First Class to Bel Air

Last week's Fun Times included an impromptu performance of the theme song for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, because doesn't every meal deserve an early 90's TV theme? [Blog challenge: Pick an interesting meal from the past month and tell us what TV theme should have accompanied it.]

Anyway, the conversation drifted to the song's 'lost verse,' which was shown during the first episode only. Now, thanks to the series of tubes that make up the Internet, Fun Timers all over the country can enjoy this rare treat together.



PS- I didn't say that the additional verse was good, did I?
PPS- For an additional bit of trivia, stick around until the end of the credits to see who directed the first episode.

Mini-Me

Here's an outtake from a previous post on our other blog....D wouldn't let me post this to a broad audience. Though Willow is still confined to her kennel at night, we've been letting her come up onto the bed when she starts whining early in the morning. It obviously doesn't take her long to get comfortable.

More stalking pics

This is me spying on Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa's husband,on our Regis and Kelly cruise. It looks like I might actually be trying to talk to him here... but no I am just spying on him and watching other brave fans go up and say hi.


Here I am stalking Josh Groban- I got his autograph, but failed to say anything to him.


Ok, I didn't actually see Prince William but this is what it would've looked like if I got close enough to him.

Best Celebrity Encounter- Stalking Michael Ball

As many of you know, my favorite musical is Les Mis. My love affair with the musical began when I first saw the 10th anniversary special of Les Mis staring the best of the best from the previous 10 years. The highlight was first hearing Michael Ball sing.


He has the most unbelievable Broadway voice and from that point on I bought every album I could get my hands on. Trouble is Michael Ball is a UK sensation, but nobody has heard of him across the pond. I would go into stores and ask and most clerks would respond with "Do you mean Michael Bolton?" and I would once again leave empty handed.

I realized, though, after spending way too much money on import cd's that I really only liked him singing Broadway music as his gigantic voice seems a bit too much for normal pop songs. Think Josh Groban singing Matchbox 20.

Skip ahead 6 years and Jaime and I are planning our first trip to Europe. I wonder what the chances are that Michael Ball is performing when we are going to be there. As luck and destiny were to have it, he was staring in the new musical rendition of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Not the most challenging piece musically , but I was happy to take what I could could get. So we bought tickets and waited anxiously.

After the show (PS British people go nuts over the theme song.. it was a bit embarrassing) we left and saw a bunch of people over by the stage door. They were waiting for the cast to come out. Anyway to make a long story short (I know, too late), we didn't get his autograph the night we saw the show and neither of us can remember why.

The next night we had very little to do so Jaime suggested going back over to the theater and trying again. I didn't want to at first(thought that might be a bit stalkerish) but then changed my mind. I realized though that we had to get dressed up again so we looked like we had just been to the show.

So down we went and out he came. I wish I could tell you that I said something brilliantly witty or wished him a happy birthday (his birthday was the previous day- don't ask how I knew that). I think I just handed him my program and mumbled thank you. I get very, very shy around famous people.This time I got my autograph and still have the program to this day.

Jaime even managed to get me in a shot with him. This style of shot has become a running gag with us. I think I have one similar with Josh Groban. I am too petrified to ask for a shot together so I position myself near the star and Jaime snaps away. Yes, I realize this makes me an utter coward, but C'est la vie.

A Michael Ball exclusive

I found this video amongst our pictures from Europe. Jaime took it as Michael walked towards him. He had passed me long ago; fortunately, Jaime was in position further down the line.

My favorite part is after the woman in blue asks for a picture. Michael puts his arm around her and turns and looks directly at Jaime. He did this because Jaime had been taking pictures and filming him the entire walk through the crowd. I don't even want to know what he thought Jaime was doing or why he was so interested.

What's your best celebrity encounter story?

Mine was back in 2002 or 2003, I was living in New York and had just gone to a performance of The Producers. It was later in the run so Nathan Lane was in it but Matthew Broderick wasn't. It was still very fun and I'm glad I went. I remember that the show was very popular that I had to buy tickets like four months in advance. After the show, my friend who had gone with me and I walked over to the Toys'R'Us that's in Times Square. For those of you who have never been, it's a neat store: three stories with a ferris wheel in the middle.

We get there and we're walking around and in the section right next to the Lego section we notice an area that's been cordoned off and set up with a stool-like chair and a bunch of floor pillows. Looked around but there weren't really any signs explaining what was going on so I asked a store employee (for the sake of the story let's pretend that I asked Geoffrey himself). Geoffrey bent down and told me that Dr. Ruth Westheimer was doing a promotional reading of her new children's book. "Wow," I thought to myself, thanked Geoffrey for his help, fed him some leaves from an Acacia tree, and decided to stick around for the reading.

So we stood and listened to Dr. Ruth read her story to a bunch of kids that had materialized from out of nowhere (I think it was the understudy cast from the production of Annie that was playing down the street). I don't remember what the story was about but it wasn't about sex (the kids all kind of looked disappointed). Afterward, Dr. Ruth worked the line of spectators shaking hands and signing autographs. When it came to be my turn, I took the only piece of paper that I had which was my playbill from The Producers and bent down toward her (she is tiny!! I mean short, really short! Like Webster short!) and asked,

"Will you sign this: 'To Kevin, my best friend, never stop dreaming! Love, Doctor Ruth'?"

She looked over at me, hesitated for just a second and in her thick German accent, coldly said,

"No."

It was awesome.

I don't think Kevin knows Lyla as well as he thinks he does

Lyla's a part of the Patriot's fan club. I'm cutting the sleeves off of a tiny sweatshirt as soon as I finish typing.

LET'S GO BOLTS!!!

Katherine's sleeping right now and I'll probably get in trouble for this, but here's who Lyla and I are rooting for:

Go Chargers Part Deux!

This is a blurry picture of Benjamin, wearing his Chargers uniform, pumping his fists in the air because he is PSYCHED to beat the Patriots this weekend. Samuel totally agrees, but he was wearing his Broncos jersey during this particular photo shoot, and that just wouldn't make sense. His aunt is currently wearing her #32 Weddel jersey, but she can't take a picture of her back. Not for lack of trying. And no, no one is here in my office to help me.

And this is what I will be singing (with verses) all weekend long: San Diego...SUPER CHARGERS! San Diego...SUPER CHARGERS---CHARGE!!

San Diego Super Chargers- Beat the Patriots!

Hey all you Charger supporters out there. I found this on the VH1 Best Week Ever blog website and thought it was a perfect warm-up for the big game this weekend. I know we are going to lose, but a girl can dream can't she. And just think about how much the entire country would love us!!!

BWE SPORTS: Top 10 Reasons Why We All Want The Patriots To Lose

I’m at the VH1 corporate retreat for the day, likely receiving motivational speeches from James Carville and/or Susan Powter, so I’ve turned my title of “One Dude On The Site Who Cares About Sports” to Josh Lay, one of our Best Night Ever producers. Take it away, Josh:

Pa•tri•ot n. one who loves, supports, and defends one’s country. Or one who was, are, and will be unbeatable in the 2007-2008 NFL football season. I mean, honestly, can anyone beat the New England Patriots? Sure, the Jaguars kept it close for a few quarters, but whoopty freakin’ do, they still lost. Let’s not kid ourselves — no one can stand the idea of the Patriots going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl more than anyone can stand listening to Jessica Simpson’s “A Public Affair.” Why do we want them to lose so badly? Here’s a list of ten reasons:

10. Picked last in kickball syndrome. We’ve all been there. Team captains are chosen. One by one, classmates side with their best friends and the superior third-grade athletes until you and the handicapped kid are the last two remaining. And because they feel bad for him, you’re the last one chosen. Thus, you are a loser. What? You’ve never been there? Then you probably play for the Patriots, and I hope you lose.

9. Junior Seau’s haircut. It looks like Thriller-era Michael Jackson meets Kid ‘n Play. And no one with that kind of haircut deserves a Super Bowl ring. Perhaps his own ’80s sitcom or barbershop named Silly Seau Cuts but definitely not a 2008 Super Bowl victory.

8. You have a crush on Gisele. As long as Tom Brady keeps winning, Gisele will keep dating him. Which means your secret Gisele crush will never come to fruition. Not that she would date me—I mean, you—anyway, but it’s the principle. At least I can keep my fantasy relationship and Google her till my heart’s desire. Wait, did I just write that? I blacked out.

7. Boston wins at everything. Tea parties, rotisserie chicken, baseball, and now basketball. So what if Boston Market offers easy on-line ordering and convenient take-away meals for all occasions? I can’t stand bandwagon Red Sox fans and the fact that the Celtics are actually good again. No one city should win that much. And having a losing professional hockey team doesn’t count. Please, Boston, at least let us have our football.

6. You’re a fan of any other NFL team. There are 32 NFL teams, 14 of those teams played the Patriots (Jets, Bills, Dolphins played them twice). If your team was one of those 17 victories for the Patriots this year in the regular season and/or post-season, your team lost. That simple. You want revenge.

5. Head coach Bill Belichick’s plethora of hooded sweatshirts. Admit it. You can’t stand ‘em. No one should a) have that many hooded sweatshirts, b) wear them that often, or c) cut the sleeves off. All I’m asking is for a classic polo or maybe even a nice team-branded tee. But no, it’s always gotta be the sweatshirt. He has more hoodies than my grandmother has Christmas cat sweaters. And that’s saying something.

4. They already have three Super Bowl rings. Honestly, do they really need one more? Their fingers are already loaded: wedding ring, high school ring, college ring (I know you still wear your Marshall ring, Randy Moss), three Super Bowl rings. C’mon, don’t be that kid that wears them on his thumbs.

3. They cheated. Sure, we’ve all done it. But we weren’t winners; we were just trying to maintain a C average. The Patriots may have the most explosive offense and hold every record on the planet, but they were accused of stealing hand signals from opposing teams. That’s enough for me to root against a team I already don’t like.

2. The mustache of Larry Csonka could disapear forever. As a pro football Hall of Famer and running back for the ’72 Miami Dolphins (the only team to go undefeated and win a Super Bowl), Csonka and his stache made history. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl this year, there will be no reason to keep ol’ Csonka around. There will be a new sheriff in town. No more Csonka. No more magnificently flowing mustache. Sure, we could still catch Csonka hosting North to Alaska on the OLN network, but I don’t think I even get that channel. Do I?

1. Tom Brady. Seriously, could he be any hotter or more talented? No. He is a prime athlete, la creme de le creme. And I’m a straight guy. Of course, I’m sure he could have me batting for the other team. After all, he’s Tom Brady. I mean, Bridgette Moynahan is his baby momma, and he’s still shacking up with Gisele. It has got to stop. Granted, if he loses, he’ll just host another night of SNL and pose for a cologne ad. But for that one moment when he loses, he will be human. And that will be enough to soothe our bitter souls.

Finally an explanation- it's the brain monkeys

So I've been doing a lot of blog reading lately (to Jaime's chagrin). I seem to have some spare time on my hands and an incredibly amazing knack for avoiding grading. I think you have all experienced my absent-mindedness at times. It drives Jaime crazy. I'll start a sentence and stop in the middle because I don't remember what I was talking about. Or I'll bust out the most random non-sequiturs at the most random times. Well, I have finally found the root of my problem--- Brain Monkeys! I found this post on the blog of a young adult literature author named Maureen Johnson.

THE THOUGHT PROCESS - By Maureen Johnson
Friday, January 11, 2008
The ideas just come from my brain. I store stuff up there, and the brain monkeys play around with it and put together different combinations. They come to me with stuff all the time, as your brain monkeys must do for you. They are not always helpful.

BRAIN MONKEYS: Hey! Guess what we put together today! That time you got stung on the lip by a bee, your hatred of fried eggs, and that wallpaper pattern from your bedroom when you were little!

ME: That’s nice. What am I supposed to do with that?

BRAIN MONKEYS: We have no idea. We just put stuff together. Now we’re just going to run “My Humps” through your head for an hour while you try to work.

ME: #%$#$&*^&^!

BRAIN MONKEYS: Oh, and that question you were going so crazy about . . . what was it, two weeks ago?

ME: What question?

BRAIN MONKEYS: About that scene you were writing, with the thing . . . anyway, your iPhone cord is in your purse.

ME: That’s not what I asked!

BRAIN MONKEYS: Yes you did. You were wondering about that an hour ago. About an hour. Maybe it was yesterday. Anyway, that’s where it is.

ME: What about the scene?

BRAIN MONKEYS: What scene?

ME: You just said you figured out that scene I was having problems with! What scene was it, and what’s the solution?

BRAIN MONKEYS: Oh, we don’t have a solution. We were just thinking about it. That was a tough one. We have some random facts about squirrels, if that will help.

ME: It won’t.

BRAIN MONKEYS: How about the smell of blue cheese after a wild summer rainstorm?

ME: Do I even know that smell?

BRAIN MONKEYS: Probably not. We were going to work on it for you. Do you think Fergie felt at all self-conscious when she sang the words “my lovely lady lumps”?

ME: Just shut up, okay? Turn off the song.

BRAIN MONKEYS: If you want. We have some commercial jingles we were going to play for you later, but if you want them now . . .



The writer's brain is always at work.


But every once in a while . . . a great while . . . they get lucky with the soldering iron and make something I can use. In the case of Suite Scarlett, for instance, I can tell you that I was sitting at my desk when then the brain monkeys handed my something that went roughly like this:

BRAIN MONKEYS: Hey! You know how, when you were little, you liked stories about a lot of people crammed together in one building, like in The Westing Game or the All-of-a-Kind-Family stories?

ME: Yeah . . .

BRAIN MONKEYS: You know what buildings have a lot of people in them? Hotels.

ME: That’s true.

BRAIN MONKEYS: And how you love New York, where you live? And how your best friend was the poster child for Easter Seals when you were in third grade? And all those hours you spent in theater school sitting on the floor watching actors learn how to do stagefights and pratfalls? And how you love Patrick Dennis? And we found this Art Deco sunburst pattern.

ME: Slow down . . .

I think this is, in some fashion, how all ideas for books come about. Your brain fuses together a bunch of things. So, you can either take “I don’t know” or “Brain Monkeys” as my official answer. When I make the FAQ, that’s what it will probably say!

This one's for the ladies

Ok girls, are you ready for the most wonderful, fantastic, tremendous news ever? I hope you're ready because this news might just blow your mind. Gentlemen, just stop reading now because you really won't care a bit about my news.

Here's a little hint...

And another.....


Do you give up? Ok, I'll tell you...





PBS is running a 10 week Jane Austen series!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD- I don't know how to contain my excitement.

Unfortunately, I am a bit late in spreading this amazing news as Sunday night was the first movie and they aren't replaying it. It was Persuasion which was always my least favorite Austen novel. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by how much I enjoyed the new adaptation. I am actually considering rereading the novel. Austen historians believe it to be her most mature and developed novel; maybe I missed something the first time through.

Four out of the six novels are new movies. Next week is Northanger Abbey, which is generally felt to be Austen's weakest piece, but it was also one of her first. Perhaps the new movie will highlight the best of the novel.

The highlight, though, has to be the three week BBC Pride and Prejudice (I do own it on DVD, but I still plan on watching it on TV) staring my love Colin Firth. He is just the dreamiest Darcy ever; I don't care if that statement makes me sound like a 15 year old from the 50's. You can't hide the truth.

Another exciting feature will be the movie Miss Austen Regrets based on Jane Austen's letters. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it has got to be better than Anne Hathaway's barely true version of Jane's life.

You can also go and vote for your favorite Austen leading man on the PBS site created for the event. It's such a hard decision. Do I pick Darcy for his dashing good looks and reserved yet wounded nature? Do I pick Knightley for his thoughtful sincerity and sage advice? Do I pick Edward Ferrars for his fierce loyalty and firm convictions? I just don't know.


Frederick Wentworth even made a case for himself in the new version of Persuasion (the actor's incredibly good looks might be swaying my decision though.)

I'm thinking Katherine might be the only one who made it to this point in my post, and perhaps the only one reading who isn't pondering whether I have finally lost my mind. Fortunately, she will understand my excitement and maybe, if she isn't dead tired, she will be able to experience the joy that is 10 weeks of Jane Austen.

If you didn't already know, I love Jane Austen. And to finish off my post I would like to show you the proof of this love.

Yes this is Jane Austen's house and yes I did go all the way out to Jane Austen's house when we went to England.

This is Jane Austen's desk. She would sit in her parlor and hide her writing. The door leading to this room creaked and she would cover up her manuscripts when a non-family member would enter the house. They don't want visitors to touch anything, but I'll tell you a little secret. I grazed the table a bit. Perhaps I hoped bit of her magic and genius might rub off on me.

Or maybe it is this weird thing I have about being in places where important things have happened and taking in everything I can. We travel down the canals of Venice and I imagine the courtesans littering the bridges. I stand in the Place de la Concorde and hear the throngs of people cheering on the guillotine. I walk through the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles and wonder if I am stepping on a piece of floor where Louis the Fourteenth paced hundreds of years ago.

Well that was a bit of a diversion. I hope you all have a chance to catch one Jane Austen movie over the next 9 weeks. Give Jane a chance. You will quickly understand why the new personalized plates on my car read AUSTNFN. (YES I DID!!!)

I promise to leave you all alone soon (aka for Katherine)

I just wanted to give you a few more reasons to tune in for Pride and Prejudice February 10th, 17th, and 24th on PBS.

Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) is just too sexy


And really just because it's funny as hell. Jane Austen might be rolling over in her grave over this one. I like to think she had a good sense of humor; she would probably get a good laugh out of this cinematic gem.


Just one more for those of you with some spare time on your hands

New blogs for my blog-loving friends

So, I found these fun blogs while shopping around for blogs to add to my Google reader. I miss my fabulous Office so much.

Maybe these will hold me over until the writers get back to work. These are official NBC sites so they aren't some weirdos sitting around making up fake stuff. Hope you enjoy.

Look What I Did This Weekend

Hey everyone--

While all of you were watching your various sporting events, I was at Guru Tattoo on Garnet. Yes, it hurt a lot, but I really wanted to show my love and committment to the Funtimers. Hope you like it!

It Was A Great Weekend

My little San Diego sports head is just about to explode, but fortunately I survived the most fantastic weekend in life.

It started with a victory by my UCLA Bruins and continued to roll through victories for my NE Pats, my dad's KU Jayhawks, my SD Chargers, my mom's Duke Blue Devils and a loss for the stupid Cowboys. Throw in the Green Bay win and my partiality to the great Fav-re, and I couldn't have scripted better results. And on top of the good outcomes, I thoroughly enjoyed the sportsmanship of the games. Exciting, dramatic, nerve wracking... seriously, could it have been better?!!?

Oh, right, all of this was over by 8pm on either of the nights (just one more perk of the left coast) so I could sufficiently wind down for good night's sleep. And tickets for Padres Spring Training went on sale.

The sun is shining and I couldn't be a happier clam!

Happy Monday to you all!

Roll call!

I was going through the pictures on our computer and found this one from Mark and Jess's wedding. Hurray! We miss you guys.

Countdown to Survivor

So, the new Survivor cast was announced last week, as some of you probably saw, and they're doing Fans against All-Stars. I think it looks like a good season, and am looking forward to drafting again, although we'll have to give some thought to what the potential punishments for losing will be. I think we might have to go in a blog-related direction, instead of dessert.
Anyway, there are twenty Survivors (twenty-two if you count Amanda's boobs this time), and eight of us if everyone wants to play. Is everyone in? The first show is February 7.
Also, a question for the season: What is Yau-Man without Earl?

Forgive me Martha for I have sinned

Ok, so I feel incredibly guilty about this recent purchase. Yes, this is pancake batter and yes it is cheez whiz style. I guess that makes it pancake whiz. I feel so horrible about buying my pancake mix in a can, but it is so tasty and so easy.

I haven't had pancakes at home for years mainly due to my laziness, but also because the process makes a bit of a mess and I am not into cooking messes. But guess what? No mess here. Just shake, press, and voila you have beautiful golden brown pancakes. Jaime and I had a full breakfast of pancakes in about 10 minutes on Sunday. No fuss, no mess, little clean-up- and they're organic, too!

Where can I get this amazing miracle of breakfast ease you ask? Just head on down to your local Costco and you can get a three pack of your own. Or if you are a SD funtimer you can ask me nicely and I will just give you one of my three cans, because really three cans is just too many pancakes for one girl to eat. I hope Martha can forgive me.... though I doubt she will understand. That woman is crazy! Crazy awesome!

Grand Rapids wins

For all this talk about cold weather, looks like Grand Rapids is the place to be right now.