"Be kind to one another"

"We focus so much on our differences, and that is creating, I think, a lot of chaos and negativity and bullying in the world. And I think if everybody focused on what we all have in common - which is - we all want to be happy." - Ellen DeGeneres

Hello readers!

This week for my blog, I’d like to talk about one of my personal role models – Ellen DeGeneres.

Everyday I turn on my TV to Ellen at 4:00, and my day gets a little brighter. Whether I’m having a good day or a bad day, watching Ellen always makes me feel happy. There are probably a million reasons why I watch Ellen everyday (most of which I won’t go on in depth about because if this post gets too long I’ll probably lose you guys), but I’ll narrow it down for you to my top five.

•       She has a great sense of humour. It’s a mix of sarcasm and deadpan put together with her observations about life and it’s absolute gold. She pulls out joke after joke with ease, a skill not everyone can do. I’m a big fan of sarcasm myself, so it makes sense that I gravitated toward Ellen to get a daily dose of laughter.
•       She loves playing games. I also love playing games, but I can never find anyone to play them with. I would love to go on her show if only just to play a round of Heads Up with her. The game show segments on her show are actually one of the main reasons I tune in. She’s always coming up with new, and often-weird games, for her celebrity guests and audience members to play. I think my favourite is probably Blindfolded Musical Beats Seats.
•      She loves animals. I love that she encourages people to adopt rescue animals through her charity Downtown Dog Rescue. Ellen’s love of animals shows through her show as she always takes the time to discuss her guest’s pets, especially if they have rescue pets. In this way, she’s providing a voice for animal well being and hopefully people are listening.
•       She shares stories about people who are making a difference, and she helps people who are having a hard time. Every week on the show, Ellen brings on guests who aren’t celebrities who have a story of inspiration or of overcoming adversity or of people who have watched her show religiously and are in need of a helping hand. Maybe these stories don’t mean much to her viewers, but she takes some time out of her show anyways and lets these people tell their story. She acknowledges the work people do to make the world a better place, and offers her support where she can, which leads me to the last point I want to make.
•       She encourages people to be kind to one another. If you ask me, I think the world needs more people like Ellen because there are not a lot of other people that ask people everyday to be kind. Ellen’s closing line is a constant reminder to me to show compassion to others, and to treat others the way I want to be treated. We’re all people. We all deserve respect. I know that her reminder to be kind to one another is not going to change the world over night. But maybe, if she says it enough, and if people hear it enough, it might start to make a difference somewhere. "Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values." - Ellen DeGeneres

Point 5 above all else is the reason Ellen is such an inspiration to me. Someday, if I’m half as great as she is, I’ll be happy. To be honest, if you ask me what I want to be when I grow up I’ll probably say Ellen DeGeneres. She is always 100 per cent herself. She always seems to be happy. And of course, she’s always got time to dance!

Thanks for reading!

-Emily

"You are my person"

Hello readers!

This week I’m talking about Grey’s Anatomy. I’ll keep it brief because there’s only so much I have to say about it.

I resisted Grey’s for many years, not because I thought it would be a bad show, I just had no interest in it. Then last summer my sister turns to me and says, “We can’t really be sisters if you don’t watch my favourite show.”

So, I caved.

There are three things I like about the show. First is Cristina Yang. I like Cristina because she says what she thinks and isn’t afraid of the consequences. Despite her seemingly uncaring attitude, she has a soft side and is a truly loyal and committed friend even to people she finds annoying.

Second is Alex Karev probably because he’s kind of the same way. He comes off as an ass, but as he slowly unveils his past, he becomes a relatable character on many different levels.

Miranda Bailey is the third character I like because let’s face it, without her that hospital would be in shambles.

Anyways, that’s it for this week. Let me know what you think of the show!

Thanks for reading!

-Emily

And the Golden Globe goes to...

Hello readers!

Well January signals the start of some different television programming. No, I don’t mean the return of new episodes. I mean awards season!

In the last couple of years, I’ve begun to set aside the time to actually sit down and watch the various awards shows that run through the first quarter of the year. It’s a bit of a commitment, but let’s face it, I’m already hooked on TV.

For the most part, awards shows aren’t actually as boring as I thought they’d be when I first decided to tune in. Sure, the speeches can get a little dull after a while, but hey, who am I to judge someone on how they choose to celebrate such a monumental day in their career. If the host is good, you can always count on a few jokes to keep you going.

To be honest, usually the host is the reason I bother to tune in at all. And Tina Fey and Amy Poehler didn’t let me down last night during the 72^nd Golden Globe Awards. They definitely touched on a couple risqué topics in the opening monologue, but I thought it was done in good fun. The Golden Globes are a party. You’ve got to have a little fun! Besides Fey and Poehler say it’s the last time they’re going to host, so why not give it all you’ve got? I’ve provided a link to The Rolling Stone, which outlines some of the best lines of the opening monologue.

http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/golden-globes-2015-tina-fey-amy-poehler-monologue-20150111

Another great thing about awards shows is the fashion. I definitely don’t consider myself of fashionmonger, but it’s nice to look at all of the pretty dresses and see what the fashion leaders of the world are making these days. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to get all dressed up and go to one of these events. I think I like Reese Witherspoon’s dress the best. It’s classic and elegant and has just the right amount of sparkle. But in case you want to look at some others, here’s another link!

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/11/showbiz/gallery/golden-globes-2015-red-carpet/

One thing I thought was weird about this awards show is that I didn’t know anything about the nominations. I generally don’t make it a habit to look up the various nominations because I usually hear something about who the big winners might be. It’s not rare that I’ve never seen some of the movies, but this year I haven’t even heard of some of them. I was a little more familiar with the TV side of things, but I think it’s easier to keep up to something that comes back on a regular basis. Anyways, maybe I’ll have to do a little more movie watching in preparation for the Oscars! If you’re interested in finding out who the big winners were or want to build your “to watch” list, here is the list.

http://www.goldenglobes.com/sites/goldenglobes.com/files/imce_images/hfpa_72nd_annual_golden_globes_winners.pdf

Awards shows – yay or nay? I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!

-Emily

"Six billion people in the world. Six billion souls. And sometimes — all you need is one"

Welcome back readers!

I'm back, and this year I hope to cover more than just TV shows... but we’ll see. :)

Anyways, for this week’s post I am going to continue writing about my favourite TV shows. The Christmas break was the perfect chance for me to hang out on the couch all day and binge watch. My show of choice was One Tree Hill.

For those of you that don’t know, One Tree Hill is the story about two brothers, Nathan and Lucas, who play basketball. It may not sound like much, but the brothers only share the same father and have different mothers. The father they share, Dan, also happens to be the villain of the show.

The show begins with the brothers in their junior year of high school, which seems to be the first time the brothers ever talk to each other. Even though Lucas’s mom got pregnant first with Lucas, Dan chose to stay with Nathan’s mother Deb. Dan’s brother Keith helps Lucas’s mom raise him, which creates a weird family dynamic.

It’s kind of hard to explain, so if it sounds complicated I assure you it’s not when you watch it. The overlap of the characters and their interactions with each other make for good TV drama.

If you’re going to start watching it, I should warn you it’s a bit of a commitment – nine seasons worth of commitment. However, two of the main characters leave the show after season six, and the jump from season six to seven makes it a completely different show.

Overall though if you’re a TV lover like me, One Tree Hill is definitely worth the watch!

Thanks for reading!

-Emily