The Best of Seven

Hard to believe the year's over, isn't it? So, to honor the year that was, this time around I'm going to share a roundup of all of my favorite things from 2007. This is mostly a pop culture list, so note that I'm including things that *I* enjoyed in 2007, regardless of whether they came out in previous years... I'm not a stickler here. :-)

Movies


Best Film: This one is pretty easy, actually, with the Coens' No Country for Old Men. It stays with you, and I expect to hear it called out several times from various podiums (podii?) during awards season.

Best Popcorn Flick: I saw this one on DVD, but I wish I'd seen on it the big screen... yes, I'm actually honoring a Michael Bay film, cuz Transformers was a dang good time. Honorable mention: the weird, silly, gorgeous, and ultimately satisfying experience that was 300.

Best Comedy: I'm a card-carrying member of the cult of Apatow, but unlike most critics I thought Knocked Up was by far the superior offering from the Apatow clan this summer. Hilarious, with heart. Whereas Superbad was just intermittently funny, with some heart.

Best Romance: Swoon, how much did I love Waitress??? A lot. It was charming and quirky, gave Keri Russell a great role to breakout in, and featured the always-dreamy Nathan Fillion. Tasty as pie.

Best Documentary: Again, this was on DVD... No End in Sight bears viewing by all, even multiple times. It's not a standard liberal-propaganda-anti-Iraq film, it's really more of an analysis of what really happened, told by the people who were in the thick of it.

Television

Best Show: Lost. Of course! Would you expect anything else? The season finale, "Through the Looking Glass," was nothing short of brilliant. My 2 favorite scenes were Charlie's final attempt to help the 815ers, with the warning that it's "Not Penny's Boat," and the last minute realization that we're watching Kate and Jack in a flash- forward. Edge of my seat! (Honorable Mention: 30 Rock and its man among men, Alec Baldwin.)

Best New Show: A tie, between ABC's Dirty Sexy Money and NBC's Chuck. While one is a soap about the uber-rich and the other is a a spy action/comedy, they're both good plain fun. Neither takes itself too seriously, and they both offer great escapism on a weeknight. (Until the darn strike took them away, of course.)

Best Reality Show: Top Chef. After an obnoxious second season, TC came roaring back this year with a group of talented, interesting professionals and a really compelling competition. I would've been happy with any of the final 3 winning, and though Hung was never my favorite I do respect his talent and can agree with his final victory.

Best TV-on-DVD: (Since this is how I watch about half my shows) Dexter. Season 1 had me rushing home from work to grab those little red envelopes out of my mailbox and dig in. Can't wait until Season 2 comes out!

Books

Note: I read a lot of books, so it's very hard for me to narrow it down to just a few favorites. Here's my attempt....

Best Fiction: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. What a wonderful conclusion to a beautiful series. Thanks for the 10 years of fun, Jo!

Best History: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This just might also be the single best book I read all year. It's a fascinating study of Abraham Lincoln's political leadership, and an enlightening, exciting, and amazingly accessible survey of the major political and culture forces and figures who shaped America's Civil War and its aftermath. A must-read (but set aside 3 months for it).

Best Contemporary Non-Fiction: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. If you are what you eat, Kingsolver offers a lot of great advice to make sure you're eating the healthy products of sustainable agriculture. And her turkey sex stories are unforgettable! (Oops, can't believe I forgot my honorable mention - Elizabeth Gilbert's beautiful and powerful Eat, Pray, Love. I spent the first part of 2007 recommending it to everyone I know!)

Best Book Club Choice: This covers the category of "books I would never have picked up were it not for my book club friends." And the winner is.... The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It's a great Gothic mystery, and true to form, this gal and I were able to pick up on all the not-so-hidden lesbian subtext, always a treat for our whole book club!

Best Modern Literary Giant I've Finally Read: Philip Roth. I've been hearing about him forever and ever, and this year I finally started his Zuckerman series with The Ghost Writer. Loved it - his writing is so evocative and rich, and I now have several more waiting for me in my Amazon cart.

Music

I'm not really much of a music person, surprisingly, so I just have one category:

Best New Album: Magic by Bruce Springsteen. The Boss is back with the E Street Band, and he's pissed off about the state of the world. The lyrics are strong, passionate, and resonant, and the music is the lush E St sound we all grew up loving.

Food

Best Restaurant: Oyamel. This new PQ establishment won out over Acadiana, for both variety and consistency. I've always enjoyed my meals at Oyamel, and I like the variety on the menu as well as the fun, easy ambiance. I've had some fantastic stuff at Acadiana - their gumbo is to die for, and so are the desserts. But I've been disappointed in some of their entrees, so I may just stick to small plates whenever I go there again.

Best Meal: Thanksgiving, thanks again to the wonderful hospitality of Scotte and J-Lo.

Best Meal I Make Myself: I'm not much of a cook, but again thanks to Scotte's advice I've started making a really tasty tilapia and diced tomatoes dish. Very easy, and very healthy. Hooray for when diet food just tastes like food!

Best Dessert: This is another simple diet-friendly option I've started doing at home - berries and cream. I take a bowlful of berries - fresh if in season or frozen - sprinkle them with Splenda, and top it with a big dollop of fat free Cool Whip. Tasty and good for you, and it actually does fill that ice cream craving!

Random

Best New Intellectual Pursuit: A tie, between my newfound history geekness, with associated reading, doc watching, and historic site visits, and my Dalai Lama-inspired interest in Buddhism.

Best "Playing Tourist" Experience: The Lincoln Assassination walking tour, perfect for history geeks of all ages!

At The Movies

Very typical of a Christmas break, I have actually seen three movies in the last week. And since an unexamined movie is not worth watching, or something like that, here's my report:

First up, on Christmas Eve, the entire Stef family headed to one of Bloomington's two (yes, only two) cinemas to check out the latest Will Smith adventure, I Am Legend. I don't know what it is about Will Smith, but he is so darn watchable in just about anything he does - whether it's a cheesy romcom, a serious family drama, or a big-budget sci-fi actioner - so we're lucky that he tends to make pretty good choices for films that showcase his charms and talents. (Side note, I also have come to really respect Mr. Smith as a business person, cuz from all I've read he sounds like just about the hardest working man in show business. There's a reason he has a huge global box office, and is known as the first international African-American superstar - he goes to just about every country on the map to stump for each of his films. Way to work for it!)

Anyway - to the movie. This is a good, old-fashioned scary movie. The bleak future it portrays seems more than possible, as human hubris (personified by an uncredited Emma Thompson) finally outweighs the survival of the species, and that's really the most chilling part of the movie. In this near future, the Earth becomes a desolate place populated by packs of creatures who barely resemble their former human selves as they seek the dark and feed on any prey then can find. The movie does a great job of making these creatures damn scary, all the more for how believable they seem. Left alone among them in an empty Manhattan, Will Smith is the former soldier and scientist who still believes the end of the world can be reversed. Smith portrays his Robert Neville with a combination of despair, hope, and growing madness that is really compelling (take that Charlton Heston!), and for most of the film his richest relationship and scenes are with a very expressive German Shepherd. Overall, for the thrills and chills, the subtle moral themes, the great visual effects, the beautiful dog, and the showcase of one of our best movie stars, I give this an A-.


On Wednesday, before I had to head to the airport, Mom and I decided to kill a few hours at the cineplex with a cute, sweet little movie - Disney's Enchanted. I'd been hearing for weeks about how simple and fun this one was, and it really is a good time. As long as you're able to stand watching a matinee with - gasp! - children around you, this is a good way to spend an afternoon. The movie takes a familiar story - an animated Disney princess falls in love, the evil witch wants her destroyed - and gives it a modern, snarky twist. This princess, Gisele - gamely played by the great Amy Adams - is cursed and sent to the "real world" via a sewer grate in Times Square. There she meets the cynical, lovelorn, but still-so-dreamy divorce lawyer Patrick Dempsey and his adorable daughter. Songs are sung, Manhattan rodents do a bang-up cleaning job, the colorful characters of Central Park do a dance number, and eventually the princess is saved by her true love, then she does some saving herself. Hooray for modern girl power fairy tales! James Marsden hams it up as Gisele's cartoon prince come to life, and you've got to give him credit for being willing to look so ridiculous. And Susan Sarandon appears to be having a ball vamping it up as the evil queen. Amy Adams is the heart of this movie, for sure, as she plays Gisele without a hint of irony, really going for it in playing such an earnest and sweet character looking for love. And, surprise, she can really sing! Since this movie made even my cynical Mom laugh, I give it a B+.

Last night, Scotte and I ventured out to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Now, I admit I went in to the theater predisposed to not like this movie - I didn't really like the first, and I'm not a Nicolas Cage fan - but I also knew I had to see it because of its Civil War-related story and, really, because I believe you can only legitimately mock something if you've actually seen it. And... well... the writing is pretty bad, the movie is held together with a fairly preposterous and razor-thin thread of a plot. (Scotte and I were both heard to say "Yeah, right!" at a few different points.) By the end, you just might find yourself asking "How exactly did this relate back to the Lincoln Assassination?" This movie, and the first, fall into that category of action adventure movies that always remind me of a theme park ride - they have to keep you moving along really fast with lots of bells and whistles so that you don't stop and stare at any one point too long and realize just how cheesy and flimsy it is.



But, all of that being said, I do own up to laughing for real at several times during the movie, cuz the sidekick character, Riley Poole, is very snarky and funny, and Jon Voight and Helen Mirren are great as Cage's parents. The supporting cast is impressive all-around. The movies would just be so much better with a different star! I don't find Cage to be appealing at all - not funny, interesting, smart, compelling, attractive - nothing. Ah well. If you liked the first movie, you will probably also like this one. But I give it a C+.

Best. Gift. Ever.

Remember on Christmas Eve, when I posted my list for Santa? And the one thing I wanted Santa to bring most of all was nothing other than the man of my dreams. Yeah, big expectations, right?

Well, imagine my surprise to find that under here...


... the hottest of all hotties was all wrapped up with a bow? Woohoo!


My brother got me Sawyer for Christmas! A talking Sawyer, with a full-size prop. Don't be naughty.... it's a replica of Sawyer's childhood letter. Proof of his tortured soul, the vulnerable, hurt, scared child inside that sculpted exterior. (Ha!)

Yes, my friends, Santa decided I was very nice this year!

What I Want for Christmas

I admit I'm a terrible person to buy gifts for (for whom to buy gifts? that doesn't sound right), cuz I don't like lists and I subscribe to the "just saw something that reminded me of you" school of gift-giving. For me, ideally, it isn't about the gift itself but the fact that someone was thinking of you in a special way. And there really are sugar-plum fairies, I swear!

I've bent a bit over the last few years, giving away a standard-but-personal gift to most people... but in my heart I would still really like to receive those special, thoughtful, personal gifts. But I know that's harder and harder, especially cuz my family doesn't see me enough to really know my personal tastes... so, I do the lists, mostly of the Amazon.com variety.

I suck at sticking to that too, and my family just busted me for being someone who puts something on a wish list one month and then goes and buys it myself the next. Hey - if I check the list and no one has bought it, and I still want it, isn't it fair game? I take it off right away! But, no, busted. Once again I'm too independent and don't let other people do things for me. I know, a blessing and a curse.

Anyway.... the point of this post.... is to share my sky-high wish list. All DVD sets and paperbacks aside.... Santa, if I am indeed on your nice list, here's what I really want for Christmas this year:

10. More time to spend with my friends. All of our lives are filling up with marriages and careers and mortgages, oh my! But we still need to spend quality time together just to remember how fun and supportive we are... so, that 25th hour in the day would really come in handy.

9. The courage to get over my ridiculous new driving-phobia (how's that for personal?) and get back behind the wheel again. I love not having a car, but lately I've really felt helpless and useless cuz I'm scared to drive. Let's get over that, shall we?

8. An end to the writers' strike, soon, so that LOST can stay on schedule. Yeah, priorities.

7. New furniture. That's pretty simple and tangible, I know, but I've had some of my stuff for so long... and most of what I got in my first apartment was just carbon copies of what my parents had when I was growing up. I want my place to look more like ME and less like what I thought it was supposed to look like 10 years ago.

6. Continued improvement in the Stef family's health, physically and emotionally, including my own.

5. More willpower and strength to resist temptations - of the tastebuds, the wallet, the heart, and the soul.

4. A Democratic victory in 2008. Let's paint the town blue!

3. To come home and see that Cleo has miraculously cleaned my apartment. She would so deserve that giant canister of catnip that her Grandma got her then!

2. World peace. (And a Winnebago)

1. Someone to love, who loves me back. Santa, think you can find me Mr. Right in your bag of tricks???

That's a pretty achievable list, eh? :-) I hope you all get exactly what you want... or what you need... this year.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Technology is So Yesterday*

Wouldn't you think that every time you upgrade to a new piece of personal electronics, it would actually be an improvement on the old model? Well, caveat emptor.

I just went through the kinda fun process of realizing that I have long since qualified for Verizon's new-every-2, and replaced my 3-year-old Motorola with the dying battery with a new purpley-blue Samsung model. I'm typically a very late adopter when it comes to technology, so I don't need lots of new-fangled stuff. My criteria for a new phone? It can make calls and send texts. That's it, that's all I wanted. The Samsung model I found online seemed pretty decent - fitting both of those criteria - and even though I didn't really care about getting a camera phone, they just about all come that way now so I was ready to accept it.

I got the new phone about 2 weeks ago now and have been getting to know it (no time wasted reading a manual, of course!). And, sadly, I'm finding out that even while it does perform the basic functions I need, this Samsung baby is missing a few of the features I really liked about the Motorola oldie-but-goodie.

The new one doesn't have "Get It Now!" capabilities, which AS warned me about but I didn't really know what that meant. Turns out, that's the way you can download cool ringtones. This phone? No cool ringtones. I'm stuck with the horrible, tinny, Casiotone-esque choices that come with the phone - like Bell 2 or Melody 5. Ick. What happened to a plain old ringer style, if nothing else? So, the new phone is permanently on vibrate. I *so* don't want to be that person with the obnoxious ring on the bus.

And... the latest downgrade I discovered this week? While the new phone is adequate in its texting capabilities, I suffered a great loss as I realized while clicking through the punctuation options for the #1 key...and clicking through....and clicking through... no parentheses! What?!? How can they have gotten rid of the parentheses? No more smiley-faces for me? But that's a huge part of my texting charm! :-) Alas, I must now always resort to sticking my tongue out- :-p How sad.

On another matter... does anyone have any luck with buying external CD/DVD drives? My trusty laptop stopped recognizing or working with blank CDs months ago - long after the 2-year warranty ran out. So while I can still play CDs and DVDs, I can no longer write to CDs. That means I haven't backed up my hard drive - with its growing iTunes library - in more than a year. A little scary. My choices right now are either: (1) pay for the laptop to be fixed, for who knows how much money and who knows how long a time without it; (2) upgrade to a new laptop - always tempting, though this doesn't really seem to justify it; or (3) spend about 100 bucks on an external drive. Option 3 seems to be the easiest bet. Any thoughts?

* I can't take credit for this great post title - that belongs to Joyous, who uttered this great line in the midst of one of our emoticon-free texts this week!

Mid-Season Handicapping

The early awards season has been trucking along, even amidst our collective strike anxiety. And I *know* you all are just dying to hear my comments on where things stand.... so here's a treat:

My take on the major categories of the SAG nominations. (Really, couldn't their union come up with a more peppy sounding acronym? There's some joke in there about what aging actors try to avoid most....!)

I like the SAG noms every year, even though they don't get as much hype as a telecast (broadcast on basic cable!) because they show what the actors themselves are thinking about this year's performances. And they're a great indicator of the eventual Oscar and Emmy nods, cuz actors are one of (if not the) biggest voting blocs in both Academies. Fun!

14th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS®
NOMINATIONS

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

GEORGE CLOONEY / Michael Clayton – “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS / Daniel Plainview – “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage)
RYAN GOSLING / Lars Lindstrom – “Lars And The Real Girl” (Sidney Kimmel Entertainment)
EMILE HIRSCH / Christopher McCandless– “Into The Wild” (Paramount Vantage)
VIGGO MORTENSEN / Nikolai – “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

I've only seen two of these movies - Michael Clayton and Into the Wild. I'm a little surprised to see Gosling on this list, cuz I read lots of weird stuff about his movie But, he's a darn fine actor. This is a strong category - hard to call. I'm guessing the critical momentum might line up for Daniel Day-Lewis... but I'll pick Clooney as my fave.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

CATE BLANCHETT / Queen Elizabeth I – “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal Pictures)
JULIE CHRISTIE / Fiona – “Away From Her” (Lionsgate)
MARION COTILLARD / Edith Piaf – “La Vie En Rose” (Picturehouse)
ANGELINA JOLIE / Mariane Pearl – “A Mighty Heart” (Paramount Vantage)
ELLEN PAGE / Juno MacGuff – “Juno” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

I've only seen Angelina Jolie's performance of all of these. Wow, I need to get out to the movies more often! I've read strong reviews for each of these women, and I'm gonna guess that this is Julie Christie's. Actors love to reward long careers, and I think I read somewhere that Ms. Christie has had an Oscar nom, or at least buzz, in each of the last 3 decades.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

CASEY AFFLECK / Robert Ford – “The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
JAVIER BARDEM / Anton Chigurh – “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
HAL HOLBROOK / Ron Franz – “Into The Wild” (Paramount Vantage)
TOMMY LEE JONES / Ed Tom Bell – “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
TOM WILKINSON / Arthur Edens – “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

This category makes me so happy! I've seen them all except for the younger Affleck, and I'm looking forward to that on DVD. It's a very tough race... Holbrook's performance was so charming and poignant. Tommy Lee was great, but he was kinda playing his usual gig. Tom Wilkinson was fantastic as a lawyer suffering a breakdown. But for sheer power of the performance, I'm going with Javier Bardem. His killer was so chilling, so menacing, that he's becoming a bit of a modern day Bogeyman - as in the guy you'd least want to run into on a dark country highway. Great work.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

CATE BLANCHETT / Jude – “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
RUBY DEE / Mama Lucas – “American Gangster” (Universal Pictures)
CATHERINE KEENER / Jan Burres – “Into The Wild” (Paramount Vantage)
AMY RYAN / Helene McCready – “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax Films)
TILDA SWINTON / Karen Crowder – “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

I saw both Keener's Earth Mother performance and Swinton's brittle, unethical corporate shrew.... Putting aside the great reviews for Amy Ryan and the usual Blanchett love and Ruby Dee's legendary status, cuz I haven't seen any of these offerings, I am going with Tilda Swinton.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

3:10 TO YUMA
AMERICAN GANGSTER
HAIRSPRAY
INTO THE WILD
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Hooray! A best picture sneak preview! A few surprises - as 3:10 to Yuma and Hairspray show up here but nowhere else. Strong ensemble performances but no specific standouts? Is that what the SAG members are saying? I am going to go with my personal fave of the bunch, which also seems to have most of the mo' going into the season -- No Country for Old Men.

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

MICHAEL KEATON / James Jesus Angleton – “The Company (TNT)
KEVIN KLINE / Jacques – “As You Like It” (HBO)
OLIVER PLATT / George Steinbrenner – “The Bronx is Burning” (ESPN)
SAM SHEPARD / Frank Whiteley – “Ruffian” (ABC)
JOHN TURTURRO / Billy Martin – “The Bronx is Burning” (ESPN)

Ah, tv movies and miniseries - where stage and film actors go to get an extra paycheck and troll for awards. I haven't seen any of these, so who knows? They're all strong actors - anybody's guess.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

ELLEN BURSTYN / Posey Benetto – “Mitch Albom’s For One More Day” (ABC)
DEBRA MESSING / Molly Kagan – “The Starter Wife” (USA)
ANNA PAQUIN / Elaine Goodale – “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” (HBO)
QUEEN LATIFAH / Ana – “Life Support “ (HBO)
VANESSA REDGRAVE / Woman – “The Fever” (HBO)
GENA ROWLANDS / Melissa Eisenbloom – “What If God Were the Sun?” (Lifetime)

Also didn't see any of these -- but I'm not a Debra Messing fan, so I hope she doesn't win for that seeming piece of fluff on USA.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

JAMES GANDOLFINI / Tony Soprano – “The Sopranos” (HBO)
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan – “Dexter” (Showtime)
JON HAMM / Don Draper – “Mad Men” (AMC)
HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House – “House” (FOX)
JAMES SPADER / Alan Shore – “Boston Legal” (ABC)

I so need to see Mad Men. It's coming on DVD soon... and eventually the 2nd season of Dexter will be out, too. For me, this race is between Michael C. Hall and Hugh Laurie, and I'd give it to Hall. But the Guild may honor Gandolfini for his work over the whole series.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes – “Damages” (FX)
EDIE FALCO / Carmela Soprano – “The Sopranos” (HBO)
SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker – “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC)
HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko – “Saving Grace” (TNT)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – “The Closer” (TNT)

Cable really is taking over in terms of more prestigious series and roles, eh? I've never seen any of these shows, but for the same reason as above I'd guess Edie Falco. (She rocks as Jack's secret lover, too!)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 Rock” (NBC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott – “The Office” (NBC)
RICKY GERVAIS / Andy Millman – “Extras” (NBC)
JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold – “Entourage” (HBO)
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk – “Monk” (USA)

ALEC BALDWIN ALEC BALDWIN ALEC BALDWIN ALEC BALDWIN
Sorry, Piv, you've picked up a few statues over the last few years. Alec's Jack Donaghy rocks the world, thus he needs some gold.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly – “Samantha Who?” (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA / Betty Suarez – “Ugly Betty” (ABC)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 Rock” (NBC)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER / Nancy Botwin – “Weeds” (Showtime)
VANESSA WILLIAMS / Wilhelmina Slater – “Ugly Betty” (ABC)

This is actually a pretty good category. I love me some Fey, but I think she's a better writer than actress. I've totally gotten over my M-LP hate from the West Wing days and have come to enjoy her Nancy Botwin. And America Ferrera is always endearing... but this category belongs to the incredibly fierce and fabulous Ms. Vanessa Williams. Willy is the best reason to watch the whole show!

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
THE CLOSER (TNT)
GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC)
MAD MEN (AMC)
THE SOPRANOS (HBO)

I do NOT understand all the Boston Legal love. I've seen the show a few times but it never grabs me - too cartoonish. Grey's hit the skids in a big way when that ferry crashed during sweeps. I'm guessing this one goes to The Sopranos to send them off into the dark night (the black screen) in glory.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 ROCK (NBC)
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
UGLY BETTY (ABC)

Wow, the first and only category in which I've seen - and LOVE - all 5 nominees! This is a tough one, as these are my favorite comedies. But, even though it's sometimes uneven, the painful-belly-laugh-soda-snorting-explosion-per-episode ratio of 30 Rock far outweighs any giggles or guffaws from any of the other shows.

How Sweet It Is

I made fudge! Yes, little old me, the non-domestic goddess. Thankfully, my Mom has the easiest recipe ever. Here we go....

The raw ingredients:

The PB goes into the pan. Wow, thatsa-lotta-peanut-buttah!

Add in the white chips for lots and lots of sweetness

Yum! Peanut butter soup!

Into the pan you go....

Now it's chocolate's turn...
Goodbye Mr. Chips!
Almost done....

Swirly gooey chocolate fun! Into the fridge you go!

And the next day, we have FUDGE!
This is called Tiger Butter, I think cuz of the swirly stripes. Mom said she clipped the recipe out of the paper, and it's the easiest thing ever. You do have to chill it over night, and cuz the recipe doesn't include paraffin or any other solidifying agent, you should keep it chilled right until you're ready to serve cuz it will get gooey as it warms up. Yum all around!

Off to the holiday parties we go!

I Did It!

Have you seen that new commercial for Jenny Craig, where Valerie Bertinelli gets all teary-eyed? She says she's so excited to wake up on New Year's morning this year, because for the first time ever she won't have to make a resolution of losing weight. Well, I am just as darn excited as Ms. Bertinelli.... because although I'll still have to make that particular resolution this year, I can finally cross another one off my list!

Every year on January 1, I bang my head against the wall (metaphorically) and say "This year, I will FINALLY get my finances in order." And, ta dah! 2007 was actually the year I did it!

With this week's paycheck, I have now completely paid off my credit cards. That's $7,000 in one year, folks. Hooray!

I'm not the most spendy person in the world - usually my biggest expenses are restaurant meals, short weekend trips, and boxes from Amazon.com. But, this is an expensive city to live in (ahem, RENT!), and over the last 5 years I'd racked up the aforementioned debt. Even selling my car back in 2004, for which I got almost $4k, wasn't enough to put a major dent in it.

But, finally, thanks to a nice Christmas bonus, a fat tax refund, some strategy in maximizing balance transfers and interest rates, some self-discipline in planning travel and curbing online impulse buys, and - most importantly - reaching that blissful point in my life where my INCOME is greater than my EXPENSES (took me 'til I was 32!), I've actually kept my resolution!

What a feeling of relief. Happy debt-free dance of joy!

And, the best part is.... I'm NOT actually thinking about where to start spending money next! :-)

Obsession, Treason, and Murder in a Matinee

This afternoon, I was finally able to check out the new Harman Center for the Arts with the matinee performance of Edward II. I was impressed... with the space, a hesitant yes, as I need some repeat visits to better gauge how I feel about the entry lobby (very crowded today) and the performance space itself. But, since the play's the thing, it was an afternoon well spent... Edward II was a real treat, even at almost 3 hours!

I had very high expectations walking into this show, which features the combined talents of director Gale Edwards and lead actor Wallace Acton. I'd seen their collaboration twice before... in a riveting production of Hamlet at Carter Barron in Rock Creek Park, and most importantly in Richard III at the Lansburgh, which still stands as the single most thrilling theatre experience I've had. Ms. Edwards is a great director, who pulls together story and language, performances and design, into really compelling updated-yet-timeless productions of some of the classics of Western theatre. And in Mr. Acton, it appears she has found a muse... his humpbacked Richard and his Prince of Denmark were both stellar performances.

So, yeah, this show had a lot to live up to in my mind. I already knew the story of Edward II, having seen a very modernized version put on by Duquesne University's Red Masquers about 7 years ago, but I was looking forward to seeing STC's approach with obviously a lot more money and established talents.

And I was a little hesitant, knowing that subject matter. Shakespeare's histories are usually my least favorite of his plays. Troops of lords and earls stomping on and off the stage in big sweeping costumes, scheming about deposing the king... that's a big yawn for me. In fact, TSC's productions in repertory of Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 were particularly painful, in my humble opinion. Even though Edward II has its share of lordly machinations (and stomping), the play and this production balance it well with the more personal stories of obsession (E2's love of the banished Gaveston) and ambition (Isabella's marital frustrations turning her eeeeeevil and plotting with Mortimer to take the throne).

Perhaps the difference with this history play is that it's Marlowe's, not Shakespeare's. Or perhaps it's the hand of director Edwards at work. Or perhaps it was the strength of the cast - including Mr. Acton, Andrew Long as Mortimer, and the knockout Deanne Lorette as Queen Isabella - who inhabited their characters and gave them motivation beyond mere words on a page. Or, probably, all of the above.

Whatever the reason, this was a great show. The set was spare but often transformed to bring us to the battlefield, or the monastery, or prison; the lighting and sound enhanced the show throughout; and, typical for a Gale Edwards show, the costumes were phenomenal. Mr. Acton wears a full-length black flared coat in one scene that my friend and I both loved!

You know, it's really a great feeling sometimes to have your high expectations actually be met. :-)

PS - A shout out to this lady: Thanks for scoring me such great seats!

More Than Meets the Eye

I'm a little surprised to be saying it, but the Transformers movie is actually pretty awesome!

I usually watch DVDs while working on my computer, kinda only half paying attention. But, nope, I let my computer go dark and totally pulled my chair closer to the tv, I was so sucked in. Good blockbuster fun. It reminds me a bit of Independence Day - a feel-good, rah-rah, escapist popcorn movie that I wouldn't mind watching a few more times on cable on boring Sunday afternoons.

The cast is great - Shia is still the golden boy, and John Turturro brings it in a hilariously wacky role - and Michael Bay really knows his way around FX, explosions, and crazy action scenes. But, the story is actually compelling... if you follow the mythology of alien robots driving our highways...and they do a good job in giving the Autobots (the good guys) some personality. I guess that might be the hand of executive producer Steven Spielberg at work. The movie has a good sense of humor, with lots of snarky self-aware pop culture references, and it's the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously that makes the whole thing enjoyable.

I only wish I'd seen it for the first time on the big screen!

The Long Dark (TV) Winter

It's actually starting to happen. The writers' strike is still going on (solidarity, WGA!) and my favorite shows are beginning to run out of episodes. The ads for all those ridiculous reality shows (the great American choir? Carrie Ann vs. Bruno dance-offs? American Gladiators?) fall somewhere between utterly depressing and strangely reminiscent of SNL sketches. And I'm starting to get the "what will I do without my stories???" shakes.

So, my "Survive the Strike" plan is now going into effect. It's not a very elaborate plan... really, my best defense is a good offense, or something like that. I'm upgrading to the Netflix 5-at-a-time plan with the goal of seeing just how fast I can burn through my mega-queue.

I will be using this time to catch up on a wide variety of movies, of course, but also to finally check out some of those late, great tv series or seasons that I've somehow missed. Currently in my queue:

• Profit - Brunette loved this show back in college, and most of the Heroes blogs say this was a much better use of uber-hottie Adrian Pasdar.
• The Tudors - I'm loving Showtime series these days, and also can't wait for the new seasons of Dexter and Weeds to come out on DVD.
• The Dresden Files - a quirky series about magic and mysteries? Sign me up!
• Wonderfalls - another quirky series that sounded really good when it was on, but I never got the chance to see it before it was cancelled. Thank you, inventors of Netflix!
• Curb Your Enthusiasm - I've never seen it, but friends swear it's hilarious. Why not?
• Roswell - Aliens and a WB drama? Two tasty ingredients.
• The L Word - I've also missed out on this one, but it has lots of friend love so I must check it out.
• Dead Like Me - Winter seems like a good time for a drama about death and stuff.
• Prime Suspect - Helen Mirren rocks, so I'm looking forward to checking out one of her signature roles.
• 24: Season 6 - Is it really as god-awful as everyone says? I loved season 5, so I'm going to at least give it a shot.

And, since my Amazon habit had lead to towering and somewhat scary piles of books all over my apartment, I will also be using this strike to catch up on all of my reading!

What about you, trusty readers? Anything you're doing to make it through the tv-less winter?