Celebrity Duets

So this show is right up my alley. I love Dancing with the Stars and American Idol so of course this show was a must see for me. Here is my review:

First Song:
Lucy Lawless & Michael Bolton - eh, it was ok but not great
Alfonso Ribeiro & Michelle Williams - excellent and I thought he was better than she was
Carly Patterson & James Ingram - he was great as always but she sounded like she was out of a high school musical
Cheech Marin & Peter Frampton - Cheech was, um interesting and when did Frampton sell out?
Lea Thompson & Randy Travis - maybe it's just because I CAN NOT stand him but I didn't like it
Jai Rodridguez & Gladys Knight - DAMN I knew he was a Broadway star (he was Angel in my favorite musical RENT) but that boy can SING!
Chris Jericho & LeeAnn Womack - pretty good and she is so wonderful
Hal Sparks & Smokey Robinson - not only is he funny as hell but he can sing too!

Second song:
Lea Thompson & Michael Bolton - better but still not great
Carly Patterson & LeeAnn Womack - sounded like a duet at a church mother/daughter banquet but I still love LeeAnn
Alfonso Ribeiro & James Ingram - wow they were great together!
Chris Jericho & Peter Frampton - much better but I think he is on crack
Lucy Lawless & Smokey Robinson - wow that was really good
Hal Sparks & Gladys Knight - not bad but his first song was better
Cheech Marin & Randy Travis - they are a perfect duet since neither one can sing worth a darn
Jai Rodriguez & Michelle Williams - I love him! He is amazing!

They sent home Chris Jericho. I would have rather seen Carly Patterson go home. I definitely think Jai will win but with America voting you never know.

Vanished

I wasn't sure about this show when I watched the premiere last week. I thought they crammed to much background of the characters into one episode. However, after last night's show I am hooked. The concept has been done before but this is an interesting angle. The double life thing is also very interesting. I was pleasantly surprised - I was ready to give up on the show if I did not like yesterday's episode. I just hope this doesn't get cancelled before we learn the truth. I don't think I can handle that again after the same thing happened to Reunion and Invasion last year.

Suspicion (1941)

3 out of 4 stars

Another Cary Grant classic. This time he stars as Johnnie, a broke playboy who marries Lina, played by Joan Fontaine (who won an Oscar for her performance). Lina is also an heiress who believes that Johnnie is trying to kill her for her money. This is a wonderful film noir that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. You're never quit sure if Johnnie's motives are true or if Lina is overeacting to some very peculiar coincidences. A wonderful movie full of suspense.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

4 out of 4 stars

This is such a wonderful classic. It is still hilarious after all these years. The movie stars Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster, a drama/marriage critic. He is about to take the plunge and get married. This is when he learns that the two aunts who raised him have been poisoning lonely old men. He figures out a way to fix the problem of the bodies in the basement when his long lost (and crazy) brother Jonathan shows up. This is when things start to go downhill for poor Mortimer. I still laugh when I watch this one. Cary Grant said this was his least favorite performance. He said it was so over the top that he could not stand to watch it. In my opinion he had to play this character over the top - that's what makes it so funny. This is one of the all time great screwball comedies made.

Lemon Rosemary Roast Chicken

This was an excellent roast chicken. I didn't really have a recipe but here's what I did.

Whole chicken (mine was 4 lbs)
Lemons (I used 2)
Rosemary (one bunch)
Garlic (3 whole cloves)
Butter (2 TBS)

- Melt butter with garlic cloves in the microwave.
- Thinly slice one lemon. Once the butter is melted halve the other lemon and squeeze juice into the butter.
- Place lemon slices and rosemary springs under the skin on the chicken breast.
- Place lemon halves that you juiced, remaining rosemary, and garlic from the butter in the chicken cavity. Brush entire chicken with butter/lemon juice mixture. Tie legs together with string and fold wings under.
- I cooked in my roaster on 425 degrees for 90 minutes. Make sure you let the chicken rest for before you carve it. As Rachael Ray would say yum-o!

58th Annual Emmy Awards

ETA - I didn't do so hot. Oh well, maybe I will do better once the Golden Globes roll around

Since tonight is the Emmy Awards - which I always Watch - I decided to make my predictions here and see how close I come. I will put my predicions in italics and will bold the winners tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Best Show - Drama
Grey's Anatomy
House
The Sopranos
24
The West Wing

Best Actor - Drama
Christopher Meloni - Law and Order SVU
Denis Leary - Rescue Me
Peter Krause - Six Feet Under
Martin Sheen - The West Wing
Kiefer Sutherland - 24

Best Actress - Drama
Kyra Sedwick - The Closer
Geena Davis - Commander in Chief
Mariska Hargitay - Law and Order SVU
Frances Conroy - Six Feet Under
Allison Janney - The West Wing

Best Supporting Actor - Drama
William Shatner - Boston Legal
Oliver Platt - Huff
Michael Imperioli - The Sopranos
Gregory Itzin - 24
Alan Alda - The West Wing

Best Supporting Actress - Drama
Sandra Oh - Grey's Anatomy
Blythe Danner - Huff
Candice Bergen - Boston Legal
Changra Wilson - Grey's Anatomy
Jean Smart - 24

Best Show - Comedy
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office
Scrubs
Two and a Half Men

Best Actor - Comedy
Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm
Kevin James - The King of Queens
Tony Shalhoub - Monk
Steve Carell - The Office
Charlie Sheen - Two and a Half Men

Best Actress - Comedy
Lisa Kudrow - The Comeback
Jane Kaczmarek - Malcolm in the Middle
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of Old Christine
Stockard Channing - Out of Practice
Debra Messing - Will and Grace

Best Supporting Actor - Comedy
Will Arnett - Arrested Development
Jeremy Piven - Entourage
Bryan Cranston - Malcolm in the Middle
Jon Cryer - Two and a Half Men
Sean Hayes - Will and Grace

Best Supporting Actress - Comedy
Cheryl Hines - Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jamie Pressly - My Name is Earl
Elizabeth Perkins - Weeds
Alfre Woodward - Desperate Housewives
Megan Mullally - Will and Grace

Best Reality Show
Antiques Roadshow
The Dog Whisperer
Extreme Makeover:Home Edition
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
Penn & Teller: Bullshit

Best Reality Competition Show
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
Survivor

Best Miniseries
Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre)
Elizabeth I
Into the West
Sleeper Cell

Best Made for TV Movie:
Flight 93
The Flight That Fought Back
The Girl in the Cafe
Mrs. Harris
Yesterday

Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher

Best Variety, Music or Comedy Secial
78th Annual Academy Awards
Bill Maher: I'm Swiss
George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing
McCartney in St. Petersburg
The XX Olympic Winter Games — Opening Ceremony

Best Actor - Miniseries or a Movie
Charles Dance - Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre)
Donald Sutherland - Human Trafficking
Ben Kingsley - Mrs. Harris
Jon Voight - Pope John Paul II
Andre Braugher - Thief

Best Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
Kathy Bates - Ambulance Girl
Gillian Anderson - Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre)
Helen Mirren - Elizabeth I
Judy Davis - A Little Thing Called Murder
Annette Bening - Mrs. Harris

Best Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movi
Denis Lawson - Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre)
Hugh Dancy - Elizabeth I
Jeremy Irons - Elizabeth I
Robert Carlyle - Human Trafficking
Clifton Collins Jr. - Thief

Best Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
Kelly Macdonald - The Girl in the Cafe
Shirley Jones - Hidden Places
Ellen Burstyn - Mrs. Harris
Cloris Leachman - Mrs. Harris
Alfre Woodard - The Water Is Wide (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation)

Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Patrick Stewart - Extras
Ben Stiller - Extras
Martin Sheen - Two and a Half Men
Alec Baldwin - Will & Grace
Leslie Jordan - Will & Grace

Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Michael J. Fox - Boston Legal
Christian Clemenson - Boston Legal
James Woods - ER
Kyle Chandler - Grey's Anatomy
Henry Ian Cusick - Lost

Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Shirley Knight - Desperate Housewives
Kate Winslet - Extras
Cloris Leachman - Malcolm in the Middle
Laurie Metcalf - Monk
Blythe Danner - Will & Grace

Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Kate Burton - Grey's Anatomy
Christina Ricci - Grey's Anatomy
Swoosie Kurtz - Huff
Patricia Clarkson - Six Feet Under
Joanna Cassidy - Six Feet Under

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

3 out of 4 stars

The next movie I watched was The Shop Around the Corner from 1940 staring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. They are co-workers who can't stand each other. The only problem is that they are also anonymous pen pals who are falling in love. This movie was eventually remade as You've Got Mail. This is a very sweet love story that actually stands the test of time. Jimmy Stewart shines as the leading man - the perpetual nice guy.

After the Thin Man (1936)

3 out of 4 stars

The first one I watched was After the Thin Man from 1936. It stars Myrna Loy and William Powell as Nora and Nick Charles - a married couple who also are detectives. There were 6 movies in the Thin Man series. In this movie they are trying to solve the murder of the husband of Nora's cousin, Selma. The movie is quite funny and has one of the best lines I have heard in a movie. At the beginning, Mr and Mrs Charles are on a train from New York to San Francisco. Nora asks Charles if he is packing. He answers her, as he is drinking, "yes dear I'm packing, packing away this liquor". I love that line. This movies also stars a young Jimmy Stewart as the love Selma left behind. As an added bonus Nora is knitting at the end.

Jewels by Danielle Steel - # 8

3 out of 4 stars

Since I have not had a lot of knitting content lately I have decided to do other things with this blog. One of those things is to keep track of the books I am reading. Today I finished Jewels by Danielle Steel. It is the story of Sarah and William, the Duke and Duchess of Whitfield. It follows them and their children from WWII through the 80s. It is a wonderful love story. I love Danielle Steel books for brain candy. She is not the best author in the world but her books are fun and easy reading. Next up I am reading Gerald's Game by Stephen King. Jewels was the 8th book I read this year - the others were Knit One Kill Two, At Knit's End, Needled to Death, The Shop on Blossom Street, The Secret Life of Knitter, The DaVinci Code and The Phantom of the Opera. Well, I read about knitting a lot. To bad it doesn't help my projects get closer to completion. Until next time ....

First Post

This will be the place where I keep track and review several things. I will write about the books I read, movies, tv shows and food I eat. This is mainly for my own benefit but I hope that others find interest as well. I know that I always love to read about other people's opinions of what they are eating, watching and reading. Here's to it. Until next time ....