My two cents

I know it's supposed to be Sitcom Friday, but I haven't had a chance yet to comment about American Idol, and I feel like I must.

Since I griped weeks ago about Adam Lambert, I feel it is my duty to now issue a thought or two on his loss.

1. I won't lie. I'm glad Kris one. After Danny got tossed, and it was down to Kris or Adam, Kris was definitely my choice. And it's not because Adam is gay and I'm prejudiced or any of that rot. It's because Kris's STYLE is more sellable. This is a contest where the prize is a recording contract and, hopefully, a singing career, and while the Adam lovers out there can't gush enough about his amazing talent (and can't tell the rest of us enough about what plebes we are for not loving it to the core of our being), the fact is, the majority of people out there would not pay to listen in their cars to an entire album of his songs. They just wouldn't. Adam is a showman, and that's not what's being downloaded on iTunes.

2. That said, I have to make it clear that I DO feel Adam is talented. The fact that I don't care for his style and think Kris and Danny would make more profitable and listenable recording artists doesn't mean I can't appreciate his talent, and I definitely think he has a career ahead of him - on stage. Adam should be a stage performer. He should be on Broadway or should have a glam band of some kind that's all about theatrics and big lights and costume changes, etc. There's an audience out there for that, and they would LOOOOOOOVE Adam in that role. I'm just not in that audience, nor are the majority of American Idol voters, as evidenced by the fact that Kris not only won, but won by a large margin.

3. Not only do I think Adam is talented, I think he's a really nice guy. I really do. I think he's genuine and kind, and he's not some pompous ass that I snarl at every time he comes on stage. If I snarled at something, it was the bias the judges and media were showing him. I found that really unfair to the other contestants, and I hated that they wanted to manipulate me as a voter. But that's not Adam. He just went out there each week and did the best that he could, taking advantage of the resources at his disposal - AS HE SHOULD. Adam was never a jerk, and being a decent human being is far more important than being a talented one any day of the week. That will serve him for his entire life, and I wish him well because of it.

4. If someone preferred Kris or Danny to Adam, it doesn't mean they have an uneducated ear and that Americans are idiots or that we "got it wrong." You can't get it wrong. You like what you like, and you cast your vote in favor of that. There is no right or wrong - there's what people like or don't like.

If more people like Kris Allen/Keith Urban than do Adam Lambert/KISS, they're not wrong - they simply like something different than what the Lambert fans like. If someone is really super-talented at yodeling, you may be able to make an argument that, "Well, Kris Allen can't make his voice do that!" But if I don't like yodeling, then it doesn't matter how great the yodeler is, I'm still going to vote in favor of Kris Allen because I prefer what he does. And if that's what you like, you're not "wrong" - anymore than someone who prefers brunettes to blondes is "wrong." Blondes are not intrinsically more beautiful (sorry, J), and a person likes what they like, and while Adam is great at what he does, if I don't like what he does, then that's my preference/opinion, and it's valid - as valid as someone's preference FOR what Adam does.

So, the folks who like Lambert should stop ranting vitriol that the rest of us are stupid. And Adam should keep being the good person that he is and follow the path where his talent and hard work lead him, because it will definitely lead to success. And Kris should embrace the vote of confidence in what he has to offer that this win represents, and he should listen carefully to the professionals that will help guide him to success if he'll let them.

And that's my two cents. Have a great weekend!!

So close

This has been parked in my office building's parking lot this week:


It's a Lotus - no idea what year.

I'm no car aficionado, but even I know this car is expensive. Way more so than, say, my Hyundai (which I love - no diss intended, but I'm just tellin it like it is).

If someone in my building can afford this, then I'm very close to serious financial success. And by "close," I mean, "in proximity." I'm not, in fact, within striking distance of this success myself. I'm just saying it's nearby.

Gimme A Break!

You thought I was gonna rant, didn't you? But that would be so unlike me!

No, I'm referring to the 80s Nell Carter show, Gimme a Break. What's great about this show was how it portrayed both who I wanted to be and who I was. (See how it's always about me? Well, it is MY blog!) I *wanted* to be Nell, and I *was* Julie - nerdy smart girl with mousy brown permed hair and glasses. But oh, how I yearned to be the wise, smart-ass with the heart of gold and the sharp tongue! I wanted to be able to crack the whip and still have everyone love me.



Everyone assumes that every little girl wanted to be Katie - the beautiful blonde older sister. But for me, it was all about Nell. I even wanted to be a singer like Nell Carter, beltin' it out on the big stage and winning Tony awards (or Grammys or whatever else would denote a successful singing career). I was sad when she died in 2003. She was only 54 - much too young. That woman had a lot more singing to do and zingers to sling!

As a sidenote, I also complained alot that they needed to cut Joey Lawrence's hair. I was never much into that bowl cut he had. He seems to have taken my advice to heart. Whoa! (Yes, I know that's a Blossom reference, not Gimme A Break, but hey - gimme a break!)

I thought we settled this in 1984.

I remember when I saw Footloose as a freshman in high school, it seemed far-fetched. A town with no dancing allowed? Come on, now! That kinda thing doesn't really exist. It was the 80s for pity's sake! The 20th century! But it had a great soundtrack, so I'd suspend my disbelief for a couple of hours. Let's hear it for the boy!

But apparently, such nonsense does, in fact, exist. And not just in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, but right here in the good ole U.S.A.! A Christian high school in Ohio actually suspended one of its students for attending his girlfriend's public high school prom.

Unfreakinbelievable.

I wonder if the kids at that school are also not allowed to view Michelangelo's David and if books with curse words are burned? For the record, I'm a Christian, so I'm not some religion hater, but seriously. Those people need to get a grip. There is nothing evil about dancing. BABIES dance to music before they can even walk or talk! It's human, and it's fun, and it's exercise, and doesn't lead to anything that can't be led to without dancing. Do some people dirty it up? Sure. Just like songs, or language, or photography, or any other form of communication. But because some people want to make something ugly doesn't mean all forms of it should be banned. If that were the case, a lot of beauty, joy, celebration and even glorification would never be experienced.

So dance, Ohio kids! Dance, I say!

I think I have no choice, really, but to post the video of the Footloose title track:



And for good measure, here I am last summer at the mill from the movie - the one where Ren worked and they held their dance. That's right - THE mill! (I think that's a Burger King drive-thru across the street that I'm standing in if I remember correctly...it's not quite like it was in 1984 anymore.)



The girl gets around. And I'm holding out for a hero.

Would you like fries with that?

Austin dodged a bullet. We came *this* close to having a mayor named Brewster McCracken. I'm so not joking - that's a real name by a real political candidate.

That would've meant Austin's highest official would've been Mayor McCracken. Tell me that doesn't sound like Mayor McCheese.

Luckily, he bowed out of the run-off with Lee Leffingwell. I honestly don't know the man's politics. I just moved back into the city two months ago (before then I was outside city limits and couldn't vote in city elections, so I didn't keep up), and was way too busy getting settled in to get educated on the candidates and be in a position to vote. But I have to believe it's in the city's interest to have a Mayor Leffingwell instead of a Mayor McCracken.

I know that sounds shallow, but the man's name sounds like a 9-year-old boy's joke about his butt. "Hey, pull up your pants - I can see your McCracken!!" That couldn't have been an advantage to our national reputation, could it?

No, this is for the best. Leffingwell. Sounds like "living well." I think that's more what we're going for.

Maybe this will be a new trend for me - picking political candidates based on their names. It would certainly save me time on researching the issues!

There's gonna be troublllle!

This week's trip down Sitcom Memory Lane is probably mostly for the ladies. It was the show that made every girl want to go away to boarding school: "The Facts of Life." I chose the Season 4 theme song since that's really the way I remember the girls of Eastland. Season 1 had too large of a cast (including a VERY young Molly Ringwald!):



But as we all know, "It takes a lot to get 'em right." This is the song and the cast that I think of when I think of "The Facts of Life":

Gotta love my new neighborhood

I've seriously got to keep the camera more handy around my new house.

The other night, I was out front, and the lady next door whispered for me to Look! Quick! I looked across at the cemetery where she was pointing, and there were a beautiful pair of foxes. Seems they hang out there at night. Awesome! J and I watched again the next night, and there were three, so there must be a little family of them that hunt for mice and such. Who knew? I've been trying to figure out how to get a picture without scaring them with a flash, but mostly I'll have to make sure my cat doesn't think she can tangle with them. That is a trip to the vet I do not need.

But as cool as the foxes are, it just got a whole lot weirder. Just now, I glanced out the window as a lady passed by walking her two dogs on a leash, and trailing behind her, right on her heels was a white...dog? NO! It was a goat! A goat, out for a walk with Mom and the dogs in the middle of the city! The cruised by too quickly for me to grab the camera, but I'm going to have to start documenting this neighborhood.

My, oh my, how I do love this new house!

They're droppin like flies!

Aw, man. Now Dom Deluise has died. That guy had one of the best all-time laughs. Hands down. Rest in peace, Dom.

One Day at a Time

So, the whole "Maude" thing a few days ago got me nostalgic for the sitcoms of my youth. Not only do I enjoy TV, but as a singer, I'm also a fan of the TV theme song (thus my mention yesterday of the Greatest American Heroes band - that's two plugs, guys - what do I get for my marketing efforts??). So, I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and find some of my favorite 70s sitcom theme songs to share.

I think I may make this a standing Friday thang for a while, in the same vein as Judy's Friday Flashback of 80s music videos. I ran out of steam quickly when I started to do this with cartoons (mostly because so few people shared my cartoon humor), but I think I'm gonna hit some gold with sitcoms. You all like to pretend you're too good for TV, but I'm gonna be bringin' back some memories with the gems I dig up! Take it to the bank!

So "Maude" notwithstanding, since I didn't actually get the theme song, let's start this nostalgia train with a litte "One Day at a Time." This is a good one. Mackenzie Phillips before the drugs caught up to her. Bonnie Franklin when hip women believed that bra-less was cool (until they all discovered their boobs had gotten all droopy and stretch-marked). Schneider - because it's fun to say his name. Valerie Bertinelli when she was young and cute. Oh, how I wanted her hair! And I learned a valuable lesson from this show: running away with your teenage boyfriend in his van is not as much fun as you think it will be.