from the couch of Renzie Baluyut
Thanks to a message thread on Facebook, I've been able to check out some old Sesame Street clips I've marked as my favorites on my YouTube account.
Sesame Street was definitely one of the most influential TV shows for me when I was a kid. Seared into my subconscious are some of the most fun sketches and songs I've ever seen, which to this day, I could still recite from memory. Check these lines out:
You take the Golden 'An' to the tan van- you give it to Dan, who'll take it to Fran!
A loaf o' bread, a container of milk, and a stick o' butter. (If you can't remember it, I'll write it down for you. That's OK momma, I won't forget.)
Once upon a time in the land of 8, there stood a castle, very great. With 8 flags up in the air, for the King of 8 had put them there (*trumpets*).
That's about the size, where you put your eyes, that's about the size of it!
What do you think your mother would do, if you yelled like a Yellow Yahoo? (Boo!)
But the coolest of all has to be this one: Stevie Wonder's live performance of "Superstition". And he brought his whole crew with him. And some kids to jam out on the balcony. And I mean really jam out. Check out my post on that particular version of "Superstition" here on my personal music blog, My Thoughts in Stereo.from the couch of Renzie Baluyut
On today's feature on Favorite TV Chicks, we turn the spotlight on two of the prettiest contestants to ever sign up for The Amazing Race: Asia. For those of you who have been checking out the show on AXN, you know what I'm talkin' about: the two lovely ladies of Team Thailand: Pailin and Natalie.
Just what the show needs- some serious weekly eye-candy. But if you caught last night's episode, you probably already know how my favorite team fared.
Maybe it was the heat, the sleep deprivation, or just the race itself, but it seemed that Natalie's spirit had begun to give, despite Pailin's best efforts to keep her going. And as luck would have it, this week's leg ended in an elimination.
It was truly disappointing since I was really looking forward to seeing more of the two every week on The Amazing Race: Asia.
Here's Pailin and Natalie's write-up from the Amazing Race: Asia website:
No Amazing Race season is without its resident eye candy but with leggy beauties Pailin and Natalie, their team has one credential none of the previous good looking teams in race history ever had – being in a Miss Universe pageant and winning one!
25 year old Pailin Rungratanasunthorn was the first runner up in 2006 Miss Thailand Universe and represented her country as Miss Thailand Earth 2006 as well.
As for her good friend Natalie Glebova, the 26-year-old actually was a Miss Universe. Natalie took home the gleaming crown and title from the competition held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2005. The Russian Canadian beauty originally from Tuapse, Russia represented Canada in her winning event and is the second Canadian to claim the title.It is no wonder that beauty pageants are part of their blood, having met in the 2006 Miss Thailand Universe pageant and becoming fast friends after that. Pailin was also one of Natalie's bridesmaids when she married Thailand's highest ranked tennis player, Paradorn Srichaphan, in November 2007.
But beauty is not the only thing that links the Thailand team together. Both have acute business sense as they are running their own business. Pailin's company makes toys, t-shirts and gifts for sale online, while Natalie's company sells beauty products across Thailand.
Describing herself, Pailin notes of her decision to participate in The Amazing Race, "I am really competitive and I want to do something where I can put my energy in it."
Agreeing, Natalie adds, "We're both very competitive and cannot stand to lose. We love to travel, love to do adrenaline like things, love to experience new cultures and learn."
And with both their credentials, travelling has become second nature to them. Pailin has travelled to Japan, China, South Africa, and Egypt while Natalie, other than gracing beauty pageants around the world, has attended the G8 Summit in New York, and as a HIV/AIDS awareness advocate, has travelled extensively to India and Africa.
Having spent their formative years in the beauty circuit, the damsels know a bit about what it takes to stay ahead. And having seen the show on television, the duo is also gunning to experience the thrills and tumbles that only the race can deliver. Exclaims Natalie, "We love to try new things. Give us bungee jumping, parachuting, paragliding and parasailing any day!"
She adds, "We are competitive, we're in shape and we're going to kick ass."
The girls have started preparing for the trek around the world based on what the previous Amazing Race Asia seasons were like. Surprisingly, their strategy for winning is to be the underdog and "fly under the radar". "Let's hope that no one will take us too seriously so we won't be recognized as a threat until it's too late!"
You can check out the rest of the teams, team photos and even interact with other fans of The Amazing Race: Asia on the official AXN Asia website.from the couch of Renzie Baluyut
With our old favorite TV shows coming back for new seasons, we can definitely expect a lot of great viewing these next few months. There will be surprise hits and flops, drama on- and off-cam, and of course, new chicks on TV!
So far, I have my eye on three great-looking women: Anna Torv of the J.J. Abrams FOX drama Fringe, Dania Ramirez, the deadly Maya from the hit NBC show Heroes, and then we have Mädchen Amick, who plays Nate Archibald's new cougar love interest on Gossip Girl on The CW.
Lets get to know them a little better, shall we?
Anna Torv of Fringe
What makes Dunham's character so bad-ass is the kind of crooks she hunts down: you'd think they're regular serial killers or terrorists, but these miscreants are actually part of some much larger, much more elaborate conspiracy she's still trying to figure out.
Anna Torv's character is forced to confront the systematic spread of weird, paranormal occurences (called 'The Pattern' on the show), and I have to say that Anna is doing great playing Olivia Dunham.
Anna is an Australian actress, with a few movies and TV shows to her credit, but this is the biggest role she has thus far, and I say good luck on this endeavor. She's doing a great job, and I can't wait to watch the next episode to see how The Pattern unfolds.
Dania Ramirez of Heroes
Well, Maya is back this season, and while we didn't see much character development the last time she was on Heroes, she promises fans this time, "I cry a lot less this season and make out a lot more."
We can all appreciate that. Thank you, Dania.
Dania Ramirez actually came from the Dominican Republic, and has had a recurring role in The Sopranos' final season. You also may have caught her on the last X-Men movie (X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006) and on a music video here and there.
As for Dania's character on Heroes, well, we've seen some more of that "making out" the other night. That, plus more revealing clothes. Still no idea how her powers work though. Is it psionic in nature? Does she exude some kind of airborne nerve toxin? A fast-acting disease perhaps?
Her name Mädchen means "girl" in German, and is pronounced mayd-shyen- remember that. You probably remember her as Shelly Johnson from the old TV drama Twin Peaks, or that chick in the Stephen King movie Sleepwalkers (1992).
OK, so she also had recurring roles on a lot of other shows including Gilmore Girls, E.R., Jake In Progress and Joey- that plus a number of movie roles and other gigs. So you get the idea: she has been around for quite some time, and now Mädchen is back, for the appreciation of a totally new audience on Gossip Girl.
Mädchen Amick plays the role of Catherine Mason, one of this season's new characters. She has a summer fling with Chace Crawford's character of Nate Archibald, which of course goes on to extend for several episodes just for fun.
We also find out later on that Catherine Mason is stepmom to Blair Waldorf's (Leighton Meester) love interest, Marcus. With all the characters running around, up to their usual Upper East-side scheming and shenanigans, you know that this makes for great Gossip Girl drama, and it can only be a good thing for viewers, right?
Hey, you can check out our featured actresses on their own respective profiles on the Internet Movie Database: check out Anna Torv's here, Dania Ramirez's here, and Mädchen Amick's here.
As long as TV keeps coming up with delicious eye-candy, this blog's feature on "Favorite TV Chicks" will be on hand to get to know more about our fine female performers who make our TV shows a little bit more interesting. Only on "Too Much TV | Renzie on TV!"
Cheers, everyone!
I might be a media guy, but my field is really more into radio and marketing more than anything else. For the most part, it means that what I know about television is pretty much stuff just about anyone can know- so don't expect me to go technical or anything. 
Hey, Renzie here at your service, and thanks for stopping by to check out the stuff on this blog.
