I realized the other day that I never gave my comments on the Royal Wedding, AKA the Wedding of the Century. I'd like to think that my wedding was the Wedding of the Century, but I'm sure every bride thinks so. The Duchess of Cambridge, AKA Kate Middleton, however probably knows that hers is actually fact.
My fascination with the Royal Family started when I was in grade school. My English teacher would always tell us tidbits about Shakespeare, Henry VIII and everything and anything British. From those tidbits I caught the bug and have been intrigued by specifically the Royal Family ever since. I actually pondered getting a graduate degree in History with a concentration in English history, but that has yet to come to fruition.
I know almost everyone was sick and tired of the coverage this particular wedding happen to be receiving, but how often do you get to see pomp and circumstance? Never in America that's for sure. I remember listening to the radio the day before "the big day" and the DJs were trying to figure out the American version of the Royal Wedding. Who comes closest? No one! You can't even compare a monarchy to a crowd of celebrities. Please! That's almost an insult. The closest thing we have to Britain right now is David and Victoria Beckham, and we're just borrowing them.
Regardless, I thought the wedding was beautiful. I thought Kate's dress was outstanding, and everything seemed to go well. However I have to comment on two things. One being Pippa's dress. Awesome! I loved it. I thought it was classic and made her look smokin; but of course every man in America thought so to. Second, what was up with those hats? I think I only liked a few out of the giant crowd of guests. I enjoyed Victoria Beckham's the most and Princess Beatrice's the least. Pretzel hat? Please. The only good that came out of that ensemble was a future Halloween costume.
March 2, 2011
My husband and I recently drove down to Pittsburgh, PA to visit with family, catch-up with friends, and see LADY GAGA IN CONCERT! I would have to say that it was the best concert I have ever been to. It started with the Scissor Sisters opening up promptly at 8 o'clock. They put on a great show. Brian and I went with our best friends Liz and Randy, and Liz and I loved the Scissor Sisters. We've loved them since college when we played them at 90.5 WERG. Well, Liz probably loves them a little more than I do, but still. They were great. Even with the interesting costume choices.
They ended on-the-dot at 8:30 so that the GAGA set could be constructed. Time goes by, and 9 o'clock rolls around. Nothing happens. So we wait a little longer, taking turns literally running to the bathroom so we don't miss the opening, and we still find ourselves waiting. We talked a little bit with Mexican Ronnie (that's what her friends called her) and enjoyed listening to her conversation with Patrick A.K.A Brian. It was interesting I can tell you that much. Ronnie ended up passing out and sleeping through the ENTIRE performance.
We looked at our phones and it was now 9:30. Really? Really GAGA? Where were you? While killing some more time we joined in the entire arena as we attempted to do the wave several times. Darn you section 212 for cutting it off! It only took 7 tries to get you to stand up for .5 seconds. A dozen tries later we finally made it all away around the arena. Once success had been made we all began to grow more and more impatient. This became more apparent when the entire arena began to 'boo' after Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits CD finished. Seriously, it was 10 o'clock and we were watching drunks being escorted out. Were we going to get our money back or what?
All of a sudden the lights cut out and a shadow of a curvaceous woman in broad shoulder pads appeared on a staircase. IT WAS GAGA! Once she started, it was like an hour and a half went by in a snap. People went crazy, myself included. She spent the entire concert trying to make it to the Monster Ball. Her car broke down, took a subway, got lost in the woods and defeated a monster, all while singing some of her greatest hits. It was the most entertaining, jaw dropping show I have ever seen. That is what concerts should be like. From now on, a performer sitting on a bar stool while singing the whole time will officially be boring to me.
GAGA ended with an encore of Born This Way, and the crowd went nuts. She may have been fashionably late, but man was she awesome! Two thumbs up!!
January 30, 2011
For Christmas this year I purchased the John Adams HBO series on DVD for my husband. Was it somewhat of a selfish gift? Sure. But did he really like it? Of course. We watched two episodes last night and I am completely hooked. I really had no idea what type of role Adams played in the foundation and creation of our country, but if David McCullough is correct, Adams seemed to basically pull the strings. What an intelligent man and family. I never put two and two together that John Quincy Adams was John Adams son. I just never did. This series has been a re-education of sorts for me.
But, but, but, but, Abigail Adams... the smartest woman ever! Man would I have liked to have been her friend. She basically ran the country through her husband. So technically speaking, women have been running this country from the beginning. That's how I like to think of it anyways. It sheds new light on the phrase 'behind every man is a strong woman.'
I love history and I love what it can teach you. This just makes me want to earn that masters degree in history even more.
January 21, 2011
Our dear friend, Keith Olbermann, has ended his time at Countdown with Keith Olbermann. No longer will we be able to tune into MSNBC to hear his truthful yet sarcastic comments. Instead we are forced to find something else mindless to watch. Thank you, MSNBC, for deciding not to renew Mr. Olbermann's contract. I really appreciate it. Is this still punishment for his personal donations to three individual democratic campaigns? I hope not. He already served his suspension, so why make the rest of us suffer by taking him off the air for good?
What is this world coming to? I enjoy watching shows such as his and one Rachel Maddow. They have witty commentary with actual facts and truth behind them. Now, I have to admit that I have not watched every show on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN or the Fox News Network, so I can't speak for other shows and hosts. But is it so wrong to speak the truth? It's a heck of a lot better than scare tactics and "take back our country!" Really? It's people like that that scare me. Don't try and brain wash your audience by saying "what the founding fathers meant was..." You have no idea what the Founding Fathers meant, and neither do I. Yes, everyone has their own interpretation, but some are just dead off track.
I'm sorry if this post didn't make much sense; but I just wanted to get my thought across, that good journalism is being sucked down the tubes by rubbish commentary and crappy management. The End.
January 17, 2011
Last night I tuned in to NBC to watch the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, hosted by one Ricky Gervais. I thought the show was quite a success. I base that result on the fact that I actually watched the whole thing, and didn't flip channels to see what else was on. I thought the dresses were stunning and the red carpet commentary was just right. Nothing to ridiculous.
I think as a host, Gervais was very blunt and funny; but it's understandable people think he went to far with his jokes. I'm sure, as many have said, he will not be asked to host again next year. But now a days do you really see one person hosting an awards show on an annual basis? Not really. The only person I can think of recently was Billy Crystal who hosted the Oscars several times, but that was a few years ago. Overall I think Gervais was hysterical, especially when he brought out a different drink every time.
As for the winners, I was glad yet surprised. The biggest surprise for me was the Best Actor category for a Motion Picture. I thought it was going to go to Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter, but it went to Colin Firth who was really favored to win. But I figured with all of this hype about Fighter, I for sure thought Marky Mark was going to walk away with the globe. But as I have been proven many times, I was wrong. But hey, there's always the Oscars! A few things I think the Hollywood Foreign Press did get right were the awards to Glee. I thought they were well deserved and the speeches given were great. I only feel bad for one cast member, Lea Michele. I'm pretty sure she will forever be the Susan Lucci of the Globes.
So now that the Steelers have come back in a stunning victory over the Ravens (blah), and the Jets have just crushed the Patriots, it is looking to be a top notch football weekend next weekend! Bring on the NFC and AFC Championships!
Yesterday, I have to be honest, I wasn't feeling it during the Steelers game. I had high hopes that were just crushed shortly into the second quarter; and I'm going to blame it all on the refs. They were awful, really, truly, awful. I once read an article on referees and what they do in real life and how they prepare themselves for games. I'm hoping that these referees really look at the tapes and go "what the heck were we thinking?" You see, there's this invention called a whistle. Ya, it is carried in your hand and you blow it when a play is over. That way, you can let the players and the fans know what is going on. Would you care to blow it?
At the half I just decided to watch the game. It really didn't matter the outcome, I just wanted to eat, drink and enjoy some football. So, I did. Turns out, that must be a really good motive, because we WON! The Steelers finally decided to pull it together and work the second half. Go figure, working to win.
Now, we have to take on the Jets. And thank goodness. I could not stand another weekend of Tom Brady and his pathetic looks. I'm sorry if you're a fan, but he is just a baby. I'm still ticked at the Pats when they walked off the field against the Giants in the Super Bowl a few years ago. What poor sportsmanship. Who cares if you're going to lose. You stay on the field, suck it up, and shake some hands. So thank you Jets for wooping some butt. NOW BRING IT ON!
STEELERS VS JETS
P.S. I'm baking some sweet cookies for the Super Bowl. Stay tuned!
Jan. 12, 2011
This is my 'Really?!' page, where I will be commenting on random things each day. Not so much a rant and rave as a comment on one of those moments where you stop and say really? really? So without further adieu, here is today's 'Really?!'
It is cold. Colder than an ice box, colder than Sully was when he got stuck in that blizzard in Monsters, Inc. I'm not sure what Mother Nature is doing, but she surely must be having fun watching all of us be miserable. These storms are just pounding the East Coast. The other day it was 18 degrees, today it's 24. I'm afraid I'm going to run into a telephone pole and get my tongue stuck to it.
When I got out to my car this morning it was great because it was already brushed off! Thank you, Brian. But when I tried to get out, I got stuck! I thought my car would be able to get out of 4 inches, but it was tough. Getting plowed in by a snow plow, while in my car, didn't help either. Finally I did get out, but only when a Volvo decided it was in a hurry and almost hit me while I was pulling out of my spot. I looked around everywhere to make sure there weren't any cars coming, but sure enough I'm half way out of my spot and all of a sudden there's a car. He tailgates me all the way to the stop sign and before I know it, my front end is half way into the first lane because people don't know how to drive! I couldn't back up because the bum behind me was on my butt, and he had 2 cars behind him! So here I am at an intersection, cars going around me trying not to hit me and one another, while this bum behind me gets more and more impatient by the second. I really am a safe driver, I am, but when others around me drive fast, or never put their turn signals on, and randomly decide to turn, it throws everything off.
When I got home from work today I had to get out and shovel a spot for me to park in because I couldn't get in it! Funny thing is, it's the same spot I had to get out of this morning. So I made sure I shoveled as much as I could. About 30 min. later, I was cold and wet, but done.
I love the snow, don't get me wrong, but man, give me a break!
