TV Finales...

Frank thinks I'm crazy because I'm so emotionally invested in Gossip Girl. I don't know what it is, I just am in love with Chuck and I am obsessed with Chuck and Blair. Anyway I told him I was going to go through a serious depression when the series ended, if Chuck and Blair didn't end up together. Then I saw this on pintrest and I thought it was so appropriate.

Paula Deen and Jimmy Cooking Demo PART 1

Watch starting around 1:08 to hear about her rescue chickens...I love Paula Deen so there will probably be more videos to come.

Toddlers & Tiaras with Tom Hanks

My New Obsession...

So I'm very behind on watching the TV series "Friday Night Lights." However, I have been watching season one for the last couple of weeks and I'm officially OBSESSED. It became a problem on Monday night when I stayed up until 2AM watching 4 episodes and then not wanting to get out of bed on Tuesday.

I love Lyla and Tim...yes I've read spoilers and I know I will be disappointed. However they are together forever in kateland.

I LOVE Tim Riggins.

Anyway back to the point... my new obsession is VisArt Video in Charlotte. I have driven by it SO many times and I had never been in before last night! I was attempting to stream FNL through Wii/Netflix at Frank's and his internet SUCKS, and I couldn't wait to watch the next episode. I knew that Blockbuster on East Blvd. didn't have it in stock from a previous experience so I called VisArt...they had it. I love independent movie stores, like Video Review in Greensboro, and this one is great. There is a huge "classics" section which I love. You can take dogs in. AND you can rent VHS movies. (This is very important to me because I have a DVD/VCR player, and I refuse to quit watching VHS movies) So if you live in Charlotte you should go because it's awesome, and they have a great selection and a friendly staff. Yes I also have Netflix and a Blockbuster account, but I'm too impatient to wait for Netflix and Blockbuster has a horrible selection these days.

Here's the website: http://www.visartvideo.com/

Here is a picture of VisArt. I know you may be skeptical like I was because it looks rundown but I promise if you love movies then it's worth the trip!

IBM's Watson

Last night I spent a romantic evening watching Gossip Girl, 90210 and Jeopardy. Somehow in the past year I have missed any news regarding IBM's supercomputer Watson. So obviously I was a bit surprised when I saw Watson playing against two human contestants. Of course it wasn't actually Watson, instead it was an avatar. The real Watson is housed in a refrigerated room.

 I've done a little research this morning just to get a little background on Watson, if this seems inaccurate it could be because a lot of this research involved computer related terms that mean nothing to me. Here is what I have taken from my research. Watson is a supercomputer built by IBM. Watson was named after IBM's founder Thomas Watson and was developed as part of the DeepQA Research Project. For Watson to be able to play on Jeopardy it took 7 years of research and planning, and multiple practice rounds. Watson had to be programmed to understand the natural language process so it could compete against other contestants. Watson is not connected to the internet and goes off information that has been stored in its system. It uses clues from the questions to find the answer. An ensemble of algorithms help to gather and score evidence. Watson is programmed not to buzz in until it reaches a confidence level of at least 50 percent. On the avatar if Watson is feeling confident about its answer, there will be green lines swirling. Watson can learn things as he goes along, which allows him to basically get smarter the more he plays the game.

Watson competes against former Jeopardy contestants Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, who are basically the best of the best. Last night Watson tied Brad Rutter for first place. Watson will be playing again tonight and then tomorrow night as well. I really recommend that you watch this because it's fascinating!!! It's just crazy how far technology keeps advancing! Here's a website where you can learn all about Watson: http://www-03.ibm.com/innovation/us/watson/.

Below is a video of some of Watson's practice rounds.

Watson Sparring Matches: Pop Culture Performance

Update on The Kennedys

So some very exciting news was announced last night...The Kennedys will air on April 3rd on ReelzChannel. It was exciting until about 2 minutes ago when I decided to do a little research on ReelzChannel. A channel that is dedicated to movies, a channel I would LOVE. So I was curious as to why this channel was just being brought to my attention (yesterday thanks to Perez). It turns out that ReelzChannel is offered only through Direct TV, Dish Network and AT&T in Charlotte. WHAT?!?!?!?!?! I have been waiting for what feels like YEARS and this is what I get. Luckily, I quickly remembered that Rebecca Jane and Rob, being the technological pioneers they are, have AT&T. So even though it will be tax season, and even though it will be a month away from their wedding, I invite everyone who reads this blog to join me at their apartment for a Sunday Funday on April 3rd. See you there!! (Feel free to dress in any 60's apparel, Kennedy garb, what not....we want to make sure to do this right!)

P.S. For all you New Yorkers...IF you use Time Warner Cable, NY's TWC has ReelzChannel and it is channel 131 (even though I feel like there may be another cable company you crazy northerners use...jk)!

America's Royal Family...The Kennedys

                                                     The Kennedys

Last night as I was flipping through channels on TV, I came across The Kennedy's Home Movies on TLC. Of course at the time I wasn't sure what the title was, and therefore was wondering where all of this footage of the Kennedys was coming from. It weirded me out a little bit because after returning from New York (I have NEVER been so tired in my life) I lounged in my bed and watched Oliver Stone's movie JFK for 3 1/2 hours. Anyway ever since I watched this movie, I have seen more stuff about the Kennedys on TV than in my entire life! However, despite the fact that I can’t seem to get “away” from the Kennedys, I really recommend looking into TLC’s schedule and watching this 2-hour program. It’s really interesting and I was fascinated by all the “behind-the-scenes” footage.  For those of you who are not already enthralled by the Kennedy’s story I recommend reading the book The Kennedy Curse by Edward Klein. It’s sad all of the tragedy, scandal, etc. that this family has gone through. 

 On top of all of this I’m waiting on pins and needles for The Kennedy mini-series with Katie Holmes to come on TV! I wish a network would just buy it already…with as much drama surrounding the series you know it’s going to bring in tons of viewers!!