American Idol Season 4, Week 7: Men

WOW! Fan-TAS-tic show! The men really impressed us. I would have paid to be at this show!

That said...

We voted for: Mario, Joseph, Scott, Travis, Nikko, and Bo.

Best performers: Mario (*yum yum yum*) and Bo (holy shit, dude!)

Best performances: Travis singing All Night Long and Nikko singing Let's Get It On *faint*

Nikko, please be careful. Before Simon said it, I was already screaming to my husband that your new look is totally Bobby Brown. You don't want that, trust us!

I think the men have this competition in the bag.

Think you're a nerd? Prove it!!

(to the tune of the happy song)

If you're nerdy and you know it, click this link *click click* If you're nerdy and you know it, click this link *click click* If you're nerdy and you know it and you really want to SHOW IT, if you're nerdy and you know it, click this link *click click*

I'm a closet nerd (41.2% - 206/500), what are you?

Just call me Oscar-MK

Congratulations to MK for making it onto the red carpet for live coverage of the Oscars!

• popbytes does oscar!
  
• more oscar pics + starr jones!
  
• oscar 2005 predictions
  
• my oscar posts!
  
• red carpet 2005
  
• and the winners are...

MK is the biggest winner of the night in our book. :)

Flanimals!

Saw the yummy and talented Ricky Gervais on Letterman. Along with showcasing his tongue-in-cheek comedic genius, he was promoting his new children's book called Flanimals.



Ricky came up with the original illustrations, but then had professional illustrator Rob Steen do the final drawings for the book. A comparison of Ricky's and Rob's drawings are available from the BBC News.

Most everyone gave this book a glowing review, but one consumer missed the memo that this is, in fact, a book for kids. (Insert your favorite confused look here.)

This book is so cute that I bought copies for all of my friends' kids plus one for our house! Can't wait for them to arrive!

Gallant spasms

Today I watched a recording of the latest episode of ER in which Nela and (Michael) Gallant exchange love letters between Chicago and Iraq. This made me a little sad about my current situation. Today I was supposed to attend the big bash to see my buddy Roger off to Iraq, but a severe back injury has rendered me useless in the outside world. Thanks to modern medicine for creating lots of drugs for me to take so that I stop shaking violently from the pain and having equally violent spasms while I am walking, sitting, or lying down. However, said drugs turn me into a vegetable when it comes to reacting to my surroundings, so hardly the life of the party.

Anyway, back to the reason for my post... It was mentioned in the ER episode that hand-written letters are like gold, so I am going to do my best to send Roger hand-written letters even if they're just to say how much all of us at work miss him. If you have a friend or family member overseas fighting the endless war, consider sending them a letter that you write in your own handwriting. It's so much more precious and considerate than any email, even if it took you 2 hours to craft that email vs. a 2 minute "hey, how are ya" snailmail letter. There's definitely something very impersonal and easily misinterprettable about electronic communication.

So much for the party. I was really looking forward to Goldschlager and Tequila sunrises, but muscle relaxers and pain killers will have to do. ;) Yeeeeehaaa......!

Eegah! - ?

Watched Eegah, the sixth worst movie of all time, last night before American Idol. I thought it was infinitely better than Manos.

La revanche!~!!!@!#!~~

Editor's note: I've decided to make this post a little less offensive. I was on happy pills when I wrote it initially. I'm still on the happy pills, but I feel bad that a lot of those pushing the Next Blog button are getting more than their eyeful. I'm leaving the title intact, however.

Sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways in response to acts of unkindness.

Let's stop making same-sex couples feel like criminals for wanting the same rights that opposite-sex couples have been given.

=Equality= rules.

American Idol Season 4, Week 6: Results

If you don't want to know, don't read this *SPOILER*

... ... ... (*elevator music*)

--- --- --- (*whistling*)

Okay, here we go!

Out: Melinda, Jared, Sarah, and Judd.

No surprises, à mon avis...

I'm going to share my conspiracy theory now: I think the contestants who are leaving the show are told before airtime that they will be going home that night. On more than one occasion I have sensed defeat in those who are told to pack their bags, but in other contestants who I really thought didn't stand a chance I sense optimism. Sarah wasn't much of a team player, either way. But, hey, I've never been told "you're not good enough for America" so maybe I'd act like a depressed robot too.

Congratulations to Miss Ray

I am a Rachael Ray fanatic. Every once in a while I'll google her to see what new info is online. I was watching the Salem, Oregon episode of $40 A Day and saw an unmistakable diamond ring on her left ring finger. I googled, and found that Nation Master has updated their encyclopedia entry to state that Rachael is marrying her sweetie John this fall in Tuscany (fans, just ignore that bit about her voice being annoying). About time, girl! I hope Boo is in the wedding party!

On a serious note...

:(

My heart goes out to all those affected by the California storms.

American Idol Season 4, Week 6: Women

Hmm. Not overly inspiring. I guess the raw sex appeal of the guys does it for me.

We voted for: Vonzell, Amanda, Carrie, Nadia, Celena, Mikalah, Jessica, and Aloha.

Our favorite performers: Nadia and Aloha.

My favorite performance: Jessica singing Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) - love that twangy husk.

(Prediction: The only contestant we had trouble voting for was Carrie - busy busy busy signal. So, we predict that White Girl's movin' on up. Disturbing. I didn't want to vote for her, but marriage is full of compromises.)

American Idol Season 4, Week 6: Men

My household has been watching American Idol since season 2, and I have recently warmed up to the stylings of season 1's Kelly Clarkson only because she has finally released a song worth my attention. (If you ever do another "From Justin to Kelly" you're back on my poopie list, girl!)

My household learned its lesson last year when the three divas ended up in the bottom 3 and everyone blamed racism before they realized what was really going on: people weren't voting for contestants they thought were shoe-ins.

So, to help contestants to make it to the next round if we think they deserve to advance, we are voting for everyone we think should advance, not necessarily just our favorites. Some weeks you'll see we voted for many contestants, and some weeks we may not be inspired to vote for any contestants at all. Too bad the voting for president of the United States isn't done in this fashion! Remember: Your vote is your voice, even if your favorite doesn't win, so:


(Thanks, MK!!)

This week for the men's competition we voted for Nikko, Scott, Bo, Travis, Constantine, David, and Mario (because they *all* deserve to come back week 7).

Our favorite performers: Scott and Bo.

My favorite performance: Mario singing Do I Do (yummy!)

Buddy the Wonder Dog and Ein the data dog: A comparison

I love Buddy (even though I have never met him) because he reminds me so much of Ein from Cowboy Bebop. Just for the record, I don't wish laboratory experimentation on Buddy, he's smart already as is evident by his intelligent business practices.

If we didn't have three kitties plus one up on the mantle (so to speak) I'd try my hardest to convince my husband that we *need* a data dog and that a Welsh corgi is the only data dog that will do.

Manos Hands of Fate quiz

Want to know which character from the worst film of all time you are most like? Take the Manos Hands of Fate quiz! Here are my results:

You are Mike the Husband!

You are the calm and collected type who tries to
see the good in any situation. Even though you
may be completely blind to your impending
death, you still reassure everyone with your
good looks and soothing smile. You don't really
get shaken at all until the end when you
realize that you may have made a mistake in
staying at a motel that housed a DARK MASTER!

Aside from that "calm and collected" bit, I'd say the quiz pegged me perfectly. If you're not feeling quizzical today, you can just read the results list.

More Gate rip-offs

Another remake of "The Gates":



Who knew that a silly, overly-exorbitant project would spawn so many copycats? Hehe. :)

The Crackers

The Amassed Gadgets has published an amusing pic from SmilingGoat.com of a remake of "The Gates" of Central Park:



Tasty!

Yesterday I saw a mini-"Gates" at the campus where I work. I didn't have a camera, so I asked the folks who write the staff newspaper if they would write up a little story about it. The funny part of this mini recreation is that the structure is made out of scaffolding that was probably used to do construction work on the building.

Warning: The following movie may cause spontaneous crying

Today I went with my niece to Pooh's Heffalump Movie.

I started crying when the 100 Acre Woods gang was bad-mouthing the baby heffalump as if he were the enemy, then I cried again when the 100 Acre Woods gang learned how to get along with the heffalumps, then started bawling when the baby heffalump and his mum were reunited after being separated and treated unjustly by Rabbit et al. Apparently I need to get out more.

I absolutely love the baby heffalump's voice - British kiddie Kyle Stanger. I hope to hear Kyle's voice in more movies to come, or maybe even see him in a few! What a cutie!

My one complaint about the movie: Eeyore had a very small part, and Christopher Robin was only shown in scenes during the ending credits. Eeyore is my all time favorite character, so that was a bit of a bummer. I think I understand why Christopher Robin wasn't in the film -- to make the lesson of tolerance/acceptance/diversity/multi-culturalism lighter and applicable to all rather than just to white kids and purple elephants. But, still would have been nice to see him a little more.

I'd have to give the Heffalump movie 4 stars, much better than the disgusting Cary Elwes movie.

Cary Elwes deserves a spanking

Cary, please stop accepting movie parts that *SPOILER ALERT* make you cut off your own foot. Let's stick to the the good boy roles, sweetie.

Milli Vanilli-style American Idol audition and smaHt thieves

My dearest husband sent me this guy's "audition tape" (link no longer works, see below) which was featured today in the comment section of the Slashdot article about a burglar caught on the victim's webcam.

I'm voting for this Milli Vanillan when the AI phone lines open up! (I know, I know, he's Italian, but maybe he'll make the trip over for when one of the 12 "boys" cracks and walks off the show.)

And, moral of the burglar story: wear a mask next time! (He stole the computer, but the smarty-pants vic had set up the webcam to automatically email images to an outside server.)

Update: MSKPlanet took down the link to the Italian singer. :( Maybe it'll be back someday when slashdot isn't talking about it.

Update to the update(!): Thighs Wide Shut has found the lost video at FUNPIC. Yay! Enjoy!

Angry black woman?

One of my favorite bloggers, Tiger Lilly, posted a poll from the Angry Black Woman site. We all ultimately came from the same African woman, and I get really angry a lot, so I took the quiz. Here's what the quiz says about me:

You are a Curse-You-Out-in-a-Heartbeat Angry Black Woman... Let's get ready to rumble! This ABW is no joke. Sistah girl is like a world-class boxer who will pummel those who would dare spar with her. Always on high alert of any little slight, real or imagined, this ABW has been known to knock out opponents with a blistering combination of body blows (comments about victims' physical appearance) and the crowd favorite, the below-the-belt blow (remarks about home life or sexual prowess). Most opponents don't last the second round and are often left in tears, catatonic states of shock, mouths agape in front of sell-out crowds. FAMOUS ABWs: Aunt Esther from SANFORD AND SON, Mary J. Blige, Mo'Nique

My former roommates would agree about not lasting past the second round when I get pissed at them.

The good, the bad, and the worstest

The good: I lied, there is no good.

The bad: I just finished watching the MST3K rendition of Manos: The Hands of Fate. According to IMDb, it's the worst movie of all time. According to me, I ...uh, ... hated it. Yah. But, the Poopie Reel was great! I like Mike much better than Joel. (Sorry Joel, but Mike is geeky HOT.) In case you care, here's a synopsis of the worst movie ever. Gak.

The worstest: Why does America have to take a perfectly wonderful British TV show -- The Office -- and feck it up? (Rest in peace, Father Ted...) I can't even believe that nummy yummy Ricky Gervais would allow this to happen to his show, but at least he had the sense to turn down the role. Remember Coupling, horribly morphing into Coupling USA? Pisses me off that we keep taking British shows and copying them episode by episode, attempting to recapture the "humour" that only the Brits possess. We Americans are slapsticky, that's why we left our respective countries for the land of "opportunity", so we could create our own style of crude, Neanderthal comedy. For crying out loud, just leave the Britcoms alone! Get your own ideas for successful shows, ya stupid gits! *Pfft*

Venereal diseases and shredded love letters

This morning's short but sweet wake-up greeting conversation:

Me: "Happy VD!"
Husband: "*chuckle* I've heard that one before."

And I thought I was being clever... He's even more clever than I am!

About a year ago I was going through old papers and stumbled upon my stash of love letters from an old boyfriend. I felt so guilty that the letters co-habitated with my husband, but I was excited by a strange idea of perhaps publishing the love letters in a book about correspondences. Fast forward a few months - I find the letters again and my guilt becomes stronger. I move them to a "secret" location, still pondering the idea of publishing the letters. I learn soon after on different occasions that this ex-boyfriend is marrying a wonderful woman and then that they will have a baby. More fast forwarding to a few weeks ago - I find the letters moved from where I put them. I freak out, fess up to my hubby that the letters are from an old flame, and we have a shredding party. Bye-bye love letters. I feel much better that my dirty little secret has been destroyed, but slightly disappointed that my best material for the correspondence book has been destroyed with it.

boshing

Congratulations to kate for getting a gig with The Bosh! I am going to get absolutely no work done now, too much kick@$$ entertainment news to read! ;) (Does anyone else have trouble remembering all the entertainment sites they just have to read everyday before they can do their job? Luckily, britpoppa is in my long-term memory space.)

Cheers!

Tonight our crew went out to celebrate with our pal Roger who's going to his dangerous mission in Iraq. Cheer's, bud. We all got so wasted, we were happy. Let's hope Februrary 26th's party is a repeat of this evening, since it will be our official last time of seeing him. Even though I'm not a supporter of the war with no exit strategy, I really want my buddy to come home, so SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, and make sure to drink a little whiskey while you're doing it. ;)

Social "security"

I'm just barely too young to benefit from the current social security system before the funds run out, but Bush's new plan for social security allows me to come to terms with the fact that I'll be eating cat food from my corner cardboard box in my older age. Yes, I have a retirement savings account, yes I am putting a high percentage of salary into it, yes I expect the entire stock market to crash before I retire. Yay.

Operation Getyerassbackhome

My co-worker and friend Roger just received orders to go on a one year tour of duty to Iraq for a secret mission instead of Afghanistan to train the Afghan National Army. His wife has arranged a big farewell event for him. We are gonna party like it's Prince's birthday then Roger goes off to a land of unknown. I am so sad. I will miss you, Rog. Come back to us in one piece, buddy. *sniffle*

Kitty joker gets high on the good stuff

Thanks to my favorite city for posting the best kitten link ever -- Fatboy Slim's winning entry to the Joker remake. Woohoo! Did I mention that I love cats? Even when they're high on the nip...

bRaCeFacE

It occurs to me that I neglected to blog my braces experience. I received my clear braces on my top teeth this past Friday. People tell me they don't notice the braces unless they're near me looking at my mouth. The braces don't hurt like everyone told me they would. My bite plate on my lower teeth caused me to have several canker sores, but I have since resculpted it with a pair of scissors and some 100 grit sandpaper. Aside from all the time I spend brushing and flossing, braces are a piece o' cake. I know, I know. In 6 weeks when I get my first adjustment I'll be whining like a stuck piggy, but for now these just aren't as bad as everyone said. I get my metal bottom braces in 4 months. I'll be glad to be rid of this bite plate, since my tongue doesn't fit properly in my mouth when I wear it and I have been instructed to wear it at least 22 hours per day.

Farewell to Mr. Petey

Mr. Petey of Popbytes fame has passed away. So long, Mr. Petey. I hope you and Miss Roxy meet up in doggy heaven!