It's Back

30 Rock is back! Thoughts?

My favorite part about it being back - related twits from Kate, like this gem:


@breimels "You've got cheesy blasters! Thanks meat cat!" This makes me miss
you... so much.

See it for yourself:

Not So Perfect?

This article is just sort of sad. Makes you rethink all those crazy, happy moments on one of the more popular (maybe with just quirky kids) sitcoms from my childhood.

So this is what the future looks like?

Watch Jeopardy? If you do, you might notice that for the show's 26th season, a new set was unveiled. I was no fan of the Moose lodge, wood-paneled set of a few years ago but this new set takes the cake. It's as if the set designers took the mindset of 1940's engineers who tried to imagine what the future would look like. We know how that turned out.

Need A Pick-Me-Up?

Whitney Houston is back, and this is a good thing. No more crack, no more Bobby Brown, and no more reality shows.

Watch. Listen. Welcome Back.

Remembering Stephen Huczko

There's no one way (or an easy way) to remember someone who died on September 11, 2001. Being a part of Project 2996, however, I'm trying to do my small part to make sure that Stephen Huczko's memory is not forgotten.

Stephen Huczko was a police officer for fifteen years, working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Stephen was headquartered in Jersey City, an arm's length away from the World Trade Center. As the attacks ensued that day, Stephen and other members of the Port Authority police force rushed into the lobby of the North Tower, but never made it back out. Stephen, thinking only of others at that time, was attempting to save a female civilian stuck in the lobby.

Remembering Stephen's heroic actions on that day only serves to memorialize part of his life. Stephen lived in Bethlehem, New Jersey, with his wife Kate, and their four children, Kaitlyn, Liam, Cullen, and Aidan. Stephen was an exceptional public servant, having been part of the rescue efforts at the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and when an airliner crashed at Newark Airport. Stephen was also part of a Port Authority Pipe and Drum Band.

We will always remember Stephen's heroic efforts that day, when trying to save every last person from those towers. We will never forget him, or the others who died that day. I only hope my short posting on Stephen honors his memory.

A Word About Tomorrow

I have signed up our blog to be a participant in Project 2996, which invites bloggers from around the world to remember one person who died on September 11, 2001.

A Blog About Thangs has been selected to remember Stephen Huczko. I will do my best to honor his memory tomorrow.

Want To Feel Important?

Want to know what Kate and I feel like most days? Want to understand the mental games the law plays with you?

Then play Supreme Decision!

"This is the defining thing of my life. It's not gonna be that hit-and-run!"

With the Fall 2009 TV season right around the corner, Kate and I are promising to blog about more thangs, more frequently, since TV makes up about 75% of our posts. We made this blog to talk about thangs, and that's what we shall do!

Any suggestions on what to write about?

Maybe We Helped?

I don't know the extent of the influence of "Thangs" but I'm assuming our multi-part series on Perez Hilton may have caused this:

Hilton's snarky comments, insinuating that the King of Pop was faking his ailment, was too much for Jackson fans, especially after losing him moments later. The post, which has since been deleted, caused Hilton's more than 1.8 million followers Thursday to dwindle down to 1.1 million as of Tuesday night.

It Gets Better

I don't usually enjoy Gawker, but this posting can't be beat. Perez just can't help himself lately.

Pretty much reposting the entire thing here:

Today one of the biggest stars in the history of the world died. How did the internet's self-proclaimed "Queen of all Media" respond? By accusing Michael Jackson of faking the whole thing.

In the last hour Perez Hilton has taken down the photo shown here and amended his original post so he doesn't look as bad, but here's the text of what he originally posted.

We knew something like this would happen!!

Michael Jackson was taken by ambulance from his Holmby Hills home to a nearby Los Angeles hospital on Thursday afternoon!!

Supposedly, the singer went into cardiac arrest and the paramedics had to administer CPR!!!

His mother is even on the way to visit him!!!

We are dubious!!

Jacko pulled a similar stunt when he was getting ready for his big HBO special in ‘95 when he "collapsed" at rehearsal!

He was dragging his heels on that just like his upcoming 50 date London residency at the 02 Arena, of which he already postponed the first few dates!!!

Either he's lying or making himself sick, but we're curious to see if he's able to go on!!!

Get your money back, ticket holders!!!!

After Jackson was pronounced dead, Hilton took down the photo and edited the text down to these three sentences:

Michael Jackson was taken by ambulance from his Holmby Hills home to a nearby Los Angeles hospital on Thursday afternoon!!

The singer went into cardiac arrest and the paramedics had to administer CPR!!!

His mother is even on the way to visit him!!!

Meanwhile, the Matthew Shepard Foundation rejected Hilton's offer to donate whatever money he receives from a lawsuit against Black Eyed Peas manager Polo Molina. Here is the statement they released this afternoon:

The Matthew Shepard Foundation was surprised to learn this morning via media reports that blogger Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira) has announced he plans to donate, to our organization, the proceeds of a lawsuit he is contesting over an altercation which has been widely reported in recent days.

We had no advance notice or contact from Mr. Hilton or his representatives regarding this proposal, nor any communication since he posted this plan to his website.

We do not know the details of the lawsuit, whether it has been filed, the nature of his claims or the likely outcome. But because the lawsuit presumably involves the physical attack prompted by Mr. Hilton's admitted use of an anti-gay slur, the Foundation will be unable to accept any funds obtained in such a manner.

We very much appreciate the generosity of the offer to support our continuing work to memorialize Matthew through activism in defense of sexual minorities and in favor of understanding, compassion, and acceptance. But because so much of our work involves education to reduce the use of hateful language against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, or those so perceived, it would be inappropriate for us to benefit financially from circumstances in which such a verbal attack was involved.

While we applaud Mr. Hilton's apology to the LGBT community and their loved ones for his use of such a slur, we also feel compelled to point out that use of epithets can often lead to physical violence, as it appears it may have in this case, and that the Matthew Shepard Foundation has worked for more than 10 years to bring to people's attention the consequences of hateful or inolerant language.

Judy Shepard
Chair, MSF Governing Board

How much longer before Hilton's advertisers begin to flee his hideously tarnished brand?

He Knows A Good Story When He Sees One

Perez continues to milk this story for everything it's worth. Now, he's suing. I guess he needs to maintain some sense of righteousness, even though most (read: 90%) of the Twitter and blog postings and celeb gossip sites I have visited have come down hard on him. Time is running out!

I'm Thinking No On This One

Hey Perez, and this Newsweek lady, I'm thinking it might be a stretch comparing the Perez-Will.i.am situation to a battered/abused wife scenario. Just a bit.

Update: I also heart this guy. Best line: "Forget the rich and famous, if you are a human being, Perez Hilton makes you look bad, no MS Paint necessary."

Another Reason to Love Kelly Clarkson

Part 3 in our ongoing Perez series.

An Alternative to the Worst!

This has got to stop....


I encourage anyone who reads this to STOP reading Perez Hilton's website or subscribing to anything he profits from or gains publicity from.

However, I don't think anyone should be deprived of adorable pictures of Suri and Shiloh or miss out on up to the minute pictures of the casts of High School Musical and Gossip Girl. The internet is a gift, and we should be using it for all it's worth! But, let's all band together and save society from this Perez Hilton guy... he's dragging us down.

The Alternative....
People need celebrity news. And if you're not already, you should be getting yours from Just Jared.

http://justjared.buzznet.com/

I love this Jared guy. He is consistently positive and uplifting. He has all the same pictures as any other website and he offers lots more information about the pictures (not just drawing icky things on them and calling women every variation of 'slut' he can come up with... ew.).

Is Tila Right?

Yes, that Tila Tequila (you know who). She has started an "unfollowPerezHilton" campaign on Twitter after Perez's recent scuffle with Will.i.am and his bodyguard. Whatever your thoughts on the whole fight are, Perez's "explanation" of the fight is nearly laughable - much like his defense of employing slurs towards others.

I'd never thought I'd see the day when I would say (let alone blog) that I agree with Ms. Tequila.

Happy Father's Day!

This one's for you, Brian.
I wish I had a picture of your killer impersonation of this Father, but this will have to do. :)

I want these.

I saw these little gems through Justin Timberlake's blog. (Isn't the internet great?)

I'm not a huge fan of stationary; although, I'd say I'm a moderate fan. And I'm only a moderate fan of ironic humor on stationary. But, somehow, I think these are awesome.

With this stamp I could simultaneously tell someone "Congratulations!" and "Go to Hell!" Perfect.

And I think this one would be an excellent birthday present for Matt. (It is coming up...)


With this, after someone meets Matt and he gives them his card, they can instantly evaluate him! Again, perfect.

TGIF?

I am about to have a major "Cathy" weekend. Pretty much my entire weekend is stacked with events that generally require a 'plus one.' And yet, I will be attending them solo. (Take that, Society!)

My life is one long Cathy cartoon. She is my inspiration. Ack! Sweatdrops!

Thursdays without 30 Rock....

Here's something that warms my heart now that there is no hilarity beamed to my living room/heart on Thursday nights.


Apparently Tracy Morgan is filming a movie with Bruce Willis called "A Couple of Dicks." Who knows what that means (I, for one, am hoping for a buddy-detective movie, and not something semi disgusting, but I'll pay to see it either way).

On that note (Bruce Willis), I just recently saw the first 3 Die Hards... amazing! Why did it take me so long to see those?? Two thumbs, way up!

People Magazine Hates K-Hud.

This is the picture that the folks over at People Magazine (and people.com) have used over and over again, anytime they reference a possible romance between A-Rod and K-Hud. Is it me, or is this the worst picture of Kate Hudson EVER? (And the best picture ever of A-Rod... I usually think he looks like an icky, guido/permanent spring breaker.) Could it be that Madonna is controlling the photo editors over at People Mag? Something is up because clearly they have something against Kate Hudson.

(Disclaimer: I realize this may not be totally blog-worthy, but I had to get it out there.)

The Way to Kate's Heart

YouTube videos of young conservatives rapping.



And this one (mostly for the profile description on his YouTube Page):

Education Gap Found?

Could this video for SchoolRightNow.com be why there are so many problems with our education system? Honestly. Honestly. I know it's trying to do well, but come on, leave it to guidance counselors and teachers and not pop-jazz jingles and trashy websites.

Weekend Plans Set

Take your pick of TV marathons this holiday weekend.

"Mad Science . . . Dropped on the Snuggie"

Witty and informative (with pop-up humor!)

New Favorite Website

It's easy to report on gossip relating to celebrities, movies, music, politics and the such, but it takes a certain knack to get all the juicy TV related gossip just right. TVtattle.com is my constant source of all things TV, chuck full of show recaps, gossip, and all sorts of random YouTube clips, news items, and other links to keep you busy in the afternoon (I found that the site usually updates around 2:00-3:00pm daily, with occasional updates later that day and early in morning).

You also have to appreciate the vintage photo of Ally McBeal the site uses in its logo.

Dowd Gets Hers...again

I think I like this article most about Maureen Dowd's plagiarism, surprisingly from The Atlantic magazine, which lambasts her excuse that she remembered the quote from a conversation she had with a third party.

And I like this unflattering picture of her as well:

Kate was so right.

So, someone else is obsessed with 30 Rock...

Everything Tracy Jordan said this season. Everything.

Everybody Calm Down! UPDATED

As a Republican, I've been called things that even Rosie O'Donnell would find inappropriate. I respect other people's opinions, and hope that they would return the favor. Which is why I despise responses such as Perez Hilton's in the current Miss USA overblown gay marriage saga.

First, Miss California's response to the question:



Perez's crazy response to that:



Announcing a position held by a majority of people in this country (or at least close to it) is divisive, but calling someone a "stupid b@tch" isn't? Oy.

Which brings me to the appropriate 30 Rock quote:

Tracy: I got to do something important so my children will respect me. Like be a Senator, or a wizard.

Dot Com: Or you can open a school in Africa like Oprah.

Tracy: Everyone calm down!

Update: Evidently, he's taking back his "apology" and would have rather used the "c-word." Mmm Mmm Classy.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

There's a Bar Crawl for Everything These Days

I love bar crawls (correction: I love any group oriented social drinking activity). But it's especially fun donning a specific color, costume, or t-shirt and drinking your head off around a city.

I recently participated in the World's Largest Bar Crawl in honor of St. Patrick's day (please take a look at the many trashy pictures on this site), and while it was crowded and slightly cold, I had a blast drinking with thousands of other history seekers. The point of that bar crawl was to have at least one drink at a minimum of 10 bars and have a bartender sign off on a card they provided to you at the beginning of the crawl. We, of course, took this quite seriously. Along with four other friends, we championed ourselves to 13 different bars, surpassing the minimum, and obtaining 4 completed bar crawl cards with ten different bars listed in the process.

We felt like we were part of something special, something greater than ourselves. We were wrong. When we dropped off our completed cards the next day, this is how it went down:

Bartender: You guys here for the crawl?
Me/Matt: No, we did it yesterday. We wanted to drop off our cards.
Bartender: Oh, you guys actually did that? You made it to ten bars?
Me/Matt: I think we actually made it to like 13.
Bartender: Wow, we like usually never get any of these cards back.

I felt touched.

Maybe this is the type of bar crawl I need to be a part of. I feel like these people might appreciate community drinking in large quantities. That's the camaraderie I was looking for.

Take That, Professional TV Critics!

It feels good to be right. It feels even better to blog about it. Despite their naysaying (Are we in Horseville?), 30 Rock's ratings have steadily improved this year (Jennifer Anniston's horrible episode, notwithstanding).

Here's hoping that Amy Poehler's new comedy does well - so I can stick it to the man again.

Better than a Snuggie?

I'll take mine in gray, please. Comments?

Best Scene from 30 Rock All Season

I literally had to stop laughing to prevent from passing out last night watching the final scene from 30 Rock. If this doesn't convince people that this is without a doubt the best show on TV, I don't know what else I can do.

And, also, the following people suck: Margaret Lyons (wasn't as funny as past episodes, really? (okay, you only sort of suck)), Kevin D. Thompson (douchey line from the get go: "You know a 30 Rock episode is in trouble when Adam West – yes, that Adam West! – is the show’s highlight."), Rohin Guha (douchey line, second paragraph: "What was once a character-driven comedy accented with witty jokes is now a shadow of its former self, running on an engine of cheap shots and caricatures.").

There are more out there. I will find you.

New York is Back!

I'm not sure if Kate is on board with Tiffany Pollard, a/k/a New York, from Flavor of Love fame. Anyone who knows me understands that I adore her, and each of her six (if I counted right) reality shows for Vh1. Her most recent, New York Goes to Hollywood, was blogged about here.

Well, she's back, and couldn't have picked a better concept. Viewers get to pick a job each week that New York will try out. Amazing. The only way the concept could be better was if law school or attorney would appear as a possibility.

So This Made a Brief Comeback

Remember Brittany Murphy? Sure you do. Where has she been these past few years? Not a clue.

Anyway, Monday night, Amy was introduced to a new group of people. When asked what celebrity she is often mistaken for, she said Murphy. I thought, and eventually said out loud, Amy Sedaris, which immediately drew some odd faces. Sorry, I think she's adorable, much like our own Amy.

More to the point - somehow Brittany Murphy's infamous line from "Don't Say A Word" made a brief, drunken comeback: "I'll never tell."

Cool story Jeopardy teen, I know.

But now, for your viewing pleasure (you can skip to 2:14, and ignore most of Mr. Catherine Zeta-Jones).



Update: My F-it list is coming soon!

Loving this fish!

I thought this was extremely annoying at first, but now I can't seem to get enough of the talking wall fish. I remember when those things were big back in the late 90s, and I'm so glad that McDonald's decided to bring back those fond memories. Getting me to buy a Filet-o-fish, however, still not likely.

2 St Patrick's Day videos!

I love both these videos...

"Who all seen the leprechaun, say yeah!!" Classic.



Also... anyone remember the movie "Leprechaun"??? Starring Jennifer Aniston? I saw that movie when I was about 10, even though I was way too young and semi scarred for life (thanks for the good parenting, Mom and Dad.). I won't put any of the movie clips up, just in case anyone else out there was similarly scarred. But here is Wayne's much more PG take on the Leprechaun's catch phrase.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

F-It List!

On this blog, Brian and I have both made our own "Bucket Lists," cataloging the things we are determined to do before we die. Well, since we made those lists, America has plummeted into A Great Recession/Depression, The Bachelor pulled the D-Bag move of the century (loser), and there hasn't been an episode of Gossip Girl in like 6 weeks... what is happening in the world?

So it's time to make a different list. The F-it List! A list of the of things we just don't care about doing. I once thought I had to do these things, that they were somehow important to life. I've changed my mind. Here are some of mine...


1. Learn how to ride a horse.



2. Be a person who loves sunsets/sunrises. (I hate when people talk about either one of these things. Lame, right?! Combine this with #1.... my nightmare.)



3. Learn CPR. (Dangerous? Maybe. We'll see.)










4. Go on a mission for God. (I use to think I would do in my adult life what most high school church youth groups did. No thanks.)




5. Try hard drugs. (I saw the movie Blow in high school and thought... yes! Hopefully this change of heart will save me after God sees #4.)












6. Become knowledgeable about wines. (In fact, I am determined not to learn anything about wine/wine culture. If I ever take that trip to Napa Valley, I refuse to learn anything.)

7. See all the Oscar movies in a given year. (The only movies I saw that were nominated for any Oscars this year were The Dark Knight (three months later than the rest of the world) and Doubt (and that was not my choice, however, it totally got robbed in all categories). That being said, I don't regret any of my movie choices this year. Deal with it, Benjamin Button.)




8. Get a tattoo. (Only because I know I'll never be able to decide what to get.)












9. Be able to perform a tumbling pass. (This is both a physical impossibility and just not worth it.)

10. Support a professional sports team.









After all of those things that I don't care about doing. I want to add 1 thing to my bucket list...
1. Coach a team. (Just trying to keep this posting KIPMIF!)

Am I The Only One Who Knows This?

Tonight's American Idol features Von Smith as the first singer of the final group of 12. This is the same Von Smith who tore it up (not in a good way) on The View during the Rosie O'Donnell days (remember those swell days?) when he performed "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going." (And yes, that's him on The View above. They put his name in lights. I have a doctorate. He butchered a song on national TV. Where's the justice?).

If the judges saw that performance, or the viewers, he wouldn't be on tonight's show. WTF media? Pick this story up!

Von on The View:

I'm Sure This Is Helping...

Like Kate lambasted fatty Maureen Dowd for making a huge issue out of Tina Fey's former frumpiness in high school, our esteemed President has taken it one step further and denounced Jessica Simpson's recent weight struggle (or ill-advised jean purchase) when interviewed by Matt Lauer.

As if Jessica Simpson didn't have enough to worry about in the press (The Soup and The Dish did great reviews of the press coverage over the last week), now our President has to get a few laughs in at her expense? Better hope his kids don't gain the freshmen fifteen down the road. Dad will be none too pleased.

The Soup recaps:

The President disses:

LAUER: And here’s a great picture —
OBAMA: Oh, it’s beautiful.
LAUER: — of — of you and — and Michelle and — and your daughters. Now, the — the reason I bring this up I think is funny. It’s a great picture.
OBAMA: Yeah.
LAUER: But I wanna show you the cover. Look what they did. They — they took you off the cover.
OBAMA: Yeah.
LAUER: They took you out of it.
OBAMA: It — it’s — it’s a little hurtful.
LAUER: You got replaced by Jessica Simpson.
OBAMA: Yeah, who’s losing a weight battle apparently. (LAUGHTER) Yeah. Oh, well.

Things I Don't Get. Part 1 of 245786

Do I complain a lot? It may seem so, but maybe there are a lot of things I just don't get in life. Here are two recent examples.

Old People Texting
What is with this? I remember when I texted my mom once (and she's no spring chicken - love you!), and about 30 seconds later I received a call from her saying "Brian, I think my phone is broken." Enough said? You would think so.

Often Matt receives texts from his mother (God love her) with odd spacing, odd capital letters in the middle of words (a la tweens on MySpace who spell their names like this AsHlEiGh (I guess it's a girl from Boulder, but I digress)) and often times just doesn't make sense which then necessitates a phone call. Frustration level = 8.5.

Gym Attire

There are two types of people I don't get here. The first is the guy (and the occasional girl, at least from my experience) who gets dressed up to go to the gym. In a single day, I saw a duo of gentlemen in fashionista Puma shoes (one pair was silver), tight-ish sweat pants (think Juicy sweatpants but for men) and long-sleeve, high thread count, high-quality workout shirts. If these fools weren't going to the gym, they'd be set for a night out on the town. Who are you trying to impress by dressing up at the gym? The hottie next to you sweating like a prostitute in church? The middle-aged women speedwalking on the treadmill? Jeesh.



The second guy wears intentionally small tank tops and workout shorts so that we all can gaze at his guns and sculpted legs. No one is impressed that you know how to use the free weights or machines. In fact, no one wants to see you grab extra free weights from another station and place them on your machine, because that catwalk across the gym is oh so cool. And please, don't try to help me out and tell me how to use the weights. I know I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but that doesn't mean I need advice from you.

Bitterness, out!

I need new neighbors . . .

Kate, this one is for you! If you haven't stalked ew.com or thetvaddict.com, then you probably missed this. Get ready for February 5.

Baking, Jonn Hamm, Tina Fey, and creepy basement dwellers. Sitcom gold.

On Obama and Love

It's true. Kate and I are huge fans of this country. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Whatever happens, we stick through with her thick and thin.

We recognize the significance of the inauguration. We understand the strides that this country had made in the past 60 years.

That being said, can we please get back to reality (say, after Sunday)?


(That picture was on the first result page for a Google Image search for Obama - eek?) The love fest over the man, the myth, the legend that is Obama has been nothing short of astonishing. If only President Bush (my once and future King) or Britney Spears had half the positive coverage Obama had, they would be going down in history as the reincarnation of Jefferson and Hepburn and not Nixon and . . . well, Spears.I think Ann Coulter puts it best when she said in her most recent (and just read by yours truly):

"The media really wanted to screw Obama,but only in the sense that they wanted to have sex with him."

Beyond the media, my friends have gone bonkers (and I put that lightly). I realize that I'm in love with GWB, I get that. I can't help it. But....come on! I own no buttons, just a few old bumper stickers and some free photos I get in the mail. This year, I bought two $5 magnets for McCain. That's it. I have no Facebook profile pics of him, I didn't add "Hussein" as my middle name during the campaign, I didn't take time off from work to volunteer for him. But a lot of people did. Great for them. Now can I have my TV back?

So where does this leave us? Three days in, four years to go. And a whole lot of love left to give.

P.S. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to write about on this over the next four years. You've been warned.

From two proud Americans...

Brian and I LOVE the USA. It's one of the main things that binds us as life long friends/bloggers.

One of my favorite things about being an American is Martin Luther King Day. MLK is one of my favorite holidays, and MLK is one of my favorite Americans. This is a special MLK Day, because this year many people are starting to believe that Martin Luther King's dream has been fulfilled, and we finally live in a country where you are judged by the content of your character, not the color of your skin.

I also love this day because it allows me to spread my all time favorite quote all day long. Enjoy!

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -Martin Luther King, Jr.


(Despite all that hope and change, I would like to formally request Brian write an op-ed on Obamapalooza.)

I'm Sorry. I Called This Months Ago

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for finally getting inside my mind. I called this Keira Knightley addiction to period dramas about three to four months ago as The Duchess was being released. I remember distinctly telling Matt how fed up I was over her decision, time and again, to play the same role in the same movie. And every time the commercial played, I repeated my frustration. Clearly the girl is a gifted actress, why not expand the playing field?

I get that she loves period pieces because she likes "the fact that you can completely dive in to a total fantasy — because it’s total escapism." How about escaping from costumes five times bigger than your body and wigs topped with baby powder (or at least that's how they did it in high school. I assume Hollywood has slightly more advanced wigs)? Get a grip/career.

Looking for a late bday gift for Brian?

Brian, do you love this? Or do you LOVE this?

Two great videos.

If you don't have some kind of emotional response to this, you are wrong.



This one I can't explain. I love it. Is this a good song, or is it just me?



Happy 2009!