Fall TV -- winners and losers

So, to follow up on my previous post about fall TV, here are the shows that I am still watching.
Up All Night -- as expected, Will Arnet is funny and I like the relationship between Regan and Chris. Maya Rudolf is also really great.

New Girl -- I know some people think Zooey Deschannel is just a little too cute and quirky, which I get, but I think she's great. I like the relationship between her and the three roommates, and I think they are all great in their own way.

Whitney has been getting panned (at least by EW), but I kind of like it. I really only like Whitney and her boyfriend and enjoy their relationship, but find all of the supporting characters super boring. So I don't love it, but like it well enough.

I'm also watching Revenge and I like it. It's pretty silly, in a soapy kind of way, but since I was a big fan of "Dallas" in the 80s, I guess it's not surprising that there is something that appeals to me.

I didn't put Suburgatory in my original post, but this one has been a surprise. If you ever watched "Veronica Mars", it kind of reminds me of that show although it's a comedy instead of a mystery.

I gave up these new shows:

"Ringer"

"Terra Nova"

"Pan Am"

"Two Broke Girls"

Returning shows:

Loving "Parenthood" (except for the boring plotlines with Julia and the annoying Max).

Loving "Parks and Recreation"

Getting sort of sick of "The Office"

Also getting sick of "Glee", but still love Blaine and that keeps me tuned in for now.

Other movies

The movie I was most looking forward to for the fall season was The Descendants, which was getting lots of buzz for a few months before it was even released and made it on a bunch of top ten lists and it just got nominated for a Golden Globe. The only thing I can say about this movie is that I don't get it. It did nothing for me. I did enjoy seeing Hawaii, however, since I have been dreaming of living there for years.

Another movie that I've been hearing about for years (literally) is My Week With Marilyn. The praise has been about Michelle Williams' performance as Marilyn Monroe. Again, I don't get it. I did not buy her as Marilyn Monroe and I did not think this story was interesting enough to make a whole movie about. I did quite like the guy, though. You know, the one who spent a week with Marilyn and then apparently wrote, not one, but two books about it, and then one of those books was made into a movie.

And the movie that is perhaps getting the most buzz this season is The Artist. If you have not heard of it, it is a silent movie... as in, a real silent movie with people talking without sound and sometimes they tell you what they are saying and sometimes you just guess because of the context of the scene. I was quite skeptical about this movie because I once saw a silent movie and it was the MOST BORING MOVIE EVER. So, despite the great reviews and talk of Oscar nominations, I had super low expectations. But I liked it a lot. The two main actors were great, but I especially loved Berenice Bejo. She was adorable and I could not take my eyes off of her. My only complaint is that it was a bit too long, but as I often say, that's my main complaint about most movies. I would definitely recommend this one to my mom.


Tonight, despite my negative experience with the original Swedish movie, I'm going to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Because nothing says Christmas like anal rape. (sorry, but it just had to be said and if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.)

Cupcakes -- St. Augustine

My efforts to find cupcakes in Orlando were thwarted (long story). When we drove to St. Augustine for the day, this was going to be my one chance. Thankfully with smart phones, it's easy to find cupcakes wherever I go, and we found this place called Luli's.

From the top right, Vanilla/vanilla (with sprinkles), Lemon, Gingerbread, Carrot, Banana/chocolate, Cookies and cream.

The regular cupcakes(chocolate and vanilla) were from a MIX. The others were dry. The lemon frosting was pretty good, though, as it was creamy and sweet, but the cake took away from that. The only really good one was the carrot cupcake (not from a mix) w/ cream cheese frosting.

Vanilla/vanilla and the lemon.

The Office quote of the week -- 12/8

Andy: " mistletoe is not an excuse for sexual assault."

The Office quote of the week -- 12/1

Quote from Dwight: Do you wish every exercise was strutting around the gym like The Fonz?