"So You Think You Can DANCE, dance, dance..."

As I sit here to write this post it is absolutely pouring rain outside. I mean, why wouldn't it be? It is the middle of May, after all. That being said, I know that summer is around the corner and the sun is up there somewhere just waiting to peak through and make me happy. And, with that delightful summer sun comes my favorite summer program..."So You Think You Can Dance."

For many years, being a dancer has been one of my secret desires. I've taken random dance classes  throughout college (Ballet. Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop, again). But I never pursued dance seriously, and I sometimes wish I had. I admire the strength, poise, and talent that dancers possess. Something about their ability to tell a story through movement is beautiful to me.

Now, of course, this being a competition-based reality show, the process starts out just like "American Idol." Lines and lines of enthusiastic hopefuls wait for hours, and sometimes days, just for the chance to show the judges what they got. I cringe when watching the poor souls that actually do think they can dance, but really just skip around the stage wearing a crap-tastic outfit, and fight to the death claiming that they're awesome when judge, Nigel Lythgoe serves up a shot of brutal honesty. Hey, they gotta hear it sometime, right?

But it's those with rhythm, technical training, and a splash of spunk that I like to watch. And what I love most is the diversity in dance styles that are showcased. Once the Top 20 make their way through the entire audition process, they are given a partner whose dance style is usually very opposite from their own, and are thrown into a whirlwind of Latin, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Bollywood, Krump, and several others styles. Somehow, they make it look easy. Most of the time, anyway.

I could do without judge Mary Murphy and her not-so-pleasant screeching, but simply put, this show just makes me happy. And I can't lie...I've definitely spent a few hours with my best friend trying to learn and replicate our favorite pieces from the show using the handy-dandy 'pause' and 'rewind' buttons on her TiVo remote.

Tune in with me on May 26th, as FOX premieres the 8th season of "So You Think You Can DANCE, dance, dance..."    

"Paula's Home Cooking": Butter, Butter, and More Butter

I really dislike cooking, but for some reason I tend to watch the Food Network quite frequently. Among the various cooking shows that air on this channel, we can learn how to make "30 Minute Meals," something "Semi-Homemade," Italian dishes and even Indian cuisine. And then...there's Paula Deen. The Queen of fried food and a southern woman that never fails to whip up a heart attack on a plate by the end of the half hour segment. She is an expert in comfort food, using ingredients like butter, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and more butter in every meal.

In one episode of "Paula's Home Cooking," I actually witnessed her covering her hands in butter, spreading it around the freshly made cinnamon roll dough and licking her fingers after, too be sure that no butter was wasted, of course. Not only is her cooking far from low cal, but she is also quite the character, always crackin' jokes in that thick southern accent with her big southern hair. It's easy to make fun of Ms. Deen, but the great thing is, she is able to laugh at herself. Literally. Check out the video below, it's hilarious.