sammi says

A couple of weeks ago, Edward Norton started hitting the talk show circuit promoting an HBO documentary he produced, "By The People: The Election of Barack Obama." He said it was this amazing film and they were so lucky to have this all access pass to Obama and his staff during the 2 year journey to the presidency. I started to get really excited hoping to see what Barack's really like or to see the inner workings of his campaign. I imagined it to be the Obama equivalent to Clinton's election documentary, "The War Room," which I loved.

So on November 3, one year after Obama's election, "By The People" aired on HBO. I was expecting to get all those warm fuzzy feelings I had on election night, and let's just say that wasn't the case. Instead I sat through two hours of a jumbled mess. "By The People," directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sam's viewed more like a college film project. I understand that it must have been overwhelming for these two to handle such a huge undertaking, especially when the documentary started off as just a profile of a young Illinois senator....they never expected him to run for president much less be granted access to his entire campaign.

To put it simply, "By The People: The Election of Barack Obama," spread itself way too thin. Documentary's still have to tell a story even though their subjects are real. "By The People" is basically a compilation of all the best footage captured over a few years. It shows the community organizers in Iowa before the caucus, Obama's top staffers and their roles, the drama with the Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers scandals, Michelle and the kids at home, Obama speaking to reporters, his history growing up in Hawaii and even some Hilary drama.

To me, the most compelling pieces of the film were the parts showing all the young people involved in his campaign. Ronnie Cho, for instance, who runs the community organizers state to state throughout the campaign, made frequent phone calls to his Korea-born mother to keep her updated on the progress. Or Jon Faverau, the twenty-something head speechwriter for Obama, who sit calmly through the different polls an adjusts Obama's speeches accordingly. It was very moving to hear Mike Blake, another young organizer, choking up when speaking of what it means to him, a young African American, to have Obama so close to the presidency. The film is called "By The People" and these young people along with all the community organizers, volunteers and inspired young voters are what made it possible for Obama to win the election.

The documentary would have worked much better if it was more of narrative and less of a highlight reel. "By The People: The Election of Barack Obama," can be seen at various times on HBO and also anytime On Demand.

Lady Gaga is officially the first artist to have four number-one singles from a debut album (source). I think this should prove that she's not going away anytime soon and isn't all hype.

Lady Gaga's newest single "Bad Romance" was released last week and I'm obsessed. I'm super thrilled to see that she's still got it and didn't tap out her creativity on her first album, "The Fame." "Bad Romance" is the first single from the re-release of "The Fame," called "The Fame: Monster" dropping on November 23. "The Fame: Monster" will have eight new songs including the original 14 songs from "The Fame." I'm not exactly sure why she didn't just make a few more songs and release a brand new album, but I really don't care. "Bad Romance" is bad ass. The video is being released next week but here's a youtube of the song if you haven't heard it yet.




And just for kicks here's a picture of me rocking the Lady Gaga look on Halloween.

66 days until Lady Gaga's tour, "The Fame Ball" comes to St. Louis. Click here to buy "Bad Romance" on iTunes.

When there's nothing else on TV I know I can always turn on TLC and have something mildly interesting, entertaining, shocking and even disgusting to watch. Not only will I have an hour long TV show to kill time, in most cases TLC will play hours and hours of my favorite shows back to back, like "What Not to Wear," "48 Hours: Mystery," "Say Yes to the Dress," or some creepy show on a rare medical deformity (Tree Man, Woman with Giant Legs, RIP Mermaid Girl, etc...) making for a perfect lazy Sunday.

Murder mysteries, fashion disasters, bridezillas and freaks of nature have nothing on TLC's latest hit show, "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant." The show tells the story's of women who as you may have guessed, didn't know they were pregnant until the moment they give birth. It's set up documentary style with interviews with the woman and her family and friends but the best part is the dramatic reenactments illustrating their tales. When I was a younger I loved when Seventeen Magazine would feature a story of some stupid sixteen year old who plopped out a baby in the toilet on prom night, this show is a thousand times better.

I know you're thinking what I thought at first, how stupid do you have to be to not know you are pregnant for nine months? While there are stories of girls who are just plain idiotic (i.e. a high schooler who took birth control off and on, too busy with her social life to realize she was missing her period, and all of a sudden popped out a baby and then did the exact same thing a year and a half later), most of the stories actually show that it is possible for some women to not see the signs of pregnancy. For instance, one woman missed her period, took a pregnancy test which came back negative, missed her period the following month and went to the doctor whose test came back negative, then had to deal with her grandmother's final battle with cancer which she assumed caused her weight gain and lack of a period due to stress. At least this chick had the brains to take a pregnancy test.

I saw an episode this past weekend which was quite the doozy. This woman was in her early forties, she and her husband never planned on having kids so when she started pre-menopause and her periods slowed down she thought it was ok to stop taking birth control. It wasn't a big deal when her period stopped coming altogether because she thought she was menopausal and was actually relieved she didn't have to deal with the hassle anymore. Nine months later she starts having horrible pains which she thinks is food poisoning so she goes to the hospital and while she's waiting to see the doctor she feels something fall out of her pants leg and says she felt instant relief. Can you guess what came out? The episode is titled "Is That a Baby In Your Pants," and I tried desperately to find a clip, but alas the internet has failed me. Next time you're bored flip on TLC and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.


UPDATE!!! Seriously, an hour after I post this Chelsea Handler spoke of the pants baby in her monologue. Here's the clip!

2. Beware of Bathrooms
3. Wear a Seatbelt
8. Get a Kick Ass Partner
15. Know Your Way Out
17. Don't Be a Hero
18. Limber Up
23. God Bless Rednecks
31. Check the Backseat

These are just a few of the rules that one must follow to survive in "Zombieland." There is no more Los Angeles, Austin, or Phoenix...only Zombieland, according to the lone survivors of a zombie outbreak, caused by a mad-cow disease like virus. The movie follows Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a college student and self-described loser who attributes his survival to the fact that he actually lived like a zombie his whole life; a loner with no strong ties to family or friends, spending his time indoors playing World of Warcraft and drinking Code Red Mountain Dew. Columbus discovers that when the whole world turns into the walking-dead that he actually longs for human contact. Luckily he ventures outside of his dorm-room and meets hillbilly-badass, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) who is trolling the former United States in search of a Twinkie. It's Tallahassee's idea to only be referred to by their former hometowns and not their real names...knowing someone's name makes it much more difficult to eventually kill them or watch them turn zombie.

We see scenes of crazy zombie killings as Columbus and Tallahassee review their favorite "Zombie Kills of the Week." Tallahasse keeps an arsenal of weapons and likes to use a new tool (such as guns, farming equipment, a banjo) to keep his zombie kills exciting. Tallahassee says, "My mother always said I'd be good at something. I don't think she could have guessed that something would be zombie killing." As if things aren't already interesting enough they run into a couple of con-women sisters, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). With not much else going for them, they all travel together to California to head to an amusement park, "You've just survived the zombie apocalypse, what are you going to do now?!" "Go to Pacific Playland!" Of course their trip is not without a few bumps in the road and a couple thousand hungry zombies after their flesh.

This film, directed by Ruben Fleischer, is nothing short of the ultimate movie-going experience. The film is equal parts comedy, gore, action and drama. It's so smartly written. My favorite part of the movie is the recurring theme of displaying the rules. Columbus introduces the rules in the beginning of the movie, but as it goes on you start to see the rules actually being utilized in the intense action scenes. The use of extreme slow motion makes the zombies with blood dripping from their faces even more disgusting. The movie delivers the most hilarious and shocking cameo in a feature film in a long time. Without spoiling it, let's just say that it had the audience screaming with laughter.

There is something fundamental that keeps people interested in zombie movies. Would you survive in this situation? Would you even want to survive? What lengths would you go to survive when you have absolutely nothing left? With the ever-pending threat of viral epidemics (Swine Flu anyone?) it makes people question if this could ever happen. Ok, maybe not people, but me. I always say I'm so fascinated by zombies because I want to learn how to survive in this type of situation. I am so intrigued and terrified by post-apocalyptic situations that I can't help but immerse myself in movies and books of that subject matter. I hate scary movies but I find myself wanting to watch movies like "The Mist" (worst ending of a movie, ever, by the way) and reading guy-books like Stephen King's "The Stand," and Cormac McCarthy's, "The Road" which happens to be coming out in theaters in November.

"Zombieland" does not disappoint and puts a light-hearted spin on a terrible situation. If you need anymore reason to see this awesome movie, watch the trailer and I'm sure you'll be convinced.

"The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" has a new recurring bit and it comes in the form of Conan's hunky, brooding vampire personal-assistant, Cody Devereaux. Forget Dave Letterman hooking up with his assistants, Conan's assistant self-destructs all on his own. Conan is trying to stay current with the vampire craze in Hollywood right now and has featured his fanged-friend Cody a couple of times now. We always see Cody breathing heavily with bouffant hair, dark bags under his eyes seeming upset and misunderstood. He always lets his passion get the best of him and accidentally runs into the sunlight.

I really love this bit. Conan's recurring characters and sketches are what drew me into "Late Night" years ago and I'm glad to see he has kept that tradition. Besides Cody Devereaux, his other recurring bits are the Twitter Tracker and his telenovela inspired "Noches de Pasion" featuring the Spanish character, Conando. I'm also glad he's kept the fan favorite "In the Year 2000," although he updated it to the year 3000. I'll admit, Conan had a rough start this summer on "The Tonight Show," but it has gotten much funnier and more relaxed. His current beef with the mayor of Newark, New Jersey has been great and is keeping him in the headlines.

Update (11/17)- So according to my statistic tracker thing on this blog this post about Cody Devereaux gets an insane amount of hits from google searches. So I thought I'd capitalize on this fact and write a little bit more about Cody. Cody is played by Eric Callero. Upon viewing Eric Callero's professional website I learned a few things about this interesting actor.

For starters, I think there may be something wrong with me because I think he's more attractive when playing a vampire than in real life. What is it about him being shirtless with dark circles under his eyes that makes me think he's cute?

Secondly, after viewing Eric's resume it's clear that playing Cody Devereaux on "The Tonight Show," will lead to his big break. Eric hasn't been in any great movies or TV shows, but surely he can only move on to bigger and better things after the huge impact he's making on audiences of "The Tonight Show." Jack McBrayer aka Kenneth the Page got his start playing parts on Conan's "Late Night."

And thirdly, according to Eric's "about me" section he believes that collecting vinyl is relevant and might possibly help him land a role. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think collecting vinyl is that extraordinary of a hobby or talent, I can't imagine why he felt compelled to include that bit of information. Regardless, I like this guy. Here's his latest bit from last night's "Tonight Show."




And for all you vampire lovers out there read my review of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon", What Can I Say? I Loved "New Moon"

Thursday's episode of "The Office" was five years in the making and was nothing short of magical. Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly aka. Jim and Pam aka. PB & J finally got hitched! In the past, hour-long episodes of "The Office" seem to drag on and seem awkward, that was definitely not the case with the 2-part episode, "Niagra." I realize I'm days late so I'll save you a full recap and just give you the hilarious highlights.

Jim, not Michael, was the one to reveal Pam's pregnancy to her conservative Grandmother and wedding guests. The kicker was when he asked himself, "Does being a manager make you say stupid things?" referring to his recent promotion to co-manager. Michael then took it upon himself to smooth things over with Mee-maw and accidentally promised that Jim and Pam would name their first child Sylvia Mee-maw Halpert, or Sylvio if it's a boy.

Dwight is apparently a ladies man in Niagra Falls. His going out clothes consist of green cargo pants and this special t-shirt. He hooks up with Pam's Maid of Honor forcing Michael to sleep in the vending room in the hallway.

As promised there was another "Office" dance party (after the success of last season's "Cafe Disco" Andy got a little ahead of himself trying to impress the new receptionist, Erin, and tore his scrotum while attempting the splits. Poor Pam was the only sober one around and was responsible for taking care of Andy and his genitals on her wedding night. She called Jim to take care of it but he was getting wasted with Michael and Dwight, which was the only missed opportunity in the episode.

Kevin had the honor of being the b-story this episode in his attempt to pick up chicks at the wedding. The sad sack tried to look his best by leaving his shoes in the hallway to be shined only to have them incinerated by the hotel staff due to their stench, leaving him only kleenex boxes to use for shoes. The only ammo he had left was his toupee.

Poor Pam took a beating dealing with all of her friends and family's antics but the last straw was her veil tearing. I died when Jim cut his tie. Part of me thought it was super sweet but the other part of me was thinking "Why!?" I was just in a huge family wedding the previous weekend and that type of behavior wouldn't not have gone over well. Even so, Jim had another plan up his sleeve and whisked Pam away from the madness.

And finally, the ceremony itself...I could never do it justice by explaining what happened so here's the clip.



Let's just say I was laughing, crying and feeling happy all over for this portion of the episode. I couldn't have expected anything better and they kept the sappiness to a minimum and did not disappoint. Phyllis and Bob Vance's romp down the aisle cracked me up, Oscar's voguing was perfect and of course seeing what Pam and Jim did when they snuck away. I lost it when I saw Michael's tears of joy. The whole episode was spectacular and of course ended with Michael hooking up with Pam's mom which I predicted at the beginning of the episode (although I did change my mind for a minute when I saw Mee-maw come into the picture!).

Click here for the original youtube Chris Brown dance.

Why do people care that David Letterman had sex with his female staff members? He has never claimed to be some sort of moral authority. Did anyone assume that Dave was a perfect boyfriend or husband? I mean, he did date his now wife, Regina Lasko, for 20 years before popping the question. That doesn't sound like it could have been the most ideal situation to me. He's a comedian. His job is to make us laugh each night and conduct interesting interviews and to make CBS money, all of which he does very well. Plus, comedians and most people in show business for that matter, aren't exactly notorious for being monogamous. Do we expect anything less out of celebrities? It's like saying Brad Pitt should be fired from a movie or denied work because he cheated on Jennifer Aniston.

I think Dave did the right thing by informing the world of his situation, after all, you can't be blackmailed when everyone already knows your business. I hear people are saying he should resign from his show...Are you kidding me? Bill Clinton stayed in office, Letterman can stay on TV. He didn't break any laws. All of the women that have been implicated as his partners claim these were consensual relationships. If it were sexual harassment they would have filed those charges years ago when the affairs happened. Everybody needs to get over it and start focusing their outrage on issues that matter. I understand the difference had this been a politician, a religious figure, or someone whose moral character has an affect people's lives. Dave is an entertainer and his private life and sexual exploits only affect the people directly involved.