Sandy H. Has Recovered From Post-Traumatic Dancing With The Stars Disorder

“If I’m being honest with you…..”

Thoughts on American Idol by Sandy H.

In June of 2002, the first season of American Idol launched and in Pass Christian, Mississippi, Leigh Ann and I were mesmerized by this marvelous new form of reality television.  Brooke and Randy were out of college, off the family payroll, and onto actual gentle employment.  Bill was away on business most weekdays so Leigh Ann and I would join the family cats in front of the television twice a week religiously.  Leigh Ann would be draped over the sofa in sweaty riding clothes, and I would be wearing something… well, fabulous probably, and sipping a glass of pinot grigio.  Kelly Clarkson became our girl.  For the first and only time in my life I voted EVERY WEEK for her. (No thanks necessary, K C. It was my pleasure.)

But the real draw, the guilty pleasure every week was British judge Simon Cowell.  When he would start a sentence with, “If I’m being honest with you…” you knew, you absolutely KNEW someone was about to be eviscerated, savaged, driven to tears or blind rage.  Some poor nineteen-year old had stood for hours in the blazing sun or pouring rain to sing (and in those days it was really bad Mariah Carey or Celine Dion) in a stadium or hotel ballroom or old theater.  She had driven hundreds of miles and brought her two best friends and grandparents, all of whom had told her she was waaaay more talented than anyone on the radio.  And then Simon would say, “Do you have a singing teacher? Do you have a lawyer? Then you should get a lawyer and sue her.”  His compliments, because they were rare, were all the sweeter and more precious.  You saw pure, sheer happiness and pride in the singers’ faces.

How is American Idol, which starts Wednesday and Thursday nights this week, going to survive without him?  Can new judges Stephen Tyler and Jennifer Lopez  step up?  Will returning dawg-man Randy Jackson, who will sit in Simon’s chair and give the final critique, be more demanding? Well, "if I’m being honest with you,” I don’t see it happening.  Still, you’ve had a good run, American Idol.  Although I for one will be watching, at least in the beginning, what I’m really looking forward to is Simon’s new show, The X Factor, starting in the fall.  Searing comments.  Humiliating moments.  And hearing him say, “All I could think of when you were performing, is how I would pay you to stop.”

Check out charming and lovable Kelly's audition below.  BONUS FEATURE: vintage Seacrest!  And don't even get me started on co-host Brian Dunkleman, who stupidly bowed out after one season because the show was "too mean."  I wonder if Ryan Seacrest sends him a holiday card from aboard his yacht every year.

DWTS Week 10: If You Don't Vote, Don't Complain, But Please Don't Shoot Your Television

Several of you informed us that we did not mention that Sandy H. wrote last week's DWTS recap.  Even though it was tagged under "Mom," "Sh*t My Mom Says," and "Guest Bloggers."  So, let us clarify here and now: this is Sandy H.'s last recap!

“Our most talked-about season ever!”  Tom Bergeron crowed repeatedly Monday night.  Not sure folks were talking about the dancing though.  One of our dancing couples received death threats and was forced to stop the tweeting that appeared to escalate the threats.  In Vermont a viewer, annoyed by the results and – according to his wife – off his meds, shot out his television last week.  At Cats in Baths, however, we are always on our meds, and we are always all about the dancing  - especially during finals week. 

Monday night began with our finalists Kyle, Bristol, and Jennifer doing a “redemption dance,” the single dance the judges thought each contestant should have performed better.  With Jennifer there was really only one dance that qualified – the paso doble, in which she had received her lowest score of the competition.  There was no doubt a wider selection of disappointing dances for the judges to choose from for Bristol, but the jive made the cut.  (Remember, this is the one they danced in gorilla suits, memorable for all the wrong reasons).  The judges’ choice for Kyle was the foxtrot, danced originally to a disco number and which we agree was a little weird. 

Monday night Jennifer’s beautiful redemption paso doble earned 10s from all the judges and a rare solo standing ovation from Len.  “I didn’t want this ever to end! I wish I had an 11!”  Bruno bubbled, and we agree.  We rewound just to watch it again, and it was even more fabulous the second time.  Kyle didn’t disappoint with his redemption foxtrot.  A huge improvement over the original, it was full of energy and excitement and earned him 9s all around.  Bristol’s redemption jive was better than the gorilla-suit version, but she’s still stiff.  Her partner Mark’s high, energetic steps are so precise that he makes her look even more unsure of herself.  Still, the judges found it a “vast improvement” and gave her all 9s.  As our friend with the shotgun might say in his gentler moments, it really didn’t deserve three 9s.  On the other hand, if you’re judging on improvement….well, maybe.

For their second dance, our competitors had the popular and important freestyle.  We know this because a bunch of people from past seasons told us the freestyle was really popular and important.  So did the judges.  So did Tom and Brooke.  This is how we strettttttcccccchhhhh nine minutes of dancing to an hour and thirteen minutes.  Anyway, Kyle’s freestyle was the “Tootsie Roll.” Although we did not learn the tootsie roll at the Alker School of Ballroom Dance in Mississippi and are thus unable to judge its technical merits competently, Kyle is still fun to watch.  There is no one of the three contestants who has come a greater distance in his dancing than Kyle.  From someone full of jokes and giggles the early weeks (and in the bottom the first week,) he has clearly tried so hard and succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.  His tootsie roll earned him two 10s and a 9 from the judges for a total of 59 for the evening.

Bristol’s freestyle was the “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago, which she had neither seen nor heard of.  Nor has she ever seen a Broadway show.  Mark probably put his finger on one of the problems (and perhaps should have gone to Plan B when he realized it) when he said that Bristol was intimidated by this dance because of her total lack of familiarity with it.  The judges pointed out that this particular dance is almost iconic and that expectations are high when it’s performed.  The Bob Fosse choreography is sharp and sultry and sexy, and that’s just not in Bristol’s range.  In short, she was painful to watch. Still, the dance earned her two 8s and a 9, for a total of 52 for the evening.

Jennifer’s freestyle, danced to “Do You Love Me?” was an effervescent, exuberant twist full of lifts and jumps and spins.  Len said she has been “a consistent, persistent juggernaut.  Fantastic!” Carrie Ann said she was “amazing.”  Bruno pointed out how much range her two dances of the evening had shown, from the dark and dramatic paso doble to the bright and bouncy twist.  It came as no surprise then that her second dance also earned her three 10s, giving her a perfect 60 for the evening. 

Tuesday night, after our competitors perform two more dances, we’ll see the “Mirror Ball Trophy” awarded to one of our three finalists.  Kyle has certainly shown the most improvement.  Bristol, probably the least gifted dancer ever to be in the finals, has been the most talked about.  Jennifer came into the competition with arguably the highest expectations of any contestant ever having starred in Dirty Dancing, one of the greatest dance movies of all time.  In this our last week, we’re just trying to be fair.  We’ve enjoyed the show this season, and we promise we will be happy no matter who wins.  As long as it’s Jennifer.

Sandy H. wouldn't let us watch this movie when it came out.
Wonder why.

Breaking English News: Prince William Engaged While Widdy Breaks It Down On The Dance Floor

Here we are, near the end of our journey with Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars.  Our two pre-season favorites, Brandy and Jennifer, were, to no one’s surprise, in tonight’s semi-finals.  Also in the semi-finals were the previously unknown (to me) Kyle, doing surprisingly well, and one very long shot, Bristol, still hanging in there in spite of weeks of being at the bottom of the judges’ leader board.  The question on everyone’s minds:  Why is Bristol still here?

The question on my mind:  Why do we vote the way we do?  Apparently it isn’t just Americans who throw the judges’ numbers out when deciding how to vote. Last week an English acquaintance brought me up to speed on this season’s Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC, the show that, on our shores, became Dancing with the Stars.”  (We share two judges, Len and Bruno, who fly back and forth during the simultaneous parts of the seasons).  One contestant, Ann Widdecombe, a former Member of Parliament, has become quite the limey lightning rod.  A Rubenesque 60-something lady with a sweet smile, “Widdy” clearly has no talent, rhythm, or ability.  (See her photo here and tell me The Situation and Kate Gosselin aren’t looking better to you?)  She has been urged by some to quit the show.  The purists say she is de-valuing dance, but still the viewers keep voting her in.  Judges and dance aficionados are horrified.  Why?  People are voting for the person they like, the person they want to win.  That’s it.  Really, neither Strictly Come Dancing nor DWTS is a dance show.  That’s why there are soap stars, retired football players, and “teen activists,” on them.  If they wanted a serious dance competition, all the competitors would be professional dancers. What if the American television audience chose the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics?  You know what would happen: viewers would vote for the person they liked – the best looking or the one who had a couple of cute kids.  We viewers don’t know anything more about ballroom dancing than we know about physics.



Behold, the grace of Widdy.



On Monday night Bristol finally gave her supporters a reason to cheer, earning three 9s from the judges for her first dance, a paso doble.  Len called her “Bristol the Pistol” and told her this was her best dance.  The audience gave her a standing ovation.  Her second dance, a waltz, was not as well-received, but still earned her a 26.  Bruno probably echoed the sentiments of many in the audience when he told her, “You have really had a journey.”  Unfortunately for Bristol, her best night was overshadowed by the best nights of all three of her competitors, all of whom outscored her.  Her final total of 53 was her highest yet, but still left her in fourth place. Jennifer earned six perfect 10s and an outpouring of praise for both her cha cha and waltz.  Bruno described her as “vibrant and sexy, with flawless execution” and told her, “You are a great dancer and never forget it.” “You are one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” Len effused.  Interestingly, Brandy earned almost as much praise as Jennifer, but was outscored by one point by Kyle. The judges cheered Kyle’s “bionic bum” and “pelvic action” in his samba, and his tango made Carrie Ann compare him to (DWTS winner) Emmit Smith.  He ended the evening with four 10s and two 9s for a total of 58. Brandy’s paso doble, strangely dedicated to “anyone who’s ever been bullied,” earned her three 9s, and her tango was worth three 10s, leaving her at the end of the evening in third place with 57.

DWTS managed some interesting filler material this week, stretching eight dances of a minute and a half each to (only) 91 minutes this week from their usual 120.  Friends and family described why each contestant has the ever-popular drive to win.  With that, we got one of the stranger mixtures of people on the planet on one show: Whitney Houston, Lou Gossett, Sarah Palin, and Jamie Lee Curtis.  Brandy and Jennifer have both been involved in horrific automobile accidents with fatalities.  Because of this Jennifer has had to deal with multiple surgeries, which she underwent years after the accident in order to appear on Dancing with the Stars.  Brandy says she was called a “murderer” after her accident and couldn’t leave her house for months. Kyle and Brandy came from humble beginnings, have both been child stars and have endured the ups and downs associated with that path.  Bristol was humiliated when her normal life was interrupted with a teen pregnancy played out in front of millions of people during the 2008 election.

So which three will be in the finals?  I’ve got my fingers crossed that my girl Jennifer will be.  She’s the only one of the four who’s never been in the bottom and, after Monday’s performance, she shouldn’t be tonight.  Moving along this same path, since I don’t have any reason to think this week will be any different from the other eight, Bristol will survive. (Last night she said that people vote for her because she’s real and not “phony Hollywood.”  You mean like your three fellow competitors, who are all from Hollywood?  That ought to nab you the Most Popular award in the dressing room).  So will Brandy make it an all-girls’ final or will Kyle make it through?  The way things are going this year with eliminations, who knows?  I still miss Audrina.

Thank God She's Back: Sandy H. Overcomes Illness To Guest Blog For Us While We Draw More Drawerings For You

So I missed a few weeks of DWTS, and my plan was to catch up on the stars and their dance moves online.  This means walking all the way to the second floor office and potentially watching HOURS of television to catch minutes of dance (I tried; I just couldn’t).  Do you realize how much they stretch this show?!  Last night the remaining five couples danced two dances for a minute and a half each. That’s a grand total of fifteen minutes of dancing out of one hundred and twenty minutes, most of it spent on miscellaneous chatter and nonsense. 

We had:  Jennifer’s dad telling her the show must go on and an orthopedist telling her maybe it shouldn’t, Kurt’s children giggling over silly scripted lines, and Bristol’s parents marveling at her tango.  In a pretty hilarious bit, Steve-O tried to teach Kyle not to be distracted from The Dance by what’s going on around you. Where were Brandy’s peeps?  I have no idea.  I was exhausted by this time. 

But enough about me and my frustrations.  Let’s have a pop quiz. Who killed hours of prime time Monday night with the following insightful questions:  “How proud are you of yourself?”, “How happy are you right now?”, “Where’s the drive coming from to see you through?”, “How challenging is this for you?”, and the ever popular “How do you feel?” alternating with the equally popular “How did that feel?” 

Correct if you answered Brooke Burke!  And Brooke doesn’t care what the answer is!  Frankly I don’t think she’d notice if they answered: “I’m not happy, have no drive, and do not find this challenging at all.” She has said that she has an earpiece so the producers can tell her what’s going on, how much time she has, and when to go to commercial.  At the same time she has to ask questions and comment on the answers.  This is HARD.  Well, if they were paying her a hundred a week or so, I’d say, yeah, maybe, but they’re probably paying her at least twice that, so can’t she figure out how to show some interest in what the contestants are saying? 

Monday night featured DWTS’s first ever “insta-dances” in addition to the dances the couples had practiced all week. For the insta-dance the contestants knew which dance they would be doing but did not know the song to which they would be doing it until minutes before they danced.  Apparently this was not that tricky, as the insta-dances provided some of the highest scores of the season, with Kyle getting two 10s and a 9 and Jennifer the first 10s all across.  Brandy and Jennifer ended the evening tied for first place, each with total scores of 57.  In her first dance, the quick step, Jennifer managed three 9s.  Brandy’s first dance, a waltz, was “an exquisite interpretation of a song, a symphony," according to Bruno and earned her a 29.  Her insta-cha cha yielded a 28 and some testy words between judge Carrie Ann and Brandy’s partner Maks. (Well, when you start an instant dance with a few seconds of walking down the stairs, you can expect repercussions from the judges.  They hate that).  Kyle ended the evening just one point below the two leading ladies with a 56.  The judges gave his first dance, a waltz, three 9s with Len telling him, “You were a bulb last week and this week you’re an orchid.”  His insta-jive to “Good Golly Miss Molly” was a huge hit.  He had the crowd on its feet, and Carrie Ann said it was “the most fun she’s had on the show this season.”

Now you may want to be sitting down for this next piece of news: the two at the bottom of the leaderboard were Kurt with 48 and Bristol with 47. So why do people continue to vote for these two?  In spite of their obvious lack of musicality and natural dance abilities, they both just keep soldiering on, clearly trying as hard as their more talented opponents with weaker results.  Personally I think Kurt is adorable, and Bristol has overcome her shyness of the early weeks.  Now she’s at least giving Brooke more than a one-word answer to those ridiculous questions.  They and their partners were obviously disappointed with their 8s, but honestly, I thought 8s were about right – even generous.  So do you think Bristol and Kurt will be in the semi-finals next week?  We’ll have to tune in tonight to find out.  I thought Audrina would be in the finals, so I’m staying away from any more predictions.



Sandy H. picked up a few of these guys on the cruise ship,
but thank God she didn't let it stop her from enjoying two painful hours of DWTS.



Bristol Palin, Maybe You'll Get Lucky and Your In-Flight Movie Will Be "Snow Dogs."

Sandy H. has decided that to celebrate the anniversary of the day she gave birth to the greatest person in the world, she is taking a cruise through Portugal, Morocco, the Canary Islands, and across the Atlantic to the Bahamas, so this will be her last DWTS recap for a while.  I'm going to sacrifice watching Gossip Girl for the next two weeks so I can try my hand at not just writing a recap but actually sitting through an entire episode of DWTS, which I have not yet accomplished in my 29 years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sandy H. writes: Happy Birthday, Bugs!  Guess what!  You're 8 years and 364 days older than Bristol Palin.

I miss the old Dancing with the Stars:  The crying, the fights, the divas.  The producers must miss it too so they’re getting a little desperate.  Last night Jennifer walked out on Derek during rehearsal to … take a walk.  She took her purse!  Will she ever come back?  Yes, she did!  That was pretty much it.  And we must have seen at least three or four promos of this excitement. 

During the first-ever TV Theme Week on DWTS our stars in Week 5 seem to be either too nervous or too tired or just too bored to show the passion and emotion that makes us want to watch them.  Brandy and Maks’s quick step earned their highest score of the season – a 27.  Dancing to the theme from Friends, they want us to know they really really like each other so much in spite of their earlier difficulties.  (I enjoyed the difficulties! And I’m not buying this friendship thing one bit).  Florence and Corky danced to –you’ll never guess this one – the theme from The Brady Bunch. Even though their tango earned only 21 from the judges, it was their highest score of the season.

One reason we watch DWTS is to see the progression the stars make from non-dancers to ballroom swans.  We think that just maybe we could dance too.  Of course, with weeks of professional training, not to mention the help of Hollywood stylists and makeup people, maybe we could.  (Also, the fear of public humiliation in front of 20 million people would be incentive enough for me).  Favorite question from Bill H. during past DWTS:  “Which one’s the pro?”  This year he’s not asking that so much.  In Week 1 Jennifer and Brandy and Audrina were really good.  They’re still really good, and most of the rest have just sort of plateau-ed.  So 4*s this week to Kurt who finally jumped off the plateau with his adorable foxtrot to the theme from Bewitched.   The judges praised his “easy casual” musicality that reminded them of Gene Kelly.  Bruno said he was “brilliant.”  The dance was good enough for Len to stop talking about Kurt’s huge “ham hands.”  Apparently, that’s a good quality in a football player, not so much in a ballroom dancer.  Kurt earned his highest score of the season, a 24, as did Rick, who hauled out Kobe Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson to tell partner Cheryl what a Hard Worker and Perfectionist Rick is.  Although Len said his rumba was “not a romance, more of the couple staying together for the children,” he still gave Rick an 8. Way too high as far as I’m concerned.

Jennifer and Audrina danced well last night, but, given their excellent past performances, they underwhelmed.  The judges gave Audrina a 23 for her rumba to – here’s another shocker – the theme from The Hills.  Did someone hear that song and think what an amazing rumba it would make?  Really?  And Bruno wanted Audrina to be “pulsating with passion” during her rumba.  I mean, Audrina is sweet and beautiful, but I just cannot imagine her rumba-ing with pulsating passion.  Still, what do I know?  I’ve never met the girl.  Jennifer did a more than competent foxtrot, earning her a 25, the second highest score of the evening.  Compared to her fabulous tango from last week, the judges seemed disappointed, as were we.  That’s too bad because if almost anyone else had done the same dance, we would have been thrilled.  That’s what you get for being fabulous.  You spoil us.

 

At the bottom this week were Kyle and Bristol.  Kyle and his partner did a sort of disco foxtrot to the Charlie’s Angels theme that’s just hard to explain.  It was the old John Travolta disco-arms-over-the-head thing but with foxtrotting feet.  To answer your question, yes, it was as weird as it sounds.  Len said, “It started bad and it gradually got worse and worse.”  He awarded our boy a 5, but the other judges were kinder and Kyle ended up with a total of 20.  As far as Bristol goes, we’re all still trying to get that girl to show more personality.  Her partner Mark really did all that he could do, bringing in clowns to teach her to do big smiles and big sad faces.  The pair donned monkey suits to jive to the theme from The Monkees.  Unfortunately, a personality still didn’t emerge, and it didn’t help that she forgot a lot of the routine. Her 18 was the lowest score of the evening.  I think Bristol may be headed back to Alaska, and, big sad face here L, yesterday was her birthday. 

Next week we have “Rock and Roll” Week to look forward to, the first week the dancers will perform two dances each. That will surely separate, as Judge Len says, the “dancers from the chancers,” whoever they are.  



Pack your bags, Bristol.



Because You Don't Watch It But All The Ladies In Your Office Do And You Want To Fit In

On to Sandy H.'s Week 4 Dancing With The Stars Recap!

“That was a get-a-room-dance!” – Host Tom Bergeron to Florence Henderson.

We said farewell to Margaret Cho last week.  I won’t miss her or her dancing, but I will definitely miss her adorable parents sitting in the front row of the audience every week.  It was always good to see them sitting there looking happy and so obviously proud of their daughter.  Margaret says such mean things about them in her standup act that either they are the most forgiving people in the world or their English skills are limited.

Monday night it was all about Brandy, Audrina, and especially the fabulous Jennifer. You heard it here first: These three girls will be in the finals.  No one else is even close.  Receiving the first 10s of the season and a score of 56, Jennifer was dazzling in a tango that was described by the judges as “incredible,” “precise,” and “amazing.”  Even with a neuroma in her foot and screws in her neck, this girl is a wonder, and it didn’t hurt that her music was an actual tango.  Sometimes DWTS hurts its performers by using music that is a little too hip for the occasion.  Brandy - wearing as little as is legally permissible on television: her underwear and a scarf - looked beautiful, her rumba earning her a 48.  Her partner Maks skipped the spankings this week, thank goodness, and the two seemed more connected in spite of the cheesy “date” the producers cooked up between the two.  Something tells me that when all this is over, Brandy and Maks won’t be getting together braiding each other’s hair, and reminiscing about the good times on DWTS. Audrina’s tango couldn’t quite match the magic of last week’s waltz.  Len said he was “not transported,” and Bruno found her “cool and detached.”  Still, the dance earned her a 46.  Anyway, let’s celebrate Week 4 with 4*s to these girls for pulling away from the rest of the pack.

Just to shake things up, DWTS celebrated an “acoustic” week with the dancers on a small, round, elevated stage inches from the audience.  Dancing rumbas or tangos, each couple received two scores: one for technique, another for performance, with a maximum score of 60. With two sets of marks showing just how far ahead Jennifer, Audrina, and Brandy are from everyone else, maybe we should hold off on doing that again any time soon. (The Situation’s score was exactly half of Jennifer’s.) The night’s theme may have been acoustic but the overall tone was, as judge Carrie Ann said in describing Florence’s dance, “sexy, raunchy, dirty.”  The Sitch finally showed his abs; Bristol’s partner did the whole tear-the-shirt-off thing; and Florence’s passionate rumba embarrassed the judges.  The bottom six are getting a little desperate.

The Sitch’s tango was arguably one of the worst in the history of the show.  Personally I think Kate Gosselin’s paparazzi number holds that honor, but The Situation is very, very close.  Judge Len Goodman described it as “consistent – bad throughout.”  The Sitch’s partner Karina danced around him.  He was just a piece of equipment, unable to manage more than a couple of steps and lifts. With a score of 28 (and that’s out of 60, mind you, NOT 30) Mr. Sorrentino is probably out the door. Bristol’s unfortunate rumba, earning a score of 32, was not much better. She seemed to spend a whole bunch of time lying on the floor, limiting her actual dancing.  And that may have been the plan. Her partner Mark tried to convey the emotion she was lacking with the old shirt removal trick.  Didn’t help. 

Athletes Kurt and Rick were in their usual middle positions, scoring 34 and 39.  Why did it seem this week that several of the stars weren’t holding up their end of the deal, just standing there like poles for the pros to dance around?  We already know the pros can dance. That’s why they’re there.  I think Kurt and Rick have lost interest, and as a consequence we’re losing interest in them.  No interest = no votes.  That’s not the case with Florence though.  She may have only gotten a 35, but when you’re 76 and people describe you as “dirty and raunchy,” you know she’s leaving it all on the dance floor. Doesn’t mean she can dance, of course, but she wasn’t so bad she’ll be gone this week. Kyle wasn’t bad. This may be damning him with faint praise, but he was the best male celebrity dancing last night. He’s 19, enjoys a great cheeseburger more than a great rumba, but at least he looks as if he’s having fun and trying.

Florence and Kyle, Kurt and Rick may be especially lucky that this is the season of The Situation and Bristol. I will be amazed if those two aren’t out this week and next. I keep waiting for them to surprise us and finally grasp the whole concept.  Hasn’t happened though. They just seem to have hit a plateau of bad dancing that isn’t going to change.

As soon as I pushed “Send” on the blog last week, I regretted what I’d written. I hate it when I do that. I’ve been really hard on Bristol and I want to apologize. I realize that for most of her life she was just a Regular Girl, becoming famous suddenly because of a series of events – some of her own doing, some not.  She’s competing against seasoned performers who, if not dancers, are certainly accustomed to crowds and critics and interviews. (For the sake of argument, let’s just agree now that what Audrina and The Situation do on The Hills and Jersey Shore can be described as “performing.”) I have been critical of Bristol’s modest clothing choices on the show, but the person I should have been talking about was the middle school girl I saw get off the school bus on our street this week.  Did her mother actually let her go out of the house like that?  And her school did not send her home to change and/or call Child Protective Services?  Jeez.  So here are 4*s to Bristol and 4*s to all the shy, fashion-challenged, small town Regular Girls who take a chance and step outside their comfort zones.  Not enough of us do that. At 19 I could never have done what Bristol’s doing.  Even for money.*

*Okay, maybe for money.





What everyone wants to be this Halloween:
A Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone.



Sandy H. and the Dancing With The Stars Recep: Week 3

“Walk with your feet.  Dance with your heart,” from Judge Len Goodman to Audrina.

We had to say bye bye to Michael Bolton who received the only “3” anyone can remember a DWTS judge ever give.  Happily, last week was not a total loss for Michael.  He was mentioned on Glee – not in an entirely positive way, unfortunately.  Glee kids don’t actually sing “Adult Contemporary,” or, apparently, even enjoy listening to it.  Still, a mention is a mention.  AND, because Susan Boyle got a sore throat and can’t perform Tuesday night, Michael gets a gig singing on DWTS. (Better than Michael dancing.)

I balanced my checkbook yesterday afternoon, and I have numbers on my mind, so here goes:

         6 ½:  The number of dancers – Stars or Pros - who removed an article of clothing.  This week’s theme was "Dances that Tell a Story."  Taking off your clothes shows the judges you’re Really Getting into Character.  Rick gets the ½ for being a tease, unbuttoning his shirt but not removing it.  Another week has passed without The Situation showing that body part he so wants us to see.  And, even after the removal of a trenchcoat, Bristol still wore enough clothes for an arctic winter.  More on this later.

         1 – The Crying Count was down this week, with only Florence weepy over reminders of her late husband.

         2 – Comeback Kids: Two close-but-not-quites of the last couple of weeks danced into my heart, so a few little *s go to Audrina for her lovely waltz.  The story was something about dancing with her soldier-lover. Or maybe he was a ghost.  Whatever.  At least there wasn’t all that saluting people did last week.  Judge Len told her she had “danced with her heart.”  Audrina got the highest score of the season so far, a 26, with Bruno and Len both giving her 9s.  BTW, somebody please go get that girl a cheeseburger.

Also a few little *s to Brandy for a nice bounce back from a less than stellar performance last week.  She got a 24.  Extra *s to her for putting up with being spanked in rehearsal by her partner.  That was really tacky.  (Just gossip here, so don’t pay ANY attention to this, but, supposedly her partner Maks thinks she’s a diva and is doing what he can to get her off the show.  Of course, I for one don’t listen to gossip, but he definitely doesn’t have the chemistry he had last season with Erin Andrews.)

Also receiving 24s were Jennifer and Rick – both doing sambas.  Jennifer got a little mixed up somewhere in there, and those mean judges, one after the other, had to keep pointing it out.  Rick and Kurt (who got a 23) are both natural athletes but not natural dancers.  Maybe the judges are a little kinder to them than they deserve, but both really seem to enjoy themselves.  Also with a 23, Kyle – I’ve still not met anyone who’s ever heard of him – is a joy to watch, just surprisingly graceful.  Carrie Ann said she could “feel his passion out to his fingertips!” I hope people vote for him even if they’ve never heard of him.

Lower down the leader board but probably safe cause who’s not going to vote for Mrs. Brady, Florence Henderson (in a corset-y dirndl showing more cleavage than Bristol) received a 20 with her v e r y   v e r y  s l o w  a n d  s l e e p y waltz to “Edelweiss,” arguably one of the most annoying songs in history. Her partner also sported military garb.  They love that stuff on DWTS. The audience loves her, but the judges not so much this week. Tied right there with Florence is The Situation who’s not as awful as I thought he would be.  He and his partner danced to “Boom Boom Pow” by The Black-Eyed Peas.  Maybe not what Fred Astaire would have chosen for a foxtrot but it kinda kept your mind off his dancing.  It was some kind of time travel thing that made Len say, “If that’s the future, I’m glad I live in the past.”

And down at the bottom were Bristol (with a 19) and Margaret (with an 18).  Bristol stopped by the Golden Girls’ yard sale this weekend and picked up a frock for the evening.  I swear they use so much yardage on her clothes there’s no fabric left for Audrina and Brandy who have to go backless every week.  I mean, you can be modest, but this is crazy.  Mostly the judges criticized Bristol’s acting ability, not her above-average foxtrot.  “I know there’s something in there.  Show it to me, Baby,” Bruno told her.  Well, Bruno, that’s almost exactly what I’ve been telling her the last few weeks and she hasn’t listened.  And, frankly, I think showing a little skin wouldn’t hurt her scores either.  

Margaret, wearing a rainbow-fringed outfit, did a samba dedicated to being “out.”  I think.  “This is the gayest thing that has ever happened, so I could not contain myself,” she explained.  The judges praised the message but not the dance.  Sadly, someone will be eliminated Tuesday night.  That said, we do have The Return of Michael Bolton to look forward to!

I love any excuse to put up a picture of the Girls.

Sandy H. Brings You Dancing With The Stars Recap Week 2: "Ya Gotta Take Chances If You're Gonna Win Dances"

Even when they’re terrible, I’m always sad for the first person booted off a competition reality show.  I mean, whether you’re a celebrity or a civilian, and whether you’re dancing or cooking, it must be embarrassing.  I have read that on The Apprentice they offer psychiatric counseling to the weekly losers. The person relating that story said that, on being offered counseling, she declined, telling them, “Really? I mean - I’m okay.  You know, this is a TV show.”  That said, The Hoff is history on DWTS.  Although I’ve never really forgiven him for Baywatch, I still want to say sorry to Germany.

This week Michael Bolton dazzled with his terrible-ness.  Never in all my Dancing with the Stars viewing years have I seen a judge give a “3.”  But when you start your dance by crawling out of a doghouse, you invite all sorts of “pooper scooper” and  “doggy mess” analogies from the judges, who were not kind.  I AM kind, but I’m afraid Michael will be saying bye-bye Tuesday night.

Crying contestant count this week:  Two.

First: Audrina, whose problem was that she is practicing so much she never gets to see her boyfriend. That, Readers, is what passes for a difficult life when you are beautiful and young and live in LA.  And second: Margaret, whose happiness doing the jive made her exclaim, “I’m actually a dancer!”  Well, you’re better than last week, Margaret, but Michael Jackson’s ghost is not exactly worried sick about the competition.

Jennifer Grey’s jive gave her the highest score of the evening, but the boos from the audience seemed to indicate they thought she deserved more.  Her journey to this season’s DWTS started less than a year ago with a routine physical to be sure she was fit enough for the show.  The doctor discovered cancer.  Thank goodness for her that she has since been treated and cured.  Thank goodness for us because, if Dancing with the Stars saved her life, she is saving this season’s DWTS. (There is some online discussion that the boos were for Sarah Palin, in the audience to watch her daughter Bristol.  I prefer to think of the DWTS audience as polite, dance-centric folks, passionate about the judges’ numbers and not polling numbers).

The other dancers seemed to be just running – literally, cause they were doing the jive and quickstep – to keep up.  Audrina and Rick hung in there.  Kyle was delightful, and, for someone not exactly in shape - he trains with cheeseburgers - he was awfully good.  Margaret Cho dropped last week’s bad comedy routine and now just needs to train her face to stop looking weird.  She says that’s “just what my face is like.  I can’t help it.”  Good answer.  The Situation is trying, Lord knows, but his pleas to his partner to dance to “club music or hip hop” sadly have gone unheeded.  His partner Karina had a death grip on him trying desperately to lead him, but at some point he decided to start counting steps – not a good idea because he and Karina were on different counts.  My prediction:  he’s safe at least until he has at least one ab-baring dance.  Token Old Person Florence isn’t bad, but the quickstep is an exhausting number. 

Kurt is just so likeable and he really does have rhythm.  For some reason Brandy did a silly shimmy solo this week.  I didn’t like it and the judges didn’t either.  Was that her idea or her partner’s?  She says it was his, but I’m not so sure.  Bristol, Sweetheart, you’ve gotta show some personality.  You really don’t want to be known only for (a) having a famous mother and (b) getting knocked up.

So Judge Len Goodman’s advice this week to Bristol: “Ya gotta take chances if you’re gonna win dances” applies to all of the above. They’ve all got their hearts in the right place, but the magic’s just not there yet for most of them. They’ve gotta step it up if they want my ****s.

Two notes from Leigh Ann: does Bristol Palin have a personality?  Second, when I first saw the stars at the end of Mom's recap, I thought it read "... if they want my s***" and I was all like, whoa, Mom.  Whoa.



Bristol Palin's personality on full display. 
Wonder what's going on behind those expressive eyes?



Guest Blogger Sandy H. does Dancing With The Stars Week 1: "It's Never Too Early To Panic"

So said DWTS judge Len Goodman in describing David Hasselhoff’s underwhelming waltz.  I love that!  It may be my new mantra.  And actually it’s pretty good advice for David who wasn’t what you could describe as even remotely good.  So Dancing with the Stars is off to another fabulous season.  I’m hooked and I don’t miss Kate Gosselin!  If you missed the show in favor of truly mindless entertainment instead of this programming masterpiece - I'm looking at you Gossip Girl and MNF fans - you missed some real Moments. 

Jennifer Grey and Brandy are clearly the early frontrunners.  Jennifer produced the first tears of the season when she danced to a song from Dirty Dancing and talked about Patrick Swayze. I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a prediction: Jennifer and Brandy in the Finals. (And, if they don’t make it, I will cleverly “forget” this prediction).  Watch the show just to see Jennifer dance.  She says she wants to recapture the feeling she used to have when she danced years ago and I think she can do it.

But there are a couple of dark horses in the race especially Kyle Massey.  Who is he? He’s likeable and cute. Why didn’t my children ever tell me to watch his show?  (Sandy H.'s children interject: umm, we have no idea who he is either).  NBA player and Tar Heel Rick Fox is a big happy man with a big happy smile, but the 16” height difference with his partner is disconcerting. Let’s hope there’s a lot of jitterbugging this season and not so much close-contact waltz stuff.

Not so hot were Margaret Cho whose crazy clowning waltz made me (and the judges) wonder if she had really fallen or was just goofing around.  She’ll be gone soon.  And The Situation Sorrentino was simply awful but claimed to only have had 5 days to practice.  Didn't they all have 5 days to practice?  Those two, along with David Hasselhoff, had the lowest scores of the night.

Somewhere in the middle were:

Bristol Palin: Loosen up, Girl.  You're not that bad!

Audrina Patridge: Pretty girl, maybe another dark horse, but does Middle America know her to vote for her?

Kurt Warner: Nice man, has a long way to go.

Michael Bolton: A VERY long way to go.

Florence Henderson: Love her!  Showed her bra and abs for The Situation AND likes to swear a lot in rehearsal!

And, finally, we have decided to award the coveted Cats in Baths *stars* this week not for dancing - because we have ages to do that - but for something much more important:

Plastic Surgery

**** (4) to Florence Henderson, who’s 76 and looks 56.

**** (4) to Jennifer Grey, who’s 50 and looks 30. Okay, I miss The Nose too, but, c’mon, she’s gorgeous.

**** (4) to Michael Bolton who’s 57 and looks 40.

*** (3) to The Hoff. The face work looked a little tight a couple of years ago, but has settled down nicely.

Congratulations, All!  Nice "work."  Ha.

The Hoff before and after.

The Nose before and after.

CiB Is Thrilled To Introduce Its First Guest Blogger

We are pleased to announce that Sandy H. will be a featured guest blogger for Cats in Baths, offering her solicited opinions on the new season of Dancing With The Stars. 

Sandy H. writes:

About a hundred years ago when I was a kid, I lived in a house with no air conditioning and one television set.  In those golden days of yore it was the parents who decided which program to watch. (Now you see why I am the troubled person I am.  Childhood abuse will do that to you).  Way too frequently my parents chose to watch The Arthur Murray Show, where an old coot – Arthur – and his minions demonstrated various ballroom dances.  It was beyond boring.

Inspired by Arthur and ever in search of new ways to torture me, my parents at about that same time enrolled me in ballroom dancing classes. I was the tallest in my class. Not tallest GIRL, the tallest PERSON.  I was boob to nose with most of my partners.  Nice.  It took us all about a month to master the box step, which, according to our extremely qualified instructor, is the basis of ALL other ballroom dances. The box step is about one-trillionth as interesting as it sounds.  Eventually we moved on - first to the waltz. ONE – two – three.  ONE- two – three.  All those noses bobbing up and down next to my boobs.  Not good.  And on to the Latin dances. One two, cha cha cha. One two, cha cha cha. (We had to count when we danced.  That definitely enhances the dance experience.  Try it).

All this leads up to why I have been asked to review this season’s Dancing with the Stars.  Clearly, my qualifications speak for themselves.  I will, depending on my mood and the fabulosity of the Stars, be awarding our Stars stars from one * to four.  Actually my first **** of the season go to the casting director of DWTS for having the genius to hire The Situation and Bristol Palin.  I would give them ****++++ if they had also gotten Levi Johnston and Snooki.

Image Courtesy

DWTS starts tonight, Monday, September 20th at 8 PM EST on ABC.  Reviews and recaps start ... sometime after that.