Twilight Series-Eclipse & Breaking Dawn

In a previous post, I had just finished Twilight and New Moon. Loved Twilight, disappointed with New Moon. Like I said, the relationship between Bella and Edward was no where to be found in New Moon. So it was with some trepidation that I began Eclipse. Eclipse turned out to be an easy read. This time Edward and Bella are reunited and the story takes us back to Forks, WA, where the story began. Where New Moon laid the foundation to introduce us to Jacob and his pack and the story behind his supernatural being, Eclipse served to intensify the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob. Eclipse did not answer those age old questions every girl asks herself. Can a girl be happy married to a werewolf or does a girl who marries a vampire need to become one herself? Yeah, you know the everyday humdrum stuff. Eclipse escalates into a very climatic ending and transitions itself very smoothly into it's concluding book Breaking Dawn. Yes kids, this is the book you are chomping at the bit to get to although I don't think it is entirely appropriate for tweeners to be reading? I think it is safe to say one can skip New Moon and Eclipse and just head for Breaking Dawn. My daughter was in such a quandary. Mom should I skip New Moon and read Eclipse? Should I, should I? She couldn't make up her mind, then when I told her, yes skip New Moon you can always read it later, you know what she decided? You guessed it, to read it! Kids! It's always the opposite of what you tell them to do! Without giving much of the plot away, Bella and Edward take a "vacation" where it is there something drastic happens to Bella which puts her on the course to her future. It is this first 1/3 of the book which is questionable whether my daughter should be reading this stuff. Let's just say, there is copious amounts of blood and gore. Thankfully, Meyer left out all that explicit sex stuff, it is only hinted at (maybe with tweeners in mind). I really didn't think Breaking Dawn would take this path. The story takes another route totally unexpected. In this last book we are introduced to a variety of other vampires with special supernatural powers. This modern day story is a mixture of Spanish Inquisition and Roman spectacle, of good versus evil. This is not your typical vampire story, not your Salem's Lot, now there's a scary book. Vampires in our day were souless, scary monsters best left to be destroyed with a stake through the heart, which really begs the question why through the heart when if they are the undead then they really don't have hearts. In this series, these vampires don't have beating hearts yet are capable of showing compassion and love. So in the end, can Bella, the clumsy ordinarily pretty girl find love and live happily ever after? Well, as I tell my daughter, you'll just have to read it for yourself or wait for the movie. Now the question for me is what to read next?-Single D

Celebrity Apprentice-Premiere

It's been such a long time, I didn't think the Donald would have another Celebrity Apprentice, but since the last one was so much fun, I guess why not? The only one I care to watch is Joan Rivers and my favorite Scott Hamilton. Who says Ice Skating is not a sport? Like I tell Double D if the sport doesn't involve sequins, chiffon and triple axle, I don't watch it. Don't know of Hershal Walker although I have heard of him, Claudia something, model type, Athena from some reality show family, Annie Duke of poker champ fame, and assorted other Whitman candy sampler of D-lister celebrities. I am fascinated by Joan Rivers, namely because of her millions spent on plastic surgery and proud of it. Her daughter Melissa is also on the show, looks like she is following in mother's footsteps with her own borderline awful plastic surgery. Oh that's not plastic surgery you say? She's just plain homely you say? I guess plastic surgery can't fix homely. Poor thing! At least she's got money! This episode was a cupcake challenge, make, bake and sell cupcakes. I was sorely disappointed with the truck the girls made. They had no vision, no artistic or creative talent. Come on Joan, don't you design jewelry? The truck looked like a bland vanilla white cupcake with a few sprinkles of color, while the guys, headed by Jesse James of Monster Truck, which explains its monster appeal was totally cute, if you can call the guy's cupcake truck cute. They hit the nail on the head by trading on the celebrity advertised on the truck panels, although making the cupcakes was something else. There isn't a baker in the bunch. Comic Tom Green did try to take the lead in the kitchen, but how do you get guys like the mouthy Andrew Dice Clay who kept saying the he's the world most famous comic which explains why the world hasn't seen him in the last 10 years, and Rodman do the thing called labor? Rodman and Dice have never worked a day in their entire lives. Dice says he doesn't bake and tries to hi-tail it out of the kitchen on some bogus I'm going to do a promo spot on XM radio. Yeah right, he's probably going to take a nap and then rag on the Donald some more not having at least a welcome basket of fruit in their digs.

Of course each side has their celebrity friends come up and ante up some big dollars for less than edible cupcakes. The Donald calls and tells each team to bring their best cupcake to some store and the winning team will get $15,000. Melissa takes the chocolate bomb, bomb because the cake failed to rise, but the cupcake baker says to put in chocolate ganauche in the center and all is well in cupcake land. The guys take their vanilla cupcake with sprinkles. Dice says the owner's eyebrows went up when she tasted the guys cake, so that meant she liked it. Little did he know, she was actually choking, because as it turned out the cupcake was inedible. Winner, the chocolate bomb! At least the girls had tasty cupcakes, even though some of the girls were less than tasty, like Ms. Annie Duke who runs the team like she's a quarterback. Hey Annie didn't poker teach you anything, like keep a poker face and not show all your cards? She's not long for the group unless someone else screws up royally.

Round one, women. Hershal had some struggling moments being the project manager, like the inability to tell Dice and Rodman to get working so it was the three of them sent to the boardroom with Dice in the end being sent home because I think and so did the Donald that he really did want to go home after all he is the world's most famous comic! Oh and one more thing, Ivana Trump is still gorgeous!-Single D

Amazing Race-Gypsies, Dracula & Victor

I hope the racers got to visit old Salzburg while at the Hellbrunn Castle pitstop. A visit to Mozart's birthplace is a definite must also home of the Mozart almond candy, yum! That's Andy and Madison in the picture!

Leaving first: 1030 am-Tami and Victor

12:01-Mel and Mike

12:12-Amanda and Kris

12:30-Margie and Luke

12:53-Brad and Victoria

1:17-Cara and Jamie

1:51-Kesha and Jen

2:00 Mark and Michael

2:42-Jodi and Christie

Heading for Bucharest I can only think of one thing- birthplace of that wicked kid on the Omen movie, where Damien the devil child was conceived, son of a jackal. For Tammi and Victor first out of the gate and smoothly on their way ran into bad luck when their jet had to turn back to Munich making them once again part of the pack. Brad and Victoria decide to do their own thing and fly into Amsterdam instead of following the crowd. My mantra when racing would be stay with the pack until the very last episode, then take the chances. When their plane was grounded in Amsterdam, elimination was rearing it's ugly head.

Flying into Romania home of champion gymnasts, the teams have to perform a series of gymnastic stunts which only showed us how uncoordinated Tammi is. Aw come on girl, you're Asian aren't you limber and coordinated? It was so embarrassing! Damn, girl it's not that hard to do a somersault and walk a balance beam. Didn't the Chinese gymnastic team win the Olympics (by lying about their ages?) er I mean by skill? Little young Mikey has to don a gym suit and looked totally hideous. Jeez he's homely, sorry dad, but he takes after you, in more ways than one.

The roadblock leads to a major roadblock for Tammi and Victor choosing to do the Vampire remains. Victor takes the wrong path and made poor Tammi, although I'm not feeling much sympathy for her weak ass at this point to stand up to her domineering brother and say, hey dummy this is not the right way, you suck big brother! Victor finally gives in on the point of frustrated collapse, they find the coffins only to lose one of the keys in the grass. Luckily for Victor he found it because at this point I was thinking maybe Brad and Victoria might be spared elimination with the antics of Victor's stubbornness.

What did we learn in this episode, yes Virgina, there are Gypsies in Romania, and an 8th place finish for Victor and Tammi still didn't evoke an apology out of Victor. Brad and Victoria are given their walking papers after stepping on the pit stop mat last. That's how the chips fall when you deviate and try flying by the seat of your pant or in this case by way of Amsterdam.-Single D

The Bachelor Jason Finale

The Bachelor Jason Finale

Well, no surprises here after all the spoilers circulating on the Internet. Reality Steve was right. Jason asks Melissa to marry him in the finale, professes his love then dumps her six weeks later on the After the Rose finale and then rekindles with Molly on the same segment, three hours of love, rejection, betrayal and unrequited love. Not exactly your Doctor Zhivago. On Monday while waiting at the dentist, I also read in US mag that same version (Reality Steve's prediction) except with the exclusive told to US mag that Jason was flying back and forth every other weekend to Texas to see Melissa and on the off weekends he was flying to MN to see Molly after the finale. Now that is a little to much to swallow. It really did look like all the players were truly surprised and Chris Harrison did say several times that Molly has not seen Jason since the final rose ceremony. What I just don't get is how Jason, supposedly the nice guy ends up dumping Melissa on National TV? Wasn't he the good guy, the doting father, the great catch, would never hurt a fly kind of guy? How could The Bachelor stoop so low for ratings that it would actually make real people look like real fools on TV? Oh right, it's reality TV! It's bash, trample, drag through the mud and rip your heart out TV. Some blogs made it sound like the producers knew, in fact everyone knew, that Molly was the one, but asked Jason to pick Melissa for the finale and then go back to Molly, just for ratings sake. Well, it didn't seem like Jason was role acting in the finale when he told Melissa that he loved her. He seemed genuinely real although I did have my doubts when he doubled over the balcony crying after he sent Molly packing. Would a guy who is so in love with his final girl cry agonizingly over another woman? His reason, he was in love with both woman. I don't believe it. Crocodile tears, tell it to the judge! He already knew it was Molly apparently from the first camping date! And what was the reason to bring DeAnna to New Zealand? What, she aired all of 3 minutes and made herself look like a fool on TV as well, showing that she is a two time loser? At least she got a paid trip to New Zealand, maybe that was her reason? What more is there to say about a guy who made two maybe going on three proposals in one year? Jason, you disappoint, let the knight in shining armor tarnish, diminished hopes every where that there are still good guys out there. What example are you giving your son Ty? What kind of role model are you? I guess money speaks volumes. Now the true Jason has emerged and it's not a good, kind, gentle thing. My prediction-it won't last with Molly, too many conflicts and preconceived ideas. Jason, I think you need to go home to Ty, be a father to him, and let whatever the universe decides to give you do their job, because you certainly did a lousy job on this one!-Single D

Plastic Surgery?

Well, maybe not plastic surgery in the real sense, but it surely is a step in that direction. Since I am a woman of a "certain age" I have been toying with the idea of plastic surgery more and more. My first foray into cosmetic alteration came at an early age, when at the tender young age of 12, my girlfriend and I were lured into a Merle Norman cosmetic store, enticed by the makeup and forbidden cosmetics I wasn't allowed to wear. The sales clerk, a very Ava Gabor type, black hair piled high in a bun, wearing a navy blue dress with white polka dots, shows us the very latest Merle Norman products. It must have been a slow day, when she makes us sit in the high cosmetic chairs in the back of the store, quickly covers us with plastic hair salon capes. We feel excited and thrilled. She puts plastic shower caps over our hair and applies a creamy salve to our faces. At first we're eager to have her do such grown up things, but then something terribly goes wrong, the stinging! Terri looks at me with eyes as wide a saucers. I stare back and mouth "it's burning my face off!" The lady is out front helping a customer while we are left in the back thinking that our faces have melted off. How diabolical! We quickly get out of the chairs and rush to the sink washing the goop off. We run out of the store barely able to contain the silent screams mixed with laughing in our heads. The sales clerk barely noticed us. We run to the bowling alley down the street and head for our favorite hangout, the ladies room. There we inspect our faces in the mirror. In the very dim light of the bathroom, no scars, no burns, no oozing lesions, just soft skin. Relieved that we made it out with our faces in tact, we called for a celebratory purchase of eyeshadow in the dispenser of the ladies room for .50 cents. The eyeshadow is shaped like a golden bullet. Terri buys iridescent blue and I buy green frost (aren't Asians supposed to wear green?). We apply the eyeshadow like experts and then walk out of the ladies room thinking that all eyes on us as we strut our stuff. As we walk out of the bowling alley into the bright midday sunshine, we look at each other and instantly start laughing! The eyeshadow we put on in the dimly lit bathroom looked like a garish frosted blue and green stripes across our eyelids. Ok, so we were no Merle Norman makeup artist. And by the way, I'm thinking as I remember back, it really wasn't stinging at all, our imagination just got away from us.

In my more recent years as my youth disappears and new wrinkles make their home on my face, I am asking myself more and more, what can plastic surgery do for me? I have gone to several plastic surgeons, one in Las Vegas who has even been on the Health Channel doing plastic surgery and has a great reputation. My sister-in-law adores him. He says I have a weak bone structure and my cheeks are falling, no mincing words here. To have a lower eye surgery, (removing bags and tightening skin), lower face lift and neck lift would cost around $11,000. Ouch! Surgery and about two to three weeks recovery time. This plan, no pain no gain.

Plan B, I decide to go to a dermatologist just for a cancer skin check and maybe in the back of my mind I am thinking that the dermo might have some miracle anti-aging remedy up her sleeve. The doctor is a small woman of Indian decent, long thin hair, no make-up, soft sagging skin and terrible taste in clothes, more peasant than doctor. She's a quick fire saleswoman, more saleswoman than doctor. She tells me her course of treatment. First removing the sunspots, which she says for $190.00 she can remove 20-30 spots. This is a good price she exclaims. Round two after two weeks a light chemical peel and face mask followed by two more peels and masks.

I decide to try this line of attack, she has after all convinced me that it's a great deal and will make my skin look so much better, if not younger. Yeah right! I'm thinking a monkey mask would also work. I go in and have my spots zapped. She applies a face numbing cream and then with some electrical cattle prodder zapper thingy, she burns away. I don't feel any pain, except the one time she tried to zap one out of the numb range, that smarts! She says that she actually did about 40 spots and implied that I'm getting more than I paid for. I leave, spots burning and all. I go home and count the spots to verify if she really did 40 spots. I have my husband count and then my daughter count. We all count 41 spots. Ok, so she didn't exaggerate. For the next week I look like I have large brown moles on my face or adult measles, embarrassing! She warns to wear hats and sunscreen to prevent the spots from coming back since the skin has a memory. I run around the market and Home Depot in disguise, no makeup, big floppy hat and sunglasses, looking like I'm ready to rob a bank. The spots crust over and finally drop off. Thank goodness! I anxiously peer into the mirror, the spots look diminished but are still quite pink. Three weeks later, I'm thinking that there are still a good 10-20 more spots that still need to be done. Next it's on to step two, the chemical peel and face mask. I get to her office, on a Saturday, it 's the day she does her cosmetic stuff. I'm ushered into one of the examining rooms and told to wash my face, but keep the washcloth since I will need it later. As you can tell, this is a no frills kind of cosmetic spa. No changing into one of those big fluffy white robes, no terry towel on the hair and no cappuccinos. Here I sit in my street clothes, on a side chair, not even on the examining table (probably saving cost on examining paper cost). With face clean, she comes in checks the sunspots and says my skin looks really good. Her assistant then applies the light chemical peel with a q-tip swab. I'm given a fan to hold on my face, it helps with the burn feeling, uh oh! This is definitely not your Merle Norman! The assistant stays in the room to keep an eye on the redness as she reads a magazine. It's burning and my arm is getting tired of holding the fan. About three minutes later she tells me to wash it off, with the same washcloth that was now in my lap wetting my jeans. I wash it off, no mirror to check the redness. The doctor comes in and examines all the while explaining how this wonderful application is going to help my skin. Next the assistant applies the face mask while I am still sitting in the chair holding the wet washcloth. The mask goes on, she leaves, again I have to hold the fan to my face. For about 20 minutes the mask dries, tightens and my face is throbbing, which brings back the memory of when I saw as a child this horror film about a circus, where the knife thrower's assistant is screaming in front of her dressing mirror crying because her face was cracking. I guess she went to the same dermo!

A throbbing 20 minutes later, I'm told to wash it off. At the checkout, the gay nurse assistant says I look great. How can he tell, with my face red and swollen sans makeup and all? I pay my $160.00 and asked if I would like to make another appointment. Optimum sessions, at least 3. I'm like thinking maybe I should see the results of this one first. I go home, scrutinize myself in the mirror. Skin does looks smoother, maybe a little firmer. Definitely not looking 10 or even 5 years younger as I had hoped. Two months later, I still have not gone back for another treatment, somehow still trying to justify the $160.00 for each time. The doctor's words still come back though, "maintenance for you is very important and we do it much cheaply than most places." You can say that again, no frills for sure, hold your own fan! Maybe I will do it again, after all, it's not so extreme like plastic surgery and in the psyche I feel the mind can and does hopefully trick the eye. -Single D

Top Chef - Finale part 2

The final test is to make the best three course meal of their lives. They get help from past runners up Richard, Casey and Marcel. Hosea gets Richard, Carla gets Casey and Stefan teams up with Marcel. Two egos that size? No kitchen is big enough for that! Hosea gets to the kitchen and grabs all of the fois gras which pisses off Stefan so Hosea offers to split it with him. Of course Stefan gets all obnoxious saying no Hosea you keep it. Then Hosea gets all of the caviar and again, Stefan gets his briefs in a bunch. I love it!

After prepping their dishes, the chefs are treated to a Voodoo taro card reader. Stefan admits buying three voodoo dolls and stabbing Carla and Hosea. Are we surprised? I think not.

In another twist, the chefs are told that they have to make an appetizer using alligator, red fish or crab. Hosea wins the pick and chooses red fish for himself. He gets to chose for the other two so he give Carla the crabs (hee, hee!) and slam dunks Stefan with the alligator. As the cooking continues, Carla and Casey are getting along great but it seems Carla is letting her take over to the point that Carla is cooking things in a style that she has never done before. I was saying to the TV, Carla, remember Casey didn't win! Meanwhile, it is obvious that even Marcel didn't like Stefan very much. Richard & Hosea must have got on fabulously since there wasn't much footage on those two.

The appetizers are all a big hit. Course one and Carla's red fish stood out with Hosea and Stefan being on the bland side. Course two and Carla didn't do so well having listened to Casey and cooked her meat in a style she had never done before.

Course three and Carla is on free fall. Her souffles fell and she could only serve half of her dish, again, complements of Casey. Carla wanted to do a tart which she is so good at but at Casey's urging did the souffles instead. No one was impressed by Stefan's desserts while they all liked Hosea's venison.

Poor Carla, she listened to Casey rather than her own heart so was eliminated from the start. Can you tell I was hoping for Carla to win? So it's between Hosea and Stefan. Of course the judges draw it out comparing each dish. Then they say they are basing their decision on the best over all meal, well then we know it has to be Hosea since Stefan had so many ups and downs while Hosea stayed consistently good. Stefan was shocked not to hear his name being declared Top Chef but instead, it is a big congrats to Hosea, this seasons Top Chef! Double D

Top Chef - Finale part 1

The cheftestants are reunited in New Orleans for the finale. Fabio shows up wearing a pink scarf. I'm glad to see he is so secure in his manhood. In a big twist, the quickfire is for a spot in the finale only it's between Jamie, Jeff and Leah with Emeril Lagasse as the guest judge. The main ingredient to use is craw fish. What else? Jeff is making craw fish and grits and wishing that Carla was his judge. Leah goes with gumbo while Jamie makes a takeoff on eggs benedict. We all know how she feels about sea food. Jeff wins the challenge and gets to compete with the others but to continue, he has to win the elimination challenge.

The chefs are treated to dinner at Emeril's Delmonico restaurant but it's clear everyone's minds are on the competition but they still managed to critique the food.

The elimination challenge is to cater Crew Orpheus' ball. They have to prepare two dishes and a cocktail with one dish being creole style. The winner gets a new car which makes Fabio drool as he looks longingly at the car.

Stefan starts up with his sassy self right away, even Chef Tom rolls his eyes wondering where did we find this guy. Carla is doing oyster stew and has only just shucked her first oyster, like last week which is putting her way behind. Fabio is trying an Italian creole dish, why not? Stefan keeps going out for smoke breaks while Carla struggles with her oysters. The guests arrive and the masks remind Fabio of porn movies, I don't think I want to go there.

Everyone's dishes were a big hit with crowd and the judges. Carla did a no booze cocktail which the judges, and the guests, were prepared not to like but they surprised themselves and really enjoyed it. Of course Stefan says that Hosea's gumbo sucks. I have to apologize, I have been spelling Hosea's name wrong all this time. Why didn't somebody tell me?

At judge's table, Fabio and Stefan didn't fare as well as the others even though the judges liked their dishes. Fabio says he has to win Top Chef so he can take care of his sick mama back in Sicily. So now I have this vision of some matronly older lady sitting up in a hospital type bed with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders coughing. More like she is outside tending her veggie garden saying "that's my boy"! Anyway, back to judge's table. Carla starts to put down her dish again but thankfully catches herself and shuts her mouth. Carla wins the challenge which means cutie pie Jeff will not move on. Fabio's Top Chef experience also comes to an end when he is also told to pack his knives and go. Want to bet he doesn't go right home to take care of mama? Double D

Ghost Hunters International - Spain

Madrid, Spain and Castillo de la Coracera is the first stop. This place has a weird and creepy history. The castle was built in the 1300's. A previous owner from the 1930's, whose brothers were killed, built the chapel and buried his brothers in the walls of the chapel. A movie call Mark of the Wolfman was being filmed at the castle and the director, who was alone in the castle with one other person, heard screams in the chapel. The last owner, who died in 1985, was into the occult and was sure the devil resided in the castle. Like I said, weird and creepy.

Robb, Barry & Dustin start out in the devil's tower and hear a grunt after asking if there were any dark forces about. Robb tells the devil to be a man and walk up to them and they hear a knock. That would do it for me!

Angela, Brandy and Joe go in and also ask to be touched and hear a knock. They hear it again when Brandy asks the spirit to make the noise again.

Barry & Dustin move into the chapel and hear a voice. They next go to the battlements when Barry hears a voice saying "now". Right after that they hear noises in response to requests that the spirits come closer.

Audio picks up the footsteps and a scream in the chapel, however, the team is able to debunk all of the noises as either the rain or sounds from the town. Disappointing but Robb says the place is not haunted.

Celra, Spain, Castel D'Escales. The original tower was built in 1050 with the rest of the castle getting added on through the years, and centuries. The castle is currently used as a hotel. Reports are of water taps that turn themselves on, light bulbs that unscrew themselves (there is joke in there somewhere) and cold spots.

In a nut shell, everything was debunked when the team found a reason for all of the goings on. Robb even called Jason & Grant and asked them about the water taps, which turned out to be pressure build up that would turn them on. The only thing they couldn't explain where two audios, one of footsteps and another what sounded to me like a dog barking. Spain was a letdown with back to back no hauntings. Hopefully the finale will be better. Double D