Dancing With The Scars?

Exhale! I know you've all been holding your collective breath, wondering which Dog and which Pony would face the music on the upcoming season of ABC's Dancing With The Stars. Cap'n Bob, not so much. My girlfriend enjoys dancing, so we will sit together and watch Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," when it's on during the Summer re-run slot. Nothing else is on the tube, that's for sure. I enjoy a good baseball game when it matters, but games that matter are few and far between during July and August. Fox's fare is filled with undiscovered professional dancers, who possess actual talent, only needing a shot to find success in their chosen craft. ABC on the other hand, takes people who already have success and notoriety, and creates a fish-out-of-water environment that is part America's Funniest Videos, part Gong Show and part "Hey honey - there's a bad traffic accident on I-85 South - grab the baby, and let's go check it out!" For the life of me, I'll never understand the attraction. In a nutshell, the ABC show has been a series of pretty people, packaged in sequins and discomfort, taught to explore their inner embarrassment quotient. No matter how much rum I ingest, it doesn't get any better for me. So which pretty people got the nod for 2009? Marie Osmand has already done her time, so to keep it all in the family, it's Donnie's turn. He fits the mold, and should do well, if moving forward in this competition is considered doing well. Next pretty face? Kelly Osbourne, she of the loins of Ozzy. Pretty is a relative thing, and she should be very glad her Mom (Sharon) is the relative she got most of her looks from. Pretty face # 3? Chuck Liddell. OK, you lost me, ABC. There are probably a lot of people reading this who are unfamiliar with The Chuckster, who at one point was considered the toughest guy on the Planet. He's a pearly-white-bodied, not classically handsome, Fu-Manchu'd, shaved-side-headed-Mohawk-wearing former mixed martial arts champion, until a couple of consecutive beat-downs and knockouts killed off a goodly portion of the brain, that keeps you upright and prevents (for the most part) drooling as you talk. He seems like a nice enough guy, who just happens to use elbows, knees, feet and fists to choke or render unconscious any human set in front of him. Note to choreographers: DON'T PUSH THIS GUY! Anyway, the celebrity pool has apparently been drained for cleaning, because these 3 rank among the more-recognizable names on the docket for 2009-2010. Yeah, there are some other D-listers, but in an extraordinary "reach" they've included Tom DeLay (now where do I know that name from?). As in, former Republican Congressman Tom DeLay of Texas. As in, why is he not in Congress anymore? Oh yeah - even though he was House Majority Leader in 2005, he was indicted by a Texas Grand Jury on money-laundering charges, which are still unresolved. That's money-laundering of the F-E-L-O-N-Y kind. I can hear it already.... "Hey Doris - grab the kids and gather 'round the TV set for some good 'ol dancin', San Quentin style." Nice role model. My guess, John Edwards was unavailable, but you can write it down that you heard it here first, as a prediction for season 2010-2011! The good news for people who actually like good dancing is Fox has expanded their turf, to run a season of So You Think You Can Dance this Fall, in direct competition with ABC's Drag-A-Bag contest. Should be an interesting head-to-head. ABC's theory, apparently, is that if FOX pulls their head into the lead, they've always got Chuck Liddell to bash it in.

Our Mann Travels website is undergoing some major upgrades, but we have just added the capability to watch video online. The first one is Royal Caribbean's new super-liner Oasis Of The Seas, which will be coming out in December of this year. It will be the largest cruise ship in the world, by a pretty hefty margin, and they want to emphasize the tremendous variety this ship will offer to families. In particular, what it offers the tykes and young-'uns which will free up Mom and Dad to relax and enjoy their cruise. Here's a link, and there will be many more videos to come as we move forward:

http://www.manntravels.com/video/index.cfm?mc_id=2

Which is witch?

You're all familiar with Salem Massachusetts, where trials were held a few hundred years ago to determine the witchy-ness of some of its inhabitants, based on whether or not they could float when dunked underwater. Not a high spot in Salem's judicial history. But some other-worldly connection may still be at work in the recently-filed case of Pereira vs. Speliotis. Back in March of this year, 19-year old Timothy Pereira rammed into Christine Speliotis's car head-on, and police were quick to note that Pereira had been driving 85 mph in a 35 mph zone. Further, he had lost control of his vehicle at that speed, swerving into Ms. Speliotis's lane and causing the crash. Done. Case closed, right? Eh, not so fast there Buck-o (no pun intended). Even though this appeared to be an open-and-shut case, enter 17-year old Brandon Pereira. Brandon happens to be Timothy's cousin, and he was injured during the crash. Now he has filed a lawsuit against Ms. Speliotis, for negligence! (Huh???). His suit claims that if she had been quicker to respond when his cousin had crossed into her lane, and if she had merely swerved her car into a nearby ditch to avoid the collision, no one would have gotten hurt. Except maybe her. And maybe even died, but Brandon and Timothy would have been just peachy. You have to hope that the Judge will at the very least order Brandon to pay all Court costs at the end of this debacle. Whoever he convinced to represent him as an attorney and advisor ought to be dunked a few times himself, then placed in the stocks for public humiliation.

You named that baby WHAT??!!

According to the Charlotte Observer, there was some weirdness going on in the Southeast United States, during the month of July 2009. In a 30-day span, there were a number of people arrested and charged with murder. Unfortunately that's an all-too-common occurrence these days, but this set of perps has a unique bond. Who is this murderer's row?

Jerry Wayne Damron (Taylorsville, NC)
Edward Wayne Edwards (Louisville, KY)
Anthony Wayne Thomas (Orlando, FL)
Travis Wayne Baczewski (Austin, TX)
Heath Wayne Overstreet (Roanoke, VA)
Jon Wayne Boyer (Nashville, TN)
David Wayne Hoshaw (Norfolk, VA)
Kenneth Wayne Baker (Churchville, VA)

The Court system also denied the appeals of 2 convicted murderers:

Mark Wayne Wiles (Ravenna, OH)
Carl Wayne Bowen, (Swansea, Wales UK)

But all is not lost! In Caroline County, VA there was another trial in July, of a defendant name John Wayne Peck. He had been arrested in 2007 for murder, but was found by a jury of his peers to be not guilty. I'd have a hard time convicting anyone named John Wayne myself. Know what I mean, Pilgrim?