I MISSED YOU!!

 But wait till you hear– all day yesterday– Sunday- I was at the MGM GRAND HOTEL in CONNECTICUT judging the GRAND FINALS of the Emmy Award winning COMMUNITY AUDITIONS! We taped on the same stage where LIONEL RICHIE played to a sold out 5000-seat crowd the night before.  Joining me on the bench were AMERICAN IDOL finalist AYLA BROWN, comedian STEVE SWEENEY, TV pro and radio’s “Says You” panelist BARRY NOLAN, BOSTON drummer SIB HASHIAN, FARRENHEIT’S CHARLIE FARREN, and MAGIC 106.7’s Candy O’Terry. Our “stars of the day” (for those who remember the reference) were truly entertaining. I’m talking fabulous singers, all kinds: blues, soul, hip hop, country, pop, rock n’ roll, gospel, jazz (earlier in the season we even had one contestant who sang opera!).
I AM NOT ALLOWED TO TELL YOU WHO WON YET. But I can invite you to watch COMMUNITY AUDITIONS on WBZ Channel 4– Saturdays at midnight, Sundays at 12:30, and TV 38 Friday nights at 9:30!
Hello Dave Maynard!!!
Now onto BROKEN EMBRACES. Penelope Cruz reunites with the Spanish director who nurtured the young beauty’s talent–(LIVE FLESH, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) Pedro Almodovar. The only director to get the same caliber work from Cruz was Woody Allen in last season’s VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. Here Cruz is wildly manipulated by a complex script that ricochets back and forth in time, and thrusts Cruz into many roles: whore, actress,wife, mistress, in a tragic love knot peppered with melodrama and comedy. The plot involves a blind filmmaker and his muse, lover, leading lady–Lena (Cruz) who wears many wigs, and appears topless (there were audible gasps at her gorgeousness among the critics at the screening; I think I was one of them.)But the film is more cerebral than febrile; it left me a little cold. But it’s fascinating. There’s a character with a camera that is key to the denouement, and it put me in mind of CINEMA PARADISO. Suffice it to say that Almodovar seems more enamored of film than anything else here, and its power to reveal and heal–even when the director is blind–or maybe, because of it. Do see BROKEN EMBRACES and hug a movie today.
Finally, because I’ve left you three days blogless, here’s a little stocking stuffer early.
Goodnight–
and stay tuned!!
BE SURE TO READ THE CAPTION UNDER THE PICTURE!!!!
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Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations.  The bad news is that I had to take him down after two days.  I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever.  Great stories.  But two things made me take it down.
First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.
Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn’t realize that it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy).  By the way, she was one of the many people who attempted to do that.  My yard couldn’t take it either.  I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard.”

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