Mystery Solved: Details behind Padma's Scar

I know on at least one occasion my friends and I have discussed the scar on Padma Lakshmi's (aka Top Chef host) arm. I thought I had read that no one really knew where it came from and that she wouldn't discuss it in interviews.

Guess I was wrong because she explains it all in an old Vogue article. She was in a car accident with her family when she was fourteen and her arm was completely shattered which left a scar about 1" wide and 7" long.

She successfully became a model regardless... at first, she modeled with long sleeves or with her arm covered in make-up and then eventually, it sort of became a beauty trademark. I guess like Cindy Crawford's mole or something.

One to Watch: Damages on FX

If you're looking for some quality TV during the summer hiatus, you've got to check out some of the new shows on the cable networks. I've recently become hooked on FX's new series, Damages. It's so good and there's nothing on the big networks like it.

I'm not even sure how to describe it... the main characters are lawyers but the show is NOT like those courtroom procedural shows. One reviewer called it a thriller - that would be a good description.

The pilot opened with a chilling scene of a frantic young lady covered in blood running from something horrible through the streets of NYC. Then cut to 6 months earlier where we find out she's a bright, up and coming lawyer (Ellen) who's just been hired by a high power litigation firm headed by Glenn Close's character (Patty Hewes) - who is a total badass, very cold, calculating, cut-throat, etc.

The show cuts back and forth between the two timeframes - the backstory is that Patty Hewes is in the middle of a huge litigation case (think Erin Brockovich or Runaway Jury) and the person her firm is suing (Frobisher, played by Ted Danson) has a lot to lose. So it gets all dirty and sneaky and stuff.

The other part is what happens in the future, but you don't know the details and the show slowly gives you clues as to what happened. They usually do this with those chilling scenes which I think occur both in the beginning and the end of each episode. There's no dialogue in these scenes, they just show you what happened...

There's only been three episodes so far and here's how each one ended (if I remember correctly):
1. Shot of Ellen's fiance murdered in their bathtub (Is this what Ellen was running from?)
2. Shot of Ellen standing over her murdered fiance all covered in blood herself (same condition as the opening scene of the pilot) holding a bloody statue of liberty bookend (Did Ellen murder her fiance?)
3. Shot of Ellen actually being the one who was attacked - someone was trying to kill her

OK, I've realized that I've made this show sound all creepy and gory. That's actually just a small part of the show - but they're the cliffhangers that make me keep tuning back in. I want to know what the heck happened to this girl!!!

But the bulk of the episodes highlight Ellen and Patty and the rest of the firm working the case, Patty testing Ellen as the rookie on the team, Ellen trying to balance her career and personal life, Ted Danson and his lawyer scheming away... etc.

It's been really good so far... I would consider this "movie-quality" if that means anything.

Tuesdays on FX at 10PM...

I want to be on the hot tamale train!

These dancers really have improved so much since the beginning - it's kinda cool to see.

Pasha was awesome tonight! He was so "funky" with the hip hop, not ballroom-y at all. And he was perfect in the waltz :)

I think Danny figured out the secret to winning over the audience - smiling!

My favorite routine of the night was the Mandy Moore one (no, not that Mandy Moore). It was just so different and cool! Very slick...



And about Neil's "planche" move... did anyone else find that really hot??? (TMI?) I have to admit I did an instant replay on that one... :)

So bummed that we have to wait until Monday for the results...

How could I have missed this?

Here's the latest from the boy band world (I know - apparently, there still is one!)... did you know that VH1 has this show called Mission: Man Band? It's described as Surreal Life meets Making the Band. (Speaking of Making the Band, Diddy fired Laurie Ann! I don't know any of the details, but that sassy choreographer was the best thing about that show!)

Here's a synopsis of the Man Band series: "Chris Kirkpatrick (N*SYNC); Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees); Rich Cronin (LFO) and Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) will live together for one month, create new music, a dynamic stage show and perform as a new pop group."

I'm surprised this slipped under my radar - it was actually announced earlier this year!

I don't think this will make my DVR list, though... there's too much other good stuff out there. (More on that coming soon... for example, The Closer and My Boys were awesome last night!)

VH1 is pretty funny though... they're all about giving people a second chance with the whole celebrity thing (Scott Baio, Danny Bonaduce, Hulk Hogan, Bret Michael, etc...).

I love those boys!

My Boys is hysterical. This episode had so many funny moments... I just love those boys! I want to hang out with them, too, don't you? Some highlights:

• Trouty referring to Bobby as "Boo-boo" (Speaking of which, talk about playing an opposite character from David on Roseanne!)
• PJ's brother working his tuxedo - playing party planner, bartender, drummer in the band
• Bobby making fun of PJ flirting with the Cubs player ("Ugh! Just the whole thing... ugh.")
• All the boys telling Bobby how hot he is - forcing him to finally blow up at PJ and the Cubs player and telling them to back off since being sexy is not one of his things
• Trouty is #16 and Brando only scores #37? Really?
• Kenny's response when PJ accused him of not knowing anything about her potential Cubs suitor: "I know him. He's on my fantasy team. He's breaking my heart and he'll break yours too!"

I know there were so many more but I can't remember them now.

I think it's hilarious that there's all this tension between Stephanie and Kenny but they never explain why. I thought maybe I had missed something - but I've read some articles on the show and I'm pretty sure they've never explained it. Theories, anyone?

Random Comment

You know who's really creepy? (Besides Ben and Professor Umbridge.) Cillian Murphy, that's who. I caught Red Eye this weekend and he played such a psycho! Head butting my girl Rachel McAdams and at the end chasing her around with his stabbed throat - creepy! Plus I saw bits of Batman Begins, too, where he is again a bad guy (*very* bad)... I just can't picture him playing a nice, charming fellow.

Any why did they give him such a dorky Peter Tork hair-do for the Red Eye film???

The Bourne Ultimatum Rocks!

I watched "The Bourne Ultimatum" this morning. No, I wasn't playing hooky. It was for work. Sort of. Thanks Juniper - the free screening was awesome and I enjoyed learning about your high performance networks! ;) (By the way - the showing was at the Mercado, and it was so funny to see the line for the men's restroom be so much longer than the one for the women's restroom.)

Anyway - this movie rocks! And you know I'm not really into action films. I had only seen the first one so I was a little worried about being lost so I actually read the plot summaries of the first two films on wikipedia. (Yes, I'm a geek.) Turns out it wasn't really necessary - the movie does a pretty good with explaining the backstory throughout the film.

All the action scenes were super intense and highly entertaining. I get freaked out easily with these kind of films and there really was only one "cringe-worthy" scene for me which this crazy fight scene with Bourne and a bad guy (which wasn't *that* bad) in some empty apartment of all places. It was also really amusing to watch Bourne outwit a whole crew of CIA agents.

The movie also had a very satisfying ending considering this is the third "Bourne" film (assuming this trilogy does not have more sequels).

To summarize, Matt Damon as Jason Bourne is a total BAD-ASS. I definitely recommend!

Not a night for breakers

I guess when there's only 8 dancers left, there's no way not to be disappointed with the results. But I really didn't think it would be Dominic and Sara. Who the heck is voting for Lauren???

Random comment - other than Danny and his amazing spinning ability, no one is really *that* good of a solo dancer, dontcha think? I thought Lacey would wow us but she sort of just ran all over the stage. And Pasha just waved his cape around (still love him though). Actually, I guess Sabra and Neil did a pretty good job as well. Sabra is so adorable - she is so tiny and she just flies off the stage.

Also, I love that the show is really good about introducing new music. Well, new to me, anyway, since I'm not that hip with the tunes. I like how they always show the name and artist at the beginning of the routine. Having them come on to perform, like with One Republic, was really cool, too. I never would have heard of them if it wasn't for the show. Unless maybe their song was used in the background of a Grey's Anatomy episode - that's also where I pick up new tunes as well. :)

Anyway, here's the video of the song they performed on the show, "Apologize."



And here is when Danny and Anya performed to it:

A Miracle Indeed

Is anyone else freaked out that Nicole Richie is 4 months pregnant with Joel Madden's child? Isn't she like 80 pounds or something - can her waify body handle a baby??? Well, best of luck to them. Man, jail time and pregnancy - certainly is a big year for her, huh?

You Can't Stop the Beat

This is too cute - apparently, they are now having Sing-A-Long showings of the movie Hairspray! Lyrics will flash across the screen during all the musical numbers and the audience is encouraged to sing along. I wonder if people actually participate... that would really crack me up. A list of showings can be found here.

I Guess I Just Didn't Get It

Here's the thing - I missed Mia Michaels' intro before Neil and Lacey's contemporary piece. So I didn't know the whole backstory while watching their performance. Sure, it was nice - but it didn't have any huge impact on me. And then there were everyone's reactions! People crying and saying this was one of the best performances - not just from this season, not just from this show, but one of the best performances on television *ever*... I was so confused.

Even after rewinding and hearing the intro and then watching the piece again - I don't know... it still didn't do anything for me. I could understand why people were crying but I don't think that will be a dance piece that would rank as one of my favorites from this show. To be honest, I liked their Latin jazz number better.

Here it is - take a look and let me know what you think:



I still think last season's "Park Bench" routine was more interesting:



BTW - did you know that this was nominated for an Emmy??? (That was a sarcastic comment, BTW, since they constantly mention this!)

Yay - The Return of "My Boys"!

"My Boys" is back for a second season starting tonight on TBS at 10PM PST. This show is awesome and I highly recommend it. The show is similar to Sex and the City in a lot of ways, and is also completely opposite in a lot of ways as well.

The main character is PJ, a very tomboy-ish gal who is a sports journalist for a major Chicago paper. Her best buddies are mainly her brother and a group of boys and they all meet up for a weekly poker game at her place. Her sole female friend is a very girly-girl gal.

Anyway, the show is really cute and funny so check it out! Last season's cliffhanger ended with PJ smooching one of her best buds. I was kind of annoyed with that because I liked their platonic friendship, but oh well. I still recommend. :)

Top Ten of SYTYCD

So using Lost terminology, this week's SYTYCD is the "game-changer". There are ten dancers left so that means:

• Dancers will have a new partner each week
• Elimination is helded American Idol style where audience votes for individual dancer, not the pair, and the girl and boy dancers with the lowest votes are eliminated
• Judges no longer have a say

And then they added a new element - all dancers perform a solo using the same choreo. What are your thoughts on this? Personally, I am not a fan. To watch the same piece 10 times??? I don't even care if was by Wade. I get bored when they have the American Idol finalists sing the same song in the finale - and that's only two people! And then to have them all line up at the end and listen as each judge critiqued them one by one on their solos? BORING!

I don't know... I thought this whole week was a dud. I didn't really even have a favorite routine. Well, maybe Sara and Neil and their disco just because they were so cute and fun. Sara's dress was adorable - but did it rip open or something at the end? I know she almost flashed but then she spent the rest of the judging session holding her dress closely.

Even the eliminations were boring - was anyone surprised that Kameron and Jaimie were kicked off this week?

Random comments:

• Wade is married? So sad...
• I was expecting Danny to rip open his shirt during their samba routine since it was choreographed by last season's Dmitri... you know - since Benji included a lot of his "signature" moves in that west coast swing routine
• I felt bad for Dom and Jaimie and their critiques... how could you not be over-the-top with that Don Quixote (sp?) / Man of La Mancha song???

That's all for now!

Thriller Time!

I know filipinos love to dance but this is ridiculous! Check out what happens in a prison in the Philippines:

R.I.P. Laguna Beach

It looks like we've reached the end of an era as far as Laguna Beach goes. MTV has moved up north and they now present... * drumroll, please *

Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County

Premieres on August 15th at 10:30PM... two days after the season premiere of The Hills!

Movie Review of Hairspray

Caught Hairspray last night with my good buddy, AY, and loved it!!! I knew I would like it because I had seen the stage version when it toured in SF. The songs are super catchy and fun (which reminds me - I've got to download that from iTunes), the costumes and hairdos (hello hair!) are super cute, and the dancing was awesome! (Needless to say, I didn't mind the Hairspray-overload week on So You Think You Can Dance.)

Plus - check out the cast! They did a superb job with this one. Star Nikki Blonsky is adorable in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad and sort of reminds me of a teenage version of Curly Sue. She could definitely shake it. Amanda Bynes plays her peppy best friend, Brittany Snow makes good use of her American Dreams experience and plays the lead dancer on the TV dance show, and Zac Efron (from Disney Channel's tween-popular High School Musical) plays her beau and TV heartthrob.

Then you've got James Marsden (The Notebook) who plays the TV host Corny Collins, Queen Latifah who shines again with some great singing like she did in Chicago, Michelle Pfeiffer who I haven't seen in a movie musical since Grease 2, and of course, Christopher Walken who plays Tracy's dad. There were also some fun cameos by John Waters and Ricki Lake from the original Hairspray film.

But honestly, for me, the biggest star performance came from good 'old John Travolta, who plays Tracy's mom, Edna Turnblad. I've never seen an actor so comfortable in both drag AND a fat suit - while singing and dancing, no less! It truly was amazing. (If not a little bit freaky - especially in the "romantic" song and dance number with him and Christopher Walken.) It was really interesting to see him in this role, especially since earlier that day, I had caught a little bit of Staying Alive (sequel to Saturday Night Fever where Tony Manero is now an aspriring Broadway dancer) where his physique was just a tad bit different. So even if you're not into movie musicals, you still may want to check this out just to catch Travolta's performance. Especially when he channels some serious Tina Turner moves in the finale.

I've heard a lot of comparisons with this movie and Grease. I could see that. You've got a lot of kids singing and dancing in a high school setting. Also similar to Grease are all those subtle, tongue-in-cheek jokes that you may not catch right away if you're a youngin'. (Or maybe you would - kids are very different today, after all!)

On top of all that, this movie does cover a more serious message. The whole premise of the movie is overcoming the obstacles to make the move from the segregated worlds of the blacks and whites to a fully integrated one. And they do it in a very fun way!

Anyway, I highly recommend - go check it out!

Who knew - I like Posh!

I don't get the bad Posh press... I thought her reality special was highly entertaining. If that had been a whole series, I would have watched it. (Although, I also check in to Hey Paula from time to time, so obviously I'm easy to please.)

I was pleasantly surprised by the Posh special - she is actually pretty funny! She always seems so stoic to me but in the show, you could see she has a good sense of humor. She wears stiletto heels when lounging at her pool - that's funny! And the way she posed for her DMV photo made me laugh out loud. She had some little league players help her prepare to throw the first pitch at a Dodgers game. She got tipsy with some kooky neighbors. And she even had coffee with Perez Hilton even though he told her he has referred to her as an alien on his website.

OK, sure she is a bit spoiled... but I like her a lot more now than I did before.

Emmy nominations announced!

NOMINEES for the 59th annual Primetime Emmy Awards

COMEDY SERIES
"The Office"
"Entourage"
"30 Rock"
"Two and a Half Men"
"Ugly Betty"

Very happy about The Office, 30 Rock, and Ugly Betty - definitely got some of my favorite shows there! Also, I just happened to catch an episode of Entourage for the first time this past weekend - not bad! I'm all about Ari though - the rest of the guys haven't won me over yet.

DRAMA SERIES
"Boston Legal"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Heroes"
"House"
"The Sopranos"

No Lost? Brother and Sisters?

ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Hugh Laurie, "House"
James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"
Denis Leary, "Rescue Me"
James Spader, "Boston Legal"

Don't watch any of these...

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
Sally Field, "Brothers and Sisters"
Minnie Driver, "The Riches"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU"

Is Sally Field pretty much a shoo-in since she is after all Sally Field?

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"
Ricky Gervais, "Extras"

Hmmm... Alec Baldwin always cracks me up.

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"
Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"

Tough for me... I love both Tina Fey and America Ferrera. For this category though... I'm leaning toward Tina - she's hilarious!

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
William Shatner, "Boston Legal"
T.R. Knight, "Grey's Anatomy"
Masi Oka , "Heroes"
Michael Emerson, "Lost"
Terry O'Quinn, "Lost"
Michael Imperioli, "The Sopranos"

Well... Ben did creep the heck out of me this season... so I guess Michael Emerson. Oh wait, is this the season that George's dad died on GA? Because then I'd be torn with T.R. Knight.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Kevin Dillon, "Entourage"
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"
Rainn Wilson, "The Office"
Jon Cryer, Two and A Half Men"

I will root for Jeremy Piven although Rainn Wilson has his moments, too.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers & Sisters"
Katherine Heigl, "Grey's Anatomy"
Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy"
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"
Aida Turturro, "The Sopranos"
Lorraine Bracco, The Sopranos"

Here's where I'm actually kind of outraged. What about Juliet from Lost??? The whole season was about her!!!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jaime Pressly, "My Name Is Earl"
Jenna Fischer, "The Office"
Holland Taylor, "Two and A Half Men"
Conchata Ferrell, "Two and A Half Men"
Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"
Elizabeth Perkins, "Weeds"

I love Jenna, but this belongs to Vanessa Williams.

Quick Thoughts on Last Night's SYTYCD

Favorite of the night was actually Danny and Anya's foxtrot! But Danny is really doing himself a disservice with his "get to know you" interviews... the best thing about Anya is her crazy outfits, one of which he calls a lampshade??? He should look into a personality consultant.

I also liked the 80's jazz routine that Sara and Pasha did. Does anyone remember that show from the 80's called Double Trouble that featured those cute red-headed twin girls - one was studious and one was a troublemaker? The troublemaker was supposed to appear in this dance competition on a TV show but twisted her ankle, so the studious one danced in her place. Sara and Pasha's routine reminded me of her routine. (Huge bonus points to anyone that has any idea on what I'm talking about here. And if you can name the song that was used in Double Trouble - I'll send you a big prize. I've googled with no luck.)

I don't think I've ever been impressed with a Dan Karaty routine - why do they keep bringing him back? (Although, I may have to download that Fergie tune for my running mix!)

The Mia Michaels piece was a miss for me, as well. Although I did like the Bojangles one. Still struggling with the idea of Hok and Jaimie as a couple, though.

And ouch! I had heard that Sabra was dropped during the Hairspray group number - but I didn't expect it to be as bad as what was shown during their montage. Yeah, I would have problems with trusting Dom as well.

Movie Review of Harry Potter 5

WARNING: Don't read if you're still planning to see the film!

So I caught Harry Potter 5 yesterday and I *loved* it! I just love that little Hogwarts world.

I failed in my mission to finish the book before seeing the movie (only got about halfway) and I'm kind of glad because then I could be curious to see how it all ended during the movie. I didn't already know the answers to what Voldemort was seeking or why Dumbledore was ignoring Harry.

Plus, it was awesome because I felt the movie moved much more quickly than the book. We didn't get bogged down by all their classes and homework assigments and Hermione knitting socks for house elves and stuff. I'm not even sure I want to finish the book now. I might just go straight ahead to book 6 - who knows when I will finish that one? Hopefully before July 28th!

But my friend made a good point... I thought it moved fast but if you hadn't read the book, did it move too fast? Just like with the Da Vinci code, I loved it because I could relive the book but much quicker. My friends that hadn't read the book were a little confused.

Anyway, back to the movie. Imelda Staunton (I think that's her name?) is sooooooo evil as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. She played the role perfectly. It's funny how a little stocky woman that only wore pink and had an office covered with plates featuring pictures of kittens could be sooooo creepy - I mean, she gives Professor Snape a run for his money.

And I'm so glad they cut Harry Potter's hair. Especially when they would flashback to scenes from the last film where it was long and bushy and stuff. Clean cut is a big improvement. And I'm not the only Asian girl that noticed :) Hello, make out scene!!! Yeah, Harry and Cho totally made out. Underneath a magical mistletoe to boot. Harry is totally on Teen Beat cover status now.

The tagline of the film is "The Rebellion Begins". It sure does! For stupid reasons that I'm not bothering to explain here, the Ministry believes there is no threat of the Dark Lord returning. Further, Umbridge refuses to teach the kids how to actually practice spells, just the theory of defending against the dark arts. So the kids take matters into their hands and form a secret group, Dumbledore's Army, and Harry teaches them all the special defensive spells he's learned over the years. It's awesome.

This all comes in handy in the action packed ending when all the kids (even Ginny, Neville, and new kid Luna Lovegood) battle the Death Eaters including slimy Lucius Malfoy. And then there's the BIG battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort - total Yoda vs. Darth Vader action going on there.

The Weasley twins also have an awesome finale-like scene as well.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot of stuff, but long story short - I recommend. The beginning might be a little slow for the non-die hard HP fans (as the lady next to me fell asleep during it) but it gets really good in the end.