What'll I Do?

Heavens to Betsy.  Will ya look at that?  I don't remember temperatures this high--especially so early in our 8-month summer.  :) 

Well, y'all know that I'm not an outdoor boy, but it's still warm.  So here's what's new in my mostly-air-conditioned world lately.

Ummm.  Breaking Bad.  In preparation for the upcoming season, AMC has being running old episodes late at night, starting with the pilot.  About two weeks ago I set my DVR, and the rest is history.  I had never seen the show before, although a teacher friend (shoutout to Lana!) highly recommended it.  The show's about cooking meth, so 'highly' is a bit of a pun.  Now I'm all caught up on it, and it's excellent.  Definitely TV-14 to MA, so no kids!

And I recently visited local restaurants Sloco and The Pharmacy.  Yum.  If you're in town, you should definitely try them out.  Sloco features local and sustainable sandwiches at affordable prices.  The Pharmacy is an old-school soda shop/beer garden.  A group of friends from work met there one Sunday afternoon for lunch and a board game.  What could be better?

On that note, I'm also back to working on my fitness.  It's good for baby.

And I'm continuing to volunteer at Gilda's Club.  This July 19th I'm teaching my third crafty class there.  It's really rewarding and fun.  If you're in town, you should definitely join us! 

How is your summer going?  What's on the agenda?

You Cheated on Me with Choreography. And That is the Worst Kind.

I really don't know why I have not yet blogged about Modern Family. 

It's genius, really.  My pal Ashley had been trying to get me to watch it shortly after it premiered last year, and I'm glad I finally came around.  Normally I shudder at "family" comedies and sometimes really wanted to sue the vile CBS because everybody does not love Raymond.  But Modern Fam is different.  Because it's actually funny.  And it's on ABC on Wednesday nights at 9/8 Central.

TV veteran Ed O'Neill plays Jay Dunphy, the patriarch of this crazy extended family.  He marries the spicy, much younger Gloria, who has a (hilarious!) son named Manny.  His daughter Claire (Julie Bowen, also a vet) is married to the delightful Phil, and they have three children.  Then there's Mitchell, the son/brother who, with his partner Cam, have adopted the adorable Lily.

The show has already racked up Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series.  If you're not watching yet, click here to see a bit.  You won't be sorry.

Oh.  This post was going to be about last night's episode, in which they celebrate Manny's birthday at Maggiano's, which I also love.  But I decided to make this an official endorsement.  Enjoy!

Iconoclastic Specs

Have you ever seen the show Iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel? 

It's great.  Robert Redford produces this show, which brings together two standouts in different fields who interview each other.  This weekend it was Cate Blanchett, one of my favorite actresses, and Tim Flannery, a fellow Aussie friend of hers who studies climate change.  This was right up my alley, but imagine my surprise when I saw Cate's crazy-cool specs.

I love them...and her.  Not everyone could pull off such a dramatic (ha) frame, but she is one of the few.  The show comes on Saturdays at 9 Eastern/8 Central, but they re-air episodes all the time.  The week before it was a re-run of Fiona Apple with Quentin Tarantino. 

Look out when Charlize Theron meets Jane Goodall.  It promises to be a (insert-clever-monkey-joke) time.  

Finally, Lorne!

They got it (mostly) right for a change!  Did you see Betty White host SNL this weekend? 

She's a living legend, as far as I'm concerned, and she was joined by some of the great recent female cast members of the show.  They brought back skits like Delicious Dish and Sally O'Malley.  And, praise Jesus, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on Weekend Update.  And Whitney. Houston.  (Yes, AM, I got your text.  Loved it!)

To top it all off, Jay-Z turned it out with a medley of some of his greatest hits, followed by a surprisingly sweet rendition of "Forever Young," dedicated to Betty White herself.  I was a little disappointed that Beyonce did not make a surprise appearance, but there were plenty of those to go around. 

This is how the show needs to be done.  Please, Lorne Michaels, take notes if you haven't already.

And here's a sketch that didn't make it to the broadcast.  Shhh....it's Debbie Downer.  I laughed until I (almost) cried.

Mini-Rant

Did anyone else waste a good 90 minutes (or 60 minutes, DVR style) on SNL this weekend? I hope not. It was abysmal.

It started out so well, Ryan Phillippe aside, with a smattering of newer characters making an appearance. The Target Lady. DeAndre "What Up With That" Cole. But then it took a downturn with Andy Samburg. He's just not funny to me.

Guess why Ryan P. was the host. Just guess. He's in the new movie out soon called MacGruber. This is (was?) a semi-funny 90-second skit that should in no way or form have been turned into a feature length film. Reese gets an Oscar, and Ryan takes this role? What's up with THAT?

Then we have "musical" guest Ke$ha. That's right. There's a dollar sign in her name. Is she a rapper? No...although she probably fancies herself one. And her name is not pronounced "Kee-sha." No. It's similar to ketchup. I had a link to a YouTube clip, but why waste the bandwidth?

Note to Kesha: The world already has one Lady Gaga. Give it up. And quit going mini-cougar on that shaggy Justin Bieber kid.

What is the deal with SNL? Back in the day, it used to be consistently funny. Then, with recent seasons, there are high points. (See also: Taylor Swift and Paul Rudd.) Then it's just terrible for weeks at a time. I say bring on the Betty White episode on May 8.

And to add insult to pop culture injury, I was in Sephora the other day, and I overheard a customer asking what the best-selling perfume is. The reply: This month it's Kim Kardashian. I definitely rolled my eyes at that one. People will buy anything for any reason. Or sometimes no reason at all.

Rant over.

A True Food Fight

Have you seen this show yet? It's The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver, and he's come to America to change the way we eat and think about food.

It sounds gimmicky, I know, but it's really good. He went to Huntington, Virginia, which is (by some reports) the least healthy city in the US. So far (over about four episodes) he's tangled with a hard-nosed local radio jockey, fought with down-home lunch ladies (hint: they don't like that term), and headed up a flash mob of cookin' fools. It's a lot of fun, but it's also frustrating (pizza is healthier than roasted chicken and vegetables, according to public school regulations) and inspirational (an overweight teenager who only had three years to live has decided to change her lifestyle).

Jamie's not crazy. He doesn't propose super-expensive or extensive ingredients or cooking techniques. He simply suggests cooking--not reheating, not buying fast food, not devouring packages of processed food. It makes sense, and he has a way of making it look really easy.

The only downside to this show is that it comes on Friday nights at 9/8 Central. This is not usually a problem for me, but I don't think it's found the audience it deserves. I recommend setting a DVR session or visiting abc.com.

A Decent Drama? On NBC?

I know. It's been quite the shake-up over at NBC, what with Jay and Conan playing a little (unnecessary) game of musical comfy chairs. ER was leaving, but then Southland gave a glimmer of hope for a decent drama. But nope. It was deemed too gritty. (See local listings for TNT.)

It was looking bleak for the Peacock (except for that Thursday night line-up that is once again relevant) until they began airing Parenthood. I love it and endorse it.

The cast: Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Craig T. Nelson, and several others that you've seen but probably don't remember where.

The plot: The Braverman crew is made up of two sons, two daughters, their children and significant others, and the wise and funny grandparents. They're trying to navigate the modern world while keeping their family ties close. It's dramatic (fidelity, learning disabilities, broken homes) but also funny (old boyfriends, teenagers in love, desperate parents).

Sound familiar? Maybe so. It's based on the 1989 Steve Martin movie by the same name, but several things are different this time around. (That movie is also quite good, all things considered.) The show airs on NBC on Tuesdays at 9 CST.

Hilarity Ensues...

For my second endorsement, I have chosen something that always cracks me up. It's 30 Rock! Many of you have probably watched this before, but for those who haven't, do yourself a favor and catch re-runs on Thursday nights (before the new season this fall), Netflix the DVDs, or get on hulu.com. If we're friends and live close enough, you can borrow the first two seasons from me.

This show is the brainchild of Tina Fey, who has crazy-mad specs appeal and really needs no introduction. It's loosely based on her experiences at Saturday Night Live and follows the cast and crew of a fictitious variety show. The star power of the regular cast is off the charts, but they bring on big-name guest stars (like flipping Oprah) all the time.

Plus, I want to be friends with Kenneth (The Page) Parcell. This character is the best part of the show. He's extremely naive but super energetic. Plus, he's from the South and is addicted to TV. We have a few things in common, at least. Check out this quick video of some of Kenneth's sound bites.

30 Rock is smart and witty and really has something to say about life. It's won Emmys and has my endorsement. What else do you need to know? Give it a whirl, won't you?