Feeling Better and Doing Ok

I'm happy to report that my sickness is almost gone! I am no longer coughing up blood and I no longer sound like Darth Vader. A happy occasion for all involved (mainly, me).

This last week I also went up to Washington to attend my grandma's funeral. I'm sad that she's gone and I'll miss her terribly, but it was nice to see all the family and reminisce about all the hilarious stories involving my grandmother. Grandma Connie was truly one of the most exaggerated personalities I have ever met, and it was great remembering all the good times with her. I'll know I'll see her again someday. And be able to ask her about those hysterical photo albums...

I do have three tests this week, which is  no fun. But now that I'm feeling better I'm more motivated to learn. Or something. I'll get through them somehow.

Sorry that I've mostly just been rambling. Just thought I should update... But here's what I know you're looking for, my usual piece of entertainment news. Here's a video of Mark Zuckerberg and Jesse Eisenberg together on SNL. And I thought Zuckerberg hadn't even seen The Social Network... good to know he has a self-deprecating sense of humor.

Also, today I discovered just about the coolest thing ever - the film review encyclopedia section of the library! It's in the Humanities section next to Samuel Johnson's dictionary, of all places, but it contains several different sets of highly respected film reviewers, some even dating back to the 1900s. Even in 1907, Variety could write scathing reviews. Of one 6 minute film called "A Disastrous Flirtation," Variety wrote, "Of a plot there is none evident, but perhaps that is the point." The one on Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs was also entertaining, saying, "So perfect is the illusion, so tender the romance and fantasy, so emotional are certain portions when the acting of the characters strikes a depth comparable to the sincerity of human players, that the film approaches real greatness. It is an inspired and inspiring work, the commercial success of which will be notable." Well, yeah.

Needless to say I spent more time in the library today than I did all last semester.

To my Grandma

You always thought that I was a good writer.
Maybe this poem will finally
Convince you otherwise.

I like to think that I got my love of
Celebrity gossip and
Country music from you.

I’ll never forget that time when
you told me to sneak you ice cream,
And I said no because
mom would get me in trouble.

I should have given you that ice cream. 

You wanted more than anything to
live by your family and have them close by.
You were always excited to see me and

You always made me feel good about myself.

I loved your stories, your fierce loyalty, your love of the gospel,
The way you laughed with everyone at everything

You were a brilliant artist of both paintings and hair. 

I’ll miss you lots, Grandma C,
You’ll always be in my heart
And I’ll be sure to think of you every time
I see a toothpick.

Until we meet again,
Chelsey

I Love Ricky Gervais

Typical Gervais face

The Golden Globes were on last night. I only got to watch the last half of it, but from what I saw there weren't really any surprises in the awards. But it's definitely easy to see why the Golden Globes are less prestigious than the Academy Awards (nominating The Tourist?? Letting Glee win over Modern Family?? the shame...) but here were some of the highlights:

•  Ricky Gervais was an awesome host and not afraid to poke fun at anything. "And here are the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film - a category nobody cares about." hahaha.
• Robert De Niro and Natalie Portman's incredibly awkward acceptance speeches. De Niro kept talking about how awesome he was and something about private schools(?) while Portman went on and on about giving birth.
• the fact that The Social Network swept the board. Shows that a movie doesn't have to be rated R to be great and artistic.

So that was that. It's been a pretty fun weekend so far. Friday night I went to Kelly's house and had tacos with my old roommates, and after that I went to see Imagine Dragons at the Velour with Brittany. They were so good and really fun. Check out my favorite song by them:

Saturday was spent cleaning my room, doing homework, and kind of just lazing around watching TV and movies with my roommates. We may not always live it up in this apartment, but I really don't mind spending days just chilling and watching movies with a few friends. I actually prefer that over non-stop partying. My life is hectic enough as it is.

Sunday I went to church, went to a couple meetings, watched the Golden Globes, and our apartment played games with a few of our friends. If you haven't ever played ImagineIff, you need to. Your friends' true feelings about you will come out :) (Apparently my friends really like my butt... If I was a train car, I'd be the caboose, If I were a piece of meat, I'd be a rump roast... yeah.)

Today I went to a GEM meeting, where we are in the midst of hardcore media pitching right now. The event is on Thursday, so we are trying to get as many reporters as we can out there. I'll eventually have to call a reporter from the Associated Press and The Washington Post. Not scary or anything. It was cool though, because all the new PR kids were asking ME for advice on how to do things. I mean, I really don't know that much yet either, but it still made me feel pretty good :)

Other than that, I just need to finish some homework and go to Chipotle later today! It's freaking ridiculous that I have to drive 30 minutes to get my burritos. But it's worth it, what can I say.

6 TV Shows That Were Gone Too Soon

I thought I'd try a different kind of post this time. If you know anything about me, you know that I love television and movies almost to the point that it's unhealthy (but not quite - I still make time for school and a real life  :) So I think every now and then I will impart my vast knowledge of what's good and what's not in the entertainment industry. (Because we all know that my taste is better than yours, and there is no such thing as a correct differing opinion. Joking, of course.) So, yeah, I encourage you all to check these shows out as soon as you can, and if you don't like them, then I guess you're just really weird. ;)

So here we are, the first installment of my entertainment wisdom. I present to you:

6 Television Shows That Were Gone Too Soon 
(aka networks that don't recognize a great show when they see one):

1) Veronica Mars: I've never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer (shocking, I know), but apparently when that show was airing, Buffy was considered *the* girl role-model for our generation. She was strong and kicked butt daily. Well, sorry, Buffy, but according to critics, there's a new girl role-model in town. And her name is Veronica Mars. Smart, witty, and tougher than the boys, cute little Veronica Mars (played by Kristen Bell) and her PI dad solve crimes in the town of Neptune and at Neptune High, where the line between have's and have-nots is huge. The script, engaging cases, and fabulous actress Kristen Bell make this show a must-see. Oh, and it has Jason Dohring. Need I say more? Too bad USA canceled this show half-way through its 3rd season, with little resolved.



2) Pushing Daisies: Hmmm. what can I NOT say about how great Pushing Daisies is? Part romance, part fantasy, part crime mystery, part comedy, and even part musical (thanks to the wonderful Kristen Chenoweth), this show literally had it all. The bright colors, the witty dialogue, the creative mysteries, the adorable Lee Pace, all made for a one-of-a-kind show the likes of which television will probably never see again. This show had the misfortune of occurring right in the middle of the writer's strike, and didn't get more than two short seasons. Poor Brian Fuller, his shows never seem to do that well.  I will forever miss and love you, Ned the piemaker, and your magical finger that can bring the dead back to life.




3) Freaks and Geeks: Jason Segal. James Franco. Seth Rogen. Any of these names ring a bell? This is where they all started, my friends. Freaks and Geeks only lasted one season, but I laughed the whole way through while also getting to know and love the characters. It serves to remind me how there is a little bit of freak and geek in each one of us :)

4) Dead Like Me: I first decided to check out this show because it had an interesting concept (about a girl who becomes a grim reaper) and because it had Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride, who is brilliant in this show). But while being hilarious and a little absurd (this show was also created by Brian Fuller, who loves those Rube Goldberg-type death scenes), this show also really makes you think hard about the meaning of life and how we're supposed to be living it. Death can be a lot closer than you think. This show only had two short seasons, and does contain strong language, just as a warning.




5) 10 Things I Hate About You: This might make some of you hate me, but I was never really a huge fan of the movie by the same name. Other than the gorgeous Heath Ledger, the movie just seemed like another high school romantic comedy to me. However, the show, for better or worse, wasn't too similar to its movie counterpart, other than names and the general concept. This show was actually pretty dang funny, and casting Ethan Peck as Patrick Verona didn't hurt things, either ;) I really loved the dynamic between Kat and Bianca and their dad, who, fun fact, also played the father in the film. This show got canceled by ABC Family after one season, and ends on the most annoying cliffhanger. Still worth every second, though.




6) Ugly Betty: I miss my weekly dose of Betty! The story of sweet, unfashionable Betty Suarez working at Mode fashion magazine made for four seasons of great laughs and tears. You can't help but love every character, from the evil Wilhelmina, to the playboy but lovable Daniel, to the obnoxious and rude Marc and Amanda. And Betty's awesome family makes you root for her even more. The last few episodes of the series were some of the best, and I'm so sad this show was canceled before its time.



Well, I hope you enjoyed my first installment of Saatkamp's Shows, as I'm now calling it. Unless you can think of a better name, haha. Next up will either be my favorite current TV shows or my personal Oscar list. So stay tuned :)

Well, I did it

The first week of school has come and gone. It will be an okay semester - nothing too exciting, but not too hard. Here are the classes I'm taking:

- Intro to Accounting: The class I'm least looking forward to. We only have to attend 8 lectures since most of it is on CD, but each lesson on the CD is around 3 hours long. There are also a lot of quizzes and papers and all around busy work. The syllabus was 22 pages. Fun. Fun. Fun. I'm also one of three blonde girls in the class. Elle Woods, anyone?

- Marketing Management: I like marketing, but I'm still not really clear on how the class is going to work. The professor spent the first day spotlighting the people in the class his kids know instead of explaining the syllabus. So we'll see. We watch a lot of cool Youtube videos, so that's nice.

- Doctrine and Covenants: The professor is an old blind guy who seems really sweet, but also very boring. The D&C are also the book of scriptures I know the least about .

- Modern American Usage: The professor is a linguist, and spends the whole class period telling us how much grammar rules are stupid and unnecessary. Whatever. At least I have a friend in this class :) Shoutout to Jasmine!

- Media Law and Ethics: Was initially dreading this class. I mean, it's Media Law and Ethics. But Professor Brown, who is also a member of the Utah House of Representatives, is hilarious and tries really hard to make the subject matter interesting and relevant. For example, he demonstrated the concept of defamation by showing us the E-Trade babies commercial. And he's an adjunct professor which, as he says, means "I can do whatever I want." This will probably be my favorite class :)

- Bradley Lab: Since the GEM event is at the end of this month, (I still haven't been told who we got as a speaker) I will join a new account. Should be pretty exciting. My goal is to get more involved in PRSSA this semester, and maybe even be an officer for it next school year.

I'll also be taking my study abroad prep class second block this semester. To make me even more excited than I already am. I still need to go get my passport.

Tomorrow I work before the game starts so I'll actually be able to go to an entire basketball game for once! BYU is doing so awesome - we're currently ranked #15 and won at UNLV for the first time in six years on Wednesday. Take a look at some of these ridiculous three pointers Jimmer made:

Also, check out this article from ESPN. Here's a sampling:  "Consider this your last and final warning, America. If you don't go out of your way to check out what the Cougars and Fredette do on a nightly basis -- their crazy, uptempo, let's-chuck-from-anywhere, oh-my-goodness-what-a-shot approach to every single game they play -- you're missing out on the most entertaining show college hoops has to offer."

Go Cougs. :)

It's a new year

I'm back in Utah! I'm stuck in the airport for four hours waiting for my shuttle, though. Great start to a new year, huh?

2010 was a pretty good year. Here are some of the highlights:
- finished my freshman year of college
- I've had four different jobs this year! And I'm grateful for all of them
- Harry Potter World and Florida
- getting into the Public Relations major
- that I'm still alive after a dangerous road trip :)
- becoming closer to friends and family
- getting more involved in things that matter to me and expanding my view of the world

I don't really like to make New Year's Resolutions - I always feel depressed when they inevitably don't happen. But I am looking forward to the year though! I get to start classes for my major, I'll be traveling the world this summer, and I have an overall goal to be more healthy and confident. I never feel too great around the new year because the winter blues always kick in for me around this time - I hate snow and winter, in case you didn't know. They're depressing :(

But I'm going to start this year off happy! (hopefully). So here's to a great 2011 :)