Non-reality TV (aka regular shows)

1. I'm just going to say it because we allll want to, but we are a little embarrassed. The CW you're doing it right. We all indulge in at least one ridiculous CW show. I feel like there's always a little judgement that comes with saying you are a fan of this channel. But let's face it, once you watch one of those damn shows you can't stop. Here's a short list of my favorites from this Warner Bros/CBS gem: Vampire Diaries (you think you know, but you don't), Cult (the newest CW bebe) and of course Gossip Girl (I gave up around season four, but I'm still appreciative).

            Cult is wonderful. Its a little scary, I try not to watch directly before I go to bed, but I 

            am also highly irrational. I cried (yep) when Matthew Davis was written out of The Vampire 

            Diaries, but I'm OK now because he has his own show.

2. Glee I still love you even though a lot of your fans stopped watching once Rachel, Kurt, Quinn and everyone who matters graduated.

3. The Office is in its farewell season and we are all devastated. It's alright, we can grieve together. Let's just be thankful the whole cast will be available at a moments notice via Netflix.

4. Even as we say goodbye to The Office, Parks and Recreation is still going strong and I love it. Now, if you haven't experienced the glory that is an episode of Parks and Rec you'll need to start a one month free trial of Netflix right now and get to work. Here's a short list of the things I love about Parks and Rec: LIL SEBASTIAN, April and Andy, DJ Roomba, Ron Swanson, Tommy (Haverford) Timberlake and obviously Adam Scott & Amy Poehler.
I also applaud the NBC staffers who run the social media for Parks and Rec because their Twitter and Pinterest accounts are spot on. So go follow them.

5. And finally we've come to the King of Kings. The Best of the Best, looking back I should've made this a count down to lead up to this moment (oh well, next time). ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, where Michael Cera got his start and I fell in love with Jason Bateman. Maybe you've heard that the AD crew will be making a highly anticipated return for one final, Netflix exclusive, season on May 26. Originally the show ran from 2003-2006. All three seasons are available on Netflix so again I urge you to get to watching. It's an off beat, but laugh out loud comedy about a dysfunctional family. I say off beat because it's not like anything that was on TV back then or now really. I feel like The Office and Parks have both come close, but they still aren't in the same ball park.
            Go ahead and like the show on Facebook, because even as FB seems to be a fading media
            outlet, the communications department for AD is doing an awesome job of promoting the
            show's comeback. They're working hard to remind us why we loved the show in 2006 and
            how we'll love it in 2013.

Finals aren't for a few more weeks so go procrastinate a little longer and watch a few of these shows.

2013: Reality TV

I'm going to start the year by attempting to write a post at least once a week (more if I get around to it). This week there's something important I want to talk about, reality TV. Now, I know what you're thinking, she's going to rant about how its trashy and Real Housewives this, Jersey Shore that, but you're wrong. I want to talk about those shows on A&E or Animal Planet and whatever channel airs Duck Dynasty.
Pause: I just used Google and A&E airs Duck Dynasty, so there you go.

1. A&E answer me this just what is Bates Motel about? I know it was an old TV show spin off from a movie back in the day, but that is the extent of my knowledge on the subject. Your commercials and various promo ads have told me virtually nothing. I have determined that you are banking on two things, that fans of the original television show will tune in check it out and others will flip the channel out of curiosity because your advertisements are so painfully vague. This is annoying and I don't like it. Further more I will not watch the show because it looks creepy and I just watched Session 9 on Netflix and I'm still recovering.

2. A&E: Duck Dynasty, OK I'll admit it, this show is pretty entertaining. Obviously the ridiculousness and sheer stupidity is the best part. I also enjoy watching these manly men hunt, catch, trap and shoot their way through life because it reminds me a lot of my uncles. And although I don't hunt and should I ever choose to do so I would use a Zink call before a Duck Commander, I'll keep watching A&E. BUT, I do have a few questions:
-If they're all so rich why does Miss Kay's house look like that?
-There is at least one more Robinson brother who isn't pictured, what's up with that?
-My brother told me Si has a wife. Is she always there with the rest of the family and she just stays off camera? I don't understand.
If you're going to let me into these peoples' lives via television I expect you to tell me every detail, leave no stone left unturned.

3. Where do they come up with these ideas? By "they" I mean television executives. For example: I did not know bidding on storage units was a thing, now that I do it makes sense, but WHY and WHO said yep this should be a TV show.
MTV: Buckwild, why? How did you find these people and how many of them were cast into their roles?
Additional television shows that make me shake my head and shrug my shoulders: Parking Wars, Ice Road Truckers, and if the original Pawn Stars on History Channel weren't enough, Cajun Pawn Stars.

4. Animal Planet, I know you want to make TV shows all about animals and maybe there isn't a lot of compelling subject matter out there for you to create an entire TV show around. I'll just say this: Jeremy Wade is my hero and Pit Boss is weird.

5. I know I said I wasn't going to talk about Jersey Shore, but I've watched JWoww and Snooki....
That elipse is really all I have to say about that. Where are Pauly and Vinny and why don't they have a show? I'm telling you now MTV that would have higher ratings.

I'm a terrible blogger, but I made some shorts you might like

While I always say I will write posts more consistently, it never seems to happen. None the less I've found myself with minimal work hours this summer and a lot of free time. This is what I've been doing with it.

How to dye your own jean shorts

What you'll need; a plastic bucket that you can safely fill with bleach water and later dye, jean shorts, bleach, fabric dye of your choice, yard stick or other hill-billy stirrin' device. 

Step 1: Pick out your shorts. I chose a nice medium wash denim pair that I cut out from an old pair (made obvious because there is still the old signature stitching on the pockets which they don't do anymore) of Pac Sun Bullhead jeans. 

Step 2: You will need to bleach the shorts before you dye them. Measure out 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of bleach and fill your bucket up until you can fully submerge your shorts (preferably without folding or wadding them up).

Your dog might want to help too, thats fine, I gave Little a
purple dip dye when I was done with the shorts. Just don't
let them drink the bleach water bad things will happen.

Step 3: Depending on the bucket you use you may have to adjust the shorts in the water so they are evenly bleached. After about 15 minutes I flipped mine over. In a half hour your shorts should be pretty white. 

Step 4: Remove the shorts from the water and rinse them off in the sink. You can also rinse them with vinegar water to stop the bleaching process, but I didn't find it necessary. Now lay them out to dry and go read the Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Grey.

Step 5: Now that the shorts are dry take your fabric dye (which can be found in the detergent isle) and add it to water in your bucket per the instructions on the bottle. It's about half a bottle of dye to every 3 gallons of water. 

Step 6: Toss those shorts in there! Stir them around a little bit and push them down to the bottom of the bucket with your stirrin' stick. (The back of the dye bottle suggests stirring the mixture for 30 minutes, but I elected not to and my shorts turned out great)

Step 7: This is where you have some options, the longer you leave your shorts in the dye the more vibrant the color will be. The dye bottle said 30 minutes, but I left them in 15 minutes longer.

Step 8: Pull those purple puppies out of there and rinse them out until the water runs clear (or close to it).

Step 9: Let 'em dry. And make sure when you wash them later (which I suggest doing before you wear them) that you wash them alone so your other clothes aren't dyed to match.

Voila! Purple shorts. Send me pics of how yours turn out!

May the odds be ever in your favor

Hello friends! Of course I am going to write a post about The Hunger Games. My friend Allie and I went to the midnight premiere in Ada, the best part of this was that we could walk there and it was only $4!

Anyway the movie itself was pretty good. Naturally, as in most cases, the book is better than the movie so if you haven't read the series definitely stop by the library and pick it up. That being said, they did the best they could to bring the world that Suzanne Collins created to life. And since Suzanne Collins herself helped write the screen play it was very close to the plot lines of the book, leaving almost nothing out. There were some small tweeks made (such as the notes sent by Haymitch) to convey unspoken ideas in the book, mostly because so much of it is narrated by Katniss, but is never said out loud.

Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket

Although I was a little disappointed by the highly anticipated "cave scene",  I thought Katniss' and Peeta's confusing romance was portrayed well. But by far the best part of the movie was watching unexpected actors take odd rolls to a whole new level. A barely recognizable Elizabeth Banks portrayed Effie Trinket, being every bit as ridiculous as the Capitol loving Effie was written to be. My favorite of all the characters was seeing Lenny Kravitz play Cinna. He was perfect and exactly how I pictured Cinna to be; loving, understanding, caring, gentle and determined. I was excited when I heard that Woody Harrelson would play Haymitch, but I was ultimately disappointed in his portrayal of the character. He seemed far more put together than Haymitch should be and it wasn't his lines, but rather the delivery. For a majority of the book he is a hopeless drunk, eventually he finds a way to pull it together in order to gather sponsors to help Katniss, but initially he is a hopeless drunk. Harrelson couldn't quite pull this off, he wasn't believable as an alcoholic or as a man who has suffered for the majority of his life. He was not the broken victor he was written to be. 

Despite these minor complaints, over all the movie is great. It is everything a fan hopes to see when their favorite book comes to life.

Movie discussion: Project X (slight spoiler)

Ok so like most teenagers across the country, I went to see Project X about 2 weeks ago when it came out. And last night on a whim I went to see it again with a group of friends who had never seen it before.
The first time I saw the movie I went with my friend Becka who suggested it when I asked what movie we should see. I actually hadn't heard any of the hype before I saw it, but Becka said it was all anyone was talking about so I thought why not.
For those of you who haven't seen the movie I should tell you there is literally no plot, no rise and fall of the protagonist, nothing. It's shot like a documentary following around three teenagers named Costa, J.B. and Kub, as they throw a party for Kub's 17th birthday. That's all it is. An hour and a half of watching a huge party nearly destroy Kub's entire neighborhood.

Left to right: Costa (Oliver Cooper), Kub (Thomas Mann)
and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown)

What keeps the story going is the characters and the face that almost every teen in America can relate to the story in one way or another. Whether that be in the struggles of fitting in, in high school or having a crush, the writers made the script relatable. Costa is a strange kid (of "18 and a half" years) who walks around talking about how much ass he got back in Queens, while wearing a sweater vest for the entire movie. His outrageous wankster lingo and the fact that you are fairly confident he has never gotten any in his life, is what makes his character so loveable. Kub is the cute kid next door who is fairly sheltered and just sort of goes along with whatever Costa says. He's slightly awkward and really in to his best friend Kirby, who he grew up with. His entire demeanor throughout the movie has you rooting for him to get the girl.

The movie which is obviously directed toward the youth of America plays on the idea of a party generation. Young kids just looking to have a good time with no concern for the consequences. While Kub is, from time to time, briefly concerned about the state of his house, by in large the successes of the night out weigh  the downfalls in the eyes of the characters. There are a multitude of incidents in the movie where the characters make truly ridiculous/dangerous decisions; skateboarding off of the roof, jumping into a bounce house from the roof, jumping into the pool from the roof, driving a car into the pool, taking drugs while under the influence of alcohol.

As teenagers we may find it fun to watch, and it is entertaining in its entirety, maybe we can relate parts of it to our own party stories. Some of us may go so far to say that we wish we could have parties like that. But in all honesty most of us don't mean it and we have the good sense to recognize how ridiculous almost every scene is. We have the good sense to recognize that no real party of that nature would end with the simple prosecution of the party thrower, because at the end of the movie Kub is the only one who really lost anything (his home and clean record). And in reality things like this occur when someone tries to throw a "Project X" party. It is simply a movie, a "teenage Hangover" as screenwriter Michael Bacall says.
But beyond the controversy and however unrealistic it may be, it is entertaining and worth the $9 ticket. Go see it and decide for yourself.

New Format/Interesting People

My wonderful friend Kelsi suggested a way for me to very the content on my blog while still creating a more distinct format. So I'm going to be picking a new topic each month that I'll do a few posts over and every now and then I'll throw in some random content. Although there isn't much left of the month of February, I'm gonna try to squeeze in two posts about interesting people.

Brian Williams

Recently, I wrote a paper about Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor for the NBC Nightly News and host of NBC's Rock City with Brian Williams. It was an assignment for my media relations class, but I was surprised by what I learned about him.

He grew up in Middletown, New Jersey where he was a volunteer firefighter for several years, a fact that comedian Seth Meyers says you'd know if you have ever been in earshot of the man. As far as I could tell from the information I gathered Williams didn't complete college, dropping out to pursue an internship under the administration of President Jimmy Carter. He refers to leaving college as one of his "great regrets".
I was especially impressed by how seriously he takes his career. Williams carries a Northface backpack with him everywhere he goes that contains everything he needs to report from any where in the world including: a titanium flashlight, a laptop and his passport. There is a great deal of journalistic merit surrounding his name. He and the NBC new crew helped secure the Peabody award for the company during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Williams with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show

However, my favorite part of researching Brian Williams was learning about his comedic side. He has appeared on Conan O'Brian's Late Night, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live and NBC's 30 Rock. Williams refers to comedy as his "extra curricular" work while reports deem it his "second job". He is most notably recognized for Slow Jamming the News with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots.
When Williams isn't covering major world news or telling jokes with the nation's most successful comedians he is managing BriTunes, his blog about rising musicians. In addition to his own blog Williams also takes part in the NBC blog covering stories from the Nightly News, The Daily Nightly

I find all of his work, professional and otherwise, highly impressive. I would love to meet him or just be in the same room as him. In a world where journalistic intergrity seems to be dwindling its good to know professionals like Brian Williams are out there. Some have gone so far as to call him the "Walter Cronkite of the 21st century", after all he did win the 2009 Walter Cronkite award.

T-Shirts, a staple element of my wardrobe

Although I often call myself a hobo/homeless and am called that by some of my closest friends, I am quite proud of my wardrobe. And even on the days I choose to dress in sweats and Vans I think I look pretty awesome because of my t-shirts. These are a few of my favorites:

"Weeds to meet your needs" from Celestial Seasonings tea factory in Boulder CO.

Wolf/dreamcatcher/indian/classy shirt. This shirt is absolutely ridiculous and thats why its the greatest $10 I've ever spent at Walmart.

This one is by far the coolest, got it at a resale shop. Would you believe it was only $12.

These shirts don't make the top 3, but they deserve honorable mention. 

Top left is my long sleeved XL NYFD shirt, garage sales rule. 

Top right is my A Day To Remember (my favorite band) shirt, I bought it at Warped Tour '09, it doesn't get worn much because the back is slightly explicit. 

Bottom left if my Mickey Mouse Florida shirt, it is an official Disney product that I bought at a resale shop in Colorado. I love it because Mickey is totes pimpin'.

Bottom right is my John Goodman shirt from the Big Labowski, it says "I don't roll on Shabas". If you haven't seen this movie it is definitely worth your time.

This is a slightly ridiculous post, but I hope you can appreciate it. Send me pics of your favorite t-shirts on Twitter and Facebook!