DahlELama

47 posts
DahlELama enjoys TV, YA, Chinese food, and long walks to the couch. She speaks Russian very badly and dreams of one day making the perfect macaron.

Why The Vampire Diaries Doesn’t Suck

It was the little things that pulled me in at first. To begin with, I only tuned in to the series premiere because of a bizarre loyalty I have to a little Canadian show called Degrassi, which compels (little TVD pun there) me to watch at least one episode of every show starring an alum. (That’s right, I watched a show about teenage vampires because of teen mom-turned-threesome-having model Mia Jones, aka Nina Dobrev.) But when I did, I found myself appreciating all the little things that differentiated it from other similar shows. The way “the vampire rules” were subtly slipped in, the relationships given time to build and develop… and then I saw Ian Somerhalder. Have you ever involuntarily said “Wow” aloud in an otherwise empty room at the mere sight of a person? Uhhh, yeah, me neither.

And so, I stayed on for the next week, and the next, and the next after that, and slowly but surely, I came to realize the truth: What I’d thought was simply a guilty pleasure is actually one of the best shows on TV. (Vague spoilers to follow.) Continue reading →

Romance Writers Association Bans Same-Sex Entries From Contest

Congratulations, gays! There’s yet another organization out there who doesn’t find find your feelings, romances, and relationships legit. Or at least that’s the message the Romance Writers of Association–an organization of romance writers with over 10,000 members–sent this week when they sanctioned their Romance Writers, Ink.’s chapter’s posting of the rules for their “More Than Magic” contest, which explicitly states “MTM will no longer accept same-sex entries in any category.” Why? According to erotic romance writer Kari Gregg, who e-mailed the organization to ask and whose post on the subject can be found here, it was because chapter members were “uncomfortable” with same-sex entries. Continue reading →

A Lesson for Hollywood from Vanity Fair


It happens every year, and every year, we all (rightfully) get up in arms about it, even though we shouldn’t have expected any better. At this point, it’s like scolding your infant for making a mess; what did you think would happen? And yet, every year, you can’t help but hope for better, because they should be better, because the idea that we can have a black president but we can’t have an actress of color grace the panel of Vanity Fair that actually shows on newsstands is so utterly incomprehensible that it makes me want to egg Conde Nast in frustration. Continue reading →

QOTD: Rock on 2011

As it happens, 2011 is the year I discovered Palladia, a channel that basically shows concerts 24/7 and is all sorts of awesome. It’s also the year I went to the most concerts, for no particularly good reason. What can I say? There were some damn good tours this year, and I really needed to make up for the fact that American Idol judge Steven freaking Tyler broke his hip last year and canceled the rest of the Aerosmith tour I was planning to travel two hours to see on a weeknight. And so, the Question of the Day: What’s the best concert you saw in 2011? Or, alternatively, as there have been plenty of years I haven’t made it to any, What concert did you most want to go to in 2011? Continue reading →

QOTD: Let’s All Go to the Movies 2011

Confession: I almost never go to movies. My husband and I just don’t have the money to spend twenty-five bucks on someone flashing their glaringly bright cell phone screen at us while some baby who’s way too young to be viewing Die Hard 17: Effing Die Already cries from the back row. This year, however, I made it to the theater quite a few times, for which I was very proud of myself.

Now, did I see anything remotely resembling a cinematic masterpiece? No, I saw things like Monte Carlo starring The Wizardess of Bieber Place, Blair Waldorf, and a woman who should’ve sealed herself in a box after Melrose Place got canceled so she could successfully preserve the one time in her life she didn’t suck at her craft. But still! There were probably some good movies out there this year, right? So tell us, in response to the Question of the Day: What Was Your Favorite Movie of 2011? Continue reading →

QOTD: #2011Regrets

To all the Tweeps out there (God, haven’t you always wanted to use that absurd excuse for a word in a sentence?), you might have noticed one of Twitter’s biggest trending topics yesterday was #2011Regrets, a forum for people to share their biggest oopsies of the past year. I mean, mistakes–we all make ’em, right? And sometimes, they’re just not that big a deal. But sometimes they are, and while that sucks, they can also serve to be life lessons. And with that, the Question of the Day: What’s your biggest regret of 2011? Continue reading →

QOTD: You Say It’s Your Birthday in 2011

Ah birthdays–the great equalizer. How fun that we all get a day when we get to say, “Everybody, pay attention to meeeee!” and everyone kinda has to, right? Granted, birthday celebrations tend to go pretty downhill after 21, but that’s no excuse not to do a little dance, make a little love, and get down that night. And so, our Question of the Day: What did you do for your birthday in 2011? Or, if you, like my husband, won’t be celebrating said birthday until the verrrry end of the year, What will you do? Continue reading →

QOTD: 2011 on the Small Screen

Little-known secret about me: I really like TV. But whatevs, who doesn’t, right? Sadly (although not really, because most have passed their prime long ago), many landmark shows are either in, entering, or just had their final seasons, but as seminal rock band Semisonic once taught us, every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end, right? And so, Desperate Housewives might be ending, but Ringer is just beginning. Chuck is done, but 2 Broke Girls, the little racist show that could, is but a newborn babe. (Seriously though, if you fast forward past the racism, it’s a good show!) And so, of course, the Question of the Day: What’s Your Favorite New Show of 2011? Continue reading →

QOTD: Tasting 2011

Hi kids! Know where I am today? If you said “sitting at your desk at home like you are every other day,” you are incorrect! I am currently on vacation, and on tap for today is a visit to what’s supposed to be one of the best restaurants* in the country. I’ve had a bunch of great culinary experiences in 2011, mainly because my husband discovered that he loves to cook and bake, but I expect this one to top them all. And so, the Question of the Day: Be it cooking, eating, dining, or watching the Food Network, what was your best culinary experience of 2011? Continue reading →