The Bachelor: My Guilty Pleasure

So here it is...the inevitable post about my favorite "reality" show: The Bachelor.  Let's be honest, we all have our guilty pleasure show.  Whether it's Wife Swap or Real World/Road Rules Challenge,  we all have that one show that we hate to admit we love to watch.  I've been a Bachelor fan since season one oh so many years ago (I belive this is currently season 14 or something).  And while I prefer watching the endless parade of ridiculous man-candy on The Bachelorette over the catty, back-stabbing drama queens on The Bachelor, I don't discriminate.  I watched Trista and Ryan meet and make Bachelor history with their marriage; I watched Brad dump not only one but both of his final girls; I watched Jillian be completely manipulated by the country-singing dog Wes; and now, for the past however many weeks, I have watched pretty dull but nice guy Jake be fought over by many trashy, annoying and downright crazy women.  It's like a car accident--I just can't look away.

Next week is the finale, where Jake will choose between the beady-eyed, hated-by-everyone Vienna, and Tenley, the girl who is so sweet it's like she fell out of a Disney movie as one of the girls put it.  As is tradition with the episode before the finale, last night was "The Women Tell All" special, where all the women Jake dumped get to come back, talk about how devastated they are and trash on each other.  Quality television if you ask me.  For you non-Bachelor watchers, the scandal of the season was Rozlyn, who was kicked off the show for sleeping with one of the producers while she was chasing after Jake with the rest of the girls.  Classy.  Rozlyn was in attendance and continued to deny that anything happened with the producer, even though multiple girls confirmed that they saw them together and the producer himself confessed and was subsequently fired.  Yes Rozlyn, we totally believe that everyone is lying except you.  Because that makes perfect sense.  She then continued to make herself look even worse when she accused the lovable host Chris Harrison of hitting on said producer's wife sometime back.  Again, classy.

Also in attendance was Ali, the girl who had to choose between keeping her job and staying on the show, ultimately choosing to keep her job.  I'm sorry, I know Ali was at times bitchy and whiney, but at least she has some sense.  Having a career and being able to pay my bills or unemployment and a 25% chance of getting the final rose?  I'm with Ali on this one...although I'm willing to bet she'll "choose love" when they inevitably offer her the chance to be the next bachelorette.  Which we all know is coming. 

After various other (crazy and trashy) women got their chance to talk, the man of the hour finally came on stage.  When Harrison asked Jake if he's happy, he delivered a less than enthusiastic "yes," leaving viewers to ponder the hidden meaning behind his emotionless response.  And so ends the two hour segment, with an actually pretty funny gag reel and a look ahead at next week's oh-so dramatic finale.  We're nearly at the finish line. 

So who do you think Jake chooses?  Will it be public enemy #1 Vienna or sickly-sweet Tenley?  My money is on Vienna unfortunately.  And what did you think about the "reunions" with previous Bachelor and Bachelorette losers contestants?  This show just gets better and better.   

Confessions of a Movie Buff: My Oscar Shame

With the Oscars less than two weeks away, many are speculating as to which movies will take home the coveted golden statues this year.  In London yesterday, the BAFTA's top honor of Best Picture went to The Hurt Locker, which also took home four other awards including Best Director, while mega-blockbuster Avatar only took home two (I still think it's hilarious that these two front-runners are directed by ex-spouses James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow).  For our own Academy Awards, this is the first year that there are 10 films up for Best Picture instead of the usual five.  The list goes: (full list of nominations here)

Avatar
The Blind Side
The Hurt Locker
Precious
District 9
Up
An Education
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
Inglorious Basterds 

I have to say that this is also the first year where I would genuinely like to see each of these movies (maybe with the exception of District 9, which just didn't look that appealing).  Sadly, the only one on this list that I did manage to see (and buy) is Disney/Pixar's Up, which had me crying and laughing within the first 20 minutes.  Not since Beauty and the Beast in 1991 has an animated film been nominated for Best Picture, and Up certainly deserves the honor.  I never did get to see Sandra Bullock's first Oscar-nominated performance in The Blind Side (I'm a sucker for football movies) or Twilight's Anna Kendrick make her real-movie debut alongside George Clooney in Up in the Air.  I wasn't even one of the millions that helped Avatar become the highest grossing film of all time, beating Cameron's previous record with Titanic.

Shame on me...and I call myself a movie buff.

Blame the insanely high price of movie theater tickets these days, but 2009 definitely takes the cake as the year I went to the theater the least.  With Red Box charging only a dollar a night to rent a DVD, waiting a few months to save $10 per movie is just far more appealing to me (college student with limited funds here).  I did manage to catch several other movies with Oscar-nominated performances using this system, such as Meryl Streep's spot-on and hilarious turn as Julia Child in Julie & Julia (someone give this woman another Oscar already...who cares which movie, she's great in anything).

Hopefully once the statues have been handed out, the hype has died down and the DVDs start rolling onto the shelves, I'll be able to say that I've seen all ten of these highly-acclaimed movies (And yes, I'm aware that seeing Avatar on the small screen is a waste of cinematographic wonder...I'll deal with it). Until then, I'll just keep blindly guessing as to which one will take home the big Oscars, and happily cheer when Up ultimately wins Best Animated Film.

What are your predictions?

Book vs. Nook: A Skeptic's Take on the E-Reader

As you can tell, I am someone who loves books.  Everyone has their own personal "kid in a candy store" comparison, and for me, it's a book store.  When I walk into one, I am silently mesmerized by all that sits before me.  I will wander up and down the aisles, gazing at the shelves of seemingly limitless options, drawn to eye-catching covers and creative title fonts that pull me in like a moth to a flame.  I will pick up various books, reading back covers to get a feel for each before choosing to place it back or tuck it under my arm while I continue to browse.  I love the feeling of opening a new book, stretching out the spine, devouring each word and escaping to a new place within the pages.  Going to the book store is by far one of my favorite things to do, as most people who know me can tell you.  

And it is because of this love for reading, that my mom gave me a very thoughtful and intriguing gift for Christmas: a nook.  The Barnes and Noble equivalent of the Kindle, the nook is an e-reader about the size and weight of a paperback book.  I'll admit that when they first came out, I was skeptical.  How could I go from reading lovely, physical text, to reading a computer screen?  All the hype and excitement, and I wasn't convinced.

It wasn't until I actually got one that I came around to the idea of an e-reader and realized its benefits.  I don't know how they did it, but the screen actually looks like a page, as if written in ink.  Turning it to the side, there is no glare like on a computer screen.  Books download in a matter of seconds, and with the touch of a finger I can flip through the many covers in the online store.  The size makes it easy to tote around, allowing me to bring several books with me anywhere I go, regardless of the size of the book or my purse.  And anyone who has been in my room before knows that I'm running out of shelf space.  The nook allows me to buy and read the books that I want to read, but maybe don't plan on reading again or don't want taking up space on my crowded shelves.  Win-win.

So while I'll never give up my obsession with book stores or the comforting feeling of holding a book in my hand, it seems that lately I'm never without my nook.  I keep it tucked safely in its case, the latest just-for-fun read recently downloaded, patiently waiting for my next walk on the treadmill or rush hour commute, ready to go with the touch of a button.     

"You Had Me at Hello"...Well, Hopefully.

Okay, here is it. After spending hours deciding on a name, getting acquainted with the platform, rewritting the "About Me" blurb and making pages for my favorite books, movies and TV shows, I'm finally writing my first post. My first steps into the blogging world are about to commence.

When I signed up for a class in New Media during my last semester at BU, I probably should have guessed that I'd have to write a blog. When it was eventually assigned, I had two thoughts: 1) What on Earth am I going to write about and 2) who on Earth will care or be interested in what I'm writing?

The first question was easier to answer than I expected. As I talk about in that "About Me" blurb I spent too much time on (which really isn't that spectacular because I eventually realized most people won't even look at it), I landed on the most obvious topic choice for this self-professed EW.com addict: pop-culture. I always say to my roomates that if I could only get rid of the thousands of useless book and movie trivia/quotes that are residing in my head, I'd have a lot more room for the things I'm actually required to learn for class. Or, I can just channel it all into this blog.

The second question, asking myself who on Earth will care what I have to say about pop-culture, isn't as easily answered. Maybe it will only be my friends and family, who will be forced to at least pretend to read and comment on my blog so that I can get a good grade on this project (hint hint). But even if it is just those people who already (supposedly) find me interesting, at least I know it will be easy to write.

So here it begins, my journey into the blogosphere. Prepare for my random musings on my favorite (and not-so-favorite) books, movies and TV shows, and of course, various other thoughts on the latest news and current trends in the world of pop-culture.