Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Top Chef 8: All Star Drinking Game

So here you go everyone, another wasted Wednesday. This is for you my dear old Top Chef fans. Get sloshed with the chefs in the stew room:


Rules:
Drink Every Time:
Tre laughs
Carla makes you laugh
They announce the winner of a challenge
Marcel pisses someone off
Every time Tom touches his chin
Padma is wearing an inappropriate for the kitchen outfit
Tom talks about pointing fingers
Everytime a cheftestant takes a drink
There is a argument/fight in the grocery store
Someone throws someone else "under the bus"

Special Drinks:
Someone forgets a part of their dish/ doesnt have time to finish plating x2
Gail out-boobages Padma x4


Sip Whenever:
Someone talks about how great they are
Someone says "I'm not here to make friends"
Someone says "I'm here to win"
You see and or here a brand name plug

Also remember when Top Chef was in Rochester that one time in season 5.

 Yeah, the city actually still does exist. And yes, they were practically in my back yard! I used to row down to that area every morning !(Also a sidenote to my side note is that there is NO way this was actually filmed near or around Thanksgiving because it would have been snowing and they FOR SURE would need to wear jackets). I am super surprised they did not go to Wegmans for groceries but that is their loss. Also because it was Rochester, of course it started raining. Anyway enough about Rochester. Fun Drinking everyone.


Alyssa

Let me know if there are any rules you want to add!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Top Chef 8:05- Dim Sum Nightmare

So after cooling off from Wednesday night’s Top Chef results (as well as reading both of Gail’s blogs as well as Tom’s) I am ready to write this recap for y’all. But it’s the 100th Episode GUYS. In TV world that means syndication, so lets go on with the show!

Stew Room Pt.1: Everyone is in the Stew Room stewing over Spikes departure in the last episode. Antonia says that Angelo needs to fix his “chef Tourettes” and get his hands out of people’s dishes. Just give him some of the pot you “only smoked in HS” ;) and that should cure him. Blais then continues his bitching about Jaime lack of cooking (as does the rest of the country) and then compares her to and Octopus. I was with you for a bit Richard but you completely lost me with the octopus reference. The only thing I think of when I hear octopus "awe, you guys made me ink" from Finding Nemo.

Quick Fire: Padma is wearing a shirt straight out of the circus to announce this week’s QF challenge. Tom Colicchio walks out as the surprise/guest chef for this challenge in all his shiny bald headed glory. He has to cook a dish as quick as he can, and whatever that time is the cheftestants have to cook a dish in that time as well. After almost killing Padma with a tray of cut of fish (which Tiffany and Carla could not look happier about) he manages to finish his dish in 8:37.

The chefs gather around the dish like Hyena’s trying to get their chance to taste the Famous Tom Colicchio’s 8 minute dish. Now the chefs have to cook in the quickest quickity quick quick Quick Fire to date. Marcel grabs Tom’s leftover fish to avoid the mad dash to the fridge and even Tre called this move “freakin’ awesome.” In the end though Mike Isabella wins and for the first time in quite a while the award isn’t $10,000. Don’t worry though Bravo does not want you to think they are cheap so they just gave Isabella a car. No biggie. Jaime makes the comment “I think speed’s important in different contexts. I’ve dated people who are fast I might be construed as fast.” Well, um, I don’t think I’m gonna touch that one. Angelo loses because he was being (according to Gail Simmon’s blog) cocky and did not actually cook anything.

JalapeƱo Bra?: I had no idea where to put this, but I had to mention this scene. I really am not 100% sure of what went down in this here, but this is my interpretation. As per usual, the chefs are getting their drank on in their loft. The girls are talking about bras. Antonia gets jalepeno in her eye and goes to the sink to wash it out. Tiffani takes off her bra and randomly puts it in Antonia’s face. The boys clear out with Mike Isabella saying “we’re out of here, their rubbing faces with bras.” I am not sure what Mike is thinking, but if I heard there were girls rubbing their bras in other girls faces, “clearing the room” would not be the first thing that came to my mind. (I couldn't get a good screencap of this, believe me I wish I could).

Elimination: The chefs now have to head to China Town and make Dim Sum in a busy popular Chinese restaurant. On top of that, they also have to work as one team. Already this challenge has disaster written all over it. To add to the fun the chefs have to go shopping for their food at a Chinese grocery store where no one speaks English. At this Chinese grocery store Fabio has a mini emotional breakdown when he sees a tank full of turtles. He proceeds by tells this heartwarming tale about his pet turtle:
Fabio: When I moved to the United States, I bought a little turtle. She’s a princess. Once or twice a week I take her for a walk. I have a little Chihuahua leash that I tie around her shell and tie up to the chairs so she just go back and forth. Now these guys are cutting turtle to make turtle soup and that’s mean!”

You tell them Fabio. Also Jaime decides that she is going to scallops. It’s de ja scallops, I feel like I am back to season 5. Apparently so does Fabio who brings back the lovely “It’s not Top Scallop” quote. Fabio, you are on a role tonight.

When they get to the restaurant, the chefs begin to struggle off the bat due because of the setting of the kitchen. On top of the appliances not being up to their standards, everyone is plating as though they are in a 5 star restaurant. Too bad they don’t have time to do that since there are 250 hungry diners upstairs. The whole point of this challenge was to cook quickly and serve food; Tom even said it after the QF challenge. The only people able to get their food out quickly were Dale and Angelo. Dale even had enough time to shine his shoes (dude is he wearing clogs?)

If you thought that this situation looked really awkward and tense on screen, you should read Gail and Tom’s blog about what it was like being there. It was 10x more awkward than you could imagine. None of the food is ready and no one is moving fast and the only people that are getting food in the dining area are the judges. Everyone in the dining room is starving and not getting any food at all. They are angry and people are threatening to leave. Apparently people were stealing food off the carts as they were being brought to the judges table. I think the only time in my Top Chef viewing history that I was happy I was NOT a judge.

Judges Table: This week the bottom FIVE chefs were called first which included Antonia, Casey, Carla, Jaime and Tre. Jaime had not one but two bad dishes this week. I think it is to make up for the zero bad dishes she had last episode due to the fact she did not ACTUALLY SERVE FOOD! They didn’t like her scallop dumplings (surprise surprise) and thought her long bean dish was basically “bad American takeout” which had been sitting out for hours. Although the judges loved Anotonia’s Shrimp Toast, she was in the bottom because of Jaime’s horrendous cooking of the long beans. Fortunately though Antonia only prepped the dish and therefore did not contribute to it tasting like crap. Tre’s desert, which was supposed to be cold and firm got ripped apart for being liquidy and gross. Carla got reprimanded for her dish being bland and being more occupied with making it look pretty. Ultimately though, the chef to go home was the lovely Casey, who left her Chicken Feet and Waffle dish in the hand of Antonia while she was taming the angry Chinese diners on the floor. Apparently the dish was cooked so bad that the judges weren’t able to judge it, because they couldn’t eat it. I guess it is better to eat something that tastes like complete doo doo then not being able to eat the food at all. I am bitter and want Jaime off PRONTO.

In happier news the top four chefs were Angelo, Fabio, Tiffany and Dale with Dale as the winner. All the judges made sure to pat lil’ old Fabio on the back though for being able to cook something that was not Italian.

Sorry for the delay. Expect my Grey’s recap in the next three days.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Drunk Little Liars: PLL Drinking Game


 Welcome everyone to the new round of TV drinking games for this winter. First show up Pretty Little Liars. What could be better than getting a little buzzed or blackout while watching Rosewood's finest get stalked by a mysterious A.
RULES
Drink when:
An adult actually acts like an adult
Someone gets a message from A
There is a flashback Hanna's mom discusses money
Spencer arbitrarily accuses someone of being A
Aria is playing an instrument or singing
Any of the girls actually work on homework
Someone says the word "secret"

Special Drinks:
When Emily kisses anyone x2
When a new secret is revealed x3
When Hanna gets some action x3
When everyone gets a message from A at the same time x4
During the creepy closing scene- Chug
When we find out who A really is- Keg Stand

HAPPY DRINKING EVERYONE.

(Editors Note: If you and your friends have any modified rules let me know and I will add them to a game per your suggestion. Also let me know if you have played the game! I would love you know what you think.)

Later
APB

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Pretty Little Liar 1x11: "Moments Later" More Secrets Come Out

Horray Horray Horray. Everybody cheer because after the excruciatingly long wait, Pretty Little Liars is back!

Money Loan and Broken Bones: The episode starts off right after Hannah gets hit by an anonymous car, literally a “Moment Later.” Oh wow, I get it now, THAT is why it is titled “Moments Later!” . While driving home with a pocketbook of stolen cash Hanna’s mom gets pulled over by a cop. She is freaking out because, well, she has a buttload of stolen cash in her pocketbook. Much to her relief they did not pull her over because of her illegal activities. They only pulled her over to let her know her daughter was rammed by a car. Phew. At hospital Mrs. Marin is clutching that bag of stolen cash so tight that it may just explode.

She tells the girls that Hanna is going to be just fine. I thought she may have been really hurt or something but, you know, she only has “a broken leg, a broken ankle, bruised ribs” and the possibility of a splenectomy. Nothing to be worried about. The girls are now officially freaked. How did it get to this? Should they go to the police? Who is A? They decide to not come to any conclusions until they find out what Hanna saw.

Secrets Out: Aria meets Mr. Ezra Fitz at his car, in the middle of town, in the middle of the day, in broad daylight. He shows her the “I See You” note that was left on his rear window the previous night. Ezra’s all like “That is too specific to mean nothing, someone saw us” and Aria is all like “It means nothing, why have you not wiped this lame note off your car yet you dumbass,” and then proceeds to wipe it off herself.

Aria is proved completely wrong when Hanna reveals to the girls that she saw Noel Kahn (Aria’s fling between Fitz hookups) write the note on Mr. Fitz’s car. Hanna keeps looking at Aria, not sure of how much to divulge. She deals with this in the same sensitive way she dealt with the Emily and Maya’s relationship. She doesn’t tell everyone about the secret but makes sure Aria feels safe and comfortable to reveal the information. Aria finally reveals to everyone that she and Mr. Fitz have been seeing each other since before school. Next thing you know Noel shows up to bring Hanna a care package and it is awkward for everyone. He lies to her about his whereabouts the night before and the cute and innocent Noel is looking more and more suspicious.

Back at Aria’s crib Spencer and Emily tell her about Allie and Ian’s (Melissa’s ex who Spencer kissed) love carving in the woods. They try to narrow down who A can be. It can’t be Toby, because he was in jail. It can’t be Ian, because he was shacking up with Melissa all night. So logically the only person left in the world is Noel. Poor poor Noel. Noel comes to see Aria in the music room the next day and school and admits he went to the party to play a joke and scare the girls. Way to make yourself look like a creepy loser Noel. While there he saw Aria go into the car and thinks that Fitz forced Aria to go with him, but Aria sets him straight. Like I said before, poor poor Noel. Aria cant bring herself to tell Mr. Fitz that Noel knows (say that ten times fast) about their affair.

Ian’s a Creep: Aria and Spencer go for a stroll in the woods to find the Ian and Alison love tree, all the while discussing Aria’s illicit love life. As though the words came right out of my mouth, Spencer tells Aria “Part of me thinks this is really self destructive behavior, most of me just thinks its really hot.” Ms. Spencer Hastings, truer words have never been spoken. When they get to the tree, it is no longer there. Someone apparently came and cut it down, and then removed it. Seriously, is A a lumberjack. How in gods name does a normal person cut a tree down, cut it into logs and then remove it from the woods with no one noticing in a day. Also wouldn't there be like a HUGE indent or make on the ground from the tree falling? A must have superpowers or have minions doing her dirty work.

When they get back to Spencer’s, Aria is as baffled as I am by the disappearing tree and can only comprehend it by saying “A tree Spence, an entire tree.” But that is not the only surprise of the day. Upon opening the fridge, Spencer finds two bottles of champagne, followed by Ian walking into the kitchen in a suit. Apparently Melissa and creepy Ian decided to get hitched. Uh Oh.

Mona goes to visit Hanna to make a peace treaty. It is not really important but I just wanted to show the screencap of her waving a white la Perla “the international peace symbol.” Ha.

Hanna On Drugs: While in a drug induced daydream, Allie appears in a candy-stripper candy-striper's uniform. She tells Hanna that what happened to her was more complicated than algebra, which makes me wonder if she is really bad at algebra, or what happened to her was actually not complicated at all. Dream Allie gives Hanna cryptic messages saying that if the four PLL’s put their heads together they will figure out what happened to Allie and that a good lie is better than a bad truth. I hate Allie so much that it pains me to admit that I do kind of agree with her. Then Allie is all like “I really should do something about A, that bitch is getting one my nerves” and then a closeup of a cup with Allie’s lipstick.

While “asleep” in the hospital Lucas comes and leaves a soft sweet kiss on Hanna’s farhead. He comes by the next day and brings her a tray of all different flavors of pudding. No joke, this boy knows the way to my heart. Lucas admits that he kissed her when he thought she was asleep.She tells him the truth; she has a boyfriend and she sees Lucas as just a friend. Now I just want to say poor poor Lucas. He would be so much better for her than Sean who does not get her at all. I am on team Lucas.

Coming Out: While on the phone with the lovely Maya, Emily’s dad walks in the room. He begins interrogating her, in a stern, low, and raspy voice about Toby Cavanaugh. He bans her from visiting Toby in jail, which is totally understandable for a parental point of view. Her dad keeps pushing her, and pushing her to tell him what is making her act so strange recently. Finally she breaks and says that it is not Toby she is afraid of it is her parents (translation: I am gay). She is not who they think she is (translation: I am gay). Everything is not that simple (translation: I am gay). If only this wasn’t an American teen drama she could tell him that she is gay. But then something miraculous happens... EMILY COMES OUT! Thank you so very much PLL. Emily has progressed from believing something was wrong with her because of these feelings to fully embracing her sexuality. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to come out to strict conservative parents, but I applaud her for being true to herself. Sadly though, her father says nothing, and just sits down on the bed facing away from her. Poor Poor Emily.

Emily’s parents are downstairs in the living room discussing the news that their daughter’s a big ol’ lezzie while Emily sits on the top of the stair eavesdropping. Emily’s compassionate mother first blames Maya for Emily being gay. She wants to discuss ways to “fix” Emily and then Mr. Fields expresses the voice of reason saying “this is not like buying her braces, this is who she is.” Thank you for being smart, but your stubborn closed minded homophobic wife still thinks it is all Maya’s fault. Maya must of turned her gay. If people had the ability to turn other people gay, wouldn't the whole world be gay then? I mean if I had the ability to turn anyone gay that I was attracted to, believe me there would be alot more gay girls in the world. With every word that comes out of Emily’s mom’s mouth, I hate her more and more. When Mr. Fields says to try and keep things in perspective, she is not doing drugs, she is not pregnant she replies “What is your perspective between right and wrong?” And then she is all like “Emily being gay is going to ruin her life, we did not raise a gay daughter. Why are you not as homophobic as me anymore, did you leave your bigotry out in Iraq?” He is all like “Dude I have seen people die in the desert for the last 8 month, Emily only told us she is gay. She is alive and healthy and that is what is important to me.”

Well suffice to say that Emily did not have the best experience coming out to her parents but I am happy that they showed her father, the parent who is in the military, as more accepting and understanding of her sexuality. This show is watched by a demographic that until recently only had lesbians who, after sweeps were over, went back to being straight. This is a girl who is a “normal.” She is pretty, popular, athletic, and also just happens to be gay. She she is not experimenting; she has feelings for a girl and is sick and tired of lying to her parents about it. That is why she came out and that is why her father’s attempt at understanding his daughters sexuality is that much more important. I know there is going to be ridicule about him constantly saying “Do you think I like this, I don’t,” but I think the fact that he still accepts Emily as Emily, and that he knows that this is who she counts for a lot. He may not “like” her being gay now but that does not mean that he won’t accept it. I am proud of how this episode told this coming out story in a fairly realistic light.

Double A?: Back at the hospital the girls discuss the disappearing tree act. Why would A carve Ian’s and Alison everlasting love into a tree and then just cut it down. Maybe A has a split personality, or maybe.... A IS TWO PEOPLE! I called it. Well kind of, I did say A either had super powers or minions which is basically the same. They move the blanket to reveal that A had been to visit Hanna and left an “apology” note on her cast while Hanna was asleep. Creepy to say the least.

So what did you guys think of PLL’s return. Is Noel going to kill Fitz? Will Emily’s mom turn into a wicked witch? Does Dream Allie know who A is? Will that lipstick stain be important? Let me know what you though and if you have any answers to the above questions.

Later,
APB