Just Delightful!

After much pouting and complaining last week (yes, at 29 I'm not too old for that), I finally got to see 17 Again today. And, fair readers, I must say that it was positively delightful! I had so much fun! Yes, I know the premise has been recycled, reused, and reshot a hundred times, but this is the first incarnation I've actually seen. Efron had his contractual obligated dance scene, and it was so sweet how his character never lost love (or lust) for his wife...even when he was 17 and she was 37. I loved the fact that even though he was surrounded with 17-year-old insecure hoes, flashin' their cleave, he still was in love with his wife.

The absolutely best part? Jim Dangle...or Thomas Lennon, if you're going by his real name. He was absolutely superb as Zac Efron's BFF, Ned, and they had quite the on-screen chemistry. His peacocking would've attracted me, and if that didn't work at first, his pitch-perfect Elvish woudl've sealed the deal. ;)

I know you probably won't heed my advice, but go check it out. It was great way to spend my Saturday afternoon.

Baby Dreams

OK, I'm already a wacky dreamer, but the prego dreams keep getting weirder. There's been a recurring theme that Dream Husband abandons me in different situations, but I know Real Husband would never do that. However, last night's was so bizarre, I have to post about it.

I had a dream that my uncle and cousin came in early from Texas to surprise us for my aunt's 50th birthday, which is this week. I didn't know they were coming in early, and all of a sudden they were walking through my back door. I was so excitable, and we were all hugging, and it was all good times. I ran to tell Martin the news, and that's when it happened:

I looked down at my right hip, and the baby's head had poked out of my hip. But it wasn't a huge head: it was about the size of a baseball, and she had one huge green eye, while the other eye was shut. I lost my S. I started bawling, but Martin kept me calm. I tried to tell the fam not to panic, but we had to go to the hospital, cause the baby might be coming. I refused to show them the head, though, cause I thought Mimi would have a heart attack. It was horribly frightening.

This one follows the theme of weird baby images cropped up by too many hormones. I've also had a dream that baby girl looked like the bloated, dead baby from Trainspotting. Thanks for the visual on that one, Ewan and crew.

Saturday Night [No] Take Away

*sigh* Another Saturday night when I was wishing I was in the UK.

After watching the youtube clip of Scottish sensation Susan Boyle, from Britain's Got Talent, I have a hankering for some quality time with Ant and Dec. I've blogged about them before: they're the UK's most popular variety show/game hosts who are actually entertaining (unlike our far inferior versions, such as Regis and Howie--GROSS). Saturday is Ant and Dec night in the UK, whether it be a new season of their hit "Saturday Night Take Away" or their hosting duties on "Britain's Got Talent." What did they have here? A HORRIBLE show with G-List celebrities betting on stupid dares done by stupid Americans. *sigh again*

I guess I'll just have to make due with one of my "Saturday Night Take Away" compilations or another viewing of their sci-fi conspiracy film "Alien Autopsy." Don't get me wrong: I love all the Ant and Dec I own, but I have to ration out the viewings or the material won't be as enjoyable anymore.

And, as with Robbie Williams, I'm living in a country with stupid Americans who don't appreciate British talent.

Meh

Husband's headed off to Wrigley for the weekend, and prego me is left to her own devices. Well, that's okay, cause Netflix delivered a little High School Musical 3. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. In fact, the second one wasn't as good as the first one either. There are some good numbers, and Zac Efron does his best Kevin Bacon Footloose impersonation (it's quite stunning actually), but the magic just isn't there like it was in the first one.

I've readily and unabashedly admitted that I highly enjoyed the High School Musical, but the two sequels have fallen short of the original. Maybe I'll see this third one again on the TV in the random future and enjoy it, but now I'm just not feelin' it. Even though the first one took old teen musical themes from Grease and West Side Story and put Disney life into them for a new generation, it was still more enjoyable than the more "original" storylines of 2 and 3. Maybe I'll just go see 17 Again and enjoy that rehashed storyline more than this original HSM 3.

Nothing Says Easter Like...Doctor Who?

Well, when you think about it, it makes just as much sense as a huge bunny handing out chocolate molds of himself for you to eat.

Last night saw the second of David Tennant's final four episodes as Doctor Who. Of course, you only saw it if you were in the UK. (And, I've risked spoilers to display this picture, so I hope you all enjoy it.) I did get reliable reports this afternoon that the Easter special was much more satisfying than the Christmas special. (Which makes sense, cause as Toddy said, everyone has a birthday, but only one person has had a resurrection.) Since we in the US won't see the episode until Sci-Fi decides to pay up, I decided to watch a little Who on PBS, and for Easter they were showing one of the BEST episodes: Part 1 of the [new] Season 3 finale. As I type, the Master is about to make the Doctor age 100 years. Season 3 is just the bee's knees (if they had any)!

AnyWHO (get it? get it!?!)...I hope everyone had a great Easter. I hope you all got to rejoice in Jesus' sacrifice for you and had time to think about how awesome it is that we're all saved because of the fact that he paid our debts for us. What an awesome Lord!

Not a One Trick Pony

The hardest thing for Robert Pattinson to do in his life will be to break out of the mold of Edward Cullen. It's a daunting task no actor in his/her right mind would envy. Any producer that gets hold of him these days probably thinks they got easy money in the bank...but what happens when Pattinson would rather do independent films? I guess "How to Be" happens.

I watched the trailer for Pattinson's new movie today, and I think it holds promise. I think it looks kind of depressingly delightful. (Word created!) Check out the trailer HERE and official website. Let me know what you think. Some of you might think he's trying too hard, but it was completed before all the Twilight craze (even though the poster, with his name looming large above the title, wasn't). Let's hope the critics don't throttle him too much for stepping outside of the box.

The Masters--IN HD!

Do you ever get sad at the beginning of April because the NCAA tourney is over? (Don't answer that, Kendra.) Well I do. And the perfect prescription is the Masters. One of golf's most honored traditions, the Masters take place during the first weekend in April in Augusta, Georgia. The course is gorgeous, the players are usually in top form for one of the most challenging courses in the world, and it always makes me calm and relaxed staring at the beautiful greens.

Today I found out that the Masters is even more calming and relaxing in HD. Oh. My. Goodness. It's breathtaking. I can see every pine needle under the pine trees, every blade of grass Tiger Woods throws in the air to see how the wind is blowing, every bit of stitching on Arnold Palmer's yellow shirt as he did the honorary tee off. (OK, maybe that last one was a bit exaggerated, but it's still amazing.)

So if you have the HD, check out the Masters. You won't be sorry!

NKOTB in the Hizz-all

I don't even know where to begin. That concert was seriously one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen in my life. Let me just try to explain how awesome the show was:



1. They opened with "Call it What You Want." Really that should be enough for you to know how amazing the show is without reading anything else.
2. This was really like a greatest hits show with a smattering of new stuff from "The Block." I was happy that they only did the best cuts from "The Block," too, like "Click Click Click" and "Twisted."
3. Joey and Jordan totally had solo times, like they did back in good ole 1990. Joey did a medley with a Frank Sinatra get-up, and Jordan totally did "Baby I Believe in You" with the open shirt and fan blowing at him. He followed this up with his 1999 hit "Give it to You."


4. Donnie was still a great spokesman, getting the crowd riled up and excited at appropriate times. He claimed that OSU's crowd was louder than us just to get us screaming. Oh, Donnie. He is also adamant that we not see his receding hairline, because he wore some sort of Boston Red Sox cap the ENTIRE time.
5. Danny rocked an awesome airbrushed shirt, that was an homage to his mother who died of breast cancer. Jon stayed on stage for almost the whole time. Way to go, buddy!
6. They performed for 2 hours and 20 minutes NON-STOP! This is awesome for almost-40-year-olds.
7. Two words: B STAGE. (Wait. Does "B" count as a word?) The B Stage was 10 FEET AWAY FROM US. Oh. My. Gosh. I have some AMAZING pictures. The only downside? Looking at Joe's gold lame jacket and gold lame Nikes. Gross.


8. Along the way they performed "Games" and "If You Go Away." Seriously...could this show GET any better!?!?!
9. They closed with "Step by Step" and "Hangin' Tough." They performed these while rockin' some awesome Illini shirts. Way to get us even more into it, guys! (Like I weren't already convinced this was one of the greatest shows ever.)


10. And, finally, the confetti they shot off in 1990 was way too far away for me to get littered with. This time, I was so close, some of it actually fell down my cleavage. UH-MAZ-ING. :)

TONIGHT

You know what I thought this morning on my way to church? Why don't you take a quiz before I tell you.

A. "It's Palm Sunday."
B. "It's Opening Day 2009!"
C. "I love snow in April."
D. "NKOTB are in my town."


If you guessed D, you are correct! That's right, ladies and gents. Jordan, Joey, Jon, Donnie, and Danny are in my town RIGHT NOW. I wonder where they're eating before the big show. I wonder where they were hanging out today. Did Jon visit one of the local Starbucks? Did Danny visit one of our many tanning salons to keep his crispy, orange, leathery glow? Did Jordan and Joe just hang out in their hotel room being hot? And, Donnie, well I have no idea what Donnie might've been doing, but I'm sure it was gangsta cool.

I seriously can't wait. Less than two and a half hours. Oh, and don't you worry: I'll be posting later TONIGHT (get it?) with an update on my first NKOTB concert since 1990. I might be a little taller, a bit more mature, and a lot more pregnant, but I know this concert will still be an experience to remember!

Check This Out!

These guys (sans Kenneth, far right) have started an AWESOME online comic strip website all about...drumroll, please...

BASEBALL!

I thought it was quite appropriate to announce this news on Opening Day 2009. So if you love baseball, or you love Martin, Galen, or Eric, click HERE to check out their site, The Dugs. You won't be sorry...well, I don't think you will be. I can only vouch for the high quality of the strip "Ghosts of the Dugs" (updated Wednesday).

Not an April's Fool

I don't like April Fool's Day; it's stupid. (It's especially stupid when you work at a school with immature 6th graders.) Yesterday CBS decided to announce the news that after 72 years of fine, soapy entertainment, Guiding Light will be cancelled.

What's that you say? Why waste precious blogging time on a soon-to-be-defunct soap opera? Well, because it was only one of the first shows I ever watched, that's why. When my grandmother and aunt used to babysit us, I would sneak out of my bed, say I couldn't sleep through my nap, and watch dreamy Philip. I was so jealous of Beth, his GF. Along with Han Solo, Philip was one of my first crushes. I still remember watching the two of them in 1983, when I was only four. (Check out their dramatical timeline HERE.) I even remember keeping his picture on the back of my bedroom door. My dad called him Possum Face, because of his close-together eyes.

I think it's a shame. If we don't have our stories to depend on, what else can we use to distract from our dismal economic times? OK, OK, so I have other stories now, like Big Love, Smallville, and LOST, but still it's sad to see a show of my formative years go after so many years. RIP, Guiding Light...here's to hoping another network picks you up.