May 2007 - Posts
Harry Potter fans, rejoice: In under two months, you'll be holding the final book in your hot little hands (or "lugging it around," if past page-lengths are any guide). The final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will be published on July 21, and the next movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," will be in theaters July 13. It's a Wild About Harry summer.
But forget the movie for now, loyal readers know what happens there. Let's talk about the next book. (If you don't like speculation and possible spoilers, duck out of this post now and go enjoy a chocolate frog or two.) CONTINUED >>
I was out of town for Memorial Day, so am now just catching up with a flood of short posts about recent entertainment topics. Let's start with a tribute.
Like many of you, I kind of assumed Charles Nelson Reilly was already dead, but upon hearing that the actor just passed away, I felt another piece of my 1970s memories pass on, too. He was as much a part of that goofy decade as avocado appliances and macrame.
As a kid, I loved his repartee with Brett Somers on "Match Game," a show that could probably never happen today. It was both too broad with its humor ("Dumb Dora was so dumb...") and too loose with its seemingly always schnockered guests. But we kids didn't know that: We thought "Match Game" was hilarious, and Nelson Reilly and Somers were so obviously the coolest people at the party. Want to remember the show in rich detail? Just read through some of the pages of memories shared at Jump the Shark -- even if you disagree with the shark-jumping moments, it's a memory flood like no other.
Even before "Match Game," Charles Nelson Reilly had a voice I knew -- if not a face. He helped create nightmare fodder for a whole generation of kids when he played the villain Horatio J. HooDoo on the Kroftt brothers' creepadelic "Lidsville." Walking and talking hats terrified us? Oh, I can assure you, they did. Ah, the childhood innocence of a pre-"Saw" world.
Rest in peace, sir. Thanks for the BLANKS.
"Paradise Hotel" is coming back. No, really. "Paradise Hotel." Not to be confused with "Temptation Island" or "Bachelorettes in Alaska," but if you remember "Forever Eden" and its whiny theme song ("ForEV-er Eden, ForEV-er Eden, I'm never going home..."), you're on the right track. ("Forever Eden" was kind of a spinoff of sorts of "Paradise.")
As Andy Dehnart reports for us today, "Paradise" is scheduled to start a new season on FOX Reality Channel (where else?) in January. If you missed "Paradise" the first time around, well ... think of the nastiest clique in your high school and imagine then having a Spring Break party (filmed at this breathtaking Acapulco resort) that goes on and on for weeks. There's plenty of backstabbing and behind-the-back whispering, one popular couple clings to power and arbitrarily decides who's cool and in and who's lame and dorky. Still, the show was one major guilty pleasure for the dozens of readers who've written in to our reality TV column over the years, wondering what happened to the show and when it will return.
I always felt pretty embarrassed for the participants on "Paradise Hotel." It's one thing to one day show your children or grandchildren a tape of you on "Survivor" or even "The Apprentice," it's another for them to have to know that Grandma or Grandpa was the foul-mouthed bikini girl from "Paradise Hotel."
I've really been trying to ignore the Lindsay Lohan story, but today's Associated Press article finally tackled the topic I've been wondering about for some time: Does anybody care that Lohan is not yet of legal drinking age, yet seems to be having no trouble getting served alcohol? If a 20-year-old non-celebrity was getting into this much trouble and alcohol was involved, you can bet the servers and bars in question would be in hot water by now, but it takes this long for anyone to notice that Lohan won't turn 21 until July?
Apparently California does have a Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which must have been on vacation for the past few years, and employees of said department have been conducting undercover investigations at "trendy celebrity watering holes." Why don't they just surreptitiously follow Lohan around from club to club? It would seem that if they want to find a trendy spot where the liquor is flowing and the ID is not necessary, they could do worse than to put a tracking device on her.
Whoopi Goldberg? Kathy Griffin? Ricki Lake? ROSEANNE? Who should replace Rosie O'Donnell as the host of "The View"?
I'm a Kathy Griffin fan myself, and thought she was quick-witted and irreverent on her recent guest appearance, but I don't watch "The View" nearly enough to weigh in much more than that. "View" watchers, here's your chance: Who would be your pick, and why?
Taking a long weekend, new posts after the holiday.
Warning: Don't read if you've got the "Lost" season finale saved to watch later. But if you've seen it and feel a need to discuss, come inside.
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Spoiler warning: If you don't want to know the new "American Idol," don't click through. But if you've already watched the show, come on inside and discuss.
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Warning: Don't click through if you don't want to know about the final "American Idol" performances on Tuesday night's show. But if you've seen the show and want to discuss, come on inside.
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Warning: Don't read any more if you don't want to know what happened on the "Desperate Housewives" finale Sunday night. But if you did watch, come on inside, let's discuss.
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Let's turn this Multi-link Monday over to the readers. All five of the links below were submitted by readers over the past few weeks. Give them a shot, and feel free to submit your own choice links by posting them in the comments.
• "I cannot stop wasting time at retrojunk.com. After watching intros for little-remembered 80s cartoons like "The Raccoons" and "Count Duckula" I got caught up watching commercials for things no one else seems to remember like "Nintendo Cereal" and "Crispy Critters Cereal." It has stuff from 70s/80s/90s sorted by TV, movies, commercials, etc." --Anonymous child of the '80s
• "I finally have a link to send you. It's a link to all of the speed traps in all 50 states. I checked it out for my state (NJ) and it was right on target.) --Amy, New Jersey
• "How about www.livingto100.com? Find out how long you're going to live!" --Stephanie, Nashville
• "Interesting site for a Multi-link Monday: Racial Questions and Answers." (Questions and answers about what it would be like to wake up and suddenly be a different race.) --Diane, Seattle
• And finally, a reader sent in this fun online game with Gonzo from "The Muppet Show" being shot out of a cannon, but I misplaced the comment and the reader's name! If that person cares to write again, I'll add in their name and hometown, and sorry about losing it the first time around. Cool game, though. I love Gonzo.
If you're going to be vocal about the bad, you'd better be ready to speak up when things go well. I haven't been shy to say I've found "Lost" a bit of a turn-off this season, what with too much emphasis on unknown Others, Nikki and Paulo style characters turning up only to bite the dust, and so many of the original castaways left to build sand castles on the beach. Last night's "Lost" episode turned things on its head, and in my mind, we're back now to the "Lost" that hooked me in the first season.
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The networks have been letting news about their various renewals and cancellations trickle out all year, but their upfront presentations are this week, and this means much more news. Some of the news is good ("Friday Night Lights" is back), some not so good ("Gilmore Girls" is done, although even some fans didn't like this last season) and some shows are still on the bubble.
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Don't read any further if you don't want to know what happened on Sunday's "Sopranos." But if you're one of the fans who's still sort of stunned by recent events, read on, there's much to talk about.
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Multi-link Monday returns, and remember, your contributions are always welcome -- just post them in the comments.
• It's wedding season, and many of us have a couple of ugly bridesmaid gowns in our closets. UglyDress.com highlights some eye-scorchers, including this gown for a grandma, the dress that matched the groom's Camaro, this one with enormous sleeves, Z, and the infamous Hello Kitty wedding dress.
• I named my cat after my favorite one-hit wonder band, Dexy's Midnight Runners. (Dexy would like it known, however, that she is no fan of "Come On, Eileen.") One Hit Wonder Central offers everything you want to know about those one-hit bands and their songs, including this list of the site's most popular 100 one-hit wonders. Man, Edison Lighthouse may have only had one hit, but it was a darn good one, as far as I'm concerned.
• Wish I'd thought to link to this before Mother's Day. Why send a simple flower or cookie bouquet when you can send a flower-shaped fruit bouquet? I wonder how fresh the fruit is when it arrives.
• Reader-submitted link #1: David offers up this very cool site showing amazing sidewalk-chalk masterpieces by artist Julian Beever. Hard to believe this image of Princess Diana,or this amazing swimming pool, are done in chalk.
• Reader-submitted link #2: I'm one of those people who always checks out the latest colorful or commemorative license plates, so of course I loved this link from Alicia: License Plates of the World. I didn't know there were special plates issued for the various presidential inaugurations, but this site has photos of them going back to 1933. The 2005 plate is exceptionally lovely.
Warning: Don't read any more if you didn't watch Wednesday's "Lost" and want to be surprised when you get to it on your TiVo. If you did watch, and if you're as perplexed/frustrated/intrigued/possibly angry as many viewers, read on, we've got a lot to discuss.
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In just a month we'll be kicking off this summer's TV commercial contest, but there's one omnipresent commercial running now that I just have to mention. If you've watched TV at all in the last week, you've almost certainly seen it, and you either love it or hate it.
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I've just never understood the appeal of Susan Meyer on "Desperate Housewives." Can anyone explain it to me? Why is this character likable? Why is she the favorite "Housewife" of so many viewers? Why do so many who watch long to see her live happily ever after with hunky plumber Mike? With "Housewives" close to wrapping its third season, it's time for me to admit it, even if I stand alone: I. Can't Stand. Susan.
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Another offering of Multi-link Monday linkage, for your work-avoiding pleasure. Remember, I love your submissions, so post them in the comments and look for them on an upcoming Monday.
• Remember last week's "Star Wars" personality test? The creator wrote to let us know that the site has added a "Spider-Man" version of the test. As with last week, feel free to share your results in the comments. I'm ... Spider-Man himself, apparently. Hmm. Nerdy and romantically inept, whee!
• This color test isn't difficult, but it may take you a few minutes to catch on to what they're asking. Or maybe that was just me. (Thanks to Karen for the link!)
• Stealing this from my pal Will's Clicked, but Suicide Food is a Weblog showcasing food logos in which the animal is cheerily participating in its own consumption. This one, in which the cow is gleefully watching itself be sliced up while alive, is enough to make a person consider veganism. It reminds me of the great "Clucky the Chicken" parody commercial (video here; transcript here) on "Saturday Night Live," featuring the great Adam Sandler as the voice of the chicken, and the much-missed Phil Hartman as the dad.
• Two reader submissions this week. The first is from Julie in Nashville: "Just found this site for your Multi-link Monday crowd, sponsored by Emma Email Marketing, a site I use for work. For every 'yes' vote between now and Memorial Day, this Nashville-based company will plant a tree. You don't have to give out your email, just click 'yes'. They also have a very funny FAQ about trees, some charts and graphs and information about how to be friends with a tree through its MySpace page. You have to see it all to believe it!"
• A reader who goes by Ohio Betty offers up this submission, which some "American Idol" fans will no doubt love. Her comment makes the submission for me., She says "I clicked on a link on a blog that said 'Buckymania,' thinking it might be a fan site for the 'Get Fuzzy' fan site, but ... noooooo. It was this. I can't completely decide whether it's for real or for goofs. Either way, eeeee."
Sanjaya has only been gone two weeks, and it's as if he never existed. All the "Idol" fans who bemoaned his presence on the show and tried to blame the entire country of India for keeping him around have been quiet lately. Every season, viewers wail about how the voting messes things up, but almost every season, things straighten out by the end.
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Don Imus was all apologies when the fire was raining down on him for calling the Rutgers' women's basketball team names. But he's not taking his firing sitting down, according to Fortune.com. They report that the DJ plans to sue CBS radio for the $40 million remaining on his contract.
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I've been stumbling across a lot of fun videos on YouTube lately. So in a kind of cousin to Multi-link Monday, here's YouTube Tuesday -- five videos that you might enjoy. Note: All links go directly to the videos, so if you're at work, have your headphones on.
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