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I'm very excited to announce a new venture I am now involved in: tkTwinCities.com! I launched the site with several other talented Twin Cities-based journalists to cover lifestyle topics for twenty-somethings. Check it out!

Nothing will ever compare to Gilmore Girls

Video via Entertainment Weekly

Still so happy...

For Lauren Froderman! The winner of SYTYCD Season 7. The craziness of this season was all worth it to have another female winner! Congrats Lauren.

(photo via Fox)

Happy Birthday Robert! SYTYCD S7 Top 6

Is it wrong that I think now 20-year-old Robert is totally hot?! Birthday Boy tore it up during his "Parachute" solo. Yummy.

So here we are again. Another Wednesday performance show of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7. This week was special because it was the show's 150th episode and to celebrate they brought choreographer/director Kenny Ortega to guest judge. I prefer to recognize him as the choreographer of Dirty Dancing, however, younger crowds will know him as the director of the High School Musical franchise. Having him as a guest judge reminded me of the golden days of the show when there was a rotating guest judge every week. Sigh.

Off the bat—Billy Bell was out with an injury this week, which makes him the third sidelined dancer in a row. Though I did want him to be the next contestant to go home, I didn't want it to be because of an injury. Maybe Jose will be sent home instead. A girl can dream.

Let's dance!

Lauren and Twitch—hip hop
FABULOUS! Way to represent the ladies Lauren! And it was so nice to see Twitch again. It's definitely not my favorite Tabitha and Napoleon dance, but it was a great performance nonetheless. Having her roll like a tumbleweed was genius. Who knew she could do that?!

Jose and Allison—contemporary
I've got to go with the judges on this one. Adam said the concept was strong, but it was difficult to critique the dancing. I completely agree. Jose wasn't dancing at all, and I think it was another sign that he can't do it. He just can't dance like the others. Time to go home Jose. Mia said Sonya gave him pedestrian contemporary (summarized as human gestures, not coming from a technical place). She told Jose that he can only grow so much technically, but she didn't see the growth this week. He can't grow if no one gives him actual choreography! Last week Nigel said taking away Jose's personality exposed some of his weaknesses, but that he thought Sonya had cleverly covered up Jose's weaknesses this week. How is that fair at this point in the competition?! He needs to go home. Good partnering, but it's not enough.

Lauren and Robert—Broadway or jazz, I wasn't entirely sure
Two of the show's hotties together in one dance?! What's not to love? This is one of the best Tyce numbers I've seen, not a traditional broadway dance. Or was it jazz? The judges keep saying it was jazz. Doesn't really matter because it was smoking—did he lick her at one point? Adam said Robert was growing and getting better each week. I completely agree! He is so good! Sometimes I love reflecting on specific judges comments, like these: Adam: That was dancing, man! You killed it. Mia: Nice to see strong dancing to see what your capability is. Guest Kenny Ortega: Liquid movement. Nigel: Loved flow of movement. I wish they could say that stuff about Jose... This Nigel comment was priceless, however: "This program is credited a lot with getting guys to dance now and giving integrity to guys dancing, but I have to say an inspiration for guys wanting to dance has got to be Lauren. Whaaaooow!" haha, Nigel is so dirty sometimes.

Kent and Kathryn—jazz
Oh Kathryn, how I love you and your dancing. You are fantastic! And combined with Kent, it was magical. You can tell he's the favorite with the screaming girls: WE LOVE YOU KENT! And it was a fun routine from Sonya, but I have to agree with Mia that Kent gets a little too excited with his faces. Aside from that, he's awesome. I just love how happy he is to be there. He's genuine and the guy to beat. Definitely.

Side note: Did anyone else tear up during the parent tributes? I totally did. Especially Robert's parents. I love that Lauren wants to be a teacher! Adorable. "Good luck Miss Lauren. We love Miss Lauren." Awww, and I loved Nigel's comment later about wanting to tell his kids how proud he his of them because of watching the parent videos.

AdéChiké and Comfort—lyrical hip hop
Loved the old school Alicia Keys "Fallin'" on this one. Wow AdéChiké's tears?! I'm not really sure where those came from. The dance was good, but I'm not sure I loved it. Maybe he just is so overwhelmed with everything that he had to break down a little, or maybe I've just lost my emotions or something. Hmmmm. Nigel compared it to "Bleeding Love" and "No Air"—two of my favorite dances of all-SYTYCD-time. I do like the emotional hip hops, but I don't think this one compares to those.

Lauren and Robert—samba
My dream team! (Sorry Kent). It's just that they're HOT HOT HOT! I could tell that Robert was struggling a bit, but it's OK. My favorite quote from the night - Robert: You shot me with your butt. Adam said he wants a shirt that says that and so do I! I would totally buy that shirt. I would also buy one that had this gem from Mia to Lauren: "We expect a lot from your butt." We need to start a Mia quote board. Memo to my friends, this needs to happen.

Jose and AdéChiké—paso doble.
Blahhhhhh. Not worth my time or yours. I predict the bottom three for these two.

Kent and Twitch—step
How lucky are we to get Twitch twice in one night! I didn't love the routine. But I agree with Mia that Kent is the one to beat.

The show is still off balance with one girl left. But as long as Lauren, Kent and Robert keep rocking it, I'll be happy.

(photo via Fox)

And so it goes.

SYTYCD's Season 7 has been a disappointment. That's what I concluded Thursday after watching the second injured dancer exit the competition early. Did I love Ashley Galvin? No. But, she was starting to grow on me. And I know in the coming weeks I will miss her more and more because the show now feels off balance.

SYTYCD has always been tilted toward the men, with the more talented women failing to capture the hearts of the teenage-girl voters. It's amazing that two ladies have even won at all. Allison. Kathryn. Katee. All should have won. Even Kayla, who was in the same season as winner Jeanine, should have placed better than fourth. Now, for the first time in the show's history, there may not even be a female in the top 5. What a joke. I blame the producers and the judges.

The producers chose the All-Star format—something I disliked from the beginning. The judges picked the top 10, but they failed to choose women who could pull in votes. A tapper? Come on! They never do well. A ballroom dancer. Again, more often than not, they are some of the first to go home. I actually liked Alexie, and I believe that had she been saved the first week, she would have redeemed herself and not been in the bottom 3 the next week. She had a personality, which was sorely lacking from three of the five girls. Ashley started to show her personality, but didn't have a chance to fully engage me during a dance with a fellow contestant. Had she not been injured, I think her scheduled disco with Robert would have been happy and fun. Unfortunately for her, I was reminded how much I love Kathryn as she filled in for injured Ashley.

That's the problem with this season. I'm not supposed to be nostalgic about past contestants. I'm supposed to be engaged with the current ones. Twitch, Allison, Lauren, Kathryn, Travis Wall. They aren't supposed to be my favorite parts of this season. But it's nearly impossible not to watch them when they dance.

I'm starting to ramble and there are too many things to say about why this season hasn't been as good as the past (don't even get me started on Jose), so I'll quickly sum it up. Lauren Froderman and Kent Boyd's dance during the top 8 proved that the All-Star format isn't working. Lauren and Kent grew up in my eyes while they danced their Travis Wall-choreographed contemporary routine, and it would have never happened if they hadn't danced with each other. Now the pair are fan favorites because we saw their natural chemistry. We don't see that with the All-Star dances. The contestants have a special bond and you can see it when they get to dance together. I wish we saw it more often.

Now, I cross my fingers for Lauren, the only female left among the SYTYCD Season 7 boys club. But I know she can't carry the last half of the season on her own. The boys need to step it up or this season will be one to forget.



(photo via FOX)

Plymouth, Minn. was first!

Money Magazine just announced its list of best places to live in America, and ranked Eden Prairie, Minnesota, No. 1. I think it's great that EP got the recognition, but I think Matt Lauer's reaction on this morning's Today show was perfect.

"Plymouth, Minn. was No. 1 on your list a couple of years ago. So, Minnesota is really kicking butt on this list."

That's right Matt—My hometown was first and is better than EP!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Cheers to SYTYCD Emmy nominees!

Since I'm not the biggest fan of this year's SYTYCD returning all-star format, let's toast to a time when the contestants only danced with each other and when the show was truly about the growth between couples. I am so happy Kathryn and Legacy's Season 6 dance choreographed by Stacey Tookey was nominated for an Emmy this year, as was Mia Michaels' phenomenal addiction piece from Season 5 danced by Kayla and Kapono. Here's to SYTYCD returning to glory.





**Side note: Seeing Kent cry tonight after the judges announced Alex's departure was PROOF that he is Adam Shankman's secret son.

Michael Oher

As I was watching The Blind Side again this morning, I decided to do some more research about Michael Oher, the rags-to-riches subject of the film. I hadn't seen many interviews with the actual Oher, so this one with Bob Costas really struck me. His story is really powerful, and it's impossible not to cheer for his continued success in the NFL.

Phenomenal

The Madonna episode of Glee this week was amazing!!! Even if you don't watch Glee on a weekly basis, I think you'll enjoy this one—I mean, who doesn't like Madonna?! My favorite song of the night was the show-stopping closer, "Like a Prayer". Check it out below!

Telephone: the music video

What would I give to be there...

My Red Carpet Winner

Cameron Diaz! She really surprised me with this sparkly, golden number. I love it!

(photo via nymag.com)

Sandra v. Meryl: Round One

Oscar night Round One: The Red Carpet. Who is your winner?



(photos via nymag.com)

The best of the Red Carpet

For more Oscar fashion, click here.

(photos via nymag.com)

Zach Galifianakis on SNL

I just finished watching last night's SNL with host Zach Galifianakis, best known for his role as Alan in The Hangover. Overall, I thought Zach was great, especially in his unique opening monologue and a pre-taped sketch in which he drops by several NBC tapings:

Will you watch?

Happy Oscar Day!!!

I love the Academy Awards and will be watching (as usual) every minute of it live—from the moment the stars hit the red carpet to the very last award is handed out. With the battle for Best Picture this year, who wouldn't be able to watch?!

Herewith are my Oscar picks for the major categories:

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Geroge Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious: based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Best Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter and story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy, Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, District 9
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell,Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Best Original Score
James Horner, Avatar
Alexandre Desplat, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, The Hurt Locker
Hans Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes
Michael Giacchino, Up

Best Original Song
Music and lyrics by Randy Newman, "Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
Music and lyrics by Randy Newman, “Down in New Orleans” fromThe Princess and the Frog
Music by Reinhardt Wagner and lyrics by Frank Thomas, “Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
Music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, “Take It All” from Nine
Music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett, "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from Crazy Heart

(photo via Oscar.com)

Gaga on April's Cosmopolitan cover!

This will not bode well for my magazine collection...

(photo via GagaDaily)

Gaga is a goddess

In a stunning tribute to her friend, the late designer Alexander McQueen, Gaga delivered another performance that left me speechless.

The 2010 Olympics are here!

Let the games begin!

Video Phone: Behind the Scenes

Gaga and Beyonce recently shot the music video for Telephone, which reminded me that they've collaborated once before. Here is some behind the scenes footage of their first video shoot together for Beyonce's Video Phone. They have so much stage presence, it's really fun to watch.

Lady Gaga, Elton John open the Grammys

Lady Gaga opened the 2010 Grammy Awards with the legendary Sir Elton John. The pair sang a medley of her "Speechless" and his "Your Song." The performance left me speechless. It was so sparkly and so amazing!

Miss the red carpet?! Gaga arrived in an Armani spacesuit. A perfect Gaga/Grammy outfit if you ask me!

MTV Shows

GLEE!

The Glee ladies looked gorgeous at the SAG awards! I'm so happy they won for ensemble cast.

Love Meryl

Meryl is so great: she brought her college roommate to the SAG awards yesterday!

National Champions!

A big congratulations to the University of Minnesota Dance Team for winning both Jazz and Pom at this year's UDA College National Championships! The dances (below) are amazing!

Love her!

The 'Lost Supper'

Clever promo photo for the final season of LOST with Locke representing God and the other island folk as his apostles. But, what does it all mean? Is Locke some kind of god? Will the others be as willing to follow him? Is there someone within the photo that's betrayed them all? There's only a little more than three weeks until the Season 6 premiere, and the answers will finally be answered! I've been having a mini LOST marathon since getting Season 5 for Christmas, and I cannot wait for Feb. 2's premiere! If you too want to have a mini or long marathon, ABC now has every episode online! It's not too late to catch up on your favorite season or revisit the game-changing Season 5. It would even be a good place to start watching LOST if you've never watched before! Check it out.

(photo via E!Online)

No, no, no, no, no!

Tiger Woods is on the cover of next month's Vanity Fair. Need I say more?! I am so over this scandal. Here's to hoping the reporting isn't all hearsay. Give me something new VF, or I'll be very disappointed.

The Tudors Season 4 Promo

After my mom and I finished The Tudors Season 3 DVD today, we did some searching for any spoilers for the upcoming fourth (and final) season of the Showtime series. We didn't find much, but what we did find was the official promo released from the network. I've since watched it about five times, and have become so obsessed with the song they chose for it—"Howl" by Florence + the Machine—that I purchased the entire CD on iTunes! The song is haunting and it makes me so anxious for the final chapter of the show.