"You need to go see the wizard. Ask him for some guts."

The seventh blog I ever posted was about my love for actress, Kristen Bell. If you have read any of the subsequent posts you probably know that I have continued to follow her career over the years. I am currently enjoying her character Jeannie Van Der Hooven on Showtime's House of Lies and really liked last summer's Hit and Run, which was written and directed by her fiance Dax Shepard (and also happened to star my other love, Bradley Cooper).

This morning at 10:35 a.m. EST, Entertainment Weekly announced that Kristen and Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas had created a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise $2 million so that they can FINALLY make the Veronica Mars movie that I have been waiting for since the show went off the air in 2007. In less than five hours, they raised half their goal and at the time of this post were at about $1.5 million. Update: They are at $2 million and counting!

I think that Warner Bros. should refund the Kickstarter donations if the goal is reached in less than 24 hours as an apology for doubting the fandom, but that's just me.

Here is the video explaining the project:



And here are all the links you need for anything else you might want:

Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeronicaMars

Twitter: Kristen - https://twitter.com/IMKristenBell 
              Rob - https://twitter.com/RobThomas

The WB (to catch up on episodes): http://www.thewb.com/shows/veronica-mars

Mars Investigations (in case you can't watch videos at work but still want to catch up on episodes): http://marsinvestigations.net/


I am so beyond excited that I have pretty much not gotten anything done at work today. So, if I get fired, I guess I will just have to go to LA to work on the movie :)

xoxo
c
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"There you go, finding a hidden advantage in an unfortunate circumstance...

...using pain to take you to the next level. Those are the things that turn players into kings."
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I wanted to post this last week while I was home in Philadelphia, but my mother's computer has gotten so slow that it would have taken me all week to finish. So here now, only a little delayed, are my favorite episodes of television from the past year. As I remind you every year, I do not think that they are necessarily the BEST episodes from the year, just my favorites. Be forewarned, there are plenty of spoilers ahead.

So, without further ado...

Sons of Anarchy "Laying Pipe"
This episode completely destroyed me. I was literally in a ball on the floor crying my eyes out by the time it was over. All that really needs to be said is that Ryan Hurst is a warrior and gave an incredible and heart-breaking final performance as Opie Winston. His presence on the show will be sorely missed but he went out in stellar fashion. I really enjoyed the entire season, but this hit me harder than anything else this year and really intensified everything else that happened the rest of the season. It will really set the tone for who Jax ultimately becomes. I said it last year and I will say it again, Kurt Sutter is a crazy genius and he has a phenomenal and totally under-rated cast backing him up.

The Vampire Diaries "Memorial"
Another episode of television that made me cry. I loved the whole episode, but I especially enjoyed the end where they released the Chinese floating lanterns in memory of all the friends and family they have lost over the past four seasons. And then, of course, when Damon refused to participate, he went to the cemetery to rant at Alaric's grave and as the camera pans out we see ghost Alaric sitting beside him listening and he says the best five words of the whole episode: "I miss you too, buddy."  So good.

Parenthood "One More Weekend With You"
This show has really stepped up its game this season. Parenthood has always been a great hour of television, but season four has been absolutely amazing every single week. A breast cancer storyline and a new character who is an Iraq War veteran has upped the stakes this year and every single actor has risen to the challenge. Monica Potter, Peter Krause, Mae Whitman and newest addition Matt Lauria are all especially mind-blowing in their performances. I liked this episode the best because it showed Kristina going through her first chemo treatment and the reaction she has from it in an incredibly realistic way. It also shows us for the first time, the real struggle that Ryan is going through after having lost one of his military buddies and how Amber deals with him and his situation. I really love the characters on this show and all of the actors that portray them. There really is not one weak link. It just continues to make me wish I were a Braverman.

"That's the problem with working, too much instability."

Thanks to my friends asking me to house-sit (and having better cable than me) and a free weekend of Showtime OnDemand, I have now caught up on several shows: Shameless, Homeland and Weeds. I also got a chance to watch the first episode of Kristen Bell's new series, House of Lies.

Along with Bell, House of Lies stars Don Cheadle, Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson and Dawn Olivieri. It is a half hour comedy about a management consultant team from the second best firm in the country. Cheadle leads the series and his character will use any means to win over his clients and get them the information that they want. His crazy ex-wife works for the competition and his father is a former psychiatrist and helps take care of his cross-dressing son. It is smart and witty and I cannot wait to see where the rest of the show takes us. But mostly, I just love having Kristen Bell back on my television :o)

I was a little skeptical going into Homeland. I am not really sure why but, even though it was getting rave reviews, I just did not think I was going to like it. I was very, very wrong. The first season was a very smart, intense thriller about a CIA agent and the P.O.W. that she thinks has been turned into a terrorist after eight years in Iraqi captivity. The twist is that the rest of the country sees this man as a hero and the CIA agent has mental issues of her own. The show stars Claire Dances, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin, Mandy Patinkin, David Harewood, David Marciano, Diego Klattenhoff and Jamey Sheridan and they were all fantastic. Although, every time Mandy Patinkin's character, Saul, would come onscreen, I could not help but think, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." This first season ended in a breathtaking way and I cannot even imagine what will happen in season two.