America's Best Dance Crew

Well, I just watched America's Best Dance Crew. What an amazing show. I do love watching the dance competitions like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars so I knew I'd like this one, but I like it so much more. I like Status Quo from the East, Enigma from the South, Kaba Modern from the West and Breaksk8 from the Midwest. I was so bummed when Breaksk8 didn't make the top 8, but very happy when the decision was made to make it a top 9 instead. With the audience response to them not making it though, I knew something was going to be done about it. Randy Jackson is smart and his decision to add the 9th crew was a great one. I'm looking forward to February 7th and hope that MTV will pick it up for another season. Though, maybe next season they could replace Mario, he's not that great a host.

JoJo's Fashion Show

JoJo's Fashion Show is a fun game that gives you the chance to become the designer. JoJo and her daughter are back in the design game after a long break. You get to dress the models in the styles given you like Bridal, Punk, New Wave and Hip Hop. You also get to do shows in New York, London, Sydney, Milan, Tokyo and Paris. The game gets a lot harder around Tokyo, giving you only between 15 and 18 seconds to dress the models for the runway. There is also a Dress Up mode where you can use the clothes you've unlocked to create weird and wacky designs of your own. It took me a while to beat the game and it has great replay value, definitely worth the price.

Ugly Betty - 1/10

Last night's Ugly Betty may well be one of my favorite episodes yet. It had great writing and left me wanting more. I loved that Daniel made up for all the bad things he said about the fat girls, that one of Justin's classmates got something out of the additional fashion show and that we might just know who Amanda's dad is. I've been waiting for a new Ugly Betty for way too long, but this episode delivered the goods. I have always loved the relationship between Daniel and Betty, it really is more than just a boss and employee thing, but not far enough to be too much more. Henry and Betty are great together and I hope they find a way for Henry to stay. The dynamic that America Ferrera and Christopher Gorham have is amazing and I would hate to lose that. Gene Simmons as Amanda's dad will be absolutely priceless. I love him on Celebrity Apprentice and can hardly wait to see what is in store for him on Ugly Betty. Wilhelmina is one of the best villains on TV right now, though I am kind of sick of her storylines, but just try getting rid of Vanessa Williams, like that will ever happen. I really like Bradford and kind of miss him and am completely sick of Alex, but I'm not a fan of Rebecca Romijn so my opinion isn't really a good one there. Anyway, absolutely loved the episode and will watch it again!

Desperate Housewives 1/06

Thankfully the writers didn't leave Desperate Housewives the way they left some of the other shows before the strike. The January 6th episode is the conclusion to the Tornado episode from December. We start off with the discovery of Lynette's family alive and Ida not. It's an emotional time for Karen and Edie plays the comforter. As Lynette and Karen pack Ida's belongings for her niece and nephew, Parker tells Lynette that Ida saved Lynette's family. Upon meeting Ida's niece and nephew, she realizes that they are possibly the most shallow people on the planet earth (even more shallow than Cordelia and Harmony on Buffy). They don't want to follow Ida's wishes for her ashes so Lynette gives them the vacuum dust instead. It turns out Ida was a member of the All-American Girl's Baseball League and she wanted her ashes spread over the local ball field. Karen and Lynette break in to the field and get caught, while running from the guards Lynette spreads Ida's ashes. In amongst all the festivities Karen and Lynette become friends.

Meanwhile, Bree and Orson move in with Susan while their house is being fixed. At first Susan doesn't want them there, but when Bree starts taking care of her, she realizes she needs Bree. After sabotaging Bree's home renovation efforts, Susan explains to Bree that she is lonely without Mike and needs her to stay living there. Also, thankfully Gaby has finally changed for the better. After finding out she and Carlos have no money, she stays with him. Adam leaves Katherine and Dylan finds out the truth, the truth we still don't know. Hopefully the Writers will quit striking sometime soon, I might just go crazy if they don't. I'm glad there was an end to the Lynette storyline and glad that the writers left such good writing for the end, but I'd really like to see them back. Overall, it was a great episode and it will be watched again and again.

Chocolatier 2

I was a big fan of the first Chocolatier and Play First, Big Splash Games and Big Fish have outdone themselves. There are two different modes of game play, Story Mode and Free Play. Story Mode starts out 40 years in the future from the first Chocolatier. The granddaughter of Evangeline Baumeister needs your help to turn Baumeister Confections around and get her dad to see the error of his ways. You can now make Sauces, Pralines and Exotics. Also you need to find your way to 4 secret locations - Fiji, the Amazon, the Himalayas & the Sahara. Each secret location has secret ingredients (Saffron, Cloves, Fire Ants and Pumpkin are a few) for you to use in your laboratory, my favorite of the added features. Creating new chocolate recipes is kind of like playing Mastermind, a lot of trial and error is needed. There are 28 total chocolate recipes for you to discover. You have more options when creating your company sign, and as you travel through the ports, more locations within the ports become available for you to visit. Free Play mode starts you with $20,000 and 1 place to manufacture your chocolates. It's just as fun as Story Mode. If you play it after you beat Story Mode, you start with a full recipe book. It took me two days to finish Story Mode, but it has great replay value. Completely worth the buy.

American Gladiators

I wish I wasn't such a fan of American Gladiators. It would make the decision to watch or not so much easier. I like some of the changes and don't like others. First, the Gladiators are interesting. I like Crush, in her first two outings as a Gladiator she proved she has the stamina and brains needed to win. I don't like Wolf or Toa, they're just a little bit too crazy for me, make that a lot too crazy. I'm a huge fan of Tower so them trying to replace him with Titan gets on my nerves a little and Mayhem reminds me way too much of Viper.



It's kind of funny, but Justice reminds me of Whip-Snap on Who Wants to Be a Superhero.




I like that the contenders earn points as they go through the events instead of just at the end. I think it gives them more hope as the Eliminator gets closer. They kept a few of my favorite events like Joust, the Wall and Assault while still adding some new interesting ones. The new event Hit and Run reminds me too much of MXC and the underwater swim part of the Eliminator is very Fear Factor and Dog Eat Dog. I like that the winners will be the new Gladiators next season. I also like the new Eliminator. It is much harder and longer than the old Eliminator. I don't think the past contenders would have made it through.

For the things I'm not crazy about, I don' t like the commentator. I used to like it when the hosts were the commentators. I'm not sure Laila is really that great of a fit in this role. Hulk fits sort of, but I think sportscasters would do better, like in the original. I don't like that the show is now produced much more like a WWE event and much less like a sporting event, this new look is very theatrical. The only things I don't like about the Eliminator are the Barrel Roll and that when the contenders fall there is no penalty. I'm also not so sure about the men and women competing in different events throughout the episode.

One thing I know I'd love to see is some cameos from the old Gladiators. Maybe a where are they now segment for those of us who loved the show before. I'll keep watching, but mostly because I was such a huge fan when I was younger and I'm hoping it will get better with time.

ANTM Season 9 Episode 3

Continuing on with the VH1 ANTM marathon, episode 3 starts with Kimberly asking Bianca for tips on modeling. How stupid can one girl get? Of all the people to ask for help, Bianca would be my last choice. I did like that Lisa, Saleisha and a couple other girls kind of befriended Heather and did a bit of a makeover on her. After the makeover, the girls were whisked away to the Fashion Madhouse where they had to model in straight jackets during a clinic with Miss J. Miss J had some rather horrible things to say about Bianca's walk and Bianca later took out her frustrations on Saleisha. Bianca seemed to be the season's Bre: attack someone until they falter and get kicked off, then start on the next.

Next the girls met up with Roy Campbell at their challenge, a fashion show for Colleen Quen. Nothing against Colleen Quen, these are just my opinions of her dresses and the walks of the models in them. The challenge was to show their walk, move with restrictions, and bring out the spirit of the clothes. Saleisha and Chantal were wonderful as were the dresses they modeled. Ambreal, Ebony and Janet did okay in nice dresses while Victoria, Heather, and Lisa did okay modelling not great dresses. Sarah did bad while modelling a nice dress while Bianca, Jenah and Kimberly did bad in bad dresses.

The photo shoot was with Matthew Jordan Smith and had the girls climbing a rock wall. Lisa didn't let her fear of heights get to her and Bianca was all bark and no bite when it came to the photos. Jenah being a rock climber helped her in this shoot. My favorites were Heather, Saleisha, Jenah, Janet and Lisa. Though this wasn't one of my favorite ANTM episodes, I'd watch it again and again.



If you haven't seen this episode yet and don't want to know how it ends, please stop reading and come back after you've watched it. The following is a recap of the Judges opinions and who got eliminated.

Colleen Quen's critiques of the models

Heather's neck was too far forward, she had bad posture, but still managed to be elegant

Saleisha needed to keep her posture a little higher because of her height, but had good movement

Jenah's dress was a major challenge, but she was running into the dress

Bianca had a strong walk, but needed to have a more soft, sensual face

Kimberly looked as though she had an empty soul



Tyra, Nigel, Twiggy and Miss J were joined by guest judge Roy Campbell.

Heather

• Roy: She should be proud of what she delivered
• Nigel: Wow
• Twiggy: It was wonderful

Janet

• Twiggy: It looked like a fashion photo
• Tyra: She was self conscious, and not consistent

Ebony

• Miss J: Her legs were great
• Twiggy: She should be pleased

Kimberly

• Miss J: Looked scrunched, it was not good
• Twiggy: Looked like she hit the wall
• Tyra: Worked her eyes and ears but the film was disappointing

Chantal

• Nigel: It was rock climbing, not rock falling, she needed to own her legs
• Tyra: Looked like a more high fashion Renee from Season 8

Sarah

• Nigel: Fun and interesting perspective
• Tyra: The camera loved her face

Lisa

• Twiggy: She liked the photo
• Nigel: Wow
• Tyra: Good posing, but she was too self conscious

Saleisha

• Nigel: Good shot, she took risks
• Tyra: Too commercial

Bianca

• Nigel: Interesting, looked uncomfortable, bad angle on face
• Miss J: She looked mad
• Tyra: Not fabulous, but not boring

Victoria

• Twiggy: She had a special quality, was unusual, she loved her arms
• Nigel: She looked nervous
• Tyra: The photo was just one of a lot of good photos

Ambreal

• Nigel: She made it about her
• Twiggy: Elegant

Jenah

• Twiggy: Gorgeous
• Nigel: One of the best shots, confidence is key
• Tyra: Her neck was beautiful, elegant

Reward Winner: Saleisha won a trip to Paris to appear in Colleen Quen's show.

First Called: Jenah
Bottom Two: Bianca & Kimberly
Eliminted: Kimberly

ANTM Season 9 Episode 2

Again there was nothing good to watch, so I checked out the America's Next Top Model Season 9 Marathon on VH1. I really liked this season of ANTM. I love that Tyra decided this was the season to hold the girls to a new standard, no smoking this season, maybe next season she'll make sure there's not another Season-4-Brittany or Season-5-Lisa and outlaw drinking too. Also the girls "Go Green" this season. Their "Ride" is a bio-diesel bus that says, "Green is the new black" on the side. The first photo shoot is one of the hardest of the season in my opinion. The girls portray the impacts of smoking on their bodies and lives. Their photographer is Mike Rosenthal, and as always he does a great job. The fighting between Bianca and Lisa makes me not like Bianca because I don't agree with her, an exotic dancer could be America's Next Top Model if she had the drive and skill needed. Unfortunately, Lisa didn't have the skill Tyra was looking for, but I think Lisa could go out there, get signed and be a model. Also, I have such a problem with everyone giving Heather a hard time because of her disability. She is really good that the photography side of modeling and I think she could go a long way, even after the competition. I always love when Miss J stops by the house, and this time was no different. He was there to give a style lesson before the girls went to Old Navy for their challenge. Upon arriving at Old Navy, Benny Ninja tells them they only have 10 minutes to put together a look for panel. The judges will choose whose look is the best. My favorites this episode were Heather, Saleisha, Lisa and Victoria. I thought they all have the look and drive for this competition. As with every episode and every season of ANTM, I'd watch this again and again.


If you haven't seen this episode yet and don't want to know how it ends, please stop reading and come back after you've watched it. The following is a recap of the Judges opinions and who got eliminated.


Chantal portrayed a tracheotomy

Her Look

• Nigel: there were too many accessories

Her Photo

• Twiggy: she liked Chantal's eyes
• Nigel: Be careful of bedroom eyes
• Tyra: She was blown away be the photos, but Chantal needs to be careful of bedroom eyes

Jenah portrayed complete hair loss from Chemotherapy

Her Look

• Tyra: Top was too big
• Miss J: Bad pocket placement

Her Photo

• Nigel: Needed to continue the long and tall look through her legs
• Tyra: the photo makes her feel uncomfortable and Jenah's emotion came across

Ambreal portrayed lung cancer

Her Look

• Tyra: The earrings were too much

Her Photo

• Tyra: She looked like a model, she loved the photo
• Miss J: She did a good job looking ill

Victoria portrayed a stillborn child

Her Look

• Twiggy: Simple and clean

Her Photo

• Twiggy: she needs to work on her charm, but it was a very strong photo

Lisa portrayed a face tumor

Her Look

• Tyra: Take off the earrings

Her Photo

• Twiggy: loved her legs and pose
• Tyra: Very high fashion
• Nigel: cheeky and sultry

Mila portrayed losing hair from chemotherapy

Her Look

• Tyra: It was a lovely dress, but not for her body
• Nigel: the dress looked like a sack

Her Photo

• Miss J: Not a flattering pose
• Nigel: her body was awkward and her eyes not focused
• Tyra: She can look damaged and destroyed (the effect photo), but not pretty

Sarah portrayed premature aging

Her Look

• Miss J: Take off the necklace

Her Photo

• Tyra: She could see the inner monologue

Bianca portrayed severe gingivitis

Her Look

• Tyra: Without the purple hair there's a model

Her Photo

• Twiggy: The camera loves her, but she needs more life in her eyes
• Nigel: It was too posed
• Tyra: Held back on beauty part of photo, but not on the effects part

Janet portrayed a burn victim

Her Look

• Tyra: Take the necklace off, it made her neck look short

Her Photo

• Twiggy: great jawbone
• Miss J: She looked like a young Angie Dickinson
• Tyra: good job

Ebony portrayed a collapsed lung

Her Look

• Twiggy: The T-shirt was great

Her Photo

• Miss J: Her legs were in a bad position
• Tyra: She was too stiff

Kimberly portrayed a sunken face

Her Look

• Tyra: Looks great, but her hair needed to be tied back

Her Photo

• Tyra: She needed to watch her hoochiness
• Nigel: great juxtaposition

Saleisha portrayed secondhand smoke with Heather

Her Look

• Twiggy & Miss J: She looked great

Her Photo

• Tyra: She was sassy
• Nigel: She really performed
• Twiggy: She gave both pictures life

Heather portrayed secondhand smoke with Saleisha

Her Look

• Nigel: the layered t-shirt was too much

Her Photo

• Miss J: the loved her face in the beauty side and she looked crazy in the effect side, which was a good thing
• Nigel: She had a quite beauty
• Tyra: Well done

Reward Winner: Saleisha won a $1000 shopping spree at Old Navy and the honor of appearing in an Old Navy Ad

First Called: Heather
Bottom Two: Ebony & Mila
Eliminated: Mila

Buffy Season 1 DVD

With the lack of good scripted TV right now, I’ve taken to watching old scripted TV on DVD. My favorite continues to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just finished Season 1 and I have to tell you, it is totally worth the money spent. I didn’t watch Buffy when it was first on, but when I discovered it on FX, I completely loved it. Season 1 is very addictive with the origins of Buffy and not one episode that isn’t worth watching. My favorite season 1 episode by far is “Nightmares”. The episode where the nightmares of a child in a coma are causing the residents of Sunnydale’s nightmares to become reality. It really shows, even on the Hellmouth, not every problem is caused by demons or vampires. Other great moments are Xander being wooed by a She-mantis, Willow falling for a demon she unwittingly released into the internet and an ignored girl actually becoming invisible (any thing can happen on the Hellmouth). Add the Special Features listed below to the already amazing show and you get a great buy (especially if you use Barnes and Noble’s buy 2 DVDs get the 3^rd free January special).

The Special Features are spread throughout the three discs and include

• An interview David Boreanaz in which David talks about his role as Angel
• Joss Whedon on episode 1 “Welcome to the Hellmouth” and episode 2 “The Harvest” in which Joss talks about the origins of Buffy, the Hellmouth, Sunnydale High and Angel
• Joss Whedon on episode 3 “Witch” and episode 5 “Never Kill a Boy on a First Date” in which he talks about finding himself in the characters, Giles, having monsters and villains other than vampires and the struggle for Buffy to have a normal life.
• Joss Whedon on episode 7 “Angel” and episode 9 “The Puppet Show” in which he talks about the grr-argh logo, his interest in vampires and the relation to Buffy mythology, he discloses some interesting facts about the Buffy/Angel kiss, and talks about the closing credits from “The Puppet Show” that were only shown once with the Scoobies Talent Show performance, which is totally worth watching.
• Biographies of Joss Whedon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Nicholas Brendon, David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter which have some interesting tidbits in them, like David Boreanaz was discovered while walking his dog. We also get a further look into Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Angel and Cordelia.

Project Runway - 1/02

One of my favorite reality competition shows is Project Runway. I was so excited when it finally came back after its too-long hiatus. There are some very talented designers this season and some interesting challenges, though I think they are going easy on the designers. The designers picked their models (Ashley and Christina are out) then were told that they would learn what their challenge was the next day. They arrived at Time's Square the next morning to find their challenge was to use items from the Hershey's store as raw materials for an outfit of their choice. There was no budget, but they had only five minutes to grab anything they wanted to use from the Hershey's store and 1 day to complete the project. The designers all picked very interesting items to work with and I was very excited about what some of them did. My favorite designers were Jillian, Chris, Kevin (except the construction) and Christian from a distance, the ones I could take or leave were Ricky and Rami, and the ones I thought were just bad were Kit, Elisa, Christian close up, Sweet P and Victorya. Christian annoyed me by thinking he was Tim and telling the other designers what was wrong with their designs. I loved Jillian's design because she was the only to use edible materials. She was quite lucky to have her model help with the hand sewing to finish. I was also happy to hear that Hershey's is auctioning all of the designs to benefit the Young Survival Coalition. Even though the challenge made for interesting TV, I would like to see the designers challenged more in the future. Overall, it was a good episode and worth watching again and again.

If you haven't seen this episode yet and don't want to know how it ends, please stop reading and come back after you've watched it.

Tim's Take on 5 of the designs - with 3 hours remaining

Victorya - With the alternating of the silver and gray the gray looks flat and lifeless and the dress looked terribly unfinished

Rami - It looked like Jillian was his intended customer and it was good

Elisa - It worried him, it needed to be exuberant, she needed to bring a critical eye to it

Jillian - He was concerned about how much time she had to finish

Sweet P - the skirt looked like a coffee filter and she needed to make it more upbeat


As always, Heidi, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia were there with Zac Posen being the guest judge.

Ricky, Christian, Kit and Kevin were safe. Here are the materials used and/or concepts for and what the judges had to say about the rest.

Rami - used the clear Twizzler plastic pillowcase and York wrapping paper

Zac Posen: overall effect was successful, it looked neat with complicated construction, overall it worked

Michael Kors: It could have turned out looking silly, but Rami made it well and it fit the model Beautifully, also Rami got the charm and spirit of the challenge

Elisa - the goal of her dress was to make it feel like candy but not have it be made from candy

Heidi: There were so many amazing things to work with she would have liked something a little crazier

Micahel Kors: Where's the joy, the dress looked like a dress found in a flea market, Elisa lost her joy and fun

Zac Posen: not at all wearable or fabulous and it just didn't work

Jillian - Used Twizzlers

Zac Posen: he liked the licorice, it was a cute skirt a young girl would wear and it's red, which is a great color, fantastic

Nina Garcia: it was sexy and playful, great job, Jillian's hard work showed

Michael Kors: it was deliciously chic, adorable and well done

Victorya - Used York Pillows

Michael Kors: Not wearable or fanciful, looked like the model worked at Dairy Queen

Heidi: thought of Dairy Queen, it had nothing to do with candy

Chris - Used Hershey Bags and Twizzler vinyl, was going for a Warhol-esque look

Zac Posen: The texture was good

Michael Kors: Chris got nervous of going too crazy, it was smart editing, made well and the model looked great in it

Nina Garcia: Model could go to the studio and be shot for the pages of Elle

Sweet P - Used Hershey Kiss materials

Heidi: it was a bit boring

Nina Garcia: Compared to the others Sweet P's design looked very easy, it also looked sad

Michael Kors: There was no sense of smile or joy


Winner: Rami
Out: Elisa

Iron Chef America - 1/01

For someone who loves cooking and loves watching TV, Food Network is the Holy Grail. There are few shows on Food Network I like as much as Iron Chef America, but January 1st episode wasn't one of my favorites. Rain Executive Chef Guy Rubino challenged the newest Iron Chef, Michael Symon in Battle Rabbit. The rabbit is actually why I didn't like it as much as other episodes. Ever since my dad killed my pet rabbit and tried to make me eat it in Rabbit Stew, I've had a thing against rabbit as food. The judges Butter Executive Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Food Reporter Steve Dolinsky and Food & Wine Editor in Chief, Dana Cowin were another reason I wasn't crazy about this episode. Also, Chef Rubino is into using chemicals that aren't readily available in my hometown grocery store, which makes watching his cooking much less interesting to me. The episode was worth watching once, but I'd probably not go out of my way to watch it again.

If you haven't seen this episode yet and don't want to know how it ends, please stop reading and come back after you've watched it.


Chef Rubino's approach was to take a trek through Asia. His dishes were

From Japan - Hatcho Miso Rabbit
The judges said: tender rabbit, it was weird to start out so earthy and smokey, and the rabbit was undercooked.

From Korea - Korean-Style Rabbit with Kimchee Roll
The judges said: tender and cooked well, flavorful.

From China - Peking-Style Rabbit
The judges said: of the two sides to the dish they liked one and not the other.

From Thailand - Thai-Style Rabbit Curry
The judges said: it had a good rabbit taste.

From India - Garam Marsala Crusted Rabbit Loin with Rabbit Mousse Cigar
The judges said: good amount of sweetness, the Garam Marsala was good on the mousse cigar.


Iron Chef Symon's approach was to use the whole rabbit. His dishes were

With the Leg & Heart - Rabbit Meatballs with a Carrot Cocktail
The judges said: it was a bold beginning, bold flavor, it was Chef Symon in a bowl.

With the Loin - Sous Vide Rabbit Loin
The judges said: simply delicious, the judges liked that the raw bones of the dish were the elements of the dish.

With the Livers & Kidneys - Rabbit Dirty Risotto
The judges said: using the entire rabbit helps to get to know the ingredient, it has soul and was too toothsome.

With the Rack & Legs - Grilled Hare Rack and Fried Rabbit Drumette
The judges said: the Hare had no appeal, the Hare was not too harey

With the Thigh - Braised Rabbit Thigh
The judges said: Not really a fan of the chestnut honey, all the other flavors were great, good texture, fascinating


Winner: Iron Chef Michael Symon

Iron Chef Symon beat Chef Rubino 28-20 in Flavor, Chef Rubino beat Iron Chef Symon 15-13 in Plating and they tied 11-11 in Originality, causing Iron Chef Symon to win 52-46.

Fairway Solitaire

For my first outing into the world of blogging I decided to review one of the games voted a best new game of 2007 by Big Fish Customers, Fairway Solitaire. I love Golf Solitaire and Big Fish and Grey Alien Games have taken it to the next level. With Courses like Slippery Slope, Joe's Gas 'N Golf and Mystery Madness, the fun never ends. Mystery Madness might just be the hardest level. I had to play it trial and error in order to figure out which cards would allow me to access the others.

Big Fish and Grey Alien Games don't make you go it alone though, they give you some very entertaining upgrades in the Golf Shop. The Mulligan Blouse gives you an extra Mulligan (undo) each hole, the Flip Flop Golf Shoes turn more cards up so you can plan your next move, the Time Control Watch gives you more time to finish the timed courses and the Ring of Plenty gives you more money when you beat each course.

They also give you something to play for. The trophies are sometimes easy to earn (I earned the Speed Champion Trophy, awarded when you finish a timed course in less than 30 seconds, on my first timed hole) and sometimes hard to earn (It actually took me quite a while to get the Duffer Cup, awarded when you get 30 above par on a course). The entire game took me a couple weeks to beat and has tons of replay value. It is totally worth the price.