And The Winner Of America’s Got Talent 2009 Is…

On Wednesday Night, the final Episode of this year’s America’s Got Talent aired.
By the end of the show, we’d find out who wins a Million Dollars and their own show in Las Vegas.

The night started off with ten Finalists:

Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
Drew Stevyns (Singer/Guitarist)
Hairo Torres (Breakdancer)
Lawrence Beamen (Singer)
Recycled Percussion (Band)
Fab Five (Power Tap Dancers)
Grandma Lee (Comedian)
Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)
The Texas Tenors (Singing Group)
The Voices of Glory (Singers)

With two hours to kill, they had to fill it with something.

Things started with the 10 Finalists taking part in a song performed by Thelma Houston.
It was a fun way to kick off the show, but it reminded me of American Idol.

On the opposite spectrum, they had a bunch of AGT rejects sing as well. This ended with Grandma Lee wearing a Wedding Gown beside Piers Morgan.

Leona Lewis performed next.
I don’t know who she was, but I didn’t like her.

Cirque D Soleil performed somewhere around here.
I can’t really write things down when I’m not at my Computer.

The second hour began with five eliminations.

The ones who moved on were:

The Texas Tenors (Singing Group)
Recycled Percussions (Band)
The Voices Of Glory (Singers)
Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)

With that done, Shakira performed next, which was all kinds of sexiness.

Up next, three more would be eliminated.

The ones that moved on were:

Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)

Next up, Susan Boyle performed a cover of “Wild Horses” by The Rolling [stones.
I thought she did a FANTASTIC job of it.
I consider myself a Susan Boyle fan.

After that, it was time to find out the Winner of America’s Got Talent for 2009.

And the Winner is…
Kevin Skinner!

I called it!
From the moment I first heard him do a Garth Brooks song, I knew he’d win.

So there’s your 2009 Edition of America’s Got Talent.
I thought it was prett good for the most part.

Thanks for reading.

Recap Of The Finals On America’s Got Talent

The Finals were held last night on America’s Got Talent.
Here’s who performed and what happened:

Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
She did the Song that she performed at her Audition. She blew me away with her performance. My only problem with her is that she sounds too good. Part of me thinks that she’s secretly a Professional Opera Singer, and therefore shouldn’t be in a Competition like this.

Drew Stevyns (Singer/Guitarist)
He did a cover of Chrissie Hines’s “I’ll Stand By You”, which is a pretty good Song. I just didn’t like his version of it. He’s a douche bag and he annoys me.

Hairo Torres (Breakdancer)
He did a “tortured soul” bit as part of his set, which I thought was pretty interesting. I can somewhat relate to that.

Lawrence Beamen (Singer)
He did a cover of a Barry White Song. I didn’t like it. When I think of Barry White, I picture getting freaky with a Woman. Put it this way, he went into the Crowd and just stood in a front of a Girl and just sang. Like I told my Wife, if that was me, I’d grope the Girl while I sang. As my Wife said, he needed to put his Cock into it. I sure as hell would.

Recycled Percussion (Band)
Ok, so you got The Blue Man Group Lite here. Their set featured two of their members getting wet and banging on things. I could go for the easy joke here, but I’ll pass.
I didn’t like them.

Fab Five (Power Tap Dancers)
Ah, the all Female Tap Dancing version of The Osmonds. What can I say? they danced, smiled, and talked about their happy Family life. No thanks.

Grandma Lee (Comedian)
She started off strong with a joke about Ryan Seacrest watching Brokeback Mountain. She finished strong with a joke about her new love, Simon Cowell. I found the middle part of her set kinda weak. It’s too bad cause I really enjoyed her other sets.

Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)
Another one of my faves here. He did a cover of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, which is another great song, but he should’ve done it without a Band. I think he would’ve nailed it otherwise.

The Texas Tenors (Singing Group)
I took this time to go to the Bathroom. When I came back, they sounded like they were barking or beying at the Moon. Either way, it wasn’t good.

The Voices of Glory (Singers)
They did a cover of Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love Of All”. I couldn’t even bear to watch it. Their voices certainly didn’t sound glorious. I’ve seen better acts in Churches, and I never go to Church.

Out of all of these, I think Barbara Padilla has the best shot at winning this year’s America’s Got Talent.

The results will be announced tomorrow night.
Also scheduled for tomorrow is a Performance by Susan Boyle.
Apparently she did a cover of The Rolling Stones “Wild Horses”.
I haven’t actually heard it yet, but I’ve heard that it’s pretty good.

I’ll be back either late tomorrow night or on Thursday to let you know who won.

Thanks for reading.

I’m Back! In More Than One Way.

I hope you all had a good weekend.
Mine was pretty low key, but that can be a good thing.

As most of you know, I’ll be watching America’s Got Talent tonight.
Tonight is the night where all 10 of the remaining Performers will be performing LIVE on Stage. After the Show, you guys get to vote and on Wednesday night, the big Winner will be announced.

Here’s the list of the Finalists slated to perform tonight:

Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
Drew Stevyns (Singer/Guitarist)
Hairo Torres (Breakdancer)
Lawrence Beamen (Singer)
Recycled Percussion (Band)
Fab Five (Power Tap Dancers)
Grandma Lee (Comedian)
Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)
The Texas Tenors (Singing Group)
The Voices of Glory (Singers)

Like I wrote the other day, I’m going for Grandma Lee, or Kevin Skinner. It’s gonna be interesting to see who wins.
Tomorrow, I’ll be posting a recap of the Show and who I voted for.

Now on to other stuff.
I have some big news to share with you all.
As some of you know, I was forced to stopped doing Stand-Up Comedy a year ago, simply because there weren’t any Wheelchair Accessible Comedy Clubs left in Ottawa.
We all know it’s unfair, wrong and all that crap. We don’t need to get into that again, at least not right now.

The good news is that I’m happy to say that I’ll be doing Stand-Up Comedy once again in Ottawa.
Here’s the information:

I will be performing Stand Up Comedy LIVE at Algonquin College on Wednesday October 21st. The show starts at 9 PM in The Observatory Bar but you MUST be there BEFORE 8:30. The show is FREE, but you MUST have VALID ID to get in. I’ll be doing ALL NEW jokes, so come check it out!

For more details, please feel free to contact me either by replying to this post, or by email at rlythall@rogers.com
I hope to see alot of you there.
Hell, I want a sell out.
I’m hoping that if it sells out or we get alot of people that they’ll have me back more often.
Please support the ONLY Local Wheelchair Accessible Comedy Venue left in Ottawa, Canada.

Now I gotta get back to writing my set.

Thanks for reading.

A Look Back: September 11, 2001

I woke up, like any other day back then and got ready for School.
At the time, I was going to Algonquin College to try to get my Highschool Diploma, plus I also had a Part Time Job working in the School Pub.

As per usual, I slept in and almost missed my ride. Normally when I woke up back then, I’d put on the TV or Radio, but in my haste, I didn’t bother.

I headed Downstairs to the Lobby where my ride was waiting, which was unusual. The Driver had no idea either or if he did, he didn’t mention anything to me.

I got off the Para Transpo Bus and headed to the Bathroom right away, still without a clue.

From there, I walked into the Bar to get my Daily dose of free Coffee. I walked in and everyone was gathered around the big TV by the Entrance, which seemed odd, especially at 9 AM.

I managed to get around the people and headed to the Bar. I happened to look up at the EXACT moment one of the Planes hit the World Trade Centre. My first thought was HOLY FUCK!

This wasn’t gonna be a good day at all.

Everything in the Bar just seemed to stop for a few moments, as we all just sat in true disbelief. As if that wasn’t enough, there was another Plane doing the same thing a few moments later.

It was soon time for me to head to Class. To make matters worse, I had a Test to do that day as well. I didn’t think I’d be able to concentrate on it for obvious reasons, but I did, and I was somehow able to pass.

I was supposed to work after Class, but my Boss cancelled my Shift due to the amount of people still gathered there.

I sat around waiting for my ride home, and being thankful that we weren’t in New York City.

After awhile, my ride showed up and I headed home. For the next few hours, I just stayed home in front of the TV. Every Channel had 9/11 reports and footage running almost non stop.
I got annoyed by this after a few hours.

A little while later, I received a Phone call from a friend out of the blue. She had called because she thought that the World was ending and she wanted to hear my voice one last time.

After our chat, I needed to get out and do something.
Originally, I was gonna go see a Movie, but everything Downtown had pretty much shut down due to the attacks.
I did manage to find one place opened for Business though.

A Strip Club

I headed there and had a few drinks. It was surreal watching Women get naked and sliding down a pole, while CNN was on all the TV sets in the Bar.

I guess they figured if we’re gonna die, you might as well feel good and be surrounded by Naked Women.
I agreed with that logic actually.
The only downside is that the last song I’d hear would probably either be by Def Leppard, Van Halen, or White Snake.
Knowing my luck though, it would be Celine Dion.

A few hours later, I headed home and went to bed, feeling thankful to still be alive.

One thing that I should point out that still haunts me to this day.
A few days before the 9/11 attacks, I had a dream about the event.
It was eerily vivid, right down to the CNN footage of the Rescue Workers, and even the way I found out about it in the Bar.

I often dream about things coming up, not only in my life, but in others too, even complete strangers.
It can be pretty scary at times, but the 9/11 dream was the worst.

My heart goes out to anyone and everyone that was affected by the horrible tragedy. I know there’s MANY of you still out there that are still suffering from it.
To those people, all I have to say is try to be happy and thankful for everything in your life as much as possible.

To all the rescuers out there, thank you for your hard work.
Without you, things could’ve been much worse.

And to the rest of you out there, thanks for reading.
Have a good weekend.

Results From The Second Batch Of Semi Finalists On America’s Got Talent

On Wednesday, the results were announced for the last group in the Semi Finals of America’s Got Talent.

Here’s who’s moving on:

Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
Drew Stevyns (Singer/Guitarist)
Hairo Torres (Breakdancer)
Lawrence Beamen (Singer)
Recycled Percussion (Band)

I don’t think Recycled Percussion, or Drew Stevyns should be there.
Personally, I’d replace them with AcroDunk, and Mario & Jenny.
That’s just my opinion though.

On Monday night, the 10 remaining will perform in the Final, and the next night, we find out who wins.

Here’s the full list of Performers that will be performing this Monday night:

Barbara Padilla (Opera Singer)
Drew Stevyns (Singer/Guitarist)
Hairo Torres (Breakdancer)
Lawrence Beamen (Singer)
Recycled Percussion (Band)
Fab Five (Power Tap Dancers)
Grandma Lee (Comedian)
Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)
The Texas Tenors (Singing Group)
The Voices of Glory (Singers)

I’m still hoping that it’ll either be Grandma Lee or Kevin Skinner. It’s gonna be tough though cause I was pretty impressed with Barbara Padilla. Even though I’m not a fan of Opera, I know talent when I see it.
Either way, it’ll be very interesting to see who wins it all.

Thanks for reading.

I Apologize

No post today.
Something happened and I’m a bad guy apparently.

Enjoy America’s Got Talent.

Labor Pains, Come On Down, And Wear Your New Pants Too

Well, I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day Weekend.

On Sunday, my Wife and I went Shopping and I managed to buy two pairs of Pants for $50. I think that’s a pretty good deal.

Today, (Monday) my Wife and I checked out the Labor Day Parade here in Ottawa. Neither of us have ever been to it or even really heard about it before, so we were both curious.

Basically, it was different Workers being pissed off about unfair treatment at work. I always thought Parades were supposed to have happy people celebrating, but apparently not.

After they passed us, we decided to head to the Park where the Parade ended. There was a free BBQ, but we didn’t eat. We stayed for a few minutes just to check it out. The BBQ was at McNabb Park, where I used to go as a kid for Day Camp. I haven’t been there for 20 years, even though I pass by it often on the way home.

By this time, I was starting to melt like a Cripsicle (Crip Popsicle), so we decided to get an Iced Coffee. We went to Tim Horton’s, but they don’t make it. They just have Ice Caps, which don’t exactly agree with me. I guess the idea of putting Ice Cubes in Coffee is a wacky idea at Tim Horton’s. Just like the idea of hiring Staff there that can be understood, also seems like a pretty wacky idea.

But hey, I’m unemployed, what do I know?

We continued our journey in search of Caffinated Heaven, and we found Starbucks.

Ah Starbucks

Starbucks, Starfucks
The first Coffee Shop, I see opened today.
I wish I may.
I wish I might.
Need a Gasoline filled Coffee made just right.

We got an Iced Coffee and had it outside.
Afterwards, we headed down behind The Supreme Court Building to soak up some more sun.

We headed home shortly afterwards.
All in all, we were out in the sun for over three hours.

Tonight, I’m gonna watch WWE Monday Night Raw.
Tonight’s special guest Host is none other than Bob Barker!

That’s gonna be odd to see, but hopefully he does a good job.

I admit that I still watch The Price Is Right, even though Drew Carey’s the Host.
It just isn’t the same without Bob Barker, but at least it isn’t Rosie O’Donnell.
She was rumoured at one point to replace Bob Barker.
Yikes!

Well, tomorrow I’m off to Walmart, which is always fun beyond belief.

That’s it for now.

Thanks for reading.

Long Weekend’s Here

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Yesterday, (Friday) I went for a walk. I was only gone for an hour, but I managed to piss off a Blind man.

Here’s what happened:
The guy was swinging his cane wildly while he was crossing the street.
I was crossing as well, but in the opposite direction.
I veered to the very left side to avoid him, but his Cane hit my Wheel.
He then called me a fucking jerk and told me to watch where I was going.
I just laughed to myself afterwards.

He already seemed pretty pissed off though, before I came along.

I returned home shortly after and spent a few hours with my Wife.

As for (Saturday) today, my Wife and I headed to the Glebe Fine Arts Show.

Along the way, we passed by a Barber Shop.
My Wife was just talking about getting a haircut and I haven’t shaved for a few days now.
So between the two of us, we were prime targets.
One of the guys that works there came out to talk to us.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been considering growing a Beard and Moustache, like the one Mario has on America’s Got Talent I think it would make me look a little darker and edgier than I do now. I tend to have a dark/edgy personality, so it would just go well with it.

Problem is though, if I don’t shave for awhile, it starts to get itchy and I end up shaving it off. Itches sometimes really PISS me off, especially since I can’t scratch it myself.

Luckily, I have a Wife for when I get Crotch itch.
Not to say that it happens often, but it’s good to have options.

Where was I?
Oh yeah…

The other thing is that this Barber Shop charges $44 for that service. That’s pretty insane for me. I’m gonna keep scouting a few other Barber Shops in Ottawa.
Hopefully, I’ll find a good one.
Perhaps, I’ll drop by the Barber Shop that I went to when I was growing up.
I saw my old Barber just last year when I dropped in to say hi, and he remembered me. So, it’s a possibility.

With that, we took the Bus and headed to the Glebe Community Centre.
This was my first time there.
It wasn’t bad. It was hard getting into some of the booths due to the amount of people.
After that, my Wife went to Starbucks to get something to eat before the ride home.

As of right now, I have no plans for tonight.
The Jerry Lewis Telethon For Muscular Dystrophy starts tonight, I think.
Even though, I have MD, I tend to avoid the Telethon.

I don’t agree with how we’re portrayed.
I understand it’s a Telethon and pity sells, but I don’t have to be a part of it, even though I was when I was a kid.
My Disability is a part of me, but it doesn’t define me or my life.

A part of me laughs when I get the Newsletter from the Local Chapter of the MD Association.
I always think that I’ll open it up and it’ll say, Congrats! You may already have MD!

Well, I hope you people enjoy your long weekend.

Thanks for reading.

Quick Results From The Semi Finals Of America’s Got Talent

The Texas Tenors got the votes.
Grandma Lee got the votes.
Kevin Skinner got the votes.
Both Voices Of Glory and Fab Five got the Judges decision.
The Judges couldn’t decide who was better.

So, your first batch of Finalists are:
The Texas Tenors
Grandma Lee
Kevin Skinner
Voices Of Glory
Fab Five

As of right now, only two of my picks are moving on to the Finals.

On Tuesday, the next batch of Semi Finalists performs live.

Thanks for reading.

Reviewing: Inglorius Basterds

I decided to treat myself to a Movie last night, so I checked out Inglorius Basterds.

The Movie centers around a group called the Inglorious Basterds headed by Brad Pitt.
His team is determined to killed the Nazis, and ultimately, Adolf Hitler.

Now, I have to admit that I’m not really a big fan of Brad Pitt, but he’s pretty good in this film as the Leader of the Basterds.

On the other hand though, Quentin Tarentino even made John Travolta look good in Pulp Fiction.

Without giving too much away, the movie gets pretty graphic and violent. When you’re dealing with Nazis and that era of time, one can’t really avoid not being graphic or violence.

With that said, I suggest you check it out, especially if you’re a fan of Tarentino.

With that said, I missed America’s Got Talent, but I recorded it.
As soon as I watch it, I’ll post the results.

Thanks for reading.

Round 1 Of America’s Got Talent Semi Finals Recap

Last night America’s Got Talent began the Semi Finals with 10 live performaces.
This is who performed:

Acrodunk (Basketball Dunking Entertainers)
The Texas Tenors (Singing Group)
Paradizo Dance (Acrobatic Dance)
Drew Thomas Magic (Illusionist)
Tony Hoard & Rory (Animal Act)
The Voices of Glory (Singers)
Fab Five (Power Tap Dancers)
Grandma Lee (Comedian)
Arcadian Broad (Dancer)
Kevin Skinner (Singer/Guitarist)

Acrodunk kicked things off with their high flying moves. They even jumped through fire hoops. They set the bar pretty high for the rest of the acts.

The Texas Tenors were up next. I’m not sure what song they sang. They sounded pretty good, but a little too cheesy for me.

Paradizo Dance were pretty good. Apparently the guy burnt his fingers during rehearsal, which kinda hindered the performance, but still pretty solid.

Drew Thomas Magic kinda disappointed me. For his act, he had three Assistants appear, he then had his Daughter appear with his Assistants as dolls and she was holding them. I personally found it cheesy and using Nickelback for his music didn’t help his cause either.

Tony Hoard & Rory were up next. As I’ve stated before, I’m not a fan of Dog Acts. I personally find them boring and repetitve. Their show last night had a DJ and backup Dancers. I don’t see the point of that when the rest of their show was a Dog catching a Frisbee.

The Voices Of Glory delivered a strong performance. I’m not a fan of Church music, but they sang pretty well. I really can’t see them fitting in well in Las Vegas though.

Fab Five were up next. They performed in sync and are pretty sexy and talented.

Grandma Lee started off her set surrounded by half naked guys. Then, she brought the laughs. She covered topics such as Barack Obama’s stimulation package, old age, & getting it on with David Hasseloff and Piers Morgan. I think Grandma Lee’s suited for Las Vegas. I feel that she’s being held back right now because America’s Got Talent is “Family friendly”. If she gets to Vegas, she can be raunchy and dirty for that crowd.

Arcadian Broad was next. His show reminded me of “High School Musical”. After his show, he let it slip out that he didn’t want to do it, but the Producers forced him into doing a “High School Musical” show. Nick Cannon (Host) quickly pointed out that the Performers get the final say on what they wish to do. Who would’ve thought that a live Reality Show would be rigged? I’m totally shocked by this. I wonder if he’ll be kicked off, I mean “voted off” for saying that.

Kevin Skinner was the last one to perform. He did a great cover of “You were always on my mind” by Willie Nelson.

Out of last night’s show, I voted for Acrodunk, Paradizo Dance, Drew Thomas Magic, Grandma Lee, and Kevin Skinner.

We’ll find out tonight who moves on to the Finals.
I’m still thinking that Grandma Lee, Mario & Jenny, or Drew Thomas will win the whole thing. I feel less confident that Paradizo Dance will win it all.

I could be wrong.
Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading

Slow Blog Day

Not much new to report at my end.
Tonight’s America’s Got Talent and if memory serves me right, the ones that I really like are on.

So far, today I went to the Drugstore and now I’m doing more Laundry.

Thanks for reading.