Sights and sounds from Norman, Okla., at 10:08 p.m. Thursday:

A gray mustang driving down Lindsey with no headlights on. The lights going off at Chicken Express, just east of 12th Street. A countrified worker at KFC talking down to a man of Hispanic descent in the drive-thru. Me leaving that particular drive-thru because that guy was a prick.

I have got to quit eating out at night. However, there is nothing I am inspired to eat right now. Tonight, I wanted a salad, but Jason's Deli closes at 9. I don't want to buy the ingredients for a salad because it's more cost effective to get the salad at Jason's, and my ingredients would go to waste unless I ate a salad every night for the next week, which I would not do.

I settled on Taco Bell. Not good.

For lunch, I'm typically a Subway guy. However, my Subway in northwest Oklahoma City is the slowest sandwich shop on the planet. They'll have six people manning the line, and it still takes 45 minutes for me to get in and out.

Unfortunately, they're nice, and I like them. Or I've grown to like them. They appear to be moving efficiently as possible, but I would suggest that Subway as a whole is a concept that should be altered a bit.

First, the concept of a "sandwich artist" is a waste of time. Not only is it an extra set of dirty hands touching my food, it's unnecessary labor and a time-suck. I SAY put a vegetable bar in the middle of the restaurant and let folks have at it.

My concept of the way Subway 2.0 would be built is that folks would stand in line for the sole purpose of getting their bread, meat and cheese. The customer would get this and then take it to the dressing station to deal with themselves, and that includes toasting.

Quizno's was brilliant for introducing toasted sandwiches to the American landscape if for no other reason than it threw Subway off its game. Fact is that Subway is still the most healthful fast-food option in existence. However, Quizno's dictated to the market how these subs would be done, and frankly Quizno's has always been better with the toasted sub.

However, as Subway has grown in popularity, its game has thrown itself off. Lunchtime eaters walk into shops with 13 orders apiece because they're picking a 6-incher up for everybody in their office. And, those of us buying one have to wait in line while "sandwich artists" take forever making a sandwich we could dress ourselves.

This isn't even my biggest pet peeve with Subway right now. See, some franchises have spinach, while others don't, a product of the salmonella (or whatever) scare of a couple years ago. However, this was an excuse by some store owners to save a little cash.

Fact is that iceberg lettuce has no more nutritional value than toilet paper. While it does add a welcomed crunch to most any sandwich, it's actually kind of important for Subway's rep that spinach be available everywhere. Personally, I like to deck my sandwiches out with cucumbers, carrots, spinach and banana peppers.

Still, while I can't do a salad every night of the week, I can eat Subway pretty much everyday for lunch. And, I'd like to see the chain thrive and succeed. But it's time for an overhaul, Subway 2.0 if you will

Here's a random video of some guy making a Subway sandwich in 35 seconds. I can guarantee you first-hand that this didn't happen in NW OKC:

In response to my statements in a previous post and otherwise that I sort of felt like a m-o-r-o-n for not having pursued solo live music before the age of 37, I got some curious commisseration. Per an e-mail communication.

She had recently talked with another about our same age and noted that it was only now that she felt comfortable pursuing what she wanted to pursue without caring what other people thought.

Personally, I know that 10 years ago I spent way too much time giving a crap about what other people thought. And, 20 years ago, I was too dumb to have any inclination toward this type of inward contemplation. In fact, if I had any wisdom at all in my late teens, I would have studied history and people a bit harder instead of journalism per se.

If you'll just read good writing and pay attention, college will teach you how to write. You don't need a journalism degree to learn that, not by any stretch. But, you have to know how to write if for no other reason than to be accepted by those of us who do know. We'll talk about you endlessly.

During lunch on Saturday with a friend, he noted the show "Mad Men" on AMC and the general dissatisfied nature of white guys in their 30s. Personally, I can't speak to any collective emotions within other races or ethnicities. I just know that pasty white men taken on a dissatisfied, grumpy vibe by the time 35 comes around.

However, I recall an acquaintence, the wife of another acquaintence, who is a relative of a very good friend, saying that she's enjoying things at 44 more than she ever had before. Way better than 34 and triply more than 24.

It leads me to believe that 35 to 50 are the peak years. Not for the purpose of getting rich or becoming famous or for doing things that make your parents proud. These are the peak years for earning wrinkles, which are kind of like the markers of character and why old people look so interesting.

And to a certain extent this concept has me more mentally rebellious than I might have been at 18, ready to roll with the flow, have more fun and be more creative. The dark side of this from the perspective of potential is in the fact that I had to blow 20 years to get here.

Take Tom Waits. Now, here's a guy who knew what he was from Day 1, yet it wasn't what the pseudo-stars of today would call "branding," even though it technically is. But with Waits, his characters and machinations and styles and sounds are all natural. Enjoy this video from a 1976 episode of the Mike Douglas Show, in which he sings "Eggs and Sausages" before smoking cigarettes and conversing with Mike on stage for about five minutes.

All this talk of devil's three ways and lucky pierre's in my last post is likely to ensure I'll never be vice president or even get another steady job.

However, it did remind me of another reason I love Norman, or specifically why I love where I live in Norman. I'm close to the bars, and although I'm not nearly as proficient with the ladies as Barney, this video did come to mind.

A conversation I had with a guy at work tonight reminded me how damned small this world is. This person knows people you know, and you know people they know, and in Oklahoma, it's far too small. That's why my "advice" for youngsters just getting out of college nowadays is to be nice to everybody, unless it's time not to be nice. Roadhouse reference.

You never know who knows who. I'll be at the grocery store, and the barista will be slower than Stephen Hawking at a swim meet, and I have to remind myself that she could be a patron at my next gig or the daughter of my boss or the lucky pierre later that weekend.

It's just not wise to piss people off unnecessarily.

Hence the question last night about accepting the shots. I don't to offend the patron, and I enjoy having a good time. But experienced musicians one and all will tell you that drunkenness is not cool at gigs. Now, I wasn't intoxicated by any means, but I realized that the "piano guy" at "piano bars" is going to have to deal with this sooner or later.

As the summer winds down, and as I near birthday No. 38, I typically think about plans for the next year. Part of those plans include this blog, and while it's been focused on reality television the past year, it certainly hasn't been because it's a passion of mine. There are a few shows I enjoyed and some I enjoyed making fun of, but I wanted to see how much traffic I could build doing this.

I think it's run its course, and if you don't mind -- I think my plan for ryanwelton.com for the next year is to shoot from the hip. Like in this post. Focus some on music, but mostly shoot from the hip. Ramblings. Nothing terribly focused.

There is a site I'll be developing, a blog site, next week while I'm on vacation. And I'm excited about it. It is a simple experiment in hyperlocal blogging, and there won't be a heck of a lot of lap-over between the two sites, but there could be some.

I had considered retiring ryanwelton.com in lieu of the other site, but I decided against it in the name of evolution. In 25 years, it could be fun to see the map, the outline if you will of this site's travels.

Also, some of you had inquired about my next gig. As soon as I hear from Othello's, I'll be spreading the word like wildfire. I'm hoping to play some OU-football weekends for sure. Should be great crowds. But I'll post that info right here.

And if any of you know of bars, lounges, etc., with pianos in them, let me know. As soon as my Othello's schedule is in place, I'll be contacting a number of other venues in Oklahoma City, Stillwater, Tulsa and Dallas. Heck, I might even look to some of the casinos across the state. Surely, they have li'l watering holes with a piano and a mic at the side.

Something about the best-laid plans. I know there's a quote there somewhere.

Alas, I totally intended on attending my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so much so that I paid the money to reserve my spot. I had written a couple of blog posts referencing the event.

Long story short and without the drama, I got a chance to play a gig, a second one for me at Othello's here in Norman, and I can't regret that one little bit. My first show wasn't bad for a first show, but this one was better.

And, it looks like I'm getting a few more gigs throughout the fall. Like I've said to anybody who will listen, I'm a moron for not having pursued solo live gigs earlier. M-O-R-O-N.

No, I'm not the second-coming of Billy Joel or Elton John; however, we had a darned good time, and I'm going to take advantage of it. If your venue has a piano and a mic, I'm coming to play. So, just mark it down. I would play six nights a week if possible.

I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge feeling bad for missing the reunion, but it just wasn't even a hard choice for me.

However, whether or not I attempt to sing "I Kissed A Girl" for the humorous amusement of partiers again is a whole other story. I do have an idea about what I might do with that song. An interesting idea. Could be very humorous and interactive. My thought is that if there is ever somebody at one of my gigs who really, really, really wants to get up and sing, they can sing "I Kissed A Girl."

The other thing that came up Saturday night, a musician's issue I suppose, is whether or not to accept alcohol as a "tip" during a show. I like to have a great time, no doubt, but I take gigs and music and playing seriously, and a lot of the stuff I play is fairly sophisticated. It requires my faculties. And while three shots didn't faze me too much, I am pretty sure my personal limit to play effectively is three over the course of a gig. Max.

When I played with a band, it was never a big deal because I was just the keyboardist. Nobody was paying attention to me anyway.

If there are any other musicians out there, what's the best way to "kindly refuse" booze during a show? What's the etiquette out there? Basically, I just tried delaying taking the shots as long as I could without making the guy feel bad. He was having a good time, and I didn't care to insult him.

Ah, it's not a huge deal, and I don't know what other musicians do. However, I tend not to eat anything for at least three or four hours before playing, so three shots definitely puts a kick in my engine. However, the more I gig, the more I could see this being something I have to learn how to manage -- being cordial yet firm.

Last but not least, I didn't hydrate nearly well enough before the show and during the show. How do I know this? When I don't hydrate well enough and then play for 5-6 hours in a day, which I did on Saturday, the underneaths of my fingernails get super sore. During the gig. Bruised even.

On the other hand, three shots will make that pain go away right fast.

As soon as I know what nights I'm playing in September and October, I'll post them to the site and get the word out.

I don't want to poo poo my generation, musically. However, the 1980s really don't do much for me -- not now.

Oh, back in the day, I was convinced the decade was super underrated. And while the early half of the 1980s was pretty solid, it had little to do with mainstream pop. The "angry young man" movement combined with new wave, the second British invasion and even touches of urban cowboy music made 1980-83 really interesting.

But 1988?

Wow, not a good year for music.

However, I've reviewed Billboard's Hot 100 countdown and put together what I think are the 10 best songs from 1988. Not the songs as I liked them then, no. This is a look back at the music from the year 1988 with a ranking of how I like those songs today.

10. The Valley Road - Bruce Hornsby

Bruce always had great lyrics and Earthy, jazzy progressions, but I am not a fan of Hornsby's use of electronic drums.

9. Devil Inside - INXS

The Aussie band's best single was its first, "The One Thing" from 1983.

8. Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson

I think I liked this a lot more as a teen. Now, I'm not sure I can stomach it, but thankfully Tuck Andress rescued it. One of the best guitarists of the 1980s. Or of any time.

7. Piano In The Dark - Brenda Russell

Honestly, Brenda has had 100 better songs than this, and this one is a classic of the decade. Brenda is one of the best R&B, adult contemporary songwriters in history. If you were aware of her catalog, you'd be like: She wrote that? She wrote this?

6. Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

Make fun if you'd like, but McFerrin is an American treasure. He's a master jazz vocalist who got a ton of exposure in 1988 with a novelty song. He's one of a handful of artists I'd pay $200 to see live. His concert series with Chick Corea was phenomenal on CD. Check out this version of "Blackbird."

5. Wishing Well - Terence Trent d'Arby

Song was ahead of its time, and so was Terence's ego. He always thought way more of himself than anybody else. Good voice though.

4. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses

In retrospect, Guns & Roses is a fairly underappreciated band critically.

3. Nite & Day - Al B. Sure

Like it more today than I did 20 years ago. It's smooth.

2. Time & Tide - Basia

Not sure that this was exactly 1988, but I can't leave it off the list. In retrospect, I'm pretty surprised Basia didn't have a bigger career.

1. Fast Car - Tracy Chapman



I never would have said this 20 years ago. However, this is by a mile, a monster mile, the best song from 1988. Great words. Great musicality. Great soul. Stands the test of time. And what's amazing is that this song was so adult for an entire musical generation that prided itself on its collective lack of seriousness. Somebody needs to remake this song.

It's hard to believe given my youthful good looks, but my 20th high school reunion is coming up this next weekend in Henryetta, Okla.

Some folks aren't fond of high school reunions and make it a point never to attend them. However, I had a pretty good time growing up, and even my general misanthropic nature couldn't keep me away from this.

OK, I'm lying. I don't like social gatherings at all. Hate them. Don't like mingling or small-talk, and I really don't like talking about what I've been up to for the past week much less the past 20 years. My presumption is and always has been that nobody really cares what I've been up to.

But I am curious as to what other folks have been up to. I'm nosy like that.

I just wish that we could have reunions for junior highs and elementary schools. Now, those could be wicked fun.

Oh, me? I'm Ryan. It says it there on my name sticker.

Ryan who?

Ryan Welton

Uh, not ringing a bell

Well, I remember you, Tina! Just like it was yesterday when we were 6 in Mrs. Quinlan's class. Like that time you passed me that check-yes-or-no note.

Have you been stalking me?

We should also have reunions for our past jobs. Heck, those could be filled with tense conversation.

Hey, Ryan, good to see you!

Good to see you, too, Mitch! Have you been able to get work since the embezzlement conviction?

Uh ...

I told you I'm not good at small talk.

In honor of the event, I figured I'd spend the week looking back at pop culture from 1988 -- the music, the movies, the shows, everything. I might even detail what we used to do for fun before the Internet came along.

Heck, in Henryetta, we used to play baseball in the back yard, complete with improvised bases, bats and balls. We even used to use our cars to illuminate the "field."

We played massive amounts of basketball and playground football.

Video games. As in arcade video games. We didn't have Madden '08 back then.

Paper football tournaments. Those ruled.

Oh, we'd get into trouble a time or two. No doubt. However, I'm a firm believer that kids need to sow their oats. As adults, we just hope that they don't die or end up in prison because of a mistake. Most of us were pretty lucky in that regard.

Some of us were REALLY lucky.

Forgive me, but I'm just running short on time between Big Brother and So You Think You Can Dance?. Between these fabo-marvelous programs, work and life, I sort of ran out of time tonight.

However, I did watch SYTYCD.

The new pairings looked a bit awkward in spots, and I was none too pleased to see the return of Comfort although she was terrific in her hip-hop routine with Twitch.

For those of you living under an SYTYCD rock, Jessica had to withdraw because of broken ribs. She told the nationwide audience tonight that she had to heal up for the tour.

Not that she was going to win Season 4, but ...

Because I don't have time to detail every routine right this second, I'll note some highlights, some random thoughts I gathered while watching.

Will and Katee were amazing together. Yet, I'm still not a Will Wingfield worshipper, and I strongly suspect he could be eliminated in a shocker this week or next. Seriously.

Don't get me wrong: I recognize he's great, but I'm just not pulling for him.

I am pulling for Katee among others, however, She suffered, I think, her first glaring error of the season during her pas de deux, but she was great nonetheless, particularly the spin and leap into Will's arms at the end.

Others I'm pulling for: Courtney Galliano. She wasn't too hot in a hip-hop routine with Joshua Allen, who was phenomenal tonight on both routines. However, Courtney was kickin' during their rhumba.

I don't want to get all mega-creepy, but Chelsie Hightower is just smokin' hot, and her new one-week partnership with Gev went well ... for her. For Gev not so much, as he looked a bit out of his element.

However, Mark Kanemura was even more out of his element, although it could be due in part to partnering with Kherington Payne whose dancing stock, in my estimation, has gone way down the past couple of weeks. Mark's solo was nothing to write home about either.

Now, all the dancers did solos, and Katee's was terrific. Twitch and Joshua were excellent on theirs, as well. Heck, I have to give it up to li'l Gev as well. While I don't think his technique is probably up to snuff, he has proven to be a quick learner on styles beyond his comfort zone.

Last but not least, Li'l C was a surprisingly astute and cerebral judge. I presume falsely sometimes that these dancers in hip-hop, crump and more urban genres are merely one-trick ponies when it comes not only to dancing but also to choreography and judging.

Color me wrong. I hope we get to see him on the judging panel again soon.

All in all, I think Comfort is a goner for sure. She might be as good a dancer as Kherington and/or Courtney, but she has yet to show an ounce of charisma. She suffers from cold-fish syndrome.

On the guys' side of things, I think Gev's number might be up, which by the way is pretty much how I predicted this round to go. Of course, I predicted Jessica to be ousted first, so Comfort's dismissal would satisfy that. And, I picked Gev next.

However, a shocking Will exit, I suspect, could destroy my predictions from a week ago. If you missed those, read my SYTYCD Top 10 predictions right here.

I'm a sap, and I love baseball. So, it does my heart a ton of good to watch my Texas Rangers this season, a team that sends four guys to the All-Star Game tonight.

A team that is only four games over .500 but only 6 out of a wild-card spot in the AL, behind a wild-card leader that has lost seven straight. Sure, the Rangers have no pitching, as we haven't for the past 36 seasons.

However, we've got chemistry and the best story in baseball: Josh Hamilton.

Make that two of the best stories in baseball if you can include Milton Bradley. Read about the "Risk Brothers" in this New York Times piece.

If that wasn't enough, did you see what Hamilton did in the first round of the Home Run Derby Monday night? He hit 28 dingers, a record.

And then he talked about it with ESPN:

I'm not delusional enough to think the Rangers have a shot, long-term, against the Red Sox and Angels and Cubs of the 2008 baseball world. However, the higher power that has so obviously worked some magic with the Risk Brothers might just repay the Rangers for taking a chance on 'em.

We're down to 5 on Nashville Star, and I've been thinking about an effect that I'm considering turning into an official ryanwelton.com theory. We could call it the Reality TV Exposure Theory.

That theory would state that the longer one is exposed to the masses, possibly beyond his or her 15 minutes of fame, the more likely that fame is to last beyond 20. This is a convoluted way of me acknowledging that as crappy as this season of Nashville Star has been in terms of overall talent that I could see at least three of the remaining finalists having viable careers.

Schweeew. I said it. Admitting it is the first step.

Melissa Lawson got criticized a tad for oversinging Martina McBride's "My Baby Loves Me." However, after several weeks of pretty good reviews from our judges Jeffrey Steele, John Rich and Jewel, I am beginning to be able to see her on a bigger platform.

I thought she oversang it, but she also did so in order to "kill it" for the judges. My hope is that she'll forget the judges and just focus on doing her best. By a mile, she's the best vocalist this season.

Success could also come soon to Gabe Garcia, who did a fair job of singing Billy Currington's "Must Be Doing Something Right." Was it great? No. None of the performances this season have been great. However, again, I've seen enough of Garcia to be able to fathom the possibility that he'll hit it big.

And lastly, Ashlee Hewitt was basically mediocre at best on the Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy, Take Me Away." However, she looks great and is as marketable as all get out. Forget that she really can't sing. Neither can Taylor Swift.

It just doesn't matter anymore.

If you can't sing, look great. If you're not very marketable, at least you can wail a bit. And you might have the personality of a rock, but you're traditional. That's where we seem to be with the cream of this season's Nashville Star crop, and I'll leave it to you to figure out which generalization belongs to whom.

Forget about acts like Laura and Sophie and Coffey, neither of which should have ever been on the show. The former was booted from the program Monday night, leaving us with five solo acts. The latter was shown a ton of mercy as he butchered the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill love song "It's Your Love."

The Bangs, Texas, native had a hard time getting through it because the song reminded him of his late mother. And I'll cut him a break to this extent: The least painful part of the performance was when he broke down in tears. Having to hear him sing, honestly, is cruel and unusual punishment. He is perhaps the worst vocalist in the history of reality television.

Worse than Sanjaya.

Shawn Mayer isn't much better although she got pretty high marks tonight for her spunky rendition of "Before He Cheats." However, count me among the Lou Grants of this world.

We hate spunk.

With any luck, we'll end up with Ashlee, Melissa and Gabe in the Final 3. Not that I particularly like any of them. However, given that NBC did a pretty crappy job in picking contestants, generally, I'll suspend belief for a moment and presuppose that each of these three would sound a lot better and be a lot more marketable and have more personality with competent country music instrumentalists and producers surrounding each of them.

As it pertains to the entertainment world of 2008 and as it relates to my reality TV theory, we've seen enough of each them to make their success plausible. For me to suggest that nobody from this terribly underwhelming season of Nashville Star will hit it at least mildly big is to underestimate the worth of being on TV for X number of weeks in a row.

And it might not be giving a couple of these acts enough credit. The market will tell all. The market will eventually tell all.

5. Walkaway Joe (duet with Trisha Yearwood)



NOTES: Gorgeous song. Love Trisha Yearwood ... but, again, I don't have any idea to what this video refers.

4. The Boys Of Summer



NOTES: This is a song that evokes an era, and while the production is dated, the song isn't. Heck, it was remade by The Ataris just a couple years ago.

3. Not Enough Love In The World



NOTES: This song makes me happy. Should have been a much bigger hit than it was. Not sure what in the heck this video is about, but it's not the music video. Obviously.

5. The Heart Of The Matter



NOTES: What's amazing is that Don Henley hasn't had THAT many non-Eagles hits, and yet pretty much all his non-Eagles work is wonderful. This song is one of the most powerful hits of the past 25 years.

1. Dirty Laundry



NOTES: This one isn't close. I distinctly remember this song being a hit when I was 12 and how unique it sounded. Although I didn't have any idea what the song was about then, I sure do now. This is a brilliant song and absolutely one of the most influential on my tastes.

A bedtime bitch session ultimately led to the first eviction nominations of the Big Brother 10 season, which got started (on TV) Sunday night.

Iowa bodybuilder Jesse and New Orleans socialite Renny are the first two on the block. Jessie was trying to sleep while Renny was trying to open a door so that she could take off her makeup, and she started yapping, cackling and "howling like a jackal." Jessie made a fuss about it, and Renny told him to quit being a baby.

Long story short is that 75-year-old HoH Gerry MacDonald used this as leverage and reasoning in making them this week's nominees, saying that the rest of the house could decide which of the two would go.

Unlike typical HoH ceremonies, Gerry didn't win a contest or a competition. He was elected to be HoH, and by a 4-3 vote, he beat Renny. We do not know who else got votes, just that Renny got 3 and Gerry 4. This happened before the houseguests moved in, and he seemed quite grateful, declaring over a champagne toast that he already "loved these kids!"

Typically, it's a curse to be the first HoH. We'll see how this plays out for Gerry.

All in all, the way he handled nominations was quite diplomatic and reasonable.

Behind the scenes though, he might have a little something working with Brian, the telecommunications salesman. On behalf of Dan, a Catholic school teacher, Brian went to Gerry and leveraged their military experiences as a currency of bonding, suggesting that Gerry nominate Jesse and Renny.

Guess what: That's what Gerry did.

However, it wasn't before Gerry suggested Dan, noting that he thought Dan was kind of a weasel. Brian quashed that, and Gerry passed off the decision as being all about the pair's earlier conflict. What Gerry doesn't know is that Brian and Dan (and Ollie) are already in somewhat of an alliance.

It's too early for an alliance, fools!

Alas, it was a pretty typical premiere episode, complete with feigned excitement over finding their BB keys. I mean, the CBS camera is there. How stunned could they really be?

The houseguests moved in, and the only hubbub over rooms was Dan's insistence in being in the red-and-black themed room. Didn't want the pink room. Too girly.

There was a champagne toast, and Ollie, a 27-year-old preacher's son, did not participate because he does not drink. I didn't inspect too closely, but he appears to be the only teetotaler so far.

Outside of the nominations, the big event of the night was a slop competition, the first of BB10. But it wasn't any ordinary comp: This one was for a vintage automobile, either a '65 Mustang or a '69 Camaro. I'm not 100 percent positive on the year of the Mustang.

The contest featured a pair of upside-down Volkswagen bugs in the back yard. The teams had to split up into two, and one houseguest had to decide to sit out. That would be Jesse, who didn't want to intimidate his fellow houseguests in a competition.

"Hopefully, my physique doesn't handicap me," he said at one point in tonight's show.

The gist of the game was that each team had to get each of its players into the upside-down car and then navigate it across and then back across the yard. At the end of one full trip, the team had to decide on one player to let out of the car. That player would be eliminated from the competition but could still help push the vehicle across.

The team to complete this process until only one person is left and until that person has gone back and forth one time will win the competition and will avoid slop for the week. That last person will win the vintage car of his or her choice.

The winner? Memphis, the mixologist.

Wow, this guy is kind of cocky. He isn't a bartender; they sling whiskey and coke and beer. He creates drinks. He's a chef for alcoholics, which is a rather insulting thing to say about a clientele. It would be like a chef of Southern cuisine (chicken fried steak yummy goodness) saying he's a cook for fat people.

However, Bobby (Memphis' real name) didn't have a car. Steven, the gay rodeo cowboy was kind of in the same boat relative to transportation, having had truck problems recently. The Dallas native lost a game of rock-paper-scissors, giving Memphis the win and the car.

So, were the leakers before the show right about what happened? They got the Gerry HoH part correct, but he did not just pull names from a hat to get nominations. Whether or not the discussion with Brian had much to do with it, Gerry seemed pretty calculated but diplomatic in picking Jesse and Renny.

And, Renny is getting on the house's nerves.

"She's totally off the deep end, off the reservation," Memphis said.

And she is. Renny is cuckoo, and I think I like it although I would acknowledge some level of annoyance. She has a bit of BB8 Jen in her just from the level of nutiness.

In the end though, Gerry believes Jesse and Renny will self-destruct, so he had no problems putting them both on the block. He noted that he believed it was a safe choice. On the other hand, Brian believes he's pulling all the strings already, which could be the case. It's just a tad too early to tell.

So, it's time to fire up the live feeds and get some real scoop. AND, if you guys have any specific questions about what's going on in the house, I'll do what I can to sleuth it for you -- so fire away with comments, questions, etc.

Good first night, don't you think?

For in-depth coverage of Big Brother, visit us at Big-Brother-Blog.com

Let's be honest. We're all excited for Sunday night's premiere of Big Brother 10, but information has been leaked indicating that the houseguests have moved in, an HoH has been picked and nominations have been made.

What!?

I peeked. I know the answer to these mysteries, grasshopper. But I'm not going to tell you on the home page ... If, however, you would like to know what's happened so far in the house, according to Web speculation and rumor, then click the "more" link.

Sources have told various bloggers and outlets that 75-year-old Gerry MacDonald is the first HoH of Big Brother 10 and that he decided to pull names from a hat for nominations.

I know a few other things, but I won't reveal because it's subjective information, such as who's getting whose nerves and stuff like that. Besides, the feeds aren't up yet, so I can't exactly see for myself.

See you Sunday night!

How about a little Saturday night pick-me-up? The hottest woman on So You Think You Can Dance? this season, by a mile, is Courtney Galliano. Smokin' hot.

Somewhere in the great city of Austin, James W. Conradt is really, really, really glad this week is over. It might just have been the worst of his life.

The 36-year-old University of Nebraska fan living in the land of Longhorns, Conradt usurped a template from newsok.com to perpetrate a hoax about University of Oklahoma quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Landry Jones for about an hour on a Cornhusker message board.

The hoax was that Bradford and Jones had been busted with several kilos of coke at a party. I did not read the fake story. As I noted before, it might have been up for an hour before officials with OPUBCO, The Oklahoman's parent company, issued cease-and-desist warnings.

Subsequently, the publishing company and the father of Landry Jones have threatened to sue the University of Texas IT worker. Kevin Jones was quoted as saying he had deep pockets and was going to "prosecute Conradt to the fullest extent of the law," as if he were a federal marshal.

And then on Friday, Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel posted a video on newsok.tv aligning college sports message boards with porn sites, suggesting that anybody who participates on these boards (even those who do so passively) are at least partially culpable in any libel against the two OU players. This piece of editorializing came just a day or so after a Tramel blog post portrayed Conradt as pathetic and pitiful, asking OU fans to show some mercy on him.

I've got news for you.

We're all guilty on this one.

First and foremost, what Conradt put together was not satire, as a writer for The Lost Ogle suggested. A famous advertisement from the early 1980s suggesting that Jerry Falwell's mother had sex with animals, or whatever it was, in the family outhouse, was satire and was not deemed to be libelous because it comes off to a reasonable person as obviously untrue.

A false news story about two kids being busted with drugs, using the template of a major newspaper's Web site, is absolutely libelous. However, I think OU fans have jumped off the cliff on this one. And, I think Tramel is completely off base, too.

And I'm going to tell you why.

The difference between what Bob Barry Jr. referred to as the Wild, Wild West on The Sports Animal radio station Friday morning and what conservative bloggers have historically referred to as the MSM (Mainstream Media) is in the role of gatekeeper.

In Journalism 101, the gatekeeper is he who decides what makes the nightly news. The newspaper. The radio show. The Web site.

All of us who create content anywhere accessible to the public are gatekeepers of information. And part of that responsibility is in accepting accountability for anything posted. It means double-checking facts, and it means not relying on message board fodder for them.

Two Texas radio stations reported what Conradt posted to the Nebraska message board as news, and that's super, super embarrassing for them. It should be. First, the URL of the fake story gave itself away:

http://69.49.239.85/newsok/sports/sooners/In%20search%20of%20the%20next%20Sooner%20QB%20_%20NewsOK.com.htm

Did anybody bother to visit http://69.49.239.85/?

Did anybody question why the story wasn't on newsok.com?

Did anybody bother to check other sources, such as espn.com or cbssports.com or tulsaworld.com?

We as consumers of information have to take some responsibility for vetting it. I've got an aunt who likes to send me right-wing propaganda, e-mails suggesting that Barack Obama is not only a Muslim, but he's also a communist, a Satanist, and he will make Spanish the official language of our country while raising our taxes to 68 percent.

And I know liberals who do the same.

In this case, Conradt posted plausible information on a template showing the marks of a credible news Web site. However, the URL was so obviously fake that savvy Web surfers, particularly message board posters and participants, should have sniffed this out immediately.

Is Conradt guilty of copyright infringement? You bet. Is he guilty of libel? Technically, yes, although I can't imagine this actually did any damage to Bradford and Jones. I heard a colleague of mine say today that future employers or lenders might spot this info and deny Landry and Sam a job, and again I say: ridiculous.

The responsibility to be able to vet information falls on all of us, whether we're surfers or posters or employers or lenders. Conradt not only knew what he did was wrong, he rectified it and expressed deep remorse in an interview with The Oklahoman.

The University of Texas determined that its employee didn't post this hoax during company time, and I presume they did not decide to fire him. Nor should they have. Frankly, I hope Conradt might see this and understand that not all OU fans jumped off the deep end on this one. And I don't presume he's pathetic or pitiful either.

He made a mistake, and that's it. The world doesn't have to be so black and white.

However, this isn't cause to throw all message-board participants under the proverbial bus, either.

In his newsok.tv video, Tramel suggested that college sports Internet message boards had no more redeeming value on them than a porn site.

Hey, why attack porn? The Internet IS for porn!, I'm told. By puppets. I digress.

Sports Animal host Carey Murdock made the stretch to suggest that Tramel was comparing message-board enthusiasts to porn addicts, although I can see technically how the stretch came about. Murdock has made a name for himself locally via his Web work, from the birth of boomersooner.net to his work with rivals.com.

Being in the Web biz, Murdock should have known better though, particularly as it pertains to my argument that any Web savvy consumer would have been able to spot Conradt's post as a fake in five seconds. However, Murdock was still furious about this incident Friday morning.

The underlying problem here isn't some supposed libel or message boards or James Conradt or Berry Tramel.

It's anonymity.

My personal policy is that if I can't put my name to it, I don't do it. I don't have time nor the interest to read college sports message boards, and I certainly don't post to them. Because of the anonymity allowed by most of these sites, the discourse is often uncivil, and the information is virtually worthless.

Sorry, Carey.

On the other hand, Tramel's argument about message boards is disingenuous at best. One reader on The Lost Ogle, a site I've already mentioned and that I should note I enjoy daily, noted that consumers don't want to wait 24 hours to read about what happened five seconds ago.

Amen! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Newspaper types are uber defensive when it comes to the Web. Heck, most traditional media are. However, the folks who participate on message boards are just talking with their friends, gloating over wins, berating other schools, arguing, cutting each other down and doing a ton of stuff that, in my humble opinion, does nothing but issue negative energy into the universe.

The people I know who participate on OU and OSU message boards are terrific people, some of my best friends, outside of said boards. They are productive members of society. They go to church. They mow their yards. They pay their bills. They care for their kids. They are solid citizens.

However, the anonymous personae of these people on these and most all other message boards are unfunny, mean-spirited smack talkers who would never deign to behave that way in front of their wife or kids. Take away the anonymity on college sports message boards, and not only will civility increase, so will credibility.

There are drawbacks to forbidding anonymity, but I can't see those negatives as they might pertain to a sports site. On the other hand, the drawbacks TO anonymity are obvious and were played out this week in the form of the OU Internet hoax because there is no way James Conradt would have done what he did if he had been forced to associate his name with it in the first place.

On the other hand, message boards themselves aren't bad places nor are the people who participate on them. The anonymity they allow, however, encourages good people to behave at their collective worst.

I'll say it again though: If we're going to live in a free society, we have to get better about being able to analyze information and vet it for crap. In this case, that two radio stations reported Conradt's fake information as news is a complete journalistic embarrassment -- and that any regular Web surfer couldn't figure out in five seconds that Conradt's story was bogus is too.

So, blame Conradt. Blame the message board folks. But blame us as consumers, too. That anybody got duped by this is silly.

It's hard to believe, but we're already to the Top 10 on So You Think You Can Dance?. I'm continuously stunned at how enjoyable this show has been, and I still believe I should be flogged for not having watched it earlier.

So, how about some predictions?

I have to admit: I don't think I really understand what drives folks to vote on this show, so my predictions might really be terrible. However, this is what I bet will happen.

In the order of their elimination:

10. Jessica King

9. Gev

8. Courtney Galliano

7. Twitch

6. Kherington Payne

5. Joshua Allen

4. Chelsie Hightower

3. Mark Kanemura

2. William Wingfield

1. Katee Shean

Here's my video blog with Top 10 prediction explanations:

Three days before the mayhem of another Big Brother season gets under way, I had planned to sketch out my pre-show rankings. However, somebody at BuddyTV beat me to it and, frankly, did a brilliant job with it.

I don't really have any idea how the season will pan out, but I do have some first impressions of several BB10 houseguests. So, if you don't mind me sharing ...

Jerry. I've made it no secret that I'll have a hard time NOT rooting for the 75-year-old. He's an ardent fan of the show, as are we. His wife has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's. Our grandpa is playing Big Brother!

And I say, "Go out there and kick some tail, Jerry!"

However, my gut hunch says he plays nice like Chicken George and by the time we get to the Top 10, 8 or even 5, he's sacrificing himself, saying that everybody in the house has become like one big family to him. While I'm pretty sure everybody in the house will take to Jerry in a positive fashion, I think it'll be the old man himself who's the real softie.

Jessie. Sorry, but the bodybuilder comes off, to me, as a meathead. Nice kid. Not much going on upstairs, and I sense that he'll be one of those who wants to strategize and build an alliance way too early in the season.

Michelle. Very interested to see how she plays because Michelle appears to have some moxie. She reminds me of Amber a bit but tougher.

Brian. Seems normal. Too normal. He's an Air Force man with a soft side, noting how he last cried over a breakup with his girlfriend. Again, a very interesting player.

Libra. My first impression is at how pretty she is. Yes, she's a liberal, and politics will almost certainly be part of her game. Whether or not she is successful in leveraging her strong personality and political beliefs inside the house, to me, depends on how well she can articulate her positions. If she articulates politics the way Jameka did the Bible, it could be a disaster for her.

Who knows. I hope Libra is a little bit crazy.

Memphis. "Big Brother is going to be the biggest hustle."

That sounds like something a Dr. Will would say. But does this "mixologist" really have game? My gut hunch is that he's good player, possibly a contender to win.

Steven. Again, what an interesting guy. Sure, he's a gay cowboy, and that means he'll be more visible within the realm of the show because people will be able to label him. "Gay cowboy." In the house even, he'll be probably known as the "gay cowboy." However, in his video he warns that people should not disrespect him, and his tone is not that of a drama queen. It's that of a cowboy. I like this guy, and I think he's a player.

Angie. Not sure how many smokers we have in the house this summer, but she's one of them. I read she's bringing nine cartons, which means she's planning on staying awhile. But will she? Our last two winners were smokers, and I think there is something to be said for the "smoking porch" and BB diplomacy, the way deals are made over a smoke.

However, my gut hunch says there's no way she wins. That same hunch says we'll grow to like her as a person.

April. Her boobs are real. She has OCD. She's single. She's nuts, and I think she'll be fun to mess with in the house. Move things out of order. Arrange boxes at varied heights. Insist her boobs are fake. My gut hunch says she's not a player long term but that if she sticks around, she might hook up with Jessie the bodybuilder.

I'll try to find more video vignettes in time for the season premiere on Sunday and perhaps do a Top 13 pre-show countdown. However, Jerry, Memphis, Libra and Steven look like players to watch at the outset of BB10. Your thoughts?

Be sure to visit us at big-brother-blog.com throughout the season.

While we'll be working long and hard to post videos to the site from house goings-on this season, we'll also comb YouTube for existing videos relating to the show. And, tonight, I found a handful of videos featuring vignettes of sorts from some of the houseguests.

So, let's call this "Get To Know Your Houseguests" time. Enjoy!

Jerry

Jessie & Michelle

Brian

Libra

Memphis

Steven

Angie

April

In less than 24 hours, partnerships will be dissolved on So You Think You Can Dance? We'll have our Top 10.

Picking that group won't be difficult. It appears as if Comfort and Thayne are clear-cut choices to leave the competition Thursday night. During their two performances on Wednesday, a hip-hop number to Ne-Yo's "Can We Chill?" and a contemporary piece to George Michael's "A Different Corner," they were roundly criticized for not connecting with the audience.

Challenging Comfort for a role as "she who is eliminated come Thursday" is Jessica, who was unfairly dissed by guest host Mia Michaels tonight. In Jessica and Will Wingfield's first performance of the evening, they killed on a Tyce DiOrio contemporary piece to a song called "Silence."

It was gritty, organic, erotic -- and Jessica got high marks. Not that she's going to win SYTYCD this season, but she wasn't deserving of Michaels' comments after their second performance, a quick step to "Bandstand Boogie" from Barry Manilow.

Michaels said: "Will, you look tired. Tired of carrying Jessica."

Ouch.

We have a pair of extremes happening with this couple. First, there is a sort of "Will worship" so far thus season, and while the Debbie Allen protege is very good, I'm not sure he is a God just yet. Second, Jessica has been pretty good the past couple of weeks.

Twitch and Kherington faced some unusually strong criticism this week, particularly after a Jean-Marc Genereaux tango. Based on both performances, the first of which was a "crump" piece," I think Twitchington very well might be in the Bottom 3 this week.

Courtney and Gev were again the little-couple-who-could with a pair of very good but not great performances. I prefered the first on the strength of its "fabulosity," as I think Michaels noted. In that, they danced a cha-cha to Rihanna's hit "Please Don't Stop The Music."

By a mile though, the best routine of the night came from Joshua and Katee, a Bollywood number from Nakul Dev Mahajan, the first of its kind on SYTYCD I do believe. To be fair, Jessica and Will's contemporary piece was equal to this routine, but the final dance of the night, to "Dhoon Taana" from the movie Om Shanti Om was surprisingly entertaining and stunningly soulful.

"It's amazing how similar to hip-hop it is," Nigel Lythgoe said.

Lythgoe went on to credit the show for including Indian cultural dance as part of the program, noting that he wished "the world would come together with dance rather than what we're doing at the moment."

Amen. And amen. Although I think Lythgoe might take a bit of heat for that comment. I hope not; there's truth in what he spoke regardless of one's political affiliation.

Now, get your Bollywood on:

When Amy Winehouse took the American music scene by storm, we should have known it would have started a trend. But don't tell Duffy she's merely a knock off of the oft-troubled princess of modern soul.

Fact is Duffy isn't much like Amy at all.

Within the realm of musical comparatives, the twentysomething Welsh blonde is way more like a Dusty Springfield or a Lulu. Within the spectrum of behavior, Duffy and Amy are again not close. At least so far.

However, critically, they're on par. Rolling Stone gave Duffy's "Rockferry" four out of five stars. Given that RS can be rather stingy with a high mark, it was quite the impressive feat for a woman who, right now, is Britain's biggest pop seller of the year.

Bigger than Coldplay. Again, at least so far.

A big reason for Duffy's success commercially is her hit single, "Mercy." It sounds like a musical cousin to something Amy would have done, and that likely bought Duffy some airplay here in the States.

Mercy - Duffy

But the big reason that "Mercy" won't be it for Duffy is that "Rockferry" is one of those CDs that sets a mood. "Mercy" is by a mile the most commercial track on the album, and most of the songs are brooding, gray, distinctly British tracks rendering images of 1960s blue-eyed female soul.

Tracks like "Rockferry," "Stepping Stone," "Hanging On Too Long" and "Syrup & Honey" are most certainly derivative of the aforementioned 1960s icons. However, Duffy generally does them proud, even if "Syrup & Honey" is in fact nearly too syrupy to bear.

Personally, I loved Track No. 2, called "Warwick Avenue," and I particularly loved the video:

That track brings to mind collaborations between Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick.

My favorite song on the entire CD though -- and you have to get the album to get this track -- is a bonus track called "Save It For Your Prayers." It's just Duffy and a piano, and the beauty of this piano is that it sounds like a piano that might be in your house instead of a studio. It's nice and gritty.

Save It For Your Prayers - Duffy

Perhaps the only downside to Duffy's emergence in 2008 is that she will be compared to Amy Winehouse. And in that contest, nearly any female will lose musically.

However, Duffy is a shoo-in for 2008 Best New Artist. And while "Rockferry" is an impressive CD in terms of the gray, 1960s-ish mood it sets, it's also impressive in that it is not derivative of Amy Winehouse.

That separation might please Duffy the most.

Would you believe the great Stevie Nicks just turned 60 last month?

We're getting old.

For today's Top 5, I thought I'd countdown my favorite Stevie songs. Besides her distinctive voice, Nicks brought a distinctive look to the 1980s. Heck, there were legions of folks who truly believed Stevie was a witch.

This of course was complete nonsense. Nicks most certainly battled her share of demons, in the form of addiction, but she can be counted among the survivors.

Now, my favorite bit of trivia I gleaned from various Web sites about Stevie is that there was allegedly a punk song back in the late 1970s called "Sit On My Face, Stevie Nicks." What a brilliant title.

5. Rhiannon (w/ Fleetwood Mac)

Notes: Did you know that Fleetwood Mac actually started out way more bluesy than what they turned out to be. Mick Fleetwood then hired Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie to join the group, and voila ...

4. If Anyone Falls

Notes: A massively underrated song of the early 1980s, I preferred this to all but one of Stevie's solo efforts.

3. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (w/ Tom Petty)

Notes: Stevie and Tom later scored a hit with a remake of the 1960s song "Needles and Pins."

2. Edge Of Seventeen

Notes: One of the truly great guitar riffs of all time, it was sampled by Destiny's Child a few years back on "Bootylicious."

1. Gypsy (w/ Fleetwood Mac)

Notes: Perhaps it's merely sentimentalism, but this track has always defined Stevie to me. It's mellow, groovy and timeless.

We now know who the houseguests are .. but what do we really know?

CBS introduces the BB10 houseguests ...

My initial impression of the Big Brother 10 cast is one of elation because I sense a tremendous summer forthcoming. None of these people know each other. We have a wide, wide variety of age groups represented, including a 75-year-old and a 53-year-old, which rocks.

We've got die-hard conservatives and liberals.

We've got a gay bull rider and a woman suffering from extreme OCD.

Big Brother producer Allison Grodner says that BB10 is a back-to-basics season, and I think many of us dissatisfied with BB9 welcome this. Grodner did say that there is a twist of sorts playing out before the houseguests even enter the house.

Wonder what THAT could be?

The story before the story, before the show gets under way if you will, is Gerry MacDonald. Some stories have his name spelled with a 'J,' but the Associated Press has it with a 'G,' so I'm guessing it's Gerry. But this 75-year-old guy is a huge fan of the show and has watched every season.

He has gotten into very good physical shape so that he can care for his wife, who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. He's a Korean War vet.

During this morning's introductions on The Early Show, he said, "CBS will get their money's worth."

Do you find yourself already rooting for this guy? I do.

Alas, it really is too early.

Here are a few BB links to keep you busy:

Angie Packs 9 Cartons Of Cigs

Meet the 'Big Brother 10' Cast

TV Guide Ventures Inside Big Brother House

As always, for more BB10 coverage -- check me out on the best Big Brother fan site on the Web: big-brother-blog.com.

We're four weeks into the biggest show of the summer in terms of ratings: America's Got Talent. We're four weeks in to it, and I'm not sure America does.

However, this show has proven to be worth the wait given that it's produced the most successful reality show winner in history. I'm still not sure the masses know who Terry Fator is, but I doubt he could care less given that he's the headliner at the Mirage in Las Vegas, a deal worth $100 million today and soon to be upped to $200 million.

Terry Fator is bigger than Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken combined.

While I have to admit that his commercial success surprised me a bit, I do appreciate that AGT produces acts that are outside the mainstream. Sure, we get singers and pickers and what-not, but we also get acts like Victoria Jacoby, the 11-year-old contortionist from Tuesday night's episode.

Contortionism is cool. On a pre-teen though, it's creepy. Nevertheless, she is no doubt talented.

On the other hand, tonight's episode opened with a girl whose singular talent it was to whip her dad's ass. She danced around, squinted and flexed hard and loud and pretend-hit her father. It was an act that showed the other side of AGT ... the talentless.

Color me the fool though, judges David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan sent her off to the next round.

Dance troupes are big on AGT, and we've had tumblers, aerobicizers and African tribal dancing specialists. Unless one of them can do some Cirque d'Soleil type of act, I can't imagine any of them winning.

On the other hand, a quartet calling themselves The James Gang wasn't half bad. Adorning clothes from another era, perhaps the 1930s, this Harlem group combined old and new.

However, the act that caught my eye tonight is 19-year-old Sarah Lenore, who auditioned with her version of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," proving not only that she definitely had vocal talent but also that she should be placed on Nashville Star immediately.

A quick look on YouTube indicates that Sarah already has a solid amount of experience and even more talent than this video indicates. And vocally, it's pretty much better than anything we've seen on Nashville Star this season. Furthermore, she plays the guitar well. She's gorgeous. She's young.

Sharon recommended that Sarah work on her "individuality," and to that I say phooey. Nashville is a cookie-cutter warehouse, and this kid fits the mold. No need to fix what ain't broke. Seriously. She's not in the least bit original; however, she's money.

Somebody should just sign her now.

Perhaps the thing I like the least about AGT is its tendency to go all Extreme Makeover on us with the sap stories and the close-ups and the tears. Just because Terry Fator is a $100M man now doesn't mean anybody's life has changed because of one audition.

But by the tears streaming down the face of Kyle Rifkin, you wouldn't know it. He cried before he even performed "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," and while he was good, I wouldn't say he was great. He's guilty of the same thing a lot of "soul" singers are: He yells under the premise that loud is powerful.

Alas, he was good, and he'll join a bucketful of others for the next rounds in Las Vegas, the second part of a summer-long process. To this point, we've had a little girl who sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" make it through in a fashion eerily reminiscent (copied) from Britain's Got Talent last season.

Likewise, we've had a big fellow singing opera get a ticket to the next round, again just like happened on Britain's Got Talent last season. To be honest, the blatant copying turns me off considerably. Given that we all have the Web now, it should stand to reason that we had already seen clips of the little girl and Paul Potts.

However, the way AGT is produced as a whole treats the audience like idiots, playing to the lowest common demoninator. The cut-ins of an audience giving a contestant an ovation. The looks of wonder. The clapping. The cheers. It's all a production sham for the most part, and it's painful to watch.

On the other hand, the Simon Cowell vehicle did create the world's most successful reality show winner of all time last season. That alone makes this season worth a watch, even if I've only season a couple of acts worth even a second look.

It's time for the return of Ryan's Top 5, a weekly feature I had stopped at one point this spring because the list had not changed substantively from one week to the next.

In other words, it fell through the cracks of my dismal attention span.

My hope, as I've noted before, is to introduce folks to new music or bring attention to good music. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, it would be swell to get a comment or two, too.

5. 3 Doors Down - It's Not My Time

Notes: Not sure I liked 3 Doors Down when they first came out, but more and more, they're proving to be a solid band.

4. Duffy - Delayed Devotion

Notes: Track No. 8 from what is an impressive debut CD for Duffy here in the States.

3. Dierks Bentley - Trying To Stop Your Leaving

Notes: Great songwriting here.

2. Estelle - American Boy

Notes: Terrific Euro-groove.

1. Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

Notes: Considering I've heard other tracks on her album, Katy Perry is destined to become a legendary one-hit wonder with this pseudo-lesbian track. What makes the whole thing pop though is the bass line in the chorus. This song is a master class in how great mixing can make or break a hit.

Awww, yeah. Big Brother is alive and well.

Who's ready to get their blog on? I am, that's who!

And Julie Chen is ready to introduce the world to our 13 new houseguests, this morning on The Early Show. However, according to the good folks at buddytv.com, we already have an idea of who's stepping into our lives for the summer.

I should actually credit RealityBBQ, from whence this list came, and a standard caveat applies: This does come from the Web, so take it with a grain of reality television salt.

However, it looks like we have a:

Thoughts? Will we have our first in-house death? Will the son of a preacher man and the cowboy have a brokeback big brother experience?

Do you like or hate any of these caricatures, or would you rather just wait and see them in person before drawing conclusions?

I'm really looking forward to this season. Let the games begin.

And, please, come visit me at Big-Brother-Blog.com, the best BB site on the Web.

We nearly had the shocker of a season on Monday night's Nashville Star, but unfortunately, Billy Ray Cyrus wasn't fired on live TV.

John Rich was.

By the singer he was mentoring, that is. However, that was only one nanobit of drama on a show that has spiraled out of control into turddom.

It was a double-elimination week, and Tommy Stanley was booted before even getting a shot to sing. However, it gave Billy Ray the chance to prove he can read at a 4th grade level from a prompter, reminding the world that he wrote "Some Gave All" in honor of military men like Tommy.

Sorry. It's pandering.

There was no musical theme this week, but like I noted before, there was drama. Besides Shawn Mayer's decision to fire Rich and utilize the mentoring services of Jeffrey Steele, the duo of Laura and Sophie argued and cried like teenage girls before Rich told them on live TV they should just go home.

Mayer sang "The First Cut Is The Deepest," and the duo sang "Walking After Midnight," and in my humble opinion, they both should be going home. I gave them both a turd, er, c minus.

However, they weren't the turdiest of the night. That honor goes to Coffey, the non-country act who can neither sing country nor sing anything. His version of "Proud Mary" was beyond terrible, particularly when his sheep-like vibrato kicks in.

Ashlee Hewitt was almost a casualty (bottom two and, ergo, our possible shocker), and I think we're in dire need of seeing some songwriting ability, which Ashlee apparently has, as one commenter posted a few weeks ago. Why? Because the singing isn't doing it for me.

Hewitt's version of Steve Miller's "Take The Money And Run" was soulless. Furthermore, she doesn't have a very good voice. She's cute, perky, can play the guitar and has some potential vocally, but her strengths are all in the marketing aspect of what it takes to be a country star.

On the other hand, Gabe Garcia is nearly the real deal. Vocally and stylistically, he's the best on the show relative to country. Some might argue that Melissa Lawson's brand of "pop country" would suffice, and it's a valid contention. Personally, I prefer country, meaning I liked Garcia's version of "Somebody Like You" from Keith Urban.

Gabe's primary problem is that he's stiffer than Heath Ledger. (Too soon?)

And that leads me to Lawson, who again did a respectable job with a non-country song, "Danny's Song" from Loggins and Messina. She'll appeal to a big chunk of the country crowd, and as I noted with Hewitt, it's time to see if she can write. Trisha Yearwood, to whom I compare Melissa, can write.

Same goes for Gabe. A Nashville Star has to be able to write, and my vote goes to the singer who can prove his or her compositional abilities. My gut hunch, based on what I've read, is that Ashlee can already out-write them both.

Last but not least, Pearl Heart tortured the country with some more hideous three-part harmony (FYI: Somebody really needs to introduce these chicks to a tape of the group Take 6 from back in the day to show them how harmonies are done.) and were promptly praised by our tone-deaf judges.

But before America could be influenced wrongly, the trio was kicked to the curb.

It makes me uncomfortable to be almost downright mean, but Nashville Star had been a reputable show for five seasons before the move to NBC. And at least some of the blame has to be put on the turdalicious "talent."

I'm just about done with Hewitt, particularly vocally, and I'm still waiting to see whether Gabe or Melissa can write a country song. My gut hunch says this is your final three, and I give Melissa a slight edge.

Summer movies are supposed to be fun. They're big romps of predictable entertainment based on formulae tried and true.

In some ways, Hancock is pretty standard summer fare. It's an action flick, probably fairly high budget, and it has its share of scenes meant more to shock an audience than to develop a character.

On the other hand, this movie approaches the superhero genre from a different point of view than most. What if, by chance, our hero was actually an asshole?

This is the essence of Hancock. How can a PR man help to redeem a superhero the whole world believes is an asshole?

Now, you might not want to call the hard-drinking, bleary-eyed John Hancock by that epithet. He tends to react disproportionately. Nevertheless, he serves a world that hates him because he's a hero who often leaves more of a mess than he should.

For example, Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) gets stuck on a train track. Hancock (Will Smith) flashes into the scene with a nanosecond left, flipping Embrey's car upside down on top of another car.

In this very scene, we get the essence of the nasty, ungrateful world Hancock faces. In other movies, the superhero would be lauded and applauded and cheered. He'd disappear, change out of his clothes and kiss the girl as the credits rolled. In this movie, everybody besides Embrey bitches and moans about the superhero's technique.

"Why'd ya have to flip the car upside down? Couldn't you have just picked it up?"

"Now, you've really caused a traffic jam, Hancock!"

Jason Bateman, who is making it a habit of playing good guys ("Juno," "Arrested Development"), steps from his vehicle to calm the masses, expressing his gratitude to Hancock. He says something to the effect of, "Whoa, folks. At least I'm alive. I for one am very grateful to Hancock!"

I should note: While Bateman is dressed like a PR hack (suit, tie, etc.), Smith is dressed like anything but a superhero. He actually looks a bit like Lenny Kravitz after a three-day bender, not that I've ever seen Kravitz after such an event (his nor mine).

To pay Hancock back, Embrey decides to develop a public relations plan to boost his name, to improve what people think about him. Embrey introduces his wife (Cherize Theron) to Hancock, and our superhero takes on the role of sort of a surrogate uncle to their kid.

Fun and hijinks ensue, and this movie has a hell of a twist. It was 85 minutes worth of fun, and I loved this movie from an entertainment perspective.

Critically, I had one major problem with the film: I would have loved more back story on how Hancock got to where he is, more than just the verbal explanation we got. In scenes where Hancock is saving people, I noticed that everybody knows this guy by name. Given that the movie was only an hour and a half long, I would have appreciated a bit more background on Hancock as a superhero.

Definitely loved the way this film had some dark tones, and I thought Bateman was excellent in his role. Will Smith is Will Smith, the black Tom Hanks. He's good but fairly generic, not a bad thing. It is what it is. Charlize Theron was good also, but I think most folks will walk away from this recognizing that Bateman is a rising star.

However, again, this was a fun 85 minutes, and I'd absolutely recommend it.

Think I might have just seen the greatest Wimbledon final ever.

Rafa Nadal topped Roger Federer, proving once and for all that Superman is human. The match lasted until well past dusk in England and was about one or two games from having to be suspended until Monday -- before the Spaniard won the fifth set 9-7.

The rivalry between Federer and Nadal has become legendary, the best individual rivalry I can think of since Bird and Magic in the 1980s, at least among rivalries that were such for positive reasons.

Back in the 1960s, we had Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, and in the 1970s, we had Ali and Frazier. But what are the best individual rivalries of the past 20 years or so?

That is ... besides Federer and Nadal ... (winning game from 2007 Wimbledon final):

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are the standard bearers for positive, spirited competition -- unmatched in terms of rivalry.

Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt were mega rivals in the 1980s, and it often got ugly:

Sometimes rivals are best measured by our obligation as viewers to watch whenever they appear together. The rivalry between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield was pretty one-sided in truth (in favor of Evander), but a Tyson-Holyfield bout was the event of the late 1990s. And craziness was usually sure to happen:

Love to search for obscure videos and old music on YouTube, and tonight I found these delights from the 1980s.

Agnetha Faltskog - "Shame"


An obscure song to Americans from a member of Abba. Her one big hit here in the States was called "Can't Shake Loose," but this was always my favorite.

The Dream Academy - "Life In A Northern Town"


Incredibly underrated, this tune inches up each passing year closer to the echelon of "classic." Production wise, this song always seemed to be a bit dated.

Rupert Holmes - "Him"


Incredibly dorky dude, which I can appreciate given my dorkdom, but what a terrific writer.

Fleetwood Mac - "Gypsy"


This IS a classic, hands down.

Journey - "Girl Can't Help It"


American Idol's Randy Jackson makes several appearances in this one.