Controversial Matters!

This seems to have been the most important decision made this year…apparently….LeBron James has made a decision…he’s going to Miami! Now I’m not a basketball fan but I know who the mega players are because their names are household words…and since my son is a sports fanatic (a staunch Chicago Bulls fan) he explained all of the finer points to me about being a free agent.

I’m flattered as all get out and wildly excited in spite of myself about this decision because I’m next door to Miami and the Miami Heat is a magnificent team. Not a news report got by this week that did not rehash this story. This is really big! You know how serious people take their sports. Now if you had asked me before the decision was made if I thought LeBron would come to Miami I would have said I don’t think so because why would you want to be second fiddle to Dwayne Wade but it turns out it’s not about that because all three of these guys "Dwayne Wade", “LeBron James” and “Chris Bosh” will be stars on this team.

On a final note I want to say that Cleveland did not fully appreciate LeBron otherwise they would not talk so badly about him because of his decision. I understand the anger because he was good for the economy of the state however, even though they don’t agree with his decision they should wish him well and keep the b.s. to the media to a minimum. You know what they say about burning bridges. I can’t figure out why New York and Chicago is so pissed because they were bidding for the man like everyone else and the best team won so they haven’t lost anything.

All these guys have a lot of money…but human nature is a greedy thing, so what does it say about your team members when they are willing to accept less money to make it happen…LeBron James in Miami!!!!!!!!!!!!

*07/12/10 – Just in is the fact that Jesse Jackson will be weighing in on the LeBron James matter with an opinion. Sometimes people like this should just keep their mouth closed and leave peoples business alone (this is a Reggae song you know). He’ll blow this so out of proportion making it bigger than it has to be. Anything to keep his name in the news!!!

Let me just say for the record I am a Chris Brown fan from the word GO. Pre Rihanna I have seen Chris on talk shows and having a very good perception of people I will always feel that he is a really sweet guy that was raised right by his mama that had an unfortunate event happen in his life and for some reason the world wants to crucify him for it. I feel if you are a true fan you would have been able to separate the artist from the man. This sentiment applies to radio stations who chose not to play Chris's music and advertisers as well... Case in point…I don’t take the time to do stuff like this often but you can bet when I do it is sincere. I sent Wrigley’s (gum)an email to tell them how much I really enjoyed the commercial featuring Chris Brown. They responded back which was cool. A week later the Rihanna incident happened and the very next day that commercial was pulled off the air. I was so pissed I sent another email not so nice…because advertisers are notorious for this type B.S.

Chris grew up watching his mom’s boyfriend abuse her and that may have had some influence on why he reacted to Rihanna as he did. I also feel that Rihanna was not good for Chris and even baited him a little. Does that give a man the right to put his hand on you? No! but you also shouldn’t taunt him. In any case Chris is not the only entertainer to ever hit a woman but damn I guess everyone decided he was the one they were going to make an example out of because he is still paying for it and apologizing for it. Me, personally I would have stopped apologizing after the first time. I feel it only made things worse to apologize over and over again. Not to say Chris has not been sincere in each apology because I believe he has been but he didn’t do sh*t to John Q public and he who is without sin and all that other good crap. He may be in the public but that happened in his private life which makes it his business.

This brings us to the BET Award show. Was Chris sincere, I think he was and I think his tears were as much for himself as for Michael because I’m sure Chris can identify with the man in the mirror. He’s had a really rough year trying to live down his shame, resurrect his fake a** fans and recoup his fantastic career. *I think Chris is a beautiful person and I also believe that what does not kill us will make us stronger. Chris had his public release when he broke down at the Award show and hopefully he can move on now and if you’re a true fan you will support him in this endeavor.

For this article I found two really good videos…no not Chris performing…one is a recap of the BET awards and one is some words for Chris. I found them both interesting and entertaining and thought I would share!

This week on SYTYCD the judges made an excellent choice when they sent Cristina home! My bottom 3 and the judges bottom 3 weren't an exact match but Cristina was in both and my choice and their choice were unanimouse that she should be the one going home.

On a high note I loved the performance by Brian Gainer and Remote Control. Great entertainment for us, great exposure for them. See ya next week!

So the big night finally came! Memphis Beat is going to be my all-time new favorite show this summer for a lot of reasons. I love My name is Earl because Jason Lee is just funny & entertaining, period. Now I know he’s also a serious actor. He plays the main character Dwight Hendricks (who loves his mama, his city and his music). His character is an “outstanding detective with laid back style and radar like intuition” and he sings Elvis! Cold Case and Without a Trace were two shows that made me cry by the end of every episode…this show will be no exception. It’s got laughs, drama, great characters (besides Jason they’ve got Alfre Woodard) and great music. It’s another TNT original that airs on Tuesday Nights 10:00pm EST.

First let me address the issue that Nigel was in a funky mood at the start of the evening and was it me or was he especially nit picky with Travis Wall’s choreography because he hinted at it again later in the evening when Tice Diorio’s routine was danced? As most of you who have been watching the show since its inception know Travis is an all-star and an amazing choreographer but Nigel’s problem seemed to be that he couldn’t tell if the routine was contemporary or jazz. It’s not Travis’s problem if he is stupid. One thing that you will notice about the choreographers is that they are somewhat American Idolish, meaning that they create these routines for the dancers but they wait to see what the judges think of the routines and this is important to them the way the American Idol contestants don’t really care what the other judges say, what is important is what does Simon have to say. I think the criticism kind of sucked the air out of Travis’s evening judging by the look on his face every time they panned the camera his way…and usually the judges don’t put down their choreographers work even if the routine wasn’t that great…and this one was actually very good! **To clarify: since the main problem wasn’t the routine but what classification the routine fit into Nigel was really negative about Travis more so than the routine itself.

Most of the dancers were out of their element tonight, but most of them did okay and some really stood out. One thing I keep in mind from past season is that sometimes it’s not the dancers. They have to dance what they are given so even if they dance the routine on point they still get a bad critique. My favorites tonight were Adechike, he danced a very nice contemporary routine with Allison. Ashley who danced with hunky all-star Mark (what a body) did a really good job and I became a fan tonight. Melinda who danced with Ade (He’s a favorite all-star) in a contemporary number was really good. I agree with the judges about Jose, my favorite who danced with Kathryn, he was bad but oh so good. I saw his little hip hop bounce add-ins and he is such a joy to watch it didn’t even matter. Last but not least, my second favorite Kent who danced with another favorite all-star Courtney. He was very good tonight!

It was hard to pick a bottom 3 but since I had to I did…Cristina, Billy (I thought technically he danced the krump very well but the judges don’t seem to understand that he’s a white guy who dances contemporary and he could do no more than he did with this routine. You can’t really make yourself hard if that’s not you. A different person might could have pulled it off better and I thought Billy did a good job. Lauren I’m just sick of…I thought she did a good job on the routine but there is just something kind of phoney about her. There you have it…we’ll see how it turns out on results night!

…Loved the fact that it was another double header this week. I think the choices to go home were good choices. It was nice to see Autumn calm down although I’m no longer a fan but Scott just couldn’t seem to get it together for someone who had so much potential…but he said it best himself he has the technical ability…but apparently he couldn’t cook! Maria…I was just glad to see her go…because like Chef Ramsay, I just thought she was weird. I saved the best for last Fran is 2 hotel floors from the 13th floor and gearing up for a meltdown! ~ciao~

Leverage is one of my favorite television shows since they premiered 3 seasons ago. It’s rare that you like all of the members of a team but I like this entire group of characters. I like the banter and I’m not a banter kind of person, I like the cons they pull. They’re just a likeable cast so if you haven’t checked them out…you should. They are on Sunday Nights at 9:00pm EST on TNT.

This gist of the matter is this. General McChrystal, the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan had his feelings hurt when he asked for additional troops in Afghanistan and didn’t get them…then to add insult to injury because the president was not as familiar with who he was as McChrystal thought he should be he let his frustration or shall I say his a** overload his mouth. Apparently as indicated by the remarks made he had been stewing in these juices for sometime and either his staff felt somewhat the same or went along with the program because that’s what some people do and you know how the old expression goes…kill the general and the troops will fold. Now because the president is a smart man and somewhat very classy he of course he was not going to stoop to the level of the general. He spoke very highly of the general and allowed him the dignity of resigning (when we know he really got fired).

Excerpt from “Rolling Stone Article”:

Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."

I’m a Huge believer in the first amendment (our right to free speech) so my first thought was that you shouldn’t fire someone for speaking their mind and if the president fires the general it’s going to look like he’s doing just that…and being petty, kinda junior high school, but when I thought about it some more I’m sure the president was mad but not for the reasons we think and he didn’t lose his job for the reasons we think. I would have let him resign as well because he apparently was good at what he was doing but just like in the rest of the world no one is irreplaceable…I can attest to that (let me tell you how good I am at what I do and then I’ll tell you about the times I was let go, most of the time with severance pay) but he definitely had to go because you cannot have (especially in a position of power) the people working underneath you undermining you and your decisions. If there had been any other outcome I think the president would have been the one that people were saying wtf…We wish the general the best and this too shall pass.

In closing I want to remind people that President Obama became president at one of the lowest times in our countries history and since then all the things that have happened it’s a wonder he can keep up with all of it. So on occasion he will make decisions that we don’t agree with but that doesn’t make the decision a wrong one (such as the moratorium on drilling off the Louisiana coastline). The same people that were pissed off so much about the oil leak are the same people that are pissed about the moratorium. You can’t have it both ways! …and he may even make actual mistakes from time to time. There was the disaster in Haiti which although not part of the US we played a big part in their recovery. There have been all the areas that have had horrible tornadoes and flooding. He worked on the credit card policy change which was a big help to the American people, the medical reform bill which doesn’t seem like much to most people but ask someone who has a pre-existing condition and could not get health insurance before because of it and then there was the automaker bailouts. So a lot has happened in his 2 years in office and everything he’s done or tried to do is more than Bush did in eight years…because all his attention was focused on weapons of mass destruction which if I recall…didn’t exist :(!

I am a thinker....
I am a dreamer and an idealist. I am much more concerned with how things should be than how they actually are. I believe that what people do is much more important than what people say. I take careful notice of everyone's actions.

I tend to be quite rational. I try to think with a clear head, and I don't like it when my emotions get the better of me. I confront challenges head on. I actually enjoy solving problems - even when they seem impossible.

I did the above exercise on someone else's blog. It's kinda cool and pretty accurate which is why I posted it here. I'm also posting the link in case you'd like to find out what kind of er you are!

Just a quick note to let you know that I was so sad to see Alexie going home on the show tonight. She tried out for four seasons to get here and was the first one to go...not only that but I thought her performance was really good. I would rather have lost Cristina. Melinda would have been my first choice but her solo was nice. See ya next week!

Tonight was amazing! This show is amazing! because even if there is a dancer I don’t like so much I still admire them and wish them well! I’m hard pressed to pick a bottom 3 but I managed because it’s a contest and that’s how it works. I chose Billy, Ashley and Melinda. As for whom I want to go home that will depend on who America puts in the bottom 3.

My favorite of the evening was Jose and he got most of my votes, ok Jose is my all time favorite because not only is adorable with a likable personality but so far his dancing is impeccable and he's a hometown boy…but don’t forget I adore Kent so he got a lot of votes from me and Robert was really good so he got some votes. Alexie danced with Twitch (who is one of my favorite all-stars and the season he danced I rooted for him to win but he missed it by one) and became a favorite tonight because contrary to what the judges said I think she danced that hip hop routine fantabulously! So I voted a lot for her. I also gave 3 votes each to Ade`chike1 and Lauren. They both danced their routines very well technically but like the judges said Ade`chike` had no chemistry and Kathryn is hot (loved her from last season) and Lauren played to the audience too much instead of focusing on her partner. Ade is an amazing partner!

My Opinion: She got what she deserved! I’m not a major police fan for a number of reasons. They are not above lying when it suits their situation. They like abusing alleged criminals and unlike back in the day where they considered themselves servants of the people and they gave as much respect as they got, unlike today where a large majority of police think they are above the law and will tell you in a heartbeat what they ain’t to the people…oh and let’s not forget that small group that are just downright criminal.

Now since I’m old school so one thing that I do know is if you’re going to disrespect them you better make sure you’re in the right state to do it (because some states don’t play that) and don’t forget today they have tasers and they are more than happy to use them and second make sure you know just how far you can go. If you shove a policeman you’ve stepped over the line and you are fair game because you’ve given them probable cause to use force. Personally I thought the girl that got socked was met with excessive force but I’m also of the opinion that 1) They must have been giving the cop a really hard time in the first place because no one gets arrested for jaywalking (that’s a ticket offense) 2) The cousin should not have jumped in 3) The cop looked like he was just doing his job and my hats off to him for doing it too…while surrounded by a crowd that could have turned on him 4) Although there was just an ever so slight hesitation before the cop punched her it looked like it could have been instinctive and lastly I think he pulled the punch and it wasn’t a direct hit and as intensive as it looked.

Finally, I will say this Florida cops are a different breed altogether and if you had put your hands on one of them you might have gotten worse. Remember Florida police tasered a 6 year kid, they tasered a mentally ill, elderly, wheelchair bound woman 10 times (she died shortly thereafter) and last but not least their favorite command is get down on the ground and if you don’t or let’s say you move a little too slow they’ll put you down with force and they’ll have a few friends help them do it. If you make them chase you they will dive 5 on your head and do real bad things to you out of sight of any one filming the arrest. Don’t get me wrong some Florida cops are good cops and they do their jobs well but it’s like a can of mixed nuts…you never know which one you’ll get.

~peace~

TrueBlood on HBO          TrueBlood Store          TrueBlood Music

My favorite summer show so imagine how excited I was when they served it up twice last year. Everything about this show excites me but I must say that I am a little disappointed this year with the change of letting only 10 (11) dancers into the finals and using all-star members. I feel it does the competition a disservice because there were some really amazing dancers that didn’t make it into the finals because of this change and the limited competitors. Two that I especially liked and hope they will return next year are “Adrian Lee” and “Anthony Burrell”. From what I have heard from people who read the article with details of the why the change was made it all comes down to them trying to get more viewers to watch the show which is so unnecessary because word of mouth is how all the people in my family started watching the show. It was also stated that they felt the all-stars would be a draw for the new audience. My opinion is that if no one knows who the all-stars are they are less of a draw because they are not competing and if you know who they are you’re already a watcher of the show.

Two things I’m most excited about this season are “Kent Boyd” and “Jose Ruiz”! These are two guys I was really rooting for to make the finals. I will be supporting them throughout the competition along with Lauren Froderman and Adechike Torbert. All in all I’m looking forward to an awesome season!

Tonight Saturday June 5, 2010 WBA match up at “Yankee Stadium” between Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman ended with a 9th round TKO 42 seconds into the round. This was an excellent fight for Cotto proving that he still has what it takes. I never doubted it for a moment but to listen to the commentators lose two fights in a row and they have you heading for retirement.

Cotto is a 4 time world champion but has had a rough couple of years. He first had the devastating loss to Antonio Margarito which based on several factors it was more likely than not that Margarito had illegal hand wraps for which he was later suspended for a year after the Shane Mosley fight. For me regardless of the reinstatement Margarito will never be a credible fighter in my book, nor will he have my support as a fan. I have followed Cotto’s career from the beginning and he is a skilled, adaptable fighter so his loss to Margarito was unprecedented. It has taken him a long time to recover the confidence he once fought with although he continued to fight and it will always be an undeserved loss on his fight record…and there was the loss to Manny Pacquiao. Cotto has also endured some legal issues within his family with his uncle as well as the death of his father not too long ago who was also his trainer.

I think that Cotto is getting back to normal and although I don’t have a lot of respect for Emmanuel Stewart as a trainer (look what he did with Wladimir Klitschko (European Spelling) and don’t really think he can bring that much to the table as Cotto’s trainer this is who was in Cotto’s corner tonight.

A little bit about Cotto’s opponent. This is my first time seeing Yuri Foreman fight but I doubt that I will become a fan. He is a nice looking guy and the first Israeli World Champion. Tonight’s loss was the first blemish on his otherwise undefeated record.

Now the chaos came when someone threw a somewhat white (it was the dirtiest towel) in the ring and then people started to clamor in the ring. The rub was that corner men in Foreman’s corner said they did not throw the towel in the ring and Foreman said he was okay to continue in spite of the fact that he had been beaten pretty good during the fight and was hobbling around the ring because he had hurt his knee. Now there was some indication that his corner had left a large amount of water on the canvas but Yuri prior to his knee going out fell twice making him clumsy in my book. In any case it was undetermined as to where the towel came so the referee heralded everyone from the ring and the fight continued. I’ll say this by staying in there until the final body punch when the fight was stopped was either Foreman showing heart or Forman putting on a good show because he was tired of taking a beating and I will leave it at that.

I don't believe the nonsense about men were born to cheat because it's in their nature...because just as many women cheat. I actually believe that if you truly care for, notice I didn't say love although as far as I'm concerned that goes without saying...again if you truly care for your partner (married or not but I do mean in a relationship) because people that are playing the field as it was formerly known back in the day but currently comes under the heading of friends with benefits should have no expectations of exclusivity, you will not cheat on them because you respect them too much. Doesn't mean you won't see someone that you might like to be with because after all you're human but you won't act on it.

Now I believe that there are a small percentage of people that will always be faithful no matter what because it's in their nature. There's an even smaller percentage that will be tempted to cheat but won't give in to that temptation. The rest of the population will cheat and the majority of them will do it more than once. I feel that most of these people will just think of what will make them feel good with total disregard for the people they will hurt if they get found out. A large part of the time alcohol or drugs factor in the equation hence the expression get high, get stupid.

In summation: People cheat because they are either:

• weak (just can't fight the feeling)
  
• greedy (wants to have their cake and eat it too
  
• characterless (will basically sleep with anybody
  
• stupid (make bad choices (i.e., a married man who sacrifices his family for one night of sex with someone other than his wife)
  
• petty (I cheated because my partner cheated)
  
• immature (I cheated because I was feeling neglected)
  
• just don't care (don't care about the consequences)
  

Women, especially if you're married, treat your man like you're his outside woman and he will have no reason to stray. Partners should talk to each other if something is missing from your sex life after all sex is in the top 5 of the most important requirements for a relationship to work. Tell each other what you need to be happy in the bedroom. Above all else be honest with each other and if cheating means that much to you maybe you shouldn't be with the person you're with.

The Jude Alex show premiered on September 12, 2005 (doesn't seem like it was that long ago but it has been almost 5 years)! Now I’ve been watching court shows for years starting with the original People's Court with Judge Wapner so when they announced the new judge in town I just wasn't that excited and might have even been determined in the back of my mind that I wasn't going to like him. Could this maybe be because men judges tend to be boring? Judge Wapner was a stern, no nonsense, and uneventful man and believe it or not the show actually seemed geared to the older generation. Don’t get me wrong I loved watching the show in spite of this. This was also the case with Judge Gerry Sheindlin; unlike Judge Judy (his wife) he had no funny bone. Judge Joe Brown lacks entertainment value because his ego is bigger than he is therefore he can only be taken in teeny tiny doses. Judge Mathis has a good show but one thing he has done for many years that I hate (and he has toned it down in the last season or two) is he belittles the people that come through his court. I understand he is there to entertain and there is a lot of court show competition but I feel there is a line you should not cross because at the end of the day you are 1) still a judge and 2) these people have real feelings. Also alot of his cases have all seemed to blend into one type of case and about 50% of them are boring and predictable. Don't get me wrong, I still watch the show, I just mute certain cases.

...in walks Judge Alex and after watching the first episode I didn’t watch again until the 2nd season when I found myself at home during the day and what do you do if you're at home during the day. You watch, soap operas, talk shows or court shows or a combination of all 3. Me, I watch court shows so I gave Judge Alex another shot. What I thought while watching Judge Alex the 1st time around was that he was boring and his cases were boring but when I started to watch again it was like watching a totally different show, the atmosphere had changed. The cases were intriguing. I realized more than anything that Judge Alex is a fair judge with a lot of integrity (and that’s important to me because it says a lot about who he is as a person), he doesn't make fun of the people in his court room, he's ALWAYS fair and always in control of his courtroom. I guess the first season he was getting used to the new gig and we were getting used to him. As time has gone by I also find Judge Alex to be a very handsome man, charming, funny, and exciting as well as still being the fairest judge on TV. He is a very likeable person and sometimes he comes back with lines that are just so incredibly funny but he’s laughing with the people not at them! Not smile or giggle funny but actually laugh out loud funny. No other judge on television can entertain so well on a daily basis and according to half the women that come through his court room they feel the same way.

So if you've never checked out the best judge on television you really should it will be worth your time! Judge Alex is a former police officer, trial attorney and Florida Circuit Court Judge. The show airs at 12:00 noon Mon-Fri on the east coast.

I have been a fan of this show since it premiered in 2005 and have not missed an episode. Last night’s season opener was as mad and engrossing as ever, new twists, finishing a dinner service on the first night and sending almost half of the staff to the dorms in the middle of service.

Do you ever get the impression when you hear the chef’s talking smack right out the gate that they have not watched past seasons of the show? They all come with the attitude that they are the best and of course chef Ramsay has to shatter that dream during the “signature dish test”.

Autumn and Mikey became two of my fast favorites. Autumn I liked because she has a take charge attitude but she wasn’t overbearing and Mikey because he’s different with the weird hair and tattoos but I think he has the talent. I didn’t agree with the choice to send Stacey home, I thought it should have been Fran.

Sandra on expectations:
"People have their lists of what they want in their partner, and three-quarters of them are superficial. If life doesn't give you what you want, it'll present you with what you need and you don't realize it. That need is far greater and more profound than the little list thing."

For many many years I did not like Sandra bullock. All I really knew of her was her movies but I refused to watch any of them. I became a fan in 2000 when she made Miss Congeniality. I realized not only do I now like her acting (I think the type of roles she played had something to do with it) but I seemed to like her and have every since then. I like her tomboy ways because tomboyish or not she is still beautiful and still feminine. I like her attitude and I like her movies.

When I first found out she was getting married I was elated for her and then I found out to who because I was unaware of this character Jesse James, what he does or his reality show because biking is not my thing. In any case I was not impressed and wondered what the he** she saw in him. Granted, even though he cleans up well a lot of it for me was superficial but I finally decided regardless of what we think “john q public” if he makes her happy that is all that counts!

Even though this article is about Sandra let me just mention that I am a huge Apprentice fan and when I saw Jesse James on the show I was even less impressed with him because I saw him as somewhat arrogant and a know it all with too high an opinion of himself…but look at him now.

Sandra married Jesse James on July 16, 2005. Sandra took on a huge role (step mom) when she married Jesse but she rose to the occasion and for a long time I guess they were pretty happy, I know Sandra was. She was so proud of this man, her husband and took every chance to include him in whatever was going on even crediting him when she received her Oscar for “The Blind Side” and right after that he broke her heart. Sandra is the epitome of (u)the last one to know and it hurt so much she withdrew from society for a bit and she made a decision (same one I would have made) to get a divorce. At the beginning I labored under the impression that Jesse James had an indiscretion but it turns out this was an ongoing thing. This was too much even for me!!!

Do I feel bad for Jesse James, no, no more than I felt for President Clinton or Tiger Woods. You can’t claim to love someone so much and they be the love of your life and you can’t keep it in your pants. That’s not love but you wanting to have your cake and eat it too and you only become remorseful once you’re found out and you know the public thinks you’re a sh*thheel. I can only say that the fact that Jesse James had already been married twice should have been a clue for Sandra. If nothing else she should have at least tried to find out why the previous divorces. If infidelity was involved she should have run for the hills because Sandra had only planned to marry once (forever) and as far as I am concerned not only did he wreck something really beautiful and meaningful for Sandra but she can never recover that dream.

News Updates:

4/28/2010: Saying she's sad and scared, Sandra Bullock confirms she "filed legal papers seeking to end her marriage." She also revealed that in January she adopted a newborn baby, Louis Bardo Bullock, and that she will raise Louis on her own.

Ps: bottom line even with the “heil Hitler photo” (a Hitler stance doesn’t a racist make, neither does a derogatory remark about your race) I don’t think Jesse James is prejudice, a racist or is a monster. He’s just a very very very small man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I first want to say that I am so happy that “Lee DeWyze is our newest American Idol Winner! I felt Lee was the most deserving and the most humble and he has a great voice so I voted as much as I could and I asked all my Myspace friends that are into idol to vote for him as well. I can’t wait for his first album!

Now with that said I want to say that I think American Idol has become one of the cheesiest reality shows on television. I didn’t particularly like Paula Abdul but she was an Idol fixture so you cannot begin to imagine the dismay I felt when the network brought in Kara Dioguardi under the guise of being an additional judge when it was all done with the design to replace Paula.

It does not surprise me that Simon is leaving now. The show ain’t what it used to be. The format quality is down, the judge’s comments are repetitive and the talent is lacking. The one thing that was a constant was Simon Cowells honesty and genuine desire to give constructive criticism. It might not have always sounded constructive but I believe that he cared about what he was doing and if you ever took a good look at the contestants when they were getting judge critiques they would listen to everyone else, thank them and smile in all the right places and then when it became Simon’s turn they looked at him expectantly and when it was positive their face looked like a ray of sunshine. Simon’s opinion was the one that really mattered. Simon cannot be replaced!!!!

Now I have been watching idol for 7 out of the 10 years. I quit on the show ½ way through the year “David Cook” won but other than that I have been a loyal watcher and I will probably be there when next season starts because I’m very loyal to my regular shows but unless something changes and makes this show better rather than worse I’m not so sure that I will hang in there too much longer. Let me know what you think.

The evening was fun for all and the final results weren’t exactly the outcome I was hoping for because Evan Lysacek was my choice to win but I was okay with Nicole winning because she was my 2nd choice! Nicole is an amazing dancer and she deserved this win. I loved seeing Kate Gosselin. She was looking especially pretty and it was nice to see her have fun with her dance. Now the real highlight of my evening besides the crowning of the Season 10 winner was watching Neicy Nash, jiggly parts and all and Pam Anderson do their sexy dances. See ya next season…the burning question is do you think they’ll let Fergie dance on the show next season?

Last night was another wonderful night of dancing. Evan Lysacek (my choice to win that mirror ball trophy) dazzled me with his Foxtrot and blew me away with his Paso Doble. My second choice to win Nicole Scherzinger had a really good Argentine Tango and Cha Cha Cha. I’ve found that more seasons than not since I’ve been watching the show my 2nd choice wins over my 1st.

I think that the semi-finals should be Erin, Nicole and Evan and that the finals should be Evan and Nicole. However it stacks up I’m looking forward to the freestyle round next week. Last season the freestyle round was disappointing so I’m hoping for something spectacular this season.

Amir Khan World (Official Website

British boxer ”Amir Khan” made his US debut this past Saturday May 15, 2010 on HBO’s Boxing After Dark. It is also the first time I have seen him in action and I must say that I am very impressed!!!

Khan is a 23 year old British Superstar of Pakistani descent whose promotion company ”Khan Promotions” signed up with “Golden Boy Promotions” to promote and give Khan maximum US exposure and in his most recent fight against Paulie Malinaggi which had Khan defending his WBA Light Welterweight title was an exciting introduction to US fans. He got a 12 round unanimous decision which he richly deserved. Paulie whom I like and who is a pretty talented fighter as far as boxing skills go but has no real punching power was totally outclassed and definitely looked like he had been in a fight.

Khan rise to fame came when he was Britain’s only representative in boxing in the 2004 Athens Olympics winning a Silver Medal at age 17 and went on to turn pro in 2005.

While Khan made a great first outing and I have definitely become a fan because there is nothing like an exciting, new, young prospect however, I’m waiting to see a fight where he takes on someone who can be a more competitive opponent. He’s a focused very relaxed fighter and on first fight appearances seems to be able to adapt to his opponent.

Out of the 3 final candidates are you really surprised at who won? I didn’t like any of the final 3 but since someone did have to win Sandra was the lesser of the 3 evils. Russell although winning the Sprint player of the year 2 seasons in a row and walking away with $100,000.00 each time I feel has nothing to complain about but I think he really took this 2nd loss hard because he gave the impression at the reunion of having tossed a few back. He was quite talkative and was slurring his speech.

It was nice to see Boston Rob again who has a beautiful daughter who looks just like her daddy. Boston Rob feels he and Russell if they could have worked together would have done well but the problem with Russell is he plays to get to the end while Boston Rob plays to win, meaning Russell loses sight of the fact that the people he double crosses will be on the jury so you should strategize well but maintain the social aspects of the game. I tend to agree. See you next season when Survivor goes to Nicaragua!

I find it offensive when I hear supposedly intelligent people say stupid things. People that are gay are for the most part born that way. They do not wake up one day and decide to be gay. They may wake up one day and REALIZE they are gay or they make wake up and ACKNOWLEDGE that they are gay or they make up one day and decide to ANNOUNCE that they are gay, but the fact that they are gay has always been there.

Since this is no more a choice for them than to be born black, physically handicapped or for that matter mentally handicapped we should be more accepting as a society. I'm not so much concerned for adults because I feel they have lived long enough and matured enough to know how to deal with the world dishes out and can even fight back and this may be naivete on my part but I I am concerned for teenagers especially in smalltown rural communities where people tend to be rather homophobic, anti-gay and unforgiving, as if teenagers don't have it tough already growing up. Also, they may not get the support needed from the people that matter most, their families.

I see so many people on the television news these days that find themselves publicly accused of being gay because they slept with someone of the same sex. That does not make you gay. People sleep with someone of the same sex for many different reasons. If you were just curious and it's a one time thing I think you're about as heterosexual as they come. Lots of people experiment at least once in their lifetime. If it is something you've tried and you like it and know that you'll do it again but you're not making a partner type change at best you are BISEXUAL, meaning you like to swing both ways abd there is nothing wrong with that if that is your thing. People should just stop being so quick to label people when you really don't know what you're talking about.

...and on a final note gay men or even women can get married and have babies and still be gay. They may be in denial or they may just be making a choice.

Candice Eliminated 1st Danielle Eliminated 2nd

This week on survivor not only was I pleased with the blind sides but I found myself actually rooting for Rupert and Colby to pull off the big upset and stay in the game and I was pleased as punch when they made it happen.

The war is on between Parvati and Russell and as much as I love to hate Russell (I really like Russell because my opinion is that in real life he is a really sweet down to earth guy but he good at this game) I’m behind him 100%. I’ve never liked Parvati because she thinks that shitty little smile will get her through.

How pathetic was Danielle. It’s bad enough she let her mouth overload her ass but then she cried about it. Regardless of how it turns out don’t show weakness, it makes you look like you didn’t know what you were doing. I can’t figure out whose been the biggest fence straddler, Jerri or Sandra but it’s time for them to go.

On a final note. We got the boys pitted against the girls and I’m rooting for the boys. Now I don’t see Russell taking either Colby or Rupert to the final 3 (he’s just pissed right now) because I think he would lose based on the likeability factor but things sure are interesting right now and I can’t wait for next week to see who gets their scramble on.

This was an amazing week on Idol. Last year on Idol they had Sinatra week and since I do not listen to Sinatra music I figured this week will be boring so I will tape it. I did however watch it back the same night (unfortunately not early enough to vote)…who would I have voted for?…ok, you twisted my arm.Out of the remaining contestants Casey James, Lee Dewyze and Aaron Kelly have been favorites since auditions. I still like Casey but I’m over him and while I love Aaron’s voice I don’t think he’s ready yet (nevertheless I was sad to see him go) but I would have voted for him anyway and I would have without a doubt voted for Lee because he too has an amazing voice but also star potential. I could see me running out and buying his album the minute it becomes available. So ok, you’ve guessed I want Lee to win the title of American Idol. My son once pointed out to me that on the night that someone gets sent home they sing better than they did the night before and he’s right. I believe that if Aaron had sung the night before like he did on results night (because he was awesome) he would still be there!!!

Let me start with Harry Connick Jr, he like Adam Lambert a few weeks ago was an incredible mentor. The entire evening was so much fun. He was funny, charming, engaging, entertaining and he put all the contestants at ease. He went way beyond what he had to and I think it made all the difference. Everybody sang really well. Lee was the best of the evening. The biggest shocker for me this season was that Lee was so shy and introverted and it was really nice to see him relax and come alive on stage. I think he’s is finally starting to believe in his self and if he can remain outside the box I believe that he can win this. All that believe with me make sure you vote for Lee.

On a final note: results night for me is just that. Sometimes they have good entertainment, sometimes not. I wasn’t at all impressed by the talent this week but I was impressed with the quality of songs sang by the idol contestants especially the Harry Connick Jr medley.

I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to things I like and one of the things I like on Monday nights is Dancing with the Stars! It was another awesome night of dancing! Evan besides being very sexy when he dances was on point getting the first perfect score of the season with a 30 for his Argentine Tango with Nicole and Derek holding down the number 2 spot as well they should be because they have been hot all season.

One of the highlights of the night was the Cha Cha Challenge where they separated into two teams of 3 couples each to gain extra points for the night. This gives low scoring couples a chance to gain extra points. My team of choice was Team Madonna because Evan is my choice to win the Mirror Ball Trophy but also because I adore Niecy and support her and Erin with random votes. I agree with the final scoring on the two teams although my team did not come out ahead. The judges were all in a good mood and a good time was had by all.

TEAM GAGA Chad & Cheryl Nicole & Derek Pamela & Damian

TEAM MADONNA Niecy & Louis Evan & Anna Erin & Max

How the candidates stack up for me and the order in which I think they should be eliminated:

* Chad Ochocinco
* Pamela Anderson
* Niecy Nash
* Erin Andrews
* Nicole Scherzinger
* Evan Lysacek (MIRROR BALL TROPHY WINNER)

I have been putting off this post but one more day of Maury Povich and girls having sex with several guys in the same span of time with no protection (what happened to practicing safe sex) I just can’t take it anymore. You can’t force a man (and I use this term loosely because usually the guy in question is barely over 21) to be a father. You cannot ask someone to be responsible for your child’s mental well-being who doesn’t want to be. It may not be fair but it’s life.

…does forced fatherhood work? It depends! There are all kinds of scenarios where a man or even a boy can step up to the plate and be a pretty decent father. It depends on his character. Sometimes a man doesn’t mind paying the child support but he don’t want the mental and emotional commitment of being there for the child. You may think your child needs a father but for me I think your child needs more than someone masquerading as daddy because he’s being shamed into it.

First, let me say that with the knowledge we have today versus what we had 20 or 30 years ago there should not be as many accidental pregnancies! Second, in that knowledge we should be more selective in who we have children with. Since both of these things are virtually ignored once you have proven that this man is your baby’s daddy put him on child support through the courts (even if you are a couple unless you are married) because when you break up and he has other things to do with his money but help take care of his child there will be consequences that will get him back on track.

Now in an ideal world he will take an interest in his child and be the ideal father whether you are together or not. He’ll have the child sometimes which will give you a break. He’ll give the child a male role model to look up to. Here’s the rub…all men don’t want this and if this is how they feel don’t force the issue, take the money and run and be both mommy and daddy to your child. Let your brother or father be a role model because if you make that man be in a situation he doesn’t want to be in it will just breed resentment and he may not be so nice to your child when you’re not around. The horror of what happens to some children when they are being taken care of by a father who is barely legal age himself. They are really just too young and immature for the role of a father. A lot of these men already bear resentment because they didn’t want a child and you have put them in an awkward position. Yes, it does take two to tango but ultimately it is your body. I would never leave it up to a man to ensure that I do not get pregnant. Also, a condom is not satisfactory birth control although a large percent of people don’t even suit up. If you’re in a relationship at some point you should have talked about pregnancy so that you know where his head is on the subject and what the consequences will be. …and come on ladies if a guy already has several kids and takes care of none of them why would you want to get pregnant by him. What makes you think your child will be different.

So forced fatherhood, I would be concerned that it was not in the best interest of my child emotionally and physically. Once you have taken on the role to be a mother don’t bitch and moan about how much work it is and that he’s not there for you. It is a lot of work but you should have known that and he has no obligation to be there for you, or to go to the doctor with you or to emotionally hold your hand. A girl at 16 can rise to the occasion and be a damned good mom, a 16year old boy can be a good dad if he chooses to be (not necessarily a good provider) but if he chooses not to be because most 16 year olds want to play video games and hang with their friends, a baby to him is a status symbol more than anything that says “Look what I did” but there is no real interest on his part. On the other hand 25 year old men don’t want to have fatherhood forced on them when they don’t even like you half the time. They just wanted to get in your pants. Ladies be careful with your children.

I raised two children by myself. If I look back do I have regrets. Hell No! and if I had it to do again I would do it the same way. I’m proud of how my children turned out and they didn’t grow up with a step father beating them on a regular basis as me and my brothers grew up. I have a son by my ex husband who was kind of out of sight out of mind. A good father when we were married but once we were no longer together and lived in different states although he paid child support he didn’t stay in touch and a daughter whose father basically said to me “How do I know it’s mine”. In her lifetime he sent $40 once and acknowledged (because she looks just like him) that it was his child. I could have forced the issue and got my child support but it was a different time and era and I was a pretty strong woman even at 18 so I pretty much said to hell with him. I relished the idea that there weren’t all the outside influences telling me what I should and should not do with regard to my children. I relished the idea that there was no one wanting to take my kids from me on the weekends or in the summer so that I would spend all this time worrying about them. I relished life drama free with no emotional upheavals for my children.. Did my kids want heir dad in their life? I found out when they were teens they did. I sent my son off to his dads for the summer at 15. It was good for them both. By the way my ex paid child support until my son was 15. I didn’t pursue it. I had to go through a little more trouble to find my daughter’s father. We were never a couple. We had a one week affair that didn’t work out. I knew his name and where he came from. Through the power of the internet I located him. He spoke to her on the phone once for about 30 minutes and that was the end of that. I don’t know what was said between the two of them and I never asked. I didn’t have and didn’t want to have any more children not because I couldn’t but because I thought 2 was enough. There were some hard times when they were growing up but we made it through. You don’t have to have a multitude of children just because your body allows you to.

So bottom line, forced fatherhood, I am against it. Some men give them time and they will come around, others your child is probably better off with just you! One last thing ladies, remember we mature a lot faster than guys so we have to ultimately be responsible for our own well-being and that includes what happens in and around her bodies. Nothing has changed in the last 20-30 years, a large majority of men will tell you what you need to hear to get what they want and when things are good hey! everybody's happy but let a child come into play and sometime men feel backed into a corner and then it is not so good anymore and this is where feelings get hurt. Best thing to do is avoid the situation all together by practicing safe, safe sex.

Not really! Did I cry? You bet!

I’m unlike many people that are dying to watch certain movies and tend to get around to it like pretty quick! It takes me a little longer. I also find that I steer clear of movies that have a lot of hype behind them. I feel they are over-rated! Case in point, it was 6 years after the fact before I saw “The Color Purple”, didn’t even know what it was about but everybody seemed to be shocked that I had not seen it until I did and I gave the movie a 5 star rating.

Good Will Hunting on the other hand I give it 4.75 rating because while it was an excellent movie the actors in the movie were just coming into their own so over the years since then their acting abilities have improved. I adore Matt Damon so I am glad that I did not see this movie until now because I spent the better half of the movie disliking him a lot. I thought he was a jerk but I was totally happy with the ending and all the parts in between that made me cry. Now I can tell all the people who told me that this was a really good movie and that I should see it that I finally have!

…and People who stop in the crosswalk are my two biggest pet peeves while driving in traffic. Call it a space issue. I just know that whether it’s my personal self, my car or even my living space there is an implied comfort zone and if people traverse this area they are violating my space. Now for most people this is not a big deal but for me it literally makes me anxious and I cannot relax until the violation has been rectified.

If I’m driving in my car I tend to leave plenty of room in front of me so if the person behind me pulls up too close I can move up. Some people are so irritating if I pull up they pull up. I make eye contact with them in the rearview and some people get it but others have recognized that them being on my ass is a problem for me so they set out to intentionally exacerbate and even go so far as to let me know that they know it bothers me. These people I feel if only for a moment something akin to hatred. Two things that tailgaters never take into consideration are the if something happens to my car and they must go around me they must wait for everyone behind them to backup so they can backup and go around me and if they are tailgating while driving they do not know what is going on in front of me so that if I have to brake suddenly they could hit me in the rear. Now while I’m one of those people that believe that if you hit someone in the rear the accident is always your fault. If you were tailgating it’s definitely your fault. *Besides there is a law against it and when the police feel really enterprising they actually cite people for it. The charge is a misdemeanor reckless driving charge if cited.

The crosswalk issue is especially irritating because that area has been specially designed to make people feel safe while crossing the street. In the state where I live pedestrians having the right of way is simply an old law on the books and my advice would be to not trust that this is true because people either don’t care or they’re not paying attention to their driving and sadly pedestrians are hit quite often. A lot of times you will hear it said on the news they were not crossing the street at the crosswalk. I don’t think this would make a difference but the crosswalk is their area for walking so we should respect it as such. Almost on a daily basis I see people stop in the crosswalk at the light when the school kids are getting out and some of the more work conscientious crossing guards will make them back up out of the crosswalk but in an effort to keep our kids safe should make more of an effort to not stop there in the first place.

…why is it so hard for another person to believe that you can actually fall in love with them the first time you meet or at least feel love for them and if someone feels this way about another should they express it?

Yes it is possible for a person to feel this way about another because I’ve been there, done that. It’s not like you will be shattered if this person walks away tomorrow but the feeling of loss and what might have been will be there. That love thing is like a planted seed. The moment you meet and spend time with this person, you’re attracted to them, you like the way you feel when you’re with them, conversation comes easy, you can talk about anything, you’re comfortable so by the end of your time together you’re hanging on that persons every word. You can’t stop thinking about them once you part. So maybe you go out a couple more times that week and you have this overwhelming urge to say how you feel. You can tell this person likes you too but you also know their feelings may not be as strong as yours and that’s ok because you don’t need them to be. You just need them to be wanting to walk down this road with you and see where it goes. So you tell them how you feel. Now it’s up to you how much you are willing to reveal depending on how much you need to. You can say I love you, you can say I’m starting to care about you; you can say I like you a lot. Just put it out there and see what happens. Don’t wait for a reciprocal answer because you don’t need one and you’re not looking for one because this is about what you feel. Now if you get a response and he or she says I feel the same about you or something to that affect. You will know it was worth it to put it on the line like that.

On the other hand let’s say the person doesn’t say anything, it could be your first awkward moment or maybe you two just move on like you didn’t say anything. One of two things could be happening. He or she may feel that you've put them on the spot although that wasn’t the affect you were going for and don’t really know what to say or maybe they are not sure how they feel. This is what I find usually happens, he either doesn’t call again or if he does call it's to tell me he thinks we should see other people. I find that men feel that if you say you love them you want something from them. I do want something, to spend time with them to get to know them and see where it takes us. If you have kids they may think you want a daddy from them.

The meaning for me in all this is:
At this moment in time I love you! If you want to be loved and give this a chance it will grow. If you walk away tomorrow I will feel the loss of your essence but…I will survive. I ask nothing in return but if you leave the door open and explore with me you may or may not feel the same. If it works out fine, if not I wish you well.

Again this is how you feel now. As you get to know this person you may find out things that may change those feelings. It doesn’t make them any less real. I can’t speak for women because I don’t date them but men don’t be so quick to turn tail and run. Now the burning question, If this happens do I look back with regret and wish that I had not told him how I feel. NEVER! I like to express how I feel in words and with affection and I wouldn’t change how I am for anyone.

...Survivor is all about strategy. Now some could say that Russell is a very good strategist. The same could be said for Parvati. I’ll give them credit but I think it’s more because the Heroes have played such an atrocious game. Every guess they have made as to what is going on the villain tribe has been wrong and have you every seen anything like JT giving the idol to the enemy, with a love letter no less. That not only gave the villains a chuckle but I think everybody at home was having a good laugh as well. That was even worse that James going home in Survivor China with two idols and we didn’t think anything could top that! Sandra can’t figure out which side of the fence she wants to play on so she keeps straddling the fence which will be her downfall. Actually I wanted her gone several episodes ago. Candace is a stone cold traitor and is too stupid to know that Russell will not let her get anywhere near the top 3.

My only regrets are James and Boston Rob. James although misguided in his thinking was a good guy and Boston Rob was just hot and I loved listening to him….and I think he was a good guy too! I would rather he was running the villains instead of Russell. Oh Well!