I ventured out to the suburbs to visit my parents for a weekend of family fun: barbecuing, hanging out on the porch, catching up, and of course - lots of laughing. So when my mother announced that we were going to the movies to see "Public Enemies" on Saturday night, I threw a wrench in the plan and insisted we see "Bruno" - hey, I wanted to keep the laughs coming.

To give you a little bit of a background to set the scene: I am an only child, a daughter, the apple of my parents' (collective) eye. I went to an all-girls' Catholic school for 12 years and basically grew up in an ivory tower.

Don't get me wrong, my parents and I loved Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat," and are by no means easily offended. But in terms of pushing the envelope, "Bruno" - the story of a flamboyant Austrian fashionista who travels to Los Angeles in search of fame - is leaps and bounds past "Borat." Perfect on a movie night with friends… not so much with Mom and Dad.

To put it mildly, the film features montages of people engaging in all manner of sexual activity, parts of the male anatomy that talk and wave, and other such cringe-worthy scenes. Color me mortified!

At one point my mom leaned over to my dad and said, "I can't believe Kate wanted to see this!" I wanted to hide under my popcorn bucket. I later overheard my dad say that while he found the film hilarious, he would have enjoyed it more if he'd gone without me.

Learn from my (t)error: Do not go see "Bruno" with your parents, grandparents, or offspring.

How about you? Have you seen "Bruno"? Or have you ever watched a movie or TV show with someone who made it incredibly awkward?

Larry King's crew got unprecedented access to the pop band as it kicked off its world tour.

The crew went behind the scenes with Nick, Joe, and Kevin during their whirlwind trip through Paris, London, and Madrid prior to Larry’s sit-down interview with the boys -– in which the Jonas’ open up to Larry about their fame, fortune, personal lives, and plans for the future.

Nick, Kevin, and Joe like you've never seen them before!

Exclusive behind the scenes access on and off the stage!

CLICK HERE for a sneak preview, exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, photo galleries, a travelogue diary, quiz, and much more!

The Jonas Brothers answer your questions on Larry King Live, tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CNN.

Growing up, I was a huge "Little House on the Prairie" fan. I couldn't get enough of Walnut Grove, the Ingalls family, the one-room schoolhouse, Pa's fiddle… even Nellie Oleson. So naturally I jumped at the chance to attend a Q&A followed by a book signing where I met Melissa Gilbert - Laura Ingalls Wilder herself - whose tell-all memoir, Prairie Tale has just hit bookstore shelves.

(Left to Right) Melissa Panetta, Summer Panetta, and Elaina Benfante share a love of “Little House on the Prairie” and were thrilled to meet Melissa Gilbert.

I at least thought I was a big LHOTP fan… until self-proclaimed "Little House fanatic" Chris Czajka informed me that rabid fans are known as Bonnetheads. One word.

Czajka creates educational materials for the "Little House on the Prairie" musical; a 40-city tour of the show is set to kick-off later this year. Czajka also told me that Bonnetheads regularly attend the show in full on prairie-era costume. Rocky Horror, anyone?

I interviewed Gilbert; and being the LHOTP fan I am (I am not cool enough to call myself a Bonnethead… yet!), I  strictly talked "Little House."

Katie McLaughlin: On "Little House on the Prairie," did you acquire any skills that didn't quite translate over to modern-day life, yet are fun to show off at parties (IE: butter churning)?

Melissa Gilbert: I can drive a stagecoach, fire a rifle, rope a horse, and play a mean game of poker.

KM: Do you have any mementos from the "Little House" set?

Actress Melissa Gilbert poses for a photo while signing copies of “Prairie Tale.”

MG: I have the first dress I ever wore on the show - the red one from the credits –- framed and hanging in my house. I have the original pilot script; I have my motel key from when we filmed the pilot in North Carolina, and the sign from Wilder Room and Board.

KM: Your favorite episode, "The Lord is my Shepherd," was about how Laura moved to a mountaintop to be closer to God because she felt guilty that she did not pray for her sick infant brother, who died. Do you realize that there are no mountains whatsoever on the prairie?

MG: Yup! Why do you think it took me so long to get there?

KM: Do you have the covered wagon-shaped, 60-disc "Little House" complete series DVD set?

MG: Yes, and I had to buy it on Amazon myself.

KM: I can't believe you had to buy it yourself! By the way, I think it would have been cool if the DVD set was shaped like the house itself - instead of a wagon, don't you?

MG: That would be nice. It'd also be nice if I got a cut of the profits.

– Katie McLaughlin, CNN

The Waitresses’ "Christmas Wrapping" may be the most unlikely of Christmas tunes, a New Wave-infused song that has become a holiday standard. It's a six-minute short story of a young woman who opts to sit out the holiday season  –  in terms of length, practically the "American Pie" or "Stairway to Heaven" of holiday entries.

Even its origins are offbeat. In 1981, the band -– best known for "I Know What Boys Like" –- had to contribute to a Christmas album at the request of its record label president. The group was reluctant; songwriter Chris Butler even penned some of the lyrics in a cab on the way to the recording studio. In August. And the title isn’t even part of the song’s lyrics, but rather a play on words: lead singer Patty Donahue spits the lyrics out so fast, she practically raps them.

But, in an instance of life imitating art, the song -– like the guy the singer is pursuing in its lyrics - stuck around.

Throughout “Christmas Wrapping,” Donahue -– "a rough, tough girl," Butler remembered of the late singer in a 2005 interview - laments over a missed opportunity regarding a guy she’s been "chasing all year." The pair had made various attempts to go out on a date throughout the year but a number of obstacles kept them apart, namely sunburn, car trouble and scheduling woes. But (spoiler alert!) with a little Christmas magic, she runs into the guy while buying cranberries at a grocery store on Christmas Eve.

I first heard the song during the holiday season of 1995, when I was in high school working at a Gap Kids in a suburban mall. Grunge was still very much en vogue and plaid flannel covered the shelves, so the holiday mix tape that blared from our speakers was edgy as well. It included Christmas songs from the Eels, Annie Lennox, and - yes - “Christmas Wrapping.”

The song filled me with pleasure. I am a Christmas nerd. Friends say my holiday parties are "like Christmas threw up," I have to see "The Nutcracker" at Lincoln Center every year, and I even had a Christmas-themed wedding last year complete with red plaid taffeta bridesmaid dresses and candy-cane martinis.

And yet, Butler has said he wrote the song because "for years I hated Christmas." All the frenzy he saw, he said, "wasn't about joy. It was something to cope with."

Well, if "Christmas Wrapping" is Butler's proverbial "bah humbug," I'd love to hear his material after he's been visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future - because, ironically, while this holiday gem helped Butler express his feeling about the holidays, it helps me cope with people who don't like Christmas. So thanks, Chris, Patty and the band: “Christmas Wrapping” helps make this time of year.

– Katie McLaughlin, CNN

At a time when presidential candidates regularly take policy advice from Joe the Plumber, Dan the Drywall Guy is conspicuously silent.

Twenty years ago this week, “Roseanne,” a TV series about a working-class family facing daily challenges with a blue-collar brand of humor, premiered on ABC. Today, with the state of the economy so bleak, more and more families - like “Roseanne’s” Conner clan - are clipping coupons and forgoing luxuries, making the message of the show perhaps more relevant today than ever.

And yet today it seems as if every character on television is upscale. While wealth is not synonymous with love and security, television has all but abandoned blue-collar characters. Modern-day shows tend to mock the working class and lack the soul that "Roseanne" once expressed so exuberantly.

What happened to shows about people who don't have Birkin bags or slick luxury cars? The character of Naomi on “90210” seems to have a Chanel bag for every day of the school week. Members of the “Gossip Girl” cast can often be heard click-clacking along Manhattan sidewalks in Christian Louboutin heels.

The argument can be made, of course, that people watch TV as an escape and that they no more expect to step into a pair of Jimmy Choos than they expect snow flurries in Miami in August. Then again, there are Web sites devoted to hunting down clothing and accessories that actors wear in TV and movies. So, are everyday people looking at shows as fantasy - or are they maxing out their credit cards on Gucci sunglasses?

In some ways, the Conners were worse off than many of us. Their dishwasher-less house was a bit of a dump, with mismatched furniture and haphazard decor. They argued over relationships and money, and were fluent in sarcasm.

But the Conners were lucky in other ways. Their house may have been dumpy, but it was cozy and soulful. (Three cheers for the set decorators!) And, at the end of the day (or 30 minutes), they remained a tight-knit family, and their love and sensitivity was something that could not be bought. They didn't need a Sub-Zero refrigerator to show the world they were a force to be reckoned with. Would it be that today’s TV show characters could do the same.

– Katie McLaughlin, CNN