An unexpected holiday

It looks like my previous plans have been upended. I'd anticipated working next week, but I learned yesterday that is not the case. As of now, I'm not even sure when I'm going back to work. Again. That's the problem with temporary jobs, they're so... temporary.

Well, I could sit around and piss and moan about it, but what will that accomplish? Not a damn thing. Or I can take these lemons and make lemonade. I opt to do that! I have editing to do, and I have books to write. I hope to finish When Will I See You Again and sub it by the year's end, so maybe that's a good thing, right? Right!

Sarah and I went to see The Hobbit last weekend. It was AMAZING! If you're a fan of Lord of the Rings, you have to see this. It was everything I'd hoped for and more, including familiar faces I'd not expected to see. There are a lot of people in this movie, well worth a trip to IMDB to look them up, because frankly you won't recognize many of them with the great make-up jobs they have. For example, Bofur is James Nesbitt, who played Jekyll in the BBC mini-series. I would never have guessed. Yes, it's nearly three hours long - all the LOTR films are. But I have to tell you, it doesn't feel like it. In fact, I was so engrossed in what was happening, and had just settled down to watch more, when suddenly, the film was done.  I can't wait for next year, to see the second part.

Of course we saw some trailers while we were there, but nothing I'd rush out to see. Except for one thing, and it wasn't even a movie trailer, it was a promo for a TV series that is returning in January. One of my very favorites. Sarah and I got so excited to see that!  Yes, it's Justified! Coming back January 8th, I believe, and looking awesome! If you watched it last season, then you know about Bobby Quartles. And Winona. And a whole lot of stuff. Can't wait to see what happens.

I'm behind on watching programs, I admit, because of working, which is actually a good thing. Other than the ones Sarah and I watch together, such as Next Iron Chef Redemption, Sunday nights on Food Network. In fact, it's almost over now, down to three chefs - Alex Guarnaschelli, Amanda Freitag and Nate Appleman. The finale is Sunday, and I predict that Chef Appleman will be eliminated right away and the two women chefs will battle for the title. Katie is rooting for Amanda, I know, but I'm in Alex's corner. I think it would be so cool if she made it, and if Geoffrey was to work as her sous chef, like she does for him. Guess we'll find out Sunday, should be a good battle.  Go, Alex!

Top Chef Seattle is progressing smoothly as the field is narrowed every week. I was so grateful that they eliminated Carla, she got on my last nerve. As the weak ones are being picked off, the stronger chefs survive, although there are still a few I'd like to see gone. My favorite chef is Kristen, who is a model. She did very well this week, winning both challenges. Here she is, being kissed by Stefan. Stefan is a gruff and grumbly guy, and he didn't make a lot of friends in season 5 of Top Chef. But I rather like him, despite that, mostly because  he and Fabio are good friends and I love Fabio.

Speaking of Fabio, he's the only reason I even watch Life After Top Chef, frankly. It's him, Richard, Spike and Jen. Richard's okay, but I don't like Spike and I really can't stand Jen. I love Fabio, though, and would watch him in anything. Seriously. Put him in a show, and I'm there. Someday I hope to be able to eat at his restaurant. He is so sexy, and such a hard worker, and such a gentleman! If they got rid of the other three chefs, I'd never miss them. Just give me Fabio and I'll be happy!

Sarah and I are still watching Person of Interest, and this season is definitely a worthy addition to the series, beginning with Harold's kidnapping by a crazy woman. I love the relationship between Harold and John, and learning more about both of them. Watching Reese's fights is... well... exhilarating. I hope it's mandatory that he has at least one fight scene per episode, as they are damned exciting, and very sexy. I am never disappointed in any of the episodes, and I hope the show continues for a long time to come. I love that Carter and Fusco know about one another now, and that they all seem to be working for a common good. I predict that at some point, Lionel's number is going to come up in the machine. I also love Enrico Colantoni's Elias - he's a very clever and fascinating villain who wields great power, even from prison.

We're behind on The Walking Dead by three episodes.  *****SPOILERS***** We saw the birth of Lori's baby, and her death. Can't say I was torn up about that. I didn't like her, and the way she treated Rick. I've never liked their son much, either, especially since he got Dale killed. I read a spoiler myself, something about Shane returning, although we haven't seen it yet, and I'm not even sure how that can happen. But I'm not all that worried about it, either. I suspect Shane, if he does come back, will contend that the baby is his and will fight Rick for her. Maybe, in Rick's shattered state, he'll just give in. Or maybe he'll pull himself together and say no. Guess we'll find out. I think it's on hiatus until February now.

That's it for now, need to get moving and do other things. Maybe next time, I'll get to Sweet Genius and Vampire Diaries (behind on that too) and American Horror Story (also behind) and The New Normal. One good thing, I'll be around a lot more.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Awake with Jason Isaacs? Yes, please!

Last week NBC premiered their new series, Awake, starring Jason Isaacs, who is one of the hottest actors ever to come out of Great Britain, one of the hotties from the Harry Potter film series, among other things. He was the sexiest Captain Hook, and he played in Showtime's series Brotherhood as a gangster with a heart, Michael Caffee.  I would have watched the show anyway, for Jason, but the premise hooked me from the start.

Michael Britten is a policeman who's been in a car accident, along with his wife and son. When he awakens afte the accident... well, there's the problem. It appears that he has two realities. In one, his wife survived, and he has one partner, and one psychiatrist, but when he closes his eyes, he opens them to a different reality. One where his son survived, and he has a different partner and psychiatrist. As a consequence, he never knows if he's awake or dreaming. And right now, he doesn't want to change a thing, because he has the best of both worlds.

Each psychiatrist tells him that the other reality is just a dream, so who is he to believe? The pilot was really very good, I'm looking forward to seeing more of it. Jason looks fantastic, as always. It was interesting to see Wilmer Valdertama as his partner in one reality. B.D. Wong, of Law and Order plays one of the psychiatrist. NBC now has two shows that I find interesting enough to watch - this, and Grimm. Keep up the good work!

Last week, Top Chef Texas concluded with the finale, which was between Paul and Sara. It was a close battle, down to the finish, but a foregone conclusion, and I'm happy to say that Paul won. He was consistently a better chef than Sara. The only other person I would have rather seen win was Edward. All in all, this will not go down as my favorite Top Chef season, and I really hated the Last Chance Kitchen. I hope they don't do that again. That's as bad as the wild card spots in professional sports. I wish they'd bring back Master Chef or Hells Kitchen, I need me some Gordon Ramsay!

The Walking Dead has only two episodes left this season.  **SPOILERS AHEAD** This season has certainly gotten darker in many ways, not least of which was the discover of the missing Sophia as a walker, and her subsequent death.  The revelation of Shane and Lori's affair. Shane's growing belief that he should be in charge. Hershel's distancing himself from the group. Carl's increasing hardness, as he becomes inured to the brutality of the new world - and welcomes it. The last episode dealt with some thorny issues. They end up with a young man on their hands, part of a larger group that tried to hurt them. They fear if they let him go, he'll lead his group to them, with dire consequences. Shane wants to put him to death, but Dale fights the idea, and it's decided to put it to a vote. Carl discovers a walker stuck in the mud and taunts him, but in doing so he  accidentally unleashes an unfortunate sequence of events which results in tragedy and death. I'm wondering if he's going to confess to his part in what happened. Right now, I don't like this kid much. I never did like his mother. I like Rick, and I like Glenn. Something I didn't realize until it was pointed out to me - the girl who plays Maggie was in Vampire Diaries as Rose. Makes me wonder what is coming up in the last two episodes, and for next season.

This week on Sandwich King, Jeff showed us how to make his versions of two classics - a reuben, and a  roast beef. Both looked delicious, although I confess to not being a fan of horseradish. Jeff is exuding a great deal more confidence now, and is doing well. I'd love to have him cook for me - he has a lucky family!






That's it for now, more about Californication, Once Upon a Time, Alcatraz and Grimm later.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

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

AMC's Got it Going on (Beware of spoiler)

AMC has two new hits on its hands, and you can find both series on Sunday nights - The Walking Dead, now in its second season, and the new offering, Hell on Wheels. Both original, and both well done shows in completely different genres. Kudos to AMC for going outside of the box and doing more than simply showing movies. I hope that they find more such worthy candidates in the future, although not to the exclusion of the movies, of course.

Hell on Wheels is a very visually appealing series. I enjoy the look of it, as well as the feel of it. The character development is great. There's a great deal of social commentary here, threaded in with the history. It doesn't sugarcoat the attitudes of the times toward the various groups; they're all represented here. From the former slaves to the Indians, to women and Christians and even the former Confederate soldiers who are simply trying to get by. ****Spoilers ahead*****  Last episode, we saw Cullen kill the foreman of the railroad gang, because of what he did to his wife, for which he was incarcerated by the Big Swede (who's actually Norwegian, but that's another story), made his escape and boldly asked Colm Meaney for the dead man's job - and got it. This week we watch as he finds the clue to the other man he needs to kill to avenge his wife's death. And we see more of the widow with the plans. And the two Irish brothers who run the show, and are looking to make their fortune. I love history, and this series just brings it to life very well. I hope it continues for some time to come.

As for The Walking Dead - next week is the mid-season finale (it seems as though most of the shows are shutting down until January - bummer!) This week, we watched as Lori tried to abort the baby she carries, and fails, and confesses to Rick about her and Shane. His reaction wasn't what I expected. Also we learn about the walkers in the barn and why they're there. Sophia has been missing for several episodes now - I have to wonder if she'll ever be found. Everyone is learning to defend themselves, and Carl wants to learn too. He has a tendency to turn to Shane for parental permission, and I have to wonder if this will create friction between Shane and Rick at some point. It's a harsh post-apocalyptic world, one I'm not sure I'd want to survive in. It's also about the survival of the human spirit.

I'm really enjoying Grimm, Friday nights on NBC. Last week's episode was Lonelyhearts and dealt with a Bluebeard who attracted women to himself and killed them. In this episode we saw more of Captain Renard, in his dealings with a grim reaper - my speculation is that the Captain is the devil. We'll see. I'm really liking Wolfy more and more, he makes a great, albeit unwilling sidekick, to Nick. I hope this show continues for a while. I believe more scripts have been ordered.

Last night the theme of Next Iron Chef was Improvisation, as the chefs were taken to a comedy club in LA, where Kevin Nealon was the host. With the participation of the audience, he made a list of ingredients, and pared it down to four which the chefs had to use in their challenge - octopus, kumquats, tortillas, and marshmallows. Quite the challenge! The winner of that challenge was Chef Chiarello. At the bottom were Chefs Samuellson, Zakarian and MacMillan, but Marcus lived to cook another day, and the other two had to face off. The secret ingredient was coconut. Chef Geoffrey did two dishes, despite the repeated warnings from the judges that it's not a good thing to do. Luckily, he made something really really good, and he squeaked through. Good-bye Chef MacMillan. Sorry, not sobbing over this one. I like seeing more of chefs I never got the chance to actually see in action - such as Alex and Geoffrey. I think both are strong contenders, but I think Anne Burrell is even more so. From now on, the competition will only get fiercer.

Alas for no Sweet Genius, but I hear they are recruiting cast members for a second season, so that's wonderful news. As I mentioned before, Justified will be back in January. A lot of shows are going on hiatus til then, I've noticed. I hope Californication comes back soon, and The Borgias. Cesare Borgia - well, he's to die for, he's so hot.

My dream job would be to someday have a series of my own on cable. I dream of seeing To The Max as a series. I'd also love to do a historical, something that makes history more real and interesting to people. Most history teachers seem determined to make their students dislike it because of the way they teach it. If I'd ever have become a teacher, it would have been history, I love it that much. And I'd have tried to make it alive and real, like it was when it happened. I hope I do that with the historicals that I write, anyway.

That's all for now. Back to editing and writing! Working on something secret (not writing, a craft type thing), but I can't say too much, it's a secret. When I'm done, I'll take a picture and post it. Home made gifts rule, I think.

Until next time, take care!
♥ Julie

On the endurance of the human spirit and more

I think that on the whole I'm an upbeat positive person, although some argue with that statement. I believe in the quality of life, in my children, and my friends, and I believe in myself as a person, and especially as a writer. It was I was meant to do - it's who I am. But life happens to all of us, and sometimes we reach lows, and have occasional bad days. I guess sometimes you just need to bottom out before you can soar again. But watching QAF today made me realize the true strength of the human spirit, and that if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen, if you work at it.

Sometimes it seems as though my career is stalled, but I think that's just me panicking, because of being unemployed for over a year, and not a job prospect in sight. Everything in its time, everything in its time.

***** spoilers ahead****

So today I finished watching the fourth season of QAF, only the bonus material left to view. The boys are in Canada, participating in the Liberty Bike Ride, a charity event to help the hospice, which is in serious trouble after the dickweek corporate sponsor backed out. Brian manages to get a $100k pledge from one of his clients - after he says he's participating. Everyone tells him he can't, because of his cancer, but being Brian, he doesn't listen. Although he tells Justin he's not going so that Justin will take the offer to go to Hollywood to discuss and pitch Rage.

Memorable things happen in Canada - just before they leave, Carl proposes to Debbie and she accepts; Mike and Ben get married, and as a surprise, Brian springs for a wedding cake with two grooms and a klezmer band; Ted and Emmett get lost and half their own twelve step meeting to celebrate Teddy's six month birthday clean and sober; and Brian falls while showing off for a hunk and breaks his collarbone. But he insists on finishing the race, despite that. Despite the fact that he's riding one handed, and in great pain. And Michael refuses to leave him, letting Ben and Hunter go ahead. Their journey and their crossing of the finish line made me cry. This is what it's about - setting out to do what you have to or want to do, and not letting anything hold you back. You're as strong as you want to be, and Brian showed me that. He might seem to people to be the most egocentric, selfish, narcissist on the planet, and sometimes he is, but it's also like what Debbie said about him - his biggest organ is his heart. By the time Michael got back, he was also a father. Wonderful episode, the ultimate capper of which was the renaming of the hospice to the Vic Grassi House. I bawled at that.

Sarah and I are into the third season of Dexter at last, and I'm really enjoying the relationship between Dexter and Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits). No, it's not like that. They have found kindred spirits in one another, and what begins as Miguel's accidental discovery of Dexter's killing of Freebo has become a meeting of like minds. Miguel accompanies Dexter, and even does the deed himself. However, Dexter worries that perhaps he isn't following the Code. He's only partially explained it, and not where he got it - from his foster father - but perhaps that time is coming. He and Rita (well, mostly Rita) are making plans for the upcoming wedding, and Rita has a new job working for Silvia Prado, who thinks her husband's having an affair. Is he? I'm not sure. Deb is dealing with a new partner who's something of a dick, and having an affair with a CI who isn't even really a CI, and who just might have gotten himself into the hands of the serial killer nicknamed the Skinner. Good season so far.

The Walking Dead began its second season on the 16th, but we just watched the first episode last night, so we're a week behind. So far so good, not much happening other than being beset by a group of zombies while stalled on a blocked interstate (still haven't figured out how they popped up so quickly, as slowly as they move and as disorganized as they are), and a little girl is missing. Also, Rick's wife and his partner are at loggerheads - Rick's unexpected survival after he'd told his wife her husband was dead put a bit of a crimp in their affair. Rick still doesn't know, but I expect that's just a matter of time. This show has a lot of gore, so if you're not into seeing zombie guts, and watching people be dismembered, you might want to pass this one by. I did notice a preview for what looks to be an interesting new show on AMC - Hell on Wheels, starting November 6th. It's a western, and one of the guys I saw looks really hot. I think I'll check it out. I recorded Once Upon a Time Last Night, but haven't watched it yet. I'll let you know.

This week is the finale of Just Desserts, then Top Chef Texas will begin. While I like Just Desserts fine, I'll be glad to see the return of Top Chef. I'm enjoying Sweet Genius immensely, though, even if Sarah keeps tweeting about my obsession with hot men with foreign accents. I'm especially warm for Chef Ron Ben Israel, the host of the show. What I wouldn't give to be a gay man! What can I say? He's utterly adorable!





Tonight is a new Hawaii 5-0. From the previews, I see that Wo Fat (aka Chairman Kaga's nephew) is involved, so I'll wait to talk about that after I see the new one. Need to get back to editing and writing, doing the things that I love.

Also, one more thing - I'm now in charge of the Silver Flash. Ryssa has passed the torch on to me. I'm very honored to carry it and hope that I shall make her proud. Even if there are probably people who read that and said to themselves Oh fuck. So, it'll be business as usual every Wednesday. Stay tuned to this station for all the details!  lol

Love you all! Thanks for stopping by!  Til next time, take care!

♥ Julie