Where or Where are you TV Tuesday???

So I'm a bit behind on my TV posting. Heck I can hardly keep up with my TiVo!!! Plus I'm a little frustrated with some of the returning shows, but more on that in another post. So what have I been doing lately...work, work and oh did I mention work?

Yeah, work is crazy...lots going on, same old-same old. But I've also got a whole list of home projects going too. I'm right now in the middle of a project to make crib bumpers for a very good friend who is expecting twins so that actually means TWO crib bumpers!!!! Surprisingly, they are coming out really, really cute. I need to take some pictures and post them.

So hopefully I'll catch up on the TV thing soon...and get those darn bumpers done before the babies go off to college!!!

Oh and tomorrow I find out if I've been selected to go to the Women's Conference.

Fun Fact Friday #15

My sister's name is Joey (hi Joey!) and so as kids she always got anything related to kangaroos. Even today if I see something with a kanagroo on it I have to get it for her. So when I saw this posting on Mental Floss I couldn't resist.

Tony the Tiger beat out several other spokes-animals to become the mascot for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. Newt the Gnu and Elmo the Elephant were top contenders, but they never made it into stores. Katy the Kangaroo, however, was displayed right next to Tony. The tiger swiftly clobbered the kangaroo in sales, and Katy was relegated to the bargain bin of history.

Even in the wilds of advertising, a Tiger will always win!

Life Imitating Art

This op-ed piece was in the New York Times the other day. I always wished Bartlet was really president...now we know what he would have thought of the craziness today...

Fun Fact Friday #14

This Sunday is yet another one of my favorite sporting events. That's right, it is the Emmy Awards! I think I appreciate the Emmy's more and more in recent years because I have seen a lot more of the nominated shows; unlike the Oscars since I never go to the movies anymore :(

This year's hosting should be interesting...it's being hosted by reality TV hosts like Ryan Seacrest and Heidi Klum. I sure hope this doesn't break the record of longest show (which BTW is 4 hours...that was is 1987). There is only so much Seacrest one should be subjected to!

Anywho...here's today's fun fact honoring the Emmy's.

The name "Emmy" is a feminization of the nickname "Immy," which was named after the image orthicon tube, part of a TV camera.

I'm sure you are as satisfied to know that as I am ;)

TV Tuesday Bonus: Whatever Martha

This couldn't wait a week! Here's a little math problem for you:

Overexposed Lifestyle Goddess * will do anything for $/prison + bitter daughter =

So here is the premise...Alexis Stewart and her friend, Jennifer Koppleman Hutt, take Martha Stewart show clips and provide commentary on them and the queen herself (Think Mystery Science Theater 3000 crossed with an episode of classic Martha Stewart Living). And trust me, NOTHING and I mean nothing is held back. These gals are vicious! Is Alexis just a little bitter...I think so!

This was funny...and if you ever tried Martha anything (guilty as charged) you will at some level appreciate this. If you ever watched any of her million shows and yelled back at the TV at how ridiculous it was(case in point the segment they showed in the first episode about twine - yes, twine) you need to watch this.

This show is based off the Sirius satellite show that Alexis hosts of the same name. After episode two Alexis really started to bug me...her hair was freaky and seriously, this girl is really bitter! The other thing that bugs me a bit is that the show is executive produced by Martha herself...which for some reason takes the fun out of it just a wee bit. But these gals let it rip, so I'll have to give Martha some credit for being able to laugh at herself...of course she's laughing while carrying all her bags of money to the bank!!!

Whatever Martha is found on the Fine Living network Tuesday nights 9pm e/p and if you go to the site, there are a couple of the segments there to watch.

TV Tuesday: 90210

OK I tried...really I did...honest. I was totally NOT going to watch this show but in a haze of food poisoning with my trusty MacBook and furry pup I curled up on the couch and I caved. So sue me....I enjoyed it!

Yes I was a fan of the original and I think that is why I wasn't too interested about watching the 'new' 90210. Add on top of it all the media hype and the Shannen this and Tori that I was just not interested. But I watched and after just 1 episode I think I'm on the verge of getting seriously hooked. Oh God, please forgive me...

So the premise is pretty much the same as the original...small town brother and sister move to West Bev-er-ly. There are definitely some twists like Dixon, the brother, is adopted and African American (and played by cutie Tristan Wilds of The Wire fame). The sister, Annie is far less brooding that her predecessor Brenda. The Dad is the new principal at West Beverly and has returned to help his aging movie star mother, played deliciously by Jessica Walter (oh how I miss Arrested Development). Oh and Dad also has a connection to Kelly and an illegitimate kid with one of the West Bev parents - whew, that was a lot!

From there you move into the array of new and old faces. There's your mix of evil spoiled brats, jocks, nerds, druggies and outcasts. Sounds like high school to me, right? Returning faces include theatre star (yes, you are supposed to say that with a fake English accent) Brenda; guidance counselor Kelly, in toe with a 4 year old son whose father is mysteriously out of the picture...hmmmm; Kelly's Mom who is still very high maintenance; little Erin (Kelly's baby sis) who is now all grown up and goes by Silver (and falls in the outcast catagory, but I like her); and last but not least the Peach Pit is back with good ol' Nat and boy has the Peach Pit grown up too.

I've only watched the pilot, but I finished wanting more. I'm not exactly sure why I did...I was annoyed by a lot of the new characters, the story lines are kinda predictable, but for me I think it's like driving past an accident on the highway...you know you shouldn't look, but you just can't turn away. If you are into very cheesy, soap-operay, TV, than this is your show!

90210 is on Tuesday's at 8:00pm on the CW. The 2 hour pilot and last week's episode are available online at cwtv.com

Sarah vs. Hillary

Did I catch your attention? Nah, I'm not going to add to the debate, but I couldn't help but laugh after seeing this...

Tina Fey...you crack me up!

Fun Fact Friday #13

It's back....yup, I know you've missed my tidbits of useless information so here goes...

"According to doctors, humans suffer an average of 14 episodes of flatulence per day."

I found this interesting considering Ruby (who although isn't a human) was totally in that range yesterday. Oh that and I'm suffering from a case of stomach poisoning today (Fromage, that damn fromage!!!)

Here's hoping the air clears...

TV Tuesday: Sons of Anarchy

In an effort to try and keep blogging, I thought I might give take a stab at being an arm chair critic to give me something to write about on a somewhat regular basis. And to finally give up the ghost of saying I'm NOT addicted to TV ('Hi my name is Michele, and I'm a TV addict). Since it is the start of the new TV season I figured I'd give my 2cents on the new and the old and the good, the bad and the ugly! This week, I'll talk about the new FX series, Sons of Anarchy (SoA).

First a note on FX...FX has some smokin' great shows. I know Jen is a huge fan of The Shield and if you haven't seen Damages you really need to check it out. Also there is of course Nip/Tuck, The Riches and Rescue Me. FX is definitely not afraid to go out on a limb with their programming. So when I saw previews of SoA I thought I'd give it a chance and in a word, I'm intrigued.

Here's the premise...
The SoA are a motorcycle 'club' from the small town of Charming, CA (yep, a real place, I googled it!). The gang was started by two friends, Vietnam vets John Teller (deceased) and Clay Morrow current president. The SoA are intent on keeping the 'brotherhood' alive, keeping their town safe and keeping their livelyhood, let's just say lively. As you can guess their liveyhood is less than on the up and up...they run guns.

The V.P. of the club is Jax Teller son of the founding president John (and Clay's step-son) and in the pilot we find Jax dealing with a junkie ex-wife who just gave birth to their premie son. Jax it seems has a conscious...trying to figure out if this was the path his dad had wanted for the club and him. The club itself is also under siege with a rival gang destroying their stash of guns which were due for delivery to a 'customer'.

In the pilot you meet the various different characters including Jax's Mom and Clay's Wife, Gemma, played by Katey Sagal in a very un-Peg Bundy-like turn. Gemma is all about protecting her son and later you find out the way of life of the Sons too. The great Ron Perlman, finally gets to take off the make-up of the Beast and Hellboy, plays Clay. You don't learn too much about Clay in the opening ep. but you definitely know there is more to learn about him. Jax definitely has the bad-boy with a heart of gold thing going and is played by Charlie Hunnam of the original UK version of Queer as Folk...I knew he looked familiar. In fact there are a lot of familiar faces in the cast including Drea de Matteo, Mitch Pileggi and relative new comer (but great in Mad Men) Maggie Siff.

This show really does intrigue me...I think it's because it reminds me a heck of a lot of The Sopranos (oh how I miss you Tony). I guess I've really missed my weekly supply of guns, blood, controlling mothers and bad guys with a concious. I think this show definitely has promise and I'll keep watching for now.

You can catch Sons of Anarchy on Wednesday's at 10:00pm E/P. If you have Comcast Cable, it is available ONDemand and is also being rebroadcast tonight at 11:00pm E/P on FX.

Cross your fingers...

So my company is a co-sponsor of the Women's Conference which is a pretty big conference with some very cool speakers. It's a pretty big deal to be nominated within my company to go. They pay for you to go, you get great seats, etc. I found out today that 'my boys' aka my boss and the 3 male directors on my team have nominated me to go!!!! I'm pretty psyched about it. I really want to go!!! I think with the election and the speakers on tap it will be really really exciting

Of course there are 8,000 people who work in my company... many of which are in fact women, I don't know what kind of a chance I have, but just think...I could get to meet Bono...OK, I might only get to see Bono...but wouldn't that be cool?

It's the little things...

OK, OK, I know...'Where the hell have I been'? Well it's been crazy...I think a lot of you know that. So I won't go into details other than to say I'm gonna give this blog thing another shot.

---
What compelled me to finally sit down and post is something cool that happened today...a little background first. I consider myself pretty easy to please - some may actually disagree - but I really think I am. I mean the littlest things make me happy. When my co-worker Jen brings me in a cool notebook from Target, or when my friend Yvette likes some new recipe I made (usually from Rhonda) or when Ruby actually comes to me the first time I call her. It really is the little things...they can keep me going for... like hours.

I bring this up because today I had a monumental 'little thing' that I think might actually take me through till at least next month! I know, imagine that!!!

Today I had to go to a management meeting...urgh. Add on top of that it was billed as 'leadership building'...double urgh. So I wasn't holding too much hope for my day. Well when the agenda came out yesterday I saw that our guest speaker was some dude named Paul Kingsman. Who the heck is Paul Kingsman you might ask? Well of course I Googled him and found that he was an '88 Olympian from New Zealand who won the bronze in the 200m backstroke. The first male individual swimming medal for NZ. Kinda cool...but still, I just knew it was going to be some lame kumbuya session.

Imagine my surprise that it really wasn't. The speaker was totally engaging. Had very relevant examples for what our company was going through. Honestly shared his Olympic experience - which I absolutely ate up being the total Olympic geek that I am. But here is the best part...he brought his bronze medal! And I got to actually hold it!!!! Seriously, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Lame, I know (can we say 'get a life Michele?')...but seriously, this is going to last me for at the rest of the month...maybe two. Now, imagine if it was a gold medal? Or maybe an Oscar? See, it really is the little things that make me happy!