The world of Nelson DeMille is apparently full of way too much detail.
It would help Mr. DeMille if someone would just plain edit him.
I was looking forward to this one too since it was a sequel to a book that I really liked... The Gold Coast.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Book 80 of 52 -- Nelson DeMille's The Gate House
The world of Nelson DeMille is apparently full of way too much detail.
It would help Mr. DeMille if someone would just plain edit him.
I was looking forward to this one too since it was a sequel to a book that I really liked... The Gold Coast.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Death Pool Recruitment
2009 CELEBRITY DEATH POOL OFFICIAL RULES
(SEVENTH ANNUAL) OFFICIAL RULES
Welcome to the official 2009 Celebrity Death Pool game! For those of you that are new to the concept, it is our time to take back from the celebrities and famous people out there that do nothing but take our money, sweat and tears as we buy their music, watch their games, read about them in the paper, or purchase their movie tickets. The object of the game is simple – Be the contestant at 12:00 Midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 31, 2009 to have accumulated the most amount of points. How easy is that?
Selection of Celebrities – Think long and hard about the current health or possible health of our society’s famous folks. Choose the 20 of these famous people that you think will die in the year 2007 and write their names in a list. They can be from any forum. They can be athletes, entertainers, heads of state, writers or just folks who have garnered large scale media attention. They can be from any continent. The main criterion is that someone else can be identified by name and his or her death will be reported in a published account.
The operators of the pool will review your list and objectively accept or reject the players on your list. We are attempting to limit obscure people. Our judgments are based on results from Internet search engines and this definition of celebrity: A celebrity is a widely recognized or famous person who has commanded a high degree of public and media attention. If we reject a person on your list, you will have the opportunity to replace that person with a new choice.
Example of What We Accept and Not Accept – If they are foreign born and involved in politics, they have to be a head of state. So… Saddam Hussein would count, but you cannot pick any of his cabinet officials anymore.
This system isn’t perfect, but it is the fairest way to make sure that everyone is playing on the same level.
Entry Fee – The Entry Fee is nominal. (20 "beans" per entry. You can enter as many times as you want. It is just going to cost you 20 beans per entry.) If you are a past player, we will give you a 10% break from the fee if you sign up someone new.
Point Structure – The Point Structure is simple, and it remains the most exciting way of scoring the game. Points are determined by beginning with a 100 base point system. The age of the deceased celebrity will be deducted from the base score of 100 and a final number will be achieved. For example, if Britney Spears were to die on January 16, 2009, she would be worth 72 points. 100 base points MINUS 28 years old = 72 points.
Prize Breakdown – The most important part of this game is the prize! The total prize will be determined by how many people enter and dollar values will be determined from the following percentages: First Place will receive 80% of the final money pool and Second Place will receive 20% of the final money pool. 10% will be subtracted from the final pool total for operating expenses.
Tie Breakers – In case of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker -- whoever has chosen the most amounts of deceased celebrities. If two players tie for first with the same players, they will split the entire pot. If two players still tie for second, they will split the second place pot.
Website/Blog - The league will have a website that will be updated on a periodical basis. It will contain team choices and as many updates as we can of those that have deceased. The web address is: http://kickedthebucket.blogspot.com/ Feel free to visit the website now to see how the current year is going.
Time Frame - The official length of the contest will run from Monday, January 12, 2009 between 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on January 12, 2009) and 23:59:59 EST Thursday, December 31, 2009 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Submission of Picks – All submissions must be received or postmarked by Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 23:59:59 EST. They must be sent to either me through my normal hotmail address, my gmail account, or mailed to me at my home OR sent to Chris Bowman at his points of contact. Feel free to email me for that information.
The important fact is that we need the money by January 15, 2009 or your submission doesn't count. Payments can be cash, check or paypal.
Good Luck
(SEVENTH ANNUAL) OFFICIAL RULES
Welcome to the official 2009 Celebrity Death Pool game! For those of you that are new to the concept, it is our time to take back from the celebrities and famous people out there that do nothing but take our money, sweat and tears as we buy their music, watch their games, read about them in the paper, or purchase their movie tickets. The object of the game is simple – Be the contestant at 12:00 Midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 31, 2009 to have accumulated the most amount of points. How easy is that?
Selection of Celebrities – Think long and hard about the current health or possible health of our society’s famous folks. Choose the 20 of these famous people that you think will die in the year 2007 and write their names in a list. They can be from any forum. They can be athletes, entertainers, heads of state, writers or just folks who have garnered large scale media attention. They can be from any continent. The main criterion is that someone else can be identified by name and his or her death will be reported in a published account.
The operators of the pool will review your list and objectively accept or reject the players on your list. We are attempting to limit obscure people. Our judgments are based on results from Internet search engines and this definition of celebrity: A celebrity is a widely recognized or famous person who has commanded a high degree of public and media attention. If we reject a person on your list, you will have the opportunity to replace that person with a new choice.
Example of What We Accept and Not Accept – If they are foreign born and involved in politics, they have to be a head of state. So… Saddam Hussein would count, but you cannot pick any of his cabinet officials anymore.
This system isn’t perfect, but it is the fairest way to make sure that everyone is playing on the same level.
Entry Fee – The Entry Fee is nominal. (20 "beans" per entry. You can enter as many times as you want. It is just going to cost you 20 beans per entry.) If you are a past player, we will give you a 10% break from the fee if you sign up someone new.
Point Structure – The Point Structure is simple, and it remains the most exciting way of scoring the game. Points are determined by beginning with a 100 base point system. The age of the deceased celebrity will be deducted from the base score of 100 and a final number will be achieved. For example, if Britney Spears were to die on January 16, 2009, she would be worth 72 points. 100 base points MINUS 28 years old = 72 points.
Prize Breakdown – The most important part of this game is the prize! The total prize will be determined by how many people enter and dollar values will be determined from the following percentages: First Place will receive 80% of the final money pool and Second Place will receive 20% of the final money pool. 10% will be subtracted from the final pool total for operating expenses.
Tie Breakers – In case of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker -- whoever has chosen the most amounts of deceased celebrities. If two players tie for first with the same players, they will split the entire pot. If two players still tie for second, they will split the second place pot.
Website/Blog - The league will have a website that will be updated on a periodical basis. It will contain team choices and as many updates as we can of those that have deceased. The web address is: http://kickedthebucket.blogspot.com/ Feel free to visit the website now to see how the current year is going.
Time Frame - The official length of the contest will run from Monday, January 12, 2009 between 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on January 12, 2009) and 23:59:59 EST Thursday, December 31, 2009 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Submission of Picks – All submissions must be received or postmarked by Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 23:59:59 EST. They must be sent to either me through my normal hotmail address, my gmail account, or mailed to me at my home OR sent to Chris Bowman at his points of contact. Feel free to email me for that information.
The important fact is that we need the money by January 15, 2009 or your submission doesn't count. Payments can be cash, check or paypal.
Good Luck
Monday, December 29, 2008
WINNER! Papajohns.com Bowl Champions
The game was representative of the whole season... a slow start and a strong exciting finish.
I love that Mulcahy was on the field and that Schiano gave him a game ball. You go Greg.
I love that Mulcahy was on the field and that Schiano gave him a game ball. You go Greg.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.........
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU........
Grab some pizza and have fun kids.
Grab some pizza and have fun kids.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Slumdog Millionairre Moviegoing Experience
Isn't it insulting when movie theaters have those crappy dated screen gems?
Pretentious Van Heusen commercial
Milk
Frost/Nixon
The Wrestler (God... I really want to see this...)
The movie itself was just plain awesome.
Pretentious Van Heusen commercial
Milk
Frost/Nixon
The Wrestler (God... I really want to see this...)
The movie itself was just plain awesome.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Smelmooo Survives...
TW and I went shopping today and I was shocked at how empty the stores were...e ven though we parked in Georgia at each of the malls.
Fascinating.
Fascinating.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Book 79 of 52 -- Artie Lange's Too Fat To Fish
Artie Lange is a frigging mess and his self destruction is a point of entretainment for me every single morning on the Sirius Howard Stern show.
This book ocntains stories that I have already heard on the show before so I am not entirely shocked by any of it.
However... it's a good read even though it's just another junkie talking.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Book 78 of 52 -- Jonathan Kellerman's Bones
I really love Jonathan Kellerman and he writes so well that you can often take his writing for granted...
His latest Alex Delaware novel is one of two things and it has been a couple weeks since I finished it.
1. Interesting...
2. Nothing new...
Whatever it is... it's a better read than other authors...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Book 77 of 52 -- James Patterson's Cross Country
I stole this from someone else... since I was pissed off at the book.
"As a long-time fan of the Alex Cross series from Patterson, I had high hopes for Cross Country. Sadly, I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. The gruesome, sadistic murders that launch the story (and continue throughout) were over the top and clearly beyond what was necessary. I suppose the horrific nature of the content could have been forgiven if the plot itself was within the realm of believability. Although some authors push the envelope on what is plausible, Patterson's premise in Cross Country is beyond believable. The whole idea of having Alex Cross go to Africa without official sanction, support structure or even any fundamental understanding of the situation on the ground is just ridiculous. If you are a long-time Alex Cross fan, you might want to take a pass on Cross Country. If you are contemplating giving the character a try for the first time, start elsewhere - there are many in the Cross series that are far better. "
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Every once in a while, in life you run into a genius with true talent......
(Thanks Bowman... )
THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Innovative
2. Preliminary
3. Proliferation
4. Cinnamon
THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Specificity
2. Anti-constitutionalistically
3. Passive-aggressive disorder
4. Transubstantiate
THINGS THAT ARE DOWN RIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. No thanks, I'm married.
2. Nope, no more booze for me!
3. Sorry, but you're not really my type.
4. KFC? No thanks, I'm not hungry.
5. Good evening, officer. Isn't it lovely out tonight?
6. Oh, I couldn't! No one wants to hear me sing karaoke.
7. I'm not interested in fighting you.
8. Thank you, but I won't make any attempt to dance, I have no coordination. I'd hat e to look like a fool!
9. I must be going home now, as I have to work in the morning.
THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Innovative
2. Preliminary
3. Proliferation
4. Cinnamon
THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Specificity
2. Anti-constitutionalistically
3. Passive-aggressive disorder
4. Transubstantiate
THINGS THAT ARE DOWN RIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. No thanks, I'm married.
2. Nope, no more booze for me!
3. Sorry, but you're not really my type.
4. KFC? No thanks, I'm not hungry.
5. Good evening, officer. Isn't it lovely out tonight?
6. Oh, I couldn't! No one wants to hear me sing karaoke.
7. I'm not interested in fighting you.
8. Thank you, but I won't make any attempt to dance, I have no coordination. I'd hat e to look like a fool!
9. I must be going home now, as I have to work in the morning.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Book 75 of 52 -- Kathy Reichs' Monday Mourning
Short and sweet...
Appropriate sequel to all the other novels...
It is fun and good...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Book 74 of 52 -- Stuart Woods' Hot Mahogany
An amusing romp through the surprisingly intriguing world of antiques and coin collecting, Woods' latest Stone Barrington mystery finds the popular sleuth back from the Caribbean at his favorite Manhattan eatery, Elaine's.
There, he is approached by his CIA pal Lance Cabot, who asks him to keep an eye on his brother, Barton Cabot, an antique restorer who has partial amnesia after recently falling victim to a violent crime.
Barton's former career in Army intelligence makes him a risk given his current affliction, but the plot takes a different turn when one of his pieces, worth tens of millions, is stolen from his workshop, a theft that might be related to a cache of gold coins smuggled out of Vietnam by Barton's old unit over thirty years ago during the war.
An interesting premise paired with Woods' engaging cast of regulars make Hot Mahogany another winner in the Stone Barrington series.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
SURVIVOR COMPETITIONS -- AN UPDATE
Survivor 1 in Borneo -- Richard Hatch (No Game)
Survivor 2 in Australia -- Tina Wesson (Ashfault!)
Survivor 3 in Africa -- Ethan Zohn (Ashfault!)
Survivor 4 in Marquesas -- Vecepia Towery (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 5 in Thailand -- Brian Heidik (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 6 in Amazon -- Jenna Morasca (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 7 in Pearl Islands -- Sandra Diaz-Twine (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 8 ALL STARS -- Amber Brkich (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 9 in Vanuatu -- Chris Daugherty (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 10 in Palau -- Tom Westman (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 11 in Guatemala -- Danni Boatwright (Ashfault!)
Survivor 12 in Panama (Exile Island) -- Aras Baskauskas (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 13 in the Cook Islands -- Yul Kwon (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 14 in Fiji -- Earl Cole (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 15 in China -- Todd Herzog (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 16 in Micronesia (All Stars-ish) -- Parvati Shallow (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 17 in Gabon -- Bob Crowley (Pork Chop Express)
Overall Totals
Pork Chop Express -- 13
Assshfault! -- 3
Tucker's Nuts -- 2
FBT -- ZERO
Survivor 2 in Australia -- Tina Wesson (Ashfault!)
Survivor 3 in Africa -- Ethan Zohn (Ashfault!)
Survivor 4 in Marquesas -- Vecepia Towery (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 5 in Thailand -- Brian Heidik (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 6 in Amazon -- Jenna Morasca (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 7 in Pearl Islands -- Sandra Diaz-Twine (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 8 ALL STARS -- Amber Brkich (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 9 in Vanuatu -- Chris Daugherty (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 10 in Palau -- Tom Westman (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 11 in Guatemala -- Danni Boatwright (Ashfault!)
Survivor 12 in Panama (Exile Island) -- Aras Baskauskas (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 13 in the Cook Islands -- Yul Kwon (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 14 in Fiji -- Earl Cole (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 15 in China -- Todd Herzog (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 16 in Micronesia (All Stars-ish) -- Parvati Shallow (Pork Chop Express)
Survivor 17 in Gabon -- Bob Crowley (Pork Chop Express)
Overall Totals
Pork Chop Express -- 13
Assshfault! -- 3
Tucker's Nuts -- 2
FBT -- ZERO
Monday, December 15, 2008
Survivor Gabon -- The Finale
The show begins incredibly late since CBS covered the end of the Steelers/Ravens game so now we are annoyed and glad that we are home to make sure that we can see the whole show... I am guessing that before the show starts the final three are going to be: Bob, Susie, and Sugar with Bob winning it all with all or 6 of the 7 votes.
And... that will be fine by me... I really like him and Sugar a whole bunch.
The episode starts with a 2000 minute recap of the first 12 episodes of the season and we are reminded of some of the assholes and awesome people of the season... since the theme this season seemed to be a good vs evil and the good finally triumphed in the end in the last episode with the defeat of Kenny's deceptive alliance and letting the "goodie two shoes" players progress.
We are FINALLY Live at 8:40 at night... after all the fluff recap and NFL game stuff... we should find out who wins about 2 am tonight... We come back after Tribal Council and Kenny is feeling a bit betrayed... Kenny is having selective memory...
We wake up on Day 37 in the NOBAG tribe... Sugar and Bob are in a new alliance and Sugar would like to vote out Kenny and Matty... next. Sugar is the boss all of a sudden and Bob recognizes it... making me think that Bob will be the eventual winner since he is letting everyone else do all the dirty work.
They get their tree mail and they have a challenge coming up and they have to uniquely dress themselves up as warriors with cloths and face paint... Susie loves doing this... I am bored by her...
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE #1
They will dig and get into some huts and there will be puzzle pieces as they go through a maze... the puzzle pieces will eventually build a hut... It's a pretty cool challenge and anyone can really win it... Sugar is the first one back with puzzles to build as Bob comes in a nice second in terms of building... and BOb wins immunity with Sugar close behind... It's important to note that Susie never found her last bag is wandering around the huts aimlessly.
We get back to camp and Kenny thinks that everyone is going to vote out Susie... Matty and Susie remain good colleagues and neither of them have any idea of where they are going to end up... It's time for some more strategy and I am mildly annoyed by all of this... They can't seem to decide about who to vote out.. Susie or Kenny... Sugar remains in control and through it all... Bob still wears a bow tie... and flaunts it to the camera.
Tribal Council arrives and Corrinne is still nto wearing a bra and Randy is still sporting that damd mohawk. Jeff keeps pointing out how awesome Bob is... and he is... Kenny is in his 12th Tribal Council and surprises me with his calm demeanour... even though he is still the "bad guy" left... he is better than most bad guys. Susie speaks and re-enforces that she is way under the radar... again... The idol deal comes up again and Kenny is feeling slighted. Bob gets himself out of it by reminding Kenny that he was going to stab him in the back... Kenny tries to talk himself out of it and looks foolish... even to the jury (save Crystal...)
It's time to vote after Kenny looks petty and stupid... even though he claims that he is safe and the editting shows Sugar squishing her face.
The results of the tallying end up being... Kenny or Susie is going home...
Kenny
Susie
Kenny
Kenny
Hasta Pasta and MB is yelling curse words at the TV... I am now rooting for Sugar to win simply because she was the last person picked by me since I didn't want Gillian at all (or Sugar) and was forced upon my team... I have won twice that way before.
We are now in Day 38 and Susie thinks she needs to win immunity in order to stay alive... and both she and Matty recognize that Bob and Sugar are way too confident ... and they should be.. TREE MAIL!
March of the Dead Survivors
Ugh... this is one of our absolute least favorite parts of the whole show and every single finale... ever... We are forced to remember each of the people voted off during the season... Let's walk down memory lane as each of the finalists are forced to say something nice about each of them... even Randy...
Michelle Chase -- Who?
Gillian Larson -- Blech...
Paloma Soto-Castillo -- She "killed" herself...
Jacque Berg -- She got screwed...
Danny Brown aka GC -- Just a plain dope...
Kelly Czarnecki -- I forgot all about her...
Dan Kay -- He was too dopey for his own good.
Ace Gordon -- Slimy and yet... lasted this long...
Marcus Lehman -- He was a perfect person and yet... I liked him.
Charlie Herschel -- Broken up "bromance" led to his defeat.
Randy Bailey -- I wonder what he did each week since his only friend was his dog.
Corinne Kaplan -- *crickets*
Crystal Cox -- Probably poorly editted, but not my favorite...
Kenny Huang -- Gamer that took the appropriate beating in the end...
It's time for the FINAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE... This is the first time that I can remember that it isn't an endurance challenge... they have to be the first person to build a 10 foot tower out of tiles... If after 30 minutes, no one has done it... the highest tower will win...
There are a lot of collapsing towers and Bob -- who you would think would win the thing -- can't seem to do anything right... Sugar and Susie keep building weak and collapsing towers while Matty builds a solid... solid tower and the suspense starts building as it hits the 25 minute mark... With 30 seconds left... Susie is in the lead... and no one can catch up in time...Susie actually wins... Who saw that one? Not me. Our gut reaction is that Bob goes home... but I doubt that Sugar and Bob will let that happen easily.
They get back to the camp and everyone is wishing Bob good bye and Sugar is crying... and they all admit to him that they have to write his name down since they all think that he will win in the Tribal Council. Then... Susie starts talking... and I get nervous... since she should just shut the f*ck up... especially she shouldn't want to alienate Bob's vote...
For five minutes... Susie just keeps talking and annoying the viewing audience... Why don't they work together... ???? and then... they DO!... Sugar can't stand that Bob is going to go home... so they discuss pursuing a tie... Bob goes off into the woods and practices starting a fire in case he has to do that in a tie breaker...
Tribal Council begins... and Bob is the one who identifies that he has the target on his back... Matty admits that he has no choice since Sugar saved him once and Susie has the idol... Sugar can't decided b/c Matty is a "brother" and Bob is like a "dad." Matty is looking better after this... Everyone feels really and it's hard to vote for anyone since Susie has the idol... Bob breaks down and this is the nicest Tribal Council EVER.
Bob
Bob
Matty
Matty -- TIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Firemaking Tie Breaker Challenge Between Matty and Bob
First person to build a flame long enough to bust a string wins... and they start... Bob is deliberate... and Matty is a bit more anxious... Bob gets a fire and tries to build around it... it goes out... and then... like a Phoenix... it comes back! At this point... Bob can't lose... and he doesn't... Bye Bye Matty... you played a good game and survived it... as long as you could... (the whole time...we had to look at shit face Corrinne making stupid faces and we actually hate her... it's sad that we can dislike someone that much... )
The final three are Susie, Bob, and Sugar...
Day 39 arrives and they are all really proud of themselves... I am not going to write about any of it... Ok... they do light up the camp and it went FAST...
FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL
It's time for the petty and bullshit questions from the jury after opening statements.
Susie thinks she deserves it simply because she "tried." Bob thinks he deserves it because he played with gusto and his heart. Sugar thinks she deserves it because she played a perfect social game even though she lied a few time... and of the three, she played the best strategic game.
Charlie is up first. He asks the ladies the first question and it's a good question about why they should vote for them for first when in a previous episode they were ranked last and second to last. Sugar's answer blows. He focusses on Bob next and Bob accepts him for being gay. (Seriously...)
Crystal is up second. She attacks Susie for riding coat tails. She tells Bob that Sugar "remote controlled" him up and down... huh? Bob agrees with that. Crystal is upset that Sugar voted her out... why? Sugar was upset that she was rude to people and asks for forgiveness.
Kenny is up third. Why do you deserve my vote -- to Susie? Sugar really scarred a future The Pick Up Artist contestant forever... and Sugar voted out Kenny b/c she thought he was a bigger threat... Kenny will never trust another woman. The DEAL b/t Bob and Kenny comes out again... and nothing new is revisited.
Turd Face is up fourth. Susie -- if I give you my vote, will you have your vocal chords removed? OF course not. Bob... make me hate Sugar... and he does it in a nice way. Sugar... You are unemployed, uneduated, and leech to society. She gets meaner and ruder to her... She is the worst human being ever.
Marcus is up fifth. He is a physician and sees people in their worst moments. He attacks Susie for something... and he asks Sugar if he will use part of her $ to honor her father... Of course she will. Bob... when were you ever responsible for your decisions out in the jungle? Bob says... I never had a chance to.
Randy is second to last. Randy HATES Susie.. and is almost as much of an asshole as Corrinne is. Sugar laughed at him when he was voted out and why did she do it? He was a jerk. Bob did the same thing... why? Randy doesn't want to vote for Susie... and Bob apologizes for something.. even selling out Sugar.
Matty is up last... Susie... why are the other two less deserving... I am not sure what her answer is or means... Sugar, please reveal something that she did that is evil... Good answer with... "I broke Kenny's heart." Bob, why are they more deserving? "I don't think they are..." Matty's stumped...
No final statements... it's time to vote...
Marcus' vote is hidden.
Matty votes for Susie.
Crystal's vote is hidden.
Corinne votes for Bob
Charlie's vote is hidden.
Randy says "ALl three of you... kiss my ass."
Kenny takes his time and picks... who knows?
See you in December... in Los Angeles...
Jeff walks away and then onto the live set... time to tally the votes.
Bob
Susie
Susie
Susie
Bob
Bob
Bob
WOW... that actually made me nervous... and I am glad to see him win... We are shocked that Sugar got NO votes... interesting...
Tucker's Nuts
8. Bob Crowley (16) -- WINNER
5. Susie Smith (9) -- FINISHED IN SECOND PLACE
9. Jessica Kiper (17) -- FINISHED IN THIRD PLACE
6. Matty Whitmore (12) -- FINISHED IN FOURTH PLACE
7. Randy Bailey (13) -- Booted Week Nine
1. Charlie Herschel (1) -- Booted Week Eight
3. Jacque Berg (5) -- Booted Week Three
2. Paloma Soto-Castillo (4) -- Booted Week Two
4. Michelle Chase (8) -- Booted Week One
Assshfault Warriors
1. Ken Hoang (2) -- BOOTED WEEK TWELVE (FIFTH PLACE)
7. Crystal Cox (14) -- BOOTED WEEK ELEVEN!!!!
3. Corinne Kaplan (6) -- BOOTED WEEK TEN!!!
8. Marcus Lehman (15) -- BOOTED WEEK SEVEN!!!!
2. Dan Kay (3) -- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
4. Ace Gordon (7)-- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
5. Kelly Czarnecki(10)-- BOOTED WEEK FIVE!!!!
6. Danny Brown aka GC (11) -- BOOTED WEEK FOUR!!!!
9. Gillian Larson(18) -- BOOTED WEEK ONE!!!!!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Rachel Getting Married Movie Going Experience
This was a difficult yet powerfully sweet movie to watch... and Anne Hathaway and the sister were awesome. My wife loved Debra Winger and I am still having trouble recognizing her... amazing.
Hennessy Commercial from the 1980s.... Or was it?
The Haunting of Molly Hartley
The Class
Synedoche, New York (Phillip Seymour Hoffman is in everything!)
Hennessy Commercial from the 1980s.... Or was it?
The Haunting of Molly Hartley
The Class
Synedoche, New York (Phillip Seymour Hoffman is in everything!)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Milk Moviegoing Experience
An incredibly full and quiet movie theater... and quiet the whole movie since the movie was an incredibly powerful and awesome film.
Bond Smirnoff ad
BOD Man (Not appropriate to the audience... believe me... )
Revolutionary Road (This actually made me want to see it... )
The International
Bond Smirnoff ad
BOD Man (Not appropriate to the audience... believe me... )
Revolutionary Road (This actually made me want to see it... )
The International
Friday, December 12, 2008
Survivor Gabon -- Last One Before the Finale...
We open up after some highlights from last time... and Matty calls out Kenny for his lies and bullshit.
Later on... Kenny calls Bob on Bob's lies to him the night before... so Bob promises Kenny that if he wins immunity, he will give it to Kenny... Fascinating...
Today's first challenge involves running through some mud (and some other stuff) and grabbing balls to shoot into some hoops. The winner gets to go on a flight... sleep well and relax and eat...and watch gorillas! The winner will send someone to Exile Island too. Matty and Kenny take the early leads... (Kenny has never looked thinner... ) After a rather dramatic ending... Bob makes a slow and steady comeback... and WINS.
Bob takes Crystal & Kenny with him... and sends Susie to Exile Island.
Soooo... we now have to experience a once in a lifetime experience with two rather unenjoyable people (Kenny & Crystal) and a good guy... named Bob. They eat... no shit... and they love it... fascinating... They sit and discuss strategy...
Kenny offers Bob the opportunity to keep the idol if Bob wins... Kenny has the option to take it if he wants it. It's absurd and I have a feeling that it will be a sore spot for someone... I feel like this is a horrible reward since they are looking at gorillas through a fence.
At Exile Island... Susie chooses the comfort since she knows that Sugar has the idol... she loves the fruit and they edittors try to make her appealing and it is impossible.
Matty "figures out" that he is going home next. What a dope nuts...
It's now day 35 and the winners are returned to the camp and they rub in their awesome experience... there are a ton of hard feelings for everyone and matty gets annoying with everyone... Crystal and Kenny seem to be yelling at Matty for no reason and Sugar sees this... so they are now plotting around Crystal and Kenny... including crying... This is the twist that I hoped to see... and Sugar... will negotiate with Bob and Susie...
The IMMUNITY CHALLENGE is up next... They will study a mask... take puzzle pieces through a maze and recreate the mask... AND THEY WILL BE BLINDFOLDED!.... It will be done by hand.... Cool idea.... Matty decides to get all the pieces first... while everyone else starts working the pieces first. The dramatic music begins... Bob and Matty seem to be the leaders... Bob claims that he has it.. and DOES NOT! Kenny thinks he has it... and isn't anywhere close... Evenutally... BOB wins his fourth straight challenge and IMMUNITY.
Before the break... Kenny says... "Bob said he would give me the idol... actions speak louder than words." Kenny's strategy is tell Bob to give him the idol and then vote for Bob since he keeps winning. Crystal is ok with that.
Kenny and Bob are playing each other... Sugar is ready to make the change... With all of this... it appears that Sugar, Bob, and Matty are now aligned to vote for Crystal after Bob gives Kenny the idol... HAS ANYONE SPOKEN TO SUSIE YET?!?!?!?
Sugar also pledges to play her hidden immunity idol... so Tribal Council is up next. (Randy now has an immunity idol.)
They spend a lot of time focussing on Bob's strengthes... including his dominance of the game and his character... This makes me realllly root for Sugar and Bob. Kenny brings up the "promise" and Bob says he may or may not... based upon new terms that he will give it to him if he thinks that Kenny is vulnerable.
Sugar pulls out the Hidden Immunity idol...
"I told Kenny that if I thought that he was going home tonight, I would give it to him. I am going to keep it because I don't think he is going to go home tonight." Careful choice of words, but Kenny will still feel slighted in the end if he doesn't eventually make the finals.
Time to tally the votes... but before the votes are counted... Sugar gives it to Matty. AWESOME MOVE!!!!
Matty
Matty
Crystal
Crystal
Crystal
Crystal is gone... and I am super giddy on the inside... She wasn't a terrible human being and the editting wasn't always fair to her... but seriously... I am glad to have Sugar and Bob left and I can't remember actually rooting for two people this much in a long ass time.
Sugar is so much more awesome after this episode...
Tucker's Nuts
5. Susie Smith (9)
6. Matty Whitmore (12)
8. Bob Crowley (16)
9. Jessica Kiper (17)
7. Randy Bailey (13) -- Booted Week Nine
1. Charlie Herschel (1) -- Booted Week Eight
3. Jacque Berg (5) -- Booted Week Three
2. Paloma Soto-Castillo (4) -- Booted Week Two
4. Michelle Chase (8) -- Booted Week One
Assshfault Warriors
1. Ken Hoang (2)
7. Crystal Cox (14) -- BOOTED WEEK ELEVEN!!!!
3. Corinne Kaplan (6) -- BOOTED WEEK TEN!!!
8. Marcus Lehman (15) -- BOOTED WEEK SEVEN!!!!
2. Dan Kay (3) -- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
4. Ace Gordon (7)-- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
5. Kelly Czarnecki(10)-- BOOTED WEEK FIVE!!!!
6. Danny Brown aka GC (11) -- BOOTED WEEK FOUR!!!!
9. Gillian Larson(18) -- BOOTED WEEK ONE!!!!!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
2009 POOL RECRUITING BEGINS!
2009 CELEBRITY DEATH POOL OFFICIAL RULES
(SEVENTH ANNUAL) OFFICIAL RULES
Welcome to the official 2009 Celebrity Death Pool game! For those of you that are new to the concept, it is our time to take back from the celebrities and famous people out there that do nothing but take our money, sweat and tears as we buy their music, watch their games, read about them in the paper, or purchase their movie tickets. The object of the game is simple – Be the contestant at 12:00 Midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 31, 2009 to have accumulated the most amount of points. How easy is that?
Selection of Celebrities – Think long and hard about the current health or possible health of our society’s famous folks. Choose the 20 of these famous people that you think will die in the year 2007 and write their names in a list. They can be from any forum. They can be athletes, entertainers, heads of state, writers or just folks who have garnered large scale media attention. They can be from any continent. The main criterion is that someone else can be identified by name and his or her death will be reported in a published account.
The operators of the pool will review your list and objectively accept or reject the players on your list. We are attempting to limit obscure people. Our judgments are based on results from Internet search engines and this definition of celebrity: A celebrity is a widely recognized or famous person who has commanded a high degree of public and media attention. If we reject a person on your list, you will have the opportunity to replace that person with a new choice.
Example of What We Accept and Not Accept – If they are foreign born and involved in politics, they have to be a head of state. So… Saddam Hussein would count, but you cannot pick any of his cabinet officials anymore.
This system isn’t perfect, but it is the fairest way to make sure that everyone is playing on the same level.
Entry Fee – The Entry Fee is nominal. (20 "beans" per entry. You can enter as many times as you want. It is just going to cost you 20 beans per entry.) If you are a past player, we will give you a 10% break from the fee if you sign up someone new.
Point Structure – The Point Structure is simple, and it remains the most exciting way of scoring the game. Points are determined by beginning with a 100 base point system. The age of the deceased celebrity will be deducted from the base score of 100 and a final number will be achieved. For example, if Britney Spears were to die on January 16, 2009, she would be worth 72 points. 100 base points MINUS 28 years old = 72 points.
Prize Breakdown – The most important part of this game is the prize! The total prize will be determined by how many people enter and dollar values will be determined from the following percentages: First Place will receive 80% of the final money pool and Second Place will receive 20% of the final money pool. 10% will be subtracted from the final pool total for operating expenses.
Tie Breakers – In case of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker -- whoever has chosen the most amounts of deceased celebrities. If two players tie for first with the same players, they will split the entire pot. If two players still tie for second, they will split the second place pot.
Website/Blog - The league will have a website that will be updated on a periodical basis. It will contain team choices and as many updates as we can of those that have deceased. The web address is: http://kickedthebucket.blogspot.com/ Feel free to visit the website now to see how the current year is going.
Time Frame - The official length of the contest will run from Monday, January 12, 2009 between 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on January 12, 2009) and 23:59:59 EST Thursday, December 31, 2009 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Submission of Picks – All submissions must be received or postmarked by Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 23:59:59 EST. They must be sent to either me through my normal hotmail address, my gmail account, or mailed to me at my home OR sent to Chris Bowman at his points of contact. Feel free to email me for that information.
The important fact is that we need the money by January 15, 2009 or your submission doesn't count. Payments can be cash, check or paypal.
Good Luck
(SEVENTH ANNUAL) OFFICIAL RULES
Welcome to the official 2009 Celebrity Death Pool game! For those of you that are new to the concept, it is our time to take back from the celebrities and famous people out there that do nothing but take our money, sweat and tears as we buy their music, watch their games, read about them in the paper, or purchase their movie tickets. The object of the game is simple – Be the contestant at 12:00 Midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 31, 2009 to have accumulated the most amount of points. How easy is that?
Selection of Celebrities – Think long and hard about the current health or possible health of our society’s famous folks. Choose the 20 of these famous people that you think will die in the year 2007 and write their names in a list. They can be from any forum. They can be athletes, entertainers, heads of state, writers or just folks who have garnered large scale media attention. They can be from any continent. The main criterion is that someone else can be identified by name and his or her death will be reported in a published account.
The operators of the pool will review your list and objectively accept or reject the players on your list. We are attempting to limit obscure people. Our judgments are based on results from Internet search engines and this definition of celebrity: A celebrity is a widely recognized or famous person who has commanded a high degree of public and media attention. If we reject a person on your list, you will have the opportunity to replace that person with a new choice.
Example of What We Accept and Not Accept – If they are foreign born and involved in politics, they have to be a head of state. So… Saddam Hussein would count, but you cannot pick any of his cabinet officials anymore.
This system isn’t perfect, but it is the fairest way to make sure that everyone is playing on the same level.
Entry Fee – The Entry Fee is nominal. (20 "beans" per entry. You can enter as many times as you want. It is just going to cost you 20 beans per entry.) If you are a past player, we will give you a 10% break from the fee if you sign up someone new.
Point Structure – The Point Structure is simple, and it remains the most exciting way of scoring the game. Points are determined by beginning with a 100 base point system. The age of the deceased celebrity will be deducted from the base score of 100 and a final number will be achieved. For example, if Britney Spears were to die on January 16, 2009, she would be worth 72 points. 100 base points MINUS 28 years old = 72 points.
Prize Breakdown – The most important part of this game is the prize! The total prize will be determined by how many people enter and dollar values will be determined from the following percentages: First Place will receive 80% of the final money pool and Second Place will receive 20% of the final money pool. 10% will be subtracted from the final pool total for operating expenses.
Tie Breakers – In case of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker -- whoever has chosen the most amounts of deceased celebrities. If two players tie for first with the same players, they will split the entire pot. If two players still tie for second, they will split the second place pot.
Website/Blog - The league will have a website that will be updated on a periodical basis. It will contain team choices and as many updates as we can of those that have deceased. The web address is: http://kickedthebucket.blogspot.com/ Feel free to visit the website now to see how the current year is going.
Time Frame - The official length of the contest will run from Monday, January 12, 2009 between 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on January 12, 2009) and 23:59:59 EST Thursday, December 31, 2009 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Submission of Picks – All submissions must be received or postmarked by Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 23:59:59 EST. They must be sent to either me through my normal hotmail address, my gmail account, or mailed to me at my home OR sent to Chris Bowman at his points of contact. Feel free to email me for that information.
The important fact is that we need the money by January 15, 2009 or your submission doesn't count. Payments can be cash, check or paypal.
Good Luck
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Survivor Gabon -- Week 476
We are reminded of how much the alliance embarrassed Randy at Tribal Council and Bob is pretty pissed off and tells everyone how crappy it was. Sugar apologizes... sissy pants. Sugar and Corinne then get into a verbal match... where Corinne looks stupid and petty...
HOT DAMN! The best part of this season is the High Definition shots of the animals... Kenny is critical of Bob and starts talking about booting Bob... what a foolish move...
REWARD CHALLENGE -- Two teams of three will compete and the winning team then plays in a challenge for a chance to see videos of their loved ones... Before the challenge, each person gets to see a quick little video of each loved one.
LOTS OF FREAKING TEARS... That means lots of heart breaks... Mwah ha ha ha... Time to pick the teams... Crystal, Bob, and Sugar, vs.. Kenny, Matty, and Susie. Stupid face Corinne is left behind.... she has no chance to win anything... Tee hee...
Sugar, Crystal, and Bob make a huge comeback and win the first round... now they are all trying to be the first person to solve a slide puzzle. Bob wins incredibly fast and gets to watch the videos and eat pizza, beer, and brownies...
He starts his reward and they trick Bob and instead of letting him watch the video... they bring out his actual wife... and my wife is crying... since she always falls for the loved ones episodes... THEN... they walk back to camp... and the other loved ones appear out of nowhere... there is much rejoicing...
KEnny goes right into game mode with his sister and starts explaining everything... he is pretty confident about his chances... Sugar is weepy with his sister....and they spread her dad's ashes... she's adorable... Matty gets all mushy and proposes to Jamie... his girlfriend... he accepts...
Bob and Corinne start to scheme and Bob is going to make a fake idol... and lie to someone about that idol that was thrown into the ocean a few weeks ago...
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE -- They have to answer questions and they get balls for each correct answer they get a ball to toss into a pit... the one closest to the center will win immunity... Sugar wins the most amount of questions...
They start throwing balls... Susie is out... Crystal is out... Kenny is out... Matty is out... Bob is awesome... Corinne is out... Sugar gets the last throw to top Bob... and she... misses... Bob wins immunity...
Corinne and Bob start coniving with Kenny and they seriously trick Kenny... I can't even begin to discuss how wacky this whole thing is... Bob makes ANOTHER fake idol... Operation Fake Idol 2 is in full effect. As they walk into Tribal Council... it looks lie it will be Corinne or Matty... argh...
Time for the vote... and Jeff will tally the votes...
Matty
Corinne
Corinne
Corinne
Matty
Matty
Corinne
Tucker's Nuts
5. Susie Smith (9)
6. Matty Whitmore (12)
8. Bob Crowley (16)
9. Jessica Kiper (17)
7. Randy Bailey (13) -- Booted Week Nine
1. Charlie Herschel (1) -- Booted Week Eight
3. Jacque Berg (5) -- Booted Week Three
2. Paloma Soto-Castillo (4) -- Booted Week Two
4. Michelle Chase (8) -- Booted Week One
Assshfault Warriors
1. Ken Hoang (2)
7. Crystal Cox (14)
3. Corinne Kaplan (6) -- BOOTED WEEK TEN!!!
8. Marcus Lehman (15) -- BOOTED WEEK SEVEN!!!!
2. Dan Kay (3) -- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
4. Ace Gordon (7)-- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
5. Kelly Czarnecki(10)-- BOOTED WEEK FIVE!!!!
6. Danny Brown aka GC (11) -- BOOTED WEEK FOUR!!!!
9. Gillian Larson(18) -- BOOTED WEEK ONE!!!!!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Rutgers is Heading to a Bowl
The papajohns.com bowl is a far better bowl than no bowl... where we thought we might be... just 8 short weeks ago.
Alabama is far and unattractive... but oh well.
Alabama is far and unattractive... but oh well.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Wise Words From a Drunk
A woman was shopping at the local supermarket where she selected:
* A half-gallon of 2% milk,
* A carton of eggs,
* A quart of orange juice,
* A head of romaine lettuce,
* A 2 lb. Can of coffee, and
* A 1 lb. Package of bacon.
As she was unloading her items on the conveyor belt to check out, a drunk standing behind her watched as she placed the items in front of the cashier.
While the cashier was ringing up the purchases, the drunk calmly stated, 'You must be single.'
She was a bit startled by this proclamation, but was intrigued by the derelict's intuition, since she was indeed single. She looked at the six items on the belt and saw nothing particularly unusual about her selections that could have tipped off the drunk to her marital status.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she said: 'Well, you know what, You're absolutely right. But how on earth did you know that?'
The drunk replied, 'Cause you're ugly.'
* A half-gallon of 2% milk,
* A carton of eggs,
* A quart of orange juice,
* A head of romaine lettuce,
* A 2 lb. Can of coffee, and
* A 1 lb. Package of bacon.
As she was unloading her items on the conveyor belt to check out, a drunk standing behind her watched as she placed the items in front of the cashier.
While the cashier was ringing up the purchases, the drunk calmly stated, 'You must be single.'
She was a bit startled by this proclamation, but was intrigued by the derelict's intuition, since she was indeed single. She looked at the six items on the belt and saw nothing particularly unusual about her selections that could have tipped off the drunk to her marital status.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she said: 'Well, you know what, You're absolutely right. But how on earth did you know that?'
The drunk replied, 'Cause you're ugly.'
Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
63-14
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
FFFFFFRRRRRRREEEEEEEAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKIIIIIINNNNGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
FFFFFFRRRRRRREEEEEEEAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKIIIIIINNNNGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Monday, December 01, 2008
Tired
Today... I am tired... and not enthusiastic about anything.
Tomorrow... I will be tired again.
Wednesday is a nutty day too, but at least I will be home with my family.
Yay!
Tomorrow... I will be tired again.
Wednesday is a nutty day too, but at least I will be home with my family.
Yay!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Amazing INcident in Oakland
Oakland Raiders football practice was delayed nearly two hours this morning after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Tom Cable immediately suspended practice while police and federal agents were called to investigate. After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance, unknown to the players, was the goal line. Practice was resumed this afternoon after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Role Models Moviegoing Experience
First Look
Kings2009.com
The Yes Man Sneak Preview
The Beast
The Cristmas Sweater
Previews!!!!
Bride Wars (Looks strangely interesting....)
Nobel Son (Uh? huh?
Twlight (Did they really think we didn't know it was already out?)
Fast and the Furious: New Model
The Uninvited (Looks really neat... )
The Unborn
Funny movie... but we expected a ton more...
Kings2009.com
The Yes Man Sneak Preview
The Beast
The Cristmas Sweater
Previews!!!!
Bride Wars (Looks strangely interesting....)
Nobel Son (Uh? huh?
Twlight (Did they really think we didn't know it was already out?)
Fast and the Furious: New Model
The Uninvited (Looks really neat... )
The Unborn
Funny movie... but we expected a ton more...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Dancing With the Stars Final Results Show of 2008
The wife and I are starting this at 11 pm as I just got home from a god awful Zoning Board meeting where the people are just plain dumb.
YAY!!!!!!!!!! Recap... blech.. Fast Forward! Samantha is in the back interviewing everyone and I need to listen to this because she is so bad and it will be months until I see this again... Warren is a fun dancer, but he is really unintelligible...
Here comes a funny bit... they went looking for CLoris... and she's basically a bum... hee hee... and she is interviewing people on the street.
Alicia Keyes sings and I fast forward...
We get dances with the stars that were voted off.. First... JEffrey Ross... THAT'S WHY YOU WERE VOTED OFF!!!
TED MCGINLEY IS NEXT... Shark... jumping...
KIM Kardashian... blech... she sucked... and the crowd is far too nice.
We relive weeks 3 and 4 through fast forward and Misty May Traenor is interviewed... and Rocco DiSpirito dance...
Time to relive weeks 5 and 6... Toni Braxton is interviewed... and can't dance... because of some minor surgery... Cloris Leachman dances...
Psycho Susan Lucci dances... She is crazy person...
Maurice Greene dances... ZOOM...
Now we get something funny... since Jeffrey Ross is considered the best roaster in the world... he is asked to roast the three remaining dancers... He makes me laugh...
Cody is able to dance a final dance as well... *yawn*
The judges offer their opinions of the dancers... and it isn't really anything new.
We are reminded that they will all dance a final dance that will count towards the judges' scores...
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson is up first and they have chosen to dance the Hustle after a long ass Season Memory video montage... He's not at the top of his game and yet he's still smiling infecting the audience... Len thinks he is the public's champion... and not the judges' champion. Bruno says something in his native dialect. (His scores tonight...9, 9, 9 .. 27 + 53 from last night = 80)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer dance second and they grew up this past season and Lacey is a crying baby and Lance is not self concious any longer. They dance their fabulous Sailor Suit Jitterbug dance again... and it was fabulous... except when Lance almost dropped Lacey on her head... twice. Oof... He hits those and He steals second place from Warren... Now... I am not so sure... (His scores tonight... 9, 9, 10 ... 28 + 53 from last night = 81) That score is bullshit... he really should have gotten 8s across the board.
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough recap their season and they come out to dance the Viennese Waltz. IT's as nice or better than the first time... so sweet... and well done... even LA can't argue with that. Carrie Ann thinks she is a star and says this through her tears... Len still thinks it is amazing... Bruno speaks again in tongues... (Her scores tonight... 10, 10, 10 ... 30 + 58 from last night = 88)
LOST IS COMING BACK!!!!!
It's time to start eliminating! Let's drop off the first couple. Third place goes to... Lance and Lacey. Not surprising really...
MILEY CYRUS BORES US TO TEARS WITH HER SINGING...
Samantha interviews the two finalists and then Tom interviews some of the past losers of this season to just fill in space...
It's time to announce the winner and first loser.
Second place goes to... Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson...
Season... Whatever's winner is... Brooke Burke and Derek Hough...
And so concludes a completely anti-climatic season....
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Dancing With The Stars... The Finals Have Arrived....
Hey... It's the closest final ... EVER!
LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Oh my God... The three stars all come out and they are all wearing the same outfits and they look like a bad character from THE MASK.
ROUND ONE
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are up first and they are showing the audience a dance that we have already seen during the season... they choose to show us the Quick Step again... and when I mean again... I mean... it's on tape. And for more tape... we get their Paso Doble again. We get a look at her stats so far and she is tops. Tom interviews Brooke and Derek on stage, which leaves America happy because Samantha isn't talking at all...
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are up next and they share with us some video of their Tango. I remember this one... it was really creepy and Lacey officially entered psychotic mode with this one in my book... but alas... they are still here and we keep enabling her behavior. For the Latin choice... they chose the Mambo... which was their best dance... Tom is STILL interviewing! Hooray...
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson are up third to show us their dance... They chose the Viennese Waltz and we got to see Warren's Big Pimpin' Style... It was also a nice and graceful dance. They also chose their Paso Doble where they were wearing the Matrix leather outfits and I fell in love with Kym...
In a completely anti-climatic moment... the junior champions are crowned and they dance for us. They are given a little mirror ball and Samantha and the judges appear!
Time to start the show...
ROUND TWO -- Samba Smackdown!!!
Brooke is first... Lance is second... Warren is third... and they are all going to dance it and try to be unique and memorable. This is a good way to start... and puts them all on a somewhat equal level. They even practice some together... and the trash talking reaches new levels of cliche...
The Smackdown begins with Brooke and Derek. Immediately... she looks off. TW is all critical of her posture and I am watching Derek dance around her... obviously showing off his skills... 1/2 through... it looks like she picks it up... Lance and Lacey come out third... and do some interesting moves... and something about Lacey is bugging me... enough to push my vote away from Lance, who is tremendous.... since his personality has busted out. That leg sweepy thing they end with was awesome. Warren and Kym come out and Warren does a horrible Round Off Cartwheel... and they get into a dance where Kym is wearing a giant yellow and red tail. Warren appeared to us to do very well, but Lance just seemed the best... They end the Smackdown all together with an interesting ending...
What did the judges think? Len thought Warren did fantastic and better than normal. Lance was energetic... and finese was off. Brooke is still his favorite. Bruno thinks that Brooke is a sexy beast and awesome. Lance is great and could be a leading man. Warren has little technique but he is fun. Carrie adores Lance as it gets better and better. Warren is the most improved to Carrie even being the least talented. Brooke is good too... interesting how the Lovefest is ongoing...
Time for the scores...
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough -- (Scores 9, 9, 10 - for a total of 28)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer -- (Scores 9, 8, 9 - for a total of 26)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson -- (Scores 9, 7, 9 - for a total of 25)
ROUND THREE -- FREESTYLE
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are up first... and we are reminded that Brooke choked on the Jive and her confidence levels are low... Practice begins... and Derek is in a lot of pain. They practice in the pool. Apparently... she thinks the mirror ball is hers... They are dancing to some sort of Grease song. The One That I Want I think... She strips her dress off and it becomes a fun dance with lots of flips and tosses and things. I got distracted by... umm... Tucker staring at me... Good dog! The judges think... Bruno thought it was spectacular... Carrie Ann is looking lovely tonight and she thinks they were awesome. Len is/was hot under the collar... and thought it was the best Freestyle that he has ever seen. -- (Scores 10, 10, 10 - for a total of 30)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are up second and we see that they are wearing shirts that say... "LANCEY" and that makes both of us say ...at the same time... "Oh dear." Lance and Lacey now talk to us and admit that only a catastrophe can bring them down... and they have a ton of confidence. They are dancing to IT'S Tricky... and I am feeling more black than I ever have after watching this... I don't know... it might be the bedazzled pants of Lance. I really didn't like it at all. Carrie Ann thought it was good and yet... there was a middle part that didn't work. Len thought it worked.... and Bruno said something that I didn't understand. -- (Scores 9, 9 , 9 - for a total of 27)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson dance last and Warren claims that we will see something that has never been done on the dance floor ... ever. We see a lot of practicing and a lot of almost falls and neck breaking... This will be a great dance or a train wreck... They are dancing to a rather interesting interpretation of Proud Mary... that just blows up... and they stip to skimpier clothes... and it gets awesomer and awesomer... there better be some good scores for that... It was Carrie's favorite dance... -- (Scores 9, 10, 9- for a total of 53)
Just to remind you... of tonight's scores...
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough -- 58
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson -- 53
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer -- 53
Monday, November 24, 2008
Book 73 of 52 -- Kathy Reichs' Bare Bones
In her sixth Temperance Brennan novel, art once again imitates life as Kathy Reichs writes about forensic anthropologist Brennan, who, like Reichs, is employed in North Carolina and Quebec.
When Tempe goes to a picnic near Charlotte, North Carolina with her college-aged daughter Katy, Boyd, Tempe's estranged husband's dog, digs up skeletal remains.
With the discovery of human bones amidst bear remains, Tempe's anticipated vacation with Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, comes to a sudden halt.
With the beach trip on the back burner, Ryan joins Tempe, as she investigates the burned remains of the baby belonging to a drug dealer's girlfriend, a fiery plane crash, and more bear and human remains in a latrine pit near Boyd's initial skeletal discovery.
While the various investigative sites seem unrelated, Tempe's intuition tells her that they are all somehow connected, as she comes across a complex weave of drug trafficking and illegal exporting of animal parts.
Ms. Reichs' technical knowledge of forensic anthropology adds fascinating information to this novel chock full of murder, mystery, and a dash of romance.
With so many twist and turns and death threats against Tempe, this novel is a sure winner with fans who want a no-holds barred suspenseful mystery.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Survivor Gabon... Week... Uhhh... NINE!
Previously... on Survivor... Charlie... suffering in an unrequited BROMANCE was blindsided and voted out last week. Kenny seems to be running things.... and Bob has an awesome looking fake idol...
We arrive "LIVE" on the beach on Night 27... and there are some pretty tense individuals... Randy is surprised that he's still around...
Day 28 comes and Bob shows Sugar the fake idol and only her... Sugar is crazy cute and I am not sure if it is because she was able to eat for two more week's worth of time than the rest of the group.
We get to see an interaction between Randy and Corrinne -- the two absolutely least appealing people in this season -- and they show me that they are incredibly insane. (Annoying people make the show more fun though....)
Tree Mail arrives and we get a food auction! They start bidding on food and we are told... no pooling money and no sharing food. The first item is beer and peanuts and Randy pays $180 for it. Kenny buys a parchment... and it reads that he can send himself to Exile Island or send someone else and take their money. He sends Bob and takes his money. Sugar buys chocolate and peanut butter for $340. The next item is a hot bath and fresh clothes... sold to Susie for $340... and she bathes NOW!... blech. Burger and fries comes up... Matty wins for $40. (Susie steps out of the bath too early... and everyone thinks she is nuts. She is nuts.) For $280, Randy wins spaghetti and meatballs. The next item is a bottle with a clue for the next immunity challenge that Corrinne wins for $500 (It must be kept sealed until the challenge.) Randy buys a cookie for everyone... and Sugar refuses the cookie, but in the end takes one and gives it to Matty. Randy versus Sugar... interesting...
High Definition animals are awesome... we get back and Randy is a pissed off bastard... but he and Corrinne try and convince Matty to join them and Bob... who... we are reminded is on Exile Island. He chose Idol looking and realizes that his extra clue is irrelevant... sooo... thinking he will get voted off soon, he goes for a long walk around Africa and we all feel better about ourselves.. and thankfully... it is in high definition.
The other alliance of Kenny, Sugar, Crystal, Susie and Matty all start talking strategy. They all want to get rid of Randy, but Matty tries to convince them to get rid of Bob since he is the stronger player. Randy comes back to the hut...and dramatic music begins! ... then... commercial..
Day 29 begins... and Randy thinks that he is going to shake things up and plans to act really nasty to everyone and get the votes... He will then use the immunity idol that Bob "found". The next five minutes are Randy being an annoying fucking asshole... and then cut outs to each player telling the camera that he needs to go.
Immunity Challenge time! Bob returns... First round... walk across balance beams with a bag of blocks... twice... first two people make it to the final round. Second round is cool... they put their blocks on angles on another balance beam... Then... they must walk through some trip wires that will knock down the blocks... (hard to describe... but neat...) Corrinne reads her clue and she is exempt from the first round... Matty and Kenny win so the three go into the finals... It's a wacky challenge and the blocks must be set up so they will fall like dominoes... to knock down a Rube Goldberg thingy to get a flag up. Kenny tries and it doesn't work... Then... all three start about the same time and only Kenny's goes all the way... so he wins immunity.
How can it NOT be Randy going home?
We get to see the logic of Randy because he has made a complete ass of himself because he assumes that Bob has found the idol. Sugar convinces Bob to give Randy the fake idol. Bob sees no reason why he shouldn't... and he "convinces" Randy to take the idol. Randy offers his vote for Bob in the finals if he doesn't make it there. Randy has a newfound bit of confidence that is disgusting and annoying... I have a new found respect for Bob that is awesome.
Tribal Council arrives and we all know who is going home.... it's an interesting TC...
Crystal votes and her screaming can be heard back at the TC...a nd everyone is uncomfortable.
It's time to "tally the votes"...and the payoff when Randy plays the idol is worth it... even though we knew it was coming the whole time! Thank you Randy for being a complete moron... Thank you....
Randy
Randy
Susie
Susie
Susie
Randy
Randy
Randy
I don't mind losing him from my team... what a bonehead idiot joke.
Buh bye Randy!
Tucker's Nuts
5. Susie Smith (9)
6. Matty Whitmore (12)
8. Bob Crowley (16)
9. Jessica Kiper (17)
7. Randy Bailey (13) -- Booted Week Nine
1. Charlie Herschel (1) -- Booted Week Eight
3. Jacque Berg (5) -- Booted Week Three
2. Paloma Soto-Castillo (4) -- Booted Week Two
4. Michelle Chase (8) -- Booted Week One
Assshfault Warriors
1. Ken Hoang (2)
3. Corinne Kaplan (6)
7. Crystal Cox (14)
8. Marcus Lehman (15) -- BOOTED WEEK SEVEN!!!!
2. Dan Kay (3) -- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
4. Ace Gordon (7)-- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
5. Kelly Czarnecki(10)-- BOOTED WEEK FIVE!!!!
6. Danny Brown aka GC (11) -- BOOTED WEEK FOUR!!!!
9. Gillian Larson(18) -- BOOTED WEEK ONE!!!!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Rutgers in the Orange Bowl? It's a long shot -- but, yes, still possible
I saw this on NJ.com... and I thought I would steal it.
Posted by tluicci November 17, 2008 14:59PM
Kenny Britt and Rutgers could grab an Orange Bowl berth, but it's a long shot.
As if Rutgers' bowl prospects weren't confused enough, here's something else to make it complete chaos: According to the Big East, there are at least two scenarios in which the Scarlet Knights can still win the league title -- which would mean a BCS berth in the Orange Bowl.
Crazy for a team that started 1-5, but true.
Ready to be bowled over by Rutgers to the BCS scenarios? Here goes.
Scenario No. 1:
*Rutgers needs to beat Louisville on Dec. 4. That would make the Knights 5-2 in league play.
*Cincinnati needs to lose to Pittsburgh on Saturday and then to Syracuse (we know, that's a stretch and the only part of this equation that is a real long shot). That would make the Bearcats 4-3 in the conference.
*Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati but loses to West Virginia and Connecticut. That puts the Panthers at 4-3.
*West Virginia beats Pittsburgh but loses to Louisville and South Florida. The Mountaineers are then 4-3.
*Connecticut loses to South Florida and then beats Pitt. The Huskies then finish 4-3.
Rutgers then wins its first Big title -- and outright.
Scenario No. 2
* Rutgers beats Louisville to finish 5-2 in the league.
*Cincinnati loses to Pitt and Syracuse to finish 4-3.
*Pitt beats Cincinnati and UConn but loses to West Virginia to finish 5-2.
*West Virginia beats Pitt but loses to Louisville and South Florida to finish 4-3.
*Connecticut beats South Florida but loses to Pitt, which means the best the Huskies can be is 4-3.
That scenario would leave Pittsburgh and Rutgers tied for first place at 5-2 and the Knights, on the strength of their 54-34 romp at Pittsburgh, would earn the Big East title and would be Orange Bowl-bound.
In the case of a three-way and a four-way tie for first place, the teams involved form a mini-conference, with the best record against the other teams breaking the tie. If one team doesn't have a record better than the others -- that is, if teams are still tied -- the team with the highest BCS ranking still goes.
In the case of a five-way tie for first, which could happen, the team ranked highest in the BCS represents the league in the Orange Bowl as the champion.
What if no Big East teams are ranked in the BCS Top 25? Glad you asked -- and we knew astute Rutgers fans would. According to a Big East official, the BCS rankings can be extended upon request beyond the top 25. So the highest ranked Big East team becomes league champion and is BCS bowl-bound.
Posted by tluicci November 17, 2008 14:59PM
Kenny Britt and Rutgers could grab an Orange Bowl berth, but it's a long shot.
As if Rutgers' bowl prospects weren't confused enough, here's something else to make it complete chaos: According to the Big East, there are at least two scenarios in which the Scarlet Knights can still win the league title -- which would mean a BCS berth in the Orange Bowl.
Crazy for a team that started 1-5, but true.
Ready to be bowled over by Rutgers to the BCS scenarios? Here goes.
Scenario No. 1:
*Rutgers needs to beat Louisville on Dec. 4. That would make the Knights 5-2 in league play.
*Cincinnati needs to lose to Pittsburgh on Saturday and then to Syracuse (we know, that's a stretch and the only part of this equation that is a real long shot). That would make the Bearcats 4-3 in the conference.
*Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati but loses to West Virginia and Connecticut. That puts the Panthers at 4-3.
*West Virginia beats Pittsburgh but loses to Louisville and South Florida. The Mountaineers are then 4-3.
*Connecticut loses to South Florida and then beats Pitt. The Huskies then finish 4-3.
Rutgers then wins its first Big title -- and outright.
Scenario No. 2
* Rutgers beats Louisville to finish 5-2 in the league.
*Cincinnati loses to Pitt and Syracuse to finish 4-3.
*Pitt beats Cincinnati and UConn but loses to West Virginia to finish 5-2.
*West Virginia beats Pitt but loses to Louisville and South Florida to finish 4-3.
*Connecticut beats South Florida but loses to Pitt, which means the best the Huskies can be is 4-3.
That scenario would leave Pittsburgh and Rutgers tied for first place at 5-2 and the Knights, on the strength of their 54-34 romp at Pittsburgh, would earn the Big East title and would be Orange Bowl-bound.
In the case of a three-way and a four-way tie for first place, the teams involved form a mini-conference, with the best record against the other teams breaking the tie. If one team doesn't have a record better than the others -- that is, if teams are still tied -- the team with the highest BCS ranking still goes.
In the case of a five-way tie for first, which could happen, the team ranked highest in the BCS represents the league in the Orange Bowl as the champion.
What if no Big East teams are ranked in the BCS Top 25? Glad you asked -- and we knew astute Rutgers fans would. According to a Big East official, the BCS rankings can be extended upon request beyond the top 25. So the highest ranked Big East team becomes league champion and is BCS bowl-bound.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Happy Birthday To Me
As a tribute to me... I wanted to re-relate one of my "Top Five Stories."
I am going to relate one of the greatest small world stories of my life and I hope that it translates well onto this medium.
I went to Rutgers and my Freshman year, I took Calculus class.
Like most large colleges, I was stuck in a 500+ person class with Freshmen galore.
I didn't know anyone in class and I sat down next to this random chick.
She and I struck up a conversation as class was going and we hit it off pretty well.
So much so, that we hung out at every class after that.
About three weeks into the semester, we realized that our birthdays were coming up relatively soon, so I asked, "When is your birthday?"
She replied with, "November 19th. Yours?"
I answered, "Me too! That's so cool."
We smiled...
"Don't think I am crazy, but where were you born?" I asked.
She named a hospital and I was shocked! It was the same hospital that I was born in.
Now that is a small world.
We each called our moms that night and found out that our parents shared a hospital room when we were born... a couple of minutes apart.
Now... THAT's a small world...
And pretty neat too.
I am going to relate one of the greatest small world stories of my life and I hope that it translates well onto this medium.
I went to Rutgers and my Freshman year, I took Calculus class.
Like most large colleges, I was stuck in a 500+ person class with Freshmen galore.
I didn't know anyone in class and I sat down next to this random chick.
She and I struck up a conversation as class was going and we hit it off pretty well.
So much so, that we hung out at every class after that.
About three weeks into the semester, we realized that our birthdays were coming up relatively soon, so I asked, "When is your birthday?"
She replied with, "November 19th. Yours?"
I answered, "Me too! That's so cool."
We smiled...
"Don't think I am crazy, but where were you born?" I asked.
She named a hospital and I was shocked! It was the same hospital that I was born in.
Now that is a small world.
We each called our moms that night and found out that our parents shared a hospital room when we were born... a couple of minutes apart.
Now... THAT's a small world...
And pretty neat too.
Dancing With the Stars Results Show -- SEMIFINALS
Soooo... as I start this... I am watching some of the absolutely unnecessary first hour where all the dances are recapped in case you missed it while my wife is taking care of some business around the house (aka... preparing for my birthday... :))
The kids are dancing in the first hour and I am completely skeeved out by this... and I know some of you like this, but it really does freak me out unbelievably...
If you remember... Lance kicked some ass... Samantha looks lovely but speaks with an actual hand in her mouth. They have tons of special guests...
The first one to sing is Aretha Franklin... and she looks horrible. I almost feel bad... but she can still belt out the music when she tries really hard. She didn't move at all during her entire song and we hear why she was on the show... she is promoting her new holiday album.
We get yet ANOTHER recap of what happened... ZOOM. (But wait! Lance... is in his sailor outfit... hee hee... )
After the first commercial... we now get our next musical guest and she is LEona Lewis and she is here to sing and promote the American Music Awards... isn't she British dammit? She was also named the hottest vegetarian this year... by PETA I think?
The judges are then forced to tell us what is strong about all of the couples and I can't stop making lewd comments out loud much to muh wife's chagrin, but she's frozen peas from the bag... so I have nothing for her.
Julianne Hough is musical guest number three with some goofy genre of music they call country music... What makes this creepy is that Mark Ballast and her brother are the dancers during the song. I think she might have been lipsynching, but either way... she has a much more powerful voice than I ever thought.
Musical Guest #4 is John Legend in a special dance number... jesus... I know there is a lot of dancing going on with the performances... but cmon ABC... get to the business at hand... kicking off someone!
Our first video montage is here at minute 34... and it is a montage about the people that care about dancers... and *yawn*... wake me up when it's over...
Aretha Franklin is back... AGAIN... Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas dance to her "RESPECT" and then another shitty montage about how everyone wants to win... seriously? Cliche-ville... I thought we got rid of Maurice awhile ago?!?!?!?!
Finalllllllllllllllllllllly, it's time for some results... They are going to reveal two happy couples and two sad couples.. in no particular order...
First saved is... Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer (DUH)
Secondly saved is... Brooke Burke & Derek Hough (ANOTHER DUH)
The final two in the red dramatic lights are... Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson and Cody Linley & Julianne Hough
Samantha gets to interview the two happy couples right now and guess what? They're ALL HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!
The couple going home is.... Hasta Pasta... Cody and Julianne...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dancing With the Stars -- SEMINFINAL
We are reminded that Maurice was booted last week and that this is the semi-final! I bet there is a lot left to dance for right? Oh yeah.... they get to learn two dances this week. The drama is never ending....
We are LLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Samantha finally looks lovely again... and she's wearing green. Brooke is wearing glitter all over her body... Kym Johnson continues to smile at me... and it's great seeing Julianne back... and well... Lacey is... Lacey.
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are dancing the Jive and the Salsa and Derek says something that drives me nuts and why the show is somewhat predictable... "I want this dance to be the best it can be..." Duh. Derek is beating himself up since he can't get some good choreography down. Brroke also wants to be a great performer. The Jive starts... and you can tell that it's going to be goood... I have never seen Brooke with this much facial reactions.... it's cute... I am betting that she is told to just plain dance instead... Len calls the dance a "disaster" and Bruno said that the "technique went down the toilet." Carrie Ann adds a sigh of drama... and hated the blatant illegal lift...finding it disrespectful (to which I agree actually...) -- (Scores 7, 7, 7 - for a total of 21 -- Lowest score ever.)
Cody Linley & Julianne Hough are up second as we welcome Julianne back. They are dancing the Salsa and Cody can't be good at it because he is stiff a lot. They have to dance the Paso Doble and it is the most "manly dance" so that means 18 year old Cody is nervous that he won't be able to pull it off. They dance the Paso Doble first and it will be done in military outfits. I am not sure how I feel about it... except that Julianne is back... Bruno thought that it was too off... and not traditional enough. "Not good enough." Carrie says that is "10 for determination" and yet... it wasn't the smoothest. Len thinks he will get his "marching orders" and "not good." It was odd, but really? -- (Scores 8, 7, 7 - for a total of 22)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson come in third... and the judges liked him last week... remember? Warren is a busy ellow... and he does Inside the NFL. This week he is doing the Mambo and the Jitterbug. Lots of energy is being expended and he gets loud and angry at everything, but he isn't a quitter and there was som more personality in that. They start off with the Mambo with some bastardized version of "Tequilla." There is some weird choreography... but it seems like the best dance so far of the night. Carrie thinks they could do more... Len knows that Warren is a performer while Bruno says that he is flat footed even though he is engaging. -- (Scores 8, 8, 8 - for a total of 24)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are up last... Mambo and the Jitterbug.... We meet Lance's dad and grandfather... His grandfather is old and cute and is proud of him... especially doing the "dance of old people... the Jitterbug... Weird and Sweet at the same time. Mambo is up first and Lacey has a horrible outfit on. It starts off as the Lacey show where Lance doesn't have to do anything... and then it kicks in... the music helps out a lot on this one. Now that was the best one of the four... even though Lacey was involved. Len adored it. BRuno thought it was semi-final material. Carrie Ann... agreed... -- (Scores 10, 9, 9 - for a total of 28)
ROUND TWO!!!! -- They were allowed to pick any dance they wanted to from the dances that they introduced this season. We are then subjected to Len's Master Class where he teaches the couples how to dance by isolating their problems... I am not going to write about this sicne they just keep the same themes of always... old grumpy man... and the stars suck up to him.
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are dancing the Salsa... They start off with a lift and TW yells at the screen. I am there to quickly remind her that it is allowed in these special dances. This dance is a crowd pleaser... and justifyably so with that amazing ending throwing Brooke around moment. Bruno -- "Brooke is back!" Carrie Ann and Len are in agreement. -- (Scores 9, 10, 9 - for a total of 28)
Cody Linley & Julianne Hough dance the Salsa... Julianne's outfit is amazing and probably illegal in a few countries. This is better than their last dance and yet...n ot perfect. Carrie Ann was critical but Len liked it much better. Bruno was somewhere in the middle and flamboyant. Cody sucks up to the audience... and annoys me. -- (Scores 8, 8, 8 - for a total of 24)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson chose the Jitterbug. Good times are being had by all and yet... I am nervous throughout the dance as Warren throws Kym all over the place. It was an ambitious dance and not entirely bad. Len avoids talking about the moves and just about his performer side. Bruno thinks he is still flat footed and Carrie Ann loved it. -- (Scores 9, 8, 8 - for a total of 25)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are also dancing the Jitterbug -- the last one of the evening. Lance Bass is in a sailor outfit. SHIT! Must keep jokes inside... big time inside... don't let it come out of my mouth... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! It's a great dance... even if it is a bit awkward in the middle... but Lance's shoe comes off and he kicks at it just like you would think he would.... in his sailor's outfit... My face is giggling... and I can't react. The judges loved them. It was magic... and yet... I am giggling... especially when they go to Lance's grandfather... -- (Scores 10, 9, 10 - for a total of 29)
Just to remind you... of tonight's scores...
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer -- 57
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough -- 49
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson -- 49
Cody Linley & Julianne Hough -- 46
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rocknrolla Movie Going Experience
10:45 in the morning on a weekday equals only person in a huge theater.
There was an awesome four minute commercial for Lost that got me very excited again.
God... I love the Macy's Day Parade Commercial for Coke with renegade balloons fighting for Coke
Transporter 3 -- Jason Statham is so frigging bad ass.
The International -- Looks like an awesome concept so I wonder if Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, and friends can pull it off.
Notorious -- Notorious B.I.G. biopic.... Uhhhhhh... Why are they playing Duran Duran in the preview?
Frost/Nixon -- Lots of Oscar buzz around this and it has Oliver Platt! Awesome preview too.
Friday the 13th - will the killer be Jason or Mrs. Voorhees? I can't tell from the previews even with a machete weilding Jason.
Four Christmases - Vaughn and Witherspoon in a romantic comedy and no gossip around it... Heh.
There was an awesome four minute commercial for Lost that got me very excited again.
God... I love the Macy's Day Parade Commercial for Coke with renegade balloons fighting for Coke
Transporter 3 -- Jason Statham is so frigging bad ass.
The International -- Looks like an awesome concept so I wonder if Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, and friends can pull it off.
Notorious -- Notorious B.I.G. biopic.... Uhhhhhh... Why are they playing Duran Duran in the preview?
Frost/Nixon -- Lots of Oscar buzz around this and it has Oliver Platt! Awesome preview too.
Friday the 13th - will the killer be Jason or Mrs. Voorhees? I can't tell from the previews even with a machete weilding Jason.
Four Christmases - Vaughn and Witherspoon in a romantic comedy and no gossip around it... Heh.
Quantum of Solace Moviegoing Experience
The Yes Man
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Bedtime Stories
Valkyrie (The theme music is the same as Saw -- Tom Cruise is a thief)
Fast and the Furious: New Model -- Watch this preview... the beginning is incredible.
The International
2012
Seven Pounds
Thoroughly satisfying movie... not the best but good.
Thank you.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Bedtime Stories
Valkyrie (The theme music is the same as Saw -- Tom Cruise is a thief)
Fast and the Furious: New Model -- Watch this preview... the beginning is incredible.
The International
2012
Seven Pounds
Thoroughly satisfying movie... not the best but good.
Thank you.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
In the... Always Check Your Kid's Work Category...
(Mommy works at Home Depot, she was selling a shovel)
Thanks to my sister in law for this one.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Survivor Gabon -- Week 8
Previously on Survivor... Ken is a weenie... Randy is a tough guy... Marcus was smug and got booted. Jeff said... "Blindside" in a totally creepy kid toucher sort of way.
Night 24... Kenny is bragging about how awesome he is... and he is all bravado about how Bob is going home. Nice edittig... that has to mean that Kenny is at risk... right?
Tree mail comes on Day 25 and they are going to play some sort of slingshot golf. They practice a little bit and Marcus is identified as the one who was booted. Corrinne opens her big mouth and so does Charlie claiming that Marcus didn't desrve to leave the game. Kenny rightfully calls them on it and it gets awkward.
They play slingshot golf. Whatever team gets it into the "sand" hole in the least amount of tries wins the hole. Best two out of three. Corrinne is forced to sit.
First Hole
Kota is up first and Fang is up second. Both drives are pretty good and Bob has a great second shot... while Matty's (Fang) shot goes off. Kota wins the hole with Kenny's awesome shot.
Second Hole
Bob kicks ass for Kota and Matty succeeds for Fang. Fang's second shot lands 6 inches from the hole while Kota is thirty feet. They need to get it in. Nope. Fnag ties it up on the easy shot.
Third Hole
Matty & Bob launch incredible shots. Second shots are in decent shape. Kota shoots third first with Kenny "just" missing. Fang shoots short and lands within an inch. Kenny just overshoots. For Fang, Randy, Charlie and Matty all argue like assholes with a ton of bravado. They all suck. Randy is such a prick and gets nuts.
Bob is sent to Exile Island...
Fang gets to go to an African village and experience a pretty cool reward. This is Matty's first reward and he kind of earns it! They are treated well. Now... they all mourn the loss of Marcus... Dammit Charlie... think for yourself for once.
We return to Kota and watch Kenny navigate his rowboat while stuck... literally... going around in circles and circles. He catches some fish and thinks that he is a provider. How can they NOT boot him with all this crazy editting around his confidence.
Bob decides to look for the idol instead of taking comfort. He thinks he is the next one to get booted. He can't find the idol so makes a fake idol and what he makes is a pretty damn good looking fake idol.
Immunity Challenge is going to be all about making fire fast. They can't figure out if it will be individual or team and we get to see a lot of venom from Randy towards Crystal that just seems wrong and over the top. They arrive and it is now a MERGED tribe. Individual immunity is what they will seek. (This is a new lease on life for Bob.)
It's a basic challenge and they gotta light a fire and burn a string with flint, knife, and rope.... throw some kindling and a fire will eventually burn. Susie takes the early lead... with Sugar right behind. Susie's fire is just plain awesome... while Sugar is the only other one with fire. The rest of them are just plain pathetic... Susie wins in an incredibly anti-climatic event.
They are to go back to the old Fang which is a brand new tribe... all things were moved there. Randy declares that he can't live with Crystal and it will be one of the two of them going home.
They return to camp and everyone is joyous... strategy started pretty much right away. There seems to be two solid alliances and Sugar is the swing vote. Corrinne is a complete asshole in the way she speaks about Sugar. Matty, Kenny, Crystal, and Susie all start to focus on Charlie. Randy, Corrinne, Charlie, and Bob are all leaning towards Crystal. Ken shows his strength. Sugar can't decide... and drives me nuts with her "thinking."
Tribal Council comes and Marcus looks handsome in the jury. It starts and Crystal and Randy have a verbal bashing and it isn't fun to watch especially because Crystal talks in the third person. The rest of it bores me and no one is allowed to vote for Susie. I get the feeling that Charlie is going home. We see Randy votes for Crystal and Kenny votes for Charlie. Charlie votes for Crystal... Sugar is crying and we see that she starts writing a "C" name... then cries a whole bunch.
Jeff will tally up the votes...
Crystal
Crystal
Crystal
Crystal
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie
Bye Bye Charlie... Lucy pulled the football out from you.
Tucker's Nuts
5. Susie Smith (9)
6. Matty Whitmore (12)
7. Randy Bailey (13)
8. Bob Crowley (16)
9. Jessica Kiper (17)
1. Charlie Herschel (1) -- Booted Week Eight
3. Jacque Berg (5) -- Booted Week Three
2. Paloma Soto-Castillo (4) -- Booted Week Two
4. Michelle Chase (8) -- Booted Week One
Assshfault Warriors
1. Ken Hoang (2)
3. Corinne Kaplan (6)
7. Crystal Cox (14)
8. Marcus Lehman (15) -- BOOTED WEEK SEVEN!!!!
2. Dan Kay (3) -- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
4. Ace Gordon (7)-- BOOTED WEEK SIX!!!!
5. Kelly Czarnecki(10)-- BOOTED WEEK FIVE!!!!
6. Danny Brown aka GC (11) -- BOOTED WEEK FOUR!!!!
9. Gillian Larson(18) -- BOOTED WEEK ONE!!!!!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Book 72 of 52 -- Lee Goldberg -- Mr. Monk Goes to Germany
As a big fan of the show, I was a little wary to read this book...
I was right... I shouldn't have read it since it was a bit nuts and over the top.
Mr. Goldberg did a great disservice to the series and should be ashamed of himself.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Dancing With the Stars -- Week 8 Results
Holy crap... another whole hour long recap episode before the show? Really? That's called milking it baby.
We get a quick judges' breakdown of each of the dancers and we continue to get the feeling that Len absolutely hates poor Lance and I think it all comes from an animosity for Lacey who was a "so You Think You Can Dance?" Winner.
The dance they want to see again is Warren and Kym's Tango... It was my favorite too because.... the singers didn't sing and it was an all instrumental piece. I hate that band... I really do.
Samantha is in the back and she is a terrible interviewer as we get some awkward moments with Cody who has both Edyta and Julliane on his arm... making America jealous...
Brad Paisely is up and the "Draw" to this is that Lacey and her brother are going to dance together. Look... America... I love my sister, but I would never dance with her this way... It's just plain icky and gross.
It's time to save two couples... pretty early I think.
First saved!?!?!? Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson Cool.
Second saved? Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer That was a surprise to me.
In what I hope is an interesting time filler, Dr. Drew Pinsky will evaluate each of the remaining couple's relationships. Lance and Lacey are up first and Dr. Drew thinks that they want to win and they need to allow each others to feel their feelings. Warren and Kim are second and I got nothing out of that except that Warren is busy. Maurice and Cheryl are third and we re-learn that Maurice is competitive and can't communicate. The other two will be later.
For the Macy's Special Dance... it is the audience choice dance and we get more icky brother and sister dancing since it is Derek and Julianne Hough dancing on a piano. Ergh. Especially when Derek had his nuts on Julianne' neck.
More Dr. Drew -- Derek and Brooke are up fourth. Brooke and Derek relive their fights. Boring. Cody and Julianne are up last and she looks more like Heather Locklear each week... and Cody cries a bit too much... They hug and we get nothing really out of this.
Seriously... what is worse... 1. Finding out early that you are safe and HAVE TO DO THESE INANE interviews with Samantha or 2. Being the last couple to find out you are safe? Seriously.
Brad Paisley sings again... and I ... fast forward... Country music just sucks...
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are saved third.
We finally come down to some incredible drama at the end of the episode... to see who is the couple that gets booted this week.
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke or Cody Linley & Edyta Sliwinski
COMMERCIAL!
LIIIIVE!
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke are chucked.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Dancing With the Stars... Five *ahem* Stars Left!
Before we begin, we were "blessed" to see Tony Dovolani and Susan Lucci on the Ellen show. Tony is still so charming and Susan is as vacant as Cindy McCain at a funeral.
LLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Tonight... each of the couples will have to dance TWICE with two different dances...and to create even more contrived DRAMA for an hour and a half of television, they will have to dance a solo during the Latin portion.
Oof! or Awesome!
We get our first glimpse at our stars and at Samantha. And... I have to say this. Samantha's hairstylist is such a fucking asshole.
Part One -- Ballroom
Cody Linley & Edyta Sliwinski are up first and Cody can't deal with being in last place last week. So Edyta invited his friends over to watch him. The total age of the 5 kids was 65. They finally leave and Cody can finally learn the Foxtrot... and he's calling it a comeback... uh... whatever. The dance starts and Edyta has comehow found a dress that somehow stays on her ass the whole dance while really showing it off. Len was "pleasantly surprised" and Bruno liked it. Carrie LOVED the performance even with the phantom... "lift". -- (Scores 8, 8, 8 - for a total of 24)
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are up second. Brooke got the first perfect score last week and Derek tells her that he is going to push her incredibly hard. The work really hard and they are dancing the Tango. I am mesmerized by it because it seems so erfect and my wife can only add... "I am worried that her dress is going to fall off." Strangely enough. I am not worried about that at all. :) All three judges loved it tremendously with Len liking it the least. -- (Scores 10, 8, 10- for a total of 28)
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke is getting ready to dance the Quickstep. The dance starts out of nowhere and I am not sure that Maurice ready for it all. He just doesn't seem ready to dance and I laugh because the song is Puttin' On the Ritz and we just saw Young Frankenstein on Broadway soooo... if you know the movie or show... that should make you smile too. His footwork is fine, but he doesn't seem comfortable. Carrie Ann, Len, and Bruno thought it was pretty good! -- (Scores 8, 8, 8 - for a total of 24)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer dance fourth and we are reminded of how much of an asshole Len can be since he doesn't seem to like anything that Lacey... therefore Lance does. They are doing the Samba and the Foxtrot. They claim that they are going to pull any crap this week and dance it all by the book just make Len happy. It was nice and Len thought so too. -- (Scores 9, 8, 9 - for a total of 26)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson are reminded that last week wasn't their week. He is dancing the Jive and the Tango. During the video, it doesn't look good. They dance the Tango first and Kym's boobs are apparently here to assist them with their dance. The dance was frenetic and good. The judges thought it was good. -- (Scores 10, 9, 9 - for a total of 28)
This season, since the dancers aren't as good, the judges are just plain rougher.
Part II -- Latin Dances
Cody Linley & Edyta Sliwinski are up to dance the Mambo. Edyta has done quite a job with him. I think he looks good until the turn where he ends up lifting Edya by mistake. Carrie Anne thought it was disjointed and appreciated his excitement. Len thought it was nice, but stiff. Bruno thought it was "spasmodic" and then acted out that word. I am ill. -- (Scores 8, 8, 8 - for a total of 24)
We get an update and Jullianne will be returning if Cody makes it through this week.
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough are also dancing the Mambo. Brooke is wearing a wig. and I am still impressed by her and Derek. I really liked that dance despite the horrific singing of that horrible Dancing With the Stars band. Len thought it was ambitious, but offered some criticism. Bruno thought it was good. Carrie thought her posture was awkward. -- (Scores 9, 9, 9 - for a total of 27)
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke are dancing the Paso Doble and it is an auspicious start when Maurice can't pick up Cheryl right away. It picks up momentum and eventually gets to a great point even with a pretty damn good ending. Bruno thought it was strong and imposing. Carrie and Len thought it was good. -- (Scores 8, 8, 8 - for a total of 24)
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are dancing the Samba. My first reaction is that Lacey's dress is worse than Samantha's hair. I am not going to get into body sizes, but cmon wardrobe department... get that right. The dance ends with Lance's face right in Lacey's feather molting dress's ass. Carrie has some criticism and Len hates it and his footwork. Bruno liked it. -- (Scores 8, 7, 9 - for a total of 24)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson are told to dance just as they come out of a commercial. They are dancing the Jive. I am a big fan of this performance and Warren's solo actually brings a smile to my face. The dance was fun and brought a huge smile to both of our faces. Please be good judges. Len thought it was a joy to watch and hated his feet. Bruno agrees about the feet, but that it was a good dance. Carrie agrees it was flat footed, but the energy was very upbeat. -- (Scores 9, 8, 9 - for a total of 26)
Just to remind you... of tonight's scores...
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough -- 28 + 27 = 55
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson -- 28 + 26 = 54
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer -- 26 + 24 = 50
Cody Linley & Julianne Hough -- 24 + 24 = 48
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke -- 24 + 24 = 48
Monday, November 10, 2008
Book 71 of 52 -- Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Other Stories
I read this book on the suggestion of someone that the Lottery is a great story and extremely eerie.
I expected stories on par with the Lottery in this collection and I didn't find it.
The majority of other stories do not fall in to the classification of horror stories like the Lottery or "The Haunting of Hill House" which Shirley Jackson is also so famous for.
The stories would fall in to the region of American Literature, not horror or mystery.
There are multiple stories that don't come to a conclusion as one would expect with either a horror or mystery story but are a poignant tale of literature.
If you find yourself buying this for mystery or horror stories, take a pass.
If you are looking to reread "The Lottery" I would recommend taking this book out from the library.
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