Black20 News

Good morning, everyone! It's time to brighten your day with some Black20 News with Jesse Cantrell. Feel free to visit her featured websites during your busy day at work. But if you're like me, you'll probably have to throw out your Thundercats tee after watching. :(

Summer Television Sucks

Summer television sucks. There, I said it. If you've ever read this blog before then you know I'm a big fan of TV. Partially because it's the business that I'm in, and partially because I just really like it and I don't have the attention span to watch movies. Unfortunately I feel like there are zero point zero zero good shows on this summer. Ok... that's not completely true, but there are very few shows that pique my interest right now. I used to schedule my life around what was on TV (Wow... sad to see that in print) and now I'm going to be forced to do things like... go outside. *dry heaves* There are two shows that I really can't even stand to watch this summer. I'm sorry if you like them or have a part in their creation, but they're awful.

Pirate Master. I give it an "oh, brother" and a "gaahhh." This show is exactly like Survivor (which is a good show) but the people have to pretend they're pirates. Yes, pirates. They pretend to look for this old captain's treasure and they find the skeletons of other pirates and stuff like that. This show goes beyond reality shows where the contestants simply exaggerate their personalities; these contestants have to act genuinely interesting in being a pirate. wtf?

Fast Cars & Superstars. This is the showing that should be called NASCAR-ing with Celebrities. Now, I will admit that I could see how producers came up with this idea. I picture them sitting in a board room saying, "Ok... what's hot with Americans right now. Dancing with the Stars is good. Those other celebrities-doing-things shows rated well. What about NASCAR?! That's great between the coasts! Let's make celebrities drive the racecars! Done!" But in practice the actual show is sooooo boring! In my head I pictured 10 celebs get in racecars going head-to-head and have one of them inevitably crash into the wall and have to be extinguished by the pit crew. Unfortunately, the real show has each celeb doing time trials by themselves on the track. Who wants to watch that?! Not I, sir. Not I.

There are actually a few shows that I look forward to watching. Each one of them is back for their third season. Coincidence? Not going to give long explanations, but watch these:

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List returns for season 3. Kathy is hilarious and the cast of supporting characters is just as good. Check it out Tuesday nights at 10pm on Bravo.

So You Think You Can Dance is back for a third season and it's just as good as the last two. Now that the audition episodes are over the good stuff can begin. SYTYCD is on FOX, Wednesday nights at 8pm.

Top Chef is also back for its third season. Although it is probably my least favorite of the Bravo competition shows (Project Runway, Top Design, Shear Genius) it's still a great program and worth checking out. I only wish I could smell the food! Top Chef is on Wednesdays at 10pm on Bravo.

If you love TV as much as I do, you should check out Yahoo! TV every day to see what's on the telly tonight. They have an easy-to-read programming grid and lots of extra content. Happy watching!

Knocked Up

I really don't go to the movies that often, but every now and then a film gets so much hype that I have to check it out. On Sunday I saw Knocked Up starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan and it was hilarious! If you haven't seen it yet, please clear your schedule one night this week and check it out.

The movie is rated "R" for good reason. Lots of swearing and sex and drug use, but after the initial shock it all seems to go away as you get more interested in the story and characters. The characters are what really make the movie and the cast is fantastic. I genuinely felt horrible when Katherine's character, Alison, finds out she's pregnant after a one night stand... every young woman's (or older woman's) nightmare. I did think it was unnecessary for her to job to be an on-air correspondent for E! News, but luckily they didn't focus on that for very long. She could have been a teacher or a cashier or something and the effect would have been the same. I will admit that it was fun to hear Ryan Seacrest swear like a sailor in his cameo.

Like I said, the actors and characters really made the film. Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd starred as Alison's sister and brother-in-law. They were hilarious and charming and really made you care about their marriage and adorable kids.

Speaking of, the two little girls in the movie were really cute. The youngest daughter with the curly hair definitely stole the show when she was on the screen. Totally adorable. Unfortunately the older daughter was a bad actress, which I feel terrible saying about a 10 year old... but it's true.


The loser, but lovable guy pals in the film were hilarious. I thought they were genuinely funny, and their dialog was very true to life (even though it was crude.) They talked like real guys talk to each other and had some really funny one-liners to boot.

So... basically it was a heavily-hyped film that actually lived up to most of that hype. It did get a little long towards the end, but I really liked how it turned out. Won't spoil anything, but I thought it was hilarious with just enough heart to not be stupid. Good summary, huh? Also, one of my fave SNL players, Kristen Wiig, has a few short scenes that really steal the show. Wish she would have been in more of the movie. If you can't wait to make it to the theater you can check out KnockedUpMovie.com in the meantime.

Rihanna on TODAY

ella ella ay ay ay... If you don't know what that is referencing then you are either old or live under a rock (or both) but Rihanna's single "Umbrella" is all over the place lately. To go with the release of her 3rd album in 2 years, Good Girl Gone Bad, the Barbadian singer paid a visit to NBC's TODAY as a part of their Summer Concert Series. PS- The album is really good and you should probably go buy it.

Clearly I was there to check out the performance and to take photos. Here's some of the best, if you care.

---

Related Things:

• More things about music
• More things from concerts
• More things from the Today show
  

SomeEcards.com

Have you ever sent someone and e-card for a holiday or event? Some of them are pretty lame. I have to admit that I'm guilty of using them from time to time, but it's just so easy! Who has time to go get an actual card from the store... or take the time to write their own thoughts in a personalized email. It's much easier to pick out something that someone else has already written.

Yesterday I got a really funny e-card in my inbox that literally made me laugh out loud! Here's what it said:
It's pretty much the best e-card ever. It comes from the website SomeEcards.com, which is filled with tons of awesomely awkward cards for every occasion. Some of them are really funny, and some are really offensive... which is basically the same as funny. Check out their website and send one to someone you love/hate today! Here are a few of my favorites: