If you didn't know today was Name Your PC Day... you are not alone.  I didn't know until recently.  In fact, I emailed a friend a couple nights ago to see if she had a name for hers and she didn't.  She asked me if that made her weird; and I said  "no... I think those that name their computers are weird."

Well I think I was wrong.  It seems it is quite common for a person to name their PC.  So now I feel a little "left out".  I mean, I spend so much time on my laptop that it is almost like an extension of myself; like a dear friend!

Just as Alice, in Alice in Wonderland, I became curiouser and curiouser.  So I talked with my good friend Bridget Ayers over at The Get Smart Blog.  She didn't have to think about it,

My PC is Roxie, my old Dell laptop was Rocky it was a big behemoth Grey laptop that though not the sharpest PC out there slugged it out till the very end. My new laptop is a little white sleek HP that packs a bigger punch than good old Rocky but she still rocks it…..so Roxie.

Bridget was so kind to pose this question to the members of Get Smart Women Social Network. 

I am impressed with the names some people give their computers; and even more impressed with the stories behind the names.  Like Jennifer at Connect with your Teens,

I'm going to name my laptop "Little Red". I have a small Dell laptop inspiron 1420 that came in a variety of colors. I was tempted to get it in pink but my teenage son said that was too girly and talked me out of it. I wanted something fun and bright so I chose red with a matching red mouse and I love it. It is small and light enough to carry around, so "Little Red" is the perfect name for it.

And Paulette at www.letche.net/blog,

My present Sally has been a cool HP laptop in the last 11 months. Sometimes its naughty but what do you expect from a laptop that stays 24/7 working. My last laptop Teddy, was a Dell. I still owe Teddy a lot apology. I constantly rocked the life out of the battery watching "24" and "Desperate Housewives" for hours until it gave up the ghost. My "Junky" desktop, is a warehouse for most of my stuff. I still find it difficult to let go of some unnecessary data. But honestly I'm looking forward to getting Nikky, a cute Gateway convertible laptop. Unfortunately, Gateway made it impossible for me to get her out of the US last year. Sad!...

The image I'm using above, is of Paulette's Nikky.  She is a real beauty!

I started to think this was a female phenomenon, the naming of one's computer.  However, I quickly found out that my male friends give their PC's a moniker as well.  I talked with Greg from Nerd Beach,

My PC's name is Twip; this name isn't that unusual given that my previous computers included such names as Tweng and Twung.  The names are handy, unique labels, without any real meaning.

I got a quick note from my friend JB at The Launching Pad,

Mine is named "Mac"  hee hee.....

Ummmm, so are we to assume your PC is a Mac?  Or is there more to the story?  JB will have to let us know.

I know I'm not the only person who has NOT named their computer; it is definitely more commonplace than I realized though.  So I need your help.  My readers who know me or have a sense of who I am from my blog - help me name my computer.  I use my laptop a lot.  She is for the most part a constant companion.  I however, cannot come up with a name for her.  I had no trouble at all coming up with a name for my son, after carrying a child for 9 months and giving birth makes naming them a bit easier I suppose, but I keep coming up with nothing when it comes to my laptop.

If you have a suggestion for me, leave a comment and if I choose your name I'll devote a post to your blog or website. 

Oh, and if you have a name for your computer - we would love to hear it!  If you're like me and don't have a name yet, you have until midnight tonight, November 20, 2008, to come up with a name.  Hope to hear from you!

I'm am so looking forward to watching The Two Mr. Kissels Saturday night on the Lifetime channel.  It stars John Stamos, and I've had a crush on him since he played Blackie on General Hospital.

What is The Two Mr. Kissels about?

From the Lifetime Networks press release,

In "The Two Mr. Kissels," real estate mogul Andrew Kissel (Stamos)marries sporty blond ski instructor, Hayley Wolff (Gretchen Egolf,"Journeyman"), while his younger brother Rob Kissel (Anson Mount,"Conviction"), a New York investment banker, marries social climber Nancy Keeshin (Robin Tunney). On the surface, it seems that both the Kissel brothers are starting idyllic families. After Rob moves his family to Hong Kong for a promotion, Nancy grows to resent his long work hours. In retaliation, Nancy begins a torrid affair and ultimately kills Rob by drugging him and bludgeoning him to death, igniting worldwide media frenzy. Years later, Andrew is caught embezzling millions of dollars to support his increasingly lavish lifestyle and drug addiction. With the courts breathing down his neck, former business partners turning on him, and a frustrated and embarrassed wife filing for divorce, Andrew is found dead in the basement of his Greenwich mansion. The question remains: was Andrew murdered by one of his many enemies, or did he arrange it himself in order to escape his living nightmare?

The cast and characters:

• John Stamos plays Andrew Kissel -  A millionaire real estate developer with a penchant for partying and deception. 
• Robin Tunney plays Nancy Kissel - Robert's wife - a homemaker who may have been pushed a little too far.
• Gretchen Egolf plays Haley Kissel - Andrew's wife - the perfect mother looking to escape her troubled husband.

As I mentioned earlier... I love John Stamos!  He was a teen heartthrob while playing Blackie on the daytime soap General Hospital.  If you're not familiar with Stamos from General Hospital I'm sure you've seen him as the handsome brother and uncle on Full House.  And more recently, he can be seen every Thursday night as Dr. Tony Gate on E.R.

This is not the only reason I want to watch The Two Mr. kissels.  I'm intrigued with this movie because it is based on a true story.  You can go to mylifetime.com and read about the true story, but if you go there before watching the movie, there are SPOILERS.  I would suggest checking it out after watching the movie.  It is an interesting story.

I have the dilemma of two great movies tonight; the other one on the Hallmark Channel (which you can read about in the above post).  I will DVR The Two Mr. Kissels.  So if you are looking for a good movie to watch on a Saturday night... tune in November 15, 2008, at 9:00 pm EST and watch The Two Mr. Kissels.  They will show an encore both November 16 and November 17, 2008.

Premiering Saturday night, November 8, 2008 at 9:00 pm EST is the Hallmark channel's original movie Mail Order Bride.  I love the Hallmark channel!  They show original and wholesome movies, the whole family can watch.  Here is the Hallmark channel's press release of Mail Order Bride,

Diana McQueen, a con woman fleeing from her handler, ends up posing as her recently-deceased friend, Jen, in order to move out West to marry a man neither woman has ever met.  But Diana’s lies begin to crumble when her new “fiancé” becomes suspicious and her violent past suddenly shows up on her doorstep in “Mail Order Bride,” a Hallmark Channel Original Movie premiering Saturday, November 8 (9/8c). Daphne Zuniga (“Melrose Place”) and Greg Evigan (“My Two Dads”) star in the story of the divisiveness of deceit and the liberating power of truth.

Diana McQueen (Zuniga) has been working, against her will, for Boston [sic] conman Tom Rourke (Evigan) since she was 12, running scams, stealing and lying.  Now, she’s had enough, and one good haul is all she needs to get out of this life.

Diana’s friend Jen, ill with tuberculosis, has been corresponding with Beau (Cameron Bancroft, “Beautiful People”) a Wyoming rancher she’s never met, but plans to marry.  When Jen dies, Diana seizes the opportunity to start her life over by stealing Rourke’s money. Pretending to be Jen, she moves out West to marry Beau.  As Beau battles against the local Cattleman’s Association, Diana falls back on her old ways, and jumps at the chance to get enough cash to run away again.  Just when Beau figures out who Diana really is, Rourke discovers where she’s hiding, and the ensuing showdown turns the town upside-down, changing the future for all of them.

If you remember Greg Evigan from BJ and the Bear and My Two Dads, you'll remember that he played loveable, "good" guy characters.  So I'm interested in seeing him play a "bad" guy.  Another plus is Cameron Bancroft.  From the video preview he is more than just a little pleasing on the eyes.

So this Saturday night, pop some popcorn and cozy up on your comfortable couch/chair and watch Mail Order Bride.  You can also go to the hallmarkchannel.com to see video, pictures and more.  If you watch it let us know what you think of it.

Saturday, October 25, 2008, the Hallmark channel will premiere the movie Generation Gap starring Ed Asner, Rue McClanahan and Alex Black.  The Hallmark channel consistently airs real quality made for television movies, and this one looks like another one.

From HallmarkChannel.com,

Dylan Statlan (Alex Black), a troubled New York teenager, is testing the patience and limits of his single mother, Veronica, along with his teachers, the school principal and just about everyone else in his life. Dylan’s mom is at her wit’s end when her son is expelled from school for fighting, so she turns to her tough, no-nonsense World War II veteran father, Colonel Bart Cahill (Ed Asner), for help. Dylan is sent off to Northern California for the summer, so his grandfather can be a positive male role model and whip him into shape.

I think Generation Gap is going to be a "feel good" movie"; perfect for a Saturday night. 

One of televisions most honored actors, Edward (Ed) Asner, plays Bart Cahill.  Asner is most famous for his role Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later the spin-off Lou Grant.  I always loved watching Asner and look forward to seeing him in Gap.

Another great veteran actress is Rue McClanahan, who plays Kay.  McClanahan is best known for her role as Blanche Dubois in The Golden Girls.  She was so much fun to watch as the sexy, man-crazy Blanche.

Last is the young actor, Alex Black, as Dylan Statlan.  Children know him best as Seth on the hit Nickelodeon series Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.

Watch Generation Gap tonight October, 25, 2008 on the Hallmark Channel at 9:00 p.m. EST.  This will be a great movie to watch with teenagers!

It has intrigue and romance... oh and sex and lies.  Lifetime's Sex and Lies in Sin City is based on the book Murder in Sin City by Jeff German.  I'm not familiar with this story but find myself intrigued by the description.

From MyLifetime.com,

In the long, colorful history of Las Vegas crime, one case stands out: the shocking true story of the tumultuous, tortured romance of beauty-queen-turned-stripper Sandy Murphy and reckless casino mogul Ted Binion. At first, it seemed like the kind of story Las Vegas was invented for: she was a beauty from the wrong side of the tracks, he was one of the most eligible bachelors in town, and together they found true love. But every Vegas tale has a dark side, and soon reports of drugs, guns, cash, and mobsters begin to soil this storybook affair. When Ted Binion turns up dead of an overdose, all fingers immediately point to Sandy, the beneficiary of his millions.

Cast and Characters,

Mena Suvari - Sandy Murphy, a stripper who becomes accused of murdering her billionaire boyfriend.

Matthew Modine - Ted Binion, a drug addicted casino heir who falls prey to his stripper girlfriend.

Marcia Gay Harden - Ted Binion's sister, who is desperate to convince the police that her brother was murdered.

Johnathon Scaech - Rick Tabish, Sandy Murphy's lover and Ted Binion's confidante, who may be responsible for Binion's death.

You can check out the true story behind Sex and Lies in Sin City and get the ebook Murder in Sin City. 

I'm looking forward to this movie because I'm a fan of Mena Suvari and Marcia Gay Harden and it sounds like a good way to spend a Saturday night.  So tune in tonight to the Lifetime channel at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Okay, I didn't get this idea myself.  It came from a guy named Steven; who goes by the Digg name sjbdallas.   Saturday I was on Digg doing my 'Digg stuff' and came across a story from cracked.com titled, 6 Signs Your About to be Attacked by Zombies.  In the comments sjbdallas remarked "We also need "6 signs you're about to turn into a zombie".

Thus the 10 Signs... were born.  So in the spirit of Halloween and zombie movies here are my ten signs:

  1.  You start to notice that some people not only have good taste... but taste good too.

  2.  It takes you ten times longer to walk to the mailbox.

  3.  People avoid or run from you.

  4.  You start to develop a pronounced dragging on one side of your body.

  5.  You start hanging out at the mall with groups of strangers.

  6.  Your deodorant doesn't work anymore.

  7.  You have nightmares about shotguns.

  8.  You order steak rare... like in still moving.

  9.  You think George A. Romero does documentaries.

10.  You doctor diagnosed you with onset Rigor Mortis.

If you would like to add to this list, leave a comment and share it with us!

Tonight October 18, 2008, the Hallmark channel premieres its original movie Ladies of the House.  Ladies of the House stars, Pam Grier as Birdie, Donna Mills as Elizabeth, Florence Henderson as Rose and Lance Henriksen as Frank.

Grier's most notable roles are that of the title character in Jackie Brown and in Foxy Brown.  Henderson will always be remembered as Mrs. Brady from the Brady Bunch.  Mills is the infamous Abby Cunningham from Knots Landing, one of my all-time favorite prime time serials ever.  And Henriksen has had an illustrious career as well but my favorite was his role in Millennium that was on Fox for three seasons.

What Hallmark channel says about Ladies of the House,

With their church in dire need of funds in order to maintain its daycare center, the local pastor turns to three parishioners for help: Rose (Henderson), whose beloved husband, Frank (Henriksen) is hiding a serious medical condition; well-to-do Elizabeth (Mills), the haughty wife of an inattentive plastic surgeon (Thomson); and Birdie (Grier), who is trying to adapt to life now that her husband, Stan (Roundtree) a new retiree, is using his free time to be a general nuisance around the house.

It seems like it will be a good way to spend a Saturday night.  The great thing about the Hallmark Channel is if you miss it, they'll air it again.

Go to HallmarkChannel.com to see videos, photos, show times and more.  Be sure to tune in tonight to the Hallmark channel at 9:00 p.m. EST. and watch Ladies of the House.

One of my favorite things about the month of October is Halloween.  To be more specific... the horror/scary movies that come on during the month of October.  Ever since I was a young girl I have been a fan of horror movies... the scarier the better. 

I don't know if you're old enough to remember when Chiller (Theatre) came on Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m; well sometimes my mom would allow  me to stay up late with my uncle (he stayed with us for a while) who was eight years older than me, and watch the first movie that would come on Chiller.  It was usually a double-feature; I could have watched both but my Uncle had specific rules to turn the TV off after the first movie went off. 

Also, who could forget Movie Macabre which featured campy B horror host Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark. They also showed campy B movie double-features.  I was/am a horror movie junkie!

So this time of year gets me to thinking about all the horror movies I love watching; which in turn, got me thinking about which movie monster, madman and/or mutant was the scariest.  Here is my list of the top 10 scariest movie monsters:

Freddy - In the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Freddy Krueger kept many a teenager frightened to go to sleep.  The undead Krueger inhabits the world of dreams and attacks his victims while they’re sleeping. His weapon of choice: A leather glove, from which sprouted four 6-inch knives.  Of all the 80's horror movie monsters that were supernatural, undead or non-human, Krueger was the scariest.

Jack Torrance - The first Stephen King book I ever read was The Shining; I have been a King fan ever since.  One of King's scariest characters is Jack Torrance. As you watch The Shining you get to watch Jack's lapse into insanity slowly unfold.  How horrifying to watch a father try to kill his own child.  The scene where Jack uses the axe to break through a door and the creepy and famous line "Here's Johnny" was creepily and most excellently played by Jack Nicholson.

Norman Bates - Any man who is such a mommy's boy is scary, in my opinion.  Seriously, Norman Bates is scary because once again he is a flesh and blood human. Also the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho kept women from taking showers for years.

Leatherface - What makes Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so scary, is that he is based on a true story.  To think that there was a man wearing a mask made of human skin, wielding a chainsaw and killing people that his family of cannibals directed him, really creeps me out.

Annie Wilkes - How can Kathy Bates be scary?  It's Bates character Annie Wilkes that's scary. In Stephen Kings Misery, Annie Wilkes is romance novelist Paul Sheldon's number one fan, unfortunately for him.  She is an obsessed fan that will do anything to keep him.  The scene with the sledge hammer still makes me wince.

Jaws - The reason Jaws is so scary for me is that it is a shark.  Something real and tangible.  I remember when I first saw Jaws, which happened to be on TV while I was babysitting a 3 year old that was napping.  I think I was thirteen and to this day I'm scared to get too far out in the ocean. When Jaws first came out their were many people who felt the same way.

Damien - How much scarier can you get than the child of Satan?  I think it is scary when the monster is a child.  How creepy to see a little boy or girl who should be innocent, look at you with lifeless or steely eyes.  In The Omen, Damien can send chills down your spine with the look in his eyes as he kills off those around him that could interfere in his reign over man-kind.

Pennywise - This one is almost a gimme, seeing that clowns can be downright scary in their own right.  However, Stephen King's malevolent, shape-shifting, child-killing monster in It is the scariest clown of all.  Pennywise is the ultimate child's nightmare!  I read the book before seeing the movie and if I had not already been scared of clowns before, I was after reading the book and definitely after seeing the movie.

Regan MacNeil - The twelve year old Regan from The Exorcist is scary because she is a child that is possessed by Satan.  There is something horrifying about a child being evil and Linda Blair played Regan in a way that reportedly caused heart failure to some of the moviegoers at the time, it was that frightening. I mean seeing a kid spewing pea soup, rotating her head 360 degrees and abusing a crucifix is pretty darn scary!

And the number 1 scariest monster/madman of all time (to me) is....

Hannibal Lechter - Lechter is horrifying because he IS human.  The scariest monsters to me are those that are of human flesh and blood.  Because they could be "real".  Not to mention Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal the Cannibal in Silence of the Lambs was so eerily frightening.  And of course there is the thought that he would like to eat my liver with a side of fava beans and a nice Chianti.

So these are my top ten scariest monsters.  Who or what do you think is the scariest movie monster?  We hope to hear from you!

Debra Messing returns to the USA Network as Molly Kagan in the new original series, The Starter Wife, tonight, October 10, 2008.  After last summer's successful miniseries, Messing is back in the role of discarded Hollywood housewife Molly Kagan.

I have to admit I found The Starter Wife a guilty pleasure.  I so enjoyed the miniseries and at the time I said I hoped they turned it into a series.  So I'm excited to tune into the USA Network to watch tonight.  I hope they stay true to the miniseries and don't mess up a good thing. 

If you are not familiar with The Starter Wife, here is an overview of the miniseries that aired last summer from  USANetwork.com,

If having it all in Hollywood means being married to an ambitious movie studio exec, having an adorable daughter, owning a flawlessly decorated McMansion in Brentwood, belonging to the most exclusive clubs and always getting the best table in the hottest restaurants, then Molly Kagan has it all.

Until she gets the one phone call that changes everything.

With that call, not only does Molly's husband Kenny inform her of his intentions to divorce just shy of their ten year anniversary (coincidentally before their pre-nup expires), but also he revokes her status as "Wife Of," instantly transforming her into a "Starter Wife",a decided step down, if not out, in the Hollywood pecking order.

Go to USANetwork.com to read the rest of the overview.  Here is an overview of this seasons show,

While the miniseries centered on the summer of Molly's divorce that forced her to start over, in these all-new episodes, Molly has moved into a home of her own with her seven-year-old daughter Jaden and is ready to navigate her new life as a single mom and define herself on her own terms. While facing the very real challenges of trying to begin a new career at forty-something, Molly is now also juggling the ongoing emotional and financial complications of her divorce from Kenny (David Alan Basche), who could use a remedial course in parenting; new love interests, despite recently having sworn off men; and raising a grounded daughter in a town that doesn't exactly have its priorities straight. With the help of her loyal friends Joan (Emmy winner Judy Davis) and Rodney (Chris Diamantopoulos), who are trying to figure it all out for themselves too, as well as her new Starting Gate School ally, Liz (Danielle Nicolet), Molly will discover how to forge a new life even when her past is always present.

I love Debra Messing in The Starter Wife, and I've been a fan of Messing since Will and Grace.  I also enjoy Judy Davis as Molly's friend Joan.  In fact, as much as I love the character Molly, I personally think Judy Davis makes the show.  Davis plays Joan brilliantly!  She won an Emmy for the role so I'm not the only one who thinks so.

At the USA Network web site you can play games like Whack an Ex, Go Go Yoga and much more.  There are videos, communities and sweepstakes to enter; you can find tons of fun things related to The Starter Wife to keep you entertained for hours.

I hope you get the chance to watch The Starter Wife tonight on the USA channel at 9:00 p.m. EST.  If you watch The Starter Wife, let us know what you think of it.

Screen legend and philanthropist, Paul Newman, who donated millions to charity, died today, September 27, 2008, from his battle with lung cancer.  Newman's career spanned over five decades. 

"Paul Newman's craft was acting. His passion was racing. His love was his family and friends. And his heart and soul were dedicated to helping make the world a better place for all," Foundation Vice-Chairman Robert Forrester said.  What a beautiful and poetic sentiment to be said about a man. 

One of my favorite movies of Newman's was Cool Hand Luke.  Check out the YouTube video from one of my favorite scenes in Cool Hand Luke.

Newman's role as Butch in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, opposite Robert Redford, skyrocketed his career and made him a household name.  With his good looks, cool manner and stunning blue eyes he was destined to appear on screen.

Newman was nominated for ten Oscars and won in 1987 for his role as "Fast Eddie" in The Color of Money.  His last film was the 2002 Road to Perdition where he played John Rooney.  And my five year old may not know who Paul Newman is... but he would recognize his as Doc Hudson from the 2006 animated movie Cars.

Go to imdb.com to see his filmography.

He loved racing cars and he became a race car enthusiast. Over the years he won four Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) championships, won the GTS class in the 1995 24 hour race at Daytona, and sponsored race teams.

In January 2005 Newman, then 79, escaped from his burning race car after it spun on track at the Daytona Beach circuit. He was not injured in the accident.

Newman was married to Joanne Woodward for 50 years.  He was also survived by five daughters and several grandchildren.  His son Scott Newman, died of an accidental drug overdose in 1978.

Mr. Newman will be greatly missed.  He left a legacy of charitable giving, from his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, a camp for seriously ill children and his proceeds from Newman's Own.  I believe it is this that he would much rather be remembered by.

RIP - Paul Newman.  Our thoughts are with your family.