Tonight DWTS will celebrate its 100th episode and, ahead of the results show, they are doing a special All-Time Top 10 Dances clip show... so I couldn't stop myself from coming up with my own list.
In coming up with this list, I got some very nice help from the Wikipedia U.S. DWTS page, but the scary part is that I did remember something (i.e. the dance, song, or outfit) about each of these dances. Sometimes I wish my brain would leave enough room for me to recall where I put my car keys rather than retaining the fact that Joey Fatone did a tango to the Star Wars theme (btw, that dance is not in my top ten).
Now I could have easily filled my Top 10 with all Mario Lopez and of late many dances with pro Mark Ballas, but I spread the wealth across the pros and seasons. Season 1 doesn't make an appearance. Back then, the show was considered pretty much a joke... but now "stars" are begging to get on and arguably it keeps getting better and better quality-wise.
Some of my favorite couples don't even make an appearance here. It could be my faulty memory (likely!), so honorable mentions to: Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson and Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough.
To not totally clog this post up with YouTubes, I will put embedded videos of my
Top 5 favorites "after the jump"... and, first up, YouTube links to dances 6 thru 10 "in no particular order" -- well ok, they are ordered by season, but I just wanted to play Samantha Harris and say that!
Season 2: Stacey Keibler & Tony Dovolani - Samba - "Bootylicious" (YouTube link) Season 3: Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke - Paso Doble - "Thriller" (YouTube link) Season 4: Laila Ali & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Mambo (YouTube link) Season 4: Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff - Freestyle - "It Takes Two" (YouTube link - thanks Linda!) Season 5: Melanie Brown & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Paso Doble - "Free Your Mind" (YouTube link)
Top 5 Faves (YouTube embedded vids "after the jump" - apologies, in advance, if they "are no longer available")
Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark Ballas - Mambo - "Hey Baby" Season 5: Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas - Cha Cha - "Don't Cha" Season 4: Apolo Anto Ohno & Julianne Hough - Cha Cha - "Push It" Season 3: Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff - Mambo Season 2: Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke - Freestyle - "Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy"
I haven't seen the movie (though I'm guessing I would like), but saw this version of the song performed on the Grammys last month... and I immediately got it over on iTunes.
While some will think it's a bit bombastic, this gospel-infused take never fails to give me goose-bumps or even a lump in the throat. I am sharing two videos here...
The first one (I take it) is straight from the movie and thus a spoiler warning... but it certainly makes it even more emotional.
The second is merely movie poster and the recorded version.
Despite earning my increased ire for bagging Josh Duhamel, as recently mentioned I am starting to warm up to Fergie... and this video makes me like her even a bit more... the spelling bee parody (ala 25th Annual Putnam County) has the Dutchess poking a bit of fun at herself and her favorite suffix... give it a whirl, I found it quite h-u-m-o-r-o-u-s?
I know things have been very (and unusually) political here on W&C this week... but just bear with me, perhaps once we get through Super Duper Tuesday things will revert back to the normal fluff and fold.
That said, I will direct you over to Scott-O-Rama which is turning into a bit of a Hillary Clinton cyber-rally in the past day and thru the biggest voting primary day this country has seen Scott asked some of us HRC supporters to do a little cyber-stumping for her.... here's a link to my contribution... warning, in the spirit of being "green," some of the content of that post has been recycled from stuff you may have read right here at W&C.
I guess you can just say ... I've Got A Crush On Hillary!! (note: video below for you feed readers)
In about 2.5 minutes, they hit all highlights (and lows) from last year... all to the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire." Quite fun and clever and pretty much a wet dream for the pop-culture lover!
I saw this next one a couple of weeks ago... Celine Dion Is F&cking Amazing.
I unabashedly love Celine. This YouTube takes the craziest moments from the DVD release of her now defunct Vegas show... and sums up the many reasons why I love her so. While I do enjoy her singing, it's not so much the voice but Celine herself who totally cracks me up.
I do not think she is trying to be funny and comes across as genuine (even with "audience chat" she repeated every night)... and likewise I don't feel like I am laughing at her... so it's this very fine line... I guess just her special "je nais se quoi" ... a big personality mixed with innocence/naivete. Or else, it could be she's just fu&king nuts!
A week or so ago, we watched the Christmas at Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting show on NBC... it was definitely a mixed bag of musical performances...
Goose-bump inducing awesome (Josh Groban) Quite Good (Carrie Underwood) Mondo Cheesy (High School Musical's Ashley Tisdale) Bit Senile (Tony Bennett... We love him... but sorry, just not a good night!) ... and Tad Inappropriate (Celine Dion capping the show off with her cover version of Heart's Alone)
Now there were some performances that we fast-forwarded thru (bo-RING)... but this was such a wreck we were simply glued...
I generally don't like to go too negative here ... but at times like this, I am reminded of this exchange from Sex and the City:
Stanford: Before I tell you, you have to promise not to judge.
Carrie: Do I judge?
Stanford: We all judge. That's our hobby. Some people do arts and crafts... we judge.
Without further ado... country artist (and just nominated today for a Best New Artist Grammy) Taylor Swift "singing" Silent Night:
Ooooooouchie! Is it "sleep in heavenly peace" or "wake the dead"!?!? And it's pretty much a dead heat between which is more hideous... the singing or the mangling arrangement.
Now I could be wrong. When searching for this ... there were folks who thought it was... (a) awesome, (b) amazing, (c) cute, and (d) gr8!!!!
So give me your best Randy, Paula, or Simon... what do you think?!
Just a bit pitchy... did she "make it her own"... or, do my ears not deceive me and we officially cyber-charger Ms. Swift for assault and battery on a holiday classic?
This post was planned to be a "rainy day" one... but who woulda thunk it would have been literally an actual rainy day here in Phoenix (well, not specific outside our door just yet... but it's threatening).
We've continued to enjoy How I Met Your Mother this season. We missed the first season (barring the occasional re-run during last season), but it's a TiVo staple now... well, until they run out of new episodes due to the strike... which may have already happened, I see repeats are ahead.
Anyhow, we enjoyed the recent Slapsgiving episode ... which originated last season when Barney lost a bet to Marshall and the Lily, Slap Bet Commissioner, ruled that Barney could receive 10 slaps immediately or 5 slaps at any time... Barney chose the latter and the statute of limitations expired on this very special Thanksgiving episode. Classsss... wait for it... sic.
Also quite enjoyable was recent episode that highlighted each character's personality quirk that annoyed the others the most. Robin's was the (over-)use of the word "literally" which Ted then had to correct her when she meant "figuratively." We have stopped ourselves a few times since watching that episode after using the word "literally."
Though getting to "rainy day" part of my post... which was just to share another t-shirt with you. Todd will tell you I have been completely obsessed with Robin Sparkles... the surprise identity of Robin, once a 90s Tiffany/Debbie Gibson-ish Canadian pop-star. Anyhow, her hit single, Let's Go To The Mall, is on regular rotation on my iPod.
So when I stumbled upon the folks at Glarkware (formerly partnered (??) with Television Without Pity, who I now see is brought to you by BravoTV... guess I hadn't been there in awhile)... had this shirt available, I knew I had to get it. When it arrived and I showed it to Todd he pretty much banned me from wearing it in public ... well, if we were together in public. No worries, even I have to admit I am not sure I would go out the front door wearing it...ha!
Couldn't quite get a good picture of the back... the self-timer photos of my attempts to do so (the outtakes) probably would have made for a more entertaining entry than this one! Anyhow, it's hard to see... but just a like any classic concert t-shirt the back has Canadian mall locations and date for Mall Tour 1993.
Unfortunately, it is no longer available... it was a limited edition/NoN ("now or never") shirt... so call the Slap Bet Commissioner on me for not telling you about it when it was available. But then again, I am probably the biggest loser (and not in the NBC reality weight loss show way) when it comes to Ms. Sparkles.
But just because I love it so... and since it is the holiday season... here is the video again...
..and HIMYM now has it's own YouTube page... so check it out, there's a music video version of Marshall singing "You Just Got Slapped"... though I prefer the episodic version with Neil Patrick Harris' embellishments at the end of the song.
Since it's Todd's birthday today thought I would do a little bit of a video treat... granted he's already seen it on TV (twice!)... but it is worth another look!
Dancing With The Stars' Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas were on their "voted off" media tour and stopped by The View yesterday... coincidentally (or not!) enough, DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba was filling in as a guest co-host (the Hassel-bot is on maternity leave ... and apparently here in AZ no less!)!
For those of you who do not watch DWTS, this is a very good example of why we were smitten with Mark. He's definitely in fine form here. The video does drag on... including the entire post-dance interview... but the Cha Cha Cha to the Pussycat Dolls' Don't Cha is right near the start of the clip.
And to think this was their very first dance of the season!
I was a nerd and tried to figure out how Sabrina & Mark could have possibly been eliminated... honestly it doesn't take all that much!
The DWTS scoring is % of the judges votes + % of public votes. The team with the lowest sum is eliminated. These were the scores and percentages from last week:
Mel & Maks 30 (16.7%) Helio & Julianne 28 (15.6%) Jennie & Derek 27 (15.0%) Cameron & Edyta 25 (13.9%) Sabrina & Mark 25 (13.9%) Marie & Jonathan 23 (12.8%) Jane & Tony 22 (12.2%)
With the judges' scores so close (as they pretty much always are!), Marie & Jane just had to get less than 2% more of the public vote to pass by the "stars" who were ultimately in last week's bottom 2... Cameron & Sabrina.
Hard to believe that it is already Friday, with Todd back from France tomorrow night.
I managed to survive the week pretty well ... though let's say I don't plan on having a frozen pizza any time soon. Work really picked up in the past week, so I didn't have that much idle time... and didn't even watch all the TiVo backlog that I thought I would while Todd was away... granted we have a whole new backlog of shows that I "saved" for Todd (and, for the most, part didn't watch)... and I won't be catching up tonight.
Unfortunately, Todd is missing out on the first show of our 2007-08 theater season (and the next one's not until January!)... so tonight, this ex-Jersey boy is off to see Jersey Boys. I have heard pretty good things about the show and it's still at capacity on Broadway two years after it opened... so that seems to be a pretty good sign.
Ok, time to get around to the title of this post!.
I am aging myself, but iTunes has kind of brought back the days of the 45 record. To my confused younger readers (though I am not sure I have any of those), there was a time when you could buy a small (the size of a personal pan pizza), vinyl recording of just one song (and a "B" song on the flip side). I would guess 95% of my iTunes purchases are songs, not albums.
Alas, there wasn't too much internal debate about purchasing the whole album of the latest from Annie Lennox, Songs of Mass Destruction. I have listened to it...and it is incredible! It's a good sign when you have those earbuds in, he music up and you get those goosebumps. Only a handful of singers can do that to me. If you haven't heard the amazing first single, Dark Road, here is the video for it via YouTube (nicely provided by Annie herself!)... got some interesting imagery, is America on that dark road?
We were fortunate to see Annie during her last tour (sadly there's no Phoenix stop on her recently announced tour for SoMD). Incredible show and we were in the 2nd row! However, it is also remembered for my view being blocked by a rather large (and high!) wheelchair! It kind of ticked me off... how could one be in the 2nd row and not be able to see the artist at various points around the stage?!?! Todd pondered how I could be whiny about being blocked by what I am guessing was a quadriplegic! Now that I think of it, it was all very Seinfeld-ish.
Ok, I said Soul Sisters... plural. Lately, we've come around to groovin' on Joss Stone. I'll admit I was not an early fan. For the most part, I am not fond of the "child prodigy"... particularly those in the entertainment business. We purchased have a bunch of her more recent hits (songs, not albums) off of iTunes.
Todd stumbled upon a song from her debut album (when she was 16!), that was never released as a single, but is now on frequent rotation on my iPod... it's called "Dirty Man"... LOVE IT !! It has quickly ascended up my list all-time favorite "somebody done somebody wrong" songs. I prefer the album version, but here's a You-Tube of Joss singing it live:
If you're looking to inject some soul in your life... Annie or Joss are currently at the top of my recommendation list!
I know the whole Larry Craig thing is old news (even Jon Stewart was none too pleased that it hit at the start of his two-week vacation break)...and I am sick of hearing about it as much as the guy in the next stall next guy... I am also aware that it has made the rounds on other blogs... but just wanted this You Tube handy here on W&C... IMHO, it's the best thing that came out of the whole mess... and if by chance you haven't seen it... enjoy!
Not that I feel like I should be hawking stuff for NBC, but this extended promo (3 minutes!) for the upcoming season of The Office was just too good not to share.
Tonight is the first eviction on Big Brother 8... can't say any personal favorites have emerged quite yet, but there are few gals I wouldn't mind meeting the Chenbot sooner rather than later.
Disclosure on my viewing... just the couple of episodes that have aired thus far on CBS and some of the ShoToo's nightly 3-hour block of the live feed. I have yet to sit through the entire 3 hours... sometimes I think I've been watching for an hour an hour and it ends up being just 20 minutes! Great having it on TiVo, skipping through the silence or too much rambling (Joe [cough, cough]). The Showtime addition has been nice... but it's more than enough hamster time for me, so I am not even considering getting the live Internet feed.
Ok, onto my annoying trio!
#1 - Amber
One of our first nominees for eviction... but, going on absolutely no inside information (the house seemed split the last I saw/hear), I am guessing Carol will go home tonight. Primarily there are two things that annoy me about Amber.
First, she was upset (see above) about being nominated by Kail, my "first impression" annoying houseguest. Amber felt that for the sole reason of popping out a baby, she should have been given a free pass from the only other Mom in the house... after all, Amber is doing this for her family... which leads me to two of my reality tv pet peeves.. a) reality tv is not a charity and b) don't cry about your kid(s) when you voluntarily left them behind for months to appear on a reality show.
Next, was last episode's talking aloud monologue to God asking for the strength to continue on... and, oh not to get evicted. Amber seems to believe God is on her side and will do the right thing and keep her in the house... or something like that, I was too busy retrieving my jaw off the floor when people seem to believe they have the undivided attention of the Almighty. I would also like to put a word in... now, only after securing Amber's place in the Big Brother house for another week, that God gives just a little attention to the genocide in Darfur. Thanks in advance!
# 2 - Jessica
Still have some lingering annoyance that Jessica is in the house only because of a high-school spat with Carol over a $5 unpaid loan ... and that has only been exacerbated with Jess not budging a centimeter on that issue. They may just not be showing it (or I'm missing it), but Carol seems to have let it go... granted she still wants Jessica to go... but who can blame her for that! I thought former-BB houseguest Holly had an annoying voice, but Jessica is giving even her a run for the money. The pitch is pretty ear-splitting... but do people really talk like this intonation-wise... or is just a unfortunate consequence of living in a post-Paris Hilton world!?!
If that's not enough for you, her BB bio lists "jump on trampoline" as one of her favorite outdoor activities... oy!
#3 - Jen
If you are watching BB8, you know it is sadistic and with great glee that I post the above picture. In just the second episode of the season, Jen had a classic reality show meltdown (or else she's just smart and knows what will give her screen time)... all over her official BB picture in the house... apparently she never takes a bad picture... well, except this one time. Here is what the beauty normally looks like and her attempts to deal with the picture:
If delusions of gorgeousness isn't enough... there's her custom-made t-shirt collection (Jenth Degree, I Am A Jenius) that provided the inspiration for the title of this post... however, that's when she is wearing clothes! One thing that you probably won't see in its entirety on CBS (but on ShoToo and the live feeds) is Jen's ass... she wears the tiniest of bikinis, particularly the bottoms. She bends over and I pretty much know what it's like to be an OBGYN for a split second.
Oh, thanks to YouTube I guess I should just go ahead and post the Jen meltdown... though hat tip to DeAnn/TV Goddess via OregonLive.com for being the place I saw it first.
So my fellow BB fans... anyone else you lovin' to hate... or hatin' to love?!
While much of our summer television viewing awash in reality, the proverbial diamond in the rough has been HBO's new comedy and pseudo-reality-ish series, Flight of the Conchords.
The show is named after the "fourth most popular" folk duo from New Zealand and stars Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie... as Jermaine and Bret of the band Flight of the Conchords as they try to find success in the States with a move to NYC.
It is quite the odd little series. The guys have apparently been playing these "characters" for years (of course, all you need to know is in their Wikipedia entry)... so the show has a definite improv feel to it and the guys have their act down. If I had to pitch it, I would say it is kind of like The Office (British version) that occasionally breaks out into song. So that should probably tell you whether you would like it or not.
Of course, I am telling you about this quirky gem a tad late as 4 of the 12-episode run have already aired. Though these days, I am sure there are at least a handful of ways to catch up with Conchords even if you don't subscribe to HBO (it looks like HBO puts the latest, and full, episode on their website for a limited time).
Oh, in my still unofficial "oddly appealing men" series allow me to add Bret McKenzie (pictured, upper right) to my list. Us gay bloggers regularly offer up the no-duh gorgeous guys, so I am still threatening to do/start this non-traditional list (you may remember, this all started when I dubbed Three Sheets host Zane Lamprey "oddly appealing"). But there is something quite adorable about Brett (pronounced with a Kiwi accent as... Brit).
The HBO site has a bunch of videos from the show for you to explore... and being no dummies, they conveniently allow you to embed them on websites... so I am falling right into their "word of mouth"/free publicity trap here. I was torn between sharing their Pet Shop Boys-ish "Inner City Pressure"... but ultimately had to go with their brilliant pre-getting mugged Episode 3 rap of...
Hip-Hopopotamus vs. The Rhymenocerous (click play below)
If all is going to plan, right now we should be smack in the middle of our NYC side-trip... attending the Mets vs. Cardinals game at Shea last night and off to Broadway to see The Color Purple tonight. Or in the "half glass empty" scenario, if Manhattan has been nuked... well, there's a couple of more entries to go before you read my last words.
Today's entry was easy... and come to you thanks to Scott for sending me it along to me (last week!)... it's a quite humorous MINI Cooper commercial that is currently airing on TV (though I have yet to run across it). Here it is (apologies if it has been yanked off You Tube):
I considered doing a pre-dated post about our upcoming MINI Cooper roadtrip... but then I realized it would be pretty obnoxious to blog about a vacation when I am currently on a vacation of sorts! I know we are very lucky to get away twice in one summer. So I'll give you the details about that in the upcoming weeks... and it will certainly be a 180 from what we're experiencing in the big city.
With our NJ/NYC trip quickly approaching, I was thinking tuning into the Tonys maybe was not such a good thing. With just two quick nights in Manhattan, we only had time for one Broadway show. It was a struggle ot pick that one show... so throughout the telecast, I was wondering if we made a mistake... should it have been Spring Awakening or Grey Gardens or Frost/Nixon?!?
Thankfully, any iota of doubt flew out the window when Fantasia took the stage to sing I'm Here, the big number from The Color Purple. In promoting her 6-month stint in the lead role of Celie, I have seen Fantasia perform this number a few times already... and she has yet to leave me without a chill up my spine or a lump in my throat.
Here's a YouTube of Fantasia bringing down the house at the Tony Awards:
Now she better not call in sick or anything on our night... or else you are going to have to very grumpy guys!
... Or what I really should have called this post... Apolo Anton Ohno Shirtless or Apolo Anton Ohno Naked (here, google google...)
But first (I have to start prepping for the Chenbot's return), next week is the finale of Dancing With The Stars. Talent-wise, it has been a very good season and I agreed with Len's assessment that the best teams made it through to the semis... and for the most part, I wouldn't mind if any of the remaining teams took home the crystal-ball trophy.
You'll see that I did it again... I predicted the final 4 based only on the very first episode... go ahead, take a look... I'll wait. That or else I am just making the case that we are wasting 6-8 weeks of our lives between the season premiere and the finale! Nah, it's not a waste of time... and besides, Todd wouldn't have had the joy of listening to me echo Tom Bergeron's "Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!" each and every episode.
One thing I do hope I am wrong about is Apolo finishing fourth... as he has become my personal favorite for the "title." He has the right mix of competitiveness, charm and fun... he has grown the most as a dancer... and last night sealed it...
Apolo and Julianne's Cha Cha Cha to "Push It" capsulizes everything I love about this show... it was sexy, it made me smile, and most of all... over the top cornball (ballroom dancing to Salt 'n Pepa with a full orchestra?!?!)... if it existed, it would deserves a spot in the Whine & CheeseHall of Fame (hmmm... is that a light bulb over my head?!!)... and besides, I am totally behind anything Len dubs "raunchy" or Carrie Ann Inaaaabah says she "felt a little dirty watching." Here it is on YouTube:
A close second favorite is Laila... who has been consistently excellent and as much of a surprise as Apolo... and most thankfully for being good enough to have us drool over Maks for the entire season (it almost made up for not having Mario around... almost!). I love Joey too... but I just feel he came in with a bit of a dance advantage... I know, ballroom dancing is different from boy-band dancing, but all the former boy-banders have done pretty well on DwtS. When I said "for the most part" above, the one team I would not be thrilled with winning is Ian. While quite good, he is not in the same league as the other three ... and he gets my "taking it waaaay too seriously"/"thinks he's better than he is" trophy... or as it has become better well known, the Lisa Rinna DwtS Annual Whackjob Award.
Go Apolo! Hopefully, I haven't put the jinx on by writing about this today.
Oh, those promised shirtless and semi-naked pix!
These are the best ones I stumbled upon... with the speed skating, most of that strength and muscle is in that lower body, but that Cosmo cover is looking pretty darn good... not too sure about the Gap Red campaign shot... interesting, but smacks a bit too close to underage p0rn (do not want google hits for that!)... but don't worry, he turns 25 next week.
WARNING: This post contains HIGH GROSS OUT material
My apologies in advance... but this blog is about my life... and that's the good and bad... and, in this case, the pretty darn ugly.
You'll never guess what I was doing out in the backyard 6:20 this morning... but alas, I get ahead of myself!
Yesterday, we had our first semi-emergency (ultimately false alarm) with Rocky. Before doggie breakfast yesterday morning, Todd caught him mid-"accident" (yes, he's still not quite housebroken). So we're feeling all proud, we get him outside... things seem fine... Todd leaves for work, I feed the dogs (including our guest visitor, Lucy)... but when I let the dogs out post-breakfast, I notice a little pile of throw-up on the patio. Not terribly unusual... Rocky eats anything... and again, I am mildly happy that it was outside.
Likewise, I am happy that Rocky is going outside... but then I notice he's going and going and going. I will try to be as euphemistic as possible throughout this post, so let's just say he was having "stomach issues." Even when he was "done," he still was straining and doing that doggie crab walk... again, no real worries... I figure it'll pass (literally and figuratively).
Innocently (in retrospect, stupidly), I let everyone back inside the house... and let's just say there are more "spurts" all throughout the house... and of increasing quantity and declining quality... so it's back outside... and then I notice some blood, not a lot... but it still sets off the bells and whistles to call into and get an appointment at the vet.
Long story, shorter... and as hinted at above, nothing serious. The suspicion is easing something bad... grass, tree branch, "stuff," or some combo of that... the blood was from straining... $84 later for a vet exam, his "stuff" tested, and some tummy medication ... we were back home by 11:30a... oh, I should add he's acting totally normal otherwise... chasing dogs and cats, running and jumping, etc.
He showed signs of improvement even late yesterday and things have looked pretty good today... but it was time (again!) to address the extraneously eating... obviously there's not we can do about the grass...
Lately I have been trying my very best to be diligent about cleaning up "stuff" in the yard... but it is impossible to keep it spotless... and it kind of had a negative effect... only making Rocky more attentive about it while it was there!
The vet recommended we "spike" it.... so I get out a spray bottle, fill it with vinegar and off I go... this works initially, but ultimately does not prove to be enough of a deterrence... go figure.
So at 6:20 this morning... I kick it up a notch... vinegar misting AND a generous sprinkle of black pepper... and with three dogs at the present time, this not only takes awhile but also serves as a not terribly pleasant wake-up call...
Rocky seems sufficiently averse to the new combo... he gets close to it, sniffs it, and jumps back quickly ... he even circled and jumped around it like it needed to be attacked... quite funny!
(insert image of unhatched chickens being counted)
Sure enough a little time passes and Rocky's curiosity got the best of him and he managed to scoop it up...
Just great! We've ended up with the canine version of Mikey.
I will fully admit to having my reservations going into last night's show... the mentors were the increasingly craggly but still luscious Jon Bon Jovi (btw, he's 45 year old) and some other guy from the band. No problem there, but when I heard it was all Bon Jovi songs and not a generic "rock" week, I was a bit worried. But last night's show kicked ass!
3 of the performances I will happily cough up the 99 cents for full-length mp3s for the iPod... the two guys that I really can't stand, had vocals that I really couldn't quibble with... and shockingly enough it was one of the emerging front-runners that was the disappointment of the evening.
Before moving on, the little video thank you for the White House... did the First Lady look not so good last night? Bad lighting, make-up, not being able to sleep at night? Or W talking about "parvarti"... wasn't that the chick from Survivor? Oooooh, poverty... nevermind.
So... returning from their recent appearance in "what heaven would look like if it existed"... once again, we have our Top 6 and my rankings this week.
#1 - Blake ("You Give Love A Bad Name") - I was waiting for this moment... it happened when Fantasia crooned out "Summertime" or Bo Bice did that acapella version "In A Dream"... Blake had the Idol moment of the season... unleashing an orgasmic fury of beat-boxing wonder... ok, that's something Paula would say and certainly a sentence I never imagined myself writing. My personal gay, pop-culture, entertainment writer Idol, EW's Michael Slezak, couldn't have said it better... "The 'you give love-lllll-love-love-lll-love a bad, bad name'' breakdown had me clapping like baby-seal Paula... this was the performance that — whether or not it secured Blake a spot in the final two — pretty much guaranteed him a record deal." What did you think of the new (or should I say old/"real") hair color? A bit too mousy for me...but not bad.
#2 - Melinda ("Have A Nice Day") - We all know by now that Melinda can pretty much do no wrong... but she almost landed as my #3 just for continuing to be consistently excellent. She obviously wasn't comfortable being a rocker chick (the whole tentative "rock on" fingers had us rolling), but she was totally committed to it while on the stage... particularly growling that opening line like a tigress. Rock on, Melinda... rock on, indeed!
#3 - LaKisha ("This Ain't A Love Song") - Even though I knew Melinda and Blake were still to come, I was thinking LaKisha had maybe earned my top spot this week. What a nice comeback for LaKisha who has been looking so defeated these past couple of weeks. A sassy and smackdown performance that was clearly her best since that opening week of "And I Am Telling You"... and she also earned some points in the pre-performance piece when she told Ryan "I want to show the camera my slim side" (I think we all knew she probably could not sit down in those jeans).
#4 - Chris R ("Wanted Dead of Alive") - It was a toss-up for me between Chris and Phil for the #4 spot... but I kinda liked Chris this week and the main reason... he decided to not sing nasally this week, I guess it is a type of singing that you can turn on and off! A risky choice since last year's Chris Daughtry memorably sang it last year, but Chris did good... I liked the rougher edge, less whine.
#5 - Phil ("Blaze of Glory") - This song worried me... I knew it had big notes and if you recall, big notes + Phil + Me = ick. So I was prepared to hate it, but he actually sounded good throughout the entire song. What continues to the bug the sh&t out of me is his posturing to the camera, which is just so unnatural and, for me creepy. So vocals should probably put him ahead of Chris, but the visuals
#6 - Jordin ("Livin' On A Prayer") - If the singer ends up apologizing for the performance or claiming its a bad week, you know it can't be good. Unfortunately for Jordin, five other people managed not to have the same problem... but thanks to a combined vote, and her stellar "You'll Never Walk Alone" vocal last week, she probably can toss one away without too much worry. Oh, she also lands in the my bottom spot for telling Bon Jovi... "My mom grew up listening to you".... thanks for the age reminder, oy!
Elimination Prediction: It probably doesn't matter, especially with the combined weeks vote but here's the link to Dial Idol (click "Predictions" on the upper right bar)... Jordin and Blake escape Bottom 3 status for this week.
You probably need no reminder that no one was voted off last week... and while I would have loved to have seen the vote based on this week's performances only that ain't gonna happen
Last week, I predicted LaKisha, Chris, and Phil would be in the bottom three... Chris and Phil if there was only mention of a bottom two... and I guess I will stick with that. I still worry about LaKisha and, particularly after last night's strong showing, would hate to see her go. Last week, I said Phil would go... and while it would be quite prophetic if he left tonight in a "Blaze of Glory"... I am switching my ouster pick to Chris.
UPDATE #2 (OUT OF ORDER): What was I thinking? I guess when I was writing this entry up Ryan's brainwashing that two people were going home didn't stick... but anyhow, I'll still take credit for saying that Chris and Phil would be the bottom two... and thus leaving the competition.
UDPATE: Hey...it's You Tube worthy... so here you go, Blake Lewis "You Give Love A Bad Name"
Ok, apologies for the startling post title... but if you are an Amazing Race aficionado you will likely recall that line from TAR5, but more on that in just a bit...
I am a bit better today but in this little tug 'o war taking place in my head, the sinuses are still holding an advantage. I sense I'm turning a corner... though at Day 3, I darn well should be!
So since I am still not 100% (plus work hasn't been totally agreeable - another bad part of working from home is that it is difficult to take/justify a "sick" day), I figured a 'lil cop-out for today's entry and post a video...
The Amazing Race All-Stars start this Sunday! We are definitely looking forward to seeing some of our favorite teams back in action. The title of the premiere episode is "I Told You Less Martinis and More Cardio." Any guesses who utters that line? I figure it has to be one of the gay teams... my gut tells me it's Danny & Oswald, though I'd put a side-bet on Team Guido, Joe & Bill.
One of the most entertaining TAR teams is back - Charla and Mirna. They are cousins, one a tough as nails "little person," the other a bit of a high-maintenance whiner in love with Philimator.
The below video highlights some of their greatest moments from the first time around... Charla carrying the beef, the gals asking a suspected prostitute for directions to the "discoteca," Marshall/Lance's drive-by "Bitch!" to Mirna, Charla imitating an airplane, and Charla playing hockey... and such memorable quotes as:
"Gracias! Gracias! Evita Peron!" "You might have to stick your hand in the cow's ass" "I just got electrocuted"
That last one that I have had search hits for years as Charla touches an electrified fence (with about 2:15 left in the approximately 6 minute video). Classic!
There is also a "part two" but that's easy enough to find on your own after viewing this one...
UPDATE: Whoops! It wasn't easy to find when you embed it on your own site... so here's the link to Part 2.
Work is being kind of a bitch today. I don't think I have a coherent post in me and even I did I fear it wold be too grumpy even for a blog called Whine & Cheese.
The fall back? Eye candy, of course. Admittedly, I am feeling a bit defensive since I have to restore the integrity of my blog. On a recent post where I offered up my favorite Deal or No Deal ladies, I had a comment from Scott (not my two "usual" Scotts!) saying all the lovely gals on my page made him wonder what team I really played for. Spit-take and my other half thanks you for the chuckle. So nevertheless I feel the need to get back on track... no need to be throwin' around that "s
I watch NBC's Las Vegas for at least one reason: to sit doe-eyed in front of my television screen and watch Josh Duhamel. Well, on last week's episode ("Wagers of Sin"), there was one scene that was more "deer in the headlights!"
Now on Vegas, it's usually the ladies that are teasing away. I am still waiting for the episode where one of Nikki Cox's boobs does pop out... but this time Josh was providing the humps.
Anyhow in this very hard-hitting episode, Danny McCoy (Josh) has to go "undercover" to catch a room-key stealing ring... so naturally he does this out by the Montecito swimming pool. Initially, he is in some conservative board shorts, but strips 'em off to this:
In the immortal words of Wayne & Garth... sccchwwing!
(Oh, these photos have been all over blog-land... so I am going to be a bad boy and not give credit... and to tell you the truth, I kind of forgot where I saw 'em first!).
Of course, if a static image is not enough.. the scene is on YouTube (of course!):
If you are around my age, you are probably a big fan of the movie Grease.
Heck, years later in college we would have drunken spirited sing-alongs to Summer Lovin', Hopelessly Devoted To You, Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee... (hmmm... maybe that's why none of my friends were "surprised" when I came out...)... and of course, You're The One That I Want.
Well, that last song is now giving its name to yet another reality, talent, singing competition coming to your television and TiVO box... as America votes in the next Danny and Sandy for a Broadway revival of Grease.
Needless to say, I am all over this one!
So, while I wouldn't be doing a special blog entry just to promote another reality show (okay, I probably would)... this promo commercial was just too much fun not to share (and especially since a lot of us don't watch commercials anymore!)....
I haven't heard about judges (I assume there will be judges... and three of them!)... but c'mon they HAVE to get Olivia Newton John?!
Are you going to be watching?
UPDATE: Well, the official NBC website is now online... unfortunately no Olivia... the trio of judges will be Jim Jacobs, David Ian, and Kathleen Marshall.
As recently mentioned, I am quite happy that we started watching the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. While it is a "traditional" sitcom, a group of friends dealing with life and love, somehow it avoids seeming like something that I have seen a hundred times over.
A couple of episodes ago, we learned of Robin's skeleton in the closet... that she was Robin Sparkles ... a teeny-bopper pop princess who toured the malls of Canada in the early 90s (we're told that it took the 80s a little while to get up to our neighbor to the North).
The video of Ms. Sparkles' greatest hit is pure genius! A delightfully devilish mix of Debbie Gibson and Tiffany (and let's throw Canada's own Alanis Morissette... since she had a sugary pop singing past as well)...
It's got the clothes, the hair, the cheesy dance moves, the breathy voice-overs, the break out into a rap, groovy special effects... and even Canadian accents.
So without further ado... Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go To The Mall"... try it! You won't be saww-ry!
Stumbled across this You Tube Season 3 The Office teaser video featuring my sweethearts, Jim & Pam... it looks like it is officially from NBC... so good quality and "official."
Call me a wuss... but the video put a lump in my throat and gave me goosebumps...
... and officially makes me feel I am far too involved/invested about this fictional couple.
I don't buy many DVDs (heck, I have enough trouble keeping up with TiVo and "live" television)... so, while I am not running out and getting this today... I am quite certain it will be in my possession by the end of this coming weekend...
... I do need to see this... again and again!
No doubts that this show has already achieved cult-status Lisa Kudrow's Emmy nominated... 13-episode, first only season of HBO's The Comeback... starring... the one, the only Valerie Cherish!
I have watched every episode at least twice... so I'll be headed headed first to the commentary episodes by Kudrow and famed Sex and the City writer, Michael Patrick King.
There is even an episode commentary by "Valerie" herself... and the two bonus features: "Valerie After the Laughter" - an exclusive new interview with the beloved actress... and Valerie Backstage at Dancing with the Stars have me salivating!
You see puppies, I see Korean barbeque!
Ok, I vowed never to do a You Tube... but I couldn't pass this one up... Valerie taking on Miss Gloria Gaynor... comedy? tragedy? Valerie!
Note (to self): If some of the stuff above sounds strange... don't worry they are just "inside" Comeback jokes, I haven't gone crazy... well, on second thought.... Jane, Jane... flag it!
This long-distance dedication goes out to Todd in Malaysia..
The least I could do was post some pix of his imaginary other boyfriend, Drew Lachey, doin' it freestyle on Dancing With The Stars... to yes, Big & Rich's Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy...
Darn! I think I could have got lucky tonight!
This is definitely "Keep Until I Delete" on the TiVo ;-)
UPDATE Given the judges' rankings (Drew, Stacy, Jerry) on Thursday... subject to change with one more judging on Sunday... Drew & Cheryl win in 3 of 6 possible scenarios:
Drew/Cheryl win: Win outright if receive the most viewer votes (of course) or if the order of finish is Jerry/Drew/Stacy
Stacy/Tony win: Must receive the most viewer votes - win viewer tie-break if Drew finishes 2nd, win outright if Drew finishes 3rd.
Jerry/Anna win: Win three-way viewer tie-break if viewer vote order is Jerry/Stacy/Drew
ABC's New Schedule Features Stability, 'Scrubs' - Good news if you like what you watch on ABC. Only 2 new shows in the fall + 3 more mid-season starts, including the long rumored network leap for 'Scrubs.'
US Open's Cable TV deal from USA to ESPN, Tennis Channel - After airing it for an amazing 25 years, USA (and Universal HD) hosts the last Slam of the tennis season for one more year - then it's off to ESPN and the Tennis Channel. Does this mean Tracy Austin is out of a job?!
Fox Reality cancels Reality Remix - While it was a bit of reality overload, I will miss Kennedy's snarky/fun spin on the genre, the show will be replaced by what sounds like a more "Fox" (slimy?) weekly recap-ish show.
