Ok, I will try to contain my excitement and not use so many exclamations.

Thank you to JP at Celebrity-Skewer for the heads up on this story.

Ok, remember how I told you a few weeks ago that Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were spotted leaving The Green Door after his DJ gig. 

Everyone was saying how nice it was that they were still friends, but I just knew there was more to the story. 

According to Lainey Gossip, Rachel and Ryan had dinner last night at a restaurant called Grace on College Street in Toronto. 

And they walked into the restaurant HOLDING HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I just can’t contain my excitement.  I can barely type this because my fingers are shaking so much on the keyboard.

I have no pictures of this new sighting so I will just leave you with some old McGosling goodness.

It may be a little premature for this, but I’m saying it anyway: 

IT WASN’T OVER!!  IT STILL ISN’T OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I’m breaking up with you.

I think you are a really great guy–talented, charming, funny, sexy.  It is just that you did something that I am finding really hard to get over.

It wasn’t the fact that I read an article in US Weekly that said that you liked having kinky sex with your girlfriends and telling everyone about it.

I can forgive you for that. (Truth be told, I was only slightly turned on disturbed by this.)

It wasn’t that you may or may not have been caught in a hot tub with 4 girls in Cabo after Jennifer Aniston may or may not have broken up with you because you may or may not have cheated on her with a fan.

I can forgive you for that since I appreciate entertainers who are friendly with their fans.

It wasn’t even that the article said the only reason you dated Jennifer in the first place was to see why Brad Pitt wouldn’t want her.

That is just plain mean, and didn’t sound like the man that writes such heartfelt love songs.  I would never believe any of these vicious lies.

There is just one thing that I just can’t get over.  The final straw that broke the camel’s back was when I saw the video of you talking about your breakup with Jennifer Aniston. 

I appreciate you trying to clear the air, but I just can’t get over the fact that you did this to your hair:

Why, John, why?  It just doesn’t make any sense.  You looked so hot with your boyish, retro 80’s cut.  Why mess with a good thing?

I stuck with you during your freakishly big hair days, because I figured it was just a phase you were going through.  Maybe you were just trying to look like your girlfriend at the time, Jessica Simpson:

You may not have gotten the memo, John, but only one of my pretend boyfriends has my permission to shave their head and that is him:

Ok, and maybe him (but only when he is playing the role of a sexy police cadet for a movie):

But you (and James McAvoy) are not allowed to do this.  Ever.

I can find it in my heart to forgive you for this indiscretion (and all the other stuff if in the off chance any of it is true) if you could do me one little, teeny, tiny favor.

You see, you are doing another one of those cruises.  You know, the one where you pulled this stunt:

And I would LOVE to go, but there is one little problem.  I spent the remainder of our vacation fund on last year’s trip to Disney World and my husband has put his foot down about taking anymore vacations until next summer. 

Since your Mayercraft Carrier departs in March, that presents a bit of a problem.

So, I am once again petitioning you (and the Universe).  If you could find it in your heart to give away one empty stateroom (preferably next to yours), I would love to accompany you on this little voyage. 

Ok, and my husband would of course have to come too, but these are just minor details.

Thank you for your time and feel free to email me about the cruise.

Jen (Last Name is not Aniston)

For every one of these products purchased in the U.S. and Canada through August 31, 2008, the Pampers brand will donate 5¢ to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to provide one tetanus vaccine to a woman in the developing world. 

If you have no reason to buy diapers (lucky you, those things are expensive) then there are still two other ways to help:

• Follow this link to buy a package of diapers for a needy family in America.  That same diaper purchase will provide a vaccine through UNICEF to a pregnant woman and baby. One purchase = two donations.  
• Or, follow this link to make a direct, secure, tax-deductible donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, supporting UNICEF’s maternal neonatal tetanus programs.  Donations of any amount you can give will make a difference.  

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I mentioned last week that I was thinking of changing Make a Difference Monday to a monthly feature.  A few of you commented that you would prefer this, and I agree.

So, go out and find a cause you feel passionate about, and then figure out a way that you can get involved.  It may be volunteering your time, donating to the charity or just writing about it on your blog.  It really doesn’t matter how you get involved as long as you do something.

I know how much you love giveaways so I thought I would bribe motivate you to come back and participate.  During the first week of September, I will announce the prize and how you can be a winner.

It is at this time that I would like to ask Ryan Gosling to donate two of his worn t-shirts as prizes.  Now, Ryan, I know you like to wear your t-shirts until they are just about falling off of your body in shreds.  While we all appreciate this act of charity on your part, I think it would be even better if you would donate the shirts to be a prize for Make a Difference Monday.  Don’t you think it would make an even bigger impact?  Why two shirts you may be asking yourself?  Well, you know I would have to keep one for myself.  So, have your people get in touch with my people (and when I say “your people” I really mean you and when I say “my people” I just mean email me).

Then on Monday, September 8th, I will put up the Mr. Linky and everyone will join hands and sing Kumbaya put up their posts sharing their important cause and what steps you have taken to make a difference. 

(And hopefully someone will win one of Ryan Gosling’s shirts.  A girl can dream, right?)

Why is it that the beach volleyball girls wear little skimpy bikinis and the guys are wearing shorts and shirts?  Shirts?  Since when do guys wear shirts on the beach?  I’m not asking for a speedo, just take the shirt off…it’s so not cool.  AND, now Rob (her husband) is suddenly a huge fan of the women’s beach volleyball.

I have to admit that I haven’t been paying very much attention to this travesty.  All of my Olympic viewing up to this point has been dedicated to watching Michael Phelps smash world records and make the “Frenchies” eat their words.  Oh and of course,  win more gold medals than any other Olympian ever.  

I was also trying to solve the mystery of what he was listening to on his iPod before the race. 

(*I finally found out the answer to this question and will share his song choice at the end of this post.)

While everyone was busy with Phelps mania, I couldn’t help but notice (and, of course, begin swooning over) his teammate and fellow “Frenchie smasher”, Jason Lezak:

Could those freckles on his nose be any cuter?!! 

So, what do I think about the women’s volleyball event?

Well, I won’t be watching.

I guess I just think it is poor decision making on the part of the Olympics committee to allow the women to prance around half naked on the beach while the men are in shirts.  Ok, so maybe they aren’t prancing or half naked, but I still don’t plan on tuning in to see them bouncing around in bikinis.  Sorry, just not happening. 

While we are on the subject of boycotting half naked women, another thing I have decided not to watch is the new 90210 series.  The reason is this new promo ad I just saw in US Weekly:

And a close up of two of the porn stars:

 Now, I’m not a prude, but this just seems like a bit much for a high school drama.  Let’s just compare the new 90210 ad with a few ads for the old show:

Notice that the girls on the original series are attractive but not drop dead gorgeous models.  Despite the stupid rolled jeans (**see below for rant on this) , at least they are fully clothed and have the bodies of someone who actually eats food at regular intervals. 

Again, who makes these advertising decisions?  Isn’t the target market group for this show teen girls and 30 something women who were once fans of the old show?  When will these idiots learn that women (by women, I mean me) aren’t going to tune in to a show that has girls who look like models? 

Aaron Spelling understood what women wanted.  He cast girls with average good looks and bodies.  Other than Kelly, there was nothing special about the girls on the original show.  Brenda had bad bangs and weird teeth.  Andrea was just plain geeky.  And poor Donna was only on the show because her dad was the creator. None of them looked like strippers or swimsuit models.  They were girls we could understand and possibly even root for.  Who didn’t want Brenda to end up with Dylan?  Or was it Kelly ending up with Dylan?  Oh, I don’t remember.  That isn’t the point.

The point is that pr/ad people just don’t get it.

Well, at least that is what I thought until I saw the the brilliant new commercial for the Chevrolet Traverse. 

I tried to search youtube for the commercial but it hasn’t been uploaded yet.  If you haven’t seen it, let me just paint a picture for you:

A very hot looking guy (without a shirt) is ironing a dress while on the phone making reservations for his 6-month anniversary with his wife or girlfriend. Then it flashes to the suv and the voiceover tells how the vehicle is full of features that would be they know will be greatly appreciated.  Then it’s back to the guy doing more housework — this time cleaning the toilet (still without a shirt).

When I did a search to find this commercial I found quite a few people who didn’t quite understand the meaning behind it.  Check out a few of these responses:

Does anyone “get” the Chevy Traverse commercial playing during the Olympics?Guy ironing,cleaning toilet.. what does this have to do w/a car?

The Chevy Traverse ad is the most obtuse commercial I’ve seen in a long time. What the heck is it about anyway?

I’m loving the Chevy Traverse commercial.. bf didn’t get it at all!

Seriously, we can’t figure out what that commercial is about. What anniversary is it? Is it with a person? Car? Is that really a little girl’s dress or is his wife/gf small? Role reversal commercial? Why?

If you are a woman, you totally understand this commercial.  Chevrolet is trying to tell us that they understand what women are looking for in a vehicle (and a man) and the Traverse has all of these features, just as the guy (without the shirt) has all of these features. 

Thank you to Chevy for this wonderful commercial that I will happily watch over and over and over again.  And if your car comes with that guy who will come and clean my house (without a shirt), then I will be the proud new owner of a Traverse tomorrow.

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*Sidenote #1:

*According to US Weekly, rolled jeans (now called boyfriend jeans) are making a comeback because Katie Holmes was photographed wearing Tom Cruise’s jeans. 

This just makes no sense on so many levels. First of all, if Katie wore Tom’s jeans, why would she have to roll them.  Isn’t she way taller than him.  Wouldn’t they be way too short for her. 

Secondly, why do we have to bring back stupid fads like this?  Just because one celebrity decides to look ridiculous doesn’t mean we all have to follow like sheep.

Ladies, I beg of you.  Please do not start doing this.  We made the mistake once, but let’s learn from our mistakes and not repeat history.  Rolled jeans are idiotic and should be left in the 80’s where they belong.

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**Sidenote #2:

I finally solved the Phelps music mystery.

When asked by The Today Show what music he listens to while preparing to swim, Phelps answered that he listens to the song ”I’m Me” by rapper ‘Lil Wayne. 

Not exactly my cup of tea, but hey, whatever works…

1.  I eat cereal or oatmeal (or ice cream, but usually the first two) almost every night before going to bed.  Ask my hips.  They don’t lie. 

2.  I try really hard to match my underwear to my shirt.  I used to be more obsessive about this when I was younger.  Now, I’ve calmed down about it and just try to make sure that they don’t clash with the shirt. 

3.  I try to be ‘green’.  I really do.   But there is one thing that I do that wouldn’t earn any points with Leo or the polar bears.   I fail miserably with remembering to switch my laundry from the washer to the dryer.  I often have to wash my laundry twice because I forget about it the first time and it goes sour.  Every time this happens I cringe thinking about those poor polar bears and their melting ice caps.  This is why my next house will have a laundry room next to the kitchen instead of in the dungeon basement.

4.  I’ve never broken a bone.  I guess I’m either just really careful or really lucky.  Or really boring.

5. This one I’m sure will get lots of gasps and ughs and “Are you kidding me?”, but I will freely admit it anyway.  I like Grease 2 way better than the original Grease movie.  Oh yes I do.  How can you not sing along with Michelle Pfeiffer to “Cool Rider”?  Plus, I thought that Maxwell Caulfield (the cool rider) was way cuter than John Travolta ever could be.  So there!

6.  I had my first kiss in 7th grade at Skateland and thought it was so gross.  Then I kissed my second boy later that summer at an Air Supply Concert and it totally made me rethink my stance on kissing.  So. Not. Gross. I believe that the kiss happened during this song. Does anyone else this cheesy video?

7.  I hitchhiked once.  It was during Senior Week (Grad week at the beach).  It was 6am and the buses weren’t running yet so we decided to put out our thumbs to see if we could catch a ride.  Dumb, I know.  Luckily the guy who picked us up wasn’t a serial killer.   What was so important that I felt the need to risk my life by getting into some potential psychopath’s car?  Oh, just the fact that I had to go see the love of my life (He really was because this later turned out to be my husband) who was staying 20 blocks or so up the road.  People will do really stupid things when they are a teenager in love.  I plan to lock my kids in the dungeon when they hit puberty.

I’m not tagging anyone at this point but I would be thrilled if you tagged yourself and completed this meme and told me about it. 

If you are feeling really lazy and don’t want to come up with seven random facts, just leave me a comment with one random thing about yourself.  I love hearing how random you all are. 

After you get done drooling over Shannon’s picks, I have a question for everyone to answer at the end of the post.  

Enjoy!

Scott Speedman (rah rah Canada!)

Scott Foley

Note from Jen:  Someone must have been a big fan of the show Felicity.  Now the question I have for Shannon is which Scott did you like better on the show?

David Caruso (so gross to many, I just don’t get that . . . there is something alluring there for me . . . ever since NYPD Blue)

Adam Rodriguez (b/c I can’t really get enough CSI Miami)

Josh Holloway

Orlando Bloom

Viggo Mortensen

Milo Ventimiglia

Michael Cera (ok not so “hot” but so cute and such a phenomenal actor - I still can’t believe Arrested Development was canceled.  **sigh**)

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon’s blog to say hi and let her know your favorite guy on her list.

I thought I’d play along with Aloha Friday this week.  Shannon’s last pick reminded me of a question that I’ve been meaning to ask you:

What hot younger celebrity makes you feel like being a cougar? 

Definition of Cougar:  A distinguished species of older (30-50’s) females who seek the company of younger males.

To view more Aloha Friday participants, visit An Island Life.

I don’t even think I’ve ever even had a contact high.

Now that I’m older, I wonder what led me to stay so far away from the stuff and, more importantly, how can I use this knowledge to my benefit in keeping my own children drug-free.

I have come to the conclusion that there were 3 different role models that lead me down the drug free path.

First, there was the story of Len Bias. 

Do you remember him?  He was a basketball star from my home state who overdosed on cocaine after trying it for the “first time”.  I put that in quotes because who knows if that is really true.  Was that just something my mom said to scare me?  All I know is that it worked.  I didn’t want to die.  That story stuck with me for a very long time.

Then there was the story of Richard Pryor setting himself on fire from freebasing crack cocaine. 

I didn’t want to be set on fire.  I wasn’t really sure what freebasing meant (still couldn’t tell you what it means) but it just reinforced my belief that drugs were very dangerous and only for crazy people.

So the lesson here is to find ways to scare your children into thinking that drugs will lead to imminent death or catching oneself on fire. 

There was one other thing that I thought of that may have really sealed the deal for me.  I think it was seeing this very influential New Kids on the Block poster in my most impressionable teenage years:

Hey if Joey and Jordan are in the drug-free zone, I’m right there with them.  Now just ignore the fact they must have been smoking something to wear those ridiculous outfits.  Donnie’s overall knickers and Jon’s ripped jeans with white tights underneath are clearly the result of someone under the influence.

Not me, though.  I steer clear of the stuff.

The ironic thing is that I love a good drug song.  My favorite right now is the M.I.A. song “Paper Planes” that keeps playing on the trailer for Pineapple Express (Dumb movie, btw, but I couldn’t help but think James Franco was hot as a drug dealer/stoner.  I guess while we are on the subject, it may be a good time to mention that I also have a thing for drug guys in movies–Do I need to remind you of how hot Ryan Gosling looked in Half Nelson?). 

So I have this song on my playlist and I can’t stop listening to it even though it is about drugs and killing and stealing.  Obviously things I know nothing about. 

Why do I love you drug songs?  Why?   

Here is a little Playlist I made up including the aforementioned song and a few others (in the genre) that I love:

***PLEASE NOTE:  I am in no way endorsing or condoning the use of drugs in any way.  I just like the music people make when they are high. 

Here are the Top 5 Reasons I Love to Blog:

1.  My friends were getting sick of me talking incessantly about Ryan Gosling and I think were about to stage an intervention.  I  really needed an outlet for my obsession and the internet seemed like the perfect place. *

2. I’ve always enjoyed keeping a diary but I found that when I tried doing it as an adult that I would break out in cold sweats trying to figure out what to write when I put the pen to the paper.  For whatever reason, I don’t get those anxieties with my laptop.  It just feels more casual and I like that.  Plus there is the added benefit of being able to add photos to go with my thoughts.

3.  I love the community that I have found through reading and commenting on other blogs.  It makes this desperate housewife feel not as desperate.

4.  Blogging gives me a creative outlet.  I am so NOT a crafter or painter or knitter or sewer.  Clearly, I’m not much of a writer (since I wrote sewer instead of seamstress) either, but I do find it to be a lot of fun coming up with post ideas and telling a story.  The icing on the cake is getting comments on one of my posts.

5.  I make a ton of money and get lots of great new products to try and review everyday.  (Hahahahaha–that last one is totally false, but I hope that maybe one day it will be true.) 

*Edited to add–I would like to ask that my bloggy friends not stage a Gosling intervention unless of course, you can somehow arrange it that Ryan was present for the event.  Thanks.  Really, I’m not that much of an obsessed fan.  I just play one on my blog. (Actually I am that obsessed but do not need an intervention.)

To participate, all you need to do is write a movie-related post. Here are some ideas (but feel free to be as creative as you would like, just as long as you stick to the theme): a movie review, a list of your favorite movies in a genre, a video clip of your favorite movie scene, etc..

The post could be something you wrote today or one you may have done recently that you would like to highlight.

 All I ask is that you please mention the Movie Madness Carnival in your post and link back to this post here at Daily Mish Mash.  Feel free to grab the banner for your site if you’d like.

A little about spoilers…I think it goes without saying that you don’t want to include spoilers in your post. If you must include them, please give fair warning that you are doing so by putting a bold MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS at the beginning of the post.

Please leave your movie post title and url below. Here is how to do this:

Your Name: A Month of McAvoy (Daily Mish Mash)
Your URL: please paste the post url here
Hit Enter and like magic your link will appear on this page.

**Don’t forget to go around visiting and commenting on the other blogs.

Prior to this little McAvoy Film Festival (Yes, I know I’m a dork for calling it that) I had already seen Becoming Jane, Narnia, and Atonement, and I was hooked.  I needed more McAvoy and I needed it badly.  Here is what I thought of the movies I saw this summer:

Starter for 10:  I’d like to thank John for recommending this movie to me.  He said it would be perfect for my “McAvoy fix” and I have to agree.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much with this one.  It appeared to be a ”B” movie (even though one of the producers was Tom Hanks) and it didn’t get much praise or hype when it came out. 

I’d have to say this is the one that I enjoyed probably the most out of all his movies.  I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy, and although this isn’t the cream of the crop in that genre, it was fun to watch.

It was about a guy who is starting his first year in college and is obsessed with starring on a television quiz show.  There is a lot of romance and plenty of cute moments like this:

If you like romantic comedies, and more importantly British humor, you will probably enjoy this one.  The soundtrack was really good too, since it has a ton of really fun alternative rock 80’s music.   

My overall rating would be 4 STARS ****

 The next McAvoy movie that I saw this month was Wanted.  I had high hopes for this movie since I had heard so many great things about it.  Don’t you just hate when a movie is over-hyped. Most hardly ever live up to the expectations put on them and this movie was no different. 

I knew going into it that it was an action/adventure movie, and although this isn’t typically my favorite genre I knew what was coming and I wasn’t expecting Becoming Jane.  I was just hoping for a fun, fast-paced movie with lots of scenes like this:

Sadly, even this scene couldn’t save this movie.  There was way too much violence in it for my taste.  I don’t like to see my McAvoy being beaten to a bloody pulp and that was a BIG part of the movie.

Plus, it was one of those movies where certain scenes are just plain ridiculous.  You know what I’m talking about.  The scenes where everyone should be dead but surprisingly the two or three main characters in the movie somehow miraculously survive.  I really can’t stand when that happens.  My husband and I found ourselves laughing hysterically during some of the more serious action sequences because they were that absurd. (My apologies to anyone who may have been distracted by our cackling.)  Truly, this movie is just beyond stupid. 

I would give Wanted 2 STARS ** (Ok, maybe 2 1/2 because now that I’m thinking of it there was this sequence of the movie with James in a pullover sweater (I love pullovers on guys because they just look like they are inviting you to hug them.  I know that is very weird.) and he just looked amazing for a good chunk of the movie, so 2 1/2 STARS.

Here is the pic of said sweater but he doesn’t look very cuddly in it here:

Our McAvoy movie watching took on a more serious mood with the next flick.  We finally got around to seeing The Last King of Scotland.  I say “we” but I really mean that “I” finally got around to seeing this movie and my husband agreed to sit next to me after much begging and pleading.  Surprisingly, he isn’t a big fan of movies like this even if they do star adorable Scottish actors.

Although I didn’t love this movie, I am glad that I took the time to watch it because I really didn’t know a whole lot about this period in the history of Uganda. I guess that makes it sound like it took place a long time ago, but it was really just the 1970’s. 

Although James did a phenomenal job in his role as the fictitious personal physician to dictator Idi Amin, I’d have to say that Forrest Whitaker completely blew me away with his performance.  He was able to make you like the character of Amin while at the same time fearing him.  He deserves all the praise and awards that he received for this role.

Like Wanted, this movie has its share of violence and torture.  It was very difficult to watch in parts and there are a few scenes that wil stay with me forever (although I wish they didn’t).  I wouldn’t say this movie was as good as Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond (other depressing Africa movies) but I did enjoy it enough.  In keeping with the trend, here’s a pic of McAvoy from the film:

My final rating would be 3 STARS ***

Lastly, we watched the much lighter and family friendly Penelope.  I liked this movie for what it was-fluff. 

I guess it was trying to be a modern fairytale about liking yourself for who you are. 

I probably would have never watched it if it wasn’t for this:

His eyes just looked extra gorgeous in this movie. I’m not sure why. Was it good lighting? Was he wearing contacts?   I don’t know but I was just mesmerized by them.  Not too crazy about the hair, though.  (James, please don’t ever wear it like that again, ok?  Thanks.)

Anyway, if you are in the mood for something light and romantic, this movie fits the bill.  My kids just thought it was ok.  I guess there weren’t enough talking animals doing kung fu in it for their liking, but I really did find it an enjoyable watch.  I only have one complaint (other than his hair).  Why didn’t he have his Scottish accent in it?  There were a lot of people with accents in the movie.  Why did he have to put on a fake American accent.  It annoyed me the whole time. 

I’d still give it  4 STARS ****

Well, you would think that I’d be all McAvoy’d out after watching all these movies but I’m not.  I think that is the problem with cute (and talented) actors, they just leave you wanting more and more.  Kind of like a drug, or Coke Zero.  Good thing I have this videoto keep me from going into withdrawl.

I put a new poll up in my sidebar.  Vote and then leave me a comment letting me know your favorite McAvoy movie.