Dancing with the Stars - Week #6

So another week of our favorite reality competition. Tonight the stars must learn two dances, one in a style they have not danced yet and a group dance. Here we go!

1) Sabrina Bryan (Fox Trot) - it was not her best performance. I thought it was a little boring to be honest.
2) Jennie Garth (Mambo) - much better than last week. However, I still feel her holding something back.
3) Jane Seymour (Jive) - it was ok. Again not her strongest dance.
4) Cameron Mathison (Samba) - there must be something in the air tonight because no one is impressing me. It was not that good. Maybe it's because I'm sick.
5) Mel B. (Rumba) - finally a great performance. It was very passionate and wonderful.
6) Marie Osmond (Paso Doble) - it was again ok. She had a wonderful character though.
7) Helio Castroneves (Cha Cha) - it was pretty good. Again not his best dance but one of the better ones of the night.

So who will leave? I think Jane maybe in trouble. Cameron or Marie could also go home. We will see tomorrow.

Michigan Haunts and Hauntings by Marian Kuclo - #13

A interesting book of local ghost stories, Marian Kuclo, aka the Green Witch Gundella, was a famous storyteller in the Metro Detroit area. As a descendant of the Green Witches of Scotland she was called into many paranormal investigations. This book is a collection of many local fables as well as her own haunting experiences. The book contains Native American legends, residual hauntings, out of body experiences, helpful hauntings and haunted houses among others. The stories, while not very scary, were all very interesting. I can see why Gundella was such a popular public speaker before her death in 1993. I love reading stories about places I can picture in my head. This was the perfect book to read just before Halloween.

Dancing with the Stars - Week #5

Tonight it is Latin week. The contestants will either dance the sexy rumba or the upbeat samba. Here we go!

1) Marie Osmond (Samba) - it was ok but she has done better. She seemed a little uptight. I'm glad she is ok though - that was scary.
2) Jane Seymour (Rumba) - that was very good. It was very classy. Who says older women can't be sexy? On a side note I wish I had her body at 31 let alone at 56.
3) Mark Cuban (Samba) - it was ok. I thought it was one of his better performances.
4) Sabrina Bryan (Rumba) - wow that was hot! Again sexy and classy, not trashy.
5) Jennie Garth (Samba) - she has a couple of miscues but all in all it was pretty good. She is really starting to come into her own.
6) Helio Castroneves (Rumba) - wow that was amazing. By far the best dance of the night so far. I do not know what the judges were talking about!
7) Mel B. (Samba) - it was very good. However, having her dance to a Spice Girls song was a little cheesy.
8) Cameron Mathison (Rumba) - wow that was HOT! I swear they are a perfect match - they are both so beautiful.

So who will leave tomorrow? After last week I think anyone could be vulnerable. Mark and Marie maybe in trouble just because of the low scores. We will have to wait and see.

Dancing with the Stars - Week #4

Tonight it will be the Paso Doble (another one of my favorites) and Viennese Waltz. This should be another interesting night. Here we go!

1) Mark Cuban (Waltz) - much better than last week. I think ballroom is his strength. He is not the best dance but I have seen worse.
2) Sabrina Bryan (Paso Doble) - another great performance. She really stayed in character and she looked sort of mean!
3) Jane Seymour (Waltz) - that was wonderful. A very graceful and elegant performance.
4) Floyd Mayweather (Paso Doble) - it was pretty good but he lost it in a couple of places. That leap was pretty amazing though!
5) Mel B. (Waltz) - another very solid performance. On a side note, what was up with Max's outfit? He looked like a drunk groomsman at the end of a wedding reception.
6) Cameron Mathison (Paso Doble) - a major improvement from the last few weeks. That was really good.
7) Marie Osmond (Waltz) - another good performance. It was not flashy but it was solid.
8) Jennie Garth (Paso Doble) - that was great! she is really coming into her own.
9) Helio Castroneves (Waltz) - that was wonderful. He is quickly becoming my favorite.

So who will be leaving tomorrow night? This is tough but I think Mark and Floyd maybe vulnerable. We shall see.

Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber - #12

The third installment in the Blossom Street series. In this book we once again meet Lydia Hoffman-Goetz, the proprietor of the yarn shop A Good Yarn. Once again she decides to start a knitting class to bring some new people together. Her prayer shawl class has two new faces and one old one. Susannah own the flower shop next door to A Good Yarn. She decides to take the class and invites her employee along. Colette Blake is a total mystery. She is a recent widow who quit her high paying job for minimum wage and moved from her large house to the apartment over A Good Yarn. Every one thinks Colette is just grieving but she has a secret. She had a one night stand with her former boss and is now pregnant. To make matters worse she found out that the father is involved in dangerous and illegal activities. The old face of the class is Alix Townsend. Alix has a completely different life from when we met her in the first book. She now works at the French Cafe across from the yarn store and is engaged to be married. However, she is soon disturbed by the elaborate wedding her future mother in law and best friend, Jacqueline, are putting on. Now as the women move through their individual problems we see how they become stronger. We also see how knitting can bring people together.

I also enjoyed this book. I loved this entire series and would love to see a fourth installment in the future. Macomber's writing style is very easy to read. I love how she makes me feel like I know these women personally. This is a very fun and light read and I highly recommend the entire series.

Pushing Daisies

A very original and interesting show. As a little boy Ned (Lee Pace) learned that he had a special ability. When he touches dead people he can bring them back to life. However, there are two major problems with this situation. He can only keep them alive for one minute or someone else dies in their place and if he touches them again they are gone forever. As a child he brings his mother back but the person who dies in her place was his neighbor who was also the father of his crush, Chuck (Anna Friel). Now as an adult Ned shies away from affection and bakes pies instead. He owns a restaurant called The Pie Hold and this is where he meets Emerson (Chi McBride). Emerson is a private investigator who sees Ned's ability in action. He approaches Ned about teaming up to bring murder victims back to live, ask them who murdered them and collect the reward. Soon though they are on a personal case, Chuck's murder. Now Ned and Emerson, along with Chuck, must solve her murder. There is also the little problem of the two falling in love and not being able to touch each other.

This show was wonderful! I really enjoyed it, more than any show I can remember since Lost a few seasons ago. Even though the two leads, Pace and Friel, are relative unknowns they were wonderful. McBride was very funny as their straight man Emerson. This program is also beautiful to watch. The colors are so vibrant and beautiful. I can not say enough good things about this show. This one is definitely a keeper!

Dancing with the Stars - Week #3

So tonight it is the tango and the jive. I love the jive so I a excited for tonight. So away we go ...

1) Sabrina Bryan (Jive) - another wonderful performance. She is just so cute and bubbly and the jive suits her personality.
2) Cameron Mathison (Tango) - it was alright. He always has a goofy look on his face when he dances and it is starting to get on my nerves. There was no passion in it though.
3) Mark Cuban (Jive) - that was not good. They were out of sync and it was not fast and up tempo enough.
4) Jennie Garth (Tango) - that was wonderful. It had passion and she was in character. Her best dance so far.
5) Mel B (Jive) - that was terrific. They were perfectly in sync and the turns at the end were wonderful.
6) Wayne Newton (Tango) - it was ok. It was more entertaining than Cameron's for me.
7) Floyd Mayweather (Jive) - I liked it. He has so much energy this was a good dance for him. I still want to pinch his cheeks - if he wouldn't knock me out that is!
8) Jane Seymour (Tango) - I think she did a wonderful job. Her mom is definitely proud of her.
9) Helio Castroneves (Jive) - another solid performance. I love his exuberance and excitement.
10) Marie Osmond (Tango) - that was very good. She is so good at becoming the character of the dance.

So who will be leaving? I think Cameron, Mark or Wayne could all be in trouble. We will find out tomorrow.

Moonlight

An interesting take on vampires and romance. Mick St John (Alex O'Loughlin) is a private investigator in Los Angeles. He is also a 90 year old vampire. He was bitten by his former wife on their wedding night 60 years ago. Since then he has been feeding off of material from blood banks and solving crimes. The most recent crime he is trying to solve is the murder of a co-ed at a local university. She seems to have puncture wounds on her neck so of course the media is all abuzz with tales of "vampires". Of course they do not know that vampires are real. Now Mick is teaming up with a local reporter, Beth (Sophia Myles), who he saved from his ex-wife when she was a child. Now as they work together they become closer but will Mick allow himself to fall in love with a mortal?

This is an interesting concept but I do not know if it was successful. The second episode is on my DVR and I will watch it. However, if the acting and dialogue do not get better I probably will not record it again. St John was pretty good but Myles seemed wooden and stiff. Right now I am disappointed in what was a great idea.

Big Shots

A very funny show that has been called the male version of Sex & the City. This is the story of four men, all successful CEOs, who can not get their personal lives straight. Duncan Collingsworth (Dylan McDermot) is the head of a cosmetics company. He is a womanizer who is trying to avoid a major scandal. He also has to deal with his stubborn 19 year old daughter who wants to embarrass him at every opportunity. Karl Mixworthy (Joshua Malina) heads a prominent pharmaceutical company. He loves his wife but he also loves his mistress. Now he is really in trouble because the two women in his life have become best friends. Brody Johns (Christopher Titus) is also married. His problem is that his wife is very demanding and wants everything her way. If she does not get then they both end up miserable. Finally, James Walker (Michael Vartan) earns his CEO position after his boss dies. However, no one knows that the boss fired him before his untimely death. Now James learns that his wife was having an affair with his former employer and he must deal with the consequences.

I really enjoyed this show. It was very funny. Of course having McDerott and Vartan eye candy to look at does not hurt either! It was also nice to see Malina and Titus back on network TV. I highly recommend this show and hope it sticks around.

Dirty Sexy Money

A new nighttime soap opera from ABC. Nick George's (Peter Krause) father is an attorney with one client - the Darling family. The Darlings, headed by father Tripp (Donald Sutherland) and mother Letitia (Jill Clayburgh), are the richest family in New York City. The Darling family and their demands drove Nick's mother away and kept his father from being there for him. Nick grows up and also becomes a lawyer, but he works on pro bono cases and makes little money. Now his father is dead and the Darlings want him to become their new lawyer. He reluctantly takes the position, mostly for the $10 million dollars Tripp will give him each year for charity. However, he soon realizes how much time and energy the dysfunctional Darling's will take from him. However, he soon learns that his father's plane crash may not be an accident and he becomes determined to learn who may have murdered his dad.

I did not think I would like this show but it is fun. Do not expect high brow entertainment from this show but if you liked 90210 and Melrose Place (like I did) you will like this. The acting is really good. Krause, Sutherland and Clayburgh are all at their best. I will definitely be watching this show all season long.

Dancing with the Stars - Week #2

So Josie is out, and after her comments on Kimmel last week I am glad she is gone, and we are down to eleven stars. Tonight it is the mambo and the quick step, which is one of my favorites. Here we go!

1) Mel B. (Quick Step) - I think she did very well. Her footwork was really good. On a side note, I always feel bad for the female stars having to do this dance in those heels. That has to be hell to learn.
2) Mark Cuban (Mambo) - I liked it. I think he is doing wonderful for a guy who had a hip replaced a few months ago. You can see the drive that made this guy a billionaire.
3) Wayne Newton (Quick Step) - that was not good. He was clod hopping (as my mother would say) all over the floor.
4) Marie Osmond (Mambo) - that was Pretty dang good! Who know sweet Marie Osmond could shake her booty like that.
5) Albert Reed (Quick Step) - it was pretty good. His footwork was a little off but not to bad over all.
6) Helio Castroneves (Mambo) - that was wonderful! He can really shake it! I love his personality too and it comes through when he dances.
7) Jennie Garth (Quick Step) - it was alright. Her footwork wan not very crisp. I can not believe he fell at the end though.
8) Cameron Mathison (Mambo) - it was ok but it lacked something. He did not see to give it his all.
9) Floyd Mayweather (Quick Step) - another solid performance. He is so cute - I want to pinch his cheeks!
10) Jane Seymour (Mambo) - I think she did pretty well. On another side note I hope to look half as good as she does when I am 56!
11) Sabrina Bryan (Quick Step) - I really enjoyed it. I think she will be the one to beat in the competition.

So I think is might be Mark Cuban's night to exit. Wayne Newton has way to many fans who are going to vote for him. We will see tomorrow night.