The big entertainment scandal this week has been that the UK version of The X Factor (a show similar to American Idol) used Auto-Tune to manipulate the audio of one of the contestants on a performance show.

It’s kind of obvious Auto-Tune was used when watching Gamu’s aired performance…

The producers of The X Factor UK have admitted they did use sound filters to remove excess background noise, but stopped short of saying it was Auto-Tune. And it wasn’t just for this one contestant – others were manipulated as well.

They also went on to say that the process was done in editing after the show was taped to give the aired version of the show a better sound.

Even knowing there’s something extra being used there, it’s still obvious that Gamu is talented. Unfortunately, the producers must have decided her natural talent wasn’t good enough. That’s not fair to her or the other contestants, especially when people watching from home call in to vote for their favorites later in the season.

Gamu will continue on with the show. Her next performance will show off her real talent without anything extra being used.

The Hollywood Reporter has an article about Simon Cowell’s banning of Auto-Tune. He’s taking this very seriously and is making sure the US media knows it as his X Factor show (minus the manipulation) will be coming to Fox next fall.

Wondering about the US American Idol now? Well producers of that show responded to all this by telling the Associated Press they’ve never used Auto-Tune and never will.

In other reality show news, there was confusion last night on Big Brother when an evicted houseguest said a word that at first sounded inappropriate for network TV. Much like live radio, this is why live TV is so much fun – when disaster strikes (or in this case almost strikes). See the video of this and find out the definition of what turned out to be an okay word here.

I took this quiz from Money Magazine and found out I was not quite in the best possible shape to become wealthy (I should have gotten that degree), but still did pretty well. Being wealthy isn’t just about smarts and connections, lots of other things — from your marital status to your looks — can help or hurt too. To size up your odds, take this quiz.

CNN Money Magazine  conducted a survey of most expensive and affordable housing markets, and Buffalo, no surprise to anyone who lives here, came out in the top five most affordable. Check out the entire article by clicking here.

You know the show – the short green-screen weird-looking series with a guy sitting on one of Saturn’s rings explaining the night sky.

I remember watching it growing up. It used to air just before the PBS station in Rochester would sign off for the night. And it’s continued to air all these years. This Labor Day Weekend’s episode will be the last though.

The show’s host, Jack Horkheimer, was the executive director of a Miami, FL planetarium. He passed away Friday of a respiratory ailment at the age of 72.

Star Gazer was geared to the general public and amateur astronomers and focused on things in the night sky you could see with your naked eye. You might remember it as Star Hustler, but the name was changed to Star Gazer when the show went online (done to avoid confusion with a magazine that has a very different theme).

Here’s the final episode of his series (which was produced for this coming Labor Day weekend)…

Visit Jack’s Horkheimer’s website for more video from the series (including a few from the 70’s & 80’s), the show scripts, Mars images, and more. And as Jack always said, keep looking up…

Now I want to preface this…it has nothing to do with the WONDERFUL Barton Hill Hotel & Spa and my wireless/inter net service provider Verizon (who has always been there for me 99.9999%  anywhere in the world), but Saturday night I was the performing DJ at the reception of Jim and Shelly at the Lewist0n Hotel almost on the shore of the Niagara River on Center Street.  As I always do, I connect my Verizon Wireless “air-card” to my computer to get inter net access in case I have to download a song that I might not have brought with me to play at the reception.  It just so happens that the proximity of the Barton Hill Hotel & Spa is in a location where there is NO Verizon wireless service, whether it be in a location that is in a deep valley or because of Rogers Communications signals off the CN Tower in Toronto (who I believe doesn’t like Verizon), there is just NO service (even after the Hotel’s computer guru’s tried to help me connect with their internal network…no luck).  Can you believe in this day and age of instant “technology anywhere”…you’re completely cut-off from the entire world of phone/internet service for Verizon customers…and believe me it was other guests of the hotel who had Verizon that couldn’t connect either…they had to use a good old “land line” to make phone calls!

Prehistoric piranhas and Spring Break – all in 3D!!!! This movie totally deserves an Oscar.

The begging for an Oscar is also brilliant…

Piranha 3D is in theaters now!

One of the best things about season 6 of Lost? Apparently, the squirrel baby according to the cast of crew of the series.

The squirrel baby part starts at 1:21 (after a bonus feature about Lost in other languages)…

Season 6 of Lost (along with the 12-minute epilogue “New Man In Charge” will be in stores Tuesday (August 24th).

Sept. 11 our puppy, Penny, will be heading up Penny’s Pack and walking in the SPCA’s Paws in the Park. You’re welcome to join Penny, my wife, Linda, and I as we raise funds for the SPCA.  Click here to join up for the team, make a donation and walk with us, or just make a donation of support to the SPCA.  Just enter “Rob Lucas” in the Sponsor Participant section.

Thanks so much for being a member of Penny’s Pack and helping the SPCA!

For the last 7 years I have driven a very nice car. When I bought it in 2003, it was the nicest car I had ever driven; over the last 165,000 miles, however, it started to show its age, and was almost like a diary of strange driving events:

• There was the slight dent in the back bumper where an elderly man backed up completely out of his driveway, across the street, into the driveway of my daughter’s daycare provider, and into my bumper – despite me yelling and waving my arms for him to stop.

• There was the rust spot on the driver side door, which occurred thanks to (another) freak Lockport wind storm, that jerked the door out of my hand and into a parking lot pole 2 years ago.

• And there was a tiny chip out of my windshield, always exactly in my field of vision, that happened during a hailstorm last spring.

No matter how much we love a car, car owners know when it’s time to say goodbye. That time for me came last night, when I was shocked to realize that I could somehow afford the lease of a 2010 Toyota Camry XLE.

Despite my former car’s shortcomings, and thanks to the generosity of Mike Basil Toyota, I drove off the lot with an amazing new vehicle.

As I drove home, it was like a cloud had lifted. I had been worrying about my old car for quite some time. I knew that eventually it was going to start costing major buckage to keep on the road; it was just a question of when. To not have that worry hanging over me anymore was liberating.

Everyone talks about that “new car smell.” For me, it’s more than just a smell; it’s that new car feeling, and at the moment, I’m loving it.

–Brian

Here’s a quickie post from one of my favorite reads…Buffalo Business First.  NY State…it costs more to do everything here…including closing costs on a house.  Many other states don’t require lawyers (some of the “third parties” referred to in the article) to close on a property, which makes it so much easier!  It’s so funny how NY and Cali should be leaders of our union…and they are tow of the most messed up states going !

One of my favorite Rock Star’s hit up her Twitter account saying “yes, happy news…I’m pregnant.  We’re so excited to start out family!”  This will be the first child for Alanis Morissette and her hubby Mario “MC SOULEYE” Treadway who were married last May.  Did you know that Alanis has never had a cavity, read more about her in the Us Weekly article http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/25-things-you-dont-know-about-me-alanis-morissette-201098

I feel like I should do a highlight tape to match, but that might be a bad idea to have it on video…Thursdays at the Square were off the hook this year.  Rained once and I went anyway and got soaked…in more ways than one…Starry Night in theGarden…truly magical.  An amazing night of talent!  Friday happy hours at Rane.  I’ve made more friends this year than ever in my life.  Taste of Buffalo.  I was a judge this year and think it was my best performance ever!  Eating food was tough work!  Allentown Art fest with my statue of David plant pot.  Taste of Buffalo, with the single best hot peppers from Molinaro’s, they are wrapped in pizza dough after they stuff them with cheese and sausage, then deep fry them.  That would be my last meal if I had to have one.  Then there was the Harborfront concerts, the cruise on the Miss Buffalo…The Italian Fest and this week the Erie county Fair.  Not too mention the weddings and all the parties….I noticed on my Facebook page that there are very few pictures in my profile without wine in my hand.  Thats not a bad thing is it?

The original evil Visitor boss from the 80’s version of “V” will be featured as a recurring guest star in the upcoming season two of the revival.

Jane Badler played Diana in the original series. In the new series, she’ll be the mother of Anna (who’s now the Queen of the Visitors). Her character’s name will be Diana, although that’s just a nod to the original series. It wouldn’t make sense for her to play her original character since this series is a reboot and not a continuation of the 80’s version.

Season two of “V” begins in November on ABC. For now, here’s some awesome clips of Diana being super evil in the original series (Diana shows up 15 seconds into the first clip)…

Many of you already know that our family dog Rocky passed away last week. To all my friends and acquaintances who expressed their condolences, I thank you. It means more to me than you know.

While Rocky’s death was “expected,” I don’t think anyone is ever really ready for it. The finality of death, and in Rocky’s case the quickness of his decline, took us all completely by surprise. After nearly 14 years, the shock of suddenly not having him around was quite profound; not just for me, but for my wife and children too.

Rocky pre-dated both of my kids. We brought him home as a puppy shortly after buying our first house in 1997, and his claws clicked on the floors of that house, and two others since, until last week.

I think what struck me most about this experience was how universal grief truly is. As a child I remember being terribly sad when the family dog died, but this was different. I would say it’s no less difficult dealing with the loss of a cherished family pet than it is mourning the passing of an elderly relative: grief is grief.

Before we buried Rocky underneath his favorite tree in our backyard, we stood and remembered things about him that made us smile:

One morning I had Rocky in the station truck with me. I left something in the house, so I ran in to get it, leaving the truck running. When I got back, Rocky had locked himself in the truck (and me out of it), and had his paws on the steering wheel, seemingly ready to drive off without me. I had to have someone from the station drive out to my house with a spare set of keys so I could make it into work that day.

We lived near a mountain lake in our first house in Virginia, and would often let Rocky loose at the tail end of his walk to run free. He really looked forward to being let loose from the leash, and would run faster than I have ever seen any dog run. We learned later that his parents were both award-winning Jack Russell Terrier racers.

But probably the memory that sticks out most is when I took his squeaky toy and put it on our refrigerator, because I couldn’t take the squeaking anymore. Rocky looked at that squeaky toy, paced around the floor, and decided to go for it. For at least 30 minutes he took running leaps, getting higher and higher, until he finally grabbed the squeaky toy from off the fridge, and victoriously ran off with it. I have never seen any dog that determined, and certainly never saw any dog jump that high.

Rest in peace, Rocky. You are, and will be, sorely missed.

–Brian

Reality shows get slammed sometimes because of the worthless dredges of life they dig up and feature. “The Real Housewives…” series on Bravo is one of those shows that spotlights some of the worst the human race has to offer.

And the worst of the worst would have to be Michaele Salahi, featured in The Real Housewives Of D.C. – you might also remember her from when she and her husband made worldwide headlines when they supposedly crashed a White House dinner last fall.

Now she’s made headlines again. This time she’s accusing Whoopi Goldberg of assaulting her on yesterday’s episode of The View.

Unfortunately for her, it’s partially on tape. You can see the “assault” in the video below…

Obviously, Michaele is an attention-hungry loser for trying to play that up as assault. Her motives become a lot clearer when you learn that her season of “The Real Housewives…” debuts tonight.

Read more about this on People Magazine’s website.