Jenn's Zen

It is that time of year, after May sweeps, when the selection of good, new (non-re-run) TV shows is nil. Thankfully for us, media hungry family that we are, we have Netflix. I don’t remember exactly how long we’ve had the service, but it has to be at least five years. Their selection is fabulous, everything from mainstream new releases to instructional videos to indie to popular television series. We love that there are no additional fees over our monthly $19.95 for three DVDs at a time. We love that the red envelope goes right back in the mail and a few days later a new red envelope shows up. We love that if there’s ever a problem with a damaged or missing disk there are no questions asked. What has become a bit of a conundrum is that we currently have 399 titles in our queue. Yup, after a few releases this summer we’ll be up over 400. (more…)

Where to begin?  First, I suppose I should admit that I only saw two movies in the theater last year. They were Sex in the City and Horton Hears a Who.  “Sex” was a girls night out event and “Horton” was part of a great Saturday (previously blogged).  Each year when Oscar nominations are announced I feel a sudden urge to go out and try to round up as many movie tickets and DVDs as possible to watch in the weeks between the nominations and the awards.  This rarely works.  This year I almost saw Anne Hathaway’s performance, well, maybe almost is too much.  Friends and I discussed seeing it, but ended up missing it’s re-release.  I have felt completely and totally out of the loop because I haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire.  In one of the post-Oscar articles I read today it said that the film was going to be re-released.  So, maybe I’ll catch it there.  If I don’t, I already added it to our (ever growing, over 300 titles) Netflix list.  In addition I also added these:

• Encounter at the end of the World
• The Garden
• The Betrayal
• Man on Wire
• Trouble the Water
• Pineapple Express
• The Reader
• Tropic Thunder
• Doubt
• Milk
• Seven Minutes
• Frost/Nixon
• Secret Life of Bees (I have to read the book first)
• Revolutionary Road
• Frozen River
• The Visitor
• Australia
• Ironman
• Defiance
• The Class
• Revanche

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Do you ever feel the need to pull out a persona in order to do something? Are some things easier or more fun when we channel someone else?

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Last night we attended a fabulous party that celebrated two of our friends turning 40. The hostess had two girlie drinks available, one of which was labeled S** on the Beach. (I loved that because she has kiddos in the house and didn’t want to deal with bottled sex in the kitchen. hee hee) As the night progressed one of the guests was deciding what to drink and she chose the sex because, according to her, “I might as well drink it even if I’ve never done it. (on the beach that is)” People nearby chuckled and I piped up, “That’s OK, because it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” That apparently was the wrong thing to say. One person promptly asked how much I’d had to drink (not much) and others appeared surprised that I’d say such a thing, out loud, in public.

Let me explain… there is sand and wind on the beach. Need I say more? My comment was meant to disspell the myth of the Hollywood sexy beach scene. By now, as reasonably well-educated adults, we should realize that EVERY Hollywood scene is well-lit, designed and rehearsed over and over. When the non-professionals attempt to recreate such a scene we forget about things like sand and wind. So, my comment was in no way related to the quality of the actual encounter, but rather the surroundings that left much, much to be desired.

There. The conversation last night moved much too fast for me to defend my comment. But here it is now for all the web to see.

So, I’m getting ready to watch a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve been watching other shows on ABC (Sunday night reality shows that make me cry every single time) and I’ve seen the marketing gurus’ attempts at a heartfelt commercial with the leaves and growth and good thoughts. I was thus led to believe that new episodes would be coming soon, as soon as this week. As I’m writing this JD and I are suffering through Miss Guided – a show shamelessly aimed at my demographic. And only during this show did I realize that Grey’s Anatomy would not be following at 9:00 pm. This led me to ABC’s site to inquire as to when new episodes would start. April(FREAKIN’) 24th?!? Are you kidding me?

So, unfortunately, thanks to the writer’s strike, I’ve been without my fav show for months. I know they’ve made the re-runs available, but seriously, I haven’t missed an episode since the show started. Catching up is not exactly what I needed. I needed to know what my kids were up to at Seattle Grace.  I needed to know how Meredith and McDreamy were doing. I needed to know if George and Izzy were still each other’s best friend. I needed to know how Christina was coping. I needed to know if Bailey’s marriage is going to survive. A re-run was going to solve nothing.

A few weeks ago I read an article that stated post strike only a few hit shows would be returning to finish out the season. After being concerned that some of the shows I’d already grown attached to (think Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice and Big Shots) were possibly in danger of being canceled I realized something slightly unspoken yet completely implied in the article. I realized that with the few shows finishing out the season that’s all they plan on doing… finish out the season.

WHAT?! They owe me.  Shonda Rhimes and her staff owe me a FULL season of shows.  What is that usually?  23/26 shows? I think they maybe got 10-12 episodes in before the strike.  THEY OWE ME!!! I’ll be here all summer, I’m ready, bring it on. 12 new shows would easily pull me through the hot, humid, BORING TV, summer. I know they were plotting, scheming and writing during the strike. You know, not officially, but just enough so that they are completely and totally caught up. Taking the summer off is not an option. 90210 did it years ago, it was a beautiful thing appreciated by fans the world over. Are new shows throughout the summer such a bad thing? I think not. Besides, they owe me!

Last night was Hollywood’s big night.  That was the plan anyway.  As it turned out it was a very foreign affair.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, in fact it kept the speeches short!  If my memory serves me correctly the Cohen brothers were the only Americans receive statues in any of the major categories. 

To give you a bit of history the Oscars are to me what the Super Bowl is to most others.  In the years before TiVo and when it aired on a weeknight I was known to tape it and swear those around me to secrecy until I had viewed the tapes.  One year I had to put it off for a week because it was one of those crazy weeks where I just didn’t have the three plus hours to sit and watch it all.  We returned from Mexico one year on the very night that the Oscars were airing.  I hadn’t seen our daughter in a week, my mother and grandmother were visiting and all I was concerned about was that someone had remembered to TiVo the Oscars! 

This year was probably the year that I knew the least about any of the nominees.  Usually I at least fill out the "my picks" form available online just to see how my guesses line up with the actual awards.  In past years I’ve seen at least one or two of the nominated films and have read all about the nominations.  This year?  Zilch, nada.  Quite frankly Juno is the only nominated movie that even piqued my interest.  I agreed with Jon Stewart , "If you look at these films it appears as though Hollywood needs a hug."

So, my observations of the evening:

• What’s up with actors/actresses (Katherine Heigl) stating that they aren’t good at this?!  You read lines for a living.  Is presenting really that difficult?  I don’t understand. 
• It was great to see Owen Wilson doing what one does as a young, healthy actor in Hollywood. 
• Tilda Swinton who won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her part in Michael Clayton wins the award for "most surprised".  She could not have hidden it if she tried.
• Worst hair goes to Marketa Irglova (the sweetest recipient who won for Best Song) and Cameron Diaz.  I’m sorry girls, but if you are going to the Oscars you spend some money and have your hair done!  If CD paid someone then they need to be fired.  A ponytail with long bangs does not a red carpet hairdo make.

I’m no CoJo, Regis or Joan Rivers, I’m just a girl who loves the Oscars.