The first show full of tryouts for So You Think You Can Dance isn't even over yet and I've decided that as much as I LOVE it, fans may need a little help to block out the horrible auditions (ahem...The Wiggler) and Mary Murphy's LOUD LAUGH AND SCREAMS AND OMGYOUDON'TEVENKNOWWHATSHE'SSAYINGBECAUSESHE'SSOLOUD!!!
The Rules
With a drink of your choice and your finger on the volume button, enjoy SYTYCD responsibly.
1. Every time you hear a sob story or dancer's history....drink.
2. Mary Murphy crying...drink.
3. Audience members crying...drink twice.
4. Dancer crying...chug.
5. Girl with Adam Lambert hair...WATERFALL!
6. Every time a commercial featuring Siri comes on...order tomato soup.
7. Get on board the hot tamale train WOOWOOOOOO...shot of tequila.
8. Jesse Tyler Ferguson proposes marriage or makes hyperbolic comparisons...happily finish your drink.
9. Cat and Nigel flirt...drink until the awkwardness passes (be prepared)
10. When Lil'C notices a dancer "modifying your manipulation of movement" and he appreciates it...toast whatever it was Lil'C said.
11. Dance dedicated to mom...drink water so she doesn't yell about you getting dehydrated.
(To be continued as the season goes on...)
5.24.2012
5.20.2012
A little guilty pleasure television never hurt anybody...
The school year is winding down to a close and I could NOT.BE.HAPPIER. The end of the year means no happy medium between having to grade a lot at once and then having nothing to do for days. So, when I have nothing to do for days (or, realistically, when I've mastered the art of not caring and realizing why I have a planning block), I start flipping channels and begin rediscovering what I haven't watched all year long.
During the school year, the only television I will watch religiously is living sporting events and ESPN. I don't have a sitcom I tune in weekly to see; the same goes for a drama (Downton Abbey became the exception this year). Sure, we'll turn on cable and watch Law & Order: SVU reruns like we get paid per episode, but I don't find myself watching the new episodes each week. Why do I watch so much sports in the fall and winter? Well, for one, I thoroughly enjoy it. It's not scripted and the outcome is truly never known. Two, if a game is boring, I can tune it out and get some work done that I usually put off. I enjoy the background noise, but if San Diego is crushing Denver, I don't really care.
But in the summer, I'm COMPLETELY invested in two guilty pleasure shows: So You Think You Can Dance and Food Network Star. Hardcore, DVR, must-not-miss-or-else invested. I love the competition of both shows and openly rooting for (and against) certain people. With SYTYCD, I love watching the performances that bring tears to your eyes, especially this one from Melanie and Neil last year when SHE FLEW.
And maybe I love SYTYCD so much because I've never been a dancer and always wished I could.
As for FNS, the competition is fierce, the food looks like you could eat it off your screen, and there is SO MUCH DRAMA (retract the claws, Season 7's Penny). Plus, I kind of love watching celebrity chefs get annoyed with those who think they already are celebrity chefs. I watched this season's first episode, and Alton already looks bored (I love it!). The show gives me a little inspiration to play in my own kitchen, which I love to do anyways, but I always feel like I can do more.
What else will I be Netflixing when it's raining outside or simply too damn hot to exist? New Girl, which I've been told is hilarious, and Friday Night Lights, which, if it is anything at all like the movie, I will love.
Alrighty dearies, what guilty pleasure television will you be watching this summer?
During the school year, the only television I will watch religiously is living sporting events and ESPN. I don't have a sitcom I tune in weekly to see; the same goes for a drama (Downton Abbey became the exception this year). Sure, we'll turn on cable and watch Law & Order: SVU reruns like we get paid per episode, but I don't find myself watching the new episodes each week. Why do I watch so much sports in the fall and winter? Well, for one, I thoroughly enjoy it. It's not scripted and the outcome is truly never known. Two, if a game is boring, I can tune it out and get some work done that I usually put off. I enjoy the background noise, but if San Diego is crushing Denver, I don't really care.
But in the summer, I'm COMPLETELY invested in two guilty pleasure shows: So You Think You Can Dance and Food Network Star. Hardcore, DVR, must-not-miss-or-else invested. I love the competition of both shows and openly rooting for (and against) certain people. With SYTYCD, I love watching the performances that bring tears to your eyes, especially this one from Melanie and Neil last year when SHE FLEW.
And maybe I love SYTYCD so much because I've never been a dancer and always wished I could.
As for FNS, the competition is fierce, the food looks like you could eat it off your screen, and there is SO MUCH DRAMA (retract the claws, Season 7's Penny). Plus, I kind of love watching celebrity chefs get annoyed with those who think they already are celebrity chefs. I watched this season's first episode, and Alton already looks bored (I love it!). The show gives me a little inspiration to play in my own kitchen, which I love to do anyways, but I always feel like I can do more.
What else will I be Netflixing when it's raining outside or simply too damn hot to exist? New Girl, which I've been told is hilarious, and Friday Night Lights, which, if it is anything at all like the movie, I will love.
Alrighty dearies, what guilty pleasure television will you be watching this summer?
5.12.2012
Ode to a Saturday
Back when I was in high school, my girlfriends and I took a trip one night to a Mexican restaurant outside of Pittsburgh. This was a huge deal because driving to Pittsburgh from our houses without our parents was a huge deal. We were all babies who led happy (albeit sheltered) lives and we were spreading our delicate little wings. We tested the strength of those wings, were sufficiently happy with the results that night, and had a goofy, enjoyable night as any group of high school best friends could have. Naturally, no night could be complete without an abundance of inside jokes. On the way back home, we forever memorialized those jokes in a poem, titled "Ode to Saturday." I'm not sure my copy still exists, but I've no doubts that somebody has it, tucked in a box with notes and awards and yearbooks we can't bear to part with just yet.
Recalling this makes me not only miss my dears, but is making me think my Saturday 12 years later deserves its own dedication.
Ode to a Saturday
There is something to be said
for sleeping in, then lazily making breakfast,
for tea with honey and a touch of milk,
for pretty skirts purchased with discount codes,
for watching the garden grow,
for tea parties with
fancy dresses, high heels, and hats
and big dogs sniffing tiny babies,
for cooking with a wooden spoon in one hand,
a glass of wine in the other,
for books that should have been read
a long, long time ago
and catalogs fresh out of the mailbox,
for teams celebrating goals
and the roar of the crowd,
for the smell of spring, herbs,
and a hot, soapy shower.
There is something to be said
for love, hope, peace, and joy,
all warmly felt on a Saturday afternoon.
-rlk7m, 5.12.12
Recalling this makes me not only miss my dears, but is making me think my Saturday 12 years later deserves its own dedication.
Ode to a Saturday
There is something to be said
for sleeping in, then lazily making breakfast,
for tea with honey and a touch of milk,
for pretty skirts purchased with discount codes,
for watching the garden grow,
for tea parties with
fancy dresses, high heels, and hats
and big dogs sniffing tiny babies,
for cooking with a wooden spoon in one hand,
a glass of wine in the other,
for books that should have been read
a long, long time ago
and catalogs fresh out of the mailbox,
for teams celebrating goals
and the roar of the crowd,
for the smell of spring, herbs,
and a hot, soapy shower.
There is something to be said
for love, hope, peace, and joy,
all warmly felt on a Saturday afternoon.
-rlk7m, 5.12.12
5.02.2012
Just keep singing, just keep singing
My life as of late has involved grading, prom, more grading, and more prom. Thankfully, both are over. And both were successful.
When I get stressed out, I sing. It's only in my car. It's loud. And it runs the gamut from showtunes to classic rock, from (only a tiny bit) pop country to Madonna. It's random, and that's why I love keeping my iPod on shuffle.
Now, I'm no music connoisseur. I know what I like and what I don't. And I almost never judge (but seriously, if you're listening to today's country music you need.to.stop.). Without further ado, here are some of the songs that recently popped up and made me remember why I loved them so much in the first place.
Barenaked Ladies, "Break Your Heart" (Live)
I have always been a huge BNL fan (like, concert-going, photo-posting-in-the-locker, giant-poster-in-my-dorm-room FAN), but their Rock Spectacle album is forever one of my favorites. And Steven Page's vocals on this one get me every single time. (Bonus: Look at the Mulder & Scully-era cell phone at the 3:39 mark! Love it!)
Vonda Shepard & Robert Downey, Jr., "Chances Are"
First of all, I LOVED Ally McBeal. And then I loved it even more when RDJ joined the cast. And then he started singing, and it was all over from there. Swoon.
Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready to Make Nice"
Confession: I love the Dixie Chicks, but I like Taking the Long Way the best, as it felt like a theme when I decided to go to grad school. And honestly, once the country music industry shunned them for having their own thoughts, I became a bigger fan. The whole album is incredible, but I have a hard time letting things go, and this song just fits me when I'm in one of "those" moods. And who doesn't love signing along with angry chick music (Kelly, Alanis, etc....)
Ke$ha, "Take It Off"
Shush, it's catchy.
Where we go hardcore, and there's glitter on the floor...
Natasha Richardson, "Cabaret" (from the New Broadway Cast Recording)
Because I saw her sing this live. Because her vocals were never incredible, just like Sally Bowles is supposed to be. Because even though I love Liza (and her eyelashes) in the movie, it was Natasha's Sally I saw first.
So there is my list of what makes other drivers stare at me in traffic. Do share what you unabashedly sing, whether it's in the car, in the shower, or while dancing in the kitchen!
When I get stressed out, I sing. It's only in my car. It's loud. And it runs the gamut from showtunes to classic rock, from (only a tiny bit) pop country to Madonna. It's random, and that's why I love keeping my iPod on shuffle.
Now, I'm no music connoisseur. I know what I like and what I don't. And I almost never judge (but seriously, if you're listening to today's country music you need.to.stop.). Without further ado, here are some of the songs that recently popped up and made me remember why I loved them so much in the first place.
Barenaked Ladies, "Break Your Heart" (Live)
I have always been a huge BNL fan (like, concert-going, photo-posting-in-the-locker, giant-poster-in-my-dorm-room FAN), but their Rock Spectacle album is forever one of my favorites. And Steven Page's vocals on this one get me every single time. (Bonus: Look at the Mulder & Scully-era cell phone at the 3:39 mark! Love it!)
Vonda Shepard & Robert Downey, Jr., "Chances Are"
First of all, I LOVED Ally McBeal. And then I loved it even more when RDJ joined the cast. And then he started singing, and it was all over from there. Swoon.
Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready to Make Nice"
Confession: I love the Dixie Chicks, but I like Taking the Long Way the best, as it felt like a theme when I decided to go to grad school. And honestly, once the country music industry shunned them for having their own thoughts, I became a bigger fan. The whole album is incredible, but I have a hard time letting things go, and this song just fits me when I'm in one of "those" moods. And who doesn't love signing along with angry chick music (Kelly, Alanis, etc....)
Ke$ha, "Take It Off"
Shush, it's catchy.
Where we go hardcore, and there's glitter on the floor...
Natasha Richardson, "Cabaret" (from the New Broadway Cast Recording)
Because I saw her sing this live. Because her vocals were never incredible, just like Sally Bowles is supposed to be. Because even though I love Liza (and her eyelashes) in the movie, it was Natasha's Sally I saw first.
So there is my list of what makes other drivers stare at me in traffic. Do share what you unabashedly sing, whether it's in the car, in the shower, or while dancing in the kitchen!
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