Desperate Housewives - Home is the Place

It's back: the drama, the deceit, the desperate housewives.

Yay!

Nice casting addition in last night's episode with Joanna Cassidy playing Andrew's future monster-in-law. Bree definitely had her hackles raised by the boozy barmaid whose idea of family relations is to call dibs on major holidays. As the two one up each other for control over their sons' lives, Bree "outbids" Melina by buying Andrew and Alex the house down the street.

The writers skirted the Gale Harold motorcycle accident by having Jackson "appear" via phone calls to Susan. Susan, bored without Jackson around, spies on Lee and Bob fighting. When Lee confronts her, she counters by telling him "If you're interested, I have dirt on Bree!" She manages to finagle her way into going clubbing with Lee that evening. "You might want to pule on the makeup," Lee tells her. "Drag queens get their first drink free."

As they party at the club, Susan gets another phone call from Jackson--this time he tells her about a new job he was offered in a new town and asks her to move in with him. Susan confides this to Lee as well as the fact that she often sabotages her relationships. After a night of carousing, Lee and Susan end up in bed together.

Later Lee assures Susan that nothing happened. "Yo, gay here! Listening to opera in a kimono?" Susan is relieved that she hasn't sabotaged yet another relationship, but Lee--in a rare tender moment--advises her to hold off on moving in with Jackson.

And so that probably ends Gale Harold's run on Desperate Housewives.

Now that Carlos' sight is restored, Gaby wants him to get a real job making real money. Especially after she finds out he quit his massage gig at the country club. "Now that I can see, " Carlos explains, "naked people are gross." When Gaby runs into Bradley, a former colleague of Carlos', she thinks she has the perfect solution in the form of a six-figure income with perks. Carlos has other ideas and announces that he's gotten a job working with the blind.

Gaby arranges a dinner party so that Bradley can convince Carlos to take the job. But Bradley's bitter wife Maria does a better job of convincing him not to. Later Carlos and Gaby argue over the money situation with Gaby winning and a whipped Carlos making the call to accept the job offer.

How long 'til this blows up in Gaby's face? And isn't workaholic Carlos the reason she had the affair with John the underage gardener in season one?

Preston is still posing as Porter until Penny outs him in front of Lee the lawyer. Lee gives Lynette and Tom two days to locate Porter before he is forced to report what he knows to the authorities. Lynette notices Preston talking to someone on his cell phone and grabs it from him and redials the number. On the other end, Porter hangs up on Lynette and Preston claims he has no knowledge of his twin's whereabouts and refuses to help Lynette track him down. He tells Lynette that Warren Schilling threatened to kill Porter.

Later Lynette explains to Preston that as a mother, she has a primal instinct to protect her children--even if it means running Warren Schilling down with her car. Preston relents and pleads with Porter to talk with Lynette. As she begs Porter to come back home--promising to protect him from Warren Schilling--the phone is removed from Porter's hand.

Turns out the runaway is with Lynette's mom, Stella (Polly Bergen), who is dubious about Lynette's support given how she was treated.

And the Dave drama has finally reached a boiling point with our favorite vengeful schizo in full melt-down mode. While Roberta and Karen stake out Dr. Heller's office to get the skinny on the psycho, Dave calls in for a prescription refill. Too bad they end up leaving the office after finding the doctor has disappeared and before hearing the receptionist talking to a "David Dash" who resides on Wisteria Lane.

Edie is mystified by Dave's odd behavior and when she finds him talking to himself in the middle of the night, she confronts him. He admits being married before and tells her that his wife died. Rocked by this news, Edie kicks Dave out. As he walks down Wisteria Lane, suitcases in hand Karen McCluskey witnesses his leaving.

Um, why wouldn't he be driving away? Or call a cab? Who walks down the street carrying suitcases?

Maybe he's going to move in with his pal Mike Delfino?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I had planned on seeing Will Smith's Seven Pounds today. But time constraints ruled that out and I ended up seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I wasn't really up for it, but I figured if Hollie liked it, it must be okay.

And frankly, it was everything I expected it to be. Not bad. Not great. Basically a rehash of Forrest Gump.

Take one simple naif, southern setting, voiceover narrative, strong mother figure, improbably romantic interest, odd characters met along the way, impressive use of CGI--well, if you've seen Forrest Gump, you've seen Benjamin Button.

The only twist on the story is that Benjamin Button ages backwards. It's an interesting wrinkle (no pun intended) -- but it amounts to nothing in the story. At first I thought it might be the illumination of the adage that "youth is wasted on the young." But whether Benjamin is a seven year-old in a seventy year-old body, or sixty year-old in the body of a twenty year-old, he remains the same throughout. Despite his travels and the many different people he encounters along the way, he is still a cipher.

Blank slate. Tabla rasa. Devoid of presence and personality.

With the opening anecdote about clockmaker Mr. Gateau and his clock that ran backwards--along with the numerous images of clocks throughout the film--perhaps Benjamin Button is a demonstration of the artifice of time. While of course we experience the cycles and rhythms of day and night and the changing of the seasons, the seconds, minutes and hours that our lives are broken into are a man-made constraint.

No matter what the thematic purpose of the film may have been, I was left scratching my head as to what it all meant. All 2 hours and 40 minutes of it! While beautiful to watch, the pace did drag at times and I'm sure at least 30-40 minutes could have been cut without any great loss to the story. There wasn't much of a story per se: Benjamin is born old, abandoned to be raised by the nurturing Queenie (a terrific Taraji P. Henson), grows younger, goes to sea, goes to war, comes back home, reunites with Daisy, leaves Daisy, regresses to childhood and infancy and dies.

Blah, blah, blah. The end.

Blanchett and Pitt are gorgeous to watch and there are some great supporting performances. In addition to Henson--who was a marvel in Hustle and Flow and a force of nature in Talk to Me--Tilda Swinton makes an appearance as one of Benjamin's lovers, Elle Fanning plays the young version of Daisy and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali plays Queenie's husband, Tizzy. (I spent hours trying to figure out where I knew him from. Finally it hit me--Richard Tyler from The 4400!)

If you loved Forrest Gump (I didn't) and you love Brad Pitt, then this is definitely the movie for you. But if you want to see something more unique, with more emotional resonance, skip this pretty but empty time waster and go see Slumdog Millionaire instead.

Slumdog Millionaire

I knew I couldn't possibly list my favorite movies of 2008 without seeing this film. Not only has it garnered raves from the critics (including appearing at number one on Peter Travers of Rolling Stone's best of list), but Linz McC gave it her seal of approval as well.

Having recently seen several movies (Doubt, Frost/Nixon) where the goodness of humankind is highly questionable, I was touched and heartened by Danny Boyle's sappy little love story.

Okay, maybe "sappy" isn't quite the right word for a film that can be quite brutal and violent (this IS a Danny Boyle movie we're talking about!), but you definitely root for underdog (aka "Slumdog") Jamal to triumph against all odds--to win the million dollars (or more accurately $410,000), to win the girl, to live happily ever after.

Apparently Danny Boyle secretly wants happy endings as well. Despite the bleak Sunshine (which arguably had a happy ending for earth--if not the crew of the Icarus II) and his other grim fare, Boyle pulls out all stops for Slumdog Millionaire--including a Bollywood style dance number at the end.

His affinity for conveying the color and squalor of India was amazing. In that aspect, the film reminded me a lot of the brilliant City of God. Jamal's (a completely sympathetic Dev Patel) interactions with the police inspector (the always wonderful Irrfan Khan) was reminiscent of another favorite film of mine, The Usual Suspects. Indeed, the interrogation is merely a plot device to flashback to vignettes of Jamal's life as his memories provide the proof of how he knew the answers to the game show questions.

From witnessing his mother's brutal murder to landing in a so-called orphanage run by a character who makes Dickens' Fagin look like Mother Theresa, to losing and then finding and then losing and finding again the love of his life, Jamal weaves a colorful and complex tapestry as he relates his tale. Unlike the tapestry woven by Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects, Jamal tells the truth.

Boyle's unique sense of style is evident throughout. The juxtaposition of tense game show drama as Jamal sweats it out under the lights against to his torture at the police station, draws us into the story of the 18 year-old orphan from Mumbai poised to win the top prize on India's version of the ubiquitous game show. It doesn't hurt that all the actors and acting is top notch, the visuals and editing are sublime and the soundtrack completely enhances the viewing experience.

I'm happy to see it's up for four Golden Globe awards. Perhaps that will raise the film's profile so that it justifiably gets the audience it deserves. As of now, this little gem hasn't earned what the pitiful dreck of Marley and Me made during its opening weekend.

Talk about a slum dog!

Real Life "Heroes"

While Hiro and company have been on hiatus, I happened to read a great article in a recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine by "normal" (and I use that term loosely) folk who have been inspired by comic book superheroes. Unlike Tim Kring, who channeled his comic book fetish into a hit NBC show, these people actually pull on a pair of tights and go out and fight crime.

Sounds like the plot of a Ben Stiller movie, right?

It is pretty comical, but just when you're about to write the assorted characters off as crazy or weirdos playing dress-up, the article manages to showcase the generosity, philanthropy and just plain good-heartedness of the "superheroes."

Best Line EVER

In an online discussion at washingtonpost.com, Neil Patrick Harris gave the perfect answer to a chatter who asked:

"So what do you think happened to Doogie? Did he grow up, buy a Porsche and start a family practice in the suburbs?"

Harris' response:

"He probably developed an addiction to painkillers and wanders around with a cane at some hospital somewhere..."

Hysterical.

I thought my brother David who is a fan of both shows would get a kick out of that...

Turning Over a Fresh Page...and a New Leaf?

It's January 1st. Time to clear out the old and make way for the new: fresh starts, new beginnings, changed plans and different paths.

For the week until we relapse back into same-old, same-old.

Before I set my intentions for 2009, let's look back and see how I did in 2008:

1. Make more money - I succeeded here, but I'm also working way more hours. Sigh.

2. Find a new place to live - Almost crossed this one off the list, but unfortunately I'm back to square one. Hopefully I'll be able to cross it off my 2009 list soon, but I break another 2009 resolution: "Don't kill obnoxious neighbor."

3. Get out and meet more people - Well, if the people from my new job count, then I've aced this resolution. Unfortunately I spend so much time working I don't have time to hang with any people other than my co-workers.

4. Read more - I managed an average of a book a month (even more!) for a while there. I need to find a way to squeeze this back into my schedule. I've only managed a handful of pages of Anathem so far...

So for 2009:

1. Find a new quiet place to live in Santa Monica SOON!

2. Accumulate less STUFF - I'm going to try to recycle more and buy used (especially furniture and appliances) wherever possible. It will be hard to scale back my clothing habit (I think I've given or thrown away more clothes than most people wear over a lifetime...), but I'm definitely going to work towards buying less.

3. Be a better friend - I have some good people in my life, but haven't been all that great at keeping in touch. I'm going to try to do better in 2009.

What are your goals for this brand new year?

Not Quite So Flexible

As we speed headlong into 2009, I find myself in a tizzy over unfinished business from 2008.

Namely, my flexible spending account.

I've never had one of these before, but I figured with my monthly prescription co-pays and regular lab tests and check-ups it would be a great way to put aside some tax-free funds for medical expenses.

The FSA can also cover OTC meds like pain reliever or cough drops as well as my contact lens cleaner and solution. What's not to like?

I did a pretty conservative estimate of my monthly expenses, but come end of December I found I was over $150 short of spending my funding.

Not good.

One problem was that I estimated my monthly prescriptions (which could cost about $100/month), but I didn't realize I had a $150 brand name prescription deductible. When I found that out in mid-November, I figured I could wait out the calendar year and just meet the deductible in 2009. No sense in paying the $150 in November then again in January, right?

Unfortunately, I also didn't figure on the lab work I got done in November STILL not being billed or my dental appointment that I squeaked in days before the end of the year being covered 100% with no co-pay.

Drats!

So, with a week or so left in the year I had two options: get my prescriptions refilled or lose my money.

To do that, I had to overcome two obstacles. One, getting one of my prescriptions credited toward my deductible and two, getting two other prescriptions pre-authorized by my insurance.

I called the pharmacy division of my insurance about both issues. They said my doctor had never submitted a pre-authorization request and they offered to fax the form to her office. This was over a week ago. Then they checked my prescription that hadn't been credited to my deductible and said that I needed to get the pharmacy to re-process it.

I went to the pharmacy to pick up another prescription and asked them to re-submit the claim for the uncredited prescription.

They had no idea how to do that.

Meanwhile, my doctor's office STILL hadn't put through the pre-authorization. I called yesterday and asked them to call the 800 number where they would complete the process while the doctor was on the phone.

Meanwhile, I had given the number of the pharmacy division to my pharmacist and he managed to get my other prescription credited to my deductible. So that makes over $40 applied with less than $110 to go.

No problem.

Unfortunately, there was still no pre-authorization from my doctor's office. I called AGAIN and BEGGED them to call the 800 number. The confused front desk person said they'd already faxed the prescriptions to my pharmacy.

Yes, I said. But they can't FILL the prescriptions without the pre-authorization and for that you need to call the pharmacy division of my insurance!

Now I have the someone from my doctor's office calling me to ask me why I need the Humalog pens and pen needles, how often I use it, etc. I explain it's more portable and easier to use and when you have to inject yourself with insulin 3-5 times a day, anything that makes the process EASIER is a good thing. The doctor's office called back to say they should get a fax as to whether or not the pre-authorization was approved within a half an hour and they'd call to let me know.

They didn't so I called the pharmacy division at 2 pm to see if the pre-authorization had gone through. It had.

Whew!

Then I went to my pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions. I had the pharmacy assistant run each through in order that the deductible be met with the minimum amount possible. The syringes were $26. The Lantus $86.

That totals $112 and I only need $110. Bingo! This means the pen needles, Humalog pens and One Touch test strips each get filled at the $25 co-pay.

The only problem: the Lantus isn't in stock. Which means my grand total comes to $101. I'm $88 short and there are only 7 hours left in 2008.

I file my claims online to make sure my math is right. I find another $22 spent at drugstore.com that's eligible. And I have a little over $20 in receipts yet to come. (I have until March to complete the claims submission--but the costs need to be incurred by 12/31!)

With the $20, I'm still $46 short. That's $46 of my money that I lose out on. No way that's happening!

I get an idea. I could use a new glucose meter (mine's looking a little battered). They run about $60-80--but they usually come with rebates that make them FREE. Buy a new meter, submit the receipt for reimbursement, meet my FSA requirements and then get the rebate check!

I know--GENIUS!

Although if I could bill the FSA for the time it took to deal with my doctor's office, the pharmacy and my insurance, I'd have had no problem at all reaching that goal!

2008 Favorite Beauty Products

This past year I've read over a dozen books, seen about FOUR dozen movies in a theater and tested out dozens of beauty products. Once I finish seeing all of 2008's movies, I'll compile a list of my top ten favorites--but in the meantime here are my favorite skincare and beauty products for the year:

1. Favorite Skincare Line - nude skincare

From the green philosophy that informs everything from the packaging to the fair trade and organic ingredients to the exquisitely exotic and effective formulations, this line of luxurious products is the cream of the crop.

2. Favorite Mask - derma e Cleansing Enzyme Mask

Nothing works better at sucking the grit, grime and grease out of skin than this mask. And it smells DELICIOUS!

3. Favorite Sunscreen - Verabella

Vera Kantor has created a brilliant product: SPF 45, non-chemical sunblock that goes on sheer and contains loads of great ingredients to nourish your skin. Genius!

4. Favorite Eye Treatment - Therapy Systems Line Tox for Eyes

So many great products to choose from in this category, but this paraben, mineral oil and phthalate-free treatment reduces puffiness and wrinkles. I have definitely noticed the delicate skin around my eyes looking smoother and more refreshed.

5. Favorite Lip Treatment - Sircuit Skin's Suggah

The thing I love most about this rich and emollient lip treatment is its delectable scent. Sircuit formulations NEVER contain chemical parabens or preservatives, fillers, artificial colors, artificial fragrances and are cruelty free.

6. Favorite Body Scrub - Thom Fleming Skin Care

Three reasons I love this scrub: it comes in a squeeze tube which makes it easy to dispense and prevents the dreaded oil/scrub separation, it foams up a bit so you can cleanse as well as exfoliate skin at the same time and it rinses completely clean leaving skin soft and smooth and without leaving an oily film.

7. Favorite Hair Product - Pristine Recovery Scary Hairy

This 100% natural serum remedies dry fragile hair and revitalizes the scalp. It makes my coarse, dry hair soft and manageable. And it smells soooo good!

8. Favorite Body Spray - Biotherm Eau Pure

This light fragrance with green and fruity notes is the perfect everyday scent. Love it!

That's the round-up for 2008. Bring on 2009!

You Light Up My Life

One of my favorite things about Christmas is people who put lights up.


















If there's a clash of colors and Santa and Frosty side-by-side with the Nativity scene, I'm tickled pink.

























Even the local police station gets into the spirit.























Sadly, most people have already taken their lights down. But for those who put them up and those who have kept them up, I'm extremely grateful.