Earthquake!

Los Angeles had a 5.4 earthquake yesterday. That's scary enough.

But imagine being under a whole slew of suspended lights and scaffolding when it happened.

Watch the mass hysteria at a Judge Judy taping when exactly that occurred...

The Mole - episode eight...

This season started off slow, but has definitely picked up and is now equally as good as the first two seasons of The Mole.

Hopefully, ABC will become desperate for an early evening family show and bring The Mole back next season in a more appropriate timeslot. We'll see soon.

So Paul has been annoying throughout most of this season. But now as he gets booted, he actually wasn't as annoying - he was even getting along with Nicole!

Since episode five, I've been sticking with Nicole to be The Mole and I'm staying with that. Paul was another suspect earlier in the season, but he really wasn't sabotaging anything (Bill actually pointed that out to me - I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to notice that had I actually been there playing the game).

Now that we're near the end of the season, I think Mark's going to win. He does seem a little confused every time he's interviewed, but I think he'll put things together and take home the money.

Bill thinks differently. Here's his thoughts...

OK, to start with what I do know. Paul went home, which I expected. Look at it from a mathematical point of view. Not a single one of the others thought Paul was the Mole. He had done no sabotage at all, played every game hard, and could not be the Mole. So, the other two non-moles, knowing that Paul could not be the mole, were left with only two people to consider when they were figuring out what answers to put down on the quiz. (For example, Nicole knew she was not the Mole, and knew Paul wasn't. She just had Mark and Craig to consider. And so on for Craig and Mark.) Even with pure guesswork each of them only had a 50/50 chance of being right...or wrong. Paul, on the other hand, had to cover each of the other three on his answers, giving himself only a 1/3 chance of getting the answer right. If neither of the other two had any inkling about who the mole actually was, all they had to do was split the 10 answers between two people, guaranteeing that they would score better than Paul. Paul's only chance of staying in the game was to correctly guess the Mole, then answer all the questions accordingly. He clearly did not do that.
So, it was absolutely no surprise that Paul went home.

So, who's the Mole? Geez, I don't know! All three of the remaining players are the correct players to have remained in the game at this point. They sabotaged more games than anyone else, played the games better than everyone else, and the best final 3 are still left.

In the How's the View game, Paul played it straight; Mark really did so as well. Both Craig and Nicole acted suspicious, both costing money. I hope Nicole can cut a straighter line on a patient than she can hold a camera still...and in the right place. I really hope all of her surgery is via arthroscope! Neither Craig nor Nicole can keep quiet, so both were at fault for losing that money. Nicole continues to play with obvious sabotage attempts...whether or not they are real. Craig does the same. Craig will hate to hear this, but those two act like fraternal twins, competing in very similar ways to see who can look the most suspicious.

In the paintball game there wasn't a lot of suspicious activity...unless you consider Mark's 52 second solution to the problem. He made a point of stating that he does these for fun in the classroom. Maybe he does. Or, maybe he knew the answers already, being able to thus ensure he could cost the game another $20,000, plus keep the exemption out of any of the other's hands.

Who's the Mole? I'm still betting on Mark. Who's second? Nicole and Craig...and not necessarily in that order...but maybe so! As a good season should do, this season's final three are the ones who have sabotaged the most, look the most suspicious...and have played the best game. They got it right. And, true to form, I will not be surprised if any one of them is the mole. Ah, the winner? Nicole.

Bill
The Mole II

Animotion's forgotten 80's songs...

Remember Animotion's comeback in the late 80's with Room To Move? Check out the video featuring clips from the 1988 Dan Aykroyd movie "My Stepmother Is An Alien".

Or even better, how about something from Animotion's second album. It's easily my favorite Animotion song, but never made the top 40 in the US. It's I Engineer.

More remakes...

Yesterday, I posted five recent 80's remakes. There's a lot more than that, but those were the very best, rivaling even some of the new music being released.

Here's some other remakes (of 70's - 90's songs) I'm a huge fan of...

Go Your Own Way - South Side Crew
This just might be the best remake ever, even though it's not a complete remake (it's more like a sample of the original song). It helps that the first time I heard it I was on one of my favorite spin rides at the Ohio State Fair (Top Scan). The original by Fleetwood Mac was great in 1977, but this is just incredible.

Cold As Ice - South Side Crew
This group does some original material as well, but here's another remake of theirs that's done well. It was originally a hit for Foreigner in 1977.

I Promised Myself - A-Teens
Nick Kamen's 1990 version is perfect all on its own. But in 2004, the A-Teens somehow made it even better.

Jessie's Girl - Collage
An 80's remake by a 90's artist. Lots of retro going on here. Rick Springfield originally made this a hit in 1981.

Who Loves You - Camp
The Four Seasons are tough to imitate. This group did a great job though, changing the song from 1975 disco to 2006 pop.

Call On Me - Eric Prydz
It's a remake of Steve Winwood's Valerie (a hit in both 1982 and 1987). Only a sample of the original song is used in the remake and Steve Winwood re-recorded the vocals for this in 2004.

80's remakes...

A bunch of 80's songs have been remade over the last couple months. Most are dance tracks, but some are just straight out pop remakes. Here's some of the better ones...

Don't You (Forget About Me) - New Found Glory
This is the song featured in the JCPenney ad that plays endlessly on TV. The commercial is like a mini-remake of The Breakfast Club movie. Originally a Simple Minds hit in 1985, New Found Glory's remake is a bit more rock, but one of the best remakes out there right now. It's from their "From The Screen To Your Stereo Part II" CD, which is full of remakes (Go West's King Of Wishful Thinking, When In Rome's The Promise, etc.).

Shadows Of The Night - Ashley Tisdale
Originally a 1982 hit for Pat Benatar, High School Musical's Ashley Tisdale has done an amazing job updating this song. It's featured in the direct-to-DVD movie Picture This and will hopefully be released as a single soon.

How Can I Fall - Butterflies Attack feat. Joe Murena
The 1988 ballad from Breathe has been remade as both a ballad and a dance song. The ballad remake is my favorite. The dance version is just tough to listen to - I can't wrap my brain around this being anything other than a slow ballad.

Summer Of '69 - Mega-Mania

It's a dance version of Bryan Adams' 1984 hit. There's lots of versions to this on iTunes. My favorite is the Picco / Jens O. / Maddin Original Mix.

Don't You Want Me - Lucas Prata & Kim Sozzi
Human League's 1981 hit was close to being a dance song to begin with. But now it definitely is. The live version is what you see when you click on the picture, but you can get the studio version on iTunes or at amazon.com on Lucas Prata's CD "Never Stop Dreaming".

The Mole - episode seven...

Nicole is The Mole! Right?

But Craig was definitely looking suspicious. And the fact that Mark is still in the game is suspicious - someone that paranoid and outwardly anal about every tiny detail usually doesn't last in this game (unless they're The Mole).

The highlight of this episode was someone not even playing the game though - Nicole's Mom. She was hysterical. From her anger at the subway door not opening immediately to her shock at Nicole's idea for how to dispose of Paul's body, she made this episode a riot.

If ever there was a two-player team Mole, that's a team that would make the show a giant hit.

That's actually something Dave Edwards, Star's former night guy, really wants - a two-player team Mole. We were talking about this a week ago - he's convinced that me and him would destroy the other teams and win the entire thing. I think he's right. The other teams wouldn't stand a chance.

As for Nicole wanting to throw the quiz and leave the game, I didn't buy that for a second. It seemed too set up (on Nicole's part, not the producers). She pulled an Omarosa there, seeming to stage that whole quit thing which just about guaranteed her more on-screen time in the episode. It was funny how her Mom even brought up Omarosa at one point. I'm sure that was by chance though, as her Mom couldn't be in on what's going on - the producers would never allow that.

Clay going home only makes me even more sure that Nicole is The Mole. I think his private talk with her threw him off to who the real Mole is - her.

By the way, last week I mentioned a screencap that had me suspicious. It was something the players probably didn't see - just the TV viewers. Here's what I was talking about. I'm sure this points to The Mole somehow.

I also talked with Bill again last week. You can hear what he had to say about last week's episode here.

So how does Bill McDaniel feel now that Clay is gone? Let's find out...

OK, sorry Heather, it's not Clay. (Our year on The Mole has been trying to figure out who the mole is as well; Heather picked Clay early on.) And, Paul is still here. Clay's a lawyer; he's supposed to know better.

First off, to start from the end, no mole worth his (or her) salt would jeopardize folks seeing their families. And, Paul actually came off as...well, likable! Shoot, how can you have a daughter that delightful and smart, and a girlfriend that delightful, and be as obnoxious as he has appeared thus far? Opposites attract? Maybe, but not that much. (Hmm. I'm thinking or Rob and Amber from Survivor; there polar opposites did indeed attract.) I saw no molish activities in the family game...other than some of Nicole's statements. She keeps trying to make us think she is the Mole. Well, to quote Al from Season 2...maybe she is!

Not a lot to go on in the game of the Dumb versus Smart ones. The most obvious person who appeared to sabotage...then come up with some sort of Dorothy-like magical math answer to Nicole's mistaken solution...and who I then started really reconsidering as the Mole...was Clay. And, make no mistake about it, he's not the Mole...unless we have a previously not considered twist to this entire show! Forget Clay.

Nicole. Bad in math, not a good counter beyond the number of fingers and toes she has? Or, deliberately sabotaging...very obviously. On the other hand, when Craig screwed up the numbers early on, she salvaged it. So, could it be Craig? Could be.

Mark. Not much action this week. No apparent sabotage.

So, who sabotaged the most? Clearly, it was Clay. Heather must be right; he must be the Mole...just as Elavia was clearly the Mole in Season 2.

Geez. How's a guy to pick? 1. Mark. 2. Nicole 3. Craig 4. There is no 4. Paul...nicer than I thought, but not the Mole.

Time will tell.

Bill
The Mole II

Sid & Marty Krofft join MySpace...

I've been a fan of Sid & Marty Krofft's TV shows ever since I was a kid.

I'm sure you remember at least one of their shows. Probably Land Of The Lost as that was easily the most popular one (and the longest lasting of their Saturday morning creations). There was three seasons of Land Of The Lost in the 70's and a remake in the early 90's that lasted two seasons.

And now the Land Of The Lost movie is in the process of filming. Go to LandOfTheLost.com to check out what the Sleestaks in the movie will look like - I'm happy to say they're an excellent update on the originals (this from someone who was worried the movie would never be able to live up to the campiness of the 70's series)!

To hype up the new movie, Sid and Marty Krofft have joined MySpace and posted Krofft Kwikies (edited down versions of some of their shows).

As of today, Land Of The Lost, H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Bugaloos, Dr. Shrinker (my favorite Krofft show), and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl are up and ready to watch. And they promise more soon.

The Mole - episode six...

Nicole is The Mole - that's all I'm gonna say. I would so win the game if I was there playing.

And did you see how the producers focused on that one vat before the execution? The vat had the three letters on it, the first being an "N". I don't remember off the top of my head the other two, but I bet they stand for her middle and last names. (I'll put a screencap of that up later.)

Bill McDaniel, season two's Mole, does not agree with me on Nicole being The Mole. Here's his thoughts...

Ok, now we're getting somewhere! By far my favorite episode of the year, hands down. Finally a good thinking game, and a game of suspense. One of the problems I've had thus far is there really has been no suspense in any of the games. Tonight that changed! Now, if Jon would only chew someone out a little just for effect! I hope all of you helped spread the word in the "Save the Mole" campaign, because if you did, tonight's episode might have captured some more viewers!

I was not surprised to see Alex go. He played the game straight; I seriously doubt that there was a single player in this year's group that ever suspected that Alex was the Mole. He just did not sabotage. That's fine, but it put him at a disadvantage; while others...Craig, Mark, Clay, and Nicole...all have done a fair amount of sabotage, and therefore have to be factored in when you are taking the quiz, Alex simply did not have to be factored in. Therefore, every week he had at least one more person to consider than most of the others. Eventually...unless he really knew who the Mole was...odds had to catch up with him. They did so.

I think Paul is in the same boat. He is obnoxious, arrogant...and plays the game hard. He has not sabotaged at all, and but for his demeanor, does not act molish in the least. If the other players see it the same way, then they are not considering him as a mole possibility. That means everyone else has one less person to try to ferret (or "mole") out as the dastardly Mole. I would not be surprised to see Paul gone next.

Ah, who does that leave!? Well, I did not especially care for the one hour review of the season...because it just pointed up vividly the constant bickering and dislike between Paul and almost everyone else, and Nicole the same way. If I wanted to see constant fighting and bickering I would watch professional wrestling. So, I really wish the review had toned those disagreeable interplays down and had given us some more fun behind-the-scene stuff. I know there was a lot of good things that went on that would have played well; it would have been much more fun to have seen them.

One thing the review did do was point out how much Craig has cost the team, either accidentally or on purpose. He didn't get the bag in the first game, didn't get any clay pigs, lost the money on the luge game, and chose the exemption when he picked impossible clothes and costumes for folks to wear. While he can't be ruled out, I still don't believe he is the Mole. However, it was impossible to miss that he got almost no answers in tonight's game. Again, could have been deliberate. Or not.

Clay has kept a low profile since getting the exemption he did not deserve. He's sinking down in my Mole quest.

Nicole continues to be extremely obvious, but indeed has sabotaged some. She was obvious in the luge game, continues to play mind games with Paul (and everyone else), cooperated with everyone in not wearing the costume selected for her, and in tonight's game was surprisingly dense in coming up with answers to the questions. Admittedly it was all math, and that may be a weak area for her. I sure hope her pharmacist and nurses do her med calculations for her patients! Molish activity in not coming up with any answers? Maybe.

Mark was quite interesting to watch tonight. Man, he was a team player. A great run, and he showed remarkable intelligence, coming up with virtually every answer the "thinkers" were supposed to be coming up with. He reminded me of Dorothy from our season...except that the last time I looked Mark is not Chinese. Could Mark have known the answers in advance? Could this be one of the games the Mole plays his little heart out in to show he is a team player? I think that is a distinct possibility.

Oh, the bungee jump. Any molish activities? None that I saw. When I had the chance to bungee jump in Season 2 I was going for it, no matter what. No sabotage, just always wanted to bungee jump. I suspect the folks tonight felt the same way...though I was a tad concerned for Craig. A trooper!

So, who's the Mole? Not Alex. 1. Mark 2. Clay 3. Nicole 4. Craig

Bill
The Mole II

The end of the world?

And I'm not talking about the R.E.M. song.

It's another "end of the world" prediction. But this time it's not a crazy prophecy.

According to a recent article in Wired magazine, some physicists say there's a tiny chance that a group of scientists might end the world in August. One physicist even breaks it down to a one in 50 million chance.

August is when the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland will be activated. It's the world's most powerful particle accelerator and might allow scientists to see invisible dark matter.

But it might also cause...

• Micro black holes - which could eventually swallow the planet.

• Strangelets - killer particles which would basically eat away at the planet until it's nothing more than a lifeless rock. That is if they actually exist - that hasn't quite been proven yet. But if it happens, at least then we'll know for sure they exist.

• Vacuum bubbles - somehow this could turn into a Vacuum Metastability Event, which would only destroy the Earth instantaneously.

• Magnetic monopoles - this sounds like it would be a very, very bad thing to happen.

Want to see a little animation of what could cause all this? Check it out here.

But don't get too worried. Chances are, Nostradamus' predictions probably have a better chance of coming true than this happening. But I'm not a physicist, so what do I know.

Save The Mole!!!

I just got a message from Bill McDaniel, The Mole (from season two of the show). As you know, every week he gives you his Mole-ish insight into who he thinks this season's Mole is.

As of now, things aren't looking good for The Mole. The Mole is in danger of being executed (or rather, ABC is close to cancelling the show).

There is a way you can save The Mole though. Here's Bill to explain how...

Save the Mole! OK, friends, you all know I was the Mole on Season 2; well the current season is a good one, but in a lousy time slot, 10:00 PM (Eastern and Pacific), 9:00 (Central and Mountain), Monday nights. The ratings are bad, and ABC will cancel the show if they do not come up. So, we need your help, please!

A recap of the entire season thus far will occur this Monday at 9:00 PM (8:00 PM Central), then a new episode at 10:00 PM (9:00 PM Central). Either watch or Tivo! Or, if you must, just turn the TV on to the right channel and go do something important!

By the way, I made a video for the producers, nothing fancy, and it is the first one below. The second video is in response to a challenge issued by the producers to come up with a great video, and this is one of those, and it's outstanding! Watch it! Only one minute.

Bill's YouTube video

Save The Mole video

Thanks!

Bill

Thank you, Bill! I've got to add, the network is monitoring to see how many people watch these clips. The only hope for another season of The Mole and to guarantee that you'll see the rest of this season and eventually find out "who is the Mole" is to watch these two short videos (each less than two minutes).

In addition to that, the Executive Producers of The Mole (Scott Stone & Clay Newbill) have created a "Save The Mole" website. On it, a YouTube video with a contest. I'll let Scott Stone explain that in the video, but the prize involves a trip to Hollywood!

On another note, I'll be talking with Bill McDaniel on Star 102.5 this Wednesday morning. He'll go into more detail about who exactly he thinks The Mole is and why. But between now and then, watch the YouTube videos and watch The Mole!!!

I miss the 80's game shows...

As much as I love reality TV, I'm sick of the celebrity versions of game and reality shows. I don't care to see how the celebrities play the games - I want to see the regular players. Game shows always tend to be more exciting that way. And crazier. At least that's how it was in the 80's. These clips I found will prove my point.

Pitfall was one of my favorite game shows ever. It was hosted by Alex Trebek and unfortunately lasted only one year (from 1981 - 1982). But I remember watching it a lot in that one year. I don't know how though - I must have stayed home from school quite a bit that year!

Then there was All Star Blitz, another favorite of mine. It was kind of like Hollywood Squares, with both celebrities and regular contestants. But like Pitfall, this show failed quickly too - it only lasted nine months in 1985.

One game show I loved that didn't fail - Press Your Luck (it ran weekday mornings on CBS from 1983 - 1986). That was the ultimate 80's game show. Big bucks, no whammies, STOP! The version from a few years ago (Whammy) can't even come close to the original. The late Peter Tomarken was an awesome game show host and the whammies were hysterical (and were created by the same guy that did the Eek! The Cat cartoon in the 90's).

That's it for today. But there's more where these came from. I'll think up some of my other favorite 80's game shows and post them soon...

Mole stuff & something crazy...

The Mole wasn't on last night, but returns next Monday (July 14th) with a recap episode at 9pm, followed by a new episode at 10pm.

Bill McDaniel (season 2's Mole) came up with an interesting theory on why Mark might be The Mole. It's a very convincing argument - but I'm still sticking with Nicole. See Bill's theory on his blog.

Next week, I'll be filling in for Rob Lucas on the morning show. Obviously, I'm psyched - it'll be a lot of fun. And part of the fun will be getting to talk with Bill on-air Wednesday morning about this season of The Mole. I'm thinking 7:40am, but I'll know the exact time early next week.

In the meantime, I found this crazy video online I had to share with you. At first, I was thinking it was kind of stupid and not worth watching. I was wrong.

A singer on a live talk show serenades the TV host. Soon after he starts singing, her hair gets stuck on a pendant he's wearing. The singer somehow doesn't notice and continues on with the song.

As it continues on, it just gets funnier and funnier. The singer is just completely clueless. I'm not even sure he understood what happened after the performance ended!

25 worst sitcoms ever...

PopCrunch.com recently put together a list of the worst sitcoms.

80's sitcoms take up over a third of the list! And 15 shows that I used to watch regularly are on here!

Here's the list...

25: Veronica's Closet (1997 - 2000) - This wasn't that bad. I actually liked Kirstie Alley better in this than Cheers.

24: Charles In Charge (1984 - 1990) - Truly awful and belongs much higher up the list.

23: The Nanny (1993 - 1999) - This was a hysterical show - what's it doing on this list?!

22: Webster (1983 - 1989) - This belongs at #1 or #2 - how did this train wreck last six seasons???

21: All-American Girl (1994 - 1995) - Boring, boring, boring.

20: Babes (1990 - 1991) - I loved this show! Wendie Jo Sperber was hysterical!

19: Mr. Belvedere (1985 - 1990) - One of my all time favorite TV shows. This absolutely doesn't belong on this list.

18: Family Matters (1989 -1998) - Okay show, but Urkel got annoying after a few seasons.

17: The Ropers (1979 - 1980) - I was one of a few that liked this spin-off of Three's Company.

16: Life On A Stick (2005) - It wasn't all that good, but it definitely isn't one of the 25 worst sitcoms ever.

15: It's A Living (1980 - 1982 & 1985 - 1989) - I used to watch this occasionally. Funny show and lasted quite a while. Probably doesn't belong here.

14: Shasta McNasty (1999 - 2000) - Absolutely hysterical UPN show. At least UPN gave it a chance, as no other network would have ever even considered this.

13: George (1993 - 1994) - George Foreman's TV show. I watched it once. That was definitely one time too many.

12: Harry & The Hendersons (1991 - 1993) - Yuck.

11: We Got It Made (1983 - 1984 & 1987 - 1988) - I never saw this.

10: Double Trouble (1984 - 1985) - I used to like this, so much so I even watched the reruns on the USA Network.

9: Perfect Strangers (1986 - 1993) - Awesome show. Someone was very confused putting it on this list.

8: My Two Dads (1987 - 1990) - Never bothered to watch it - the promos alone looked boring.

7: Baby Bob (2002 - 2003) - Baby Bob was annoying, but the sitcom was actually kind of funny.

6: Mama's Family (1983 - 1990) - How could you not laugh out loud when watching this show?! I laugh just thinking about it.

5: Caveman (2007 - 2008) - Bad. So bad. I watched only the first ten minutes. That was more than enough.

4: Woops! (1992) - A FOX sitcom about a nuclear war and the six survivors. I loved it! I still have all the episodes that aired on video.

3: Yes, Dear (2000 - 2006) - Very funny show. I can't understand why so many people don't like it.

2: Homeboys In Outer Space (1996 - 1997) - This belongs here.

1: Small Wonder (1985 - 1989) - I'll admit it was bad. But not so bad that it deserves to be at the top of this list.

A clue to who The Mole is???

This is from near the start of episode five.

You can clearly see the word "Jaime" on the wall. And it was shown more than once, so I'm thinking it has to mean something!

There's a bunch of possibilities though...

● It could be something the producers graffiti'd on the wall as a clue to who The Mole is. Maybe it's The Mole's middle name, their husband or wife's name, or their Mom or Dad's name.

● Maybe it's not actually on the wall and was just edited in as a clue for us viewers only.

● Maybe it's something the producers put on the wall just to throw everyone off.

● Maybe it's just graffiti.

Here's a closer look.

There's also a little splotch to the right of this that you can see in the main picture. But I can't get a clear image of that when I expand the picture.

This clue doesn't help me yet. But I'll be listening carefully now any time a contestant mentions any names.