Supernatural’s “Wayward Daughters” a Hit with Fans

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6lt9KyzWfs

Supernatural, the stalwart CW series going on 10 seasons strong, finally gives their fans what they’ve been waiting for this entire season: a return to the drama’s glory days of monster of the week drama and the Winchesters doing what they do best: saving people, hunting things, namely, the family business.

In “Don’t You Forget About Me,” the 12th episode of the show’s 11th season, the Winchester Brothers — Sam and Dean — receive a call that causes them to race to the aid of an old friend. When they arrive in Sioux Falls, SD, they are greeted by Claire Novak, her foster sister Alex Jones (whom the brothers saved from vampires) and their foster mother and fellow hunter, Sheriff Jody Mills. These “wayward daughters” give the brother’s a glimpse into the family life they never knew.

Claire insists there is a monster terrorizing their hometown, but due to her erratic behavior in the past, no one believes her until a murder occurs at the local high school leaving a beloved math teacher hanging exsanguinated from a flag pole.

The episode received praise from the fans for bringing back the few surviving woman on the show, but other viewers were not as enthused about the “filler” episode. Throughout the season, the Winchesters have been working yet again to save the world, this season from the “Darkness” and Lucifer who, unbeknownst to them, is walking the earth in the body of their angel partner in crime Castiel. This episode did not revolve around that major theme of the season, which few viewers feel takes away from the season.

All in all, the episode encompassed everything present in earlier seasons, and was enjoyable for most viewers and was one of the highest rated episodes of the season, raking in 1.87 million viewers.

Here’s to hoping the show returns to its family business roots more often.

Five Decades of Love?

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The Super Bowl, in all it's hippie glory. Photo: Glenn Manacker.

Super Bowl 50, in all it’s hippie glory. Photo Collage: Glenn Manacker.

Superbowl 50 brought us a patriotic Lady Gaga in two mismatched Gucci shoes, a Denver Broncos victory very few believed would happen, a performance of Beyonce’s new song “Formation” and an appearance by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson.

But it also showed us that even after almost 50 years, California can’t shake its hippie past.

Before Beyonce and Bruno hit the stage, Coldplay singer Chris Martin strutted around Santa Clara, California’s Levi’s Stadium on a colorful, flower-shaped stage in front of his band’s drum kit, piano, and amps, which held chains of bright orange flowers. While Martin jumped and danced during “Adventure of a Lifetime,” the surrounding field was filled with dancers holding–you guessed it–more big, bright purple and yellow flowers. Finally, the 13-minute performance concluded with a colorful message spelled out in the stands: “BELIEVE IN LOVE.”

Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, lies about 47 miles from San Francisco’s infamous hippie hub, Haight-Ashbury, which provided a haven for members of the American counterculture in 1967, a year historically known as the Summer of Love. The neighborhood ran on drugs, music, contempt for the Vietnam War, more drugs, and a progressive social atmosphere. Rock bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane thrived there and acted as leaders of the growing movement, and journalist Tom Wolfe immortalized the hippie lifestyle in his 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which follows the Merry Pranksters, a group who travel across the country hopped up on LSD.

Though there was no shortage of music in Haight-Ashbury, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” by singer-songwriter Scott McKenzie became, according to the Telegraph, “the unofficial anthem of the counterculture movement of the 1960s.” The song, which was reportedly written in 20 minutes by John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas, begins:

If you’re going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

One has to wonder if Chris Martin and the Halftime planners drew their inspiration from California’s historic past or if they simply got swept away in the state’s sunny, 68-degree weather.

Watch Scott McKenzie perform “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” live at California’s 1967 Monterey Pop Festival:

Gilmore Girls Is Coming Back And I Cannot Wait

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Lauren Graham and said "stolen" jacket. Courtesy: Twitter.

Lauren Graham and said “stolen” jacket. Courtesy: Twitter.

Gilmore Girls – the popular U.S. WB series with 7 seasons under its belt – is coming back on Netflix. The hit TV show returns in a limited fashion with four 90 minute episodes, the plot of which revolves around main character Rory’s reunion with her various exes to find her Mr. Right.

Most of the main cast will be brought back to the revival: according to E! News, Paris, played by Liza Weil, will be making a return to the show. She will join Gilmore Girls stars Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore, as well as Scott Patterson, Yanic Truesdale, Sean Gunn, and Keiko Agena.

The buzz of the show’s return began with a simple tweet in January:

In addition to the original members, Berta and Alejandro, a Peruvian couple, Clementina, a Portuguese nanny, and Stevie and Kwan, Korean-American twins, will star in this anticipated revival. They are expected to freshen the Gilmore Girls scene with diversity and their original personalities.

Unfortunately, though, not all of the original crew will be brought back to the revival. One of the original series’ main casts, Melissa McCarthy, won’t be making an appearance in the new show. The character she played, Sookie St. James, was Lorelai’s best friend and co-worker; an adorable, amusingly anxious chef who worked alongside Lorelai at several local inns. McCarthy appeared in 153 episodes that spanned all seven seasons of the original Gilmore Girls as this beloved character. Amy Sherman-Palladino, one of the creators of the hit series, claims that McCarthy is simply too busy. However, McCarthy herself tweeted that no one actually invited her to the party. “Thanks for the invite, but sadly no one asked me or Sookie to come back to Stars Hollow. Wish them all the best.”

The revived Gilmore Girls began filming on February 2nd in Los Angeles and there’s no word yet on when the show will premiere.

David Bowie and His Lasting Legacy

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Much has been made of the preternatural prescience that permeates David Bowie’s final album Blackstar, released this past January 8th – coincidentally the same date as the artist’s 69th birthday and a mere two days before he shuffled off this mortal coil.

Lyrics such as “Something happened on the day he died/Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside” from the title track, and the eerie “Look up here, I’m in heaven” from the song “Lazarus” give fans the impression that Bowie not only knew he was saying goodbye, but wanted to continue communicating with them once he was gone. Bowie kept his terminal liver cancer a secret for 18 months, working diligently on his 25th album and an off-Broadway musical entitled Lazarus that acted as a kind of sequel to the 1976 film “The Man Who Fell to Earth”, which he starred in.

One of the amazing things about an artist like David Bowie is that he was inspired by artistic giants and also served to inspire musical and cultural shape-shifters who would follow in his wake.

For example, Strung Out in Heaven: A Bowie String Quartet Tribute , a six-track EP released on February 5th by musician Amanda Palmer, features collaborations with Anna Calvi, writer (and husband of Palmer) Neil Gaiman, actor/writer/director John Cameron Mitchell (of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” fame) and Jherek Bischoff, who can also take credit for all the string arrangements on the EP. Each track also features accompanying original artwork from artists around the world.

The simply amazing tribute is available via Bandcamp for a mere $1 – 54 cents of which will go to Bowie’s publisher.  The rest of the proceeds from the first month of sales will fund cancer research wing at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, in honor of Bowie. It’s exciting that these kind of scrappy, spur of the moment projects are gaining momentum and popularity. It’s the kind of forward-thinking originality that Bowie himself strove for throughout his career.

Listen to their version of “Blackstar” via the video below:

How Much Wings and Beer Did You Devour During Super Bowl 50?

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It was estimated that Americans nation-wide would intake around 1.3 billion chicken wings during Super Bowl 50, and the estimation did not increase or decrease after the game. Super Bowl weekend, February 5th-7th was a very busy weekend for food industries. Not just for the Denver Broncos, who defeated the Carolina Panthers by 10-24. Football fans watching at home will always crave hearty and high-calorie snacks and lots of beer during the game.

Buffalo-Wild-Wings-400x225

Buffalo WIld Wings Super Bowl ad.

75% of all chicken wings were mostly consumed at popular chain restaurants, such as Buffalo Wild Wings, and Wing Zone, a restaurant not known in New York City (the nearest locations being in New Jersey and in Long Island). It is always a competition between restaurants during the Super Bowl weekend, says NBC News.

According to Eater, it was estimated that Americans would also chug 325 million gallons of beer during the Super Bowl weekend, and the estimation did not change after the game either. Every man, woman, and child in America would have to drink more than a gallon each to keep up on how much football fans consumed. Treehugger also claims that all the beer consumed is enough to fill 493 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Binging on beer and wings is always a must during the Super Bowl, it is one the best times to cheat on your diet. The Calorie Control Council says that every American citizen probably consumed 2,400 calories during the game.

Don’t worry, if you were up on your feet dancing to Beyonce’s half-time show performance, you probably lost around 100 calories. If you were eating a chicken wing or drinking beer, or doing both while dancing, well then more power to you. Slow progress is better than no progress at all.

James Burrows Honored For Historic Career in NBC Tribute Special

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Burrows (middle) and the cast of Friends (l. to r. David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow). Courtesy: NBC

Burrows (middle) and the cast of Friends (l. to r. David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow). Courtesy: NBC

Stars from the hit sitcoms of the past and present gathered to honor the career of the well-known television director James Burrows in a tribute special that will air later this month.

According to Today.com, “An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows” will feature stars from many of his numerous directorial efforts over the past four decades, including “Frasier”, “Will and Grace” and “Friends”.

The event marked a reunion of sorts for the cast of “Friends”, though not all of the six featured regulars were in attendance. Matthew Perry, who played the unforgettable Chandler Bing on the 10 season-long comedy, didn’t go to the special because he’s starring in a London production of the self-written play “The End of Longing.” “It’s not the Friends reunion that everyone is hoping for,” Perry recently said on the popular English talk show “The Graham Norton Show”. He added, “The five of them are going to be on the special and I am going to introduce them from here.”

Check out what Perry had to say about a possible future reunion below:

Burrows’ career began in the 1970’s with his directing episodes for famous television sitcoms like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Taxi” and “Laverne and Shirley.” Most recently, Burrows celebrated a secular milestone — he directed his 1000th total episode of television, an accomplishment he achieved in November 2015 while working on the NBC sitcom “Crowded.”

The James Burrows Special is set to air on February 21 on NBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSlphOETkIs