Amber & Ducks Mate for Life

If nothing else, I am consistent in my adorations.  See for example, pickles.  (Not Pickles.  About him I can be very fickle especially when he puts the fleece wand on my face at 4 am and then sits on my chest and mews.)  This especially true of my crushes, which I hold onto like Eva Marie Saint clinging to Cary Grant and the eyeball on Mt. Everest (thanks to Steve, who knows the difference between Mt. Rushmore and Mt. Everest).

Speaking of Cary Grant, I am incredibly loyal to my actor crushes. Once I love you on-screen, you can do just about anything, take any bad role, grow old, change your hair and guest star on NCIS, and I will continue to love you diegetically, aesthetically, and dreamily.  Only maybe I will blog about you a little less.  Take, for example, Johnny Depp.

Sigh.  If you've known me for any length of time (or ever had tequila with me), it's likely you know the root story of my love for Johnny.  If you haven't been that lucky (or were just Googling "puff coats"):  In 1987, I watched the premiere of 21 Jump Street, and started to sob--not because the show's tackling of trouble youth was especially effecting, but because Johnny was so damn pretty.  And, I knew I could never have him.  Ah, desire. First it's red, and then it's blue. And everytime I see an iceberg, Johnny, it reminds me of you.

I've seen everything Johnny has made, even Sweeney Todd, even though "seen" there really means squinted at out of one corner of my eye while the window on my laptop was only about two inches wide.  (I don't like scary movies.)  You can make that third lousy pirate film, Johnny, and I will go see it--in the theater!  And I will like it because you are pretty in a white flouncy shirt with bad teeth.  So take that.

The latest test of my love is the Alice in Wonderland posters in the subway.

Now, I love Alice in Wonderland.  (It even inspired my first born laptop name.)  And I love fake eyelashes. And I totally am all about dyed red hair, and hats, and tea, and madness.  But that poster just scares me!  And, I don't think it's a coincidence that I dreamt that I had a weird gap between my teeth last night.  I even tried to avoid the poster by taking a different entrance to the A after Awesome Club, but then I had to sit across from one on the train for 161 blocks!

But, Johnny, I will go see your latest endeavor in the theater, even if it proves to be your scariest role yet.  Because, Johnny, I would pay to watch you breathe.  And my love is nothing if not eternal and hopeless.

Amber & Starring Surprise Guests

This is my week for stars surprising me by guesting on my regularly scheduled programs.

First, there was my suave sweetheart Robert Wagner on NCIS, proving that fate doesn't punish you for killing Natalie Wood by taking away your hair.

Then, there was my BFF Scramble2 For Free by Zynga on 30 Rock.

And, tonight, I discovered my Empire Records and (much underrated Dick Wolf revamp of) Dragnet fave, Ethan Embry, on my much beloved House.

Despite the fifteen years that have passed since Empire Records, Ethan is still adorable, even when playing a culottes salesman.  But he seems to have less and less hair as time goes by in a hair cut kind of way.

Maybe there's some inverse relationship between notoriety and plushness of hair?  Maybe hair can get in the way of being taken seriously as an actor?  Maybe as he ages his hair just doesn't grow as long?

I sure don't take Robert Wagner very seriously with all that lushness on his head, but if Ethan's hair continues to shrink, I'll be scared when he makes his 80-year-old appearance on whatever procedural detective show I am having downloaded into my brain 2058.

Amber & Special Guest Stars

Yesterday was the day for surprise special guest stars.  First, Taya joined Peter and I for post-acupuncture ramen (short wait this time-- maybe because the temperature wasn't so deathly low, so the weather wasn't as ramen-ready?).  It was really nice to see her--for the second time in a week!--and the ramen were as usual delicious.

I was so into eating my noodles that I neglected to photo-document the festivities.  But she kind of looks like this.

Then, I came home and watched a NCIS on "the other, lesser Hulu."  I like NCIS because it's like Bones but with less guts and more sailors.  Imagine my joy when my Number One Thief Crush, Robert Wagner, made an appearance as the dad of one of the characters whose names I never bother to learn.

How does he still have that awesome hair at 80?  Like a fine wine, that one, I tell you.

Amber & It Takes One

Exciting news! There are two full additional seasons of everybody's favorite criminal-working-for-the-good-guys show, It Takes a Thief, on Hulu.  I bet you can guess what I'll be doing this weekend.

Al Mundy was one of the first Hulu Heroes I discovered.  In season two, he says things like "swinging place" and refers to women as "birds."  He also wears alot of white pants.

Hulu is also featuring a modern day re-telling of sharp-dressed caper-creator working for the G-Men, somewhat against his will in the new series White Collar.

It's the same premise: cunning con-man gets out of prison, works with a disdainful cop, has secret heart of gold, smarter than the Feds, handsome, hair parted on the side, etc.  The new one stars that handsome man who looked really familiar and then I remembered he played the handsome spy on Chuck.

He's good at playing handsome men.  The pilot itself was pretty good--not great, but good.  I'd watch the second episode.  One highlight was that it featured Miss Diahann Carroll as the widow of an Old Time con man, donor of the thief's wardrobe, and owner of a fancy New York penthouse into which the thief moves.  Miss D added a nice touch of elegance to the show, as did the art forgery plotline and blue contact lenses worn by the lead.

 I sure love the handsome criminal shows.  Thank you, Hulu.

Amber & Resolutions

Sitting on the couch...


















with friends and cats...














watching programs...














and drinking wine...

is divine,
in the year
two thousand nine.

Amber & Missed Phototunities

Last night, CRD spontaneously came up to my house for Hart to Hart on Hulu and pasta with zucchini, chick peas, lemon juice and fresh mozzerella. I wish I could show you how fun that was, or how delicious the food was, or how much fun CRD had snuggling kittens, but I forgot to take pictures. This is kind of what it might have looked like had I remembered.

Only, Ginger is much bigger now, and CRD wasn't wearing his glasses.

Also, while CRD was over, we video chatted with Kevin who was in his office in San Francisco. Kevin gave us a tour of the cubicles and we showed him lots of things from my kitchen (kittens, zucchinis, bunnies, us waving, etc.). Again, I wish I could show you a screen grab from our chat, but it never occurred to me to take one until I sat down this morning to blog. It might have looked like this photo by Jimmy.

Only, there were less wine glasses, and the video was in color.

The sidewalks on the way to work were a solid sheet of ice. You guessed it: no photographic evidence to support my claim or illustrate my post. But, it kind of looked like this.

Tomorrow I am going to take photos of everything I do so I have more blog material. It's not easy having compelling illustrations for your content.

Amber & Hulu.com

I love programs. I'll watch mostly anything-- notable exceptions being anything from the horror genre and any episodes of police procedural shows which revolve around serial killers. That's why I love Hulu. It keeps me up-to-date on my current programs, like The Office and Battlestar Gallactica, but they also have a priceless assortment of Classic Programs, some of which I watched with Grandma Louise back in the day.

I like to go whole hog into a program. Last weekend, in the intense heat, I watched all of season five of Nip/Tuck. It was horrible. Unrealistic, overly dramatic, and way too much gross "brow-lifting." But, I would finish one episode, be disgusted, and then go straight into the next. It's almost easier to click play on Hulu than not to. That show stinks. I can't wait for them to post more.

I also just finished the first (and only?) season of It Takes A Thief. That was superb. Young Robert Wagner says "groovy" and "that's not my bag" alot, the pretty ladies wear lots of groovy fashions, and he's a thief so there are burgles and heists! I highly recommend it. Years later, he goes on to marry Mrs. H and, as Max says, then it's murder.