» Entertainment

I Just Read ‘The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner’ while sitting on the Beach…

Nicole — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:58:53 +0000

This is an image of the book from Amazon

Have you read the Twilight books? And no, I’m not explaining what the books are about,

If you don’t know, you’ve been living under a rock,

or you don’t want to know, and I will respect that.

With that said, you’re probably reading this because YOU HAVE read the Twilight books, and you’re probably a mom, because this is a mom blog. You may or may not know (because you’re not 16 and you have children to take care of and nurture) about the new Stephenie Meyer Novella out-

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.

This is an account of 1 of the ‘newborn vampires’ that is wreaking havoc on Seattle, in the Eclipse Book.

Bree is the last of the newborns to be killed in Eclipse and she only lives for 5 minutes in that book.

So why should you care about Bree? Why should I? Good question.

I really didn’t care about Bree when I read Eclipse. She was a ‘bad newborn vampire’… right? Well, Maybe not.

And anyway, I knew we were going to the beach the week after it was released, and I needed a good ‘Beach Read’,

so, I ordered the book and took it to the beach. While my husband and son played in the waves,

I sat on the beach, and read about Bree Tanner. After all, as the author herself says, ‘There are two sides to every story.’

My Review? I doubted I would care about Bree, but like I said,

everyone wants a good Beach Read…

and,

I was mistaken. I DID care about Bree. I cared for a lot of the ‘newborns’, who were lied to and confused and not ‘taught’ how to be vampires. I really got-a-hand-it to Stephenie Meyer. She makes all of this complete-fantasy world real for the moments you’re reading it. She has the whole suspension-of-disbelief thing down.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I knew the ending… anyone who has read Eclipse knows the ending. It’s not good for Bree. But to read about how she came to that moment,

and want more for her, is what a good book does… And it did.

**You can read the book for free online at Bree Tanner until July 5th. Or you can buy the book indefintely, for under $10 and $1 from EVERY BOOK SALE goes to the American Red Cross!

Only a Mom (Stephenie Meyer) would think of this!

Woot! Woot! Mom Power!

Why Bingo Rocks!

Nicole — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:40:51 +0000

Yeah, Bingo Rocks!

Why does Bingo rock? Well, after just attending my first Bingo Night at my Kindergartner’s school I’ll tell you why-

Bingo is easy
Bingo is fun
Everyone has an equal chance of winning!
It’s inexpensive
It involves PRIZES, and who among us, doesn’t love prizes!
It also involves snacks
It’s a social thing, so nobody is ‘ULTRA ANGRY COMPETITIVE’
You can be a little distracted, and still do well (see first point above)
A Kindergartner can win (my son won a Cooler and Beach Towel)!
and last but not least, it’s a nice family activity

Or maybe, I’m just getting old older…

Do I sound like your Grandmother??

“I see… Andrew McCarthy!”

Nicole — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:03:45 +0000

So I recently wrote about Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough…

Forget who Blane is? One guess-

“What about Prom Blane?! What about Prom!”

Yeah, Jake’s so much cooler.

Since then, everywhere I look I see a John Hughes movie or something related… it’s getting weird. And then it happened…

I was Googling Blane McDonough to see where my blog article came up, while I’m flipping through channels and I stop on Lifetime Movie Network because I see the title, ‘Straight From The…’ and I’m wondering, ‘Straight from the what? Straight from the Gut?… the Other Side of the World… Straight from the Heart?’ So I stop on it and…

THERE HE IS… It’s a close-up of… ANDREW MCCARTHY !!!!!!

Andrew McCarthy was on the screen as I’m Googling BLANE MCDONOUGH…

How weird is that??!!

Even my husband gasped and said, “Andrew McCarthy!”

I feel like the little boy, ‘I see dead people,’ in The Sixth Sense.

… I just bought a lottery ticket.

Quotable Friday

Nicole — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:04:38 +0000

“Life Moves Pretty Fast.

If you don’t stop and look around once in a while,

you could miss it.”

- Ferris Bueller

A Great Quote today from another character from a John Hughes Movie!

So I was watching ‘Top Gun’ and… he’s in that movie too!

Nicole — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:30:51 +0000

So I’m flipping channels the other night, and Top Gun was on… and I stopped flipping, and started watching it (I know, I know, why did I do it? It is so 1986. It is so ‘Tom Cruise just tightening his jaw while he delivers his lines’).

Do you remember who is in this movie?…

Well, a ton of people are in this movie…

But do you remember who is in this movie that you have probably forgotten is in this movie??

Tim Robbins?! Yes, Tim Robbins is ‘Merlin’ in this movie. I’m not a HUGE Tim Robbins fan or anything (I don’t have anything against the guy either), although I loved the Shawshank Redemption, but I had this weird moment when I turned to my husband and said, ‘Hey, there’s Tim Robbins!… He’s Merlin?!’

So then I look him up on Wikipedia and find out he was in The Sure Thing too … who knew?

And this is continuing my whole (unexpected) recent Karma thing because I quoted from ‘The Sure Thing’ in a post from last week about Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough…

Don’t remember Blane? Of course you don’t, that’s the point. But I digress…

So I still can’t believe I sat there and watched ‘Top Gun’…

The Weirdest Karma Coincidence- it can only go on a blog

Nicole — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:15:31 +0000

I believe in Karma…

If you’re nice, you attract niceness.

If you are cranky and mean, you attract crankiness and meanness. Pay it forward- yada, yada, yada.

So last Wednesday, I wrote the post, Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough. Blane McDonough is the guy from Pretty in Pink, and I even wrote in that post that I didn’t even remember ‘Blane’s last name and I had to look it up…(McDonough).

So fast forward to yesterday, Monday, less than a week since then, and I find myself quoting a line from Raising Arizona on my other blog- HouseHold Tips Blog…

It’s a quote from the Nicolas Cage character- H.I. or ‘Hi’ and I didn’t remember this, but guess what

Hi’s last name is-

MCDONOUGH !!!!

IS THAT NOT SO WEIRD? … albeit, trivial

But it’s not like McDonough is ‘Smith’ or anything…

I’ve decided this is ‘Good Karma’

Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough

Nicole — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:28:51 +0000

So EVERYBODY knows who ‘Jake Ryan’ is… I won’t even dignify it with an answer.

But who is ‘Blane McDonough’? …

Blane is the guy from Pretty in Pink…

Remember- ‘Blane’… (Andrew McCarthy).

Yeah, I know. I had to look up Blane’s last name on Wikipedia… I didn’t even remember it.

Which brings me to my topic today; it’s a topic for the ages-

Sixteen Candles vs. Pretty In Pink.

Which one is the better movie?

Before I make my argument,

I must tell you why I’m taking valuable time from my life to even write this…

A few weeks ago I read an interesting article in Vanity Fair on John Hughes, the creator of both films, and then I just read a blog post on Culture Brats, that I found via StumbleUpon, (I know, I can’t believe I’m being so ’social media-savvy’ either) that discusses this very topic. Karma? Or maybe I just have Sixteen Candles on the brain right now?

Anyway, while the blog post on Culture Brats was extremely well thought out,

and I respect both sides of the argument…

It really comes down to one question:

Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough

and is there seriously anyone out there who can make a good argument for Blane ?

“Anyone… Anyone?” (to quote from another John Hughes movie, Ferris Buellar’s Day Off)

Jake Ryan was cool and and popular and a dreamboat… and kind and honest and liked a girl for the whole package- what was inside and out.

Who didn’t daydream about Jake Ryan? I did. And I’m not the daydreamer type.

Did you ever, honestly, pine over Blane? We was a wimp; he only stood up for himself and ‘his girl’ at the very end of the movie… and he seems kinda-boring!

Who would you want to date- Jake! or Blane...

‘Blane’ doesn’t even sound cool in comparison to ‘Jake’!

To quote from another great movie, The Sure Thing’ from 1985 (substituting ‘Jake’ for ‘Nick’)-

“Yeah, Jake. Jake’s a real name. Jake’s your buddy. Jake’s the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car, Jake!”

And what about Farmer Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) vs. Duckie (Jon Cryer)?

Farmer Ted totally wins! I’d kinda wanna be friends with Farmer Ted. He’s a nice guy, basically. He actually a ‘cool geek’. And most importantly, he doesn’t get Samantha, but he recovers and isn’t pining over her.

But to get back to Jake Ryan, because he’s dreamy-

Jake still holds up today! I’d date Jake (if I were single) right now, wearing exactly what he wore back then. Blane and his friends in linen pants and linen blazers?! That didn’t even look good back in the ’80’s’ !! And the story! That still holds up too! In fact, I said in my Movie Review of Twilight,

“Teen angst, first love, plus vampires thrown in… and they are good vampires- are you kidding me?

This movie is 16 CANDLES and Jake Ryan is a cool vampire.”

So there you have it: Proof that Sixteen Candles wins over Pretty in Pink and thus,

Jake Ryan wins over Blane… whatever his last name is

But we already knew that, didn’t we :)

What do you think?

‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn’ Book Review

Nicole — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:39:02 +0000

This time last year I had never heard of ‘Twilight’…

and after I heard about it I didn’t know what the big deal was.

Fast Forward to today: I’ve read all 4 books and seen the Twilight and New Moon movies.

This is my review of the final book in the Twilight saga- Breaking Dawn.

Like I have said before:

* Do Not, Repeat, Do Not read this book if you haven’t read the other 3 books *

Start from the beginning and read them all; after the first one, you’ll have no choice, you gotta see what happens.

With that said… on with the review:

Breaking Dawn is VERY long, but like the other books, is a great, quick read.

The writing is good.

I liked that there was a twist involving Jacob, that I actually didn’t see coming until the chapter before it was revealed,

I love when that happens!

It wasn’t a Keyser Soze moment… but then again, nothing is better than ‘The Usual Suspects’.

Even with the suspension of disbelief that the reader is allowing for- with vampires and werewolves, or excuse me-

‘Shape Shifters’, Breaking Dawn has some moments that are a little hard to believe, even in the made-up world of

Stephenie Meyer.

But the book has to go to these lengths to get a happy ending, and you do get a happy ending,

in fact the last chapter is entitled: Happily Ever After.

Enough Said.

If you’ve read Twilight, do yourself a favor and read the rest of the ’saga’. If you don’t have time right now,

buy the books (or borrow them- SOMEONE you know has them, trust me) and pack them up with you when you go to the beach, or somewhere like that.

They’re unbelievable… and fun to read.

Like I said in my Twilight Review, this whole ’saga’ is about true love, vampires, werewolves, good vs. evil…

It’s Sixteen Candles and Jake Ryan is a ‘Good’ Vampire… What’s not to like ? :)

Has American Idol Jumped The Shark?

Nicole — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:25:43 +0000

Do You LOVE American Idol?… (crickets chirping)

Okay, do you like American Idol? (I’m in this category).

American Idol: Have You Jumped the Shark?

First of all, I used to love to watch the opening auditions; who doesn’t love a good train wreck, and more importantly, the discovery of a great unknown talent?!

But this year seems different; it is different.

I was never a huge Paula fan, but… I miss her now, or rather, I miss what she brought to the show. There – I said it. I miss Paula!

And Simon is leaving after this season and seems like ‘this-American-Idol-judge-thing’ is tiresome.

And who can blame him? His ‘X Factor’ show is starting up next year, supposedly an ‘American Idol’ without age limits. He’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars, so it’s not about the money, a.k.a.- he doesn’t need this gig. And he’s supposedly asking Paula Abdul to be a judge on his ‘X Factor’ show–

for all the rolling of the eyes he used to do- HE MISSES PAULA TOO.

Ellen DeGeneres has brilliant comic timing on her show, but I’m not quite sure she works on American Idol. And Kara, the super-talented singer songwriter judge, is still looking for her role… I think.

But American Idol is about finding singing talent…

Where is the talent this year? It’s there… yes. But I’m not completely excited by anyone. I was spoiled last year by Adam Lambert. I tuned in every week to hear him sing and was excited to hear what new arrangement he would put together (yes, I admit it).

Adam Lambert was CRAZY good.

This year EVERYONE seems just, a, little, tired.

Move Over Fonzie,

American Idol is slipping… into its waterskis to- Jump The Shark.

Go To The Circus… and Help Some Children!

Nicole — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:33:52 +0000

BananaBlueberry wants everyone to know about a special night at the circus that is coming up!

It’s the 13th Annual Children’s Premiere Night-

Tickets are discounted and proceeds go to Friends of the Clinical Center, The Children’s Inn at NIH and Special Love for Children with Cancer!

You can print this page and send it in with your money for the tickets,

or email my friend, AND MOTHER OF 5 BOYS (Woo, Woo), Mary Jane at

37purchasing@gmail.com

She’ll answer any questions and can even meet you somewhere

with your tickets.

Join us for the 13th Annual Children’s Premiere Night !

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at the Verizon Center

6:00 pm – All Access Pre-show

7:00 pm – The Main Event

You won’t hear about this on the radio or television because this night is only for special

invitees from the NIH R&W…and you and your friends and family are invited!!

Proceeds benefit Friends of the Clinical Center, The Children’s Inn at NIH and

Special Love for Children with Cancer

Plus, help provide free tickets to over 3,000 needy children from area hospitals and social service

agencies! The Children’s National Medical Center, Ronald McDonald House, Howard University

Hospital, Bethesda Cares, The Dwelling Place, Linkages to Learning, Boys & Girls Clubs, St. Ann’s Infant

& Maternity Home, and the Marie H. Reed Community Learning center identify children who would benefit

most.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Circus Ticket Order Form

Name:_______________________________________________ Phone:___________________

Address:_____________________________________________ E-mail:___________________

□ Count me in! I will purchase _____ tickets at $ 24 (regular ticket price is $35)level 100

□ I will purchase _____ tickets at $ 14 (regular ticket price is $18)level 400

□ Front Row _____ tickets at $ 60 (regular ticket price is $75)

□ Circus Celebrity ____ tickets at $ 90 (regular ticket price is $110)

□ I will sponsor ___tickets for needy kids at a cost of $ 15 per child for a total of $_____

Please make checks payable to R&W Foundation

Mail your check and order form to Friends of the Clinical Center, PO Box 340139, Bethesda, MD 20827

Questions? E-mail Heidi Grolig at groligh@mail.nih.gov

Friends of the Clinical Center is a 501(c) non profit organization providing emergency financial aid to patients of the

National Institutes of Health and their families.