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May 29, 2007
The doctor is still in...
* Yup. There's still one more season finale left from the winter TV slate: Check out the final "House" of the season tonight at 9 on Fox.
* Major props to Comcast, which recently added A&E, HGTV and the Food Network to its HD lineup. Most of the content is in full widescreen mode, always a major plus.
* If you missed it on Sunday, catch HBO's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" tonight at 11.
* Are there any R.E.M. fans out there? The band just began recording its 14th album, which is due out sometime later this year. The band will play five "working rehearsal" concerts June 30-July 5 in Ireland. Wish I lived there.
* "Deadliest Catch" continues tonight at 8 on Discovery.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 3:02 PM | Comments (1)
May 23, 2007
The Beatles...
are being covered everywhere tonight, and the covers...not so good.
Waiting on the winner right now. Looks like they are going to run a little past 10 p.m. Mmmm.
New record: 74 million votes.
And here we go...the winner is: Jordin Sparks!
Posted by Andy Ravens at 9:52 PM | Comments (0)
Taylor Hicks...
is on the stage now. He looks bad and sounds bad. Can I change the channel, please?
He's snapping, singing and dancing.
And now here comes...Jordin Sparks and Ruben Studdard! He's looking good and lost a ton of weight. These two make a nice pair.
Commercial time!
Posted by Andy Ravens at 9:30 PM | Comments (0)
Sanjaya is back...
They're doing a little tribute to Sanjaya now. The man who made it further than most thought. He's now performing with Joe Perry from Aerosmith, a band that jumped the shark a long time ago, but is now sinking to a new, ugly level.
That fan blowing Sanjaya's hair is pretty lame.
And now here's Green Day with a live performance. Good stuff, I'm just wondering why they'd want to be on this show? Oh well. Are they sell outs? Maybe. No punk rock band in the 70s would appear on a show like this, would they?
Posted by Andy Ravens at 9:16 PM | Comments (0)
Carrie Underwood...
She's on the stage now. Wow, I think she's the most talented winner of "American Idol," and tonight's performance puts an "!" mark on that! She's singing "I'll Stand By You."
Six million album sales...that's what Carrie Underwood was just recognized for.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:59 PM | Comments (0)
Tony Bennett...
is on the stage. He's my favorite American Idol. :)
Melinda Doolittle...what a voice! She deserved to win. Oh well, she'll be all right.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:47 PM | Comments (0)
Top Six Girls...
are performing now. Sounds good. They're singing "I Heard It Through The Grape Vine." Very nice. Lookin' forward to the group's singing tour.
Gladys Knight is now joining them..wow, she sounds and looks great.
Paula's clapping and singng...her nose looks better. :)
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)
Beatboxing 101
Blake is a beatboxing with two other dudes right now, including Doug E. Fresh. Sounds great. This kid's got a future album regardless of tonight's outcome.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:27 PM | Comments (0)
Top 12
Seacrest tells us that our Top 12 favorites are back...
It's been five years since she took the title, but here she is after 14 million record sales...Kelly Clarkson...singing her new song...pretty good. Word is she wrote this one herself.
Jerry Springer is in the house...I think I just saw him.
Golden Idols, which are some sort of wierd joke:
Best Presentation Award goes to: Margaret Fowler, some crazy woman in a yellow suit.
Wow, Fox really doesn't know how to stretch two hours...
And now the Top Six Guys singing...wow, there's Sanjaya.
Smokey Robinson on the stage now...he's begging us to stay. Smokey looks good in a nice white suit. But it's not after Memorial Day!!
Paula's lovin'. She's dancing up a storm.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)
Let the games begin...
We are live from the Ravens Media Center, awaiting the start of the season finale of "American Idol."
stay tuned...
160 million are watching tonight's episode, according to Seacrest....
"I Saw Her Standing There," sung by the two finalists. It really shows Jordin is the better singer, but Blake has got that "stage appeal."
According to some radio stations, Jordin will win by a wide margin...but that could just be a nasty rumor...
Posted by Andy Ravens at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)
Idol blogging
It's the calm before the storm...tune in here tonight for more live blogging during the season finale of "American Idol," which airs at 8 on Fox. I'll be back.
-Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 9:56 AM | Comments (1)
May 22, 2007
Jordin's Lookin' Good
Celts get the fifth pick..the bad luck continues...wow.
Back to "Idol"
"This Is My Now," sung by Jordin Sparks. She cried at the end. Rather touching. Judges:
Randy: You were the best singer tonight.
Paula: You have a lot to be proud of. Great night.
Simon: It is a singing competition and you just wiped the floor with Blake on that one.
Jordin looks like she is well on her way. Overall, a good show. I think Jordin will win. She is the best singer. Well, I'm out of here. Check in tomorrow night at 8 for my live blogging during the season finale!
Later,
Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:47 PM | Comments (0)
Blake's last stand!
This is going by fast, the "Idol" show that is...
4-1, Sox (for those not flipping channels during the commercial breaks!)
Blake is singing "This Is My Now," written by two dudes from Seattle. Blake wears gold shoes. Hee. He has some interesting tats on his arms, too. Girls love the Blake. Judges:
Randy: Pretty good job.
Paula: Great job on the song.
Simon: It was all a little odd. You looked a bit frustrated.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:39 PM | Comments (0)
Jordin's Turn
More old photos and videos of Jordin. Oh, how cute.
Jordin will sing Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing." She sings better than Blake. Round Two to Jordin, in my opinion. Crowd seems to love her. I think she's gonna win the whole thing tomorrow night. We shall see. Mrs. Ravin' with Ravens throws her two cents in: "That was really good. I don't like country, but I liked that." Thanks, hun.
Judges?
Randy: Most talented 17-year-old singer I have ever seen.
Paula: You are in great, great vocal voice tonight (that's what she said, word for word).
Simon: He liked it.
Jordin is feelin' good. Seacrest thinks it's a battle. Commericial time!
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:32 PM | Comments (0)
Blake's Second Song...
So we got some old photos and videos of Blake as a kid and how he became the great beat boxer that he is today...
Blake is up again. He's singing Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved." Oh Blake! You really can't sing, dude. He can't hit the high notes. Jordin is going to take Round Two. I'm calling it now. Yeesh. It's tough to watch Blake when he's not beat boxing.
Randy: He likes it! Huh?
Paula: You sounded great.
Simon: It was good. It was safe. (not as good as the first performance).
FYI: Blake has never seen an "Idol" finale...until now.
Commercial time...
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:22 PM | Comments (0)
Round One to Blake??
Waiting on a commerical here. Whoa! 4-0 Sox. Mike Lowell just went deep (I missed that one).
All righty, back to Fox, let's see what we have here. Long commericial break. At least three minutes by my count. Time for a "So You Think You Can Dance" promo. Doesn't look too interesting. On the other hand, the season finale of "House" looks good.
Each will sing three songs.
Blake Lewis sings first. He's singing "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. He's got that beat box thing going again. Very cool and original. He's moving around a lot. He still can't sing, but he does sound effects just as good as that guy from "Police Academy." Randy Jackson gives him a 10 out of 10 for beat boxing, but everyone agrees he lacks singing, but gives a great performance. Simon liked it.
By the way, Randy Jackson looks like he's wearing a jacket borrowed from Michael Jackson.
And here's Jordin Sparks. She's singing a Christina Aguilera song called "Fighter." Sparks is a better singer, but I think she's boring. She fits the "Idol" champ mold, though. Let's see what the judges say:
Randy: You were stellar.
Paula: You were stellar (original, Paula)
Simon: I'm gonna call Round One to Blake.
Commercial Time!
Posted by Andy Ravens at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
"Idol" Blog Begins
OK, so if you are like me, you're trying to keep an eye on the Sox-Yankees score (3-0, Sox) and an eye out for the NBA Lottery (EPSN, 8:30 p.m.) where the Celts have a chance for the No. 1 pick. And watch "Idol" all at the same time. Impossible? No way!
So here we go...the show started with 100,000 contestants Wow. Kodak Theater looks packed.
Paula said she tripped over her dog Tulip, broke her nose and Seacrest goes.."So, the ^&*%$ is OK?" Yikes. Line of the night??? Paula looks like she is wearing a ton of makeup and a fake nose. Mmmm.
OK, now we have a recap of Seattle, where both finalists, Blake and Jordin, auditioned.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 7:58 PM | Comments (0)
Live! (from my home)
We'll blog live tonight from the Ravens Media Center during the first part of the "American Idol" finale (8 p.m., Fox). We'll also be on hand during tomorrow night's two-hour "Idol" blowout.
It should be interesting to see how Paula's doing — apparently she broke her nose, but will appear. Mmmm, wonder how she did that? Tripping over her dog? I don't think so...
Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 3:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2007
She's On The Lot
Former Chelmsford native Hilary Wiseman Graham is one of 50 semi-finalists on Steven Spielberg's new reality TV show, "On The Lot." Graham now lives in Francestown, NH. Good luck! For more visit the official Web site.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 2:56 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
"American Idol"
**FYI: If you're interested in having your comments heard in my forthcoming "American Idol" story in The Sun e-mail me at aravens@lowellsun.com.**
Idol Breakdown
Melinda Doolittle has the best voice, but America doesn’t care.
The “American Idol” odds on favorite was ousted Wednesday evening, leaving Fox’s big karaoke contest with two remaining contestants: 17-year-old Jordin Sparks and 25-year-old Blake Lewis.
I’ll go out on limb here and predict three years from now you won’t recall anything about Sparks or Lewis, but you will remember Doolittle’s rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Believe in You and Me.”
But the show never really was about finding a true winner, fulfilling dreams or even the snappy judges: It’s all about the ratings, baby.
While “American Idol” ratings remain off by about 10 percent compared to years past, the show is still ranked No. 1 with an average of 25 to 28 million viewers per episode. Still, a recent episode of Fox’s medical drama “House” bested “Idol.”
But if I were host Ryan Seacrest or judge and executive producer Simon Cowell, I wouldn’t be shaking in my stage boots. There’s still plenty of bad and good singers left to grace the good old tube.
Later,
Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2007
You're Out!
NBC today officially canned "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" when it announced its Fall 2007 TV lineup. Also gone is "Crossing Jordan." Smell ya later...
Here to stay?
"Friday Night Lights," "30 Rock," and "The Office." — all good news.
Equally cool news...viewers can expect a "Heroes" spinoff show this fall.
Click here for more about NBC's new lineup.
Don't forget: season finale of "How I Met Your Mother" airs tonight at 8 on CBS, followed by the series finale of "The King of Queens." Do you care? Maybe you do...
I'll try to make it through an entire episode of "24" tonight without making a sarcastic comment, but that will be like trying to remove a coffee stain from an off-white shirt (yes, that happened to me recently and I CAN'T get it out).
I watched "The Omen," HBO's Saturday night new movie of the week this week. It was about as good as the last sentence I wrote — lazy and disjointed.
OK, that's all for now. Time to go blow dry my hair.
Latah,
Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 3:35 PM | Comments (2)
May 10, 2007
Fightin' Chance
Update on the Micky Ward movie:
The state’s film office believes the big budget movie about boxer Micky Ward’s life still has a chance to be filmed in Lowell if state legislators change a law that places a cap on tax incentives for production companies.
“I don’t think a final decision has been made,” Massachusetts Film Office Executive Director Nicholas Paleologos said. “I think we are absolutely in the running for it. Paramount (Pictures) — they want to make it here, but we have to remove that obstacle.”
Paleologos said he has not heard any opposition to removing the cap. “I understand the governor (Deval Patrick) wants to do it (file legislation) with the speaker and senate,” he said. “We’re waiting for it to be filed.”
Paleologos has also heard rumors that the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, has quietly scouted parts of Lowell over the past few weeks. “Paramount would not do that if they weren’t serious about making it here,” he said.
The film, tentatively titled "The Fighter," appears to still have a fighting chance to be made here in Lowell.
— Andrew Ravens
Posted by Andy Ravens at 3:14 PM | Comments (2)
Pirates of Greater Lowell
Looks like there's a local contestant in CBS' latest reality TV show.
Check it out here!
Posted by Andy Ravens at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)
May 8, 2007
Ugly Andy
I dived headfirst into the men's fashion world recently (our resident fashion expert is on vacation) and wanted to post my story that leads today’s Lifestyles page. Check it out:
By Andrew Ravens
aravens@lowellsun.com
BURLINGTON — I met with clothing guru Ken Fox last week to discuss this year’s “do’s” and “don’t’s” in men’s fashion. His first “don’t” caught me a little off guard.
“First off,” Fox said smiling, “Don’t shop anywhere other than Kaps.”
Fox, of course, is referring to the high-end men’s clothing store he manages in the Burlington Mall that also has locations in Andover, Marblehead and Wellesley. With that shameless — albeit tongue-and-cheek — plug out of the way, Fox covered men’s clothing head to toe.
“Fashion has changed over the years,” he said. “Anything goes — you’re seeing stripes with plaids.”
Although seemingly “anything goes,” there are still some rules and guidelines that haven’t changed: Men should still make sure their belt and shoes match; heavy or short people should stay clear of horizontal patterns; and cuffs on flatfront pants are a big “no-no.”
“The biggest mistake people make — they don’t think — especially men,” Fox said, explaining that men should lay out a few different clothing options on their bed before work.
Consider a few suits with a couple of different tie and shirt options rather than just pulling random items from the closet and immediately trying them on, Fox said. A little extra time and creativity can go a long way.
Here are some other fashion tidbits to get you or your favorite guy back on track:
Do:
• Wear jeans with a suit jacket in a casual setting and rock a sport shirt — untucked — underneath.
• Wear your tie with a big knot.
• Match shoes with belt. A brown belt should be worn with brown shoes and a black belt should be worn with black shoes.
• Match cufflinks with your watch.
• Shine your shoes (women pay attention to detail).
• Wear colorful shirts.
• Buy a blue dress shirt because it’s versatile.
• Deviate from the traditional white dress shirt.
Don’t:
• Wear a winter ski parka with dress slacks. Try a knee length coat.
• Wear white sneakers with jeans (unless you’re out gardening in your back yard).
• Wear horizontal stripes if you are short or heavy.
• Wear true navy blue with black; however, an off-navy blue color may work with black.
• Wear button-down collars with double-breasted suits.
• Choose cuffs on flatfront pants.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 10:35 AM | Comments (2)
May 7, 2007
"Lost" finds the end
It's been widely speculated and finally confirmed: ABC's "Lost" will run for 48 more episodes and end during the 2009-10 season. This is good news for those of us who want answers to the show's curious questions. I doubt every question will be answered within the 48 episodes, but having an "endgame" means we'll likely get some sense of satisfaction.
"Lost" is an interesting show. I've gone through periods where it frustrates me to the highest levels, only to have it bring me back to the "edge-of-my-seat." It's great television. It makes mistakes at times, but overall it's one of those appointment TV programs we all come to enjoy...just like "24" used to be.
Check out this link for more "Lost" info.
Anyone with extra tickets to the Sox-Yankees series in early June — when Clemens likely returns to Fenway — kindly shoot me an e-mail. :)
Enjoy the weather today,
Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 1:53 PM | Comments (1)
May 4, 2007
New on Video
Here's a look at a few new DVD movies coming out on Tuesday:
"Music and Lyrics" ($19.99) — Hugh Grant stars as Alex Fletcher, a washed-up singer who is given a few days to compose a hit song for an aspiring teenage star. Drew Barrymore co-stars. Grant — the actor — is by no means “washed up,” but the British actor could use a pick-me-up.
"Because I Said So" ($19.99) — Even by chick-flick standards, this one is brutal. Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore star in the story of a meddling mom who tries to find the perfect man for her youngest daughter. Apparently that involves placing a classified ad. I’ve never read so many amusing one-star reviews about a movie on the Internet. “Prepare to have your IQ painfully sucked out of your brain,” is my favorite line from one reviewer.
"Breaking and Entering" ($21.99) — Jude Law, Vera Farmiga, Juliette Binoche and Robin Wright Penn all appear in this drama about a tumultuous affair (aren’t they all?) and a string of robberies in London. Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") directs.
"Catch & Release" ($19.99) — First things first: Any time Timothy Olyphant’s (HBO’s "Deadwood") name pops up on my computer screen I am bound by fans of the canceled cable TV series to express my profound love for it and disappointment with HBO for cutting it short. Ahem. "Catch & Release" is a quirky comedy-drama that stars Olyphant, Jennifer Garner, Sam Jaeger and Kevin Smith. It’s worth a look.
"The Painted Veil" ($19.99) — W. Somerset Maugham’s novel comes to life with the beautiful Naomi Watts and Edward Norton, who star as an English couple going through difficult times in 1920s China.
Posted by Andy Ravens at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 3, 2007
Are you a bad girl?
Folks from Oxygen TV's reality show, "The Bad Girls Club," will hold an open casting call this Saturday from 10 a.m. — 4 p.m. at The Comedy Connection, 1 Faneuil Hall Market Place in Boston.
The show's producers are looking for, well, seven "bad girls," who don't play by the rules to star in the second season of the series. They're looking for females, 21-27 years-old. Good luck.
Latah,
Andy
Posted by Andy Ravens at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)