X-Files Watch List: Seasons 3 and 4

Are you still with me on the X-Files project? Good. (Don't worry, you can start any time.) If you're reading this post you should have watched Seasons 1 and 2. If you did, you already will have started Season 3 because X-Files is rife with irresistible season finales and you won't be able to wait or need me to tell you to proceed.

You're lucky Netflix will just autoplay the next episode and all you have to do is sit there, immobile, eyes glued to the TV. Back in the day we had to wait for months to see what happened to Mulder in the buried train car in the desert.

In fact, X-Files is the show that really pioneered season-spanning arcs, which are commonplace now. Stick that in your peace pipe and smoke it--which Mulder will do in Season 3!

Now, let's dive in. Remember, I've narrowed the episode list down by about 50% to include only essential "mythology" episodes (long arcs) and quintessential "stand-alone" episodes. Feel free to watch every episode if you like—at this point X-Files gets very good with few stinker episodes. But if you're pressed for time, the most important thing for you to focus on right now are the following episodes.

Season 3

The Blessing Way
Paper Clip
D.P.O. (Jack Black and Giovanni Ribisi are in this one.)
Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Nisei
731
War of the Coprophages
Piper Maru (Named after Gillian Anderson's daughter.)
Apocrypha
Pusher
Jose Chung's "From Outer Space" (First and best of X-Files quirky, meta-style--one of my all-time favorites.)
Quagmire (Notable for Mulder and Scully's memorable Moby Dick conversation.)
Wetwired (Mulder kicks a car in anger and we find out that he is colorblind.)
Talitha Cumi

Season 4

Herrenvolk
Home (Warning: this is a truly horrifying episode and the first TV show I ever saw that came with a viewer discretion warning. Worth it!)
Unruhe
Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man (Another one of my all-time favorites.)
Tunguska
Terma
El Mundo Gira*
Paper Hearts
Leonard Betts
Never Again (A rare Scully-centric episode with a tattoo voiced by Jodie Foster—just go with it. )
Memento Mori
Small Potatoes (This episode is loads of fun for Mulder-Scully shippers, which everyone is by now.)
Zero Sum
Elegy
Demons
Gethsemane

*Not essential, but this episode has some cultural significance because it gives us "El Chupacabra.

Let me know if you're watching and which episodes you like best. I love talking about X-Files!

X-Files Watch List: Seasons 1 and 2

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Blog Update, Recommendations, and a Word to Moms

When Ellen got very interested in hamsters, started researching them obsessively, and requested one for Christmas I tried to find my old blog post, "This is How I Really Feel About Our Pet Hamster." In it I describe how much I hate our [now long-dead] hamster. I could not find it. This troubled me. You guys don't even know how many blog posts I've written or for how long I've been blogging. Lots and long time. Christian finally found the blogpost, here. (But it was too late! I had already purchased and had been hiding a Syrian Teddybear hamster for Ellen in my closet for a week.)

I really want to be able to read and find all of my old posts and I want my kids to be able to read all of them because they star in many of them. When I'm dead they'll be so glad they have my posts. But right now my archives aren't easily accessible. So I'm trying to go through and organize things better with tags and tabs. It's a big project! For now you can poke through my archives via the topics to the right, but I know it's not ideal.

Also at right is my faves list. My blog has always been driven by faves. Last month all my faves were books. In case you missed them, January's picks were The Lake House by Kate Morton, a long and lovely mystery novel set in England; All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, one of my all-time favorite books set in France during World War II; The Road to Character by David Brooks, an interesting and thorough look at what it takes to be a good person; and the new Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. You will be shocked to learn that I never read this book. I only started listening in to Christian reading it out loud to Sam at bedtime about halfway through the book. I love the new illustrated version and I'm enjoying reading it for the first time. If only I could read all of the Harry Potter books again for the first time.

February's faves include season 1 of X-Files. I love the X-Files. The show was the training ground for some really talented TV writers (Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad got his start there) and it was genre-busting and ground-breaking in ways that we take for granted now. Watching it with my kids I'm like every old person that can't quite convey how earth-shattering it was to see the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. "WE HAD NEVER SEEN SEASON-LONG ARCS BEFORE! IT BLEW OUR MINDS!"

As you know they have resurrected the X-Files with the original cast, show-runner, and writers for a 6-episode mini-season that is 2 episodes in with the third airing tonight. The first episode was not great, but it got the job done. The last movie was in 2008 and the show has been off the air since 2002, so there was some catching up to do. My favorite thing about it is that they used the exact same opening credits that they used for all 9 seasons of the show. The second episode was better and, according to critics, the show picks up steam from here on out.

I highly recommend watching every season of the X-Files for cultural well-roundedness. Remember, I went back and watched all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at great personal sacrifice after never watching it when it originally ran in the 90s. We make time for the things that matter most. Every season of X-Files has several must-watch episodes. It's so good.

I'm also recommending a nice face cream that I like. I hope to become a lady who uses an expensive french moisturizer sparingly every night and is so beautiful that I only have to wear mascara in addition to that. I'm not there yet but it seems possible with this Lait Creme that has a cult following. I basically love anything with a cult following.

I recommend In Cold Blood if you've never read it and you like long, detailed, true-crime stories that are somewhat bleak. I actually listened to the audio book.

And finally, a good friend gave me a grieving-missionary-mom care package for Christmas that included the book, A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918. It's non-fiction about fiction—one of my favorite genres.

For now, peruse the archives from my old stuff. I'm the mom of 4 kids ages 8-18 now, but all those humans were babies once. I birthed them and raised them and suffered through the trials of momness just like some of you are suffering now. The experience of motherhood feels so singular at times, which can be amazing, but it can also be alienating and sad. You're not alone! The "old moms" who you think can't relate to you because they can shower and grocery shop alone have been there and done that and we want you to know that we love you and you are doing a great job and we are all in this together even though some of us are awake at night missing our missionaries and waiting for kids to come home from dates and some of us are awake at night with colicky babies and toddlers who won't stay in their beds. Here, look:Momness, Obvious Tips for Not-Very-Good Homemakers, Parenting: Bandwagon Dorkiness

I've Missed this Good Old Blog

It's hard to imagine now—because of Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook—what anyone would ever use a blog for. But this is a good old blog. I've been here since 2004, so when I say (brag) that I'm the grandmother of blogging I am not kidding. Ask anyone. You can even ask Cjane. She'll say the same.

When I started writing hardly anyone but my sisters read it. That was kind of the point. I could talk about all the people I hate. Oh, those were heady times. Then the people I hate (not you) started reading it, which limited what I could say. Then I had Ellen and didn't blog for a year because blogging made me nauseous. Then I started blogging again and then I started blogging as a job for Babble. What a great job! I wrote lots of Babble blogs that I love. I wrote some dumb ones too.

As a "parenting" blogger and as the aforementioned grandmother of blogging, I am (was) one of the first to deal with a certain kind of radio silence that happens in blogging when your kids start middle school. It sort of becomes questionable to blog about them. I mean, would YOU have wanted YOUR MOM to BLOG about YOU in middle school?

That's me in 1985 thinking about how glad I am my mom doesn't have a blog. Sweet straw hat, though.

There are people blogging about their experiences raising older kids in a non-exploitive way and I think it's really valuable. It takes a bit more discretion and it doesn't have the same "tell-all" quality of poo and potty days with babies and toddlers, but there's plenty to talk about without betraying your kids' privacy.

So here I am with an update because this is a good old blog and when I neglect it for too long I start getting a LOT of spam comments about love spells that work.

We sold the food trucks and Christian works at BYU now. I am in Heaven. The upside to being an entrepreneur is how good it feels when you return to a normal job. (At least that's how it is for me.) Christian works in Student Life as a technology architect and he LOVES it. He is doing really interesting things, such as reworking the application process, and hears all sorts of juicy BYU gossip that he can't talk about. He's also really into biking now and even wears a plastic rain suit over his clothes so he can bike to work in a storm. 2004-blogging-me would not have predicted that.

I've got a new gig that I love. I am teaching Management Communications for the BYU Business School. 2004-blogging-me would not have predicted that, either. Close your eyes. Picture the most professional person you know. Open them. Surprise! It's me. I teach people how to be businesslike and we work on having appropriate and professional Linked In profiles. I love teaching writing. I didn't feel like doing it for a long time because I was not operating at full capacity. If you are raising little kids you aren't either. It's OK because you won't notice until they are in grade school and you start to feel like yourself again, which is good because at about this time parenting will begin to exact a heavy emotional toll and you will need your strength. I teach two days a week and it has been really fun so far. Consequently, I've cut back as a Babble contributor. Consequently, I can blog here more. I've noticed some differences in the students since I last taught: More boys are named Jordan (4 in one class) and more students are very into fitness—very, very into fitness. So that's good.

Sam got into BYU, deferred, and is going to the Birmingham England Mission October 28. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote LOTR in Birmingham so my son Sam[wise] will be serving in the literal Shire/Mordor. 2004-blogging-me would have loved this, but would have had no idea how profoundly difficult it is going to be to send him on a mission. Gird up your loins, parents of mission-bound children. I am proud of Sam. He is wonderful. . . and precious and priceless and fascinating and winsome.

Will I start a mission blog? No. I will blog about his mission here on this good old blog.

Maggie is taking Drivers Ed and running on the cross country team. Ben's new thing is football. Football is a really involved subculture I knew nothing about before Ben started playing. I'm learning. Sam baptized Ellen. She's in third grade but I still think of her as 4. I know now why youngest children are spoiled, because I'm spoiling Ellen.

My favorite show is Hannibal.  It's hard to recommend it because it is incredibly graphic and gruesome, but also smart, compelling, beautiful, and great. Bob's Burgers is my favorite funny show.

Sesame Street is Getting a Makeover

I think this is HUGE news so I want to share it. For the most part, I hate it when things I grew up with change. I can still barely accept Elmo as a regular on the Sesame Street.

Sesame Street is going through a set redesign for Fall of 2015. They are in their 46th season. The show is only 4 years older than me.  I wouldn't mind if they never changed the set because I'm nostalgic like that but it does make sense that Big Bird's nest should be in a tree. They said they want Sesame Street to represent a street in real life. I'm OK with that. Look at these big changes.

Cookie monster will be living above Hoopers store. I love this. The smells will come wafting up and drive him crazy all day. Hilarity ensues!

Hooper's new store front. I still miss Mr. Hooper. Who is this new guy, "Chris"? Is he a Hooper descendant?

Oscar's can has been updated and moved to a more central location so he can add grouchy commentary to any situation. He’ll also be popping up in trash cans, recycling bins and composting receptacles.  I wonder how he feels about recycling? Generally he's against anything that's a "good" thing and he would hate the reduction of waste, but if he can live in a recycling bin too then maybe he'll be OK with it. I'm dying to find out. 

Here's a quick glimpse of Big Bird's vintage nest and one of my favorite, most mesmerizing videos from Sesame Street. I loved it so much. Do you remember it?

Goodbye, Matt Smith

I love David Tennant with all my heart. And if I had 2 time lord hearts I would love him in totale with both. Interloper Matt Smith came unbidden into my heart. He scratched and clawed and carved out a tiny space for himself there where he will stay forever. He won me over with his tweed and bow ties, but mostly he won me over with his understanding of what a treasure Rory was for dumb bum Amy and with his true and abiding love for Professor River Song.

I'll be sad to see him go. Here's a preview for the Christmas special, his last episode. Peter Capaldi, you're up next.

Read Some Stuff I Wrote

This month at Babble I've been trying to be really scary and promotable. That's the name of the game in October! So take a look at my posts. I've grouped them for you by category, for your convenience. 

These are my Walking Dead posts:

Walking Dead Actors Looking Clean and Glamorous
Walking Dead's Rick Grimes: Father Knows Best for the Apocalypse?
13 Radical Prints Inspired by The Walking Dead (This post title was changed from "radical" to "awesomely scary" by my editors. If I'm really honest about it, these prints aren't radical OR awesomely scary. That's "publishing" for you!)

These are my Benedict Cumberbatch posts:

Hear Benedict Cumberbatch as the Voice of Smaug
Cumberbatch Makes the Cover of Time: Cumberbabes Swoon

Here are my posts about Books and Music (we love books and music, right?):

Your Next BBC Obsession: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Britney Spears Does the Intro to Thriller
Funky Fan Art Inspired by Pink Floyd
11 Books You Must Read This Fall

TV Stuff
David Tennant Brings Broadchurch to America
American Horror Story Cast Dishes on What Scares Them (Note: I don't watch this show.)
Cast of Lost: Then and Now (Remember Lost?)

Celebs: They're just like us!
Simon Cowell Thinks He will Be a Good Dad
Can Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott Afford a Vasectomy?
New Captain America Trailer and The Stars of Marvel Universe
Natalie Portman Always Looks Cute
18 Times Hugh Jackman Was Accosted by People and Things
12 Fake Celebrity Accents: The Good, The Bad, And the Terrible
Hillary Clinton Wants to Be a Grandma
20 Photos of Sting Aging Gracefully

*Bonus Spooky Post
10 Telltale Signs Your House is Haunted

Can you believe I wrote all that? Which one's your favorite? What topic would you like me to tackle next?

Breaking Bad: To Hajiilee

34, 59, 20, 106, 36, 52. Those are the fictional GPS coordinates of Walter White's buried stash of money, but in real life they are the coordinates of the Albuquerque studio where the show is filmed. What happened there in Sunday's episode To Hajiilee pretty much blew my mind.

SPOILERS

It is sad to see Walt down. A lot of people are speculating that Heisenberg is stronger than Walt, that Walt really is Heisenberg, and that Heisenberg will triumph in the end.  What I find interesting are the last bits of Walt's soul that he arbitrarily (or does it actually matter?) holds on to like insisting that Jesse isn't a rat and that Brock shouldn't see him get shot.  Maybe there will be nothing left of Walt in the end, but I hope he struggles it out until the end. And I don't really want to see Heisenberg on top. I think Walt will die in the end.

Whatever the case may be, right now Walt is fighting Heisenberg and he's losing. He's powerless to stop the actions he set into motion. Walt is faltering. He's more desperate and less canny. Hank and Jesse outsmarted him. That was really wonderful to see. It felt satisfying to watch Walt speed to the desert and confess on the phone to Jesse. When Walt saw Hank and Jesse together (something he hadn't even considered–is he losing it? Before his cancer made him razor sharp, now it seems like he's slipping) and realized the jig was was up, he was done, ready to surrender. He called off the Nazis.

Let this be a lesson to you: You can't just call off Nazis. Walt always underestimates how deep he is into it, how dirty his hands are.

The moralist in me was so pleased to see Hank arrest Walt and to see Walt totally devastated, having lost essentially everything he was initially fighting for because I like that message. Crime doesn't pay.

Why not run a totally legit fried chicken business and be a shrewd but soft-spoken manager/billionaire like Gus Fring? Because he stabs people and he's really horrible. It's just like the Godfather. It's so cool and seductive. But, really—and we are quick to forget this when a body is dissolving in the tub upstairs—murder is bad. And drugs, also, are bad.

But, obviously, it's not over yet. The show gave us those juicy, wonderfully satisfying parts like Jesse spitting in Walt's face and Hank putting the cuffs on Walt. Thanks. But what now! There are 3 episodes left? What else are we going to get and what will we see? It's no use trying to predict it. I know, now, that we are in good hands. The show has exceeded my expectations and given me pay offs I didn't even know I wanted. For example, I knew I wanted to see Jesse best Walt in some way. But I never thought he would team up with Hank and get him the way he did in the last episode. It was especially genius how it played out because there is something about the unusual cadence of Aaron Paul's voice that we love and find compelling. So it was perfect that the scene centers around Walt's desperate confession with Jesse's voice-over on the other end of the phone. I watched it 3 times.

Vince Gilligan knows this. He explains that Jesse was meant to be killed off early on, but they changed their minds based on how Aaron Paul plays him,  "A lot of Aaron’s personality—and it’s not to say Aaron is Jesse—but the cadence of his voice and his decency and vulnerability, leached into the writing of the character. You want to protect him.” Hank also became more layered and complicated when the saw that Dean Norris was capable of infusing the crass comic figure he was initially brought on to play with sympathy, interest, and integrity. Will he die soon? Will Gomey?

I noticed that Charlie Rose accidentally spilled the beans that he will be appearing on a later episode of Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan said that Charlie Rose is a spoiler.  Presumably either Walt's fake confession hits the news or Walt's phone confession to Jesse hits the news and goes national. That could explain why his house is vandalized and his neighbor is afraid of him. So he has either been in hiding up to the point in the flash forward, or he has somehow become free of charges (maybe because Hank operated outside the law?) but everyone knows that he is guilty. Still, who is the ricin for? What is the gun for?

Let's spend a lot of time speculating only to have our minds blown next week when nothing even close to what we predicted happens. That's my week for you.

Unbreak My Heart, Breaking Bad

I didn't watch Breaking Bad until this summer because it was a bit harsh for me. But I've been reading reviews and eavesdropping on discussions of it for the last few years. I decided to watch it all this summer on Netflix and now I'm caught up and tuning in for each new episode along with every one else every Sunday night. 

It's breaking my heart. [SPOILERS]

I keep meaning to write up my Breaking Bad predictions. I've read everything Vince Gilligan has said about ending the show and how he thinks MASH had a great series ending because you got to see what you wanted, which was everyone going home. He says it will feel satisfying. So I'm clinging that like Radar clinging to his teddy bear.

But in Breaking Bad, teddy bears foreshadow doom and look like this:

So it's not much comfort.

From the start of the final 8 I've been completely surprised by everything. I haven't predicted anything even close to what is happening. I thought Walt would use the fact that he paid for Hank's therapy against Hank, but the fake confession blew me away. It's not even fun anymore to try and guess what will happen. I'm beyond that. I'm just trying to survive each episode. It's very stressful. I am sad that Walt has become so bad. He's had his moments where he seemed cool and you kind of rooted for him, like you root for Michael Corleone, but mostly I'm sad that he broke so bad and ruined everything he originally broke bad for. I guess that's the point.

But Jesse Pinkman? I can't take it if Walt kills him, even if it makes the most sense in terms of  a Heisenberg move. Walt feels protective of Jesse, but Walt has crossed a lot of lines as Heisenberg slowly took over: Jane. Brock. Mike.  You'd think he wouldn't mind killing Jesse.  But, it was so horrible to see both Saul and Skyler suggest it. It is really hideous to see all of this unfold. Drugs are bad, guys. Never forget.

What it boils down to for me, though, is that Jesse Pinkman is the last piece of Walter White's soul. I don't want to see him give it up.

 I know there's no shot at redemption for Walt. He's too far-gone. But couldn't he do something sacrificial for Jesse? I know Jesse is also a murderer. But he's the one we root for. It was sweet and kind of awful to see him being cared for by Hank and Marie in their house. It was awful because Hank is using him just like Walt uses Jesse. He doesn't care if Walt kills Jesse, if he can get it on film. Ugh. Too much sad feels.

The last thing Jesse says about Mr. White when Hank films him is, "He was my teacher." That's why Walt cares about Jesse. As his student, Walt is always proud of Jesse when he thinks of a good idea or does something right. Jesse has to come out on top. But I'm really afraid he won't.

If Walt kills Jesse, he's Voldemort. I don't love that. I'd like to see him struggle it out between his last little unbroken-bad bits until the end. But it could go the other way, with his complete transformation into Heisenberg. Or maybe killing Jesse will be the last, worst thing he does. If so, what a downer. I will feel horrible. It would be like Frodo just putting on the ring and getting married to a ringwraith.

 I hope the ricin is for Walt and it ends with him killing himself. But I really don't know what will feel satisfying at this point.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

School starts tomorrow. I will probably send a link to this post with my kids so their teachers can read what we did over the summer besides "watch TV," which is what my kids usually write in their journals.

It is true that there was a lot of TV-watching. Like,  a LOT. Sam watched all of Downton Abbey. Christian and I watched all of Breaking Bad (more on that to come). Ben's into Star Trek: The Next Generation and has watched and re-watched all of The Avengers and Justice League cartoons. Ben and Ellen are getting caught up on My Little Pony. Maggie enjoys marathons of Dance Moms. I just read an interview with Portlandia's Fred Armisen where he says, "I love television. I think it's a really exciting time for TV, and it just keeps growing. And people are collecting TV shows like they did records. You know, grown ups are just talking to each other about having seen this episode or that season … I love it."

We've seen every superhero movie that came out and re-watched such classics as Iron Man 1 and 2, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers, Wolverine, X-Men 1, 2, 3, and First Class. Last night we ended the summer fittingly with Wolverine. Ben and I thought we had the time frame in mind (after X-Men 3) but when we saw his bone claws in the first scene we were really thrown for a loop. Flashback, as it turns out. I also made the kids watch Wrath of Khan (which was a spoiler in itself) and then the Star Trek reboot of 2009 and then we went to Star Trek Into Darkness. It was a lot of work. But it was worth it.

Khaaaaaaaaaan!

And don't forget that Maggie and I spent a week at Girl's Camp way back in June. So cross camping off your list. We did it. My younger kids got to stay with Carly who obligingly extended her visit to Utah when Christian had an unexpected business trip during camp. We all earned a mansion in Heaven that week. We also watched an outdoor movie with a big bag of popcorn--the movie screen and the popcorn were leftover from the Stake Outdoor movie activity I'd done the night before, but so what. It still counts.

I turned 41. Sam turned 16. I took him to the DMV for a learner's permit TWICE. Once after it expired before his driver's ed class scheduled him for road. That one stung a little. He still hasn't been scheduled for road. But that's OK. Speaking of permits, most of my kids got their food-handler's permit too for a little business internship program we enrolled them all in suddenly and unexpectedly called SWEETO BURRITO.  It's as fun as sleep-away camp!

Christian even took the kids to a parade. I made cookies a few times. We just got back from Midway where we went shopping for school clothes at the outlets in Park City. Christian and I were going to power through to the Alpine slide but upon taking a vote, it was unanimous amongst the children that we just go home instead. So I think we should get credit for the slide, too.

Also, we sent Sam to Paris with his grandfather where he strolled around the Arc de Triomphe for a day or so and then took the chunnel to London for a week where he attended a conference of great thinkers in Cambridge and went to museums every day and drank Coke Light. So what if the price Sam paid was learning about reclining nudes in detail from his grandpa? Many people would (and have) paid that price for half the adventure.

Passing the sacrament in London? Priceless.

We did sleep in a lot. We did do nothing a lot. I did yell at my kids a lot and tried to make them feel guilty a lot for not reading any books. Maggie pulled it out there at the end by reading The Fault in Our Stars in a day. We went swimming as often as I could bear. Ellen made 3 mansions and a guest house on Minecraft. Ben somehow made himself look like a giant diaper-wearing baby on Minecraft. Little victories.

Ben dropped his phone in the beaver pond while sailing on a boat made of an old door and a lot of Styrofoam. While it was desiccating in a bowl of rice he learned 3 new songs on the guitar. The phone never recovered. We haven't replaced it. Maggie gave a talk. I gave a talk. Christian gave a talk. Sam gave a talk. Christian got released from the bishopric and called as the YM president. We had burritos for dinner a lot. Everyone except Ellen mowed the lawn. Ben got braces. We're going to Fun. this Friday. There's some other stuff I probably forgot. 

Let it be written. Let it be remembered.

Who Will Be the Next Doctor Who: My Picks

I just found out that they are announcing the new Doctor Who actor this Sunday. Exciting! (My son will be in London for this.) You can see a round-up of possible Who candidates here. But my favorite contenders are:

Andrew Scott, Moriarty from the Sherlock series.  I'm starting to think Moriarty is really dead, and the photos of him with Mycroft are from a flashback sequence (Keep up, people). He would be a great Who. He is fantastic. He knows Steven Moffatt because Moffatt is the showrunner for Doctor Who and Sherlock. If Andrew Scott is the 12th Doctor, I will be in heaven.

Or: Ben Whishaw. He played Q from Skyfall and Freddy from The Hour. I love him. He's already got Who-hair.  This guy would be a perfect #12. Whishaw says it's not him, but I'm still holding out hope.

I really hope it is one of these 2 actors. Chances are good that it will be someone I've never heard of. And I can live with that. We all got on board with Matt Smith. I trust Moffatt. But one of these 2 would just be so fun.

Some people are guessing the next Doctor will be Rupert Grint, a.k.a. Ron Weasley. Maybe. The Doctor has always wanted to be a ginger.

Whatever the case may be, we are in for a treat with John Hurt playing the "dark doctor" or, as I like to call him, the Rogue Doctor. (#roguedoctor, roguedoctor.com). He is a regeneration (probably between #8 and #9) that did something unspeakable/shameful which makes him unworthy to be called "The Doctor." I doubt he will be purely evil. I'm guessing it's more of an ends-justify-the-means scenario, but I am eager to see it. When his face came on-screen at the season finale I totally gasped. I mean, it's John Hurt we are talking about—The Elephant Man and Ollivander the Wandmaker.

So yeah. It's kind of a big deal. He'll be in the 50th Anniversary episode which also stars David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Billie Piper on November 23rd. Cooooool.

Allons-y!

Summer is Getting Away from Me

So, summer got away from me. Being at Girl's Camp the first week of summer killed all my plans for structure, summer bridge, family fun, routines, and any semblance of order. I'm still catching up. In the meantime, my kids are staying up late, sleeping in late, doing "chores" sporadically and begrudgingly. The only routine we have fallen into is the absence of routine except for the daily fighting and me getting mad and forcing my kids to read in their rooms where they go to text their cousins instead.

Not that Girl's Camp wasn't worth it. Because it was. Just don't post your cute laminated Summer Spinwheel in radical fonts of balanced food, job charts, and learning games. I can't bear it. Actually, do post it. What do I care?

Ugh. I also had to speak in church last Sunday, which just about killed me. 

Then again, this week was my Birthday week so most of our routine-interuptus was caused by me going to lunch, watching long stretches of TV, going to movies, and greeting well-wishers with large Diet Cokes. I love my birthday because on it the people who love me come out in full force and I really love the people who love me.

So I'm having a great summer. It just feels a little out of hand. But that's OK.

If you remembered it was my birthday but you didn't get me anything, just read my Babble Blogs. It's your gift to me. Here are the best ones from June (so far!).

The 9 Worst TV and Movie Moms We Love to Hate

Your Favorite Rock Stars Sing About Fatherhood

Jim Morrison Thinks Fat is Beautiful

Duggar Daughter-In-Law Becoming a Great Mom

Oh my gosh, SPOILER: Can you believe Josh and Anna are moving to DC? How will they cope? I'm glad they are going. It will be such and adventure. I love the Duggars.

How do you like my Jim Morrison image? I totally made it myself. He's pointing at the sign that says "Fat is beautiful." He's trying to get your attention. He's all, "YO. Check out this sign I'm pointing to with my finger." Well, he only points to it if someone fat walks by. Because it only applies to them.

Hey Guys

Hello there. How are you? Fine, I hope.

I've been so busy lately, which I hate. I hate saying that I'm busy because everyone says it and everyone is and it's really obnoxious.

I also hate actually being busy. I work so hard to maintain long stretches of down time to use for reading and blogging and that time has been encroached upon more and more lately. No one thinks reading a book is a good enough reason to not do something else. Sigh. So persecuted.

Newsflash: It's better in many ways to have big kids. But when you don't have babies anymore, all of the sudden you're fair game and it's hard to say no. Hard, but not impossible. Learn how now.

Incidentally, I have a new calling as a counselor in the Stake YW Presidency. (But then, you already guessed that from my Pinterest Boards.)

Still blogging away at Babble though. Here are April's posts:

Some of Media's Most Influential People Are Parents

Google Fiber Coming to Provo

Let Brian Eno Soothe You in the Hospital

Michelle Williams Focuses on One Thing at a Time

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell Team Up for New Album

How Did He Do It? Sherlock Pics Suggest Spoilers

Gloria Steinem Says to Lay Off Kim Kardashian's Body

Can you believe it? I wrote my first Kim Kardashian post for Babble! (Hopefully, the first of many.) I feel like my analysis of the Sherlock pics is my first true scoop. I'm proud. That should tide you over. But if it doesn't,

Meg Ryan and Daisy True

Call the Midwife is a Great Show

How to Get and Stay Creative

Jeremy Renner Becomes a Baby Daddy

If Only My Kids Would Follow Tim Gunn's Golden Rules

What Kids Learn From Super Heroes

Roger Berman: 10 Things I Love About You

Celebrities Who've Written Children's Books

I know you're too busy to read all of them. But I want you to treat yourself to at least a few.

Have an uneventful day!

This Week

What did I do this week? More like what didn't I do!

Lost and found 2 naughty dogs who crossed the Provo River and Center Street AND crossed them both again in reverse to eventually come home? Yes.

Registered (incorrectly) all the cub scouts in our ward for day camp? You betcha.

Took a 30 minute nap at least 3 out of the last 7 days? Totes.

Blogged my brains out at Babble? Always.

Rachel Zoe Reveals Her Favorite Girl Name

Anna Chlumsky is Pregnant (Thomas J. Sigh.)

Happy Birthday Gloria Steinem: What's the State of Feminism Today?

Josh Duhamel's Sympathy Pregnancy

Watch Doctor Who Prequel

What JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis Taught Me About Friendship

Walt!

And this is super exciting: ABC news called me and said Good Morning America was going to do a piece on this post: Facebook is Making Me Feel Fat.

And then they never called back. It's OK. I was relieved.

So click away! If you would like some context—some actual numbers—The other bloggers get 400,000 page views and I get, like 30,000. So, by all means, click! But just so you know, it's kind of hopeless. . . but do not tell Gloria Steinem I said that.

This Week

This week I got a new foster dog, Annie, and her 5 puppies. They are 2 weeks old. Annie and her puppies will be up for adoption in about 6 more weeks.

Puppies are a lot of work. I'm going through a lot of bleach. I'll post puppy pics when they get a little older. Look forward to that.

I've been covering the Entertainment channel for Babble. Here's what I've been working on:

My Beef with Spring Breakers This is my best post of the week. If you only read one from me this week, read this one about Selena Gomez's new movie. I have issues.( You will too.) 

Michelle Obama Looks Bangin' on the Cover of Vogue Get it, bangin'? Because of her new bangs? This post has a great quote from her about keeping her family whole.

For Rachel Zoe, Every Day is Take Baby to Work Day I'm recapping the Rachel Zoe Project, because I like it and they said I could. Even though recaps don't get very many page views.

Why is the Sky Blue? WHY IS THE SKY BLUE? Here's a video from PBS that explains why the sky is blue. So your kids can quit asking.

Coolest Harry Potter Prints In celebration of the new Harry Potter book covers Scholastic is releasing in September.

How to Save Money Like an Extreme Couponer These tips come from an actual, real-life extreme couponer. She sent me her book. Ima read it.

And here are a couple more fun videos I posted:

Clever french commercial

College student upstaging Billy Joel on piano

Finally, here's a creepy look at a show I'm going to watch and be afraid of on Monday, Bates Motel—It's a Psycho prequel. Yikes.

Now you're all linked up for the weekend! I'm off to do my puppy chores.

"I Wanted to be An Actor When I Grew Up" So Did Everyone

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a nurse. It didn't pan out. Of course, it's not like my mom is Florence Nightingale.

We hear a lot from famous people's parents about how their kids were natural performers, loved attention, and used to pretend everything was a microphone.

I believe there is such a thing as star-quality, charisma, or stage presence but guess what? Every kid is a natural performer, loves attention, and pretends everything is a microphone.

I have 4 shy, introverted kids who will almost surely grow up not to be actors or singers—And they do all of this too.

Allison Williams of Girls, (I don't watch it but I'm intrigued by it and I've read a lot of TV criticism on it) said in Harpers Bazaar, “My childhood was stamped with this one certainty, that I knew what I wanted to be, which I realize now was very unusual. Most of my friends are still figuring it out. I only knew one other kid like me; she wanted to be a singer, and in first grade we’d have sleepovers, and she dressed up like a Beatle and I dressed up like Marilyn Monroe.”

She's certainly no slouch, she went to Yale. I liked her on the Mindy Project. I just think stars are so often  out of touch.

I know many driven, passionate, failing actors. They have wanted to be actors since they were little, too. Most people do want to be famous when they are little. It's not that unique. Some of those people stick with it and work hard and/or get lucky and some of those people have Brian Williams as their dad.

At least Allison Williams acknowledges this, “It is apparent to anyone that there are fewer steps between me and Hollywood than there are for the average person. But at some point you are asked to stand and deliver, and people can be pretty ruthless in their judgment toward people like me… I operate with this sense of needing to live up to what I am asking of people. I am, by far, my own worst critic.”

I don't think I'm being ruthless in my judgment toward her. It just seems rude to say that about your childhood friends. That's all. Like they are slackers or something.

Photo Credit: Blossom Berkofsky

Finally Blogging About Something I Care About

I've got a new beat over at Babble. They asked me if I wanted to move from the Kid section to the Entertainment section. I said yes. I can finally blog about something I really care about!

I like to think of this as a promotion, but that might be a little optimistic on my part. I find that I'm feeling a little  Benedict Cumberbatch in a Kim Kardashian world. The entertainment section includes Humor, Tech, Books, TV& Movies and all the Celebrity Mom stuff. So it's right up my alley—my moody, cobblestone-lined alley.

I still have so much to say about kids and parenting and I will keep saying it here on my blog. I'm really happy for a change in topic at Babble, though, because my kids are getting older and they read my blog and the stories I tell are less and less my stories and more and more their stories.

It's getting to where writing meaningfully about my kids is an invasion of their privacy and as they interact more and more with the world the stories/struggles I would normally share involve their friends, other parents, and teachers. It's not appropriate to be peddling it on Babble. Or here, probably. So that's that.

Even though I sort of joke about being bad at writing "clicky" things and acting like a stuffy old English teacher who thinks slide shows are for sell-outs, I am really trying to learn more about web content and clickability and snappy headlines. I even checked some books out about it from the library. Ahem. This tweed waistcoat is itchy.

The fact is, I just can't force myself write about Honor Alba. That doesn't mean I will never write about Honor Alba. I might. There's no way of knowing what my muse will tell me to do. It comes from God's mouth to my ear and I comply. I'm just a vessel. And this week my muse whispered (it's a whisper, but it's FORCEFUL), "Is Richard Simmons wearing pantyhose under those short-shorts?"

Look How Weird Richard Simmons Is

How Will Binge Viewing Change TV?

How to Nurture the Soul of Your Family

A Taylor Swift Breakup Primer

Rachel Zoe is Tested as a Full-Time Working Mom

The Treacherous Days Before Blood Pressure Cuffs

(DOWNTON SPOILERS)

Well, Lord Grantham killed Sybil last night and it was rough.

But interesting! I'm glad for this exciting turn of events because I was starting to get a little bored with Downton. They have grossly overestimated our affection for Bates. I was totally into him like everyone else in season 1, but now I find it boring to watch him read letters and mope. Also overestimated: the hotness of Matthew and Lady Mary as a couple.

It's very sad to say goodbye to Sybil. She was spunky and progressive. But now there's lots of interesting stuff going on where Cora blames Robert (and she should—He privileged the diagnosis of a fancier doctor instead of listening to Dr. Clarkson—big mistake) and now the chauffeur is just hanging out at Downton and can't return to Ireland. And there's also the baby girl, who will raise her? Maybe mommy blogger Matthew Crawley, who seeks fertility treatments after "trying" for one month. He's got big plans for the nursery. You should see his Pinterest board.

I like where this is going!

How Can Merle the Racist Be So Cute Now?

Every time I watch Merle in The Walking Dead now I marvel at how he has become cute. I used to hate Merle. We all did. Why is he cute now?

I've figured it out. See below.

He has always had an interesting voice. When it was busy saying hideously racist things we didn't notice it as much.

I think he lost some weight/bulk. Pilates?

He has a scruffy beard now, which is flattering.

His arms are tanner and he doesn't wear tank tops or vests as often.

His cargo pants are WAY better now. Fitted, modern--Just like Andrea's. It makes a difference.

Every time we see him the sympathy-self-amputation-card is played. You can't really help but notice his big knife hand. Sad. Poor old disfigured Merle.

The Walking Dead is so surprising. First they make Merle cute and then they make the long-awaited reunion between MeDaryl take place in the Spartan zombie arena.  I don't know what will happen next.

I Found Out Why The Governor Stares at Severed Heads

This interview with David Morrissey was very instructive. First of all, I hadn't realized The Governor was Stephen Collins from State of Play. He and Rick are both Brits. Brilliant.

Of course, I did know that Rick is married to Jethro Tull's daughter. This fascinates me. His real name is Andrew Clutterbuck. I can't think of a more British name, except for Benedict Cumberbatch.

Secondly, David Morrissey has a lot of sympathy for and insight into the Governor. I enjoyed reading his thoughts about him more than I enjoyed seeing Hugh Jackman talk about how innovative his live singing in Les Mis is going to be. (Oh, actors.) Michonne is dead on--The Governor is Jim Jonesian.

He stares at the severed heads to desensitize himself to the horror that is the new normal and also in order to demonize his enemy which is, according to Morrissey, something soldiers do. Interesting. I don't know if soldiers actually stare at severed heads in order to demonize their enemies. I hope not. (Oh, my 10th grade English teacher was right: War is hell.)

The Walking Dead is feeling a little like Lost these days, in a good way.  Glen is coming into his own as a pretty bad A zombie killer. I'm happy to see him advance from zombie bait. I can't wait to see Merle and Daryl reunite. I'm really pulling for those knife-hand, poncho-wearing hillbillies to get back togehter, you know? I guess you could say I'm Team MeDaryl.

But "Judith'? Come on, Carl. That's a turrible name. The baby should be named Matilde Clutterbuck after Rick's real-life daughter.