Tag: TV

Coffee Talk #509: Your Favorite 2012 Olympics Moment

The 2012 Olympic competition is over. London did a fantastic job with Olympics XXX, with classy venues, a great opening ceremony, and a fantastic closing ceremony. In between Mr. Bean and the Spice Girls, lots of great sports events took place. What were some of your favorite moments? Were you dazzled by the speed of Usain Bold? Did you gasp when Nicolas Batum ball-punched Juan Carlos Navarro? Perhaps Michael Phelps capping of his stellar Olympic career pulled on your heartstrings. I want to hear all about your favorite Olympic moments.

As for me, it was all about McKayla Maroney…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, devouring NY pizza, devouring NY bagels, or devouring NY chicken parm heroes, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The 2012 Olympic competition is over. London did a fantastic job with Olympics XXX, with classy venues, a great opening ceremony, and a fantastic closing ceremony. In between Mr. Bean and the Spice Girls, lots of great sports events took place. What were some of your favorite moments? Were you dazzled by the speed of Usain Bold? Did you gasp when Nicolas Batum ball-punched Juan Carlos Navarro? Perhaps Michael Phelps capping of his stellar Olympic career pulled on your heartstrings. I want to hear all about your favorite Olympic moments.

As for me, it was all about McKayla Maroney. In general, I love watching Olympic gymnastics and figure skating; it’s awesome when they fall down and cry. You would expect a 16-year old girl like Maroney to cry after botching a landing that cost her a gold medal. Instead, she got pissed, started an internet phenomenon, and thoroughly embraced it. This girl is awesome and it was fun watching her blow up (and teach Jenna Bush how to “Dougie”).

Now it’s your turn! What were your favorite moments from the 2012 London Olympics?

Jeffrey “Osang” Soliven Rocks X-Factor Phillipines

Osang is better than anybody I’ve seen on American Idol in the last five years. This transgender contestant rocks Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” and goes in an entirely different direction with Shaggy’s “Mr. Boombastic“. Underneath Osang’s effeminate facade is a hard-rocking power singer with enough versatility to tackle reggae grooves. Watch this video (please) and become a witness to Osang taking over the world (well…at least Southeast Asia).

(Green) Arrow Trailer is Totally Bad Ass!

Has Green Arrow ever looked cooler than in the trailer for Arrow, a weekly series hitting CW in October. In past comics (prior to “The New 52”), he was an ultra-liberal womanizer with an outmoded appreciation for Errol Flynn’s style. He shoots arrows in a world where guys have rings powered by alien science and people are running around at mach one. Also, his last name is Queen. It’s hard to see him as much of a threat to any self-respecting villain.

That doesn’t appear to be the case in Arrow, where he looks like a total bad-ass. The show appears to be a dark and realistic take on Green Arrow. While comparisons to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy are inevitable, I’m getting more of a Jason Bourne vibe from the video.

Check out the trailer for Arrow and let me know what you think (please!).

The Newsroom Episode 6 “Bullies”: Realism At Last!

Review: Realism finally arrives on The Newsroom. In tonight’s episode (“Bullies“), Olivia Munn’s Sloan Sabbith makes a tragic on-air mistake, earning the scorn of viewers, producers, and executives. This is the role she was born for! I kid, I kid. Seriously though, I’m starting to enjoy her character. She’s been getting a lot of screen time in the last two episodes and, as much as it pains me to admit this, she’s doing well.

It was nice to see David Krumholtz playing Will’s psychiatrist (those are the ones that can prescribe drugs, I believe). I enjoyed his performance in Sidewalks of New York and I have to support actors from Queens. Terry Crews was fun as Will’s unwanted bodyguard. I’ve been waiting for this guy to break out. He’s big, he’s great at action, and he’s funny. He caught my eye in The Longest Yard and I’ve been waiting for him to become a star. It’s great that an already star-studded cast (along with Olivia Munn) is getting fantastic complementary performances from minor characters.

The real-world news in this episode was the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. It seemed like an afterthought in relation to Will’s therapy session and his death threat. It’s kind of nuts that Aaron Sorkin can make a nuclear disaster seem secondary to personal shortcomings and interoffice drama. However, a Japanese story gave Sloan time to shine and to established the fact that she’s fluent in Japanese (in addition to having two PhDs). To be fair, she (Olivia, not Sloan) was raised in Tokyo and studied Japanese in school. Realism!

Sam Waterston continues to knock it out of the park as Charlie Skinner. He has another episode-stealing scene in “Bullies”. I’m pretty sure he’s done that for four of the six shows that have aired.

Oh yeah, Don is finally vocalizing his excruciatingly slow realization that Maggie might be into Jim. You’ve had almost a year to figure this out buddy. Get there.

Overall, I enjoyed “Bullies”, but not nearly as much as last week’s “Amen” episode. People that love the show will continue to love it, but this episode isn’t going to change the minds of the The Newsroom’s many detractors. If anything, it’ll give them more mud to sling.

Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake: History of Rap

I just spent an hour watching “The History of Rap” clips from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. I love it when Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake team up. “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” is one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time. When these guys get together, they produce a lovely combination of music and comedy. Besides, it’s just cool hearing medleys that include music from some of the best hip-hop artists from the last few decades…and also Vanilla Ice. Also, I love watching Questlove play drums; in my head I imagine that Dr. Cornel West is the drummer for The Roots.

Anyway, enjoy these two clips and let me know what you think (please!).

Mariah Carey Getting $18-Million to Judge American Idol?

Mariah Carey recently revealed that she’ll be judging American Idol season 12. Rumor has it that she’ll be getting around $18-million for her criticisms and insights (and insane ramblings). According to People:

“Her deal is rumored to be just under $18 million for one year with an option to renew,” a source familiar with the negotiation tells People.

Season 12 should be quite a departure from the previous two, with Jennifer Lopez and Steve Tyler leaving the show. Mainstay Randy Jackson, the only original judge left, is rumored to be on the fence about returning. While I miss Simon Cowell’s acerbic wit and Paula Abdul’s drug-addled nonsense, Jackson was always the show’s glue. I can’t imagine AI without Randy’s overuse of the word “dog”, as well as his abuse of “blowing it out of the box” and “in it to win it!!!”.

What do you think of Mariah Carey joining American Idol? Any suggestions for a judge that would complement her?

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