As I expected….AI’s last night of auditions switching between NYC and San Juan was just too rushed! We didn’t get to see even one-third of all those ticketed to Hollywood! Unlike the last few auditions, looks like NYC had a ton of talent, handing out 26 passes to Hollywood….San Juan only had 9 contestants getting their tickets punched, so they replace San Francisco with the lowest # moving on….thank goodness, how embarrassing would that have been to the city by the bay!?

So….of the 35 moving on last night…….why oh why it wasn’t at least a 90-minute or two hour show is just incredible….here’s Eddie’s thoughts….

· Jorge Nunez….He's got a very good voice, but it's a definite ‘Spanishy’ sound that comes out …he moves on, but I wasn’t impressed! Will NOT make it through Hollywood!

· Melinda Camille…..The girl with a shaved head, who loves to dance naked. This girl's kind of a weirdo.….but I bet my cousin Greg liked her!! ;-0 Surprisingly she does well, and Kara says she’s like a ‘vitamin boost’…..OK….but she’ll not make it through Hollywood!

· Jackie Tohn…..She’s been entertaining for 10 years, says she started in the music business as a little kid with her dad. She sings some Jason Mraz, another over-done artist in AI auditions! Raspy, unique voice that will stand out in Hollywood! Potential dark horse for the Top 36, but will NOT go too deep in the competition!

· Nick Mitchell….AKA Norman Gentle, an effeminate funny guy, who is pretty good at singing ‘Amazing Grace’, but….please….this was a joke putting him through!. Wasting money sending this duck to Hollywood!

OK……FAST FORWARD time for what seems to be some pretty good contestants who received tickets to Hollywood…..

· Ashley Hollister….21 year old from NJ, sounded good….but who knows!!?? Not enough for me to say how good or bad! L

· Kenny Hoofpauer….Gotta love this local kid, a 16 year-old from Havertown, PA who sings Jason Mraz (AGAIN!!) and does sound pretty good. Hope he makes it through Hollywood so the local Fox 29 Station in Philly has someone to follow!

· Kendell Beard…..Very pretty 23 year-old girl from Austin, TX…..sounds really good and looks great….She’s gets 4 yes’s from the judges and is a lock to get through Hollywood and into the Top 36 for sure, and could go much deeper in the competition! Keep an eye on this pretty blonde!

· Monique Garcia Torres….Back to San Juan for the chubby babe with the cute little brother who she drags in front of the judges for support and sympathy! It works…..but she BARELY makes it through, thanks big time to Simon’s deciding vote! But….NOT Top 36 potential….sorry!

· Patricia Lewis Roman….Last audition of the night from San Juan. She gets the benefit, like some others, of doing two songs, one Spanish…and makes it through to Hollywood….NO THANKS to Paula, who emphatically and quickly said NO!? Doubt she has the voice and stage presence though to make it through Hollywood though!

The bottom line….It’s really too bad, that with 35 tickets punched to Hollywood, this wasn’t a longer broadcast! We were all deprived the opportunity to see more talent, and instead, had to put up with all the buffoons that get paraded in front of the cameras!

FAST FACTS: With auditions now officially OVER…..it’s FINALLY time for Hollywood Hell Week…..time to get a bit more serious! There should be at least two or possibly three nights of AI next week in Hollywood before we are all introduced to what, for the FIRST time, will be the TOP 36 contestants!

So…..what next? Well….I’m going to look through my recaps of all the auditions and come up with my BEST candidates for the Top 36 before Hollwood’s first night….and then, after I see all the others that made it to Hollywood, I’ll develop and break it all down further and round out who I feel will move on to challenge for the AI top spot this year! Until then, a great Super Bowl weekend to all….enjoy the great commercials, THE BOSS at half-time….and oh….yeah….the game too……GO STEELERS!!

See ‘ya all next week in Hollywood….’Eddie Idol’…….OUT!!

Okay gang -- let's all give Cheers to Eddie Idol's amazing coverage of the AI Auditions!! Thanks a bunch Eddie!

Another night of AI auditions last night as Idol visited Salt Lake City, home of last years runner-up David Archuleta (and yes Kimmy…I do LOVE saying and typing that!), the Mormon religion, 3% beer, High School Musical, and……The Osmond Family. As with the last few auditions, not a ton of talent at all….only 13 contestants got tickets punched to Hollywood, so San Francisco is still safe with the lowest # at 12.
(Kim's note: Eddie, I'm a little scared for ya, even I didn't know SLC was the home of High School Musical!)
Of the 13 moving on….and as every other show we only got to see a few….here’s my thoughts from the land of shiny, happy people…..
· David Osmond…Another Osmond breaks into the musical spotlight! He’s the son of Allen Osmond, an original Osmond, and one of MANY in the family. He’s also battling MS, as the dad has for the past 21 years! Having NEVER been an Osmond fan, have to feel good about the kid battling MS and trying all this. Thought he was pretty talented, looks good and sounded good, so with the Osmond name behind him, he’s in my Top 24….after all….it’ll equate to RATINGS points for FOX-TV and AI in February thru May! (Boy, Eddie knows his Osmonds!)
· Frankie Jordan…. Stay at home, 23-year old mom, very confident in her singing ability, who sings an Amy Winehouse song, and sounds just like her! This girl is HOT, and even looks like Amy Winehouse, just way more attractive….but let’s hope not as odd as we get to know her better in the coming weeks! I think she could go very deep in the competition….a lock for my Top 24! (Eddie, for the record, saying a girl looks like Amy Winehouse is NEVER considered a compliment!)
· Megan Cokrey…..Another young mom who just went through a divorce, cute girl with lots of support. She’s got a ‘sassy jazzy broadway voice’ that’s quite unique, memorable in a good way I guess. She’ll make it through Hollywood into the Top 36…maybe even Top 24….I’m just not totally sold on her nearly as much as Simon seemed to be.
· Austin Sisneros….A 17-year-old with a minor lisp, who is the senior class president at his school. Sings a very good ‘Train’ song, which I thought he did very well, unlike the judges, though all put him through, even Simon, who I really believe was quite annoyed by this kid. Certainly a nice, motivated HS kid, but think he’ll struggle mightily making it through Hollywood next week!
· Jarrett Burns….Thanks to Fox’s stupid producers, we only see about 5 seconds of this kid! Seems like he has a BIG voice, but sings Eddie’s ‘Least favorite -most hated-way overused’ song ‘Girl Put Your Records On’…..not even sure this kid got a ticket to Hollywood or not!? I’m hoping that after the song choice…..NO!!!
· Taylor Vaifanua….A BIG girl (tall, she’s a 5’11” giant from Samoa) who’s family moved back to Utah so she could get noticed for her singing. Don’t worry, at 5’11”, you can’t miss this chick!! She’s 16, but looks 26, probably because she’s so TALL! She sings a very spiritual/religious song about God, which is odd for auditions, but has a decent voice and all the judges, esp Kara, liked her. Doubt she’ll go far, but she’ll certainly be noticeable in Hollywood next week. Did I mention that she was TALL??!! :-0
· And THE BEST OF THE NIGHT IS…….drum roll please……ROSE FLACK! Final contestant of the night, a hippie-looking, 17-year old chick. Tough life too…..her dad, a hippie, died when she was only 13. Two years after her dad died, her mom died in a car crash. Ouch!! Only immediate family is her brother, who's still around and seems supportive. She currently lives with her best friend and her best friend's family. She's really cute, and quite likable. Simon thinks she looks terrific. She sings "I Feel the Earth Move," by Carole King. Not your typical voice, but memorable, with great tone, and she knows how to sing. If she can get by with the hippie look not being too much of a distraction, think she has the whole package, and she's only 17. She gets four YES’s, and she's going to Hollywood. Top 12 for sure IMHO! Keep an eye on this girl!
The bottom line….Though only 13 were ticketed for Hollywood, I think this audition will be remembered for all the ‘unique and memorable’ voices, and I think several of the chosen few in Utah will go deep in this competition!

FAST FACTS: President Obama provided some solid competition for "American Idol" in the prime-time ratings for the week of Jan. 19-25, but still was trumped by AI. ABC's "Neighborhood Ball," was seen by 12.6 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research. It competed directly against AI. "Idol" won easily, but its Tuesday night audience of 22.8 million was clearly affected by interest in the new president. Television's most popular show rebounded to draw nearly 26 million people the next night!
So…..as if the one hour audition episodes aren’t RUSHED enough, tonight we get to see two city’s auditions get squeezed into 60 minutes. NY City and San Juan, PR, take center-stage tonight Should have been at least a 90-minute show…..but I’ll wait and see what the talent is like and how many get thru to Hollywood before I complain any longer! More of ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter to come tomorrow……..after the last two auditions before Hollywood Hell Week next week……so until tomorrow….’Eddie Idol’…….OUT!

Sorry this is so late everyone -- it's my fault not Eddie's! BTW Eddie, loved your description of Taylor ... but is she tall?

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I checked in with Top Chef a few minutes late last night, because Lost went over 10 pm.



Anyway, they got to the Quick Fire right away! In honor of the upcoming Superbowl, the cheftestants were made to fill their names on a simulated football pool grid, knowing only the categories of "food groups" running down the side. Across the top their main ingredients were later revealed.



Everyone's main ingredients turned out to be oats, since Quaker was sponsoring the challenge.



Fabio made an egg plant fried roll out of oats and vegetables.

Stefan did a banana mousse with oats and dairy.

Carla went with pasta using oats, nuts and grains.

Jaime cooked up shrimp with a fruit sauce from her oats and fruit.

Leah made crusted fish out of oats and seafood.

Hosea whipped up schnitzel and potato salad from oats and meat.

Jeff went with chicken poillard from his oats and poultry.



I missed who the guest judge was, but he didn't look familiar, so it's no big deal. Leah, Fabio and Jeff were chosen as the bottom three, while Carla, Jaime and Stefan were tops. Stefan was chosen the winner -- again -- he's won 5 challenges now.



(I'm gonna go out on a limb now and bet on Stefan to win the whole thing. He pretty well seems like a lock, however, so did Richard last season, until he completely blew it in the finale... )



At this point in the game, the winner does not receive immunity from elimination, but Stefan did receive a "useful advantage" for the challenge.



On to the Elimination Challenge (which is what we've been waiting for since last week's preview)!

The Top Chef Bowl brought on contestants from prior seasons (called the All-Stars) to go head-to-head with the remaining seven cheftestants. Returning along with Spike and Andrew were Josie, Andrea, Camille, Nikki and Miguel. Other than Spike & Andrew, no one to get excited over.



For his "useful advantage" Stefan got to choose his competition. He picked the Dallas Cowboys and Andrea, thinking he would be safe because she wasn't nearly as skilled as he was (in his mind). The groups were given their choice of NFL Teams and five minutes to decide which player would be on which team. Teams were tasked to cook something native to that region.



According to which NFL Team they picked, that's how they were paired up with an All-Star.



Jeff-Josie each picked the Miami Dolphins, because that's where they're from.

Fabio-Spike each chose the Green Bay Packers, thinking the ingredients would provide for an easy win.

Hosea-Miguel went with Seattle Seahawks.

Leah-Nikki chose the New York Giants.

Jaime-Camille picked the San Francisco 49ers.

And Carla-Andrew got the New Orleans Saints, which delighted Carla because she's a huge fan of Andrew!



Each player was given two hours to plan their dish. Remember, each cheftestant is going up against the All-Star they were paired with.

Fabio, of course, was very confident -- "If they gonna give me monkey ass to fill, it's no problem!"

Back at the apartment on the day of the challenge, Hosea's stressing, while Fabio's musing about sleeping on the top "bunky bed." Fabio wants to win it for his Mama, while Carla's off getting "centered."

The chefs take center stage in a room filled with the other eliminated chefs and the Top Chef judges. Judges will award 7 points (touchdown) to the player whose dish they deem best, while 3 points (field goal) will be awarded by audience vote. Whichever "team" (Cheftestants or All-Stars) garners the most points wins. Any single cheftestant that doesn't beat their All-Star will be up for elimination.

Josie's hot shrimp and bean ceviche with mango glaze beats Jeff's rock shrimp ceviche with sangria sorbet.

Fabio's venison with salad and cheddar is defeated by Spike's venison w/cherries.

Hosea's salmon roll/salad triumphs over Miguel's cedar plank salmon.

Nikki's sauteed chicken livers are bested by Leah's seared steak and salad.

Jamie's crab plows over Camille's miso sweet potato mash.

Andrew's crawfish crudo with spicy lime is beaten by Carla's gumbo and grits.

And Stefan's salad, prime rib and pork is shut out by Andrea's Tex Mex chili, chips and guacamole.

The Cheftestants win! But that also leaves Stefan, Fabio and Jeff in the elimination round.

Stefan declared he was in love with Andrea, "call me", then called himself a "douche bag!"

Hosea, Carla, Leah and Jaime are called from the "Stew Room" to stand before Judges Table. Carla is declared the winner.

As for the "losers:"

Fabio defended his meat as being "medium rare," saying it sat too long.

Stefan apologized for his disappointment, while the judges criticized him for picking Andrea, thinking his win would be "easy." Padma declares Stefan's salad "abominable!"

Jeff is humiliated after judges emphasize that he was beaten by a hot bean ceviche. Oh the horror!

Jeff -- please pack your knives and go!!!

Up Next: The Elfman's favorite guest judge is back -- that friggin' tip-lipped Frenchmen Eric Ripert!! Set your DVR now Elfman!

For more info or to watch Top Chef visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/index.php

**** SPOILERS ****

Do not read any further if you haven't watched the latest episode of Lost yet! Go, right now to http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index and watch.

I'm not going to write an entire recap, because the folks over at Lostpedia do a much more thorough job. So if you can't watch online, visit here http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Jughead and read the synopsis!

So last, night ABC re-aired last week's final hour of Lost with pop-up windows, giving extra info for viewers.

Note to self: Must remember to watch re-run, I only watched the last five minutes last night and there was some useful info given!

For instance, the hooded lady at the end was identified as Eloise Hawking, and she was the woman I remembered from Season 3 that wouldn't sell Desmond a wedding ring in her curio shop!

Anyway, other revelations last night included:

Daniel's in love with Charlotte.

The Others speak Latin.

The Island and its inhabitants were experiencing the year 1954.

Penny and Desmond have a son and he's named *tear* Charlie.

Charles Widmore funded Daniel's career.

Richard visited Locke when he was a child, because Locke told him to.

Widmore told Desmond that Daniel's mother is in Los Angeles .... could she be the

mysterious Eloise afterall?

But the biggest revelation was saved for last, of course --- Charles Widmore, himself, was an Other, living on the Island in 1954.

He and Locke came face to face after Locke surrendered himself before Richard at the Others camp. Locke escaped harm by telling Richard that Jacob sent him and explained that he and Richard meet in the future ...

Lost yet? Join the club!

Well….this will be short and sweet….as last night’s AI One-Hour Show with auditions from sunny and warm Jacksonville, FL was filled with many rough auditions, and much like what we heard and witnessed from San Francisco, was a rather forgettable evening. Only 16 contestants got tickets punched to Hollywood, but still better than the LOW of 12 that san Francisco posted.
Of the 16 moving on, and let me say that I don’t think the producers at Fox do the show justice by hurrying through a handful of ticketed contestants….but here’s my thoughts from sunny FL…..
· Joshua Ulloa…who Likes it when people compare him to Justin Guarini ….sang a Marvin Gaye song which I thought wasn’t very good, but was complete with many sound effects (reminded me of Blake Lewis). This kid won’t make it through Hollywood!
(note from Kim: Guarini, by the way, happens to be on CMT's Gone Country 3 this season -- which screams success *sarcasm* -- and Eddie, be nice to Blake!)
· Julissa Veloz…. ‘Miss Latino FL’ …….who sings OK but is very irritating otherwise, esp with her annoying laughter! UGH!! Another one who will not make it past Hollywood Hell Week!
· Sharon Wilbur…..Cute girl who I’m sure many will love because of her adorable little shitzu, Sasha, who sat on Simon’s lap while she sang Karen Carpenter’s “Superstar.” Not crazy about the song pick, but this girl has potential! I can see her making it through Hollywood…..but leave the pooch at home! (Sorry Kimmy! L) (Kim: AI is no place for a pooch!)
· Jasmine Murray….One of the better contestants who is on her way to Hollywood. Hated the Fergie song she did, but she’s 16, very pretty, has plenty of family support from her sister’s and mom, and has the ‘package’ to make it through this competition….keep an eye on this kid, she’s Top 24 potential for sure!
· TK Hash….A repeat AI contestant who auditioned last year, this time supposedly better!? He was truly all over the place (and botched the lyrics too!) on John Lennon’s “Imagine,” but it was good enough to have the judges put him through. I’m not as big a believer, and think he may have the talent to be Top 36 or possibly sneak into the Top 24, but don’t see him as a serious contender for the long haul at all!
· Ann Marie Boskovitch …..BEST OF THE NIGHT! Only thing I wasn’t crazy about were the judges telling her to come back as a ‘different person’….say what??? WEIRD!! But…back to Ann Marie…Very pretty girl with a really nice voice, sang Colbie Caillet’s ‘Bubbly’ , and did it very well….a nice package that will go DEEP in the competition, Top 12 for sure! Keep an eye on this girl!
The bottom line….not nearly the talent we saw in Louisville, but a few diamonds out of all the rough auditions. Other than the contestants singing, or attempting to, the real ‘highlights’ of the night were shots of Randy Jackson slapping his guitar with Journey while “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” plays in the background, and of course….Paula’s fake attempt at kissing Kara…..causing Kara to show a little more cleavage afterwards than she may have wanted to! But….I’m sure all the guys watching the show loved it!! :-0

FAST FACTS: David Cook has his announced his nationwide ‘Declaration Tour’ starting on Feb. 14th and locally will be playing in Carlisle, PA on March 3rd, The Borgata in Atlantic City on March 20th and 21st, and York, PA on March 24th!

OK…..tonight we head west to Salt Lake City, UT……home of last year’s runner-up David Archuleta! More ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter to come tomorrow……..after the break!


Kim: Boy Eddie, you just loved writing "last year's runner-up David Archuleta", didn't you! Sorry, couldn't resist!

Just a quick note to let you know that yesterday, pushed by the Obama administration, the Senate approved to delay the transition to digital television signals until June 12. The date was originally scheduled to be next month, Feburary 17.
That means the transition - expected to leave millions of households at least temporarily without TV pictures - will take place after the TV season is over, not during the all-important February sweeps!
So thatgives anyone who needs it more time to geta converter box for your analog television or sign up for cable or satellite service.
For more on the digital television transition visit http://www.dtv.gov/

OK, it's Wednesday ... you know what that means ... LOST and Top Chef, two of my current favorite shows! And they're not on at the same time, BONUS!



Anyway, just a quick preview for any who are interested.

Tonight on ABC at 9 pm Lost continues with their 5th season, after coming back last week. Tonight's episode will center on Desmond's search for Daniel's mother (who I think is the same lady who's running the show for Ben, seen at the end of last week's episode). Oh no, I hope that doesn't lead Penny right to Ben, who vowed to her father, the evil Charles Widmore, that he will kill her.


Yeah, Desmond

Anyway, any episode featuring Desmond is just fine with me! I totally love him. And don't forget, last week Daniel, during a blast into the past on the island told Desmond that he's different from everyone else and the time travel "rules don't apply" to him.... hmmmm what the hell does that mean? Unfortunately, we still have two more seasons till we get "all" the answers ...

Last week's final hour of Lost repeats at 8 pm, just before the new episode.

For more info on LOST visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index



After Lost, I'll be clicking on over to Bravo for another rousing episode of their culinary giant Top Chef New York (10 pm). Tonight hijinx will feature former contestants playing against this season's hopefuls, including fan faves Spike and "I've got a culinary boner" Andrew. Yes, Top Chef's original Bromance will be hand to shake things up. Should prove to be very interesting, although I hope they're not just there for the QuickFire Challenge as has been the case with past contestants' cameos ...

For more on Top Chef visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/index.php

Elsewhere: Hoping to capitalize on Lost's good ratings, ABC is bringing back its new series Life On Mars at 10 pm, right after its Wednesday night behemoth ... Life follows the story of New York police detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara), who gets hit by a car in 2008 and finds himself unexpectedly catapulted into the year 1973, where he's working for a less-PC NYPD. It's based on a popular BBC series and has gotten pretty good reviews.

For more on Life on Mars visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/lifeonmars/index?pn=index

The Biography Channel offers up some sweet beefcake tonight with back-to-back episodes of, what else, Biography, from 8-11.
Up first, it's this year's Academy Awards' host and Wolverine Hugh Jackman at 8, followed by Batman himself, Christian Bale, at 9, and the late Heath Ledger at 10.

Enjoy!



In other news: What the hell is going on on Nip/Tuck? This show is becoming a hot mess -- and I don't mean that in a good way. During last night's episode it sunk to new lows, with newly "reformed" breast cancer survivor Christian Troy insulting women during a cancer survivors support group. He basically told them that any woman who doesn't get reconstructive surgery after losing their breasts is a victim, not a survivor. Then he quickly picked up the hottest looking broad there (who didn't even have cancer), took her back to his place and, well you know Christian ...
Then, when he refused to remove her breasts -- both her mother and sister had died of the disease, so she feared it was only a matter of time -- she went to their practice and used some of electric saw to cut them off herself!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww.
Then the lovely Portia de Rossi, who plays Julia's lover, got a face lift from Sean, but didn't tell him she was on antidepressants, and later died!! Oh, you can bet Julia's not happy with Sean.
Christian decided to try a relationship with lesbian Liz ... eewww.
And, if all that's not ridiculous enough -- Portia's TV daughter Eden, showed up to collect her mothers ashes from Julia, who didn't want to part with them, and decided that her mother belonged with Julia afterall, throwing the ashes all over Julia and Sean!! Major Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!

I told you we need The Carver back stat!!

Ok, so after being a blogging fool last Friday, I thought I deserved yesterday off. Sorry, I just wasn't inspired ... except for 24. Hope y'all remembered to watch another action-packed episode last night. But WTH, if you didn't, thanks to the miracle of the internet, you can watch it here or just take a few minutes to read Fox's awesome episode recap http://www.fox.com/24/


On to Tuesday night: Fox kicks off American Idol Final Auditions Week tonight at 8 pm. Yes, it's another hour devoid of trainwrecks! Have I mentioned how disappointed I am in Fox's decision to show less bad auditions and more good ones? It's totally ruined one of my fave guilty pleasures! And I told them so ...
I'm on an email list for Fox's survey panel and got a survey last week about AI and my viewing habits. So I let them have it, complaining about the lack of lame auditions! Anyway, if you, like Eddie Idol, are in it for the serious contenders, there will be more "final" auditions on Wednesday and Thursday nights, both at 8 pm.
For more on AI visit http://www.americanidol.com/

Following AI is another new episode of Fringe at 9. Yeah, I forgot to watch this last week and I'm not too hopeful for tonight either. But if you are, a serial killer is turning victims' brains into liquid across the country, and the case has a special urgency for Olivia.
For more on Fringe, visit http://www.fox.com/fringe/

Those raunchy Real Housewives of Orange County hit the road on Bravo tonight at 10. Jeana and Vicki are visiting Chicago. That should be interesting, since Jeana and Vicki haven't been getting along all season. For more on the OC Wives visit http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives/season/3/

Nip/Tuck returns on F/X tonight after being MIA last week. I have to say, not excited so far this season ... anyway, Julia is back and Sean's trying to reconcile his feelings for her ... WHERE, OH WHERE, is the CARVER??? Come back, this show desparately needs you! For more on Nip/Tuck visit http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/niptuck/


Ted Allen and The Food Network's newest reality competition Chopped has an all new episode at 10. Sorry, haven't been able to remember to watch this one yet ... even though I blogged about it and was interested. I guess I'm still yawning over Ted's last show Food Detectives. Don't get me wrong, I really like Ted, but I don't think he's capativating enough to anchor his own show ...
For more on Chopped visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html


My pick for the 10 p.m. time slot tonight is over on TLC. Toddlers & Tiaras debuts tonight and, boy do I love watching over-the-top conceited Moms dress up their toddlers like Miss America hopefuls for these extravagant pageants!
Who are these people, who sometimes forego feeding the rest of the family just to buy that one-of-a-kind child-sized sequin evening gown (to be worn only once, mind you), for that coveted crown?
I don't know which I like better, the screaming kids getting spray-tanned, their overzealous mothers or the ambiguously gay pageant coaches who help them achieve their dreams! All I know is I'll be there watching with a big bowl of popcorn!
For more info visit http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/about-toddlers-and-tiaras.html

And the really big news, according to Entertainment Weekly, is that Dr. Doug Ross is back!!! Oh yeah, baby, George Clooney's long-rumored return to ER is apparently happening, and he's taping his part this week, and here's the photos to prove it.

ER ends its run during sweeps in May and apparently is lining up many former players for the finale. Along with Clooney, expect to see Noah Wylie, Eric LaSalle and Julianna Marguilies. Now I just might have to tune in for that!

I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with my Dad this past weekend, and we went to see Clint Eastwood's latest, Gran Torino. And can I just say that at 78 years of age, Clint is still one of the most intimidating people on the planet.

In the film, which he also directed, Clint plays Walt Kowalski, a senior citizen version of Harry Callahan, if you will. And Clint plays him to the hilt, just the way we love him -- you can almost hear the words "Go ahead, make my day" in several scenes as the flick plays out.

It starts off with the funeral of Walt's wife, followed by a reception at his home, where Walt makes it clear that he's displeased with his disrespectful sons and their families, and his neighborhood, which has been overrun with Asian people. We learn very early that Walt is a Korean War veteran.

When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gangmember cousin, tries to steal his prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino, Walt sets out to reform the youth. He's drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family and is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.

It is an excellent film and I highly recommend it. It has just the right blend of drama, humor, a little suspense and sadness. It's Clint at his best and, unlike a lot of his other recent films, it's not too long!

And call me a softie, but it just melts my heart when, out of the corner of my eye, I see my ex-Marine father discreetly wipe a tear from his eye ...

The Obama administration has apparently sought a delay for the upcoming switch to Digital TV. The analog TV signal was (and still is at this time) slated to be turned off on February 17, but the government program to provide coupons for converter boxes needs more money. The new administration hopes to enact legislation to provide for an extension of analog service through June 12.

It is currently estimated that more than 6.5 million households are not prepared for the switch over. Those folks who rely on a rooftop TV antenna are the ones who will need converter boxes in order to continue receving programming. If you have cable or satellite service, you should go uninterrupted with the changeover.

For more information visit http://www.dtvanswers.com/

Yeah, I know that's a Monty Python reference, but this blurb has nothing to do with that. Just something strange that perked me up this morning while settling in ...

The cremains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife will spend eternity together in space.

Celestic Inc., a company that specializes in "memorial spaceflights," said yesterday that it will ship the remains into space next year.

According to the Associated Press, the couple's remains will be sealed into specially made capsules designed to withstand the rigors of space travel. A rocket-launched spacecraft will carry the capsules, along with digitized tributes from fans. The craft will travel ever deeper into the Final Frontier and will not return to earth.

After Gene died in 1991, his wife commissioned Celestis to launch a part of his remains into space in 1997. She died Dec. 18, 2008.

No word on whether Celestis will fashion the transporting spacecraft after the USS Enterprise -- now that would be cool!!

OK….so I’m a day late with my recap on Wednesday night’s AI auditions from Louisville, but not for lack of the talent level that city came up with! Churchill Downs, already known for big horses, big bets and even bigger hats, will also be known for a few big voices after Wednesday night’s show!! 19 Contestants got tickets punched to Hollywood…..and I believe there may have been more potential possibilities for the TOP 24 (heck….Top 12 and maybe the Final 4!!!!) from this audition than any other so far!

Of the 19 moving on, and again not all were given much face time, here’s Eddie’s thoughts…..
****Joanna Pacitti….BEST YET! This beautiful brunette could win it all, if she doesn’t suffer from lack of votes from folks who will hold it against her that she’s had past albums on several record labels, and quite a resume of industry past-experience! In doing some checking, here’s the skinny on her… Not only was she with A&M Records, as Kara pointed out, but Geffen records also released an album by her.
The soundtracks of “Legally Blonde,” “Bratz,” “First Daughter” and “Nancy Drew” all sported singles by her, and she was featured in an MTV show called “First Year.” What Pacitti is best known for though, drum roll please…….is her famous rise and fall from fame at age 11 when she won the lead role in the 20th anniversary production of “Annie,” only to be replaced by her understudy two weeks before the show’s Broadway debut! How ‘bout them apples! All in all….this girl is very talented and can sing!!!

(Note from Kim: Damn Eddie -- you really know your sh-t! Now watch CMT's Gone Country 3 and give us the scoop!)

· Brent Keith Smith….another contestant with past experience! He’s a former contestant from Nashville Star 2, had a song on the “Dale” soundtrack (a movie about Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt…glad I missed that one!! Kim: actually it was pretty good) and is a featured artist on the CMT’s website! First contestant that I’ve known who did a ‘Bad Company’ song very well! Good looking kid with a very strong voice! Lock for The Top 24…or Top 36…..at least so I’ve been told that it will be expanded to TOP 36 this year…so Ray was right…which only means more contestants will just have to be kicked off the shows each week!
· Matt Giraud….Sense a pattern developing here??!! Another one who actually has two albums of his own out there, too! Dueling piano player (if you’ve never been to a place with dueling piano players….do it!! It’s a riot!!) from Kalamazoo, MI who Simon said sounded like Elliott Yamin from AI Season 5….I know Ray’s smiling now!! Lock to move through Hollywood Hell Week!
· Alexis Grace…..Supposedly singing since she was two, she sings Aretha Franklin's "Dr. Feelgood," and Simon wasn't impressed. I wasn’t either….but the others put her through and tell her to work on her ‘stage presence’…..whatever! Welcome to Hollywood, but she won’t make it any farther! Take the Elevator of Shame baby!!

Some of the MORE talented contestants who, like in San Fran, did not get a lot of face time but looked and sounded really good for the little bit they were on screen…..these three stood out:
Kris Allen…..Kid from AR who performed ‘A Song for You’…..nice voice!
Ryan Johnson…..Railroad worker from Cincinnati, OH….like him…..so much that I forgot what the hell he even sang!? :-0
Felicia Barton….buxom brunette, bar singer/mom who did my least favorite and most overused AI track ‘Put Your Records On’, but did it probably the BEST I’ve heard from someone…..Possible Top 24 candidate here and my dark-horse (no pun intended) from the Churchill Downs auditions!
And The Sympathy Vote of The Night Goes to…… Leneshe Young, tough life for this 18-year old girl who grew up poor and homeless, in and out of shelters, but her mom is behind her 150%! Yeah for mom!! She sings a tune she says she actually wrote called "Natty," and it's pretty good. Simon loves it and eyes her like she's the next coming of Beyonce’! Kara praises her for doing her own thing….yeah…OK….Anyway, Leneshe's on her way to Hollywood, and I’m sure she’s a lock for the Top 24 (screw the Top 36…I’m trained already like Pavlov’s dog to think ‘Top 24’!) or even farther!

Idol Random Thoughts….Given that Idol is supposed to be all about giving everyday people like you and me a unique chance to be discovered, I’m not sure how I feel about them putting through someone, like Joanna , who’s already had several real shots at fame. Same could be said last year though with David Cook, Carly Smithson, Brooke and a few others who had past albums and records. But….there’s no denying that Joanna, Brent and Matt are all good enough for this competition and now that they are in it, all the Idol hopefuls should beware!

Interesting FACTS: Contestant Mark Mudd, who I’m sure we’ll see someday on the Post Office Wall’s ’10 Most Wanted" List, had his great-great-whatever-grandfather who was Samuel Mudd, the doctor who fixed (and later served in prison!) John Wilkes Booth's broken leg after he shot Lincoln and jumped off the balcony. Hence the saying…’Your name Is Mud(d)’!!

(Kim: Wow Eddie, you've really upped the ante! And bonus on the Mudd facts!)

Sooooo…..Louisville’s deep talent pool more than made up for all the loonies and losers in San Francisco….and next Tuesday it’s off to Jacksonville, FL. Until Tuesday’s auditions….. and Wednesday’s….and then Thursday’s….3 Nights of AI, can we all handle it!?.....Cheers and a great weekend to all…..Eddie Idol……OUT!

OK, I got the chance to watch the season premiere of LOST again last night. And, I just don't know where to start!



I mean, I totally loved it. It was thrilling, gripping, gut-wrenching and, most of all, confusing -- but that's what we Lostees have come to expect. And the writers didn't disappoint.



If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading and go to http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index and watch now. Start with the clip show to catch you up on what's going on. Trust me, there's always something you forgot!



Season 5 started out minutes from where Season 4 left off, but in it's usual style the opening scene featured characters we've never seen before. A man and woman waking up to a crying baby. We later see that they are apparently members of the Dharma Initiative and on the island. So we're back in time already -- and here's my theory -- that baby was Charlotte, one of the stranded scientists on the island from the freighter.



So here's my take on what's happening. Let's start with the island shall we?



Time Manipulation: The island and its occupants are hopping thru time every couple of hours with no rhyme or reason (at least that we know of yet). Daniel, who shows up back in time with the Dharma Intiative, is there because he supposedly understands all this. And at least we all know now that Dharma was only really interested in time travel.



Charlotte's nose is bleeding ... and how was she ever born on the island anyway, when all babies and their mothers never make it to the second trimester?



Locke, who we last saw on the island becoming leader of The Others, is suddenly left with no one after The Others disappear in time ... at least he's better off there, in the real world, he's still lying in a coffin ...



Day turns to Night, Night turns to Day -- my head's spinning, but hurts so good!



Locke sees Mr. Ecko's brother's plane crash and gets shot by Ethan (who's is also dead, but we're back in time, remember), then just as Ethan's about to kill him -- swoosh -- time travels forward and Ethan's gone (dead).

Locke's left stranded with a bullet in his leg, and someone's coming. Fortunately for him it's Richard (the mysterious Other, who never seems to age -- could that be because he's always jumping thru time?) and tells Locke that he has to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the island. When Locke asks "how", Richard replies, you're gonna have to die.

*goosebumps*

Island continues to skip thru time ...

Shirtless Sawyer, Juliet and the rest are running around the island looking for supplies when they come across the hatch ... somewhere in time. Daniel reaches out to Desmond in the hatch and tells him that he's not part of all this and "the rules don't apply to you," urging Desmond to go and find Daniel's mother in Oxford, England, in the future. Des doesn't understand, of couse not, he thinks he's nuts!

Desmond wakes up in the future on a boat with Penny and tells her he has to go to Oxford ...

Damn, at 10:04 Sawyer put a shirt on ...

Sawyer, Juliet and the gang are trying to make camp back on the beach when some guy we've never seen before, Neil, starts bitching about their situation. Quicker than you can say Oceanic 6, Neil's shot with a flaming arrow. Really, who uses flaming arrows anymore?

The castaways are under fire from hostiles we don't know of yet and Sawyer and Juliet get attacked in the jungle. Just as the hostiles are about to cut Juliet's hand off, they are shot by ... Locke.

On to the Oceanic 6:

Men in black show up at Kate's door and want blood samples from her and Aaron to determine their relationship. We already know that Kate's lying about being Aaron's mother. Claire, who's still trapped somewhere on the island with her dead father, is Aaron's real mom. Kate gets rid of them and flees with Aaron.

Jack and Ben steal Locke's body after Jack agrees to help Ben get the Oceanic 6 together for a return to he island. He confesses that Locke told him that everyone on the island would die if he didn't go back. Ben flushes Jack's pills.

Hurley and Sayid are on the run because Sayid killed the guy stalking Hurley at the mental hospital. Hurley's still seeing dead people, i.e. Ana Lucia, who tells him you've got a lot of work to do," and "Libby says hi."

Sun gets detained at the airport by none-other-than Charles Widmore, who wants to talk to her about their "common interest" -- killing Benjamin Linus.

Kate receives a mystery call from someone who turns out to be Sun. At her hotel, Sun tells Kate that she doesn't blame her for what happened to Jin (he died on the freighter when it exploded). Kate cries.

In a flashback, we see the Oceanic 6 on Penny's boat agreeing to lie about everything to keep those left behind safe. Hurley's reluctant and we realize that's what's been eating him ...

Back in the present, Ben tells Jack that Jack's never coming back and takes Locke's body to some deli. Anyone recognize the lady in the deli? I can't remember her at all, but she's obviously in on everything and agrees to keep Locke safe.

Sayid's passed out from some sedative delivered by an assassin that he took out. Hurley goes home and his dad (Cheech) takes Sayid to Jack for help. Jack tells Ben he has Sayid, while Hurley spills the truth to his mom. She says she believes him even though she doesn't understand him.

Ben shows up for Hurley, telling him he has to go back to the island. Hurley's so distraught at the mere thought he tells Ben "Never Dude" and runs out of the house straight into the undercover cops who are waiting outside, confessing to the murder (altho he didn't do it). He is immediately taken into custody, thereby foiling Ben's plan ... for now.

Are y'all still with me?

The whole thing ended with Ben visiting a mysterious, cloaked, white-haired lady in some kind of shrine. She warns Ben he only has 70 hours to get everyone back. To which he replies, "What happens if I can't get them all to come back?"

"Then God help us."

OK, I'm pretty sure this the same woman who showed up in a Desmond time-travel/flashback, where he was in England and ran into Charlie on the street. Talked to her on a bench and she was also in a curio shop. Someone else pointed out to me that her photo was also on the desk of the head monk at the Monastery where Desmond spent some time...

Anyway, could she possibly be Daniel's mom that he had asked Desmond to look up?

I remember her as the creepy woman from the Nicole Kidman thriller "The Others."

And I definitely think Locke's going to be resurrected -- somehow, probably on the island. We all know, as Locke said in last season's finale -- "It's a place where miracles happen."

OK, let's hear it -- what did you think? Anyone else have any theories. I love me some Lost queries!

Next Week: Looks like the smoke monster returns. Yay! We missed ya smokey!

In a cheap move to make even more money Warner Bros. is rereleasing The Dark Knight into theaters this weekend -- because $997 million worldwide box office gross apparently just isn't enough.


Actually, I think their bigger plan is to unseat Titanic as the domestic box office champion. And that just ticks me off!!

Sorry Dark Knight, you're no Titanic! I'll admit it's a well done film and yeah, I love me some Batman, but never, ever mess with my Jack Dawson!

The Dark Knight's been out on DVD for over a month, so greed can be the only factor in rereleasing it into theaters now. Hell, it didn't even get nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, so really, there's no other excuse.



Released in 1997, Titanic became the first ever film to gross a billion dollars worldwide and for good reason. The film is a masterpiece! I personally paid to see it 19 times in the theater, and not just because of some fangirl crush on Leonardo DiCaprio.

The story was heartbreaking and the effects were like nothing we had ever seen before. Hell, I even bought a big screen TV when it was released on VHS (yeah, those were the early days of DVD), because my 27-inch set just wasn't BIG enough for this HUGE flick!

It went on to win 11 Academy Awards, tying All About Eve for nominations (14) and Ben Hur for wins. It's worldwide gross stands at $1.8 billion dollars and it's closest competition is Lord of the Rings: Return of the King as somewhere around $1.2 billion. Yeah, I know my Titanic film trivia ...

So Cheers to Titanic (my all time fave film, in case you hadn't guessed) and Jeers to Warner Bros.' greed for rereleasing The Dark Knight into theaters.

According to www.movieweb.com, Titanic's final domestic gross stands at $600,788,188, while The Dark Knight grossed $529,143,070 during its first run. Yeah, that's right "first run." So WB, even if by some miracle it would top Titanic, at this point, James Cameron's massive box office behemoth would still be the highest grossing single-run film!

TAKE THAT!!

Sorry guys, had to get that off my chest!

So I watched Grey's Anatomy over on ABC last night and it looks like beloved character Denny Duquette is dead and gone, again -- possibly for good this time!

While I'll admit that the episode was probably the strongest of an otherwise weak season ... WTH?? If you watch, you already know that doomed Denny, played by the handsome Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who can't seem to stay alive on TV, but that's another story), died a couple seasons ago. He showed up at Seattle Grace desparately needing a heart transplant. Sex-crazed intern Izzy Stevens fell madly in love with him and even stole a heart for him.

Unfortunately, all this wasn't enough to save Denny :(
So he died, and Izzy spent most of the next season trying and failing to get over him. Even the $8 million check he left her didn't help ... she ended up donating the whole thing to open a clinic in his memory. (Yeah, I could've killed her myself for that. Really, who donates all of $8 million w/o keeping a little for themselves?)

Well Denny had the nerve to show up during November sweeps last year and he's been hanging around with Izzy ever since. And he keeps saying, "I'm here for you." Yes, he's dead, but Izzy can still see him and touch him and do all sorts of steamy things with him.

Fans all over were scratching their heads at this storyline. While we love Denny, how long are we expected to believe that this can happen? Obviously we all thought that the "I'm here for you" could only mean one thing -- Izzy's going to die and her beloved Denny is there to escort her to the afterlife ...

Not so said Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes back in November, promising us that the storyline wasn't going to play out that way ...

Well, after last night, it seems Denny was there for her, and when asked by Izzy what that meant, he just kept saying -- "You're a doctor. Figure it out."

GAAAAAAHHH! *rips hair out while standing in front of TV*

Long story short, apparently there's something wrong medically with Izzy and Denny's there giving her a choice. (Well, why didn't he just say that?) She can either do nothing and die or choose to stay here and get treatment. She chose to stay and Denny left. We still don't know what the problem is ... I guess that'll have to wait till next week.

Yeah, I feel cheated ... but at least I got to spend some more time with Denny, and isn't that what we all wanted anyway?

Grey's Anatomy returns in two weeks with a major CROSSOVER EVENT (geez, the networks really do love that phrase) with Private Practice ... well that would put us into February and that only means one thing -- SWEEPS! Should be interesting ...

For more info or to watch Grey's Anatomy visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/index?pn=index

Saturday night at 8 p.m. over on CMT begins another season of their hit(?) reality show Gone Country. Season 3 to be exact. And while I've never watched it before, judging by the contestant line-up, I might actually take the time to tune in ...

Gone Country is apparently a singing "competition" that pits "celebrities" (yeah, I put it in quotes because last season had the likes of Sean Young on ... can she still be considered famous? -- and a very drunken Sean Young at that) against each other singing country songs. I don't know what the "prize" is, probably just possible publicity for these has-beens.

Anyway, this season boasts the best line-up of out-of-work former famous people I've seen ...

Sheila E. -- give her credit, at least she's a very talented percussionist.

George Clinton -- OK, considering he's "The Godfather of Funk," he might still be famous.

Micky Dolenz -- I'm dating myself here, but I actually know who he is! And he was my favorite Monkee.

Tara Conner -- partying/drunken former 2006 Miss USA. I remember seeing the youtube clip, but don't particularly remember her.

Taylor Dayne -- I think I might actually have a CD of hers somewhere ...

Justin Guarini -- where do you go after losing American Idol -- to CMT, of course! I actually voted for this guy! And c'mon guys, he's a Philly native ...

But the biggest reason I'll be watching ...

RICHARD GRIECO -- Boy, where have you been all these years? Last time I saw him, he was dating/engaged to Yasmine Bleeth and busted for drugs ... but back in the '80s, I was a fan. This is the guy who replaced Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street, Fox's first-ever hit show ... Yeah, I know it seems like Fox has been around forever, but it hasn't.
I followed him over to his next show Booker and I even went to see his movie If Looks Could Kill. According to IMDB, he's been pretty busy with a lot of D movie work. Sorry, Richard, Johnny's a hard act to follow, maybe they can squeeze you into the next Pirates sequel. I'm sure they'll need somebody to swab the deck!
If not, there's always VH1 and their next season of Confessions of a Teen Idol.

Grieco ... then

Actual country celebrity John Rich hosts.

For more info on Gone Country 3 visit http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/gone_country_3/series.jhtml

Sunday night at 8 pm TNT presents the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. The show has quickly become Hollywood's 3rd biggest (Oscars, Golden Globes outweigh it, heavily), with most of the nominated stars showing up for the red carpet glitz.

This is the awards show where the actors honor each other, only actors get to vote on the nominees and decide the award winners. The award itself is aptly named "The Actor."


Geez, why are they always naked!

Red carpet arrivals start at 6 p.m. on E!

For a complete list of the nominees visit http://www.sagawards.org/PR_071220

Eddie Idol checked in with me yesterday and promises to have a recap of Wednesday night's auditions from Louisville, KY, later today. And he said it was a good one! I, of course, completely forgot about AI, as I was completed ensconced in LOST!

I'll post as soon as I get it!

Just a quick note: I'm planning on offering up my thoughts on last night's awesome opener for LOST!

However, as is my norm, I want to go back and watch again first, because I usually pick up a few more things the second time around... I couldn't last night because I had to watch Top Chef!

However, if any of you want to offer up your thoughts ... hit the comments and I'll check it out before I post!!

Thanks -- Kim

Yeah, I know it's not Chicago, but I liked this banner and decided to post it anyway!

Well, Top Chef presented it's most popular challenge last night -- Restaurant Wars -- and the episode was hot and heavy, and I'm not just talking about the Hosea/Leah hook-up!

Right at the beginning, we see Hosea in the cheftestants' apartment talking about his girlfriend (no, that wasn't foreshadowing or anything). A little musings about throwing Arianne under the bus followed, and then it was off to the Quickfire Challenge.

And, finally, a guest judge that I actually recognized! Philadelphia restauranteur Stephen Starr, owner and creator of Morimoto, El Vez, Parc and Butcher & Singer (his latest), as well as other successful dining digs in New York City and Atlantic City, was brought on by Padma to participate in a quickfire tasting.

Padma announced that the next challenge would be the revered Restaurant Wars and the Quickfire Challenge was about creating one dish to showcase a theme for your restaurant. And the chefs were off and running, eager to impress Starr. As Fabio put it, "In love and in war you are allowed to do anything!"

Leah chose Red Snapper and quickly declared that it "smelled like ass," while Fabio had trouble opening the freezer doors!

Restaurant Themes:
Carla - Homey, Rustic
Hosea - Seafood, Mediterrean
Leah -- Asian
Stefan - American
Jeff - also American
Rhadika - Latin
Jaime - Seasonal
Fabio - Meditterean (would we expect anything else from him?)

After sampling all, Starr chose Rhadika's pan-seared cod with corn, spinach and chorizo as the winner. Leah came in second, so both were deemed leaders in the "war" and got to pick their teams.

Rhadika chose Carla, Jeff and Jaime, reiterating how much she dislikes Stefan ...
Leah picked Hosea (obviously), Fabio and Stefan.

Back at the apartment, where teams were left to come up with menus and names for their restaurants -- Sahana for Rhadika's team/Sunset Lounge for Leah's -- Leah and Hosea got a little too close and made out on the couch (oh no they didn't -- oh yes they did!). The next morning both admitted to the camera that it was a mistake because they are both in relationships (hmmm wonder if they still are after last night's ep aired). Then they continued to whine about it throughout the rest of the challenge ... yawn!

Each team was given $3,000 to start their respective restaurants, with six hours to prep their dishes. They also got $5,000 to shop for linens, furniture, accessories, etc. at Pier One. While shopping, Fabio declared, "This is the feeling my wife have all the time!"

Keep it up Fabio -- I love the stuff that man says!

Rhadika took on the task of manager, supervising the front of the house and kitchen, for her Middle Eastern-themed restaurant. While Fabio, wearing a Team Fabio shirt (where can I get that?), eagerly stepped up to play host for the Asian-themed Sunset Lounge. Jaime decided to make scallops -- AGAIN!!

Teams got to work, cooking and decorating their restaurants. Fabio walked in all decked out in a suit, to the cheers of his teammates, and delivered his best line yet -- "I run the front of the House. We can serve monkey ass in empty clam shell! We're gonna win this one. I'm running the show in the front!"

And much to his credit -- they did!

I don't know if this was an oversight or on purpose, but apparently, no one checked to make sure that the freezer was working properly and it made for chaos among both teams. Carla's yogurt sorbet turned to soup and Stefan's desserts had problems as well.

Diners arrived in swift fashion to both restaurants and the service began ... people complained right away about Rhadika's lack of finesse out front. The judges were particularly disappointed, purposely getting up to leave to see if she would bid them a proper farewell (never knew this was soooo important!).

But it was quite the opposite at the Sunset Lounge, where Fabio absolutely shined!! Starr declared Fabio "Fabulous!"

Judges weren't too impressed with either team's dishes, but decided that Fabio's fabulous demeanor and Stefan's delicious desserts were enough to win the challenge for the Sunset Lounge, with Stefan taking the top prize.

Team Sahana was really called to the carpet for their disappointing dishes and service at Judges' Table. Leah's cod was a "disaster." Carla was called out on her soupy yogurt, which she defended, saying that she knew it wasn't good, but sent it out "with love" anyway. Head judge Chef Tom Colicchio wasn't buying it, saying her explanation was "nonsense" and asking Rhadika why she, as manager, didn't do something about it!

And then -- horror of horrors -- Tom announced to team Sahana that the judges "walked out without a goodbye!"

To no one's surprise, Rhadika was asked to pack her knives and go ...

Next week: Top Chef All-Stars Challenge! Several former cheftestants are being brought back to compete either with or against this season's players, including Spike and Andrew, who made the most popular Top Chef quote of all time --- "I have a Culinary B-ner!" and I know there's a T-shirt over on bravo.com with that on it!


Andrew


Spike

For more info or to watch Top Chef visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/index.php

The Associated Press reported early today that apparently a backlash has started against 10-time Academy Award nominated film "Slumdog Millionaire."
Apparently, it's title is not such a hit in Mumbai, India, the same place where the film is set. The film is a rags-to-riches romance set in Mumbai's notorious slums.
Residents hit the streets in protest.
"I am poor, but don't call me slumdog," said Rekha Dhamji, 18, one of about two dozen slum residents who protested outside the home of one of the movie's actors, Anil Kapoor.
"I don't want to be referred to as a dog," she said.
Other protesters held up banners reading "Poverty For Sale," and "I am not a dog." One of them carried a puppy.
Nicholas Almeida, a social activist who organized the protest, said he planned to file a lawsuit on Friday to get the name changed.
The film, which tells the story of Jamal Malik, a poor youth who becomes the champion of India's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" television program as he searches for his lost love, has also been criticized for focusing on India's poverty.

Congratulations Danny Boyle -- it's official -- Slumdog Millionaire is a hit!

This morning a little after 8:30 a.m. the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences announced the nominations for the 81st annual Oscars.

As expected, Heath Ledger received a posthumous nod for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Night. However, I never expected Robert Downey Jr. to pull off a nomination for his performance as "the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude" in Tropic Thunder!

Another surprise was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, leading the pack with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Director and Actor for Brad Pitt (BB was shut-out at the Golden Globes), while Slumdog Millionaire followed with 10 nods.

Here's the official list:

1. Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”

3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”

4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”

6. Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

7. Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

9. Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”

11. Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”

12. Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

13. Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

14. Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

15. Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.

16. Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”

18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “The Conscience of Nhem En,” “The Final Inch,” “Smile Pinki,” “The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306.”

20. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

21. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

22. Animated Short Film: “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” “Lavatory — Lovestory,” “Oktapodi,” “Presto,” “This Way Up.”

23. Live Action Short Film: “Auf der Strecke (On the Line),” “Manon on the Asphalt,” “New Boy,” “The Pig,” “Spielzeugland (Toyland).”

24. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”
———
Academy Award winners previously announced this year:
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (Oscar statuette): Jerry Lewis
Gordon E. Sawyer Award (Oscar statuette): Pixar Animation co-founder Ed Catmull

The Academy Awards will be presented live on ABC February 22, but you can get your "star" fix this weekend over on TNT Sunday night at the presentation of the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Last night’s AI One-Hour Show (thank God it was only an hour!!) with auditions from San Francisco could easily have been called the ‘Gong Show’ or ‘AI’s By the Bay Freak Show’! It truly was one of the most disappointing auditions ever, and the talent level from that city was just terrible! Only a dozen folks (Yes….ONLY 12 from the city by the bay….and most of them were folks from Southern CA!!) got tickets punched…..guess that’s why Simon was sooooo crabby and feuding with Kara all night long, I’m sure all a stage show?!
Of the 12 moving on, I don’t think AI even did the show justice by showing us who the ‘best’ of those were, but from what was shown…..here’s my thoughts…..
· Tatiana Del Toro….Good looking, model type who has a laugh as scary as a hyena! She’s NOT AI material IMHO…..but nonetheless she’s moving on. No way she gets to the Top 24….mark it down!
· Jesus’ Valenzuela….No relation to Dodgers Fernando….but please….this kid would not have been going if not for his CKWS (cute kids with signs) coming in to the audition to show support, make the judges get out the sympathy vote, and bail his butt out! Another ‘loser’ who will not make it past Hollywood Hell Week!
· Annie Murdoch….Not to be confused with Annie Lennox, but she did look as stoned as Annie often does….another loser from the Bay area, and one that didn’t deserve the face time that others who got ticketed to Hollywood should have received!
· Adam Lambert….One of the better contestants who is on his way to Hollywood. Putting his own spin on Queens ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, thought he sounded great….keep an eye on this kid, he’s Top 24 potential for sure!
· Kai Kalama….Promoted this kids story all night long….takes care of his sick mom at home, so like Danny Gokey last week, get out the sympathy vote for this kid, except in this case, I really like the kid and think he’s genuine and has tremendous love for his mom! Better yet, he’s VERY talented, one of the BEST so far through the first three audition episodes, and a lock for the Top 24!!
Two contestants who did not get a lot of screen time (SHOULD HAVE!!) but looked and sounded pretty good…..
· Raquel Houghton…..Very pretty and had a nice voice, sang ‘Son of a Preacher Man’….a nice package that could move her through Hollywood, my dark-horse from San Fran! Keep an eye on this girl!
· John Twiford….Good looking, 27-year old music teacher from CA….kid looks good and sounds good, and should have replaced one of the bozos who received more face time! Possible Top 24 candidate!
Bottom line….no Katherine McPhee’s for me to pick out from last nights contestants…but it was good to see Kara stand up to Simon and call him on his rudeness and irritability last night! Their relationship will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
FAST FACTS: The ratings for Tuesday's "American Idol" took a hit thanks to live coverage of the many inaugural balls going on and being shown in some TV markets, yet the singing competition still came out on top. "Idol" averaged 22.4 million total viewers, easily besting the 12.6 million during the 8 p.m. hour for ABC's "Neighborhood Inaugural Ball," according to early data from Nielsen Media Research, but I’m also sure that many people probably DVR’d it as well.

OK…..I’m leaving my heart and all the loonies in San Fran….and tonight it’s off to Churchill Downs and Louisville, KY……a great place to hopefully have more winners than losers! Until tomorrow…..Eddie Idol……OUT!