Bookworm

Rest in peace, Bobby, and God Bless You

"Bobby Murcer, a personable, popular five-time All-Star who went on to a successful broadcasting career with the New York Yankees, died Saturday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 62." [YESNetwork.com: News]

"Michael Kay:  I have never in my life met a famous person more down to earth and more real than Bobby Murcer. He was my idol growing up, and he lived up to everything a young man could dream his idol could be. To get a chance to work with him was one of the great joys of my career. I miss him already and I'll miss him always. God got a good man in Bobby today." [Yes Network]

The Idol Effect

Top songs selling on iTunes as of this morning.  Kind of impressive that the new American Idol winner is currently outselling Coldplay and Rihanna.  I must admit to having bought #1, 3, 5, and 8.  I like these songs, but my favorites were from earlier in the season.  In a way, these will serve as placeholders on the iPod until he releases an album.

Actually the only songs on the top ten with no Idol influence at all are the Coldplay and Rihanna singles.  (Although I believe Rihanna appeared on Canadian Idol in the past.)  Leona Lewis was discovered by Simon Cowell and sang on the show; Natasha Bedingfield was recently on the show, and #9 and 10 are from Idol runner-up David Archuleta.

I actually find most of the music I end up buying as a result of the TV shows I watch.  The songs I bought this week were either heard on Idol or Grey's Anatomy.  I very rarely listen to commercial radio; most of my radio presets in the car are set to NPR stations.

Yes, another post about Idol

"Sometimes the snow comes down in June. Sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon. And sometimes -- every once in a while -- the people who vote for "American Idol" get it right.   On Wednesday night, they got it right. They anointed the smartest, most intriguing, most authoritative performer this program has seen in many a season, and in the same stroke, they made a case for "American Idol's" relevance, at a time when it was seriously in doubt." [Salon]

"It took 4 months, 42 episodes, 24 semifinalists, 3 intermittently infuriating judges, a small army of Swaybots, a handful of botched lyrics, 97.5 million votes, and one particularly soul-crushing bit of promotion on behalf of Mike Myers' latest (alleged) comedy, but American Idol's seventh season has finally come to an end. . . [I]f I'm being completely honest, shortly after dabbing the tears from my eyes over David Cook's undeniably touching victory — and after fielding a phone call from my happily married sister, who is nonetheless planning her wedding (!) to the season 7 champ — I grabbed the calendar off my wall and did some deeply dorky calculations. Yes, fellow Idoloonies, only 237 days (by my best calculations) till the start of season 8! . . [O]n nights like tonight, when Idol gets it mostly right, it's a beautiful distraction from the mundane concerns of our workaday lives, from our laundry lists of tasks not yet finished (or perhaps not even started), from the relentless weight of our current news headlines." [EW]

Finally! Opening Day for the Yankees

It's tempting to put too much stock in yesterday's game -- a well-pitched, low scoring game where the Chien Ming Wang handed the ball to Joba in the eighth who handed it to Mo in the ninth for the win. It reminds me of 1996, when (my faulty memory says) our starters routinely went seven innings and Mariano was setting up John Wetteland.  Our digital cable was wonky, enough so to make the game unwatchable -- everything was majorly pixelated and the audio went out for great swaths of time -- but we did watch the top of the ninth.  I'll have to make sure to find some highlights somewhere -- sounds like the Melkman was in the thick of things. 

Lost: Season 4: Confirmed Dead: Comment on picture

Regarding the snapshot of Ben shown in last night's episode:

• I thought the clothes looked like they're from the 70's. That doesn't mean the picture was *taken* in the 70's, of course; Ben could have old clothes. 
• It's hard to guess the vintage of the computer monitor -- white and boxy, probably PC, not Mac.
• The picture could have been taken on the island and developed off-island by Richard. None of the technology on-island seen so far looks like that.
• There was a tiny sliver of a profile shown at the extreme right of the picture.  Not really enough to be able to recognize the person. 

Grey's Anatomy Season Finale

Yes, there's a massive spoiler in this post if you haven't yet watched the G.A. ep. from last week.

This was the scene in which I pretty much realized Burke and Christina were not going to get married. . . he said all his vows perfectly, to a room full of female nurses and doctors -- really, what were the chances they'd still have him recite them to Christina at the end of the show?  The only loophole I could foresee is if they didn't show the whole ceremony, maybe had him just finishing up and then go into hers. . .

"In Waverly's OR, Addison says that the babies are in the NICU and Burke says that she's stabilized, which is perfect because now they can get to wedding chat without having to concentrate fully on the pesky surgery in front of them. Addison asks if he's nervous, but he says he's excited, and the only nerves are about his vows. Addison tells him to try it out on the room full of women he has right there. He clearly has no desire to do so, but he's severely outnumbered, so he begins. "Cristina, I could promise to hold you, and to cherish you, I could promise to be there in sickness and in health. I could say till death do us part. But I won't. Those vows are for optimistic couples, the ones full of hope. And I do not stand here, on my wedding day, optimistic, or full of hope." During all of this, the glances of his audience are getting more confused and worried by the moment, and Addie tries to mercifully stop him. I have to say, though, this is the most honest thing I've heard him express in months. But then he has to go and change it up. "I am not optimistic, I am not hopeful, I am sure. I am steady." Hey, and if he's not, he can just bully his wife into being steady for him! It worked out so well before, after all. "And I know, I am a heart man. Take 'em apart, put 'em back together, I hold them in my hands. I am a heart man. So this, I am sure, you are my partner, my lover, my very best friend." There's a shot of Izzie staring intently, just so we don't forget that she's tortured. "My heart, my heart beats for you. And on this day, the day of our wedding, I promise you this. I promise you to lay my heart in the palm of your hands. I promise you, me." Addie sighs, Izzie's left speechless, and Addison assures him that they all want him to now dump Yang and marry them instead, har har. I still can't get past the really condescending and brutal entry to these vows. I also can't help but think that maybe the two people getting married should know each other well enough that he'd be aware that she thinks of the heart only as an organ, and not as the symbolic centerpiece of his vows." [Quoted from recap at Television Without Pity]

And here's what I posted elsewhere about the episode as a whole:

"My [youngest] sister and I are both huge Grey's fans and our reaction to the season finale was that we felt depressed, and like relationships we've cared about were thrown in the trash heap without so much as a fare-thee-well.  It's one of the few shows I make a point of watching every week, but I don't know if it will be "appointment viewing" for me next season.  I listened to the podcast [available through iTunes, etc.] and heard the "burn it all down" plan and "you know, this is life".  Well, in real life, sometimes people do get married and sometimes people who have been through hell together, like Derek and Meredith, stay together.  It's not just separated people in their fifties and gay couples who make it!  And, I'm sorry, this whole let's bring in Meredith's half sister thing -- especially since you already had her try to pick up Derek in the same bar where he met Meredith -- is total bull.  She seems like a lovely actress, but by mirroring MerDer's meeting, it's like saying that their relationship wasn't special, that Derek is just  going to move on to a new intern every year.  Come on!  He's in love with her, she's in love with him.  You'd have to be a total idiot not to know that pressing Meredith about your relationship in the same week where she's taken her intern exam, been publicly humiliated by her father twice, lost her stepmother, and in which her best friend is getting married is absolutely ridiculous!  I'm not saying Meredith is blameless -- she's got a lot of growing up to do, relationshipwise.  But why have Derek give her an ultimatum right before Christina's wedding?  Why not have them go into counseling together?  Surely there's enough history and love there to merit working together before giving up."

Gilmore Girls: The Series Finale

I really liked this show.  I always have to have one "fluff" show in my TV repertoire and this was mine.  (OK, well, and of course I've been watching American Idol this season, too, which surely must also count in the fluff column.)

Anyway, I digress, as Lorelai and Rory's conversations have done for years now. 

I really like how they ended the show.  Lots of "full circle" stuff.  In the pilot, Rory got into prep school and there was a rush of preparation.  In the finale, Rory got her first journalism job out of Yale and there was a rush of preparation.  I love the attention to detail that was shown in something as simple as who rushed out in the rain with umbrellas to escort Rory and Lorelai into the party -- their best friends' husbands. 

Since I didn't watch the show from the beginning, I'm now renting the DVDs from Netflix.  The characters have changed over seven years and my gosh, how young Rory seems in Season One, but there is a lot of continuity as well.

And as much as I hated how Luke and Lorelai were acting toward each other when they broke up -- he was so thrown for a loop to find out he had a daughter he'd never known about that his brain quit working and he, both purposely and accidentally, pushed Lorelai away, while she was too insecure about their relationship's future to not freak out and issue him an ultimatum -- I feel like they've both grown up in good ways and will make it this time.  So thrilled that they got back together!

". . .we fade out as they laugh together, in their favorite place, as Rory prepares to go out into the world and Lorelai prepares to start a new life with Luke. Could I cry any more? Doubtful. Could there be any sweeter finale? Nope. It is very hard to say goodbye, and I wish we never had to, but honestly...what a pleasure it's been to follow this excellent show. Thanks." [Television Without Pity]

'American Idol' backup singers deliver every time - International Herald Tribune

"The women are . . . so good that they have been asked why they have not entered the talent contest.

They already have satisfying careers, thank you: What "Idol" viewers see is just a sliver of their professional lives and a taste of their distinctive voices.

Hathaway. . . has toured with George Benson as a percussionist and singer and worked with k.d. lang and Brian McKnight.

Gibson has performed with Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and Celine Dion and fronts her own band, Sharlotte's Web. Smith has performed with Whitney Houston and Macy Gray, tours with trumpet player Chris Botti, does TV commercials and sang on "Ally McBeal."

Both Gibson and Smith have brought out CDs with songs they have written and performed.

"American Idol" isn't "everybody's path," said Smith. "For me, personally, as an artist, I feel like it would compromise my artistic integrity to audition for a reality show. I'm an artist first and foremost, not a singer first and foremost.

"This show isn't about finding artists. It's about finding stars, and that's a totally different thing."

That said, they are generally pleased to be part of the "American Idol" machine that churns out TV's top ratings and instant names like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Hathaway gets her greatest satisfaction from Minor's band, which she said could teach a master class at her alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston.

"It's a musical education on that stage. Every week is special to me because this band flawlessly moves through genres and styles," she said.

Smith agreed. "When people like Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, come on the show, I think to myself this is something I can tell my grandkids someday. I can tell them I was part of the Rickey Minor band." [International Herald Tribune]

American Idol, Season 6, Final 9

Last night -- 4/3/07 -- Tony Bennett songs

Gina Glocksen -- Better than I expected.  This is so far outside her usual comfort zone that I didn't think it would be great.  Her performance was a little boring, but showed off the quality of her voice.
Haley Scarnato -- She's a pretty girl and had a good performance a few weeks ago, but last night's was just. . . ordinary.  She's obviously hoping to capitalize on her physical attractiveness by the outfits she's choosing.
Jordin Sparks -- I really like this girl.  She is one of my favorites because she combines personality, and youth, and energy with a very good voice that she is able to control very well.  Her intonation is always spot on and her song choices have shown her versatility. 
LaKisha Jones -- LaKisha has a gorgeous voice with such a lovely, warm quality to it. This style was out of her comfort zone and it wasn't my favorite performance of hers, but she definitely deserves to still be there.
Melinda Doolittle -- A consummate professional.  I agreed with the judges' comments last night, that watching her perform is like a master class in how to interpret a song.  Absolute best vocal control in the competition.
Blake Lewis -- I thought he chose a really good song, but one that was difficult to interpret given the lyrics.  [Side note: I think Tony Bennett was the best celebrity guest yet, in terms of giving concrete advice about how to style or interpret the songs.]
Chris Richardson -- Way better than I expected, just because this style of music seemed pretty far removed from his comfort zone.  Best male performance of the night.
Phil Stacey -- Phil might get voted off this week.  Last week he did well with the Police song, but this week his performance felt weak to me. I don't know if it was just vocal fatigue or poor song choice --  I've heard him sound much better.
Sanjaya Malakar -- I've been hoping Sanjaya would get voted off for weeks, but with various anti-Idol factions promoting him, he'll probably still be around for another week.  I do agree with Paula's comment that last night he was somewhat entertaining.  And he didn't have a ridiculous hairdo for a change.

Bravo Acquires Television Without Pity

"TelevisionWithoutPity.com is thrilled to announce...drum roll...that the site has been acquired by Bravo." [Television Without Pity  Bravo Acquistion]

My favorite website for snarky recaps of tv shows has been bought out by Bravo.  I remember when they were Mighty Big TV (I actually liked its original name better).

[Editor's note: I actually intended to post this days ago, but accidentally saved it as a draft. . .]