Promised SYTYCD Videos July 4, 2008

Watch Katee fly through the air and Joshua catch her…

Bed+1/2 naked Twitch + girl with bedhead=brilliant!

SYTYCD: Mia Michaels rocks July 3, 2008

Can we just talk about Mia Michaels? I love her choreography…yeah, she’s a bit eccentric, but geezus, were her routines tonight brilliant…I will post them in coming days (can you believe that are not yet on youtube!?)

Things I loved:

Twitch and Kherington’s bed routine

Will and Jessica’s Mandy Moore Shirt routine (although I dont think Jessica brought it…reminds me of Jessie last year)

Katee and Joshua’s Mia routine…to be able to capture an audience in a simple walk…beautiful

Things I hated:

Hip hop that was “safe”…and Courtney dancing it like a Luv-A-Bull (although I know she is a Knicks dancer, but still…)

Kourtni and Thayne and Comfort and Matt…time to go…they just aren’t keeping up.

Things I want changed:

Good people to do the latin chorography…it was so much more entertaining last year

Will to get a new partner

Mandy Moore and Mia MIchaels (henceforth known as M.M. Squared) to do a routine together.

Mary to stop being PC and critique!

And on that note, I leave you with my favorite episodes of the past SYTYCD…

Mia Michael’s rocks!

This is how Latin should be danced, despite the judges remarks:

Bill Gates’ Pearls of Wisdom July 2, 2008

I had to share this with everyone, because it is so true! Granted it came from Bill Gates, but still…I especially like number 3…but I still don’t think I make enough!

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time..

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

I met Jeremy Piven…and learned a few things… June 28, 2008

I worked a publicity shoot today with Jeremy Piven, who was in town for the annual Piven Theatre gala at Rockit Bar and Grill… And I learned a few things (with commentary in parenthesis):

1) I am still jaded, because I was neither impressed nor speechless when I talked to him… And its not that I dislike Piven; in fact, I think he is brilliant as Ari Gold in Entourage (although I think the series is past its prime)…and I think he was severely underrated in “Smokin’ Aces”…plus I loved “Cupid”…I have just found that my “star struck” gene is still lying dormant from working in LA and just realizing, yet again, that Hollywood celebrities are all the same…human beings.  

(Piven had just had lunch with the Mayor, was tired as hell, and barely found time for us (albeit he did do it!), so what was supposed to be about a 40-minute shoot ended up being 15 minutes).

2) No matter how much you prepare, the reality is, something will change.
(All morning I was writing the scripts for him to say, then was told he would be improvising, so I never brought the scripts…turns out, he needed keywords.)

3) There is a lot of a “hurry up and wait” philosophy in TV…and in life.
(Arrival time: 2pm…shoot time 5pm…shoot done 5:15pm…home at 8:30…)

4) Cameramen are the most patient people in the world…must learn from that.
(With all the extra time and setting up shots and lugging equipment around, they didn’t complain once…not once! Granted, I know they are getting paid overtime, but still…)

5) No matter how much you know you are right, there will always be someone in the room with a higher status than you who will tell you you are wrong.

6) Nobody is going to pat you on the back in life…you must take a moment to breathe and take it all in, and realize you did a good job…and then you must move on.

7) The world is a very small place…especially if you grew up in the North Shore of Chicago.
(The assistant to Joyce Piven was there, and it turns out, she went to New Trier (a neighboring high school to mine), and lived in Glencoe (a neighboring suburb where I grew up)…we kept throwing out names at each other and realized we knew the same people…just made me realize that even in the midst of all this “Hollywood in Chicago” hoopla, the world really is just a six-degrees of separation circle.) It never hurts to ask.
(I really wanted to edit the spot, but wasn’t sure if my boss wanted me to, so I took a chance and asked, and now I get to edit a national spot of Jeremy Piven! WAHOO!)

Excuse me while I Mastercard-ize the event:

Parking for publicity shoot: $26
Overtime for camera crew: $500*
Life lessons from Ari Gold…priceless.

*I have no idea what their overtime was, nor do I care, because I didn’t pay for it.

So If I Think I Can Dance…watch me judge June 26, 2008

There is nothing I love better than coming home after a rough day at the office and watching dance shows. I know, I am a closeted dancer (which means, like most people, I danced when I was little and haven’t taken it up since high school, but still stand in second position when standing in the grocery line).

And I love So You Think You Can Dance!!!! Huge fan. So I must share with you my thoughts…because why else would I have a blog? Here’s my “nutshell recap”:

How much do I love Adam Shankman!? Cause when Nigel’s all “I loved it” and Mary’s all screamin’, he’s the only one giving notes. And I love that. I am sure the dancers love that too…He’s just great. Love him. So let’s begin:

Karrington and Twitch: Ah, Twitchington. The hip-hop was good, but I thought Twitch totally outshone Karrington, esp. since she was flashing her bright-white smile during a HIP HOP routine. Um…I don’t think you are supposed to smile, honey…I didn’t think she did badly, I just thought Twitch killed it, and kinda took Karrington along for the ride. But I love them both, so hopefully America does too.

Gev and Courtney B.: First off, Courtney could be the cutest girl-next-door in the world. I am totally straight, but every time I see her, I am like, I would totally date that girl! She’s just so cute…And how hilarious (albeit slightly awkward) was the fact that Gev has a crush on her and has to grab her butt? The Rumba was actually pretty sexy and all that jazz…oh wait, not jazz, ballroom…and don’t even get me started on that dress! Geezus! She’s 18 for goodness sake! But I did like the slinky chorography and that lift they did was amazing. I’m sure America digs their off-the-stage relationship more than their actual dancing, so I see them going on…

Comfort and…what’s his face: Is that bad that I have to go back to my TiVo to find out Chris’ name? Yikes. I love Tyce’s routines so much (probably because I LOVE LOVE LOVE Broadway), and this one could have been so kick ass. But it was just…blah…like Mary and Nigel said…it needed raw, animalistic passion, and it just fell flat into the muddy sheets. I would not be surprised if Comfort and what’s-his-face pack a bag tomorrow.

Jessica & Will: She seems flu-fee (pretty sure I just made that word up), let’s say “flighty”. But she can still dance, although her performance wasn’t great…she ran outta steam halfway through. I love how mama Sanchez was like, You suck, step it up, child….she totally didn’t. He, on the other hand, KILLED IT! Will was A-MAY-ZING!! He totally needs a new partner…plus I’m a sucker for chivalry…

Kourtni & Matt: Me no likey Kourtni. Don’t know why. I just feel like she lands hard and isn’t grateful. She does look like Uma though. So she’s got that going for her…Sonya the chorographer…not gonna lie…kind of scared me. I thought Matt was a little stiff, but otherwise, his leg extensions were killer…don’t know much about contemporary, but I feel like when I can see their calves’ veins, they are doing something right…and is it me, or did Kourtni have a wedding ring on?! The rumor starts here!

Chelsea & Thayne: First off, Thayne, it’s cool that your gay, I get that, but please, for the love of god, stop flexing your wrists when you snap!!! It is not manly, you’re not doing Fosse, and you are playing the part of a man. Just don’t do it. Period. And the plastered smiles. Have some fun people! I know its quickstep, but come on! I have to admit, this was the only dance of the night that I fast-forwarded. They are on the chopping block for sure.

Chelsie & Mark: OMG, I love this couple…because they’re quirky, because they can dance, because they just have this hidden connection that isn’t sexual (see Gev/Courtney) or awkward (see Chelsea/Thayne)…they just have a dance connection…I LOVE IT. Love that she had a Cubs hat on during rehearsal. Chorography was FAN-tastic. Love these new chorographers…where did they come from?! I do think Chelsie could have hit it harder…her popping seemed weak, and she seems to dance a bit young for my taste (she is only 18, after all…), but other than that, awesome. They had a great routine and a great soundtrack. Shout out to Leona Lewis. Love that voice.

Katee & Joshua: I can’t get on the website right now, but wasn’t Joshua a hip hop dancer?! Cause he shook those hips like there was no tomorrow! Damn…and although I think Katee could have been more seductive (I kinda felt her awkwardness in the “other half of Courtney’s dress”), they were awesome. And I love the ghetto father bit in the audience. Now that is good TV.

Cat Deeley: How much do we love this British-import? While other dance shows are trying to bring their “cutie-with-an-accent” commentators (see MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), Cat seems to actually have a little thing called PERSONALITY. And it’s refreshing. And her dress today was GORGEOUS. We love the British imports all around.

Wardrobe: They were both a hit and a miss.

Hit: See all ballroom dancers, esp. Courtney and Katee. Beautiful, extremely well-placed, and just, wow. Miss: See Kourtni’s paper bag comic book outfit….Chelsie’s shiny denim leggings with a babydoll shirt topped by a denim vest?! Come on, people! You have the highest-rated show on Wednesday nights…don’t disappoint!

My predict:

Chopping Block: Comfort & Chris, Kourtni & Matt, Chelsea & Thayne
Going home? My money’s on Comfort & either Chris or Thayne.

(once they start getting rid of people, these posts won’t be as lengthy! I promise!…I suddenly feel a song coming on….”GOTTA DANCE…GOTTA DANCE…”

Carpé…huh? June 24, 2008

So in my continuing (ok, really, just started) efforts to be a well-rounded citizen of the earth (ok, really, just be more social than I currently am), I strayed off the beaten path and joined a club. A glee club. But not just any glee club. The Blue Ribbon Glee Club. Why different, you ask? Well, they sing punk songs. And drink beer. AT THE SAME TIME! It was my first “official” out-of-comfort-zone thing I have done all year (besides chop my hair…with a new stylist!), but this one was free and just required me to show up…and I said, what the hell?! I’ll try it and see. So let’s just say I’ll be back next week.

But it wasn’t even so much going the THE GLEE practice, as it was doing something different everyday. The practice was on Ashland and Adams, like, SOUTH LOOP! and I was driving halfway down there, and suddenly became aware of where Lincoln Park was…Where Lakeview ended…where the West Loop began…and it was just kinda like, hm…look at all these places. I have been so preoccupied with wanting to move out of the city, that I realize I have yet to explore the city. Granted it helps when you have someone to do it with, and I would not like to end up under the el because I turned somewhere wrong…but I digress. I suddenly realized how lucky I was to have a car that can take me to places I’ve never been…be it Ashland and Adams, or just downtown….it was nice to get out of my comfort zone…because I think we all become too comfortable with life…like me, I have a condo in the city, a dog who is relatively trained, a car, a job, and nothing about any of these things is new…and I became stale. Day in, day out, just doing what needed to be done, then coming home and watching TV (although I can justify that because I work in TV)…but I just realized that life is not going to come to you, you have to come to it. As cliche as it is, once you start doing something new, no matter what it is, every time you try something new, it becomes easier. The nerves go away. The awkwardness dissolves, until you are so comfortable with new surroundings that being a stale blob is unacceptable. And now that I have taken that first step to “new discoveries” I find that I am a little less stale and a little more substance than yesterday. Now if I could only use this new found knowledge to find a date…

It comes down to this: Stale blob or interesting human being? Like my mother always said, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Which I read as, “I can always quit”. You can always quit experiences, but you should never want to quit life. 

Seize the day and all that jazz…and on that note, to bed I go.

Crosstown Classic June 23, 2008

This is going to be a short post because I really need to get to sleep…but just got back from the Crosstown Classic numero tres and CUBS WON! AGAIN! SWEEP! It was incredible…my aunt always gets the best tickets in town, and they were row 11…oh yeah, that’s ROW 11 from the third baseline, right over the Cubs dugout!!!!!!!! AMAZING. When we got there, I kept elbowing my dad being like, hey look, that’s Ramirez…right there…hehe…oh look, Dempster’s RIGHT THERE I COULD SPIT ON HIM! Amazing.

The game was alright. I mean, we did win, but it wasn’t as exciting as the last games. The ESPN camera guy was hilarious running back and forth up and down the field, then the seats, he was around us all the time, but I doubt we got on camera. Foul balls were coming our way, and people near us actually watched the game, instead of standing around, shootin the shit until the beer guy came by. Plus my aunt and cousin are White Sox fans, so it was fun to rub it in their faces.

The only indiscretion I would have to admit was the return of “Strapless in Chicago” and “Hairflip Hottie”.  Grr. Look. I am a girl. But I also like sports. Especially baseball. Especially the cubs. And yes, I know there are the “Wrigleyville Wenches and Lincoln Park Hussies” that come to the ballpark to, well, do anything but watch the game. Or they watch the game because they like guys in tight pants. But these girls….just put all us sports-loving-PJ on MY BOYS (the tv show on TBS) gals to shame. First off…WHO WEARS A STRAPLESS WHITE DRESS TO A BALLGAME?!!??!?!?!?! Seriously, the four girls were like Sex and the City girls, except much more annoying. They were like, take a picture! We’re so cute! Gag me. But they were not as bad as “Hairflip Hottie”. Not only did she flip her long hair repeatedly into my aunt’s face, but her boyfriend and her showed up in the FIFTH INNING, then preceded to make-out and have tickle wars with each other. The most hilarious part though, was when the stick returned to her seat, and I glanced over my shoulder to the rows behind us, and all the guys were just staring…I mean gawking, jaws dropped, idiotically infatuated with “Hairflip Hottie”.  Again, Gag me with my own flem.

But besides those things, the seats were fantastic, and the Cubs won…so not a bad Sunday night.  Like my shirt said: “It’s all about the baseball”.

 

LondonChik Blog Revived. June 22, 2008

I started a blog of my London adventures when I studied there abroad in 2003. Check it out…its under “blogs I like besides mine”.

URL: www.londonchik.wordpress.com

 

My Gaydar is broken. June 22, 2008

I know I have been MIA for a bit, but I have watched some great stuff and commented on a whole lot…offline (hey, my computer has been fritzy lately, so uploading has been a savior). But I thought I’d drop a funny story that could only happen to me on a Saturday night…

So I’ve spent most of the day watching the Crosstown Classic and the My Boys DVD I bought my sister for a present but am watching first because I love the series…and I have one episode to go, but before I could finish, Ollie had to go for a walk, so off we went (more on this AMAZING harness that I got for him…let’s just say I am walking him now, and not the other way around!)…

So we’re on this walk around my block, and now that the temp is nice, there are people about. Yes, there are still sketchy-mcsketchersons (I do live on the outskirts of sketchville), but there are always those few that could be a catch…so I’m always on the lookout (meaning I at the very least have my hair combed). Anyway, I spot this cutie with a black lab and I’m checking him out as he crosses the street, and he sees me and smiles, and I’m all, “Hi”. And he’s all, “Hey”…and our dogs do their sniffing hellos, and we part ways. And I’m smiling cause there is always something about saying hello to cute boys that makes me smile, and Ollie does his business, and I turn around to head back home. By this point, Mr. Black Lab is halfway down the sidewalk in front of me, and I’m all catching the vibe of meeting new people, esp. cute ones with dogs…So Mr. Black Lab meets up with these other guys at the end of the sidewalk, and I’m like, hm, they must be like roommates or something (you know those stories we make up about people we’ve never met).  And his friends are cute too. And rather good dressers…with great shoes…

Yes, you probably guessed the ending. As we’re within inches of each other, Mr. Black Lab grabs Mr. Tight Jeans’ ass and they kiss. And I have no problem with this, except, well, for the fact that I thought he was straight…I should’ve known from Mr. Black Lab’s jeans…they fit a little too well…

Which brings the grand total for this week:     

Stefi’s Gay-dar: 0        Either Gay or Married: 5

Finale Letdown June 12, 2008

Why are all Bravo shows anti-climatic? Just watched the Top Chef finale (dont worry, I wont spoil it), and it was like, woo-hoo, you won… Yay… Clap, clap… Golf clap…Roll credits. The same with Step It Up and Dance (yes, I love dance shows, bite me!). It was like, Yay! After all this hard work that you have put in, all we are going to do is say you are the winner and roll credits. No balloons dropping from the sky. No confetti, maybe champagne, but maybe not. BORING! The letdown of the finale is SO brutal it almost makes me not want to watch any more of their lineup. What’s the point when all you get is a pat on the back over the credit roll?

The only finale I have seen on Bravo that is good is Project Runway, and thats just because the winner’s are usually the most flamboyant and dramatic ones, so they make their own finale. Seriously, Bravo. You give away $100,000 like its nothing, and then you dont even have the decency to have confetti drop from the ceiling? All you win on Dancing with the Stars is that stupid disco ball and they still dish out confetti and dance music. Note to Bravo: you carry the most dramatic and viewer intriguing reality shows to date…throw in some music and make your Top Chefs and Dancers and Project Runners feel like the $100,000 they are…and dont make us viewers feel like we’ve missed the party.