Jude's Thursday Dish

My neglected Blog! I keep saying I'll give it more attention, but I'm having Blog writer's block. I just don't have anything really to share. We haven't gone anywhere. We're not doing anything. It's Winter I tell you. SO over it. I haven't taken my camera out since Christmas. Is a blog like the parable of talents? If it's not tended to, it will whither away? Hmmm. Well, we'll always have POP CULTURE and I have much to dish on!


1. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE that Angelina Jolie wannabe mom of the octuplets. Seriously? Could she be trying ANY harder to be Mrs. Pitt? She denies it, but come on!  With her long dark hair and her mega-lips and her baby collection? Reality check, Lady. A. Angelina is naturally beautiful, you look like you got your lips burned on the stove. B. Angelina has MONEY. Hello? Lots and lots of money to pay for everything and pay for lots of nannies. Now the state gets to pay for you. C. She has a hottie partner to help with all the baby goodness. You, my dear, are not a celebrity. And you don't deserve all those babies. Yes, I'm totally bitter because I'm pregnancy challenged, but COME ON! If I can't rant about this, what CAN I rant about? What she did is just unbelievably irresponsible. I'm not saying anything new. It's been all over the media and I'm sure it's easy to demonize a woman no one knows, but in the infamous words of Amy Poehler and Seth Meyer, "REALLY?!!"

2. I sort of finished "Breaking Dawn." It was TERRIBLE. I skipped about 1/3 of the middle and read the end. I'm sure my Young Women would freak out and say that I didn't give it a chance. Oh Girls, I did. Being an editor, I'm good at getting the gist of something without reading every detail and that was plenty for me. SPOILER ALERT: I've heard a lot of people say they didn't like the book for the implied sex. That didn't bother me. It was the whole freaky-weird relationship between Jacob and Renesmee. Ew. Ew. EW! So he's soulmates with a weird baby girl who's growing too fast? And it's the child of the woman he adored and the man he hates? I kept picturing this scary a-- animatronic woman/child kind of like that creepy dancing baby back from "Ally McBeal." How are they pulling that off in the movie? Anyway, that's just one of the problems I had. Everything worked out TOO perfectly. Bella becoming a vampire was a complete letdown. All that drama leading up from 3 books and none of the consequences. She was like the Mary Sunshine vampire. How dull. I could go on and on. It wasn't just "Breaking Dawn" - I hated the last 3 books. The first was the only redeeming one. Sorry Twilight lovers. I'm not feeling it.


3. We had the pleasant surprise of John's brother and our sister-in-law calling us up on Saturday saying that they'd watch Katie for us so we could go to a movie. That NEVER happens. So, it was my turn to pick and we went to see "He's Just Not That Into You." It was entertaining, but easily forgettable. I really like the Drew Barrymore part, but she was only in the movie for 5 scenes. I would've like to see her more. Ginnifer Goodwin was really the star. John even liked it for the most part. He thought the Jennifer Aniston/Ben Affleck storyline was the most real. But both of us agreed with the movie critic, Richard Roeper, that NONE of these beautiful women would be so desperate. Come on!

4. This is a good segue into my next topic. I've had a cold, so I've actually had the chance to veg and watch a couple of On Demand movies. Unfortunately, there's been a common theme with the 2 I watched and the "Not into You" movie. Adultery. In "He's Just Not That Into You", the worst plotline is the Jennifer Connolly/Bradley Cooper/Scarlett Johannsen triangle. SPOILER ALERT: Cooper cheats with Scarlett. That's disturbing in itself, but being the self proclaimed-openminded-kind-of-liberal-entertainment-junkie that I am, I can handle that. When it's done well. And it's believable. And you understand the reasons and the characters. But this was just weak. The writers "blamed" Jennifer Connolly because she forced Cooper into getting married, they stopped having sex and she was more into renovating her home than into him. Of course he couldn't help but fall into the arms of the curvy (and annoying) Scarlett Johannsen. GAG! What kind of message is that sending women out there? I don't agree with painting men out to be womanizing cheaters; the media is too quick to stereotype men that way. But in this case, in THIS story, that guy was TOTALLY to blame. Ugh.

The next movie I saw was the "The Jane Austen Book Club" which I actually liked. I read the book and since I'm a FREAK over Jane Austen; it was totally up my alley. The other was "The Women" with Meg Ryan -- an AWFUL movie -- and that one I actually paid for On Demand. Nice waste of $4.99. Infidelity was a/the theme in both these films. SPOILER ALERT: each film has a woman who is dumped by their husbands for another woman. Both go through this "awakening" and become better, more interesting women than they were before making their husband's leave the other woman they were with and want to get back together. In the words of Meg Ryan's husband, "I want to get to know you again." It all works out and they reconnect. THAT, my friends, is disturbing. The message I take from this is as long as a divorced woman gets a makeover, a new job, a new outlook, and re-finds herself, then her ex will come crawling back. That's unfair to all divorced women out there. Life rarely works out like that. Women taking that message to heart will have a lot of false hope. And so will their families. And cheating husbands will have yet ANOTHER excuse why they left their wives: you just needed to get your hair straightened, Honey. There was another storyline in "Book Club" that was a little more realistic. A unhappy girl in her 20's (Emily Blunt) who's struggling with her crazy mom who later dies and isn't connecting with her husband. She's tempted by infidelity with a student, but turns away (thanks to the inspiration of "Persuasion") and decides to work on her marriage. It's not just that the moral of that storyline fits well with my beliefs, but it was much more believable.

Instead of a number 5, here's some LUNCH RUSH:

- Enjoyed the Grammy's.  Not that I care at all who wins (except I WAS bummed for Coldplay not winning Album of the year), but the performances were entertaining.  That Katy Perry though.  Madonna you are not.  She needs to learn to dance (and maybe write a song that's not so skanky).

- My niece Ashley's world must be rocked.  She LOVES Chris Brown.   What bugs me about this is that everyone is in an uproar because he beat up another celebrity.  But when celebs hurt their less famous significant other, they seem to turn the other cheek.  Remember Christian Bale in a domestic dispute with his MOTHER and SISTER?  It's not right no matter who it is.

- Edie is leaving "Desperate Housewives" ABC has confirmed.  Her storyline is WAY played out.  But man, Nicolette Sheridan has an amazing body.  I'm just skeeved out she's with Michael Bolton.

- Started watching "Idol" during Hollywood Week.  I'm worried we're going to have another Sanjaya on our hands with some of their final 36 choices.  Tatiana?  The weird Nic/Norman guy?  Come on, Judges.  Pick the best SINGERS, not the ones for ratings only.  And there were a couple of singers who BUTCHERED at Hollywood Week like the girl who forgot her lyrics or the guy that walked out of his audition.  Even if someone doesn't "stand out" in the judges words, they deserve a shot over someone who chokes during auditions.

And now for the goodness: LOSTapolooza!

(As always, go away if you haven't watched last night's episode!)

Last night's episode BLEW my mind.  What I love is that nothing is coincidental at all.  To think that things we learned about back in season 1 are getting backstory now just shows how BRILLIANT Damon/Carlton are.  Sure, things got a little muddied in season 2 and 3, but that's because they didn't have an end date like they wanted and they had to add some filler.  But the core storyline has always been SO thought out and carefully executed that all I can say is DAMN.  I wish I was that kind of storyteller.

My gushing is all about the Jin/Rousseau storyline.  Most shows, or movies for that matter, would've taken Rousseau's history as just a bit of backstory.  But to have Jin travel back in time to WITNESS it firsthand for himself (and the audience) is awesome.  It was disturbing to see the monster get that smug French guy (of course the rude one is going) and oh, that arm!  But to see what started to make them crazy and how Rousseau had to kill them all, really brought the island mythology to life.  And did we really get the real answer on the Monster?  Rousseau has said it before.  Is it really just a security system for the temple?  I'm thinking so, just a little more crazy, mystic one.

Charlotte was never more likable then when she was dying "Turn it up, I love Jeronimo Jackson!"  I've seen that actress interviewed and she's got a ton of personality.  Too bad it never translated to Charlotte's character.  I hope we get more backstory from her.  I thought maybe she was Whidmore or Ben's daughter, but I don't anymore.  I think she's the daughter of that British woman who talked to Faraday back when he was trying to dismantle the atomic bomb. Faraday's time travel history is something I can't wrap my head around.  Why doesn't he remember all this?  Does he go back in time to warn Charlotte to come back or did that really happen in the past? Is he going to break his own "rule" and do a Marty McFly to go back and change history, because he loves Charlotte and wants her to live? I'm thinking she's not gone for good. Oh, and Producers, stop killing all the women. Come on!

Still can't believe anyone trusts Benry!  And if Jack's dad said not to believe him then why is he working with Faraday's mom?  Who's side is that dude on?  Locke getting stuck in the ground was classic Lost.  Poor Sawyer.  He wants to save everyone now.  Loved the bromance reunion between him and Jin.  I can't WAIT to see what they've been up to for the last 3 years.

COMING UP: I don't think Hurley or Sayid are going back to the island yet.  The previews make it look like Hurley is on a plane (eye mask), but I don't think that's happening.  It'll have to take longer to get all of them back, because the producers have said that season 5 is all about WHY they have to go back and HOW they get there.  We're in too early to have them all reunited yet.  And we need to know what Locke has been up to for 3 years and how he became Jeremy freakin' Bentham!

Wow, that's it (and a LOT) for this week!