My 11 favorite songs of 2011

This is my list of the songs that I would put together as a mix that represent the songs I loved and listened to the most over the year. I'm not going to even argue that some of these are great vocally or manufactured in production, but they are the songs I liked best.  The rule is that there can only be one song per artist. eleven for 2011 in no particular order:

We Own The Night- Lady Antebellum

It's a apply song that makes me think of times when I was younger and I was driving around town in a car with my friends doing next to nothing.  

You and I- Lady Gaga
There were three artists this year that I had a hard time with choosing only one. Long time fans knew this song when she performed it on tour with only her piano.  I'm not a huge fan of the Shania Twain background music, but lyrically it's near the best song Lady has ever written. This was the year when she learned who her true fans were as her born this way album has been less successful but has exceeded anything she released previously.  

 The Lazy Song- Bruno Mar

This is pure pop candy, and it is awesome to bop around the house to for anyone having a lazy day like I am today

Call Your Girlfriend- Robyn

Robyn is starting to get a little more respect this year in America.  Call Your Girlfriend is a song about breaking up that feels lyrically fresh and new.  

We found Love - Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

Rihanna continues her superstar status with this joyful dance floor song.  

Breaking Down- Florence and the Machine

Ceremonials was full of so many great songs that it is hard to choose. But I chose this lesser known track that feels like insanity and sadness, and it feels influenced by a lot of 80s music like the Cure, Depeche Mode and Siouxsee and the Bandhees. 

Rivers and Roads- The Head and The Heart

A great folk rock song about the challenges we face in this thing called life.  

Til the World Ends- Britney Spears

I wasn't such a huge fan of Femme Fatale or her lazy stage show this year. But this is a song that you can dance to early in the morning.  The fade out followed by the return of the music is a great addition.  

Super Bass- Nicki Minaj

In 2010 I bought pink Friday without hearing a track. I was disappointed because I felt Nicki was playing a supporting track on her own album.  But then I discovered this track that was on the deluxe album, and I changed my mind. After seeing her live, Nicki Minaj should be a musical force to reckon with for years to come.  

Mama's Broken Heart- Miranda Lambert

With her own album and the Pistol Annie's album there are so many choices. But this song about sucking it up and letting go of drama is a standout.  

We are young fun. Featuring Janelle Monae

I discovered this late in the year. This not particularly deep song is a great anthem for never ending youth and friendship.  

Back to the food trucks! Los Chilangos

Today I set out to go to a food truck. I finally ended up going to Los Chilangos at the Renton Farmer's market. It was actually ,y third choice after two other choices did not work out for various reasons. In any case, Los Chilangos did not disappoint. They have a variety of mexican foods such ad tacos, tortas , and tamales. I ordered a torts with pork. It was cooked fresh on the spit. For those who don't know, a torta is essentially a Mexican sandwich. Mine had a generous portion of fresh pork, lettuce, cilantro, some black beans, and spicy green sauce. The pork was tasty and tender. It had just enough fat to keep it flavorful, but not overly fatty. I don't like meat overly fatty because it creates a texture I dislike. This meat was just right. The bread it came on was soft and fresh. Sometimes bread is an afterthought in this kind of meal. This bread was excellent. The spicy sauce was just spicy enough to make it flavorful but didn't burn my mouth. They also offered a mild sauce if you don't like spicy food. I will definitely look forward to eat at Los Chilangos again. B

My favorite drama and comedy series 2010-2011

My favorite comedy series this year were the following:

Runners up:

The Big C- season 1 had its moment of greatness but also moments of unevenness. But a great cast proved that there were laughs even to be mined out of the most dire situations in life. It also inspired.

Glee- it was a very uneven season with some truly awful moments (sue marries herself. Sue as the grinch.) but it also had some great moments. (Curt being bullied. Curt's dad nearly dies. Curt and Blaine. Sue's family member dies)

The big bang theory- while the series started to have some growing pains. They were overcome by Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler.

Parks and Recreation- it was the best season yet with the citizens of Pawnee. Characters became more three dimensional and more importantly funny. The addition of Adam Scott only helped matters.

And my favorite comedy series is:
Modern Family- at this point this is kind of a no brained. Best cast on tv. Easily the funniest show on tv right now.

My favorite drama series were:

Runners up:

the walking dead: sure it's a zombie show, but it's also a survival story, a live story tied up with some dark humor. The best new show of the season.

The killing: Twin Peaks it really wasn't and Seattle has never looked bleaker. Its finale was the most controversial of the season. But I liked the deliberate pace, the acting and I actually liked the ending.

Dexter- it's hard to follow the John lithgow season and Dexter started off on the wrong foot with mourning Rita too long. But if a show can convince me that Julia stiles might be a good actress it must be doing something right.

Mad Men- it was my favorite season of mad men with great stories and elevated performance by most of the cast, and it probably would have been the best if it weren't for

my favorite:

Parenthood: it isn't high concept. No zombies, not a period piece. It's just a show about a family, but rarely has tv been so relatable and honest about family. It's sad the Emmys ignored it. It is the mist underrated show on television.

week 5 street eating- Maximus/minimus

Today I walked six miles to downtown Seattle so that I could eat at Maximus Minimus. This is a street food vendor that serves many different things but is particular
Arly known for it's spicy pulled pork and it's sweet pulled pork. I ordered three things.

First I will start with ginger lemonade because I was the least impressed with it. It had a nice gingery and lemony taste but the problem was that it also has a metallic tap water taste. Seattle has good clean tap water, but I don't like that metal taste.

Second I ordered a side of sweet Cole slaw. It was a nice mix of cabbage, onion, and dried cranberries mixed with a creamy cole slaw dressing. I really liked the sweet, but a warning to those who don't like raw onions. This slaw had a lot of raw onions. That doesn't bother me though as they were plenty mild.

Third was the main event. Pulled pork is one of my favorite foods and this didn't disappoint. I choice the spicy version. I was told that it would be 2 to 3 star spicy. I would disagree. I didn't find it spicy at all but it did have lots of flavor and the cilantro was a fresh welcome summery taste. It also came on a sturdy wheat bun which was good because it didn't get soggy or messy.

Overall I really enjoyed my dining experience at Maximus Minimus.

My favorite lead drama TV performances

I was planning on getting this done before Emmy nominations, but I'm slow.

My favorite lead male actor peformances in a drama series are:

Andrew Lincoln- The walking Dead

It's heart to give a heartfelt dramatic performance when you are being chased by zombies, but Andrew Lincoln's performance as the sheriff looking for his family was one of the best from one of television's best shows.

Peter Krause - Parenthood

Peter Krause has always been been one of my favorites, and his performance as family man Adam Braverman is one of his best. B

Gabriel Byrne- In treatment

In the final season of in treatment, Byrne continues to impress as he gives therapy and then receives some much needed therapy.

Michael C Hall- Dexter
This wasn't dexter's best season, but Hall continues to make Dexter Morgan his signature character. B

And my favorite performance was
Jon Hamm-Mad Men

Hamm has always kind Of made playing the great character Don Draper look easily. But season 4 was really the season that Hamm showed up his dramatic chops ever more.

My favorite lead female actor performance in a drama series are:

Lauren Graham- Parenthood
I can never forget Lorelai Gilmore. But Lauren Graham has shown she has range with her performance as Sarah Braverman.

Anna Paquin-True Blood
Sookie Stackhouse has to be dramatic, a little silly, and a little smart alecky. Anna Paquin pulls it off and makes me not able to imagine anyone else in the role.

Jeanne Triplehorne- big Love
Barb was always the most complicated wife on Big Love. Triplehorne always played as graceful, nut also dealing with complicated contradictions such as her feminism and her place in a family with multiple wives.

Mirelle Enos- The Killing
At her heart Sarah Linden is a woman torn between her prestigious job and her family. Enos shows vulnerability with her son and a fierceness in solving the murder of Rosie Larsen.


But my favorite performance was
Elizabeth Moss- Mad Men

Peggy has always been the most interesting character in Mad Men. She is a career woman in a time when woman couldn't usually have it all. In season 4, Peggy worked even harder to climb a career ladders in a man's world.

30 days of television

Here is a list I made of 30 days of television because i didmt like any i found I am going to post each day on Facebook but I will update here also. Feel free to use:


30 days of television
A show your currently obsessed with: Breaking Bad
Favorite  2000s show Six Feet Under
Favorite 1990s show Twin Peaks
Favorite 1980s show Roseanne
Favorite classic television show 1970s Soap
Favorite classic show pre 1970 Batman
Favorite game show Jeopardy!
Favorite talk show The Rosie O'Donnell show
Favorite tv  character
Tv character most like yourself
Favorite tv villain
Show you used to like but your feelings have changed over time
A show with your favorite male tv actor
A show with your favorite female tv actor
Guilty pleasure
Overrated show
Favorite cult classic
A show you liked when you were a kid
Favorite tv movie or mini series
Favorite cast in a series
A show that was gone too soon
Favorite tv relationship
A show that you have meant to catch but you haven't yet
Tv show with the greatest beginning
Tv show with the greatest ending
Best surprise or twist in a show
Best animated or kids shows
Favorite reality show
Favorite comedy
Favorite drama

Street food (kind of): week 4 Skillet

So my friend Teresa and I have been trying to eat at skillet which is considered one of the better food trucks in Seattle. But we keep missing it. Today we drove all the way to Bellevue to find it. Bellevue is ten miles away which seems not far unless you realize Seattle people don't even like to leave their neighborhood. We got there around 1 and they were supposed to close at 2. But when we got there they were already gone!! They must have ran out of food and we were skillet-less again.

We finally decided to go to the diner version which opened not too long ago. There are a lot of things of the same things on the menu but it technically wasn't street food. But oh well! We were hungry!

I had a delicious hamburger with blue cheese, arugula, and bacon jam. It was delicious! But the real reason I was there was the poutine which for the uninformed is fries covered with gravy and cheese. Skillet adds herbs to theres also! Wow it was so good. My friend Teresa had poutine also but she got a grilled cheese sandwich. It was indeed a great sandwich. It was Brie, cheddar and American cheese on thick grilled brioche bread!! Yum!

We had a good time! Except when I lost my Dell phone. But she found it on the ground by her car! Phew!

I may be going to another street vendor this weekend just for giggles!

The best lead acting in a comedy series

My favorite female lead actor performances in a comedy series.

Runners up:

Toni Collette- The united states of Tara

The last two seasons were not as strong as the first, but Toni Collette always showed a lot of range playing Tara and her multiple personalities.

Tina Fey- 30 rock

It's always fun to see what neurosis we will see each week with Fey's Liz Lemon even when the show itself isn't at it's best.

Edie Falco- Nurse Jackie

It's hard to make a drug addicted nurse who cheats on her husband a character that you want to root for. Somehow Edie Falco makes it happen.


Amy poehler- parks and recreation

In the first season of this show Leslie Nope was an annoying ambitious character, but she wasn't very likable. In season two and three Amy Poehler has changed that part of the character while keeping her eccentricities intact. It has made for a better overall show.


But my favorite performance was:

Laura Linney- the Big C
How is a show about cancer funny? Thanks to Laura linnet's performance it is. Her performance is often laugh out loud funny but also heartbreaking and inspiring.

My favorite male actor performances in a comedy series were:

Runners up:

Steve Carell- The Office
The office has seen way better days, but one of the best parts of this season was watching Michael Scott going from a bumbling fool to a full fledge bumbling fool human being. I will miss this great character.

Alec Baldwin- 30 Rock
Even if 30 rock is past it's prime. Alec Baldwin always brings his A game even to the most ludicrous story lines. Baldwin's Jack makes the show still worth watching.

Matt Leblanc-Episodes

I would imagine it would be tough to play yourself. But playing yourself as unlikeable while still redeemable would be even tougher. Matt LeBlanc pulled it off with great humor.


Jim Parsons-the big bang theory. Even if an episode is weak, Sheldon is always a highlight. Jim Parsons makes him one of the great characters in the history of television. If you don't believe me witness Sheldon giving himself his first neck massage in the season finale!

My favorite performance was-

Ed O'Neil- Modern Family
Sure modern Family is an ensemble but Ed O'Neil is the center and heart of the show. His performance as the family patriarch is enough to make me forget about al bundy forever.

The best of the 2010-2011 television: the supporting comedy actors

Here are my favorite supporting male actor performers of the TV season

The runners up:

Eric Stonestreet- Modern Family Cam is one of the great characters in television. Everyone wishes they had a Cam. Cam is sensitive, flamboyant eccentric, loyal, and always hilarious!

Jesse Tyler Ferguson-Modern family Ferguuson doesn't get enough credit. It isn't easy to be the neurotic "straight" man to the scene stealing Cam. But he does it weekly, and if you listen to him very carefully you will notice that Mitchell gets some of the best lines.

Keir Gilchrist- the united states of Tara. Gilchrist did his best work yet in the final season of Tara. He was a heart breaker I stead of having his heartbroken. He suffered a tragedy, and he questions his loyalty to his mentally ailing mother.

Ty Burrell- Modern Family
Phil Would be a tough character to play. He has to be a buffoon but he still has to have some credibility as a father and husband. Ty Burrell makes the character funny but not a joke.

But my favorite was:
Chris Colfer- Glee

This wasn't a consistent season of Glee. But I knew if the focus was on Kurt it would be a good episode. Kurt dealt with bullying, a family illness, changing schools, and getting his first boyfriend. Chris Coifer pulled off all the drama, but he also sang some nice songs and told a light hearted joke or two.


Best supporting female actor in a comedy series

Runners up
Heather Morris- Glee.

Morris stole the funny from Jane lynch who was season one's MVP. Brittany started out as an occasional funny one liner developed into a full fledged funny but three dimensional character.

Sofia Vergara- modern Family

Gloria is a tricky character to play. She could be the stereotypical foreign bimbo married to an older man. But Vergara gives her heart. You can tell she genuinely loves her husband. Sometimes she is a stereotype. Sometimes she fights them. It doesnt usually feel like I'm laughing at her, but laughing with her.

Amy Ryan- The office

I didn't really like the office this season, but I watched to see michael's send off. When holly returned the office was better. I never thought they could create a character that would be a perfect match for Michael scott. The writers did it and Amy Ryan played her perfectly.

Julie Bowen- Modern Family
In season 1 Claire kind of bothered me. I wondered why someone ad uptight as she is would marry Phil. This season Claire was uptight but Bowen also got to show her kooky side

But my favorite was:
Mayim Bialik- the Big Bang theory

Who knew that the actress who played blossom would make comeback, and then who knew she would be so funny. Bialik made Amy Farrah Fowler the perfect sparring partner for Sheldon.

Another Martha meal and my crazy ideas.

I haven't been doing good about making my Martha Stewart recipes so far, but I did make her easy spaghetti carbonara recipe. It is essentially 7 ingredients. Spaghetti, salt,pepper, eggs, Parmesan cheese, bacon, and half and half. It did end up being really delicious. The recipe says to eat it immediately. I did not, and it was still great. I would suggest lots of black pepper because it really adds to the flavor. I would also say keep the bacon in bigger pieces than you get in restaurant carbonara. I was really happy with it.


While I was using the stovetop, I got the idea of using the self cleaning cycle on my oven to clean the inside of the oven. It didn't really need it, but we are about to get a new oven and I had actually never seen how the self cleaning oven works. And I was curious like the good little monkey curious George. Well basically it stinks and it gets really hot. Well today happens to be the warmest day of the year in Seattle. Probably not a great day to do that. But like I said I didn't know how it worked. And once I figured it out I was kind of locked into it. Lesson learned! It's hot in here!

Week 3 Food on the street: Lumpia World

My friend Teresa and I went on our weekly quest again for delicious street food. We were hoping to find the eve elusive Skillet, but I guess they are taking a long weekend because they were not parked at the Starbucks headquarters today. So we will continue with out pursuit of skillet. It better b good!

We tried out Lumpia world because we Hacé fascinated by it since it was parked outside one of our favorite bar. If you don't know Lumpia. It is a Filipino egg roll and for some reason I like it better than a traditional Chinese egg roll. We both ordered chicken adobo. This was essentially dark and white meet chicken stewed in vegetables and hens served over rice. It was a good sized portion, and I really liked the flavor profile of the sauce. Overall I likecD it. Teresa said her chicken tasted dry and she had lots of little bones in hers. Mine did not have that problem. So I think she ended up with more white meat and meat from around the neck which has little bones.

I ordered a Lumpia sampler. It came with four pieces of Lumpia of my choice. I chose pork, chicken, steak and a dessert banana one covered in chocolate. All of them were fine but kind of unremarkable. The three different meat ones didn't taste that different from them. I think I should have opted for no chocolate on the dessert one which would have made the fried banana one stand out more. I think maybe the problem was the Lumpia was so freshly made that the oil didn't have ti e to sink in and make it more flavorful like it is when my Filipino co-workers bring Lumpia in for lunch at work. It has had some rest time and is deliciousness.

So overall I enjoyed teresa's company and liked Lumpia world but I didn't live it.

THe best in television 2010-2011: the drama supporting actors

This year my favorite supporting amel acrots in a drama series were.

Runner's up
Craig T Nelson- Parenthood
I never liked the show .oath so I really did expect much from Craig t Nelson as the patriarch Braverman. But Nelson has shown himself to play to his gruff exterior while showing a vulnerable and loyal side when it comes to protecting his family

Irrfan Khan- In treatment
The final season three of In treatment wasn't the strongest stiffener, but the acting was strong as usual. Khan's storyline showed an underlying rage that built over the season to a suspenseful end.

Matt Ross- Big Love. ross's Albee storyline was one of the few highlights of a mediocre season 4. It looked like he might get some redemption, but en his male lover committed suicide and Albee was back in season 5 with a fiery psychotic rage. The character was never redeemed and was hated and complicated right to the end of the series

Dax Shephard- Who would have thought that the former punked star could bring so much emotion and versatility to Crosby Braverman the most dysfunctional Braverman on the underrated Parenthood.


And the best supporting actor in a drama series was :
Dane DeHaan in 8! Treatment

in one half hour episode DeHaan played a openly gay teenager who would move from pride to insecurity to seductiveness to being a compulsive liar. DeHaan's performance as the highlight of the final season of In Treatment.


And the best performances by a female actor in a supporting role were:

Runner's up

Debra winger- in treatment
It was so great to have Debra winger on television. She gave one of the best performances in a great career as an actress dealing with a terminally ill family member

Chloe Sevingy- Big Love.
No matter the quality of any given season of big love youmcould always count of sevingy as Nicolette "the middle child" wife to give an often funny sometimes touching performance.

Julia stiles- Dexter. I thought stiles was one of the most milquetoast actresses around so I didn't expect much from her arc on Dexter. Every time she was on the screen she surprised me

Christina Hendricks- Mad Men
Hendrick's Joan has always represented the woman of that era who was at times a feminist while able to play the traditional roles prescribed to her. Hendrick's had her best season yet as she deals with an unplanned pregnancy and then considering what she can do about it.

My favorite performance of the year was:
Michelle Forbes - The killing. On true blood Forbes played it appropriately over the top, but in the killing I was astounded by her as she gave a complicated performance as the grieving mother of the murdered Rosie Larsen.

It's Nicki b#%€£! (Sorry Britney !)

Last week I attended the Britney Spears concert. I like a lot of her songs, but I was not willing to pay full price for the ticket. I was able to get a ticket for half price through groupon. I didn't really have high expectatios, but I ended up having a lot of fun. Britney and her people put on quite a spectacle. My particular favorites were high energy performances of "If you seek Amy", "I wanna go", "until the world ends" and an extremely short version of "baby one more time". As for Britney herself I can tell you that she did do some singing despite reports that she lip syncs her whole show. I'm not so concerned about that in songs where the dance energy is high. Madonna, Cher, and Janet Jackson have all done some lip syncing during high energy numbers. It just seems that Britney gets the most criticism for it. However, I will say that britney's energy level was kind of lagging throughout the show. She certainly wasn't at her dancing best and the dancers around her were depended on to make up for a lot of her slack. Overall I would say that my 50 dollar seats 20 rows away from the stage were worth it, but I was glad I wasn't someone who paid full price for tickets.

Now who I would pay full price to see is Nicki Minaj headlining her own tour. She opened for Britney, and my expectations were lw after seeing her perform on Saturday Night Live. But in her 30 minute segment she exceeded my expectations. Her energy level was high and she performed as if her life depended on it. One song would flow into the next. I Wondered how they would handle all of her collaboration songs. They skillfully shortened the songs to make her rapping segments the highlight. On that night, Nicki Minaj provded to me that she was the A superstar. She stole the show that night from Britney. I'd give Nicki an A to Britney's B.

Week 2: eating on the street

Today my friend Teresa and I went to Queen Anne farmer's market to do our on the street eating. There were many potential choices for us there. But we chose to eat at "where ya at Matt?". This street truck is known in Seattle for it's Cajun influence cuisine. Teresa got a small bowl of gumbo, and I had a fried oyster po boy. It was delicious, and I run hot and cold on oysters. The bread was fresh, the fried oysters were tender, and there was a good amount of salad vegetables on it mixed with a tasty mayonnaise sauce. There were so many things on their menu I want to try. I definitely will go back to "where ya at, Matt?"

We also had homeade draft ginger beer from a local vendor, and we shared a dessert crepe at Gina's place at the market. It was a peanut butter, banana and raspberry jam crepe. Delicious! I left the market with some fresh mozzarella and bacon.

On another note earlier this week I went to a vegan bar called highline for a birthday party. They had great vegan cake, but I tried vegan poutine out of curiosity. Let's just say poutine should not be vegetarian!

Best of the. 2010-2011 TV season- Best competive Reality show

Here are the best in competive reality television.

Runner's up

The amazing race After many season of the amazing race a team made up of two women finally one! And then on the next season it happened again. Unfortunately the Alk star season didn't fly ( all star season's rarely do). The teams were too nice and there wasn't a villain that you love to hate. It was a good season for Amazing race but not a great one.

Top chef top chef is it's own industry now with top chef masters and top chef:just dessert. Both are entertaining but neither lives up to the original show. This year top chef did the all star thing. They brought back a lot of my favorites, but ultimately the whole season seemed to be about the redemption of Richard who was never one of my favorite chefs.

Survivor the last two seasons were kind of lacking in terms of great character, but watching Boston rob do what should have been impossible and finally win Survivor made for some pretty great TV.

Project runway project runway would have been the runaway winner if it weren't for one thing. The shoe brought us one of the greatest characters of reality tv with HIV positive and gay Mondo. He was also one of the best designers the show has ever seen. But then they went and ruined it by giving the win to evil Gretchen and her ready to wear forest ranger outfits! Sorry project runway but with your finale you ruined a great season.


The winner is
rupaul's Drag Race The queens weren't as great of characters as the ones in season 2. But the series continued to wear it's campy heart on it's sleeve while taking light hearted looks at issues such as gays in the military. The episode in which the queens dressed straight athletes as drag queens goes down as one of the best episodes of any TV show this season.

Street food week one and the sixth state

Today I started week one of my street food adventures with a trip to my favorite food truck so far, marination. I ordered my regulars--a pulled pork slider. Their pork is so juicy and spiced just right. Only problem was that mine was piled so high that the bread and a lot of the veggies toppled over onto the ground. :). I was more successful with my kimchi quesadilla which is the perfect mix of pork cheese kimchi and spicy sauce. It sounds a bit odd, but it is more than a bit delicious.

So on another note this gay pride weekend is definitely one to celebrate with New York becoming the sixth state to allow gay marriage. It doubled the amount of people in this country who can have a legal same sex marriage. More remarkably is that it happened in a republican controlled state senate thanks to the votes of four republican senators. This is the kind of thing that shows that change is really happening. It's a remarkable victory. I only hope the 7th, 8th, 9th state and so on will soon follow. Hopefully it will happen on the west coast soon. Happy Pride weekend to one and all!

What I had for dinner: courtesy of Martha Stewart.

So I decided this summer to go through my Martha Stewart magazines and books to cook some of the recipes I skimmed over, salivates, but never cooked. Tonight was my first night, and I made: Chicken Koftas with Cucumbers and Yogurt! Basically it is a spicy chicken meatball in a pita with a cucumber yogurt sauce garnished with tomatoes and mint leaves. I thought I had overcooked the chicken in my haste to get them cooked through but the slight char gave the slickness an extra punch that made it more delicious. I also toasted the pita slightly which made it taste better, but not as easy to bend! It was delicious for a relaxed summer night!

The best in Television for the 2010-2011 season- Reality tv shows. Non- competitive

Now that the season is over I'll be talking about my favorites I will write about my favorites in Television over three blog posts. Tonight's army favorite in reality television.

The best in Reality Television- Non competitive
Honorable mentions
The A list: New York- Sure there were some obnoxious stereotypical gay guys on this, and a lot of it felt really staged. But my guilty conscience was entertained. (logo)
Kathy Griffin My life on the D-list- This was the last season of the show, and it had definitely run it's course, but it was always good for a few laughs. (bravo)
Million Dollar listing- this show has started to run it's course, but the new Josh was a welcome change over android Chad. And old Josh's coming out was touching if totally not surprising. No straight guys loves bubble baths and his grandmother that much!(bravo)

Million dollar matchmaker- something about this show didn't work in NYC but Patti the matchmaker kept the misbehavers in their place.

But the best Reality show- non competitive was
Season 25: Oprah behind the scenes

I've only just caught select episodes of Oprah winfrey's cultural milestone talk show, but season 25 is a can't miss. It shows how hard all these people work to make that show successful, and that you don't become as successful as Oprah Winfrey has without having a strong opinion or two. I will miss it when it ends.

The first day of summer. Last day of work. Celebrating with a pastry.

Yeah yeah today was the last day of work before summer break It went by. I'm happy to start summer vacation. Yes I celebrated by drinking lots of beer. But what I really want to talk about is my celebration pastry. This year because of the location job I have become familiar with one of seattle's culinary treasures--the salvadorian bakery. It is in funky awesome neighborhood in west Seattle called white center. I had been eating their pupusas and pineapple empanadas for special lunches throughout the school year. One day I was charming he lady behind the counter as I am prone to do, and asked her her favorite dessert pastry. She introduced me to the Maria Luisa de Leche pastry. Essentially it is a rectangle pastry that looks like a very blonde brownie. The consistency of the dough is a mix of brownie and shortbread. The taste of the cake is like a moist shortbread. But that's not all! It is filled with this delicious Creamy custard and dusted with cinnamon then chilled. It is best served cold! I'm not really a dessert peson, but this is one of the best sweet trees I've ever eaten! And I am so glad I bought one today!

Summer is here. Time to blog.

Summer is here so I am back to my neglected blog. I hope that it is going to be a fun exciting summer! I plan on doing a few things on my blog this summer. First, I am going to attempt to cook one or more Martha Stewart recipe a day and report about it. I decided to do this because I have so many of her magazines and books and I rarely make any recipes from them. So I am going to and report back on them. Second, I may display some of my own original writing for a project I plan to work on this summer. Third, I plan to go eat at a street vendor a week and report back on it here in Seattle. Im also thinking about going down to Portland to experience street food central! I will also write about moviestv, concerts, musics, vacation, politics and other things I like. It should be an exciting summer!

My Oscar Predictions

I reserve the right to change my choices right up until the show, but I doubt I will

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Director: David Fincher The Social Network
Best Actor: Colin Firth The King's Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo The Fighter
Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: Social Network
Art Direction: The King's Speech
Cinematography: True Grit
Costume: King's Speech
Editing: The Social Network
Makeup: The Wolfman
Original Score: King's Speech
Original Song: If I rise 127 Hours
Sound Editing: Inception
Sound Mixing: Inception
Visual Effects: Inception
Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Foreign language: In a better world
Documentary: Inside job
Doc Short: Strangers No more
Animated short: Madagascar, a journey diary
Live action short: God of Love

Enjoy the show if you are watching!

All of my choices for the best iin film for 2010

Here I will note who I would choose as the winner.


Now for the bigger categories I list in alphabetical order my top 5.
Best Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
Never Let Me Go
Rabbit Hole-My ChoiceThe Social Network
Toy Story 3

Best Original Screenplay
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
Inception-My ChoiceThe Kids are Alright
The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter The King's Speech
Marion Cotilliard Inception
Barbara Hershey Black Swan-My ChoiceLesley Manville Another Year
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale The Fighter
Andrew Garfield The Social network
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo the Kid's are Alright- My choiceGeoffrey Rush the King's Speech

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky Black Swan
Danny Boyle 127  Hours
David Fincher The Social Network
John Cameron Mitchell Rabbit Hole
Christopher Nolan Inception- My choice
Best Lead Actor
Aaron Eckhart Rabbit hole
Jesse Eisenberg The Social Network
Colin Firth The King's Speech
James Franco 127 Hours-My choiceRyan Gosling Blue Valentine

Best Lead Actress
Annette Bening The Kids Are Alright
Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole
Julianne Moore The Kids Are Alright
Natalie Portman Black Swan
Michelle Williams Blue Valentine-My choice
-And finally I rank my top 10 films. My ten favorite films of 2010 were
10.Never let Me Go
9.The Social Network
8. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

7. Toy Story 3

6. The Kids Are Alright

5. Black Swan

4. The King's Speech

3. 127 Hours
2. Rabbit Hole
and my favorite film of 2010 was

1. Inception

Here were my other choices:

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Best DocumentaryJoan Rivers; A Piece of Work
Best Original Score: The Social network
Best Original Song from a film: I've got a dream from Tangled
Best Foreign Film: Undertow from Peru
Best Sound in a Film: Inception
Best Costumes: The King's Speech
Best Editing: Inception
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Cinematography: True Grit
Best Art Direction: Inception

Tomorrow: My final Oscar predictions!

My choices for the Best in Film of 2010

I hav seen a lot of 2010's films, but I haven't seen them all. i have missed some foreign films and documentaries, but here are my thoughts for the best of the year. First a list of films that I have already chosen the "best".

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Best DocumentaryJoan Rivers; A Piece of Work
Best Original Score: The Social network
Best Original Song from a film: I've got a dream from Tangled
Best Foreign Film: Undertow from Peru
Best Sound in a Film: Inception
Best Costumes: The King's Speech
Best Editing: Inception
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Cinematography: True Grit
Best Art Direction: Inception

Now for the bigger categories I list in alphabetical order my top 5.
Best Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
Never Let Me Go
Rabbit Hole
The Social Network
Toy Story 3

Best Original Screenplay
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
Inception
The Kids are Alright
The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter The King's Speech
Marion Cotilliard Inception
Barbara Hershey Black Swan
Lesley Manville Another Year
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale The Fighter
Andrew Garfield The Social network
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo the Kid's are Alright
Geoffrey Rush the King's Speech

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky Black Swan
Danny Boyle 127  Hours
David Fincher The Social Network
John Cameron Mitchell Rabbot Hole
Christopher Nolan Inception

Best Lead Actor
Aaron Eckhart Rabbit hole
Jesse Eisenberg The Social Network
Colin Firth The King's Speech
James Franco 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling Blue Valentine

Best Lead Actress
Annette Bening The Kids Are Alright
Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole
Julianne Moore The Kids Are Alright
Natalie Portman Black Swan
Michelle Williams Blue Valentune

And finally in alphabetical order. My ten favorite films of 2010 were
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
The Kids Are Alright
The Kings Speech
Never let Me Go
Rabbit Hole
The Social Network
Toy Story 3

In my next blog. My choices for the top 8 categories and my final Oscar predictions

Ranking the Top eight Oscar categories

 Now that I have seen all of the major Oscar nominees I will be doing some posting before the Oscars. Tonight I rank the top eight categories with some commentary. Then I will write about who I would have chosen and then finally I will make my final oscar predictions.

I will start with best Picture
10. Winter's Bone
 9. The Fighter
8. True Grit
7. The Social network
6. Toy Story 3
5. the Kids are Alright
4. Black Swan
3. The King's speech
2. 127 Hours
 1. Inception
This is a bit of a change from the last time I did this, but I think this is overall a good list of nominees especially compared to last year. Seven of these have a good chance to be in my own top 10.

Best Director
5. David O Russell The Fighter
4. The Coen brothers True Grit
3/ Tom Hooper the King's Speech
2. Darren Aronofsky Black Swan
1. David Fincher The Social Network

The Social Network was a pretty great film, but it left me a bit cold. That being said, it is a very well directed film. It is a shame Christopher Nolan isn't a nominee.

Best Actor
5. Javier Bardem Biutiful
4. Jeff bridges True Grit
3. Colin Firth The King's Speech
2. Jesse Eisenberg The social network
1. James Franco 127 Hours

The top three are very strong performances the 4th and 5th spots were fine, but felt like they should have gone to better performances.

Best Actress
5. Jennifer lawrence Winter's bone
4. Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole
3. Annette Bening The Kid's are alright
2. Natalie Portman Black Swan
1. Michelle Williams Blue Valentine

This is a very strong category. I can't even begrudge Jennifer Lawrence because she was easily the best thing about Winter's bone. Michelle Williams was the one nomination that made me cheer. But ask me tomorrow and I could easily re rank the top three. And even thought I am not sure she gave the best performance I am kind of cheering for Annette Bening.

Best Supporting Actor
5. John Hawkes Winter's bone
4. Jeremy Renner the Town
3. Christian Bale The fighter
2. Geoffrey Rush The King's Speech
1. Mark Ruffalo The Kid's are Alright

A very strong top 4, and if you ask me again tomorrow I could flip that whole top 3. It is too bad someone from The Social network couldn't claim that fifth spot.

Best Supporting Actress
5. Melissa Leo The Fighter
4. Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
3. Amy Adams The Fighter
2. Helena Bonham Carter King's Speech
1. Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

This is a very weak line up and while there weren't tons of great choices. Most of these would not make my own top 5. And hailee Steinfeld shouldn't even be here since she is the lead in True Grit.

Best Adapted Screenplay
5. Winter's Bone
4. True Grit
3. Toy Story 3
2, The Social network
1. 127 Hours
This was a strong year in adapted screenplays. I wish the bottom two slots had gone to other movies

Best Original Screenplay
5. The Fighter
4. Another Year
3. The King's Speech
2. The Kids are Alright
1. Inception

The Top 4 is a strong group. I could easily change my top 3!

That's it. Next I will let you know my favorites for 2010!

The Oscar Shorts

For the second year in a row I saw the short films nominated for an Oscar (minus the doc shorts). They are usually the categories a lot of people go to have a snack during, but it makes it more enjoyable to me to watch the Oscars when I have seen almost everything including the shorts.

So here are my  brief  thoughts on the nominees and my current predictions as to which one will win.

The animated shorts first.

The Lost Thing- Something feels a little off. The story is minimal and not too interesting. It does have a nice message though about finding your own place as an individual. There is also a moment in the film that looks like a giant Salvador Dali painting, but that part isn't long enough. 3 out of 5 stars

Day and Night- This played before Toy Story 3 and most of the time I like the Pixar shorts, but this time not so much. I appreciate its theme of tolerating those who are different, and I can appreciate the work that went into it. But it is pretty dull and seems very slow for a short that is only 6 minutes. 2.5 out of 5 stars

Let's Pollute- A snarky short with a political theme may seem like something Oscar voters eats up. It is funny and sometimes clever, but its environmental theme feels a little over hammered. Usually subtle is better. 3.5 out of 5 star

The Gruffalo- This is the only short with a full story and it has the voice of Oscar Nominee Helena Bonham Carter. But even the story seems pretty slight and sing songy like the children's book that it came from. The animation is just good as well. But it has the mostly fully developed story going for it and this could be the winner 3.5 out of 5.

Madagascar- Thankfully this has nothing to do with the Ben Stiller animated film. This is easily the best animated of the 5 shorts with all of its colors, drawings and layers of animation. But it is essentially  a travelogue about Madagascar with no plot to speak of. 3.5 out of 5.

My prediction: There are three that I think are out of it. But it is a hard choice between the gruffalo and madagascar.Iit is the battle between story and art. I think in this case art wins by a hair. I think the winner will be Madagascar.

Live Action Shorts
The Confession- This was the best made technically of the bunch, but the story of accidental murder in childhood feels like something off of the Young Adult shelves at the library that you come back to as an adult and say, "When does something like that ever happen?" Sometimes this category goes to the nominee that feels the most important. This isn't it. 3 out of 5

The Crush- There is something very sweet about this short, but also very sinister and creepy. It doesn't quite pull off of the tone of the two clashing feelings. 3 out of 5

God of Love- This is definitely the slightest of the nominees, but it is also the funniest of the bunch. It definitely has a young Woody Allen feel to it as its filmmaker and star is a nebbish unattractive guy that is unlucky at love. The academy loves Woody Allen, and I think they will love this. It is also a student film and a student winning an Oscar would make a great story. 3.5 out of 5

Na Wewe- One of two shorts in the categories that deals with "important" themes. This one being  violence in Africa. The only problem is that it doesn't really go deep enough and feels kind of empty, but if Oscars want to feel important and well versed in international news, they will go for this 3 out of 5

Wish 143- The other "important" short is about a teenager with cancer. That would probably be enough if it was a big tear jerker. But it is mostly comic because it is about the teen asking a make a wish like foundation to fulfill his wish of losing his virginity. It is funny and has heart, but doesn't feel important enough. 3.5 out of 5 stars

My prediction for the win: Its the important Goliath against the very funny David. I think this time david wins because it makes a better story. I think the winner will be God of Love, but Na wewe could easily steal it.

Now that I've seen all ten of the best picture nominees thus is how I'd rank them.
10. Winter's Bone
9. The Fighter
8. True grit

This is where it gets tough. The remaining seven are all great and are in my own top 10 of the year or close to it.
7. Social network
6. Toy story 3
5. The kids are alright
4. Black swan
3. Inception
2. The king's speech
1. 127 hours

That's how it rank the top 7 today but I could rank them another way tomorrow.

My Oscar nomination predictions

I am just going to do my predictions for the top 6 categories.
Here we go.

Best picture
Black swan
The fighter
Inception
The kids are alright
King's speech
127 Hours
The social network
Toy story 3
True grit
Winter's bone

Best director
Darren aronofsky Black Swan
Joel and Ethan coen true grit
David Fincher The Social Network
Tom Hooper The King's speech
Christopher Nolan Inception

Best actor
Jeff Bridges True grit
Jesse Eisenberg social network
Colin firth The kings speech
James Franco 127 hours
Mark Walberg The Fighter

Best Actress
Annette Bening the kids are alright
Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence winters bone
Natalie Portman Black Swan
Hailee Steinfield True grit

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale the fighter
Andrew Garfield the social network
Jeremy renner the town
Mark ruffalo the kids are alright
Geoffrey rush the king's speech

Best supporting actress
Amy Adams The fighter
Helena bonham Carter the king's speech
Barbara Hershey black swan
Melissa Leo the fighter
Leslie manville another year

Ten Songs that Entertained, Amused, or Inspired me in 2010

In alphabetical order:
All the Lovers- Kylie Minogue- It had been awhile since I had even thought about Kylie, but this ethereal song and its sexy video brought her back to my radar. Now if only the USA would ever really catch on to her.

F***ing Perfect-Pink- A great song included on Pink's solid greatest hits collection. It should be a big hit in 2011, but I am including it since I have been listening to it since November.

Horchata- Vampire Weekend Catchy and full of nostalgia. It kind of deserves to become an alternative type holiday song. It is hard not to feel joy while listening to it.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand-Chris Colfer (from Glee) Remaking an already perfect Beatles song is tricky business, but Colfer's ballad version sang to his ailing television father was heartbreaking and inspiring.

Just the Way You Are- Bruno Mar- This is such an unbridled affectionate song. Who wouldn't want someone to sing this song to them? I love the Glee version as well.

Love The Way You Lie- Eminem Featuring Rihanna-Marshall Mathers was back with his best song since Stan. Whoever thought of including Rihanna was genius. She also does a lovely version of the song in her voice on her album Loud.

Runaway (the album version)- Kanye West- the moment that Kanye West went from great hip hop artist to musical genius for me is when I first heard this song. To me this should be modern classical music.

Take it Off- Ke$ha- Yeah it's juvenile. But it's fun and naughty while strangely innocent. Just how scandalous is glitter?

Telephone- Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce Knowles-I kind of changed my tune on this one. I used to think it was overly silly and less of a song than it's great video. But the more I listen to it the more i can appreciate the hooks and the layers even when the lyrics are merely silly but fun.

Waka Waka (It's time for Africa)-Shakira It wasn't such a big hit in the USA, but it was a giant hit worldwide. It's an entergetic song that shows pride in Africa, but more importantly pride in the world and humanity

Ten Fun Things that I did in 2010 Part 3

Here are the final three, but they were pretty big!

8. Reunion- I didn't think I would ever actually go to any of my high school reunions. I wasn't popular in high school, and in most ways it doesn't go down as a high point in my life. But my curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to see my old friends. So off to Casper, Wyoming I went to the Kelly Walsh 1990 reunion. Even though, I had a couple moments of wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into, it turned out to be a weekend to remember. The naughty side of me slightly relished in the fact that some of the members of my class had not aged as well as I had. But From late night chats in I-Hop to skinnydipping in a friend's pool it was all a lot of fun. The most important thing was that I was reminded of what good friends I had when I was in high school. Maybe I didn't have quantity, but I had quality. I don't think I fully appreciated that until that weekend.

9. That damn dog- If you read this, don't tell Devon. But though I still don't like the circumstances that she came into our house, I have grown pretty attached to that goofy mophead dog of ours, Sophie. I don't really appreciate that she makes travelling a bit more difficult, but her little naughty energy brings a lot of fun into the house.True, our house is much messier because of her and I don't really love walking her as soon as I get home from work, But she has ended up being a pretty sweet ball of fur. Our cat would likely not agree.

10. European vacation- I could have easily just picked ten highlights from my 5 week return to Europe this summer. Even though it wasn't the same as seeing Europe my very first time when I went in 2005, many great adventures were had. I experience World Cup madness in Amsterdam, once again explored the amazing neighborhoods of Paris, laid on a beautiful beach in Portugal, wandered the mazelike streets in Florence and drank a lot of beer in Prague. It was five weeks of my life that I will always be glad that I had. It sure helped that I flew first class round trip. I'm already feeling the itch for my next European Vacation in 2012 or 2013. I will be much more Eastern European focused then!

Ten cool things I did in 2010 Part Deux

4, Gay Bowling- So I'm not a good bowler, and I am not sure what about me made my friend Tony think I would be into this. But I have really enjoyed being on my gay bowling team and playing more is certainly helping my game! Plus the West Seattle Bowling Alley has more kinds of beer on tap than many bars I have been to.

5. Vegas baby!-Yeah I know I go to Vegas almost every year. But it's fun!! This time around we stayed at the Trump hotel (a great hotel room but the pool area was definitely lacking), we ate at Top Chef master runner Up Rick Moonen's seafood restaurant and, of course, the biggest excitement was to see one of my favorites, SHAKIRA! Loca loca loca indeed!

6. Going to the Hood!- The Hood Canal  that is! It had been a few years since I had been to my friend Thomas's hood canal house, but this year we were back. There was a good group of people that went, good food, but best of all was the drunk dance party of the first night. There are photos of it somewhere I am sure. :)

7, Party All the Time- This year I only had two parties: a game night that about 20 people attended and a Christmas party that over 50 people attended. I really enjoy the mix of friends that Devon and I have. However, this was the year that planning the parties lost their fun for me. So I am going to take a break. No more big parties (less than a dozen guests) until 2012. I love when people come over, but I want to love planning them again.

My Top 10 times of fun and frenzy of 2010-Part 1

Well I have prety much cleaned out my DVRs and currently have no unwatched Netflix DVDs. This is a good thing when you are busy, but not when you are sick and need something to do! So here we go. 2010 was a prety fun year for me overall. Here is part 1 of the Ten great happening in my life for 2010. They are in no particular order.

1. NYC for Thanksgiving- I have always been to New York City in Spring or Summer, but this was the first year that I had been in NYC in the fall entering the holiday season. New York City is uniquely beautiful as the Christmas decorations start to go up, vendors sell Christmas trees on the sidewalk, and the Christmas market opens up on Union Square. We also got to spend some time with Devon's family, meet some old friends for dinner, see a Broadway show, visited MOMA and ate at the wonderful Scandanvaian restaurant called Aquavit. Not bad for a long Holiday weekend!

2, Lady Gaga-August was a busy month for me  between travelling and going to concerts, but the concert highlight of the year was going to Lady Gaga with my friend Marian. We were actually in the last row of the Tacoma Dome. We were so high that it was actually hard to see the big TV screens behind the live action, but none of that really mattered, For a couple  hours we were two of Gaga's Little Monsters. Part of the spectacle was the audience itself. The costume highlight for me was the guy who made a fancy diva  mask out of cigarettes. My heart was warmed to see teenagers bringing their same sex boyfriends and girlfriends to the show. This is something that would never have happened when I was a teenager. Hopefully, Lady Gaga and her openness toward her audience will be a force in pop culture for a long time.

3. San Francisco for my birthday weekend- San Francisco is probably my second favorite USA city (behind NYC), and I never get tired of it no matter how often I go. So it was nice to go for a weekend and have sunny weather the entire weekend. We spent sometime in the Mission area and Castro with Devon's nephew and his partner, we did some shopping, ate some good Mexican food, bakery and breakfasy (at Moulin Rouge). Sadly, the only down part of the trip came on my birthday when I got food poisioning, but that could not a damper of our time in wonderful city that was actually sunny for once.


More to come. What were the highlights of your year? I know you are reading. I can see how many hits I get. Feel free to respond. :)

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

The ten coolest and most fun things I did in 2010.

Also I am attempting to do a picture a day journal of 2011. I'm doing it through shuttercal.com. My user name is daninwa