Robin Hood on BBC America

Robin Hood is going to be a new series on BBC America. I guess it premiered last fall in the UK. It starts next Saturday night, March 3. It looks really good.

Babel

way to stressful for a friday night!

i love brit pop!

Mike - Grace Kelly

American Idol: The Boys

The one who impressed me was Chris Sligh. Most of them seemed out of tune or just down right bad. The judges didn't give him good reviews but I think they'll hear him again on tv and change their minds. He sounded strong and I really like his voice.

I wish Sundance Head did better. I'm also liking Jared Cotter (he sang a whimpy song tonight, Blake Lewis and Phil Stacey.

one nation, under dog

is this going to be really stupid, or really funny? i didn't realize until now that underdog was a beagle!

Loving your Inner Child

I just read the most wonderfully indulgent post over at the Soul Kadee blog. Posted by a guest blogger Learn How To Love Yourself is absolutely amazing. "Loving yourself means to learn to treat you like a loving parent would do with his child." I never thought of it that way before.

Grammy Blogging

Yeah! Another award show . . .

This years Grammy Awards is starting off with The Police reunion. I read something about this but I think it's kind of random. Uh oh, they are opening with Roxanne . . . should I grab a beer? (Didn't you all used to play the Roxanne drinking game in college?) They sound good. Sting is hot. It's kind of mellow though. I feel like it's 1990 and I'm at the Sting concert. (Remember that Tiffany? Our car got towed! But it was fun.)

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals goes to Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennett. That's nice. But Shakira's Hips Don't Lie was way more popular. And Mary J. Blige's One rocks because, well, it's with U2.

Joan Baez is winning a lifetime achievement award tonight. Yes I like her, but I can because I'm a girl. She introduces a live performance by the Dixie Chicks singing Not Ready to Make Nice. I love that song.

I still haven't figured out who is hosting yet. Is it Jamie Foxx?

Prince again! We just saw him last week at the Superbowl. He introduces Beyonce who is singing Listen from Dreamgirls. (Me and Charlie Bird can sing with her because I bought the soundtrack and listen to it all the time. He loves awards shows because he sqawks away and things the applauds are for him.) She looks so pretty with those flowers in her hair. I wish I could get away with that.

Does Fergie from Black Eyed Peas have an eating disorder? Her arms and legs look SUPER skinny. Mary J. Blige wins Best R&B Album for The Breakthrough. Oh yeah, my boys in U2 helped her with that one. I'm happy for her because it's the first time she won an award. I'm surprised about that. She is really touched.

Okay, what the hell is up with the Justin Timberlake thing? I have not heard about this shit. Three random girls are there and the people at home get to vote for which of the three will perform a duet with Justin Timberlake. Why do I want to see a random sing with Justin Timberlake? That's stupid. If they want home audience participation, why don't they do a real-time People's Choice Award or something like that? Each of the gals sang a little demo and they all sound the same to me.

Hm. Okay, I'm getting caught off guard here. . . Justin Timberlake playing the piano is just down right sexy! And that totally catches my by surprise because I don't really think of him as sexy. But damn. I like to see him playing an instrument instead of just dancing around. Makes me see him from a different perspective. I hope I don't start listening to Justin Timberlake CDs like a teenager. Right now I just get the singles I like from iTunes. I really like this song. Well, I really like him singing the song and playing the piano. Oh, gotta love the Grammy's. AH! Okay, change of thought. He just scared me my shoving some mini-cam in his face. I don't want to see him that close! Now the sexy image is gone, but I can describe every detail of his nose.

Mary J. Blige wins another one! Goof for her. This time it's for Female R&B Vocal Performance for Be Without You.

Stevie Wonder introduced the trio of Corinne Bailey Rae singing, John Legend on piano and John Mayer playing guitar. Those three play my kind of music. Well, at least the kind I listen to while I'm working. They all have great voices and each sang a little bit and they sound awesome together. John Mayer singing Gravity is one of the best sounds on earth! Especially when it's raining. It's great to see him perform it here. But why the hell is John Mayer fucking Jessica Simpson. Ick! She has ruined him. Well, at least he can still play guitar.

Best Pop Vocal Album goes to John Mayer for Continuum. That is a REALLY good album. But ick, he's dating Jessica Simpson. Can't get past that.

Oh my god! I am loving Shakira and Wyclef. A slow version of Hips Don't Lie? Well, that didn't last for long . . . It is amazing how Shakira can move her body. I love that belly dancing stuff with all the dancers together. (My bird is going crazy! He loves this song - ha ha. This cracks me up.) That was a fun performance.

Song of the Year is up now . . . The Grammy goes to Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks. Wow, good for them considering the song is how everyone shunned them after they said something nasty about Bush. It's so ironic because they had problem with concert sales but the album sold like crazy. We are all hypocrits!

Um, am I seeing things correctly? The Grammy Awards is giving a Lifetime Achievement Award to The Grateful Dead? I don't even know how I feel about that. I love The Dead but it just seems wierd. I guess the 60s hippy artists are all getting recognized tonight.

These performances tonight are really great! Gnarls Barkley is singing a slow version of Crazy and he is wearing a pilot uniform standing in a small stage in the center of the audience. A full orchestra is up on the main stage. It's way cool.

Ludacris wins Best Rap Album for Release Therapy. I'm old. I only know two of the nominees in this category.

Mary J. Blige just blows me away every time I see her perform. And tonight is her night. She looks gorgeous and is so thankful.

Another category I don't know much about . . . Best Country Album. This year the Dixie Chicks win for their album Taking the Long Way Home. Good for them. Although the Willie Nelson album that was nominated seems interesting too.

Okay, time to do the dishes. It's country performances. And Carrie Underwood is performing. Well, she does look super cute and sounds good too. But she beat Bo Bice on American Idol so I still don't like her.

Carrie Underwood won Best New Artist. Good for her but I'm only saying that because there is an American Idol who goes on to win a Grammy and I'm loving that.

Wow, I don't think I've seen Smokey Robinson perform before. Tracks of My Tears so reminds me of High School. Not because I'm that old, but because we were always listening to The Big Chill Soundtrack on the way to school. And Hello by Lionel Ritchie reminds me of watching MTv in grade school. The song is prettier now than it was then because I didn't really get it when I was 10. We just made fun of the "Hello" part.

Um, I'm having a hard time understanding the switch from Smokey Robinson and Lionel Ritchie to Chris Brown, but the clapping and stomping thing is way cool!

Christina Aguilera certainly knows how to make an entrance. She is so pretty and what a fucking voice!

Okay, so an old performance of James Brown is up on the screen in black & white and someone (I think Chris Brown) comes out and dances like him, then walks away. And another guy brings out a red sequin cape that says "The Godfather of Soul" and hangs it over the microphone stand. A spotlight shines down on it. Pretty fucking cool.

Ludacris and Mary J. Blige performing together. He looks nice in a suit. She looks like Farrah Fawcett complete with a red Charlie's Angels-style jumpsuit and feathered hair.

I guess I never realized how many performances The Grammy Awards has. I've lost count but isn't that like 15 so far or something? And now James Blunt singing Beautiful. I love that song but I like watching the video with the snow better than watching him perform.

This "My Grammy Moment" thing is pretty fucking stupid. But wait . . . Justin Timberlake is playing an instrument again, this time guitar. Okay, it's worth the eye candy. And she's pretty good. I am so loving it that he is taking the "Musician" approach. I thought he just danced. Maybe I pre-judged. That was kind of entertianing. That girl was good and she looked like she had fun. So it's not as stupid as I thought it'd be.

Quentin Tarantino is such a goof. Gotta love him. He and Tony Bennett are presenting Record of the Year.I think Gnarls Barkley should win because Crazy will always remind me of 2006. Holy Shit! The Dixie Chicks win again! They are hogging all the awards.

Flea's last name is Gonzalez? That's just weird. He should have only one name like Cher or Madonna. I LOVE to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers here. They are singing Snow (Hey Oh), another one of Charlie Birds favorites. And it's snowing in the entire theater! That looks like a ton of fun! Stadium Arcadium is one of the best albums put out in a long time and they better win something tonight. This performance is kind of tame for them, but I suppose it is the Grammy's and they can't be that crazy.

Hell Ya!!! Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers wins for Best Rock Album this year. It is SUCH a good album, I'm so glad they won. And they are right, we do need some more good rock bands.

Okay, this is just ridiculous. Album of the Year goes to the Dixie Chicks. Thank God the Chili Peppers got pulled into the Rock category or else we wouldn't have know about anyone except The Dixie Chicks and Mary J. Blige.

Okay, so now the important questions . . . What was the best performance of the night? Justin Timberlake at that piano keeps sticking in my mind. But so does the country thing with Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flats and I don't even like country! I guess I'll pick Gnarls Barkley cuz they is so cool and Crazy should have won something!

Max Azria or Betsey Johnson

I can't decide whose collection for fall 2007 I like better, Max Azria or Betsey Johnson. Probably Betsey because she has been one of my favorites for a long time. She is consistent. Sue Stemp is still my favorite collection of all for this season. Too bad they don't have a video for that one.

Nanette Lepore Fall 2007

I usually like Nanette Lepore but her Fall 2007 collection seems kind of frumpish to me. Old lady in a hippie way. But from a creative perspective, many of those items are really neat.

guilty pleasures

in indulged myself this evening with a total girlie high school movie!

American Idol All Stars???

Holy Shit! There are rumors for an American Idol All Star show. Who will they pick? I think Kimberly Locke. And so many others whose names I can't think of at this minute. I can't wait for this! I hope they really do it.

Anna Nicole Smith is Dead?

On my way home from work tonight Chris told me that Anna Nicole Smith died today. Sure enough the headline was popping up at me as soon as I logged on to my computer. Not that I care anything about her, but I'm surprised. She's been in the news alot lately. She had a baby and two dads were trying to find out the paternity. Her oldest son died when he came to visit his mom to see the new baby. And now all of a sudden she is dead. It's just one of those weird things. I suppose she will now become one of those legends of stars who died to young or something like that. Not that she was really a star . . .

Lost - It's back tonight!

Lost comes back on tonight. I can't wait. I haven't been sucked into a tv show for a while so it will be good. There will be new episodes for 16 weeks in a row!

The recap from Entertainment Weekly who got to see this episode in advance:

I'm not going to screw around. It's good. Really good. Like season-one, stuff-gets-answered, can't-wait-for-the-next-episode good. To recap: Ben is bleeding out on the table. Jack is demanding the release of Kate and Sawyer. And the fan base is demanding some frickin' forward movement. Well, how about the full-on Juliette backstory? Information about how the Others ended up on the Island? Super-creepy Dharma experiment sequences? Yeah. You know you want it. And by the end, you'll be begging for more. Well, that, and praying that this isn't just another tease from a show that always seems to start strong out of the gate.

Yeah! Can't wait for it to suck me a back in! The only bad thing is the time changed. It's now on at 10 EST. That means that I will get riled up each week watching this show and then it's supposed to be bed time. That's not going to work out to well.

work, cook, blog

work, work, work. cook, cook, cook. blog, blog, blog. that's all i do lately. work has been so busy. it's funny because i used to be able to get a few personal things done at lunch or throughout the day. now it's as if work is getting in the way of my life. i do have my priorities straight though! i know that i need to do what i get paid for. and actually, i'm quite enjoying it.

Instead of just writing for my foodie blog Rachel's Bite, I have expanded my writing a bit lately and I have no become editor for two other group blogs. A Nice Cuppa and EdibleTV are both part of The Well Fed Network. One of the editors contacted me because they like my writing me style and asked me if I wanted to contribute a few articles each month. Well Fed has 14 different niche sites. I chose the one about food on tv, the one about magazines and cookbooks and the one about coffee/tea because i thought it would be fun to write about all of those things. This way I can keep my main site to my recipe reviews and opinions and I can use the Well Fed sites to practice writing to a more specific audience.

Well, one thing turned into another and I like to be in control of things and I jumped on the opportunity to be editor. It's more work for me but not to bad when people are writing. Each site has about 10 other authors and I get to organize all the content. It's fun.

I'm also growing alot with my cooking. I have been participating in several food blog events which challenge me to make things I would never consider making another way. I have also been introduced to lots of new ingredients and cooking methods. But it's getting a bit expensive so I need to learn to watch the prices of the ingredients when I'm looking at recipes.

So, right now I am happy. I'm quite satisfied but I am also so busy. I haven't watched a movie in a couple of weeks! That's big stuff for me. I need to find a balance between relaxed/bored and busy/stressed.

Look what I got my guys . . .

A basket of doggie bagles and two Valentine toys. Isn't the pink skull and crossbones for Taylor just adorable? The red heart is for Tristen and when he squeezes it, it says "I Love You".

They love the toys but are fighting like hell over the damn doggie bagles. Neither will eat theirs right away. They just move them around the house and try to steal them from each other.

I got all of these from the Humane Society of the United States. They sent me an email from their new shop called Humane Domain showing off their Be My Valentine section. One look at the dog in the ad and I just had to order. Isn't he cute?

I'm Loving Sue Stemp!

Sue Stemp has a ton of gorgeous dresses in her Fall 2007 line. Total eye candy!








Isn't she cute?

Superbowl Blogging

A moment of silence dedicated to the people who lost their lives in the tornadoes that recently hit Florida. I do feel bad about that, but did they forget we are at war? Every day there are headlines of people getting killed in Iraq.

Billy Joel singing the national anthem in the rain. Scenes of our troops in Baghdad standing at attention. Jets flying over the stadium.

One good commercial with a bunch of celebrities so far - but I have no idea what product it was for. Martha Stewart and David Beckham were in it.

The coin toss. Listen to all those Bears fans in Miami! Why do they have honorary team captains? Colts pick tails. It is heads. Bears win the flip.

Here we go . . .

Can you believe this? The Bears make a fucking touchdown within the first minute. 14 seconds in Devin Hester receives the kick off and down the field he goes! This is great!

Okay, it's half-time. We're down Bears 14 Colts 16. What did I miss?

I can't believe how quickly they got that stage built for the halftime show. Prince enters with LOTS of pyrotechnics on a huge lite up "Prince symbol" stage and busts out lots of his 80s classics. It's raining and that makes it all even cooler. I guess I never noticed his guitar talent before. Duh, it's all over his songs. Tonight he reminds me more of a bluesman like BB King than a pop star.

And in comes the marching band . . . I love that! Uh oh! Watch out. The band went day-glow and Prince is busting into Proud Mary. Hell ya, he summons Jimi for a minute. That's back to that bluesman soul I picked up in the beginning. And then a segway into the Foo Fighters Best of You.

For the icing on top of this awesome cake, he finished up with Purple Rain. The "Prince Symbol" stage turned purple, he sang in the rain and played on a purple "Prince Symbol" guitar next to a white flowing sheet that threw his shadow up into the night. The marching band kept it up and the entire stadium flooded with purple lights. All the fans had their lighters out. Ha! That would have been fun.

Now, get rid of that stage and get back to the game. Go Bears!

Okay, 10 minutes left. Colts 29, Chicago 17. How many interceptions we give up? This sucks. Damn rain.

Damn. Bears Loose. Final Score: Indiana Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17. Wah!

New York Fashion Week: Fall 2007 (so far)

James Coviello has some great colors, but some of the patterns are horrible. At least his clothes all have a nice flow to them. I love the pumpkins, turquoise, lavender and browns with black.




I'm really digging most of the collection from Bruce. Very clean and strong lines. I'm starting to guess that short is in.





I like this dress from Alice Roi for skinny people . . . Big shoulders are back in and this dress accomplishes that look without the actual big shoulders.



The collection by ThreeAsFour reminds me of some futuristic japanese 80s thing. But some of the dresses are like art. I'm getting that same vibe with some other designers. The structured suit, colors and big shoulders from the 80s, yet all layered and flowey like futuristic, all with an asian twist.



Some designers like Venexiana also have a vintage glam thing going on - which I love.

The View: Wasted Little DJs

What cracks me up most about this song is that the refrain is in pig latin!




Wasted Little DJ's Lyrics
The told me if I write this song for them.
That they would cut my hair for free.
But that's not me no liberties.

The same record for the 16th time
Exact same set you did the last time round
Doesn't bother me we're in harmony.

Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
They're the cleverest blonde weekend.
Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
I WISH everybody danced like them.

Split visions of a talkative therapy
It makes me bend away it gives me E
Doesn't bother me we're in harmony.

Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
They're the cleverest blonde weekend.
Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
I WISH everybody danced like them.

No low emotions rolling tonight
Young heavy hopefuls staying the night
So stick around and wait for the day.
Craziness kills lazyness N happiness
Takes bad bets no one gives a fuck U see we're all out of our little heads.

Craziness kills lazyness N happiness
Takes bad bets no one gives a fuck
You see we're all out of our,
All out of our,
All out of our little fucking heads

Doo doo doo doo...

Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
They're the cleverest blonde weekend.
Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
I WISH everybody danced like them.

Can anybody dance like them
Can U tell me
Does anybody dance like them
Can U tell me
Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae
Astedwae ittlae ejaysdae

"We got two black coaches in the superbowl"

Chicago Bears fans Kanye West and Common put this together for us Bears fans.(via spine magazine)

Kanye West + Common Southside Superbowl (mp3)

lesson learned: making coffee

This morning I made some coffee. I have a coffee pot that has a grinder for fresh beans right in the top. You can put in the beans and then you just hit one button and it grinds and then brews the coffee all in one step.

I got some new coffee last week. Usually I buy one cup bags of flavored ground coffee. So I don't even need to measure, just dump it in the filter and go. I always have problems trying to figure out how much coffee per cup, so I find this easiest. But since I got this new coffee I decided to try it out. I spent so much time concentrating on getting the right amount of beans in the grinder and water in the coffee maker that I forgot about the filter! With ground coffee there is no way to put it in the maker unless in a filter.

What a mess. I had coffee running all over the place and grounds everywhere. I had to take the entire coffee maker apart. It got in the drawers and cabinets and on the tile floor. So, I learned what happens when you don't put a filter in!

Go Bears!

This is making me SO homesick!