Top Chef - New Judge

In this episode, Fabio starts the day by making everyone breakfast of Spam and pork and beans. You are a chef for goodness sake and this is breakfast, put some eggs in it!

Breakfast over, it's time for the quick fire challenge with guest judge Jean Christophe Novelle. The challenge is the dreaded dessert challenge. Everyone doesn't seem as horrified as in Top Chefs past until Padma announces that they can't use sugar then everyones jaws hit the floor. They all come up with creative dishes which Jean Christophe, being his bad French self says "interesting" about the dishes he didn't like. We will see how well JC does when his show, Chef Academy begins. He will probably Ooh, La, La all the way to the bank! Radhika wins the challenge and immunity by making a whole wheat bread pudding.

Padma tells the chefs that Gail will be replaced with English food critic Toby Young. Apparently he is the Simon Cowell of the food world. Should be interesting. The elimination challenge is to make a family style meal for a blind taste test in which 2 chefs will be packing their knives. Fabio is so busy ragging on everyone that he doesn't check his lamb and it comes out under cooked. Karma! In another twist, the chefs are split into 2 groups with each group acting as judges for the other without knowing who cooked what.

After Toby's scathing comments for the first group, "I've found the weapons of mass destruction and they are in this bowl!", the second group is off and cooking. Toby was more impressed by the second group. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with. At judge's table, he actually got Chef Tom to see his side of things. Jamie finally wins a challenge by redeeming her scallops. It comes down to Carla, Gene and Melissa. Poor Gene, I really liked him and hoped he would do better but his snapper dish was a mess! Melissa's tuna tacos didn't sit well with the judges which surprised me because I'm thinking how can you mess up tuna tacos? Well Melissa did and her and Gene are told to pack their knives and go. Pictures are not available to add but I did find these of Gene and Melissa. Double D

Gone Country Season 3

In a nutshell-

George Clinton snores loud, likes Fruit Loops and cracks his tooth.

George Clinton goes to the dentist.

George is snoring in the dentist chair.

Task-write a group song.

Group wants to write a lively light song.

Richard Grieco walks out.

Richard Grieco has anger and control issues.

Group outing-a forest trip where they are to climb a pole.

Richard Grieco has anger and control issues.

Richard Grieco walks out on the group.

Richard Grieco admits to a fear of heights.

Pairing as a team, Tara and Richard walk a tightrope.

Richard Grieco wants to control the situation.

Tara coaxes Richard to let go of the control stuff.

Tara becomes the Doctor Phil of the group.

Richard Grieco breaks down.

Richard cries.

Richard smiles.

Group hug.

Everyone becomes all warm and fuzzy.

Compose group song on bus back home.

Group song light and lively.

George cracks his tooth again-ouch!

Single D

Ghost Hunters International - Peru

Puerto Bermudez, Peru, Robb is back with Dustin, Irish Barry (my fave, he makes me laugh) along with new members Brandy and Angela, travel to Lima, Peru to investigate the Real Felipe Fortress which was built in 1747. The King's tower is the site of a dungeon and has reports of shadows. People hear voices in the Queen's tower as well as the apparition of a small boy. People also report having a feeling of wanting to jump off the tower. A small child is also seen in the Governor's house on the property.

Barry & Brandy start in the Governor's house and hear a loud bang. Barry comments that he would be impressed if "he" could do that again and they hear another bang. Just when they were getting excited that they may be communicating with a spirit, it turns out to be fireworks. After the initial let down, Barry & Brandy continue their investigation and see a full body apparition!

Dustin & Angela do EVP work in the Queen's tower and get responses to questions on the EMF detector but don't see the boy or get the urge to jump off the tower.

Robb, along with local investigator Paul, investigate the dungeon. Robb asks for a sign and hears footsteps. Paul asks, in Spanish, if there is anyone there and Robb sees a flash of light which could have been from the fireworks.

The findings include an EVP saying "Reina" which means Queen in Spanish, video of a shadow moving on the ramp leading into the fortress and the best piece of evidence was a video of an apparition of a small child which gave me goose bumps! With that, Robb declares the fortress haunted. Double D

The Bachelor-Jason, Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry

This is the musical talent show episode. Shannon is choosing to do a rap tune because that is what Jason did on the Bachelorette. Nikki is scared to death having to do something out of her comfort zone. She's in the bathroom ranting about how she can't do this. I'm like thinking who is she talking to? The toilet or the cameraman? I thought Lauren had the best song and maybe is hoping to get discovered? And our girl Stephanie, what else would a girl sing who constantly wears her hair piled high on her head? Opera of course! But it's Molly that Jason picks out of all of them. Here it's a tent date with burgers and smores. Shannon is saying that she's gonna wait up for Molly to come home, but Molly doesn't show up until the next morning wearing what else, but Jason's clothes. Once the girls get a load of that, they all walk off to their respective rooms, umph! The group date the girls are taken to the set of General Hospital and everyone gets to play like actors in a scene with Jason. For the trial kiss, Shannon quickly volunteers. Mostly this is how many girls can Jason make out with. I'm like thinking, did he sanitize his mouth after kissing each girl, because would that be like kissing the previous girl's germs on Jason's mouth? Yuck! When it was Megan's turn, gawd, I thought she was going to swallow Jason whole. At the wrap party every one's pretty wound up and tense after all that kissing. It was like the girls were feeling a bit guilty like they had just shot an X-rated film! Contrary to what Megan says, she is jealous, hey honey join the group! One side note, Melissa and Megan are the same age, but doesn't Megan look so much older? Maybe it's because she has a kid. Shannon's alone time with Jason is a mix of snot and tears. Ok, she had to blow her nose, but did she have to pick it and get black napkin all over her nose and lips? When she went in for the kiss Jason pulled back. Who could blame him? All that snot and slime! But I was rooting for her, stalker tendencies and all. Every time Shannon talks to Jason, Jason has that look like he's just seen the dog poop in the kitchen. And even though Lauren was the best girl there keeping her composure and asking Jason why did you keep Megan, what do you like her? She doesn't get the rose, that went to Naomi. You have to give snaps to Lauren for asking the burning questions that everyone is dying to know, but afraid to ask.

The two on one date, otherwise known as three's a crowd date, are Stephanie and Nikki with one of them surely going home. They each get treated to a ball gown and are taken to a secluded restaurant. How romantic, oh yeah, it's a threesome. There's a teacher there to give them waltzing lessons. Nikki again goes into iron robot stance because she can't deal. Stephanie swoops in like she's some kind of queen of Sweden or something showing off her dance moves. Once Nikki gets up the courage, it's a game of tag you're it. Very awkward and weird. Poor Jason, he looked like a rag doll being pulled by two bratty girls. I thought for a horrifying second that he was going to keep Nikki, because that is his body type, but thankfully, he kept Stephanie, although, I don't see any attraction between them, just that she'd be a good mommy.

The rose ceremony, Jason has to get rid of two girls. He gives out a rose to Jillian and Melissa, but when it came to give out the last rose with three girls standing, our puppy Shannon, Lauren and Megan, I was like give it to Lauren but when he pulled back and put the rose down, I was like OMG, he's letting all three go. Well, I guess why keep them hanging on? Poor Shannon, she really was winning points with me but I was doing my little happy dance when Megan was sent packing. The look on her face- priceless! Go back home Megan, do your charity work and have people thank their lucky stars they met you!-Single D

I have to chime in on this episode. Shannon got SO out of control, it was pretty scary! She was crying for Jason to come home with her, she wants to meet Ty, you can't let me go, etc. If that doesn't scream stalker I don't know what does. Then she said something about an electric toothbrush and french kissing her dog. Weirdo! Glad she's gone. And Lauren pretty much demanding that Jason give her a rose, big red flag there. I'm thinking future hen pecker. Glad she's gone. Then there was Megan who says there is something between her and Jason but Jason just isn't seeing it. Really glad her and her potty mouth is gone. Don't these women get psychological testing before going on the show, especially when there is a child involved? I'm sure Jason's eyes were opened further than he expected on this episode. Then there was Nikki. When she found out that her and Stephanie were going on the threesome date, she goes on about how Stephanie has a kid, has had a husband and now it's her turn. Is she kidding? Sounds like Nikki would marry the first guy who asked. Poor slob. She needs to do less planning and do more living. That's it for the bad girls, now for the ones I like. I'm pulling for Jillian, her and Jason seem to get along great and have a lot of fun together. We'll see how she is with Ty this week. I would love for Stephanie to be one of the finalists but I just don't see any chemistry. Unless she loosens up and lets her hair down (literally) I see her going home soon. Molly is starting to grow on me but there is still something there that I just don't trust, like she is being fake or something. I just can't put my finger on it. I still think Melissa could grow up a little more but I like her. I didn't like Naomi at first, she seems like a nice person but I'm not seeing her with Jason, at least not yet. This week's dates in Seattle could shake things up. Double D

Gone Country-Season 3 Premiere

Gone Country premieres with a cast that I barely recognize and the only reason why I am watching it this time around is that I happened to see Justin Guarini on the commercials. You know Justin from Idol fame, second runner up to Kelly Clarkson and co-star of famed flopped movie "From Justin to Kelly"? This I am interested in seeing. Justin Guarini a country singer? I think not! With the exception of Justin the only other one I recognize is Micky Dolenz of the Monkee's fame. I can remember in junior high that my best friend Terri was so in love with the Monkees. She even wrote their names in pen on the back of her green corduroy jacket which later that day in school someone hocked the biggest lugee on it! Me, I was crazy about Herman Hermits. Ah Peter Noone with his crooked teeth and boyish grin. Mrs. Brown you've got a lovely daughter....

Anyway, I suppose I should know Taylor Dayne, name sounds familiar but couldn't tell you any of her songs and Sheila E, she's another one. When Richard Grieco entered, I'm like he looks familiar but what from? And then they said, "21 Jump Street". I'm like OMG! I so recognize him, but who knew he sang? Recognizing Richard was like attending one's 25 year high school reunion and being unable to recognize the popular quarterback. Richard keeps telling us that he cuts records in Europe and is known there, I'm like why? Maybe he sounds better to Europeans, you know language barrier and all that.

Joining the cast is Tara Conners, Miss America or as she said, Mess America. As she tells it, she's had some identity crisis after she won Miss America and to that I say, Oh boo hoo! And lastly joining the cast in his rainbow dreds is George Clinton, Godfather of funk. Yeah, but does he sing anything else? His puffy face shows a life of hard living, either that or he slept on his face. First stop for the crew is a trip to the Country Hall of Fame in Nashville where everyone is ooooing and ahhhing, except for Tara, who doesn't recognize anyone there. Singing in the rotunda is George Jones, I knew the first name was George! Gosh, I felt like Tara. Next stop is a nightclub, where the cast has to sing their first gig. Everyone is surprised that they will have to sing right there on the spot, especially Tara who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Here John Rich is on stage, once again larger than life.

First up is Sheila E banging quite effectively on the drums, did she even sing anything? Justin sang well, but still not seeing him country, or as someone said, it's the hair. Micky does his Last Train to Clarksville, one word WOW! Love it! GC sang his funk song (what else?) and Taylor sounded like a white Aretha Franklin. And then there was Tara....Tara, Tara, Tara. What is she thinking? Come on girl get real and get a real job.

All in all it's a cast of cast offs and has beens. Justin what were you thinking signing on to this show? I guess he can't jump start his singing career, but hey, you're great hosting on the TV Guide Channel and Idol chat!-Single D

The Bachelor-Jason Single Dad

Stephanie is the lucky bachelorette that gets the single date with Jason, much to Megan's grumbling that she left her kid at home. Well, like duh, you signed up for this! Stephanie tells the camera that today is her daughter Sophia's fourth birthday. Jason takes her to the beach where much to her shocking surprise Sophia coming running out. It really was such a touching scene, it almost brought tears to my eyes, almost. But I did see Jason tear up, maybe he was missing his Ty. Off they go to Legoland, where they have the entire park to themselves. WOW-my daughter says that would be neat, but lonely which I understood. Miss "you're hair is pulled to tight" is growing on me. I really wish she would let her hair down so her face won't look like she just got out of the plastic surgeon's office. I thought it was really cute when Jason gave her a lego rose and asked her to stay even though Legoland is not the most romantic of places to be. Stephanie had such a good time, I would have hated to see her go after she proclaims it to be the best day of her life. For the group date, Jason takes the group to a shop where they get to make a cast bust of themselves for Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser. Great idea, here Jason really gets to see what kind of shape the girls are in. First Jason strips down to his bare chest and has to put baby oil on his chest so the paper machie doesn't stick. Erica and Melissa jump right in to help slather that stuff all over his chest. Close your mouths girls! Next it's the girls turn to undress behind a screen which shows their shapes. Hey this is family TV! Shannon was so funny when she said that on her first date with Jason, he saw her naked and touched her breast, well, he helped put on the paper machie on her chest. Megan tells Jason that she's always doing some sort of charity work and that it's been so unusual for a week to go by when someone isn't thanking her for something she's done and saying how great she is. Oh my god, it just screamed look at me, look how great I am, I'm so wonderful! Yuck someone get me a puke bucket! If Jason falls for that crap then he's a real dunce cap. Next Nikki is showing her insecure side by not being able to have a normal conversation. Here we find out that she is some kind of control freak. She tells Jason that she always has a back up plan to the back up plan and that she has her toothbrush lined up with her toothpaste. OCD! Say it with me, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder! Can you say "Sleeping with the Enemy?"

Back at the ranch, Natalie gets the note that says she's the lucky one to get the next single date. Much to the dismay of the girls, it's the "Pretty Woman" date, jewels and a private jet ride to Vegas Baby! Jason says that he's taking her out because he wants to see if he she's deeper than her love for shoes and jewelry, but in the end he tells her goodbye as he whips off the jewelry off of her neck. Of course Natalie gets mad and then spills the beans that the other girls are not in it for the right reasons.

Elimination night it was a duel of how low can your dress go, battle of the clevages. Jason is perplexed about which one of the girls Natalie was talking about, so he tells Lauren what Natalie said, so Lauren tells him that it's Megan and Erica who are the troublemakers of the house. So when it comes to elimination time, Chris Hanson tells the group that Jason wants to get to the bottom of it all so he asks the girls to come clean. There was an awkward deer caught in the headlight, cue the crickets moment. No one wanted to come clean so Lauren told the group that basically it was Megan and Erica that caused the most trouble in the house. Megan, in her see my breast dress, was appalled acting like, who me? I would never say anything like that to Jason. Well, Ms I'm so in love with myself was spared the ax this week as Jason sends, Kari (poor thing we hardly even knew her) and Erica home. I'm wondering why Jason put Lauren on the spot like that and called her out in front of the girls? Maybe it was the urging of the producers. Double D thinks they control more than we see. Shannon meanwhile shows that she can't play in the big girl rink because she doesn't have the stomach for backstabbing which probably says alot about her even tho she still has stalker tendencies.-Single D

Momma's Boys-Finale

A mix bag of treats for this last installment of Momma's Boys, which I must secretly admit, I enjoyed. It was drama times three and the score, momma 1, boys 2.

Poor Jojo, since his mother was too selfish to bring along another girl for Jojo, his last and final date was with his mother. Now didn't I say previously that this was a little to Oedipal? The producers really played it up with Jojo and his mother walking on the beach, para sailing, and watching the sunset. Poor Jojo, even he said this was all a little too disturbing. Rob's last date was with Esther's pick, Lauren. They fly to St. Croix which looked totally amazing and have a romantic secluded date in a beach cove. Gads, I want to vacation on St. Croix just so I can go to this cove. Rob tells the camera that maybe his mother was right in her choice for him although he admits to his mother later that the first and last person he thinks of is Camilla. Michael's last date is with Erica, Penthouse Pet of the Year. Their last date is on a private yacht. Now that's my kind of living. I was glued to the set waiting for Erica to spill about her "real" job. When she tells Michael, he looked really pissed and hurt. When she gets back to the hotel she tells Lorraine about her dubious past as well. Mother Lorraine has her practically married to Michael so when Erica told her about Penthouse, Lorraine was like, oh well, I love you and that is not going to change how I feel about you, even though she totally was dismissive about Megan who posed for Playboy, Penthouse's polite cousin. Michael is like to his mother, do you know what kind of spread Penthouse does? I think not!

For the final elimination, first up is Rob with his choice of either Lauren or Camilla. He tells us should he go for the practical or for the passionate. Ah come on Rob, practical is Tupperware, do you want to settle for Tupperware when you can have crystal, or in this case Camilla? In the end, it was Rob who turned out to be a big momma's boy and chose Lauren because of his mother which he instantly regretted. Camilla did have the smug satisfaction that she really was Rob's first choice and you could so totally tell Rob was heartbroken. Esther you oughta be ashamed! I must tell you the first time I met my husband's Jewish family, me being Asian and all, but that's another post.

Next it's Michael's turn to chose between Erica or Amanda. His mother was hoping for Erica, nude photos and all, but I think Michael thought, how can I pick someone every guy in America will rush out to buy the latest Penthouse? In the end, Michael made the wise choice of picking Amanda the pre-med, 3 language student. They make a cute couple.

And lastly, Jojo's turn, to chose between his mother or Mindy. When Jojo was speaking and just about to tell Mindy, that he can't break his mother's heart, Mindy interrupts and tells Jojo that she doesn't think she could be with Jojo even though she really cares for Jojo because his mother is way too difficult to deal with. Really, ya think? Just then Jojo gets his inner strength on and tells his mother to take a hike because he's choosing Mindy. Go Jojo, he finally did find balls!

Conclusion:

Rob leaves the island vacation early and alone without Lauren.

Erica's contract with Penthouse ends and she travels to Florida to visit Lorraine (still hoping maybe that Michael will change his mind).

And....the producers offer Mrs. B counseling which she declined. - Single D

Book Review-The Twilight Series

When the movie "Twilight" first came out, I had never heard of it, didn't know what it was about and didn't in the least care to read it or so I thought. My daughter had heard of it, but hadn't read it. I guess it hadn't become the sensation here as it had in other parts of the country. But as the movie's popularity grew so did my interest, especially after I had read the reviews that it was a movie about a teen vampire. Eventually the feverish pitch of the movie made it way into my daughter's psyche's need to see it. I told her that movies are always better when one has read the book first, as books are always so much better than the movie, well in most cases. I'll do anything to get her to read more, so I bought the book "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer, but told her I was going to read it first as I had to screen it to see if it was appropriate for an eleven year old. Of course, I was not overly concerned as most of the theater audience comprised of tweeny to teens. I must admit I was secretly eager to read this vampire novel as I love a good vampire story and especially with this take on a high school girl falling for a high school boy whose a vampire. Now why didn't I come up with that original plot? I loved Ann Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" which of course set the standard for all vampire novels to follow. I liked her "Lestat" but her other novels that followed in that vampire vein lost my attention. She just didn't know when to leave the classic story line alone. "Twilight" is no 'Interview with the Vampire" to say the least, but it does tell a very compelling story that I skipped through this 400 some pages within a weekend. I found the characters very real and of course imaging them made all the more possible with it's theatrical release. I could definitely see it as a movie, ah like ya! "Twilight" makes a good read and a gripping story but it's not going to win any literary prizes. It's filled with pretty vampires that are more human than supernatural, rather prefer to dine on forest creatures than human creatures, don't sleep in coffins, in fact don't sleep at all, and are more polite than your average teenagers. It's a straight forward, gotcha at the seat of your pants reading. I'm thinking it's such a hit with the teens because Edward, the teen vampire, is totally hot and Bella, the awkward clumsy, pretty girl he falls for is your average girl next door. It's a love story made in vampire teen heaven, which I'm sure millions of teen girls are turning pages to see if they eventually kiss, which is exactly what my daughter is looking for.

When I finished "Twilight", my daughter took the book to school, to show off that she too was reading it.

"Twilight" was so good, I picked up installment two "New Moon", hoping that the love story would continue into the sequel. I don't want to reveal the entire storyline, but I was disappointed that "New Moon" takes a totally different turn revealing even more cast of characters of equal menace like the vampires. Did you know that the werewolf were the vampire's mortal enemy? Here Bella hardly even sees Edward which is totally disappointing. This read could have been a totally different series of books in this sequel. Bella is making new friends and travels great distances, to Italy of all places, oh yeah, who knew there is a vampire coven in Italy? Speaking of Italy, another great book that has that sinister vibe and takes place in Venice is Daphne du Maurier's short story, "Don't Look Now", see the movie with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christi. Now back to "New Moon", the whole premise of book two seems somewhat outrageous and decadent. There is one horrific vampire scene which was reminiscent of Rice's Vampire Chronicles and left me with chills.

As I was disappointed with "New Moon", but I still want to finish out the series and am now in the middle of "Eclipse" which is proving slow and steady, no hasty intent on racing to the finish line although my daughter spilled the beans and said that the third book is when Bella gets bitten. Well, didn't we know that was coming anyway? I still have my hopes that "Eclipse" will get better with the increasing pages, but it is not quite the page turner that "Twilight" held over me. Parts of the story tends to meander and roam like filler of styrofoam in a package, you just want to get to the good parts. So stay tuned for my conclusion of "Eclipse" and my review of the last book in the series "Breaking Dawn" which I'm sure won't be Stephanie Meyer's last word on the whole subject, look at JK Rowling, didn't she spin out the Harry Potter series into seven or so books?-Single D

Henry

Henry-too cute in his sweater!-Single D

Momma's Boys-Caribbean Dates

Well it's almost a wrapped up for this season's momma's boys and it looks like momma's boys maybe cutting the apron strings with the exception of Michael, who has shown that he doesn't have any back bone. He lets his mother Lorraine do the dirty job of axing Meghan. He says he can't chose and that it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Oh boo hoo! I think the hardest thing he'll ever have to do is stand up to his mother. So what if Meghan's a playboy bunny, at least she's probably got bank.

Next it's Rob's turn to send one of his girls home. He had such a hot date with Camilla, he even bought her jewelry, isn't that somewhat of a commitment? I'm wondering if Camilla is just in it for the game against Esther. Somehow I was trying to picture Rob and Camilla married. Kinda of a stretch but hey, maybe it could work. I've seen couples like that, but one thought always comes to mind, the guy must be rich. Camilla of course would have to convert to Judaism which I'm not picturing. Esther was hoping he would get rid of Camilla and keep Nikki, but Rob took it like a man and chose Camilla over her, but it was not without his sniffling that he broke Nikki's heart and his mother's. Wa wa. His mother should get down on her knees that someone like Camilla would even look twice at Rob, oye vey, he's not exactly Brad Pitt. More like Brad Pitty. But I was glad he kept Camilla although mother Esther is pining her hopes for Lauren.

Lastly, Jojo stood up to the wrath of his demonic mother. Mommy dearest his just not feeling it for both girls. Now you would think with them being white and all Mrs. B would be happy. Well she's not and she's really not feeling it for Mindy and makes the offensive comment that her boobs are too big! Whoa Mrs. B have you looked down lately. Your boobs are huge and going south fast! Let's face it, with all the drama Mrs. B puts on about the color of one's skin, it was all just a pretense. She just doesn't think and will never think that anyone will be good enough for her Jojo. That woman needs therapy. Didn't Shakespeare write about this forbidden Oedipal lusting? At least Jojo stood up to her and followed his heart by telling Mindy that he was falling for her. Hurrah. Now it remains to be seen if he can stand behind his decision. -Single D

The Bachelor-Jason Single Dad

The bachelorettes move into the villa in Malibu. At first I'm like thinking where is this place? Looks more like Palm Springs than Malibu. If I owned a mansion in Malibu, it better have an ocean view. My sister-in-law Nancy, pet sits for the doctor she works for and he has a condo in Malibu. It's like walk down the steps and out onto the beach. She says nothing is better that lying in the bedroom hearing the surf pounding the shore. Now that's my idea of Malibu. Don't get me wrong, that mansion is beautiful. It reminds me of some Italian Villa in Siena. The girls finally get to move in. Where did they stay before? That day, Jason makes a stop at the mansion to get some casual time on with the girls before the serious dating thing begins. Jason joins the girls at the pool and then does a strip tease down to his trunks. You could see all eyes rivet to Jason slo mo pulling off his shirt. Did he do that on purpose? I know he must have loved that. What guy wouldn't? Shannon is the first to be aggressive and tells Jason she wants to rub sunscreen on his back, all the while professing her love and knowledge of his entire history, can you say stalker! She's downright scary and desperate. Stephanie wants one on one time, but isn't aggressive enough against all the sharks. The pool party rose goes to Jillian, you know, hot dog mystic from Canada. Jason takes Jillian to the Disney Concert Hall somewhere in L.A. Never heard of it and never heard of the lounge singer, Robin Thicke. Is he Alan Thicke's brother or something? I guess he's best left in the lounges. I found the whole thing awkward and corny.

Melissa gets the second date, She drives me crazy, just a little too perky, Miss Cheerleader. Melissa gets a lunch on the beach, my kind of date but she seems really too young for him and much too young to assume the role of mother. While on the beach, a blimp hovers over head. There Melissa with prompting from Jason tells her to ask it (the blimp) questions like it were the magic eight ball or something. The blimp ask if they would like a ride. I'm like thinking, yo remember the Hindenburg? Oh yeah, they're both too young! sigh!

The third date is the group date where Jason takes everyone clothes shopping. Hey, these girls lucked out. Next it's on to another pool party where Jason attempts to get his groove on. White guys just can't dance. Molly out of the bunch gets the final rose.

Raquel's feeling left out of all the dates sneaks into the limo that brought back the girls. Clever, but I'm thinking her English not too good which will surely be her undoing. Pretty but not marriage material.

The elimination party, Stephanie tells the girls of her husbands plane crash, which I missed because I was yelling at my husband. Lisa tells Jason she has to leave because her grandma has cancer. I'm like who is she? I really didn't see her the entire time, so I guess good choice for her to leave anyway. It's Sharon, the teacher who gave up her day job to be on the show and Raquel, the Brazilian beauty, I knew her communication would be her undoing. I guess she'll have to find another ticket to America. And hey girls, keep your day job. One thing we learn this episode, Jason makes quick work out of kissing all the girls whenever he gets the chance. Well, I guess you have to try on the shoes before you buy them. -Single D

Momma's Boys

Looks like the mommas are having their way on this new twist of the dating game. The score, Momma's 2 bachelor son 1. Michael's mom Lorraine is dead set against plastic beauty Michelle. Ok so the girl does have bad, bad credit, or as she likes to say, "I love shopping and plastic surgery!" And so what if not a single thing on her body is authentic. If Michael wanted something real he would have stayed off TV reality shows. Well, after mother Lorraine got to peek in Michelle's bio on the episode which featured a glass trunk with all the contestants bios, credit reports and other salacious gossip, Mother Lorraine's worst fears were confirmed. She immediately told Michael that Michelle was not for him. I didn't think Michael would cave into her pressure but Mother Lorraine had her way and Michelle was sent packing in Monday's night episode. No trip to the Caribbean for her. Can't wait for Lorraine to find out that her favorite girl, Erica, was Penthouse Pet of the Year. Whoa!

The worst momma of all time and tops my list of would be momma in law from hell is Mrs. B and her pure racist attitude. Jojo clearly was attracted to black beauty Misty. She looks like an Olympic star. When Jojo takes Misty out on a one on one date, Mrs. B goes on a rampage. She summons a helicopter to take her where her son is. Namely in a hot tub locking lips with Misty. As the helicopter hovers over, Misty and Jojo pause for a split second, could that be Mrs. B up there? Nah! Wrong! Mrs. B was so mad she could spit. She rants and raves and then cries. How could he do this to me? Please will someone tell her, that somewhere in this world she would be considered ethnic herself? (I think she's Lebanese). When Mrs. B comes back to the mansion, gee go figure, she finds solace in the comfort of two black girls in the house. They try to appease her and calm her down, very brave of them! It seemed like maybe some enlightening was taking place and that she would come around and see through that racist haze. One could only hope. Nah, think again. When Jojo comes back, she tries to tell him Misty is not for him, but Jojo says, he likes Misty. Elimination night and one could only hope that Jojo would stand up to his mother. But he didn't. Another cave in. Mrs. B even went so far as to not give her ticket to another girl there and ripped it in half. She's just downright mean. Poor Jojo, he should have ran away from home a long time ago.

The one son that did stand up to his mother, was Rob. He managed to ask Camilla to come with him to the Caribbean, much to Esther's pleading that he should marry a nice Jewish girl. Oye vey! Can't wait to see the fireworks next week.-Single D

The Bachelor-Jason Single Dad Looking for a Wife

OK, I was really torn last season when DeAnna surprised everyone and chose the snowboarder (what was his name?) over the single dad. The last two bachelors standing were the oddest pairing of the bunch. Who knew DeAnna would be drawn to wild hair and crazy shoes? I think maybe she was afraid of the built in family that came with accepting the ring from Jason. We secretly knew it wasn't going to last. It was like pairing an Airedale with a Chihuahua. And it appears that her romance with that crazy snowboarder might have been short lived as we see from the previews that she tries to make a come back with Jason in future episodes. The question here is will she make a fool of herself on national TV for a third time? We know how silly previous bachelorettes look by going back.

Jason has really buffed up for this stint on the bachelor, pumping up his muscles and six pack abs. WOW, ok, maybe he's not so wimpy this time around, which he appeared to be last season. There are shots of him which make him downright appealing, not quite the measure of yummy in my book, but still appealing on the sweet side. It's just that he has a funny walk, kinda of gawky teen boy like.

As always in the beginning, I'm not inspired by the looks of the talent pool. The interior designer from British Columbia looks ok and seems pretty well balance. Melissa, two words, ding-dong and what's up with Miss Illinois polishing furniture in her crown and sash? I think the prettiest bachelorettes are Nikki and Miss Brazil, Raquel teaching our Jason how to samba. Renee looks like a bobble head and the dental hygienist is of the nerd herd set. What's up with her too white teeth, they look totally fake and why did she do that fake teeth stunt? Doesn't she remember the bachelorette that made fake teeth out of orange peel for bachelor Travis only to make herself look like a fool and get kicked off. And whose the airhead telling Jason that she sells toe implants? Awkward! I think Jason looked a little ill at ease with some of the women, at least he passed the hot dog test posed to him by Jillian, him being a mustard on my hot dog man.

I was really disappointed when Jason sent one of the prettiest bachelorettes packing, Miss thing in Ty's favorite color orange dress. She didn't get her alone time with him. She should have been more aggressive. Well at least she gets to keep the gift she had for him, I hope she kept the receipt. Looks like this season is going to be really good, but can he really find love and a mother for his child on a TV reality show? Odds aren't good.-Single D

You Know What the Difference Between a Mexican New Year's Party and a Jewish One Is?

FOOD! Thankfully as we all breath a sigh of relief that the holidays are over, I was thinking in the car on my way back to Las Vegas from California, that the New Year's Day party at my sister-in-law's sister's house was really something. Needless to say, we were having an awkward moment (at my brother's and sister-in-laws house), when we show up at their house on New Year's Eve, bearing only a bottle of champagne, while under their fake pre-lit all year around Christmas tree there were presents beneath it with suspicious tags that looked like our names. Yikes! I can remember Christmas's past when I have sent them presents, not being able to visit and all. Like the year I sent my dad a Harry and David gift basket with goodies and fruit. Did I receive a phone call saying that he received it? No! Sometime later he did mention that the pears were hard. I'd expect that out of him since he was never one to dole out complements or thank yous. How I learned manners mystifies me, but that's another story. As I drove home, I realized, do you know what the difference between a Mexican party and one thrown by white folks is? FOOD! My husband's family, bless their souls, namely his uncle's side of the family, the rich Jewish lawyer from Beverly Hills (I married into the wrong side of the family), threw a birthday party for Grandma Lily, her eighth birthday. I can remember sitting around a long table where the twelve guest were seated, sedate plates of bland colored food being passed around and a plate of 11 bagels. Of course when the bagel plate reached my end of the table, nothing left but crumbs. Maybe they thought that Asian girl, she no eat bagels, oye vey, what would she know of bagels? And so it went the entire day, with not much of anything to eat. I quietly went into the kitchen to look for scraps of leftovers only to find the maid stuffing her mouth with the meager remains. Now let me tell you of the spread that my sister-in-law's sister put out this New Year's Day. We arrive at 1:30, didn't want to show up too early showing that we were hungry or anything. We had only eaten the hotel's continental breakfast that came with the room. No matter that it is not that great, by God we're going to eat it since it comes with the room! When we get there, there is a sign saying to enter through the back, where we find long tables pitched under tents, a very good sign. The smells of food wafting through the chilly air. There we encounter tray after tray of heaping piles of food. BBQ meats, chicken, sausages, hot dogs, salads and dips and salsa (very hot and very tasty), chips and chili and of course cookies, cakes, and candies. Here I surreptitiously give the mother of the clan a pie we brought from Marie Callender's, chocolate cream. That was the hand off, now let the feasting begin and in earnest! Instead of plates, they have those cute paper baskets like the ones fish and chips come in, good idea, wouldn't want my food falling off regular plates. Here I heap a sampling of all the meats. Loved the bbq chicken and hot links the best. Next it's on to the chili and chips and dips. I sit at one of the tables, the only one in the sun, gratefully warm and in a food grazer's paradise. After that it's on to seconds and sweets. People keep coming in, with bottles of booze and beer and food (that would never happen at the Jewish soiree). After that it was into the living room where my dad is seated on the couch watching the USC game. During halftime, the kids break out the WII guitar hero and on cue, my dad is up dancing and rocking out. Outside there is a big jumping house for the kids to play in. No one has to supervise these kids, they know how to entertain themselves. And so the afternoon went and a New Year was initiated. I guess it's lucky for my brother to have married into a large Mexican clan. For us, we take ourselves home and once there, it is sweet comfort and peace I find there no matter how small our family is. May 2009 bring you peace of mind, lots of laughs and good health and great eats! -Single D

Ghost Hunters - New Hampshire

The commercials promised this last episode of the season to be the scariest, so I was really looking forward to it. The TAPS team goes to New Castle, New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Harbor. The light house, keeper's quarters and Fort Constitution will encompass this investigation. The fort was built in 1808 and there are reports of footsteps and voices heard. The keeper's quarters, built in 1872 is the site of apparitions, noises and footsteps. The light house is a working light house and people have reported hearing voices and seeing apparitions.

J & G are first in the light house and start communicating with the "captain" who is often seen there. They ask the captain to make a noise and he obliges. Just to make sure it wasn't coincidence, they ask a second and third time for him to make a noise and they are rewarded each time with a knock. Excited that there is good activity, J & G send in Kris and Amy to see of they experience the same things. Amy asks the captain to knock for them and he repeats the knock in the same pattern. Kris asks the captain to come up to them (they are at the top of the light house) and immediately hear footsteps on the stairs. The girls continue to hear the footsteps & knocking which is clearly heard on the TV.

J & G go to the fort and a shadowy figure and hear a male voice. They then go to the keeper's quarters and get a door slammed shut as soon as they walk in. When they hear a woman laugh, Jason tries to communicate by knocking and gets responses on the K2 meter.

The team catches the knocking and the laugh on audio. There were a lot of personal experiences but Jason would like to investigate further before calling the place haunted. Well, it wasn't the scariest episode like the commericial promised but it wasn't bad either. Stay tuned for Ghost Hunters International starting in January. Can't wait! Double D