God bless Youtube...

It allows us to share moments like this:

One of the best reality catfights EVER

Yeah, this one is going to be on "Remix" for sure this week.

Amazing...just AMAZING...

Damn busy tone...

Ahh...my madness has begun...it's voting time on "American Idol."

Been furiously voting for David, Will, Chris, and Ace tonight...

Can't get through on Chris's or Ace's numbers! They're STILL busy! BLARG!

After this week's performances, here are my picks for the Top 4: Paris, Mandisa, Chris, and Ace...

Was in St. Louis for some business earlier this week. Flew back to Burbank this morning. On the leg of my trip from Vegas to Burbank, who should be on the same plane as me? FLAVOR FLAV! Complete with clock around his neck...How random...

"Project Runway's" reunion show rocked tonight...Nothing like loopy Guadalupe awkwardly screaming "I love Santino." And then here incoherent babbling about Johnny Cash and "Walk the Line?!?" What!?!

And awww...John Wade look even trimmer than we he dropped by "Reality Remix!

And double awww for Daniel V. and his shorter hairdo... :-)

We're going to Hollywood!

So, Saturday night, my friends, Jon, Ted, Larry, and I went to the big "American Idol" party to celebrate the Top 24. It was at Cinespace and hosted by the "American Idol" magazine.

It was quite an ecelctic gathering...In addition to the Top 24, Justin Guarini was there along with Jon Peter Lewis. Amanda Avila was there and served as our correspondent for "Reality Remix". Alo at the party...Lance Bass, "Survivor's" Rob and Amber, Jamie Luner, Rodney Bingerheimer, Reverend Al Sharpton (!), the cast of "The Loop" and "Free Ride," and some people from the Disney Channel hit "High School Musical."

But it just wasn't about the seeing the Idol Top 24, Constantine perform, free food, or the nice gift bag. It was also about seeing some of my old FremantleMedia cohorts. It was great to see so many of them again.

Some fun moments from the night...

Mini-food galore! Mini-pizzas, mini-burgers, mini-flautas. Mmmm....

Getting a preview of the new "American Idol" DVD game that being produced by Screenlife, the makers of "Scene-It." It looks like it has "Scene-It"-esque elements, but it's not "American Idol: Scene It." Screenlife has really emerged as THE premiere makers of DVD games.

There was the hunt to get a pic of Ace Young. There were many missed opportunties throughout the evening, but as you'll see in the photo album of the party, we were successful in getting a good one. And we barely made it..he was almost out of the room when we snapped the pic and that pic was the last one left on my memory stick.

Everybody looked even better in person than they did on the TV show. Mandisa looked quite fabulous. And Ace...well, I don't think much needs to be said there. He's quite the good-looking guy and seemed to be getting quite a bit of attention at the party. After seeing Bucky in person, I wonder how he'd fare after a little makeover. And Paris Bennett...as cute as a button. She just as bubbly as appears on the show.

The best moment was witnessing a little reunion. My friend Ted was once a college R.A. for Justin Guarini. Their paths in L.A. had missed each other many a time. Would they finally cross here? They did and the look on Justin's face when he realized it was Ted was priceless. The pic in the photo album says it all.

You can catch footage of the party in a story about that airs tomorrow on Reality Remix.

A wonderful night that was just one part of a GREAT weekend. Won't really delve into much more at the risk of jinxing another big part of the weekend...but things are looking up... :-)

A thought "Lost" in the shuffle...

So was watching "Lost" with a bunch of friends last night and this thought came to mind while watching the countdown clock hit zero and the weird symbols pop up in the flippy display...

"Joker!....Joker!....DEATH!!!"

Didn't want to interrupt the moment while everyone was watching...but just wanted to get that out of my system... :-D

Runway or another...

Watched "Project Runway" and miffed, but not surprised that Santino made it through to the finals. Was quite happy with what we saw of Daniel V. If you watched the show, I think you know what I mean. :-)

I was two-for-three in my Top Three wishlist. I'm really pulling for Daniel V. to win this. He just has to!

Very happy with how the Top 24 for "American Idol" turned out...It's been a while since this many of my favorites made it through. My phone is going to be getting a work out next week...On the girls' side, liking Lisa, Paris, Kellie, and Mandisa. On the guys' side, I'm pushing for Ace, Chris, David, Patrick, and Will. It's shaping up to be a REALLY good season. I'm VERY excited. :-)

Oh...and I so want to pair up with Mandisa and do a cop show with her called "Mandel and Mandisa." It would be the gayest crimefighting show...ever!

Picked up the newly released DVD set of "Gimme A Break! - Season 1." It's been a while since I've seen the show and it's definitely been a while since I've see episodes from the first season. Was it just me or were the Joey Lawrence/Jonathan Silverman-era episode rerun more in syndication. Anyhoo, what struck me was how depressing those first few episodes are. Everything is revolving around the mother's death. Yipes!

A little reality trivia tidbit for y'all...The first episode of "Gimme a Break!" features a guest appearance by Mike Darnell as George, Julie's (Laurie Hendler) friend and study partner. As you reality fanatics may know, Mike Darnell is the current head of alternative programming at FOX. He's one of THE kings in reality television. I did a total double take when I saw his name in the credits while watching the show. Had to do an instant replay and sure enough...it WAS him as George!

Well...MY spirit hasn't been broken...

Ahh...so I survived the onslaught of loneliness that often pervades my Valentine's Days with a dose of candy, some company of a couple of friends, and a nice healthy does of "American Idol." Ok...the twins Terrell and Derrell...Gurrrrrrrrrllllll...I did exhibit some glee when Derrell quit from the show after mistakenly thinking Terrell didn't make it through. D'oh! Derrell...Hubris...Hubris...Derrell...

Very sad to see the cowboys go. They didn't have the greatest voices, but "listen cowboy, you didn't late me down?!?" Awwww....

And SPEAKING of reality, you may have heard me referring to one of the shows I oversee at Fox Reality called "Reality Remix". The show is a daily show featuring recaps, previews, and feature stories/interviews about your favorite reality shows. Now, a lot of you have been saying, "I don't get Fox Reality...I can't see your show!" Well, guess what? If you've got a high-speed internet connection, that's not an issue anymore.

That's right..."Reality Remix" streams 24/7 on the show's official website. A new show is uploaded every weekday around 5 PM Pacific/8 PM Eastern. And I'd love to hear your comments on the show. Just drop me an E-mail!

Harumph....

Yeah, it's Valentine's Day...Whatever...

I call it Tuesday...

Pass the Cherry-flavored Kit Kat...Mmmm...chocolate...how you'll never leave me or break my heart!

A-MAZE-ing

I love how retrogames are back in vogue thanks to the web. This one's my favorite:

Super-cool Maze Game!

So simple, yet SO addictive. So far, I've been able to get up to Level 9. And this is coming from a guy who sucks at video games.

See how far you can get and post your progress in the "Comments" section!

Damn you....

And now...a "Project Runway" damn you...

Damn you Santino...damn you and your jumpsuit...

Damn you, guest judge who thought Santino's jumpsuit wasn't that bad...

Damn you judges for giving the "auf wiedersehen" to Nick...ok, the suit was a bit girly, but still...damn you...

Damn you for squashing my hopes for a Daniel/Chloe/Nick showdown in the final three!!!

WAHHHHHH.... :-(

At least Daniel and Chloe are still in it...Oh, Daniel...thank goodness you had the immunity...

That is all...

Well, not quite...I put up a few new pics in the Photo Album section!

Kreepy Kreme

Dear creepy girl at Krispy Kreme,

I don't know what you were on last night when my friends Nick, Drew, and I stopped by your Burbank Krispy Kreme, but you surely freaked us out.

I'm not sure what it was...Could it have been the fact that you didn't smile? Could it have been the fact that you kept pressuring Nick to make an order as he was contemplating your fine selection of donuts? "Do you want a six-pack? Do you want a six-pack?" AHHHH! Just let us browse the donuts!

Could it have been how you said, "I'll just wait here until you decide" and just stood there in a steely, cold way staring at us while we looked through the display case?

Could it have been the way you said "Are you laughing at me?" as we giggled nervously as we tried to make a donut decision after you put the pressure on us to make our order?

Never have I wanted to grab my glazed and maple donuts and rush out of a Krispy Kreme so fast...

Thanks Krispy Kreme for your night of sweet, sweet terror...I'll be using the drive-thru window next time...

Kisses,

Mandel

Fuzzy pictures...

New pictures should be up later tonight...For those of you who have Friendster or Myspace, you can see a couple of them. There ended up being way more "Feud" party pics than I thought there would have been!

A new pricing game debuted on "Price" yesterday, but alas it wasn't mine. Cute game though...definitely addresses the "we need new quick games" note I was given when I asked them what they were looking for pricing games-wise a few years ago.

I've never gotten clear word as to what happened to the second pricing game I created, but I had heard that the electronics that would have been involved in making the game would have been a bit much. Hopefully, it'll pop up somewhere down the line. At least, "dots" what I hope. :-)

Ooh...today's the release of Bambi II: Electric Deer-a-loo...WHY? I dunno what's more unnecessary Bambi II or Big Momma's House II...

Happy birthday, Jake, if you're reading this!

Weekend musings....

Saturday, trekked down to The Grove and The Farmer's Market with Tim and Jim...hey, that rhymes!...hey, who cares...

After a lunch a Johnny Rockets (where we discovered that if I tap my sneakers quickly and loudly enough on the tile floor, I sound like Fred Flintstone scampering to run away), we went over to Duck Soup, this fun little pop culture store. There, I drooled over their home arcade games. They have this really cool Mini-cade in both upright and cocktail table form. Each has multiple games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Dig Dug. And they don't look like emulators. It's the real deal...and it's costs quite a bit...which is why all I could do is drool over them.

But alas, I did purchase a few things...a couple of retro-pop culture books and most importantly a turntable! I was finally able to listen to all those vinyls I've been purchasing at used record stores in L.A. Mmm...Broaday cast recording of "Chess"...mmmm...

Went with the Jims that evening to Akbar for a ho-hum evening of noneventfulness...dunno where it was the crowd or if I was tired, but it left me feeling just blah. I have to say, I don't think I've ever met anybody at a bar. Did I mention earlier that dating and me don't mix? :-)

Yesterday, the guys and I did our annual tradition of going to Disneyland on Superbowl Sunday. We got there around 10 AM and it was a bit more crowded than usual...to the point where it took a half-hour just to get to the parking booth. The day was low-key...we kicked things off by going on the new Monsters Inc. ride at California Adventure. It was delightlfully above average. At least it's better than Superstar Limo. But then again, so is having my face nibbled at by hungry ants. It's ok, but not worth a 90-minute wait as it was the week before when I went with my family.

Space Mountain was closed for part of the day, but we were able to hop in during the evening and our timing could not have been more perfect. As we got into the final tunnel, the ride stopped. For those of you who haven't been in the final tunnel at the new Space Mountain, there's this really cool light effect that makes you feeel like you jetting back home...however, when your sitting in the tunnel with the car stationary and the light effects still on, it feels like your car is moving backwards. Fortunately, they stopped the lighting effect and turned the house lights on before releasing us from our "brake zone" (#14 for those two of you regular readers keeping score) and back into the loading/unloading area (which wasn't white...damn you Airplane!).

Random food thought...Taquitos-to-go from 7-Eleven...not too bad...especially the buffalo chicken flavored and potato skin flavored ones...

The yings and yangs of 29...

Being 29's turning out to be a bit of a rollercoaster...The first days have had some major ups, but there have also been some downhill bumps....

My birthday night Wednesday night was low-key, but great. Hung with a bunch of my friends...watched "Idol" and probably my favorite episode of "Project Runway" so far this season. Our "Project Runway" TV nights have evolved into "Who can do a better Tim Gunn?" impersonation contests. Rod wins so far! It's quite uncanny...

On the show though, Santino's redeemed himself (a little) with his Tim Gunn impersonation. My pick to win and my favorite...Daniel Vosovic...I know...not a big surprise. ;-)

Speaking of reality goodness, the new cast of "The Amazing Race" has been announced. Hooray! And...a little extra twist for me...my college friend B.J. is on the show! He's gonna be great. He's a very funny, sharp guy. It should be fun to see how he does...My circles of life have really started to intertwine. This is the first friend of mine who's appeared on a big network reality show that I'm a HUGE fan of like "Race." My other faves for "Race"...Jeremy and Eric...I know...not a big surprise...

This also makes the second B.J. I went to college with (stop snickering) who's appearing on network prime-time TV.

How about those "Beauty and the Geek" makeovers last night?!? Karl and Wes?!? WOW...

But with the good...there's a bit of not-so-good...

Attempted to have HD DirecTV installed at my place yesterday...apparently...it CAN'T. It's because of the way the cable wiring is set up at my apartment. I'd have to lose DirecTV in the two bedrooms in order to get any HD signal. I guess I should know by now that fancy technology and me don't mix...

And yesterday I found out that what I thought was there wasn't there. Gotta love those "talks." Better to know a few weeks into things than a few months into things. I'm a little hurt and wounded, but it's gonna be ok...we're still going to be friends. I guess I should know by now that dating and me don't really mix.

Ah...is it the weekend yet? Oh, it is? NICE...