Ok, now here is a great “reality” show idea! James Hetfield’s life NOW versus NOT SOBER. The big differences, the memories, the pain, the happiness. This is a show which will teach people a better way of life! MY GOD! It isn’t hard! I could think of a million better TV shows then what are out there! This man is an unbelievable talent and a personality! Why not feature people with REAL TALENT on reality shows and illustrate how life can be better and is better when you care about yourself and want to be better?

(Much better than Jersey Shore, Kardashians, and Real Housewives…) at least there is a lesson here, and we get to see some talent and purpose. Christ almighty! 

James Hetfield Quotes:

     “I like a women who’s got some balls, some strength. As long as I can beat her at arm wrestling, that’s fine.”

“Regret? That’s a screwed up word.”

Fame and Fortune doesn’t fill the hole a father leaves: (James Hetfield interview about a documentary he assisted with:  http://www.rockvillemusicmagazine.com/2011/03/james-hetfield-fame-and-fortune-doesnt.html

James Hetfield on being ”straight edge”:  http://doublecrosswebzine.blogspot.com/2010/05/james-hetfield-of-metallica-on-straight.html

I don’t know about you, but these shows disturb me beyond. Not only are these women completely ridiculous, but they behave like high school students. Is that why it is so interesting to America? What is so interesting about their everyday lives that it should be televised and given extreme media attention? What is wrong with our society that we make ingrates like this famous?

Since when is it ok to revere lower conscious behavior? These women need to be awakened big time to what really matters in life. I understand that they convey a reality to their geographical location based upon totally superficial values and material possessions, but to televise it and make it popular is a whole nother animal called the MEDIA, and there is a lot wrong with it!

I was talking to an esteemed psychologist yesterday about the degradation of our American ideals, and our society and how disturbing I felt the path is. People with very little experience in life or wisdom are holding key positions in media, television, and publishing. Therefore the quality of the work being produced, shown to America and creating trends in American is DUMBED DOWN, insulting and irritating at best! Is this really to be valued? This SHIT? Are you kidding me?

Between this, The Kardashians, The Real Housewives shows (which REAL must be ironic because there is nothing real about them), and Jersey Shore — REALLY AMERICA? Is this where we are heading? What a total and complete nightmare of a society! Why are we placing value on inexperience, youth (people who haven’t even found themselves yet), and creating celebrities out of them? Why is American buying into this and purchasing the magazines and watching the shows featuring these people?

They are all clones of one another! Why doesn’t America value individuality, genius, invention, and forward thinking? Are we going backwards instead of forward? TV needs a huge overhaul and America needs detoxification from STUPID! No wonder we are falling miserably behind in test scores in schools, and in invention and ingenuity! How EMBARRASSING!

I caught a glimpse of one episode of Beverly Hills Housewives and they were saying it’s all about the home, how big it is determines your worth. Wow… really? How terribly fucking sad for these people. For anyone. I mean how “hard” is life going to be when you don’t have to worry about having an ounce of responsibility because you depend totally upon your husband and his money? Or.. you depend on your ex husband’s alimony? Are you serious? How can I respect any of these women or better yet, how can America even take them seriously?

Macy, as Frank Gallagher

On to another subject: Shamless, the new series on Showtime. This show is pretty crazy and I am now seeing the value a bit now. It’s dirty, gritty, and realistic and William H. Macy is absolutely genius in it! The feel of this show reminds me of that movie about crystal meth with John Leguizamo, Spun. I remember leaving the cinema after seeing Spun and feeling like I needed a shower! Shameless is the similar, it’s uncomfortable, and shocking and the cast of characters are people that someone could definitely know dependant on what circles you come into contact with. The season opener had me indecisive about whether or not I would endorse the show, but the second episode hooked me. It’s tragic, grim, gritty and a little out of control. If you want to delve into the underworld of addiction and how it affects a family, check it out. It’s not for the conservative, that is for sure.

Here is a background write up from: The Hollywood Reporter (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/john-wells-shameless-network-shuffle-72068)

Showtime’s newest hit Shameless was a long time coming — eight years with stops at two other networks — for executive producer John Wells.
 
For Wells, the adaptation of the BBC series about a working-class family whose kids wind up parenting their drunk father, the bulk of getting Shameless to the small screen on Showtime started with a two-year process securing rights from the BBC series’ Channel Four and Company Pictures that creator Paul Abbott — an exec producer on the remake — didn’t own.

The series, which scored Showtime’s biggest series debut for a drama in seven years with 982,000 viewers for its premiere Sunday, then returned to Showtime under former entertainment president Robert Greenblatt.
 
Wells and company had done some work on the script and after securing William H. Macy to play the family’s drunk father — a name that was on Greenblatt’s short list of talent — the series picked up full steam a year and a half ago.
 
“That was easy in a really, really hard way,” Wells said of the ordeal. “I always thought it was terrific material. There are archetypes in here about how a lot of families live and the people and things that we deal with. We’re trying to make a point — and to make you laugh.
 
“It really is a world in which a lot of people live and have to survive and I was always very, very attracted to that,” Wells said.

Thank god I got a text a half hour before Californication’sseason opener was about to start, thanks Nicole! I ordered Showtime and hunkered down to be part of an elite rock and roll writer’s club, a joke, and watched. I love how Californication takes an Entourage route and plays rock instead of rap. Watching Californication makes you feel like you are in the know, and definitely cool. This show opened with a little number by Alice in Chains, I believe, and this show is all about gratuitous sex, the world of writing and entertainment, and ridiculous banter, but we all know that already.

We all hate to love Hank Moody, and how I have missed him making his colossal mess ups and this episode was no different. It is a great escape to watch this show. I was never a big David Duchovny fan but this show really brings out the best in him, so long X Files, although, I know many people enjoyed him in that show. I never got into it. I love Evan Handler in Californication too. He is the perfect foil. Hank’s Wife and daughter are cast perfectly as well. I can’t help but wonder how Tea Leoni, David’s wife in real life, feels about this show and this character. I imagine the role of Hank Moody is super fun to play as a married man because he gets to live out all these things at “work” and with carte blanche, because he is an “actor”. 

OH- and great screen shot of  Pink is the New Blog on Becca’s Lap Top in Hank’s dream scene!!! Congrats Trent, I have been reading you since you lived in Detroit! That is killer!

http://www.livetv4me.com/index.php?rrt=1&clickid=709665085&id=88&sub_id=400092,cd714&ltv=9

Anyone who knows me, knows I love me some Jason Schwartzman! He is adorably nebbish, and hipster all rolled up into one! I may be repetitive in this post, but Max Fisher is my all time favorite movie character and Bored to Death gives me my Schwartzman fix on demand.

Max Fisher: The Great Anti-hero

Within the first day of watching the movie Rushmore, I saw what a classic anti-hero Max Fisher was. An anti-hero is someone who is the main character/ hero of the story, but they don’t have the qualities most people associate with normal heroes. For example, one unheroic trait that Max Fisher has is his extreme social awkwardness.

Rushmore is a 1998 comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson about an eccentric teenager named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), his friendship with rich industrialist Herman Blume (Bill Murray), and their mutual love for elementary school teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). The film was co-written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. The soundtrack was scored by regular Anderson collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh and features several songs by bands associated with the British Invasion of the 1960s.

The movie helped launch the careers of Anderson and Schwartzman, while establishing a “second career” for Murray as a respected actor of independent cinema. Rushmore also won Best Director and Best Supporting Male awards at the 1999 Independent Spirit Awards while Murray earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.

The film centers on Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a precocious and eccentric 15 year-old, who is both Rushmore’s most extracurricular and least scholarly student; Herman Blume (Bill Murray), a disillusioned industrialist who comes to admire Max; and Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams), a widowed first grade teacher who becomes the object of both Max’s and Herman’s affection.

Max’s life revolves around Rushmore Academy, a private school, where he is a scholarship student. Max spends nearly all of his time on elaborate extracurricular activities, caring little how it affects his grades. He also feuds with the school’s headmaster, Dr. Guggenheim (Brian Cox).

Blume finds his operation of a multimillion dollar company to be unsatisfying and is frustrated that his marriage is failing and the two sons he’s putting through Rushmore are unrepentant brats. He and Max become close friends; Max admires Herman’s success while Herman is impressed by Max’s cocksure attitude.

Ms. Cross arrives at the academy as a new teacher after the death of her husband (and former Rushmore student), and Max quickly develops an infatuation. He makes many attempts at courting her. While she initially tolerates Max, Ms. Cross becomes increasingly alarmed at his obvious obsession with her. Along the way Blume attempts to convince Max that Ms. Cross is not worth the trouble, only to fall for Rosemary himself. They begin dating without Max’s knowledge.

After Max attempts to break ground on an aquarium without the school’s approval, he is expelled from Rushmore. He is then forced to enroll in his first public school, Grover Cleveland High. Attempts to engage in outside activities at his new school have mixed results. A fellow student, Margaret Yang (Sara Tanaka), tries to engage Max, but he pays little attention to her. Rosemary and Blume attempt to support him in his new school.

Eventually, Max’s friend Dirk (Mason Gamble) discovers the relationship between Rosemary and Blume and informs Max as payback for a rumor Max started about his mother. Max and Blume go from being friends to mortal enemies, and they engage in back-and-forth acts of revenge on each other. Max informs Blume’s wife of her husband’s affair, thus ending their marriage. Max then puts bees in Blume’s hotel room, and then Blume destroys Max’s bicycle with his car. Max also cuts the brake lines on Blume’s car, for which he is arrested. Eventually Max gives up and explains to Blume that revenge no longer matters because even if he (Max) wins, Rosemary still would love Blume. Max then becomes depressed and stops attending school. He cuts himself off from the world and works as an apprentice at his father’s barber shop.

One day, Dirk stops by the shop to apologize to Max and bring him a Christmas present. In the process, Dirk suggests Max see his old headmaster in the hospital, knowing Blume will be there, as well. Max and Blume meet and are cordial, and Max finds out that Ms. Cross broke up with Blume. He also manages to bring Dr. Guggenheim out of his coma. Max begins to apply himself in school again. He also develops a friendship with Margaret Yang who he casts in one of his plays.

Max takes his final shot at Ms. Cross and is rebuffed again. Max makes it his new mission to win Ms. Cross back for Blume. His first attempt is unsuccessful, but then he invites both Herman and Rosemary to the performance of a play he wrote, making sure they will be sitting together. In the end, Ms. Cross and Blume appear to reconcile. Max and Margaret Yang also become a couple.

The movie ends with Max and Ms. Cross looking at each other enigmatically as they share a dance at the play’s wrap party.

Kenny Powers has got to be the most inappropriate character ever written! He makes me laugh, blush, cringe and laugh each and every time I watch East Bound and Down. Kenny Powers is a washed up ex major league baseball player who still believes he is the man, rife with mullet, out of shape body, and all are integral to his completely inaccurate self assessment! This season is particularly funny to me. It is my favorite out of all the on demand shows on HBO and Showtime, well, The Big C may be the closest second!

Kenny is a mess of a man, and I am never ever bored watching him!

“Like a pot-bellied white knight, Kenny rides his moped onto the infield of the Charros and declares his independence from living under a false name. He tells his soon-to-be teammates that they stink, but admits that he does, too. He will help the team rise from the dead and goes on to confess that he is probably a “Christ figure.”

I am loving The Big C  on Showtime! Laura Linney  is an unbelieveable actress and anything she signs on to do deserves a look. This show is no exception.

Laura plays Cathy: 

Cathy has always been conservative and structured – the perfect suburban wife and mother. Receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis becomes not only a challenge, but a catalyst for change. Cathy is tired of being “the sensible one” — now she wants to let her freak flag fly. For the first time in her life, she is going to make choices that suit her needs. Who says you can’t eat dessert as an appetizer? Time is precious, and Cathy is grabbing life by the balls…

Her wacky and homeless brother Sean is a fun character:

Sean is Cathy’s eccentric brother – and “eccentric” is putting it mildly. Selectively homeless and wildly outspoken, Sean appreciates life while he is living it, on his own terms at all times, critics (and deodorant!) be damned. He has always been the portrait of unbridled freedom – no inner conflicts, just comfortable and content – Cathy’s polar opposite. Which might be why she finds herself seeking him out as she goes through this big transition.

There are a few others, which are amazing.. one is, Andrea, played by Gabourney Sidibe:

Andrea is mean and snotty, but something about her attracts Cathy. She carries a confidence and a spiritedness that makes her stand out from the other students in the class. Cathy takes on Andrea’s smart-aleck ways as a challenge to nurture and help. And through this, Cathy helps herself.

And lastly, her sexy, and sweet doctor!

Anyway, I highly recommend it – I LOVE IT!

Louise Row, Host of Plain Jane, British Fashion Expert

For the second night in a row, while sewing, I happened across the show Plain Jane! I love it! I don’t know if it is because I was obsessed with giving makeovers from about age 10.. YES, that is exactly why.. I was also the makeover queen in high school. There is something about bringing out the best in someone that feels so great to me. Seeing someone transform into a person with confidence, loving the way they look, and feeling great is the ultimate high! I never got off on making someone feel awful- I was always the opposite. I wanted people to feel great. If you ask anyone who truly knows me, they will say the same. This show is SOOOOOO GREAT because of that. Tonight, I watched this adorable Asian girl, Jona reveal her secret crush on her best friend. The last two shows featured girls who were secretly in love with their best friend. I wonder if every show will reveal the same. Jona was adorable as a plain jane and became cuter as her new made over, haircut, made up, dress-wearing self. I am not going to be able to get enough of this show! I don’t think I could handle one of the participants confronting a crush and the object of their desire rejected them. How horrible would that be? I will have to keep watching to see if it ever happens. I hope it never happens it will break my heart!  If you want some “feel good” television, tune into Plain Jane! I wish I was the host!!! http://www.cwtv.com/shows/plain-jane