The Office quote of the week (9/27)

I went to see Steve Carrel's new movie, Dan in Real Life tonight. I'll just say this... he's brilliant. Other people in the movie? Not brilliant. But go see it and then we can talk about it. Also, I'm now considering moving to Rhode Island.

When I got home, it was late and I have a full day tomorrow, full of traveling from Manhattan, to Queens to Staten Island, back to Manhattan and all of this on a smashed-up foot. However, I HAD to watch and find out what happened to Jim and Pam! It did not disappoint. These are the quotes. Since it was an hour show, I decided that it deserved one for each half hour, and a season premiere bonus (I make my own rules).

First half-hour -- Michael: I'm not superstitious, but I am slightly stitious.
Second half-hour -- Andy: I'm terrified of nipple chafing.
Bonus in honor of Esther and Ann -- Michael: I owe it to her to finish this GD 5K. (right before barfing)

I'm twisted

I twisted my ankle on Friday. What was I doing? Walking. that's it. Just walking. Because of this, I had to stay home all day on Saturday, but decided to go to a movie Saturday night. At the end of the movie, my foot had swollen up so much I took a cab home. On the way, I was trying to decide if I should tell the cabdriver when he got off at my exit to turn right to go to the hospital or turn left to go to my apartment. I decided to go ahead and go home, and in the morning my ankle was pretty much back to normal, swell-wise, but I still couldn't walk very well. I decided to stay home all day Sunday, and then I woke up this morning and thought I could use one more day with my foot up and iced.

It's boring to stay home for three days, watching Oprah. Not for me, I like Oprah. (can you name it?)

Heroes

Not only is Kristin Bell (my former neighbor) from "Veronica Mars" joining the cast of "Heroes" but so is Sark from "Alias." Two more reasons to watch. Although Heroes doesn't need me talking it up. What does need talking up is "Friday Night Lights" and "30 Rock." So watch them, dammit!

I flunked Cupcake 101

I have been to Magnolia bakery a million times. Of course. It only took me one time going to the bakery and buying a chocolate cupcake to learn that they are dry. I tell everyone that I like them best, but that you should not get the chocolate cupcake because they are dry. Yellow cupcake with buttercream frosting -- delicious. Yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting -- delicious. Chocolate cupcake --dry. Don't buy one.

Last year, one of my coworkers had a baby and I volunteered to make a cake for the shower. I used my Magnolia cookbook to make the cake. What do I choose? The chocolate cake recipe. As soon as I saw it crumble apart as she cut into it, I remembered my OWN ADVICE not to eat the chocolate!

And then last week, my coworker said that we are going to have a cake for another coworker who is getting married. She asked what the coworker likes. I said Magnolia. She asked what kind. I said I wasn't sure, but maybe get the chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. What is wrong with me?? Again, I forgot until the cake was cut and served on plates and I saw it falling apart. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating a big, fat piece and then licking the knife clean!

The Emmys

"Ugly Betty" is the new "Desperate Housewives." I don't get what the big deal is.

My new identity

A little over a month ago, I got a new roommate. Prior to this, I had the same roommate for 5 1/2 years. That's longer than most Hollywood marriages. So, since this new roommate moved in, I have a new name in my ward. I am now known as "Leolani's roommate." I ran into my bishop on the A train one night. I said, "Hi." He said, "Hi, how's your new roommate working out?" On the way to church on Sunday, I saw another member of my ward who asked the same thing. I went to a ward activity at a member's house and, after introducing myself, she asked, "Oh, Sonya, are you Leolani's roommate?" My visiting teacher called to set up an appointment, and somehow asked how Leolani is doing BEFORE asking how I am doing. Isn't it her job to ask about me over and over and over. I'm surprised she didn't ask "Is there anything I can do for Leolani?"

30 rock quote of the week

Just a couple of weeks till the season premiere... yeah!! In the meantime, the quote from this week's rerun comes from Elaine Stritch, who played Jack's mother in the ep. After Jack goes to the hospital with some heart malady, she yells to Dr. Spaceman, the doctor attending to him, "Tell him his mother is here! Tell him I love him! But not in a queer way!"

She deservedly won the Emmy for this guest spot and the show won the Emmy for best comedy series! How proud am I that I am one of the dozens of people that watch the show!

my 2 cents on Britney Spears

I know there has been lots of talk about Britney this week. It's a little crazy to me that this was called her big "comeback." In my opinion, she hasn't really been gone long enough to make a comeback. I think her last album was 3 years ago, which isn't really that long ago, although I don't think it sold very well. Mostly, the comeback is referring to how far she's fallen in the public eye because of the major mistakes she's recently made. But, it's clear she's not really ready to come back. I like to think that I can relate to Brit. When I want to lose weight, but know that I'm not really in that place yet, I don't bother to try until I get there. In the meantime, I just enjoy myself. Otherwise, I wake up every day thinking that I'm getting back on the horse and then fail and feel bad about myself.

About her big failed comeback based on one night at the VMA's.... I know some people were talking about her hair, some were talking about her figure, some were talking about how she appeared to have forgotten the words to the song (they were quite complicated), some were talking about her lack of energy and enthusiasm in her dance movements. My biggest response to the performance, however, is the main theme of stripperdom. The backup dancers were on stripper poles and she was not taking her clothes off, but that's because she didn't start with much in the first place. I really don't know when the strip tease dance got to be so mainstream. A few years ago when she did the VMA performance when she sang "Satisfaction" and then took off her clothes to that flesh colored sparkly number underneath, there was a lot of talk about her stripper performance. Now, there's nothing. I guess after you make out with Madonna on stage, backup dancers on stripper poles are no longer shocking.

More fall TV

Returning shows I'm most excited for:
30 rock (why don't people watch this show??)
The Office (could Jim be any cuter?)
Men in Trees
Heroes
Lost (but not until January, unfortunately)
Friday Night Lights (now on Fridays and I have until October 5 to catch up)

Returning shows that are on their last leg:
Grey's Anatomy
Scrubs

Doesn't fit in either of those categories, but I do also watch:
The Biggest Loser (which started tonight)

New shows I'm excited for:
Bionic Woman (I used to pretend that I was Jamie Summers)
Dirty Sexy Money (dumb name for a show, though)
Gossip Girl

New shows that I'm going to try on for size:
Aliens in America
K-Ville
Reaper (Attention Jeremy: This is an EW pick)
Pushing Daisies (Attention Jeremy: EW is mixed on this one, some say it is charming and whimsical; some say it is too precious for it's own good)
Private Practice
Big Shots (could be terrible but it has Dylan McDermott)
(whew! that's a lot!! they can't all be good, though, right?)

The show I'm picking up this season because my sisters watch it and we can talk about it:
America's Next Top Model

Did you know:
that Boston Legal is still on the air? And that it got a lot of Emmy nominations? (who watches that crap?)
Wayne Newton is going to be on Dancing with the Stars? And Marie Osmond?
Jerry O'Connell has a new show?
Jennifer Love Hewitt got a new haircut (don't watch her show, but I did watch her terrible hair)
Tom Selleck is joining the cast of Las Vegas

Thank goodness for DVR!!

Converse ad campaign

I love this ad, even though Queens is one of my least favorite boros.

concerts

I heard that Bruce Springsteen and the boys are touring again this year, so I logged on as soon as I got to work to try to buy tickets (I even came in early). I only did so half-heartedly because I knew it would already be sold out, and I was right. Now I have to decide if it's worth it to shell out more money to a scalper. those bastards!

I went to see Damien Rice on Friday night. When I told Esther I was going, she said, "Why? Are you planning to take a nap?" I laughed because it's true, his music is pretty quiet and mellow (like me). However, he is NOT quiet and mellow in person. At least, his music isn't. They are much louder than I expected and he really put on a good show. He was mostly all business, going from one song to the next. But about half-way through, he decided to tell an anecdote or something and it was PAINFUL. It's like that scene in Tootsie when Dustin Hoffman is revealing that he is really a man and it's a live show, and everyone on the set and in the control room (is that what it's really called or did I make that up?) is on the edge of their seats and the producer says, "Don't... don't... don't panic." So, Damien Rice is trying to talk, and he's saying "uh" and "you know" more than anything else and I have no idea what the point of the story is. But then people in the audience start yelling "We love you!" and it takes him so off guard that he loses his train of thought and says "uh" even more and I felt like yelling "Shut up! Don't you know this is hard for him??" But they don't stop, they just keep yelling and people are actually shushing them, and they keep doing it. One time, he actually gave the story up all together and just went into the next song. By the end, he had hit his stride, though, and actually told some interesting stories and, as you know, I love stories. So, this was probably the worst audience I've ever been part of because they were not only annoying to me, they threw off the whole show. But, overall, a good show.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Today, I got the fall preview edition of Entertainment Weekly. This is the issue that I look forward to all year! This is when I start to chart out all the shows I'll be watching in the fall. Who's returning? What's new? What will take the place of Veronica Mars? Will people start watching 30 rock and Friday Night Lights? I love it all!

I haven't made it through the issue yet, in fact, I'm still on Sunday. But I did read the cover article on Kate Walsh and her new show, the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice. I'm mildly intrigued, but I'm sort of over GA anyway, so will I care about the spin-off? Especially because what kind of made GA interesting is that the cast was new-comer-ish (I'm pretty sure I made that word up) and PP has a cast of people that have been on a million shows between them. I guess I'll program it in and see what happens.

The other article I read was about the show, Brothers and Sisters, which was one of the shows I was looking forward to this time last year and was very disappointed. I realized I was sitting through it each week thinking to myself, "I hate these characters." But then I'd go back for more the following week. I especially hated the whole Callista Flockhart character. She was supposed to be a conservative pundit on TV, but wasn't conservative at all. I don't believe that all Republicans are crazy, but the ones on TV are!! If they were as middle of the road as she is, they would never give them a TV show. So, I gave it up for a few weeks, but then Emily Van Camp from Everwood joined the cast and I LOVE her, so I decided to DVR it. She couldn't even save it for me, and that was that. Then I heard that she slept with Rachel Griffiths' husband, which I'm glad I didn't see because I would have thrown a shoe at the TV. I did like the plotline of the youngest brother going to Iraq, though. It's saying a lot when the only person on a show that I like is Sally Field.

so, that's Sunday night! more to come!!

New York Foundling in the news

There is a great article about my agency in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/nyregion/03foundling.html
be sure to view the slide show

I have a new convert

I gave my friend, Heidi, the first season of "Arrested Development" on DVD a few weeks ago. We went to see a movie last weekend and the trailer showed a movie starring Will Arnett (GOB). She leaned over and said, "That guy looks familiar, who is he?" I responded, "The fact that you are asking me that question means that you have not watched 'Arrested Development' yet and you need to do that STAT!" So she started watching last night, and, of course, loves it, because what's not to love? I have converted lots of people to AD. If only I could have done that on my mission, it would have been so much easier!

My Birthday

I decided last year that my birthday present to myself every year will be a trip to see John Mayer perform, even if that is in a place like, say, North Dakota or Tennessee. It worked out great last year because he was performing in Saratoga Springs, NY, just a short three-hour drive from here. Unfortunately, his tour this summer ended at the beginning of August. So, obviously, I realized that there was a big flaw in my birthday ritual after only one year.

In trying to find something else to do for my birthday, my friend, Allison, invited me to go camping with her. (I may have invited myself, but she left the door wide open for it!) She already had a trip out to Greenport on Long Island planned, so Kathy (pictured here) and I tagged along. It was my first camping trip in.... a long time. On my actual birthday, we went to the beach, ate barbeque and cooked s'mores (over a sterno that I stole from work, no campfire for us city girls). We also slept in a tent and showered in a public bathroom. You win some, you lose some.

One of the highlights for me was the rental car. I went to pick up the car, which was supposed to be some kind of economy car. I'm not sure why, but the car rental guy charged us for a piece of crap but gave us a Mustang!

my new favorite show

(that won't be the last time you read that title, btw)

Last year, there were so many new shows in the fall season that I was excited about, that I decided not to add "Friday Night Lights" to my list. For a few reasons: (1) I saw the movie and thought it was boring and overrated, (2) it's about football, (3) in Texas. When all the other new shows didn't pan out (i.e. "Brothers and Sisters," "The Nine," "Six Degrees") and FNL was getting great reviews (including the love and adoration of my roommate) I wanted to add it midseason. However, in this day and age, there's no reason to do that since you can just wait until the summer and get the whole season on DVD. Which is what I did last week. I've now seen the first four episodes and I'm hooked. It is so much more than football!

But... it is still about football. HIGH SCHOOL football. In Texas. Where high school football appears to be more important than anything else. Which is pretty weird.

my first entry

I have so much work to do right now!! why am I doing this?