Chowder Expired Leaves Greenblatt with Less on his Plate

Photo belongs to foodistablog

A peek inside the cartoon fridge should tell you that while most show items are still fresh and ready to be consumed, one in particular is fast approaching its expiration date. On August 13th, Animation Magazine reported that while Cartoon Network will be ordering a few new series and renewing Thurop van Orman's THE MARVELOUS MISADVENTURES OF FLAPJACK for their upcoming lineups, CHOWDER fans were left in the dark. A blog entry posted by creator C.H. Greenblatt that same day confirmed fans' fears - CHOWDER had been canceled. Though in spite of the cancellation, Greenblatt decided to focus on the positives.

"...it's like being the hot girl who just got out a bad relationship; your phone starts ringing from everyone else who's been wanting to date you. It's nice to hear from other networks how much they enjoy the show, especially when you don't really hear it from your own. Chowder has opened up a lot of awesome possibilities for me, and creatively I'm feeling more inspired than ever. There are some new ideas I'm working on that will hopefully find a good home somewhere in the next year" (Nerd Armada: "The Hot Girl").

So in honor of the little "cat, bear, rabbit...thingie," I'm highlighting my top 5 all-time favorite CHOWDER moments to whet your appetite. Enjoy!

5. I'm Not Your Boyfriend!
-"Chowder's Girlfriend"

Poor Chowder...that Panini just won't let up. A guy's gotta do something to dump his girlfriend, even if they are only going out in her own mind - and a song is just the way to show her exactly how he really feels.

4. Shnitzel's Joke
-"The Sing Beans"

Everybody loves a good joke...especially the other kind of joke. The thought of Shnitzel telling an adult joke is funny no matter what but it becomes even funnier when you realize you're trying to translate it in your head.

3. C.H. Greenblatt Puppet Cameo
-"Shnitzel Quits"

Here he is, the big guy himself. The random stop-motion throughout the show is always amusing, but for some reason there's just something extra amusing about Greenblatt appearing in puppet-form to persuade Shnitzel to come home.

2. Care For a Free Lollipop?
-"Shnitzel Makes a Deposit"

To a kid, the bank = free lollipop. But what's even funnier is how a common expression gets turned around into a seemingly never-ending string of "would 'I's" and "would 'you's". As the first series gag that kept me laughing hard, it never fails to get a few chuckles out of me.

1. Car Wash
-"The Shopping Spree"

Click to watch!

Some of the best moments ever are when the writers break that "fourth wall" in the CHOWDER universe and do something really crazy-creative. Like the whole cast holding a car wash to fundraise for the rest of the episode's animation. Hands down hilarious.

The cartoon fridge will definitely feel a bit colder without CHOWDER, but I'll be looking forward to not only the episodes left to air, but also to what else Greenblatt has brewing for the future. So far, it's been a recipe for success.

Emily Osment Aims To Be Fun For Your Ears

Cup O Noodles

Between marveling at blue skies, playing Super Mario, and eating instant ramen for lunch, she sounds like a typical teenager. The thing is, she really is one - she tweets on Twitter, her dislikes stand with sushi and sharks, and she has her family-friends-three-dog support net ready and waiting for a catch. Despite her teenage normalcy, Emily Osment is doing what few everyday teens have the guts to do: Be who they are. And she aims to do it all with a guitar and piano at her fingertips.

"I'll try not to be cliché when I say music is one of the most important things in my life. I listen to it, create it, and apply it to everything I do. Now I can officially share it with you"
(Emily Osment's Official Myspace).

Listen
Some go through life with eyes wide open. Well, Emily lives with ears wide open. A peek at her playlist might show you the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and R.E.M; she cites her influences as Radiohead, Incubus, Air, Beck, and John Lennon.

Create
Her acting on HANNAH MONTANA recently won Best Sidekick in the Teen Choice Awards, and now Emily's ready to also rock the world of music. She's been busy in the studio working on her upcoming EP, All The Right Wrongs, and now her anticipated new single, All The Way Up, is making some noise for Radio Disney airwaves. Sporting a new sound and a beat to match, All The Way Up is set for a digital release August 25th.

Apply
The lyric quotes placed throughout her bio prove it - this girl doesn't just love music, she lives it. Emily not only collaborates with fellow music artists such as Push Play but also loves the guys in her own band like brothers. On the heels of her launch into Myspace, Emily recently made another splash in Internet waves with her official website. Embracing the warm welcome her fans have given her, one thing is clear - she cares about the ones who look up to her and what she does.

Sporting the Converse she loves, Emily hopes to run into fans wearing her own T-shirt and accessory designs (available through her online merch store). She is definitely into inspiration and would love it if she can ultimately inspire others the same way she feels inspired by the music she loves. She's living life far from the ordinary, and as she puts it in her lyrics, It's a temporary life... / That takes you all the way up / All the way down / Never look back it's time to breakout.

"I have always wanted to snowboard in New Zealand and surf in Fiji in the same weekend, maybe the music will take me there, but for now I am just working hard and being the best that I can be. Hope you are too. Hi, my name's Emily."
(Emily Osment's Official Myspace).

8/14/09 - Somethin', Somethin', Somethin', Say What?

Photo ©Tm 2007

Whether you read comics or not, you know you can't resist! Fill in the blanks for these lovely people cosplaying Wonder Woman and Batman at San Diego Comic Con 2007. Once you've come up with some creative thought and speech bubble dialogue, share it in a comment. Who's Wonder Woman eying? Just what exactly is Batman thinking.... Only you can decide.

8/12/09 - Show Ruby Some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

RUBY & THE ROCKITS and HANNAH MONTANA have a lot in common. Both series have the ongoing themes of music, "back-in-the-day" music stars as fathers, and even Austin Butler. I suppose the only major difference is Ruby hasn't made up a secret pop star identity yet, but I guess that's going to have to be another case of "wait for it". Though as it turns out, it appears both sit-coms (yet another commonality) have much more in common than even that.

Last night ABC Family aired episode four of RUBY under the title, "It's My Party, and I'll Lie If I Want To." Ring any metaphorical bells? Funny thing because back in 2006, Disney Channel aired episode five of HANNAH under the exact same title.

To be fair, it seems RUBY chose to go down the same road as HANNAH series-wise and decided to go with the song-parody episode titles, reminiscent of '80s ALF. Both series are under the Walt Disney Company roof, and both do center around music, and it definitely does make sense. But then why not take that as an opportunity to choose a different supply of song titles as the series engine, such as episode two of RUBY, "Save The Last Dunce For Me". With the amount of music past and present, genre to genre, I would think there would be an abundance of options. So why stick to the same sort of ideas?

The only reason I can figure is to make a pop culture crack because they can. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. ABC Family dubbed episode three of RUBY, "Do You Want To Blow A Secret?" The network's newest drama series, MAKE IT OR BREAK IT, also sprinkles various Disney Channel references throughout the series. Understanding that legality and rights aren't an issue, I believe it's truly meant as a joke on ABC Family's part with the best of intentions.

It's cute to be sure, but, and excuse me for the pun, cute is not always what we should aim for. Let's dare to do something completely new and different for once and make it the best we can possibly make it. Because I don't know about you, but as much as I love HANNAH MONTANA, when I sit down to watch RUBY & THE ROCKITS, that's the show I want to watch at that moment. And I really do like ABC Family's new series; I believe it has great potential. So let's match the potential RUBY already has with stellar episode titles. She deserves it.

8/6/09 - Nickelodeon Logo: The Grand Ol' Splat Says Goodbye

Photo ©Tm 2007

Nickelodeon logos are just like people - they come in all shapes and sizes. Like many kids who grew up during the '90s, I not only grew up but grew to love, recognize, and salute the orange emblem almost more than I did the grand ol' stars and stripes. Splat was my flag, Nickelodeon my country.

So naturally to me, the news of a new logo for Nick is about synonymous with putting a flame to my splat. Okay, so it's not quite that extreme. And it's not my splat.

Recently Nickelodeon unveiled a new logo this year, a logo streamlined to fit with the variety of network channels under the company roof - Nick at Nite, Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin), TeenNick (formerly The N), and Nicktoons Network.



Why not go with the splat? Nick thought it looked "dated", and while I agree that it would certainly look a little strange to see Nick at Nite over a splat, I can't help but weep for the iconic Splat. But, as anybody who grew up with Nickelodeon knows, Nick's all about fun. So, I thought we'd celebrate the splat we've had for 25 years by pondering the pros/cons. The trick? You get to decide what's a pro and what's a con.

P/C ?
Now all the Nick logos look unified. As in the same. Apparently Nick logos are more like robots.

P/C ?
I guess no more splat means no more slime. I mean, think about it. Picture says a thousand words.

P/C ?
Now teens will no longer be confused when they channel surf to The N!

P/C ?
Noggin's old news anyway. Nobody uses their noggin anymore.

P/C ?
If Nickelodeon has always been known as the "kid" network, then why does the new logo somehow fail at...kid-friendly?

For some more heated debate, check out these links:

Nickelodeon's New Logo: Splat To Flat
Nickelodeon Cleans Up

So just like we're attempting to streamline the kids that watch, so the Nickelodeon logo follows suit. So, what do you think - yay or nay on the new Nick logo?

8/4/09 - Make It Happen Never Happend on Wizards Soundtrack

Shh.... I've just discovered something amazing. As in magically amazing. I mean, I know the show's about wizards, but I never once thought they would make a song actually disappear. Hmm...Walt Disney Records must have something truly clever up its sleeve.

A song has gone missing from the Wizards of Waverly Place Soundtrack. Yesterday, after a reminder via Twitter (it's funny to think what we all did before Twitter), I surfed over to Amazon and thought I'd give the CD tracks a little preview. Little did I know, the one song I'd been expecting to be present on the soundtrack was surprisingly nonexistent - Make It Happen. It had mysteriously disappeared.

Now, I find it just a little strange that Make It Happen isn't featured on the series soundtrack because the song is:

a. Performed by Selena Gomez (Alex) and David Henrie (Justin)
b. As far as I can tell, fairly popular with series fans
c. Actually featured in a series episode - "Make It Happen"

But I figure it's all good because every little thing she does is magic happens for a reason. And I have decided to move past my minor disappointment and will more than likely still get my hands on the CD this month (my sister and I are fans, after all). Check out the track listing:



1. Disappear by Selena Gomez
2. Magical by Selena Gomez
3. Magic by Selena Gomez
(originally recorded by Pilot)
4. Strange Magic by Steve Rushton
5. Magic by Honor Society
(originally recorded by The Cars)
6. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
by Mitchel Musso
7. Magic Carpet Ride by KSM
8. Magic by Meaghan Martin (originally recorded by Olivia Newton-John)
9. You Can Do Magic by Drew Seeley
10. Some Call It Magic by Raven-Symoné
11. Do You Believe In Magic by Aly & AJ
(originally recorded by The Lovin' Spoonful)
12. Everything Is Not As It Seems by Selena Gomez

Don't forget - the Wizards of Waverly Place Soundtrack hits CD shelves today - Tuesday, August 4th. Grab it before they make it disappear too.