A few weeks ago I went to the Bombardier LearJet Indy Car 550 Race at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth.  Yes, I know; I’m an oddity.  How can the same girl who blogs about movies like 27 Dresses and Sex And The City even stand to get within 20 feet of such an edifice?  Well, not only did I go…I freakin’ loved it!!

Prior to February 17, 2008, I’d watched one racing event in my life, the Talladega 500 in 1993, and the only reason I watched that was because it was the tribute after Davey Allison’s helicopter crashed on the way to the race.  I was only 12, so I can’t really tell you why we watched it, but I know that my dad and I sat there and watched the whole thing.
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Ladies and gentleman, let the summer season of awesome TV begin. Bravo's hugely popular hit series, Flipping Out, has begun airing the premiere of season two tonight (Tuesday, June 17th).  If you've watched Flipping Out, then no need to read any further.  If you haven't watched it, give me until the end of this post and I'll give you a reason to program your Tivo and begin recording a summer series that will stay with you for months to come. 

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One of the things I love most about my Apple TV is watching TV series in their entirety.  I'm what you call a "TV-holic" and nothing gets me more excited than a phenomenal TV series.  I'm here to tell you I've found one in Weeds.  Showtime's ever-so-popular drug dealing TV series has really captured my attention.  Yesterday, I decided to download the entire first season of Weeds since I kept hearing so many good things about it.  I don't subscribe to Showtime so I've never seen the show when it officially aired in 2005.  Obviously, I have some catching up to do. The show is currently producing its 4th season. 

According to Showtime, Weeds is an American "dark comedy" television series.

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You are sitting at home watching your favorite show, just as you do every week, waiting for the “wrap up” to occur, followed by previews of next week’s show, this is pretty typical and sounds familiar right? Oh and for those of you unfamiliar with the “wrap up”, that would be the last 10-12 minutes of your standard hour long drama in which they solve the case, catch the killer and generally save the day. Now the exception to the textbook “How to make a successful television show” story is usually the season finale.

Here is where we are usually left with a cliffhanger, the suspense of waiting all summer to discover “Who shot J.R?” and the like. Now frankly I get aggravated by the “to be continued…” that is inevitably shown on the bottom of the screen in little white letters while one of my favorite characters may or may not be dying in the car I just saw explode or if he/she was the target of the shot just fired.

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I’m gonna miss my friends this summer. My buddy Liz Lemon on 30 Rock found out she wasn’t pregnant after all. Pal of mine, Jim Halpert, didn’t end up proposing to Pam on The Office. That tramp Parvati won the million dollars over All-American Girl Amanda on Survivor. And by the time everyone reads this, I’ll know what happens to our hearty islanders on Lost (What is the deal with that funky cabin?) and the mombots on Desperate Housewives.

These are the only shows that I must record, that take up precious space on my DVR hard drive. The rest of TV I can take or leave. Continue Reading

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Finally… the best man wins!!!  Simon said that the other David would win by a knockout, but the American voters proved him wrong.  David Cook showed his versatility throughout the season by singing rock, pop, ballads, and even an opera song.  He was a great performer and often played an electric or acoustic guitar.  In my opinion, he deserved to win because he took risks by writing his own arrangements to several old songs including Lionel Richie's "Hello."  All the young girls seemed to like the other David because he was young and cute and had a good voice, but he was a
one-genre guy.  I'm glad that skill won out!

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May 22nd cannot get here soon enough, because of course, as we all know Fox will be premiering the 4th season of the hit series So You Think You Can Dance, and I could not be more excited. As a dance teacher, I could fill the void between summers with Dancing with the Stars on ABC or Step It Up and Dance on Bravo but I don’t, though I will admit I even watched the Jennifer Lopez produced Dancelife on MTV to pass the time once, but nothing compares to So You Think You Can Dance.

DWTS is good enough for mom but I’ve never been a fan of ballroom dancing, though I respect it as a style. Step It Up and Dance, hosted by Elizabeth Berkley, is just sad with the weird challenges and overall cheesiness. Dancelife was a little different in that it was basically a reality show about dancers trying to make it in the business, which while it offered a new spin on a dance show; I always wanted more dancing.     

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Such series not only raise the corporate bottom line but also build a loyal following that benefit the channel's other products as well.  

The lesson seems to have been learned well at AMC, the American Movie Classics channel. Right now AMC is offering two relatively new shows that deserve our attention: Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Continue Reading

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This season of Fox’s ‘American Idol’ feels like a Brady Bunch musical special, doesn’t it? You’ve got Australian contestant Michael Johns, he’s great as the oldest Brady, Greg. Plain vanilla Brooke White is the perfect Marcia. Dallas County’s own Jason Castro would be the wide-eyed Peter, and  Kristy Lee Cook is definitely Jan. The Baby-Idols Ramiele Mulaby and David Archuleta are Cindy and Bobby, respectively. 

Irish import Carly Smithson reminds me a bit of Alice the housekeeper and David Cook is Marcia’s too-cool boyfriend. Randy, Paula and Simon would have to be the parents, albeit way more dysfunctional. Hmm…

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I loved David McCullough's biography of John Adams when it was first published a few years back. I still keep my autographed copy among my treasured collection of Special Books.
 
The 7-part HBO TV mini-series "John Adams" based on McCullough's work did not disappoint me. I'm a history buff. I watched the first two episodes on Sunday night (with a sheepish smile on my face, I'm afraid).  
 
What really left an indelible mark on me the first time I read the book was not only the erudition of this Greek- and Latin-literate "farmer" couple but also the genuine love that John and Abigail Adams clearly had for each other. It's hard to come across such a headstrong, opiniated and yet definitely in-synch couple who addressed each other in their letters as "Dear Friend." The series captured that chemistry very well indeed. Continue Reading

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If you're like me, you're trying to figure out who to despise due to the lack of content on tv. Do we blame the writers or the executives? Possibly both, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is finding a Prime Time replacement for all the shows I usually enjoy. Due to the recent lack of watch-worthy content, I've chosen seven solid steps to survive the strike (God, please end it soon!).

YouTube
If you haven't been to YouTube lately, I think you'll be surprised by some of the content there. Everything from music videos to interviews to mini episodes. Weeks worth of entertainment just sitting there waiting for you. Just be careful how you search. "Stupid" takes on a whole new level of meaning when it comes to Americans and home video. 

Tv Shows on DVD
One of my favorite pastimes is to find a tv series I never watched or rarely watched in the past and watch episode after episode. That's how I got hooked on LOST, Battlestar Galactica, Nero Wolfe, Monk, and Roswell. They're shows worth watching that I just missed the first time around. Shows I would avoid include Weeds, any Law & Order, and any CSI. 

RSS Feeds
I have something like 45 feeds in my feed reader. Who has time to read fresh content daily from 40 sites? So now I get to catch up on the news, tips, and deep thoughts around the world. In addition to that, I'm taking this time to be more selective with my feeds. I'm whittling it down to a solid 30 soon. Oh, the decisions!

StumbleUpon
This is one of the coolest websites/web applications ever. When I want to find something cool online that I've never seen before, I click "Stumble" with my StumbleUpon Firefox toolbar, and it takes me to other cool sites that people have submitted. People randomly surf the web, and when they find something interesting, they click a button on their SU toolbar and SU begins to share it with everyone else. Visit StumbleUpon, download the toolbar for Firefox, and start stumbling! 

Blogging
I own more blogs than is healthy for any one individual NOT working for himself. Who has time to blog daily on one site, much less seven?!?!? Not me. I just like to purchase domain names and throw up a WordPress theme. Of course, then I can't not post a few blogs because the empty space saddens me. But if you're like me and own even ONE blog, you can take this time to establish yourself as a daily blogger - one who is worth returning to each new morning. 

Family Time
I'm now spending more time with my wife and baby girl. How can I complain about that? Answer: I can't. It's time well spent. Every time I look into Kathryn's face, I know that she will only grow older and I will never regain this time when she has the cutest chubby cheeks and facial expressions. I savor this time, knowing that time is fleeting and she will someday be a grown woman with her own family. 

There are dozens of things you can do to avoid boredom and Prime Time Depression. What do YOU do to chase those blues away? 

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