There aren't too many reality television shows that I like (although I'm starting to like more and more now-a-days (not the raunchy ones, but ones like Ace of Cakes and Pawn Stars). One show that I do like on The Discovery Channel is called Cash Cab.
Basically, people in New York City get into what they think is a normal taxi cab. They tell the driver, who is Ben Bailey, their destination. Then lights flash (and usually the passengers get confused or surprised) and they're told that they're on a television game show where they can earn money while they ride in the cab. The contestants answer questions the entire way. If they answer them right, they get money. If they answer three different questions wrong before they make their destination, they get kicked out wherever they are.
So I decided to try to play along with the contestants (I had to type really fast since they questions were presented quickly). Below is my real-time watching/playing the game:
3. "What 1995 film featured the adventures of a talking pig on a ___ farm?" - Babe (lucky guess)
4. Also known as the maid of Core Leon what warrior... shit this is definitely going too fast to type. (also I'm sure I spelled that name wrong)
Okay new episode, I'm gonna try again.
Two older women get in the cab and freak out because of the lights (oh God they're opera singers...STOP SINGING).
Do people ever say no they don't want to play this game? I mean it's a free ride/partial ride either way.
Featuring the Jets and the Sharks what musical features star crossed lovers - West Side Story
In the Gregorian Calendar, how often does a leap year occur - I have no idea...4? oh apparently we use that calendar. Trick question.
Once home of the Rams, what is the largest city that does not have a team in the NFL? - oh God no idea (I would've guessed wrong)
In grammar, present, past and future are all forms of what - tense
With no army, what egotourist economy is known as the Switzerland of Western America - whaaaaat? (second strike) (I would've called a friend or my dad on this one)
What kind of violent wind storm has a water spout when it hits land? - tsunami? (tornado was the answer)
I would've been kicked out with 21 blocks to go.
This goes to show you that I would definitely not earn money in the Cash Cab if I were alone. Chances are much higher when 2 or more people get into the Cash Cab. I definitely have a few friends in mind who I would bring with me or telephone if I were in the Cash Cab.
Word Count: 460
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Red Wings
Hockey is my absolute favorite sport. I love going to at least one hockey game a year, but I definitely wouldn't mind going to tons more. The Red Wings is my absolute favorite team. One of the best moments of my life was going to a Red Wings game with my dad for my birthday and it ended up being a double or triple over time game (and then we won). Growing up, I did not have cable. Therefore, I did not get the chance to watch the Red Wings on tv. I definitely couldn't follow the team as much as I wanted to. But now I thankfully have cable and the Red Wings are on Fox Sports right now. They are winning (2 to 1) so far, which is awesome.
Word Count: 131
Word Count: 131
Californication Seasons 1-3
This show has been excellent, although it is hard for me to watch at times. It is a story about an alcoholic writer who has a child and on again/off again girlfriend who is the mother of his child (the love of his life). Yet he is also a playboy, getting sexually involved with nearly every girl he meets. This happens almost once an episode. He keeps trying throughout all of the seasons to win her back only to be found messing around with another woman and getting himself into predicaments (such as messing around with an underaged girl). His best friend is a chronic masturbator who watched porn at work and messes around with some of the staff (cheating on his coke addict wife) and gets fired from his job. All of these adults pretty much act like children (well, teenagers) causing the main character's daughter to take care of her parents. And her life gets pretty messed up as she has to deal with her parents, her own life, and her own tough decisions with drugs and sex. She has bad role models around.
The plot was excellent season after season as we try to see if any of these characters can clean up their acts and have normal lives/careers. The drama continues and becomes more involved and more complicated/deep each time. At the end of the third season is an episode which definitely tugged at me emotionally as as the main character was the closest to getting his girl (but he also got what he deserved all along).
The reason why this show is so hard for me to watch is because I am not good with the whole cheating thing. I had my heart broken once and it's hard to watch the characters have their hearts broken repeatedly and make mistakes. It's generally hard for me to watch movies/shows with cheating because I will tear up and get stomach sick and hate the character with every bit of me. But there is something that keeps me watching (it doesn't make me feel that what they did was okay, especially repeatedly). It's the emotion of the characters and construction of their beings that keeps me hooked.
Overall Rating: 4.5
Word Count: 372
The plot was excellent season after season as we try to see if any of these characters can clean up their acts and have normal lives/careers. The drama continues and becomes more involved and more complicated/deep each time. At the end of the third season is an episode which definitely tugged at me emotionally as as the main character was the closest to getting his girl (but he also got what he deserved all along).
The reason why this show is so hard for me to watch is because I am not good with the whole cheating thing. I had my heart broken once and it's hard to watch the characters have their hearts broken repeatedly and make mistakes. It's generally hard for me to watch movies/shows with cheating because I will tear up and get stomach sick and hate the character with every bit of me. But there is something that keeps me watching (it doesn't make me feel that what they did was okay, especially repeatedly). It's the emotion of the characters and construction of their beings that keeps me hooked.
Overall Rating: 4.5
Word Count: 372
Chuck Seasons 1-3
Chuck is a series which I had not heard of until the superbowl of 2009 when a 3D episode was aired. It didn't look like a show I'd be interested in until my father, brother, and current boyfriend all recommended it. My father owned the series, which made it easy to borrow. So I figured, why not? And then I was hooked. I watched two seasons in a week amongst other things.
The series begins with the main character Chuck, who works at a "Buy More" electronics store with his best friend. He also lives with his sister and sister's boyfriend. A CIA agent e-mails Chuck a significant amount of data which stores in his brain and causes him to "flash" (or see images from the file) on enemies of the CIA. A CIA agent finds him at the Buy More and along with her partner (squeeeeee Jayne from Firefly) trains him to become a CIA agent and use the power he has.
What's great about this series is the character development. Each character is so well developed with his or her mannerisms that change and grow throughout the series. The main character changes the most but the rest also change drastically by the third season. This is done over time as you get to know the characters and situations they've been placed in.
At first, one would think that with so many characters, this development would be complicated and hard to follow. But it's not. It is very well done. And since you are seeing Chuck's day to day life as himself mixed with his spy work, you really feel for all of the characters and the things they have to go through. Plus, there is a lot of back story. The other good thing about Chuck is that they don't just throw everything at you at once. They hold little pieces of information, secrets, form the viewer which make the series more interesting each time.
In addition, the sets and locations used are great. There was a lot of thought and detail placed into each setting used. It makes you feel like you are actually watching it happen/it's believable rather than being detached from it. The Buy More has all the products similar to what a Best Buy has and layout (as well as the "Nerd Herd" cars like Best Buy's "Geek Squad") and the underground base is unbelieveable as well. This is definitely a show I look forward to continuing to watch.
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars
Word Count: 419
The series begins with the main character Chuck, who works at a "Buy More" electronics store with his best friend. He also lives with his sister and sister's boyfriend. A CIA agent e-mails Chuck a significant amount of data which stores in his brain and causes him to "flash" (or see images from the file) on enemies of the CIA. A CIA agent finds him at the Buy More and along with her partner (squeeeeee Jayne from Firefly) trains him to become a CIA agent and use the power he has.
What's great about this series is the character development. Each character is so well developed with his or her mannerisms that change and grow throughout the series. The main character changes the most but the rest also change drastically by the third season. This is done over time as you get to know the characters and situations they've been placed in.
At first, one would think that with so many characters, this development would be complicated and hard to follow. But it's not. It is very well done. And since you are seeing Chuck's day to day life as himself mixed with his spy work, you really feel for all of the characters and the things they have to go through. Plus, there is a lot of back story. The other good thing about Chuck is that they don't just throw everything at you at once. They hold little pieces of information, secrets, form the viewer which make the series more interesting each time.
In addition, the sets and locations used are great. There was a lot of thought and detail placed into each setting used. It makes you feel like you are actually watching it happen/it's believable rather than being detached from it. The Buy More has all the products similar to what a Best Buy has and layout (as well as the "Nerd Herd" cars like Best Buy's "Geek Squad") and the underground base is unbelieveable as well. This is definitely a show I look forward to continuing to watch.
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars
Word Count: 419
The Jetson's Movie
Watching this movie many years after seeing the show did not feel as nostalgic as I wanted it to. I enjoyed the characters for the most part, but they shoudl've just called the movie "George's New Job" or "Judy Continues to Have Good Luck Laying Rock Stars" because those were pretty much the only two characters who had anything to do with shit (well, I guess Elroy helped at the end and was an annoying little bitch throughout). George gets an executive position to push a button at a Spacely Sprockett plant on another planet/planetary system causing his family to relocate nearby a bunch of stupid weirdo space creatures. Judy, who falls "in love" (and is an annoying bitch) with a rockstar in her hometown after only meeting him for a second (Twilight of the future?) and getting asked out on a date is devastated. That is until a new rockstar asks her out and she is "in love" with him (and he's a creepy looking blue guy (Avatar?)). There's trouble at the space plant because these stupid cute fuzzy monsters are tearing it apart. I don't remember the show having this lame of a plot (other than Judy getting continuously hit on, even buy another rockstar in "The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones") and George being bad at his easy job). The whole part of the fuzzy monsters just turned me off of the movie in the end. Just not worth it.
Rating: 2.5 stars
Word Count: 245
Rating: 2.5 stars
Word Count: 245
My So-Called Life
My friend Jamie is not only the Master of the Internet, but he has impeccable taste in movies, television series, and anime (oh and of course video games). He has given me many recommendations and I have liked them all. My So-Called Life was no different, only that when we first watched three episodes of the series during my sophomore year of college together, I had a heard time watching it. Three episodes in, I was an emotional wreck and stopped watching it. Three years later, I saw the box set of the series sitting on my dad's dvd bookshelf. I was so busy with graduate school and work that I put it aside for another year. Finally, I realized it was also on hulu.com and decided to start watching it.
I agonized over the plots and troubles that the teenagers had to go through. Things that I thankfully never had to go through. Drinking, drugs, guns, parents thinking about cheating, a guy wanting to use a girl form homework/sex, homelessness, etc. It was an intense series which only lasted one season. It was a little too early for its time, but the episodes had excellent acting/scripts/plots. The only nit-picky thing that annoyed me about the series was the use of stock sounds (door creaking open, glass breaking, etc), but what are you gonna do?
Rating: 5 stars
Word Count: 228
I agonized over the plots and troubles that the teenagers had to go through. Things that I thankfully never had to go through. Drinking, drugs, guns, parents thinking about cheating, a guy wanting to use a girl form homework/sex, homelessness, etc. It was an intense series which only lasted one season. It was a little too early for its time, but the episodes had excellent acting/scripts/plots. The only nit-picky thing that annoyed me about the series was the use of stock sounds (door creaking open, glass breaking, etc), but what are you gonna do?
Rating: 5 stars
Word Count: 228
Toy Story 3
Review:
When I was younger and saw the trailer for the original Toy Story, I was freaked out. It wasn't at the part of toys being alive. It was which toys were alive. A creepy baby doll head missing an eye with creepy hairs coming out of its bald head and a pair of legs on a fishing pole with no head/arms/body scared the crap out of me. Nightmares. But I went to see it anyway because it was what all the other students were talking about. It turned out to be an excellent movie which probably made me love my toys/stuffed animals even more. I didn't take as much of a liking to the sequel, but at least it was a Pixar sequel with a legit storyline instead of a terrible movie altering Disney sequel (I'm looking at you Lion King 1 1/2, Cinderella 3, and The Little Mermaid 3).
Before the third movie, Disney/Pixar did the best thing ever: re-released the first two movies as a double feature in 3D so that all of us could have a bit of nostalgia and get the younger generations caught up with what we saw. Of course I went and got all of the collectible cups and lids (for free because I still worked at the theater) with blue slushie.
When Toy Story 3 came out after seeing the first two again, I was more excited. It went above and beyond the hype. There is a reason that this movie has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story revolves around the main character (Andy) attending college and going through his toys to see which he wanted to keep and which to donate or trash. His favorite toys accidentally get donated to a day care center. They go on an adventure and run into toys that are not as nice. The soundtrack, dialogue, and plot are enough to break your heart. Toy Story closed with a scene a little close to my heart and caught all of our inner children's hearts. When I was packing to move into a new apartment, I had a hard time parting with anything after seeing that movie.
Rating: 5 stars
Word Count: 364
When I was younger and saw the trailer for the original Toy Story, I was freaked out. It wasn't at the part of toys being alive. It was which toys were alive. A creepy baby doll head missing an eye with creepy hairs coming out of its bald head and a pair of legs on a fishing pole with no head/arms/body scared the crap out of me. Nightmares. But I went to see it anyway because it was what all the other students were talking about. It turned out to be an excellent movie which probably made me love my toys/stuffed animals even more. I didn't take as much of a liking to the sequel, but at least it was a Pixar sequel with a legit storyline instead of a terrible movie altering Disney sequel (I'm looking at you Lion King 1 1/2, Cinderella 3, and The Little Mermaid 3).
Before the third movie, Disney/Pixar did the best thing ever: re-released the first two movies as a double feature in 3D so that all of us could have a bit of nostalgia and get the younger generations caught up with what we saw. Of course I went and got all of the collectible cups and lids (for free because I still worked at the theater) with blue slushie.
When Toy Story 3 came out after seeing the first two again, I was more excited. It went above and beyond the hype. There is a reason that this movie has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story revolves around the main character (Andy) attending college and going through his toys to see which he wanted to keep and which to donate or trash. His favorite toys accidentally get donated to a day care center. They go on an adventure and run into toys that are not as nice. The soundtrack, dialogue, and plot are enough to break your heart. Toy Story closed with a scene a little close to my heart and caught all of our inner children's hearts. When I was packing to move into a new apartment, I had a hard time parting with anything after seeing that movie.
Rating: 5 stars
Word Count: 364
The Maiden Heist
Review:
I saw this movie on the shelf at Blockbuster and it stood out right waway. Red and blue case, Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and William H. Macy, three of my favorite actors staring up at me. I had no idea what this movie was about. So I didn't want to spend $5 on it. So I waited a few months and went to Family Video to rent it for 50 cents. First thing I heard was a song that sounded like "Creep" (an instrumental version). The movie is about three security guards who find out that the paintings/statues (maidens) which they had been guarding for years were being moved to another museum in another country. So, being practically in love with these works of art, they devise a plan to work during the move and exchange the art pieces. The plot was interesting but it wasn't entertaining enough to earn 5 stars. Also, if I had ten cents for every time the "door opening" sound effect was used, I would be rich. However, if you'd like a good look at William H. Macy's ass twice and him molesting a statue, this is the movie for you!
Rating: 3 stars
Word Count: 200
I saw this movie on the shelf at Blockbuster and it stood out right waway. Red and blue case, Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and William H. Macy, three of my favorite actors staring up at me. I had no idea what this movie was about. So I didn't want to spend $5 on it. So I waited a few months and went to Family Video to rent it for 50 cents. First thing I heard was a song that sounded like "Creep" (an instrumental version). The movie is about three security guards who find out that the paintings/statues (maidens) which they had been guarding for years were being moved to another museum in another country. So, being practically in love with these works of art, they devise a plan to work during the move and exchange the art pieces. The plot was interesting but it wasn't entertaining enough to earn 5 stars. Also, if I had ten cents for every time the "door opening" sound effect was used, I would be rich. However, if you'd like a good look at William H. Macy's ass twice and him molesting a statue, this is the movie for you!
Rating: 3 stars
Word Count: 200
Twilight/New Moon Double Review
To be honest, I cannot fully review these movies. I watched each drunk because it was the only way that I could sit through them.
Before I watched any of the movies, my old roommate left me her copy of the first book at my apartment. I didn't want to read it. Then when she came back to visit 6 months later, she was going to quiz me on it (okay maybe not "quiz" but ask me how I liked it). I read it the night before she came and I wish I were drunk for that too. I would review the book but there are much better reviews out there that say the same thing I would say. As far as the first movie went, it was painstakingly like the book with terrible dialogue, terrible acting (Kristen Stewart, I'm looking at you), and a terrible plot of a girl who obsessed over a stalker who she has only seen across the table once. By stalker I mean watching you sleep, coming in your window, knowing where you are at all times, etc. My ex and I went to the movie drunk ($1 movie night at our college) and got asked to leave before any action happened (like 75% of the way through because NOTHING HAPPENS).
New Moon is the same shit with more stalking (this time by a werewolf), more swooning over guys, and a lot less shirts (why??). The main character (again terrible actress Kristen Stewart) cannot chose between two men, and the one she truly loves has run off to keep her safe. Then she goes f'ing psycho and starts almost killing herself (I wish she would have) to have him pop up as a puff of cloud to worry about here and tell her to stop being stupid. I didn't read this book, so when I fell asleep before the action happened, I don't know what else happened in the film. I didn't even get to see how Dakota Fanning grew up. My fault for playing a drinking game with this movie and sitting on a couch. Couches always cause me to fall asleep! I was told that the action was at the end again and I didn't miss much. More terrible acting, script, dialogue, and plot. Not worth it and I'll never understand why people like watching movies about stalkers and fantasizing about them.
Pretty soon I expect to watch the latest of the Twilight series, Eclipse, drunk and see if I make it to the point where the action happens (if it does).
Word Count: 429
Before I watched any of the movies, my old roommate left me her copy of the first book at my apartment. I didn't want to read it. Then when she came back to visit 6 months later, she was going to quiz me on it (okay maybe not "quiz" but ask me how I liked it). I read it the night before she came and I wish I were drunk for that too. I would review the book but there are much better reviews out there that say the same thing I would say. As far as the first movie went, it was painstakingly like the book with terrible dialogue, terrible acting (Kristen Stewart, I'm looking at you), and a terrible plot of a girl who obsessed over a stalker who she has only seen across the table once. By stalker I mean watching you sleep, coming in your window, knowing where you are at all times, etc. My ex and I went to the movie drunk ($1 movie night at our college) and got asked to leave before any action happened (like 75% of the way through because NOTHING HAPPENS).
New Moon is the same shit with more stalking (this time by a werewolf), more swooning over guys, and a lot less shirts (why??). The main character (again terrible actress Kristen Stewart) cannot chose between two men, and the one she truly loves has run off to keep her safe. Then she goes f'ing psycho and starts almost killing herself (I wish she would have) to have him pop up as a puff of cloud to worry about here and tell her to stop being stupid. I didn't read this book, so when I fell asleep before the action happened, I don't know what else happened in the film. I didn't even get to see how Dakota Fanning grew up. My fault for playing a drinking game with this movie and sitting on a couch. Couches always cause me to fall asleep! I was told that the action was at the end again and I didn't miss much. More terrible acting, script, dialogue, and plot. Not worth it and I'll never understand why people like watching movies about stalkers and fantasizing about them.
Pretty soon I expect to watch the latest of the Twilight series, Eclipse, drunk and see if I make it to the point where the action happens (if it does).
Word Count: 429
Birdy the Mighty: Decode
Review:
Back in college I went to Anime Club. It was held on Saturdays for a few hours. Members would vote on which series to watch for each semester (usually around 4-6). One semester, Birdy the Mighty: Decode was chosen. Not many of the students in the anime club liked this series, except me. It was a little too cutesy for them.
I enjoyed the plot about a group of investigators from outer space on a mission to find a being who could destroy a planet (in this case, Earth). In her investigation, Birdy (the main female character/investigator) accidentally kills a human boy. In order to preserve his body and restore him to normal, she takes over his body. They switch back and forth as he goes to school with his friends by day, and she goes on missions at night. It is comical to listen to the interactions between them in each other's heads and the show as the case gets solved. It turns out that the being takes over the boy's love interest's body and Birdy does not tell him at first, which makes things interesting. This series not only has a fun side but a darker side as well, which makes it a series I enjoyed watching. The second season is currently in progress and I'm looking forward to finishing it.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Word Count: 227
Back in college I went to Anime Club. It was held on Saturdays for a few hours. Members would vote on which series to watch for each semester (usually around 4-6). One semester, Birdy the Mighty: Decode was chosen. Not many of the students in the anime club liked this series, except me. It was a little too cutesy for them.
I enjoyed the plot about a group of investigators from outer space on a mission to find a being who could destroy a planet (in this case, Earth). In her investigation, Birdy (the main female character/investigator) accidentally kills a human boy. In order to preserve his body and restore him to normal, she takes over his body. They switch back and forth as he goes to school with his friends by day, and she goes on missions at night. It is comical to listen to the interactions between them in each other's heads and the show as the case gets solved. It turns out that the being takes over the boy's love interest's body and Birdy does not tell him at first, which makes things interesting. This series not only has a fun side but a darker side as well, which makes it a series I enjoyed watching. The second season is currently in progress and I'm looking forward to finishing it.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Word Count: 227
Shutter Island
This review contains spoilers
Review:
Immediately when I saw the trailer for this movie (before its release date was pushed back) I knew the entire story. Here is a basic outline of the sequence of events in the trailer. Leonardo DiCaprio is given a case to go to an insane asylum on an island (for the most insane) with his partner Mark Ruffalo. Ben Kingsley explains the asylum situation to Leo. A creepy old lady puts a finger to her mouth as if there is a secret. Leonardo looks in the room of the "missing" person. He finds a note that says "who is 67?" and states that there are only 66 people at the asylum. Different creepy scenes from the movie play through with music. Some people may have thought that this would be a supernatural/ghost film/sci-fi thriller or whoknowswhat. The movie was definitely meant to be a psychological thriller. However, once I saw that damn piece of paper that said "who is 67?" I wanted to shout "IT'S YOU!" I said to multiple friends that I would be disappointed if I got the entire plot of the movie from the trailer. That he would go around on a hunt for the missing person and wonder who 67 was in the back of his mind with the whole thing being played out for him like The Truman Show, only for him to discover that he is the 67th patient.
I put off seeing the movie and no one would tell me what happened in the end. I rented it for free from Blockbuster in case I was disappointed. And I was. The whole movie I spent waiting for the end where he would figure it out and I didn't get to enjoy the rest of the movie because it was so obvious. Why was it obvious? Let me make a list of all the clues throughout the movie:
1. They wouldn't let him see the patient files
2. Patients rehearsed what they would say to him when interviewed and weren't good actors about it
3. His partner was getting nervous about stupid shit
4. Flashbacks/hallucinations
5. He was given drugs for headaches
6. Patients were talking to him about things he did that he didn't remember
Etc.
Don't get me wrong, the camera work, scenery, and soundtrack were amazing, but the entire plot was too obvious.
Rating: 3 stars
Word Count: 400
Review:
Immediately when I saw the trailer for this movie (before its release date was pushed back) I knew the entire story. Here is a basic outline of the sequence of events in the trailer. Leonardo DiCaprio is given a case to go to an insane asylum on an island (for the most insane) with his partner Mark Ruffalo. Ben Kingsley explains the asylum situation to Leo. A creepy old lady puts a finger to her mouth as if there is a secret. Leonardo looks in the room of the "missing" person. He finds a note that says "who is 67?" and states that there are only 66 people at the asylum. Different creepy scenes from the movie play through with music. Some people may have thought that this would be a supernatural/ghost film/sci-fi thriller or whoknowswhat. The movie was definitely meant to be a psychological thriller. However, once I saw that damn piece of paper that said "who is 67?" I wanted to shout "IT'S YOU!" I said to multiple friends that I would be disappointed if I got the entire plot of the movie from the trailer. That he would go around on a hunt for the missing person and wonder who 67 was in the back of his mind with the whole thing being played out for him like The Truman Show, only for him to discover that he is the 67th patient.
I put off seeing the movie and no one would tell me what happened in the end. I rented it for free from Blockbuster in case I was disappointed. And I was. The whole movie I spent waiting for the end where he would figure it out and I didn't get to enjoy the rest of the movie because it was so obvious. Why was it obvious? Let me make a list of all the clues throughout the movie:
1. They wouldn't let him see the patient files
2. Patients rehearsed what they would say to him when interviewed and weren't good actors about it
3. His partner was getting nervous about stupid shit
4. Flashbacks/hallucinations
5. He was given drugs for headaches
6. Patients were talking to him about things he did that he didn't remember
Etc.
Don't get me wrong, the camera work, scenery, and soundtrack were amazing, but the entire plot was too obvious.
Rating: 3 stars
Word Count: 400
Television Shows I Wish I Hadn't Seen
Have you ever flipped through the channels and something caught your eye? And then it was such a train wreck that you couldn't stop walking?
This has happened to me so many times. Sometimes it's a good thing. I discovered Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, American Restoration, and Modern Family. But most of the time it's a bad thing.
Today I turned on the television and saw the caption "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". I was intrigued at how someone could not know. So I watch for a little bit and they're talking about how the girls were just minding their business and doing whatever. They had actors and actresses acting out what they did before they knew they were pregnant. Then, all of a sudden, a baby is coming out and they show nasty umbilical cord and blood. I was so grossed out. Why the heck did I watch this show??
"Sister Wives" is another show that I watched an episode and a half of the other week. It's about a polygamous family. The man, Kody, is legally married to one woman who was from a polygamous family. He has three other wives, one of which he recently married. He has one child with his first wife and she cannot seem to be fertile enough for another. He has thirteen children with his other wives and I think his new wife has three kids of her own (I have no idea but that's what I gathered from wikipedia and the episode). Apparently he has been married to one for 20 years, another for 17, and the third for 16. I happened to watch the episode where Kody marries his new wife. It just looked like chaos. They all said they were happy about bringing her into the family but they did not look happy. Then I watched half of the interview special following the episode because I wanted to see how they really felt. They said that they all had their spurts of jealousy. They replayed videos about the complications of their relationships. Kody then said a line that nothing had really gone too wrong but the television show was really impacting their lives. One of the wives even stated she had thought about leaving once. She was really jealous on their 20 year anniversary. I definitely could not be in that kind of a relationship. Too many people to please. Too many children. Also, I think reality television shows about families, especially those that exploit the children as well, are no good. I just feel bad for all of those kids, not really so much family-wise but just that they have to be broadcast in front of millions of viewers (this goes for the John and Kate Plus 8 show and the 19 Kids and Counting as well).
Two more awkward shows I watched included "Hoarding" and "Animal Hoarders". In "Hoarding", I watched an episode with one woman whose family was falling apart and had moved out because she saved everything. There was no room to walk or see or sit or sleep in the house. Not only that, but she had moldy food in the fridge and dishes in the sink. So gross, it had to be disease infested. Another woman's family was falling apart as well with threats of divorce. The husband was pretty much confined to a separate room and he ended up having a heart attack. The paramedics couldn't get to him there was so much junk laying around! So freaky. In the "Animal Hoarders" show, a woman had so many animals that the house was terribly dirty! Her husband lost his job and they didn't have enough money to feed their family let alone the animals. So they forced her to get rid of some of the pets. Another couple on the show ran an animal shelter for cats. They had so many cats that they didn't have enough money to feed them all and they didn't know how many they had. Cats were roaming around everywhere! I felt so bad for all of the little kitties! There were a lot of them that required medical attention and they didn't have the money to get medicine for them. They did not have enough volunteers to help run the place either. So they were forced by the humane society to get rid of over a hundred cats.
These shows just made me cringe. I definitely will not be watching any more episodes of these shows.
Word Count: 752
This has happened to me so many times. Sometimes it's a good thing. I discovered Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, American Restoration, and Modern Family. But most of the time it's a bad thing.
Today I turned on the television and saw the caption "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". I was intrigued at how someone could not know. So I watch for a little bit and they're talking about how the girls were just minding their business and doing whatever. They had actors and actresses acting out what they did before they knew they were pregnant. Then, all of a sudden, a baby is coming out and they show nasty umbilical cord and blood. I was so grossed out. Why the heck did I watch this show??
"Sister Wives" is another show that I watched an episode and a half of the other week. It's about a polygamous family. The man, Kody, is legally married to one woman who was from a polygamous family. He has three other wives, one of which he recently married. He has one child with his first wife and she cannot seem to be fertile enough for another. He has thirteen children with his other wives and I think his new wife has three kids of her own (I have no idea but that's what I gathered from wikipedia and the episode). Apparently he has been married to one for 20 years, another for 17, and the third for 16. I happened to watch the episode where Kody marries his new wife. It just looked like chaos. They all said they were happy about bringing her into the family but they did not look happy. Then I watched half of the interview special following the episode because I wanted to see how they really felt. They said that they all had their spurts of jealousy. They replayed videos about the complications of their relationships. Kody then said a line that nothing had really gone too wrong but the television show was really impacting their lives. One of the wives even stated she had thought about leaving once. She was really jealous on their 20 year anniversary. I definitely could not be in that kind of a relationship. Too many people to please. Too many children. Also, I think reality television shows about families, especially those that exploit the children as well, are no good. I just feel bad for all of those kids, not really so much family-wise but just that they have to be broadcast in front of millions of viewers (this goes for the John and Kate Plus 8 show and the 19 Kids and Counting as well).
Two more awkward shows I watched included "Hoarding" and "Animal Hoarders". In "Hoarding", I watched an episode with one woman whose family was falling apart and had moved out because she saved everything. There was no room to walk or see or sit or sleep in the house. Not only that, but she had moldy food in the fridge and dishes in the sink. So gross, it had to be disease infested. Another woman's family was falling apart as well with threats of divorce. The husband was pretty much confined to a separate room and he ended up having a heart attack. The paramedics couldn't get to him there was so much junk laying around! So freaky. In the "Animal Hoarders" show, a woman had so many animals that the house was terribly dirty! Her husband lost his job and they didn't have enough money to feed their family let alone the animals. So they forced her to get rid of some of the pets. Another couple on the show ran an animal shelter for cats. They had so many cats that they didn't have enough money to feed them all and they didn't know how many they had. Cats were roaming around everywhere! I felt so bad for all of the little kitties! There were a lot of them that required medical attention and they didn't have the money to get medicine for them. They did not have enough volunteers to help run the place either. So they were forced by the humane society to get rid of over a hundred cats.
These shows just made me cringe. I definitely will not be watching any more episodes of these shows.
Word Count: 752
IMDB Top 250 Movies Challenge
Back when I was dating my ex-boyfriend, we started a contest to see who could watch the current top 250 movies on IMDB first. I printed the list in 2008, a year and a half or so after we started dating. Most of the movies on this list are classics/well-known movies. However, this is a user-rated list, not too highly regarded by film critics/teachers/students. We put check marks/dots in different colors by each movie we had seen. I hadn't started watching as many movies as I do now until I started going to college and working at the movie theater, so he had seen significantly more movies on the list than I had.
The list was also posted in the break room of the movie theater, so lots of people on their breaks would tally up how many they had seen and compare. It was a fun thing to do when we were bored on break and gave us all something to talk about.
So far, I have seen 145 of the 250 on the list. I plan on completing this list regardless of the fact that I am not dating my ex any longer. It is definitely something fun to do and there are lots of good movie ideas on the list.
Word Count: 213
The list was also posted in the break room of the movie theater, so lots of people on their breaks would tally up how many they had seen and compare. It was a fun thing to do when we were bored on break and gave us all something to talk about.
So far, I have seen 145 of the 250 on the list. I plan on completing this list regardless of the fact that I am not dating my ex any longer. It is definitely something fun to do and there are lots of good movie ideas on the list.
Word Count: 213
How Did I Find The Time?
How in the world did I ever find the time to watch 10+ movies a week?
Back when I was in college (undergrad) I used to have time in between work and school, I would go to Family Video and rent 15 or more dvds a week. People at the Family Video knew me by name. Then I went for my graduate degree at another college and a new video rental store. I would rent tons of movies there and they knew me by name as well. They had more of a selection of classic, cult, foreign, and less-known television shows. I could spend hours just looking around at all of the dvds and talking to employees (except the creepy ones). I would watch movies with my roommates, I would watch movies with my friends, I would watch movies one after the other, I would watch movies while doing homework and while surfing the internet and up until I fell asleep. I would stay up until 2 am watching movies and start watching them as soon as I woke up. Sometimes, I would watch movies, pause them to go to class, then pick them back up again.
One movie that I stopped watching to pick up again after class was Super Size Me. For those of you who have not heard of the movie, it is a documentary about a man who eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. Throughout the movie, he discusses how healthy McDonald's is, gets his health checked up, talks about lawsuits, ingredients, etc. Lots of people have stated that they feel so sick after watching the movie and don't eat McDonald's for a while afterwards. I always eat before class and after starting that movie, I got a craving for McDonald's. So I picked some up on the way to class and finished the movie afterwards.
Once I moved back in with my parents for a year for my internship, they looked down on me spending that much time watching movies instead of studying. That and second semester of graduate school was much harder. So I stopped watching movie for a while and quit my theater job. I felt like a part of me was missing. I used to talk all day at the theater about upcoming movies, check out IMDB weekly, and host movie nights frequently. Finally, summer came, I was graduated, and I was able to watch 10 movies a week again. When I moved out again, I could watch even more movies.
I am still watching about 10 things a week but instead of full tv-series and movies I am watching 7 episodes of different television shows and a few movies a week. Due to my job being more complicated than I thought in the first few months, it has been hard to update this journal. However, I am going to try my best to write enough entries for NaNoWriMo and hopefully get myself back in the swing of things.
Word Count: 498
Back when I was in college (undergrad) I used to have time in between work and school, I would go to Family Video and rent 15 or more dvds a week. People at the Family Video knew me by name. Then I went for my graduate degree at another college and a new video rental store. I would rent tons of movies there and they knew me by name as well. They had more of a selection of classic, cult, foreign, and less-known television shows. I could spend hours just looking around at all of the dvds and talking to employees (except the creepy ones). I would watch movies with my roommates, I would watch movies with my friends, I would watch movies one after the other, I would watch movies while doing homework and while surfing the internet and up until I fell asleep. I would stay up until 2 am watching movies and start watching them as soon as I woke up. Sometimes, I would watch movies, pause them to go to class, then pick them back up again.
One movie that I stopped watching to pick up again after class was Super Size Me. For those of you who have not heard of the movie, it is a documentary about a man who eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. Throughout the movie, he discusses how healthy McDonald's is, gets his health checked up, talks about lawsuits, ingredients, etc. Lots of people have stated that they feel so sick after watching the movie and don't eat McDonald's for a while afterwards. I always eat before class and after starting that movie, I got a craving for McDonald's. So I picked some up on the way to class and finished the movie afterwards.
Once I moved back in with my parents for a year for my internship, they looked down on me spending that much time watching movies instead of studying. That and second semester of graduate school was much harder. So I stopped watching movie for a while and quit my theater job. I felt like a part of me was missing. I used to talk all day at the theater about upcoming movies, check out IMDB weekly, and host movie nights frequently. Finally, summer came, I was graduated, and I was able to watch 10 movies a week again. When I moved out again, I could watch even more movies.
I am still watching about 10 things a week but instead of full tv-series and movies I am watching 7 episodes of different television shows and a few movies a week. Due to my job being more complicated than I thought in the first few months, it has been hard to update this journal. However, I am going to try my best to write enough entries for NaNoWriMo and hopefully get myself back in the swing of things.
Word Count: 498
Monday, November 1, 2010
NaNoWriMo
Today starts National Novel Writing Month. I want to see if all of the entries I write during this month will add up to the amount of words needed for a novel.
Maybe that will get me kickstarted into writing in this blog again. I really didn't think it would be this hard when I started, but life in college/during the summer is easier than life with a full-time job/social life.
Entry #1: 71 words
Maybe that will get me kickstarted into writing in this blog again. I really didn't think it would be this hard when I started, but life in college/during the summer is easier than life with a full-time job/social life.
Entry #1: 71 words
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)