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Monday, January 28, 2013

Hockey is Back!!! :AKA: And The Rangers Are Already Pissing People Off...

There are not enough words in the English language to declare my elation over the simple fact thta hockey has returned. I'm not even overly upset over the shortened schedule. In fact, truth be told, I'm even more excited by it. It means there is more ridding on each game, and multiple games being played every night. I realize this is probably hell on the players, but me? I'm practically jumping for joy. One of our Mail Room Guys at work, admitted to being a hockey fan and now unfortunately has to deal with me constantly talking hockey with him.

I have literally spent every night for the past 2 weeks frantically checking/rechecking game plays/scores on my phone. Thursday of last week, I worked late and spent a majority of my after hours screaming at my phone.

As I've mentioned before, you can read it here if you missed it, I am a hockey fan for life. Predominately an Islanders fan, meaning I'm used to disappointment, although thus far they're not totally tanking this season, and consequently I have an instilled disdain for The New York Rangers.

I don't even wanna discuss the fact that Taylor Pyatt has now joined the enemy. A moment of silence was held…

But that is beside the point. The point, in case you've yet to gleam it, is that I am an Avid hockey fan, who is also, and this may come as a shock, of the female persuasion. In layman's terms, I'm a hockey chick.

Side bar: some people find the term "chick" as slightly offensive, given what I'm about to discuss, however I much rather prefer it or hockey girl or hockey woman, and as this is my rant, I'm using it.


As some of you may know, this past Friday an article was posted upon The New York Rangers Official Fan Site. This "fan" written article, and I use the term loosely here, was entitled: "A Girls Guide to Watching The Rangers", and a link to this article was posted by the Rangers' official twitter account.

This was a mistake off EPIC proportions. The backlash on this "article" was so severe that it was removed from the sight in less than an hour and the tweet containing the link was also deleted.

Didn't get a chance to read it? Well fear my lovelies, for this is the internet age, and once something has been put on the Internet, it lives forever. To get a better look at it, you can click here to read the article in its entirety, as some wonderful person has typed it up for all to see.  Go ahead, take a look. I'll wait.
Photo Credit: Yahoosports


There you see how laughably offensive that was? First off the implication that a female's only interest in watching a sport is to please a man is down right insulting. The fact that this drivel was supposedly written by a woman make it even worse. And for the record The Boy and I raced out to buy tickets to the home opener in which such fever of which I've never felt for any sale.

Studying the roster? Really? How bout just watching some games? Take it from a chick who's team is CONSTANTLY changing, you watch the games you'll learn names. And while yes, learning the team members is important, remember watching a hockey game  is FUN, not a final exam.

The one paragraph that absolutely kills me though is the "You need to sense the tension at certain points in the game and let them do their jumping, screaming and cheering thing. You can tell if something huge has happened by their reaction, and if you're absolutely lost, wait for the replay. There's always a replay after a major play." Really? Let "them" do there screaming cheering thing? Ask any of the guys I've gone to games with and they'll tell you this chick is screaming, cheering, chanting, sometimes cussing, just a loud, if not louder than any of them.

I'll admit that I laughed out loud at this PR nightmare The Rangers managed create for themselves. And they did do it to themselves, for even if you argue it was a "fan" written article, someone of some sort of official capacity had to have approved it and/or at the very least, tweeted the link.

Is there a possibility that there is some bias to my opinion on all of this? Meh, I will admit to a bit of glee over the fact that it is The Rangers wading through the shit storm this has become, as opposed to another team, however, I would be offended regardless of which team (or teams fan base) were responsible for it.


Look, I get it, the Powers That Be in the sporting world, don't know how to market to the female half of the species.  And on a somewhat related note on the NHL (and sports league in general) Pink jerseys are only acceptable during Breast Cancer Awareness month, and even then, not really. Just because you make it pink, doesn't mean a woman is gonna automatically drool over it. And to those women wearing them to games? I fully admit to judging you. Also, on the subject of terrible marketing ideas, the "woman's" cut jerseys look awful, the long sleeves make it look oddly disproportional. Real fans still want "Real" jerseys, just better sizes please.

But lets be honest here, talking down to us, is NOT the way. It only pisses people off. How about making tickets more affordable for one? Or making the players a bigger part of the community, I know, I know I'm getting all nostalgic for the Islander glory days, but hear me out. I got hooked on this glorious sport when I was a child. The best way to experience is to watch it live. So let's get people, men, women and children excited to go watch a game.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Deception "Pilot" & "Nothing's Free, Little Girl": AKA: My First Impressions


Ok, I admit I'm a little slow on this one, it took me a bit of time to get on the Deception bandwagon, mostly because the show airs at 10pm on Mondays, which as we all know is Castle time so clearly that took priority. Never the less, while the boy was out last night, I came home to a glass of wine and the first two episodes of Deception. 

I fully admit that when I saw the script last pilot season, my first thought was that this was NBC trying to cash in on the success of ABC's Revenge, and maybe it is, but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. The idea behind the show is that prominent socialite, Vivian Bowers is found dead, of an apparent accidental overdose. The FBI however, believes that she may have been murdered, by someone in her family. And so they bring in SFPD officer Joanna Locasto, who grew up in the Bowers home as her her mother worked for them, to go undercover and try and find the murderer.

The cast is a DREAM! Ok, well for me it is, as it is made up of actors who I thoroughly love and enjoy, which is the main reason I started to watch. I mean Victor Garber, come on, Titanic, Alias, the list goes on, that man radiates talent. Tate Donovan will forever be the voice of Hercules in my mind, regardless of whatever else he does.

Wes Brown. Yup that was the full sentence right there. I have such a crush on that man, I wanted to love him when he was on Hart of Dixie but lets face it, when it comes to that show, my heart belongs to Wade. Honestly though Wes Brown, is dreamy and I am already mildly in love with Julian. Even though they allude to the fact that he may have been the murderer, I am still a bit head over heels.

Ella Rae Peck as Mia is fabulously bitter and bitchy. You make recognize her from her guest stint as Lola on Gossip Girl, or from several guest spots on Tv, and a few small movie roles, but let me tell you this girl is amazingly talented. I am so happy she is now a series regular and will now be appearing weekly on my tv.

Even the smaller roles have been cast with awesome people I adore, David Gelles, Ken Leong (MILES!!!!! from Lost), Bree Williamson (best know as Jessica Brennan on One Life To Live), Mackenzie Leigh, and Jackie Stewart.

I do have to say though, with all the cast that I am in love with, I actually don't overly care for Meagan Good or Laz Alonso, which considering that they are supposed to be two MAJOR parts of the story may end up being a problem. However I don't hate them, I just am not nearly as excited by their characters as I am by some of the the others.

On a whole the first two episodes held my attention, and I am definitely looking forward to next weeks episode.


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Carrie Diaries: "Pilot": AKA: So It Begins

Ok, so yesterday I was chomping at the bit for everyone to watch the series premier of The Carrie Diaries on the CW, and now today I am prepared to render my verdict of it. For those of you who have not yet watched it, you may wish to go do so before continuing on...



THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie Bradshaw. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Carrie_163.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

SPOILERS AHEAD


It's important to note that this is not a direct prequel to HBO's Sex & The City, as right off the bat the Sex & The City fan tuning in will notice several facts that contradict what little back story we knew on the Grown Up Carrie's home life. First off she has a very loving father who is completely present, especially since it is revealed early on that Carrie's mother has just recently passed away. We also meet her rebellious little sister Dorrit. I kid you not, the girl's name is Dorrit, can we all take a mo-mo to feel bad for her?
THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: Freema Agyeman as Larissa. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Larissa_029.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.


The Good...

Over all the show was pretty cute, I have to say it is nice to see a "teen soap" focused on finding oneself, as opposed to snagging the guy. This Carrie is on a quest to discover herself, she hasn't even decided that she wants to be a writer yet. Of course there is still a guy to be snagged, but Carrie has had her heart stolen by another man...Man-hattan.

Wardrobe NAILED the 80's style on Donna and the Jens.  Those three look FABULOUS. The perms, the neon, the tacky jewelery, perfection. And so far Larissa is also showing some fabulously tacky 80's fashion, can we say shoulder pads?

I know it's a small thing, but I LOVED the fact that Dorrit immediately changes into her mother's dress, after it is given to her. We see the scene where Carrie hands it to her, then in the next scene, where they are packing up her mother's things, you can see what she was wearing lying on the bed, and that she is now wearing her mother's green dress. It was a really sweet and touching detail.

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: Brendan Dooling as Walt. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Walt_033.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
 The Bad...

Wardrobe didn't do such a fabu job on the main group. Not only is Carrie lacking the crazy style which she was an icon for, which I am willing to buy on the fact that maybe she needed to grow into her style, but her style is not really eighty's esq. Sure you can argue maybe her style sense isn't as flashy yet, but something just wasn't right. Same with Maggie and Mouse.


I will admit, though I understand that her having just come back from her first adventure in "The City" was supposed to "empower" her I felt she was just a little too composed when dismissing Sebastian at that moment.  He was her first kiss, and only hours earlier she had been squealing over him with  Mouse. Big City empowerment or not that had to have stung.
The Carrie Diaries -- "Pilot" -- Pictured (L-R): AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie and Austin Butler as Sebastian -- Photo: Giovanni Rufino/The CW -- © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Just Was...

Um, is it just me or does Maggie hooking up with an older guy, a cop no less, seem a little skeevy? I mean do we think she's even 18 yet? You figure she's in the same grade as Carrie, who we know is 16 so she's more likely the same age or at most 17. Not only is she most likely under aged but her father is the chief of police, yeah, they threw that in during the not-actually-at-the-dance-dance-scene, so it would be fair to assume whoever this hot cop is knows exactly how old she is. Which makes the whole thing just seems a little wrong to me.  Plus in the book, please don't look at me like that I did it for research purposes I swear, she is hooking up with another guy in their grade, which to mean just makes more sense, and is slightly less creepy.

I find it hard to believe that Carrie, at 16 had no aspirations of being a writer. Ok, maybe she didn't yet know that she could be able to make a career of it, but she tells Larissa that she doesn't write, that her mother did in journals. Sorry, I'm not buying that. To have the kind of drive we know Carrie to have, Sex &The City version aside, there is no way that Carrie hasn't been writing stories all her life.

Also is it just me or did Carrie's voice overs sound like a combination of Lindsay Lohan ala Mean Girls/Emma Stone ala Easy A? Not so much what was said, but the inflections.

The show itself is nothing groundbreaking, but it is entertaining. I am excited to see how they are going to progress, without making the story too predictable. How deep into her double life will Carrie steep? Tune in next week for more Virginity & The Suburbs...

Monday, January 14, 2013

The Carrie Diaries Airs Tonight: AKA: Get Your Eighties On!


Happy Monday! Well, as happy as a Monday can be.  Tonight marks the season premier of The Carrie Diaries on the CW.  For those of you new to my musings I have been chomping at the bit for this show since the casting announcement of Brendan Dooling, silly musings can be revisited here. Throw in the addition of Freema Agyeman, hello Ms. Martha Jones, and I've been positively giddy.

I will fully admit to never having been a huge fan of Sex & The City, not because I have any dislike for it, I just don't have HBO and never really got into it. In actuality I've only seen a handful of episodes, so why then the excitement over The Carrie Diaries?

After all the series is meant as a prequel to the popular HBO series. It examines the life of Darling Carrie Bradshaw BEFORE she was a successful city dwelling columnist. This Carrie, played by the adorable AnnaSophia Robb, is still in high school, lives in the suburbs with her family, and still in possession of her V-card. Also, this is the 80's! Yes that's right, neon abounds!

The show itself is one of those cute coming of age stories. After all, haven't you always wondered what made Carrie, Carrie? So tune in tonight at 8pm and enjoy the ride.