God Bless the DVR

Just to show my readers that all this time out of work hasn't been a waste, I've recently mastered Donnie Wahlberg's rap from Dirty Dancing (track 7 of The Block)

With her itty-bitty waist and a pretty pretty face
and the leanest,meanest, maddest, baddest body
didn't have no time to waste, she was looking for a taste
yeah, and she was wanting me to party

Speaking of Donnie, man he ticked me off on the American Music Awards. His voice was gone. Nevermind that Joe's was strong, or that Jordan's voice kicked ass as always (although he looked tired) - that rough patch of Donnie's is what I imagine most people will remember.

Dude, you've been doing this for twenty-five years. If you're voice isn't there, as it sometimes won't be after three months on the road, then work the song around the problem. Don't just push ahead and risk ruining the song.

As a longtime fan of Donnie my sister C took umbrage to my protest, and then - get this - made fun of me by saying 'Oh, what are you going to do about it? Go on your blog and write 'my sister C' made me mad?'.

Yes, yes as a matter fact I will.

Lisa rated it an average performance but noted an increase in The Block sales in the hour after it played.

[You should see the inside of our van when NKOTB's on the radio, or when the CD is playing. At times I'll kill the volume just to hear the kids chime in with spot-on lyrics and background vocals, and they'll even imitate some of the hand moves. It must look dang strange if you're in the car next to us at a red light]

[Single is getting a lot of airtime here, with interest in it increasing organically. Even Chris' baby-daddy has acknowledged liking the song now]

BTW, my DVR automatically deleted the VHI NKOTB footage from September. If anyone has a copy, drop me a line.

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As long as we're discussing TV:



One of the few new network shows I've taken a shine to is Fringe, although unlike my unequivocal love of Lost I think of Fringe as a guilty pleasure. The mad Doc is great, as is Dawson's Creek guy (no Wikipedia look-ups for this post, no siree) but . . .

I think they try a little hard to stretch the limits of 'fringe' science each time. Eventually the gimmick will wear off and it won't be pretty. Plus the actress that plays the main lead drags the show down. She mopes around looking perplexed and troubled at all times, like a toned-down female Shatner, and sometimes her Australian accent pops through. When the accent stays put, it's just as bad; a generic, bland telemarketer version of American speech.

My recommendation: have her kidnapped by the big-bad corporation (all companies are bad, dontcha know) and replace her with a more capable actress.

Another new guilty pleasure of mine is The Dish, Style Network's version of Talk Soup, starring Danielle Fischel of Boy Meets World, who turns out to be quite funny.



Lot's of HGTV still in the rotation here, and I've developed a fondness for Trading Spaces. Prior to this year my only exposure to the show was an episode starring the daughter of my then-boss, but I've grown to appreciate it, ESPECIALLY a whack-job Hildy episode. I still say they intentionally mess with people's rooms for the inherent drama, but it's always fun to watch a train wreck in progress.

National Geographic would still be my favorite channel if it wasn't for their new found fondness for shows about prisons, both here and abroad. I get it folks. If you smuggle heroin out of Turkey bad things will happen to you and your (formerly) private regions during 25 years in a Turkish hell-hole. Why is this on TV twice a day, and why is it remotely worthy of NatGeo?

On the subject of horrors that are substantially less troubling, we've taken a shine to VHI's Scream Queens, in which contestants engage in acting competitions for a role in Saw VI.

It's fun, it's interesting, at times it's funny, and it's a (tiny) look into the making of a film. It also has the advantage of showcasing Lindsay Felton.





Although a little short for my taste, she has many of the typical DannyGirl ideals: short hair (a must), brunette, smart, a cute nose, curvy, capable, and . . oh. Dangit. It slips my mind. What's that other attribute?



I'm sure I'll remember eventually ;)