Thanks A Lot, NBC.

So I just finished watching what I thought was the season finale of Outsourced one of my new favorite workplace comedies on NBC set in India. I will say that when the show first started, I was afraid it would be teeming with easy stereotypical humor, but it's proven to be a solid comedy with refreshing jokes and the amusing idiosyncrasies of Indian life (and call-center life). Not to mention, some of the actors on the show such as Parvesh Cheena (Gupta) and Sacha Dhawan (Manmeet) are pretty brilliant, and as an Indian-American, it warms my heart to see good Indian actors on TV.

Except what I thought was a season finale, was actually a series finale. Yes, that's right. Outsourced has been officially taken off the air and won't be returning for a second season.

But good news! NBC is adding new pilots to its lineup like Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea and BFFs, the former being a show revolving around Chelsea Handler. Yay!

Did you sense the sarcasm in that last sentence? I hope you did. Because this is just ridiculous. Finally, NBC comes along with a decent, international workplace comedy, and with a heartwarming finale, they swipe it away. First of all, if they were planning to end the show at the end of the first season, they shouldn't have ended it the way they did. I won't give away any spoilers, but it definitely had me wanting a new episode soon to see the progression of a possibly interesting new storyline.

By the way, Two and a Half Men is still going strong with the new addition of Ashton Kutcher. Oh, great. Don't get me wrong, I love Ashton Kutcher. But the show needs to go, it's not funny.

I just feel that the people in the corporate offices need to get their heads on straight, and understand the difference between good, refreshing comedy, and comedy that smells like wet dog. Or at least, don't introduce us to great TV and then play the meanest April Fool's joke ever. I really commended them for moving in the right direction, away from safe, stereotypical humor in Outsourced. You were doing fine, what happened?? I can't imagine that the official ratings reflect the true audience reactions, because I know plenty of people that love the show.

I hope this is a bad dream, I really do. In the meantime, NBC also seems to be picking up another pilot, crossed over from the UK - Free Agents, starring Hank Azaria. Now, I do love me some Hank, even though the movie industry hasn't really been the greatest to him in terms of film roles. Word has it that the network is hoping this show will garner as much success as the hugely popular crossover, The Office. I think that's aiming a bit too high, since The Office is very much its own thing (though now, with the loss of Michael Scott, I might have to eat my words...so sad).

What do you think? Are you happy to see Outsourced go? Comment away!

Sometimes, Addiction Is A Good Thing

Honestly. Because the thing I happen to be addicted to at the moment is basically beating my education at its job.

TEDTalks.

Ever heard of them? No?

WHAT?

Please, just humor me, and watch this:



(Courtesy of TED.com)

First of all, I love the way the he opens up with his personal experience with his baby boy. Hearing his son progress from "gaa" to "water" was probably one of the more flabbergasting things I have seen on the Internet.

But this is a lecture. And in a culture where the word “lecture” automatically conjures up an image of sleepy college students half-listening to a professor, it is strange to see that most people who watch TEDTalks are of this same demographic - college students. What is it about these lectures, or “talks” that have people sitting up in their seats?

Just out of my own curiosity, I talked to some students at NYU to get an idea of why they liked TEDTalks so much, and what made these lectures so fascinating to them. Some people said it was because you could learn so much from these people, but not have to sit down for an hour and suffer through a long, boring speech. I would agree - each talk is about 18-20 minutes long, which is perfect for someone like me who is always on the go. And TEDTalks are set up in such a way that the speakers come with the intention of hooking the audience in from the get-go, and wanting to be popular to contrary opinion.

Other people said it was because they felt that these speakers were a new wave of inspiration, rather than celebrities or the rich and famous that many people look up to nowadays.

...I don't know about that. I mean, I still think Johnny Depp is the man, and he dropped out of high school.

But seriously, everytime I see one of these lectures, I just want to get up and do something revolutionary. Or at least run a mile to work off the adrenaline rush. When I see it in writing, it sounds ridiculous, yes I know. But these people are an inspiration to me. I feel like these talks can define the new generation of education, as a revolutionary way of teaching, practically rather than academically. Unfortunately, while I praise and worship TEDTalks, I feel like not enough people know about them, which is a shame. Though I am not a part of TED, I feel like the next step for them would be to actively seek out educational institutes around the world and implementing these speakers or talks into those school curriculums - or having teachers and professors doing it the other way around . Imagine watching Deb Roy's talk in your boring, high school psychology class, or better yet, have the actual Deb Roy speak to your boring, high school psychology class. Now, doesn't that psychology class sound a little better?

But while the TED people in their cute little Manhattan office work on that, here I am, publicizing these talks to you, those few people out there that read this blog. Go ahead, learn something new.

I dare you.

(PS. If you remember a while ago I posted a music-related article mentioning my choral hero, Eric Whitacre - here is a talk by him on TED.com about his "virtual choir". It's definitely worth a look-see.)



(Courtesy of TED.com)
(Now, asking me to compare between this guy and Johnny Depp, well, that's a whole different ball game.)

If You're That Person That Reads The Last Page Of A Book First - This Is For You.

Guess what I found on someone's tumblr? Kudos to my sister for showing this to me, by the way. For those that remember this from the book, it's Potterwatch, the radio show that Fred and George Weasley hosted on a secret radio channel while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on the run. Apparently it's actually in the movie, and I'm surprised it hasn't been leaked onto any official Harry Potter website yet. So far, I've just seen it reblogged from tumblr to tumblr. So here's a sneak peek for those who don't have tumblrs (which is about 0.0001% of the population, apparently):

I'm so glad they're putting this in the movie.

So, in light of the upcoming new Harry Potter movie, I'd like to direct your attention to Mugglenet.com, who has been so kind to create a page on their website that has a compilation of every Deathly Hallows TV spot/sneak peek/trailer/miscellaneous video that has been sent out into the world. Here are some extra clips that aren't on the page, because it hasn't exactly been updated yet (they're all on the home page, just scattered among different posts):

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. (Yes, this one is in Dutch)


6.

They've released so many clips now, that I think I might stop watching for new ones. After all, I don't want the entire movie to be spoiled for me. But they've done a good job of releasing clips of the not-so-important-scenes that seem to either come before or after the big scenes. As long as the big scenes aren't spoiled.

And yes, I've already bought my midnight premiere ticket. I had a Fandango alert sent to my email the minute tickets were on sale (about mid-October), and bought it immediately. Just to show that I am not being paranoid, tickets in the lower Manhattan area were sold out two weeks after I got mine. Now who's crazy?

Also, I want to clarify that this post is not in support of those who read the last page of a book first. That's horrible, stop it. Stop it now.

This Is Halloween.

In the spirit of Halloween weekend, I've been recollecting memories of past Halloweens in my life, and thought I would make a post about it.

It is so humorous looking back at past Halloween costumes, just because of how I remember feeling very cool at the time, and feeling very stupid now. What was I thinking?!? But they are in the past, and there's nothing better than reliving the embarrassments of your past, right? Right.

Don't even ask me what this was. We actually had a piece of paper attached to our backs explaining, in full detail, what this was.

Can anyone guess who I am in this one? (Keep in mind, this one is a couple of years after the previous picture. I couldn't find any pictures in between - nor do I remember what I was for those years, actually...)

This year, for Halloween, I decided to go all out. Face-wise. It is important to note here that, in the past year, I have become increasingly passionate about makeup artistry after accidentally stumbling upon an AMAZING makeup artist, Kandee Johnson, who besides having a great personality, is a professional artist who really knows her way around a face. She's taught me so much about working with your own face, contouring, shading, color theory, tricks, etc. Among her more regular looks, she also has a great selection of character looks (which by the way, ACTUALLY look like the characters rather than "inspired by" looks). This year, after many months of watching and re-watching her videos, and adding to my collection of makeup and brushes, I decided to recreate her "Cheshire Cat" look. And here it is, my 2010 Halloween getup:

I hope y'all like it. The mouth area doesn't look at good as it can, because my mouth started getting dry throughout the night and I had to inevitably lick my lips. Otherwise, that part should've been completely covered, so as to look more like an actual wide grin.

Doing this look has re-fueled my love for Halloween. I've started creating a list of looks I want to do for future Halloweens to come. I think next year, I'm going to go as Scar, from "The Lion King". I really think I could do a great face, and I've got the black hair to tease and poof up into an actual mane. I'm so excited!

I think part of the reason I love Halloween so much is because I can unleash my creativity, and it is the one day/night of the year that I can go all out and become a completely different character. I personally love dressing up as non-human things, it's makes the costume so much more challenging and rewarding in the end. It saddens me when people stop dressing up for Halloween, because I suppose they reach a certain age when it is no longer exciting. I hope I don't reach that age, ever. There are too many more characters I want to become before that happens.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Disney Disney Disney

Disney movies make me want to...

1. Find my own Prince Charming/Philip/Eric/Tarzan/Aladdin/Shang/Hercules/John Smith/Captain Phoebus/Dmitri/Adam (10 points if you can figure out where the last guy is from - it is a Disney movie).

2. Wear long A-line skirts that start at my waist and go down past my knees.

3. Grow my hair out long and thick.

4. Be selfless and caring to everyone.

5. Study anthropology.

I found the funniest picture the other day, whilst surfing the 'net for Disney pictures to satisfy my sudden obsession.
Do you see it?!? Do you see the humor?!? They're dressed up...as their own VILLAINS! Take a moment to try to figure out who each princess is supposed to be.

I've also been trying to make a single Disney movie my official favorite Disney movie, because that's how I make myself happy, but it's very difficult. Hercules was my favorite for the longest time, because I love Greek mythology so much. Then recently, it changed to Pocahontas, because I watched it after so many years, and it's has nostalgic memories attached to it.

Also can I just take a moment and say - there's this thing that happens when I watch movies after a VERY long time...like, I actually have not seen them in years. I'm watching the movie, and I remember the way the voices sound. The way the characters sound. When someone's voice goes up, and the way it goes up. The dialogue during the weird, forgotten parts. The way the characters move and react. As if when I watched it many years ago, I never payed attention to the words, but simply the pictures on the screen - that would make sense, because I was pretty young when I first started watching Disney movies.

Pocahontas will always be in my heart, because I remember my entire family liking it. I also remember my dad liking the one part in Cinderella when the king attacks the duke for letting Cinderella slip away, and he says "SABOTAAAAGE!"

Yeah. That's what he remembers about Cinderella.

Anyway, now I've decided that my temporary "favorite" Disney movie is Tarzan. There's something about a boy raised by gorillas that fascinates me. It just makes me realizes how quickly people and animals and living things adapt to their surroundings - Tarzan was completely normal human baby, but once Kala takes him under her care, he learns the ways of the gorilla. It's funny because you don't realize how much of a gorilla he's become until Jane comes along. Because the dialogue is all in English for the first part of the movie, everything seems normal. But then, Tarzan is suddenly put in front of "real" humans, and you get this shock because - he's not like them at all! You suddenly notice the little things that sets Tarzan apart from Jane; the licking of the fallen bullet casing, the slow retreat to a crouched position when he is confused, the sounds he makes, the movements. If you didn't understand before, you'll understand now why I want to study anthropology.

I could go on about Disney movies. I'm currently going through a phase where I'm watching 1 to 2 Disney movies per night. And there are only SO MANY, so dark will be the day when I finish.

Let's not think about that right now.

Celebrities Who Touch Other People

The title is a lot less perverted than you're thinking. I caught an episode of "The Late Show With Jay Leno" the other day - okay, it was an old episode featuring Ryan Reynolds, because I'm going through a very hard-core Ryan Reynolds obsession phase right now - and I noticed something odd. And by odd, I mean something that happens regularly, but I never really gave it much thought until now.

So Jay Leno comes out onto the stage, doing his little Jay Leno thing, and a hoard of people come up to him instantaneously, reaching for him, and pushing each other out of the way to get to him. Some of them, particularly the older men reach out an actual hand to shake hands with him (something I am told is normal in human culture) - that's fine. But most of them simply reach out a hand to touch him - and Leno complies, reaching out a couple of fingers just to touch these people.

If I were to ask what it was about celebrities that make us want to just touch them, that would be foolish and stupid, and hypocritical. Of course I would like to touch celebrities!

By the way, the more I write "touch" and "celebrities" in the same sentence, the more I feel like a sex offender.

You see what I mean?

It sounds weird, but it's so accepted.

They touch babies too!

Oh, and before I forget...

Nächste Halt...

It has been too long since my last blog spot, so I apologize to my excruciatingly small number of followers.

On the brighter side of life however, I do have stories to tell from my trip to Germany! My mom, being the avid traveler and sightseer she is, decided on a spontaneous trip to Germany right before my college started, which was fine with me because I had never been there before. Before I forget, I want to make note of a few things I noticed whilst thur, and wrote down specifically to remember later:

1. I spotted over 200 leather jackets. No joke. So much love for the cow.
2. We traveled solely by train or subway, which was actually a great way to familiarize myself with the place, but now I will never get the soft, cool, female voice saying "Nächste Halt..." (Next stop...) out of my head.
2. EVERYBODY wears skinny jeans. No room for fat pants.
3. The Germans love Eminem apparently. "Love The Way You Lie" was playing even in the most desolate of places.
4. They also love their ice cream structures (I will elaborate on this later, as it was my favorite part of the trip).
5. New song by Peter Fox, a German singer called "Alles Neu", which I love.
6. The villages of Austria had solar panels on their buildings. ROWS AND ROWS of solar panels. Talk about oxymoron.
7. I suppose with more than 1 billion people populating the country, not including the rest of the world, we all had to find a way to share the Indians somehow. Seriously, they're EVERYWHERE.
8. Listening to German exhausts me, especially when excited, little, 6 year olds are speaking.

As a little summary of our trip, we basically traveled all over the south of Germany, and a bit of Austria. Nevertheless, Germany was much colder than expected, and nobody was prepared. Of course, we did the usual tours and sightseeing, with castles and monuments galore. Here are some cliche pictures for your viewing:


But y'all know me. I don't like cliche pictures. I had said before that I would elaborate on the ice cream structures that the Germans seem to love so much. In fact, I spotted over 10 ice cream cone structures throughout Germany, and thought it would be fun to photograph all of them. I have a plan to enlarge the pictures and create a poster out of them to hang on my wall, for no purpose whatsoever but to entertain my soul.













I hope you enjoy those ice creams as much as I did. I wish I could have taken each one back and situated them around my dorm room, but that would be highly ill-advised.

And yes, German is a very exhausting language to listen to. I wanted to take a nap every time I heard someone jabbering away in German, and was even more dumbfounded hearing a 5-year-old jabbering away at 10 times that speed. How can you make those sounds with your mouth?

I felt that our visits to Austria were much more scenic than Munich, which makes sense because Munich is a big city with it's usual city-like grime and grit. I think when I grow old and retire, I'm going to live in those valleys in Austria (where, by the way, Julie Andrews had run around singing in The Sound of Music):



On a completely different topic, I have now become obsessed with the song, "Alles Neu" by Peter Fox, a German singer, whose music is a mix between hip-hop and reggae. The music video is in all honesty, very strange, but also strangely addictive, as is the song. There's something about the beat, and the drummers' groove that makes me come back to this video/song over and over again. I just hope I don't get tired of it:



Peter Fox is definitely an artist to check out in general. He has this unique way of mixing beats and creating rhythms that make you want to listen over and over again to figure it out.

Unfortunately, I have yet to find someone who enjoys this song as much as I do. Oh well.

Once I create the ice cream collage, I'll post a photo of it on my blog, so keep checking back for that!