It seems that the addition one of our newest tangenteers (I see a newer addition… but it has been years since I have taken a French class)  I am quickly falling behind in my posts (although she does have a few hundred to catch me 😀 ).  Yesterday, I noticed real progress in the continuing dissolving of my blood clot.  I still feel it… not really painful but it is still keeping me at a slow clip.  Madame Peters was in tonight (haven’t seen her since the day before I went to the doctor nearly two or THREE (?) months ago.  I assured her that I am recovering nicely… however slowly.  But I will be back to my 3-4 mile walks 3 times a week before long.  Telling myself that I will be able to do the things I really enjoy doing in time helps with the psychological.

My recital with the rest of K’s students is less than 4 weeks away.  Memorizing my very wordy but very fun piece is challenging but I am really close.  I have nailed down a fine female to do the bit with and once she completes her run in The Wedding Singer, we will get together and get ‘r done.

Well… that is all… My food is probably over done and I have to watch The Office which I DVR’ed… Michael Scott’s farewell is looming.  I think next week is the extended special episode.  Is this the moment when the series will “Jump the Shark?”  How will Will Ferrell fare in the new role?  Time will tell.

DISCLAIMER:

If you have yet to watch Season 7, Episode 3 of The Office… DO NOT PROCEED.  There is a great abundance of spoilage here!

WOW!  WHAT AN EPISODE!  The opening musical number was even better than the season premiere’s.  If they can keep them coming like this, then the should open every episode this way.  In an attempt to win the heart of Erin back from Gabe, Andy auditions for and snags the role of Anthony in Sweeney Todd.

The entire office staff (minus one) takes in the final performance of the community theatrical production.  The lead role is played by a ringer who just happened to be Darryl’s plumber.  This would not have been such a dramatic turn of events had Michael not auditioned for the role, himself.  His reaction during the curtain call is classic!  Check out Mr. Scott’s hilarious audition during the closing credits.

Unfortunately, Erin is unable to attend the performance.  Jim and Pam have baby-sitting problems and the receptionist volunteers her services.

Andy’s performance and bits of singing are tremendous. “I feel you… Johanna.” On stage, one of the most annoying things that could happen from the audience of a live performance (and I have been on-stage as it happened) happens to Andy while he is on stage.  “I killed it!”

I loved this episode!  One of my favorites by FAR!  I can definitely relate to Andy: disappointment when his co-workers “cannot make it” to the performance;  seeing them in the audience; hoping beyond hope that “that person” can somehow make it.  I’m sure that the audience member sitting next to Dwight found his whispering annoying.

Wouldn’t it be a riot if Michael did keep auditioning with his normal brand of hilarity and was cast in a musical?  HMMM… possibly the plot device for his exit?

View and download the colorful playbill of the Loose Screw Playhouse production of Sweeney Todd

I am behind on blogging about my favorite tv show (and the only one that’s left that is good enough for me to watch these days!), The Office!  Time flew so fast that the season premiere was a few weeks ago now, and it’s been a great season so far!

The Office is on Season 7 already, and unfortunately for us fans, this is reportedly the last season for the show’s lead actor, Steve Carell.  As a huge fan of the show, I  personally don’t see how it will work without Carell’s lovable idiot boss character, Michael Scott, and I’m hoping that he will change his mind about leaving.  Although he has yet to win an Emmy for his performance as Michael Scott (darn Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock takes it every year!), episode 2 of season 7 of The Office saw the best performance I’ve ever seen Carell give and probably the best acting I’ve ever seen on a tv sitcom!  If you’re a fan, I’m talking about the scene where he is in a counseling session with Toby, and Toby is kind of manipulating him to actually talk to him.  For a few minutes, Michael is actually talking and playing cards with Toby – a man he simply cannot stand.  He even has an “I loathe Toby” face that is priceless.  So anyway, he’s playing cards with Toby, and Toby is actually making some valuable psychiatric headway with Michael…  until Michael realizes it.  Within seconds as he’s realizing what Toby has done, his transformation back into his “I loathe Toby” mode is just…  WOW.  Emmy-worthy material, for sure in my opinion, but only time will tell.

Unfortunately, if you are not already watching this great show, then I can’t recommend you start now in the 7th season – nowadays the show seems to be written for its fan base, and newcomers might not be able to follow the plots which are seemingly being developed around the already established characters.  But I do highly recommend you check out the show beginning in Season 1 – you can do this on dvd or perhaps even on NBC’s website?  That way, you can watch the The Office characters hilariously evolve yourself.  If you work in an office yourself, are looking for a new tv show to watch, or are simply a fan of good tv, talented script-writing, try The Office!!

I cannot wait to see what the 3rd episode of this new season will bring us on Thursday!!

One of the Michael Scott’s (aka Steve Carell’s) famous “I loathe Toby” faces:

Ok, ok… so the gang of Dun (OK< OK< Sabre) Scranton Branch are a fictitious bunch, but there is an actual Scranton, PA so who are we to say that the company does not exist.  We even drove within proximity to the town last spring.  Anyway, two of the characters on the show are expecting and to satisfy my no Office blahs, I came across Jim and Pam’s Baby Blog.  Here, you can read about hilarious sympathy pains, weird food cravings, and possible baby names (guess who has voiced his opinion multiple times… even suggesting both male and female variants).  There are also multiple links to other historic events, including the wedding of the lovebirds.

Last week I really could have used a Thursday night pick-me-up from my favorite show, The Office, but alas, no new episode.  I was sure I couldn’t be disappointed two weeks in a row, but this week’s ep is also a re-run!  Then I started thinking about how it’s been in the news lately that NBC is changing around their scheduling, most of it having to do with the Olympics and Jay Leno.  Then I realized that if the Olympics are on NBC, the Office probably won’t be on for the entire duration of the Winter Games!  I did a quick search, and to my relief, I found that a new Office is scheduled to air on January 21 – not this week, but next week thankfully.  We might have to wait out the entire airing of the Winter Olympics, but at least they’re not going to make us wait until it’s over and we’ll have at least one new Office episode to enjoy in the meantime.  Any other Office fans out there?  Does anyone know how many more new episodes we get for the rest of the season, or at  least how many we can expect to enjoy before the beginning of the Olympics?  How long IS the Olympics, anyway?  And fyi, the Jan. 21 episode of the Office is called, “The Banker”, and the plot outline is this:  When a prospective buyer for Dunder Mifflin visits, everyone looks to impress and Michael gets nostalgic.

Sounds hilarious, as usual!  And don’t get me wrong, this show is so great that reruns are tons of fun too.  We were just watching the “Frame Toby” episode from season 5 last night, and we had to rewind 4 times to listen to Creed’s classic line about the quarry – I’m not going to repeat it here because it’s mostly the WAY he says it, but it has to be one of the funniest Office moments EVER!  Which got me to thinking about a hypothetical situation –  what if Creed were a character who came to our semi-regular game nights?  HAHA!

My first Christmas present of 2009 – Clue The Office Collector’s Edition!

Ok, I have to be honest – could you tell I started the draft of this post weeks ago?  But I had to finish it, cuz this is a super-cool game given by a very thoughtful friend.  In addition, I received some other awesome gifts: Walmart gift cards and a gift certificate to the local pet store so I can get my parakeet – more on that later.  My gifts also included something incredibly touching and sentimental from my husband and kids, but that’s all I need to say about that to keep from traveling the dark road of sadness.

Back to Clue – The Office version – it was so fun!  In true keeping with Office traditions, the victim in the game is Toby Flenderson!  Obvious, especially when the game’s instructions were penned by Michael.  Each player chooses an available character, and they get a little Office ID card for their person (Office fans at our church exchanged this game for Christmas, and they replaced the little Office ID’s with pictures of church staff – hilarious!).  Players then move about the Office, entering rooms like Michael’s Office or Accounting, and play continues just like the other versions of the game Clue – you make accusations about who killed Toby with which weapon in which room.  My favorite part of this game (aside from the fact that I won the first round we played!) are the weapons –  pewter figures representing various hilarious Office plot lines; for example, a bike chain, a Dundie award, and my personal favorite: a George Foreman grill!!

It’s a must-have for any fan of The Office, to be especially appreciated by game collectors like myself!

It’s time for me to officially make my presence known on Facebook.  If you watch the awesome NBC comedy “The Office”, then you’ll understand the reference in the title of this blog post involving a creative Halloween costume worn by Jim Halpert, a character on my favorite show – it was hilarious!

But back to me learning Facebook…  some time ago I signed up for a Facebook account (don’t even remember why), but then I stopped using it because it started doing freaky things behind my back – like randomly adding mere acquaintances and business associates as my Facebook friends.  That was NOT the way I had envisioned social networking!  But my youth group kids have been BEGGING me to join Facebook, and since I took pictures of them last week, we decided that my homework challenge is to get on Facebook so I can post our pictures.  So here I go, and the first thing I’ll be doing is looking for a way to NOT invite everyone on my email contact list to be my Facebook friend!

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE 11-12-09 EPISODE OF The Office… PLEASE SKIP THIS POST!

Tonight’s episode put me in the mood for one of those infrequent murder mystery game nights. But seeing that our poor hosts are under a self-imposed quarantine, this will have to wait…. get well soon.  It seems that the gang from Dunder-Mifflin Scranton Branch are under the impression that the company is on the road to financial disaster.  Much to co-manager Jim’s dismay, our beloved leader devises a plan to put the teams mind at ease: A Murder in Savannah.

Each associate is given a character with props to create using their imagination.  Naughty Nellie Nutmeg, Nathaniel Nutmeg, and VooDoo Mama Juju are a few.  Guess who gets to play Caleb Crawdad, handsome playboy.  As usual, hilarity ensues in the face of turmoil.

The outcome of the company will likely take a few episodes to decide as will the undertones of the Andy/Kelly “Erin” relationship.

Perhaps it is all a ploy to advertise the newest edition of the classic board game Clue.  And check out the cool new look of the Tangents homepage and check into starting a blog of your own… it’s FUN!

I’m talking about the nuptials of Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly, of course!  If you’re not a fan of The Office, you can stop reading now.  But for everyone else, how about that special 1-hour episode the other night?  Hubby and I thought it to be amazing – I laughed, I cried, I laughed until I cried…  Thursday’s episode was heartwarming,  hilarious, and humongous with its 1-hour run time!

Now I will be the first to admit that some of the plot lines contained within this episode were so outrageous that they were almost silly.  But given this show’s talented cast and production staff, things that would normally be ridiculous on other shows instead made for some great tv in this case.  I won’t waste your  time with a recap; you can get that here from the quick-witted tvguide.com writers.  But I absolutely loved this episode, so after much deliberation, here are my top 3 moments from The Office episode “Niagara”:

3.  Pam’s 80-year-old “Nema” saying, “I had to sit there while it happened to me.” – Pam’s grandmother is referring to the previous night in her hotel room when she couldn’t figure out how to get the tv channel switched from the movie “Bruno”.  Having been exposed to the same trash, her line echoed my sentiments exactly!

2.  This exchange was the one that had me crying laughing:
Pam Beesly:      Hey hey! Where are you? Can you take Andy to the hospital?
Jim Halpert:     What?
Pam Beesly:     He tore his scrotum dancing.
Jim Halpert:     What?
Pam Beesly:     He is in my room icing his balls.
Jim Halpert:     What?
Oh, my – TOO funny, enough said!

And the best moment of the episode was…  (drum roll please)…
1.  The wedding dance!  The attendants and attendees of Pam and Jim’s wedding danced down the aisle, imitating a popular youtube video.  I struggled deciding which version to post on my blog, the real one or The Office’s version, and I  went with the original.  Not only is it entertaining to  watch this happen at a real wedding (can’t believe they allowed this in a church, but if you look, the officiant is standing on the altar, grooving along!), but I decided not to post the clip from The Office because I think much of its entertainment value comes from being a fan of the show.  If you are a fan of the show, then you’ve already seen the musical montage in this episode set to Chris Brown’s Forever (shows what I know – after his arrest, I just assumed that Brown was another trouble-plagued hip-hop star, but this song actually has me tapping my toes.  Am I a Chris Brown fan?).  Non-Office fans wouldn’t appreciate all of the significance of the events that take place during this scene of the show, so I figured, why show it?  I LOVED this part; it’s the part that made me cry, albeit with happy tears, of course.  Every moment between  Pam and Jim for the past 5 seasons has been leading up to this moment, and despite all of the anticipation by fans and viewers, it did not disappoint!  I won’t say much more – don’t want to spoil it for fans who haven’t yet watched, but let’s just say (assume Comic Book Guy’s voice from the Simpsons):  “Best. Episode. EVER.”  One I will be watching over and over, laughing and crying each time.

The original version of the Forever wedding dance (this couple also made a parody of their own wedding video with them doing the Forever dance in court during their (fake) divorce proceedings if you want to check it out):

You may have heard all the brouhaha about the TLC reality show Jon and Kate Plus Eight that’s been in the news lately.  If not, a quick re-cap:  Jon and Kate Gosselin were a young couple who had a set of twins and a set of sextuplets, giving them a grand total of 8 kids before either one of them had even hit the age of 30.  They filmed a show for TLC chronicling their lives with all the little ones, and the special was such a success that they soon found themselves celebrities with their own reality show.  Apparently the sudden mega-stardom caused too much strain on the family, and the marriage did not survive.  Amidst accusations of infidelity and other ugly, yet very public issues, the couple filed for divorce earlier this year.  Scarcely a move has been made by either party since without full coverage from the media.

I watched a few episodes of the show back when the Gosselin’s were one big happy family, mostly because it was interesting to watch such a large family function as well as they did, err, as well as they seemed to function anyway.  But ever since the big family fall-out, things have been getting increasingly worse for the clan.  TLC announced yesterday that Jon would no longer be a major part of the show, and they were re-naming it Kate Plus Eight.  Ouch.  There are millions of people who follow the plight of the Gosselins; there are Kate fans and there are Jon fans, and then there are people who are mainly concerned for the welfare of the 8 kids.  The media has certainly vilified Jon, though it’s difficult to determine how much of it he has done to himself.  No matter how much the accusations about Kate’s controlling and domineering nature tend to be proven true by her behavior, she is always able to appear to be the better person through her public statements.  Maybe she really is the better person of the two, or perhaps she is more intelligent or has a better spokesperson advising her than Jon has.  But whatever the case, one thing is clear – those 8 kids they created together should not have to be caught in the middle of all of this, it’s disgusting.

The reason I decided to join in on the media storm and write about this is because of the latest chapter that broke yesterday – when TLC kicked Jon off the show.  His response?  He legally banned all production crews from the house he still co-owns with Kate, where the children live and the parents take turns visiting.  He has threatened to slap TLC with criminal charges if they come onto his property.  He hasn’t said whether this includes a ban on filming the children, but one can guess, based upon his actions, that it’s no longer ok with Jon that his kids star in a reality show.  It’s completely understandable – many people, including child psychology experts, etc, were constantly saying how unhealthy it was for the 8 kids to be filmed on a daily basis.  But Jon (along with Kate, back when they actually agreed on something) was always a staunch defender of the show and the fact that he and Kate had the kids’ best interests at heart.  But now that Jon got himself kicked off the show, it looks like he’s decided that reality tv is no longer a healthy lifestyle for his children.  And that’s fine and even makes sense, but one does have to question his intentions when his legal action to stop the show comes the very day that news is released that he is no longer a part of the show himself.  As a well-written gossip column stated, “Jon is acting like the kid who didn’t get picked to be on a team for the neighborhood baseball game, so he’s taking his ball and going home.”  Whatever his intentions, I am among the many former fans who just want what is best for the 8 kids while the rest of it goes away.  But before that happens, I am very interested to hear the spin Jon puts on his reasons for his actions – all of them.  He is giving a live interview on Larry King Live tonight on CNN, and I’m almost ashamed to admit that I will be watching (the midnight replay of course – there is no way this would ever take precedent over a new episode of The Office).  Then again, why bother watching the interview when I know the “highlights” will be shoved down our throats for the next few days – or at least until Jon’s careless behavior provides enough fodder to make yet another story…