X Factor USA

Even though we live across the Atlantic Ocean we do our best to keep up with the US X Factor.  There are too many of these types of shows out right now, there are even many Dutch versions, but for now it just happens to be the one we picked.  We haven't had a chance to watch the last episode so please don't give anything away!!!  From the beginning I had two favorites, Josh Levi and Alex & Sierra.  Unfortunately a week or so ago Josh Levi was voted off (big sad face).  When talent like him gets voted off a show it makes me wonder what people actually consider talent these days.  The kid sings, dances, and definitely gives Justin Bieber a run for his money.  So why didn't people vote?  I know why we didn't, we're here in Europe!  I'm crossing my fingers he gets a contract elsewhere, because he deserves it.  But his situation reminds me of a contestant from American Idol (old post), Joshua Ledet... the man was so talented and yet 1-2 yrs later he still doesn't have a record in the market, how it that possible!  But yet groups like Emblem 3 and 5th Harmony get contracts, I just don't get it!  At least my other hopefuls, Alex & Sierra, are still in the race, without them I would have probably lost interest in the show with painful contestants like Restless Road and Carlito Olivero.  There aren't many great duets out right now, and Alex & Sierra should fill that void.  I really enjoy their twist on every song they do, their quirkiness makes them extra interesting, and no one can deny their love for each other melts everyone's heart.  I've been trying my best to avoid anything to do with X Factor on the tabloid sites I read since we're not caught up, but I did see that Alex & Sierra brought Demi Lovato to tears this week... can't wait!!!  Do any of you follow X Factor?

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Different Times

We've decided to introduce our daughter to The Cosby Show and luckily enough we've been able to start with the pilot episode thanks to You Tube.  While watching the first couple episodes last night, my husband and I had a good chuckle, it's amazing how much has (and hasn't) changed since the 80's!  It really made my head start swirling, how different will our kids childhoods be than ours?  Don't get me wrong, I grew up in the 80's & 90's and we didn't have it hard at all.  But I started wondering what kids/teens these days do... do they still talk on the phone for hours to their friends... do they still write pages of notes to exchange with their friends between classes... do they even still see the importance of a library... do they even do homework without computers?
 

While watching The Cosby Show we had to explain to our 4 yr old that phones used to be connected to cords and you had to stay in one place to talk.  Then she saw a beeper/pager, we explained its simple function but I don't think she understood.  I'm sure she's going to start asking where the computers are soon.  I look forward to watching future episodes with her and answering all of the questions that will arise.
 

Besides technology changing, people have changed, we are desensitized.  Think of shows or movies that used to be considered controversial, and think of the market these days.  Even manners and respect has changed, I'm happy when my daughter says please & thank you, but my grandma still expects a "yes ma'am". 
 

Different times, different values.  Is it good or bad... it's both.

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

My TV Shows

Whether we like to admit to it or not, we all watch television... and some of us actually get a little attached to shows.  Take my grandmother, for example, there are actually soap operas she has watched for decades!  For me some shows come and go, like my interest in Glee and 30 Rock.  Then there was also Ringer, but they gave it all away too soon and ended after one season.  There are plenty of tv shows I watch with my husband or as a family including my daughter.  Then there are some I watch that just aren't for them.

I have been watching Grey's Anatomy for years now.  I was a season or so behind when I decided to start following but that didn't stop me from starting at season 1 episode 1 and working my way through the show.  On Friday I watched season 9 episode 10, that's a lot of Grey's Anatomy.  I've watched many people come and go from the show, I even had an old friend star in the show (wrote a post about it).  There have been times when I started to get bored with it but yet I could never completely write it off.  This show has brought me to tears so many times, just like a few days ago (have to love a show that can touch your emotions).  Sure I can't always stomach the ER gore, but luckily I can look away and press mute!

My favorite show at the moment is The Vampire Diaries.  It's another show where I have watched every episode.  To me, you can't be a true fan if you miss an episode (they're well into season 4 now), the storyline is important, and missing a show means missing details.  On occasion it seems ridiculous, vampires, witches, werewolves, hybrids, all in one show, but it also means most anything goes.  And how can a show grow boring if you can take it any direction you like.  You can kill people off and bring them back, you can put them in a coffin for most of a season and voila, there they are again.  I must say, I do wish they hadn't killed off Alaric (and Mason, but for other reasons than a good character).  And I also wished they hadn't let Elena actually go all the way with Damon, but hey, it keeps it interesting.

Then there is Pretty Little Liars.  I picked up this show because it aired in the summer, helping to tide over the long wait for my fav shows to start up again in the fall.  There are times when I make sure to watch it weekly, then there are times I'll miss a few weeks and have to catch up.  I am so curious who "A" is it keeps bringing me back. "A" has turned out to be multiple people and the plot keeps thickening (long live season 3)!  But sometimes it gets too intense for me, boarder line horror.  I often end up catching up on the show late at night, maybe I should consider watching it during the day.  There are so many twists to the plot it can be hard to keep up with, but again, I've watched every episode up until their fall break, and it'll be starting up again soon!

Then there's a new one that I'm giving a chance, Beauty & The Beast.  It seemed interesting at first, then I was convinced it would get cancelled.  But they made it through the first few shows and it's still airing.  Who knows if it will get a second season, but at least for now it's something to watch on the evenings my husband makes it home late. 

The X Factor

In years past my husband & I watched American Idol, then there was a bombardment of these types of shows (I can list 3 right off the top of my head).  So, naturally we lost interest.  Then while visiting The States in 2011 we tuned in and found a new appreciation for the show.  We even followed season 10 completely, the talent was great, even though neither one of us are huge country music fans.  We also watched season 11, I even picked the winner, though my husband was convinced Joshua Ledet should have won.  This year we were side tracked and decided to give The X Factor a chance (US version 2nd season).  The first show I watched didn't sell me, it all seemed too staged.  We wanted to watch the talent and instead it was endless backstory, even our toddler complained.  But once you start watching, curiosity grows.  All of my favorites were kicked off early into the live shows, Lyric 145 & Beatrice Miller were awesome!  Then as the live shows continued we realized the lack of talent, X Factor didn't hold a candle to the talent on American Idol.  Then when it was down to the last 4 contestants (inc. 2 groups) we just stopped watching.  Then I read on the news Tate Stevens had won.  He seems like a nice guy, probably has fun singing for his friends, but I'm sorry, he wasn't good enough to win the 5 million dollar contract.  We've seen potential country singers at work on American Idol and they would have blown him out of the water.  If I had to choose out of the last contestants the only one with talent was Carly Rose Sonenclar, she was just on the boring side.  But I bet there's already a broadway show waiting to hire her.  We gave The X Factor a chance, and I can tell you, we will not be watching next year.  If you're wondering why we didn't follow American Idol this season, it's because I just can't understand why they chose the judges they did, hopefully next years selection will be better!  Despite constantly promoting their music, we liked the trio from season 10 & 11.

I Know You!

Maybe a lot of you can say you've seen your friends on tv but not me.  But within the last two weeks, on two shows, in two different countries we had friends on tv!  For one friend, Caroline Macey, it's a big accomplishment.  Ryan & I met Caroline ten years ago while we were all still very young and deciding where to go with our lives.  Caroline said that she was going to move to California with her husband and become an actress.  It seems like an unreal dream to many but if you met Caroline you would know she was bound for stardom.  Since moving to CA she has landed a lot of small roles, and the latest of which was on none other than one of my favorite tv shows, Grey's Anatomy.

I was super stoked to see her on tv.  For those of you that watch the show she was on last weeks episode: Dark was the Night.  In the episode Meredith & Alex are sent to a small hospital to pick up a sick newborn baby.  Caroline plays the baby's mother; she's the one in the wheelchair begging them to take her with them to Seattle Grace.  I think she did great, and it was definitely believeable.  To top it off, the baby was also in the last scene of the show, some I'm keeping my fingers crossed hoping that Caroline appears in next weeks episode too!  Go Caroline!!!

And across the Atlantic Ocean on Dutch tv, our friends Pieter & Diana Rahusen appeared on tv.  There's a Dutch tv show about home makeovers called Staat op Straat.  They don't go quite as far as American shows, but the families do get a makeover in the living room & dining room.  No one can complain about free furniture, paint, and decorations! I visited Diana's before the show aired and saw her newly decorated downstairs.  She told me that they hadn't kept all of the decorations, and last night on tv I got to see what the designers had actually done.  The designers had decided to take part of their living room wall and drill branches & birds on to it, needless to say the branches were one of the first things they took down.  But the show did a lot of great things for them, like building a room divider between the kitchen and dining room with cabinets and giving them a lot of awesome furniture and decorations.  It was fun watching them and their children on tv, it really puts these types of shows into perspective.  The editors can cut and paste things to make it come across as they would like, overall I think the Rahusen's did a great job and in the end we all had a good laugh (with them, not at them)!  I can't say I would have handled myself so well in that situation.

Be sure to check out the links to our friends on tv :

Caroline Macey in Grey's Anatomy : http://abc.go.com/watch/greys-anatomy/SH559058/VD55152507/dark-was-the-night
The Rahusen's on Staat op Straat : http://www.rtl.nl/xl/#/u/41ae4fda-fc7f-35e8-a45c-983158dd6bc7/