Addicted to Entertainment? Cool, me too!!

Hello, hello!  I’m Briana and I’ve been in a serious relationship with my television for about fifteen years. Safe to say, my blogs are going to be about all types of fun things; shows you should be watching, guilty pleasures, good music, musicals, movies – all types of entertainment forms.

My first memory of watching a television show is being probably about five and staring at Tiny Toon Adventures on Nickelodeon. As I got older, I realized that people write these things that I love and that I wanted to do just that. Like most, throughout high school and the beginning of college I forgot about that idea and toyed with law school, architecture, even engineering until as of about four months ago when I decided to go after this again. While my tastes have grown up from staying glued to Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, I could never forget about my love for Disney (especially the princesses) and how I could spend hours watching the “good old” Nicktoons (i.e. Hey Arnold!, Doug, Aaah! Real Monsters, As Told By Ginger, and Rugrats).

I also have a really wide range of things that appeal to me, so no genre will go uncovered (even if I am the only person on the planet that didn’t the The Dark Knight was the greatest movie of 2008).  Most people are surprised to discover that I’m a Theater major and that I have approximately one thousand songs from shows on my iPod…and that I’ve seen Rent about five times (and would see it again)…and that I count down to the Tony Awards, not the Oscars or the VMAs.

My mantra, so to speak, is that musicals are not bad! They are no longer cheesy “OH! The farmer and the cowman should be friends!” (even though I love Oklahoma!) skips around the stage. Some are gritty, like Rent, and a lot (especially now) have newer rock music and the Tony winning Best Musical in 2008, In the Heights, has a heavy Latin flavor and includes rapping and salsa dancing. My mom started taking me to musicals when I was around seven just to expand my horizons and she enjoyed them, too. Honestly, thank God she did, otherwise who knows if I would’ve ever discovered my serious love of them. I even stage door after productions, which basically means you’re hardcore. But really, after the show you stand by the stage door of the theater and wait for the cast to come out for autographs and pictures.

In terms of my iTunes, I’ve named it “The Most Eclectic iTunes Ever” because it has showtunes, Rufus Wainwright, acoustic rock, bubble gum pop circa 1999, everything Mandy Moore has ever touched, Disney rap, hip hop, punk, and classical. It’s not often you see Hello, Dolly! next to “…Baby One More Time,” “Make It Rain,” “Linus and Lucy,” “A Whole New World,” and Reel Big Fish, especially all in the same music library.

I also have no problem revisiting my childhood to see all of the great things that we might have forgotten about. For example, last weekend Cartoon Network had a Powerpuff Girls marathon and I spent the whole afternoon reminiscing about this awesome show I loved when I was twelve. I have no shame in admitting that it was just as good at twenty as it was at twelve. Maybe even better. I also have a hefty collection of Disney movies, which are always a good time.

With the approaching fall comes the return of television shows that I’ve been addicted to and new ones and good movies (that were not affected by the writer’s strike last year). There’s going to be tons of fun things to do (and to watch) to avoid the impending cold weather. I personally cannot wait and have already started to compile a “What to Watch” guide, which I’m definitely planning to share, so stay tuned!

Briana Simko is an intern for College Lifestyles (TM). She is an English and Theater Arts major at Duquesne University and a member of Alpha Sigma Tau and enjoys sitting in front of the television with  a yummy cup of tea.