SPOILER ALERT: DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S “FOOD NETWORK STAR” OR WHAT HAPPENED TO LOCAL BOY JOSH LYONS! OK, you’re still here. So I can tell you that Josh, of soon-to-be Clematis sushi palace Fuku, his own catering company, band Fell on Deaf Ears and some awesome vests, survived the cut again on the second episode. But I’m worried that if Team Giada had not been named the winner and thus immune from elimination, our goateed guy about town might have been cooking for his life again. The challenge saw the teams research one specific aspect of a food-famous area of New York, either soul food-laden Harlem, Italian-flavored Arthur Avenue, or the Jewish and Kosher theme of ... Continue reading →
I was pretty disappointed in last year’s”American Idol” finals, in which two talented kids who were (to me) less inspiring or vocally mature than the one that finished third sang it out in a contest that seemed to have been telegraphed by the producers since the beginning. It was sweet, but boring. As far as I’m concerned, history repeated itself slightly this year, in that the most talented of the top three didn’t make the finals (and that would be Joshua. I’m not the only one that feels that way). The difference was that last night’s finals could have gone either way, to Phil Phillips, the rocker iconoclast from Georgia, and Jessica, the power belting pop princess. I truly had no idea whose name was ... Continue reading →
Green Bay Packer star Donald Driver can add one more title to Super Bowl Champion: Dancing With The Stars mirrorball trophy owner. And the way he did that half-centipede “Stop Drop and Roll” move when his victory was announced, he might consider this one just as important. Driver became a fan favorite early in the season, with his athleticism, great smile, musicality and shiny bald head (I swear this was a plus.) His competitors in the finals – international songstress Katherine Jenkins and hottie hot whatever-he-does-for-a-living William Levy – were also determined and on-point. But Driver and 9-foot-tall partner Peta Murgatroyd pretty much sealed it with their triumphant freestyle to Cowboy Troy’s “I Play Chicken With The Train.” Yes. A winning moment featuring Cowboy Troy. ... Continue reading →
SPOILER ALERT: DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S “FOOD NETWORK STAR” OR WHAT HAPPENED TO LOCAL BOY JOSH LYONS! OK, you’re still here. So I can tell you that Josh, of soon-to-be Clematis sushi palace Fuku, his own catering company, band Fell on Deaf Ears and some awesome vests, survived the cut again on the second episode. But I’m worried that if Team Giada had not been named the winner and thus immune from elimination, our goateed guy about town might have been cooking for his life again. The challenge saw the teams research one specific aspect of a food-famous area of New York, either soul food-laden Harlem, Italian-flavored Arthur Avenue, or the Jewish and Kosher theme of ... Continue reading →
And that band just got two new lead singers! Couples skate! The passing this week of Donna Summer and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees not only chips away at the collective childhood memories of those of us born in the 1970s – I know now how my parents felt when David Ruffin of The Temptations died – but means the silencing of two of the most unique voices in popular music. Whether you like disco or believe it to be the soundtrack of the seventh circle of Hell, Summer and Gibb were undoubtedly easy to recognize on the radio – and they’re still heard. Probably right now. Summer’s rich kiss of a vocal nstrument remains an elegant landmark in a genre considered tacky by ... Continue reading →