Silence ain't so golden...and that's why it's been broken

Simply put, it's nice to see things getting back to normal again... :-)

Losing my G-String

So this weekend, I was playing the piano. I got a little too into the song I was playing and I broke one of the lower G-strings on the piano. I used to do this every now and then on the upright when I was growing up in Florida. It was one of the reasons, my family ended up getting a baby grand. Anyhoo, I think my fingers are finally back to their pre-L.A. piano-playing strength. And it's only appropriate that the string I had to break was a G-string. A call will be going in to the piano technician tomorrow...

Had lots of fun on Fortheboys Sunday night. Gary and Steve, if you're reading this, thanks for having me on and congratulations on reaching the 75 mark!

Just saw an ad for the "Ray Charles Tribute on Ice." Am I the only one not seeing the logical connection between Ray Charles and ice skating?

In doing some TiVO catchup, I discovered that Ted, Larry, and I had made it in yet another "Behind the Squares" segment. This was in Friday's episode. It was a clip of us talking with Kathy Griffin after the show. Go figure!

I'm on the hunt...I'm after you

Geez, this has been an odd past couple of days...

Yesterday, I joined Matt and Ted on a big scavenger hunt that Matt's friends Rachel and Devon organized. There were about 30 or so people divided into six teams. We ran around the LA area looking for various things on the list. Amongst the things we found/gathered/did...

- We found Toluca Lake
- I test drove a Mini-Cooper...And actually several years down the line when I've got the money, I might look into buying one
- Ted rode the electric bull at the Saddle Ranch.
- We got tickets for the Scientology center's movie...didn't have to go see it though :-)
- Got an autograph and picture with one of the celebrity impersonators on Hollywod and Highland

The other times got a little bit more wild and creative but we still managed to come in fourth. It was a lot of fun and took my mind off a bit of recent drama with a friend of mine. We haven't spoken to him since the he ticked me off Thursday night...quite unusual considering how much he and I usually talk to each other. Dunno how this is all going to resolve, but I hope it does soon because it's been eating away at me all weekend. And I know...the whole silent treatment thing isn't doing either of us good in moving us to a resolution, but...ack...arrgh...I just hate being the one to initiate it when I was the one the was hurt in the first place.

On the brighter side of things, I'm going to be on Fortheboys tonight at 7 PM (Pacific)/10 PM (Eastern). Just click on the link and make sure you have Media Player to watch the show.

Blarg

Bachelor party of one

First of all...I have to say one of the coolest things about my job is that I can watch "Price is Right" in my office. :-)

Watched "The Bachelor" casting special last night. My pick for whom I wanted to be the bachelor was the one the producers chose. Woo-hoo! After watching the interview with Alex Michel (last summer's bachelor), I just gotta say that there's something creepy about him. For the game show junkies out there, Lacey Pemberton (one of the dealer's from the Bob Eubanks/Bill Rafferty version of "Card Sharks") popped up in the special. She's one of the contestant producers on the show. Now the question is...What's Susannah Williams doing now?

Seeing the "Bachelor" special kinda inspired me (actually, not really...but I figure it'd be a good segue) to check things out online. I finally updated my Planetout ad just for the hell of it. And unsurprisingly, I've gotten zilcho responses to the new ad. I also checked things out on the gay.com chat rooms. They have this new interface for their chats. It's a bit sleeker, but it's got a few bugs. Most of the people in there were just looking for the usual. I guess you can never change some things about that place...

Now, time for the "Keyword Search" of the week...Over 50% of the keyword searches that have turned up my site this week were searches for "Justin Guarini shirtless." Well, unfortunately you Justin fans won't find any of that here...Here's why that search turned up my page. I've mentioned Justin many a time on this page in talking about "American Idol" over the past few weeks. And just a few days ago, I used the word "shirtless" in a blog about "Mamma Mia."

There's a good chance I'll be appearing as a guest on Sunday's Fortheboys show. It's their 75th episode! I'll keep you posted on the details as I find out more about them.

It's a little gamey

Last night, joined a bunch of the L.A. game show gang for a game night at David's. We tried a few of the lesser-known games that night and played "25 Words or Less," "TalkAbout," "Picture Pursuit," and "Now You See It." In playing "Now You See It," we saw what a convoluted mess it was to play as a home game. I proved my card-carrying worth for membership of another "club" when talking about "Sound of Music" while playing "Talkabout" and blanching at having to figure out how many words I'd need to convey "Ken Griffey Jr." to my team in "25 Words of Less." A fun night all around...

This one's for Drew and Ted since they have links in one way or another to the show and the company that airs it...HAPPY BACHELOR DAY!

I'm such a square

Get a call around 7:45-ish tonight from Caleb...He asks me, "Are you watching 'Squares'?" I told him that Ted and I were just starting it on the TiVO. He then says that I'd like the show...Little did I know why...

We watch the first segment and everything seems normal until the commerical bumper. And lo and behold, there we are clapping our hands off and cheering into the camera. It was Ted, Larry, faux-hawked Drew, and me! That was a pleasant surprise. We were there that tape day for the Anna Nicole episodes (which will air on Thursday and Friday). She be quite the big woman. It was funny because she had this entourage around her. I think, a lot of them were crew people from her show. I was even able to get a pic with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog after the show. I'll have to grab that from Ted's camera and put up here later this week. Triumph had some really, really funny lines about Anna and her dog Sugar Pie which I hope make it into the final cut of the show.

Random sighting of the day...I was at the cafe in our building today for lunch and saw Blaine Capatch (the new host of "Beat the Geeks") there. Not sure why he was there...My guess is that he's doing something with MTV Networks which is also in our building. One thing I noticed...he's got arms that are about as skinny as mine!

Deportes

So ESPN is launching a Spanish-language version of their network...Shouldn't it be called ESPÑOL?

My weekend adventure

Let the list begin....

Friday

• Got a visit from Drew and Matt...Grabbed some dinner wtih them at Popeye's where the sassy server behind the counter gave Matt some grief about talking on his cell phone


• Ted brought home "Kingdom Hearts," the new roleplaying Disney-themed game for Playstation 2...It is nothing short of beautiful. Even still, I don't think I'll ever give it a shop because it looks complicated as hell

Saturday

• Had lunch with Drew and David and then Drew and I headed over to Hollywood to catch some tapings of "Russian Roulette"


• Bumped into a good number of familiar faces including two fellow "Greed" writers, Howie and Joe. Kinda like an old homecoming day seeing that "Russian Roulette" tapes at the Tribune Studios where we used to do "Greed."


• There were some subtle changes for the new batch of "Roulette" episodes...the most notable being the look of the show. There are some new lights and lighting cues which have helped to improve the look of the show quite a bit. The game is pretty much the same and really played well on the shows we saw.


• After the taping, Drew and I headed back to my place and try to figure out what to do. Should we go to the Jude concert later that night or do something else?


• We ended up decided to stay in at my place and have dinner. This was a bit special though...Drew cooked up quite the feast for Ted, Larry, and me. It was deeeelicious


• We all capped off the night by watching some TV and playing the board game version of "Rollercoaster Tycoon." It pretty much plays like a simpler version of Monopoly. Not bad, but it needed a few house rules to really make it click with us.

Sunday

• California Adventure day!!!


• Ted, Matt, Drew and I spend the day at Disneyland and California Adventure. Ted was able to get us in to the special cast preview of "Flik's Fun Fair" at DCA. It's cute, but a 'twee bit on the kiddie side. We tried out the bumper cars which were ridiculously cushiony and slow. An interesting addition to DCA, but not really any super special. However, off in the distance, we could see construction shaping up for the "Tower of Terror." I just hope that the rumors about it being a smaller-scale version (namely...missing the "Fifth Dimension" section) of the Florida version aren't true. Doing so would just kill one of the strongest-themed thrill rides in the Disney theme park canon...


• It was hell-a hot...and there were more lines than we had expected at Disneyland. This was probably due to the unusually high number of attractions that were closed. Is Matterhorn EVER open??


• After the theme-parking, we headed to the Lego store and then we went to the AMC theater at Downtown Disney to watch Lilo and Stich. Suuuuuuuch a cute movie. Almost got a bit teary eyed watching it...Fine, laugh at me...I don't care! :-P

He's one of us!

Found this link to an article about Neil Patrick Harris's penchant for games and game shows. Scroll down to: "‘Proof' of Doogie's Donny obsession" I knew there was a reason I liked him... :-)

Should I laugh or cry

Saw "Mamma Mia" last night. It was not without drama. It took me an hour and a half to get to the Ahmanson Theater from my office in Santa Monica. Fortunately, it was still with enough time to spare once I got there. I met up with Ted, Larry, and Christie out in the plaza outside the theater. Before we headed in, I did my obligatory purchase of an official souvenir program. We then headed in and I equipped myself with some binoculars since we had balcony seats

Simply put, the show was fun fluff. It wasn't anything earth-shattering. As Ted put it best..."It's not Chekov." I mean, the actors were great, the music was great, and there was a lot of energy. But at its heart is a story that falls somewhere in between a bad Julia Roberts romantic comedy and a Love Boat episode complete with ABBA songs as a soundtrack. The acting and choreography does get a bit over the top at times and the placement of songs seems a bit forced and awkward in a couple of scenes. Still, I had a great time. I'm glad that some of the lesser-known ABBA songs were used like "Under Attack," "Slipping Through My Fingers," and "Our Last Summer." And as those binoculars came in quite handy in getting a closer look at the stage and who graced the stage. Sure, some of the skin was a bit gratuitous (the "Voulez-Vous" number for instance), but boy oh boy...best $5 I spent that night!

Okay, I apologize for that last statement...Anyhoo, it's definitely a show you should check it out if you want to see a brainless musical with some good laughs, a few familiar songs from the past, and cute shirtless guys prancing around to disco (if you're into that sort of thing...).

Good news...Ben Folds and Duncan Sheik touring together in the fall. Bad news for me...They're not coming to L.A. Grrrrrrrrrrr....

Listened to Styx's "Greatest Hits" in the drive to work today. It got me thinking (especially after seeing "Mamma Mia"), a full-blown musicla version of the "Kilroy Was Here" plotline complete with the freaky-ass "Mr. Robotos." It then got me thinking that I shouldn't be doing such thinking at such an early hour and that I should roll up the windows to keep any more exhaust fumes from entering my car and clogging up my brain...

Chicken...chicken...and chicken!

It's not a natural triple...It's the offerings at Hometown Buffet from last night. Ted, Larry, Caleb, Drew, and I headed over there for some din-din. There seems to be a large selection of chicken and chicken-related items there. Fried chicken, chicken wings, broiled chicken, chicken soup, chicken dumplings. SO MUCH CHICKEN! There was so meatloaf too hidden in a sea of tomato sauce.

After dinner, we all watched this tape of a "lost episode" of "Ren and Stimpy." It was the one title "Man's Best Friend." I miss "Ren and Stimpy." Another show that needs to be DVD!

Okey-doke...I'm going to introduce a regular thing here on the blog. My webhosting company provides me with stats as to what "keyword searches" led people to find my page. Every week or so, I'll post some of the more interesting "keyword searches" that have hit up this page. 22.59% of the keyword searches that have led to "mandelweb.com" have been for...get this..."ryan seacrest pics of feet." ???

All right, with a little deconstruction of the search I can see why my page turned up in that search. I have mentioned "Ryan Seacrest" in the blog a few times. I also have mentioned "pics" most recently referring to the "Hollywood Squares" signing. "Feet" I think mentioned in some tirade about my clumsiness. And there you have it... :-)

Ramblin Man-del

Yesterday, I got the "Jump the Shark" book. Obviously, it works for TV as seen in the website. However, the book covers other territory aside from music. The other realm where I think "Jump the Shark" theories apply best is music. I mean, who hasn't had a favorite band jump that shark with some disastrous new album or scandal? The book jumps the shark a bit when they try to delve into sports, celebrities, and politics (?!?!). And if you check out the site, they're doing a game show based on the concept!

The "I can't believe this is news" award of the day goes to this article about Justin Guarini from "American Idol." The funny thing is that his lawyer is speaking for him in the article...His lawyer...for a $100 traffic ticket!!

I think the luckiest guy I know right now has got to be my friend Caleb. You can read about his good fortune lately on his website. And ya know what? He totally deserves it. I can't think of a better person for all of this to happen to. :-)

Less than 48 hours away from seeing "Mamma Mia!" Woo-hoo! Listened to ABBA's "The Visitors" today in the car to start getting in the ABBA mood. I think that album and "Super Trouper" (the "divorce albums" as they're sometimes referred to) are two of their best albums. Leave it them to do a song about a menage-a-trois that doesn't go quite as planned. The bonus tracks "Should I Laugh or Cry" and "Under Attack" make it worth upgrading to the recent reissue of the album.

Oh...seeing "Millionaire" before primetime and "Regis and Kelly" at 10 PM made me wonder if time was running backwards today...

Let the games begin

Caught the new game show premieres tonight over at Drew's. It seems like it's been a while since there have been this many high-profile shows debuting on the same day...

First of all, "Pyramid." Congratulations to my friend Aaron Solomon and the rest of the "Pyramid" gang on a nice job. The game is still pretty much the same and as a testament to what a great game it is, it still plays well. The futuristic game board is cool especially that monitor swoop that leads into the gameplay at the Winner's Circle. The only issues I had with the show were with "cosmetic" things like the graphics, sound effects, and some of the choices of camera shots like the closeups during the games. The $10,000 win in the second end game didn't seem as a big of a moment as it should have been. Nevertheless, it's a show I'll keep watching. It's freakin' "Pyramid" and it's back! This is one that will definitely be going on the season pass list on the TiVo.

After "Pyramid," we switched over to "Millionaire" with Meredith Viera. I liked the subtle set changes and the general brighter mood. The faster pacing is a plus and Meredith does a good job hosting. Now, is it just me or was there more of a New York accent in Meredith's voice on "Millionaire" than on other shows she's been in? I just wonder though if it'll be enough to draw viewers. Here in L.A. it's up against two other game shows...four if you throw cable into the mix. Eeek!

So, two good new additions to the daily game show lineup. I just hope there's room for all of us to coexist happily. Without a doubt, if the new shows as well as the returning shows are successful, it means hope for more new game shows down the line.

It's funny...I was talking with Drew about this afterwards. When we were growing up, we'd always look forward to days like today where a bunch of new game shows would premiere in the fall. The only difference between now and then is that we're part of this crazy loop. Even three years into this, I still feel like a kid in the candy store and one of the luckiest guys on this planet. A little over three years ago, I was just a college student who'd watch tapes of GSN I'd have sent to me from home and post every now and then on alt.tv.game-shows.

Speaking of which, I've actually seen my name mentioned on the board recently. Some in a good light, and some in a not so good light. I think the post likening me to an "ass-kisser" was one of those that fell into the "bad light" category. :-) It's amazing how you can become an enemy of somebody you don't even know. It's more amazing since I don't even own a donkey. (insert rimshot here) But seriously, this negativity towards me on the boards is amusing becuase I don't think I've ever in my life wanted to cause harm to any body. I mean, I'm just a game show geek here doing my job, making a little entertainment to get people's minds off their troubles for a half-hour or so a day while giving away some cash and fabulous prizes in the process. That's not so bad, is it?

Confused?...You won't be...actually, you might be...

...after reading this blog....

Gonna employ the ol' list-o-matic to rattle of what I've been up to the past few days....

Thursday night:

• Leave at work at 5 PM to make it home in time to get ready for seeing "Beauty and the Beast" in Pasadena


• Finally make it to Sepulveda (the street I usually take going south-north) around 5:45-ish...call Drew up to tell him that I'll be a bit late making it home (where we were planning to meet up to carpool the show)


• Realize that the traffic is not moving at all on Sepulveda, but I'm stuck...Do a little primal screaming and call up Drew again to let him know that I'll be a bit later than I had mentioned earlier


• I see many cars U-turning to head the other direction on Sepulveda. I contemplate following suit but end up not because knowing my past traffic experiences, any time I change my original route, I only screw myself over


• 6:15 rolls around and I've barely made any progress. More primal screaming and another phone call to Drew


• 6:40 and I make it to the intersection of Sepulveda and Sunset. Traffic going any further north on the Sepulveda was blocked off. A PARKING ENFORCEMENT car is doing the blocking off of traffic. I scream and vent even more and get on the onramp to the 405


• I finally make it home at 7 PM, a full hour after my intended time of arrival. It took me TWO HOURS to get home. Grrrr


• Drew is sitting on the couch. We hop in his car and rush out the door to head to Pasadena


• I'm in a foul mood on the drive up, which prompts Drew to work his goofy magic to cheer me up. It works to a degree. I manage to crack a smile by the time we hit Glendale. :-)


• We arrive at the Pasadena Civic Center at 7:30 with plenty of time to spare before the show. There's an open bar outside the theater. I order up a white Russian which I swig down. Drew watches in shock telling me he's never seen me down a drink that quickly...ever. A quite accurate observation on his part.


• The show starts and we discover that while we're 16 rows away from the stage. We on the far right of the seats which means...an obstructed view.


• Obstructed view and crazy traffic aside, I really really enjoyed it. The last time I saw a show of this scale was when "The Who's Tommy" came to Florida. In fact, that was the ONLY other time I saw a musical theater production of that scale. It doesn't hurt that "Beauty and the Beast" is one my all-time favorite Disney animated features.


• Random celebrity spotting...Danny Bondauce in the audience


• We get back to my place around 11:30-ish and fire up the TiVO to watch the Harry Potter trailer that debuted in the middle of WB's premiere of "Family Affair."


• I head off to bed while Drew heads back to his place to pack for his big weekend trip home to Cincy.

Friday night

• Spend most of the evening watching the "Soap" marathon on TV Land.


• Start watching with the episode where Danny and Elaine get married and continue watching up until the episode where Elaine dies


• Realize what a damn good show "Soap" was. I can't think of another show that was able to keep such a great balance between madcap, often slapstick comedy and warm, sweet dramatic moments. Just really great writing and a superb cast. If there's any show the screams DVD box set, it's "Soap." Fortunately, TV Land is rerunning the show on Friday and Saturday nights in the interim.

Saturday

• Wake up at 8 AM because the Orkin dispatcher said somebody would be coming to our house between 8 and 12 for the first ant treatment


• Get a call around 10-ish from the Orkin dispatcher saying that they're having a hard time finding somebody to head out to our area within the time period and asks if we can reschedule for an appointment during the week. Seeing how all of us work, that ain't gonna happen. The dispatcher then says that they'll have somebody over between 12 and 3 PM.


• I contemplate going to bed to take a nap, but then decide not to...


• To while away the time before the Orkin guy arrives, I fiddle about on the piano


• Around 2 PM, the Okrin guy comes. He does his thing and rattles off what exactly he's going to be doing. The cat seems to be more interested than me in his spiel


• At about 3 PM, I finally grab some lunch. I attempt to do some anniversary gift shopping for Ted and Larry


• I get home close to 7 o'clock-ish. I head back to the piano. A semblance of a new melody springs forth from my fingers. Unfortunately, I have no words at the moment to marry it to.


• I get a knock on my bedroom door around 8-ish. It's Caleb and Michael. We head over to the Hot Wired Cafe in NoHo to catch our friend Aaron and Murad's band, "Hurry Sundown."


• In the midst of the two sets that they played (which were really really good), we encounter this really frazzled server behind the counter, I get two calls from Drew in Cincinnati, and we see Charlene Tilton. What an odd life I lead.


• We head over to Aaron's place after the show for some drinks. Proving that I am the drink wuss and that the white Russian incident on Thursday was a fluke, I can only get through a 1/4 of a cup of te margarita.

Sunday

• I sleep in a bit and then roll out of bed to get Ted and Larry's anniversary gift


• I head over to CD Wherehouse and Target to pick up the gift. I get a call from Drew while I'm over at Target which proves to be great timing since he and I were pooling together for this gift. I leap on Drew's suggestion for the "gag" gift for Ted and Larry. I pick up the gift and a card and head over to the express lane since I have only two items. Unfortunately, the elderly couple in front of me in line doesn't realize that it's an express lane for 6 items or less. You see, they had a cart full of 6...TIMES 6 items. The cashier points out to the couple that it's an express lane, but being the nice guy that he is lets them go through any way.


• I go back home eat a bit of lunch and watch last night's MAD TV which was really really good. They did an "American Idol" parody which was quite funny. I'm glad to see Paula can poke fun at herself.


• I get some snippage done at my hair later in the afternoon and get back home just in time for Ted and Larry's annivesrary get-together


• It was quite nice and really a bit spur-of-the-moment. There weren't a lot of people on the guest list for this one which kept it a bit more small and intimate than our usual gatherings. I can't believe it's already been two years for Ted and Larry. They're still the cutest couple that I know and if I may get a little political here for a sec... They're a prime example of why gay marriages and unions should be recognized. Hell, they're closer than a lot of married couples I've seen. Anyhoo, they're the best and we should all be so lucky (gay or straight) to have the close bond and relationship that they have.

Mind your A's and B's

Or why Ted and I had a long argument about the merits of restaurant inspection ratings on the drive back home from dinner.

So last night Ted and I went over to the IKEA in Burbank so that he could get shelves for "Kitchen/Dining Room 2002: A Meal Odyssey." After which we went over to Koo-Koo-Roo next door some dinner to bring back home with us. We walk in and Ted points out the letter grade sign to me. For those of you that aren't familiar with these, in the L.A. area, restaurants are required to display their inspection grade. A is the best followed by B and C, I think is the lowest. He says, "Look they got a 'B'" full well knowing that I like to avoid getting food from "B"-rated restaurants. I then tell him that I'm not gonna grab dinner here and that I'll just cook something at home. After a chorus of "You have an irrational fear" to "a B doesn't mean it's bad" we head out of the Koo Koo Roo and dash off someplace else (and A-rated) to grab dinner. In the midst of the drive home, we get into a debate over how ridiculous my avoidance of "B"-rated places is.

I admit, it's a quirk and I'll stand by what I always say..."If I have a choice between a B and A rated place, I'm taking the B place." There are PLENTY of A-rated restaurants in the Burbank/Toluca Lake/North Hollywood area. Why not go there instead? Then, Ted blabs on about how a B could have been the result of a broken sealant on a refrigerator and that many times it has nothing to do with health or sanitary conditions. I don't care...A "B" is still lower than an "A!" This led to the "well, what if the inspector had a bad day or was pissed off at the restaurant owner" argument from Ted. A "B" is still a "B." Call me a freak...call me a neutoric loon...If I have a choice between a "B" restaurant and an "A" restaurant I'll go to the "A." And the thing is...if a restaurant gets their act together and gets an "A" from a later inspection, I'll go there! Conversely, if the place had an "A" and then was downgraded to a "B," I'll stop going there. Case in point...there's a KFC I used to go to a lot on Lankershim in North Hollywood. They were recently downgraded to a "B." They won't be getting my patronage until they kick things back up to an "A."

This then stemmed to Ted's pointing out that I'm not the neatest person in the room. Anybody who's visited my room can attest to the fact that my room's never 100. And hell, I'll admit it. But that's MY own doing...my own mess. All right, it's a bit twisted. In any case...If you ever go out to eat with me...try to find a place with an "A" rating.

Antsy

So, I decide to bring home a dozen of Krispy Kremes home tonight for a little dessert for all of us. I had a nice assortment of glazed, maple, chocolate, and caramel apple donuts all picked out. Plus, I've been jonesing for a Krispy Kreme for a while. I set it on the kitchen counter and cook up a quick dinner to have before I delve into the doughnut delights. I then finish up dinner and start to head over to the counter. Caleb is also there and as he opens up the box he says that the ants have gotten to the donuts. And sure enough, they did...DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT. Nothing was salvagable. Needless to say, I was not happy. I didn't even get a chance to try out to the new caramel apple donut. BLARG...There's only one ant-swer to all this...a call to the exterminator.

According to Keith's site, ABBA is eligible for the next round of inductions in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. My question is, if they do get inducted, who will come to accept? My guess is that Benny and Bjorn are sure things. However, will Frida and/or Agnetha show up?

My "Just Did" list...

Friday night:
- Hang out at home with Ted, Larry, Caleb, and Drew
- Toyed around with the idea of going to see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...ended up not doing that...instead...
- Go to to grab some dinner with Caleb and Drew at Boston Market...tried out their new chicken teryaki..not bad...but need to figure out some other side to eat with it than stuffing
- Watch a bunch of "So Graham Norton" episodes on the TiVO...one of them featured the UK "Pop Idol" top two: Will and Gareth. Drew makes a note that Gareth looks a lot like a brunette version of Caleb. We pause the TiVO look at Gareth and look at Caleb and look at Gareth. We then marvel at Drew's astute observation.
- Ted calls it a night while Larry, Caleb, Drew and I decide to play a game. I suggest dusting off the moth balls on the copy of "Dark Tower," the early 80s electronic Milton Bradley game that Orson Welles hawked. After the elaborate setup and a couple of rounds of pressing buttons and shifting around pawns, we decide that that was a bad idea and return the game to its rightful place at the bottom of my game closet and instead whip out another obscure early 80s board game "Can't Stop." This proves to be a bigger hit and a great platform for me to have my competitve side mocked...especially when I come in dead last. Damn you all!

Saturday:
- Wake up much later than I had intended to...grumble out of bed and hop into the shower
- Call up my friend David Sobolov for a long overdue catch-up lunch with him.
- Have lunch with David at Mel's on Sunset.
- Spend about an hour when I get back home tickling the ivories on the piano wondering why I can't get over this composer's block I've had for the past couple of years. I play through some of the songs I composed in college hoping to jog my music-writing muse, but alas it fails...
- I head over to SitcomsOnline for the hell of it and end up downloading two versions of the theme song of "Joanie Loves Chachi." After listening through the 80s ballad cheese-fest, I wonder why I can't get over this damn composer's block I've got...
- Drew drops by just in time for he and I go over to NBC to check out the afternoon's set of tapings for "Family Feud." The show seems to be moving along all right. Richard Karn is really starting to loosen up and have fun with the gig.
- After the shows, we head over to Toys R Us in Burbank where I pick up the "Rollercoaster Tycoon" board game and "Pac Man Fever" (Think "Mario Party" with a Pac-Man/Namco theme) for the Gamecube. After the toy romp, we then drop by The Wherehouse to get tickets for the Thursday night show of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Pasadena Civic Center. I've never seen the stage version of "Beauty and the Beast." In fact, the only big musicals I've seen on stage are "Tommy" and "Sound of Music." That's unless you count college productions, high school productions, and that recent local production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
- We head back to my place to find everybody else gone. Drew heads back home and I head over to see my friend Katie's show. It was PHENOMENAL. I knew she was talented, but her show surpassed ALL expectations. I implore you to check out her website and get her CD. If you're in the LA area, check out her next show. I honestly was stunned. She's puts on a damn, damn, damn good show.
- I return home around 10-ish to my place after the show to see Ted, Larry, Caleb, and "tall blonde" Michael (too many Michaels to keep track of!!!) in the living room. They all had this perplexed look on their faces. It turns out they're watching "Mulholland Drive."
- After the movie is over, Larry and I decide to give "Pac-Man Fever" a test-drive. It's an ok game. It's not great, but it's not bad. It's a nice holdover while we wait for "Mario Party 4" to come out for the Gamecube. Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!
- I cap off the night watching "Celebrity Russian Roulette" featuring Jerri from "Survivor", Leif Garrett, Kato Kaelin, and Gary Coleman. First of all, Kato was robbed. Damn that Jerri...always mucking up things like she did on "Survivor." Speaking of which, what ever happened to tall goofy Mitchell?? Anyhoo, one other thing was that I derived some sick pleasure in seeing Gary Coleman drop through a hole. In fact, I got a good case of the giggles from watching it that I had to rewind the TiVO to watch it again. Now, if they can only get Emmanuel Lewis for the next one...

Sunday:
- I get up even later today than yesterday...grumble, grumble, grumble...
- Actually...I first woke up about an hour earlier to the sounds of the Care Bears theme coming from the living room. I believe Ted was watching old Care Bears cartoons. It was then that I went back to sleep hoping that it was just part of my dream...
- After actually getting up, I head out with Caleb to grab some lunch from Quizno's. We head back to the house and end up watching the last half of a two (count 'em, TWO!!!) hour episode of "TV Tales" on E! about "Who's the Boss?" Doing so brought back what little memories I had of "Living Dolls," the failed spinoff with Leah Remini and Halle Berry about the young models in New York.
- Following "Who's the Boss? 101," I head over to Drew's and we do a little shopping excursion so that he could get gifts for his family to bring with him when he heads back home next weekend to visit them. In the midst of all this, I'm able to get my car washed (FINALLY!!!). We also stop by the Urban Outfitters on Melrose, which now seems to be outfitted with old arcade games at random places in the store. Gawd, how I want a Dig-Dug or Q*bert machine in my house...especially one in a cocktail table format.
- I get back home from the shopping jaunt with Drew around 8-ish. I enter the living room and who should be there but Matty! I take care of some business while Ted, Matt, and Larry play a game of "Pac-Man Fever." After which, Matt and I pick up some dinner and then head back to my place to watch the finale of "Sex and the City" and the "Anna Nicole Show" with Ted and Larry.
- That brings us to now...where I wind up this really, really long blog!

Quite a "moment"

To say that the past few days have been big for the company is an understatement. Over the past few days, things have been really a flutter about "American Idol." Last night, I got a chance to attend the grand finale at the Kodak Theater. It was quite phenomenal. Never did I imagine the show would be as big as this. When I arrived at the complex, there was a line of people on the sidewalk snaked around the corner of Hollywood and Highland. At around 5-ish west coast time, I entered the theater. It was packed. The first hour of clips played on the big screen at center stage. I eventually took my seat which happened to be in front of a row where a bunch of Justin's family and friends were sitting. While gazing at the sea of people in the rows in front of us, I noticed Ray Romano and his family being seated.

At 6 PM, the big show began. While I've seen a couple of the "Idols" shows before in person, I had never seen all ten of the top 10 onstage performing together. It was a lot of fun and they all sounded pretty decent. I don't know whether this was a byproduct of the competition part being over or the acoustics of the Kodak Theater. The solo performances by Justin and Kelly were great, but Kelly clearly had the edge. While Justin got a great reaction from the audience, just about everybody in the audience was in love with Kelly. Kelly's voice has so much strength. I really was in awe hearing her sing. And I must admit I was quite jazzed to finally see Will Young live! Sure, his voice doesn't hold a candle to Kelly's, but he's still damn adorable. :-) Then came the announcement of the winner...what a moment. I'm so happy Kelly won! Not only is she talented, but she seems like a really, really nice girl. Actually, all four of the contestants (Kelly, Justin, Nikki, and Tamyra) that I met a few weeks ago seemed liked really realy nice people.

After the show ended, I went up to the FremantleMedia party for "Idol" at La Travestere just a few floors upstairs from the Kodak. It was a nice occasion...lots of good free food and an interesting collection of guests. There were some FremantleMedia celebs there namely Gary Kroeger and Kato Kaelin. I also spotted Coolio at the party and Traci Bingham. Later into the evening, I was introduced to Brooke Burns who was sporting a nifty Dog Eat Dog belt. Brooke is a such a sweetheart! Brian Dunkleman dropped by as the night fell upon Hollywood and Highland and Paula Abdul came surrounded by quite the entourage. All in all, it was a lotta fun...and without a doubt, it's a night I'll never forget!

Quite a "moment"

To say that the past few days have been big for the company is an understatement. Over the past few days, things have been really a flutter about "American Idol." Last night, I got a chance to attend the grand finale at the Kodak Theater. It was quite phenomenal. Never did I imagine the show would be as big as this. When I arrived at the complex, there was a line of people on the sidewalk snaked around the corner of Hollywood and Highland. At around 5-ish west coast time, I entered the theater. It was packed. The first hour of clips played on the big screen at center stage. I eventually took my seat which happened to be in front of a row where a bunch of Justin's family and friends were sitting. While gazing at the sea of people in the rows in front of us, I noticed Ray Romano and his family being seated.

At 6 PM, the big show began. While I've seen a couple of the "Idols" shows before in person, I had never seen all ten of the top 10 onstage performing together. It was a lot of fun and they all sounded pretty decent. I don't know whether this was a byproduct of the competition part being over or the acoustics of the Kodak Theater. The solo performances by Justin and Kelly were great, but Kelly clearly had the edge. While Justin got a great reaction from the audience, just about everybody in the audience was in love with Kelly. Kelly's voice has so much strength. I really was in awe hearing her sing. And I must admit I was quite jazzed to finally see Will Young live! Sure, his voice doesn't hold a candle to Kelly's, but he's still damn adorable. :-) Then came the announcement of the winner...what a moment. I'm so happy Kelly won! Not only is she talented, but she seems like a really, really nice girl. Actually, all four of the contestants (Kelly, Justin, Nikki, and Tamyra) that I met a few weeks ago seemed liked really realy nice people.

After the show ended, I went up to the FremantleMedia party for "Idol" at La Travestere just a few floors upstairs from the Kodak. It was a nice occasion...lots of good free food and an interesting collection of guests. There were some FremantleMedia celebs there namely Gary Kroeger and Kato Kaelin. I also spotted Coolio at the party and Traci Bingham. Later into the evening, I was introduced to Brooke Burns who was sporting a nifty Dog Eat Dog belt. Brooke is a such a sweetheart! Brian Dunkleman dropped by as the night fell upon Hollywood and Highland and Paula Abdul came surrounded by quite the entourage. All in all, it was a lotta fun...and without a doubt, it's a night I'll never forget!

These events were chosen at random

Quite the random Labor Day yesterday. We braved the Santa Clarita heat in the morning when we went to Magic Mountain. It was hot there...no wait...it was HOTTTTTTTTTTTT there. Way, way, way too hot. Suprisingly, it wasn't crowded. We managed to do three rides before we called it quits for the day and headed back home to some nice air conditioning.

Whilst watching TV, Drew started leafing through the IKEA catalog and asked if I was up for going to IKEA. Sooo...we did and brought Caleb along with us. Drew and Caleb shopped for various furnishings for their respective new pads while I figured out ways to mangle the Swedish names of the items with horrible puns. Drew joined in to the point where it became a twisted version of "Can You Top This?" A word to the wise...Never get into a bad pun showdown with Drew.

After the IKEA run, we Caleb, Drew, and I then met up with our friend David for dinner at the Outback. And after the Outback we then headed to Linens 'n Things to see if it was still open. It was in the midst of closing, but we then saw our friends Chris and Jeff on the sidewalk outside the store. Soooo, we all then decided to head over to Target. Need a flow chart yet?

Headed back home after that with plenty of time to spare to watch the first show of PAX's preview week of "Beat the Clock." (It airs at 11 PM Eastern/Pacific before moving Monday to its regular time slot of 6:30 PM.)

Unsurprisingly, today was quite crazy at work with "American Idol" going on and all. I've actually been putting together highlight reel for the company's wrap party tomorrow night. Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched for tomorrow. This is probably the biggest TV event I will have ever seen in person. The party should be quite interesting as well...I'm sure there'll be stories to tell in the days to come. :-)

Hello, neighbor

What a busy weekend it's been so far...Yesterday, I helped Drew with getting the last of his stuff out of his old place in Hollywood. Whilst the movers took his stuff in for storage, we got into a heated game of Bop-It Extreme 2. It's like Simon with sounds on crack. After demonstrating my lack of hand-eye coordination and motor skills, I headed back to my place to meet up with my landlords and Caleb as they showed Caleb around the guest house. I then went over to my office to finish up some work on a reel I've been working on for the "American Idol" finale party. In the midst of working on that I got a couple of "let's surprise Mandel" moments. First, I got a call from Caleb saying that he got the go-ahead to move in the next day! And just after that I got an IM from San Diego Michael saying that he was in town for the weekend! After I got done with the reel, I headed over to Drew's where he and I helped to tidy things up in his new room. In the evening, we made a venture over to West Hollywood (*GASP*) and over to The Abbey (*DOUBLE GASP*) to meet up with Gary, Steve, San Diego Michael and Gary's friend Sean. We also bumped into Chris there. A much different experience from my last Saturday "Abbey" experience. While there were a lot of people, I still had a lotta fun. We hung out there for quite a long time. We were there until they closed up shop and then headed home soon after that.

Today Ted, Larry, Drew and I braved the sweltering heat and headed over to Hollywood and Highland for lunch. We then watched Sleeping Beauty at the El Capitan. I'd never seen Sleeping Beauty all the way through. Definitely one of the best animated movies in the Disney library. Even cooler was that we got to see it in full Technirama 70. We then did a bit o' shopping back at the Hollywod and Highland, bitched and moaned about the heat, and headed back to my place where we saw Caleb moving in! Ahh...it's gonna be so fun to have somebody we know living in that guest house...

At this point in the blog, I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Brendan. Brendan is one of my best friends from college and reads this weblog quite a bit. Caught up with him on the phone last night. He's living near Seattle right now. Did my usually prodding to get his ass out here to L.A. for a visit. Hopefully, he'll listen... :-)

Speaking of blog-readers, thanks to all of you who've dropped by to visit this website. Thanks to you, I got a record number of hits on this site last month. I'll have some surprises in store in the next several weeks up here. So, keep checking out the site!