Six Weeks Before Christmas!

There are only six weeks before Christmas! That means, it's time to prepare my wish list.

Now that I have my preciousssss BlackBerry Torch, I don't need a digital camera, any of the other BlackBerry models, or the iPhone. So what would I like to receive on Christmas?

• DVR - Yes, I still need a DVR. I can't bear to miss The Big Bang Theory too much because of The Vampire Diaries. I need my Big Bang fix! Also, I don't wanna wait until summer to see the current season of Castle. I also miss new episodes of Criminal Minds. Lastly, I don't wanna have to choose between The Good Wife and V when the latter comes back from hiatus. The Shaw on Demand that we have only works for House and Hawaii Five-0, and I can't watch either when someone's recording something. So I need my own DVR.
• LOST: The Complete Collection (Blu-Ray) - I know I have the box sets for all six seasons, but I want to see the additional bonus features. That's at least two more hours of LOST goodies. (I really can't let go, can I?) I'll just sell the box sets that I already have.
• Brian K. Vaughn's Y: The Last Man - I have a lot of books in my reading list. But I really want this graphic novel series. Really want this one.
• DVDs/Blu-Ray Discs
• Inception
• Salt
• Kick-Ass
• Avatar
• Splice
• The Prisoner (2009 Miniseries)
• Paranormal Activity
• The Informant!
• District 9
• FlashForward: The Complete Series
• Precious
• Invictus
• Legion
• Smokin' Aces [UPDATE: Got it!]
• Books
• The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
• The Road (Cormac McCarthy)

I hope to get at least four of these items. Hehe....

Season and Series Premieres are Upon Us

The 2010-2011 primetime TV season started this week! Per Michael Ausiello's fall cheat sheet, here are the premiere dates I care about.

September 9th, Wednesday: The Vampire Diaries - 8 PM on The CW

September 20th, Monday:

• How I Met Your Mother - 8 PM on CBS
• House - 8 PM on FOX
• The Event - 9 PM on NBC
• Mike & Molly - 9:30 PM on CBS
• Castle - 10 PM on ABC
• Hawaii Five-O - 10 PM on CBS

September 21st, Tuesday:

• Glee - 8 PM on FOX
• Running Wilde - 9:30 PM on FOX

September 22nd, Wednesday (also the sixth anniversary of Oceanic Flight 815's crash - that is, the date the LOST's pilot episode aired):

• The Middle - 8 PM on ABC
• Undercovers - 8 PM on NBC
• Better With You - 8:30 PM on ABC
• Modern Family - 9 PM on ABC
• Criminal Minds - 9 PM on CBS
• Cougar Town - 9:30 PM on ABC
• The Defenders - 10 PM on CBS

September 23rd, Thursday:

• The Big Bang Theory - 8 PM on CBS
• 30 Rock - 8:30 PM on NBC
• Fringe - 9 PM on FOX

September 24th, Friday: CSI: NY - 9 PM on CBS

September 26th, Sunday: The Amazing Race - 8 PM on CBS

September 28th, Tuesday:

• No Ordinary Family - 9 PM on ABC
• The Good Wife - 10 PM on CBS

October 3rd, Sunday: CSI: Miami - 10 PM on CBS

Because of the excellent new shows (e.g. Glee, The Vampire Diaries, Modern Family, Cougar Town, et cetera) and creatively rocking returning shows (e.g. LOST, Fringe, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, et cetera), I had a full TV viewing schedule last year. Will it be the same this season?

This year, Mondays through Thursdays will continue to be crowded. For example, I still won't be able to watch original broadcasts of new House episodes because of HIMYM. Also, V may come back at the same timeslot as last year's, which means it will be up against The Good Wife. The Emmy-winning Modern Family will still be on the same timeslot as Criminal Minds, which means I have to wait for new episodes to air on A&E, unless Modern Family is a repeat or something. Lastly, I was relieved that FlashForward's cancellation meant that I could watch original broadcasts of new The Vampire Diaries episodes - that is, until CBS moved The Big Bang Theory to 8 PM on Thursdays.

I hope either CTV will air either series at 7 PM PDT or PST so I can watch the other at 8 PM or MuchMusic will air TVD on Fridays at 5 PM PDT or PST. Paging CTV or MuchMusic!


Because LOST has ended, Fringe is now my "main" show. That means I may actually write more decent blog posts about Fringe. Hehe. I can also study the glyph codes so I can guess the word or phrase by the end of the episodes. Maybe take notes too. Whaddya think?

*Sigh* I still miss LOST.

LOST Snubbed at the Emmys

If y'all followed me on Twitter - or if you're my Facebook friend - you'd know how I felt about this year's Primetime Emmy Awards. Particularly the last 10 minutes.

Apart from last week's Creative Emmys win for the LOST editing team, the show was shut out of the major categories. Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad took the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award, instead of either Michael Emerson or Terry O'Quinn (who deserved another Emmy for his dual role in Season 6, as Flocke/The Man in Black and Sideways John Locke). Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad achieved a three-peat on the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series race, beating Matthew Fox, who was phenomenal as Jack Shephard during the final season. Taking the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series award, Matthew Weiner and Erin Levy's writing for Mad Men beat Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse's excellent crafting of the LOST series finale. Steve Shill's directing of an episode of Dexter earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, beating Jack Bender's incredible direction of the series finale. The most painful loss is in the Outstanding Drama Series category, which Mad Men won.

I would be very happy if I woke up from this horrible nightmare or if I found out that LOST won all the awards for which it is nominated in an alternate timeline.

*Sigh*

The night started well, actually. Glee's Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, Amber Reilly, Chris Colfer, 30 Rock's Tina Fey, LOST's Jorge Garcia, and The Vampire Diaries's Nina Dobrev were included in Jimmy Fallon's opening number. That was fun. Then Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Then Glee's Jane Lynch won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy. Then Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory - so deservedly - won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy. Archie Panjabi of The Good Wife surprisingly won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series award.

Thankfully, the rest of the LOST fandom on Twitter complained about the Emmy snubs as much as I did. And after the Outstanding Drama Series upset, we comforted ourselves with the fact that LOST will remain the best drama series for us in 2010 and for the six years it was on air.

I know I said that I'll be happy with the 13 nominations even if LOST didn't win anything. Of course, one win out of 13 is better than nothing. But this is the last time the Emmy voters could honour LOST for its greatness. There'll be no more chance for them to honour the series with another Outstanding Drama Series award, because the show is done. The Emmys even staged a funny musical tribute for shows that just ended, including LOST. That is not enough to recognize a show like LOST.

You have no idea how much I cried after the Emmy telecast. I am incredibly sad that the Emmy voters failed to recognize LOST for the outstanding show that it was. Even Modern Family's Outstanding Comedy Series win didn't ease the pain of LOST being snubbed tonight.

LOST was robbed tonight.

Oh, well.

To make us all laugh after tonight's depressive Emmy Awards, I leave you with the Season 6 bloopers from the Season 6 DVD/Blu-ray set. Thanks to user glennD for making the video embeddable.

LOST Is Emmy-Nominated... Thirteen Times Over!!!

It was fun to wake up to LOST's 13 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Yes, thirteen nominations.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of its thirteen nominations, the most important is the Outstanding Drama Series nomination. Four are in the acting categories. Elizabeth Mitchell is nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series category for her work in "LA X" and "The End". Previous winners Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson are both nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category. Best of all, Matthew Fox is nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category. It's about freaking time!

Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's writing in the series finale is also recognized in the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series category. The Emmy voters also saw the error in their ways, because Jack Bender, snubbed last year, is nominated for the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series award! Oscar-winner Michael Giacchino's score for the series finale got him a nomination for the Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) award. Stephen Semel, Mark J. Goldman, Christopher Nelson, and Henk Van Eeghan's excellent work in editing the series finale is also recognized as they are nominated for the Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series award. Thomas E. deGorter and his team of sound editors, music editor, and foley artists are also nominated for the Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series award. Bobby Anderson, Ken King, Frank Morrone, and Scott Weber are nominated for the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) award. Zack Grobler, Matthew Jacobs, and Carol Bayne Kelley are also recognized for their awesome work in "Ab Aeterno" as they are nominated for the Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series award.

Lastly, ABC's web series Mysteries of the Universe - The Dharma Initiative is also nominated for the Outstanding Special Class Programs award.

In other Emmy news, Fringe's team of sound editors, music editor, and foley artists are also nominated in the Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series category as recognition for their work in the "White Tulip" episode. It's a shame John Noble still isn't nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category. He'd better be nominated next year! V's visual effects team is nominated in the Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series category as recognition for their work in the pilot episode. Surprisingly, FlashForward - the show that ABC dumped in favour of V (not that I hate that show) - has three nominations: Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), and Outstanding Stunt Direction.

The Good Wife has nine nominations: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Julianna Margulies), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Christina Baranski and Archie Panjabi), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Alan Cumming and Dylan Baker), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Costumes for a Series, and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. I hope it wins a maximum of five awards (not the drama series and the writing, of course, because they belong to LOST).

Glee has a gazillion nominations - 20, including the Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - Fiction! I'm glad that other than the Golden Globe-nominated Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, and Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer is nominated because he so deserves it. My other favourite new sitcom Modern Family has 14 nominations, including Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Ty Burell, Eric Stonestreet, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara. Awesome!

The super-awesome Jim Parsons is nominated again in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. I hope that he'd say "Bazinga!" when he wins. And I seriously hope he wins!!! The Big Bang Theory is also nominated for four other awards, including a nod for Christine Baranski's guest spot as Leonard's mother. My other favourite old sitcom How I Met Your Mother is nominated for four awards, including an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nod for Neil Patrick Harris (who's also nominated for his guest spot on Glee) and an Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics nod for the song "Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit" that the characters performed in the 100th episode.

Even the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony is nominated! Despite the giant hydraulics malfunction, it has four nominations: Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special, Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for a Variety, Music or Comedy Programming, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Special Class Programs.

Congratulations to all the nominees!


I do hope LOST wins a lot - preferably all of them. But if it doesn't, I'll be mega-happy that it got 13 nominations. That's a lotta love for a recently departed show. Plus, LOST won the Best Network Television Series award last week at the Saturn Awards. That's awesome enough.

I say this, though: I'll throw a party if LOST won the Outstanding Drama Series award. Hehe...

LOST Wins Two Saturn Awards

Just as I expected, LOST rocked the Saturn Awards with another Best Network Television Series win. Not only that, Josh Holloway won the Best Actor on Television award, even beating Matthew Fox! LOST's Season 5 DVD set also won the Best DVD Television Release. Congrats!!!

Fringe also grabbed two awards: Anna Torv won the Best Actress on Television award (beating, among others, Evangeline Lilly) and Leonard Nimoy won the Best Guest Starring Role on Television award (beating, among others, Mark Pellegrino). Fringe's co-creators Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman also received the George Pal Memorial Award for their "unending imagination and dedication to creating amazing genre-bending blockbusters at the movies and on television".

Julie Benz (Dexter) beat Elizabeth Mitchell (LOST) and Morena Baccarin (V) for the Best Supporting Actress on Television award. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul also beat LOST's Jeremy Davies and Michael Emerson and Fringe's John Noble for the Best Supporting Actor on Television award.

Avatar swept the film awards, including the acting honours. I think Inglourious Basterds' Melanie Laurent (Best Actress) and Christoph Waltz (Best Supporting Actor) should have won their respective categories, though. Or is it just because I'm nuts about Inglourious Basterds? Hehe... And, oh, Inglourious Basterds won the Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film award! Woot woot!!!

So if the Emmys ignore LOST, its awesome actors, or both, I won't feel so bad. I have more respect for the Saturn Awards now than for the Emmys because the former gives LOST the recognition it deserves.

Kelly Rowland Drops on September 21st

It's gonna be a busy late summer and early fall.

First, I have Basic Copy Editing from August 23rd to 26th. Second, the LOST Season 6 and LOST Complete Series DVD/Blu-Ray sets are released on August 24th. Third, the Fringe Season 2 DVD/Blu-Ray set comes out on September 14th.

Now, a much-anticipated album release: Digital Spy reports that Kelly Rowland's self-titled third album will be released on September 21st.

Ms. Kelly describes her new album as having "a modern Donna Summer feel with definitely more of a thump." Sounds interesting, ain't it? And have y'all seen the covers for her singles "Grown Woman" and "Rose Colored Glasses"? I'm digging the giant afro look!

I can't wait for Ms. Kelly's new album!

Fifty-four Days

There are 54 days before my 27th B'Day and I've been thinking about what I want. My sister already gave me another Coach purse and I have way too many books to read. Aside from getting at least $1 million from the lottery or an unknown mega-rich relative - so I can get my own place, quit my job, get Daniel Faraday's journal at the LOST auction, go to Europe, or any combination of the previous - there's nothing that I really, really, really want right now.

It'd be nice to get any of these, though:

• Digital camera - My old Nikon camera's broken so I need a new one. Either that or I'd just take videos from my Flip Video Ultra.
• DVR - The 2009-2010 primetime TV season is so awesome because there are so many great new shows. My current favourite new shows are FlashForward, V, The Good Wife, Glee, Modern Family, The Middle, The Vampire Diaries, and even Cougar Town, not to mention my usual favourites (LOST even if it's not coming back next season, Fringe, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and Criminal Minds). I've had to give up some shows because they're aired directly against another favourite show (e.g. House M.D. vs. How I Met Your Mother, The Vampire Diaries vs. FlashForward, Glee vs. Modern Family vs. Criminal Minds, Glee vs. LOST, The Good Wife vs. V, etc.). Thank God for Much Music, because it airs the new The Vampire Diaries episode every Friday at 5 PM and 8 PM PST. For the rest, I'd have to stream them online, like CTV.ca or GlobalTV.com. So I need a DVR to record my other favourite shows and watch them whenever I want. 
• Whatever I didn't get last Christmas - Out of the 16 items on my Christmas wish list, I only got two DVDs (Inglourious Basterds and He's Just Not That Into You) and two books (Under The Dome and Best Friends Forever). I've also seen Angels & Demons and Public Enemies. And I still want the rest of the items on my Christmas wish list! 
• Other DVDs/Blu-Ray:
• The Informant!
• The Men Who Stare at Goats
• Precious
• District 9
• Paranormal Activity
• Gran Torino
• Up
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Julie and Julia
• Changeling
• I Sell the Dead
• Bedside lamp - My mom took my bedside lamp. I need a new one.
• Cocktail shaker and mixer set - There are times when a girl needs an apple martini or a margarita. 'Nuff said. I even got the Drinks iPhone/iPod Touch app.
• Quill & Quire or Writer's Digest Subscription - I kinda gave up my Writer's Digest subscription this year because I'm trying to cut costs. I checked out the Quill & Quire, but a 1-year subscription costs twice than a WD 1-year subscription. I need either to help me improve my writing.

I'd just like to emphasize that any Twilight-related merchandise (books, DVDs, etc.) that I get will immediately be sold on eBay. The Vampire Diaries books or DVDs will be cherished forever.

If anyone would like to give me $1 million, I will love that person forever. Yuk yuk yuk...

August 24th Dilemma

We're only halfway through the sixth and final season, but the release date for the LOST Season 6 DVD/Blu-Ray set has been announced. It will be released in North America on 24 August 2010, three and a half months earlier than the last two seasons. Per Lostpedia and TVShowsOnDVD, the set will contain five discs and the usual bonus features, plus original scripted content produced by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and Crafting a Final Season feature. The DVD set's current price is USD$59.99 (CAD$79.99), while the Blu-Ray set is on sale for USD$79.99 (CAD$94.99).

Interestingly, LOST: The Complete Collection, which includes all 121 episodes from Seasons 1 to 6, will also be released on 24 August 2010. Per the same sources above, the DVD/Blu-Ray set will contain all previous extras, plus one bonus disc with at least two hours of additional content. The DVD set price is USD$229.99 (CAD$269.99), while the Blu-Ray set price is USD$279.99 (CAD$349.99).

What, oh, what am I going to get???

Obviously, I wanna see the goodies in the Season 6 set. I have the DVD sets for Season 1 to 4 and the Blu-Ray set for Season 5, and the bonus content in all of them are freaking amazing. And, like most fans, I usually get the DVD sets for the bonus content, especially in Season 5 where I got to download the episodes from iTunes before the DVD was released. But I also want to see the additional two hours of content in the Compete Series bonus disc. However, what am I gonna do with the Season 1 to 5 sets that I already own?

I have both the Season 6 Blu-Ray set and the Complete Collection Blu-Ray set on my Amazon.ca wishlist. I need to put in my pre-order soon, so I have to decide which one I'm pre-ordering ASAP!!!

Maybe I'll decide after the series finale? Whaddya think?

"Well, The Time Has Come."

Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow (Best Director) and The Hurt Locker (Best Picture)!!!

I totally cried when Barbra Streisand uttered, "Well, the time has come," and looked at Kathryn Bigelow. I cried even more - yes, I'm a dork - when Tom Hanks simply announced that the 2010 Academy Awards Best Picture is The Hurt Locker.

I'd been quietly rooting for this movie ever since I got the DVD and saw its excellence. And that was after I saw Inglourious Basterds, which I loved.

And, oh, today is International Women's Day. Hehehehe...

Boo-yah.

Glee and Julianna Margulies Triumph at Golden Globes

John Lithgow and Chloe Sevigny may have beaten Michael Emerson (LOST's Benjamin Linus) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson) and Jane Lynch (Glee's Sue Sylvester), respectively, but two upsets made me very, very, very happy.

Julianna Margulies, lead of my favourite Tuesday drama The Good Wife, beat Glenn Close (Damages), January Jones (Mad Men), Anna Paquin (True Blood) and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama award. That is freaking awesome. Especially when she kissed George Clooney (who played her ER husband) on the way to the stage. Everyone was saying January Jones would win, but Julianna did. Congrats!!!

On the other hand, Glee - the little show that could - beat 30 Rock, Modern Family, Entourage, and The Office for the Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical award. Woo hoo!!! Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, and Jane Lynch may have lost in their individual categories, but their awesome show won the big award. Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

Other winners that made me smile are:

• Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire) - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
• Toni Collette (United States of Tara) - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical
• Michael Giacchino (Up) - Best Original Score - Motion Picture
• Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
• Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air) - Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
• Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
• Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

I would have loved to see The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, Inglourious Basterds, or Precious win the Best Motion Picture - Drama award, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association shockingly chose Avatar. I'm sure it's awesome, but more awesome than the other films in the category? Really? Also, Kathryn Bigelow or Quentin Tarantino should have won Best Director - Motion Picture.

On the comedy side, I was hoping for (500) Days of Summer or Julie & Julia, but The Hangover won instead. Oh, well.

I wish that some Golden Globes nominees weren't lumped in their categories, as a comedic performance by a certain actor is a different animal from another actor's dramatic performance.

Thank God for hotties Matthew Fox (whose Jack Shephard was totally out-bearded by William Hurt and Jon Hamm), Matt Damon (who sadly lost his two categories), Matthew Morrison, Joshua Jackson, and George Clooney!

Lastly, LOST'd be better recognized next year or else... (Hehehehe.) And, oh, Jim Parsons, John Noble, and Jane Lynch.

Buon Natale!!!

That's MERRY CHRISTMAS in Italian!

So, Christmas has come and gone. It`s one of the quietest Christmas I've had. 'Twas neither too exciting nor too boring.

On Christmas Eve, we went to the encore presentation of our church's Children's Ministry Christmas play entitled The Best Christmas Present Ever. It was a hit, just like last Sunday's presentation. My niece sang in the choir and spoke a bit towards the end of the play.

Then we went to our churchmate's - and family dentist's - house for a Christmas dinner party. The C's came with us and I mostly hung out with them. Other churchmates attended the shindig and we wished each other a merry Christmas. I missed MuchMoreMusic's broadcast of VH1 Divas 2009, featuring Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Jordin Sparks, and Jennifer Hudson for this party.

We left with Christmas gifts - mine was suspiciously shaped like Purdy's chocolates - at around 11 PM. We stopped by Shoppers Drug Mart for about half an hour so my sister could get the antibiotics that our dentist prescribed. Then we went home.

We opened the presents just after midnight, after a couple of Kodak moments (i.e. picture-taking sessions). I gave my nephew the Casio watch (a.k.a. Usher's watch) that he wanted, a $50 iTunes gift card, and $100. I gave my niece a copy of Rhythm Heaven Nintendo DS Game and $100. I gave Miss KC a $50 iTunes gift card and $100, because she only asked for money. I gave Little Mr. JC a Rex the Dinosaur collectible figure from Toy Story and $40.

And what did I get?

Aside from my mom's early Christmas gifts during Black Friday, she also gave me Ferrero Rocher. Yum! As I guessed, my dentist gave me Purdy's Hedgehog chocolates. Double yum! The C's gave me the Inglourious Basterds DVD and He's Just Not That Into You Blu-Ray disc. Then the A's gave me Stephen King's Under The Dome and Jennifer Weiner's Best Friends Forever. Yippee!!!

At least I got four items from my updated wish list. Hehehehehe... Didn't get the BlackBerry Curve 8520 or the first issue of Y: The Last Man, though. Oh, well. Maybe I can get these on my 27th B'Day? Hehehehehe...

After all the excitement from the gift-opening, we sat down for a bit of eggnog and coffee for the grown-ups and hot chocolate for the kids. Then I brought my Blu-Ray player to the living room so my bro-in-law could hook it up to his Bose system. Then we watched the He's Just Not That Into You disc. We finished the movie at about 3:40 AM and they went to bed. I stayed up until 4:30 or 5 AM, then I fell asleep.

I woke up at noon on Christmas Day and stayed in bed until about 1 PM. Then I went upstairs to eat. I went back to my room to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and the rest of the trilogy. However, partway through Disc 2, I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until 10:30 PM. I was hungry, so I went upstairs to get some food to bring to my room. I  continued the trilogy; it's now 5 AM and I'm watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Disc 1.

I must finish the movie, and maybe get some sleep before tonight's party.

Buon Natale! And Happy Boxing Day!!!

Only Eight Days Before Christmas!

Now that I have the Blu-Ray player, I think it's time to update my Christmas wish list.

Of course, I still want the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 or the first and subsequent issues of Brian K. Vaughan's Y: The Last Man. Oh, and $25,000. Hehehe...

You know what else I want for Christmas?

DVDs/Blu-Ray Discs

• Angels & Demons
• Burn After Reading
• Inglourious Basterds
• Public Enemies
• He's Just Not That Into You
• The Reader
• Rachel Getting Married
• Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

 Books

• Under The Dome (Stephen King)
• The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
• Salem's Lot (Stephen King)
• Duma Key (Stephen King)
• Best Friends Forever (Jennifer Weiner)
• The Road (Cormac McCarthy)

Phew! Wonder if I'm gonna get anything from these lists? Hehehe...

Sony Blu-Ray Player Out-of-Stock? No Problem!

The women in my family went to Wal-Mart last night to get our electronics using my sister's 20% employee discount. My niece got an HP Mini Notebook that was listed at CDN$328. My sister paid approximately CDN$294, excluding any environmental fees and including GST & PST. 

However, my Sony BDPS360 Blu-Ray Player was not on the shelf! I looked high and low for it, but all I found was a Sony DVD Player. There were other Blu-Ray players: Samsung and LG. I thought, "What am I gonna do? Order it from Amazon? Find another auction on eBay? Abandon the idea altogether? Or buy a Blu-Ray Player from a different brand?" I looked at my sister, who was waiting for me at the counter.

I grabbed the giant LG box and plopped it on the counter.

It's an LG BD370C Blu-Ray Player. It was easy to connect to my Toshiba TV. The picture is so much better since there is an option to watch a disc (standard DVD or Blu-Ray) in Cinema mode. Standard DVDs - Wanted, for example - are also up-scaled so they look better onscreen. You can also play standard CDs - Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted, for example - although you'd need an Internet connection to get the track names and you'd need the TV to actually listen to the songs. You can also view pictures and films, as well as listen to music, from a USB flash drive. With an Internet connection - which my Blu-Ray player doesn't have right now, because I lent my router to my brother-in-law - you can watch YouTube videos, as well as download content through BD-Live. I just have to figure out how to get Internet connection in there and I can fully enjoy my Blu-Ray player.

Oh, it's listed price was CDN$218. My sister hasn't shown me the receipt, but I expect to pay her CDN$195, excluding any environmental fees and including GST & PST. That would be CDN$10 less than I would have paid if I got the Sony BDPS360 Blu-Ray Player.

Now I hope December 8th gets here sooner so I can have my LOST Season 5 Blu-Ray Disc set!

The Fall Season is Upon Us

Primetime TV programming, that is.

New and returning primetime shows start premiering next week. To help us all out, EW.com's Michael Ausiello - with a little help from EW intern Aly Semigran - posted a fall premiere schedule.

Here are the ones that matter to me:

September 9, Wednesday - Glee - 9 PM on FOX
September 10, Thursday - The Vampire Diaries - 8 PM on The CW
September 17, Thursday

• Fringe - 9 PM on FOX
• The Office - 9 PM on NBC

September 21, Monday

• House - 8 PM on FOX
• How I Met Your Mother - 8 PM on CBS
• The Big Bang Theory - 9:30 PM on CBS
• CSI: Miami - 10 PM on CBS

September 22, Tuesday - The Good Wife - 10 PM on CBS
September 23, Wednesday

• The New Adventures of Old Christine - 8 PM on CBS
• Gary Unmarried - 8:30 PM on CBS
• Criminal Minds - 9 PM on CBS
• CSI: NY - 10 PM on CBS

September 24, Thursday - FlashForward - 8 PM on ABC
September 27, Sunday - The Amazing Race - 8 PM on CBS
October 9, Friday - Ugly Betty - 8 PM on ABC
October 15, Thursday - 30 Rock - 9:30 PM on NBC
November 3, Tuesday - V - 8 PM on ABC

Obviously, I am most excited about the return of Fringe, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Glee, and 30 Rock. I am also looking forward to the series premieres of The Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder! Paul Wesley!), Flash Forward (Joseph Fiennes! Sonya Walger! Dominic Monaghan!), V (Elizabeth Mitchell!), and The Good Wife.

Obviously, LOST will be my top priority once it comes back in 2010. So, assuming it will come back on Wednesdays at 9 PM, I will have to say goodbye to either Glee or Criminal Minds. There's always iTunes and reruns.

By the way, The Futon Critic also has a colourful grid for the Fall 2009 schedule. Check it out, if you'd like.

Which of the new and returning shows are you watching?

"Televisionary" J.J. Abrams

LOST and Fringe made EW.com's list of 17 classic TV shows from four "televisionaries" - Aaron Spelling, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon, and J.J. Abrams.

LOST (2004 - 2010)

The most successful of Abrams’ TV creations, Lost follows the adventures of a group of plane-crash survivors on a bizarre tropical island. The characters’ stories also are told through flashbacks and flashforwards. Beware of polar bears, a nutty French woman, and time-travel flashes. Will we get all the answers to our burning questions when the show concludes in May? Fingers crossed.

Wow. Classic TV show. I'm a proud geek!

Fringe (2008 - present)

Starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, and John Noble, this Fox drama chronicles the stories of an FBI division that investigates a burst of creepy events that are referred to as “The Pattern.” Hope you can stomach skin-dissolving contagions and strange parasites wrapped around hearts.

Classic after only a season? Awesome.

By the way, what is a "televisionary" anyway? According to Urban Dictionary, a televisionary is "a 'born to be on TV' visionary who appears on television regularly, delivering messages that fall into her (his) mind from the dead." Hmm... Not quite. The Wikipedia entry defines the word as the concept "used to describe television and communications network operators who are developing services that provide consumers with more control over when, where and how they consume video and other multimedia content." Still not it.

Based on the examples - Aaron Spelling, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon, and J.J. Abrams - I can say the word pertains to a smart person who creates something (in this case, a TV show) that has unique elements, setting it apart from others in its genre.

Obviously LOST and Fringe are great examples. The other shows on the list - great examples as well - are Aaron Spelling's 7th Heaven and Beverly Hills, 90210, Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and Sports Night, and Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly.

LOST Makes Best TV Ensemble List

EW.com readers picked 10 TV shows they think have the best ensemble cast. Read on for a few of the praises...

Reader Sarah says, "Hands down, Arrested Development. Every guest appearance, every regular cast member made that show spectacular."

Rachel K says, "While I am a huge BSG fan I have to go with The West Wing on this. Even during the later years, when Mary McCormack, Alan Alda, and Jimmy Smits joined that cast, it was superb."

Jon says, "While it wasn't the first show to pop into my head, The Shield made me a fan of so many actors that I can't ignore it. I will try any show and watch any movie for Chiklis, Goggins, Karnes, and Pounder."

(Pic taken from DarkUFO.)

Finally, a reader with the handle LadySolitaire wrote this...

"How about LOST? Its cast is made up of veteran actors and rookie actors alike. They are all talented. They can all have a long career in Hollywood. Sure, several actors (and their characters) stand out, such as Michael Emerson, Terry O'Quinn, Henry Ian Cusick, Elizabeth Mitchell, Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, and Naveen Andrews. But overall, the diversity and the collective and individual talent of the LOST cast makes it a great ensemble."

*Clearing my throat*

Yep, that's me.

I had forgotten about this little survey on the PopWatch Blog back in June. I forgot about my little comment about LOST right after I hit Post Comment - that would be after 2:50 PM of June 12th.

Thank you, EW.com, both for picking the LOST cast as one of TV's best ensemble and for picking my little comment.

LOST Wins Saturn Award

Even if LOST feels no love from the Emmy Awards this year, I will be satisfied with LOST's win as the Best Network Television Series at the 35th Annual Saturn Awards.

Boo-yah!

Of course, I am biased towards LOST. But can you really deny the awesomeness that was Season 5? I am so happy for the best network TV series win! (Battlestar Galactica won the Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series award.)

Michael Emerson (Benjamin Linus) and Mark Pellegrino (Jacob) attended the ceremony. JJ Abrams was also there to accept LOST's award, as well as to present Leonard Nimoy (Fringe's Dr William Bell) the Lifetime Achievement Award.

I am also happy that Iron Man and The Dark Knight were finally rewarded in their separate sub-genres (Best Science Fiction Film and Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, respectively). I love them both, and, yes, I am still torn between these two movies when it comes to deciding which was the best movie of 2008.

Visit the official Saturn Awards website for a complete list of the winners.

My B'Day Wish: Extra Strength Tylenol!

I had imagined my 26th B'Day to be the same old thing that my B'Days have been. Take last year's for consideration: I woke up and my mom handed me my gift. I had breakfast and went to Metropolis at Metrotown to do a little shopping. After spending $108 on clothes and what-not (it's true, I'm not kidding), I went home and waited for everyone to come home so we could have my B'Day dinner. Boring as it was, it was fine.

Except that I'm sick this year. Actually, I've been ill since Saturday, May 23rd. I've been coughing, running a fever, and sneezing for six days now. And my co-workers are freaking out and blaming me for their little sniffles, little sneezes, and little coughs.

Seriously. Worst B'Day ever.

But all was not lost. People cared enough to greet me on Facebook - and my best friend didn't forget my B'Day this time! (Hehe.) Some are still sending me belated birthday greetings! A few people even sent cards!

I got great gifts too. My mom gave me an emerald-and-diamond ring a few weeks ago, and then she gave me clothes too. My sister gave me my very first Coach purse when they came back from Orlando, FL a couple of months ago; she said that was my early birthday gift. My niece and nephew/godson gave me Lipstick Jungle Season 2 DVD set (because The Big Bang Theory Season 2 DVD and Fringe Season 1 DVD aren't released yet) and a digital photo frame/key chain. Then the C's gave me my very first Guess purse, a Salvatore Ferragamo perfume, and a little poem/note from Miss KC.

We had spaghetti carbonara, baked chicken, two sets of pizza, and Pepsi. Then my niece took the DQ ice-cream cake for dessert.

Yes, they didn't listen to me when I said I don't want an ice-cream cake for my B'Day. No LOST-themed cake for this B'Day girl! (Humour me, it was my B'Day.)

Eh. Whatever. I was already having the worst B'Day ever.

The best B'Day gift ever? Ironically, it came in the form of a non-B'Day gift: a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol!!!

I took one caplet and I fell asleep at around 9:30pm. When I woke up at midnight, I felt slightly better, although it still took me two hours to get back to sleep. When I woke up at 5:30am, there were less coughing fits, which lasted the whole day!

Anyway... Overall, I had a fine B'Day. It wasn't as great as my 25th or my 21st, but it will do. I'll just think of my Guess purse and Salvatore Ferragamo perfume.

All I Ever Wanted Tops (Canadian) iTunes Album List

Kelly Clarkson's brand-spankin'-new album, All I Ever Wanted, is out today! I've been enjoying the album since last night (I pre-ordered the deluxe version of the album on iTunes). And the physical copy of the deluxe version I pre-ordered from Amazon.ca arrived today too!

It's 21:51 PDT and the album has gone to number ONE!!! On the Canadian iTunes Top Albums list anyway, that is. I'm also proud to say that the deluxe version is number FOUR!!! (Yes, one of The Numbers!)

The US iTunes Top Albums list, on the other hand, has the deluxe version on number ONE, and the regular album on number FOUR!

Congrats, Kelly!!! I hope the physical - and the overall - first-week sales of the album translate to Billboard #1!

Official Track List for the Deluxe Edition Released

The track listing for the deluxe edition of Kelly Clarkson's new album, All I Ever Wanted, has also been released on her website, KellyOfficial.com

Aside from the regular 14 tracks, there are two bonus tracks, as well as bonus DVD.

Bonus Tracks

1. Tip Of My Tongue
2. The Day We Fell Apart

Bonus DVD List

1. Making The Video
2. Making The Album
3. "My Life Would Suck Without You" (Music Video)
4. Photo Gallery

The deluxe edition is only a buck more than the regular edition, so I'm definitely pre-ordering it. Yay!

UPDATE: Amazon.ca just lowered the price for it. When I pre-ordered the deluxe edition, the price was $17.99 Canadian. The regular edition is now $14.99 Canadian.

I want to flash-forward to March 10th now!