Whine & Cheese

Lost Map

This past week's episode of Lost had a big "Oy!" moment ... well there were quite a few of those... to say nothing of the Jack/Sawyer homoeroticism with the whole "putting your mango where my mouth is," yet I digress...

But arguably, the biggest revelation of the night was when Locke got a gander at a mysterious map that was momentarily illuminated by black light.

Entertainment Weekly's website does a little deconstruction on the map... and gives us a closer view of some of that scribbling... so lowing us to zoom in and get a better view of some of that scribbling.

So get at it, if you so choose, but I think it will all just make my brain hurt!

MINI Parking Only

In yesterday's mail, I had an envelope from MINI.  I figured it was a customer satisfaction study... nope, it was a "MINI Note"... granted a little late, but still it's the thought that counts, right?

Rumor has it there might be a new MINI headed your way.  Now's the time to visit the driveway, garage or parking venue of your choosing (as long as it's yours) and stake out a little territory for you and your MINI.

LET'S MOTOR

Your friends at MINI

Enclosed was this cardboard stencil (spray paint not included):

This just cracked me up.  I love the car, but I gotta love this company too... you not gonna get this type of follow-up from any other car company!

Now I just have to get back on the road.  My Cooper had its first "typical" week. Transalation: Sitting in the garage for 99.5% of the week... the odometer is still just under 500 miles total... with only about 4-5 new miles put on it since Monday... so time to get it motorin' again!

You Sexy Thing! 2

My plan was to have You Sexy Thing! be a semi-regular feature here at W&C. 

TVGuide.com started this little feature back in November 2005.  I featured that first pairing... the tantalizing face-off of Jason Lewis vs. Josh Holloway.  But then TVG pretty much dropped the ball... not updating the poll for weeks at a time... or worse yet, having the combatants be <gasp!> of the female persuasion.

Three+ months later, they are back with another gut-wrenching dilemma (though I suspect the area being wrenched is a bit south of the gut)...

Duhamel is the star of NBC's Las Vegas, while O'Donnell continues to search for success on the small screen and hopes to do that with an upcoming guest-stint on Grey's Anatomy.

So while O'Donnell certainly made me momentarily go "hmm" (especially in my featured pic)... if you have been a W&C reader for any length of time, you know my vote squarely goes to... Josh Duhamel!

And my fellow voters seem to agree... Duhamel is currently dominating with 79% of the vote.

TAR9: Bowling Moms 4Ever

Sorry can't quite get around to a full-blown TAR update ... the American Idol update is killing my creative juices, my Internet connection was pretty darn sluggish for most of the day... and [gasp!] I actually have a lot of "work" work to do... so not a great combo.  There's your "whine"... now back to the "cheese"...

One thing I learned from last night's episode (long-windedly entitled "Good Thing I Took That Human Anatomy Class in High School") is that Palermo is a lot harder to pronounce than I ever suspected!

I would guess that not even half the teams were able to get it right.  Kudos to the TAR editors for capturing Monica's mangling of the Italian town's name... while her voice-over was all about how she is not a "dumb blonde."  Classic.

While I liked The Hippies before, they totally endeared themselves last night with their wardrobe tribute:

How cool was BJ & Tyler's little homage to TAR5's Linda & Karen -- the original Bowling Moms!

Even the stoic Philiminator broke out laughing (below left) when they arrived at the mat ... and to their wild overreaction to winning a digital camera and some batteries!

Phil is certainly not hiding his emotions this season... the look on his face (above right) when Lake & Michelle arrived on the mat I am sure was very similar to the expression on many viewers' faces over Lake's actions during this leg of the Race. 

And do you think Lake is watching this all back on television and seeing how pitiful it looks that he needs the constant "you're great honey" "you're wonderful babe" reinforcement just to get through the day?!

AI5: Top Ten(se)

I don't know what was going on at American Idol last night, but as a whole I think it was one of the worst shows ... ever.   Kind of scary that the contestants would all pretty much stumble with a theme night of something they are trying to be -- singing stars of the 21st Century!

I guess they just felt like the pressure was off this week now that Kevin is gone...

I am not going to do any sort of official ranking... no one deserved first place (or second for that matter)... and likewise, not going to waste my time with getting their pictures in (you know what they look like!) but here are my thoughts (in approximate order of finish):

Chris ("What If") - Ah, the week I knew would happen... Simon finally gets around to criticizing Chris for sounding the same week in, week out.  Funny that this comes a week after he gave him props for not compromising... but I think there is a way that he can do both.  I thought the song was a bit too hard and the strobe lights and camera panning almost made me have a seizure.  Would have preferred if Chris went with a "lighter" Creed song... say "Higher" or "Arms Wide Open."   Also, interesting that Ryan had to "clear up" that whole Live-Walk The Line thing from last week.

Elliott ("I Don't Wanna Be") - Now, here was Elliott's truly own cover version of a well-known song.  For the most part I think his R&B/Rap (?) version of the song worked out pretty well... though a few times I think his vocals didn't match up to the music... but I respect the attempt. 

Taylor ("Trouble") - I am guessing a whole lot of folks were not familiar with this song... we can't really get a handle of whether it as good as the original, but that is both a good and bad thing.  But it sounded pretty good to me... and after listening to the 30-second preview on iTunes of the original by Ray LaMontagne, I think it was better than the original.  I agree with Paula, it was nice to see Taylor just stand behind a mike and sing as opposed to running around like a lunatic.

Paris ("Work It Out") - An entertaining performance and decent vocals were enough to get Paris out of the "eh?" group... but I am still wondering how she thought this performance would allow her to be a teenager.  One review that I read said all she need was a stripper pole.  I kind of agree with Simon... Paris kind of reminds me of Rudy Huxtable trying to be all-grown up.  And I was also reminded this morning that Aloha Mischeaux (from last season?) probably did a better take on this particular song.

Ace ("Drops of Jupiter") - There was not a whole lot vocally-wise to be thrilled with this performance, it was a pretty good, but as Simon said karaoke version of the song... what made "eh" was that it was Ace's week of not-so great hair (and it's ALL about the hair!) and the brushing of his hair and showing off his scar entered into gag-inducing territory... and not in a good gag-inducing way... wink wink.  But at least Paula saved the day, doing nothing to dismiss the accusations of inappropriate interaction with the contestants... sure, she wants to see Ace's scar.

Katharine ("The Voice Within") - I am still not getting all the fuss around Katharine... I thought she was great the first week of the semis with "Since I Fell For You" but since then she has failed to really impress me.  I was pretty shocked by the all-around praise and certainly the "best ever" from Simon (I think?!).  I thought it was sharp and pitchy... and only a few singers (like Christina Aguilera) can really do that affected type singing with some skill.

Mandisa ("Wanna Praise You")  - Not a good week for one of my favorites in the competition... and honestly I am not dissing it because it's a Jesus song (we happily went to and thoroughly enjoyed the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues!)... but pretty much I thought it was a complete mess... just shouty and sharp throughout, which is disappointing since Mandisa seemed to be getting that all under control over the past couple of weeks.

Bucky ("Real Good Man") - Really nothing too wrong with this... Bucky has never been the greatest enunciator, so I don't diss him for that ... but it wasn't really a standout performance... and this week, even being bad was standing out... and it wasn't that bad... so it ends up being a pretty forgettable performance.

Kellie ("Suds In The Bucket") - Another off-week for our Hee-Haw Honey and that was part of the problem, it was a little to Hee-Haw... I thought at times her vocals were in place, but there were some rough spots... including, as Todd pointed out (and I have to agree), a very rough spot in that all important last note.  Again, bad song choice.

Lisa ("Because of You") - I am guessing Lisa was probably thinking what song can I sing that can get me voted off so I can leave this god-forsaken show... and, if that was the case, she made a wonderful choice... with a ballsy decision to take on the original American Idol Kelly Clarkson.  While this song grew on me after awhile, I wasn't too fond of it with Kelly's version... and Lisa reminded me of the reasons why... just pretty flat... and going first isn't going to help her out much either.

So bottom three-wise, it is pretty safe to pencil in Lisa and Bucky... one of them will likely go (I am officially going with Lisa), but then it gets tricky...  Chris, Katharine, Kellie, Taylor all seems to have a pretty good fan base... so that leaves Ace, Mandisa, Paris, and Elliott.  I'll go with Ace, and guess he'll be headed back to safety first.

If you liked any of these songs, I highly encourage you go to my  American Idol 5: iTunes iMix and download the originals (well, except for Taylor).

Ok, Centox Her

During the opening credits, I saw that Kate Mara was going to be on 24 last night.  I was pretty excited... one, because I didn't know about it and two, I have really liked some of her previous work. 

I first developed a liking to her when she played Jack's no-BS, bohemian girlfriend on last (only!) season of the WB's Jack & Bobby... and more recently, she popped up as the teenage Alma (Ennis' daughter) in Brokeback Mountain.  She is kind of this ivory girl with an edge.

So last night she shows up at CTU as Edgar's replacement.  First, there is this little subplot of how she was sexually harrassed by someone else currently working on the agency... fine, ok... then she rattles off some all too typical mumbo-jumbo, techie talk and helps the team discover which natural gas plant is going to be the target of the nerve gas attack... but then, after literally getting a pat on the back, she starts accusing this other guy of inappropriate behavior.   

Huh?  Instantly she becomes this psycho-whackjob... even our beloved Chloe has to give the "oh, geez Louise" eyeroll too.  So that bums me out... any "cool!" I felt about having Kate on the show instantly evaporated with this totally throw-away character, who now has zero-cred with her fellow characters and the viewing audience.  Granted 24 has had many of these types before, but I don't think we have ever felt that way after about 7 minutes of screen time!

Walking The Dog

No, I haven't perfected a yo-yo-ing technique... I have literally started to walk the dog.

I know, I am a probably a bad dog owner. Toby is 4 years old now and I have really never taken him on walks.  I figured he had a decent-sized backyard, so he got enough exercise that way... well that is probably wrong too... let's just say folks don't generally refer to Toby as a "fit" dog... while he is not terribly active, I would not say he is overweight... but he is definitely a "big boy."

So what inspired me to start walking him?

Well, I started watching The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel.  Now I know this show has been around for awhile, but I just never had any desire to watch it.  I wrongly assumed it was another pet psychic show.

But after seeing a clip from the show about segment about a "celebrity dog" problem and another one about a lazy basset hound (ding! ding!), I decided to give the show a look.  And what do you know, it's a dog psychology show... with the show's website dubbing dog expert Cesar Millan.. "the Dr. Phil for dogs."

Name a dog problem (aggression, fear, destruction, barking, stubbornness) and Cesar has solved or improved it in about 30 minutes (and it's just not the editing, owners are often shocked how quick a change occurs). 

The shows tend to get repetitive ... so you only have to watch a couple of episodes to "get it"... no shocker, that the issues are more human than canine.  Over and over again, you realize that you have to be a pack leader to your dog and you want your dog to be calm submissive. 

Now being a pack leader is just not in my DNA... in the "good cop/bad cop" scenario I am hands-down the "good cop"... so given that I am the only human around the dogs 80% of the day, this is not a good thing. 

And, getting back to my initial point, walking your dog is key to becoming a pack leader in the eyes of your dog.  But you have to walk the dog in a particular way... you go out the door first, the dog walks closely at your side (never ahead of you on a long leash), you choose when to stop, not allowing your dog to control the pace.

Toby has been doing very good on his walks... it was really quite amazing.  May have done a few corrections early on, but he pretty much fell right into place after just a couple of walks.  Whether he has "changed" on the whole is harder to say... he is a far better behaved dog than he was a couple of years ago... but I think this is a good thing for him... and just the exercise certainly doesn't hurt... though during/after the walks, I think he is more calm exhausted than calm submissive.

So if you have a dog ... with or without issues... I definitely recommend that you give The Dog Whisperer a look!  It's definitely an eye-opener!

Express Lane: Issue 4

Took a bit longer for this latest round-up of Express Lane items:

'Idol' Fans Say Daughtry Copied Song - You read it here first (or second, or third)!  Tthe first controversy of this AI season is starting to reach a boil.  I am guessing some (over, lack of) editing is to blame... but just wonder if this'll start putting doubts in people's minds re: this season's rocker.  (3/24/06)

"Dancing" Drew a Daddy - No real details, but it's a girl for Drew & Lea born Thursday (3/23) in Los Angeles. (3/24/04)

Quaid Sues Over Payment for 'Brokeback' - The actor, who had about 10 minutes of screen time, is suing for $10 million claiming producers told him that BM was "a low-budget, art house film, with no prospect of making any money."  If I was a gamblin' man, that would have been my initial take on BM as well. (3/24/06)

Lachey to Co-Host Miss USA Pageant - Which one?  Nope, not Nick... even after splitting from Ms. Chicken of the Sea, he still finds himself playing second fiddle to dancing Drew who paso doble-d himself into this latest gig. (3/24/06)

Snippy '24' Character Wins Unlikely Following - If this show ever decides to kill off the "petulant, snippy and simmering sourpuss" Chloe O'Brian then I'll be *REALLY* mad....  (3/21/06)

Lifetime vote of confidence for "Election" - Have to keep an eye out for this one (end of 2006) ... as the always fascinating DC power couple, James Carville & Mary Matalin, again face off against each other as campaign managers for a high school study body election. (3/21/06)

Inscribe Edie Falco's Emmy Trophy Now - I guess I wasn't the only one thinking this.  When I paused the 2nd episode of the season to let the dog out... I came back into the room and asked Todd "Should we get back to Edie Falco's Emmy submission tape?" (3/20/06)

'Idol': Simon picks his Top 3 - Usually quite on the money, Simon predicts the Idol Final 3 will be Chris, Taylor... and Kellie.  Don't laugh about Kellie, she is currently polling #2 in popularity (behind Katharine) on an AOL popularity poll. (3/20/06)

J.Lo as Sue Ellen Ewing? - Why 'Dallas' need to go to the big screen I really don't know! But the casting rumors have been a constant source of amusement.  The latest (other than "I'm just Suzy from the block") include John Travolta as JR, Luke Wilson as Bobby, and Shirley MacLaine as Miss Ellie. (3/14/06)

New Life for 'Six Feet Under' - Bravo reportedly coughs up $15 million to begin re-airing the series later this year. (3/10/06)

You Can Not Be Serious

The title post comes from one of my most famous (infamous) tennis rants of all time ... circa John McEnroe Wimbledon 1981... but those days may be coming to an end...

Thanks to Hawkeye -- an electronic line-calling system -- for professional tennis.  Well, actually the technology has been around and seen by television viewers for a couple of years now... but this week, at the Nasdaq-100 tournament in Key Biscayne,  Hawkeye was officially incorporated into the game.  For now, the technology will only being used in the USA and only on the main stadium court.

Players are allowed 2 challenges per set (+1 more in a tie-breaker)... or should I say, incorrect challenges... if they are correct, there retain the number of challenges. The ball's projectory (within 4 millimeters) is shown to the players, officials, television viewers and fans in the stadium simultaneously:

I think this is really a great thing.  It is frustrating to see a match turn on a bad call... or a player totally become unhinged for no good reason.  Though I had to laugh when I read this article -- Women's game unveils 'reality TV' innovations -- if anything Hawkeye is anti-reality television... what is more "reality tv" than a player going ballistic over a line call or thousands of fans booing and whistling a suspected bad call.  Hawkeye totally takes the air out it!

For you trivia buffs, American Jamea Jackson was the first player to use Hawkeye.  Ironically (and comically enough) she knew the lines-person call was correct, but just wanted to be "the first" to use it.

In its first day of use, 14 challenges were made with 7 of them being correct.  The men's tour I am sure will be happy to report that they went 6-2 for the day versus the women's poor 1-5 showing.  Likewise, fears of it interrupting the momentum of a match were allayed, with decisions taking approximately 10 seconds.

So, I look forward to watching the first television coverage from the Nasdaq this weekend to see the system in action for myself.  I think it will be interesting to see the strategic use of it... does a player challenge a call when they are up 40-0 or leading in a set?

Two Weeks

It is a little hard to believe that it has been two weeks since I picked up the Cooper.

It now has a whopping 425 miles on it... which is way above what it will generally average, but we can thank our road trip to Tucson last weekend for about half of those miles.  With that trip to Tucson, I also had my first fill-up at the gas station... thanks to my on-board computer, I have averaged a little over 28 mpg... which is pretty darn good.  I have seen folks bitching on the MINI boards about "not great" gas mileage, but others pipe in that the Cooper is more sports car than economy car.  Thanks to working from home, I don't have to worry about that too much.  I generally hit the pump once every 3 weeks...  though, I have to admit, the first fill-up was a bit of an eye-opener with the Cooper requiring that pricier premium petrol.

Nevertheless, that did not stop me yesterday from turning a 5 minute/2 mile errand into about a 30 minute/15 mile drive.  It was just a beautiful day and I was itchin' to drive it... which is quite the bizarre behavior for me -- in the past, cars have been totally utilitarian - get me from point A to point B quickly and safely -- that's it.  But I had the windows down, the sunroof open and it was just a lot of fun... well, until I was at a stop light next to a loud truck or someone who wanted to share with the world the thumping base off their car's stereo system.

Believe it or not, I have only seen two other Coopers on the road in the past two weeks.  The first one was when Todd's dad was giving it a test-drive around their Tucson neighborhood... we got a nice wave and flash of the headlights from them... and this past Sunday there was a Cooper at the gas station where Todd was filling up... so didn't have the Cooper camaraderie on that one.

Oh... I am also happy to report my windshield ding/repair passed its first test.  While I was out driving on this very sunny day, it very much "got lost" in the other cars and other objects in my line of vision.  It was only when I thought about that I could really pick it out (it is kind of like a little smudge).

More stuff later today...