Pink Gloves

Those who know me know that of any social causes, besides anything environment-related, breast cancer awareness is really important to me.

For every clickthrough view this video receives, a donation will be made toward the cause (and I don't watch the show anymore but I guess it was referenced on last night's Brothers & Sisters on ABC). It's sweet, so check it out.

Turkey vs. David Duchovny vs. David Boreanaz vs. Tim Riggins vs. Seeley Booth

Thanksgiving is awesome. Really. Mostly because of the food. But also, it’s just such a great holiday. Okay, so the food has a LOT to do with that, but also, it’s just fantastic to get some downtime. I didn’t head back east this year, and had my third Turkey Day on the west coast, however this time around I did it right; cooking up a big feast with friends and family. So big in fact, that I was enjoying leftovers up until last night.

Beyond that, having a lot of time to lay low and do nothing was much needed. I spent lots of time playing with our dog, catching up on TV, getting lots of sleep, running down by the beach, running errands, and yes, eating lots of food.

I’d like to focus on one excellent part of our Thanksgiving dinner this year. And I’m not talking about the epic game of "Apples to Apples" that followed the meal. Before dessert, we all took our paper dessert plates (we were far too lazy to deal with dishes at this point) and on the back of them, drew pictures and wrote down what we are thankful for. Sure we’re all in our 20s and 30s, but there’s nothing like expressing what you're thankful for with a little arts and crafts.

So what am I thankful for? Besides my family and friends, my plate also included the following:


J. Crew
David Boreanaz
Xanax
Manu Chao

And I think there were others but I don't remember them. These are the really important ones. Duh.

(My plate also included a poorly drawn turkey in the shape of my hand. I would say that I wish I had taken a photo, but it was a pretty embarrassing hand-turkey).

It’s worth noting that my brother was appalled David Boreanaz got a slot on that list, because not too long ago the only David I would have talked about would've been David Duchovny. Interestingly, this sparked a discussion about the staying power of Duchovny, who’s still killing it on Californication. But my roommate Adubs made the valid point that Boreanaz has swiftly advanced his TV career from Buffy to Angel and now Bones.

This also reminds me of a recent chat I had with my roommates (okay when I say chat I mean frivolous discussion one Saturday after watching lots of TV while hungover), but here’s something to think about…

Tim Riggins vs. Seeley Booth

The general consensus was that we’d all want to have sex with Tim Riggins but Seeley Booth is the marrying kind. However, this is an excellent topic for debate. And to all the FNL and Bones fans out there, I implore you to ponder these two fine male specimen and get back to me with your opinion.

Huh, this post started out with Thanksgiving and ended up with me contemplating who I’d rather be with between two fictional TV characters.

I need to get out more.

(Okay so I really just wanted an excuse to search for pictures of man candy. What do you expect? It's the Monday after a holiday!)

Queen + Muppets = Giant Smile on my Face

I'm low on the creative juices this week so here's another video to watch. The Muppets perform Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Obviously, it's brilliant.

Because Hoth is for Pussies

I LOVE THIS.



(Of course I do.)
New catchphrase: DAGO-BOOYAH!

tooooo late to apologiiiiize...

I like One Republic.

Yesterday a friend emailed me a song from their new album "Waking Up", and then last night, on a complete whim, I bought it. (I tend to do bizarre things right before going to bed, like buying music I don't know if I like, writing articles with typos and sending them to the Huffington Post - although they published it - oh and, using Star Trek as a DVD to lull me to sleep).

Anyway, I remembered I got the album last night, and then I was slightly embarrassed this morning, but now I've been listening to it all day, and I must say: I like it. I enjoy One Republic. Sure it sounds a bit like they listen to too much U2 or maybe they're scoring the sequel to Romeo + Juliet (I swear to God they use a Des*ree riff at one point) but I'm digging these jams.

I'm not all that sure why I am so hesitant to admit this, I guess I don't really think of One Republic as an example of high quality music. But then again, neither is Celine Dion and I fucking love her.

I Would Like to Have Sex with Seth Meyers

(Preemptive apologies to my family, for the occasional blog post with TMI just in the title. AKA, this one).

I love Seth Meyers. Seriously. There's something about that dude that just pulls me to him like a G-D magnet in overdrive. Maybe the dimples? Nah, it's his comic genius and perfect delivery. Who knew that a great sense of humor would be my ultimate undoing? Everytime I watch SNL Weekend Update I always think the same thing. And I don't need to verbalize that for you, because it's up in that title up there and now I'm embarrassed to say it twice.

Okay, I'll say it again: I would like to have sex with Seth Meyers.

Seriously, how great is he?



What's that? Oh, he was talking about Sarah Palin? Yeah I'm not even going to go there. I blocked her out.

You Had Me at Griffith Observatory, and then I Went Catatonic at J.J. Abrams

So late last week a friend of mine kindly extended an invite to join him at the Griffith Observatory this fine evening for the Star Trek DVD release party. Be still my geeky heart!

Now, when I received the email, you better believe he had me at Griffith Observatory, first and foremost. I’ve been to the Griffith Park area just once, to see Phoenix play at the Greek and when I was leaving the area I saw the Observatory and knew I would have to go one of these days. And what better reason to finally visit than for a party? And not just any party, but a party to celebrate Star Trek, one of my favorite movies of 2009, and pretty much geek heaven (and sure, my interest in the original series and spin-offs was spotty at best, but I do love science fiction and my grandfather was a diehard fan, so I'm even making Grampy proud!)

The invitation was messengered over to me earlier, and I had to take a moment to geek out, because it’s super intense, and I’ll obviously be saving it (after using it for parking, of course). Here's a glimpse at the side sans party details:



I took this with my iPhone, and somehow it came out upside down. But that's the Enterprise. Duh.

I’m really quite excited to see Chris Pine in the flesh (I mean, what girl WOULDN’T?), and maybe Leonard Nimoy (how would he feel about me quoting the bit from the Mugar Omni Theatre to him? I think I'll pass), but maybe I am the most excited just to be in the vicinity of J.J. Abrams, a creative genius I truly admire – and primarily for his work in television. (Hello, Alias, Lost, Fringe anyone?). It's going to take some self-restraint NOT to foolishly beg for Lost or Fringe secrets, but truthfully, in every other situation where I've been around any famous person I look up to, I have a tendency to just be real quiet and smile a lot. Or pretend I don't know them, because that's fun too. Sometimes I wonder what it would take me to actually have a freak out over seeing a celebrity and I am trying to think the closest I came to that... maybe for a writer at Entertainment Weekly once? (That's kind of sad). Oh well I was really psyched to see Paul Pierce in Vegas, definitely couldn't stop staring at him. And I saw Kate Walsh several times during my Grey's obsessed days, and she usually had me pretty star struck. But I don't know who it would be... I mean even when I saw David Duchovny speak at a panel I kept my cool (then again, in a crowd of X-Files fans it's pretty easy to stand at the cool end of the spectrum). In any case, I'm looking forward to mixing with rich, famous, average, Vulcans, and others at this bash.

Bonus point: there’s a meteor shower tonight. I mean, could this be anymore perfect?

TV Black List

I often read this random blog I once stumbled upon, "Amanda the Aspiring TV Writer" as it's yet another good source of info about living and working in the entertainment industry. And provides a much more specific perspective, certainly more so than the drivel I pump out here.

Anyway, I was excited to read today about the development of a Black List for TV Pilots. The Black List as it stands, is for features only, and contains the most coveted feature scripts that have been read around town. It's a BIG deal for a writer to end up on the Black List. For television, the new Black List will be for pilots that have been written in the past year and haven't been produced. Interesting criteria, especially as the TV world is constantly moving (and much faster than features), but I think it's great regardess--an opportunity to spotlight up-and-coming TV writers, and hopefully get more aspiring scribes staffed on shows or signed with agents. To vote, send your submission for a great TV pilot to tvpilotblacklist@gmail.com.

I feel violated

This is upsetting.

Family Guy Friday (or Wednesday)

I am SO excited for this. Family Guy + Empire Strikes Back = Perfection.

Must-Read TV

Yep, I said must-read TV. You're thinking that doesn't make sense. I'm thinking I don't care and it's a pretty great play-on-words.

Whatever, just read this brilliant article analyzing how NBC really screwed the pooch with their primetime scheduling, and what the future of the network may be.

In which I take Mad Men down a notch or two

Hi. My name is Annie. Some people call me Stamos. I am not related to John Stamos, but sometimes I wish I was (if only for the hair). I love television. I work in television. I watch a lot of television. I do not watch Mad Men. I am sick of hearing about Mad Men. I am really, really happy that the season finale of Mad Men was last night. Why? Maybe now everyone will shut up about it. And hopefully my Google reader will no longer be comprised by an overwhelming amount of Mad Men-related articles. Maybe all the other TV critics I admire and read will stop talking about Mad Men. Maybe my dad will stop raving about it and how it makes him think of when he was younger and how it's really just amazing what a world advertising used to be (this coming from the man who ran an advertising agency with a custom-colored basketball court and regular Elvis-impersonation contests) and maybe, just maybe, everyone who's as much as a TV junkie as I am will turn their attention to other deserving shows.

And yes, I've watched Mad Men. A few times. The costumes are beautiful and that Jon Hamm sure is good looking, and yeah there's social commentary and good writing and beautiful art direction/set design, but you know what? It's boring. There I said it. I'll say it again: it's boring. That's why I don't like Mad Men. It's a total bore. And I think it's incredibly over-hyped.

Now perhaps you are reading this and now think much less of me and my supposed "high brow TV tastes." That's just fine. You are entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine. And mine is that Mad Men is overrated and I'm sick of no one saying that so I am saying it. That is all.

An important endtnote: to my dear friends who work in TV at Lionsgate, just think of this post as less of a rant and more of free publicity! Yay! Woo! Go Mad Men!

Two Croissants is One Croissant Too Many

I'm still in that collegiate mode of thinking when it regards to parental visits: OH MY GOD MY PARENTS ARE IN TOWN I GET FREE FOOD I MUST EAT ALL OF IT AND I MUST EAT AT NICE RESTAURANTS I MIGHT NOT NORMALLY GO TO AND EAT FOOD I WOULDN'T NORMALLY GET, LIKE STEAK, WHICH I ONLY EAT WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS PAYING.

Which means that I've probably packed on some pounds this weekend while being wined and dined and living a life quite unlike my usual. For my dad's 60th birthday my stepmom surprised him with a family trip to La Jolla, CA, where we stayed at a lovely resort over the weekend and pretty much just went to the spa and walked on the beach, and stared at the golf course, and got private tours of historical buildings, and ate amazing food, and like I said before: COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF A NORMAL WEEKEND (in which I try to spend as little money as possible and come up with creative ways of sneaking booze into bars). Oh, and I even made off with a bathrobe from the hotel spa. HOLLERRRRR.

So my dad and stepmom are still in town, now staying in LA, and I went and met them for breakfast before work this morning. Now whenever they are in LA they like to stay at this really nice little boutique hotel called The Ambrose, which has a phenomenal breakfast spread. Mostly it's fruit and pastries, and I don't even like pastries, but they do croissants better than the French, I swear to God. So for breakfast I had a chocolate croissant (or, as the French do call it: Pain au Chocolat) and some strawberries and some juice and coffee and it was GREAT.

And then I took an almond croissant for the road (no idea what the French call those).

I just now ate it.

That was unnecessary. But like I said, I'm of one of those mindsets: I don't pass up free food. However, two croissants is one croissant too many. I feel ill.

V Arrives

I watched the V pilot back in July. Or maybe it was May. I actually have no idea when it was, but I know it was several months ago. So while my memory of specific details is fuzzy, I do recall that I really enjoyed the show, and am looking forward to revisiting these visitors (pun alert! Oh wait, you’ll only get it after you’ve watched...) tonight at 8pm on ABC.

V is a re-imagining of the popular 1980s series of the same name, a series I’ve been told scared the living daylights out of a lot of the people who watched it at the time. I can say that the 2009 version definitely offers some jolts, thrills, and surprises. It’s captivating from the get-go and while it packs a lot in the first hour, I think you’ll find a fresh take on the whole alien invasion storyline. I for one am way more excited about V than I was about Flash Forward, a show I only watched the first two episodes of (and yes, I realize they're both quite different, but I get the sense both shows are being explored as potential replacements for Lost, hence my comparison).

Unfortunately, V’s been plagued with various on-set troubles, including a temporary hiatus, showrunner changes, and a broken first season (4 episodes to air now, the remainder in March), and word on the street (at least word in my development meetings) is that the outlook for V is not good. Keeping that in mind, I implore everyone to check it out tonight. I'm not going to delve further into plot examination or give a more detailed review (fuzzy memory, remember?) and I think it's better going into the show not quite knowing what to expect. It's definitely worth a first look, and hopefully it will be another new series to keep on the DVR list.

So. You are going to run into a pedestrian and then you are going to just DRIVE AWAY?!?

I was the victim of a hit and run on Saturday.

No really.

However, it was not as bad as it sounds.

But first, let me set the scene:

It was around 2:30pm Sunday. I was at the beach with my room mates and friends when the pain of my post-Halloween hangover had become too great and I was certain that my only haven would be the shelter of my bed and perhaps some Chinese food (orange chicken, specifically). I bid my friends farewell and slowly made my way from the beach, pausing once I reached Santa Monica's Main Street to wander into a quirky jewelry store on the corner. After realizing I didn't have my wallet on me, I decided it was time to charge across the street, up the hill and to my lovely apartment.

So here's what happened:
I was in a daze, but waited for the walk sign to turn into that little white walking man light because here in Los Angeles you do NOT j-walk (is that jay walk or j walk? Funny, I have never written that term before...) so the second I had a "go", I slowly made my way across the street, towards the Coffee Bean on the corner when all of a sudden A CAR IS DRIVING INTO ME. As in, here I am just walking walking I'm walking and all of a sudden my shoe is off and I am jumping backwards as my left arm slams against the hood of a sedan and then I am screaming at the idiot operating the motor vehicle "WHAT ARE YOU DOING I'M WALKING HERE!" (Interesting that my first reaction was to slam her car and get angry. I imagine a psychologist would have a FIELD DAY with that one), and then I picked up my shoe and slowly stumbled along the crosswalk, in shock, clearly.

So the driver of this champagne colored sedan (I think it was an Infiniti) rolls down the window, apologizes a few times as I continue to get angry and look at her in confusion (because then I was also wondering, did I do something wrong? WHICH I DIDN'T BY THE WAY) and then. THEN.

SHE DROVE AWAY.

I'm sorry, but if you are turning left on a red light and hitting pedestrians as they walk across the street when it is THEIR TURN TO DO SO perhaps you should then pull over and check on these startled, potentially injured pedestrians. I MEAN REALLY.

I was so freaked out from the whole thing but fortunately there's always a lot of hippies milling about in front of the Coffee Bean (so, they're not as anti-establishment as you might think) who made sure I was okay and then I trudged up the hill home.

It wasn't until this morning when I noticed the left side of my midriff is bruised and my arm is pretty sore, as well as the foot that temporarily lost the shoe. But otherwise, I'm good.

So yeah. I am fine. But that woman who drove away after hitting me? She won't be fine. Karma's a bitch. So where ever you are hit-and-run lady, you've got yours coming, mark my words. And I hope I left a dent in your car from where my hand slapped the hood with my super human strength. That is all.