The Glee of Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights is the shit. How have I missed this show the last few years?
I remember one night, about three years ago, I was at my favorite restaurant/bar called Dominik's in West Hollywood with a few friends who swore over a bottle of wine that this was the best show on television. I didn't believe them. How could some show about football be that good? I silently considered these friends secret tomboys and ignored the advice. Recently my friend Marlo visited NYC and convinced me to give it a go (as you can watch the first three seasons on netflix). Needless to say, I'm hooked. This is way more intense than my Twilight obsession. We all know I'm secretly stuck in high school and totally worship high school drama (and could still watch old school 90210 all day long). This show is awesome. The acting is superb, and as I am a particularly tough critic in that department, when I say superb , I mean outstanding. I'm shocked and a little disturbed these actors have not been recognized at the Globes, Emmy's or Sag awards for their work here; they should be at these award shows every year. Specifically, Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler who play the Coach and his wife Tammy, and Zach Gilford who plays the quarterback, Matt Saracen. His performances are beautiful and captivating;he does very little but has so much going on behind his eyes. And don't even get me started on the hotness that is Tim Riggins (played by Taylor Kitsh). I feel guilty every morning when hubby kisses me goodbye because I've dreamt about this guy all night. He would totally kick Edward Cullen's ass, and is just simply hotter. Big statement, I know.
Season four is about to air on NBC the first week of May. I can't wait. Between Glee and FNL, I'm set with the best high school shows ever.

I Love NYC

I miss you, Lara

Dear Lara,

Ten years ago today, you were gone.

I was in my senior year at USC when I got the call from Meredith asking if you had contacted me. I had spoken to you only days before and you said you were coming to LA to visit me soon.

Lara, you were my best friend during the years when having a best friend is the only thing that matters. I cherished our talks about boys, celebrity crushes (Christian Slater and Luke Perry of course), 90210, who would be our first real kiss, and of course the love of our lives Ian :). We shared so much at such a vulnerable time that my memories are palpable; I can close my eyes and see your face smiling at me and hear your laughter. Remember when you wore that witch's costume on Halloween and tried to get my attention outside Mrs. Kaufman's 7th grade Science room?! We had just had our twilight zone marathon at my house and our favorite quote was " I won't!" Or remember when we danced around in your studio to Paula Abdul's cold hearted snake and Karyn White's secret rendezvous? Or when we rewound the tape (ahhh tapes!) over and over again of Dylan and Brenda kissing?! Then we went to Catalina and decided Eddie Furlong was our real true love-ha! So many memories...

I miss you so much. Sometimes I swear I see you from a distance, out of the corner of my eye, and then when I turn you are gone. Or I have dreams that we are together and catching up and wake up momentarily relieved and happy~until the realization sets in that you aren't here anymore.
I'm grateful for the the big talk we had at the end of our senior year when we discussed the "awkward stage" of our friendship during high school. I know you said you understood and we talked it all out but I want you to know I wish we had never drifted. I have beat myself up for it for years. I'm so thankful we reconnected at the end of it, and became closer than ever for a period of time before I went off to college. I know in my heart if you were here you would be a part of my life and still to this day one of my best friends.

I miss you, I miss you, I miss you. I will always wonder why? and secretly hate the universe for taking you away. I hope you are happy, beedi. I have a while to go down here, but can't wait to hug you again one day. Thank you so much for being a part of my life.

Love you always,

Z

The Anthony Michael Hallway

What's up with all of my childhood icons dying? The death of John Hughes sent a shock wave through my system. He was undoubtedly my all time favorite film maker. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Vacation, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller, Some Kind Of Wonderful...I practically had every one of these movies memorized and am certain I own all of them on VHS. Or beta. Probably beta.

These movies taught me about humour, love, lust, adventure-and were the greatest catalyst in my love for acting. I wanted to marry Jake Ryan (and OK-kind of did. I loved Craig the second he pulled up to pick me up in his Porsche and reminded me of JR). I was convinced I would one day star in a John Hughes movie. I have looked him up repeatedly over the years, saddened by the fact that he left the industry and hoping he would come back one last time to work with me.

His movies will forever be imprinted in my heart.

Long Duk Dong: [looks through frosted glass on door] Is that you?
Jake: Yeah, that me.
Long Duk Dong: [opens door] Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you my new - new-style American girlfriend.
Jake: Forget it, man. Just get Samantha, all right?
Long Duk Dong: She not here.
Jake: Don't jerk me around, man. Where is she?
Long Duk Dong: She got married.
Jake: What?
Long Duk Dong: She at the church. She getting married to oily bohunk.
Jake: Married?
Long Duk Dong: Married.
Jake: Married?
Long Duk Dong: Yeah. Married
[closes door]
Jake: [turns around, under breath to himself] Married?
Long Duk Dong: Married! Jeez.

---

Brian Johnson: Saturday, March 24,1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... ...and an athlete... ...and a basket case... ...a princess... : ...and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

Apres Sex...

"Sex On The Page" at Bay Street was fabulous and a huge success! Thank you again to all the incredible women we worked with who also made it possible as well as the writers, directors and actors for their time and boundless talent.

SEX ON THE PAGE

What: AnkinRowen Productions, Bay Street Theatre, The Perfect Manhattan Productions and hiphamptons.com present an evening of short plays and readings on SEX including pieces written by award winning playwright Brooke Berman and best selling author James Frey

Where: The Bay Street Theatre in the Hamptons (the Long Wharf, Sag Harbor, NY)

When: July 24, 2009 @ 10pm

Why: Summer, cocktails, the beach, sex...what could be better?

How: RSVP Bay Street Theatre Box Office (631) 725-9500 Admission FREE

l will be acting in two of the short plays and am very excited about this evening, hope you can make it!

FOR MORE INFO

http://www.baystreet.org/special-performances

http://www.ankinrowen.com/

Death of an Icon

I was walking on the west side highway when I found out Michael Jackson died. My friend from London texted me. I felt nothing. I went home, I turned on the TV, I still felt nothing. Some strange numbness took over me. Michael Jackson had been dead for awhile in my mind. He was a weirdo. His face was freaky, he dangled babies off balconies. I was unaffected.

Two weeks later, after being inundated by the media with coverage of his life, and while watching his funeral, I began sobbing uncontrollably. I have continued to be obsessed and extremely affected by his death for the last month. As many others in the world, I experienced a profound sense of sadness when looking back at his life. Despite his eccentricities, his unbelievable talent surpassed any other performer in my lifetime. He was magnetic but also extremely tragic in his isolation and loneliness.

My friend Tracey once said some famous people could very well be crazy because of the amount of energy that is being directed at them. I think this is very true in the case of Michael Jackson. His star was simply brighter that the rest of ours; the energy force he created was so powerful that eventually he combusted.

I have tried to figure out what is it that has made me grieve over his death, or rather, what he represented. Like many people my age, Thriller was my first album, and my entire childhood seems to play in my memory with his songs as the background tracks. He embodied the eighties and what it meant to dream. I remember watching Billie Jean on MTV and imagining what my own video would look like one day (who didn't want to be a rock star at six?) I suppose in some weird way, his death reminds us all of how old we are getting and how fast it all goes by.

On a lighter note, I did have the unbelievable opportunity to dance on stage with him at the 1987 BAD concert in LA. (I need to find that video asap).

I don't want to be one of those weird bloggers that says "RIP MJ" but for what it's worth I hope he is happy in neverland.