Dave's Thoughts of the Day: August 28th

First of all, before going on, I hope you get a chance to read my two latest posts leading up to this one.  I even have a "Lost Entry" in there!

Like, remember when they came out with a "Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels" game within that SMB All Stars SNES game?   It's "The Blog Entry" that time forgot!   SMB Lost Levels was the original "SMB 2" but the powers that be at Nintendo thought it was way too hard so they just adopted a different game as the American Super Mario 2.  Well, I can't say the same about the 8/22 blog entry:  this time I just forgot to actually post the thing, so better late than never.

No I did not meet any girls today nor cut them up into pieces, but thanks for asking!  Grins/Adjustsmic.

I write the blog entries for me first, and then for the audience.   Sometimes that yields topics nobody reading cares about, but hopefully you all can hang for the ride anyway.

This is a convenient segue to my America's Got Talent recap.  Feel free to skip this section (within the asterisks) if AGT does not interest you....

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All right, here's the deal:  I thought it was a pretty good show with one BRUTAL first half hour.   I liked the effort in that first half hour, but everything within those first 30 minutes was beatable, even my boys Tone the Chiefrocca (B-OO-T-Y).   So, it was underwhelming.  Major props to Red Panda for coming onto the show on, what was it, like barely 8 hours notice?  She had a great effort given the circumstances, but she dropped a bowl while on the 'cycle so it does not appear she'll advance.

I'm keen enough to do a recap of everybody but instead, I'll focus on the TOP Six... ah???   A little crossover in effect, just call me Iverson baby.   I posted the BOTTOM six on facebook (facebook.com/daveinthecity).  Now, these will have numbers but they're not in order.  Here we go.

1. Taylor Williamson:  What do you do when you're challenged and put down by Heidi Klum and you're a comic?  Hell yeah -- you go right after her!   Material about "kid friendly" topics that turned the subject on its ear *and* pushed the FCC envelope.   You kidding me??  That was FANTASTIC.  Slow start?  Yes, but what a HUGE finish.

2. Cami Bradley:  One in a series of groups on this list where the *act* supercedes the action.  Here's what I mean.  Cami Bradley is an amazing singer and arranger.   Tonight, though, she took an Elvis Classic "Can't Help Falling in Love" and really twisted it around.  Great idea, but the outcome, at least to this mongo, was strange.   She really was out there when she got to the bridge... that bridge needs a more consistent cadence.  UB40 made it work, but Cami was kinda there but not all the way.  BUT... she's so tremendous to me, and her innate talent is going to advance.  I'd be shocked if it didn't.

3. Forte:  Another such "act supercedes the action" group.   I've seen the act backwards and forwards, stand on pedastals in front of spotlights, sing a pop standard, get the guy in the middle to belt out some Placido Style Tenor, women drop panties and throw roses.  I know I know, Dave you're such a downer, etc... I thought their vocal performances were pretty good.  They're IN... not even a doubt.  but me personally?  I can't get into it.

4. The Bearded Guitarist Guy (forgot his name): I thought he did great!   Taking a Spice Girls song and making it his own (without going too crazy in the manner Cami did) although he came close with his personal "beatbox" peppering the song.  It was *different* but I enjoyed it.  The crowd enjoyed it.  3 out of the 4 judges enjoyed it.  Howard Stern RIPPED it, but I think he ripped his choice of the song more than the actual performance.  What I think he objected to was the idea of Bearded Man pandering to a former Spice Girl.  I understand Stern completely, but nonetheless, a fun, tremendous job!

5. Catapult Entertainment: Yet another "act supercedes the action" group.   Here's the thing.  Usually their performance is able to have a beginning, middle, and an end, all within 90 seconds.  Tonight, it was all over the place.  Stunning imagery, great theater and precision, but, I don't really know what the message/theme/story was.   Again, I think they've shown so much great talent that they gotta make it to the next round.  Hopefully America makes the right choice.

6. Collins Key:  A little long winded tonight... I won't say he's as predictable (not literally but semantically) as Dittleman last year (ooh look!  I just created an outcome using an unspoken equation!!  Are you not entertained??), but you saw some of the same general ideas from his last act:  Get a bunch of lists together, concatenate one outcome, wow the audience with the visual illustration and showmanship.  I thought he pulled it off... but as I think either Stern or Mandel said, it would have played out a lot better if he had more time to execute the "predict the date" trick.  He's got a great stage presence and some scintillating ideas, though, so I think he ought to make it to the Finals.  and good luck w/ that babe he netted from the audience!

Overall, a fun night on #AGT.  Hopefully the results play out as predicted.  I really would be quite shocked if more than half this list missed out.   Honestly, the misses were obvious misses -- borderline semifinalists who didn't really take their act to another level (although Red Panda was on her way if she didn't drop any bowls).  The hits were obvious hits, whether from their previous rounds or whatever they did last night.  The two that are borderline are *probably* bearded dude and Taylor... I always have a suspicion that comedy is quite subjective and you know how families and soccer moms might vote on that... not that highly.  Taking this further, of the six projected finalists... the two that improved upon their performance from the last round are Taylor and Bearded Dude.  I firmly believe that.   Getting nearly 10,000 people riled up at Radio City is damn near impossible and both of those guys did it.

Get this -- regardless of whether he advances, Taylor Williamson will be at the Hollywood Improv on Friday night.  DO THE DANCE!  My family will be joining me to check this out.  I will be sure to give him a HUGE ovation.

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Quickies, here we go...

At the risk of going spoiler, can you believe what's happening on Breaking Bad???  Well if you aren't sure, go check it out!

Can you believe the Dodgers are about to lose back to back series?  It's entirely believable, actually.  Teams tend to cool off after going on unprecedented historic winning runs within a season.

I made a tactical error yesterday with my lunch selection.  First of all, I was too lazy to prep a peanut butter sandwich.  Then, I erred in not showing patience after the breakfast burger that morning -- I ordered a personal pizza and a soda.  They were good, but I felt like I could have easily saved the 5 bones.   Just didn't feel right, plus it was relatively high calorie food.

I went home, saw coach there watching TV, then I decided not to do a regular dinner.  I finished the leftover fruit, ate a peach on top of the pineapple/strawberries/watermelon, and made a pop tart ice cream sandwich w/ just one pop tart in half.

Legs are still sore, and yesterday was nuts... I was like an old man relying on the hand rail to get down stairs... walking with a limp and all that, but it's improved a good deal from yesterday morning.  That six mile run though -- worth it.

What would Mitch Hedberg have been like at Radio City Music Hall?  We'll never know now.  R.I.P. Mitch.

There were death rumors about Jackie Chan?  Good lord, what is wrong with people!  Seems like a good dude at least.. his movies had that balance of excitement and humor.  Some of them were corny but so what?

I'm more prepared for lunch today -- two peanut butter sandwiches.  Coffee is expected to compliment this.

Oooh, sad news for swimming fans: Chloe Sutton is moving out of California and into North Carolina.   She cited several reasons for moving, primarily the interest in the new coach out there.  It's a little bizarre that she so suddenly decided to move across the country.   However, I feel like, from a competitive standpoint, her talent plateaued with her recent international performances.  She must think this new coach in NC can bring out that much more in her.  I wish Chloe the best of luck.


but!  Happier news for swimming fans:  We now have World Record Elite Swimmer Missy Franklin in the Pac 12.  She now swims with Cal, good ole Cal!   Out here in LA, that mean's we'll get to see her swim live at UCLA on February 1st.  Huge, HUGE moment for those of us on campus.  That's a Saturday, by the way, the Saturday before the Super Bowl.  It'll be a "super swim meet" all right!

An already defending championship caliber Cal Swim team gets the world's single greatest female swimmer.  This is the equivalent to the Dodgers getting Robinson Cano in the offseason.  One can say overkill, I'd say it's a great opportunity for an exemplary athlete to show his or her talents on a big stage.

This moment deserves a Coke!  Even in the morning.  Time to return to the other things, but we'll be back tomorrow.  See you then!