Category: Television
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 114 – Lanyard Lab lanyards featured on Desperate Housewives
A couple months ago, we received an order at Lanyard Lab from Disney’s hit TV show Desperate Housewives on ABC for lanyards to be used in an upcoming episode. They were to be part of a “convention” on the show. I didn’t know to what extent we’d see the lanyards in the episode, assuming they would simply be worn casually throughout some of the scenes. Well, that episode (season 7, episode 19) aired tonight and I was pleasantly surprised to see our lanyards not only prominently featured, but also tightly integrated into the episode’s story line. The lanyards actually played a rather important role!
Below is a single frame from the episode where star Felicity Huffman is pulling her lanyard out of an envelope to put it on. Yep, we made that! (We didn’t make the badge with her character’s name on it, only the lanyard itself.) Throughout the episode, you’ll see plenty of red and black lanyards, all with the same text design that reads “Weisman LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE” which the fictional convention where Huffman and a few of the show’s other stars attended. Yep, we produced all of them.
Thanks to the show for the order!
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 96 – Back to The Ellen DeGeneres Show
A few days ago, my picture of the day was of me in the audience at a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show at Universal Orlando. Today, that episode aired on TV and I spotted myself in the audience several times. The most amusing moment (as I figured it would be) came when I was hit by a large water cannon, with my reaction clearly seen. I’m wearing sunglasses, sitting behind the guy in the yellow shirt (who is mostly blocking me) in the picture from the show below. Michelle is to my left and she also got wet. I’ve also included a second photo of me sort-of dancing along while Ellen danced her way through the crowd. Michelle wore pink to stand out in the crowd and she certainly did stand out. I’m next to her wearing blue.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 93 – The Ellen DeGeneres Show at Universal Orlando
I attended a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show at Universal Orlando today. It was fun and HOT! We left our house at 11am, were let into a holding area at noon (while the first taping of the day went on), heard Duran Duran play three songs from that taping, got into our excellent seats a little after 2pm, and watched the 3pm taping for a little more than an hour. The show we saw featured guests Eric Stonestreet (from “Modern Family”) and Kelly Clarkson and will be aired on Wednesday, April 6. (The other taping will be on TV the day before, April 5.) There was plenty of theme park humor, lots of dancing, and a welcome blast of water from a cannon that was aimed right at me. I suspect we’ll be seen on the show at least once.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 85 – Me and The Flaming C
I made my annual trip to MegaCon today and it was fun, as always. I left with around $70 worth of Nintendo plushes and animation cels, but more importantly, I did plenty of people watching. There were quite a few unique costumes this year, but my favorite was a guy dressed as The Flaming C. And I had to get a picture with him. If you don’t know who The Flaming C is, you’re not on Team Coco. Get with it.
My 2011 Oscar picks and predictions
The Academy Awards are tonight and this year I’ve seen 8 out of the 10 Best Picture nominees, as well as quite a few of the films nominated in other categories. So in these hours leading up to the ceremony, I offer my personal Oscar picks (the films I think should win and that I personally liked the best) as well as my predictions for who I think will actually win, given the Academy’s voting history. You’ll see they often line up, but sometimes do not.
On with the show…
Best Picture
Ricky’s Pick: The Social Network and Toy Story 3
Oscar Prediction: The King’s Speech
Out of the eight Best Picture nominees I saw (I didn’t see The Kids are All Right or Winter’s Bone), it’s tough to choose between The Social Network and Toy Story 3 as a favorite, because I enjoyed them both for entirely different reasons. The Social Network is the first movie to ever successfully capture the computer world without inserting unnecessary beeps, elite hackers, or The Matrix. It’s a world I can relate to quite closely, having gone to college for computer science and even going to the same high school as Eduardo Saverin, though I never knew him as he was a few years behind me. And that’s what picking the winners of any of these categories comes down to for me: ability to personally connect. If I can’t feel what the characters are feeling, then the movie is a dud for me.
While The Social Network reminds me of my college years, Toy Story 3 connects me to both my childhood and the process of leaving for college. It all hits closely to home, especially with the tear-jerking finale. Plus, I’m already a Disney fan and it’s hard not to root for it.
The King’s Speech is an actor’s movie and a well-performed one. But I can’t relate to it at all. It’s about British royalty, the social elite, and speech therapy. Sure there are some friendship themes in there that all can relate to, but in the end I just didn’t find myself caring enough about the characters and I found the ending to be entirely unsatisfying. It’s an interesting story, especially given that it’s (mostly) true, but that’s all. However, it’s exactly the type of movie that the Academy likes to award Best Picture to. I hope they don’t, but I think they will.
Here is my overall ranking of the Best Picture nominated films:
1. The Social Network
2. Toy Story 3
3. Black Swan
4. 127 Hours
5. The Fighter
6. True Grit
7. The King’s Speech
8. Inception
As I said above, I didn’t see The Kids Are All Right or Winter’s Bone.
Actor in a Leading Role
Ricky’s Pick: Colin Firth
Oscar Prediction: Colin Firth
Despite my feelings about The King’s Speech as a film, Colin Firth did a wonderful job in his role. He conquered the dialogue, speech impediment and all. Jessie Eisenberg certainly had a few tongue twisters with Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue in The Social Network, but ultimately he was still Jesse Eisenberg. Firth transformed himself into the titular King.
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