Culture Shock

Hey, everyone! So, who got to see the new episode of Melrose Place yet? I watched last night and I thought it was a step up from past weeks. The highlight for me was, as usual, Ella. Who knew David Cassidy’s one-time aspiring pop star daughter had such a set of teeth on her? She’s more than holding her own against most of the characters. Syd can still get under her skin, but the new guys have no chance against her.

I’m surprised to say that Ashlee wasn’t that bad, either. I’m just not sure where they’re going with the character. One week, she’s the naive little good girl, then she’s an unstable syd-stalker and now, she’s a conniving job stealer. Of all her personas, I’d say the latest one is the most entertaining.

Where do I ever start with the others? I see fans commenting online all the time about Dr. Call Girl’s lack of applying for student loans. I would definitely like to see this addressed on the show. It can’t be pride, that’s for sure. I also wanna know what little miss school teacher is thinking asking her to be maid of honor when she can’t even get a couple hours free one day to go dress shopping. The only entertaining aspect of these stories will be the inevitable meltdowns coming from both sides. I kinda actually liked/felt for Speilberg this time around. His best friend almost ruins his career, gets all high and mighty about being accused and Speilberg ends up having to apologize to him? Not right. Speaking of the klepto…. he is definitely his father’s son, pulling such a crappy move. I would like to end this with one last question and see what answers y’all can come up with. Consider it a game! The question is- why didn’t that poor girl mention Violet was covering for her for awhile and, therefore, had access to the cash register? Inquiring minds wanna know…

Now, this is good news! I love Robot Chicken and Family Guy, so I’m curious to see what he’s going to come up with for this new series.

For those of you who don’t know, Robot Chicken is a series on the Cartoon Network that pokes fun at pop culture, usually focusing on toys and shows from the 70s and 80s.

Looks like someone is really getting in touch with her roots… according to yahoo news, Eva Longoria has decided to enter a master’s program relating to Chicano studies. Not only that, she’s going to be tackling her first spanish-speaking role.

Sounds like Eva’s going to be having a very busy year. She’s still filming the current season of Desperate Housewives as well, which is going to premiere this weekend. I know I’ll be watching…

So, word from the CW powers that be is Amanda Woodward is returning to Melrose Place. Yes, that’s right. The bitch is back…. I’m just curious how they’re going to do it (no details about her role on the series has been revealed, just that the return will happen in November). For fans that didn’t see the end of Melrose 1.0, Amanda and Peter (played by Jack Wagner) had faked their deaths and were living happily ever after. I can’t imagine what would bring Amanda back to Melrose. All I know is, I can’t wait to see Michael’s reaction to it… assuming they don’t gloss over the whole thing. Either way, any scenes between them should be good.

So what do you all think? Are you happy to see Amanda back? Comment and let me know.

The Hot Author Report is your place for what is happening in the virtual world of online book tours, promotion, marketing and more. Jaime is a self-confessed sushi addict who spends most of her time as an online publicist for Pump Up Your Book Promotion when she’s not roaming around Australia. When she’s not working, she is reviewing books and cafés around Australia on Down Under Views, obsessing about writing and finishing her novel on InkyBlots, and reflecting on the life as a US expat in Australia on The New Australian.

I’m not overall a huge fan of the whole clothing line/fragerance/etc. thing that celebrities seem to love. I guess so many people are going that route these days, it feels more like a trend rather than something they actually are passionate about and love. Just another part of the “brand”. Well, now someone else is getting into it and it’s making Abercrombie and Fitch mad. How mad, you ask? Enough to file a lawsuit.

The gist of this? Beyonce is coming out with a fragerance that’s said to be named similarly to theirs. Personally? I gotta go with team Beyonce for the second time this week (this must be a record…). I really don’t think there’ll be much confusion over this. Especially with the publicity the suit is getting. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this one turns out.

Brick is our newest author on Blogalogues. He finished up his first 2 weeks with 2 of the top five blogs in the project. So, give a round of applause for Encouraging Health and Tech Gadget. Thanks to everyone for such a pleasant welcome to Brick.

There are a couple of sad stories in the news today. It was announced yesterday that Patrick Swayze, who starred in Dirty Dancing, passed away at 57 on Monday after battling cancer since 2008. He was also known for his parts in Road House, To Wong Foo and Ghost. Check out this video of his song “She’s Like the Wind”:

In other bad news, actress Kathryn Joosten, who plays Mrs. McClusky on Desperate Housewives, has just been diagnosed with Lung Cancer again after beating it in 2001. Thoughts and prayers are going out to her and her family now. Hopefully, she has a speedy and full recovery.

I’m highlighting a blogalogues writer here each day and today it’s Jerri Ann. Here’s the scoop:

Jerri Ann Reason is the administrator and publisher of Blogalogues. She has a media site at Jerri Ann Reason along with a site, Jerri Ann, where you can sign up to learn from her via webinars and ebooks. She has been writing online since 1999 and her media site can direct you to all things related to her. Her personal blog is Mom~E~Centric, if you want to see how she handles the stress of life.

Ya know what makes me most angry about last night’s VMA incident? You made me really like Beyonce Knowles. I’m not a huge fan of Beyonce overall. I think she’s been pushed out there way too hard and way too often and a little break would do us all a world of good. That kind of changed last night after Kanye’s little stunt.

Beyonce proved herself to be a classy lady when, after winning an award herself, she called Taylor back onstage to get a second chance at the spotlight. I thought that was a wonderful and selfless move on Beyonce’s part to give up her moment for someone who had theirs robbed. Good for her. It’s nice to see that some people apparently have manners these days…

Another thing this incident did is to cement my already existing annoyance of him, while re-affirming my admiration of people like Kelly Clarkson and Pink. Check Kelly’s blog and Pink’s twitter for their reactions to it all. They say it better than I can here. I also found myself liking Katy Perry, despite her massacre of “We Will Rock You” for her twitter post on it as well.

So what did you all think of this? Are you Team Taylor? Team Kanye? Did this change your opinion of certain celebrities? Comment away…