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Los Angeles had a 5.4 earthquake yesterday. That’s scary enough.
Watch the mass hysteria at a Judge Judy taping when exactly that occurred…
NYC Trip Pt. 2
Let’s try to post some Shea Stadium video. Taken from still camera on a video mode, so it may be a little grainy.
This season started off slow, but has definitely picked up and is now equally as good as the first two seasons of The Mole.
Hopefully, ABC will become desperate for an early evening family show and bring The Mole back next season in a more appropriate timeslot. We’ll see soon.
So Paul has been annoying throughout most of this season. But now as he gets booted, he actually wasn’t as annoying – he was even getting along with Nicole!
Now that we’re near the end of the season, I think Mark’s going to win. He does seem a little confused every time he’s interviewed, but I think he’ll put things together and take home the money.
OK, to start with what I do know. Paul went home, which I expected. Look at it from a mathematical point of view. Not a single one of the others thought Paul was the Mole. He had done no sabotage at all, played every game hard, and could not be the Mole. So, the other two non-moles, knowing that Paul could not be the mole, were left with only two people to consider when they were figuring out what answers to put down on the quiz. (For example, Nicole knew she was not the Mole, and knew Paul wasn’t. She just had Mark and Craig to consider. And so on for Craig and Mark.) Even with pure guesswork each of them only had a 50/50 chance of being right…or wrong. Paul, on the other hand, had to cover each of the other three on his answers, giving himself only a 1/3 chance of getting the answer right. If neither of the other two had any inkling about who the mole actually was, all they had to do was split the 10 answers between two people, guaranteeing that they would score better than Paul. Paul’s only chance of staying in the game was to correctly guess the Mole, then answer all the questions accordingly. He clearly did not do that.
So, it was absolutely no surprise that Paul went home.
So, who’s the Mole? Geez, I don’t know! All three of the remaining players are the correct players to have remained in the game at this point. They sabotaged more games than anyone else, played the games better than everyone else, and the best final 3 are still left.
In the How’s the View game, Paul played it straight; Mark really did so as well. Both Craig and Nicole acted suspicious, both costing money. I hope Nicole can cut a straighter line on a patient than she can hold a camera still…and in the right place. I really hope all of her surgery is via arthroscope! Neither Craig nor Nicole can keep quiet, so both were at fault for losing that money. Nicole continues to play with obvious sabotage attempts…whether or not they are real. Craig does the same. Craig will hate to hear this, but those two act like fraternal twins, competing in very similar ways to see who can look the most suspicious.
In the paintball game there wasn’t a lot of suspicious activity…unless you consider Mark’s 52 second solution to the problem. He made a point of stating that he does these for fun in the classroom. Maybe he does. Or, maybe he knew the answers already, being able to thus ensure he could cost the game another $20,000, plus keep the exemption out of any of the other’s hands.
Who’s the Mole? I’m still betting on Mark. Who’s second? Nicole and Craig…and not necessarily in that order…but maybe so! As a good season should do, this season’s final three are the ones who have sabotaged the most, look the most suspicious…and have played the best game. They got it right. And, true to form, I will not be surprised if any one of them is the mole. Ah, the winner? Nicole.
Bill
The Mole II
Remember Animotion’s comeback in the late 80’s with Room To Move? Check out the video featuring clips from the 1988 Dan Aykroyd movie “My Stepmother Is An Alien”.
Or even better, how about something from Animotion’s second album. It’s easily my favorite Animotion song, but never made the top 40 in the US. It’s I Engineer.Not sure how I feel about this…..
Yesterday, I posted five recent 80’s remakes. There’s a lot more than that, but those were the very best, rivaling even some of the new music being released.
Here’s some other remakes (of 70’s – 90’s songs) I’m a huge fan of…
Go Your Own Way – South Side Crew
This just might be the best remake ever, even though it’s not a complete remake (it’s more like a sample of the original song). It helps that the first time I heard it I was on one of my favorite spin rides at the Ohio State Fair (Top Scan). The original by Fleetwood Mac was great in 1977, but this is just incredible.
Cold As Ice – South Side Crew
This group does some original material as well, but here’s another remake of theirs that’s done well. It was originally a hit for Foreigner in 1977.
I Promised Myself – A-Teens
Nick Kamen’s 1990 version is perfect all on its own. But in 2004, the A-Teens somehow made it even better.
Jessie’s Girl – Collage
An 80’s remake by a 90’s artist. Lots of retro going on here. Rick Springfield originally made this a hit in 1981.
Who Loves You – Camp
The Four Seasons are tough to imitate. This group did a great job though, changing the song from 1975 disco to 2006 pop.
Call On Me – Eric Prydz
It’s a remake of Steve Winwood’s Valerie (a hit in both 1982 and 1987). Only a sample of the original song is used in the remake and Steve Winwood re-recorded the vocals for this in 2004.
The BILLS are in CAMP at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford and only 2 holdouts, #1 Draft Choice Leodis McKelvin (which is par for the course with #1 picks…most aren’t in Training Camp for other NFL Teams either) and #71 Left Offensive Tackle JASON PETERS who did make the PRO-BOWL last year but has at least 2 years left on his 5 year contract with the Team and apparently wants a new deal for his accomplishments? I’m confident COO RUSS BRANDON will work out these “problems” en route to the playoffs for The BILLS this year with a near record number of Season Ticket Holders in the stands (brilliant marketing RUSS)!
THE SABRES, after securing Goalie RYAN MILLER for the next 5 years, seem optimistic going into Training Camp soon with hopes of turning around a less-than-stellar season last year.
And finally, THE BISONS will end their long affiliation with The Cleveland Indians at the end of this season and lots of rumors about hooking up the TORONTO BLUE JAYS for next season. Put me down for a big POSITIVE on this one (The Jays have always been my FAVORITE team…don’t hold it against me though) I think having your Parent Club just 90 minutes (without traffic) away would be a good thing for all involved!
A bunch of 80’s songs have been remade over the last couple months. Most are dance tracks, but some are just straight out pop remakes. Here’s some of the better ones…
Don’t You (Forget About Me) – New Found Glory
This is the song featured in the JCPenney ad that plays endlessly on TV. The commercial is like a mini-remake of The Breakfast Club movie. Originally a Simple Minds hit in 1985, New Found Glory’s remake is a bit more rock, but one of the best remakes out there right now. It’s from their “From The Screen To Your Stereo Part II” CD, which is full of remakes (Go West’s King Of Wishful Thinking, When In Rome’s The Promise, etc.).
Shadows Of The Night – Ashley Tisdale
Originally a 1982 hit for Pat Benatar, High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale has done an amazing job updating this song. It’s featured in the direct-to-DVD movie Picture This and will hopefully be released as a single soon.
How Can I Fall – Butterflies Attack feat. Joe Murena
The 1988 ballad from Breathe has been remade as both a ballad and a dance song. The ballad remake is my favorite. The dance version is just tough to listen to – I can’t wrap my brain around this being anything other than a slow ballad.
Human League’s 1981 hit was close to being a dance song to begin with. But now it definitely is. The live version is what you see when you click on the picture, but you can get the studio version on iTunes or at amazon.com on Lucas Prata’s CD “Never Stop Dreaming”.
Nicole is The Mole! Right?
But Craig was definitely looking suspicious. And the fact that Mark is still in the game is suspicious – someone that paranoid and outwardly anal about every tiny detail usually doesn’t last in this game (unless they’re The Mole).
The highlight of this episode was someone not even playing the game though – Nicole’s Mom. She was hysterical. From her anger at the subway door not opening immediately to her shock at Nicole’s idea for how to dispose of Paul’s body, she made this episode a riot.
If ever there was a two-player team Mole, that’s a team that would make the show a giant hit.
That’s actually something Dave Edwards, Star’s former night guy, really wants – a two-player team Mole. We were talking about this a week ago – he’s convinced that me and him would destroy the other teams and win the entire thing. I think he’s right. The other teams wouldn’t stand a chance.
As for Nicole wanting to throw the quiz and leave the game, I didn’t buy that for a second. It seemed too set up (on Nicole’s part, not the producers). She pulled an Omarosa there, seeming to stage that whole quit thing which just about guaranteed her more on-screen time in the episode. It was funny how her Mom even brought up Omarosa at one point. I’m sure that was by chance though, as her Mom couldn’t be in on what’s going on – the producers would never allow that.
Clay going home only makes me even more sure that Nicole is The Mole. I think his private talk with her threw him off to who the real Mole is – her.
By the way, last week I mentioned a screencap that had me suspicious. It was something the players probably didn’t see – just the TV viewers. Here’s what I was talking about. I’m sure this points to The Mole somehow.
I also talked with Bill again last week. You can hear what he had to say about last week’s episode here.
So how does Bill McDaniel feel now that Clay is gone? Let’s find out…
OK, sorry Heather, it’s not Clay. (Our year on The Mole has been trying to figure out who the mole is as well; Heather picked Clay early on.) And, Paul is still here. Clay’s a lawyer; he’s supposed to know better.
First off, to start from the end, no mole worth his (or her) salt would jeopardize folks seeing their families. And, Paul actually came off as…well, likable! Shoot, how can you have a daughter that delightful and smart, and a girlfriend that delightful, and be as obnoxious as he has appeared thus far? Opposites attract? Maybe, but not that much. (Hmm. I’m thinking or Rob and Amber from Survivor; there polar opposites did indeed attract.) I saw no molish activities in the family game…other than some of Nicole’s statements. She keeps trying to make us think she is the Mole. Well, to quote Al from Season 2…maybe she is!
Not a lot to go on in the game of the Dumb versus Smart ones. The most obvious person who appeared to sabotage…then come up with some sort of Dorothy-like magical math answer to Nicole’s mistaken solution…and who I then started really reconsidering as the Mole…was Clay. And, make no mistake about it, he’s not the Mole…unless we have a previously not considered twist to this entire show! Forget Clay.
Nicole. Bad in math, not a good counter beyond the number of fingers and toes she has? Or, deliberately sabotaging…very obviously. 
On the other hand, when Craig screwed up the numbers early on, she salvaged it. So, could it be Craig? Could be.
Mark. Not much action this week. No apparent sabotage.
So, who sabotaged the most? Clearly, it was Clay. Heather must be right; he must be the Mole…just as Elavia was clearly the Mole in Season 2.
Geez. How’s a guy to pick? 1. Mark. 2. Nicole 3. Craig 4. There is no 4. Paul…nicer than I thought, but not the Mole.
Time will tell.
Bill
The Mole II
Summer Reading Pt 2
The plan for the weekend was to do some gardening, pull some weeds, spread some mulch, and possibly hit the pool with the kids. Instead, it rained all weekend.
But we stayed productive, taking 8 bags of clothing to the Salvation Army; clothes that we were sorry to say goodbye to, since they hearkened back to a younger, slimmer age. We also swung by our Starbucks, which is one of 600 unlucky locations being shut down. I asked the barista if he knew when they were closing, but he didn’t. Maybe another coffee shop will relocate there in its place. I need my Cafe Americano, dude!
Saturday night we finally saw Wall-E, definitely the best movie we’ve seen so far this year. I was beginning to think no animated film would reach the emotional resonance of Finding Nemo, but this one comes close. It was a great story that works on many levels: the future/post apocalyptic angle that always interests the sci fi geek in me, the cute “awwwww” robot angle that hooked my kids before they even got to the theater, and the touching, unlikely but completely believable love story at the heart of this movie.
It’s Pixar, so technically the animation was perfect, and we saw it in a digital-projection theater, which made it look even better. Darcy cheered when Wall-E first appeared, and when the movie was over she said “Daddy, this is the best day ever.” So thumbs up from the Pre-K crowd, to be sure, but even the adults in the audience cheered at various points in the movie, and I found myself wiping away a tear or two near the end. Wall-E is a triumph of storytelling, and the innocence it evokes brought me back to a time when just holding hands was an exciting prospect. Not many movies can do that anymore.
So definitely see it, if you haven’t already. The Demays give it 4 thumbs up.
And here’s something I talked about on-air today, by request reprinted here.
If you’ve forgotten something, and you just can’t remember, there is a way to get your brain in gear. This is from Kevin Trudeau’s Mega Memory Book:
If this technique doesn’t work, just do what I do: ask your spouse.
See you on the radio!
–Brian
Summer Reading
I just finished reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Incredible book. At the age of 45 a Carnegie Mellon professor with a family finds out he has terminal pancreatic cancer. This is the story of how with limited time, you pass on your life lessons to your family and those around you.
After two paragraphs you realize why it’s been on the NY Times best seller list so long. After one chapter you’ll want to finish the whole book in one sitting (which can be done). After two chapters you’ll want to have pen and paper nearby to write down all the life affirming messages. Highly recommended.
Click The Last Lecture to find out more.
