See ya on the other side, amigos…

I’m not saying the nominees aren’t deserving, because they totally are — especially the cast nominations for “The Descendents”, “Bridesmaids” and “Midnight In Paris” — but I was a bit disappointed to see Charlize Theron overlooked for her stellar work in “Young Adult” and the same goes for Maria Bello’s incendiary performance on NBC’s recently-shelved “Prime Suspect”. Those are two of the best performances of the year in my book, and I was bummed to see them both overlooked by SAG.

But, hey, there’s always the Golden Globe nominations on Thursday. And you know those crazy foreign press guys love hot blonde chicks, so…I’m betting they both get a lot more love then. At least they’d better!

To see the full list of SAG Award Nominees, click here.

So, imagine my surprise when I found out that Mr. Bublé’s Christmas Special is airing tonight on NBC! And cooler still is his stellar guest list: Justin Beiber, Kelli Pickler, Thalia, Jennifer Hudson, Ed Helms and Oscar the Grouch?! Wow, seriously, dude, you had me at Beiber. I’m so there.

And, hey, even if the Christmas Special sucks, trust me, the album really is good. So, make sure and check it out!

Yep, we might even bypass our usual Taco Tuesday fiesta at Del Taco and go somewhere a little more authentically Mexican…you know, where they sell real street tacos like the lovelies pictured below. Yum!

But wherever we end up tonight, here’s hoping the rest of you find time to celebrate the magic of a truly tasty taco on this happiest of days as well. Happy National Taco Day, amigos!

I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but, Cooper’s new show is kinda awesome. He’s hard-hitting, probing, sarcastic, geeky and best of all, he is totally hilarious. Yep, I said it, the dude is funny!

We’ve been hardcore Cooper fans since his days hosting the late, great reality show “The Mole”, and though I dig his “serious” work on CNN, I gotta tell ya, Cooper looks really comfortable on daytime TV. Seriously, he’s a natural…

Still not buying it? Well, consider this. Christine stayed home sick from work yesterday, watched several Tivo-ed episodes of Cooper’s show and was totally, 100% healed. Now, if that’s not a glowing recommendation, I don’t know what is. The age of Oprah is officially over…long live the new king of daytime TV!

I’ll start with the worst of the new shows. And let me say from the get-go that I am only judging these shows by the pilots, you know, like the networks do. I’m sorry, but, if you can’t grab me from the first episode, I’m done with you. I mean, I wasted two seasons watching “Glee” and all it did was get worse and worse, so, sorry, new shows, I do not have time for lameness.

That said, I gotta tell ya, most of the shows I sampled weren’t that bad. I mean, even the one’s I’m not gonna watch for whatever reason were way better than some of the crap from season’s past, so, good on you, networks! OK, back to the worst of the bunch…

“The Secret Circle” (The CW) This show was just plain old boring, I’ve seen teen witches done better elsewhere, and aside from the presence of the always sexy Natasha Henstridge as the school principal with a secret, I could barely stay awake to the ending. Yawn…

“Free Agents” (NBC) I don’t even know why I watched this show to begin with. I absolutely loathe Hank Azaria and after watching the pilot, I like, double-triple loathe him. Yuck!

“2 Broke Chicks” (CBS) This show really bummed me out, man. I was so looking forward to it and really expecting a lot from the crackling-good cast, but, the writing was just not there to back them up. And on top of all that, the jokes were really gross. And not even clever gross, just gross and crass for crass-ness sake. Urgh…soooo disappointing!

“Whitney” (NBC) Same thing here. Gross humor, crude jokes, yawn. I will say that the lead actors grew on me as the half hour progressed, but, wow, that supporting cast felt like the table scraps from some long-forgotten 90′s sitcom: couple with pushy wife and mousy husband…check. Drunk and single best friend…check. Crazy, self-centered mom…double check. Oy…who needs it?

“The Playboy Club” (NBC) Dear NBC, just because you set a show in the 1960′s does not make it “Mad Men”. It’s not even that the show is that bad, it’s just kinda…eh. And when you think about how much dough NBC spent making and marketing it, “eh” is probably not the reaction they were going for. And for the love of God, please lose the Hugh Hefner voice overs…you weren’t changing the hearts and minds of America, Mr. Hefner, you were peddling smut. Classy, well-lit smut, but, smut nonetheless, so, please, get over yourself.

Now, before we get to the best new shows, I’d like to start with some honorable mention winners. You know, shows that I might watch if there was nothing on, but, not necessarily shows I’d add to my Tivo Season Pass anytime soon. Let’s call them the shows I’d watch if I had all the time in the world to watch TV…

“Pan Am” (ABC) Glossy, juicy, sexy, this show is really a lot of fun. The cast is great, the story possibilities are endless and those planes are so damn sexy, I mean, seriously, did ya see the couches in that French chick’s section? Amazing! I wanna live in that world, but, sadly, I just don’t have time to watch it.

“Charlie’s Angels” (ABC) Same thing here, the show is surprisingly good, with a totally game cast and a premise that, thirty some odd years on, still works. Hot chicks, guns, karate, pretty sunsets…it’s all there and it still works like gangbusters, but, I just don’t have the time. Sorry, Angels…

“The X-Factor” (FOX) OK, now this show was downright awesome! Fun, pithy, emotional…all the things that “American Idol” used to be. And best of all, Paula and Simon are back where they belong…together! The only problem is that it’s on every freaking night, and we are already committed to our returning favorite, “The Sing Off”, so, we might jump back into this one in a month or so, but, for now, it’s a pass.

“Up All Night” (NBC) We’re still kinda on the fence with this one too. Christine and I love all of the parenting stuff — I mean, whoa, some of the shit they joke about is like, ripped from our headlines! — but whenever they cut to Maya Rudolph (who I normally love!) the show goes all kinds of crazy…and not in a good way. We are regular viewers for the moment, but, one of two more wrong moves by Rudolph might just send us packing.

And now, for the best of the best, the shows that we will watch every week until they end, or, you know, get canceled before their prime like the late, great “Swingtown”. Anyway, they are…

“Prime Suspect” (NBC) Only “Whitney” has more billboards down here right now, so, I had a huge awareness of the show going into the season, but what I didn’t know was how totally fucking awesome it would be. Seriously, it’s like, pulse-pounding, truly groundbreaking-television. Fantastic acting, directing, writing, whew…mark my words, amigos, this is gonna be the show to beat at next year’s Emmys. AMAZING!

“New Girl” (FOX) OMG, I can’t tell you how pleased I was that this show didn’t totally suck. I’m not always a fan of Zooey Deschanel, but she lights up the screen with her goofy, sexy charm here. And her supporting cast is also totally awesome. Cute, funny, seriously-sweet…I kinda wanna marry this show.

“Revenge” (ABC) As dark and twisted and soapy-weird as “New Girl” is cute, this show puts the “j” in juicy, baby. And, man alive, is it good! I don’t know how they’re gonna stretch the premise over five years (or beyond), but if the acting, writing and totally cinematic sweep of the show is gonna be this good, well, sign me up! “Revenge” rocks!

So, that’s what I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks…what have you guys been watching?

So, you win this round, Mr. Lucas, but, I still ain’t buying all those damn Blu-Rays till they go on sale. Or, you know, someone like my talented and lovely wife gifts them to me for Christmas…

Oh, you didn’t notice that the Ewoks in “Return of the Jedi” didn’t have eyelids? Well, neither did I. And neither did the rest of the flipping world, but, something tells me those un-blinking Ewoks kept Lucas awake many a night for the past twenty-something years. How else to explain that and the rest of the completely ridiculous changes he’s made to the sci-fi classics? Oy, seriously, somebody get this man a hobby already…

To see a full list of the absurdities about to be unleashed on Blu-Ray, click here, And in the meantime, I’ll be watching my beloved, un-butchered, un-special-edition Original Theatrical Release version DVD’s of the original series.

They might not look as crisp as the Blu-Ray versions of the films, but any world where Han Solo still shoots first and those loathsome little Ewoks have dry, itchy eyes, is cool with me!

Anyway, it made Greta and I smile. Long live “The King”! Oh yeah, and if you’re interested in reading SAHD-centric, semi-real time updates of our adventures in NYC this week, click here.

I know it’s been covered on TV and everything, but, trust me, there is a reason this delicious maple bar topped with two thick-ass strips of crispy bacon is famous. And that’s because it is seriously, out-of-this-world amazing. You never had such yumminess in your mouth at the same time…wow!

Another favorite were the various cereal-covered donuts. We sampled the Captain Crunch, which was a bit odd. The cereal itself was kinda moist, from being exposed to the air I suppose, but the thing that really made the donut work for me was the fact that the white icing tasted exactly like milk. Yep, you got it, milk and cereal on a donut. I don’t know how they did it, but it worked.

Also very good was the devil’s food cake donut with the pentagram frosting, but for sheer drama, I think my favorite donut of the day was the one shaped like a tiny Voodoo doll. Covered in chocolate frosting, each little Voodoo man has a tiny pretzel stake jammed into his heart and actually bleeds red berry filling when you remove the stake. So weird and awesome!!

The decor is also totally rad, with all sorts of funky Voodoo, pop-culture and movie references everywhere you look. I don’t know the significance of the giant velvet Kenny Roger’s portrait over the register area, but, it seemed to be important. And, hey, who doesn’t love, Kenny?

Oh, speaking of old-ass Kenny Rogers, they even had a shrine to recently departed celebrities by the rear side door, complete with Voodoo donuts prayer candles. As you can see from the pic, Peter Falk had just died when we were there. R.I.P. Detective Columbo.

Oh, and if you’re really hungry, an order of three dozen donuts and $100 will buy you a tiny wooden casket donut delivery box. I didn’t get one, but, man alive, if I lived in Portland, that would be the first thing I’d order for my next big birthday party gathering. Donuts in a coffin for everyone…so cool!

Although it’s been in Grants Pass for years, I just discovered Video Mart this past July with my nephews. They were drawn in by the store’s amazing Sunday deal on video games — all games are a dollar and you get them for five days! — but what really thrilled me was the store’s vast selection of truly unique movies.

Sure, they have all the top-40 shit up front and yes, they rent Blu-Ray too, which is awesome, but, the thing that kept us coming back was their rocking selection of older titles. The pricing didn’t hurt either, every older title is available to rent for $1.00 for three nights. And if you rent more than five, you get to keep them for five glorious nights! Awesome!

Needless to say, I got myself a membership (yep, they let me get one even though I live out of state!) and we got down to some serious movie renting. All totaled, I think we rented somewhere between 10-15 movies during our visit and at least 4 video games. Best. Vacation. Ever!

And kudos to the fine folks at Video Mart for knowing their shit too. The dudes at Odd Obsession would probably still take the gold in a movie trivia head-to-head, but, trust me, there are some truly knowledgeable film and game geeks working here too.

So, next time you’re in Southern Oregon, grab yourself some Abby’s Legendary Pizza, a six pack of Weed Pale Ale, a movie from Video Mart, and call it a night…

Trust me, it sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is. Hell, anyone who has traveled with a two-year-old can tell you that the going can get pretty damn rough sometimes. And that’s why you need the mellow, “let’s casually explore the city” kind of days in between the sightseeing.

It was on one of those days this past May, when we encountered the staggeringly-well-stocked, totally old-school video store known as Odd Obsession Movie Rentals in Chicago.

Located in the gritty heart of the suddenly-trendy Bucktown/Wicker Park area, Odd Obsession is the kind of classic, deep-catalog video store every great city should have. You know, the type of place you can call up with just a vague notion of the obscure DVD title you’re looking for, and not only do they know the movie, but they carry it too! So cool…

And I swear to God, walking inside that joint was like stepping into a time machine. They don’t carry many actual VHS titles anymore, but, the whole place smelled, looked like, and even felt like your favorite, musty childhood video store. I say felt because those shelves were so packed with super cool titles that you could hardly turn around without bumping into something amazing. Literally. Next time I go, I’m leaving the stroller outside.

We didn’t rent anything, of course, but, just being there and sensing the true love of movies inside every nook and cranny of that place really filled my heart with glee. I’m not kidding, it was like church for film geeks, and best of all, they even had a store cat. You know, the big old, fat kind that sits on the register when you’re trying to pay. I didn’t ask, but, I’ll bet he’s named “Rosebud”.

Anyway, someday very soon (like, next week) video stores will be a thing of the past, something we joke about: “OMG, remember when you used to have to leave your house to rent movies?” and when that day comes, I’ll be glad to know I visited one of the greatest video stores ever…and took lots of cool pictures.

Rock on, Odd Obsession Movie Rentals, rock on!

Spent most of the morning trying to convince Greta that her gigantic, two-and-a-half-year-old noggin is just too big to fit into her favorite 6-12 month-sized dress. And lemme tell ya, it was brutal. Tears, yelling, throwing, more tears, and that was only on my end. So, finally, I give in and let her wear her favorite dress exactly the way she wants to. And this, my friends, is what it looked like. Eat your heart out, Little Edie! … Read More

via Stay-at-home-Yeti

We don’t have any of her full-length albums, but, I remember like it was yesterday the first time I heard Amy Winehouse’s now-iconic single “Rehab” on the radio. I was driving somewhere by myself and got so excited by the crazy-retro sound (not to mention the fact that they were playing this strangely hypnotic song on Top 40 radio!) that I called Christine at home and told her to turn on the radio RIGHT AWAY!

I know it sounds crazy now that the song has become so popular, but, wow, the first time I heard it, that shit was crazy. The music, her voice, that look, wow, where the hell did this chick come from? Insanity!

I know she had all kinds of substance abuse issues and was probably a bit genuinely bonkers to boot, but, love her or hate her, Winehouse was the real deal, baby. And that’s what makes the news of her death so damn tragic. I mean, just think of what she mighta done, musically, down the road…so sad.

I’ve been reading a lot of online tributes and XMRadio is playing all kinds of musical and call-in tributes on The Spectrum (XM28) but the coolest article I’ve found yet is this one by Chris Wilman at Reuters. Great, insightful stuff from someone who actually interviewed her. Check it out.

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse, you will be missed…

Greta and I already have very comprehensive lists prepared of all the books and movies we’re gonna check out today. So, see ya in the stacks, amigos!

OK, so, we just drove the second leg of our trip home from Oregon — a nice little jaunt from my Aunt’s house in Sacramento to our place in L.A. — in the record time of eight hours. You know, give or take a few hour-long stops to let Greta run herself ragged at rest stops and such. But, even with the stops, we made great time…and why is that such a big deal you ask? One word: Carmageddon! Yep, that’s right, amigos…the Armageddon of traffic j … Read More

via Stay-at-home-Yeti

I mean, summers and two-year-olds are kinda all about the outdoors and by the time I finally plop down in front of my computer, well, lets just say Daddy is too tired for much else than a quick rundown of the happenings on Facebook.

And speaking of FB, it was there just now that I was reminded by a good friend of mine that today would have been the 70th birthday of one on my all-time-favorite writer/directors, the great Polish master Krzysztof Kieslowski. Not only did he make some of my favorite films, but his unique visual style and beautifully-interwoven storytelling techniques have informed everything I’ve written or wanted to write since I first saw his film “The Double Life of Veronique” way back in the early 1990′s.

Simply put, the man was a genius who died way before his time. Thankfully, Kieslowski completed at least two other masterworks before his death in 1996, the groundbreaking “Three Colors Trilogy: Blue, White, Red” and his indelible, early-career masterpiece, the ten-hour TV miniseries,“The Decalouge”.

If you haven’t seen any of his work yet, today is a great day to start. Celebrate the mad genius tonight by watching one (or if you have time, all) of his films…you will not be disappointed. Seriously, there was no one like him.

Happy birthday, Krzysztof, we miss you…

I’m not sure who else is participating in this glorious day, but, it’s worth checking out your local donut mongers to find out what kind of deals they got going. I mean, hey, even a sale donut is better than nothing!

See ya in line, amigos…

I mean, hello? Who is a self-respecting SAHD — Stay-at-home-Dad, for those of you unfamiliar with the parent code — supposed to turn to for much needed laughs, tears or whatever on a daily basis? Urgh, it’s almost enough to make me start watching Ellen again. Just kidding, I still hate that old scab.

But, back to someone I love. In case you hadn’t heard, Rosie is launching a new daily TV talk show on Oprah’s OWN network in the fall, so, she’s leaving for much greener pastures, but, that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna miss her.

I know Rosie Radio was only on SiriusXM for a year and a half, but, I listened to that show EVERY SINGLE DAY. Seriously, Rosie rocked. She was smart, funny, political, and best of all, Rosie and her cohorts could say whatever the hell they wanted because it was satellite radio. So, whoo-hoo, bring on the F-bombs, baby!

Anyway, SiriusXM is gonna be playing repeats of the show Monday thru Thursday and Rosie’s long-time Exec Producer Janette Barber is getting her own SiriusXM show on Fridays, so, that will help lesson the blow a bit. But, trust me, nothing will take the place of having Rosie and company chatting in your ear while you drive home from the park with a sleeping toddler. Ah, the memories…

Best of luck on your new gig, Rosie! We’ll miss you…

Of course, the famously-reclusive Malick was not there to collect his award (which was accepted in his absence by “Tree of Life’s” producers Dede Gardner and Bill Pohlad) but the fact that the movie won the top prize bodes well for it’s limited U.S. release this Friday.

I mean, man alive, if you thought I wanted to see “Life” before, just imagine how excited I am to see it now. Wow…I might start camping out for tickets tomorrow.

Another big American winner was Kirsten Dunst (yes, that Kirsten Dunst) who took home a Best Actress prize for her work in Lars Von Trier’s freaky-deaky-looking “Melancholia“. Trust me, if the movie is anywhere as dark and strange as Von Trier is, it’s gonna rock!

For a list of all this year’s big winners at Cannes, click here. And, until next year at this time…adieu, adieu, to you and you and you…

The ad runs a bit long and like I said, is a tad disturbing — a couple times it looks like Barbie’s pretty little head is gonna pop right off in Mr. Lynch’s hand, yikes! — it is also really darkly hilarious as well, so, enjoy!

But, Debbie Harry’s “Cousin Thinny” looks rad, and, come on, who can resist her trail-blazing white girl rap?! Seriously, that shit floored me as a kid. I remember getting chills the first time I hear that insanity…so cool!

Anyway, happy “Rapture” day, amigos. Hope to see you on the other side…or, you know, Sunday. Whichever comes first…

I’m not entirely sure what the plot is here — it looks a little “2001″-ish to me, which would be awesome! — but Malick’s visuals, as always, look pretty damn spectacular. And what a cast! People who have seen previews of the movie are already saying Brad Pitt is a lock for a Best Actor Oscar. Whoa…

Either way, dying to hear what the Frenchie’s think of the movie when it premieres at Cannes on Monday. Go, team Malick!

In the meantime, I wanted to be sure and share with you guys this year’s gorgeous new Cannes Film Festival poster. The picture is of Faye Dunaway and was taken in 1970 during production of her little-seen film “Puzzle of a Downfall Child”. I consider myself something of a Dunaway fan (especially of her early work!) and even I had never heard of this film, but, apparently it was the directorial debut of Jerry Schatzberg (who also took the pic on the poster) and, for whatever reason, was hardly ever shown stateside.

Anyway, a completely restored print of the film is going to be screened at Cannes this week, with both Dunaway and Schatzberg in attendance. And if the movie is even a quarter as slick as this poster, well, shit, sign me up for the Blu-Ray when it comes out. I mean, seriously, could Dunaway look any cooler in that shot?

Wow…let the festival begin!

And, trust me, you’re gonna wanna them set for this. Because, from the trailers we’ve seen, Tivo-worthy is the name of the game this season on “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution”. I mean, seriously, if you thought those mean old lunch ladies in West Virginia were hard core, just wait till you see Jamie facing off with the shriveled old coots on the L.A. Unified Board of Education. Yikes!

Yep, you read that correctly, this season’s “Food Revolution” is set right here in sunny SoCal, or at least it was until Jamie and company had their permits pulled mid-shoot. The Board also banned “Food Revolution” camera crews from shooting at all public school campuses in Los Angeles to boot! See, I told you this season would be juicy!

So, set your Tivo’s, whip up a healthy snack and tuck on in, because “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” is taking flight tomorrow on ABC!

That’s right, amigos, as the super cool Radiohead.com flyer above reads: “The King of Limbs” is available now on CD at “all good record stores”. And though it’s a bit more mellow than the band’s last release, “Limbs” totally grows on you over time, and has at least three songs that are soon-to-be Radiohead classics. So, get thee to a “good record store” already!

And in the meantime, please enjoy this video for the song “Lotus Flower”. This is one of my favorite new songs on the album and though the video is very stripped-down and totally minimalistic, if you dig Thom Yorke doing a crazy, skinny-man dance for almost five minutes, you’ll love it!

It’s true, Avedon’s body of work was much more diverse than I’d expected. But, it’s also true that he shot some pretty iconic celebrity portraits in his day. Take, for instance, these two gorgeous shots he took of the late Elizabeth Taylor.

From what I gather online, the pic with Avedon’s red editing marks on it is from 1958 and the very dramatic, feathered headdress portrait is from 1964.

My apologies for geeking out over Miss Taylor again, but, I had never seen either of these pics until today, and, they kinda knocked my socks off. So, here’s hoping you guys feel the same way…