Blog Over Troubled Water

Friday, May 28, 2004

Summertime...And The Livin' Is Easy

Ah...Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer. 

With temps mostly in the 90s these past several weeks, it still feels like springtime here in Phoenix.  This is usually a good thing, but I have to say I am itchin' to get into our swimming pool.  With the overnight lows still dipping into the 60s, our pool just is not warming up enough for full immersion.  A couple of weeks ago (during a mini-heat wave when the pool temp creeped up to about 78 degrees) I managed to float around for awhile and work on the tan.  The pool really needs to be at least 80 degrees to approach any kind of comfort level and not have certain body parts try to totally recoil into your body.  Forecasters are saying we are going to be in the 100s next week...so I guess if we don't make it into the pool this weekend, it won't be too much longer of a wait.
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Will probably watch some of the dedication ceremony for the WWII Memorial on Saturday.  It was much more innocent days the last time I was in Washington DC -- back in September 2000 - when you could traipse through the White House with little effort or worry and even end up on the floor of the House of Representatives or on the Speaker of the House's office balcony (thanks to a ballsy AZ Representative office worker turned Capitol tour guide).  Back then, I believe they were about to break ground on the WWII Memorial I believe and its location was the prime source of controversy.  While I certainly thought the memorial deserved a prime location, I admit sided with the purists who argued that it broke up the whole Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool (which I notoriously dubbed "goose shit pond" thanks to the all the... well all bird crap in it...and I chose to blame the nearby multitude of goose-like creatures), Lincoln Memorial sight line.

Now that I have seen shots of the WWII Memorial this past week on TV and in print, I have to say it looks like it fits right in.  The location controversy seems to have died down with more of the recent negative buzz surrounding its design ... too bland, too big, and even those who say it is too reminiscent of Nazi architecture (my linked-up DC bloggers: feel free to tell me otherwise).  But to me, and from 2000 miles away, it looks to be pretty impressive -- and at least a reason to return to DC at some point in the future.
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Fans of the The Amazing Race, there is another show that you might be interested in this summer.  Remember Kevin and Drew, the bald-headed New Yorker frat-bros from TAR1?  They are back for a 3-part "reality" series that is scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel in July.   TV Guide reports that Kevin and Drew Unleashed will follow the guys as they travel cross-country and engage in such activities as alligator wrestling and teaching water aerobics.

In other TAR news, I hope the rumors are wrong that have CBS postponing the planned summer airing of TAR5 until the fall and pushing TAR6 to spring 2005.  I need my TAR fix soon!

- posted by Ed | 5/28/2004 09:40:00 AM | | Link

Thursday, May 27, 2004

Fantasia Wins: I'm A Believer

Although I would have not lost any sleep if Diana DeGarmo pulled the upset, I believe the Idol legacy is in much better shape this morning in the hands of Fantasia Barrino.  As expected the vote was close, not quite the tenth of a percentage of last year's Clay/Ruben battle - but Fantasia's 1.3 million vote lead only translated to a 2% margin of victory.

Some random notes on the evening:

Ditch the "pre-show" including what had to be emptiest red-carpet in Hollywood history.  If the biggest celebrity you can come up with is Ray Romano (who did not even feel the need to shave for the big event) you have a problem.  And when asked her thoughts on the previous night's show,  I think Sharon Osbourne based on her oh-shit expression and answer ("It .... was....  terrific") had not even watched it.  Christina Christian please stick to singing, your interviewing skills are non-existent...and ditch the hair (didn't you learn anything from Jennifer Hudson...the Mrs. Roper look doesn't work).  Kimberly Caldwell - go away and you to need some hair help as well (maybe Julia DeMato can help).  Jennifer Love Hewitt - fire your agent if this is the best gig you can get.

Though this is asking for the impossible, stop trying to channel "The Brady Bunch" in the group sings (weren't you just waiting for JPL to do the Peter Brady puberty-induced"It's time to change" line?). I know this is always the kitschiest part of the show...but the oh-so-1970s white and yellow "uniforms" the final 12 were forced to wear were truly horrific.  But alas the ugly attire did not distract us from the fact that America got it right with some of the early evictees both vocally (Leah & Camille, I am looking at you) and dance-wise (John Stevens and Matt Rogers... cringe-worthy in totally different ways).  And has Amy Adams aged like 20 years since ditching the pink hair, I kept thinking it was Diana DeGarmo's mother up there on stage. 

What was it with Tamyra opening the show with the National Anthem... I guess it was an attempt to solidify the finale as some kind of major sporting event (thus the endless boxing match references in re-capping the previous night)... that said, I did not like Tamyra's take on it at all.

Paula Abdul's breasts.... fabulous!   Get working on a wonder-bra endorsement deal...pronto!

Simon - stick with the black Armani tight t-shirts.. the button down (down down down) look is kind of creepy and do you think Randy always looks like a pimp when he dresses up?

Why did they let Diana sing "I Believe" as her last solo song?  The poor girl nailed it even better than the night before... it was pretty much the next-day quarterback-ing sign that she had not won ... as she would have had to sing it again to close out the show.  You can tell there was more than a little twinge of pain when she helped Ryan introduce Fantasia's victory version of "I Believe" ... Diana really wanted it to be "her" song.

Was not all that impressed with the return of the former champs, Kelly and Ruben.  They did all right in the opening "Impossible Dream" (though it appeared the walk down the ramp pretty much wiped out poor Ruben), but their solo numbers left something to be desired.  Kelly sounded "ai-ight" but the song itself was pretty awful, while Ruben's "new" song sounded much like his debut "Sorry 2004."  No wonder they banished Clay to North Carolina!

Finally, I thought Fantasia was just picture-perfect last night.  You can tell she was pretty exhausted, but she pluckily plodded through all the hoops the producers put up for her for the two hours.  Her final performance announced that there is a new diva in town.  Could she recover from her emotional response to winning to sing "I Believe" -- you betcha!  Got teary at the right times and just when you think she was done...she belted it out again.  Say what you will about the quality of her voice, but she works a song for all its worth. 

- posted by Ed | 5/27/2004 09:16:00 AM | | Link

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Idol Week 11: Finale Finally

At last the final night of Idol! And not a moment too soon...I think both Diana and Fantasia have pretty much fried their vocal chords at this point so I am not sure either of them could last another week.

 

Diana's vocals I think suffered the most.  Her bread-and-butter is hitting those glory notes and last night they seemed to come out much more shrill than normal.  She has never been great with her lower register and "quieter" moments...and that showed last night.  There is also a story out this morning that Diana's ear-piece was not working...so she could not hear herself or the music...but not sure that even would have helped her out any.  I was also a little disappointed that outside of this year's Idol anthem, "I Believe," she chose not to sing something she had not done before  C'mon its the finals...why re-hash or try to out-do two of your best performances of the competition?! 

 

That said, I thought Fantasia failed miserably doing a new song.  As Simon noted I thought her "All My Life" was a complete mess... I think the background singers were doing more vocalizing than Fantasia...who seemed more content to just riff her way through it.  But perhaps she was just toying with Diana... giving her a chance to shine before slamming the door shut with "Summertime" (for a 3rd time!! okay, its great... we know!) and her rendition of "I Believe."

 

C'mon you kind of knew that Diana was going to be in trouble with the new song when the back-up singers was a gospel choir!  Talk about favorably stacking the deck.  But when it comes down to it I said last night that Diana sang "I Believe," but Fantasia performed it -- and that is the difference and why Fantasia should take home the title.

 

But will she?  I am still not sure.  I have read the boards and as I have said over and over, there are folks who just don't like Fantasia (her voice, her attitude, etc.) and there seemed to be a concerted rallying around Diana.  Likewise, there will be the "don't tell me what to do" contingent who will be annoyed by the judges (and even Paul Anka - was that necessary at all?!?) proclaiming Bo-Bo the winner.  If Diana does prevail, I still think that Fantasia will win the "sales" race (similar to Clay outselling Ruben).

 

So we shall see...after about 1 hour and 50 minutes of hokey group sings, another round of "how they got there" bios, and torturous re-caps of the judges' comments (did they really say anything last night?)...we will have a new Idol and I will have to find something new to latch onto in order to keep getting Google search hits!

 

- posted by Ed | 5/26/2004 10:10:00 AM | | Link

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Swan & Shrek

Despite my reality television addiction, I did not watch The Swan. However, I did catch some of the big Swan Pageant finale last night before heading to the gym and also on the big screens at the gym (though I did not tap into the audio).

Given what I did see:
Beauty = Boob implants + Hair extensions + Capped teeth

Though I don't really want to crumble before a mirror proclaiming how beautiful I am, maybe I should try those Crest White Strips.
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Hopefully these man-made wonders who are mothers (which many seemed to be..."Daddy, why is Mommy strutting around in hardly any clothes in front of thousands of people?") are taking their children to see Shrek 2 soon. After this freak-fest, a lesson about "inner beauty" is due.

I know all the "inner beauty" stuff is a bunch of crap to make us normal looking, but terribly nice, folks feel better about ourselves -- but there is something to be said about a positive mental attitude. Sure I may never evolved into one of those perfectly lean muscle bound studs at the gym, but given my own commitment to working out and the lengths (or "shortness") of what I am willing to do to get there, at the end of the day I am fine with my progress and/or appearance.

But enough philosophizing about a computer animated feature! What did I think of it? I don't think it approached the original it was still a fine and entertaining film and most definitely worth a $6 matinee. The story took awhile to get off the ground, but once it did it effortlessly sailed to a fine conclusion. Lots of stuff for the adults to enjoy as well...believe it or not at our showing, there were not many children in the theater. But alas, a reference to "Flashdance" did make me feel old - as I realized that it was thrown in as something the parents would enjoy... egads! I know I am in my 30s and a great deal of my friends do have children, but I still don't feel very parental!

- posted by Ed | 5/25/2004 09:02:00 AM | | Link

Monday, May 24, 2004

Getting Spoiled

In kind of a work slump of late. My workload is fairly unpredictable. About a month ago it was hair-pulling busy. These past two weeks have been blister-inducing thumb twiddling. One of the advantages of working from home is at least you don't have to "look busy" ... one of the hardest things "to do" back when I worked in a traditional office environment. But with this current extended "break," it is hard to muster up an energy for anything... and re-gain momentum even when some minor work rolls in. A key to working at home is self-discipline, something that I admit is not one of my strongest character traits.

So in my boredom this morning, I have just been spoiled, spoiled, spoiled! And I don't mean in the "treating myself to something special" kind of way. No, I am talking about tv show spoilers ... something that I have a love/hate relationship with...I love being surprised, but can I turn away from a spoiler? Rarely.

One of the great things about TiVo is that you get pretty used to watching TV when you are ready for it (as opposed to when the networks dish it out to you). But the bad part is that you sometimes find out stuff you don't really want to before you have a chance to watch it. With shows like Survivor and American Idol I know I have to watch them that night. Avoiding the result the next morning is virtually impossible given my Internet habits.

We are a week behind on two of our Sunday staples, Sopranos and Queer As Folk. We watched last week's QAF last night and the previews for the next episode (airing later that night) promised something shocking. I thought the TiVo program info had already given away the surprise...so I did not expect to get spoiled, but whatya know something else happened and I found out about it!

We did the same thing with Sopranos watched last week's episode (the one w/ Tony's totally f*cked-up dream sequence) as last night's recorded on TiVo. With the show taking next week off before the season finale, I figured we'd just get back on schedule next weekend. But by now, I should know that the next-to-last episode of Sopranos is often more eventful than the finale... so, without going into any more details, let's just say a web site headline and a morning talk show discussion gave it all away. [UPDATE: Geesh! Not even safe from spoilers when looking at your blog search engine hits!]

The French Open started today...and as per my habit, I checked tennis scores on the Web first thing this morning. Andre Agassi's shocking loss to a total unknown was already in the books. I turn on ESPN's coverage .. which was in its 2nd of its like 762 hours of coverage over the next 2 weeks... and dare I even think that I would see live coverage?! No, Mr. Agassi is only halfway through his crash-and-burn...and by the time that match gets done, I know the results of the matches that ESPN is airing later in the telecast. I know, I should just not look at tennis scores on the Web...but how else am I going to find out how the non-Americans are doing?

Finally to end the morning spoiling, I read that most of the current cast of 24 (except Kiefer, of course) has not been resigned for next season. But this I take with a grain of salt, I think this is their M.O., as the likes of Sherry Palmer and Nina Meyers have returned to the show after not being "re-signed" at the end of previous seasons (though I have my doubts we will see those two ladies in Season 4). Even if the "un-casting" does come true, I think it will be fine... one thing you learn on 24 is never to get attached to any characters...and besides, I think the show really needs a totally new spin when it returns for its uninterrupted ("un"-preempted) run come January.

- posted by Ed | 5/24/2004 11:09:00 AM | | Link

Friday, May 21, 2004

Dolly On The Mound? / Fall TV

It has been awhile since I have done an "I've Been Googled" entry. My search hits have just not been that funny of late...or maybe it just takes more to get a LOL one these days. But this one I think goes on the all-time classic list:

MSN Search: DOLLY PARTON NUDE PITCHERS - My hunch is that this has nothing to do with water pitchers... is someone just looking for a pic of Dolly's Big Units?

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The networks have announced their anticipated schedules for the fall. While it is no secret that my TV watching is pretty much out of control, I think I am going to be a little more picky about adding new shows onto an already crowded list of returning favorites.

This past year I gave 7 new shows a shot -- only 3 will be back for a 2nd season... Las Vegas, Hope & Faith, and Arrested Development.

The best news of that bunch was AD, a truly original show that will never (ever!) appeal to a mass audience but was saved due to nearly unanimous critical praise and an almost instant ascension as a cult classic. Vegas probably did not deserve a renewal... a purely guilty pleasure and back this fall thanks to 4 pretty women and 1 pretty guy (sorry Mr. Caan, not you)...it certainly wasn't due to its writing... the storytelling scraped the bottom of the barrel several times this season so I have no idea what they are going to come up with for season two. H&F only survives thanks to the charismatic Kelly Ripa... this "we've seen it 2,567 times before" sitcom is truly dreadful...I only watched it (sometimes!) when I was looking to kill 22 minutes in front of the TV/TiVo.

Not surviving: The Lyon's Den, Coupling, Karen Sisco, and Miss Match. Coupling sucked from the start (hard to believe since the BBC original is so funny) while Den was starting to find itself just about the time NBC pulled the plug. I enjoyed both Sisco and MM and was disappointed to see them go...both victims of poor time slots and impatient TV execs.

So what will I be giving a shot this fall:

Joey - Okay I wasn't a Friends fanatic (it had long stopped being "Must See" for me), but I will give LeBlanc a shot... and more so Drea de Matteo as I hear a not so distant cousin of her Sopranos Adriana. The pilot was shown at the NBC fall schedule unveiling and, believe it or not, the buzz was good.

CSI: NY - I can count the number of episodes I have seen of either CSI on one hand...so I am not sure if this will last long on my list...more a victim of finding the time for another one-hour drama. Also, have never jumped on the franchise bandwagon (shockingly for a TV addict like me, I have never seen even *one* episode in the Law & Order franchise). But I like Gary Sinise and Melena Kankaredes (or however you darn well spell it..though never watched Providence) seem to be an appealing co-lead.

Dr. Vegas - Rob Lowe and Sin City. That is pretty much the reasons, though the concept of a show revolving around a hotel/casino physician seems to be pretty darn shaky. I have a hunch that this turns into "Why Did I Ever Leave West Wing: Part Deux" for Lowe. Also, features ex-Sopranos star...Joey Pants.

Desperate Housewives - The most intriguing new show of the bunch... solely on the casting of three of my favorite TV ladies of the past: Marcia Cross (Melrose Place's crazy Kimberly), Teri Hatcher (Lois & Clark), and Felicity Huffman (Sports Night)...also toss in Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer of Twin Peaks, who will again be playing a dead person).

- posted by Ed | 5/21/2004 09:52:00 AM | | Link

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Idol Week 10 Results: Aloha Jazzy

Well all is right again in Idol land as last week's wrong (yet again!) was corrected last night. It is hard to get all that stoked about Jasmine's exit - she seems like a genuinely nice girl with a good voice...but as Simon would probably say "nice" and "good" are not what the show is all about.

So we are down to Fantasia and Diana -- the duel of the teen divas! Fox's definition of a "diva" is even looser than VH-1's (and who thought that was possible)! I think Fantasia has some diva-tude in her for sure, but c'mon it takes longer than a few weeks to earn that status!

I think it is going to be tight race to the finish. Having read all the boards and blogs over the past months, Fantasia has her strong supporters and equally mighty set of detractors. However, is that latter contingent galvanized enough to rally around the gosh, golly-gee Diana?!

But as experience has shown, win-place-show (or even less than that) on Idol does not matter all that much... well except if you are Season 1 finalist Justin Guarini (btw, Nicole Richie squelched engagement rumors to the Mr. Frizz). So it is hard to really worry (or dare I say even care) too much over the end result at this point.

- posted by Ed | 5/20/2004 10:24:00 AM | | Link

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Idol Week 10: Arista Development

Are there any doubts that Fantasia should win American Idol? While I didn't think it was her best night (too many runs), she has more charisma and confidence than Jasmine and Diana combined. While many felt LaToya lacked personality (something she heartily disproved on her 52 appearances on talk shows this past week) at least she gave Fantasia a run for her money in the vocal talent department. But what we have been left with is a one-horse "star quality" race.

I thought Diana did a good job last night and probably deserves her place in the finals. I think Randy was a attempting a wee bit of sabotage in having her sing Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" (which I thought was a bit too sped up to fit into a 1 minute, 30 second snippet). But she shined on the pretty darn maudlin "Don't Cry Out Loud."

Will Jasmine go this week? Who knows. Based on last night's performances, she probably should have been voted out in the middle of the pack. She made the sin of attempting Whitney and additionally had to survive Paula's awful song selection of "Mr. Melody." Even if she survives, last night had a "lame duck" feeling from all, including "Jazzy" herself.

But will Fantasia be hurt by the judges' comments. Last night, she was pretty much christened the American Idol and even Clive Davis (who looked to be hoping to get a Bo-Bo lap dance from his prospective new money honey) said he would sign her... so does she need to win? Well yes, if the show wants to maintain an iota of credibility going into the future.
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Is it too much to ask for a show not to totally ruin a surprise? I know in this age of "give the whole story away" movie trailers there is some group of individuals who think this is a necessity.

24 is a show that loves the surprise twist, so that makes it all the more frustrating that they chose to give away the last minutes of the next-to-last episode in a TV commercial. Well okay, they didn't give it totally away...they gave us some "options" to mull over, but by the time the final scene rolled around the end result was pretty much evident. I think I would have been genuinely surprised had I not seen the commercial...but by now I guess I should no better to even look.
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Somebody wake me up if this is just my TV programming dream?!

First NBC renews Scrubs until 2006... now CBS releases their fall schedule and The Amazing Race is on it! Yes, we have back-to-back seasons of TAR (season five is airing over the summer)... granted in the fall it will be in a graveyard-ish Saturday evening time slot, but who cares!

- posted by Ed | 5/19/2004 09:04:00 AM | | Link

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Don't Call Me Stupid!

Not feeling terribly bloggy today, but got a chuckle over this quote in this week's Time from ex-President (Bill) Clinton regarding the race for the White House:

"The only way we can lose is if we're lazy or dumb..."

This is how I have felt about the presidential race for a while now. My only concern is that I do not think Kerry has been much of a national presence of late...instead the Kerry camp just seems to be content in letting the Bush administration crash-and-burn on their own in the interim. I know the race is going to get heat as the election approaches and especially when Kerry names a VP candidate...but right now it does not even seem like it is an election year.

- posted by Ed | 5/18/2004 01:16:00 PM | | Link

Monday, May 17, 2004

Those Summer Niiiii-hiiiiights! TiVo More! TiVo More..ororororeeee!

Looking at our TiVo 2-week "to do" list, I was starting to think TV was going to start slowing down. We have the season finales of Las Vegas and West Wing this coming week...and the wind-down (or big wind-up?!) of Idol and 24 next week.

But these days the traditional TV season no longer ends in May... with little time to catch a collective TV breath I think the TiVo is going to remain steadily humming...

The Sopranos wraps up in early June, but HBO ropes us in the very next week with the season premiere of Six Feet Under.

Queer As Folk marches on through at least mid-summer I believe... after a pretty good first season, the has been pretty darn craptastic for three years running. But it's saving grace remains gay characters who have sex and are usually naked when doing so! Though with this season's "coming of age" tag-line, that apparently means less booty calls. But as long as sex-on-a-stick Brian Kinney is around I will continue watching.

Beyond that there is a bunch of summer shows:

For their 5th go-round, CBS brings back The Amazing Race (People please watch this show!) and Big Brother (don't really care if this one is back, but get hopelessly hooked each and every year).

Back on Bravo is the return of Celebrity Poker Showdown - with each episode expanded from one hour to two hour (ugh.. that'll be tough to fit in for a "quickie" even on TiVo) this time around. Good news, last year's host Kevin Pollack has been given the boot! New episodes of Queer Eye are also set to debut in June.

For the first time ever, I am a bit burnt-out on Las Vegas and gambling (thanks to 2 visits to Sin City in the past 6 months)... but nevertheless, I plan on watching Fox/Mark Burnett's The Casino as well as the Discovery Channel's documentary-series American Casino.

And let's not forget mondo tennis (3 Slams!) and the Athens Olympics...whew! I guess I will have to schedule in some time off from our new leather recliners!

Oh...just read that NBC has given Scrubs a renewal through May 2006 -- so at least two more years (I hope! Never trust those networks!) of our household's favorite sitcom.

- posted by Ed | 5/17/2004 01:02:00 PM | | Link

Friday, May 14, 2004

Size Queen

Had a funny episode (well at least I think so) this past week at the ballpark. To wash down my $4.75 hot dog, I asked for a "medium" Pepsi -- this immediately sent the woman behind the counter into a state of utter confusion. She took turns displaying the 3 cup sizes and asked me which one I wanted. I pointed to and said "the middle one."

She then informed me that the 3 available sizes were: Large, Extra-Large, and Jumbo.

I guess with the astronomic prices for any baseball park food/beverage, this is just a small attempt to make one feel they are getting some kind of bargain. It seems a (insert sarcastic tone) a whole lot better spending $4.25 on an extra-large drink as opposed to a medium-sized one.
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I hit a blog hit milestone this past week - 5,000 hits! I am always looking at how folks are getting to my blog but rarely look at the overall number. I average about 200 hits/week, but I was still surprised to see that I hit the 5k mark (according to NedStatBasic which I started using the 2nd week of January).

I tried to come up with how I reached it. Here are my best guesses:

900+: Probably the number of hits I am personally responsible for...checking to see if my entry properly uploaded, confirming that I still have no comments, and keeping an eye on my BlogRolling list for new entries from my favorite bloggers.

400+: Guess-timate hits from Todd. This not only helps him to determine what kind of mood he is going to encounter upon returning from work but also prepares him for the inevitable question "Did you read my blog today?"

2,000+: Search hits related to American Idol...the first week the show aired I received 909 hits for that week alone or nearly 20% of my total hits thus far in 2004! Apparently I was one of the few web sites to mention the contestants by name. The hit parade has continued thanks to (like 'em or not!) my regular Idol updates... though a large percentage just want to know which contestants are gay... or see them naked/nude or barefoot (even some under-age ones...eek!)

700+: My two blog mascots, Josh Duhamel & Nate Berkus. The traffic generated by these guys (along w/ Idol) ultimately led to the creation of my off-shoot
blog "index" - Water Blogged - to answer those frequently asked questions. Yes, 95% are looking for nude, naked, or shirtless pix. They are out there for Joshie, while Nate has yet to show any noteworthy skin.

300+: Naked or nude anyone! If you want to increase search hits, just innocently slip in either of those two words and mention any well-known person (not necesarily in relation to each other) into your blog and watch the numbers turn...whether you think so or not, someone will likely want to see them in some state of undress.

150+: Gay anyone! See above... not nearly as popular as nudity, but there is still a definite curiosity about what gender people are choosing to get down with.

550+: So that leaves us to the most important group: the "real" readers of my blog...those that seem to have at least a passing interest in my obsessions, my rare serious thoughts, and/or fairly hum-drum daily going-ons...and likewise, the folks who have also opened a window into their world that I have thoroughly enjoyed, been entertained by, or been thought-provoked by (I know not a real phrase, but you know what I mean!)

Have a great weekend... however you got here!

- posted by Ed | 5/14/2004 09:44:00 AM | | Link

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Idol Week 9 Results: Don't Leave Me This Way

Another shocker on Idol last night, well not really...as I said yesterday, anything could happen and it certainly did. While I was disappointed, I did not lose any sleep over it.

By now, we know now that talented ousted contestants (even some not very talented) will be just fine. It is probably best that LaToya did not win and be as fully obligated to the dog-and-pony show that endlessly trots back past finalists to the show. Perhaps subconsciously LaToya was ready to leave. She talked about "already being a winner" and achieving her goal of mass exposure. She always exuded cool confidence (not always an endearing quality w/ the public)...but her perceived early (and undeserved) exit will only garner her more attention. In her tribute tape, Elton John spoke that he would immediately sign her to a record contract... perhaps he should try and figure out how to get her into the lead on his production of "Aida" - a role that I think would be perfectly suited for LaToya.

So where does this leave the remainder of the competition? Shouldn't they have asked the psychic that last night?!? Similar to the John Stevens/J-Hud debacle, Jasmine will probably suffer backlash next week and be voted off. That is if the judges shut up and Seacrest (Out!) remains an impartial host (as a typical male, he pretty said anything to stop the tears). The judges Tuesday night smackdown proved once again that it only rallies the voting troops. They were surprised that folks supported a genuinely sweet girl that they reduced to a crying jag on national television?? Unfortunately for Jasmine, she now joins the ranks of Nikki McKibben and John Stevens as an Idol spoiler.

- posted by Ed | 5/13/2004 08:18:00 AM | | Link

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Idol Week 9: Duck! It's Disco Night!

Here are my thoughts about Disco Night:

Jasmine: Randy nailed down Jasmine's vocal problems last night, she tends to hit one bad note and has a hard time recovering. This was pretty evident in her first selection, but honestly I did not think she did all that bad with "It's Raining Men" - though following Kelly Clarkson and Kimberley Locke in the previous two seasons it might not have been the smartest choice. Hopefully America will put Jas out of her misery tonite...was kind of tough watching her break down after her harshest criticism of the competition. But will the tears just earn her sympathy votes and push her into the final 3?

LaToya: Again agree with Simon here, we all know what a great vocalist LaToya is, so there is really little to say at this point. The first song was pretty boring, but she hit it out of the ballpark (or as Paula would say "Touchdown!") with a smokin' version of "Don't Leave Me This Way."

Fantasia: Probably my least favorite "BoBo" night of the competition... but her charisma/star quality should propel her to the finals. But what exactly is the point of having theme nights when contestants can pick songs totally outside the genre?! Fantasia has been the biggest offender. If a song from "Footloose" is considered disco, then hopefully I will be seeing a social security check about 10 years sooner than expected. Likewise, last week's Freddy Mercury/Queen song released in 1979 qualifies as big band? With all the songs available, I am thinking just a special arrangement should not qualify it as a genre song.

Diana: As much as Jasmine is self-destructing, Diana seems to be gaining momentum. As with the others, I wasn't floored with her first song...but her "No More Tears" (in front of Donna Summer no less!) finale was the best performance of the evening.

I don't really know what to expect from tonight's vote. Jasmine should go, but there are certainly plenty of potential explanations for the exit of any of the others.

- posted by Ed | 5/12/2004 09:56:00 AM | | Link

Monday, May 10, 2004

Amber Alert

Is the Survivor finale over yet? I know it is always a 3-hour shindig, but it seemed to go on forever. Todd's parents were up for Mother's Day...and having not watched any of the show this season... by the end they said they felt like they knew everything that went on during the All-Star edition!

So what to think? I was starting to think that my predictions was going to be wrong as Rob put up a much better fight in the final voting than I thought he would... but heck with his proposal he pretty much could not lose. Is it just me... were Rob and Amber better looking after 39 days on the island than at the reunion show?

As seems to be a Survivor tradition, much of the jury questioning and reunion part circled around the moral high ground. Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch...about getting
lied to, backstabbed, voted off...blah, blah, blah. I know the All-Stars was much more personal this time around given that being part of Survivor puts you in this elite members-only type of country club...but time after time, I am still amazed that people lose sight of what this show is all about. I would have expected more, especially from this group of "veterans." So kudos to the NY audience for booing Lex and Jerri for their whining. Granted I don't think Rob is an angel, but he is not evil incarnate either.

So who should win the $1 million popular vote?! I am certainly not going to be participating...these folks have already been justly rewarded with both publicity and money (though not sure what the payouts were this season, but rumor has it that the All-Stars were quite nicer than usual on the financial side). I certainly would not vote for anyone who won the million already (Richard, Tina, Ethan, Jenna M, Amber), Boston Rob though deserving already has the benefit of the $1 mil, the whiners (Lex, Tom, Alicia, Kathy, Jeri) just deserve to continue chowing down on sour grapes, and those who didn't last long this time around certainly don't deserve it. So that gets it down to (for me at least) to) Shii Ann, Rupert and Jenna. Out of that group I like Shii Ann the best...especially for her calm perspective on the whole game, but she did pretty much coast through the game. The other two were personally annoying... Jenna (wouldn't shut up, too desperate for the $$), Rupert (delusions of self-importance, babyish demeanor)...but I suspect that the wildly popular Rupert will probably win the bonus pool.
- posted by Ed | 5/10/2004 08:15:00 AM | | Link

Friday, May 07, 2004

Goodbye To Thursday Night TV

After all the fuss maybe it is a little hard to believe that Friends is no more (well, except for living on in infinity on syndication)! I have to say that I haven't watched the show as much in the past few years once Survivor decided to go head-to-head with it. But with TiVo joining our household, I have been back watching the final season.

Thought it was a pretty good episode, nothing spectacular or shocking...but a fitting, if all too predictably happy, end. Though I am not sure these friends are meant to be parents! When she decided to move to Paris, Ross pined over the loss of Rachel but nary a mention about baby Emma. But alas Emma was given a brief mention, though still unseen, last night as we learned she would be joining her Mom in a week's time. Then we have the one shock of the evening - the birth of surrogate twins for Monica and Chandler. The birth was surprising emotionless with not a tear of joy shed during the delivery - this was only topped by the new parents repeatedly leaving the newborns alone while dealing with their other baby, Joey!

But alas they are not totally gone... I believe I have read that a special Friends Thanksgiving "reunion" show is already in the can... and then we have the debut of Joey in the fall... though I think I will have a hard time thinking of Drea de Matteo as Joey's sister as opposed to Adrianna on The Sopranos.
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Speaking of Survivor... as we head towards the Sunday final I was starting to think we had the stupidest bunch of Survivors for not knocking out the power couple of Rob and Amber. Week after week, we see these All-Stars put all their trust in Rob only to find themselves on the sidelines.

But now I am thinking that the smartest thing any of the remaining Survivors could do is bring Rob into the finals. But figuring out how to get to the final two with him is probably the biggest challenge...given that Rob/Amber seem to be best prepared for the immunity challenges (the last one usually being one of endurance).

There is an angry bunch of jurors with enough knives in their backs to start their own Ginsu collection that the lovebirds could not possible win in the end. Often their is talk of "respect" the way a person outwitted and outplayed them (this is where I see Amber having a chance)...but given the outcast interviews I have seen, no one is speaking kindly of Rob even months after being off the island.

Fearless predictions:
If Amber gets to the final 2, she wins.
If it is Rupert or Jenna vs. Rob, Rob loses.
If it is Rupert vs. Jenna, Rupert wins.

- posted by Ed | 5/07/2004 12:39:00 PM | | Link

Thursday, May 06, 2004

Idol Week 8 Results: Sweatin' To The Oldies

Poor George... voted off and all folks seem to want to talk about it his arm pit sweat stains! Though kudos to Paula, for putting herself back to together again in a mere 24 hours. But back to George, put oneself in a stressful situation plus add enough stage lights to light up a small town and try not to sweat just a little bit (even with an anti-perspirant)!

Was not all that surprised that we are left with an all-female final four. The judges seemed to speak of girl power right from the audition phase. I would have preferred at least another week of George over Jasmine, but I guess at this point it was fairly clear that neither of them were going to make it to the finals...so I guess the order of exit does not really matter all that much at this point.

So next week is "Disco Night"... don't you think it is time for the show to stop forcing the final contestants through musical genre hoops? I don't expect we'll be seeing a Barry Manilow Latin-Country-Disco tribute album from any of them in the near future. They have had weeks to show off their "versatility" so why not just let them sing what they want to for the remainder of the competition?!

So are we headed to the Fantasia/LaToya final two showdown? I hope so but who knows. Season 1 should have been Kelly vs. Tamyra (though Justin Guarini - or should I say soon to be Mr. Nicole Richie? That's the rumor folks! - had the school girl squeal appeal) while Ruben/Clay seemed to be destined to be the final 2 not too far into Season 2. So we'll see... I will go out on a limb and predict Diana will be in the final two.

- posted by Ed | 5/06/2004 11:05:00 AM | | Link

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Idol Week 8: Big Band

Okay folks, we are getting into the home stretch for this season's American Idol and there is not a whole heck of a lot to say that has not already been said. I am in the Fantasia/LaToya Final 2 camp, but that said, I have a feeling it will not happen.

As far as last night's "Big Band" night, my order of finish is:
LaToya - strong vocals and "performance"
Fantasia - not the greatest showing, but still head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competitors and in a horse-race w/ LaToya
Diana - on a mini-comeback vocally the two weeks, a fashion disaster again and starting to detect a bit of fatigue
George - nothing exciting last night, I would still place him above Diana overall, but with his bottom 2 finish last week he does not seem destined for the finals
Jasmine - the most "deserving" to go tonight, good but not great vocals and shoot the stylist who told her jeans w/ chains was appropriate attire for "big band" night

But the bigger question last night was what exactly was going on with Paula Abdul? More loopy than usual, the meds she must be on from her near fatal manicure really puffed up her face as well...or something!

- posted by Ed | 5/05/2004 08:56:00 AM | | Link

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Reluctant Martyrs?

For the past two weeks the death of Pat Tillman, a former ASU and Arizona Cardinals football player who was killed in action in Afghanistan, has dominated the local news scene. While Tillman's story is truly extraordinary, giving up a multi-million dollar NFL contract to join the fight against terrorism, Tillman refused to make a big deal (i.e. no media interviews) about his decision to enter the military. But his death has been a HUGE deal. We live just a two miles from the Cardinals training facility. When a make-shift Tillman memorial was created at that site -- local news channel helicopters buzzed over the site and the parking lot was overrun with satellite trucks from not only the local, but national, news outlets.

Instantly there was instant discussions about tributes to honor Tillman - re-naming freeways, football stadiums, plazas, etc. This talk was mostly likely fueled by another early casualty of the war on terror... Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman killed in action (in Iraq). A five-year moratorium was circumvented and a local mountain was renamed Piestewa Peak shortly after her death (to further complicate the issue - the mountain's original name, Squaw Peak, had been mired in controversy for years as "squaw" is an offensive term for a Native American woman). An accompanying freeway (again with the "squaw") was also re-named in her honor.

Some flags remain at half-staff here in Arizona for Tillman. Again, I don't belittle the sacrifices of Tillman and Piestewa. But what about Nathan White, Fernando Padilla-Ramirez, Michael Williams, and Jay Thomas? These are other Arizonans killed in action...and sadly I had to look up these names on the Internet. They did not make the front page of the paper for more than a day or have their memorial services bombarded (thankfully!) by the media. They too are someone's son, wife, father, or sister...and their contribution deserves no more or less "honor" that their media "newsworthy" christened comrades.

Much to their credit, the Piestewa and Tillman families have stayed out of the spotlight... mourning in private, not relenting to incessant requests for comments or interviews from the media. I can not help but believe their now deceased family member who was would want anything different.

Tillman and Piestewa must be looking down upon all the frenzy over their deaths with more than a little disdain. They unselfishly and anonymously made a decision to serve their country. They probably hoped to be just a small part of making the world a better and safer place.

Sadly in war time, there is no way to adequately honor each and every individual sacrifice with a memorial or newscast or special section of the newspaper. There are not enough highways nor mountain tops nor stadiums for every life lost. Is the second Native American woman's combat death or an athlete who may have only had his glory on a high school football field any less worthy of honor?

Obviously I can not know what was going on in the minds of Piestewa or Tillman...but I can not help but think they thought of themselves simply as a soldier - not defined by the ethnicity or their chosen profession.

- posted by Ed | 5/04/2004 01:16:00 PM | | Link

Monday, May 03, 2004

Mission Accomplished

My parents safely back East yesterday afternoon. I think I can proudly hang a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished" without worry all that much about it coming back to bite me on the ass!

It was a fun but exhausting week with the folks. As I mentioned pre-visit, my hosting duties have been fairly non-existent since I moved to Arizona. My dad is pretty high maintenance, so it was just a matter of keeping his contentment level high to determine the make-or-break level. Granted I stumbled a few times, but more often than not I was able to keep ahead of him. My mom was just so pleased to finally get out here for a visit, I think I could have done next to nothing and she would have been on the proverbial Cloud Nine.

We got to see a good baseball game on Monday night as our Arizona Diamondbacks (backed by Randy Johnson) pounded the Chicago Cubs. Tuesday through Friday it was off to Las Vegas for a bevy of buffets and a gaggle of gambling. The parents even enjoyed the 6-hour drive from Phoenix to Sin City... back East wide-open spaces (miles and miles of desert and mountains) just don't exist so it was all new/different for them. Vegas was also a nice change from the geriatric Atlantic City crowd. My parents (both well retired) feel like youngsters among the motorized wheel chairs and oxygen tanks of the East Coast gambling mecca. With a car we were also able to scoot all around town... and with that you can still find those famed bargain buffets but off the famed LV Strip! We paid $5.99 for most days for belly-busting breakfasts and anywhere from $9.95-$11.99 for dinner (the $11.99 one boasting filet mignon and shrimp scampi!).

I managed to luck out and get free stay at the Rio thanks to a "invitation only" slot tournament... so I relentlessly banged on a slot machine for 15 minutes on Wednesday and Thursday...didn't win, but heck it was worth some carpel-tunnel for a 600+ square foot suite overlooking the Strip for 3 nights! Granted I gave a lot of $$ back to the hotel with a pathetically poor run on video poker. As successful as last trip was on the machines, this one was not! But as the oft-heard phrase goes... Vegas was not built on winners. The good news though is that my parents did take home about $600 worth of profit...so that certainly softened my own losses... I would by far rather have seen them win than myself... well at least this one time!

So life has returned to normal... empty house (well except for my four-legged family), back to work (thankfully no major fires to put out, but at least some work that kept me from returning to bed this morning), and a crap-load of stuff to watch on TiVo that was recorded in my absence last week... and alas a return to blogging as well. I am sure there will be many more tales to tell from the week....so stay tuned! (Again, under the delusion that anyone actually cares...)

- posted by Ed | 5/03/2004 12:12:00 PM | | Link