Is it Getting Hot in Here? August 12, 2009

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while but the only time I really have for this sort of thing is when I’m at work (how bad does that sound?) and the computer I use when I’m at work has this psycho browser, security, no porn software stuff (what the heck do they call that stuff anyway? I always call it net nanny because that’s what we have here on the computers at home and I happen to be the administrator, so in theory anyway, I can look at all the porn I want because I hold the keys …) but it’s a computer that I got from my brother and his wife is the administrator so I don’t know the password and it’s a lot more strict than my browser, security, no porn software stuff (or “net nanny” as I like to call it) so, sadly, no porn for me.  At work anyway.

But I digress (how shocked are you?) the point is that this post needs to include a lot of pictures, many of which I cannot view on the laptop with the psycho browser, security, no porn software stuff (not that it’s porn or anything, that thing blocks some very innocuous stuff, like twitter) and so, without further ado (because I think we’ve had plenty of that already) I give you…in no particular order… the guys that I love.

First and foremost, we have, of course Jason Statham:  I feel like I should mention here that it’s not so much that I think he’s the best looking guy ever (although he’ll do in a pinch) it’s that he’s such a… a man.  Y’ know?

Oh and speaking of manly men, I also love Micheal Westen : again, not the hottest guy around (although I’m a pretty big fan of this picture) but hello, he’s like some super spy guy who has a soft spot for his kick a– girlfriend ( I should probably mention here that when I say Micheal Westen, I mean Micheal Westen.  I do not mean Jeffrey Donovan, who’s the guy who plays Micheal Westen (and also the bad guy, Vance Somebody, in Hitch) I do recognize that Micheal Westen is a fictitious character but, hello, it’s not like I’m going to meet these guys anyway, I can love the not real guy just as well as I can love the real guy I’m never going to meet.  And it’s safer that way anyway.)  (Oh and speaking of his kick a– girlfriend, there’s a possibility that I have a slight girl crush going on there too: PS If you don’t watch Burn Notice, you really should.

Moving on.

Then there’s Brendan Fraser: To be fair, I have no idea whether I would like the actual man named Brendan Fraser at all but I like just about every character that he plays (I’m not saying that he’s the best actor either, just that I like his characters, get it?) And hello, did you see him in George of the Jungle? (One of the stuidest movies ever made but, Oh boy…)

Which brings me to Paul Bettany: (That brings me to Paul Bettany because I watched InkHeart with both Brendan Fraser and Paul Bettany just last night.) Ok, so Paul’s hot, but unlike some of the other gentlemen featured here, he’s also an amazing actor!  Seriously, think about it, he was the evil father in Secret Life of Bees, and the cute funny tennis pro in Wimbledon and the imaginary friend in A Beautiful Mind and the fire juggling guy in InkHeart and Jeffrey Chauser in A Knights Tale and… Well he’s good.

Oh and speaking of A Knight’s Tale, there’s always Heath Ledger: Now, I’m not trying to say that I loved Heath Ledger before anyone else loved Heath Ledger, but I would like to let it be known that He was my boyfriend before Jason Statham was my boyfriend.  I’ve loved Heath since way back in the 10 Things I Hate About You days.  So there.

And then there’s Don Cheadle: and Jason Bourne: and Mal Reynolds: and Alan Tudyk: (although that may be more Wash than it is Alan) and well, more.  But there you have it.  A short list of the guys that I love.

How about you?  Who’s on your list?

This Is Not a Public Service Announcement July 28, 2009

See, I just entered and give-away.  I don’t usually bother but they’re giving away some cool stuff and I figured why not?  Right?  And I get another entry  if I blog about it and post a link.  So I’m doing it.  But really I’d prefer it if you didn’t follow the link and if you didn’t enter and if you stayed far far away.  Because, let’s face it, the more people who enter the less chance I have of winning.  So I’m not going to act all nice and sharing and all that crap and tell you that you all ought to head over so that you can have a chance to win.  Seriously, stay away.

There’s more that I should blog about, I have several posts rattling around in my head but I’m grumpy and I don’t feel like it so I’m going to post this video instead for any of you who live under a rock and haven’t seen it yet. And while I’m at it can I just say that I’m pretty new to the whole Buffy phenomenon (well, that’s not technically true I’ve been a fan of the movie for years but I’ve just started on the show) so I didn’t really know her story (particularly in regards to Angel) but can someone please explain HOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT BUFFY COULD THINK THAT TWILIGHT WAS AT ALL NEW or even particularly interesting?  There’s even an episode where Buffy can read everyone’s thoughts except for Angel’s!  Talk about taking a story that was interesting, switching a few parts around and calling it new.  (In her defense, it’s my understanding that Stephanie Meyer never watched Buffy.  I’m not saying that she stole the idea or plagiarized or anything nefarious, I just don’t understand the phenomena.  (And I should be so lucky as to have an old idea hit like hers did.))  I guess it’ just goes to show that there really is “nothing new under the sun,” see kids, the bible’s right after all.

Oh and head on over to Mormon Mommy Blogs and enter the give away, there’s lots of good stuff going.

On the Other Hand May 21, 2009

There’s 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it.  So the annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it…

So begins the title song to what may just be my favorite show on television.  And it’s a kids show.

I thought after my long, and somewhat angry, dressing down of Calliou I thought ought to point out that there are actually some fantastic kids shows on TV.  I’m not talking about educational shows, I mean, Little Einsteins is great and all but let’s face it I don’t watch TV for the education I get out of it, I watch it for the entertainment.  And Phineas and Ferb is freaking entertaining.

My older kids just finished two weeks off track and unlike usual I  pretty much just let them sit around and watch TV the whole time.  (Yes, I’m a horrible mother, but i just had too much crap that I had to do to have the time necessary to bug them all the time about turning the TV off again and finding something else to do.)  And in that time I got a chance to see or at least hear a lot of childrens’ programming, in fact I think I have the Disney channel’s schedule memorized.  Here’s what I’ve learned.

Zach and Cody: The one on the boat: Every person who’s had anything at all to do with the making of this show should be taken out behind the sound stage and shot.

Zach and Cody: The one in the hotel: Every person, with the exception of Ashley Tisdale, who’s had anything at all to do with the making of this show should be taken out behind the sound stage and shot.

Sunny with a Chance: I find that I quite like Demi Lovato.  The show is pretty meh but whatever.

The Wizards of Waverly Place: I. Love. Selena Gomez.  This girl could make the phone book interesting.  The writing on the show is, of course, horrible, the story lines are hopelessly contrived and the humor is absolutely humorless.  And yet, I’ll sit down to an episode of WOWP with a smile on my face and I’ll even laugh, because Selena Gomez is AMAZING.

As a side note I’ll mention that I find myself actually (sort of) looking forward to the Disney Channel Original Movie Princess Protection Program because it stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.  And so, while I expect it to be stupid and poorly written and flimsy, a la High School Musical, I figure, with the two of them how bad could it be?

Jonas: No.  Just really, no.

Hannah Montana: Not as painful as it used to be.  I can’t figure out if the acting is getting better or if the nerves in my brain are used to the abuse, beacause really, the show sucks.

Phineas and Ferb: So fantastically amazingly good!!!!!  Seriously, who could not love a show that includes lines like “boredom is a thing, up with which, I will not put.”?  I love this show so much that a few weeks ago when it was my turn to be in charge of the activity for FHE we watched Phineas and Ferb.

Switching channels: (We do that occasionally)

iCarly: Very, very stupid.  Also quite entertaining.

Sponge Bob: I’m not a Sponge Bob fan.

Ben Ten: Differs very little from Batman and Spiderman and all the other superhero shows that the Pea watches when he gets the chance, but I have no real objections.

There are more, oh so many more, but those are the top viewed shows at my house.

How about you? Any recommendations?  (All my shows have just aired their season finales, after all, and Burn Notice doesn’t start until June 4th.)  Shows that make you want to stab yourself in the eye?  Teen stars that you love?  Hate?  Just don’t understand?

Impossibly High Standards -or- Why I don’t Let My Kids Watch Caillou April 15, 2009

I’m generally a fan of children’s programing.  I think most of it is pretty good and let me tell you it’s saved my sanity and the lives of my children on more than one occasion.  But I hate Caillou.

For those who have had the misfortune to watch this particular show, you know that the kid’s annoying and whiny.  But that’s not even (all of) why I hate the show.

I had a vague dislike of Caillou for a long time, mostly due to the aforementioned whininess, but I didn’t really hate the show until I realized that the people who write, direct and produce this show don’t have children.  They don’t have nieces or nephews.  These people have never even met children.

Let me tell you about the episode that really did it for me.

Caillou, a “four year old” (you know I’d be doing air-quotes here if I could) wakes up in the morning and goes down stairs to find his mother and his father making breakfast in the kitchen. Because adults don’t have to work, no, we just get to hang out with our kids and cook for them all day. His father is cooking because we’re nothing if not politically correct on the pre-school programing he’s made pancakes.  But Caillou doesn’t want pancakes, he wants cereal.  And that’s fine because what parent minds wasting the breakfast he’s already made so his kid can eat pre-packaged crap? And because he’s having cereal his little sister wants cereal ok, so apparently one of these writers has been in the same room with a kid before and mom and dad are fine with that.  Caillou, being the “big boy” that he is, wants to pour the milk for his little sister’s cereal.    She doesn’t scream and throw a fit when he tries to do so insisting that mom do it so they’ve been in the room with a child, but not for very long.  Of course, because Caillou’s only four he spills the milk my four -year-olds have been getting themselves their own breakfasts for two years, they have pouring milk down cold again, the sister doesn’t cry.  But she does still want cereal.  And now they’re out of milk.  “No problem” mom says smiling, we’ll just go to the store and get some more” because well, we’ve already established that adults don’t have to work so they have all day to go to the store to get milk even when there are still perfectly good pancakes sitting on the kitchen table!! But little sister’s still hungry.  Don’t worry, dad can hold her off with a banana.  She really wants cereal but she’ll be fine with that. Seriously?! So mom and Caillou walk to the store who doesn’t like a little morning stroll?  And who doesn’t have a store close enough to walk to?  Probably it’s a little mom and pop market with organic produce and other all natural local products. And on the way home from the store Caillou gets distracted by the crack in the sidewalk, and the little bird and the who knows what all and the mother who’s carrying the milk just keeps smiling and encouraging his inquisitiveness and isn’t life lovely, there’s no “hey sweetie hurry up,” there’s no “hey kid this milk is getting heavy”, there’s no “dude hurry up, at this rate it’s going to be lunch time before we get home and your dad needs to get to work sometime TODAY SO GET A FREAKING MOVE ON ALREADY!!!!!”

How am I supposed to compete with that?

I can’t.

So my children are never allowed to see it.