taawd's thoughts

TNT starts Charmed again today with Season 1, gone is Rose McGowan, back is Shannen Doherty. I don’t know if I’m excited to relive the beginning seasons because I picked it around Season 6. But we’ll see if I get hooked. I want Season 8 on DVD so I can finish out the series.

More importantly, I hope you saw E!’s The Simple Life this past Sunday. My friend, Mark Nolan’s brother and his sister-in-law along with their daughter were in the series premiere. It was hilarious seeing someone you know interacting with the stars!

I just sat through Larry King at San Quentin and it was an intense program but eye-opening about life behind bars. I NEVER want to go there.

Hey, a shout out to my peeps in the bible belt of Michigan. Bruce and Jennie! Two of the best, most hiliarious and down-to-earth people I’ve ever had the experience to meet in my life. Here’s a picture from Bruce’s blog…

Aren’t they cute? I got the chance to be in their wedding. I’m going to return the favorite whenever I get hitched. By the way Bruce, I have Natasha Bedingfield singing “This Love” by Maroon 5. Good cover, you’ll like it. We didn’t finalize plans for you two to get down here.

I’m tired and going to bed soon. But if I didn’t update my blog soon, Jenny was going to come down here and beat me up personally, so I decided I’d update it.

By the way, if you haven’t checked out the “Evolution of Dance” on youtube.com, you have to see it. It’s funny and well worth 6 minutes of your life. People over the age of 30 will particularly get a kick out of it.

It’s 1:07 in the morning and time for me to signoff for now but Jennie, I will try to be better about publishing a blog more regularly.

Classic Song Flashback – Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band

Okay, just like every other person on this planet, at least in the USA, I got drawn in again to this year’s Idol. And I must be in the minority but Taylor Hicks, an American Idol? C’mon! Katharine McPhee maybe shouldn’t have been the top pick either but she’s more of a pop star than Hicks. Let’s remember, “American Idol” is the USA version of “Pop Idol”. Are you likely to hear him on a Top 40 radio station next year at this time. I think not! Maybe you’ll hear his tune after one of Michael Bolton’s greatest (sic!) hits on some Adult Contemporary station.

Another point, why’d they have both contestants sing different songs. McPhee’s tune was horrible and vocally demanding. There was no hook to it and she struggled through the entire thing. Hicks’ song was memorable and almost seemed made for his voice. Didn’t seem fair in the end.

Having said all of this is Hicks’ voice or showmanship bad? No, but I’d argue the selling power of Hicks as an American Idol.

Other random thoughts

What the hell was David Hasselhoff crying about?

Clay Aiken… no comment!

And not that there’s anything wrong with Burt Bacharach but does he have stock in the show? Do the Simon’s love him that much? It was good to see Dionne Warwick perform.

Finally, something in me still loves that Kellie Pickler.

Classic Song Flashback: American Idiot – Green Day

Just looking for something to pass the time away? Check out this website, it’s the world of backmasking done for the Internet. http://jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm

Just for fun, check out “Hit Me Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears backwards!

Oh and who knew that Norah Jones was in a group called “The Little Willies”? They were just on Letterman. Not a bad sound.

A bad game for the Cavs. Pistons are just rolling over them!

Not too much of a post but lovin’ “Charmed” on TNT!

Classic Song Flashback – Another One Bites The Dust – Queen

Well, can you believe that? The Cavs defeated the Wizards to advance to round two of the NBA Playoffs. So now, the Cavs head up to Detroit to take on the Pistons. If they get past Detroit, it’ll be a Motown Miracle.

How about this Spring weather? It’s beautiful here in northern Ohio. Every tree has newly sprouted leaves and lilacs are out. I love lilacs. We had several lilac trees outside of our house as we grew up. There were a red, purple and white lilac trees in the front yard. Today, the house is gone but I don’t know about that old lilac tree. Here’s a vintage picture of the old farmhouse and the lilac tree.

This is my first blog with a picture. Cool!

By the way, “Family Stone” is out on DVD. It’s a comedy, that’s what the commercials would lead you to believe. You’ll laugh but there’s also some strong emotional situations that’ll have you tearing up. So just a word of warning before you sit down thinking you’re gonna get “Wedding Crashers”.

It’s a little late but I just wanted to pay my personal tribute to the life of Linn Sheldon. He had a legendary career in Cleveland broadcasting. He worked at WEWS, WKYC, WUAB and other stations. He’s best known for his character “Barnaby”. I had a chance to meet him. He was a very quiet man but had quite a sense of humor. He will be missed but his contribution to Cleveland television won’t be forgotten.

Classic Song Flashback – Point Of Know Return – Kansas

That’s about the truth… I’m sitting in the Akron Canton Airport or CAK, waiting for my flight and wishing I was already to my destination.

But things don’t always happen on your time schedule, do they?!

Thank God for free electricity and WiFi access in airports. I’ve got 20 minutes before we board.

Random Rants:

I wish they’d decide to continue making the British comedy/drama Mile High. Phooey on the people who don’t like it. Don’t watch it then. It’s good mind numbing television.

West Wing’s finally getting good again. Too bad it, too, is going off the air.

I need to get another 1Gig card for my cellphone that way I could fill one of them with all Jack Johnson music and the other one with random music.

I’m thoughtless right now, but at least, I’ve posted.

Classic Song Flashback
My City Is Gone – The Pretenders

This show rocks! The show starts off with this disclaimer:

Fasten your seatbelts
Mile High has scenes that depict nudity and sexual acts.
Oh, and there’s some bad language as well.
Enjoy your flight!

It’s a great show but not one to watch with the kiddies around. Apparently, it ran on British TV several years ago and they are just getting around to playing here stateside. If you have On-Demand, you may be able to catch up with the first episodes. I hear from the web that they stopped making the show but as one of my friends put it, the show is “deliciously sinful”. I can’t think of a better way to put it. The show centers around Fresh Airlines and the cabin crew and a couple of pilots. It’s on Sunday nights on BBC America, check your local listings for the time.

Oh, while we’re on the subject of television, if you have Discovery HD, check out “Jeremy Piven’s Journey”. He goes to India to learn yoga and experience the culture there. It’s a rare look at the crowded country and its people. Piven, if you don’t know him, starred in Old School as “Dean Gordon ‘Cheese’ Pritchard” and a ton of television shows. Good stuff and worth the time. The second part debuts this Sunday night. Check it out.

Classic Song Flashback – The World Is Mine – Hooverphonic (It’s the theme song to “Mile High”)

I’m in a “back to music” mode again. I’ll dwell on music for a long time then go out and search for new stuff. I’ve always been a big fan of the “Barenaked Ladies” but they’ve not had a new album for some time. So who’s got me listening or obsessing over music again? Jack Johnson and Natasha Bedingfield. Johnson just scored his first number one album with the soundtrack to “Curious George”. Nice work! It’s taken too long for the public to accept him. Bedingfield has great hooks in her song with intelligent yet fun lyrics.

What are some of my favorites?

Jack:
Banana Pancakes – Will leave you longing for a rainy day so that you can stay inside and listen to the song and prepare some flapjacks with nanners.

Gone – It’s a short little ditty but it packs a big message. The catchy tune caught the ears of the Black Eyed Peas. If you like Jack’s version, also check out the BEP’s hip hop interpretation.

Upside Down – This one will have you feeling like a kid again when you thought the entire world was at your disposal. Just try to get this one out of your head after listening to it!

Better Together – A laidback love song that’ll have you singing along!

Natasha:
These Words – Struggling to write a song, find the right lyric and the hook… Well, she did it with a mind-numbing pop gem.

Unwritten – Bedingfield’s scores another one with this one. Both of these songs also have some wicked remixes out there.

If you’re looking for something different, check out Eva Cassidy. Yahoo! her and check out her story and songs. A beautiful voice who left the earth much too early.

No need for a Classic Song Flashback… Any of these songs above will do!

Well, I’m trying it for the first time tonight and it’s slick. Of course everyone will be so used to using the “old” version, so just like me, they’ll find themselves trying the old keystrokes or mouse clicks to manuever around. Everytime, I try to navigate to my favorites, I still point the mouse to the top. The bar is no longer there. The tabs are nice. The button with four squares will give you a thumbnail of the window, that’s cool. Not having 18 open windows just while surfing the web is a big plus. I have to get into the RSS world. I haven’t dabbled too much there. Well, check it out for yourself, head to microsoft.com.

Classic song flashback: “Changes” by David Bowie

Well, here I sit on an inflatable bed in Memphis, Tennessee. Who knew?! The move was good but there’s always fun associated when you relocate your life! Especially twice. April’s in Memphis and I’m living in the Cleveland area. Long distance relationships sure are fun!? Hopefully this all pays off BIG someday.

Classic song flashback: Love Rollercoaster – The Ohio Players

It’s nothing like starting a project only to be sidetracked by life! Life has been busy recently. We were contemplating a move back to our home. We decided it was the right move and we’re going back to be closer to family.

Happiness is family and after being away some five years, it’s time for a homecoming!

Not only is it family but friends. We make friends whereever we go but it is those special friends that you always long to be near.

Classic song flashback: Bring It On Home To Me – Sam Cooke (Backing Vocals By Lou Rawls)