Home
The Real Kato
About Me
Twitter
Facebook
Frozen Lunches
Links
Kottke
Daring Fireball
Amalah
Secret Agent Josephine
Dooce
Contact
Archives
Most Recent
2024 April
2023 November
2023 October
2023 September
2023 May
2022 November
2022 October
2022 September
2021 November
2021 October
2021 September
2020 December
2020 November
Categories
All Categories
bloggers
books
commentary
dating
food
funnyhaha
interesting
life
movies
music
politics
reviews
science
site-business
sports
style
techwatch
television
theater
travel
Recent Comments
The Real Kato
About Me
Frozen Lunches
Links
Kottke
Daring Fireball
Amalah
Secret Agent Josephine
Dooce
Contact
Archives
Most Recent
2024 April
2023 November
2023 October
2023 September
2023 May
2022 November
2022 October
2022 September
2021 November
2021 October
2021 September
2020 December
2020 November
Categories
All Categories
bloggers
books
commentary
dating
food
funnyhaha
interesting
life
movies
music
politics
reviews
science
site-business
sports
style
techwatch
television
theater
travel
Recent Comments
| On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre... Ken said: |
| Yeah, we've both had our share of hope and disappointment in this game. Let's just hope for a good b... |
| On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre... Dan* said: |
| I'm not sure how I feel about this game. On one hand, I feel pretty optimistic that we have the tale... |
| On College Football 2022: Week 1 Preview Dan* said: |
| Glad to see you'll be back writing football again, Ken! Congrats on the easy win today. You didn't ... |
| On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P... Ken said: |
| Yeah, sorry one of our teams had to lose. I've come to appreciate Penn State as a classy and sympath... |
| On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P... Dan* said: |
| Hey Ken, congratulations on the win yesterday! Some really odd choices by our coaching staff in that... |
Articles: television
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4| American Idol 2008 Week 11: Top 5 | Tuesday, 2008 April 29 - 8:29 pm |
| Carly was the surprise loser last week. This week: Neil Diamond. Way to be modern and relevant, guys. This is turning into "Senior Citizen Idol". Also, NOTE TO ANNOYING FRONT ROWS OF AUDIENCE: STOP WITH THE RHYTHMIC HAND-WAVING, YOU LOOK LIKE IDIOTS. Read more... |
Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 10: Top 6 | Tuesday, 2008 April 22 - 8:04 pm |
| Observation: instead of Ryan Seacrest giving us his signature "THIS.... is American Idol" opening, I'd like to hear James Earl Jones do it. Kristy Lee Cook went out last week, at last. This week: show tunes! Specifically, Andrew Lloyd Webber music. Expect a lot of, er, drama. I think Jesus Christ Superstar offers the best chance for the contestants not to seem overly theatrical. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 9: Top 7 | Tuesday, 2008 April 15 - 8:04 pm |
| Michael Johns went out last week. This week's theme: Mariah Carey, guh. Read more... |
| Permalink 3 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 8: Top 8 | Wednesday, 2008 April 9 - 8:18 am |
| Ramiele went out last week. This week's theme: Inspirational songs. Everyone sticks to songs they're comfortable with, and it ends up being a pretty good night. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 7: Top 9 | Tuesday, 2008 April 1 - 8:04 pm |
| Chikezie went out last week. This week's theme: Dolly Parton. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 6: Top 10 | Tuesday, 2008 March 25 - 8:31 pm |
| Amanda went out last week. This week's theme: songs from the year of the singer's birth. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 5: Top 11 | Tuesday, 2008 March 18 - 8:55 pm |
| It's the Beatles again... I guess tonight, we include Ringo and George. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 4: Top 12 | Tuesday, 2008 March 11 - 9:01 pm |
| It's the Beatles, specifically Lennon/McCartney, for the first time ever. Wow. This could be phenomenal or disastrous. The songs are so well known, they're gonna have to try to make them unique somehow. Also: my three-week moving averages start tonight. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 3: The Girls | Wednesday, 2008 March 5 - 8:59 pm |
| 80s night continues, and Paula is more drunk than ever. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 3: The Guys | Tuesday, 2008 March 4 - 8:58 pm |
| It's 80s night. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 2: The Girls | Wednesday, 2008 February 27 - 9:48 pm |
| More of the 70s. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 2: The Guys | Tuesday, 2008 February 26 - 9:29 pm |
| It's 70s night. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 1: The Girls | Wednesday, 2008 February 20 - 9:57 pm |
| They're "in it to win it", says Ryan. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008 Week 1: The Guys | Tuesday, 2008 February 19 - 9:53 pm |
| Here we go. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol 2008: It Has Begun | Thursday, 2008 February 14 - 12:17 pm |
| Well. We've got our top 24 contestants for American Idol Season 7. Unfortunately, only half of them have received any significant air time on the show. The rest are virtually unknown. It's hard to handicap the contestants without seeing a little more of them. But with that being said, my early money is on these contestants: Amanda Overmyer. She's this year's resident rocker. She can belt it out, she's edgy and unique, and she seems genuine. Best comparison to previous contestants: Gina Glocksen from Season 6. Possible weakness: ballads might be tough for her. Michael Johns. He's ruggedly good-looking, he's got a good voice, and he's got that Australian accent going for him. Best comparison to previous contestants: Ace Young from Season 5. Possible weakness: might have a tendency to choose "safe" songs. Syesha Mercado. She's pretty, she impressively fought through hoarseness during the Hollywood auditions, and she's got some soul. Best comparison to previous contestants: Nadia Turner from Season 4. Possible weakness: a tendency to sound old-fashioned. Ramiele Macrowon Malubay. This might be a stretch, since we haven't heard much from her, but tiny and cute goes a long way. Best comparison to previous contestants: Jasmine Trias from Season 3. Possible weakness: it'll seem weird seeing anything but pop songs come from her mouth. I'll be able to provide a much better evaluation once we get through live performances with all the contestants next week. |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Super Bowl Commercials | Tuesday, 2008 February 5 - 10:44 pm |
| I went back and re-watched all the Super Bowl commercials. I think this year's crop was unspectacular, overall. I don't think the problem is that our standards are too high: I think the problem is that ad-writers have latched onto tired cliché formulas instead of making anything truly edgy and funny. There were some things that were funny, and some that were clever, but none that had the "wow" factor of, say, Apple's 1984 commercial. Best Ad: Talking Stain from Proctor & Gamble, for Tide to Go. Funny, interesting, different. Honorable Mentions: Pigeons from Fedex; Stone Circle from Cars.com; Mouse Trap from Frito-Lay (Doritos); It's Mine from Coca Cola. Peculiar but Interesting: Follow Your Heart from Careerbuilder.com; Talking Baby from eTrade.com. Pointless and Dull: What Is Love by Pepsi; Fiesta Platter by Taco Bell. Offensive or Disturbing: Language of Love from Bud Light, for offensive racial stereotyping; Thrillicious from Sobe Vitamin Water, for creepy lizards doing a Michael Jackson dance. Other ads ranged from decent to forgettable; I liked the Bridgestone ads and the Careerbuilder.com ads, but I was "meh" on a lot of the others. |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Oh No, It's American Idol Season | Wednesday, 2008 January 23 - 12:04 pm |
| ... and, as my several long-time readers will know, it will soon be time for the tediously detailed analyses of American Idol performances... which will compete for blog space with the tediously detailed analyses of Apple, Michigan football, and national politics. It occurs to me that perhaps I should split this one blog into several independent blogs... an Apple blog, a Michigan football blog, a political blog, and a personal blog. That would possibly let me expand my readership; an Apple blog might get linked from MacSurfer, a Michigan blog might get linked from MGoBlog, and a political blog might get linked from any number of political sites. But then again, that'd be four times as many blogs to let wither through neglect. I guess I'll only go down that path if I think I can make some money doing it. So anyway, American Idol... it's started, but it's only in the early rounds. Best moment from last night's show: 20-year-old Valerie Reyes fancies herself to be as good as Mariah Carey. She's watched all the previous seasons of American Idol, and has enjoyed laughing at all the losers who embarrass themselves in the early auditions. When she gets rejected by the judges, she comes to a horrifying realization: "OH MY GOD... now I'm going to be on the 'rejects'". Brilliant. |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: site-business, television |
| Man Stroke Woman | Friday, 2007 December 7 - 10:05 am |
| How have I missed this until now? BBC's sketch comedy show "Man Stroke Woman" is an absolute riot. Saturday Night Live only wishes it were this good. You can't view the clips from the BBC website if you're outside the UK, but there's a bunch on YouTube, like this one: |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: funnyhaha, television |
| OMG Middleman OMG | Tuesday, 2007 October 23 - 10:26 pm |
| On national television, no less. Read more... |
| Permalink 3 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Fall Television | Monday, 2007 October 8 - 11:48 pm |
| The shows I'm watching this year. Read more... |
| Permalink 3 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Season Finales: Heroes, Lost | Wednesday, 2007 May 23 - 11:25 pm |
| Warning: here be spoilers. Read more... |
| Permalink 2 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 14 | Tuesday, 2007 May 22 - 9:18 pm |
| The finals. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 13 | Tuesday, 2007 May 15 - 8:59 pm |
| Three songs for each of the three finalists. Ryan and all three judges are drunk. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 12 | Tuesday, 2007 May 8 - 9:13 pm |
| It's Bee Gees night. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 11 | Tuesday, 2007 May 1 - 9:02 pm |
| Ugh, Bon Jovi night... this is gonna be even worse than Miami Sound Machine night. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 10 | Wednesday, 2007 April 25 - 7:31 pm |
| It's "Idol Gives Back" night, so we get a bunch of "inspirational" songs. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 9 | Tuesday, 2007 April 17 - 5:53 pm |
| Well, it's odd to be blogging "Idol" in the wake of a shooting, but hey... the blog most go on. Read more... |
| Permalink 2 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 8 | Tuesday, 2007 April 10 - 9:40 pm |
| Well, Gina getting voted out last week was a shocker for me. Let's see if I still have any credibility... or if this show still has any. It's Jennifer Lopez night, which somehow translates to a heavy dose of Miami Sound Machine. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 7 | Wednesday, 2007 April 4 - 9:05 am |
| It's Tony Bennett night, so I guess we're watching Old Fogey Idol. (Didn't this used to be a pop singing competition?) Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 6 | Thursday, 2007 March 29 - 8:55 am |
| A little late, but here goes. It was Gwen Stefani night... sort of. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 5 | Wednesday, 2007 March 21 - 8:32 pm |
| It's British Invasion week. There are three great performances and a bunch of mediocre ones. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 4 | Wednesday, 2007 March 14 - 9:46 am |
| It's Diana Ross night. The top twelve perform, and it's a train wreck. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 3: The Women | Thursday, 2007 March 8 - 8:07 am |
| Predictions: Haley and Antonella are out. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 3: The Guys | Thursday, 2007 March 8 - 7:24 am |
| Predictions: Blake and Chris S safe. Sanjaya and Jared should be out. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 2: Predictions | Wednesday, 2007 February 28 - 11:23 pm |
| At this point, who the heck knows? Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 2: The Women | Wednesday, 2007 February 28 - 11:17 pm |
| The 10 remaining women compete. There's a lot of weepy ballads and melodrama, and overall, it's a step behind last week. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 2: The Guys | Wednesday, 2007 February 28 - 8:29 am |
| The 10 remaining men compete. They improve on last week's performances. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 1: Predictions | Thursday, 2007 February 22 - 9:11 am |
| Looks will play a big part in the voting results. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 1: The Women | Thursday, 2007 February 22 - 9:03 am |
| 12 women compete to avoid elimination, and they do much better than the guys. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| American Idol, Week 1: The Guys | Wednesday, 2007 February 21 - 8:50 am |
| 12 guys sing on the first live-voting show of the season. It's not a terribly good start for the group. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Miscellany | Monday, 2007 January 15 - 10:05 pm |
| Trying to stay up-to-date with media phenomena. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: commentary, television |
| Miscellany | Wednesday, 2006 October 25 - 7:10 am |
| Job news, wedding news, and "Heroes". Read more... |
| Permalink 3 Comment
Posted by Ken in: life, television |
| Television: Studio 60, Heroes | Tuesday, 2006 September 26 - 9:06 pm |
| Thoughts on NBC's two new Monday night shows. (Warning: minor plot spoilers.) Read more... |
| Permalink 7 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| More Miscellany | Tuesday, 2006 August 29 - 9:25 am |
| Toilet news; a study on being overweight; and this year's "Survivor". Read more... |
| Permalink 2 Comment
Posted by Ken in: commentary, interesting, television |
| Hell's Kitchen | Saturday, 2006 August 19 - 11:56 am |
| Some comments about this season's ending. Read more... |
| Permalink
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Television: Alias | Tuesday, 2006 June 6 - 9:37 am |
| Okay, this is old, but I need to get it off my to-blog list. Read more... |
| Permalink 5 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Television: Idol Update, Week 14 | Tuesday, 2006 May 23 - 11:45 pm |
| The final two. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Television: Idol Update, Week 13 | Wednesday, 2006 May 17 - 8:56 pm |
| Okay, very quick update because the results show is about to start... Read more... |
| Permalink 3 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Television: Idol Update, Week 12 | Wednesday, 2006 May 10 - 9:45 am |
| It's Elvis night, and everyone except Taylor blows it. Read more... |
| Permalink 2 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
| Television: Idol Update, Week 11 | Wednesday, 2006 May 3 - 6:59 pm |
| 5 remaining; each sing two Billboard hit songs. Read more... |
| Permalink 1 Comment
Posted by Ken in: television |
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4