Breaking up with Vampire Diaries is hard to do

Have you ever heard the term hate watching? I first heard it from my daughter Sarah. She was watching Restaurant Stakeout and Mystery Diners on Food Network, shows I cannot stand and which I know she doesn't like either. So why, I asked, are you watching them? "Hate watching", she said, and followed that up with, "Don't hate me, bro."

Hate watching. Finding yourself watching something because you can't help yourself not to do it, even though you ate it. What an excellent term, and how very descriptive of what I've been doing with Vampire Diaries for a while now.














When Vampire Diaries first began, I wasn't interested in watching, but a former friend convinced me

to give it a try, and there just happened to be a marathon going on, so I did just that - and immediately fell in love with Damon Salvatore.

















He's handsome and sexy, and he has the most incredible blue eyes. And he's a vampire! What's not to love! I had already started to read the books, which I liked, and I realized immediately that major changes had been mind. Why, I don't know. Because the writers could? I've never understood why you like something, but feel the need to change the source material to something unrecognizable. That generally doesn't end well. It might work for a while, but sooner or later it fails. Look at True Blood and Dexter.

Let me state categorically that I have never liked Nina Dobrev as Elena, and she is a far cry from what the character was meant to be. Having said that, I preferred her to be with Stefan, and far away from Damon. I was not pleased when she left Stefan for Damon. I liked the unencumbered, bad boy, not the love-struck idiot he sometimes was.

One of my favorite scenes shows Damon doing a solo dance which was incredibly sex - right before he killed Vicki. I didn't care for her. Her brother Matt was a better character.

Over the few years I've been watching Vampire Diaries, it has decidedly gone downhill. Elena morphs from dead to vampire to alive in the blink of an eye. Stefan's stint as a Ripper - their term for a homicidal vampire who lives to kill - was ridiculous. What they did with Alaric, and the arc with his wife, was horrible. And Jeremy - I just wanted to kill him most of the time, especially doing his poor poor pitiful me periods. Bonnie.... not the same lovely girl as in the book, and often she was too judgmental for my taste, and although I like Caroline better, she had her moments. I liked when she slept with Klaus, whom I used to hate, but he grew on me. In fact, I like The Originals better than I do Vampire Diaries now. How sad is that?

The whole story arc with that ridiculous Kai (sp?) made me want to throw things at the TV, him and his awful family. And Alaric lost another girlfriend, this one pregnant. Tyler became a hybrid, and then not. Asshole and then... still asshole. Matt the asshole. Jeremy the asshole...

Where will it stop? Good grief. One day, I came to the realization, with the help of Sarah, that my continued watching of this show is ridiculous. After the end of the last season, where Elena goes into a deep slumber for maybe 60 years (although we know that won't happen, somehow she'll be brought back from that), I realized the next season will be filled with self-pitying Damon, and other stupid stuff.

The thought of watching that... well, I just can't do it.

So, although I love you, I'm letting you go. Be happy, Damon. The rest of you, I don't care what happens to you....

Rest in peace, Damon.

Vampire Bite Blog Hop

Velcome! And no, I don't want to drink your blood lol

Well, maybe later :)

When I saw the opportunity to participate in this blog hop about vampires, how could I refuse?  I couldn't!  Even though I have another one going on the same day, for Valentine's Day. But double your pleasure, right?  So now, on to my second Blog Hop! Stay tuned to find out how to win! And don't forget to check out the other participants of this fun blog hop here!

So, let's talk about vampires, shall we?

I have had a love affair with vampires ever since I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and watched the Bela Lugosi classic film version of the book. I thought he was intense and very sexy. When the film first came out, back in the 30’s, so did a lot of women. Bela had the perfect voice and accent to play the Transylvanian count. He came from Hungary, where he was actually a very successful and renowned stage actor. He came to Hollywood with high hopes, but things didn’t quite work out as he hoped, owing in large part to the very thick accent he could never lose. This was compounded by a drug addiction gained after surgery, which haunted the rest of his life, forcing him to take less than stellar roles, as many actors are forced to do to make a living. He died only a couple of days into the shooting of his last film—Plan 9 From Outer Space—and it shows. Low budget to begin with, they replaced him with somebody’s dentist, who was taller than Lugosi, and had him spend most of the film with his cape drawn over his face. The plot was almost non-existent, and ridiculous, and this rates as one of the worst films I’ve ever seen.

But I digress.

I also fell in love with Barnabas Collins, the tragic vampire from the long-ago ABC soap opera Dark Shadows, which was certainly unique in its use of the supernatural in a daytime series. I devoured the books, and drooled over the star, Jonathan Frid. There’s a story told in my family that I scared my little brother (who is seven years younger than I am) with tales of my vampire friends. So badly that he hung a crucifix from his bed for protection. Nice story, but patently untrue, and only told years after the fact. I’d be willing to swear my brother never possessed a crucifix. We never went to church, even.

But I loved vampires. Very much. So it was only natural that my first book should feature one. Originally, his name was Derek DeVille. I chose DeVille because that is the pseudonym that Dracula uses when he goes to London, in the novel. Derek was the name of a friend of mine’s young son, and I liked it. The two names fit. Derek he stayed for a long time. But back when I wrote it, there were no e-books, and getting published was a lot harder than it is today. So Dark Love was put aside for other pursuits. One of those was role playing, in games at such venues as Live Journal, Greatest Journal, and now Insane Journal.

For one of those games, I needed to make a vampire character. I couldn’t think of another name, so I used Derek DeVille, which was familiar to me. I figured what the heck, it’s still my character, and nobody would ever make the connection. Except that a strange thing happened. The role playing Derek took on a life and character all his own. One distinctive from the book Derek. And I decided he needed a book of his own.

Fast forward a bit. I’ve begun to be published, and I ask myself: what about Dark Love? I dust if off and think about submitting it. But I realize I can’t do it with a second Derek DeVille, not when I want to use the other one. So I need a new name. The first name I came up with was Gabriel Brandon, and I tried that, but it didn’t feel right. I finally settled on Eric Vargas, and I really liked that. So Eric he became and Eric he is.

Eric is blond, with long hair, usually tied in a tail at the nape of his neck. I love long hair in men—no lie. I find Eric very sexy. So does my heroine, Samantha Kane. Samantha is the name that would have been given to my son Chris, had he been born a girl. And as he was the last, I’ll never have a Samantha, except in this book.

I set the story in St. Louis, because I live there. The museum doesn’t exist, except in my mind. I used actual settings for parts of it, including the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. I gave Samantha my interest in vampires, and the Tarot, and my red hair.

Parts of the book were hard to write. In fact, there’s one chapter that even I have trouble reading. But sometimes you just have to go where the characters take you. Sometimes, too, it’s awesome how things work out when you write. I was stuck on the ending, not sure where to go, when something that was in the news at the time kept demanding my attention, and my brain put things together, and wrote an ending. Only after it was written, did I realize that it had been foreshadowed earlier in the novel. I just love when things work out like that. I won’t tell you what it was, that would be spoiling, and I try not to do that.

To this day, I still love vampires and love to write about them. I have other vampire characters to love and explore. And werewolves too. It’s a lifelong love, I’m sure.

Dark Love was published in January 2011, but late last year I pulled it from the publisher, and am currently seeking a home for it.

I’m still fascinated by vampires, in film and books. I’ve read all the Twilight books (and refuse to watch the films because the casting for Edward was so atrocious, plus the previews I saw looked like a bad made-for-TV movie). I’ve read some of the Vampire Diaries books and was talked into watching the series. I have to say this about that – I really don’t care for the series. There is only one reason why I even bother to watch, and his name is Damon Salvatore, aka Ian Somerhalder. He is sex on legs, and to die for! He is my avatar on FB, and incredibly gorgeous! He is also my dream casting choice to play Judas in the film version of Revelations. If he ever leaves the show… well, the show will die, so it doesn’t matter.

Another show I loved that featured a vampire was Moonlight. Mick St. John was to die for! How criminal that the show only ran for one season - which I happen to own, I might add. Good thing Alex O'Loughlin is in Hawaii now, shooting Hawaii 5-0, although I still miss Mick.

And of course, I'd be remiss at not mentioning the vampire whose actor stole my heart almost twenty years ago! I'm sure you'll recognize this very handsome face!

That’s enough about vampires for now, I know you have lots of other authors to visit, so have a great time!  Oh wait, the giveaway, right?

I will give two readers their choice of my books. If you want to play, tell me who is your favorite vampire and why. Don't forget to leave an email address, otherwise I have no way of reaching you!  Have fun!

On Censorship, Justice, and Irony - and sandwiches!

By now a lot of you know about the escalating PayPal brouhaha. This financial institution has taken upon itself the position of moral arbiter and are strong arming sites such as Bookstrand and others to comply with their fascist demands - or else. I'm blogging on that subject today at my friend Margaret West's blog - if you want join in the fray, go there. I'm going to discuss other things here.

Top Chef Texas is down to the final three, but I've been too disheartened to blog about it since the show before last when two bad things happened - as I feared, Bev was brought back into the competition via the Last Chef Standing showdown. And the chef that was eliminated was Edward. I was so pissed, especially as I felt that Last Chef second chance deal was bogus.Bev was eliminated, she should have stayed that way. But Karma came back last week and bit her in the ass, eliminating her for a second time.  Lindsay won the quick fire challenge and was passed into the last show. Then Paul secured a spot, and it came down to Bev and Sarah. Sarah came through, and Bev's gone and she'll stay gone this time. That leaves the final three - Paul, Lindsay, Sarah. I like all three chefs, so I won't be disappointed, no matter who wins, but I think I'm leaning toward Paul as the winner. In the meantime, I'm mourning Edward's loss. He should have been there too.

A brief Vampire Diaries note - the show is off again until March. I don't really care. I'm sick to death of Klaus and his family, and if it weren't for Damon, I wouldn't care if I never saw the show again. Tired of martyr Stefan - yeah, we all knew that he's being a hardass for Elena. Not that I wanted her with Damon, 'cause I don't. But I want to see him happy. Paradox.

Poor Hank! He keeps getting blamed for stuff he didn't even do! Trying to protect Karen's new hubby by claiming the stripper Richard banged as his own girlfriend just didn't work out so well. Now Karen and Becca are mad at him without reason, and he was forced to agree to read the first ten pages of Becca's handsome but no-good boyfriend's screenplay. One good thing - at least Mia isn't in the picture any more. *quickly throws salt over my shoulder*  I'm really loving the fifth season, things are always happening, and you gotta love Hank Moody, right?

In other news, the Sandwich King is back! The second season of Jeff Mauro's show premiered Sunday, and this season is already off to a good start. In the first episode, Jeff visited a deli there in Chicago, and showed us how to make grilled cheese two ways - one for children, one for adults, along with a hearty tomato soup, and then he made a meat loaf sandwich. Everything looked delicious! All the recipes can be found at the Food Network site, and I for one intend to grab them. I'm glad Jeff's back. I think he's more self-assured in front of the camera, and I really enjoy this show.



**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Things are heating up in The Walking Dead, which came back after a brief hiatus. There is growing dissension, and hard decisions are being made. When Herschel disappears, they find they need him for a girl who's gone into shock, so Rick and Glenn track him to the bar in town, where he's tying on one. While there, two men show up, one of whom is Raymond Michael James, late of Terriers and True Blood. The two draw first, and Rick has to shoot them. Unfortunately, they weren't alone, and they end up taking a wounded young man back to the farm. Now they fear to release him because he might give away their location. Shane is more and more unhappy with the way things are going, and Lori suspects he had something to do with Otis' death. Which he did. She tells Rick that Shane is obsessed with her, and is convinced the baby is his, but that she says it's Rick's regardless. That tells me it might be Shane's and she's just not going to deal with the possibility. Their son Carl is growing up far too fast, seen things he should never have seen. When Shane blurts out about the baby in front of him, he asks that if it's a girl, she be named Sophia, after his late friend.

Out of everyone, the character that is developing the most is Glenn. He's come a long way from the innocent young nerd he was at the beginning of the series, and I think there is a definite chance for him and Maggie to forge a lasting a alliance. I really do not like Lori, and the best thing would be if she and Shane ran off, but I don't see that happening, as she's starting to see him as a psycho. It's a really rough world, and I'm not sure things will ever get better, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Alcatraz keeps on delivering, this week's episode involving Johnny McKee, a guy who specialized in poison. In order to learn something about him, Rebecca wants to talk to the prisoner who occupied the cell next to his - Jack Sylvane. When she wants to go to the prison where he's being held, Hauser stalls, and says he'll bring him to her, which he does. There's a lot that she and Diego don't know about what's going on, but I predict someday it'll come out. It's coming closer all the time. For one thing, the fact that Lucy comes from the same time as the prisoners. They know Hauser worked at The Rock then, but not about her, not to mention she looks the same as she did then. Hauser has moved her from the hospital where she was at to the facility where the prisoners are housed. Rebecca is trying to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her grandfather, but Hauser seems determined to keep her from up. Keep up the good work.

All for now, gotta get back to editing and writing. I have an idea for an open call at DSP, but I don't want to jinx it by talking about it!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Hell on Wheels, Next Iron Chef and more

Last weekend AMC premiered another new series, Hell on Wheels. It airs on Sunday night, same night as their other original series, The Walking Dead. Hell on Wheels is the name of a town, it's set post Civil War and concerns the building of the Transcontinental railroad. Colm Meaney (DS9) is determined to not only get that railroad built but to make as much money as he can in the process - no matter what the cost. Anson Mount plays Cullen Bohannan, a former Confederate soldier, who's bent on revenge against the Union soldiers that murdered his wife.  ***spoilers*****  In the first episode, we see Ted Levine (Silence of the Lambs, Monk) in a role that reminded me of the one he played in Wild Wild West, General Bloodbath McGrath. Minus the ear trumpet. Alas, that's the only episode we'll see him in. Colm Meaney makes a good bad guy - ruthless, money hungry and cold - quite different from the Chief O'Brien we knew and loved on DS9. The show looks really good. The cinematography is very well done, I really enjoyed the look of it. I found the story interesting, the characters too, and I look forward to seeing more.

This episode of Next Iron Chef took us to the San Diego Padre stadium, where the chefs were told to change  up some ballpark food, utilizing ball park ingredients. Alex Guarnaschelli hit a home run with her dishes, so much so that the judges had nothing to say to her - they were perfect. Geoffrey Zakarian made great food, but they warned him he wasn't following the rules. He found himself in the bottom three but squeaked by, leaving Robert Irvine and Michael Chiarello as the bottom two who had to do the sudden death mystery basket face off. The secret ingredient, in keeping with the ball park theme, was peanuts. Unfortunately, the casualty was Chef Robert. I've come to like him on Restaurant Impossible. I was sorry to see him go. Marcus received a warning that if he continued to overcook, he would have to choose the two he wanted to represent him in future. Sarah and I think Anne Burrell has a good shot at becoming the Next Iron Chef.

I watched last night's Grimm this morning. The episode was entitled "Beeware", and concerned a flash mob murder. A guy gets on a bus carrying a duffle bag. Everyone looks nervous, especially when he opens it. But then he pulls out a boom box and "YMC A" begins to play and everyone rocks out. They all get off at the same stop - except for one woman. She's dead. This episode involves bees, and the guest star was Nana Visitor (Kira from DS9). I am really enjoying this series, and we are learning more about the mysterious blonde woman who tried to kill Nick's aunt. He is forced to protect her in this episode. I really like his wolfy sidekick too, his reluctant henchman. I hope it lasts for a while.

Hawaii 5-0 was good, as always.Danno is dealing with moving to smaller digs in the form of a sleazy motel,  and this episode sees him gain a four legged friend, whose owner has been killed. In this episode, Greg Grunberg guest stars (Matt Parkman, Heroes) and it was funny to see him and Max (who played Hiro on Heroes) reunite. Max kept asking did he know him. Great scene. Beautiful scenery, great banter between Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) and Danno (Scott Caan), and any scene with Alex in it! Hope it lasts for a while.

Vampire Diaries - what can I say? The only thing it has going for it, as far as I'm concerned, is Damon Salvatore (Ian Sommerhalder). Sometimes the writing verges on the ridiculous, the plots are stupid, and I hate the flashbacks to the past. God knows what they're going to do with the cave drawings they've recently found, unless it's just what they're doing now - tieing it all in with Klaus and Michael. ****Spoilers******* When Stefan screwed up Damon's carefully laid plan, I wanted to choke him. Until I found out why he did it. Then I had to forgive him, of course. He has his humanity back - oh joy. Now I guess we'll be forced to endure him and Elena as a couple again. Not that I think that will stop Damon, alas, from pining over her. What does he see in her?  I'll never know.

More later about Once Upon a Time and Top Chef Texas.

Til next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Sweet Genius, Vampire Diaries and more Hawaii 5-0

Think of the new show Sweet Genius as Chopped for desserts. The comparison was made in the promos, so it's  not a farfetched idea. Of course there are differences, and that is what makes the show unique in its own way.

So, what's the first ingredient in a show such as this? A great host! They've certainly found that in celebrated cake designer Ron Ben Israel. I confess to being unaware of him before I saw the first commercial for Sweet Genius, but in my own defense, I haven't exactly been in the market for a wedding cake either.

He is, to put it simply, gorgeous! There's something about him that draws me, something in his eyes. I could not keep away from the show if I tried! He is very personable and had a commanding stage presence. I've watched two episodes now, and enjoyed them both.

The format is similar to Chopped, but there is no basket of mandatory ingredients, per se. You start with four chefs, who are intro'd as on Chopped, and Ron explains that there are three rounds: Frozen, Baked and Chocolate. The first round comes with a mandatory ingredient, and an inspiration which the chefs must work from. In the first episode, the inspiration was darkness. Other inspirations have been a pearl in an  oyster, a Fabergé egg, and a cat. During each round, there will be other mandatory ingredients which will be presented to the chefs, which they must incorporate into their dishes. At the end of each round, Ron (who is the sole judge) tastes each dish and critiques. He decides which one does not measure up and he informs that chef that he or she is not a sweet genius, and they leave.



If it's not obvious by now (and I'm sure it is) I'm quite taken with the host. Er, I mean the show. No, I said it right the first time, it's the host. I do like the show, yes, but he makes it for me. I also watch Just Desserts on Wednesday nights, but I have to say that Ron is a better host than Gail is. I like her fine, but I don't think she has the strength or charisma that Ron possesses. I'm intrigued with his accent, but I haven't placed it yet. I just hope he talks more and more in coming episodes.

Okay, moving on.

*********Spoiler Alert***********

Vampire Diaries started its third season. Not surprising in a way, but somewhat in others. As you may remember, the last episode of season 2 was a veritable blood bath and free for all. So now, we have Elena and Jeremy with no living relatives. The writers smoothed over that dilemma quickly by moving the plot up to Elena's 18th birthday (so far the issue of Jeremy as minor has not arisen, but more on that). Alaric is camping out with them, or something. He's sleeping on the couch because he can't bear to sleep in either the dead parents' room or his dead gf's room. I don't know if he's supposed to be a surrogate parental authority but by the second episode, he's out of there and ready to throw in the spiritual towel. Quitter!

As you'll also recall, at the end of episode 2, Damon was bitten by a were, and that is pretty fatal for a vamp.  It looks like curtains for Damon (except we know better, seriously the show would fold immediately should they ever lose Damon Salvatore), but Elena doesn't realize this, so she gives him a last good-bye kiss. Surprise, he lives! And now he's tasted her sweet flesh, he wants more, and he intends to fight for it. While Elena, although pining for Stefan (the martyr sacrificed himself yet again, such a good boy) she is drawn to Damon, which is obvious. As I said, Stefan's doing the martyr thing, having agreed to go with Klaus in exchange for saving Damon's life. So now they're on a rampage in Tennessee and Stefan is killing with abandon. Damon and Alaric are tracking him through news clippings, but Elena finds out, and she still believes in him. A road trip to Tennessee with Damon leads him to believe the same, after a face to face with his brother. So I predict another road trip in the future, maybe some hot Damon/Elena action (any coincidence that they are allegedly dating in real life? Could be publicity driven, who knows. Ian can do better, I think, he's gorgeous, she's just okay).

So, what about the rest of the cast? Do they still exist. They do (except for Bonnie who really hasn't been  seen yet). Jeremy  (who died and was resurrected by Bonnie) is seeing things he shouldn't be seeing - namely his dead girlfriends. He's creeped out, and he's creeping out Matt as well. Caroline and Tyler did the horizontal mambo, and the next morning Tyler's mom caught Caroline - literally - with darts in her back. One vamp down! She tested Tyler with vervain but it didn't affect him cause he's a werewolf. She called in someone named Bill, who's being played by the guy who played Noah Bennett on Heroes, and they have Caroline locked up. Tyler puts two and two together, and on the night of the full moon, he forces his mother to witness his transformation. Howdya like them apples, Mrs. Lockwood? And in the kicker, we learn that Bill.... duh duh duh...... is Caroline's daddy. Interesting twist. We'll see how this plays out. We need to get Bonnie back in the plot, and I believe Elijah is unaccounted for. With Jeremy seeing dead people, who knows what past cast members might be resurrected? And of course there is Katherine. I don't remember what happened to her at the end of season 2, that's how little I like her.

Chopped Champions has its grand finale tonight, more about that later. Just Desserts is interesting, but I can't say it's the best Top Chef I've seen. I'm interested in seeing Top Chef Texas when it starts, and also the Next Iron Chef. I notice Sarah recorded The Chew, so I'm sure I'll be seeing that too - Carla (think Top Chef and hooty hoo and  you'll remember her) and Mario Batale are the only names I recognized in their line up. But those are two good names.

*****more spoilers*****

I watched the second Hawaii 5-0 today. I love this show so much! Especially, but not entirely for Alex  O'Loughlin. But primarily.

The new governor - former lieutenant governor - reinstated 5-0 after evidence came to light that McGarrett did not shoot the governor, although it was not conclusive enough to pin it on Wo Fat either. But the governor made it clear that things have changed, and that Hawaii 5-0 will have accountability. Today he proved he meant it by assigning a new member to the team, a former Homeland Security agent. Steve isn't thrilled and tries to keep her at a distance. But she grows on him. Which might be a good thing, since Kono's review before IA doesn't go well, and she's stripped of everything. I'm sure in future episodes we'll see more of the late governor/Wo Fat/McGarrett's dad connection. The greatest thing about the second episode is a scene in which Steve, Danno and the new girl are riding horses into a cult compound, and the boys start their typical bickering and she turns to them and asks "HOW LONG YOU BEEN MARRIED"  Best line ever. Again.

Okay, next new show. Person of Interest. Thursday nights, CBS. Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel lead the  cast. I would never have discovered this show had it not been for Hawaii 5-0, cause that's the only time I'm on CBS, and it was just a fluke that I saw the promo. But something about it intrigued me, so I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did.

At the beginning, Reese (Jim C) looks like a homeless person when he's attacked by young thugs on the subway. They picked the wrong person and he smacks them down handily, drawing the attention of the police. One female cop in particular is a recurring character, and she seems to be onto Reese. Finch (Michael E) is a billionaire with a lot of time and money on his hands. They have one thing in common - people think they're both dead. In a nutshell, Finch recruits Reese to his cause. He has a computer which was programmed to look for areas of trouble after 9-11. Every night it produces a list of non-essential data which it dumps, but these are actually people. So Finch retrieves them, one at a time. All he has is a social security number, but no knowledge of what will happen. Is this the victim, or the perp? Or the catalyst? Reese's job is to watch and prevent something from happening.

I really enjoyed the first show. It seems to be well written, fast paced, and definitely interesting, despite having  commercials (we watched it live, normally I record everything). It's also from JJ Abrams, who brought us the Star Trek movies, plus some TV shows I'm not really familiar with, so we'll see how this goes. But I'll definitely be watching it again. It comes on right before Sweet Genius, so I have two hours of TV on Thursday nights to look forward to, and two hours of crocheting.


I think that's it for now. I can't imagine what I've really forgotten. Whatever it is, I'll pick it up later.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Of Hot Men, New Series and Stupid Plots

*********Warning, possible spoilers ahead for various things*****************

There is only one reason that I am still watching Vampire Diaries in the second season.  Okay, maybe one and a half. The main reason is right here - Damon Salvatore. The additional second partial reason is that the writing started to get better in the second season, as compared to the first. Getting better does not mean it's good, though, or that I think it'll last. Seriously, they would have been a lot better off following the books.

That aside, I constantly have to ask myself - what the fuck does Damon see in Elena. Seriously. I see no compelling reason for him to be so smitten with her. She's got a martyr complex a mile wide, refuses to listen to reason even when it's for her own good. She isn't any great shakes in the looks department. With Damon's looks, he can get any girl he sets his mind - or heart - to. Even that old chestnut of her being Katherine's lookalike doesn't cut it for me any more, cause as we all know Katherine is a major bitch, so what sort of selling point is that?

You know why Damon is in love with Elena? You could make a point that it's in the books, therefore it's canon. Canon only works when it suits the writers to use it, which isn't often. No, my theory is that it's because otherwise Damon has no reason to stay in Fell's Church. Sorry, I mean Mystic Falls (did anyone catch the blooper in a previous episode where it was actually referred to as Fell's Church? I sure did). And if Damon leaves, the ratings plummet and it's bye bye Vampire Diaries. Obviously it works, doesn't it? I'm still watching, even though I moan and groan through it a lot. Like last night. I just knew deep down that Bonnie wasn't going to stay dead, even if I didn't know how it would happen. What about Elena's next stupid move? Reviving Elijah?  Good one, Elena, we saw how effective he was before. Let's just set him against Klaus, shall we?  Gah!



Enough of that. On to the Hot Men front. My new hot man/love interest comes to us from the new Showtime series The Borgias. With the Tudors being done, they had to find another interesting historical period, one that hasn't been overdone, and they certainly found it in this original crime family. The action begins in 1492 (does that year ring a bell anyone?) when the current Pope is dying, and the Cardinals have all convened, cause they know what comes next - the election of the new Pope.On the death of the old Pope, the cardinals are sealed inside a room and begin to cast their ballots. When the votes are counted, if there is no candidate with the requisite majority, then a signal goes up to the outside world in the form of black smoke; if there is, then it's white smoke. There are some rather ambitious Cardinals who would love nothing better than to sit on the Papal throne, for at this time the Pope wielded far more power in the known world than most people can imagine, so it was a very prestigious and powerful position to attain. Rodrigo Borgia wishes to be Pope very badly. Rodrigo has three children and a wife. I don't know when he joined the Church or began his rise to power, but his family isn't exactly a secret. His two sons are Juan and Cesare - Juan is in the military, while Cesare has been forced to become a man of the cloth, very much against his will.

HOTTIE ALERT!  Cesare Borgia is very hot, he lights up the screen when he is on it. The role is played by Francois Arnaud, whom I've never seen before but hope to see a lot more of in the future. Cesare is his father's pawn. Without his help, Rodrigo wouldn't have been able to bully and buy his way into the Papacy. Cesare has an assassin in his employ by the name of Micheletto. When I first saw this guy, I thought he looked familiar, turns out I was right. He played Thomas in Jesus, which I just saw recently. Cesare has a very complicated relationship with his younger sister, the infamous Lucrezia Borgia. Everyone has heard of her, surely, one of the most famous poisoners ever. Must be a family trait. The series hints at a very close relationship between the brother and sister, one which I believe is historically accurate, although I'm not sure how far the series will take the innuendoes or what they'll do with them.

Only two episodes in and I'm hooked. It's a full rich series with great characters. Sir Derek Jacobi appeared in the first episode, as Cardinal Orsini. Having recently been exposed to the videogame Assassin's Creed by my good friend Jack, I was fascinated at the similarities, especially recognizing the Borgia courtyard from the game as well as the series. Also, there is another pc game which deals with this time and these people, called Machiavelli. In the game you can buy your way to the Papacy too.  I recommend The Borgias to anyone, but especially to history buffs. It's not limited to them, though, it's a drama I think anyone can enjoy.

CBS - I have a complaint! How do you expect people to keep up with a series when there's no rhyme or reason to when you show it? That's the case with Hawaii 5-0. I never know when there'll be a new episode, it's hit or miss.  Show one, skip a few weeks, show another. What's up with that? Lack of consistency will lose you viewers, who will get tired of hunting the show down and waiting for it to be on, even one like the 5-0. Why do I watch this show?  Primarily for one reason:

Yes, it's for Alex O'Loughlin.  Not the only reason I watch, but the primary reason I ever started watching in the first place, having fallen in love with him in Moonlight (I never even watched this series til it was off the air, what a waste that it only lasted one season, but at least I own that season in its entirety). That being said, I do like the show a lot. It has good writing, interesting plots and great characters. My son-in-law Michael really likes Konno and Chin, and so do I, but my favorites are the main characters, Steve McGarrett and Danny (Book'em Danno) Williams. It's the relationship between these two that makes the show, in my eyes.  Yes, the scenery is quite gorgeous. Every time I watch, I envy my son more and more (he is stationed in Pearl Harbor). The writers have created quite the bromance here, between these two guys, one which is echoed by fangirl fanfiction writers in their slash fiction starring them. I've not yet gone that route, and haven't decided if I will - they are cute together as they are. The last episode was no exception.  ****** again, possible spoilers********  Steve was injured at one point, and Danno hiked up the mountain in order to find a signal and send for help for his friend. As Steve was being lifted away to treatment, Danno pointed to himself, then drew a heart in the air, then pointed at Steve. It was a squee-worthy awwwwwww moment indeed.  That and the way that they bicker like an old married couple, to borrow a phrase from HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  All I'm saying here is CBS, get your shit together, and be more consistent with  your scheduling, or you'll lose viewers. (No, not me, but less committed watchers).

Now, on to Justified. The second season of Justified is every bit as interesting and satisfying as the first, and the writing has just continued to soar, no complaints in that department whatsoever. I'm not saying it needed improving or anything, cause it didn't, but even great things can become greater. It's no secret why I watch this series:  It's for Marshal Raylan Givens, played by Timothy Olyphant. Besides being easy on the eyes, Raylan is a great character, and this season is showing just how versatile he is. He has his own brand of justice, but you know he will always do what is right. That being said, when ex-wife Winona approached him with her little dilemma, he didn't hesitate to offer his help.Apparently she gave in to temptation and took a bill from some money that was going into the evidence locker. That part of the story lasted for a few episodes, and I kept scratching my head as to why. Not why she took the money - she's got money problems, so that part is understandable. But what the hell did she want with just one hundred dollar bill? Well, my instincts were spot on - it wasn't one, it was a satchel full. And watching them trying to get that money back into the evidence locker was hilarious (and it also involved Stephen Root as the speedo wearing judge).

As  you'll recall from the first season, Bo Crowder is deceased. He was the main antagonist at that time, while his son Boyd was on the periphery as a secondary villain whom one was never sure how to take. My daughter finds Boyd (played by Walton Goggins) to be quite cute. It's nice to have different tastes in men between us, we never fight about them at all. I'll take Raylan, she's welcome to Boyd. Last season, Boyd experienced a religious conversion, which may or may not have been sincere. This season, he's developed in other ways, and is on the wrong side of the law again, or at least heading that way. The new baddie for this season is Mags Bennett, who controls her county with an iron fist, as well as the weed market, and her three sons - Doyle, Dicky and Coover. Doyle is the corrupt sheriff, Dicky the inbred junky and Coover is the slow Neanderthal eejit. Or was, anyway, til Raylan dropped him into a mine shaft. Don't worry, the shooting was justified. Mags is an interesting adversary, and I see a feud building up on the order of the Hatfields and the McCoys - the Bennetts and the Crowders.  Should be interesting to watch.

I'm also curious to see where, if anywhere, the relationship between Raylan and Winona goes. I'm not even sure where I want it to go. Wherever it leads to his happiness, sure, but I don't know about her sometimes. I do like her better than Ava, though, who seems to be with Boyd. Art, Raylan's boss, is funny, a good foil, almost a father figure to Raylan. Which is good cause Arlo, his real daddy, ain't much of one.I own the first season of Justified and will own the second when it's available. This series just keeps on getting better, I highly recommend it.

I started watching Top Chef Season 5 from netflix - it's the only past season that is available, for some odd reason, but that 's okay, cause it's the one I wanted to see the most, cause it was Fabio's season.  Who?  Let me show you Fabio:

I first encountered him in the Top Chef All Stars season - he quickly became my favorite, and I was sorry to see him told to pack his knives and leave. But it made me curious to watch his season, which I'm doing now. The only other chefs in that season that I recognize are Carla and Jamie.  I love Carla and can't stand Jamie. Obviously all three will get axed at some point, or they wouldn't have been on All Stars. One interesting point of watching the fifth season was that I actually saw the house where the losing contestants stay - I'd always wondered about that.

We're watching Top Chef Masters now. It's interesting, although I haven't picked a favorite yet. We've also watched some Chopped, and I've come to like that show too. Remember Ted Hall from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? He's on Chopped - he's the host, if you will. It's great to see him again. My favorite on Queer Eye was always Thom, I wonder where he is now.

We're also watching Six Feet Under. I'd been interested in the show when it first came out but wasn't able to watch it. I recently learned that Michael C Hall, of Dexter, is in it, so of course I had to see if I liked it as much as Dexter. The answer is a resounding yes!  

We haven't started the second season of Dexter yet, but we are on the second season of Six Feet Under. This series involves a family owned funeral home - Fisher and Sons. In the first episode, Nathaniel Fisher is dead, and the family must deal with his loss. Nate Jr (Peter Krause) comes home from Seattle for the occasion. At the airport he meets and fucks a strange woman named Brenda (Rachel Griffiths). David (Michael C Hall) has followed his father's footsteps and works at the funeral home, along with Federico, the only other employee. The boys have a sister named Claire (Lauren Ambrose of Grounded For Life). She's in high school and has quite a skewed view of life. It turns out that their mother, Ruth, has been having an affair with a hairdresser for two years, which she confesses to her flabbergasted sons (who really don't want to hear this). David has a secret of his own - he is gay and having an affair with a totally hot black cop named Keith.  Let's throw into the mix, Brenda's bad boy crazy brother Billy, played by Jeremy Sisto.  It's a great show,  I love it to death, especially David. It's so funny to see Dexter with emotions, which only goes to show what a versatile actor Michael C Hall is. There are only five seasons of Six Feet Under. My friend Aly has already watched them all.  We'll get there, I know.

Finally, Queer as Folk.  Still watching that, just started the third season. A lot is going on. At the end of the second season, Justin left Brian to be with Ethan, and Emmett and Ted decided that they are in love. The third season picks up there - Brian is relying heavily on Michael's company, and Ben is being very understanding about it. Emmett and Ted are having some strange times, trying to balance their friendship and their relationship and Emmett slips up. Justin and Michael are on the outs, understandably, putting their joint comic venture in jeopardy. Brian finds relief in fucking guys that resemble Justin. And Lindsay and Melanie are discussing having another baby. Or is that fighting? I love these characters so very much, I can't say enough about this series. It's funny, warm, sexy, hot, dramatic, and wonderful. If you love gay men, you'll love it, the scenes at Babylon are worth the price of admission alone - lots of nude hot men, and yes, there is full frontal. Oh, that reminds me that I'm also watching Spartacus, watching it now on Netflix. Quick comment - I like the series okay, it's pretty, the plot is nothing great yet (I've only seen two epsiodes) but the blood is definitely over the top and the effect is totally lost. It needs to be toned down cause it's only making a mockery of itself, and it's way too much an imitation of 300, and then some. I doesn't even resemble blood. Okay, we get the idea already. Now, concentrate on something more interesting, like plot. I like watching John Hannah and Lucy Lawless as a couple, although I never imagined I'd see Lucy naked like that, but now I have. I haven't decided yet if the series lives up to its hype - I'll keep you posted.

All for now, back to my writing and editing. I'm editing Ranch Hands for Wicked Nights. It was written by my friend SL Danielson, so added bonus there. It's a good story about real men, it's worth taking a look at. I'll review it later.

Have a great day!

♥ Julie

Don't throw me in that briar patch, Brer Rabbit!

*****warning, VD spoilers*********

So, in last night's episode of Vampire Diaries, we have Damon and Rick plotting Elijah's demise using the dagger and tree ash so kindly supplied by John Gilbert for that purpose. Wait a minute there - supplied by John Gilbert? That alone should have been a warning, but apparently the desire to rid themselves of Elijah overshadowed any common sense in that respect, and caused them to forget that JOHN GILBERT HATES VAMPIRES!  He's had no reason to grow any fonder of them since Katherine killed him, and now his biological daughter Elena (who really hates him) is dating one.  But let's move on from there.

So then we get Damon taking blood to Katherine, who is still entombed. Or was, at that point. She knows what he's going to do, and she pleads with him not to. She says that if he does that, she'll be contained there forever, never being able to break the spell. Damon sees no problem with that, and in theory I didn't either. Except that every alarm bell in my head went off, and all I could think of was Brer Rabbit.

Anyone remember that story? Do kids even read that any more?  I dunno, but I've never forgotten it. Brer Fox is clever and he catches Brer Rabbit with the help of a little something he created in the form of a Tar Baby. Brer Rabbit is held fast, as Brer Fox gloats over him, and talks about the ways he is considering bringing about his demise. To which Brer Rabbit pleads - do whatever you want, roast me, hang me, whatever but just don't throw me in the briar patch, please. Brer Fox, being not as foxy as he appears, thinks he'll make the rabbit suffer even more by doing what he doesn't want, and tosses him into the briar patch, thinking he'll be all cut up and suffering and stuff. But surprise! Brer Rabbit gets clean away, and from a safe distance tells Brer Fox, "I was bred and born in the briar patch, Brer Fox, bred and born in the briar patch."

So it was no surprise after Damon and Rick (well, Elena, but that's another story) managed to dispatch Elijah (again), that Damon finds Katherine in his shower.  Duh, Damon.  You did just what she wanted you to, despite how I  yelled at you not to. Sheesh. As soon as she started her spiel, I kept thinking the lady doth protest too much. Doesn't it stand to reason that if the vampire is dead the curse is lifted?  That goes for those who have been bitten by the vampire and haven't died yet - they're safe now too. So what was Damon thinking with?  Or was he? Was he simply playing white knight for Elena in order to save her from her proscribed path of martyrdom (which he excoriated her for in the episode before).

So now we have Katherine on the loose again. She says she only wants to help, but you can't believe a word that woman says. I did love how, once he discovered John's perfidy (if Damon had done the deed, using the blade, as John tried to get him to do, he would have been destroyed), he gave Elijah the nod to off him, because he is certainly not on Elena's list of people I love and don't hurt them. John Gilbert is, I fear, too much of a one dimensional villain for me. Elijah was a better foil. Is he gone?  Seriously, who knows. At some point, Klaus has to enter the scene for any of this to make sense. Are they saving it for the last episode in the season, a cliffhanger that will keep tongues  hanging out in anticipation of season 3?  I wouldn't doubt it.

Last night featured some flashbacks to the original Jonathan Gilbert, ie Civil War times. I'm sorry, my mind wandered during those, they bored me so much. Also, I heard a faux pas. I know I've complained about the differences between the series and the books before, one of them being why did they change the name of the town from Fell's Church to Mystic Falls? I still don't know. But last night as Elena was reading an excerpt from one of the Jonathan Gilbert journals, she said Fell's Church. Is that a major continuity error or what?

It was interesting to see Lexi again, and to see the development of her and Stefan's relationship, and to watch Stefan as the wild child while Damon was the good one. Damon looks cute in his Civil War long hair, by the way.  Makes you wonder how he got to be so cynical.  I guess we'll find out.

I'm still perplexed about Jenna and Alaric's relationship, what purpose it serves. Jenna is such a throw away character, why is she even there? Not sure about Bonnie and Jeremy, mostly because recently Bonnie has turned into a one-dimensional holier-than-thou witch with a stick up her ass, and Jeremy has just gotten past being the emo boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders who thinks he should just die and end it all. That's as annoying as Elena's martyrdom kick.

I presume that at some point, Tyler will figure in the plot again, as well as werewolves, but for now I guess they're focusing on the Originals, and leading up to Klaus. I have to believe that by the end of the season, Katherine will be dead. At least I hope so, she annoys the bejesus out of me.

Does anyone else watch this show? Who do you like, and who do you dislike? What do you think of this season versus last? Do you like the direction it's taking, or do you have ideas as to how the show should go? Tell me what you think, I'd like to hear it!