I am writing to inform you that you have been selected as the inaugural Man of the Month for “Man of the Month – Online Edition.” Man of the Month is a historic and respected tradition, dating back to a Boston University dorm room in 2002. Previous honorees include Mos Def, Diego Luna and Luke Wilson. It is with great excitement that I welcome you to this illustrious club.
As a longtime fan of yours, who may or may not have counted down the days to the theatrical release of "D3" in her drama textbook, I was thrilled to see that you would be making your television comeback with “Fringe” (JJ Abrams has a way with characters previously or currently named Charlie.). And though you were equipped with clunkers of lines like, “A cow. He wants a cow,” I see you haven’t lost your touch. No one can quite do bewildered sarcasm like you. In fact, I hope it is not out of line for me to posit that your deepened brow crease is from all the hard work your eyebrows have done over the years.
In conclusion, I sincerely welcome you as Man of the Month, and will be keeping my fingers crossed for better scripts for you in the near future.
Love, Ashley
PS: And, by the way, congratulations on getting Joey in the end. It takes some balls to wind up with the title character’s girl. Emilio would be proud. He, however, will not be eligible for Man of the Month until he apologizes for ‘Bobby.’
As background - this movie poster was banned in the US by the MPAA for being indecent.
While my first intention with this image was to discuss the MPAA and decency and what should be considered offensive and how certain pop culture offerings become scape goats to prove there's still interest in "protecting" the "innocence" of the youth or the conservative ideals of America... All I can find myself thinking about is how much Elizabeth Banks and Rachel McAdams are starting to look like one another.
Blake Lively. She of the enviable hair, star of TSOTTP Parts 1&2 and the addictive Gossip Girl, is the sister of none other than Robyn Lively, she of Teen Witch and the slightly less enviable hair. Shocking!
Welcome to the first edition of mini-reviews.Books, TV shows and movies – look for my thoughts here.
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
I finished this book in the time it took me to get from Boston to LAX, with time to spare – it’s that kind of page turner.Easily digestable, with a middle section to really get the feminist in you thinking. And by you, I mean me.
Can you consider yourself a feminist if your Power to the Woman awakening comes out of a relationship with a man?
When it comes to family, love and your own self-worth, where does the line between empowering and selfish fall?
Could I have forgiven a parent who was totally absent by his/her own volition for 2+ years of my childhood?
I found it concisely written, though towards the end overwhelmed by dialogue.I also felt like the end – a shocker if I’ve ever read one – was almost too abrupt.I wasn’t even paying attention to Julian – and was actually wondering why he had even been introduced – when race dynamics sort of started coming up and then all of a sudden… (no spoilers here).While I get that there’s a parallel to the shocking impact of the event with its out-of-nowhere introduction into the storyline, I think that those characters could have been introduced more casually a bit sooner.
I’m curious about the real story here, and can definitely see myself reading up more on Frank Lloyd Wright soon.Overall, it’s an intelligent yet easy read for anyone interested in good ol’ story telling about a man and a woman, American history and/or the women’s movement.
Firstly – let’s keep in mind that the original Beverly Hills 90210 was hilarious. Drama-filled, lesson-laden and California/high school myth-perpetuating, but mostly campy and hilarious. Not a serious television show that earned Emmys and critical acclaim. So let’s all get off our high horses.
Moving on – I could use a refresher or two.
1.Was Nat on BH90 (This is how I will now insist on referring to the original, as the previously-hated “90” moniker is also applicable to the current.) until the very end?
2.Sure, Brenda left to pursue her drama career in London, but how did it end with her and Kelly?
3.Are we really supposed to believe that Kelly’s kid is Brandon’s? Because last I checked, they didn’t get married, and she was being set up to head toward forever with Dylan.
4.I’d like to get into the Rob Estes connection – I understand completely that they are giving him a fake history with Kelly, but what was his character’s deal on Melrose Place? Because let’s not forget that was originally a BH90 spin-off from Grant Show being all sexy construction guy in Kelly’s backyard…
As far as actual plot –
-Could Rob Estes & Lori Louglin actually have a 15-year old daughter? Could said 15-year old daughter actually look any more like Lori Loughlin?
-Please tell me they’re not setting us up for Ryan-the-English teacher to be the given-up-for-adoption love child of bitch-popular-girl’s mom and Rob Estes’s principal character.
-A high school could never do Spring Awakening (Sample songs: Totally F*****, B**** of Living, My Junk, Word of Your Body). And please don’t sing anymore. (PS: Your new love interest – A drama nerd? Really?)
-I’m just not sure that both druggie artsy yet popular girl AND formerly popular rebel blogger girl are necessary (Side note: I love that her blogs are just like David Silver and his ridiculous radio shows.)
And PS: EW, please don’t call Ryan Eggold a hottie. It makes me very uncomfortable. And while we’re at it, are you really not going to do a TV Watch recap? Burmpt.
Question: Should a woman pushing my purse back and “yelling” at me that it’s pushing against her legs under the seat make me cry?
Question #2: Can I blame “27 Dresses” for putting me emotionally on-edge?
Question #3: Should “27 Dresses” really have me emotionally on-edge: A) Ever, B) After having seen it three times?
Question #4: What is the seat in front of me for if not putting my bag under it? Listen to an in-flight announcement every once in a while. And put your seat up - IT's pushing into MY legs, biotch!
With the fall movie season approaching, it’s hard to avoid the hype and previews of all the next big releases. While there are some movies that I’m fully committed to seeing and loving, there’s another category to consider - Movies that I am (or should be) embarrassed to want to see. I’ve broken it down into both upcoming releases and a review of the trusty Netflix queue.
Coming soon to a multiplex near you:
The Accidental Husband – This looks terrible. Uma’s last foray into “romantic” “comedy” was truly painful to watch. I don’t watch or care about Grey’s Anatomy and therefore Denny Duquette does nothing for me. But I am powerless to the pull of Colin Firth as a romantic lead. He’s so uptight and stuffy, but he just wants to be loved. How can you resist?
Eagle Eye – Not typically my type of movie, but this one looks pretty thrilling. And, really, I’m a fan of anything Joe Rogan does – I mean Shia LaBeouf.
The House Bunny – In my defense, this was written and produced by the folks that brought us Legally Blonde, and there’s not a human being between the ages of thirteen and sixty who can tell me they didn’t chuckle at that one. On the other hand - well, it costars Rumer Willis and Katherine McPhee and, um, has been done a million times before. And let’s not forget that Anna Faris was in the aforementioned painful ‘My Super Ex-Girlfriend.’ But still – I can’t wait. Side note – How weird was it that Colin Hanks was a priest on Mad Men a couple weeks ago?
And finally.
This is clearly the motherlode of embarrassment. I don’t know anyone who I could possibly convince to see this with me – and I’m not all that sure I could convince myself to see it in a theatre surrounded by its target audience of 8 year olds. However, the bottle of wines that I shared Parts 1 and 2 with and I got quite a kick out of the singing and the dancing and the adorable ridiculousness of it all. And, come on – the part where Vanessa Hudgens stands up in the bleachers belting out a song about her eternal love (I presume) for Zac Efron? Let's go Wildcats!
As for the Netflix Queue…
Please note: Most of these have been in the queue for over 2 years, dating – approximately – to the time that Trevor & I stopped living with Jessica. I’m willing to bet that I would have already seen these if she & I still lived together!
Coach Carter – I chose this to highlight instead of co-Netflix dwellers The Great Debaters and Glory Road, because Samuel L. Jackson is awesome and he WILL inspire you. Or so I hear.
The Rules of Attraction – James Van Der Beek? Hello?
Le Divorce – Am I the only one that still holds onto the hope that Kate Hudson will stop sucking someday? Maybe Naomi Watts will raise her up in this one – or they might just rest comfortably in mediocrity together.
Tristan & Isolde – Wow, I really wanted to see this in the theatre. That Gavin Degraw music video, the love scenes…hawt. What with my newly reignited, Pineapple Express-inspired love for James Franco, it might finally be time.
Hey, where did all the ones starring Amanda Bynes and Hilary Duff go?? TREVOR!
Sheryl Crow performed at the Democratic National Convention this week. And, while I can, I suppose, applaud her participation in the political process, I really find her song choice - "Strong Enough" - a dubious one.
The first 2 verses are almost applicable - if I squint my eyes, I can think that this applies to a frustrated citizen...
God, I feel like hell tonight Tears of rage I cannot fight I’d be the last to help you understand Are you strong enough to be my man?
Nothing’s true and nothing’s right So let me be alone tonight Cause you can’t change the way I am Are you strong enough to be my man?
It's the chorus where she loses me. I mean, is repeating the phrase "Lie to me" really the most appropriate thing to do when dedicating a song to a political candidate?
Lie to me I promise I’ll believe Lie to me But please don’t leave
And then it's just completely senseless.
I have a face I cannot show I make the rules up as I go It’s try and love me if you can Are you strong enough to be my man?
Okay, maybe it works again.
When I’ve shown you that I just don’t care When I’m throwing punches in the air When I’m broken down and I can’t stand Will you be strong enough to be my man?
Yeah, no.
Lie to me I promise I’ll believe Lie to me But please don’t leave
So often your emails are about high fashion and things that I really cannot afford. But you really came through for me today.
I look forward to having some of the guiltiest of guilty pleasures play as my background music at work for years to come - or until someone figures out how this is illegal and takes it unceremoniously away (It still hurts, Scrabulous.).
Love, Ashley
PS: Are you conspiring with Sirius Satellite radio? Because the OC theme song just came on - and that's one of the shows this delicious website offers.
Every few months, I take a trip to Newbury Comics and beef up my Broadway musical CD collection. I let it rest dormant for too long, and if I don't keep learning about new plays and re-hearing the songs, people might think I'm not *actually* a total drama nerd at heart.
The last purchase I made was 'Hair,' an awesomely ridiculous 70s musical about an Army-bound kid having a crazy night with hippies in New York. Parenthetically, the movie version starred Treat Williams, which always made it weird to see him on Everwood.
Anyway. Upon importing the CD into iTunes and searching for its associated artwork, I got a kick out of what it chose:
