TV: Gossip Girl : The Undergraduates

Blair and Serena were genius in this one!

Hmm…So let’s see if I remember the episode correctly. I think I just remember all the Blair and Serena parts because I dislike the Chuck-Eva and Dan-Vanessa parts. Call me biased, but here we go (oh, and these might not be in chronological order, sorry):

• Blair and Serena start their first day at Columbia together. Blair talks about the Hamilton House and how it is so exclusive that it makes “the Soho house look like a half-way house”. At the Hamilton House, we find Juliet as the key keeper and tells both girls that there is only one key left and only Blair is on the list. Serena makes a gracious exit and calls Dan. Fortunately, Dan says it’s a bad time to talk (having learned from Gossip Girl that Georgina is at St. Bart’s, and not at a spa). Blair approaches Serena and offers to not accept a key at Hamilton House but Serena insists. They hug and say goodbye. Serena sees Nate and tries to be friendly but Nate blows her off.
• Chuck takes Eva shopping. Chuck leaves and Eva is left alone in the store. She meets Blair and tries to make nice but Blair is Blair and she dishes out some mean things and hits the French girl’s self-esteem.
• Dan finds out that Milo isn’t his.
• Dan and Vanessa move in.
• Eric and Rufus are annoying. They forget that they live in the Bass apartment. Doesn’t it bother anyone else that Rufus gets to feel high and mighty while enjoying the space that Bart Bass owns? I’m beginning to see Rufus as a social climber. What does he do for a living anyway, aside from mooching off from Lily.
• Penelope is back and in one of my favorite scenes from the episode. I think  the scene is included in the promos. The one where Blair says that the standard has become low to let Penelope in? That’s a funny scene.
• Serena overhears a girl about getting a key to the Hamilton House. She asks this random girl to confirm. Random girl confirms she got a key. Serena confronts Juliet. Juliet says that Blair called the selection committee and had Serena removed because she didn’t want to share anything with Serena anymore.
• Serena and Blair stage a catfight. Yes, “stage” is the keyword because it’s all fake. Serena and Blair have shown remarkable loyalty towards each other and it is in moments like these that make me love them both so much. :) Anyway, Serena gets a key to the Hamilton after mom makes a few calls. Turns out Lily asked around the board members of Bass industries and it was confirmed that Serena has always been on the list. Oh and this was another favorite scene of mine.
• Juliet is publicly shamed yet Nate still likes her.

Points to ponder:

• Gossip Girl has a new feature: live streaming. Live streaming happened once in this episode and it was when Blair was regaling fellow members of the Hamilton House about dating a royal. Wasn’t anyone aware of the live streaming at the time? Is Gossip Girl a member of the Hamilton House?
• Who the hell is Juliet and who did she visit at prison and why the hell is she so hell bent on destroying Serena van der Woodsen? And how did she know about Pete?

I’m loving Gossip Girl with every episode. What did you guys think?

Btw, here’s the next episode preview:

The Tudors

Before starting this blog, I’ve already watched The Tudors Seasons 1 – 3. Sexy, sometimes funny, always intriguing and fascinating. I’ve become interested enough and read enough articles about the Tudors. Since the show “The Tudors” is TV drama, some liberties have been taken and some parts are historically inaccurate. Some parts are historically accurate and I think that’s what’s keeping me watching.

I’m done watching the first two episodes of Season 4. Here’s where Katherine Howard is Queen and the fifth wife of Henry. I find her to be fun-loving, immature, lacking of poise and grace befitting a queen. She is immature and is most hated by Lady Mary, Henry’s daughter from his first wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon.

I’m excited to see how the story plays out. So far, my favorite queens are:

• Queen Anne Boleyn – smart and cunning.
• Queen Jane Seymour – kindhearted

And I’m beginning to share Lady Mary’s sentiments about Queen Katherine. I’m becoming annoyed and I wonder what did Henry see in this immature woman?

Anyway, “The Tudors” is a must-see TV series for anyone who is interested in historical drama, like me. :)

Sometimes I wish they’d continue on to tackle the drama and the issues during Queen Mary’s time and the time during Queen Elizabeth I. I think that would be interesting since they’re still part of the Tudors. But I guess it’s not as intriguing as the life of Henry VIII and his six wives.

A year ago, I saw something interesting about how to remember the six wives of Henry and their respective fates. I don’t remember exactly how it goes but I think it was like:

Divorced – Beheaded – Died – Divorced – Beheaded – Survived.

Queen Katherine of Aragon was divorced by King Henry.

Queen Anne was beheaded because King Henry accused her of witchcraft.

Queen Jane died from childbirth. Henry claimed to love her the most and viewed her to be his true queen for being the only queen to give him a son.

Queen Anne of Cleves was criticized by King Henry for looking like a horse but loved her as his sister. He divorced her to marry Katherine Howard.

Queen Katherine had an affair and was beheaded.

Queen Catherine Parr nursed King Henry and was the only queen to survive him.

Interesting, isn’t it?

 

TV: The Vampire Diaries: Bad Moon Rising

Since this post is way too late and some readers here are done with Season 2 Episode 3 of The Vampire Diaries, let me just point out the highlights of this episode. The following may be spoilers for some who haven’t been able to watch yet.

• The episode opens with the Salvatore brothers and Elena in the Salvatore house. Alaric arrives and the three enlist his help in uncovering the Lockwood family mystery.
• Alaric, Damon and Elena go to Duke. Stefan is unable to go with them because he has to take care of Caroline.
• Bonnie casts a spell on ring so Caroline can be a day walker.
• Tyler follows Uncle Mason to an old property, talks to his mom about it and decides to hold a party in the area. Uncle Mason drives by and tells Tyler to move the party as soon as it gets dark.
• Caroline and Stefan hunt for bunnies and goes to Tyler’s party afterwards.
• Caroline compels Amy Bradley to flirt with other guys and not with Matt. Matt gets upset with Caroline.
• At Duke, we meet Isabel’s assistant, Vanessa, who tries to kill Elena but Damon puts himself in front of Elena and takes the arrow. Alaric, Damon and Elena explain to Vanessa the purpose of their visit.
• Vanessa tells them that a werewolf’s bite is dangerous to vampires.
• Elena warns Stefan and Stefan begins to look for Caroline.
• Caroline feeds on Matt.
• Werewolf Mason chases Caroline and Stefan. Werewolf Mason pounces on Caroline while they were distracted by Tyler. Stefan pushes Werewolf Mason away and Tyler shouts “No!” to the dog. Werewolf Mason runs away.
• Tyler discovers that Uncle Mason was the werewolf.
• After making Damon feel guilty, Elena gets a book from Damon about Katherine. We find out here that Katherine was originally from Europe with the real name Katerina Petrova. Damon asks Elena if he’s lost her forever. Elena thanks Damon for the book.
• Back at Elena’s house, Alaric and Jenna kiss.
• Elena asks Damon if he really knew that Jeremy was wearing a ring before snapping his head. Damon confesses that he didn’t know. Elena says that yes, he’s lost her forever. Damon said that she already knew the answer beforehand and says:

You and Katherine have a lot in common more than just your looks.

The episode ends the next morning when Katherine shows up in Caroline’s bedroom and tells Caroline not to be frightened because they’ll be having so much fun together.

Questions that I hope to be answered soon:

• How did Katherine get invited to Caroline’s house
• Did Mayor Lockwood turn into a wolf too?
• How is the alpha-male determined in the Lockwood werewolf family?
• What will Bonnie do once she finds out that Caroline attacked Matt?
• Who is Katerina Petrova?

Here’s a clip of the next episode:

Music Monday: Bruno Mars: Just The Way You Are

I’m loving Bruno Mars lately but I certainly didn’t like the reason he got arrested a couple of days ago. I think it had something to do with drugs or alcohol.

Anyway, he does great music.

The beginning of his video of “Just The Way You Are” reminded me of the Ukrainian Sand Artist act.

The girl in the video is Nathalie Kelley. She was in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” movie too.

So anyway, hope you enjoy the music and the video!

 

My Dog Is Missing

My favorite dog has gone missing. We think she’s been stolen since the bitch is too damn nice.

After eating, we usually let her and her mom go out to do their business. The mom, M, is more aggressive and we keep her on a leash. My favorite dog, B, is nicer and usually steers clear of strangers. She’s very sweet. And I miss her already.

I was supposed to do a The Vampire Diaries post but I’m just too bummed out. B turned 9 this year. I just wish she would come home.

 

Please come home B. I miss you already.

UPDATE:

She was found by one of the roving guards here in our village, 10 blocks from where we live. The theory is that someone lured her because she’s pretty, hoping she’d get pregnant by a male dog. That’s the theory because B never steps onto the edge of our street and onto the main street without me or my dad. And if she would be running, it would be going toward further into the street and into the dead end and not outside of our street.

Good thing that the guard still rang our bell even if it was already 1 am. Poor thing looked nervous running around. Since she’s old, her senses may be a little weak and couldn’t recognize me and my dad when we were calling her. Finally, she let my dad put a leash on her and we were on our way home. You could tell she was really happy about seeing us and going home. Her pace went faster as we turned to our street. She almost ran going home. It was pretty sweet and amusing.

But to the person who attempted to steal my dog, I wish you’d have bad luck as a pet owner, always, or until you regret what you did.

 

 

TV: Hellcats: Beale St. After Dark

Finally! Some drama and intrigue into this initially boring show.

I won’t go into details much but here are some of the highlights:

• Savannah goes on a date with Dan. She’s a little tense and Lewis asks a waiter to send over some Hurricanes to help loosen up Savannah. She subsequently gets buzzed and loosens up a bit.
• Alice gets some HGH (human growth hormone) and some other drugs from the Lancer football quarterback player to help her wrist heal faster.
• Dan and Lewis get arrested.
• Marti asks for help from her law school teacher to free Dan and Lewis.
• Savannah kissed Lewis then throws up.
• Marti and fellow law student get an important project.

I just hope that the show will improve over the next few months. I’m really rooting for Ashley Tisdale here. I’ve loved her as Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical series. Sharpay and Savannah are so different from one another, though they do have one thing in common: they both have the passion to win. Only I don’t think Savannah is willing to play dirty unlike Sharpay.

Sometimes, I forget and I almost expect Savannah to snap her fingers and be cocky. But Savannah’s character is really nice. And seeing Ashley play a nice girl role is very refreshing to me and I like it.

Here’s the promo for Episode 4:

TV: Glee: Auditions

So I had to watch Glee three times before I’m able to write a full recap and summary. The first time, I watched it by myself and tweeting about it. Watched it with my parents for the second time and then taking notes the third time.

A lot of people of have been waiting for Glee’s Season 2 Episode 1, entitled “Auditions”. Here’s where Glee introduces three new characters:

• Sunshine Corazon – the Filipino transfer student played by Charice Pempengco
• Sam Evans – new kid played by Chord Overstreet
• Shannon Beiste – the new female football coach played by Dot Jones

RECAP:

Jacob Ben Israel interviews Glee Club members and we find out the following highlights:

• Puck had a vasectomy
• Mike Chang and Tina Cohen-Chang are dating.

No one’s signing up for Glee Club despite having “No Try-outs” on the flyer. Sue chides William that no one wants to be part of a club that anybody can join.

In Principal Figgins’ office, we find out that he’s cutting the budget for the Glee Club and the Cheerios. Shannon Beiste is introduced and she calls out Sue and Mr. Schue.

Matt transferred??? What? Why?

Will tells ND that they need to introduce the club to the school, New Directions-style. New Directions performs “Empire State of Mind”. Puck and Artie are the best rappers. Cheerleaders are the best dancers, especially Quinn.

Rachel spots Sunshine Corazon lip-synching to the rap part and Finn sees Sam tapping his foot.

Nobody claps after the great performance. I found that a little funny and we see that the team is a bit frustrated.

Will is upset and tells Sue about the defacing of the sign up sheet. Sue convinces Will that they need to take Beiste down.

While Finn is putting up sign up sheets in the locker room, he hears Sam singing in the showers – much like how he was discovered by Will in the first season.

In the meantime, Rachel is putting up sign up sheets in the ladies’ room. Sunshine Corazon comes in with her iPod on. Rachel invites Corazon to the New Directions auditions, talking to her like she’s deaf and assuming that Sunshine will be just part of the chorus. Sunshine starts to sing the first few lines of “Telephone”. Rachel hears and chimes in. Rachel starts singing beside Sunshine as if she wants to fight. Sue comes in and yells “Shut up”. Sunshine says that was fun and asks when’s the auditions. Rachel says she’ll get back to her on that. The funniest part of this whole scene?

Rachel: Your name is Sunshine Corazon because you’re from the Philippines where it’s always sunny.

Sunshine: Except during monsoons.

Sue and Will play a prank on Beiste by ordering several boxes of pizza and Beiste ends up paying for them. Beiste finds Sue and Will by the doorway and invites them to have some pizza.

Artie tells Finn that Mike and Tina fell in love over Asian Camp. And Mike Chang’s abs are simply fantastic. Artie talks Finn into taking him into football try-outs.

Finn and Artie invites Sam to Glee Club auditions. The boys are all there. Sam sings a clean version of “Billionaire”, Artie raps, Puck’s on the guitar, Finn’s on the drums and Mike Chang’s dancing. Great singing from Sam and Artie is really good with the rapping. I just wish Sam had his own version of “Billionaire”.

Rachel talks to Mercedes and Kurt and tells them that Sunshine has a remarkable voice. Rachel tells them that she paid someone to give them a slushie-facial in front of Sunshine. Mercedes and Kurt tell her that’s a bad idea and wants Sunshine to help them beat Vocal Adrenaline. Rachel “agrees”, finds Sunshine and gives her a map to the auditions.

Sue and Will give Beiste a hard time during lunch hour. Felt sorry for Beiste during that scene and when I saw her cry. And Helen Keller couldn’t drive because she was blind, not because she was a woman. Finn asks Beiste if she’s been crying. Beiste says the team’s stats broke her heart. Finn introduces Beiste to Artie and tells her Artie wants to try-out for the football team. This infuriates Beiste and kicks Finn out of the locker room and out of the team.

Quinn shows up for try-outs for Cheerios. Sue refuses and doesn’t let her try out. Finn tries out for the Cheerios too and does a funny dance. Sue tells Will. Will, Finn and Beiste discuss this with Figgins. Beiste tells off Will while Will was trying to persuade Beiste to take him back.

I like that Glee is telling girls that they shouldn’t want to alter their body at such a young age. Sue tells Santana that plastic surgery is “an insult to nature” and demotes her, telling her that Quinn will replace her as head cheerleader. Quinn’s walk and the expression on her face made me go “She’s back”. Santana and Quinn fight. Great scene, by the way. That bitch slap will be very memorable. No, wait. The whole fight scene will be very memorable.

Brittany accused Beiste of molesting her. Will saves the day and Brittany admits she made it up. This makes Sue angry and confronts Will. Mike and Tina interrupt. Mike, Tina and Will confront Rachel. We find out that Rachel sent her to an inactive crack house. Will tell Rachel to make it right.

Rachel apologizes to Sunshine and invites her to audition.

Sunshine sings “Listen”. It gave me goose bumps all three times. Rachel looks very insecure while the rest of the team cheers on Sunshine. Will welcomes Sunshine to the Glee Club and Rachel fakes a smile.

Will apologizes to Beiste for making her feel like an outsider and tells off Sue.

Finn asks Sam why he didn’t show up at the audition. Sam says he doesn’t want to be an outcast.

Will gives Sunshine a copy of the rehearsal schedule. We find out that Sunshine has been pirated by Vocal Adrenaline and offered her a condo and a green card. Sue made the call to Vocal Adrenaline.

Rachel and Finn talk. Finn tells Rachel that the team is pretty upset and she needs to apologize. Rachel rationalizes her actions by saying that she didn’t want others to contribute less. Finn tells her to stop saying that because she loves herself more and that’s the reason she sent Sunshine to an inactive crack house.

Rachel sings “What I Did for Love”.

Next Glee episode is “Britney/Brittany”.

Can’t wait for the second episode of Glee. And I think I want to see more of Sunshine Corazon now that she’s part of Vocal Adrenaline. Will there be sing-offs? I certainly hope so!

TV: Gossip Girl: Double Identity

Chuck Bass is back from the dead.

As viewers of this show might already know, CB has already changed his name to Henry Prince when he woke up after being treated of his bullet wound.

Fully intending to lead a new life under a new name, Chuck plans to leave France after seeing Blair and Serena on two separate occasions in France. Chuck, erm, Henry denied knowing Serena in front of Eva. S waits for CB to come out of his apartment and confronts him about going home to the Upper East Side. Chuck, in essence, tells Serena that there’s nothing left for him in NY and when he leaves town, Chuck will be gone forever.

In the meantime, Blair got Prince Charming to give her a second chance. They go on a wonderful date and Prince invites her to a ball to meet his parents. Prince sends her a couple of dresses to try and sends her to Harry Winston’s jewelry shop for some accessories. While there, Blair sees the perfect ring for her and then sees Serena. She confronts Serena about following her and then she discovers the story behind the ring, the one Chuck was supposed to give her. Serena pleads with Blair to talk to Chuck but Blair goes with Prince Charming anyway.

She must’ve changed her mind along the way because Blair and Chuck have this great scene at the train station. This is when and where Blair asks Chuck to come home because “ My life wouldn’t be the same without Chuck Bass in it”. Chuck then says that he destroyed the one thing that he really cared about. Blair takes a deep breath and says:

I don’t love you anymore. And it takes more than Chuck Bass to destroy a Blair Waldorf

Epic!

Then Blair says goodbye to Prince Charming, telling him that she can’t live in a fairy tale and needs to go back to the US to face her problems. She gives him her shoe, in case Prince wants to come find her.

Chuck finally tells Eva who he is and invites her to come along to the US. Surprised Eva asks him if he got her plane tickets to the US. To which, Chuck replies with

We don’t need tickets. I’m Chuck Bass.

And so this makes me wonder as to how it will all play out next week when everyone is back in New York? I’m so excited!

Oh, and btw, Dan chose Vanessa (yay! Dan is a doughnut. Serena needs someone who can tame her a bit and I think Nate would be able to do that sometime in the future) and Nate chose Juliet who, by the way, seems to be out for blood. Target? Serena van der Woodsen.

Can’t wait to find out who Juliet is.

 

Dear Twitter

Dear Twitter,

I’m beginning to truly dislike you. You’re always either down or out of resource.

And I need you to help me promote my blog like some people do. But you don’t show my tweets in real-time search. How’s that gonna help me, you Twit!

I haven’t been able to see my tweets in real-time search for two days now. And I’ve followed guidelines for quality-filtering.

Please fix your bugs, which you have a lot, now, if not soon.

Thanks,

Me

PS: I love you, Twitter, only when I use my personal account and do not need to do any promotions.

 

Harry Shum Jr. & Heather Morris Dance

Because “Glee” is premiering tomorrow Manila time, I thought I’d upload a recent video I discovered on the internet. The video features Harry Shum Jr. and Heather Morris and they teach viewers how to do the “Dougie”. I think they did this video on Ryan Seacrest’s show, subsequently uploaded by Ryan Seacrest.

The second video features Heather Morris as a back up dancer to Beyonce for the song “Single Ladies”. 

Glee fans enjoy!

 

Would love to learn how to do the Single Ladies dance one of these days.