Madness Has Been Announced

ABC finally announced the cast for Dancing With The Stars Tonight. This season there will be:

Michael Bolton (Singer)

Margarte Cho (Comedian/Actress)

Rick Fox (Retired NBA Forward)

Jennifer Grey (Baby Who Is Never In The Corner)

David Hasselhoff (Like you don't know? Don't hassell the Hoff)

Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady)

Kyle Massey (Someone who is alleged to be an actor. And a Rapper. A Disney rap star.)

Brandy Norwood (RB Singer)

Bristol Palin (Sarah's daughter. Famous for having a child with a d-bag)

Audrina Partridge (The Hills)

Mike Sorrentino ("The Situation" that gives Italians a bad name)

Kurt Warner (Retired NFL Quarterback)

Now this is an interesting cast for a couple of reasons. Partly because there is no clear favorite in my opinion.

In case you forget, my rule of thumb is if there is an Olympian, bet them. They just get it. There are no models, so no easy outs (e.g. Kathy Ireland, Paulina Porizskova). There have been some pro-sports greats that have gone deep (e.g. Jerry Rice, Emmett Smith). However, there have been some pro-sports greats that have stunk up the joint (e.g. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler).

As far as the entertainers go, we have some singers, but neither of them are really known for their dancing. Florence Henderson, actually, might have the most dance background on the list as she used to be in Broadway musicals. Of course, that was like forty years ago.

With this cast, I think, at least for the men, I am going to go with the Osmond rule and make David Hasselhoff the favorite for now. He's a performer. Is he in Donny and Marie's league, I have no idea yet, but we'll find out. For the women, I'm going to say Brandy. Of course, when we see pairings, we'll know more about who to favor.

Another Interesting Lawsuit.

Rick Norsigian just got sued in Federal court by the Ansel Adams Trust. All for using something he picked up at a garage sale.

What makes this so interesting? And why are they suing him?

Apparently Rick Norsigian went to a garage sale a few yearsback. There he picked up some glass plate negatives. When he got them home, he realized what he had bought: some lost Ansel Adams negatives. Eventually, he came forward and said so.

And the Ansel Adams people looked at him skeptically. The grandson of Ansel Adams, Matthew Adams, even came out and stated

"Mr. Norsigian has been claiming these negatives were made by Ansel Adams for many years,...I am unaware of anyone knowledgeable agreeing with him."

Well, some people apparently do agree with Mr. Norsigian. Actually, a bunch of experts who studied the negatives and came to the conclusion that they were Adams' work. So Mr. Norsigian is putting on a show of the "lost" Ansel Adams pictures and selling prints.

So what does the Ansel Adams Trust do?

Why they sue him. For selling the pictures he prints off the negatives. Although they are doing it in a slightly sneaky way. They are going after him for calling them Ansel Adams' work.

Going to be interesting to see how this works out.

More Rumour and Innuendo about the Situation (DWTS Pre-Season)

Alright, I've been gone a while. But that happens when trial heats up. However, its on hold. Which is a bummer. Add to that my beloved Giants are faltering, so what to do?

Talk about Dancing with the Stars rumors is a logical choice. Right?

Anyways, apparently since my last posting on the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars, some things have been happening.

The only thing for sure is that Karina Smirnoff won't tell us whats going on. At least according to her twitter account.

But from other sources, it looks like Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino will be joining the case. I guess they needed someone who wasn't afraid to take off their shirt to dance. Another person who is rumored to be a lock is Audrina Partridge.

Now I know that Sorrentino (I'm sorry, I just can't call someone "The Situation"... its just to ridiculous.) is on Jersey Shore. Something I have never watched and most likely never will unless absolutely no other channel works the next time I'm in a hospital room. The same goes for Audrina Partridge. She was on The Hills right? I had to look it up on IMDB. I didn't realize there was someone else on that show besides Heidi Montag and Lauren Conrad. Who knew? But anyways, is it really necessary to have two MTV reality show "celebrities" on? I mean, isn't there someone from some lame ABC reality show that could contribute someone to qualify as a "reality star"?

Oh wait, apparently there is. Its also being reported that Ali Fedotowsky (the Bachelorette) will be on this season.

As for other contestants, it looks like he who blabbed is hanging in there. Troy Aikman announced that he was going to be on the show. Apparently, he was not supposed to do that. So the next day, he said he was not going to be on the show. Except, according to some reports he is,... unless they can find another football great who is available. And right now, there's word that Kurt Warner may be close to taking the snaps on the ballroom floor.

Who would you want? Another Cowboy great (who I always think of as the UCLA quarterback because I am prohibited from actually saying nice things about the Dallas Cowboys) or .... a guy who was a journeyman quarterback for some teams that caught fire (there are some other things I could say but I don't want to be mean).

Now, a Dancing With The Stars season would not be complete without an Olympic medalist or two. So far the only one that I have heard mentioned is Johnny Weir. How hard is it going to be for me not to call him Johnny Weird? I've already had to correct it three times. Judging by his choices in the past for his performance wear... he might end up fighting Edyta for her wardrobe. (Alright, that was mean, I'm in a mood.)

Speaking of....

Alright, so we have reality "stars", a tussle for the quarterback position, and an Olympic medalist seemingly ready to go. What are we missing?

That's right, its a singer who used to sell a lot of records but needs a boost to their career. Isn't it nice that Brandy is around to help out ABC? She makes up for the dirty quotient that The Ridiculous, ...er... I mean... Mike Sorrentino is going to drag into the ballroom.

A few other names have also popped up. One is Landon Donovan. Who is he? I know. Do you? Alright, he is a soccer player (or as the rest of the world would call a "footballer") who holds the record for most goals and most assists on the U.S. National Team. Unless a lot of people watch both the World Cup and Dancing With The Stars, I fear for his longevity. Which is a shame.

But then I've saved the best (or is it worst) for last. Any guesses? Apparently they are trying to get the over half of Kate to grace the ballroom. That's right, word is they are trying to bring in Jon Gosselin.

Did I mention that Chelsie Hightower was talking about the Hoff showing up?

I fear this cast. I feel so bad for the professionals.

What the Hell?

Apparently someone is under the impression that poor people do not drive cars. Why do I say this? Because according to San Francisco this must be the case.

This little topic came to me while reading about the current brou-ha-ha going on over the proposed affordable housing project here in San Francisco. Over at Ocean and Phelan Ave, near the San Francisco City College, there is a proposed apartment complex intended as affordable housing (how its going to remain that way I'm curious since it won't be covered by the Rent Ordinance, but thats another topic). The complex will have 71 unit. It will also have five regular parking spaces, one car share spot, and one handicap spot.

For a minimum of 71 people.

Let's think about how this would affect nearly any neighborhood in San Francisco. It would not be good. Yet, the Planning Commission seems ready to let it through.

Why? Because San Francisco believes that poor people will not have cars because... well they are poor. Also because there is this belief that people will ride Muni. This ignores reality.

A good part of why it is believed that the poor won't have cars is that they can't afford car insurance. Has anyone noticed that there is a problem with uninsured drivers in this state? Well there is. According to L.A. Business Journal, its bad and getting worse. As of last year, it was almost 20 percent, and given the economy its expected to rise.

Yet the hope of many in the transit community is that people will abandon their cars and rely exclusively on transit. Yet they fail to explain how this hope will translate into reality, especially in light of recent cuts to Muni and both BART and Muni operated severely into the red?

What sort of fantasy are we living in here? Oh wait. Its not a fantasy. Its Monday in San Francisco.

A Whiff of Madness Future (DWTS Rumours)

So there is a rumor about that this upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars could be ... interesting. ABC has said that they will be making an announcement on August 30 during the The Bachelor Pad (or is it the Bachelorette, I don't really care).

But a couple of names have been popping up. Carrie Ann Inaba, whom we all know is simpatico with me in the thinking department, is apparently lobbying to get Lindsey Lohan into the competition. From a chance at the county pen for bolgna to ballroom for the Fabulous Mirror Ball Trophy? Could it be?

Another name being thrown around is Oksana Grigorieva... that would be the baby-mama of Mel Gibson whom he wished... well unspeakable things. At least unspeakable here.

Meanwhile, Troy Aikman is going around telling people he is all signed up and in to follow in the footsteps of his Dallas Cowboys' teammates. But then he turns around and says no way is he going to dance this season. So which will it be?