Audience Gifts at the Martha Stewart Show

As previously posted on this blog, I attended a taping of the Martha Stewart show last week. As a member of the studio audience, we received some awesome gifts in two of the show segments. The segment featured Stephen Kress, vice president for bird conservation for the Aubudon Society. He talked to us about creating the perfect bird environment including a bird feeder, the Clever Clean Removable-Base Sunflower Feeder.

According to the Martha Stewart website, the Onyx Clever Clean is the newest innovation in bird feeders. The base of the feeder easily twists off so that it can be cleaned with a brush to prevent gunk and mold toxin build up. Birds that use this feeder include: cardinals, chickadees, finches, flickers, goldfinches, grackles, grosbeaks, jays, juncos, kinglets, mockingbirds, nuthatches, redpolls, siskins, sparrows, starlings, titmice.

In addition, Martha gave us Wingscapes BirdCam to help capture digital bird photography and bird videos. This is a weatherproof, motion-activated to help monitor bird-watching experience. I am looking forward to using this in the spring and taking pictures of the birds (and animals) that visit my backyard! According to the stage manager at the show, it might also serve as a spy camera too, hehe.

Martha Stewart Show Taping

Today I spent the afternoon as a member of the studio audience in the Martha Stewart Show. I'm actually not a big fan of Martha which is surprising since I'm really into baking and crafts! Whenever I see her show on tv, I always flip the channel. I think its because of the dark lighting. But since I received tickets to attend the taping, I figured I would enjoy the experience. I'm all for celebrity-spotting and doing something that's not work related!

Here we are waiting outside the Chelsea studios. I arrived at 12:15pm. We were told to arrive at 12:30pm sharp otherwise we would be denied entrance. Since it was flurrying, it was a relief to wait underneath the awning. We slowly made it to the front of the line, and told them how many people were in our party. We checked in and walked through a security point. Finally, we got into the waiting area where we were able to check our coats, fill out a release form, and learn about today's schedule! Originally the website said that we would be watching a segment on carrots but that was for the morning's live taping. This afternoon was for a taped show for this Friday February 6th!

For those of you that have never been a part of a studio audience, it's actually quite fun. (I've been on the Montel Williams show and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?). We learned how to do a loud clap, a crescendo clap, and of course, smile! We were entertained by the stage manager who kept us entertained with jokes and free goodies (toothpaste, mouthwash, books and magazines). The studio set was broken out into different parts, including the greenhouse, the kitchen, the crafts area, and the bedroom. And of course, there were tons of lights on the ceiling. I expected the studio to be warm but it was actually quite chilly.

Here's a summary of the segments covered (more details regarding each one): Valentine's Day cardboard boxes, bejeweled cookies, leather handbags, and bird-watching tips. And the best part of the day? Our free giftsssss! To be revealed in next post...

New Heroes Superpower: Regeneration of Angst

If you haven't been watching Heroes, I suggest that you stop reading now. While I'm not going to be summarizing any episodes, sooner or later (right after this sentence!) I'm going to refer to something that just happened and I don't want to ruin your Heroes fix.

So I just finished watching Heroes and I'm very upset with newest inconsistencies in the portrayal of regeneration:

1) Earlier in the season, future Peter Petrelli gets shot by future Claire. Since his powers are being suppressed by future Haitian, he is unable to regenerate and dies.

2) Moments ago, Claire died as a result of the gunshot wound inflicted on her by Elle. Since her powers are being suppressed by the eclipse, you might think her death would be permanent. Nope. When the eclipse passes, she comes back to life and regenerates.

3) At the same time, Silar dies after Noah slits his throat with an exacto knife. Does he die? Of course not! Just like Claire, he comes back to life and regenerates after the eclipse passes.

So why is future Peter Petrelli dead while Claire and Silar are still among the living? I don't get it! I was happy when the Claire & Silar drama queen patrol bit the dust, only to be disappointed when they were almost immediately returned to inflict their angsty parental issues on me. Blargh!

Random thoughts while watching 2008 campaign coverage

I'm sitting here watching 2008 campaign coverage on TV when the news takes a commercial break. I don't really pay attention to commercials so I'm multitasking (Facebook, blogging, etc) when the part of my mind that's paying attention to the commercials hears:

"Flomax may cause...[blah blah blah]...and reductions in semen."

After I hear that, I'm pretty much thinking "W-T-F?!?!?"

I'm curious, so I go to the Flomax website to see what their website discloses about the side effects. In the sexual side effects section, it says that up to 18.1% of men who take the higher dosage (0.8mg) experience abnormal ejaculation - defined as:

• Not being able to ejaculate
• Decreased amounts of ejaculate
• Retrograde ejaculation - ejaculate enters the bladder instead of leaving the body through the penis. This problem is usually painless and harmless. Men with this problem may notice cloudy urine after sexual intercourse.

This probability decreases to a mere (mere!) 8.4% if you take the lower dosage (0.4mg).

So here's a question for you - if you had BPH would you want to take Flomax to treat it if 8.4-18.1% of the time you'll experience abnormal ejaculation? Or would you rather suck it up when it comes to the urinating problems that result from BPH? Without having experienced BPH myself (or knowing anyone who has), personally it sounds like I would rather deal with having to go to the bathroom a lot...

On a side note, watching the campaign coverage on CBS in High Definition is really nice since they use the side bars that aren't visible in Standard Definition to show the Democratic/Republican status of the states and their associated electoral votes.

What happened to the lack of Control?

If you haven't been watching Heroes, I suggest that you stop reading now. While I'm not going to be summarizing any episodes, sooner or later (right after this sentence!) I'm going to refer to something that just happened and I don't want to ruin your Heroes fix.

I'm a little confused by the way Peter Petrelli's innate ability works - if he gets close to a Hero/Villain, his body automatically re-writes his DNA so he's able to use their ability. But how does he control all these powers? In Season 1, his body unconsciously absorbed a crapload of abilities from being around other Heroes and he'd frequently lose control of his powers - exploding violently in some timelines. Supposedly Claude teaches him how to control these abilities.

I get that he doesn't spontaneously catch on blue fire, shout things to death, or demonstrated uncontrolled bursts of speed - these are all powers that he's observed so I'll buy that he can control the use of those abilities. But what happens when he unknowing absorbs an ability? Shouldn't there be a lack of control? For example, just by being near his dad, he would've absorbed his power theft ability. Given the emotional duress he's under in that moment (ZOMG! DAD IS ALIVE!), wouldn't his copied power theft ability accidentally activate in that moment and steal his dad's ability before his dad stole his?

I Can Regenerate! No, wait, I can't! Someone make up their mind...

If you haven't been watching Heroes, I suggest that you stop reading now. While I'm not going to be summarizing any episodes, sooner or later (right after this sentence!) I'm going to refer to something that just happened and I don't want to ruin your Heroes fix.

I'm a little confused about how regeneration works in the world of Heroes:

1) If Claire cuts off her toes, they'll grow back.

2) If the top of her skull is removed, it does not grow back. Would she have died if Sylar didn't take pity on her and put it back on? Who knows.

Why can't the bone that makes up her skull grow back just like the bones in her toes?

3) If you shoot Sylar, he won't die. His body will self-eject the bullets and he will regenerate.

4) If you put a shard of glass in Peter's head, he's immobilized and appears to be dead until someone else removes it. His body will not remove the impediment on its own.

If a body can eject bullets in order to regenerate, why can't it eject the glass?

Is a little consistency too much to ask for?!?

Save The Cheerleader, Save The World?

If you haven't been watching Heroes, I suggest that you stop reading now. While I'm not going to be summarizing any episodes, sooner or later (right after this sentence!) I'm going to refer to something that just happened and I don't want to ruin your Heroes fix.

Here's some Heroes food for thought:

Now that we're in Season 3, what exactly was so important about Season 1? Almost right off the bat, Sylar gets into Claire's brain box and uses his power of "intuitive comprehension" to study her brain and learn how to regenerate like Claire. Once he figures it out, it seems like he's about to leave and let her die (she doesn't appear to be regenerating while he's there), but he turns around and puts her skull cap back onto her head so she'll heal. I have 2 problems with this scene:


1) In Season 1, Claire gets exposed to a crazy level of radiation that chars her to a burnt husk. In Season 2, Claire cuts off her toe and it grows back completely. If she can regenerate all that, what was stopping her body from regrowing the top of her skull?

2) Does the phrase "Save the cheerleader, save the world" ring a bell? Sylar is a little nutty in the head, but when push came to shove, he let Claire live because in his brain excavation, he discovered that there was something Special about her that made her different from all of the other Heroes. If Sylar lets her live after performing some minor brain surgery...what's the point of the catch-phrase from Season 1?



Niki Sanders (Ali Larter). What's up with her? Didn't she die in an exploding house at the end of Season 2? I'll hazard 2 possible theories:

1) Through the end of last season, the only Power she's displayed is that her other persona, Jessica, has superhuman strength. I'll take this a step further and hazard the theory that her Power is her split personalities - and each personality has it's own Power. Enter, Tracy Strauss, the Ice Queen. With a Power like that, it'd be no problem to survive an explosion in a burning building. A little bit of memory loss immediately afterwards makes things convenient.

2) Niki Sanders really did die in the explosion. But did Niki Sanders' twin really die as explained in "Six Months Ago" (Season 1)? Perhaps, perhaps not. Niki only thought she died and her inability to "let go" of her twin was a psychological trauma that resulted in the formation of a split personality, Jessica, her "twin." Enter, Tracy Strauss, the Ice Queens, Niki's real long-lost and thought-to-be-dead twin sister.

See you next week!

SYTYCD - Joshua and Katee dance to No Air

So since Peggy is talking about So You Think You Can Dance, I figured I'd add my own two cents and comment on something I've seen on the show. Since I'm not like Peggy, I don't really get into whether or not I feel a dance was emotional and touching. I guess I'm not all that in touch with my feminine side.

Check out Joshua and Katee as they bust out with their Hip Hop routine to No Air. Pay attention at 0:55.

That's some pretty amazing stuff. Jerry, can you do that?!?

For those who missed last week's performance, Joshua and Katee performed the Samba.

*sizzle*

SYTYCD - Mark and Chelsie Dance to Bleeding Love

I admit, I'm a secret 'So You Think You Can Dance' fan. I even entered a contest before Season 4, where I tried to win 2 tickets to fly to Los Angeles and attend a SYTYCD event. I even got Jander to sign up too! Anyway, for those haven't seen this show...you're missing out!! This is a fun and energetic dance show for the summer season. It's on FOX channel every Wednesday at 8pm EST.

Anyway, this week featured a fantastic hip hop dance by Mark and Chelsie. They performed to one of my favorite songs, Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis. The emotional hip hop dance was so good that I think Simon Cowell (yes, the American Idol judge is also the one who discovered Leona) should remove Leona's music video and replace it with this dance! Seriously. Oh and of course, hire Mark and Chelsie to feature in the video. LOL

Their dance was touching, heart-breaking and utterly emotional. Props to the choreographers for coming up with the moves. Sadly, all the youtube videos' are poor in quality but I think you'll see how kick-ass fantastic they were regardless.

Skip to the start at 0.17 seconds. Prepare to get weepy at 1:42

Always Be My Baby

Let's face it, American Idol is a powerhouse of a reality show churning out kids with mediocre talent with slick makeovers. However despite numerous seasons with winners who are easily forgettable (Taylor Hicks who?), the laws of probability say that there should be a real gem of a talent among the contestants in the past 7 seasons. (Carrie Underwood!). Yet the majority of the singers relied on their voices and charisma to win the votes. Where was the originality? Thinking outside of the box? While there have been glimpses of unique musicality in previous seasons (i.e. beat-bopping), it takes a real artist to take a popular pop song and transform it to a hauntingly dark (border-line stalkerish) love song.

And that is exactly what describes David Cook! His rendition of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby" was remarkably refreshing. I am in love with this song - from the moment I heard it, I had to take a double-take from the television because I did not recognize Mariah's song. However once I realized what David was singing, I was floored with his unique take on the song. Were these the same lyrics that Mariah sang from my radio when I was in high school?? Yes!!

You have to listen to believe! (And then worship the talent of David Cook).