The Evil Twin Experience

Happy Holidays! Update on next book project...

2010-12-11T12:02:00.002-06:00

2 months since my last post...yeah, sorry about that! But if it counts for anything, I have been staying busy at work. Working 11:30 to 8pm Monday through Friday can take its toll on time for other things and if you add in getting up between 6:30 and 7 am to play taxi for kids, and again from 10-11, well that doesn't leave much time for anything.

But that's about to change. I was informed yesterday that layoffs are coming at work. I work a seasonal job, so I knew this would happen. It's not like it's a total shock or anything. And in all likelihood I think I may get called back to work in mid to late January. Regardless though, I should have plenty of time for writing again during the layoff period.

1st on the agenda is my next book project. Based on true events, it's the story of how a seemingly perfect marriage can fall apart. It's got sex, violence, and betrayal. People involved in the real life events went to jail. But not for something you might think. I can't really reveal any more than that so you'll just have to check out the book when it's released in early 2011. The working title is: Anatomy of a Divorce.

For those following along...

2010-10-08T07:57:00.003-05:00

Really, I have to get better at posting! Just a quick update this time though...

I have started working again! Since late July actually, but not with Wal-Mart. I am working with Lifetouch again and I am really enjoying it. It's a full-time schedule that unfortunately runs over a split shift. This does tend to eat into personal time, which in turn eats into writing time, but my next project is moving forward. Seriously...

As for past projects, I have received some good suggestions, so thank you to those of you who have written and offered them to me. One method I may be trying is a book purchase exchange. It will be on a trial basis because financially I can't keep doing it but in a nutshell it's like a "scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" type of thing.

Here's how it works: If you buy my book through Lulu.com, you will receive an automated thank you note from me. Cheesy yes, but what the hey. If you are an author with Lulu, simply reply to my automated email with the following information:

Tell me which of my books you bought
Tell me if it was a print version or download
Provide a link to your Lulu storefront page.

I promise to visit your storefront and consider making a comparable purchase from you, depending on the prices of your books (and the subject matter too, of course). This will obviously cost me more than the royalties I make from selling, but it may help get word of mouth out about my books. In fact, I will take this a step further - I will make at least 3 reciprocal purchases from those authors who purchase one of my books AND I will report back here in this blog which purchases I made and give a brief review. Not a bad deal in exchange for purchasing just one of my 3 works...

That's all I have time for today. In the immortal spirit of Heroes, Save the Authors, Save the World.

So....How ya been?

2010-07-14T09:08:00.005-05:00

Forgive me if it seems like I'm whining a little bit today. I certainly don't mean to. But sometimes people just piss me off.

Point 1: Nearly 3 weeks ago, I interviewed with and received a job offer from WalMart. I went and peed in a cup for them and was told I would be contacted soon regarding a start date. A week went by, nothing. I called them and was told they were waiting on my background check to come in. OK, fine. Another week goes by and nothing. Same story. Now it's nearly 3 weeks later and still nothing. I mean, how long should this take? Meanwhile unemployment benefits have run out as congress continues to twiddle their collective thumbs up their asses (or each others, I don't know) and I sit here broke. I interviewed with another company earlier this week and they are doing the background check before sending out for my urine. Let's hope they can move a little faster, shall we?

Point 2: No one is buying my book. GASP! OK, I don't have a professional agent and not a lot of marketing dollars, so there really is no advertising budget. Advertising on this page (below) is just one of the few easier ways I can afford (and now available on Amazon.com as well!). But it is a good story and those who have read it (during the proofreading and editing process) agree with me. But with a facebook fan page of over 80 people not to mention a similar number of friends on facebook, one would think that a few of those people would show some interest in at least reading it via a downloaded copy. I hear from some people "I'm broke, I can't afford to go buy your book right now." Well, I can appreciate being broke, but it's not like I'm asking anyone to fork over a ton of money. Plus broke people buy cd's, dvd's, and books all the time. So what's the difference? Honestly, I'm just trying to use my creative abilities to maintain an income, legally, without scamming anybody so I can try to stay off the welfare system. Take your pick - you can support me by ordering my books and get something in return, or you can support me with your tax money on welfare. It's up to you, America.

Point 3: I have a retirement account from my days at the University of Missouri. When you stop working for them, and if you've been there enough years to be vested in a retiremenbt plan, they tell you how much you have in your retirement account and then give you options of receiving it in a lump sum payout, leaving it invested with them until you are ready to retire, or roll it over into another IRA of some sort. Oh, but you can only receive the lump sum payout IF the amount is below a certain dollar amount. For once in my life, I actually have too much money and as a result, I can't touch it (Cue MC Hammer). At least not until I turn 55 at the earliest. Still exploring other options involving rollovers though.

OK, that's enough of that. I haven't been able to afford my diabetes meds for a few months now, and I seriously think it's starting to have an effect on my eyes, so I may need to rest them. It sucks when collecting unemployment puts you over the income requirements to qualify for medicaid but barely gives you enough to live on. But now that unemployment benefits are exhausted I might have better luck. We'll see...

Notre Dame to the Big....12???

2010-06-11T22:13:00.004-05:00

I'll address that headline in a minute....and forgive me if you just spit up soda or coffee or whatever all over your monitor.

I got to thinking tonight about all the conference realignment going on these days and how my beloved Tigers of Missouri are affected in all this. I have to say that I am both confused, annoyed, exasperated, and curious about just what the heck is going on.

A few months ago, Missouri seemed like a logical choice for Big 10 membership, but after the events to this point, it seems less and less likely that an invite is forthcoming. All we've heard from Mizzou admins is "We are proud members of the Big 12 Conference...." yadda yadda yadda. If there was no approach from Big 10 admins, all Mizzou would have to say is there has been no approach, no application, no invite, or anything else along those lines. If Mizzou had not approached the Big 10, why can't they say so in those exact words? And why was Mizzou given an ultimatum to pledge a commitment to the Big 12 if they weren't going anywhere?

Missouri AD Mike Alden sent out a press release today how open and honest they have been throughout the process and that something big and exciting was on the horizon. So why all the secrecy? If anything I would say Mizzou admins have been less than honest when it comes to sharing information and keeping their fans calm. They preach "Stay Calm" but please, explain to us why we should?

While it's not over until it's over, I am beginning to think that Mizzou is leaning another direction. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, I don't know, but here's my thought: With Texas about to pull out of the conference as well, Mizzou, Kansas, K-State, Iowa State, and Baylor may seek to build a new conference, a new Big 12. Add a few up and comers, throw in Memphis from Conference USA and another big name or two and voila...instant rebirth.

And for the sake of argument....why not add Notre Dame? The worst that could happen is they could say no. But expansion has always been and always will be about money. So if all the teams saying sayanara to the Big 12 are paying buyout fees equal to a certain percentage of their television revenue shares; and the schools with the biggest shares are the ones who are leaving (see ya Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, etc...) then therein lies a huge chunk o' change. I'm not certain of the numbers, but there are 7 schools and counting contributing to a fund that just might be used to help persuade the Fighting Irish to consider the option and tell the Big 10 that No means No.

Hey, I never said it was a solid plan, just a possibility. And it wouldn't be the first time an administrator has had delusions of grandeur. Just don't rule it out until after the dust has settled.

Holding on Tight...

2010-06-03T16:27:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have one of those days when you wake up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy....oh wait, wrong feeling....

The feeling I meant to portray before I distracted myself was one where you wonder just why you bother to do the things you do when most of the time it doesn't really seem to matter. This post isn't meant to be a pity-party post or anything like that, but for the sake of argument, just humor me.

I've been writing for many years. Usually just for my own entertainment and after awhile other people read them and start telling me how good the writing is and this and that and the other. It's not like I feel like I'm wasting time or anything, I enjoy writing. I like to be creative and come up with situations and scenarios that make people feel like they are right there in the middle of the action and for the most part, I feel like I have done that.

I don't expect to see my published works go flying off the bookshelves, but seriously, it would be nice if some of those same people who tell me how much they enjoy my work would actually go online and buy a copy.

Major publishing companies do not like to take chances on new authors, I understand that. The advent of the self-publishing companies and Print-on-Demand services have been a Godsend for people like me who want to get their work out there for the world to see. I've followed all of the marketing tips and advice and purchased what advertising I could actually afford; so the only thing that truly remains is word-of-mouth.

I have friends in the world. No, really, I do. Some of them I would trust with my life. But how many of them do you think have taken the time to post a little something on their websites or spaceypages and facetwits and such that someone they know has accomplished this? Not many. I have one friend in particular who will send out every single email forward she gets from anywhere in the world whether it's humorous, religious, a warning, don't buy this, don't buy that, or some sentimental sap that tells us all how much they care about us. But she wouldn't put out a little blurb to let her other friends know about what this one has done.

I need help. I can't do it alone. I never thought I could, but I did think that if I could just get the attention of the right people, then just maybe I might have the start of a new career.

How long does one wait before they realize they are wasting time? How much effort is put forth into something before someone sits up, takes notice and tells someone - hey, you should check this out!

I'm not at the point of giving up, but I am starting to wonder why I let myself listen to those who supposedly believed in me enough to encourage me. I would love to continue writing for years to come, but food still has to be put on the table.

Here's my theme song today...

If you've got a dream...hold on tight. It could be a bumpy road...

New Promo and Upcoming Books

2010-05-26T10:21:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, after some frustrating mishaps with various software applications, I produced my first video promotion for the book It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Murdered.

You can view it here:

Yesterday, a thought came to me of the video I want to create to promote the erotic anthology My Lust for Anna and Other Erotic Tales. Imagine the look on the faces of my girlfriend and my 17 year old son when I announced to them that I needed a webcam to create the video. Don't worry, it won't be too graphic. It has to be clean enough for YouTube, right?

Now I just have to get myself switched back into writing gear so I can get my next book a little further off the ground. It's already been started, so at least the framework is in order for it. And I've got the next one after that in development, so as long as I can stay focused I will have what I think will be two very good reads out and on the market within the next year.

Book number 1 has a working title: Anatomy of a Divorce. It's about a couple with a seemingly perfect marriage until several little things snowball into several big things and before the couple knows it, the proverbial rug has been pulled out from beneath their feet.

Book number 2 has no working title as of yet, but it deals with a woman who endured years of sexual abuse in her childhood and the effects such abuse has had on her life.

If you have not yet done so, I encourage you to visit lulu.com by clicking on one of the book images at the bottom of this blog page and ordering a copy of any of my books. You will not be disappointed.

Thanks!

So Now What?

2010-05-24T21:56:00.002-05:00

Well, today the proof copies of my 3 books arrived for my approval. They look great, and I wasted no time getting online into my lulu account to approve them.

So...where do I go from here? I've fulfilled my dream of publishing a book. 3 books, really, with 2 more in progress. But what does it mean if I can't share that dream with the world? How do I go about marketing my books in a way that does not seem intrusive? Well, advertising is an intrusive business. We are bombarded with advertisements every day - on television, the radio, in the newspaper, and on the internet. How many pop-up ads have you seen today?

As for me, I have a few vehicles for getting the word out. I have this site here at blogger. I have my facebook profile as well as a fan page also set up at facebook for the book It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Murdered. I have a myspace profile, and I have set up a promotional site at webs.com for all of my published books.

My dilemma is not so much driving traffic to my websites, but the quality of traffic to those sites. There are plenty of traffic exchange services around the internet that will get people to my pages, but I've found in the past that the traffic it generates is not the kind that translates into sales. I've tried pay per click services in the past with zero results. So perhaps the problem lies in the way my material is presented?

I am open to suggestions regarding changes to the material and finding affordable ways to make my books appeal to those who come to check it out. Perhaps creating a video advertisement for YouTube would help? But how do you create a commercial for a book? Read a passage? Find some actors and actresses to act out a scene?

Seriously, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm listening...and may I suggest reading the book might help spur the thought process? Just sayin.... :-)

It's Out!

2010-05-20T09:52:00.009-05:00

I've done it...

I have finally released my project of nearly 30 years in the making. After a brief debate over the title of the book, I give you....

...now available on Lulu.com and coming soon to Amazon!

Of course, once I figured out how to navigate Lulu's system, I figured why stop there. I have also re-released... Click here for the book page

and....announcing for the first time anywhere....my erotic anthology!

All three of the above books are available in paperback and download. Just visit Lulu.com!

Ummm...Hi. Remember Me?

2010-05-17T11:55:00.006-05:00

Yeah, it's been awhile. But November?? Has it really been that long since my last post?

Wow. Sorry about that. My bad.

So what's new?

On my end, I have finally completed the coursework for my AAB degree with University of Phoenix. Applied for the diploma today and graduation will be in late June.

And my writing career is being resumed....

What, no pic? I thought we had a pic...oh well...

My latest book is soon to be released. It's a smart-ass comedy/romance/murder mystery of sorts called It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Murdered. It's currently awaiting processing with the publisher, but if you'd like a sneak peak, just visit my author's page. You'll find info there on both books I've written -- Erotic Adventures of Steve and Brooke and the murder mystery.

Meanwhile though I continue to search for work. I was laid off from my last job in December and have been unemployed ever since. The time was spent wisely, as I was able to concentrate on my schoolwork and various book projects.

So that's what's going on in my world. What's going on in yours?

Baylor 40, Mizzou 32

2009-11-08T14:09:00.003-06:00

Wow...didn't see that one coming.

But then again, since the B12 conference season started, Mizzou football has been a season of surprises.

From the 27 points surrendered to Nebraska in the 4th quarter to ZERO touchdowns scored by the Mizzou offense in the second half of any conference game this year. In the non-conference games, Mizzou was a 2nd half team. Remember the comeback against Bowling Green? Seems like a distant memory now.

I'm thinking Mizzou is gaining a reputation as a choke artist the way they keep coughing up leads in the 2nd half of games. Baylor was not only considered a must-win, but by many it was also considered a "can't lose." At this point, MU goes into its game with conference leader kansas St next week with a 1-4 conference record. It's still possible, assuming Mizzou beats k-St, for MU to tie for the B12 north. Probably not very likely, but its possible.

This season is starting to remind me of the 2004 squad - a year that the division as a whole was having a down year and the B12 championship was there for the taking. Mizzou went into a 5 game slide, I think it was and lost to teams they had no business losing too. Personally, I'd say that at 5-4, Mizzou needs to quit worrying about the B12 north and start focusing on becoming bowl eligible.

At least basketball season is right around the corner....

Save the season, save the world...

Mizzou 36, Colorado 17

2009-11-01T20:37:00.003-06:00

Guess those Tigers got that monkey off their backs, huh? Wanted to watch, but our satellite system doesn't carry FSM so I had to follow along with Gametracker again - which froze up with about 10 minutes to go in the first half. Glad to see the offensive breakthrough, but I would be lying if I said I hadn't been concerned about how easily the Buffaloes seemed to be scoring points in the 2nd half! But the defense held tough and Mizzou got the "W". Baylor is up next, in Columbia and with a little more luck Mizzou can start to put a little win streak together.

Some folks are giving scenarios showing how Mizzou could wind up winning the Big 12 North again, but personally I think they lost too many games too soon. Kansas State looks strong, and Mizzou would have to win out to even have a shot at it, plus MU would need help from other teams in the league to have a shot. My thought is that one of the two kansas schools will win the B12 North this year (I think I just threw up a little typing that) but it would be nice. Doesn't really matter though, I guess because Texas will likely steamroll whoever plays them in the conference championship game.

I missed my Sunday night cartoons this week....I am seriously in need of a fix on Family Guy (ummm, new episodes please?). I was searching for episode guide info earlier tonight and it seems the long awaited Empire Strikes Back parody has been pushed back to May, possibly a season ender? A parody of Return of the Jedi is also listed for season 8, but I don't see them running both this year.

World Series...Seriously?? Whatever happened to tradition of day games in the Fall Classic? Why must all of the games be played at night now? And don't give me the excuse of TV ratings because you can't tell me that everyone across the country wants to watch the Yankees and Phillies. Being a fan of the NL myself I will root for Philadelphia, but I can find better uses of my time than listen to broadcasters sing the praises of the Yankee players and organization for 4 hours a night.

Finally tonight, I want to say Happy Birthday to my son, Tom Hendricks, who turned 20 today. Another year and he can legally have a beer! Also happy birthday to my girlfriend's daughter Sarah who turned 16 today. And we've entered the home stretch for the true birthday of my first grandchild. My daughter Kaitie is due to deliver any day now...she was hoping for yesterday. Trick or Treat!!

Save some birthday cake and Save the world...

Heroes Update

2009-10-26T20:25:00.003-05:00

Another good show this week...I'm kinda liking the idea of not summarizing the entire episode of Heroes. It makes typing (and watching the show) much easier. Here are a few thoughts to ponder while we wait for next week...

It appears Sylar will get to have some fun afterall as he as taken over Matt's body. Question: Is it technically cheating for Matt's wife to have sex with Sylar, even though Sylar is using Matt's body to do it?

So I kinda got the impression Claire kinda liked that kiss. Becca's cover is blown and I'm sure Gretchen and Claire will likely pass off Claire's "injuries" as part of a joke, as she was never really injured. I just want to see Gretchen and Claire deal with what is happening without someone interrupting them...or trying to injure one of them.

Shame about Jeremy's situation...vigilante justice could have been addressed, but it seems Samuel had the problem well in hand in the long run. And what of Samuel's attempt to draw Tracy into the carnival? Do you think she'll head there as well?

So next week we are treated to Hiro & Charlie, part Deux. I'm looking forward to it, but I've read a few spoilers about the episode that makes me wonder how it's going to play out. Hint: Hiro kills Sylar.

********************************

Now to change the channel for a moment, I'll leave you with this burning question:

Does anyone not on the east coast actually give a damn about a Yankees/Phillies world series? Discuss...

Save my fingers, Save the world...

Been a while...what the hell happened?

2009-10-25T20:40:00.004-05:00

My apologies for the lack of information coming from this page! Just one of those things, I guess...

Combining work and school are one thing and adding in some real life is another. But I digress.

On the subject of Heroes...after the 1st week back of the new season, when I summarized the first two episodes, I began to wonder just what the heck I was setting myself up for! I don't remember last season being anywhere near as fast paced as this season has been. By the time the next week rolled around I was a bit under the weather and since then I have been doing good just to keep up with the show. So instead of summarizing, I think maybe I'll just throw in a few key thoughts and go from there. Feel free to jump into the discussion...

So how about that kiss between Claire and Gretchen?

Will Sylar/Gabriel be redeemed or is it time to kill him off? I think if he is not going to be redeemed a villainous character deserves to go out in a blaze of glory. Not necessarily one of those deaths or explosions where the body is never recovered, leaving us to wonder about his fate, but something more resembling the battle at the end of season 1, where all of the "good guys" took a turn in the battle. I don't think they could send him off to prison just because his abilities would never allow him to be held.

Will Sylar turn on his new friends? If Samuel pisses him off, or if he wakes up and realizes just who he is, I think Sylar could find a smorgasboard of abilities ripe for the picking.

How the hell is Peter going to heal Hiro? Will Peter hold on to his current ability until Hiro comes back (anxiously awaiting the scenes with Jayma Mays, aka Charlie, again!)

And finally....it appears to me that Heroes characters don't die. They just move over to Glee on Fox (Jayma Mays, Jessalyn Gilsig, even Elle's dad "Bob" is over there now.)

Mohinder will be back, or so I've read....

FOOTBALL --

Well, it has been 3 games since I last blogged about Mizzou football. I really thought we had a chance to win at least 1 of the next three games, possibly two. Did we? Nope...try 0 for 3. And not just losing them, but losing them in grand fashion. I mean, I went to bed at the start of the 4th quarter of the Thursday night game with Nebraska with MU winning 12-0. I wake up the next morning and Mizzou has lost 27-12?? WTF?? Then there was Oklahoma State last week and Texas this week. Here's a tip for the MU defense. When you have the opposing quarterback (or any other opposing team member who happens to have the ball) wrapped up in your arms, PUT HIS ASS ON THE GROUND!!

And Style Points?? Excuse me?? Seems like when Mizzou was winning the past two years by large margins, Mizzou was being unsportsmanlike. But when Oklahoma did it to people, including Mizzou, Texas did it to MU last night, it was "Style Points" and they get applauded for it. What a crock.

So MU is now 4-3 and are still 2 wins away from being bowl eligible. I still think they can get there and honestly the next 5 games are winnable. Its' a weird season this year. I mean, Iowa State won at Nebraska? Texas A&M beat Texas Tech? I was slightly surprised to see kansas lose to Oklahoma yesterday too. With Bradford out, and Reesing at QB for the beakers, I expected a closer game. Even winless Ball State got their first win of the year yesterday. So a lot can happen still...

Give me your thoughts, or at least something to talk about.

Save my mind, Save the World...

Mizzou 31, Nevada 21

2009-09-26T15:16:00.002-05:00

As much as I wanted to plop myself down in front of the tv last night to watch this game (for FREE), I was unable to do so because I had homework to do for my math class. So, as before, I just followed along with GameTracker on the internet.

GameTracker left me confused at times as to just what was going on, but it appeared to me that Nevada put everything they had into stopping the rushing offense of Mizzou. They pretty much succeeded in doing that as the running game was almost non-existant, minus a 42 yard run by Derrick Washington. Mizzou countered as expected with Blaine Gabbert's passing game.

Let me repeat.

Blaine. Gabbert's. Passing. Game.

This dude has an arm. 414 Yards?? Are you kidding me?

Gabbert is going to force teams to defend against the pass, and this SHOULD open some running lanes for the rushing game. I say should because through 4 games this season, I have yet to hear about many huge gains on the ground.

But at least Mizzou did survive again and came away from a quality opponent ON THE ROAD with a win. Yes, Nevada is now 0-3, but look at who else they've played. Nevada is going to really surprise any team who takes them lightly.

Bye week next week, then it's a Thursday night game in Columbia against Nebraska. Words that have been unable to be said for quite some time regarding these two teams can now be said with a smile: Nebraska has lost 3 straight in Columbia, and 2 straight against the Tigers. Now if Mizzou can just put together 23 more straight wins against the Huskers, I'll be a happy man. But just one more win against Nebraska will be just fine too.

So after another undefeated non-conference season, let's ask: Is Mizzou for real? Did the Tigers truly reload instead of rebuild? The next 3 games will answer that question and I would expect MU to win 2 of the next three. What is your opinion? (only serious discussion please. Any attempts at flaming will be deleted, no questions asked.)

A Double Helping of Heroes

2009-09-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

Heroes is back!

Season 4....Volume 5 "Redemption", Ch 1 "Orientation"

It's been a long summer, filled with relocation, job searches, concerts, and college classes. Fall can mean one thing....Heroes is back!

We open at a funeral seen in an open field; a man in a pine box is being eulogized by who we are lead to believe is his brother. He talks about being different from everyone else and we are shown scenes of Peter, Claire, Sylar, and Nathan. Tracy, Matt, and Hiro. Return to the funeral as he pulls out a compass stating that these people will soon search them out and come join their family. Tossing the compass into the grave, the man says, "Find your way home brother." Then with a lift of his arms, the earth moves in and covers the coffin. The group slowly turns and walks away, a carnival in the distance.

Clair-Bear goes to college! Arriving in her new dorm room, she is greeted by her new roommate, Annie (Rachel Melvin, formerly Chelsea on Days of Our Lives) and the two get to know each other. Annie likes to talk apparently, and has lots to say as she demonstrates how she has her entire life all mapped out.

Tokyo, Japan now and Hiro & Ando have formed their own company..."Dial A Hero". Business ain't exactly booming as no calls have come in. The two reminisce over a photograph from the past and Ando talks about how he fell for Hiro's sister Kimiko and how she started hating him. Enter Kimiko who isn't exactly thrilled with how Hiro & Ando spent 50 million yen on Heroes for Hire.

Moving on to New York City, Peter is exiting a cab in a traffic jam and running between the cars. Climbing walls and staircases reminiscint of Spiderman (minus the webbing), Peter makes his way over a garbage truck to a traffic accident. Peter rips the door off of a vehicle saying to the injured man inside, "Hi. I'm here to save you."

Clair is entering a lecture hall as an excited Annie sees her and gets her attention, waving her over. Enter the professor who introduces them to Linear Geometry, shows them a problem on a board and says they have 45 minutes to finish it. Clair is sweating as she notices a red laster on her chest....she stands to run but is suddenly shot by tranquilizer darts...then she awakes, realizing she was daydreaming and leaves, saying the class wasn't for her.

Peter is at the hospital, learning that the pregnant woman he just brought in from the accident is going to be fine. Peter is changing clothes as his partner asks where he's going. Peter answers that he is about to cover for someone, even though he just came off a double shift. Peter's partner tells him, "Dude. There is life outside of this building."

Hiro and Ando are on a case to save Muffin Man, a small kitten trapped up on top of a building sign. Ando bravely climbs up to save him as a little girl yells "Be careful! She doesn't like strangers!" The cat lurches and Ando falls off the building. Hiro stops time and freezes him just before Ando would have gone splat.

Noah Bennet and Angela Petrelli are talking about the situation behind Agent Danko and Tracy Strauss. Noah is in a hurry to get to see Clair on her first day of college. Noah spies a newspaper headline in his car about a series of drowning victims when his car won't start. Suddenly water comes pouring out of the vents, filling the car up and trapping Noah inside as ice starts to form around the door frame on the outside of the car. Noah manages to break out a window in the car so the water can drain out. As Noah pulls himself out and to his feet, he looks up and sees Agent Danko, who had been responsible for breaking Noah's window. Danko says it looks like the work of Tracy Strauss. Danko wants to continue the hunt, but Noah isn't interested. Danko asks if he's back in business with the Petrellis and Noah denies it. Later after Danko leaves, Noah watches the water drain into a sewer.

Clair is walking across campus where she meets another new friend, Gretchen. Gretchen recognizes Clair's name from the headlines in Odessa Texas a few years back and Clair just wants to forget about it.

Angela is dreaming about meeting up with Nathan for lunch. It's Nathan's voice, but Sylar's face. She realizes its a dream and goes into the restaurant. This time Nathan approaches and Angela handles it better. She still appears shaken (obviously remembering the events from last season's finale). Nathan is soul searching, and Angela is counseling him, advising him to find a new car and a younger woman.

Matt Parkman and his young son are playing when Angela calls him up, to tell him that she believes "Sylar" is returning. Matt tells her he is done, he is out. Angela says he can't be out, you are never "out". Matt says its not "our" problem, good luck with it.

Nathan reaches across a desk for a coffee mug and it comes to him. He looks confused as he knows he doesn't have the ability of telekinesis. Then he looks at his hands as blue sparks come flying out and he jumps in surprise at these newfound abilities, unsure of where they came from.

Noah and Annie are having a talk in the door room as Clair walks in. Noah explains his lateness and says Annie was just catching him up, as she excuses herself to go play Guitar Hero 3. Clair talks about how she was recognized (if in name only) as a survivor of the Odessa Homecoming Massacre.

Back to the carnival as a woman walks into a tent, takes off her top and the man giving the eulogy from the opening of the episode says show me who he is. An image of Agent Danko appears on the girls back, as if it were a tattoo. The man tells an accomplice to find Danko and kill him. The accomplice doesn't want to do it, so the man grabs a tattoo pen and injects ink into his hand. The ink travels up his arm and forms a hand around his neck and begins to strangle him. The man finally calls off the "attack" and gets his point across.

Noah and Tracy Strauss are meeting in a cafe. Tracy tells her side of things after she explains why she was killing people. Noah offers her his help and she is suspicious. He asks if they have a deal. Tracy says You wish it was that easy as she gets up and walks out.

Danko and Noah are meeting in the old Bldg 26. Noah offers Danko a chance to start over, courtesy of the US Govt. Danko turns him down saying he will get what he wants. Danko turns around as his head is covered by the Haitian who then does what he does best. Noah smiles.

Nathan is calling Peter, leaving a message on an answering machine as Nathan expresses his suspicions that something is happening to him. Peter is listening to the message as he pins up a newspaper clipping of the saved pregnant woan on the wall.

Danko is going into his apt, as Tracy confronts him. He doesn't recognize her as she realizes "they made you forget." He walks inside the apt where he is confronted by the "accomplice" from the carnival. The man tells Danko "they want it back" and when Danko doesn't know what he is talking about, the guy starts slicing and dicing. Literally. He is moving around with super speed, swinging long blades, and when he is done, Tracy watches as Danko falls to floor, dead. The man sees Tracy and tries his abilities on her, only to discover that knives don't work too well on water. Tracy grabs his wrist and freezes the knife, shattering it before the accomplice manages to run away.

Clair is at the rec center watching, walking in as Annie plays Guitar Hero. Clair spies her new friend Gretchen being a wallflower and goes over to talk to her, trying to explain her situation. Annie sees Clair and calls her over, Clair and Gretchen start playing Guitar Hero ("Superstition", if you really need to know!)

Ando wheels Hiro back to the office on a 2-wheel dolly, where Hiro finally comes back to present time. Hiro notices a nose bleed and Ando thinks he should get checked out. Hiro says he already has and the news isn't good. He's dying, maybe soon. He doesn't know. Hiro reminices over the photo again, remembering when it was taken. Ando thinks they should go back and change that night, Hiro says he must never change the past. As he is talking to Ando, Hiro disappears.

Hiro reappears 14 years in the past, at the carnival.

The topless woman develops a new tattoo of Hiro as she explains to the boss who Hiro is. It's a little rough to blog this part because we don't really know names yet, but the boss talks to an elderly man, asking him he thinks he may have found someone who can help them change the past. He needs the man to send him back, about 14 years.

Clair goes back to her dorm room, expecting to find Annie, but she isnt' there. The window is open, and when Clair goes to shut it, she sees Annie lying on the pavement below.

Matt Parkman goes to check on his son, but can't find him. Instead Matt turns around to find Sylar holding his son, saying, "I want my body back."

NOTE: Previews show that next week, we can delve deeper into the world of Lydia, who apparently is the topless woman who can form tattoos of people on her skin.

A lot of action to keep up with this week, but its a lot of new morsels that have been missing from the show for a while. If the first episode is any indication, it's going to be an exciting ride...

Oh but wait...there's more! Tonight it's a 2-hour episode!!

Chapter 2 "Jump Push Fall"

Sylar is talking to Matt about how he wants his body back, when Janice enters the room. Little Baby Parkman is back in his crib as Matt begins to debate whether Sylar was real or not. Inside, he knows the truth.

Noah is in his apartment, living the single life and staring at a nearly empty refrigerator. He makes a bowl of cereal and picks up his cell phone to call his ex-wife Sandra. A man answers and Noah isn't happy and hangs up. His phone rings back and its Tracy. Noah now pays a visit to Dankos apartment where Tracy says "I didn't do it."

Hiro is at the carnival, realizing where he is. He is approached by his younger self, who hands him a camera, asking him to take a picture. He then snaps "the picture" that was obsessed over in episode 1. Hiro tries to return home, but his ability just doesn't want to cooperate. The boss (Samuel) calls out to Hiro by name, telling him he thinks they will be great friends.

Clair is being questioned by police over Annie's apparent suicide. Clair swears the suicide note wasn't there before and the officer asks police to get the "gawkers" out of there as we see them trying to snap pictures of the room with their cell phone cameras.

Samuel talks to Hiro and explains that he also has powers. Samuel points to young Hiro and asks if its him. Hiro explains yes, but he cannot interfere because of the Butterfly Effect. Samuel tells him he has the power to change things, he shouldn't be afraid to do that. Samuel pushes Hiro backwords where he knocks Kimiko out of the way of Ando's fallen drink. The drink lands on adult Hiro instead, and Hiro teleports back to present day and in the office wiht Ando. Kimiko enters and informs Hiro of his rent increase. Hiro leaves as Kimiko and Ando kiss. Hiro: "Yatta!"

Tracy and Noah are talking in Danko's apartment as Tracy tries to explain what happened. Noah examines Danko's body as they wonder why Danko was killed. Revenge? they reason. No, had to be something else. Noah gets an idea and fishes around, finding a key somewhere within Danko's innards.

Matt Parkman is getting dressed for work as the water delivery guy is playing with Matt, Jr. Matt talks to Janice about Roy the Water Boy and tells her why he is pissed about it. The two talk and get things calmed down as they kiss, Matt telling her he has things under control.

Noah goes to Peter's apartment, wanting to talk. The two make small talk about their lives, how they've adjusted since "the company". Noah tells Peter that Danko is dead and shows him the key. Noah thinks he knows where the key goes and says he needs a partner on this, telling Peter the guy is super fast and good with knives. Peter: "How fast?"

Clair and Sandra are at college as she introduces her mom to Gretchen. Gretchen wants to talk about Annie's death, but Sandra isn't wanting to take part, saying goodbye.

Noah and Peter are inside a bank, with Peter posing as Danko. Noah opens a safe deposit box to find a compass and as he discusses it with Peter, there is a knock and the bank employee is standing there. Noah says they'll need a few more minutes and the employee falls to floor, his back all sliced up. Standing behind him is Danko's killer. The ban walks toward Noah where he is stopped by Peter who takes his powre. Peter and the man engage in a speed/martial arts battle with knives before the guy begins to wonder who he is up against and takes off. The bank employee is still alive and as they examine the compass, it goes crazy in Peter's hands, yet stands still in Noah's. Peter wants nothing to do with the compass.

Back at college Gretchen arrives at the student union, carrying a stack of books and takes a seat next to Clair. They discuss the "Jump Push Fall" test and how it relates to an episode of Crossing Jordan. Gretchen wants to test the theory and see if Annie jumped, was pushed, or fell.

Matt is in a therapy group, when Sylar bursts into the room. Of course, no one but Matt can see him. "Hi. My name is Sylar. It's been about 6 weeks since I've seen my body and I want it back!" Matt is trying to talk about how ghosts from his past keep popping up. Sylar continues to taunt Matt as other members just watch and listen to Matt. The group leader tries to get the group to move on.

Hiro is making copies and Ando and Kimiko are making eyes at each other. Hiro brags that he made it happen. Ando talks about their first kiss on a ferris wheel. Hiro realizes that he must go back and right the wrongs he made in his life.

Matt leaves the group session to interrogate someone. Sylar continues to taunt Matt as the prisoner is highly confused. Sylar tells Matt to just use his power, and Matt starts arguing with Sylar, resulting in a thrown chair at the wall. On the plus side, the prisoner gives up the name Matt was seeking.

Peter and his partner wait in the ambulance enjoying some clam chowder (Peter says he knows a guy, lol) as a call comes in. Peter takes off and finds Noah lying on the ground, sliced up. Noah tells Peter, "He took the compass."

Tracy is visiting Noah in the hospital, where Noah is recuperating. He relates the story of the compass and how he lost it to the man with the knives.

Matt is back home where he is greeted by Roy and Janice (Roy just fixed the hot water heater). Matt decides to "convince" Roy that his services are no longer needed, as Sylar laughs silently.

Clair gets up and walks to the window, staring out at the pavement below. Climbing up, she stands there, about to conduct her own test. Clair falls forward, going splat on the pavement, comparing her landing position to Annie's. Clair decides that maybe Annie did kill herself. Gretchen appears in the window above, looking down at Clair in shock. Clair looks up and waves.

Samuel and his accomplice meet back up to discuss future plans. Samuel injects ink into Lydia's back and we see Peter, Sylar, and the face of a woman appear (Tracy? Clair? Sorry...I couldn't tell).

And the credits role....

NOTE: All in all, this looks like a much better season than we've seen the past 2 years. Sylar now exists in Matt's mind, influencing his behavior. Peter is trying to use his abilities to save lives. Hiro is using his to make things right that once went wrong (Quantum Leap, anyone?). Could there be a Tracy/Noah romance budding? And who will be Clair's "experimental game"? Can't wait to find out!

Heroes Summaries Return This Week!

2009-09-20T21:40:00.002-05:00

With the start of the 4th season of Heroes, I am anxiously awaiting to see what new adventures await! Hiro's disease, Clair-bear's experimentation, Sylar's inhabiting of Nathan's body....it's going to be interesting!

And I am going to do my best to blog episode summaries each week, so if you miss something, come on by and catch up....

Mizzou 52, Furman 12

2009-09-20T09:30:00.004-05:00

Now this was the kind of game I expected Missouri to have against an overmatched team. Like last week, I did not actually watch the game, since I am too cheap to shell out $29.95 to watch on pay-per-view (we thought about it, but lower the price a bit, and we'll talk) so I followed along with the help of an occasionally slow updating Gametracker.

Mizzou did take a few series to figure things out and apparently it was time well spent. Mizzou was up 42-0 at halftime. In the second half, I wondered how much time QB Blaine Gabbert would spend on the field. He played the 3rd quarter, while backup Jimmy Costello got the 4th.

Mizzou managed 10 more points in the 2nd half while Furman attempted a comeback with 2 touchdowns, but missed the point-after kick both times.

Now, here's a little bit that has bothered me the last few years. There are people around Missouri who don't like to see the Tigers run up the score on their opponents. I believe Coach Pinkel even subscribes to that notion. But how many years did we watch opponents run up the score against MU? Anyone remember the Norman Conquest? (Oklahoma 77, Missouri 0, in Norman, OK) Last season prior to the Big 12 Championship Game, the Oklahoma Sooners were PRAISED for scoring 60 points or more in so many consecutive games. Yet if Mizzou does it, people think the Tigers are unsportsmanlike? I really think that had OU not been scoring so many points, that the Texas Longhorns would have been ranked higher during all the confusion that had to decide the Big 12 South champion and would have been playing against MU instead. Not to say Mizzou would have beaten Texas, but what bothers me is the notion that the Sooners were granted "Style Points" by the pollsters which gave them the extra little push to put them in line to play for the championship. (end rant).

So next week, Mizzou is on the road for a Friday night game at Nevada. Despite a 3-0 start for Mizzou and an 0-2 start for Nevada (losses against Notre Dame & Colorado State), this game concerns me. First, it's on the road. Second, despite the record, Nevada is a more experienced team (Anyone remember Mizzou @ Troy a few years back?). And 3rd, after this game Mizzou has a bye week before opening the conference with a home game against Nebraska. Can you spell Nevada "T-R-A-P"?? In fact, following Nebraska on the schedule are Oklahoma State (in Stillwater) and Texas (in Columbia).

It may appear that all is well in Tiger Nation for the moment, but how well will be determined over this next stretch of 4 games. Winning 2 of these 4 is a must. Winning 3 of these 4 is possible and would be nice. Winning all 4 would spark - I don't know what. But the Tigers will definitely need to maintain their focus and take one game at a time to get through this stretch.

Where the hell is Spider Burke when you need him?

Missouri 27, Bowling Green 20

2009-09-12T23:07:00.002-05:00

I did not get to watch this game. I could have, but I chose not to shell out $29.95 for the pay-per-view broadcast. Just a thing I have, where I disagree with the concept of pay-per-view broadcasts of games against what is supposed to be inferior competition.

I say supposed to be because Bowling Green was anything BUT inferior. I don't know if it was Mizzou believing their hype this week, or enjoying its spot in the rankings, or if Bowling Green is just that well coached and prepared but the Falcons have certainly had Mizzou's number this decade.

I was away from home this afternoon and when I got home this evening, I had some errands to run before the game. I got back home about half an hour after the game started and when I turned on the computer to see how things were going (thank God for Gametracker!) Imagine my surprise to see Mizzou trailing 7-0, followed by a Bowling Green punt that was fielded by Mizzou, then fumbled away. The Tiger defense managed to hold the Falcons to just a field goal, but I still had hopes that it was just a fluke.

That was late in the 1st quarter.

Mizzou actually trailed 13-0 before they managed to put a pair of field goals on the boards to make the score 13-6 by halftime. Incidentally, is anyone going to give props to Mizzou's new field goal kicker, Grant Ressel?? Where the heck did this guy come from? He only has to replace the most prolific kicker in Mizzou history (no pressure though) and so far this season he has been money from over 40 yards out.

In the second half, Bowling Green came out and scored another touchdown on their opening drive to make the score 20-6. Mizzou could have easily quit at that point, but I like to think that these guys saw the moment as a true gut-check and decided right then and there that they were not going to give up. They battled back and scored three unanswered touchdowns to steal the win away from the visiting team. Twice they went for it on 4th down and twice they succeeded in keeping the drives alive.

This team may be full of youngsters, but tonight they showed that they have no quit in them. If they go down, they will go down swinging. From a fan's perspective, I would have preferred to see a blowout, but when I reflect on this game, I think what we ended up with is much more valuable. These Tigers were given a test. A chance to battle back from adversity and fight for respect. Bowling Green had aspirations of coming in to Columbia and scoring an upset on the road (much like Houston did to Oklahoma State) but it wasn't to be. These Tigers passed their test and I would venture a guess they will be better prepared for Furman next week.

I don't think Mizzou will go undefeated this year, but I do think we are looking at something special. The start of something Mizzou fans have been dreaming of for years. Watch for good things to happen as this team begins to gel and barring early defections to the NFL, an undefeated season is certainly possible within the next two years.

M-I-Z!!!

Mizzou 37, Illinois 9

2009-09-05T19:34:00.002-05:00

I guess this should answer one burning question: Is Missouri rebuilding or reloading?

I was pleasantly surprised with today's outcome. Count me among the doubters and those who thought it might be a long and tortuous season. I thought the more experienced Illinois team would come out and put a whoopin on old Mizzou in much the same fashion they do every December in the braggin' rights basketball game.

However, Mizzou's young quarterback making his first collegiate start while playing in his hometown St Louis had other ideas. And so did the normally generous Mizzou defense. Bend, don't break actually held today. I was very impressed with the way they held Illinois to 3 points for most of the game before allowing a touch down in the 4th quarter.

One concern the team might be looking at, I thought, would be rushing. I haven't looked at the box score yet, but I don't recall seeing many decent runs by the Mizzou rushers.

Can't wait till next week! Mizzou at home vs Bowling Green....Should be fun to watch!

Employed!

2009-08-22T13:14:00.003-05:00

So, it's been awhile...and in case you hadn't heard the word yet...

I passed my state insurance exam :)

Additionally, my application for a state insurance license was approved :)

So now I am contracted as an insurance agent with Bankers Life & Casualty.

So little time, so much to learn!

Still studying via online learning modules and I have to complete all of those before I can get paid; they are certainly time consuming, so I'll be around when I get the chance.

Hope this finds everyone doing well!

Save the paperwork, save the world...

Insurance Exam Update

2009-08-10T20:52:00.003-05:00

I've completed everything in the insurance course, scored well on all the practice quizzes and today took the simulated exam, needing an 80% to pass before I can move on to the state exam on Wednesday.

I took the simulated exam twice today, missing my 80% target both times.

WTF??

I'm not sure why this exam was kickin my ass today. Tired? Maybe. Information overload? Probably. But I'll try again tomorrow, when all the kids are gone to school (yay for 1st days!), although noise and outside disturbances weren't really a problem today. This exam has 160 questions and takes about 90 to 120 minutes to complete. The official exam on Wednesday will allow up to 3 hours to finish. But first things first.

Attempt number 3 begins at approximately 9am tomorrow - once I get fully awake, that is. Stay tuned...

Save my brain, save the world...

Time for a new chapter....

2009-07-31T13:23:00.003-05:00

I am trying not to drop down to one post a week again, if that much, but it seems there isn't much else I can do. Life since my move to Indiana has been fairly busy, despite having time on my hands. I find I don't get online a whole lot - ok, I do get on for an extended time - but online priorities have changed somewhat.

How, you ask?

Job searches for one. You would think that being able to apply for a job online would simplify things. They don't. I swear, sometimes I think companies use the online applications as a chance to ask for more information, sometimes even duplicating questions just to see if you'll answer the question in the same way. These things seem to take forever to fill out and out of the ones I did a few weeks ago, I still haven't heard a word. My references have all received (and completed) reference surveys about me, but still nothing.

Not that it matters anymore though. I will be beginning a new career soon. You see, on Monday, Aug 3, I begin my next class with Univ of Phoenix (Accounting), then on Monday, Aug 10, I will start a basic math class - but that's not really important right now. On Aug 3, I also have to take my son to the local high school to get him enrolled for his junior year. But before I do that, I have another appointment.

You see this morning, I was offered an opportunity to become an agent for an insurance company. Out of several people interviewed, I am one of two offered this chance. It means that in addition to my other classes, on Aug 3 I have to enroll in a state-required insurance course, complete it with an 80% on their exam. Then take a state exam and pass it, then get licensed, and finally get certification for long-term care policies. That whole process should take about two weeks. After that, I should be officially employed again.

How much time that will leave for writing, blogging, and participating in some of life's more exotic and erotic pleasures (i.e. hypnosis, porn reviews, etc...) is beyond me. But keep checking in with me. Email me if you want (scottseviltwin@gmail.com), hell I'm even open to receiving your dirty pictures if you want to send them. (No? OK, well it was worth a shot...) I will keep posting updates as time allows and maybe, just maybe, it will be something entertaining.

Save the Diet Dew, Save the World

Sorry for the delays - Moving Update (part deux)

2009-07-27T08:09:00.003-05:00

Yet another week has gone by and I am about 95% unpacked here in Indiana. I still have a few boxes I am not sure where its contents will go. When I moved, I gave up my computer desk (no room) and a majority of the things I have left to arrange used to sit in or on that desk.

I attempted to get my son registered for school last week, but the guidance counselor was out and I was told to call back this week and schedule an appointment. Apparently, this is the week that all of the current students will come to get their schedules (or maybe it's next week - I forget), but the school didn't seem too concerned about having enough time to get my high schooler enrolled. I tried to tell them the folks back in Missouri may be a little slow at sending out transcripts, but it didn't bother them. So I called the school this morning to make an appointment, got voicemail, and left a message. I'm still waiting for a call back.

The job front is....proceeding. That's about all I can say at this point. I interviewed last week for one position and have been expecting to hear something soon about another. I submitted another application with a local hospital who is attempting to fill an Insurance Verification Specialist position. I have experience with that (about 3 1/2 years worth), which I did back at MU in the late 90's. I left that position in January 2001. Not too excited about doing it again, but there are worse jobs out there.

And we arrived here last week to learn that we also have new upstairs neighbors. They just moved to Muncie as well. From Columbia, MO. Small freakin' world, huh? But it doesn't end there...as we were getting our sodas and snacks from a convenience store in Columbia last Tuesday morning, I was talking to the cashier about the move. She is also moving - to Muncie - in a few weeks.

Columbia, MO....taking over the world, one city at a time.

Save the blogger, Save the world...

Update: It's Moving Day (Part 1)

2009-07-20T07:50:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been a whole week already?

Just a quick update to let you know why you haven't heard from me in so long. It's been a very long and productive week with packing and trying to get kids motivated and getting utilities taken care of here in Missouri. I haven't really had time for much of anything else.

But today is the beginning of an end, I suppose. Today (in just a few minutes, in fact), I will be taking down my internet modem and cable box and dropping them off with Mediacom. From there, I am off to U-Haul to pick up the moving truck. Then it's back here for a fun-filled day of hoping nothing expensive gets broke! Then it's meet-with-the-landlord time and return keys and back to U-Haul to have an auto-transport unit hooked up to the truck and load my car up on it.

Finally, tomorrow morning I am off to Indiana. So I'll be offline for a day or two while we get things loaded, transported, and unloaded. Wish me luck!

Vintage vs Retro

2009-07-09T08:36:00.007-05:00

Like everyone else, I have a few minor irritants. No, not THAT kind of irritant! But rather a few things that if I really sit down and think about it, things that can really annoy me.

Imagine driving down the road and you find a good oldies station on the radio. Yeah, songs from people like Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Temptations...all the great groups from the 50's and 60's. And then without warning, the next song you hear on that same station...Hotel California by the Eagles. Or maybe even Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. It's enough to make me want to hit the brakes and scream, "These are NOT oldies!!"

Now, how's this for a segue...

Did you know there is a market for vintage porn?

It's true...while surfing recently trying to find some good porn videos, I discovered some vintage porn sites. Sites containing pictures and vids from as far back as the 1920's and 30's. If you need an example, click here. Surprisingly, I found these pictures to be quite simple really. I suppose back in those days, porn wasn't quite so easy to come by (no pun intended!) so just to see something of this nature had to be quite the shock.

So as I'm looking through the pages there, I am reminded of what the time period was like and how people must have faced quite the scandal if word ever got out that the pretty little girl next door posed for that kind of picture. My own grandparents were people who threw society's standards back in it's collective face by choosing to not get married. For them, that was making quite a statement. And then as I look at a few more pics another thought crosses my mind. These pictures were taken over 70 or 80 years ago! My God, these people are grandparents and great grandparents in today's world! Who would have thought that the old couple who cut you off in the buffet line, or was driving real slow in front of you on the highway might have done something like this!

But back to the point of this post. Annoyances. I thought I would search for more vintage porn and I found this clip for vintage lesbians. Go ahead, I'll wait. Just don't forget to come back and read the rest of this post...

Damn, took you long enough! So what was I saying again? Oh yeah....THIS IS NOT VINTAGE!! Retro, maybe, but it's not vintage! Sure, it may have been made many years ago, but it's in color for Christ's sake! So let this be a lesson here...removing the audio track and showing grainy color footage of porn is just bad porn. I don't care how good the action was, if you don't get the whole picture, you are just missing out. Vintage porn is black and white and from a by-gone era. This clip here is vintage. And so is this one. Yes, it might still be grainy...but you have to look at it with a new appreciation. Not for its face value, of course. But for the way these pioneers laid the groundwork and didn't give a damn about what some busybody might think. Well, I know what I think...

Save the porn, Save the world...

Resistance is Futile

2009-07-08T10:13:00.004-05:00

I've done my homework today, no celebrities have died (that I know of), and slightly bored this morning. So I went digging into my folder of previous writings and found this erotic poem I came up in 2007. Enjoy...

=================================================

Resistance is Futile
Scott Hendricks - 2007

Lust

Desire

I see you across the room

I never knew I was your target

You caught my eye

And from then on I never stood a chance

Your senses zoned in on me

They attacked from all angles

Your eyes captured mine

Your scent overwhelmed me

The touch of your hands sent jolts of electricity throughout my body

The sound of your voice beckoning me was that of an angelic choir calling me home

Your kisses were that of a sweet sweet wine

I would follow you anywhere you wished

I did not know it would be to the depths of despair

As I sit here now longing for your touch

Crying out for the sound of your voice

Aching for just one more kiss

To be inside you again

To feel the heat of your passion

To look into your eyes as I enter you

And to experience a taste of heaven once again

As my seed bursts forth and fills your womb

But you are not here

And you know the pain I am in

You are simply using me to your own ends

I am your pleasure toy

To be at your disposal when you so desire

You have added me to your collection

And I know all too well

That resistance is futile

================================================

Save the blogger, save the world...

Remembering and Reminiscing

2009-07-07T23:14:00.005-05:00

Before I head off to sleep tonight, I wanted to reflect on something and join the other millions of people who paid some sort of retrospect to the memory of Michael Jackson.

Since his death nearly 2 weeks ago, I have avoided all of the tv specials and tributes to him. Why? Cause quite frankly, I wasn't sure I wanted to listen to all these people who had been bad-mouthing him do an about face and start talking about what a good person he was.

Not knowing the man personally, I confess to having my doubts about his innocence when the charges of child molestation came out and he was taken to court over them. Was he guilty? Except for the supposed victims, the world will never know.

My 19-year-old son tonight summed it up perfectly. It wasn't all that long ago that people were putting him down for his questionable appearance, health, and "sexual appetite" for lack of a better term. And now here are a lot of the same people praising him for the man he was.

I think we all tend to feel a little guilty inside when we talk bad about someone we know and then something bad happens to them. But at the same time, we have to remember something else that this country's judicial system is based on: Innocent, until proven guilty. Michael was never proven guilty in a court of law. The man is innocent and should forever be seen as such.

I watched footage of his memorial service tonight on NBC Dateline and I saw the person I will remember. Michael Jackson was truly the King of Pop. He was an entertainer and an innovator. It's difficult for young people to know this nowadays, but anyone who was around during most of the 1980's can tell you it was harder then to turn on MTV and not see a Michael Jackson video than it is to turn on MTV now and see any video. I remember trying to get tickets to a 1984 concert in Kansas City, only to find them completely sold out (and well out of my price range). I will remember the man who gave us Thriller (the album AND the video). His music video's alone were must-see. If you haven't seen them, go to YouTube and lookup the videos listed below. I wanted to embed them here, but that feature was disabled at YouTube

Thriller (full version)
Beat It
Billie Jean
Remember the Time (featuring Eddie Murphy and Iman)
Black or White (w/Macauley Culkin and George Wendt)

One video I could embed here is below. The song here is 20 years old, but I think maybe the world has forgotten the message it sends...take a listen...

I choose to remember Michael Jackson as a man who brought a lot of music and a message of hope to anyone who would listen. I will also remember him as a man who left this world way too soon.

Save the music, Save the world...

Rumor - 'Claire-bear" is switch-hitting?

2009-07-07T16:21:00.004-05:00

Wow...oh my...how the hell am I supposed to wait until the 4th season of Heroes starts now??

Here is the rumor/scoop of the month...On the upcoming 4th season of Heroes, the immortal Clair Bennet, is moving into some girl on girl action. As in playing with the home team. It will start off as a kiss with her college roommate (supposedly being played by Rachel Melvin from Days of Our Lives) and will grow into something much more.

I think I need a cold shower already...

Is this an attempt to jump the shark, so to speak? Heroes' fanbase has been dwindling over the past couple of seasons, which wasn't helped by the writers strike during season 2. Perhaps the school of thought is to appeal to a combination of viewers - the gay and lesbian viewers for one, and all the guys out there like me who won't be able to turn away from the screen.

Oh relax, it's network television. How far can they go?

Hint: Anyone remember NYPD Blue?

Save the blogger, Save the world...

25 and 2

2009-07-07T08:33:00.004-05:00

Unless you want to get technical and count the former Rolling Stones manager who passed away recently, we've gone 2 days without a major celebrity death :)

And you were worried when news broke of Rupert Grint's battle with Swine Flu!

Today is Day 25 since I left MU and I'm still listed as an active employee. Sigh... So in a little while I am going to head over to Human Resources and see if we can't get things hurried up a little.

Fun times ahead...

Save the blogger, Save the World...

UPDATE: Rumor has it, I have been terminated! (Yes, that's a good thing, LOL). Another hurdle down...

It's been 24 days since my last day of work...

2009-07-06T12:47:00.003-05:00

I continue to wait for the Human Resources person at MU to either terminate me in the employee database, call me, or return my email. So far, none of which has happened. The rep I had been working with on the supplemental retirement was also going to call me this morning and we were going to attempt to go meet with HR if necessary, but I haven't heard from him either. Could be just one of those days, but seriously, I don't have very many of those days left.

With any luck, I'll hear from him today and things will be all straightened out. Keep your fingers crossed...

In the Mood

2009-07-05T23:53:00.002-05:00

Know what its like when you find yourself totally in synch with someone? Know what its like to be in a relatively new relationship with someone and you've just spent a week and a half with them and then suddenly you find yourself back home, away from them again?

Yeah, me too.

I miss her. I came back from Indiana on Thursday morning and I am moving there in a little over two weeks (assuming MU's human resources gets their act together) yet my body is wanting to know what happened to all those wonderful sensations I was feeling when I was lying next to her. To be able to roll over and put my around her and for her to do the same. Snuggled up close to me as we drift off to sleep, feeling her breasts against my back and her breath on my neck and shoulder.

I know, some of you are thinking TMI, right? Well, you knew the risks when you came in here, didn't you?

You didn't? Oops...My bad. Well now you do. Coming in here is kinda like knocking on my door at 2am. Chances are you're going to see someone naked. And that's kinda what I'm doing now. Baring myself to you, opening up and telling you what's on my mind.

And yes, I'm naked.

And horny. Might as well throw the whole package out there while we're at it.

Save the blogger, save the world...

Days without a celebrity death: 0

2009-07-04T16:30:00.002-05:00

Wow, the turnover (for lack of a better word) in the celebrity world is getting crazy. In the span of a week we lost Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett (yes, I had her poster when I was a kid, even the nude parody poster), Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, and Karl Malden.

Today I read that former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair has been found dead in his home, along with a woman. Both had been shot, and it is being reported that McNair was shot in the head.

McNair began his pro career by playing for the Houston Oilers and continued with Tenessee (Oilers/Titans), before closing things out with Baltimore. McNair was the quarterback for Tennessee's 1999 SuperBowl team that lost to the St Louis Rams.

Day 20 and Counting...

2009-07-02T13:20:00.002-05:00

I felt the need to vent today and since I have this blog, well....why not.

It has been 20 days since I left my job at the University of Missouri. Twenty. As in two zero. Why does it matter you ask? Because they apparently think I still work there.

My employment status is currently listed (still) as active and until it gets changed to terminated, I cannot receive a cash-out check from the 403b plan I participated in. This is important because I need the money to finance my move.

The paperwork has been sent to Human Resources, but the person who is sitting on it tells us that her first priority right now is to assist with Time and Labor implementation. Never mind that there are over 600 people waiting to have their status terminated right now. That, it turns out, is low priority.

So I sit and wait, held hostage by a bureaucratic system that would rather cut costs by employing fewer people to do the mountains of work that waits for...apparently no one. I mean, if she can't get to it now...when will they get to it? Ever?

Sigh...Stay tuned folks...

Hello...You have reached....

2009-06-26T19:20:00.002-05:00

Just popping in to say hello to everyone and apologize for not keeping things up to date. I am currently on the road in Muncie, Indiana as I prepare to move here next month. I just got here yesterday, after spending the first part of the week traveling to Kansas City and back, then to West Plains, MO on Tuesday and back to Columbia on Wednesday. Between homework and traveling and identifying potential new employers, I just haven't had much time to post here.

So bare, er, bear with me and I'll have something new and fun for you to read soon. If you absolutely can't wait for something new, go order a copy of my book, The Erotic Adventures of Steve and Brooke. The link is over on the left somewhere...trust me, I really think you'll find it...stimulating...

Streakers in Love

2009-06-20T20:52:00.001-05:00

Let me guess...couples that streak together, stay together??

Sad and Strange

2009-06-20T17:12:00.003-05:00

Strange, yes...I'll give you that. But sad....not so much! Every so often when I get bored, I will surf the net in search of the strange de-motivational type posters out there. I found this one today.

I am a unique individual and even at 45, I continue to learn more and more about myself everyday. Today I have rationalized part of my lifestyle, in addition to why both of my marriages failed. If I'm right, there is no reason why my current relationship can't last the rest of my life. As soon as I come up with the proper way to express my thoughts, including some pictures to go with it, I'll be back to explain myself further...

A Word of Caution...

2009-06-19T12:02:00.001-05:00

If you had information that you truly believed somebody needed to know, yet you knew that the person who needed the info would not believe you for whatever reason, would you still try to tell them?

What if that information was vital to their well-being, their personal safety? What if you knew that someone was entering into what could potentially be a harmful, abusive relationship?

I know that the person I need to tell this to would not believe me. They would make excuses. They would tell me that I was imagining things, that I was just spitting out sour grapes, that I was obviously mistaken. Maybe I am mistaken, but wouldn't you prefer to err on the side of caution?

I have been wrong before, but over the past few years, I have turned out to be a fairly good judge of character. It was assumed however that I was just imagining it.

So let me just throw this out there and if the person who needs to know this is reading then they can take it for what its worth.

Watch your back. Please be careful. And please don't rush into doing something that you will likely regret a few months, if not years, down the road. Regardless of what you may think of me, regardless of what may have transpired, just know that I do care about you and your well being.

You Are Getting Sleepy....

2009-06-17T20:20:00.006-05:00

One more post regarding hypnosis and I'll let this go...maybe...unless...I...can't....stop....myself...

So last night I gave one of the free samples from hypnofantasy.com a legitimate run as I went to bed. I had a few other samples downloaded from other sites as well to use as a comparison. Some were just straight relaxation, some involved a bit of erotic fun, but the common element among them all was relaxation. Granted, hypnofantasy's sample from Nikki Fatale had the longest run time, but another brief session I found from a woman calling herself Lady Julia (about 15 minutes as opposed to 45-55 minutes for Nikki) was very, um....inspirational. Yeah, that's the word.

Both spent about the same amount of time to bring you into a hypnotic state, but it was Nikki's work that took it's time to build an arousal level to it's highest point before telling you point blank that it was time for release (well, that wasn't the word she used, but you're smart. You can probably guess her actual terminology). Lady Julia's session was titled Red Silk, and the listener was enticed into using only their thought process, imagination (based on her descriptions of what you are to see and imagine), and breathing to instill a trigger into your mind the next time you are intimate with someone.

Both sessions were satisfying, but I have to admit Lady Julia's session had a more lasting impact. I gave the mental trigger a try and i felt myself being taken back to the session and the results that it produced. Even tonight, many hours later, the trigger still works. Thank goodness my self control is still intact! I just wish Lady Julia's session had lasted longer.

These were the free versions, mind you. Full length mp3's of Nikki's sessions can be purchased through her website. (NOTE: I previously implied that sessions were for sale on both ladies' sites. Please see Lady Julia's remarks in the comments section). I can only imagine how entertaining those would be!

However, a word of caution -- These sessions should not be used or listened to by anyone suffering with or taking medications for mental illness. Additionally, remember that the key component to undergoing hypnosis is relaxation. And perhaps it wasn't a good idea to listen to so many sessions in one night (ok, it was like 3 or 4). Afterward, although I felt a little more awake than I had been, my body was so relaxed that I fell to sleep almost immediately once I shut down my computer. I was so relaxed that after I got up and took my son to summer school this morning, I came back home and slept for an additional 4 hours before I could truly get up and start my day.

So, do not take hypnosis lightly. Use it, enjoy it, but respect it. It can be a very addicting experience and leave you wanting to do this again and again, especially if you are of a submissive nature. So as you imagine that spinning crystal or coin, or even the red silk scarf, keep in mind that sending me a donation for directing you to a source of such pleasure would be a wonderful way to submit and give in. Take a deep breath, inhale...hold it...and exhale....and email me for my paypal address...

I really gotta work on those skills, ya think?

NOTE: Want to check out Lady Julia's sessions? Click here!

Go Deep...

2009-06-15T19:41:00.005-05:00

UPDATED - See Below...

Short but sweet tonight... A few days ago, I blogged about hypnosis and even left a link to a piece of erotic fiction about a woman who unwittingly seduces her co-workers through hypnosis.

Today while searching the web (and YouTube), I found another site that offers erotic hypnosis sessions online AND has a couple of free "test drive" sessions, one where a woman is putting you under, and one where a man is conducting the session. I listened to the woman's session (damn...wow....nice....) and it lasted about an hour. Seriously, don't do this unless you can do it at a time when you will not be disturbed and can give your FULL attention to the session.

The site is hypnofantasy.com and you can reach it by clicking here.

If you do decide to take advantage of these sessions, or better yet register for a membership there, come back and share your experience with us - well, whatever you are comfortable sharing anyway. Is it relaxing? Is it satisfying? Did you enjoy it? Will you try it again?

Let us know!

UPDATE - I did register for a membership, but have not yet been able to log in yet. When I try, I get a message stating that my membership is not yet active. More to follow...

Today is the First day of...

2009-06-12T19:29:00.002-05:00

Today, I took the first step in changing my life. It was my last day on the job at MU.

Some people would think I was nuts, but really, I think this change is for the better. In fact, I can now focus on the next step I want to accomplish - finishing the science class I am taking for college. There are only 4 weeks to go, so it shouldn't be much of a challenge but I do have about a week's worth of travel coming up during that time span so I really have to get down to business and get a few assignments done early.

Following this class, I need to get my divorce settled. I have been trying to keep my marriage issues private and not air any dirty laundry out of respect for her, but today she threw the first stone by publicly stating her wish that she would get served with divorce papers. While I am willing to oblige her with that request, I will simply state for the record that she is the one who first chose to walk away from this marriage. That said, my intention is to get the ball rolling on that over the next week and hopefully it will be resolved relatively soon.

Step 3 is trying to find a new job. In this economy, it's going to be tough enough. However, I am expanding my search zone, so to speak. For more details, see step 4.

Step 4: Moving to Indiana. Those who have been paying close attention are probably already aware of this step, but the move is scheduled. In just a few very short weeks, I shall be loading up and heading east to Muncie, IN. After 16 years with MU and all of the crap that has taken place in my life last year, I think a fresh start is definitely in order, and what better place to do that than in another state with someone who lets me know in no uncertain terms everyday just how much I mean to her. And in return, words from me cannot express just how much she has meant to me and still does each and every day.

Hang in there Tammy. I'll be home soon.

When I snap my fingers, you shall....

2009-06-11T17:00:00.003-05:00

Hypnosis. Fun stuff, huh?

Alas, I bring you no flashing lights, no swirling images, no suggestions that you are getting sleepy or warm or aroused. But if you bare, er, bear with me on this, I'll give you a little bonus material at the bottom of this post.

Still with me? Good....

I have always had an interest in hypnosis, whether it be for clinical use, or entertainment, or even just trying to see if you can get someone to do something they might not normally do (having a "Scrubs' moment as I flash back to my high school years and the crush I had on one of the girls). I have always thought that hypnosis was possible under the right circumstances, following the "You can't be hypnotized if you're not willing to be hypnotized" theory.

That said, I once took part in a hypnosis session. It was about 20 years ago at a bar in Columbia. A hypnotist/entertainer was doing a show and took several volunteers from the audience. A friend and I volunteered while our girlfriends sat in the audience and watched.

The key to hypnosis is total relaxation and allowing yourself to open up to suggestion. The hypnotist worked with all of us and asked us to close our eyes and counting backwards we all entered various stages of relaxation. Some of us literally went limp in our chairs. When he determined we were ready, he put us through our paces and gave each of us various suggestions as to what we would think, say, or do. No one had to get naked and dance on stage because as he said, a hypnotized person can't be made to do something they wouldn't normally do. Of course, that's not to say I wouldn't have danced naked anyway, but still...

So anyway, it was suggested to me that I was completely normal (weird, huh?) except I believed that 3+3 equaled 5. The hypnotist paired me up with a young lady who was told she could not remember her own name. Of course, she knew that 3+3 equaled 6 and found it hilarious that I thought it was 5. During our "performance", we bantered back and forth and she asked me how I could possibly think 3+3 was 5, so I counted out on my fingers - Left hand: 1, 2, 3, right hand, 4, 6, 5! The crowd laughed.

"No, no, NO!" she said. "That's wrong!"

I then responded with, "Look, you don't even know your own name, what makes you think you can add numbers?"

And the crowd went crazy...

We sat down at that point and the hypnotist moved on to someone else.

After it was all done and the hypnotist let us all leave the stage and go back to our seats, he reminded us that hypnosis was simply a deep state of relaxation and a when a person has rested and relaxed for a period of time, they generally wind up refreshed and energized. He wasn't kidding.

I felt like I had just had a full night's sleep. It was a wonderful feeling, after having worked early early that day. If anyone gets an opportunity to try it, I say go for it. Don't worry about having to cluck like a chicken, or get down on all fours like a dog and then sniff someone's butt. Just enjoy it. Maybe it will be your butt that gets sniffed, who knows.

So anyway, you've made it this far, so it's time for that bonus I promised you. This is a story about what else - hypnosis! I found this online last night and while some of you may not care for girl-on-girl action, remember...it's about the journey, not the destination. This has quickly become one of my favorite works of erotic fiction. It comes from a website called mcstories.

Play the Game by Jukebox

Enjoy and remember...relax, breathe deeply, and let the experience come to you....

One little, two little, three little nipples...wait... what?

2009-06-05T12:03:00.003-05:00

Ever since Chandler Bing revealed to the world on Friends his secret of having a superfluous third nipple, I wondered if that was even possible. I mean, I've been around in my 45 years and I've never seen or heard of anyone actually having three nipples, unless maybe you count fantasy scenes in movies like Total Recall or Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.

A lot of people who have them, I'm told, wind up having them surgically removed. And that does make sense, because really now...who wants to have a nipple sticking out of their forehead? (Seriously, there have been cases...).

But today I find a you tube video revealing that singer Lily Allen also has a third nipple. In fact, in the video below she even reveals that it gets hard when you touch it - right after the interviewer has stroked it a couple times.

And oh yeah, we are also reminded that The Simpsons' Krusty the Clown also has a third nipple.

Do you have a third nipple? Know of anyone who does? Share your knowledge and post links in the comments section!

I'm a Viewer, Get Me Out of Here!

2009-06-04T08:02:00.004-05:00

Is anybody still watching I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!?

Seriously, this show was mildly entertaining on Monday night when it began, but I think even the most casual viewer can see that they are just making things up as they go along. I didn't watch last night - 2 nights were enough for me - and although it really doesn't mean squat to me anymore, I'm hearing that last night's live portion of the show ended with the celebs taking a vote on whether or not the Bratts, er, Pratts (Heidi & Spencer) could return to the show after making what was probably their 27th exit in the first 2 episodes.

I have a major problem with this. These two act all high and mighty and think they are a couple of A-List celebs thrown in with some E-listers. They think they don't deserve to deal with such hardships (it's a jungle, hello!). Then they leave moments before a public vote is taken to see which of the remaining women will have to leave. This little maneuver of Speidi's removed Heidi from the risk of elimination (Patti B had already been saved by the men's team). Now that the public vote was taken, they want to come back? Bull Doggie Snot! If they get back onto the show, whichever woman that gets eliminated is going to have a legitimate beef with the way things are being allowed to run.

Now, that said, in the two nights that I did watch the show, I have to say I'm very impressed with Sanjaya Malakar (American Idol Season 6 contestant) and Patti B (wife of impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich) and how they've handled themselves. Sanjaya pretty much goes with the flow and I don't think he's complained once, even after he has been denied a bed twice. When I heard Patti was going to be on the show (her husband was the one NBC wanted, but the Feds wouldn't let him leave the country), I thought we would see some whiny, spoiled, aristocrat. But she has been nothing like that and lasted longer in the trauma tank Monday night than most of the other women.

Other thoughts? Post in the comments below...

Sports: St Louis Cardinals Manager suing Twitter

2009-06-03T15:36:00.004-05:00

According to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, we have learned that after several attempts at contacting Twitter to have a fake twitter page removed, St Louis Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa has filed suit against Twitter for trademark infringement.

As it turns out, someone has setup a twitter account using the manager's name and picture, as well as making several references to the Cardinals (some of them vulgar) and references to two former pitchers, now deceased.

Stay tuned...

Rumor: Rare photo surfaces of kU coach

2009-06-03T10:30:00.005-05:00

Sometimes the ideas for these posts just flow right out of the brain and onto the paper, screen, whatever. And other times, you got nothin'. Then there are also those times when something gets passed on to you and you know you should probably just let it die, but you can't. You feel compelled to share it with the world.

Below is a picture of the kU football coach, apparently from his younger days of competition....

Sports Rumor: Yankees to Trade A-Rod to Cardinals

2009-06-02T12:49:00.002-05:00

Wow. You'd think with all the controversy surrounding A-Rod and steroids, St Louis would stay away from this one. But the Cardinals need a 3rd baseman and depending on who you talk to A-Rod would love to get out of New York, so there ya go...

Rumor of the Day: Keanu Reeves named in Paternity Suit; children are now adults

2009-06-02T07:43:00.003-05:00

Just in - Keanu Reeves has been named in a paternity suit filed by an Ontario, Canada woman who claims that Reeves is the father of her four children, who are now adults. The suit seeks $150,000 a month in back child support retroactive to June 1988.

Says Reeves, "Bogus!!"

Bonus points to the first person to guess the barely hidden movie reference in this post.

Rumor: Upset Schwarzenegger to make new Terminator movie after term of office is up?

2009-06-01T12:02:00.005-05:00

Today I logged into my blogger account hoping to get some advice regarding Google AdSense from one of my co-workers. Unfortunately, he had never heard of AdSense so he couldn't help me. I tried to explain a little bit about to him because I have not really had any major success with it and was hoping maybe he could give me some pointers.

But when I pulled up my AdSense account, I saw something I hadn't expected to see: Money.

$0.01, in fact! Woohoo!!!

Apparently, during some recent time period, 502 page impressions were made. This gave me a bright shiny new penny. But where did those page impressions come from? Well, probably from you, dear reader. And quite possibly from a few people west of Missouri in Jayhawk land.

You see, I get people coming here for many reasons, but only one post has been inspiring enough to draw comments from readers. It was my post on alleged NCAA violations committed by Bill Self at the University of Kansas (don't get your panties in a bunch, I said alleged!). Now I have no idea if the violations are true or not, but when you read them all lumped together like that, they are sure to piss off even the most casual KU fan.

So I have a theory. That theory is that what will draw the readers in, to stick around and read what I write and comment about it, are rumors. So let's give this a shot, shall we?

Rumor:

This just in...California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is supposedly very disappointed with the new Terminator Salvation movie and wants to direct and star in a new version of this chapter after his term of office has ended. The title - Terminator Resurrection.

True or not? Hmmmm....wouldn't it be interesting?

Starting Over at 45

2009-05-28T08:15:00.004-05:00

Blah.

That about sums up my mood this morning.

For several months I weighed a decision on my mind that I knew would not be an easy one. See, at a time when a lot of people are struggling to find a good job, I am giving mine up. After 16 years at the University of Missouri, I am walking away from at atmosphere that has been somewhat enjoyable, yet maddening all at the same time.

My last day will be Friday, June 12.

This post is not necessarily to discuss the reasons for leaving, but rather how the decision is affecting me. As difficult as it was to make the call and say "That's it," I am wondering how I am going to feel when I walk out these doors for the final time.

I find myself today sitting here at work and wondering what to do with myself. It's raining this morning and that in itself is likely contributing to my mood. I have things I could be doing - homework, for one. But with all the conversation going on around me I can't seem to concentrate on that.

Cleaning out my desk is a project I could get started on, but I was going to hold off on that until next week sometime. Today is Thursday, May 28 and I have today and tomorrow left this week, then Monday though Thursday next week. At that point I accrue 4 new personal days on my anniversary date with MU, so I will use them June 5, 8, 9, and 10. Return to work on June 11 and 12 to finish things out. That's 8 days left if you're counting at home.

I have been with MU since 1993, take away 3 months in 1997, and in this position since January 2001. This is by far the most amount of time I have spent at one job. Well, unless you want to count how long it has taken me to complete the work on my mystery book. That has been going since 1981.

I will feel sadness, I know. Working here has been like being at my home away from home. I will also be feeling a certain anticipation for what comes next. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be packing things up at home as well, preparing for a move to Indiana in July. My next career move remains a mystery so until I figure out what I will be doing for a living, I have the pursuit of my college degree to continue and a mystery book to finish writing.

So in the times we live in, how have you or someone you knew dealt with keeping busy while looking for work? Please share your tips and advice for not going crazy while waiting for that dream job to appear. If I use any of them, I just might send you a t-shirt. I believe I've got a few I'm not wearing anymore....

This One's for All the Marbles...

2009-05-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

Here it is Dawg...4 months in the making, countless hours of bad auditions, 30 minutes of fame for Bikini Girl, more bird impersonations than I ever cared to hear, annoying laughter and crying (aka Tatiana), Norman Gentle, and weeks of suspense wondering just who would be going home and whether or not the judges' save would be used.

Tonight its the whole enchilada...Tonight, an American Idol is crowned.

Mikaela Gordon covers the happenings from Conway, AR and Carly Smithson is hanging out in San Diego, CA.

No major summary, but here are a few of my favorite moments...

The top 12, er 13, singing So What. Ok, it wasn't great, but it wasn't lip synched that I could tell. (Don't burst my bubble, ok?)

Kara DioGuardi singing with Bikini Girl, then showing the world that she too can look good in a bikini

Adam's performance of Beth by KISS, but where the hell did he get those platform shoes?

David Cook surprising Adam & Kris with their new Ford Fusions

Celebs singing WITH the Idols:

Queen Latifah & Lil Rounds
Jason Mraz w/Alexis and Anoop
Keith Urban & Kris Allen (great job whoever paired these 2 together!)
Fergie w/the 5 women finalists, then joined by the Black Eyed Peas)
Cyndi Lauper & Allison Iraheta (lovin' the dulcimer)
Lionel Richie & Danny Gokey
KISS & Adam Lambert (ok, one of my personal favorites tonight)
Carlos Santana w/the top 13
Steve Martin w/Michael Sarver and Megan Joy Corkery
Queen w/Adam & Kris

The return of:

David Cook
Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle
Katrina Darrell/Bikini Girl
Kimberly Locke sighting
Carrie Underwood sighting
Rueben Studdard sighting
Bo Bice sighting
Justin Guarini sighting

Things I could have done without:

Golden Idol Awards (ok, bringing back Norman Gentle was a plus, as was Bikini Girl)
Someone went Boom Boom Pow on the graphics switcher during the Black Eyed Peas' performance
A replay of Kara throwing down with Bikini Girl, Katrina Darrell
Being reminded of Adam's Ring of Fire (although Simon paraphrasing Randy Travis into "What the Hell was that?"
The Ford commercial, since it was just a rehash of all the other Ford Failures from this season.
Rod Stewart by himself. What's up with not including the idols like all the other celebs tonight?
Tatiana's 4th performance of Saving All My Love

Saving the best for last, the one thing that this whole crazy season has been for...the results.

Over 100 million votes cast...

The season 8 American Idol is....

KRIS ALLEN

Bring it On

2009-05-19T20:51:00.001-05:00

And then there were two...

Adam vs Kris

Kris vs Adam

Southern California vs Central Arkansas

Thing 1 vs ... nah, that's not fair...

However you look at it, regardless of your personal preferences I think it is truly anybody's ballgame. Well, maybe not Danny's or Allison's or any of the previously eliminated constestants. But for as popular and pimped as Adam has been all season, Kris came into the competition as a relatively unknown "Dark Horse" and surpassed a lot of expectations as the season progressed. A week ago I figured tonight would be just going through the paces because Adam has been so strong all season long. Kris spent more than one week in the bottom 3, I think, and Adam, although it was likely for suspense purposes only, did spend only one week there.

Again, Idol has chosen to fall back on having both contestants perform the same "coronation" song, No Boundaries, written by Judge Kara. I thought maybe they had given up on that after Jordin & Blake battled with This is My Now back in season 6. In Season 7, the Deuling Davids didn't have to give separate versions of such a song, but we did get to hear David Cook's song following the announcement of his win.

Performances tonight as a whole:

Adam

Contestant's choice song: Mad World
Simon Fuller's choice song: Change is Gonna Come
Coronation Song: No Boundaries

For Adam starting off tonight, it was like a flashback to Melinda Doolittle. Week after week Adam has brought it, so while I know his fans will love it, I wonder if the average viewer isn't a bit de-sensitized to him now. While technically perfect, I have to hope that Adam is planning something spectacular later in his next performance.

And he did. His second song, an R&B song from Sam Cooke, was just spectacular. He went high, but reigned it in just enough to keep it from getting out of control. NOt something I would have expected him to do, but it was just another challenge and genre that Adam shows he can handle.

The coronation song was performed true to Adam's style, lots of high notes, but nothing really screechy, not over the top in any way, but something I can imagine being played on the radio. Simon chose to ignore the final song and not judge it, instead he unabashedly proclaimed Adam the champion that the show hopes to find each year.

Kris

Contestant's choice song: Ain't No Sunshine
Simon Fuller's choice song: What's Goin On
Coronation Song: No Boundaries

When Kris did his first song tonight, he sounded different. Not so much in his voice, but he just sounded so relaxed and at ease. Randy called it, it was one of his best performances. Simon gives "round 1" to Kris.

When I saw the song title for Kris' second song, the only version I could think of was 4 Non Blondes. Thank God that wasn't the version he was singing! I thought it was true to Kris' style and very well done. Randy's criticism seemed a little unfair because Kris didn't pick the song. Kudos to Kara for reminding everyone that Mr Fuller picked it. Simon thought it was too lite and laid back and not fitting for this stage of the competition and gives Round 2 to Adam. What would this show be without a little suspense?

The coronation song for Kris is difficult to comment on because we just heard it done by Adam. The critique can't go well for him, but I can picture Kris' version being played on country radio. I think it sucks that the judges seem to be writing him off after that performance, basically a "thanks for playing" attitude. Me personally, I liked Kris' version better but then again I like country over male high pitched pop/rock music.

Final Comments:

Wow - is that it? The final competition performances for season 8? We still have Carrie Underwood to come tonight singing Home Sweet Home, and I can listen to her sing all night long...

Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, final comments...On the season, I will agree with Simon when he basically said that Adam was the one who consistently brought it week after week. Kris was someone who first came in a bit unsure and really I don't remember his audition or his hollywood performances. Kris hung in there every week and survived despite a few bottom 3 appearances I'm sure he'd like to forget. Had he been voted off during the season, I don't think the judges would have used the save on him.

Tonight, the person who gave best performance will undoubtedly depend on who you talk to. I preferred Kris and I will cast one vote tonight for him. In the overall scheme of things it may not matter, so anyone who cast two votes for Adam will quickly cancel mine out. But Adam has his strong fan base and Kris has his. I think its safe to say that Adam's is probably a bit stronger, so I think what will decide the winner this week will depend a lot on the direction taken by Danny Gokey's fans. How will they divide their support among Adam & Kris?

Last season, the judges declared Archuleta the winner based on the peformances on Tuesday night. But a funny thing happened when all the votes were counted and announced on Wednesday night. More votes went to the bartender/rocker than did the high school crooner. Archie's fans were mostly teen age girls and while their voting power was able to carry him to the finals, teens and tweens have bed times and were not able to keep voting for the full 4 hours after the performance show ended. Cookie's fans however were mostly older, college-aged, bar-going people who probably made a regular habit of staying up til all hours of the night. Staying up and voting and voting and voting was not an issue for them.

I can see a possible situation this year as well with Adam & Kris. Adam has the teen vote locked up, but Kris is a 23 year old college student....see where I'm going with this? The pair has also been compared to Elvis vs Pat Boone in a recent Newsweek article, with Adam assuming the role of the King and Kris being the more toned down and parental-friendly Boone. Elvis put a lot of folks off before he hit it big, and Adam just might have the same effect on adults today.

But this isn't the 50's anymore and society is much more diverse. Will Adam's adult fans pick up the slack tonight? Will Kris pull off the "upset"?

We'll find out tomorrow...

American Idol Season 8 - Finally...

2009-05-17T14:06:00.003-05:00

Today, I will give you my reasons why either finalist can win the title of Season 8 American Idol

Why Adam Lambert Will Win

Let's face it. Adam has many factors in his corner. He has had the support of the judges all season long. He has experience in musical theatre. He is a showman, a true performer. He knows his vocal range, he has power and he can tone it down when he has to. And he is not afraid to take a chance and try something different. I mean, come on...using a sitar during country music week? Really? Depending on who you talk to, it was either brilliant or a descent into the bowels of hell. Adam is not a bad singer, my only complaint about him is that he spends too much time screeching out those powerful high notes of his. When he does that, he reminds me of two people: Axl Rose (Guns & Roses) and the lead singer of Rush (sorry, I'm too lazy to look that up right now). Both of those people have voices that grate on my nerves yet they have had very successful careers. For the life of me, I don't know why Axl would be allowed back in St Louis after his tumultuous appearances there and his now infamous liner notes ("Fuck You, St. Louis!") but they still love him.

Why Kris Allen Will Win

Kris is like a breath of fresh air. He didn't get a lot of air time in the early audition rounds or during hollywood week. In fact, I think when the top 36 was announced I thought he was just another face in the crowd and wouldn't last long. During country week, I claimed that he was "Cookie Cutter Country", meaning that singers like him in country music come a dime a dozen. But Kris has held his own each week, going up against more talented performers and surviving to compete another week. He has met the challenge each and every week, giving us enough to survive. In the top 3 performances, Kris' stripped-down version of Heartless was truly brilliant and reminded me a little of David Cook and a little of Jason Castro from season 7. It was also about as close as we've come to an "Idol Moment" all season long.

But What About the Voters?

According to Yahoo, Kris, a college-student from Conway, Arkansas, is a favorite among teenage girls. So was David Archuleta if you'll remember right, and teenage girls have bedtimes that can interfere with voting time on a Tuesday night. There was a school of thought last year that this may have been what cost Archie the crown. I think there is no middle of the road where Adam is concerned. You either love him or you hate him. With Kris splitting votes last week with Danny Gokey, we have to wonder where Danny's supporters will turn this week? Will Adam pick them up or will they flock to Kris?

Prediction?

Realizing that this is being written and posted prior to Tuesday night's finale, I think that a lot of voters already have their minds made up. Some will wait and let their decision hinge on the Tuesday performances, but I think the truly hardcore fans have decided. Adam is the better performer and entertainer, while Kris is probably the more "parental-pleasing" choice.

Winner: Adam

Overture....hit the lights...

2009-05-15T19:38:00.004-05:00

Expected to appear on Wednesday night Idol finale so far are:

Season 7 winner David Cook, Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Queen Latifah, the Black Eyed Peas and Keith Urban.

If I hear any more names, I will be sure to post them. While Carrie Underwood will be performing on Tuesday night, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see her or other previous winners performing on Wednesday night as well. I'm sure there will be a lot of surprise appearances also, as FOX has been known to do in the past.

Idol Guest Spoiler for Tuesday's Performance Finale

2009-05-14T21:08:00.004-05:00

So, I downloaded a new (free) app for my iPod Touch, American Idol Lite, and it gives news and video updates of what's going on in the world of American Idol. In tonight's news, I've learned that Carrie Underwood will be appearing on Tuesday night's show singing this season's elimination song, Home Sweet Home.

Cool :)

Adam Lambert's "streaker" - not so much

2009-05-14T12:36:00.003-05:00

For the Adam Lambert fans out there, enjoy.... for the streaking female fans out there....well, better luck next time, although she does make an appearance after his song.

Three's a Crowd

2009-05-13T21:06:00.001-05:00

So what did I like about tonight's results show?

Actually, this time around I think it was all the little surprises the show offered. The results were almost anti-climactic.

Ryan Seacrest injured in a horrible bikini waxing incident?? Say what?? The Idol Desk will be in the Smithsonian? What the hell?

Thanks to Ben Stiller, we might have never known...

Oh wait, it's just a movie promo for Night at the Smithsonian with Ben, Bill Hader, Hank Azaria, and Jonah Hill.

The Ford commercial was good, in fact, I have to say this one is the best one of the season as it is done to Break My Stride (Matthew Wilder). Maybe it's the animation? Hell, of course it is!

Alicia Keys makes a guest appearance talking about more Idol Gives Back stuff. Ah, yes you can text and donate $5! Guest performance from a Rwandan performer, Noah. Wonder if the judges will offer a critique? Nope.

Allison, Scott, and Anoop are in the audience...

Ryan acts as if he's about to start the results and calls Danny to the stage. Now we get to see the footage of Danny's trip home to Milwaukee. He got to hang with his friend and fellow contestant Jamar. THIS is what I had hoped to see last night, but they just didn't have the time. Afterward, Danny gets his review from Ryan and is asked to take a seat on the couch while Kris is called out to the stage. Now its time to for Kris' trip back home to Conway, Arkansas where he is the proud recipient of free cheese dip for life! Just in case you were wondering, Conway is 186 miles from West Plains, MO (which is where my dad and youngest sister lives), about a 3 1/2 hour drive. That would make it a 7 hour drive from here in Columbia. Review time for Kris now before he too takes a seat on the couch.

Jordin Sparks is back to perform her new single, Battlefield. It's gonna be fun traumatizing the kids while I sing along to the radio when its on.

Back to the reviews as Ryan calls Adam Lambert to the stage. Adam talks about his trip to San Diego. Apparently Adam got a VERY warm welcome as a woman took her top off and ran up to the stage to show her, um, appreciation (yeah, that's a good word). Let's see, Kris gets cheese dip for life and Adam gets a female streaker. And she was hot too! On to Adam's review and he too is sent over to the couch after Ryan reminds him that the judges all agreed that he belongs in the finals.

Back from the commercial break and Ryan teases us again with the results one more time before announcing that we will have that AFTER a performance from Katy Perry. Wearing a red and white cape with Adam's name stitched on it. And oh yeah, she's hot too. This is the first time I've seen her perform and wow...Oh, she was singing her new song, Waking Up in Vegas.

Finally, we are back again for the announcement of the final 2....

And moving on is Adam and....Kris. The journey ends for Danny Gokey.

Next week is going to be a whirlwind for me....final contest performances on Tuesday, another (hopefully) outstanding results show and then its off to Indiana for my birthday! Simon says the finals next week have the potential to be a big ding dong. I don't even want to know what that might mean!

Three...is the magic number

2009-05-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

Wow, are we really down to the final 3? And Clive Davis did NOT pick a song for the contestants this year? With 2 songs each tonight, should be a quick nite.

I have to admit, I was strangely disappointed by the lack of footage from the contestant's trips back home.

Danny's Judges Choice Dance Little Sister by Terrance Trent Darby, chosen by Paula certainly got off to a great start. Should someone tell Kara this isn't "So You Think You Can Dance"?

I thought Kara might be the odd judge out tonight, but no, she helped Randy pick Kris' song tonight - Apologize by OneRepublic. I didn't recognize this song by name, but once Kris got started I had one of those "lightbulb" moments. You know...where someone flipped the switch inside my brain. Which is probably a good thing because I kinda like the song, and while Kris didn't technically do anything wrong with it, it didn't make me want to applaud as much as the studio audience did. Gotta admit though, I kinda like the way Simon stood up for Kris during the reviews.

Adam is doing One by U2, chosen by Simon. Not posessing a vagina, I don't get a lot of the fuss over Adam Lambert. But, despite a few experiments gone horribly horribly wrong (Ring of Fire), this was another great performance for Adam.

So, it looks like in the race to be Adam's opponent next week in the finale, in my opinion, is currently being lead by Danny by a fraction of a percent. How will round two go tonight? Lets see...

Looks like we couldn't go a whole season without discussing Idol Gives Back. Ryan brings up the fundraising show and how much has been raised and we are shown footage of Exon Mobile sending a past Idol winner to Angola - Carrie Underwood :)

Danny is up again for the Performer's Choice song and Danny has chosen You Are So Beautiful by Joe Cocker. He's got the chops for this one, can he keep it interesting and turn it into an Idol "moment"? He makes a valiant effort at hitting a high note early. I like this performance for him. It doesn't seem to carry the same pizazz that we felt when Kat McPhee did Somewhere Over the Rainbow a few years ago. The judges liked it as well.

Kris is going to sing Heartless by Kanye West. Oh dear Lord. The arrangement is stripped down, just Kris and the guitar, no vocal synthesizer, no reminders of Gay Fish. I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised with this one. Who gets in tomorrow night now is anybody's guess.

Adam closes things out tonight with Cryin by Aerosmith, says he wants to do Steven Tyler proud. I'm really looking forward to this one. I'm finding that I much prefer Adam's performances when he rocks out and doesn't get all weird on us. This song, in my opinion is better than his earlier song was.

OK...so who's in the top 2? So barring a complete voter breakdown tonight, Adam is in the finals. The real question should be who will join him. Kris and Danny will split a lot of votes, and I think if voters base their vote on the body of work for the season, then Danny will make the finals. If they base their vote on tonight alone, then Kris could sneak in on the merits of Heartless alone.

So...my top 2 is Adam & Danny. But I can live with Adam & Kris.

It's getting weird in here...

2009-05-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

Time for some Weird News...

Italian researchers revealed in March that at least one method of increasing penis size actually works (but that it would take a highly motivated man to take advantage of it). Writing in the British Journal of Urology, a team from the University of Turin had volunteers attach weights of from 1.3 to 2.6 pounds for six hours a day for a six-month period and found that their flaccid-state lengths increased by an average of almost 1 inch. [LiveScience.com, 3-11-09] (but can you still hang a towel from it?)

Coming Soon to Reality TV: The CMT cable channel has scheduled an August start-up for "Runnin' Wild ... From Ted Nugent," in which the rock singer, hunter and uninhibited gun advocate will spend five episodes training three novices on how to survive in the woods, and then, in the final episodes, Nugent and his 18-year-old son will go hunt them down, with the last one to avoid capture declared the winner. [Press Release from TedNugent.com, 4-2-09] (how about a special celebrity episode where Nugent hunts down people like Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, and Ryan Seacrest?)

In April, police in Copley Township, Ohio, were called to a restaurant where Erik Salmons, 39, was allegedly intoxicated and annoying customers. Officers declined to arrest him but did insist that he call someone for a ride home, and Salmons complied. However, at home, Salmons decided that he was insulted at being thought of as intoxicated and so drove himself to the police station and demanded a breathalyzer test, which of course he failed, and he was arrested. [Akron Beacon Journal, 4-7-09] (And he's not half as think as you drunk he is!)

Thoughts or comments?

Star Trek Returns

2009-05-07T11:27:00.003-05:00

Last week, I was given a free ticket to see the new Star Trek movie at the Imax theatre in Kansas City. The movie was playing as a sneak preview last night, and KC is about 120 miles from where I live in Columbia, MO. Combine that with the fact that aside from getting to KCI airport, I know nothing about getting around Kansas City and I'm sure I never would have made it to the theatre in time.

So I'll wait...maybe until it comes out on DVD, I don't know. Hell, I haven't watched Star Trek Nemesis yet.

But from what I have heard and read, some people are taking issue with the way this movie seems to change the original franchise' chain of events. Sigh...is nothing sacred?

Thoughts or comments? Please share!

Welcome EntreCard Droppers!

2009-05-07T09:24:00.003-05:00

I suppose its about time I make some sort of official statement regarding EntreCard's movement into paid ads, so here it is.

Everyone is welcome here.

I'm not going to purchase ads with money, but if someone else wants to do the same, by all means. I'm here to blog first and read second, and if I happen to have an opportunity to make a little cash in the process then great.

As of this morning, it only cost 4 EC to advertise on my page. I currently have 1 EC ad running and 1 more in the que. After that, there's a whole string of paid ads just waiting.

So please, if you're here to drop and run, that's fine. At least spend 30 seconds to scroll down through the page and see if there's a topic here that might interest you. For the most part, I blog my thoughts on American Idol and Heroes. I occasionally make random posts as well and like to share some weird news items on the weekend. And other opinions are certainly welcome - if you leave a comment, rest assured I will be back to respond to it as soon as I can.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu

2009-05-06T21:05:00.000-05:00

Over 64 Million votes cast...

Did enough people show Adam a Whole Lotta Love? Will Danny be left to Dream On? Will Allison become a Cry Baby? Will it all Come Together for Kris? We'll find out tonight because THIS is American Idol!

The Ford commercial is inconsequential anymore so lets dive into the group song as guest Mentor Slash joins the final 4 on stage for their rendition of School's Out by Alice Cooper. (God, now I'm going to have to try to find Rock & Roll High School and watch it again!)

Paula performs on the idol stage for the first time ever. I suppose they could have just played a video again like last year because it seemed to me like she was lipsynching.

No Doubt eats up more time with their performance of Just a Girl. Oh look...Gwen Stefani can do push ups!

Results time...almost. First its a look back at previous top 3 performers making their promo trip back to their respective hometowns. One by one, we'll find out who made the top 3.

First of course, Ryan has to stall by recapping the judges comments for all 4 finalists. With that out of the way, Ryan sends Kris over to the chairs of safety and the Top 3.

Daughtry comes out to perform on the anniversary of his ousting from the competition, singing his new song "It's No Surprise". Good song, I'm betting it will do well. And congrats on his debut album selling over 5 million copies! Nice plaque :)

Back to the results now and Ryan sends Adam over to take a seat in the top 3. As Daughtry had just sang, it's no surprise.

Finally, the 3rd seat is to be filled by....Danny. Allison is sent home.

And so the field is set to determine the two finalists. Only 2 songs next week, the judges' pick and the contestants' pick. No Clive Davis pick this year.

Adam-Danny? Adam-Kris? Danny-Kris?

We shall find out next week...

Alright...who hit the high note?

2009-05-05T20:10:00.001-05:00

Before Idol started tonight, I heard about the accident on the stage and like a lot of other idol fans I was searching for information on the net and found it slow in coming. My initial guess was did Adam's high notes shatter all the glass?? All kidding aside, it was learned that one of the towers on stage collapsed and dress rehearsal had to be cancelled. According to some sources, a stage manager was injured in the accident and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance.

So tonight we have the final 4 performing, PLUS the addition of a pair of duets! Should be an interesting night!

Adam - Whole Lotta Love (Led Zepelin) - I had hoped Adam would do Dream On when this theme was announced, but I think he picked a better one in this song. He's got the range to pull it off, but I can't help but wonder if Simon will use the "K" word? Is Paula holding up a cigarette lighter? Nope, he called it is favorite and said no one can top that and he is performing first tonight!

Allison - Cry Baby (Janis Joplin) - the teen rocker is sporting a new rocker hairstyle courtesy of Adam's hairdresser. As for vocals tonight, Adam seems to have set the bar pretty high, but tonight is also Allison's genre as well, and she seems to be holding her own. The judges weren't too crazy about song choice, but our feisty 17 year old argues back her reasoning.

After the break, its the first duet performance of the night, Kris and Danny sing Renegade by Styx. Love the song, but I wish they had gotten a chance to dress rehearse and clean up the rough edges. Still, it was a pretty good performance. I agree with Randy, the harmony was great.

Kris - Come Together (Beatles) - I guess playing with Slash is enough to make you wet yourself. Sorry Kris, even I think some things are TMI. I don't know about this one though, something just doesn't sound right, its almost if he's messing with the timing or something. Maybe he was still a little "up" from the duet? I don't know.

Danny - Dream On (Aerosmith) - Well, well, well....I thought this would be a good song for Adam, but for Danny - not so much. I fear the trainwreck potential. The session with Slash didn't seem so bad and the actual performance actually starts off quite nice. Can he hit the money note? By George I think he got it! I liked it, despite what the judges said.

Our second duet of the night features Allison and Adam doing Slow Ride by Foghat. Song wise, I prefer the first duet, but performance wise, I think Adam/Allison did a much better job.

So how will the results go? Well, I think we'll have a bottom 3 of Danny, Kris, and Allison. Adam by far was the best of the night. I predict however that the bottom 2 will come down to Kris and Allison and I'll base my choice for who leaves on the final duet performance of the night. Allison is safe, Kris will go home.

Time for some weird news...

2009-05-01T10:29:00.002-05:00

How about another round of weird news?

Among the lingering sex-based customs in Saudi Arabia is the restriction on women's working outside the home, which forces lingerie shops to be staffed only with males, who must awkwardly make recommendations on women's bra styles and sizes. The campaign for change, led by a Jeddah college lecturer, has enlisted even some clerks, who are just as embarrassed about the confrontation as the customers, according to a February BBC News dispatch. [BBC News, 2-25-09]

(Yeah but...how bad do you want a job?)

Advocates for children complained in April that Sweden's national library, acting on a standing order to archive copies of all domestic publications, has been gathering books and magazines of child pornography from the years 1971-1980, when it was legal, and, as libraries do, lending them out. [The Local (Stockholm), 4-6-09]

(It could be interesting to find out how often material gets returned on time)

Buddhist monks continue to add to their 20-structure compound near the Cambodian border using empty beer bottles, according to a February feature in London's Daily Telegraph. Their building program, begun in 1984, already uses 1.5 million bottles, mostly green Heinekens and brown, locally brewed Chang, both of which are praised for letting in light and permitting easy cleaning. [Daily Telegraph (London), 2-18-09]

(Sing with me now, 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer....)

A group of an estimated 10,000 believers is attempting to reverse American Christianity's declining birthrate by shunning all contraception, in obedience to Psalm 127, which likens the advantage of big families to having a "quiver" full of "arrows" (and which calls itself the QuiverFull movement). "God opens and closes the womb," explained one advocate, to National Public Radio in March, noting that in her own church in Shelby, Mich., the mothers average 8.5 children. "The womb is such a powerful weapon ... against the enemy," she said. "The more children I have, the more ability I have to impact the world for God." [National Public Radio, 3-29-09]

(Ummmm, good luck with that...)

Homeless couple Darryl Washington and Maria Ramos were injured in 1992 when a train rammed them as they were having sex on a mattress on the tracks at a New York City subway station. The injuries were not severe, thanks to a quick-acting motorman. Nevertheless, the couple went on to file a lawsuit against the Transit Authority for "carelessness, recklessness and negligence." (The outcome of the lawsuit was not reported, but the couple's lawyer was, at the time, quite aggressive in justifying the filing: "Homeless people are allowed to have sex, too," he said.) [New York Daily News, 12-21-93]

(I've heard of coitus interruptus, but really...)

And finally, I leave you with this video from the spike tv show, 1000 Ways to Die. Drugs are bad, mkay?

Em-Bear-Assed | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Idol Semi-Shocker (Don't Read if you Don't Want to Know!)

2009-04-29T21:03:00.000-05:00

Who will get RATTED out? Which contestant will PACK it in? We'll find out tonight on American Idol! (I wish they'd pay me to write this stuff...)

The rain storms are just moving into the area so I'm waiting for our cable to go out. Of course it does, then my internet and phone will be out too, so lets hope for the best.

I've made a habit of checking in with Dial Idol each week to see how they call things and lo and behold, their predictions list the finishing order identical to what I did last night which means...anyone could go home.

Ford commercials have officially lost their appeal with me. What, did they hire the writer guys who almost ruined Heroes to come up with the Ford ideas? Bring back the Muppet commercial from Season 4! Good God, its getting to where I'm looking forward to the group lipsynch, er, song more than the Ford commercial!

Gotta give props to Danny's $6000 cleaning bill for the mess the group made at the Idol mansion. Speaking of, that segment looked kinda fun; gives me a few ideas actually. Wonder if there was a group shower afterward?

OK, results time....All 5 idols take the stage and Matt is sent to stage right while Danny is sent to stage left. Allison joins Danny, while Kris joins Matt. Adam gets his recap from Ryan and then asked to pick which group he thinks he belongs in. Adam picks Allison and Danny, and walks over to join them. Ryan says, THIS is NOT your bottom 3, then ushers Adam over to Matt and Kris and says THIS is your bottom 3.

Millions of women are now staring at their tv screens in disbelief.

Natalie Cole performance. I've heard past songs from her and she has sounded great in the past, but to quote Simon, she is sounding a lot like a lounge singer in a hotel somewhere.

Season 5 champ Taylor Hicks is sounding great; love the song :)

Time to send someone back to safety from the bottom 3 and going back to the couch is....Kris.

Millions of women have now just shit themselves simultaneously.

Jamie Foxx gets his turn at the mic now singing Gay Fish, er, Blame It. Sorry, it just sounded a lot like a song from South Park a few weeks ago. Does he agree with America's voting? Did America get it right? Jamie says it doesn't matter now because what is important now is the journey after Idol and it is time to make it happen and also he has a new movie out. Way to deflect, Jamie.

So how bad would it be for Matt to go home on the night of his best musical genre? How many women will refuse to watch any more Idol if Adam leaves. Memories of Chris Daughtry's exit, perhaps?

Without further delay, Ryan tells Adam that he is safe. Matt's luck has run out.

Millions of women have just collapsed with a huge sigh of relief.

Next week: Rock n Roll for the Final 4, and the special guest (mentor?? I'm a bit confused) is Slash. Yes, that Slash. Should be interesting.

American Idol Potential Spoiler - Who's Going Home?

2009-04-29T12:54:00.004-05:00

Given Dial Idol's propensity for being off the mark the past few weeks, it may be safe to say that my predictions last night are way off base. But then again...

Dial Idol has predicted the order of finish this week as 100% identical to my prediction last night as well. Which means, if correct, it will be Matt Giraud going home tonight.

Oh, they also had Danny above Adam too. :)

We should know in about 8 hours or so...

American Idol Performance Notes (Insert Alternate Witty Title Here)

2009-04-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well....I don't know that I can give a valid review and opinion of tonight's performances. Truth is, this is not one of my favorite genres of music, but I suppose it's my turn to feel what the non-country fans feel for one week each season (unless you want to consider season 4, when Miss Carrie won it all!).

We're in the top 5 now and at this point, I suppose it doesn't matter who they send home because all of the contestants (yes, even Matt) have proven they belonged. Simply by the style of music tonight though, I'd say they all sucked. A couple of them just sucked considerably less than the rest.

For what its worth, here are my rankings tonight, from first to worst. I don't have song titles because I just don't.

1) Danny
2) Adam
3) Allison
4) Kris
5) Matt

Tomorrow night, looks like our television choice is President Obama's speech on the other channels, or Taylor Hicks and American Idol's elimination show on Fox.

Decisions, Decisions....

Another reminder that things are not always as they appear!

2009-04-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

Heroes Fugitives -

Episode 12: An Invisible Thread

We flashback to last week's closing moments when our Heroes were rounded up, amongst a few other highlights from this season.

Angela dreamed of their capture so Noah pulls over and lets Angela and Claire out just before the stop. Noah is alone when he pulls up and officers with flashlights search the car as a van load of agents approach.

Back in Nathan's office, we see a repeat of Sylar walking out of the bathroom as Danko puts a knife in the back of his head. Sylar stands up and says "That hurt" as Danko looks on in surprise. Sylar sends Danko flying against the wall. Danko says go ahad and get it over with, his men will be there shortly and Sylar says he has plans for him. Sylar tells of his plan to meet the President, as Nathan, and waits to shake his hand. Danko tells him to kill him now and Sylar says he doesn't have to because in 30 seconds there isn't a person alive who will believe a word he says. Sylar then transforms into Danko and fires shots at the approaching team of agents. He re-enters the room and changes into Agent Taub, who yells, I've got him, he's in here! Agents enter the room holding guns on Danko, who simply looks at Sylar and calls him a son of a bitch.

In the nation's capitol, Angela and Claire are walking and talking. They arrive at Nathan's office and Angela says Claire is on her own, she has to go find Matt Parkman. In the office we see Sylar telling Nathan to wake up, but Nathan is still drugged and doesn't move. Nathan's secretary enters and says that his daughter is here to see him. Sylar transforms into Nathan and says send her in. Claire seems suspicious of Nathan's identity and asks how she knows its him and not Sylar. Sylar touches the necklace Claire is wearing and suddenly gains the knowledge of Claire and Nathans' trip to Mexico. She wants to go with him to his press conference and Nathan/Sylar agrees.

Hiro and Ando are watching as Danko is ushered into the prison of building 26. Hiro says he is feeling better, but he is a little shaken at his nosebleed from earlier. Everyone stands and watches as Danko is brought through the building and shoved into a holding cell, where he hears a familiar voice say "Fancy meeting you here." Danko turns and sees that it is Noah.

Back in Nathan's office, Nathan wakes up and is rather groggy as Peter walks in. Nathan says, "Sylar - we have to stop him."

Danko and Noah are talking, and Noah realizes he is Danko. Noah wants to get a spike into Sylar's head, but Danko says it won't work. Thanks to his new shapeshifting ability, Sylar moved the "spot". As the men are talking, they suddenly freeze and Hiro and Ando walk through. Everyone in building 26 is frozen and they realize they have the run of the place. That's when Ando notices that Hiro is bleeding from his ear.

They continue their search and find a room full of poeople on hospital gurneys. Hiro says Holy Crap. As they rescue a few of their friends, and replace their friends with the guards, Hiro utters that Payback is very bitchy and suddenly loses his focus. Time resumes and everyone starts to walk around again. Noah and Danko awake and see the open door and wonder if its a trick. Mohinder is examining Hiro and asks him a few questions about symptoms.

Nathan/Sylar and Claire walk through a security checkpoint and get onto an elevator. Claire says, I thought you were a righty. Sylar/Nathan says I'm ambidextrous.

Noah and Danko are still trying to make sense of the situation at building 26 just as Hiro shoves a needle into Danko's neck, who suddenly collapses to the floor. Noah runs out of the room and calls Claire. She answers her cellphone after several rings and Noah asks her where she is and she replies, "with Nathan." Noah asks if she is sure and she walks across the room with her finger pursed to her lips, saying "shhhh." Noah asks again how she knows its Nathan. Suddenly, Claire morphs back into Sylar and says, "Because it's me." Claire stands next to him looking a bit scared and unsure of what is going on.

Claire opens a bottle of champagne as Sylar uses Doyle's puppetmaster ability to move her around the room. Sylar delights in telling her all the people that are going to die. Claire says that he will die, she'll make sure of it. Sylar says one day, she may even love him. She says she'll keep trying to kill him for the rest of her life. Sylar says everyone needs a hobby.

Nathan and Peter arrive and are told they cannot go up to see the president because he's already up there. Security teams are with them and Nathan talks his way into being allowed to go up. The door opens as Claire comes flying through the door. Nathan and Peter look at her as she stares back at them saying "Go!" Sylar is inside the room, tossing sparks from his hand as Peter and Nathan attack. There is a ruckus in the room as Claire comes back inside and gets Peter who tells her they went out the window. Claire and Peter leave the room as Nathan and Sylar come back inside. Suddenly Nathan uses a finger motion and we see Nathan's throat has been sliced open. Sylar smiles and says "Claire is going to be so mad at me!" as Nathan collapses to the floor, dead. Sylar transforms back into Nathan and silently walks out of the room.

We see Matt Parkman get off a bus in DC, and Angela Petrelli finds him. She tells him that Nathan is in trouble, and Matt says he can't, he has his own situation to take care of. Angela tells him that they want the same thing.

Claire and Peter are back in the lobby and Noah is holding a gun to them. Claire tells Noah that Peter got Sylar's powers. Matt and Angela enter the building and using the "These are not the droids you're looking for" approach, they walk into the battle scene and find Nathan dead.

Sylar/Nathan finds the security team, who is escorting the president outside of the building. Sylar meets up with the lead security agent and assumes his identity as he continues his pursuit of the president. Sylar/Liam enters a vehicle containing President Worf (Star Trek's Michael Dorn is playing the President), where he is anxious to shake his hand. However...as they shake hands, we find that it's not really the president - It's Peter who manages to revert Sylar back to his original form before injecting a syringe into Sylar's throat.

Back to the battle room, we have Sylar, drugged and unconscious with Angela and Noah trying to convince Matt to get into Sylar's head and make him think he's Nathan, so that he can tell the President he made a mistake. Matt is against the idea, but the pleas work. Matt agrees and begins to work on Sylar, telling him that he is no longer Sylar, Gabriel Gray is dead. Sylar is dead. Instead he is Nathan Petrelli. Sylar begins to convulse and choke and shift and when its all over, he is transformed back into Nathan, convinced of his new identity.

The group of characters stand around a makeshift funeral pyre and the original shapeshifter who had died assuming Sylar's form is burned. They discuss the meeting with the President and how the President agreed to a new "Company". volume 4 comes to a close as Volume 5, Redemption opens. It is six weeks later and former building 26 agent Kent Harper arrives home to a flooded kitchen. The water is running into the living room where it suddenly rises up into the form of a nude Tracy, whom we all thought had died several weeks ago. Tracy stands there and says to the stunned agent, "You're number 4."

Angela enters Nathan's office and says she's there for lunch. Nathan appears to be staring off into space and Angela asks if he's heard anything she has said. He walks over to a cabinet where he looks at a clock and says, it's off by a minute and a half. Angela gets a concerned look on her face for a moment as Nathan turns around and heads for the door. "You said something about lunch?" he asks her...

So there we have it...another season of Heroes is in the books, er, can, or whatever they call tv shows when they are completed. Looks like we'll have to wait until August to find out what happens next. Meanwhile I will just have to get Tammy brought up to speed so that she won't be completely lost when it does return.

Weird News, aka Things That Make You Go Hmmm

2009-04-24T11:20:00.002-05:00

Something I have always enjoyed reading was weird news items. Maybe its because of the satisfaction I get in knowing that there is someone in the world who is far more messed up than I am. And for those who actually know and hang out with me, they should take it as a warning that hey, it could be worse.

If you'd like to visit their website, simply click on this: News of the Weird

Here is a sampling of this week's weird news...

Spanish researchers at Autonomous University of Madrid reported in February that wolves (and almost surely dogs), when relieving themselves, deliberately seek out the most conspicuous places they can find (both as to sight and smell), to assure maximum territorial signaling. Male wolves prefer tall trees (and dogs, prominently located fire hydrants) and try to leave urine as high up as they can to increase its wind-carry, according to a Discovery Channel summary. [Discovery News, 2-26-09]

Biologist Michelle Solensky, of Ohio's College of Wooster, reported late last year in the journal Animal Behavior that male monarch butterflies are such calculating inseminators that they even decide the optimal level of sperm necessary for reproductive advantage. While injecting fluid, the male can "selectively" determine how much of it will be fertility cells, depending on how much residual sperm the female holds from previous suitors (and thus to always inject more than the other guys did). Solensky told New Scientist magazine that the penis acts as a kind of "dip stick" to check the quantity already present. [New Scientist, 1-7-09]

In March, because of budget cuts, the Municipal Court in Mount Gilead, Ohio, ordered its clerk to accept no new filings of any kind (including criminal cases) unless the filer brings his own paper for printing the legally required copies to be distributed. [Columbus Dispatch, 3-14-09]

London's Daily Mail reported in March that among the recession-themed business start-up grants awarded by the Welsh Department of Work and Pensions was the equivalent of about $6,600 to the Accolade Academy of Psychic and Mediumistic Studies. One of the Academy's owners defended the award, noting that parents who have lost a child need to know that the child is safe. [Daily Mail, 3-26-09]

Vinyl Lust: A 23-year-old man was arrested in February and charged with a series of break-ins at sex shops in downtown Cairns, Australia, in which the intruder inflated plastic dolls, had sex with them and left messes. (In the break-ins at Laneway Adult Shop, the perp appeared to be sweet on "Jungle Jane.") [Cairns Post, 1-7-09]

George Bartusek Jr., 51, was arrested in February in Cape Coral, Fla., in his car in the parking lot of a Publix supermarket. He had parked next to the front door, apparently to obtain the optimal audience, and was having sex with two blow-up dolls in the front seat. He told police he had come to the shopping center to buy clothes for his gals. [Fort Myers News-Press, 2-5-09]

American Idol Top 7 Elimination - Part Deux

2009-04-22T21:04:00.000-05:00

Well, Dial Idol has done its part to put a little drama in tonight's elimination show. Thanks to the save of Matt Giraud last week, 2 people will go home tonight. That's 28% of this week's contestants if you're keeping track. After last night's performance show, the choices seemed rather cut and dried. But maybe not...

The open collars and chains around the neck make an appearance for disco week finally; they were conspicuously absent last night (not necessarily missed though, lol!) and for the group song its painfully obvious that the lipsynching is back and in rather poor form too. On the plus side, Paula did teach the 7 some moves and I'm looking forward to reading Tammy's post tonight too, if she ever recovers from watching Adam perform said moves.

Results...

Lil Rounds is the first one pulled off the couch tonight and the first of two to be sent home tonight :) So much for Dial Idol's "prediction"!

Music time again for guest performers Freda Payne (Band of Gold), Thelma Houston (Don't Leave Me This Way), and KC of KC & the Sunshine Band (Get Down Tonight). Entertaining, yet I'm kinda glad its over. I just noticed that KC kinda looks like the singer Meatloaf. Now THERE would be a guest mentor and theme week: The songs of Meatloaf! Paradise by the Dashboard Light would make a great group song, but with Allison being the only female left, and being only 16, I could see some issues being taken with that. But then again, Flo Rida was on recently and did his song Right Round, which is nothing more than a tribute to oral sex.

The results return...

Kris, Adam, and Danny are safe. Anoop takes a stool in the bottom 3, leaving Matt & Allison left for the final spot in the bottom. Allison moves to the bottom 3, as America's impression of Matt has improved over last week.

Back to the show and a guest performance from David Archuleta.

Back to the results and tonight's final elimination sends Anoop home.

This leaves a top 5 of Adam, Danny, Kris, Matt, and Allison to set up for whatever theme gets thrown at them. I missed Ryan's closing due to the crashing clanging sounds my sons tend to make whenever I need them to be quiet. Come on, I've paid my penance for my teenage years, haven't I???

Welcome to the Donna Summer Tribute Concert! (AKA Disco Week at the American Idol Top 7 Performance Show)

2009-04-21T20:05:00.002-05:00

No save this week, 2 are going home. Who has the "balls" to survive Disco Week?

Wasting no time, the performances start. Let's divide tonight's performances into two groups:

Disco Inferno (On Fire, Hot Stuff, well, you get the idea):

Kris Allen - She Works Hard for the Money (Donna Summer) - Not a big fan of Kris, but gotta say this is the best I've heard from him all season. Took a completely different approach to the song and reminded me a little of Jason Castro with it. Sounded great to me. He won't see the bottom 3 this week.

Danny Gokey - September (Earth Wind and Fire) - OK, Danny has been sounding so much better the last couple weeks after breaking away from the country songs. Yes he's versatile, but he is more rocker than country boy. This song was a perfect example, too. Safe, safe, safe...

Allison Iraheta - Hot Stuff (Donna Summer) - She's still under 18, right? You wouldn't know it by this performance. Great opening, I thought it was great start to finish; Kinda like Billie Jean for David Cook last year, she could have a hit with that song today.

Adam Lambert - If I Can't Have You (Yvonne Elliman) - from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Adam is going with a look that has served him well lately. As for the song, well...it had its moments. In fact I thought it started out great and like everything else he does, he made it his own. There is only one thing I wish he hadn't done and that was that high-pitched shrill note that he hit towards the end.

Disco Ducks (Quack, Quack):

Lil Rounds - I'm Every Woman (Chaka Khan) - No, she isn't. Thank goodness.

Matt Giraud - Staying Alive (Bee Gees) - Appropriate song choice after being saved last week by the judges. Good rythym, good vocals, but 10 to 1 Paula tells him how good he looks first. It was a'ight, but too many better performances tonight to make it to the top of the list. Is it enough to avoid being one of the two sent home this week?

Anoop Desai - Dim All the Lights (Donna Summer) - Anoop has a good voice, but this song seemed to fall by the wayside for me, borderline boring. I hate to see it, but Anoop may have just saved Matt from elimination.

Until tomorrow...

Heroes Summary - Sylar-Centric

2009-04-20T21:11:00.004-05:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am noticing a big difference in the writing since the change in writers earlier this season. Last weeks' episode was good - it explained a lot, but this week was simply awesome. Emmy nomination for Zach Quinto? Maybe, maybe...time will tell. Here's the summary for tonight's show. If you haven't watched yet, you don't want to miss it!

Chapter 11: I Am Sylar

Recap of the Petrelli and Bennet clans having dinner in the cafe and watching Sylar as Nathan on TV. Suddenly, it's 18 hours earlier...(This episode is taking place in the same time span as last week's chapter, 1961.)

Sylar wakes up in the form of another of Danko's agents and wonders why this keeps happening. He changes back into himself and pulls a tooth. Huh.

Matt is on the phone talking to his ex wife, Janice, telling her that the baby is ok and that he'll see her soon. They hang up and Ando & Hiro are talking with him. Matt has realized he has new priorities and Hiro & Ando try to talk him into helping take down Danko and Building 26. Matt doesn't want to be a part of it and thinks our other heroes should just give it up and stay safe. Matt pulls away and Hiro says, "A hero never admits defeat."

Danko and Sylar are talking outside about how the world thinks Sylar is dead. Sylar fears he is losing himself, thanks to his new shapeshifting ability. Danko says he should just stay as Agent Taub because as Agent Taub, he can come and go, even kill, as he pleases. But as Sylar, he has no choice but to hunt him down. Sylar changes back into Taub. After doing so, he uses his finger to cut into his arm: I AM SYLAR. His healing ability kicks in and the wound fades away.

We return from commercial to Richmond, VA, and the home of Tom Miller who has just received a message from Rebel to get out, now. Sylar suddenly appears on Tom's couch. Sylar talks to him and tells him he wants to see Tom's ability. Tom takes a statuette and sets it across the room and as Sylar watches, Tom turns it to dust. Sylar gives him a choice, choose the agents or choose Sylar. Tom chooses Sylar, who says "Good Choice" before slicing Tom's head open and taking his power. As agent Danko arrives, the words "I Am Sylar" are scrawled in blood on the wall.

Danko is back in the office now, talking to Sylar, who laments the fact that his eyes stayed a different color for 8 hours. Danko tries to tell him he is simply having an identity crisis and needs to find an anchor, something to hold onto and remind him who he is. Danko shows him an old watch that used to be his fathers. Sylar takes a look at it and holds it close telling Danko that its 3 minutes fast, gaining half a second every hour.

Hiro and Ando are trying to access Isaac's loft and are discussing what it means to be superheroes. Ando feels that Hiro doesn't treat him as an equal, but as a subordinate, or bait. Once in the room, the two are looking around before they are interrupted by agents, guns drawn. Hiro and Ando fall down and Hiro manages to stop time. He gets up and looks around and is stunned when he sees Ando get up as well. Ando realizes that he isn't frozen and is excited to know that he doesn't have to be the bait!

Sylar, disguised as Agent Taub, receives a delivery of evidence from the local police requested from the scene of his mother's death. We see flash back scenes from the first season and Ellen Greene playing the role of Virginia Gray. Sylar and his mother are talking in what appears to be modern day. Sylar talks to her about how things have gotten this way and wants to know why he feels so lost. Virginia tells him he isn't lost, that he is her son, even though she didn't give birth to him. He feels guilty that he killed her and and she says thats because there is no one left to love him anymore. She says and now, she's back. There's a knock at the door and Virginia turns back into Sylar. It's Danko, saying they found Rebel.

Hiro and Ando continue to talk among the frozen agents, trying to figure out who they are in the superhero scheme of things. Ando thinks of himself as a Batman type while Hiro is like Superman. Hiro sees Ando as "The Crimson Arc" and Ando doesn't appreciate that name. Hiro walks out of the room as Ando say's I'm not your sidekick! Hiro says softly, "I'm sorry," then starts time again just as the agents open fire and shoot several darts into Ando. Hiro stops time again and looks at the agent, saying "Just my size."

Danko and Sylar (as agent Taub) are outside a building with several other agents and a quick entry and search bring Sylar face to face with Micah, aka "Rebel". Sylar looks at Micah and is surprised at who he finds. Micah tells Sylar that he has a problem and that he can help him. Sylar tells him too late, he joined the other side. Micah says they don't know him and don't know how special he is, and that Sylar can save them all.

Hiro is on a transport disguised as an Agent and wakes up the drugged Ando. Another agent notices Hiro's glasses and questions them. Ando lets loose a burst of energy and the two make their escape, taking a GPS unit with them.

Micah is running and being chased by a team of agents. He is cornered on a pier as Danko orders his men to take him down. An agent argues back that he's just a kid. Danko says take him down now. They fire and Micah falls into the water. But it wasn't Micah, it was Sylar, having shifted into Micah's appearance as Micah made his escape. Sylar walks back onto the pier after most of the others have left, standing behind Danko. Danko tells him this wasn't like him and again asks him to be the hunter or the prey. Sylar chooses to be the hunter and Danko says he better start getting into character then.

Micah goes back to Sylar's apartment where he witnesses a Sylar/Virginia conversation. They discuss Sylars new ability and Micah tells Sylar that he can make things right, as Nathan Petrelli he can tell the president that he made a mistake. Sylar starts to get upset and tells Micah to get out and not come back. If he sees him again, he might have to kill him.

We enter Nathan Petrelli's office and see Sylar going through Nathan's desk. Sylar holds another discussion with his mother as he takes a walk around the office, looking at the pictures and awards. Sylar is still feeling guilty about killing his mother and Virginia tells him that that must be how he lost himself and that she forgives him. She tells him that he can be anything he wants, even president. Sylar then shifts into Nathan.

Matt is arriving back at Janices' home carrying the baby. He walks around the house talking to the baby about hos he didn't expect to fall in love. Janice runs in, excited to see the baby. As they have a moment, Matt knows they are being watched. Together they devise a plan of where they should go. Matt admits its crazy and Janice simply says they have a lot to talk about.

Sylar/Nathan is seen giving his speech regarding trying to meet with the president and says that once he gets a chance to do that and shake his hand, there will be some changes. We see Danko, Hiro, Ando, and the real Nathan all watching on tv.

Nathan and the others discuss what they just saw and Noah says they need a plan. Nathan wants to do this alone, but the others all say its a bad idea. Nathan says he must get to the president before Sylar does. Peter wants to go with him, but Nathan says, "I started this, I gotta end it."

Hiro and Ando discuss their new partnership aggreements and upon reaching one, Hiro prepares to time travel using Ando's "Crimson Arc" as a booster. Suddenly Hiro gets a big headache and falls to his knees, and lowering his hands, reveals a nose bleed.

Matt has found his old badge and tells Janice he can't go with her. They discuss the reasons behind it

Nathan is back in his office and is confronted by Sylar. Nathan tells him to get the hell out of his body. They discuss events and abilities, including one that Angela gave Sylar - the ability to know an items history simply by touching it. Nathan and sylar have more words and Sylar says that he will be better than Nathan and raises the magic finger. Suddenly a shot rings out and its Danko, who has just shot Nathan with tranquilizers.

As the closing monologue is given, we see the other characters rounded up - Mohinder is shot with darts, Agents close in on Matt, Janice, and Matt Parkman, Jr., and Noah, Claire, Peter, and Angela are pulled over at a road block with a van load of agents right behind them.

We return to Nathan's office where Danko is telling Sylar that he needs him back as Agent Taub. Sylar starts to walk away, stating that he wasn't interested in what Danko wanted anymore. Suddenly we hear a thud as Sylar falls to the ground, a knife sticking out of the back of Sylar's head. As he lays on the ground, Danko radios to his men that he will need some cleanup assistance but as Sylar starts to stir, Danko says "Check that". Sylar stands up in front of Danko and reaches around to pull the knife out of his head. He stares at the knife, then looking at what would have to be a very nervous Danko simply says, "That hurt!"

With that, we are left with previews for next week's season finale...It's gonna be a great conclusion to Volume 4! The story is there is supposed to be a death next week that will stick - who do you think it will be???

Wow - I thought you guys wanted me to let it go?

2009-04-19T11:25:00.004-05:00

I've become a thorn in the side of KU fans. Cool.

But to be such a thorn, I have to keep in mind that some (note: I did not say ALL) KU fans have selective reading, which is quite similar to selective hearing. Meaning they only read or hear certain words or phrases.

The initial comments I received from the repost of an article I didn't even write encouraged me to just let it go, move on, quit carrying such a hatred, blah blah blah. I've tried. This is actually my third blog entry since then, but the comments, they keep on coming. And sometimes, they get personal. Let's stick to the subject at hand, shall we?

It's sad to a point, and eventually it just gets so dang ridiculous that maybe it is best to acknowledge that debating write and wrong with some people is like banging your head against a brick wall.

Let's look a little closer at two player situations: Darrell Arthur of Kansas and Keith DeWitt, an MU signee from Charis Prep School in North Carolina.

As some of you may know by now, it's been reported for the last few months that the NCAA was looking into the academic program at Charis Prep. It's been reported for awhile now that DeWitt may not make it through the NCAA Clearinghouse and be allowed to play basketball at Mizzou this in 2009-10. Yes sir, the NCAA really cracked down on this one!

Arthur, on the other hand, "graduated" from South Oak Cliff HS in Texas, and was cleared by the clearinghouse to play basketball for the Jayhawks of Kansas. According to the official KU website, Arthur was the 4th leading scorer on the team during his freshman season (2006-07) and started in 7 out of 38 games. Coming out of high school, he was tournament MVP his junior and senior years as his team won back to back state championships in class 4A. Sounds like a great player anybody would want on their team, right? In May of 2008, after 2 years of playing basketball at Kansas, WFAA-TV in Texas investigates and discovers the grade changing scandal at South Oak Cliff HS and learns that Arthur likely should not have graduated, therefore being ineligible to play basketball at Kansas. Here's a link to the story at WFAA:

Grade questions could void another SOC title

Now lets stop for a moment and emphasize a point. Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson is not resposible for DeWitt's course selection or grades at Charis Prep. Neither is Bill Self responsible for the grade change situation involving Arthur and South Oak Cliff. The high schools are the ones submitting the transcripts to the NCAA and its up to the NCAA to clear the students to play. My argument today is with the NCAA.

Mizzou loses out on a player because the NCAA won't accept his core courses and rightfully so. Meanwhile, KU has a player on the court for them for 2 YEARS and it takes a Texas tv station to discover he didn't make the grade? Where was the NCAA clearinghouse looking on that one?

Mizzou is not perfect, I'll give you that. But in the past when Mizzou has tried to bend the rules a little bit, MU got caught and punished for it, often immediately. And I will say that I am thankful they did get caught in the past because when Mizzou gets to the final 4 and wins a national championship, then Mizzou fans can truly appreciate the journey of getting there and winning with honesty and integrity.

Hot Blonde Streaker at Rugby Match

2009-04-17T16:27:00.001-05:00

Now for something a little more on the lighter side of things....

Well, would you look at that...

2009-04-15T16:49:00.005-05:00

It appears I've touched a nerve!

Apparently a few readers out there neglected to read the first line of my last post, which clearly states "This post is not my original work." Looking back at my traffic feed, I can see that most people who have found that post were from Kansas, so maybe reading isn't one of their strong suits. But still they made it through the blog post and there were no pictures to help them along, so I must give them some credit.

Seriously though -- I didn't write it. I found it posted on Tigerboard. It also clearly states that it is not meant to state a complete picture of things at KU.

I posted it for one reason and one reason only. The difference in media coverage between Missouri and Kansas sports is highly laughable. If somebody so much as sneezes wrong at Mizzou, the entire free world hears about it. A football player runs down a teammate at Kansas, causing head injuries and sending him to the hospital and its completely covered up and ignored by media.

I know Mizzou is not perfect in the way things are done. No program is. I can accept that. But when Kansas and their fans can own up to the fact that their beloved bird can get away with so much shit, and can pretty much break any NCAA rule around without so much as a slap on the wrist when in fact there should be serious consequences, I will find an ounce of respect for their program.

If you want to comment or criticize me for posting this go right ahead. I welcome them. But let's keep the personal slanders out of this shall we? You want to bring up the past problems at Mizzou? Fine, but how about this little nugget: try limiting it to an NCAA violation that was swept under the rug or perhaps Mizzou got away with. I don't think you're gonna find one.

Oh, and the Carmelita Floyd comments and Ricky Clemons jailhouse experience doesn't count. It wasn't an NCAA violation and Ricky was already off the team at that point.

FWD: The Undressing of Bill Self: A look back at Kansas Basketball

2009-04-15T12:20:00.004-05:00

NOTE: This post is not my original work. I wish it were. It was originally found on Tigerboard.com, a message board for the use of fans of the Missouri Tigers.

To visit Tigerboard, you may not know it was for MU fans, by the sheer number of Kansas Jayhawk posters there, but trust me - it's a Mizzou site.

I'm copying and pasting the following from that site because it involves a detailed account of activities within the Kansas basketball program. Seems like when something negative occurs within the KU program, most media sources tend to hide it, or at least bury it until it becomes so old that no one really cares anymore. So in the name of Truth, Justice, and the Tiger way, please enjoy the following:

http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/missouri-tigers.php?message=6559640

The Self Years

**Note – this is not meant to represent a complete picture. It only contains information that has publically been brought to light.
2003 offseason

After going on national television and proclaiming “I don’t give a **** about North Carolina, Roy Williams in a surprise move takes the knife which he has used to stab anyone in reach in the back with the last 10 years and plunges it squarely in KU fans hearts - proclaims the KU head coaching job to be a stepping stone job by leaving for North Carolina, just as his predecessor did. Tears are shed by all parties.

In an ironic twist of fate, after being chastised by KU fans for coaching a brand of basketball that is a disgrace to the game and not really basketball after hammering KU out of the 2001 NCAA tournament, Bill Self leaves Illinois and is introduced as Kansas basketball coach

Darnell Jackson becomes Self’s first commit to Kansas as after receiving over $5,000 in illegal benefits during his recruitment.

2003-2004 Season

Kansas, under Bill Self, after only two games becomes ranked #1 in the Nation;

In its first game thereafter, #1 Kansas promptly loses to Stanford (64-58] surrendering its No. 1 ranking; Next, Kansas is blown out by Nevada (75-61); A week and a half later, Kansas suffers humiliating defeat AT HOME against Richmond (69-68];

Another week and a half later, Kansas loses to Iowa State (68-61); then is crushed by Oklahoma State (80-60), crushed by Nebraska (74-55) and crushed by Texas (82-67)

After finishing 3rd in the conference Kansas loses again to Texas in second round of Big 12 tournament (64-60);

Kansas loses to Georgia Tech (79-71) in NCAA tournament after beating heavyweights UIC, Pacific and Alabama-Birmingham;

2004 offseason
Departing players receive customary graduation checks from appreciative boosters. Team sets off on illegally organized barnstorming tour where they receive the gate money to supplement their income.

Omar Wilkes, Moulaye Niang, David Padgett announce they are transferring from Kansas basketball program;

Kurtis Townsend hired as assistant basketball coach; Townsend’s experience includes being a member of the staff at California (1993-1997) during one of the largest NCAA recruiting violation investigations in history which landed the school on 3 years probation. He followed that up as an assistant at Michigan (1998-2001) during the greatest recruiting scandal in the history of the NCAA, which resulted in four years of major sanctions for the school; As a bonus to the Kansas basketball program, Townsend brought along with him recruit C.J. Giles, formerly committed to USC when Townsend was coaching there. However, when Townsend left USC for Miami, G.J. Giles transferred along with him to Miami. Once Townsend was fired at Miami, C.J. Giles again transferred with him, this time to Kansas.

Julian Wright commits to Kansas without ever visiting campus; Wright, who had previously eliminated Kansas from his list apparently and inexplicably changed his mind and committed on the spot during a Self and Townsend in-home visit; Scheduled visits to various other schools are abruptly cancelled;

Perhaps not surprisingly, Rodrick Stewart, another one of Townsend’s former players and recruits, transfers to Kansas from USC;
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cbasketball/176969_locke09.html

2004-05 regular season

Kansas blown out in 20 point loss (83-62) to Villanova;

Kansas loses three in a row to Texas Tech (80-79); Iowa State AT HOME (63-61); to Oklahoma (71-63);

Kansas loses to rival Missouri (72-68];

In a strange and somewhat sad tradition, KU finishes second in conference Oklahoma but in an attempt to appear something they are not claim a conference championship despite losing the tiebreaker to them. Kansas knocked out of Big 12 tournament (78-75) in loss to Oklahoma State;

Self manages to accomplish something that hasn’t been done at KU since 1978, as Kansas is shocked in first round of NCAA tournament (64-63) by 14th seed BUCKNELL. It is the first NCAA tournament victory ever for Bucknell’s entire conference, and the first win by a 14 seed since 1999. The preseason #1 team ends its season by losing to a team with only 5 scholarship players.
Benefiting from having a game day coach and tactician, Illinois goes 37-2 and reaches the NCAA title game.

2005 Offseason
Departing players receive customary graduation checks from appreciative boosters. Team sets off on illegally organized barnstorming tour where they receive the gate money to supplement their income.
Alex Galindo and Nick Bahe announce they are transferring from Kansas basketball program;

Only 300 fans show up for Kansas basketball awards ceremony; Majority of seating for 2,024 remains empty; “The ones who didn't show up can sit behind their desk, their computers or whatever and complain till next season," said always-quotable Keith Langford.

Highly publicized bar fight involving starting guard J.R. Giddens occurs. Multiple witnesses report that Giddens was the primary instigator in an attack that saw 10-12 people beat Olathe resident Jeremiah Creswell with fists, bricks and bottles. Saying he was trying to defend himself, Creswell brandished a knife and stabbed Giddens and four others. Witnesses said KU forward C.J. Giles also threw a punch and tossed bricks at Creswell as he lay defenseless on the ground getting stomped.

At some point in June, Kansas athletic department receives anonymous tip regarding improprieties centering around J.R. Giddens and NCAA recruiting violations
Ronnie Chalmers, previously a high school coach in Alaska with only 5 years of experience, but more importantly, recruit Mario Chalmers’ father, is announced as Director of Kansas Basketball Operations; his son also elects to come to Lawrence

Keith Langford and Aaron Miles, never able to adjust to Bill Self’s slow and methodical hi-low offense, go undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft
Known for his lack of sportsmanship and being on scholarship despite stealing felony amounts of merchandise from Wal-Mart, J.R. Giddens has developed into a one dimensional player and is thus becoming expendable given all the off the court issues he brings to the table. Giddens announces he is leaving the Kansas basketball program under request from Self to get a fresh start elsewhere.
With only walkon Christian Moody ever avging more than 1 rebound a game at the D1 level as returning players, CJ Giles receives no similar treatment and remains on KU’s team.

Among other undisclosed violations and disclosed violations, such as the discovery of massive and rampant academic fraud within Kansas’ football program, Kansas announces that it also discovered that its basketball staff had traditionally engaged in a practice of allowing monetary payments to graduating players and other Jayhawk players who had exhausted their eligibility in violation of NCAA rules; A self-imposed two year probation is levied against their athletic department; Other sanctions are levied against women’s basketball and men’s football; Curiously, men’s basketball escapes all (self-imposed) punishment;

Rodrick Stewart suffers gash on head after getting having a bottle smashed over his head during a fight at a Lawrence, Kansas bar

Not exactly clear when, but Brandon Rush commits to Kansas basketball program. Rush narrowed his college choices to Illinois and Oklahoma. Then he couldn't qualify at Illinois. Then he couldn't qualify at Oklahoma. He decided he would have to enter the draft straight from high school as he couldn't qualify at a D1 university, except it looked as though he wouldn't be a first round selection, something his brother had already have happen to him. His brothers talked him out of it. Two weeks after school started he got into KU and even though he at times carried a 0.0 GPA in high school managed to get a 3.6 at KU while missing the first two weeks of classes. This strangely coincided with the same time frame which their compliance department was noted to be severely understaffed and inadequate by the NCAA and academic fraud was occurring.

Sherron Collins commits to Kansas amidst various media reports that he was steered by his coach/street pimp Anthony Longstreet, considered by Chicago Public League coaches as the new Landon “Sonny” Cox for his ability to recruit players to Crane; Scheduled visits promised to various other schools are abruptly cancelled; Afterward, Longstreet, without being prompted or even accused of taking money, bizarrely challenged local sportswriters to “get the proof, produce the canceled check.'' Thereafter, Longstreet refused to ever speak again on the subject. He explained, "Right now, I've been told to be quiet because this stuff is getting too ugly.”

Darnell Jackson ruled ineligible by NCAA Eligibility Committee for 9 games for receipt of $5,000 in benefits from a Kansas booster over a three year period while being recruited by Kansas;

A cbssportsline.com article suggests that J.R. Giddens is also ultimately wrapped up in the Darnell Jackson scandal, questioning: “Did Don Davis also have a "relationship" with Jackson's best friend and former AAU teammate, J.R. Giddens, the McDonald's All-American who signed with Kansas in 2003? Because if the answer is yes, Kansas has a big, big, big problem.”

2005-2006 Season
The Bill Self led Kansas Jayhawks start the 2005-2006 season unranked in the polls for the first time in 14 years;

Arizona, despite shooting 28% from the field, defeats Kansas (61-49);

The very next day, Kansas loses to Arkansas (65-64) dropping the program to 1-2 for the first time since 1987; "This is the worst-case scenario for us…" Self said. "I'm disappointed about it. I'm sure our players are. We can't change it."

Kansas thereafter loses to Nevada AT HOME (72-70), falling to a record of 2-3 for the first time in over 30 years; After the game, ESPN TV cameras captured an exchange between Kansas University assistant coach Joe Dooley and 19 year old Nevada player Nick Fazekas. When Fazekas held out his hand to shake Dooley’s in an apparent show of sportsmanship, Dooley instead screamed “F*** YOU!!!!” directly at Fazekas. Afterward, Coach Bill Self reprimanded Dooley stating: "Obviously, in a hotly contested game like this one, emotions were high after the game. Coach Joe Dooley responded in an inappropriate manner to an exchange with a Nevada player.” Coach Dooley added: “"I have great respect for the Nevada team. They played well tonight. I responded in a negative manner to something that was said to me following the game. I certainly apologize to the Nevada program and this is not the manner in which Kansas basketball should be represented." However, replays of the exchange show Dooley’s statement to be less than truthful as Fazekas clearly did not do or say anything to Dooley prior to the exchange other than making the gesture of holding out his hand.

Kansas suffers its second loss in a week falling to St. Joe’s (70-67); The loss drops the Jayhawk’s record to 3-4 on the season and ran their record over the last 16 games to 6-10.

Reports surface regarding NCAA investigation into potential violations involving Kansas freshman Brandon Rush. The potential violations centered around Rush’s involvement with an agent and possible payment of travel expenses by NBA teams the previous summer during Rush’s workouts with the teams.

The NCAA suspends Brandon Rush after the NCAA determined that he had improperly received benefits from an agent after applying for the 2005 NBA draft. An appeal by Kansas is granted within one day and Rush is re-instated without missing any games.

Kansas loses to in-state rival Kansas State at home (59-55); Bill Self sets yet another record at Kansas marking the first time in the last 31 games against KSU and the past 12 years that Kansas has lost against KSU;

2 days later, Kansas loses to rival Missouri in overtime (89-86); This loss puts Coach Self’s record at 0-5 on the year for games decided in the final minute; Additionally, it places Self’s record at Kansas in the last 25 games at 13-12, barely over .500;

Micah Downs announces he is transferring from the Kansas basketball program
In a strange and somewhat sad tradition, KU finishes second in conference to Texas but in an attempt to appear something they are not claim a conference championship despite losing the tiebreaker to them.
Following up the once in the last 20 year accomplishment of losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament….Self manages to again accomplish this feat by losing to Bradley (77-73). Self has taken KU’s proud history of choking in the NCAA tournament and turned it up a notch. Considerable pressure mounts as ‘win at all costs’ goes into full effect when the fan base begins to call for his firing.

2006 Offseason

Christian Moody becomes the first Jayhawk player since the 1980s to not be eligible for his graduation checks from alumni, as the pending investigation causes KU to cease such open forms of paying their players. Later, his agent writes a note requesting video of him missing free throws to lose a game to Missouri be taken down from youtube.com as he feels it is hindering his client from finding gainful employment…all of which could have potentially been avoided had the NCAA not had rules against paying amateur athletes.

The NCAA responds that KU failed to demonstrate Institutional control and that the minor violations self reported in basketball in KU’s report do not seem to be all-inclusive. KU fans continue to say nothing will come of the allegations, at least those who are aware KU is under investigation as the news media fails to provide any coverage to the story.

KU placed on probation for major violations across multiple sports and for Lack of Institutional Control. The committee seems impressed with KU’s innovative strategy of eliminating the middleman (by electing to not maintain a compliance department, KU didn’t detect or report violations in a timely manner, which resulted in them being able to claim a statue of limitations on many violations and go unpunished), however they are still charged with:
Illegal payments given to potential recruits
Illegal payments given to current players with the approval of coaching staff
Illegal payments given to players after eligibility is exhausted
Providing illegal transportation to recruits
Providing illegal clothing and other benefits to recruits
Providing illegal transportation to family members of recruits
Making special arrangements to facilitate a vehicle for family members of recruits
Academic Fraud
Failure to report violations
Failure to employ a compliance auditor
Negligence to provide adequate oversight
Violation of probationary period
Lack of Institutional Control

KU placed on three years probation. Reduction in the total of grants-in-aid award in the men's basketball program to no more than 12 during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons; also reduced the total of official paid visits by a total of eight from the maximum number allowed during the 2006-07 and 2007-8 academic years. Dissociation of a representative of the university's athletics interest for a period of four years; annual compliance reporting required -- Summation, probation and a reduction in 2 scholarships to be taken in the years KU chooses for the above violations.

CJ Giles suspended indefinitely for failing to pay child support.

Giles re-instated to team, then 5 days later kicked off team for misdemeanor battery to his girlfriend. No bricks were thrown or heads stomped.

2006-2007 Season

KU loses at home to Oral Roberts (78-71). Midway through the second half ORU forward Caleb Greene begins openly mocking and laughing at the crowd as they become increasingly upset that their All American’s appear helpless to stop him.

KU upsets #1 Florida in overtime. KU fans consider it one of the great regular season wins in school history…until it is revealed that multiple key Florida players had mono and were playing through exhaustion during the game.

KU returns to earth as they lose to Depaul (64-57)

KU’s young nucleus gels, and they win their first real conference championship under Bill Self. Unhappy with actual accomplishments, KU fans claim their third straight conference championship in embarrassing fashion.

Despite what most consider Self’s best coaching job to date, he is under enormous pressure as the NCAA tournament get underway as most feel a repeat of the last two years will cost him his job. While in typical KU fashion they fail to play to seed, Self’s Jayhawks do advance before being knocked out by UCLA (68-55)

2007 Offseason

2007-2008 Season

Brandon Rush arrested for failing to appear in court. The hearing is ultimately delayed until after the basketball season.

Self reaches another legacy milestone, as he leads the Jayhawks to their first lose to KSU in Manhattan in 24 years (84-75).

In a strange and somewhat sad tradition, KU finishes second in conference to Texas but in an attempt to appear something they are not claim a conference championship despite losing the tiebreaker to them. Contrary to Self’s 1 actual title, KU fans claim a fourth straight.

In a perplexing outcome, KU is awarded a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament despite beating zero top 25 RPI teams in the regular season or winning their conference. They benefit by this strange seeding by receiving a draw of playing a 16 seed, an 8 seed, a 12 seed, and a 10 seed to get to the final four.

Self begins to be courted by Oklahoma State to take over their head coaching vacancy. Terrified that their last two coaches have left them for better jobs, KU beings to make a strong push to retain Self despite the distraction it is causing.

The beneficiaries of a historic collapse by Memphis, who led by 9 points with 2 minutes to play and could have done about 5 different things to ensure KU had no chance of getting back in the game, KU wins its second national title* of the modern era. They are the first team ever to win a championship while on probation for cheating, and every player on KU’s roster who played more than 21 minutes in the championship game had a shady story surrounding them:
http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/missouri-tigers.php?message=5760318

2008 offseason

Self claims he wants to stay at Kansas, but won’t rule out talking to OSU. Eventually the draw of no oversight and little NCAA interference is too great and he elects to stay at KU.

Reports surface that Darell Arthur, KU’s leading scorer in the championship game, did not actually pass high school and passed through the NCAA clearinghouse by submitting fraudulent transcripts. As an ineligible player, per NCAA rules KU would be required for forfeit all games in which Arthur was a participant....which would result in KU being the first ever 40 loss team in a single season, the worst season in the history of the NCAA.

Listing of NCAA rules he was in clear violation of:

10.1 UNETHICAL CONDUCT
Unethical conduct by a prospective or enrolled student-athlete or a current or former institutional staff member (e.g., coach, professor, tutor, teaching assistant, student manager, student trainer) may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(d) Knowingly furnishing the NCAA or the individual’s institution false or misleading information concerning the individual’s involvement in or knowledge of matters relevant to a possible violation of an NCAA regulation;

(g) Failure to provide complete and accurate information to the NCAA or institution’s admissions office regarding an individual’s academic record (e.g., schools attended, completion of coursework, grades and test scores)

10.4 DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Prospective or enrolled student-athletes found in violation of the provisions of this regulation shall be ineligible for further intercollegiate competition, subject to appeal to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for restoration of eligibility. (See Bylaw 10.3.2 for sanctions of student-athletes involved in violations of 10.3.) Institutional staff members found in violation of the provisions of this regulation shall be subject to disciplinary or corrective action as set forth in Bylaw 19.5.2.2 of the NCAA enforcement procedures, whether such violations occurred at the certifying institution or during the individual’s previous employment at another member institution.

14.01.3.3 Unethical Conduct. A prospective or enrolled student-athlete who is found to have engaged in unethical conduct (see Bylaw 10.1) shall be ineligible for intercollegiate competition in all sports.

14.11.1 Obligation of Member Institution to Withhold Student-Athlete from Competition. If a student-athlete is ineligible under the provisions of the constitution, bylaws or other regulations of the Association, the institution shall be obligated to apply immediately the applicable rule and to withhold the student-athlete from all intercollegiate competition. The institution may appeal to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for restoration of the student-athlete’s eligibility as provided in Bylaw 14.12 if it concludes that the circumstances warrant restoration.

A judge rules in favor of the women Sherrod Collins sexually assaulted in an elevator in May of 2007, granting damagers in excess of $75,000. She accused him of exposing himself and rubbing against her on May 18, 2007, in an elevator at a University of Kansas apartment complex. Collins does not bother to show up to court. It is the first time the case is made public, allowing Collins to participate in the entire 2007-08 season.

The school district that provided fraudulent transcripts for Darell Arthur for passing grades in classes not attended and work not done conducts and internal investigation on itself. Amazingly, they find themselves not guilty. No follow up investigation or questions are ever asked by the local media.

Lawrence officials elect not to go to trial in Sherrod Collins sexual assault case. The woman files a civil suit as her only option of pursuing justice and Collins remains on the team.

It becomes apparent that key recruits the Morris twins are not going to qualify academically. Faced with the proposition of having only 1 player on the roster over 6’7, Self arranges for the Morris twins to finish up their high school classes in Lawrence.

Ronnie Chalmers, no longer the son of a KU player after Mario declares early for the NBA draft, vacates the Director of Basketball Operations position. No word yet which upcoming recruit’s family member will fill this vital position.

While living in university paid for housing prior to being eligible for scholarship benefits, 18 year old Markieff Morris drunkenly shoots a lady with a BB gun from his dorm room window. Jayhawk towers is declared a less safe environment for women than Bagdad, as KU players will molest you in the elevators and sniper you as you attempt to flee the building. Deemed too important to next year’s season, no action is taken and KU anxiously awaits the determination if the Lawrence high school replacement classes are enough to clear him academically.

Mario Chalmers and Darell Arthur are kicked out of the NBA rookie camps for smoking marijuana. Both players are fined $20,000 and required to attend next year’s camp over again.

Two weeks after school starts (shades of Brandon Rush before them), the Morris twins are cleared to play ball for KU. "While it may have taken a bit longer than we had hoped, the important thing is that the process worked," Self said regarding having them take classes in Lawrence.

Dallas School District re-opens case regarding Arthur not really being a college eligible player. Ashmore, Arthur’s Math teacher said when Arthur was failing Algebra I as a freshman in the fall of 2002, his coach asked for leniency. Ashmore said when he refused, Arthur was abruptly moved to another class. A closer examination of Arthur's grades reveal that his English III grades of 75, 60, 70 and 65 don't actually add up to a 70 as is reflected on his transcript. In fact, the average should be 67.5, meaning he should have failed the course that is needed to graduate. "Like I said, he [Arthur] just kind of checked out that third six weeks," Yourse, his English teacher said. Melanie Kidd was Arthur's theater arts teacher in the fall of 2004. She said she remembers Arthur failed the course during the final six weeks. Arthur made a grade of 50, she said. According to his transcripts, Arthur's grades for the last six weeks of theater arts are also missing. A block of grades from Arthur's Algebra II were also missing on the transcript from the fall semester of 2005. All that is present is a final grade, which was changed from "failing" to a passing grade of 70 nine months later in September the following year.

2008-09 Season

KU loses to Syracuse in the CBE Classic, allowing Self to add another notch to his belt as he leads KU to their first regular season loss in Kansas City in 25 years.

KU again accomplishes this feat, this time losing to 2-6 UMass in Kansas City. They join Holy Cross and Arkansas-Monticello as the only teams the minutemen have defeated in their 9 games.

Explaining how KU can fall so quickly from championship* to not ranked Self states, “We’re two possessions away from being (10-0) and ranked in the top 10 in the country.” Unfortunately in reality they don’t appear in the top 35 nationally in votes.

Three days later KU gets destroyed by Arizona, and no longer receives any votes of any kind for ranking consideration. Self puts forth no hypothetical’s on where they should be ranked.

During a ‘no contact period’ as defined by NCAA rules, Self pays a visit to the #1 unsigned recruit in the nation, and to demonstrate his respect for NCAA rules states in front of witnesses:
Self: "I'm not supposed to be talking to you, and you know that, but I just wanted to tell you that was a great win."
Quit the bravado for someone piloting a program on serious probation.

Despite holding arch-rival MU to 16 points in the first half, KU goes the last 8 and a half minutes of the game with only 1 bucket from the field and committed 27 turnovers to lose on the last play by 2. "We did such a poor job attacking and we did a bad job with shots," Self said.

Confirmation comes in the Darell Arthur case, that his grades were artificially changed and that his ‘graduation’ from high school wasn’t legit. Per NCAA rules that use of an ineligible player results in forfeiture of all games participated, KU falls to 0-78 for the prior to years – the worst two year record in the history of NCAA basketball. Self falls behind James Naismith for last place all time in winning % at KU with a 0.428.

KU gets crushed by 11th place Tech, losers of their previous 6 games, 84-65.

KU wins its second outright league title under Self. In embarrassing fashion but consistent with ku tradition fans attempt to portray themselves as something they are not, unhappy with actual accomplishments, and claim a fifth straight league title.

KU loses in the first round of the conference tournament to Baylor 71-64. Self notches another first, as KU becomes the first 1 seed to ever lose to a 9 seed in conference tournament history. It is KU’s first opening round loss since 1989.

After huge wins over North Dakota State and Dayton, ku loses to Michigan State. Unable to cope with having a less successful season than their rival, ku fans turn to such bizarre methods as claiming head to head scoring margin and that losing to a team who advanced farther than the team MU lost to actually means they had a more successful season.

No graduation checks are publically distributed.

2009-10 Offseason

After promising more scholarships than he has available, Self pushes two lesser role players out the door to make room for potential incoming recruits.

Sherron Collins elects not to test the European free agent market and barring being jailed announces he will return to ku for the upcoming season. Anthony Longstreet breathes a sigh of relief at remaining on the payroll and he isn’t faced with the ethical dilemma of going public for another year. Elevators everywhere are deemed unsafe for female riders.

American Idol Top 7: Now Playing...(Don't read if you don't want to know how it went!)

2009-04-14T20:12:00.001-05:00

Top 7 - "Songs from the Cinema"

Guest celebrity - Quentin Tarrentino

Judges will only be speaking 2 at a time; I see this as a good thing; the show will move a little quicker and we won't be subjected to quite as much fluff.

Apparently, Tarrention has been here before, back in season 3. But I don't vote based on the opinions of judges and guests, I vote for who I think did the best. With that...here's my not-so-humble opinion.

Allison Iraheta - “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith. I love this song. I prefer the country version, but this isn't bad. Allison picked one tonight that suited her style, I think. Top 3 performance tonight.

Anoop Desai - “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams. (although the Stewie Griffin version was pretty cool too). Tarrentino advised him to "rough it up". I disagree, but lets see what the Noop Dawg does. Not bad, not bad; but I think Stewie's was better. Borderline top 3 tonight.

Adam Lambert - “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf. Hearing that he was going to do this song, I picture him riding out on stage on a motorcycle.No motorcycle, but Adam quickly takes control of the stage. Millions of women are just wondering if they hit menopause early, thanks to all the hot flashes taking over. Simon has a point with how one segment of the audience will love it, another segment will despise it. I despised his version of Ring of Fire back in country week, so yeah. But still, easily one of tonight's top 3.

Matt Giraud - “To Really Love a Woman” by Bryan Adams. Yawn. Sounds like something I would hear in a piano bar. Matt can go bye-bye now.

Danny Gokey - “Endless Love” by Diana Ross. 1st thought: this could be trouble for him, but in spots, I could almost pick up a little Joe Cocker. Much better performance than it could have been. Best performance from him in several weeks.

Kris Allen - “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard. I have never heard this song before. Never heard of the movie it came from. Had to look it up on YouTube. Potential snoozefest here. Yup. Not his best work.

Lil Rounds - “The Rose” by Bette Midler. So which do we get tonight? The Lil Rounds who wowed us in the beginning? or the Lil Rounds who has been slowly slipping away as a copycat artist (whom we would all LOVE if were at karaoke night, btw). I heard this song many times as a karaoke host, and I think my favorite performance so far was on an episode of Family Guy, by Peter and the rest of the family (minus Stewie). Lil has chosen to put more of a gospel flair into this song and its a wonderful change from her performances over the past few weeks.

So...my bottom 3 tonight is a tough call, but I'll say its Matt, Kris, Lil. Based on tonight's performance, I don't think Lil deserves to go home just yet, but I'm guessing it may come down to Matt and Lil.

American Idol Top 7 Song Spoilers

2009-04-14T18:46:00.003-05:00

Idol Song Spoilers (Courtesy of Idolbloglive.com)

Seriously, don't read any further if you don't want to know!

Allison Iraheta - “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
Anoop Desai - “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams
Adam Lambert - “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf
Matt Giraud - “To Really Love a Woman” by Bryan Adams
Danny Gokey - “Endless Love” by Diana Ross
Kris Allen - “Falling Slowly”
Lil Rounds - “The Rose” by Bette Midler

This was the performance order during dress rehearsal.

Discuss amongst yourselves or comment below :)

Heroes Summary: Digging Up Bones (Spoiler Alert, if you haven't watched yet!)

2009-04-13T21:09:00.001-05:00

Chapter 10: 1961

So Peter, Nathan, Clair, and Noah are all digging in the dirt at Coyote Sands, digging up the bones of the past. Peter finds Angela and asks him what she’s doing. He asks her what happened out there. This is the story of many years before. The story of Coyote Sands Relocation Center.

A young Chandra Suresh (Mohinder’s dad) welcomes a young Angela and her sister, Alice to the compound. We are introduced to a young Dr. Zimmerman as well. Alice questions the guns held by the guards, and Chandra says its for their safety.

A young Charles Devaux, Bob Fisher and Daniel Linderman meet the girls. Alice is nervous about what is going on. Apparently, Alice’s moods can affect the weather. Angela tells how this place is supposed to help her nightmares go away and that everything will be fine.

Back to the present, Angela tells Peter that her parents, her sister…they all died there. And if they don’t do something now, history may repeat itself.

Angela says 1961 was a different time; everyone was patriots and when the government found out about them, the government said they could be cured. Peter asks why are they there? Why not tell the tale in a restaurant. Angela says its because she’d been dreaming about her sister. Angela explains that the Company was first formed there at Coyote Sands; how they did everything they could to hide who they were. Angela tells them that Noah has been doing everything he could to stop Danko and fix the problem, but so far its not working.

Back in the past, Angela wakes up from a nightmare and takes a walk. The men outside see her and talk about her situation. Angela has a scar on her leg, which is suddenly healed by Linderman. Angela tells the men not to trust Dr. Suresh. Alice comes outside and brings Angela back inside. After the girls talk some more, it begins to snow outside.

Claire and Angela are talking back in present day. Angela reveals she was Claire’s age when she arrived at Coyote Sands. She wishes she’d had Claire’s spirit and strength. The wind picks up full force and Angela tells Claire it is what happens in her dream. Angela tells Claire, it’s her; it’s Alice. The two run outside as Angela yells for Alice.

Peter is sitting inside a café when Nathan walks in. Nathan sits down and they discuss the “problem that you (Nathan) created”. Peter reminds Nathan of a time when Nathan went to a Mets game, during the playoffs; and Peter didn’t get to go.

During the storm, someone drags Noah into a building. It is Mohinder. Noah tells him the truth as to why he is here, and Mohinder does the same. The tales of the past return as we see Chandra ask Angela to meet with him. Angela is given a test of psychic abilities as Chandra holds up cards with symbols on the back side and Angela tells him what’s on them. Angela tells him also that she is not psychic, she dreamed of this meeting. She also tells him that he is going to kill all of them. He denies it of course, because that is not his intention. Angela agrees with him that he does not intend to, but that it will still happen.

Angela and Claire are talking again. Angela says Alice is alive and she is angry. Angela wants to go find her and Claire says no, its too dangerous. Angela goes anyway and as Claire follows, the storm stops. Angela however, has vanished.

Mohinder and Noah are outside examining some bones. Mohinder is wondering what kind of a man his father really was. Noah tells him working with the enemy does not make him the enemy. Peter and Nathan find the two and they pair up to look around some more. Peter leaves with Mohinder as the two enter a building. Mohinder continues to expand on his woes, and Peter tries to convince him that he is a good man. Peter tells him that his mother brought them here because she wants to start a new “Company”. Mohinder says he has to believe there is hope for a new redemption.

Noah and Nathan are talking about how they made a mess of things and Noah tells Nathan that Sylar is working with Danko and can shape-shift. Claire enters the scene, picking up a children’s book and asks what the last book was she read because she doesn’t remember. They discuss dreams and growing up and wondering if its even possible.

Back to the past as Alice lies on a bed while Angela and Charles stand together talking. They are discussing a plan to go out and Charles wants Alice to stay behind. Angela tells Charles she promised she would never leave her behind. She needs to keep Alice calm, and tells Alice that she had a dream about her and that she (Alice) would be alright and that she (Angela) would be right back. Suddenly present-day Angela wakes up with a jump. She looks around the room and hears someone coming. Peering around some books, she spies her sister, Alice. The two women stare at each other.

Angela tries to talk to her sister as Alice puts cans on a shelf. Alice leans back as a record plays the Roy Orbison song, Crying. Flashback to Angela, Charles, Bob, and Daniel in the café. Charles asks Angela to dance and she agrees. The chef tries to put a stop to it by stating they don’t allow that in here, dancing with coloreds. We finally learn Charles’ ability – it’s the same as Matt Parkman’s – he can control minds.

Present day Alice tells Angela its really her; she isn’t crazy. Angela asks her why she stayed and Alice says because of Angela’s dream, that she’d be safe. Angela asks what happened that night. Alice tells her that Dr. Suresh came for her and wanted to give her an injection. Alice got scared and nervous and brought a storm down upon the complex. She tried to run away and when Dr Suresh caught up with her, a man intervened and without warning, shooting started. Alice hid underneath an ominous sign: Building 26.

Angela apologizes to Alice and Alice says she did nothing wrong. Angela admits that she lied to her about that night. She thought she was doing the right thing and she wanted to protect her. To put it bluntly, Alice is pissed and conjures up a storm. Peter and Mohinder come in and try to help, but Alice’s wind and lightning throw them both around the room. Angela begs her to stop and she does after Angela tells her it is not their fault, it is her own (Angela’s) fault. Angela wants Alice to come with them, explaining that they are all her family. Alice says no and runs out of the building.

Mohinder stands in the compound when Peter returns to tell him Alice is gone. Mohinder talks about his father again, and Peter shows him a film reel he found that he thinks will give him some answers. Mohinder says he isn’t going with him; he isn’t ready to move on. The graves are all covered up again by the storm. Angela stands in the café as Roy Orbison plays again. Angela stands off to the side watching Claire, Peter, Noah, and Nathan eating and remembers back to the night in the café when she told the 3 boys about her dream of them forming The Company.

Nathan hands Angela a book he found, Alice in Wonderland and asks her come join them. Claire says somebody say something, and Angela responds How are the fries? Peter wants to make it clear that this is not a Company. Nathan says he is going to back to Washington and own up to his mistake. Claire says looks like you already have and motions to the tv where it appears Nathan is holding a press conference. Nathan asks who the hell is that? Noah stares at the screen and provides the answer: Sylar.

Only 1 more episode before the season finale! I’m hearing rumblings that its going to be a good finale. Any thoughts?

Calimari, Anyone?

2009-04-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

American Idol Top 8 Elimination

At the top of the charts the year Simon was born - Venus by Frankie Avalon, who graces the Idol stage as he performs the song for the audience. That was a cool and surprising opening. I think I would have preferred Beauty School Dropout though.

Ryan and Frankie are twins? who knew?

Lip-synching Can't Get You Out of my Head, the Top 8 do their group performance of a song from the year Idol was born (2002)

The behind the scenes segment of the Ford commercial shoot shows that Anoop may have a backup career lined up...(ohh..yes he did!)

Mario Lopez is in the crowd tonight, along with the mayor of Kalamazoo, MI. Wow, the stars are out tonight!

OK, results time....

Adam, Kris, and Anoop are the first 3 to stand. Adam is the first to take a seat, he is safe. Kris and Anoop get their review recaps, and Anoop is sent to the bottom 3, Kris is safe.

Flo Rida is performing his single Right Round. I have to agree with Tammy, he ruined a perfectly good song. At least the screen isn't scrolling his cell phone number across it.

Back to results...

Danny is safe, Matt is also safe. Let me add here that Ryan's psych outs are getting really old and really bad! Scott is next and he is in the bottom 3. Allison and Lil are left. Allison is safe, Lil is in the bottom 3.

Kellie Pickler (Pickles!) is on stage now singing Best Days of Your Life...pardon me while I ogle...It wasn't all that long ago when she had a seat on that couch and was eliminated after acknowledging herself that she butchered her song. She has come such a long long way since then and she looks and sounds great.

Bottom 3 is back out on center stage as Lil is sent back to the safety of the couch.

30,000 votes separated Anoop and Scott. Scott is eliminated tonight and the judges' save is in play as Scott does a reprise of The Search is Over. And the answer from the judges is....

No.

Kara and Paula fought for him, but Simon and Randy weren't convinced. And since the decision must be unanimous, a no was the only way to go. I liked Scott, but truthfully, I don't think he was a strong enough performer to win the competition. He will be on the tour, and I believe he will have a respectable career in music. And he won't have to wear the faux hawk to reflect his punk side either.

Til next week...

Idol Top 8 Performances (Don't read if you don't wanna know!)

2009-04-07T20:30:00.001-05:00

Songs from the year they were born...

The Good --

Adam Lambert - 1982 & Mad World - In a manner becoming of Adam, he made this song his own and gets a standing ovation from Simon. Great style and composure, calm cool collected and intense all at once. Awesome performance for him tonight.

Allison Iraheta - 1992 & I Can't Make You Love Me - Should a 16 year old rocker chic really be singing the lines, Turn down the lights, turn down the bed? Doesn't matter I guess...I like her voice, I like her style, and I love the performance. Randy says she's one of the best of the night, and I agree.

Anoop Desai - 1986 & True Colors - So it turns out that the Noop Dawg shares a birthday with the reigning champ, David Cook. Too bad he doesn't share his vocal abilities as well. A little nasally I thought just before he went into the ending, but otherwise not too bad. Much better than last week.

The "It was just A'ight, Dawg" --

Danny Gokey - 1980 & Stand By Me (Mickey Gilley) - interesting, but the song definitely ended better than it started. Not bad, I guess...

Scott MacIntyre - 1985 & The Search is Over - A long forgotten song by Survivor, one of my favorites. And this performance tonight is one of my favorites tonight so far. Scott has a punk side? Who knew! Maybe next week, he'll come out wearing Sanjaya's Faux Hawk.

The "What the hell was I thinking?" --

Kris Allen - 1985 & All She Wants to Do is Dance - did not excite me at all. Tammy loved it, so he's probably safe.

Lil Rounds - 1984 & What's Love Got to Do With It - Well, I like it, but it seems a bit too much like the original. Dare I call it "Karaoke"? Paula started off with how Hot lil looked...can't be good...Yup, Paula used the "K" word too.

Matt Giraud - 1985 & Part Time Lover - Yawn. Wake me when he's done. WTF is up with the judges? Were we watching the same singer? They seemed kinda quick on the draw with all the kudos they gave him. Which tells me they were pimping him to be safe this week.

Who's going home? Wish it were Matt, but it won't be. Lil is certainly a candidate and she might pull the judges save if its her. Despite a good performance from Anoop, he could end up there as well. Guess we'll find out tomorrow night. Should be another good results show tomorrow, Kellie Pickler will be performing.

Heroes Summary - You will need a scorecard, and even that may not be enough! (Spoiler Alert)

2009-04-06T21:17:00.001-05:00

Time for another lightning round of Heroes summarizing!

Chapter 9: Turn and Face the Stranger

Noah is examining the shapeshifter’s corpse, impressed that Danko was able to bring down Sylar. Noah’s been chasing him for such a long time, and Danko seems to enjoy rubbing it in. An agent comes in to tell Noah that his wife is there to see him. Noah is genuinely surprised.

Hiro and Ando are on a journey to reunite the two Matt Parkman’s. Baby touch and go is crying as the car slows to a stop.

Mohinder and Matt, Sr. are in a hotel room and Matt’s ready to go after Danko for killing Daphne. He tells Mohinder goodbye, he’s been a real friend.

Noah is talking to Sandra asking what she’s doing there. She’s tired of the agents bursting into the house all the time and Noah tells her that Claire is safe. The two have words and Sandra is sick of everything that’s going on. Noah tells her that he is examining a body that he is told is Sylar, but he isn’t buying it. Sandra tells him she is staying at the Regency and she is not leaving until Claire is found.
Sylar was actually impersonating Danko as he was talking to Noah, and now the two Danko’s have a conversation in the men’s room. Danko asks Sylar something about killing Noah Bennet (missed it. My bad). Sylar says he’s going to destroy him.

Noah takes a call from Angela, she tells him she’s had a dream and asks him if he knows about something that happened at the Coyote Sands. She’s spoken with Nathan, he and Claire will meet Angela and Peter. Noah tells her about Sylar, and Angela tells him to leave it alone. Noah notices the body is gone, and he is told it was taken to the crematorium – bbq day.

Mohinder is back at his old apartment, he breaks in and finds all of his things gone. The super tells him it was homeland security. Super tells him some of his old man’s stuff is still in the basement and when he goes, he should take it. Suresh tells him “Show me.”

Hiro and Ando are hitchhiking and are picked up by an asian trucker. As they take off, baby Matt starts crying again and everything on the truck dies. Hiro and Ando look at the baby.

Matt is watching Danko as he looks around. Danko is trying to get into his head, and succeeds, telling him the person closest to him is in danger, go to him. Danko hails a taxi and gets in.

Noah tracks down the faux Sylar and pulls the knife out of the back of his head. As expected, nothing happens.

Danko arrives at a home where he is greeted by a beautiful young girl. Matt watches from the car.

Sandra shows up at Noah’s apartment where she tells him Claire is fine. Sandra presents Noah with divorce papers, he begs her to not throw away 22 years of marriage, offering counseling. Sandra says its too late, she doesn’t love him anymore. He’s a liar and a betrayer. It’s over. Sandra leaves. We later find out that it wasn’t really Sandra after all. It was the shapeshifting Sylar.

Hiro and Ando try to explain about the baby’s ability and the trucker asks them to try getting the baby the hell away from his truck. They do and the trucker leaves. The two try to get the baby to stop crying again and a strange face from Ando does the trick. This distracts the baby long enough that Hiro is able to get the car started and away they go…

Danko is assured that this girl is ok and says he has to get back to Washington as he kisses her goodbye. Matt watches with interest until Danko leaves. Matt then sneaks into the house and points a gun at the woman, before breaking down and backing off. The girl sees him as he about to sneak out. She assumes the escort service sent him, but Matt says he is from Danko’s work. She knows him under a different name.

Noah is scanning computer files, comparing Sandra’s signature and realizes it wasn’t Sandra who came to see him earlier. He also discovers the true identity of the body that looked like Sylar.

Matt and the young woman are talking and she tells Matt what she knows of him. She thinks he loves her, Matt tells her he doesn’t deserve her and that Danko is lying to her. He may think he loves her, but he will only hurt her. She accuses Matt of lying.

Hiro calls Mohinder looking for Matt. Mohinder tells Hiro that Matt has taken a dangerous course. Hiro tries to start the car again and when the baby cries he orders Ando to make the face again.

Nathan and Claire are looking at a map, making their way to coyote sands.

Mohinder is looking at his father’s files and finds a reference to Coyote Sands.

Sandra enters an apartment and senses someone behind her. She says there is money in her person, the voice says he isn’t there for the money, but make the wrong move and they die. The camera turns around and its Noah. Sandra asks Noah what he’s doing and he tells her he knows she isn’t really Sandra. Sandra starts crying, saying she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She doesn’t know about any divorce papers. Noah slams her against a table when a cellphone rings. It’s their son, Lyle, wanting to know where Mr. Muggle’s pills are. Noah gets that sick feeling as he realizes its really his wife. Sandra tells Noah to get out and he tries to explain about Sylar. She believes him, but still wants him out. Noah leaves and he hears the door lock behind him.

The woman shows up at Danko’s apartment, and Danko asks how she found him. Matt says he brought her and points the gun at them both. Matt wants the woman to see what kind of a man her boyfriend really is. Matt gets into Danko’s mind and forces him to tell the truth and the girl can’t believe what she’s hearing. Matt realizes that Danko loves the girl and says it’s the only way he will understand what he did to him. Matt points the gun at the girl and Danko says go ahead. Matt struggles with the task and drops the gun. Danko reaches for his gun and Matt says go ahead, finish it. Danko fires and suddenly everthing freezes as Hiro walks into the room and says, “Whoa, close one!” Hiro puts Matt in a chair and wheels him out. When time restarts, Danko sees that Matt is gone and chases after him, but its too late. The girl looks at Danko and says, “stay away from me” as she leaves the apartment.

Noah walks back into the office to see Danko, minus his glasses. Noah is pretending to be Sylar until Danko is convinced. Noah pulls his gun on Danko and calls him on the act. Noah wants Sylar’s head on a platter. He says he’ll wait.

Hiro and Matt are walking and talking about what Matt was doing until they arrive back at Ando, who is playing with Matt, Jr. Hiro introduces then introduces Matt Sr. to his infant son. Hiro explains to Matt about how they found the baby and that this child has abilities and Matt is amazed that he has a son. And he is every bit the proud papa, as the baby seems happy to be with his dad.

Agent Donner walks in with a team and a body bag, and Noah is convinced that Donner is Sylar. Danko doesn’t vouch for him and Noah shoots the agent, expecting him to heal, but he doesn’t. Danko says it isn’t him. Noah runs out of the room and into the streets, seemingly confused by what’s going on.
Danko circles the body of Donner, stating he didn’t have a lot of options. Turns out it was Sylar after all as he gets up from the pool of blood and spits out the bullet. Danko was impressed, he didn’t know Sylar could bleed like that. Sylar says he squeezed out a little extra for show.

Noah is walking along leaving a voice message for Sandra, telling her he loves her.

Danko is on the phone leaving a message for the woman. He asks her not to give up on him, and tells her that the man she knew is who he wants to be. She is seen getting into a cab.

Peter and Angela are at Coyote Sands. Peter doesn’t understand why they are there and Angela says its where their story begins. Nathan and Claire arrive to join them. Angela never wanted them to see any of this, but to understand the future, they have to understand the past. She opens the back of an SUV and breaks out some shovels, saying if they want the answers, they’ll have to dig. As they dig, they come upon a skull. Angela feels faint and Peter asks if she knew them. Angela says she knew all of them. Nathan asks how many of them are there. Angela says keep digging. A car arrives and as Claire looks to see who it is, Noah gets out and we are then treated to previews for next week’s Chapter 10. Only 3 episodes left for the season…

Platforms, Boos (no, not booze), Majestic Wingspans and ....Ah, ya know what, I just don't care.

2009-04-01T21:09:00.001-05:00

Elimination Spoiler Below - Don't read if you haven't watched yet and don't want to know!

Megan is the first contestant I’ve ever seen smile big and wave when called out as one who should be concerned about leaving.

Ford commercial was the most creative I’ve seen in a while.

Group song…I liked it. I thought Allison seemed a little weak on her lines, but Kris, Megan, Anoop, Danny, and Adam all sounded great on theirs.

Idols imitating Idols….perhaps a new fox reality show?

OK, time to divide up the contestants into groups.

Group 1 – Matt, Megan, Kris
Group 2 – Adam, Lil, Allison
Group 3 – Anoop, Danny, Scott

Who is safe? Who is the bottom 3? Will Ryan pull one from each group? Why am I talking in questions? Who is Xavier Cougat? (sorry, I was channeling Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles for a moment)

At any rate, its time for a performance from the reigning American Idol, David Cook! Another great performance from him (I like that song Come Back to Me) and a platinum record presentation to boot! Congrats to David!

Back to the eliminations; its not a group of 3 safe or not grouping afterall.

Group 1 – Kris and Matt are safe. Megan flaps her wings and lands in the bottom 3.
Group 2 – Lil and Adam are safe, Allison moves to the bottom 3.
Group 3 – Danny and Scott are safe, Anoop is in the bottom 3.

While the 3 sit and wonder which one is leaving, Lady Gaga performs…what the hell is this? Men in Black meets Madonna? Is that a group Vogue up there?

So back to the bottom 3, let’s make it a bottom 2 by saving Allison. Good call!

Going home is Megan. A little late, perhaps, but I think she saw the writing on the wall. Allison gave her the Caw-Caw salute from the safety of the couch. She didn’t particularly care about the judges’ comments last night, so Simon rightfully returned the favor. And over the past 3 weeks now, Idol has eliminated 3 parents. Anyone left that has kids?

Next week’s theme: Songs from the year they were born.

Yes! Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter is coming to TV!

2009-04-01T11:44:00.003-05:00

OK, so if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll back up a bit. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter is a series of books written by best-selling St Louis, MO author, Laurell K. Hamilton. There are 16 books in the series and the most recent book, Skin Trade, is due out this summer.

The first book in the series, Guilty Pleasures, has been made into a comic book through Marvel Comics.

Now, here is a link to the big announcement that has me all excited:

http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/Anita/AnitaBlakeRelease.htm

Basically, what it means is that the Anita Blake series is coming to television on IFC. Production begins this summer, with the first installment airing during the summer of 2010.

Anita Blake fans have been waiting years for this to happen, anxiously fantasizing about which actors and actresses would be best suited to play the various characters. For the character of Anita, the first actress who comes to mind is Kate Beckinsale (Selene in "Underworld"). She's 5'7" and although the books identify Anita as smaller in stature, I don't think the general public would complain much. Others see someone like Alicia Coppola ("Jericho") in the title role. Maybe...what do you all think?

Then there is the lead vampire, Jean-Claude, and the Alpha lycan, Richard. Sebastian Bach has been suggested for the role of Jean-Claude, but I don't know. As for Richard, David Boreanaz ("Angel") comes to mind, but he is also currently on Bones, and I don't see him leaving that show anytime soon.

Your thoughts?

Something is gettin funky up in here....(American Idol Spoilers, if you haven't watched tonight's show yet...)

2009-03-31T20:29:00.002-05:00

Top 9 Performances…When I Grow Up…

Not much to discuss tonight. Finishing dinner at start of show, not in much of a note taking mood, and still have a brief amount of homework to do later.

So let’s sort these folks out into 3 groups, as I’m sure Ryan will do tomorrow night.

The Good…

Adam has definitely redeemed himself after the disastrous performance he gave during country week. Play That Funky Music was original, funky, fresh, funky-fresh, whatever you want to call it. (Tammy – breathe….come on, you can do it…)

Danny made an interesting observation about Rascal Flatts. He said they are more of a modern country group that most people could like. I like them, and I love this performance of What Hurts the Most.

Allison is going to try and channel her inner Gwen Stefani & No Doubt. Not sure what’s up with that hairstyle though.

The Not too Bad….

Kris. The only reason he’s down here instead of the top 3 tonight is because he is not one of my favorites. He just doesn’t strike me as a great singer. That said…he did a great job with Ain’t No Sunshine tonight.

Scott IS the Piano Man, I’m thinking a Billy Joel song is a good choice. I don’t know how I feel about the performance tonight though. Let’s just call it interesting and leave it at that.

At the risk of getting caught in the crossfire when Tammy tries to nail Lil with a water balloon for choosing that song, I thought Lil had a good performance tonight.

The Ugly (or most in danger of going home)

Anoop wants to be an R&B artist…good luck with that. Wrong song choice, but he was happy with it.

Megan is doing a Bob Marley song? I don’t understand what’s happened to Megan. I liked her in the very beginning but it’s been so long since I’ve heard her do a great job on something that I’m having a hard time remembering what is there to like.

Matt chose a song from the Fray. And I am afraid. Pun intended….Good time for me to take a bathroom break. Please go home now.

Until tomorrow…

Heroes Summary - Strange Bedfellows (Spoiler Alert)

2009-03-30T21:09:00.000-05:00

Chapter 8: Into Asylum

NOTE: Action was moving pretty quickly tonight and the boys were being noisier than usual so I may have missed more than a few things tonight. I really need to invest in a DVR.

Patzcuoro, Mexico – Nathan and Claire are checking into a hotel to keep Claire safe from Danko, acknowledging that he’s been exposed. Nathan offers to buy Claire a taco, Claire asks with what money. Nathan explains they should be safe – Danko’s reach doesn’t spread to south of the border. Yet. Clair leaves to go look for food, Nathan says he’ll meet her at the cantina

Peter and Angela are walking outside when a rainstorm opens up. Angela says this is where she’s supposed to be. They are standing outside a cathedral looking building and Angela goes inside.

Danko and his men are looking over a couple of agents’ dead bodies as Noah gets a closer inspection. They discuss the scene before them and debate what may have happened. It appears that the victims were shot in the back. Danko has words with Noah and next we see him in his car listening to the radio – Runaway by Del Shannon. Suddenly Sylar pops up in the backseat and offers Danko a partnership. Danko turns to point a gun at Sylar and just as suddenly, Sylar is gone.

Danko addresses his men telling them they don’t sleep until these people are caught. He tears down a picture of Sylar from the top of the photowall and replaces it with an unknown male. Noah and Danko are talking about procedures and how those with abilities operate. Noah believes Sylar is in DC and says it could be the big win they both need. Danko says or it could be the next chapter in his big book of failures.

Claire and Nathan are at a cantina and Claire plops down some money for Nathan. Claire explains where she got it (sorry, missed it) .

Peter enters the cathedral where Mass is ending. He locates Angela sitting in one of the pews. Angela tells Peter how peaceful it is there, and how she needs peaceful sleep for her dreams to come (her ability is to dream the future). Angela and her husband were married in that church.

Danko is talking with one of his men, who is checking in to see what needs to be done. A phone rings inside a cardboard box and Danko answers it. It’s sylar who says “special delivery”. They talk about the agent killer and Sylar again offers his assistance and tells Danko to look in the box. Inside the box, wrapped in plastic, is a head. Sylar tells him the killer is a shapeshifter. Danko’s agent, who was just in the room talking to him, is seen suddenly running out as Danko gives chase.

Danko locates his man and opens fire. The shape shifter runs off and begins to assume another shape (looks painful). Once done, he runs away again and answers the question why you should never make a fat man run! (should have just asked me, I could have told them, but I digress…)

Back in the cathedral, Peter and Angela are getting ready to leave. Angela tells Peter tales of his younger days and says “You must hate me.” He says no. Whatever happened, she’s still his mother. Angela says unconditional love is no love at all.

Nathan has found himself in the middle of a drinking contest with two other guys and a bottle of tequila. Claire tries to get him to call it off, but he says no. Nathan starts to pass out and the other guys tell her she should get her old man off to bed. Claire shows them Nathan’s watch and offers to join in. The guys accept as Claire chokes down a shot.

Sylar enters an apartment, where Danko is waiting for him, holding a gun on him. Sylar tells him the part of his brain he would have to hit to kill him is microscopic. Danko said he’d take a shot. Again, Sylar is offering his assistance to Danko’s search. Danko considers the offer, still pointing his gun at Sylar.

Angela is saying a prayer as Peter walks back into the cathedral. Peterlights a candle and looking up at a statue of Christ, Peter says his piece, about his life, and how he is angry and how he was suppose to change the world for the better, but now He needs to live up to his end of the bargain. Danko’s men walk into the cathedral. Silently, Peter and Angela try to make their escape.

Sylar and Danko are searching the apartment for an idea of where their prey may have gone. Sylar notices the clothing of doctors, lawyers, priest…and deduces that their man enjoys being a man of power. They find pictures of their guy with some ladies and later a box of matches with the name of a club on them. The pair head out to “Garden of Eden”

Claire and her drinking partners continue on and they guy tells her she doesn’t look drunk. She changes her act and convinces her drinking game opponent until the man falls down. Claire 1, drunk buddies, 0.
Angela and Peter are hiding in a confessional and Angela confesses to Peter what her life has cost her. Noah enters the room and sees Angela and Peter hiding there. He sighs and gives the All Clear.

Danko and Sylar enter the nightclub where Sylar is convinced Danko will spot their target right away. He does, as their man has assumed the form of….Danko. He’s doing very well with a lady it seems. Sylar gets on Danko’s nerves as Sylar tells him he’s a better you than you! The shape shifter (Martin) sees them and tries to make his escape.

Claire gets Nathan back to their room where he asks her how she managed to win. She explained about tissue in her liver and he bought it. Nathan admits he gets a pit in stomach whenever he thinks of her, foolishly thinking that someday they can get together and “catch up.” Nathan promises he’s going to fix this situation for everyone because that’s what he’s supposed to do. Claire listens in silence as he lies back on the bed and falls asleep.

Danko and Sylar are talking and Danko says I lost him. Sylar looks at him and says me too, but Sylar is looking right at Danko. Suddenly, Danko goes to leave and Sylar turns to follow him out, reaching for his gun. Danko turns and fires first as Sylar falls to the ground. Turns out, it wasn’t Sylar, but Martin, their prey. Sylar says, “You killed him.” Danko says no, he’s alive. Sylar starts to move in, but Danko says, “Wait. Can you do it without leaving the “? Pointing to his forehead, Sylar smiles and says yeah…the shapeshifter cries out as Sylar captures the guy’s ability.

Nathan wakes up the next morning and tells Claire she really bailed him out. She asks him if he made any calls and he said no. He doesn’t have any friends on Capitol Hill at the moment. Claire says but last night, you said you’d fix things. Nathan replies, “I was drunk.” Claire is pissed now because Nathan can do anything he wants – except fix this. “You’re supposed to be Superman,” she says teary-eyed before leaving the room.

Angela wakes up sleeping on Peter’s shoulder. She dreamt and says she needs to bring the family together again – Nathan & Claire, then go find her sister. Peter says, sister?

Nathan and Claire are standing on the street and Claire asks what happened to his watch. He hands her a locket and places it around her neck before stepping out into the street. He turns back and asks, coming?

Noah and Danko find a body resembling Sylar lying on the sidewalk with a knife in the back of his head. It was Martin, as the really Sylar was looking like one of Danko’s female agents. Danko says, if wwe do this, you could be the only one left. Sylar replies, “funny how that works.”

There's always the tour (Idol Results - Spoiler!)

2009-03-26T20:05:00.001-05:00

Confession time: I’m having a difficult time holding my interest in the show tonight. Maybe it’s the upcoming Mizzou game later tonight, maybe it’s the fact that there’s a good looking woman sitting next to me of her own free will. Either way, I will do the best I can with this tonight. Motown week comes to a close with a Thursday night elimination. Ryan wants to talk about what Paula & Simon did during recess last night.

Group song is a medley of Motown hits. Yawn. The highlight for me was bringing Tammy back down to earth after Adam Lambert hit those high notes during Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

The Ford commercial is okay, but its not as good as the one Idol did in season 4 when they made muppet characters of all the finalists.

Rueben Studdard (season 2 winner, for those who may have forgotten who won that year) is performing his new song.

Adam is safe, Matt is not, he is in the bottom 3.

Kris falls for Ryan’s psych out, he’s safe. Lil is also safe, Michael is not, he joins Matt in the bottom 3.

Up next, Smokey Robinson and Joss Stone perform a duet on You’re the One for Me. Not bad, I
guess…they didn’t get eliminated at least.

Back to eliminations now and Allison is safe. So is Anoop, Danny and Megan (wtf?). Scott is in the bottom 3. Wow. No matter though, because Scott is sent back to the safety of the couch, leaving Matt and Michael to sweat out the next 15 minutes before finding out which one is leaving.

Stevie Wonder is performing a medley of his hits, with a special tribute to Barack Obama? Where the hell did that come from?

We are back for the final elimination. Is the Judge’s save in play? Michael is eliminated tonight and the judges are debating whether or not to save him while he performs Ain’t Too Proud to Beg. And the judges’ decision is…

No. The oil rig worker is going home.

Top 10's Best - Some guy with Dark Hair (Idol Spoilers below!)

2009-03-25T21:15:00.001-05:00

OK, So where the hell is Hiro Nakamura when you need him?

I’m beginning my note taking for tonight’s Idol a little late because I just got back from Kansas City. Tammy just flew in from Indiana and boy, are her arms tired! And at some point, I’m going to be back and forth trying to impress her a little more with my culinary skills.

It’s MoTown week, and Smokey Robinson is the mentor.

At any rate, the TV is on and Scott MacIntyre has just received his critique and Simon was presented with some crayons and a coloring book for some reason. Matt & Kris have already performed as well.

4) Megan Joy Corkery – For Once in My Life – heh…for once in my life, I get to watch Idol with Tammy! And it’s not a retrospect on the tv guide channel either! But as for the performance, for once in my life, can someone please locate a decent performance that this girl has done? I know she’s top 10 for a reason, so obviously she has sang something well during her idol experience but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was. Too bad too, because she’s the only blonde female left for me to root for now that Alexis is gone.

5) Anoop Desai – Ooh, Baby Baby – mentor session looked good, let’s see how the performance goes. Starts off good, Noop Dawg has soul! Noop Dawg has style! Noop Dawg is back from the dead! I don’t know about the judges, but I like it!

6) Michael Sarver – Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – I’m laughing inside because Tammy and I are writing down completely opposite reviews of Michael, LOL. While I will agree with her assessment to a point, I must say that tonight’s performance is better than the last couple that he has done. I don’t think it will keep him out of the bottom 3 again, but we will see.

7) Lil Rounds – Heatwave – Well…she looks the part! A little under par for Lil this week, I thought. While I like the song and all, I’m not sure it was the right choice for her. Something just didn’t seem quite right with her – and you know she did something wrong because it was Kara – not Paula – who told her she looked beautiful to start off the critique.

8) Adam Lambert – Tracks of my Tears – OK, I almost didn’t recognize him, he is so out of character tonight. His hair is greased up and combed back, he’s wearing a sports jacket and dress shirt, and there is absolutely NONE of that distortion and crap he brought out during Ring of Fire last week. This performance is the best I’ve heard tonight and should go a long long ways toward putting him back at the top of voting chart (as if he needed it)

9) Danny Gokey – Get Ready – In my defense, I was out of the room putting the finishing touches on dinner during this performance. But from what I could hear, it sounded damn good. A lot better than his performance last week. Consider him safe again this week.

10) Allison Iraheta – Papa was a Rolling Stone – When I was much much younger, I used to think this song was about Mick Jagger. The girl has got some soul to go with those chops! I liked it, but then I’ve been a fan of hers since the semifinal round.

Short and sweet, my bottom 3 this week are Megan, Michael, and either Matt or Scott (based on the recaps at the end of the show).

No American Idol Tonight

2009-03-24T12:23:00.003-05:00

President Obama will be addressing the nation tonight, therefore we will have to wait another day to enjoy the top 10's take on Motown. Idol will not be on tonight, and instead it will air on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Ordinarily this would piss me off, but not this time. This week is different because my girlfriend is coming to spend a few days with me tomorrow. We were anticipating watching the results show together for the first time, but now we get to spend performance night together as well. She is a bigger Idol junkie than I am, so I'll let her handle the voting responsibilities.

Then after the Thursday night results show (I'll have to miss The Office this week, but hey, that's what Hulu.com is for, right?), its Mizzou vs Memphis in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament. This one scares me...Memphis is a great team and while I have all the faith in the world in the abilities of the Mizzou players, they have choked twice on the national stage this year. Against Illinois back in December when they were ranked 25th (for the 1st time in several years) and just before the end of the regular season at Kansas when 1st place in the conference was on the line. Which Mizzou will show up on Thursday night in Arizona is anybody's guess, but I'm sure it will be a great game!

Oh, Snap...(Heroes Summary)

2009-03-24T08:15:00.001-05:00

I was going to summarize last night's episode of Heroes, but there was a LOT that happened tonight and quite frankly I was just too tired to type it all out as it happened. So you get the short and sweet condensed version.

SPOILERS APPEAR BELOW! (If you haven't watched yet, you might want to stop reading now...

Chapter 7: Cold Snap

OK...

The puppetmaster didn't get far, he was captured by an unknown person (I'm guessing Sylar) and literally gift wrapped and given to Danko.

Noah tried to get on Danko's good side by giving them Angela Petrelli. Multiple capture attempts occur, and thanks to Noah's advance warning, Angela is able to avoid most of them. In the end, however, as the agents are closing in on her, it's Peter who comes to her rescue and flies her away to safety.

With Rebel's help, Tracy, Matt, Mohinder and Daphne all escape Building 26. Matt takes Daphne to a hospital for surgery on her bullet wound.

The release though was a set up, as Noah and Danko orchestrated it in hopes that Tracy would lead them to Rebel. Long story short, it worked, but Rebel's identity remained a secret to the hunters. The viewers however would learn that Rebel is actually the technopath, Micah.

As Tracy and Micah are trying to make their escape from approaching agents, Tracy gets an idea. She had no idea that Micah was Rebel and doesn't want him to be captured, so while making their way through a parking garage, Tracy asks him if he can turn on the overhead water sprinklers. He says yes and does so. She then tells him to run and try to stay ahead of the ice. Tracy walks out into the open as Micah runs off and when the agents get close and have her surrounded, she uses her power to freeze the room. All of the agents are frozen in ice, as is Tracy. Later Danko approaches the scene and seeing the frozen Tracy, he points his gun at her and fires. He then watches as Tracy's body breaks into hundreds of pieces, save for a small piece of her face where we see a tear running out of a blinking eye.

Meanwhile, Hiro and Ando are out to save Matt Parkmann. Little do they realize the person they are saving is Matt Parkmann's infant son (Refer back to season 1, Matt's wife was pregnant and he left her after finding out she had an affair). Anyway, the baby has an ability as well as Hiro refers to the child as Baby Touch and Go - The baby touches things and makes them go. Agents are closing in on them and lo and behold as Hiro is holding the baby, his power of controlling time returns and he is able to arrange for his, Ando's and the baby's escape. Hiro then tries to teach the baby to say "Yatta!"

We see Daphne recovering in a hospital room (Matt made everyone think she was Gwen Stefani) and she tells Matt she doesn't want to be a couple if it means playing surrogate wife. With that, she runs out of the room. Matt pursues and shows up in Paris, finding her. Matt tells her he flew and begins to rise up in the air. As Matt takes her on a flight around Paris, Daphne puts 2 and 2 together and realizes she is actually still in the hospital room. The scene returns to an unconscious Daphne in her bed as Matt sits by her side. We are then apparently lead to believe that Daphne dies. Let's see if it sticks.

There you have it - the closest thing to a Heroes summary from me this week.

Enjoy!

Top 11 Elimination - I Smell Shocking T-R-O-U-B-L-E

2009-03-18T21:11:00.000-05:00

Ryan gives us a brief introduction and did he say shocking? Dial Idol had predicted a shocking elimination tonight, but I’ve a feeling if that happens, the judges’ save will come into play.

A quick review and the group is singing one of my very best karaoke songs! Combined with the return of Carrie Underwood, tonight’s show is already looking very interesting.

BTW, I have no comment on the group performance because I was too busy jamming out myself.

Ford Commercial and a water balloon fight. Tom now hates American Idol for that version of a song he liked. Meanwhile Ryan is throwing a water balloon at Simon and misses, hitting a woman in the audience. Too bad she wasn’t wearing a t-shirt.

And for the first time…we get to see footage of the “kiss-off” dinner! I kinda like seeing the non-competitive side of things and Jorge made a good point. Don’t get too comfortable but most of them will be eliminated too.

Let the revelations begin!

Danny is up first…he is safe and on the tour!

Lil and Anoop are also safe…

Allison and Michael are next…and both are in the bottom 3.

A break from results as we get a performance from Brad Paisley and his new single, “Then”
America voted, and Brad is safe… (but don’t look for him on the Idol tour)

More results…

Scott is safe, Megan is safe, and Matt is safe. Kris is safe.

That leaves Alexis and Adam, Adam is safe, Alexis is in the bottom 3.

Going back to their original chair and safety is…Allison!

Another commercial and then it is time for Carrie’s duet with Randy Travis. But not without a look back at her beginnings on Idol. Wow, what a career in just a few short years. And now she’s the newest member of the Grand Ol’ Opry.

I remember when Randy brought the song “I Told You So” out in 1987. I liked his version then, but I love hers.

OK…so Simon says they would consider using the save on one of these two. Michael is safe…Alexis is out. Damn damn damn.

Alexis is the one they would save, and they will base it on this final performance. The save is in play… and the verdict is…no. Alexis is out. At least we get treated to more Carrie now.

Idols Top 11 Performances - I'm a Little Bit Country...

2009-03-17T21:07:00.001-05:00

It’s Country Week on Idol, Randy Travis is the mentor and we get to listen to Simon critiquing songs that he doesn’t understand to begin with.

Tonight, I’m following along with a song spoiler list I found on the internet. It will be interesting to see how many they get right. According to the list, Megan had a bit of a “wardrobe malfunction” during dress rehearsal so her song didn’t appear on the list. But some of my favorites are on the list and I hope this group does the Opry proud.

On with the small talk and introductions so we can get to the performances already!

Michael Sarver “Ain’t Going Down til the Sun Comes Up” (Garth Brooks) – This is a fast fast song and as someone who has performed it before, I can vouch for its toughness. And note the date on your calendar because I’m going to quote Simon. This is like a bad karaoke performance. And I’ve seen more than a few bad karaoke performances in my life.

Allison Iraheta “Blame it on Your Heart” (Patty Loveless) – Great start, bringing out the attitude this song calls for. The rocker girl almost reminds me of a younger Carrie Underwood tonight. Love the performance.

Kris Allen “To Make You Feel My Love” (Garth Brooks) – Mentor Randy Travis says Kris made this song his own. That may be, and to some an extent I would agree. But Kris’ performance tonight just felt like cookie-cutter country to me. He sounds good, but I can turn on my radio at any given time and hear the exact same sound. With that out of the way, I’ll say…well done, Kris. It was one of his better performances so far.

Lil Rounds “Independence Day” (Martina McBride) – Lil has the pipes to blow the roof off the place with this one, so I’m a little concerned to hear that she’s planning on holding back. Maybe that’ll work for her…let’s see. Well…I thought it was good, but perhaps too restrained, if that’s possible. Not the best song choice, I think. Paula nailed it in her critique – the second verse lost me. I was ready to hear her bust into the chorus, but no, she took the second verse instead.

Adam Lambert “Ring of Fire” (Johnny Cash) – Randy Travis is scared. Can’t say that I blame him, LOL! Oh my…To quote Randy, I don’t know what to say. Adam, I’m a fan and all, but not tonight big guy. This could be a judge’s save situation, but I think Adam’s fans will pull him through. I guess it depends on your point of view. For the country purists, I’ll agree with Simon. This was garbage. But I also think it was done in a style that Adam’s true fans will love.

Scott MacIntyre “Wild Angels” (Martina McBride) – Randy didn’t care for this one either at first, but it sounded like Scott won him over. Right off the bat, I’m still not sure about this. It starts out as a slowed down version, but then he picks up the tempo a little bit and it starts to kick. Not bad. I give it a thumbs up.

Alexis Grace “Jolene” (Dolly Parton) – Based on Randy’s recorded comments, I’m trying not to look at the tv and just listen to Alexis’ performance. Wow…It as if I’m listening to a blend of Dolly all over again. I loved this one, even though I find myself agreeing with Simon’s comments. Hopefully, though the “dirty girl” will be back next week…

Danny Gokey “Jesus Take the Wheel” (Carrie Underwood) – Off the bat, this one makes me nervous. Anytime a guy wants to do one of Carrie’s songs, I think “uh oh - train wreck”. And unfortunately for Danny, I think that’s what we’ve got. The studio audience liked it, but it just didn’t sound right to me, and even a little boring. If it comes down to it, I think the judges will save him.

Anoop Desai “You Were Always on my Mind” (Willie Nelson) – He impressed Randy in the mentoring session and he impressed me too. I think Anoop just punched his ticket to the Idol tour, and not to sit in the audience either.

Megan Joy Corkery “Walking After Midnight” (Patsy Cline) – Well, I like it better than last week’s Rockin’ Robin. But I don’t think it was good enough to beat some of the others we’ve heard tonight.

Matt Giraud “So Small” (Carrie Underwood) – Oh boy…here we go again. Blah blah blah. The judges liked him, I thought it was so-so.

So who’s my bottom 3? Michael Sarver, Megan Corkery, and (gasp!) Adam Lambert. Oh relax, you know as well as I do Adam will be safe and someone else shocking, possibly Danny, will be in the bottom 3. Either way, I think that person will be safe, Megan will get the sympathy vote and Michael will be heading out, narrowly missing the tour.

Of course, I could be wrong.

The Funnies

2009-03-14T23:35:00.004-05:00

I ran through a few different names for this feature, but couldn't really come up with anything that was all encompassing. First, I thought I would call it the Sunday Comix, but what if I post them on a day other than Sunday? Then I thought I might call it Major Lee Weird (based on a character created by my son), but not all the strips I post will feature Major Weird. I suppose Total Tomination is an option as well, since all of the strips I plan to share with you for the next few days or weeks were drawn by my son Tom.

But no, I decided to go with The Funnies. Boring, yes, just deal with it.

Anyway, this is one of the first strips he drew:

He's Bad...(American Idol Spoiler Alert!)

2009-03-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Double elimination night.

New Rule.

Maybe this season is all just a dream and hasn’t even begun yet? I don’t know. But dreaming does sound good right now. I’m dragging a bit but I am determined to survive this entire hour.

Here's the Rules Change: The Judges’ Save

Up until the top 5, judges can save a contestant from elimination – Just once. This means if the judges think a performer who gets eliminated shouldn’t be eliminated, they can institute the save and no one would be eliminated. But the following week would be a double elimination week.

Looks like the contestants are back in the mansion. I don’t think we’ve seen that since season 2.

Group song time…Jackson 5 medley. Well, at least we’re not subjected to We are the World or the entire group trying to do the Thriller dance.

Side Note: I want to be a miniature horse.

Recap of last night’s performances then we have the first Ford commercial set to We Will Rock You. Not bad…might have been better if they had been made into muppets like in season 4.

Results time…

Michael and Allison are safe, Jasmine is in the bottom.

Matt and Kris are safe, Megan is in the bottom

Of the 2 girls, Megan is safe and Jasmine is sent home, the judges decline to save her. No surprise there, it’s really too early to use that save right now and there are better singers out there.

Guest appearance from Kanye West. Guess it’s a good time for me to take a bathroom break.

More results…

Scott and Alexis are safe, so is Danny.

Anoop is in the bottom.

Adam and Lil are safe, Jorge is in the bottom.

Anoop and Jorge – results are…after the break and after a performance from Kelly Clarkson. I’m thinking I can really identify with that song!

So back to Anoop and Jorge – Anoop is safe, does Jorge get the save?

Simon says…No, sorry. Rather bluntly too, I might add. One more week till we have the tour participants set!

We Are the World, Voting at $5.95/minute

2009-03-10T21:32:00.000-05:00

Performance Night: Top 12, er, 13….

So let’s see…Last week Anoop “Noop Dawg” Desai got lucky when Simon announced after picking the 3rd Wildcard contestant that this year, a last minute decision was made to make it a Top 13 instead of 12. Anoop made the cut and tonight, lucky performer number 13 may be doing more than just singing if you call 1-866-IDOLS-13. And you won’t have to wait until after the show to call it either!

And votes to those number may run $5.95/minute.

Yes, it’s a phone sex line, so the first order of business for Idol producers this week is to find a new phone number to call.

So anyway, a few announcements, welcome to the judges, a bunch of flashing lights, and advice from the judges and we’re good to go. It’s a hell of a stage this year, looks great; someone could get lost up there! Two people go home this week…

It’s Michael Jackson week. Will we see a Thriller? Which performers will be forced to Beat It? Is it really as easy as ABC? Just who is Bad?

Lil Rounds – The Way You Make Me Feel – Not bad, I thought it started a little rough but it didn’t take her long to get into the flow of the song.

Scott MacIntyre – Keep the Faith – Great performance, I thought he was much more relaxed tonight than in his earlier performance. Sitting at the piano must have been much more enjoyable for him and put him in his element. He just learned that song this week?? Wow…

Danny Gokey – PYT – Danny is rocking the house with this one and working the stage pretty good, taking full advantage of its size. Wow, awesome, awesome, awesome and the crowd loved it. Did I say it was awesome?

Michael Sarver – You are not Alone – Michael slows things down with this song a bit, and while it was good, I wouldn’t quite put him on the same level as the previous 3 contestants. Fans are gonna have to step up their voting efforts tonight because I can tell early on that it’s going to be a close one.

Jasmine Murray – I’ll Be There – OK, is it bad that in my mind I keep running through the words to a song parody I once helped write called I’ll Be Cher? I suppose it is because she did what I thought was a good job on that song. Does America?

Kris Allen – Remember the Time – Wow, I had actually forgotten about this song. I’m on the fence with this one and that can’t be good for him because everyone else to this point has been outstanding.

Allison Iraheta – Give In To Me – I like this girl because I think the raspiness of her voice makes me forget about all the missing rocker chicks. Amazing voice, amazing performance. Should be safe this week.

Anoop Desai – Beat It – The Noop Dawg is an entertainer. Hard to believe he was actually the last choice into the pool! Great song, but the judges didn’t seem to like the performance so we’ll have to wait 24 hours to find out what America thought.

Jorge Nunez – Never Can Say Goodbye – There is just something about this guy. I like his voice and his performances. Might have picked a better song, but who knows. At least the judges were able to suggest something different (She’s Out of My Life)

Megan Joy Corkery – Rockin’ Robin – Maybe a little corny? I would say bad song choice, but I don’t have any idea what other song she could have done. Caw Caw? Gordon Ramsey liked her, it seems.

Adam Lambert – Black or White – The man can sing, the man can sing, the man can sing. He’s an entertainer, great great performance from him tonight. I must take issues with the judges’comments though. I thought Paula was going to start tearing his clothes off. She was praising him like Campbell Brown praised Barack Obama during the campaign. I think we know who the judges will be pimping this season. Kara said he hit notes she didn’t know existed. I’ve hit notes that no one knew existed. Not necessarily good notes, but I hit them. I think one was the brown note…

Matt Giraud – Human Nature – OK, with the distractions in this house, I am bound to miss a song title or two. This song was no different and when it started out it was completely unrecognizable to me. Needless to say I’m not a Matt G fan, so I wasn’t real thrilled with this performance.

Alexis Grace – Dirty Diana – I’m loving this performance. The only thing better would be dialing a sex line to cast my vote. I suppose with the song choice it would be appropriate. But seriously, fans of Alexis – get the number right! What do you know, Kara likes the naughty girls…

Now a few thoughts…big changes coming tomorrow night? WTF? I don’t have a clue, but here’s my thought: We know it involves the judges, so what if the judges had the ability to “save” one of the final 2 each week? We’ve heard the judges say in the past that “America got it wrong” so what if the judges saw one of their favorites or an undeserving performer in the bottom 2 or 3? They could then have the option to pull that contestant and save them for another week. This would keep a true contender from falling out of the competition after a single bad week while someone who is consistently not as strong (Kristy Lee Cook, Sanjaya, Scott Savol, etc) may get the axe a little sooner. Again, I don’t know, but its possible.

We also get a performance from the Original Idol, Kelly Clarkson! I'm hoping she'll do her new song, My Life Would Suck Without You. Another thing is the debut of the Season 8 exit song – ready for this? It’s Home Sweet Home, peformed by Carrie Underwood! I checked it out on youtube today and I am liking it.

As for tonight’s performances, WOW. I think we can say we’ve just seen one of the best full episodes of American Idol in AI history. There weren’t any truly bad performances tonight, which is rare. Adam, Danny, Allison, Alexis, all stood out in my mind tonight. Lil, Scott, Michael, and Kris were wonderful. Jorge, Anoop, and Megan could have made better song choices, and I’m just not a fan of Matt. I’ve tried and tried to get into his performances but they don’t work for me.

So my bottom 3 tonight, based on performances…Matt, Jasmine, and Megan. Megan survives to next week.

Help is Coming. Have Hope (Heroes, 3/9/09)

2009-03-10T08:53:00.002-05:00

Certainly a lot going on in this episode and I may have missed a few points along the way. But I like the direction she show is going. Looks like the new writing team is doing a lot to win back their former audience.

Chapter 6: Shades of Gray

Bennet House, Costa Verde, CA

Clair is confronted in her kitchen by Eric Doyle (the puppetmaster), who has come seeking help. Rebel sent him. Sandra comes in as he begs for Claire’s help. The Puppetmaster pleads his case, telling Claire why he should help him and questions why she isn’t being hunted as well. He tells her he isn’t going to force her to help him, that’s not who he is anymore. With that, he leaves.

Nathan and Danko are discussing the mess that has developed as Danko wonders aloud how many people knew Peter was on the rooftop. Nathan gets a call telling him about Parkman’s predicament – in the nation’s capital with a bomb strapped to his chest. Swat teams surround Matt as Nathan approaches. Matt tells him to stay away as Nathan tells him he didn’t sanction this. It was Danko. Matt searches Nathan’s mind for the truth but can’t because he’s been drugged. Nathan tells Matt he’ll just have to trust him. Meanwhile, as the scene plays out on a tv monitor, an agent arms the bomb worn by Matt, and we see the words “weapon activated.” Danko gives the order: “Do it now! Kill them all!”

A red light is blinking on Matt’s vest. The screen in Danko’s headquarters reads weapon activation blocked. Nathan works with Matt to try to defuse the weapon. Matt says black wire. Nathan pulls the black wire and the wireless receiver is torn off and thrown to the ground. Danko is repeatedly pressing the fire button but to no avail. Nathan and the team of agents take Matt back into custody.

Sylar meanwhile is arriving at his father’s home, where he immediately begins asking questions, before telling him that he was going to kill him. Turns out, Dad has cancer and tells Sylar, go ahead.

Danko and crew are back in the office and are confronted by Nathan. Nathan relieves Danko of his command, but Danko objects, stating he reports only to the President. Nathan wants Noah to take over as head of the operation. Suddenly Tracy’s voice is heard reminding Nathan that he’s one of them. This gets the attention of Danko and Noah.
Tracy is brought out of her cell and is walking down a hallway. She sees a monitor that quickly flashes the message “Help is coming. Have Hope.”

Nathan and Noan are walking together and talking, about to enter a cell where Tracy has just been transferred back. Nathan is trying to convince Tracy that he has been helping her out all along. Tracy calls him on it by claiming that he sacrificed her for his own personal gain. Danko enters the room and states, “That’s my prisoner.” He questions Nathan’s presence who fires back “Knock yourself out.” Danko begins questioning Tracy by asking her to tell him what she knows about Nathan. She says he is lousy in bed. Danko asks if Nathan has an ability. Tracy says she has no idea what he is talking about. A nervous Nathan looks on.

Claire and Sandra are discussing the Doyle (Puppetmaster) situation. Sandra says she can’t take any more surprise guests. Claire suggests taking a cover job, such as Alex’s old job at the comic book shop where she can help people. Sandra says OK. Claire is being interviewed and is asked if she can work Wednesdays. The interviewer continues by asking her point blank what kind of hero is she. She says she doesn’t know and is confused by everything that’s happening and starts to leave before she is offered the job.

Sylar is still at his dad’s house, telling him how pathetic he is. They discuss abilities and Sylar is faced with the knowledge that he is just like his old man, even though he doesn’t want to accept it. Dad tells him that all the power in the world doesn’t matter, if you’ve lived an unsatisfied life. He asks his son if he wants to know more of if he’s going to kill him now. His dad holds up a rabbit and hands his son a knife. Sylar asks what do I do? His dad answers, “Gut him.”

Side note: Zachary Quinto looks the part of Mr Spock in the Star Trek movie preview.

Danko and Noah are discussing lost files and Noah’s knowledge of Nathan. Danko is very suspicious of Nathan and Noah’s not giving him up. Noah turns Danko’s attention to Angela Petrelli. Noah is now discussing the situation on the phone with Angela, who gives her fair warning that Danko is coming.

Clair is leaving work where every male eyeball in the place is following her. She comes outside and sees the van of agents watching her. She takes out her phone and calls daddy Noah. She asks him how she is supposed to handle leading two lives. Noah tells her he honestly doesn’t know. Suddenly, the van takes off.

An agent is following Doyle who tells him to freeze. Doyle says sure, then takes over the agent, forcing her to hold her own gun to her head before slamming her against the wall. Another agent approaches who suddenly falls. Doyle turns around to see Claire standing there.

Danko is meeting with Angela and they discuss Nathan. Angela is preaching Nathan’s “innocence” and Danko isn’t buying it. Angela begins to turn the tables on Danko by questioning his own past. It seems there was a military operation and Danko was the only member of the group to get out alive. He gets up and calls her a very resourceful woman.

Sylar’s reunion with his father continues as they talk about life while they work on the dead rabbit. Sylar cuts his hand with the knife and Papa is amazed as he watches his son heal. He asks where he got it from and Sylar answers from a cheerleader in California. Dad tells him he guesses he’ll just have longer to suffer, as he turns on Sylar and fires two arrows into his son to pin him up against the wall. Dad wants that power and he aims to take it. Sylar is getting all foggy as dad prepares to do the deed. He attempts to slice Sylars head with a knife, but Sylar is too strong for him and removes the arrows holding him back. Sylar decides its time for a little payback and wraps some tubing around his father’s throat. Sylar is prepared to leave as his dad begs him to kill him. Sylar tells him that he will die…slowly and alone. Then he says Sorry. You’re just small game. With that, he leaves.

Nathan is in headquarters as Danko tells him you lose me, you lose the whole team. Nathan is fine with that. Danko leaves. Noah asks Nathan if he’s told the President. Nathan says yes and the President is eager to meet his replacement. Danko confronts Nathan and Noah again as they are leaving. Danko pulls a gun on Nathan, firing two shots into a glass window behind Nathan. Danko then rushes Nathan, pushing him through the glass and looks out to see Nathan floating in the air. Nathan looks around and flies off. Danko turns to Noah and says, “Tell me you didn’t know about this.”

Doyle the puppetmaster is sitting on a park bench as Claire brings him a packet of papers, giving him a new identity. Doyle thanks her and starts to walk away. Claire asks him if he meant the stuff he said about how he changed. Doyle smiles and walks away.

Hiro and Ando are sneaking into a home looking for Matt Parkman, and a woman thinks they are the new babysitters. They try to explain that they are looking for Matt Parkman as the woman hands Hiro a baby. She says, “You’re holding him.”

As the episode prepares to end, we see a rabbit sitting on Danko’s desk as Sylar hides in the shadows and Danko’s armed men barge into the Bennet household looking for Claire. They search and don’t find her, but we see her hovering outside in Nathan’s arms.

AI Wildcard Night (Spoilers!)

2009-03-05T20:15:00.000-06:00

So here we are on Wild Card night...let's round out the top 12...

Jessie – Tell Me Something Good – She got good news last night when informed she made the wild card round and now she’s hoping the judges will give her some good news at the end of the show. I liked her to begin with so I’m glad she made it back in to the mix.

Matt G – Who’s Lovin’ You – Matt is really hoping the judges are loving him tonight. I wasn’t all that impressed with him before, and I’m actually less impressed now. Hate the song, it seems way too self indulgent for me. Judges seemed to like it though – it fit Matt’s “bluesy” style.

Megan – Black Horse and a Cherry Tree – Not bad, but for me she drew an instant comparison to Kat from Season 5, who I thought was better. But the judges liked it. Sounds like they have their work cut out for them tonight.

Von – Sad Situation (I’m not sure, the boys were talking and I missed hearing the title) – I thought it was ok, but the judges just weren’t digging it. It’s not looking good for the Missouri boy.

Jasmine – Reflection – Much better performance than her top 36 performance. The judges also liked it and Paula and Simon had to snipe over who liked it more.

Ricky – Superstition – Honestly, I heard better at the KWCUSA National Finals in 2006 on this song. And the dude that sang it finished 5th among the men.

Tatiana – Saving All My Love For You – Does the curse of Whitney strike again? On top of that, she is repeating songs. Simon called her on it for doing it 3 times! As Simon says, what will she do with it during country week?

Anoop – My Prerogative – It was a hit for him in Hollywood and we only got to hear a few words of it then. He did great with it too. I think this one gets him into the top 12.

And rounding out the top 12 are…

Jasmine
Megan
Matt G…

But hold the phone….As the final spot was announced, Simon tells Anoop that this year they decided to make it a Top 13! Noop Dawg is in also!

On to next week and the Top 13 :)

We laughed, We Cried....(Alert! American Idol Spoilers Included Here!)

2009-03-04T20:15:00.002-06:00

So tonight we find out the next 3 members of the top 12 and stop and consider this – at least one of the three who advance tonight will be on the Idol tour.

Additionally, we should find out who will be in the wild card show tomorrow night.

I do have to agree with Tammy in that there was a better mix of talent this week than either of the past two weeks. Sure, there were some stars the first couple weeks (Danny, Adam, Allison, Alexis), but their competition was a bit overly matched I think. This week, while it’s true Idol’s producers chose to put its star of the week in the “pimp spot” (Hello, Lil) the other performers to advance are not as clear cut. Pick the names out of a hat if you want, but it would be easier to name three who will not advance this week than it is to name three who will.

We were treated to a group song that we probably could have done without – Katy Perry’s Hot and Cold. That gets followed up by an “Idol Extra” – yet another of the auditions featuring a woman singing the theme from The Jeffersons. Seriously – who auditions with a tv theme song??

Like Simon’s comments to Lil last night, let’s just keep this brief. Here is who advanced:

Lil Rounds (we may actually have some suspense tonight, as Lil was probably the only performer last night expected to advance)
Scott MacIntyre
Jorge Nunez

And…the 8 Wild Card contestants to perform tomorrow night are:

Ricky Braddy
Megan Corkery
Tatiana Del Toro
Anoop Desai
Matt Giraud
Jessie Langseth
Jasmine Murray
Von Smith

Who will be the final 3 members of the top 12? That decision will be left up to the four judges, and I think we'll know the answer to that question tomorrow night....

I Would Do Anything for...

2009-03-03T21:06:00.001-06:00

Top 36 – Group C

My belly has been fed, I’ve got my soda and my snacks…It’s Tuesday night and This…is American Idol

It’s time for the 3rd and final group of 12 to sing for their spot in the top 12 before we get to the wild card round on Thursday…

For those of you new to my style of blogging, when it comes to tv shows like Heroes and American Idol, I tend to summarize rather than opinionize. Trust me, you’ll get my opinions as we go along.

Up first…Von Smith – You’re All I Need to Get By (Marvin Gaye) - I wasn’t a fan at first, but I promised Tammy I would cross over to the dark side because after all, they have cookies. And Von is a Missouri boy! I had no idea! And I gotta tell you, I am liking this performance. So is Randy, Kara, and Paula. Simon says he reminds him of Clay Aiken. The opener has had it rough the last two weeks, but Von starts things off strongly tonight. (IDOLS-01)

Taylor Vaifanua – If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys) Aside from holding one note for about 3 seconds, I really didn’t see anything special about this performance. Kara says it left her a bit cold. Paula is disappointed because she wanted something new and Taylor did this during Hollywood week. Simon had trouble remembering her called the performance a bit bland. Randy called it boring.

Alex Wagner-Trugman – I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues (Elton John) – personally, I love this song. I used to sing it at karaoke and…way back when I was younger and had just started seeing my daughter’s mother, it was one of “our” songs. Alex is dirtying this song up and imho doing an interesting job with it too. Paula seemed to like it, Simon didn’t. Randy thought it was a bit crazy. Kara didn’t care for the growling. I guess we’ll wait and see what America thinks.

Arianna Afsar – The Winner Takes it All (Abba) – First time Abba has been done on Idol, according to Ryan. Possibly the last based on how this is starting out. I thought it was too boring. The judges didn’t care too much for it either. As always, Paula appreciates the fact that she took the risk.

Ju’not Joyner – Hey There, Delilah (Plain White T’s) – interesting; he slowed the song down a little more than it already is. His voice has a good sound to it and I liked it, but I wonder if the judges might call it boring. Randy and Kara liked it. Paula brought up the repeat card about doing a song he did during Hollywood week, but in his case she liked it because he changed it up. Simon also liked it even though he called it a little bit safe.

Kristin McNamara – Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman) – well, one thing I can say about her, aside from the fact that she’s a cute blonde, is that she’s a karaoke host! At least, I hope I heard that right…As for her song tonight, I don’t know. On one hand its better than the other 2 women tonight, but I don’t really care for her spin on the song. Good voice though. She’s got a shot.

Nathanial Marshall – I Would Do Anything for Love (Meat Loaf) – I like the song, but not enough intensity and power, I thought. I apologize to all the Nate fans out there, but I feel like he’s taken a classic rock song and disco-tized it. Nate has a lot of fans out there and I know that every one of them will be behind him tonight. Suddenly he is Kara’s karaoke buddy and to this point he is a top challenger for that male spot.

Felicia Barton – No One (Alicia Keys) – Actually, she was number 37 when it came to picking the top 36, but the sudden disqualification of Joanna Pacitti opened the door for Felicia to be brought back. Not bad and I am glad we got a chance to hear her perform because I honestly don’t remember any part of her auditions or Hollywood week. Mixed reaction from the judges, but all in all the reviews were good.

Scott MacIntyre – Mandolin Rain (Bruce Hornsby) – One of the true talents that I enjoyed listening to every step of the audition process and hope he does well tonight. So far so good, I think he’s going to be difficult to beat.

Kendall Beard – This One’s for the Girls (Martina McBride) – She’s beautiful, she’s blonde, she’s country…but I just don’t see her moving on. The news was somewhat positive from the judges, now her fate is in America’s hands.

Jorge Nunez – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me (Elton John) – Memories of Clay Aiken come to mind as he started, along with my own song parody of this song. Remind me to share that with you sometime, but right now, let me just say ”Wow”. Great job. The dude can sing.

Lil Rounds – Would you know it, this was the one song title and artist I missed tonight. Great vocals, but she’s lacking then energy of the last two pimp-spot contestants. It’s difficult for me to judge her based on that song, but she does have the pipes to sing.

Wow, I originally thought the best group was the 1st group, but tonight is a lot more difficult in picking who the top male is. Maybe not so much for the women, but Jorge was great, Scott and Ju’Not were both wonderful. Von was the best I’ve heard from him all season and Nate was just contagiously good.

For the women, people who know me know that I have to root for the country girls (Go Kendall!) But if I had to rank the top 3 girls tonight, I’d say Felicia, Lil, Kristin, and Kendall in that order.

So who’s moving on? Here’s my prediction:

Top Male: Scott MacIntyre
Top Female: Lil Rounds (but maybe Felicia)
Next Highest Vote Getter: Jorge Nunez (But Ju’not, Nate, or Von could challenge)

Now Go Vote!

Heroes Summary (Spoiler Alert!)

2009-03-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

Heroes: Fugitives

Volume 5: Exposed

The show opens at the Bennett household, as Claire hands clothes to Alex. She offers him cash to send him to Albuquerque. He suggests that government spy satellites may be watching them right now. She thinks for a moment, then shakes her head, saying No…Sandra confronts Claire about missing money and she confesses. Mr. Muggles (the dog) senses the hiding Alex and pulls a sandwich out from under Claire’s bed. Sandra then discovers the hiding Alex in Claire’s closet.

Noah and Agent Danko are talking and Danko announces that Nathan has declared Matt Parkman as a number 1 priority. Danko says shoot to kill and Nathan asks, on whose authority? Danko says mine. Nathan asks Noah to keep an eye on him. Noah reminds Nathan that Matt and Peter have already held him hostage.

Matt is painting with the glazed eyes as Peter tries to get him to stop. He succeeds, telling Matt he’s painting the same thing over and over. In the loft, a computer screen powers on, with a note from REBEL, giving an address and stating Daphne is there. Another warning comes on screen saying, ”They’re coming. Get out. NOW!”

Matt and Peter run out just before 2 agents enter the loft. The agents send back a picture of the loft floor painting of an exploding Washington DC as Danko says, “I think I know where they’re heading.”

Back in Costa Verde, Claire introduces Alex to her mother, explaining he is her new boyfriend. She asks why he is hiding and Claire lies and says they’re having sex. Mom isn’t buying it so Claire comes clean and says she is hiding him because of his power. Sandra is upset because Claire lied to her.

Sylar is in route towards his dad’s house with his young companion. Sylar seems to enjoy messing with this kid. Suddenly Sylar pulls over to a place called Big Jims’ – an old Franks and Fries restaurant that has long been out of business. Sylar wiggles his fingers and boards come flying off.

Claire and Sandra are still arguing about Alex being there. Sandra tells Claire that she is stronger than she has been given credit for and tells her that a van is watching the house. Claire looks and confirms. Sandra offers Claire help. On Alex’s suggestion Claire accepts.

Matt and Peter find the building supposedly housing Daphne and walk right in as Matt and Peter are controlling minds left and right. Peter uses their Jedi mind tricks on another guy who does as he is told. Nathan, Noah, and Danko are watching on monitors in the hall as Peter hacks into the computer system. Danko runs out into the hall and finds two guards pointing guns at him. Danko walks back into their office and shuts the door. Matt looks up into the surveillance camera, smile’s , and nods as if to say ‘Sup?”

Claire’s brother Lyle is playing with his PSP as Sandra approaches him and asks him about a test score. Lyle lies and says C-, mom is onto him and confiscates Lyle’s drivers license. Sandra begins to work on adapting the license into a fake ID for Alex. Sandra and Claire begin to bond over this covert activity while discussing the situation at hand and Sandra’s relationship with Noah. Claire asks if they are going to get a divorce. Sandra says she doesn’t know, maybe. But it has nothing to do with her, she assures Claire.

Inside the closed café, Sylar feels like he’s been there before. Suddenly he starts having memories of the place back in the day. A young Gabriel sits at a table playing with a hot wheel car while his dad goes to talk to someone. The kid asks if he’s sure. Sylar rips open a wall and gets his old toy car back that he had lost in his earlier memory and says, “I’m positive.”

Claire walks back into her bedroom to find a mostly naked Alex as he is changing clothes. They make small talk as they work their way back to the matter at hand. The agents approach the house and Sandra tries to get Alex into a hiding place under the house. The agents start to search but to no avail. The agents leave after their search fails. Alex wants to run for it and Claire says they will catch him. Sandra says not if we give him a head start and all three smile.

Matt and Peter are looking into the computer and Rebel opens a new file…its video of their transfer in a hangar onto an airplane. Peter decides to save the information for media release. Noah sets off an alarm to disrupt Matt’s thoughts. Guards approach and Matt and Peter use their mind tricks again. Nathan approaches and Peter makes his getaway but Matt is captured as the alarm sounds again.

Sylar and his companion discuss Sylar’s memories and Sylar remembers something vital. Something his father did to him. Looks like the proud papa sold his son to another couple, just before slicing his mother’s head open with the magic finger and makes his escape. Sylar returns to the present day and says, “Mommy” as he remembers watching his mother get pushed out of the car.

Angela is talking with Nathan as she asks if he found Peter. Nathan asks Angela if she is helping him. She denies it and Nathan says someone calling themselves Rebel is helping him. Nathan says Peter’s life is in danger, even more so with the stolen files. Peter calls Nathan and tells him what he has. Peter offers a trade: Matt and Daphne for the information he took. Nathan agrees to the deal.

Back to the Bennett household as the agents take off chasing a fleeing vehicle. It’s Sandra and Lyle and by the time the agents catch up to them, Claire and Alex are making their escape out the back and down a hill before they fall and end up in a compromising position. They continue their trek as the agents are hot on their trail. The pair hide in a swimming pool where Alex can breathe under water. Claire is fighting the lack of oxygen until Alex starts making out with her. The agents leave.

Nathan and Danko are discussing the release of Matt and Daphne and Danko says no deal. Nathan insists and Danko persists, telling him that the US Government does not make deals with terrorists. Noah meets with Peter and Peter reads Noah’s mind who warns him it’s a setup. Danko shoots Peter before Peter can get away and Peter falls off the building. Suddenly, there is a streaking through the sky and Peter is flying away to safety. We don’t see if he’s doing it on his own or if he has assistance from Nathan.

Nathan and Angela are sitting on a park bench with Peter. Guess we know how Peter flew out of there so easily now. Peter and Nathan argue about the mess that has been created and Nathan says he is the only one who can fix it. Peter hugs Nathan and takes his power. Angela calms Nathan down by telling him that the game has changed and he needs to be ready.

The video that Peter took from Danko is released to the media and shown on tv.

Sylar and friend are discussing the memories again and Sylar is getting upset discussing Sylar’s father. Sylar throws the youngster against the wall and holds him there. Sylar accuses the child of using him as an escape, a joyride. Sylar tells the kid to go home to his mother while he goes back in search of dear old dad. Sylar wants him to die.

Danko is transporting Matt in a van and they discuss what the future holds. Danko injects Matt with something claiming he looks like a terrorist. Matt is pushed out of the van wearing an explosive vest, now wandering the streets of Washington DC.

Claire and Sandra are discussing Alex’s getaway and offers to make some popcorn and watch a movie – some sappy love story. Claire goes to get the popcorn out of the microwave and its not there. She turns around to see another villain, (I think it was the puppeteer from Volume 3) who tells her he needs her help. He holds up a cellphone, showing a text from Rebel: Claire will save you.

The previews for next week are shown and it looks like things could get a bit dicey. Nathan is with the booby-trapped Matt in DC trying to disarm the vest, while Danko is watching on a monitor. Danko is heard giving the order to detonate.

American Idol - NEXT!

2009-02-26T15:36:00.000-06:00

Top 36 Section B

I ended up having to work late last night and for a minute, I thought I was going to miss Idol tonight. But my student worker showed up at 6:30 and so I headed out and just walked in the door at 7pm and turned on the tv in time to hear Ryan’s famous words…

“This….Is American Idol!”

Then we have a few judges comments, including one baffling comment from Kara – “There are no second chances.” WTF?? Ummm, what about the wild card round, hello?? Then we have some discussion about Simon changing seats this week and I don’t think we ever really find out why.

So let’s move on the performances shall we?

Jasmine Murray – “Love Song” - Perhaps it was just nerves, but I caught a few missed notes, it seemed, here and there and I think it may end up costing her if the other performers can pick it up a notch tonight.

Matt Giraud – “Viva la Vida” – Wow…he had more missed notes than the first time I tried to blog idol! And I missed a LOT of them! Sorry Matt…it’s been real…

Jeanine Vailes – “This Love” – I will just say she is no Blake Lewis.

NOTE: Commercial break…Saw a new commercial for Hulu.com. I love my Tammy and all, but suddenly I feel like I must score a date with Eliza Dushku…

Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle – Did what I can only assume was an original song - Well…um…ok, white tails don’t work with khaki shorts, especially with brown socks and tennis shoes. But as for his song…It’s the best I’ve heard so far tonight. I’m debating going out on a limb here and saying he just might get enough votes. Kara got in a nice dig at Simon when she mentioned Nick/Norman’s shirt.

Allison Iraheta – “Alone” – I still get goosebumps remembering when Carrie Underwood did this song back in season 4. I think I only heard one rough spot, but overall it was an awesome performance.

Kris Allen – “Man in the Mirror” – This is a guy who suffered from a lack of airtime during Hollywood week and I really don’t remember seeing him in his audition either. Not bad, I almost feel cheated that we didn’t see much of him before. He started out a little forgettable but finished well.

Megan Corkrey – “Put Your Records On” – I sat through her performance and nothing came to mind. I don’t know. She just didn’t wow me. It looked like she was trying to bounce her boobies up there, but I don’t think she has enough up there to shake. For once, I can agree with Simon, I think she may have oversang it.

Matt Breitzke – “If You Could Only See” – The oil man got through last week, this week it’s the welder’s turn. He’s got a good voice, but I’m not sure I can see him actually winning this thing. But I thought it was one of the better performances tonight. The judges disagreed.

Jessie Langseth – “Bette Davis Eyes” – Moments before the performance, Tammy texted me and said she hoped Jessie would do this song. I think she definitely changed it up and gave it a different sound, making it her own. I wonder what America will think…I’m not sure it was enough.

Kai Kalama – “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” - Another of the good voices, but honestly, I think you put him in the mix and match bin with Kris and Matt.

Mishavonna Henson – “Drops of Jupiter” – Wrong song for her. Too clean. Reminds me of when Liza Minelli sang We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert.

Adam Lambert – “Satisfaction” – Hands down, best vocals of the night.
OK, so time to vote! Based on tonight’s performances, here’s my predictions:

Top Male: Adam Lambert
Top Female: Allison Iraheta

Next Highest Vote Getter: Pick ‘em out of a hat: Kai, Kris, or Matt. But wait…those three are going to split a lot of votes. Most of the other women tonight were a bit forgettable. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Nick/Norman takes the 3rd seat tonight.