Happy Birthday, Amy Acker

News on Shuffle would like to give a happy birthday shout-out today to Amy Acker. Whedon fans were first introduced to her on Angel as the adorable and nerdy Fred Burkle (and later as Dr Saunders on Dollhouse). Other credits you may recognize her from include a recurring role on Alias, a lead role on the short-lived series Happy Town, and a guest stint on Human Target. If you are very good at picking out voices, you may also know her as the voice of Huntress on Justice League. Acker was also in Whedon's film Cabin in the Woods, but no word on what the status is of the film in terms of release, with everything that happened with MGM. IMDB only has a release date for the UK (14January, 2011). Hopefully that gets a US release at some point as well. From what I've seen it looks very good, and it would be a shame if it didn't get a larger release to the public.

I leave you with a very short (but cute) video of Acker as Fred in Angel

Nerd Birthday (x3)

I've had to put the blog on hiatus for a bit due to other obligations, but there are three birthdays that pulled me out of hiding for the day.

1) First, a very happy birthday to one Molly Lewis. I was first introduced to this young musician thanks to a few dozen w00tstock videos I trolled on the YouTubes. Anyone who follows her on the interwebs knows the trouble she has had with venues and such due to her being underage. Well, that won't be an issue after tonight (although her response to the most notable incident - SDCC w00tstock - was quite enjoyable. Ninja gig ftw!). Happy 21st Birthday, Molly!

2) Next, a very happy birthday to our Nerdist, Chris Hardwick. It is thanks to this guy that I waste countless hours on one of my favorite websites. He also is one of my favorite people to follow on the Twitter. Oh, and let's not forget the podcast and nerd social networking site he also runs, called Node. (Wow, I didn't realize how much of my life is connected to this one person. Kinda cool.) In addition to being a presence on the interwebs, Chris does some stand-up comedy as well. He's really funny and if you get a chance to see for yourself you really should (and I'm not just saying that because of the street team hat I occasionally wear for him). If you don't believe me, then see for yourself.

3) Last, but certainly not least, I would like to give a happy birthday shout-out to Doctor Who! That's right, the British sci-fi series turns 47 today. The first episode, An Unearthly Child, aired on this date in 1963. Since it's start on this date it has seen 11 different people play the lead role of The Doctor. The new Christmas Special is set to air on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC America. If you've never watched this show then you are seriously missing out. It was one of the few things that can always make me smile when I'm down, and makes me think about the world in a whole new way. I love everything about it, and would love nothing more than to spread this love with the rest of the world. (Wow, that's a lot of love for one show).

That concludes another birthday edition of News on Shuffle. Hope all those celebrating have a wonderful time. Congrats to you all!

Thinking Back: The Anniversary Post

The blog's 1st birthday came and went with not much more than a mention on Twitter about it. I meant to do this whole post on the music world and things I love about it, but I think that's something that will actually sound better when I'm fresh from rambling about it with someone else (although if I warm up now it might just happen later in this post). When this blog was first created, it was honestly something done out of boredom and a passing interest in writing. I wasn't sure how long I would be able to stick with it, but I figured it would probably be a summer thing. It's now a year later and the blog is still alive and kickin' - which I am absolutely thrilled about. A lot of my posts don't get much notice, but the ones that do are about the things I care most about. It makes me really happy to see people respond to the same things that I get excited over. I try to keep track of the traffic to the site, and was very proud to see the number of views for the Alex Band CD review and some of the entries on Jukebox the Ghost. The CD review was both fun and scary to write at the same time. I was a little intimidated by that one, so it was great to get all the positive feedback after it was posted. The best part though was hearing Alex say he liked it. It's great hearing from artists and getting to talk to them (both via the Internets and in person). It's one of the things I wanted to talk about in the "reasons why I love the music world" post that looks like it's starting to blend into this one. I love getting to meet artists and seeing how they interact with their fan base. My favorite examples right now are, again, Alex Band and Jukebox the Ghost. I've been to a lot of Jukebox shows and have been able to talk at least briefly with them every time. It's gotten to the point where when we see each other we're usually catching up on life since the last time we saw each other.

Another really cool example of interacting with artists is actually a comedian: Chris Hardwick. I already did a whole post on him so I won't repeat too much, but Chris met up with everyone after his set finished, and I had a really good conversation with him. It was definitely one of those "my life is awesome" moments.

This has probably been the most personal blog post I have ever done, but I always get sentimental during anniversaries. It's time to get back to work now, but I'll leave you with a fun little thing as a birthday present to the blog and it's readers. It's something that was posted on w00tstock.net - it's a spoof on a previous meme that was absolutely hysterical (once you realized it was a joke). And since I feel like adding a video to the end of this thing too, here's one of the most featured artists on the blog doing a very fun cover of Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever"




I'm working on a little project of my own that involves this song, but it's just in the planning stages right now. Hopefully I'll have something to show you guys soon. For now, enjoy and have a great day.

Happy Birthday, Wil Wheaton

News on Shuffle would like to give a great big birthday shout-out to one of our favorite geeks: Wil Wheaton. Once known as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he now has a legion of followers on both Twitter and his blog. Both are sources of entertainment for geeks everywhere. Recently, he also co-founded a live show called w00tstock, which is self-described as "3 hours of geeks + music" - although the show has run for well over that amount in the past. Other names involved in the project include Adam Savage (Mythbusters) and the comedy music duo Paul and Storm. I have mentioned w00tstock on Twitter in the past and would very much like it to come to NYC. Anyone who agrees can Demand It and possibly turn this dream into a reality.

View all New York City events on Eventful

They have said they will come to any city that gets 300 requests, so it really will make a difference whether you do this or not.

[Hey Wil, sorry for hijacking your birthday for my own personal campaign. I do it out of love...?]

*Now back to our regularly scheduled program*

Besides all the other cool things already mentioned, Wil has also made guest appearances on a number of shows, including The Big Bang Theory, Eureka, Leverage, and the web series The Guild. I have to admit, I have never watched Eureka or Leverage (although his guest appearances almost changed that). He was able to get me back on The Big Bang Theory though. I had stopped watching when it became too hard to balance tv with college, but hearing he was making a guest appearance was too exciting to miss. Good thing too, or I would have missed moments like this:



I am now catching up on all the episodes I missed in preparation for the next season. I also became interested in The Guild partially thanks to him. He mentioned the series on Twitter frequently (as did the show's creator Felicia Day) and eventually I broke down and decided to give it a try.

Best. Decision. Ever.

The show is quirky and wonderful and you really should watch it sometime. They are currently in the middle of Season 3, but you can watch all the episodes here. There's also two music videos, my favorite of which is



Damn, I did it again. OK, we're going to consider promoting all these things as our birthday present to Mr. Wheaton. That and this birthday nugget - a clip from one of the w00tstock performances. I've watched it a dozen times and it still makes me laugh like a hyena.

Eternal Arr from Dan Coulter on Vimeo.

Bonus Birthday Nugget! Find the hidden Wheaton in this video:

we love xkcd from Olga Nunes on Vimeo.

We love xkcd... and Wil Wheaton. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Summer Glau

News on Shuffle would like to send a Happy Birthday shout-out to Summer Glau. Whedonites such as myself will know her best as River Tam from Firefly/Serenity. She also had a recurring role on Dollhouse as Bennett and was a guest star on an episode of Angel. The birthday nugget for today is a clip of River. Just one of the many examples to show why we loved her so.

Happy Birthday, Jed Whedon

News on Shuffle would like to send a happy birthday shout-out to Jed Whedon, brother of one of our favorite people, Joss Whedon. Jed and Joss worked on Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog together, which won him a Streamy Award for Best Writing of a Comedy Web Series. Jed also worked with Felicia Day on the music video for "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar," which features the cast of Day's web series - The Guild. Here it is as our Birthday Nugget for today.

Happy Birthday, Fran Kranz

News on Shuffle would like to send a very happy birthday shout-out to Fran Kranz. Kranz has been in a number of things, but was most recently Topher on Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse". This was the first thing I had seen him in (or so I thought), but he was apparently also in the movie "The Village" - looks like I'm going to have to go back and watch it again.

As a little birthday present to both him and his fans, here is a video of some of Topher's best lines.



Fran Kranz can next be seen in the movie "The Cabins in the Woods" - also written by Joss Whedon. I guess all things really do lead to Joss...

Sports Round-up

Happy Independence Day, sports fans (and everyone else for that matter). Today's post contains updates for both the World Cup and Wimbledon.

First up, the semifinals for World Cup will be July 6th & 7th. First will be Uruguay v Netherlands at 2:30 on the 6th. Germany v Spain will follow the next day. My predictions: Netherlands v Germany for the Final. More like I really hope that is the case, but it has a good chance at becoming a reality. Netherlands' upset against Brazil blew the soccer world away (much like Germany blew Argentina away in their Quarterfinal match). I believe these are the two teams to watch out for.

Next, tennis - the Wimbledon finals were this weekend, and here are the results:
For the Ladies Final, Serena blew away Zvonareva on Saturday by a score of 6-3, 6-2. As for the Men's Final, Nadal beat Berdych earlier today 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. I predicted both outcomes, but hoped for a better showing from Berdych. Even still, congrats to him for making it as far as he did, and congrats to all the players for their own achievements.

Thus concludes the sports round-up for today. Here is a little inspirational something to say Happy Birthday to my fellow Americans. It is a clip from the movie Independence Day.

Happy Birthday, Felicia Day

News on Shuffle would like to wish Felicia Day a very happy birthday. The actress has been involved with a number of our favorite things, many of which were created by this Joss Whedon character you keep hearing about. Besides guest appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse, she has also made an appearance on our new favorite show: Lie to Me. Oh, and she is the star of two of the best thing the internets have given us: Dr. Horrible (another Whedon gem) and The Guild (which she not only created, but also somehow roped Wil Wheaton into being the most awesome character EVER. Geeks everywhere unite, for The Guild is something we can all get behind. If you follow Miss Day on Twitter, you know that S4 of The Guild has finished production and will be available for viewing soon. And if you've never seen this little geek-tastic wonder before, well what are you waiting for?! Follow the link down the rabbit hole and enjoy. Each episode is pretty short so even though there are 3 seasons it shouldn't take too long to get through them all. And as a little birthday present for everyone (b/c 3 seasons of The Guild wasn't enough) here is my favorite scene from Dr Horrible, starring the birthday girl herself.

Happy Birthday, Joss Whedon

News on Shuffle would like to send a very happy birthday shout-out to the man, the myth, the legend - Joss Whedon. He is the writers of some of your humble blogger's favorite shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly (and the subsequent movie, Serenity), and Dollhouse. He also is the person you can thank for the internet cult classic Dr. Horrible. Most of my favorite actors I discovered on his shows, and they played some of my favorite characters in television history. It was recently announced that he would write and direct the new Avengers movie that is due out May 2012. he also will be working on the screenplay for the Captain America movie coming out July 2011. This gives Whedonites everywhere something to get excited about. Also worth checking out might be Cabin in the Wood, which Joss wrote and stars a pretty awesome cast (including Bradley Whitford, Fran Kranz, and Amy Acker - the latter two which were on previous Whedon shows). To mark the occasion, here is a video I recently found that made me smile (courtesy of Whedonesque). It includes clips from all of Whedon's shows.

Happy Birthday, Neil Patrick Harris

News on Shuffle would like to wish Neil Patrick Harris a very happy birthday. NPH has been in a number of our favorite things, including Dr Horrible, Glee, and How I Met Your Mother. He has also appeared on Broadway a few times, including the revival of Cabaret and the original cast of Assassins. My favorite of these however has to be Dr Horrible. It was a low-budget internet film that grew into a cult phenomena (at least among Whedon fans). The whole cast was great, but Harris was without a doubt my favorite.

Harris has been sharing his birthday wishes with his followers on Twitter for the past week now. The list is entertaining enough to be as much a present for us as it could be for him.

Things I Want for my Birthday (6/15), Chapter 1: an iPhone 4, magical automatons, original Banksy art, and 1 million followers.

Things I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 2: Haunted Mansion memorabilia, an actual Muppet, the superpower to eliminate oil from water, a pony.

Things I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 3: a working, authentic fortune teller booth, and Danielle Staub's sex tape - but only on Blu-Ray.

Things I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 4: a saltwater aquarium, rad clothes from All Saints, wood burning brick pizza oven, and Disneyland.

What I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 4: Panasonic 152" 3D plasma TV, Red Dead Redemption for Xbox, the ability to donate blood, and NPH.com. (Correction: Errr... That was Chapter 4.1.)

Things I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 5(ish): Giant labyrinth hedge maze, many lengthy massages, an Immunity Idol from Survivor, and socks. (Changed my mind. Instead of socks, I want a three bedroom loft in SoHo.)

Things I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 7: a goose that lays gold eggs for Easter, map to One-Eyed Willie's treasure, lifetime supply of Tums

Things I Want for my Birthday, Chapter 8: A rolla bolla, VIP seats to the US Open, this skill: http://tiny.cc/77gtw and a spider monkey.

This morning he posted that CBS got him the Idol he asked for...

The CBS gang got me perhaps the coolest gift ever - the actual Immunity Idol from Survivor: China! Check it: http://yfrog.com/msar9lj

At least he got one thing off the list. As for my contribution, I'm going to try to get him that 1 million followers... either that or the spider monkey.

Happy Birthday, Gina Torres

News on Shuffle would like to send a happy birthday shout-out to Gina Torres.

Torres has been on a number of shows over the years, but may best be known for her role as Zoe on Firefly (Joss Whedon's cult hit that spawned a movie). In doing some research, I was reminded of some of the other great parts she has played. Included in this list is 24, Angel, Justice League (voice part), Alias, The Matrix films, and... One Life To Live. It just proves my theory, every good actor has gotten their start on a soap opera. Just look at Tuc Watkins, who was on One Life To Live when he got the part for Desperate Housewives. He actually still appears on OLTL on occasion and seems to be balancing both shows quite well.

As a tribute to Torres, here is a clip of Zoe and Co. in an episode of Firefly:

Happy Birthday, David Tennant

News on Shuffle would like to give a great big birthday shout-out to the talented Mr. David Tennant. He has been in a number of things (both television/movies and on stage) but is mostly known for his role as the 10th Doctor on the British Sci-Fi series, Doctor Who. (We swear that it is merely a coincidence that this happens to fall on the day after we start blogging avidly about the joys of Doctor Who).

Tenannt's portrayal of the Doctor has been held by some to be the greatest of all. To many he is "The Doctor". This is why Matt Smith was going to have his work cut out for him. He would be replacing the man who brought many new people into the fold and defined who the Doctor was for them.

While his time as the Doctor was certainly memorable, Tennant has done many other extraordinary things as an actor. He was recently in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet as the title role, and he was also in the the docu-drama Einstein and Eddington, as Arthur Eddington. Oh, and fun fact: he played Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The more things I see David in, the more I come to realize his acting is a lot like the Doctor: mad but brilliant. To celebrate, here is a David Tennant/10th Doctor Tribute. Song is "I Gotta Feeling"

Happy Birthday, Sean Maher

Just consider today "obsession day" here at News on Shuffle HQ. As promised earlier, here is my happy birthday shout-out to Sean Maher. Sean played my favorite character on Firefly, Dr. Simon Tam (although it is incredibly hard to choose one favorite character on that show). I guess you could say it is also "doctor day" here as well, since my last post was about The Doctor. Now if only we could get both doctors on one show...

Anywho... you should all follow Sean on The Twitter and send him lots of birthday love. Tell him News on Shuffle sent you ; )

Happy Internation Sarah Michell Gellar Day!

Fact for the day: Sarah Michelle Gellar's birthday is apparently known as International Sarah Michell Gellar Day. Or at least that is what I gathered from Whedonesque today. To celebrate, here are some top Buffy moments someone posted. The only one I remembered immediately was the one from Hush. Does that make me a bad fan?

What would I have chosen as best Buffy moments?

Her coming back from the dead in Season 6 would definitely be on there.

Also, when she is singing "Give Me Something To Sing About" during the musical episode "Once More With Feeling"

And the final moments with Spike at the end of the series.

Oh, and let's not forget her dying at the end of Season 5. And the speech she gives Dawn about living. "Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." (Seems kind of ironic she tells Dawn to be brave and live but then complains about living her own life. Then again, if someone ripped me out of Heaven I would complain too).

There are a ton of great moments from the show. These are just some that come to mind now (and only ones involving SMG, since it is her birthday and all).

What about you? What are some of your favorite moments?

Happy Birthday (x2)

Two birthday shout-outs today, one mainstream music artist and one slightly lesser known television star.

First off, thought you would be interested to know it is Lady Gaga's birthday today. She is known for her dance beats and outrageous costumes, but do any of you know her real name? It's Stafani Joanna Angelina Germanotta, in case you were wondering. Did you also know she started out performing in the Lower East Side of NYC? The area is known for it's music scene with Bowery Ballroom being located there, as well as a number of other venues. And I bet you didn't know her name is based from the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" either. There are so many things yet to be discovered about this performer, but just know there is more to her than her costumes.

Next, News on Shuffle would like to wish a very happy birthday to Gareth David-Lloyd, who plays Ianto Jones on the Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood. Many fans consider him a favorite on the show, especially regarding his relationship to the lead, Captain Jack Harkness. Even if you don't watch Torchwood, you still might recognize him as Dr. Watson from the recent Sherlock Holmes film.

As a combined birthday tribute, I thought it would be cool to share a video with Ianto and a Lady Gaga song. So here is Jack & Ianto's Bad Romance



And because what's a birthday without some dancing, why don't we Just Dance?

Happy Birthday, Nathan Fillion

News on Shuffle would like to wish Nathan Fillion a very happy birthday. Fillion was once star of the Joss Whedon cult classic, "Firefly" as well as Whedon's other cult favorites "Dr. Horrible" as Captain Hammer and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (where he guest starred in the final season). He currently star's on the ABC show "Castle". Other appearances by Fillion include a recurring role on a season of Desperate Housewives as Dr. Mayfair and the portrayal of Joey Buchanan on the soap opera "One Life to Live". Fillion turns 39 today.

Happy Birthday, Alyson Hannigan

News on Shuffle would like to wish the lovely Alyson Hannigan a very happy birthday. Hannigan was once the star of the cult classic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as Willow and also appeared in the spin-off, Angel. She currently stars with Neil Patrick Harris in the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother". Hannigan is married to Aleixs Dennisof, who also starred in "Buffy" and "Angel" as Wesley. They have a daughter who was born March 24, 2009. Hannigan turns 36 while her daughter turns 1.

Happy Birthday to them both.

Happy Birthday, Gary Oldman

A big happy birthday shout-out goes out to Gary Oldman, who turns 52 today. Oldman is known for being in a number of films, including Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, The Fifth Element, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, as well as his portrayal of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series. Sirius returns to the wizarding world in the final chapter, Deathly Hallows. Oldman is also listed as reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon in a future Batman film.

As a postscript I would also like to wish a happy belated to Oldman's fellow marauder in the Harry Potter films, David Thewlis. Thewlis plays Remus Lupin in the series. He will also be making an appearance in Deathly Hallows. He turned 47 yesterday.

Happy Birthday to you both.

Happy Birthday, John Barrowman

John Barrowman, star of Torchwood (the spin-off of Doctor Who), is celebrating a birthday today. The actor and singer turns 43 today.

Actually, Barrowman has a lot to celebrate at the moment. For one thing, he is currently in the States and on the set of Desperate Housewives, where he will guest on the show for several episodes. The first of these will be March 21st, according to TV.com. Barrowman will be playing the villain in connection with the new family on Wisteria Lane, but has said in several interviews that he will play a major part in all of the ladies' lives on the show.

Another exciting thing in the life and times of John Barrowman is the new album he has just released. This self-titled work has been said to be his most personal yet, as he goes back to his Broadway roots and has chosen songs that have some significance in his life. (One example is the song his mother used to sing to him as a child, "You'll Never Walk Alone," from the musical Carousel).

There is also talk of Barrowman reprising his role of Captain Jack Harkness for the American version of Torchwood that is in the works, but he insists that he knows nothing about this at the present time. Is he just saying that because he's not allowed to tell? Guess we will just have to wait and see. One thing is certain, it would be a crime to waste his experience with the show and his obvious enthusiasm at potentially getting to take the part back up again.