Six Degrees of Separation: Babysitter's Edition

A few weeks ago, while watching a DVR'd episode of Castle with Hubby, I saw a name scroll by in the opening credits that I thought I recognized. I sat straight up in my chair and began shouting like a lunatic.

"Wait! Wait! Go back--did that say Eric Tiede? Little Sister and I used to babysit Eric Tiede. I mean, maybe it's not the same Eric Tiede, but that's really not that common a name, I've never met anyone else with that last name." 

Hubby rewound far enough to confirm that the name was in the credits and then he spent three or four minutes convincing me not to pause the show and go check IMDB--three or four minutes during which I could easily have gotten the information, I'd like to note--and instead suggested I just watch the episode and see if I could spot anyone who looked familiar.

Despite my protests that I had last seen Eric when he was four and that it was highly unlikely that I would recognize him now (26 years or so later), I suspected I did recognize him as the comic book store owner and after half an hour or so of Internet research, I confirmed I was correct.

I was absurdly, ridiculously excited to find out that I babysat someone who now has an IMDB page.

Imagine then, what happened when I realized the full six-degrees-of-separation implications of my association with Eric Tiede. The possibilities are endless, but here's my favorite so far:

1. I babysat Eric Tiede.
2. Eric was in a film with David Arquette (The Land of  the Astronauts).
3. David Arquette was married to Courtney Cox.
4. Courtney Cox was in Friends with Jennifer Aniston.
5. Jennifer Aniston was married to Brad Pitt.
6. Brad Pitt cohabits and parents children with Angelina Jolie.

Hence, thanks to a babysitting gig in the '80s, I am less than six degrees away from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Speaking of babysitting:

Brad and Angie, I'm totally available. Give me a call.

Masked Mom's Media Monday: 2 Broke Girls

Let's get this out of the way right up front: I am in no way qualified to review the show 2 Broke Girls because I have seen a total of 13 minutes of the show ever.

From the beginning, the previews promised a particularly vapid and shallow sitcom with a particularly vapid and shallow premise. I was persuaded to watch the 13 minutes I did watch in part because I had enjoyed Kat Dennings in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist so much that it was hard for me to imagine her being associated with something horrible. There was also the fact that several people close to me highly recommended the show.

Short story shorter yet, the previews delivered exactly as promised and then some--throwing in clichés, sexism, racial stereotypes and even some classism as an added bonus to the shallowness and vapidity. I clicked away after 13 brutal minutes of stilted delivery of wooden lines (or was it wooden delivery of stilted lines?).

Therefore, I'm obviously not qualified to bring an in-depth perspective to what works and what doesn't on the show. I only mention the show at all because a little boy I used to babysit is all grown up and making a guest appearance on tonight's season premiere of 2 Broke Girls.

Ever since I caught Eric Tiede's appearance on Castle, I have periodically checked in on his Facebook fan page to see when and where he would be popping up next and have gotten a kick out of seeing him in episodes of Major Crimes and Grimm. I have even checked in on a few episodes of shows he's been featured in on Nickelodeon and Disney.

So, this latest appearance presents a real dilemma for this stalkery ex-babysitter: Do I want to see Eric's performance more than I hate 2 Broke Girls?

The episode's in the DVR and the jury's still out.

Masked Mom's One-Word Review: Conflicted.