Damn You Bravo, You've Done it Again!

What is it about Bravo? I tell you what, they have a knack for reality TV. They really do because they have yet again sucked me into their reality TV web with another show. Yes, another show because, clearly, I don't already watch enough TV. What is this new show that has me, dare I say, addicted? Kell on Earth, which stars this woman:

Kelly Cutrone is the founder and owner of the company, People's Revolution, which is a branding/marketing firm in the fashion industry. You may recogize her and/or the company if you watched The Hills as Whitney and Lauren worked for her for a period of time.

But before she was on The Hills, Ms. Cutrone made an appearance on MTV's True Life. I don't remember the actual subtitle of the show that she was featured on, but I am pretty sure it had to do with having a bitchy a boss or a horrible job or something to that effect. The episode followed Kelly's personal assistant who lived a rather difficult life. The woman yelled and screamed and practically beat her assistant into submission. I remember watching the episode with my husband and we were both shocked at this woman and at the fact that her poor assistant stayed with the job. She talked about quitting, but apparently it is an uber good company to work for in the fashion industry and she didn't want to let a position like that go.

Then when we saw her make an appearance on The Hills, we laughed. There was that bitchy woman in all of her bitchiness. Again, I can't remember the specifics as this is around the time I started to realize that The Hills was fake and boring and I stopped watching. But, if you have seen the episodes, you know who I am talking about and you know that she wasn't really a nice person.

So then we see a ad for this new show, Kell on Earth and we're all, "We're not watching that. We know all about the likes of her". Until we watched an episode by, um, accident. And that was all she wrote.

First and foremost? This woman is a bitch, but then again, she isn't. Is she tough? Yes. Is she direct? Yes. Is it always her way? Yes. Will she beat you into submission if she has to? Um, maybe. But I realized that overall, she isn't as big of a bitch as she was previously made out to be. I understand the biggest rule of reality TV and that is editing. So on the other shows that focused on other people and how Kelly affected them, then yes, she is going to come across as a huge wanker. Yes, I said wanker. But on this show, it's focused around Kelly and get you get to see more of the fashion side and let me tell you, it appears as though you have to be a bitch in order to make your way in the fashion world Because, honestly? Designers are self centered, egotistical, maniacs. They are slightly off kilter and will get angry and judgy over the simplest things. So if you are working in the fashion industry, you have to grow a thick skin and become tough. So Kelly is tough and she demands only the best of her staff and if you aren't willing to give it? Get the eff out of her way.

So Kelly Cutrone, I have gone from hating to you, to thinking that you are one smart, tough cookie. I only wish that I worked in an industry in which I could be direct people and tell them when they are stupid so that they learn to be smart or get to steppin'. I believe that I might even like to have you as a friend. You, me and Tim Gunn would get along just fine, I do believe.

Oh, and that assistant that considered quitting? Her name is Stephanie Skinner and she is now a Jr. Account Executive for People's Revolution.

FAME - I'm Going to Live Forever

I'll be honest - I have never seen the show or the movie Fame, BUT I have seen the real life Fame AND it's in my backyard or front yard depending on how you look at it. With the ending of Jersey Shore (tear) another show has filled the Thursday night line-up on MTV - Taking the Stage which is in it's second season.

At first glance, I probably wouldn't have thought much about this show, but it takes place at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) which is part of the Cincinnati Public School System. And being from the area, well I had to check it out, and I was not disappointed.

Before I go on, you might be wondering why a school that is part of the Cincinnati Public School system is the focus of an MTV show because really, what it so special about Cincinnati? The school (as you can probably guess) focuses on creative and performing arts - to the point that students pick a major and follow that course through their years at SCPA. Even though it is technically a public school, not all students can attend. There is a rigorous audition process and students must show extreme talent in their field of study.

What else is special about this school? Maybe it's their list of notable past students:

Carmen Electra

These Guys

And my absolute favorite...

SARAH JESSICA PARKER!!!!

There are so many things that I enjoy about this show. First and foremost, I love that it is about a school is a city that I call home (ok, I'm from Kentucky, but I am about 5 minutes from Cincinnati so shoot me). It's so much fun to watch and say, I've been there! I've seen that! The best part - I went to dinner last spring downtown with my friends and I was so jealous because they saw one of the kids from the show on Fountain Square! Right there. In public. Just like she did on the show. AND I MISSED IT! I just kick myself.

But other than my narcissistic, self-serving purposes, I love the show because these kids have talent, which, let's face it, so many people on reality TV lack. For example, I love Jersey Shore, but these kids are famous for partying, getting drunk, fighting and hooking up. Now don't get me wrong, this is a high school so there is your fair share of drama with dating, the competition among each other, the stress of auditions for various things and the stress to do well. There is jealousy and backstabbing with singing and dancing mixed in. It's like a cross between Laguna Beach and Glee without the extreme cattiness and random outbursts of singing. All performing is within context, I promise.

So check it out, Thursday on MTV because, let's face it, what are you watching now that Jersey Shore is over?

When Art Imitates Life

This entry is actually going to cover a few things, so please bear with me. I just have a mish mash of things I wanted to write about so instead of writing ten million little entries, why not just jumble it all into one? Sounds good, yes? I thought so.

First up... tonight is the finale of Jersey Shore. *Tear* Like all good things, this too must come to an end. I knew that it was going to happen. I knew that eventually we would have to part ways and say good-bye and yet... it seems too soon. I feel as though there are still too many parties to be had, drinks to drink, fights to fight and girls to well you know. Where will I get my weekly Jersey fix? Where will I learn cool and important phrases like "the grenade" and "the grenade launcher"? In good news though, I heard from a co-worker of mine that Mike, "The Situation" is going to be in my hometown February 2nd. Woo hoo! Too bad he is going to be a skeezy bar that I would never be caught dead in. Not that I would want to be meet The Situation either...

Moving on... with Jersey Shore leaving the line-up it makes more time to watch Project Runway. Ah Tim Gunn, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. Well, actually that's another entry for another day, but I do love the show and I am excited that it's back (not too excited that Ping got to stay though).

Speaking of shows coming back, mark your calendars because Greek comes back on Monday! Again, another one of my favorite shows because I can relate to it (yes, I was a sorority gal) and it stays pretty true to the reality of Greek life.

So on to the bulk of this entry, life imitating art. A few months back, the husband and I were fortunate enough to visit friends of ours that live Sacramento. We had an awesome time out there. We got to go to Napa and do wine tasting, shop at outlet malls, eat at In and Out (pretty good), go to a farmer's market (best kettle corn EVER) and we got to visit San Francisco as well. Visiting SF was truly life imitating art for me in so many ways.

For example:

Lombard Street! This has been featured in several TV shows including Full House. (Really the whole trip to SF was like a walking Full House tour)

Alcatraz, again seen in lots o' movies. Ok, none that I have seen, but I've been told so.

And the part that really imitated art?

We ate here:

So you might be thinking, what in the world is Taqueria La Cumbre? Found in the Mission District of San Francisco, Taqueria La Cumbre is the first restaurant to serve the Mission Style Burrito. Those would be the burritos that you get at Chipotle. So next time you are in line at Chipotle to get a burrito, you can thank this little unassuming place.

So how does this imitate art? There is a show on the Travel Channel called Man vs. Food. The host travels to different cities, tries the food at two different local restaurants and then takes on a food challenge in the city. You know like eat a 20lb hamburger in an hour some ridiculous thing like that. Anyhow, my friends that live in Sacramento had seen an episode from SF and they came to this place! They decided they had to go, but they wanted to share the experience with us! And boy am I glad they did! This place was phenomenal and I would surely go back if ever given the chance again. If you ever find yourself in SF and like Mexican food you should totally check it out. Don't let the place skeeve you out (because I was a little skeeved myself) because the food is amazing. Maxim even named in the most bitchingest burrito, so there's that too.

Don't believe me? Don't you see how happy I am to be eating there?

(Ignore my half closed eyes. I have decided that I don't have very wide eyes or something like that.)

And that is how my life has imitated art.

Because Really? Who Doesn't Love Guidos and Guidettes?

There appears to be a new fascination with the Garden State, New Jersey. There is the installment of the Real Housewives of New Jersey and now a show I was recently turned on to on MTV called Jersey Shore. I know, I know... MTV. I thought that I had outgrown my TRL, Real World, Road Rules days, but this - this is a show that you must stop and watch not matter how ridiculous you think MTV programming is these days. Because really? Who doesn't love Guidos and Guidettes?

At this point you may be asking what is a Guido/Guidette. Simply put its about half of the Jersey population. Picture this - a man of Italian descent, gold chains, tan (think more orange like an Oompa Loompa), spiky hair, roided out body and a crazy ridiculous accent. That is a Guido. And a Guidette? The female version except she's not roided out, but probably has some fake "bubbies" as the Housewives of New Jersey would call them. They also have this whole different language which I like to call Guidish. For example, instead of saying that they are attracted to someone they say they are "vibin'" on someone.

The show basically follows eight stranger Guidos/Guidettes who were picked to live in a house, have their lives taped, work together and find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.... hey wait doesn't this sound familiar? True the geniuses at MTV, who in my opinion started the whole reality TV phenomenon, just put a new spin on an old fave the Real World. Why they didn't just do a Real World New Jersey is beyond this blogger, but I guess that's why I don't make the millions. Anyhow, the show follows these Guidos/Guidettes during their summer at the Jersey Shore or Seaside Heights. They live together and work for some t-shirt shop which apparently is a stressful job, who knew? They each have goofy nicknames such as "JWoww", "The Situation", "Sweetheart" and "Snooki" (or Schnookie, Snickers, etc. as her roommates can't quite remember something as difficult as Snooki).

As you can imagine the drama abounds. On the first night, Snooki (aka Snickers, Schnookie) becomes the house drunk trying to make out with all the Guidos in the house and eventually passes out before everyone else leaves for the night. The next morning she claims that she is not that type of person, she just acted that way because she wasn't used to not being the center of attention. She then feels left out and even almost quits the show before Sammi, or Sweetheart reaches out to her and says that she can tell that she's not really that type of person. (Really?! Because I am going to go with she is TOTALLY that type of person.)

The hook-ups are plentiful. You can just tell that they are all vibin' on each other and by the end of the show at least all of them will have had sex at least once on camera. That is a given. Mike, "The Situation" makes it known that he is vibin' on Sammi, and she even seems to be in to him, but then she randomly ends up with Ronnie, another housemate. You can imagine how hurt "The Situation's" ego is. All I can say is that I wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of any of these Guido's roid rages so Sammi and Ronnie best watch it.

While this looks like just another Real World, the show promises to be nothing if 10x the drama than the Real World because apparently that is what happens at the Jersey Shore. What do you expect when you mix copious amounts of alcohol, roid rages, and bitchy girls? Sounds like a recipe for success to me.