She will be back. Pretty sure she would not give up that kind of money since she would'nt make it as a singer. I wish I could renegotiate my work contract. They just take lines away from us and theaten that if we don't produce more they will outsource to other companies like India, how is that for job motivation.

My girls are going to an American Idol concert in August, they are excited.

I have a gallbladder problem, but I can't miss work tonight. -Wish me luck. Z, are you really watching Jon and Kate????

Kara needs to go. She is of now value. Paula is the show and so is Simon those two need to be there or what is the point in watching.

Hi Sherry T!

Firstly, I hope this current "gallbladder problem" of yours is manageable, and isn't a more serious, or chronic condition.

On a personal note, my 84-year-old Mom had her gallbladder surgically removed this past
winter after an MRI scan revealed a stone lodged in the bile duct, causing excruciating
abdominal pain,which until the imaging test was an undiagnosed mystery.

Thankfully she rebounded almost immediately, and has since fully recovered.

At least you are aware of your problem, and seem to be dealing with it, but I hope it's
resolved at some point, and wish you well.

Secondly, re/ the on-again-off-again American Idol fiasco brewing around the ultimate fate
of petulant, perky, Paula Abdul, I believe it's pretty much a calculated ruse on the part of the "Idol"folks to just stir the PR pot of conjecture and intrigue, creating a buzz among the
legions of American Idol fans, and ensuring brand loyalty for yet another successful
season on Fox.

Last year, as we "Idol" fans may recall, many were questioning the addition of seasoned tune-smith, Kara DioGuardi, anticipating some kind of drawn-out cat-fight and a natural built-in rivalry between the two gal-judges, and yet as the season progressed Kara and Paula seemed to get along fairly amicably.

There appeared, in my eyes, to be more of a tension between ego-centric Simon Cowell, and the new gal-on-the-block, Ms. DioGuardi, whose sometimes overly- technical and lengthly critiques of individual performances just plain got on Simon's nerves, and he reacted accordingly, in his own predictable, signature boorish and cutting way.

The addition of the 4th judge did create some early problems last season, just from a logistical standpoint where on one show they broke away for the finale as Simon was in the middle of a critique. Also, some of the judges got short-changed in the time they got for their critiques, to the point where toward mid-season they actually alternated, by pairs of judges, who would get to
assess individual performances, instead of all the judges waying in on each contestant's effort.

I felt a little badly for Randy Jackson last season, as I sensed, after some 8 seasons (?) of "Idol", he had almost become a caricature of himself, w/ his cliched phrases (DOG! ....It didn't quite work for me, dude.... sounded a little pitchy.....etc.) reflecting almost a default position for him, where instead of Paula being kind of out-shone by the fresh, new, energetic Kara, Randy seemed to be more negatively affected by her presence on the judging panel, and took a back-seat posture.

I agree w/ both you Sherry, and our blogmeister, Mr. David Z., that Paula will return for yet another season of this blockbuster FOX reality T.V. juggernaut. As much as the naysayer-Paula-haters love to put her down, and promote the myth that she is somehow addled-headed and plagued by personal addictions and demons, I see her as a very. together, shrewd, positive, and talented 'entertainer', who will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Can't wait till next season.

I generally skip most of the early cross-country audition shows, which are maybe a notch, in quality, above the old Gong Show, created by that insane T.V. programming genius, Chuck Barris.

Sherry, I hope your daughters have a blast at the "Idol" concert later this month. It was a very talented crop of young talent this past season. Should be an outstanding show.

Oh, just a little parting recommendation: My friend Saji (a copy-editor w/ the L.A. Times) and I took in a little matinee at the Arclight Theater in the Sherman Oaks ("gag me w/ a spoon") Galleria today; a new film, "(500) Days of Summer", starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom, and a dreamy Zooey Deschanel as the character Summer.

What a delightful, emotional, superbly-acted movie, inventively shot in my hometown of Los Angeles, chronicling the lives of two seemingly perfect-for-each-other young people who struggle to connect, but have differing perspectives on what's happening to them as their intimacy grows.

I won't say a word more (don't want to be the spoiler), but I think, as both an artist and a sentimentally romantic slob, I can bet you won't be disappointed w/ this sweet film, and the sound-track is marvelous, and very NOW, but w/ a great Simon and Garfunkel chestnut very appropriately thrown in to give a whiff of nostalgia.

Seems to be a lot of Baltimore-centric blog postings by Mr. Z of late, which is cool, but being way out in the boonies of LA LA Land, I don't really feel informed enough, or impassioned enough about Baltimore happenings, or issues, to comment.

Looking forward to more of your astute personal observations, Sherry T., and thanks for your kind thoughts regarding my ill-fated split w/ my old public-school sweetheart, Mimsy, all those many years ago. It's funny how those emotional hurts in our lives never really leave us. It's what makes us ALL human, I guess.

Bye for now,

ALEX

Hi ALEX! Really good to hear from you again. I will have an answer to all of your questions later. I have to be at a family reunion today in just a little bit, which means getting kids out the door on time. I see you were up late posting. Yes, some of the articles are related to Baltimore, which do not relate to me over here in Ohio either, but there is plenty more to comment on and I check everyday to see what is new. It keeps me informed on so many levels and keeps me current. You would be surprised how many new shows I have found from Z's blog, In Treatment is a very good show on HBO, which I would not have known about except for David Z. I am shocked at how many people I work with do not even watch the news, so you can't have an intelligent conversation with them about anything new in politics etc. This blog gives me an opportunity to hear what other people are thinking and I love the way that David Z writes. I will have more later, but because of time constraints I really have to run!! Again, really glad to hear from you.

Also, "Hi Z". Have a great day!! I'll be back!

Hello Sherry, Have a good day. Z

I'm back, Sherry T.,

Indeed, I was up fairly late blogging last night (actually early this morning), but keep in mind there is a three hour difference between Eastern Standard and Pacific Time here in L.A..

I concur w/ you that one of the primary reasons for continuing to regularly 'tune in' to this blog is the thoughtful, observant, and qualitative writing of our blogmeister, David Z., and his penchant for finding and sharing his views on shows and 'docs' that are must-see broadcasts that may entertain, maybe even educate, or emotionally move his loyal fellow bloggers.

He also gives us his more critical, yet honest critiques when perhaps a highly anticipated, or star-studded, can't-miss new show, somehow misses the mark, and falls woefully short of all the build-up and media hype.

I also appreciate how he takes the time to actually respond tersely, yet to the point, to so many of the comments aired on his blog, which just tells me he really cares about the content and impact of his various postings, and wants to create a genuine forum for discussion and fair debate in his unique niche in the sprawling, thriving, ever-evolving blogosphere.

I think I have to break down and subscribe to HBO. It seems that this cable stalwart just has too many great shows to ignore any longer. I was a huge fan of Seinfeld, actually coming quite late to the show, yet thru catching all the incessant reruns from about the fourth season on, I'm pretty much a bona fide aficionado of this ground-breaking ensemble-style sitcom. (You're saying to yourself, what the heck has this got to do w/ HBO, already?)

Basically my little shout-out to Seinfeld, was a lead-in to my admiration for Seinfeld co-creator/ writer Larry David, whose "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is one of the pillars of HBO's line-up, and one of the main incentives to me finally getting HBO w/ my Time-Warner Cable service.

I'm also a huge fan of Brit-transplant comedienne, Tracy Ullman, who has her own hilarious comedy show on Showtime, yet another void in my cable channel lineup.

All I can say is thank God for my three amazing L.A. -area PBS outlets, contributing to maybe 60% of my overall T.V. viewing pleasure.

I confess I'm a PBS-snob, and proud of it! I don't have a poster of 'doc-jock' Ken Burns up in my living-room, but if such an item existed, I would likely have it prominently hanging w/ my various pieces of tribal art and prized contemporary artworks.

Sherry, it's cool that w/ your busy, hectic life in Ohio as a working mom, and thoughtful, and caring gal, that you make, and take the time to regularly connect w/ other bloggers, and I applaud you for your input, and thank you for your dedication to this site.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Ciao for now,

ALEX

Hi Alex,
Yes my two girls are big fans of American Idol so I am able to hear and stay caught up with most of it through them. I don't watch it too much myself. I seem to be more interested in the political scene and I hate to say it was a Jon and Kate plus 8 addict. However, that may be waning somewhat since they have given themselves over. I am trying to make this pertain mostly to the blog article so that Z doesn't lose patience with our personal conversation on the blog.

To answer your previous question, yes the gallbladder is acute right now, but after having a conversation with my mom, (83 years old) she had this same problem and did not opt for the surgical route. So I might try to ride this out, especially since anesthesia and I do not get along. I could give you specifics to the nth degree of testing that could be done etc. because that is my field. I am only radiology classes away from a degree in that field (my current degree is medical assisting), which would pay more and I sometimes think about going back to school since those classes are all I would have to take to be a radiology technician. I transcribe a lot of radiology and medical and all of the radiology doctors have offered to write recommendation for the program, I worked in it for five years. Sounds like your mom's MRI caught her problem, but yes the abdominal pain is excruciating. There is a scan called a HIDA scan that I will probably have, which basically tracks the contrast through the biiary ducts and to the liver where it it excreted and they can tell a lot from that. I wonder why these things tend to run in families. It is interesting that our whole family on my mom's side have a congenital heart murmur, my grandma, my mom, me, and my daughter all have it. Genes are interesting things.

Anyway so as not to become a blog hog and to wear David Z's patience thin I will end my book here.

Oh yeah, Seinfeld was the best show on ever, such great writing, a truly funny show I love to catch reruns. You should get on HBO. Apparently we are missing a lot. And, yes I did forget about the time difference or did not know that you were out there in LA LA land. Anyway, if you can or have the inclination and want friends in Ohio, I am on facebook (Sherry Tellitocci). Z is on facebook (I hope that is okay to say). Might be better than taking up all of this space. I'm glad you are back on the blog, I enjoy your comments. - Sherry T.

Hi Sherry T. and David Z.!

I apologies for unwittingly becoming a bit of a"blog-hog" (Oink! Oink!), and from here-on-in will make a concerted effort to keep my 'personal stuff ' to a miniscule minimum.

As a young-at-heart 63 year-old late-comer to computers and the seemingly limitless possibilitiesof the Internet, I'm still a tad wet-behind-the-ears re/ all the diverse communication 'tools' available on-line, such as Facebook, My Space, and Twitter, which I naively viewed as basically ways for mainly young folk to communicate on a more personalized level; not us older (more mature?) cyber-surfers.

Now I realize that Facebook would be a much more appropriate outlet for my on-going, back-and-forth on-line conversation, and recognize that I was kind of abusing the basic modus operandi of your (David Z.'s) blog, particularly, of late, in my 'small-talk' exchanges w/ you, Sherry T. (which by the way I have thoroughly enjoyed.)

Going forward, I will do my best to keep the focus of my commentary on the issue(s) discussed and debated on this site, yet still give my 2-cent's-worth, or on occasion maybe my full dollar's worth. HA! HA!

Sherry, thanks for setting me straight re/ the "hogging" issue, without admonishing me too harshly and before our "patient" blogmeister David Z. had to put his foot down.

See both you guys on Facebook in the near future.

Like all new ventures/ adventures, there will be a natural learning curve, but I'm a quick study and a fast learner.

Sherry T. and David Z., just keep on boggin'! (Apologies to cartoonist R. Crumb.)

ALEX

ALEX,

No need to apologize. Please do join facebook it is an icredible way to connect with people. Add us. You have so much to offer.

Z's too nice to put his foot down anyway!

Sherry T.