Congrats, George Strait!!!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I'm a huge George Strait fan so I was thrilled that he was at long last recognized as Artist of the Decade. 57 number one hits. Unmatched in any genre. Even a greater achievement, these number one hits have spanned 4 decades.

But the performances tonight underscored why: not only he's a great singer, he tells the story of the song. While a few of the country artists did a passable job of singing his hits, a number of them couldn't even begin to equal his performance of the song.

I agree with George: he needs to keep singing and give us those wonderful songs.

:) Carol

Batted 1000

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I batted one thousand this week between Dancing With the Stars and American Idol. All my votes went for Shawn and Kris. I'm thrilled for them both. Kris was my dark horse AI candidate once the final 13 were picked. Week after week he impressed me, and I loved his ability with both the guitar and the piano. He just kept growing in confidence and giving solid performance after solid performance. I know the judges were "Adam, Adam, Adam" all along, but Adam always made me hyper. Kris is the kind of singer one can curl up with and feel good or go to a concert and come out relaxed and happy. His would be an album I could buy.

So enjoy, Kris. And Shawn, your competitive spirit was amazing.

But I don't get to catch my breath because tomorrow night begins "So You Think You Can Dance." :) Carol

Crime Watch

Monday, May 18, 2009

I went to my first neighborhood Crime Watch tonight. I wanted to see the chief of police and other officers in person [having only seen them on TV on occasion]. I also wanted to hear their plan of action for the burglaries that have been plaguing the area.

Goal no. 1 accomplished; goal no. 2 not so much. It never ceases to amaze me how people can't ask a question. They frontload with run-on sentence after run-in sentence about this and that before finally getting around to the actual question. And they think attorneys are the only ones with an endless hypothesis. Then there were those people who have to tell a story.

Several had obviously watched one too many CSI's episodes and were suggesting to the police investigation techniques. One woman went on about checking cell phone records of 2 suspects recently apprehended. Like...the suspects wouldn't have immediately lawyered up and all sorts of court battles are being fought, not to mention subpoenas needing to be issued for phone records.

Anyway, I did learn that I could sign up for crime alerts, which I did. If my local police department has such alerts, I would imagine many do. :) Carol

AI

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The finale will be as I hoped for. While I've been a Danny Gokey fan from his audition, what I felt as the competition unfolded was that he was a great singer. However, what Kris and Adam [even though Adam is too hyperfrenetic/over the top in his performances for me] are artists. I think this is the first AI final where the two both perform with their own interpretation of the music. Kris blew me away last night and I'll be texting my votes for him next week. However, any of the final 4 could have been the AI, and I would be content. It's been a great season of talent. :) Carol

Star Trek!!!!!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

One word: FAB-U-LOUS!!!!! Star Trek is back. I never quite cotton to the TV series that followed the original one. The combination of characters never snapped, crackled and popped.

The casting of the new movie is exquisite and the special effects are superb. I have to admit my personal fav was Bones played by Karl Urban; it took me a while to realize he had been in Lord of the Rings II and III. I have liked Chris Pine since Princess Diaries II. I also understand the buzz about Zachary Quinto as Spock...stellar. The rest of the casting for Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, and Uhura. Unbelievable.

If there weren't so many movies coming out that I want to experience in the theater, I'd be tempted to go see it again. :) Carol

Dom Deluise --->--->--@

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

I was sorry to hear of Dom Deluise's death. He always made me laugh. He had a wicked but 'gentle' sense of humor...no nasty slashing remarks in order to get a laugh.

Of course, my fav role of his was the director in 'Blazing Saddles'...what a hoot!

Dom, thank you for bringing so many smiles. Carol

My anal side

I'm one of those people who likes to have everything planned out. It's not that I don't appreciate spontaniety, it's just there is sooooo much on my plate that I need to slot in order to fit it all in. I actually can almost plan out to the minute how long a task will take me, driving or otherwise.

Right now in the day job, I have an endless line of merit hearings over the summer. The first deadline for my NASCAR book is coming up, and I'm trying to get another proposal out. So on Sunday when I learned I was supposed to be going to the "Jersey Boys" show that night...and not next weekend as I was originally told, and another friend needed to swing by to use my computer/printer, I almost hyperventilated. Sunday remains my one 'pure' day of writing so I'm not a happy camper when people call or anything disrupts me.

Of course, "Jersey Boys" was a fabulous production, and I would see it again in a heartbeat. I did get some work done on my proposal. Instead of quickly cleaning the house, I told my friend she would have to take the house as is, and of course, she did.

However, I decided to give myself a break plus carve out a few more minutes. I've switched to paper plates, plastic forks, etc. to minimize washing dishes; I'm turning a blind eye to mess. House cleaning can come later...much later. :) Carol