Sad and happy days...

What a weekend...Saturday, I picked up my friend Bryan (who's visiting me from Indiana) from the airport. And on the way back, my car wouldn't stop shaking when I passed 60 MPH. Not good...we got to the 101 from the 405 and the shaking got even more intense...to the point where it didn't stop no matter how much I slowed down my car! Then came this grinding sound...it was a flat tire:


Click the pic to see video of the mess...you'll need Quicktime to view it
We pulled over to the side of the road. I called up AAA to set up a membership and get car service. But as we were waiting, a very kind highway patrolman escorted my car as I slowly crept off the highway and into a gas station parking lot. The gas station didn't have a tire service.

As we waited in the blazing valley heat, AAA's towing service came. They helped me replace my tire with the donut...and...lo and behold...there was car repair shop JUST across the street. LITERALLY across the street. Drove the car over there...and noticed another wheel had a nail in it.

Upon further inspection, all four tires needed to be changed. Seeing how I hadn't changed the tires since 2000, it wasn't a big surprise.

That little mishap threw the day into a tizzy, but not enough to keep Bryan and me from meeting up with my friends Jeff, Jon, Adam, Keith, and Brad to see...

That's right..."Happy Days: A Family Musical"...with Joey McIntyre (yes, that one) as "The Fonz." And I have to say...it was FANTASTIC. No, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm really sincere. It was one of the most fun live shows I've seen in a while.

I enjoyed the show at least 100 times more than "Lestat." Sure, it was a little cheesy. Sure, the 2nd act starts to get a little episodic, but who cares? The performances were awesome. Love love love the cast. The music reminded me of what a great songwriter Paul Williams is. And you just couldn't help but leaving the theater with a big smile after it ended.

If you live in the L.A. area and are looking for a great way to spend a summer night...whoops, wrong show...I IMPLORE you to go see "Happy Days: A Family Musical". That's right...go click the link...buy a ticket before it sells out again (if it hasn't already)...Do it!

Sunday, I found a couple of new games at "Toys R Us"...The "Deal or No Deal" board game and the "Deal or No Deal" card game. A bunch of us tried the board game. The instructions turn a simple game into a complicated multi-player game that requires a bit too much bookkeeping. The design of the parts was ok, but the cash cards tended to fall out of the cardboard briefcases if you didn't hold them tightly enough. The gameplay was ok...I think part of the appeal of DoND is the simplicity and unfortunately, the multi-player format takes away from that. And what's up with there being no $1,000 bills in the play money? After playing through one game, the general mood was, "ok, we tried that...what other game can we play now?"

Didn't try the card game yet...based on the instructions, it's a bit simpler, but it's a little odd having the bank offers determined by a card draw from a special "bank offer" deck.

Yikes..it's Monday already...gotta get to bed...

For the next several days, be sure to check out Carjoy - my friend Jeff and Jon's blog about their current road trip. It's awesome...I mean, they went to Jollibee. I LOVE their burgers!! (Even if they DO taste like meatloaf.)

What the BLANK?!?

So two quotes from some recent reality shows that have amused me to no end...

From "America's Got Talent": "David Hasselhoff is absolutely right!"

From "Master of Champions": "It's all about the cheese."

Summer programming never ceases to amaze me! And speaking of which, I've uploaded some backstage pics from Thursday's swanky "Match Game" episode of "Gameshow Marathon:"


Click the pic to link to the pics
The panel on this episode was the panel I wish we had for the "What the Blank" pilot I was a producer on a couple of years ago. Kudos to the talent bookers...It was the closest (in terms of the archetypes) to the classic 70s panel we've seen in a while!

Ka-Chung!

It's a link to a link...but it's one that's worth it...

Check out this video I found courtesy of TVGasm:

Connie Chung like you've never seen her before

They suggest Julie Chen and Connie Chung together...I think it should go even further than that by getting Bai Ling, Chung, and the Chenbot together!

Shark attack...

Just posted a couple of backstage pics from the "Card Sharks" episode of "Gameshow Marathon."



Click here and then click the link to the "Gameshow Marathon" pics at the bottom to check them out.

See me get my Jim Perry on!

Best...headline...ever...

Thanks to my friend Sam for a link to this wonderful article:



(Thanks to my friend Ryan for the tip on the screengrab.)

I knew it all along! But THOSE weren't the models I had in mind. :-)

Oh and as Sam pointed out...also on the page...a pic of Richard Chamberlin. Hmmm...

(There are two blog posts for today...check out the second one below!)

Double Mint

So the one thing I've loved about the 'net over the past couple of decades is that it's made it easier to find new music - especially stuff from indie artists.

Tuesday night, by sheer coincidence, I was able to see two 'net finds live at The Mint in Los Angeles.

First, there was Matthew Jordan. I had discovered Matt's music through the Piano Rock forums. And shortly after that, I believe we bumped into each other for the first time at a Ben Folds concert at the Avalon. He turned out to be a quite nice guy and had very good taste in music. It wasn't until a couple of years later (2004-ish I think) that I first saw him perform. It was his solo act at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. It was quite an impressive performance...

Tuesday night at The Mint, I saw him for the first time performing with a full band. It was another excellent show. A few of the songs which I had heard at the Hotel Cafe gig had even more life and energy to them. It was very cool hearing them fully realized. And on top of it all, Matt throws in a cover of "Way Over Yonder" from Carole King's "Tapestry." Again, a really solid, entertaining set.

Now, that would have been enough to satisfy my music fix for the evening but there was more!

A few months ago, I had one of yet another long string of "friend requests" from music artists on Myspace. Usually, I ignore them, but this one I checked out...Whose profile was it?

Timothy Daniel's...quite worthy of an add to my Myspace list. Shortly after getting the friend request and adding him to my list, I purchased a few of his CDs. The music was good and one of those rare instances in music where you get more than your money's worth!

Well, this morning, I got a Myspace message from Timothy Daniel alerting people that his last day in L.A. was Tuesday and that he was performing at where else? The Mint!

For one thing, I didn't know he was in L.A. and second of all, how convenient was this!? I stuck around after Matthew's set to catch Timothy's set. In between the sets, I noticed Timothy in the corner of the bar chatting with some people. I strolled over there and introduced myself to him. And sure enough, not only is the guy talented, but he's such a sweet guy. He seemed very gracious and even asked to snap a pic of him and me with his camera...I'm guessing for his webjournal.

So, 11 rolls around and the crowd starts to simmer down. Actually, it's quite the appropriate setting for Tim's one-man set. Just him, the guitar, and all of us gathered around the stage to watch him. And he did NOT disappoint. A great way to end the evening.

Who woulda thunk? A little clicking around on the internet leading to two entertaining music finds. If you're into singer-songwriter-style music with catch melodies definitely check out Matt and Tim's Myspace pages or their official websites in the link a few pargraphs above in this blog.

#2 of one

Don't forget...



Fox Reality's FIRST original reality series debuts Episode #2 on Monday night! It airs 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT and airs again at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.

BIG PICS! BIG PICS! NO WHAMMYS!

They're finally up! I uploaded a bunch of pics from my backstage travails while consulting for "Gameshow Marathon".

These are pics from "Let's Make a Deal" and "Press Your Luck." There will be more to come from "Card Sharks," "Match Game," and "Family Feud" as those episodes air...

In the mean time, enjoy the first batch by clicking here!

BIG BUCKS! NO WHAMMYS! STOP...

...at the return of one of my all-time favorites!

The "Press Your Luck" we grew up with is BACK as part of CBS's "Gameshow Marathon" hosted by Ricki Lake. On Thursday, June 8th, Kathy Najimy, Tim Meadows, and Leslie Nielsen will vie for BIIIIIIG BUCKS for a lucky home viewer! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy as they play the most exciting game of their lives!

I did some side work consulting for this episode of "Gameshow Marathon" and was there for the taping, and I have to tell you...it was awesome. As I mentioned a few months ago on this blog, it was SO surreal seeing the old big board back and the old Whammy animations as well.

It airs THURSDAY at 8 PM Eastern/Pacific on CBS. And for those of you in South Florida...TiVo or record the Heat game...trust me...This game of "Press Your Luck" is quite amazing...

To whet your appetite, here's a pic of me with host Ricki Lake (who is TRULY a fan of the show) at her podium in front of the fantastic reproduction of the classic big board:



Don't miss this one! Not only does it look great, but the game that played out was very exciting one...

One is the loneliest number...

Another pluggity plug plug...

Be sure to catch the world premiere of...



Fox Reality's FIRST original reality series. It premieres Monday night at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT and airs again at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I was there for a few of the days and even seeing it as it happened minus the trappings of post-production was QUITE compelling...

EYE-podcast

And now...



The very first ONE-EYED podcast on mandelweb.com

You must have the latest version of Quicktime to view the podcast.

Enjoy!

ARRRRR!

No, it's not me trying out for the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie...Just a little flesh wound on the eye...

I'll have more about what the hell happened in a podcast I'll post after I rest up...