The Glee Project - Goodbye Cameron, You'll Be Missed!

Wow. I just finished watching the newest episode of The Glee Project, "Sexuality". By choice--not elimination--my favorite contestant, Cameron, left the show. I can't deny that I'm not super disappointed to see him go--he was literally the reason I was watching the show. But I have so much respect for him and his decision. There are so few true Christians within the realm of Hollywood, and it was such a blessing to see him--so real, so talented, so unique, and so strong in his convictions--do so well in the competition and stay true to himself. 

I only started watching the show a few episodes ago, but I immediately fell in love with him and his voice--and then finding out he was a Christian just sweetened the pot even more. His performance of "Blackbird" tonight just completely blew me away--such a beautiful, pure voice.

As a screenwriter myself, I understand why Ryan Murphy didn't want to let him go. I would write a character for him in a heartbeat--he's got an amazing voice, quirky/cute/unique look, and such an inspiring and likable personality! I'm so sad to see him leave the show, but I admire him so much for the decisions he made and sticking by what he believes.

The Glee Project wasn't right for him now, but I can't wait to see what God does have planned for his future. If I was Ryan Murphy, I'd still be knocking on Cameron's door with a role--can't let talent like that slip through your fingers! But until then, best of luck to Cameron Mitchell--I hope he continues to be a joy and inspiration to others!! Thanks for blessing us all with your music and soul! <3

Comic Con Wrap Up - Thursday

My sister, dad, and I made our annual trip to San Diego for Comic Con! It never ceases to be anything short of an amazing experience. And while we didn't get to participate in everything we hoped, we still got pretty lucky. Here's some highlights of the 5-day event!

Wednesday: Is Preview Night. Meaning there's no panels, but the legendary Exhibit Hall is open to a select number of attendees for a "preview" starting at 6pm. We picked up our Comic Con badges early and proceeded to pick up our Nerd HQ badges. In case you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of Zachary Levi! Last year he launched his company The Nerd Machine--a hub for all things nerd. And this year, they had a presence at Comic Con--called Nerd HQ. It was almost like it's own mini Comic Con--across the street, safely away from some of craziness--a place for nerds to gather and hang out, play video games, buy merch. Zac even set up "Conversation" panels (several including signings) with some fan favorites like the casts of Firefly, Psych, and Chuck. The panels cost $20 per person to attend but all the proceeds went towards Zac's charity, Operation Smile! Nerd HQ was so awesome, and I super applaud Zac Levi for his efforts to cater to the fans--us nerds--and benefit such a great charity. Despite our busy Comic Con schedule, I managed to squeeze in 3 Nerd HQ panels into the itinerary--the Welcome session with Zachary Levi, and panels with Zachary Quinto, and Jared Padalecki! The rest of Wednesday was spent roaming the Exhibit Hall and grabbing lots of swag.

Thursday was the first official day of Comic Con! First thing on the agenda was: Nerd HQ Welcome panel with Zachary Levi.

The Nerd Machine gang:

Next: Back to the San Diego Convention Center for the Psych <3 panel in Ballroom 20! The entire cast and crew made it out, inlcuding Dule Hill, James Roday, Timothy Omundson, Corbin Bernsen, Maggie Lawson, and Kirsten Nelson.

 Ioan Grufudd <3, Nestor Carbonell <3, Sarah Michelle Gellar <3, and Kristoffer Polaha from the new CW series, Ringer :

Nickolaj Coster-Waldau, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Jason Momoa, and Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones:

Next was the TV Guide Fan Favorites panel--always one of my favorites! I'm sure you can tell by who is on the panel.

From left to right: Zachary Levi <3 (Chuck) the Moderator, Johnny Galecki <3 (The Big Bang Theory), Matt Smith <3 (Doctor Who), Kristin Bauer and Nelson Ellis (True Blood).

Nestor Carbonell (Lost, Ringer), Jorge Garcia (Lost, Alcatraz), Zachary Levi, the Moderator, Johnny Galecki

Next: the Showtime panels, featuring Shameless, Homeland, and Dexter.

Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, William H. Macy from Shameless:

C.S. Lee, Michael C. Hall, and David Zayas from Dexter:

Day 18 - Goodbye LA

It's been such a fun trip, and I'm so glad I got to experience all this awesomeness with my best friend! We both had an amazing time and some wild adventures. But now, it's back to Florida and back to reality. Thanks for all the great times, LA--I will definitely be back, but for now, so long!

This part of the Kodak Theatre is supposed to perfectly frame the Hollywood sign. And look--it does!

Found on a wall outside our hotel:

 Our wonderful hotel: the W Hollywood. Such a pretty hotel! And conveniently located right next to a Metro station.

 Just another interesting sight in LA. Here's a truck-full of dogs wearing sunglasses. And it looks like one of them is even wearing a bandanna. Only in LA.

 Pinkberry! This frozen yogurt place didn't have that many flavors (vanilla, chocolate, watermelon, salty caramel, mango), but when their watermelon fro-yo tastes that good--who needs variety? This stuff was amazing. And you can get as many toppings that'll fit inside the cup. We opted for the more healthy fruit options--this baby's loaded with mango, kiwi, raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry. D-licious. I had this exact same cup of frozen yogurty at Pinkberry about four times over the course of our trip.

Day 15 - Warner Bros. Studio

This was definitely one of the best days of being in LA because we went on the Warner Brothers Studio Tour! The infamous WB has brought us shows like Friends, Smallville, Supernatural, Chuck, and The Big Bang Theory--all favorites of mine. This two-and-a-half hour tour took us through dozens of locations, including sets, prop displays, and several whole streets. 

This is one of the first locations I recognized. Here, The Big Bang Theory filmed the episode "The 21-Second Excitation" where the gang wait in line to see Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

 You might recognize the following building from Gilmore Girls. It's Luke's diner!

 Here's a house we actually got to walk through! It's part of the Gellar house from Friends. We see it in a couple flashback episodes, like the one below where Rachel and Monica are getting ready to go to prom.

 And here's me with a Nerd Herd vehicle from Chuck!

We also walked around the set of Ellen and (with much freaking out from our end) Chuck!!! Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures on the closed sets, but it was still really cool to see!

The WB Tour is such an awesome experience--if you ever make it out to LA, I highly recommend it! They have some awesome sights to see out there, and with the WB's incredible repertoire of films and TV shows, I so hope to get the chance to work for them someday!

After the WB tour, we tried to make it to the Paramount Studio Tour, but unfortunately they were full. Tip: Always book in advance! So we eventually headed back to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum for round two (Why not? It was included in our prepaid Los Angeles Go Cards). 

Look! It's Zac Efron!

 With the lovely Audrey Hepburn:

 Uma Thurman from Kill Bill 

Workin the slate!

Before the night was over, we went to the Delphine restaurant at the W hotel for some dinner. I had th salmon followed by a dessert I had never heard of before: profiteroles! Sounds fancy, huh? Actually, it kind of sounds like medicine. But it looks and tastes delicious!

Day 16 in LA - Venice Beach & Shopping

We finally went to the beach! Venice Beach, to be exact. So I’m pretty sure this is the first time—that I at least remember—that I’ve been to the beach on the west coast. It was actually a pretty cold day…so we did little more than barely soak our feet in the water. Still, I was technically in the Pacific Ocean! We walked by a bunch of shops, which had some cool finds (like below), but there wasn’t a whole lot that really stood out, so we didn’t stay very long.

We did, however, end up going to a Buffalo Exchange store, which had some great clothing at super affordable prices! I picked up a few tops—woot!

Day 13 in LA - Horrible Bosses Premiere

Back to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre for the premiere of Horrible Bosses. As excited as I was, the scorching sun shining straight at us was kind of a bummer. But in another couple hours, the limos started pulling up and the cameras came out.

A chorus of “Jason, Jason! Jaaa-son!” rang out, and soon enough, a sharply-dressed Jason Sudeikis strolled across the street for some autographing.

…Followed by Jason Bateman, who actually made it to our section of the line. And look—he’s looking and smiling straight at the camera! Thank you, Jason. Appreciate it.

Once Jennifer Aniston arrived, things got a little—no, a lot—crazy. She—like the Jasons—crossed the street to do some autographing for the fans. It was complete chaos. People (including me) were standing on parts of the railings, flailing about trying to get pictures. As a Comic Con veteran, I’m no stranger to chaotic hordes of people in the midst of a celebrity, and I thought I held up pretty well in the crowd. But, unfortunately, the clearest picture I got of her is still blurry…

However...after a word with my friend, I soon forgot about Jennifer. Sorry, girl—still think you’re great. Well, while everyone was looking to my left, trying to get Jennifer Aniston’s attention…my friend pointed out a certain hat-and-glasses-wearing someone straight ahead of us, near the Will Call booth. He looked familiar but we weren’t quite sure who he was at first. We later recognized him to be Joel David Moore, who you might know from a little movie called Avatar. Our eyes then diverted to the person standing next to him, who—NO WAY—was Zachary Levi (You’ll know him from Chuck and Tangled). Not only is he a complete nerd (like me), but he’s extremely talented, oh so pretty, and—best all—loves God. So naturally, he’s like my favorite person ever—at least in the world of celebrity.

Amidst all the shouts of “Jennifer! Jennifer!”, there was a suddenly a random cry of “Zac! Zac!” coming from two girls (that would be me and my friend). Well, we certainly stood out and got his attention. He—amazingly—looked straight at us, smiled, and waved. And then we screamed. A lot. Over the course of the next couple minutes, our cameras flashed like crazy, we hyperventilated just a little, and managed to get a another wave/smile or two from Zac before he headed over to the red carpet, and then was getting shouts from everyone else.

Random interesting thing I noticed—Zac is wearing the same shirt he was wearing two years ago when I first met him at Comic Con:

After the arrivals, we grabbed some dinner nearby and then crossed the street towards the theatre to watch the departures. Again, we lined up along a railing, and soon enough, the recent movie-watchers were pouring out, walking right in front of us.

Among them we SPOTTED: Zachary Levi (again!), Alyssa Milano, Isaiah Mustafa, and Ioan Gruffudd – who ever so nicely stopped and turned back to some fans calling him for some autographs and pictures. Hi-5, Ioan. That was very cool. And he also gave me a very nice smile and wave as he passed. What a sweetie.

Overall, a very good day.

Day 10 in LA - Larry Crowne Premiere

We teamed up with my cousin again today and headed for Grauman's Chinese Theater to check out the premiere of Larry Crowne, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. My first red carpet premiere! ...even if I am standing on the sidelines.

The red carpet and lights were set up in front of the theater...

...And the fans -- that's us -- set up across the street.

About 2 hours later...Here comes Tom Hanks, making an entrance:

 Tom Hanks and George Takei:

Wilmer Valderrama, passing by for some autographs and pictures for the fans:

Julia Roberts was another one of the few celebrities who made it across the street for autographs, but unfortunately, she was swarmed the entire time. There's nothing like a chaotic horde of people shouting "Julia, Julia!" and "You have better fans over here, Julia" -- if only that would've gotten her to come down the line another 10 feet. Still, I managed to capture her, barely, in this shot. And look, she's waving.

We also SPOTTED: Maria Canals-Barerra, Jenna Elfman, Selita Ebanks, Taraji Henson, Ian Gomez, and others. Although, we mostly saw the backs of their heads. We also saw a lot of cars. A lot of cars. And giant buses. Congratulations Starline Tours and Metro buses: for being booed with surprising volume and a surprising number of times.