Change of Pace: MANic Tuesday - Chord Overstreet's Beard

Well, I actually looked at this blog's stats and noticed something remarkable.  Some of my posts get very few views, like around twenty.  Some fewer.  A lot get around 50 or so.  My MANic Monday posts get around 500.  FIVE HUNDRED!  But my Ryan Lochte post has 22,856 views right now!  So... I guess give the people what they like.  Here's more hottie action!

Chord Overstreet grew a beard and I'm not talking about Emma Roberts!

What do you prefer?  Scruffy or smooth?

Tune In (While You Can) Tuesday - My Surprisingly Emotional Response to the Glee 3D Movie

So we went to see the Glee 3D Concert Movie on Friday and the theater was mostly full and what was sort of neat was that a lot of the viewers acted like they were really at a concert, clapping after the songs... heck clapping along with the songs!... and applauding the actors during the closing credits, as if they were taking a bow in front of them! Oddly, this is not indicative of the movie's performance overall. It TANKED! It didn't even break the top 10 for the weekend! I guess that could be for any number of reasons. I think it's hard to turn a TV show, which is FREE, into something people are willing to pay to see... and it was only in 3D, so that's like $15 a pop. (Also, there was ZERO reason why it needed to be in 3D! NONE!) Also, I know a lot of people are sick of 3D already, so that could be part of it.

As I said in my title, I had a surprisingly emotional reaction to the movie, which I certainly wasn't expecting. NO, it wasn't to the profiles of the three outcast Gleeks in the movie. That was... okay. I could have lived without it, but it was okay. No my reaction was to both the reactions of the audience I was seeing the movie with and the fans in the movie to Chris Colfer/Kurt Hummel.

Obviously, Kurt is my favorite and the main reason I tune in to the show. But it's not just that he's gay, it's that he's gay like me. Effeminate, slight, sassy, jauntily dressed... hell, jaunty all around. I like Blaine. I think it's very cool that they have a laid-back, hip gay kid that other kids, gay and straight, look up to and envy. But I don't see myself in Blaine. I see myself ALL OVER Kurt. Except, being a TV character, with writers providing his dialogue, he's smarter and quicker than I could ever hope to be. Better dressed, too. But it's his feminine mannerisms and way of talking that I really see myself in.


And it was on full display in the movie. I actually didn't know going in that they would all be in character throughout the movie/in concert. I thought they performed as themselves, not Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, etc. But that's what they did. And Kurt was full-on Kurt, performing perched cross-legged, girl-style on a stool, singing "Happy Days Are Here Again/Come On Get Happy" with Rachel... and the crowd just SCREAMED!!! My boy was a full on ROCK GOD! And I cried. Here was this nancy, flouncy theater QUEEN... and this crowd of all ages and backgrounds were just screaming for him like Elvis. It was overwhelming... this wasn't just "support" it was full on love and adulation! I just couldn't believe it. I mean, I know Glee is popular. I know he won the Golden Globe last year and is nominated this year, but seeing that visceral reaction... hearing one woman say that her four year-old daughter wanted Blaine and Kurt to be her two daddies... I was just blown away. This isn't like Elton John or Ricky Martin or any other star that's come out after their biggest successes were behind them. It's not even like Adam Lambert, who is a larger than life personality. This was some down to earth, normal, skinny gay boy and people were crazy about him!
Like I said, the crowd in the theater actually clapped as the names of the actors appeared during the closing credits and Kurt/Chris got one of the loudest outbursts. I get a little lump in the throat thinking about it right now!

But yeah, the movie bombed hard, so if you wanna see it, get to it! ("Born This Way" was my favorite song, by the way!)

TV

I don't talk much about TV, so I have a couple of TV-related topics to discuss today. First of all, there's this sitcom that I think started airing earlier this summer called Happy Endings, which is about a group of six Friends friends in their twenties. Okay, I know you THINK you've seen it all before, but this show is set in CHICAGO not New York, so it's totally different. And they hang out in a BAR not a coffee shop! And there's a gay one and a black one, so THERE! It's totally different! Okay, it's similar to the legendary Friends, but I actually like it. The characters are kind of like the ones from Seinfeld, where they are just this close to being unlikeable. So if you want an old fashioned sitcom that's not fucking terrible like all the rest, check this show out. It'll be out on DVD on September 20th, which is closer than any of us want to think about.
I fer serious made David give up tickets to tonight's Reds game to take me to see the Glee 3D movie. I know that makes me sound like a bitch, but I have Friday AND Saturday night free this weekend by some miracle and you think I'ma let him go to a fucking Reds game BOTH those nights (oh yeah, he's going tomorrow, too!) while I sit around drinking and watching The A List-New York?! FUCK THAT! Sorry! I needz to get my Gleek on!
Also, this serves as my goodbye to my beloved Chord Overstreet who won't be returning this fall as Sam, even though they JUST started the storyline where he and Mercedes were dating. (Apparently, she'll have a new fella when the series returns.)
Glee needs to get its shit together. EW did a story along those lines and I agree. First Ryan Murphy prematurely announced that Cory, Lea and Chris were being written out of the show after this season, WITHOUT informing any of them of this. This was apparently because he was planning on spinning them off into a new show, presumably where they move to New York which was heavily hinted at in the finale of last season. BUT apparently Fox wasn't down with the idea and the spin-off was scrapped and Ryan was all "Oh they're aren't necessarily leaving the series after all." (Way to piss fans off FOR NO REASON, there buddy!) But who wants to watch some high school graduates still hanging around high school?! Sad! And the whole appeal of the show is the chemistry between ALL of the characters and you can't just take some of them out of the equation. Also... honestly Kurt is THE reason I watch the show! Everything revolves around him! If he's not on it, I don't think I'll keep watching.
Then there's the atrocious Glee Project. Fox actually passed on this concept all together, which should have killed it right there, but alas, it found a home on Oxygen. Basically a gaggle of unlikeable, under-talented fame whores cover a bunch of Glee songs and one of them will actually appear in at least seven episodes of the show this season. It's really unwatchable, but I still force myself to endure it every week, I guess out of masochism. "New characters" can be hit or miss. Blaine was a hit, but if I never see Sunshine Corazon again, it'll be too soon. The problem with most of the Glee Project contestants is that they aren't "misfits." Most of the girls are "show girls" who would fit in perfectly on American Idol. The red head, big girl might have worked, but she got kicked off and they already have Lauren Zises, anyway. Alex, the flaming black queen would certainly work, so I'm kinda hoping he takes it, although rumor has it, the adorable Irish kid wins, which... what's so "outcast" about him? Nothing! He's a cutie pie with an Irish accent! He'd own that school! Also, it's kinda obvious that the producers are CLEARLY looking for a guy. Week after week, girls get cut even though they may or may not be the worst ones.
Finally we have the shit storm that is The Walking Dead. First Frank Darabont appeared to hype the show at ComiCon and then immediately afterward "stepped down" as show runner, allegedly because he couldn't keep up with the pace of producing a weekly series after only working on feature films all these years. Then rumors bubbled up that the Mad Men budget had skyrocketed and that AMC was scaling back the budgets on TWD and Breaking Bad to compensate. Turns out Darabont was FIRED, but they made sure to keep him employed long enough to appear at ComiCon.

At least the Breaking Bad folks have the ballz to complain. So far no one from TWD has said shit. (Topless Robot speculated because of the nature of the show, any cast member that complains could easily be zombie chow.) AMC has apparently made some budgetary suggestions like shoot half the scenes indoors and maybe in some cases, the cast could just HEAR zombies and not see them, to save on makeup cost. Oh that sounds just WONDERFUL! SO what that series is all about! The ironic thing is that TWD is AMC's biggest hit! Its ratings are BETTER than that of Mad Men, even! ALL of this sounds horrible. I am concerned and I think I have a right to be. This sounds REALLY ominous!

MANic Monday - More Chord! Never Enough!

I've pretty much come to gather that this is the only real reason this blog exists:

WTFriday?! - Say What, Australians?!

"Thor declareth this to be BULLSHIT!!!"

WTF?! Thor and "Fast Five" (Is that the real title?!) opened opposite each other in Australia and Fast Five WON! Who the fuck even likes those stupid movies? I've never even seen ONE of them! I mean, all you gotta say is "starring Paul Walker" and I'm like, "Oh, this is my stop. Lemme off this thing." And throw Vin Diesel and The Rock in the mix it's like they're TRYING to put together the least appealing cast since The Expendables. Well, I've heard Australia referred to as "the Alabama of the world," so maybe that explains it.
So... what does this mean? Fans are geeked up over Thor, but... is it just us? Has the rest of society moved on from the comic book movie genre? But... how? How could they move on from the comic book genre and not the racing cars movie?
And Chris Hemsworth is AUSTRALIAN! I am just stunned and outraged and HOPING that this isn't a sign of things to come!

Also, I wanted to post this on Tuesday, but I forgot, but Tune In to, Glee Presents The Warblers!
The Warblers are my favorite part of Glee as far as music. (I don't care for Kurt being one of them and generally, none of them has a personality.) But they do REAL show choir music with the beat-boxing and harmonizing and all that jazz that makes their music sound so cool and not just like carbon copies of the original versions of those songs. That's what people loved so much about "Don't Stop Believin'" on the first episode, is that the cast were making the "music" vocally (some of it anyway), but when they're just singing the lyrics over real instruments and it sounds just the same as the original, what's the point?
But I'm glad Kurt is returning to McKinley next week. It was kind of stupid having him at a completely different school and therefore making him inaccessible to the main plots and his own plots irrelevant to the rest of the episodes. I'd say they should do a Warbler's spin-off, but like I said, they're kinda boring. They're have to switch things up, I think, in order to make it work. Do they even have names? I just call them black guy with fro, tall blond guy, fat guy, Asian leader guy, black assistant leader guy...

I don't know the context for this performance of "Somewhere Only We Know" from next week's episode, but it makes me sad!


Wow, what are the odds of a full orchestra just sitting there with their instruments?! That's crazy! And HOW MUCH DO I LOVE FINN AND KURT BEING BROTHERS?!?! SO SWEET!!!

Also included on The Warbler's album is "What Kind of Fool." I don't know this song, but I love their version.

And "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"


And just for the hell of it, he's an encore of "Teenage Dream" the TOP selling Glee song ever!

MANic Monday - Chord Overstreet's Ass

Tired of me fawning over Chord Overstreet. Tough shit!

MANic Monday - Chord Overstreet

I might have to give this boy his own tag. So beautiful! Bigger pic below:

MANic Monday Jake G and Chord Overstreet

Jesus, Chord Overstreet could not possibly be any more perfect! Every week, I'm like "How on earth does such a creature even exist?! What mystical DNA convergence created THAT?!" Just flawless!

And releasing tomorrow on DVD and BluRay, Love & Other Drugs starring Jakey!
Can you say, "Must own?!"

MANiC Monday - Darrin Criss: Cover Boy

WANT!

Tomorrow Night Is The Big Event!

Prep your favorite party food and invite all your friends it's... the first episode of the second half of Glee's sophomore season! Woot!So in honor, I am going to do a little review of the new songs. I firmly believe the quality of the songs MAJORLY reflects the quality of the episode itself. The songs from LAST year's first-ep-of-the-second-half were SHITTAY! As was the episode itself!
This year's ep kicks off with "Thriller" with a dash of The Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll" featuring lead vocals by Artie and... I think Tina. (I have trouble distinguishing some of the girls' voices, especially the ones that don't sing lead that often.) I don't love the song "Thriller." I think it's the most over-played song of all time. It was probably the first time in my life where I decided I was tired of a song and never needed to hear it again. This would have been in Fourth Grade. It's just that it never goes away. EVERY October, there it is again, over and over. I can't miss you, if you don't go away! I'd have preferred just "Heads Will Roll" but of course I understand that for such a momentous occasion, they need a massive hit, so I get it and the execution is good enough. I won't be putting it in my Glee Faves iMix, but I don't hate it. Strangely, this song is now missing from iTunes. It was released with the rest... in fact, it was the title of this week's EP. Now the EP is entitled Bills Bills Bills and "Thriller/Heads Will Roll" is GONE! Hopefully it pops back up for fans who want it! That is really strange!
Next, the dreamiest boy ever and the Dalton Academy Warblers (the best thing to ever happen to this show) perform, what I consider a weird choice, Destiny's Child's "Bills Bills Bills." I mean, that just seems so obscure! Also, it had me worried... who is he singing this TO? Not Kurt! Nope, turns out not Kurt... or anybody really. It's just them practicing.


Blaine is the coolest character on TV! He's like the new Fonzie, except not old or cheesy. Even though it's a strange choice, I LOVE how they replicate the bleeps and bloops at the beginning vocally! So maybe that was why they chose it. I love their acapella sound! That's kind of what I like about the best songs from this show (like "Don't Stop Believin'"), that they sound like they're sung by a choir, not just individual singers recreating the originals. With The Warblers, they go a step beyond that, by not using any instrumentation. (...yet. See the end of this post.) While I don't love this song, they do an excellent job with it.
Next up, Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now." Gaaaaaaah... really?! This falls into the same category as "Billionaire" at the beginning of the season. Hey! Here's that song you got sick of six months ago! Enjoy! For a country song, I actually think it's good, but it was played out months ago! And it didn't get fresher in the meantime! And it's one of those where it's just them, in this case Puckleberry, singing and it sounds like the original. Sigh!


Finally, the last song is that sixties tune "She's Not There" which I didn't even listen to and probably never will. Throw that one in the pile with "Hello, I Love You." Too old!

So... that's not too promising. Other than "She's Not There," I don't HATE the chosen songs, but I don't love any of them either. I mean for such a huge event, they really needed to bring their A Game. We needed a "Don't Stop Believin'" or a "Teenage Dream" or a "Somebody To Love." This is expected to be Glee's biggest audience ever, but I'm afraid that with mediocre tunes, they won't be able to snag any new fans. (Not that they need them, it's already a massive hit, but still...) I'm still looking forward to it, though.

BONUS: The Warblers performing one of my faves, Robin Thicke's "When I Get You Alone!" The first time I think they've ever sung anything with musical accompaniment. Blaine has a romantic interest? And it's NOT Kurt?! Uh oh!

Is it just me, or could you watch a show just about The Warblers? Spin-off!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"There. Now let's go give those Injuns that saved our lives smallpox and steal their land!"

S0... let me think of the things I have to be thankful for this year.

1. My wonder, amazing husband. We may have our ups and downs, but there is no one I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. I have never known anyone so loving and wonderful and feel truly special and grateful!

2. My pain-in-the-ass stepson... he drives me nuts, but I couldn't imagine my life without him.

3. My most amazing friends... I love you all and hope you all know how much you mean to me!

4. Both of us having jobs, his being a real job that pays well, mine being... better than nothing. Having a house and living comfortably. These are hard times and people with a lot more have lost a their jobs and homes, so to still be comfortable and safe, makes me thankful!

5. Anyone who reads this blog... seriously, it's so all over the place and probably boring to some people, so if you check in, even if it's every so often, I appreciate it. I also really appreciate comments and feedback, ahem. But seriously, THANKS! I really enjoy writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. It's my only writing gig right now and even though I don't make any money off of it, I get to write about stuff I love (and sometimes HATE), so it's the perfect gig. Thanks again!

6. The genius of Calvin Klein and his hiring of Kellan Lutz as his model for his latest line of undies. Seriously, I've gotten more mileage out of this than any other topic, except maybe Dazzler and Luke Cage!

7.The fact that it appears that Glee and The Walking Dead have gotten their act together... for now. They'll probably turn around and shit on me again next week, but I totally loved the last eps of both. Glee won me back by simply being sweet. The bromance between Finn and Kurt was just so charming and Finn won my heart all over again. (Also, am I the only one noticing that Rachel gets like ZERO screen time anymore? I'm not complaining!!!) I am apprehensive about Kurt being part of The Warblers at Sectionals rather than with New Directions, though. And The Walking Dead, despite being an all new, original storyline, it was a really INTERESTING one. The idea of Rick & Co. getting captured by a Latino gang seemed eye-rollingly stupid in the trailer, but there was a twist that I certainly didn't see coming and the story wound up being quite good! Well done! (I'm sure it helped that this episode was written by Robert Kirkman, the creator of the comic book.)

8.
Batwoman, the most unique, idiosyncratic mainstream super hero book out there. PLUS, the highest profile GLBT character in comics... but that's beside the point. J.H. Williams III's absolutely stunning and defiantly different artwork definitely helps! Just stunning, month after month!Also, Brightest Day. Hate to say it, but a lot of the DC Universe is a hot mess right now, so my main fave is this excellent book showcasing the majority of the classic Justice League, re-establishing their lives in the modern DCU. Plus, it heavily showcases Aquaman and Mera and the new Aqualad. Also, I'm thankful for one of my childhood faves, Mera being placed front and center in the new DCU. In the past couple of years, she's gotten a stunning Tonner doll, her very first action figure and been depicted on Smallville and Batman: The Brave & The Bold. Go on, girl!

Well... I'm certainly thankful for a lot more, but that about covers the highlights. Life, love, TV, comics... what more is there? Oh... toys! I'm thankful for my complete set of Monster High dolls and the fact that I got them at retail and don't have to pay $40 a piece for them. I'm thankful for all the fun DC stuff coming out now. The new streamlined Funko line is so much fun and DCUC while kind of a pain to collect, is THE definitive DC toy collection. Okay... like I said, there's more, but those are the biggies! Hope everyone has a wonderful day and another year of prosperity and happiness!