Nothing of interest. But, she did get married.

That's right. I have committed. I have forsaken all others (hobbies, spare time, meals, sleep) and pledged my abiding devotion to...Arclight Films. I have a job. An office job. That I am now married to.

A whirlwind courtship (three months!) of casual (part time) seeing each other before I got the proposal. Of course I was sick during the honeymoon and as with any new life changing addition, there have been moments of compromise and sacrifice. But now we're as in sync as possible. Mostly, because we spend every waking moment (literally) together.

Eleven hours onsite and another four or five offsite leaves not a spare second in the day. (Save for the time I took to write this and also, read the latest Friday Night Lights recap at TWoP. Some day, when I have a life again, I'll write about how awesome Friday Night Lights is. Seriously y'all, it's the best show ever!) At work, we are currently in preparations for our BIGGEST week of the year. Which means the hours are going to get increasingly longer and my new significant other and I will have plenty of opportunity to settle in and really set up house. Hopefully, we won't kill each other.

If this sounds like complaining, it's not. I have a job. A real grown up job. I wore stockings and heels to the office today because we had investors visiting. (Luckily most days I can get away with jeans.) This is everything I've worked for. It's the reason I went to college. It's not exactly what I pictured when I decided as a starry-eyed tween that I wanted to work in "movies," but it's pretty damn close. I still get a little rush of giddy energy when I actually get to say 'I work in the entertainment industry' aloud. Even in the moments I want to tear my hair out.

So that's it. I've found what I love and committed wholeheartedly. But like any (life-altering) relationship, it's work.

The New Fall Line-Up (and loves it!)- Pt. 1

So I'm procrastinating on an actual, paying writing assignment and squeeing about the new TV season instead.

Fall TV Round Up
Monday: I DVRed the better of Josh Schwartz's two new shows, Chuck (on NBC) and really enjoyed it. Likable cast including the always awesome Adam Baldwin and the usually heinous Sarah Lancaster. And Chuck himself is not too Seth Cohen-y (my biggest fear for the show.) Funny and action packed and the conclusion hit just the right emotional note which is what Schwartz does best. I'm in. Bonus: my former girl crush, Rachel Bilson, is set to guest star in a multi-episode arc beginning soonish. Sweet.

In real time, I watched the third season premiere of CBS's How I Met Your Mother guest starring the adorable and sadly underused, Mandy Moore. I have no real use for Robin anymore, and Ted has only recently grown on me, but Barney, Lily, and Marshall are arguably the best "friends" on TV right now. Everybody is watching this show for NPH. I'm watching for Jason Segel. Maybe this'll be the year that HIMYM finally gets its due.

Highlight: The Heroes season premiered at 9 PM and not surprisingly, was utterly fantastic. We caught up with Matt, Molly, and Mohinder (now livin' it up My Two Dads style in NYC) and met some new heroes, Maya and Alejandro (pretty, Latino Wonder Twins with inappropriate sibling chemistry.) And they totally killed off George Takei. But as was hinted at in S1, the S2 premiere solidified that- ensemble, shmensemble- Hiro, Peter, and Claire are truly the stars of the show.

I'm not a huge Hiro Nakamura fan but pairing him with sexy Sark doing Monty Python schtick was genius. All of their scenes were light and funny.
Funny in a totally different way were the Bennet (now Butler) moments. Hayden P. and Jack Coleman do some of the very best work on this show and seeing them onscreen again was the highlight of the premiere. Their (literally) painfully ordinary days in the new So Cal locale culminated in the standout hilariously deadpan family dinner sequence that frankly, looked like it belonged on another show but hopefully indicates a tonal shift for Heroes in its new season. Another standout- Claire's heartbreaking phone call to now, boozy, delusional, recluse Nathan. Claire wants to talk about how much she misses Peter. Nathan hangs up on her. Worst dad ever.
Peter is presumed dead but in reality, not so much. He (finally) appears in the last two minutes, shirtless, chained, powerful as ever, and suffering a serious bout of amnesia. I won't tsk, tsk the show yet because I have faith they can do something interesting and original with it but, amnesia? Really?

All in all, a fairly awesome premiere. Here's hoping J.J. Philbin doesn't find some way to fuck it up (as is her wont.)


Tuesday- I only watched one show and only marginally enjoyed it so Tuesday might be my day off. As I mentioned in my inaugural post, Bret Harrison and I are occasionally thisclose so I felt somewhat obligated to check out his new show on The CW, Reaper. The premise does not appeal to me, the other cast members do not appeal to me, Kevin Smith EP-ing only slightly appeals to me but, Bret Harrison. It was okay. It gains points for being darker than expected and loses points for not being as funny as it promised to be. And the production quality is horrible. Seriously, S6 Buffy levels of bad. But, Bret Harrison. I set the DVR for next week's episode, but no series setting. Yet.


I've decided to make Wednesday its own entry because damn, there's a lot of programming Wednesday night.

The Inside of a Police Station

Things the people who broke into my car did NOT take:

- silver flats
- purple yoga mat
- script for a biopic
- travel coffee cup
- receipt from my brother's birthday present
- green hoodie
- piece of paper with Michael Keaton's home address
- parking pass for work
- pillow

Things the people who broke into my car DID take:

- radio/CD player
- iPod adapter/charger
- 37 cents in loose change (seriously?)

They also completely shattered the two rear windows and in an unsuccessful attempt to hotwire it, broke off part of the steering wheel column and fucked with the ignition so the car's not driveable.

Thanks, asshole criminals!

Spoilers Everywhere and Tries Valiantly to Resist

So, about ten days ago cult TV fandom was alternately squeeing and OMG-ing over the news that Kristen Bell (eponymous star of the dearly departed, Veronica Mars) had joined the cast of Heroes. I did both. Bell's 13! episode run will commence in the fifth episode of the series's second season which premieres September 24th on NBC.

This news is by far the most exciting announcement I've heard regarding the Fall Schedule. Since losing three of my favorite series ever last spring, the only real TV return I'm anticipating is Heroes and as far as I'm concerned, Bell and Heroes are two great tastes that'll taste great together. As mainstream media sought to capture and contribute to the internet hype surrounding this casting choice by explaining a bit how Bell will fit into the series, many viewers were inadvertently spoiled- myself included.

Typically, I'm very pro spoilers. Heroes, however, works against this MO because the NBC drama's initial success lies in its capacity for jaw-dropping, "Holy Shit" moments; the series achieved many last season. Wouldn't want to spoil that. I didn't care enough to seek out spoilers last season and believed I'd go the unspoiled route for the second season as well. Truthfully though, I have not remained unspoiled for any TV show since about 1998. I'm such a spoiler fiend that I'm even spoiled for shows I don't watch. And the more I get into a show, the more I actively seek out spoilers. So I'm not super optimistic about this endeavor.

I've already learned of some changes in cast through sheer internet access, but the spoiler discussion thread at TWoP (complete with sides, new character descriptions, and episode synopses) sits at the top of the board, heavily trafficked, mocking me. I really believe I'll enjoy the show more if I don't spoil myself (and have regretted being so heavily spoiled in the past,) but I was also the kid who peeked under the bed at her presents two weeks before Haunnakah.

I predict I'll valiantly remain unspoiled for the next two weeks and then, on the eve of the season premiere, go on a spoiler binge the likes of which have not been seen since the Lionfeed of 2002 (when Canada aired Buffy eariler in the week and entire episode descriptions would appear online two days before the episode was seen in the U.S.) And as with any other binge, I'll vascillate between feeling sated and guilty. So begins a new TV season.

Watch the new season of Heroes beginning September 24th on NBC. Heroes Season 1 is now available on DVD. The special features are fairly disappointing but since NBC/Universal's fallout with iTunes, the DVDs are now the only way to see the first season. And it was gooood. Here's hoping the second season is great.

SYTYCD Come To a Close

So sadly for the first Wednesday in many months, there is no new episode of So You Think You Can Dance tonight. The series concluded its third season with last Thursday's two hour finale and rightfully crowned Sabra (Johnson) "America's Favorite Dancer." As I mentioned in an earlier post with the exception of Project Runway and the past season of Idol, I tend to avoid reality competion programming. I prefer my TV fictional, thanks. That said, I effing loved this summer's SYTYCD. A large part of that I'm sure relates to my past life as a dancer but I think there's something to be said for dance as an artform (in addition to a competition) being exhibited on primetime. On Idol, regardless of the singers' talent, there will never be performances I'd care about in any other context ie; I will never buy an Idol's music no matter how much I may have been a "fan" at the time.

Not so with So You Think You Can Dance. All of the dancers and nearly all of the choreo in this season reeeeally impressed me. So much so that I totally geeked out and got tickets to see the tour here in L.A. So while I lament my now SYTYCD-free existence, I'll also look back and relish some of my favorite dances and dancers of Season 3.

Top 5 Dancers:

5) Neil- Initially, I was quite meh on Neil when he was kept over my fellow former Paso Roblan, Jesus (Chuy.) Chuy had performed phenomenally in the previous weeks while Neil had only been okay and the conspiracy theorist in me was convinced that Neil was saved solely to appease the tweens for the tour. Neil must've felt the collective disgust radiating from all TWoP viewers because the next week, he really stepped up his game. He continued to improve in performance, technique, and 'reality show persona' appeal and by the time he was left standing in the Top Four, he'd fully won me over. Neil's consistent weakness was a lack of chemistry with his partners but Sara and Sabra loosened him up a bit and his last four solos were nothing short of outstanding.

4) Lauren- Ironic that a contestant with inside connections to the show would become an underdog of sorts but for me, Lauren was just that. I (wisely as it turns out) had avoided the boards for reality show competions so perhaps the Lauren hate was par for the course, but never had I seen so much vitriol and anger directed at a talented nineteen year old on a reality show. People at TWoP HATE Lauren (all caps.) They wished her gruesome, violent ends, flat out accused her of being a slut, and talked at length about how physically hideous and talentless she is. Um... she's not. Any of those things. At first, my Lauren support was a direct reaction to some of the scarier, meaner posters. But as it turns out, Lauren's a really good dancer. Some of her solos were lame, but some were excellent. She had a great chemistry with Danny and the night she left, she absolutely KILLED Wade Robson's opening group piece.

3) Sabra- Yay! Sabra won! I didn't always feel Sabra was the most dynamic dancer, but she was consistently excellent beginning with her solo on the first elimination show. There are two ways to look at Sabra- either she got very lucky throughout OR the show tried to throw her under the bus and she always rose above it. The Dom and Sabra partnership was arguably the most entertaining and sweet on the series, but Sabra's best partner in the competition was contemporary choreography. She excelled at the pieces by Mandy Moore and Wade Robson and always made those dances look effortless and beautiful. She earned the win.

2) Danny (fucking) Tidwell- Danny was best dancer ever on the show. Most everyone is in agreement on this point. Danny's challenge was being an interesting performer and for me, that didn't happen until the Top 8 performances. (Though in retrospect, all of his Top 10 performances are fantastic.) Danny didn't win me over until he gamely sold cheesy hip hop choreo with a goofy smile on his face and for the first time ever, looked like he was having fun. After that, he had me for good. He's a brilliant technician and can be a mesmerizing performer. His 60 second solo in the Top 4 performances is dancing on a level above every one of his competitors. He'll be okay without the win, but he's the only contestant I actually voted for twice and as a viewer, I feel lucky to be given the opportunity to see Danny Tidwell dance.

1) Sara (Von Gillern)- Unfortunately, I didn't really realize Sara was my favorite dancer until about halfway through the competition. Sara adapted to every style effortlessly. She was in more of my favorite dances of the season than any other competitor. More than that though, Sara had an earthy, fun sensibility that came across as very real. She made it through the reality show machine without becoming perceived as a caricature, a villain, a slut, fake, dumb, backstabbing, simpering, needy, or any of the other cartoonish reality archetypes that exist. She was total class the entire competition. To her credit (and my delight,) Sara was featured more than any other dancer in the Thursday finale performing a total of six dances. This bodes very well for her stage time on the tour.

Top 10 Dances:
(Go to YouTube for as many of these as you can. For whatever reason, I can't hyperlink on my Mac. Grrr. Argh.)

10) Danny/Lacey Samba (Top 10)- Admittedly, this piece begins with fantastic music and choreo, but Danny and Lacey dance the hell out of it.

9) Neil/Sara Disco (Top 10)- New partnership and kinda lame choreo but really, really entertaining and fun.

8) You Can't Stop the Beat Group Dance (Top 14)- Choreo by guest judge and Hairspray director/choreographer, Adam Shankman. Infectious music and dancing; near flawless execution.

7) Neil/Lauren Pop Jazz (Top 14)- After a few lackluster weeks, Lauren and Neil finally get it right and own this funky, character driven piece. Roisin Murphy music and Wade choreo help them immensely.

6) Pasha/Sara West Coast Swing (Top 14)- Chuy who? Seriously, Pasha and Sara have some of the best chemistry on the show which becomes hugely apparent in their first performance together, a high energy WCS routine choreographed by last year's SYTYCD winner, Benji Schwimmer. Almost instantly, it becomes a classic performance.

5) Dom/Sabra Contemporary (Top 18)- Beautiful. First appearance of choreographer Mandy Moore who easily made the season for me. Her partner work is so intricate and innovative and Dom and Sabra really, really sold this dance.

4) Neil/Sabra Jazz (Top 6)- Another Mandy Moore piece. Incorporated both dancers's strengths to tell a clever story with a combo of funky and classic choreography. One of the few great dances of the year that succeeds more through the choreo than the performances.

3) The Moment I Said It Group Dance (Top 10)- Mia Michaels's choreo at its best. After a banner year in Season 2, Mia faltered quite a bit but this group number showcases all of her strengths. Great partner work, excellent use of the stage, bonus points for focusing on Danny, this dance warrants multiple viewings. (Tiny detractor: masks make it hard to identify which dancer is which.)

2) 2:19 Group Dance (Top 6)- Tom fucking Waits song and bizarre Wade choreo, but this totally works. Most people hated it but I think it's amazing. Initially, heavy makeup and costumes threatened to overshadow the actual dancing but two things really make this piece work in execution, Neil and Lauren. Lauren particularly, is absolutely captivating to watch in this performance.

1) Pasha/Sara Jazz (Top 12)- I've watched this close to twenty times. Everything succeeds here- Mandy Moore's trademark choreo, the use of Queen's Body Language, the would be cheesy costumes that actually function toward the concept of the piece, Pasha's and Sara's talent, Pasha's and Sara's chemistry. It's weird and unsettling and the complete antithesis of the hip pop-lite Shane Sparks choreo that makes its way down the pike to appease the masses; it's brilliant. Seriously, search pasha sara on YouTube and watch this dance!

I'm not sure any of these will be featured on the tour but through the beauty of the internet, I can watch them over and over again. And I have.

She Has a Reader Comment and Gets Excited (turns out it's an assignment)

So my sister (RookieMom Whitney) tagged me with this Meme.

First, the Rules:

1) Post these rules before you give your facts

2) List 8 random facts about yourself

3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) people and list their names, linking to them

4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged [GeekyGirl's note: Rules 3 and 4 aren't likely. My online friends don't keep blogs. We're more message board people.]

And now… my facts:

1) Despite the fact that my (half) sister is nearly a decade older than me and has never lived with my parents, younger brother, and me, I still forever feel like the middle child in our family with all the neuroses that entails.

2) In eleventh grade, my high school dance company traveled to NYC to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with 500 other dancers from around the country. Highs included seeing *NSync on a float right in front of us, being on The Today Show, and seeing The Lion King on Broadway. Lows included fourteen hour rehearsals in the basement of the hotel with southern dance captains who closely resembled S.S. officers, starving for a week, and walking the entire parade route in relentless November rain and spandex.

3) Though I come from a loooong line of educators (both parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, etc.) I've never for a minute seriously considered a teaching career.

4) I've seen the movie Clueless over a hundred times and probably still have it memorized (though I haven't tested that in a while.)

5) It's important to me to marry a man who's Jewish.

6) In eighth grade my friends and I made a documentary about me called Emily's Hollywood Connections. Essentially, I did six degrees of...any two movies they could think of (before the practice was marketed as Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.) I still have a copy of the script.

7) When I was 18, I appeared in a "man on the street" fashion feature for Time Out NY. (Backstory: my sister's friend Danielle was the photog and she took pics of my sis and me sporting various trends on the sidewalk outside of her apartment.)

8) In high school, as a dancer at 5'2'', 110 lbs. I felt "fat." Sometimes that insecurity still creeps up and results in my not eating for two or three days.

Sleeping Scarlett

There are few things more soothing than holding a sleeping Scarlett.