Happy 5th Birthday!

Today marks five years of posts on this site. Way back on this date in 2008, I was watching a Cheers rerun while surfing Monster.com, Craigslist, and the like for a job. I was a few months out of grad school and a few weeks from landing a job as a researcher. A lot has changed over the past half-decade, and we went from 89 posts in the first year to closing in on 1900 over the past four years. Not every article you read is from me anymore, as we have three other writers with various specialties - and our cartoon guy has recently returned!

I remember a lot of firsts. I remember the first time over 100 people hit in a single day. I remember when I had a solid month of 100+ hits every day. I remember the first time I got 1,000 hits in a day. I remember the first time I had 30 people on the site at the same time. I remember the first time someone sent me a link to something where TheTalkingBox was quoted. I remember the first time a publicist reached out and offered me exclusives in exchange for publicity. I remember my first screeners. I remember the first time someone else in "the biz" contacted me about growing the site. I remember the first month we had a hit from every state in the US.

We've had 600+ posts that aren't recaps and remarks, and a few make the list of Our Ten Most Popular Posts of All Time, though most of those slots belong to the articles folks search for to find out what happened and what we thought about various episodes. Let's take a quick look at the posts in that list...

Deal or No Deal
Who's Who on Season Three of Cake Boss' The Next Great Baker 
Giveaway: Hunger Games Poster! 
Futurama: October, Germany, and Neanderthals
New Competitions: Bridalplasty & The Next Great Baker
Hot in Cleveland: Meet Joy's Grandson 
Next Great Baker: Final Predictions
Favorite Episodes: Roseanne
NEW SHOW: Abby & Brittany
Cake Boss: Car Cake for Danica Patrick

The biggest surprise? Half of those posts are about shows on TLC, a network that covers a very wide variety of programming, with dozens of shows we never cover.

When I started, I didn't think about where this site would be in five years. Now, it's still tough to imagine what might change between now and 2018, but we hope to be here and doing even more!

Rather than list more accolades and milestones, I'll just throw out another THANK YOU, especially to the readers who never come to the site but read loyally over various means (like Google Currents!), and hope that you choose to celebrate our birthday by passing on a favorite article to a friend.

Season Finale: Abby & Brittany Start Teaching!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, it was a short summer season, but Abby & Brittany Hensel are once again left to their private lives off-screen. Fortunately, the girls were able to find work in their field, albeit part-time for now. This episode looks at how they prepare to lead in the classroom and what their new living situation will be for the foreseeable future. I wish them all the best and hope that they continue to check-in from time to time.

TLC

Abby & Brittany "The Real World" (S01E08): Abby and Brittany have landed a job teaching 4th and 5th grade math, so they go check out a teacher supply store with another friend who has found a teaching position. [Their mom explaining that one wanted to be a pilot and the other a dentist when they were really young was interesting!] We hear a little from Brittany about how she really would have liked to focus on younger kids but math ed was their compromise because it's the most marketable. We hear about how HR had to figure out how they'd do their contracts and that the school did decide to send out letters in advance so that parents weren't taken by surprise. Later, they go to a coffeeshop and run into their favorite high school teacher, who gives them some advice about classroom management. [I thought this couldn't possibly be coincidental, but maaaaybe...] They don't have to be at the school until 10pm. [we see more of how they style their hair. I thought that was a really casual outfit for the first day of school, though!]

We see the girls move into their new place, which they paint. Then they have movers deliver their stuff but they bring it into the house themselves. [I didn't completely follow that, but okay.] They face the fact that they're going to be living off of a salary now won't work completely, and while Abby hopes that their parents will help them out until they're married, their mother says that she's really only covering their health insurance at this point. [haha!]

Abby & Brittany: Summer's Over

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Again, I'm not sure why the Hensel twins have their own television show. I love that we get to experience a little bit of how life is for them, but at the same time, it really is SO "normal" that there's not much to fuss about. Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to the finale next week where we'll see the girls preparing for their first teaching job, but I'm not sure that there's all that much to film without exploiting the ladies' lives after that. As the girls have mentioned in multiple episodes, they can't help but to attract attention, and they don't like how simple stories get skewed too quickly into things that they're not, so I don't imagine that we'll be getting too much more of Abby and Brittany, even if the ratings are high. Disagree?

Abby & Brittany "Big Moves" (S01E07): Summer is winding down and the girls have a friend visiting from London, Ritchie. [having him constantly talk about how the girls are like anyone else yet amazing was kinda awkward. and the girls getting lost driving home from the airport was kinda odd... though completely believable. Still, the "does anyone have a GPS?" thing was peculiar... were they addressing the crew?] He attends their Labor Day party, which consists of hanging around and playing some backyard volleyball. [I found it really weird that four girls who live together have the same outfit, so them all wearing it on the same day baffles me! Though, my best friend and I did buy matching outfits to wear to a Hawaiian-themed party once.] The girls also go to a friend's family cabin on a lake where they have fun on the water, even trying wakeboarding.

hollywoodlife.com

Back at home, their mother helps them pack up their college house and move home for three weeks before they'll move to a new place. [kinda neat that their Life magazine cover is blown up and framed in their parents' house!] Abby and Brittany are still on the job market, and talk about how they'll turn to substitute teaching if they don't have anything by October.

Abby & Brittany: Rome & Venice!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This episode made me think about why TLC decided to do a series on the Hensels. I mean, obviously that network prides itself on featuring people who live their lives differently from others (having multiple wives, having twenty children, being dwarfs, etc.), but aside from attracting attention everywhere they go and having to constantly coordinate with one another, Abby and Brittany are not as different from the average person in comparison with some of these other situations. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was nice seeing them go to Italy and do some once-in-a-lifetime things, but watching them ride in a gondola or on a Vespa (or visiting Chicago, Houston, and London) isn't that different from watching anyone else do it. The cooking scene was more interesting, as was the rowing in the previous episode, because you're witnessing teamwork to an extreme. I think that the more fascinating plot points occurred in learning about how the girls will negotiate a salary or team-teach, though perhaps another hour-long special would have been more appropriate for that. Regardless, I like the series and will continue to tune in as long as TLC produces the show, just because there are random tidbits that are thrown in that never would have crossed my mind otherwise.

Abby & Brittany "Italy" (S01E06): The girls leave London and head to Italy, where they'll spend time in Venice and Rome. The first major thing they do is a gondola ride, and they bring an umbrella to shield themselves from strangers' cameras. They take a ferry to an island to take a cooking lesson, where they learn to make gnocchi, ravioli, and tiramisu. [they really built up to the moment where they cut themselves shaving chocolate. I didn't really appreciate that. But, my stomach question from last week is answered! Their stomachs are a little on the small side, which is why they don't need two meals.]

TLC

They take a four-hour train ride to Rome, and head straight for some orange, pistachio, and peach gelato! [I found it odd that the owner brought over that book of celebrities who have visited the shoppe... was he wanting to get the girls' photo to add to it? Or was he just taking advantage of the cameras to boost his business?] Then they went to Trevi fountain, took a Vespa tour through the city, and see the Coliseum and the Vatican. We learn that Brittany isn't a big fan of motorcycles, jetskis, etc. [watching them try to use the water fountain was funny... but I'd be willing to bet I'd be just as bad at it!] 

NEW SHOW: Abby & Brittany

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So... longtime readers and personal friends know that twins fascinate me. All multiple births do, really, but twins are the most common and therefore the most intriguing for me. As such, it shouldn't really surprise you to find out that as soon as I heard that Abby and Brittany Hensel were going to have a television show, I was thrilled. See, I knew exactly who they were without seeing the many commercials TLC has aired. I was introduced to the duo back when they turned 16, as a special about them had aired, showing them taking the DMV test twice and discussing some of their everyday challenges. The girls specifically mentioned toward the end of the program that they didn't want to be filmed all of the time, so imagine my surprise when, six years later, they were back! I'm thrilled to be following the Hensel girls, even if just for eight episodes.

First, some basics about Abby & Brittany. They have two hearts, four lungs, two stomachs (on opposite sides, so they can't feel their own stomachaches!), and one reproductive system. Abby has the straighter hair and is on the right (she's 5'2") and Brittany has the crimpier hair and is on the left (she's 4'10"). They actually had to have spinal surgery at some point to keep their growths closer to equal. When they have coffee, Brittany gets jittery Abby doesn't. And, for those wondering when they "count" as one person versus two... they have individual social security numbers, have separate driver's licenses and passports, and applied for teaching certifications separately. They pay 1.5 tuition because they are getting two degrees but it's all the same classes and stuff. They only take up one seat on a plane or at a restaurant, so they only require one ticket, etc.


Abby & Brittany "22nd Birthday Bash" (S01E01): The girls are finishing up at Bethel University in Minneapolis, where they live in a house with seven roommates. [that's a LOT of roommates! I wonder if they were in a sorority? whoa... everyone wearing brown boots is weird!] They tend to share a dish when they go out to eat, otherwise it's too much food. [I don't get this part... they have two stomachs... but maybe digesting past that point is slower? Or maybe their stomachs are smaller than average?] The girls meet with a friend to plan their birthday party, then go shopping for decorations and food (they're having an ice cream bar!). All of their friends are amazed by the girls' ability to finish one another's thoughts. Brittany is the more laidback twin and Abby is more outspoken

Abby & Brittany "Spring Break, Here We Come!" (S01E02): It's March 2012 and the girls have been doing 40 hours of student-teaching each week, with one class on Mondays. [why did they pick up their caps and gown so early?] They've gotten resumes and applications out to several districts in the area, but they know that there are a lot of teachers out there without jobs so the competition is steep. For Spring Break, they fly to Houston with their mom and a friend to visit another woman, Tamara, with conjoined twins (though they've passed away). Tamara works in the school system and gets them an interview with two principals from different schools. To prepare, they look through some of Tamara's old teaching stuff for ideas, write their thank-you notes in advance, and then tell the viewers about their money perspectives - they can only teach one class, so they'll only get one salary, but because they can offer two different perspectives, have two degrees, and can monitor or grade while the other teaches, they can do more than one person can, so they would want to negotiate a higher salary after they get some experience. [though it's not the ideal situation, I think it's pretty reasonable.] They talk about the questions they were asked in the interviews and are very excited about a second interview. Other things they do on this trip include shopping (Brittany likes more neutrals and Abby prefers brighter colors), getting manicures and pedicures (Brittany isn't a fan of the process but Abby is), and riding a tandem bike with Kayla. They go lay out by the pool but the weather isn't that warm.  

Abby & Brittany "Road Trip!" (S01E03): The girls pack for a drive to Chicago for a weekend with some friends. [in the car, they wear the seatbelt under Brittany's armpit when they're driving.] They do a segway tour of Chicago )Brittany likes cities better than Abby), struggling to balance at first, as their legs are different lengths and their torso is a bit asymmetrical. Later, they go for deep dish pizza, head to the Willis Tower (only Brittany is scared of heights), see the Chicago Bean, then chill out with their friends in the hotel room. Abby gets hotter more quickly than Brittany and they often have different parts of their body different temperatures.

Abby & Brittany "Graduation" (S01E04): We see Abby and Brittany student-teach. Abby is more into match and science while Brittany is more into language and writing. We hear about how their supervisor and principal have worked with them. Their friend Josiah picks them up to hang for a bit - something they've been doing since Day One of freshman year. The girls had another job interview but none of their roommates have jobs lined up, either. The girls aren't morning people and don't even talk to one another when they're up and making breakfast and stuff. After graduation, the girls have lunch with their family, including their two younger siblings. [they left the keys in the car with it RUNNING for four hours! that's worse than a time in high school when my friend locked herself out of her car while it was running!]

Abby & Brittany "London" (S01E05): The girls pack for a trip to Europe (they got prescriptions for anything they'd need, just in case. See, traveling to a foreign country could cause problems at a hospital because of their unique medical background) - 5 days in London and 5 days in Italy (Venice and Rome) with two friends from college, Erin and Becca. Abby and Brittany (who is NOT engaged, by the way) have studied abroad in London TWICE and they also student-taught in England. [strange that they didn't know which twin they booked the flight under - don't you think they'd usually use the same person to rack up the miles?]

The first morning in London they take an open-top bus tour. When they take photos, Abby clicks the shutter but they take turns using the viewfinder. Their friends try to stand in the way of others so random photos aren't taken of the girls too much. [it's bothersome that all people in atypical situations find themselves in scenarios like this.] They all have high tea (Abby isn't as food-adventurous as Brittany). They go to Abbey Road to take a photo. Brittany would like to live in London but Abby is more of a homebody. [I guessed that from earlier comments.] They go to take a rowing lesson on the Thames, starting with some indoor rowing machines to get the basics. Abby has broken her foot twice and Brittany has broken her foot three times, so they're a bit paranoid about getting into the boat. They figure out the coordination after a few tries but the entire boat struggles to be synchronized.

Toward the end of their trip, the girls visit a family that they taught and go to a farm/playground place with them. [interesting place! I wanna go, LoL.] Their final night in London, they went to the Eye.  

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