Best Show That You Are Not Watching: Pushing Daisies

I am begging you. Please watch Pushing Daisies. Wednesday nights at 8pm (7pm Central). This show is utterly delightful (not a phrase I use seriously very often, but there are no other words to describe it). It has mystery, humor, enviable costumes (I want Chuck's clothes), and heart-achingly adorable romance. It centers around Ned, a guy with an unusual power of being able to touch dead things and bring them back to life. There is a catch, however. Once he touches them he cannot touch them again or they will go back to being dead and if he keeps them alive for longer than a minute, something else dies in their place. He and a private investigator team up to bring back murder victims for a minute to ask them who killed them. This is all fine and dandy until they come across a murder victim who happens to be Ned's childhood crush. Ned decides on impulse to keep her alive but they can now never touch.
This show is in danger of being cancelled and it will literally break my heart. I honestly don't understand why it is not getting any viewers it is so charming and delightful that I would think hordes of people would love it. It was nominated for several Emmys, including a nod for dreamy Lee Pace as the "aww-shucksy" Ned. Yet despite critical acclaim and being all-around incredible, it seems like no one has even heard of this show. Well, now you have. So go watch it and save Pushing Daisies.

My Latest Obsession: 30 Rock

So there is this show that maybe you have seen. It’s called 30 Rock? It had more 17 Emmy nominations this year? It took the top three awards that night in Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Comedy? You haven’t seen it?! Shame on you. But a lot of people haven’t so I am willing to forgive.
This show is awesomely funny. I will admit that I, myself, did not become fully invested until this summer when I decided to buy the first season on a whim. I finished that in a day so I decided to preorder season 2. This has pretty much taken up my apartment’s past week. This show is great, right up there with some of my other loves like Arrested Development and The Office.
The best part of the show is without a doubt the main character, Liz Lemon, who is played to perfection by Tina Fey. My friend Megan and I decided that she is a girl after our own hearts. She gets caught wearing a one piece swimsuit instead of underwear on laundry day, she gapes when a guy asks her out on a date starting at ten, she high-fives herself after particularly good jokes, and, our favorite, she tells her ex-boyfriend that he will have to be more specific after he asks to take her to the BBQ place she threw up at. Awesome.
The show has some other really great characters (see Kenneth the Page, Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy, and a amazingly hilarious Tracy Morgan as, surprise, Tracy Jordan). Also, more celebrities stop by this show than Late Night. Last season had Steve Buscemi, Will Arnett, Matthew Broderick, Carrie Fisher, David Schwimmer, and Jerry Seinfeld. I cannot express how funny this show is, so just go watch it already.

Guilty Pleasure 102: Breaking Dawn

Did I preorder this book so that I could receive it the day of release? Yes. Did I read the book within 24 hours? Yes. Did I vocalize my shock over some plot twists while reading it in a room by myself? Yes. Did I think this was the best book of the series since the first? Yes. And did I love this book? YES!

Guilty Pleasure 101: Step Up 2: The Streets

I am a total sucker for dancing movies, but, as I was telling my friends, with dancing movies it typically necessary that you ignore story lines and acting abilities and only pay attention to the numerous dancing sequences. The climatic “street” dance is awesome (I mean, come on, it is in the RAIN). So, if like me, you can overlook all aspects that make a movie good, then you will probably like this movie, too.

My Newest DVD: Spaced

I am noticing that the DVDs I have bought lately have all been British. Hmm, interesting. Anyways, my latest purchase is the BBC series, Spaced. Spaced is about Tim and Daisy who are faking to be a couple so that they can rent a couples-only-apartment. Their crazy neighbors and friends join them in random plotlines that are rife with pop culture references. I think the moment that fully fell in love with this show was when they paid homage to the most unknown movie that I know of, but have loved since I was 4-year-old, Bugsy Malone. The show is one of the first collaborations of the same guys that made Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. So, if that same type of humor appeals to you, I highly recommend this show.

My Image-Changing, Mysterious, Therapeutic, Swedish-Furniture Filled, Delicious, Dark, ABBA Weekend!

As you can tell from the title of this blog, I had a very eventful and AWESOME weekend! I am a little late in posting about it, but that is only because it took me forever to finsih writing it. Now, a large portion of this weekend has been covered by Jillian, and in her words “it will never be as cool as mine”, but hopefully I can add new insight and perspective. So here we go:

Friday:
6:00 pm- Having just gotten home from work, I am now hunting to find a salon that is open on a Friday night. I do this a lot where I make a decision and I have an overwhelming desire to have it fulfilled immediately. If I decide to cut my hair, it is cut by the end of the day. If I decide to change my major, it is changed by the end of the day. If I decide to by RockBand, it is ordered by the end of the day. This may seem like a rash way of operating to some, but I like to think of it more as following through.
7:00 pm- Bon Losse was open! My dear friend Kimberly was kind enough to drive me over and sit with me while they cut my hair.
8:00 pm- I exit Bon Losse $10 poorer, but free from the drudgery that was my long hair. I love the feeling after you cut your hair off, it’s so liberating.
8:15-11:00 pm- These hours are probably the most unimportant I spent all weekend. They mainly constituted of watching America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC to the cool kids. GO FANNYPACK!) and waiting for the Psych season premiere to start.

11:00- Ok, couple of things. First, 11:00? Really, SLC’s Comcast’s USA network? You are really going to make me stay up that late to watch my show? Fine. Second, I love this show so much. Hilarious. Best moment: “Dude, that dog is kind of an a-hole. “ And, yes, he said a-hole. It was amazing.
12:00- Upon the conclusion, I decided I needed to go to bed because we had to start early for our awesome Saturday.

Saturday:
7:15 am- What am I doing awake on Saturday morning at 7:15, you ask yourselves? I was asking myself the same exact thing. I mean, it goes against everything I believe in. But for this day I was willing to sacrifice.
8:30 am- Jillian, Kimberly, Megan, Megan’s friend, Brandon, and myself all arrive at the Utah Massage Therapy School in Lindon and sign up on the waiting list. They were having a special of two for one, so it was only $12.50 to get a 50 minute massage! Awesome.
8:45 am- To occupy ourselves while we wait, we go to Kneaders and buy delicious pastries. I go for the cinnamon roll (not exactly a pastry, but delicious nonetheless) and a Strawberry Swing smoothie, mainly for the name (where you at, Coldplay fans?).
9:20 am- Massage time. If I am going to complain about anything it would be the elevator music and the fact that it was really cold. I mean, if they are going to have people undress, you would think they would keep it a little warmer. But this was my first massage experience, and besides all of that, it was fan-tas-tic. I felt so fresh after it, it was strange. The other thing that I enjoyed was listening to Megan in the stall next door as she kept laughing and then proceed to apologize and explain that she was really ticklish.
10:20 am- We leave the massage school and head for one of my favorite stores, in the world (up there with Target and H&M), IKEA. I don’t know what it is about this place that just sets my heart aflutter. I just go weak in the knees for cheap self-assembly furniture. I walked out with an eco-friendly grocery bag and a large pot because somebody stole my other one. (Rhymes with Regan Stain).
11:35 am- We want to get a lunch to bring into the theatre, because that is the coolest thing about Jordan Commons. We were so excited to find a little slice of home and heaven on the way to the theatre called Chipotle. So we stopped to buy some of their delicious burritos but got distracted by the grand opening celebrations of it’s neighbor, Nothing Bundt Cakes. So I am now officially in love with this store. It is the cutest thing you will ever see and the cakes (all bundt) are divine. We each bought a “bundtlet” and then went next door to get a burrito where they gave free drinks. I mean, how awesome was this day? Answer: Awesome.
11:50 am- Thanks to the glory that is Jordan Commons we were able to get the theatre only 10 minutes before the show because they have reserved seats. Amazing. Do you want to know what else was amazing? The Dark Knight. I have now seen this movie three times and it remains amazing every time. The thing that makes this movie so amazing is that it is not only the best superhero movie ever made (and that is no contest), but it is a really good movie. The acting is amazing with Heath Ledger giving one of the most disturbing performances ever and Aaron Eckhart giving an equally amazing performance but is being overshadowed. We were all talking about the movie in the car driving home and we agreed that the coolest and scariest thing about the new Batman movies is that they are technically probable plotlines: a rich guy uses his money to fund lots of cool gadgets and roam the streets warding off bad guys who are not bad due to a defect in their DNA, but are simply crazy, because that is all the Joker is. This is why rumors about there not being a third movie are so disconcerting. It would be an utter shame. (Side note: Baby that I am, I cried three time in this movie. I know, A BATMAN MOVIE! This is not good.)
3:30 pm-6:30 pm- This time span is not that exciting, but it is a nice break from the rest of the excitement.
6:30- My mom arrives! Yay! She takes Kimberly, Jillian and I out to dinner while Megan is on a date (go figure).
9:00- We all go to see Mamma Mia! This was a far cry from our earlier movie, but in that sense it was somewhat refreshing. All of you know that I love me some ABBA. I was raised on it, so I was pretty easy to please when it came to this movie. When all is said and done, was the best movie ever? No. Was it entertaining? Yes, very. Did Meryl Streep do a really good job? Yes, that’s a given. Can Pierce Brosnon sing? No. Did I really care? No. Did we blast ABBA on the way home from the movie? Yes, of course.

So that was my amazing weekend. It was just one of those days where everything goes right and makes you happy. I love those.

My Latest Obsession: PSYCH

This is not so much a new obsession, but one that I have recently rekindled. Anyone who I have not made watch this show must start immediately. The plot is basically this: a guy who was grew up with his police detective dad learned all the trade tricks and has a knack for being hyper-observant. When he calls in anonymous tips from watching the Channel 8 news reports, the police bring him in because they surmise that the only way he could know all of this is by being involved in the crimes. He instead tells them that he knows all this because he is "psychic". And thus, the hilarity ensues. He forces his best friend into opening a psychic detective agency with him and together they solve crime with the occasional help from the local police detectives and Shawn's dad. This buddy comedy/mystery is highly entertaining with it's running gags (pineapples and nicknames), pop culture references galore, and great comedic chemistry between the two leads Dule Hill (Gus) and James Roday (Shawn). In honor of the DVD for Season 2 having come out on Tueday of last week and the third season starting on Friday, I thought I would include a couple of my favorite quotes, so enjoy!

Shawn Spencer: Oh, you mean my pilot's license? That's out back in the Cessna. Or perhaps you're referring to my license to kill. Revoked. Trouble at the Kazakhstan border. I could give you the details but then I'd have to kill you, which I can't do because my license to kill has been revoked.

Carlton Lassiter: Hey, we found prints.
Shawn Spencer: Was he in a little red corvette?
Burton 'Gus' Guster: Under the cherry moon?
Carlton Lassiter: FINGER prints!

Bird the Bounty Hunter: (referring to his arm band): By the way, these don't come in tiny.
Shawn: That's fine, we'll just get a woman's large.

Shawn: (After Gus confronts him about making up his childhood nickname, Big Head Burton) Gus, I have a knack for alliteration. I'm a slave to it.

Curse You, Food Network!

A few days ago, I tuned into the show Food Network Challenge on … the Food Network. I am not going to lie, it was highly entertaining. It is amazing what people can do with fondant and cake batter. Since then, it has become a drug. I cannot get enough! Now, just because I have become physically reliant on Food Network’s programming doesn’t mean I still don’t have standards. Clarification: I will never watch Rachel Ray. She is annoying. But give me a little Next Food Network Star, Unwrapped, Food Network Challenge, or Iron Chef, and I am set. But, I just don’t get it, what is so fascinating to me about people making food? Even when I am stuffed to the brim I find it entrancing. But am I alone it finding being entranced by those "cupcakes"?

Last Movie I Saw: Wall-E

Three words: Cutest Movie Ever.

My Newest DVD: Cranford

So I have a bit of a confession to make, I am slightly addicted to Amazon.com. Especially now that I have Amazon Prime which gives me free two-day shipping. It only makes my bad habit of excessive DVD buying more easy. With that said, please do not think that I regret this purchase in any way. The new DVD is Cranford starring Dame Judi Dench and some other more mature in age British ladies. It is adorable. Produced by the same lady that made the superior five hour Pride and Prejudice, it has much of the same feel. It is about this little town and all of the people in it, so there is a lot going on. Apparently this means a lot of deaths and a lot of weddings. But even with all the deaths, this miniseries is a new favorite, totally worth the five hours.

What's your flavor? Edward Norton Edition

On Sunday, some friends and I partook of the splendor that is The Painted Veil starring Naomi Watts and ... Edward Norton. This viewing made it necessary to re-see The Incredible Hulk under the pretense the "my friends hadn't seen it yet" and it is so "entertaining" (it really is, though). Edward and I have had an interesting relationship, in as much that, in the past, I have not been sure if I have been fully ready to commit. This is probably due to his always being bad (e.g. The Italian Job) or weird in some way (e.g. Fight Club). Let me assure you, not in the case in The Painted Veil or The Incredible Hulk. So this is the first edition of my first feature, "What's your flavor?". Edition 1: Edward Norton. The nominees being the slightly younger, slightly crazy Edward in Fight Club, the distressed and jilted, yet virtuously beautiful Edward in The Painted Veil, and last, but certainly not least in my opinion, the troubled, caring, scientist-turned-anger-management-student, Bruce Banner aka "The Incredible Hulk". In case you cannot tell, I am all about the Bruce Banner. His slight character flaw only makes him more in need of some companionship. So what do you say readers (or Jillian), what's your flavor?