ImprompTuesday night TV

When Dana and I got home from a little evening stroll last night around dinner time, the Celtics had been on tv for about 45 minutes.  When I turned it on, I realized that we had a full night of TV on our hands and had not expected it up to then.  I guess I should have known that the Bulls-Celtics game would go into overtime (3 of the 5 games have now).  But Dana probably wasn't as excited about the game as I was...she was ready to see Rat Pack night on American Idol (pronounced "am-MER-ican idol" if you're Seacrest).  Luckily she was ok watching it on DVR delay because 1) she is a good person and 2) there is no better show oustide of awards shows to have lag time to fast forward through than Idol.

A few thoughts on the Celtics game:

-I used to defend Joakim Noah to people whose only real criticism of him was that he looked like a girl.  "He gets under the other team's skin" I would say, "and there's no stat for that, but it's what every winning team needs.  Think Rodman, Bowen, Laimbeer, etc."  But now he's getting under my skin and not because he plays good defense (he's actually the recipient of many facials, mostly from Ray Allen on switches).  If I could talk to Noah, this is what I'd say, "Dry it up cry baby.  It's a basketball game, they call fouls.  Sometimes they even call them on your team.  You should be given three fouls a game because of your haircut.  How could you have played those three years next to Al Horford and not learned anything about how to act like a man?!"  

-Now allow me to contradict myself and complain about the refs...that was abysmal what they did to Ray Allen.  He's the star of the series so far, and you're going to foul him out on 3 different fouls that came miles away from the basket and off the ball...with 5:30 to go?  I usually defend the NBa to the nay sayers that would have you believe that the games are rigged, but that was atrocious.

-Paul Pierce continues to quietly become the guy you would rather have than Kobe Bryant: all the clutchness and none of the drama.

-Derrick Rose is going to be so good.  Look at how Rondo has blossomed under these rules and then think about how Rose is a better scorer and passer.  Having said all that, Rondo has been amazing this series.  I never thought he'd be this good.  I watched Ron Steele own him on college and thought that he'd be a liability for the Celtics in big games.  Well, you have my apologies, Mr. Rondo.  If it wasn't Pierce last night, I wanted you with the ball.  Some of those finishes in traffic were just dirty.

-Ben Gordon...scary when he has the ball and a shot to win the game.

-Brad Miller...not quite as scary on the foul line trying to tie it.

-What a series!  I'm all a twitter.

American Idol:  

-more of the same, except I liked Allison this week.  Everyone else was just how we left them.

-Jamie Foxx...synonymous with The Rat Pack.  

-I had to pick Matt to have any chance to stay in our game...Dana took my pick of Allison this week.  We'll see, but the fighting Gentles are on a sinking ship after Lil (my #1) decided not to show up for 7 weeks.  

-Tonight, Taylor Hicks...lag time is key.

Crispy Tacos Night:

- they are delicious, and very easy to make, eh Dana?  It's a labor of love and a scrumptious pay off!

Friday Night Lights:

We've made it to the middle of Season 2 and are really enjoying the show as a whole.  Luckily I expected nothing from this season based on reviews and so it hasn't been a disappointment...just not what Season 1 was.  This is a great show!  The first season was way up there.  I can't believe I put this off so long.  Nice work by my wife to drag me into it, thank you.  

Top 5 characters that prove the show has good writers and talented actors:

1.  Buddy Garrity -hate him then love him, and Dana cried at one of his scenes last night (and no, Kate Winslett didn't guest star or anything)

2.  Julie Taylor -it is obvious the writers have teen aged daughters.

3.  Landry - Seth Coen-esque, but not enjoying his story this season.

4.  Tim Riggins - I like him even though he betrays his best friend...if he were a character on the Sopranos, he wouldn't have made it this long.  He would have been sent a Sicilian message by now.

5.  Smash's mom - we've all met her at some point in our lives and she's right on.

It came out of nowhere, but this Tuesday was good to the Jacksons (Dana would argue the part about the NBA game being good).  

Nancy

My mom is heading to Tuscaloosa  hang out with me this weekend. Can't wait to see her. We always have a great time when she visits--eating out, watching movies, talking, and yes, she helps me clean up...voluntarily! The last time she was in Tuscaloosa, we were frantically driving back and forth to Birmingham meeting with caterers, florists, etc. So I'm looking forward to a more relaxing weekend where we can just hang out and do girl stuff.

The University of Alabama's musical theatre department is performing "Thoroughly Modern Millie" this week, so we have tickets to go see that tomorrow night, which will be lots of fun. We both love the original movie, which I'll heartily recommend to those who've never seen it.

Kent is going to Six Flags tomorrow, which is perfect because I'm not going. I'm not a thrill seeker and if Kent and I ever went to Six Flags together, he'd be pretty disappointed. Basically, I'll only ride the carousel, Monster Plantation, and maybe The Mind Bender if I'm feeling brave. So, I hope he enjoys a thrilling weekend and buckles his safety harness tight on all those ridiculous free-fall rides.

Speaking of Kent, his American Idol team received the "death blow" as he called it with the elimination of Lil and Anoop this week. While there is still a chance he could win if Kris goes all the way, I think I'm going to walk away with the crown. Sadly, Kris is my favorite contestant these days so I root for him, and find myself rooting against my own #1 pick, Danny Gokey. The irony.

It's the weekend!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!

from the gorgeous Hollywood Hills...

I couldn't tell you why, but I've been missing Craig Kilborn lately.  I love Conan, and Dave Letterman is the king for sure.  But I always had a soft spot for Craiggers, he was my favorite.  Back when TiVo was still a very new thing, the Late Late show was one of the first things I set to record all the time.    I think it was the 5 questions that I looked forward to the most.  Plus, he was good friends with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau and had them on the show before they skyrocketed (really just Vince skyrocketed).  Anyway, I found someone on youtube who posted a bunch of videos and I've been watching them this week and missing the cocky, self-indulgence.  This is one of my tastes that I feel like not many people shared, but if you liked Craig too, then you're alright with me, friend.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find my favorite clips, but until then, here's a "best of 5 questions segment."

Craig left to "produce and write" and has since neither produced anything nor written anything according to imdb.com.  Come back, Craig...come back.

"Gently" Taking the Lead

Not a good sign for "Gentle's Giants" when we have four contestants left and 3 of them are the bottom three last night.  Dana and I had both picked Allison before Tuesday's show, I got 20 for Scott's 7th place finish, she got three for correctly switching her pick to Scott, bringing the score to:

The Package Artists: 28

Gentle's Giants: 38

Thank God We Have a Game

It was this week when the initial feelings came back as to why Dana and I created this game for American Idol viewing was necessary.  The last two episodes were loaded with stuff that led me to hate on the show in the first place.  Admittedly, I do look forward to the show, but after it is over I wonder why.  I would have expected to have gotten used to the inane nonsense that comes from Kara's mouth by now, but it just irritates me more each week.  I would have expected to get used to the double-standards the judges use to criticize Matt and applaud Adam.  Instead, I just get angrier each week.  Instead of becoming impervious to the crap of the show (I'll do a list in no particular order: the group song each week, the producer's agenda, the praise and rewarding of screaming, the pleas for originality only to castrate those who try something original, the fake enthusiasm, the refusal to enlighten us on the process of why they have to choose the songs they do...must stop listing before my brain vain bursts), it instead leaves me exhausted each week, and wishing I'd worked a drinking provision into the game rules.

"For me, for you...this was like studio 57...like a bunch of frat guys dared you to...Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, and Adam Lambert..." just a few of the things I'm not supposed to make fun of on the blog this week (Dana says I'm too mean about it).  But as you can see, there was plenty to work with this week.

I am somewhat sad to see Megan go as she was the closest to the true goofiness of Norman Gentle as we were going to come.  But I did guess her before the show started, whereas Dana picked Scott then switched it.  I got 6 points, she got 3.  But since Megan is on her team and placed 8th (remember Adam does not exist in the scoring), Dana got an empty 10 points.

So, the score stands at:

The Package Artists: 25

Gentle's Giants: 18

Sorry I'm such a complainer this time...we'll all be better off when Adam gets the boot.  Best moment of the performance night was when Matt went, and Dana enjoyed it so thoroughly that she was clapping and saying "Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy!"  But on the second "yay" came an abrupt stop when they cut to Matt's dad who has some sort of an eye condition that causes them to cross...it sounded like this:

"Yaaaaaaaay!!!!  Yaaaaa- Ew!"

And don't worry, SB, she "vooooooted" this week. 

Congrats to the Tide and CATS on great hires this week.  Lynn and Ben, as my only windows into the UK fan base, I'm anxiously awaiting commentary on this.  I'm thinking it is similar to the excitement felt when this happened:

  

'I heard things'

Several funny things happened last night.  I'll start at the beginning.  I thought that since we were having a jam-packed TV night (Lost and Idol), it would be a good idea to get a bottle of wine to go with our dinner (Dana made a stir-fry thing that I liked but she didn't).  Wine, in addition to tasting good, carries with it the bonus of erasing the "judgmental filter" in Dana's brain, and making me funnier.  You can see how this would be advantageous on a night when we are judging amateur singers trying to make it to a doomed-to-fail recording contract.  For instance, where Dana might have remained quiet after a Scott McIntire (the blind guy) introduction, I heard her say, "UGH!" and "Wonder what he's going to bore us with tonight."  While this is not politically correct, I enjoyed it very much because Dana will often wait for me to make these kinds of observations and then say "Ke-ent?!" incredulously. 

I myself was finding my own jokes a little too funny, punctuated by my declaring "I wish they had the technology to clone because I would be best friends with myself!"  Dana didn't let that one go, don't worry.  And while that is a post for another day (it would be cool to hang out with another version of yourself, don't you think?), the point I'm making is that we were in top American Idol viewing form...but not for Lost.  So, I'll just talk about the less important show.

Some scattered observations, and I'll start with the one that is most important:  

How can we hate on Adam this week?

His performance was a good one.  I love that song, more importantly, he didn't mess it up.  His changes to it were actually pretty cool, and when Smokey's on board, I'm on board.  Here's how I hate on him after that.  It was all still just acting.  My main problem with him is that he's not genuine.  The character that he chose to play this week (complete with costume-suit and made-over-hair), is likeable.  The same way that Renee Zellwegger plays good characters sometimes and yet I don't like her in real life.  Even though Adam is everything we said he is (fake, contrived, flamboyant, mercilessly shoved down our throats by the judges), he did a good impression of a likeable contestant this week.  Don't worry, he'll pull out some more crap like last week again soon.  I just hope he doesn't destroy another great song in the process like he did with "Ring of Fire."

Matt was about the only contestant that could sing Marvin Gaye and me not want to kill him for it.  While I thought it wasn't that good, I like him ok, so I won't hold it against him.  Dana liked it and apparently her vision was impaired because she likes the way he looks.

Megan was not so lucky as Matt because I don't forgive her for doing Stevie that way.  She bombed and is probably going home next week.

Allison apparently won the award for "person that the judges have to pretend was better than they were this week."  I thought she was good, but when Kara tried to french-kiss her, I drew the line.

Michael is on my team and even though it's to Gentle's Giants' benefit for him to stick around, I hope he gets kicked off soon.  I've had enough of his dumpy behind prancing around stage.

Anoop - glad you're a "Giant."  Lil - stop screaming and I'll feel better that you were my first pick.  Kris - just keep staying below the radar and make it to the top 4 and I'll be glad you're on my team.  

Another Dana comment from last night: "I'm done with Danny."  WHOA!  Turning on her #1 pick.  I thought he was ok and so did she.  I think Dana, like me, just really hates it when undue praise is heaped upon someone (see: Lambert, Adam)

I think I almost agreed with Kara at one point, and then she launched into an annoying dance and snap routine and I found myself in the familiar place of wishing that Paula elbow her in the nose.

Before the show, we both picked Michael to go home and I think we're both sticking to our picks, so regardless of if the score changes, it will stay tied...unless there's a dramatic, last-second change of picks. DUH-DUH-DUNNNNNN!!!!

The Package Artists - 6

Gentle's Giants - 6

UPDATE: Both teams picked up an additional 6 points this week.  And I feel bad about the "dumpy behind" comment now that Michael has shown that he really is a nice guy.  

Best moment of watching the show with Dana this time was when they revealed that Matt G was in danger and she clinched her fists and looked skyward and yelled out, "I should have VOOOOOTED!!!!!"  

The Package Artists - 12

Gentle's Giants - 12

A few thoughts and a score update

-I'm feeling a little better about my team (now officially named "Gentle's Giants") after this week.  My boys, Kris and Anoop showed they were more than just eye-candy and game-show contestants from movies, respectively.  Michael was my last pick, and I have not liked him from the start...but he does seem to be a good person (I saw a Kate Winslett-induced type tear in Dana's eye when he told the story about his daughter).  Along with my group "picking it up a notch" (Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum!), we had Dana's group (now officially called "'The Package Artists'"...and yes that's a quote within a quote. Sorry, Mr. McCarthy) slowly becoming average.  One of them even went home last night.

-Yes, the need for the extra quotation is because I was trying to help Dana name her team and suggested that one, and she said "But that sounds like I'm making fun of Kara."  To which I replied, "And..?"

-I know that if I was wondering if I was eliminated, I would not take any solace in the fact that one of the judges didn't know my name.  Really, Randy?! You call everybody "dawg" and "sweety" and now we know why.

-I made a score sheet for our little game, and Dana jazzed it up a little.  I'm on Spring Break, so I've got a lot of time on my hands.  And speaking of the score, before the first round I picked Michael to go home and Dana picked Anoop (and she felt bad for having no faith in him after he sang).  She switched her pick to Michael and I stuck with him too.  We were both wrong, so the judges awarded us no points and may God have mercy on our souls.

Score update: Gentle's Giants: 6; 'The Package Artists': 6

-Finally, we made our picks for the NCAA tourney.

Dana's Final Four - UNC, Pitt, Memphis and Louisville

Kent's Final Four - UNC, Villanova, Memphis, and Louisville

Ben and Lynn, we know this jeopardizes our friendship, but just know that we wished we could have picked the C-A-T-S! CATS! CATS! CATS!  March isn't the same without them.

Me gusta Mexico

Mondays are always a shock to my system after having a whole weekend of fun with Kent. So, I'm having "a case of the Mondays" today and wishing I was here instead . . .

Let's Change the Subject

As happy as I've been to see the immense participation and interest in our American Idol posts, I'm changing the subject because it's Friday, and I'm so happy for the weekend! Here's what's going on with us this weekend:

I woke up this morning, and it was raining. According to the news, it will be raining all weekend. This may bother some people, but I love it! I love when it rains and I can stay cozy inside the house and be a homebody. So, because it's raining, here's what we've planned.

Any of you that know Kent know that he loves Alabama, and he loves basketball. This weekend is the SEC basketball tournament, so we'll be watching and, hopefully, the Tide will make it through to the finals. Roll Tide!

FAJITAS! I love making fajitas and having a little "fiesta" when we have a fun TV night. This tradition actually began when Lynn and I lived together. Lynn taught me all I know about making fajitas, and we would regularly have fajita night for The OC, American Idol, The Starlet (random tv show that only we watched). It's the best! So, I'm breaking them out tonight for the big game against UT. Also, Kent is officially on Spring Break, so we need to spice things up.

So, I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson movies. The Life Aquatic came via Netflix two days ago, so we're screening it this weekend. Kent has never seen it, but I'm convinced he'll like it. It may not be as popular as Anderson's other movies, but it humor and charm of its own. Plus, lots of random David Bowie songs. I'm excited to watch it again. Team Zissou!

Hope all of you have great weekends too!

update

Wow, that was some response!  

Scoring update: Dana 6 Kent 6.  She picked Jasmine and Michael before the 1st round, then stuck to her picks.

I had Michael and Megan, and changed to Jasmine and Jorge based on their performances.  So Dana got 6 for picking one right ahead of time and I got 3 and 3.

Ben and Lynn, I hope you have a version of this game as it would be perfect to help Ben through each week.

We did enjoy the bird calls of Megan's performance, but it made me want to see Norman Gentle perform because he would give us two minutes of the same ridiculousness.

To agree with SB, Dana's team is stacked, and I am rooting for most of them to do well, but I figured that I would go the route of America voting for the least deserving or the sappy picks (I do like Scott, but he is not in the top 8; and Dana got Gokey before I could get my pick).  Glad everyone enjoys the idea, I know we do.  I'll be sure to let everyone know how it is going.

I think my team name should be The Gentles...or maybe not, we'll see.