200th post

Well, this is something that I should have hit a long time ago, but like I had said a while ago, I've been busy with a few other things, so the blog's been on the back burner for a while. Actually, if I had kept myself to the one post a day theme, I would have hit this mark in March, but it's May and I've made it! :)

I'd like to take a look back for the benefit of those of you who haven't been reading since the beginning, with some of my favourite posts over the last few months.

When I started, the main posts on here were my Tuesday & Wednesday posts about Rockstar Supernova, with my unique insights into the performances of the show. One such post that sticks out is my commentary on the 10th week's results show, where I got, shall we say, a little annoyed at the constant plugs:

And we see the rockers coming into Television City in a bunch of H***a E*****t S*s, surrounded by throngs of people there for the show, including one person who had their hands in the shape of a heart. I guess I missed that memo ;) Back in the studio and Brooke announces that the encore performer gets the car they came in! Whoa! Free pub baby!

Of those people, how many do you think were there for this show, and how many were there for The Price is Right?

3 mentions of the name of the car so far before the break, then we see the adboard for it, then we see the AD for it

After Rockstar was over, I had to search for stuff to post about. So I discussed some of the more interesting things that I have been doing. I also discussed some of the things that I've discovered in my continuing quest to make it down under.

Something that I haven't done for a while is watch some movies. I'd intended on actually getting a list of the movies I haven't watched but need to watch, but that's gone to the far back burner, especially since I've discovered The West Wing. ;) I would definitely encourage you to go through my posts labeled movies for some reviews I did in the past. I think you'll like them :)

You'll also notice that I've changed the look of some things here, including adding a widget for BUMPzee, which I joined a little while ago, and don't really have much of an idea of how to get things going there. I'm also thinking of putting a thing for MyBlogLog on here as well.



This is my current settings for my site feed. I used to have it as a full feed, but after discovering that there may be sites out there (aside from legitimate feed readers such as Bloglines and Google Reader) which take your content without your permission and make money off of it, I switched to a partial feed.

The other day, I read in a list of tips to become a better blogger that you should have a full site feed to become better. They don't exactly explain why it's better to have a full feed, though there are some good arguements towards publishing a full feed, and I'm inclined to agree with their viewpoint - I know that I prefer to have a full post in my Google Reader - it makes things easier for me because I'm not juggling tabs to view different posts with it all there for me to see. I've turned the full feeds back on for the blog now and restored the little message I had on the bottom of my posts (you'll see it only if you subscribe via RSS).

So, here's to the next 200 posts coming quite a bit faster than the first 200, and for those that keep looking, here's a picture of Dilana's nude face

Fun with keywords

I think that this is a post that a lot of bloggers have at one point or another - the one where you go through the logs and find some interesting keywords. Here goes ;)

dilana robicheaux and dilana nude uncensored pool - Rockstar Supernova lives on with a couple of searches related to Dilana the runner-up and her infamous leap into the pool on a dare ;)

Interestingly enough, I was watching a show about the upcoming V8 Supercar season, and music from their album appeared in a couple of places during the show; I was paying attention to that and wound up having to go back to actually pay attention to what the people were saying.

Another search term that appeared recently is nina visser bott, which appeared in my post about the literary qualities of spam.

Someone else searched for something that I'd be somewhat interested in watching just for the curiousity - runaway truck ramp video.

Lastly, there was someone who has good taste with simple recipes and searched for jamie oliver recipe chicken flour water bake.

Year-End Lists

This is always a fun time of the year for someone who, like me, is a fan of lists; especially those lists that chronicle the year that has passed. Some lists of this type are the ones that Yahoo have put out with the top searches of the year. What's interesting is that all ten of the top searches here are somehow celebrity-related, while in the other ones that they provide internationally (Australia, Germany, Spain, Canada, Italy, UK/Ireland, France) there are only one or two celebrity searches listed.

Some tidbits from these searches -

• Rockstar Supernova wound up on the Canadian list - number 4 overall, number 2 in entertainment. It didn't appear in any other list


• Of all the sports figures, the only racers that made the list were: Michael Schumacher (Germany - #4 Male Star), Fernando Alonso (Spain - #2 Athlete) and the late Peter Brock (Australia - #1 Sport, #2 Male Celebrity). Honourable mention for this goes to the Bathurst 1000, which wound up as the #10 Sport search Down Under.


• Germans love porn. The number three search overall for 2006 there was "Erotik". Shockingly, it doesn't appear anywhere else in the world.


• The UK are just about as celebrity-obsessed as we are, with the number 1 search overall being Heather Mills (McCartney), and numbers 2 and three are Big Brother and this year's winner, Pete Burns.

Don't be surprised to pop in here one day (or if you're using RSS, for an item to appear in your feed list) and find me fleshing out the significance of some of these search terms around the world. If anything, it will be a way for me to find out who "Chris Brown" is (#8 overall, USA). Also, maybe an insight into the habits of non-english users of the web (considering that the number 1 search in Germany is Weather, this should be interesting) ;)

Rockstar - The Album

Well, I've finally had a chance to hear the album in full, as you might have noticed in my little last.fm box. Overall I like the work that they've done, and I definitely think that Lukas Rossi (for those who might not have heard his last name before; I'll certainly say that it's a better fit than Robicheaux or however Dilana spells her last name) was the best choice to make. So anyway, just some thoughts on the tracks on the album:

1. It's On - A good start to the album; the lyrics are solid, and hopefully they're foreshadowing good things ahead with the lyrics "I don't ever want to fade away". Let it shine on. :)

2. Leave the Lights On - This is one track that you heard clips of somewhat often on TV and on the MSN site, but for the life of me I can't place where it was in the broadcasts. There are some neat sax riffs in there. Some of the lyrics might suggest that it's about making a certain type of film that certain members of the band might be somewhat familiar with....

3. Be Yourself (and 5 Other Clichés) - This song has been in my head for the last couple of days now; specifically the chorus; again, a good track and very listenable.

4. It's All Love - The first thing is that there's a lyric that says "never felt enough call it hate", but for some reason I keep thinking it should be "Colin Hay". I guess it's one of those mindgames that you play on yourself... This track shows a bit of the softer side of the group, but it still has a "rock" feel to it.

5. Can't Bring Myself to Light This Fuse - Here's a song that shows a definitely softer side of Lukas, and shows the versatility that he has; it is interesting to put these songs back-to-back, but I think that it works; it's almost a good idea as it gives an 8-minute break from the real "hard" rock (though I think it'd have been cool to let the rock stick together with itself as well).

6. Underdog - This track is one that you should immediately recoginse if you've seen the show, as this was the main theme for the commercial bumpers and the closing titles. I think it's a good track, and the lyrics are fairly solid; it's another song that is quite listenable.

7. Make No Mistake...This is the Take - I find that I don't remember much of this track, even after listening to it; I think that the title makes it somewhat difficult to get a grasp; generally when you put an ellipsis into a song title, there is a bit of difficulty in picking up on it.

8. Headspin - When I had first heard this version of it, I thought it was quite good and had loved what they did to it, but after quite a few listens to it, I think that there was definitely room for improvement in it - least of which is the fact that they seem to have really slowed it down. It's still a great song though. I forgot to mention this, but the one thing that kinda bugs me is the pronounciation of the word "paradise". It sounds like he's saying it as "pair-ee-dice"; it just kinda rubs me the wrong way...

9. Valentine - To me, this is one of those songs that seems to just go on for a while then stop; another track that I don't remember much of. I have to say that it is somewhat disconcerting that the fade-out starts with about 20 seconds left in the song.

10. Social Disgrace - Another track that is admittedly not the greatest, but there is are some good riffs on guitar in there. :)

11. The Dead Parade - I haven't heard many rock songs that start out with a choir singing. I think that it does work for this song, because I think it makes a cool effect, especially when they come back in and sing as backup.

Overall, it's a very good record, but there is room for improvement. The tracks are quite short, with the longest one being just over 5 minutes, and 5 of the 11 tracks being shorter than 3:30. I don't know what the exact reasoning for that is; it's not like they're doing them to perform on the TV show or anything. However, when they were on Jimmy Kimmel's show, they performed at least two songs, but since they showed 6 minutes of ads between the performances, the second one got cut off in the middle with viewers being pointed to a site where you could view the video, but there was only one problem: it wasn't there when I looked.

I hope that they do decide to do a second record after this, and this time have enough time to invest so that they have some longer songs and maybe be able to do some of Lukas' older works from Cleavage and Rise Electric (it'd also be interesting to hear what they could do with some of the Crüe or Metallica as well).

If you're interested in reading another review of the album, Snoskred has posted her thoughts on the album.

Rockstar - Back Again

It's been a while since I've mentioned the folks from Rockstar: Supernova. In fact, the last time I mentioned them was the Grand Final night, when Lukas won the spot as the lead singer. Today was the release date (for the US and Canada; Aussies and Kiwis had the release back on Thursday night US time) for their CD. I haven't heard any of it yet, but I hear that what's on there isn't bad. You can listen to samples of the music on the CD at the Official Site.

They're also appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight on ABC; I'll be recording the program so that I can extract the segments where they are performing, and possibly (though I'm certain that there will be others out there nice enough to post the video) put it up for y'all to see, though my local ABC affiliate loves to stick their logo on *everything* that they broadcast. I'm just thankful that the Packers aren't playing until Monday night; otherwise there'd be a green-and-gold opaque version of the station logo on screen during all program content.

Rockstar - Grand Final

Before getting into the show, a note about viewership from a story in the Melbourne Age -

RockStar has been a hit here and overseas, with last week's episode the most watched "general entertainment" program in Australian subscription television history.

Before the hour the band will take stage with the lead singer. And, for those interested, this is being broadcast at the same time in almost every place - the only exceptions are the Mountain and Pacific timezones here and in Canada, along with New Zealand, and I think South America. FYI, the finale is only one hour, despite two hours being reserved by some channels overseas

Brooke holds the names of the lowest vote-getters, who will perform first off, losing one.

The voting volume broke records in NA, IS, and AU.

At some point bottom 2

all but dilana stand...

first of the bottom - magni - fire - at this point it's all great performances; I think that he's probably going to be the one dropped.

side note - magni and toby have their home flags

and the second to sing is toby - White wedding - Yeah; it's all good

After the break we have the drop.

Adbreak @ 7:10 back @ 7:13

Comments from the guys - this is a hard one; we've watched these 4 grow as performers, but once again, we still have a job to do here; magni - man it's been a great ride, but a question has been that he's a talent, but you're not really "fronting" the band, with that he earns 4th place in the competition.

Now we see some footage of the last three and their thoughts going into the final. Lukas is first; he says that the guys are very down-to-earth. Next up is Dilana saying in the package that they need her; and repeats her statement on-stage. And Toby - he's got a heck of a chance; respect for the band for giving all the advice; he also points out his height...

Up next, the unsurprising decision that they're going to sing one last time.

Adbreak @ 7:21 Remind me to cut the commercial where they use Lukas to advertise Survivor! Back @ 7:25

Lukas - Bittersweet Symphony - Yeah; howeverJason was shaking his head

Dilana - Zombie - A note to the person with the Dilana sign - you were holding it upside down....Again, this is a performance that is a reminder of you before you spat the dummy. Really, it's the kind of performance to win people over; the perfect thing to have for the grand final!

Toby - Somebody Told Me - A lesson in taking an already energized crowd and getting it going even more.

Big ups for the house band!

Adbreadk @ 7:32

Hmm...who do i think will win? It's a crapshoot; They've all got heaps of talent, however it's the showmanship and attitude that I think will be the clincher. Dilana has an unpredictable attitude, however it is in a band with TLee so it might not be an issue; Lukas has a very infectious attitude that sucks you in; Toby has a lot of stage energy. All three deserve to be the lead singer, but I think it'll be Dilana. Though I think it should be either of the guys.

Back @ 7:37

Jason - toby always consistent, able to surpass the guitar, but it's not enough to head this band. For that, you've earned 3rd place; his comments are that they've taken the safest choice as Dilana and Lukas are already great and that it took him a while to become great.

Now, it's down to the two favourites from the first episode back in July...Dilana and Lukas.

Ready for the goth wedding, says Dave. Duh, Brooke - that's why Lukas didn't sing twice.

Now for the decision - Gilby. It's been tough, so they need some more time (and we need a commercial break)

Adbreak @ 7:41

Simple as this - I think it's going to be Dilana, but it should be Lukas. However, I'm not going to be mad if they choose Dilana, as she has proven herself as a talent throughout the whole series, it was only her attitude after the press clinic that lost my support, but I think that her performances last night really brought a lot of people back to liking her. I have to say that tonight's performance was again a reminder of what she had going for her.

Back @ 7:44

And now it's time to choose the winner!

Tommy? Lukas - everything about you has been really amazing; dilana, yeah; you are enchanting, your voice is unbelievable; who doesn't love both of them? As any good band would do, they'd listen to their fans and this person that I'm talking about had the highest number of votes. Lukas, you're our guy. (Hey, it's a good thing that I took that comment out about it being obvious that Dilana had the most votes ;) )

For second place, Dilana earns the services of both Dave and Gilby and promises to have a CD out with them on it, which, as she says will kick some serious arse; plus she gets an invite to go on tour this winter.

Buy tix before midnight tonight and get a chance to go on tour with the bands.

There's gonna be another series next year apparently as there will be auditons held

Adbreak @ 7:55 Back @ 7:57

Don't forget about the website; TBA was replaced with Albany NY by the way.

And that brings a close to this series of Rockstar. Time will tell and I think that this will turn out to be a good choice; I would hope that they could add some of his original work to their repertoire as that is some awesome music.

Of course, the boards discussing this shall be going both ways...honestly, I think they'll become forgotten in a couple of months; maybe they'll get some press when the CD comes out, but it's up to them now to become successful...

Rockstar - Week 11 Performances

Not many comments tonight; not that there was much to comment on anyways; it was all good :)

It's the final performance show of the series; scheduled is one original (possibly a reprisal of their performances from last week, hopefully not)

Before we get to the night's proceedings, we have an important announcement. The winner of the Verizon Wireless vote for an encore is Ryan. (Just a note to the graphics people - it's hard to say that someone's a fan favourite if a lot of viewers can't vote for it!)

In addition to coming back to perform again, he gets a vehicle from everyone's favorite car company that sponsors the show, plus a phone from said phone company [44% owned by Vodafone]

And now we have a recap of the path to the final four.

tonight's plan - a cover and a reprise.
tomorrow - the bottom two perform and one is eliminated; in the second hour, all three perform and the winner is selected by 9 pm wednesday

adbreak - 8:10; from tomorrow turn your pop culture knowledge into $2.2 million dollars; back @ 8:13

First up - Toby - Karma Police - Not bad; I'm not familiar with the song, I think Gil's comments were right that he did seem a bit lost there (the lyrics seemed to be a little muddled to me)

reprise - Proof that he doesn't need to go crowd surfing to be great

Adbreak - 8:20 back @ 8:24

Lukas - Fix You - onya dave for remembering that it's cellphones that get flicked instead of bics ;)

reprise - the "a man and his guitar" version. you know what? Dave's right - this is all about sitting back and watching a great rock show.

Apparently Paula Abdul had nothing to do Sunday afternoon :)

Adbreak @ 8:31 @8:35

Dilana - Roxanne - Nice ironic effect of the Red light; it's just too bad that you have to keep dragging that crap up, otherwise I'd still like you.

Reprise - I admit it; I didn't pay attention. The performance sounded much calmer than last time though.

Adbreak @ 8:42 Back @ 8:47

Magni - Hush - Yeah; that's why you're here tonight.

Reprise; Ok, so he forgot the English name...c'est la vie :) Like Tommy, I really didn't remember much of this one; I'd still like to hear it in Icelandic

adbreak @ 8:55

I think voting will look like this -

1 - toby
2 - lukas
3 - magni
4 - dilana

though I think I could be wrong with the middle section.

back @ 8:58

Aww...TBA is gone :(

early results

dilana
toby
lukas
magni

hm...it's not what i had expected; though really all I did was put dilana on the bottom of the list while the votes put her at the top...

Of course, Right now is a varying time around the world ;)

Rockstar - Week 11 Reality Show

It's the final week, and the final Reality Episode. It appears that this is going to be a fun buffer-fest as the video played 17 seconds and is buffering for some time now. I'm guessing that MSN's servers might be a bit overloaded due to it being the 5th anniversary of 9|11 (I might have more on that in a bit).

First off, direct links to the show -

Sgement One
Segment Two
Segment Three
Segment Four

Segment one -

Well, in the parts that had moving video, we saw the rockers at dinner and discussing the fact that it's almost the end. Please notice the introduction of a second Aussie character for this week, even if it is in relation with the, ahem, gifting of a vehicle (i hope they told Toby about having to pay tax on the thing!).

Another interesting observation - the speedometer's km/h scale is so small, it's almost invisible.

And, in another amazing coincidence, we have some more self promotion for an upcoming album in January 2007

Some nice Job Shadowing person has placed the rockers' photos on the memento wall in the song selection room.

Segment two -

Let's see if this segment is a bit better on the streaming for this segment. And it was for the last three segments

Song selection is another original (or is it an encore of last week?), plus a choice of every single song done on the show, plus four songs that haven't been done yet. Despite the sheer number of songs, Dilana and Lukas end up fighting over one anyways; she wins but then chooses another song. Jeez! It's no wonder why you don't have any fans anymore.

The kicker? She's rearranging it like Chris did and the house band ain't happy!

Segment three -

The rockers pack and head out. What a cool shot of them standing at the end of the pool leaning on their guitars.

So, who's gonna win? Rumours are out there that Lukas has been selected already, but it's anyone's game at this point. Be sure to tune in whenever it is that the show airs (8AM, 8PM, 8:30PM, 9PM, 10:30PM, Late night) on whatever station it's on ;)

Rockstar - Week 10 Results

As always, I have spoilers here ;)

Good morning again :)

Tonight we find the final five all seated at the side; Storm forms a heart with her hands.

Votes were almost too close to call.

Heh heh heh Tommy can bleep himself and not only did he do the show last night, he did an Aerosmith/Mötley Crüe show! ;)

We finally make the pregnancy official, thanks to Dave

Before the music, we recap last night.......Why did the writers use some of the songs as puns? :) And was Tommy's shirt was a Marlboro shirt?

Apparently nothing happened at the house since Sunday and the cameras didn't get to go to Pulse again this week.

It's all Love - with Magni; not a bad track, and kudos for someone having the forethought to send a stagehand to play catcher :)

And we see the rockers coming into Television City in a bunch of H***a E*****t S*s, surrounded by throngs of people there for the show, including one person who had their hands in the shape of a heart. I guess I missed that memo ;) Back in the studio and Brooke announces that the encore performer gets the car they came in! Whoa! Free pub baby!

Of those people, how many do you think were there for this show, and how many were there for The Price is Right?

3 mentions of the name of the car so far before the break, then we see the adboard for it, then we see the AD for it

Adbreak @ 7:13 Another NFL commercial note - we have a new "Team Mom" for Campbell's Chunky Brand, to fit in with the new Super Bowl Champions (btw, it used to be called the "World Championship" from 1967 until 1970, then it was just called the Super Bowl) Back @ 7:17 I'll say encore will go to storm ... probably not toby as he had it last week

The music will continue as they go on a 28 city tour with the house band; and ANOTHER tour update! Panic Channel will be along as well. What next? INXS? :)

And the encore announcement. Colour me wrong; it is toby who wins the H***a-mobile (oh i'm sure the sponsor representatives are happy with jason on that :p)

Brooke needs to give him the key to the vehicle and reminds us that it is a car, and that we can see it on the internet.

And now the bottom 3. Will they all end up standing? I think so.

A wild vote with record breaking numbers.

Standing -
Toby
Storm
Magni
Lukas
Dilana

See, I was right - they all stood ;)

But first we need to verify the tallies once more build the suspense so we need an adbreak :p

Adbreak @ 7:23 Back @ 7:27

Now time for the bottom 3.... predicted Storm Magni Dilana

First up - Storm - Wish You Were Here (Floyd) - She has the sad face on i think. I'm not familiar with the song; it was ok; I think that hit Jason

SEcondly - Dilana - And now she has crutches with dead (?) flowers - I want you to Want me - Nah. I was half expecting something *close* to the original, but..nah.

Adbreak @ 7:35 Back @ 7:39:54

Next wednesday we see a winner chosen

But first we have to kick someone out and we have only 2 candidates - Magni sits down.

OK, false start there...Toby? Don't you move buddy; you're moving on. Thus, making our third up Lukas. Whoa. Encore of Headspin. What was Tlee reacting to? Ah well, great performance anyways. :)

Hmmmmm...who will go? I think Dilana's performance was the weakest of the night; Lukas is most definitely safe. It would be a real shock if they tossed him. I think Storm probably had the strongest performance. Again, it's a toss-up; I'll say it'll be Storm, but I'll not be surprised if Dilana goes.

Adbreak @ 7:45 Back @ 7:48

Comments from the band - gil - Storm: Likes the changing of performance last night, but this is her, what? 4th time now; Dilana - the one to watch, BUT 2 weeks in a row; Lukas - First time in bottom 3; sit yo' ass down! ;) (No it wasn't said that way, but I can say it that way :))

Tommy - not gonna do it, Jason will do the booting; both incredible fantastic performers, and are respected as comrades in rock, and someone has to go home, this week it's you, Storm.

Of course, this means that on Monday we'll have the opportunity to see Dilana beat herself up again...or will she change her 'tude?

To close, Brooke invites the final four up on stage, then reminds us of the special Verizon features - Vote to bring someone back next week at 9/8 central, and that you can receive Verizon Ringtones Deluxe from the fella holding one of those neato chocolate phones...MP3 player, camera, GPS, and phone

Adbreak @ 7:54 back @ 7:57, but we have adboards first

One of the 27 cities is the metropolis of TBA w00t! And we see the naked dive into pool :)

Credits - I think you'll be winning Lukas; either you or Toby.

Rockstar - Week 10 Redux

I'm listening back to the performances from Sunday afternoon and broadcast last night.

The songs I'd never heard of - Behind Blue Eyes (though I may have heard it at one time or another in the past) and Suffragette City (I thought they were saying Suffer Jet City before the credit came up)

First off - I'm over Dilana; the dredging up the whole bottom 3/not doing well/dummy spit has lost me. In her original there's a line that says she wants to go to her detractors and say "thank you". I wonder if the real lyric is "f--- you"? I think it'd make more sense that way.

Magni - I can't think of anything to add. :)

The music in the outcue seems quieter than the incue from commercial.

Storm - I'm not a fan of these monosyllabic nonsense words like doo doo doo, and following it with a yeah doesn't help. Makes it too cliché and uninspiring. also, the what the what the what the what the...yeesh. I was probably too distracted watching the show to notice or i'm just too influencable. However, I probably would like it better if we didn't have such stern broadcasting regulations. The uncensored version of the song is available on her Myspace; it's better than the live version - though the repetition part is still there - What the f... is what the f... is (etc.).

I'll have more later on this when I can listen without interruption :)

It's later :)

Lukas - On the second listen, I like the whole show; it's probably just me but I just have a hard time looking at him, the smile he had (at right) during the Bon Jovi made me chuckle. If you wish to hear the original version of this, you can do it on MySpace

Toby - I didn't note this, but the audience participation at first was very anemic, but he picked up their slack...About the only negative thing I'd say is that he should have mentioned the title of his original, for the benefit of the live studio audience. (You notice how they never mention that shows are filmed (or taped) in front of a live studio audience anymore?)

Rockstar - Week 10 Performances

Pre-show thoughts - I wonder if they'll show the last names of Magni and Dilana with their songs. A new show on CBS is a near-clone of the NBC show Treasure Hunters (major sponsor Genworth Financial, a subsidiary of GE like NBC). BB - Julie, why are you reading your card? Don't you know what to say?

Ryan's original is the #1 download (for 99c) on MSN.

Recap of the reality show: Just as a question, who in the world puts computing terms into a rock song?

First - Dilana with a ripped calf - Behind Blue Eyes - Wow; excellent performance, and it's amazing that she didn't fall off of the stool

Intermission - QUIT TALKING ABOUT IT DAMN IT!

Supersoul - Not a bad song. It's listenable. Thank you for not singing your name this week. Props to perform with the injury, especially jumping around.

Adbreak @ 8.12 back @ 8.14

Before we go on, let's remind folks that the NYE show is sold out, but there's one on 1/1/07. And the House Band will open, featuring the other rockers.

Second - Magni - Back in the USSR - Pretty good, but the part where he was next to the guitarist seemed a bit uncomfortable.

When the Time Comes (freshly translated to English) - ok, can we put the micstand down sometime soon? I'm liking this better than Dilana's; also, the energy is great, probably best all year. Great comeback to Tommy, but I think they have a point that there was a "sameness" to the two performances.

Adbreak @ 8.21 (darn it, ESPN2 is showing the DCI Drum Corps competition at the same time :( ) Back @ 8.25

Storm - Dave comes up to join in - Suffragette City - What a contrast to the pool scene...it seems to me that dave is working the crowd a bit more than she is. Whoa, that was different. That trenchcoat is coming off ! :) :)

(What the f--- [what] is) Ladylike - Whoa. That wasn't different, I think that was amazing. With work like that, I kinda hope she doesn't go through to win.

Adbreak @ 8.32 back @ 8.36

Lukas - Livin' on a Prayer, Acoustic - Hmm...he took a risk with this one, I think it might have paid off, but I just don't know....

Headspin - Much better perfromance in this half, it's a great song. yeah dave, it's cellphones now, this generation doesn't understand the meaning of "flick your bic" :)

Adbreak @ 8.43 back @ 8.47 - this year's ads for nfl ticket are ok, but I still like the ads where the quarterbacks show up and tell the potential subscriber about sunday ticket

Toby - ARGH! it's ozzie, not ah-see! - Mr Brightside - Is it me or is Storm more omnipresent this week than even brooke? Funky cut there, but it's ok for time constraints. Great performance.

Throw it Away - Note for Tommy, you'll never make it as a pickpocket. Yeah, I'm liking that also

Hmm...bottom 3...this is purely on support...Storm Dilana Magni...The only one I'll be surprised if he's there at the end of voting is Lukas

adbreak 8.55 back @ 8.58 bugger i think the servers are down now...and they are :(

Current running order -
1st - toby
2nd - lukas
3rd - magni
4th - storm
5th - dilana

a note on the server, if I refresh the popup, it works fine :)

And, no. They didn't show last names.

Rockstar - Week 10 Reality Show

Oh for crying out loud Dilana, stop beating yourself up. Everyone has a bad day sometimes. You've done 11 stellar performances over the first 9-½ weeks of the show.

Line of the show - Storm, after jumping into the pool naked: "I'm so dirty!" :)

Oi toby, you hear of paper, mate? You really don't have to write on your hand, but if it suits ya...evs

Oh jeez, not only are they showing the brand name, now they've got people saying "H***a R*******e" and "H****s"

Maniac Mag-Lite? Interesting name

Lukas says that the track is right up his alley, but only had one verse done plus the chorus. Gil says that it's his competition to lose

How could Dilana have not known that songwriting wouldn't be part of it? And the fact that the song is about what had happened over the last 2 days with the voting says that she is still NOT over what had happened.

Interestingly, not only are the rockers doing the two songs, it's going to be a set and they will control the part between songs. It should be interesting

Storm's original - "What the F--- is Ladylike?"

Dilana and Behind Blue Eyes - Um, The Who as country? Again, if you keep harping on about the mistakes, you're not gonna win the fans back. I'm not gonna say anything else about the stuff you did. It's time to move on

Prior to the credits in segment 4, clips of the originals are heard.

Rockstar - Some sites

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.

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.

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... :)

Rockstar - Week 9 Results

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.

Rockstar - Week 9 Performances

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

SupernovaRockShop.com
or
ROCKSTAR.MSN.COM

First bottom 3 -

Storm
Ryan
Lukas

I say this now, if Lukas is in the final bottom 3 - he'll be the first one sent back to the big group.

Rockstar - Week 9 Reality Episode

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.

Rockstar - Week 8 Results

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

Rockstar - Week 8 Performances

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.

Rockstar - Week 8 Reality Episode

"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..."

Rockstar - Week 7 Result Show

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)

---

I'm glad that Zayra is gone; I do think that she has potential with a solo career. I would not be surprised if she doesn't get signed by a label soon to start distributing Spanish-language music soon, that really is her element, considering how comfortable she was singing her own song then. I think if it were someone else who had done that song and was as comfortable, they would not have been in the bottom three, but as I said last night, the fact that she's there is more or less because I think that viewers grew tired of her show.

Having the band select one person to perform one of their songs with them is a good thing - it's not totally a pressure situation, but for sure if someone were to do good in studio then have everything go tits-up at the TV show, the band would let them know.

As far as the "Request Week" voting - I was led to believe during the show that this would be next week's episode, but it is actually billed as voting for "an upcoming encore performance show". There is a bit of a twist though that some of the performances might end up to not be encores - there are three encore options, along with a wildcard for each rocker - a song that they might have wanted, but did not end up getting. Note that there is also nothing indicating when the vote closes.