Figure 8 as Double 4 (8 Facts Meme)

I was tagged by blogger buddy Dan, who did the same on his blog. Here are the rules.

1. first, post these rules
2. post 8 random facts about yourself
3. write a blogspot about those facts
4. tag and name 8 more bloggers
5. tell them that they're tagged at their blog

So here goes:

Factoid #1: I love me some Diet Coke with Lime. I could drink this stuff all day long, and usually do. I get pissed off at the grocery stores and gas stations that do not have Diet Coke with Lime stocked. If for some reason I am dying of thirst and have to have a carbonated drink, then I’ll look for Cherry Coke Zero, which is the only “zero” product I can stomach. But that’s an odd flavor too, so I’d usually hit Diet Dr. Pepper as a 3^rd runner up.

Factoid #2: I once got a D on my report card in Math. It was in Geometry in the 10^th grade, and was luckily not a semester grade, so nobody but my parents and I knew about it (until today!). The idiotic Mr. Vinson, who had no business being a teacher, would actually go to the board, or sometimes not, and read the problem in the book they used as an example and then say “Your homework is…” and actually BE DONE with class. The rest of the time was devoted to us doing the homework. His sorry ass was reported to the principal and Mr. Vinson’s life was miserable for a while, of which I take great pleasure knowing. Mr. Vinson thought he was soo funny; he put a comment code that meant “wastes time in class” on a report card where I actually snagged a B that term. JERK! He’s probably in jail and a registered sex offender by now. I would not be shocked.

Factoid #3: The worst college class I ever took--and of ALL TIME!--was Victorian Poetry. I have never, ever seriously considered dropping a class until I ran into Dr. B’s class. (Why I’m protecting his name right now is beyond me…) Anyway, the class started out innocently enough until the day he gave us a pop quiz. This was no ordinary pop quiz, no siree. Dr. B. had an answer bank on said quiz that began with letter A and went through AAA! His instructions I remember to this day: “You may use some, all, none, or multiple answers for this quiz”!!! WTF!! I got like a 13 F on that one! I was feeling mighty low… To top it off, his class was built upon 2 major grades: a midterm paper, and a final paper. He offered the class his “opinion” if we decided to turn in our papers early, he’d be happy to let us know how we were doing. I was sorta put back by the fact that I was the only one who did this. NOBODY ELSE DID. I soon found out why; he ripped my paper to shreds, employing a rainbow of colors no doubt from his Tinkerbell collection of highlighters! He handed the paper back to me, looked me in the eye, and recommended that I “start all over again”. The paper was due in 2 days. I felt like slugging his Irish-ass that day! Long story short: Snagged a B overall. (He let us drop our 2 lowest quizzes, so I got to say “buh-bye” to the 13-F that I earned.

Factoid #4: I sold thousands of $ in comic books for $100. My entire childhood collection, in fact. You see, I had probably 11 full “long boxes” (acid free, mind you) full of mostly DC ("Dumb Comics") that I had been collecting since I was like 11. These books were mostly super-hero team books, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman (Perez’s), the Legion of Super-Heroes, and my favorite, Kevin MacGuire’s run on the Justice League. All had been placed in plastic bags and many had the acid-free backing boards in them too. But I was so eager to unload them because I had moved in to a small apartment and had zero room for them. I was storing them at my mother-in-law’s and bless her soul, she didn’t mind really. I cited reasons that I had to “act like a grown-up" and “move on with my life” etc. But I really wish I hadn’t done that. Many of them were precious to me, and I regret that awful sale to a slimy, shady-ass comic book dealer who gave me a check (that may have even bounced…don’t remember). Oh yeah, I had to also drive like 50 miles to this joint in the “bad part of town” with my aging Honda Accord strapped down with my treasure.

Factoid #5: I was involved in a cult for 11 miserable years of my life. Long story short, I made a CD of original music and interview material that helped me to purge my negative vibes about the subject. It mostly worked. I’ve posted some mixes on the blog before, but my class (for which I did the CD as a project/documentary) loved it and was fascinated at how I, a “normal, intelligent, and mostly well-rounded guy” got sucked into a cult. Hit me up if you really want to know or to hear my creation. BTW, if anyone from Victory Chapel, The Door Christian Fellowship, or The Potters House approaches you or invites you to some concert or revival, run like hell!

Factoid #6: I reported my shitty neighbor to Animal Control, and they gave him a citation for abuse. The funny part (if there is one—it’s quite sad actually) is that he has no clue how much I hate him and wish he’d just disappear. When my son mistakenly opened his trash can, which had been left untouched by the garbage men—it was identical to ours, that’s why he looked—and saw a dead cat in it, he, of course, freaked. I was mortified and had been thinking of ways to bust him. Like a total dumbass, the neighbor left the can for 2 weeks on the road, and each time the garbage men did not take it. So I finally made a call to Animal Control and the problem was taken care of. Now he’s on the “watch list” for abuse, which serves his lowlife sorry-ass right.

Factoid #7: I used to be very angry at my Dad growing up, but now I’m over that and love him very much. My Dad has been such a help to me the last few years. Together, we single-handedly sawed, measured, and laid miles (it seems) of baseboards to accentuate my new tile floors. He’s also cut my yard weekly—we call him “Paco” when he does yardwork, and he takes care of my kids, who seem to be living over at his house these days. He’s a great guy and I understand now why he made some of the decisions in the past, so it’s all good. He doesn’t owe me anything, but he gives and gives and gives. I love my Dad.

Factoid #8: For the life of me, I don’t understand, nor care to understand, Tori Amos. I understand she was raped once and that fueled many albums, but I just don’t get the “I was a victim once and I’m going to take out my revenge on all men everywhere”. And one CD she was wrapped in a snake and in a hillbilly shack or something. DON’T GET THAT!

Okay, now you know some pretty weird things about your favorite Russian blogger. I am tagging Ken, Mia, XOLondon, and Chartrigger. I'm curious to see what you guys come up with. :)

Blake Lewis' New CD: Out before Year End

Blake's new CD, of which he's already recorded 6 tracks, is tentatively due out before 2007 ends.

What can we expect from the beatboxer?

“I try not to be put in a box,” he said. “I’m inspired by everything. I’ve got six tracks done. I’ve got a track that’s very Erasure-sounding, a track that’s Sting-meets-Neverending Story and a track that’s very electro-poppy Depeche Mode. It’s all over the map.”

Erasure, DP and Limahl?! I already cannot wait to hear these tracks! Sounds very synth-pop friendly and maybe even new wavey.

ROCK ON!

Thursday Tune-age: Big Girl Fergie

Fergie Ferg is loving life right now, even if she's suffering from some camel-toe action!

Her latest single, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” is the #2 single in the land, up one from last week. Her CD, The Duchess, is twicely platinumed and has spawned the following hits—all have made it to the Top 2:

London Bridge, #1
Fergalicious, #2 (for many, many weeks)
Glamorous, #1
(And now), Big Girls Don’t Cry, #2

The haters out there (and trust, there are many) have to admit that’s pretty good for a skank. Heck, that’s exceptional even for non-skanks, if you ask me! When was the last time a solo female CD cranked out 4 Top 2 hits? Maybe the Janet Jackson days? (I’m thinking Control and Rhythm Nation.)

I’d love to say Madonna has had that kind of CD, but sadly, not in a long, long time.

Maybe True Blue? Let’s see: Live To Tell, #1, Papa Don’t Preach, #1, Open Your Heart, #1, True Blue, #3, and La Isla Bonita, #4. Of course, that was 1986-7. Personally, I think La Isla should’ve charted higher—Madgie was robbed!

But I digress…

Here’s this week’s Top 5 from the Billboard Hot 100 chart:

1. Hey There Delilah, Plain White T’s – 2 weeks
2. Big Girls Don’t Cry, Fergie – last week’s #3 song
3. Umbrella, Rihanna – now 10 weeks at #1 in the UK!
4. The Way I Are, Timbaland
5. Party Like a Rockstar, Shop Boyz

Other interesting tidbits from the charts:

Never, evah, underestimate the Disney pop machine! This week, the High School Musical 2 cast debut at #6 with the pop gem (and yes, I’m being facetious!) “What Time Is It”.

Aly & AJ – also part of the Disney conglomerate, move up to #17 with the “Potential Breakup Song”.

Akon’s latest pop trash debuts at #7—“Sorry, Don’t Blame It On Me”. Yeah. I guess we’ll just Blame It On the Rain (that was falling, falling…) So, Akon must be referring to throwing around his fans (blogged about here) or fondling/gyrating with underaged pastor’s daughters (blogged about here). And sorry, I have not yet heard the song. I promise to IF it hits #1, ya’ll, promise. But not until then and not voluntarily. Just not a fan of folks with anger-management issues.

Rihanna’s next Top 5’er will no doubt be “Shut Up and Drive”, which flies up the chart from #22 to #15 this week. It’s also Billboard’s Sales Gainer. So we’ll be talking about this tune again and again and again. Probably for multiple weeks!

Who Knew? P!nk’d be moving up the charts again so soon? I know, I’m wearing that out! But I feel so clever when I do that…bear with me folks! She’s up to #51 (up from #67 last week).

We also have debuts from Hilary Duff and Brad Paisely, who Olga just loves and thinks is the funniest songwriter ever. I don’t agree, but his song “Online” is ok. Apparently the video is hilarious. Hilary’s new song, at #97, is “Stranger”.

And setting the WAY-BACK machine to this week in 1990: the #1 song was “She Ain’t Worth It” by Glenn Madeiros and Bobby Brown (the self-proclaimed “King” of R&B)…whatev! I don’t even remember this song!! And I was all about the radio and stuff back then! ☺

Yuri Works Hard For the Money

Well, I survived Day 1 at my new bank job. Tired as hell and should be asleep by now, but that's beside the point!

I'm so glad the paparazzi were out to capture this momentous occasion. I think I'm beginning to understand why Brit-Brit loves them so! BTW, that's me in the back wondering when it's my turn for a ride on the truck!


Seriously though, the new job wasted NO TIME AT ALL putting my former-lazy ass TO WORK! All in all, I probably looked up 400 loans and started creating documentation on each today. Not a bad start, eh? And I have loads more to do tomorrow and so on and so on. The day went by really fast, so that was good.

I think I'll let Dolly and the 9 to 5 crew take over from here.

Nous avions une grande vacances!

For the French impaired: "We had a great vacation!"

The Olga'n'Yuri household had a great time in Orlando this weekend!

I snapped a few pics with my trusty iPhone, and darn if they aren't pretty good! The little 2 mega-pixel camera takes better pictures than a 5mp camera we have (and forgot to bring with us!)

To the left we have our room with a view. Shot from our 10th floor room, you can see the boat launch which takes you to either Epcot or to MGM Studios.



Some highlights of the trip:
--> Time spent away with Olga and the kids. It's always great to get away from our normal routine and spend some quality time with the family.

--> Leaving my Driver's License with the rental car place and trying to check in without a picture id! FUN FUN FUN! I had to get ugly with the ticketing agent who claims she had to see valid Florida IDs from every adult before she'd issue tickets at the discounted price. Olga had hers, of course, but nobody wants to believe a wayward Russian tourist these days! After giving the manager on duty a piece of my mind--and the ticket lady too--we finally got our tickets. The difference in price was enough to cause a stink, so STANK I did! :)

--> Riding "Expedition Everest" at Animal Kingdom and then turning around and leaving! It reminded me a lot of Big Thunder Mountain, except you had a good bit of traveling backwards in total darkness! But we have a success story: this was Austen's first major roller-coaster ride! Yes, he lived to tell about the trip. We immediately left the park and jumped over to the Magic Kingdom to ride some rides before everyone and their mama woke up and hit the park. It was about 9:30 when we got to the Magic Kingdom, and we only had to wait like 20 minutes for the rides. Anything more and we'd have PASSED and done something else.


--> Monsters Inc. new "ride" at the Magic Kingdom


It was like going to a comedy club for 8 year olds. The ride uses the "Turtle Talk" technology and has the animated characters "talk" to the audience. The gist of the ride is to make the audience laugh so enough power could be generated to open the exits. It was just OK, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

--> Shopping at Macy's (always a pleasure)

--> Feeding some ducks at the Magic Kingdom while waiting for the bus back to the resort.


I love how the duck posed for the picture. What a ham! Doesn't Olga's pedicure look delish?

We had a great time! I am so not ready to start back to work on Tuesday! But alas, I need to grow up and rejoin the world of the working class. :)

Some 'splaining to Do...

Totally slacked last week on my Thursday post...d'oh! I promised to provide the answer to this trivia question:

Back during the week of July 11, 1981, which of the following songs was at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart?

(And the answer is:) B. "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes


And for those of you who may have been somewhat curious as to the the trivia challenge posted here, I'm posting the answers below too.

1. What will be the world's largest city in 20 years?
C. Tokyo

2. When was the last time the U.S. had an election without a sitting president or vice president seeking his party's nomination?
A. 1928

3. What color was the woman's face in Matisse's painting "Femme au Chapeau"?
C. Green

4. Which is the top-selling music album in history?
A. Michael Jackson, Thriller

5. How many Americans die each year from food-borne illnesses?
C. 5,000

6. How many people contract the AIDS virus every day?
A. 5,000

7. Who is regarded as the founder of the modern Olympics?
B. Pierre de Coubertin

8. Which of the following car companies sells the largest number of automobiles worldwide?
A. Toyota

9. The Jewish calendar is based on both solar and lunar years. According to the Jewish calendar, what year is it?
B. 5767

10. Which religion is atheistic, at least in its earliest form?
A. Buddhism

11. James Joyce based Ulysses on which classical work?
C. Homer, The Odyssey

12. How old is the known universe?
C. 13.7 billion years

13. How many genes do humans have?
A. 20,000

14. About how many bloggers will there be by the end of 2007 (LOVE THIS QUESTION!)
C. 100 million

15. What is the world's most visited web portal worldwide?
A. Yahoo

16. Who was the first African-American man to win an Oscar?
D. James Baskett

17. What fraction of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere comes from natural sources?
C. two thirds

Thursday Tune-age: It's Stopped Raining!

Well well well! We have a new #1 song atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week.

It seems the nation has closed the "Umbrella" on Rihanna as she drops from #1 to #2 this week. (BTW, "Umbrella" is still #1 in the UK and has been for the last 9 weeks straight!) Although I love the song, I'm ready to move on. And so is America, based on the charts this week.

The new #1 song is "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's (sic)--you guys know what that means right?, who have been in the Top 5 list for a while now. Seriously, I thought they were yet another rap artist and Delilah was a ho. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I hit their website today and actually heard the song for the first time. Very acoustic and college radio-y, which is good (at least for me). I'm stoked at how such a mellow song replaced the stomper "Umbrella" that spent 7 full weeks at #1. Who knew?!

Here's the new Top 5 this week:
1. Hey There Delilah, Plain White T's (sic) - 1 week

2. Umbrella, Rihanna

3. Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie - Maybe Fergie will have another #1 now that Rihanna is out of the way? We shall see!

4. Party Like a Rockstar, Shop Boyz

5. The Way I Are (sic), Timbaland - who desperately needs to crack open a grammar book!

Other interesting tidbits this week:

Elliott Yamin continues to march up the charts. "Wait For You" cracks the Top 20 and resides at #19 this week.

Aly & AJ, who my kids just LOVE, make a big move up the chart this week. Last week saw them at #48, and this week the girls move up to #23. Their oddly-titled CD debuts this week at #15, Insomniatic.

And "Who Knew" P!nk would be back again so soon after her surprise 3rd single hit "U+UR Hand" did so well? She's at #67, jumping from #84 last week. Go figure!

The Truth is Still Out There

My darling Olga sent me fantastic news today: Mulder and Scully will be back--very soon!

There will be a new X-Files movie shooting in the fall. No release date yet, but Summer 2008 would not be a stretch. The even better news is that both David Duchovny (who devulged the news about the movie) and Gillian Anderson are confirmed on it, and it's being overseen by series creator Chris Carter. Excellent!

Loved the last movie, 1998's X-Files: Fight the Future, which grossed a nice $190 million so a solid script would bring out all the X-Philes and could easily top the last movie. I loved the black oil plot-line, so I'm itching to find out what the new movie will be about!

Here's a treat from the CD, Dance Music For Secret Agents:

Download: X-Files Movie Theme (Secret Agent Remix) (6:15) mp3

Up for a limited time only so grab it while you can!

I Was Just Thinking About Something Sleek...

Ever since this post, I have had my eye on the iPhone.

Now, thanks to the nice combo of unemployment compensation and severance, I too can enjoy Apple's newest gadget. Ain't life just grand when it works out like that? Hell, I look at it like it's the least that I can do if you factor in all the stress of having to look for a job and waiting on calls both for interviews and job offers.

So last night, Olga and I hit the town, spending money left and right in celebration of my landing a good job. While waiting for a table at the Cheesecake Factory, I ran over to the Apple store and picked up the iPhone. When the dude handed me the bag, he was like "Good luck with AT&T". I shot him a puzzled look because I was under the impression that many "bugs" had been ironed out. So I was expecting some snag or snafu when I got home and popped open the box.

I am pleased to say the Apple dude was wrong. So wrong. I had zero problems activating it. Within 5 minutes of me taking it out of the box, I was up and running. No lie! It was way easy. So don't believe the haters.

I am loving the touch interface! Typing will be fun--I seem to be fat-fingering most of the letters right now, but I'm sure I'll get better with more practice.

I have to say that I don't like how smudgy the glass surface gets. I get very OCD with my stuff, so I'm constantly checking and wiping off the smallest of smudges. Apple provided a nifty little smudge rag to help with that. Hope I don't lose it!

I am still figuring out all this puppy can do. The camera feature is nice--2 megapixels. Much better than any other camera phone I've had. We'll be testing it out at the Chris Isaak concert next month, as they don't allow any cameras or video equipment.

If you guys have any cool tips or tricks you've learned on the iPhone, lemme know, k?!

Now is the Time for Rejoicing!

***trumpets sounding***

After over three months of pounding the pavement, including more than a month where I have been sitting at home,

I (finally) GOT A JOB, ya'll!!!!!!

Woo-hoo!!!

Folks in Paris, London and New York are partying in the streets as we speak!

And tomorrow is a global holiday in commemoration of this historic event! (We call it "Saturday" in America! LOL)

I am so stoked! I nearly fell out after I got the call today.

Olga is probably more relieved than I am! Fellas, just try and jeopardize a lady's standard of living and see where that gets ya! Needless to say, the Olga'n'Yuri household is a very happy one today.

And now, I shall spend every last penny of my severance without worry or hesitation!!! Vacation, here we come!

(Oh yeah, as a bonus for me, I'm buying an iPhone tomorrow!!!)

Thursday Tune-age!

Man, the charts are BORING this week!

Rihanna occupies the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the 7th week in a row. With only a couple of exceptions, the Top 5 is identical to last week's chart.

The big news this week is that Kelly Clarkson's anger-fest, My December, is still selling well. Sure it dropped from last week's #2 position on the album chart, but it only dropped 1 slot. I think after Kelly's excellent performance at Live Earth, folks are giving her CD another listen or maybe a first one. It will grow on you if you give it a chance.

Here's the Top 5 from Billboard's Hot 100 chart:

1. Umbrella, Rihanna -- 7 weeks
2. Hey There Deliliah, Plain White T's.
3. Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie.
4. Party Like a Rockstar, Shop Boyz -- Last week's #2 song
5. Buy U A Drank, T-Pain et. all

Elliott Yamin inches further up the chart, still in the Top 40, with "Wait for You". It's at #22 this week.

Rihanna's next hit, "Shut Up and Drive" continues its cruise on up. This week sees it at #34.

Little Voice by Sara Bareilles, a fave of XOLondon's, debuts this week at #45, even though it's been the most downloaded album on Itunes lately. Hmm...

I'll leave you with a bit of trivia, which I will answer in next week's Thursday Tune-age post:

Back during the week of July 11, 1981, which of the following songs was at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart?
A. "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
B. "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes
C. "Urgent" by Foreigner

Drop your guesses in the Comment section below.

The Pop-Tarts Live & On Tour!

The American Idols rolled into Jacksonville last night, and Olga, my daughter Amberly, her friend Jessica, and I attended. My son doesn't like concerts, so he declined the invite. Amberly was just fine with that, as she got to invite a friend.

The newly renovated Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum and adjacent parking structure was strangely modern and nice! I'm not used to all that in downtown Jacksonville!

We made our way to our seats, which were in a good section (Shocker!!), with a clear view of the stage and a nice monitor nearby for those extreme zooms that we cannot live without!

On the way, we ran into a family friend we had not seen for about 5 years. It was great catching up with him. The effort and the trip became immediately fulfilling because we got connected again. I marvel how small the world actually can be sometimes!

I noticed immediately they allowed cameras! Get out! All the ones I've been to lately were very big on NO cameras. I thought it odd to see a fully lit computer screen on the floor once the lights dimmed. Some fool was on the floor with a laptop, so I'm guessing it may have been the Usatoday.com blogger. They were pretty thorough except s/he called it the "kickoff" when in actuality it was the 3rd show of the tour. But the setlist is correct, to my knowledge anyways. Check out the blow-by-blow here.

There have been some You-Tubery clips posted from the Sunrise, FL show. I'm going to post the best and comment on the rest, as I am apt to do. :)

Here's the best song of the night. Newly crowned diva (in a good way, ya'll!) LaKisha Jones brought the crowd to our feet and tears to our eyes with her rendition of "I Will Always Love You". The last minute or so has been cut off, but you won't need it to see how wonderful this version is. Enjoy...




Blake Lewis could have carried the entire show. But I'm not opinionated about him or anything like that. He did some improv beatboxing and explained how his beatbox gadgets worked. Blake did a cool echo beat loop where he threw in some "Jacksonville" vocals on top. Very nice! Blake also sang "She Will Be Loved" but Chris Richardson sang Maroon 5's "This Love" and nailed it too. Not as good as Blake did it, but still...


Here's Blake doing the first number in a three-song set, "Time of the Season".



Gina Gloksin did a great P!nk cover. Who knew?! And some other non-descript rock songs. Not my fave, but the P!nk song made me think this is more her style.

Phil Stacey (Nospiratu) was moved by the hometown crowd. He did a great "Blaze of Glory" near the beginning of the show, and the crowd went nuts. He gave us an equally-moving "America the Beautiful" right after the 30 minute intermission. Then, get this! They moved into Prince's "America" from Around the World in a Day. The flutes were unmistakable!

We could have done without Sanjaya and Haley. Sanjaya--need I say this--was hokey. He came out to a Thriller intro and I thought I was going to roll down the stadium laughing. If he had changed into a werewolf or something, now THAT would have been something! Haley was all leggy, but the monitors only showed her (everyone, really) from the waist up. So she really didn't have to Nair and all that. But I'm assuming she did. I couldn't understand a word she sang all night.

Chris Sligh was great. He played guitar and sang his parts like a pro.

Mindy Doo and her "alter-ego" Chanelle impressed me too. She sang "Natural Woman" as her solo song and really had the crowd up and into it. She and Jordin are BFF apparently.

Jordin sang flawlessly and interacted with the crowd like a star-struck teenager. Oh wait, she is. My bad. I think Jordin's great; she's just not my thang. But you know that by now anyways.

Am I forgetting anyone? Chris Richardson could have done a solo show, as Blake could. Chris sounded great and interacted with the crowd like a pro.

Overall, very family-oriented show. The "Lady Marmalade" number with the girls was a bit awkward since AI is so not supposed to be sexy, and it was NOT. I kept wondering , "Do the girls know what that means?" Probably not! :)

Amberly and Jessica had a blast. This was Amberly's first concert. She'll be going into the 8th grade in the fall. Thinking back, my first concert (and date, for that matter) was in the 8th grade when I saw Phil Collins in Birmingham. "Sussudio" was the #1 song and all the rage. Ah, the memories... (OK--that WAS a long time ago...I know, I know..)

At the end of the evening, a good time was had by all. I give the show a B+ for effort (there were lots of sound issues), with points being deducted for Sanjaya and Haley.

Highs & Lows of Live Earth

I watched a ridiculous amount of Live Earth on TV yesterday! Hours and hours worth and then I taped like 3 hours more when we went to dinner! Overall, I spent waaay too much time staring mindlessly at folks that I pretty much didn't care for! I was mesmerized and couldn't take my eyes off the event.

TRUST ME..the two goobers they had hosting the BravoTV segments were making me crazy! How desperate are you when you hire two unglamorous and clueless people? Karen Duffy had a Grandma Walton brown burlappy dress that was NOT FLATTERING in the least. I saw every fat roll, and I so didn't want to! The other, Dave Holmes, was not very TV-Friendly either--a bit chubby with no personality shining through. To see them fumble through the day and into the night was kinda funny. They got to be sort of punch-drunk on their marathon shift; unfortunately, their crazy behavior toward the end only made them slightly more interesting.

But again, I digress.

I made some notes at some of the crazy-ass things that went on during the Bravo telecast.

Let's begin with KT Tunstall.


Check out the "Goldfinger" leggings! LOL! And those Reebok hightops are the same ones that every high school volleyball coach had during the 80's! Where did she scrape those up from?

Obviously this is the largest venue she's played, and I think she did a great job for the singing/performing portion. She said some crazy shit about "eat more soil (or something)" in between songs. WTF? I think she may have been crazy nervous and overwhelmed and all that.

But I really couldn't get past the leggings and the hightops! Girl needs a stylist QUICK!

On to Rihanna.




Performing in Tokyo, Rihanna had her "umbrella" look going on strong. Got a couple of words for her choice of outfit:

RED BEANS AND RICE DIDN'T MISS HER!

In those skin-tight black leggings, all I could see was Sir Mix-a-lot on that giant butt doing his thang! Not very attractive, Rih! It reminded me of a pre-surgery Control Janet in her Nasty leggings! Yeah, that bad!

Rihanna is such a beautiful woman, so it was a shame that her voice was not really up to snuff and the unforch outfit.

Speaking of voices, Fergie's was rawer than sushi. Nasty, even dressed up with some Black Eyed Peas!

Melissa Etheridge: Don't get me started! Wearing an army-esque jacket in the 90+ summer heat, she went on and on and on and on about the 8th grade and her credit card and something about America being messed up. Painful to watch and more so to listen. So.Not.Good

Kanye West doing "Message In a Bottle"? C'mon now--has he even heard the song before?! I could not be more mortified! Talk about being emabarrassingly off-beat and downright annoying! I was screaming, "THROW HIS ASS OFF!" before the end. For a second there, I thought Sting might, but then he was like "Good job" and all that B.S.! WHATEVER!

And now for the GOOD:

Duran Duran ROCKED IT, YA'LL! Simon looked 30 years younger, Nick was chubbier, John was the same, but older looking, and Andy was unrecognizable, but who cares? Undeniably, one of the BEST shows of the day--hands down! THANK GOD Justin Timberlake bailed on them, cause the so didn't need him! "Planet Earth", "Girls on Film" (loved it!), "Notorious" and "Ordinary World" rocked the house!!!




Alicia Keyes looked and sounded fantastic! I've not been a huge fan in the past, but I think I'm going to take a closer look at her stuff now. She was introduced first with Keith Urban as a "surprise guest" and she came out with her A-game on!



Kelly Clarkson was awesome! I really don't like "Never Again" but "Sober" really surprised me. Of course, "Walk Away" and "Since U Been Gone" were crowd pleasers. Even with all the bad press she's had recently, I just can't stay mad at her. She's just too darn cute!




Last but not least, we have the Queen herself! Even though Madonna's Live Earth song "Hey You" was not a favorite song, I have to say it has grown on me. Hearing the chorus a billion times in one day will do that to you! :) Bravo sucks because they played "Hey You" and then came back an hour later for "Ray of Light". They never showed "La Isla Bonita" OR "Hung Up". 3 words: Boo you whores!!!



The Russian gypsy guys are scary, if you ask me! Madgie must have picked them up during the Confessions Tour when it rolled through the old Soviet states! Personally, I wouldn't have given the dude a microphone, but I guess that's her call!

And other than her creepy, "I have to take a dump" stance she had with her guitar for "Ray of Light", I thoroughly enjoyed every Madge minute! She definitely BROUGHT IT!

Live Earth Tomorrow!

The big "7 concerts on 7 continents" happens tomorrow, wit TV coverage starting at 2AM on Bravo here in the States.

I will not be up that late watching, but I wonder when the London show will begin?

Duran Duran is supposed to sing a song with Justin Timberlake (SO NOT SURE ABOUT THAT!), plus "Planet Earth", "Ordinary World", "Night Runner" and "Falling Down".

Madonna plans to do her "Hey Poo"...err..."Hey You", "Hung Up" and "La Isla Bonita". Why not more, please?!

And speaking of her Madgesty, here's the "official" video for "Hey You"--where Madgie is channeling her "Inconvenient Truth-iness".

P.S. She's not in the video either... boo you whores! All that's missing is the red bouncey ball...

Is Avril a M-Effing Thief?

Is Avril Lavigne's #1 song "Girlfriend" a rip off?

Did she steal the song from the Rubinoos' "I Want To Be Your Boyfriend"?

The Rubinoos--who I've never heard of until today BTW--sing "Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your boyfriend" while Avril sings, "Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend".

That's pretty much it with the similarities, for me; although the Rubinoos' lawyer states:

"The entire song is not the same, they have different bridges, but the heart and soul of her song is directly taken from our client's song."

Heart AND soul of the song! LOL... okay, whatever. Sounds way desperate to me.

Here's a clip highlighting--to me--the only similarities the songs share.




I think the Rubinoos are so far out of the loop that A. They are just now hearing Avril's song, or B. They are just now convinced that they may have a case. Who knows? They must need money or something.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not an Avril fan, but "Girlfriend" is a monster-pop hit and is very catchy. But, if that's all the Rubinoos got, then it's not much, if you ask me. We'll see if Avril has to cut them a check or not.

Props to Idolater for the quote!

Thursday Tune-age: Hannah Montana Outshines Them All

If there's one thing I've learned from studying the charts, it that you shall never underestimate those Disney Kids!

The sunny, happy, bubbly Hannah Montana beat the snot out of the achy-breaky Kelly AND the slippery Bon Jovi boys this week on the Billboard 200 (album) chart. Miss Cyrus (onscreen and real-life daughter of Billy Ray) debuts her wares at #1 this week, while Kelly's much publicized anger-fest, My December, does better than I thought and debuts at #2 this week. Bon Jovi occupied the #1 slot last week and now Lost Highway meanders to #3.

The last time Hannah Montana surprised us all was when she bitch-slapped the Killers and DENIED them a #1 debut with their so-so Sam's Town release. So, grahs-hoppa, never underestimate the Disney Pop Princesses!

The Billboard Hot 100 Chart is quite boring this week, with a few exceptions.

1. Umbrella, Rihanna. ***6 Weeks at #1 (7 weeks in the UK)***
2. Party Like a Rockstar, Shop Boyz.
3. Hey There Delliah, Plain White T's.
4. Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie.
5. Buy U a Drank, T-Pain.

Looks like Rihanna has another run-away hit in "Shut Up and Drive". She speeds from #50 last week to inside the Top 40 at #39.

P!nk's last year-dud-release of "Who Knew" moves up to #87 this week. Maybe after "U + UR Hand" went to #1 on the Pop Chart, this one will get some attention. We'll see.

And the most interesting aspect of the chart this week is a Reba McIntyre and Kelly Clarkson duet, "Because of You". Very tastefully done, IMHO. Makes you pine for the days of "non-angry and spiteful" Kelly! Here's the video too. Check it out. It debuts at #52.

Happy 4th!

Here's a look back at a phenomenal performance by Whitney--long before she was a crack-whore. For me, this is the standard "Star-Spangled Banner" rendition by which others are judged. To steal from James Bond, nobody does it better.

Enjoy, and Happy 4th to everyone!

Trivia Time!

Let's do some trivia, shall we? We have categories from the social sciences, pop culture, muzik, history, literature, etc. All stuff interesting to me, your host. :)

Give these a shot without googling. See how smart you are.

1. What will be the world's largest city in 20 years?
A. Mexico City
B. Mumbai
C. Tokyo

2. When was the last time the U.S. had an election without a sitting president or vice president seeking his party's nomination?
A. 1928
B. 1936
C. 1952
D. 1960

3. What color was the woman's face in Matisse's painting "Femme au Chapeau"?
A. Pink
B. Blue
C. Green
D. Brown

4. Which is the top-selling music album in history?
A. Michael Jackson, Thriller
B. The Eagles, Their Greatest Hits
C. The Beatles, The White Album
D. Pink Floyd, The Wall

5. How many Americans die each year from food-borne illnesses?
A. 200
B. 1,500
C. 5,000

6. How many people contract the AIDS virus every day?
A. 5,000
B. 13,000
C. 201,000

7. Who is regarded as the founder of the modern Olympics?
A. Avery Brundage
B. Pierre de Coubertin
C. Juan Antonio Samaranch
D. Demetrius Vikelas

8. Which of the following car companies sells the largest number of automobiles worldwide?
A. Toyota
B. Ford
C. General Motors
D. Volkswagon

9. The Jewish calendar is based on both solar and lunar years. According to the Jewish calendar, what year is it?
A. 2007
B. 5767
C. 8023

10. Which religion is atheistic, at least in its earliest form?
A. Buddhism
B. Hinduism
C. Islam
D. Christianity

11. James Joyce based Ulysses on which classical work?
A. Homer, The Illiad
B. Boccaccio, The Decameron
C. Homer, The Odyssey
D. Virgil, The Aeneid

12. How old is the known universe?
A. 6,000 years
B. 4.5 billion years
C. 13.7 billion years

13. How many genes do humans have?
A. 20,000
B. 50,000
C. 100,000

14. About how many bloggers will there be by the end of 2007 (LOVE THIS QUESTION!)
A. 25 million
B. 50 million
C. 100 million
D. 6.7 billion

15. What is the world's most visited web portal worldwide?
A. Yahoo
B. MSN
C. Excite
D. Google

16. Who was the first African-American man to win an Oscar?
A. Denzel Washington
B. Paul Robinson
C. Sidney Poitier
D. James Baskett

17. What fraction of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere comes from natural sources?
A. one sixth
B. one fourth
C. two thirds

I'll announe the answers in a future post. In the meanwhile, chime in your guesses in the Comment section. Let's see who's the smartest of all. And Googling the answers is not right. Try this without "help".