Grammy's.

I wasn't planning on watching The Grammy's last night. The last few years have left me annoyed, irritated or bored in one way or another, not to mention the fact that there were new episodes of both Once Upon A Time (with Emilie De Ravin!) and The Walking Dead (after a 2 month hiatus) on at the same time. But then we heard the news about Whitney Houston passing away and it felt wrong not to watch. I was curious to see how they paid tribute to her and to see how the music world would react to losing such an icon the night before a big event like this. Turns out, I'm really happy we decided to watch. For the first time in a really long time, Jeff and I thoroughly enjoyed the show (not all of it but most of it).  

Here are my highs and lows for the night (in no particular order):

- LL Cool J impressed me. His opening monologue was genuinely uplifting and he managed to take the sadness over Whitney's passing out of the room by celebrating not only the performer that she was but music in general. He preached it and I bought it. Way to go, LL.

- My favorite performance of the night was ------ > Bruno Mars. There is something about this guys voice that I am absolutely in love with. It's so good and his performance was so enjoyable and energetic and it boomed with FUN. I love that. I also really enjoyed Taylor Swift (I know. What is happening to me??). She sang LIVE, she rocked out on that banjo and she sounded the best I've ever heard her sound. Also, C really loves the song she sang, so there is that as well.

- I wish Mumford and Sons or The Decemberists would have won. That's pure selfishness on my part. I love them both so it would have been nice to see them up on stage.

- I'm not and never have been a Jennifer Hudson fan. I can't explain why, I just don't care for her. I'm not denying that she has talent. She does. I'm just eh about her. With that being said, however, she did a good job with "I Will Always Love you".

- I hate Chris Brown. I hate that he gets honored for lip synching and dancing. I hate that he gets standing ovations for his "performances". I get that it's supposed to be about the music and his "talent" but he's a sorry excuse for a human being and I will never be able to respect anything he does. That's the truth of it.

- It was weird seeing Gaga so quiet but her face-net and pimp cane were lovely.

- Adele won all her categories and was genuinely appreciative. That's pretty fantastic. No matter how sick of those songs I am, I can't deny the fact that her album (21) is phenomenal and she deserves all the praise she gets. Also, I could listen to her talk all day. She's so very British, "Fank you so much!"

- Paul McCartney is so wonderful. I was bummed his first performance was so slow but he's so classy and so elegant and so very Paul. I like that when he sings, he makes you feel like you're the only one he's singing to. His finale was great. I just love his voice so much. It takes me right back to being a kid and hanging out in the basement with my parents on a Friday or Saturday night. Love it.

- The Nicki Minaj performance was a clusterfrick. In the words of Carrie; "She was trying too hard".

- The Glen Campbell tribute was good and it was fun seeing Jeff act like an excited little kid when he sang "Rhinestone Cowboy". I also loved The Band Perry and the oh so handsome Blake Shelton in his suit and vest.

- The Beach Boys reunion was fun but I wish Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) would have been with them up there, singing "Kokomo".

I know they didn't have a lot of time to prepare but I would have liked to have seen a tribute to Whitney (aside from Jennifer Hudson's performance). I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more.  I know she was a mess and I know her death isn't necessarily a surprise to most people but it makes me sad. She was a phenomenal talent that left such a huge impact on the music world. Her passing is a gigantic loss to music lovers everywhere and it's felt even more when you see all those "singers" out there who have the nerve to lip sync there way through their performances and then call themselves talented. They should take a look back at her career and see that she was the epitome of a talented live performer. No gimmicks needed, just an amazing voice.

No Sadness (Why I hate Sad Movies)

Me: Have you ever seen The Fox and The Hound?
Dawn: Oh, you mean one of the saddest Disney movies of all time? Yes, I have.

Last week Jeff took C to the library and let him pick out some DVD's. What did he pick out, you ask? The Lion King and the above mentioned Fox and The Hound. Now, I have never seen The Lion King all the way through. Once I found out that his parents died, I quickly added it to my "Movies I will Never See because They Will Make Me Cry" list.  I know, I know, that movie is one of the best Disney movies ever (or so everyone tells me) but I just can't handle it. The Fox and The Hound scarred me for life. That movie made me cry so hard when I was a kid that I vowed never to watch it again. So, how thrilled was I when I found out my sons choice of movies were at the top of my sad list?? Not so thrilled. He watched The Lion King without me and really enjoyed it. He saved The Fox and The Hound to watch with me. Awesome. I arranged it so that I would be making dinner while he was watching it and I missed most of the sadness. Alas, dinner was ready just in time for the end and as soon as I sat down and saw that the hunter and Copper (the hound) were trying to catch Todd (the fox) I lost my crap all over again just like when I was a kid. No worries (spoiler alert!), Copper eventually ends up saving Todd but I still had to walk away to blow my nose.

Ugh. Kids movies.

Speaking of sad kids movies... Let's go ahead and add An American Tail to my list. You know that one, where a mouse (Fievel) gets separated from his parents and goes in search for them. Sad songs ensue ("Somewhere Out There"), as well as songs about cheese and cats. I don't really remember what else happens because I couldn't get past the part about the mouse missing his Mom and Dad. Now, let's talk about Dumbo... Here's an idea! Let's make a movie about an adorable baby elephant with giant ears who is ridiculed and shunned and then taken away from his mother! No, Disney. Stop it! I don't think I need to mention Bambi, as everyone I know thinks that movie is one of the saddest of all time.

All of this reminds me of that episode of Friends; "The One Where Old Yeller Dies" (because the thought has crossed my mind to do this with Charley). It's the one where Phoebe finds out that her mom never showed her the ending parts of sad movies, so she wouldn't have to endure the sadness.  ------------ > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osRX86BYsVg

Other movies on the "Movies I Will Never See Because They Will Make Me Cry List" are as follows:

• My Girl- If I watch this movie now (which would never happen) I make sure to close my eyes and cover my ears at the dreaded bee attack part as well as the funeral scene. "Where are his glasses?? He can't see without his glasses!"         

Sadness. Ugh.

•  Finding Neverland- This movie had all the makings of a great movie. Johnny Depp as J.M. Barrie, Kate Winslet, Freddie Highmore. It's about how J.M. Barrie was inspired to write Peter Pan... and then it's about Kate Winslet's character dying and how Freddie Highmore's character has to deal with that. There is a scene where Freddie and Johnny Depp are sitting on a bench talking.  The camera gets in real close on Freddie's face and his huge eyes are brimming with tears. It was at that moment that Jeff turned to me in the movie theatre and pretended to rip his own heart out and stomp on it. That's how sad and emotional it was.    

Sadness.

• The Patriot-  It's that movie where Mel Gibson leads the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a really, really awful British officer (Jason Isaacs A.K.A. Mr. Malfoy) murders his son (Heath Ledger). The whole movie is filled with sadness and there is a part in the middle (when the little girl, who never talks, runs after her dad begging him not to go) that I lost it and started yelling at Jeff; "WHY are you making me watch this awful movie?!" 

SADNESS ABOUND.

There are a few episodes of TV shows that I will never watch again as well. They are:

• The episode of Full House where Uncle Jesse moves out and is saying goodbye to Michelle. Can't handle it.

• Little House On The Prairie. The whole series. I can't watch it. Any of it. You even mention this show to me and I start to tear up. And don't even bring up the Christmas special that they play every year. I remember trying to describe it to my brother one time and I couldn't even finish telling him because I started to cry. 

• "A Whole In The World" (Angel)- I haven't been able to re-watch this. It's so heartbreaking. 

• The last episode of Alias.  Re-watching this would be admitting that the series is definitely over. I wanted to call off work after this episode aired because I was so sad. 

• The last episode of Lost.  I cried for Jack. I cried for Vincent. I cried for the absolute perfection of the last shot and I cried because it was over.

So, this, friends, is why I won't watch sad movies. All those Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult novels being made into movies? I want none of that. None. Of. It.

I prefer my movies to be happy and romantic and maybe a little bit of action thrown in as well. I don't want to watch a movie and cry through the whole thing. That's no fun at all!

What are your saddest movies??