Category Archives: the arts

by | June 14, 2009 · 11:45 am

mary murphy contracts paula abdul syndrome.

so_you_think_you_can_dance

This time, Chris is late! HA!  But anyway, I love his diagnosis…it’s hilarious!

I’m not a doctor, but I’m going to stand by my diagnosis. Anyone that saw Wednesday night’s episode knows what I’m talking about here – and I, for one, am concerned. Reality TV judges are at risk. Specifically, the female judge sitting in the middle seat of any given seems to be vulnerable to Paula Abdul Syndrome or, as we in the medical blogging community call it, PAS.

The symptoms of PAS are clear: slurred speech; wild hand gestures; crying; etc… symptoms often prompt weird looks or agitated comments from judges sitting nearby on the panel.

[Please entertain a small digression. This is a plea to all judges sitting near a PAS victim. They can’t help it. And it should help you to know that even though we aren’t there with you, it is just as painful for all of us to watch at home. Try to show some compassion, and know that you’re not alone. /digression]

The cause of PAS is still unknown, but medical experts (I) have begun to narrow down the suspected causes. To do this, they (I) had to rely on photographic and video evidence, as an in-person study of someone infected with PAS may be unsafe – and the experts (I) don’t want to be responsible for causing a pandemic.

mary murphy2Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul on American Idol1_preview

So far, PAS seems to have attacked only women, although its too early to say for sure. The location of the infected judge’s seat seems to play a role as well. There just seems to be something about that middle seat. (An odd cause, you say? Maybe, but have you ever sat in the middle seat for a long flight? That’s what I thought – and I hope you will think twice before questioning the medical experts (me) again…) This brings us to the cups. Enough said there, I think. The wild hand gestures are an unresolved question for the experts studying PAS. So far its unclear whether or not they contribute to the cause of PAS, or if they are a symptom. These certainly are scary times.

Mary’s struggle with PAS was borderline distracting; but here are some of the best numbers from the night…

Philip and Jeanine:

Jason and Caitlin:

Voted off this week: Tony and Parris

[Posted by Chris, via Kathleen]

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by | June 11, 2009 · 11:50 am

what happens in vegas… SYTYCD style.

so_you_think_you_can_dance

Okay, okay.  So this was supposed to be posted last week.  EPIC FAIL on my part.  Chris met his deadline, I didn’t do my end of the deal (I was in a wedding…excuses, excuses.).  So let’s just consider it a refresher for last week in preparation for tonight!

I have decided that I have one year to get my dance moves up to par. I will be starring in Season 6. [Edit: Season 6 auditions have already started.] This week the Top 20 were named. I’m not saying that I anticipate making it that far when I make my SYTYCD debut. But I figure with a year of hard work I could score a ticket to Vegas. That’s good enough for me.

Wednesday night we were treated to two full hours of dancing mayhem – a sort of preview for the rest of the season. I’m crazy about Mia Michaels – and we got to see one of her routines. And in Thursday night’s episode saw the fangs come out. She had clearly been drinking out of Tyce’s “bitchy queen” water bottle. Her choreography, though, was – of course – great. I guess being a bitchy queen is one of the perks of being really super awesome at your job.

I really like this character Tony. His audition was pretty clever. Mia’s routine gave him such a difficult time that they made him try it again later in the day. This clip serves both the purpose of introducing you to Tony and showing off Mia’s stuff – cause I love her (even though I’m scared of her). A super efficient choice of YouTube clip, I know. You’re welcome.

My buddy Natalie was sent home – I think unfairly. And yes, I will be writing a letter (and you should too). We met her last season when it the top 20 came down to a head to head between her and her less cool roommate. Her roommate made it and she was sent home. Here’s here audition video from this season:

So we have our Top 20 for the summer. Now the fun begins with the good dancing and all that jazz. Congratulations SWTCTW, I hereby declare that summer has arrived!

[Posted by Chris, via Kathleen]

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by | May 28, 2009 · 10:43 pm

auditions are over. next week, vegas!

so_you_think_you_can_dance

Hello, SWTCTW readers!  Here is Chris’ weekly SYTYCD update!

Mallory brought up an interesting point – which is that some people may not be familiar with the summertime awesomeness that is SYTYCD. I’m not really sure how this could be the case and I’m too frightened to explore the deep dark world in which this scenario could be possible. So, taking her hypothetical point to heart, I’ve prepared a quick tutorial based on the dancing kid video she posted last week.

During the first weeks of the show, we are entertained with audition footage from various locations around the country. (Please resist any obvious comparisons here to American Idol.) If they were to audition for the show, Mallory’s dancing kids – we will call them Suzy and Steve because Mallory once told me how much she likes those names – would have stood in line at one of the audition spots, awaiting their big break.  I think it is clear to all of us that Steve is really the shining star of the pair. Suzy is cut, her SYTYCD career is over. Now for Steve. He has got good musicality, but does he have what it takes to compete? Steve gets put in the choreography group to see if he can learn and perfect a routine with other dancers. He’s good, but I doubt we will be seeing him in Vegas. There’s not much for a 5-year old to do there anyway. That’s basically how the selection process works.

The four hours of SYTYCD we got this week marked the end of this audition process. Tyce Diorio is one of the judges for one of these auditions. Tyce is normally a choreographer for the show, and we saw this week that he is apparently a bitchy queen. You may think this is harsh, so to back myself up, cue bitchy queen montage (at exactly 30 seconds):

But enough about Tyce. One kid in the Los Angeles auditions named Nathan was probably one of the most impressive male auditions of the season. The problem: he is 17 and you have to be 18 to participate. The judges were so taken by his performance they gave him a ticket to Vegas for next season when he is eligible. Nathan was followed by a Stacy who literally danced like she had stuck her finger in an electrical socket. No ticket for Stacy. She should call Suzy to commiserate.

I will leave you all for this week with Sex. No, this isn’t a joke. And he was back this season as well… in a dance-off.

I realize there are no clips of good dancing in tonight’s post. Fret not, readers. We have an entire summer of SYTYCD watching together.

[Posted by Chris, via Kathleen]

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by | May 22, 2009 · 9:43 am

i can dance, so i think.

so_you_think_you_can_dance

If everything goes according to plan, we’re going to have a weekly guest blogger give us a delightfully snarky recap of the night’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance.  Meet Chris.  He’s alright, I guess.  Chris’ interests include interpretive dance, paleontology, a nice boxed wine (red, of course), lounging by his soon-to-be-open pool in his surfer dude shorts and Six Words to Change the World.  What an introduction.  Anyway, Chris we’ll be keeping us posted on So You Think You Can Dance season 5.  And now, his inaugural post:

We’ve all been waiting for summer. Not for the warm weather. Not for the scantily-clad folks we see around town. Not because our apartment complex pool has opened. But because it marks the return of So You Think You Can Dance.

Hello SWTCTW! It’s Chris, your SYTYCD GB (guest blogger). That’s right. For the next however many weeks, I will be joining you on Thursday nights as your SYTYCD watch-party-guest-blogger-buddy, or SYTYCD WPBGB, as we say in the blogging biz.

I’m here for one reason – SYTYCD brings people together. Young and old, and even old and young. Minus Mary’s crazy screaming (there’s really no excuse for that nonsense), SYTYCD puts on TV the talent that we all think we possess at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday nights at the clubs (and P.S. I’ve seen the facebook pictures; we don’t really possess the talent).

I personally can’t wait for the episodes with the real dancing to start. Though I was a little offended by last night’s episode. Some of the moves they made fun of last night, I have spent weeks perfecting at the local bar…

And now, some clips from last season:

[Posted by Chris, via Kathleen]

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by | May 22, 2009 · 9:30 am

youtube clip of today: cat yodeling.

Cat people are SO WEIRD.  But let’s face it, sometimes really weird can be funny.  Happy Friday/start of a three day weekend, y’all!

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | May 21, 2009 · 4:21 pm

youtube clip of today: julia dales.

OH. MY. GOD.

Whatever competition this girl is trying to win, I hope she wins it.

Question:  How on earth do you realize you have that talent?!

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | May 18, 2009 · 2:16 pm

go inside the fridges of strangers.

Just stumbled upon this delightfully voyueristic peek  into the fridges and freezers of strangers. The photos are part of a series by photographer Mark Menjivar called You Are What You Eat. When you read his goals for the collection, you can see that it’s about a little bit more than voyeurism; Menjivar wanted to make a statement about consumerism and hunger in this country:

You Are What You Eat is a series of portraits made by examining the interiors of refrigerators in homes across the United States.

For three years I traveled around the country exploring the issue of hunger. The more time I spent speaking and listening to individual stories, the more I began to think about the foods we consume and the effects they have on us as individuals and communities. An intense curiosity and questions about stewardship led me to begin to make these unconventional portraits.

A refrigerator is both a private and a shared space. One person likened the question, “May I photograph the interior of your fridge?” to asking someone to pose nude for the camera. Each fridge is photographed “as is.” Nothing added, nothing taken away.

These are portraits of the rich and the poor. Vegetarians, Republicans, members of the NRA, those left out, the under appreciated, former soldiers in Hitler’s SS, dreamers, and so much more. We never know the full story of one’s life.

My hope is that we will think deeply about how we care. How we care for our bodies. How we care for others. And how we care for the land.

 Here are a few photos from the collection:

fridge one

 

fridge two

 

fridge three

I’m a little embarrassed to say that my roommate’s and my fridge looks most like the third photo, which (tellingly?) was taken of the fridge of a couple of college students. The only items consistently in our fridge are condiments, booze and assorted cocktail fixings, and eggs. The grocery store is just so far away when you don’t have a car! City living is hard! (Sorry, Mom.)

You can see the rest of the photos at the blog link above, but definitely check out Menjivar’s website to see more of his impressive work.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | May 12, 2009 · 8:29 am

things i should have posted earlier.

Yeah yeah yeah.  I know.  I could have posted it this weekend (or yesterday), but nerd statistics show that nobody reads the blog on the weekend anyway, proving that you all use this while you are being paid by your unsuspecting employers. I love it!

SNL had a really good weekend.  Another JT/Andy Samberg song.  Oh girl, I love me some JT.   And Samberg.  RAWR.  If you like “Dick in a Box”, you’ll like this one too:

[clearspring_widget title=”SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Digital Short: Motherlover” wid=”4727a250e66f9723″ pid=”4a096ba17ff67505″ width=”384″ height=”283″ domain=”widgets.nbc.com”]

So that’s what your coworker is singing that you had no idea about.  A big SWTCTW you’re welcome!  What a beautiful ode to Mother’s Day.  Oddly enough though, I won’t be showing that to my mom.

That was funny, now let’s get political and funny.  In case you didn’t know, we have the greatest most bestest president in the entire world!  He is hilarious!  Here is his speech at the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner:

The best joke in here is a little inside, I know!  It’s the one he makes about John Boehner (pronounced like BAINER, not BONER) being a person of color.  John Boehner, the House Minority leader, has skin that particular shade of orange that only comes from fake tanning.  See?

He’s even oranger in person, if oranger is a word.

Wanda Sykes was also REALLY funny, but I can’t do all the work for you, so you need to look that up yourself.

I’m off to stalk the news and find funny stuff to post!  You know you love me.  XOXO, i forgot to blog this weekend girl.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | May 6, 2009 · 8:55 am

youtube clip of today: hey jude.

If you want to feel happy, just watch this video.

Watch 13,500 people in Trafalgar Square, all singing Hey Jude.  PINK, by the way, is leading them in song.  Honestly, why does this have to be a viral video for T-Mobile?  Why can’t stuff like this just happen all the time?  Life would be so much more fun.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | April 15, 2009 · 2:52 pm

youtube clip of today: susan boyle.

Today’s clip goes hand in hand with the SWTCTW cliche life lesson of the day (which I just started.  Right now.  And probably won’t continue tomorrow.): never judge a book by its cover.

Watch this video.  The whole thing.

UPDATED:  Here it is again if the first one doesn’t work.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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