad to see Chris go.
At the end, it is stated that Chris is now a police officer in Pasadena. A sexist, homophobic guy with anger-management issues, on the Pasadena police force? God help them.
Ben is deemed the best of the group, and the bottom two are Sandy, for her huge safety error, and Chris, for his performance. The face-off challenge between the two is having to climb the bridge again, but this time, at night, to turn on four lights. The person taking the most time to complete the task loses. Sandy is humbled by how losing focus and making a stupid mistake put her in the bottom two, and she's determined to do better, racing to finish her job. For Chris, though, without Sandy's assistance, he can't bring himself to make it to even the first light, and he gives up, so when Sandy returns after completing her task, he is eliminated. Sandy is happy that even though they clashed previously, she has at least won some respect from Chris. I'm glad to see Chris go.
At the end, it is stated that Chris is now a police officer in Pasadena. A sexist, homophobic guy with anger-management issues, on the Pasadena police force? God help them.
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