The Big Boo Cast, Episode 17

20 May 2010 by

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It’s been almost a year since Melanie and I recorded a podcast.

A YEAR.

I would tell you how totally lame we are, but really, you know that already. We’re not so much for the “planning” or the “execution.” We tend to “procrastinate” and “study our pores” and “watch Bravo” instead of sticking to any sort of podcasting schedule.

Hopefully, though, we cover a wide enough range of topics on this podcast to make up for our inconsistency. We talk about Jessica Simpson’s new perfume, some favorite new beauty products, a trip we’re taking with our kids, our issues with the SunChips bag and, of course, our hair.

Also, for reasons I cannot explain, there are a couple of places in the podcast where Mel and I sound like Crazy Eddie and Johnny Fever with The Wacky Breakfast Crew on Hot 103.3 FM’s Morning Show. I tried my best to tone down the reverb, but please remember and never, ever forget: I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.

Our commitment to quality is inspiring, isn’t it?

You can click here to listen. Or here. Or you can subscribe on iTunes, but that’s probably too much trouble for a podcast that may or may not show up over the course of a calendar year.

Regardless, you have some options.

Thank you and have a lovely day.

Filed Under: Big Boo Cast

American Idol – Top 3

18 May 2010 by

I’m running a little late tonight with the Idol watching, and I came thisclose to skipping the festivities altogether. But it’s Top 3. And I usually love the Top 3 show (Elliot Yamin singing “A Song For You,” anyone? Kris Allen singing “Heartless”? YES, PLEASE AND THANK YOU).

So here we go.

Casey James – “Okay, It’s All Right With Me” – This is the type of song that Casey sang in the auditions, and I think the style of it (funky, bluesy) really suits him. That being said, this performance didn’t wow me. The song had about three notes, so it didn’t really show off his voice, and it just felt like Casey was standing there and singing – but not performing. I think this would have been a great time to put an original spin on a well-known song, but Casey went with a cover of a lesser-known song. And I think that was a mistake.

Crystal Bowersox – “Come To My Window” – This one started off a little weird with the whole harmonica thing and then a first verse that seemed hesitant. I couldn’t really decide if Crystal needed to slow down or speed up, but something seemed off. However, she added bits of originality in the chorus, and even though this song wasn’t her best, it was still pretty good.

Lee DeWyze – “Simple Man” – Well, I can’t say that I was expecting for Lee to sing Lynyrd Skynyrd, so I was definitely curious when I heard the song selection. It definitely showed off the rock edge in his voice, but FOR ME the song was a little boring. Between the sort of plodding pace and the slow clapping from the crowd, it just wasn’t my thing. However, I thought he sounded great – definitely the best so far tonight.

Casey James – “Daughters” – I don’t think that Casey seemed comfortable – sometimes the phrasing was a little weird – but I loved hearing him sing this type of song. I’ve never really thought of Casey as having much in common with John Mayer, but as soon as he started to sing, I could totally hear it. That being said, I don’t know if he did enough to make it to the final two. It was better, but I don’t think it was enough.

Crystal Bowersox – “Maybe I’m Amazed” – Well. She sang the fire out of that, didn’t she? My goodness. Well done.

Lee DeWyze – “Hallelujah” – That was absolutely beautiful. Good grief – the emotion and power in his voice, the quiet confidence, the gutsy arrangement – LOVED IT.

Best of the night – Lee
Worst of the night – Casey
Should go – Casey
Will go – Casey

It really struck me tonight that a big gap has opened between Lee and Casey this season. Whereas Casey seemed anxious and a little tense tonight, Lee seemed relaxed and confident. Crystal has been strong throughout – but Lee might have a little bit more momentum at this point.

What did y’all think?

If you’d like to add your AI post to the Mr. Linky, please leave a link to your specific post and not just your general blog URL.

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)

18 May 2010 by

So there’s this thing I do in my head where I have imaginary conversations with people.

The conversations are almost always meaningless; they rarely concern anything that could be regarded as even remotely important. The common denominator is that they focus on questions I’ve always wanted to ask. You know, things like “Hello, Inventor of Popeye’s Fried Chicken! How do you get your crust so crispy and thick?”

Or “It’s lovely to see you, CEO of Coca-Cola! How many carbonated beverages do you consume in a day?”

Or “Hi, Miley Cyrus! So. Your new video? What’s all that about, sister?”

Anyway, yesterday morning I was putting on some make-up, and yet another imaginary conversation popped in my head. This one took place outside of a Large Cosmetics Conglomerate.

Me: “It’s nice to meet you, Sir or Madam. What do you do for Maybelline, exactly?”

Imaginary Person: “Oh, it’s nothing, really. I’m the person in charge of all the mascara brushes.”

Me: “WELLLLLLL. You should probably know that I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS.”

Because seriously? Have you ever stopped to think about how much time and energy goes into the conception, development and production of mascara brushes in this country? It boggles the mind. We are constantly being bombarded with new! and improved! brushes that will extend, lift, curl, separate, strengthen, thicken and define. And these brushes that are made specifically FOR OUR EYELASHES. Because it’s somebody’s job to push the limits of eyelash definition as far as modern technology will allow.

I don’t know why this fascinates me so. Maybe it’s because I’ve fallen for the Eyelash Dream hook, line and sinker. I’m forever trying new types of mascara in the hopes of finding The One that will maximize the impact of my seven whole eyelashes. It’s an epic quest with me, the cosmetic equivalent of looking for the Holy Grail. Or pulling the sword from the stone. Or finding someone on “The Bachelor” who consistently uses pronouns correctly.

And I guess I might as well tell you this: after I finish my pretend conversation with the person who’s in charge of the eyelash brushes? I want to (pretend) talk to somebody who names new mascaras.

I mean, come on. Lash Out? Lash Blast? Lash Discovery? Double Extend? Telescopic Explosion?

That’s an imaginary conversation that could last for a very long time, primarily because I need to 1) find out more about the creative process behind mascara-naming and 2) throw my suggestion for a mascara name into the ring.

Ready? Here it is.

LASHTACULAR!

No?

LASHAPALOOZA?

Maybe?

I’ll keep working on it.

I’m sure that the pretend person I’ll be talking to would tell you that these sorts of mascara-related things take time.

I would appreciate your prayers.

Filed Under: Rambling

A Winner And A New Giveaway

17 May 2010 by

Just wanted to let you know that the winner of the most recent $50 Visa gift card (courtesy of BlogHer) in the Tropicana Juicy Rewards campaign is Shelley. Congratulations!

And I just posted my fourth Juicy Rewards post this afternoon – there’s a $50 gift card giveaway on that one, too, so click on over if you’d like to enter. Easy-breezy.

Hope y’all had a great Monday!

Filed Under: Giveaways

Tropicana Juicy Rewards – Post 4

17 May 2010 by

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tropicana.

When I started participating in Juicy Rewards, I knew that, if nothing else, I’d use the Adidas discount like crazy. I was right about that. In fact, just as soon as I add a few more points in my Juicy Rewards account, I’m ordering these shoes for the little man.

They’re going to come in handy considering that his current pair of Adidas have about half an inch of tread left on them. All of his outdoor adventures have been a little rough on his shoes. But oh, the memories. They’ve skinned many an elbow together.

Anyway, what I didn’t expect from Juicy Rewards is how my points would help me on Mother’s Day.

Yep. Mother’s Day. Perhaps I should explain.

The week before Mother’s Day it dawned on me that I needed to order gifts for my mother and mother-in-law. Since we’d already decided to give them flowers, I was planning to call a florist and place the order that way, but just as I was about to do that, a thought hit me out of nowhere: I wonder if there’s some kind of discount for flowers on the Juicy Rewards site?

As it turned out, there was a $15 discount for 1800flowers.com. I’d never ordered flowers through their site before, but since redeeming the discount was so convenient, I decided to give it a shot. Then I scrolled through all the options and found the bouquet that I thought looked the most like my mama.

Isn’t that just cheerful and happy and pretty and good? The fact that I saved $15 was an added bonus. And even better? Mama thought they were absolutely beautiful. They arrived just in time for a luncheon she was hosting last Saturday, and she was oh-so-tickled.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

I redeemed three more points to get another $15 discount on my mother-in-law’s gift. I was having the hardest time finding flowers that looked like her, and on a whim I clicked on the 1800baskets.com tab at the top of the webpage. The discount applied there, too, and look what I found for my sugar-loving mother-in-law:

Y’all don’t understand. Cookies and sweets are her love language. And the Cheryl & Co. cookies were a HUGE hit – definitely a gift item to remember for occasions to come.

What about you? What’s the best gift that you’ve received (or given) recently? Tell me about it in the comments, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift card courtesy of BlogHer.

Be sure to visit the other participating bloggers’ reviews on the BlogHer.com special offers page (you have seven chances to win!).

If you haven’t signed up for Juicy Rewards yet, you can earn a free rewards point after you set up your account. Here’s how:

1. Go to http://www.tropicana.com/
2. Set-up your Tropicana Juicy Rewards account
3. Visit the “Enter Codes” page within the site and get started with:
BLOGG-HER11 *
*This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account.

You can find more information on the official site, and here’s a link to the official rules.

This giveaway is now closed.

Filed Under: BlogHer Reviews

If You Haven’t Watched The “Survivor” Finale, This Post Will Make No Sense At All

16 May 2010 by

Tonight we watched the season finale of “Survivor.” We were a little apprehensive about who would win, because for however many weeks this Heroes vs. Villains season lasted, we sat and waited and crossed our fingers and yelled at the television for somebody, ANYBODY, to wise up and vote out Russell.

But it never happened. Even though he called people names and strutted around like a rooster and threatened the other players and came across like he wouldn’t know humility if it stood two inches in front of him and SPELLED OUT ITS NAME, nobody ever made a move to get him out of the game.

I can usually take my TV with a grain of salt, but I vowed and declared that if Russell was this season’s winner, I was done with “Survivor” forevermore. He wasn’t just manipulative in the game – which, truth be told, is pretty standard “Survivor” fare – he was a bully. And I don’t like bullies. I don’t like them in real life, and I don’t like them on TV, either.

(You may have picked up on the fact that Russell got under my skin a little bit.)

(For all I know he’s the nicest guy in the world in real life and the Russell we saw on “Survivor” was just a persona he created.)

(Regardless: I don’t enjoy the arrogance. All the horn-tooting gets pretty shrieky and ear-piercing after awhile.)

****SPOILER AHEAD****

ANYWAY, given all of our misgivings about Russell, we were tickled by the final results. Russell didn’t get a single vote, and while you could certainly argue that Pavarti played a stronger game than Sandra, I think Pavarti’s partnership with Russell failed to win the respect of the original Heroes. Sandra played a quiet game – but I think she played a smart one. And she proved that the game isn’t just about strategy and physical strength; there has to be a social game at work, too. People have to like you and respect you. Russell is a brilliant strategist, but in the context of the game, at least, he’s a jerk.

And it was just sort of refreshing that, for once (or for twice, in Russell’s case), the jerk didn’t win.

What did you “Survivor”-watchers think? Did the right person win?

Filed Under: Rambling, TV Is My Friend
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