SOTD - Ellie Goulding "Starry Eyed"
It's no secret that I have a deep love for all things television, and it's worth saying again, 'You can kick the girl out of TV, but you'll never kick the TV outta the girl!'; it's still a life goal to one day win one of these beautiful statuettes myself!!
This was a great year for television and the time has come to honor those who made last season so great. Tonight at 8/7 pm on Fox, the Emmys will broadcast live across the globe. My predictions for the biggest awards are below.
2011 Primetime Emmy ballot
Outstanding Drama Series - my pick: "The Good Wife"
Although I believe "Mad Men" will likely win, I really think "The Good Wife" deserves this win. As a whole, this is a well written and the actors are fantastic. It's been a while since I fell in love with a show like this. For me, it has it all! (also, I've never seen an episode of Made Men. I know, shocker!)
1. "Friday Night Lights"
2. "Game of Thrones"
3. "The Good Wife"
4. "Dexter"
5. "Mad Men"
6. "Boardwalk Empire"
Outstanding Comedy Series - my pick: "Modern Family"
I don't think there's any question here. As much as I would love to see Glee take this, I just don't think they can pull it off this year.
1. "Modern Family"
2. "The Big Bang Theory"
3. "Parks and Recreation"
4. "Glee"
5. "The Office"
6. "30 Rock"
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama - my pick: "Steve Buscemi"
If Michael C. Hall were going to win this, it would have happened last year. And since I don't watch Mad Men, I gotta go with what I know, and I know that Buscemi makes Boardwalk Empire spark.
1. Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
2. Hugh Laurie, "House"
3. Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
4. Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
5. Timothy Olyphant, "Justified"
6. Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama - my pick: "Julianna Margulies"
Connie Britton, is a very close second, but again, I have to stand behind my earlier statement and JM brings Alicia Florrick to life!
1. Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights"
2. Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
3. Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"
4. Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU"
5. Mireille Enos, "The Killing"
6. Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law"
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy - my pick: "Steve Carell"
The awards shows have been pretty consistent lately when it comes to giving a last chance win vote and due to Carell's departure from The Office, I totally predict that's what will happen here. Also a possibility, Jim Parsons could win. But I really think it will be Carell.
1. Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
2. Steve Carell, "The Office"
3. Johnny Galecki, "The Big Bang Theory"
4. Louis C.K., "Louie"
5. Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"
6. Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy - my pick: "Amy Poehler"*
This is the closest category of all and I would almost rather not make a pick, but I believe for this category, Amy is the best. All of these women are fantastic and I would not be disappointed to see any one of them take home the Emmy!
1. Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
2. Melissa McCarthy, "Mike & Molly"
3. Martha Plimpton, "Raising Hope"
4. Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
5. Laura Linney, "The Big C"
6. Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama - my pick: "Archie Panjabi"
She won before and her work during the second half of last season was incredible. I would be very disappointed if she did not win!
1. Archie Panjabi, "The Good Wife"
2. Margo Martindale, "Justified"
3. Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"
4. Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife"
5. Michelle Forbes, "The Killing"
6. Kelly Macdonald, "Boardwalk Empire"
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama - my pick: "Alan Cumming"
I don't think Alan is a lock for this one, but I do believe he deserves it. I should note, I don't watch any of the other shows in this category.
1. Andre Braugher, "Men of a Certain Age"
2. Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"
3. Alan Cumming, "The Good Wife"
4. Walton Goggins, "Justified"
5. John Slattery, "Mad Men"
6. Josh Charles, "The Good Wife"
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy - my pick: "Kristen Wiig"
She deserves this, but it seems the real heat here is between Betty & Jane. I love Betty, but I don't think she's best here and unfortunately, Jane didn't really have a huge part in last season, although the episode where her sister died was really touching, it wasn't great comedy. If SNL didn't have Kristen Wiig, I probably wouldn't watch. (okay, I would, but it wouldn't be as great!)
1. Jane Lynch, "Glee"
2. Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
3. Betty White, "Hot In Cleveland"
4. Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"
5. Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live"
6. Jane Krakowski, "30 Rock"
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy - my pick: "Chris Colfer"
And he deserves this! (Pip-Pip-Poray, the life story of Pippa Middleton, anyone?) Although, I will admit if anyone else deserves it just as much, it's Ty Burrell. But the possibility that votes for MF cast will end up splitting the vote to give an edge to Chris Colfer exsists, so I stand by my pick.
1. Chris Colfer, "Glee"
2. Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
3. Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"
4. Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
5. Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"
6. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"
Join me on twitter as I live tweet from red carpet to Governor's Ball @utalicia
Sunday, September 18
Saturday, September 10
where were you?
SOTD:
Alan Jackson - "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Spinning)"
I was in the first weeks of my 3rd year of undergrad at UT. I was a speech communications major and I had stacked my schedule with Tuesday/Thursday classes. This allowed me to enjoy 4 day weekends, but made for long days of back to back classes that began promptly at 8am and didn't allow for my first break until well into the afternoon hours. I lived a pretty typical life for a college student and this is how I remember 9/11...
8:00am
Running late to my Speech Comm class, as usual. Arrived a couple of minutes late in my 'uniform' of black yoga pants and a sorority t-shirt.
8:25am
Gave a speech, the topic was persuasion, if I remember correctly; it lasted maybe 3 minutes and I earned an A (despite my attire)
8:46am
The first plane crashed into The World Trade Center.
8:50am
Class was over and I made my way up one floor and down the hall for my next class, Poli Sci (for those of you who know the UT campus, I was in the Humanities Building); as I made my way through the halls I overheard fractured conversations about something that was happening in NYC. From what I could make out, there was a lot of chatter about a 'small' plane that had 'accidentally' crashed into a large building. At this point no one was really terrified, just a little dumbstruck with shock that someone could be so reckless.
9:01am
Took my seat and began to review notes for the exam I was about to take.
This is probably a good place to point out that cell phones were in the early stages of text messaging and I'm not sure I knew anyone who did it on a regular basis; wi-fi was unheard of, most computers, laptop and PC, required a connect via blue Ethernet cord to access the Internet and it would be few years before immediate access to information would be available as it is today.
9:03am
The second plane hit.
9:05am
Poli Sci 101 began (I still had no clue what was happening). Despite a few attempts from concerned students, the professor insisted nothing would interfere with our first scheduled major exam. He informed the class that if anyone walked out, they would receive a failing score for this exam and it would be almost impossible to pass the course. Tests were distributed & four people walked out. {In the week that followed, our professor apologized for not taking the information more seriously and decided those tests were not going to count for our semester average after all.}
9:45am
I had finished my exam and left class a little early. I still can't remember who explained what was happening in NYC, but I remember being in the first floor lobby of the building, picking up a copy of The Daily Beacon and preparing to head to my 10:10am class when I got the news that America was under attack. What I had believed to be a simple accident less than an hour before was, in fact, no accident at all.
There was a growing consensus that the last place anyone needed to be that day was in class. Not because we were afraid of an attack on the campus, although I don't know anyone who would have ruled it out, but because there was this feeling that we should just go home, back to our friends & loved ones, until we could understand exactly what was happening.
During this year, I lived in a dorm, specifically, Greve Hall, 6th floor; it was the on campus housing assigned to my sorority. It was a great place to live, if you were going to live on campus, because it was closest to the academic buildings and was located right off the strip (aka: Cumberland Ave).
As I rerouted myself back to the dorm, I stopped for a moment to take in the magnitude of the information I had just heard. I said a quite prayer, not knowing exactly who or what I should be praying for, but praying all the same that God be in control and asking for his guidance & protection over my life, the lives of those I loved & the lives of those I would never know. I don't think I realized it immediately, but tears had begun to stream down my face. With each step I was getting closer to 'home' and unfortunately, closer to seeing the devastation on television for the first time. There was a moment along the way when I stopped and stood in the moment; I remember thinking how things were about to change and that, as a country, we would probably never be the same again.
By the time my 10:10 class began, without me, I had made my way back to my dorm room and I watched as the footage replayed over and over. I watched it for the first time alone. But it didn't take long for a group of us to gather in our (seldom used) Study Room to watch together as it seemed like everyone tried to make sense of it all. I remember one friend, in particular, who was on her cell phone crying uncontrollably as she reached out to her mother to get reassurance that family members who worked in the buildings were safe.
At some point, I called my own mother. We were both in shock and I remember the relief in her voice when she began to speak. I wasn't sure where I should be. We talked about whether I should come home or stay put. We talked about why someone would do something so terrible. We talked about what might happen next. In the end, I stayed on campus, although, we both agreed that if Oak Ridge had been a target, I don't think either of us would have been very safe; she was 30 miles west and I was 25 miles east.
Perhaps it's because so much of what happened that day took place in less than 2 hours at the beginning of the day, or maybe subconsciously I chose not to remember the rest, but the remainder of the day is a blur. Sometime around noon the University officially cancelled classes and a candlelight vigil was in the works. A campus that was friendly, by nature, had become almost like one big family. Complete strangers were comforting one another. It was the only time in my college career, that I can remember, when in the week leading up to the big UT/Florida game, there wasn't really any 'Gator-Hating'! Eventually, like many big events scheduled in the days and weeks that followed (i.e. The Emmys), the game was postponed and played at the end of the season {final score 34-32; the #6 Vols beat the #2 Gators in the Swamp for the first time in 30 years!}.
The one thing that seemed to go on forever was the coverage. I purposely left out the word 'news' because the coverage was found on EVERY channel. Living in campus housing I paid each semester for campus cable. It wasn't a lot, but in all UT was about 50 channels. In the hours and days following the attack, I remember seeing some type of news feed on every single channel we had. The most prominent memory is Comedy Central. It was incredibly bizarre to see actual news broadcast here instead of the typical satire that I had become fond of following the 2000 election and the hanging chad debacle. Another significant change on television was the birth of news as entertainment; not a far stretch at this point, seeing how the only thing going out across the airwaves for days was commentary and new information about the people and events of that horrible day. It makes sense that the news networks would try to get as much information out at once as possible and so began the split screens and multiple news crawls across the screen, a tactic that has been scaled down by most, but still proves incredibly effective for at least one cable news channel.
Lots of other things changed following that day; for a country that once boasted 'freedom' we quickly become a nation that released many of those freedoms in exchange for what we believed would be security and protection. At airports, if you didn't have a ticket you could no longer access the terminals; this is still puzzling for me as I'm fairly certain the men who hijacked those planes had tickets and boarded them that morning just like everyone else. Sorry if I seem a little less than grateful for the security measures here, but the generation after mine will never know what it was like to sit in an airport terminal and watch as people say their goodbyes, loved ones are reunited or a man surprised his girlfriend by popping the question, all of which are thing I have witnessed myself on more than one occasion. Sure, you can still do this in baggage claim or outside security, but it's really not the same.
Nearly eighteen months after we entered what we thought was the 'War on Terrorism' a significant attack on Afghanistan took place. This, too, was a day that I will always remember as it happened in the middle of my Spring Break. It was my senior year at UT and I was with a group of my sorority sisters on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. There was only one place on the ship where I remember a television that wasn't on the CC broadcast that went to the cabins, it was located near the center of the ship in one of the larger bars. I can still remember sitting in an oversized, half circle leather chair for most of the day as we watched the attacks on a CNN feed. As the news spread around the boat, the bar began to fill with people. I bet I sat there for six hours straight, fearful of leaving my seat because I knew I would not be able to get it back. What frightened me even more, at the time, was that I was on a cruise in international waters and the US had entered into war. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit concerned about my odds of being able to reenter the country a few days later. Obviously, these fears were not merited and we made it back, safe and sound. Unfortunately, for many men and women who have fought in the 'War onTerror' the same cannot be said; it is also widely believed that this particular mission, known as Operation Anaconda, allowed Osama Bin Laden and many other extremely dangerous terrorists the opportunity to escape to Pakistan.
As we mark ten years since the horrible attacks of 9/11, I reflect with a heavy heart on the nation we once were and the dreams we once had. Over the last few days I've watched countless people recount the events they witnessed that day and I almost consider myself lucky; I didn't watch in horror as the events unfolded live on the morning news, I wasn't forced to deal with the implications of these attacks immediately and perhaps most importantly, I wasn't in one of the cities that experienced unexplainable devastation as a result of the hijacked planes. My heart still aches when I watch the footage and hear the personal accounts. I can't begin to know what those people have gone through, and for that I am thankful. I still miss the way things were and the idea of what could be. Perhaps, most of all, I miss our nation of unity.
Where were you and how did your life change on 9/11?
Alan Jackson - "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Spinning)"
I was in the first weeks of my 3rd year of undergrad at UT. I was a speech communications major and I had stacked my schedule with Tuesday/Thursday classes. This allowed me to enjoy 4 day weekends, but made for long days of back to back classes that began promptly at 8am and didn't allow for my first break until well into the afternoon hours. I lived a pretty typical life for a college student and this is how I remember 9/11...
8:00am
Running late to my Speech Comm class, as usual. Arrived a couple of minutes late in my 'uniform' of black yoga pants and a sorority t-shirt.
8:25am
Gave a speech, the topic was persuasion, if I remember correctly; it lasted maybe 3 minutes and I earned an A (despite my attire)
8:46am
The first plane crashed into The World Trade Center.
8:50am
Class was over and I made my way up one floor and down the hall for my next class, Poli Sci (for those of you who know the UT campus, I was in the Humanities Building); as I made my way through the halls I overheard fractured conversations about something that was happening in NYC. From what I could make out, there was a lot of chatter about a 'small' plane that had 'accidentally' crashed into a large building. At this point no one was really terrified, just a little dumbstruck with shock that someone could be so reckless.
9:01am
Took my seat and began to review notes for the exam I was about to take.
This is probably a good place to point out that cell phones were in the early stages of text messaging and I'm not sure I knew anyone who did it on a regular basis; wi-fi was unheard of, most computers, laptop and PC, required a connect via blue Ethernet cord to access the Internet and it would be few years before immediate access to information would be available as it is today.
9:03am
The second plane hit.
9:05am
Poli Sci 101 began (I still had no clue what was happening). Despite a few attempts from concerned students, the professor insisted nothing would interfere with our first scheduled major exam. He informed the class that if anyone walked out, they would receive a failing score for this exam and it would be almost impossible to pass the course. Tests were distributed & four people walked out. {In the week that followed, our professor apologized for not taking the information more seriously and decided those tests were not going to count for our semester average after all.}
9:45am
I had finished my exam and left class a little early. I still can't remember who explained what was happening in NYC, but I remember being in the first floor lobby of the building, picking up a copy of The Daily Beacon and preparing to head to my 10:10am class when I got the news that America was under attack. What I had believed to be a simple accident less than an hour before was, in fact, no accident at all.
There was a growing consensus that the last place anyone needed to be that day was in class. Not because we were afraid of an attack on the campus, although I don't know anyone who would have ruled it out, but because there was this feeling that we should just go home, back to our friends & loved ones, until we could understand exactly what was happening.
During this year, I lived in a dorm, specifically, Greve Hall, 6th floor; it was the on campus housing assigned to my sorority. It was a great place to live, if you were going to live on campus, because it was closest to the academic buildings and was located right off the strip (aka: Cumberland Ave).
As I rerouted myself back to the dorm, I stopped for a moment to take in the magnitude of the information I had just heard. I said a quite prayer, not knowing exactly who or what I should be praying for, but praying all the same that God be in control and asking for his guidance & protection over my life, the lives of those I loved & the lives of those I would never know. I don't think I realized it immediately, but tears had begun to stream down my face. With each step I was getting closer to 'home' and unfortunately, closer to seeing the devastation on television for the first time. There was a moment along the way when I stopped and stood in the moment; I remember thinking how things were about to change and that, as a country, we would probably never be the same again.
By the time my 10:10 class began, without me, I had made my way back to my dorm room and I watched as the footage replayed over and over. I watched it for the first time alone. But it didn't take long for a group of us to gather in our (seldom used) Study Room to watch together as it seemed like everyone tried to make sense of it all. I remember one friend, in particular, who was on her cell phone crying uncontrollably as she reached out to her mother to get reassurance that family members who worked in the buildings were safe.
At some point, I called my own mother. We were both in shock and I remember the relief in her voice when she began to speak. I wasn't sure where I should be. We talked about whether I should come home or stay put. We talked about why someone would do something so terrible. We talked about what might happen next. In the end, I stayed on campus, although, we both agreed that if Oak Ridge had been a target, I don't think either of us would have been very safe; she was 30 miles west and I was 25 miles east.
Perhaps it's because so much of what happened that day took place in less than 2 hours at the beginning of the day, or maybe subconsciously I chose not to remember the rest, but the remainder of the day is a blur. Sometime around noon the University officially cancelled classes and a candlelight vigil was in the works. A campus that was friendly, by nature, had become almost like one big family. Complete strangers were comforting one another. It was the only time in my college career, that I can remember, when in the week leading up to the big UT/Florida game, there wasn't really any 'Gator-Hating'! Eventually, like many big events scheduled in the days and weeks that followed (i.e. The Emmys), the game was postponed and played at the end of the season {final score 34-32; the #6 Vols beat the #2 Gators in the Swamp for the first time in 30 years!}.
The one thing that seemed to go on forever was the coverage. I purposely left out the word 'news' because the coverage was found on EVERY channel. Living in campus housing I paid each semester for campus cable. It wasn't a lot, but in all UT was about 50 channels. In the hours and days following the attack, I remember seeing some type of news feed on every single channel we had. The most prominent memory is Comedy Central. It was incredibly bizarre to see actual news broadcast here instead of the typical satire that I had become fond of following the 2000 election and the hanging chad debacle. Another significant change on television was the birth of news as entertainment; not a far stretch at this point, seeing how the only thing going out across the airwaves for days was commentary and new information about the people and events of that horrible day. It makes sense that the news networks would try to get as much information out at once as possible and so began the split screens and multiple news crawls across the screen, a tactic that has been scaled down by most, but still proves incredibly effective for at least one cable news channel.
Lots of other things changed following that day; for a country that once boasted 'freedom' we quickly become a nation that released many of those freedoms in exchange for what we believed would be security and protection. At airports, if you didn't have a ticket you could no longer access the terminals; this is still puzzling for me as I'm fairly certain the men who hijacked those planes had tickets and boarded them that morning just like everyone else. Sorry if I seem a little less than grateful for the security measures here, but the generation after mine will never know what it was like to sit in an airport terminal and watch as people say their goodbyes, loved ones are reunited or a man surprised his girlfriend by popping the question, all of which are thing I have witnessed myself on more than one occasion. Sure, you can still do this in baggage claim or outside security, but it's really not the same.
Nearly eighteen months after we entered what we thought was the 'War on Terrorism' a significant attack on Afghanistan took place. This, too, was a day that I will always remember as it happened in the middle of my Spring Break. It was my senior year at UT and I was with a group of my sorority sisters on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. There was only one place on the ship where I remember a television that wasn't on the CC broadcast that went to the cabins, it was located near the center of the ship in one of the larger bars. I can still remember sitting in an oversized, half circle leather chair for most of the day as we watched the attacks on a CNN feed. As the news spread around the boat, the bar began to fill with people. I bet I sat there for six hours straight, fearful of leaving my seat because I knew I would not be able to get it back. What frightened me even more, at the time, was that I was on a cruise in international waters and the US had entered into war. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit concerned about my odds of being able to reenter the country a few days later. Obviously, these fears were not merited and we made it back, safe and sound. Unfortunately, for many men and women who have fought in the 'War onTerror' the same cannot be said; it is also widely believed that this particular mission, known as Operation Anaconda, allowed Osama Bin Laden and many other extremely dangerous terrorists the opportunity to escape to Pakistan.
Where were you and how did your life change on 9/11?
Saturday, September 3
my rocky start on rocky top
SOTD: Kenny Chesney - "Touchdown Tennessee"
Today is one of my favorite days of the year, right behind my birthday & Black Friday, it's officially the start of the college football season. And before I go any further, I would like to address the 'elephant' in the room...against all my instincts, I've decided to call a truce with my family and our Tennessee/Alabama/Georgia rivalries. Well, that is, of course, until we play each other! So as long as you aren't playing my precious Vols, I suppose I can, at the very least, think happy thoughts.
Except for Florida. It's just too much to ask.
As the Vols prepare to kick off against Montana, I am reminded of my very first Tennessee game. It was the fall of 1999, my freshman year at the University of Tennessee. I had been on campus for about two & a half weeks, one of which was spent going through sorority rush, so as the season opener against Wyoming approached, my anticipation grew with each passing day.
For those of you who didn't grow up on Rocky Top, you should probably know that in the year prior, the Vols won the National Championship. And if I'm being honest, much to my mother's disappointment, yes, this was part of the reason I chose to go to UT.
You see, I'm pretty sure my first words were "Roll Tide", until I was about 9 years old, I thought Tuscaloosa was a vacation destination and until I was about 14 I thought Bear Bryant was my great Uncle! Tennessee was never on my radar, well, at least not until I was in High School. I'll be honest, I liked to pretend that I knew football back then, but I didn't really know much at all. Although my family is convinced my acceptance at UTK was some sort of long planned out rebellion, I can assure you, my decision had more to do with in state tuition and the comforts of home than trying to darken the wool of an already black sheep!
So, back to my story, as the big Labor Day/Game weekend began I was ready to blow off a little steam. Granted, I was 18 and a little naive, but I was ready to live the college life, full force, and an off-campus party seemed like a great place to start.
I don't remember a lot from this night, and it's not because I was so wasted...at least I don't think so! What I remember is having a couple of beers and then, typical of the klutz that I am, I took one mis-step and rolled my ankle as I fell off the sidewalk. As usual, I just sort of shook it off and kept going, I was determined not to miss a moment of that night and a little twist wasn't going to slow me down.
That was a decision I would regret the following morning. I don't remember how I got to my bed that night, but I will never forget what I saw when I woke up the next day. My ankle was the size of a softball and a color more fitting of an LSU fan. I knew I didn't have a choice, I had to get an X-ray to make sure I hadn't broken anything.
So I spent most of my day in the UT Medical Center ER. How did I get myself there, you might ask? Police escort. Yes, it was actually that bad. While I can't think of anything more humiliating, I had also never felt anything quite so painful, and the one outweighed the other!
After several hours, four ice-packs and two x-rays, I left with a shiny pair of crutches and a sprained ankle. Instructions from the doctor included more ice packs, elevation and not even a mention of the game, I would assume because anyone in their right mind would know, you probably shouldn't attempt Neyland Stadium on crutches...but even then I was was a left thinker...and nothing was going to keep me from that game!
In continued humiliation, I crutched my way from Presidential Courtyard to Neyland Stadium. (If you don't know how stubborn I am by now, I'm pretty sure you're not breathing!) By the time I got to my seat, I had missed the run through the Power T, and most of my friends had been tailgating all day and between the overwhelming smells of whiskey, vomit and sweat, I was beginning to wonder why I was so he'll bent on going to that game.
And then it happened. I witnessed my very first real live Tennessee Touchdown! It was like nothing I had ever seen. Watching the game on TV is nothing like the adrenaline rush that comes from sitting in a sea of orange with 100,000 of your closest friends. Throwing high-fives with complete strangers and singing Rock Top until your voice gives out. This was it, this was the college experience I never knew I always wanted!
Over the years I learned that I really did love the game, but I especially loved my Volunteers! In good times and bad, I stuck by them and I can honestly say, I bleed orange! As we kick-off a new season, I raise my orange Dixie cup and offer a toast to remembering the glory days and making new memories of greatness!
Rocky Top, you'll always be, home sweet home to me.
Good 'ole Rocky Top!
Rocky Top Tennessee!!
Today is one of my favorite days of the year, right behind my birthday & Black Friday, it's officially the start of the college football season. And before I go any further, I would like to address the 'elephant' in the room...against all my instincts, I've decided to call a truce with my family and our Tennessee/Alabama/Georgia rivalries. Well, that is, of course, until we play each other! So as long as you aren't playing my precious Vols, I suppose I can, at the very least, think happy thoughts.
Except for Florida. It's just too much to ask.
As the Vols prepare to kick off against Montana, I am reminded of my very first Tennessee game. It was the fall of 1999, my freshman year at the University of Tennessee. I had been on campus for about two & a half weeks, one of which was spent going through sorority rush, so as the season opener against Wyoming approached, my anticipation grew with each passing day.
For those of you who didn't grow up on Rocky Top, you should probably know that in the year prior, the Vols won the National Championship. And if I'm being honest, much to my mother's disappointment, yes, this was part of the reason I chose to go to UT.
You see, I'm pretty sure my first words were "Roll Tide", until I was about 9 years old, I thought Tuscaloosa was a vacation destination and until I was about 14 I thought Bear Bryant was my great Uncle! Tennessee was never on my radar, well, at least not until I was in High School. I'll be honest, I liked to pretend that I knew football back then, but I didn't really know much at all. Although my family is convinced my acceptance at UTK was some sort of long planned out rebellion, I can assure you, my decision had more to do with in state tuition and the comforts of home than trying to darken the wool of an already black sheep!
So, back to my story, as the big Labor Day/Game weekend began I was ready to blow off a little steam. Granted, I was 18 and a little naive, but I was ready to live the college life, full force, and an off-campus party seemed like a great place to start.
I don't remember a lot from this night, and it's not because I was so wasted...at least I don't think so! What I remember is having a couple of beers and then, typical of the klutz that I am, I took one mis-step and rolled my ankle as I fell off the sidewalk. As usual, I just sort of shook it off and kept going, I was determined not to miss a moment of that night and a little twist wasn't going to slow me down.
That was a decision I would regret the following morning. I don't remember how I got to my bed that night, but I will never forget what I saw when I woke up the next day. My ankle was the size of a softball and a color more fitting of an LSU fan. I knew I didn't have a choice, I had to get an X-ray to make sure I hadn't broken anything.
So I spent most of my day in the UT Medical Center ER. How did I get myself there, you might ask? Police escort. Yes, it was actually that bad. While I can't think of anything more humiliating, I had also never felt anything quite so painful, and the one outweighed the other!
After several hours, four ice-packs and two x-rays, I left with a shiny pair of crutches and a sprained ankle. Instructions from the doctor included more ice packs, elevation and not even a mention of the game, I would assume because anyone in their right mind would know, you probably shouldn't attempt Neyland Stadium on crutches...but even then I was was a left thinker...and nothing was going to keep me from that game!
In continued humiliation, I crutched my way from Presidential Courtyard to Neyland Stadium. (If you don't know how stubborn I am by now, I'm pretty sure you're not breathing!) By the time I got to my seat, I had missed the run through the Power T, and most of my friends had been tailgating all day and between the overwhelming smells of whiskey, vomit and sweat, I was beginning to wonder why I was so he'll bent on going to that game.
And then it happened. I witnessed my very first real live Tennessee Touchdown! It was like nothing I had ever seen. Watching the game on TV is nothing like the adrenaline rush that comes from sitting in a sea of orange with 100,000 of your closest friends. Throwing high-fives with complete strangers and singing Rock Top until your voice gives out. This was it, this was the college experience I never knew I always wanted!
Over the years I learned that I really did love the game, but I especially loved my Volunteers! In good times and bad, I stuck by them and I can honestly say, I bleed orange! As we kick-off a new season, I raise my orange Dixie cup and offer a toast to remembering the glory days and making new memories of greatness!
Rocky Top, you'll always be, home sweet home to me.
Good 'ole Rocky Top!
Rocky Top Tennessee!!
Thursday, August 4
Alicia Watson: BB True Hollywood Story
SOTD: OneRepublic "Good Life"
To many, my obsession with Big Brother is probably borderline insane. But what most of you don't know is that I have watched this show since the very first season and have even gone through the casting process three times over the course of the last twelve years!
The first season premiered the summer before I went away to college. My mom and I were hooked all summer and when I moved away that fall, we would call each other and watch it together over the phone long distance. As any mother/daughter relationship goes, there were times when we had little or nothing to say to each other, but we kept these phone dates and if nothing else, Big Brother was our topic for conversation. This ritual continued with each year I lived away from home and even now, we look forward to the beginning of July more because we know the house guests have been chosen and are moving in than we do for the holiday on the 4th!
The first time I applied to be on the show was a fluke. I was working with J. Crew at West Town Mall in Knoxville in the Spring of 2003. The production team had set up shop outside the store to hold an open casting call. I had half an hour for lunch and nothing to do, so I filled out an application and sat down with a producer for a brief on-camera interview. I didn't hear back that season, so I assumed that my dreams of becoming one of the hamsters picked to have my every move recorded within the confines of the BB house were pretty much over. But low and behold, out of the blue, around the end of March 2004, I received a phone call from the casting directors and they had not forgotten about me. I didn't know this at the time, but the twist for that season would be Project DNA: Do Not Assume, and based on the information I had provided on my application a year earlier, I was looking like a good candidate for one of their DNA related twists. For several weeks I continued to conduct phone interviews with the casting department and eventually my options for the Summer of 2004 began to take an interesting shape.
I was working on my first year of graduate school at the time, and not knowing that BB would come calling, I had signed up to spend my summer in Paris, France participating in a study abroad program designed around the concept of communication in global business markets. In fact, our trip was set to begin with a flight out of America on the 4th of July.
So as May approached and I continued to receive phone calls to request more information related to possibly being cast on the upcoming season of BB, I was starting to think that perhaps instead of heading across the pond for the summer, I might be traveling to the left coast and I began to get really excited. It was Mother's Day weekend when I got the call that sent me over the edge. I got a call that Saturday from a guy on the casting team, once again requesting additional information and following up on other statements from my application. But this time, before he hung up, he said, "...if there is anything that you've shared with us that might come out on national television, that your family is not aware of, this would be a good time to fill them in." The following day, Mother's Day, I called my mother and filled her in on every possible thing that might be upsetting if she had heard about it for the first time with the rest of America. (Since I was not cast, and so far, have still not been cast, I will spare you the juicy details. Just know that to this day, I refer to this as the year I ruined Mother's Day.)
I received one last call from the casting associates for that season around the beginning of June. It was still unclear if I would be heading to LA for the final interviews, but I was told if I didn't hear from them within the next week, I could assume I would not be joining the cast that season. A week passed and I bought my flight to Paris. Coincidentally, on the same day that I flew to Europe for my summer abroad, the chosen house guests were entering the BB house to start the season.
A few years later, I submitted another application. I had become a really big fan of the show and due to the writer's strike, BB had a special Spring edition. I didn't get the application in time to be considered for that season, but a few months later (March 2008), out of the blue, I got a call from the casting directors asking if I would be interested in possibly being considered for the upcoming summer season. They asked me to submit another application and video before April 1st.
Once again, I begin to feel a rush of excitement at the possibility and began working on what would become over 20 pages of application. I spent days thinking about the video submission and eventually ended up filming the entire thing in one take while sitting on the counter top of a fake set in the empty studios at my office. On March 31st, I shipped all the materials overnight to the casting department. I received one follow up email and then nothing more. Once again, my dreams were shattered.
I am determined to play this game. I have not applied for either of the last two seasons. Mostly because I put on some extra weight after my move to Atlanta last year and I didn't feel comfortable with myself enough to really go for it. However, that weight is starting to come off, more and more with each passing month and I fully expect I will be ready to try again for next season. I don't want to be on the show because I want to be famous or for the 'celebrity' of it. I want to be on the show to play the game! Each year, when I watch at home, I am envious of the people who are chosen to participate. I always believe I would play the mental game better and the actual physical games seem like so much fun, I just really want to be a part of it all; one of the chosen few.
So, you see, what might seem obsessive to some is simply my dream waiting to come true!
Monday, August 1
BB13: better 3 weeks late than never
When this season started, I intended to post regular updates, at least 2 or 3 a week, to address things happening in the house and on the broadcast episodes. Unfortunately, I have found myself with less spare time lately and I have already fallen really behind this season. So is life...
Here are my thoughts on the first four weeks of game play, in a nut shell (of course!):
WEEK #1:
HOH: Rachel
Nominated: Keith & Porsche
Veto: Brendon (not used)
Evicted: Keith
Positive: For the first time in many seasons, the first eviction vote was not unanimous. Typically, for fear of making early enemies, everyone tends to band together and cast a unified vote for the first several weeks, but this season, that practice came to a halt. Primarily, because of the Newbies vs. Veterans twist, but nonetheless, it was great to see actual game play in the first week. (Too bad it didn't last...see week 2)
Negative: The wrong person was sent home. I wrongly predicted it would be Porsche, and had the Newbies stuck to their original alliance/agreement it would have been. But low and behold, there were TWO over-achievers among the new cast who just couldn't help themselves. Kalia and, in a shocking turn of events, Shelly, decided to band with the Veterans and vote out Keith. I still can't figure out how saving Porsche benefitted anyone other than Rachel, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Highlight of the week: Trying to size everyone up during episodes and live-feeds to see how accurate my first impression assumptions for the season actually were. For the most part, my gut instinct did not change. Cassi, Dominic and Lawon were my favorites going into to the new season and they were still my favorites at the end of the first week. I did expect to like Kalia more than I actually do and I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy having Daniele back, but all in all, my opinions didn't change after week one.
WEEK #2:
HOH: Jordan
Nominated: Adam & Dominic
Veto: Dominic (used)
Replacement Nominees: Shelly & Cassi
Evicted: Cassi
Positive: Still enjoying the season. Not much else to be happy about for Week 2. Although, I have to say, I did enjoy watching Cassi confront Rachel and stand up to Brendon. It was nice to see that she didn't go down without a fight and when she left the house, her dignity was still intact. Also, it was really sweet to see Shelly so motherly this week and interesting to see her so guilt stricken over the actions she took the week before that led to her partner being evicted. I feel she might have realized the error of her ways, just a little bit too late.
Negative: My favorite player for the season was sent home. I'm not sure why I was so gung-ho for Cassi, but the fact is, she was my pick from even before the first episode aired. She has a southern charm, a level head and seems to be very personable. Based on personality, she is definitely someone I would have aligned myself with if I were in the game. To watch as Rachel targeted her, for what still appears to be no reason at all, I was absolutely disgusted. I understand protecting your loyalties, but come on Rachel, why is it so important that you defend Porsche? Isn't she adult enough to fight her own battles? I mean, she already has the golden key and is guaranteed safety through the final 10! Really?!? What did Cassi ever do to you? Also, it was very classy the way you threw one last punch with your 'good-bye message'.
Highlight of the week: Having my suspicion confirmed at the end of the live show that there would soon be yet another twist, giving hope to the possibility that Cassi might be allowed to return to the game...(more on this later).
WEEK #3:
HOH: Rachel (again...ugh!)
Nominated: Adam & Dominic
Veto: Brendon (not used)
Evicted: Dominic
Positive: It seems that cracks are finally beginning to form in the veteran alliance. Jeff & Jordan have expressed doubts about Rachel/Brendon and especially Dani. It might finally be time to shake things up a bit. Also, thrilled to hear confirmation the Keith & Cassi had, in fact, been kept in sequester following their evictions, making the possibility of Cassi's return even more real!
Negatives: Another week of Brenchel in power and the absence of Cassi... Enough said.
Highlight of the week: Everything finally came to a head when it was outted that Daniele was the source of the conspiracy to try to get Brenchel to use the veto and backdoor Jeff/Jordan. During the house meeting, Daniele finally spoke up with those classic words, "Rachel, you're an idiot!" Classic.
***No longer playing in teams***
SPOILERS BELOW!!!
Week #4
HOH: Daniele
Nominated: Brendon & Rachel
POV: Brendon (used to save Rachel)
Replacement Nominee: Jordan (w/ Brendon)
Positives: Daniele is back in the game and out for blood. She wanted to shake things up, and it looks like she's gonna get her wish! I for one was thrilled to see Dani hang in there; everyone had written her off, but I knew as soon as she was allowed to rejoin the games, she would give Rachel a run for her money!
Negatives: Once again, Brendon has won POV. Although earlier today he used it to save Rachel, the game is getting stale. Rachel has won every HOH she's played and Brendon has won 3 of the 4 POVs. The remaining newbies aren't proving to be much in the way of competitors and the vets continue to run the house. I'm really hoping an evicted newbie *Cassi* gets to return to the game this week!
Highlight of the week: none so far...
My prediction is that Brendon will be evicted this week (duh!) and Rachel will continue to cry and lie until long after his duffel bag crosses the thresh-hold of the front door.
As the weeks pass and the game gets more interesting, I will post more of my own thoughts about the game. But for now, this group isn't giving me too much to work with! Feel free to leave your own thoughts below.
Here are my thoughts on the first four weeks of game play, in a nut shell (of course!):
HOH: Rachel
Nominated: Keith & Porsche
Veto: Brendon (not used)
Evicted: Keith
Positive: For the first time in many seasons, the first eviction vote was not unanimous. Typically, for fear of making early enemies, everyone tends to band together and cast a unified vote for the first several weeks, but this season, that practice came to a halt. Primarily, because of the Newbies vs. Veterans twist, but nonetheless, it was great to see actual game play in the first week. (Too bad it didn't last...see week 2)
Negative: The wrong person was sent home. I wrongly predicted it would be Porsche, and had the Newbies stuck to their original alliance/agreement it would have been. But low and behold, there were TWO over-achievers among the new cast who just couldn't help themselves. Kalia and, in a shocking turn of events, Shelly, decided to band with the Veterans and vote out Keith. I still can't figure out how saving Porsche benefitted anyone other than Rachel, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Highlight of the week: Trying to size everyone up during episodes and live-feeds to see how accurate my first impression assumptions for the season actually were. For the most part, my gut instinct did not change. Cassi, Dominic and Lawon were my favorites going into to the new season and they were still my favorites at the end of the first week. I did expect to like Kalia more than I actually do and I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy having Daniele back, but all in all, my opinions didn't change after week one.
WEEK #2:
HOH: Jordan
Nominated: Adam & Dominic
Veto: Dominic (used)
Replacement Nominees: Shelly & Cassi
Evicted: Cassi
Positive: Still enjoying the season. Not much else to be happy about for Week 2. Although, I have to say, I did enjoy watching Cassi confront Rachel and stand up to Brendon. It was nice to see that she didn't go down without a fight and when she left the house, her dignity was still intact. Also, it was really sweet to see Shelly so motherly this week and interesting to see her so guilt stricken over the actions she took the week before that led to her partner being evicted. I feel she might have realized the error of her ways, just a little bit too late.
Negative: My favorite player for the season was sent home. I'm not sure why I was so gung-ho for Cassi, but the fact is, she was my pick from even before the first episode aired. She has a southern charm, a level head and seems to be very personable. Based on personality, she is definitely someone I would have aligned myself with if I were in the game. To watch as Rachel targeted her, for what still appears to be no reason at all, I was absolutely disgusted. I understand protecting your loyalties, but come on Rachel, why is it so important that you defend Porsche? Isn't she adult enough to fight her own battles? I mean, she already has the golden key and is guaranteed safety through the final 10! Really?!? What did Cassi ever do to you? Also, it was very classy the way you threw one last punch with your 'good-bye message'.
Highlight of the week: Having my suspicion confirmed at the end of the live show that there would soon be yet another twist, giving hope to the possibility that Cassi might be allowed to return to the game...(more on this later).
WEEK #3:
HOH: Rachel (again...ugh!)
Nominated: Adam & Dominic
Veto: Brendon (not used)
Evicted: Dominic
Positive: It seems that cracks are finally beginning to form in the veteran alliance. Jeff & Jordan have expressed doubts about Rachel/Brendon and especially Dani. It might finally be time to shake things up a bit. Also, thrilled to hear confirmation the Keith & Cassi had, in fact, been kept in sequester following their evictions, making the possibility of Cassi's return even more real!
Negatives: Another week of Brenchel in power and the absence of Cassi... Enough said.
Highlight of the week: Everything finally came to a head when it was outted that Daniele was the source of the conspiracy to try to get Brenchel to use the veto and backdoor Jeff/Jordan. During the house meeting, Daniele finally spoke up with those classic words, "Rachel, you're an idiot!" Classic.
***No longer playing in teams***
SPOILERS BELOW!!!
Week #4
HOH: Daniele
Nominated: Brendon & Rachel
POV: Brendon (used to save Rachel)
Replacement Nominee: Jordan (w/ Brendon)
Positives: Daniele is back in the game and out for blood. She wanted to shake things up, and it looks like she's gonna get her wish! I for one was thrilled to see Dani hang in there; everyone had written her off, but I knew as soon as she was allowed to rejoin the games, she would give Rachel a run for her money!
Negatives: Once again, Brendon has won POV. Although earlier today he used it to save Rachel, the game is getting stale. Rachel has won every HOH she's played and Brendon has won 3 of the 4 POVs. The remaining newbies aren't proving to be much in the way of competitors and the vets continue to run the house. I'm really hoping an evicted newbie *Cassi* gets to return to the game this week!
Highlight of the week: none so far...
My prediction is that Brendon will be evicted this week (duh!) and Rachel will continue to cry and lie until long after his duffel bag crosses the thresh-hold of the front door.
As the weeks pass and the game gets more interesting, I will post more of my own thoughts about the game. But for now, this group isn't giving me too much to work with! Feel free to leave your own thoughts below.
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