Dodgers, Angels, Kings Pose with the Stanley Cup

The Los Angeles Kings took the Stanley Cup to the Freeway Series last week, and the Dodgers, the Angels, and the Kings posed with the Cup.  The Kings players then threw out the first pitches.  Even though I'm a Devils fan, I have to admit that it's a pretty cool picture.  There are more pictures here of the visit. 

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 9

Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance just finished its auditions, and now it's on to Las Vegas.  Some early impressions:

New York

- I found Amelia Lowe annoying, with the 1920s shtick and dancing to Edith Piaf.  But she will probably make it pretty far because the judges seem to love her, and she can dance.

- Cheehon Wespi-Tschopp - totally awesome, especially with that name.  I hope he goes far.

Tyce?  Still annoying.  Go away.

Dallas

- Bree Hafen was great, and her daughter was even cuter.  I admire her for going back to dance after giving it up for her kids, and she did a beautiful job.  It's nice to see a mature dancer instead of teeny-boppers pretending to be mature (*cough*Mollee*cough*)

- Stepheon Stewart (the zombie) and Hampton Williams (the exorcist) were two of the most interesting auditioners I've ever seen.  Both were so different and very compelling.  Hampton's audition was the first one that I rewinded to watch again.  Don't know if they can do other styles, but they deserve to go to Las Vegas.

- Daniel Baker tries a little too hard to not seem full of himself.  He's a good-looking guy and he can dance, but he's no Alex Wong.

Los Angeles

Jesse Tyler Ferguson has to be one of my favorite guest judges ever.  Can we have him at every show?

- Alexa Anderson tried out last season and was the blond doppleganger of Ryan Ramirez who went up together to get their judgments last season.  Ryan moved on while Alexa was cut.  She's very good, but since I now hold female contemporary dancers to the standards of Melanie and Sasha, she falls short for me.

- Johnny Waacks was great simply because it got Jesse Tyler Ferguson to offer the critique of the season: " "If Lenny Kravitz was a Russian nesting doll, you'd be, like, the little one on the inside. I want you in my pocket all the time and I'd take you out and let you waack."

- Eliana Girard - the pole-dancer who's not a stripper.  She was good, and hopefully she can do other styles and not be constantly mentioned as the pole-dancer this season.

- Ninja Twins were attention-whores and thankfully over the age limit.  I hate that the show gave them so much airtime.

- Cole Horibe - really hot and did a great audition mixing martial arts with dance.  He has racked up a lot of awards and had also studied other dance styles.  I cracked up when Jesse Tyler Ferguson called him an overachiever, and Cole responded with, "I'm Asian."

- Jasmine Mason and Marshea Kidd were great, and I hope they go far.  I remember Marshea from previous auditions.  It was amazing that Marshea can dance like that just six weeks after a terrible car accident where he was actually pronounced DOA!

- Stephen Jacobsen - another ballet dancer.  He can dance, but that first routine was awful.  I half-wondered if the producers were just setting us up with that routine, because the second one was night-and-day.  The producers also seem to be setting up a ballet dancer battle between Stephen and Daniel.  Neither one of them is Alex Wong.

Atlanta

- The Dragon House trio of Boris Penton, Andre Rucker, and Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer were amazing and each routine topped the one before.  I thought the best one was Andre, actually, although Cyrus was more flashy.  I really hope at least one of them can do other styles and move on to the top 20.

- Audrey Case - I didn't think her audition was as good as the judges thought.  She reminds me a bit of Caitlyn from last season, and I think a bit forgettable.

- Joshua Alexander and George Lawrence II - fantastic.

- Tim Conkel was veering into extremely irritating, but seeing how game he was at doing ballet was pretty funny.

Salt Lake City

- We finally see some ballroom in Salt Lake City, and of the ones who competed I thought Witney Carson was the best one. The judges also liked Lindsay Arnold, but I found Lindsay to be more generic and not as entertaining.

- Dee Tomasetta was cute, but again forgettable among the many contemporary dancers.

- Gene Lonardo (the Mantis) won me over because he was so sincere.  There was no trace of the look-at-me syndrome that plagued the Ninja Twins.  I believe that his Mantis routine was born out of creativity and inspiration instead of just being different.  He can really move, and I hope he goes far.

- I also hope that Mariah Spears stick around for awhile.  A white female krumper who hits hard during dancing but turns into a giggly girl afterwards?  Definitely interesting, in a good way.

- Too bad about Murphy Yang, because he does have musicality and talent.  He just needs more training and I hope he finds it.

- Dareian Kujawa was very good despite his "lazy" feet, and his story was moving.  His feet might be his downfall, though.  I have yet to find a choreographer or a dance teacher who won't be after you for lazy feet like that.

- I was kinda meh about Adrian Lee in season 7, and I'm still kinda meh about him now.  There's no question he can dance, but something about his personality turns me off.

- It's too bad Leroy Martinez isn't going to move on, but his story is very inspiring and I hope he continues to use dance to help underprivileged kids.

The Glee Project

Just watched the first episode of the Glee Project.  Lea Michele was the guest mentor, and she gave very good criticisms.

Some first impressions:

- Lily and Aylin - already annoying
- Shanna - beautiful and really talented
- Dani - Justin Bieber-lookalike, a little awkward moving around
- Ali - Mr. Y actually remembered her from Sesame Street and the Fresh Beat Band
- Mario - amazing what he can do without sight, and has a sense of humor

Everyone else has not make much an impression so far - bad or good, so I'll reserve my judgment.

Zach Woodlee?  Still hilarious.  My favorite judge with his pithy comments.

The 66th Annual Tony Awards

I finally got to watch the 66th Annual Tony Awards, which aired last Sunday.  Neil Patrick Harris came back to host, and he was his usual charming, funny self.  His opening number about how life would be better if it was like theatre was hilarious, with great lyrics and dancing.  His other musical numbers were also excellent - the compilation of the past 60+ years of best score, and his closing number about how he doesn't have enough time to sing about closing the show.

This year's show has quite a few funny sight gags and moments:

- The Book of Mormon missionary interrupting James Earl Jones signing Darth Vader pictures in his dressing room.
- An actor playing Mufasa in full outfit and headdress sitting in the audience, and people behind him were grumbling about not being able to see.
- NPH dangling behind Angela Lansbury and Theodore Chapin, Chairman of the American Theatre Wing in a Spiderman gag.  Of course they had to cut to Andrew Garfield, who was in the audience as a Tony nominee for Death of a Salesman.  It's unbelievable how good-looking Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are as a couple.
- Hugh Jackman dancing with a cast member from Godspell and singing along.
- Mandy and Patti LuPone singing excerpts before presenting the Best Revival of a Musical.
- A woman body-surfing to get back to her chair while NPH was cutting to commercial.
- Matt Stone and Trey Parker - the "Broadway establishment" - congratulating the "young whippersnappers" who seek to join their ranks while presenting the award for Best Musical.

Audra McDonald won her fifth Tony for Porgy and Bess.  Her rendition of Summertime was just out-of-this-world.  I was lucky enough to have seen her in Master Class and Ragtime, and she is not only an amazing singer, but also a fantastic actress.  I'm glad she is back on Broadway, where she belongs, as opposed to second-rate TV drama.

We spotted three SYTYCD alums in the cast of Newsies - our absolute favorite Alex Wong, whose dancing stood out even in that talented cast, Evan Kasprzak, and Jess LeProtto.

Peter and the Starcatcher looks intriguing.  If Mr. Y and I actually have time, we would love to see that show.  Someone I know from college is the fight choreographer for the show, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum.  Here's a great interview with him and how he did it.  The play is based on a novel co-written by famed humorist and satirist Dave Barry.

Once looks like a great show, and all the actors playing the musical instruments certainly add a great touch.  I was disappointed that they didn't sing "Falling Slowly," though, since that is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time.

The best moment was when Deborra-Lee Furness surprised her husband, Hugh Jackman, by presenting him with his special Tony.  It was clear that these two love each other very much. It was very sweet to see them together.  I already adore Hugh Jackman, and his devotion and love for his wife and family make him even hotter.

Anthony Bourdain Moving to CNN

Anthony Bourdain, the long-time host of No Reservations, is leaving the Travel Channel for CNN.

To quote the press release, "Launching in early 2013, the show will be shot on location and examine cultures from around the world through their food and dining and travel rituals. Slated to air domestically on Sundays in prime time with repeat airings on Saturday nights, it will mark a further step in broadening and distinguishing CNN’s weekend programming from its traditional weekday news coverage."

The show will still be produced by Zero Point Zero Production, who had done pretty much all of his shows.  It sounds awfully similar to No Reservations, with maybe more emphasis on travel.  It would be interesting to see how different or the same this show will be to his other ones.

A bold hire by CNN - it is certainly a big splash to expand their brand beyond news.  Mr. Y speculated that Tony is moving because of friction with his boss, Scripps, who bought out the Travel Channel and also owns the Food Network, and Tony has been very vocal about how much he hates the Food Network.  I'm more cynical - I think CNN simply offers Tony a lot of money.  :)

Paramount Pictures' 100th Anniversary

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of Paramount Pictures, Vanity Fair assembled 116 talents who have made films at Paramount for a photo shoot.  The end result is pretty amazing.  (Note: there is a zoom function on the site that you can use to see the stars closer and to get their names, and don't forget to scroll all the way to the right). 

It's a fascinating look at the different types of movies that Paramount has done.  There are the old-timers like Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal from Love Story, Mickey Rooney, Michael York, Peter Bogdanovich, Ernest Borgnine, and Jerry Lewis. 

There are the more traditional A-list mega stars like Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and Jack Nicholson. 

The younger generation are also represented by the likes of Justin Bieber (for his movie Never Say Never), Julianne Hough, Emile Hirsch, Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, and Anna Kendrick. 

There are Oscar winners like Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Charlize Theron, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, but also actors from more traditional big-budget movies like Star Trek's Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine and Transformers' Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox and Tyrese Gibson. 

Clearly the studio system in Hollywood isn't as it used to be where actors would be under exclusive contract to specific studios, so it is great to see the types of talent that Paramount can still attract.

The Stanley Cup

It's a sad day in our household, because the New Jersey Devils lost the Stanley Cup finals to the Los Angeles Kings.  At least the Devils beat their hated rivals the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they lost to a truly worthy opponent who deserves its first ever NHL Championship. 

There's really nothing like the Stanley Cup in other sports.  Even though other sports are more popular in the U.S., the Stanley Cup is truly special.  Hockey is the only sport where there's only one cup (well, technically two - the older, more delicate one sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame), instead of new, shiny replicas given out every year in other sports.  Plus, the Stanley Cup just looks so beautiful in its gleaming silver. 

Yahoo! has a great story on the Keepers of the Cup, Phil Pritchard and Craig Campbell, who have been handling the Cup together since 1998. 

After winning the Stanley Cup, each team gets 100 days to spend with it.  Usually each player gets 24 hours to spend with Cup, and players have used their allotted days differently, as this older article demonstrates.  The Cup has had kids baptized in it, dogs and horses have drank from it, it has been thrown into swimming pools and the Hudson River (courtesy of the 1994 New York Rangers), it has gone to strip clubs and to sleep with several players, and many more mundane adventures such as parades, hometown visits, and drinking champagne from its bowl. 

Five Star Trek Captains in One Place

Now this is a cool picture.

The five Star Trek captains from the TV shows came together for the first time at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con on June 4: William Shatner (James T. Kirk, Star Trek), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Voyager) and Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer, Star Trek: Enterprise). 

Of the five Star Trek series, I watched the most episodes of TNG.  I think Picard is still my favorite Star Trek captain, although I have a soft spot for Janeway as the first and only female captain.  I'm not a die-hard Trekker or Trekkie (whichever one the fandom is currently embracing), but did enjoy the universe for its drama and cool sci-fi elements.  I thought the latest movie by J.J. Abrams was excellent, and can't wait for the sequel. 

War and Peace and the Nook

The Nook version of Tolstoy's War and Peace included an embarrasing error.  Apparently a lazy editor did a search and replace of the word "kindle" with "nook," to get rid of any references to Nook's competitor the Kindle, but didn't realize the translation used the word "kindled" several times.  So there was a bunch of references to "Nookd" in the text.

CFDA Awards

The Council of Fashion Designers of America held its annual awards last night, and a lot of fashion royalty as well as a random assortment of celebrities showed up in amazing and sometimes weird outfits.

My favorites were Julianne Hough, Kyra Sedgwick, and Zoe Saldana. 

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen won the coveted Womenswear Designer of the Year awards for their work on the luxury label The Row.  It's amazing to think of Michelle Tanner winning design awards!  But they have been designing for awhile and their clothes actually seem to look good, even if they themselves usually look weird.  Plus they would look so much better if they smile more.  I do give them props for crafting new, sustainable careers instead of burning out like so many child stars. 

Cat Turned Into a Helicopter - Orvillecopter

WARNING: Images may be disturbing

I heard about a cat that was converted into a helicopter on the radio this morning, and just had to find the pictures.  There's also a Youtube video. 

It's highly disturbing and strangely hysterical at the same time.  People have very strong reactions to the cat being turned into a helicopter - ranging from horrified to amused.  The gallery that displayed the work has been vandalized. 

ETA: Heard an interview with the creator of Orvillecopter this morning on the radio.  His name is Bart Jansen, and he's a Dutch artist who does a lot of mash-ups for this art, like mixing non-electronics with electronic appliances.  Orville was apparently killed when he was hit by a car, and Jansen mentioned that his whole family really missed him.  They still have Orville's brother, Wilbur.  Jansen thought that it was an appropriate tribute because Orville was named after Orville Wright, one of the pioneers of flying, and Orville loved to chase birds when he was alive.  His descriptions of how he converted Orville into Orvillecopter made me very squeamish.  But it was very clear that he loved his pet very much.  Personally, although I find it disturbing, I don't find it any more disturbing than hunters putting heads of their kills up on the walls or people stuffing their dead pets and having them on display at the house.  I think those people who are saying that this can lead to all kinds of atrocities like doing something similar to dead people is taking it too far. 

The Avengers

Finally saw the Avengers over Memorial Day weekend.  Great movie - it definitely lived up to the hype.  In case you haven't heard, the Avengers just passed the Dark Knight to become the third-highest grossing movie of all times, behind Avatar and Titanic.

I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon, and I'm thrilled that this movie did so well.  I think Joss did a great job of balancing all the different personalities and quirks of the superheroes.  It also helped that Tom Hiddleston brought a much needed gravity as Loki.  He could have chewed the scenery more and turned Loki into a caricature, but I actually felt Loki's pain and the delusions of grandeur.  Yay for Alexis Denisof showing up as the creepy alien Other - always fun to see a member of Whedonverse.   I can't help but think of Robin Scherbatsky when looking at Cobie Smulders, though - she seemed a little out of place as the Nick Fury's right-hand woman Maria Hill.

It also helped that none of the actors tried too hard, even Samuel L. Jackson.  Robert Downey, Jr. was the showiest, with Iron Man cracking jokes and one-liners left and right, but it never felt too much.  I still feel that the weakest one is Chris Evans as Captain America.  I don't quite buy him as being that earnest, but in an ensemble movie it wasn't as jarring as it was in his own movie.  Mark Ruffalo was a big improvement as the Hulk over Edward Norton, and the CGI version of the Hulk was also so much better.  It was nice that they modeled the Hulk's face after Ruffalo's.

The teasers at the end were interesting.  Thanos is one of those iconic Marvel villains, and has been around for over 30 years.  Marvel did hint previously that he might show up some day - there was a brief glimpse of the Infinity Gauntlet in the halls of Asgard in Thor.  In the comics, Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to kill half the universe.  Yes, he's quite the badass villain.  Now the question is whether he's going to show up in the next individual movies (like Thor 2 or Iron Man 3) or in the next Avengers.  I'm inclined to think that he'll be the big bad for the next Avengers - he doesn't have a close tie to any specific Avenger.

Another question is whether they will ever introduce the Ant Man and the Wasp to the Avengers movie universe.  In the comics those two were founding members and were usually integral parts of the Avengers.  However, they are also probably the hardest superheroes to sell to a typical audience member, so Marvel might decide to keep them on the sidelines.

Staples Center's Busy Weekend Part II

I blogged before about Staples Center's busy weekend when the Kings, the Clippers, and the Lakers had home playoff games, and there was also a major bike race that ended at the Staples Center.

Last week's Sports Illustrated has an interesting article about the same subject.  The reporter attended nine out of the ten events that happened in the area within a 78-hour period.  You can read the article here.  To quote the tagline:  "For a 78-hour stretch Los Angeles was, finally, the sports capital of the world: 300,000 fans, 10 events, four teams, three playoff series, 110 cyclists. And an eclipse. Results be damned, it was a good four days."

Belated Thoughts on Season Finales

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile.  Life was pretty busy, and I haven't gotten a chance to log on.  Belated thoughts on season finales:

GLEE

I thought the season finale was very bittersweet.  The scene in the train station between Rachel and Finn included the best acting I've seen from Lea Michele and Cory Monteith.  I was disappointed that Kurt didn't get into NYADA - I hope Ryan Murphy will figure out a way to get him to NY to be with Rachel next year.  I was also disappointed that Gloria Estefan showed up as Santana's mom, but didn't get to sing.  What a waste of a guest star.  At first I thought it was unrealistic that a mom like that was going to be OK with Santana not going to college, but then I realize that she was a smart mom.  Pushing Santana to college was probably going to get the opposite effect of her staying in Lima with Brittany.  At least by going to NYC she'll be doing something else.  I love Brittany, but as a significant other, she's a pretty bad prospect, whether for a man or a woman.  Favorite song had to be Lea Michele singing "Roots Before Branches."  Although it was rather amusing that Rachel went from Grand Central, across town to Times Square, then back to the East Side in front of FAO Schwarz.  Ah, TV magic.

CASTLE

Finally!  Love the season finale, especially Castle and Beckett finally hooking up.  Of course there are still tons of cliffhangers - like what will happen to Beckett now that she has quit the police force, and whether Esposito and Ryan can make up and go back to being bros.  Plus there's that little matter of Beckett still being hunted by Cole Maddox (played by the awesomely-named Tahmoh Penikett), who's about to kill the mystery man who has been protecting Beckett.  I have to send props to Andrew Marlowe for giving the fans what they want while still giving us amazing cliffhangers.  Easily my favorite season finale this year.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

Baby Eriksen is here!  My favorite scene has to be Marshall trying to make it up two steps while drunk, and the ATM coming alive.  I admit to a couple of tears when they revealed that they named him Marvin after Marshall's dad.  I was so frustrated with Ted for not following through with bringing Victoria back to the church.  After being left at the altar, he was willing to do the same to another guy?  Shame on him.  As much as I like Victoria, she's not the mother, so hopefully this story will not be a rehash and another backsliding for Ted.

THE BIG BANG THEORY

I thought the ending was touching when all of them were watching Howard blast off into space, and even Sheldon held Amy's hand.  The wedding itself was also sweet and appropriately geeky when they panned out to show Google Earth's view of the rooftop.  There was even a brief glimpse of Howard's mom in the pink dress.  Overall, though, it was just an OK season finale.

NEW GIRL

I didn't think Nick was going to come back so fast.  Thomas Lennon was hilarious as the new roommate and I was hoping he would stick around a little longer to break up the chemistry a bit.  I'm so glad they didn't have Nick and Jess hook up in the desert - it would have been too soon and out of character for the two of them.  Schmidt and Cece have also become more interesting to me, because it was obvious neither of them can handle a relationship.  I hope they give Winston more to do next season, though.  He has been underutilized.

HAWAII FIVE-O

I really, really hope that Kono isn't dead.  How heartbreaking was Daniel Dae Kim when Chin Ho had to make the decision about saving his cousin or his wife.  The showrunners hinted that Chin Ho will be a different person next season because of what happens to him, so that means either Kono or Malia will probably die.  As much as I like Reiko Aylesworth, if I had to pick one to die I would pick Malia because I think Kono is such an integral part of the main team.  I did appreciate the shot of DDK shirtless, though.  McGarrett discovering his mom is still alive reminds me of Alias.  Let's hope they can find someone as good as Lena Olin was.  Michelle Borth is joining the cast full time next season as McGarrett's girlfriend Catherine.  Working together can't be good for their relationship.  I also hope Danny won't lose Grace to the mainland.  A great season finale and can't wait for next season.