Don't you just love tv?

Ever since I found out that The Avett Brothers are performing at The Grammys Sunday night, I've been joking with my brother Ben that the only thing that could make the experience more perfect would be if Tim Riggins sat next to me at the show.

So, speaking of TAB and FNL, one of the episodes from season two that I watched last week ended with If It's The Beaches playing while Tyra and Landry kiss. Awww. Two worlds collide, in the best way.

Now, more of things tying together, I think Jasmine and Crosby's pastor/pre-marriage counselor guy from this week's Parenthood episode was Coach Deeks from Whitmore University from FNL. Plus it looks like Crosby and Lyla hook up next week! I'm glad Haddie got the parental ok to date Vince.

Also, I just noticed while watching Coach Taylor get the new Lions up and running -- the Under Armour rep from an early episode in season three of FNL is the guy who is the stay-at-home dad carpenter guy married to the Traffic girl on Parenthood.

OK, this is the last one, and it's kind of lame and I'm probably the only one who noticed, but in the Christmas episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, there was a scene in a mall, and Mac and Charlie walked right by who I'm positive was Chris Raab (Raab Himself) from CKY.



p.s. I'm flying to LA tomorrow morning for my fun-filled, star-studded Grammy weekend! See you next week!

Always champions in my book

I've been knee deep in Friday Night Lights seasons one through three this past week, and when I got to the second to last (that's 'penultimate' if you're fancy/douchey) episode of season three, I had completely forgotten that the Panthers do NOT win State in 2008. I fully expected them to win, and started sobbing uncontrollably when they lost.

You know who took the loss like a true champ though? Tim Riggins. He leaves his cleats on the field in a quiet private moment, and it's beautiful. God bless that guy. I've said it before but I'll say it again -- that show makes me want to be a better person.

Season three has plenty of beautiful Riggins moments. Like when Jason Street and Tim go to New York (episode title: New York, New York) and Tim, realizing he might be losing Jason forever to Erin and Noah, says "Hey J6. I hope you get everything… I hope you get everything you want. But no matter what happens in there, you’re always gonna be my best friend, and you deserve to be happy."
That guy's got a heart of gold, he really does.


I'll always be a 2006 Dillon Panthers State Champs kind of gal, but a testament to how good this show is, is that I love and get wrapped up in the storylines of every character that gets introduced after that point. Looking forward to barreling through season four this next week, and painfully and wistfully looking forward to the fifth and final season when it premieres on NBC later this year. Directvers, keep your mouths shut. I don't want any spoilers.


In closing, Texas Forever! And you know what else? Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!

Happy Birthday Rich!

Today is my brother Rich's birthday.

Here's a story about Rich - he used to dress pretty square, but the older he's gotten, the cooler his clothes have gotten. In this picture, he's wearing a braided leather belt. Remember those? He wore it forever, and when it finally broke he was kind of heartbroken. I've had this picture on my fridge for years, and whenever he's in my kitchen he tenderly touches the image of his dear departed belt and bemoans the loss.

Happy Birthday Rich! See you in a week!

Speaking of this picture, I was supposed to go over to my mom and dad's house today to scan in a bunch of old family photos, so the picture for this post was supposed to be of Rich and me as kids, but no, it had to snow AGAIN. I tried three different ways but couldn't ever get out of the neighborhood because I kept getting stuck. Guess I'll just have to sit around here all day and watch more Friday Night Lights episodes. To paraphrase Coach Taylor, that is not my burden, that is my gift.

All good things must come to an end / When one door closes another one opens

We've enjoyed free cable since we moved into this house two and a half years ago, but all the ice and snow from the last few days snapped the outside cable so those days are over.

The last couple days we've been snowed in and due to the no cable situation unfortunately couldn't watch local news to see what was going on with the roads and the weather, but fortunately we could spend hours and hours (and hours and hours) watching Friday Night Lights episodes!

Tomorrow I have to go back to real life, which means I have to spend the next couple days at the courthouse for jury duty. Yuck. It's the most tedious mind-numbingly boring thing I've ever experienced. I'll comfort myself with the thought that I can return home at the end of the day to Tim Riggins.

Timmy Riggs!! #33!! You just don't know how much I love that character and that show.

Don't knock yourself down

Last night on Parenthood Adam gave his niece Amber a perfect piece of advice after she admitted that she didn't want to go to a college interview because she was scared she would screw it up: "Life will knock you down more times than you can possibly imagine. Don't knock yourself down."

Well said, Adam, well said. I love his character more and more lately. He had a great speech a couple weeks ago explaining to his dad what lead him to punch a stranger who had called his son a name.

Jason Katims is a producer on Parenthood and on Friday Night Lights, and I don't know if he's the only connection or if those two shows share a casting agent or what, but Vince's druggie mom from FNL (Angela Rawna) showed up on Parenthood last night as Zeek and Camille's marriage counselor! Vince (Michael B. Jordan) is currently on the show, and Lyla (Minka Kelly) shows up periodically. I would love it if Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) showed up one of these episodes. I would love it if Tim Riggins showed up at my front door right now. We'll see.

In closing, "Life will knock you down more times than you can possibly imagine. Don't knock yourself down." Yep.

Friday Night Lights on ABC Family

I'm pretty sure everyone that reads this is related to me, hence all of you are already familiar with the greatness that is Friday Night Lights. But just in case a random stranger drops by, I'm going to recommend that you watch Friday Night Lights every weekday at 5 pm (CST) on ABC Family. Don't miss out on this chance to catch this stellar show from the beginning. Actually, it started airing daily this Monday, so you've already missed the first five episodes.

Run, don't walk to your tv and set a seasons pass recording, then watch the few episodes you missed on Netflix ** or something. Or ask nicely and I'll loan you the first season so you can get caught up.

However you go about it, make sure that you watch this show. It will make you want to be a better person. And it will make you fall in love with a certain Tim Riggins. Male or female, you will develop strong feelings for Tim. That's just what happens. Don't fight it.

** If you go the Netflix route, please check your internet capabilities before doing something crazy like watching 50 episodes in 5 days to make sure you're not massively exceeding your monthly download limit. I'd hate to see you suddenly shocked by a $350 wireless bill. Not that that happened to me or anything.

The Evolution of Don Draper

Isn't it nice to see Don more relaxed and light-hearted than we've ever seen him? While getting busted by Betty about his real identity/his actual past may have ended his marriage, it also changed the course of his life in a positive way. Maybe I'm being too optimistic for him, but I want him to have a life that allows him to live more freely than he ever could before. I'm not saying he's not still a guarded individual, because he is and probably always will be. But he's slowly but surely breaking out of his shell and learning to do what he wants without fear of repercussion. But he always did whatever he wanted and didn't seem to be worried about getting caught, you might say. But something's different now. He's slowly coming out of the shadows and figuring out how to live his life like other people live their lives -- honestly.

In any scenes between Anna AKA Mrs. Draper #1 and Don that we've ever seen (other than the original scene where they first meet and she demands to know why he's walking around pretending to be her husband), Don has always been relaxed and light-hearted like he never is on the East Coast. That's probably in great part due to the fact that, like she told him last night, she knows everything about him and she still loves him. He's never had to live a lie with her; he can just be himself. He can just be Dick Whitman.

Last night, even before he found out about Anna's cancer, he mentioned wanting to bring the kids out to meet her. He can do that kind of thing now! He can do whatever he wants and he doesn't have to be sneaky about it! He can hit on Anna's niece and when she asks what he's doing he can admit that he doesn't really know! He's like a kid learning to navigate his way through this whole new life.

He and Lane can spend a booze-fueled day being loud and obnoxious and making a scene both at the movies and at a restaurant. Normally the only thing I can ever think of when I look at Lane is "For the love of God, man, push your glasses up!" but he can do whatever he wants with those glasses as long as he is holding a huge steak to his crotch and declaring that it's a belt buckle!

Don doesn't have to hide the fact that those girls are prostitutes and that Don's gal has been in his apartment before. Don can now act as pimp for Lane! (I guessed $30 for the cost of a girl, and I was pretty much right on considering Lane gave $5 more than the quoted $25)

I hope 1965 brings Don a sense of calm and peace in just being himself, and I hope this newfound happy harmony doesn't shatter and collapse all around him the next time he faces a challenge. It would break my heart to see Don's bubble burst right off the bat like happened to poor Tim Riggins. Tim had literally just figured out how to be happy when he got busted for the chop shop. I love these two guys, and I just want them to be happy. Is that too much to ask, to have control over the lives of fictional characters?

One is going east; the other one is going west, so what?

Last night I was at this place called Anthonino’s on The Hill (a St. Louis Italian neighborhood) for a friend’s birthday party. The painting behind the bar caught my eye and for a second I didn’t know why it seemed familiar. Then I realized that it’s the painting that Tommy’s mom (played by Martin Scorsese’s mom) pulls out to show the guys in Goodfellas! Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy stop by her house in the middle of the night to borrow a shovel on their way to bury Billy Batts, and she wakes up and makes them a big meal. With the cutest mixture of shyness and pride, she asks them if Tommy has told them about her painting.

According to imdb, the painting is based on a picture from the November 1978 National Geographic.

Anthonino’s also had a couple of really cool light fixtures.

Season 4 of Mad Men starts tonight! Yaaaaaaaaaay! Speaking of TV, I'm frustrated with KSDK (St. Louis's NBC affiliate) for showing some Whitey Herzog special instead of Friday Night Lights this week. They're playing FNL at 12:30 Monday morning. This is an outrage. Friday Night Lights is meant to be viewed on FRIDAY NIGHT.