I’m happy to report that things were a touch more interesting this week on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. It’s still not scintillating TV, but at least I felt somewhat engaged this second episode. Most of the activity centered around either the Manzo kids (who are still winsome and utterly likable) or the modeling careers of Danielle and Teresa’s daughters. The latter girl showed us more of the same from last season: a creepy desire to WURK IT, despite being barely old enough to ride the kiddie rollercoaster at Six Flags. Danielle’s daughter Christine, however, truly has the goods to be a model (something I’ve actually believed since last year), and it seems as though that might be coming to fruition. None other than IMG Models signed the teen, and her first photo shoot was with the one and only Gilles Bensimon, ex-husband to New York housewife Kelly Bensimon. Say what you will, but this was actually a pretty big deal, and honestly, I was very happy about it. True, Danielle is a monster, but she is fiercely loyal to her daughters, who I imagine must have had a hard time dealing with all the crap this past year from both their mom’s fellow cast members as well as the media scrutiny as a whole. It’s nice to know that things are looking up for those girls, and it felt strangely satisfying to see Christine excel in modeling after Caroline claimed earlier in the episode that she and her sister both looked dead in the eyes. (Maybe they look dead in the eyes because they’re SCARED OF YOU). Continue reading “REAL HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: Model Behavior”
JOURNEY OF THE PRESERVED LEMONS: Chapter 1 — It Begins
Sometime a year ago, I read an article or a blog post about preserving lemons, and the process intrigued me. A few days later, I bought a jar from Ikea and planned to pickle my own bundle of citrus, but as is often the case, extreme laziness overwhelmed me, and for many months now, the jar has stood empty (save for a two week impasse where it temporarily housed chocolate-covered espresso beans). Well, this weekend I sauntered over to the Hollywood Farmer’s market where I not only saw Coolio and Aisha Tyler, but several Meyer lemons. I’ve never actually had these prized lemons before, and if I have, I don’t remember the experience. All I know is that everyone — from Food Network personalities to Internet babblers — seems to adore these seasonal treats. Seeing them in abundance at the Farmer’s Market, I suddenly had my lightbulb moment. I would make preserved lemons from them! This was especially convenient since lately I’ve been yearning for a good tagine, and preserved lemons are an integral ingredient to such dishes. With perhaps a rabid ferociousness in my eyes, I quickly scooped up ten lemons (the lady behind the counter then gave me an eleventh on the house), and soon I was back at my apartment, ready to start what will be a three week journey. A journey.. OF THE PRESERVED LEMONS!
Continue reading “JOURNEY OF THE PRESERVED LEMONS: Chapter 1 — It Begins”
Betty White Shines on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Also, Three Unaired Skits!
At long last, Betty White took center stage as the host of last night’s Saturday Night Live, and I think everyone was both delighted and relieved that her stint proved to be one of the best, if not the best, of the season. With so much hype around the Golden Girl’s appearance, it would have been a major disappointment had the episode turned out to be a bore.
Lorne Michaels wasn’t about to let that happen though. For this special installment, he recruited a gaggle of the show’s best comediennes from the past ten years to join White on stage: Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, and Molly Shannon (noticeably absent: Cheri Oteri). The infusion of energy from this extended cast elevated the material, especially as many of the former cast members resurrected some of their beloved characters and bits from their tenure. It all added up to an hour and a half of great TV, and for once, it seemed like we weren’t watching a sketch show but a party. Throw in the nonstop stream of Tweets and Facebook updates starting at 8:30 PM out here in California, and it felt like a party everyone was invited to (not to cheese out too much).
Of course, watching all those wonderfully talented actresses on stage, it truly underscored some of the deficiencies of the current cast. It’s hard to take lightweights like Abby Elliot, Jenny Slate, and Nasim Pedrad seriously when stacked next to the likes of Molly Shannon and Amy Poehler (to be fair, Pedrad shows the most potential of the group, but still, the only recent female recruit since Kristen Wiig to show breakout talent has been Michaela Watkins, and NBC axed her for no good reason — still angry). Nevertheless, I suppose what we can take away from the experience is that when there’s a host who truly inspires the writers and a talented cast who can bring the material to life, Saturday Night Live can still shine. And when there’s not, well, we’re stuck with Will Forte singing at the Weekend Update desk.
For now though, let’s continue to bask in last night’s show. It was so frequently interrupted by spates of applause that several skits were cut from the telecast. Fear not though. NBC has placed them online. After the jump, the return of Debbie Downer, “Bronx Beat,” and Helen Madden, licensed joyologist. (Sadly, no Mary Katherine Gallagher).
Continue reading “Betty White Shines on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Also, Three Unaired Skits!”
Fun Features On The New B-Side Blog!
I have been totally thrilled with my experience thus far on WordPress, and not just because the readers can comment easily now. Adding functionality to the site is a breeze, and in the past three hours alone, I’ve added the sort of gizmos that would normally take me a week or more on Movable Type. Of course, that probably speaks more to my lack of proficiency with the platform than anything else, but the point is that I’ve been able to do so much more with the site, and now I want to share with you some of the new features, LEST MY WORK GOES UNHERALDED.
Info after the jump.
REAL HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: Introducing the Jill Zarin Scandalocity Monster!
There’s something exhilarating and yet sad about The Real Housewives of New York City. On the one hand, we’re witnessing the rush and thrill of intense reality TV feuding — a crazy car wreck that seems to only get worse week after week; sort of like a pileup on a foggy highway. On the other hand though, it’s sad. So very sad. It’s sad that we sit here and eat it all up. And it’s sad that these women don’t know how to handle themselves like adults. This week’s episode saw the simmering volcano that is Alex erupt spectacularly, bowling over Jill Zarin with a pyroclastic flow of pent up rage. It was an epic showdown full of screaming and finger pointing. Bethenny and Kelly’s argument last year looked demure in comparison. Truth be told, in a season full of bickering and blowouts, this was certainly the most heated and venomous. It was amazing.
Continue reading “REAL HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: Introducing the Jill Zarin Scandalocity Monster!”
I’m FREEEEEE!!!
Wonderful news: I got out of jury duty, and it’s a good thing too. Had I been selected, I would have been sitting on a trial where the charges were something like “Attempted Murder of a BABY” (emphasis mine, not California’s). Additionally, the defendant — Ruth Lopez — spoke no English, which meant there was a high probability that the proceedings would have taken that much longer, on account of the need for interpreters, etc.. The plus side was that the presiding judge was a regular comedian, and I frequently found myself chuckling at his many asides. However, as much as I enjoyed Judge Marcus’s comic timing, I’m much happier being free from the Los Angeles Superior Court system.
With my new (or regained) free time, I shall finally watch last night’s Real Housewives. Expect a photocap somewhat soon (I may take a recess to my pool as the weather in LA today is fairly orgasmic). In the meantime, check out this post by Heather Whaley, who was inspired by my brief yet intense civic duty.
Bonus points for those who know what the picture above is.
My Civic Duties Continue
Jury duty continues for me today. Please be patient! Gracias.
In the meantime, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic. Yea or neigh: rainbows. Beautiful or overhyped?
ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Ina Garten’s Coq Au Vin Edition
Bravo didn’t post any screen shots of last night’s Top Chef: Masters (an episode that featured a bride who looked like Carrie Underwood with giant boobs — or as I like to call her, Carrie Boobserwood), and so I figured I’d helm my own culinary minded post with yet another installment of Adventures in Domesticity. This time around I opted to veer from my typical Asian predilections and go more European. After all, I’d been craving chicken lately (odd, I know), and what better way to celebrate the bird than by attempting coq au vin for the very first time. It also helped that at least two of my friends (Meeshie and jash) had both recently and independently whipped up a batch of the dish, thus stoking my craving for it. For such a classically French dish, I would normally defer to a Julia Child recipe, but alas, my editions of Julia Child & Company and Julia Child & MORE Company (caps are mine, not hers) did not seem to have any coq au vin instructions (or at least I didn’t see them), and so I then headed straight for the Hamptons — metaphorically — and saw what Ina Garten had to say on the subject. Sure enough, she had a recipe on the Food Network website (as did Alton Brown and Tyler Florence, but I wasn’t about to trust them over Ina). A quick stop at Fresh & Easy later (and regrettably Ralph’s too), I was ready to go!
The only question was whether or not this version could live up to great one my mom used to make when I was a kid (um, I guess I could have asked her for her recipe, but sometimes logic escapes me).
Continue reading “ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Ina Garten’s Coq Au Vin Edition”
UGH: My Civic Duty Awaits
It’s official: I’ve been called for jury duty. I must report at the bizarrely early hour of 7:45 AM tomorrow morning. I didn’t know government workers could even open shop before 9 AM. I guess they can. Anyway, I’ll be preoccupied for most of tomorrow, but fear not! With any luck, I should be active on Twitter, and with even more luck, I won’t be placed on some lengthy criminal trial. Yes, I have to report to the Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, which means I may be up for something a bit more intense than a mere traffic violation. This will ONLY be acceptable if it’s a high profile celebrity case; although, if that were to happen, I suppose I’d be thrown out of the voir-dire process within seconds — what with me being a massively influential pop culture blogger and whatnot.
Developing…
ps. if you have nothing else to do, go check out Gravatar.com. You can get your own avatar there that can be used on this very site! What a wonderful way to spend seven minutes of your time!
REAL HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: Jersey Snore
The Real Housewives of New Jersey returned to the airwaves last night, thus marking the first time Bravo has inflicted on us two separate seasons of their now-trademark franchise at the same time. In theory, I love the idea of more Housewives, but in execution, I’m not totally thrilled. I think that’s in no small part because of all the Housewives, the NJ set has always seem the most dull. I know what you’re thinking — how can the ladies who brought us a table-flipping, curse-laden imbroglio ever be considered “dull?” Well, it’s easy to forget that leading up to that phenomenal final episode, most of the Garden State season was a bit slow. It coasted on a gentle current of pettiness, which occasionally bubbled over, but most of the time, we were stuck with Caroline Manzo doting over her children. Don’t get me wrong: I love Caroline (and Dina moreso), but I can certainly think of a few things more interesting than watching them wile away a summer in suburban bliss.
Some people praise the New Jersey group as the most authentic reality experience of the lot. They say that these women are less aspirational than their equivalents in other cities, and as such, they care more about family and friendship, not book deals and novelty singles. I suppose that’s true, but at the same time, just because they’re not careerist doesn’t mean they’re necessarily better. It’s hard to imagine much conflict between much of the cast because let’s face it, almost all of them are related. And so we’re back to square one this season: everyone hates Danielle, Danielle hates everyone, and eventually we’ll get to see some sort of epic blowout that will make me eat my words in four weeks’ time. Continue reading “REAL HOUSEWIVES PHOTOCAP: Jersey Snore”