Not too often on here do I talk about silly TV shows that I love, regardless of how truly "brain cheese" quality they are. One of those shows that I am not afraid to admit that I adore still to this day is Degrassi (or as I knew it, Degrassi: The Next Generation.) The show that brought to me the stories of hot boys, awkward bodily functions and the plethora of "special" episodes, Degrassi was my soap opera. But how did this strange little high school drama come into my life? Let's start from the beginning.


Degrassi was originally a Canadian import, that was then delivered to the USA by way of the Noggin channel (also know as "The N" at nighttime.) Along with other similar programming, The N focused on showing tween/teen drama shows along with music videos. Most of the shows similar to Degrassi were also of the Canadian variety, giving us kids from the good old US of A the kind of programming block we didn't get much of in 2003.

The best way to describe Degrassi is just simply one word: Fromage. To just call the drama cheesy would be underplaying some of the aspects of the series that actually were good in the dramatic sense. But for the most part, Degrassi is an educational show about life dressed in tight jeans and flat ironed hair.

So what did I love about Degrassi? For the most part, it was the hilarious and sometimes intense antics of the characters. Even though some of the acting was questionable, the insane story lines these kids went through were worthy enough of a marathon just to see the end result.

Bryant Park is starting to bustle with the magic of the holiday season! The little jewelry stores are open, the hot chocolate and apple cider are steaming, and the classic ice skating rink is open. Of course one of my other favorite activities is checking out some of delicious treats offered in the area. Though I am partial to the Macarons at Macarons and Cookies or the chocolate at No Chewing Allowed, this year I was invited to take a taste of the sweet offerings at new addition Jolie's Sweet Creations.

Jolie's is actually an off-shot of Enrico's Bakery (located in Harstdale and Bronx, NY), which is exclusively offering newer trendy treats that are popular in the bakery world right now, including their take on the famous Cronuts, but Jolie's calls them Kronies. I also was lucky enough to be given a sample of their chocolate covered Twinkie cakes.
In the box (from left to ride) are the original glazed Kronie, along with a Boston Cream flavored one. On the bottom we have a vanilla chocolate covered Twinkie, along with the chocolate on chocolate version. First off, all three of these items are HUGE. I can't imagine eating any of them by myself... so with that I had help from my boyfriend for this review!

First I tried the chocolate on chocolate covered Twinkie. This by far out of all the treats was my favorite. The solid thick chocolate coating complimented the flavors of the Twinkie perfectly, and made me want to run to have another. The vanilla Twinkie was just as delicious, but I definitely think the coating works best with a chocolate filling.

Next up was the Kronies. As this was my first time tasting a Cronut, I have to say they are pretty tasty. But in all honesty I don't think they are the sweet for me, though I can definitely see why people love the heck out of them.

Out of the two flavors, the bigger hit was the Boston Cream, especially with my co-reviewer. He said the flavors worked really well, though we both agreed the Kronies are very filling and might require more than one meal to finish, even between two people.

And it's finally here! This morning, Disney unveiled the trailer for it's next fairy tale live action adaptation, Maleficent. Starring the always stunning Angelina Jolie, here we get a first glimpse of the wicked fairy and her plans for Princess Aurora (played by Elle Fanning.)

Well, I am officially trying to hide my fangirl squeal. In France for the upcoming holiday season, the Galeries Lafayette has unveiled their beautiful windows - and they just happened to be themed to La Belle et La Bete (2014).

To say that I am dying on the inside because I want to see this in person is the biggest understatement of all time. Seriously, I wanna run out and get a ticket to France right now. Unfortunately, I lack the funds and a passport. So let's look at the pictures together, shall we? And we can both dream  a little of looking at these in person.

I will be honest, I once was a proud "Monster". When Lady Gaga, the reigning queen of bizarre publicity stunts and awkward musical choices debuted onto the scene, I was sold in an instance. She had all the wacky clothes, great vocals, and catchy tunes to make her a hit among classic pop fanatics. She showed influences from the grand daddies and mommies of the 70s and 80s, with some 90s thrown in. She was curvy, full of fun and didn't take herself too seriously.

But slowly since the release of The Fame in 2008, Gaga has become the exact polar opposite of all those things and in fact a joke of her former self - to the point where even her album covers ( as seen above) seem like a parody.

With her latest release, the vain inspired ArtPop, Gaga tries to recreate the success she had with her past releases, but unfortunately fizzles to the newest lows with forced "fierceness" and an overabundance of repetitive "tricks" from her previous work. Think all the greatness of tracks like "Paparazzi" and "Dance in the Dark", rip out all the energy and fun and fill it instead with pathetic attempts at relevance, and you haven't even begun to scrape the surface of the mess that is ArtPop.


And that one song, that one sound, speaks levels to why ArtPop is in many respects a failure. The Lady Gaga I fell for initially was a no-nonsense, pop culture respecting artist that didn't take crap from critics and got attention because she had talent - not just musically but being an overall artist. Now she's become a "Monster" like version of her younger self, whose influenced too much by the attention she has garnered and is asking the world to respect her in the way they did with her idols musically (MJ, Bowie, Madonna, etc.) But the problem is none of those artists asked for respect upfront - they got it when it was deserved.

ArtPop only deserves one thing: to be known as a textbook example of what could go wrong with your third album. And apparently Gaga's now ex-manager, Troy Carter, agrees.

Score: 4.9 out of 10

Welp, here is probably some of the most shockingly amazing and bizarre news I have ever seen. Yes, the title is correct: There is apparently someone that wrote a Britney Spears jukebox musical (using her discography) that tells the story of Jesus Christ. It's name is Spears: The Gospel According to Britney, and this could either be the best thing to ever happen or the worst (both?)

All I know is, if it does get recorded or produced, I will be there in a heartbeat to see the train wreck. A Britney Spears musical all ready sounds amazing, in that awful sort of way, and if I get to see an incredibly campy rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time, I am so there. 

Check out the follow story on Broadway.com.