Reality Line-Up

Print & save, folks! With the writer's strike still not settled, plan on watching a lot of reality television!! Get your Tivo loaded up!

Project Runway 4 [Bravo, Nov. 14, Wednesdays at 10]
Nimrod Nation [Sundance Channel, Nov. 26, Mondays at 9]
Real Housewives of Orange County [Bravo, Nov. 27, Tuesdays at 10]
Intervention [A&E, Dec. 3, Mondays at 9]
The Girls Next Door [E!, Dec. 9, Sundays at 10]
Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood [E!, Dec. 9, Sundays at 10:30]
Clash of the Choirs [NBC, Dec. 17 to 20 at 8]
The Biggest Loser 5 [NBC, Jan. 1, Tuesdays at 8]
The Apprentice 7 [NBC, Jan. 3, Thursdays at 9]
Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann [ABC, Jan. 7, Mondays at 8]
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew [VH1, Jan. 10, Thursdays]
Trading Spaces [TLC, early January]
Make Me a Supermodel [Bravo, January]
American Idol 7 [FOX, Jan. 15, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8]
Big Brother 9 [CBS, late Jan./early Feb.] news
Survivor 16 [CBS, early Feb.]
Transamerican Love Story [Logo, February
When Women Rule the World [FOX, March 3, Mondays at 8]
Hell’s Kitchen 4 [FOX, April 1, Tuesdays at 9]

Winter/spring debuts

America’s Next Top Model 10 [The CW]
American Gladiators [NBC]
Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew [MTV]
Beauty and the Geek 4 [The CW]
Baby Borrowers [NBC]
The Bachelor 12 [ABC]
Can You Duet? [CMT]
Farmer Wants a Wife [The CW]
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad [NBC]
Oprah’s Big Give [ABC]
Pussycat Dolls 2: Girlicious [The CW]
Supernanny [ABC]
Wife Swap [ABC]

Paste Names Top 50 Films of 2007

I agree with the ones I've seen (*), but man - I have a lot of catching up to do! How many have you seen, and do you agree? (Oh, and Superbad is way better than Knocked Up.)

1. Juno [Jason Reitman]
2. Once [John Carney]
3. Eastern Promises [David Cronenberg]
4. Away From Her [Sarah Polley]
5. Margot at the Wedding [Noah Baumbach]
*6. Michael Clayton [Tony Gilroy]
7. The Wind That Shakes the Barley [Ken Loach]
*8. No Country for Old Men [Joel and Ethan Coen]
9. The Kite Runner [Marc Forster]
10. Syndromes and a Century [Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul]
11. Ratatouille [Brad Bird]
12. Ten Canoes [Rolf de Heer/Peter Djigirr]
13. Great World of Sound [Craig Zobel]
14. Ghosts of Cité Soleil [Asger Leth/Milos Loncarevic]
15. Offside [Jafar Panahi]
16. My Kid Could Paint That [Amir Bar-Lev]
17. 2 Days in Paris [Julie Delpy]
18. Waitress [Adrienne Shelly]
19. Manufactured Landscapes [Jennifer Baichwal]
20. The King of Kong [Seth Gordon]
21. Sunshine [Danny Boyle]
22. This is England [Shane Meadows]
*23. Knocked Up [Judd Apatow]
24. Hanna Takes the Stairs [Joe Swanberg]
25. Bella [Alejandro Gomez Monteverde]
26. The Darjeeling Limited [Wes Anderson]
*27. Grindhouse [Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez]
28. Paris, Je T'aime [Various Directors]
29. God Grew Tired of Us [Christopher Dillon Quinn]
30. No End in Sight [Charles Ferguson]
31. The Bourne Ultimatum [Paul Greengrass]
32. Hot Fuzz [Edgar Wright]
33. 3:10 to Yuma [James Mangold]
34. Year of the Dog [Mike White]
35. The Simpsons Movie [David Silverman]
*36. Hairspray [Adam Shankman]
37. Sicko [Michael Moore]
38. Rescue Dawn [Werner Herzog]
39. The Short Life of José Antonio Guitierrez [Heidi Specogna]
40. Forever [Heddy Honigmann]
41. Persepolis [Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud]
42. Talk to Me [Kasi Lemmons]
43. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [Sidney Lumet]
*44. Superbad [Greg Mottola]
*45. Zodiac [David Fincher]
46. The Savages [Tamara Jenkins]
47. Rocket Science [Jeffrey Blitz]
48. The Signal [David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry]
49. The Lookout [Scott Frank]
50. American Gangster [Ridley Scott]

IFC Awards

It's not even December, and the Independent Spirit Award nominations are out.

BEST FEATURE

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I'm Not There
Juno
A Mighty Heart
Paranoid Park

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes
I'm Not There

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Jason Reitman
Juno

Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Gus Van Sant
Paranoid Park


BEST FEMALE LEAD

Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart

Sienna Miller
Interview

Ellen Page
Juno

Parker Posey
Broken English

Tang Wei
Lust, Caution

BEST MALE LEAD

Pedro Castaneda
August Evening

Don Cheadle
Talk To Me

Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages

Frank Langella
Starting Out in the Evening

Tony Leung
Lust, Caution

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There

Anna Kendrick
Rocket Science

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Margot at the Wedding

Tamara Podemski
Four Sheets to the Wind

Marisa Tomei
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Talk To Me

Marcus Carl Franklin
I'm Not There

Kene Holliday
Great World of Sound

Irrfan Khan
The Namesake

Steve Zahn
Rescue Dawn

Paste Names Top 100 Albums of 2007

Two of my favorites of the year are #100 and #1. Funny, huh?

100. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
99. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City
98. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
97. Marissa Nadler - Song III: Bird on the Water
96. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
95. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
94. Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime
93. Lori McKenna - Unglamorous
92. Jesse Sykes – Like, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul
91. The Fratellis - Costello Music
90. Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
89. Anat Cohen - Noir
88. Do Make Say Think - You, You're A History In Rust
87. White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
86. Ruthie Foster - The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster
85. Menomena - Friend and Foe
84. Liars - Liars
83. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
82. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
81. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated
80. Akron/Family - Love Is Simple
79. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
78. The New Pornographers - Challengers
77. Jeremy Fisher - Goodbye Blue Monday
76. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
75. Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara
74. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
73. Warm In The Wake - American Prehistoric
72. Bettye Lavette - Scene Of The Crime
71. Josh Rouse - Country Mouse City House
70. Ween - La Cucaracha
69. Bat For Lashes - Fur & Gold
68. Office - A Night At The Ritz
67. St. Vincent - Marry Me
66. Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
65. Caribou - Andorra
64. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
63. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
62. Joseph Arthur - Let's Just Be
61. Prince - Planet Earth
60. The Broken West - I Can't Go On I'll Go On
59. Imperial Teen - The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band
58. Romantica - America
57. The Clientele - God Save The Clientele
56. Kate Nash - Made of Bricks
55. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
54. Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
53. Fionn Regan - The End Of History
52. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
51. The Frames - The Cost
50. Battles - Mirrored
49. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind
48. The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
47. Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart
46. Justice - †
45. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
44. Norah Jones - Not Too Late
43. The Everybodyfields - Nothing Is Okay
42. Lifesavas - Gutterfly
41. Brandi Carlile - The Story
40. Damien Dempsey - To Hell Or Barbados
39. The Perishers - Victorious
38. Olof Arnalds - Vid Og Vid
37. Eleni Mandell - The Miracle Of Five
36. Joe Henry - Civilians
35. Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
34. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
33. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
32. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
31. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
30. Björk - Volta
29. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
28. Mary Gauthier - Between Daylight and Dark
27. Derek Webb - The Ringing Bell
26. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
25. Over The Rhine - The Trumpet Child
24. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
23. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
22. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
21. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
20. Blonde Redhead - 23
19. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living
18. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
17. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
16. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
15. Kanye West - Graduation
14. Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
13. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
12. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
11. Radiohead - In Rainbows
10. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
09. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
08. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
07. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
06. M.I.A. - Kala
05. Feist - The Reminder
04. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
03. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
02. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
01. The National - Boxer

I have 45 of them. Got some listening to do, baby!

The Moment of Truth

New FOX reality show... sure to spark alotta talk around the watercoolers!

Fox’s version works like this: Before the show is taped, a contestant is given a polygraph test and asked 75 questions. Samples include: “Do you really care about the starving children in Africa?” “Are you sexually attracted to one of your wife’s friends?” “Do fat people repulse you?” and “Do you think you’ll still be with your husband five years from now?” The contestant’s responses are determined to be truthful or untruthful by a certified polygraph examiner, but the contestant is not told the results. Within a couple of days after the test, the contestant appears on the show, where he is again asked 21 of their previous questions before a live audience, including family and friends.

All the player has to do to win, goes the pitch, is tell the truth. If his answer matches what the polygraph says is true, he advances to the next round. The top prize is $500,000. The contestant can stop at any time, but once a question is asked, he must answer.

“Truth” premieres Jan. 23.

Let Me Explain

First off, my apologies to anyone who happens to swing by here on any sort of regular basis. I am been incredibly busy at work and at home. Earlier this year I was juggling two full-times jobs. The madness has continued due to my company investing like $5 million dollars into remodeling and improving one of our stores. Since I am in Marketing, that means I get to work like 80 hours a week. Sometimes more.

I have shows on my Tivo from like August that I have not had time to watch. And my ability to surf the web and come up with interesting nuggets to share.... well that spare time has evaporated from my life.

I'm going on a little vacation soon and once I return, life should return to some sense of normalcy. I say that with much trepidation, because just as soon as I think things will settle down, another major project comes hurtling at me at warp speed.

But with any luck, regular posting will resume very soon. I promise!