Welcome to In A Lather. i'm sookie, and here you'll find my takes on celebs, tv shows and movies that are favs of mine, that i hope are or soon will be favs of yours too. Also events in the entertainment and fashion industry.Thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to comment.
"If anyone gets a morale boost from a show like this it's me" ~ Jeffrey Ross
Partnering with the USO, VH1's 2010 Divas Salute To The Troops provided some top shelf entertainment to 23,000 military personnel on R&R at US Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
Hosted by comedienne Kathy Griffin with performances by Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Heart, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Keri Hilson, Paramore, MC Lyte, Sugarland, and comic Jeffrey Ross.
Also giving shout-outs to the troops: Beyonce, Pink, Ke$ha, Fergie, Brandy, Snookie, The Situation, Carrie Underwood, Michael Strahan, and Taylor Swift.
The most moving moments of the spectacular event were the Portrait Of A Hero segments showing profiles of the service men and women and also the canine units, the work they do and the moral support given to the troops from their families at home.
To help the troops keep in touch with their loved ones, Old Navy stores are having a week-long challenge to their customers to donate 100 phone minutes for $5.00. Old Navy Facebook fanscan do a mobile device check-in, claim a Facebook charity deal, andOld Navy will match the $5.00 100 phone minute challenge. The Facebook check-in match will be available until Thursday December 9, 2010.
Your budget a little tight but you'd still like to show the troops some love---get your paps on and share a photo with VH1 through Facebook Connect. Your pic will be added to VH1's mosaic picture For every photo shared VH1 will donate $1.00 up to $10,0000.00 to the USO's Wounded Warrior project Operation Enduring Care.
VH1's Divas Salute To The Troops originally aired on Sunday December 5th. For those of you who like myself were watching Showtime's Dexter, no worries. Encore airings for Divas are scheduled for Monday December 6th at 4:00pm, Tuesday December 7th at 11:30am and 8:00pm, Saturday December 11th at 9:00pm, Sunday December 12th at midnight and 1:00pm, Tuesday December 14th at 10:00pm, Wednesday December 13th at 3:00pm, and Saturday December 18th at 9:00am.
Can i get a "HOORAH!"
Update: Mastermindstudios1 left a comment at YouTube about their video project Mastermindstudios1 Half the proceeds from the sale of the song in their video will go to projects for Wounded Warriors.
ART can save a life. ART as in Anti-Retroviral Therapy, the protocol that has proven effective in suppressing HIV, prohibiting the virus from progressing to AIDS, and for patients already living with AIDS, to have a better quality of life.
Wednesday December 1 2010 marks the 23rd World AIDS Day. In observance, Alicia Keys will be logging-off Twitter until the fund raising goal of $1 million dollars has been achieved for Keep A Child Alive. Ms Keys is co-founder and global ambassador of Keep A Child Alive. KCA provides medical care, housing, education, and other forms of support for children in Africa and India who are battling HIV/AIDS. BuyLife.org is collaborating with KCA. Joining Ms Keys in the social media log-off are Swizz Beatz, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Willow and Jaden Smith, and other notables. Contributions to "buy a life" may be donated by text messaging, barcoding, or credit/debit card. Resuscitate a celeb from "digital death" and help Keep A Child Alive.
TCM's seven part series Moguls and Movie Stars imparts a history of movie making from the late 17th century to the 6th decade of the 20th century. Some may be surprised to learn that while movie making came of age in Hollywood, it was not born there. Cinema's impetus resulted from an device by Danish mathematician Thomas Rasmussen Walgensten. Walgensten's invention was upgraded by Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens. The device was a prototype slide projector known as Laterna Magica or "a magic lantern". Theoretically it was actually the ancient Greeks, and later Leonardo da Vinci who first had the idea for such a contraption, but there is no documentation that they were able to produce a functioning projector.
Jumping ahead a few centuries to New Jersey in the USA, the "wizard of menlo park" Thomas Alva Edison announces he "plans to create an instrument that would do for the eyes, what the phonograph does for the ears".
Fear not gentle viewer, TCM's doc does not limit itself to science and formulae. The series effortlessly flows toward the grit, gossip, glam, and glitz that evolved into modern day Hollywood.
TCM's Moguls And Movie Stars airs new episodes Mondays at 8:00pm with a replay at 11:00pm and on Wednesdays at 10:00pm If you've missed the previous week's installment those episodes replay Mondays at 7:00pm
As always suggested, please check your local listings.
Actor Chris Colfer, Glee's Kurt Hummel, had dreamed of the day that show-runner Ryan Murphy would do a Rocky Horror episode. Well fellow gleeks "You're lucky, he's lucky, I'm lucky, we're all lucky! Ha ha ha..." [~ Magenta] because not only is Glee doing an homage ep of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Colfer will play his fav character, Riff Raff.
Obviously a redo of the entire movie cannot be done in the span of 1 hr, so as was the case with previous 'imitation being the sincerest form of flattery' eps [i.e. Britney/Brittany], a few choice nuggets from Rocky Horror will be performed.
For you 'virgins', FoxMovieChannel will air The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tuesday October 26, 2010 @9:00pm and Midnight. i know i know it would be more informative if the movie was on before the Glee ep airs, but waddaya gonna do [other than rent it before the Glee ep airs].
Cameos from some of the film's original cast will make it "a rather special night" [~ Riff Raff]. Barry [Hero: Brad Majors] Bostwick, and Meatloaf [Eddie ex-delivery boy] appear as television station managers with a tempting offer for coach "that's how Sue sees it" Sylvester.
Glee fans' wish-list for other original R_H cast member cameos are of course Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. So far only speculation, no confirmation of either or both appearing.
For deep pocketed Rocky Horror Fans with an appetite for more toast, time warp and the desire to do-good while having a good time, on Thursday October 28, 2010 @ 8:00pm The Wiltern Theater in L.A. will have a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and host a costume ball benefiting The Painted Turtle. The Painted Turtle is an off-shoot of the Paul Newman Hole In The Wall camps. Lou Adler [producer of The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie] is the camp's administrator. The Painted Turtle provides year round assistance to children with chronic and/or terminal illnesses. Celebrities scheduled to attend the benefit event: Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jack Nicholson, Evan Rachel Wood, Julian McMahon, Mario Lopez, Danny DeVito, Billy Idol, Ricki Lake, Jorge Garcia, Jason Segel, and other surprise guests. Ticket prices range from $50.00 to $100,000.00 and are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. To purchase tickets please call 1-800-745-3000 or 310-559-9334 ext102. On-line contact http://www.thepaintedturtle.org or http://www.livenation.com
"Give yourself over to absolute pleasure" [~ Frank N Furter]Whether attending the event in L.A. at The Wiltern on October 28th benefiting The Painted Turtle or singing along at home with Rocky Horror Glee airing Tuesday October 26th @ 8:00pm on Fox
In the past few weeks there have been so many reports about celebrity couple break-ups you'd think it was an olympic event. But don't lose hope all you romantics out there. Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin are the stars of TVLand's reality show, Harry Loves Lisa. They've been married 13 years [a rarity in Hollywood], and the show is about the love and passion they still have for each other, their careers, friends, and wacky adventures, and being parents of 11 and 8 year old daughters.
Shortly after their first child was born, Lisa's career was starting to take off, Harry's was in a lull, so he decided to be a stay at home dad. Now Harry, whose resume includes tv's L.A.Law, the big screen's Clash Of The Titans, and the stage's Equus, is returning to acting. He was a bit unsure as to whether he still has the chops. Lisa assures him he needn't worry and encourages him to go for it.
In addition to the new tv show, Harry and Lisa have a boutique---it's been robbed 3 times in the last two months---fortunately no employees were harmed. They're also authors. Harry's book is a funny, bittersweet memoir titled Full Frontal Nudity The Making Of An Accidental Actor and Lisa's is a 'names have been changed to protect the infamous' novel titled Starlit.
Harry and Lisa are absolutely adorable and not in a sickeningly sweet way. i disagree with some critics who've said they are. My favorite episode 1 moment between she and Harry is when she says "twitter is a problem" for her and he's advising her to just not tweet. Anyone who's lucky enough to have found their soulmate will instantly relate in turns to the subtext of a smile, an exasperated sigh, that look that says what the hell are you doing?---thank goodness I have you in my life, and you are sooo smokin hot.
TVLand's Harry Loves Lisa airs Wednesdays at 10:00pm and Mondays at 11:00pm Please check your local listings.
i've always been drawn to true stories. i've always been intrigued about the practices and rituals of faiths other than the one in which i was raised. i'm a fan of HBO's Big Love. So of course when TLC announced the newest addition to their schedule i knew i had to tune in to see Sister Wives. The show focuses on the societal and legal ramifications of polygamy and the lifestyle of a Utah family who practice plural marriage.
The Sister Wives, Meri, Jannelle, Christine and husband Kody Brown are Mormon fundamentalists. Together they have 12 children. Christine is pregnant with the 13th, a girl they plan to name Truly. As the show begins the family is planning to wed a fourth wife, Robyn, a mother of 3. i like all the Brown's kids, but my favorite is eldest son Logan. Logan is sweet, mature and very helpful with his younger siblings. The entire family is endearing. i thought it was so funny when Janelle is talking about people wondering how she feels when she knows her husband is having sex with one of the other wives and she responds "they'd better be". You can just tell that what she's getting at is 'well if i'm not having my night with our husband, someone should be having a good time'. i do have a pet peeve with Meri---she has a habit of finishing her sister wives sentences and/or interrupting them mid-thought. But every family has adjustments and compromises that must be made, and that quirk of Meri's doesn't seem to be as annoying to her sister wives as it is to me.
First wife Meri is the only wife who was raised fundamentalist Mormon. Husband Kody converted after he and Meri met. Fundamentalist Mormons differ from members of the LDS church in that LDS no longer sanction plural marriage.
TLC's promos for Sister Wives caught the interest of Lehi Utah police, who began investigating the family before the show aired. When the police have concluded their investigation the information will be given for review to the Utah Attorney's offices for the possibility of prosecuting the Browns on felony bigamy charges. Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utahbut is rarely investigated.
TLC's Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10:00pm, and Wednesdays at 8:00pm Please check your local listings.
"This is just so frickin' awesome" ~ Heather Morris, Brittany, of Glee
Tuesday night at 8:00pm is going to be gleek heaven. Glee pays tribute to pop-goddess Britney Spears. Me Against The Music, Toxic, Slave For You, Womanizer, and other Britney hits.
Glee's cheerio Brittany [Heather Morris] and her partner in crime Santana [Naya Rivera] are tearing it up, the likes of which Glee has not seen before. If this episode was performed before a live audience people would be throwing tons of shoes on the stage. For those not familiar with the custom, its a ritual done to show appreciation to dancers for their performance rather than just applauding.
Pretty tall order to do Britney Spears covers. You'd better bring it, 'cuz if you don't it won't be pretty. The Glee cast & choreographers bring it. While it is true that even the most devoted of admirers cannot duplicate Ms Spears star-power---you'd need a nuclear plant to generate that much heat---the Glee cast come pretty darn close.
And speaking of heat---John Stamos' character Carl is introduced in the Britney/Brittany ep. Carl's a dentist, and McKinley High School guidance counselor Emma's new beau. Talk about opposites attracting. Carl is spontaneous and gregarious, and exactly what Emma needs to loosen up. And he brings out a bit of the 'green-eyed monster' in Will.
For all you gleeks on twitter, Ms Spears has a verified account and will be tweeting during the Britney/Brittany ep.
Glee, now in it's second season, airs Tuesdays on FOX at 8:00pm Please check your local listings.
Orphan, brother, protege, forensics splatter expert, husband, father, widower, good guy, good bowler, sociopath, serial killer. All these descriptions apply to the same man---Dexter Morgan.
Showtime's Dexter is back for a 5th season. Episode 1 "My Bad" picks up where season 4 ended. Dexter finds his baby son Harry crying, sitting on a bloodied tile floor, and his wife Rita murdered in the bathtub ala The Trinity Killer. Viewers know the truth, but circumstantial evidence has the FBI and Dexter's homicide detective co-workers wondering is Trinity really Rita's murderer or is Dexter? Dexter hasn't the ability to express emotion in a way society deems appropriate. The "dark passenger" doesn't know which mask to wear, which behavior to mimic to appear normal. When the EMTs arrive, Dexter cryptically utters "it was me". But they have no way of knowing that what he means is that he'd pushed Trinity's buttons too far, and was the motivator for Trinity's rampage. When the detectives from his precinct arrive his neighbor is a sobbing emotional wreck, but Dexter is calm.
For detective Joey Quinn, Dexter is the prime suspect in Rita's murder. Like sergeant Doakes from earlier seasons, Quinn plans to keep close tabs on Dexter and find out exactly what he's up to.
The best thing about this show is each season it keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat with suspense and horror and also manages to have humor in all the right spots.
This season the dynamic between Dexter and his step-children Astor and Cody in the aftermath of their mom's death should make for great confrontational and heartbreaking scenes.
There are new cast and characters introduced in season 5, Julia Stiles as Lumen, a possible romantic interest for Dexter, Shawn Hatosy described only as "a bad guy"---but the one i'm most excited about is Peter Weller as a Miami Metro cop who has his own internal affairs problems with which to contend.
Dexter's 5th season begins Sunday September 26th at 9:00pm on Showtime. Please check your local listings.
"Everybody's daily life is an audition for something." ~ Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee
The test scores are in. Glee aced the Tuesday night 8:00pm ratings with 12.3 million viewers---1.2 million more than its first season finale episode. And based on viewer response on the various social media message boards, if a report card grade was given for Glee's sophomore season opener it would be an A. Impressive stats considering the show was moved to a different day and time from its freshman season---it had previously aired Wednesdays at 9:00pm. Risky strategy even for a hit show---once established, viewer loyalty can be akin to muscle memory. Music featured in the second season opener: Empire State Of Mind, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Telephone, Getting To Know YouBillionaire, The Power, Listen, and What I Did For Love.
Staying true to the scholastic setting, the episode starts in the hallways of McKinley High with the school's star reporter Jacob Ben Israel played by Josh Sussman doing 'how i spent my summer' video interviews with members of The Cheerios and Glee clubs. Jacob who's always looking for and delighting in uncovering gossip and scandals finds good dirt on both groups.
Gleeks Tina and Mike who've publicly denied they're dating, 'what just because we're both Asian that means we're a couple', are seen holding hands in a more than just friends way in the halls. Rachel and Finn are a dating again. Over the summer break Cheerios Santana and Brittany canoodled, and Santana is rumored to have had her breasts enhanced. That's a no-no for coach Sue Sylvester's girls---the plastic surgery not the canoodling.
But coach Sylvester has more pressing matters on her mind. Principal Figgins has been forced to slash the budgets for both the Glee club and The Cheerios. The slashed funds are being re-directed to the athletic dept. A new football coach has been hired. Former coach Ken, distraught over his break-up with guidance councilor Emma had a break-down. Enter Shannon Bieste, spelled B_i_e_s_t_e---a power-house of a woman with 5 consecutive championships under her belt and a competitive spirit that is a force with which Sue must reckon. To that end she recruits nemesis Will Schuster in an 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' scheme to play a series of dirty tricks on coach Bieste. Fans of Mr.Murphy's Nip/Tuck remember coach Bieste's portrayer Dot Marie Jones as a guest at Liz Cruz' bridal shower---her gift was courtside season tickets to the WNBA L.A. Sparks.
Two other new characters on the Audition episode: exchange student Sunshine Corazon played by singing sensation Charice, and transfer student/football player Sam Evans played by Chord Overstreet. The glee club needs to recruit new members, but Rachel's behavior because of her insecurity about Sunshine's talent eclipsing hers, causes Sunshine to leave McKinley High and join the school's top rival Vocal Adrenaline. Hearing Sam singing in the locker room shower, Finn asks him to meet with the male gleeks. They get along, but coach Bieste has cut Finn from the football team and wants Sam as the new quarterback. It's rumored that in future episodes Sam will be a love interest for Kurt, but the cast is staying mum on the subject and the character is only slated for one more episode. And as entertaining as this ep was the next promises to be even more so. Britney Spears guest stars.
Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8:00pm on Fox. Please check your local listing.
Raw Footage Fashion's Night Out 2010 Lauren Hutton At Giorgio Armani
"Fashion is what others give you, style is what you give yourself" ~ Lauren Hutton
Sometimes checking e-mail seems like a chore rather than a pleasure. But i'm diligent about doing it, and i'm glad that i am because there's almost always a fun nugget to be found. Fashion Week yielded many rewarding missives but the most treasured was the invite to an event at Giorgio Armani on Madison Avenue. Joan Juliet Buck former French Vogue editor was interviewing Lauren Hutton. As billed on the invite it was more of a conversation than an interview, which made it a unique and refreshing event. The legendary Ms.Hutton was absolutely beautiful, charming, funny, and generous, regaling the gathering with tales of her world travels, life as a model/actress/entrepreneur, and her family tree---she is descended of the Greystoke family "the bag carriers" as she self-deprecatingly described her ancestry, not the nobleman portion.
Upon arrival to and departure from the event, Madison Avenue [and other venues all over town] was literally overflowing with commerce. It was very uplifting to see multitudes of people out and about and spending large sums, much of which the merchants donated to charitable organizations. Fashion Week 2010 was an economic boon for NYC and a great time too.
Strangers brought together, combining their varied skills to survive a fictional post-apocalyptic world. In addition to the inherent dangers and complexities of such an environment, there is the concern of contracting a fictional pandemic virus, a mutation of bird flu, known as the "nuclear flu". The inhabitants are in The Colony. The Colony is a reality show now in it's second season on The Discovery Channel. Filmed at and around 300-498 Southern Pl, Chalmette, Louisiana 70043, the program truly does give a sense of what life with a built from scratch infrastructure would be like. The production enlists expert help from the real world---homeland security, medical professionals, engineers, architects, and others, to provide authenticity, but otherwise for all intent and purpose the participants are left to their own devices.
In season 2 episode 5 Abduction, one of the colonists goes searching for berries---alone and gets kidnapped by marauders. A ransom drop of fuel and medical supplies is demanded, and her fellow colonists must determine how much they can afford to sacrifice of these as they have precious little to spare. They also have the added stress of the possibility of the demands being increased and their friend not being returned even if they are compliant. Meanwhile they tend to the more pragmatic task of building a windmill from parts collected on earlier scavenger hunts. A most impressive feat and my favorite part of episode 5. For future episodes i'm especially looking forward to episode 8 Defense. i had a few ideas in mind as to what the team may have prepared to prevent the assaults they've endured [the kidnapping was not the first crime committed] and can't wait to see how our strategies compare.
The Colony airs on The Discovery Channel Tuesday nights at 10:00pm and Saturday mornings at 11:00am Please check your local listings.
i'm a gemini from wash.dc, married 35 yrs to an aries from san antonio texas.
i'm sookie, he's tex, together we are sookietex.
Many people think i adopted the name sookie after HBO's TrueBlood heroine Sookie Stackhouse.
Nope. It's not my birth name, but my older brother gave me the nickname sookie when i was a baby.
Best and might i add most prescient gift bro' ever gave me ;D
hubby and i live in nyc and even though we like it here, we dream of the day when we'll pull up stakes and move to austin, or maybe some other town in the lone star state.
a bit more about me and In A Lather public domain image credits
library of congress prints and photographs online: secession bubbleknow nothing soap
i am a child of the south, a "boomer", born in 1958, a child of the television age. This was a time when "African-Americans" referred to themselves as "colored". In fact on my birth certificate under racial description, "colored" is the word that is used. Today i still affectionately refer to myself as a "colored child". my paternal great grandpa was Blackfoot Nation, and my maternal great grandmother was also Native American, [but i have not found out which Nation]---i affectionately refer to that part of my heritage as 'injun'---hey i'm never going to be described as politically correct and have no desire to be.
my mother was a woman who was far ahead of her time in terms of "feminist" survival. Long before it was fashionable, she was a single parent. She did have support, and not just financial from my pop, but they did not live together as husband & wife. In fact they never did take that walk down the aisle...but that's another story. Mom was a woman who worked outside the home long before most women of her generation would have even thought of making that choice, much less do it. She fully appreciated the value, neccessity, and strength of a loving extended family. She did not need anyone to tell her it "takes a village".
When mother was at work, i, the youngest of 4 (2 sisters 1 brother & me), was alternately cared for by mother's eldest sister, "auntie" as we used to call her, and our nextdoor neighbors. They were like family to us. We called the elder woman 'grandma' (to this day I do not know her given name), and her daughter Miss Elsie, or more usually 'aunt'Elsie. They were very religious folk. God fearing, bible reading, honest, and i and my family loved them dearly. 'Aunt'Elsie always made sure my days were full of activity, but one of my favorite times of the day was when she would look at her watch and say "oh my, we'd better hurry, it's almost time for my stories". By her 'stories'
she of course meant the day's soap operas. For Elsie and her mother, watching the soaps was sort of a guilty pleasure, but at the same time they made it seem sacred. It was a ritualistic activity. Her favorites were The Edge of NightThe Secret Storm and General Hospital
Paul Harvey would say i am giving you "the rest of the story" so that you may better understand its importance, and how it relates to the spirit of this blog. Which is to say we all have drama of some level going on in our lives, so sometimes the plotlines of our favorite shows may seem either tame, empathetic, or absurd, depending on where life may take you on any given day.
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