Sunday Tomato Pie

We had a good, relaxing day today. We went to the "new/old-fangled" mass. Today was the first day of the revised English mass. Ridiculous waste of time, money and effort as far as I'm concerned. Basically they changed words around to what is supposed to be a closer translation from Latin. So pretty much it's a translation of the prayers I learned in Spanish. Whatever.

We had lunch at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant and then came home and hung out. Some friends came over for the Eagles game - they lost - and we ordered a Tomato Pie which was AWESOME!

Later we started talking about old TV shows and wound up watching old episodes on YouTube of stuff like the Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (ohmygod), Wonder Woman, Shazam!, The Secrets of Isis (Oh might Isis, Isis, Isis!) and even Battle of the Network Stars. We laughed till we cried!

Do you remember any of those?

Bah! I have a cold!

Really? Seriously? Four days before I take off on a road trip to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving I get a cold? A road trip when you're feeling like crap sucks - and I love road trips!

Having a cold and staying home sick was so much better when we were kids! Of course at the time I felt awful but looking back now it was great!

I would get to sleep in and watch TV all day. Depending on the time frame there were the game shows - $25,000/$100,00 Pyramid, Let's Make a Deal, Match Game, Joker's Wild, Concentration, The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, Hollywood Squares and so many more.

Then there were the soaps - never mind most of the time I was too young to understand what was really going on. Again, depending on the year there was Love of Life (raise your hand if you remember that one!), Ryan's Hope, Dark Shadows, All My Children and General Hospital - this was before VCRs, so it was the only way to catch up on your "story" until Christmas and Summer vacations. Oh and remember the talk shows? The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show were my favorites!

My grandmother would make me comfort food...of course, depending on what was wrong with me the food varied. If it was my stomach she'd make chicken soup with angel hair pasta, potatoes, malanga, etc. It was very close to this recipe in fact.

But if it was a cold, well then she had to feed me so I could get my strength back to fight the cold - which meant - lots of food! There was still the chicken soup, or sometimes she would make "potaje" which is kind of a soupy stew made with vegetables and meat run through a blender. I might even get my ultimate comfort food fried eggs and white rice!

And later when they got home from work, my parents might bring me a comic book or some other inexpensive trinket to distract me. Sleep, TV, good food and a toy! Such a deal!

But guess what! I stayed home sick yesterday. I slept in, watched TV and Hubby warmed up some left over take out Wonton soup and made me fried eggs and white rice for lunch! I didn't get an Archies comic book, but that's OK!

Fall(ish) 2011 New TV Shows

So...what are you watching? What new TV shows have caught your fancy?

As usual, I went through the new offerings for Fall 2011 and programmed the DVR to record the first episodes of those that had potential.

My original list of new shows (I've crossed out those I dumped or got canceled) - Terra Nova, Pan Am, The Playboy Club - what? I like period pieces! OK, you're right (hangs head in shame), Charlie's Angels, American Horror Story, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Person of Interest, Homeland and Boss.

Of all the keepers, which is my favorite? I gotta go with "American Horror Story". It is creepy and freaky and kinky and all kinds of awesome! "Revenge" is really good too and "Grimm" shows potential.

Of the ones on which I gave up, the biggest surprise was "Person of Interest" - the premise is great, but I found *no* chemistry between the leads and frankly I was bored.

Cable and premium channels have certainly made a difference in the quality and content of TV - as the regular broadcast channels have fallen into the pit of hell that is reality TV. But that's perhaps fodder for another post.

Final thought...DVR - Best.Thing.Ever.

I've Gone to the Darkside

Yes...it's true, while I wasn't Blogging I became a (GASP!) Doctor Who geek! I KNOW!

OK, well technically I became a Torchwood geek, to be specific a Torchwood: Miracle Day geekm which in turn led me to Doctor Who.

What can I say? It was a perfect storm of geekarification - a bunch of Second Life (about which I may or may not some day Blog) friends were really into Doctor Who, and were forever rambling on about something called a TARDIS, and Daleks, and arguing about who the best Doctor was. Then the Starz cable network aired "Torchwood: Miracle Day" which is the first "Americanish" Torchwood but the fourth in the series - the first three shown on BBC. Torchwood (TW), in turn is a spin-off of Doctor Who.

Still with me?

OK, so I started watching TW Miracle Day, starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness - a character that originated on Doctor Who - and I was hooked! So then I went to Netflix looking for Doctor Who, and after much back and forth was ill-advised, albeit with good intentions, to watch the four episodes called The Ark in Space - from the 1975 season and featuring the Fourth Doctor.

OH.MY.GOD. It was awful. Seriously awful. I mean OK, it's science fiction and it was 1975, but the original Star Trek aired in the mid 60s and their effects were infinitely better. Now stop and think about how cheesy the effects on the original "Star Trek" were. Right?! And these were so much WORSE!

I was flummoxed. How was it possible that something so awful begat something so awesome? Well it turns out that the episodes I saw were from the "old" Doctor Who series which aired between 1963 and 1989 in the UK on BBC and in the US on PBS and later BBC America. Then in 2005 the series was relaunched and is the one that is running now. Torchwood spun off from the "new" Doctor Who series.

Soooo, when the Starz series ended, I went back and, again via streaming Netflix, watched the five-episode third season of TW - Torchwood: Children of Earth - which was absolutely fantastic! And then watched TW seasons one and two which I really enjoyed.

That brings us to last monthish, when I started watching the 2005 season featuring the ninth Doctor played by the dashing, snarky, quirky Christopher Eccleston. I'm about half way through that season. Hopefully by the time the next season starts I'll have caught up and be able to watch it real time.

Wow. This has been rambling. If you're still reading...sorry! It's difficult to explain Doctor Who in a succinct coherent fashion. Just watch if you're curious. But don't watch the ones prior to 2005 - I will not vouch for those! You can get all the info you need from the Wikipedia links I gave you.

Or ask around - you'd be surprised at who might turn out to be a Doctor fan.

In the meantime, if you need me I might be whisking about in the TARDIS...

Bye Erica...the end of an era

After several weeks of speculation it was confirmed today that long-running ABC soaps "All My Children" and "One Life To Live" are being canceled. All My Children will end its 41 year run in September, and One Life to Live will end its 43 year run in January 2012.

Although I've watched "One Life to Live" in sprints, I've been watching "All My Children" regularlyish since day one. I actually saw the very first episode in January 1970!

It was during my Christmas vacation in second grade. I remember Susan Lucci's Erica Kane was a high school senior, along with her rival Tara Martin. Of course I had no idea what was going on, but I was entertained. After that I would watch whenever I was sick at home or on school breaks.

Once VCRs came into the picture I'd tape it and watch with my mother after school and work. We did this until I got married and left my parents' house. Mami watched it every day until the day she died. Of course she'd forget what she saw the minute it was over and she wasn't able to follow the storyline, but she did recognize the old characters. Right now I'm going through a phase of not recording and watching it, but I keep up with the general story line by participating in a Usenet forum and watching it if I'm home.

I think the writing has deteriorated significantly in the last few years, but at its best it tackled social issues long before prime time did. They dealt with the Vietnam War, abortion, drunk driving, drug use, interracial marriage, homosexuality, AIDS, hate crimes, mental health and transgender issues along with the traditional soap opera story lines.

They had the first legal abortion on television just months after Roe v. Wade was decided. They incorporated an actress' face lift into the plot and for the first time cosmetic surgery and its physical and psychological issues were discussed. They presented daytime television's first lesbian kiss and wedding and there were many other firsts. I learned a lot about the "real world" watching it and "General Hospital" - which will now remain ABC's only soap opera.

"All My Children" is part of our culture and part of my life...even if I wasn't watching I'm saddened by this news. I'll miss knowing it's there.

American Idol - Top 13 - Their Musical Idols

OK, I didn't watch American Idol in any significant way last season, therefore I didn't Blog about it. I swore I wouldn't watch it this season, but I caught part of one of the audition shows - which I never watch and on which I have never commented - and I was impressed with Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez as well as with the talent. So...I'm gonna give it a whirl.

First my usual disclaimer: (I am copying this with minimal amendment from the last Top 13 post I Blogged in 2009).

If you haven't read my recaps before here's the deal - these are my wholly subjective, thoroughly meaningless, untrained musings on the "I don't want to watch but somehow I watch" TV phenomenon that is American Idol. I have absolutely no business judging any of these people because I have no musical training or talent *whatsoever* - not that this lack of knowledge or ability stops me from singing often and loudly - but hey! they put themselves up there, so I judge them and mock them. It amuses me.

Because it's the first recap first of the season I'll give you my opinion of them based on first impression and then after the double-dash " - - " and song title, I'll comment specifically on Wednesday night's performances and give them a "grade" on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst. In the upcoming weeks I'll only comment on and grade the performances. Here we go...

Lauren Alaina – GAH Outfit! She seems too fluffy - - Any Man of Mine – Great song that she made boring; her voice is fine but she had zero sex appeal, which this song calls for; Meh…Score – 3

Casey Abrams – Needs a haircut and beard trim right now! He might be handsome, but we can’t tell through the “Grizzly Adamness” - - With a Little Help From My Friends – Good song but has been overdone; great voice!; good outfit; good performance but too manic – I think he was channeling Joe Cocker and it wasn’t pretty. Score - 8.

Ashthon Jones – Beautiful girl, fabulous dress - - When You Tell Me That You Love Me – I don’t know this song; her voice was uneven but seems like it could be good; too shriek; I think the song was too difficult; not a good performance. Score – 3.

Paul McDonald – cute, quirky, I want to like this guy - - Come Pick Me Up - I don’t know the song; where was his voice?; husky is fine but this was none existent; oh no he’s “dancing”? Well, he was twitching around on stage and it wasn’t good – he needs to never dancing again; that was pretty much awful. Score – 4.

Pia Toscano – she’s gorgeous! - - All By Myself – great song but she went with Celine Dion shriekeramic arrangement! I mean come on! Just do it like Eric Carmen wrote it and dial the volume down by like a million; great dress except for the Superman cape; between shrieks I heard a good voice, I could probably like her singing; good stage presence. Score – 7.

James Durbin – cute guy; I read he suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome and is Autistic – good for him that’s he’s doing this - - Maybe I'm Amazed – great song and he totally nailed it! Wow! Loved the voice, loved the performance; great high notes with no yelling – imagine that! I found nothing wrong with it, so he gets a perfect score! Score 10.

Haley Reinhart – she said “a lot more better” – HA! I like her - - Blue – this was a hard song and she did well; looks good; great dress; she got better as the song went on. Score – 8.

Jacob Lusk – Meh, he’s OK seems nice enough - - I Believe I Can Fly – I hate this song! Oy with the yelling; does he always do this Revival Preacher thing. Score - 4.

Thia Megia – beautiful girl, seems sweet - - Smile – I don’t love the song; great dress; great voice; she did the best she could with a boring song, not a good choice. Score - 7.

Stefano Langone – cute guy, a nice Italian boy - - Lately – I don’t know the song; good voice but he was uneven; he got better towards the end, but I’m not sure what he was trying to do with it. Score - 6.

Karen Rodriguez – How cute is she? Pretty girl, I like her - - I Could Fall in Love – Great song; she looks gorgeous, great dress; she’s clearly working the Hispanic angle, that could get old real quick, we’ll see; she did well with the song. Score – 7.

Scotty McCreery – What me worry? Hello Alfred E. Newman! - - The River – Great song, I love that he kept the original arrangement; umm Wow! Where did that voice come from? It totally doesn’t match his looks but I love it; I liked his look, he looked comfortable on stage; I wonder how he’ll do with non-country music; again nothing I didn’t like, so perfect score! Score – 10.

Naina Adedapo – So this is this season’s “quirky chick”; she’s beautiful but might be flakey - - Umbrella – Great song! Loved loved loved the reggae/rap thing; look! She can dance!; her voice was a bit uneven, maybe because of the dancing but I loved this performance. Score – 9.

Who I Think *Should* Go: Lauren Alaina

Who I Think *Will* Go: Ashthon Jones

So, what do you think? Who do you like? What aboout the judges - good, bad, indifferent.

I'll Write Soon, but in the mean time...

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Really ABC? Seriously?

ABC has announced the next lineup for Dancing With The Stars.

Basically, it is my own private hell with sequins and a disco ball. I mean really, people? David Hasselhoff, Michael Bolton and...wait for it...

Bristol frickin' Palin! Whaaaaaat?

I was considering maybe watching it because of Margaret Cho, but uh...no.

So Florence Henderson and Margaret Cho will have to soldier on without me. There is also something that calls itself "The Situation" - apparently from the "reality" show Jersey Shore. Yeah...given that it calls itself The Situation, not gonna happen.

I just had to vent...so between here, Twitter and Plurk I'm on the way to feeling better. I think Facebook will do the trick.

Ta...

2009 - New TV Shows

Well, we've had a few weeks to watch the new TV shows for the 2009 season. I've already dropped some of the ones I checked out.

The ones I'm keeping so far are: Flash Forward, Glee and Modern Family. Last night I recorded the season premiere of V a remake of the unremarkable 80s show. I haven't watched it yet - we'll see how that goes. This season is tough because so many good shows from prior seasons were renewed that it didn't leave much room for new stuff.

Here are the ones I dumped, how many episodes I watched before dumping them and why I dumped them:

Cougar Town - 1 episode - OK...going in to this one I had my doubts. Personally I find the term cougar when referring to a woman with a younger man is offensive and misogynistic. But, I've always liked Courtney Cox , so I thought I'd check it out. Before the end of the first episode I was deprogramming it off of my DVR. Not gonna happen.

Eastwick - 3 episodes - I loved the book and movie on which this show is based, I also like 2 of the three leading ladies and I like "witch" stuff, so I figured this had promise. Unfortunately the man who plays Darryl Van Horne (played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson in the movie) is too skeevy. Nicholson pulled it off because he can, you know, act. This guy? Not so much. He bugs me enough that I gave up on the show.

Vampire Diaries - 1/2 an episode - OK, I know I'm not the target demographic for "The CW", and I was pretty sure this wasn't going to work out. It didn't.

The Good Wife - 3 episodes - I actually like this show and if it survives, I'll catch it in summer reruns. I took it off the DVR because I don't have time for it. Julianna Margulies is fantastic as always, and Chris Noth is slimily delicious.

So what about you? What are you keepers and throw-aways?

The Lola Shuffle - The "Season Finale!" Edition

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Wow! The season finales of my "must-see" shows have been fantastic so far! It started with Heroes last week, which was the weakest finale of the lot yet still good, and then Brothers and Sisters on Sunday. This week kicked into high gear with the mind-bending House season-ender Monday, on Tuesday we had the beyond freakishly awesome Fringe, then Wednesday we had the amazing LOST season finale and Thursday the heart-wrenching Grey's Anatomy ending. The only one of my main shows that hasn't ended yet is 24 - always exciting - and that ends next Monday.

It seems that while we weren't looking TV got good again. For example, "LOST" for all its frustrating contrivances is a *smart* show - and say what you will about TV making us dumber, I know that I have Wikipediad and Googled references to Egyptian mythology, religious symbolism, countless literary references and lots of other stuff because of this show. The writers have introduced concepts from a panoply of areas in an entertaining fashion, and I think that's great - I've actually learned because of it.

It had been a while since I followed so many shows. In addition to those I mentioned, there are others that I watch regularly but are less important: Lie to Me, Castle, and The Mentalist stand out.

If you haven't watched any of these, try to catch the reruns or online and let me know what you think - you may find a new favorite!

So Lola, just because I'm watching TV doesn't mean I don't love you! Shuffle it up baby...

1. It Had To Be You - Dinah Shore
2. Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
3. S.O.S. - ABBA
4. You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban
5. Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band
6. Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground
7. Waterfalls - TLC
8. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - The Police
9. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel
10. Luxurious - Gwen Stefani

Have a great weekend!

Must See TV

I usually do this post earlier in the TV season, but I forgot.

This season my "must-see TV" shows are:

The Mentalist - CBS - this is a really cool cop drama about a guy (scorchng hot by the way) who isn't a psychic, but he has amazing focus where he sees details and makes connections others miss.

True Blood - HBO - actually True Blood's first season ended this past weekend. This was a tough one for me, even though I love vampie stuff, this show was so gory and so violent I kept saying I was going to stop watching it...but I didn't.

Fringe - Fox - This show is awesome! It's got elements of "LOST" and "X-Files". The cast is fantastic and the stories keep you on your toes.

Brothers and Sisters - I still think this is hands down the best hour-long drama on TV right now. The whole cast is so spot on, and the stories have both humor and drama. A highlight of my week.

Grey's Anatomy - (sigh) I go through phases with this show. Right now, we're in a good phase, primarily because of the new emergency room doctor Owen Hunt (played by yummy Kevin McKidd). Most of the annoyances have beeen resolved, so far so good.

Lipstick Jungle - This started as a mid-season replacement last season along with a similar concept "Cashmere Mafia" - and this one apparently won. It's a guilty pleasure, it's fun, pretty people wear pretty clothes to pretty parties.

House - Two words: Hugh Laurie.

Heroes - NBC - although I'm not loving this season, I'm sticking with it for now.

Lost is due to start in January, I can hardly wait! So is American Idol - I'm not sure about it this year - we'll see...

Charlie and Lola

Not too long ago between 10 and 11 a.m. I would DVR The View, now my DVR is recording Charlie and Lola every day at 10:30 a.m. The thing is, "Charlie and Lola" is on the Playhouse Disney channel, whose target audience is pre-schoolers. Despite how the ladies on "The View" behave sometimes, that is quite different than "The View's" demographic. I'll be 45 in July. Do you see the disconnect?

"Charlie and Lola" is adorable. The other day I was watching the show, and Hubby was watching me watch the show, and he told me I was smiling ear to ear! What's up with that? I think it's a the beautiful animation - a combination of cartoons, collage, regular photography, etc., and...the giggling.

Lola is 4 years old, and Charlie is 7 and they and their friends giggle a lot. The program uses real children for the voices - there are few things that make me smile as much as the sound of children giggling, that full-throttle giggle they outgrow all too soon.

I challenge you to go to www.charlieandlola.com watch one of the clips (with the sound turned up) and not smile!

Is it ridiculous that I'm watching this? Probably, but I don't care...I'm just going to go drink my pink milk through my swirly straw and watch my very favoritest show!

Must See Stuff

(If the image doesn't work here's the link.)

It's important. It's horrifying. It has to stop. Pay special attention to the comments about "jokes", it's exactly how I feel.

I came across mention of this clip while reading The South Florida Daily Blog who cited it from You Gotta Start Somewhere.

I have nothing more to add to Ellen's eloquence and heart.

Jane Austen's "Persuasion" on PBS

Have you seen "Persuasion" yet? I watched it last night and it was awesome! The hour and a half flew by.

The story of course was great, less humor than P&P, but the actress playing Anne (the heroine) was fantastic and wholly likable. She's made to look very plain and dowdy but she manages to make you think she's beautiful. And the hero was suitably dashing.

Of course BBC's trademark staging and scenery was, as usual, phenomenal, even incorporating a few breathtaking seaside scenes. The details in all the sets and costuming were spot on.

I can hardly wait for next Sunday's "Northanger Abbey" which supposedly parodies Gothic fiction. From the trailer, it seems like it will be funny and maybe a little scary!

Jane Austen rocks!

WOO HOO! "The Complete Jane Austen" on PBS!

Yes, I am that much of a geek that I'm excited about this! Click on the picture above, or on the picture of Jane Austen on my sidebar for details. Every Sunday beginning this Sunday (January 13th) they will be airing the BBC versions of Austen's major novels.

I've seen, own and am mildly obsessed with the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice . With all due respect to the plethora of other versions of this classic - I think the BBC's is the definitive version. Why? Because, really who is a better Mr. Darcy than Colin Firth ?

OK, I'll say it - I think Firth is a better Mr. Darcy than Laurence Olivier (gasp!).

So watch it - you won't regret it!

"Big Shots"? Ummm...not so much

Buh-bye Big Shots! Thanks for playing - at least with me. This is the first of the season's new TV shows deleted from my TiVo-like substance program list. I watched the recording of the season premiere and I can't believe how much I *hated* this show. If I were a man I'd be insulted - hell, I'm not a man and I'm insulted for them! How they managed to make me dislike Dylan McDermott - who I now know cannot play "funny", not even sarcastic funny - and Joshua Malina is astonishing.

Some are comparing this drivel to my dearly-departed, IMO, brilliant Sex and the City. I heartily disagree. Unless it's a man-woman thing. If there are any men reading this who have watched "Big Shots", please weigh in.

The characters played out the worst male stereotypes and *none* of them were likable. Not even "James" - played by the stunningly handsome James Vartan - who is supposed to be the one for whom we feel sorry is likable. He's a clueless wuss.

Oh well...maybe I'll program Journeyman in it's place, I've been hearing good things about that one.

New TV Season - "Cane"

I have a more than casual interest in Cane, obviously because of the Cuban-American angle. So, I watched Tuesday night's premiere and my first impression of it was that it was pretty good, but intense.

There's the potential for some disturbing stereotypes, but I want to see how they play it out. As for the Cuban culture aspect - it was the most accurate I've seen on TV ever. The creator of the series was born in Cuba and raised in Miami - and it shows. They actually played *Cuban* music for some of the dance and music scenes - not just generic Salsa, the cafecito was served correctly - not like espresso, etc. And most importantly I think they captured the typical early-Exile feeling towards the US - they love this country fiercely and know how to work the system like a *native*, but they still have a deep connection to Cuba and Cuban culture. There was also a nod to the difference between *traditional* Exiles and Balseros.

All in all it looks promising, as long as they don't succumb to negative stereotypes that may make for a good story but are inaccurate and offensive, and they don't get lazy about the cultural details.

Veremos...

New TV Season

So...to what new shows is everyone looking forward?

Here's my list so far:

Cane- Great cast, relatively local, about Cubans and about rum! What's not to love?

Dirty Sexy Money - The ad has intrigued me. Also Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh - awesome!

Big Shots - Love Joshua Malina and Dylan McDermott. The show seems like it could be funny in a dysfunctional sorta way. If nothing else McDermott and Michael Vartran will provide delightful eye candy.

Moonlight - I think I could get into a vampire series. I never got into Buffy, but this has a dark, sleek look to it. We'll see.

Brotherhood - The Irish "Sopranos"? Showtime usually produce good shows, I'll *TiVO-like substance it* and check it out.

Pushing Daisies - The weirdness of the premise has intrigued me, and it's getting good critical buzz.

Also, new to me 30 Rock - I never saw it last season but have heard great things, so I'll check it out this season.

And then, of course, returning faves..."Heroes", "Men in Trees", "Brothers and Sisters", "House"...later on "LOST", "24", etc.

Thank the goddesses for TiVO-like-substance!

"The Sopranos" - How I Would End It

The Sopranos ends next Sunday. Another terrific show gone.

If you watch how would you end it?

I would have Meadow get killed by the New York gang. In her shock and anger and grief Carmela finally puts her foot down and tells Tony - in danger himself - that it has to end once and for all. Tony, despondent at his little girl's murder, along with the death of his closest associates and family, decides to turn state's evidence against the New York gang - giving the government enough information to destroy them. The family then join the witness protection program.

The last scene would parallel the first scene of the series, with Tony in his robe coming out of his house - albeit a more modest one - to pick up the morning paper.