Live 8

Bob Geldof has announced the sequel to 1985's mega-concert Live Aid. Live 8 is less about fundraising (though I imagine it will play a key part) but more about putting pressure on the governments meeting for the G8 summer at the same time. The campaigners are hoping that these big nations will cancel the debt that has accrued by the third world countries which (thankfully) is something our government is quite supportive of. The BBC report is here. Full list of artists at the five venues (Philadelphia, London, Berlin, Paris and Rome) is here.

I loved Live Aid and am very excited by this.

Iconic TV shows of the current decade

Spooks - Slick BBC drama about MI5 agents. Some hard hitting storylines based around terrorism, internet scams and organised crime. Most storylines have been very topical and they are not afraid to kill off key characters.

24 - American drama set in LA's Counter-terrorist unit, which has regenerated Brat-packer Keifer Sutherland's career. It is unique in that it is filmed in real time, with each of the 24 episodes featuring events chronologically as they happened in that hour. Some cliff hangers that make you wonder how you will survive to the next week without knowing what will happen.

Nip/Tuck - Based in a Miami plastic surgeon's office and shows the characters that come into the surgery, and the relationships of the surgeons particularly with the wife of one, played by Joely Richardson. Usually shows some graphic surgery scenes and mirrors events in the regular character's lives with that of those they treat.

Little Britain - Comedy sketch show, the brainchild of David Walliams and Matt Lucas, as their 'mockumentary' sketches have become cult already, with phrases like "The only gay in the village" being regularly repeated and the sketches becoming water-cooler topics all around Britain.

Big Brother - the daddy of all reality shows, twelve or so housemates stuck in a house with TV cameras 24 hours a day until they are put up for public eviction by being nominated by the housemates, then voted off by the public. In between the housemates complete tasks to earn rewards of increased shopping budgets, whilst the public delights in their trials and tribulations.

Pop Idol - the all-singing reality show, as young people sing a different song along a certain theme each week and the public vote off their least favourite. Made a star of judge Simon Cowell for his harsh criticism. Usually preceded by three or four episodes of audition shows were the least talented people in Britain have their lives devastated when they are told that they are not talented.

Footballer's Wive$ - Trash TV at its greatest as the wives of the players of a fictional football club scheme and lie to meet their own ends of love, family, money or ambition.

Desperate Housewives - Four women stuck in suburbia for different reasons, become friends and this comedy drama tracks the trials and tribulations of their families and the women's concern for the friend who committed suicide, and the mystery concerning blackmail letters that were sent to her. Currently we are still seeing the first series of this show in the UK, so more to come hopefully. Gave Teri Hatcher's career a boost after years away.

Weakest Link - presented by stony faced Anne Robinson, this quiz show developed a strong following, made Robinson's career in the US and its catchphrase ("You are the Weakest Link. Goodbye") bandied about everywhere. Each round the remaining contestants vote off which other contestant they thought was the weakest in that round, they are not always right, and often tactical voting takes place, After the head to had the winner walks away with the money accumulated, and everyone else leaves with nothing.

Top Ten Best British Songs of All Time

Virgin Radio have been running this poll (someone does a Top 100 or something every Bank Holiday weekend, it is now obligatory), and here are the Top Ten tracks as voted by Virgin Radio listeners (I listen, but I didn't vote). Although I like most of these, I don't think I would have voted for any of the ten as my Top Three tunes.

1. Oasis - Wonderwall
2. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
3. Led Zeppelin- Stairway to Heaven
4. The Beatles - Let It Be
5. John Lennon - Imagine
6. Police- Every Breath You Take
7. The Jam- Going Underground
8. Verve- Bitter Sweet Symphony
9. Robbie Williams - Angels
10. The Stranglers- Golden Brown

Article from the BBC. Interestingly they have published the Top Ten as the six hour marathon is only just kicking off (I think I caught the dying strains of Hit me With you Rhythm Stick).

Top iTunes

Eleven months of iPod/iTumes ownership and here is the Top Ten tracks I have listened too:

1. Paul Weller - You Do Something to Me
2. The Lightning Seeds - Marvellous
3. Supergrass - Moving
4. Dodgy - Good Enough
5. Christina Aguilera - Car Wash
6. Catatonia - Road Rage
7. Annie Lennox - Waiting in Vain
8. Snow Patrol - Crazy in Love
9. Wet Wet Wet - If I Never See You Again
10. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

Strictly Dance Fever: The Semi-Final

Four couples were about to become three and to kick off all four had to dance a waltz. James and Claire started off with a very good Waltz and their best score of 32 points. They were followed by favourites Danny & Jodie with their slick waltz which scored them 34 points. The remaining couples were not ballroom dancers and struggled a bit. Nathan and Kristy got some positive response from the judges (for a change) and a score of 28. It was Sadie and Joseph who did the worst Waltz, they were uncomfortable and unfortunately you cannot be below average in a semi-final. They got their lowest score of 20.

For their second dances the couples got to do a swing routine that they had not danced before. James and Claire did the Jitterbug and it was OK, nothing special, and they missed some lifts, they got a disappointing score of 21. Danny and Jodie did a fun Charleston to a song from Bugsy Malone they worked on the comedy/performance element and threw in a few clever moves to get 40 points out of 40 from the judges, the best score of the competition so far. Nathan & Kristy then did a Lindyhop which went well, apart from a fall from Nathan, and they still got 35 points and were told this was their dance. Joseph and Sadie were last and did the Hustle which they did very well, and performed some moves that apparently some professionals can't do. They got a well deserved 38 points.

After the break all dancers performed a Flamenco type routine and the results were announced. Danny & Jodie and Joseph & Sadie got through, and the bottom two were James & Claire and Nathan & Kristy. It was Nathan & Kristy that went, and the right three couples (in my opinion) made it through to next week's final.

And They are In

BB6 has kicked off with thirteen housemates foe the next however many weeks.

We have (in alphabetical order):
Anthony - Irish, seventies dancer, possibly get the female vote, but got booed by the crowd for too much posing
Craig - hairdresser, dodgy hair, likes playing jokes on people, sounded like a nasty piece of work on the VT, but expect that is all for the camera and he really is nothing special.
Derek - 40 year old Tory speech writer, bit of a toff, gay. My favourite at this stage.
Kemal - Male belly dancer, gay, Muslim, arrived in female belly dancer's outfit.
Lesley - Nothing special, arrived in PVC nurses outfit, looked dodgy.
Makosi - best hair by far, looked like a fab seventies disco diva
Mary - Spiritualist, psychic, token weirdo, couldn't work out how to push open the door.
Maxwell - Laddish gooner, always got something to say, cheekie chappie type.
Roberto - Italian charmer type, a bit smooth.
Sam - Left her vibrators at home as she has worn them out, self-proclaimed horniest person on the planet.
Saskia - prettiest girl, bit shallow and naive.
Science - Entertainment entrepreneur, personality, wit and a sense of humour
Vanessa - Dippy.

The Top 20 best BB Housemates

Fans of Big Brother voted for the Top Twenty housemates ever. It was won by Brian ahead of Nadia. God knows who voted for Jade. Bottom was Melanie from BB1. Link here.

20. Alison Hammond (BB3)
19. Cameron Stout (BB4)
18. Marco Sabba (BB5)
17. Spencer Smith (BB3)
16. Anna Nolan (BB1)
15. Craig Phillips (BB1)
14. Jon Tickle (BB4)
13. Emma Greenwood (BB5)
12. Nick Bateman (BB1)
11. Alex Sibley (BB3)
10. Paul Clarke (BB2)
9. Victor Ebuwa (BB5)
8. Kate Lawler (BB3)
7. Stuart Wilson (BB5)
6. Ray Shah (BB4)
5. Michelle Bass (BB5)
4. Helen Adams (BB2)
3. Jade Goody (BB3)
2. Nadia Almeida (BB5)
1. Brian Dowling (BB2)

Audioscrobbler Update

Yay! Audioscrobbler have updated the Top Artists section after over three weeks. Thus, the Top Artists I have listened too since Feb 23rd, and the number of times I have played them, are:

1 Stonebridge - 30
2 Wet Wet Wet - 22
3Abba - 20
4 The Beatles - 18
5 Erasure - 17
6 Annie Lennox - 16
7 Madonna - 5
7 G4 - 15
9 Kylie Minogue - 13
10 Gwen Stefani - 12

The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkein

I was initially unsure about these books as Fantasy writing has never been my favourite genre and I had always assumed these books were not for me. People either told me they were the most wonderful books or that it was the most pretentious thing they had ever read. However, I loved the films so eventually decided to bit the bullet and try and read the books to judge for myself.

What struck me most about the first book – The Fellowship of The Ring – is how much was not included in the film. I was half way through the book and had discovered new characters and events, long before I reached Rivendell (the home of the elves). It is a very enjoyable, if long, opening to the trilogy.

Although I enjoyed the first book, I found the second and third ones – The Two Towers and Return of the King – much harder going. The story dragged more then it did in the film, and this time the detail did not seem to fresh, but just bog the book down more, and I was willing it to be over.

As someone who does not normally read fantasy-adventure type books, I was glad I had seen the films to help me relate to and understand some of the key characters and creatures that I came across. I think that if I had read the books first I would not have read the films, the books are too slow and long winded for me.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano 3
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

From our visit to Tuscany in October 2002.

Doctor Who vs Big Brother

Apparently there is a forthcoming episode where the time travelling Doctor ends up in the Big Brother House. Should be good.

Strictly Dance Fever - Week Nine

Five couples must be reduced to four before next week's semi-final. This week all couples danced the Milonga, which is a light, happy version of the Argentine Tango. Danny & Jodie went first and scored 38 out of 40. The judges love them as they are the closest to a proper professional couple in the contest, but I think this could inhibit them in the voting. Cem & Gemma and Nathan (whose leg is better) & Kristy struggles with some harsh comments from the judges. James and Claire got a mixed, but mainly positive response, whilst Joseph & Sadie did well.

For their second dances the theme was dances from the movies and Danny & Jodie got to be Fred & Ginger and dance to Cheek to Cheek. This time they got 36/40. Cem & Gemma danced to More Than a Woman from Saturday Night Fever and it was quite dull and was rightly slagged off by the judges as was Nathan & Kristy's attempt to be Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse and dance to Dancing in the Dark. James & Claire had an odd choice from The Sound of Music. This was followed by my favourite dance from Dirty Dancing performed by Joseph & Sadie which justifiably got them 36/40.

At the end of the show (after a group performance of Fame) it was no surprise to see Nathan & Kristy and Cem and Gemma as the bottom two, and it was Cem and Gemma who went, their popularity marred in the fact that Cem has come across as a bit smug and arrogant.

Eurovision 2005

Over for another year, the camp-fest that is the Eurovision Song Contest. Most of it was dire. I really liked Denmark's effort Talking To You by Jacob Sveistrup, Malta and Hungary also made good efforts, and Bosnia & Herzogovina presented a poppy, catchy number. Norway, Croatia and a number of other countries made really poor songs, but they did OK as all their neighbours voted for them. The contest was won by Greece with a song with was better than average, but not the best. It could have been a lot worse though.

The voting has been strongly criticised for being political and regional. The bottom four countries were Western European (Germany, France, UK and Spain) with Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands not even qualifying. However, these new bottom four countries are unlikely to be qualifiers next year, as they pay for most of the competition and if their countries aren't in it then they won't back the contest. One interesting outcome is that Dutch viewers consider the politics in Eurovision as typical of what will happen if Holland say 'yes' to the European constitution.

I would probably still watch Eurovision if the UK wasn't in it, but I think that the majority of votes probably come from the densely populated Western European countries, but at the end of the day each country has the same amount of clout as Cyprus and FYR Macedonia, but they have less people sitting at home wondering how Croatia managed to score any points at all, let alone 11th spot.

Full scores here.
Listen to all the songs here.
Proper grown up news here.
Proper bitchery here.

BB6 Twist

A potential twist to Big Brother (bearing in mind all housemates are now in seclusion from the rest of the world).

Hit Me Baby One More Time: The Final

Seven acts have made it through to the final, and last night, re-sang their biggest hit for the audience. This was:
Tiffany - I think We Are Alone Now
911 - Let You Body Lose Control
Hue & Cry - Labour of Love
Carol Decker - China in Your hand
Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House
Chesney Hawkes - One and Only
Shalamar - Night to Remember

No contemporary cover versions were done tonight, and the studio favourite was rightly Shalamar. My favourite was Shalamar closely followed by Hue & Cry.

The viewer's favourite was Shaky. The prize is a double 'A'-Side single of This Ole House with his cover ersion of Trouble by Pink. I demand a re-count.

Million Dollar Baby

I was looking forward to seeing this film which won so many awards as the Oscars 2005

The acting was excellent, as was the direction. Like my favourite Clint Eastwood-directed film, Mystic River, the story in character led, but this time it is more about the father-daughter relationship of trainer Frankie and protogee Maggie, rather than about the people connected to a murder.

Trailer trash Maggie (Hilary Swank) wants to be a boxer and reckons the reluctant Frankie (Eastwood) is the man to train her. With some help from Frankie' s friend Eddie (Morgan Freeman) she gets started and Frankie agrees to train her, originally just until she can get a proper manager. She does well and saves hard to help her ungrateful family, whilst leaning on Frankie more than she realises, as he too becomes dependant on her as he is estranged form his own daughter.

The start of the film was very action packed, and it slowed down towards the end, and I found the last thrid quite slow, but all in all in a very watchable film.

6.5/10

X Factor Number One

X-Factor winner Steve Brookstein went to number one last week with his debut album of cover versions. I don't think I'll but it. I liked him on the show, but he doesn't really offer anything different.

Big Brother Contestants

Somehow or other someone has the test photos on potential BB contestants. Doesn't say much about any of them apart from there possibly being a mother and daughter.

BB6 starts next Friday.

Celebrity Dire Island

It looks like ITV's much publicised, excrutiatingly bad Celebrity Love Island is not going down as well as first hoped, and with Big Brother 6 looming it is not likely to gain any viewers if it goes head to head. I have not watched it after the first night confirmed my suspicions of a barrel being scraped. ItV have a winning formula with I'm A Celebrity..., and I think they should just stick to that (without trying to flog a dead horse).

I have heard that there are bookies taking money on ITV canning the show before the end of its five week run.

San Francisco Tram

San Francisco Tram
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

Taken last September, it looks really sedate in this photo,but was actually quite scary when going down the really steep hills.

Celebrity Love Island

The first episode of this show has proven to be as lame as I thought. The TV bosses are obviously hoping that some of these Z list will get it on on national TV. So far we have seen Rebecca Loos and Abi Titmuss share a bed for a few seconds , Jayne Middlemiss cries for her mum and the viewers vote Lady Isabella Harvey to share the 'love shack' with a TV soap actor called Paul. Dire.

Jane Green - Mr Maybe

This author had been recommended to me, and I am wondering if I had picked up her two worst books (this and Babyville) to read first. Unfortunately I have two more to read on my shelf. The 'heroine', Libby is not really heroic as all she wants is to get married to a successful, rich, kind man and hates being a failure (i.e single). Although a lot of chick lit books are romance based, the characters have other issues in their lives and a bit of spark and personality. Libby is a self-confessed 'chameleon' girlfriend who changes herself depending on her boyfriend and what she think he will like. She plans a fling with unsuitable Nick and then gets upset when it doesn't work out, and tries to marry millionaire investment banker Ed convinced that he is everything she is looking for. Anyone with half a brain can work out how it ends.

Hed Kandi - Twisted Disco 02.04

Having loved the latest Disco Heaven, I bought an older Hed Kandi album of their Twisted Disco variety, billed as the darker side of House.

The album is full of extended mixes, which is not always a good thing when you consider some track take 2 minutes to get going. There are a few very good tracks on it, and some very disappointing ones.

The first disc stats off promising with The Visitor’s version of Our Lips are Sealed, a cover of the Go Gos’ classic with a contemporary dance backing. The album also contains Fatboy Slim’s mix of Comfortably Numb by the Scissor Sisters, plus a Scissor Sisters’ mix of More Lemonade by Bucci Bag, a track I was not familiar with but the Scissor Sisters influence was obvious. Other strong tracks include Sometimes by Les Rhythmes Digitales; Goldfrapp’s Strict Machine, I Like It by Narcotic Thrust and Loose Cannons’ Superstars.

There are interesting efforts from Richard X featuring Javine, David Guetta and Bonnie Bailey also.

The weakest offering is Thick Dick’s Orgasm, which is mainly heavy breathing onto a backing track *yawn* and some ‘filler’ tracks that you barely notice in the background.

Strictly Dance Fever: Week Eight

This week all the six remaining couples were to dance the mambo. Sadie and Joseph and James and Claire did well, and the judges raved about Danny and Jodie. Unfortunately Nathan injured his ankle quite badly and was unable to dance. He and Kirsty were awarded the lowest point, and it was up to the viewers to vote in and save them on past performance, if they felt they deserved it.

There was a group dance, The Big Apple, which looked a bit chaotic to me but I think that was the idea.

In the end Nathan and Kirsty were saved and the bottom two were Cem & Gemma and Adam and Rebecca who the judges had slated. It was no surprise when Adam & Rebecca were the ones to leave, as a couple they didn't really connect and Adam had had no dance training (but was offered a scholarship) and was holding Rebecca back.

Hit Me Baby One More Time: Week Seven

The show kicked off with boyband 911, I missed there opening number so can't comment, but their cover version of Don't Stop Movin' by S Club was dire. Next up was Nathan Moore, formally of Boy band Brother beyond, who sang their hit The Harder I Try which he followed with Elton John's Get Ready which was an odd choice and only OK. Princess, the eighties soul diva performed her smash Say I'm Your Number One and followed it with Kylie's Slow which she made a bit more of a clubby/dance track which worked well. Kenny Thomas did well with his song Thinking about Your Love but I think his choice of the Norah Jones track Don't Know Why was a bit too Radio 2 for the prime time Saturday night mainstream crowd that was in, though no doubt he has a fabulous voice. Ultra Nate was the fifth act and is still singing on club tracks now (for the likes of Stonebridge), she did Free and then Rachel Stevens Some Girls.

The studio audience favourite was Nathan Moore, but for some reason the home viewers voted for 911.

Celebrity Reality TV scrapes the barrel (again)

What with ITV's Gladiator-esque Celebrity Wrestling being shunted to a Sunday morning slot as it fails to bring in the viewer's and Channel Five's has-been extravaganza The Farm failing to score much interest, let alone a decent celebrity, ITV are pushing the boat out for Celebrity Love Island. It will be featuring yet more non-entities and a few of my favourites - those celebs famous for being famous (or shagging someone famous) such as Abi Titmuss and Rebecca Loos, along with Calum Best, son of George Best and Fran Cosgrave (nightclub owner from I'm A Celeb who usually just dates them)

Iconic TV programmes on the 90s

The most iconic TV shows of the nineties for me were:

Beverly Hills 90210 - originally featured around Minnesotan twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh as they settled in glamourville with their new friends, it spun off to include more of their friends and other people who came in and out of their lives. The show first aired in 1990 and ran for ten years.

Melrose Place - A spin off from the above, set in an LA apartment complex, most of them went to the same bar and all hung out together and often worked close together. A gripping adult version of 90210.

The Simpsons - Dysfunctional cartoon family. First aired in the US in December 1989 but didn't come to the UK til later, surrounds Homer and his wife Marge and their ageless family of studious Lisa, naughty Bart and baby Maggie. Support characters include Marge's ugly sisters; Mo the bar owner; Barney the alcoholic pal of Homer, Apu in the Quicky-Mart; the churchgoing Flanders family next door; Mr Burns, Homer boss and his sidekick Smithers and Bart's nemesis Principal Skinner.

Absolutely Fabulous - Written by Jennifer Saunders this show became a cult across the world and also got a huge gay following who enjoyed the dramatics of PR person Edina (Saunders) and her alcoholic mate Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and uptight daughter Saffy (Julia Sawalha) . The show has had five series so far and numerous specials.

The X Files - cult sci-fi drama ran for nine seasons and a movie from 1993. Agent Mulder believed in Aliens. Scientist Scully gave the scientific evidence, and was originally supposed to discredit FBI wildcard Mulder, but became an ally. Also around was The Smoking Man who knew the answers to what they were finding and a few other key characters. Some episodes were built around aliens and alien abduction, some were a variety of unexplained (for the most part) mysteries.

Friends - One of the most successful TV show of recent times. It first aired in 1994 and ran for ten seasons with several weddings, a couple of divorces, a few babies, a monkey and lots of celebrity guests. The premise was six friends living near each other and their interactions and relationships, it launched movie careers ( to varying degrees of success) for all the stars who commanded a million dollars per episode by the end.

Ally McBeal - One of my favourites. Neurotic lawyer Ally and her friends including favourite ex, Billy, and there eccentric clients. They all socialised in the bar in the same building as their office. The show ran for five years and had some excellent guest stars and music by Vonda Shepherd (and some guests).

This Life - Six lawyers (most of the time) share a house in London, all sorts of shenanigans and bitchery. Top UK drama, but only two series.

Sex and the City - Top rating American show set around writer Carrie and her friends as they get involved with the New York dating scene. Ran for six seasons and made lead Sarah Jessica parker into a fashion icon.

Audioscrobbler Update

Will have to wait until Audiscrobbler have updated their website from 3rd May.

Reality TV and Celebs.

I feel a rant coming on. Although not interested in the Channel Five Celeb reality show The Farm, Ratboy flicked it on and I found my self sucked in as to who the next 'celebrity' would be. It really is pushing the boundaries of the term 'celebrity' and I really hate 'celebs' who are famous for being famous (usually off the back of someone else).

When the ten freaks were in the house the biggest names were Lionel Blair and Orville (with Keith Harris), with honourable mention going to Lucy Ewing (aka Charlene Tilton).

The rest were made up of a couple of porn stars; a glamour model; a minor soap actress/model type who used to be married to the son of John Major; a boy band failure/reality TV 'star'; a rapper and (deep breath) Dave Morgan.

Who? Quite. Dave Morgan, little know outside the pages of heat before Sunday, and now The News of The World as he thoughtfully kissed and told on his ex-fiancee and mother of his baby. Now his actions have been justified and he has become a 'bona fide celebrity' and got on a Reality TV show. Fuckwit.

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

From a visit to Florence in 2003.

I, Robot

This sci-fi film starring Will Smith is full of action and special effects. It is set in Chicago in 2035 and robots are part of daily life working in homes and doing menial jobs around the city, governed by three laws that mean they must always help humans rather then harm them. Detective Spooner (Smith) is suspicious of them and is always on the look out for robots going bad, and is committed to getting to the bottom of the 'murder' of a leading robotic scientist friend, when it appears that a robot is the only suspect.

It was a slow starter and I was initially concerned that I wouldn't like it, but it soon picked up and we saw a spectacular car chase and some excellent robot fight scenes. The story was a bit simplistic, but quite neat, and it was an easy way to pass two hours.

6.5/10

Strictly Dance Fever: Week Seven

Seven couples left and a war time special to celebrate VE Day.

Last week's big success Cem and Gemma went up first with their Lindyhop which I thought was very good, the judges were disappointed in them, and it was hard to top last week's Charleston, but they only gave them average marks. James and Claire did the Foxtrot. I find this dance generally quite boring to watch, but they did it very elegantly, and inspite of her size (although she has lost weight) Claire always manages to look glamourous and they danced very elegantly. Jitterbug was the other dance of the week and Danny and Jodie did a good one and looked like they had a lot of fun.

Paul and Natasha did the Foxtrot and, as usual, were slated by the judges and got the worst score of the competition. Whilst Paul is quite a wooden dancer, they did some very nice moves and some elegant turns. Joseph and Sadie did the Lindyhop and were the best of the night with Sadie lifting Joseph and doing interlinked cartwheels. Strangely whilst they got all '9's from the judges they did not get a 10, which I think they deserved. Adam and Rebecca's Foxtrot was slated and they finished one point ahead of Paul and Natasha in the judges' voting. It was quite dull and very tame, and I thought it worse. Nathan and Kristy had been very up and down with the judges. Their Jitterbug was good and they ended up second in the judges votes.

In the second show they all danced a group Shag (Graham Norton was in double entendre heaven) before the voting was announced. It was no surprise to see Adam & Rebecca and Paul & Natasha as the bottom two couples. When it was announced that Paul and Natasha were to go they were quite happy.

Hit Me Baby One More Time: Heat Six

Indeed there is another heat (and another next week) and not a final this week.

Nineties teen 'legend' Chesney Hawkes kicked off with his one big hit The One and Only. I never 'got' Chesney's appeal to the female audience though it is a catchy tune. His contemporary number was She's the One, originally by Robbie Williams. He did a good job of it, but ballads do not necessarily do well in this competition, neither do former 'studs' as Jordan Knight showed us last week.

Next up was Seventies Disco Diva Kelly Marie with her disco smash Feels Like I'm in Love which I love, although could pass most of the young audience by. Her second song was cover of Britney's Ooops I Did It Again which was good and left her with a good chance of winning the show. Next up was Nick van Eade who was previously of Cutting Crew and did their power ballad I Just Died in You Arms Tonight which was good, and followed it later with Macy Gray's I Try which he did well, but again is a ballad and thus a risk in this show.

Dance diva Sybil was up next with her song When I'm Good and Ready which she did an OK version of, and an OK cover of Shania Twain's Gonna get You Good. Nineties teen sister group Cleopatra were the last act, being still young the looked good when they sang their 'theme' song Cleopatra (Coming at ya) and did an excellent cover version of Girls Aloud's No Good Advice.

Whilst I was not blown away by any of the performances tonight, I thought Cleopatra had the edge, followed by Kelly Marie. The studio audience voted for Chesney Hawkes and the phone vote confirmed him as the winner. Thus blowing my theory about ballads right out of the water!

Low Culture

A very amusing TV website, that sees Trash TV for what it is and still watches it.

The Apprentice Final

It was head to head with Saira and Tim. They were allowed to choose three former colleagues to help them with their final task. Saira chose James, Raj and surprisingly Paul. Tim chose Sebastian, Ben and Miriam.

The task was to put on an event on a Thames river cruiser. Saira was all for the bottom line and tried to find sponsors, which she did successfully and got loads of free Californian wine. Tim decided to do something different and impress Sir Alan with a sophisticated event featuring a fashion show. It looked like he bit off more than he could chew after struggling to find more than one decent designer and unable to sell tickets at £40.00. They eventually sold them to fashion students for a reduced rate, and even Saira had to cut her £25 ticket price to sell all in two/three days.

Saira's do was tacky and bar takings were low as people sampled the free wine. Tim did manage to pull off a sophisticated event however, but Sir Alan wasn't impressed.

At the end, Saira was the only one to have made a profit, but this was not all that was important in this task. Tim impressed Sir Alan with his proposed long range plans of regular fashion cruises and making them proper events, whilst Saira hadn't got any long range plans.

In the end, Sir Alan turned to Tim and said, "You're hired!"

Berlin City View

Berlin City View
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

From January 2004, I climbed some huge tower whilst incredibly hungover to take this photo. I seriously thought I was going to collapse.

Audioscrobbler Update

The most listened to artists on iTunes since 23rd Feb 2005:

1. Stonebridge - 29
2. Wet Wet Wet - 22
3. Abba - 20
4. The Beatles - 18
5. Annie Lennox - 16
6. Madonna - 15
7. G4 - 14
8. Kylie Minogue - 13
9. Gwen Stefani - 12
10. Phil Collins - 10

Chocolat

Finally I got round to watching this lovely film. Juliette Binoche is the lead, Vianne, who opens a chocolate shop in a small Catholic town in France. She is an unmarried mother who is causes all sorts of scandal by having the nerve to open a chocolate shop in Lent. Most of the town are scared of Mayor Comte De Raynaud (Alfred Molina) who gets the new priest to preach what about denial and sin. Vianne befriends old lady Armande (Judi Dench), who likes to enjoy life and is not a churchgoer. She also helps other people in the village with their problems, and soon some start to trust her. Later some travelling river folk set up by the river and Vianne befriends Roux (Johnny Depp) and eventually persuades her friends that they mean no harm.

Chocolat is a lovely film, and it is nice to see how this woman overcomes the prejudices in a small town, although it is very much a work of fiction. The supporting cast is also excellent.

7.5/10

Strictly Dance Fever: Week Six

This was the third week of proper competition and some were standing out as promising winners and some were struggling. This week the dances were the Charleston and the Brazilian Lambada.

Paul and Natasha (one of the strugglers) kicked off with their Charleston which I thought was good, the judges acknowledged their improvement, but still marked them poorly. Nathan & Kristy's Lambada was slated as being technically flawed due to the steps being to big (they are supposed to be small) and lack of passion. Cem and Gemma Charlestoned next and were excellent, receiving 38 points out of 40 from the judges. Jodie and Danny's Lambada was praised and they probably did the best Lambada of the evening, and generally they were poor, and not as much fun to watch as the Charleston.

Sadie and Joseph also did a good Charleston routine and were highly praised. Adam and Rebecca's lambada routine was also slated for being technically flawed (as well as being boring). James and Claire also did a fab Charleston which was followed by an average Lambada from Toby and Casey.

In the second half the couples performed a group routine to All That Jazz from the musical Chicago. Interestingly the judges picked out Toby as being the best. However, the general public picked Toby and Casey to go.

Hit Me Baby One More Time: Heat Five

This was the last heat and first up was ex-new Kids on the Block singer Jordan Knight, he was a popular choice with the girls and sang his solo hit from 1999, Give It To You, which was probably a bit slow to win, as was his contemporary choice of Mario's Let me Love You. Next up was club diva Rozalla singing her anthemic Everybodys Free which was done well and did a passable version of Fly By by Blue. Junior was next with his big hit Mama Used to Say and an excellent version of Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This.

This was followed by the rather dire Italian singer Sabrina and her tacky hit Boys Boys Boys (Summertime Love) and her cringy version of the Sugababe's Hole in the Head. The highlight of the evening was Shalamar and their dance hit Night to Remember and their version of Hey Ya!.

The audience vote went to Shalamar and fortunately so did the viewer vote. I would imagine Junior and/or Rozalla were close.

The final next week should feature Tiffany, Shakin' Stevens, Carol Decker, Hue & Cry and Shalamar.