A few weeks ago we had DIRECTV installed and set up at our house. This was a big deal. A huge deal, in fact, because cable television has long been classified as something we did not need, and because we didn’t need it, we didn’t spend money on it. The second part of that last sentence pretty much sums up how my partner and I have been managing our finances–and our lives–throughout the time we have been together.

I haven’t had cable television since I was a teenager and moved out on my own. That is a lot of years to be out of the entertainment loop! Sure, it just may be cable television, but it is something that we can afford to have now and that is a pretty great feeling. Also, I have several handfuls of new favorite shows.

How has this been for “wordless?”

I would just like to note, as weird as it is that I even have to write this, that this post is in absolutely no way, shape, or form sponsored or affiliated with DIRECTV. We have no deal going on with the company and the only discount we received for signing up is the one we got through my dad referring us. Thanks, dad!

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday this week? Link up your posts!

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This isn’t to say that I don’t have any opinions on the specifics of what went down Monday night, because I do. Believe me, I do.

Christina Aguilera once again pitted her best vocalists against each other. During the first week of battle rounds, it was Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell; this week the battle was between Geoff McBride and Sera Hill. I don’t see any semblance of strategy in this. Why would any coach choose to discard some of the strongest voices on their team? The only explanation I can think of is that all of these people–Anthony Evans, Jesse Campbell, Geoff McBride, and Sera Hill–all came into this competition performing pretty much the same genre of music with the same type of energy. These are powerhouse singers who are big fans of adlibbing.

Moving on…

Initially, I wanted Sera to win. Ultimately, however, I enjoyed Geoff’s performance more, particularly because of the control and restraint he had over his voice. Having passion and evoking emotion in your voice is one thing, but getting so caught up in what you want to do that your voice runs away without you and you end up squeaking because you couldn’t hit a note you wanted so badly to hit is quite another. I think the reason why Christina chose to send Geoff home instead of Sera is because she still has Jesse Campbell on her team who, as we have already covered, has the same type of voice and feel as Geoff.

I am fairly certain that Blake Shelton is incapable of choosing appropriate songs for his team members to perform. First there was the decision to have Brian Fuente and Jordis Unga sing “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette, and then this week he chose “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People for Lex Land and Charlotte Sometimes. Blake obviously knows country music, hence his presence on this show, but I think he should seek advice from anyone who isn’t so entrenched in the country music scene to choose songs that better fit the style of music that the majority of the people on his team sing. Seriously, he could go up to a random person on the street and ask them for song suggestions and I think he would probably have a short list of songs to choose from that would fit these people better than what he has come up with thus far.

To be honest, I felt immediate relief when Blake announced that Charlotte Sometimes would be competing against Lex Land in a battle round; there was absolutely no way that Charlotte couldn’t win, and if she was sent home, I would have had yet another reason to be disappointed in Blake’s overall position as a coach on this show. I would have had the same reaction to anyone–literally any other contestant on the entire show–being put into a battle round with Lex Land because she is terrible. Just to make sure I was being fair and open-minded, I watched her blind audition again, and after that, I wholeheartedly stand by my previous statement. Terrible.

On a side note, with all of the battle rounds we’ve seen so far, it always looks like the contestants get along extremely well and are happy to be performing together. Charlotte Sometimes and Lex Land, however, look like they can’t stand each other.

Before we get into the next battle round, Juliet Simms vs. Sarah Golden, can someone please tell me what Juliet Simms is wearing and why? Thanks.

Now that we got that out of the way… It was no shock whatsoever that Juliet won this battle round, sending Sarah home. It is still unfortunate, though, because I liked Sarah; she’s a great folk singer and (wait for it) Blake was right when he said that she is capable of doing a lot of different things with her voice and can be a very versatile singer. I would argue that this was a poor choice in pairing, but I’m not sure if any other contestant could have been on stage with Juliet and sounded as if they belonged next to her. Maybe if she were paired with a male vocal, but even then I’m not so sure. Her voice is just very different from all of the other voices on the show.

The moment Cee Lo announced Juliet as the winner, Twitter flooded with comments about how The Voice is promoted as a show that isn’t about looks, hence the blind auditions, but is about looks once those auditions are over. I agree with this sentiment up to a point. In this specific instance, Juliet won the battle round because her voice is incredibly unique, and because she makes for a very convincing female version of Rod Stewart. Juliet Simms and Sarah Golden are from two completely different genres of music; had the song chosen for them been something from a folk background, it’s likely that Sarah would have done phenomenally while Juliet could have just sounded weird and out of place. Also, I think The Voice set up this specific kind of backlash on their own, and on purpose.

Before her blind audition, Sarah Golden spoke about how she could have had opportunities in the music industry, but was repeatedly turned away because of the way she looks. To amplify this, her audition was edited and aired in a way where we only saw the back of her body, the side of her head, a close-up of her fingers strumming the guitar, a far-away look at her singing on stage but with her completely blurred. In a 1 minute and 30 second performance, we didn’t see her face until 1 minute and 10 seconds into her song, when Cee Lo Green pushed his button and his chair turned around. They hid her so much that we, the viewers at home, were set up to expect something horrific. Instead, we got a normal looking individual with absolutely nothing wrong or weird about her, except for the fact that she does not fit neatly inside a box of femininity. This is a problem, a big one, and it is the fault of the entertainment industry as a whole as well as those who believe that gender, perceived gender, or gender identity is something that is easily navigated in the same way by everyone–in the way that is deemed acceptable by our society.

I knew Whitney Myer would be going home before even seeing her battle round against Kim Yarbrough. Whitney had a distinct intimidation problem right from the get-go. When they showed her practicing the song “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige with coach Adam Levine and adviser Alanis Morissette, she was nervous, unsure of herself, and she set herself up to fail. In her own words, when she commented on how she and Kim were both powerhouse singers, she stated that “Kim’s house is larger than my house.”

Unfortunately, I was generally underwhelmed by Whitney and Kim’s performance. Afterwards, Blake said that he felt like he was “watching one of those diva concerts,” which is probably what Adam had in mind when he initially paired these two women up. However, the emotion just wasn’t there, as much as I wanted it to be. There were a few parts where the energy was rising and I was ready for the explosion of passion, particularly from Whitney, only to have it fizzle out before any real effect could take place.

It was extremely awesome to see Lindsey Pavao perform again, this time in duet form! She was put up against Lee Koch who, like Lindsey, also has a very peculiar sound that makes you want to hear more, even if you don’t know what it is that you’re hearing or why you like it. That is something special. Their performance of “Heart-Shaped Box” (seriously Christina, WTF!?) was bizarre and downright creepy. They pulled it off effortlessly. I was definitely rooting for Lindsey to come out of this battle round triumphant (which she did), but during this performance I almost forgot that there was a competition going on. I was just really into the show that these two strange and awesome vocalists were putting on and that was enough. In fact, once this season of The Voice is done and over with, I would love to see Lindsey and Lee form a duo and put out an album because I think it would be really fantastic. I want to hear more.

Jamie Lono in the blind auditions and Jamie Lono in a battle round against Jamar Rogers are two different people, I am sure of it. Okay, maybe not, but his performance in the battle round is the perfect example of what happens when your nerves turn on you. Also, I would debate that this is the worst pairing of contestants of the blind auditions thus far. I would have loved to see Jamie Lono and Sarah Golden in a battle round together; I think that their similar styles would have complimented each other very well; you hear that Cee Lo?

The Voice battle rounds continue tonight at 8:00pm EST, and I’ll continue to write about each episode. I’d love to hear some other thoughts on the contestants, so leave yours in the comments.

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This was the first time I had seen anything beyond the blind auditions, so while this may be the second season of The Voice, I had no idea what to expect when the actual competition part of the show started up. What I thought was going to happen was that we would see one person sing a portion of a song and then the person they were competing against would sing the same portion of the song and they would be judged on who did it better. Instead, the two people battling it out in hopes of going on to the live shows have to sing a song chosen by the judges together, and they have to work together to pull the song off while simultaneously trying to outshine the other. That is a really interesting way to set the competition up.

The first battle round, Tony Lucca vs. Chris Cauley, came out in full we’re going to annoy the hell out of you mode. No, seriously, their entire performance of U2′s “Beautiful Day” drove me up a wall, mostly due to Tony Lucca’s harmonies screaming. Every time I saw him take a deep breath I immediately thought, ‘No, please, don’t make me listen to that again.’ To put it nicely, I was thoroughly confused by Adam Levine’s final decision on who to keep for the live shows and who to send home.

I can’t help but to live tweet #TheVoice tonight. First mild disappointment: Tony Lucca can’t harmonize, he gets to stay on #teamadam.

March 5, 2012 9:20 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Woman Tribune

This confusion quickly became a trend.

I really didn’t like RaeLynn when I saw her audition. When Blake turned his chair around I thought that perhaps he sensed there would be a lack of country vocalists and so he snatched up whichever ones graced the stage in an attempt to get to coach at least a couple of people with hopes of a future in his specific genre of music. That dislike carried right into the battle rounds when she was teamed up with Adley Stump to sing Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’”. I wasn’t a big fan of Adley to begin with either, and to be fair, I am generally not a fan of country music. However, Adley did impress me. Her voice was strong while RaeLynn was pitchy and didn’t seem to know what she was supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, Blake confused this inability to sing on key with emotion and passion, sending Adley home and thus keeping in line with the trend of coaches making downright mind-boggling final decisions.

Blake made all sorts of bad decisions during this first episode of battle rounds. When he chose both Brian Fuente and Jordis Unga during the blind auditions, he said that he liked them because they had voices that lent very well to rock music, and he liked that. When put together for a battle round, Blake then decides these two “rockers” should sing Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.” What?

I had completely forgotten all about Brian Fuente, and when I saw him perform alongside Jordis, there was not one redeeming quality about him. In fact, I think he may have a bright future as a backup vocalist, since that’s pretty much all he did during this battle round.

That was a great performance by Jordis, and the guy singing backup for Jordis. #TheVoice

March 5, 2012 10:37 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Woman Tribune

Jordis’ performance wasn’t that great either, but I did a little research and found videos from her time on the 2005 competition reality show Rock Star: INXS. The woman has some definite skills, but she is also very inconsistent. Since Blake chose to let her continue on to the live shows, hopefully she can pull it together and put on stronger performances. “Ironic” was definitely not her song.

Christina Aguilera provided my first real disappointment of the night by sending Monique Benabou home. I really enjoyed her voice and she almost made my list of favorite contestants from the blind auditions. She was competing against Chris Mann, who I have to tell you, I am sick of hearing about. Apparently everyone I follow on Twitter and Facebook cannot get enough of him. They have known about him for years and want to support him, and I get that. Really, I do. I’m the same way when it comes to Charlotte Sometimes. However, with social media, you can in fact talk about the same thing too much and you can reach the point of overkill, where you start to alienate people with your fanaticism. I have reached that point with the number of #mannfans tweets that clog up my Twitter stream every Monday night.

I enjoyed the idea of turning Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love” into a duet, but I did have a little problem with how this song was performed, and I wouldn’t say it was necessarily the fault of Monique Benabou or Chris Mann. This applies to any song that was written by or originally performed by a woman that is later covered by a man. What is with the need to make sure the song fits into a little heteronormative box? Would it really have killed Chris Mann to sing the words ‘I’m your lady,’ or would that have upset viewers to the point of boycotts and other ridiculous actions? This is something that bothers me a lot.

I originally thought the outcome of the Angie Johnson and Cheesa Laureta battle round would be an easy nod in Angie’s favor. I didn’t think much of Cheesa’s very low register at first, and I couldn’t see the qualities that Cee Lo undoubtedly did when he turned his chair around for her during the audition. Low and behold, she did an awesome job belting out “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” The only issue is that so did Angie, making it extremely difficult to determine who came out on top. They sounded great together and I really enjoyed both of their performances, but Cheesa did overpower Angie in a few parts of the song, which is probably why Cheesa was chosen to go further in the competition, sending Angie home.

As if the last battle round wasn’t close enough, we then saw Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell, which did not come across as a battle round at all but the best damn duet of the night. While these two men complimented each other extremely well, I think they are just too similar of singers. After watching their performance several times after I had originally seen it last Monday night, I still don’t know who I would have sent home. Because of that inability to see who was a tiny bit better than the other, I can’t really say much about the fact that Christina Aguilera sent Anthony Evans home, although I don’t think that I would have put those two vocalists in a battle round together in the first place.

The Voice battle rounds continue tonight at 8:00pm EST, and I’ll continue to write about each episode. I’d love to hear some other thoughts on the contestants, so leave yours in the comments.

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First, there’s Lindsey Pavao.

After hearing Lindsey Pavao sing during the blind audition, I looked up her performance on YouTube, eager to hear her voice again. I then proceeded to play the video repeatedly. Her voice is just so cool and intricate, and it captivated me immediately. Not to mention, she took a truly terrible song, translated it into a completely different genre, and turned it into an earworm.

Juliet Simms reminds me of Janis Joplin, which is a comparison that, in my book, can only ever be a good thing. I love Janis Joplin, and like her, Juliet Simms’ voice is honest, emotional, raw, and sometimes ugly, which I like. The grit in her voice is what I am drawn to, so I hope that her coach can help develop that a bit more.

I have never been a fan of Alicia Keys. As much as I love a woman with an alto voice that embraces that low tone instead of trying to hit higher notes in an attempt to convince the audience that there’s more range there than what she is naturally comfortable with, Alicia Keys just never did it for me and I could never latch on to even just one of her songs. Whitney Myer made me completely forget that I was hearing a song that was originally done by Alicia Keys. She made it a Whitney Myer song, infused with character and soul that made me absolutely love what I was hearing.

The power and fullness of Sera Hill‘s voice is overwhelming. She’s undoubtedly a powerhouse singer with an extraordinary amount of self-restraint, which contributes to her ability to stay on pitch and keep you in the moment with her. Her voice fills you up and then slowly lets you deflate as she mellows and it’s a really beautiful process.

The Voice battle rounds begin tonight at 8pm EST. Check out the video below for a sneak peek of what’s to come:

I have a feeling I’m going to be writing quite a bit about The Voice this season. It’s shaping up to be an impressive season full of some great talent.

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• I Watched Four Episodes of “The Voice” in a Row for One Reason: Charlotte Sometimes

This season is different because when I saw that the show was on, I remembered that I recently read on Facebook that Charlotte Sometimes would be competing, and that excited me to no end!

Charlotte Sometimes is an immensely talented singer/songwriter with one of the most unique voices I have ever heard. I gravitate heavily towards unique voices that can’t help but simply be what they are without trying to sound like something else. I have been a fan of hers for a number of years now, since I first heard her music stream on Pandora. I heard the song “Sweet Valium High” and immediately got my hands on her CD, Waves and the Both of Us. I listened to that CD nearly every day for almost a year while working full-time as a web designer and developer for a fairly large company that was quickly sucking my soul from me with every new project I was assigned. I was overworked, miserable, loathed my job, but I rocked out to that CD while sitting at my computer for hours on end, and her songs never got old.

Naturally, after the episode ended, I proceed to go to the NBC website and catch up on the four episodes that I missed. I watched those episodes back-to-back in one night, and when I finally saw Charlotte Sometimes’ blind audition, I couldn’t help but re-watch it more times than I can possibly count. It is awesome.

If it weren’t for Charlotte Sometimes being on this season of The Voice there’s a very good chance that I wouldn’t be watching it; but because she is, I have something to be excited about and a reason to tune in every week.

I have seen a lot of people criticize the fact that Charlotte Sometimes is competing on The Voice, given that in 2008 she was signed to Geffen Records and released her first full album under that label. However, Dia Frampton, who competed in the first season, was also known in the music industry before being on the show.

As part of the duo Meg & Dia, she released six EPs and four full albums, two of which, Something Real in 2006 and Here, Here and Here in 2009, were released under Doghouse Records and Warner Bros. In August 2011, the last Meg & Dia album, Cocoon, was released independently, and because of her success on The Voice, Dia Frampton was able to release her solo album Red under Universal Republic Records in December 2011.

Just as Dia Frampton was widely unknown before appearing on The Voice, the same is true for Charlotte Sometimes, who has released two EPs independently since her 2008 studio album Waves and the Both of Us.

I think that the competition reality television world has taught us to assume that everyone who tries out and competes on a talent-based show is or should be an amateur seeking their 15 minutes of fame. In reality, these people have worked for the better part of their lives, giving their craft everything they have, in order to get their name and their talent out into the world. Just because a singer/songwriter, a duo, or a band is at one point signed to a label of some sort or releases an album does not mean that they have necessarily achieved the level of success that is presumed with being signed to a label or having an album.

My partner is a professional guitarist. In 2005, he independently released an instrumental guitar album. You can buy it on Amazon, iTunes, CD Baby, and other various websites, and you can listen to it on Spotify and Last.FM. He has achieved a level of success that, according to some, should disqualify him from attempting to propel himself and his music further out into the world through the outlet of a competition reality television show. However, the reality of his success tells a completely different story. He got lucky in the sense that he is able to work within the music industry, but the fact of the matter is that he relies on having that job. He has also been giving guitar lessons online for several years. The fact that he has an album out did not suddenly make him wealthy enough to quit his job and live on money coming from album sales. The same is true for artists who are being told that they don’t belong somewhere or shouldn’t be able to be part of something because people have unknowingly assumed that they have achieved enough or do not deserve the chance to become more widely known.

The fact that The Voice has opened their platform to also allow artists who have been struggling within the music industry to compete is only a good thing. It gives that artist the platform to reach more people and to gain new fans who appreciate the work that they love to do, and it’s good for the show because those same people will bring their fans along for the journey as they compete week after week, just as Charlotte Sometimes has compelled me to make sure I tune into The Voice this season.

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This project has achieved amazing success; by just the end of 2010, it raised over $100,000 from $2,500+ grassroots contributors that has gone to increase support and resources available to teenagers in the LGBT community through the project’s affiliation with the Trevor Project suicide hotline, GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), and the ACLU LGBT Project. By the end of this month, the It Gets Better Project will reach an even wider audience with the premiere of the It Gets Better special that will air on both MTV and Logo on Tuesday, February 21st at 11:00 p.m. ET.

The 60-minute special will be anchored by Dan Savage and will follow the lives of three young people at pivotal and emotional moments in their lives: a young man struggling to tell his family and friends that he is gay; a lesbian fighting for parental acceptance; and a transgender man preparing to get married. In additional to these stories, the special will also include video messages full of hope and support from very well-known people, including Adam Levine, Zachary Quinto, Margaret Cho, Chaz Bono, Tim Mcllarth and Brandon Barnes of Rise Against, Vinny Guadagnino, Dave Holmes, Sia and Jake Shears.

Check out the following clip from the It Gets Better special featuring Vanessa who is talking to her mother about her personal fight for acceptance:

This project came at a very crucial moment in time and this special is also very much needed in our society. Simply put, kids are dying. Every day, LGBT youth are being bullied by their peers as well as by adults and authority figures in their communities. They are paying attention to the 2012 political race to the White House and hearing from politicians that everything they are is what is wrong with society. They are being discriminated against, told that they are less-than, rejected and ostracized by their own families, and being cast out for no other reason than being who they are. The statistics are tragic: 9 out of 10 LGBT students have experienced harassment at school; LGBT teens are bullied 2 to 3 times as much as straight teens; LGBT youth with “highly rejecting” families are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them; more than 1/3 of LGBT youth have attempted suicide.

Kids are dying and the most important thing that we can do, that anyone can do, is accept everyone for who they are because that is enough.

When speaking about the It Gets Better special, Dan Savage said:

“The lives of these three young people will resonate with millions of teens–gay and straight–who are being bullied for simply being themselves. It’s so important they know that things get better and that living openly and honestly and being who you are makes it better. They have so many great moments ahead of them and they will do things they never thought possible–so long as they keep fighting, stay positive, and stay with us.”

The It Gets Better special is the second Dan Savage-centric announcement to come from MTV as of late; he will also be seen this spring in Savage U with Lauren Hutchinson, a show that will follow the duo as they travel to college campuses across the country offering a crash course to students on relationships, responsibility, sex, love, and life.

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High-end sports car aficionados Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno star in this spot for Acura where they are pitted against each other, competing to be the very first person in the world to have the yet-to-be-released Acura NSX. The commercial is hilarious and also features one of the most beloved characters from the show Seinfeld, the Soup Nazi.

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While I certainly have some questionable taste in trashy reality television myself (Keeping Up with the Kardashians, anyone?), I wanted nothing to do with shows like Heavy, Addicted, Celebrity Rehab, and so on. That is, until I started watching the A&E show Intervention on a whim. This particular subject matter interested me because when I was growing up, my mother was an alcoholic and drug addict. She may still be, but she has not been in my life in any capacity whatsoever since I was about 10 years old. In some feeble attempt to make sense of my entire childhood within the course of seasons upon seasons of 44-minute episodes, I started with this show. I branched out to others over time, and more focusing on other subjects as I noticed articles popping up on blogs and websites I frequently read where the authors used these shows as catalysts to share their own stories, knowing that much of their audience had seen these shows and would know the basis of the issues they were discussing.

One topic that has come up quite a bit throughout the past few years is hoarding. The shows Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive have continued to gain more popularity; because of this success it’s safe to say that while it is still technically “taboo” subject matter, these shows have instilled knowledge of what hoarding is along with how and why it happens into the people who have seen an episode or two. This has given people who hoard just a little more confidence in reaching out to others and sharing stories of their own struggles with this compulsive behavior.

Television shows on the subject of hoarding always provide the people who are the subject of an episode with a therapist to battle their obsessive compulsive behavior, which they always end up needing because with being on an episode of one of these shows comes the often traumatic cleanup process. Hoarding clean up is extremely risky to do without the help of professionals because often in spaces that are affected by hoardings, there is buildup of dust, mold, mildew, trash, expired food, rodent and animal droppings and infestations, and sometimes even live or dead animals who have also inhabited the same spaces. These spaces have become uninhabitable by the time these cleanup crews get to the house of someone who hoards, and by that time the disorder has become as unmanageable as their space for the person affected by a compulsion that they cannot cease on their own. The risk to one’s safety and health when cleaning out a space that has been inhabited by a person who hoards for in almost every instance, a prolonged period of time is quite high. Paths and exits become blocked and human interaction with expired food items, airborne contaminants that rise after moving items that haven’t been moved in years, and on a more severe level, animal dander, excrement, and in some cases, carcasses are very likely to get people sick.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is transmitted by infected rodents and their urine, droppings, and saliva. It can be passed to humans who breathe in the virus and even more frightening, it is a disease that has no specific treatment or cure. This is a major reason as to why if you are cleaning out a space where someone who hoards has lived, or if you have any cleanup job that contains biochemicals or hazardous waste of any kind, that you must contact a professional service to help. Cleaning up a serious mess on your own may save you a few bucks, but it isn’t nearly worth the risks you would be putting your health in.

Photo by Dragonarium

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I’m actually pretty surprised and kind of sad that Melissa McCarthy hasn’t hosted an episode of SNL yet. She gained a lot of attention and acknowledgement through Bridesmaids and that would have been a great time to have her on the show. I guess she just had to prove her comedic worth to SNL by winning an Emmy.

I have high hopes for her hosting SNL, especially after watching the promos for the episode which you can check out below:

Photo by Diario El Carabobeño

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There were some distinctly notable high points from last night’s Emmy Awards and nearly all of them revolve around the presence of Jane Lynch. I think she is one of the most hilarious female comedians we have on television today and she is in fabulous company with all of the women who were recognized last night. Jane Lynch’s abilities as a comedian and as an actor who is quick on her feet to tailor a joke or line to her personality and how it come off as believable and witty was on full display last night when she delivered a few not-so-funny or even moderately good lines that were written for her with ease.

Overall the Emmys were enjoyable, albeit at times predictable. Kate Winslet won her first Emmy for her role in Mildred Pierce, the award for best competition reality show went to The Amazing Race yet again and for the ninth year in a row, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart took home the award for outstanding variety, music or comedy series. Modern Family was also a huge winner, taking home five Emmys and Mad Men won the award for outstanding drama series.

These are only some the top winners. You can see the full list of last night’s winners here.

Of course, as I mentioned, I also live tweeted the Emmys last night, so here is a list of my (riveting, I know) tweets including nominee and winner announcements and general Emmys-related musings.

Heard Rob Lowe & family on the red carpet and suddenly thought “Robert! You’re supposed to be dead!” #Brothers&Sisters #Emmys

September 18, 2011 7:51 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Holly Ord

Melissa McCarthy! Lovelovelove her. Would have loved seeing a nod for Gilmore Girls years ago instead of for Mike & Molly, but fine! #Emmys

September 18, 2011 7:53 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Woman Tribune

“I hate it when musical numbers come through our apartment.” This opening is good! Also, Mark from Grey’s! #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:04 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Woman Tribune

Jane Lynch hitting on Peggy from Mad Men and listing all of the things that has changed since 1965. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:06 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Woman Tribune

Jane Lynch is awesome. “Try doing that in triple Spanx.” #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:09 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Holly Ord

Did the Shake Weight really just make an appearance in this segment of shorts? Yes, I believe it did. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:12 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Holly Ord

I haven’t watched Glee in SO LONG yet I still hope Chris Colfer wins. Oh wait he didn’t win. Sad. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:19 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@WomanTribune

Woman Tribune

RT @andrewrossi: Why is this commercial about sports on? Emmy’s should only run commercials about lady shaving kardashians sequins and satin

September 18, 2011 8:25 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Zooey Deschanel needs a new hair stylist. Poofy pink dress is fine, but the bangs, just no. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:31 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

The #Emmys should be renamed to the Modern Family Awards Show.

September 18, 2011 8:32 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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RT @Cecilyk @charlie_o: Hollywood’s hatred of Ricky Gervais is funnier than Ricky Gervais. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:36 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

Yes! Jane Lynch just announced “Welcome to the Modern Family Awards!” #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:40 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

How did Charlie Sheen get into the #Emmys? Obligatory sweep through the crowd, stop at Jon Cryer.

September 18, 2011 8:41 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

Nominees immediately walk up on stage after being nominated and hold hands. Lovelovelove that. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:45 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Melissa McCarthy just won an Emmy. MELISSA MCCARTHY WON! So, so, so happy. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:47 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Melissa McCarthy winning was the very best part of the Emmys for me by far. I have been a fan of hers for a long time and while I am absolutely ecstatic that she won an Emmy and has been recognized for the work that she does, I am not so thrilled with the show that she was awarded for.

I have only been able to endure one episode of Mike & Molly and this is due to the fact that the entire premise of the show portrays a couple who are fat not because they just so happen to be (this is a Hollywood-produced show after all), but because they are the punchline.

When Melissa McCarthy played Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls she was an amazing, neurotic, hilarious, kind-hearted, good and yes, fat, character. However, her size was never presented as an issue on the show. It was never the conversation within a story line and it was never a punchline. In fact, she went on to have a love interest, marry Jackson and they had three children by the end of the series. While it is true that she was cast as the quirky best friend of the main character, a plight most fat actresses fall victim to if they are cast at all, she did evolve throughout the series and came into her own, bringing her own story lines along with her. Gilmore Girls did not allow Melissa McCarthy’s character to be portrayed as merely the fat, unlucky in love, pathetic, unwanted or presumably ugly best friend whose only future was to attach herself to the life of the main character in hopes of staying relevant.

Nevertheless, Melissa McCarthy’s Emmy win should bring about new opportunities to advance her career and perhaps the next one she picks will not involve playing a character that relies on making fun of herself, as directly or indirectly as it may be, in order to find work.

Here’s hoping.

I could never, ever, not in a million years urge myself to watch Toddlers & Tiaras. It’s way too heartbreaking to me. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 8:58 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

Jane Lynch’s “gay agenda.” So good. So so good. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:01 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

Ehhhh. Did not like Gretchen Jones at all on last season of Project Runway. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:02 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

@kellidaisy And the Amazing Race did win! Of course. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:02 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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I do not think Jimmy Fallon is funny. At all. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:19 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

And the Daily Show wins for the ninth year in a row. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:19 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

Series finale of Big Love made me cry. And cry. Damn I love so many of these drama shows. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:28 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Loved Boardwalk Empire. Need to catch up on that show too. Damn it I have lost track of way too many shows! #Emmys

September 18, 2011 9:44 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Jane Lynch announces why she’s a lesbian as she introduces the cast of Entourage. #JaneLynchisalwaysfunny #Emmys

September 18, 2011 10:08 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

Would Melissa Leo be able to top her last acceptance speech? No, I do not think so. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 10:11 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

Does Evan Rachel Wood just play the same character she did in Thirteen in Mildred Pierce? #Emmys

September 18, 2011 10:12 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

Peter Falk! Damn he is still missed. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 10:24 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Woman Tribune

So glad Kate Winslet won her first Emmy. She is amazing. #Emmys

September 18, 2011 10:38 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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RT @selfishmom: Let’s all give Gwyneth a big hand for saying 8 words without a prompter. Good job. #emmys

September 18, 2011 10:57 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

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Holly Ord

Did you watch the Emmys last night? What were some of your favorite wins?

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After being told that he would have to wait to use the restroom on an airplane, due to the plane still being on the tarmac, Depardieu proceeded to urinate on the floor of the passenger cabin. In all fairness, I have found myself, on more than one occasion, in a desperate situation that called for my immediate attention to relieve my bladder at all costs. “At all costs” could very well be urinating on the floor of an airplane in Depardieu’s case. However, that’s just the detail of this story; the context of it, anyway. The real story is that while Anderson Cooper delivered his pee pun-laden tangent about the case, the reporter came down with one severe case of the giggles on air, much to the enjoyment of myself, and just about anyone who has seen the video clip.

Take a look for yourself after the jump and I’m sorry, but Anderson Cooper has never been so cute to me before this moment.

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According to the President of CBS, Ashton Kutcher will officially be replacing Charlie Sheen, which we have heard numerous times over the past few months now. Kutcher will be playing an “internet billionaire with a broken heart” who will share no family connection to any of the other characters on the show. It should be pretty interesting to see how Chuck Lorre will be incorporating a broken-hearted, internet billionaire into the show and how he ends up having a connection with the existing characters.

As for how Charlie Harper will be leaving Two and a Half Men, the first episode of the new season will kick off with Charlie Harper’s funeral. Someone is really going for the jugular with this not-so subtle dig at Charlie Sheen.

Photo by MystifyMe Concert Photography™

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FOX completed their cooking show/Gordon Ramsay-centric prime time slot for Monday and Tuesday nights this week, and not just by airing the previous week’s Tuesday night episode of MasterChef like they have been doing up until this point. Instead, the ninth season of Hell’s Kitchen premiered thus giving us two wildly different versions of Gordon Ramsay’s personality to witness twice a week.

If you have been watching MasterChef this summer, you have seen how Gordon Ramsay is portrayed there. He’s almost the voice of reason, especially when put alongside Joe Bastianich, whose arrogance has a tendency to make me want to yell things at my television–not-so nice things. On Hell’s Kitchen, however, he is crude, insulting and demeaning. It almost makes you think the guy has Multiple Personality Disorder. Due to the fact that this is the version of Gordon Ramsay that made him popular in the United States, it seems as if that in and of itself is part of his charm. Well, it’s either that or we just really love seeing someone yell at some people for seemingly no good reason at all.

I have went into much deeper detail on the many television personalities of Gordon Ramsay on the super awesome media and entertainment blog, Women’s Eye on Media. Super awesome, of course, because I write for it, so you should check it out! If you’re a reality television junkie (like I am!) it does not disappoint.

Sadly, the beginning of the ninth season of Hell’s Kitchen has not been as dramatic, nor as entertaining as it was in previous seasons. Either it just doesn’t pack the same conflicting and thus dramatic personalities into one show that makes me want to watch, or nine seasons is two seasons too many and they should have ended it years ago. I guess we’ll find out because me and my good friend Renee of Womanist Musings will be chatting about the show, episode-by-episode throughout the season so I’m in it for the long haul.

How about you? Are you watching this season of Hell’s Kitchen, and if so, what aspects of the season thus far have you excited, angry, or just scratching your head in bewilderment?

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Katie Couric’s main role at ABC News will be to create and launch her new daytime talk show, which has yet to be named and no details of the show have yet to be released, but it will be taking over Oprah’s 3:00 p.m. slot on the network come September 2012; a slot that Oprah held for the past 25 years. In addition to the new show, Couric will also contribute to various ABC News programs.

Couric was once part of ABC News back in 1979 when she began her career as a desk assistant. Since then, her career has spanned over more than three decades and she has achieved some seriously amazing accomplishments. In 2010, Couric won the duPont Award for her interview with Sarah Palin. In 2008 and 2009, her CBS Evening News achieved the Murrow Award for Best Newscast; in 2001 she also was also honored with a Murrow Award for Overall Excellence. In 2004, she was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, and in 2000, she earned the Peabody Award for her series on colon cancer. Yeah, that is quite the outstanding resume.

ABC News President Ben Sherwood has many great things to say about Katie Couric signing onto ABC News, of course, but he also hypothesizes that “even with all of her success, I’m confident that her best days, biggest scoops and most powerful journalism lie directly ahead.”

I, for one, hope he is right about that. The media has become massively convoluted in recent years and by the look of things, it doesn’t like it will be looking up any time soon. I mean, come on, we are more focused and obsessed with the tweets and picture-taking of a certain Democratic politician than we are with real news. We will take endless stories about lewdness and questionable behavior of politicians instead of demanding to be told what is going on in the world. I could use something to look forward to when it comes to the news we receive and I hope that her new daytime talk show will deal with hard-hitting world issues instead of the run of the mill, gathered around a table to talk about much of nothing that we have continued to settle for in the daytime talk show world.

What do you think of Katie Couric taking over Oprah’s old ABC daytime slot come fall 2012?

Photo by uvahealth

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I am a reality/documentary television series junkie. I started small by watching an episode of A&E’s Intervention here and there, then that turned in to watching mini-marathons when A&E added new episodes that you could watch in full on their website, then I started watching entire seasons on a loop when I saw that they were on Netflix Watch Instantly. I then went on to Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew on VH1, and then the six episodes of TLC’s Addicted and I’m still making my way through Obsessed and Hoarders, both also products of A&E. It seems I have turned into a person completely and totally fascinated by the human psyche.

I was not always so fascinated by the way in which our minds work, either from birth or after times of trauma or distress. I first started watching these reality/documentary television series, predominantly the series devoted to substance abuse, addiction and getting sober, because I was raised by a drug-addicted, alcoholic mother until I was about 11 years old. Her addiction and substance abuse problems led her to be an incredibly unfit, neglectful, wildly abusive and just downright scary person. As a result of this upbringing, I am a 24-year-old woman who must work from home due to being diagnosed with severe clinical depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is these shows that give me a different perspective into the world of substance abuse and addiction, and in some small way, they allow me to understand that frame of mind in the only way I can.

As for the other shows that spotlight the interesting and sometimes bizarre ways in which our minds are capable of working, well, that’s just my inquiring mind at work. So imagine my excitement when I found out that this week is Psych Week on Discovery Fit & Health. Starting last night and airing until Friday night, Discovery Fit & Health will have mini-marathons of an assortment of stimulating reality/documentary television.

Monday, May 23:
My Strange Addiction will air at 8 p.m. ET. This show tells the compelling stories of people who are battling obsessive behaviors on the verge of taking over their lives.

The premiere of World’s Worst Teens, a show that features behavioral expert Lorrine Marer as she helps tackle issues like alcohol and drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases in teens with a direct, no-nonsense approach, will air at 10 p.m. ET.

Tuesday, May 24:
Get ready for heavier subjects as you meet one of the youngest people ever diagnosed with schizophrenia on Born Schizophrenic at 9 p.m. ET.

Wednesday, May 25:
At 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. ET you will have the delight of dining with Freaky Eaters, a series that documents the struggles of those with a bizarre compulsion toward a particular food.

Thursday, May 26:
Thursday is the day to explore hoarding. At 7 p.m. ET, Hoarding: Buried Alive will air and at 9 p.m. until 11 p.m., Confessions: Animal Hoarding will take the channel. This series takes an unflinchingly honest look at animal hoarding, the people and pets affected, and the challenges of confronting this psychological condition.

Friday, May 27:
Psych Week wraps up with My Strange Phobia, where you will enter the minds of four individuals with a strange and debilitating phobia.

Learn more about the episodes airing during Psych Week on the Discovery Fit & Health website.

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It seems the people at Warner Bros. Television are none too pleased with Charlie Sheen‘s behavior as of late, not to mention his new Ustream show, Sheen’s Korner. Charlie Sheen has officially been fired from his show “Two and a Half Men”.

Warner Bros. Television sent the producers of “Two and a Half Men” a letter [PDF] informing them that Sheen was fired, saying:

“Mr. Sheen’s ongoing conduct, statements and condition are grounds not only for suspension of Mr. Sheen but also for termination of the Agreement under Paragraphs 12, and/or 13 of the Agreement. … WBTV hereby exercises its right to terminate Mr. Sheen’s Agreement and/or his employment under it. To the extent notice of termination is required, please consider this letter as providing such notice.”

A source at Warner Bros. has stated to TMZ that no decision has been made on whether the show will come back.

In the typical Charlie Sheen fashion that we have all come to expect at this point, Sheen is actually pretty happy about being fired by WBTV, saying:

“This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of their bazillions, never have to look at whatshiscock again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension.”

Yeah. And for Charlie Sheen’s next magic trick, he is suing “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros.

I guess Warner Bros. is with the trolls.

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“Wubbzy Be Mine” is an irresistible compilation of three episodes from the Emmy Award-winning Nick Jr. preschool TV series, featuring the series’ well-loved characters, Wubbzy, Widget, Walden and Daizy. In “Mr. Valentine,” Wuzzleburg’s trusty mailman falls ill on Valentine’s Day and Wubbzy steps in to deliver all the valentines, but he soon discovers there are none for him. To Wubbzy’s surprise, his pals personally deliver his valentines, saving the best for last! In “Cupid’s Helper,” Cupid pays a visit to Wuzzleburg, but loses his prized bubble-blower. When Wubbzy finds it, he starts blowing bubbles bringing together some of Wuzzleburg’s oddest couples. And, in “My Speedy Valentine,” the third love-filled episode on the new release, Wubbzy and his pals try to find the fastest way ever to make their own valentines, but something keeps bugging Walden.

The winner of our “Wubbzy Be Mine” Valentine’s Day giveaway is…

jeannine m who left comment number 14!

Buy It

To those who didn’t win, you can still purchase “Wubbzy Be Mine” for $10.99 on Amazon.

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During back to school season, we hosted a great giveaway for children, specifically for children who would be entering school for the first time this year. Our “Wubbzy Goes to School” giveaway went over very well and we’re super happy to have the opportunity to give away another Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVD to one lucky Woman Tribune reader.

“Wubbzy Be Mine” is an irresistible compilation of three episodes from the Emmy Award-winning Nick Jr. preschool TV series just in time to Valentine’s Day, featuring the series’ well-loved characters, Wubbzy, Widget, Walden and Daizy. In “Mr. Valentine,” Wuzzleburg’s trusty mailman falls ill on Valentine’s Day and Wubbzy steps in to deliver all the valentines, but he soon discovers there are none for him. To Wubbzy’s surprise, his pals personally deliver his valentines, saving the best for last! In “Cupid’s Helper,” Cupid pays a visit to Wuzzleburg, but loses his prized bubble-blower. When Wubbzy finds it, he starts blowing bubbles bringing together some of Wuzzleburg’s oddest couples. And, in “My Speedy Valentine,” the third love-filled episode on the new release, Wubbzy and his pals try to find the fastest way ever to make their own valentines, but something keeps bugging Walden.

Giveaway

Thanks to Grand Communications, we are giving away one copy of “Wubbzy Be Mine” along with five packets of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! candy hearts.

Required Entry

To enter to win a copy of “Wubbzy Be Mine” all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us what your plans for Valentine’s Day are.

Extra Entries

Leave a comment for each additional entry.

• Subscribe to Woman Tribune
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• Tweet about this giveaway. Feel free to use the following tweet or write your own. (This can be done once a day, leave a link to your tweet in your comment.)
  

  Win Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVD “Wubbzy Be Mine” for Valentine’s Day from @WomanTribune http://ow.ly/3TACL ends 2/12

• Leave a comment on any other Woman Tribune post and come back here and leave a comment telling us what post you commented on
• Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post and details about “Wubbzy Be Mine”. (This entry is worth five entries, so leave five separate comments with the link to your blog post.)

This giveaway ends Saturday, February 12th at 11:59 p.m. ET. This giveaway is open to all U.S. residents over the age of 18 at the time of entry. The winner will be chosen via random.org and contacted by email; they then have 48 hours (2 days) to respond to that email or another winner will be chosen.

Full Contest Disclaimer

Disclosure: Grand Communications provided me with a promotional copy of “Wubbzy Be Mine” and the opportunity to host this giveaway.

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To end his final show, King was joined on his set by his wife Shawn and two sons, Chance and Cannon, where Chance performed hilarious and an oddly dead-on impersonation of his father, complete with his Brooklyn accent.

Larry King’s career from this point forward is a bit up in the air, although he has agreed to host four specials a year on CNN. He also said he would be doing radio work in the future. Ending his show he said, “You’re not going to see me go away, but you’re not going to see me on this set anymore. I don’t know what to say except to you, my audience, thank you, and instead of goodbye, how about so long?”

Beginning in January, British talk show host and America’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan will be taking over Larry King’s slot at 9pm ET.

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By now I’m sure you have all heard about “The Talk”, the new CBS daytime show hosted by Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete and Marissa Winokur. I sparked an immense interest in the show back before it premiered in October solely because of Sara Gilbert’s involvement in the creation and production of the show. Ever since I used to watch Sara Gilbert play Darlene on “Roseanne” I have been interested in seeing her act and as I learned more about her, her family, and her role in the entertainment industry as an open lesbian and parent of two, I was really excited to hear her point of view on the myriad of different topics that come up daily on “The Talk”. To make “The Talk” even more appealing to me, they put Sharon Osbourne on the panel and I’m sorry, but who doesn’t love Sharon Osbourne? It’s impossible to dislike her! She’s phenomenally great and very much a no-B.S. woman, which I greatly admire.

I watch “The Talk” whenever I can, which honestly, hasn’t been as much as I would like. Luckily, CBS is awesome and uploads full episodes of the show to their website. Needless to say, when I miss an episode I make a little time for myself later in the day (or even in the middle of the night!) to catch up on “The Talk.” Overall, the panel is full of thoughtful and respected women who have their own very clear views that they aren’t afraid to share and sometimes argue about.

One thing about “The Talk” that stands out from every other daytime talk show on the air right now is that they engage with their at-home audience through Tweet Up Tuesday, a feature on Tuesdays in which Marissa Winokur appears on “The Talk” with her little green laptop and tweets with the at-home viewers about the day’s overall topic of discussion. I am thoroughly impressed with CBS for embracing the twitterverse, moms and parenting bloggers; it’s refreshing and it makes the entire show, not just Tweet Up Tuesdays, exciting.

Just in time for the holiday season, Woman Tribune has been given the opportunity to host an amazing giveaway compliments of “The Talk”. One very lucky Woman Tribune reader will win $1,000 worth of incredible gifts that have all been featured on “The Talk.”

Wondering what the prizes are? Take a look:

• DXG Riviera 720p HD Camcorder ($149 value)
• Epson Artisan 725 All-in-One Printer ($199 value)
• Oreck XL Pro Series Platinum Pilot Vacuum Cleaner ($599 value)
• The “Literati” Wireless Reader by The Sharper Image ($159 value)
• TEMPTU Perfect Complexion Set ($280 value)

This is by far the biggest giveaway we have ever had and I’m really excited about it; and to be completely honest, I am beyond envious of whoever wins this giveaway because I would love to receive any of the prizes we’re giving away.

Required Entry

To enter to win all of these items, leave a comment telling us what you think of “The Talk.” I’ve shared some of my thoughts on the show with you and now I’d like to hear from you. Do you have a favorite woman you love hearing speak her mind? Have a favorite guest who has appeared on the show? Whatever thoughts on “The Talk” you would like to share, I’d like to hear them.

Extra Entries

Leave a comment for each additional entry

• Follow @TheTalk_CBS on Twitter
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  HUGE holiday giveaway at @WomanTribune — Enter to win $1000 worth of gifts courtesy of @TheTalk_CBS http://ow.ly/3nhn5 ends 12/17

This giveaway ends Friday, December 17th at 11:59pm ET. This giveaway is open to all U.S. residents over the age of 18 at the time of entry. The winner will be chosen via random.org and contacted by email; they then have 48 hours (2 days) to respond to that email or another winner will be chosen.

Full Contest Disclaimer

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Here’s the breakdown; Lisa Kudrow plays Dr. Fiona Wallace, an egomaniacal, neurotic therapist that holds sessions with patients via video chat. Dr. Wallace gives horrendous advice and is truly a really bad therapist with off the wall therapy approaches that involve using her patients to get ahead in some way within her own career. Web Therapy has scored an array of other famous faces like Jane Lynch and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but for Meryl Streep to appear on a web series is pretty awesome and I highly suggest you check out the three episodes below. Did I mention she’s totally hilarious in them?

Get more Web Therapy.

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Monday, November 8th: Seth Rogen and musical guest Jack White
Tuesday, November 9th: Tom Hanks, Jack McBrayer and musical guest Soundgarden
Wednesday, November 10th: Jon Hamm, Charlyne Yi and musical guest Fistful of Mercy
Thursday, November 11th: Michael Cera, Julie Bowen and comedian Jon Dore

Conan is also hosting a poll online, asking fans who they would pick to appear on ‘Conan’ by voting for one of twelve carefully pre-selected potential guests, like Vladimir Putin, Pope Benedict XVI, Jack Nicholson, Lady Gaga, REO Speedwagon, and Justin Bieber, amongst others.

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The highly-anticipated second season of Glee will kick off Fox Tuesdays tonight at 8 p.m. and I know I’m very excited to see what’s in store. We’ve known for a few months what to expect from this season, since the creator and cast of Glee spoke–and divulged lots of secrets– during Comic Con and I know all of that inside information only made fans more excited to see the new story lines develop and unravel throughout the season. Also, as I’ve already mentioned before–and probably will again before the episode airs, I’m sure–there is nothing I am looking forward to more this season than the October 26th episode of the Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute.

After the premiere of Glee, the new Fox family comedy Raising Hope premieres. The show is from Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia who was also behind My Name Is Earl, which you can definitely tell just from the promotional trailer for the show and the whole gritty kind of feeling of the show. The premise goes a little something like this: 23-year-old Jimmy lives at home with his family, skims pools for a living and, as far as societal standards go, is going nowhere in life. Jimmy has a “romantic encounter” with a woman named Lucy who goes to prison. While in prison, Lucy gave birth to Jimmy’s child and now he has to raise the baby with the help (or not-so much) of his very eccentric family.

Following the premiere of Raising Hope, another new Fox series, this one a romantic comedy, Running Wilde premieres, starring Will Arnett and Keri Russell. Running Wilde is making headlines because of it being the new venture of the Emmy Award-winning creator, as well as the star of Arrested Development, which did very well. Running Wilde revolves around a super rich, selfish man who is trying to win the heart of Emmy, who has spent her entire adult life trying to save the world.

So, will you be tuning in for the premiere of the second season of Glee and will you be sticking around to check out Fox’s two new shows?

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We have known for a few months now, since the creator and cast of Glee released the bare details during Comic Con, that Glee would have a tribute to Rocky Horror Picture Show episode. Much like what they did with Lady Gaga and Madonna, Glee will be celebrating the cult classic by, as I assume, tying it into the storyline with  the members of New Directions having to tap into their inner…transvestite? Cooky lunatic who loves to dance? Oh the possibilities–and yes, hilarity, but that’s the point.

I have been a huge fan of Glee since I saw the first episode and the inner choir nerd in me from my middle school and early high school days did a little happy jig and I have been a fan of the Rocky Horror Picture Show since my grandmother first showed it to me as a tween. Yes, it was my grandmother who introduced me to Rocky Horror. Needless to say,  this is the episode I’ve been most excited about and it will air October 26th, just in time for Halloween!

But this episode just got a whole lot better, especially for devout Rocky Horror Picture Show fans. Two original castmembers of the 1975 cult-hit film will appear in the episode. Meat Loaf and Barry Bostwick are set and confirmed to appear in Glee‘s Rocky Horror redo. Barry Bostwick played Brad Majors in the original film and Meat Loaf was “Eddie, Ex Delivery Boy.” Rumor has it that they will play TV station managers who have an “interesting proposal” for Sue Sylvester.

I’m not sure how to feel about the pair playing TV station managers, but I suppose it will all come done to what they will be doing and how interesting this proposal for Sue Sylvester will be. However, it is pretty awesome to have two original castmembers who are obviously very intimate with the subject matter appear in the show. As it turns out, it wasn’t just Glee creator Ryan Murphy‘s idea to have a Rocky Horror Picture Show episode; apparently Chris Colfer is an obsessed fan of the cult classic and has been asking for a Rocky Horror episode since the very beginning of Glee. Also, Matthew Morrison performed in the Rocky Horror Picture Show on broadway and Jayma Mays sang “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me” as her audition song for the show.

This is sure to be an awesome episode. What else would you like to see in Glee‘s tribute to Rocky Horror?

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Anyone who watched “The Bachelor Pad” last night caught the big reveal of the “Dancing With the Stars” season 11 cast. The new line-up will be hitting the dance floor–and your television–on Monday, September 20th at 8 p.m. EST. The premiere event will take place over the course of two nights; after the cast’s first performances on the dance floor, the couple with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes will be sent home during the “Dancing with the Stars: The Results Show” on Tuesday, September 21st.

Last season, Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls fame took home the Mirror Ball trophy. Any bets on who will make it to the end this season?

The “Dancing With the Stars Season 11 Cast:

The Guys:

• Michael Bolton
• Rick Fox
• David Hasselhoff
• Kyle Massey
• Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino
• Kurt Warner

The Women:

• Brandy
• Margaret Cho
• Jennifer Grey
• Florence Henderson
• Bristol Palin
• Audrina Patridge

Bristol Palin is most definitely the talk of the upcoming season. Many were shocked when rumors started spilling out just a few days ago about Bristol becoming part of the cast and last night it was dutifully confirmed by the announcement of the upcoming cast. Sadly, after watching her interview with ABC News (below) I’m not too excited about seeing this “other side” of her that she wants people to see because she still does not seem to have a personality. Bristol Palin has always been very one-note to me; kind of catatonic-like, unable to muster up any inflection when she’s speaking and she’s just horrendously boring to me. I’m not hoping she makes it very far in the competition and I’m not drawn to watching this season of “Dancing With the Stars” because of her being cast.

The person who did pique my interest about this upcoming season was Margaret Cho. If I told you who I would never guess to appear on “Dancing With the Stars” that list would most definitely include Margaret Cho. Since I’m not a fan of the show in the least, I’m kind of disappointed about her agreeing to be on the show, but am happy that she gets the opportunity to appeal to more people, this time in the form of dance–and how awesome will she look in some of those ballroom dancing costumes? Being the very typical fangirl that I am, I did immediately check to see if Margaret Cho’s tour date for my city was still set, despite her run on the show just to make sure I would still have the chance to see her this October.

Who are you most excited to see hit the dance floor on this season of “Dancing With the Stars”?

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