You Write The Caption

Posted Apr 5, 2007 by Janine Dorsey

Updated Apr 5, 2007 at 11:27 AM

This guy is following the spirit, if not the letter, of the leash law. What clever thing can you say about his unusual belly “pooch?” 

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American Idol—- 04.04.07 (aka We Will Rock No More)

Posted Apr 5, 2007 by Chris Kuhn

Updated Apr 5, 2007 at 06:47 AM

It’s the morning after. I simply couldn’t lift a finger to blog about Wednesday night’s results on American Idol (FOX), not even after the show. I was crushed. One of my favorites was going home yet the two worst singers in the competition remained. It was impossible to understand. Help me understand -mourn with me, gloat about your own favorites, speak your mind - whatever will help you deal with last night’s results in the American Idol Forum. I’m in a funk and I think it will be a while before I come out of it.

Last night’s show started as all others do - a montage of Tuesday’s performances and the hokey Ford commercial (a reggae romp to “One Love” complete with green technology and the greenest of drivers, my buddy Kermit the Frog.) But it was time for host Ryan Seacrest to start dishing out the good and not-so-good news.

This week, the producers separated the remaining nine into three groups. They were from left to right on stage - Sanjay, Chris and Blake; Phil, Gina and Haley; and Jordin, Melinda and LaKisha. One set is the top three, another the middle three and one, the unfortunate bottom three. What did you think as you were watching? I have to say that I called this one. I just had a hunch that Haley and Phil would be in the bottom three this week, which would mean Sanjaya would escape yet again - but this concept didn’t surprise me. He wasn’t quite as bad as he is most weeks. Horrible, yes - but probably not horrible enough.

Sure enough, my hunch was right. Jordin, Melinda and LaKisha sit on the top tier with Sanjaya, Blake and Chris just below. That means, either Gina, Haley or Phil is going home tonight. For me, the choice was easy here. Haley. Sure, she’s a hottie and nice as can be. But it’s about best singing, right? So if Sanjaya isn’t hitting the road, there’s only one other person who stinks and that’s Haley.

Ryan gives this week’s much-too-easy trivia challenge (he practically apologizes by quickly noting that he doesn’t come up with the questions) and we’re treated to a slick, dreamy performance by guest performer Michael Buble, filling in for Tony Bennett who’s nursing a flu. Buble croons away with “Call Me Irresponsible” and it would be irresponsible on my part if I didn’t get back to the important task at hand. Ryan sends Phil back to the pack because he is safe and that only leaves bland singer Haley and feel-good rocker Gina. Admittedly, Gina had a rough week. She sounded blah and had lost her edge last night, selecting the uninspiring “Smile.” Still, she had completely dominated the stage on previous weeks compared to Haley, Sanjaya and heck, even Phil who has achieved a few strong weeks after some really pitiful ones.

The verdict is in and… Haley is safe, my rocker chick Gina is going home. Ohmigod. Somebody with some real talent is hitting the road so boring Haley with the nice legs and not much else can stay in the competition. Is America kidding? Had I known that by giving 25 votes to both Phil and Gina last night, I was indirectly hurting Gina, I probably would have just voted for her and for Jordin, my two favorites in the competition.

That’s it. I’m done spreading the love. This week, I made an effort to save Chris and Phil. Screw it. I’m throwing all of my support, all of it, behind who I want to win this thing. This is like last season when I had my Elliott moment, and realized that I had better start voting exclusively for a favorite if I wanted to make any kind of impact at all, and that’s when I stopped voting for others I liked but knew could not win.

How do you feel about tonight’s results? And where did the contestants end up that you supported?

Yep. It’s definitely time to get behind my favorite all the way. Jordin, you’ve got all 100+ votes from me next week. Don’t disappoint. Stay tuned…

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The Friendly Neighborhood Snapper Turtle

Posted Apr 4, 2007 by Vidisha Priyanka

Updated Apr 4, 2007 at 06:03 PM

A week ago, my path crossed a snapper turtle’s. She was on the side of the road, all curious, adventurous and ready to cross the mighty road in front of her.

Her curiosity, unlike that of a cat, probably saved her life. She paused to look at my car, hurrying down the same road she was just about to cross.

I stopped too, alerted by her big head peeking out of the shell. I got our of my car to see if I could do anything to lure her back to the pond that she came from, to prevent her from getting crushed by an oncoming vehicle like mine.

She was huge and frankly, I was scared. So I waited on the side of the street with her for a braver driver to come our way. She waited with me.

So when that brave driver drove by and stopped, I was thrilled. She was just perplexed and a little annoyed by the delay.

I explained the situation to the driver, admitted I didn’t want to be bitten by her and I would rather he put himself at risk than I. A tad selfish, but hey, I was protecting the environment.

So he tried to pick up the turtle by the sides of the shell and she didn’t like it.  She reared and snapped at him and the poor brave soul had to take a step back. He then proceeded with caution and had to shove the animal with his foot into the grass and away from the road.

She didn’t disappear even then. She stood her ground, disgruntled and menacing. We shoved her as far as we could and then drove off.

One good deed of the day done.

Recently the log for backyard bird counting broke records in number of observations.

Although the snapper is not a bird, that was my backyard animal, and I haven’t stopped counting. I do get a red cardinal, or I think it is the red cardinal, pecking at the bird feeder outside my home. Keep counting.

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Soledad O’Brien Update: New Job at CNN

Posted Apr 4, 2007 by Walt Belcher

Updated Apr 4, 2007 at 10:51 AM

  CNN’s Soledad O’Brien has been named anchor and special correspondent effective immediately, it was announced today by CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein. 

She will join CNN: Special Investigations Unit, reporting in-depth on the most significant stories across the country and around the world.  O’Brien will anchor and report hour-long CNN: Special Investigations Unit specials throughout the year and will file special reports on important ongoing and breaking news stories across all major CNN programs.

“Soledad has delivered some of the most memorable reporting on some of the most historic stories of our time,” Klein said. “Her passion for real news, her feel for real people, and her insistence on getting real answers from newsmakers mesh perfectly with CNN’s commitment to providing even more hard-hitting, in-depth journalism to America.

O’Brien has co-anchored CNN’s flagship morning program, American Morning, since she joined the network in July 2003

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Can “My Humps” Be Classy?

Posted Apr 4, 2007 by Wes Phillips

Updated Apr 4, 2007 at 10:09 AM

Some things make you want to jump out of bed and blog. When I awoke to find Alanis Morissette’s cover of The Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” in my inbox, I just couldn’t keep it from the rest of the world. Or at least the world that doesn’t spend every waking moment on MySpace and/or YouTube. And not only is she covering the song, the video is a shot-for-shot remake. 

So without further ado ... 

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