'Housewives' Nearing The End, But Not Without Some Drama…

Tomorrow night Bravo airs the season finale of The Real Housewives of New York City, and if the previews are any indication, there’s going to be a major, major blowup between Jill and Bethenny at this stupid charity event we’ve been hearing about for ages. The clip above shows the origins of the fight, and we can only imagine how the shit’s gonna hit the fan later in the episode…
Also, after the jump, a little lighthearted fare, courtesy of Bethenny and Countess LuAnn’s housekeeper, Rosie.

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ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Mexican Food Edition

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With swine flu making travel to Mexico ¡muy off limits!, my friends and I thought we’d bring some South of the Border action to Hollywood last night by whipping up a minor Mexican feast at mi casa. It all started when my friend Bets revealed that she had a bunch of avocados that needed to be used. This naturally led to guacamole fantasies, and from there, an entire menu was devised. On tap for us: guacamole, grilled corn salad with queso fresco and lime, and something called chilaquiles, which I soon learned was like a big, flat, casserole version of an enchilada — or Mexican lasagna as I termed it in my head (probably incorrectly because I’m sure there’s something out there called Mexican lasagna already). Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us.
After the jump, photos of our cooking experience.

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HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: Kelly Bensimon Is Still An Idiot

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Oh Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. They don’t get much denser than you now, do they? On last night’s penultimate episode of the Real Housewives of New York City, we once again got a delightful smattering of Lady Bensimon idiocy, starting with her inability to grasp simple metaphors and ending with her bizarre refusal to acknowledge any of the nasty comments she had ever made to Bethenny. It was classic Kelly, and I once again spent most of the episode scratching my head and wondering if she really could be that awful?
The answer is yes. Yes she can.
If you missed any of the action, do yourself a favor and watch the show. In the meantime, take a seat here on the metaphorical version of Ally’s bed that is my blog and let me relay all the glorious ups and downs of last night’s episode.

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Errant Scone Prompts Seagull Feeding Frenzy

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A few months ago, I witnessed a seagull carrying a bagel around in its mouth — an image that proved to be so endlessly entertaining to me that I whipped out my camera and documented the entire experience. Things have been pretty quiet on the bird front since then, but yesterday, the wing’d ones returned thanks to the sudden appearance of a scone on the rooftop next door. I have no idea how or why a scone wound up on the roof, but it did, and I won’t question it any further, lest the mysterious scone gods focus their wrath on me. Anyway, word spread across the seagull blogosphere very quickly, and soon there was an entire flock circling overhead as if a barge full of chum had moored just outside my window. I saw the scone, I saw the gulls, and I saw potential. I immediately grabbed my camera and snapped as many pics as I could. I felt like a paparazzo. Except instead of celebrities, I was stalking seagulls. Hmmmm… doesn’t have the same cachet.

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EATING IN LA: Seventeen Courses at Jitlada

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Back in October of last year, I detailed a particularly enjoyable yet sweaty trip to Jitlada Thai Cuisine, a restaurant that is widely regarded as one of the best Thai eateries in Los Angeles. This is thanks in part to its unique Southern Thai menu whose famously delicious (and notoriously spicy) offerings have been well documented by Chowhound, Yelp, LA Weekly, and just about any enclave of the Internet prone to discussing such things. Needless to say, it’s an experience.
Well, after having checked out my perspiration-filled adventures at Jitlada, Tony at the food blog SinoSoul contacted me about getting together with a bunch of discerning bloggers for a full-on feast at the storied Thai restaurant. It sounded very exclusive, and as one might expect, I thrive on exclusivity. Throw in the opportunity to sample the sundry items of Jitlada’s menu, and I was sold. Little did I realize that I would soon be spending nearly four hours in a chair, stuffing my face with seventeen different courses of food, the majority of which were spicy enough to send my regulatory system into overdrive on at least three or four different occasions.
In other words, it was awesome. Pictures and details after the jump…

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LOST RECAP RECAP: Confusing Things Happen, and It All Ends in Plagiarism

Are you excited to read my first ever Lost recap??? Well, sorry. I don’t have one. I don’t watch it. But many people do, and many people recap it, including some douche named Seanie B., who does such a good job that TV Guide has put him on the air to discuss his theories on the show. One problem: the guy is a fraud. FEED HIM TO THE SMOKE MONSTER!
Yes, it appears as though Seanie B. lifts his on-air commentary directly off the blogosphere, and as the video above demonstrates, he is absolutely shameless. So why do I care about this? At first I didn’t. I chalked it up to fanboys getting excitable over polar bears or numbers or time travel, etc.. But then as I watched the video, I was fairly blown away by Seanie B’s ballz as he simply lifted thoughts, ideas, and words right off some poor lady’s website. If that happened to me, I’d be pissed.
So in the spirit of vigilance and justice, check out the video (it’s annoying at first, but you’ll get used to it) and enjoy this guy’s awfulness.
As for Lost — hey, maybe I should start watching and photocap it, just for the heck of it. I’m sure I’d royally piss off everyone with my newbie perspective.
Thanks to A Bristling Son for the link…

HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: The Continued Erosion of Kelly's Likability

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“Now I’m a lowercase ‘L’.”

It’s funny how bland and boring Kelly Bensimon was at the beginning of this second season of The Real Housewives of New York City. Who would have thought she’d shape up to be the most despised character in the group? I thought she’d simply flit around for a few weeks, serving as nothing more than blotchy-skinned eye candy before being relieved of her duties by Andy Cohen at the end of the run. Ah, but Kelly has shown her true colors recently, and we’ve since come to learn that she fairly awful in all aspects of life. Whether she’s conducting an interview like a seventh grader, clogging up traffic with her jogging, or engaging in illogical bitching, Kelly has been across the board terrible. Last night’s episode was no exception as she threw a Halloween party and then didn’t show up until perhaps two hours after the start-time, thus forcing all the housewives who had shown up — LuAnn, Alex & Simon, Jill & Bawwby (and their bodyguard, who was curiously in costume too), and Bethenny — to stand there and wait in what looked like a very cramped and very stuffy space. Poor Simon must have been sweating in his moose costume, but then again, that’s his fault for wearing such a silly outfit. I know he and Alex were over the moon with their Sarah Palin / Moose gettup, but a) it wasn’t terribly original for 2008, and b) I totally agree with whichever housewife said they thought it was Rocky & Bullwinkle. That’s exactly what I thought it was. Nevertheless, the point is that these people were stuck waiting around, and the party could not have looked more awful. And on top of that, there was a cash bar! Really? Really?
Look, I know in this economy, not everyone can afford to host an open bar, but rather than waste a few thousand dollars taking a picture of yourself as the letter “A,” why don’t you send out a cyber invitation (better for the environment anyway) and divert the saved funds to the libations. Or better yet, since there was already a tequila sponsor for the party (note the branding on the red carpet), have THEM offer up an open bar. This isn’t rocket science. As many of the women noted, it was a bit shocking that Kelly would lend her name to this half-assed, narcissistic event and not a major charity function.
Plus, when Kelly did finally turn up, she was wearing a rather standard, rather simple Playboy bunny costume. She claimed she was late because getting ready for the party took super long, but it’s not like she had to lower herself into a six-foot tall mechanical contraption with flashing lights and exploding sparklers. All she had to do was put on some lingerie and brush her hair. Lame.
Anyway, I’m a bit rushed this morning; so let’s just get to the photocap, shall we? Pics after the jump…

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