Letter from a fan

Dear Kate Gosselin,
Hi, I am a big fan!  I totally support you in what you're doing *errrrrrr!* back up, start over.  I'm not that kind of fan.  Here's the real fan letter.
Dear Kate,
Um, hi.  Could we please be best friends?  You and I are totally one of a kind in our parenting.  You are so sarcastic and fab with your children, although you know them deeply and love them even deeper.  I think that you say the exact same words that I've said to my children, and we are bosom buddies even though you don't know it.  I think you're sassy and a little to the left of rude, and I can tell you right now that I love it.  All those peeps out there who think you're a beehotch are just softies who can't take the truth.  I talk to my husband like you used to talk to Jon.  Difference there is, that my husband isn't a spineless EdHardy clothed d-bag.  He can take it.  And he dishes it back, which we all know is what we sassy sarcastic girls want.  You're going to raise kids who can mess around with you and joke and tease and laugh and take it!  And they'll give it back to you!  Some might say it'll create an un-loving environment to be in.  I laugh in their faces.  We girls need to show the world that we can be brats, but we love fiercely too, and that's what matters.  Family comes first, but they get our love shown differently than is conventional.  Our sugary sweetness is reserved for those fools we have to deal with at Starbucks who can't figure out how to make a Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate (ummmm, add hazelnut flavoring, hi).  Little do they know they are being belittled voraciously in our minds.  Our family though?  They make us insane, so let's tell 'em!  Let's tell them they're being little trolls!  It'll toughen their hide and make them much cooler to be around later in life.  Now on one, two, three.... lets roll our eyes together at the critics!  Stay sassy Kate!  You know I will, and I will silently watch your show and wish we were besties, because we would have so much fun. 
Love,
Abbey
PS I love your hair and if I didn't have a long horse face, I would totally have short hair too. 

U2- Glendale- Last Tuesday

I meant to post this after I got back but laziness and the search for a camera cord delayed me.

Opening for U2 in Glendale was Black Eyed Peas and while they tried their best to pump up the crowd it did not happen. Typical AZ fans (I spent 6 years there going to concerts and still go back for them) are usually too drunk, not even there yet because they are late, or too cool for it all. Which the last one is the worst like why did you come dude! They were good and here is a pic of Fergie because all the guys were in all black and we had awful seats so you cannot see them at all. They sang all their high energy songs and continued to talk about how U2 was the best ever for about an hour. This was my first Rock God Stadium concert where there were literally 90,000 people there. At least that is what they said, and just for reference here apparently about 60K people live in Santa Fe so all of Santa Fe and their neighboring Los Alamos were in the stadium. This tour was called the 360 tour because they wanted to make sure all the fans could see them and really hear them which is where this stage comes in to me it looks like an alien making sense since the stadium we were in looks like a spaceship. The person with me thought it looked like a crab.
Everyone came out and really all of U2 was fantastic and you can tell that this band gets along and they were all very talented and played the entire 2.5 hours, which considering they are not the youngest was pretty amazing. They started out with some of their new songs off their most recent album which while I understand their concept and get there are trying to stay fresh it just does not sound like U2 to me. There are some songs I dig but most I could take or leave. Then they hit the classics and I don’t use this word lightly, and then everyone was excited. Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, Sunday Bloody Sunday- everyone sang alone which are the moments I love. And there was also a point where he pulled three sisters on the stage and danced the waltz with each one- come on he is an Irish man. Then let the sisters sit up there for the next song. OK so here are pics I will explain.

Mr. Bono with his trademark sunglasses, sounded great the whole 2.5 hours.
The shot above was a screen shot, and this is the screen which was tiles all stretched out- yes awesome.
And there were also all these amazing lights etc. that was completely new and original looking. Overall even though Bono had his political moment I found him to be really cool, and well he is a straight up showmen with lots of talent who cares about his fans. I mean look at this stage they designed it takes 3 days to take down but everyone could see them and got a great experience. And all the members of the band are also very good at what they do. You can definitely see why they have been around so long and have so many hits.

Reruns

I have a good memory for movie/tv dialogue and also get bored easily. It is for this reason that I do not particularly enjoy seeing shows more than once, even shows that I adore and can not miss weekly. The same goes for movies. I can't really explain it but I just don't do reruns or buying tv seasons or anything, even for ones I love. So this weeks question is one that I pose while not knowing how I'm going to answer it yet.

What tv show would you buy all the seasons of (if they weren't hideously overpriced) and watch over and over again?

Abbey-FRIENDS
Pssssshhhhhh. This one is so easy and I'm glad I'm going first. Duh! Friends! I love Friends, I have since it came out. I bought their compilations of each of the 5 best episodes long before the concept of All-Season DVDs came out and they were......tapes. I bought them in college and watched them probably every single day while I ate lunch after class. Over and over and over and never got tired of them. I can quote every single episode, I love them all. FRIENDS people, Friends. I have all seasons on DVD now and I still love them!
Runner-Up of course is the Office. No explanation needed here. Funniest show ever.

Heidi-The Office
Okay I decided. And while I agree with Abbey I can mostly watch Friends over and over, there's still too much of a story line there. And all the shows I love where you solve puzzles (House, CSI NY, Lie to Me, etc) I def can't pick them because I already know how it ends! But the first two seasons of the Office are priceless. I absolutely love Dwight and everything that Jim does to him. It's fantastic. I think it's gotten a little bit less funny as the seasons have gone on but I still love it and can watch it any time any episode. Basically I just love watching Dwight and everything he manages to make way more serious that it needs to be.
Favorite ep: the one where there's a bat in the office and Jim pretends he's been bitten and has become a vampire.

Kara

Okay, here's what's sad- I apparently don't mind paying exorbitant prices because for TV series because I own a complete set of a ridiculous number of shows. In my defense though, we all know I'm a bargain shopper so I'm pretty sure most of these were purchased for less than $20 when they go on sale at Target and Best Buy (check the weekly ads, they have great sales at Best Buy). Or they were gifts. But anyway, I just checked our entertainment cabinet and we (and by "we" I of course mean "me" because I guarantee Shiloh hasn't watched a single disc of any of these shows) already own "Friends," "Gilmore Girls," "24," and "The Office." I even have last season of "The Office," because I purchased that little present for myself as a celebration after my first OB appointment with baby #3! (This justifies paying the $27.99 for it, FYI.) I am only missing two seasons of "Scrubs" as well. Shiloh is apparently not quite as avid a collector as I am although he watches way more TV, but we have a few seasons of "House," "Family Guy," and "The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr." because of his tastes. And for the both of us, we have both seasons of "Burn Notice" and will absolutely be purchasing the 3rd season as soon as its out. But they do that crazy split season thing where the first half of the season airs in the summer and then the second half airs in January, so it'll be awhile before we can add that to the collection. Gives us time to save!

Cory- So many

I am like Kara pretty much if I am in Target it is on sale and I want to see it again I will buy. There are definitely shows I rewatch all the time. Alias- always get something new. Buffy, McLeod's Daughters, Veronica Mars and Felicity I have every season of and will rewatch if the mood hits me. I also have random one off seasons of The Office, One Tree Hill, Lost & some other shows that never finished airing Keen Eddie, Kitchen Confidential, The Black Donnellys. I have Gilmore Girls tape habitually on my DVR as a backup too. I only watch the eps I like and most of the time it is background noise. These shows were on when I was too young to get them or before the lovely invention of the DVR/Tivo which means a lot of it is new to me. But I will admit if I come across an ep of The Office or That 70's Show I always stop and get sucked in.

The Invention of Lying/Law Abiding Citizen

Two very different movies but that only adds to the fun.

First The Invention of Lying. Honestly I think that Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest human beings and this is such a funny concept for a movie. The human race has not evolved enough to lie, so everyone just says the truth. And apparently people just say everything they're thinking as well because there are no filters. Honestly the truth is a very funny thing, as long as it's not directed at you : ). So Ricky is a 'loser' because he's fat and not very talented, and no one in this world get's to know people, they only judge on what's on the outside. But he develops the ability to lie. This movie is funny because the truth is funny, and him learning how to lie is funny. Jennifer Garner plays his love interest in the film and she is perfect for the role. She is a nieve girl next door who perfectly buys into the lies and tells her truth awesomely. It's not a heavy movie in any way but still has a good message and is so funny. I could say some lines but they would not be as funny in words, so really I just recommend you seeing the movie.

Next movie is drastically different. Law Abiding Citizen has Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. Butler lost his family to a robbery and Foxx is the DA who makes a deal with the guy who murdered Butler's fam. Butler gets profoundly upset by this and makes it his mission to bring down the flawed justice system. The movie is pretty violent but the message I find really interesting. The way that it makes you think about the justice system, you side with Gerard Butler even though he's doing these horrible things. Butler's character is also fascinating, he's a super smart guy who figures out how to bring the entire justice system down, from the mayor down to the prison guards. Butler plays the character totally believably, he is the grieving father but also the ruthless brilliant man who planned so many killings. I also recommend this movie, it definitely makes you think about things and keeps you interested while you're trying to figure out what's going on just like Foxx is.

Live, With Regis & Kelly!

I stay at home with the kids, and that means the majority of my TV watching occurs during the day (naptime).  I don't watch daytime TV though, I watch last nights DVR'd shows.  Except for Regis & Kelly.  I tape it and then watch it during naptime, every day.  I.  Love.  Regis.  And.  Kelly.  Mainly because I have a serious wish to be Kelly Ripa.  She is so cute, super funny, super in shape, always wears fabulous clothes, always has fabulous SHOES.  I love her sense of humor, she's totally unashamed and makes fun of herself, makes fun of everyone else in a kind way, and I think she is a great physical comedian as well.  So I have the female equivalent of a bromance on Kelly Ripa.  The rest of the show is great too, they always have good segments and since Kelly is so funny, they always get pulled off well.  Their guests I think (for the most part) like being there and interacting with them, so the interviews are always good too.  The conundrum here though, and what I am focusing on here is Regis Philbin.  I can't figure out how I feel about him.  Here is a list of my general feelings, and yes they conflict:
*He has a great sense of humor too
*He knows literally everyone in the tv/movie/music biz.  Everyone.
*He has a ton of knowledge of basically everything in the entire universe
*He's kind of an asshole
And here's why.  Do you ever get the feeling that famous people are just humoring the fans?  That they think us normal people are pathetic and useless and aren't worth their time?  But they have to act as though they're grateful for us because we make their paychecks nice and fat?  Well, that's how I truly believe Regis feels about everyone else but him and those he knows (which is a lot of people, granted, but).  Every day they make a surprise phone call to a viewer to see if they can answer trivia questions and then they get a nice vacation.  Regis' words are kind, but I consider myself a fairly good people-reader, and I see very clearly that underneath the kind words are "Good Lord, these people are pathetic.  Plain, boring, not rich, just normal.  How awful would that be to be normal?  I can't even imagine.  Oh the horror!  How long is this segment, how much longer do we have to talk to this fool.  I'm so much better than they are".  I honestly feel that he doesn't think anyone but those included in his circle are useful, have worth or contribute anything good to the world.  This might sound harsh, but I think he's a huge jerk!  And yes, he is a great entertainer and really makes Regis & Kelly great, and I won't stop watching the show.  But, like I said, I read people very well, and Regis is an ass. 

Bootmen / Vampire Diaries /Celebration- Madonna

So here it is all at once… because I am too lazy to post 3 times.

Bootmen is this Australian movie I got from Netflix, completely worth it. It has 2 very nice looking brothers in it who work at a steel mill in a small coastal town and they are looking for a way out. One brother wants to a buy a rig, the other wants to get out by dancing. Along the way a girl, some local thugs and a dad against it all crosses their path.
There is a tragic event in this movie which I feel I should warn people about and it is R. But the way they industrialize tap dancing is really interesting to watch. And Sam Worthington as in the latest Terminator is in it, it was really shocking in a good way to see him be funny and adorable. Definitely worth adding to your Netflix queue.
There are also just 2 things in general I love about Australian movies/shows: 1. The girls look real and 2. Being a great Dancer and a manly man are not exclusive parties, you can be both. Just look at another Aussie Hugh Jackman.

Vampire Diaries so me and Heidi have already talked last night’s ep to death. But since we are both enjoying it so much I would feel remiss if I did not mention. Ok here are some of my thoughts about last night’s ep: Although I covet Elena’s jacket and hair I really need her to stop asking dumb questions, looking confused in general and keep up with the story here. Old school suits are not flattering even on a boy as hot as that. Umm Katherine you are not that nice and not that cool either. The whole dancing away the day part really was hilarious and Ian Somerhalder pulled off perfectly. Really you are going to send the TV reporter after the vampire not the cop? Really that is your plan here? Hmm well good luck buddy!

Madonna Celebration CD- A greatest hit compilation. All the hits you forgot she had, mixed well with new at the beginning and the end. I literally forgot all these songs and this fun little CD reminded me of them.

New Addition!

I've very pleased to announce that we have a new addition to our HACKiness, in the form of Abbey's and my sister Megan. Alas she won't be added to the name (because I can think of nothing that we spell now...), unless we go with HACK'M like those Rock 'em Sock 'em punching dolls.... I'll leave that decision for another day.

But we don't just let people into our exclusive golden club!! First we have a trial period ;). Enjoy and Welcome!

**Disclaimer** Since we seem to be accumulating Zipperian's this is the part where Kara and Cory have to keep us in check! I know they both have siblings as well so I'm sure they're more than up to the task of dealing with the three of us : ).