Just as I predicted, Jake Pavelka was the next star eliminated from Dancing with the Stars. Now there are only six stars competing for the Mirror Ball Trophy.

Niecy Nash and Evan Lysacek were the other two that were in jeopardy but at the last minute, Evan was saved. Niecy needs to ratchet it up next week to get to the final three. My prediction for the final three will be Nicole Scherzinger, Erin Andrews and Evan Lysacek.

The Results Show was filled with  music and dancing. I really enjoyed the Sports Science segment that showed scientific data that dancers are athletes. Heck, I could have told you that. Dancing involves a lot of cardiovascular exercise, excellent balance and of course musicality.

Melissa Etheridge sang last night. She is not my favorite singer and in fact, one of her songs she sounded more like Rod Stewart! But that is the way Melissa Etheridge sings.

Did you see Brooke Burke crying when Jake was eliminated? There’s no crying as a co-host on Dancing with the Stars. Get a grip!

Until later,

Linda

It was a double dance night last night on Dancing with the Stars. The stars performed a Latin dance along with a swing dance competition.  I don’t know what dances the judges were looking at because their scoring was not the way I would score the stars. The judges started out giving the first three dancers a score of 21 and then they loosened it up and started scoring better.

Jake Pavelka was first to dance the Samba. He seems to be enjoying himself but for the last several weeks made tiny mistakes that throws out the flow of his dancing. He tripped on the stage again and I really think his Samba was slow and he still has not connected with the music. The judges gave him a 21.

Niecy Nash was first to dance the Argentine Tango. It was cute but it lacked intensity. She also received a 21.

Evan Lysacek also danced the Samba. There was a whole lot of shaking going and Evan showed what a great entertainer he is. His partner, Anna, brings out the best of Evan in his performance. I thought it was fantastic, but the judges must have been watching something else because they said it was his worst dance so far for him and gave him a score of 21. I don’t agree with them at all.

Erin Andrews Samba was fun to watch and she has come a long way in the show. Maks was stripping and at the end of the dance he was shirtless. Carrie Anne and Bruno liked it but Len didn’t like it. They scored her with a 25. This seems unfair because I really believe that Evan did a better Samba than Erin.

Chad Ochocinco danced the Argentine Tango. To me he looked as though he was a prop for his dance partner Cheryl. Cheryl is a very talented professional dancer and actually made Chad look good. The judges scored them with a 24. Once again, I think this score was too high but I’m not one of the judges.

Nicole Scherzinger danced a very complicated Samba with lots of movement and shaking. I thought it looked too theatrical and I believe Len agreed with me. He wasn’t impressed with her dancing. However, the judges scored them with a 26.

Pamela Anderson came out as a brunette dancing the Argentine Tango. It was slow and sexy but Pamela seemed to hesitant in some of her moves. The judges scored her with a 22.

I hate to repeat myself, but Chad and Pamela’s dances were not as good as Evan’s. What were the judges watching?

Finally, the swing dance competition gave the stars the chance to be seen together on stage. Jake Pavelka was the first to be eliminated and the two last stars dancing were Nicole and Erin. I think Erin did a fantastic job but the judges do have their favorite – Nicole.

Who will be leaving tonite? I hope Pamela stays on for another week. I also hope Niecy stay for another week because I do enjoy watching her dance. For a “big” lady she does well and the best she can. Chad will probably stay another week, but I don’t think he has what is needed to win the Mirror Ball Trophy. So that leaves me with Jake. I think he will be leaving, he really has no musicality but I must admit he tries hard.

Until later,

Linda

At last night’s result show, I finally got my wish – Kate Gosselin was eliminated. Oh the drama to her elimination! Reports were that she felt she was leaving and those reports were correct. It seems that too much emphasis was placed on this woman. Heck, she’s not even a big celebrity and she gets all this fuss over herself. No wonder she is the way she is. All about me and my drama! No one has ever experienced that kind of drama in his or her life – I don’t think so. At least, she is out of there and the show can go on.

The rest of the show was what was expected of a Results Show. Some laughs from Adam Carolla, he’s not a real funny man, he has a dry sense of humor. The Macy’s Star of Dance was lame, but I did enjoy the Fred Astaire tribute. The guest singers were okay.

Next week’s show will have the stars doing a swing dance marathon and with stars designing their costumes. Should be interesting.

Until later,

Linda

Last night the stars danced to songs from movies. From Pretty Woman to Nine to Five the dances included the Quick Step, Jive, Rhumba, Fox Trot and Tango.

It seemed as though Len was in a very good mood (must have been on his meds) last night until about fifty-minutes into the show when he criticized Pamela Anderson’s Quick Step. He thought the dance had too much drama. I think she did a good job and she received a score of 21.

I know whom the judges favor from all the stars and that is Nicole Scherzinger. They only had praises for her Tango to the song “Pretty Woman”.  She received two 10’s and one 9 – from Len. Her dance was good but to me it was to busy and too jerky and not flowing enough for my taste.

My favorite is Evan Lysacek. He danced the Rhumba to the song “Don’t want to miss a thing” from the movie Armageddon. It was sexy, artistic and just down right awesome. But the judges gave him a total of 27 points.

Then Erin Andrews danced the Jive to “Pulp Fiction.” I don’t agree with the score of 22 from the judges. It was a fun dance, the dance routine was difficult and I think she should have scored higher.

Chad Ochocinco’s Quick Step to the “Bear Necessities” from the movie “The Jungle Book” was good but I felt he didn’t have enough bounce in his steps. The judges scored him with an 18 and I could tell that Chad was pissed about the score. Come back next week and do better Chad.

Jake Pavelka tried to channel Tom Cruise’s character in “Risky Business” with his Cha Cha Cha. One thing Jake is missing is the musicality. He wants to get the dance steps right but it seems that he can’t feel the rhythm of the songs. The judges gave him a score of 23.

Niecy Nash shook up the dance floor with her Jive to “La Bamba.” She looked like she was having fun and was shaking all around. She even gave Len a big kiss on his forehead after the dance. But that didn’t sway the judges, they scored her with an 18.

Then there was Kate Gosselin. She performed a Fox Trot to “Don’t’ Forget About Me” from the movie “The Breakfast Club.” She showed no personality on the dance floor, no musicality and she basically strolled through the dance. I think poor Kate got her feelings hurt. But the truth is the truth; and if you can’t handle the truth (from the movie a “Few Good Men”) then you need to go.

With that said, I predict Kate Gosselin leaving the show tonight.

Until later,

Linda

The 6^th Season of Deadliest Catch premiered last night on the Discovery Channel. It was filled with conflict, disaster and change. Crewmates were switched for the good of each boat and two captains got into a verbal argument about trying to steal employees from another boat. A fishing boat was capsized but the crew was saved.

This seems appropriate because we all know that this season will be sad because Phil Harris will pass away. Of all the seasons that I’ve watched Deadliest Catch I think this season’s will be more dramatic and more reality base on what life is all about.

If you don’t watch the show, I urge you to watch the show every Tuesday night. You can DVR the series and watch anytime you want to. This should be the most dramatic season of all.

Until later,

Linda

Last night’s results show was sad. Aiden Turner was eliminated. I thought he did a good job, much better than Kate Gosselin, but I guess the fans disagreed with me.

I did like the dances from the young dancers. They did a great job and was fun to watch. I also liked the pictures of the professional dancers when they were young and up and coming dancers. They all looked cute. I never realized that they started dancing as young as 3 years old. Dancing is a commitment and one has to love dancing to be successful.

The previews of next week’s movie theme night were pretty lame and not very funny. It’s obvious that they don’t have any comedy writers on the show.

My question of the week is: who is voting to keep Kate safe? She may be having fun and enjoying herself but she doesn’t compare to the other dancers.

Until later,

Linda

A new application  for the Blackberry smart phones gives you a simple solution to texting while driving.  The Auto TextBak  gives you an easy way to set an away message that automatically replies to incoming text messages. It works just like the out-of-office email response.

What a great idea! Here is how it works. When someone tries to text you while you are driving, the Auto TextBak replies with a message you input. For example, you can say, “I’m driving right now will get back to you when I arrive at my destination.” Or “I’m taking a nap, call you when I wake up.” Or “Spending time with my kids” You get the idea. In this way, you won’t be answering your text messages on your Blackberry when you are driving or every minute of the day.

Not only can you customize your away message but also you can build an ignore list and also check who Auto TextBak has responded to. The application icon turns from white to green to indicate that it is turned on and active.

Here is the best part of this new app, the cost is only $2.99 for a one time download. Check it out and remember don’t text while driving.

Until later,

Linda

Last night’s Dancing with the Stars had the judges double scoring each star’s performance. One was for the technical aspect and the other for performance. The leader from last night was my guy, Evan Lysacek. He is such a great guy and I’m glad he is doing well. He seems to have a great personality and I know that Anna is very happy that she has a star that she can work with.

The lowest scorer was Kate Gosselin. No surprise. But at least last night she looked much better. By that I mean, she went a lot lighter on the makeup and she had a softer look to her. Her Tango wasn’t that great. The problem with Kate is that she has a lot of baggage she is carrying to this show. One minute she is crying like a baby and feeling so sorry for herself and then the next minute she says that she’s having a lot of fun and wants to stay. Wacko!!!

I’m getting concerned about several dancers. Even though the judges may have given them good scores but I think they are in jeopardy. Jake Pavelka danced a very nice Tango even though he slipped at the end. I really like Jake and want him to stay another week. Then there is Aiden Turner. His rhumba was good but the judges are not on his side. I think he can improve and should stay a little bit longer. I’m also concerned about Niecy Nash. Her dances have all been pretty dull; no excitement and no signs that she is improving. She seems to be a nice person but quite frankly, she is not dancing material.

How about Pamela Anderson. Boy did they cover her up! Her sexy rhumba was very well done. Len complained that she was too overdressed and Bruno said that this was her best dance. No real comment from Carrie Anne. But I did hear Pamela say that she is needing romance right now. Hmm, I guess Pamela doesn’t have a significant other in her life.

Chad Ochocinco’s rhumba was very sexy and he has improved a lot. Did you catch that huge diamond ring he gave to Cheryl for being such a good teacher? Heck I used to give candles to my teachers. I guess times have changed.

Nicole Scherzinger is doing well. Her rhumba looked good but the judges had mixed feelings about it. She was so strong at the beginning and seems to have peaked too soon. Hopefully, she will pick up her dances in the next few weeks.

Who will be going home?  Kate Gosselin got the lowest scores and I think it is time for her to go.

Until later,

Linda

The season finale of Undercover Boss was the best one so far. I thought it would be another weepy series but instead showed how the President, Chris McCann, truly was a professional and was interested in his people and the business. I’m a business person. The lessons learned from his undercover assignment showed why 1-800 Flowers is a blooming (pardon the pun) business.

1-800 Flowers has been doing business since 1997. It offers both floral arrangement and gift/chocolate boxes. The two brothers Chris and Jim founded the company and understood the meaning of excellent customer service while providing excellent products. When Chris went undercover, he wanted to see how he could improve the day to day operations.

He went to several floral shops to see why some of the floral shops were doing better then others. What he found was that the managers of the stores are the most important asset to the company. Their excellent customer service was helping to grow the floral business as well as franchises.

He also found out that he could never be a production worker. He was very bad as a production worker at their chocolate factory. This reminded me of the old “I Love Lucy” series when she was working in a chocolate production line. Just like Lucy, he couldn’t keep up with the conveyor belt to fill the boxes. He learned that there was a minimum production that needed to be done each day at the factory. However, when the employees exceed the goal there was no incentive for overachievement. Chris McCann turned that around by offering incentives for exceeded the goal. Now that’s real management!

What really irritated me was when his big brother Jim, who is the CEO of the company,  tried to blow his undercover. Jim thought it was funny, I didn’t and neither did Chris. He was there to do a job. I think Jim thought this was a lark and wasn’t important. However, at the end Chris made many good management decisions that would help grow their company as well as their franchises.

By the way, I think Chris looked very attractive with his facial hair; he should keep that look.

Good ending to a rather boring and dull series. Now if the producers find more of this type of story, I’ll be happy to watch it again next season.

Until later,

Linda

Last night Buzz Aldrin was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars. What a class act he is. He saluted the judges and all the competitors saluted him back. He said that he danced this season to help all of us remember our military, the space project and to encourage that we continue to explore space in the future. At least now, the judges don’t have Buzz to kick around anymore. Hope they go after Kate Gosselin.

Who in the heck is voting for Kate? She can’t dance at all. At least she is getting a better attitude but please, don’t keep her around for another week.

Next week’s competition will involve a double score from the judges. One score will be for technical presentation and another for performance. We’ll see how that works out for everybody.

My favorite star, Evan Lysacek, is still on top of the leader board and I hope he stays there. The game is on!

Until later,

Linda