I decided to switch to the beta version of Blogger; the surface isn't terribly different (except that there is no options to republish everything anymore - in fact, when you make changes to your site, you don't need to republish either!)
Other than that, and a few new templates, it looks pretty good :)
Oh, and there's a new date/time format for the Comments ;)
I decided to go through a google blog search for the Rockstar show, and there are a couple of funny sites and/or posts that I've found -
First off, "Leper Pop Rocks" - their recaps are pretty hilarious. This segment from tonight's episode is gold to me -
I’m guessing the camera crew got the day off since we were not allowed into Pulse Studios this week to see the rehearsals/tryouts. We’re apparently on a need to know basis, and all we need to know is that Lukas is this week’s Suave Porn Featured Dancer.And then there is this post on a site called "This Is Babble On", entitled "F--- You Rockstar Supernova" in reaction to the result of tonight's show. Sometimes it's fun to see how you type when you are slightly imbibed... :)
Suave Porn/Lukas – It’s On: I can’t see them filling arenas with this guy at the helm. In fact, I’m not sure they’d make enough money to fill the tank in their tour bus.
TLee then wanted to thank all the maniacs in internet land that have nothing better to do than sit in front of their computer and make webpages about a goddam reality show. Bunch of losers. Umm, wait a minute. Nevermind. Strike that.
Good morning Los Angeles!
All-time high voting, more than doubled the vote from last week, and the highest ever in the program's history.
Everybody loves a rock performance at 8.45 am ;-)
Let's recap the events from Sunday to this morning, shall we?
Interesting that Storm thinks that she'll be the one leaving...
this week the song is "it's on" I guess it's time to have the slow framerate time again...Lukas is chosen to perform on it. I normally don't comment on these "reward" performances, but there is a hint of his voice being stretched again there...
coming up the encore and then bottom 3
-adbreak- 7.14 back 7.17
encore? i think it'll be toby...but first we have to announce the winner of the MSN Spaces comp...the winner is r. carlos seattle, wa 2 tix to the grand final 13/9
and it is toby
time for the bottom 3... my prediction storm ryan magni
first up -
Ryan
Storm
Lukas (big gasp. do these people watch the show?)
added overnight
Toby
Dilana (no reaction at all to her announcement.....strange; you'd think that she'd get a bigger reaction than lukas)
We find out after the break who it is.
-adbreak- 7.25 back 7.28
Brooke points out that Magni had the most votes. In theory, this could be true, but it could be that he just missed being in 4th at any point overnight. Since the show doesn't release exact voting numbers, we really will never know.
First in bottom 3 - Ryan - Baba O'Reilley - Champagne is supposed to be for celebrating a victory I thought; but what the hey, let's drink it at 9.30 am or whenever it was by time they got this far! This is just bizarre to me.
Second - Storm - her favouriteist beatles song Helter Skelter - I'll say that it's better than last night; there is something about the presence she brings to today's show that is a definite plus in her column. Also, it helps that the song is more for her vocal range than last night
Who will it be?
-adberak- 7.37 back 7.41
Lastly - not Toby - Dilana. now the crowd reacts. - Psycho Killer - What the? Did she stick her name in there again?!? It certainly sounded like that. Hmm....
-adbreak- 7.47
My thoughts are that they're going to send dilana back, but the dummyspit is the clear reason why she's there. It's really between Ryan and Storm; Tonight Ryan was a bit too bizarre for my taste, and he's the only one who's been in the bottom 3 before. It's tough, almost a cointoss. I think it's going to be Ryan, but really it's a crapshoot as to who goes between all 3.
back at 7.51
Band's thoughts. Ryan - been a massive adventure, definitely changed from the start of the show; great tonight, but is he right for the band? Storm - first time - some great performances, really solid, but not much change during the show. Dilana- shocking even for the band; seemed a bit lost in the performance; earned a lot of cred with the band.
tommy - three really good performers. it's about what's best for the band. Ryan's come the farthest, but it's time to go. The crowd doesn't like it; nobody liked it
Hey, verizon are bringng back an eliminated rocker to perform on finals night. Sorry non-verizon subscribers, you can't vote :(
-adbreak-7.55 back 7.57
credits - storm - ready to sing again last few wednesdays; Dilana is right that she's let her fans down; it'll be interesting to see if she's in the bottom again next week.
I wonder if there will be people who think that this was kind of the last straw for their viewing. However, this is the point of the show where the people who have a lot of support will be the ones going. I think that the main reason that Ryan was the one going this week was that he's been in the bottom 3 previously. Ironically at the beginning of the show, I had said out loud that it should be Storm who should go, but Ryan's performance, like I had said, was just way too bizarre to me.
If I had to give predictions for how the show will pan out over the last 2 weeks, I'll say that it will be Storm or Toby going next week, and that the final will be down to either Dilana or Lukas.
Over the last few weeks, the local major phone company (i.e. the one everyone else has but my town has) has been running ads touting their new-look Yellow Pages. Ours finally came today via regular post. In fact, the local Post Office deicded to send out a standard truck in advance of the regular route in order to deliver just the phone books; the rest of the mail came in the usual manner - delivered by the postman in his own car :)
Now, you'd think that a company as large as AT&T would have had the few pennies in their budget to actually bother looking through the phone book to make sure that there were no traces of the old name of the phone company, right?
Of course not! First of all, the book is published by Ameritech Publishing Inc. (in other words, the name of the phone company some 5 years ago), and all of the ads highlighting the unused logo services in the phonebook mention that it's from SBC. Oops.
Anyways, I can stop fretting about the phone book not coming. ;)
Viewers' Choice week
Just 2 weeks to the grand final!
We start with the big dummy spit. Something I didn't mention was Lukas' comments about wanting to take what she had said back for her; to me, that's something that he probably should have said to her (however, I don't think that she'd take it in the right light at the time). Also, when she threw the glass, one piece just missed Magni's eye by no more than 1 or 2 cms.
I think she's gonna get the good attitude back now. However, what happened last week will probably hang over her head personally for some time to come. Judging from the way she answered the question, it seems like she was digging for the "right' thing to say - "I feel like I'm gonna rock the s--t outta this place". It might not be brought up externally, but for certain she's going to keep it in her mind. I have a feeling that this might affect her performance in the polls. Then again, there might be a lot of people who still will like her for her talents. As someone said in the comments on Dave's site, she is one who you either love or hate.
-adbreak- 8.07 back 8.10
Viewers' choice week; now we see scenes from the reveal on the IE7 box. I don't think that it's a copy of Vista on that machine, but a different theme for XP Media Center...however, the icon for Windows Media Player didn't look right to me. Ah well, I'm over it now ;)
A nice little "Yay, Team!" speech there from Dave :)
First - Lukas - Lithium - Is it me, or am I sensing the loss-of-breath phenomenon from him again? Nevertheless, he is showing a lot of energy. Hmm...pretty good; didn't do that back to the crowd thing this time.
Second - Magni - I Alone - He could be a pollie i think with that speech :p - pretty darn good; much better than last week. However, his support in the voting is the only thing keeping him in the bottom 3. I think he deserves votes based on this performance.
-adbreak- 8.22 Double eviction on Thursday's BB ... back 8.26
Go to the site, buy tix, get entered for a trip to Vegas
Third - Darkhorse Ryan - Clocks - Yikes...that falsetto maybe wasn't the right thing to start with. Wasn't it a guitar to break...not a grand piano? ;-) A weak start, a great middle, but I think that the slithering onto the piano on the end, while cool-looking, might have been a bit too much...
Three to go then you vote! website, Verizon SMS or Windows Live
-adbreak- 8.31 back 8.35
Fourth - Storm - Bring Me to Life - It's not a good thing when your competition outpowers you when doing backing vocals. I think Dave's right - Toby did take some of the spotlight on that. I thought it was a bit too dark at the beginning, but she did find the energy when she got to the chorus.
Fifth - Toby - Rebel Yell - I'm impressed. I'd say that this was his best performance of the year. The only thing I"m curious about is that shirt with "Richland (trophy logo) Memphis, TN". Like Magni, I wonder if he has the support to stay out of the bottom 3 this week.
-adbreak- 8.45 back 8.49 Folks, remember if you go to the casino, you can win a year's pay, but don't do drink driving unless you want your car to be filled with the beverage you have chosen to imbibe...
Sixth - Dilana - Mother Mother - I sense a broken guitar coming...aw darn...she put it down nicely...sorry, what dummy-spit? Wow :)
It's time to vote peeps! My bottom 3 prediciton is Storm Ryan and Magni. I will not be surprised if Dilana is in bottom 3 due to the dummy spit, but hey, I think she deserves to win still ;)
Toby will not be surprising either (due to flagging support)
-adbreak-8.55 back 8.58
websites on your screen? I had
Well, now that I've been spoiled about this episode, I may as well watch it ;)
We start off with the recap from the week. Dave has said that he was convinced that Dilana was sincere, but I still don't think she was fully truthful on her apologies.
Apparently since we had no titles Wednesday, there needs to be full titles today...
Dilana - you are the one who caused the tension. However, I know how she feels about the not wanting to say anything after what had happened.
As much as I can understand her getting down over what had happened, the whole glass thing was totally uncalled for. As Lukas said, if she can't handle criticism over what she had said for the media, then how is she going to handle doing press junkets and all the other responsibilities. Interestingly, Dave had said on his site that how she had handled the criticism during the taping was admirable. He also mentioned that it was just a clinic and that the real emphasis was on the talent.
She has massive talent, but if she expects to be able to hole up after some criticism and a bit of negative reaction to what she had said (which, for some reason, she thought that maybe she should have been the "media type" i.e. saying nothing with a lot of words during the press clinic), that's just something you can't do while on the road. I can understand her feelings about holing up - I've had the luxury of being able to do that in the past, but it's something that I'm making great efforts to stop doing.
If she wants to be the leader of this band as bad as she wants it, one thing that I would definitely suggest for her to do is drop the attitude and stop bagging her fellow competitors; it gets you nowhere in the long run.
--------------
Segment 2 - A photoshoot
Putting Dilana aside for a few minutes, we see Storm being an absolutely comfortable for the photos. Definitely a segment where you want to say "Again! Again!" in the style of the baby from The Dinosaurs. ;)
"I'm a singer. I'm not Harrison Ford for Christ's sake." The line of the episode methinks.
Gigundus? Is that even a word? Ah well, it's ok ;)
Is that TV running a beta version of Windows Vista? I know that the IE that was shown was version 7, but the other parts looked too dark to be even WinXP Media Center.
Song "selection" - viewers' choice week
Lukas - Lithium (wc)
Toby - Rebel Yell (wc)
Magni - I alone (wc)
Storm - Bring Me to Life (wc)
Ryan - Clocks (wc, 39% over Losing My Religion on 38%)
Dilana - Mother Mother (wc)
I find it interesting that all the songs selected were the wild card choices.
Other comments - Dilana's talent has never been in question. It's the attitude that she's been getting over the last couple of weeks that are getting her into trouble. I still like her for her talent, but as much as I can understand the mood swings, it's something that really can't happen, as the band probably won't want to have to deal with if she does become the winner.
Yesterday, I was at the local Wal-Mart (and to think, within the next year, there'll be 3 supercenters - ones with grocery stores, or as the one close to opening up is called "Food Center", attached - within a 30k range); walking towards the back of the store, through the electronics department when a little keychain camera caught my eye.
The one that I was going to get was one by Philips, but the one I finally ended up getting has really a "killer" feature - external storage using cards I already use. ;)
To me, that's a feature worth paying the extra $5 for - even if it is an off brand. Oh, and it takes pictures in 1280x960 and 1600x1200 formats - the philips as far as I could tell only did 640x480.
So, what does one do with a camera so small? Take pictures where a Dimage Z1 would be noticed and this little job wouldn't :)
For example, you can go to the grocery store and take pictures of various things, like the cheese case -
Or, all the pre-packaged Asian noodles that have become available in the last year - 
And check out all the variety of luncheon meats available - 
The only thing about this camera is that you'll notice that the pictures are quite blurry; I admit that my hands aren't the most stable in the world, but if you put the blur aside, this little job doesn't do that bad of a job.
However, I will also be posting some photos I took with my "proper" camera - the Z1 - which has that all-important function - a viewfinder that shows you what the CCD is seeing; of course, the Z1 cost me about $300 2 years ago, along with the $75 256MB SD card, that nowadays you can find for around $25 - 1GB cards are now at $40! It's amazing how cheap electronics are especially when you look at how it was 10 years ago, but that's another topic for another time :)
I've been set a task to read a certain book (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, a book at least 75% of the English-reading world has read, and I'm in the 25%); I've done something similar to this already, with pretty much the same result.
I am not really in a position to go off to the local bookstore or to the library all that often, so I usually have to devise my own methods of getting things - like happening upon them at other places like rummage sales or department stores, and everything normally works out fine. One would think that a book as well-known as Pride and Prejudice would be available at one of these places, but I have had no luck in finding it as of yet.
Of course, there are alternate methods of getting access to books without having to pay for them - the ebook route, and I've done this in the past for another book that wasn't in my house at the time, but the thing was with that particular book, there were no chapter divisions, and the whole book was converted to a single-space affair. A few times, I had tried to get involved with that particular book (The Firm), but I just could not. One thing that I've figured out is that for me, if I want to read something longer than a few thousand words, it really needs to be in a tangible format. This brings me back to my attempt at reading Pride and Prejudice as an ebook.
Unlike the version of The Firm that I found, the first version (in PDF) of Pride and Prejudice does actually have the chapters intact, but there are a couple of problems for me at least. First, it's set up for A4-size paper - a type of paper that is not at all available here (yes, it's in the OfficeMax catalog, at the cost of $13.99 per ream - not available in stores, so you have to pay shipping on top of that). Plus, take a look at this sample text from the first chapter:
"_You_ want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."I don't know what the intention of the person who converted the book was, but not only are those underscores annoying, but they do change how I would read that. To me, it doesn't make much sense to do that especially when just about everyone has access to proper editing tools so that if they wanted to place accent on a word in sentence, they could just put in italics.
Good morning, Brooke and everyone else there.
There are no opening titles yet 3 minutes into the show; in fact, there were no opening titles at all that I remember
I still don't like the "sing your own name" portion.
Now the last 2 days in the show. What is up with Dilana? Her ego is growing *WAY* too big; it would be good with the band, but not good during the competition. By the way, how cool was it to see all of those people called "(no name)" posting on the MSN Spaces board?
I think Dave is right - the House Band is the key to all of the singers. Here's an idea - why not send them up without the house band one time?
Don't forget about the MSNSpaces competition ending next week; the winner receives a trip for 2 to the finale on 13/9.
Who will sing along on the band's track? Very lovely shots of the Honda Ridgelines again. "Be Yourself and 5 Other Clichés". Toby has been selected for the honours this week. The track isn't that bad at all
This happened last week - they must turn off the PAL to NTSC conversion or something to make the video seem like the framerate is off; oddly just during this segment. The real test would be if the PAL version of the show has the same issue ;-)
-adbreak- 7.17 back 7.20
Now we see the segment about the media day; again, this is not gonna be good for Dilana. Something I didn't comment, but notice how self-consiencious they all become when they spotted Jason. BUT like I had said on Monday, she has really started to become very bitchy, and not making herself very likeable. I agree with Dave (again) what in the world is she thinking by bagging just about everyone but her..well, I'd say that she didn't bag herself, but she has. Unfortunately, I don't think Dilana is being sincere with her apologies :(
The bottom 3; my prediction - Patrice, Toby, Magni
At the end of the show last night -
Patrice
Storm
Toby
Overnight, added
Magni
-adbreak- 7.27 back 7.31
Only a "handful of votes made a difference"
First up - Magni - Fire (Hendrix) - I liked it; I think it should be enough to save him this week. It will take a killer performance by the others to give him the boot
Second - Patrice - Middle of the Road (Pretenders) - It seems like she's feeling a bit too attached to that mic stand. It was OK, but I wonder if this could save her, considering that she has been in bottom 3 for what? 3 or 4 weeks now? The only way that she could stay, I think, is if the other one just completely bombs on their performance.
-adbreak- 7.39 back 7.43
Last of the three - Toby - Plush (STP) - I liked that too;
I think it should be Patrice going this week, but it could be one of the guys, OR it could be a dual-elimination again (duh...)
-adbreak- 7.47 back 7.51
Comments from the band - Patrice - happy that she got a chance to show her original, but it's the 4th time in bottom 3; Magni - 2 in a row {he says that it sucks}, but did a killer version of Fire; toby - band thought he was good, public didn't....hmmm, think about that over with the rest - siddown
Tommy? Patrice - freaks him out that she's bottom 3 both time - gotta listen to the fans, it's time to go. Props to her though for fighting her way out of elmination 3 times until tonight.
Six left for next week's viewers' choice, visit the site or text song to 8918 (verizon only)
7.55 First advert for Survivor that I've seen this year - off to the Cook Islands this series back 7.57
credits comments...make sure you watch the reality episode...toby wants to do an original, but mate it's viewers' choice week
Caerdydd is a show made for S4C - Channel 4 for Wales. It's about a group of friends and acquaintances around Cardiff (which is the English translation for Cardydd).
The best part is that the show is streamed online through the official website in a high-quality Windows Media format.
Even the show is spoken in Welsh, there are English subtitles. Advisory warning - this programme contains strong sexual themes, coarse language and some violence.
This week sees the show airing at the later time of 9 pm due to the Concert for Kids hosted by Dr. Phil and his wife.
Why is the crowd going crazy? Because the producer told them so! Only three short weeks until the final show where the world will find out the winner of the lead singer position.
We now see the "fighting" over the original...or lack thereof
YAY! The massive rockstar bar-up again! ;-)
And everybody loves Verizon Wireless...even those of you who never heard of it :)
Out to the band - with Gilby's dog Chopper (labelled "SUPERNOVA - MASCOT")
First up is the fighter for the original - Patrice - "Beautiful Thing" - Dilana says she shouldn't be there. Her voice seems to be getting drowned out by the band; I'm glad to see that even with the guitar she's moving around on the stage. Overall not a bad song, however, there were a few points that could have been better, I don't really know if she has the support to keep her in the show; like Dave says, it probably would be more suited to success independently.
Adbreak 1 at 9.12; Ryan and Magni coming up; just a side thought here - I wonder how many different times she has to do the voting instructions (i.e. they don't have Verizon Wireless in Malaysia and the other countries in SE Asia that receive the show via Star World). Another side thought - in an advert for Jericho they show a kid looking directly at one of the nuclear blasts - wouldn't that severely hurt his eyesight and/or turn him blind immediately considering how close the cloud looked from that vantage point? Back at 9.14
Second is Magni - Smells Like Teen Spirit - What happened there? Did he lose the music there? I'm wondering if he was still under the weather. One thing about the stocking cap - it's not the middle of winter, so it doesn't need to be over the ears. Not bad at all. Ya gotta like advocation of guitar smashing ;-)
Next is Ryan - Back of Your Car - Note written after the show - I really like it when they take queues from the suggestions given to the others and adopt them - the guitar throw was good. I liked it; I do think that it could fit into their music.
Adbreak - 9.23///9.27
The season finale is on September 13th - looks like I was right after all ;-)
Fourth tonight is Storm - Cryin' - Wow, that's a great low register! I'm very impressed, I'd say that this is probably the best she's done all year. I bet Tommy has seen those photos ;-)
Adbreak - 9.32 - Dilana and Toby coming up next. AT&T phone service works. As long as phone lines are intact. Back at 9.36
Fifth performance is Dilana doing her mum's favouite song - Every Breath You Take - What the heck is with the lashes? Hmm...singing your name isn't the best thing, but she makes it work. I agree with dave 10000%
Sixth - Toby - Layla - Well, something different in the performance from the antipodean, a surprise. I thought the first part may have been a twinge too dark, but it did come back at the end.
Adbreak - 9.46 - Lukas and the unknown song. Back 9.50
Lastly Lukas - All These Things That I've Done - Yikes! the stretched voice is back :( Is it me or did his voice fade there when he moved around; he's also out of breath there. Dude - it's a contraction. You don't say the first part of "have" "I've" not "I have". I wasn't keen on the performance, though I think it was decent. Maybe I've been tainted after listening to this track about 8000 times since this show started...definitely time for a new playlist
Adbreak 9.55. Bottom three (and this is hard since I haven't seen Ryan's performance yet - I recorded it to watch in a few minutes - after seeing it I wish to make no changes) - Patrice, Toby, Magni. Back 9.57
First bottom 3 -
patrice
storm
toby
Results show at the usual timetomorrow 8e+p/7c+m
Next week is the request show - make sure you vote!
Now, I wonder, since there are only three weeks to go, does that mean that either this week or next week will be a double elimination? Otherwise, there will be four left at the end of the show; maybe that's how they want it to be.
"Media Day at the Mansion"
I think the other rockers seem a bit resigned to thinking that Dilana will win the competition.
The media that showed up for the rockers - Fox Reality Channel (Mark Long), In Touch Weekly Magazine (Kevin Dickson), and Star 98.7 (Jamie White) (ironically, the hardest interview according to the rockers)
I have to agree with Dilana that Patrice should not be there anymore; however, her "loose lips" can and will get her into trouble. I personally think it's quite ballsy of her to do that, but to a lot of other people, it will go down the other way.
---
Segment 2 -
Toby finds the song for selection this week - two originals up for grabs, one of which has the phrase "Fight for it" on the back.
So much for fighting for it - in the end it becomes a vote...
Note the massive bar up in the when Dilana ran around the pool ;-)
However, her attempt at falsetto *did* sound like a dog howling :o (though dogs don't usually alternate between howling and f--k ;))
---
Segment 3 -
Hmm...the front plate on the honda vehicle appears to be a foreign plate
Song selections revealed during the show -
Dilana - "Every Breath You Take"
Toby - "Layla"
Magni (sick at rehearsals) - "Smells like Teen Spirit"
Ryan (original) "Back of Your Car"
Storm - "Cryin'"
Patrice - Original
---
Segment 4 -
Note the first questions - "Dilana said..."
Some people have been saying that tomrrow (22 August) is going to be the "end of the world". This notion first came to light for me on a broadcast on CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck programme. The story goes that tomorrow is apparently an important day in the Muslim Calendar - something to do with the 12th Imam. I'm not well-versed on Islamic religious traditions, so I don't know if this really is an important day or not, but it would seem that according to some, this day on their calendar is like Christmas and Easter in one.
Anyway, Iran is scheduled to reply to the UN's request to suspend their uranium program on the 22nd - presumably during the day, but it is worth noting that it is after midnight there (GMT+3.5) and the world is still here. Maybe it will be at 12:00 AM GMT - or 7 PM local time here.
For some reason, most of the world is (rightfully) ignoring this, but it has been in my mind a bit ever since seeing the mention of this on that TV show a couple of weeks ago.
I'm about 99% certain that this is a bunch of hogwash as Brian Whitaker had written about on the website of The Guardian in the UK. Considering all the end-times preaching that goes on in this country - just tune into TBN and you can see these folks saying that the end is nigh and that we should make right with our maker.
Of course, there was that giant tsunami that was supposed to occur on the 25th of May and that never happened; then again, I never took that as seriously as I do this.
Maybe I should stop worrying and just watch the Rockstar show. :-)
Edit - I think that the person on the Wikipedia Talk page for the 22nd of August is right - "I think we can safely say that no one has ever been right about the end of the world so far."
Well, Howie is out on a 3-2 vote, and he didn't go down fighting, getting into Mike's face and tossing his hat - as Mike said "There goes another class act"
It's just too bad that Janelle didn't get the boot, but George somehow sees a good player in the blonde. Ironically, it was Mike's reminder that someone (well, he) has the power to replace nominations immediately prior to voting that led to Howie being nominated.
Woot! Mike won the HOH...I'll guess he nominates Janelle and either Erika or George, the only risk in that strategy is the veto of course; if that happens, the most likely replacement would be Danielle.
However, reading on the Behind Big Brother Forums (the site's focus is on Aussie BB, but has a section for International BBs), it appears the veto competition for this part of the week is over and that Howie was evicted sometime yesterday. Ah well, that really doesn't change how I view the show - I cope with the fact that Rockstar is filmed at about this time every Sunday and the results show starts taping 15 minutes after the voting closes just fine. :-)
I have been following rugby (union, not so much league) off-and-on since I got what was then known as Fox Sports World. Admittedly, I still miss the days of the Rugby Club with Matt Brown and their set (since taken over by a soccer call-in show) where they'd explain the laws of the game during the half-time of the various matches they'd show (Tri-Nations, Currie Cup).
Well, I now have a new method of watching the rugby since Fox have decided to spend all their money on soccer (and in particular partial rights to the MLS, at the expense of both the French and German leagues, along with some of the matches from England).
This year, the Tri Nations has expanded to a nine-game series. Not that it changes anything. New Zealand have wrapped the whole thing up before any team has had the chance to play at altitude in South Africa - then again, I do doubt that the result would have been any different even if this had happened.
What I do find interesting though is that during the presentation (or as the guy hosting it said it the "prisentation of the Blidisloe cup" ;)), the All Blacks players seemed to know the "right" thing to do with the blue Philips signs - put them in front of the team before soaking everything within a 5m radius with champagne.
Going back to the Fox Soccer Channel and the various Fox networks, it's interesting to note that while the number of English matches shown live are down, there are actually more matches shown on TV here than there were in the past. However, I do still miss watching the other sports, but it was quite clear when they changed thier name to "Fox Soccer Channel" that the management weren't as interested in "fan favorites" than the ol' bottom line.
There are some advertisements on TV lately (and considering the type of shows I watch, they're on just about every 7 minutes or so) that really bug me.
First - Sprint's Nextel brand's advertisement for its built-in GPS and DirectConnect®. The ad features two people in an office when another guy walks in and asks about some dots...can you talk to the dots...yep...can they talk back...yep...then it ends with an arguement over whether the interloper is agitating the Boss' dots.
Next - the ads for the local newscasts and their "features" on the late news - "Is your food 'Fresh off the Truck?'" (as the screen shows a box of fresh food dropping off the back of a truck). The story was interesting, but the ad was annoying - by the way, they said that just because it was sitting in the heat for a little while, doesn't mean that the food is dangerous if it's cooked properly
Lastly, an ad that I like - Kmart is running their back to school ads and the one for backpacks has a dad giving his kids bags that have "The Svetvas" on them. "They're big in Sweden," the father says.
Good Morning Brooke! - I think she's a bit tired this morning; actually, they all look half-asleep. There's a huge surprise coming up tonight, but first we have to go through the performances and the last 2 days at the house...I'm sorry, last night in the house...
listening to lukas during the recap - his voice was bad (maybe that was the editing though)
gotta give it to Storm though - she is confident in herself and her abilities
Now go to jason - big announcement time....now to gilby....gonna play live on a track based on who does best in the studio that week...Now i didn't watch the inxs show last year, but did they do that then?
This week it will be....dilana ;-)
Just a comment - I don't know what happened, maybe it's a hardware thing, maybe it's the flashing lights, but it would seem that the framerate slowed a few frames per second there...
-adbreak- encore+bottom 3 announcement 7.16 back 7.19
Brooke must have been on autopilot this morning....
And now the MSNSpaces; interesting that they show a piece of footage taken from IE7 beta...
Encore goes this week to Ryan...jeez..thanks..now i'm laughing at the guy! That has to be the smallest, most cramped space that those violinists have ever played in!
Bottom 3 time - my prediction - storm patrice zayra.
first are zayra, patrice and toby (end of show last night, it was surprising)
additions overnight - Magni, Storm (a/k/a Miss Confidence)
wow...Magni? I don't think he'll be in the last three.
-adbreak- 7.26 back 7.29
First person - Zayra - Like I had said, it's more of a numbers thing; I don't think her performance really mattered overall with her; Razor Blade (Blue October) - Leather skirt? Hmmm...when she does a song that she's familiar with or doesn't change, she does halfway decent. Wait...I take that back...Dave is definitely not happy (he's said that she's not his fave)...what the heck was with the panting at the end
Second - Patrice - changing from a ballad to Celebrity Skin (Hole) - Meh. Not bad; I think she'll probably stick around, BUT this is the third week in a row that she's there
-adbreak- 7.38 - I wonder when big brother's Tuesday episode will air? There's the all-important JCPenney Concert for Kids hosted by Phil & Mrs. McGraw. Customers go back to at&t every 11 seconds? proof, please. back 7.42
Three people, one slot - who will it be? First timer - Magni - What happened? - Creep. I definitely think that he'll be back next week, just like Ryan. Ok, the crawling moonwalk is only a big bit strange, and then to stay sitting might not be the best thing to do, but I do say now that he'll stick around.
Prediction for going - I'll say Zayra
-adbreak-7.47 back 7.50
band is thinking - Zayra - favourite 4 letter word is risk with original, and also unknown; patrice - not really liked by the public; magni - great last night great today go sit down.
Sleepyhead tommy...patrice has potential, but it's time for zayra to go...I think she'll go far in her own right, but this band wasn't really cut out for her
Attention! Attention! There is a special request episode coming up! Vote soon...And the Big Brother question is answered - the schedule will be shifted 1 hour back - Rockstar airs at the special time of 10e/p 9c/m
credits comments
Magni - I hate to say it, but you know there aren't that many people in Iceland - though you do get (and deserve) support from all 'round the world (well, except for the rest of Europe - they don't get the show there)
This week, it's not only acoustic, but it's a string quartet
oh ha ha..it's stripped down...both clothes and music. Hey look! it's the Honda ad again! along with the boring pr dude!
were the groans from a track?
1 - Zayra - almost looking like a human (kinda) - Lluvia del Mar - Singing in Spanish really puts her in her element. As far as her look - the dress was good, but the bikini top didn't work that great. I'd say that she did great with this; she really would do good in the rock en español crowd, maybe not heavy metal ;-)
-adbreak- 8.11 just a comment here - Jericho looked interesting in about the first 200 ads I've seen on it, but I think they're reaching overkill (this makes one wonder if he's been watching maybe too much CBS lately). back 8.13
2 - Magni - Starman - White suit tonight - good job; not really any comments to add
3 - Patrice - Message in A Bottle - note that she took the queue from Gilby for Magni and started to lead the crowd; clearly she has no low range; is ok but I think this is just smack of the "same" factor that could lead her out of the comp this week. the performer in her really isn't coming out; in the long run that will hurt her
-adbreak- 8.22 - lukas & storm coming up, plus you can see an exclusive interview with Brooke on your Verizon Wireless mobile...exciting, no? back 8.25
4 - Lukas - Hero - There's a bit of the growl there, but this is a song that it fits in. However, I think that his voice quality kinda fell off towards the end. I'd say that was pretty good in the end.
5 - Storm - I Will Survive - Was she attempting to do a jig during the bridge? I'm not impressed. OK, she's the third person to use Vegas as an excuse, that's getting boring now. After this I think she might be gone this week; I'd venture to guess that she'll be in the bottom 3 tomorrow morning.
-Adbreak- 8.33 back 8.37
6 - Toby - Solsberry Hill - great; the bongos fit in, much unlike the megaphone last week (and as much as I like oz, I'm glad that the bongos don't have the flag on them ;-))
7 - Ryan - In the Air Tonight - I liked it. Yay for not having that darn wig on a hoodie!
-adbreak- 8.45; I like those staples commercials with "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and the easy button getting school supplies delivered :-) - back 8.49
8 - Dilana - Cats in the Cradle - What else is there to say? She can make anything work. We are moments away from the start of voting at 8.54.27 - voting starts at 8.54.46.
-adbreak- 8.55 Bottom 3 prediction - Storm, Patrice, Zayra (not really for the performance, but more or less just to make up the numbers) back 8.58
btw - on the ads, I like "The Class" ads - now they're showing the various characters in a spelling bee with words relating to their lives
Bottom 3 at the start of voting:
patrice
toby
zayra
Toby isn't really surprising as he was in the early bottom three a couple of weeks ago; I think that the Aussie/NZ voting block may go ahead and might just save him this week again; I do think that his performance was good. Also, I'm guessing that there's a bit of the "Idol Effect" that might be going on here - the negative comments for Storm might have the opposite effect in the voting.
week 7 - reality episode
could the promoter be any more boring? I mean come on! That'll put me to sleep. Interestingly, it appears that they have the airshow installed in the plane as well.
Let's count the times we see Honda, the logo or anything else realted to honda - 3. at least.
Yo Zayra, your own stuff is only going to be in the Hard Rock Café if you leave it there; also, don't think you're going to be on that stage unless you're invited by someone you know personally...
Good on ya Dilana for making your case ;-)
hmm - one original song; and all acoustic
Gilby on Solsbury hill..and everyone wants to do it :D
This ought to be good...zayra doing an original :O
well, it will be somewhat different - she'll be screaming in spanish
toby - solsberry hill
Hi there! This is the first post in a new blog, if you hadn't noticed :-)
Hope you come back soon. I'll be having a roundup of the latest installment of Rockstar: Supernova up at around 9 pm Central Time (0200 GMT). Based on this week's reality episode, it could be interesting.
