Olympics are coming to an end :(

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I watched a LOT of the Olympics this year. Probably more than any other year, and I've been a big fan of the Olympics since I can remember. Literally... I remember being 8 and being able to recall things that took place during the previous Olympic Games! I remember when the summer and winter Olympics split so that they weren't taking place in the same year anymore. My parents even had a video of the opening ceremonies the year that they had parachuters. I remember Tonya Harding's ex hiring someone to beat up Nancy Kerrigan. I remember the craziness of the Magnificent Seven and Kerri Strug vaulting while horribly injured. And all of the drama around the "broken lace" on the ice skate.

But this Olympics has been so interesting to me... particularly the curling! I had never seen curling before, but it was super-fascinating to me, and my husband and I learned a lot about the sport. In fact, I will even be heading down to the Philadelphia Curling Club tomorrow to take part in an Open House designed to teach people more about the event and even give people a chance to try it!

Sunday:
The Simpsons (S21E13): um, didn't we have an episode like this years ago? Where all the men were dumb but the women were smart? Didn't we hear all about the famous women in the family then? The "Quit While You're Ahea" was funny, too. Strange joke about Bart being married to Lisa made by Homer... Awesome with the "underclown railroad. Milhouse raining on Lisa's parade was sad. Homer threatening Abe was funny, especially with the A/C temperature. Awesome, the Simpsons are now 1/64 black, haha. And nice tie-in for Canada so they could play the national anthem during the closing credits. Overall, I'm glad we had this episode, since Black History Month has really been neglected this year. Finale to be May 23rd.

Family Guy: not new this week (even though all of the other FOX shows were...). Finale to be May 23rd.

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother: not new this week

House, M.D.: not new this week. Finale to be May 17th.

Cake Boss (2nd Special): It was a "best of" week, which is funny since the show isn't that old, AND we had a special episode less than a month ago. #5, the Fireworks cake. #4, the Sesame Street cake. And the difficult client, that bratty, bratty girl who destroyed the wedding cake Buddy made and demanded another one. #3, the Nascar cake. #2, the Leaning Tower of Pisa cake. #1, Cream Puff cake. The only thought I had was how Buddy made a big deal about doing the cream puff cake in memory of his dad, and he makes a comment about how it only seemed fitting... which implies that he doesn't make it every year. So was it a ploy by TLC for the whole thing to happen? Or do they not have cake at it normally? Something just didn't add up.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (S02E20): I'd like to see this show get a better intro. Perhaps match the names with the faces, LoL. I liked the deli manager's response to Ricky on the phone. Lauren and Madison want pictures of themselves with baby John to send to their respective boyfriends??!? WEIRD. (or am I weird since I'm a good ten years older than these girls and I have NO desire to have my photo taken with babies? LoL.) oh yeah, Grace and tell Adrian everything will be okay after the latter slept with Ben. And then the lecture comes out. And then Tom lectures Grace. Why would Betty ask the deli lady to be her maid of honor??!? Does the woman have no friends? not even other hookers?? LoL on George assuming that Ashley's new friend is gay just to make things easier, haha. Betty's crossword joke wasn't funny. Ben asked Jack to hit him why?? Ricky'll do that on his own, LoL. And the type of sex that Ben had with Adrian is not the same as the sex that Jack had with Adrian, so I don't think it should have been classified that way. Madison and Lauren have to drive home before 11pm (aka they're tired of watching John), and just dump off the baby with George. Funny Grant scene at the end. I really thought that we would get a glimpse of what Ricky was up to, so the lack of that was surprising.

Tuesday:
Table for 12: no idea. and not sure why not.

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

16 and Pregnant (S02E02): 15 from Michigan. Admits being spoiled. Who in the world has a favorite pasttime of "toilet-papering houses" ?? Started at 30 weeks, which makes me wonder if the show is leaning in the direction of focusing more on motherhood and less on pregnancy. This probably has more of a shock-factor, I guess. Why does she get back with her boyfriend on the first day of school? (for her, mind you. he got expelled.) Interesting that two of Nikkole's friends were trying to tell her that the boy was bad news, kinda like Jenelle's friends tried to talk to her. Nikkole is probably one of the most immature girls we've seen so far. She's also one of the ugliest, but that's a separate issue. "I don't feel like dress shopping" was Josh's deal after he already went to the store with Nikkole and her mom. Size 0 to Size 10 is a pretty drastic change... I don't know that I believe her. Her little brother is so thoughtful... playing RockBand with her and stuff. If she's not due for another two weeks, why stop going to school? I mean, maybe she'll go into labor there, but I imagine she'll have a plan, just like she was elsewhere. It was interesting to see an induction on the show, but Nikkole didn't really seem that caring about how it was gonna go down. Josh wasn't that caring at ALL during labor. He did whatever he wanted, and complained about Nikkole. Josh's mom was more caring about the situation than Josh was! He obviously doesn't love her. 27 hours into labor she's finally ready to deliver, and she doesn't scream all that much, unless they cut that all out. And I think they must've since she had an episiotomy we find out later. She asked her mom what to do when the kid spit up... does she have NO common sense at all?? Josh has some balls to talk to Nikkole's mother that way.
I also kinda wonder if this show will actually cause a few girls to get pregnant just so they can try and be on MTV. Also, for people who live in New York, do they walk home with the baby? Or take a taxi? Seems like a pain in the butt to install a car seat in every taxi you go in... tere must be a method to this.

19 Kids and Counting (S04E04): Sometimes I wonder if they'd have so many children if they didn't have those four older girls to help care for younger children. But then JimBob takes the girls and dumps all the kids on Grandma Duggar, LoL. I thought it was funny that Jinger figured it out right away. You have to be 17 to donate blood, but they still brought Joy, so it was nice that she was treated like an older girl and had that experience of at least observing. I thought it was interesting that Jessa volunteered to go first, and apparently she's just at the weight limit (110 pounds). It must be so hard on them to have to deal with the cooking without the big kitchen and all. I mean, I know they've done it before, but there's more of them now and this is sort of a vacation in a sense. Getting to see Josie's tiny, tiny hand interact with Michelle's finger was nice. I am slightly surprised that JimBob wasn't there when Josie had the feeding tube put in, but I guess that's the way the timing worked out. I'm also surprised that the actual insertion of the feeding tube was videotaped! I was also surprised to see a blanket of sorts and some tiny stuffed animals IN the incubator! I mean, I know that NICU policies are there for a reason, but when you think about how much you're told not to keep anything in the crib with the baby for the first year, I thought it was strange.

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Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life"
Wipeout (summer)
Little People, Big World (April)
The Goode Family (watch it Monday nights at 10 on Comedy Central!!)
South Park (next new episode will be on St. Patrick's Day, March 17)

Winter Olympic Events

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Okay, I said to my husband last night that they should really do like a 1-hour special near the beginning of the Olympics (and maybe rerun it late night throughout the Games) that goes over what all of the events are and how they're scored. For instance, we've been having a devil of a time teaching ourselves how curling works, and the fact that "biathlon" is cross-country skiing + shooting was complete news to me. And I've been watching the Olympics for twenty years.

So, I thought I'd do a tiny bit of work on this, and go over what the 84 events in the Winter Olympic Games are. This list is valid for the 2010 Olympics, as some events change, get added, etc. Now, the only real important thing that distinguishes these sports from being played at the Summer Games is that they are defined as "games which are practiced on snow or ice."

Alpine Skiing. This one covers downhill skiing, super giant slalom, giant slalom, slalom, and Alpine combined. Slalom gates are the closest together, so there's more turning. Giant Slalom gates are a little farther apart. Super Giant, aka Super G, has like half the number of gates as Giant Slalom and is a speed event, whereas the first two slaloms are technical events. Downhill is going as fast as you can, and they can top 80 mph!

Biathlon. Several events... Sprint, Individual, Pursuit, Relay, Mass Start. Men's Sprint is 10k, Women's is 7.5k. Men's Individual is 20k, Women's is 15k. Men's Pursuit is 12.5k, Women's is 10k. Men's Relay is 4x7.5k, women's is 4x6k. Men's Mass Start is 15k, Women's is 12.5k. The Pursuit seems really unfair... the top 60 finishers in Sprint go... but the winner starts first, and each person behind him/her starts at the same interval as they finished after the winner the first time. The Mass Start (only its second Olympics to be an event) is the top 30 competitors from the first 4 events all starting at the same time. Okay, in the midst of skiing, you stop and shoot a rifle (that you've been carrying on your back). Sometimes you lay down and shoot at a 40mm target 5 times, sometimes you stand up and shoot at a 115mm target 5 times. For each shot you miss, you have to do a short penalty loop before getting back on the main track.

Bobsled. Four-man, two-man, and two-woman. The women's event has only been around since 2002. You ride in the cart down the track as fast as you can.

Cross-Country Skiing. Sprint, Team Sprint, Pursuit, Relays. Pursuit is 30k for men and 15k for women. The Relays are 4x10k for men and 4x5k for women. The Mass Start for men is 50k, women is 30k.

Curling. First it's round-robin-style, where all of the men's teams play eachother (same with women's teams). The top 4 rated teams (and there's tie-breakers if needed) then play 1 game each. The two winners from those games then play eachother for the gold. The two losers play eachother for the bronze. There are no silver medals.

Figure Skating. Singles (Men's & Women's events), Pairs, Ice Dancing. 30 people can compete in a singles event. 20 pairs. 24 ice dancing couples. 80% of those slots are based on how you did at the previous year's World Figure Skating Championship. You have to be fifteen years old by the previous July to compete. In Singles, there's Short Program (two minutes, fifty seconds with certain required moves) and Free Skate (four minutes for women, four and a half for men, no required moves). In Pairs, there's also Short Program and Free Skate. In Ice Dancing, there's Compulsory Dance (every couple does the same moves to the same tempo), Free Dance (4 minutes long, give or take 10 seconds, choose your moves) and Original Dance (you can pick your song and choreography, but there's a set tempo range).

Freestyle Skiing. Moguls, Aerials, Skicross. Moguls are the bumpy tracks where you keep your knees together as you go down... until you hit 2 ramps and do tricks. Aerials are when you ski down, go up a ramp, somersault and twist around, then land. Skicross is new, and is a race, so there's no subjectivity. First, every person goes individually and the top times move on. Then, 4 people go at a time, navigating crazy terrain.

Ice Hockey. For Men: there used to be 5 preliminary games, now there's only 3. The top 4 teams go to the quarterfinals, while the remaining 8 teams play for the other 4 slots. Then, normal playoffs. For Women: there are 3 preliminary games, so for the 8 qualifying teams, they're split into 2 groups and you play everyone in your group. Then the top 2 teams from each group play for the medals while the rest play for classifications.

Luge. Singles for both sexes; men's double, although in theory it can be a mixed double. You lay down, feet first and face-up, on a little sled as you head down a track as fast as you can.

Nordic Combined. This one is actually for men only... and there's normal hill, large hill, and team. Cross-country ski for 10k, and a ski jump. Combined score wins, and there's a system for the math. Team is 4x5k.

Short Track Speed Skating. 3 individual events and then relays. The rink is 60m x 30m (ice hockey size), and you go around as fast as you can... generally 4 skaters at a time. 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 5000m relay are the lengths.

Skeleton. One men's and one women's events. You lay on the sled headfirst, face-down, and go as fast as you can down the track.

Ski Jumping. Again, only for men. But this one is being avidly lobbied for women as well. This year there was small hill, large hill, and Team large hill. Small Hill is 260-330 foot markings, Large Hill is 390-430 feet markings, and Team gives each of the 4 members 2 jumps each.

Snowboarding. Half-pipe, Snowboard Cross, and parallel Giant Slalom. Half-pipe is the giant curved slope they go down and perform tricks at the top of each side. Snowboard Cross is a race where they go down 4 at a time in bumps and other crazy terrains. Parallel Giant Slalom is two snowboarders going down at the same time, zigzagging through the gates.

Speed Skating. 5oom, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m for men and women. Men also have a 10,000m. The track is big, like a 400m oval instead of the 111m oval in short track. And a team pursuit.

So, this is really only a basic run-down. There's a lot about scoring I didn't include, but my main goal was just to distinguish the different events from one another, and help everyone to understand a little bit about them. Hope I helped! :)

Favorite Episodes: Lincoln Heights

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Since I found out last week that Lincoln Heights will not be returning for a fifth season, I've been kinda sad. This is the first show that I can honestly say I watched from beginning to end with the intention to do so. Most of the time, I latch onto a show after it's been on for a while, and I can actually say that I was hooked on this one since I first saw the commercials for it. Not really sure why ABCfamily went back and decided not to produce a fifth season, but at least that's one less thing on my television agenda. It was a short run, just 43 episodes across four "seasons," but many episodes had merit. Let's look at my favorites...

Season 1: "Missing." After Lizzie was abducted, the entire family undergoes therapy. Eddie's partner (who was in the hospital after being hit by a car) disappears, and there's a concern about his motives when we find out Lund's brother is in jail. Charles' old girlfriend shows up, and Cassie gets jealous. Here's a video someone spliced together of the scenes with Charles and Cassie.


Season 2: "Flashpoint." In the season opener, race riots break out at ALL of the schools. Everyone gets separated (except for Lizzie and Tay, who are stuck in a computer lab with no food), and problems with cell phones are everywhere. It's a crazy episode. I can't find anything video-wise on this one. :(

Season 3: "Sex, Lies, and Secrets." Cassie and Charles have sex at school (after hours) and it ends up on the internet. The Suttons host the new reverend and his family for dinner, and Cassie finds out the reverend's daughter is a lesbian. Tay finds out about Cassie and Charles. Oh, and Sage wakes up from the coma she's been in for months. The entire episode is found below.






Season 4: "Persons of Interest." In the aftermath of the earthquake, the cops are still trying to figure out how Mac died. Charles freaks out and runs away, but comes back. Then, when the police are coming to search his apartment, he hides $100,000 at Sage's place, so now she knows about the money he took from the Suttons' house. Lizzie isn't getting along too well at high school, and sends a malicious text message in an attempt to get in with a mean girl crowd (but in her mind, something's better than nothing). Similarly, here's 4 of the 5 parts, because something's better than nothing. ;)

MTV's Teen Mom

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So I covered the first season of 16 and Pregnant pretty thoroughly when it was on last year. I tried not to watch Teen Mom initially, mostly because my favorite mother (Ebony) wasn't on the spin-off. But, I ended up watching a few episodes one afternoon when nothing else was on, and with my DVR it was easy to catch up on the other episodes, since MTV replays their stuff a lot.

I'm talking about the entire season in one entry, since I didn't watch the episodes in order, anyway.

Maci, Ryan, & Bentley. The season started on a happy note with an engagement and wedding planning. But by the end, they were separated with no hope for reconciliation. Maci went from college courses to online courses to dropping out to planning to return to courses this semester. Ryan is having a lot of issues in life, and doesn't seem to care a whole lot about not spending time with Bentley. I think that it was really weird at the football tailgating that Ryan and Maci joke about getting married and divorcing at the same time.

Catelynn & Tyler. At first I wasn't sure about the choice to put them on the spin-off, since they did give up their daughter, Carly, for adoption. Therefore, the issues surrounding them mostly dealt with their parents (remember, technically they were stepsiblings) disapproving of their choice to give up Carly to parents better suited to care for her. They got engaged at the end of the season, and I think it's time to officially kick them off the show (it did get renewed for another season), they don't fit in with the project, I don't think. I thought it was interesting that Tyler's mom collects his and Catelynn's cell phones at 10pm.But I also don't understand how they have no shame in their affection toward one another in front of Tyler's mom. Catelynn's random call to Teresa was also strange... and I think that definitely should have been shown during the regular season, since the throughline of her still being on the show is the whole "mothering at a distance" crap. Oh, and last thing... they should have showed her kidney stones/pregnancy scare in the regular season as well. Especially since at the season wrap-up, Dr. Drew talks to Amber about her potential second pregnancy being a unique issue, when, in fact, it is not. Why ignore Catelynn in favor of Amber? And, more interestingly, since Catelynn and Tyler have pointed out that they think they could have taken care of Carly, if she got pregnant again, just a year after her first child's birth, would they keep that baby??

Farrah & Sophia. Farrah went through some maturity issues, and her parents were really lenient as she began birth control and also wanted to go clubbing until 2am. Farrah's still really looking for a man in her life, and isn't getting far. She does have a future laid out, and she seems to be doing okay in culinary management from the way the season ended. Sophia seems to be one of the more docile children out of the remaining four, which is amusing since she's the one who probably gets the most attention, still having grandparents around all the time and all. I was surprised in Farrah's pessimism toward finding a life partner at all. OMG, grow up and get out of IOWA!! I also think that her goal of moving out on her own this year is a little unrealistic considering she mentions that even after she finishes this program, she wanted to go for a Bachelor's in Business. That one boy she was dating, Cole, was wearing an FSU shirt, which was of interest perhaps only to me, LoL. Oh, and Farrah didn't seem that surprised at all that her parents were divorcing. And shed doesn't seem to care that Michael's leaving, despite the fact that it seemed like she got along with him better than the mom for a long time. I think that the scene where Farrah is acting responsibly in front of her friend Amberly was left off the regular season because it doesn't fit in with Farrah's "character." The show wanted to keep showing her as playful and inconsiderate until the end of the season, and the idea that she wasn't going to party at the college and leave Sophia behind just didn't fit the image.

Amber, Gary, & Leah. I think this family became my favorite out of this season. They went from engaged and living together to being separated to being back together. Amber still doesn't have her GED and got a job very late in the season, as a receptionist at a spa or something similar. I do want to point out that Amber was one of the girls who could have continued her schooling while pregnant because of the timing but she chose to quit then... and now is pissed she can't have a real high school diploma. And, Amber's on depression medication. Her father's dying. She and Gary had gotten to the physical abuse level. Oh, but wait... she MIGHT be pregnant again. Yep. Her and the 25% of the other teenage moms who get pregnant a second time within two years of their first child. So, Amber "lost" her engagement ring, bought another, then made Gary propose a second time??!? But, her first one was from WalMart, and her second one is from KMart, so at least it's a half-step up, haha. AND, Amber's dreams of beauty school being put on hold because she hasn't finished her GED yet should have been in the regular season... it would have helped viewers to understand her freakouts and depression over the GED thing.

What exactly is a "potential teen mom" ?? is that someone who is already pregnant and trying to decide if she should keep it? Is it someone who might become pregnant, purposely or unintentionally? I thought it was a strange turn of phrase that "Dr. Drew" used when referring to some of the viewers of the program.

And now that a second season of 16 and Pregnant is starting, when that ends, how will Teen Mom continue? The current idea is that the second season of Teen Mom will focus on the original girls on their second year of motherhood, so does that mean they'll come up with another show to follow the new 16 and Pregnant girls in their first year of motherhood?

Olympic Coverage Trumps Primetime

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Sunday:
The Simpsons (S21E12): I thought that Marge and Homer's parallel date-night rituals were amusing. funny parody with Real Housewives of Shelbyville. nice dig at Ben Affleck, too. Curling, AWESOME, haha. and haha on Bart's "two letters and a conference before a home visit" comment to Skinner. Funny story about Skinner's mom pole vaulting, hehe. Lisa's obsession was interesting, and Bart's genius in getting back her pearls was awesome. Great Harry Potter joke, too. Overall, it was cool to have an Olympics episode.

Family Guy (S08E12): funny opening with Starlight Express. Stewie's backne joke was weird. And his need to dig a hole for half of his head so he could sleep on his side was funny. And I'm not going to comment on the rest of the show.

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother: not new this week

House, M.D.: not new this week.

Cake Boss: not new this week.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (S02E19): I can't believe they played that darn Taylor Swift song again. And, more importantly, who STARTS a dance party with "The Chicken Dance" ?? And the girls know that they gossip, so why would they think that their mothers wouldn't gossip? And I was gonna say, "what with all of the parents getting (re)married??" but then when Anne admits to Amy and Ashley that she just wanted to fit in with the crowd, it just seems ridiculous. Oh, and glad that we finally find out why we're having this whole Mother-Daughter dance thing... the counselor's grandmother and great aunt used to dance with their mother at home, and those memories are what kept up their spirits during the horrors of being in a concentration camp. Not sure why any of this was necessary, but since I don't think the counselor's character is necessary in general, I guess that half-explains that.

Tuesday:
Table for 12: no idea. and not sure why not.

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

16 and Pregnant (S02E01): Started out at 34 weeks, which is a strange place to start, but they did cover a little bit of backstory throughout the episode, so that kinda worked. She was a dummy, going off birth control because they got into a fight for a few days. And I don't understand why Jenelle thought that that magically Andrew would move down there, they'd move in together, and they'd have a car... all without either of them working. "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I can't go out" was the motto of this girl... and it continues even after she had her baby. And then she was too tired to help her mom clean up form the baby shower, but she still went out with her friends. Even after she realizes that her babydaddy is an irresponsible alcoholic, she still wants him in her and the baby's lives for a while... what?? I'm glad that her friend Lauren managed to ask the true questions. Andrew was sweet at the hospital and all, but it doesn't seem like her labor was the worst ever compared to the girls last season... they mentioned hers only lasted 12 hours. I thought it was interesting that they taught her how to change a diaper... I know breastfeeding lessons is common, but didn't realize that you weren't expected to know how to diaper beforehand. And then she goes and rolls her eyes when her mom asks her to change her own son! And how did he "randomly drop his feelings for her" ?? Maybe it was the jailtime talking, LoL. AND, she was excited for the kid to start day care at just three weeks old so she could get back to "focusing on her social life" and let her see her friends and hang out after school for a while before her mom brings the baby home from daycare. Speaking of the mom, she called Jayce (not sure of the spelling, I never saw it captioned) "it" frequently, which bothered me. And the whole idea of Jenelle hanging out with two friends she hadn't seen in a while, etc.... how many friends does this girl have??!? Apparently she only became more popular post-conception! Either way, when her friends point out the painstaking truth to her, she's just speechless, and just uses that whole, "I make time for myself" line over and over. And her message to others? "don't get pregnant til you get married and get a car." geez.

19 Kids and Counting (S04E03): I noticed the intro quite a bit today, and found it interesting that, of the 16 kids playing instruments in the opening, 13 are on violin (although Jennifer is on a fake violin), 1 on cello, one on harp, and one on guitar (Josh). Jordyn is too small to play yet, but there are two other Duggars not accounted for in that image. I thought at first that one would be JohnDavid, but he seems to be there. I'll look at it some more another time, and try to figure it all out a little more. JD and Joseph are at home... JD is doing the wrecker business, but it wasn't made clear what Joseph is doing... besides "holding down the fort," so I imagine that he's really lonely. It was nice to hear from Jana that JimBob did indeed lose 15-20 pounds, although he put it all back on again (likely due to nervous eating over poor baby Josie's situation). The only other strange thing was that, in the scenes with Jordyn walking, you can hear JimBob talking and encouraging her, but you can't actually see him, and it's clear he's not interacting directly with her.

AND, caught "Duggars in the Sky" (S03E28) thanks to me DVR, so I'm all caught up on this show. :) It was kinda plain. Neat stuff they got to do at the hockey game in Nashville. 16 of the 20 flew in the helicopter... most likely Josh, Michelle, Jennifer, and Jordyn. The aerial shots were kinda cool, but I hadn't realized how extremely large their basketball court was!!

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Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life"
Wipeout (summer)
Little People, Big World (April)
The Goode Family (watch it Monday nights at 10 on Comedy Central!!)
Lincoln Heights apparently, on January 29th, the network went back on a decision and decided not to renew this show. so I guess it's over. :(
South Park (next new episode will be on St. Patrick's Day, March 17)

25 Movies to see by Oscar Night!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Again, from Entertainment Weekly. They published a list of movies everyone should see. I've bolded the ones I've seen (six of the twenty-five), and made some comments about all of them.

Up in the Air. Planning to see it, but it might not happen in time.

Avatar

The Hurt Locker. Yeah, no. I don't think I'd care for it.

Precious. On my shortlist to see!

Inglourious Bastards. didn't care for it.

Invictus. nope again. not my style.

An Education. no need for stories like this in my life.

Up. delightful. but disappointing.

A Serious Man. for the most part, I hate subtitles. ergo, no go.

The Messenger. I don't do military films.

Julie & Julia. Loathed the ending. there were a bunch of parts I didn't care for. But overall, nice. I don't really want to see it winning any major award tho, LoL.

A Single Man. just doesn't sound interesting.

Crazy Heart. I don't do country music or alcoholics.

The Blind Side. I've been wanting to see this for SO LONG. I came close twice, but haven't seen it yet!

The Last Station. boo.to.Russian.biographies.

Nine. I think this one will have to wait until it's on DVD.

Star Trek. strangely enough, this is the only one on the list I saw the day it came out. not strange that I didn't catch any of the others that soon, but strange that I saw this one at all, let alone so soon in its run!

District 9. nope. I don't do aliens. or gore.

Fantastic Mr. Fox. I feel like I've been waiting a year to see this. but I haven't yet.

The Lovely Bones. Yeah, no. the plot just goes right by me.

(500) Days of Summer. this was nowhere near as good as it was made out to be. I kinda hated it, almost.

It's Complicated. mixed on this one. At first I didn't, then I did, now I'm ambivalent. we'll see how it goes, I guess.

The Young Victor. It's also hard to sell me on films dealing with royalty.

Bright Star. I don't see this one happening. bleh.

The Informant! maybe. it probably has the best odds of the films I'm not already planning on seeing.

Favorite Episodes: Home Improvement

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I do love this show. I've mentioned how cute I thought the actors were. I've named great holiday episodes multiple times. I've even taken note of how much I love their house.

Today, we look at my favorite episodes not already mentioned elsewhere on this blog. Season 5 and 7 are my favorite... 5 has a lot of funny ones, but I like the boys as they get older, so that's probably why 7 is interesting to me.

Season 1: "Off Sides." A very early episode in the series (#3), I found it hilarious when Jill gets a magician to babysit the boys while she and Tim go out. Not only must that have cost a fortune, but the fact that the guy locks himself in a trunk is downright hilarious. Tim's behavior at the restaurant is also amusing.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Season 2: "You're Driving Me Crazy, You're Driving Me Nuts." Time and Jill are on their way to a wedding, but end up in Ohio. Tim refuses to ask for directions, and things just keep getting worse.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Season 3: "Reality Bytes." Randy pretends to be 32 years old so he can have an internet romance. He even uses love letters that Tim wrote Jill long ago. However, the plan backfires when the woman shows up at the house. Plus, astronauts on Tool Time.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Season 4: "The Route of All Evil." Brad's paper route is too overwhelming for him, and he is contracting Mark to do his chores, and Randy to do his homework. It's only a matter of time before it all starts turning sour. This one does not seem to be online for some reason.

Season 5: "A Taylor Runs Through It." Jill is supposed to give a speech at her cousin's wedding, so she's busy writing and stressing about it. Tim wants to have a fun vacation with the boys, so they're running around fishing, playing golf, and having a good time. Jill joins in the merriment, and gets hurt.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

"Chicago Hope" was a close runner-up. That's the one where Tim and Jill go to Chicago, but Tim has meetings to be in while he's supposed to be spending time with Jill.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Season 6: "Whose Car is it Anyway?" Jill decides to buy a car with the money she inherits. She purposely chooses a British one so Tim can't work on it, and she won't let him drive it, either. But he takes it without her knowledge, and ends up with his photo in the paper. This one apparently isn't online, either.

Season 7: "Losing My Religion." Randy volunteers at a hospice center, and that causes him to question what he believes. Tim freaks out about his son not wanting to attend church services. AND, Wilson plays a clown. :-D Drat, no video here, either.

Runner-up in this season is "Tim 'The Landlord' Taylor," since I think Tim being Al's landlord is pretty funny. And Brad and Randy fighting over shirt style is hilarious. and nada on a video clip.

Season 8: "Chop Shop 'Til You Drop." When Brad's first car gets stolen, Tim and Al go undercover to expose a chop shop. Al recognizes the manifold because of the jelly his donut dripped on it during Tool Time. not online as far as I can tell.

It seems that the early episodes are much easier to find than the later ones. I kinda have a theory on that, but I'm not going to get into that, haha.

good & weird, really.

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Sunday:
The Simpsons: Super Bowl was on.

Family Guy: Super Bowl was on.

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother (S05E15): YES!! I love Ranjit episodes!! Robin got asked out by the other anchor ON THE AIR??!?!? "Teddy WestSide" ?????? that rabbit/duck thing got really old, realllllly fast. Barney's phone constantly ringing got really old, really fast, too. And I even called him twice the night before, on his SuperBowl number, not the one he had on this show. and WHY did he choose that ringtone anyway??!? omg I can't belive Don was naked!!

House, M.D. (S06E14): How does Cuddy NOT have an assistant?? A prescription for breast milk? And he knows a place to buy it? what the hell..... and I REALLY hate the angles of Cuddy's eyebrows in this one. And what's with the pharm tech, she's just ridiculous. And why was there a fight? And I couldn't believe she was about to resign. And I can't believe she got her 12%. And that happy ending was crap. I hope Cuddy never has her own episode again, and sure as hell not a spin-off, if that's what they were trying out with that.

Cake Boss (S02E17): Buddy makes such a sweet little promise to his daughter.. but really, how do you build a cake when you're on vacation? And why does she need a 3 foot castle on a cake?? Interesting comparison of convection ovens and rotating ovens. They're all over all the parks in this episode, so it's hard to believe it took place the way it did. There's no way they left the kitchen, hit at least two parks, and then went back. They're also getting special treatment, as they rode Thunder Mountain with nobody else. "Cereal treats" aren't really a standard item... so when Buddy said in the beginning he only needed basic ingredients, I'm not sure how rice crispies factored in... Back to fakeness... he didn't go out and see Jasmine and Mulan in the middle of building the castle. I guess you could say the editing worked out for a good story, but true Disney fans know there's no such way. ...the food and wine festival?? this was taped a while ago... that thing is over by November. AND, since he's doing this cannoli thing, I bet he didn't have to pull too many strings to just use the same kitchen longer to make the cake. They DROVE the shells down from NJ?? Was this the best method? They couldn't outsource their recipe like they did when they built the car last time? really?? they had "gold luster dust" at this place?? The two-tone castle looked strange to me. Sophia obviously went to the Bibbiti Boppiti Boutique and got the Cinderella hairstyle with the Belle dress and makeup, haha. Another small fact that only fans know.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (S02E18): hate Lauren's outfit in the beginning. And Amy's, for that matter. Who the hell practices kissing "just as a friend" ???? who does a mother/daughter dance? And why does this guidance counselor have to be so impossible? why on God's green Earth would Ricky's parents want to be witnesses to Adrian's parents' wedding? They've never met!! Ben looks like a beanpole next to Ricky in their work aprons. I'm tired of the George/Anne storyline. After all this time (at least 5 years), Madison's stepmother finally wants to talk? what the hell? It was really funny tho that Madison wanted to tell the woman every reason that she doesn't like her. Jac;s mother is really strange. Actually, I'm bored of all the parents. I want more storylines that are just the kids... there are enough of them on this show, for crying out loud! I swear, if Amy and Ricky start falling for each other now, I'm done. Why do all the girls WANT to go to this mother/daughter dance except for Ashley? What an awkward thing in general, I feel.

Tuesday:
Table for 12: no idea. and not sure why not.

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

19 Kids and Counting (S04E02): Anna seemed really happy to be talking about her daughter. Why does it look like they're getting dropped off at an elementary school, not an airport?? And why did Josh just leave the car there?? And did they also really get away with gate-checking all that crap? They shouldn't have been able to take that much carry-on without the baby having a ticket (and she didn't she rode as an infant-in-lap). Josh really does that side-hug thing too much. Interesting Anna tried to point out that she's glad they waited to kiss, but it almost gets cut off, and I thought that was strange. It certainly didn't look like they had packed enough to have those gifts with them, but I'm thinking either we didn't see everything or they had gifts shipped instead.

now only missing "Duggars in the Sky"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life," but since the show isn't running anymore, I decided to list it down here, instead of on my already-full Mondays.
Wipeout (summer)
Little People, Big World (April)
The Goode Family (watch it Monday nights at 10 on Comedy Central!!)
Lincoln Heights (no information available yet)
South Park (two more seasons are contracted, no start date yet for season 14)

Top 10 Snowy Episodes

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, since I'm sitting here snowed in in Pennsylvania, my husband actually suggested today's topic. But, for some reason, most of the episodes that I thought of with blizzards and snowstorms are Christmas episodes. It took me a while, but I finally found some that fit! Here are my favorite ten episodes in other snowy conditions!

10. Family Matters: "Just One Date." Steve has officially asked out Laura 1,000 times. He's at the point of desperation, and he decides to camp out on the Winslow roof... during a blizzard. Both parts are on Youtube, but here's the more relevant half (all you've missed is Steve's declaration that he's camping out):


9. Daria: "Antisocial Climbers." As per the usual with this show, they tried an atypical teaching method: field trip to the wilderness. Well, the boys pay more attention to Quinn than the supplies, and the principal cares more about publicity than safety. After everyone is trapped in a cabin, we find out that Daria's parents are also trapped in a different cabin. Both parts are on Youtube, here's the second half:


8. 3rd Rock from the Sun: "Frozen Dick." Dick and Mary are supposed to fly to Chicago for work. Dick freaks out and they have to drive. Then he freaks out because it starts snowing, and wrecks the car. So, he and Mary are snowed in at a truck stop. This is the first time the main four see snow on Earth, so they all respond really differently. All three parts are on youtube, here's the middle section:


7. The Simpsons: "Skinner's Sense of Snow." Skinner keeps the school open, and students still go, but not the teachers. So Skinner and Willie show the kids a bad movie, and end up getting trapped inside. Skinner becomes a drill sergeant in making the kids do what he wants. Homer and Flanders try to rescue the kids, but end up frozen in their car, passed out. Skinner eventually gets trapped by the kids, and sends out a hamster for help. it's a strange episode, not gonna lie. Simpsons episodes are not on youtube, but I found it on another site. The first 4 minutes aren't snowy.

6. Everybody Loves Raymond: "Snow Day." Ray, Debra, and Amy are stuck at Frank and Marie's during a snowstorm. They're all having a good time until Debra accidentally insults Frank, and that's when Marie decides to tell the truth about how she feels about Debra. I could only find it in other languages, haha.

5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show: "The Snow Must Go On." It's election night and Mary is stuck broadcasting her first show: the results. However, the results aren't coming in, and the show must stay on until the results are in. This one's on hulu.

4. Family Ties: "Birth of a Keaton." Everyone goes to the station to help with an annual telethon. However, things take a turn for the worse when Elyse goes into labor on-air. Steven, a plumber, and Skippy try to make it to the hospital, but eventually Elyse just pleads on TV for them to come back to the station. This is only part 1, sadly. The good stuff's in part 2.

3. King of Queens: "Ice Cubed." Carrie goes out to buy an ipod, isn't charged correctly, and ends up stuck at a church waiting out the storm with an ethical dilemma on her hands. Meanwhile, Doug is delivering packages in the storm, and gets invited in by a couple who are about to invite her father to live with them... just like Arthur. Part 1 and Part 2.

2. How I Met Your Mother: "Three Days of Snow." Ted and Barney are in charge of MacLaren's during a storm, and end up partying with a college marching band. Marshall and Lily deal with keeping traditions alive when he makes Robin drive him to the airport in a snowstorm while she goes all over trying to find a microbrew for him. In the end, the marching band shows up at the airport as well. It's all a bit more complicated, but I can't find a video of any of it anyway. :(

1. Friends: "The One With Phoebe's Wedding." Phoebe and Mike are getting married during a snowstorm. The officiant can't make it, so Joey fills in. Therefore, Chandler fills in for Joey in walking Phoebe down the aisle. Ross is stuck holding a stinky dog. Meanwhile, many other things go wrong, but tyrant Monica saves the day. It's all on Youtube, but here's the part that deals with the snowstorm:


Honorable Mention: The Simpsons: "Mr. Plow." Some may argue that this definitely deserved to be in the top ten, but I didn't want to repeat any shows, and I like "Skinner's Sense of Snow" much better than this one, although it is the more memorable and iconic of the two episodes. You can find it here.

Favorites Episodes: Doogie Howser, M.D.

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is turning out to be a really fun series to write. I've even started writing my Frasier one, which won't be posted for several weeks, as I'm currently in Season 8 of making my way through from start to finish. Today, I chose Doogie Howser, M.D. to write about, which is intriguing to me because I didn't see it in first-run at all. I watched the entire series on Hulu during the week after my surgery in 2008. I'm kinda glad I waited to watch it, since I have such admiration for Neil Patrick Harris after his work in Assassins, How I Met Your Mother, and Dr. Horrible, for starters.

I chose today to do this specific entry because I "called" NPH last night during the Super Bowl. Twice. Yes, I got a Barney Stinson message, and I allegedly have a date with him at 3:45am on Monday, October 12th, 2016 at MacLaren's. I have no idea how many people called in, and I do look forward to a joke about it showing up on tonight's How I Met Your Mother (even though it's apparently a Valentine's Day episode). It was a fun little thing to do, and very Barney, haha.

Anyway, back to Doogie. Season 4 is easily my favorite, even if it contains those really strange literary/historical episodes that are just plain weird. The pilot episode is an interesting start, as is the premise of a child prodigy doctor who eventually ends up wondering if medicine was actually his calling. Here we go:

Season 1: Use a Slurpy. Go to Jail. Doogie and Vinnie are held hostage in a convenience store. Link to Hulu ep.

Season 2: Car Wars. Doogie wants to buy a '57 Chevy, but his dad doesn't think its a good idea. Link to Hulu ep.

Season 3: Doogstruck. Vinnie and Doogie are driving through the desert to visit Wanda. But the car breaks down and Doogie meets a new woman. Link to Hulu ep.

Season 4: Doogie Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Doogie moves into an old, crappy loft instead of a nice condo. Vinnie's parents are divorcing. Link to Hulu ep.

Meet Josie Duggar!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Sunday:
The Simpsons (S21E11): back. Burns fought for the Nazis?? Twizzler ball was gross. The people around Homer in the store made a funny train. But I'm still really confused as to why the line at the convenience store was so long... and the cops not going after Homer because he was "going so fast he doesn't have time for a ticket." Marge's little ditty was lame by herself. hahaha, the home of the ruler that tells you how tall your robber was, hahaha. the gifts were super awesome, especially in how they were hidden, LoL. Lisa's little side plot was kinda cute... old people and wiis, haha. But the end to it with the workers ruining it sucked. The flowers were cute. Cool that we got to see Coldplay for a minute. I thought that the weird guy who crashed his car was random, but it was later pointed out to me that he was a fan-created character... so I'm not sure if they really just killed him off after just a few seconds, or if he'll be back. Kinda a shame if he's gone already.

Family Guy (S08E11): Mayor West's branding on Meg was disturbing. I wasn't a big fan of the graphicness of the bull raping Peter. Who the H3LL does a penpal project with a prison in high school??!? The fly trying to get out the window was pretty funny.

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother (S05E14): I couldn't believe how poorly Ted handled having a student with a name like "Cook Pu." :( Ew on the toothbrush issue. I liked the Barney/Ted, Pitcher/Catcher jokes. Nothing too notable about the rest of the show.

House, M.D. (S06E13): Interesting that Foreman's brother is working for House, haha. And the opossum in the bathtub was crazy. Is it just me, or is Wilson's acting fading? Maybe it was just the role he played in this episode. There were some bad (read: racist) jokes in this one, too. And what's up with House's morals this episode? Like with the army kid. geez. How do you make someone else's sprinklers go off, LoL? I couldn't believe how Foreman spiked the kid's water!! Where did his ethics go?? Lucas is so weird... and made such a good point. I couldn't believe that the kid was willing to lose his foot so he wouldn't have to go back overseas. This is why you never sign up for the armed services in the first place... they lie and you get screwed.

Little People, Big World: we're off for a couple months.

Cake Boss: Sunday Special: 30 pounds of butter and 60 pounds of cream cheese in a batch? Um, I think my husband would love this cake, LoL. 2400 half sheets is 12,000 pounds of cake.... good gracious. I wonder how he's connected to the Johnson & Wales in North Carolina... maybe it was at the suggestion of the locals at the convention. Olive Oil, Tomatoes, Onions, Basil... sounds good to me! But why is Buddy making sauce?? I love how they got in a fight in front of the Amish horse and buggy guy. It was cool to see Frankie in charge, meeting with a customer, etc. Wow, Buddy was gone for like 4 days on this... that's a while! 20 people took 6 hours to stack it??!? I hate Mary, she's always ruining stuff. 50 YARDS of fondant?? I can't even begin to imagine driving 175 miles per hour!!! LoL on Buddy's really generic pep talk on fixing the front of the car. I kinda thought they should have used cereal treats in the beginning, LoL. If all the cakes have to be ordered like 3 weeks or more in advance, was this mannequin cake a last-minute deal or something?

Regular Monday (S02E16): the aquarium people really had no thoughts, LoL. "vanilla with.... vanilla?" as if she was afraid to say that, LoL. The 3D model looked pretty cool. Buddy and Frankie in the shark tank was interesting. I've swam with sharks before (Big Pine Key, FL), it's definitely the experience of a lifetime! ... 110" by 40" .... why so big?? Especially since they have to build it in the oven room to do this... isn't that problematic, like the fondant and stuff would melt?? I'm finally getting a handle on everyone's names, not just the main few, LoL. The isolmalt is always cool, and the coral looked pretty sweet. It took me a little bit to realize when Buddy meant by "turtle cake turtle" LoL, but once he started making the caramel I figured it out. How did they make the baby carriage cake without any of the other guys seeing it? We know they're a nosy group, LoL. This really was one of the most amazing cakes I've ever seen. "600 pounds, easy" ?? I can't seem to understand why they use such heavy props and tables... there's gotta be a better way to do those things, LoL. It's interesting that this time Buddy pointed out how great it is that there's a ton of kids in the family so the bakery can live on... but other times he's said how he'd never want his kids to live the lives of bakers.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (S02E17): how come we never hear the random kids saying things about Amy? Everyone knows she had a baby at 15, so there's bound to be comments by others, regardless of how much you want to pretend everyone's okay with it. The idea that all teenage girls carry around a condom in their purse is ridiculous... but omg is it actually true?? Have things changed THAT much in ten years?? How can Amy have no feelings left for Ben? They were really close for a long time, who gets over that so quickly?? Ben's house has a SCREENING ROOM?? This house must be much bigger than previously thought. Glad that Betty is back, it was weird to have her missing from the storyline for a few episodes. Do teenagers in California really all have to drive themselves places? Nobody is allowed to carpool? So weird. And strange for a state that is so obsessed with emissions and the like. It's getting extremely annoying how much everyone lies in this show. Lust is also getting in the way... the pizza boy instantly being in love with Ashley is stupid. Ashley's really good about not putting herself alone with a boy in the house, impressive. Ricky's place looks much bigger than before, not sure how he got so much room already. Maria last week and Grace this week? What the heck is up with Ben??!? OF COURSE Jimmy sees the condom, that's what happens. That's a good reason NOT to have a condom in your purse!! Wait, this Jesse kid can drive with three other people in the car? If he's 18, I'm surprised that Lauren's dad is letting them date. And when will Molly Ringwald lose the bangs? She's way prettier without them. Alice and Henry/Hank stayed out ALL NIGHT with a chauffeur? geez. Why are there so many "A" names on this show?? Alice, Amy, Ashley, Adrian, Anne... kinda obscene. And Amy thinking it's unfair for Ben to go out with Grace but it's okay for her to go out with Jimmy is stupid. Boys get passed around, fact of life. Adrian has a very strange outlook on her parents getting married. But they're weird by themselves, LoL. And why didn't Adrian call her parents and tell them she was spending the night? That would have stopped them from being angry in the morning, and it might have gotten her a ride home that evening to stop Amy from being angry with her and Ricky. And, of course, Moose impregnates a dog. What are the odds, haha? But, why was the woman upset that the dog wasn't neutered? Obviously, her dog (or her sister's, whatever) wasn't, either. And so it's certainly a mutual fault in that case.

Tuesday:
Table for 12: this is off-air again, and there's not even any showing up in the next two weeks... I don't get why they don't show the reruns of this show during the day like they seem to with many of the other TLC shows.

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

19 Kids and Counting:
Sunday Special: I love the new beginning. Some of the kids look like they've grown up a LOT since last season's start. The older girls seemed to have a good understanding of everything that was going on, which was good (and almost impressive). Poor Anna is looking exhausted, makes me wonder how much Josh does to help her with their daughter. Interesting that the older kids (minus Josh) still all went on the trip. It really demonstrates their leadership in making it work. But being out of the country when their mother was doing so poorly must have been hard. JimBob is looking like he put on weight again.

Normal Tuesday (S04E01): Started on December 10th, with a very similar intro as to the Sunday special, really emphasizing the NICU and seriousness of it all. It was a little more involved, but a lot of the same footage was used for the first five minutes or so. This was also the first episode I ever watched in HD... JimBob's face isn't that pretty, LoL. Michelle's hair in 1994 was crazy, LoL. Interesting how they went from everybody buys everybody to grouping Secret Santas... Older Boys, Older Girls, and the younger kids. I was curious as to where Joy would go in this mix, but the question was answered when she said she was in charge of buying for Michelle. know that the parents call them "little kids" and "big kids" but when the announcement went over the intercom that "whatever little kids are available..." I was a little surprised... but at the same time, I call my siblings (collectively) "the kids" when I'm talking to other people, but not to them! LoL. Jill wanted the policemen's signatures?? What?? Jana straightened her hair... interesting change. Did Michelle and JimBob even get a chance to see Jordyn for her first birthday?? And they admitted to lying to their parents, haha... they said they would say they were going to do interviews, and they'd go take pictures, haha!!

Also caught "Duggar on a Diet (S03E13)," thanks to my DVR. :) It was interesting that the camera guy's daughters were there. I finally saw the infamous scene where Michelle fed Jordyn while the baby was lying down... I still don't understand that decision, but I don't have 20 years of experience feeding babies, LoL. Jim Bob saying over and over that Michelle told him it was time got annoying. Jana joined "years ago" which was interesting, makes me wonder how she paid her dues, since it's not cheap (we heard the woman tell JimBob $10.50/week with discounts), and she doesn't have an outside job that we've ever heard about. I also wonder if maybe Jana originally joined to have some "alone time" with mom, haha.

now only missing "Duggars in the Sky"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life," but since the show isn't running anymore, I decided to list it down here, instead of on my already-full Mondays.
Wipeout (summer 2010)
The Goode Family (watch it Monday nights at 10!!)
Lincoln Heights (no information available yet)
South Park (two more seasons are contracted, no start date yet for season 14)

Oscar Nominations & Thoughts

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I did this last year, and it sparked some interesting conversation and deep thinking, so I figured I'd do it again. The nominations came out this week, and it's very different, since there can now be 10 nominations
Keep in mind that I see a lot of movies that don't get nominated for squat, so my commentary is different from others you'll read, I'm sure.

Best Motion Picture of the Year :
- Avatar
- The Blind Side
- District 9
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Precious
- A Serious Man
- Up
- Up in the Air
Last year at this point I hadn't seen any of the nominees. At least I've seen 3 this year, and am actively trying to see 3 more. I'll pick Avatar... you know, since that's the "obvious" choice.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role :
- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
- George Clooney for Up in the Air
- Colin Firth for A Single Man
- Morgan Freeman Invictus
- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Haven't seen any of these, but I love George Clooney and he's been getting good reviews, so I go with him.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role :
- Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
- Helen Mirren for The Last Station
- Carey Mulligan for An Education
- Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
- Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia
I did Netflix Julie & Julia, but I don't think it's gonna win the Oscar in this category. I'm torn between voting for Sandra Bullock or Gabourey Sidibe, since both roles have gotten a lot of press for the actresses' efforts. I think I'll push a little more for Sidibe, since I actually don't care for Bullock, personally.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role :
- Matt Damon for Invictus
- Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
- Christopher Plummer Hoffman for The Last Station
- Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
- Christopher Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
I'm not thrilled with these options. at all. I vote for Matt Damon because he's generally some good eye candy. ;)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role :
- Penelope Cruz for Nine
- Vera Farminga for Up in the Air
- Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart
- Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
- Mo'Nique for Precious
I never realized that Mo'Nique didn't use a last name. And I hate that. So she's out. I go with Anna Kendrick because (like I mentioned last year) I hate Penelope Cruz. And I'm not familiar with who Farminga is. And I know there's been some confused folk over Maggie's nomination.

Best Achievement in Directing :
- James Cameron for Avatar
- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
- Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
- Lee Daniels for Precious
- Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Um, James Cameron. Duh.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen :
- The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
- Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
- The Messenger (Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman)
- A Serious Man (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
- Up (Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy)
I go with Up. It was a very cute storyline, and even if I didn't agree with everything in the film, it was well-done.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published :
- District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell)
- An Education (Nick Hornby)
- In The Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche)
- Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher)
- Up in the Air (Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner)
I go with Precious, since it's gotten a lot of press in EW about the novel, etc.

Best Achievement in Cinematography :
- Avatar
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- The White Ribbon
I haven't heard of The White Ribbon, and Harry Potter never wins anything. So, Avatar it is.

Best Achievement in Editing
- Avatar
- District 9
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Precious
I chose not to pick a winner last time, since this is an area where I am unqualified to render an opinion. But, this year, I'm taking into consideration some advice that I received. I'm thinking about pacing within the film, and how abrupt scene changes are... and with 24 frames in a single second of a movie, that's a LOT of potential editing. I'm not going to go with Avatar, since nothing stood out for me in that. And I hated Inglourious Basterds too much to consider it for anything, really. So, blindly choosing here... District 9.

Best Achievement in Art Direction :
- Avatar
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
- Nine
- Sherlock Holmes
- The Young Victoria
Again, I love this category. I vote Sherlock Holmes, as it intrigued me more than Avatar did in this area.

Best Achievement in Costume Design :
- Bright Star (Janet Patterson)
- Coco Before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme)
- Nine (Colleen Atwood)
- The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)
Again, this is a category where I'm definitely qualified to judge, but I haven't seen any of the four films (and have never heard of Bright Star or The Young Victoria). I don't even remember trailers for any of the films except Nine, so I got with that by default.

Best Achievement in Makeup :
- Il Divo
- Star Trek
- The Young Victoria
I choose Star Trek, again by default. I've not heard of the other two, let alone seen anything about them.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score :
- Avatar (James Horner)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
- The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders)
- Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)
- Up (Michael Giacchino)
Sherlock Homes, an easy one. Love Hans Zimmer, loved the soundtrack in the film.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song :
- The Princess and the Frog - Randy Newman ("Almost There")
- The Princess and the Frog - Randy Newman ("Down in New Orleans")
- Paris 36 - Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas ("Loin de Paname")
- Nine - Maury Yeston ("Take it All")
- Crazy Heart - Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett ("The Weary Kind")
Tricky one. Haven't heard any of them in full, but I like the commercials that include "Down in New Orleans," so I am choosing that one. Plus, I love New Orleans. :)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing:
- Avatar
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Star Trek
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Um, this one is hard. I actually saw four of these. Star Trek comes to mind, but not sure why. I thought Transformers was good in sound, but maybe notasmuch.

Best Achievement in Sound Editing :
- Avatar
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Star Trek
- Up
This was another category that I abstained from choosing last year. But this year, I vote Up. It needed a lot of work in this area, I think, and it was well done.

Best Achievement in Visual Effects :
- Avatar
- District 9
- Star Trek
Avatar is gonna take the cake on this one. Easy. I'd be super-surprised if it did not.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year :
- Coraline
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- The Princess and the Frog
- The Secret of Kells
- Up
Um. shhhh. don't tell anyone, but I've only seen one of these. But I'm voting for Fantastic Mr. Fox, since that is the one out of this list that I still reallllly want to see.

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year :
- Ajami (Israel)
- El Secreto de sus Ojos (Argentina)
- The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
- Un Prophete (France)
- The White Ribbon (Germany)
From last year: "I don't really do foreign films. Every one I've seen (with subtitles), I've hated. And I'm talking films like Pan's Labyrinth and Amelie, both of which ended up being loved by so many. Yeah, I can't stop hating them. And that's all there is to say about that."

Best Documentary Feature :
- Burma VJ
- The Cove
- Food, Inc.
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
- Which Way Home
I'm going with Food, Inc. as I've heard great things and it's on my Netflix list. ;)

Best Documentary Short Subject :
- China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
- The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
- The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
- Music by Prudence
- Rabbit a la Berlin
haven't heard of any of these, but The Last Truck sounds like it would be an interesting subject, hehe.

Best Animated Short Film :
- French Roast
- Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
- The Lady and the Reaper (La Dame y la Muerte)
- Logorama
- A Matter of Loaf and Death
I choose the last one, based on the title, and the fact that it's Wallace & Grommit.

Best Live Action Short Film :
- The Door
- Instead of Abracadabra
- Kavi
- Miracle Fish
- The New Tenants
um, I have no idea. Instead of Abracadabra sounds like fun.

Let's see if I can do better with these selections this year... after all, I only got 10 out of 24 last year, so let's go for half, hehe.