But can we hear again?

Ladies and gentlemen...I present to you my favorite new show...

VH'1s "But Can They Sing?"

Oh where to start with this one...Let's just say my TiVO's instant replay feature got a work out last night.

And also, those yearning for a return to the glory days of "Pink Lady" had Bai Ling's rendition of "Like a Virgin" to satisfy their wishes...Like a verrrgin....OWWWW!

And what the hell was she wearing?!?

Ow, indeed...and WOW as well. I'm not sure whom to vote for...the really good singers or the really bad ones just to see if they'll get even worse as the series goes along.

I think it's pretty clear who's going to win here...Joey Pants. He's got the best voice of the bunch. The dark horse is Michael Copon (swoon!), whose version of Gavin Degraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" wasn't bad at all.

Show me that smile again...

Had some free time for once today and took care of a few errands and did a little shopping. During the shopping trip, Iowa Jim and I decided to head up to Valencia to go the Wal-Mart for kicks.

There was a slight ulterior motive on my part. Wanted to see if they had the Atari Flashback 2 in stock.

We arrived there at 7 PM. They had the Atari Flashback 2, but the remaining ones looked a bit tattered. Grrr...We then made our way out of the store and as we returned to the front of the Wal-Mart, we noticed a set up. There was a wall of Coke 12-pack boxes. Some of the boxes were turned to their sides and covered with black construction paper, so that they formed letters spelling out the words "World at War." There was a table in front of the wall of Coke boxes and there was a TV playing the DVD for "Left Behind: World at War." There was also a big sign that said "Kirk Camerion will be autographing copies of Left Behind tonight at 6 PM." DAMMIT! We missed seeing Kirk Cameron live! Oh well...we picked up a Kirk Cameron postcard from the stack that was "left behind" (HAR-HAR-HAR) on the table.

Ahh...the things you see out here...made the venture out to Valencia worth it...

OK...and I just saw a commercial for this PS2 game called "Ratchet Deadlocked" and it used "Thank You For Being a Friend" in the background. Somebody I'm not quite feeling the connection between Rose Nylund, Andrew Gold, and a game where you blow up things...

Found a Halloween costume for this party I'm going to next week, but I still couldn't find a freaky Burger King mask...oh well...

Don't stop me now...

So more about that Queen concert...

A few months ago, my friend Iowa Jim (the biggest Queen fan I know) asked if I wanted to see Queen with Paul Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl. At first I was like...ooh, Queen! They're the one band I had always wanted to see live...but then, I realized, ooh, it's Queen with Paul Rodgers...from Bad Company, a band I never really cared for.

After waffling back and forth and hemming and hawing about seeing a show at the Bowl...and wondering if I'd even have the time to go see the concert...I finally said, "what the hell!"

Fortunately, I did have Saturday night free...Jim dropped by my place a little before 5. We had a little bit of time to kill before we had to head to the Studio City shuttle bus stop, so I introduced Jim to the wonders of Klaatu, the band who did "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft." I recently went on a Klaatu binge and purchased their catalog of albums after getting hooked on the Carpenters' version of the song. The albums have been getting major play lately on my car stereo...But I'll save that for another post...

Jim comes armed with a sign saying "'39...please" just like the sign in the Queen Live at the Bowl DVD as well as a Queen T-shirt like the one he wore at the Queen concert he saw back in 1980. Yes, I was (and still am) jealous...

We got to the bus and headed over to the Bowl. It was a bit moist and cold outside. There was that "it's just about to rain" feel in the air. We get to the entrance around 6-ish. The concert started at 8 so they weren't letting people in. However, we were able to hear the sounds of "I Want it All" being rehearsed. It sounded pretty damn good. We waited outside for a while and then finally made our way into the Bowl around quarter to 8. We took our places and realized that we had pretty damn good seats (good job, Jim!).

The sounds of AC/DC played as people got settled in their seats. Then there was a little bit of "It's a Beautiful Day" from Queen's "Made in Heaven." Ahh...If that voice of Freddie's were only to be heard live that night...Then, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was played over the loudspeakers. Huh?!?

And then it happened...The opening sounds of "Tie Your Mother Down." I can't believe it...there was Brian May playing guitar just yards away from me. And there was Roger Taylor on drums! And Paul Rodgers...not too shabby at all. The crowd seemed to be enjoying it as well. As the smell of pot smoke wafted through the air, the band went into "Fat Bottomed Girls." Again, it was pretty damn good! As the night progressed, rain sprinkled in a steady stream. It was the lightest of sprinkles, but you could see the raindrops on the cameras' feeds to the big screen.

There were many highlights notably Brian May's acoustic renditions of "'39" (there you go, Jim!) and "Love of My Life" (one of my all-time faves). "We Are the Champions," "The Show Must Go On," "Hammer to Fall," "I Want it All," and "Radio Ga Ga" were other plusses of the evening. "Another One Bites the Dust" fell a bit flat without Freddie's vocal prowess and Roger Taylor's lead on "These Are the Days of Our Lives" left me feeling a cold...or was that the rain?

Didn't mind the Bad Company songs and they actually sounded quite good live. And Slash was there for a cameo! Go figure!

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was done just right letting Freddie Mercury (via video) take center stage for the iconic song.

There were a few songs that I wished were on the set list like "Under Pressure," "Don't Stop Me Now," "Killer Queen," "The Miracle," "A Kind of Magic," "Somebody to Love," and "Headlong." Even "Las Palabras de Amor" would have been a nice touch, but hey...beggars can't be choosers...

Here are some pics from the show.













A great show all around and a fun night in spite of the constant drizzling. While it wasn't Queen wtih Freddie Mercury or John Deacon, it was still a good show and worth the price of admission. Would I see it again? Probably not. Don't get me wrong...Paul Rodgers has a great voice, but I'd like to see things given a shot with somebody with a more campy flair. I mean, geez, it would be so cool if those rumors were true about Robbie Williams being considered as a lead singer for Queen. Oh well, one can always hope...

Under pressure...

Lots to talk about but not time to blog!

Some quick hits upon which I'll further elaborate later in the week...

Last night, went to see Queen and Paul Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl. Went in with a bit of skepticism, but came out quite satisfied. In spite of the continuous sprinkling of rain, it was great night. It's silly to even compare Paul Rodgers to Freddie Mercury, but Paul held his own. "The Show Must Go On," "Tie Your Mother Down," "Fat Bottomed Girls," and "I Want it All" were highlights. The big surprise was Slash coming in for a cameo. Whowouldathunk?

Thursday night, we had our launch party for "Reality Remix," FOX Reality's first original show. Got to meet many a reality personality there...Sue Hawk, Norman Korpi from the first "Real World," Chip and Kim as well as Charla and Mirna from "The Amazing Race," and Marcellas from "Big Brother 3." There was quite an assortment of people, many of which whom I recognized. It made me reality how much reality television I've watched over the past decade and half...quite a LOT.

Speaking of "Reality Remix," if you have FOX Reality, please check out our premiere tomorrow (Monday, October 24th) at 7:30 PM on the east coast and 4:30 PM on the west coast. You can find the channel on 250 on DirecTV.

Well, back to work here...regular blogging will resume by end of the week!

While my wallet gently weeps...

Things have been crazy busy as I've been overseeing the production of FOX Reality's first original series, "Reality Remix." We're set to debut in a little over a week. It's the first time I've worked on a day-and-date show and I have to say, I have an ever greater respect for people who put together morning news shows! Because we're down to the last week of test shows before our premiere, I haven't had much time to put into the blog, so the entries will be spotty over the next couple of weeks (as they have been in the past week)...But in the meantime...I need to write a note to my wallet...

Hi wallet,

I just want to warn you that you're going to take a beating in the next few months. My obsession with tech gadgets has got to be fed and some new products have just been released that I really, really, want to get. Don't worry, I'll do my best to save up and give you a little buffer so you're not hurting, but I mean, LOOK AT THIS!

Video iPod
When I got my 40GB iPod, I said, this is the last iPod I'll buy for while. I saw the modified click-wheel version, and I spared you from that. Then there was the mini, which really didn't turn me on. After that was the photo iPod with the color display. A bit more tempting, but not enough to make me dip into your funds. Just a few weeks ago came the iPod Nano and after seeing it in person, I was REALLY, REALLY close to getting one. But then, Steve Jobs comes out this past week and unleashes this wonderment.

I think I've found a reason to get a new iPod. VIDEO!! And 20 hours of battery life! Oh, and did I mention video?!? I just though that it would be music videos, but TV shows, too?! I never gave any thought to video on demand until I saw TV episodes being sold on iTunes for $1.99. This would have been perfect on my trip to Boston last week when I missed the first 10 minutes of Desperate Housewives and didn't have a TiVo to bail me out. It would have been perfect. And video podcasts! EE!

The LG VX9800
Saw an ad for this phone while watching TV Thursday night...I used to be of the notion that I only needed a cell phone that could make and receive calls. Then, I started text messaging and pic messaging, and finding that I was using my phone for more than calls. Well, when I saw this phone, the drool started dropping from my mouth. An upgrade was down the line and I think I found the phone to which to upgrade. I went to the Verizon store yesterday and checked on my account status. I found that I'm eligible for a new phone with a $100 discount next month. Woo-hoo! AOL IMing and Yahoo mail access AND a QWERTY keyboard! I'm in!

The new iMac with iSight built in!
Ever since the first iMac G5 came out, I've been contemplating getting one. For one reason or another (mostly being chicken about plunking down a couple of grand on a new desktop), I never pulled the trigger and got one. Well, again, Apple has given me a reason to upgrade. Not only does it have a G5 procesor, but it's got iSight built in AND it's got a remote for your iPod! And Tiger built in...ROARRRRRR...Video chatting, anybody?

So there you go, wallet...The next three big purchases I'm saving up for...be prepared...I'll be gentle...but it'll be the best for all of us...

Kisses,

Mandel

The long trip home...

Ok...so blogging about my trip to Boston has taken long than expected...much like some other things I've been working on. Day 3 will be posted tonight for sure...

In the meantime, I have to say something...I filled up my car with gas today on the way to work and I stopped in at the mini-mart. I picked up one of those PowerBar triple threat bars to nosh on during the long drive to my office.

I had never purchased one before...I rip and open and lo and behold, it's basically a big peanut butter rice krispies bar with a layer of chocolate on the bottom. I mean, c'mon! This is really supposed to be source of energy and protein? I mean, it was tasty and all, but it's just a fancy candy bar...

Stay tuned...

Parts 2 - 4 of my Boston trek will be posted later tonight...

Going Back Bay in Time - My Boston Trip Day #2

Well, I didn't really go to the Back Bay...I just figured it'd be a clever pun...ok, I was wrong...

Anyhoo, today involved taking a trip down memory lane when I met up with Kathleen, my HRTV faculty advisor. Did lots of catching up over a great breakfast that she had made. Didn't get too lost on the way to her place and took in some of the beautiful scenery of New England suburbia. It really looked like something out of a Martha Stewart book.

After breakfast, I made my way back towards the Boston/Cambridge area to meet up with my friend Josh, one of the people who ran Demon, the college humor magazine for which I wrote. We grabbed some brunch over at the S & S Deli at Inman Square. I had never been there before and hell, I didn't even know it existed during my time at Harvard. Did more catching up and noshed on some really good potato pancakes before I headed to my next stop...

John Harvard Brewery at Harvard Square. Found primo parking right in front of the entrance where I met up with the current HRTV seniors. Ahhh...new young blood. It was quite cool to find out what HRTV's up to nowadays. Went through the "story of my life since graduating" routine again...one which I had gained a bit of practice telling that day...

In telling everybody what I've been up to, it hit me how much has happened since college and how long it had been since I had graduated from college. I have lived in L.A. longer than I was in Boston. 5 o'clock was rolling around, so I had to say goodbye to HRTV: The Next Generation and move on to my next destination...Leominster, Massachusetts...

That was the location of the rehearsal dinner for the wedding party. Normally it's about 45 minutes away from where I was staying. However, throw in the elements of rain, Boston's honked-up street layouts, and well...ME behind the wheel and it took much longer that. First of all, it took me half and hour to get out of Boston. I eventually made it to the dinner location at 7 PM...an hour late. Grrrr...

Fortunately, the dinner was still going on...Made it in time to get some food to nosh on and take a seat by Sam's brother, Alan to play a little catch up with him. Saw a bunch of other familiar faces there including Sam's family and friends. And much to my surprise, Sam and Alexis made an announcement that they would be giving out presents to their friends. Presents?!? For us?!? Wow! The gift they gave me was a T-shirt that said "Bob Barker's Bitch"...Heh...As things started to wind down, I couldn't help but notice the HUGE-ASS disco ball that graced the ceiling of the dinner location...



Eeeps!

So closed a very packed day...one that rekindled many memories and old friendships...It was great to get back to my college roots and see some people I hadn't seen in years. It was also great to meet some new ones as well in the process. This trip reminded how cool (literally and figuratively) Boston and the people I met there are...

Driving my cah around the Yahd - My Boston Trip Day #1

So, my trip got off to a stressful start as I arrived at LAX at 9:30 for a 10:35 flight to Boston last night. I took a flight on United and as I got to ther terminal I saw that the line was snaking around the terminal. I had some baggage to check in, so I had to get in line. Grrr...The line was BARELY moving...

Upon further inspection, I saw that the ticket counter consisted of all self-service kiosks with a few attendants helping people to check in. What was slowing things down was that nobody in line was being notified when the self-service kiosks were open. Grrr...

So as I inched closer to the front of the line, I noticed a sign..."Baggage check-in closes 45 minute prior to flight." I looked at the time...9:40 PM. And I was nowhere near the front of the line. YIKES!

Just as I realized my potential luggage troubles, I could see another woman screaming in the phone about a situation with her ticket. In between the damns and profanities spewing from her mouth, I could make out that she was talking about a flight to Boston. Oooh...this wasn't good. At this point, two other people in front of me expressed their concern about getting on the flight to Boston and jumped the line. They started to talk to a representative. While eavesdropping, I heard about the potential of their luggage not making it to Boston.

I think jumped the line and joined up with them explaining that I was on the same flight. The attendant then asked me to check in and grabbed my luggage. I signed a slip of paper acknowledging that my luggage was checked in late...it was already 10:05 PM by this point! I ran to the security check-in went through security and joined the back of the line of people getting on my flight.

I got on my flight and took my seat...a better one that I had originally booked thanks to a friend who works for the airline. Nibbled one some snacks and quenched my thirst...got a little distracted by Chris Evans' shirtlessness on the flight movie ("Fantastic Four") then nodded off with a little anxiety about my luggage...

Woke just as we were descending. Raised the window shield to see that it was quite gray in Boston. And it was raining...ahh...how I had forgotten about the gray, rainy autumns...

Touched down and tried my best to get out of my groggy state. Headed down to the baggage claim area and waited anxiously to see if my luggage had made it...no, that wasn't it...nope, that's not mine either...bag after bag, suitcase after suitcase, none of them were mine...until...what? that can't be? It is! My luggage made it! YAY!

Snatched it up...and in doing so, got a little second wind of energy to hop on the shuttle and head to the car rental place. I picked up my car with very little trouble and got directions to my hotel.

I promptly took the wrong tunnel and had to backtrack...ahh...so it began...my adventure of driving in Boston. Another thing I had forgotten...Driving is a pain in the ASS in Boston. For those of you not familiar with driving around Beantown and especially Cambridge...many of the streets don't have signs and the streets often change names. Also, there are MANY one-way streets meaning that if you screw up, you can't necessarily go back the way you came...This happened many times today...MANY times...

It happened when I went to the Cambridgeside Galleria to pick up my tux for the wedding...it happened when I tried to find my hotel...it happened when my sister and I went to Harvard Square to meet up with my friend Adam for lunch...it happened when I went to meet up with Sam, Alan, and Alexis at Kendall Square. I swear, it felt like I was in a bad episode of the Amazing Race. I was half-expecting to see Phil Khoegan on a mat telling me that "I'm the last to arrive." Oh, and the rain didn't help either...

Neverthless, it's good to be back in Boston and Cambridge. It's amazing how very little has changed. The Au Bon Pain is still at the Square...so is the Pizzeria Uno.

I'm just so damn tired right now...I dunno if it's the jet lag or work lately...but I conked out for quite a while this afternoon...was in the middle of doing some work on a job-related project from my hotel room (god bless wireless!) and I just started dozing off. I lied down on my bed and before I knew it, I was in the middle of a four-hour nap. Grrr...

One link...one post

Just so that another blog has this link...

Everything's coming up rosas

Ahh...Makes me wanna visit West Hollywood...sort of...

And speaking of West Hollywood...I can't get enough of that gay episode of "Next," the one with Joey and that figure skater. Cracks...me...up...soooo bitchy....so deliciously good. Can't...draw...my...eyes...away....from...it

R.I.P.sey: Nipsey Russell (1924 - 2005)

So I logged onto Yahoo and the news page said,
Classic TV personality Nipsey Russell was dead.

I then thought about all those wonderful times,
He'd pop up on game shows and charm us with rhymes.

And how he'd help players up that ol' Pyramid,
To win thousands in cash...that's what Nipsey did.

The poet laureate of television is with us no more,
To sweep some stakes as celebrity number four.

To tell the truth, we really have Nipsey to thank,
For those clever witticisms that filled our BLANK.

But now the world has a bit less rhyme and reason,
As we head into this 2005 fall season.

For sad as it is...I have just read,
That TV's Nipsey Russell is now dead.

:-(

Mixing it up...

So October is quite a hell month for me...so many things happening at once...

Have a lot of different projects going on at the network, with the big one being our first original show. Not only is it our first original show, but it's also a five-day-a-week show.

And next weekend, I'm heading back to my old stomping grounds in New England as I fly to Boston for my friends Sam and Alexis's wedding. It should be great. It's the first wedding I've attended in a LONG, LONG time aside from the one for which I played piano last year. Can't wait to catch up with Sam and Alexis. It'll also be great to Sam's family again. Sam's one of my best friends from my Florida days. He's one of the people who's responsible for my warped sense of humor. He's also never been shy about knocking some sense into me when the need arose. Just see some of his comments on my blog... :-)

The weekend should provide a nice little oasis from the craziness of work lately. And I get to get all suited up. Ahh...me in formalwear...a rare thing...Hopefully, I'll also get a chance to check out Harvard Square and catch up with some of my other friends in the area. I haven't been back to Boston since I graduated back in 1999! Mmm...Au Bon Pain!

Barring any work conflicts, I've bite the bullet and gone along for buying a ticket to see Queen with Paul Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl. I know, I know, it's not Freddie Mercury, but it's still Brian May and Roger Taylor. It's probably the closest I'll ever come to seeing Queen live, so I figure why not?

Oh, so I finally got a copy of "The Price is Right" DVD! This was one of the last projects on which I worked before I left FremantleMedia. It turned out well! And the feedback's been quite good from what I've read and what friends have told me. The neat part was seeing my name in the game credits! Tested it out with a few friends last week and it's quite a dandy party game. I must say, I suck at Lucky $even. Heh...Anyhoo, if you're looking for a good DVD game that's easy to whip out and play, I highly recommend it. It's started to pop up at K-Marts and Toys R Us's around town.