Guiltiest Pleasure

It's back. The guiltiest pleasure of all returns tonight. The one. The only. Pretty Little Liars. Oh yes, prepare yourselves (no one, since my lack of writing has scared away any readers I ever had) for more of that backstabbing, secrecy, murder, sex, and all around prettiness that dominates this show. So long to the days when ABC Family was all Angela Anaconda or Braceface (even though it was Fox Family back then so maybe it doesn't count). That was the days of cutesy, wholesome family oriented goodness. My obvious favorite show, Greek, is a perfect example of how the channel has morphed into something much more CW than Nick. I'm not complaining though. I love these new shows, although Switched at Birth looks seriously terrible. Didn't Veronica Mars already cover that plotline? The one thing I ask is for ABC Family to stop pretending that it hasn't changed its demographic. By airing stuff like America's Funniest Home Videos and Full House it's like they don't realize what they have become. Stop denying your teenybopperness and just go with it. All of the new shows involve pretty teenagers/early20somethings being ballsy so what's with the sappy music preceding a hug?

I missed my point with this tirade. All I wanted to say was that I am SO EXCITED for Pretty Little Liars to come back. I want me some Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, all those boys, and hopefully no Maya or Ian. Now go balk at the title and the fact that it's on this cheesy little channel. But I proudly say I like this show. Now your turn to watch.

I promised: Here it is

I haven't written a true Greekap in a while. A couple years ago, I would actually rewatch the episodes and take notes to make sure I could keep track of every important detail. I actually really liked those ones, but they took so much effort. And even though I should put forth some super intense effort because I haven't written in so long, I'm just going to do this from memory of Monday night's episode.

First I guess I should go through the things going on:

Casey and Evan have an alumni function where they want to suck up

to their professor

Ashleigh is living with Casey and Casey isn't too psyched about the arrangement

KT is having a huge awesome Everest party

The only KT pledge wants to be Cappie's little brother, but Rusty wants the pledge

The pledge's dad is visiting

Rebecca wants to pimp out Heath's sister

Calvin is doubting his relationship with Heath

Alright, I could start from the top... or I can pick one of those topics at random and go with it. And while I realized I skimped on some topics, the important ones will come into play.

Okay, well the dullest of the topics was the pledge's dad visiting, so I'll get it out of the way. Well to flashback since I never wrote about it, Kappa Tau wasn't allowed to accept pledges this semester because of illicit partying during rush, so they o

nly have one pledge who was allowed to rush because he's a legacy. His name is Peter Parks, so he's obviously Pledge Spidy. I wish they could have gotten the guy named Jody Foster, but whatever. Anyway, Spidy's dad is apparently some really cool super rich CEO, so when he comes to visit the guys have to suck up a little. Cappie is disappointed when the guy turns out to be a boring suit, but he ends up being a legit Kappa Tau, so no worries. Plus, he's the guy from Weekend at Bernie's who isn't Andrew McCarthy, so it works out.

Now since it follows fluidly, Rusty wants Spidy to be his little brother. His only previous little brother deactivated after Rusty kissed his girlfriend so little Spitter feels like a failure. Thank god they mentioned his old little bro, because I was beginning to think they forgot that Jesse McCartney was ever on the show. And I definitely

laughed when Beaver referred to him as Andylicious again. Oh right, my point. Spidy asks Cappie to be his big brother, which normally wouldn't work, but he's the only pledge. Cappie fortunately tells Rusty right off the bat, so we have no unnecessary awkwardness. Rusty offers to back off, but Cappie says Rusty can do it anyway. Rusty doesn't want a pledge who doesn't want him, blah blah blah. Whatever, eventually Spidy chooses Rusty after he steals a goat because he can teach Spidy to be the cool nerd amalgam that Rusty already is.

Wow, sorry this post is boring. The quotes are definitely the best part and I have none of that here. I'll rewatch the episode and update this post later with some funny lines.

Ermmm right Casey is sick of Ashleigh living with her, but loves having her

around. She wants Ashleigh to get a temporary job while she works on her career, but Ashleigh thinks it's demeaning and gets pissed at Casey. She then proceeds to get drunk at the alumni event. But Casey's law prof thinks it's charming and hits on her anyway.

Afterwards, Casey gets so upset that she allows Rebecca to feed her shots until she is blackout drunk. Then she goes to the awesome looking Everest party and slides down some slides and drinks a lot more. Cappie walks Casey home, but she kisses him and he always has trouble resisting her. He tries to, so that he doesn't feel like a rapist, but she's pretty convincing when she tells him their story is a fairytale. Ashleigh tried to make their whole fairy tale story seem like a negative earlier, but I'm glad Casey flip flopped that.

Also, Calvin found out that Grant is a stripper and that he thought the party was using lots of ice because it was an Everwood themed party and that show took place in a cold climate. Rebecca pointed out that Grant is an idiot and Calvin was like crap, you're right. But he loves him anyway in the end.

I'll update this with some actual goodness later, since this was lame. My apologies!

Shedding a Layer of Skins

Dundundun...

That was supposed to be like a sound of trepidation to indicate how much I was dreading the new American Skins.

To preface, I have been a fan of the original UK Skins for 2 or 3 years now. Before I left for London this summer, my friend and I discussed the enhanced possibility of meeting the cast members (I actually think we only mentioned meeting Sid, not sure why), and while I was there I got like half of my building hooked on the show. In fact, part of the reason why I'm writing this blog post is because one of my London pals (let's face it, basically my only London pal) asked me to. That being said, I am proud to say that I had been very familiar with Skins long before MTV announced that they would be airing their own version.

This did not look good to me. One of the best parts about Skins is its innate Englandness. They use British slang (spliff for weed, fanny for vagina), have British looks, go to British schools, and can use far more foul language, nudity, sex, and drugs than any American shows can. Other than the always explicit HBO and Showtime. By bringing Skins to America, it would be like when the CW airs Sex and the City. Super lame. Plus, the MTV promos were horribly embarrassing. One guy at work actually asked me if I saw the trailers for that horrible new MTV show Skins. I had a hissy fit. Everyone knows tv means more to me than it should. But I still had to watch it. There was every possibility it might pull an Office and be awesome. Whatever, I knew I would probably hate it, but I wanted to know first hand.

Before watching the pilot,

I read this article:

skinsinnymag

It gave me ammo to look out for when I started. Most of it sounded better than the stuff from the promos anyway.

Now for my opinion...

I kinda liked it.

Obviously I was not a fan of Tony's weirdo spider bedspread that replaced his naked people bedspread, but I understand that American tv can't show that so I won't cry. Plus, Effy changed that bedspread too when Tony went to university.

Eek, now on to Effy. She is a blond girl named Eura and she is not pretty at all. Her character doesn't matter that much yet because you never know anything about Effy anyway. But she seems like she has mental problems. Tony even said in the second episode that she has social problems. Very unEffy. Her actions are her choices. And she is gorgeous. Not Eura.

Tony is actually kinda cool. He's not as cute as Nicholas Hoult, the UK Tony, but he has charm and that's what makes Tony. And I liked his solo at the girls school.

Chris was perfect. I like this new guy. I adore UK Chris beyond belief, but this one seemed almost identical and definitely has potential to expand upon the role. Angie was also pretty good. I can't remember the new one's name, and she doesn't have the lovely Welsh accent, but she is good.

Michelle is also good. Neither UK or US Michelle seems that pretty to me at first, but they have this sexuality that makes them way hotter. Good for them. I actually always liked that character and I still do.

Ew I just reremembered when Tony said gosh golly. Who says that? This high school junior I work with answered that with "little girls in the 60s and no one else ever." I think he's correct.

Sid is the worst.

Maybe. Cassie sucks too. Sid is now named Stanley and he doesn't seem to have any of the self-hating while still seeming somewhat coolness of Sid. He is gross looking. All greasy haired. So Sid was never exactly hot, but I still loved him. Stanley is lame. I can't understand why Tony would be friends with him. Even if he had lost his v-card.

Cassie is now named Cadie. The article I posted above discusses how the US version doesn't discuss her anorexia, but it doesn't really do her changeover justice. Instead of being sunshiney goodness while still being whackadoodle, she is a nutjob without any lovability. Another NYMag article described her as a hybrid of Helena Bonham Carter’s creepiest roles and Evanescence. Oh, wow. Cool. Oh yeah, Cadie also doesn't say any of those things. But she does like cheetos. What? Cassie may have been crazy, but she was crazy because of realistic problems, like anorexia, drug abuse, negligence, and other things. This Cadie is just insane for no apparent reason. She also doesn't look like Cassie since Cassie is pale, blonde, and English looking (the teeth).

This one is sort of black with mad wild hair. Oh well.

Now the remaining characters are Jal, Maxxie, and Anwar. I think that's it. Jal is named Daisy now and I have nothing major to say about her. Just like I never had anything major to say about Jal. She was boring. This one is at least cuter than Jal since she has no braces because Americans know to get braces out of the way at a young age.

Anwar has a new name. I could look it up, but I don't see the point. The main difference is that I like the UK Anwar and don't like this one. Granted, the UK one is played by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel, but still. Instead of discussing him I will tell an anecdote that I have already told thrice. Outside of a bar (Noche in Center City) the other night I was hanging out with my usual Indian friends and they were talking to some random Indian guys. So I'm in this group and I turn to one of them and say "Hi Anwar." And he's like yup, "Anwar Sadat." I was like no dur Anwar from Skins. And his friend butted in and was like no dude he looks like the guy from Slumdog. And Anwar turned to him and was like no this girl got it right. Skins came first so booyah. That dialogue was a little off, but that was the general gist of it. And as I was walking away I yelled to Anwar that he has only heard of Anwar Sadat because of I Love You, Man. He didn't deny it.

I saved Maxxie for last because he had the biggest change. Cute gay dancer Maxxie is now a cool lesbian cheerleader named Tea.

And while I loved Maxxie, the article I posted above is sort of right. He never got much screentime. Tea certainly does. The second episode centered all around her. She is friggin awesome. She has no much confidence, a sense of humor, is completely gorgeous, and um probably another good characteristic. Oh yeah! She's half Jewish. I could say like me, but I'm whole Jewish so it's not true.

Apparently only the first episode will really follow the UK version, but the UK co-creator is adapting this version, so it won't be too unSkinsy unless the parents counsels destroy all the funding. I'm going to keep watching for now. But let me know what you think, so I know how much you disagree with me.

P.S. I want to write some Greekaps. I'll try to post them soon because it's still my favorite show!

Hey There

I love Greek. I love it so much. I want to write about it. This week's and last week's, and the week before. But I don't have time riiight now. So I'll just comment that the commercials bragged about Greek being in EW's Must List, which it was a few weeks ago and I was soo pumped. Except that this is the final season. It feels like the final season though. It's got a different rhythm than past seasons, but it's working for me.

The only other thing I want to comment on right now is the Kappa Tau's discussion of their house shrinkage last week. I loved how they acknowledged the fact that some of the characters have disappeared. Even though I don't know why Ben Bennett disappeared, because he was always there before. But they mentioned Gonzo (Dave Franco)! They said the other house members were gonezo, so they were like oh yeah, where is Gonzo? And Cappie said, "I think I saw him on Scrubs." Yes Cappie, you did. I love those little jokey things. It was one of my favorite parts of The O.C. and I love that my precious Greek does that too. This isn't the first time, but it worked so well for me. More later!

Yo yo yo

Hi, I'm Sandy.

This Monday, I decided it was pathetic that I hadn't seen Harry Potter 7 yet, so when I got out of class early, I drove straight to the movies. But I hadn't been to the movies in so long, and it ws only 8 pm, so I figured I'd maximize my time and see two movies.

First, I saw Tangled and I feel the need to say that Mandy Moore does a great princess voice. That movie was adorable. And she beasted the Alice from Twlight haircut.

But my beloved HPot didn't start for like 45 minutes after my princess movie, so I went into the end of Due Date, because I didn't want to see just a few minutes of 127 Hours because I feel like that will be an intense movie that needs my full attention. And Due Date doesn't. Some people told me they loved it, but the last 20 minutes didn't seem so impressive.

However Deathly Hallows Part 1 was totally impressive. I was a little pissed that this was the first time we ever saw Bill Weasley and they mentioned his Fenrir Greyback brawl just in passing, but that's prettty much my only complaint. Except that it made me sad. That's not a complaint, just a statement really. I'm probably the only person on the planet that cried when Harry's wand broke, but I cried when I read it in the book too. That wand was totally a character in the book. It bonded with Voldy's, it had a feather from Fawkes, and it was the first thing that proved to Harry that he was a wizard. Gah it's so sad.

Don't even get me started on George's ear.

The whole point of this post was that princesses are cool, Robert Downey Jr. needs better material, and I can't wait for July.

I Hope They Serve Diet Coke in Hell

It finally happened. I met the legendary Tucker Max.

Since he is the most judgemental person on the planet, I was rightfully intimidated by his presence. But I think he disliked me a normal amount and probably thought I was mildly cute. Wow, I am totally shooting for the stars. But he signed my new book and put his very contaminated, yet somehow still appealing arm around me. Score.

Team Peeta

Before I say anything, I would like to give a shout out to my pal Jim Strouse, who caved in and fell deeply in love with dear Dexter. Nice work. On a side note, Jim owes me 50 bucks for doubting my pop culture knowledge. Not so nice work.

But what I really want to talk about today is my new obsession with The Hunger Games. My sister has been talking about them nonstop for the last year or so and finally coerced me into reading them. And I would like to thank her because they were awesome.

The Hunger Games are about this post-apocalyptic North America where citizens are forced to participate in the annual Hunger Games, which are a fight to the death between 24 teenage boys and girls. It's sooo not my usual scene, but there is a reason why these books are being called the next Twilight.

Well, I don't actually like Twilight, but I mean that they are really popular and have a girl torn between two lovers. The lovers here are hottie rebel Gale and likable thing Peeta. The girl choosing is Katniss, which is a horrible name, but she is cool. I know I didn't give a good description of Peeta, just saying he is a likable thing, but likability has to count for something, because I love him. Honestly, Team Peeta all the way.

I just read an article in Entertainment Weekly where the website polled readers about who they would cast in the movie of The Hunger Games and I was VERY happy with the results. First of all, I keep accidentally writing the Hunter Games, which might be Freudian, because people want my beloved Hunter Parrish to play Peeta. Hunter Parrish is Silas on Weeds for all you people that probably shouldn't be reading my blog. I love him. I love that match. Also, Effie from Skins is the number 1 choice for Katniss, which is amazing, because maybe that'll get Americans to pay attention to my favorite British show. Plus Effie is gorgeous. Her real name is Kaya something. Look her up if you don't know her. Also Hugh Laurie and Kristin Chenoweth were on the wannabe cast list! I am PSYCHED. And a huge loser for being so psyched about a fantasy cast list.

Anyway, my point is, go read The Hunger Games because they are really good and intense and sexy. Okay?