GREY'S!! *SPOILERS*

If you have yet to watch the newest episode of Grey's Anatomy then please stop reading!

Having said that, tonight's episode was freaking crazy! We all knew there was going to be some huge disaster that our favorite surgeons were going to have to save the day at, but as the episode progressed, things got more and more intense and plots thickened oh so very much.

The little things: the Chief dyed his hair. Nice moment when Addison defended him in the elevator, and then told him how she went blonde after Derek left her in New York; Addison's awesome, she's got my vote for the new Chief of Surgery.

The in between things: that annoying Dr. is back! She's the Taylor Townsend of Seattle Grace; she's insane, but brought some humor into the mix tonight. Burke and Christina of course are having interpersonal conflict, I don't think their relationship works if they don't. Christina didn't want Burke to tell anyone about their engagement until she told Meredith, but of course, Christina couldn't get the guts to tell Meredith FOR WHATEVER STUPID REASON!

The HUGE things: Yeah yeah the big ferry accident (which didn't look at catastrophic as it should have given everyones reactions). Karev saved a pregnant woman who was caught under a huge cement thing. George promised an injured mother to find her lost son (who, sadly, is probably dead). Izzie rushes to help a guy trapped between 2 cars, she gauzes him all up, sets his arm, all amidst the yammering of this other guy saying she isn't a good doctor. And then, at the end, when we thought Meredith's story was going nowhere (who was that weird little girl?), the guy she was helping wigs out and knocks her off the edge of the dock! Now I always talk about how much I dislike Meredith, but this was a huge shocker! After last weeks episode I started feeling for her a bit, with her Alzheimer's mother and all - now they throw in this! Crazy crazy.

Next week: the drama continues. Will George find the woman's son? What the heck is gonna happen to Meredith (my prediction: Derek will make a heroic leap into the water, pull her out, perform mouth to mouth, perform surgery on her right then and there, propose to her, then marry her on the spot)? And is Izzie really gonna drill a hole in that guy's head?

Lost is Back! The Recap

Such a good episode, and so glad it's finally back. One of the craziest parts of last night was when Ben woke up during his surgery, so I thought a picture of that would be the most appropriate.

So we know that Juliet is not an original island-dweller, but what made her change her mind? And we all know that "Portland" is really code for "freaky far away island where you can't leave". What made her change her mind and move to "Portland"? What happened to her sister? Will Ben let her leave the island for helping Kate and Sawyer (and Carl) escape? Was that even what Ben told her in their 3 minutes alone?

Oh, and yeah, no big deal, back in her old life, Juliet just happened to figure out a way to impregnate her cancer-stricken sister with some sort of serum. A serum that looked strangely familiar to the stuff Desmond was injecting himself with in the hatch, and that Ethan injected into Claire when they captured her. All of this has to be connected somehow.

Speaking of pregnancies, we find out that Alex is Ben's daughter....huh? Isn't she Rousseau's daughter? I've gone over theories in my head and the only ones that make sense are that the Others are lying to Alex, telling her Ben's her father. They captured her as a child from Rousseau and have been brainwash-sorry, raising her ever since. The other theory is that Ben somehow impregnated Rousseau back when her ship crashed and he really is her father. I had this third crazy theory that Juliet put her baby-making stuff in Ben and he actually gave birth to her, but this is wrong on so many levels (mainly because we found out that Juliet has only been on the island for 3 years and Alex is 16 years old). Confusing enough?

And what was with that video that they were making Carl watch? All part of their brainwashing schemes? What was Carl's "crime" that called for such a punishment?

And what's been going on since the sky turned purple Tom? Huh? The insanity and awesomeness continues....

The Office/Grey's Anatomy

Never has TV come together on a more perfect night. Since it is Thursday, I thought I'd write about 2 of my other favorite shows on TV (no, my two absolute favorite shows): The Office and Grey's Anatomy!

This show is hands down THE funniest show on network television currently. Finally a show that caters to people who hate Friends and Two and Half Men. This show is brilliant because it's shot documentary style, no audience, no laugh track, the writing's amazing, the cast is amazing (great chemistry), and it's not only funny, it's touching as well. I can't even begin to think of who my favorite character is. Of course Jim and Pam are meant for each other, forget Karen. Michael's just crazy, as is Dwight. But I'm more drawn to bit characters like Phyllis, Stanley, Kevin, Creed and Toby - their one-liners and facial expressions make me laugh so hard. Like the other week when Michael was throwing Bob Vance's bachelor party and there was a shot of Stanley breaking his plastic fork on his "man meat" and then a quick shot of Creed taking a huge bite of his steak holding it with his hands! Freaking amazing. Currently in it's third Season, this show is bound to be one of TV's greatest. By the end of this season, I'm hoping Jim and Pam unite finally (but we all know good tv drama wont' keep them truly together forever) and I'm waiting for the moment that Jan finds out that Michael leaked the picture of them in Sandals Jamaica.

In my opinion this show perfectly combines drama and humor; throw in a ton of relationship issues, plus medical oddities and you get one heckuva show. Two years ago when this show started, Brandie and I would catch an episode or two after Desperate Housewives, we'd watch about the first 15 mins or so, then I'd go home. It was after the show was just starting it's 2nd full season that my brother told me how good it is and that we should watch. So we borrowed season 1 (only 9 episodes), then caught up to season 2. Now I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but this show can make someone cry every single week. Medical dramas have been done to death, but there's something in the way this show is handled that makes it a cut above the rest. I think it's successful because in the beginning the viewers are right there with the interns, we're seeing things through their eyes, and we want them to succeed. Even with characters who we're supposed to dislike at first begin to come around as their stories unfold and their lives get tangled up with the others' at Seattle Grace (Addison, Callie, even Mark). I like this show because although it doesn't dwell on the medical patients and their sicknesses, each one of them matters, and has an impact on the characters that viewers don't even realize until later on. Also, the music is great; lots of indie music that just enhances the experience so much. The best way to sum up this is just: It's so good!!

TV

Oh TV, why do I love you so much? Probably because you don't disappoint me as much as movies do. Or because I can watch you in the privacy of my own home. Or because you consistently are awesome. It's pretty much only the last one. Here's the breakdown on my favorite shows currently on TV.

Back in late high school, early college Brandie would always tell me about this show, and try as I might to avoid it, it eventually sucked me in. There were a few years there when I avoided telling others that I watched Gilmore Girls. Those times are long gone because this show is one of the most consistently funny and touching shows I have ever seen. The writing is brilliant; fast paced, laced with pop culture references, overall it's just smart. However, this season, its 7th, has not been as good as it once was. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino left the show last season, and it is really evident. Season 7 has become all that Gilmore Girls has tried not to be: cliche, "romantic", and generically funny. There is hope though, the first 2 episodes of the 2nd half of this season are showing signs that the writers and producers might be realizing how they've been getting it wrong the first half of the season. So Brandie and I continue to watch and hope that this show stays on our viewing schedule. Tuesday nights at 8pm on the CW (I know, conflicts with American Idol....thank you DVR)

Lost is the show that made me realize that television can be a greater medium that movies. This show is more cinematic than a lot of movies I have seen. It is well written, shot, acted, everything. I almost forget that this is a TV show, because when I watch it, it's a whole different experience. This show is not just about castaways on a deserted island, it's so much more. Much more than I can even start to explain. Here's what you need to do if you haven't seen this show: get your hands on the first and second seasons on DVD and watch them all. I promise you it won't take as long as you think it might. You can eat and shower later, just watch this show. Plus, you'll be able to get a lot more answers at one time than the rest of us did when we watched them when they aired....there were full weeks in between those episodes! Sometimes months! This show comes back from it's hiatus (way back in November!) on February 7th on abc at 10pm (to avoid the American Idol juggernaut), so catch up and watch.

More TV posts tomorrow....

Still Coming...

*The state of TV shows I watch
*The Queen recap
*More new music

Children Of Men

I've been meaning to write about this movie since I've seen it, but it's almost taken me this must time just to get through it in my head. It takes place 20 years in the future, and the world has not seen a newborn baby in almost 18 years. Every single country is destitute except for Great Britain, where deportation of illegal immigrants has become big business. The whole film is really stark and futuristic while staying frighteningly realistic . The whole film rests on Clive Owen getting a young woman who is miraculously pregnant out of the country, to the Human Project, a place where new life thrives allegedly (no one knows if it truly exists). All that to say that I still don't really know if I "liked" the movie. Will I ever see it again? Probably not. Was it badly made? Definitely not. Julianne Moore and Michael Caine put in great performances. The cinematography puts you right in the middle of everything, and so much of it looks like real War footage. This film is jarring to say the least, and scary not in the conventional way. I walked out not so much with the feeling of hope (intentional?), but more a feeling of dread. Great filmmaking, not so great watch-on-a-rainy-day-depressed-type movie.

Katharine McPhee

The day has come. Katharine's debut album is now in stores, and I of course got my copy. I downloaded this album when it leaked about a week and a half ago, and I think it's a really strong debut. Detractors may say that her voice isn't being utilized to its fullest extent, but I think this first album was a smart move on her part. The American music scene is very fickle, and Katherine is already last years Idol news. From the racy cover to the hip-pop flavor of her uptempos and good mix of mid-tempo R&B ballads with adult contempo piano tracks thrown in, there is a little bit for everyone, and for someone who likes a little of everything (like me) this album is very enjoyable. I find that when I like a certain performer (for whatever reason, their voice, personality, looks, performances, etc) I am more inclined to like whatever they release and can't separate myself, take a step back, and really critically listen. However, in this case, McPhee's got the goods to propel this album as one of the top U.S. Pop releases of the year (until Kelly Clarkson OWNS her on her next release slated for later in the year). Her next single should definitely be "Open Toes" if she wants to keep the momentum going; it's a cheesy song about shoes, but who cares right? Fergie's Fergalicious, Gwen's Windin' it Up, at least Katherine's singing the whole time on this track. Another single should be "Each Other"....yeah it's a "We Belong Together" redo, but it's one of those boring R&B ballads that will work for urban radio. Then she can step into the adult contemp territory by having her 3rd single be either "Home" or "Ordinary World". These two songs cater to all those who thought Katherine should be the next Celine Dion. Her vocals are nicely present in these tracks (when they can get lost in other songs), and the melody's are predictable, yet unique enough to stand out. Go get this album, it's my first recommended release of the new year.

Poor Stacie

So on Sunday I'm looking at the ads, and I see one for Stacie Orrico's new one "Beautiful Awakening" and I think, "ok, I downloaded this when it leaked a long time ago, but maybe i'll give it another try."

Here's the deal: this album was supposed to come out back in August, but her label pushed it back to Jan; it did release overseas however (where she actually has a fanbase). Then I found the album leaked online, and I was very disappointed. So my hopes were that her label thought the same thing as I did, and they send her back to the studio to patch up the tracks. When I saw the ad I thought maybe the album would be better now.

Fast forward to Tuesday, I stop by Best Buy and pick the album up (Christmas giftcard, oh yeah). To my disappointement, the album's still not that good, but I'm gonna let it grow on me, not force it, but just hear it out. So that same night I go check out her website and such to see what's going on, and to my surprise, it says that the release of "Beautiful Awakening" has been postponed to a later date. Um, what? The same album I just bought? So I head over to another site, and I guess Virgin (her label) just got bought out, so they're reevaluating recent releases.

Question: why would a label go through all the work of
a)Pushing the release date back the first time
b)Remastering the entire album
c)Totally redoing artwork
d)Reshooting videos
e)Changing singles
and most confusing f)Shipping hundreds of thousands of records to stores only to have them take them right off the shelves.
Confusion ensues. In the end, the album's mediocre, and news is still pending on what exactly is going on.

Weezer

This band was an integral part of music for me during late high school and all throughout my college years. I first heard them at the Vans Warped Tour in 2000 (I know I know, I was shelterd), and immediately I was a fan. I got my hands on what I could, which at the time only included the Blue Album and Pinkerton.

Their first album is them at their best - before anyone knew who they were, and before Rivers knew he was a genius. These songs top anything else they've released, from the nerd-rockiness of "Buddy Holly" to full out rock ballad "Say It Ain't So" this album was so revelatory. It showed me how fun rock music can be. There is earnestness here, and the best kind, the honest kind. You can just tell these guys are being who they really are; Rivers embodied everything that wasn't popular at the time, the anti-Nirvana. From start to finish, perfection.


For me, as a new fan, this album was a nice continuation to Blue. There was no 2nd album anticipation, so I didn't have the chance to be disappointed as a lot of fans were at the time. Weezer dropped off after this album "flopped"in 1996. But what diehard fans realized, as I did, is that Pinkerton is freaking brilliant. "Why Bother" and "Falling For You" should have been huge alt rock hits, but Weezer faded away as Rivers became depressed over his failure.



So as I ate up Weezer's first two albums, they were quietly planning a new millennium comeback. The Green Album came out in 2001, my Senior year of high school. And let me say that this album was more memorable than my entire four years of high school. I will never forget blasting this as I parked my crappy VW every morning in the Sanger high parking lot. Although this album is a tad more formulaic (every guitar solo is just the melody of the verse hook), it is nonetheless enjoyable. "Hash Pipe" ushered in Rivers' new usage of random lyrics that don't really make sense. No one or two tracks stick out to me; it's one of those albums that you know every lyric to every song, but you don't remember the titles of individual songs. A great return to Weezer form.


Maladroit is my least favorite Weezer album. This album came out in April of '02, and I was on choir tour at the time. I actually bought this album for the crazy price of $20 in Portland, because it was the only CD store I could find, and of course, I HAD to have this CD to listen to on the trip back home. This CD was pretty disappointing, partly because Weezer had posted these songs, along with numerous others, on their website, and I'd heard a lot of them already, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Since I'd discovered them I'd taken to the internet (and napster!) to get my hands on everything Weezer in mp3-land. So I was hyping this release in my mind so much, and it ended up not living living up to the hype. I do like "Take Control" and "Dope Nose" (weird lyrics vol2); the best part about this album tho was the "Keep Fishin'" video that had the Muppets in it! Also that year for Christmas my cousin Laura brought me back the "Keep Fishin" single from Europe that had Kermit on the front, fishing, with a =w= t-shirt. Awesome.

My brother, cousin and me let out a collective "HOLY CRAP!!" when we heard that Weezer was coming out with a new album in 2005, Make Believe. This was my Senior year of College and my Weezer circle was completed. This album was everything that Maladroit wasn't. Rivers and the band finally made something so 00's, yet so true to what they did back on Blue and Pinkerton. Sean and I were just so proud of them, because they did what they wanted to do, yet they pleased their fans at the same time. This is another one of those sing-ever-track-forget-the-titles album, but standouts include "This I Such A Pity", "Hold Me", "We Are All On Drugs" and "My Best Friend" (to which my wife and I would walk out on on our wedding day in march of 06). That year I saw them twice, once in Coachella and again when they headlined here in Fresno. Brian and I were literally screaming all the words during the show, it was the best.

Below are some of my favorite Weezer tracks
"You Gave Your Love To Me Softly" (B-Side)
"The Good Life"
"My Best Friend"

Upcoming....

*A huge Weezer Music Post
*Start of TV Shows
*Movie Reviews