10 Reasons to love Kristin Chenoweth

How cute is she?

Her acceptance speech (as best supporting actress in a comedy for Pushing Daisies) at the Emmy's on Sunday night was adorable and heartfelt and funny all at once. She's either an even better actress than I thought or was truly surprised and overwhelmed by the win. The plug for employment on her favourite shows was my fav part of the whole thing.

Her book: A Little bit Wicked is crazy entertaining and funny. She's open and engaging without coming off as self absorbed or vain with stories about her career path (beauty pagents, schooling and broadway), relationship with Aaron Sorkin (including a discussion about the character of Harriet on Studio 60), family life and even her weave.

She does 'Christian' right...not to be confused with 'the Christian Right'. Her faith seems to be important to her but I don't get a preachiness vibe from anything I've read or seen of her onscreen. And she seems generally tolerant and open minded.

"Taylor the Latte Boy" has brought me much enjoyment.

Wicked. Chenoweth was involved in the production from workshop to Broadway to the Tony stage. Every Galinda that follows her will be compared to her performance. The musical is one of the best I've seen and I love the fact that it's about 2 strong but very different women and how they become their best selves. I will be in line to see the movie they eventually get around to making.

She's a pretty versatile actress and singer, moving from opera and classical music to broad based broadway musicals to physical comedy and even drama (catch her turn on The West Wing if you don't believe me).

She's guest starring on next week's episode of Glee, one of several theatre and broadway vets who have lined up to appear on the show. I'm sure it's only going to make me love the show (and her) more.

She's a great talk show guest with multiple entertaining appearances with Letterman and Ellen and the rest of the lot.

Seriously, how cute is she??

Random ramblings

Summer is here and mother nature finally decided to catch up with the calendar bringing a heat wave this week.

It would have been nice if my air conditioning at home was fixed before that happened.

I went so see No Doubt and Paramore at the ACC last week and it was awesome. I bow down to Ms. Stefani's abs and stamina. And was impressed that she actually sang live for the entire show (I'm looking at you Madonna). Paramore became one of my favourite bands last year and got a visibility boost by being included in the Twilight sountrack (as with everything involved in that franchise) and were great live, especially when you consider what babies they still all are.

Lainey's annual Smut Soiree was this week and while still enjoyable, the lack of air conditioning, lousy sound set up and continued talking of other folks over the panel's discussion led to a bit of a disappointment. Thankfully the swag bag delivered. And warm gooey cookies with shot glasses of milk are a fantastic idea.

Alan Sepinwall (great TV reviews/recaps) started doing a rewind a few weeks ago and recapping episodes of my beloved Sports Night which lead to me rewatching the entire first season in a flurry. So it's entirely his fault that I've now found myself sucked in to a Sorkinthon and have begun watching The West Wing from the beginning. I forgot how much I adored that show and couldn't wait until Wednesday evenings when it aired. And it's filling the gap as the summer show pickings are slim.

Though True Blood is back and I'm thoroughly enjoying the second season, even as I can't help comparing little details to what happened in the books. Speaking of which, the latest is on it's way to my library for me to pick up according to the Toronto Public Library website...yay.

It's my birthday on Monday and I'm having a bit of a hard time believing I'm turning 33. I moved to the city 10 freaking years ago...where the heck did the time go? On the plus side, I got asked for my ID when buying beer a few weeks ago so at least there's that.

I had one of those sort of perfect quiet moments this weekend when I was at the cottage. Nothing major, just standing on the deck at dusk looking out at the water. My parents and grandparents were inside having cocktails and getting ready for dinner and my dad was about to light the BBQ. And I'm generally not one for a lot of introspection but in that instant as I just stood there I realized how genuinely lucky I am. So thank you to all the people in my life who make me feel that way.

Season finale thoughts

It's been a rather lazy long weekend and I've felt somewhat justified lounging on the couch with my PVR since the weather hasn't been 'seasonal' and I've completely caught up on my television viewing. Here's what I've been thinking about the season finales of some of my favourite shows (it goes without saying, but stop reading here if your PVR is backed up and you haven't seen em yet).

Chuck. Hallelujah!! The various 'Save Chuck' campaigns have apparently been successful and this wonderful show that was sitting on the bubble of cancellation has received a 13 episode renewal for next year. I'm choosing to just be excited about that and not worry about what the apparently required budget cutbacks will do to season 3. I caught an episode of this show mid way through the first season and then had to spend a few hours catching up courtesy of the folks at Television without Pity before adding it to my repetoire. It's fantastic and I can't quite understand why more people aren't watching. The last few episodes of this season closed out the arc on the creation of the intersect (featuring missing dad Scott Bakula!), had a pretty sexy (there but for the grace of a condom) hookup between Chuck and Sarah, a wedding for Awesome and Ellie featuring the musical sylings of Jeffster and most importantly (especially where next season is concerned) a Chuck who has actually been able to make the decision to be a hero instead of having it foisted upon him...a decision which came with a super upgraded Intersect and what looks to be a whole new set of skills.

Lost. OMFG Lost. How could you leave us with a flash to a white screen not knowing whether the quest to detonate the bomb had the desired effect?!? Well, of course you could, leaving us dangling is what Messrs Abrams, Cuse & Lindelof seem to do best. This season was as entertaining and frustrating as you would expect from one of the best shows on television. And sets us up perfectly for the final 16 episodes set to air in 2010. What are we do do in the mean time? If you're looking for a Lost fix, I'd highly recommend checking out Doc Jenson's colums for Entertainment Weekly or watching the interview with Lindelof and Cuse here.

House. Ok. In retrospect I knew the Huddy hookup was unrealistic. There's no way he was detoxing overnight and also no way (as much as she likely wanted to) Cuddy would have jumped into bed with him immediately afterwards. The final episode built slowly to the final 10 minutes, where House slowly realized the fact that he had been hallucinating the entire event. It will be interesting to see where they go from here, and I'm hoping we don't spend too long hanging out at the mental hospital at the beginning of next season because I want to see the series get back to dealing with weekly medical mysteries and a protaganist that is on his game. It was nice to see the Cameron and Chase wedding, and I'm also hoping that the producers find a way to get them more screen time in the future because their talents were wasted this year.

The Office. After the first UK copycat season, which I could never watch, every season of the office has ended with a big Pam & Jim moment and this one was no exception. Krasinski's moment on the phone in the hallway was awesome (though a friend recently pointed out that Jenna Fischer was a bit shortchanged by the fact that the moment of revelation of Pam's pregnancy was all about him). Moments in the last few episodes of this season were pretty classic...the inappropriate casual day attire, Kelly & Andy's dance off at the disco, the reappearance of Holly and the negotiation for the sale of the Michael Scott Paper Company were all either laugh out loud funny or completely cringeworthy, which is just how we like it.

Castle. Ok, first of all, I just need to put in a plug for this show. Start watching it, seriously. For the most part, it's a procedural so you're not going to be missing much by jumping in at the beginning of season 2 and everything else you can completely catch up on. Here's the recap so far: Richard Castle is a famous crime novelist who has just killed off his main character (think Patterson's Alex Cross) and gets pulled into a murder investigation because the killer is copying murders from his books. That initial investigation leads him to decide that detective Kate Beckett should form the basis for his new character and through connections to the mayor (among others) he gets himself permission to shadow her for material. It's a fairly basic premise and the cases that they investigate each week aren't all that original but that's not why you should be watching it anyway. First of all, Nathan Fillion is quite possibly the most charming lead ever. Now I'm probably biased since I've loved Firefly, Dr. Horrible, Waitress and pretty much anything else on his resume, but even friends who are not as enamoured with Mr. Fillion have said that this show has become one of their favourites. The chemistry between Castle and Beckett is wonderful and playful and entertaining as hell. But even better is the relationship between Castle and his daughter. The moment in the finale after he waited up for her to get home from her first dance was just so sweet and endearing. The season ended with Castle about to share some information with Beckett regarding the long ago murder of her mother...and I can't wait to see what it was and where they'll go from here.

Grey's Anatomy. I missed watching the episode live as I was out for the evening and unfortunately couldn't help being a little bit spoiled the next day with my inability to avoid various pop culture commentary websites. So by the time I watched the show I was fully aware that John Doe was actually George and even though the plot was done on ER first I felt like the folks at Grey's did it better. It was a really well done finale and ending with both George & Izzie's fates in the balance was an appropriate cliff to hang on. The moment when Arizona was telling Callie why it was so 'awesome' that George had enlisted managed to activate my tear ducts. It was nice to see Mer and Der seemingly in a healthy adult relationship. I love what Kevin McKidd has brought to the show in the character of Owen Hunt and his relationship with Cristina. I hope that we've seen the last of Denny, as much as I enjoy Jeffrey Dean Morgan. And oh, that last moment when the elevator doors opened and George stood there on the other side was killer.

Fringe. Oh J.J. you got me again. Of course you did. You've got a series with a smart, kick ass female lead, a completely charming partner in crime for her in Joshua Jackson and a brilliant, strange mystery to unravel that goes back to experimental childhood treatments (shades of Alias). Alternate realities crop up in sci fi all the time and the idea of deja vu as an indication of such isn't new, but Fringe did it well, as with everything else on this first season. The character of William Bell was omnipresent all season, as the founder of the mysterious Massive Dynamic and former partner of Walter Bishop (the incredibly entertaining John Noble) his name came up in conjunction with many of their investigations. His appearing in the finale (in the shape of Leonard Nimoy no less) was perfectly done, and the final scene with Olivia coming face to face with the man responsible for not only the experiments done on her as a child but seemingly all of the events that she had been investigating was a strong ending. Until the camera panned out to show us that the meeting was taking place in one of the twin towers, which told us more in a single image than they could have told us in minutes of exposition and it got even better.

And that about wraps up another season of television. There are a few finales to come (24, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty) but the season is pretty much wrapped up. There are a few summer series that I'm looking forward to (True Blood, Entourage) but for the most part my PVR is going to get a break. Which begs the question, should I finally start watching The Bachelorette so that I have something on my TV schedule??

Hey there...what up?

So I've clearly managed to be very lazy and haven't posted anything in a while (for the 4 of you reading :-) ) Here's what's been going on in my life for the past few months...

- I have a nephew. He's adorable. And my brother and sister-in-law seem to be adjusting to the parenting thing pretty well. It was a fun Christmas with the family with a new little one around. I've made the trip back home more in the past three months than I have in the last couple of years it seems to see him.

- Speaking of babies, I have 5 friends who have either just had or are about to have a baby in the next few months. Good thing I love to play Auntie.

- I had a great vacation on the 'Ships & Dip' cruise for the third year seeing fantastic music and great all around entertainment. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as accomodating but at least there were a lot of great distractions. This year's "find" is Butterfly Boucher, an artist from Australia...you should totally check her out.

- I'm thinking i need to go on another vacation soon.

- I can't believe it's already March.

- I am really, really enjoying the third season of Friday Night Lights (why aren't more people watching this show??). I want a man like Coach Taylor.

- Am also enjoying the ride on 'Lost'. Please, please J.J. don't disappoint me with the wrap up. If you do, I'm going to hear "I told you so" from a few naysayers who insist you're making it up as you go along.

- I fall a little more in love with Jon Stewart every week.

- I'm looking forward to seeing Spring Awakening on it's pass through Toronto. Saw it on Broadway a few years ago and loved it. It remains to be seen whether I'll get there more than once while it's in town.

The new TV season so far

Now that we're into October and a good chunk of tv shows are back on the air...a couple of random thoughts.

• Shonda Rhimes...you suck a little bit. Here's the thing...I (like many others) loved Grey's when it appeared on Sunday nights. I own the first three seasons on DVD and have gotten others into the program. I stuck around through last year's mess and even put up with Gizzie. And the Grey's premiere was fine. I appreciate the fact that you came right out and said that the ABC promo with Rose telling Dereck she was carrying his child was a complete misrepresentation, good for you. I'm glad that Christina's impalement never seriously put her in danger (cause we've had enough of that on this show) and loved the intro of Kevin McKidd. My bigger beef with you right now is with Private Practice. I rewatched a couple of episodes that aired over the last few weeks and was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed them and was looking forward to the premiere last night. But here's where you lost me...Naomi has somehow mismanaged funds, run the practice into the ground, is making borderline unethical medical decisions for money and had to have the big strong man come in and take over??? I almost threw something at the tv.
• Heroes may just be losing me with the shifting futures, Mohinder reenacting The Fly, the petulant Hiro, Nathan's 'conversion' and the reappearing Linderman. I'm holding on by my fingertips mostly cause it's so much fun to see Veronica Mars and Weevil on the same show again.
• I'm hoping that Fox sticks with Fringe and The Sarah Connor Chronicles even though the ratings aren't killer. For Fringe, because Joshua Jackson is just extremely fun to watch and he and Anna Torv have a Mulder/Scully chemistry about them and because as previously mentioned, I do worship a bit at the altar of J.J. Abrams. For Chronicles, because Lena Headey is great as Sarah and who knew how good Brian Austin Green would be at playing a bit of a badass?
• Chuck has officially replaced Reaper as my favourite show about a 20-something slacker-boy forced to take on a 'job' he didn't ask for or want . Now, maybe that's not fair since Reaper hasn't even had it's premiere yet to try to win back my love, but it's a bit telling that that the season finale has sat unwatched taking up space on my PVR all summer.
• What does it say about the fact that I taped the premiere of The Amazing Race on Sunday but have no desire to actually watch it...

I know I am...but what are you?

I had an interesting moment of pop culture juxtaposition last week. I was in the the middle of reading Full Frontal Feminism, a book I was finding quite interesting. Though superficially aware of the issues that continue to face many women in their work and personal lives, I know I've lived a pretty cushy existence and have always pretty much taken for granted that I can do whatever it is I choose to do with my life. At the same time, I started watching the first season of Mad Men, the acclaimed AMC series about the lives of a bunch of advertising guys that takes place in the early 60s. Now, I know that this is just a television show but, man, how much would have it have sucked to be a woman born 50 years ago? (Not to mention any time period before that). The career prospects and comments made around the office, a pharmacist doling out birth control pills but warning not to use them lest you become a 'loose woman', the wife/mother role as the be all and end all of existence. The actresses on the show are wonderful but I almost find myself not liking their characters because I want to give them a shake and tell them to give the men in their lives a smack and tell them to smarten up and treat them like people.

Is the fact that I find the show (while very well done) to be so misogynistic a testament of how far we've come (and not in a Virginia Slims kind of way) or am I just being willfully ignorant about the fact that women still face these issues today?

I've had conversations with friends about the idea of feminism and heard a lot of the "Well, I'm not a feminist...but" type of comments (which is also a point that Valenti makes in the book). Why are we so seemingly scared to call ourselves feminists? Why is it that identifying yourself as such seems to automatically also classify you as a bitch? And why, as smart successful women, don't we consider it our responsibility to make sure that other women have the same opportunites?

So yes, I am a feminist and not afraid to call myself one. And in what is possibly the online posting I've forwarded most frequently over the years, I'll let Sars explain why you are too.

What's with all the cliffhangers??

Unless you count the summer viewing options of So You Think You Can Dance, Big Brother, Canadian Idol and the like (which I totally do, but anyway) the television season is basically winding to a close this week with the two hour Lost finale (the mother of cliffhanger shows).

And is it just me or did there seem to be way more cliffhanger endings this season? I don't know if the strike shortening the season for scripted shows led to some serious readjustments of story lines or if it's just that I've managed to forget the usual end of season 'suck 'em in for next year' moves but here are the questions for which I'm waiting until September (or more likely October) for answers:

1. ER - Who was in the damn exploding ambulance?
2. Criminal Minds - Who was in the damn exploding SUV?
3. Desperate Housewives - 5 years later? And where the heck did Mike go??
4. Brothers & Sisters - William Walker had another child?
5. Ugly Betty - As much as I love Christopher Gorham, Betty damn well better have gotten her ass on a plane to Rome.
6. Gossip Girl - OK, Chuck leaving B stranded at the helipad is probably technically not a cliffhanger but damn it, how am I supposed to go without this show for 3 months??

Not to mention all of the shows that never came back after the strike...I will undoubtably need a recap of where they heck they ended off before they come back in the fall.

I think only two shows that I was watching actually got cancelled this year, and they were ones I really wasn't all that invested in (Men in Trees and Canterbury's Law). Which means I have room in my schedule to pick up something new. First on the list...

Joss & Eliza together again! Sign me up.

The best TV shows of all time (this week)

Two different people have asked me in the last week about what I would consider the top tv shows of all time. Clearly, this is something I need to share. So without further ado and in no particular order...here are what would make the top 5 list at this point:



Sports Night. Because even if the first three seasons of The West Wing are arguably Sorkin at his best, this is where he did it first. Because it was my introduction to Peter Krause, Felicity Huffman, Josh Malina and the multitude of Sorkin regulars showing up in bit parts. Because it died an early death thanks to the boneheads at ABC. Because even though the Damn Dating Plan was awful, the first season build up to the Dana & Casey kiss was fantastic. Because "you're wearing my shirt Gordon" is a moment that still gets me to this day. Because of the many, many, many quotable moments and expressions that I still manage to get into my day to day life (and rejoice when someone gets the reference). Every couple years the series gets popped into the DVD player and rewatched.


Six Feet Under. It has to say something that I waited almost two years to watch the final season even though it was sitting on my shelf ready to go. I just liked the idea that there were more episodes for me to look forward to. It was smart, and heartwrenching and funny and had an incredible group of actors...and it made me cry.




Sex and the City. Look, I'm a single 30-something woman. Of course I love this show :-). And yes, I've had the "which character are you" discussions with friends...over brunch natch. But beyond all of the frivolity and fashion and discussions about sexual proclivities, this show to me was about friendship. How no matter what other relationships where going on these women had each other. And it makes me thankful for all the fantastic friends in my life. It's also completely rewatchable and I stop flipping through channels to watch it on a regular basis...even though I own the DVDs. And I can't tell you how many times that situations and conversations I'm having with friends remind me of episodes of the show. Does that make me sad? Maybe...but it also means that the show gets it right.



Veronica Mars. It was smart. It was funny. It had great dialogue with fun pop culture references. It managed to weave a season long mystery arc with more contained mysteries of the week and keep each episode entertaining...twice. Kristen Bell's Veronica is a kick ass heroine. Logan Echolls is the bad boy we all want to reform. Great guest stars...Paul Rudd! Alyson Hannigan! Michael Cera! I loved this show and mourned it's ending. And it's the one show on my list that I don't have in my DVD collection, must rectify that.






Lost. I think J.J. Abrams is brilliant and will watch anything he puts his name on (Cloverfield is the exception to the rule). This slot almost went to Alias because I'm nervous about including Lost as it's not finished yet and could go off the rails or end in a mess. I was somewhat late to the bandwagon on this one because I missed the first season in the days before timeshifting and the PVR with two shows already in that time slot when it premiered (yes, I've mentioned that I watch a lot of tv so shut up). But after hearing rave reviews all season I picked up the first season when it came out on DVD a few weeks before season 2 was set to start. I figured I'd watch it over a few weeks and tape the first couple of episodes. Silly me. I spent an entire weekend glued to the television and was ready for the premiere the next week. This show has more OMG! moments than anything I can think of. And while I think the third season contained a few of a missteps (Nikki & Paulo...shudder), the negotiated end date of the series allows the men with the plan to execute it the way they wanted to...I just hope they don't disappoint me.


So there they are. If you're looking at the list and thinking 'she totally missed show x', you may be right. But these are my top 5 and I'm sticking by them...for now.

Your turn.

I'm in Love

Please meet the newest object of my affection. I believe we have a long and happy relationship ahead of us.














So I watch a lot of TV. I mean, a lot of TV. At any one time in the active television season I could be recording 25-30 shows a week on my PVR. (Now, of course, the strike means I've got some more time on my hands). I have a couple of friends who have mentioned planning an intervention to deal with my addiction. Now some of these people don't actually own televisions so really, what do they know?? When I finally got my hands on a PVR it felt like a religious conversion of some sort. It's not an overstatement to say it changed my life.

I have been watching all of this TV for the past 6 years on a 32” tube television, which wasn’t the height of technology when I purchased it at that time. (Why, I argued with myself, would I spend the extra $300 just to get a screen that was flat when I new there was better technology just around the corner). And since then I’ve been reluctant to commit, reluctant to spend the money, and fairly satisfied with the TV I owned.

I finally took the plunge. With the Christmas gift of some cash from my parents (with a cute little TV picture drawn in the memo section of the check) and the knowledge that my bonus this year was going to be my best ever, I headed out on Boxing ‘week’ to procure an HD TV. And have spent the last two weeks waiting for my spot in line in the delivery schedule. Well, last night it arrived. The very helpful delivery/installation guy helped me move the heavy old TV and the top section of the wall unit that housed the old TV and went to work connecting all of the wiring. After setting the TV up he said, “you know, I think your unit will still fit with the new TV”. And lo and behold it did, with mere millimeters to spare on either side. It looks IKEA custom designed it with this TV in mind…and I get to keep my shelf space!

I ordered a pizza (bad Heather!), poured myself a beer and settled in on the couch for the night. I’d still be there if I could. What the heck took me so long??

Hey! It's November

Hello to the four of you who are breathlessly waiting for an account of what's going on in my life lately ;-)

I'm crazy surprised that it's almost the end of November. I'm not sure where most of 2007 really went. I mean, I was there and everything, but it seems to have been a bit of a whirlwind.

So, remember last month when I said I'd be heading to the cottage to rake a bunch of leaves and get further into the fall spirit? Yeah, not so much. My parents elected to head up there on a weekend when I had a wedding to go to so not only do I feel sad for missing out on the end of the season wrap up, but I feel incredibly guilty about leaving all the work for my parents. Do you think really nice Christmas gifts will make up for it??

I did get around to partaking in some Halloween festivities this year thanks to the encouragement of D, who elevates the enjoyment of the holiday to a whole new level. Her four costume tribute to Maria Von Trapp was inspired...fully augmented by the 7 carved Von Trapp children pumpkins. I also discovered that I have quite the talent for the shooter luge...who knew? :-)


I also managed to get around to my shopping trip to Buffalo with mom and sister-in-law which was fantastic. We were pretty much run off our feet at the end of the Longest Shopping Day Ever on Saturday but scored some fantastic deals and got a start on our Christmas shopping. I managed to make a couple of early Christmas gift purchases for myself with a snazzy new watch and purse. Isn't it pretty?? Shopping savings are definitely there to be had by crossing south of the 49th. First of all, the Canadian dollar being at basically par (which, I know, isn't quite as good as it was a few weeks ago) means that any brand is automatically going to be cheaper just because they haven't adjusted the 'list' price to account for the change in exchange. Coach purses that were $500 here were less than $400 there. But our biggest savings came from spending about 3 hours at Macy's. I had assumed the 'international savings card' 11% (who comes up with these numbers?) discount was only available at the Macy's in New York and Las Vegas, where they had visitors centres, but no, they had them right at the service desks at the Galleria. And then they had a 'sign up for a Macy's account and get an additional 20% purchases' thing going on. 31% off everything in the store?? Let me at it! We also stayed at a really cute hotel and managed to eat lunch at the Cheesecake Factory without an hour and a half wait for a table (here's a tip...ALWAYS check to see if there is seating available at the bar). Thanks to Vickie, the cross border expert, for the advice on the best border crossing spot, location for hotel and the Targets to avoid we had an absolutely no stress weekend. Well, except for the usual anxiety about getting back across the border ;-).

Otherwise I have been enjoying the fall television offerings (and am preparing myself for the ugly near future of a reality television bonanza for as long as the strike goes on). I'm *loving* the new Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl and Reaper. And really enjoying the returning Friday Night Lights (why aren't more people watching this show??), Heroes (for the most part), The Office, and House (for Hugh Laurie).

And now we're coming up on December and I should be getting in the mood for Christmas. Part of me is feeling too lazy to bother to get all the decorations out...which I know I'd regret since I love coming home to the twinkling lights on the tree once it's up. My mom's planning on visiting next weekend to help with the decorating and do some Christmas shopping so I really shouldn't complain about the work, but it's never stopped me before.

And now, the top five things I'm looking forward to in the coming weeks:

1. Dirty Dancing the musical
2. KT Tunstall
3. weekend visits with Shawna and the munchkin and my mom
4. Bon Jovi
5. The multitude of Christmas parties, gatherings and brunches filling up my calendar

Stay tuned :-)