Why did A.I. bother to go to San Francisco in the first place? We didn’t see any talent and one co-worker described watching the show “As exciting as watching the Yule Log.” We did see three hopefuls who may have been on our lists of 12 but they each only got 3 seconds of airtime and they went by so fast that we didn’t even catch their names. Meanwhile we watched 20 minutes of Akilah, the girl with the long black and gray dreads, who was neither talented nor humorous and was basically just a waste of time. The person who edited these auditions hopefully, for our sakes, didn’t edit any other segments.

Louisville, KY was a much more talented city. Alexis Grace, the young blonde mom with the powerful voice who sang Aretha Franklin’s Dr. Feelgood, received a vote from a co-worker. Brent Keith Smith, the very American Idol-looking guy who sang Bad Company’s Can’t Get Enough, was liked by couple of family members. The biggest vote-getter of the night was Leneshe Young with most of us picking her. She was the young girl who told her story of living in poverty with her siblings and single mom. You are rooting for her to do well after hearing her story. Did we like her because she could sing or did her tale of woe make us believe she could sing? One co-worker has had enough of the sob stories already.

A family member has had enough of Kara. “I’m sick of her already,” she says. I was very excited about Kara after the first week. I found her to be a lot more articulate and honest than Paula and thought she should replace her. After this week I think I will have to agree with my family member.

What’s your opinion of Kara, San Francisco and Louisville?

Until next time…

Know-it-alls love to point out that in fact, no, the US is not a democracy, but a republic. They’re right; annoying, but right. Just as true, and even less recognized, is that the government left us by the authors of the Constitution disappeared long ago. This is mourned in some circles, but I honestly can’t figure out why. Which changes do you oppose? The abolition of slavery? Universal suffrage? The ability to directly elect senators? We canonize the founding fathers, and we do a disservice to our history when we pretend that they left us a perfect document. Seen in one way, the history of this country has been a constant fight to make our republic more democratic. But this perspective is too rosy. For one thing, those democratic advancements have been countered very effectively by reactionaries, and left us with a form of government that is less democratic, and certainly less republican too. So what do we call this type of government now? It’s an uncomfortable question, because it requires acknowledging that some of what we believe about ourselves is just plain false. Sheldon Wolin thinks he has the answer, and he makes his argument in his book Democracy Inc: Managed Democracy, and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism.

Obviously, calling American an “inverted totalitarian” society is deliberately provocative. And Wolin slaps at least a chapter’s worth of disclaimers on the name. The US is certainly not Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. He points out a lot of ways in which they are obviously different, as if that was necessary. But Weldon says there is a disturbing level of control over our lives, and that our society, atomized and thoroughly penetrated by corporate influence, is not only alarmingly distant from political power, but losing more and more our sense of individuality and our sense of community. It’s a self-perpetuating system, and not static one either: Wolin argues that things are getting much worse.

Wolin makes a strong case for the problem. And I certainly agree with his prescription (increased participation on the local level) but the diagnosis seems a little superfluous. After reading the book, I’m not entirely clear on what he means by “Inverted Totalitarianism” or why it would be different from the less provocative — and more obvious — title Managed Democracy. Wolin makes an excellent case for this one, describing the formation of the modern form of the two major parties, the co-option of both by business interests, the shaping of debate through a handful of large media outlets — all of which contribute to a disenfranchised populace. He also avoids the trap most liberals fall into: Thinking the trouble started over the past 8 (long) years. Instead, Wolin takes a wide view, tracing the history of elitist politics from Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to the modern disciples of Leo Straus and Samuel Huntington, which makes for an interesting read. I’m not sure I could say I learned much from Democracy Inc., but I’d never argue against a well written populist manifesto. We could always use a few more.

I was very surprised to see that the format hasn’t changed from previous years. I heard all kinds of rumors about not seeing the antics of the non-singers any more. Well, they were all there. We loved the very hyper Aundre a.k.a Xray and wondered if Elijah Scarlett might have the deepest voice in all of America.

Our favorites from Phoenix, Arizona were: Emily Hughes, the pink-haired singer in an all girl band. J.B. Ahfua, the guy whose Dad and brothers were waiting for him outside the audition room. He explained that he was auditioning for the “chance to change the lives of my struggling family.” Arianna Afsar got a couple of votes for favorite from co-workers. She was the 16 year old who performs for seniors in nursing homes. A family member picked Deanna Brown as one of her favorites. She was the blonde who sang “Dock of the Bay” and came alone to the auditions. Two co-workers liked Michael Carver, the construction worker with the young family. One family member liked Alex Wagner Trugman but, she admits, more for his sense of humor than his singing. He was the kid who practiced singing, then got sick, in his closet. Randy compared Alex to Joe Cocker. Simon then made a comment comparing Alex to a Cocker Spaniel to which Alex replied that “It would have been a good joke if it made sense.”

My favorites of the night were Scott McIntyer, the “almost” blind pianist who entered college at 14 and graduated at 19. He sang Billy Joel’s, “And So It Goes.” I felt like he was singing from his heart and I was very impressed. One co-worker agreed with me. My other favorite was Stevie Wright. She was the long brown haired 16 year old who was named after Stevie Nicks. Simon thought that she needed to toughen up a bit if she wanted to be successful in the music business. A co-worker remembered that Simon told her “You need to sharpen your teeth.” I wasn’t the only one who picked her as one of the best of the night. She was actually picked by everyone I talked to. I’ll be really surprised if she doesn’t make it to the finals.

What can I say about bikini girl? I did think the exchange between her and Kara was entertaining but have nothing else to say about her but I heard that a couple of male viewers had some comments. A co-worker told me that her husband commented that “she didn’t have anything to show off” and a family member said her husband wondered why bikini girl felt like she needed to audition in a bikini when “she had a really good voice.”

Kansas City was the location of Wednesday night’s auditions. Co-workers were talking about the “very cute” (as she was described by a 15 year old nephew) Chelsea. “Simon was really mean when he told her that she sounded like a cat being thrown off the Empire State Building.” The cheerleaders for Andrew Lang were liked by a couple of co-workers. We were amazed at the talent of the girl who did the split at the end of the cheer.

Talented hopefuls we think could make it to the finals were: Casey Carlson who sang ‘A Thousand Miles.” One reader thought she was a “cute girl in a really cute dress.” Others who got one vote for the night were Matt “the welder” Bradsky. He was the bald, heavyset dad with the beard and mustache. Anoop Desai whose voice did not fit his looks and Asa Barnes, the 28 year old dad who was a band director.

A couple of my choices of the night were Michael Castro and Jessica Page Furney. Michael is the brother of Jason Castro of Season 7. One family member agrees with me when we wonder if we like Castro for his singing or because we were huge fans of Jason. Another family member chose Jessica and with her we wondered if we liked her singing or her cute 93 year old grandma. I think that both Michael and Jessica have talent and I will most likely be putting them on my list of Top 12. The top vote-getter for Kansas City week, who was also on my list, was Daniel J. Gokey. He was the guy whose wife died 4 weeks before his audition.

Finally, no one had any negative comments about the “new girl.” Actually, we think we like Kara so far. Her interactions with Paula sometimes are kind of silly though. I could see Kara replacing Paula one day which wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

I let you know what some of us are thinking. I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with our picks.

By Cathy Sokolowski

Sokocathy(at)gmail.com

A.I. returns for it’s 8^th season tonight.  We’re back at the Cactus for our 3^rd time.

My family and friends will all be watching once again.  We have our usual readers on board also, but we’re hoping that we can get some of our new readers to write in with their comments.  The more the merrier as they say.

I heard that the format is changing and there will be a new judge, Kara DioGuardi, joining Simon, Randy and Paula.  I’d love to hear what you thought of the changes.

I’m excited as usual.  I know you are too!

See you back here on Thursday.

I was shocked this week when ABC axed three of my favorite shows, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies.  I was high on Eli Stone and I though that that it was so creative and unique, that audiences would follow it, as they did since ABC brought in back for a second season.

The same was for Pushing Daisies, which has been a mainstay on my TV screen since it began.  The quirky nature of that show was, again, stuff that is made for TV land.  However, I don’t know what has happened to people these days.  It seems that we cant get enough of the same stuff, i.e., the procedural dramas that are CSI and Law and Order. 

I love these shows too, don’t get me wrong, but there are other shows out there as well.  Maybe it’s because people are clinging to what they know in these uncertain times, I don’t know.  Whatever the reason, I hate to see when great shows, with quality acting, go bye-bye with out a fair shot at making it.  I believe that Pushing Daisies’ death was truly a by-product of the Writer’s Strike which is still having ramifications on the TV landscape.

This week is Thanksgiving and we have a lot to be thankful for from a TV standpoint.  Not only, untill this week, have the networks been a bit kind with the ax,  but the shows that have been on the air for a while have seemed to find a bit of creative re-direction, I guess you could say.

Longtime favorites like CSI, (all of them), and NCIS seem to be getting better and better this season.  With that being said, it does seem harder and harder for a “young buck” to make inroads against a perrinial powerhouse, but that should not stop them from trying because those shows WERE the “young bucks” of their day.

Sweeps are on-going and after the holiday, we will have a very clear picture of the Winter season.  There are favorites coming back like 24 and Lost, which have already been getting heavy promotions, and there will undoubtedly be some new upstarts that will peak our interest, like the ill-fated Lipstick Jungle, which, too, has fallen to the mighty network ax.

So, I go back to what I asked in the beginning…What are you watching?

And, oh yes, have a great holiday.

It’s November sweeps time. When thinking of that time of year, TV fans know that this also means huge cliffhangers, major twists and a lot of guest stars. A good number of fans don’t like the stress this time of year brings, especially since they know some of their favorite series will go on hiatus for December and the first weeks of January.

To help you prepare for November sweeps 2008, we compiled spoilers for the November episodes of some of the best shows on TV. We give you spoilers for series such as: Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Criminal Minds, CSI, Desperate Housewives, Fringe. Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, House, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Prison Break, Smallville, The Simpsons, The Unit, Without a Trace and Ugly Betty.

SPOILERS FOLLOW!
The following spoilers are from sources such as Kristin from E!, Ausiello from Entertainment Weekly, SpoilerFix.com, SpoilerTV, the networks’ sweeps press releases and my own snooping around.

Bones: Angela’s ex-girlfriend Roxie is a suspect in a murder investigation. Booth’s brother Jared flirts with Brenna. Max finds a job as a teacher. Booth and Brennan must solve a case while in the air on a plane bound to China.

Brothers & Sisters: Sarah launches a new business. Saul starts dating.

Criminal Minds: Secrets from Dr. Reid’s childhood will be revealed. A serial killer turns himself in.

CSI:
Grissom turns to Lady Heather for help and comfort. In another episode, Grisson must testify at the competency hearing of the miniature killer.

CSI: New York:
It’s Mac Taylor mania in the series’ 100th episode when two victims, both named Mac Taylor, are killed. All other Mac Taylors must find the killer before one of them bites the dust.

Desperate Housewives:
McCluskey enlists her sister’s help to find dirt on Dave. Julie visits Wisteria Lane with a 40-year-old boyfriend in tow. While the “desperate househusbands band” performs at a club, a fire erupts. At least one character is said to not make it out alive.

Fringe:
Walter must go back to the mental institution to help solve a case. Olivia demands to go back in the tank to stop Agent Scott from appearing to her.

Ghost Whisperer: Melinda must deal with dramatic personal changes when someone close to her dies.

Gossip Girl: Serena and Aaron continue to bond. Jenny still hands out with Agnes. Eleanor gets a boyfriend.

Grey’s Anatomy: One of Meredith’s oldest friends Sadie, whom she may have kissed once or twice, becomes an intern.

Heroes: Hiro goes back in time to learn more about Arthur and Angela Petrelli.

House:
The team must make a housecall when a patient refuses to leave his home. A patient takes the doctors and several patients hostage. At least one person will get shot during the episode while one of the doctors will serve as guinea pig. Foreman

How I Met Your Mother: Ted runs into Stella after she left him at the altar.

NCIS: Agent Lee returns.

Prison Break: Someone makes the ultimate sacrifice. Sarah takes Michael to the hospital.

Smallville:
Kara and Lana return. Lois temporarily gets powers. Chloe suffers from dementia. Jimmy and Chloe’s big day goes awfully wrong.

The Simpsons:
An episode will tell, via flashbacks, how Marge and Homer first met Maude and Ned Flanders and how people of the opposite sex nearly broke Homer and Marge up. Lisa will enter a citywide crossword puzzle tournament.

The Unit:
Jonas’ daughter is kidnapped. The team must travel to Iraq to save her. Ryan suffers the consequences from his affair with Tiffy.

Ugly Betty: Betty and Amanda become roommates.

Without a Trace: Jack is reinstated as head of the department.

November 4, 2008 will go down as the day that the Civil Rights movement came full circle. For those who may have been living under a rock for the past twenty-four hours Barack Obama is going to be our 44th President. Many in my life have said that I am void of emotion however watching America celebrate like their team had just won the Super Bowl or the World Series was a sight that I admit brought me to tears. This was as much of a historic election as the hype had made it out to be, But the election of Obama will hopefully bring the two things that Americans need the most hope and change. It will be intresting to see if Obam lives up to the title of saint that the media has seemed to bestow upon him, however if not we as a country need to remember that it took eight years to reach this point it will take sometime to start making headway towards a solution.

this brings me to my next point and that is after an exhausting election the end has finally arrived, and with the end of one election brings the breeze of a new election coming in four years. I have enjoyed covering this election from the start to the inspiring end but i am afraid that it is time for me to step aside, Lisa gave a writer who had a voice but no audience an oppertunity to be heard. Out there is another Jim Montana who has as strong a passion for politics as I do and wants to be heard but cannot get his or her voice out there. I have been afforded oppertunities that will take the time i would normally devote to the Cactus away and I feel that the best answer is to pass the tourch on to another writer.The memories I have of writing for Cactus I will cherish for years to come, and who knows I may still pop in from time to time and offer my opinion on the world of Washington, Until we meet again. 

I was under the impression that the TV bosses were being kind this year; that series had a better chance since the networks were not so keen in developing new series every other week.  You know, strike residual, tough economic times, blah, blah, blah.

As soon as I say that, the poor Ex-List on CBS Friday night goes off to the dead zone as it gets canceled after 4 episodes.  Boy, that must be a tough spot as last years, Moonlight, bit the dust as well in the same time period.  I don’t know what it is about that time period, but shows have a tough time of it.

OK, let’s be honest.  While I love Elizabeth Reaser, as she is definitely a Hottie, and a great actress as she proved in her stint on Grey’s Anatomy last year, this was not the vehicle for her.  She deserves so much better and their is no doubt she will be given a chance down the road.

Come on, though.  The premise of the show left way too many open holes to be filled.  A girl having to re-examine her past flames to find out which one was her soul mate.  Oh brother! If some girl who used me and then threw me off came up and said that she was supposed to be with me because a psychic told her she had to be or be alone, well, I’d probably say, “Too bad, sweetie” no matter how much I cared for her.  Who is too say that she would not do it again?  I don’t know, just too much water under the bridge.  Evidently America said the same thing.

Another shocker to me is my beloved “Pushing Daisies.”  It is even rumored to be in trouble.  The only thing I can imagine is that ABC should have not pulled it off the air during the strike, but let it repeat so the peeps could really get it in their blood and not want to miss it when it came back on in the fall.  It is like everyone had to become reacquainted with the show.  It really is too bad because it is a great show and deserves to be watched.

Another show struggling now is “My Own Worse Enemy,” the Christian Slater show that, I must admit, is confusing.  The show is about a guy who is a ruthless agent that is “Switched” to be a loving family guy by a microchip in his head.  The chip malfunctions and we don’t know half the time if he is the loving guy or the ruthless agent.   Not so much Slater’s fault but more the fault of the commercials that break up the action.  It doesn’t help that it up against the favorite, CSI: Miami, either.  If the folks don’t get it, they know they can always go back to the CSI gang for comfort.

Still, there are a lot of questions about the season and this week we have that pesky little thing called our National Elections that will take front and center for a good part of the week.

As I said before, things will begin to become much more clear in the next week or so as the networks start to jockey for position for the winter season that will begin in January.  Not that far off and the November sweeps will give us a very clear picture of what the landscape should look like.

So, vote this week for the folks you want to represent you and then use the remote to make sure your favs stay on the air afterwords.

Next week, we will have a new President and no matter who you vote for, you have got to admire our system of how we change directions in this country.  No matter what others say or how contentious it may get, our country has one of the most incredible transfers of power on the globe.

Enjoy the process and remember that no matter who is in the White House, no one can tell you what you can or can not watch on TV…at least for the moment!

With that being said, I love the new season, I really do, and, believe it or not, I think the TV powers-that-be have been pretty gracious with the anti-cancellations so far.  Outside of the few that I previously noted, their does not seem to be any trouble spots that executives are fretting over just yet.

True, we are in an election season and there has been heightened anticipation over what will happen on November 4th.  After the aftermath, we will enter November sweeps and that is where we will begin to see the true indication of where we are as far as the weaker of the new crop.

I can tell you that the NBC Wednesday show, Knight Rider, has gotten a full season pick-up as has The Mentalist over at CBS on Tuesdays.  Good news because I have enjoyed both programs and feel they be given a chance to develop fully.

I also have found it rather nice that the networks have taken a cue from cable and repeated some of their shows on both cable networks such as USA Network and have used Saturday nights as a “Repeat” night as I have seen Knight Rider and NCIS, just to name a couple, to repeat.  Great Idea because not everybody has a DVR and there are those who actually stay home on Saturday evenings and “Catch-Up” with movies, TV and the like.  Yes, I know it is hard to believe that not everybody parties every weekend.

So, what is new this week?  Well the last of the premiers are scheduled.

Wednesday has a Tyra Banks produced show called Stylist on the CW network at 9:00 PM EST.  If you are unfamiliar with the premise, Stylist has been called a show “Brimming with The Devil Wears Prada-appeal.”  That was a movie, if you missed it, about the fashion world with a mean lady in charge of a popular…Hey, when did Tyra Banks decide to copy Ugly Betty?  Anyway, I am a sucker for most any reality show so I will check it out for you.

Thursday has the final “New” show, although it is an old show by now, 30 Rock.  It is about time, too.  I remember when this show first came on.  There was another show similar to it and poor 30 Rock was not given much of a chance.  Even in the way it advertised itself, it never took itself too seriously.  Well, three seasons later and countless Emmys for Tina Fey, et al, the show is a solid hit that gets buffo ratings and dynamic replay on the web.  What more could a show ask for?  30 Rock will fill the 9:30 time period, I guess ending the SNL “Elect Barak Obama” political show…I mean, the sketch comedy show.

So there you have it.  The fall TV season is officially in the record books and many of the shows will have a big sweeps period in November and then go dormant through the Christmas season as the networks trot out their Christmas specials.  There will be some cool extra features coming up such as the “24″ movie that will set up the next “Day” that we haven’t seen for over a year.  Additionally, we will begin to see some predictable fallout of the new shows and of some of the older ones such as Boston Legal that wraps up by years end.

I’ve got you covered with all of the TV news you need to know so you don’t really have to go anywhere else, do you now.  Until then, stay close to the TV because I wouldn’t want it any other way.