The Sunday Salon, With a Brief Mention of Books

So Google has a new privacy policy (I know because I have so many gmail accounts that forward into my blogging account and so I got like 10 emails all at once) which I think is probably a mess and something I should be angry about, but I don't really understand it. My biggest thing is that I don't mind, I guess, if my google accounts are associated with my email account, but I do mind if my online/blogging and personal email accounts are in any way linked together. Also I don't want the whole world to know all my details. Please tell me what I should be doing! Google has lost their sparkle and shine, I have to say, with the unwelcome changes they made to Reader, moving picnik over to google plus, etc. I'm not happy. :( And unfortunately, I use so many google products between email, Reader, blogger, and chrome is my favorite browser right now. Sigh.

Apparently there was drama about bloggers being at ALA? This totally passed me by, I just saw a few random mentions on Twitter. Can anyone tell me what happened? I was thinking of going to some parts of ALA in June, but if it's an issue I just want to know!

Books
Reading has not been working out for me this week, sadly. I'm still reading the same book I was reading last week, which is a sign that I don't really like it. Unfortunately, it's for a blog tour I signed up for in a moment of weakness last year. I did start another book alongside, which is kind of fun, Spin by Catherine McKenzie. Hopefully I'll finish up this obligatory read so I can enjoy my reading life again! I am definitely off the blog tour thing for good now.

TV--Lots of Stuff, Brace Yourselves
Switched at Birth--I really liked the show again this week, I'm surprised to be honest at how I consistently enjoy it. I think it got off to an uneven start but ever since it found it's footing towards the end of the first run of episodes it's been fantastic. I guess it was slightly irritating that Bay and Daphne were trying to save Emmett's motorcycle while he was doing absolutely nothing, but I see the purpose behind it..to force Daphne and Bay to deal with some of their issues. And I thought it was understandable that Daphne would act on the temptation of having money around, even using the excuse of losing her hearing aids and fully believing it was for a good cause. Accidentally sending the text to her mom instead of Emmett was a nice touch, because I've totally done that--sent texts to the wrong person, even the person I was talking about, argh. The scene where she had to tell Kathryn what she'd done and Kathryn said, "I thought we could trust you." and Daphne realized what exactly she'd lost felt so heartbreaking and true. It is a hard moment growing up when you do something crappy and lose the trust of the adults in your life, but it's also a big part of growing up and deciding who you are. And...like something I think is interesting but I'm not sure if it's intentional on the part of the show is the way Kathryn reacted to Bay and blamed her for Daphne's behavior, thinking Daphne would never do that. Which of course, Daphne did exactly what she was accused of and thought of it on her own. And I wonder if there's a little bit of saintliness the Kennish's have attached to Daphne, because she's hearing impaired and has "overcome" so much in their minds that surely she would never do these sorts of horrible things that can be just normal teen behavior. They are used to Bay being like that, but not Daphne. I don't know it's just interesting.

And the conversation between Daphne and Bay, where Daphne opened up a bit and shared about what Emmett's motorcyle had meant to them both was a really nice scene. I love the scenes between the two girls best. I was also glad that Daphne told Emmett to take Bay out on the bike..it was nice and I hope that maybe she'll back down especially since maybe she'll reconsider Wilke? Fingers crossed! I didn't really care about Toby and Simone, though it's nice they are still trying to give Toby a storyline of his own! And while it's a much smaller arc, I think they've been doing a really great job with Kathryn and her attempts to break out and become her own person and not hide in the shadow of her husband and family. Choosing the lawyer was a great step in that direction. But the scene of the week for me was at the end, when Angelo told Regina that he understood why she'd done what she did and she broke down with the relief of finally being able to share the weight of that burden and be understood. I could really feel that emotion, it was great. But...it also led to her and Angelo sort of um, getting together again which I don't think is necessarily the wisest choice at the moment. After all, Regina did say it wasn't so much that Daphne had said yes to Angelo, as she was just tired of saying no. Clearly I have a lot to say about this show, maybe I should just start recapping it.

Alcatraz
I liked this episode as well, though I guess it was more about establishing some background on Soto than really advancing the mythology which is understandable I guess? I'm not exactly sure how big the mystery really is and so they'll probably tease it forever, ugh. It's okay though, I like the mood and feel and of the show and the actors. Also, it amuses me that both this show and Once Upon a Time rely on a dual narrative, and neither are anywhere as compelling as LOST was. Sigh.

Downton Abbey
I'm watching season two at the pace it airs on PBS, and while I really liked the first three episodes, I felt a bit bored during the fourth. I really don't care about Bates, I hate Branson, and I just want Matthew and Mary to be together, okay? Also, I'm feeling really bad for Daisy being pushed on William when she doesn't love him. Sad times!

Gossip Girl
This past week's episode was lots of fun with Blair's bachelorette party and Dan pulling a Cyrano de Bergerac writing her vows, and the continuation of Serena's story line which I've already written way too much about and I'm probably one of the only people kind of looking forward to the 100th episode this week. I want it to be pure ridiculous goodness. Since they are supposed to be referencing the pilot a lot, I rewatched it and then it kind of depressed me because the show has declined so much in quality. Also Chuck was SO disgusting in the pilot, it's unbelievable to me that they went on to make him one of their biggest romantic leads. Ugh.

White Collar and Grimm
I started watching White Collar on Netflix but I'm not sure I'll continue. I thought the pilot was good but then it's quickly fallen into the land of the formulaic. Why are good TV shows so hard to come by? :( Also, I finally watched the pilot for Grimm and it was pretty silly, but I'm going to watch a few more episodes anyway. I like the slightly darker edge it has.

Stuff in Development--Seeing what the networks are ordering to pilot at the moment is depressing me. There are two Beauty and the Beasts--one at the CW and one at ABC and the one at the CW is supposed to have a "procedural twist" Nothing makes me want to bang my head against the wall like that! The CW also ordered The Carrie Diaries but my hopes for it are slim since I'm the only person I know that would be willing to watch it. And everyday another stupid comedy or procedural is announced. I mean I think I heard about one yesterday that is based on Groupon. Are they serious with this?

Film
So the Academy Award nominations were announced, and naturally I'm hoping Tree of Life wins, though I did really love Moneyball. Neither are terribly female friendly. I do want to see some of the other films on the list and hope to soon!

I also watched Cowboys & Aliens this week and kept falling asleep. And I finally watched Paranormal Activity 3! I don't care, guilty pleasure, etc. etc. I still liked this one! I keep expecting not to, but I think this one might be the scariest yet, and the ending was SO freaky beyond the first two. Are they done with them now? I mean I don't really know what other stories there are left to tell, to be honest. By the way, the guy that created Paranormal Activity also helped create The River that new show that's going to be on soon. I caught the pilot at Comic-Con and while it's a bit out there I think it has potential. I like the aura of mystery around it. Ugh, I'm still waiting for that next great show with an amazing mythology and characters I love to death.

Okay so I hope you all have some answers to my questions! And I hope you had a wonderful week! :)