A Snarky 2011 "Dancing With the Stars" Wrap Up

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So the season of Dancing With the Stars 2011 is over and my kudos to all involved for a great show, fabulous performances, good talent and some comedy.

The winner was no surprise at all to me or most anybody in America, I suppose.

For J.R. Martinez is not only a great dancer, he's also a veteran and a war hero. He wears the scars of his encounter with an IED with no shame. He's personable, he's attractive, he's intelligent and creative. What's not to like?

It was a mixed bag with many of the other contenders, especially the second place loser-burger from that attention-grabbing family from hell. For you can never, DO NOT FORGET, have too much Kardashian in your life.

The contenders went home in the following order:

Artest, Ron

Canalis, Elisabetta

Cavallari, Kristiin

Phillips, Chynna

Kressley, Carson

Bono, Chaz

Arquette, David

Grace,Nancy

Solo,Hope

Lake, Ricki

Kardasian, Rob

Martinez,J.R.

Some strange things about the above. As it always seems to go on this series, some really good dancers are sent home early for no other reason that I can ascertain except that the American voters want to keep the lesser-talented in the action a bit longer.

Chynna Phillips should have finished in the top five at the very least.. She scored at least a 21 on her first four dances, was at the top of the leaderboard the first week and scored a 26 on her fourth dance. Yet she was sent home on 10/10/11.

Elisabetta Canalis began the competition rather poorly with a cha-cha that only scored her 15 points. The next week she came back with a Quickstep that scored her a 21, an increase of six points. The for no apparent reason she was voted off.

Kristin Cavallari scored a 19, 22 and 24 on her first three dances and was then, oddly, voted off.

Meanwhile, lover boy Robbie K wallowed in mediocrity at best, never scoring a perfect score save for the very judge-subjective last performance night during the freestyle and flash dance rounds.

Freakazoid Chaz Bono scored 17,17,18,21 and 19 on HER first five rounds. I do not care how many artificial organs this woman has had added to her body, she is NOT a male and now she has a reality show flaunting her weirdness, couldn't have her go home sooner, could we?

Carson Kressley did at least as well as Rob Kardashian, even though the lad was reeling from the divorce of his older sister, the inhumanity of it. At least Carson had a personality of sorts while Rob played the part of the lunk. No wait! You say he wasn't acting? Well one can never have enough Kardashian in their life, do not forget this.

I think Ricki Lake got cheated out of second place. I think Rob, even allowing his heartbreak over the breakup of his sister's marriage, was artificially boosted by judges who gave him high scores on two dance performances that didn't have any specific rules, making the meddling with the voter outcome all the easier.

Remembering that DWS combines the judges' scores with the public votes, to better promote stars of ABC and ABC own shows of course.

I have no problem with what I consider a kind of cheating on this show. ABC pays to put the show on and ABC has a right to try and steer the results to an end that would please the public and pique their interest in new show offerings.

It's just that I want to point it out is all.

Fox's MOBBED Brings a Good Concept to Flash Mobs

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It was only a fluke, a very, very weird fluke, that I chanced to tune into this rather unusual show.


In general I am seduced via email publicity copies to review a show or interview a would-be celebrity and if the plea entices I will schedule a view and maybe a review.

But as follow-up on some show I was notified via moving banner at the bottom of the screen to stay up and watch the brand new and great "MOBBED". A scene showing lots of people dancing and waving arms was offered as tease and I was curious.

According to Fox, where this show is aired but not regularly until after the first of the year if I am to understand, for reasons that satisfied the screening panel, a deserving participant will be appropriately "mobbed".. The show is hosted by Howie

Mandel of America's Got Talent judgeship.

Now about this mobbing phenomena. As I understand it, the concept of mobbing has two possible meanings, one good and one bad. Unruly mobs up to no good can be formed instantly based on a quick means of communication that might involve cell phones or the Internet. The recent car burnings in France and England were supposed to be flash mobs formed quickly to go out and do bad. Even more dangerous, given a grievance, flash mobs can be formed quickly to protest a perceived wrong and, in general, mobbing like this can't possibly be a plus for society.

I have also seen, as have millions of others, that flash mob formed by a choral group where the chorus singers pose as regular mall customers frequenting a food court when they suddenly break out in glorious song, in the case of the You-Tube viral video, "Handal's Messiah".

The really genuine food court shoppers are shocked as they learn that the fellow at the salad bar behind them is a tenor while the lady at the cash register is a lusty soprano. In due course the genuine choral singers are shown all about, up in the alcove, over by the shoe store, holding a mop, as they belt out the tune to the delight and joy of the surprised and impromptu audience.

This show, is, of course, the good kind of mobbed although I still think it's very, very odd.

In the show I watched the person who evidently applied for a mob was a man who'd done some wrong and wanted to make amends to his daughter and his wife. It was never clear what the fellow did or perhaps I missed it what with all the prep for the mob reveal.

The scheme requires that the person, or personS, being mobbed, be somehow tricked into showing up at the "mob scene" by a believable lie. The show I saw had the daughter showing up for some kind of father-daughter type of event. At one point her father phones her and tells her he can't attend. Of course the father is going to attend, he's not only going to attend, he's bringing a mob with him!

The girl's mother was also surprised in that she'd been told that this whole thing was being set up only for the daughter but it included her mother….ie the guy begging for forgiveness via mob.

The show is seeking applicants and if you're ready to bury the hatchet or ask forgiveness or have some other big surprise that warrants a mob, go to the web site and check it out.

As for the actual mob scene, well it's a mob scene. It's enjoyable enough I suppose though I'm not sure how many I'd want to see before it all got too boring. The viewer is treated to various scenes of the massive preparation required for such a result. And there's always some impending cataclysmic event which might have the whole thing falling through. The threat of massive failure is supposed to hold the viewer's interest but this viewer simply does not believe that an event requiring so many participants and so much planning, not to mention the televised air time, will NOT happen.

Be on the lookout early next year for this new and intriguing reality show. Better yet, go on and apply and mob someone that you love. They'll either love you forever or will never speak to you again.

"Happy Feet 2"-Great Music, Great Animation, Murky Moral

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I've read several reviews of the movie Happy Feet 2 and I know right now that my review might be handicapped by not having seen the first movie.


I'd heard many good things about the first movie, however, and I was quite okay with joining my granddaughter for an afternoon at the movies. The Muppet movie being sold out helped in that granddaughter, given a choice, wanted, like every other 7-year-old type kid in America, to see the Muppets.

So we chose Happy Feet 2 and I was pleased. I'd heard good things about the first version of this movie.

The movie features some famous voices, including Robin Williams as Ramon, Pink as Mumble's wife Gloria, Elijah Wood as Mumble and Brad Pitt as Will the Krill.


This movie has great animation and song. Let's establish this right now. They might not be songs I'd be prone to choose on the radio but with the penguin choreography added and the 3-d effect, it was great music appropriate to the story line.

Now about that story line. I am so sorry but I have no idea just what was the point of this movie. It obviously was making some reference to the myth of global warming. NO WAIT! Global warming might, indeed, be occurring but it's not because of humankind. There've been ice ages before and thaws. Mankind does not have the power to control the weather on this planet else we'd never have rain during parades or hurricanes would be forever banished.


I get leery when a movie aiming towards a young audience like my granddaughter starts alluding to things that might not be true or reflect a viewpoint that is wrong or, at worst, does not reflect ALL sides of the matter. Human beings do make a showing in this movie but their part is small and they are not helpful.

Thus Mumble, his son Erik, and a bevy of sea elephants must help create an avalanche that will allow the penguin colony then stuck on a glacier that broke apart, allowing no escape or access to food.
The creatures of the planet are very creative in dealing with all the problems thrown at them. This part of the story line is done quite well and a young child could learn a few lessons in fortitude and creativity.

I'm not at all sure what is the story of the krill, two fellows wondering the seas after abandoning their school of millions for a chance to save the world. When the krill performed their under-the-ice dance is was quite beautiful . I've read various accounts that suggest that Bill and Will the krill are allusions to the loneliness of homosexuality. That analysis seems a little far-fetched but whatever the case, 7 year old granddaughter did not make that connection, I'm sure.

Childrens' movies do not need ponderous morals. They sure don't need to be filled with controversial issues or even an ideal ology, not even my own, frankly.

They need to be upbeat, maybe touch upon a moral of goodness and hard work, something generally considered upbeat and positive.

The characters in this animated feature are truly amazing. If nothing else the flying penguin is sure to amaze.

I recommend this movie heartily.

The IMDB link for this site gives more reviews.

“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand-A Story That Clutches Your Heart and Guts During the Read

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It is with trepidation that I approach the keyboard to write this book review because right after I slammed the book shut and responded to husband’s query as to how was the book, my knees buckled and I was bodily filled with such over-whelming emotion that my entire world began to spin and my mind was a blur. I don’t remember ever being so inundated by such an emotional flood and it was both painful and beautiful. I found myself sobbing out my assertion that this was ….such…..a…..good….book.

In fact, there were many parts of this book that I could not read in great detail, at times poring quickly over a page than moving on. This is certainly not because the story or the writing were somehow inferior. Indeed the story was a riveting one, the writing perfect, not fussy, straightforward; detail-laden without being ponderous.

For this story of Louis Zemperini was a tale that grabs the reader by both the heart and the guts and keeps a clenched fist on both throughout the read.






It cannot be emphasized enough that this is a TRUE story, as difficult as it all may be to believe. The best story writers of Hollywood could not create a story of survival that includes months lost as sea, years spent in the horror of a brutal POW camp, a triumphant return home to a downfall of a life almost lost, to a final redemption and salvation, a tale that plumbs the depths of despair to the mighty climb to a holy victory.

Louis Zemperini began life as a rapscallion of the highest order. He was from a rowdy by loving Italian family and he spent his youth involved in all sorts of mischief that at some point led him to a career as an Olympic track star. The book details Zemperini’s rise to a track star on to his enlistment in the Air Force and then the story gets difficult.

For what Zemperini went through both as a survivor at sea of a plane wreck on to life as a Japanese prisoner of war is not reading for the meek. Many times I had to shut the cover and walk away just to re-gain my composure and settle my stomach. A lot of the story isn’t pretty.

And yet this was one of those few books in my vast reading experience that had me waking up in the morning with a smile as the thought that there was still much to read left raced through my sleepy mind. It was the sort of novel that had me peering at the thickness of the unread pages still left to read, happy when the pile was thick, plotting how to extend the reading time as the pile grew smaller.

When I finally closed the book with a satisfied emotional slam, the entirety of the story finally filled my being and that’s when my knees buckled from the weight of it.

What an absolutely amazing, incredible, soul-shattering, blessed story that will stay with me forever. How lucky I am that Laura Hillenbrand took the time to research this hero’s story and tell the world about it.

Read it. Take a deep breath and prepare for a roller coaster of a story but whatever you do, do not leave this life without reading this book.

Lifetime’s Project Accessory-Yeah, It’s An Attempt to Cash In On the Other Runway Product but It Does Have an Intrigue

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It was on or around the last episode of Project Runway that the announcer urged us to tune in to Project Accessory, premiering when and at what time. The announcement achieved its goal for mine ears, ready to be fitted with fetching pierced earrings of the latest style, did perk up.


Well hell I was game. Since the new design show was so obviously a knock-off of the Project Runway series I figured there would be snarling contenders, the talent, the talentless and the mediocre . I envisioned very skinny models strutting down a runway, a fashion forward necklace enroping her neck, large bracelets blinding with their shine, and, of course, the obligatory knock-out belt.

Which is pretty much how Project Accessory works, in fact, and it’s the fluff of TV, the sort of stuff we save on our DVR’s to watch as we are busy with duties that do not allow studied concentration of the TV. We must, of course, pay serious attention to Project Runway but for Project Accessory we only need one eyeball and one ear to catch the gist. The final ten minutes we might want to sit and watch the end results on the runway, guess the winners and losers, and hang around until a contender is sent home.

The show is hosted by Molly Sims, described as an actress and model, a Heidi Klum wannabe I must assume. The judges include designer Kenneth Cole and InStyle editor Ariel Foxman. There are guest judges as these shows go, with Kelly Osbourne, a born again fashion expert after her stint on Dancing With the Stars, on the week of my close review.

The winners of this series receive $100,000 from eBay Fashion, a spread in InStyle magazine and various other goodies from sponsors and such.

The series airs Thursday nights, Lifetime, 10p/9c.




The contenders are a bit odder, if that’s possible, than the Project Runway entrants, in that one who works with tools to include hammers, screwdrivers and awls to produce a fashion item must be a bit, eh, tougher than he or she who gently sews the finished product.

The night I watched this show- which I do watch every week but for doing this review I actually sat and watched the whole thing- the challenge was to accessorize a model dressed only in a body suit.

Frankly a body suit, yes a clothing item that fits the model tight to the body, long legs, long sleeve arms…would seem a good backdrop to showcase a bevy of handsome accessories.

There are, however, very few women who would ever wear a slip of a bodysuit for the body sins it reveals, even if covered head to toe with Schwarsky crystals and hammered brass necklaces.

Still and so it was a good challenge and here is the loser of this challenge. As soon as I saw this awful concoction I thought that no way would the gods of fashion allow the designer of this mess to continue on.

The model looks like she is some kind of Russian cassock with that absurd hat, the furry leggings, and the bizarre tricolor shoes. I don’t think the designers actually create the hats and shoes but they do choose them to match their jewelry, belts and handbags that they do design. I’ve no idea what the contender was thinking when he or she put this flop together.

Here is the winner of this challenge and it looks okay. The judges loved loved, loved the belt and the pretty dropped earrings. The hat worn by the model was appropriate and the cuff bracelet finished off the look




Below are a couple of jewelry pieces submitted with other entries to this challenge. The triangular neckpiece was both scorned and adored by the judges. Kelly Osborne thought it was a real fine piece while Kenneth Cole thought it just short of hideous.

The bracelet is, well it is what it is. I’d sure never wear such a thing but hey, if you’re a diva and doing the town, it certainly is the sort of accessory that would seem so perfect.

If you like Project Runway you will for sure like Project Accessory. DVR it and enjoy as the sort of fashion designer competitive reality show it is meant to be.

Top Chef Texas-A Closer Look at the Contenders as They Prepare Rattlesnake

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So in my first article about this Bravo annual foodie reality show I put tongue in cheek and exalted the manner in which this show took your oddball ingredients and treated them as if the grandest cuisine. A recent episode had some of the contenders cooking rabbit and the would-be Top Chefs didn’t blink an eye as they praised rabbit as a staple of the freezer and a most ordinary foodstuff to prepare. I speculated that were I to prepare a meal featuring a main meat of Peter CottonTail that my family would first check my forehead that I am not feverish than rush from the home to a nearby pizzeria.

In the TC episode airing 11/16/11 darn if the very first quickfire challenge of the season have the contenders preparing an entrée using the beloved rattlesnake as the main meat. Well the show IS airing in Texas and a meal of rattlesnake is probably not too far-fetched. The very notion of eating a rattlesnake is abhorrent to me, no matter how much of a rube that makes me.

As this series begins to move beyond its introductory episode of a huge amount of contenders, as this influx begins to be weaned down to a more manageable number, as some wannabe contenders go through a “bubble” then some on to the “final” 18 and some ending before even beginning, finally the game begins.

This episode had TC’s famous “quickfire” challenge and this was the rattlesnake meal. A local San Antonio chef was the judge for the rattlesnake test, Johnny Hernandez, a prize of $5,000 was offered and, as always, immunity from elimination for that week.

Contender Paul Qui, who is a Texas chef, embarrassed himself with a dish of bbq rattlesnake deemed really bad by the quickfire judge. Richie Farina prepared a jerk seasoned rattlesnake dish that the judge pronounced too overwhelmed by a citrus addition. Nyesha Arrington prepared rattlesnake with tequila determined to be too “one-dimensional” by the chef judge.

Beverly Kim offered a Korean prepared rattlesnake and way I figure, if you’ve got to eat rattlesnake, having it accompanied by spicy Korean sauce might be the way too go. The judge like it too. Sarah Gruenberg offered a flash fried rattlesnake and the judge enjoyed the lemon zest addition, proving, we much suppose, that Hernandez is not prejudiced against a citrus tang. The winner of this first challenge was contender Dakota Weiss, for her rattlesnake tempura. She used a beer batter for the tempura and the judge gave it the winning nod.

For the elimination challenge, the contenders were divided into a pink and a green team. Each team was charged with preparing a menu to offer at a Mexican “sweet 16” type of event, including a fancy cake. The Green team’s>

menu included a shrimp, pork, chicken and goat offering, a Korean type entrée featuring kimchee, some empanadas and a tomatillo gazpacho. Their cake offering was a vanilla tres leche cake with fresh fruit.






The opposing Pink team had some drama in that contender Keith Rhodes purchased pre-cooked shrimp for a planned entrée. Goodness the ruckous made over this action you’d thought Keith had murdered someone. I understand that it is a stain on one’s chef credentials to buy ingredients pre-made but seriously, how much of a difference can a pre-cooked shrimp made once added to a recipe than one with the shrimp cooked by the chef?

However, Keith committed the sin of preparing some sort of enchilada that

was dismissed as being a burrito for the gumminess of the enchilada. In fact Keith got sent home for his pre-cooked shrimp crime as well as his enchilada-come-burrito.

The other bottom four contenders were also from the Pink Team: Lindsay Autry for her crappy tortillas, Ty-Lor Boring for a very dry fritter offering, and Sarah Gruenberg, who grew up in Texas, was partners with Lindsay with that tortilla disaster.

It is rather early to go predicting winners but it is possible to take get a glimmer of those to watch for. On the Bravo web site, Top Chef fans have chosen Chris Crary as the fan fave as of this writing, with Lindsay coming in second and Dakota coming in third. Dakota did win the rattlesnake challenge, Chris C’s offering of some sort of corn dish was deemed best by the judges in the elimination challenge. I don’t see any reason for the Lindsay choice except maybe she’s the prettiest.

Six of the contenders are from New York, an interesting statistic. 3 are from California, 2 are from Texas, 2 are from Georgia. The youngest contender is Chuy Valencia, a fresh 25 years of age. The oldest is Heather Terhune, tuning in at age 40.

For now I go along with the Bravo site’s fan fave of Chris Crary, from Los Angeles, a chef de cuisine, age 30. Even being a member of a losing team and via a simple corn salsa, Chris C impressed the judges. Beverly Kim, hailing

from Chicago, age 32, seems to consistently impress the judges so keep eye out for her.

We’ll be reporting back regularly on this popular series and so far it looks to be a real entertainer.

Bravo's Work of Art/The Next Great Artist-Not Your Paint-By-Numbers

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He’s 42 years old, he goes by the name of Sucklord, and he’s no longer a contender on Bravo’s Work of Art/The Next Great Artist.


I don’t suppose that this Bravo reality show competition will be viewed by swarms but by me it’s quirky enough to have me look in. Not that I am any artist though I do quite like to do paint-by-numbers. As for standing in a studied concentration before a painting/sculpture that to me makes no sense , chin in hand, brows furrowed…let’s just say this shall never be me. It does often give me smiles as the contenders on this series present their creations as required by the episode’s challenge. Silly me, I choose my favorite, which almost never wins the challenge. I also enjoy hearing the interpretations as done for us by the show’s judges. With this I often laugh right out loud for I seldom discern the “true” meaning of the art.

The show, which airs on Bravo, Wednesday nights, 9p/8c, has a fairly predictable format. There’s the judges, the show’s host, the kind mentor who looks in on the contenders as they create, offering advice and encouragement. Every week a challenge is made and every week a contender is sent home. The competition started out with 14 contenders, as of this writing is now down to seven, and offers a prize of $14,000 plus a solo show for the winner at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.




This past week the challenge had the 8 contenders left at the time forming pairs and charged with creating “street art” on four big bare walls provided to them. Yes this sort of thing used to be called graffiti but in this era of political correctness we now call it art.

The losing entry, above, was created by the team of Sucklord and Sarah. It might not be obvious in the picture by the maze is 3-dimensional, Sucklord and Sarah having cut out the pieces and somehow affixed them to the brick wall. There were rats painted around the maze. The judges thought that it was too boring, too conventional. Evidently this Sucklord contender hasn’t been in good favor with the judges before as they scolded how he’d been warned for his less than stellar creations in prior episodes. The proverbial straw was this presentation that didn’t wow a single judge.

The above presentation was also in the bottom two. It was created by contenders Lola and Michelle. I frankly thought it hideous and am glad the judges saw it my way. It’s supposed to be what one might see if passing by the building and chancing to look inside as a party goes on. The two artists painted the big smoking hands, pictures of male genitalia, supposed to hint at the underlying sexual tension they suppose goes on, rather vapid scripting to explain what goes on to the viewer. The judges said is was “bland”, “silly, canned surrealism”. I thought it very ugly.

The above was one of the top two entries of the challenge. It was created by contenders Kymia and Sara. The art depicts people being uprooted by an alien. The contenders said it captures the mood that Kymia felt when her parents moved to America from Puerto Rico to escape a dread future. The judges said the work looks better when regarded from far rather than up close. I thought so too and by me this entry should have won for that challenge.

The entry that DID win the episode’s challenge is above. It was presented by contenders Young Sun and Dusty. Young Sun had recently lost his father while Dusty recently became a father and the art represents, get ready for this original concept…THE CIRCLE OF LIFE!

Not that there’s anything wrong with this.

But if you’re going to condemn unoriginal and hackneyed, it don’t get much more like that than a circle of life offering. I don’t think it was very artistic or offered any original thought. Maybe a lecture on avoiding fathering unwanted children would have added to the dimension of an artistic offering so meant to be on display for passersby on the street.

Although I do think this offering was way better than the bottom two, I thought the artistic rendering of being torn by the roots to be much more, well, artistic, and original.

Still and so I do like to watch this series when I’m busy in the kitchen as, like most competitive reality shows of this sort, it’s really the ending, when the judges regard the completed entries and make their choice, that required viewer’s complete attention.

Top Chef Texas-Making Rabbit the Food of the Gods

I’m not at all sure what the significance of being Top Chef “Texas” is, except I must suppose that the contenders are chefs from in and around Texas. Because, come on, in the first two episodes we had one main ingredient of rabbit and one dish featuring octopus. Nowhere was there a rack of ribs or anything charbroiled for that matter, the sort of foodstuffs one might expect in the great state of Texas.

In fact, the rabbit cooking challenge had me smiling because those contenders just shrugged and regaled us with tales of the many meals of exquisite rabbit of their childhoods. I like to consider myself a cook of sorts, very much an amateur to be sure, but I can make a soup stock with a full body if of a mind. But if someone told me I had to prepare a meal with rabbit, first I would get very queasy at the notion, and next I would thoroughly panic. Not that anybody in my surround from husband to daughter to granddaughter would even consider eating a rabbit but there you have it.

Even with my light-hearted mockery, I genuinely do enjoy Bravo’s Top Chef series. Though, I chide with a smile, it’s definitely no Next Food Network Star. The Food Network’s competitive cooking series The Next Food Network Star features amateur chef contenders. Thus their food offerings are of the more ordinary and , in fact, I'm not sure I’ve ever seen any Food Network Chef prepare rabbit. Top Chef….whatever the city…. Only has specifically professional type Chefs and it’s an angle I appreciate.

They do come up with the darndest food concoctions, however. These chefs make fricassees, cassoulets, all kinds of polentas, warm salads, confits and saddles. Heaven knows a simple casserole would not do.

The judging panel consists of Padma Lakshmi, Emeril Lagasse ,Tom Collcchio ,Hugh Acheson, and Gail Simmons. Gail is the required on-site judge from the enterprise picking up a large portion of the bill for the series. Gail works for Food & Wine magazine and, of course, represents on a major scale, their investment in the series. Padma is the sexy babe who introduces challenges in a deep sexy voice while posing with hand on curvy hip next to the week’s guest judge. Tom is the gentle mentor type of fellow who encourages the cooks as they labor for the challenge, or slaps them if needed. Hugh is a genuine chef, a Top Chef Masters winner, who signed up this year as a judge. Finally, in a complete surprise, Emeril Lagasse, of BAM fame, formerly of The Food Network, currently star of a daily cooking series on the Hallmark channel.

The prize for Top Chef is a cash prize of $125,000, a feature event in the annual Aspen Colorado cooking event and a feature in Food and Wine magazine.

This year’s series began with an impossible total of 29 contenders. The first two shows had these 29 contenders vying to land into the top 16 contenders. We must assume that, as of this writing and after the top 16 have been determined, the series will get serious. Right in time, as I smile, for the busy cooking season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We had would-be contenders landing in a “bubble” if their first cooking offering was deemed insufficient by the judges. One contender, a young man in his early 20’s, was busy bragging on camera about his skill and destiny to win this series. You get a contender like this, groomed and scripted to keep the viewer’s human interest, you’ll either see this contender going on to be scripted into bigger and better thing, or, as was the case with this man of great confidence, they get booted right from the start.

The final sixteen have now been determined and we will be following this series as it unfolds, as the strange recipes are prepared, as the contenders’ personalities and talents emerge.

Bon appetit!

Top Chef Texas airs on Bravo, Weds, 10p. EST.

Dancing With the Stars 2011: For Hope, too little too late;For Ricki, almost…;For Rob...ah, not so much…For J.R.-Has it all.

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As of this writing it’s down to the top four in this season’s Dancing With the Stars. They call this the “Semi-finals” . I’m not sure why.

 

Nancy Grace, ah, she didn’t make it. But goodness and praise alleluia, how on earth did she even make it this far? Nancy’s better than Chynna Phillips? Even Carson Kressley danced better than the ever-pouting Grace!

 

First, let’s get this out of the way. The Peoples’ Choice awards is accepting nominations. If interested in nominating Dancing With the Stars, bearing in mind that this IS the PEOPLES’ choice and that DWS is one of the more watched of all the competitive reality shows, to give it a vote, go here.

 

Below, two score grids maintained after every episode, sorted from the lowest to highest, the scores for the performance evening and the total score to date for each contender.

Now about these final four. God bless Rob Kardashian as the boy dances on even through the heartbreak of his sister’s recent marital breakup. He’s not so good; then again, he’s not so bad. If Rob were to win an award it would be for the most steadily improved. Even Carrie Ann said Rob represented what

the show was all about and I almost sobbed. Rob and his partner Cheryl did a quickstep, they scored a score of 27 and a 24 for something DWS calls the instant dance.

 

The instant dance was the jive for this performance evening. The concept behind the instant dance is that there is an extremely limited time for the dance couple to prepare for their performance, proving, I must suppose, that without endless hours of practice and painstaking choreography, does the contender really have what it takes?

 

Nancy Grace, who was eliminated the following night by audience fiat, danced the Tango with her partner. She got a 24 for her Tango and a 20 for her dance of the instant Jive. While I had issues with Nancy and her sparkling witty personality, I thought Len’s rude comment about Cinderella packing up for time to go home to be humiliatingly mean. Like, okay, I got his point, but is denigrating a contender in front of millions really the way to go?

 

Hope Solo, dear Lord all season long this poor volleyball player got beat up for not being sexy enough. As I see it she’s a darn good dancer and I frankly am not convinced that being sexy should be some major criteria of dance ability. By me Hope often danced as well, if not better, than Ricki Lake. Hope isn’t quite as well liked and personable as Ricki and God knows

she’s not sexy enough. Let it not be duly noted that Hope has a partner who is probably the least liked of the professional dancers. I have no stats on that, just a hunch. Maks’ assertion recently that DWS was HIS show was a clue. I take exception with the man’s insistence on dancing shirtless though I shouted with joy that the man couldn’t conjure up a shirtless look appropriate with his dance assignment of the Quickstep.

While Hope and Ricki receive close scores of late, on an overall basis, no way does Ricki Lake out dance Hope at a distance of 257 to 234.

 

Ricki Lake has been one great dancer to watch this season, both in terms of her great costume looks, her steady and very noticeable improvement and goodness but she’s lost some weight hasn’t she? For a while it seemed that Ricki would improve at such a rate that she’d soon pass J.R. and maybe wrest the trophy ball away from him. But it’s like Ricki went so far and….stopped.

Yes, it is what it is and while the contenders in this show improve over the course of time as would be expected, the natural talent is only there to a point. Hope Solo still has lots of dancing improvement left in her. Ricki Lake has reached her peak.

 

Now what could anyone say about J.R. Martinez? This fellow is the best contender, EVER, on Dancing With the Stars, don’t doubt me. First, he’s a natural on the dance floor, that was obvious from the very beginning. Next,

he’s a veteran of the armed services. Finally, he’s a hero, he’s scarred from his service to our country, HE’S why Dancing With the Stars was invented, contrary to what Carrie Ann said.







Order of finish, no great trickery of prediction:

 

• 4-Rob Kardashian
•  
• 3-Hope Solo
•  
• 2-Ricki Lake
•  
• 1-J.R. Martinez

 

May J.R. go on to bigger, brighter and greater things, God Bless Him forever. 

Finally, a video compilation of the most recent dance performances.

 

Dancing With the Stars performance show airs on ABC, Monday nights-8p/7c, with the elimination show the following night, 9p/8c.