Mo's Manic Monday - Star

Welcome on this Memorial Day to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at It's A Blog Eat Blog World. Today's theme is Star.

Today's post is in honor of those who have given their lives in the name of duty. Their actions saved the lives of fellow warriors. Their sacrifices earned them this nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.



The Medal is awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces who displays "...conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States..."

I have briefly quoted the circumstances of each action here. You may click on each man's name to read the full citation.

US Army SFC Paul R. Smith (24 Sept 1969 - 4 Apr 2003), B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Baghdad, Iraq. "SFC Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round...In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded...while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers." SFC Smith was 33 years old.

USMC Cpl Jason L. Dunham (10 Nov 1981 - 22 Apr 2004), 4th Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment (3/7), I Marine Expeditionary Force, 1st Marine Division, Iraq. "Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines." Cpl Dunham was 22 years old.

US Navy Petty Officer Second Class Michael A. Monsoor (4 Apr 1981 - 29 Sept 2006), SEAL Team 3, Delta Platoon, Iraq. "While the SEALs vigilantly watched for enemy activity, an insurgent threw a hand grenade from an unseen location, which bounced off Petty Officer Monsoor’s chest and landed in front of him. Although only he could have escaped the blast, Petty Officer Monsoor chose instead to protect his teammates. Instantly and without regard for his own safety, he threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of his two teammates." PO2nd Monsoor was 25 years old.

US Army Pfc Ross A. McGinnis (14 June 1987 - 4 Dec 2006), C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Iraq. "The White House announced that the nation's highest military honor will be presented June 2 to survivors of U.S. Army Pfc. Ross McGinnis. He will be the fourth service member to receive the highest U.S. award for valor for action in Iraq...He was in the gunner's hatch of a Humvee on Dec. 4, 2006, when a grenade sailed past him into the truck where four other soldiers sat. He shouted a warning to the others, then jumped on the grenade, which was lodged near the vehicle's radio. The grenade blew up and killed him." Pfc McGinnis was 19 years old.

Duty. Honor. Country.

It is my fervent wish that no more young men and women are required to die. But I am also humbled by those who's selfless dedication to the cause of freedom leads them to acts of incredible bravery.

To these men who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to all who came before them, I offer my most sincere thanks.

The Blog Blast for Peace Meme - Join the Revolution

I'm behind in my blog rounds, but I'll catch up to y'all this weekend.


This is the best tag ever. It's about Peace and activism. It's about unity in the bloggosphere. It's about community.

It's about time.

Mimi has tagged the universe, which doesn't leave many left to tag. But I'm tagging y'all anyway.

This is the meme.

Begin direct quote from Mimi Writes...

Peace Globes did not begin as a meme. But it began to behave like a meme. Blog to blog to blog. Like a fog. We didn't use the word "tag" ....but that's what we did when we invited others in our blogrolls to participate. The fact that you did so without the obligatory tag is proof that the concept is powerful.

It's a fact that the fastest and most effective way to spiral an idea out of control in the blogosphere is via a meme. I should know! The 700+ bloggers who participated in past launches (and that truly is the tip of The-Iceberg-I-Never-Found) knows what it means to them. It's about unity. We have that in spades. It's about activism, awareness, crossing political lines, making a statement and sharing ideas. We've done that. We have the vision as a core group of bloggers for peace; but we do not - yet - have the power in numbers behind the message.

Unity in numbers = power


Peace power?


What a revolutionary idea.

My vision hasn't changed. Nor has my commitment to the project or my willingness to work hard. But if it is to have the influence I know it can - then I have to work smarter. Today, I, Mimi Queen of Memes. toss a slew of beautiful little peaceful globes into the galactic blogosphere - to get the ball rolling.

How far will they go? Where will they land?

Who will catch them? Where will they send them next?

Who will draw a picture, write a poem, make a song, write a post....that might have the power to begin to change the landscape of my world?

Someone will.

Will it be you?

A friend told me earlier this evening "I have a healthy respect for the power of the written word. If we can all get together and do this on the same day, with the right post title, it can have meaning....It can extend the meaning and become more powerful."

Right, my friend. A revolution of words.

Don't you want to know how far your words will reach? Have you ever wondered if what you write has relevance and meaning to someone else? Maybe someone in another country, maybe even a violent place. Or just a lonely space.

I have to believe that there are many others who - given the opportunity - would like to speak for peace. I say we should use all the tools at our disposal to make sure they get the chance.

This meme is a movement.

Let's move it.



BlogBlast For Peace Meme ~ Join The Revolution

Here are the rules and the story.

Copy this into a post, ADD YOUR NAME to the bottom of the tag list and tag as many people as you'd like. (I couldn't get the list with all the links to post. You can view it here.)

The Peace Globe project began in the fall of 2006 with a simple post from one blog, Mimi Writes. The post ignited a flame in the blogosphere. The flame became a passion. The passion became a movement. It amazingly traveled from blog to blog to blog across the globe. Bloggers wrote passionate articles on what peace means to them, along with the promise of three Latin words scribbled on a globe - Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) - branded with the integrity of their names or blog names. It was positively inspiring to watch. And it began to happen all over the world - from Singapore to China to Afghanistan to Brooklyn.

It was simple. And powerful.

In less than two weeks bloggers from all across the globe will blog for peace.

We will speak with one voice. One subject. One day.

Won't you join us?

June 4, 2008

How To Get Your Peace Globe In 4 easy steps!

1. Choose one of the four Peace Globe designs in this post. Right CLICK and SAVE in JPG format.

2. Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Click here for hundreds of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.

3. Return the peace globe to me via email ~ mimiwrites2005 at yahoo.com - Let me know your blog's name and url by leaving a comment here and signing the Mr. Linky. Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery. Your globe and post will be listed on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website and The Peace Globe Posts page.

Here's the most important part.

4. On June 4, 2008 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST. Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem". This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace that day or simply fly your globe. Click here for examples of peace globe posts from previous BlogBlasts.

(Go HERE for the other 3 globe template choices!)

If you need help making your globe, I will help and Sanni from Germany has volunteered to make globes for FREE. Just visit her and request one!

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE TAGGED TO PLAY.

Please consider passing this meme through the blogosphere.

This is Mimi Pencil Skirt reporting from the lovely land of the Peace Globes.

Memeing the Movement.

End quote from Mimi Writes...

You're all tagged. This is a worthy thing. It's a community thing. It's a blog thing. It's a human thing.

Do it. Post your globe on 4 June. And visit Mimi on that day. Travel through the bloggosphere and see other Globes.

Be a Peace Blogger.

Dona Nobis Pacem.

Mr David Cook, The American Idol for 2008!

There's the winner!

I was hoping, but I really didn't think it would go this way. They revealed the voting totals and it looks like DC took it by a pretty wide margin.

But whether by several million votes or only a few, David Cook is the guy.

Here's my favorite performance...Eleanor Rigby...with Simon suggesting that if it remained a talent competiton instead of a popularity contest, DC could win it all.


This one was controversial. But he never claimed the arrangement as his own, and Ryan Seacrest introduced the song as Chris Cornell's version of Billie Jean.


We got hooked from this moment...the performance of Hello during the Top 16.


And just in case there was any doubt about his versatility, DC knocked Simon's curveball right over the deep center field fence.


And how about this for a thrill...jamming with ZZ Top on the finale!


Here's the moment...


Congratulations young man!

And if that wasn't enough, my Lakers dug themselves into a 20 point hole half way through the third quarter before getting it together and beating San Antonio in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Go Lakers!

And the fabulous mirror ball trophy goes to...

Cue that theme music and let's get this party started!

Here's the freestyle from Cristian & Cheryl. They couldn't match Jason & Edyta with lifts, and ultimately they didn't match Kristi & Mark with content. It kind of looks like Cristian runs out of gas at the end too. But this was still an enjoyable dance.


The lifts in this freestyle from Jason & Edyta were tremendous. She's nearly 10 feet in the air! The choreography was simplistic and very laid back, although they were enjoyable to watch.


The freestyle from Kristi & Mark had energy and flash and lots of steps. It was upbeat and fun, with well executed difficult lifts. They picked great music and really performed the choreography. We were sofa dancing!




It's a jam-packed two hours y'all!

Here's the leader board after Monday's dances:

60 Kristi & Mark
52 Cristian & Cheryl
51 Jason & Edyta

Tom reminds us that only once in the prior five seasons has the pair with the highest score going into the finale actually taken the trophy home.

Special guest Usher is in the ballroom. I'm usually not a fan of this kind of music, but I enjoyed that. Usher dances like he's attached to strings...very smooth.

We have our first elimination now. Dancing for one last round of judges' scores will be Kristi & Mark and Jason & Edyta, which means that Cristian & Cheryl fall just short.

They dance a strong Paso Doble. Matt, you should have seen Cheryl's outfit dude! Black, skimpy, lots of LEG LEG LEG LEG LEG!



Now we have the parade of returning celebrities. First up, it's Penn Gillette & Kym Johnson. He still can't dance, but he is still entertaining and goofy. Next it's Monica Seles & Jonathan Roberts. She reminds us that not all of the athletes have an unfair advantage.

Continuing with our returning celebrities, we greet Steve Guttenburg and Anna Trebunskaya. He was always positive and he was always charming. I disliked Adam Carolla, but he did have the classic line of lines when he said of his partner Julianne Hough, "I've lost 20lbs of fat and gained 105lbs of angel".

Who were America's favorite ballroom kids? The first ever junior ballroom champions are Brandon & Brittany.


Priscilla Presley and Louis Van Amstel return to the ballroom. She brought such drama to the dancing. Marlee Matlin shows that she really can do that pesky Mambo with Fabian Sanchez. Shannon Elizabeth had so much potential, but couldn't quite get the hips shaking well enough to go with the LEGS LEGS LEGS LEGS. She was much better in the ballroom styles with partner Derek Hough.

Mario was charming and Karina Smirnoff was sexy, and if this was just a Latin dance competition then they very likely would have made the finals. Marissa Jaret Winoker grew the most as a dancer, with Tony Dovolani bringing her along steadily.



Usher returns with his dancers and the DWTS pros to kick the doors off the ballroom. He's a terrific entertainer.

Now the parade of eliminated celebrities is over, and it's time to get down to the final competitive dances of the season. Kristi & Mark and Jason & Edyta will perform their favorite dances from the season, for the final rounding of scoring.

Kristi and Mark dance their favorite dance of the season, Jive. From the highest first round score ever to a perfect 60 on finale night, she has been our favorite. She may have had a technical advantage as a former Olympic champion, but she still had to learn how to deliver these dances and she did just that. She performed professional level choreography every week, and did it well. Yes, she already understood how to train and she knew how to delivery a performance. She had the right partner in Mark, and she just went for it every time. Judges say 10's across for a total of 30. No one has ever had a perfect finale.

Jason and Edyta dance their favorite dance of the season, Quick Step. Jason was at his best all season in the ballroom style. His lines are elegant and he glides through the choreography. We've been impressed each week with his skills as a partner. He was so expressive and made that look like so much fun. And of course we love the hand stand at the end of it. We're glad they chose that dance to finish with, because it was our favorite of theirs. Judges say 10's across for a total of 30. You know, it was that good!

Here's how the final leader board looks:

90 Kristi & Mark
81 Jason & Edyta

Our votes count for half of the result, and the judges scores count for the other half. And now...the fabulous mirror ball trophy goes to...

Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas!



OK, let me answer the big question now. Why do we love this show? It's like this...the show makes no pretenses about itself. It knows how cheesy it is. It understands that the celebrities are mostly C- and D-listers. And it doesn't care. It is what it is...purely entertaining and fun.

The show shines a big bright light on some truly talented professional dancers. And musical acts are finally beginning to see that the show provides a vehicle for them to promote their latest projects to an audience that is interested.

This season is barely finished and I'm ready for Season 7 in the fall!




Mr David Cook gave his final three competitive performances on American Idol last night. We'll be happy if he wins. But I can say that watching him over the last couple of months has helped us make our peace with the show.

This first song was chosen by Clive Davis.


This was DC's choice out of the 10 finalists from the songwriting contest.


For himself, DC chose not to repeat something he'd done before. He could have been safe and gone with a wow from earlier in the season, but he decided to lay it on the line.


There were six excellent performances on this finale. I thought young Mr David Archuletta proved yet again what a wonderful vocalist he is. But I thought that Mr Cook proved what a versatile and charismatic artist he is going to be. And that's why Pam and I are trying to call the numbers and get some votes in for DC.

Cue that theme music!

Live from Hollywood...it's the finals!



Tonight, it's a back-to-back-to-back Cha Cha Cha and the freestyle round.

For the Cha Cha Cha, each couple dances one minute each to the same song. Each couple follows the other.

The order is Cristian & Cheryl, followed by Jason & Edyta, and then Kristi & Mark.

This is something completely new, and I have no idea how to describe it. Cristian & Cheryl have lots of good hip shaking content and a really cool trick at the end of their minute. Jason still looks a bit awkward with his Latin movements, although he's a little more loose this time around and looks like he's enjoying what he's doing. Kristi plants a kiss right on Bruno, and then proceeds to own the dance floor. The spins were outstanding and she had attitude through the whole minute.

That was so cool! But don't take my word for it...I found the clip! YAY!


We say the dance belonged to Kristi & Mark. Kristi took everything Cristian and Jason had in their minute and took it a step further. Cristian and Jason have both improved over the course of the show, but Kristi also showed tremendous improvement in her emotion and facial expressions. She owned that Cha Cha Cha.

Judges scores for the Cha Cha Cha:

Cristian & Cheryl - 8,9,9 for a total of 26
Jason & Edyta - 8's across for a total of 24
Kristi & Mark - 10's across for a total of 30

Now let's freestyle!

Kristi & Mark are up first. That dance had big tricks, high energy, and lots of funky dancing. We appreciated it because it was fully of content and it was danced well. She was so confident with her technique and the scary lifts, and yet she still managed to entertain and play to the crowd. It also flowed well, with smooth transitions from trick to trick. And they paused between tricks to do some really fine dancing. Judges say 10's across for a total of 30.

We expect Edyta to choreograph a freestyle that plays to Jason's strengths, emphasizing his size and his excellent skills as a partner. It was a little surprising to see Samba elements because of his struggles with Latin style, but he danced well outside the strictures of ballroom Samba and really got his groove on. The lifts were strong and he made them look easy. His dancing was terrific and the performance was outstanding. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

Cristian has been able to overcome his injury up to now, because Cheryl has been innovative and creative with her choreography. That really was fun. The lifts and tricks were difficult, especially when he still only has one arm. He really went for it. We did enjoy the dance, but we don't think it quite measured as a winning freestyle. Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26.

So here's our leader board:

60 Kristi & Mark
52 Cristian & Cheryl
51 Jason & Edyta

Both Jason and Cristian had moments when they were really good tonight. Jason was terrific in his freestyle, and Cristian was inspirational as he really went for it even with his bad arm. But we thought that Kristi put two perfect performances together and really was the best of the three.

But is she the fan favorite?

Well gang, we were a united household after the performances. I actually voted early for Kristi. Pam waited...she wanted to be sure. But in the end she also voted for Kristi. Whether you thought she had an advantage or not, she was our favorite dancer.

It all comes down to the fan votes now.

Tonight on the results show, each couple gets one more dance for judges' score. The eliminated couples return to dance one more time. And Usher performs.

Plus, we'll hand out this season's fabulous mirror ball trophy!



San Antonio defeated New Orleans in game 7, so the Spurs will play my Lakers in Los Angeles tomorrow night in game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Go Lakers!

Mo's Manic Monday - Play

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at It's A Blog Eat Blog World. Today's theme is Play.

The weather finally turned this weekend into something a bit more conducive to the fun and frolics of spring, and we took full advantage of it on Saturday.

We started with a hearty breakfast of waffles, eggs, hash browns, and biscuits & gravy at the International House of Pancakes, because it's the most important meal of the day and we needed our energy.

Next, we popped across the street to check out the appliances at Sears. Then it was off to Barnes & Noble to browse through the clearance racks. And then we spent three hours in Home Depot.

Yes...I said three hours. See, we have some improvement projects we want to do but we haven't really discussed exactly what we want to do yet. So we looked at all kinds of flooring samples, and cabinetry, and paint colors, and other accessories for kitchens and bathrooms.

Then we had lunch at a place called Rock Bottom grill before we headed across the lake to Seattle. We spent a couple hours at the Experience Music Project Museum.

We finished up the day by seeing Iron Man again. It was just as enjoyable the second time around.

And that was our Saturday play day.



My Lakers played well Friday night, and hung on late to defeat Utah 4 games to 2 in their best of 7 quarter final series. Los Angeles advanced to the Western Conference finals and awaits the winner of tonight's game between San Antonio and New Orleans.

Detroit and Boston will play in the Eastern Conference final.



The two night finale of Dancing with the Stars begins tonight!

Let's Meme!

My new friend Kimmie tagged me for a little meme at the beginning of the month, and this is a good day for a little meme!

Kimmie says to post the rules, so here they are:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post,the player then tags 5 or more people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers.

Okey-fine. Rules posted...check!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Let's see, that would be 16 May 1998. My memory isn't very good. I know I was living in Southern California. I was managing a small data networking company. And I was getting my financing in place so I could complete my college degree.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

Choose a game for game night
Find out if we need to bring beer/soda
Stop by home and feed Mr Tucker
Empty the dishwasher
Check the Manic Monday word

3. Snacks I enjoy:

CAKE
Cheetos
Cheese & Crackers
Peanut Butter sammich
Chex Mix

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I would buy me one of these!

I would buy a penthouse suite at the Fairmont in San Francisco and spend every October there.

I would donate sums to youth sports programs, Muscular Distrophy Association, and cancer research.

And I would do pretty much anything else I wanted.

5. Three of my bad habits:

I use the front of my shirt as a napkin
I collect too much stuff
I swear at bad drivers

6. Five places I have lived:

Northern California
Southern California
Central California
Southwestern Washington
Puget Sound Washington

7. Jobs I've had:

Domino's Pizza delivery driver
Accounts Payable clerk
Inventory clerk
Accounts Receivable accountant
Operations & Logistics

Thanks for the tag Kimmie! I break the rules and don't tag, but feel free to steal it if you like it!

So we're off to our friends' place tonight to play some games and have fun. Then I'm taking my Lady shopping for her birthday tomorrow. Well, her birthday was yesterday but we're shopping tomorrow. Ya follow?

We might even have CAKE!

Happy Friday y'all!

Lois' Morning Mug Meme

I saw this one over at Lowdown from Lois a little while ago. The rules are pretty simple:

Most folks drink some sort of a morning beverage, be it coffee or tea, and most likely from a mug. Please share a photo of your favorite mug(s) and tell a story about how it became your favorite. Include what you drink with this mug.

But here's the funny thing...although I do enjoy a good cup of coffee, I'm not really a special coffee mug kind of guy.

We don't make pots of coffee. I have a Senseo machine that allows us to make one cup at a time.



The perfect mugs to use with this machine are the ones that came with my dishes. Plus, these mugs are attractive and Pam loves them. So generally these are what we use.



I do have a couple of coffee mugs that I've collected over the years. These are the ones I'll take to work in the winter when my coffee consumption increases.



I've had the Raider mug for awhile. Pam bought me the Wolf mug.

As you know I tend not to tag. So if you haven't done this one yet, steal or borrow!



Well, it's dueling Davids on the season finale of American Idol next week. Syesha Mercado came up short, so the season 7 winner will be either David Cook or David Archuletta.



My Lakers bounced back tonight at home, beating the Jazz to take a 3 games to 2 lead in the best of seven series. Game 6 will be Friday in Utah. Every game gets tougher and tougher. The Lakers struggled to finally put the Jazz away, and Utah had so many opportunities to take control and steal the win. They just couldn't get it done on the road. I fully expect Utah to force Game 7 back in Los Angeles on Monday.

And yes...to any Utah Jazz fans who may visit today, I did see what looked an awful lot like two pushing fouls that were not called on Pau Gasol in the final minute and a half.

Encores and results

I have only selected one encore dance. This is the Samba from Cristian and Cheryl.


Here's the leader board from Monday...

57 Kristi & Mark
56 Cristian & Cheryl
55 Jason & Edyta
52 Marissa & Tony

The judges select the Tango from Kristi and Mark as their encore.

The ballroom kids dance for votes tonight!

Aaron and Rashell dance Cha Cha Cha. Kym Johnson goes to a rehearsal to give the kids some support. Terrific! Len says spot on and well done. Bruno praises their technique. Carrie Ann said it had great energy.


R&B singer Omarion is in the ballroom with the 19-member Travis Payne dance troup and a tribute to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The Thriller album was released 25 years ago. Outstanding!

More ballroom kids...Jaryd and Cara dance Samba. Maks dropped in on the kids' rehearsal. These two kids just make us smile! Carrie Ann said it was a perfect blend of entertainment and technique. Len said he'd rather watch these kids than the adults. Bruno says perfectly entertaining.


Brandon and Brittany dance Paso Doble. Ashly Delgroso, a pro from season 3, used to teach these kids. Wow! That was powerful! Bruno said it was incredible artistry and finesse. Carrie Ann said it was mature and sophisticated. Len said it was fantastic.


Dang y'all. All three pairs of kids were so good. Aaron & Rashell were so cute and amazingly skilled. Jaryd & Cara were cheeky and fun, and immensely talented. But Brandon & Brittany...they had the whole package.

Here we go with results now.

Dancing in the finals will be Kristi & Mark, Jason & Edyta, and Cristian & Cheryl.

That means Marissa & Tony are out.



We think that's the right choice and the right final three.

So next week, the final three will dance for the dazzling mirror ball trophy.




Mr David Cook had two more stellar performances this week.

Cue that theme music

It's the Final Four and we're live from Hollywood!



We're down to our Olympic Champion, our NFL Man of the Year, our Broadway Baby, and our Chilean Airman with the clipped wing.

I was chatting with Julie just before the show, and we came up with an interesting thought about where each of the celebrities is at this stage in the competition. One of Julie's favorite pros is Edyta, but she said that she hadn't been as impressed with Jason & Edyta over the last couple of dances.

My theory about that is that both Edyta and Mark ended up with celebrities that started the competition with a solid advantage over the other competitors, but they haven't steadily shown improvement. Kristi has been excellent every week, and fairly or not, more is expected of her with each dance. When she seems not to deliver, it can be disappointing. Same with Jason.

But both Cheryl and Tony understand how to teach. They both are able to grow with their celebrity partners, bringing them along steadily until suddenly they blossom. Although Cristian and Marissa may not be the better dancers of the four remaining celebrities, we as viewers see and appreciate the improvement.

We'll see if that translates into the voting.

Dances are chosen this week by random drawing, and we're back to no lifts...so away we go!

Jason and Edyta dance Foxtrot. This is the dance where he uses his height to maximum effect. His elegance and charm come across, as do his skills as a parnter. The choroegraphy emphasizes his lines. They danced very well, but we thought the choreography was quite safe. But even with the safe choreography, they were classy and smooth and they told a nice story. Judges say 9,10,9 for a total of 28. I don't know about the 10, but it was enjoyable.

Marissa and Tony dance Quick Step. The footwork was a little slower than we would have liked, although that could have been because the choreography was quite intricate and precise. Bruno suggested that they missed a step, but we didn't see that. We did see that they came out of hold a couple of times. The performance was fun to watch. Judges say 9,9,8 for a total of 26.

Cristian and Cheryl dance Viennese Waltz. The bad arm actually helps his frame a bit when they are in hold. It keeps him focused on his technique...I'm sure it's painful if he bends it the wrong way. And really, we wouldn't be able to tell that he was injured if we didn't already know. That was an intricate routine with complicated choreography. It was romantic and elegant. We really enjoyed that performance and the story they told. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27. Well, the judges said that it had the wow factor but I guess that doesn't make it perfect.

Kristi and Mark dance Tango. Sharp, precise, snapped off movement. The dance had complicated choreography, but it didn't overwhelm the dance this week. They were less focused on getting the movement correct, so they could just dance it freely. It was dramatic and passionate, and really well performed. We think this was a lucky choice for them, because Tango emphasizes how good Kristi's technique is. Judges say 10,9,10 for a total of 29. We're not sure what bothered Len.

For Latin round, Len goes to the couples' rehearsals for his annual master class. And he gives them each a step that they must perform.

Jason and Edyta dance Paso Doble. At least this time the music had a Latin flavor. The dance had passion and aggression. We enjoyed it much more this time. The choreography was difficult. The judges said nothing about the lift...on one of the spins toward the end, her feet came off the floor and that's supposed to be a no no. The dance was enjoyable, but not special Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

Marissa and Tony dance Rumba. She's still struggling just a bit with her hips. Her legs are so stiff. We liked that there was movement and dancing, and not so much posing. It was romantic, and technically we thought it was pretty good, with the exception of some of the hip action. They had some tough luck with the dance choices, because neither dance best showed off how far she has come as a dancer. But we did enjoy the performance. Judges say 8,9,9 for a total of 26. We think the 8 is low, with Carrie Ann just being stingy.

Cristian and Cheryl dance Samba. This was the dance on which he was injured a couple weeks ago. That was a lot of fun, as Samba should be. That had lots of content and complicated choreography. He was a bit tentative to begin, but then he attacked the dance and did really well. There were a few problems with footwork, but he overcame them with energy and passion. Judges say 10,9,10 for a total of 29. As much as we enjoyed the dance, it wasn't perfect.

Kristi and Mark dance Jive. The first time they danced Jive, they scored 30. My goodness that was intricate and difficult. There were a couple of transitions that we thought were awkward, probably because there was so much content. They really went for it though. It had basic Jive steps, plus the really tough stuff. It wasn't perfect, but it was super technical and we enjoyed the performance. Judges say 9,9,10 for a total of 28.

Here's the leader board:

57 Kristi & Mark
56 Cristian & Cheryl
55 Jason & Edyta
52 Marissa & Tony

This just in...after loyalty to Jason & Edyta for much of the season, Pam has been won over by Cristian & Cheryl. She cast her votes for them this week. Wow! I stayed with Kristi & Mark.

We think that the final 3 should be Kristi, Cristian, and Jason. But it's anybody's game right now because of the voters.