I Heart Gilmore Girls

So, this is the last post of NaBloPoMo [insert one lonely tear traveling down my cheek]. Congratulations, everyone! We made it! Thanks for sticking with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. You all are the best readers ever.

Now, when I created the now-famous blog topic calendar for the month of November, my first topic on the list was for tonight…a subject near and dear to my heart. That’s right. I’m talking about Gilmore Girls.

If you don’t know what Gilmore Girls is and we’re still friends…well…I can’t imagine that both of those things could be true at the same time.

When I was first introduced to Lorelei and Rory, I was fresh out of college and finding my way. That time in my life had a lot of firsts. First time to boil silverware bought at a garage sale. First time realizing that you’ve gone your whole life taking the fact that you live in a furnished home for granted. First time a roommate decides that a lease doesn’t mean she needs to live there until the end of it. First time that a different roommate moves her foreign-speaking mother into her room, fixes all their meals in said room, and rips you off two months rent and several months of utility payments. First time to discover Justin Timberlake as a solo artist (ah, Senorita…it seems like just yesterday). You know. The normal. 🙂

The Gilmore girls offered me a little respite from learning how to adult in my new, crazy life. They beckoned me into the charming world of Stars Hollow where Kirk held every job in town and reading was cool and hanging out with your mom was even cooler.

I’ve now watched those seasons more times than I can count (I’m serious. I could go toe-to-toe with anyone in a heated trivia battle of the minds.) and I have thoughts. I know for a fact that people vehemently oppose some of these thoughts because I’m a part of a closed Facebook group wholly dedicated to All Things Gilmore.* Nevertheless, this is my chance to make my voice known as the expert that I am on these matters. Especially because it was recently announced that Netflix will partner with the show’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, to produce four 90-minute mini-movies that show us where Lorelei and Rory are today. Huzzah!

And here we go. [If you’ve never watched the show and you’d like to avoid spoilers, you should probably avert your eyes right about now.)

Lorelei belongs with Christopher.  Throughout the show, Lorelei had many suitors. Max Medina (Scott Cohen). Alex Lesman (Billy Burke). Jason Stiles. Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). A reluctant Beau Bellville (Nick Offerman). But none really compare to her high school love and Rory’s biological father, Christopher.

I know that Christopher was flawed. He was fairly absent parent during Rory’s growing up and had a series of failed businesses/careers. There’s no doubt about it, he left the heavy lifting of Rory’s childhood to Lorelai and that’s not a great attribute in a person. But I can’t find it in myself to dislike him because, well, Lorelai doesn’t. At one point when he’s moved on to a relationship that’s serious, Lorelai tells him “You’ve always been a wonderful possibility for me.” And if Lorelai, the one that has been the wronged one in this whole situation, can hold him in the back of her mind for so long, who am I to hold a grudge?

Christopher gets her. He knows the good and the bad. He can keep up with her pace and wit and dish it back. He views her as an equal. He loves her deeply.  And he always sees his future with her. There’s chemistry with these two. In contrast, other than the kiss at the end of season 4/beginning of season 5 that started the Lukalei relationship, there’s very little on-screen chemistry with Luke and Lorelai of them. Luke is always the curmudgeon holding her back. Not that I hate Luke! I do not. His selfless gestures were enough to win me over initially. But over multiple viewings, I definitely stand with my current opinion.

Also, the way that the Christopher and Lorelai relationship happens in the last seasons is complete crap. Amy Sherman-Palladino would have never written that if she were still at the helm of the show then.

Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) is the best character on the show. She is just the most relatable best friend that a girl could have. She’s loyal, she tells the truth, she’s loveably accident prone, and she’s a chef. What more could you ask for? I heart her so much that I just can’t stand most of the characters Melissa plays now. Sookie is my hero. SOOKIE FOR PRESIDENT! Actually, that might be a bad idea…

Logan is the best choice for Rory. Unlike Rory’s previous two long-term boyfriends who started out great and rapidly devolved into weirdness, Logan (Matt Czuchry) started as out as a playa’ but grew leaps and bounds while they were together. Not only was he sophisticated and well-read, but he also pushed her to try new things, take on new adventures, and championed her goals and aspirations. He had baggage and made some poor choices, let’s keep it real, but he really came into his own at the end there. Plus, the whole thing was kind of a Cinderella story. Bad boy meets good girl. Good girl is worth him changing his ways.

If we had never had Logan, we would have never met Colin and Finn. And that is a sad thought indeed.

I’ve had a lot of discussions with my friend and fellow Gilmore Girls fan, Jessica, who is strictly in the #TeamJess camp and I do think that I’d be okay if they bring Jess 2.0 (aka Philadelphia Jess) back in the upcoming episodes as an option for Rory.

There is no Mr. Kim. I mean, I know there was at one time or Rory’s best friend Lane would not exist. They reference him in passing all the way into season 2 but then abruptly never mention him again, not even to explain where the heck he went…? That’s just irritating.

Let’s talk Hep Alien. First, the loss of Dave Rygalski (Adam Brody) to college was the saddest thing ever. He was perfect for Lane in every way and his attempt to be accepted by Mrs. Kim by reading the Bible cover to cover in one night was literally the most adorable thing ever. But when Dave left (aka Adam joined the cast of The O.C.), Lane’s love interest eventually fell on the dim-witted and completely irritating Zack Van Gerbig and that was WAY below Lane. She deserved better.

If I could watch a spin-off show about Michel Gerard, I totally would. Snark, party of one! And bring in a little Tobin for some conflict? Sold!

I’m sure there’s more.** But I think I’ve let a little too much of my crazy peek out tonight as it is. So I shall bid you good night and good luck!

Because tomorrow is December.

XOXO,

Amy

*I know I sound like a complete lunatic, but I promise that I’m not. Think of it as Comic-Con for reading geeks, okay?

**Like the fact that the April Nardini twist was the worst thing EVER EVER.

The Great British Baking Show and Whatnot

Happy Saturday, everyone!

So, as most of you know, I am a big Ina Garten fan. I know she tends to be a little idealistic as to what a home cook can accomplish without access to a butcher/farmer’s market/herb garden/cheese shop/fishmonger right around the corner, but I don’t care. As a rather picky eater, I also don’t care what she makes. It’s really about the Barefoot Contessa experience. Ina is so warm and calm as she cooks that it’s a comforting to enter her world. I’m serious. Even when I had the stomach flu, I gravitated towards her show on The Food Network. And let’s be honest, there’s a lot of Ina in the world. I could likely be set for several years. But here’s the really good news: I don’t have to be.

Because I’ve discovered The Great British Baking Show.*

And it’s the best thing ever.

The Great British Baking Show (for us Americans…in Britain it’s called The Great British Bake Off) is a food reality television show in the UK. I call it a reality television show, but these Brits across the pond do reality TV a little differently:

 

1. The contestants tape the show on the weekends and have some idea what types of challenges will happen the following week so they can practice.
2. Each challenge is timed, it’s true, but there is always AMPLE time to complete each baking task. I remember for one particular challenge, they were given five and a half HOURS to complete it. Seriously. Can you imagine Chopped or Master Chef under those circumstances?!
3. The contestants are allowed to bring ingredients from home – spices, homemade jams, produce…you name it!

You know what I love about these three distinctive aspect of the show? It ensures that everyone has every opportunity to do their best work. Bakers might have an off day or something might not go as planned, but if a single element goes wrong, they often have the time to do it over. Instead of rushing all over the place and throwing food on a plate at the last possible second, there are contestants drinking tea as their bread rises, joking with their fellow bakers and the hosts, and generally enjoying themselves a great deal.

Plus, the accents. Are you kidding me with this?

Those reasons are more than enough for me to love it but there are more.

• The judges are named Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. I could not make this stuff up if I tried.
• The contestants bake all sorts of interesting things. Sure, they call cookies “biscuits” and tend to praise crisp cookies over chewy ones. But aside from that, they bake international items. One episode, they were tasked with making a German cake. Not German chocolate cake, a cake I am familiar with, but a sort of crepe-looking cake. It was made by creating a sponge cake batter and cooking really thin layers (to different darknesses) under the oven broiler in a spring-form pan. The final result had a chocolate ganache poured over the top and the effect was quite stunning. And the process itself was fascinating to watch!
• The first episode does give a little backstory on each contestant, but not in the over-dramatized ways that American produced shows do now-a-days. The bakers don’t have to have survived a car crash or come back from the dead to make you want to root for them. The season I watched had several women that had been baking for their families their whole lives and a builder that was a brilliant baker, too. These bakers were inspiring to watch and it was educational, too. In fact, my recent scone victory I dedicate to The Great British Baking Show.

Now all I need is for Netflix to put the other seasons up already.

XOXO,

Amy

*My friend Jessica gave me a heads up on this show well before it magically appeared on Netflix. Shout out!

 

5 Reasons I Love Pentatonix (Because that Seems an Appropriate Number)

(Wow, I am really playing fast and loose with the timing of these posts.)

I think the record is clear on my love of all things reality singing shows. I’ve at least tried almost all of them: American Idol, The Voice, Rising Star (remember Josh Groban’s comp that lasted not too long?) and most recently Sing It On. If you have Netflix I recommend Sing It On if you are into this kind of thing – I watched the whole season while I was sick on a Saturday and the musical geek in me ate it up. There is, let’s just say, an appropriate amount of DRAMA.

I also watch The Sing-Off and that’s how I discovered the group Pentatonix. Guys, they are the BEST EVER. If you don’t know about The Sing-Off, here are a few details. It was a competition for a cappella groups. A cappella groups, I should tell you, are very fond of saying that they “don’t use any instruments” in the making of their music. Except their voice, of course. ‘Cause that’s an instrument.

Nick Lachey of 98* fame hosts the show and he is kind of awful at it, but the judges are more than enough to make up for that fact. Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) and Ben Folds (MUSICAL GENIUS) anchored past seasons and artists Nicole Scherzinger (season 1), Sara Bareilles (seasons 2-3), and Jewel (season 4) each took a turn rounding out the panel.

With the exception of Nicole–I never got much out of her critiques–the panel has some seriously serious musical chops. I am not kidding when I call Ben Folds a musical genius. That’s probably, like, an insult because he is so much more than that.

This show is all about pure musicianship and you can tell the difference right away. There’s a camaraderie that emerges from the time spent on musical arrangements, harmonies, and performance with all the groups. A Cappella is a community and it’s so incredibly heartwarming.

Pentatonix is the five member group that won The Sing-Off back in 2011 and they’ve had a remarkable rise to popularity between now and then. I just bought their most recent album and it’s been looping in my car for the past 3 weeks. So legit. Almost too legit to quit.

1. Their story gives hope to choir participants in high schools and colleges everywhere. Listen, if I had had more musically gifted friends and had gone to high school during the YouTube years, I could BE IN Pentatonix. I mean, they are WAY more talented than I am, don’t get me wrong. But their roots were in choir and vocal competitions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/t2XBMWRK4Mw“>That’s how the core three started the group. If I had a nickel for every time I donned a black choir dress and performed in recitals, formal school competitions, and/or cantatas, I would be a rich woman. Just ask my sisters, they had to attend every one. 😉
2. They set the bar for YouTube channels. Period. Boy, they are gifted at entertaining. All you have to do is check out one of their YouTube channel videos. My favorites are The Evolution of Music, The Wizard of Ahhs, The ‘NSYNC Medley, and The Little Drummer Boy. They make a cappella music relevant, cool, and wicked fun to watch which is why I think they’re climbing the ranks in the music biz.
3. They go way back and their friendship = awesome music. I think it’s so amazing that three high school friends started on a course that brought them where they are today. The harmonies aren’t the only things that are tight.
4. They are grounded and accept all the success with humility. I watched the Netflix documentary “Pentatonix: On My Way Home” (don’t judge, I am a true fan) and I was really moved at how overcome they were when they performed in their hometown for their parents, choir teaches, high school friends, and a community that helped them get to this point in their career. The way they take time for the fans and interact with them also reflects how grateful they are for each other and everyone else in the support system.
5. The music comes first. Their musical innovation is ground-breaking. They have covered tons of Top 40 songs and I love how their arrangements bring out different colors of the music. They are musicians that hone their craft and keep striving to get better. This latest album was mostly original music, and it’s awesome. They created each song with special care so that they could easily live on the radio with current artists. Just listen to their latest single “Can’t Sleep Love”.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

XOXO,

Amy