Matthew McConaughey and his Rooster June 24, 2008

Matthew has acted in many memorable roles –Dazed and Confused, A Time to Kill and he stole our hearts in The Wedding Planner and How to lose a Guy in 10 Days.  He hails from the University of Texas at Austin [like myself] and originally wanted to be a lawyer but caught the bug for acting and changed his major.  He comes from humble beginnings with a father who owned a gas station and ran a oil pipe supply business.  His mother was a substitute school teacher.  It’s a fairy tale really and he obviously followed his passion for the dramatic.

This is all pretty standard stuff.  What you might not know about him is that he has an older brother lovingly called “Rooster”.  [His real name is Michael] He has just signed up to do a reality show titled Black Gold.  They will be highlighting the oil industry’s dangerous jobs in their search for good ol’ Texas Tea.  Rooster also has taken a liking to beer over the years and named his son [who is now a toddler] Miller Lyte.  Now that’s classy!

So you think you can dance –Top 20/Top 18 Perform June 21, 2008

The past couple of weeks have been fun-filled.  It has been exciting to see all the dancers compete live in front of an audience.  We have lost 4 dancers from our top 20 so far. They are Rayven, Jamie, Marquis and Susie.  Rayven got booted because she didn’t go on point in her “dance for your life”.  Jamie had personality galore and at the end of the day technique won out–so Jamie was eliminated.  Week two, when the top 18 performed, was not a big shock for me.  Susie from the get-go seemed out of her league.  At one point during her intro piece the choreographer said she was a street dancer. This brought tears to her eyes and I think it defeated her before she even competed.  Her performance seemed forced and wasn’t HOT enough for the judges and she was eliminated.  Marquis was her partner in the salsa and this dance left the judges with nothing but critical remarks.  No surprise that they were both eliminated.

My favs so far are Joshua, Will, Twitch, Katee, Kherington and Chelsea Traille.  I am predicting they will be the top 6 dancers!

So You Think You Can Dance – Top 20 Week June 6, 2008

I absolutely love watching So You Think You Can Dance ! It’s unbelievable to watch how these people move and their talent far exceeds mine in the dancing arena.  I used to think it would be fun to be a back up dancer for a major star and go on tour.  Well, my life took a different turn and I never toured with Madonna or Mariah but I did enjoy a short career in the Personal Training field.  That being said these dancers are fun to watch and inspire me to possibly take a hip hop dance class some day.  Last night the Top 20 dancers were chosen [10 girls and 10 boys].  It was a very dramatic episode, filled with emotion from boys and girls alike.  The most shocking part of the night was when Robert the incredible POPPER left the show by choice.  He didn’t think he could cut it in the other genres of dancing. [I had a little tear trickle down my cheek].  No surprise to me the Strip Club DJ didn’t make it.  He was very odd to me from the get-go and I don’t think he would have been well received once the show got to live performance.  He was very one dimensional and should stick to the type of dancing that he knows.  Another girl came back from 2 seasons ago…I’m blanking on her name…so we will call her Barbie.  So Barbie injured herself 2 seasons ago and was unable to continue in the competition.  Then last season she was pregnant so she couldn’t try out for the show.  She came back [skinnier than ever] and didn’t make it.  She had lost her polished dance moves.  Up next…Erica.  This was her 3rd trip back to Vegas and she was cut yet again [take a hint-sister].  She felt really bad because she had spent so much money on dancing [admittedly it was her parents money] and she didn’t want to go back home and disappoint.  I actually felt sorry for her, but maybe it’s time to move on.  Twin brothers tried out and only one made it to Vegas—he was cut but promised to come back the following year with his brother and try, yet again.  The stand out of the evening had to be the girl you had the BIGGEST potty mouth ever and was convinced she was America’s Favorite Dancer.  She said “maybe I’m not as pretty as some of those blonde, skinny girls but I’m not getting plastic surgery for the show.” Nobody said it was called so you think you need a nose job—hello ISSUES!  The girl who forever will be known as Pageant Girl was getting on my last nerve.  She was very full of herself–thus the pageants.  She had to come back and perform with a new partner because her hip hop dance partner couldn’t do the fox trot.  She did indeed come back and perform with a well-trained ballroom dancer and still didn’t shine enough for the judges.  The exit interview was very pageant-like where she said “I plead the 5th, but I just want to say one thing…”  Okay, sister you can’t have your cake and eat it too!  Either shut it or say it, but don’t do both.  The cameras proceeded to follow her as she moaned and complained some more.  She then proceeded to the bathroom where she ripped out her “stupid ballroom hair-do” and proceeds to talk and cry to the camera.  NEXT…  I am convinced that Liz the tapper, will never speak again.  They were totally going to put her through to the next round and possibly the top 20 but she just couldn’t leave well enough alone. She had to open her mouth and basically argue with the judges comments.  Come on Liz, nobody likes an argumentative, know-it-all DIVA–You’re FIRED!  Then there’s Temper-Tantrum Jeremiah who, while performing a dance-off in his own genre- walked off the stage and came back stomping mad, literally.  They didn’t like his attitude and he was CUT.  Dominic while dancing for his life, pulls a muscle and Nigel calls for a medic.  He was cut, but not before Debbie Allen could try and calm him by saying “Just relax”. Oh, okay Debbie, since you said so…the guys in pain.

So now the Top 20 have been chosen. Overall, I was pretty happy with their choices, with one exception.  The 20 something teacher from Florida–too much makeup–too little clothing–enough said.

So tune in next week as we see the Top 20 perform in front of a live audience.  Cat Deeley will walk us through the episode and introduce us [in depth] to our Top 20.

American Idol—If Only I were younger! January 3, 2008

I love me some reality TV! I have been a fan of American Idol from the beginning and quite frankly, feel partially responsible for the success of Kelly Clarkson. This year has been quite interesting with the addition of musical instruments into the mix. I am amazed that each year they find so much new talent. I like to sing and have often thought…what if I were younger. Would I go on American Idol? Do I have what it takes? Probably not–but a girl can dream, can’t she?!?!? So for now I will be content to sit on my couch, sing into my pretend microphone [aka remote control] and text my votes each week.