Kristin Chenoweth of Pushing Daisies Sings at Comic-Con

So I'm done with midterms, and while browsing various Myspace's I went to Kengs and saw that he had Somehwere Over The Rainbow as his song. This promptly reminded me of my days at Comic-Con over the summer where Pushing Daisies star Kristin Chenoweth serenaded the crowd out of nowhere with this amazing rendition.

I was in like the 4th row somewhere, simply fantastic. If you're down to see brilliant storytelling, beautiful cinematography, and want to give your ears a gift with more music like this (as well as one of my favorite musical underscores EVER), then watch this show, Pushing Daisies, Wednesday nights at 8:00PM on ABC.

EDIT: There is a very informative article by E Online's Kristin Dos Santos (fellow San Diegan) about the status of Pushing Daisies and what fans can do to save it, good stuff. Read it here.

And if you don't feel like reading an article, this pretty much sums it up.

Yes, this is show business and not show friends.

Yes, multinational corporations tend to favor fat profits over creative indulgences.

And yes, the economy is the tank, so if this world ran on logic alone, ABC would surely chop up Daisies and sell the parts for scrap.

But there is more to life than filthy lucre. I have to believe that the people at Disney-ABC understand the power of enchantment, and that if magic were easy, everyone would do it. The cast and creators of Daisies are making magic and shutting them down would be a travesty at a time when we need all the hope and happiness we can get. Something as unique, beautiful and truly special as Pushing Daisies deserves a second chance.

Do the world a favor and tune in to this show! Tell your friends!

Quick Catch Up

To: Adonis, Lance, Ray
From: Nazer

So I just got my absentee ballot in the mail. It came in a big ass envelope full of reading material as well as the actual ballot. I wish I knew more about the city council candidates and such (I don't get to see all the commercials for these guys, but I do get to see all the negative ads about New England council officials), but I guess it's time to do some homework. It's pretty unreal looking at this stuff, finally voting in a presidential election, just another sign that we've come a long way from sitting inside with nothing to worry about except who we want to main in Smash (oh wait we still do that).

In other news school keeps me pretty busy. Midterm week isn't as heavy as one might think, but writing four parallel lines with proper counterpoint in the form of a fugue isn't exactly everyday material. I love my film classes. We're finally getting to write music to picture, and we do a lot of analysis on film music, really informative. A couple weeks ago Joey Newman, a Berklee grad, came to talk about his experiences so far in LA. He was nominated for an Emmy for his music on "Little People, Big World" and he talked about TV a lot, which was a nice change from looking at film all the time. I've also been dealing a bit with the integration of music into video games, and Berklee actually hired a guy and created classes just this semester for this industry, I can't wait to take some of them.

I spend my free time playing video games and watching television and movies. The Mad Men season finale was a couple of days ago which was really good, and if anyone has been keeping up with Dexter this past weeks episode was seriously insane. My favorite shows of the moment are Pushing Daisies (which is on the verge of cancellation, WATCH THIS SHOW TELL YOUR FRIENDS), Chuck, and Fringe, but I've been watching literally everything else (except the CBS shows), and lots of shows are getting really good as well. 30 Rock premieres this Thursday, can't wait for that, and Top Chef comes in a couple of weeks, so that's just another hour and a half to add to my dedicated TV watching time.

I got Guitar Hero World Tour over the weekend. It's a fun game, and I've only played the guitar stuff, but it EPIC FAILS in comparison to Rock Band. The band interface is terrible, and the worst part is that if one person fails, everyone else fails, so you can't like save your band members or anything, but I'll put up a more in depth look at that later. Fable II was cool, and Gears of War 2 comes out next week, and I want to get a Gamefly account so I can play some of the games I don't want to spend $60 dollars for.

So that sort of sums it up. School, media, drinks, oh and I cook a lot now too, trying to learn and perfect my Moms recipes and stuff, so yeah I guess I'm keeping busy. Till next time.

(Oh and Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix is supposed to come out before the end of this year, and then Street Fighter IV this winter, hella excited)

Comic-Con 08: The World Will Look Up and Shout "Save Us"

...and I'll whisper "no." The bulk of the rest of Comic-Con was spent waiting in lines and sitting in rooms eagerly awaiting news of our favorite franchises. Friday morning we got to see the cast of the upcoming Watchmen movie and an extended trailer/preview of the film. Seeing those characters from the graphic novel materialized on screen really left me with chills, and my inner geek fanboy-ness was really at its peak. It was like the equivalent of a girl seeing a Backstreet Boys concert or Lance going to an Usher concert.

In the night we got to see Kevin Smith speak about his new film and once again it was hilarious. His panels are one of the Comic-Con staples that we always go to see, and this year didn't disappoint one bit. It'd be impossible to sum it up, so I'll just say that seeing Seth Rogan trade comments with Kevin Smith was pure comedy gold.

On Saturday everyone had to really prioritize their events and wait in line for what they really wanted to see. I made my way to the Lost panel where they talked a bit about the upcoming events of Season 5, and they also put a lot of stress on the fact that the show will end after 6 seasons so the show doesn't run on and on forever without any closure.

After I headed to the Pushing Daisies panel where we got a trailer for season 2 and a Q&A with the entire cast. It was both informative and entertaining, and we even got to hear Kristen Chenoweth sing an amazing rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow live.

We closed the day with a greasy ass meal at Popeye's and then headed straight home to some much needed sleep. More later...

The 2008 Emmy Nominations

Even with a 3 month writers strike, this past year was one of the best years in television I've seen, ever. New shows like Mad Men and Damages showed the world that good programming can be found on television, and returning shows like 30 Rock and Lost continue to impress all of those who follow. New and old shows alike fill the Emmy nominations list this year, including 17 nominations for the coolkids favorite 30 Rock, and 16 for the previously mentioned Mad Men. Additional, new, favorites of mine that made the list are Pushing Daisies, Damages, and Breaking Bad, while old favorites like Lost and House continue to shine. Notable listings include Jon Hamm (Mad Men) for Best Lead Actor in a Drama, Tina Fey (30 Rock) for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy, and Nick News with Linda Ellerbee for Outstanding Children's Program. The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards airs September 21st on ABC, and you can view the full list of nominations here

And The Nominees Are...

The Golden Globe nominations were given out this week, and overall I'm pleased by the picks.

)Nomination lists can be found here)

I'm going to focus on TV because I'm too poor to comment on the movie nominations.

For best TV drama it's exciting to see Damages and Mad Men on that list. These shows premiered in the summer, and they really are amazing dramas. With Big Love and House on that list as well, it's going to be interesting to see who gets the award (at least until the Emmys).

Along with those shows, Joe Hamm really earned that nomination. His role as Donald Draper in Mad Men is done so well, and I really hope that these nominations help AMC put more faith into their show. Michael C. Hall also makes an appearance on that list for his role in Dexter, a condo favorite, so that's pretty awesome as well.

On the female side I have to give praise to Glenn Close on Damages. If you haven't seen an episode of this show, you should really check it out, and Glenn Close really keeps you guessing on her motives the entire episode.

Under best comedy 30 Rock makes an appearance. I'll say it now and I'll argue with it anytime, but this show rocks the shit out of The Office. The writing is brilliant, the characters are hilarious, and the show is actually funny. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are nominated under best Actress and best Actor, well deserved. Also on that list is my favorite fall series Pushing Daisies, with Lee Pace and Anna Friel both receiving acting nominations.

In my opinion there are a few snubs. I believe that Lost should have deserved some love, even with it's slow season opening, actors like Elizabeth Mitchell and our favorite box company employee Locke, played by Terry O'Quinn really excelled in their craft this season. I also would have liked to see Weeds over Californication in the comedy category, and I can honestly say that my love for Grey's Anatomy has slowly depleted over the past year. Under the supporting categories I would have loved to see Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth for their roles on Daisies because their inclusion in the show really keeps it moving.

The thing to focus on here though is the love that the freshman shows are getting. It's fantastic to see that brand new shows like Mad Men, Damages, and Pushing Daisies are really being recognized, thus upping the chance for more episodes. So overall I'd say that it's a pretty good list, in the movies side as well but I haven't seen them all so I won't really comment, and yeah this is just the peak of awards season, so we'll see what happens in the future.