Whine & Cheese

Coughy Tawk

First off, Happy Leap Day!

Well, those American Idol recaps certainly take up a good part of the week huh?  It certainly takes the pressure off figuring out what I am going to blog about... and I do still enjoy blogging about Idol... which hasn't been the case with some other reality shows.  Even though it's one of my faves, I started to struggle with coming up with stuff to say about The Amazing Race... and I have made nary a mention of the first non-summer edition of Big Brother... we are watching it... but boy, what a bunch of losers... and that's saying something if that's my impression of this crew compared with previous casts.  I guess the difference with Idol is that you get to play armchair critic... and that some of the contestants do get a career out of it.

Anyhow, while W&C obsessed over Idol... since I last left you on Monday, I now have three FOUR Scrabulous games underway on Facebook.  It has been quite enjoyable and my opponents are certainly challenging me.  Though I had to shake off some Scrabble rust and (re)-learn the power of those very odd two-letter words (including the particularly important, QI and ZA).   

Until Scrabulous, I have to admit I wasn't into Facebook.  This may surprise you, but one's enjoyment of a social networking site kinda sorta relies on one having a social network.  But, suddenly I have 7 friends (no laughing!)... so I am paying it all a bit more attention and even having some fun with that "twitter"-ish / "what I'm doing/thinking right now" thing.  I suspect one day we'll have sensors that will track our every move and thought and automatically post it to the Internet... and people will think this is progress/a good thing... ha!

So quite circuitously, we arrive at the title of the post... which, earlier this week, was one of those Facebook "exclusives."  And while I am quite proud of my punny title, I gladly would have preferred not having had to come up with it as Toby has been not feeling well for about a week now. 

Toby was supposed to have a dental treatment this past Tuesday, but last Friday he started coughing and it hung around for the entire weekend.   I took him to the vet on Monday... no real diagnosis other than a doggie cough "going around" (so much for feeling good about going to the dog park!)... so he is on antibiotics and an alleged cough suppressant... and needless to say, we canceled the dental.  Likewise, we are keeping our fingers crossed/knocking on wood that Rocky doesn't get it since it's (of course!) contagious... so far, so good (probably thanks to his super-duper metabolism).

We were hoping he was getting better.  Todd correctly noted that he hadn't heard him cough at all after getting home last night... but in the middle of the night, poor Toby had 2 or 3 extended coughing fits... so it is/was kind of discouraging... though just to have to keep thinking that, even us humans, it takes awhile for a cough to go away. 

It just brings back bad memories as our Mindy hacked so badly near the end and all that is coupled with Toby eating/not eating and certainly more lethargic than normal... so it's hard to be patient... no breakfast today, just a lot of sleeping... but not much (any) coughing in the last few hours.  I'm sure he'll be fine... but he can't start getting better soon enough!   

Have a great weekend... and Happy March!  (Where is this year going already?!?)

AI7: Top 10 Gals

I thought it was a pretty rough night for the ladies last night on American Idol.  It didn't seem like anyone could totally get it together... whether it was a good vocal with a bad song choice... or vice versa... and mostly good vocals with a bad note or rough patch.

Before I begin, Idol needs to do away with "what we would be surprised to know" bumper about each contestant.  Ramiele is a Polynesian dancer?  Robbie drag races cars?   Simply shocking!   Now if they were reversed, then maybe I'd be singing (ha!) a different tune.

Ok, here's my top group:

Asia'h ("All By Myself")
Carly ("Crazy on You")
Syesha ("Me & Mr. Jones")

While she met the "loud = good" criteria that is so often the case on Idol, I was a bit surprised that Simon was so hard on Asia'h... though I think he was just trying to knock her down a peg or two.  It was definitely the "ta-da" vocal of the night, though one really quite off note before she hit the big ones in the end.  I am still not on the Carly bandwagon (that is, if there is one), but when all was said and done her take on the Heart classic did float to the top.  Syesha is the only gal who stays in my top group from last week, though I have to say her slow/quiet parts were pretty shaky... and this is another song that needs to retired from the competition (yawn!).

Middle Group
Ramiele ("Don't Leave Me This Way")
Alaina ("Hopelessly Devoted To You")
Kristy ("You're No Good")
Brooke ("You're So Vain")

I am cutting Ramiele a bit of a break this week.  While I disagreed with Randy about the song choice (it's one of my faves)... it wasn't quite working for Ramiele... but I still like her and parts of it were good... but not enough to keep her in my top group.   Alaina had a good vocal, but a questionable song choice.  Don't get me I love it, but it becomes hard to pull off in a "take me seriously as singer" way.  It was a huge improvement for Kristy this week, but even in a sexier incarnation she still comes across as pretty vanilla to me - but no quibbles with the vocals or the song choice.  And Brooke, a perfect song choice and again a good vocal... but Idol isn't the type of show that is looking to find the next Carly Simon or Carole King... not that Brooke is in that league... umm... let's say the next Colbie Callait.  Again, I like her and would enjoy her in a coffee shop... just not someone that's going to contend in the latter stages.

Bottom Group
Alexandrea ("If You Leave Me Now")
Kady ("Magic Man'")
Amanda ("Carry On My Wayward Son")

I feel bad about pretty much every girl in this group.   Parts of Alexandrea's vocals were good, but it seemed a bit all over the place... it just never found its spot and even Alexandrea seemed a bit unhappy about it... and that sign of weakness might just spell doom for her tonight.   It seems like everyone loves Kady except when she's singing on the stage.  Despite the criticism, I liked her last week... but this week was rough.  It was hard to hear her as she awkwardly made her way down the steps and while the "belting" at the end was good, it felt like it was too little, too late.  She is an ouster candidate tonight... but my gut tells me if it's not her, it'll be one of the other blondes... Kristy or (undeservedly) Alaina.

... and that leaves us with Amanda.

I've been only "awarding" pictures to the top performers of the night, but Amanda's appearance goes down in the annals of Idol hair history... alongside Carrie Underwood's similar do for "Alone" and Sanjaya's faux-hawk.

As I have said time and again, I just don't get her... so much so, that I was surprised that the judges (unanimously no less!) put her through to Hollywood in the first place.  I had a very odd reaction to her performance last night... at first I was giggling and then I found her really quite scary... not in a "this is scary awful" (well, maybe that though passed thru my mind as well)... but in a "not want to meet in a dark alley" kinda of way.

That said, I sincerely feel bad for her.  She seems very cool and I like her bumper pieces... but I haven't read around enough to see if people truly like her singing or not... but she just seems horribly out of place.  Idol is this mix of beauty pageant, high school prom, popularity contest... stuff it seems Amanda would avoid at all cost.  As the credits rolled, she spent a good amount of time standing alone as the other girls hugged/kissed/etc. until Carly (I think) came over to her.  So whether it's a good thing or not, I think she's safe tonight.  A combo of "like her," freak show entertainment factor, and sympathy... whatever your opinion, there is no doubt she was/is memorable.

UPDATE:
Here's what my American (Entertainment Journalist) Idol, EW's Michael Slezak, had to say about Amanda (warning: the last line almost made me snort coffee through my nose):

As for Amanda, well, there's no defending her rendition of Kansas' ''Carry On Wayward Son,'' which started with what sounded like a cough, quickly deteriorated into a full-blown case of musical bronchitis, and ended with the howl of a wounded animal. I wish Randy was right, that Amanda's self-immolation could be brushed away with a simple ''wasn't the right song choice,'' but I fear the diagnosis may be worse. For starters, there was the hair, which looked as if The Little Mermaid's villainess Ursula had had an unfortunate run-in with a container of bleach and a whole can of Aqua Net.

AI7: Top 10 Guys

With perhaps an exception, I am pretty convinced that the powers-that-be at American Idol are packing the latter half of the show with the better performances.  The start of the show was very "meh" ... a bit suprising since it included some of my favorite guys from last week ... relatively speaking, nothing really blew me away with either the guys or the girls last week.

Again, I'll just break the guys into three groups and here's the top:

David A ("Imagine")
David H ("Papa Was A Rolling Stone")
Chikezie ("I Believe")
David C ("All Right Now")

It seems like it was a very good night to be named David!  (Funny how none of them go by "Dave")  David Archuleta is the only holdover from last week's top group and with little doubt we'll be seeing him for the next couple of months.  He's got the voice, the fan base, the aw-shucks personality... but while I thought he may just be nerdy ... singing diva Dreamgirls anthem "And I'm Telling You" for the season one Idols when he was 11... maybe his fanbase will go beyond the young girls. David Hernandez has certainly broken out of the anonymous/low screen time pack with a soulful and sexy performance.  I won't name any names, but someone who watches the show with me dissolves into a puddle when David H performs.  I always liked Chikezie, so I was glad to see him finally relax and blow and give us something to smile about in the singing department.  I didn't buy David Cook's rock take on Happy Together last week, so this week was more authentic and there was certainly more comfort with the guitar... plus being a "word nerd" is not a negative in my book.

Middle Group
Robbie ("Hot Blooded")
Michael ("Go Your Own Way")
Jason C ("I Just Want To Be Your Everything")

This group contains the 3 guys that were in my top grouping this week.  Nothing spectacular this week.  Michael started off the night and about midway through I asked Todd "is this not very good?"... he agreed and actually ranked the Aussie last for the night.  I'm cutting him some slack, but the song didn't quite work for him.  Robbie and Jason pretty much gave us what they had last week... but I am pretty fickle and they didn't bring anything new and better to the table.  I agree with the judges that Jason's vocals seemed weak and it's time to see what he can do without the guitar.

Bottom Group
Luke ("Killer Queen'")
Danny ("Superstar")
Jason Y ("Long Train Running")

I am pretty darn certain that Thursday's eliminees will come from this group (I know really going out on a limb!).  The only thing that can save Luke is that he is pretty dreamy... and while I thought he was a whole lot better than last week, taking on Freddie Mercury is a gargantuan task.  I cut Danny a break last week and while again I thought he was a whole lot better this week with The Carpenters classic, he seems to be cracking under the pressure of making it to "the show."  I don't think Jason will survive this week... while it made me realize I should download The Doobie Brothers original, the performance was very cheesy cruise-ship / Vegas lounge... and while there's not anything wrong with that... it doesn't quite work on Idol.

The Time Traveler's Wife (#4)

Before this blog likely turns back to the cheese of American Idol for the next couple of days, figured it was time to play catch-up (yet again!) with the book stuff... 

As I mentioned yesterday, I am struggling quite a bit with my current book... but we'll save that discussion when we get to it... but back in late January-early February I was on cruise control (and at 80mph at that!)... and Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife was one of the reasons why ... averaging over 45 pages a day.   Full disclosure: very short chapters/breaks, biggish print, and some empty space -- but still pretty darn good if I do say so myself. 

This was one of the books that I had seen pretty much every time I went to a bookstore.  It's been a staple on the paperback fiction bestseller list, but judging a book by its cover I dismissed it as "chick lit"... though as I have said time and again, that doesn't necessarily exclude it from my reading list.   

Then there was the title... as you can guess, if you are not willing to keep an open mind and suspend all belief... this is not the book for you.  Again, that is not necessarily an issue for me... but it was another reason for my initial hesitation.  Still I was interested in it (or curious why it was so popular)...  put it on my "wish list" just as a "maybe"... and, much to my surprise, Mom remembered I had that list (which I hadn't used in years, at least for gift giving suggestions) and bought it for me for Christmas.

I was glad she did.... but another friendly warning is that this is very much one of those "trick"/gimmick novels.  "Gimmick" tends to viewed negatively, but again it all depends on how much of on open mind/suspend belief you can tolerate in that department as well.  In this sense, it kind of reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in th Night-Time... where the concept kind of trumps the writing.  While Curious Incident got us in the mind of an autistic child, Time Traveler is often mind blowing as the lead character, Henry travels back and forth to the past, present, and future within a matter of pages.   Like Mark Haddon's Curious, this is also Niffenegger's first novel.  I suspect she will have similar issues (well to me, at least) in following up such a spectacular, original work. 

I was kinda right in thinking the book was "chick lit."  There is a epic romance of sorts as Henry does meet his titular (that always sounds so dirty) wife Clare while time traveling and when she is a mere child.  Henry comes to her at different ages ... for example, she can be age 12 and he'll come to her at age 32... the next time, she may be 13 and he'll be 27.... and likewise, in what eventually becomes the "present" he only learns new things about Clare when he gets there... like in my example, if they had a discussion when she was 12, he won't be aware of it until he is 32 in the "present".... see what I meant about mind boggling!!!   I won't give too much else away... there are some nice time travel oriented surprises (at least to me)... but no need to worry, Niffenegger masterfully executes all this and it is nowhere near as confusing as I just made it!

Given the book's success, it is no surprise that a big screen version has wrapped and is scheduled for a November 2008 release.  Again, I managed to avoid this news, so I had my own images in my head... but I think they did a pretty good job casting Eric Bana and Rachel MacAdams as the leads.  Henry's clothing doesn't time travel with him... so one can only hope they keep faithful to that part of the book with regards to yummy Bana.

2008 1-2-3-4-5 Reading Challenge: + 536 Pages (Total: 1,792 pages - Finished: 2/7/2008)
405 pages ahead of pace (+164 change in pace since last book).

Various & Sundry

As often is the case, the weekend left quite a bit of things floating around my mind...

On Friday night, we saw 12 Angry Men as part of our touring Broadway season tickets.  It's rare that a play is part of the package, so it's always a nice change up.  The "star" of the show was Richard Thomas.  While I am certainly aware of "John Boy" from a pop-culture stance, believe it or not I never watched The Waltons growing up.  So, it's a good thing that, even though he didn't get star billing, that Kevin Dobson, Mac from Knots Landing, was also a jury member as well.

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On Saturday, we visited Todd's parents in Tucson.  At lunch, we had something happen to us for the very first time... the waitress looked at Todd and myself and asked "Are you brothers?"  Very funny, but very strange too.

And it's probably a good thing that I wasn't leaving the tip, as the waitress told me later of my ordered dish "I've never seen anyone eat that much of it!"  Ummm... thanks (not).

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If that didn't get me crabby, Facebook also ticked me off.  Recently I added a Virtual Book Case to my profile, and I get an email this weekend titled "You've been reading 'Pride and Prejudice' for more than a week. Still true?" and the body of the email continued to nag me "We wanted to give you a reminder so that you can keep your profile fresh if things have changed".... Y

Yes, I'm still friggin' reading the book and doing my best to get through it... and I don't need anybody or anything giving me crap about it... especially when I am very much well aware that it's killing all the surplus/progress I had made in my reading challenge up to this point!  Geez, Louise!

Speaking of Facebook, I am finally playing Scrabulous... and now really hoping that it doesn't go away as the makers of Scrabble ain't too happy about it (and I can certainly understand why).  My very best friend from college (as I often say... the Grace to my Will) and I were big time Scrabble players in college and beyond... so when she recently joined Facebook I knew we had to play... though I am not too happy that she got a "bingo" and used the word "feu" in our very first game!   If anyone wants to play (and I know there are a couple of you out there!), I am open ... though I don't know how good/bad I am right now as I don't have a "rating" yet.

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A couple of Hillary notes.   I was surprised how pro-Hillary the first Saturday Night Live was... in the opening sketch, the mocked the googly-eyes the media has for Obama (or perhaps, just the disdain for Hillary) and "Obama Girl" even made an appearance.

But that was nothing to guest host Tina Fey and her most excellent return to the Weekend Update desk. I would post the video, but SNL ones tend to go away very quickly... if you haven't seen it already -- it seems to be the big rage this morning -- if not,  this YouTube search page that might get you to it).  Anyhow, she ended the segment turning the oft-thought "she's a bitch" criticism on its heels... some entrepreneurial folks have already (wisely) jumped on it... gigglechick offers products with the follow Fey-isms:

And on McLaughlin Group, even I can get get a kick out of what some of the conservative panelists say... when asked "What Hillary Clinton needs to do to defeat Obama?" ... new regular on the "right wing" side, Monica Crowley noted that basically "Hillary has to club the baby seal" ... and that certainly (and humorously) sums up what I've been thinking about the Dem Race of late... I just wish I'd come up with that line! 

Express Lane: Issue 45

Edie Falco Nurses Showtime Comedy - 'Carm' jumps the HBO ship and morphs into a NYC nurse for a 1/2 hour "dark comedy." (2/21/08)

Apple sings as American Idol sponsor - Starting with the Top 24, iTunes will sell music and video - but to remain 'fair and balanced' they will not release sales figures or rankings... also expect a lot of Apple hawking ala big sponsors Ford, Coca Cola, and AT&T.

Showtime Cultivates 'Weeds' in June - Mary Louise Parker & Co. are back two months earlier than usual... guess we'd better get to finishing last season (which ended in October... whoops!).  (2/13/08)

Return dates for 30  TV shows ... and how many new episodes to expect -- nice to have it all in one place! (2/13/08)

Franklin Slams Beyonce Grammy Intro - Apparently there's room for only one "queen" in music industry and it ain't Tina Turner according to Aretha. (2/12/08)

It's Been A Rocky Year

No, I am not talking about the "tone" of the year...

Guess who's been with us for 1 year!?!

While the "date" anniversary is officially tomorrow, it was a year ago this very February Friday that we were just hours away from picking up our new Boston Terrier puppy in a McDonalds parking lot on the north edge of town... as you well know, if you're a regular... after much debate, we named him Rocky.

As with most things in life, it is both hard to believe and not hard to believe that it's been a year... time certainly has flown, but it's hard to remember him not being a part of our lives.

He is really quite the character and the antithesis of Basset Hound Toby in pretty much every way -- which is a good or bad thing depending upon the minute hour day... all in all, a very happy and energetic pup... though more energetic that I think either of us imagined... which tends to cause a stir at the dog park (this past Sunday, he was called "feisty" when he wasn't "scaring" dogs 4x his size) and the pet resort (last visit, he apparently needed "time outs").

He has earned a few nicknames over the past year.  Lately, we enjoy calling him Barocky Obama (made uber-politically incorrect when I noted it was particularly suitable as he is mostly black with a little white too)... but no worries, in our increasingly deflating but still pro-Hillary household, he also is referred to as Little Rock... granted it is 99% due to his size, but we still like to think of it as a bit of an homage to the Junior Senator from New York's Arkansas connections.

Happy 1st Anniversary Rocky!  I think you found a pretty good home (if I do say so myself)! 

AI7: Top 12 Gals

It was the gals' turn to show us their stuff on American Idol... "excuse city" commenced immediately with talk of a flu/bronchitis outbreak amongst the contestants... though apparently affecting only the girls and only screen-time favorites, Kristy and Carly (coincidentally enough, two more of those contestants that were previously signed to a recording contract). 

The show got off to the rough start, but most of the serious contenders were in the latter half of the show.

As I did with the guys yesterday, I will group the ladies ala Southwest Airlines no assignment seating... so now that those with small children (ugh!) or those who need some extra time getting settled in have been seated...

Boarding Group A:

Ramiele ("You Don't Have To Say You Love Me")
Syesha ("Tobacco Road")
Alaina ("More Today Than Yesterday")
Kady ("Groovy Kind of Love")

My standout of the night was Ramiele ... this song tends to make (AI4's Nadia) or break (AI6's Stephanie) a contestants and Ramiele was certainly the former with a controlled and strong vocal.  A typical American Idol equation goes something like "loud = good"... so that's part of what got my attention with Syesha, but she certainly fits the mold of what the show is all about.  Also fitting that Idol mold are the two young blondes, Alaina and Kady.  I was a bit surprised by the criticism of Kady, while the song was a tad slow, I still thought it was pretty strong.

Boarding Group B
Asia'h ("Piece of My Heart")
Alexandrea ("Spinning Wheel")
Carly ("Shadow of Your Smile")
Brooke ("Happy Together")

I admit to a bit of backstory fatigue of Asia'h (dead father) and Carly (Irish tattoo artist fessing up to previous recording contract)... that little catch in Asia'h's voice kind of bugs me, but overall she is a good singer, personality, performer and I expect her to make it to the big show.  Carly was kind of "eh" for me... but blame the "eh" song or the bronchitis, she gets into this group partly based on her past.  Not sure Alexandrea's vocals were the best, but solid enough and a good performance.  Brooke eked into this group, she brings something different to the table, though not ultimately Idol material.

Final Boarding Group
Kristy ("Rescue Me")
Joanne ("Say A Little Prayer'")
Amanda ("Baby Please Don't Go")
Amy ("Where The Boys Are")

Kristy made the fatal flaw of being bland... and incessant talk of being sick earned no sympathies.  Was a bit surprised by the hallow quality of Joanne's vocals, though probably just nerves (again tough to sympathize with that... time to step up!).   I am sure many folks might be surprised about where I have put Amanda... but put me in the "just don't get her" camp... I know that's the way the song is sung, but as the judges like to say "this is a singing competition"... and I didn't hear much of that from what, despite what Paula says, from this still one-trick pony.  And poor Amy, a boring song and very shaky... I can't imagine she survives tonight's elimination show.

AI7: Top 12 Guys

The Top 12 Guys kicked off the semifinals of American Idol 7... and let's just say, I likely won't be heading over to iTunes to buy any of these performances come Thursday.   The powers-that-be decided it would now be fun to "theme" the semis, which I don't necessarily agree with... granted there is always some kind of restrictions (able to get copyright clearance/permission), but it seems at this stage they should sing songs they are comfortable with vs. music that pre-dates all of them!

It was all a bit too uninspiring (and perhaps I'm getting too old) to do a full run-down of each performance, so taking a cue from Southwest Airlines, I'll put the guys in Boarding Group A, B, and C.

Here's my top group... Boarding Group A:

David A ("Shop Around")
Robbie ("One")
Michael ("Light My Fire)
Jason ("What A Day For A Daydream")

Again, not much of a "wow" factor.  No doubt that David A will stick around for a long time as long as the "aw shucks" act doesn't start wearing thin... Robbie and Jason seemed to have that "authentic" thing going on, though it could just be that their hair makes them memorable... and Michael is one of those contestants dusting up some controversy this year thanks to having previously been signed to a record contract, so no surprise when Simon said he would make a great front-man for a band... he already did!

Boarding Group B
Danny ("Jailhouse Rock")
David H ("In the Midnight Hour")
David C ("Happy Together")
Chikezie ("I Love You More Today Than Yesterday")

A bit of an odd grouping here.  I was a bit disappointed with everyone here in this group, except our hometown guy David H... though I agree with the judges that things went downhill after the gospel-fused start of his song.  David C (there are 3 Davids!) just didn't do all that much for me, but the vocals were far better than anyone in the last group.  Chikezie's winning personality edged him into this grouping, but the vocals were a bit shaky and I have to agree with Simon that it was a bit Chik-cheesy.  And what can we say about Danny?!?!  I give him a bump because of his past vocals, but it was not a great song choice to show off the vocals... I would have preferred him to do "Suspicious Minds"... but the kid's got spunk... and unlike Mr. Grant, I like spunk.  (Though that sounds a bit dirty now that I see it on the screen).

Final Boarding Group
Colton ("Suspicious Minds")
Luke ("Everybody's Talkin'")
Jason ("Moon River")
Garrett ("Breaking Up Is Hard To Do")

While Colton gave the least coma-inducing performance of this bunch, it was a pretty karaoke take on the King... good vocals, but not enough chops to contend in the long run... so he's pretty much wasting my time.  The rest of the guys fall victim to a common Idol sand trap... it is nearly impossible to make an impact with a ballad... and it is made even worse that this was the first time each guy was getting any kind of screen time. 

DWTS6 Cast Revealed

As promised, here is the cast news for this coming season of Dancing With The Stars...  we mucked through the entire season season finale of Dance War ("spoiler": Team Bruno "won") for the big announcement.

As the professional dancers are becoming more the "stars" of the show, I held off posting with hopes of having the complete pairings... Good Morning America was supposed to do that this morning, but other than an appearance by one of the teams (Priscilla and Louis), they did not.  I'll certainly update if I can find out the teams.

As always to avoid confusion the "stars" are listed first and in bold.

Adam Carolla/Julianne Hough - Actor/Comedian/Radio personality

Cristian de la Fuente/Cheryl Burke - Telenovela star, seen on CSI Miami and Ugly Betty

Shannon Elizabeth/Derek Hough - Actress (American Pie)/Model/Poker Player

Steve Guttenberg/Anna Trebunskaya - Movie star from the 1980s(??)

Mario/Karina Smirnoff - R&B singer/actor

Marlee Matlin/Fabian Sanchez (new pro) - Academy Award winning actress and, of course... deaf

Penn Jillette/Kym Johnson - The taller and talking half of comedy/illusionist team Penn & Teller

Priscilla Presley/Louis Van Amstel - Ex-wife of Elvis/Actress

Monica Seles/Jonathan Roberts - Tennis legend

Jason Taylor/Edyta Sliwinska - 6-time All Pro NFL for the Miami Dolphins
(DWTS trivia: Edyta is the only pro that's participated in all 6 seasons)

Marissa Jaret Winokur/Tony Dovolani - Tony Award winner as Hairspray's Tracy Turnblad

Kristi Yamaguchi/Mark Ballas - Olympic/World Champion figure skater

I don't see any real front runners.  Yamaguchi should have an advantage in upper body movement and "clean lines," but who knows about the footwork sans skates.  While not familiar with Mario, he's got the hip-hop moves, but that usually doesn't work out too well on this show.  In the prior experience department, it would seem that Winokur would have the edge, though Hairspray may prove to only be a good training ground for the the jive.

Perhaps wanting a woman to win (it's only happened for Season 1), the men's field seems a tad weak.  There are two biiiig guys... Jillette and Taylor... and big guys never do well on DWTS (yes, I'm looking at you Clyde Drexler)... nor the pretty faces... three model types have all made early exits, so watch out de la Fuente.  So that leaves us with Guttenberg and Carolla?!?!

Matlin is an interesting choice.  As a kid, I was baffled how two of my mom's deaf cousins could be dancing at family weddings... they told me they could feel the vibrations of the band.  So that answers one question, but I would still think there will be big communication challenges while training and recorded music doesn't give that "boom" of a live band.  Presley fills the "mature lady" spot, I expect her to do well enough.  A huge fan of reality TV, Elizabeth has got the looks and the bod, so there's no reason she shouldn't  do reasonably well.

Personally, I am most excited about Seles.  I was/am a huge fan as she was one of the first tennis players that I felt attached to and followed from the very start of her career.  That said, she was never known as a terribly graceful athlete (and one of the first big-time grunters)... so who knows what to expect here!