When Caricatures Go Terribly Wrong

There are cheesy commercials for the lottery, and there are disturbing ones. Guess which this is.

Why Don't You Go Back To Your Home on Whore Island?!

So my roommate Kristyne has a theory.

At the start of the last season, she started to think that Kate on Lost was, well...a slut. According to Kristyne, Kate is as follows:

"She's like 'Omigod Jack, Omigod Sawyer, Omigod let's have sex..."

This usually ended in her yelling "WHOOOOOOOOOOORE!" at the television screen last season.

So I would like to know if others share this point of view. Or if there are other far more slutty characters on TV that could be sent to this mysterious Whore Island.

If You Ran The Network

It's occurred to me that perhaps my favorite form of entertainment is television. It comes in a cute little box, it's convenient it comes in digital (well, it will), and it generally encompasses music and film into it.

It's also interesting to talk to people to find out what their favorite television shows are, and to see the conversations that come from those.

So the question I pose is this: if you had to come up with your ideal prime-time line up for any given night with any shows on it, what would you pick?

The rules are these. Prime time is defined as the hours between 8 PM and 11 PM on any given day. That leaves you 3 hours to play with for planning. So lay out the order you would put your shows in. No flip-flopping. If you absolutely CANNOT choose, you can put one overflow choice on your "I'd watch this online" list. And shows that have been cancelled are fair game. So if you can't live without your "Freaks and Geeks" or your "Firefly," you can put those in.

I'll start. I would go with a Tuesday night.
8 PM: 30 Rock
8:30 PM: The Soup
9 PM: House
10 PM: Damages

I would watch "Mad Men" online. I love "Lost," but it's on its way out and I really could hear the whole recap from everyone else.

Your turn!

M.I.A. — Maybe In Academy?

After settling in to watch the Grammy Concert (sorry, Grammy Awards), I got to wondering how the Academy Awards Best Song performances were going to go.

Three songs are nominated for the award: "Down to Earth" from Wall-E, and "Jai Ho" and "O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire. Traditionally, all three are performed live at the awards show. So this would mean that the performers would be Peter Gabriel (for "Down to Earth"), and A.R. Rahman's orchestra and Indian singer Guzlar and Sri Lankan phenom M.I.A.

The problem here is that M.I.A. has been due to pop since she felt contractions at the Grammys, where she performed "Swagger Like Us" on her literal due date.

I just want to know when she will have this little bundle of fun and if she will be at the Academy Awards or if she will still be at home with the baby. I can't help but hope that she will be on the stage February 22nd, but it's not really up to me. Or her, really.

So what do you think the odds are? Do you think M.I.A. will perform? Do you think the song will win? And if she does perform, will she rock the ladybug look again?

The End of an Era

Oh dear.

I want to hear your thoughts on this one. Because students at CSW apparently are all wearing white shirts tomorrow and having a sit-in at the auditorium.

Which, great, you can support your head of school and all.

And I did respect Russo for what he did for the school and the Charter School movement.

But if he did harass someone, then I think he should be fired.

I Have The Cutest Windows in the Lower Quads

I hope ResLife is okay with this, because it's too cute to take down.

I gotta tell you, the inspriation for this one was from our neighbors Kelly and Danielle. They painted snowflakes on their windows last winter with some fake snow, and I always wanted to do the same. I never really got to it.

So this spring, I decided to buy some paints and kept them out. Originally, it was going to just be flowers, but I added the bumblebees for fun and it looked a little cuter.

So there you go. This is our window. At least until break.

Blast From the Past

Ignore the fact that the lovely and talented Victor Garber is talking about Season 2 of Alias, which aired in 2002-2003. Let's instead focus on the fact that Giuliana Rancic is still Giuliana DePandi and is a blonde. And who's that guy who isn't Seacrest?
I miss when E! News did live interviews like this. You know. When it was still respectable.

Deep Conversations with Anne Goodman

Anne: wow.
Alex: Yeah.
Anne: wow.
Alex: Yeah.

Two Words: Ike Turner

There's been a ton of fuss over Chris Brown's latest hits not being on the radio, but on Rihanna. I just want to take this time to look this over.

Chris Brown was arrested on Grammy night after an altercation with an "unidentified woman" at the time, now revealed to be singer/Brown's girlfriend, Rihanna. Apparently, she came into the hospital with heavy bruising and bite marks on her arm.

Chris Brown is known for hits like "Run It," "Gimme That," and "Kiss Kiss." Hopefully he does get punished for this, because domestic abuse is inexcuseable.

Come on, Chris. Do you want to be Ike Turner?

And The Grammys Went To...

Of the Grammys I predicted, let's see which ones I was right about. I have my reasonings underneath the bracket. The names highlighted in purple are the winners.

Record of the Year
>>"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
>>"Viva La Vida" - Coldplay
>>"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
>>"Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
>>"Please Read The Letter" - Robert Plant & Allison Kraus

I would count on either "Bleeding Love" or "Viva La Vida" for winning this category; Leona Lewis was all over the radio this year, and this has arguably been Coldplay's most successful album yet. My vote goes to Coldplay (who will also be performing at the ceremony).

Album of the Year
>>"Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" - Coldplay
>>"Tha Carter III" - Lil' Wayne
>>"Year of the Gentleman" - Ne-Yo
>>"Raising Sand" - Robert Plant & Allison Kraus
>>"In Rainbows" - Radiohead

Sorry, rap and R&B fans. The Grammy committee tends to favor rock and/or alternative music groups over hip-hop, so Lil' Wayne and Ne-Yo are probably out for this one. My prediction is that the fight will be between Coldplay and Radiohead to take this one home.

Song of the Year
>>"American Boy" - Estelle featuring Kanye West
>>"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
>>"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
>>"Love Song" - Sara Bareilles
>>"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay

Again, "Viva la Vida" may take it. But my next prediction would probably be "I'm Yours," because it's constantly on the radio, it's poppy and fresh, and it would be a wonderful win.

Best New Artist
>>Adele
>>Duffy
>>Jonas Brothers
>>Lady Antebellum
>>Jazmine Sullivan

I would like to vote for the Jonas Brothers in hoping that the Best New Artist curse continues with them being gone forever. But for who will actually win, my vote is for Adele. She has a fantastic voice, she's young and British and fresh and very talented.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
>>"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
>>"Love Song" - Sara Bareilles
>>"Mercy" - Duffy
>>"I Kissed A Girl" - Katy Perry
>>"So What" - Pink

"So What" is like it. I don't think that Pink will take this one, and I have a feeling that the ballsy Bareilles may get the shaft as well. Adele and Duffy may cancel each other out and girl-kissing Katy may take it, if the Grammy voters are feeling bold.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
>>"All Summer Long" - Kid Rock
>>"Say" - John Mayer
>>"That Was Me" - Paul McCartney
>>"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
>>"Closer" - Ne-Yo
>>"Witchita Lineman" - James Taylor

Mayer has been more known for dating Jennifer Anniston this year, and I hope to GOD that the voters don't sink to Kid Rock. My prediction is either Mraz or Ne-Yo for this one - although Sir Paul does hold a certain nostalgia with the Grammys, so if there is a surprsie winner, it would be him.

Best Group Performance
>>"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay
>>"Waiting in the Weeds" - the Eagles
>>"Going On" - Gnarls Barkley
>>"Won't Go Home Without You" - Maroon 5
>>"Apologize" - OneRepublic

Again, Coldplay will most likely take this one. Not that the others aren't deserving, but this truly is Coldplay's year.

Yeah, I screwed up. But hey, Coldplay walked away with 3, so cheers.