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You are here: Home / 2009 / Archives for September 2009

Archives for September 2009

Katharine McPhee Gone Blonde

September 30, 2009 by Amy 5 Comments

As an avid American Idol fan and one who bought Katharine McPhee’s first record and a proud Brunette, I feel that I have a right to an opinion about this topic.  May I say I dislike Katharine’s new hair with much fervor?

I followed the switch at Rickey.org and immediately was not a fan.  I mean, she went from this

katharine mcphee2

to this

Katharine_McPhee_sporting_9efb

Theoretically it looks good:

katmcphee500x375

But I recently watched FunnyorDie’s latest video and I did not even recognize her one bit and only knew it was her when I read the tagline.  This is a screencap from it:

katharine mcphee

Doesn’t it look like a horrible wig??

I’m not one to bash celebrities but I just feel I have to take this little corner of the blogosphere to say NO to the blonde and say bring back the beautiful, long brunette hair!

Anyone with me?

All that being said, I feel it’s only fair that I say I do like this song from her new album:

Filed Under: random

Let’s Talk About Fall TV So Far

September 30, 2009 by Amy 6 Comments

As mentioned before one of the things I’m missing about Twitter and Facebook is interaction about TV.  I started my break before most shows premiered and I have no clue how people are reacting to this season.  I feel a little lost.  But I’ll take a few minutes to gab about what I think.

Gossip Girl

I feel like this season has been solid GG so far.  Blair’s attention-getting actions were very odd.  It was also odd to see JoAnna Garcia with Nate after watching her in a full season of Privileged.  Maybe it’s just lingering affects from that but I’m not 100% sold on that character.  I do like Carter and hope he sticks around.  I’m loving Blair and Chuck together.  I do like this whole college thing.  I feel like it fits them better at this point yet it still feels like GG.

Greek

Greek started really slow for me the first two episodes.  I had to struggle through to even watch the second episode at all.  The last two have been back up to par and let me say that Cappie is by far the star of that show.  Without him, the episodes lag!  Here a few quotes I grabbed from this week:

A sororiety girl.  I can’t remember her name and I’m too lazy to look it up.  The senator’s daughter: See they were blown off for another mixer so they stayed in for mud masks and a TV series about old people having old people sex.
Casey: They’re watching Private Practice?

Evan and Cappie looking at flyers for Evan a job.
Cappie: Oh here’s one.  Sperm donor.  Someone with your pedigree could earn three times what I have…would..as much as I would.

Ashley: Maybe they were hot back in the 80s.
Casey: No that is ugly in any decade.

One Tree Hill

This is a huge year for OTH. Another 14 mo jump, 2 lost major character and 4 additions and it was a recipe for disaster.  But after the third episode this week, I feel really good about it.  I’m really loving Clay and even Alex.  They need to step it up with Quinn or she will be the biggest bore I’ve seen on there yet.  Nathan and Haley have been fantastic this season, especially the last episode.  As for Brooke, I much rather have Brooke with an attitude than Brooke in love.  But I do still like her with Julian and I’m glad to hear that storyline will be shaken a bit.  Drama!

Melrose Place

TVBytheNumbers.com has called this as a cancellation.  I won’t be surprised.  I skipped through a lot of last night’s episode.  It’s rough.  Really rough.  I don’t care much about the characters, the acting especially on Ashlee Simpson-Wentz’s part is horrid and the who-murdered-Sydney story-line is already old.  There are a few good parts though.  I think Jonah and Riley are solid, especially Riley.  She’s one of the only real characters with solid acting.  And I hate to say this, but  I’m actually enjoying Lauren’s hooker line.  It’s not right but I think the acting is superb and I think she’s showing genuine conflict about it and unfortunately there are women who find themselves in just that plight.  However, with Ella Simms as the star of this show, it’s empty, vain and annoying and it will be the downfall of this show.  It’s hard to support a show where you don’t even like the main character.  Heather Locklear finally signed on and I’m interested to see if she saves the show.  If you’re a fan, make sure to check out Melrose Place Blog (sorry for the review, Ruthie, but I’ll still plug the site for you!)

Lie To Me

I didn’t mean to watch it this season but I needed to pass some time Monday night.  It was a solid episode for the show.  If you enjoyed the first season, definitely check it out.

Grey’s Anatomy

I posted about this show briefly last week but wow, Grey’s was back with full force.  It will be interesting to see where they take it from here.  I’m wondering how you improve on what we just saw.  I’m thoroughly enjoying Alex and Izzie and Derek and Meredith married.

The Office

As always The Office manages to make me laugh with quotes like this:

“I say my greatest talent is being the best man, woman or child to have ever run this branch ever.”

“I’d have to talk to my mother and my guy at H&R Block.”

I’m excited for Jim and Pam and can’t wait for this week.

Glee

I’ve dropped Glee.  Eh.

Vampire Diaries

I am totally and completely smitten with Vampire Diaries.  And it is totally and completely due to Ian Somerhalder as Damon.  It was a little weak out of the gate but the last episode was great and I literally have been counting down to Thursday this week.  I could do without all the vampirism and biting (I know, then what’s the point, eh?) but I love the characters and the stories have been decent. If they do this right, it could be huge.  Make sure to check out Vampire Diaries Online.

Dollhouse

TVBytheNumbers.com also shows this as a possible cancellation and I wouldn’t be surprised since we almost didn’t get this season.  But it’s a shame.  It’s a good show and I really enjoyed the premiere last week.

And in closing…have I mentioned I’m excited for the Friday Night Lights premiere in 4 weeks??  All you people have PLENTY of time to catch up on 1-3.  Do eeeet!

Filed Under: tv Tagged With: Dollhouse, friday night lights, glee, gossip girl, greek, Grey's Anatomy, lie to me, melrose place, one tree hill, the office, vampire diaries

Lexi-isms

September 29, 2009 by Amy 3 Comments

Lexi: The only thing that makes me happy is root beer, ketchup and chicken.
Emma: You're weird.
Lexi; Yes, I am.

Lexi: Did you put makeup on?
Me: No, I haven't.
Lexi: Your face looks funny.
Me: Do I look weird?
Lexi: Yeah, you have a lot of boo-boos.

Posted via email from Amy’s posterous

Filed Under: what i did today

Asheville Weekend

September 27, 2009 by Amy 6 Comments

Warning: This will be long and picture-heavy.

Saturday we left about 10 to head up to Asheville for a night’s stay. The plan was to shop Saturday afternoon, eat the Prime Rib Buffet at Grove Park Inn Saturday evening and then spend all of Sunday in The Spa at Grove Park. 

If you’ve read here long enough, you may remember our trip last year for our 10th anniversary.  As much fun as we had, we knew we didn’t want to stay at Grove Park again.  To be honest, for the money the room was just not that impressive.  The plan had been to find a local bed and breakfast but really, the prices are all competitive and Jill had heard of the Grand Bohemian Resort.  It’s a 6 month old hotel right outside the entrance of The Biltmore. 

Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself by talking about the room but let’s fast forward…we got to Asheville about 1ish, shopped for a bit (didn’t find much) and then checked in. 

[Read more…] about Asheville Weekend

Filed Under: what i did today

RIP 007

September 25, 2009 by Amy 1 Comment

I caught up with the premiere of Grey’s just now. This picture should tell you a bit about how I reacted.

That was some of the best Grey’s I’ve seen in a long time. It just won’t be the same without George.

Posted via email from Amy’s posterous

Filed Under: what i did today

An Extra Special Experience

September 25, 2009 by Amy 3 Comments

Wow, I don’t even know where to start on the last two days.  I would start at the beginning and barrel through with each and every detail but for one, that would be a small book and two, I can’t give away spoilers for the show.  So you don’t get all the juicy details now.  But I’ll do what I can to talk about the process itself.

Call time was Wednesday morning at 7:30.  We had to park in some grassy (MUDDY) area and then were taken in vans to a club location called TRIC they regularly film at.  Earlier this year when Heather and I went that is where we watched filming.  It was a little surreal being on the other side of the street!

So when you first get there you go in a big white tent.  It just has tables and chairs and then a large buffet style breakfast.  Great food!  We filled out tax forms and Wardrobe came to pick out our outfits.  We waited there until they took us to a holding area in the bottom floor of the TRIC building.  It was simply a concrete floor room with plastic chairs and a small snack table.  The crew’s catering was also set up in there but we weren’t allowed to go in that area.  We were escorted back to the white tent during lunch, which didn’t happen until very late in the day…3:30 on Wednesday!

Most of the day is spent either waiting in the holding room or filming.  Mostly waiting in that room.  There were 175 extras on Wed and I think 80 or so on Thursday.  Only a few times did we all film at once.  Usually they were doing a shot from a specific angle and they would randomly number people off to go in smaller groups.  Remaining people would do the background of the other angles.

So what did we actually do during filming?  Basically we were props.  Just bodies to fill in a space.  Our main job was to either talk or pretend like we were talking with one another.  The crazy part was when we had to pantomime our conversations.  Not even a whisper.  The MOST awkward part was having to dance and clap without music.   They would start it so we could get the beat and then we all had to hope we stayed together.  If I don’t come out looking like a complete idiot, my job as an extra is complete.

So will I be on TV?  I don’t know.  Many people I talked to said they had done it and they were just off-screen in the shot or their scene got cut.  However, I think over the two days we did about15- 20 scenes and I was placed (or placed myself) in a few decent spots.  In one scene in particular, I was chosen (randomly as far as I can tell) to walk directly behind Julian across the camera by myself.  As long as that scene doesn’t get cut and they are not too close in on his face, I *should* make at least 1/2 a second on TV.  LOL

Would I do this again?  Well, as of Wednesday night, I was on the verge of not even going back Thursday night.  We were on set from 7:30am and were not released until 9pm.  It is a LONG process.  And while the hardest thing we did was clap, it is just exhausting waiting, waiting, waiting.  And standing for an hour at a time, multiple times a day is not really that fun.  Not to mention trudging through a few inches of mud to end your day didn’t help.  However, on Thursday I met some friends and pantomiming with people you have had an actual conversation with outside of filming is so much easier and the scenes were better and the weather was better and I don’t know, somewhere on Thursday I think I caught the bug.  I would definitely go back.

Just talk about the stars already!  OK, well, not to burst anyone’s bubble, but I didn’t talk to any of them.  Or get my picture with them.  They specifically said you couldn’t and with so many people on set, it was impossible for them to interact much.  BUT I did see Brooke ( who was directing ), Nathan, Clay, Quinn, Miranda, Haley, Dan, Rachel, Julian, Chase and Mike Grubbs from Wakey!Wakey!  and I have to mention Mark was there!

Some other random observations:

  • The entire process is the definition of organized chaos.  People FLY around that room making things happen and weaving in and out of people.  Every person is doing a different job yet somehow they all work together to make it happen.
  • I was amazed at the number of people that had never even watched the show.  So many of them were just doing it because they needed money, were a struggling/beginning actor or simply because they were bored.
  • All the actors look 20 lbs, not 10lbs, skinnier in person and not as tall.  Except for Dan, Rachel and Julian.  They really are tall. I mean, seriously the girl that plays Miranda (trying not to mention actor names, sorry) is like 2″ skinny.  Paper thin.  And Rachel is even more hot in person than on screen.  Wow, she has some serious legs.
  • TRIC is not laid out anyway like you think.  Or at least I thought.  Or maybe I hadn’t really thought about how it was laid out.  I was just surprised when we went up there.
  • They had it FREEZING on set at the beginning of the day because they can’t run the air while they are filming for sound purposes.
  • You can’t make ANY sound while there is dialogue.  They had to put foam on the bottom of your heels so there would be no sound while you walked.  One time they came over and said “Ok, who’s having the problem with their shoes?”  And it had just been a little bit of sand two of us had walked over.  Another time, they asked people to quit shaking your glass that had fake, plastic ice cubes in them.  It’s crazy what the mics pick up.
  • The characters have stand ins most of the time.  The main characters come in last minute and leave just as soon as they wrap the scene.
  • It KILLED me that we couldn’t take pictures on set.  So many beautiful people and gorgeous lighting.  It was all I could do not to whip out my camera.

I do have a few pictures to share so you’re not completely without a visual.

For those not familiar that is the building where TRIC is.

photo 4

This is a picture that was taken by Mark yesterday.  I was sitting on the other side of the bar directly behind the guy with the tape measure.  You can’t see me at all but at least you get an idea of what the room looked like.

Also, here are some pics of me so you know what to look for and you know what outfit they picked.  I have to give props to Scott for buying this shirt all by himself last year for my birthday.  In the pic on the right, I’m in the holding room in TRIC.

photo 2 photo

This is a pic inside the tent.  Not great but you can kind of get a feel for it.  The buffet is right in the middle there.

photo 3

Ok, this is the only pic of the cast I got.  We were walking back from lunch I believe.  That is Haley in the purple hat!

photo 5

So that’s it, except for the juicy spoilers, of course.  I have no idea when the episode will air.  At minimum it is 7 weeks away and depending on breaks, it may be in January.

In the meantime, go watch a few eps of OTH and really pay attention to the extras!  It’s amazing to rewatch and see all that goes in to just one scene!

Filed Under: tv, what i did today

Where’s Amy

September 22, 2009 by Amy 10 Comments

So there might have been a show that starts with an O and a T and an H that called me today and asked me to extra in a two-day shoot tomorrow on Thursday.  And I might have awesome family members and a flexible job that are helping me go to Wilmington for two nights.  And I might be SO SUPER EXCITED!!

Filed Under: tv, what i did today

Weekend Recap

September 21, 2009 by Amy 1 Comment

http://files.northrockhill.com/podcasts/WhatIf/WhatIf_Week2.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This weekend ended up being a pretty busy one.

Friday we had dinner at Mom’s. Can’t beat a steak and shrimp meal.  Late Friday evening was probably the quietest and most relaxing time of the weekend.  We just hung out at home, doing nothing more than coloring or watching TV.

Saturday was go, go, go though.  Scott was working so me and the girls and Mom (I know that grammar must be wrong there) hit up the Southern Women’s Show.  It was pretty much as expected.  I did run into someone I went to school with which was cool.  Lexi was hilarious as she INSISTED that we watch a rug cleaning demonstration.  She’s 4 and she wanted to watch a rug get cleaned!  Other than that,  Lexi was so very determined to buy something every 30 seconds and Emma was quite determined to make a disaster of her face with all the food samples.  I was determined to get out of there by the end of it.

<sidebar>

That little story reminded me of Lexi last week.  I was in the shower shaving and Lexi walks in.  The ever-loving infomercial girl says you should get that thing on TV where you don’t ever have to shave again!  Yes, thank you, Lexi.  I”ll call to book some laser surgery right away.

</sidebar>

We headed out to watch my niece in her ice-skating competition.  Not too much to report there except her routine took  90 seconds and then we had to wait 90 minutes for the results.  She came in 3rd, if you were wondering.  We actually enjoyed some snacks and decent weather outside for a bit.

Late that afternoon we headed back home and went to see 39 Lashes.  They got a late start and we didn’t get to see much before we had to get the kids home to bed.

Sunday morning was another great sermon.  Sunday afternoon we attended North Rock Hill’s baptism.   It was one of the best things I’ve ever attended actually.  They meet at a park on the lake and do the baptisms right in the lake. We were invited by some friends to go to it in their boat so it was fun just to get there and back. They have a picnic and games and it really was a celebration.  The park is on a hill and as we all sat as a church and then boats stopped behind to watch, the only word I can come up with to explain it is Biblical.  And I love that.  I almost want to get baptized again just so I can do it like that!

A great, busy weekend!  And coming up this weekend??  The spa at Grove Park Inn with our friends Jake and Jill!!

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Filed Under: what i did today

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Hey! I'm so glad you're here. I'm Amy, working mom of 3 in the Southern suburbs. I love Jesus, my family, books, chocolate and coffee. I write about faith, parenting, adoption, marriage, fashion, and design. Read more here

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