On an up note, I enjoyed hearing two songs by Heart tonight. Overall, I think the men of American Idol are much stronger than the ladies this year. My favorite tonight was the very first one -- Carly Smithson. Based solely on tonight's performance, I wouldn't be surprised if Amanda (the rock and roll nurse) is on her way back to Indiana this time tomorrow night. No one realled "wowed" me tonight.
Here is my opinion of the rest of the Season 7 cast:
Alaina Whitaker - won't make it
Aleandrea Lushington - Top 10
Amanda Overmyer - won't make it
Carly Smithson - right now, my favorite female. Will be in the Top 10.
Brooke White - Top 10
Chikezie - not long for this world
Asia'h Epperson - i hope she makes it to the Top 10
Danny Noriega - please go home
David Archuleta - Definitely Top 10 and may win everything
David Cook - I don't think he's nearly as good as he thinks he is
Jason Yeager - won't make it
Jason Castro - Top 10
David Hernandez - don't care
Joanne Borgella - Top 10
Kady Malloy - Top 10
Ramiele Malubay - Top 10
Kristy Lee Cook - needs to go more country
Luke Menard - a non-entity
Robbie Carrico - I'm not a fan
Syesha Mercado - Top 10
Michael Johns - Top 10. Maybe Top 5. Looks like a cross between Michael Hutchins of INXS and Tim Daly.
Here are my picks for who goes home on Thursday: Amanda Overmyer, Alaina Whitaker, Luke Menard and, if there is any justice in the universe...Danny Noriega.
first, take a look at this classic commercial from 1973
my wife, lara, loves to watch the academy awards. i usually enjoy watching them, too, but for some reason, i wasn't very enthused about watching them this year. apparently, i wasn't alone. according to the latest nielsen ratings, sunday night's 80th Annual Academy Awards averaged only 29.16 million viewers...the lowest number for the awards since the modern ratings system was launched more than 30 years ago. (by comparison, last year's Oscar ceremonies averaged 40.17 million viewers.)
perhaps more and more folks share my conviction...they love movies but they have a growing disdain for hollywood.
anyway...we did watch this year's show. one of our favorite parts of the Oscar's is always the "in memoriam" segment, where they pay tribute to the actors and other prominent industry professionals who passed away in the last year. while this year's list included 98 movie industry people, bloggers have pointed out that Oscar left out several other noted actors in his list of the departed, including: Roy Scheider, Brad Renfro, Robert Goulet, Merv Griffin, Marcel Marceau, Tom Poston and Charles Nelson Reilly (source: imdb.com). a spokeswoman for the awards said that some actors died "too recently to be included". She added, "unfortunately we cannot include everyone."
let's see...Brad Renfro passed away too soon to be included? He died on january 15, yet Oscar found time to include Heath Ledger, who passed away on january 22. know what i say to that? BOLOGNA! nothing against Heath Ledger, mind you. i just think it's hypocritical to say that one celebrity died "too soon" to be included, then turn around and include another celebrity who died AFTER that celebrity.
but Oscar left at least one other person off his list.
he was veteran character actor, Charles Lane, who died at the age of 102 at his home in July. since Oscar omitted mr. lane from his list, i thought i'd include him on mine. don't remember him? according to the new york times, NO ONE appeared in more movies and mr. lane himself was said to be unsure of the exact total. In 1933 alone, he made 23 films, and from then through 1947 he appeared in at least 200 more. “When I get in the car, turn the switch and start home, I forget all about them,” he told the New York Times in 1947. during his heyday (and Hollywood’s), he would work from 9 to 5 at whatever studio he was booked for (he worked for many, if not all of them), then he would drive home to Pasadena, to his wife and two children.
Charles Gerstle Levison was born Jan. 26, 1905, in San Francisco and and was actually one of the last survivors of that city's famous 1906 earthquake. he changed his name to Lane at his agent's suggestion. he was one of the very first members of the screen actor's guild.
mr. lane’s wife, Ruth, whom he married in 1932, died in 2002. They were married for 70 years! That alone is worthy of a special tribute! You simply don't hear of that very often, ESPECIALLY in hollywood where most marriages are lucky to last 70 days! (Although, granted...not many people live to be 102).
starting in the 1950s, mr. lane also became a familiar presence on television. over the years, he made guest appearances on series like “Perry Mason,” “The Twilight Zone” and “The Munsters.” He had recurring roles on "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Bewitched", "Maverick" and as the penny-pinching railroad executive, Homer Bedloe, on “Petticoat Junction”. he was a frequent guest on “I Love Lucy” and appeared in one of that series’ most-watched episodes, the birth of Little Ricky, in 1953.
still can't picture him? maybe these will help.
Charles Lane around 1947
At age 100
some directors sought him out. he appeared in no fewer than nine films directed by Frank Capra, including "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", “You Can’t Take It With You” (which Mr. Lane said was his favorite role. Incidentally, "You Can't Take It With You" won the Oscar for best motion picture in 1938), and "It's a Wonderful Life" (one of my all-time favorites). It was his character who told Mr. Potter, "one of these days this bright young man is going to be asking George Bailey for a job."
despite his numerous roles, mr. lane never received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. instead of Oscars, golf trophies lined the shelves of his home. on the occasion of mr. lane's 100th birthday, reporters noticed a framed letter from frank capra, who died in 1991. "I am sure that everyone in the theatrical world has someone that he can lean on and use as a crutch whenever stories and scenes threaten to fall apart," Capra wrote. "Well, Charlie, you've been my number one crutch."
i wrote a letter to mr. lane last year, but i'm sure he didn't frame it. i asked for his autograph on a christmas card from "it's a wonderful life". he was gracious enough to fill my request. here it is.
he also signed another card for our three girls. those momentos are now cherished possessions.
Just before his death he was working on a documentary on his long career entitled "You Know the Face".
appeared in more movies than anyone else? no star on the walk of fame? married to the same woman for 70 years? not one academy award nomination for one of the longest careers in the history of cinema? c'mon, Oscar...you simply "cannot include everyone?"
i stopped by Wild Oats marketplace (a natural food store) yesterday to pick up one hard-to-find item. it cracks me up to read the bumper stickers on cars in their parking lot. am i at a grocery store or an al gore rally? either way, i always feel like i don't belong there. i'm there so infrequently, i feel like everyone is looking at me thinking, "just another middle aged guy taking a weak stab at getting healthy". they can sense i'm an outsider because i'm never at any of their meetings. i swear i get a contact buzz every time i set foot in that place. i don't know if it's the "natural" cologne worn by some of the clientele, the aroma of the natural foods or the faint smell of hemp that hangs in the air. maybe it's a combination of all of them. either way, i always leave there feeling a stronger connection to "mother earth" and a bad case of the munchies.
maybe i'll disclose why i went to Wild Oats in a future post.
then i stopped by Sam's to pick up something we needed for dinner. there are two reasons i went to Sam's: 1) they had the exact item we needed, and 2) they are always giving away food samples. scratch that. maybe i should say, they are usually giving away food samples. not today. i walked up and down the aisles of the frozen food section hoping to score a fresh biscuit or some chicken on a toothpick, but i found nothing. no little old ladies manning their convection ovens. i mean, c'mon...if i pay $40 a year to shop there, the least they can do is offer me a free mini egg roll while i shop.
note to self: never visit Sam's immediately after going to Wild Oats. it'll only disappoint.
here's another email we received this morning from Phil's wife, Sharon. keep praying...
"I'd like to thank you all for the emails and the prayers and encouragement. Philip is still in the hospital they finally got him a bed in a ward at 10pm last night [after more than a day in the ER] so he did get some rest. They have basically ruled out a heart problem but are going to do a stress test on him probably tomorrow. He is having problems with his diabetes so they are trying to get it under control with an insulin infusion and then hopefully he can go back onto pills and better control of his diet. I'm still not sure how long he will be in the hospital and he is anxious to come home but I know he needs to get everything under control while he is in there once and for all. Savannah is missing her Dad like crazy, she was already stressing about a lot of things so this hasn't helped her any. We thank you all for your prayers and the outpouring of love you have shown us."
so much for more regular posts. almost eight weeks after it began, i'm still dealing with the residual effects of pneumonia. however, i am MUCH, MUCH better. it's weird, though...out of the blue, i'll have setbacks that last about a day, then they leave as suddenly and quickly as they appeared. i go back to the pulmonologist this friday for a follow up.
we're watching 'american idol' again this season. so far, the men look pretty strong. i wish josiah had made it into the top 24. i felt like he deserved a shot. tonight i liked jason castro, robbie carrico and michael johns. i also liked david archuleta. he's such a likeable guy. i hope danny noriega and McCheesy (chikezie) are the first to go!
please keep my friend, phil eagling (australia), in your prayers. we got word last night that his wife, sharon, had taken him to the hospital because he was having severe chest pains. no update yet but i'll keep you posted.
i went to a pulmonologist last friday -- one of the best in nashville. he gave me a very thorough exam and said that my condition is pretty common. he sees several people each month with my exact scenario. the pneumonia is gone from my lungs but i still have lingering after-effects (choughing, wheezing) from the damage to my lungs. my "bronchial tree" is still inflamed and very irritated. he said if we didn't treat it, it would eventually clear up on its own but it would take several months to do so. with the proper medication and lots of rest, it should heal much quicker. he put me on advair and albuterol and told me to take a week off from work. i've been on the medicine for five days now and i'm feeling better. although, my cough is back today for no apparent reason. it's a process. he wants to see me again in three weeks.
lara and i saw "the bucket list" recently. very good movie. yes, it's predictable and yes, it's emotional at times, but it's definitely worth seeing. i'll take this kind of movie over most of the junk hollywood cranks out any day. both nicholson and freeman turn in outstanding performances. if you want to see two actors at the top of their game and if you're interested in a moving story that causes you to get very introspective, go see it.
I'm a songwriter in the Nashville, TN area. My wife and I have three incredible daughters and two pretty cool dogs. I'm also somewhat of a Batman fan. These are my stories.
