Whine & Cheese

A Quickie

Surviving just fine as we are on Day 3 of the parents' visit to AZ. Though I have to say since I play "host" so infrequently, I forget how much energy it takes to try and keep the contentment level high high high! Sure we have had a misstep or two ("dog slobbering on dad's pants" or this morning's "dog runs off with mom's eyeglass case") but nothing that has not been recoverable and forgettable in a short period of time. My parents are still on East Coast time, so let's just say it has been a couple of early mornings!

Looking forward to tomorrow when we hit the road (before 6am I am told by the units) to Las Vegas...a chance to relax a bit and not worry about keeping so many balls up in the air (it won't be in our house, so I can't be responsible for all that much that goes on!)... but more so to get away from work and out of the house (i.e my workplace) for a bit... and best yet Todd is going to be flying up to join us on Wednesday night... so hopefully it will be a good getaway for all of us!

So American Idol and Survivor and all the rest of TV will just go by without me... hopefully TiVo will preserve everything to catch up on after next weekend (though I am more concerned about the cable box, which likes to turn itself off every so often, more than good 'ole TiVo).

Guess that is all for now... I should clean up a few last work things... maybe get packing for the trip and keep everyone in good spirits in the mean time. Have a good week... probably back blogging on May 3rd (if I am not buried in work or in the insane asylum)!

Hello! Goodbye!

No, don't worry I am not leaving blogger-ville. It seems like it is the latest trend, but since I was behind the curve in starting to blog... I don't think I will be dropping out any time soon.

My parents arrive in about 15 hours and today has been nothing short of hectic. My job is not exactly brain surgery...but the way people have acted since I told them I was going to be on vacation has made me feel like I am leaving them on the operating room table with the skull cracked wide open! I guess I should be glad that my clients need me...but I just wish they would have needed me a little less today...or yesterday... or Monday (when I will still be cleaning up some final things)!

The house -- the physical one we live in and mental one I only inhabit -- is not quite ready. I am sure the house will come together quickly, but I think it really won't hit me that they are actually going to be here until I head to the airport tomorrow morning.

It should be a busy and fun week... a trip to the Old Pueblo (that's Tucson to you!) on Sunday, Dbacks vs. Cubs MLB game on Monday....and then off to Las Vegas for the rest of the week.

I am sure I will have many a tale to tell once I get back, so stay tuned...and don't drop those bookmarks or links just yet....I'll be back... .promise!

Idol Week 6 Results: Looks Like We Made It.... NOT!

Well, well, well.. the powers-that-be at American Idol sure are sadists, huh? As a reality show maven, I should have known something was rotten in Hollywood when the Divas faced off against the Wannabes. Poor George, he probably had some 'splaining to do when he got back to the Idol house picking the wrong "safe" group... probably not though, as the "Group B" contestants seemed as surprised as anyone else that they are back for another week.

Last night's results do not bode well for the future of Idol. While I didn't think Jennifer would make it to the final weeks, she surely deserved to remain for at least a few more weeks (especially after her two recent stellar performances). Given what we have seen in the past, I now suspect that the finals will not include either Fantasia or LaToya. Both have landed outside the top 3 a couple of times now (LaToya a previous bottom 3 finish and Fantasia in the middle grouping, so at least 4th, in the week JPL left).

There is a greater force out there. Teenage girls really attracted to John Stevens or relating to Diana? The state of Hawaii rallying around Jasmine? Love of the underdog? Or dare I even suggest the race card?

I think something can be said of the voting process as well. If households were limited to one vote or if there was a nominal charge for voting (perhaps w/ the proceeds donated to music programs in the schools) I have a feeling we would see different result results. But I don't think Fox/Idol will buy into that as they love bragging about the millions of votes cast each week.

We'll see if things return to normal next week...though I will have to find out after the fact. I am out of town next week, so no Idol (or blog) updates for two weeks. But after last night's results, I think I need a break!

American Idol Week 6: Ready To Take A Chance Again?

Under the fog of decongestant/antihistamine I really don't have all that much to say about Barry Manilow night on American Idol...all the usual suspects did their
thang...so unless their is a surprise (which there very well could be) I think we are going to be coasting for a couple more weeks.

Diana DeGarmo had a shaky start on "One Voice," but she pulled it out in the end with her now trademark never-ending note. But as Tarantino said last week...so what?! Now that we are down to 7, it is just a matter of time.

George Huff has fallen off the wagon the last couple of weeks... I thought last night's performance was all over the place (stuttery)...like Diana he finished well, but I think he has lost his Top 3 status to...

Jennifer Hudson who has really been coming on strong the last few weeks... she has seemed to find the right combination of songs that suit her voice and personality. Granted she turned a fairly sedate Manilow song into something you think Patti LaBelle may have sung.

Thought Jasmine Trias gave her best performance in a few weeks... that said she still is no competition to the Diva Trio. Just treading water at this point.

As Simon said LaToya London has the best voice of the competition...my only quibble is that her song choice/style seems to be getting predictable...quiet start that slowly builds to a big-voice finish. But what a beautiful, big voice it is.

I have to admit that I didn't hate John Stevens' take on "Mandy"...which, as you know, is the highest praise I tend to give to Stevens. I agree with the judges though...he started out well but the "emoting" got worse towards the finish. Still nothing to save him for what should be a bottom 3 finish.

It was not my favorite Fantasia Barrino performance...but you gotta admit she is a natural entertainer.

Searching for Nudity

Am a little out of it today... dealing with a nose/ear/throat thing that I picked up over the weekend...hopefully I will recover in time for my parent's arrival on Saturday since I must be close to 100% healthy to do all the things I planned for them!

Not feeling terribly original in the blog department today....so I thought I would just take a little survey of the most popular folks who people are searching for either "nude" or "naked" and the less popular (but still titillating) "gay"...

Here are the results from the past month (with number of hits in parentheses):

Naked/Nude Hit List:
Star of NBC's Las Vegas - Josh Duhamel (21)
Oprah interior designer - Nate Berkus (5)
Trading Spaces carpenter - Carter Oosterhouse (5)
Boy Meets Boy leading man - James Getzlaff (2)
Idol Contestants - Jasmine Trias (2), Diana DeGarmo (1), Jon Peter Lewis (1), Katie Webber (1)
Buxom County Music Legend - Dolly Parton (1)
Survivor All-Star - Shii Ann (1)
Law & Order/Oz Stud - Chris Meloni (1)
Sopranos Star - Edie Falco (1)
Queer Eye Guy - Kyan Douglas (1)
Queer Eye Straight Guy/Ice Skater - John Zimmerman (1)
Singer/Reality Star - Nick Lachey (1)

Gay Hit List:
From above: Nate (6), Josh (4), Carter (2)
Idol Contestants: George Huff (4), Matt Rogers (4), Briana Ramirez-Rial (3),  Marisa Joy (2), Jon Peter Lewis (1), Marque Lynche (1), Fantasia Barrino (1)

Free Willy

Thanks to the Beaverhausen Blog for making my Monday a little brighter with the links to these pix...

Prince William has taken up water polo! And no sir, not with those aerodynamic full-body swimsuits that are the rage these days among competitive swimmers...folks, we have speedo!

So here are some links... which a) make me feel 49% dirty man for actually remembering when he was a baby and b) 51% for making me feel... ummm... something else...

Will in the pool
Out of the pool...holding the ball
Full frontal speedo
The Royal Bum...almost

Dumb Blonde (And Some Hairspray)

The weekend was filled with preparations for my parents' visit this coming Saturday (eek!).  House cleaning, yard work, old furniture removal...and of course, self-cleaning!

Since we got hair clippers this past Christmas, I have been cutting my own hair (with some help from Todd)... given that my hair cut is fairly uncomplicated it has worked out fairly well.  I certainly don't miss my friends over at SuperCuts.  Usually during the warmer months, I throw some blonde into my brown locks (as well as the grays that are increasingly creeping in).  So I decided it was time to freshen up my hair color for my parents' visit as well.  In the past, the hair coloring has never been dramatic - in fact, the last time I did it I hardly noticed any difference.

I guess you know where this is going?  After rinsing, shampooing, conditioning, and drying on Saturday night my hair was completely and utterly blond.  Well almost, some signs of my original brown remained...but for the most part it was/is shockingly yellow! If my parents arriving in six days, I probably would just live with it - but I think it is way too much for them to handle (it is borderline too much for me to handle)!   So on Sunday I bought some light brown hair color in hopes of getting it back to my more natural tones.  I have yet to do it... I am fearful of what two dye jobs in such a short period of time will do...but I know I should do it in the next day or so...so I  have at least a couple of days to move onto "Plan C" if this fix fails.  Granted I don't know what Plan C is at the moment!  Wish me luck!  I think it is pretty funny, but I definitely am feeling like a dumb blonde at the moment!
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We went to see Hairspray on Friday night...it was really a fun show, even
though tries tackles the "serious" issue of racial integration (it takes place in 1962) as well as weight discrimination.  Echoing those review blurbs, I would say the show is "Infectious!" and "Joyful!"  Keala Settle who played Tracy was simply wonderful... spunky, lovable and charismatic and what a voice (take that you American Idol wanna-bes).  Bruce Vilanch as Mom Edna was great too... obviously this role is not meant for comedy and not singing ability...Vilanch made for one ugly, overweight woman (which, I believe, is totally the point!).

I think I have seen something like 50+ different musicals in my lifetime...and I have to say that 80% of the newer shows are crap...so it was nice to see one that bucked the trend.   I don't know if I would call Hairspray "great" -- but it was definitely not crappy...and that easily puts in my recommend column if the show rolls into your town or if you are headed to the Great White Way.

Drag Racing

Life can be a drag sometimes...

Tonight we are off to see Hairspray the latest show this season in our Broadway Across America series.  It was one of the shows I was looking forward to this season.  I remember enjoying the movie and have heard barely a bad thing about its Broadway musical incarnation.  Comedy writer/Advocate columnist/Hollywood Squares regular, Bruce Vilanch, is filling the dress as Edna Turnblad in the touring production.  I am sure he is no Harvey Fierstein...but I have no means for comparison...so I am sure Bruce will be fine

I would like to see Connie & Carla this weekend (not sure it is going to happen since my parents arrive next weekend and there seems like a lot to do).  I have seen commercials where they have the two are singing a variety of showtunes while doing their Victor/Victoria (woman pretending to be a man pretending to be woman) thing... and it looks like it could be fun.  Nia Vardalos pretty much said she wrote scenes in to just include her favorite Broadway music....considering her choice of leading men (John Corbett in "Greek" and David Duchovny here), maybe Nia really is a gay male trapped in the body of a woman!

And yet one more note.... on Friendster, I was curious to see how many of my 3000+ "friends" live in Arizona -- only 11, including 3 drag queens!   Their hometown city does not actually exist but the trio (masquerading as Celine Dion, Tina Turner, and Bette Davis) for some reason decided to plant themselves, at least cyber-ly, in Arizona.

Idol Week 5 Results: For JPL It's Return To Sender

I can not say that this season's American Idol has been predictable. Looks like we have quite fickle voters ... after two weeks of truly awful performances JPL last week lands in the middle group of votes (with Fantasia no less)... and this week he returns to his Elvis roots that won him the audience wildcard vote and gets voted off! I thought for sure Diana was a goner... then when she was "saved" I salivated over the possibility of losing the crooner... so even though I was never a big JPL fan, I was still surprised to see him go.

Since my predictions have been sooo good thus far... I think it is time for me to predict the new American Idol.... Mr. John Stevens!

American Idol Week 5: Movie Night

Down to the elite 8 on American Idol and, if we are going by singing ability, the show still seems to be steamrolling to a Fantasia vs. LaToya showdown. A month into the main competition it is hard not to sound like a broken record at this point...but nevertheless here's my quick take on "Movie Night" (in order of performance):

I agree with the judges that last night was not one of George Huff's best, but I'd still put him in 4th place or so among last night's contestants.

Jennifer Hudson is back on the move...and in an upward fashion. I knew we could not get through the night without a selection from "The Bodyguard" ... but have to say that J-Hud more than adequately competed with the Whitney version...not an easy thing to do.

Ok it was back to drunk frat boy kaoroke for Jon Peter Lewis. He pulled out the Elvis card again... I thought it was shouty, largely incompreshensible, and showed off no singing ability -- so in other words... see you next week.

Diana DeGarmo continues to crash and burn. I thought she had a chance to show off her ability to "belt" with "My Heart Will Go On"...but it was pretty rough and, unlike Jennifer, did not approach the Celine version we all know (like it or not) so well. I suspect the song title might take on an ominous tone tonight.

Most contestants come out on stage and sing a song...Fantasia Barrino comes out and performs them. While the judges' praises were a bit over the top it was still an amazing performance... after finding herself in the middle of the pack last week...Fantasia knows she has to buckle down and she did it last night.

Jasmine Trias will probably be joining Diana in the bottom 3 tonight... her "When I Fall In Love" was pretty patchy. I agree with Simon's assessment that her vocal ability is lounge singer quality... I enjoy lounge singers...but she is out of her league here.

I don't know what more to say about John Stevens. Good song choice...but I still think he sounds shallow when holding notes...and the finger snapping is annoying. The Rat Pack was hip/cool and John is anything but... Simon said he had no charisma...I disagree he has negative charisma.

LaToya London once again was awesome... according to Paula Abdul on "Entertainment Tonight" apparently Quentin Tarantino originally said she was a "F&ckin' Power House," but Fox was even too scared to just bleep it...so they had to go back and re-film the judges comments after the show.

Again I am torn between LaToya and Fantasia...but I'll give the evening to Fantasia by a nose. I suspect Diana will be leaving tonight (joined by Jasmine...and perhaps John Stevens?)

One more note...Quentin Tarantino...best guest judge ever. Unpredictable, not afraid to speak the truth and obviously a fan of the show.