My TV Schedule (And Two Gay Nays)

In the past I've talked about how I decide whether or not to watch a new TV show -- basically, I need something to pique my interest in it, or else I just happen to watch on a whim. So with the new fall TV season under way, I thought I'd update you on what I'm currently watching (or considering watching, or tried to watch). There have been a few changes in my schedule.

SUNDAY: I've still got "The Simpsons" (which, let's face it, at this point I'll never stop watching) and "Family Guy" (which I can't quite get rid of). With "Desperate Housewives" gone, though, I don't have another Sunday night show. I'm considering trying "666 Park Avenue," only because Vanessa Williams moved from Wisteria Lane to this address. Apparently (as you can guess from the number) there are devilish doings going on. I'll try it.

MONDAY: It used to be a quiet night until Fox moved "Bones" here. I also sampled the debut of "Partners," one of the two new shows with heavy gay content. It co-stars Michael Urie, one of my faves from "Ugly Betty," which is why I watched it. Urie's character is gay and his best friend (played by David Krumholtz) is straight. Their significant others are Brandon "I'm no longer Superman" Routh and Sophia Bush, respectively. I may watch another episode because I really like Urie, but I think they'd be better off if they ditched the truly dull Krumholtz and Routh entirely, and maybe Bush as well.

TUESDAY: At least "Partners" isn't the other big gay sitcom, "The New Normal."

Ew York

Since I'm up late I decided to post the pictures I took when I went to New York for a weekend in early March. EDIT TO UPDATE: I posted them to Shutterfly and hoped to have a slideshow embedded into this post but using the code they provided, no slideshow appears. So just click on this link.

The main purposes for the trip: my friend Kurt was auditioning for The Voice on the Saturday of that weekend, so while he auditioned I went to see "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

The trip wasn't exactly a success. It wasn't horrible, but there were a number of problems throughout. It started with Megabus. (That's their sign at left -- hence the title of this post.) We were supposed to leave at 5:30 pm but the bus was quite late -- an hour, at least, as I remember. We stood out in the chilly air and watched while at least two competing buses (Bolt Bus, which is actually owned by Greyhound) arrived, picked up passengers for New York, and went on their way. Once we finally got on our way, the wi-fi on the bus was wonky.

We finally got to our small hotel, which was in Chinatown, and were told that because a regular room wasn't ready that we would get the "penthouse." The elevator doesn't go to the penthouse without your room keycard to unlock it. Our key didn't work. After the staff couldn't get it to work, they decided to put us in a first-floor room for one night. It was freezing with no heat. We went back to the desk, and after another wait  someone got the key to unlock the elevator button for the "penthouse." The elevator opened right up into the room -- there were no other rooms on the floor. It wasn't exactly luxurious but it was larger than a typical room. It also had a fuse box and some other electrical switches and an emergency phone for the fire department and a door to the roof of the building. I had images of maintenance men traipsing through our room or worse. (I took a video; if I get around to posting it I'll update this.

Christmas Is Coming!

Last Christmas I gave you my heart I listed the Christmas TV specials from my DVD or VHS collection that I try to watch every year. Well, this year I haven't watched a single one yet, and time is running out. (Although I have listened to every Christmas song in my iTunes. I want to try to do a holiday music-related post this week as well.) But it's not as if I haven't watched any Christmas programs. I've got both the "Glee" Christmas episode and this year's Christmas-themed "Simpsons" episode guest-starring Martha Stewart and (in live-action with Muppetized Simpsons) Katy Perry on my DVR and have watched both two or three times.

I also just recorded the TV-movie "A Diva's Christmas Carol" starring Vanessa Williams -- surely this helped lead to her becoming Wilhelmina Slater on "Ugly Betty" -- and right now I'm recording "Bad Santa" from Spike TV, although I'm sure it's a censored version that may disappoint.

Tomorrow I plan to try and add to my DVD collection, if I can find an inexpensive DVD of "Scrooged" starring Bill Murray. Like the Vanessa Williams film, it's another update of the Dickens classic, but with a more satirical streak. The soundtrack included the duet by Annie Lennox and Al Green of "Put A Little Love in Your Heart," a non-Christmas song that is now, for me, a holiday classic.



Yes, Christmas is coming...although the case can be made that it arrived early this year...

Talk About A Misleading Headline

There are all these news stories today -- well, one story but with articles on many different websites -- that have a similarly-written headline: "'Ugly Betty' actor kills mother with samurai sword." Yet, if you read the article you find that the guy who is accused to hacking his mother with said samurai sword isn't one of the actual male stars, but some guy who had a bit part in one episode (as well as another bit part in the movie "Step Up 3D."

Apparently these parts were so small that he doesn't even have a listing at IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database, in case you didn't know).

So, is this just an attempt by headline writers to get people to read the article? Isn't "Man hacks mother to death with samurai sword" or "Aspiring actor fatally attacks mom with samurai" enough? Or is this just lazy headline-writing?

My iTunes Top 25 for 6-6-10

Since I just synced my iPod with my most recent downloads into iTunes, I thought I'd share my Top 25 most played tracks so far in 2010, with total plays for each (I cleared the totals at the start of the year.) Still clinging to the top for now is the song used in "Ugly Betty" during the scene where Justin first kisses his boyfriend. I'm not playing it much lately, so it surely will be dethroned. Also, there seems to be lots of Lady Gaga. Actually, there are six CDs with multiple songs on the list -- 20 of the 25 songs come from those six CDs. (This also kind of indicates that I could use some more new music. I haven't bought many new albums recently.)

Valium In The Sunshine - Maps 64
Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)- Lady Gaga 61
Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas 53
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga 53
Giving Up The Gun - Vampire Weekend 46
Bad Romance (Rauhofer Anthem) - Lady Gaga 41
Cousins - Vampire Weekend 39
A Beautiful Mine - RJD2 38
Dance In The Dark - Lady Gaga 37
Poker Face - Lady Gaga 34
Sure Fire Winners - Adam Lambert 33
Vogue - Glee Cast 33
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga 32
Celebration - Madonna 31
If I Had You - Adam Lambert 29
When Love Takes Over (Featuring Kelly Rowland) - David Guetta 28
For Your Entertainment - Adam Lambert 24
Sexy Bitch (Featuring Akon) - David Guetta 24
Missing You (Featuring Novel) - David Guetta 24
4 Minutes - Glee Cast 24
Alejandro - Lady Gaga 24
Monster - Lady Gaga 24
So Happy I Could Die - Lady Gaga 24
Teeth - Lady Gaga 24
Memories (Featuring Kid Cudi) - David Guetta 23

Farewell, Ugly Betty

Now that a few days has passed and I've had some time to ponder it, I have to say that the end of "Ugly Betty" hit a lot of right notes, but also felt rushed. When ABC canceled the show (after first killing its audience with the move to Friday nights) they also cut two episodes from their order for the season, from 22 to 20. So in tying up some storylines they had less time to tell those stories. There was almost a "connect the dots" quality to it. It was like they said "We have to do this, this and this for this character" and did them, without enough bridging between them to make them more believable. I think it would have helped had the last two episodes been aired together as a two-hour finale.

As far as the storylines themselves, essentially everyone got some sort of happy ending, and I'm okay with that. I'm also pleased that they didn't put Betty and Daniel together. Fans debated about which guy Betty should end up with -- Henry, Gio, Matt, Daniel, someone else, no one. (That last one is especially valid -- why should she have to have a man to have a happy, fulfilling life?) I would have been most happy with Henry (I think I'm in the minority here), but hated the idea of Betty and Daniel. They developed a great friendship over the course of the series, and to suddenly throw them together romantically would've been awful. Over the last couple of episodes they seemed like that's where they were headed, but instead it was left open. Betty moved to London to help run a new magazine, ran into Daniel there, they had a nice chat and he asked her to dinner. If there's an "Ugly Betty" movie in our future, I'm sure they'll pick up on it.

Softball Sunday Means...

...I have to get to bed early enough to get a few hours' sleep before the morning. First game is at 9:50 a.m., meaning I'll have to be at the field to warm up about a half-hour earlier. So no long late-night blog post tonight! I hope to get to one tomorrow night -- I'm due to write about the comics I bought this week and the Ugly Betty finale. And hey, the Flyers are still in the playoffs. (Fortunately, with "The Amazing Race" preempted this week I'll have a little more time.) Plus, I hope to see the movie "Kick-Ass" on Monday, which will give me another post topic. I would've gone today but softball practice got in the way.

I hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!

Another Ugly Betty Gem

This is a live version of the song used in the scene at Hilda and Bobby's wedding reception where Justin Suarez took to the dance floor with his boyfriend Austin, one of the most subtle and sweet coming-out moments ever. (Sigh...a show this amazing, and only one more episode left...) "A Love That Will Last" by Renee Olstead...

Great Song From Tonight's Brilliant "Ugly Betty"

A show that not only is funny, but both exhilarating and heartbreaking at the same time, just shouldn't be going off the air yet. So first let's give one great big middle finger to ABC for its mishandling of "Ugly Betty." While the show was struggling in the ratings in its old 8 pm Thursday slot, the network's idea to move it to Friday nights was absurd. Fridays and Saturdays are where quality TV shows go to die, and that's what happened. A last-ditch switch to its current 10 pm Wednesday time period was too little, too late.

And tonight's show featured a major turning point in the life of young Justin Suarez, Betty's nephew. That's the part that was so exhilarating and heartbreaking. If you didn't see it, I highly recommend that you watch this episode online at ABC.com or through On Demand or however you can. In fact, go back and first watch the episode from November called "Backseat Betty," which had a similarly conflicted feeling, and then watch tonight's "All the World's a Stage."

And here's a song featured in a crucial scene -- no, make that THE crucial scene -- from tonight's episode that I'm really loving right now, "Valium in the Sunshine" by Maps.



There are only four new "Ugly Betty" episodes left, and I miss it already.

Twitter Trending Topics

On Twitter the "Trending Topics" feature -- the list of the most-discussed items on Twitter -- has been a source of amusement and annoyance to me. Amusement because it's interesting to see what subjects are being talked about. Annoyance because made-up "topics" lead to a greater volume of sometimes inane, sometimes stupid posts in my Twitter feed. Example: right now one of the leaders in the United States is #nowthatsghetto -- so there are a series of posts such as:

"yo moms got empty Henny bottles around her bedroom............#nowthatsghetto"
"#nowthatsghetto the fact that I can get my hair gel, toothpaste and a #6 Chinese food combo all from the same quick mart"
"claiming you have celebrity friends when in reality, you're just they're Facebook fan ......#nowthatsghetto."

All of those are actual tweets I found during a search, but at times they'll come up in my feed if someone I'm following decides to run with it. (I'm looking at you, injured Eagles offensive lineman Shawn Andrews!) Sometimes they're clever, but often they're just variations on the same idea and I find it more annoying than anything else.

Anyway, Twitter has tweaked its service so you can set the Trending Topics that show up on your page to a specific location. You can see what's trending worldwide; in the countries of Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, the United Kingdom or the United States; or in one of 15 cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, São Paulo and Washington, D.C. Nice to know Philly made the cut, so I thought I'd do a comparison of what's trending here as compared to the hot topics for the USA, Canada and the world. (Some other time I may do a comparison between various cities.)

Worldwide:

* #nowplaying
* Haiti
* iTampon - According to Twitter: "People are making a joke due to unfortunate word associations in the name of Apple's new tablet, the iPad." (No, really?)
* #cbb7 - (No Twitter explanation but if you see the item directly below, you can guess what CBB stands for.)
* Davina - "Davina McCall, host of Celebrity Big Brother (UK), entered the house tonight in disguise."
* Union (for President Obama's State of the Union speech tonight)
* Don’t Ask
* #apple
* Ugly Betty (canceled by ABC, those bastards!)
* Don't Tell

It's not an exact science -- Twitter is separating the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" topic (Obama is reportedly going to call for the anti-gay military policy to be repealed in his speech tonight -- I wonder why this is in the top 10 worldwide but not in the USA?)

United States:

* #itampon
* #ipad
* #nowthatsghetto (See above.)
* Apple iPad
* iBooks
* MaxiPad (See iTampon)
* Union address
* MadTV
* iTablet
* Howard Zinn

Canada:

* #itampon
* Apple iPad
* MadTV
* #Haiti
* Ugly Betty
* Multitasking
* #yeg (Huh?)
* Canadian
* Mass Effect
* Olympics

Philadelphia:

* #itampon
* #applesnextproduct
* #NewAppleProducts
* Apple iPad
* Haiti
* Ugly Betty
* Tyra
* Oprah
* Apple
* Device

Again, probably a Twitter issue that all of the variations on "Apple" are appearing separately instead of as one topic...and how is "device" a topic?

Wishing I Still Had HBO

Do you remember the actor who played Justin's father on "Ugly Betty" before they killed off the character? His name is Kevin Alejandro, and he's currently on the show "Southland" on TNT. Now he's also joining the cast of "True Blood" on HBO for its upcoming season. He'll play a love interest for a gay character on the show.

I haven't subscribed to HBO since shortly after "The Sopranos" ended, and haven't really felt like I was missing anything. Of the series they've run since then, none has interested me -- not even "True Blood," until now. If my financial situation improves between now and whenever the new season begins, perhaps I'll pick up HBO again. Being from HBO, there's always a chance of nudity. I wouldn't complain if Mr. Alejandro turned up naked on the show. Or at my house, for that matter.

Quick Review: Jennifer's Body

I loved "Juno," which was written by Diablo Cody. After watching "Jennifer's Body," also written by Cody, I'm wondering if I was wrong about "Juno." A lame story in which a teenage girl (played by Megan Fox) becomes possessed or something after a fire burns down a bar where she and her supposed best friend (Amanda Seyfried) are watching a band play. She then seduces male classmates, who turn into her victims. Amanda Seyfried is a pretty young woman, but because she's playing the best friend of Megan Fox, they've got her in more frumpy clothes and glasses. (There isn't much of a transformation, though -- it's not like when America Ferrara turns into Betty Suarez on "Ugly Betty" -- which, by the way, returns in about 2 weeks. Yay!) And the way Megan Fox's character acts, even before turning into a serial killer, it makes no sense that they're best friends. (Heh. I used "Megan Fox" and "acts" in the same sentence. Now, if I somehow worked the word "well" in there, that would be amazing.) There are a handful of good lines but for the most part it doesn't work. It's not even cheesy enough to become a cult classic, despite the much-ballyhooed kiss between the two lead actresses. My grade: D-plus.