Glee Highlights: Season 2, Episode 16 - Original Song

No Glee tonight. Instead, OOOOOOOOOPpppppraaahhhhhhh is interviewing the cast of Glee, so I've been a tad slack posting this. Anyway, let's get stuck into the highlights, shall we?

Pavarotti in Burberry

I hate it when a bird is better dressed than me. Bastard.

I just have to mention this

I have THAT EXACT radio, but in black and white. It's so awesome. I love vintage radios.

Only Child

Rachel's second attempt at an original song. Not as bad as My Headband, but still pretty.....ugh. Her earnestness (is that a word?) is so cringeworthy - I mean The only berry only my family tree ? Ugh.

Blackbird

Remember how the first time Kurt sang a Beatles' number I didn't like it? Not the case here. I thought the Glee version of Blackbird was really, really good. Probably because they didn't fuck around with the arrangment of it the way they did with I Wanna Hold Your Hand (well, I guess technically they just slowed it down a lot, but you know what I mean). Bonus points to Kurt for a kick ass mourning outfit. You just know he's been saving that up for an occasion such as this.

Evil Quinn

She's baaaaa-aaaaccckkkk.

Blaine's Announcement

I love that he decided he didn't want to do the solo so that other people could have some of the limelight.....so he's doing a duet instead! How kind of him!

Trouty Mouth

After seeing this number, I have decided that the Glee writers need to get Santana to sing a sexy jazz number ASAP. The lyrics were hilariously bad: Is that how people's lips look where you come from in the South / Grouper Mouth, Froggy Lips / I love suckin' on those salamander lips. My husband did have trouble understanding what she was saying, but luckily I was able to translate. I love how offended Sam was though.

Quinn's hair

Why does the hairdresser hate Dianna Agron so much? Her hair has been looking distinctly helmet-like lately and I do not like it.

Kurt and Blaine

They kissed! Woo! I didn't think they would actually show it. And it was a lot more hot and heavy than I expected it to be. By the way, did you see this?

Hell To The No

Mercedes is so awesome. Her original song was by far the best of the three. Once again, I ask: WHY DOESN'T SHE GET MORE SOLOS? By the way, did you notice that when Mr. Schue asked the kids what their favourite song was, Brittany said Trouty Mouth? So funny.

Rachel Cries

 

My husband noted that her crying face is the same as her power ballad face. Very astute.

Aural Intensity

A lame performance - they were totally pandering to the judges. The Star of David was a nice touch though.

Warblers

I'm not familiar with Hey Monday, but I really liked Kurt and Blaine's duet. And the Pink number? Very crackalicious. I'm not a Pink fan, really, but this show does weird things to my taste in music. It's made me like Katy Perry way more than I should, and now Pink. Who are they going to coerce me into liking next? Taylor Swift?

Also I loved how genuinely happy the New Directions were for Kurt's big solo. Very sweet.

Get It Right

I LOVE that she brought her own pink studded diamante microphone. I wish I had a custom microphone that I could bring with me everywhere for solo performances. I think mine would be gold though. As for the song? I thought it was really decent. Not the greatest song ever, but considering it was written specifically for this episode I think they did a great job.

Loser Like Me

Yeeeaaah.....This number was kind of cheesy. The lyrics were a little obvious, but I did like the slushy fake out at the end. My one major nitpick though is with the girls' costumes:

Why, WHY are they wearing combat boots with their dresses? I get that they're trying to be different and show their individuality, but combat boots with dresses weren't a good look in the 90s and they're not a good look now (despite the style coming screaming back into fashion at the moment).

Sue Gets Physical

She actually PUNCHED A WOMAN IN THE FACE. WTF?

Rachel's Kudos

Aw, as much as they dislike Rachel Berry, they acknowledged that she saved their asses with her song. And she accepted her award with grace. Although I'd love to hear her internal dialogue. 

I imagine it would go something like "SUCK IT."

No highlights for a couple of weeks while the show is on a break. But I hear a volume 5 soundtrack has been released. Yay!

Pin It

Fun Friday Links

Work has been a bit crazy for me, but I've still found a few things to distract me during my lunch breaks this week!

- I'm assuming most of you have heard of 13 year old Rebecca Black and her stunningly mediocre pop song Friday, right? If not, please go and listen to it post haste and marvel at the abysmal lyrics (Kickin' in the front seat/Sittin' in the back seat/Gotta make my mind up/Which seat will I take). Ladies and gentlemen, that song is an example of how you can buy a pop song for your child to record from Ark Music Factor. No, seriously. Although the joke's on us - the clip has been viewed MILLIONS of times online and she's made a nice amount of cash from it. And it's been trending on Twitter for over a week. WTF, my friends, WTF.

- Obviously there is an unbelievable amount of horrifying stories coming out of Japan at the moment as they try to recover from the earhtquake, tsunami and subsequent radiation leaks, but one story has been making the rounds of the internet for a different reason. Hideaki Akaiwa has been voted badass of the week because after the quake hit, he got hold of some scuba gear, SWAM THROUGH HIS SUBMERGED CITY and saved his wife's life. That, people, is true love.

- I was at a social media seminar for work about a month ago and we were shown this Pink Ponies Case Study. Watch as a father adopts marketing and sales strategies to create the perfect 8th birthday party for his daughter. Really, really clever (and sweet!)

- So, Blaine and Kurt totally kissed on Glee this week. Were you as excited as these people?

- And finally, the world lost a grand Dame yesterday. Elizabeth Taylor passed away at the age of 79. Here is a tribute to her and some clips of her most famous roles. Now, I am not making light of her death in any way, but is it wrong to hope that a museum puts all her jewelry on display in some sort of traveling exhibition? Pin It

Icon

One of the most beautiful women in the world - past and present.

Pin It

Boredom Abounds Loves Interior Design Sites

If I were rich, I would spend hours and hours planning and implementing the interior decor of my mansion (preferrably in New York or Boston, but I'll take Paris, Rome and certain suburbs of Melbourne at a pinch) and waste terrible amounts of money on fancy things like glass blown chandeliers and Moroccan carpets and a kitchen that would make Nigella, Jamie and Gordon lose their shit with jealousy. Oh, I would also have my own kick ass library with huge, squashy couches and fresh hot chocolate and marshmallows on demand 24/7.

But, since I'm not rich (yet), I spend my time browsing fun and funky interior design blogs to find ideas and small, afforable ways to improve the lovely unit my husband and I share. These are some of my favourites:

Apartment Therapy

Most people know about Apartment Therapy, but it's worth mentioning again. First of all, they have a handy menu bar at the top of the page that lets you choose which city you want to browse, or you can just stick with the main site and see it all mixed in together.

They feature really interesting things, from house tours of regular people with exceptional (and sometimes weird and wacky) taste, before and after shots of refinished furniture, trend DIY entries and basic styling tips. They'll feature anything from shabby chic to sleek minimalist, so you're sure to find something that piques your interest.

A comfy Boston dining room

A contemporary white NYC kitchen

Chest of drawers before and after shots - cute, no?

An NYC study - I love the burst of colour among the white and black

A San Francisco bedroom - a little crowded for my taste, but still quite stylish



Design Sponge

Similar in feel to Apartment Therapy, Design*Sponge goes that little bit further by adding fashion style tips and mood boards, city guides, recipes and videos. I prefer Design*Sponge's web layout over Apartment Therapy, mostly because it feels less busy and the neutral background is easier on the eyes, but each site is as good as the other when it comes to content!

Floor Stencilling - I'm so into this idea. Too bad we have a fully carpeted house!

DIY postage stamp coasters - love the colours

Floral mini-trend. Mini-Trends are a great regular feature on Design Sponge providing tips on small ways to incorporate a theme into your home with subtlety and flair

How About Orange

Run by Jessica, a graphic and textile designer, How About Orange is more of a DIY / Craft blog, but there are some really, really fun ideas to add colour and patterns into your space. She offers a lot of free downloads, tutorials and a heap of useful resources for readers to use at their leisure.

These retro fabrics are designed by Jessica herself. I adore the bright colours! 

One of the free downloads available - some super cute printable labels

Even though St. Patrick's Day has passed, you can use these DIY bottle labels for your celebrations next year

The Design Files

The Design Files has a great mix of everything you need to design your life: fashion, interior design, a peek inside Australian homes, and two categories devoted just to Melbourne and Sydney. They also feature entries on event styling, which I love. I'm not an event planner (although I'd love to do it if I weren't afraid I would punch a bride-to-be or mother-of-the-bride in the face one day), but there are lots of little ideas you can use for your own dinner parties or backyard barbecues that don't require too much effort or money.

How gorgeous is this retro kitchen? I suspect having a stove that tiny would drive me insane, but the colours are so cute

Some funky jewelry from Elke Kramer

Some event styling pics - I am totally stealing the hanging glass bottle idea. So pretty, and probably relatively easy and cheap to create

Two sites also worth mentioning are PapernStitch Blog and Down and Out Chic, which feature a good mix of a lot of the stuff mentioned above, but on a smaller scale. They're daily stops for me and definitely worth checking out.

We're planning to do some wallpapering soon and I can't wait to show you all the finished product. What DIY projects do you want to get started on? Or, tell me what your dream house absolutely HAS to have!

Pin It

Glee Highlights - Season 2, Episode 15: Sexy

Also known as The Second Gwyneth Paltrow Episode.

This wasn't the greatest episode, in my opinion, but there were still some really good moments, so let's get stuck into the highlights!

Emma the Prude

I love her barely restrained disgust at Holly's open attitude to sex ed. You can tell she's just itching to rub anti-bacterial gel all over Holly and the chair she's sitting on.

Santana's feelings

It's so great that the writers have developed Brittany and Santana's 'sweet lady kisses' into something more serious. Great work from Naya Rivera in all her scenes. It was nice to see Santana with a little more emotional depth than just sexy and/or bitchy.

Work It

There are so many awesome things in this shot. The leotard. The belt. The headband. The shiny leggings, the side pony tail. Best of all? Will's confusion about Holly's advice and Holly's response to his "I don't understand" in the form of "It's Jazzercise Will, it's not that hard." Gold.

Sue Sylvester's Coffee Run

She's so hardcore she crumples the sugar wrappers into her coffee to drink. I wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley. She might choke me with a plastic stirrer.

Warblers Warehouse Number

This scene felt so incredibly set up to me. It was a fun number, but the emtpy warehouse (someone in the Warblers obviously knows a rave party planner. Or a serial killer. Or both) and the bubbles? It was just so....choreographed.

Kurt's Sexy Faces

I noticed a long time ago that Chris Colfer doesn't have the greatest performace face for non-ballady songs. Obviously he exaggerated it for the purposes of this episode, but Blaine was right: dude looks like he's either about to fart, mortified that he DID fart, or desperate for a number 2. It was very amusing. And cringeworthy. But mostly amusing.

Burt and Kurt Talk About Sex

Kudos to Burt and the Glee writers for this. A nice acknowledgment for all the single dads out there who do have to do all the awkward puberty related discussions on their own.

Kiss

Loved this number. The Tango, the candles, the falsetto. Loved, loved, LOVED IT!

Landslide

I love this song. While I thought Gwyneth did a good job, I don't understand why a song Santana wanted to sing for Brittany wasn't sung primarily by...Santana. It was a really obvious move to get Gwyneth to sing ANOTHER song in the episode and I think that was a bad idea.

Sam and Artie's reaction

Artie's reaction to Sam's desire for he and Artie to be "friends like Santana and Brittany" cracked my shit up. Sam is just so unbelievably clueless.

Afternoon Delight

There are so many things wrong with this number. The first being the outfits. It's like a cruise ship costume department in the seventies. And I loved Emma' frantic insistence that Afternoon Delight is actually a dessert and her listing the ingredients. I can't believe Uncle Jesse's head hasn't exploded from the absurdity of it all.

Regionals tonight! My husband* and I are so excited!

*except that he's really not. Pin It

Fun Friday Links

Fun Friday Links is a new weekly feature here at Boredom Abounds By Julia. Basically, I'm going to start sharing all the interesting, fun, time wasting links I've discovered during the week to keep you entertained and allieviate the boredom during your Friday.

Enjoy!

- Love taking a peek inside other people's glamorous lives? Check out Habitually Chic, run by New York interior designer Heather Clawson. She features the chic homes and workspaces of people she's come across in her work and social life, as well in books and reference material she's bought. My favourite so far is her feature on the home of Lord and Lady St. Germans (hint: it's a freaking palace!)

- Love a movie quiz? Try your luck with the Famous Objects From Classic Movies quiz. They show you a single object and you have to name the movie it's from. I failed horribly at this, mostly at the really, really, ridiculously OBVIOUS ones. Maybe you won't?

- Dudes. Fug Madness has started! Head over to Go Fug Yourself and START VOTING. Already featured are Madonna's ass cheeks and Cher's....Cher-ness.

- Do you dream about becoming a YouTube viral sensation? Have a look at this short clip to see how this baby did it. 

- Lady Gaga has a new song and it's totally addictive in a 90s music kind of way, once you get past the first two and half minutes of her "Manifesto." Potentially not safe for work.

- St Patrick's Day FLASH MOB!

If you've found a fun link you want me to feature just let me know! Pin It

Adventures in Cooking - Cinnamon and Applesauce Scrolls of Deliciousness

Monday was Little House on the Prairie Day at Chez Boredom Abounds. I made baked goods with yeast from scratch in the kitchen while my husband worked the land (well, he sucked up all the leaves in the driveway with his electric leaf sucker thingie and raked shit up out the back while listening to his iPod). So, it was kind of Little House on the Prairie in the twenty first century. Although we DO have an over-abundance of mosquitoes just like in the books when they eat all that watermelon from down near the river or something, but we haven't caught malaria yet. Yay!

Anyway. I have been wanting to make a bread-type thing from scratch for a while now, but I don't eat a lot of bread. So when I found a recipe for Cinnamon Scrolls, I thought "I can get on board with that." Sugar, cinnamon, apple sauce. Sounds delicious, and it doesn't even try to sound healthy, which I like when I'm baking. I was worried about cooking with yeast because I've never done that before and I'm not great at making scones, so I was worried about making dough and getting it to rise properly. But, if you read on, you'll see that my fears were unfounded!

Ingredients:

4 cups of plain flour

1/3 cup of caster sugar

2 x 7gram sachets of dry yeast (you can find this in the supermarket near the flour and bread mixes)

300ml milk, warmed slightly

100grams unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

250gram jar of applesauce

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup icing sugar

1/4 cup warm water

Extra cinnamon and sugar for dusting

Total prep and cooking time: about two to three hours (intermittent though - don't worry)

Pin It

Glee Highlights: Season 2, Episode 14 - Blame It On The Alcohol

I'm going to say it. This has been my absolute favourite episode of Glee by far, from both seasons one and two. It was just perfect. Snappy, quick, silly, horrifying - just everything about being a teenager was portrayed perfectly in this episode.

So, let's get going with the highlights. There are a LOT, so I've hid them behind the cut. But here's one before the jump. You know who I'm starting with, don't you? Come on, it's my favourite character!

FIGGINS!

His reference to "Ke-dollar sign-HA" was perfect.

Pin It