Monday Night TV Notes - June 7, 2010

I'm not coming up with anything regular on Monday evenings. I recorded The Good Guys on FOX and probably will give that a watch before long. I don't know why I watched what I did watch for two hours, though. It's two hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Yes, I watched The Last Comic Standing. I've only watched that one season before and only because I personally wanted to support someone I know. I'm talking know, like in see at my day job on occasion or sometimes just out and about. I'm not talking "have seen that comic before." So I watched the season with local Plainfield dude Rich Vos. I've seen him since. He's gotten a tan.

But it all comes back to me as I watch the show. Many of these folks just aren't funny. They're weird, some are retreads. I'm not saying I don't like comedians. I was a big fan of George Carlin, Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong (heh, they qualify), Richard Pryor, Steven Wright and even Jerry Seinfeld. But most of those were firsts and very unique. I'm watching this group of wannabes and thinking it can't be them. It must be me. I've gone and lost my sense of humor somewhere along the highway of life. Yeah, that's it.

Then I watched Persons Unknown. Oh my. I don't know what to say. It's very odd. I can never watch Jason Wiles without thinking Bosco (Third Watch) will run amok and get into a police chase. Okay, they're all abducted and put into a hotel. Then a Chinese restaurant with a large staff of men who don't speak English opens. Um. With all the cameras it's like Big Brother gone psycho and scripted. I'll be watching next week.

Later on, Letterman is going to have Lee DeWyze, the winner of American Idol, on. I'm sort of surprised he actually got the winner this time. I figured all he'd get would be the losers.

What did you watch?

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - June 6, 2010

It's Sunday morning. That means it's time to settle in with a cup of coffee, an old Law and Order episode on TNT in the background, and get to posting my look back on the week gone by in words and photographs I've taken. It hasn't been a great week for me. I'm SO not a heat and humidity kind of person and that's what the weather has been like all week. I also had some sort of stomach bug during the week, gah!

Huh. The actor who played Bunk (Wendell Pierce) on The Wire is playing a Nigerian on the old L&O episode, accent and all. I know I haven't been writing a lot about TV as of late. Of course, that will change come Big Brother! I have been watching a few shows -- So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent. Both of those are still in their beginning phases. I also found THE BEST alternate ending for Lost -- it's Vincent's dream!

On the home front things are same old, same old. The elevator still isn't working. I still have annoying neighbors on the one side. I finally met the guy on the other side (the bedroom in that apartment is up against my bedroom wall). I knew someone has been living in there for months, but never hear any noise. He's pleasant enough and seems to work all the time.

At least he's not like the children raising children on the other side -- no one works there, boyfriends come on their bicycles (yes, you heard me, bicycles), doors slam all the time, people argue, people party, children scream. Sigh. I don't even know who all lives there. The children I know. I know them because they keep playing in the hallway and their mother(s) haven't a clue where they are. I'm talking under five years old. They're not bad kids, but I fear for their future. It's sad that I hope they aren't paying their rent (or share thereof since no one works) and get the boot.

The other apartment was vacant for months after the last tenant left. I still have memories of her as I bought the TV she had purchased for her adult son with developmental needs. He didn't like it, nor understand the controls. I found that he had accidentally set parental controls on it and, while he had some issues, he didn't want to watch children channels. But he already had another TV by then and I now had a brand new larger one for $75 from them. That's my "good" TV these days.

Oh well, I've fussed and moaned enough ... onto the photos for the week, clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.

Monday was Memorial Day

My father served in WWII, my grandfather served in WWI sneaking in underage, then re-upped for WWII. Although I'm an anti-war kind of person (there really have to be better ways to solve problems!), I salute all of those who have risked or lost their lives to protect our freedom.

Pigeon Mutt

Looking like Heinz 57, this pigeon has a conglomeration of patterns and colors. It's like he doesn't know if he wants to be brown, black, gray or iridescent purple.

Weeds

Flowers get all the attention, but I enjoy a good weed bloom now and then, too. Since I don't personally have a lawn, I don't need to pull them!

Plainfield Rescue Squad

Now, why couldn't I have gotten this shot when I pitched the plea for donations? Of course, it looks like a pedestrian with no feet or hands is trying to climb in. The man has no neck! (Tell me what film that's from!) East Front Street, Plainfield.

Potted Flowers

A Wild Animal!

What is it? A bear? A badger? A bobcat? Oh. A groundhog. Move along, nothing to see here.

Future Sunflowers

Those leafy plants on the right will be my sunflower photo fodder before long. East Front Street, Plainfield.

Honeybee on a flower

These flowers are on the edge of my neighbor's lawn. The honeybees seem to like them. I haven't seen many bees yet this season -- an occasional wasp or hornet, a few carpenter bees, and (oddly enough) more honeybees than anything else. Last year they were talking about the severe decrease in honeybees. Go figure. I'm still allergic, I'm sure.

Early Morning at the Train Station

Another hot day dawns at the Plainfield Train Station.

It's MY Ramp!

Yes, I lay claim to the ramp. It's mine. Plainfield Train Station.

Vincent looking inquisitive

He sees something. He hasn't been staring at the radiator, so hopefully the mice are gone. He did freak out when a fly got in the apartment. Sheesh! Knocked over a lamp and all! It didn't break, but it took a while before I figured out what was going on. My protector. He's really a great cat. To think he would have probably been euthanized at New York City Animal Care and Control because he's "older." But he lives the good life now -- cat treats, cat toys, food, water, shoulder, lap, bed and affection.

How was your week?

Happy Birthday Chuck Barris!

While we have America's Got Talent, American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance these days, we had The Gong Show back in my formative years. Chuck Barris is 81 today and was born in Oakland, New Jersey. Don't ask me where Oakland is -- it's nowhere near me! He was the force behind The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game as well as my personal favorite ... The Gong Show.

Happy birthday Chuck and let's take a peek at Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine from back in the day. In the first clip, a young David Letterman looks a bit confused as Arte Johnson, Jaye P. Morgan, and Chuck Barris (and the crowd) go wild.

'America's Got Talent' - New Season, New Judge, New Talents

Huh. I must be out of the loop. I didn't realize that David Hasselhoff has left his judging slot on the show. I'm sure it's because he has such other fantastic things happening in his career, right? When I heard Howie Mandell was taking on the judge position, I was a bit leery. I liked Howie when he started out as a stand-up comedian, but I was SO not into Deal or No Deal that it actually soured me on him. Plus, he's all kinds of OCD and stuff. I'm OCD enough for my own life, thank you very much.

But, surprise, surprise. He works for the show! Just like Nick Cannon is so much better than Jerry Springer in the host role, Howie is perfect for judging. He, unlike Sharon Osbourne who gets all emo (as the kids say) with Piers, challenges him and doesn't back down. He's actually funny with the contestants, too. It's a shame that the show will eventually butt up against Big Brother 12 next month and I won't be able to keep track of it. But, until I can't, I will.

I don't care for all who went through last night. I was familiar with one group -- The RingMasters out of Brooklyn. For some reason, this contortionist break dance crew is down to two members and there was no mention of them appearing on Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew (MTV) a few seasons back. They didn't win, but they were pretty amazing. I found a break.com video of one of their appearances on that show with the crew intact --


The RingMasters - Watch more Funny Videos

They had a woman with a cat-woman outfit and a whip who enthralled both Howie and Piers with her "painting" act. More like pole-dancing sans the pole! The only good thing about that act was the very end when she placed the painting bits together and posed. It actually was her face in the cat mask. She can go away now.

My favorite act of the night were the two little kids who started out the show, Future Funk. If they succeed, they're probably going to have to go for a name change. When I was searching around, I found someone else already has the name going. Sigh. The kids are cute and extremely talented for the tender ages of five and nine. They seemed to be having a ball, too. Hmm ... what was I doing at five? Um, well. I was taking tap dancing lessons. But let's not go there, please.



One of my other favorites was the French street performer dude, Haspop. As they did the pre-interview, I was expecting a dud. Well, how wrong was I? Folks like this guy are why I pay attention to street performers in the city. Some of these people are incredibly talented. I also must give a nod to one of my other summer show passions, So You Think You Can Dance. One of the reasons I'm hooked on that show is that they find people with Haspop-esque talents.



The sentimental favorite of the evening would be the ex-homeless veterans group who sang "Old Man River." They were perfect!



Did you watch? Your favorites? Remember, the auditions continue tonight!

The Bachelorette Summer 2010 Blog Discussion

I received a few requests for a blog discussion post for the new season of The Bachelorette which airs on Monday evenings at 8 PM on ABC. The official website is right here. I don't watch this one, so I won't be blogging about it. However, this is a place where you and your friends can comment on the episodes. Enjoy!