Obligatory reference to how long it’s been since I’ve blogged.

Now that that’s out of the way, on to more important things. Words cannot even
describe how excited I am. After almost twenty years of hope and several months of planning, yesterday I bought tickets to see the stage show of Newsies. I blogged about this two posts ago (which was four months ago :-/), but now it’s actually happening. In October, Emily, my Newsies friend Katie, my sister Maureen, and I will be seeing the Working Boys of New York live on stage.

One of the best parts of all of this — from Disney announcing they were working on a stage version, to Paper Mill announcing their fall season, to me announcing I bought my tickets — is the reaction of my friends. Everyone is so happy for ME. Not for Disney, not for Alan Menken, not even for the actors who were cast in the show. Me. There are so many comments of “It’s finally happening for you!,” and “Enjoy!,” and “You’ve wanted this for so long!” But mostly people are saying, “I hope for their sake it’s good, because I wouldn’t want to see you if it’s bad.” And I can’t say that I blame them.

I recently saw Sister Act the Musical on Broadway. Now I love the movies (yes both of them). But I can’t say I loved the musical. And I had been really excited for it. I ended up seeing it twice (the first time for free), and while I enjoyed it more the second time, it still didn’t hit for me. They made so many changes I felt were unnecessary. Some were just baffling, like moving the story to 1970s Philadelphia. And some made me really angry, like the way the services turned into a cheap stage show, instead of just becoming refreshingly modern. If the changes to Sister Act could get me this upset, I can only imagine what damage could be done to Newsies.

So, here are some things I would like to see in the Newsies stage show:

*Tighten up the ending; it’s weird.

*Either expand or remove the Sarah character. And get an actress who can act.

*Keep as true to the choreography as possible. Or just hire Kenny Ortega.

*I would be fine with getting rid of Medda and her songs.

*For god’s sake, keep the Prologue.

*Amazing new songs.

*Someone singing the shit out of Patrick’s Mother’s solo.

*Magic/Children smoking.

Don’t screw it up, or I’ll soak ya!

Well, I can pretty much guarantee I’m not going to be on the next season of Jeopardy.

So, Jeopardy used to have “contestant searches,” where I’m assuming you would go to a conference center and take a written test. Then for a while, they also had a “Brain Bus” that would go to cities. You could play a game, and possibly qualify to take the test. Like the Cash Cab? (Dream Spoiler Alert: You can’t just “catch” the Cash Cab. You agree to appear on a TV show; you just don’t know it’s Cash Cab. Then the cab arrives to take you to wherever the producers told you to go.) But now, it’s all done online. And today was one of the online tests. And I failed it. I failed it like it was an Honors Physics test from junior year (Physics is Phun! Right, Doc I?).

Clearly, pop culture is one of my strengths, but I am a woman of diverse interests. I’m also pretty smart. And I’m also self-aware. I know my weaknesses. And when the first clue popped up (There are 50 clues, and you have 15 seconds per clue), my heart stopped. Something about an Algerian author. Crap. Africa. I hate to say this, but the entire continent of Africa is my weak spot. My weakest spot. I mean, I blame myself but I also blame our school system. What do we ever learn about Africa in general education classes. Pretty much nothing. Ummm…What is “I have no idea whatsoever”?

I did get a handful correct. One was a clue about Debussy. Being a music major, it would have been pretty unforgivable to get that one wrong. I also got the wordplay ones right, some Spanish translation and another about “raining cats and dogs.” Also, if you’re ever asked about a Swedish Actress, Ingrid Bergman will be the response. 95% of the time. I made up that statistic. The one I’m most proud of getting correct though came from another of my weak spots: the Bible. I know you’re shocked. But I got it right! Because the answer is in a song. Ha. The clue was about an archeologist wanting to find the site of a Biblical city where walls came down. Thanks, choir! What is “Jericho”?!

Unfortunately, there were many more clues like the Algerian author than Jericho, and I was just no match for Trebek and his Clue Crew. But I remembered a lot of the clues I couldn’t answer, looked them up, and now know. And here’s a map of Africa, just for good measure:

P.S I also hope they change the questions for the other online tests becuase I just gave away a lot of answers. Whoops.

Contrary to what fairy tales like Cinderella, (terrible) movies like The Prince & Me, and even some people’s real lives like Grace Kelly having been telling me all my life, I guess this regular girl is not going to be a princess.  Not Prince Willam’s princess anyway.  It finally happened: Wills and Catherine “Kate” Middleton are engaged.  (Does anyone else find it weird that she spells Catherine with a C but Kate with a K?  No?  Just me?  Okay.)  So just like my mom did when Diana got married, and just like I did when Diana died, I’ll wake up at some ungodly hour to watch it all go down across the pond, and for those few hours wish I were British.

I’ve always been a bit of an Anglophile.  I’m a big fan of Brit Lit, contemporary and classic: Harry Potter, all Jane Austen.  And their pop music has always been fantastic — Why does America hate dance music so much?!  And while I’m not one of those crazies who know/follow everything the Royals do, I did love Diana.  (Sorry, Wills, this blog post about you is going to be about your mom too.  You know how it goes.)  I was fourteen when she died, so not only did I have the romanticized view of her as everyone else, I also had this teen angst connection with her.  You know: they didn’t understand her, and she was so strong.  Who knows how much of what we know about her is true, but I know one thing.  In 1997, they made a Beanie Baby in her memory.  And in 1997, there could be no greater honor.

The press was pretty kind to William and Harry after that, and we only saw them occasionally, especially stateside, I’m sure.  But I did notice that William was getting super cute (as would Harry eventually, minus that Nazi thing…).  And in 2000, I just happened to be in England when Williamania hit, i.e. his 18th birthday.  There were so many specials on Brit TV.  And he did his first official photo shoot, allowing cameras into Eton.  There were pictures of him cooking!  And in a Union Jack vest!  This was also when I first learned the term “prefect,” which would come in handy when I started reading HP the following fall.  I also looked up if I, as an American, could marry him.  Yep.  If I’m remembering correctly, I could.  I think I could even be Queen because the King is more in charge or whatever.  The only hitch was, I was a confirmed Catholic, so I’d have to get excommunicated.  For Wills, I would have done it.

Alas, it seems it is not to be.  I never did do that semester abroad at St. Andrews I fantasized about.  (Fun fact: Jonathan Taylor Thomas also did a semester there.)  Had I, perhaps it would be our engagement the Prince of Wales would be announcing.  At least that’s how it went in my dreams.  Instead, I’ll just have to be content waking up to watch his wedding at 3:00am. 

Oh, and here is the “Prince William” section from my magazine collection:

Have you ever listened to a song you really like, one that you’ve heard a million times, and suddenly you’re actually comprehending the lyrics and cannot believe how terrible they are?  And I don’t mean nonsensical or bad lyrics, but the actual message of the song is horrible.  But the catchy melody and jangly guitars disguised it as something else.  Who knows why, but I recently had this moment of understanding with two songs I really loved.  And have loved for years.  And not surprisingly, they’re country songs with terrible messages.

The first song is one by Shania Twain.  Now, it’s no secret that Shania has some pretty ridiculous songs.  “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” is not only silly, but it has punctuation in the middle of the song title.  And “That Don’t Impress Me Much” is maybe one of the stupidest song I’ve ever heard.  But I’ve been aware of this the entire time I’ve listened to them, and I still have them on my iPod.  I knew what I was getting into.  It was only recently, however, that I actually paid attention to the lyrics of Shania’s first big crossover hit, “Any Man of Mine.”  This song came out in 1995, when I was twelve, and I’ve loved it since then.  I don’t know why I never paid close attention to the message, but holy crap!  It’s terrible.  When you hear snippets of it, it seems alright:

Any man of mine’ll say it fits just fine
When last year’s dress is just a little too tight

OR

Well any man of mine better disagree
When I say another woman’s looking better than me. 

I mean, we all need a little reassurance sometimes, and sometimes you need to hear a white lie.  But then you hear the rest of the lyrics:

And I can be late for a date; that’s fine 
But he better be on time.

Shania, that is just rude!  Or how about:

And anything I do or say better be okay
When I have a bad hair day. 

Geez.  Get over yourself.  This poor guy.  I’d say I now know why your husband divorced you, but he helped write the song.  Too bad it’s still really catchy, and I love it.

A song I have really hard time listening to now, though, is one by Garth Brooks.  Now he has some messed up songs.  A few of his songs have secret third verses he only does in concerts because they were too racy for the record label and radio.  Like, in the secret third verse of “The Thunder Rolls,” a song about adultery, the wife shoots the husband who was cheating on her.  And one of my fave Garth songs is “Papa Loved Mama,” about a truck driver who comes home to surprise his wife.  Well, she’s off cheating, of course.  So he drives his rig into the motel where she’s getting busy and then “mama’s in the graveyard; papa’s in the pen.”  Obviously, Garth’s no stranger to controversy.  But I only recently realized this one song “The Night I Called the Old Man Out” is straight up about child abuse.  And not in the sad Suzanne Vega/”Luka” way.  In the “so I could become a man, my father has to beat the shit out of me, and that’s just how life is” way.  Father and son argue over dinner, and then this is the chorus:

He said, “Son, it’s gonna hurt you more than it hurts me.”
But some how I couldn’t help but have my doubts.
‘Cause I’d seen my older brothers crawl back in the house,
Each time they called the old man out.

Okay, so he sees it’s a problem.  It’s cyclical even.  Except then he gets all Stockholm-syndromey, and the last verse before the final chorus is:

It was over in a minute
That’s when I realized
The blood came from my mouth and nose
But the tears came from his eyes
And in memory of that fateful night
I know the greatest pain was his
And I just pray some day I’m half the man he is

GARTH!  Are you ‘effing kidding me?  If you never beat your children, you’ll be eighty times the man he is.  The greatest pain was his because he had to kick the shit out of his kid?!  Hello, rationalizing.  I now have to skip this song when it comes on my iPod.  I should just go back to not listening to the meaning of country songs.  Life was so much easier then.

A few months back, Entertaintment Weekly did a story on the best years for movies. I can’t find it, but I swear they did. I’m not sure if one of the years they talked about was 1994, but if we’re talking about my life, that was certainly a year in film for the books. I’m not sure why, but the other day, I pulled up the Wikipedia page for that year and was shocked by how many movies came out that year which I love (and own). Some are legit great movies, while most are movies my 11-year-old self loves.

There was so much family fare and kids movies that came out that year. At eleven, I was the prime demographic for most of them. This was the first year I saw a movie more than once in the theater — D2: The Mighty Ducks, to be exact. I saw it twice, and I own it on DVD. I then proceeded to see The Lion King four times in the theater. Ah, to be young again with so much disposable income.

Forget about all the quality movies that came out that year. I mean, I love Forrest Gump, Little Women, and Pulp Fiction as much as the next guy, but what it’s really about for me are the basic cable/Disney Channel staples that came out in 1994 and that I will stop to watch whenever they come on. Here’s my Year in Review for the films of 1994 that I love:

3 Ninjas Kick Back — For me, the best of the 3 Ninjas movies. Yes, I have a favorite 3 Ninjas movie.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective — Obvi, this movie is bananas.

The Air Up There — Kevin Bacon goes to Africa to find the new star of his college basketball team. He’s so short and white, and they’re so tall and black!

Andre — Who doesn’t love a raspberry-blowing seal?!

Angels in the Outfield — Baby Joseph Gordon-Levitt!

Blank Check — Kid gets a blank check and buys himself a lot of stuff before learning a lesson about material things not being everything in life. Brills.

Camp Nowhere — Own it on DVD. Kids run their own summer camp, tricking their parents. Jonathan Jackson, Andrew Keegan, Christopher Lloyd.

D2: The Mighty Ducks — See above. The quack attack is back, Jack!

Iron Will — Dog sled racing and Mackenzie Astin!

It Could Happen to You — Nic Cage wins the lotto and gives half of it to his waitress as a tip. Amazing.

Junior — Pregnant Schwartzeneggar. Danny DeVito, reminding us of when they were in Twins. And Emma Thompson? What’s she doing in this movie?!

The Lion King — See above. Let’s not kid ourselves, Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the main draw here.

Little Big League — I saw this movie with my parents in the theater. Kid’s grandfather leaves him the Minnesota Twins in his will. Kid appoints himself the manager. Life lessons about kids being kids are learned.

Little Giants — Rick Moranis coaches a group of misfits in football to show his brother, Ed O’Neill, that he’s special too. Devon Sawa’s film debut!

The Little Rascals — Derek from Full House is in it!

The Mask — This is such a weird movie, but we got some more sweet Jim Carrey quotes! And introducing Cameron Diaz!

Maverick — I saw this movie in the theater with my daddy. I still love it even though Mel Gibson is a terrible human being.

Milk Money — Boys hire Melanie Griffith, a hooker to teach them about sex. She ends up in trouble with her pimp and poses as a tutor for one of the kids. Ed Harris, the kid’s dad, falls in love with her.

My Girl 2 — A terrible excuse for a sequel, and I love every second of it.

Nell — Na, kah, Chickapea! I saw this in the theater too.

The Next Karate Kid — Starring future Oscar winner Hilary Swank!

North — Elijah Wood hates his parents and looks for new ones.

Only You — Robert Downey, Jr. pretends to be Marissa Tomei’s fated lover, the one a psychic told her about when she was a teenager. She stops her wedding to follow him to Italy.

Richie Rich — The second movie on this list featuring Tony winner Christine Ebersole. Love this ridiculous movie. He’s too rich to make friends!

The Santa Clause — My sister took me to see this. Love it. The sequels? Not so much.

A Simple Twist of Fate — Steve Martin wrote the screenplay for this about a cranky man who takes in a stray…child.

Next time you’re flipping through the channels on a rainy weekend such as this one, and one of these movies in on the Hallmark Channel, I suggest you watch. Maybe you’ll love them as much as I do. (You probably won’t.)

So pretty much anything anyone could talk about today was Steven Slater, the flight attendant who lost his shit after dealing with one idiot too many.  I’ve worked service jobs; I get it.  I think most people do.  And while some of us may be more predisposed to act on those feelings, haven’t we all at least fantasized about leaving somewhere in a dramatic fashion?  Really leave an imprint.  Well, congrats, buddy.  You not only left an imprint on Flight 1052, but you left one on America and also the world.  I think it may have been the most dramatic exit since Fred and George left Hogwarts and Umbridge in a blaze of glory on their Cleansweeps.  I like to think that when Steve left with those two beers, he looked back at one of his coworkers and said, “Give ‘em hell from me, Janet!”  And just like Peeves, Janet saluted.  Oh, sorry if I lost you non-Harry Potter lovers.  Back to Steven.

It’s odd to think that he started his day presumably just like any other and ended it a folk hero and, for the time being anyway, a part of pop culture.  It’s so easy to get your fifteen minutes of fame these days, it’s hard to imagine someone getting it without trying.  I mean, look at the Balloon Boy incident!  Though, to be fair, it wasn’t really Balloon Boy who was looking for fame, but his parents.  BTW, everyone at my office was riveted to our computers that day.  I’m still mad at those jerks for making me think that boy was in there.  Jerks.  Anyway, Steven Slater has made it!  For who knows how long, people will be at their boring jobs, a friend’s birthday, or a family get together cracking jokes about where the nearest inflatable slide is.  Also, it has to be said: what a whimsical way to make an exit.

Perhaps Steven should call another Steve for advice on how to handle this sudden attention — Steve Bartman.  That right, the guy who “lost” Game 6 of the NLCS for the Cubs in 2003.  Oh, and just so you know, the Cubs had another chance to clinch it.  It’s not like Steve was at Game 7 to screw it up for you, Cubs.  No excuses.  (Go White Sox!)  Poor Steve Bartman.  What a sweet deal he thought he had.  Watching the Cubs from great seats competing in the postseason when they actually had a chance (except not) to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945!  All he did was what many a baseball fan (including several around him who did it too) would do: stick his hand out for what he thought was a foul ball.  He got in the way of a Cubs player trying to catch it.  Whoops.  And now, Steve Bartman, you’re not only a part of baseball history, but also pop culture.  Here’s video of him being escorted out of the stadium after the incident.

You don’t have to go crazy or ruin the dreams of thousands of Cubs fans though to become famous.  You can do a good deed!  Take the Subway Hero, for example.  Wesley Autrey (to be honest, I had to look up his name because I only know him as the Subway Hero) gained NYC and national fame a few years ago when he saved a twenty-year old who fell onto the tracks after having a seizure.  He jumped on the tracks and lay on top of the guy in the space between the rails.  Amazing.  Who knows if any of us would have the guts to do something like that.  Aside from saving a human life, though, there’s another incentive.  30 Rock did an episode about it.  I just hope this season Kenneth freaks out on everyone and slides down into the Plaza.

Guys, I’m so sad I’m missing the big convention!  No, not Comic-Con.  If you know me, and you’ve been anywhere near the Internet today, you should know I’m talking about Pacey-Con 2010.  Please feast your eyes on this hilarious Funny Or Die video the brilliant Joshua Jackson did:

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

Awhile back, I wrote an entry titled “reconcile.”  Add Joshua Jackson to the list of amazing actors who don’t shy away from the work they did in the past.  The work they may not be super proud of, but the work that made them famous.  This video is brilliant because it’s acknowledging the fans without making fun of them.  In fact, it was made for the fans.  I mean, look at that shirt.  If you watched Dawson’s Creek, you’d know that shirt was straight out of Pacey’s closet.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it were taken out of some storage unit in Studio City.  The font on the Pacey-Con banner was done in the same font as the Dawson’s Creek title card.  Serious thought was put into this.  Even the argument Josh had with the security guards was reminiscent of a Pacey Witter attitude.  It was already funny, but so much funnier to those in the know.

But here’s the thing: I wish this were a real convention.  I probably would go.  I literally just bought season one of Dawson’s Creek on DVD, and you know I love Pacey Witter.  Pacey and Joey were the first couple I wrote about in my “true love” post.  All the things that Josh was saying in the video as a joke, I actually kind of feel are true.  I do think that Pacey Witter is one of the greatest characters in television, and Dawson’s Creek was an important part of my teen years.  I’m sure this is only because I was in the right demographic at the right time when this show came out, but it’s still how I feel.  Sure, it was at times melodramatic, but it was about teenagers!  They’re all about the melodrama.  I mean, Andie going crazy?  Abby falling off the pier drunk and dying?  Pacey sleeping with his teacher?  Oh, man.  I love this show.

I also love Josh Jackson.  I’ve been a fan of his for a long time.  He’s really good at doing something great when he doesn’t have much to work with.  He was hilarious in Cruel Intentions and Ocean’s Eleven, and so moving in The Laramie Project.  He’s also fantastic on Fringe.  And honestly, Peter Bishop is not that far off from Pacey Witter: a wise-cracking smart aleck with daddy issues who is smarter than he appears?  Sound familiar?  It’s so good to see him on TV again every week on another smart genre show.  Now, if we could only get him to do a Mighty Ducks reunion, I’d be the happiest girl in the world.

So, in my improv class tonight, this girl told the craziest story.  She used to work in film production and was working an event Universal was throwing to honor Julia Roberts for her work in Erin Brockovich.  One of the attendees was George Clooney.  This girl was helping a bunch of executives get settled at the event, and George came up to her and asked if she would hang out with him because he didn’t really know anyone.  Of course she was like, okay!  So she hangs out with George Clooney all night, and when the event is over, escorts everyone to the hotel lobby to get cabs to go to the airport.  George holds the car door open for her and asks her to come to LA with him and then onto Vegas.  She’s like, “George!  I can’t.  I live in New York!”  George says, “Come!  It’ll be so much fun.  Just come to LA with me.”  Well, she then informed George Clooney that she had just gotten engaged and couldn’t just run off with him.  He dipped her, kissed her, and said it was too bad. 

What the What?!  That is the stuff of movies.  Quite literally.  Notting Hill.  Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!.  It’s a simple formula: regular person meets celebrity, celebrity falls for regular person.  And here it was in someone’s real life, and she turned down the movie star.  The entire time she was telling this story, I was thinking how it sounded like all the fantasies I’ve had about celebrities.  As a child, I loved Joey McIntyre from NKOTB.  Whenever my friend Mandy and I would play house, we’d always fight over who was married to him.  Whoever lost that fight would end up being married to his non-existent twin brother, who we made up for the purpose of this game.  Imaginative, but pretty simple stuff.  As I got older, however, the scenarios grew more elaborate.

When walking around my suburban Chicago neighborhood in junior high, I would frequently have this one fantasy about Jonathan Taylor Thomas.  I’d be enjoying the day, minding my own business, when he would come running around the corner.  You see, a pack of girls would be chasing him, and he only just got away.  I, of course, would give him refuge in my house.  Then we’d get to talking:  He was here visiting an aunt.  I was a fan, but still saw him as a person.  And so on.  He’d obviously fall in love with me, and we would be boyfriend and girlfriend.  Since this was before everyone had cell phones, he would give me a long range walkie-talkie, so we could talk to each other when he went back to LA.  Yup.

I also had this very specific fantasy about my class trip to Disney World sophomore year of high school.  As Leonardo DiCaprio had filmed part of Marvin’s Room there, I thought it was logical that he’d maybe shoot another movie there.  And this movie would happen to be shooting when we were there for our trip.  And he would happen to have a day off on the day of our performance, and, of course, happen to wander by as I was singing some solo.  He would fall in love with me despite my 16 years, and I would attend the Oscars with him in a replica of the red and black beaded dress Rose wore when she tried to jump off the Titanic to her death.  Wow.

I still have these crazy fantasies, especially living in New York.  There are so many celebrities everywhere, most of the fantasies involve me literally running into people, starting a conversation, and them realizing how amazing I am.  Justin Timberlake is one of them, of course.  As an adult, though, they’re not all about cute boys.  This scenario also works with Tina Fey.  I accidentally bump into her.  We share a brief, but terribly witty conversation.  She thinks I’m hilarious and hires me for 30 Rock.  That’s how it’s done, right?  None of this hard work at relationships or your career.  You just meet a celebrity and they make all your dreams come true.  Unfortunately, the girl in my improv class only reinforced this message in my head.  That one day Jonathan Taylor Thomas will ask me to run away with him.  But I will say yes.

I haven’t posted in four days.  Whoops.  Two of those days it was because I was busy being awesome and living my life: improv, drinking, birthdays, Grease Sing-A-Long (AMAZING), gay sketch show, etc.  But the other two, I was literally doing nothing but watching things on Netflix streaming.  No, I didn’t get my own account yet, but after this week you can bet I’m gonna.  I’m cat-sitting at my sister’s, and she has a Wii and a Netflix account.  Jackpot.  There was such a wealth of entertainment, you can’t possibly be surprised that someone who blogs about pop culture couldn’t pull herself away from all the pop culture.  The three movies I watched on Saturday were all “event movies” from last year that I hadn’t seen yet!  This needed to be rectified.

The first thing I watched was The Proposal.  You know I love a rom-com, and you know I love Sandy!  This movie was adorable and predictable, as a good rom-com should be.  Betty White was obviously delightful, and I love an appearance from Craig T. Nelson.  One of the good things about The Proposal was that, at first, I wasn’t really sure how it was going to end.  And, I really didn’t care.  I was fine with it going the way it went, but if they had taken the rom-com road less traveled that would have been good too.  Seriously though, the best part of this movie was Ryan Reynolds.  Mmmm…Ryan Reynolds.  He’s crazy good looking, and that dry delivery?!  Forget about it.  I’m smitten.  He can do no wrong in my eyes.  I’ve been a fan for a super long time.  Not only since Two Guys and a Girl still had a pizza place, but since he was on the Canadian teen drama Fifteen that aired on Nickelodeon.  It was brilliant.  Witness:

My second choice was something I was ashamed to say I hadn’t seen for a long time.  I finally watched Up.  It was everything we have come to expect in a Pixar movie.  The funny thing is, what we expect is the unexpected.  Pixar constantly suprises me with how wacky they can be while still remaining grounded and real.  It reminds me a lot of improv.  Not to get all comedy nerd on you, but improv scenes are all about the world that you create and the relationships between the people in that world.  If the people are acting honestly based on the reality you’ve created, it doesn’t matter how weird that reality is.  You believe it.  By grounding Carl and Ellie’s relationship in such reality, you believed the extreme measures he would go to hold onto what he had left of her: his promise.  That strong relationship also allows you to see Carl’s ability to start caring for Russell, Dug, and even Kevin (talk about wacky).  I wonder if they make the Pixar team do corporate improv retreats.  Perhaps they should.  I bet they could all make UCB Harold teams.

Finally, I watched Zombieland, and I found it delightful.  I wish I had watched it only two weeks sooner, as until then, I had managed not to find out who had the “amazing cameo” I heard so much about.  Unfortch, there was an Entertainment Weekly article in the last issue that gave it away.  I can’t really be mad at anyone but myself, however.  You can’t claim to be “spoiled” nine months after a movie came out.  Certainly not by something you choose to read.  A friend maybe.  Anyway, I love Jesse Eisenberg a lot, and found his nerdiness as appealing as ever.  (Ummm…digression, but The Social Network looks bananas amazing).  I don’t know if it really did anything that Shaun of the Dead hadn’t already done, but it was a fun movie.  I really hate Twinkies, though.

The rest of Saturday and Sunday I watched Season 3 of Bones.  I love that show.  On to Season 4!  Thanks, Colleen and your Netflix. 

This morning, I learned an important lesson from Full House.  Okay, it was a lesson I already knew, but there’s nothing like a Danny Tanner lecture to hit home a point.  Turning the spotlight away from himself (he had kissed DJ’s Spanish teacher!), he asked DJ what had started this whole mess to begin with.  Accustomed to most things coming easily, DJ was frustrated that she wasn’t good at Spanish and was looking for an easy way out.  Danny convinced her that even if, in the end, she didn’t get that A, he’d be proud of her so long as she tried her hardest. 

Cut to my piano lesson tonight.  I started taking lessons from my friend Joel about a month ago.  I had taken lessons from eighth through twelfth grade, but A. didn’t try very hard to begin with and B. didn’t keep up with it.  Knowing my present skills, Joel flipped through one of my books, stopping at a page with pencil markings and incredulously asking, “You played this?!”  Oh, man.  Danny Tanner sounded in my head (funny how his words seemed to echo louder than anything my mom ever said —- sorry, mom).  “What if you had practiced more often?  What if you had kept it up all these years?  What if you hadn’t given up?”  If only I had heard Danny Tanner all those years ago.  Of course, I was six when the episode first aired…

And if only ABC had taken the words of the patriarch of their own TGIF show to heart, maybe we’d still have Pushing Daisies.  I don’t know why, but I’ve been missing Pushing Daisies lately.  Maybe it’s because Kristin Chenoweth is so present now, not only in the theatre world, but also the mainstream.  If you didn’t watch Pushing Daisies, you missed out.  It was quirky and whimsical, yet dark and poignant.  It also, unfortunately, was a victim of the writer’s strike and its own network.  The advertising campaign was terrible, and I think the only reason I first watched it was because I didn’t have cable — limited options.  But, man did I love it.  And the critics loved it too!  Cheno won an Emmy!  But ABC gave up.  It was an expensive show to produce, which I get, but they didn’t give it time to find or keep an audience.  And I think if they had given it one more season, the shine of Glee would have rubbed off on it.  The shows were different enough not to be any sort of copy, but, I think, had enough in common to cross audiences.  Pushing Daisies, I miss you.  Danny Tanner wouldn’t have given up on you. 

Clearly Fox, Comedy Central, and MTV have taken a page out of Danny Tanner’s playbook.  Networks I’m sure he didn’t want his angel girls watching took long-time canceled shows and put them back on the air.  We all know Fox renewed Family Guy in 2005 after four years off the air, and it’s still on.  Futurama, which was also on Fox, has recently been brought back by Comedy Central.  And today, MTV announced Mike Judge would be making new episodes of Beavis and Butthead.  Perhaps since Daria was a spin-off, we can hope for new episodes of our favorite apathetic teen?!  That would probably be too much to ask for.  But, in the Tanner household, there’s always optimism.  And that’s why I know Danny Tanner would be proud of me.  Because I may not be as good as I used to be at piano, but I got back on that horse.  Just like Michelle probably did after she fell off of one, got amnesia, and then gained back her memory in the special two part series finale.

Now, if only Danny Tanner could have convinced Tyra to stick with her singing career: