New Stuff! (Gossip Edition)

Ready for some gossip?  I hope so, because there's lots to talk about.

It's true.  American Idol has officially added another judge for season 8.  Maybe this is what the show needs to bring back its top-notch ratings which seemed to slip last year...  Maybe.  So who is Kara DioGuardi, anyways?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  I researched her at my favorite reliable source (Wikipedia, duh.) and found out that she's a songwriter.  She's been nominated for Grammys (but has never won).  She seems like she's basically a budding pop star's dream come true; her songs have been recorded by the likes of Hilary Duff, Pink, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, and Carrie Underwood. 

Marcel from Top Chef's second season was arrested in California over the weekend on suspicion of drunk driving.  I'd drive drunk too if I had that much potential to be a hottie but hair that was completely out of control.  Ha.

I can't wait to watch the Democratic National Convention tonight--JENNIFER HUDSON is performing!  The National Anthem, no less.  Rumor has it that she was hand-selected by Barack himself.  Talk about fierce!

Are Hef and Holly actually getting married?  Well, probably not, but it looks like there will be a "big wedding" on the forthcoming season of Girls Next Door.

Are you a girl?  Are you hot?  Are you between the ages of 21 and 32?  Are you a DIVA?  If you answered yes to the above questions, this show might be your ticket to success!

More later...

Some news.

So, Tila Tequila thinks that she is responsible for the legalization of gay marriage in California. Hahaha.  I mean, yeah, her show crossed a few boundaries I guess, but let's be honest: who in the California legislature watched her show?  

This sounds interesting...  Bravo is going to have a spinoff of Top Chef for kids!  I wonder what kinds of challenges they will have.  Who can make the best PB&J?  Who can cook mac & cheese the fastest?  Haha.  Actually, I have a feeling that the show will be a hit, and I definitely look forward to watching it.

No surprise, but Oprah is atop Forbes' list of 100 richest/most powerful celebrities.

The Bad Girls Club is looking for new roommates for its third season on Oxygen.  Any takers? They will be interviewing in Cleveland, OH, Scottsdale, AZ, and Detroit, MI.  Random cities, don't you think?

Final Thought: Happy Birthday, Kendra!  You're fiercely.

SYTYCD & Top Chef, etc.

So You Think You Can Dance? has gotten into the good part of the season--the top 20 are now competing in couples and two people will be eliminated each week.  I caught a few of the performances tonight and I have to say that the talent this season is good but it doesn't yet look like there are more than a couple of standout stars.  Hmm...  I'm not ready to pick favorites yet or anything like that, but I have a feeling that in the next couple of weeks the best dancers will really step it up.  Great show.

I'm currently watching the Top Chef finale and it's pretty straightforward, as it should be.  The three remaining chefs must prepare a traditional four-course meal for a black-tie event: fish, poultry, red meat, and dessert.  Usually dessert isn't a required course for these finales, but I think it's an important part of being a top chef, you know?  Anyhow, Stephanie's cooking looks the best to me, for the most part.  Her philosophy is just making good food that people will enjoy.  Lisa's decided on an Asian-inspired menu which is strange, and her food looks good for the most part but I think it would have been a better idea to go with a more traditional menu. Richard is the gadget guy, bringing liquid nitrogen into the kitchen.  His food is incredibly innovative and showy, but it does look great.  Who wins?  Home viewers decided that Stephanie should be given the title (60% voted for her versus like 36% for Richard and 4% for Lisa).  STEPHANIE WINS!!!

This sounds like a joke, but considering it's Nicole Richie, it probably isn't.  The Simple Life star is trying to get a network to pick up her new show--in which they (she?) search for the next HER. Don't get it?  Me neither, really.  Oh, and get this: the winner of the show will then go on to have her own reality show.  It's like third-generation reality TV or something.  Crazy.

Celebrity Rehab's next season looks like it'll be a good one, with housemates such as Aaron Carter and Nikki McKibbon (from American Idol's first season).  Hahaha, what a show!

In case you've been living under a rock (or on a cruise ship in Europe...)...

Quite a few reality shows are nearing the ends of their seasons, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to catch you up on what's going on!

Top Chef: Chicago

The most recent elimination challenge pitted the chefs against one another in two teams for a wedding reception.  One team cooked for the bride while the other team cooked for the groom. Richard won, Nikki packed her knives and went home.

To find out who else has been eliminated this season, check out the episode guide from Bravo.

America's Next Top Model

For their most recent challenge, the four models had to do a photo shoot with Nigel Barker. That hardly sounds like a challenge to me!  He's so hot.  Anyhow, they were posing with a male model and were dolled up like 50's-era Hollywood leading ladies running from the paparazzi. Earlier in the show, the girls each took a turn as the photographer and did a shoot with Paulina Porizkova, judge and former supermodel.

Who's left?  Anya, Fatima, and Whitney.

I Know My Kid's A Star

I only watched a few episodes of this show, but it was pretty ridiculous.  To be honest, none of the kids are all that talented...  Anyhow, the finale was tonight, and McKenzie won.  Lora says that she was the best one as well as the only kid who wasn't completely insane.

Project Runway

There isn't currently a season underway, but there has been lots of gossip about everyone's favorite fashion show lately...  After next season, the show is moving to Lifetime network!  A few weeks ago, it was announced that Nina Garcia was being fired from Elle magazine, jeopardizing her role on the show!  Luckily for us, Perez has figured it all out.  Hmm...

Dancing With The Stars

I haven't watched one single episode of this season which is especially strange because it was last season that inspired me to start my blog...  Remember my obsession with Sabrina Bryan? Anyhow, Tuesday night's was the 100th episode, and they pulled out all the stops, including having the judges rate the 10 best dances from all five seasons!  Here's a brief show recap, including the impressive list of guest appearances.

Here are a few of my favorite performances from their list:

1. Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke's freestyle

2. Mel B & Maksim Chmerkovsky's paso doble

3. Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson's jive

4. Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas' paso doble

My personal favorite: Sabrina & Mark's jive, mostly because Mark Ballas is a ballroom GOD!

Top Chef Chicago--Episode 2

I'm sitting here eating a delicious Lean Pocket and I'm reminded that I watched the second episode of Top Chef Chicago last night.  It was great!  Sometimes people tell me that I should audition for that show, and I totally would, but to be honest, the chefs on it are so talented and have much more experience and training than I do...  But maybe one day.

Anyway, for the Quick Fire challenge, the chefs had to make a dish in 30 minutes using fresh ingredients from a local farmer's market.  Oh, and they were only allowed to use FIVE ingredients aside from salt, pepper, sugar, and oil.  Wow!  Actually, I think I could handle this challenge; it's basically all about keeping it simple, fresh, and delicious, something I'm pretty good at.  Mark won the Quick Fire challenge, so he was granted immunity from elimination.

After they drew knives (that's how they set-up teams or pick orders), the chefs were told of their Elimination Challenge: to cater a party for 200 people at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  The twist: each team must highlight and utilize ingredients that are part of the diet of a zoo animal--bears, gorillas, lions, etc.  Interesting...  It was an exciting challenge as they only had three hours of prep the day before the event.  Some teams messed up by trying to cook things the day before and then re-heating them at the event; other pitfalls included mushrooms stuffed with blueberries (sick!) and soggy celery chips (ew!).  In the end, Andrew wins the challenge and Valerie is sent home.  

Final Thought: How DUL does this recipe sound?

Top Chef

I'm watching the premier episode of Top Chef.  Have I mentioned that I'm pissed because I had no idea that it was in Chicago this season?  Ugh, if I had known, I would have tried to run into some of the chefs.  Oh well.

Anyhow, it's good!  There are a lot of super talented chefs and their first elimination challenge--to re-create a classic dish--is a great choice.  Anyone can make a crab cake, a lasagna, or a souffle (right?), but who can make it new and interesting?  Obviously not Nimma; she got sent home.  She over-salted her shrimp; what kind of amateur makes a mistake that basic?  

Check out the contestants here!  I hope to be tuning in quite often for this excellent show.

Friday Findings

Another slightly gay-slanted Reality TV blog is reporting something that I find to be a little ridiculous...  Jack Mackenroth, everyone's favorite fruity beefcake on Project Runway, is dating Dale Levitski, the mowhawk-clad runner-up from Top Chef's third season.  Am I the only one who thinks it's kind of a joke?  I mean, they're both definitely good looking guys, but after watching both of them regularly on their respective shows, I can't really see there being much romantic chemistry.  I can definitely picture them going out in Boystown and having a fab night together, but let's face it, their personalities don't really work together in a "dating" sort of way.  But maybe I'm just jealous.  Incredibly jealous.  Oh, PS--the two apparently "met over Myspace."  I've done that before and, well, I'll just leave it at that.

In other Bravo TV news, studio execs have announced that two shows I've never really watched (Shear Genius and Top Design) are both being slated for second seasons.  I'm indifferent.

I'm planning on catching up on some shows tonight through Sunday, so expect some fierce updates.  I hope my readership didn't go down while I was vacationing in the South of Indiana--hahaha.