The Veterans Have Some Explaining To Do.

The Gauntlet III has finally come to an end; no more CT for me. Luckily, The Bachelor: London Calling and The Hills have started up, so as to ensure that my brain cells will continue dying off at an alarming pace. I will write about those shows tomorrow, but today I must devote to the controversial ending of The Gauntlet. Even if you have never watched this latest Real World/Road Rules Challenge, you should read this post. Why? Because it will make you proud that you were smart enough to never watch this show...

Going into the final installment of The Gauntlet, I had a sneaking suspicion that the Rookies would end up winning it all. But I never would have guessed that they would pull off a victory only because Eric (aka "Big Easy") almost died?!?!!

Say what you want about this show, but the finale made for good TV. It also made me finally admit that my husband was right... he stopped watching a long time ago because he couldn't stand how selfish and egotistical all of the players were. The finale proved his point.

The members of the Rookie and Veteran teams were chained together, respectively, and sent off to complete a series of mini-versions of past challenges. The Rookies immediately had an advantage with only six people, whereas the Veterans had ten. And one of those ten was Eric, an extremely large dude. Whatever team won would split $300,000 amongst its members... so each of the Rookies would get $50k if they won, and each of the veterans would get $30k.

Early on in the final challenge (which was, mind you, completed outside in the searing hot Mexican sun), Big Easy started slowing down. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they all had to swim a half-mile at the very beginning of the mission. Anyway, Eric soon could barely keep up with the rest of the team, who was literally dragging him along, as they were all chained together. Brad was THE ONLY ONE on the Veteran team who showed any sort of compassion or concern for Eric. He was like, "Um, hello everyone... this guy's gonna keel over... um, helllooooooo.... his eyes are rolling back into his head... hello... he's gone white.... helloooo....we need to stop... he's gonna die.... HELLO YOU @$#(#%*()#$#(@$s!!!! STOP!!!!"

Sure enough, Eric passed over and dropped down onto the pavement just like Brad had predicted. And what did the rest of the team do while Brad was calling for a medic and making sure Eric got air? They started throwing hissy fits and crying and complaining about how Eric just lost them $30,000 each.

A few things:
1) In the whole scheme of life, $30,000 is NOT WORTH someone dying over!! Are you kidding me? No amount of money is. Are these reality show brats that hard up??? I know I sound like a grumpy old lady, but seriously, they should be ashamed of themselves.
2) Yes, Eric should have kept better care of his health. But he came onto the show overweight, so the entire Veteran team should have known that he could end up as a liability to them, as so prophetically pointed out by Johnny Bananas early in the season. It is their own fault that Eric ended up costing them the final challenge, because they didn't have the foresight to get him off the team before the end.

So Big Easy gets whisked away by the medics, and then (and only then) does Evan rise to the challenge of being a leader and encourages the rest of the group to finish the mission and to "do it for Easy." But it was too little, too late.

I'm sure I am not the only one who watched with a mixture of awe and horror as the Veteran team actually caught up to the Rookies, and then surpassed them to "win" the final mission of digging up a crate and hoisting up the flag that was locked inside. I know my mouth was hanging open.

But there was no victory horn blown by that loser host guy who always wears straight-billed baseball caps like a dork. The Veterans lost on a technicality. They needed to have everyone on their team cross the finish line, and Eric still counted. Since they "left him behind," their effort was forfeited and the Rookies won.

Now, this bothered me, if for no other reason than I'm sure the next round of Gauntlet players will NOT be smart enough to figure out that they should kick off the players who may not be physically up to the final challenge early in the game. Instead, these people are going to interpret the Veterans' loss by thinking, "OK, so they should've let Eric die and carried his body over the finish line... because THEN they'd have $30,000 to spend on... you know, new sunglasses and tanning oil. And that would totally be worth it."

The reunion show is on tonight at 10 PM EST and I cannot wait to see if that brat Ev or Kenny or any of those idiots even attempts to redeem themselves after their obnoxious behavior in the final show.

Who am I kidding? They won't.

- e

A Little Too Close for Comfort?

While most of my time in St. Maarten was spent eating, reading, writing, buying pirate crap, going to the gym and then eating some more, on the last day we did make a stop at the Sunset Beach Bar to watch the airplanes coming in right over the beach. There were signs all over the place warning of the possibility of getting blown into the air or killed by the jet blasts!



Here's a shot of a Continental plane coming in... but the video I uploaded below of an Air Transat jet skimming the beach is much better. The video is only 12 seconds long, but for those of you working for The Man, note that it does have sound.

I wasn't brave enough to stand on the beach as the planes came in overhead, but now I wish I would have tried it, just for one of them. I'm a scaredy cat.

- e

Pirate Paradise in St. Maarten

An unexpected surprise on my recent vacation to St. Maarten was the abundance of pirate goodies all over the island. I got myself a keychain, a mouse pad (some of us still use them, OK?) and a magnet, and also enjoyed the festivities of "Pirate Night" at the Westin.


Yes, I almost passed out from excitement when I saw the sign for Pirate Night!








I am lucky enough to be headed off on vacation again in two weeks, and rest assured, there will be more pirate adventures for me on that trip, too...

- e

Top Chef Chicago: e's Millisecond of Fame

As I hinted at last week, I was indeed at the filming of "Zoo Food"--episode two of this season's Top Chef in Chicago. While I tried to make some ridiculous comments on camera in order to get on TV, my strategy did not work. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I hated everything the judges liked and loved everything they hated. This should be no surprise, as my definition of fine dining is adding blueberries to a bowl of Cheerios.

Anyway, it was extremely cool to see how the show came together. When I first watched it, I didn't see myself or my husband at all. So a big shout-out to my brother and JB, who caught my back, arm and half of my face on the edge of the screen during minute 37. If you have Tivo, they replay Top Chef all of the time on Bravo, so look for a scene during minute 37 where Padma and the other chick are in the middle of the frame. I am at the far left of the screen in a red dress with my back facing the camera, and as I turn to look back at the judges, the scene switches.

Now I can officially say I've been on TV!

- e

Xanadu on Broadway is Like a Dream... A Really Bad One

As many of you who read my other blog (Long Live Locke) know, I was really looking forward to seeing Xanadu on Broadway while in New York last week. I was one of the people who loved the 1980 movie, and still listen to its soundtrack often. As a young girl, I wanted to be Olivia Newton-John. Between her roles as Sandy in Grease and Kira in Xanadu, I thought she was the coolest person on the planet. The Broadway version was actually garnering some decent reviews, so my hopes went even higher.

Alas, when I saw advertisements for the musical plastered across garbage cans in the Big Apple, I should have known that was a bad sign. Because that's what Xanadu on Broadway was: complete garbage.

Before I go any further, I probably should explain the movie's ridiculous plot, so you know what the Broadway peeps had to work with. Xanadu is about a muse (literally--as in, one of the Greek muses) named Kira (making the name popular decades before Ms. Knightley pouted her way onto the silver screen) who is transported to southern California via a mural that comes to life. She falls in love with Sonny, a down-on-his-luck artist, which is "against the rules" according to her father, Zeus. Kira hopes to stay with Sonny long enough to ensure that his dream--opening a rollerskating disco (with Danny, played by Gene Kelly!)--comes to fruition. Along the way, there are a ton of awesome songs, most of which are performed by ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) or the main actors. The end.

So, um, yeah... I admit that the premise is totally goofy. But it worked for me back in the day, and even though the movie was universally panned, its soundtrack was extremely successful. When I bought tickets for the Broadway version, I thought, "OK, if nothing else, the songs will be good."

I was wrong! Not only was the stage version drastically different from the movie, it also absolutely butchered the songs. It became clear early on that the musical did not intend to pay tribute to its namesake; it intended to mercilessly skewer it. Which I probably would've been OK with, had they not messed with the story and the songs as much as they did. All of the other muses (Kira's sisters), who essentially had no role in the movie, were a major presence on stage. There was even a new subplot about two older "evil sisters" who tried to put a curse on Kira. And while it was funny when the performers initially poked fun at Kira's Australian accent and some of the other inside jokes from the movie (or from the 80s overall), it got really old really quickly when those gags ran incessantly for ninety minutes. But the worst part was definitely how they destroyed the songs. Either the woman playing Kira was singing in a purposefully nasally and obnoxious faux Aussie accent, or the guy playing Sonny was hamming it up to the point that the melody was ruined. Needless to say, I was really, really disappointed.

The reaction from the audience was split down the middle. People either loved it or despised it. I was obviously in the latter camp, and I felt awful for poor Miss M, who I dragged to the show with me. She hadn't even seen the movie, so I think she was especially confused!

I seriously need to see the movie again as soon as possible so that I can rid myself of the awful memories from the musical and remember why I was such a big fan of Xanadu as a kid. I've already replayed the soundtrack on my iPod, but it just made me that much angrier at how the Broadway production absolutely obliterated some wonderful songs. There will be no justice for Xanadu in my lifetime, I fear.

Below is a five minute, thirty second spot on Xanadu on Broadway (which also shows a lot of clips from the movie) that aired on Nightline before the musical opened.

If you've never seen the movie, I honestly can't recommend it. When seen as a kid, it may be cool, but if you see it for the first time as an adult, you may be thoroughly disturbed. But if you are OK with the crazy premise and like ELO and/or Olivia Newton-John, or if you want to see Gene Kelly tap dance AND roller skate, then this is the movie for you. Below is its original two-minute trailer, which in and of itself is hilarious. Trailers sure have come a long way in 28 years!



See? How could I not love this movie?
- e

For the Love of Carbs

Talk about extremes... last week I was surrounded by palm trees, brilliant blue water and beaches--and tried to avoid getting burned in the hot sun. Today I sit here under three layers and a robe, as city workers SHOVEL SNOW off of the sidewalk in front of my condo. How depressing.

But I always have memories of my vacation to cheer me up, right? Since I was back to my normal breakfast routine this morning, I thought I would reminisce about my favorite meal of the day on the two islands I visited recently: Manhattan and St. Maarten.

For some unknown reason that is really starting to upset me, I can only find "whole wheat everything" bagels in New York. WHY someone hasn't thought of selling them in Chicago, I have no idea--I might have to start up a store myself because I'm so desperate for them. They are the ultimate bagel... you've got your whole wheat grains (much healthier than white flour) and you've got your sesame seeds, onion seeds and poppy seeds for delicious flavor. Miss M has been known to stink up the overhead bins of large aircraft just to bring me two dozen WWE bagels when she visits Chicago, God bless her.

If anyone knows of a company that makes WWE bagels in the Chicago area, it is your duty to inform me now!

In St. Maarten, I enjoyed a different (and much less healthy) breakfast treat: the johnny cake. It wasn't the same thing as a johnnycake, which can be found in southern states. This thing was like a fried donut, and therefore it was awesome. This picture does not do it justice. We would sprinkle sugar on it right after it was delivered to us piping hot, and it was incredible. We could've gotten them with all sorts of weird things in the middle, like eggs, but it was much better on its own. Eating a johnny cake while looking out at the ocean on a bright sunny day, with sailboats and St. Barts out in the distance, is just about as good as life gets, I dare say.

- e

e on TV?

I'm still on vacation, but just wanted to post a quick note to let you all know that there is a chance I will be able to be spotted on TV tomorrow (Wednesday, March 19) night. I have to be kind of vague about it for reasons I can talk about after the show airs, but here are a few hints:

- The show is on Bravo
- It is about cooking
- It is in Chicago this season
- I will be in the crowd, and I am one of two women there who wore a red dress--I have straight brown hair, the other woman had curlier hair

Look for me, especially if they show overhead shots of the group! It is not a studio audience, but rather a bunch of people attending a function. I did get interviewed on camera, but so did a lot of people, so I have no idea who will end up actually getting air time on the show. I tried to say something ridiculous to up my odds--hee hee. We'll see if it worked...

- e

e's on Vacation

This is where I am right now.

So I'm sure you don't blame me that I'm taking a little break from my daily posting routine. I will be back to my normal schedule on March 20th, but will try to write again before that if I happen to get Internet access.

In the meantime, I'll do my best to send some warmer temperatures up to my cold-climate peeps,
- e

Reality Roundup

Lots to report in the world of reality TV... the most important news being that The Hills finally returns to us on March 24th. Not a moment too soon!

The Hills

Have you seen the previews? They are ridiculous... they totally hired the ultimate stereotype of a Frenchman to be Lauren's love interest. He's like, "Luh-RUUHN, have you seen the II-fel Toww-wuh?" while wearing a beret and sporting a skinny mustache and smoking a cigarette and donning a scarf and horizontally-striped black and white top AND drinking wine!

Check it out here... it's about a minute and a half, and Frenchy comes on at around 30 seconds. Sorry for the poor quality... it's the only one I could find...

OK, so maybe he didn't have on a beret and scarf and whatnot... but still, how staged was that? It's going to be AWESOME!!! In another preview they're showing, Heidi asks Spencer to move out. Unfortunately we know from their constant presence in the gossip magazines that they are still together. He is THE WORST?!?! Needless to say, I didn't miss him at all.


[The following all contain references to the latest episodes of each show, so don't read them if you aren't caught up...]

Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites

As I've mentioned before, I didn't know any of the "Favorites" except James, Amanda and Fairplay. But man, do I wish I had caught Ozzy's season now. That guy is a machine--he's incredible. He is seriously super-human, I've never seen anything like it. It's even crazier when you consider that he's not that big of a guy, either. Unlike, say, The Incredible Hulk on the "Fans" team. He creeps me out. I have been enjoying the season so far and am very curious to see if anyone falls for Ozzy's faux immunity idol.


The Gauntlet

I'll say it again: Where in the hell is CT?!?! He must make it to the very end or else they'd be showing much more of him by now. It looks like next week Frank tries to provoke him while they've both been drinking, which might be fun to watch.

At the beginning of the season I was really rooting for the Rookies, because they were just so obviously and blatantly outmatched. Now, however, I am sick of them. Yes, the Vets have bigger, stronger and more people, but they are also smarter and actually take the time to plan out strategies. Frank used to be one of my favorites on Real World: Las Vegas, but he's annoying the heck out of me now--he has changed a lot, and not in a good way.

I don't blame Coral for leaving, either. Everyone was trying to make her out to be the bad guy for screwing the Vets by quitting (which made them have to kick out another person they didn't want to), but it's not like they were being straight with her or being good teammates to her. I never thought the day would come when I would stick up for Coral, but this time, I do. It will be interesting to see if she ever is on one of these shows again, since I think Evan nailed it at the end: she's the old generation and just doesn't fit in anymore.

I still have a weird feeling that the Rookies are going to win the whole thing, though.


American Idol

I almost stopped watching American Idol after last week's episodes because I really think this year is awful. Ryan straight-up LIED to us... without me even watching the first several seasons, I know for a fact that there's no way this season has the "biggest talent ever" like he keeps saying over and over again. You can't brainwash me, Ryan! Stop trying!

The vast majority of contestants are bad. There's no other way to say it. While I like the little tiny smiley dude (David), I do hope he follows Simon's advice and picks a more upbeat song next time. I continue to like Chikezie, and can at least stand the Australian guy. But everyone else I can hardly bear to watch. Even though my husband thought that one dude busting out "Hello" by Lionel Richie on the electric guitar was awesome, I just can't deal with that guy--he seems SO arrogant and cocky. He reminds me of someone I don't like and I can't figure out who it is.

As far as the women go, my favorite is Brooke, the Carly Simon chick. But she seriously is way too skinny and it's kind of painful to look at her. She's always trying to hide it with flowy tops, but pay attention next time and you'll see what I mean. Everyone else is, as Simon would say, forgettable. I particularly don't like Kady--I think she has ZERO personality--even on her clips.

And what is UP with Paula this year? First off, her new word is "tenderness" and that is bugging the crap out of me. Secondly, she's definitely whacked out this season... the last two episodes were really bad--she was basically incoherent.

Why do I watch this show again?

Oh yeah, because nothing else is on.


Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew

This show takes all of ten minutes to watch if you forward through everything but the dance segments on stage. I really like it. Tonight, all performances are going to be set to classic Michael Jackson songs, and it looks really good--I'm excited for this one.

Check out the commercial here... it's on tonight at 10 PM EST!



- e

Gangsta Gangsta

I love being pleasantly surprised.

In retrospect, however, why I didn't think I'd like American Gangster is beyond me. It stars Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, it scored Golden Globe nominations for Best Film and Best Actor (Denzel), it was directed and produced by Ridley Scott (whose movies I tend to like more often than not, with the exception of TAOJJBTCRF) and it was on almost every major film critic's Top Ten list for 2007... so I should've known it would be excellent. And it was... it was excellent.

Going into the movie I was scared that it would be ultra-violent, and I generally avoid those types of films. The very disgusting opening scene gave me a sinking feeling... that "Oh great, I'm going to have to cover my face with my blanket for the next two-and-a-half hours" feeling. But those initial few moments were misleading, because all in all, the movie wasn't that violent. Certainly not as bad as The Departed, for example. Almost all of the gross parts you could see coming (which gave me time to dive under my blanket).

Perhaps the most incredible thing about American Gangster is that it is based on a true story. Set in New York during the Vietnam War, it followed the rise to power of Frank Lucas (played by Denzel), a Harlem drug lord. I had no idea that there was such a huge heroin addiction problem during the war--both among our troops and among people back in the States. So I dare say there was a bit of a history lesson in the movie as well. If you don't know anything about the story of Frank Lucas, try to keep yourself in the dark about it if you follow my advice and plan to rent the movie... because how he achieved his great success plays like a mystery, and if you find out how he did it beforehand, it will ruin a bit of the film for you (my husband figured it out right away... but I didn't). (And please don't leave any comments about it so as to not spoil it for others...)

Russell Crowe plays a down-on-his-luck cop who's no angel himself, but who is trying to unravel the mystery of who is supplying the city with potent heroin.

I highly recommend this movie--especially if you have a fondness for either of the two leads--they are remarkable, and the rest of the cast is great as well. Below is a two-minute-long trailer to give you a taste for the film.

Bravo!

- e

Stardust and Volver--Similar Yet Different

I've got a HUGE backlog of movie reviews, so I figured I better start doubling up again...

A month or so ago, I watched Stardust and Volver over the same weekend. While some might say that these movies are extremely different, I would argue that they share some very similar "fantasy" elements. But I can't say much about Volver without spoiling it, so you'll just have to trust me.

Stardust was hyped to the hilt when it came out, but then got fairly awful reviews, so I didn't end up seeing it in the theater as I had originally planned. Since it had been compared to my absolute favorite movie of all time, The Princess Bride, I was very curious about what it would be like, but then skeptical after the scathing critiques rolled in. So I forgot about it.

Eventually it made its way to my place courtesy of Netflix, and I have to tell you that I don't understand why there were so many haters out there for this movie. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I loved it, but I truly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who liked The Princess Bride. Perhaps the movie-going audience at large has grown too cynical to enjoy a true fantasy tale that's also downright goofy in parts, but not me. It probably didn't hurt that my expectations were really low before I watched it. I usually can't stand Claire Danes, who plays one of the leads, and I even got over my dislike of her (and I dare say she did pretty well in her role). Perhaps it was because I was distracted by all of the other stuff in the movie for which I'm known to have a particular affinity: unicorns, magic, witches, pirates, ghosts--I was in my glory.

There are also some other big names in the Stardust besides Ms. Danes... Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro... even Ricky Gervais and Sienna Miller have small roles. And none other than Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is the narrator. Here is a two-and-a-half-minute trailer that will give you a good feel for the movie.

I thought the only downside was that it was pretty long at 2 hours and 35 minutes... but it didn't drag or anything.

As for Volver, like I alluded to above, it's kind of hard to say much about the movie without spoiling a few of the twists. It comes to us from acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, and therefore is in Spanish with English subtitles. Both my husband and I realized that you have to read REALLY fast to catch everything. It stars Penelope Cruz as a mother who is trying to make ends meet for herself and her teenage daughter... very much a story about friends and family. I knew absolutely nothing about the movie before I watched it, and I really, really liked it. Some crazy things happened early on that I did not expect (and which made me wonder, "What kind of movie is this?"), but you just have to trust me and stick with it past the early scenes and you will be rewarded. But if you don't like subtitled movies and aren't a quick reader, then it's definitely not for you. All of the trailers I found gave away major parts of the movie, so I'll leave it at that!

- e

You Got a Big Fine Couch!

I was recently made aware of this absolutely crazy commercial, which you must see to believe. It's been playing recently in the Washington DC area, and aired during the 2007 tax season as well. It's a very bad attempt at a play on the 1999 song by Juvenile entitled "Back That Thang Up" (at least that is the non-explicit title of the song).

Please watch this 30-second ad, because I've got some questions for you afterward.

Here is what I can't figure out:

1) Of ALL SONGS, why would you pick "Back That Thang Up" to mock in an ad for a furniture store? I could see maybe for a truck or something, but for furniture?

2) Does that man at the beginning have the biggest belly button of all time, or what?

3) Speaking of that, why don't the guys in this video have on shirts? Why does the woman at the very beginning whose back is facing the camera appear to have on only a bra and skirt? What exactly is going ON in this furniture store?

All I know is that the next time I'm in DC, I'm totally going there. And they better have a party waiting!

- e

Continuing On

Time for another Antarctica trip installment...

After the terrifying Explorer rescue the morning of November 23, 2007, our Captain and Expedition Leader held a meeting with everyone to share information about what they knew and to answer questions. At that early point in time, not much was understood about what actually caused the Explorer to sink, though the obvious guess was that it had struck an iceberg near its engine room. When asked, "How could something like this happen, in this day and age, with all this technology?" our Captain simply said, "I've known the Captain of the Explorer for several years and I know that he was distraught, and so I didn't think it was an appropriate time to ask him what happened this morning." (The Explorer's Captain and Expedition Leader were the last two people to leave the ship.)

Once the rescue was over and everyone was safe, our ship turned back to its original route. Later that afternoon, we made a landing at Half Moon Island in the middle of a snowstorm. It was the only day of crappy weather during our entire voyage. Quite honestly, I think everyone would've been a little disappointed if we hadn't gotten the chance to brave the elements, so it was fun (in a twisted way).


Plus, once you get close to all of the goofy penguins, it makes getting pelted by blowing snow in every direction totally worth it.





You may have to click the picture above to enlarge it, but there are a bunch of penguins burrowed into the snow with just their heads peeking out. That's what happens when they go to sleep on their bellies and then the snow keeps piling up around them. They seem to like it.

The little guy below was, no lie, "tobogganing" down a hill on his belly. Since there's so much snow it's kind of hard to tell that he's propelling downward (you can see people climbing up, though), but trust me, he was. It was hilarious.


Below you can barely make out our ship in the distance... that's how crappy the weather was.


After we left Half Moon, we made our way into a caldera. We ended up coming back to this spot later on our trip, so I'll talk more about it then, but needless to say, it was ridiculously windy.


After that, I headed back to my cabin to attempt to unsnarl my hair and rest after what was one of the most eventful days I've ever had.

- e

The Comfort of Familiarity

Even though I didn't see the majority of movies nominated for Oscars this year, I still tuned in to the ceremony Sunday night. Why? Because there's something oddly comforting about it. But I didn't realize that this was the reason for my yearly camp-out in front of the TV until I was in the dentist's office the next day.

What?

That's right, on Monday I was at the dentist, and while I was getting my cleaning, I stared up at the television they have so conveniently positioned for patients. I was absolutely amazed to see that Days of Our Lives was on... and that all of the same characters (played by the same people) were still gracing the screen from when my mom watched the show literally twenty-five years ago.

Are you kidding me--that's Bo!?!? Holy @#*%, that's PATCH!!! I was freaking out.

My old roommate used to watch DOOL religiously, and I never understood why. I never understood why anyone would suffer through the awful dialogue and cheesy story lines day in and day out on any soap opera. But now it has hit me. There is something very comforting about the reliability of these shows, and the familiarity of these characters and actors. Who cares that they've been recycling the same ridiculous plots since the seventies?!?! The world needs Bo Brady, dammit. When there's so much craziness all around, to have a constant, stable "TV friend" who can help you escape to another world for an hour is no small luxury.

The Oscar ceremony is the same way... year after year you KNOW that Jack Nicholson is going to be in the front row. You know he's going to have on sunglasses, and you know the host is going to make some comment about him being a pervert. You know that Barbara Walters is going to host her annual special before the show, you know that there will be awkward interview moments on the red carpet, and you know that there will be cheesy musical numbers and banter from the presenters. You know that the poor host will never be funny enough for his can-dish-it-but-can't-take-it audience, you know that the orchestra will cut some deserving winner off during their acceptance speech, and you know that there will always be plenty of contenders for the "Worst Dressed" list. For all these reasons, I tune in to The Oscars. I honestly couldn't have cared less about any of the winners this year (except "Best Song"... do I need to keep telling you all to not only see Once but to also buy the soundtrack??)

I'll watch it next year, too. And the year after, and the year after. Because like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of my life.

- e