Sometimes it just takes a little picture to make me feel better...

Sigh...Andy Gibb really was so dreamy.
"Lay your head upon my shoulder. Put your worries in my pocket. Lay your love on me awhile."

"She was the best dancer at St. Bernadette's...with the worst reputation."

Annette Charles passed away from complications due to cancer at the age of 63 on August 3, 2011. She played the fucking amazing Cha Cha DiGregorio in the film Grease, and planted herself firmly in my heart as the bitch I loved to hate. Charles also played a bunch of hottie boombalatti characters in a bunch of 70s television shows ranging from Emergency! to Barnaby Jones. And she had memorable roles in a couple of my favorite episodes of Bionic Woman and Banacek.

Truth - I used to get Annette Charles mixed up with Roz Kelly, another popular character actress from 70s television who was always getting typecast as a lady with a lot of T&A. Roz of course played Pinky Tuscadero on Happy Days, among other things. It was only a couple of years ago that I realized my error.

"A lock of hair...from her chest!" 

(Screenshots courtesy of clothesonfilm.com)

Annette Charles will be sorely missed. I think I'm going to do a little handjive in her and Cha Cha's honor.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 - Top 6 performances

Christina Applegate and Lil' C were the guest judges. This week our top 6 dance with each other, with an All-Star and do a solo routine. I'm just going to comment on the two pair routines because the solos are just whatever.

Melanie:
Hip-Hop with Twitch - This was probably the hardest or "krunkest" routine I've ever seen from NappyTabs, and it was funny seeing Melanie get it. But she did kind of great. Can I just say I love Lil' C as a judge? So good.

Sasha:
Contemporary with Kent - Hmm...Tyce Diorio choreographed a very emotional routine. I don't know if I really "got it". But boy did Sasha make an impression. Both Christina Applegate and Lil' C cried as they gave their glowing reviews of this girl who has steadily become my favorite dancer this season. By the way, Sasha's dad is Al Roker.

Marko:
Paso Doble with Janette(!) - First, yay! I'm so glad Nigel & co. have decided to bring back a bunch of different All-Stars. It's so nice being able to see these people dance again. Plus my boyfriend Dmitry Chaplin (another SYTYCD vet from season 2) was the choreographer. There was this one amazing move in the Paso where Marko swings Janette around his head as if she were the cape. It. Was. AWESOME.

Tadd:
Lyrical(?) with Ellenore (!!!!) - My sweet amazing Ellenore is back dancing on my tv and I couldn't be happier. Ok, she's dancing with Tadd in a cool Sonya Tayeh routine, so yes I can get happier. Although I agreed with Nigel that I wish that there'd been more dancing in the routine; it felt like we were watching the first few minutes of something tremendous. I still think Tadd is phenomenal for a b-boy.

Ricky:
Contemporary with Jaime - I really like Dee Caspery's choreography. He is still someone that does not look like a dancer. At all. He looks like a plumber, but he sure knows how to create beautiful art. Ricky has such good flow and movement when he dances. I completely agreed with Christina Applegate's criticism; I wish he had more emotional impact for me.

Caitlynn:
Samba with Pasha - The samba might be my favorite ballroom discipline. A samba choreographed by my boyfriend Dmitry Chaplin and danced by sexiness personified Pasha Kovalev? Yum. Caitlynn was pretty good too.

Sasha & Ricky "Whacking" (?) - Uh, you know that dance move from the 70s that all the couples on Soul Train would do where they move their arms around the head in fast vogueing-like movements? That was called "whacking". Good to know. At least it was a disco routine from someone other than Doriana Sanchez. Choreographer Kumari Suraj reminded me of my cousin Beverly. Everything that Lil' C said.

Melanie & Tadd Broadway - I wanted and waited for this pairing all damn season. And thank God they got Spencer Liff (off topic - could Spencer be any hotter?) instead of stupid Tyce. Such a great routine!

Caitlynn & Marko Jazz - Sonya Tayeh is just brilliant. Marko and Caitlynn were both superb. May be the best of the night.

Good grammar. It's what's for breakfast!

I've found a kindred spirit in Allie Brosh and her blog Hyperbole and a Half. Go read it. NOW! Start with this awesome post from April 2010 where she complains brilliantly about the common (and aggravating) grammar mistakes people use while commenting/blogging/farting around on the Internet etc. It's like she shares a brain with me; for reals.

The posts about her two dogs are also really f*cking hilarious. Ms. Brosh is also cute as a button (see photo in FAQ), which is just ridiculously unfair.

SYTYCD season 8 Top 8 Performances

Some quick thoughts about the routines performed from the top 8. Even though they separated the girls and boys up for the first part of the show, the 8 danced together for the last half so I've lumped my comments together for the two partners.

Sasha:
Quickstep w/ Pasha - I usually love Johnathan Roberts' ballroom choreo (and it's great to see him on here instead of DwTS) but I did not like this routine. You know something's wrong when even Pasha isn't doing it for me.

Melanie:
Contemporay w/Neil - It's Mandy Moore so OF COURSE she's set the dance to an 80s pop song, this time revisiting Total Eclipse Of The Heart. But you know what? I loved this routine! I really want Melanie to be in the final 2; she's amazing. Shirtless Neil wasn't bad either. Yum. Melanie's grandma's reaction to Gaga saying she was her favorite dancer was priceless.

Sasha/Melanie - Jazz from Sonya Tayeh
I mean, come on. Could you ask for a more perfect partnership. I LOVED this routine. My top 2 in this competition hands down. Can I get an all female finale?

Caitlynn:
Hip Hop w/ Ivan - I'm liking all of the new hip-hop choreographers this season (no offense to NappyTabs ans Dave Scott), especially this Marty Kudelka guy. I thought Caitlynn was pretty great and Ivan was a revelation! I hated him so much in season 2. I'm so worried after the judges tepid praise for her, that Caitlynn will be going home. So I threw a bunch of online votes her way.

Tadd:
Jazz w/ Lauren F. - LOVE. I couldn't even make fun of Mandy Moore using yet another 80s song. Because it's Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" and because she choreographed a fun routine that LaFro and Tadd killed (dropped hat and all).

Caitlynn/Tadd - Foxtrot from Johnathan Roberts
Once again I liked the ballroom routine a lot more than the judges. Gosh I really think Caitlynn is going to go home unless folks out there vote like fucking crazy.

Jordan:
Jazz w/ Ade - Ugh. I really can't stand this girl. She's so annoying that I can't even appreciate how truly a great dancer she is. I hate her face. Not even my beloved Ade could make this crap Tyce Diorio routine good. But then the judges fucking SHOCKED me by gushing over Jordan's performance. You guys! I'm afraid that the judges are totally going to ignore the people (again) and keep this irksome girl to torture me another week.

Jess:
Lyrical Hip-Hop w/ (gag) Lauren G - When did I start liking Jess? Sigh. This isn't good; I need one of the guys to hate. And why is he so good at hip-hop (at least lyrical) all of a sudden? I rarely dislike a NappyTabs routine and this was no exception; Gaga totally trashed NappyTabs though (hee hee). I still HATE Lauren Gotleib though. There's nothing anybody can say that will change my mind.

Jordan/Jess - Rumba from Jason Gilkerson
So much damn ballroom tonight, jesus. Hee hee Jess is so short, Jordan had to dance barefoot. At least Jordan got criticism for once.

Ricky:
Jive w/Anya - Wow. Ricky's kind of great at ballroom. What's up with that?! This was a great jive even though Nigel and Mary had criticism for it; done to one of my favorite covers, "River Deep, Mountain High" sung by Celine Dion. I am concerned based on past weeks and the judges that he might go home this week.

Marko:
Contemporary w/ Allison - Damn Sonya Tayeh, your choreography slays me. Marko and Allison were perfection. Gaga crying was a BIT much though.

Ricky/Marko - NappyTabs hip-hop
These two contemporary dancers kind of killed it with swagger. Gaga really hates NappyTabs doesn't she?

Other SYTYCD stuff:
As of this writing I'm leading in my 2 So You Think You Can Dance fantasy leagues and I'm #6 ranked nationally. Let's see if I can pull this off.

And on a sad note, they just released the list of the 2011 SYTYCD tour cities and neither Seattle nor the surrounding area are on it. In fact, the tour isn't coming to the Pacific NW or western Canada at all. I'm so damn disappointed I can't even tell you. I guess I'll be flying to Bakersfield CA? Fuck.