Skins: Vol. 2 - Ummmm...it WENT there.

I wrapped up Vol. 2 of Skins over the holiday break. Wow. Just wow. Here's a quick rundown...

Ep. 1: Tony and Maxxie:
Tony is recovering (see Vol. 1) and Maxxie wants to be a dancer. Maxxie also feels like he's being watched. By who? We don't know yet. That's pretty much all I can say without giving too much away - if you haven't seen Vol. 1.

Ep. 2: Sketch:

Maxxie's suspicions were right - he WAS being watched by this cute but very strange girl named Sketch. She desperately tries to get his attention but he won't even notice her. She stays in her apartment taking after her disabled Mom so she's kind of lacking in social skills. Poor girl. I started liking her but she's kind of WAY out there...
Meanwhile, "Osama: The Musical" is getting underway - yes, it's about 9/11 - and let's just say that Maxxie, Michelle and Sketch have a "run-in" of sorts....

Ep. 3: Sid:
We learn more about Sid's home life. His mother left him and his father - which was quite traumatic - and his father has these ridiculously high expectations for him and we never really understand why until his grandfather comes to visit, bringing Sid's uncle and two cousins. The cousins are a terror but no one really sees that except Sid and his father but there's one problem: Sid's dad is so scared of letting his own father down that he won't stand up for himself. This includes not telling him that he and his wife split up - which results in an outburst, and accident and Sid's dad finally standing up for himself. While you feel really happy that Sid's dad has finally stood up for himself and seems to ease up on Sid, the worst thing ever happens - of course...

Ep. 4: Michelle:
Michelle's having a birthday. And her new step-sister has invited herself. Yes, her mother has remarried AGAIN. It's starting to drive me crazy! Anyways, Michelle is having a hard time coping with Tony and Sid is having a hard time coping with his dilemma...will they seek comfort in each other's arms? I don't know, maybe. The whole gang (plus the step-sis) go to a beach on a camping trip for Michell's birthday and the whole time, I was wondering about Chris and Jal. What is going on with them? They're like the Liberty and JT of Skins. Would my Degrassi dreams come true on Skins???

Ep. 5: Chris:
Chris is expelled! What?! Why? Could it be his partying? His drugs? His adventurous outlook on life? Yes, yes and yes. What does that mean for Chris? Oh, you know, being kicked out on the street and looking for work. Luckily, he finds work and a place to stay with Cassie (who is back! and out on the streets) but not without some trouble.
But while all this is happening, Jal has struck up a sort of contest with Chris - his outlook on life can no longer be "Fuck it" but in return, Jal has to say "Yes" to a lot more things.

The result? The JT and Liberty of Skins! Finally! I just love these 2 together!!

Ep. 6: Tony:
He's lost. He's confused. He's not himself. And everyone is having a hard time with it. Tony embarks on a trip to check out another school - which tuns into a super awesome adventure of rediscovery (with the aid of a mysterious girl, of course)...

Ep. 7: Effy:
Poor Effy. She's so young and yet, here she is - taking care of her severely depressed mother. We get it, Stonem family, Tony had a horrible trauma and he's not the same but that doesn't mean Effy has to take care of everyone. She's having a hard time as it is going to raves and selling drugs and whatnot. Cut her a break. I sound like I'm being a jerk about Effy but I really do love her character. She might not say much but she can sure get the point across.

Ep. 8: Jal:
Jal and Chris? Jal and college? Jal and Chris and baby? ZOMG - JUST LIKE JT AND LIBERTY!!! Aaaaaanyways - Jal is trying to figure out how to tell Chris about the bun in the oven but just when you think she might - we all realize it may be too late. Cassie was going on and on about secrets and how people shouldn't have them but I wasn't quite sure where she was taking it - until Chris had to go to the hospital! WHAT?!!!! I've said too much...

The end of the season deals with what's up with Chris. I can't say too much except IT GOES THERE. Oh, and I shed some tears. Yes. Call me a sap but whatever. After this season, you really fall in love with these kids (especially since they may or may not remind you of certain Canadian kids...). I started watching Vol. 3 but I'm having a bit of a time with it. I've only gotten through the assembly where the kid reveals his tattoo to everyone but that's where I've stopped. Maybe I'll get back into it during my New Year's break.

Also - does wanting to see the MTV version make me a bad person? I'm kind of jazzed about it...


Skins (US) airs on MTV on Monday, January 17 at 10pm. I know I'll be tuned in...
Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Skins: British Degrassi with dubstep and more "It goes there" moments

I'd been seeing Skins screen shots floating on my Tumblr dash for, like, ever and I never knew what it was until a few months ago when I realized I could watch it via Netflix Instant.
Skins is very much like Degrassi: TNG - the tortured youth of today and all the problems they face. What kind of problems? Oh you know, the usual: eating disorders, homosexuality, homophobia, teen pregnancy, parental abandonment, parental loss, getting hit by trucks, RAVES, drugs, alcohol, obession...well, you get the point.
At first, it was a little rough getting into Vol. 1 since each episode introduced you to a specific character but towards the end, after you've been properly introduced and the story can move on, I was hooked.

The first episode introduces you to Tony.

Good-looking (I guess - he's not my type) and he's dating the popular girl (I guess Michelle is our equivalent to the popular girl). He parties and he's very open with his sexuality - which I think is great. The downside: he's kind of a douche (obvs). He calls his gal "Nips" and keeps telling her that one tit is bigger than the other, making her feel like crap. He also takes advantage of ALL of his friends - which is not cool. Arrogant prick.

Then there's Cassie.

She's flawed. She has an eating disorder, she attempts suicide (later on in the season) and she's one of my favourite characters. She's like a nymph. Everything is "cool" and dreamy to her. She always has a very breathy voice and she seems at ease but you can tell she's hurting all the time. You instantly want to hold her and make sure her world never crashes down on her.

Next up is Jal.

She's the Liberty of the group. She's in band, she's pretty straight laced and I would say she's the responsible one of the whole group. I like her but I like her more in Vol. 2...(can't give too much away)

Next is Chris.

He is, without a doubt, my favourite guy (next to Maxxie). He's so happy-go-lucky it's infectious. But - we meet him after he wakes up to find out that his mother has abandoned him. What does he do? He takes the money she's left him and goes on a bender, resulting in a gigantic party at his house. You gotta love him but he needs help...And you can't help but love him even more when he starts sleeping with his teacher (who reminds me of Katy Perry)!

Here we come to Sid.

Tony's best friend. And he's in love with Tony's gal, Michelle. But there's one small problem - Tony has been trying to hook Sid with with Cassie (who is in love with him) but he won't really give in so easily, right away. But Sid has other problems: Tony takes advantage of him a little too much (obvs) and he's failing in school. Not to mention his mother is leaving his father and his father has crazy high expectations of him. Sid is likeable with all his flaws and I like him even more in Vol. 2.

Up next the power duo of Maxxie and Anwar


Maxxie is one of my favourite guys on the show. He's cool, he dresses well and he's gay - which I guess would make him the Marco of the group. His best friend is Anwar (played by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel). They're pretty inseperable - that is, until Anwar discovers Maxxie has a bit of a crush on him and he gets all weirded out because he's afraid Maxxie will "gay him". Through it all, they go through some pretty intense shit and they make it out in the end. Their situation gets kind of funnier in Vol. 2 when Maxxie's stalker starts sleeping with Anwar and...you just have to watch.

And now, we're at Michelle.

She's kind of average looking - which is a good thing because that makes her more relatable. What can I say about her? She's a party girl, she's Tony's gal, Sid's in love with her and she's BFFs with Jal and Cassie. Her mother marries too quickly and that makes her home life a little too unstable. Tony treats her like crap, too. Tony and Maxxie get all touchy feely on a school trip to Russia with Michelle pretending to be asleep in the same room. She sees this as the last straw and breaks up with Tony. BUT like most girls in love, she's still not over him and in the finale, something happens between her and Tony that is totally tragic and beautiful at the same time - but it makes it hard on their relationship in Vol. 2 and Sid might have his dream come true with Michelle.

We can't forget about Effy, though!

Effy is Tony's younger sister. She barely says anything and yet, she's one of the best characters on the show. She parties HARD and in her episode, she parties so hard, she gets quite fucked up and if the guys had the chance, they probably would have left her for dead. Thank goodness Tony showed up when he did... Effy has it rough in Vol. 2 but she still maintains her secret party life - which I love because she dresses so well!

Vol. 1 ends in a big way - which I don't really want to reveal here if you haven't seen it but it will definitely leave you breathless for Vol. 2. One thing that I appreciate about Skins is that it's so raw. They cuss, they fight, they get naked, they have sex, they drink, they do drugs and it just feels a little more real than Degrassi ever did. There might not be a cocaine nosebleed in the style of Craig but there definitely are some blackouts - which kind of scared me. And one thing I really do appreciate is the music. The kids rave. They party with glowsticks, pills and tabs. Every time they go to a party, I wish I was there too! Parties made me so happy when I was their age (whoa - I'm old) and I want that to come back in a major way. It feels like it's on the cusp of fully returning to the good old rave days of the '90's but it's not quite there yet... I thought it would be close with the MTV version of Skins but I'm not really interested in seeing that so I'm not sure if that would generate any intrest in rave culture. It's all "scene" or "cyber" now. In any case, I'm having a lot of fun watching it and Vol. 2 has really stepped it up since Vol. 1. I'm officially hooked and I can't get enough!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Real Housewives of Atlanta: WTPhaedra?!

What is up with people needing documentation on this show?!
I could understand it between Shereé and "Dr" Tiy-E Muhammad but what's all this between Kim and Phaedra?
Although I do appreciate Phaedra saying gems like, "Just because she strips in a nurse outfit doesn't make her a real nurse" but seriously Phaedra...what are you hiding?
You aren't fooling anyone. We all know your baby was full term even though you were saying you were only 7 months or whatever. Please. Stop. It. I know you're trying to keep your "Southern Belle" classy lady act intact but PLEASE girlfriend, your baby was NOT conceived in wedlock. And you know what, that's okay. Are any babies conceived that way in this day and age? Not really. Who's going to judge you? Nobody, honey. But you're making it worse by being on TV and saying you were knocked up after you were married when we all know you weren't. What are you playing at?
I didn't have a reason to judge you before - even though you say you're an entertainment lawyer and all that and you're married to a convict and whatever and you wear too much makeup but I can let that one slide BUT - the fact that you're trying to maintain the time frame you were knocked up is just silly. STOP. IT. That's not very lady-like.


What else isn't lady-like? Cynthia's Friend Contract with NeNe. Um...WHAT?!



Why was this necessary? Is she really that scared of losing friends? Is it because she doesn't really have any friends? Is it because she hasn't had "real" friends in so long she has forgotten how to be a friend? And when NeNe confessed to showing it to Kim, Cynthia was trying to play it off as a joke. Asking for notarization for friend termination - or whatever the rules were - is not a joke. That is some serious bullshit right there.
To be honest, I'm a little worried about Cynthia. How is her relationship? I mean, her husband was jealous of NeNe, Cynthia asked for a fucking Friend Contract, she seems like she struggles in group settings. What is wrong with her? Is she that socially awkward? I think so. I guess when people tell you you're amazing all the time and you get into a vapid bubble of nobody but yourself, you tend to forget what real interaction is. And then you get into weird relationships and you have people sign contracts. She seems like she's constantly doubting her decision to marry whatever his name is and she is so awkward in front of people. Is it the cameras? Would that be it? I don't know...I never really felt comfortable with her since the first time I saw her on the show. I felt kind of sorry for her. She has a kind of silent suffering going on and I don't like it. Maybe I'm wrong.

Until next time, catch more RHOA antics here.

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

FOUND! More photos from the VS 2010 Fashion Show!

I was able to find more luscious angles of Lily Donaldson in my favourite outfit:




AMAZING!! I'm even more envious of her now! I think the next best thing: a tattoo.

Yes! A tattoo! I need to get with the always awesome Matt Greenhalgh of Only You Tattoo and see if he can sketch me up a cute pin up girl version of Lily Donaldson's outfit from the show. That would be adorbs Xs infinity!!

I digress...on to the rest of the found outfits! (Some of them are repeats but from a different angle or a close up)

Yes, I found more from my *favourite* section: Country. Actually, it's not so bad anymore. Why? JESSICA STAM. Look at her. Just look at her.



She is working those weird wooden rose feather wings and her denim patchwork...um...whatever - I still hated this part. But now you get to see MeeMaw's table cloth I mentioned in the last post! Awesome!

More from the Tough Love portion (with bonus angles from ones you've seen before):



My dear, dear Adriana. You are fucking awesome! Look at how FIERCE you look:

You're such a badass!

Okay - moving on...to the Jungle Safari



Loving the body paint and the wearability of most of these bra and panty sets.

And now, my little Goddess Angels



They really do look like Grecian Goddesses that fell from the sky. *Le sigh*...the stuff dreams are made of...

And last - but definitely NOT least - the Candy Raver Sleep Over!!!!



We get a repeat Jessica Stam looking all cute in a see through raincoat with a GIANT rick rack belt. Adorbs!! You can't hate this part. Just look at the colours! You can't get mad at it!!! You just want to pinch their little cheeks, put their hair in pigtails and have them give each other manicures! CUTE!!!

I had the fun pleasure of checking out this collection and this one for more photos! These are amazing! And there's still more out there, I'm sure!! I'll keep my eyes peeled!
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

The 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

This is one of my favourite nights because I love love LOVE the VS Fashion Show! Every year, they put the playfulness back into the runway not only with the fashions and the ridiculously crazy wings, but with great performances by their musical acts and the models themselves.
This year saw cute designs smashed against the WEIRDEST thing: a Country theme?
I know, right? WTF?! It was not cute AT ALL. I have a lot of respect for the designers, don't get me wrong, but I hate MOST country things.
I mean, WTF is this shit?!

Doily wings that looked like they were plucked off MeeMaw's table? MeeMaw's table cloth that she loved to literal pieces and turned into a quilt which turned into a jacket AND wings (wings not pictured but trust me, they exist). Oh, and let's not forget the straw/hay wings that were probably heavy as FUCK (but probably not as heavy as these). They were pretty neat BUT they blended into that poor model's hair and it was like, "Oh look, they made wings out of hair. Why would they make wings out of hair? In the country portion? Oh...wait. They're zooming in. Yes, camera person, those are boobs. Zooming...zooming...HAY? WTF?! Wings out of hay???"

*faceplam*

MOVING ON.

The rest of the outfits were great! The "Tough Love" portion had a few obvious nods to McQueen that were FABS.

They all looked like little trampy vixens and I loved it! Especially Adriana.

ADRIANA LIMA APPRECIATION
I just can't get enough of her. It's almost like she's not even real. She's that beautiful to me


The Sports segment was a little weird. It had its hits and misses (ZING!) but it was well done. Definitely creative!

And I LOVE that guy's face in the middle pic on the bottom row. "No, I'm totes NOT checking out Alessandra's ass! Whatevs. Okay I am."

You're silly.

The Jungle segment was pretty. The peacock wings were to die for!!!


This was AMAZING!!!

Look at that headdress!!!
FLAWLESS!!!

Then Akon came out and sang during what I dubbed the "Goddess" portion of the show. Goddesses, indeed! Look at these ladies!

And to think: these aren't even all the outfits! *gasp*



My most favourite outfit of the night was this one:

STUNNING!!!! There are no words that can describe how I feel about this outfit...Stunning doesn't even cut it.

On to the Candy Raver slumber party!!!!



I was loving the "Rainbow Brite come to life" aura of this:

Squee!!! Super cute!

Along with the model interviews and behind the scenes featurettes, there was also a Director's track. There were several people on headsets that were announcing who was walking next, which segment they were running and so on and so forth. I can appreciate that because that's always interesting to me but I couldn't help but think that they got some guy and some gal to come in during post and add in their "cues". Not even the real people directing the show, just some random voice over talents. You never saw who was talking during the director's track and you only saw fleeting moments of a person wearing headsets while they were pointing frantically or ushering the next model to the staging area or to her wardrobe station. And knowing how hectic it gets back there, if they had actually used the live director's track, there would have been a lot of censoring. I know I would be cussing up a storm. But once the dust settles, it's all hunky dory. It's the heat of the moment. I get it. Good job, voice over people!

Catch more VS shenanigans here and here. I want to try and find more outfits because these aren't ALL of the outfits from the runway! They were all so awesome (save for the country but I'll shut up about them now). Off to hunt for more!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.