1) Last week my friend Janet and I went to see Rascal Flatts. I didn't really know what to expect. I love their music but for some reason I didn't think the show would be all that exciting. Was I ever wrong...it was fantastic!!! They had the main stage at one end of the Air Canada Centre but then right in front of us (we were in the 6th row but near the opposite end) there was also a small circular stage. Up above was a walkway that they would lower down to connect the two stages. The show was so high energy, they all took turns doing something solo and they are all very talented. They talked a lot during the show, to each other and the crowd, not so much that it was annoying, but enough that you felt like you were at a small club with a very down to earth group of guys, the boys next door! They're very funny and really connected with the crowd. The women screamed and the men cheered, being all cool, in that beer-drinking, my-team-just-scored kind of way!
And I must say, lead Rascal is quite..hmmm...engaging...with that big ole' teddy bear cuddliness, great voice and smile that could charm the...well, you know!

There were also a lot of these in the audience....


OK, NO...NOT Tim McGraw specifically but an awful lot of handsome cowboys that certainly resembled him. The kind I like to refer to as "a tall drink of water"! You know they're tall when I have to look up to them!

Overheard at the ACC....

JANET...Wow, that would be a great picture...they're so close
JUDY...Stop it already..I asked you three times if I should bother bringing my camera!

JANET...Let's call Sheri
JUDY...WHAT SHERI? I CAN'T HEAR YOU, IT'S TOO LOUD HERE! OH, SORRY FOR YELLING!

After seeing two girls wearing t-shirts that had RASCAL on the one, FLATTS on the other...
JUDY...Oh, why didn't we do that...I'm RASCAL, you're FLATTS
dead silence, Janet (o thee of bigger bosom) looks at me...
JUDY...OH FINE, I'm FLATTS, you're RASCAL!

JUDY...Dammit Janet, see, I knew we should have opted for the tube top and mini skirt look! (I can't even type that without laughing!)

JUDY...For heaven's sake Janet, put that pot away!!

JUDY...No Janet, you can't go backstage and let them have their way with you!

ok, I may be exaggerating on those last two!

Along with Rascal Flatts, we also got to see the adorably perky Kellie Pickler! She opened for them and was on stage for a total of about 45 minutes. In that time I think she talked for 30 minutes and sang for 15...about 4 songs total. Seriously, when she sang she was very good but man, did she natter on! Ketchup chips were the big topic, how she can't get them back home, she just loves them. Of course people in the crowd started giving her their bags of them, which she had no trouble taking..every last one!
She also talked about her family and what each song meant to her. She really is cute as a button and has certainly come a long way since American Idol.


2) Last weekend, amongst the cheerleading, skating, birthday party, and soccer practice I somehow managed to see two movies...

The first was Fool's Gold with the always shirtless Matthew McConaughey. I don't like to give bad reviews about a movie if I can help it because I really don't want anyone to actually listen to me. What?? I can hear you! Let me explain...if I really like a movie then by all means please listen to me and RUN to the theatre to see it. If I don't like a particular movie and you were really looking forward to it, then I don't want to sway your opinion because everybody's tastes are different. That being said...this movie sucked!! HA, just kidding! It was ok, but definitely not as good as I thought it would be. There wasn't as much action as I expected and a lot of lame acting and stunts. I didn't hate it but I definitely enjoyed 27 Dresses and Juno a lot more!

I even enjoyed this one more but be prepared..it is more than a little disturbing. Diane Lane and Colin Hanks (Tom's son) are FBI cyber crimes agents searching for a serial killer that shows his victim's deaths on the internet and the more people that log on, the faster the person dies..by some horribly torturous method. I think what makes it all the more disturbing is the sad realization that in today's society, people would log on and watch. I'd like to think I'm wrong but I doubt it...what do you think?

3) I went to the gym the other night (finally!) and they have these "motivational" posters hanging up.
My favourite...
"Those who cannot find time to exercise must find time for illness." OUCH!!
Then on top of that a so-called "friend" was kind enough to point out that going to the gym once a month doesn't really do a whole lot. Ummm..thanks!

4) Have you seen the commercials for a new show called AMNESIA? Dennis Miller is the host and I'm not completely sure of the whole premise but the one part I saw was hilarious! The contestant was a man and they brought out 5 women wearing wedding dresses. Dennis told him that one of them was the dress his wife wore at their wedding. Up to that point the guy had been laughing and joking around. As soon as Dennis said that his face went completely blank...he had no idea!!!

5) I am loving American Idol so far this season! I don't usually watch the whole thing. I'll watch some of the auditions and then some of the shows when it starts getting down to the last few contestants. I have never liked how mean Simon always was. I really found it uncomfortable to watch. This season though, is it just me, but Simon seemed like a whole new Simon! He was funny and kind, still mean but not to such a degrading level, and really quite sweet at times.
I loved his speech to the curly haired Kyle when they were cutting to the final 24. He even told Paula to stop torturing the contestants and just give them the results.

My other opinions...

The biker nurse shouldn't be in the final 24. I don't think she can do enough of a range of songs to last very long.

I love 16 year old David and Carly the Irish girl. David is adorable and he can certainly sing and Carly is fantastic.

6) THE WRITER'S STRIKE IS OVER!!!!

SO NOW WHAT?? Here are pieces of an article I borrowed from msn.com...

— Many hit series (such as ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy," as well as CBS' "CSI" trio) will be back this spring for what's left of the current season, with anywhere from four to seven new episodes. But don't bet on weaker, "on-the-bubble" shows (NBC's "Bionic Woman" and CBS' "Moonlight," for example) returning until fall, if then.

— And be prepared to muster a little more patience. A minimum of four weeks will be needed for producers to get the first post-strike episode of comedies (such as CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and NBC's "My Name Is Earl") started from scratch and back on the air; a drama will require six to eight weeks from concept to broadcast.

If a series had a script near completion when the strike was called in November, it's got a head start resuming production now.
For example, CBS' "Criminal Minds" had one script in progress and a network-approved outline for another, said co-executive producer Chris Mundy, who cited something else that gives his show an advantage: "We didn't have to break down our sets. We're luckier than most."

Meanwhile, a complicated serial drama with vast technical demands — notably the NBC hit "Heroes" — may not be deemed worth returning this season at all. The cost of ramping up for such a production may not justify that expense when only a handful of episodes are being ordered.

Other shows, including ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" and NBC's "Chuck," also aren't expected until fall.
And Fox's "24" is unlikely to be back until early 2009.

Adding to this vexing calculus, each network will have to integrate its returning series into a prime-time schedule that, during the strike, has adapted to the absence of those shows with substitute fare.

But a potential game-changer could be in the cards: One or more networks might elect to extend the season beyond May, which, of course, would call for even more new episodes. The chances of that happening aren't great. Viewership traditionally dips during summer months, and networks don't like running their best stuff when viewers aren't watching. But the post-strike landscape may not bow to tradition any more than the season has thus far.

Next season, too, is already being shaped by the strike. Don't expect the usual crush of freshman shows right after Labor Day. And that looming void could have an impact on what we see (or don't see) this spring. In some cases, a network will opt to bank a series' remaining episodes to help fill the autumn programming gap.

FOR LOST FANS....
Damon Lindelof is eager for some answers. An executive producer of ABC's mystery serial "Lost," he should learn this week what his show's future holds as it closes out its fourth season.
"Lost" has been back on the air just two weeks. But the strike meant a planned 16-episode shooting schedule was halted after just eight episodes were shot.
"But we very much want to come back and do as many episodes as possible," said Lindelof, who then listed a few issues that first need to be settled.
"How many episodes can best serve our story? And what are the production realities?" He noted that the shooting facility in Hawaii, 2,500 miles from his Los Angeles office, had been shuttered since Thanksgiving. The crew has dispersed, the huge cast has scattered.
The first new post-strike episode of "Lost" could possibly be ready for broadcast the week after episode eight appears, he said. There likely would be three or four more after that.
Could there be even more?
"I'd be surprised if the network wanted to air episodes deep into the summer," he said. But if all the pieces fell into place, "Lost" fans would be blessed: "I don't see why we couldn't deliver all eight remaining episodes."


Well, I certainly do apologize for the longest post in history! Are you even still here?? Did I lose you??