News + Reviews!

Hi. I’m back. I’m going to be posting various things on this blog today, mostly related to my Brightest Young Minds conference.

For more info on Brightest Young Minds go check out the website or drop me a note: www.bym.co.za

I’m going to post what I typed up as part of the BYM Challenge before I left for the conference. There will also be some photos I took with my cell phone’s camera (not very good quality I’m afraid). I’ve tried not to include any photos of people because I don’t have their permission yet to put their faces up on this blog.

I’m including the cover of the book that was published containing the works produced by this conference. This brought me to tears. This was a profoundly life-changing experience and I want to say thank you to everyone involved: our facilitator, the organizing committee, my fellow delegates, the speakers, and the sponsors.


Now, to the TV series part. The channel called actionX has redesigned its line up and it sucks. This channel is home to Supernatural, Criminal Minds, Surface, and ReGenesis. I recently got to watch the final episode of Alias and Threshold and I thought they were both very good. Alias was very emotional but I think the wrap up did justice to 5 years of this amazing show.

OK, now for Queer Eye and the 3 weeks that I haven’t done any updates on.
On 28 June, MNET Series repeated the Winston Shih episode when they should’ve aired the John Williams episode (2.39 – Moving Out but not Moving Far). They subsequently have not shown the John W. episode and I’m furious because this is the episode where Carson is absent and I’d love to see how the four guys take on the fashion duties. On 5 July, they resumed with Episode 2.40 – Steve P., Second Time Around, and on 12 July, A Queer Eye Thanksgiving was aired (episode 2.41). I’ll put up reviews of the Steve P. and Thanksgiving episodes, and eventually get the screen caps up as well.

I think I can relate my BYM experience to what Queer Eye must be like for the Fab 5.
You have a group of experts in their respective fields who get together because they genuinely want to do good for society. You have cameras and still photographers following you around all day. You eventually get used to the cameras and behave normally when they are around. There is an amazing energy when everyone is together and bonds are formed. You feel like you finally fit in and have a new family. You go to social events and dinners and work extremely long days. Then you get a book published and end up on TV. On that note, Carte Blanche (MNET, Sundays at 19:00) will be airing a segment on Brightest Young Minds, so look out for that.


QE Reviews:

Episode 2.40: Steve Peloquin – Second Time Around
First Aired in SA: 05 July 2006


Steve has a dog named Stella, who stunk, and the boys decided to wash the dog!
You’ve got to clean up the clutter to move on in life.
Steve and Stella need to get their grove back!
Anyway, the wife cheats on Steve with his best friend, and she takes all his furniture after the divorce. Stella, the dog, is the only thing he got out of the divorce. Steve’s dad dies and then he loses his job. Poor guy. He’s had it rough.
Jai takes Steve to The Container Store. Everybody should have that type of storage. I’m not sure if people in SA need to shred all their documents but Jai got Steve a shredder and explained when to throw out bills and pay checks. Jai also had his other dog, Dory, with him.
Then, I don’t know what Ted was thinking, but he prescribes mole (pronounced mole-y) for Steve to make. Mole just means sauce. Like guacamole means avocado sauce.
Steve: “Simmer for 1 hour. Ohmigod.” Ted: “You’ve got to stir for 1 hour.” All the family and friends got a chance to stir though, so that was good.
Ted looked very smart in his suit up in the loft.
Steve’s introduction of his new girlfriend to his family was really bad. He’s ordering booze on the phone and doing introductions without looking anyone in the face.
Poor Stella had no idea where she was when she came home to Steve’s new Thom decorated home.
It was very funny when Thom was making fun of the I’m mad at you giggles or the I’m not impressed with this giggles. Ted: “Just wait until everybody leaves.”


Quotes:

Kyan (on screaming out someone else’s name in bed): “That is not an accident. That is giving out a hint.”

Carson: “They’re playing my divorce is messier than your divorce.”

Jai: “He’s saving for war time.”

Carson: “Coffee, tea, or ugly shoes?”

Jai: “Free, hotel, free from a hotel, stolen from a hotel.”

Carson (to Stella the dog): “What is it girl? Is last season’s shoes in here? Is someone overpaying at retail? What is it girl?”

Ted (about life sized wedding cake bride and groom dolls): “In a divorced household, this is creepy.”
Thom: “This is really creepy.”

Thom: “How long have you been out of work that you’ve got blocks of cheese been delivered?”

Carson: “Why doesn’t he just donate it to charity? These people have enough problems.”

Jai (about Steve drawing up a list): “This is where a straight guy goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

Ted: “You guys, why’s he putting chicken in a giant garbage bag?”

Ted: “OK, wait, he’s disrobing in the kitchen. This could be a health code violation.”
Carson: “This is good though. Who cares about the health code.”

About the marinate in the garbage bag that doesn’t go with the mole:
Carson: “That’s like wearing blue and orange.”
[Carson is wearing blue and orange.]

Carson: “Is that a nice wagon he’s dragging?”

Ted: “He’s putting her to work.”
Jai: “Which at some point all the straight guys end up doing.”

Jai: “How can he still be cooking? How is that possible?”

Carson: “Dammit Bailey, get back to work.’

Ted: “He’s a very popular guy for some reason.”

Ted (about making the mole): “He’s a smart guy.”
Kyan: “But there’s only one of him.”




Episode 2.41: A Queer Eye Thanksgiving
First Aired in SA: 12 July 2006

Maple leaves! Yay.

So, the format of this episode was different to the Christmas episode. Jeff Toale and family were invited. The Bravo Twins were invited. What were they thinking, of course there was going to be wrestling! David Goldman and Jes were invited: David no longer does the monkey, but now does an insane dinosaur.
It was really nice how the boys were making their traditional family recipes. Carson just described all the booze they have.
I love their ambushes. Jai finds the shirts that Carson chucked out in David’s closet. He takes them with him when he leaves. David: “They took my shirts. I have to go find garbage nearby.” When David does the dinosaur, the Bravo twins decide to wrestle him. When they are playing football in the loft, the Bravo twins decide to wrestle. It was hysterical when you see Carson running away with the vases. They wrestle Thom. What were they expecting? Kyan on why there is no rhyme or reason for why the wrestle: “I want blue cheese dressing. I want vinaigrette. Let’s wrestle.”
By the way, does anyone know if Thom is Jewish?
When they ambushed the Bravo twins, they were pissed off and didn’t want any lights on!
Carson downs some bourbon that was part of Ted’s recipe. Jeff teases him about his breath!
Jeff corrected Thom on the difference between turkey and pheasant feathers.
I liked the embroidered iron-on letters to make personalized napkins.
The fish shirt was back at Jeff’s house. And the dried flowers were all over the house again. Fire hazard! Jeff is making beautiful engraved wooden guitars.
Thom jokes that they were the only people that could make it. The Fab 5 go off to change outfits. The table looked amazing.


Quotes:

Carson: “They answered the door half naked.”
Kyan: “That sounds hot.”

Thom: You guys, I can't wait to get home and set the table.Kyan: Dude, that's the gayest thing you've ever said.Thom: It's almost as gay as when I lied to you and said your hair looked good.

As Carson slowly pulls a knife out of the sinkTed: No! Carson, no!
Ted: “Is that your aftershave?”
Thom: “No, I think it’s theirs.”
Ted: “You think?”

Carson (holding a weird nut): “I hate when they’re that big.”
Jeff: “I find that surprising.”

Jai (about Jeff’s house): “Everywhere you turned it was like, oooo, bambi, hi.”

Kyan (about Jeff): “He actually just made these spoons standing here.”

Jeff (about Kyan stroking his wife’s leg): “Don’t go against the grain.”

Ted (about being from the South): “We cook vegetables until they have no colour or texture.”

Thom: “It’s so bad, I think it’s great.”

Kyan (about Jeff): “He did that with a carrot peeler.”