Image Credits: Book Cereal
I started watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix a couple of months ago. Okay, I’ll admit it — this show was one of the main reasons why I ever signed up for Netflix to begin with. I was intrigued after hearing so much about it from everyone else. I knew it must be good. But more than that I wanted to see Madeline Brewer who plays the role of Tricia Miller. Maddie and I went to school together years ago in Pitman, NJ. I didn’t know her very well at the time, but I always knew she was talented. She was frequently cast in school plays and I remember seeing her perform in a talent show once. I was excited to see her in her first big role, and she definitely didn’t disappoint.
Image Credits: IMDB
I really loved the Netflix series and watched the whole first season within a week or two. I couldn’t get enough. However, the show raised many questions for me and there were a few things that I had trouble believing. Some of my biggest doubts were over Piper and Alex ending up in the same prison together, drugs and sex being so common in prison, an inmate dying of a drug overdose in prison, and a guard impregnating one of the inmates. I loved watching it all unfold on tv though. The drama is what made the show so intriguing. You have to keep watching because you have to see what’s going to happen next.
Image Credits: MsMagazine
After I finished watching the entire first season I knew I had to get a copy of the book that the show was based on. I had so many questions and I wanted to see how the book would address them and what “really happened”. I was surprised by how different the book turned out to be. I’m usually one of those kinds of people that loves the book and hates the movie (or in this case the show), but here I’m able to appreciate both the book and the show despite their major differences. Both are excellent in their own rights and worthy of praise.
To those of you who have yet to read the book (and don’t mind a few spoilers) I made a list of what I felt were the top 5 biggest differences between the Orange is the New Black movie and the book.
Image Credits: FanPop
1. Alex/Nora Never Went to Danbury With Piper On the show her name is Alex and she’s one of the main reasons why Piper is in jail. She is Piper’s ex-girlfriend and is doing time with Piper after being sentenced for drug smuggling. She is one of the main characters on the show and the show frequently focuses on her past and current relationship with Piper. It calls for a lot of drama and is good tv. However, in the book her name is Nora and she’s absent until the very end. She never goes to Danbury with Piper. When Piper is called into trial in Chicago to testify against another drug smuggler in the same case she is met with Nora. Nora has to testify as well and is doing time in a different facility. They talk very little. Piper is very angry at her and frequently expresses her desire and threats to drown her in a toilet. However, Piper also reflects on how she wants to forgive Nora and move on with her life.
Image Credits: After Ellen
2. Piper And Larry’s Relationship/Faithfulness Sure, Piper starts off being extremely faithful to Larry in the beginning of the Netflix series and he shows support by visiting her frequently, but as time goes on, Piper begins to question her sexuality and become less than faithful towards Larry. She has sex with Alex and is unsure of whether to stay with Larry until Larry finds out about her unfaithfulness and leaves her. This isn’t the case at all in the novel, probably due to the fact that Alex/Nora is not in the same facility as Piper and doesn’t make an appearance until the end. Piper doesn’t seem that interested in lesbian sex or any of her other inmates in the novel. She stays with Larry and Larry faithfully visits her even when she is on trial in Chicago. They ended up getting married as planned after Piper was released.
Image Credits: Tumblr
3. Pennstatucky Isn’t Really a Religious Nut In the beginning of the Netflix series Piper and Pennstatucy got along fine. I wouldn’t say they were best friends, but they were at least acquaintances. Somewhere around the middle of the first season Pennstatucky came out as a religious nut freak who tried to use her powers to heal the other inmates. When Piper started to go back to being a lesbian with Alex Pennstatucky was completely intolerant of it, telling a guard about her “outrageous” behavior which landed Piper a stint in SHU. Things definitely didn’t get much better between the two of them as the first season ended with Piper beating the hell out of her. However, in the novel Piper and Pennstatucky remain pretty good friends and little is said about Pennstatucky’s religious beliefs.
Image Credits: TVTropes.org
4. Nobody Dies Of A Drug Overdose Who can forget the dramatic episode 10 of season 1 of Orange is the New Black? Tricia Miller’s biggest problem is a heavy addiction to drugs. During her prison sentence she goes into withdrawal once, and later overdoses on drugs that were smuggled in by one of the guards leading to her untimely death. I was right to be skeptical of this. Tricia doesn’t really exist in the novel. There are some references to younger inmates which resemble similarities and a few mentions of weed and other drugs being snucked into the prison. However, drugs don’t seem to be as big of a problem as the show makes it seem and no one died from a drug overdose.
Image Credits: TVTome.com
5. Bennet Doesn’t Impregnant Anyone I always rooted for Bennet and Daya. They seemed like such a cute couple and you almost felt bad about their forbidden romance. When it was announced that Daya was pregnant with Bennet’s baby, everything wa really shaken up a bit. Not only was the relationship threatened, but so was Bennet’s job. How could the prison cover this up or live this one down?
Fortunately, in the book this never actually happened. Piper did mention that prison relationships between inmates and guards do occur and she even briefly talked about a guard who almost got caught having sex in a bathroom with an inmate (similar to how Pornstache got caught having sex with Daya in a closet). The guard that is supposed to resemble Bennet in the book flirts with Piper by calling her by her first name whereas everyone else in prison calls her by her last name, Kerman. Piper doesn’t respond to his flirting and they never have a romantic relationship. No other relationships between guards and inmates were documented.
If you’ve read the book and seen the show feel free to let me know what I missed and what your thoughts are!
Image Credits: Hollywood Reporter
Following the success of her recently released Christmas album, “Wrapped in Red”, Kelly Clarkson has just release the music video for her Christmas song, “Underneath the Christmas Tree”.
The video is rather simple as it highlights segments from her upcoming Christmas special, “Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Music Tale” and shows behind-the-scenes footage. I really like the music video because Kelly looks so happy and like she’s having so much fun. I think this video really shows the spirit of Christmas. I also really enjoy the song. It reminds me of “All I Want For Christmas is You” but it gives a little bit more of a unique flavor.
Clarkson has every reason to be in the Christmas spirit this year. The singer recently married her beau, Brandon Blackstock. The couple also recently announced they are expecting their first child together. Clarkson has been working to promote her new Christmas album but unfortunately had to cancel some overseas promotional appearances due to sickness caused by her pregnancy. I hope her pregnancy gets a bit easier and she starts feeling better soon!
You can watch Clarkson’s new music video for “Underneath the Christmas Tree” below. If you like her Christmas music and her new music video then be sure to check out “Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Music Tale” on NBC Wednesday, December 11th at 10pm.
Video Credits: KellyClarksonVEVO
Image Credits: People
Post-Jonas Brothers Band, Joe Jonas is opening up to Vulture and he’s more candid and open than ever before. It’s actually hard to imagine that he was ever thought of as being a squeaky-clean, purity-ring wearing Disney star!
Joe admitted to smoking weed with other Disney alums Demi Lovato and the infamous Miley Cyrus when he was in his late teens. Of the experience Joe is quoted as saying:
The first time I smoked weed was with Demi and Miley. I must have been 17 or 18. They kept saying, ‘Try it! Try it!’ so I gave it a shot, and it was all right,” he says. “I don’t even smoke weed that often anymore. I was caught drinking when I was 16 or 17, and I thought the world was going to collapse. But I was in another country, and it was legal there. My 21st birthday, I fell down a flight of stairs. I was unconscious that time, and my whole team was scared to death that somebody was going to get a picture. Now I appreciate wine or a vodka-soda at the end of the day every once in a while.
I can imagine him smoking weed with Miley. Miley’s no stranger to smoking weed as she proved at this year’s European Music Awards (EMA’s). But I must admit I was shocked to hear about Lovato smoking weed with Joe. However, if you recall, Joe dated Lovato for a brief period in their teen years right when she began to struggle with bi-polar disorder, an eating disorder, and substance abuse right before landing a stint in rehab. Joe also opened up about this experience when he stated:
I really got to know her and got to see the ins and outs of what she was struggling with, like drug abuse,” he writes. “I felt like I needed to take care of her, but at the same time I was living a lie, because I wasn’t happy but felt like I had to stay in it for her, because she needed help. I couldn’t express any of that, of course, because I had a brand to protect.
In addition to opening up about his past drug use, Joe also got candid about his sex life, confessing to losing his virginity to Ashley Greene four years ago when he was 20, despite previously wearing a purity ring and promising to save himself until marriage. Joe described the experience by stating to Vulture:
I lost my virginity when I was 20. I did other stuff before then, but I was sexually active at 20,” Jonas explains in his Vulture post. “I’m glad I waited for the right person, because you look back and you go, ‘That girl was batshit crazy. I’m glad I didn’t go there.
Although this confession goes against his previous promise to himself, it sounds as if it was an experience he did not regret. He dated Ashley Green from 2010-2011 before calling it quits due to the difficulties posed by the long distance.
Joe’s candid interview comes just weeks after The Jonas Brothers announced their breakup due to irreconcilable differences and the band’s inability to agree on which musical direction to go in. It sounds like Joe and the rest of the band’s change and break from their “squeaky clean” image was going on for far longer than most suspected. They tried to hide their true identities to protect their young fan and their Disney image, but now after splitting up they are free to be their own selves.
What do you think of Joe Jonas’s candid interview? Are you surprised by his confessions?
Image Credits: Muppet Wikia
So tonight after Thanksgiving dinner I decided to climb in bed and flip through to see what was on tv. I came across Lady Gaga singing and decided to tune in. I’ve always been a fan of Lady Gaga, although I find her more recent work to be disappointing. I was intrigued when I saw it was actually part of a Muppet special. I’ve also always been a fan of the Muppets, but I wasn’t sure how well it would work with Lady Gaga. I thought it was a very unusual mashup. Turns out the special was quite a bit weirder than I imagined. Here are the Top 5 Weirdest Moments From Lady Gaga And The Muppets Holiday Spectacular.
1. Lady Gaga And Kermit Singing “Gypsy”. Okay, so everything about this was just odd. First Lady Gaga goes off talking about how lonely she gets on the road. Okay, that makes sense but then Kermit chimes in. Uhm. Really? You’re a frog. So then they start singing Lady Gaga’s new song together called “Gypsy”. It’s a pretty decent song, but it sounds weird hearing Kermit sing it.
Image Credits: MonstersChapel.com
2. Kermit Flirting With Lady Gaga – I wasn’t sure about this at first. I thought maybe my mind was just slightly warped and I was misinterpreting Kermit being a nice little muppet. But no, “Maybe sometime you can come over to my pond” was definitely Kermit’s way of flirting and the frog’s way of saying “Maybe you can come over to my place/room”. This was reinforced by an angry Miss Piggy screaming “Come over to my pond?!?” just before smacking Kermit…awkward.
3. Lady Gaga’s Condom Dress – By now no one should ever be surprised by Lady Gaga especially in regards to her clothing choices…but that was definitely a condom dress or at least a condom hat. Uhm. What happened to the Muppets being rated G? I’m pretty sure that outfit was all kinds of inappropriate for a children’s special. Luckily, a child’s mind is more innocent than my own so Gaga should be able to get away with this one pretty easily as a kid won’t notice anything odd…hopefully…
Image Credits: Zap 2 It
4. RuPaul Being RuPaul. Why was he (or was it a she?) even there? He didn’t add much at all…other than making a very weird Muppet special somehow even weirder.
5. At The End Of The Show When Pepe The King Prawn Rubs Lady Gaga’s Knee – I feel like they’re trying to subtly sexualize the Muppets and it’s weird because they’re well…muppets. But seriously, why he is rubbing her knee? He just randomly pops up and starts sneakily rubbing her knee. Uh okay. And when Lady Gaga mentions something about it to him he claims to be “fixing her makeup”. I don’t know about you but I always wear makeup on my knees…right.
Image Credits: Mirror.CO.UK
I didn’t hate the Lady Gaga And The Muppets Holiday Spectacular…I just thought it was incredibly weird. I always think of the Muppets as being something for kids and Lady Gaga is not so kid-friendly. This special too didn’t always seem that appropriate for kids. It was just very very odd.
What did you guys think of Lady Gaga And The Muppets Holiday Spectacular? Did anyone else think it was weird?
Image Credits: E! Online
Congratulations are in order for Glee star Heather Morris and her boyfriend, Taylor Hubbell! The couple just welcomed the birth of their first child, Elijah Hubbell.
Image Credits: Wet Paint
The couple have been dating for several years. Morris stated her interest in marrying Hubbell in an interview with Fitness magazine Morris was quoted as saying:
I want to marry him so bad,” she gushed. “That’s what I really care about. I want to marry Taylor and have kids with him. I love acting, but if it affects my relationship, then I won’t continue doing it.
I’m so happy for Heather and Taylor! While I miss seeing Heather playing Brittany on Glee, I respect her decision to support her family at this time and I wish her and her family and new bundle of joy the best of luck!
Image Credits: Huffington Post
A rep for Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco recently confirmed that the actress is engaged to her tennis player boyfriend, Ryan Sweeting.
The news of the engagement came as a bit of a shock as the couple have only been dating for three months. Cuoco seemed to have started dating Sweeting immediately after calling it quits with boyfriend Henry Cavill. Cavill and Cuoco dated for just a couple of weeks before calling it quits. Cavill has yet to comment on Cuoco’s engagement, but photos that were snapped of him while on the set of his new movie, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. suggest that he is in complete shock by the news.
Image Credits: E! Online
Sources have been saying that even though the couple have not been dating for long, Cuoco knows that Cavill is “the one”. The couple do seem very happy together. They made their first public debut as a couple at the Emmy’s last Sunday.
Image Credits: E! Online
I am happy for the couple, but at the same time skeptical. Cuoco has proven that she moves on very fast. I wonder how much of this engagement has to do with the $65,000 2.5 carat diamond ring on her finger. It’s gorgeous and she’s definitely not shy about showing it off! Also, I’m a little surprised there are no pregnancy rumors as that is usually the first thing people think of when engagements happen this quickly…
Image Credits: Huffington Post
Image Credits: InTouch Weekly
New dad Kanye West stopped by Kris Jenner’s daytime show, Kris to release the first photo of his and girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s baby, North West!
Kim and Kanye have been hesitant to release photos of baby North West even reportedly declining millions from magazines begging for first dibs on photographs of the new born. Kanye reportedly decided to release them on the season finale of Kris to “stop all the noise”, which is a bit odd coming from Kanye. Kanye and girlfriend Kim Kardashian have been known to hog the spotlight and do things for attention.
Image Credits: US Magazine
Kanye also explained that he thought it would be cool to release the first photograph of baby North West on her the season finale of her grandmother’s show (Kris Jenner is the mother of Kim Kardashian). Their are rumors that he also released the first photo on her show to help with ratings, as Kris Jenner’s daytime show has been said to be suffering from lack of viewers.
Now that the photo has been released…who do you think she looks like? I see a bit more Kanye in her than I do Kim overall, but I do think she has Kim’s eyes and lips.
Image Credits: People
On Thursday, August 15th, Amanda Bynes left her rehab facility in Ventura County and transferred to the psych unit at UCLA. The move was done at the request of Bynes’s mother who was recently granted temporary conservatorship over the troubled actress. Her conservatorship will allow her control over Bynes and force Bynes to stay in the psych ward for at least an extra 30 days. This ruling is rather uncommon as it is typically only allowed if a patient is “gravely disabled” and unable to care for them self.
Image Credits: NY Daily News
It is being reported that Bynes’s mother wanted her transferred to UCLA because she believes that UCLA has the best psychiatric and mental health unit in the nation. While Bynes’s condition has reportedly improved significantly since she first entered treatment due in no small part to the schizophrenic and anti-psychotic drugs she’s been prescribed, it is rumored that her mental illness may be more serious than many originally suspected. A close source has also reported to Fox News that the actress may also be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder resulting from her struggle to accept and deal with the fame accumulated from her Nickelodeon child star days.
Image Credits: GaGa Daily
Bynes is expected to stay at UCLA for at least another two months to ensure that the the drugs are working properly and to give her body time to adjust to them. I wish Amanda a very speedy recovery and hope she can get to her usual funny and talented self soon!
Image Credits: US Magazine
Image Credits: Celebrity Net Worth
Earlier today TMZ reported that Lisa Robin Kelly, better known as Eric Forman’s demon sister Laurie on That 70’s Show, was found dead in her bed at a rehab facility she recently checked into.
Image Credits: HollywoodLife.com
Kelly was known to struggle with drug and alcohol addiction as she was arrested for DUI in August of 2010 and more recently, June of this year. Kelly was also arrested and charged for injury of a spouse in May of 2012 and assault along with her husband, Robert Joseph Gilliam in November of 2012.
Image Credits: TMZ
Kelly’s agent told TMZ that she checked into the rehab facility earlier this week. She has been quoted as saying:
She had been fighting demons for a while and finally lost her battle.
It is easy to assume that drugs and alcohol played a significant role in Kelly’s death. However, some sources have also been reporting that she suffered from cardiac arrest in her sleep. These sources also report that despite numerous efforts, the former actress was unable to be revived. The official cause of Kelly’s untimely death has yet to be confirmed.
Image Credits: SitcomsOnline.com
My thoughts and prayers go out to Kelly’s family, friends, and fans. While it is always easy to pass judgement on someone that ends up in as much trouble as Kelly did especially when drug/alcohol addiction seems to be the center of their life, let’s not remember her that way. Instead, let’s all make an effort to remember her the way she was when we were first introduced to her: as the lovable, somewhat evil and always hilarious and talented Laurie Foreman from That 70’s Show.
Image Credits: Fan Pop
Image Credits: TVPedia.org
Remember watching 7th Heaven? You know, the show about the Christian family with all the kids? 7th Heaven was practically a modern day version of the Brady Bunch in the 90’s going into the early 00’s. The show lasted for an incredible 11 seasons over the course of 11 years with 243 episodes. Part of what made the show so successful was its ability to connect with an audience of teenagers and young adults by focusing on various issues such as relationships, drugs, sex, abuse, peer pressure, homelessness, and even more political topics such as presidential elections. Although the show could be classified as conservative and although the Camdens were an extremely religious church family, they managed to approach these topics in ways that seemed less preachy and more relatable for audience members.
Image Credits: FanPop.com
7th Heaven sure did teach teens many valuable life lessons. Of course a majority of these lessons were important, serious matters, but when we see some of them in GIF format we can’t help but laugh. Gurl.com did an excellent article where they put these life lessons into GIFS.
Which are your favorite 7th Heaven GIFS? I think mine would have to be a toss up of the Mary (Jessica Biel) insult and the dancing Mary ones. Something about watching Jessica Biel in GIF form is just so entertaining…
Did seeing these GIFS and reading this article make you feel nostalgic about the past? Want to relieve the joy of all 11 seasons of 7th Heaven? Feel free to order or download it on Amazon or iTunes.
Image Credits: FanPop
What's Poppin' in Pop Culture 