Monday, April 29, 2013

ATX Television Festival, XBox News, Big Brother Canada, & More - April 29, 2013

If you love 90's TV show reunions, the ATX Television Festival in Austin, TX is the place to be for you on June 6-9.  Party of Five, My So Called Life, and Boy Meets World will all have a presence there.   For Boy Meets World, there will be a special presentation including creator Michael Jacobs, and the cast including Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Maitland Ward, Matthew Lawrence, Lily Nicksay, and Trina McGee.  For Party of Five, there will be a screening with a Q&A with creator Chris Keyser and the cast of Scott Wolf, Scott Grimes, and Paula Devicq.  For My So Called Life, attending will be creator Winnie Holzman and the cast of Bess Armstrong, Devon Gummersall, Devon Odessa, and Wilson Cruz.  Out of the genre of 90's TV and one that really peaked my interest.  There will be a screening and Q&A with the cast of American Dreams.  This would be a lot of fun to see!  In attendance will be creator Jonathan Prince; writers Becky Hartman Edwards, David Semel, Jason Wilborn, and Liz Tigelaar; cast including Arlen Escarpeta, Brittany Snow, Ethan Dampf, Gail O'Grady, Jamie Elman, Rachel Boston, Sarah Ramos, Tom Verica, and Vanessa Lengies.  I would love to attend that!  Hoping there is some way for those of us unable to attend that some of these can be viewed online or something of the sorts.  We'll just have to wait and see.  That isn't all as there will be plenty more from current TV shows and reunions.  For more info, check out the link at: www.atxfestival.com


On to the last week in Big Brother Canada.  Emmett won the HOH competition and that meant trouble for Andrew once again.  Pretty bad when your supposed alliance keeps putting you on the block.  Emmett this week and then Jillian last week.  Up on the block went Gary and Andrew.  Emmett has been playing close to everyone so he would be good with whoever won veto for the week .  The veto competition was held where it was a competition where it was how bad do you want it.  What are you willing to give up to gain points and get closer to the veto?  Gary was ready to give up everything and was fast.  Emmett gained himself $1000 knowing he didn’t need to win the veto.  LOL.  Andrew took the biggest point getter for agreeing to a haircut of Big Brother’s choosing.  However, it wasn’t enough.  Gary had way too many points and took the veto.  He had many punishments.  Andrew got his haircut from Dan.  Yep, Dan from BBUSA was in the Big Brother house this week.  He got things stirred up immediately including me as he announced that he would get to vote to evict one person while he was there.  He was kidding but wow, did it change the mood quick.  Dan got to spend the day in the house and got to talk to everyone.  He gave them advice and had fun with them as well including each of them having to complete a task.  Dan’s advice was good and I was really hoping that many would take the advice and shake the game up.  One being shake up Emmett and Jillian.  Break that couple up.  You have to break them up at this point.  They may have to break it up themselves even and I think they see that as a possibility.  So, Gary uses the veto on himself and Talla is put on the block as the replacement.  Talla’s behavior later on almost puts her in jeopardy of being voted out.  However, Andrew goes home.  His line was best when he said what Dan had advised him on saying that his supposed alliance has put him on the block two weeks in a row.  The HOH competition was taking place as Thursday’s show went off the air.  Another highlight of the week was the latest Marcia the Moose task for Talla who had to host her own talk show in the living room.  She had to respond to every houseguest at least once with “I did not know that”.  This was funny especially with her reaction of trying to figure out who in the world was talking to her in the hallway.  LOL.  One week left of episodes in Big Brother Canada. 
Big Brother Line Of The Week“Get ready for our first fail everyone” – Marcia the moose as Talla walked out to try to accomplish her house task.  


Score a huge win for The Big Bang Theory.  A recent repeat episode topped American Idol in the ratings.

Xbox 360 recently released an app for The CW where you can check out CW programming on there.  You will be able to stream full episodes 24 hours after they air and it will not require being a cable or satellite subscriber.  Definitely another option at watching CW programming if you're interested.

Speaking of Xbox, the news this week is that they will announce the plans for the new Xbox on May 21st.  There is going to be a lot of people focusing on that announcement to see what the plans are in the continuing gaming console battles.

Funny or Die has released a very funny video featuring screenwriter, Michael Arndt on his first day writing Star Wars Episode VII.  

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Veronica Mars Movie, Survivor, Big Brother Canada, NBA Playoffs, & More - April 20, 2013


My heart obviously goes out to everyone in Boston and Texas during this horrible week. God bless you all!  Pray for Boston and pray for Texas during this difficult time.

The Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign broke all sorts of Kickstarter records. Highest funded film in Kickstarter history.  The last record to be topped was the most number of backers and that record went down on the last day of the campaign.  91,585 total people that backed the project and the final money total was $5,702,153.  87,143 was the previous record holder for amount of backers.  Rob Thomas broke two stories on his Twitter @robthomas this week including that the script was done and that production meetings had started to plan this movie out.  Now, you know of course that I jumped in and backed this project too.  If you thought anything different, what were you thinking?  LOL.  Happy to be a backer of this movie and I am excited to see it.  

This week’s Survivor had a tribal council that was like a million dollar high stakes card game.  Cards got thrown into play that weren’t expected and then you know what cards players are holding but you don’t know if they will play them or bluff.  It was a tribal council that saw a huge game shift that involved plenty of immunity being shown.  Malcolm has been working on trying to wait for his time to flip the game by teaming up with Reynold and Eddie.  He thought he had worked it out last week to get the numbers but it went bad on him and Michael was voted out.  This week, their bed had been made and they were ready to lay in it to see what happens.  The immunity challenge was won by Reynold with Malcolm coming in second.  Phillip sat out the challenge talking about not being able to handle it due to the challenge being similar to a bad situation that he had as a child.  Things get really interesting when the search gets going between several to find the hidden immunity idol that ended up back in the game after the previous episode.  Malcolm finds it right in front of Andrea and Dawn.  So, they know he has a hidden immunity idol and tell the rest of their alliance.  What they didn’t know was that he already had another one.  That made two idols that Malcolm had.  So, the plan is made to flush an idol and get rid of Eddie since they couldn’t vote for Reynold.  Things go quickly wrong for Stealth R Us when idol talk begins.  Andrea mentions that Malcolm had found the idol and he goes ahead with showing the idol.  Then, he shows the other idol that he has and hands it over to Eddie.  This puts a lot of people into meltdown mode and we get what may go down as the most confused group at a tribal council ever.  Jeff Probst was not even on the radar of most of the people at tribal council as he continued to talk to several.  The rest were in a panic looking at one another trying to figure out what in the world they were going to do now? It was awesome TV.  I cracked up at Cochran who said this is why he is a fan and loved Survivor cause he knew fans would be going nuts watching on their couches at home.  Then, Malcolm makes the announcement that they were going to vote for Phillip and that it was up to the rest on what they wanted to do.  That got more wheels turning with the rest trying to decide.  I laughed at the chaos of this thing when Dawn and Brenda are talking with them trying to decide to vote for Andrea but it being pointed out on how do they get that word down to the other end of the group.  Phillip said to stick with what they already had planned which was to split the vote.  The idols were both played and wiped out the votes.  Phillip was then voted out.  Wow is all that can be said.  What a tribal council shocker and I just kept watching with a huge smile on my face not believing what I was seeing.  It is still a six to three deficit for Malcolm, Reynold, and Eddie but if they can pull some people over, the numbers and power in the game could change quickly.

On to the week in Big Brother Canada.  First of all, it is so great to hear that there are so many people that are into this show.  It really is great and the twists and extra things going on in the house make it so much fun.  They didn’t do anything for the houseguests in BBUS last summer.  That house was so dull especially in the last half of the season and it seemed our only hope for anything interesting was a Pandora’s Box.  Every episode of Big Brother Canada seems to have something fun along with the game.  So, last week, we were left with the HOH competition underway as the show went off the air on Thursday.  Jillian won HOH.  That put a target on a bunch of people and it just became a deal of who to put up and who could be replacements.  Emmett had to do damage control with Talla and Andrew for putting Talla up on the block during the double eviction episode.  Jillian put Peter and Andrew on the block for nomination this week.  That put all the pressure on the veto competition.  That was won by Andrew.  There was controversy though when Emmett advanced to the second round and he started to help Jillian by giving her advice in between rounds.  Clearly gave her advice.  Big Brother looked at the video and they disqualified Emmett for breaking the rules of not being able to give advice or help other houseguests.  He did not take that well at all screaming and venting to everyone.  Funny moment when Jillian called out Peter in the DR for being a sore loser when Peter overturned the puzzle after he lost out of frustration.  Yet, we’re watching Emmett losing his mind and Jillian also being vocal about what was clearly a break of the rules.  I laughed at that ironic DR commentary.  Andrew took himself off the block in the veto ceremony.  Jililan put Talla up as a replacement putting her against Peter.  Peter did stir some noise by at least getting in Emmett and Jillian’s head a bit about an alliance between Andrew and Talla.  How it could work against the HOH couple.  It didn’t work though as Peter was voted out on a 2-0 vote.  It isn’t over though.  We still had the story of who would get voted back in the house.  We saw the jury house of AJ, Alec, Gary, and Topaz.  Things were calm there until the arrival of Alec and Topaz and drama stirred over hurt feelings of the happenings of their exits.  They were brought to the show and told of the twist of one of them being voted back in.  That person was Gary which was not a surprise.  I knew he would be the one of the four that would win a fan vote.  So, Gary is back in the house and where he aligns will be big.  My first thought is that Gary will team up with Andrew and Talla making a 3 to 2 advantage against Emmett and Jillian.  So, what do I think from here?  I think Gary has a real chance to win this game as does Andrew.  Emmett has a strong chance as well but he has to be the number one target at this point to get out of the game if possible.  I just don’t see Jillian winning this game at this point.  She doesn’t seem to get that making five million deals and then breaking them is going to work against you with the jury.  It is going to be hard for her to overcome that.  I just don’t Talla being any kind of a threat to win cause she just hasn’t done enough to get that jury to sway toward her.  For me, I think Andrew and Gary are in the best spots right now but we’ll see how this plays out.  As far as extra happenings this week, the freeze reward task was fun.  The houseguests had to stop and freeze every time they were told to by Big Brother and not move until told.  If they did this, they would win a prize.  Funny stuff as we had a sumo wrestler come into the house at one point with a hilarious staredown with a frozen Andrew.  Then, we had cheerleaders come into the house doing cheers. Also hilarious that Andrew missed all of this cause he happened to be frozen in the wrong direction and had his backs to them.  The best was the last freeze which had Andrew’s twin brother come in the house and talk to Andrew.  Andrew couldn’t move or say anything to his brother.  He stood there with tears in his eyes and his brother made sure to not let him say anything and ruin the task.  They won the task and each got a video chat with family members in the living room.  Then, we had the have not competitions which was lost by Andrew and Talla.  They had to serve the others and wake up early to do cleaning and such.  Talla was not having this and having a meltdown at it.  Andrew was constantly on her about it getting up and helping. Then, we got the hilarious commentary of the two of them watching and doing commentary on the reward of the winning meal outside for Emmett and Peter. Just really fun extra stuff going on this week. 

Big Brother Line of the Week: “Talla is not a morning person.  I don’t think she’s an anytime of the day person when it comes to serving people or being a have not”. – Andrew in the DR talking about Talla on their hilarious back and forth battle with their loss of the have not challenge.

Are you behind on the season 11 comic books of Smallville?  Well, here is a quick way to help you get closer to being caught up.  The first paperback edition of the comic will be released on April 23 and is called "Guardian".  I will definitely be picking this up.  You can check it out here

The NBA Playoffs tip off this weekend.  The big story of the west in the last week was the Lakers trying to get into the playoffs and Kobe Bryant’s injury.  The Lakers story has been a tough one all year with the struggles and it just seems as Kobe was trying so hard to just get them into the playoffs that his body finally broke down on him.  Tough to see Kobe have to sit out and go out that way.  So, now what can the Lakers do?  I think a matchup with the Spurs is better than it would have been against the Thunder.  In the west, we have (1) Oklahoma City against (8) Houston, (2) San Antonio against (7) LA Lakers, (3) Denver against (6) Golden State, and (4) LA Clippers against (5) Memphis.  Some interesting match ups there.  The Clippers will have to avenge their loss last year to the Grizzlies and this could be a tough match up once again.  Denver is a team that has been underrated all year and could make some noise.  They have had some injuries lately so we’ll have to wait and see how that effects them.  Can Oklahoma City once again come out of the west?  That is the big question.  In the east, we have (1) Miami against (8) Milwaukee, (2) New York against (7) Boston, (3) Indiana against (6) Atlanta, and (4) Brooklyn against (5) Chicago.  For me, the wild card in the east is the Bulls.  There is no way to predict it.  This team has fought all season and done so well without Derrick Rose and with so many injuries to other players with the lineup switching almost by every game.  Who will be healthy and what if Derrick Rose decides he is good to go in the middle of the playoffs?  This could shake up the east big time.  Miami has had another big season and had that long winning streak that was ended by Chicago.  Is New York for real?  That has been a major question all season and that Boston/New York matchup in the first round could be very good.  That rivalry has been intense at times this season.  It is setting up to be a fun NBA Playoffs.

Have a great rest of the day!  Take care and God bless!!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

2013 Superman Celebration Lineup Announced

The Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL has announced their lineup for the 35th celebration.  The headliners will be Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor - Smallville) and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane - Superman).  This will be the second appearance for both at the Superman Celebration.  Rosenbaum appeared previously in 2006 while Kidder was there in 2005.  Also, already announced by the Celebration as appearing include Traci Scoggins (Cat Grant - Lois and Clark), and Laurie Mitchell Roberts and Gregory Moffett (both from The Adventures of Superman).  Featured comic guests include Ron Frenz, Art Baltazar, Chris Sprouse, and Brett Breeding.  To get all of your Superman Celebration needs including announcements, schedules, and all other happenings, please visit the official Superman Celebration website at: www.supermancelebration.net

Also, Warner Brothers has released a new three minute trailer for Man of Steel which you can see here.  It looks pretty awesome to me!!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Friends Reunion Not Happening - April 16, 2013

The answer is "no" to a Friends reunion.  The internet was abuzz earlier today over a report saying that Friends had been renewed for a full season.  The site, Star Media reported this saying that the show had been picked up for a full season but that none of the cast were on board with it yet.  NBC has done some crazy things here lately but renewing Friends without having anyone on board seemed way over the top of crazy things that they would do.  I first saw this rumor on Twitter earlier today but it seemed like everyone that I followed weren't even taking it seriously with all of the sources that they had.  I then went searching myself thinking where in the world did all this rumor get started and found that site.  In fact, the Huffington Post already has confirmation from Warner Brothers shutting the rumor down completely which you can read here.  So, no to a Friends reunion.  I wish it was true too.  It definitely got people talking today for a little while so that was fun while it lasted.

Ayla Brown - Album Review - April 16, 2013

Ayla Brown will be making her Grand Ole Opry debut on May 25th.  That name will be familiar with American Idol fans.  Ayla was a semifinalist on season five of Idol and made it to the top 16 week.  She was one contestant on there that I thought should have gotten further in the competition and I wasn't happy when she was voted off.  Things are going very well for Ayla.  She has been a very busy person since her Idol days.  Not just music with releasing albums.  She has also been playing basketball for Boston College where she earned a bachelor's degree in communications.  She has been a news correspondent for the CBS Early Show.  National anthem singer for the Philadelphia 76ers.  Acted in plays including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  That is just a few of the highlights.  As you can see, she has busy with a lot of everything and now she is set to make her debut at the Opry which has to be such an exciting moment for her.  Her self titled album, Ayla Brown, is available on Amazon to buy.  I love this album and I am so happy to have heard it!  It has a great sound to it and a great mix of songs.  "Goodbye For Good" is the breakout hit on that album as it had a number one stay on CDBaby.com's country charts.  She co-wrote seven of the nine songs on the album. "Ain't Leaving (Anything Here) is the first track on the album which is a getting up and leaving kind of song.  Just has a strong sound to it to kick off this album.  It goes right into a song that I love of "Miss You Already" which is a great ballad.  This album feels like this well kept secret of goodness that needs to be heard.  Definitely check it out at this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ayla-brown/id513969398

Favorite Songs:
Goodbye For Good, Miss You Already, Ain't Leaving (Anything Here), Don't Mess This Up, Can't Make Up My Mind.

Here is a performance of "Can't Make Up My Mind"


Since this album, she has released a patriotic album called "Heroes and Hometowns" in late 2012.  "Pride of America" is the first single off of that album.   Ayla has made a music video to another song on that album called "My Hometown".  Here is the video to check out.


To hear more from Ayla and get you ready for her Opry debut, head over to her website at: www.aylabrown.com where you can buy and hear more of her music, watch videos, and more.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Veronica Mars Movie In The Homestretch, Kelly Clarkson Returns To Idol, Big Brother Canada, ACM Awards, & More - April 12, 2013


Time is almost up and it has been record breaking.  The last record just went down on Kickstarter.  The Veronica Mars movie is in the home stretch and is hours from ending.  The only record that this campaign hadn’t topped was the most backers ever.  They targeted that record including an option to just donate a $1 if you wanted to.  The record was topped which was 87,142.  As I write this, the Veronica Mars movie has 87,439.  The grand total with 7 hours to go is $5.5 million.  Just incredible!  Rob Thomas is going crazy today just watching all of this go down.  Kristen Bell put out a video this morning for a rallying cry to get these records done and it has happened.  Pledges have been coming in from all over the world with all sorts of different amounts.  I will put some totals in to just show you these amazing numbers when the numbers are final.  This week, the t-shirts were shown on what they would like.  I definitely have my pick on which one I like of the two.  They are also going to give out a sticker sheet to everyone who pledges over $10 which you can use to show that you supported the cause.  I love the stickers.  This Kickstarter campaign has changed the game and the funding is there for an even bigger movie than they anticipated.  Check out the campaign at this link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project
Here is the video by Kristen this morning if you want to check it out.  


Deal making, returning houseguests, anger, and backing out on deals were all a part of this week’s Big Brother Canada.  When we left off last week, the endurance competition was underway.  It came down to two people.  Jillian and Topaz.  The talk turned to maybe just make a deal of safety for each other.  Also for their others.  The two are left alone to discuss.  Topaz gets the word of safety for herself and for Alec.  So, Topaz bails out and Jillian wins HOH.  That deal didn’t hold long though when she started working on her options for nominations.  However, Alec didn’t help himself either by his conversation in the HOH room with Jillian where he basically threatened to go after her next week.  Not the best move on his part.  So, Jillian goes back on the deal and puts Alec on the block against Peter.  Peter is basically the pawn as her real target is Alec.  Of course, this does not go over well with Topaz.  We get to the veto competition.  Everyone is picked to play except for Emmett as he is the odd one out.  This was where Alec made his second big mistake of the week.  He was breezing through the veto competition which was building a bridge with planks of wood with house events on them.  You had to put them in order in the quickest time.  Alec was breezing through it and was one switch away from winning.  He stops and starts to think about it deciding that he thinks he should give up on the challenge for strategy.  He says that he is quitting.  This is in front of everyone too by the way.  He had several minutes left and was on his way to victory.  He said in his DR interview that this will be either a great move or a terrible move.  I thought it looked really bad especially to just openly say that you are quitting in front of everyone.  Especially when you are on the block.  Peter wins the veto.  Things get crazier with the deal making when Jillian tells Topaz that she is her only option of who to put on the block.  Wow!!!  Not only did she backtrack on the deal halfway but now she went full out and turned on the deal completely.  Bold, bold move. Topaz is of course furious over this and she is put on the block after Peter vetoes himself.  Alec against Topaz.  That brings us to last night’s double eviction episode.  Alec was voted out with the only vote to keep him being Peter.  The double eviction was sprung on the house and we got right into the competitions.  Emmett won HOH in a tie breaker against Andrew.  He put up Topaz and Talla for eviction.  Peter won the veto and did not use it.  No reason to as that would mess up his game at this point.  3-0 vote to evict Topaz.  The HOH competition was underway as we went off the air.  When I saw the egg comp, my first thought was poor Britney.  Remember when she had such trouble with that comp a few years ago?  We got another twist as fans will be able to vote a jury member back into the house.  So, either AJ, Gary, Alec, or Topaz are coming back into the house.  If I had to guess, I would say that I bet Canada votes Gary back into the house. 

Other happenings in the house had the return of the moose.  Not the original though.  This was a dark talking moose.  I love Marcia the moose by the way.  I just find it hilarious.  The dark moose had a secret challenge for Peter.  He had to fool the house into thinking that a houseguest was returning.  He scrambled around the house placing items of Tom’s around including replacing Tom’s black and whited out picture with his color one which of course symbolizes someone is still in the game.  Peter added a chair to the table and put his teddy bear in Jillian’s HOH room.  The picture was what got noticed first by Talla and Topaz and they lost their minds.  They screamed all through the house that Tom was coming back.  The house went into paranoia mode the rest of the night.  It was great TV to watch especially with Peter just watching all this go down.  I am wondering if Andrew slept at all.  LOL.  Nicely played by Big Brother as they helped with the items and also put the cameras in the HOH room down on to the bed where the bear was hidden.  Jillian caught it immediately saying “why are the cameras pointed in the same direction”.  She knew something was up and found the bear.  She was then convinced that it was a hunt of sorts where you had to find the most of Tom’s items for a game win.  Pretty funny. Peter’s task was complete as he convinced the whole house that a houseguest was returning and they got a reward of five food items.  So, Talla.  LOL.  I crack up at her cause she has such a big personality.  Constantly losing her mind and getting furious at her struggles in competitions.  The house gets a laugh out of it too.  Then, she is constantly screaming such as in the HOH comp and just at being scared of anything unexpected.  I laughed during the endurance comp that it would be hard to compete next to her trying to concentrate but also having her screaming in your ear all the time. 

Big Brother Line Of The Week: “Peter, I’ve known you for a long while now and in that time I’ve learned that you like wrestling, chicken nuggets, and I’ve also learned that that is a cursed veto necklace.  Don’t use the cursed veto on yourself.  Use it on me.  I’ll bare the curse.  You’ll be safe.” - Alec’s speech to Peter during the veto ceremony.

Another homecoming on American Idol this week.  The original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson made her return back home where it all started.  Much like Carrie recently, they did a great video looking back on her time on Idol and her career since then.  Kelly performed her new song, “People Like Us” and it was a fun atmosphere with the lights out and the glow sticks in the air.  Loved her performance and loved the song.  You can check out Kelly Clarkson on Idol here. 

The ACM Awards were this past Sunday night.  Entertainer of the Year went to Luke Bryan.  That was a shocker for everyone and a big congrats to him.  He was so excited.  I do have to rant for a moment.  Seriously, what does it take for Carrie Underwood to get nominated for Entertainer of the Year?  She is performing almost every night all over the world and on TV.  She is selling out her tour and it has been a huge hit.  Just insulting to not see her get nominated.  Anyway, back to the results.  LOL.  Male Vocalist of the Year was Jason Aldean.  Female Vocalist of the Year went to Miranda Lambert.  Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square.  Vocal Group of the Year; Little Big Town.  New Artist of the Year: Florida Georgia Line. Album of the Year: Eric Church - Chief. Single Record of the Year: Miranda Lambert - Over You. Song of the Year: Miranda Lambert - Over You.  Songwriter of the Year: Dallas Davidson. Video of the Year: Little Big Town - Tornado (this is a really cool video by the way).  Vocal Event of the Year: The Only Way I Know - Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Eric Church.

Superpass and Big Brother have parted ways.  Superpass sent out a statement last week announcing that they will not be the home of the Big Brother live feeds this summer and thanking all the fans for the support over their years of hosting the feeds.  Instead CBS.com will be hosting the live feeds.  Well, that is very interesting.  I am not sure what to make of that.  This will lead to a lot of questions.  How will the feeds be with CBS?  Better?  Worse?  What kind of a fee are we looking at for Big Brother 15 this summer?  What kind of changes are we looking at?  What happens to a lot of the features that Superpass provided?  What gets carried over?  Just a ton of questions that we'll have to wait to get answered.  If anything, CBS will take all heat now for any feed decisions.  I always felt bad for Superpass at times when the feeds would go down and they would get blamed by fans.  They were just the host and CBS was the ones making the decisions.  I did like how Superpass would scramble to provide some kind of content to watch as we had our feed downtime such as those full days without feeds.  So, now we wait until CBS announces more.

Has it really been 20 years since Jurassic Park?  That is unreal.  The movie is set to get a re-release in 3D this weekend in theaters.  I wouldn’t mind watching the original once again but I am not at all into this 3D phenomenon.  It definitely has an audience of fans that love it but it just isn’t for me.  Jurassic Park was a blockbuster for sure upon its original release.  It was something very different.  My introduction to Jurassic Park was by home video.  I bought it upon its release sight unseen and loved it.  Me and a friend of mine used it to test out the surround sound.  Jurassic Park and Twister were the “work out the surround sound” movies that we used.  LOL.  The original movie was so successful that it ended up making two sequels.  I saw the second one but never did watch the third one.  The original Jurassic Park was a lot of fun.  It was a thriller for sure watching these people trying to escape this nightmare and survive from these dinosaurs.  Definitely a favorite movie of mine.  I can’t remember the last time that I actually watched it so maybe that is something to put on the to do list in the future. 

NBC announced earlier this week that Carson Daly’s show has been renewed.  So, that is one spot in the NBC late night lineup that will not see any changes.

If you are a viewer of the NBA on TNT, you are likely familiar with this popular segment.  Shaq’tin A Fool.  This segment has taken on a life of its own including others starting to copy it making their own blooper segments.  Here is this week’s great bloopers from the NBA this week hosted by Shaq.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/tnt_overtime/2013/04/12/20130411-shaqtin-a-fool.nba

Take care and God bless!!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The Week In Big Brother Canada, Tonight Show Makes It Official, Arrested Development, and More - April 6, 2013


Big Brother Canada continues to just leave me in awe as I watch it.  I think I have gotten so used to the US version just not really having many unpredictable game twists like it was last year in BB14.  Canada dropped a huge game changing twist this week that shocked the house and ended up dismantling someone’s game in the process.  Last week, Suzette was evicted from the Big Brother house.  It wasn’t a shock at all and even she knew that she was done.  The HOH competition is held and it came down to Topaz and Talla.  Topaz wins HOH.  As the show went off the air, a promise was made of a huge twist that would air on Sunday night.  It sure did!  Right after the live show, Topaz was called to the HOH.  She was going to be told that she it was an instant nomination night.  Little did she know that another twist was coming with that.  The rest of the houseguests are put in the living room.  Big Brother Canada host, Arisa comes on the screen and starts to talk to Topaz.  While this is going on, the rest of the house is seeing this on the TV in the living room.  It shocked them so much that Gary was yelling out, hey, we can see this expecting that Big Brother had messed up. Nope, that was part of the twist.  The house was going to get to watch all this go down in the HOH room and learn of the twist and also of who Topaz was going to nominate.  Arisa told Topaz that she had five minutes to make a decision.  Topaz was left alone to her thoughts.  Unfortunately for Topaz, she said her thoughts out loud.  Thinking and talking to herself with a whole living room listening.  She basically laid out her targets, her pawns, her possible backdoor plans, and basically her whole game.  She made enemies really fast down there in the living room with everyone in shock of what they were watching.  So, she makes her picks for nomination which were Andrew and AJ.  Andrew was her target.  AJ was the pawn.  She makes her way downstairs unaware that the house just saw this all go down.  Arisa then springs it on everyone that this is an instant eviction twist.  No veto comp.  No time to discuss.  Immediate vote.  So, everyone is going to the diary room in complete shock.  Some completely undecided on what to do.  The vote goes 4-2 to evict AJ.  So, Topaz’s target stays in the house.  He knows he was her target.  Alec who has been in a showmance with Topaz voted to evict AJ.  It should be pointed out that they haven’t been getting along at this point and both are just playing it up for alliance purposes.  So, Alec is having to do a much of damage control over Topaz’s move.  To make matters worse for Topaz, Andrew won HOH and then put up Topaz on the block along with Gary.  Who was Andrew’s target?  Well, we were not sure initially.  He seemed to be telling of a lot of plans and had Gary’s mind stirring all over the place on whether Topaz was a pawn or whether he was a pawn.  Andrew's target as we learned was Gary.  We had an awesome veto competition that Jillian was having a blast hosting.  Lots of funny moments in it.  It was won by Andrew.  So, now the question turned to the alliances in the house.  Talla getting pulled between the alliances of The Shield and also to Emmett, Andrew, and Jillian.  Gary was voted out on an unanimous vote and then we were left with a HOH endurance challenge as the show ended.  Where will the power go in the house in this crucial HOH competition?

Big Brother Line Of The Week: "All the sudden, Gary runs off bawling like we’re in a grocery store and he can’t have fruit loops."  - Emmett on Gary running off crying over getting picked as a have not.  These are some really funny quotable houseguests on Big Brother Canada.  

It was very sad to read the news about Roger Ebert passing away this week.  I read the news that day on Twitter.  Siskel and Ebert were always a major part of the entertainment business with their reviews.  There has been an outpouring of sympathy from all over the industry.

It is official.  NBC officially announced that Jimmy Fallon will take over The Tonight Show in the spring of 2014 replacing Jay Leno.  Also, the show will move back to New York.  One can only hope that this goes better than it did last time.  

Arrested Development has a start date.  The new season which is a Netflix exclusive is set to start on May 26.  15 episodes will be ready for view and I know that is going to excite a lot of people.  I have never seen the show but I have always heard rave reviews on it.  

That is it for today.  Take care and God bless!!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Carrie Underwood 'Still Making Her Dreams Come True' - April 5, 2013

Carrie Underwood returned home last night.  The place where it all started for her.  American Idol.  The year was 2004.  During the St. Louis auditions, this 22 year old named Carrie Underwood from Checotah, Oklahoma took her place for her Idol audition.  She wowed the judges and she grabbed all of our hearts immediately.  She had this great voice and such a sweet personality.  She was off to Hollywood and off to her destiny.

When I was watching her Idol performance last night as she debuted her new single, “See You Again”, she was just glowing up there on that stage.  She fought back tears just talking about looking back on it all.  Before the performance, Idol ran a video package which included some old footage of her from American Idol.  She was walking around the field at home.  I am fairly sure that this footage has never aired as that is one bit of footage that I don’t remember seeing.  I could be wrong though.  In this video, she was talking about how she had never been on an airplane.  Never been in a big city.  Just this wide eyed girl with such a shyness to her.  She was speculating on what things would be like for her doing these things.  You could see the battle of nerves with excitement in her.  All of her dreams right there in front of her but there was a genuine fear in her.  You may have heard her tell the story about when she was on her way to the airport to catch her flight to Hollywood.  She almost went home.  Fear and nerves were getting the better of her.  Her dad was driving her to the airport and she was struggling.  He told her that if she didn’t want to do it to give him the word and they would turn the car around to go home.  She decided to continue on and keep pushing forward with the bigger fear of the “what ifs” that she felt she would have to deal with for the rest of her life if she went home.  She boarded that plane and the rest is history. 

She captured all of our hearts and was the clear cut favorite to win Idol including Simon Cowell telling her that not only would she win American Idol but she would be the most successful Idol alum in the show’s history.  Both statements came true. Her confidence continued to grow on that stage. She was out of her element there in Hollywood and she would fully admit it.  American Idol season four in 2005 was the year of Carrie as she won the competition.  Carrie stuck to her roots sticking with the demand that she was going to make a country album despite all sorts of pressure to go the pop way.  Her first single would be the hit that took her to the next level, Jesus Take The Wheel.  A fresh faced Carrie was still learning her way telling people during the video shoot that she needed to be told what to do.  She had never shot a video before and explained to the crew that she needed to be instructed on what to do cause this was brand new territory for her.  She continued to gain experience video to video and was branching herself out.  Learning to have fun with it.  Gaining confidence more and more.  She would hit the stage with tours opening up for various singers.  Taking the Opry stage.  Winning awards. Starting to headline her own tours. Being invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.  The list goes on and on.  Now, she is selling out the Blown Away tour.

I have been to many Carrie shows over the years and it has been a blessing to just watch this girl grow.  No chance to meet her yet as I'm sure some will ask.  LOL.  Seeing her growing more confident on stage and in herself.  She has so much fun performing and interacting with the fans. We all have fun watching her and listening to her.  I often say that I could listen to her sing the phone book.  Just this amazing voice.

Carrie is a perfect example of never quit chasing your dreams.  I am so proud of her and find her to be such an inspiration.  Such a strong faithed person.  She kept at her dreams.  She didn’t back down to fear.  She took that step and just kept moving forward.  She is also that great example of good things happen to good people.  How much of a blessing is it to see when things like that happen?  When I watched that clip of her walking through the field from back in her Idol days, my first thought was that was the Carrie that immediately hooked me at the time.  That soft spoken, shy, sweet person that was ready to go for the ride of her life.  Looking so uncertain but excited for the challenge.  I think so many of us could relate to that moment.  I know I can.  Seeing what all she has accomplished is just awesome and we’ve seen her grow from that shy person to this confident person. From taking that Idol stage for the first time to now being one of the biggest music superstars in the world.  Growing more and more.  Last night was definitely a homecoming for her.  I think it felt like a homecoming for all of us that have watched and been along for the ride with her.  Never give up on your dreams.  Always chase them.  You never know what might be waiting for you.  Take that step in faith and go for it.  As her song says, "Thank God even crazy dreams come true."

If you missed last night's great performance of "See You Again" and the great look back video on Carrie, here it is: 


Thursday, April 4, 2013

One Tree Hill - One Year Later - April 4, 2013


Tonight is one year since the series finale of One Tree Hill aired and we said Good Night tree Hill.  I miss this show terribly and it is hard to believe it has only been a year since the show ended.  It feels so much longer.  Fans all gathered online tonight for a re-watch of the finale one year to the night of it airing.  I of course had to take part in it.  #OneYearWithoutOTH did trend on Twitter so that was cool to see.  The cast and crew have been taking part in the One Tree Hill anniversary today posting comments and pics.
Sophia Bush: Before I left North Carolina for the last time, I left Y'all this note at TRIC.  I meant it from the bottom of my heart.  Still do.  Love xoxo #itsanoththing
(With the post is a picture of the brick that she signed saying: "You all are the reason we put our hearts into OTH. Thank YOU for 9 incredible years. Much love Sophia Bush".)

Shantel VanSanten:  "On the anniversary of #OneYearWithoutOTH I feel so grateful to be a part of the #OTHfamily and blessed to have played Quinn! #muchlove"

Daphne Zuniga posted a final production shot picture on her post and Barbara Alyn Woods was joking with fans about needing a OTH reunion.  

I still find myself watching reruns on TV when I catch them on.  I would like to re-watch the whole series again from the start.  However, I watched the final season again over the last couple of days as my own personal tribute of sorts to the one year anniversary of the show ending.  The final season was a roller coaster including being really dark at times as we worried about all the characters that we knew and loved.  The series finale was perfect.  Even a year later, the finale is still one of my favorite series finales ever.  It was just written perfectly as a thank you to all the One Tree Hill fans that had been with the show for nine years.  There is no way to even put into words just how perfect it was done.  If you want to go back and read what I wrote about the series finale a year ago with trying to put it into words, go over to this link.


This was my recap and thoughts that I typed up last year after the finale.  I also included the DVD review that I typed up not long after that.

Good night Tree Hill.  "It's the oldest story in the world.  One day you're 17 and planning for someday.  Then quietly and without ever really noticing, someday is today.  Then, someday is yesterday.  And, this is your life."  The final scene of the series finale had everything that you could ask for last night. We're back where it all started inside the gym at Tree Hill High School.  Getting ready for the opening tip of yet another Ravens basketball game.  The setup was perfect. We suddenly realized that this wasn't the present day that we had just seen in the previous scene.  Reveals started to be made.  Kids growing up, a baby on the way, a couple back together, dreams realized, wishes coming true, and another Scott becoming a Tree Hill legend.  We're in another flash forward at the end of the episode.  This final scene had everything in it that I have loved about this show for nine years.  The surprises, the inspiration, the music, the flashbacks, the feel good moments, and it was perfect.  U2's "One Tree Hill" finished it out as the perfect song for this scene.  There is no adjective I can use other than perfect for this scene.  I've since went back and watched this scene over and over.  One Tree Hill came to a close last night giving fans what the producers had been saying all along.  This finale was a thank you to all of us.  All of us that have been with the show these amazing nine years.  A cast and crew of this amazing little show that could that just kept going and we kept loving it.  Make no mistake about it.  That line that Haley gave at the ten year anniversary celebration concert was a thank you message to all of us, the fans.  After a season that has been drama filled and most times sad, we got a finale that left us smiling and knowing that these characters that we've grown up with are going to be ok.  Not just ok but they're going to be great.  This episode had everything with the flashbacks whether they were major things such as the moment with Haley and Jamie and the wishes up on the rooftop. Flashbacks of just subtle things just as that shot of that intersection and seeing that stop light changing making you think back on Peyton from early on in the show.  Fun cameos that made us cheer such as seeing Bevin at the office and the feel good moment of her and Skillz ending up together.  A marriage and a family that had become separated now becoming an even stronger union with Quinn now helping Clay and his son.  Brooke's dreams coming true and living in a house that she loved growing up in.  Only thing missing was a real family and Julian made that happen for her.  Nathan and Haley continuing to grow and realizing that their someday was happening.  Nathan making it clear to Jamie that he could do whatever he wanted in his life.  Not putting pressure on him like Dan did with Nathan.  Jamie deciding that he wanted to be a basketball star like his dad and one of his wishes to be breaking his dad's scoring record.   Mouth getting the support to do what he wanted to do with the help of the Dan Scott estate.  I loved the whole deal with Dan basically saying what Mouth does matters.  Then, Mouth opened up the scholarship deal in Jimmy and Dan's name and also started his sports program.  Don't forget the baby on the way for Mouth and Millie too.  Chris Keller getting the big comeback in this episode and giving us a really fun and nice closure for him and Chase also.  There had been a lot of noise being made about the music on this episode especially with a retro feel.  We had that for sure with a lot of the songs being played.  Can I say that Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy rocked with the songs that they performed for the concert scenes?  So good!  Gavin DeGraw returns to play at the show and we, of course, close his part of the show with "I Don't Wanna Be" with a fun scene of seeing these characters that we love all interacting and having fun with one another as we see what their lives have become.  The topper for me again is that final scene.  I pondered how they could top last season's ending with Jamie Scott running across that bridge dribbling the basketball channeling Lucas.  They did just fine as that final image of seeing a high school basketball superstar version of Jamie Scott running out onto the Tree Hill court was just awesome.  Awesome, awesome!  What a way to close the show especially as that scene continued and we learned more and more of where we were and when we were in time.  Perfection.  We've been saying thank you to everyone involved with One Tree Hill all along during this final scene.  With this last episode, we got a big thank you from them.  We got closure. Past, present, and future.  It has been an incredible ride over these nine seasons and it's sad that it is over.  Thank you to everyone involved on the show.  Thank you to every single person that has had a part of this amazing show over the nine seasons.  Good night Tree Hill and thank you.

Season Nine - DVD Review

One Tree Hill has come to its dramatic conclusion but fans can continue to get good OTH goodness with the new season nine box set.  I thought I'd give a quick overview and review of the set.  I really enjoyed the set.  For me, the highlights of the set are the "An Evening With One Tree Hill" which was the panel discussion including the cast and crew.  The other was the commentaries especially the commentary on the finale.  Season nine was a wild ride of emotions that saw the characters go through very dark times in their life.  We heard season nine was going to be dark and it was.  A lot happened in this final season but it was a lot of fun and what I've always loved about this show.  The finale might be the most at peace kind of series finale that I've ever seen.  I've watched it several times since it originally aired and I still love it.  It gave great closure and a tribute to the fans for this show we all loved.  On the commentary of the finale, we learned that one scene almost got cut from it due to the time constraints which would have been the "I Don't Wanna Be" segment.  Thankfully, the show was given extra time and it was left in.  Let me tell you.  I watched the repeat of the finale this week on The CW and that scene was removed.  Totally odd feeling with it out of there.  I thought the last ten minutes of the finale was perfect and to not see that scene left in during the repeat stung me a bit.  I'm so thankful that it was left in on its original airing on finale night and also of course on this DVD set.

Extras included on the set include:
An Evening With One Tree Hill.  If you are a fan of this show, this is worth the purchase of the box set.  This was recorded several months ago with a panel of the cast and crew in front of the fans taking part in a Q&A session and talking about their time on the show.  This runs over an hour in length on its own.  I loved this and would recommend checking it out.  Lots of fun and great to see them all having fun.  It really shows with what we have all known and that it is a very close group.

Music Of One Tree Hill.  This extra obviously focuses on the music of the show and what an important part of the show that it has been.  This show has always had this amazing way of picking the right song for so many key scenes.  So many singers have made appearances on this show over the years.

The Story Of One Tree Hill.  Looking back on the history of the show and the fight to keep it going.  The stories and changes that occurred over the nine seasons.  Fun retrospective.

The Fans Of One Tree Hill.  When you think One Tree Hill, you have to think the fans.  This has been a huge part of this show being where it is after nine years.  Fun extra looking at the fandom that has been One Tree Hill.

Crew Cameras with Sophia.  Sophia Bush roaming around and hanging out with the cast and crew.  Fun to see her having fun with the crew.

Audio commentaries.  I have honestly only listened to one of these audio commentaries which is on the finale.  Take the time to listen to it.  Big group taking part in this commentary which give you a look into things that happened in the finale, stories, details of things put into the finale for show history's sake, and much more.  I loved this and it was fun to listen to them all looking back on this and saying goodbye.  Check this out.  Can't recommend that enough.

Deleted scenes and the always funny blooper reel.

I highly recommend this set as I've already said.  I really enjoyed it especially after watching it just days after the finale had aired.  You can check out the DVD here
Season nine was a great send off and the finale was perfect.

That is it for tonight.  Take care and God bless!!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Band Perry - Pioneer - Album Review

The new album by The Band Perry has now been released and I have gotten a chance to listen to it.  Pioneer is the name of the album and it is their sophomore album.  The Band Perry is of course siblings, Kimberly, Neil, and Reid Perry.  They came roaring back to radio with their first single off of this album called "Better Dig Two" a few months ago.  A big rock sounding anthem of love gone wrong.  It just sounded so different from them with the sound and I loved it.  Now, we get the full album.  It gets a big thumbs up from me.  The album definitely has the sound that we all know of from the group which is a great thing.  The group has also evolved a bunch with this album with its sound.  I love this album and enjoyed every song on it.  It definitely has that edgier sound to it.  This album definitely has a feel of "let's take it to the next level".  I felt that right out of the gate when I first heard "Better Dig Two".  I was flipping around the stations the other night while driving and happened on to the second single off of this album which is "DONE."  First thought was I love this song as I kept turning it up and working out my stereo.  LOL.  Track listing for this album is as follows.
1. Better Dig Two
2. DONE.
3. Don't Let Me Be Lonely
4. Pioneer
5. Forever Mine Nevermind
6. Night Gone Wasted
7. I Saw A Light
8. Mother Like Mine
9. Chainsaw
10. I'm A Keeper
11. Back To Me Without You
12. End Of Time

Favorite songs on the album: "Better Dig Two", "DONE.","Don't Let Me Be Lonely", "Mother Like Mine", "I Saw A Light", "I'm A Keeper".

The Band Perry is definitely one of the best up and coming bands right now.  I always enjoy listening to them.  I made sure to turn on my Opry app a couple of months ago to listen to them play the Opry that night and they were a lot of fun.  Crowd was really into them too.  I have really been looking forward to listening to this album and it was not a disappointment.  I highly recommend it.  Pioneer gets a big thumbs up from me!  If you want to check out the album, click here.  Here is the new video for DONE. from The Band Perry.


Monday, April 1, 2013

The Bible Brings Lots of Viewers To History Channel


Jesus is alive and forever the King of Kings!  What a fitting finale day for The Bible on the History Channel last night.  It is reported that 11.7 million people tuned into last night's finale is the biggest number for the show since its premiere.  I have been watching this miniseries every week on History and I have just been amazed at how great it is.  The Bible is co-produced by Mark Burnett (producer of Survivor) and  Roma Downey.  They did an amazing job producing this series and just bringing the Bible to life.  There has been a lot of buzz on this miniseries and it really did deliver.  I know that my eyes were glued to it every time it was on.  With each episode running two hours (commercials included), the time would just fly by while watching it.  The show picked up right from the beginning telling the story of Adam and Eve and then finished with the time after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  Could they cover every story in the Bible?  Of course not.  There isn't enough time to do that with what they had.  I thought the producers did a great job of picking out what stories to tell and how to tell them while transitioning it to the next one.  What I really love about this series is that it has brought a lot of new eyes to the stories of the Bible.  Lots of people are visual kind of people with liking to see things play out in front of them and this series definitely did all of that.  The first few episodes covered the times before Jesus and really showed just how even violent of a time that it was during the times of Abraham and Moses for example.  This was all of course leading up to the arrival of Jesus.  The actor that played him just did an amazing job.  Diogo Morgado is the name of the actor and words can't describe the great job that he did.  He just really pulled you in.  The last episode was really tough to watch last night cause you know what is going to happen.  It's going to be violent and brutal.  I know I found myself just cringing on every single hit that Jesus was taking and just watching this man who only did good get beaten.  Yet, he knew his destiny and God's plan for him.  It was just a heart wrenching moment to watch.  I was reading an article on Yahoo TV where they talked about the tough time that it was shooting that scene.  How it was so hard to do and watch but yet knowing that they had to do it like it was and do it right.  I was curious on where they would leave off with the series.  So many of these shows leave off right with Jesus arising from the tomb.  It was nice to see them follow through and just show what these disciples of Jesus went through afterwards.  The whole last hour was focused on that.  The ratings have been big for this show and it has been great to see the entertainment industry take note of the viewership of it.  It is kind of sad that many are looking at it and thinking, wow, who knew that this many people would be interested in watching this?  Almost like wow, people want to watch positive stuff on TV??  LOL.  Yeah, positive is a good thing in a world that is so negative at times.  With what is on TV anymore, this was a great and refreshing change.  Something that families can watch together and can discuss among one another.  A way to learn of the happenings of the Bible.  I really hope that this will be a break out.  You know how the entertainment industry is.  When one thing is a hit, the flood gates open and we have a ton of options in that genre.  Maybe this will see more shows like this get on the air and I hope that they are done right.  The Bible series was done right.  It was done great.  This was a major production.  Mark Burnett and Roma Downey get my thank you for all their hard work with this project.  Not only were they telling stories of The Bible of things that happened.  They were telling their own experience stories of shooting these scenes and the amazing things that would happen.  The feeling that God was right with them on this project and blessing it.  If you haven't read about that, definitely google online at some of the happenings that occurred.  The Bible series will be released on DVD on Tuesday, April 2nd on DVD and Blu-ray.  I highly recommend it.  That is it for today.  Take care and God bless!!

Big Brother Over The Top - Week One Thoughts

I hope many of you have floated over to Big Brother Over The Top like I have.  Tonight, we will be one week into this game and this new plat...