Book: The Year of Living Biblically

I just finished A.J. Jacobs' "The Year of Living Biblically" and I loved it.  In this book, A.J. pursues living by Biblical law, attempting to obey every law printed in Scripture.  

The take-home is that everyone is a "Cafeteria Christian" (or Jew).  This is a common term used by fundamentalists to discriminate against more liberal Christians.  They pick and choose what rules to follow, and leave the rest on the table.  However, once you read all the rules the Bible truly presents, you understand that it is almost impossible to follow every rule and you'd be hard pressed to meet even the most die-hard Fundamentalist Christian who can keep up to code.  For example, they would not be able to say "Thursday" because that day is named after a Greek God, and you shall not mutter the names of other Gods.    And furthermore, if they did claim to keep to each law presented in the Bible, those laws are often up to an incredible amount of interpretation, and their adherence would be highly debatable.  

This book has inspired me to read the good-book, because I never have.  I'll let you know how that goes, too. 

In the mean-time, might I also recommend Jacobs' first book, "The Know-it-All," which is about his mission to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica series.   

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TV: Lost - Charlotte Age Screw-Up

You've got to feel bad for the writers of Lost.  They have an awful lot of information to keep track and a whole bunch of plot elements to tie together by the end of next season!  

Inevitably, there are going to be screw-ups in continuity, and here's the latest example:  Charlotte's age.  In one episode, Ben listed-off all of Charlotte's personal information including her birthdate: July 2, 1979, meaning she'd be 28 in Lost time.  However, in a more recent episode, we see a young Charlotte running around in 1974, tricky! 

Horrendously, the executive producers blamed the screw-up on the actress who plays Charlotte, saying that she didn't want to market herself as a 37-year-old, and in the confusion of meeting her demands, the scrip continuity got messed-up.  

The actress Rebecca Madar fired back on Facebook that this was untrue and she was being blamed for a writing mistake.  The producers eventually came clean that this was all just a boo-boo and it had been wrong of them to make Madar a scape-goat. 

So the conclusion is, despite what Ben said, Charlotte was actually probably born on the Island in the year 1971.   They could probably let this issue go un-addressed in the show, but it'll be interesting to see if they come up with some excuse in a future episode.  

In another potential screw-up, the fans are all aflutter that there might have been an Easter Egg in the last episode, Namaste, for those who watched Lost on an HD television.  Was there a ghost in Jacob's cabin... or was it just a production staff member caught in a shot?  Take a look for yourself...   It doesn't look like Claire to me, and it also looks like a graphic-tee, which doesn't seem fitting.  I'm going to say this was another boo-boo. 

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TV: Bones and Family Guy Cross-Over?!

Umm... What?  Here's the latest from our friend Ausiello at EW:

Apparently in an upcoming episode of Bones, Booth will hallucinate and see Stewie from Family Guy chilling around.  Supposedly this is based on a real disease where people can see cartoon characters.   

Also revealed, Bones will ask Booth for sperm so she can have a baby.  Booth will see Stewie while in the sperm bank.  

And positively absolutely Booth and Bones will have sex in the season finale, and it will NOT be a hallucination. 

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TV: Lost - Helpful Radzinsky Reminder

In the episode "Namaste" we are introduced to a character we've only heard of before: Radzinsky.  In case you've forgotten, here's a some background on Radzinsky...

Radzinsky lived in the Hatch (aka "The Swan") with Kelvin Inman and did the duties of pressing the button every 108 minutes.   While working at the Swan, Kevin and Radzinsky created a map of the Island on the back of the "blast-door" that would come down during "lockdown" incidents.  Kevin and Radzinsky learned to fake these incidents so that they could work on the map.  Kevin says that Radzinsky had a photographic memory that aided in keeping an accurate representation of the Island on the door. 

Radzinsky also edited the Swan Orientation film, for unknown reasons.  What information did he leave out and why?

Kevin and Radzinsky were the only members of the DHARMA Initiative who were not killed in the Purge (of those who did not defect to the Hostiles).  

Kevin says that Radzinksy killed himself with a shotgun, leaving a blood-stain on the ceiling of the Hatch. 

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TV: Death Surrounds Us! Part 2

There have been updates on the major deaths that are to take place in Big Love and Lost. 

For Big Love, it's been confirmed that it is a male character.  Now I am putting all of my money on it being Roman.  

For Lost, there will be two deaths: one major, and one major-ish.  In this article, Desmond's picture was featured...  We shall see! I'm thinking the major-ish death could be his beloved Penny. 

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TV: Battlestar Gallactica

About 8 minutes into the episode aired on 3/13 ("Daybreak- Part 1"), I think Gaius totally slipped and didn't quite say "fracking"... 

The line he says is "I need this like a f*cking hole in the head"... what do you think? 

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TV: American Idol Gay Issues

Here's a very interesting article from the LA Times about American Idol's obvious lack of comfort with issues of sexuality and maybe even race... 

I would just like to underline the incredibly inappropriate nature of the homophobic jokes that Ryan and Simon exchange.  Remember just a few short weeks ago when Ryan brought head-band wearing Nathan (who was obviously gay) up to the Judge's table to interact with Simon?  As if Nathan would suddenly combust in a super-fabulous strip-tease and we could all laugh at Simon's discomfort?  That was awkward as hell and completely wrong.  

If you don't think that in 20 years our children will be reading about the intolerance towards the LGBT community in our times, you are deluded.  It is your choice if you want to be a part of the progress or part of the problem. 

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TV: Shippers and Romance on TV

HERE's and interesting article on how "shippers" affect the quality of TV shows.  

The author claims that The Office is the most romantic show on television because they show true representations of love. 

(BTW, Amy Ryan will appear in the season finale of The Office). 

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TV: Death Surrounds Us!

I've already mentioned the rumor that a major-character is going to die in the season finale of Big Love.  After last week's episode I'm getting more and more nervous/excited that it'll be Nikki.  I'm nervous because I love her character, and the actress who plays her.  But I'm excited because that would be a major plot-twist and the show could go in some really interesting directions with the family taking such a major hit.  

The more realistic possibility is that Roman will die, and probably by the hands of either Joey or Wanda.   Last week's episode certainly hinted that Alby is definitely close to taking the throne. 

My good friends think it will be Ben!  Super intriguing, and that would definitely come out of left-field. 

In other death news, it's recently been leaked that a "major" character from Lost will die before season's end.  They say it will be a real death, not like Locke has died.  They also say it's a much-beloved character.   We know for sure it's not Kate... so who could it be?  I'm going to have to think about this one for a while... 

Maybe Juliet? 

Maybe Sayid?

Couldn't be Hurley, because he's the only comedic character right now... or could it? 

If it's Sawyer I will lose my cool and cry forever. 

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TV: American Idol 3/10 and 3/11

I'm running behind on my posting, but to be fair, I'm a new mother with a clingy baby.  

First things first, I thought Tuesday night's Michael Jackson show went incredibly well.  There were no huge messy bombs, and even the contestants I was ambivalent about really impressed me.   I think Lil' Rounds is over-rated, and Alexis and Allison are WAY more interesting artists.  Kris Allen was originally my bet for who was going to be voted off this week, but his performance was great!  Very Jason Mraz (and I said that to my husband even before Randy uttered the same comparison).  Michael Sarver was my second bet for who was going to get the boot, but his performance was miles beyond what he did so many weeks ago with "I Don't Want To Be."  I settled my bet on Jasmine going home, and was right.  She did the crummiest of the night and Jorge did the creepiest and sleepiest.  So no love lost there. 

Do you not know what I'm talking about with my betting?  It's for the EW prediction challenge.  Join the fun HERE!

Danny Gokey can definitely sing, but that boy is still hokey.  

Adam Lambert: I love you.   I think this guy is amazing.  In fact, I youtubed his "Black and White" performance the next morning because I couldn't get his delightful over-pronunciation of "quality" out of my head.    I'm predicting (like Paula) a Gokey / Gay finale. 

As for the huge-mega-voting-rule-change-up?  Who cares?  One time the judges will disagree with America's voting and save a singer.  The next week two contestants will go.   Looking at the dial-idol predictor, it could very well be Allison who is in the bottom and that would be VERY undeserving.  Hopefully she will benefit from this not-so-big ruling change.  

(Dialidol had her as the SECOND LOWEST vote-getter! The shame! AND they had Anoop as completely safe, regardless of the angst the judges and Ryan made his suffer). 

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TV: Lost - Helpful Horace Reminder

In last night's episode, "LaFleur," we were re-introduced to the character Horace Goodspeed.  Here is some background on him in case you (like me) need a brush-up:

Horace was in the real-world with his wife (?) Olivia when they drove past Benjamin's parents laying by the side of the road in distress.  Ben's mom was giving birth to Ben.  She died. 

10 years later, Benajmin and his dad Roger were welcomed by Horace to the island and became a part of the DHARMA initiative.   It can be assumed that Horace invited them to come and join the group.  

We learned in this episode that Horace is the leader of the DHARMA initiative for some time, at least.  Horace helped Amy deal with the death of her husband, Paul.  Three years after Paul's death (and three years after Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Dan, and Jin join DHARMA), Horace and Amy appear to be married.  They are expecting a child.  Amy gives birth to their son while Horace is passed-out drunk. 

Horace died in the Purge. Benjamin found him laying on a bench, dead, but with his eyes still open. Ben shut his eyes, signifying that Benjamin respected Horace.

Horace comes to John Locke in a dream 12 years later.  He is seen cutting down a tree over and over again while his nose bleeds.  He tells Locke that in order to find Jacob, he must first find his body.   Locke finds Horace's body in the DHARMA mass grave.  In Horace's pocket are plans to build a cabin and a map to where the cabin is located.   Jacob lives in Horace's cabin. 

What ever happened to Olivia?  She was Benjamin's teacher in school.  Why wasn't she still with Horace by the time he hooked up with Amy?

Why does Ben have so much respect for Horace?

What made Jacob decide to shack-up in Horace's shack, if for no other reason than it seems like a nice place to live outside of the barracks? 

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TV: Big Love Teaser

In case you haven't heard, there were/are supposed to be two deaths in this season of Big Love.  One was to be a minor character, and the other was to be the death of a major character.  It is confirmed that the death of Joey's second-wife-to-be last Sunday was the minor death.   

The "major death" is supposed to happen in the season finale.  I would only consider it major if we lost someone from the Hendrickson family, meaning a wife or a child.  It has been confirmed that it isn't Sarah.  Who will it be?  It could also be Roman or Alby, which would be significant, but not nearly "major" in my book. 

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TV: The Office YouTube

Here are two great YouTube videos about The Office.   I like the Office Musical the best, but it's missing Andy singing "Take a Chance on Me!"

Ryan Started the Fire

The Office Musical

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TV: American Idol 3/4

Seriously?!

While I am not surprised that Jorge beat-out Ju'Not for the final spot in the Top 3 last night, I am INCREDIBLY surprised that Ju'Not is not even being thrown a Wild-Card bone!  My only theory is that they think the competition is making him too sick and they don't want to risk losing him to an asthma-related death.  

I was also upset to see Felicia looked-over.  She did a bang-up job on Tuesday and is such a great come-back story.  Totally weird. 

Quirky Corkrey is back. I really don't see this girl being able to sing in all the variety of genres that will undoubtedly be presented to the top 12 contestants.  She'll be like a more rhythmically-challenged Brooke White / Jason Castro hybrid.  However, a lot of people really like her and I wouldn't mind being able to join the band-wagon.  Maybe a solid performance tonight will help me change my mind. 

Tatiana is back.  They just couldn't resist.  However, I am just so pleased they didn't bring back Norman Gentle that... whatever, I'll take it. 

Really one of the biggest surprises for me was electing Von Smith for the Wild Card Round.  With Kris and Jorge already in the Top 12, is there really another need for a Clay Aiken-esque performer?  Von is a weird case because I don't really like his singing at all, however, he is such an articulate and nice guy that I find it really hard to protest too much. 

The saving grace was that they are giving Jesse another shot. I really like her.  I like her personality and I like her voice.  I think that the female contestants are pretty weak this year, and given the opportunity, Jesse could really rise to the occasion.  Here's hoping!

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TV: American Idol 3/3

First off, let's address the pictures of Adam Lambert making out with some boy, as posted on VFTW.  Some people are saying these pictures will hurt his chances greatly.  I agree that that is possible, but not because (as some have written) it confirms that he is gay, but because it confirms he has a bit of poor taste.   Seriously, some people didn't know he was gay? He's a professional musical theater actor who wears more makeup than Lady GaGa.   I absolutely don't care if he's gay, and I don't even mind the pictures (you see plenty worse on facebook).  Lambert's still allright with me!

Okay so now onto last night's show.  My predicted top-3? Lil' Rounds, Scott the Blind Guy, and Ju'Not.  At least I hope the third spot goes to Ju'Not.  It may go to Jorge, who was granted the privilege of a loving split-screen by the producers.  How weird was that Barbara Walters moment?  

Do I think Scott deserves the spot? Debatable.  I think he's a much better singer when he is behind his piano and I think that his story is inspirational and heart-warming to watch.  That being said, he wasn't the best singer of the night, by far.  

I'm all about Ju'Not.  He has a soulful voice and I really appreciated his stripped-down version of "Hey There, Delilah."  I think he's a likable person, too. 

Lil' Rounds performed well in her "pimp-spot" (the last spot of the night).  It's unfortunate how hard the producers are pushing her and Gokey down America's throats.  The more they are forced on me, the more I want to reject them, regardless of the fact that they have great voices.  At least Lil' has treated his back-story with taste, and my ambivalence towards her can truly only be blamed on the producers.  Gokey, on the other hand, has a truly off-putting nature regarding the passing of his wife. 

This will be an interesting top 3 choice because it will bring some MUCH NEEDED diversity to our current top-12., who are all white.  Regardless of singing ability, the addition of two people-of-color and a differently-abled contestant (how PC was that?) are much welcomed.   Plus, I think Jorge and Anoop will be featured in the Wild-Card round, and that will balance things out even further, should they be put through. 

What about the current unbalance based on gender?  If my projected Top-3 are chosen, then we've got 3 girls and 6 guys in our current Top-9.  You'd think they'd want to bring more girls into the mix during Wild-Card week, but who?   The only one I'd be hoping for is Felicia, who I think is a sign of the cosmic forces at work.   This competition would have been much worse off without her (especially when one considers she was replacing the mumbler... "NNnn NNa na Nnn na na NNnnn Nnn Nnn Nnn").

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Film: My Fair Lady

Rumor has it that Danny Boyle may direct a remake of "My Fair Lady."  There was some talk that Keira Knightley would play Eliza and Daniel Day Lewis (?!) would play Higgins.  Here's my two cents: Why not cast Anne Hathaway?  As she's shown on SNL and at the Academy Awards, she can sing very well and has some obvious musical theater capabilities.  Plus, she resembles Audrey Hepburn and carries the same sense of class and charm. 

Check out the EW article HERE. Read more!