September 28, 2006

Sunrise in Ocean City

Each time I'm at the beach, while everyone's still counting sheep, I try to sneak away to catch the sunrise. But first, it's a walk to the coffee shop (Dunkin' Donuts or 7 Eleven) for a cup of hazelnut coffee, then comes a breezy stroll to the beach. With a book safely tucked in the beach bag and my camera around my neck, I'm set for at least a couple of hours.

And it's the most peaceful couple of hours.


Music: Norah Jones Peace

September 26, 2006

The Gilmore Girls Are Back!

Do you ever find yourself whistling and singing this song? If yes, then you're exactly where I am! We miss the Gilmore Girls!!

After a whole long summer without Lorelai, Rory, and the quirky lovable characters of Stars Hollow, I'm so happy they're finally back tonight in the season premier of Gilmore Girls. So WB is no longer the host (replaced by the much unknown CW), so the much beloved original writers of the show Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband are no longer with the show (yes, I am totally heartbroken and shocked about the news still) ... but I still can't wait for my Tuesday night date with the Gilmore Girls. They're a joy to be around and make our world so much more delightful and colorful!

Welcome back Rory & Lorelai! Don't leave us ... ever! (Wishful thinking, I know. But what's life without hopes?!)

If you want more dish on the new season of Gilmore Girls, here's a recent TV Guide interview of David Rosenthal, one of the show's new writers.

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It's a Gilmore Girls Spoilerganza!

No, I won't be revealing any more letters to that nagging asterisk puzzle today. Sorry, but you Gilmore Girshippers have proven way too sharp for your own good, and I promised certain VIPs that I wouldn't spill the proverbial beans this early in the game. But here's something that should more than make up for me being a big ol' tease. I recently unearthed from the archives this exclusive interview with Gilmore show-runner David Rosenthal that I conducted in August for TV Guide's Returning Favorites issue (on newsstands now). It's chock full of spoilery goodness ? some of which I've already doled out in Ask Ausiello ? so proceed at your own peril. And please, don't shoot the messenger, no matter how strong the urge. Remember: The messenger is good. (And last I checked, kinda sexy.)

Ausiello: Now that you've completed your first episode as show-runner, what was it like?
David Rosenthal:
It was great. Everybody's in great spirits and very excited, and it was a really good first week. It's a group that's been together a long time, so they really know their stuff.

Ausiello: When will the show take its traditional summertime leap forward in time?
Rosenthal:
The first three episodes of the season are kind of the summer. You know, Rory's home from school. And then Episode 4, Rory will be heading back to school. So the big jump will be between episodes 3 and 4. There will be a few weeks between 2 and 3, but 1 and 2 are pretty continuous. We view them as a two-hour Gilmore Girls movie. It's just a lot of emotional stuff that we're facing.

Ausiello: I got the sense that Luke was headed somewhere at the end of the premiere.
Rosenthal:
Luke will definitely be heading somewhere when we come up in Episode 2, but I don't wanna ruin it. I think people will be very curious and interested to see where he's going.

Ausiello: Will those first three episodes primarily focus on the fallout from Lorelai's night with Christopher?
Rosenthal:
Yeah. I mean, there are so many ramifications, not only for Lorelai and for Luke, but you know, for Rory and for Christopher. Something like this sends shockwaves out, so there's a lot to deal with. There's still obviously a lot of other [fun] stuff going on, but in terms of emotionally, yeah, there's a lot of fallout. I also feel like the first five or six episodes are really kind of setting Luke and Lorelai on a course for the season. And it's gonna take a few episodes for us to get them out at sea and on their journeys for the year. But I'm hoping the audience will be with us and interested and ready to follow them where they're going.

Ausiello: Is it safe to say Luke and Lorelai are taking separate journeys?
Rosenthal:
They definitely are on separate journeys, but their journeys will also intersect and overlap. It won't be like Luke's over here and Lorelai's over there and never the two shall meet... not at all. They're on their own journeys, but those journeys will come together.

Ausiello: There's a line in the first episode where Lorelai tells Luke it's over. How much should L/L fans read into that?
Rosenthal:
Time has a way of healing. She means it, but is that the case forever? I don't believe that. Do I think Luke and Lorelai ultimately are soul mates? I do. I really do. But does that mean they're gonna run off together tomorrow and live happily ever after? No. But I think it seems like they're at a point where they both have some regrowing and changing to do and some things to figure out. It's over for now.

Ausiello: How pivotal is Christopher in Lorelai's journey this season?
Rosenthal:
Very. He's a big part of her life and he's a big part of Rory's life. This past season he really showed a different side, a more patient side, a more mature side. And I feel like he's earned their trust in a way he really hasn't before, and he's in their lives in a way he really hasn't been before.

Ausiello: Will they be back together romantically?
Rosenthal:
Certainly, given what's happened... yeah. Absolutely.

Ausiello: And I assume Anna and April will be a big part of Luke's journey.
Rosenthal:
Absolutely. Those relationships will continue to intensify.

Ausiello: What's up with Richard and Emily?
Rosenthal:
Obviously, the Luke and Lorelai relationship will impact them. They've always been very conflicted about Luke and his role in Lorelai's life. Also, Richard is going to be offered a guest lecturership at Yale, so he'll be on campus and around Rory. Emily, as part of her DAR work, is doing a little cotillion training for young girls. She's running her own little etiquette school, which will be very funny. I think it'll really be a great thing for her. There also might be some health issues coming up this year.

Ausiello: For Richard?
Rosenthal:
Yeah. So that's something that could impact them significantly in terms of his work and also kind of Emily's role in his life and their dynamic. I think health issues can create stress and conflict and trauma in a family, but they can also bring the family together. It can bring mothers and daughters close together and it can bring grandparents and grandchildren close together.

Ausiello: I hear the stork will pay a visit to Stars Hollow this season.
Rosenthal:
There will be multiple babies born this season. There also will be a marriage.

Ausiello: Please tell me Lorelai won't be faced with a "who's the daddy?" quandary.
Rosenthal:
No, no, no. I promise. There are no sharks anywhere near our set and there will be no jumping of them.

Ausiello: OK, that's fantastic news. Why did you decide to keep Logan in London? I thought for sure he would find some way to wiggle himself out of that situation.
Rosenthal:
I think it presents an interesting issue for Rory, and it's a complicated thing when you're still in college and your boyfriend or girlfriend has graduated and moved on. And not only moved on ? he's in the professional world and she's still in college. We just thought, why rush him back when there's stuff to explore there? I think it's interesting for Rory to have to find her own way at Yale without Logan, and also try to maintain this relationship and to see how much she really loves this guy, how deep the feelings run. But I promise you, Logan will be a major part of her life this year, and they will find ways to be together.

Ausiello: Were you OK with Matt Czuchry doing an episode of Veronica Mars?
Rosenthal:
I just wanted to make sure he was not playing a character similar to who he's playing on Gilmore Girls. I think Matt's a terrific actor. He has great range and an ability to play all kinds of characters. I support Matt and would love him to do all kinds of work outside the show. I just didn't want it to feel like, ?Logan's guest-starring on Veronica Mars.?

Ausiello: When and how will Marty reappear in Rory's life?
Rosenthal:
He makes kind of a surprising appearance when she's least expecting it. And whether intentionally or unintentionally, he definitely stirs up some trouble in her personal life in a big way. He really causes her a lot of problems. Marty's grown up a little. He's developed a thicker skin; he's a little tougher. He's not such a boy anymore. His actions will definitely cause trouble in Rory's life.

Ausiello: Now for the most frequently asked question from fans: Will we ever see Mr. Kim?
Rosenthal:
Nope. Mr. Kim is a mystery. Perhaps one day that mystery will be answered, but there are no plans now. I think Mr. Kim is like Norm's wife, Vera. Better to just imagine him.

September 25, 2006

An Interview With Lorelai's Christopher

Ahhh... tomorrow seems like it may never come! It'll be the season premier of Gilmore Girls, my all-time favorite TV show ever!

People recently did an interview with David Sutcliffe who plays Christopher in Gilmore Girls. Here's a peek!

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The Gilmore Guy: David Sutcliffe

The Gilmore Girls star talks about spending more time on the set – and being hated

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2006 05:30PM EST

Between all the fast talking and female bonding, Gilmore Girls' David Sutcliffe has managed to survive six seasons on the mother-daughter drama, playing mostly absentee dad Christopher. But after a cliffhanger episode that ended with him waking up with onetime love Lorelei (Lauren Graham) – who was engaged to fan favorite Luke (Scott Patterson) – he'll be putting in more hours when the show premieres Tuesday on The CW (8 p.m. ET/PT). Good thing the 37-year-old Canada native says it's "fun to be going to work every day." PEOPLE.com recently caught up with Sutcliffe on the show's ups and downs – and on being a hated man among some die-hard fans.

So, Christopher is back in Lorelei's life?
I'm in the picture. I think that says it all. I will be around and I will be complicating lives as usual.

How's everyone getting along on the set?
I have a pretty strong bond with both Lauren and Alexis (Bledel, who plays daughter Rory), which happened kind of instantaneously in the first season. At the same time, there is something lost when you're there every day. Before, Christopher would show up and it was a bit of an event, everybody knows that sh–'s gonna go down ... and now I'm sort of here. So it's kind of bittersweet in a way.

How are fans reacting to you these days? Are they handling your re-emergence well?
They are intense. And they have strong feelings about how the show unravels. The one thing that most people seem to agree on is that Lorelei and Christopher have a unique chemistry and that shows. But I am kind of a hated man. Even though there are Christopher supporters, they're in the minority.

You're going in a different direction on the big screen, playing an FBI agent in Hacia la oscuridad.
It's a lot of fun to be able to run around with guns and scream and yell and do the kind of FBI-cop kind of stuff, which is different than what I've been doing, which is kind of playing the boy-girl thing. Its always fun to kiss the pretty girl, but sometimes, amazingly, you can get bored with that too.

How was it working with America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) in it?
She's got it. It's strange to be around a woman who's that young and bright and who's got a kind of glow about her. There's really something going on with her.

How about off the set, what do you do?
I've just become obsessed with ballroom dancing. I signed up for the introductory course, which was like a four-week thing. By the end of it, I was hooked. I love it. It's sort of flirty, but it's not sexual. I can't quit until I've got it down and I can really dance. I'm there four or five times a week.

So do you think you'll use your new skill to impress dates?
I am single, but it's more of a different kind of recreation. It's nice to be in a community of people who are learning and who are very supportive of each other, and we have these little practice parties. It's just regular people; there are no celebrities hanging out. I'm not trying to get on Dancing with the Stars.

September 24, 2006

Remembering Ginger

Here we are ... tiptoeing into autumn ... my favorite season. And autumn always reminds me of our little Ginger.

Don't get me wrong though. Ginger didn't belong to us. She was our neighbor's dog, gentle and sweet as could be! I took this picture of Ginger almost 2 years ago, as she was walking home from a nice stroll in the park with her mom. Ginger's previous owners had abandoned her in an empty house for over a month. Fortunately, Ginger's mom had found her at the pound shortly after, extremely shy, deeply malnourished and skinny to the bones. But in spite of all the bad things she had experienced, Ginger's gingery disposition made her the darling of our neighborhood. (We even secretly adopted her, but ... shhh... please don't tell her mom.)

Miss you Ginger. You're still our most favorite dog in town, and always will be.

September 12, 2006

NPR rocks!

I came back from the beach just in time for a bit of good news! My picture of our hike to Flume Gorge (New Hampshire) last Fall ("A Walk To Remember") has just been published on NPR's website featuring the New Hampshire Public Radio's Granite State Stories.

Being a big fan of NPR, I can't be more happy! What an awesome way to celebrate the beginning of my favorite season!

September 9, 2006

A Seaside Holiday

We're here! Finally! I have my much needed holiday by the sea in Ocean City, Maryland ... where the boardwalk goes on for miles and miles and cotton candies, funnel cakes, hot dogs, pizzas, soft shell crab sandwiches, colorful let's-make-a-statement t-shirts, amusement park rides greeting us every step along the way.

I used to love all the boardwalk scenes ... but now the quiet beaches draw me so. The summer crowd is gone and in the early mornings or late afternoons, we have the beach almost to ourselves!

Take a walk on the beach with me and bring your headphone too by the way. ;O)

September 8, 2006

To The Sea

This is my seashell ring (made entirely of seashells), a lovely souvenir from Mackinaw Island. I got it for a song too!

In an hour or so, I'll be off to see the ocean for the first time this year! Will be out of touch for a few days ... but promise to come back with lots of goodies for ya!

September 7, 2006

Chateau Grand Traverse

Here's another beautiful vineyard we had a chance to visit last June ... the Chateau Grand Traverse. This was the only vineyard we actually had a chance to tour in Michigan. What a fascinating adventure winemaking is!

On a side note, being there reminded me of one of my favorite Disney movies, Parent Trap (1998)! Such a cute cute movie! :O)

September 3, 2006

Breakfast on the Weekends

I love weekends! And even more, I love my breakfast on the weekends! It's a leisurely, drawn-out ritual. There's no rush to be anywhere by 9:00AM (hopefully), no deadlines to meet (hopefully), no chores to do (hopefully), and we can really enjoy our coffee & croissants (or juice & cereal, or eggs, or toast, or waffles, or any of our other favorite breakfast food) the way they're meant to be enjoyed. I sip coffee and catch-up on all the fun read (magazines, novels, etc.) while listening to something cool & relaxing (currently, Norah Jones and Keane). :O)

So ... whatever your plans are for the weekends, a slow lingering breakfast to start your day off right is a must! Life's already moving too fast. We shouldn't rush our weekends! And that should begin with our breakfast, shouldn't it?!

September 1, 2006

Oh Where Has Summer Gone?

I can't believe it's already September! And my first trip to the beach this year is not until next week!

Better late than never though.

On the brighter side, September means my favorite season of all is around the corner! Now that ... I love! :O)

Happy September 1st everyone! :O) Enjoy your last few days of summer if it is still summer where you are!