March 2008 Archives

Cola company Dr. Pepper announced that if Guns 'N Roses releases its long overdue album ironically titled "Chinese Democracy" anytime in 2008, it will provide a free can of the soda to everyone in the U.S. Is this a joke? Publicity stunt? Major lapse in judgement? Who knew that anyone was that desperate for another GNR record? The band hasn't released any new material since 1991. I guess the odds are against the washed-up rockers, but Dr. Pepper might bet themselves out of business.

Like most prime-time watchers out there, I was annoyed by the shortened season caused by the writer's strike in Hollywood. However, I found an upside when, being the channel-surfing type, I discovered excellent shows I might never have watched if it weren't for the strike. I think you call this type of show "edutainment" -- it's not a documentary or fictional, but more like a reality show without the "car crash" mentality. Whatever the pop culture term is, these shows are more attention-grabbing and thought provoking than prime time's usual fare.

I did a double take when I pulled my Vogue magazine out of my mailbox this month. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen was on the cover...along with NBA superstar LeBron James. The only other men to make the cover in the magazine's long history were Richard Gere and George Clooney. Thank goodness Vogue is finally recognizing someone other than a stick-thin model or actress.

I was at home, overdosing on college basketball and my aunt's lemon Easter cake, but a lot was happening in York this weekend. The Central Pennsylvania Hip-Hop Awards went down. Click here to see who won. If you didn't pick up tickets for Daughtry's York Fair show yet, click here.
In other news, The Dept. of Justice approved an XM-Sirius merger. TV shows start their comebacks Monday. Here is a calendar of when shows start back up. On a related note, MTV's hit show "The Hills" returns Monday. I'm ashamed of myself for being so excited.

Am I the only one who goesreaching for the box of tissues everytime this commercial comes on?
(Warning: Now would be the appropriate time to reach for tissues)

Well, good news about Echo.

The Glen Rock Mill Inn recently opened under new owners. The menu looks yummy. I'll check back when I've had the chance to try it. Click here to check out the grub.

The Central Pennsylvania Hip-Hop Awards roll into Harrisburg this weekend. Check out this video of Da Underground Dancers, who are nominated for Best Crew and will perform at the event.

I attended my first York St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday. It was a great time, even though a Yankee fan in my group got into a verbal altercation with the Baltimore Oriole mascot. I discovered the beauty of music videos from the '80s on a giant projection screen at White Rose Bar and Grill later Saturday night and the glory of Denny's early Sunday morning.
Sunday was my movie day, rounded out with a classic ("His Girl Friday" on TCM), a comedy ("I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With" at the Strand) and a documentary ("Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus").
In the rest of the world, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! took over the weekend box office, Halle Berry had a baby girl and Paris Hilton was given her own MTV show. That's not hot.

I visited New York City over the weekend. For someone with a thirst for curious culinary finds, it's the place to be quenched.

Chinatown is full of fish, vegetables, fruits and other peculiar ingredients. In one store, Pearl River, I saw dried fish packaged in a see-through bag. The little silver guys were about the size of a pack of Smarties and still had their eye balls. Odd, I thought, but so cool to see.

Check out Britney Spears' new video for "Break the Ice." It's pretty much an animated version of '"The Matrix." The cartoon version of Spears doesn't resemble her at all, but the video is tight. I was highly skeptical at first, but after "Piece of Me," "Gimme More" and this single, I'm convinced that "Blackout" doesn't suck.
Break the Ice

You know it was a crazy weekend if you don't get around to blogging about it until Tuesday.
To recap, Thursday night I went to the Harp & Fiddle to check out The Tamboureens. They were the first group on the lineup for the Harp's Battle of the Bands, which runs Thursdays through Memorial Day. I had my first encounter with "Arrested Development" on Friday. My sides still hurt from laughing. I also saw "2 Days in Paris," a Capitol Cinema Sundays selection. The movie was very...French.
In the rest of the world, the South by Southwest Film Festival kicked off on Friday. The music portion of SXSW kicks off Wednesday. Madonna was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Monday. All the haters need to get over it. She's an icon.

A few weeks ago, I posted about my at-home latte in a bottle. While I love the Nescafe java in a bottle, I still wanted to try to make one with real espresso.

Here's what I did.

I bought a simple espresso maker on Craigslist for $10. I purchased a bag of whole bean coffee at Weis Markets for $4.09 and used the grinder at the store using the espresso setting (it's finer than what you use for drip coffee). At home, I brewed the espresso and chilled it in the fridge.
Here's my recipe:

1 cup of ice
1/4 cup chilled espresso
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon vanilla (coffee syrup or baking vanilla will do)

Place ice in a cup, pour espresso over the ice. Add milk, stir in vanilla and enjoy!

I can't tell you how excited I am that I will never again have to spend $4 on an iced latte if I properly plan.

Log onto www.myspace.com/operationmyspace at 2 p.m. Monday to see a live concert from Kuwait. Disturbed, Jessica Simpson, The Pussycat Dolls and Filter will perform their tunes in front of troops in Iraq. Comedian Carol Mencia will host the event, which will only be shown on MySpace.

Ever since "Project Runway" ended last week with Christian as its winner, I've been going through withdrawal. I miss Chris' hyena-type laughs. I long to see another draped dress from Rami come down the runway. (I can't believe I just wrote that!)
But most of all, I miss Christian's catchphrases. "That's fierce." "That's a hot tranny mess."

Last night I watched MTV's new dance competition "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" for the first time. The crews had to recreate dances from Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Watch the group Kaba Modern kill it. Consider your mind blown.

To watch the other groups and vote for your favorite, click here.

So, I succumbed to it. It hovered in the cubicle near me, it hung in the air around me and, then, it pounced.

The Plague.

I didn't want to get to know him, but I couldn't fend off his advances any longer. The runny nose, the puffy eyes, the coughing, the sneezing -- you know what I mean. Practically all of York County has had some meeting with Mr. P. (Luckily, I didn't get to meet his best friend, Pukey.)

And the cure? MEDICINE. (But, it wasn't that easy.)

I know a lot of closet "Family Guy" fans. People who love Stewie's diabolical sense of humor, Peter's lack of political correctness, Loris' total oblivion to Stewie's plot to kill her, Chris' weird thing with the evil monkey in his bedroom and Meg's, well, lets just say she's special.

So, judging from the TV show's complete wrongness yet hilarious plots, I figured the movie "Family Guy - Blue Harvest" would be a perfect pick to veg out with. I was wrong.

Though I think Jillian had a better collection, I'm not at all surprised Christian won. Overall, throughout the entire competition he's done the best work. Kudos!

I know this is petty, but if Christian must win, my victory is getting to see him stand next to Heidi Klum.

He looked like a hobbit.

Christian! Even though he had a lot of black in his collection and his clothes were a little over-worked, the fan favorite pulled through. He totally deserved it. Victoria Beckham was in love with his clothes. Major. Rami had a problem with colors and Jillian was a little inconsistent, but they are still both great designers.

Rami's collection was stunning. His blues, reds and golds added just enough pops of color to break up the black. The clothes fit perfectly. His last two dresses were actually my favorite pieces shown. He really knows how to dress women.
Christian's collection got the most applause. He used a lot of black, nude, feathers and layering. He had some crazy hats going on as well. The detail was amazing. His collection was simply fierce couture. It looked like everyone was blown away.
It is anyone's game at this point. I can't wait to see what the judges have to say.

So I came a little late to the "Project Runway" party. But I'm here now, and I'm loving it.
Just saw Jillian's collection and I'm impressed. I love the details on her clothing. All of her clothing is flowing and has a lot of movement, which I like. Rami's stuff is the exact opposite. It seems very stagnant. A few of the models seemed as though they had a hard time walking in it.
Christian's stuff was very high fashion -- much more conceptual.
Though I think Christian will win, my vote based soley on the runway collection... Jillian.

Posh Spice is the guest judge, but everyone already new that. I think I even saw her crack a small smile.
Why is Heidi Klum wearing jeans when everyone else is dressed to the nines?
Niki Taylor and Tyson Beckford of Bravo's "Make Me A Supermodel" keep popping up on screen. Coincidence? I think not.
Jillian's collection was very clean and detail-oriented with lots of riding pants and boots. It didn't seem to fit together that well though. I didn't like some of the drab colors she chose.
Will "Project Runway" ever admit that Chris March and Sweet Pea also showed their collections?

Christian busts out his tranny talk. Tim Gunn gets emotional and claims this season's designers have the most talent.
The order is revealed. Jillian is going first, Rami is going second and Christian is showing third. In my opinion, they saved the best for last.
When the designers arrive at Bryant Park, the craziness begins. Two of Christian's models are late. It seems like he is cracking under pressure a bit.

The last episode of "Project Runway" season four is here. My thoughts so far:
Jillian's striped sweater needs to go away. The sleeves look like bird wings.
Christian is being super-nice about the other designers' collections and he's nervous about his own stuff. Weird.
Rami's clothes look great. I’m getting scared that he'll win right now.
Jillian seems a little overwhelmed by the model casting. She started switching people around at the last minute of course.
Christian has replaced "fierce" with "flawless."

Lindsay Lohan's 14-year-old sister, Ali, their mother, Dina, will have their own reality show on E!. It is scheduled to debut this summer. Wasn't the show about the Kardashians bad enough?
Punkette Avril Lavigne is getting her own clothing line named Abbey Dawn. Apparel and jewelry will be available in Kohl’s stores this July.
The fierce fourth season of "Project Runway" ends Wednesday. Watch the designer drama go down at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Log onto the FlipSide blog to read all about it and share your thoughts.

Will Ferrell's new comedy "Semi-Pro" topped the weekend box office. Don't act like you're not impressed. It's playing at Queensgate Cinemas, R/C Hanover Movies and Regal 13.
I got to see The Glorious Filaments at the Harp & Fiddle over the weekend. Good times. The Harp's Battle of the Band's competition starts Thursday with a performance from The Tamboureens.
Voting has started for the Central Pennsylvania Hip Hop Awards. Log onto cphiphopawards.com and vote for your favorite local artists, music stores, lables and studios. Voting ends at noon on March 21. You can also buy tickets to the awards show, which kicks off at 8 p.m. March 22 at The Forum in Harrisburg.