Slideshow!

The Future

Now I know I have an earlier blog post about the future of this blog, but this is nothing even remotely close to that. This is about the future...of technology. I got really excited when I found this concept called "Social TV".

Just let that sink in for a second.

Did anyone watch the series finale of Lost? It was such a big moment in TV history (for me at least). That was my sole reason for joining Twitter. I wanted to see what other people were saying about it but Facebook wasn't cutting it. This article by William Bulkeley tells all about the new type of television experience that allows you to connect with other viewers while you're watching your favourite shows. There's also a short video that talks about the connection between social media and television. Take that Hulu! (Just kidding, I love Hulu.) Anyway, I think it's an amazing idea. It would be great for me since I could watch my shows with my sisters and my mum even while I'm away at school.

iTunes TV Podcasts

I just recently got into pod casts (NPR has some amazing stuff) and figured I'd share some that I found on iTunes with you that are TV-related.

1. The Soup Video Podcast -- Now I don't know about you guys, but watching The Soup recap all the bizarre happenings in TV for the week on Friday nights is one of my favorite things to do. I just watched one that talked about Ellen DeGeneres leaving American Idol and the new season of Jersey Shore.
2. The Ricky Gervais Podcast -- This is a complement to the Ricky Gervais show (airs on HBO). I think he's hilarious but I have yet to watch an actual episode.
3. Fuel TV Podcast -- I just watched an episode of this where they made hotdogs (and toppings) marinated in Mountain Dew "sauce". Weird but someone might find it entertaining.
4. This Week in Mad Men -- This AMC show is so popular that even though I haven't ever watched it, I figured I'd add it just in case there's a Mad Men-lover out there :)
5. Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan -- They do a very good critique of TV shows every few days. It's like they're professionals!

The Future of this Blog

I know just a couple of posts down, I said I'd be ending this blog soon. But what if I wasn't? What would make it hold readers' interests over the next year or so? I think previews (my thoughts mostly) of season -- and series -- premieres would be my best bet. I know I usually can't wait for my show to come back (oh, how I miss you Chuck!) and so I end up reading almost anything I can find about them until they return to my television set. I could also really be serious about writing movie reviews when I get to see advanced screenings. (Expect one of Charlie St. Cloud shortly!)

TV is always in a cycle of change. Something new is always coming and something beloved is always taking a break. It never gets old. What do you guys think? What would I have to do to make you want to keep returning to my blog?

Let's Get Social!

The main downside to a blog is that the people who read it can't contribute as much as the person who writes it. I've found a solution! I've created a social network just for you so you can post videos, photos, messages, comments, and you'll even get reminders for when your TV shows will air! Check it out, it's also called "What's On Tonight"!

All Good Things Come to an End

Sadly, my time for posting will soon draw to a close. The summer is ending and soon I won't have time to watch TV much less talk about it. But no worries. There's at least a week or two to go!

Modern Family

My favorite comedy on TV. This show single-handedly (not really) got me through those times at school when I missed my family but couldn't go home because of Friday evening obligations.

SNL: Snooki

I don't watch Jersey Shore but I knew enough about it to find this clip HILARIOUS!

Community: Bert and Ernie

I LOVE the TV show Community, but since it's summer, it's on a break. I was browsing through HULU and saw this clip and remembered how funny Abed and Troy are. Have a look!

Fred!

Slideshow audio

I've attached a nice little narrative to go along with my slide show. Yay! Just click the title of this post!

A Day in the Life...

We've all heard of the "couch potato". Well in my family, there's not just one, but TWO couch potatoes! There's me, and then there's my sister Jo. She's the epitome of the couch potato.

(Kodak tip #4 -- I cropped this picture to only show you the essentials. )When she wakes up (which is around midday), she immediately goes for the cereal...

...before settling down at the table to eat breakfast and watch TV (this is sort of after she's finished eating). (Kodak tip #6 helped me remember to lock the focus on her instead of, say, the clock in the background.)

She spends almost all day in the living room watching TV. This is at night. We were watching So You Think You Can Dance! (I used Kodak Tip #7 and put her to the side of the picture instead of in the middle.)

SYTYCD, Top 6 Perform

It's actually more like top 5. For the THIRD week in a row, a contestant was too injured to perform. Isn't that sad? Nigel Lythgoe (the executive producer and judge) reassured the viewers that he would get some experts to look into the problem. I agree. Three great dancers (Alex Wong, Ashley Galvan and Billy Bell) were stripped of the opportunity to perform and thus stay in the competition. It's just sad.

Tonight's dancing touched every bit of the scale though! My favourite is by far the dance between AdéChiké Torbert and Comfort Fedoke choreographed by (everyone's favourite married couple!) Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo. It was what they call a lyrical hip-hop number to Alicia Key's "Fallin'" and the whole time I was just staring at the screen, slack-jawed. At the end, I wanted to stand on my feet and applaud a job well-done. And AdéChiké was so into it that his chest was heaving with sobs by the end of it! It was amazing I tell you! But don't just take my word for it. If you didn't see this dance already, you have to watch for yourself! Hulu should have it up soon. For some reason they take much longer to post these episodes than they do with every other show that I subscribe to on that website. Don't get me wrong, I love Hulu. That website saved me through all of the past spring semester. But until they figure out this glitch that's impeding the progress, then many fans who missed it will be flocking to certain other websites to get the video as soon as possible. I won't name names!

Additional Resources

• Hulu
• TV Guide
• Fancast
• TV
• FOX

The Deep Web

I have a confession to make. I've never hit Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" button before. Today was the big day. I heard the word "kiisu" while watching the series premiere of Covert Affairs last Tuesday on USA Network. The people in the show said it was Estonian for kitten , but in the context it was used as an endearing term. For this search I figured I'd try kiisu, but the lucky button wasn't very helpful to my mono-linguality (if there is such a word). The site it gave me was in Estonian (duh!). A regular search took me to a website with the name Kiisu. I immediately found that interesting, because seriously, what does Estonia have to do with Canada? And also, what do eagles have to do with kittens? After truncating the address, I realized eagle.ca was more of a webpage hosting website, and the page I'd been led to was actually a personal site, since right after the / there was a ~ and the name roda (which stands for Rod Anderson).


There is definitely an about page (there is a link that says "about") and the whole website is about pets and their caretakers. This page was last updated in 2005, I think because they actually got there own domain name. Truncation led me to a page that simply said "We've moved!" with a link to the new website.

Rod Anderson and Merike Lugus wrote the page, and I was led to it because they care for a cat named Kiisu (there is even an explanation for the name, saying it's an Estonian word, etc.). There is a page full of links but they're unrelated to the cat, and unrelated to each other.

Traffic to the site is pretty much non-existent, according to alexa.com, I assume because they've moved and also because it's a personal page. There are no related links. I wouldn't use this link because although it was made to inform others, it's not credible. But it was kinda cool looking at some random cat named Kiisu Miisu!

Royal Pains Progressing Slowly

Last night's episode of everyone's favourite new doctor was similar to...well, all the others. I've noticed a trend. In each episode, there's a patient who has some surprise problem that Dr. Hank isn't sure how to fix, and the patient also is confused as to what's wrong with them. In the midst of dealing with patients, there's also very slow progression of the relationships within the show. Hank's father is back, for the first time in about 30 years, and Hank is still having trouble forgiving him for things he did to them in the past. We're on to the sixth episode in the season and Hank and Eddie are just now starting to reconcile. The ice is breaking away! But barely.

And then there's Jill. Jill barely plays a role in the show anymore. The only time we used to see Jill was in relation to Hank. Now that their relationship is over, they tried to develop one between Jill and Divya, which I like since Divya seems friendless. The only problem is (and Divya pointed this out in episode 4) their only connection is -- you guessed it -- Hank. I really hope the writers can find a Hank-free role for Jill because she is likeable, and that Divya doesn't leave, because that's an upcoming plot-twist that HankMed could do without.

Google Sites

TV isn't my only passion. I've always wanted to "see the world" and so I made a website to organize all that good stuff in one place. It also happens to be a class assignment!

Shows I Like

I love TV. I think it's one of the best devices ever created. Add a satellite or even a pretty good cable deal to the mix and I'm one of the happiest people around. When you're from a Caribbean island (like me!) then TV is the main thing to get you through the loooonngg, hhhhhoooootttttt, boring days of summer. Needless to say, I developed a love for TV that travelled with me when I moved here.

So here are a few of the many shows I keep track of during the summer:

• So You Think You Can Dance
• Royal Pains
• My Boys (New season starts July 25th)
• Drop Dead Diva
• White Collar (season 2 starts Tuesday!)

And others. I'll watch pretty much anything...except most reality TV shows. I've always had something against watching people do crazy things for TV, with the exception of Wipe-out. I think it's funny, but some people don't.