Luciano Pavarotti

Here is the late, great Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) singing Nessun Dorma. It is one of my favorite songs. Every time I hear it, I get chills.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

The Latest from ‘Danicing with the Stars’: Who Trip the Light Fantastic, and who has two left feet?

From msnbc.com

The curse of the supermodel: The couple with the lowest overall score was, as expected, Josie Maran and Alec Mazo. Not really an undeserving exit for the two, but they had some stiff competition for the bottom spot in Mark Cuban and Kym Johnson. Still, Josie’s poor showing outperformed many week-one dances from seasons past; her lack of fame probably hurt her more than anything else. But pity the unfortunate Alec, who for the second season in a row, exited in the first week with a supermodel partner. They were even played out to the song “Drive,” the music video for which featured his ex-partner Paulina Porizkova. Talk about rubbing it in.

But can she waltz? The judges picked their favorites to dance again on the results show, and they unanimously chose the highest night-one scorers ever, Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas. Len Goodman referred to their dance as “possibly the best cha-cha-cha we’ve ever seen.” That may be overhyping them a little, but their repeat performance did impress. Sabrina has some amazing leg movements for someone who lacks a classic dancer’s body. Of course, she also has plenty of non-ballroom training behind her, so she’s a bit of a ringer. It should be interesting to see how her high-energy ways work with the slower, more elegant routines.

Season four redux: Alec may not be the only pro feeling a little déja vu. Julianne Hough won last season when paired with Apolo Anton Ohno, and things could shape up much the same for her this time with Helio Castroneves. Sure, Sabrina’s in the spotlight for now, but Helio may prove more versatile and likable in the long run. Even host Tom Bergeron said the racer “raised the competition to a whole new level.”

Get used to grace: Viewers must has enjoyed the class and grace Jane Seymour and partner Tony Dovolani delivered Monday night, since their combined score kept them around for another week. And what’s not to like? At 56, Jane is the oldest woman to ever compete on the show, but she danced circles around much of her competition. Plus the pair ranks high on personality. They seem to like each other as much as the audience likes them.

Can’t be the best at everything: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. wasn’t just the bookies’ favorite before the show began; he was the one guy the other male celebs saw as a threat. Well, he remains undefeated in the ring, but Floyd took a pounding from the judges on his “Dancing with the Stars” debut. Luckily for him and Karina Smirnoff, the fans at home didn’t side with the officials. Besides, Floyd still seems confident, declaring that they “tore it up!” Now if he can just approach Karina more like a partner and less like an opponent, they have a fair shot.

Do it yourself: Albert Reed found an interesting solution to the drawback of joining the show sans fan base — he just created one on Tuesday night. The adorkable approach played well for him and Anna Trebunskaya. Knowing how to work the crowd, Albert promised his future routines would “keep it fun and keep it sassy.” And it wouldn’t hurt to stick with the chest-baring shirts, either.

 

Dancing with the Stars – The Men

 

Well the men took the spotlight on Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night.

I was surprised on how well most of them did. One thing that did come through from their dancing was it looked like they were having fun.

Here is my breakdown of the men:

Helio Castroneves — I really liked Helio. I liked his dancing style and he seemed like a really nice guy on the interview before they danced.

 

Mark Cuban is in a class of his own. He was sure entertaining considering that he’s not in the entertainment field. He seemed to really enjoy himself out on the dance floor. You should check out his blog site: Blog Maverick about him being on Dancing with the Stars.

Cameron Mathison is my niece’s pick to win. As she puts it “he’s hot!” Well for being the first dance of the night, he did pretty well. I think if he makes it further on in the show, he will only get better. So maybe my niece known what she’s talking about.

Floyd Mayweather — He was my least favorite of the night. He may have style and some dance moves, but they weren’t the right ones for Dancing with the Stars.

Wayne Newton — Mr. Las Vegas did OK. I thought he would do a lot better considering that he’s a performer and has been doing that since he was young. But he looked a little stiff on the dance floor. I don’t think it has anything to do with his age, he just didn’t look like he belonged out there.

Albert Reed was fun to watch, he reminds be of Billy Ray from last season. No dancing skills, but sure is fun to watch. He definitely played on his good looks while dancing on the floor. The crowd and judges seem to like it. I just hope they don’t keep him on the show just for that reason.

Here is how I voted:

2 votes for Helio — 1 vote each for Mark, Cameron, Albert and Wayne — 0 votes for Floyd

So for the results show on Wednesday night, I think Josie will be the first to be vote off the show.

Dancing with the Stars website.

Dancing With the Stars – The Women

(Jennie Garth, Josie Maran, Sabrine Bryan, Marie Osmond, Melaine Brown and Jane Seymour)

Season Premiere (Mon Sept 24 8/7c)

Don’t miss the return of Dancing with the Stars in a special three night extravanga, with the women squaring off on Monday, the men on Tuesday, and an appearance by Savion Glover in the first results show on Wednesday!

Well the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars was on Monday night and it showcased the women. After an exciting start of the show, all 12 professional dancers performing. WOW — they were amazing.

Then the women performed. First up was my pick to win Season 5, Jennie Garth. She was OK, being the first dancer must have been tough and it showed a little. But overall she did well. I’ll give her one more week before I change my pick to who is going to win for this season.

Second was Josie Maran. I didn’t care for her performance that much. She would be my early pick to go first.

Third was Sabrina Bryan. She was an exciting dancer to watch. But like the judges said, she put a little too much of her style of dancing (hip-hop) into her routine and not enough of the ballroom dancing style.

Fourth was Marie Osmond. She was entertaining to watch. She brought her “Osmond” charm into her routine and it paid off. Not only did the judges like her, the crowd seemed to like her too.

Fifth was Melanie Brown. I was really surprised with her dancing. She performed her routine really well and I can’t wait to see her next week. But in the back of my head, she reminded me of Laila Ali. Well see how she does in the other dances.

And sixth was Jane Seymour. For being the oldest female dancer, she dances beautifully. The foxtrot was a perfect dance to showcase her style. Hopefully she will do as well in the Latin dances.

So after the show, I got online to vote for my favorites. I had only six votes and here is how I voted:

2 votes for Mel B. — 1 vote each for Jennie, Marie, Sabrina and Jane — 0 votes for Josie

Well see how the women did on Wednesday’s results show. Tuesday night is the men’s night. I can’t wait to see if they do as well as the women.

What’s on Tonight

As you can tell be an earlier entry, I am an Elvis Presley fan. Tonight there is a special on ABC about Elvis and his impact on Las Vegas. When I heard about the story on the news this morning, they were talking how Elvis has effected many peoples lives for the past 30 years. Rappers were saying how he was the original “rapper” with his bling-bling and his Cadillac. And they also mentioned how when Elvis came to Vegas, everyone benefited from him being there. The hotels, the casinos, the bell-hop, the whole city because there would be so many people there to see The King.

I am looking forward to seeing the special tonight. Below is one of my favorite Elvis songs – C.C. Rider performed in Las Vegas.

By KATHRYN SHATTUCK

Published: September 18, 2007

9 P.M. (ABC) ELVIS: VIVA LAS VEGAS Thirty years after Elvis Presley’s death, ABC News examines how the King, left, reinvented Las Vegas — and vice versa — in this two-hour special. It includes interviews with intimates like Presley’s former wife, Priscilla, who describes how having to sing the same songs night after night left him feeling like “a stallion caged in a tiny stall,” and appearances by contemporary musicians who perform his hits and discuss his influence. They include Miranda Lambert, Joe Perry, Toby Keith, Chris Isaak, Brandi Carlile, 50 Cent, Beyoncé, Daughtry, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Norah Jones, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, the Rock, Patti Scialfa and the Three 6 Mafia. Elizabeth Vargas is host.

Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars is back again starting Moday, September 24th and I can’t wait!

Here are a list of the celebrity dancers and who they are paired with for this season:

MELANIE BROWN is partnered with MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY, who returns for his fourth season.

SABRINA BRYAN is partnered with newcomer MARK BALLAS.

HELIO CASTRONEVES teams with reigning champ JULIANNE HOUGH, who returns for her sophomore season.

MARK CUBAN is partnered with KYM JOHNSON, who returns for her third season.

JENNIE GARTH whose partner is newcomer DEREK HOUGH, brother of Season Four winner Julianne Hough.

JOSIE MARAN is paired with Season One winner ALEC MAZO, who makes his third appearance.

CAMERON MATHISON is partnered with EDYTA SLIWINSKA, the only professional dancer to appear in all five seasons.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER teams with KARINA SMIRNOFF, who returns for her third season.

WAYNE NEWTON is partnered with two-time champ CHERYL BURKE.

MARIE OSMOND will be led by JONATHAN ROBERTS, who returns for his fourth season.

ALBERT REED teams up with ANNA TREBUNSKAYA, who returns for her second season.

JANE SEYMOUR is paired with TONY DOVOLANI, who returns for his fourth season.

My early pick is: JENNIE GARTH

My Log-Shot pick is: MARK CUBAN

We’ll see how I do this season on picking the winner, I picked Joey Fatone to win last season and he came in 2nd place.

I will be posting my comments after Monday night’s show. Let’s see if I can guess who will be voted off.

(Season premiere September 24; Mondays, 8:00-9:30 p.m., ET,
The Results Show, Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET)

Detroit Lions

I know it’s early, but being a long time Detroit Lions fan (grow up in Michigan), I feel that this is the year for the Lions!! I know it’s the first week of the season, but the Lions won this past weekend.

Growing up in Michigan, you always hoped when football season started, that it was the year for the Lions. But each year, they would come a little or a lot short at the end. I remember the years with Billy Sims and Barry Sanders, those were good years. And then there were the years with Wayne Fontes… I would rather not talk about those years.

I also remember tailgating at the old Pontiac Silverdome… how did those people bring their dining room table to the parking lots?? Standing out in the cold and waiting for the hot dogs to heat up. Then heading into the Silverdome for the game and waiting for them to score so we could all sing the Gridiron Heroes song.

The Victory Song of the Detroit Lions

(Verse)
Hail the colors Blue and Silver let them wave.
Sing their song and cheer the Gridiron Heroes brave,
Fighting for fame, winning the game,
Dashing to victory as they go.

(Chorus)
Forward down the field,
A charging team that will not yield.
And when the Blue and Silver wave,
Stand and cheer the brave.
Rah, Rah, Rah.
Go hard, win the game.
With honor you will keep your fame.
Down the field and gain,
A Lion victory!

GO LIONS!

So hopefully the Lions will do better than last season and maybe make it to the playoffs. But if they don’t, I will always be cheering for the Lions till the very end.

Sylvia

Just when I thought I had a handle on people… BOOM!

Turning 40 last year, I finally thought I had a handle on people and where they were coming from. But last week I found out that, NO, I did not have a handle on people and what they do. I thought all people had a sense of right and wrong — what’s good and bad — how to treat people — and a little thing called respect one another. But to my disappointment again, I saw all of these things happen in a matter of one week’s time.

The details of what happened are not important, but the outcome was the same. Just when I thought I could trust and see the good in people, the opposite happens. How do you overcome that? How does your opinion of what happend and the people involved change?

Like I said, I thought turning 40 would bring me all of this wisdom on dealing with these types of situations. Do I just file what happened as a learning experience and move on. Or do I try to find the reason behind what happened and try to fix it? Is it hopeless? Will I always feel let down by people? Or will I just keep moving on and try not to let them get the best of me?