What an awesome show Weed's has become. It started with a suburban mom, recently widowed trying to earn money by selling pot to her neighbors. After 5 seasons, the show has taken many dark turns, involving grow houses, Mexican drug lords and gun smuggling, leaving us with quite a cliff-hanger. I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next.
The promo for the new season shows great promise, using the song " Terrible Things" from April Smith and the Great Picture Show. Check it out:
There is a fascinating program on NBC this season called ' Who Do You Think You Are". Originally seen in Britain, the show follows famous people seeking to trace their ancestry by traveling to the places their ancestors lived.
The first episode was Sarah Jessica Parker who was able to trace her mother's side of the family all the way back to Salem Mass. at the time of the witch trials. Football star Emmitt Smith went to the very spot where his African ancestors were taken and put on slave ships to America.
Last week the show's producer Lisa Kudrow found the actual records the German's compiled which indicated the fate of her great-grandmother. I won't tell you any details because I hope you'll go to NBC's website and watch them for yourself.
This show made me so curious about my own family. Like Lisa Kudrow, my family can from Eastern Europe. My father's family is from Beltz, Romania and all I know from my mother's side is that my grandmother came from Russia. I can't trace my family tree back any further than grandparents and was heartened to see that Lisa Kudrow was able to get documentation.
The show is on Friday nights. I HIGHLY recommend you set your DVR for this one.
YAY! It's Survivor Season again. This one looks like it's going to be awesome, with the Heroes VS Villains theme.   They did something similar several seasons ago with the Fans VS Favorites, but this time I think it's going to get even more aggressive, since ALL of these players have seen each other's seasons and think they " know" one another.
Some of our favorites will be back... " Villian" Boston Rob, who left his wife Amber and young baby at home to see if THIS time, he can take it all. Joining Rahb will be Parvarti( She of skimpy bikini fame .Oh wait, that would be almost all of the women), Coach ( the man I loved to hate), JT with his homespun ways and, of course, Russell.
For the " Heroes," we have the awesomely awesome Cirie, gravedigger James, who can leave all his shirts home, thank you very much, and everyone's favorite pirate, Rupert.
I'm expecting lots of intense challenges and egos bursting out all over the place. Can Russell find all the hidden immunity idols with no clues again? Will Rupert get all offended and huffy if someone writes his name down? Will Jeff Probst keep his big mouth shut during challenges?
AHH, my Happy Thursdays are back.
I hope you were lucky enough to catch last week's Independent Lens program on PBS. It was a documentary about the Young @ Heart chorus, a group of senior citizens in Northampton Mass  who perform rock and roll songs. The film follows them as they learn several new songs for an upcoming concert.
I had never heard of this group, although they have been doing this for 25 years, touring all over the world. As I watched, I was reminded of my Dad, who loved to sing and had a wonderful personality.
There were so many parts of the film that moved me to tears of joy, then tears of sadness, as 2 members of their group die the week of their concert.
I would love for you to spend some time and watch these videos, and I know you will be as moved as I was. We start with the trailer:
Two performances were especially moving. The first, a trip to a minimum security prison where, among other songs, they brought the crowd to tears with their version of "Forever Young". I can't embed the video because they won't allow it, but I can certainly give you the link.
One of the men who died before the concert was to do a duet, which turned into a solo. I promise you, you will never listen to Coldplay's "Fix You" in the same way ever again.
And finally, to leave you will some joy... The Young @ Heart Chorus covers the Ramones!
Do try to catch this when it airs again, which I'm SURE it will.
It's January and re-run season has ended, and on to first run! I'm only a little ashamed to admit how much I love the reality programming  though I know it's not very " real".
Over the holiday weekend I discovered Tabatha's Salon Takeover, so I DO have another very snarky show to watch all alone late at night. ( Gotta love the DVR).
But last night was the season premiere of The Bachelor, a most craptacular show indeed. If you are lucky enough to not know the premise, consider yourself blessed.
Anyway, 25 women vie for the heart of one very shiny clean bachelor,with the goal of a  proposal at the end. First of all, that's totally how I expect true love to happen...on camera, in front of America. Oh, and add in jealousy and a lot of alcohol, and it's a formula for the kind of disaster it's hard to stop watching. You know, like roadkill.
This season's Bachelor is airline pilot Jake, a reject from the previous season of the Bachelorette. Bringing back a reject and making them the star has been their game plan for several seasons now, and it makes for quite interesting " first meetings". All these women have seen the show and think they " know" Jake already. It's a hoot and a half to see these women ( MOST of whom are stunning!) fall all over Jake ( and out of their gowns). These women also seemed to have quite a bit of, um, enhancement, done over the years.Â
So what I loved about the first episode is the woman who changed into a flight attendant uniform for attention and the woman who said something in Cambodian, which translated into a comment about her "landing strip". ( Don't ask). She didn't make it past the first night. Let's not forget about Michelle . She was so needy and convinced she was going to be the " winner" that she was in tears after ONE FREAKIN' HOUR!!!
Oh yeah, I'm gonna enjoy this one!
First we had American Idol, then America's Got Talent, Rock-star INXS, Glee and too many more for me to remember. But if you missed last night's " Sing-Off" you missed some pretty cool singing.
Sing Off is following on the success of High School Musical and Glee and is a voice only singing competition. This is a short series, only 4 episodes, so it doesn't need a long committment to watch. I mean, how can you pass up a show hosted by Nick Lachey with Ben Folds as one of the judges and a guest judge from The Pussycat Dolls !
Last night was the first round, with 8 singing groups competing. We had a great group from Puerto Rico, 2 different faith based groups, an all woman barbershop quartet and a group from Nebraska that just started singing together a few weeks ago and one totally awesome group from Tufts University called Beezelbubs ( whom I hope will be the winners).
Check out their spin on Magical Mystery Tour!
Have you seen the new commercial for the Amazon Kindle? I got all excited thinking it was the Ditty Bops, 2 very clever talented women who make fun music and have awesome stage shows. So I was going to blog about how happy I was that they are getting this major national attention and went to YouTube to post the commercial, only to discover it was NOT the Ditty Bops, but a woman named Annie Little.
Here it is, in case you haven't seen it.
OK, now here's Amanda and Abby. Can you see why I thought the commercial was them?
By the way, the next time they come to Madison, DO NOT MISS THEM. You will have such a great time at their show.
I feel bad for Tiger Woods. I mean, really. When did a minor traffic accident where no one was injured become such a major story? Of course the gossip mongers jumped on it, even before anyone knew any specific details. We DO have a 24 hour news cycle which demands content, but content is not fluff or filler... or maybe it is!
Once again, Jon Stewart and his crew at the Daily Show expose the media's obsessions.
I'm not ashamed to admit it. I LOVE Seth McFarlane. I think Family Guy is totally the funniest thing on TV right now. But I have to say, I was a little underwhelmed at American Dad. That is until I saw last week's episode where Stan ( the dad) goes to retrieve his daughter from a My Morning Jacket concert only to be captivated by Jim James' voice.
He then becomes a fanatic in the true sense of the word, even so far as to follow the band on tour so he can meet James. It kinda reminded me of my obsession with Phish in the early days. Make sure to watch the listings for this to be re-run!
Here's a little taste.
Don't you just hate it when one of your favorite songs are used in a commercial? Now, I'm not talking about the ipod commercials where they use new music AS music. That's OK, I don't mind that. It may have been the first time people ever heard Jet's Are You Gonna Be My Girl , for example.
Some artists are to be commended for NOT going the commercial route. I applaud Elton John for never licensing Philadelphia Freedom to Philadelphia Cream Cheese!Â
So I was watching TV while surfing the net the other night and one of my favorite songs came on! I looked up to see a Taco Bell Commercial. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them using the great Joe Jackson's One More Time to sell their fast food.
At least they didn't change the lyrics to " One More Taco!"Â Here's the song WITHOUT comercial message.
I admit it freely. I LOVE game shows. I grew up on Jeopardy, Password, What's My Line, Let's Make A Deal The Joker is Wild and of course, the Gong Show. So I was sad to read of the sudden death of game show host Ken Ober.
When Remote Control debuted in 1987 I was totally on board. I mean, really...a snarky show taking place in host Ken Ober's " basement", contestants sitting in recliners and questions about TV, even Colin Quinn as the announcer! Comics Adam Sandler and Denis Leary owe their early success to their affiliation with Remote Control.
If you've never seen it, here is a clip, guaranteed to make you want to watch more:
Â
I had forgotten that a very young Adam Sandler was on this show until I found this clip:
Host Ken Ober, who went on to later produce Mind of Mencia and The New Adventures of Old Christine, had complained of flu symptoms before he died. No official cause has been announced. Ober was 52.
I hate waking up, log on and reading sad news like the death of Soupy Sales. Would there have been a PeeWee Herman without Soupy Sales? Could we have been ready for a Saturday Night Live if we hadn't grown up with this show? Was a pie in the face ever NOT funny?
Soupy's show never treated kids like simpletons ( no offense Barney), but the humor was basic, clever and sometimes totally silly. He challenged us to keep up with him but never lose that sense of wonder.
I was very lucky to see his stage show in the mid 60's and it's a memory that will last forever.
If you never saw Soupy here are a couple of videos that I think you will enjoy.
Confession time. I am not crafty. I can barely glue 2 Popsicle sticks together. I'm no Martha Stewart, not even a Kitty Dunn, whose craft projects make me jealous.
So imagine my delight to find "Whatever, Martha" as I surfed the TV channels a few weeks ago. In case you don't carry FLN ( Fine Living Network), Whatever, Martha consists of Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis and her friend Jennifer Koppelman Hutt watching old Martha Stewart Living episodes attempting to do what she does and snarking on them, much like Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The last episode I watched had them making a concoction called " Dirt Cake" served in a flower pot with crushed Oreo's, butter, creamcheese, Cool Whip and hidden gummy worms. It looked to be about a million calories and the girls were not as successful as Martha was. On another episode they tried to do Origami. I'm loving this show. I don't feel so bad that I can't do what Martha does.
Here's a sample.
YAY! The Amazing Race is back! I think this is going to turn out to be a great season with 2 Harlem Globetrotters and a former Miss America among the "dating couples", gay brothers and a cool father and son team.
It started off evil, with one team being eliminated even before they get on the first airplane. But considering it was the Yoga instructors who looked annoying to begin with, I was cool with that.
The first challenge has them running right into a Japanese Game Show! A Japanese Game Show!!! Plus they had to eat a giant Wasabi bomb... and lead a group of 20 Japanese tourists thru the streets of Hong Kong. What a hoot!
 Then off to Vietnam where, among other things they were herding ducks up a bridge and back again. Another annoying couple was eliminated, so all in all, it's going to be a fun season.
So let's take yesterday's video of the environmental activists wailing and crying over trees and take it one step further.
Mike Judge has his slacker youth Beavis and Butthead discovering our hippies in the woods. I love how he can be so timely. Last week they took on Cartman heading to Somalia to be a pirate. But I digress. Here's today's video:
There are tons of singing competitions all over the world, one of which is Britain's Got Talent...another Simon Cowell project. You know how these things work. They always show the auditions of people who think they have talent so the audience can snark on them.
So this leads up to 47 year old Susan Boyle, not an attractive woman but rather dowdy. When she said she wanted to be a professional singer people kinda smirked and rolled their eyes.
Then she sang. Â
If y0u wanna see Simon Cowell with a look of adoration, watch this video.
If you are not grinning like a fool when this is over I will be surprised.
Get ready to be amazed: click hereÂ
(Â they won't let me embed it, but DO click on the link!)
Last night it only had 10 million views, it's up to 12 million now!
OK, so I watch this show. Don't judge me!
The world of child beauty pageants is like an alien culture to me. I've never been a girly-girl, excited about hair and clothes, so I just don't understand a 4 year old with false eyelashes, hair pieces , fake tans and tons of make-up shaking their moneymaker on stage. It's kinda creepy, y'know?
But I watch it. I watched the Chitlin' Strut (!) the Darling Diva's and Universal Beauty pageants.
 Some parents enter their kids when they are too young to even walk! And let's not even TALK about how money is spent. Some of these dresses ( for little girls that will grow out of them quickly) costs thousands of dollars, and don't forget the coaches and professional make-up artists who turn these sweet little girls into.. well... prostitots.
I don't miss an episode. Watch at your own risk of being hooked.
This is a great week for me! Survivor returns , it's Valentine's Day, and once again we embark on The Amazing Race! Â
I didn't see the first season of Survivor until the last few episodes and was instantly hooked! There's something about people living on rice and bugs that amuses me. I could never in a million years be a contestant . For one, I'm a very light sleeper and can't imagine sleeping on the ground while people all around me are snoring. I also have trouble keeping my mouth shut ( what a surprise, right?) and would probably be voted out the first week. Actually, that's not that bad because then I'd get a month's free vacation in some exotic land. ANYWAY, the games begin Thursday!
Next up, The AMAZING RACE! This is the most awesome show of all because you get go around the world and discover things like the Terra Cotta Siolders in China or a church built down into a mountain.
People get to zip line, bungee jump, climb huge buildings and eat strange things all on very little sleep.
Good times! YAY! I can't wait!!!!
This Sunday is the Grammy awards! This is one show I always watch, because unlike the Academy Awards or Golden Globes, I have actually heard of the nominees! When I was a kid, I went to the movies every weekend, but now, not so much. But when an awards show features music, I'm all over it.
So many artists that got first airplay on Triple M are up for awards, like Duffy and Jason Mraz. When I first heard " I'm Yours", I knew it was going to be a BIG hit. His nomination was no surprise to me.
I usualy have my favorites, but this year, it's quite a dilemma. I like too many songs in the same categories!
I can't choose Duffy over Jason Mraz, and what about Sara Bareilles?
So I decided, I want ADELE to win!
There should be some great performances, too, like U2, Sir Paul McCartney with David Grohl on drums, Robert Plant and Allison Krause, Stevie Wonder, Radiohead, Neil Diamond, and , of course, Carrie Underwood and Kayne West.
I can't wait.. someone's bound to say or do something controversial. Good times!
Last night was the premiere of the newest season of The Biggest Loser. Normally this show is so inspiring, especially to someone who has fought a weight problem my whole life. So I settled in, ready to watch this âfeel goodâ show. Wow, this season has some of the heaviest people ever on the show, including a young man of 19 who weights over 400 pounds.
Everyone on the show was so excited about being picked. I mean, who wouldnât like it if you had nothing else to do except work on getting healthy with a personal trainer and tons of encouragement and support. So you canât imagine how annoyed I was with their âtwistâ.
Usually, people get weighed in and their results are posted as to the percentage of their body weight they lost that week. This is a good thing because you can compete on a level playing field so to speak. The 2 people with the lowest percentages are targeted for elimination and people vote on who will leave.SO what do they do this year??? After only ONE WEEK on the ranch, only 2 teams are safe and all remaining 9 teams had to choose one member to go home, and after 4 weeks, if their partner was still there, they could come back.
Man, this annoyed me. If people weight almost 300 pounds and need to go on a reality show to get healthy again, how the hell are they going to do it on their own? I sure hope there is another twist I donât know about because itâs so unfair to do this to people.
On a brighter note, I am always inspired by this show and my goal is to lose 15 pounds during the duration of this program. Good luck to me and to everyone battling weight issues. The only failure is not trying to succeed.
Jonathan and Kitty have their confession closet, but I donât want to admit this one on camera.
Iâm hooked on another one. Â
Â
 I admit I watch a lot of reality programming. It started with Survivor and sorta grew from there. Some I watch for snark like The Bachelor, the wife/spouse trading ones (no, not like that) some for inspiration and others for the scenery, like the Amazing Race.
Â
This week I discovered Extreme Makeover Home Edition and have already seen about 6 episodes.
I saw the one with the widow with 9 children in Utah, the community organizer in Watts and the young girl allergic to the sun. Allergic to the sun! Who knew!
You probably know the premise. They find a deserving family with a falling down house, send them away for a week and in that time build them their perfect ideal house. So I found myself watching it  and noticed I was grinning from ear to ear at the end of the show when the family sees their house for the first time. I had that same grin at the same part in each episode! What a nice change of pace. To watch something that makes you feel good about your fellow man. I certainly never felt that watching the news or seeing Survivor. So maybe I wonât be ashamed after all. Maybe Iâll say it proudly: Iâm a softie. So what.  Donât judge me.
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
Last weeks challenge we thought went excellent! Of course we are a little biased.
The drinking song couldn't have been any better, or any less fun. We had a blast through out the whole process, and our performance rocked.
This week is an easy...
So the story goes Michael Jackson completed this song while watching cartoons with Paul McCartney. We'll just let that sink in for a moment.
Not sure what cartoons they were watching, but it must have worked because this song made it to number 2...
The Dalai Lama is back in town, sharing his message of peace and kindness with likeminded individuals, and the Wisconsin legislature. He also held a private meeting with Gov. Walker, who said he mostly listened to what His Holiness had to say (wise...
This duet by Ol' Blue Eyes and his daughter went all the way to number 1 back in 1967. It seems a little creepy that Frank and Nancy Sinatra are singing a love song. However, a lot of Triple M listeners were in the mood for it.
Here's...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
Last weeks challenge we thought went excellent! Of course we are a little biased.
The drinking song couldn't have been any better, or any less fun. We had a blast through out the whole process, and our performance rocked.
This week is an easy...
So the story goes Michael Jackson completed this song while watching cartoons with Paul McCartney. We'll just let that sink in for a moment.
Not sure what cartoons they were watching, but it must have worked because this song made it to number 2...
The Dalai Lama is back in town, sharing his message of peace and kindness with likeminded individuals, and the Wisconsin legislature. He also held a private meeting with Gov. Walker, who said he mostly listened to what His Holiness had to say (wise...
This duet by Ol' Blue Eyes and his daughter went all the way to number 1 back in 1967. It seems a little creepy that Frank and Nancy Sinatra are singing a love song. However, a lot of Triple M listeners were in the mood for it.
Here's...
   They did something similar several seasons ago with the Fans VS Favorites, but this time I think it's going to get even more aggressive, since ALL of these players have seen each other's seasons and think they " know" one another.
Some of our favorites will be back... " Villian" Boston Rob, who left his wife Amber and young baby at home to see if THIS time, he can take it all. Joining Rahb will be Parvarti( She of skimpy bikini fame .Oh wait, that would be almost all of the women), Coach ( the man I loved to hate), JT with his homespun ways and, of course, Russell. 
For the " Heroes," we have the awesomely awesome Cirie, gravedigger James, who can leave all his shirts home, thank you very much, and everyone's favorite pirate, Rupert. 
I'm expecting lots of intense challenges and egos bursting out all over the place. Can Russell find all the hidden immunity idols with no clues again? Will Rupert get all offended and huffy if someone writes his name down? Will Jeff Probst keep his big mouth shut during challenges?
AHH, my Happy Thursdays are back.
I had never heard of this group, although they have been doing this for 25 years, touring all over the world. As I watched, I was reminded of my Dad, who loved to sing and had a wonderful personality.
There were so many parts of the film that moved me to tears of joy, then tears of sadness, as 2 members of their group die the week of their concert.
I would love for you to spend some time and watch these videos, and I know you will be as moved as I was. We start with the trailer:
Two performances were especially moving. The first, a trip to a minimum security prison where, among other songs, they brought the crowd to tears with their version of "Forever Young". I can't embed the video because they won't allow it, but I can certainly give you 
with the goal of a  proposal at the end. First of all, that's totally how I expect true love to happen...on camera, in front of America. Oh, and add in jealousy and a lot of alcohol, and it's a formula for the kind of disaster it's hard to stop watching. You know, like roadkill.
This season's Bachelor is airline pilot Jake, a reject from the previous season of the Bachelorette. Bringing back a reject and making them the star has been their game plan for several seasons now, and it makes for quite interesting " first meetings". All these women have seen the show and think they " know" Jake already. It's a hoot and a half to see these women ( MOST of whom are stunning!) fall all over Jake ( and out of their gowns). These women also seemed to have quite a bit of, um, enhancement, done over the years.Â
So what I loved about the first episode is the woman who changed into a flight attendant uniform for attention and the woman who said something in Cambodian, which translated into a comment about her "landing strip". ( Don't ask). She didn't make it past the first night. Let's not forget about Michelle . She was so needy and convinced she was going to be the " winner" that she was in tears after ONE FREAKIN' HOUR!!!
Oh yeah, I'm gonna enjoy this one!
It started off evil, with one team being eliminated even before they get on the first airplane. But considering it was the Yoga instructors who looked annoying to begin with, I was cool with that.
The first challenge has them running right into a Japanese Game Show! A Japanese Game Show!!! Plus they had to eat a giant Wasabi bomb... and lead a group of 20 Japanese tourists thru the streets of Hong Kong. What a hoot!
 Then off to Vietnam where, among other things they were herding ducks up a bridge and back again. Another annoying couple was eliminated, so all in all, it's going to be a fun season.
If y0u wanna see Simon Cowell with a look of adoration, watch this video.
If you are not grinning like a fool when this is over I will be surprised.
Get ready to be amazed: 
