Thoughts-Drew Peterson; AI09-It's a Boy!; DWS 09-Big Booty Sent Home; TV-Hell's Kitchen 09 and Celebrity Apprentice 09

It's pretty much a given that the 2009 American Idol will be a guy.

But a female judge comes out with a new song and dance. What's the real story about her sudden change of story re an addiction? And can this person sing and dance back to the stardom she once knew?

All with pics and video you'll find nowhere else on the Internet.
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She had a booty and boobs to die for. It wasn't enough.

On Dancing With the Stars 09 the shy one remain and the shaking booty got sent packing.

Bachelor Star Melissa comes back from a fractured rib and it's a real contest now.

With pics and video you'll find nowhere else on the Internet.
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\It's an all Drew Peterson week in this week's THOUGHTS post.

I'd been following this case of the Illinois cop who can't seem to keep wives from disappearing or meeting sudden deaths in dry bathtubs since November of 2007.

I went back and picked a post from November 07 through April 08 about this guy.

If you need a comprehensive update on this guy's story, now that he's FINALLY been arrested for the murder of ONE of his wives.

Also, beloved granddaughter pic time.
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She doesn't have a glorious head of hair and blue eyes to die for. But she's sober and serious and mature.

So why choose the pretty guy to run the restaurant in Hell's Kitchen 09?

It's all Joan Rivers, all the time. Now she's one of the finalists on Celeb App. 09, but of course.

When I heard some woman had a face transplant, I thought it might be Joan.

Since we've suffered Ms. Rivers 24/7 this past Celeb App. season, do you think maybe she could lose the thing?

Pic of the Day







The Bad Guy of the Week this Week would be Drew Peterson. Who USED to be a police officer with the Bolingbrook, Illinois police department and that’s scary.

FINALLY this guy has been arrested.

But oh no, not for the sudden disappearance of his young wife, Stacey. Drew asserts that Stacey ran off with a lover, never to use her credit card, taking no clothes, leaving her young children behind.

Drew Peterson has been arrested for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Savio had been, originally, declared as having died of a bathtub accident, this even though she’d amassed a collection of restraining orders against ex-husband Dres. Then ANOTHER wife of Peterson’s disappeared and this guy sure did seem to have a problem keeping wives alive and/or in sight.

Savio’s body was exhumed and lo and behold it is then discovered that the woman died in a DRY bathtub.

Had Drew not been so greedy as to get rid of yet another wife he would have gotten that free murder he got for killing Savio.

Below are excerpts beginning from November 2007 on through April of 2008 that were placed on my Blog. We heard not a single word since then until this month when the fine, fine Illinois police finally decided to bring this guy in.
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From November of 2007

The Mystery of Drew Peterson

It began on October 20, 2007 when the wife of a police sergeant, Stacy Peterson, was reported missing.

State Police are searching for the wife of a southwest suburban Bolingbrook police sergeant.

"Because he's one of our officers, we thought it would be better to have an independent agency investigating," Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said of the state's involvement in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

It wasn't Stacy's husband who reported her missing. In fact, Drew Peterson is turning out to be quite the mystery.

As these thing usually go, suspicious eyes were cast upon Stacy's husband, who said that the last he heard from Stacy was via cell phone when she informed him that she was leaving him. Anything's possible, but for a woman to leave her husband and leave her children behind is rare, almost unheard of. Stacy Peterson left her children behind, has not used her cell phone since her disappearance and has not taken money from her bank account.

On November 1, investigators started searching the Peterson home, with the aid of a search warrant.

At around 3 p.m., investigators arrived at the home of Drew Peterson, 53, on Pheasant Chase Court, armed with a search warrant that was obtained on Wednesday, said Charles Pelkie, spokesman for the Will County state's attorney's office. Peterson's wife, Stacy, 23, has not been seen since Sunday morning.

Moving on to November 5, the search for Stacy Peterson now involve divers and a local pond, hardly where one would look for a woman who allegedly left her husband.

From the Chicago Tribune.com:

A two-day search of a retention pond for a missing Bolingbrook woman ended fruitlessly Friday, but authorities said they were receiving numerous tips from the public.

For much of Thursday and all day Friday, divers from the Naperville Police Department painstakingly searched for any sign of Stacy Peterson, 23, in the 5-acre pond at Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport, just blocks from her home.

Most intriguing of all, the tidbit that brings the crime sleuths from across the planet, is the fact that Drew Peterson had another wife who died in a bathtub.

As of this writing, this case percolates strongly under the radar but like the famous Peterson before Drew, Scott Peterson, this is going to be a major crime.

For why...WHY...was the death of a healthy 40 year old woman found dead in her bathtub with blood in her hair and bruises over her body pronounced an ACCIDENT?

Drew Peterson has even more skeletons in his closet. It would seem that this man has cast a nasty shadow over the Bolingbrook police department from as far back as 20 years ago. Indeed Drew had been fired from this police department based on charges of taking bribes. The charges were dropped and Peterson was reinstated to the Bolingbrook police department.







Then, in March of 2004, Drew's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead under the most questionable of circumstances. And her death was pronounced by an elected coroner's jury that was either asleep during presentation of the facts or never existed. Illinois state police investigated the case of Kathleen Savio and found no wrong doing. Say what?

What does Drew Peterson have on the Bolingbrook police department that has this man going free for so many crimes, including obvious involvement in the death of his third wife and need we mention now his fourth wife is also missing under strange circumstances?

Heads are going to roll on this one, folks. The story of Drew Peterson, the rogue cop and husband of missing/dead wives dates back 20 years. It seems that somebody, somewhere has given this man a pass for crimes and how many women have to die at his hand before someone screams foul?

We're on top of this case, folks. Something is rotten in Bolingbrook Illinois and it's time it's rooted out.

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From December of 2007

Drew Peterson Needs Money and Can’t Get a Date

Although in most cases those two realities are related, in the case of Drew Peterson, husband of missing Stacey Peterson and a man who lost a prior wife under strange circumstances, not necessarily.

From the Suntimes:

Drew Peterson says the the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, and the mysterious death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, might hamper his love life.

“I'm not going to get another date,” he said in an interview this week in his Bolingbrook home.

First, the fine Mr. Peterson is wrong about that date thing. Since killing two people in cold blood then released by a jury without a brain to talk about, OJ Simpson always seems to have some dumb broad around him. In fact, I heard and saw one such bimbo right on my TV recently. She was trying to drive away from the hounding reporters in view of the events in Nevado regarding OJ, guns and sports memorabilia. Trying to keep her mouth shut, she couldn’t resist uttering some nonsense about OJ being such a good man, something like that.

I rolled my eyes to heaven and thought that there’s a dumb woman for every man no matter how terrible the man might be.

So Drew, hey, call up OJ. He’ll get you a date.



Moving on, should yon reader wish to help the lovely Mr. Peterson with his defense costs, breathe easy. For a web site has been set up for contributions to Peterson’s defense fund. Drew’s attorney, who has a vested interest in this endeavor you understand, assures us eager fools who wish to help Drew go free that he may get that date he needs, marry the bimbo who accepts, perhaps have children as Drew’s ability to reproduce is well-documented, and eventually get rid of the next Mrs. Peterson should she vex him…that any money collected at DEFENDDREW.com will not be available to Drew personally.

The attorney will, of course, have access to the funds. Heh.

From Stltoday:

Drew Peterson is asking the public for financial help with his legal defense.

The former Bolingbrook police sergeant who authorities have deemed a suspect in his wife's disappearance has set up a Web site to collect money from people who believe he deserves a defense without going broke.

Finally in the newest information on this case, we have a pastor revealing to Greta Van Susteren that Stacey Peterson told him that Drew Peterson killed his wife prior to Stacey.

From ChicagoTribune:

A minister from Plainfield said on national TV on Monday night that as he counseled Stacy Peterson in the months before she disappeared, she told him her husband admitted killing his ex-wife Kathleen Savio.

Rev. Neil Schori, formerly of Westbrook Christian Church in Bolingbrook, said Stacy Peterson, 23, blurted out in a Bolingbrook coffee shop that "he did it," referring to her husband, Drew Peterson, 53, whose ex-wife was found dead in her bathtub in 2004.

The attorney defending Drew was on that show and well first, he’s an attorney, he’s got a web site to help collect funds for Drew which will go to him, he’s defending Drew and he’s the picture of every lawyer that we love to hate.

But this attorney responded to that pastor’s allegations by sputtering and spitting out an accusation back at the pastor.

“He should have turned Drew in when Stacey told him that,” the maggot, er, attorney told Greta.

The maggot’s, er attorney’s, premise was that the pastor must be lying or else the pastor broke a law himself by not reporting Drew Peterson to the police based on this confession by his wife.

The maggot, er attorney, felt that the pastor must not be a nice man in that he allowed Stacey to return home to a man who she’d admitted killed a prior wife.

Well the maggot, er, attorney, has to say something in defense of his fine client. The logic being, I surmise as best I can not having a maggot mentality, that any pastor who didn’t try to prevent Stacey from returning to Drew Peterson after that admission was either lying or should be in jail himself.

I thought it was lame and I daresay the average viewer would think the same. That pastor could no more stop Stacey from returning to Drew and besides, who’s to say he didn’t try to warn her off?

This guy had been interviewed a while ago by the investigators and Greta got the scoop only by nagging him for weeks, at least as Greta explained. It’s not as if he came out of the woodwork for his fifteen minutes like that maggot, er, attorney of Drew’s.
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From January of 2008

Drew Peterson’s Novel Ways to Raise Money

Speaking of a travesty of justice, why hone in on Mexico? For in our fine state of Illinois it would seem that the police can murder their wives with impunity and no problem, she’s dead in a dry bathtub, covered with cuts, bruises and blood, hell it had to be an accident, right?

Now Drew Peterson’s current wife, Stacey Peterson, is missing and we get to watch this clown flip us all the finger as he volunteers for dating contests and now we understand that Drew Peterson wants to go on the new Fox reality show, “Moment of Truth”. This show hooks up contestants to a lie detector and…well Drew Peterson hooked up to a lie detector would be quite interesting. I doubt the man will pass any kind of legit lie detector test but by now I think he’s just looking for money. My sense of truth, justice and the American way tells me that at some point Peterson’s time will be up. Even the Illinois police are smarting by how this fellow made them look so foolish.

And let’s not forget that fine alleged attorney of Peterson who, it’s been said, is behind his client’s eager but legally dangerous attempts to keep his name in the news and get money while doing so.

Pic from TMZ.com.

And now, if hasn’t gotten strange enough, we’ve got Drew Peterson selling stuff on EBAY!

From Chicago Tribune.com:

Thought the hoopla surrounding Drew Peterson was bound to die down? You probably haven't looked on eBay, where online auctions to purchase Peterson-related paraphernalia have begun.

Would-be buyers have their choice of Peterson's old window frames, the Dec. 3 issue of People magazine with Peterson on the cover, and several of the weekly tabloids that include Peterson in their coverage. Starting price: 99 cents. Shipping and handling not included.

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From February 2008
Drew Peterson’s Ex-Wife Savio’s Death Ruled Homicide

Not that this surprised anyone. In fact, Dr. Baden already announced this conclusion on Greta’s show a few moons ago.

Now, Savio’s death as homicide as been ruled official. My question, who the hell screwed this obvious murder up originally?

From Yahoo.com:

CHICAGO - Amid the search for a former police officer's fourth wife, an autopsy on the exhumed body of the man's third wife found what her relatives have long suspected — her death was no accident.

Kathleen Savio died by drowning and her death was ruled a homicide, Dr. Larry W. Blum said in an autopsy report released Thursday by the state's attorney's office. It was the second autopsy performed on Savio.

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From March of 2008

Drew Peterson Update

We like to keep up on the investigation of the very fine and lovable Drew Peterson, a former cop who seems to have no luck with wives. One of his four wives managed to die by slipping in a bathtub and his current wife, Stacey, has been missing since before Christmas. I follow the fine Peterson’s case on this Blog read by two to three people every day because who knows, maybe me and the two to three people who read this thing might form some kind of angry posse and take this man down our own selves. Whoever’s in charge in Illinois seems to think this guy should be allowed the murder of one, maybe two wives.

I ponder the fine Illinois cops who let this fellow get off on the murder of one wife only to be terribly embarrassed when another wife strangely disappeared, leaving her two young children behind. The fine Drew says Stacey rant off with another man, sure she did.

Now Drew would like his guns back and I’ve no doubt the Illinois police will fight that their comrade should have his guns back for God’s sake!

Only there’s a little delay before Drew will get them back and before he does I’d like to softly suggest to Illinois investigators that they might want to consider the public relations damage if this fine, fine fellow is given a whole slew of guns back although I know it’s not likely he’ll kill anyone with them soon with all the public scrutiny.

Still…

From the Chicago Tribune:

Drew Peterson will have to wait a few more weeks to learn whether his guns will be returned, due to postponement until April of a hearing that had been set for Tuesday.

And if denying the man return of his guns isn’t bad enough for this fine, innocent fellow, now we learn that the media insists on making Drew Peterson into some sort of sinister fellow when he’s only a hard-working guy whose wives either die by bathtub falls or run off leaving him with children to raise by his own fine self.

From WRAL.com:

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Jobless and with no prospects, Drew Peterson spends his days taking care of his four children: cooking meals, washing clothes, helping with homework. All the while, he does so knowing that most of the world believes he killed his last two wives.

Of course it could be because he insists that the missing Stacy took off leaving her two young children behind. We are to believe that this young woman, who’d repeatedly warned many around her that she feared for her life at the hands of the fine, fine Drew, is currently holed up in a motel room with her lover, eating popcorn, making love and watching TV stories of her disappearance.

Further tales of Drew’s lack of romance in his life and his snarky comments about his wife’s menstrual cycles, well hey, far be I to suggest that this may be why the public doesn’t like Drew Peterson all that much.

That and his two dead wives.

These things do great damage to a fine man’s reputation.
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From April 2008

Drew Peterson’s Stepbrother Not a Nut

…or so asserts John Morphey, Tom Morphey’s brother. Tom Morphey is the fellow who alleged that he helped Drew Peterson move a big container on 10/28/07-the night Stacey Peterson disappeared.

Drew Peterson, he of the great audacity of hope for dead wives, sniffs and calls his stepbrother, which is Morphey’s relationship to Drew, a liar and a nut.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Spurred by the most recent national TV appearance in which Drew Peterson sought to discredit a stepbrother who said he and Peterson moved a large container the night Peterson's wife vanished, the man's brother said the public needs to know what's really happening.

Drew Peterson sniffed to Larry King during a recent interview that he really didn’t want to talk bad about his stepbrother. Then Drew went on to detail Tom’s recent divorce, his drinking problems, his suicidal threats, his bouts of mental illness. In other words, essentially talking bad about his stepbrother, which he told King he did not want to do.

Morphey not only alleges that he helped Drew move a large container the night Stacey went missing, he also says Drew gave him a cell phone and told him not to answer it. The call came through and indicated it was from “Stacey”. It was evidently Drew’s cell phone and Drew wanted a call recorded from Stacey’s cell phone to his own, as an alibi perhaps.

It sounds to me like Drew is using the public airwaves to try his stepbrother before a potential jury, to convince the world his stepbrother is an unbelievable liar and a troubled soul that a future jury not believe his testimony.
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Beloved Granddaughter Time

Pics just in from this year’s school season.

Thus it’s a must have on the Blog.



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Down to Three…It’ll Definitely Be a Guy This Year



It was rock night for American Idol 2009 and the mentor was some weird looking fellow I never heard of. His name is SLASH and he was once the lead guitarist for Guns & Roses. Now he’s a rock idol type star in his own right as I gather from the hype.

He seemed like a more appropriate mentor than Jamie Foxx was for Rat Pack Night, I’ll give him that.

Ryan Seacrest informed us that the American Idol sign broke and that rehearsals were cut short. Not that the average viewer would have noticed any difference but the accident could have been a disaster.

Finally, please, on elimination night we were treated to a new solo by Paula Abdul complete with a dance routine.

Folks, I just don’t think so.

First, Paula Abdul was never a great singer. She was a fairly good dancer however. Combine mediocre singing with good dancing and in the era of music videos, Paula Abdul was a major player. She entertained, no doubt about it.

Now we are to discover that Paula allegedly had problems with addictions to pain medication but, no wait…that’s a mistake!

By me Paula seems often under the narcotizing influence of something even now so I kinda doubt that whoever interviewed her made the story of painkiller addiction out of whole cloth, as Paula alleges.

I see this whole uproar as a Paula Abdul versus American Idol thing.

American Idol clings to an image of, well all-American entertainment, the small town boy or girl of fine behavior and past finally makes it to the big time based on an overlooked talent. The producers of American Idol don’t take kindly to contenders who’ve posed naked or had prior arrest records and that kind of thing. Well hey, I think it’s a great idea. If we’ve got kids walking the straight and narrow, refusing to disrobe for cell phone pics and keeping their noses clean and far away from drugs, why the hell should those who get in trouble have a chance? I say the more incentives kids have to live a decent life the more WILL live a decent life.

Meanwhile, entertainers often get a big public “aw” and “boo-hoo” when they up and confess to an addiction that they’ve beat. Given a seat on Oprah’s couch and with a good story to tout, celebrities bring tears to Winfrey audiences with increased record or book sales to follow.

So Paula gave what I think is a TRUE story about an addiction. I suspect the AI folks got a whiff of what was up and Paula suddenly…”oops, my bad. That interviewer must have misunderstood me.”

I mean if the American Idol contenders can’t have a known drug record, why should a judge get big record sales and such from the same offense?

It’s my story and I’m sticking to it. After all, Paula dear, American Idol is a steady paycheck. This new record and dance thing may, or may not, succeed.

So okay, her voice was altered by a weird electronic thing and I think that was intentional. I suspect that formerly mediocre singer Abdul now doesn’t carry a tune even on par with that mediocrity as she ages. Further, I don’t call being thrown around the dance floor by a bunch of young men any kind of dancing.

Sure, Paula moved some steps but it was sad. The whole performance was sad. Paula tried to make moola from her AI exposure but…like I said…not so much.

There were only four contenders left on AI’s rock night. Let’s get it out of the way that Allison Ireheta was sent home on elimination night, leaving the top three all males. For sure a male will win this thing this year.



Adam Lambert performed first and come on, this song was what Adam had to be living for these past few months. He sang “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin and there was no better performance, ever, at least in this year’s American Idol performances.

Allison Ireheta too was in her element and how sad that the viewers finally booted her off on the night when she was in her depth and genre. Allison sang Janis Jaoplin’s “Cry Baby” and yes, she did Janis well. My problem is that this song has two words that stand out. So even though Allison sang them well, the rest of the tune was kind of boring. The judges all agreed that on some level, and even with the Janis Joplin Allison so emulates, the performance was a disappointment.

Kris Allen, beloved of the teenybopper crowd, heh. Well I don’t much like Kris Allen much and I sure don’t think he belongs in the top three. He sang a Beatles tune for a rock song and I thought this was dumb. “Come Together” is hardly anybody’s first idea of a rock song genre. The judges tended to agree. Simon said the performance was like “eating ice for lunch” a remark of much amusement and one that provokes pause for thought.

Kris though, ole Kris, those thirteen year old love-struck girls across the fruited plains call up his number and even with that very lackluster performance Kris remained while Allison, who I don’t think gets many votes at all from the puberty crowd, got tossed after a night of music that was so a part of who she is.

But am I bitter?

Danny Gokey did okay. He sang “Dream On” by Aerosmith. I’m not sure about his screaming thing. Simon said it was like watching a horror movie. Lord I wouldn’t be that tough on Danny but let’s face it, Danny’s no rock singer and that was evident.

Also featured were two duets. But of course we had Allison and Adam and what a joy was this. Kris and Danny performed a rock duet and, well, sad, man…real sad.

Below a remix of the duets for reader appreciation and judgement.




Adam Lambert
Alexis Grace-sent home 3/18/09
Allison Iraheta-sent home 5/6/09
Anoop Desai-sent home 4/22/09
Danny Gokey
Jasmine Murray-sent home 3/11/09
Jorge Nunez-sent home 3/11/09
Kris Allen
Lil Rounds-sent home 4/22/09
Matt Giraud-voted off 4/15/09-saved by judges-sent home 4/29/09
Megan Joy-sent home 4/1/09
Michael Sarver-sent home 3/28/09
Scott MacIntyre-sent home 4/8/09

Below a remix of all four of the performances, snippets, along with mine own fine commentary spliced within.


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Paul and Danny Left to Win the Hell’s Kitchen Cursing Contest





Once again I must complain about all the needless cursing that goes on and on in the Hell’s Kitchen reality series.

I understand that the cursing is part of the show’s “persona” as it were, but having so many curse words requires a constant bleeping that I find so annoying. If they want to continue the cursing lest we think that Gordon Ramsey has gone soft on us, why can’t they have like a whole minute somewhere in the show where he does nothing but curse? Bleep out this entire minute, get it over with, the viewer will understand that Gordon cusses and admire or despise him as is their wont. With the bleeping then complete, the viewer can settle in and watch the cooking go on.

We’re down to two finalists and they’re both quite good. Danny has a gorgeous head of hair and very pretty blue eyes. Two things, I understand, that do not necessarily make a good cook. But to win a contest on a TV show, I argue that it helps.

Danny’s lament is that during most of the challenges throughout the duration of the contest, he always seemed to come in second, missing the win by a hair.

Paula is the second finalist and in keeping with Danny’s lament, I think Paula’s going to win this thing.



Paula doesn’t have pretty blue eyes and a head full of thick, wavy hair, but she’s a pleasant enough looking young woman. She has a quiet, serious but sturdy nature about her. I think she’s just more mature than Danny is all and if I were Chef Ramsey I’d choose Paula in a minute over Danny.

The final show is scheduled for Thursday 5/14/09. On a note of serendipity, former contenders who had been eliminated will be working with the two finalists on their final challenge, which is operating part of Hell’s Kitchen which has been decorated per each finalist’s taste with a menu created by each finalist.

Some of these former contenders are NOT liked at all. It’s a scripted kind of thing but it should add interest to the finale.

Below, the humorous introduction of those former contenders back into the contest.



It’s All About Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice 2009



Of course Joan Rivers is one of the two finalists in this most scripted of reality shows ever to appear on a TV screen in the land. Annie Duke is the other finalist and goodness knows the scripts over the past few weeks have had Joan making enemies with Annie for absolutely nothing, even comparing her to Hitler once. Heh.

The most recent challenge, on Sunday 5/3/09, had the two remaining teams charged with creating a new jingle for “Chicken of the Sea” tuna fish.

Annie Duke and Brande Roderick on one team, with Clint Black, Joan Rivers and Jesse James on the other. Annie’s team won. Her partner, blond and pretty Brande was fired. Clint Black and Jesse James were fired from the other team. I don’t know why. Well I DO know why.

But the reality is that Joan had very little to do with the Chicken of the Sea task so why she remained when her other team-mates were fired kind of defies common sense.

Except that it’s in the script. Heh.



Joan Rivers is the most well known of all the contenders in this year’s Celebrity Apprentice, I’ll allow. But the viewing audience has had Joan’s fake face (when the news came out that some woman had a face transplant, I thought it might be Joan) shoved front and center for damn near every episode.

She gets a prime spot in every challenge. She’s the big blabbermouth in the board room. It’s All Joan, All Day, All Joan.

Of course in order to add drama and suspense, Joan needed an enemy. For a while it looked like it was going to be Clint Black. Except Clint Black is a harmless fellow who always wears an ethereal smile on his face.

Then the camera honed in on poor Annie Duke. Annie’s fame comes from being a poker player. Joan, naturally, asserts that poker players are the scum of the earth and at some point she declares that the very affable Duke is the female equivalent of Adolf Hitler.

SNORT.

Still and so, I shall watch the final episode on Sunday 5/11/09 with a curiousity.

It sure would be nice if Joan Rivers would LOSE this thing, just so I can believe there’s a little justice in this world of celebrities with not much going for them except their famousness.

Below a short montage of the two Chicken of the Sea jingles by each team.



Shy Ty Still Around, Lil Kim’s Booty Sent Packing



Let us begin this post’s festivities with a video of one of this year’s “Dancing With the Stars” alumni, Denise Richards. She is singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and folks, she might mean well. But Denise needs to stick to dancing. No wait, she’s not good at that. She needs to stick to marriage…no wait…

Heh.

Give it a listen. It’s been all the rage on Youtube this past week.



On 5/4/09, the dancers were required to perform TWO dances each. One was to be a ballroom dance and another a Latin dance.

At the Latin round, each dancer was to give a solo performance, each taking the floor without their professional partner and show the
audience their stuff, all alone and without the crutch of the professional partner.

The evening began with Shawn Johnson and Mark Balais performing the Quickstep. As watched this Olympic gold medal holder bounce around the floor, my thought was that she deserved at least a score of all 9’s from the judges. And that’s what Shawn got!!

Len groused that the rules for the Quickstep are that the two partners are only to be apart for a few seconds at the beginning and the end. Len felt that Mark and Shawn spent entirely too much time apart and this violated the rules.

I always enjoy learning about the dance rules although they are all available on ABC’s Dancing with the stars web site HERE. Judge Carrie Ann is a stickler for the rules and she will often point out when a performing dance couple is guilty of feet leaving the floor, something that cannot be done with some dances.

In any case, it certainly isn’t Shawn’s fault that the choreographer didn’t follow the rules but points are deducted for it, evidently. Those professional partners matter, folks. They may not save a totally inept dancer but in cases where the talent is close the professional can make a difference between win and lose.

Shawn is a genuine contender in this thing and while a score of 27 out of 30 is nothing to sneeze at, her closest competitors, Gilles and Melissa, outscored her. Who knows how close Shawn might have gotten were it not for this choreographical violation of the Quickstep rules?

Carrie Ann called Shawn’s Quickset her “best ever”.

For her Latin routine, Shawn danced a Paso Doble. I watched Shawn do this dance that would seem so at odds with her persona and I thought she looked so pretty. The judges were so impressed by Shawn’s Paso Doble that they awarded her 29 points out of 30.



It wasn’t Shy Ty who was sent home on elimination night on 5/5/09 although it certainly should have been him. The vote is based on viewer call-in’s however, combined with the judge’s scores. I think Shy Ty hangs in there because he is just one very likeable guy.

Lil Kim was sent home instead of Ty and Lil Kim did NOT deserve the boot had dancing talent been the sole criteria of the vote.

Ty and his partner Chelsea began with an Argentine Tango. I thought he showed good foot movement. As the performance progressed Ty seemed to become more fluid and he looked better. Still he looked like a cowboy trying to dance a ballroom dance. Heh.

Judge Len said that Ty captured the flavor and essence of the dance which, in Ty’s case, might squeak him through. Ty and Chelsea received 25 points for their performance.

Ty and Chelsea danced a Rumba for the Latin dance. All I could think of was Shy Ty trying to rotate those cowboy hips and…not so much. I thought I saw a lot of slipping and sliding out there. Ty got a paltry 21 points for the Rumba performance and I thought for sure he was a goner.

Lil Kim took the floor and proceeded to dance a waltz with her partner Derek. As I watched I thought that the waltz is not Lil Kim’s dance, indeed ballroom dancing was likely not her forte.

In fact, Bruno commented that Lil Kim tried to be a lady with her performance but she seems much more comfortable being a tramp. Well that’s a harsh sentiment but it pretty much captures the conundrum.

The judges didn’t overly praise Lil Kim for her waltz and I suspect it was that big booty and bouncy boobs of hers trying to look elegant and refined that caused the viewers to not call in her number. Kim and Derek received 25 points for their waltz.

Come the Latin round and Kim did a Salza. This dance was more in keeping with Lil Kim’s persona though Judge Len thought she looked out of control. I thought there was some great arm action going on. Lil Kim and Derek got 27 points for their Salsa performance.

Gilles Marini came up next and along with his partner Cheryl performed a Foxtrot. Gilles being Gilles, I thought he looked, as always, very sexy. Len complained that Gilles didn’t straighten his legs and deducted a point for this “blunder”. Thus Gilles and Cheryl received 29 points for their performance.

Gilles also danced a Rumba for the Latin round, with his partner Cheryl. My impression was that this alleged “dance” seemed like more of a “drama” than a dance performance. It was, as always, a sexy dance.

Judge Len said he didn’t like all that rolling around on the floor and again, this is more drama than dance as my first impression came about. Gilles and Cheryl got 27 points for this performance.

Melissa Rycroft was back in full force! It was the prior week that Melissa had to miss a show due to a fractured rib. Melissa and Tony danced a Viennesse waltz and while all the other dancers have their best types of dances and not so much, Rycroft is a dancer that performs well across all genres. There had been some concern that Melissa couldn’t adopt the seriousness required for the Latin dance.

Melissa and her partner received 27 points for their Viennese Waltz.

For the Latin round, Melissa and Tony performed a Samba. Now I suggest softly, that Melissa is not, eh, exactly big-chested. She’s not even big-hipped. So while Lil Kim has a whole lot to shake all about, Melissa has to work hard to make those little boobs and hips appear to be moving as required.

Melissa got a perfect score of 30 for this dance, this Latin dance, that was supposed to be her weak spot!



-Ty Murray-Jewel’s husband, rodeo star
-Holly Madison-on “Girls Next Door”-sent home 3.31.09
-Belinda Carlisle-lead singer Go-Go's-sent home-sent home 3/17/09
-David Alan Grier-Actor-sent home 4/7/09
-Shawn Johnson-17 years old...olympic gold medal winner
-Lil Kim-rapper, singer and actress-sent home 5/5/09
-Gilles Marini-Actor
-Steve-o-MTV Star-sent home 3/21/09
-Melissa Rycroft-Bachelor star
-Denise Richards-Actress-married to a Sheen-sent home-3/24/09
-Lawrence Taylor-NY Giants football Hall of Famer-sent home 4/14/09
-Chuck Wicks-singer and songwriter-sent home 4/28/09
-Steve Wozniak-Apple computer wiz-sent home 3/31/09

Below a remix of the various dances with my fine commentary spliced in.



 



Second Installment of Bounty's Saga...

First installment of Bounty’s Saga



It's almost bedtime.

I hate this time of the night. The jokes of the daylight hours are far away, the distractions of work and home life are quieting down, and I can't run away from it any longer.

At night, the truth comes at me from every angle.

In the light of day, I can choose not to see. I can ignore the crusted-over sections of Bounty's nose. In the light of day, I can joke about it. I can poke fun at the ever-increasing amount of loose dog hair that coats my clothes, the couch, the floor. In the light of day, I can remove myself from the pain. I can pretend the flaky, itchy, sometimes scabbed places on Bounty's skin don't exist.

But at night, I can hide no more.

We had our second visit to the doggy oncologist on Monday. Bounty's internal organs are fine, as far as any non-invasive tests can tell us. But his skin is totally affected. His nose still looks pretty bad, but he's starting to get large patches of flaky skin, like a bad ad
for dandruff shampoo, all over. The center of these patches is often full of very small scabs, like what I get when I scratch too hard around a mosquito bite. Bounty's hair is being shed at a phenomenal rate, but you can't really tell, he has so much of it. And sometimes, a small section leaves from somewhere noticeable, like the bridge of
his nose, his forehead, or near his eyes.

So far, except for the nose and the flakes of skin, he acts and looks like a dog that's just having a really bad shedding season. But the truth is his skin will kill him. It's just a question of how long it'll take.

The vet offered two plans. The first, Lomustine, is the easier, cheaper, and less effective treatment. About 60% of dogs that don't react badly to it reach good or full remission. It's in pill form, I can give it (carefully), and we have less visits to the oncologist. End cost, about $800.

The second plan is more expensive and more effective but requires a combination of drugs given once per week over a ten-week period. About 65% of dogs reach good or full remission on this treatment plan, but it would require a visit of an hour to three hours every week to the oncologist. End cost, about $3,000, not including fuel or time. The
oncologist is over an hour away.

If Bounty's internal organs had been involved, the vet would have strongly recommended - if we could afford it - the second plan. Since they aren't, he said either would be okay. So I opted for the first one, after asking if changing to the second one was an option if
Bounty couldn't handle the medication or didn't get better.

I was given two capsules to take home for Bounty. They were in a huge pill bottle, in a Ziploc, and came with a couple of pairs of surgical gloves. I am not to touch the insides of these capsules. I think if one breaks, I'm supposed to call a bomb squad.

I gave Bounty the first capsule last night, wearing my blue surgical gloves and trying to get him to swallow the thing without chomping on it. Success! The first one went down with no emergency alarms.

Now we watch. We watch for signs of distress. We watch for weight loss or gain. We watch for excessive (how much is excessive?) vomiting. We watch for acute pain or dizziness or anything out of the ordinary.

And of course, the dog hasn't been ordinary. Well, what do you expect? I dosed him with a radioactive pill wrapped in Kentucky Fried Chicken fat and his skin is killing him. Do you think he's going to feel good?

He's lethargic. He itches. He doesn't want to get up or go out or move. But hey! He still wants to eat, so I guess he's okay. Relatively.

Next week, we go get blood work done, so we can watch his red and white blood cell counts as well as his liver enzymes. In two weeks, we might know if he's reacting to the treatment, either in a good way or a bad way.

In a month or two, we might know if it's really working.

And at any time along the way, we might find he's not dealing well with the Lomustine and have to reevaluate. If it comes to that choice, Harry and I will have to discuss it. Three thousand dollars is a lot of money, and we're already in about $1,500, with some more yet to go on treatment plan number one.

How can I put a monetary figure on the love of a dog? What economic value can I place on a happy, furry face greeting me at the door every day when I come home? How much is too much?

I feel like a horrible person, weighing possible life span and quality of life and gasoline for trips to the vet and time spent on care and a wagging tail and what can I stand to look at and my brave protector and dollar signs. Almost every time, it comes down to this: What can I live with having done or not done, when Bounty lives no longer?

Every night, as darkness descends and bedtime draws near, the thoughts come again. What if we do this? Or that? What if it comes to this choice? Or that one?

Every night, the jokes and the self-imposed blindness melt away, and an itchy, uncomprehending love-filled dog follows me to the bedroom.

Every night, the truth comes to visit and stays til dawn.

And once again, it's almost bedtime.

Michelle
winebird@winebird.com
The Desk Drawer, writer's exercise email list
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