Red Wine Made My Christmas More Interesting

It may not be politically correct, and it may piss off someone, but I'm gonna say it anyway:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

Happy birthday to all whose birthday is 25 December too!

I just woke up (10:30!) from a night of food, red wine, singing, games, and Christian love. My mother is far away in Houston, Texas, but I still feel her love: I was not well yesterday, and she kept calling my cell phone to check up on me. (Cue "awwwwww".) Sadly, I was either asleep or busy when she called.

Anyway, we had a "formal" Christmas dinner (or noche buena). I especially liked the bottle of red wine, since I hadn't had alcohol for a while. Relax, I'm not an alcoholic. We then put the dishes and glasses in the dishwasher and proceeded to sing karaoke using our neighbour's system. I didn't have a solo - heck, I didn't want one - but I helped out with a few songs. My favourite piece that we sang was Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". Nobody could reach the high notes, but I think I did well. *Wink wink* Then, we played Guesstures, a version of charades. Ah, the red wine screwed up my ability to act out the words. Hahahahaha!

Eleven-thirty came, and we got ready to open the presents. I filmed my favourite toddler, J, as he opened my sister's present (a toy train). The C's went down to the basement to do their Christmas-present-opening tradition, and we stayed in the living room to open our presents.

I asked for either the Wanted DVD or the Forgetting Sarah Marshall DVD; I got the 2-Disc Special Edition of the former. Good enough, although I was really hoping for the latter.

I also got a nice picture frame from my boss. Hmmm... What picture shall I put it in there?

The C's gave me a dark blue Ralph Lauren sweater, a small Dior Addict perfume, and Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Ms Atkinson also wrote When Will There Be Good News? that ended up on Stephen King and Time Magazine's best fiction/books of 2008 lists (#3 and #8, respectively). Now, I really wanted that book, but I guess Case Histories is a start.

My absolute favourite gift of all is my sister's: a Columbia Sportswear Company women's jacket that I really wanted (after the BlackBerry Storm, one-way plane ticket to Zurich, and an emerald ring, anyway) and needed (the horrible Vancouver snowstorm post is coming up!)!

When I was getting K's gift at Sportchek, I also tried on a few jackets and parkas to help me brave the terrible winter. A few of them fit nicely, but they were so expensive ($150 to $200). So I returned them to the racks and went on with my day. But I swore that I would come back for one of them tomorrow (Boxing Day - huge sales all over the country and a stat holiday too!). Thank God my sister recognised my need and got it for me. Thanks, Sisteh!

I'm gonna try and upload the pics and videos later. Stay tuned!

Overall, I had a great Christmas. With the early Christmas present (wink wink) and the early Christmas bonus (woohoo!), the presents and the familial love all around made for an absolutely lovely Christmas.

Happy birthday, Jesus!!!

The Sound of Silence...

This blogger made a very good point: why are Mathew Knowles and Kelly Rowland silent regarding the management switch rumour?

Ms Kelly's publicist immediately addressed the rumours that her Miami home is in foreclosure. According to the "official" statement, the rumours aren't true and that Ms Kelly is selling her house since she's working and living in Europe. Which fuels the goodbye-Music-World-Entertainment-hello-19-Entertainment rumour, by the way!

However, there has been no official statement from either Ms Kelly's publicist or Mathew Knowles himself. I can only think of two reasons for this:

1. It's not true, and Ms Kelly and Beyonce's father are electing to be quiet about it, hoping that it'll go away; or
2. It is true, and all camps involved are electing to be quiet about it until all deals are finalised.

Option #2, please!

Seriously, Mathew Knowles is hindering Ms Kelly from being the superstar that she deserves to be. If you look at his management track record, then you'd wonder why Beyonce is the only domestic and international superstar. While Beyonce is talented and deserves her status, it is still not fair that Ms Kelly is not getting the proper career management that she deserves. The same goes for Michelle Williams and Solange.

It's favouritism and you know it!

So while I'm praying for the snowstorms to end (more on that later), I'll also pray for Ms Kelly to finalise leaving Music World Entertainment. Beyonce's dad's gotsta go.

Ms Kelly's Gotsta Go

Rumour has it that Kelly Rowland is leaving Music World Entertainment.

It's about freaking time!

I've been whining about the crappy treatment that Ms Kelly is getting from her management company. You know, when her sophomore solo album, Ms. Kelly, was pushed back and back, but Beyonce's sophomore solo album was released shortly (two weeks, according to rumours) after its completion. So when Ms. Kelly finally came out, it didn't sell well. Still, Kelly blamed her song choices for her album's failure. While it may have been a factor, her management's crappy, crappy, crappy treatment was also a major factor.

The good news is this: Ms. Kelly topped international - particularly European - charts. She's a megastar internationally, but is not the superstar that is Beyonce Knowles in the US.

So, according to Crunk & Disorderly, Ms Kelly was spotted meeting with Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment. Could he be Kelly's new manager? Will Mathew Knowles let her go?

More importantly, can Kelly's new manager - regardless of who that is - help her US career take off? Let's wait and see...

Ah... The Joys of Listening to the DVD Audio Commentaries...

As part of my preparation for the DVD set release and the new season, I was re-watching Season 2 of LOST this weekend. I was listening to the audio commentaries as well.

Anyway, I was re-watching episode 2x16 - "The Whole Truth" - when Daniel Dae Kim (who was doing the commentary with co-star Yunjin Kim, and writers Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim) made a very interesting point.

In one scene, Jack had just stepped out of the shower. He found Locke shaving at the sink. (Thanks to LOST-Media.com for the screen caps.)



Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin-Soo Kwon, pointed out that Locke glanced down for a split second (see pic below).

Hahaha! I wonder why Locke did that... Was it scripted or what?!

Hehe.. I'm being naughty, but I swear I did not realise that until DDK pointed it out.

By the way, the DVD sets for LOST Seasons 1 to 3 are all available now. The Season 4 DVD set will be released on 9 December 2008.

And LOST will return on 21 January 2009 at 8/7 central for its fifth season!

Oh... My... Goodness

He's tall. He's scruffy. He sings ballads. He's been married for 12 years. He just turned 40. He's Australian. And he's People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.



Booyah.

According to Nicole Kidman, "Women's jaws drop when Hugh walks into a room." So true. He takes my breath away every time I see him on TV or on magazines. The man is simply too hot.

Ahh... Shall we have one more look at the Sexiest Man Alive?

No BlackBerry Storm for Rogers Wireless Customers By Christmas

I was at Metropolis at Metrotown with my mom on Remembrance Day (i.e. 11 November, Tuesday) when I saw a Telus ad for the BlackBerry Storm. I thought, "What about us Rogers Wireless subscribers who are obsessed with BlackBerry?" I couldn't find anything about the Storm on the Rogers Wireless website and there are no TV spots like the Telus ones.

Now I know why. I found an article on CellFanatic.com that almost made me cry: Rogers Wireless confirmed that there will be NO BlackBerry Storm for Christmas.

"Saw your post and you’re right, the customer service representative made a mistake. As you know, I won’t comment in advance on what our holiday lineup has in store, but I can confirm it does not include the BlackBerry Storm." - Elizabeth Hamilton, Rogers Wireless Spokesperson to BGR

WAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

I am so sad! I've been waiting for the Storm for a long time. And I don't want to switch to Telus just for that.

But she did say the Storm is excluded from Rogers' holiday lineup, didn't she? She didn't say it's not going to be included in any future lineup, did she?

Ah, there's still hope. Let's wait and see...

A Trip to Oahu Next Fall, Anyone?

I am going to Oahu next October.

But of course, that is not for sure. What is ever finalised in my life?

A little bit of background: I've been planning to go to Oahu, Hawaii, since spring of this year. I hoped to be there this fall (October). Why? Because LOST films in Oahu and filming for Season 5 began in mid-August! But then, I got laid off and my practical side opted to put it off and go looking for a job.

I started in my new job last month, so I am eligible to take a vacation after 1 October 2009 (assuming, of course, I'm still employed there). I thought, "Hey, perfect. I can be in Oahu while they're filming the final season!"

Then, one of my favourite LOST bloggers and Facebook friend changed her Facebook profile picture to this... (I recommend that you look at the pic first before you scroll down.)

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Yep, the one, the only, Terry O'Quinn.

Now, I am more resolved in vacationing there next fall. I probably won't get to duplicate her experience. (What would I do if I met Foxy or Michael Emerson? Hmmm...) But what have I got to lose? I'll be in one of the most beautiful places on earth, I'll be able to take part in the Kos tour, and I'll be able to relax. Meeting any one of my favourite LOST stars would be the icing on the cake.

I just need someone to go with me.

Dude, I'm serious. I'd take either fellow LOST fans or friends who are supportive of my LOST addiction. Heck, I'd take both.

Will you go with me to Oahu next year?

P.S. I am dead serious. I will send Cerberus/Sayid Jarrah to kill all those who spam me or punk me.

Benjamin Linus: When Bad is Oh, So Good

Benjamin Linus (played by Michael Emerson) made Yahoo!'s list of top ten TV characters we love to hate.

Duh. He should have won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in Drama for that. (Yeah, yeah, I'm still bitter about that.)

He may be a pathological liar and a sociopath without a conscience, but when you're "Lost" on a mysterious island, you'd best stay close to Benjamin Linus because no matter what, he always survives. Ben has managed to keep his hands clean with his uncanny ability to get someone else to do his dirty work. And the genius of his manipulative methods is that he can justify anything, whether it is abduction, murder, torture, or brainwashing. When someone tries to go head-to-head with Ben, you know they'll lose, but just watching Ben play with their minds is a treat.

(Photo of Ben Linus in the final scene of "The Shape of Things to Come" was taken from Lostpedia.com)

Ari (Jeremy Piven) from Entourage, Janice Dickinson, Ugly Betty's Amanda (Becki Newton) and Marc St. James (Michael Urie), and Andrea (Jennifer Esposito) of Samantha Who? also made the cut.

For more of the sneaky, conniving, mean, and cold-blooded TV characters we cannot get enough of, click here.