New York!!!

Hi Everyone! I hope you all are doing great!  I've been pretty busy enjoying family time and pumping out things for work. I just wanted to share a picture of some of the things I picked up in the 30 Rock Building in New York. The Late Night with Seth Meyers sweat shirt is so comfortable and both the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and the Saturday Night Live tees are trendy blanks that the prints are on(basically, not a generic tee). One thing to mention as well, if you check out NBC's online SNL shop there's so many choices different products available. In the New York store though there's mostly logo apparel as well as mugs(so if you are wanting something like a plush, journal, or bar ware-you need to go through the website). 

One thing to mention, I just wish that I had gotten the SNL logo ladies sweatshirt(maybe next time).

Cheri Oteri

     During Cheri Oteri's 5 season run on Saturday Night Live she was unstoppable, painfully hilarious, and almost dared you to try not to laugh. It was impossible! Cheri Oteri along with other greats like Will Farrell  and Chris Kattan helped take SNL out of a transitional period into a time of SNL that is still highly reflected upon by so many.(Have you seen the famous Rolling Stones Cover?)

   I have to say, like many I loved her as Nadeen, the "Simmah Down Now" lady, the "Morning Latte" sketches she did with Will Farrell, and The Spartan Cheerleaders(also alongside Will Farrell).  But I also loved seeing her work with Molly Shannon- two extremely funny ladies that caused me to do something really crazy as an adolescent- accept my out of the box, wacky personality and just be myself. What I mean by this is watching Cheri and Molly take on every sketch they were apart of whole heartedly and go for it without holding back inspired me to embrace life with the same passion. They could've played in the background and let the boys run the show, but instead, Cheri did something that is hard for some people who join SNL(and what sometimes causes their show departure)... She could be in sketches with larger than life cast members who in some instances would dominate a sketch and she would walk out just as funny and just as memorable.
   This is why to this day if I find out Cheri Oteri is going to appear in anything, I rejoice because no matter what it is, I know that she will be one million percent funny and I thank her for that!

P.S. If you missed Cheri Oteri on Lifetime's Wishin' and Hopin' the other night, then you are in the same boat as me! I am hoping that they will air it again, but so I am more aware of any upcoming projects that she has, I am now following her on Twitter- @cherioteri .

Below are the links to a couple of amazing sketches of Cheri Oteri's:

Nadeen(Simmah Down Now)

https://screen.yahoo.com/nadeen-augustus-general-000000627.html?query=snl simma

Cheri on Weekend Update

https://screen.yahoo.com/cheri-oteri-womens-history-000000733.html?query=cheri oteri

Spartan Cheerleaders

https://screen.yahoo.com/spartan-cheerleaders-snl-skits/

Maybe even better...

     When Seth Meyers left SNL after 13 seasons earlier this year, I will admit, I found it to be a hard pill to swallow. He had become a face that was almost a necessity to see every Saturday Night. After I took a step back and considered that this would be an even better situation- I started to become at peace and dare I say, even excited by the fact he wasn't going to be a series regular anymore. The positives far outweighed the negatives. Now, instead of 10 minutes a night of Seth one day a week, we were going to get to experience Seth's comical chats and gut busting monologues Monday-Friday for an hour!
      This would've been fine in itself, but once I found out Fred Armisen was going to be the musical director- I thought my face was going to explode! Losing Fred on SNL on the season 38 finale was a hard one for me as I have always been such a fan of his work and in so many ways, Fred is underrated. Plus Fred and Seth together equals comedy magic-and if you're like me, I always enjoy their interaction on Fred Talks. Here's my favorite Fred Talks so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRKo-qNIHZs

     SNL fans- if you are not watching this show, you are missing out on something that is so brilliant that whoever came up with this gem deserves a raise for it. Second Chance Theatre gives SNL alums the ability to try out a sketch that for some reason or another was cut from a show(whether it was in dress or still in the early stages of writing). Not only are the sketches themselves always wonderful, but just hearing Seth discuss the world behind the scenes of SNL with previous cast members that we as fans aren't aware of is pretty insightful and undoubtedly hilarious. Below you will find Jason Sudeikis' Second Chance Theatre sketch "Juggling Flyer"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nio6eKjDH4

Also, here's Will Forte's Jennjamin Franklin (because I can't choose- I love Jason's and Will's sketches equally)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylu5amvSvww

      I love watching Late Night for so many reasons and I feel, if we are lucky, we will have Seth on Late Night for many years to come!

 

BONUS CLIP:

I am absolutely all about this clip. When Aidy Bryant was on Late Night and she discussed meeting Drake I laughed so hard that it was painful (I can also see where she's coming from)!

Get it, Girl!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bivD098Qpu8

Last Night's SNL

Last night's episode was filled with creative and out of the box comedy. I believe that anyone who thought this year would still be considered a transition year were completely in the wrong as even the new cast members(Leslie Jones and Pete Davidson) are holding their own with even the long term cast members.
A couple of highlights I'd like to mention:
-I was so excited about the return of Tonker Bell! Aidy is such a hilarious person and bringing this character back for the Peter Pan sketch was a wonderful choice. I also want to give James Franco credit because I didn't expect his celebrity impressions to be so dead on. He did an amazing job at Christopher Walken as Captain Hook.
-The Jingle Ballerz sketch was ridiculous in the best way. It was filled with celebrity impression after celebrity impression and watch out Nicki Minaj as Beyonce! I loved every one of the characters, but I am mesmerized by Jay Pharoah as Kanye West and Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber. They are both so talented at celebrity impressions that you have to hope every episode they can pull another out of their bag of tricks.
-Grow a Guy- It was great to see Mike O'Brien back. I thought it was such a hilarious sketch, "he kinda did have a point", what exactly are hash tags?
-With Seth Meyers leaving, I didn't know how to feel about any other person behind the desk even though that was the feeling that occurs whenever we switch anchors on Weekend Update. Colin Jost and Michael Che are making the best team. They are the bro version of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. If they could go ahead and start writing their version of "Baby Mama", the world would greatly appreciate it! I was also so frickin' excited to see Leslie Jones back at the Weekend Update desk. Whenever she makes an appearance, I laugh so hard I cry and Bobby Moynihan as Anthony Crispino-- if you don't laugh whenever Bobby is on Weekend Update or any other sketch- there's a chance that you are a "Grow a Guy".
-Jeremy's Brain felt like what a 90's scrap book and as being someone in my 20s, I could feel my childhood in this one. From Titanic's Cal to the Jurassic Park reference and the Savage Garden song "I want You" which I can still sing every word of... it was probably my favorite sketch of this show.
-Nicki Minaj touched the "feels" button with both her of her songs.
-"We're not Porn Stars anymore"- Cecily and Vanessa always knock this one out of the park and it felt like Jame's Franco's episode was the perfect time to bring this one back since he(as well as Seth Rogen who made a cameo in this sketch) are great with this kind of humor

Hopefully, you enjoyed this epidsode as much as I did and below is the link if you haven't watched it yet or would like to watch it again!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/723376

Promo Time! James Franco Nicki Minaj

Let me start off by saying that Cecily Strong and James Franco look adorable together and they have a great chemistry together during this promo. This will be James Franco's third time hosting and I have to say, it's great watching him on the show because he's a very creative person as is the cast, so you know it will be an interesting and funny show. I also want to mention on a non related promo topic that it is great to see Cecily back out from behind the Update desk(even though I loved her there) she is amazingly funny in sketches! If you want to watch the promos, here's the link:

https://screen.yahoo.com/snl/snl-promo-james-franco-130852521.html

Although I never mention the host/musical guest promo, I HAVE to this time as the Besties promo with James and Nicki Minaj cracks me up so much and has inspired one of my favorite Vines of the year as well. You have to wonder how many times they practiced that handshake before they got it right.  Both links are below.

James and Nicki promo:

https://screen.yahoo.com/snl/snl-promo-james-franco-nicki-185106978.html

Besties Vine:

https://vine.co/v/Ovtx7Dx9l0g

I will always be thankful

     So, I have really wanted to share this story with you all for a while as it is so meaningful to me and I thought this is a great time to share it....
     Last year, I became pretty ill. The person that I knew and everyone else knew me to be which is a person always looking on the bright side of life and the person who cracks a joke or two at meetings began to diminish. Suddenly every bit of food put in front of me looked completely unappetizing and weight began to fall off of me. With this also came stomach problems that left me in my bed most of the time. I feel bad to admit this, but it made me feel so scared, as I really love living life to the fullest and I had been blessed to not visit the doctor much in my life. Our scheduled vacation we take annually (which we were all taking in New York) approached and my family considered not going as the doctor and hospital had become my frequently visited friend. 
    I did not let this happen, I was not about to let my family down since only two of us had been to NYC prior and if you've read either of my blogs you know New York is my favorite place in the world.  As families will do, we all hit up the big NYC stops together, but the thing that I anticipated so much was seeing SNL alum, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays.  If you haven't heard of it before, it is Billy's one man show that covers so many triumphs and trials of mostly his younger life(as the name originates from the roughly 700 Sundays he had with his father before his sudden passing).
     As the big day approached, I became so excited as it would be the first SNL alum I would see perform in person, but also I would be seeing a living legend and one of my heroes preform from 3 rows away(my excitement that I displayed was obviously why the ticket to the show was my Christmas present). As my Mom and I sat down in our seats, I had no clue what I was about to witness before my eyes.
     The lights signaled the start of the show, the music began, and out comes larger than life Billy Crystal. Within the first 5 minutes, everyone in the place was laughing so hard that a special kind of electricity filled the building that powered one person, Billy himself. He did impressions of so many people many of his own family, and you began to have this very vivid picture painted of what a fun and funny childhood he had growing up.
   As the show progressed, Billy began to hit on some of the more taxing times including the loss of his father. Going through this myself around the same age and the same way as Billy-it really resonated with me. Something about hearing it described from someone else and realizing that even though we are from different worlds, we had experienced the same pains that are hard to process. I began to cry and not just any type of cry, the ugly cry that you get mad at yourself for. I was embarrassed, could he see me from up on the stage? Would he stop the show and ask me to leave? Then I began to scan the crowd again. All of us that were once rumbling with laughter were connected with the same heart beat. Just about everyone was ugly crying or somber. It's because at one time or another, we have all felt some sort of great pain of loss. Then out of nowhere, Billy would tell a joke that would fill you with such joy!
   At this point I knew not only was Billy Crystal deserving of every bit of recognition he's gotten over the years, but he's worth even more. He was able to bring so many different people on a journey with him through every beautiful and hard moment of his life and bring us through the other side feeling the true gift in everything.  As Billy closed his show, in such a positive way( I don't want to ruin it for you, if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you buy it), I realized that whatever was wrong with me was going to be a story that I could tell. I was going to get better and appreciate every day, both past, present, and future. Now, it's a year later and I am back to my healthy self, but I will always be thankful to Billy Crystal, because even though he doesn't know me, he helped me get through a very difficult time in my life and realize that one day when I look back, it was just a spec on what will be such a beautiful life!

 

(Here's the link to buy a copy of 700 Sundays for you or someone special(the book is amazing as well): http://www.amazon.com/Billy-Crystal-700-Sundays-Various/dp/B00L5QX14A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417667627&sr=8-1&keywords=700+sundays )

The Genius that is Will Forte

One of my very favorite cast members of all time, Will Forte will be making his triumphant return to television on Sunday, March 1st at 9 p.m. in "The Last Man on Earth"(Below you will find a link about recent casting for Will's new show). I am so thrilled about this, because Will is joining a growing list of former cast members that you have the ability to watch weekly or in some cases on multiple days of the week. To name a few Jimmy Fallon in the "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Weeknights, directly after that is "Late Night with Seth Meyers" where you will also find Fred Armisen(Fred also has "Portlandia"), and "Parks and Recreation" starring Amy Poehler. So, remember, if Saturday Night isn't fulfilling your SNL cravings, you will be able to catch a SNL alum every day of the week! In closing, lets celebrate the amazing previous SNL cast member, Will Forte, below is one of my favorite sketches of his, "The Lyle Kane Show"(and here's hoping he hosts SNL in 2015).

 

Last Man One Earth Article

http://www.eonline.com/news/601027/january-jones-cast-in-the-2015-tv-comedy-we-re-most-looking-forward-to?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

 

Lyle Kane Show Sketch

https://screen.yahoo.com/lyle-kane-show-202843111.html?query=snl+lyle+kane+show