Congratulations, Or Not

The tension is bubbling over on Real Housewives of Atlanta, and it's not just the ladies who are at each other's throats, the husbands get in on the action this week.

Sheree is demolishing a house in order to build a new one, because you know, old houses are yucky. Didn't Teresa from Jersey Housewives say the same thing? Hmmm. Anyway, Sheree says this house will only have the essentials - like a skating rink, lounge with DJ booth, and spa area. Who does this girl think she is, Adrienne Maloof? Whatever, Sheree. Stop trying to act like you're rich. You know you ain't got Nene money, so sit down. 

Phaedra and Apollo discuss his recent run in with the police. She says it was a case of mistaken identity, but everyone is talking smack about the ex-con being pulled out of his car by officers. Whatever the case may be, I feel for Apollo, because he seems like a nice man with a rocky past who's trying to do right by his family. 

Cynthia and Peter have Noel's father, the sexy as hell Leon, over and they talk about some of the issues with Cynthia's sister and mother after the wedding day bruhaha with the marriage license. There's so much unresolved pain there, and it doesn't help that Peter seems to be so stubborn. He definitely won't be the one to initiate a resolution. 

Kim and Sheree meet for lunch and I'm shocked that they don't immediately start trashing Nene. They talk about Sheree's new house, and Kim's upcoming baby shower. Instead of capping on Nene, they talk smack about Cynthia and Peter, because Peter gave an unfavorable interview to a magazine about them. Oh well! How many times have they been quoted saying something not so nice about their cast mates? Grow up!

Nene and her youngest son wait for Gregg to pick him up, and they discuss the separation. It's obviously hard on him, and Nene tries to be as diplomatic as possible about the subject. I thought it was nice when she said she still "likes" Gregg, and they seem to get along pretty well when he shows up. 

Phaedra and Kandi go shopping for Kim's baby shower gift, and Phaedra reveals that she was hurt by what Peter said in the magazine article as well. I swear, Phaedra should be the last one concerned with what Peter says. Who cares? But she does, and apparently, it's affecting her friendship with Cynthia. But she must not be too worried about it, because it doesn't stop Phaedra from calling Peter "Papa Smurf" and "Uncle Ben".

Nene, Kandi, and Mama Joyce get together and talk about men in a hilarious mini-scene. Love it when Kandi and Nene get along.

Kim's baby shower is quite the affair, and everyone is dressed to the nines. Kandi, Mama Joyce, Phaedra, and Apollo, arrive first, and Lawrence and Sheree show up shortly after. Kim's father gives Phaedra his business card in probably the sleaziest self-promoting speech ever. Gross. Phaedra can't help but notice the shower is just as extravagant as hers, if not more. Kim had no problem criticizing Phaedra's baby shower last season, saying it was over the top. I'm sorry, having those portraits all over the place was pretty over the top. And kind of tacky, if you ask me. Sheree says she no longer talks to Cynthia because she's too far up Nene's ass. They talk about the magazine article and Sheree decides to question Peter's manhood by asking "what straight man" would gossip in a magazine article. I don't know, Sheree, but you talk enough for everyone, so maybe you're not the best person to complain about such things. 

Oh, and Nene wasn't invited to the shower but she's not sweating it - check out this exclusive bonus scene. 

Cynthia and Peter show up late because she was out of town working. Kim notes that they didn't bring a present, and showed up 20 minutes before the party was over, so "what's the point?". Well, Kim, they wanted to come and celebrate with you despite your shitty attitude, but since all you care about is presents, you probably don't understand that. Sheree makes some stupid quip about Cynthia being off Nene's leash and coming to the party. Bitter is not your best color, Sheree. It's really ugly on you. 

Brielle gives a pretty hilarious speech - and in the process kind of throws Kim under the bus. I love Brielle! 

Kandi asks Peter what's new and he chats about his new bar, Bar One. Phaedra makes some passive aggressive dig about not being invited because Peter doesn't like her. And so begins the Baby Shower Brawl. Peter isn't the one, I'm just saying. Phaedra obviously thought she was going to guilt him into apologizing, um, no such luck. Sheree jumps in saying she knows she's cute, so she doesn't care what Peter says - I'm guessing he said she wasn't attractive. Apollo gets involved and the two men pretty much just start puffing up their chests. Seriously, this whole thing could have been resolved if Apollo would have said, let's just talk about it later. And Peter should have controlled himself a lot better. But the person who started the ball rolling was Phaedra. So what, he doesn't like you? Do you really care that much? And of course Apollo is going to back his wife up. It was just a bad situation. The security staff get ready to break it up, and Apollo and Phaedra walk away. 

Kroy looks really annoyed with this, and calls them "stupid people". It is really stupid to fight at a baby shower, and these guys should have known better. Just because you want to prove a point doesn't mean you should make an ass out of yourself. Cynthia is totally embarrassed, and thank the Lord for Lawrence, who knows how to make fun of any tense situation. Kim says if this were last year, she would have thrown a fit over this, but she's much calmer now, thanks to Kroy. Now if only Kroy could find a way to get Kim to shut up, I'd be happy.

Next week, Nene tells Cynthia about her sex life, Kim talks circumcision, Kandi gets Ridiculous for her birthday and fights with her mom, and Peter confronts Cynthia's sister. 

On Watch What Happens Live!, Cynthia and Keisha Knight Pulliam were the guests. You know Keisha as Rudy from the Cosby Show. She's a lovely young woman with a spot on Tyler Perry's sitcom on TBS. She was a really fun guest. Cynthia explained her and Peter's actions in this episode, including why she didn't bring a baby shower gift - Kim didn't bring them a wedding gift, brought her own wine, and gave their marriage less than a year - which I thought was pretty fair. Don't dish it out if you can't take it, Kim! Cynthia defended Peter, but I didn't expect anything less. They seem to be really happy, and I'm happy for Cynthia. Peter seems like a handful, but he also seems like a genuine guy. I'm not mad at him. The after show was a lot of fun - you can check it all out here. 

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Just Go For It!

If you're still not watching Parks and Recreation on Thursdays on NBC, you should be ashamed of yourself. Now, do the right thing and go to this site and get caught up.

This week, Ben is still bummed out and tells Leslie he's made arrangements to no longer spend time at the Parks and Recreation department. NO! Ben and Leslie belong together!! Tom and Jerry are assigned to work on a new logo and overall makeover for the Parks and Rec image. Andy is thinking of going to college, and he has April and Ron by his side giving him their respective takes on what his college career should consist of. Leslie is panicking over the prospect of not seeing Ben anymore and Ann tries to talk some sense into her, which of course, doesn't work. Leslie decides to drag out the last project she and Ben will be working on so that she can continue to spend time with him. Oh, honey, this is not the way to go.

Leslie finally gets herself together and talks to Ben. You gotta see this episode. I LOVE THIS SHOW!

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A Love Letter to Andy Cohen and Watch What Happens Live!

OMG! I am so excited about the news that Watch What Happens Live! will be airing 5 nights a week, starting Sunday, January 8, 2012!

This means 5 nights of Andy Cohen in the clubhouse, and I, for one, am really super happy about this. I actually want Watch What Happens Live! to be an hour long, but if it's still 30 minutes, I'm ok with that. For those of you who aren't up on this particular show, first of all, where have you been? And second of all, it's going to be ok. Set your DVRs and prepare to be entertained!

Andy is an amazing host, charming and funny, and the guests are USUALLY a lot of fun. Not always, but 99% of the time. Guests are encouraged to relax and let their hair down, and that makes for a lot of really hilarious moments. Also, the audience tweets, facebooks, and calls in, not to mention there's a poll every show where the audience makes their voices heard on a subject of Andy's choosing.

Watch What Happens Live! is becoming a cultural phenomenon in its own right, and Andy and the clubhouse staff totally deserves all the success and recognition they have coming.

Sincerely, a fan for life,

Amanda (@humorandspice)

AMA Awards

The American Music Awards started off with a David Guetta/Nicki Minaj performance that was marred by a slight delay in the video vs. the sound. We heard Nicki's rapping before we saw her mouth move. I have no doubt she was performing live, it seemed to be an issue with the sound/video not being sync'd up properly. Her hair was a cute mop of pink curls and her makeup was also on point. Her costume, however, was lacking. It looked like a homemade version of the Svedka robot. It was essentially dark grey bodysuit with mirrors and metal speakers sewn onto it in convenient places. Her costume people definitely should have done a complete metal bodysuit or just gone with a different concept all together. It just looked unfinished.

Maroon 5 won best group - no complaints here. I'm a fan.

The sound continues to be an issue as there's all kinds of background noise and it's really distracting. Taylor Swift wins best country female for the 4th year in a row, and looks completely shocked like she always does when she rakes in the awards. Annoying.

Justin Bieber performs his ridiculous Christmas song even though it's the week before Thanksgiving, which only confirms my theory that this kid hasn't even released enough songs to still be considered relevant, and yet he is. I hate show business. Oh and his voice is seriously changing and not in a good way. The sound/video was also off on this performance. Get it together, editing bay!

The Band Perry sounds great and the sound/video problem is fixed shortly after their performance begins. I can definitely understand why people love this song. It's really a good tune. Now, I wish I could rave about the lead singer's look, but it's just bad. Her hair is crimped and she's wearing a Scarlet O'Hara type ballgown. If she was going to go for the Gone With The Wind look, she should have gone all out and had her hair and makeup tight and right. But awesome performance nonetheless.

Chris Brown did a combo of some ballad and a dance song and I'll be honest I can't really watch him for more than a couple seconds so I tuned him out. Sorry. I will admit he has a great voice still.

Jennifer Hudson presents the award for rap/hip-hop artist, and she looks amazing. I was worried she'd get too skinny, but she looks great. I am so happy for her. Nicki Minaj wins and has to have security escort her out due to sky high platform shoes. She actually slips and almost falls, but is caught by her beefy companion. She's wearing the same curly pink wig, and a cute ballgown - the bodice is nude with black lace and a bright green skirt. Nicki thanked Taylor Swift for making Super Bass so popular with her fans after she covered it with Selena Gomez.

Jane Levy and Cheryl Hines from my new favorite show Suburgatory introduced Kelly Clarkson's performance, which was a big band stylizing of her song Mr. Know It All. I actually love this arrangement much more than the radio version. The radio version sounds too much like her other songs for me. Kelly looks stunning in a red sequined Jessica-Rabbit-esque gown and retro waves in her hair to match. Her voice is just as fantastic as ever, and she really gave us a great performance. Thumbs up!

Rihanna wins for best soul/r&b album, but isn't there so she accepts via video message, she's so beautiful, and Loud really is an awesome album!

Enrique Iglesias and the Crenshaw Elite High School perform a ballad and then we got Tonight I'm Loving You, which is a song that I really do love. And Ludacris makes an appearance which is always a good time! Love him! He makes the most danceable music with the most inappropriate lyrics, and I love it.

Jennifer Lopez starts her performance off with a ballad and I'm instantly yelling at the TV. NO! This is not what you're meant to do! As if she hears me, she rips off her angel robe to reveal a sequined showgirl mini dress to sing Papi, which is actually a really fun song. The sound/video is off again and it's super annoying. She gets into a Fiat onstage, which is a little weird, but let's go with it. Make fun of it all you want, gurl is making money. More power to her. I aint mad. She's running around the stage, and all I can think is: if I look this good at 42, I won't complain. The sound is finally back on track, and I can tell she's singing live even as she's running around and dancing. Her vocals are a lot better than before, and in my opinion she's definitely improving in that area. She'll never be a vocal powerhouse, but she's does her thing, and I'm a fan. She strips again to just a bodysuit with rhinestones on her private parts, and Pitbull makes a brief appearance for On the Floor. I still love this song. She's got dancers on stilts, and they're picking her up and swinging her around. She then gives us some very sexy moves, and there are sexy acrobats in the background. Jennifer's been wearing a lot of bodysuits lately for her performances, and I wonder if it's a happy medium so she gets to show her body without actually showing real skin. Could this have been one of Marc's ideas during their marriage? Britney and Xtina WISH they had this body. With this performance, JLo proves she's still a superstar.

Lady Antebellum wins best country group and now I can go back to not paying attention to them.

Adam Lambert (looking HOT) introduces One Republic, a band that makes the most boring songs that you can't get out of your head. The lead singer is having trouble with the high notes.

Taylor Swift presents the award for best rap/hip-hop album and Nicki Minaj wins again. She's crying, saying she can't believe it. She thanks Lil Wayne and I notice a huge diamond band on her wedding finger on her left hand. What's up with this? Or am I late to some news? She tells her fans to chase their dreams and shouts out female rappers, "past, present, and future", and specifically names Queen Latifah since she's in the house tonight.

Cutie Benjamin Bratt introduces Pitbull's performance, which starts with Lil Jon dj'ing a bunch of clips of Pitbull's many hits. Lil Jon is a great hype man. Pitbull makes more stellar dance songs than anyone out there right now. Marc Anthony comes out and starts singing Rain Over Me and I get up to dance my ass off for the entire performance. Oh and Pit's red/black combo was scrumptious. LOVE me some Pitbull!

Let me take this opportunity to say how much I love these clips from past AMAs. I'm not ashamed to admit that I actually remember some of these moments because we (meaning my mother and I) used to tape (yes, VHS tape) record the AMAs and I would watch them over and over. Don't judge me.

Heidi Klum is super irritating. Sorry, I just can't help saying that every time I see her on tv. They run a video package showing Katy's #1 hits from her album Teenage Dream: California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Firework, ET, and Last Friday Night. Katy performs The One That Got Away, and she's playing guitar. I like this a lot more than cupcake bras, but that's just me. She's rocking a retro Joan Crawford hair style (still pink), and her voice sounds better than some of the more recent live performances I've seen on tv. Heidi presents her with a special award for being the first woman with 5 #1 singles from one album. This is a great honor and I think it's well deserved. She seems genuinely grateful, and thanks her fans for letting her be a chameleon this year.

The band Hot Chelle Rae wins the fan vote award. I've never heard their songs. Meh.

Jennifer Lopez wins best latin music artist, and she really looks shocked. I thought Pitbull had this one in the bag. She looks gorgeous, in a nude gown with black embroidered beading and her hair in a classic bun. She looks amazing. If I'm not mistaken, it's been a long time since she's won something like this, right? She says it's been an amazing year, full of ups and downs, and adds that it's been exciting and overwhelming. she says she's grateful for her blessings. She thanks her family, her babies, and her manager Benny Medina, who she referred to as "my everything." She also thanked producer Red One and her latin fans in a brief speech in Spanish.

In what I think is the best surprise appearance of the night, Alanis Morrisette introduces Mary J. Blige. She looks absolutely stunning. Great white pantsuit with her signature blond locks pulled into a side parted low ponytail. She's singing a song from her new album, and it sounds really good. Her voice is still so tough and raw, I love it! At the end of her performance she briefly spoke about her recently departed friend, rapper Heavy D. Rest in peace.

Beyonce wins best soul/r&b female artist, and of course, she's not in the house. She accepts her award with a taped acceptance speech and thanks her fans and the AMAs.

Maroon 5 starts Moves Like Jagger, and I have to say, Adam Levine is the perfect frontman. He's sexy, he can sing, and he's got charisma to spare. Christina comes out, and I'm very disappointed in her stylist. When she came out, the first thing I thought of was Anna Nicole Smith. And not in a good way. Her bleached blonde hair was out of control, her makeup was way too severe, and that dress. That dress. It was tight, white, and short. No, no, and no. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Christina with some curves, so I'm not even going to call her fat. I love women with curves. The styling has to be right, though. She should have been in something dark and flattering, because that white dress gave her major baby bump, when all she really has is a belly bump. So unfortunate. Also, her vocals were weak. So disappointing. I want Christina to put down the vodka and get back to making good music and giving decent performances. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a huge Christina fan, but I know she can do better than this. And she needs to fire her stylist immediately. Adam Levine goes from Moves Like Jagger straight into a performance with Gym Class Heroes. This guys is a true pro and he makes it look so effortless.

Drake gave his usual Drake performance, nothing new here.

Bruno Mars won best pop/rock male artist. But I had to laugh at looney tune Julie Bowen opening the envelope early, she is such a hot mess.

And then Daughtry performed a song that sounds just like all their other songs.

Taylor Swift won best country album, no surprise there. This is her 9th AMA.

Jenny McCarthy is goofy as ever, and I love her in glasses, by the way! She introduces will.i.am's performance. I guess this is a new song featuring Jennifer Lopez - and she's rocking a side pony and a white geometric dress. It lights up with the black light effects, and it's very reminiscent of past Black Eyed Peas performance visuals. Will.i.am's face is on several video screens, and it's not as impressive as I'm sure he thought it would be. I love JLo as the backup hip hop girl. This suits her. This song is a club banger for sure. There's video screens with Mick Jagger performing now, and it makes me think Mick's having a hell of a year. The video is not synced up correctly again and Mick's mouth is moving with no sound coming out. Annoying!

Adele won for best pop/rock album for 21, which is totally well deserved. She's not there due to her vocal chord surgery. Jenny jokes that Adele told her she could sing the song for her. I thought that was cute.

Lionel Richie and Vanessa Lachey are presenting the award for artist of the year, and Taylor Swift wins. She's totally shocked. I can't take her reaction to winning again - she wins all the time, how could she still be surprised at this point?!

For the grand finale, LMFAO explodes onto the stage with Party Rock. These guys know how to make fun music. The audience has 3d glasses on but I'm not sure why. Shouldn't we at home have been informed about a 3d performance? I love the dancers in glittery jumpsuits. And of course Bieber has to make a totally unnecessary appearance. Barf. The guys go into Sexy And I Know It, and their performance is so hilarious. Not to mention the cameos from David Hasselhoff and Youtube sensation Keenan Cahill. Nice job, guys!

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How Mac Got Fat

The latest episode of "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was one of the best this season. This show really deserves the cult following it has, and if you don't know, now you know!

Mac takes us on a journey back through the past to find out why he got fat, and all I'll say is it's a classic "Sunny" story. This episode was silly, funny, and as always, a little outrageous.

Watch clips and more here.

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Two Peas In A Pod

This week's episode of "New Girl", possibly the best new show of the season, centered around the roomies doing Thanksgiving - Jess style.

Justin Long plays Paul Gunslinger, a fellow teacher at Jess' school. As Juno would say, he's the cheese to her macaroni. These two were made for each other - quirky, cute, and charming as all get out. Jess invites Paul to Thanksgiving that she (meaning Schmidt) will cook. Who knew Schmidt was such a chef-nista?

Well, maybe not, at one point the turkey was in the clothes dryer, but that's neither here nor there. Schmidt and Cece get flirty in the kitchen, and I think this could be the beginning of a very tumultuous relationship.

Winston and Paul bond over their relationship with their grandparents, and Nick wants nothing to do with Paul at all. Do I smell a little jealousy?

After a little turkey-in-the-clothes-dryer incident, the gang goes next door to use the neighbor's apartment for their festivities. She's not home, or so they think.

This episode was a lot of fun, and I love seeing Jess swoon over someone as cute as Paul. You can't watch the episode online because FOX is annoying like that, but you can see it on Comcast/Xfinity OnDemand. Check it out!

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So Close

Survivor has been getting really good lately. And the only reason I haven't blogged about it is because I watch it with my family and then I forget to take notes on it.

A lot has gone down. Cochran has flipped over to the old Upolu and has alienated his old Savaii tribe, well, maybe not Dawn, so much, but everyone else from Savaii hates him. But I don't blame Cochran for turning his back on Savaii. Here's how it was going to go - he would have made it a couple more weeks, maybe if he was lucky, sticking with Savaii. They couldn't wait to get rid of him because he wasn't in their alliance to begin with, and neither was Dawn. So he did what he had to do. I don't begrudge him that, and no one else should either. It's really easy to be part of an alliance where you can sit back and be protected while the rest of the tribe gets picked off one by one. But if you're one of the outsiders, when you see an opportunity, you go for it, and that's what Cochran did - and it was a game changer. And Whitney can shut her face because she's just pissed that she's not protected anymore. She actually had the balls to tell Cochran he disgusts her. Well, Whitney, women who cheat on their husbands on game shows disgust me, so suck it. Read this and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Besides, Ozzy needed to get kicked off his high horse anyway. And although I was rooting for Jim, he made a huge mistake not flipping over with Cochran. It's really sad, because Jim is smart, but he's still playing in Ozzy's shadow. He had plenty of chances to get Ozzy out and become the leader, and he never did it. So, in my opinion, he needs to sit down and get out of the way. Anyone who thinks they can win by riding coattails anymore is delusional, at least in my opinion. Those days are over. Or at least they should be.

So, long story short, Keith, Ozzy, and Jim are all at Redemption Island, while Cochran, Whitney, and Dawn are still in it with the former Upolu crew. Coach warns his tribe that Jim was dangerous. Not really, if he was that dangerous he would have ousted Ozzy a long time ago. Cochran jokes that he has to play along with Coach's foolishness so he can stay a few more weeks. I think Cochran needs to keep making major power plays, which may mean getting Albert and Sophie to turn against Coach. That's what I would do.

At the duel, Jim, Ozzy, and Keith compete to stay in the game by holding up poles with the backs of their hands. The two losers are the first two members of the jury. We know none of these three will not be voting for Cochran to win. Jim's the first one out, and the first jury member. Keith is the next one out. Ozzy proclaims that Redemption is the best place for him, since he can sit back, away from all the drama and beat everyone who comes through Redemption. It's a great plan, and I think this will be the only way for Ozzy to win the game. If he does come back in the game, I'd send him right back to Redemption anyway. Better for him to be out of the tribe dynamic and make it clear that he's not the leader anymore. He's better as the outcast anyway. Power does not agree with Ozzy.

Cochran is willing to play with Dawn and Whitney again and try to get them further in the game, but he could choose to let them get picked off by former Upolu, who's now protecting him. In the Immunity challenge, Sophie wins, and I realized, I've underestimated her. I've always enjoyed her on the show, but I would be so happy if she won. That would be awesome. Cochran never had a chance with this challenge, and I wish there were more puzzles or cerebral challenges so he could really shine. It's pretty much decided that Dawn is next to go, and Whitney after her. Dawn says Coach has this loyal following, but I think they're only loyal because they're safe. Once the situation is right, Upolu is going to tear each other to shreds. To hell with that loyalty BS.

Albert wants to secure Savaii jury votes by getting Edna out, which I totally agree with. Albert needs to really step up his game, and he'll become my hero if he's able to blindside Coach. I want to see that happen. Coach sees Albert talking to former Savaii members, and this does not sit well with him. Albert hints to Cochran that he will be taken out in 7th place, which makes Cochran furious. Not only because that's the exact opposite of what Coach said, but because that would mean Edna would make it further in the game, when she hasn't done anything but kiss Coach's ass. Albert takes Cochran to talk to Sophie and she seems to be up for it. Sophie wants to make it to the end, and I think she deserves to. Coach is getting suspicious about Albert, and says that anyone who goes against the tribe will be "dead".

At Tribal Council, Dawn urges the bottom-of-the-totem-pole dwellers on Upolu to join them and shake up the game. Cochran says he's confident that he can do some maneuvering to stay in the game past 7th place. He says he's planning ahead for when there are fractures in the Upolu tribe and says it's the best time to make a big move, a statement which I think is directed to Sophie and Albert. Coach tries to say he's not the leader, and Whitney says he most definitely is. Albert says Coach isn't the leader for him, but maybe he is a figure head for some people who need someone to look up to. Dawn is voted out first, so she goes to Redemption. Wouldn't it be great if Dawn beat Ozzy at Redemption Island? OMG!! Awesome!!

Jeff announces there's another Immunity challenge happening right then and there, which is a series of questions regarding life on the island. Cochran should have won this one, but he was eliminated way too soon. Come on, Cochran! This one should have been yours! Sophie wins again, and I hope she keeps this momentum going. Whitney is voted out and goes to Redemption. Sorry, Whitney, but at least you have Keith to cheat on your husband with!!!

Upolu now has to figure out how they're going to start voting, and I suggest they start with Edna. Coach has it out for Brandon, though.

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