Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men would make some highly entertaining contributions to MIT tutorials!
Alan: Check it out! Rose’s engagement announcement is in the paper.
Charlie: Nah, I still don’t buy it.
Alan: What do you mean? It’s right here in the paper. *points to online edition on his laptop*
Charlie: Oh, grow up. Do you know how many times I’ve had that paper print my obituary?
— Episode 8.07
While perusing what Lindsay Lohan has tweeted in between her visits to jail and rehab, I immediately noticed when she called Lyndsy Fonseca her “friend”. I hardly think they bonded simply because they have the same name spelled a different way.
You may know Fonseca as Ted Mosby’s future daughter on How I Met Your Mother, or from this summer’s action-adventure flick, Kick Ass. As the face of Barbizon School of Modelling (for which an ad is often found at the back of teen girl magazines), she’s always been a charming actress famous for her girl-next-door look.
I’ve been a fan of Fonseca ever since she joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2001 to play Colleen Carlton. I’ll even admit that I was jealous of her character Colleen when J.T. sung her ‘Nothing At All’. The two lovebirds were one of the cutest couples in soap opera history, during a time when soap operas were still decent. The incestuous-like behaviour on Bold and the Beautiful and ridiculous new storylines on Y&R make it no surprise that two soaps have been cancelled within the last year.
I’m not an avid reader of Soap Opera Weekly or Star, so I haven’t been kept apprised about her personal life. Given Linsday’s recent behaviour however, I was appalled when I discovered that this is someone she spends time with. The fact that Lindsay calls her a friend and felt obliged to promote Fonseca’s role in Nikita makes me question what she is like behind the scenes.
Without a computer, I’ve been watching more TV, including shows like TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. During its commercial breaks, the network enthusiastically promotes their new spin-off featuring plus-sized, full-figured women shopping for bridal gowns.
The Biggest Loser’s executive producers can say all they want about potentially becoming “Weight Watchers for the 21st century”, but the reality is that many viewers sit in front of their TVs and crack cruel jokes about the show’s contestants. As such, I suspect that TLC’s new show will inevitably lead to more unnecessary mocking from their viewers.
Model Crystal Renn argues that “fashion can and should encourage all girls to feel beautiful”. Let’s hope that TLC’s new show will broadcast Kleinfeld’s consultants doing just that.
Happy Homecoming, Mustangs. If you happen to be flipping the channels on Friday, you can tune in to the premiere of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss and let me know what you think.
About 500 fans lined up outside MTV’s Masonic Temple Tuesday night to watch Brandon Flowers showcase songs from his upcoming album, Flamingo. To their surprise, the lead singer of The Killers later stuck around to share insights about the band’s future and the unmistakeable influence of their hometown, Las Vegas.
The intimate atmosphere and giveaways on hand are not the only perks of being there in person. Studio audiences also have the opportunity to see a performer’s range and witness how one do-over can make all the difference. His first performance of ‘Magdalena’ was decent, but he was much more energetic and charismatic the second time around.
While many young girls enthusiastically expressed their love to him, only a select few women in the balcony sang all the words to ‘Crossfire’ by heart. Overall, fans should expect noticeable improvements in Brandon’s songwriting, as he explained that he articulates himself better as he gets older.
After admitting that he can’t keep a beat on the drum, Brandon acknowledged his reliance on his fellow band mates and showed no signs of arrogance. While describing how he included individual members of The Killers on his new record, Brandon noted bass guitarist Mark Stoermer’s absence as an exception. “He’s there in spirit,” he laughed. After commenting that many of his songs take on a whole new life when performed live, Brandon quickly defended himself again, reassuring the audience that the album is a great listen in itself.
As expected, Brandon’s new songs sound much like The Killers’ past releases. His duet with Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis, ‘Hard Enough’, offers a slightly different sound and demonstrates the power of a smart collaboration. After casually describing Tom Jones as “a cool guy”, Brandon added that he remains excited about working with him once they find the right material.
Brandon’s sentiment about it being an unusual recording process comes across in his lyrics when he joins the list of musicians connecting with lonely souls by asking “Is there anybody out there…”. His pre-show nervousness was a hot topic during the interview and it appears that we’ll have to wait and see whether Brandon gains more confidence as an artist.
Originally published on Bell Sympatico’s The Hook.
After re-watching Up in the Air, I realized that it is such a powerful film because it emphasizes how frequently people are undervalued. Corporations need to make cutbacks in order to stay afloat, but rarely have time to give personal attention to their terminated employees. People aren’t numbers, they matter. My high school classmates like to joke about how each of us was another statistic who was accepted to their top choice universities, but beyond that, we are all individuals.
Prom season is upon us again. I wonder how many seniors are ranking their friends on a scale of 1 to 10. I remember everyone whispering to their friends about who looks surprisingly decent in a suit and which girl in a mini dress looks the hottest. Then once everyone uploads their photos, the rating process continues. Some people are taken, others are suddenly higher in demand and majority are scrutinized solely based on appearance.
How I Met Your Mother also effectively portrays how judgmental we all are. One night in McLaren’s, Barney draws the Hot-Crazy scale and explains that hot girls are more likely to be nuts. Maybe that’s why employers become disappointed with their workers – sometimes people are hired based on looks rather than their resume. Regardless of whether they are willing to admit it, Abercrombie stores hire models because sex sells and modelling agencies hire salespeople. Far too many agencies are paying representatives to tell potential clients that they are beautiful in order to make a nice profit. Their intention is that the young and naive will be so satisfied with their boosted ego, that spending over $1000 on a beauty and runway boot camp (which will likely bring them little success) seems like no big deal.
Finally, Up in the Air is really great because it examines how face-to-face communication cannot always be replaced by machines. After accompanying George Clooney’s character across America to tell people they’ve been let go, the optimistic recent grad realizes why telling people ‘it sucks to be you’ shouldn’t be done on a Skype date. Technology is no doubt taking over our lives, but there needs to be a limit.