I was bored at work today, and I decided to work on my birthday/Christmas/just because wish list. Here’s the list, in case anyone wants to buy me anything on it, you know, feel free!

• Wii and Wii accessories. When the weather starts cooling down again, it’d be great to have the Wii Fit to keep in shape and have fun. I like video games where you don’t have to sit still.
• 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development, and Scrubs on DVD
• The Outlander Series in hardback (awesome books, can’t put them down)
• All of the Harry Potter DVDS (maybe I should wait till the last two movies are out and get a boxed set)
• New Mattress and bedframe (might be getting this soon)
• Chaco sneakers and sandals. They are the only shoes that I can walk in, because the have arch support. Shoemakers should be required to make all shoes this way.

I don’t normally watch this show, but with all the fuss and gossip surrounding this couple, it was a train wreck I just had to tune into. I watched the episode that is sure to be the demise of the series. Jon and Kate announce that they are no longer Jon and Kate plus 8, but instead Jon minus Kate, or rather, according to tabloids, Kate minus Jon, as she was the one to file for a separation.

It was sad to watch, because while I couldn’t care less what happens to these people, I feel so sorry for their kids. Reality shows are ridiculous as a whole, when you’re not involving children who get no say in the matter. As a child of divorce, my heart breaks for these kids, who will literally be able to WATCH their parents marriage fall apart. They are young enough to hopefully forget some of the moments where Kate immasculated Jon in front of them, over and over again. Or when Jon would fire back with his little snippy remarks to her. Anyone who watched this show in the last few seasons could see that the only love these two had was for their kids, not each other. Still, knowing these kids will have complete video footage so that they will never forget the sadness that fame and fortune brought them is just awful.

Of course, for all we know the kids will grow up to write a book, or have their own ridiculous reality show,  Jon and Kate’s 8, The Therapy Years. Hopefully others who strive to become famous for having too many offspring in this already overpopulated world will learn from J & K’s attrocious example. We can only hope.

Coupling is a British show that briefly came to the US. I was so disappointed when it didn’t succeed here, because the whole premise his hilarious. This show is just classic funny, talking about all the real issues that come up with dating and relationships. They aren’t afraid to talk about the awkward stuff like when a man has a “failure” in the bedroom. The show is pretty old, but I haven’t seen all the episodes, so it’s like discovering a lost season of Friends. I’m hooked, and it’s great entertainment. Thank you Netflix for instant watch!
The show centers around 6 people, 3 blokes, 3 ladies. They’re all friends, and one couple, Susan and Steve. My favorite character is the ever socially awkward Jeff, who seems like he’s on ephedrine or something else that makes him twitchy. He completely falls apart around women much to the viewer’s amusement.
Here’s a clip of Jeff at his finest. Enjoy!

I’m on the second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber, by Diane Gabaldon and I haven’t been able to put it down. I read it on my lunch break, I read it while eating dinner, I read in bed. I’d read it in the shower if the pages would withstand it! I think being hooked to a page turner like this is one of the best diet supplements because I’m so busy reading I forget to eat! I’ll write a review for it as soon as I’m done. I can already say that I recommend it, unless you want something of a life.

There are a lot of movies about Vegas vacations out there, and most are mediocre at best. What Happens in Vegas was right there with them. I was disappointed too, because I love Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. The two together didn’t have chemistry as a couple on screen at all.
For those who haven’t seen this movie, the plot is essentially that an uptight woman named Joy who goes out in Vegas after being dumped by her fiance and lets loose for once. Predictably, she meets Ashton’s character, Jack, the goof off polar opposite of herself. They get trashed, and end up married of course, because it’s Vegas, and this movie is predictable beyond belief.
The one twist in this story is that after realizing they’re married, and mutually agreeing to get the marriage annulled, one of them wins 3 million dollars with the other’s coin. At this point, since they’re married, each feels entitled to the money. The judge sentences them to 6 months of marriage and counseling. They learn that if one of them asks to get out of the marriage, the other gets to keep all the money. Insert antics and cheesy pranks aimed at pissing each other off enough that they’d want out, despite the money.

Of course this movie has the sappy parts where they realize they’re actually falling in love with each other, in spite of all their differences, and the fact that they barely know each other. I think I would have enjoyed this movie more if there had been some chemistry. Unfortunately it was way too much like Pierce Bronsan and Julieanne Moore’s bomb, Laws of Attraction. They get accidentally married in a drunken haze, they stay together under false pretenses, and surprise, they love each other. These couples also had about as much chemistry as two potatoes, therefore making me glad Netflix charges monthly and not per movie. In either case, I should have chose not interested on the Netflix suggestion box.

This book was incredibly thought provoking. Not only does it tackle hard topics like the death penalty, but also child abuse, religious freedoms, and life changing choices.

The story is about a man, Shay Borne, who is convicted of murdering a little girl and her stepfather. He’s sentenced to the death penalty, something that hasn’t been done in New Hampshire in 69 years.

He has one final request-to donate his heart to the sister of the little girl he was convicted of killing. The little girl is dying of heart failure and needs a transplant. He says he has to donate his heart in order to be redeemed. However, lethal injection would stop his heart, making his last request impossible.

Called in to counsel him is Father Michael Wright, a Catholic priest, who intends to help Shay find God, and doesn’t believe organ donation is the way to salvation. Then Shay begins performing miracles in front of inmates, officers, and even Father Michael, and challenges everything the Father believes in.

I won’t spoil this story because I think it should be on everyone’s top ten list to read or listen to on CD. It is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and it really makes you stop and think about the people you judge based on appearances and first impressions. It makes you really wonder if people are what they seem, or if there is something deeper beneath the surface.

I had high expectations for this movie, and I thought it couldn’t possibly live up to them. I was wrong. This new version of Star Trek was incredible. I thought the casting was great-the characters did a good job resembling their classic counterparts. Spock was especially convincing, and teamed up next to the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy in the movie it was easy to see why Zachary Quinto was cast.

I also liked the plot of this movie, and the fact that it didn’t try to just redo a movie or episode that has already been done. It was a prequel, much the theme of today’s movies. Kirk was great at being a jerk, and they didn’t overplay his character. I liked that the story centered more around Spock than Kirk to be honest. It was unexpected, but a good move. I wonder if they will try for another movie with this cast. I know I’d buy a ticket!

The New Moon trailer is finally here!! I will say that the birthday scene is exactly as I pictured it. Unfortunately, the scene where Bella is attacked in the woods is definitely not. She figures out what he is long after that scene. I figured they’d make some changes from the book to adapt to a movie, but this one was a bit disappointing. How Bella has to guess what Jacob is, that’s a huge part of the story. Hopefully they will cut some of the emo drama from Bella’s character in this movie. It’s by far my least favorite book in the series, but sort of a “necessary evil” to get to book 3, Eclipse, which is my favorite.

Even though they changed the storyline, I have to admit the movie still looks badass. I can’t wait to see it. Here’s the trailer, tell me, what do you think of the changes?

Since we’re headed out on vacation on Thursday, I’ve been frantically trying to empty my laundry hamper and tidy up the house. It’s been hard to do because all I want to do is sit down and read. I got the second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber and I can’t put it down. Usually you can tell if I’ve got a good book based on the cleanliness of my house. Unfortunately the house is a mess, but I am enjoying the read.

Besides books, TV has been severly lacking in entertainment value. Right now all my favorite shows are in repeat for the summer. Hopefully the networks will kick off their summer pilots they test and I’ll have something new to watch. Thank god for laptops and wireless internet, or I’d probably never fold my laundry. I love being able to carry the laptop around and watch shows while I get stuff done.

I’ve been reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I can’t put it down. All day today I’ve sat poolside pouring over the pages, not caring if I get burned. This book is written in a way that you get sucked into the story.
Centered around an English war nurse named Claire, a woman from 1945, who accidentally travels back in time in Scotland, to the year 1743. She should have bought some travel health insurance because she’s set back in archaic times, where whiskey is medicinal, and doctors can be mistaken for witches.

It seems far fetched, maybe hokey, but the way it is written is dead serious. She leaves behind her husband, Frank Randall, whose ancestor, Captain Randall, is one of the most evil and twisted English soldiers who ever lived.
In the mist of getting kidnapped, almost rapped, and nearly burned at the stake for being a “witch” she falls into an all consuming love with Jamie Fraser, a Scottish Warrior.

I won’t say more, other than this book is incredible. It’s got enough romantic to please the women, but enough blood, guts and action to entice most men as well. The best part about this book is Claire’s story doesn’t end with Outlander. There are five books in the series, and I can’t wait to start reading the second, Dragonfly in Amber. I highly recommend these books, you will not be disappointed.