Countdown to Deathly Hallows: 10 Chapters in...
Topic: Harry Potter

Countdown to Deathly Hallows
Post 5: 10 Chapters in...

I know what you may be thinking...It's 6pm and I'm only 10 chapters in.  But you have to take into consideration the book didn't come until 1pm.

Anyway...I'm loving the book so far.  I don't want to give anything away, but there's been a lot of action, and it seems that a lot is happening in such a short amount of time.

Gotta get back to reading...If I don't give another update tonight, I will definitely do so first thing tomorrow morning.  I want to read at least half the chapters today (& only 8 more chapters until I accomplish that).  See ya then...

Countdown to Deathly Hallows: Book Delivered
Topic: Harry Potter

Countdown to Deathly Hallows
Post 4: Book Delivered

This is not going to be a long post, because I'm dying to read the book...but I expected it to be delivered to my house via UPS.  I've been waiting and waiting.  A few minutes ago (a few minutes before 1pm) I saw the mail lady drop mail.  So I decided to go down to get the mail, and what do you know...there's the book, delivered from the USPS.  Oh well...at least I have it now, so I'll see ya later...

Countdown to Deathly Hallows: My DH Predictions
Topic: Harry Potter

Countdown to Deathly Hallows
Post 3: My DH Predictions

Below are my predictions for Deathly Hallows (in no particular order):
Harry will live
Voldemort will be defeated
Hermione will live
Harry and Ginny will get back together and get married
Ron and Hermione will get together
Some time after that happens, Ron dies (possibly by sacrificing himself)
The Deathly Hallows are the Horcruxes (or at least related to them)
Hogwarts will reopen
A member of the Order will become the new DADA teacher
Harry is not a Horcrux
Snape is on the good side
Snape killing Dumbledore was planned in advance
R.A.B. is Regulus Black
Harry will meet Aberforth Dumbledore (who works at the Hog’s Head)
Hagrid will die
Wormtail will die
Neville will become become the Herbology teacher
We will see the Mirror of Erised again
We will see Norbert again
Percy will somehow redeem himself and be a part of the Weasley family again
Grawp will have a part to play
We will see the Department of Mysteries again
Molly will die
Lupin will die
Snape will die
Neville will defeat Bellatrix
Either Lupin or Bill will defeat Fenrir Greyback
Sirius Black really is dead
The creature we see on the UK cover holding the sword is Kreacher
The sword on the UK cover is Godric Gryffindor's sword

We'll see how many I get right...

UPDATED: Countdown to Deathly Hallows: The Book Has Been Shipped
Topic: Harry Potter

Countdown to Deathly Hallows
Post 2: The Book Has Been Shipped UPDATED

In this 2nd Countdown to DH post, I update you on the shipment of my copy of the book.  I checked Amazon today to see the update, and I can now track my package.  Below is some of the info I read:

Shipment Date: July 19, 2007
Track Your Package:

Date	Time	Location	Event Details
July 20, 2007	08:33:00 AM	ARLINGTON WA US	Departure Scan
July 20, 2007	03:19:00 AM	ARLINGTON WA US	Arrival Scan
July 20, 2007	01:44:00 AM	SEATTLE WA US	Departure Scan
July 19, 2007	12:41:00 PM	SEATTLE WA US	Shipment picked up from seller's facility
July 16, 2007	01:20:50 AM	US	Carrier notified to pick up package

I live north of Seattle.  So on Thursday (yesterday) it was in Seattle, then at almost 2 this morning, it left Seattle, arrived in Arlington at just past 3 this morning, and left Arlington at 8:30 this morning.  Next stop: delivery to my house!

I will check again tonight to see if there is any more tracking updates.  But I will be up tomorrow morning (earlier than I normally do) to track it one last time, and wait in anticipation for it to be delivered, via UPS.  By the way, I heard that Amazon is going to try to deliver all their books before noon tomorrow.  That's impressive!

See ya then...

UPDATE:
I just checked on where the package is now (4:16pm) and as indicated in the tracking above, the last thing that happened that that it left Arlington.  Now, it says it has arrived in Arlington:

Date	Time	Location	Event Details
July 20, 2007	11:39:00 AM	ARLINGTON WA US	Arrival Scan

I'm not sure exactly why this is so, but I'm thinking maybe it was delivered to another place in Arlington to be stored for the night or something.  I don't know.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

Rowling rips Times for early review
Topic: Harry Potter

Shame on the New York Times!

Apparently, the Times has obtained a copy from a NY bookstore and gave an early review of the book.  I have not read the review, nor will I read it until after I have read the book myself, but I did hear that the review mentions how many people die and what the Deathly Hallows are.  But I'm glad they didn't spoil the ending.  And I guess there was another newspaper that has done the same thing.  Again, shame on them!

And Jo has basically given a shame on you statement as well.  I'm glad she's come out to say this.  Why can't we just wait until the book comes out and enjoy it together?  Well, it's doesn't look like that's happening.

So stay away from Internet as much as you can, for fear of being spoiled.  I am only visiting sites that I know won't spoil anything.

Countdown to Deathly Hallows: Amazon Prepares for Shipment
Topic: Harry Potter

Countdown to Deathly Hallows
Post 1: Amazon Prepares for Shipment 

I just received an e-mail from Amazon.com (which is where I pre-ordered my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) saying that they are preparing to ship the book.  It also said that it will be delivered via UPS.

So...this starts my updates on DH for getting ready for the book.  I will post again when it has shipped and so forth.

America's Got Talent: Semifinals 1
Topic: America's Got Talent

Now that voting has started on season 2 of NBC's America's Got Talent, I will be making weekly posts sharing who's my favorites for the week and who I voted for.  For now, I will not put comments about each performance like I do with Idol-Talk, but maybe during the finals.

Here is the first half of the semifinalists:

1. Johnny Lonestar (cowboy)
2. Julienne Irwin (singer) *
3. Kevin James (magician) *
4. Robert Hatcher (singer) *
5. Jonny Come Lately (band)
6. Kashif (Bollywood dancer)
7. Butterscotch (beatboxer/singer) *
8. Sideswipe (acrobatics) *
9. Manuel Romero (singer)
10. The Glamazons (singers) *
    * = my favorites this week

Who I voted for:
Julienne Irwin | 10 votes
Kevin James | 5 votes
Butterscotch | 5 votes

I have been a fan of Kevin James the Magician since I first saw him on the show (since I am a magician), and even though his performance this week wasn't his best, I still votes for him because I know he can do better and I would love to see a magician get far on this show.  The worst this week was Kashif.  He's like dancing equivalent of Sanjaya.  Anyway...the best tonight was singer Julienne Irwin.  I've been a fan of hers since I first saw her audition.  And she did amazing singing Rascal Flatts' Bless the Broken Road.  She would be a great country singer if that's what she wants to do.

The second half of the semifinalists perform next week.  See ya then...

Rosie Declines Celeb Apprentice
Topic: Apprentice

In my previous post, I talked about NBC doing a celebrity edition of The Apprentice for the 7th season, scheduled for sometime midseason.  And they said they would love to have Rosie O'Donnell be one of the celebs.  And Rosie has come back to say she would never do it in this lifetime or beyond.  I say congrats to Rosie for declining the offer.  Trump has been bashing Rosie time and time again even after Rosie stopped doing it, and even though she still does it once in a while, Trump does it more, and does it worse.  He's the bully in this whole thing.

I wish Rosie all the success in her future.

The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition
Topic: Apprentice

Well, NBC has announced that the upcoming season 7 of The Apprentice will be a celebrity edition, where celebrities will compete for money for charities.

While I think the whole charity thing is a good idea, I'm not sure if the whole celebrity thing is a good idea.  It's very obvious that they are doing this to boost the embarassing ratings they had this last year.  I think that if having celebrities on the show doesn't increase ratings, then I think it will most likely be the last season.

This celebrity edition is season 7, and will be a midseason show.  It will only be 13 episodes.  And I've read that they are inviting Rosie O'Donnell to be one of the celebrities.  If she accepts, this'll be interesting.  But I'm not holding onto hope that she'll do it, after the bullying that Trump has done to her.  I think that the only reason that she'll consider going on is to raise money for charities, which she is involved with all the time.

I guess we'll have to see how it all plays out...

Emotional over Harry Potter...
Topic: Harry Potter

For those of you who are Harry Potter fans will know what MuggleCast is.  Well, anyway, I was listening to episode 99 today, and at one point they were talking about the whole experience of working on Mugglenet, going through the Harry Potter phenomenon, that the very last book is out Saturday, and then they said that all of this, the phenomenon, the million dollar movies, and everything else started with one woman on a train who came up with a book idea about a boy wizard.  At that point, I started getting emotional (and I'm a guy!!).

This truly has been an amazing experience.  I became a fan between the releases of the 3rd and 4th books.  I will probably talk more about that after I read DH.  But back to getting emotional...

That may have been a hint to me that I may get more emotional this week, and I know that on Saturday and through the whole experience of reading the book and finishing it I will be emotional.  And since I have said that I will be blogging about the whole experience of reading it this weekend, I will talk about how I feel about it and all that as well, coming from a devoted Harry Potter fan who's spent the last 8 years (for me anyway) waiting for this moment.

See ya then...

Posting 'Hallows' updates
Topic: Harry Potter
Saturday sees the release of the final Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows.  I pre-ordered my copy through Amazon.com, so it will be delivered to my house that morning.  During that day and during the time I am reading the book, I will be giving regular updates posted here on the TV Watch Online BLOG on waiting for the book, receiving the book,my status of how far I am through the book, talking about the book without really giving anything away, etc.  I will probably start the first post for that at 8am.

Order of the Phoenix / Deathly Hallows
Topic: Harry Potter

Next month, July, will be a HUGE month for Harry Potter.  As we all know, the fifth movie, Order of the Phoenix, comes out July 11 (bumped up from the original release date of July 13), with the final book, Deathly Hallows being released July 21.

Ever since the Potter movies have been screening in IMAX theaters, since Prisoner of Azkaban, I've been going to my nearest IMAX theater to see the movie.  I've done it for PoA and GoF, and Phoenix will be no different.  It will be especially exciting this time, since the last 20 minutes will be in 3D!  I can't wait for that.  And director David Yates will be directing the next installment, Half-Blood Prince as well.  I'm excited for that, because everything I've seen and heard leads me to believe he has done an unbelievable job on Phoenix.

I believe this will be the best Potter movie yet.  Seeing the trailer and images and such, I can't wait for this.  Umbridge looks amazing: great casting of Imelda Staunton.  And the music I've so far is amazing: good job to Nick Hooper.  Again, can't wait.

Regarding Hallows, I've already pre-ordered my copy of the book with Amazon.com (you can pre-order your copy as well my going to the Harry Potter: The Books page on TV Watch Online and clicking on the Amazon.com Product Link for Book 7) and can't wait for that day.  Currently, I am re-reading the series (I am on GoF right now, near the end), and can't wait for the book to be delivered to my house on the morning of July 21, and will probably devour it instantly.

It took me 3 days to read Phoenix, and 2 days to read Prince.  Since this is the last Potter book, and it will be the last time to read a Potter book for the first time, I really do not know how I will read it.  I'm torn on this one, because I really want to know what happens, so that will make me read it fast, but since it is the last book, that makes me want to savor it and read it slowly.  I probably won't know how I'm going to read it until I actually start reading it.  We'll see on that.

A few days ago, Scholastic revealed the cover for the deluxe editon.  It shows the trio on a dragon riding over a town below.  Seeing this illustration makes me even more excited for the book, because this makes us wonder what they are doing, and who's dragon is that?  The first thing I thought was that it could be Norbert, but the dragon looks older than that, so I don't know.  And if you look at the robes on the trio, they look kind of ragged, so either that means something just happened for the robes to be that way, or they are just wearing over time.

DH Notice: On July 21, the day of the release of the final Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, I will be giving frequent BLOG posts to give updates on reading the book.  I will be giving posts including: waiting for the book, receiving the book, how much I read the first day, etc. I know it sounds stupid, but hey-I'm a Harry Potter fan.  I won't be giving spoilers of what happens in the book in those posts, though, so don't worry about that.  But if I do mention a little something, I will make sure to put a huge spoiler alert at the top.

Wow...that was a long post.  My next post will be regarding Donald Trump and the future of The Apprentice...

Fox's On the Lot
Topic: TV/Entertainment News

When I first heard about a new reality show coming on in the summer to find the next great filmmaker, I was interested in watching it.  Plus, it was produced by Steven Spielberg, so that made it even more interesting.  It was called On the Lot, and it would be airing on Fox.

It's been a few weeks now since the show has debuted.  And it hasn't done very well in the ratings.  In a way, that's surprising, considering the premiere was right after American Idol, and it lost so much of Idol's lead-in ratings.

It's a great concept, but it wasn't executed very well.  The two permanate judges: Gary Marshall, and Carrie Fisher are great, but they almost seem too old fashioned when it comes to modern film.  And the guest judges are okay.

The format during the audition rounds were okay, especially since we didn't get to see one of the rounds.  Then we had 18, and it turned into an American Idol style show.  Overall, the movies are pretty good, and I love the movies that the special effects guy makes.  Now that it's down to 15, they switched the format again.  Now they're having 5 contestants on at a time to premiere their films.  And due to the ratings, they dropped their monday night airing, and the show now only airs on Tuesdays.

I will still watch this show until the finale, because it is a great concept, and there are some great filmmakers in that bunch.  The only thing is, there's no doubt that this is a one-season show.

Kelly Clarkson vs. Clive Davis
Topic: American Idol

In one corner...Kelly Clarkson! In the other...Clive Davis (boo!).

As you all probably know by now, there is a big dispute between our first American Idol and music mogul Clive Davis over the material on Kelly's upcoming CD.  Kelly didn't want to work with the same people as she did on her hugely successful Breakaway CD.  Clive was trying to force songs on to her.  She submitted her album which she wrote and co-wrote all the songs, and Clive wasn't happy about it.  I believe I read that he shelved it for 4 months.  I don't know why he didn't want her to write the whole thing.  I understand that the music is a lot different than her previous CD, not really happy songs.  But I say that if she wants that kind of music, let her do it.

I am siding with Kelly on this whole thing.  I've listened to her new single, Never Again, many times, because I love it so much.  Clive lets some of his other artists write their own music, so why can't he let Kelly do it?  I've never really liked Clive.  I first met him when we all saw him guest judge on American Idol, and he chose songs for the final 3 for one of the songs.  During season 5, he chose horrible songs.  I am so glad he wasn't a guest judge on season 6.  When he was giving the Idol report card during the finale, he bashed so many Idol artists, including Kelly, Taylor, and Katharine, while only giving praise to J-Hud, Carrie, Fantasia and Daughtry.  Now I love all of them also, but Kelly is so successful, and he didn't give her any praise.

Let's all support Kelly Clarkson by buying her upcoming CD, My December, which will be released on June 26.

Simon Cowell will quit Idol in a few years
Topic: American Idol

Simon Cowell has recently said that in a few years, when his contract is up, he will be leaving American Idol.  I have always said that the show will never be the same without Simon, Paula, Randy or Ryan.  Out of all of them, Simon is a big reason for people to watch the show.

With the ratings down slightly this season, the prospect of him leaving doesn't bode well for the future of the show.  American Idol is the best show, but when Simon leaves, the ratings are sure to plummet, which will be the beginning of the end of American Idol.  It's sad to think that could happen, but that is what is most likely to happen.

There's now way you can replace Simon.  They will most likely not find someone who can live up to the imprint that Simon has left on the show.

Jordin Sparks wins American Idol!
Topic: American Idol

Even though I will be discussing Jordin winning American Idol in my last Idol-Talk post of the season (which I hope will be completed within the next week), I want to congratulate Jordin on winning, and becoming the youngest contestant ever to win on the show.

About a quarter of the way into the Finals, I agreed with what some people were saying on the Internet: that Jordin was the only one who could beat Melinda.  I agreed with that, because even though I did want Melinda to win, Jordin had something about her that was so special, that reminded me so much of when Kelly Clarkson was competing on the show.

I wish Jordin the best of luck in what is sure to be a great career ahead of her.

Here is a clip of Jordin's winning moment:

Fantasia in The Color Purple
Topic: American Idol

I am so glad that Fantasia has been receiving the best reviews for her part on Broadway in Oprah's The Color Purple.  She deserved all the success she gets.  Even though a lot of people say that out of the winners, Ruben and Fantasia weren't as successful.  I hope that when she comes out with her third CD, she will be even more successful due to her run on Broadway.

Here is a clip of Fantasia singing a song from The Color Purple on American Idol:

TV Show Season Finales 2007
Topic: TV/Entertainment News

I will be briefly discussing things that have happened in the season finales of the TV shows mentioned on TV Watch Online.  If for some reason you haven't seen these show finales yet, do not continue reading this post...

..........................

The Amazing Race: I didn't want Eric & Danielle to win.  I think out of the 3 remaining teams, they deserved it the least.  I would have been satisfied if the blondes won, but out of the 3, I wanted Charla and Mirna to win.  This season wasn't the best, because it was an All-Stars.

7th Heaven: It was an okay finale.  I actually liked last year's "series" finale better.  The whole thing with the RV was so stupid, and there's no way they really would've all gone on this trip.

Desperate Housewives: It appears that Edie has hung herself, or so it seems.  That was a cliffhanger (pardon the pun) that I wasn't expecting.  I can't wait to see what happens next season.

The Apprentice: I am actually surprised that Stefani won, even though she deserved to be in the final 2 with James.  James really deserved to win; I don't really get what Trump meant when he said that James said some things that he shouldn't have said.  Some say it may have to do with promoting his website by name.  Well...I will be doing another post in the next few days where I will discuss the future of The Apprentice.

Heroes: It was a pretty cool finale.  The climax where they went up into the air and exploded was not that exciting, but I loved the preview to next season when Hiro lands in that field.  Can't wait for season 2!  And I can't wait to see what they do with Heroes: Origins.

American Idol: I'm glad Jordin won.  Even though it should've been Melinda and Jordin in the final 2, I'm glad she won.  I will add a post in the next couple of days discussing Jordin winning.

Lost: Many people complained about this season of Lost.  But everything lead up to what happened in the finale, and the finale definitely did not let me down.  It was an outstanding end to the season.  I loved the flashforwards of Jack (with a beard), and the confrontation between the survivors and the Others. It was sad to see Charlie die, because he was a great character on the show.

Ugly Betty: This show has been one of my favorite shows this season, and I absolutely loved the finale.  What a twist with Amanda finding out she could be the daughter of Fay.  I have loved each and every episode, and the writing is excellent.  Can't wait for season 2!

Survivor: I wanted Yau-Man to win, and I was so mad when Dreamz didn't hold up his end of the deal.  I'm glad Jeff asked at the reunion to the jury that if Dreamz had held up his end, securing Yau-Man a spot, and ending up in the final 3, who would have voted for Yau-Man to win.  And he would've had a majority to win.  But out of the final 3, I'm glad Earl won, because he was in an alliance with Yau-Man, and played a great game.

Grey's Anatomy: What a finale!  There was no happy ending for anybody. Burke left Christina: who knows where he went...McDreamy and Meredith broke up...and George failed his exam...to name a few.  I'm surprised that they had him fail the exam.  News came this week confirming that he would be on the show next, so it will be interesting to see what he does after failing.

There you go...

Spider-Man 3 & Shrek the Third
Topic: TV/Entertainment News

I went to see both Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third two days after their respective release dates, in May.  Since it has now been a while since those movies have been released, I will not be posting movie reviews just yet.

When they come out on DVD, then at that time, I will post a movie/DVD review.

Updating the BLOG
Topic: TV Watch Online

It has been over a month since I last posted here on the TV Watch Online BLOG.

Over the next several days, I will be making up for that lost time by posting about some of the news that occured during that time.

Once I am caught up on that, I will do my best to post here regularly.