Frost/Nixon

After the snoozefest that was Oliver Stone's W., I wasn't sure what to expect from Frost/Nixon. Sure it had gotten lots of love from the critics and boasted Michael Sheen--who has twice wowed as with his uncanny Tony Blair impressions--playing David Frost. But could Ron Howard turn a dialogue-heavy stage play about politics into a compelling movie?

You betcha.

Personally, I think Ron Howard is an incredibly under-rated director. Sure, he's been associated with some losers like The Da Vinci Code (well, the film version was a loser for me although its earnings of over $200 million domestically is nothing to sneeze at...), but also with gems like Willow (remember when Val Kilmer was HOT? Now he looks like the guy who ate Val Kilmer...), Parenthood, Apollo 13 (which deserved an Oscar in my opinion) and The Missing.

As with all Ron Howard films, you get the obligatory Clint Howard appearance--but I find that more endearing than annoying. The rest of the cast is pitch perfect--from Toby Jones as agent Swifty Lazar to Patty McCormack as the fragile Pat Nixon. Kevin Bacon proves once again why he is such a stalwart to have inspired the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game (I believe we're down to three degrees by now...) and Sam Rockwell is super as well.

But the movie belongs to Michael Sheen and Frank Langella who embody the title roles with such confidence and finesse. Sheen's portrayal of Frost is subtly layered and gives depth and intrigue to what could have been glossed over with facile charm and wit. I wavered with Langella--who captured the voice and mannerisms of the disgraced ex-president and managed to convey both arrogance and humanity. But by the end of the film he had so disappeared into the persona, I was completely won over.

The film manages to be humorous, topical and a cat-and-mouse thriller. No doubt Howard, a bit of an underdog when it comes to respect and appreciation, could identify with Frost's quest to be taken more seriously than just a "talk show host." And in the same way that the Frost/Nixon interviews helped legitimize David Frost as an interviewer, Frost/Nixon should do the same for the under appreciated Ron Howard.

Combing Through the Keywords

Yeah, I know it's been awhile. While perusing my analytics, it occurred to me that I get an awful lot of visits from people searching for answers to Gap related questions. E.g.; "What are Gap rewards?," "How do Gap rewards work?" and "Can I use Discover Card at the Gap?" I had 204 visits from the search term "gap rewards" alone in the last couple of months.

I think the Gap should hire me to write a blog for them. God knows I shop there often enough that a good portion of what they paid me would end up back in their bank account.

Next in popularity was the term "Hollie Nell blog" with 58 visits. This is no doubt my fab friend Hollie's psycho stalker. I used to have a stalker, but thankfully she's gotten a life.

"Mark Cuban shirtless" comes in with 30 visits. That can't ALL be Elisabeth waving "Hi!," so some of you people need to get a life like Hollie's stalker.

"Tom Bergeron shirtless"--thankfully--only garnered 11 visits, while "Eddie Steeples shirtless" accounted for 9. I also got "Freddy Rodriguez shirtless pictures from Havoc."

That one I understand!

There was a lot of interest in the actor who played Warren Schilling on Desperate Housewives (Peter Onorati) and the one who played Orson's friend, Peter Hickey (Bruce Thomas). I'll post a picture of Bruce, because he's cuter than Peter (sorry Peter--playing a wife beater just isn't attractive...)

Someone wondered about a movie starring a little boy with an asthma attack. Signs comes to mind--as the asthma of the character portrayed by Rory Culkin became an integral part of the plot. There's also Sean Astin in The Goonies. And I think the drippy little boy who played Geena Davis' son in The Accidental Tourist had asthma, but I could be wrong...

There was a search for "Italian actress with butterfly tattoo above crotch." I'm guessing they were looking for Asia Argento. But it's not a butterfly, but an angel or the madonna or something humanoid with wings...

"Does growing a goatee affect getting a job?"

Probably not, but it will in all likelihood decrease your chances of getting laid...

"Does Ty Treadway sleep in the nude?"

Wouldn't you like to know!

"Does celery cause cancer?"

I don't think so...

"Christmas song with guy and girl in a grocery store?"

Two songs come to mind: Same Auld Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg or Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses.

Then there's the lost soul searching for "Thelma from Scooby Doo always says "jin." First off, the character's name is "Velma," not "Thelma." Velma Dace Dinkley to be exact--which I know because Velma (believe it or not) has her own page on Wikipedia.

Secondly, she's not using the name of the recently departed LOST character in vain, but instead the exclaimation is "Jinkies!"

Don't ask me what that means--I have no idea.

And then comes the really random @#$%--from the disturbing to the banal:

back seat fucking at the westside pavillion parking
ballbusting pornos
cheating ugly office girls
full frontal netflix
granny during sex with cucumber
grannys haveing sex.com
ugly granny breasts movies
how to tuck when wearing speedo
profane recharge in chino hills

Actually, I think that last person meant "proPane recharge in chino hills"...

But the one that boggles my mind is "connection between bart simpson, napoleon, kurt cobain, kermit and michelangelo."

Seriously--if someone knows the answer to that, let me know! It's gonna keep me awake nights...

Then there's:

average appendix
average breast size by nation
average christmas in the united states
average day screenwriter
average donation to breast cancer foundation
average forehead
average heroes
average hoa fees santa clarita
average level free rice
average men fashion
average mens fashion tips
average pay for actors dirty sexy money
average poems
average price of dvd promotion
average rainy days london
average rent paid by pr firms
average role models
average salary of pacemaker rep
average sale price of a screenplay
average shelf life of a professional dancer
average songs heard a day
average stop loss
average tattoo time
average thoughts
average time for dentist appointment
average time to read 100 pages
average top models
average vocabulary level on free rice
average writing
averaging poem
above average
above average ability
above average fashions
above average four year old
above average return
above average words

...for which I can offer no assistance. 'Cuz we don't do "average" or "above average" here.

Only "Well Above Average."

The Office - Moroccan Christmas

My company has its holiday party last Saturday and although it culminated with the CEO stripping down to his BVDs and jumping into a swimming pool (I left before that scene...), it was quite tame compared to the party on last night episode of The Office.

Phyllis' Moroccan-theme party is a hit with everyone--with the exception of Angela--until Meredith overdoes it on Michael toxic punch (equal parts Scotch, Absinthe, Rum, Gin, Vermouth, Triple Sec and two packs of Splenda) and accidentally sets her hair on fire. Dwight setting the fire extinguisher on her was reminiscent of the bat episode where he trapped the bat by throwing a Hefty bag over Meredith's head.

Meredith's overindulgence leads Michael to declare an intervention; "It's a surprise party for people who have addictions." Of course Meredith denies having an addiction to anything other than porn. Michael tries pleading with her ("I'm imploring her to quit being an alcoholic!") and threats ("The next time you light yourself on fire, we are not going to put you out."), but Meredith refuses to admit she has a problem.

Michael tricks her into thinking they're going out for a drink (her near encyclopedic knowledge of all the bars in town is pretty damning evidence that she DOES have a problem), but Michael ends up dragging her kicking and screaming to rehab. "I have a deposit...alcoholic," he tells the front desk. He soon finds out, you can't put someone in rehab against their will--they have to hit rock bottom. "I need to find way to push Meredith to the bottom," he says determined.

Dwight's black market Princess Unicorn was humorous. Or as Dwight would say, "Fa la la la la la la ka-ching!" Toby decides he would be a hero to his daughter AND cheese off his ex-wife if he gets one for Christmas. Unfortunately, Darryl has bought the last one--but when Toby begs him for it, he offers to sell it to Toby. For $400. Toby is grateful until he sees that it's a black Princess Unicorn. When Darryl notices his discomfort, he stutters "It's even better than the one I wanted!"

I wonder if my blogging buddy Rae was satisfied when Phyllis outed Angela's ongoing affair with Dwight despite being engaged to Andy. Now the whole office knows--except for Andy, who was trying to learn to play a Christmas carol on the sitar.

Poor Andy. I wonder who's gonna break the news to him...

The Real Real Thing

Way cuter than the Coca-Cola commercial that plays this time of year--fuzzy polar bears! They could probably maul and swallow me in one gulp, but they look very cuddly here.

Too bad the picture was part of an article in the Washington Post about the Bush administration's continued erosion of the Endangered Species Act.

Hopefully Obama will do something before the only thing left of the polar bear is the animated version...

Pushing Daisies - Lighthouse

Last night's episode of Pushing Daisies was titled "Lighthouse," but I think it should have been called "Cake vs. Pie."

Like that's a difficult choice. C'mon--it's obviously PIE!!!

Okay, I'm a sucker for a death by chocolate cake (the one Ned whipped up for Charles Charles looked absolutely delicious!), but when the choice is between succulent pie (or in this case the delectable Piemaker) or crumbly cake (ala Chuck's decrepit Dad) it's a no-brainer.

In addition to his creepy, gauze-covered countenance, Chuck's Dad has a major chip on his shoulder regarding Ned. "You killed me," he tells the poor Piemaker. His shopping list for Chuck reads: "Slippers, mouthwash, the last twenty years of my life back..." Fortunately--despite the tug-of-war (and knock-down, drag-out fight--I mean "tussle" or "scuffle"...) between "Deadly Nedly" and Charles Charles, Chuck choose Ned telling him, "I told him the spoon lands here."

Meanwhile Olive and Emerson team up to solve the lighthouse murder. While widowed diorama designer Annabelle Vandersloop (Mary Kay Place) doesn't think much of Olive Snook ("Tis better to have loved and lost then to be you..."), Emerson is duly impressed telling her she has a place to go if she ever decides to leave the Piehole. "Itty-bitty, you made me love a rainy day again," the persnickety P.I. tells his pint-sized partner.

As Annabelle Vandersloop would say, "Life. You just can't make this crap up!"

Well, actually you can but that's not the point...

A Kindred Spirit on Craigslist

Just 300 miles north in the San Francisco Bay area, I've found my grammatical soulmate. From a recent Best of Craigslist posting:

"File cabinets with draws, dressers with draws, desks with draws. There are ads all over Craig's List for furniture with "draws." Do you folks by any chance mean "drawers?" A drawer is a box-like thing that is housed in a piece of furniture and that rotates in and out. It's used for storage.

A "draw" is many things, but it is not a "drawer."

Are there really so many people who are confused about this? People in the Marina and SOMA? You don't know what a drawer is? I mean, I hate to be a stickler, but come ON. Not knowing how to spell drawer means you've never read *anything.* Not a work of classic literature, not a pulp novel, not a comic book, not a catalogue, not a magazine, not a newspaper. The word drawer is everywhere.

Literature: Madame Bovary kept things in drawers. Jo March used drawers. Franny and Zooey used drawers. Portnoy used drawers. Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the Three Investigators all solved mysteries by striking an old desk, thereby unlatching a "secret drawer."

Drawers aren't only in old literature; they are in recent, highly regarded and prize winning literature: staggering geniuses use drawers. People for whom things are illuminated use drawers.

Even in current best-sellers there are drawers. According to a millisecond-long A9.com search, on page 31 of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (#62 in Oprah's Bookclub), "...[at] odd moments she might discover Trudy rearranging the chest of drawers..." And in Extreme Measures - a Thriller (2008), on page 271, someone opens a drawer to take out a pack of Marlboros. There are many, many, maaaaany others. It's more likely than not that any work of fiction will refer to a drawer at some point within it's pages.

In advertising: have you never heard of "top drawer service?" Even the newspaper is full of advertising references to Cost Plus World Market weekend deals on rattan wine bars with iron bottle-racks and MDP "utility drawers." Or Macy's blowout furniture "events" where bedroom sets include several items with drawers. Bed, Bath and Beyond sells things with drawers. Instructions for putting together IKEA furniture make references to these things called "drawers."

While it's possible you are confusing drawers with "draws," those flat, pull-out trays that might be on a taboret or tool chest, that's still doesn't contradict the fact that you don't read enough to know how to accurately represent that storage-box part of the furniture you are selling. You don't recognize or spell correctly the word "drawer."

Is this such a big deal? Not knowing how to spell a word? Maybe, maybe not. Though I'd perhaps be less concerned if you were having trouble spelling, say, "Czechoslovakia," or "appliqué," or even, "biscuit." Those words aren't as ubiquitous in our lives as the word "drawer."

But not knowing "drawer." It says something larger. Something not good.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone here. Just to say, this seems to be a disturbing trend and I hope it doesn't mean what I think it means."

Heroes - Our Father

While I do miss warm and fuzzy Sylar, skull-slicing Sylar had all the best lines in last night's episode of Heroes. Determined to find out the truth about his parentage, he tracks down Sue Landers whose ability is to be a human lie detector.

"How does it work?" he asks her. "Does it tingle?" When Sue's co-workers burst through the door to wish her a Happy Birthday, they are horrified to witness a blood-covered Sylar. "Cake!" says Sylar gleefully. Later, the blood-spattered serial killer shares an elevator with a trembling suit who nervously shakes his head no when Sylar asks if there is a problem. "Hmm, it does tingle!" Sylar muses of his new ability.

Ando and Matt Parkman tag-along with Daphne the speedster to track down the unpublished issue of Ninth Wonder. "I like teleporting better. Less windy!" mutters Ando. The dispatcher at the delivery company denies knowing anything about the sketches, but Matt does his brain mojo thingy and determines he's lying. The dispatcher tries to dodge them, but he is outpaced easily by the speedster.

With the sketches in their possession, the trio is dismayed to find that Hiro is lost in time. Having gone back in time sixteen years with Claire, Hiro is delighted to see his mother. Having just witnessed Kaito handing baby Claire over to Noah, Hiro follows his younger self into the next room. "Should I stay with me or should I go with you?" Claire asks him.

Eavesdropping on Kaito's conversation with Hiro's dying mother (who ironically is a healer who apparently can't heal herself...), they learn that she has the catalyst and the plan is to transfer it into baby Claire. Claire races off to prevent that from happening, while Hiro pretends to be the newly hired chef in order to spend more time with his Mom.

Claire runs into her Mom Sandra struggling with the new baby Claire and offers her help. Calling herself Bonnie, she ingratiates herself with Sandra, but Noah is suitably suspicious when he returns to find the strange young woman taking care of the baby. Claire manages to convince Noah not to take the phone call from the Company ordering him to bring Claire back for the catalyst.

Meanwhile, Hiro introduces himself to his mother who heals his stolen memories (Yay--he can speak his broken English again!) and inbues him with the catalyst. After the catalyst leaves her body, she dies. Claire returns and Hiro tells her that he has the catalyst. But not for long--in an instant Arthur shows up, removes the catalyst and powers from Hiro and throws him off the balcony.

He teleports Claire back to the present with a message: "Tell Angela I've won."

Via the unpublished Ninth Wonder, Matt, Daphne and Ando discover Hiro's dilemma but cling to the hope that if Arthur has the catalyst, he can perfect the formula and then perhaps there will be another time traveler who can go back in time and rescue Hiro. Ando even volunteers for the job...

But back at Pinehearst, there are plenty of volunteers in the form of ready, willing and able Marines. One in particular is name Kyle Baldwin--uh, I mean "Scott." Maybe not so coincidentally, Chad Faust of The 4400 appears on Heroes as the first volunteer to be injected with Promicin--um, I mean "the formula." He's a bit freaked out when he sees that the injection is being administered by the molting Mohinder, but after convulsing for a few minutes he settles.

"How do you feel?" asks Nathan. Rising, Scott rips the bolted down chair out of the concrete floor and throws it through the plate glass window. "I feel good," he responds. Mmm--me, too! I hope we get a few more episodes of the newly minted hero who main ability in my book is extreme hotness...

Angela sends Peter and the Haitian to kill Arthur. The Haitian blocks Arthur's powers while Peter aims the pistol--but in usual Peter fashion he can't pull the trigger. When he finally does at the last minute, the bullet stays in suspended animation just inches from Arthur's head. Sylar stops time in order to have a brief reunion with the Petrellis. "No place I'd rather be than with family," he tells Arthur and Peter.

He asks Arthur whether or not he's his father. Arthur tells him of course, but with his new lie detector ability Sylar knows he's lying. He lets the bullet finish its path to Arthur's brain.

For those keeping score: that's four dead - Arthur, Elle, Sue Landers and Hiro's mom. And yet Mohinder and Maya are still alive.

Do What You Want, Be What You Are

My recent review of Hall and Oates: Live at the Troubadour reminded me of this great tune.

Do What You Want, Be What You Are

Do what you want girl, but be what you are
There ain't no right or wrong way
Just a play from the heart
It ain't a sign of weakness to give yourself away
Because the strong give up and move on,
While the weak give up and stay

[Chorus:]
So do what you want to do
But be what you are...

Do you believe in hot cars,
leather bars or movie stars...
Is that what's real?
Payin' dues, Earth Shoes, Chicago blues
Is that how you feel?
You can change, but you can't conceal
what's deep inside you...
It's your game, it's your deal

[Chorus:]
So do what you want to do
But be what you are...

Desperate Housewives - A Vision's Just a Vision

Of all the tender and tragic moments on last night's episode of Desperate Housewives, the most tragic had to be Lynette's jeans. Someone needs to fire the wardrobe person because those torn up, stone washed denim are a crime against humanity. The only thing was a worse eyesore was her hairstyle.

I'm guessing Felicity Huffman is gunning for an Emmy and the dowdy hair and clothing are her version of a prosthetic nose.

Dave's lie to the police causes Porter to be arrested by the police. Having used the emergency fund to pay off Anne Schilling, Lynette mortgages the restaurant in order to make bail for Porter. Out of jail, Porter is approached by Warren Schilling who threatens to make him disappear. And disappear he does--skipping bail and town and leaving twin Preston to pretend to be him at the arraignment to give him a head start.

While Lynette deals with heavy issues such as one of her sons going to jail in place of the other, Susan's weighty issues have to with M.J. (it stands for "Maynard James" people--the names of Mike's grandfathers) dropping a bowling ball on Katherine's foot. It seems M.J. is taking too well to Mike dating. Edie is the one who clues Susan is that her actions speak louder than words with M.J. and kids pick up on that stuff.

And just when I was thinking that is was quite a role reversal for Edie to play the wise friend with Susan, she adds the kicker: "Two of my friends involved in a catfight? I live for that stuff!"

Good ol' Edie--you can always count on her for the snark!

After the bowling ball incident, Mike and Susan sit down with M.J. and find out that he's so hostile toward Katherine because he believes Mike and Susan will get back together. Susan asks Mike if he's ever contemplated the idea of their never being together again, but he refuse to discuss it.

Bree finds out that Andrew has been living with Alex--the doctor who performed surgery on Orson's deviated septum--for the last six months. Bree is aghast that Andrew would hide this information from her saying, "The man's a doctor--you've done better than I did!" (If I remember correctly first husband Rex was a doctor even if Orson is merely a dentist...) She invites Andrew and Alex over for dinner.

In an effort to be supportive, Bree urges the couple to "scootch" closer on the sofa. Andrew tells her, "As much as we appreciate your tolerance, we can wait until we get home to make out." Then the other dinner guests arrive--Bob and Lee, the token gay couple next door. (Hey, I love Bob and Lee and was gratified to see them getting more airtime, but Tuc Watkins is one of the funniest humans on the planet and being relegated to being the Scavo lawyer or Kevin Rahm's straight man is a crying shame...)

The two recognize Alex from somewhere and Bree gets them to admit they saw Alex in an adult movie. "By "adult" do you mean complex and sophisticated?" Bree asks hopefully. Later, Bree confronts Andrew with the DVD and Andrew tells her that Alex told him long ago about his youthful indiscretion--and given his own checkered past, he's OK with it.

So Bree's got a wedding to cater--might that be scheduled for May sweeps?

The big news was Carlos getting his sight back--and finding out that Gaby sold his baseball autographed by Lou Gehrig that had been passed down from generation to generation in his family. Gaby attempts to retrieve it from the rich Italian collector before Carlos found out it was missing. Via a translator, the Italian offers to return it if he can watch Gaby dance on the table.

Gaby refuses and leaves--but when Carlos demands she get the baseball back, she returns to dance for the Italian. The return of Carlos' sight allows him not only to see his little girls for the first time, but the sacrifices Gaby has made to keep them afloat financially. All her designer dresses, expensive shoes and jewelry were sold to pay the mortgage. Gaby returns with the baseball which she tosses at Carlos.

"Why are you limping?" Carlos asks. "Fell off a table. Don't want to talk about it." Gaby replies.

Later Gaby sees a beautiful dress hanging in her closet; Carlos sold his baseball to buy it for her. The scene where he thanks her for all her sacrifices really touching. Carlos tells Gaby he's going to sell his watch to buy her shoes to go with the dress. "It's a knock-off," Gaby tells him. "I sold the real one two years ago to get the roof fixed."

Looks like the writers pulled a fast one on us with the Dave Williams story. Here we were thinking that Dave held a grudge against Mike for killing his brother during a fight when they were both in prison, but it turns out that Dave's anger is over the deaths of Lila and Paige Dash--the mother and child killed in the car accident that ended Mike and Susan's marriage.

Hmm--I thought Susan was driving the car when the accident happened...Has Dave directed his rage at the wrong person?

Encounters at the End of the World

At the outset of Werner Herzog's documentary Encounters at the End of the World, he declares "The National Science Foundation had invited me to Antarctica even though I left no doubt that I would not come up with another film about penguins." Approximately an hour later into the film, we see...penguins.

Well, it's not like you could do a documentary about the South Pole and not mention penguins. Herzog attempts to put his own spin on the penguins in a decidedly non-Happy Feet way. He asks the scientific expert about gay penguins (actually, maybe that IS a decidedly Happy Feet reference...) and about penguin insanity.

It turns out that penguins can become disoriented--or "deranged" as Herzog puts it--and to prove the point the film shows a solitary penguin eschewing both the colony camp and the feeding ground to head inland towards the mountains 70 km away, even though it means certain death.

Penguins aside (and Herzog spends only about 5 minutes of the 101 minute long film on the subject), the film focuses on what Herzog terms the "professional dreamers": those who spend their lives living and working in the austere, harsh and desolate place. According to one of those dreamers, "If you take everybody who's not tied down, they all sort of fall down to the bottom of the planet.." and another muses, "...this place works almost as a natural selection for people that have this intention to jump off the margin of the map, all we all meet here where all the lines of the map converge."

But the real star of the film is Antarctica itself--the harsh and sparse topography above the ice and the diverse and alien habitat under water. Herzog captures the breathtaking and majestic beauty of the continent. But along with the beauty comes the ugly reality of global warming which Herzog sees as the beginning of the end of human life on this planet.

Availabe at Amazon.com, the two-disc DVD set contains the feature film complete with audio commentary from director Werner Herzog, producer Henry Kaisel and cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger; the featurettes Under the Ice, Over the Ice and Dive Locker Interview, South Pole Exorcism and Seals & Men; plus an interview with Herzog conducted by Jonathan Demme.

Three Reasons to Watch Leverage

1. It got a pretty good review from Tom Shales of the Washington Post.

2. They're running a promotion where you could win $100,000!

3. And the best reason to watch: My friend Hollie is featured in an upcoming episode!

Leverage premieres commercial-free tomorrow night at 10 pm on TNT--and then moves to Tuesdays December 9th.

derma e and the Thrilla of Vanilla

derma e scores yet another knockout with its Vanilla Bean Revitalizing Toner. Winner of Editor's Pick Award for Best Facial Toner from Beauty With a Conscience, the toner is the latest in a long line of award winning derma e products to receive recognition.

Naturally (no pun intended) I had to check out this anti-oxidant righ formula that contains skin-loving ingredients such as pycnogenol, green tea and the yummy smell of vanilla bean!

While the formula is indeed gentle on skin--what with soothing aloe, hydrating NaPCA, calming allantoin and moisturizing glycerin--it also is quite effective at keeping pores clean and toned.

And like all derma e products, it's paraben-free, cruelty-free and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Ugly Betty/The Office - Bad Amanda and The Surplus

Is anyone else wondering why Amanda is still living with Betty? Rent-free no less. Coming home from a major shopping spree, Amanda is informed by Betty, "Buying stuff on sale...that's not exactly saving money."

Meanwhile Willie has developed a school-girl crush on Connor--babbling incoherently every time she's in his presence. I guess you could say Willie is silly over him. (Or I could say it. You probably wouldn't stoop that low...) Wilhelmina waxes rhapsodic about Connor's many appealing qualities: his ruthless business sense, exquisite fashion sense..."Tantalizingly large hands," affirms Marc.

A cash-strapped Betty asks Daniel for overtime, but gets the opportunity to pitch an article idea for ModeNY.com instead. Her idea of how to have "fun" in New York City for no money draws yawns and snark, but Amanda's take on "How to Blow $10k with Spending a Cent" gets the two mismatched roommates paired up for the piece. Betty's conditions: nothing illegal and it has to be something a typical Mode reader could do. "I get it. No crimes. Real peeps." Amanda says.

Despite Claire attempting to slap sense into Daniel, he and Molly get even closer--to the point of almost kissing. This is all the ammunition Wilhelmina needs to work a scheme to drive a wedge between Connor and Molly using Daniel. Prior to this, Willie had almost given up on having a man in her life. Until Christina informed her that her unborn child will be a boy.

Amanda and Betty's night on the town included loading up on free high-end cosmetic samples, designer fashion worn with the tags tucked so they can be returned later, noshing at an art exhibit and being picked up by two fellow exhibit-attendees and whisked out for an expensive dinner. With Heidi Montag's Fashion playing in the background. (Heidi Montag? Seriously? I guess the licensing fee came cheap...) Betty feels guilty for indulging at others expense--but as it turns out, dinner is on her as the suave and slick dining companions slip out and leave her and Amanda to pick up the tab. (Hmm...anyone not see THAT coming?)

Thinking quickly, Betty is able to get the manager to comp their meal in exchange for a mention in their article on ModeNY.com. But her and Amanda's elation is short-lived when Amanda realizes that the scummy scammers not only left them to pay the bill, but stole her wallet as well. And because Amanda was carrying Betty's rent money, that was stolen as well.

Betty finally grows a backbone and lashes out at Amanda and her irresponsibility, but later Ignacio tells her that she could learn a little from Amanda's free-spirited example. Daniel is so impressed with Betty's article about the experience, he offers to make it a regular feature--and advances her the money for her rent.

Betty forgives Amanda--especially after she finds out that in an attempt to become more responsible, Amanda has taken a second job.

Personally, I think Amanda rocked the suspenders...

Ironically, while there was a shortage of cash in Ugly Betty's world, The Office was dealing with a budget surplus. "Why don't you explain it to me like I'm an eight year-old?" Michael asks Oscar. Then after Oscar explains it Michael says, "Why don't you explain this to me like I'm five?"

What it came down to was $4,300 that needed to be spent by the end of the day--or the Scranton branch would have their budget for next year reduced by $4,300. Oscar suggests a new copier, but when Michael announces that decision to the rest of the employees it goes over like a lead balloon.

Pam wants new chairs and so does Stanley. Jim votes for a new copier. Toby wants radon testing 'cuz it's a silent killer. "You are the silent killer," responds Michael dismissively. Pressed to make a decision, Michael says "I swallowed all your ideas. I'm going to digest them and see what comes out the other end."

Meanwhile, Angela and Andy tour Shrute Farms to see what Dwight has planned for their upcoming nuptials. Angela wants the manure removed from the barn, Dwight says the manure covers the stench from the slaughterhouse. "Dwight, if we pay extra could you slaughter the entrees the day before?" Andy negotiates.

The copier vs. chairs factions lobby for Michael's decision through shameless flattery. Pam threatens Jim if he doesn't come over to her side; Jim smirks as Pam struggles with the ancient copier.

Michael attempts to pass the decision on to Hank the security guard. When that doesn't work out, he tries to get corporate boss David Wallace to be the bad guy. Wallace informs Michael that if he returns the surplus, he gets to keep 15% of it. Michael hates disappointing his staff, "but I love Burlington Coat Factory!"

During a demonstration of the wedding ceremony, Dwight arranges it so that he marries Angela and Andy acts as unwitting witness. Angela initially admits to Dwight she made a mistake picking Andy, but when she hears that Dwight duped her into marrying him she gets angry and storms off.

Back at the office, Angela kisses Andy passionately in front of Dwight--then heads out, obstensibly to get an annulment.

The chairs win over the copier but Jim is no sore loser. He hands Pam a sheaf of papers to make copies. Four sets.

Don't Just Make the Holidays Special, Make them UNIQUE!

It can be tough to find that special someone the perfect gift. You don't have the time or talent for handmade and gift cards are too and impersonal. How do you manage to get people on your gift list something as individualized as their personality? Something that says different, special and one of a kind?

Unique Los Angeles is an independent design and gift sale occurring next weekend. You can get all your Christmas shopping done in one place! The exciting two-day shopping event showcases independent design talent at great prices. Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Unique Los Angeles brings together 200 of the best designers, artists and merchants.

Here are the details:

December 13th & 14th, 11 am – 7 pm
California Market Center (Penthouse)
Downtown Los Angeles
110 East 9th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90079

$5 per ticket
(children 10 and under are free)

50% of ticket sales benefit CREATE NOW, a local arts-based charity for high-risk youth

If you go to the event, make sure you check out Julia Bristow Jewelry and tell Julia I said "Hi!"

Pushing Daisies - Comfort Food

Even better than the Pillsbury Bake-Off has got to be the Comfort Food Cook-Off complete with the Best in Belly Blue Ribbon. On last night's episode of Pushing Daisies, Ned and Olive join forces to compete in the cook-off--and solve a crime, while Emerson and Chuck teamed up to clean up the messy consequences of her impulsive action.

Said action involved the resurrection of Chuck's father. The first thirty seconds elicited the revelation that Dwight Dixon was indeed a dangerous man. The second thirty seconds were supposed be to give Chuck a chance to say a final good-bye to her Dad. But parting a second time was too much for her to bear, so she quickly concocted a scheme. She put a glove on her Dad's hand and told him to play dead (after being buried twenty years, he's had plenty of practice...) and that she'd come back and dig him up later.

Which she did. "I'm not going to start craving human flesh, am I?" asks Chuck's disoriented Dad.

At the cook-off, Ned and Olive attempt to dethrone Marianne Marie Beetle, the muffin queen. "Losing doesn't make you a loser--oh wait, it does..." Marianne taunts Olive. "I'm gonna win that blue ribbon and wrap it around her neck and strangle her with it," seethes Olive. But their efforts were interrupted by the untimely death of another rival, Colonel Likkin. Dipped in batter and deep-fried, the Colonel was more than merely dead. "He's extra-crispy," whispers Ned.

After hearing that the Colonel's secret fried chicken batter recipe died with him, Ned decides to revive the Colonel only to find out he didn't die of a heart attack but was murdered. Ned decides that he and Olive will team up to find the killer. Olive's excitement has her fantasizing about threatening suspects with a gun leads Ned to comment, "Technically I don't believe you can blow someone's brains out through their mouth." "Wuss," replies Olive.

Their investigation leads first to the Waffle Nazi ("I don't speak German. I speak English mit a German accent!"), then cook-off saboteur Marianne Marie Beetle and finally to the perp himself, Leo Burns ("He's a dreamboat...well, a tugboat," said Olive) who incessant gorging on Colonel Likken's fried chicken made him twice the man he used to be. Maybe three times the man he used to be...

Meanwhile, Chuck and Emerson set out to find out which poor soul replaced Chuck's Dad in death. Turns out it was dangerous Dwight who was just about to pick Chuck and Ned off with a rifle in order to retrieve the pocketwatch. Chuck can't quite feel vindicated by the cosmos, but Emerson quickly puts in perspective with his eulogy:

"Here lies Dwight,
here lies his gun,
he was bad
and now he's done."

While trying to track down Chuck after winning the cook-off, Ned notices movement in his old home. Inside he discovers Chuck and her Dad.

The show was filled with snappy banter but the best moment was the writers sneaking in another opportunity for Kristin Chenoweth to sing. Elated at solving the murder and winning the Best in Belly Blue Ribbon with the Piemaker, Olive burst into song. The Bangles Eternal Flame to be exact.

It's never sounded better...

Daryl Hall and John Oates - Live at the Troubadour

As Daryl Hall opens the Hall and Oates performance at the Troubadour, he reminisces about the last time the duo played the L.A. club--35 years ago when they opened for Harry Chapin. "This is the first place we ever played in Los Angeles...and nothing has changed in here, man!"

The May 2008 performance was captured Blaze TV with 10 remote-controlled HD cameras creating audio and visuals that allows the viewer to experience the performance as if they were inside the crowded LA club. The result was released in three formats – DVD, Blu-Ray, and a 1-DVD/2-CD combo, via Shout! Factory on November 25th.

I've a soft spot in my heart for Hall and Oates--She's Gone has long been one of my favorite songs. Although the performance does a great job of covering the breadth of the pop duo's career, it excludes two notable tunes--Back Together Again, their ode to Neil Sedaka and Do What You Want, Be What You Are which exemplified the Philly soul sound they were known for:

Do you believe in hot cars,
Leather bars, or movie stars
Is that what's real?
Payin' dues, earth shoes, Chicago blues
Is that how you feel?

It ain't a sign of weakness to give yourself away
Because the strong give up and move on,
While the weak, the weak give up and stay...

Still, there are a lot of great songs in the CD/DVD collection including some of my faves like the bittersweet Rich Girl, the upbeat poppy You Make My Dreams and of course, one of the ultimate break-up songs, She's Gone. The full listings are as follows:

CD Disc One:

1. Everything Your Heart Desires (Daryl Hall)
2. When The Morning Comes (Daryl Hall)
3. Family Man (Tim Cross/Rick Fenn/Mike Frye/Mike Oldfield/Morris Pert/Maggie Reilly)
4. Say It Isn’t So (Daryl Hall)
5. It’s Uncanny (Daryl Hall)
6. Had I Known You Better Then (John Oates)
7. She’s Gone (Daryl Hall/John Oates)
8. Getaway Car (Gary Haase/Billy Mann)
9. Cab Driver (Louis Brown/Alan Gorrie/Daryl Hall)

CD Disc Two:

1. One On One (Daryl Hall)
2. Sara Smile (Daryl Hall/John Oates)
3. Maneater (Sara Allen/Daryl Hall/John Oates)
4. Out Of Touch (Daryl Hall/John Oates)
5. I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (Sara Allen/Daryl Hall/John Oates)
6. Rich Girl (Daryl Hall)
7. Kiss On My List (Janna Allen/Daryl Hall)
8. You Make My Dreams (Sara Allen/Daryl Hall/John Oates)
9. Abandoned Luncheonette (Daryl Hall)
10. Private Eyes (Sara Allen/Janna Allen/Daryl Hall/Warren Pash)

DVD Performances:

1. Everything Your Heart Desires
2. When The Morning Comes
3. Family Man
4. Say It Isn’t So
5. It’s Uncanny
6. Had I Known You Better Then
7. She’s Gone
8. Getaway Car
9. Cab Driver
10. One On One
11. Sara Smile
12. Maneater
13. Out of Touch
14. I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)
15. Rich Girl
16. Kiss On My List
17. You Make My Dreams
18. Abandoned Luncheonette
19. Private Eyes

Extras:

All New Interviews with Daryl & John

Since it was recorded in May, sadly there's no rendition of Jingle Bell Rock, but the recordings would be a great holiday gift for any Hall and Oates fan.

Heroes - The Eclipse, Part 2

Episode eleven of the third season of Heroes was probably one of the most frenetically action-packed of the series to-date--cross-cutting between Claire fighting for her life in an emergency room, Nathan imprisoned in a South American jungle, Elle and Sylar on the run from a vengeful Noah Bennet and Hiro locked in a bathroom because he doesn't want to grow up.

Holed up in Sam's comics reading all the available issues of the Ninth Wonder series by the late Isaac Mendez, Hiro and company figure out that the loss of their powers may be temporary--ending with the eclipse. (Well, duh!) The whole comic book store scene was supposed to be a surreal meta of the whole story within a story that is the hero's journey. It was actually a bit too self-referential for its own good in my opinion...

While Hiro was getting his memory back via the comic book retelling of his heroics, Nathan was being rescued by Peter and the Haitian. Regaining his powers, Nathan charges Samedi. But part of his powers seem to be indestructibility as Samedi quickly recovers from being slammed into a jeep. The Haitian, however, takes over and completely erases his brother's mind.

Peter and Nathan have a brief tender brotherly reunion--but Nathan tells Peter he's going to Pinehearst to help Arthur distribute abilities to the masses. And then he flies off leaving Peter and the Haitian behind.

Mohinder can't determine why everyone's powers have disappeared. "You keep talking but all I hear is blah, blah, blah," Flint tells him. Mohinder decides since his molting has stopped, there's no reason for him to stick around with Arthur. So he beats the @#$% out of Flint and escapes--heading to reunite with Maya. But as he arrives at her door, his molting returns and he slips away before Maya can see him.

I thought we'd seen the last of Maya, but apparently not...

Mohinder slinks back to Arthur who muses that the "eclipse has shown us all exactly who we are--angry, desperate and weak..."

Elle and Sylar enjoy some tender moments. Inexplicably, although Noah Bennet's gun site was trained on them during a kiss at the end of last week's episode, apparently he let them not only finish kissing but indulge in activities of the horizontal persuasion before unleashing a volley of gunfire upon the two.

He manages to hit Elle, but the two escape with Bennet in close pursuit. "You've bled a trail of breadcrumbs," Sylar tells Elle as he tries to bandage her up in the first aid aisle of a drugstore. Meanwhile, Noah's daughter Claire is fighting a case of sepsis in the hospital--which stuns the hospital staff as Claire's system is infected as if she's never been sick.

Sylar sets Elle off in a freight elevator as he faces Noah Bennet alone. As Claire flatlines in the hospital, Noah and Sylar proceed to beat the @#$% out of each other. (It was a pretty violent episode all in all...) Noah Bennet manages to get the upper hand and with Sylar dazed from his blows--and as Elle looks on--he slits Sylar's neck.

At home Claire reproaches him for not being there while she was fighting for her life. "I died," she tells him. And she did--but as Mom Sandra looked on, Claire's bullet wound magically healed and she was revived with the end of the eclipse. (Sort of like that scene in E.T. when the flowers come back to life--only this one didn't make me cry...) Noah freaks realizing that if Claire died and was resurrected, then Sylar--who has the same regeneration powers--probably has as well.

And so he had. Both Sylar and Claire have arrived at the Bennet residence to retrieve Claire and bring her back to Arthur. "They're not your parents," Bennet tells Sylar. He explains to Sylar that Arthur and Angela are leveraging his Mommy issues in order to use him as a weapon.

At the comic book store, Hiro sees a scene that shows him with Claire. He teleports away leaving Matt and Ando behind. According to Seth Green--there is a rumor that one more 9th Wonder comic book exists. That Isaac Mendez bequeathed it to a bike messenger.

I guess we'll be meeting up with him in a future episode.

As Sylar starts to telekinetically slice Bennet's neck, Hiro teleports in and teleports Sylar--and then Elle--out of the Bennet residence. He comes back for Claire--and teleports with her back to the past. To Devereaux's balcony on the day that Hiro's father put baby Claire into Noah Bennet's care for safekeeping.

Meanwhile, Sylar and Elle share another tender moment--until Sylar asks Elle if Bennet was lying about his parents. "Nobody ever really changes," Sylar says sadly as he starts to slice Elle's skull open.

No more warm and fuzzy Sylar? Sigh.

It's that time of year again...

Okay Santa, I've been a very good girl again this year. You didn't do so hot on last year's wishlist (Thanks to my sister Laurie, the first three items can be crossed off the list...), but maybe you'll do better this time around.

This year, the list is a bit more practical (although I'm still open to finding Clive Owen underneath the Christmas tree...) and includes some items from last year's list that I'm still jonesing for.

1. I still need a good digital camera. I've been close to just buying one for myself, but I freeze when it comes to pulling the trigger on the purchase. Basically I want an idiot-proof point-and-shoot camera. Quick shutter speed, image stabilization, optical viewfinder, ability to take pictures in bright daylight or at night, pocket-sized and very affordable.

Anyone have any suggestions?

2. To accommodate my LOST obsession, seasons 1-3 on DVD. I wouldn't mind season 4 as well, but I'm especially wanting to revisit the first couple of seasons to see what I might have missed the first time around.



3. The other day the light bulb in my bathroom blew out. The only chair I have to stand on is my computer chair. Which swivels. Ever tried to change a light bulb while standing on a swivel chair? It's a challenge. This mini step ladder with project tray would be a godsend.





4. Somehow I've survived for years without owning my own fax/printer. It would make life a lot easier to have one around.


5. One of these draft dodgers thingamobs would be great. Yeah, it doesn't get all that cold in SoCal. Which is why buildings here generally aren't insulated. It doesn't necessarily have to be a cow.

Although the cow is kinda cute.

And as far as last year's list goes, the iPod speakers, Calvin and Hobbes collection and even the vaccuum cleaner are still up for grabs.

And hey--as long as we're wishlisting here, I'll take that guest house, functioning pancreas and world peace, too.

Desperate Housewives - Me and My Town

Seven people died in the club fire that we saw on last week's episode. Or, more accurately--seven EXTRAS died in the club fire.

But the upside of the tragedy is that while doing a cat scan on Carlos' head to assess his injuries, the doctor notices something. "Please tell me it's not my hearing. I'm already down to four senses!" Carlos says. But it's not his hearing--it's a bone fragment that's been pressing on his optic nerve which may be the reason for his blindness. He arranges for Carlos to have surgery to possibly regain his sight.

(Didn't I say that Carlos wouldn't stay blind permanently? Okay, I did predict he'd regain his sight before the end of last season, but I wasn't too far off...)

Unfortunately the happy news upsets Gaby who worries that Carlos won't be attractive once he can see how she's lost her looks post-childbirth, etc. With a month prior to surgery, she goes on a crash diet--and makes the girls go along with her. Personally, it seems to me that both Juanita and her younger sister could afford to lose more weight than Gaby needs to...

Carlos is excited at the prospect at seeing Christmas lights (That's a sight that always makes me happy, too!), but Gaby warns him that the lights may have lost their luster. Carlos assures her that the reason he loves her and married her has nothing to do with her looks telling her the story of when he decided he wanted to marry her. "You know when I decided I wanted to spend forever with you? About two seconds ago. Up until then, it was touch and go..." she tells him.

An unwanted side effect of the fire is the injury to Orson's nose. It causes him to snore. "Robustly" as Bree puts it. She tries to convince him to get surgery to correct the issue, but Orson is afraid of going under anesthesia. "If we can't share a bed, it's going to affect the intimacy of our marriage," Bree tells Orson. "If I die, it will have the same effect!" Orson replies.

Orson is tired of sleeping on the sofa, so he tries to wheedle his way back into the marital bed with Bree by telling her that chamomile tea will alleviate his snoring. Well, actually it's not the tea that will eliminate the noise, but the drugs that Orson adds to Bree's cup. But Bree has already taken a sedative, so Orson tells her the tea will only counteract the effects.

The sedative makes Bree oversleep and nearly miss her cooking demonstration to promote her book. To further complicate matters, she gulps down the drugged cup of tea Orson left on the nightstand. It's not quite Lucy and the Vitameatavegamin disaster, but it's close enough and it becomes the final straw for Bree who insists on Orson getting the surgery.

Orson's doctor notices his reluctance and Bree explains that in a marriage, there's a balance of power. After they leave, the doctor calls his significant other and says, "Promise me we won't become one of those couples who make each other crazy!" And Bree's son Andrew at the other end of the line tells him, "You already make me crazy."

Speaking of secret couples, Katherine visits Mike in the hospital with a plate of macadamia nut cookies. "I burnt the first batch and I wasn't sure you'd appreciate the irony," she tells Mike. She's still apprehensive about coming out in the open about their relationship--especially since she hasn't broken the news to Susan yet. Leaving Mike's room, she runs into Susan in the hallway--but hedges when Susan asks who she was visiting.

She checks in on Mike and nicks one of his cookies. But she ends up spitting it out when she realizes it's made with macadamia nuts and not white chocolate (like the abomination that is white "chocolate" is so much better than macadamia nuts!). She notices how evasive Mike is about telling her who made him the cookies and guesses that he's dating someone. When Mike won't tell her who his new girlfriend is, she figures out it's someone she knows.

She confides in Katherine about who she suspects is the new squeeze and Katherine avoids correcting her assumption. But when she takes a bite of the macadamia nut cookie Katherine offers her, she realizes it's Katherine who's dating Mike. She's upset with Katherine, but becomes even more upset when Katherine tells her that Bree knew all along about the affair.

When she confronts Bree, Bree tells her that Susan is really angry with herself because she actually didn't want to end her marriage to Mike. She tells Susan to "either tell Mike how you feel or move on." Susan apparently decides to move on and calls Katherine to give the couple her blessing. She's not up for hanging out with Katherine, however, so obviously this isn't over.

While Susan and Katherine's friendship may be a bit shaky, Dave has gained a new ally in a very grateful Mike Delfino. He thanks Dave for saving his life and promises him free plumbing for the rest of his life. Mike tells Dave he wants to repay him for what he did and Dave tells him that since his brother died (the brother who Mike killed in prison!), he hasn't had a really good friend. "Can you handle that?" he asks Mike. Mike says he can.

It almost seems like Dave is deeply conflicted about the tragedy he caused because he spends most of the show walking around in a daze. He's questioned about the fire by the police--who haven't figured out the identity of the body burned in the storage room. Later, Edie tells him there's a rumor that Porter Scavo started the fire. She says she always knew Porter was bad news. "Trust me, I'm a really good judge of character." she tells her psycho husband.

Yeah, Edie--you're Sherlock Holmes when it comes to spotting sociopaths...

Lynette and Tom have their suspicions about Porter as well--especially after Lynette admits to Tom that Porter threatened Warren Schilling's life just prior to the fire breaking out. They both decide to protect Porter no matter what. As part of her plan to protect Porter, Lynette offers Anne Schilling a wad of money and a ride to the bus station. As she drops Anne off, she tells Anne not to call Porter--even after the baby's born. "There's no baby. Never was." Anne tells Lynette.

Seems like skanky Anne and scummy Warren were a match made in heaven...

Porter unsuccessfully tries to get a hold of Anne. He lies to Lynette about who he was calling when she comes into his room to talk with him. (What was up with the torn jeans Lynette was wearing? Hideous.) Lynette asks Porter point-blank if he started the fire--telling him that she can't help him if he lies to her. He tells her he doesn't know who set the fire. He also admits that he lied to her earlier and that he had been trying to get in touch with Anne Schilling. He asks Lynette if she knows where Anne went. Lynette tells him that she doesn't.

I guess that truthfulness thing is a one-way street...

But Lynette isn't the only one lying. Dave goes to the police and at first it seems like he's had a change of heart and plans to confess. But instead he rats out Porter Scavo to the police telling them that he saw Porter exiting the storage room just before the fire started.

Ah Dave--you may think you've pulled one over on Mike, but you've yet to face the wrath of Lynette...

Milk

The Oscar race is on with most of the potential contenders being released in the next few weeks. Gus Van Sant's portrait of gay activist and political martyr Harvey Milk is sure to scoop up its share of nominations.

First and foremost would have to be Sean Penn's terrifically subtle and sensitive portrayal of the title character. Vocalization, mannerisms, facial expressions--all the small details add up to a performance where Penn's natural charisma is focused and channeled in such a way that he doesn't just play the role, but inhabits it.

But Penn's character study is not the only uncanny likeness in the film--as the subtitled epilogue wraps up the film, pictures of the various cast members are flashed along with photos of the actual person they were portraying. Some of the resemblances are amazing...

James Franco is deliciously adorable as Milk's partner, Scott Smith and Emile Hirsch plays an impishly mischievous Cleve Jones. Everyone in the cast is top-notch and their ability to convey the sense of the times and place historically is matched by the great production design of Bill Groom and costumes by Danny Glicker.

Through the talents of Groom and Glicker (along with set decoration by Barbara Munch) combined with archival footage, we are transported back to the 70s where times seem completely alien and yet not so different from today. Back then it was Prop. 6--today it's Prop. 8. But while the numbers have changed, the basic issue of gay rights--human rights--is the torch that Harvey Milk carried.

The movie provides a solid history lesson--to those of us already seeming condemned to repeat it. Unfortunately, that may be its biggest flaw. For in trying to accurately convey the events leading up to Milk's election to San Francisco city supervisor, the script by Dustin Lance Black gives short shrift to the intriguing characters, personalities and relationships which fueled the movement.

Although much detail went into illuminating Harvey Milk's life (or at least the last eight years of it...)--from the recreation of the Castro Camera Shop which was the birthplace of his activism to the real-life Danny Nicoletta and Cleve Jones acting as consultants for the film, many of the supporting characters ended up being drawn in broad, impressionistic strokes.

Still, it's a good film and an important film--one that measures not only how far we've come, but how far we still have to go as well.