Questions About TV

I have a lot of questions about TV these days. I don't channel surf, I ONLY watch what's recorded on my TiVo. I hate the rush of new shows that come out each season. I usually wait for trustworthy friends (Susie and M) to give me a heads up on a show and I'll TiVo it. But lately I've come to dislike TV even more...

Who cares what Donald and Rosie think?
Donald and Rosie need to shut it already. I mean, why is so much emphasis placed on a real estate monster's opinion about the entertainment industry? And why is Rosie's opinion suddenly of extreme importance? That's like paying close attention to Jessica Simpson's opinion about the new Mensa exam...or placing bets based upon Ryan Seacrest's Oscar picks. It just doesn't make any sense.

Why does Isaiah Washington not know how to speak in public?
That guy is a walking time bomb. While he does a great job at acting, he's just as bad in public interviews as Anna Nicole Smith!

What the hell is wrong with Paula Abdul?
I saw an "American Idol Rewind" special on Fox the other night and it was a replay of an episode during season 1. Way back then, I would watch and I remember thinking that Paula seemed a little "off." But compared to her recent antics, she was downright professional and poised in season 1...which isn't saying much. How is she keeping that job?
Speaking of American Idol...
I find it so funny that America, the land obsessed with physical appearance yet the fattest country, is mad that the judges on American Idol are "too harsh." Ugh... I think they just have the guts to tell it like it is. I know you secretly agreed with Simon when you saw that guy in Seattle and thought he looked like a lemur. Now, should the judges vocalize those comments? Maybe not. But at least they're honest when they say what America is thinking.


Who ever said show business was fair and kind?
We have all watched enough E! True Hollywood Stories to know that show business is ugly. It's mean, it's fierce and it will spit you out once it's done with you. (Britney Spears, Screech, Macauley Culkin, Pee Wee Herman)

How did I end up in a TV society where people complain when a judge is brutally honest and the CBS Monday night line up got renewed? Ugh!

Holiday Movie Review

Over the last several weeks, there have been a ton of movies hitting the theaters that I just can't wait to see. I actually have a list with 18 movies on it right now. Instead of listing them all, I will list the ones that I've seen so far (which is half) and a brief review of them in alphabetical order. My ratings are as follows: Watch it! Rent it. Skip it.

Bobby - I dug this movie but the critics hated it. Here's the hard core honest truth that nobody would say or write about this movie: If you are not a minority, you will hate this movie. If you are a minority, you will love it, identify with it and respect Emilio Estevez for taking a stand. Watch it!

Borat - My sweetie and I paid to see Stranger Than Fiction and then afterwards snuck in to a screening of Borat that was just about to start. This "Susie Special Double Feature" was not planned, it just sorta happened. But Borat is so good that I would have paid to see it again and again. As we left the theater, I considered throwing 7 bucks at the cashier because the movie was that good. Watch it!

Charlotte's Web - Super sweet movie that, as you know, has a sad ending. This version isn't a musical but it's well done and if you like Dakota Fanning, you will not be disappointed. Rent it.

The Holiday - If you know me then you are well aware that no Jack Black movie goes under my radar. The Holiday was cute. I am really not a big fan of romantic comedies but this one was redeemed by Jack. It's too bad he wasn't the main character - that would have made it better. Rent it.

Little Miss Sunshine - Fantastic. Hilarious. The family in this movie is going to remind you of your own family. I missed its theater run but saw it on DVD. If it were still in the theaters, I would urge you to watch it so you MUST rent it!

Marie Antionette - I got into this movie for free - I got the cute face discount. Granted, it was a discount from the nerdy guy at the dollar movie, but it was still free. That turned out to be a good thing because this movie is poop. They should call it Marie Pooptionette. It's terrible. Skip it.

Pursuit of Happyness - I like Will Smith and his son is adorable in this flick. Any person with even half a heart will immediately relate and feel genuine compassion for this father-son team. Watch it!

Stranger Than Fiction - I'm a wordy girl so this movie about words and books appealed to me. It's such a cool story. Will Ferrell should win some sort of award for his role in this movie. He's outstanding. But the ending wasn't my style at all. Rent it.

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny - This is probably the best movie ever made. Jack and Kyle prove to the world that they can rock. WATCH IT!

The Enhanced Vocabulary

Here are 6 words I love. I use them but they aren't in the dictionary and I actually made up a couple of them. I guess we all use made up words in some form...what made up words do you use?

Mancation - an adventurous vacation for just the guys, not to be confused with the gay resorts or gay cruises.

Manscrunchie - the "scrunchie" men use to pull back their long hair.

Celebutard - a celebrity with no real talent. For example, Paris Hilton or Jennifer Lopez.

Beaver Poison - a word my friends and I use to describe a man with a sexually transmitted disease.

B-Odorant - when a stinky person puts on layers of cologne and/or Right Guard instead of showering.

Salsa Pants - this word is only used when describing Mario Lopez or Mario Lopez wanna-bes.

The Superbowl for Girls

Ok, so I have to admit I'm a sucker for Black Friday. For those of you who are not female or gay, Black Friday is the shopping frenzy that occurs on the day after Thanksgiving. Companies can get their finances out of the "red" and into the "black" in just that one day if the sales are good enough. It's competitive shopping at its best - it's like the Superbowl for girls!

I usually get anxious for the newspaper on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving day. Those sales flyers are like playbooks for me! What I usually do is map out the locations of the stores in the order of the best sales. Then I get up at the crack of dawn and hit the shopping full on.

I'm not one of those people who will camp out in front of the store in the cold. I try to get plenty of rest and fluids before the occasion. Then once I'm in the store, I beeline to the stuff I want and then beeline to the register. Truth be told, you'll wait FOREVER at the register but at least it's warm in the store and not freezing outside in a tent with no bathrooms. If you're fierce and quick, you'll get all the stuff you wanted with plenty of time for a victory brunch at La Madeleine.

Unfortunately, sometimes the things you really want are not on sale. You're pretty much at their mercy when it comes to specific items at bargain prices. Here are the weirdo things I wanted that we couldn't find on sale anywhere:

• Noise cancelling headphones
• Sterling Silver ring with a yellow topaz stone
• Electric warming throw blanket
• A large jar candle in Gardenia
• Cozy house socks

But I did find some other good bargains...even after Black Friday. All in all, I think I scored well in this year's Girl Superbowl. Let me know how you did!

The Pizza Challenge

Are you a deep dish or a thin slice? I asked a lot of people that before I went to NYC. It turns out that most of the people I know are thin slicers...and I'm a thin slicer as well. But the whole deep dish thing was intriguing to me so I decided to do a little taste test of my own.

The last time I flew to NYC with M, we had a looonnggg layover in Chicago. We had plenty of time to hop on a subway train, get into the downtown area, have some deep dish pizza and get back to the airport for our flight to NYC. Oh, and many thanks to the city of Chicago for understanding the true importance of having a train stop IN the airport. Genius.

Anyway, we decided to eat at Lou Malnati's in Chicago for the deep dish and Grimaldi's in Brooklyn for the thin slice. We broke down the categories with a possiblity of 20 points for the best score in each category. It was close and the service is what made a huge difference. Here's how they rated:

Deep Dish - Lou Malnati's in Chicago

1. Ambiance/Atmosphere 18
2. Service 7
3. Food 19
4. Price 20
   TOTAL - 64 out of 80

Thin Slice - Grimaldi's in Brooklyn

1. Ambiance/Atmosphere 20
2. Service 19
3. Food 20
4. Price 20
   TOTAL - 79 out of 80

The winner was GRIMALDI'S!!! Sorry to those of you who love deep dish pizza, it just doesn't compare with the gooey, flavorful goodness coming out of Brooklyn!

Timing Is Everything

Ok, so most of you know that I have some pretty crappy timing. It's safe to say that if my life would run 3 minutes late or 3 minutes early, I might be ruling my own country or working alongside Oprah by now. Believe me, I could tell you some stories about my terrible timing - some real doozies.

But on Saturday night I had good timing. Great timing. Allow me to explain... My day started at 6:00 a.m. and I didn't get home til around 10:00 p.m. and I was exhausted! I didn't want to go out so instead I decided to check on my TiVo and see what he'd been up to on Saturday. After about an hour, I was all caught up with TiVo and I switced over to live TV. My TV happened to be on HBO and I tuned in at the last 31 minutes of a movie called Roll Bounce. You know, it's that roller skating movie that's set in the 70s starring Nick Cannon and Bow Wow. Don't act like you don't know - we both know you have heard of that flick.

Anyway, my first instinct was to change the channel. But then I realized I was tuning in right at the grand finale. The big climax. The finals of the roller skating championship! It was awesome! There were several teams competing in the finals and I got to see all of their routines set to disco tunes. I know you think I'm crazy, but if you get the chance, watch the last 31 minutes of that movie. It's flippin' awesome...complete with groovy disco beats, old school roller skates and a bonafide SKATE OFF!

Whew, hope I didn't give too much away!

Random Thoughts

So, some stuff has recently been floating through my life. I haven't had a chance to post because I've been lazy. But here I am... posting, finally.

First of all, I'm way behind on my phone call returns. People that called me 2 weeks ago are just now getting a call back from me. I had a super busy couple of weeks and phone calls were the first sacrifice. So if I haven't called you back please don't think I'm being a bad friend - I'm spending all my free time on this posting.

If you know me then you know why I sometimes go to Corpus Christi. Lately, I have been paying very close attention to the Whataburger situation in Plano and CC. A compare/contrast, if you will. Here's what I know... The Plano phone book lists 4 Whataburger Restaurants. Sometimes I drive by the one close to my house and it's really busy at lunchtime - but not any other time. I discovered that Whataburger was founded in CC in 1950. The CC phone book lists 33 Whataburgers! As you drive around town, you'll spot one everywhere you go and they are always packed. In fact, the few McDonald's restaurants they do have are usually very empty. So, is it fair to say that Corpus is the Burger-Bizarro of Plano?

Oh, one last thing. I have totally gotten addicted to my new bike! That thing rocks. It's named Bonnie Blue and it's a sweet, sweet ride. I found a bike trail by my house and it's about a ten mile route. But I hope to take Bonnie Blue to Austin soon. That way if I see Lance Armstrong while I'm riding around, I can run right into him. I hate that dude.

Well, I better go. I have phone calls to return and a Whataburger to scope out. Take care friends!