The Baby-Sitters Club - Super Special #12 - Here Come the Bridesmaids! - Chapters 21-23

I'm finally coming down the stretch with my first BSC snark. Whew! It's been a long 23 chapters.

Chapter 21

We open Chapter 21 with a journal entry from Dawn. She's writing from the plane on her way back to Stoneybrook.

This chapter is basicall just about Dawn recapping the events of the past week. Carol and Jack took Dawn and Jeff to a Japanese restaurant on Christmas Eve, then they all went home and opened presents. Carol got a Lava Lamp. Speaking of Lava Lamps, I have a closet full of them from college. I'll probably bring a couple with me when I move in a few months (I hope I find a place!) but I'll probably sell the rest of them. I think I have 4 or 5.

Anyway, moving on. Jeff got a bike, and Dawn got two big presents: funky earrings and an I.O.U. for a future flight out to Palo City.

Chapter 22

Another Suzi chapter. Why?

She writes in the journal about her Christmas. Apparently, she "noo [her] trik wud werk!" Did Claudia write this for her?

The kids opened their presents. Suzi tells the readers that her "trick" was to leave a trail of cookie crumbs from the old house to the new house.

Chapter 23

Another Dawn chapter. Dawn and Jeff continued their Christmas celebration in Stoneybrook. Jeff got a Swiss Army knife; Dawn got some winter clothes.

The entire BSC came over to eat their Christmas meal with them. As they came in, Kristy says, "Where's the food?"

Richard replied, "Save some for me!" The weird thing is that in this DAWN chapter, she tells us that this line was uttered by "Dad".

Epilogue

The epilogue was just a bunch of letters and journal entires, like most Super Special epilogues are.

Well, that's it for this BSC-snark. Thanks for coming along for the ride. As I get more practice, my snarks will get better, I promise.

So You Think You Can Dance - Finale Next week!

Contains Spoilers... If you haven't watched this week's results show and want to be surprised, don't read any further!




Tonight, 2 more dancers were eliminated. Cat called the 3 girls to the stage:

Chelsie Hightower

Courtney Galiano

Katee Shean

At the beginning of the season, I predicted that Kourtni and Courtney or Chelsea and Chelsie would be in the finale. When Kourtni Lind and Chelsea Traille were eliminated, that was out of the question. I thought there might be a possibility of Courtney and Chelsie going to the finale, but when I really started paying attention to Katee and realized how amazing she was, I knew I wanted her in the finale. It would be a tough call. (I voted for Courtney last night, in case you're wondering.) After showing clips from last night's show, the first girl was sent to safety...

Katee


After the break, we learned that the girl joining her in the finale would be...

Courtney!

I loved all 3 of them and would have been happy with any outcome. I felt the same way about the 3 guys.

Twitch

Joshua

Mark

I changed the channel at this point to watch a little bit of one of my other Thursday night shows, so I missed the order in which Cat announced who was safe, but I do know that the guys going to the finale are:

Joshua and

Twitch

I really any of the 4 of them winning. I love all of them. Also, the little kid that danced on tonight's episode was adorable!

I think Adam Shankman might be one of my favorite judges. Also, he announced tonight that part of the prize for the winner will be a role in the movie that he's currently producing.

The Baby-Sitters Club - Super Special #12 - Here Come the Bridesmaids! - Chapters 17-20

Chapter 17

Mallory writes in the journal and thinks about her fight with Ben. The kids started drawing in the hymnals. Marnie stayed by her mother's side. The Barret and DeWitt kids were suddenly excited to be siblings.

Mallory went home and called Ben. Mr. Hobart answered and told Mal that Ben "...is 'roit heah'" Stupid phonetically spelled accents. Ben and Mal talk. They apologize and decide to go carolling the next day. Mal's siblings even decided to come along!

There's a picture on pages 172 and 173. Mal looks somewhat normal, Vanessa looks just like Vanessa from the videos, and Ben looks like Anthony Rapp.

All of the kids were making up their own words to the Christmas carols. Jamie Newton came up with "Oh Christmas Tree
Oh Christmas Tree
Don't Fall on My Head"

At the end of the chapter Mal and Ben sing for each other. Things like that did NOT happen when I was eleven. Hell, I'm 24 now and they STILL don't happen.

Chapter 18

A Jeff chapter. He writes in the journal and complains about everything. He was tired of the adults asking him the same questions over and over again. He wanted to wear a sign that said "Jeff. Jack's son. Ten Years old. Fifth grade. Of Course I've grown-- I'm a kid." I agree, Jeff.

He talks to Mrs. Bruen, and finds out that Jack's marriage does not mean she'll lose her job. Apparently, Carol makes Jack look like a neat freak.

They open their wedding presents. They get a lot of bowls. Claudia suggests that they go bowling. Haha. They get a singing clown lamp. Wow.

Jack finds out that the van with all of her furniture was stolen. She admits that she didn't like the furniture anyway, so she doesn't mind that it's gone. Jeff imagined the lava lamp in the robber's house. He hoped the robber enjoyed it.


Chapter 19

Kristy writes in the journal. It was the day of Dawn's good-bye party. Kristy and Claudia pack, then they all headed to Sunny's for the party. A lot of the neighborhood kids were there-- including Ryan DeWitt! I think this is the only book that acknowleges the fact that there are 2 Ryan DeWitts. Good research, ghostwriter!

The chapter is basically about Dawn talking with the kids, so I won't recap all of it. Dawn got a nice letter from Stephie, one of the girls she sits for in California.


Chapter 20

Logan writes in the journal. He helped the Barretts and DeWitts move. Apparently, Franklin had piano. The kids enjoyed banging on the keys. In Logan's words, "Mozart, it wasn't". Taylor and Buddy put books on their bookshelves. Suzi worries some more about Santa finding her at the new house. This chapter is not very exciting. Logan helped her think of a way to solve this "problem". Well, I guess it would be a problem for a small child. Anyway, she thought of a plan, but we'll just have to wait until the next Suzi chapter to see what it is!

The Baby-Sitters Club - Super Special #12 - Here Come the Bridesmaids! - Chapters 13-16

Okay, I know it's been a while since my last installment of this recap. I'm back now, so here we go!

Chapter 13

Dawn writes in the journal. She talks about what her dad and Carol were wearing. Neither one of those outfits were very Claudia-worthy, so I'm going to skip talking about them. Carol, Jack, Jeff and Dawn are on their way to the wedding.


They arrive at the wedding, Jeff complains about his tie, the guests all sing "Tis the Gift to Be Simple", Mary Anne cried. This is boring. The picture on page 149 is interesting. Dawn and Jeff both look a bit ridiculous, but Carol and Jack look nice. Awww. Okay, this was a sweet chapter.


Chapter 14

A Shannon Chapter! I've been waiting 14 chapters for this. I love Shannon! She writes in the journal from the Barret-DeWitt wedding She never wants to baby-sit at a wedding again. The Barret and DeWitt kids are fighting, blah blah blah. One of the ushers came over to the pew to show the kids a magic trick. A lady who wanted the usher to take her to her seat came from behind him and said "harrumph!", then Mallory came back from taking Madeline to the bathroom. Madeline was impressed with the wooden toilets.

The kids were being loud, other guests were getting angry, Ryan DeWitt didn't like the loud music, so Shannon took him out of the chapel. She had been given specific instructions that if any of the children were disruptive, to take them to the church nursery. Shannon ran to the back of the church, and came face to face with the wedding party. Boy, if I were walking down the aisle, and one of the guests showed up in front of me with a screaming toddler, that would really throw me off. Anyway, she misses the wedding, because she took Ryan to the nursery. When she descibes sitting in the nursery watching Ryan sleep. It makes me think of the nursery at the church I went to when I was a kid. They had a nursery (It was called the "Baby Fold") down the hall from the sanctuary.

Chapter 15

Stacey tells us her story of the Barrett-DeWitt wedding. She said that before that experience, she thought that weddings were easy. She thought the bride did all the work! She learns that she was wrong!

Anyway, the other bridesmaids were all older than her, but she said that they were very nice. When I was in my cousin's first wedding, which was about 12 years ago, the other bridesmaids were the groom's sisters and my cousin's childhood best friend. Most of them were older than me, except for one of the sisters. They were a nice group of girls.

Stacey tells us that Mrs. Barret looks great in clothes that she wears around the house, but in her wedding gown? Dazzling!

She tells us that the usher that she was walking down the aisle with gave her a smile. She tells us not to worry; he's around her Dad's age. This is when Shannon showed up in the middle of the aisle with Ryan. Whoops.

Mrs. Barrett makes it to the end of the aisle, and Marnie yells "Mommy!" The congregation laughs. The minister comments about how nice it was to have the children there to witness the marriage. If this were my church, he would have used a puupet. The minister at my church has a puppet that he uses for the children's sermon. It's name is Reverend Dr. Cool.

Anyway, Marnie stayed by her mother's side throughout the ceremony.

Chapter 16

Another illegible Claudia journal entry. Can't she type? One of the CA Diaries was typed, if I remember correctly. Plus, if Claudia typed, she could use spell check!

Guess what? The wedding had a Buffay table! Isn't that how Phoebe from Friends spelled her last name?

Anyway, Claudia tells us that the BUFFET looked wonderful. She went around taking candid shots with a camera that she borrowed from Mr. Schafer. There are a bunch of toasts, Carol sings a song,

Then Mrs. Bruen asks Claudia and Kristy to help her with something. They're going to surprise the Schafers with a Christmas tree!


...and that's enough for now. I'll be back with more sometime soon. It won't be as long as last time, I promise.

My Boys - Thoughts ---CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Ever since it first aired in late 2006, I've been a big fan of the TBS sitcom My Boys. For those unfamiliar with the show, here's a breif recap: PJ Franklin is a 20-something sports writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. She covers the cubs. A tomboy at heart, she spends most of her time with her guy pals, playing poker or hanging out at Crowley's, their favorite watering hole.

Season 2 has begun, we now know that PJ chose Bobby as her date for the Italy trip. We also know that he didn't know that PJ meant it as a romantic gesture, and he is now engaged to Andy's Swedish nanny.

I have read some spoilers that state that PJ and Bobby will not end up together this season. Well, since he's getting married... all together now: OBVIOUSLY! But! This spoiler leads me to believe that there's still hope for future seasons. If spoiler sites are making a point to mention it, even with the knowledge that Bobby is marrying someone else, this leads me to speculate that the wedding won't happen. Of course, this is just a thought, maybe even just wishful thinking, but I'd really like to see PJ and Bobby end up together.

I know what you're saying. "But what about Brendan?!" Well, Brendan and PJ would make a great couple. I don't doubt that, but in most cases, the main character of books, tv shows and movies does not end up with her best friend. Looking back on season 1, even though PJ and Bobby had a rocky start, I love the chemistry that progressed with them throughout the season. Again, just a thought.

Baby-Sitters Club - Super Special #12 - Here Come the Bridesmaids! - Ch. 9-12

Here we go. Another installment. (I told you it would be a long 23 chapters)

Chapter 9

Claudia opens her chapter with a journal entry. Yay? It's illegible, but I was able to comprehend that Claudia has found her calling! Again, yay?

She's talking with Lyle the Florist, and he's helping her pick out flowers for Jack and Carol's wedding.

Apparently, when Claudia's parents found out how much it was going to cost to send her to the left coast, they told her she couldn't go. Jack offered to pay for part of it if she would be willing to work as their wedding consultant. Mr. Kishi didn't like that idea because he was afraid it would make him look bad. Long story short, Mr. and Mrs. Kishi agreed to pay for her ticket, if she would be willing to pay them back. Claudia would earn the money by being the wedding consultant. Claudia explains that that's why she is with the florist.

Next, she went to the catering company. Stuart, the caterer seemed annoyed with Claudia and didn't know why she was there. After a quick phone call to Mr. Schafer for an explanation, all was well. This was a really boring chapter.

Chapter 10

Mary Anne opens with a journal entry. She doesn't seem happy about the idea of a beach wedding. She complains and complains. She wonders about the music and if someone is to bring a harmonica or accordion. Hey MA, don't hate. Accordions are cool!

Dawn comes down the stairs wearing the bridesmaid's dress. She says that she bought one for Mary Anne too. Dawn realizes that she never asked Mary Anne to be a bridesmaid. Whoops.

Mary Anne tried it on and didn't like the way that her shoulders looked. Looking at the cover, their shoulders aren't visible in the dresses that they're wearing. The dresses on the cover look like the pink version of the bridesmaid dresses for my parents' wedding.

Anyway, Dawn and Mary Anne have a huge fight about the wedding, and it's too boring to recap, so I'll spare you the details.

Carol got dinner at a macrobiotic restaurant called Body-Soul-Joy. Yum? I don't know anything about macrobiotic food, actually. Dawn seemed very happy with the selection of food that Carol brought home.

After they ate, they had a wedding rehearsal. I guess the macrobiotic dinner was their rehearsal dinner.

Carol and Jack make a comment about the four of them. Meaning the bride, groom, maid of honor and best man. No mention of a bridesmaid. Apparently, Dawn never asked her dad if Mary Anne could be a bridesmaid. That sparks another fight. This is where I get confused, though. A few Super Specials later, Mary Anne is talking about her relationship with Mr. Schafer, and mentions that she was a bridesmaid in his wedding. I'd blame it on poor ghostwriter research, but I'm pretty sure Peter Lerangis wrote both of them. Oh well. Moving on.


Chapter 11

On to Jessi's adventure as Bellair's Santa. Jessi tells us that she likes big breakfasts, but Mme Noelle wouldn't approve, because Jessi is supposed to watch her weight. Mme. Noelle says that "no one wants to watch zee doncing hippos" Jessi says that she doesn't get too crazy about her weight now, but she will when she's a pro.

This is boring. She goes to Bellairs, no one stares at her. Blah Blah Blah. She meets some kids, they all love her, she asks to stay late. One kid says "I know you're not Santa!" Jessi is all "aw, crap" The kid goes "you're his helper!" (Whew!) The kid asks Jessi to give his wish list to her "Boss".


Chapter 12

Another Mary Anne Chapter? Odd. Anyway, here we go. Dawn and Mary Anne make up in the first few chapters. All is well in Palo City. Mary Anne even decides to wear the dress that Dawn bought for her. At first she's concerned that people will think that it's odd that she's dressed like the bridesmaid, but Dawn says that it's okay because they're sisters. The U.P.S. truck comes. Jeff doesn't realize that it's an acronym and calls it the "ups" truck.

Then Dawn and Mary Anne have that cliched moment that seems to happen in every wedding book, tv show or movie. They're wearing each other's dresses. haha. Not.

Mary Anne says that her dress (which is actually Dawn's) feels way too big, and wonders if she lost weight. Is she calling Dawn fat? The interesting thing is that Dawn's dress was too big for Mary Anne. I thought Dawn was often described as being really thin. Oh well. The discover the mistake and exchange dresses.

Claudia helps everyone with their hair, and they're on their way. Woo!

Now, we're halfway done!

The Baby-Sitters Club - Super Special #12 - Chapters 5-8

Ok, after a breif hiatus, I'm back with more snark.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 opens with a journal entry from Suzi, in Stacey's handwriting. I'll spare you the details, but basically Suzi is complaining about having to move. Suzi says that she knows how to write, but it takes too long and she really likes the hearts Stacey uses when she writes the letter "I".

Suzi doesn't want to move. She'll miss the old house, and she's afraid that Santa wouldn't find her at the new house. She also says that she'll miss her bed. She'll be sharing a bunk bed with Mr. DeWitt's daughter Madeline. Hey, Suz! Don't be sad. Bunk beds are cool! Anyway, she's complaining that Madeline is only four, but Suzi is a whole five and FIVE TWELFTHS! (because of course she has to be that exact). If I were to be that exact, that makes me... twenty-four and four twelfths. Oh well, Suzi would be older, but since this is BSC-land, she'll be five and five twelfths until the end of time!

She explains that her "old daddy" (as opposed to the new one) lives in Milwaukee. She tells us that it's "a million miles away, maybe even a thousand" (not a googolplex, which Buddy told her is the biggest number in the Universe.) I am not making this stuff up.

The chapter continues with Suzi complaining. Then Stacey helped her write a letter to Santa, to tell him where the new house is. Suzi signs it herself, and tries to dot the I with a heart, just like Stacey. Suzi's heart looks more like a sideways 'B'. Suzi and her Mom mail the letter, and that solves that problem. Or does it?

Chapter 6

We begin with a journal entry from Mary Anne. She's getting ready to leave for her trip. Sharon gives her brownies for her flight. Mary Anne tells us that the last time Sharon made brownies, she forgot to put in the eggs. Oh, Sharon. Did you misplace the eggs in the toaster oven again?

The Schafer-Spiers go pick up Kristy and Claudia so they can all head to the airport. A lot of random things happen for filler, then they get on the plane. Kristy tries to explain the time difference to Claudia, but she doesn't understand. Didn't they all go to California 7 Super Specials ago? Wouldn't she have figured it out then? Anyway, Kristy explains that it will be 9:30 PM when then arrive. I don't know about ya'll, but whenever I go to the west coast, I always take an early morning flight, so I still have a full day when I get to my destination. Maybe that's just me, though.

They have Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. Kristy calls it a "tennis ball covered with paste". I wholeheartedly concur. I only like Chicken Cordon Bleu if it's homemade.

They talk about seeing Dawn, and Kristy wonders if she's changed. Claudia comments that Kristy is just worried that Dawn picked up habits from the We (heart) Kids Club. Touche, Kishi! "Hmmph" replies Kristy. Not as good as "Harrumph", but it'll do.

Chapter 7

A Jeff Chapter. We open with a journal entry. The boy gets props, because I can read his handwriting! He writes, "Sorry I have not written in the journal yet. I have been very busy. Yesterday Mary Anne came with Kristy and Claudia. They are staying here. Tomorrow Dad and Carol get married. I can't wait. That's it. Bye Now"

Ok. First, he doesn't use contractions either! It must be from that small about of time he spent in the Stoneybrook school system. Second, I've always thought that "Bye Now" sounds kind of unnatural. In one of the call centers that I worked in, I had a co-worker who would always say "Bye Now", and other co-workers would always comment on it. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, I just think it sounds forced.

Sorry, got sidetracked. After the journal entry, Jeff tells us that, in fact, he CAN wait until Dad and Carol get married, and he hates having a house full of girls. He also says "Gag Me" at the thought of being asked if he has a girlfriend. Jeff, honey, is there something you want to tell us? If so, that's totally Ok. (Shout out to California, where it is now legal for Gays to be married!)

More complaining. I remember liking Jeff in this book last time I read it. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that last time, I wasn't reading it for snarking purposes. Oh, and Jeff is upset because he thinks the marriage means that they won't need Mrs. Bruen anymore.

Jack and Carol fight about Carol's furniture. She has a wall unit that she's had since just after college. Jack doesn't think they need two. Carol says that losing hers would be like losing a part of herself. Jack points out that he loses a part of himself when he clips his toenails. First of all, bwah! Second of all, gross. Still, Jack Schafer FTW! The chapter ends with them still discussing the furniture.

Chapter 8

Kristy. You know, I'm skimming this chapter, and I don't feel like a whole lot is going on. I'll keep looking though. I'll find some good snarking opportunities for you!

Well, the girls go visit the We (heart) Kids Club. This should be interesting.

ooh! Outfit time. This one is worn by Maggie. Aside from her hair being in dreadlocks, two of them dyed red and green, she was wearing, "this crazy neon-patterned jumpsuit, under a tailored cotton jacket with padded shoulders."

The We (heart) Kids club decides to have a spontaneous meeting. They eat healthy snacks. Sunny sends Dawn for the snacks, so Sunny can tell the other girls about the surprise party that she's planning.

I can't tell who people are in the picture on pages 86 and 87. Kristy, Claudia and Mary Anne are easy to tell. I can pick out Maggie, because of the hair, even though it's more of a mullet than dreadlocks. As for Dawn, Sunny and Jill? I couldn't tell you.

Dawn, Mary Anne and Claudia decide to head back to Dawn's to work on wedding stuff. Kristy decides to stay and hang out with the California girls. By the end of the meeting, she had helped them to organize party planning stuff.

Yeah, this chapter was pretty boring.

Up next: Claudia picks out flowers.

So You Think You Can Dance- Top 18- Results.

I want to start by saying that Kherington and Twitch's routine choreographed by Jean Marc Genereaux to "A New Day" by Celine Dion last night was PHENOMENAL. Jean Marc dedicated the routine to his daughter who is sick. During tonight's results, they showed a clip of Jean Marc thanking Kherington and Twitch, telling him that his daughter would love it.

It was a beautiful performance. Mia Michaels commented that she thought Kherington's smile throughout the routine was inappropriate. Mary (or maybe it was Nigel) pointed out that Jean Marc choreographed the piece to make his daughter smile, ergo, it was completely appropriate for Kherington to smile the way that she did. I agree. They were my favorite performance last night. Here's a vdeo clip from youtube. I can't stop watching this! The look on Mary's face at the end says it all. It reminds me of the look on Paula's face after David Archuleta sang Imagine for the first time during 1970s week.

Kherington & Twitch - Viennese Waltz:



Go Twitchington!

In Rickey's pool at www.funofficepools.com, (that's Rickey of Rickey.org fame) I picked Comfort and Chris as the two dancers going home tonight.

Now, on to the results!

Safe

Kherington & Twitch
Kourtni & Matt
Katee & Joshua
Courtney & Gev
Chelsie H & Mark
Jessica & Will

The bottom 3:

Chelsea T & Thayne
Susie & Marquis
Comfort & Chris

Going Home:

Susie and Marquis

It's really too bad, because I was really starting to like them. Rickey put it best when he commented on Nigel breaking Marquis' heart. We love you Marquis! He kind of reminds me of Marco from Degrassi. Just a thought.

Another thing that I noticed is that the guys seem to be taking it harder than the girls when they get voted off. That's just an observation.

The Baby-Sitters Club- Super Special #12- Here Come the Bridesmaids!- Chapters 3-

Chapter 3

BSC meeting time! Yay! The chapter starts with one of Jessi's contributions to the Wedding Journal. She apologizes that she wasn't writing about the wedding, but she couldn't after what happened that day. Ooh... Intrigue!

Mallory is singing. She's butchering the words to "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire". Shannon tries to teach her the words. When this proves to be unsuccessful, she awesomely replies, "I take it back. You can't sing." I love Shannon. Apparently, she wanted everyone to sing, but Mallory was embarassed about her singing. Shannon told her that everyone can sing, and was subsequently proven wrong. Way to go, Mal. You fail.

Eleven minutes into the meeting (the actually tell us the exact time!), Mrs. McGill calls the BSC. Apparently, Belair's needs a Santa. Stacey explains that they "lost" their current one. Claudia rules, because she responds with, "Disappeared between men's shoes and home appliances, huh? I know that area. It's like the Bermuda Triangle." hee!

Actually, Santa was cast in a movie, so he has to leave town. Mrs. McGill needs a new Santa ASAP. They check the record book. Jessi is the only one free! She says that she can't because of three things:

She's 11

She's a girl

She's black. (holy shit! really?)

Jessi recalls living in Oakley, and always being happy to see a black Santa. She agrees to be Belair's Santa.

Apparently the previous year's Santa said, "Yo! What's up?" instead of Ho! Ho! Ho! They didn't mind though, because he was charming. The Belair's lady (her name is Mrs. Javorsky, in case you're playing the trivia game at home. Don't worry, though! We'll never see her again.) says that even if little kids see through the disguise, they just make up their own descriptions about why the department store Santa doesn't look like the picture in their minds.

Chapter 4

A Mallory chapter. Oh, Goody. She writes in the journal. She had an idea, but now her life is a mess. That doesn't happen when Kristy has ideas, now does it? Once again, Mal. You Fail!

She's hanging out with Ben. I hate the stupid phonetic spelling of the Hobarts' accents. Mel-ry? Really?

Mallory says that she got Claire a hole punch for Christmas once, and it was her favorite gift. I'd snark that, but I actually like hole punches, so I'll let it go.

A bunch of the neighborhood kids come over. Ben makes hot chocolate for everyone. James Hobart comes in and says, "Me and Jake found a birds' nest!" Me and Jake? ME and Jake? Incorrect Grammar alert! Fail! I don't care if it was intentional, and they were trying to imply that young kids don't know grammar. When I was that age, I knew how to use "...and me" & "...and I" correctly. FAIL!

Ben and the kids start singing carols. Everyone is singing, and they decide that it would be fun to go caroling. Yay Caroling! I haven't done that in years.

Mallory goes home, and gets a call from Claudia. They've been invited to be mothers' helpers at the Barret-DeWitt wedding. Mallory accepts, but... oh noes! It's the same day that she's supposed to go caroling with Ben and the kids! She calls Ben to explain, and he wants her to cancel the sitting job. She says she can't, and Ben gets mad. Okay, fine. I don't like when friends cancel plans, but seriously, how hard is it to change the date of plans if someone has to do something else that can't be changed? They fight, and I think this rivals the card catalog fight as the dumbest BSC fight ever.

I just looked at the next page, and we have ourselves a Suzi chapter. On that note, I think this is a good place to stop.

The Baby Sitters-Club -- Super Special #12 -- Here Come the Bridesmaids! Prologue-Ch. 2

I promised you some snark, and snark you will get! This is my first BSC Snark, so bear with me.

In addition to gratefully acknowledging Peter Lerangis (go Peter!) for his help with this manuscript, Ann also thanks Stuart Schultz of A Perfect Pear. What?

Prologue

The book opens with a journal entry by one Miss Dawn "OMG Bicoastal" Schafer. She informs us that she lives in the 'brook, but got permission to spend time in good old Palo City for a few months following her dad's wedding. She explains that it's hard to have a wedding in December because she has to pass her finals if she wants to move back to Connecticut. Wait! There's more! There's another wedding. This one is on the other side of the country. She can't go to both weddings because being bicoastal is hard, doncha know? She wishes that everyone could be at both weddings. This gives her an idea! Let's make journals! One for each wedding!

Chapter 1

Apparently Dawn's bridesmaid dress will make her a "Radiant, Luminous, and Up-to-the-minute" bridesmaid. Did Charlotte the Spider write that description? Sunny agrees with me, as she laughs at Dawn and says "That sounds like Wilbur the pig from Charlotte's Web!" Dawn and her friends spend the afternoon wandering around the mall after looking for her bridesmaid dress. I don't know about you guys, but every time that I've been in a wedding, I didn't shop with a crowd of friends at the mall. I went to bridal shops with the bride and bridal party. Just Me? Okay then. Moving on.

Dawn talks some more about the BSC the W (heart) KC and her two lives. Blah Blah Blah Bi-coastal cakes. We're only on chapter 1, and I'm already annoyed. The illustration on page 14 makes it loook like Sunny has really really long hair. (You know, the kind that Dawn is supposd to have, but never does in the illustration?) Anyway, it's not all her hair. She's standing near a dress and it all blends in.

Oh noes! I smell some trouble! Dawn decides to buy one of the dresses for Mary Ann too! She ends the chapter by saying how much Mary Anne will love it. Famous Last Words?

Chapter 2

Stacey is happy that it's snowing. Um, Stace, don't you remember the time when you got stranded in a snow storm?

Oh, Okay. This time, it's only a few flakes. Stacey tells us about HER 2 different lives. She and her mom eat breakfast, then at the honk of a car horn, Stacey takes off for some fun and adventures with the Barrett/DeWitt clan. The kids fight. They don't like the new house. Apparently, "Mee-oke" is Ryan DeWitt speak for "Milk"

Mrs. Barrett talks about being on top of things. She mentions that the bridesmaid dresses are all set except for Stacey's. Stacey is surprised because Mrs. Barrett hadn't actually asked her yet. Another nitpick: don't most people ask their bridesmaids more than a few weeks in advance? Just saying. Also, Mrs. Barrett verifies that Stacey is a size 6. Who is she, Jessica Wakefield? Oops, sorry. Wrong series.

Stacey is all "You want ME to be a bridesmaid?" Mrs Barrett is all "You mean I didn't ask you?" Mr. DeWitt wins the first "Harrumph!" alert when he says "Harrumph! On top of things?" Hahaha. I love Peter Lerangis and his glorious use of onomatopoeia.

Up next: Mallory sings! It's going to be a long 23 chapters.

SYTYCD- Top 20- First Round of Eliminations.

This is the first season that I've watched So You Think You Can Dance. I'm already hooked. This is good, because it gives me another ridiculous show to watch now that American Idol is over til next January.

And now... on with the results!


Safe

-Kherington and Twitch
-Chelsea T and Thayne
-Chelsie H and Mark
-Susie and Marquis
-Comfort and Chris
-Katee and Joshua
-Courtney G and Gev


Bottom 3

-Kourtni and Matt
-Rayven and Jamie
-Jessica and Will

Going Home:

-Rayven
-Jamie

I don't know how it works for the finale. Is it 2 couples or 2 single dancers? I'm still hoping for a Courtney/Kourtni or a Chelsea/Chelsie finale, but if they do it by couples, then that idea is out. I'm a big fan of Kherington too, so maybe this double name finale idea is just my American Idol obsession coming through.

I wonder if the fans of the dancers will get cool nicknames like "Archeys", "Word Nerds", and "Fanesha 300"

C is for Cookie; That's good enough for me

So, as we all know, David Cook is our new American Idol. I'm happy with these results. I would have been happy either way, though. An Archey Angel to the core, I was rooting for little David all season. I have to say, though, I have a bit of Cookie/Word Nerd in me as well. I loved both of these contestants, and it didn't come as a shock when Ryan Seacrest announced on Top 3 Results night that those two would be going head to head for the finale.

A lot of people were calling it a "shocker" that Cook took the crown. Even though I was rooting for Archuleta, I didn't see it as a shock. Both contestants did extremely well over the course of the season, and according to a lot of prediction websites, they both had nights where they were way ahead of the competetion. The night before the finale, I checked dialidol.com. It showed our Davids in a pretty close race. Zabasearch.com showed the same. Both of these sites only show a small sampling of the votes, but are still a decent indicator. I kept voting...and voting... and voting. By the time I went to bed that night...er...morning, although it was still close, Cook was creeping ahead. We all know the end of that story. David Cook won by 12 million votes. Some of the blogs that I read called this a landslide. I don't really think a margin of 12 million, which at 97 Million votes is just over 12%, is a landslide, but still. Good for Cookie.

The Davids have both signed record contracts, and are on their way to bright futures.

On a side note, David Cook sang the National Anthem at Game 3 of the NBA Finals this evening. I'll post a video later. Go Celtics!

Edit: I tried to post a video, but blogger was being weird. Let's see if this works.

First Post!

Welcome to my Pop Culture blog! Here, you will find reviews and recaps of reality/entertainment shows (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, etc), comments on various aspects of current pop culture and blasts from the past (such as, reviewing/discussing favorite childhood tv shows and books!). I'll also be posting anything else that comes to mind. (I take requests too!)

I plan on adding some snark to my posts as well, because who doesn't love a good dose of snark?

To start us off, here is the Top 20 for Season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance:

Courtney Galiano

Chelsea Hightower

Susie Garcia

Chelsea Traille

Kourtni Lind

Joshua Allen

Stephen “Twitch” Boss

Kherington Payne

Rayven Armijo

Matt Dorame

Thayne Jasperson

Marquis Cunningham

Mark Kanemura

Comfort Fedoke

Jamie Bayard

Chris Jarosz

Jessica King

William Wingfield

Gev Manoukian

As of right now, my favorites are Kourtni Lind and Kherington Payne. I have to wonder though, how would our friends down at 19 Entertainment (Nigel Lythgoe, I'm looking at you!) feel about a Kourtni/Courtney or a Chelsea/Chelsea finale? This would be especially entertaining if all the DVRs in America cut off like they did during the American Idol finale. "...and the winner is.... DAVID..." *click*

"...the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 is.... CHELSEA..." *click*

Just a thought. Enjoy the blog. :)