So there was fifteen different versions of the video for this song! Yes, 15.

The differences were minor – the second guy on the left would be turned backwards throughout one video or all of them would be upside down in another – but it was different (slightly) than the others.

It takes nearly a year to plan, the weather plays a major part in whether the event goes off without a hitch – or not! – but this year’s Starry Night in the Garden was another resounding success. Since 2000 we’ve raised well over $100,000 for the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, a wonderful architectural gem that provides Western New Yorkers with a bit of springtime even during the harshest winters. Certainly one of the coolest things about my job is being able to hear an artist’s music, and bring them in-person to do a show. It’s like making what we used to call a “mix tape” full of great songs, except “live” and in-person!

Ferras, Delta Goodrem, Anna Nalick, and Vanessa Carlton gave great performances, 2000 people enjoyed gourmet food and wine, and we all went home happy.

Here’s a video recap, in case you missed the event:

Listen to my interviews from the Gardens here:

• Me and Vanessa Carlton
• Anna Nalick
• Ferras

And if you did miss Starry Night this year, make sure you get tickets next year!

–Brian

VANESSA CARLTON: Her third album is Heroes and Thieves and features her newest hits Hands On Me and Nolita Fairytale.

ANNA NALICK: You can buy Anna’s latest song Shine on iTunes. Her second CD will most likely be out in September.

DELTA GOODREM: Her third album is called Delta and features one of my favorite songs right now, In This Life.

FERRAS: His first hit is Hollywood’s Not America and can be found on his debut CD Aliens & Rainbows.

Keep checking the Star website – very soon we’ll have pictures and video up from Starry Night In The Garden!

NOOOOOO! I wanted Victoria to win! Now I’m rooting for Nicole to win (although she’s also one of my prime suspects to be The Mole).

Something from this episode reminded me a little of an early contestant on The Mole. Mark was so upset about his journal being burned, he almost turned into Patrick from season two. Patrick was the one who went berserk when the journals were exchanged that season. He even went so far as getting his journal back briefly and ripping out certain pages he didn’t want anyone else to see.

Bill writes about this incident in his book “Reflections Of The Mole“.

Back to this season though. After reading Bill’s commentary this week, I’m starting to think he might be right about Paul not being The Mole. Paul really isn’t losing much money for the team and that is the goal for The Mole.

But if I was there playing, I’d still be splitting my answers on the test between Paul and Nicole. But I’m really close to putting Nicole as my first choice.

Here’s what Bill McDaniel (season 2’s Mole) thinks…

Another fun week. I’m enjoying this season. No cerebral games yet, much more action oriented. Maybe this is what they meant when they said they wanted to simplify the season so more folks would understand it. However, I’m still enjoying the episodes thus far. I would like to see some thinking games however.

Who is the Mole? As I have noted many times, the Mole has to sabotage…and has to do so actively, I believe. So, when someone costs money, it’s either because they: 1. Are the Mole. 2. Are pretending to be the Mole. 3. Are just physically unable to complete the task. Or, 1 and 3 together, I suppose.

I had a number of people who have told me that Victoria “appeared” to be the Mole. Well, the problem is that she never did any active sabotage. None. If the producers are playing the game…as, well, the way I think it should be played, she could not be the Mole. And, clearly she isn’t!

Alex: A good player. Absolutely no sabotage. I don’t care how mysterious or controlling you appear to be, if you don’t actively sabotage, I do not see you as the Mole. Played well tonight, made money.

Craig: Again, I’ve had lots of folks say he is the perfect Mole: likeable and apparently above suspicion. The only sabotage he has done is apparently secondary to his physical condition. Losing money by passivity does not a good Mole make. I do not believe he is one. Gutted it out tonight, made money. I can’t see him pretending to have hypothermia so he could go to the hospital so he would not have to turn his journal in.

Paul: Continues to be irritating, but continues to play the game well. Is his ability to get under everyone’s skin a molish quality? Maybe. He certainly disrupts the game. But, I see no active sabotage. Played well tonight, no money lost. Not the Mole.

Kristen: Did a great job tonight. Played hard, made good money, no apparent sabotage. Based on her performance 2 weeks ago I still have her on my list, but she needs to lose more money before I will pin the Mole hat on her.

Mark: Again, some sabotage in the first 2 weeks, cost some money, and has to remain on the radar. Actually, his anger at losing his journal makes him more suspicious to me, but he cost no money this week, other than leaving 4 bricks to carry the scale. But, that did cost a little money. He has to remain on the mole radar, but as a dim blip at the moment.

The big 2 this week are Nicole and Clay. Clay cost money in both events last week, and again tonight. He carried far fewer bricks up the hill than he could have, 3 fewer than Kristen. While she is Amazon-like, he should be about to carry gold about; after all, he is a lawyer and should be used to that sort of thing. Then, he fought for the exemption, when clearly he had not earned it. Again, a good molish act…both depriving the others of the exemption and disrupting the game some. I’m liking Clay more and more.

Nicole: No one has done more to disrupt the game or attempt to cost money than her. She carried few bricks, but did finish. Her performance at dinner was guaranteed to cost the team money, not make it. Then she really made no effort to try to figure out who had written about her. If she is the Mole she is playing it more obviously than anyone ever has. Absolutely can’t discount her, however.

So, this week, Clay and Nicole, in that order, with Mark and Kristen still in the distance!

Bill
The Mole II

Last week, Bill (from season 2 of The Mole) posted about how annoying Paul is on the current season of the show. I must admit, Paul annoys me too. I kinda hope I’m wrong about him being the Mole because I’d love to see him leave next week.

But as annoying as Paul is, he’s nowhere close to being annoying enough to make the Top 10 Reality TV Villains (from a recent poll TV Guide conducted)…

10: Lisa D’Amato from “America’s Next Top Model 5″ – I’ve never seen this show.

9: Ramona Singer from “Real Housewives Of New York City” – I’ve only occasionally seen this, but I usually turn it off pretty quick. They’re all kind of annoying on this show.

8: Wendy Pepper from “Project Runway” – Never seen this show and most likely never will.

7: Spencer Pratt from “The Hills” – I’m surprised he’s not higher on this list. Absolutely no one seems to like Spencer.

6: Lisa Fernandes from “Top Chef: Chicago” – I only saw the first half of this season. I’m guessing she turned into a nightmare as the season went on.

5: Trish Schneider from “The Bachelor 5″ – There’s been so many contestants on all the Bachelor / Bachelorette shows, they all just blend together now.

4: David “Puck” Rainey from “The Real World: San Francisco” – I never saw this season of The Real World. But I did see the promos for it and those alone made it clear this guy was a disgusting mess.

3: Jonny “Fairplay” Dalton from “Survivor: Pearl Islands” – The grandma strategy was brilliant. But based on interviews I’ve seem of him, he just doesn’t seem to be that nice of a person.

2: Jonathan Baker from “The Amazing Race 6″ – This guy was insane. He was completely vicious to his wife throughout the game. I think he deserved to be #1 on this list.

1: Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth from “The Apprentice” – She’s a fun villain. She makes every show she’s on more interesting. When she was eliminated from both The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, the shows became a lot less interesting.

As you read in an earlier blog post, the producers of Wicked sent me and Rob Lucas to Broadway to see the show prior to its opening here in Buffalo, so that we’d be familiar enough with it to talk about it on the air. It was a whirlwind visit to NYC last March, but well worth it.

Last night, Heather and I finally saw the Buffalo production of Wicked, and I have to say: it was a very unique experience to be able to compare actual Broadway and Buffalo productions. You never know how the staging will differ off-Broadway, or how the performances will stack up, but I’m happy to say our version of Wicked is about as close as you can come without actually seeing a Broadway show.

In NYC, I’ll admit: we were spoiled seeing the amazing Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, the green witch. Stephanie is a rare talent, a great actress with a powerful voice – and was pitch-perfect the entire night. Carmen Cusack is a great Elphaba also, but in the sonically demanding “Defying Gravity” Thursday night, she pushed her voice a little too far in the upper register. That being said, the rest of her performance was certainly equal to what we saw on Broadway, with crisp, witty acting and very powerful singing, and I would not be surprised if “Gravity” improves as the show progresses.

What blew me away in the Buffalo show was Katie Rose Clarke, who plays Glinda, the good witch. We saw an understudy in NYC who did fine, but was overshadowed by Block’s Elphaba. Katie’s Glinda gave the role a lot of emotional depth, and some very funny physical comedy, most notably during “Popular,” the other keynote song of the production. Katie’s voice matched Carmen’s note for note, and their harmonies were stellar. While in New York City I was duly impressed with Stephanie Block, in Buffalo I was taken with Katie Rose Clarke.

But it’s the music that makes this show. Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Enchanted) has written accessible, memorable melodies that you’ll be singing to yourself long after the show has ended. Besides the two songs I mentioned already, “The Wizard and I,” and “For Good” are two standouts, and the musicians in the orchestra pit were more than a match for the vocalists on stage. Wicked is a crowd-pleaser, and it should not be missed.

• Wicked at Shea’s – good seats still available for July shows!
• Check out the Wicked Soundtrack

–Brian

Chances are, you’re probably not going to make it to the moon during your lifetime. But your name can!

When I was a kid, there were gas shortages. People would line up to fill-up, and many stations would have “no gas today” signs posted. It was the first time OPEC flexed its collective muscle, and as a result we started to see small, economical Japanese cars on the market, which got up to 40 MPG.

In the news today the headlines read “Bush/McCain want to drill offshore.” There was an editorial in the Buffalo News last week that implied all our oil problems would be solved if only we could drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or “ANWaR.” But if high gas prices are simply the result of not enough supply to meet demand, why aren’t we seeing lines outside gas stations, like when I was a kid?

One of George W. Bush’s attacks on Bill Clinton when he ran in 2000 was that “not one refinery was built during the Clinton administration.” W didn’t preside over any being built either, and that’s the real problem with gas prices right now.

I don’t know if either of the current presidential candidates will press the oil industry sufficiently to construct more refineries, since ultimately we need to become less dependent on fossil fuels, but in my opinion something needs to be done in the interim to get us to that point. To me, building a few more refineries is a heck of a lot easier than hit and miss exploration in protected environmental areas.

–Brian

Wow, that was a shock last night. I thought Jon (the host) was joking when he said he’d continue with the execution after Ali left the game.

I was actually starting to consider Ali to be a Mole suspect as the episode went on! The producers did a great job shifting my thoughts in that direction.

But I’m still convinced The Mole is either Paul or Nicole. If I was playing the game, that’s who I’d split my votes towards in all future tests.

Paul is annoyingly obnoxious, but that could be what the producers wanted. It adds excitement to the show when the annoying person stays until the end.

Nicole seems like a nice person to me. But the death threat to Paul makes me wonder about something – I doubt the producers would be too happy with their Mole going around saying things like that, even if it’s just to throw people off their game. But that scene and the aftermath have been the highlight of this season so far!

Then there’s Mark. He was acting a little Mole-ish last night. But he seems too genuine about needing the prize money for his family, so I’ve eliminated him as a suspect…..for now at least.

So I’m staying with Paul and then Nicole. Let’s see what Bill McDaniel (season 2’s Mole) thinks…

An interesting night! Hmm. 2 gone, 8 to go! Well, we know neither Ali nor Bobby was the Mole, which does not help a lot, inasmuch as I felt there could be no way either was. I’m sorry to lose Ali, however; very beautiful and very nice!

Kristen did nothing to draw suspicion to herself tonight. The luge game seemed too easy; any sabotage would be noticed. I.e., Nicole’s apparent flagrant sabotage. Does that increase suspicion toward her? Hard to say. Obvious sabotage means either she is the Mole….or she’s not and just wants everyone else to think so. In the first game Craig and Victoria kept talking, along with Clay and Bobby. All money lost. The rest did fine. Did the Mole sabotage this game? Maybe, but I doubt it.

The Ultimate Defense Against Bunnies Eating Your Garden

A hailstorm. Taken during yesterday afternoon in my backyard. Giant rabbit taking refuge under our pine tree. See, I’m not making this stuff up. Click on the pic to make it even bigger

Click on the pictures to see the authentic 80’s commercials and promos!

Why did Chef Boyardee ever stop making this? Maybe it’ll come back when the new movie is released (the Smurf commercials are about midway through this compilation video).

I can totally understand why Alfonso’s book went out of print. Were you the one who actually bought it? I know I wasn’t.

I definitely remember Pac-Man cereal, I’m sure I wanted it at the time too, but for some reason never bought it. I did have the Pac-Man trading cards though. That counts for something, right?

And could you possibly ever get a better sitcom block than Mr. Belvedere / Just The Ten Of Us?!

Actually, you could. How about The Charmings / Sledge Hammer! Unfortunately, that block put The Charmings right up against The Cosby Show. Guess which show won?

Remember this 80’s TV show?

It’s another not-yet-on-DVD classic. But that will change on September 23rd! Amazon.com is now listing the first season as available for pre-order.

Also coming out in September: Beauty And The Beast – The Complete Series. That’s all three seasons (56 episodes) of the 1987 CBS series in one box set. Look for that September 30th.

I just got back from my road trip to Dollywood. I ended up spending three full days at the park – and if I had more time, I would have gone back again! In fact, I’m already planning another trip for later this year (sorry, Brian, I think I’ll need you to fill in again).

You don’t have to be a country music fan to love Dollywood. I like the pop country, but not all the twangy stuff. Luckily, Dolly Parton has made sure that Dollywood has a little of everything for everybody – and some amazing rides!

I don’t have a digital camera, so no pictures from my trip. To be honest, even if I had one, I wouldn’t want to carry it anyways. I’m kind of lazy like that. All I’ll carry is some money and my keys – that’s more than enough. So I guess it’s a written trip report.

I went with a group put together by Dollywood through their website. They arranged for exclusive ride time before and after the park closed plus some walking tours of some of the roller coasters – and the roller coaster sensors. I mention the sensors because one of them on Thunderhead I think now has to be named Tanya in honor of one of my friends who was absolutely obsessed with it for some strange reason (I actually wish I had a video camera for that priceless moment).

So here’s some of the highlights of the park…