Pages

SYTYCD Season 10: Top 20 Recap!

I LOVED that opening number, if only to see Nigel "The Animator" Lythgoe in a little dance cameo. I wish they had worked Cat Deeley in too. And Adam Shankman! I like Wayne Brady, but they really could have used a little Shankman in that performance.

Mariah & Carlos - Jive (Jason Gilkison)
My early favorites are partners! But, I am worried. The combination of going first and a good-but-not-great performance make me really worry that these two are going to be absolutely wasted. A bottom-three appearance for both already seems inevitable. They deserve better!

Jasmine M. & Alan - Contemporary (Travis Wall)
Absolutely beautiful. But they had to have been able to see through those blindfolds just a little bit, right?! The chemistry was 100% believable. Alan's stock (aka place in my rankings) should be going up at the end of this night.

Malece & Jade - Jazz (Travis Wall)
I totally expected this pairing, with Jade being vertically challenged and all. I kept waiting for a "WOW!" moment and never got it, but love the confidence Jade has (and his facial expressions! the best!) and I can't say anything bad about Malece. I wonder if voters will find them interesting enough?

Jenna & Tucker - Broadway (Tyce Diorio)
I know we aren't voting for couples, but I love these two dancing together. This was a fun, cute piece, but I can't wait to see them do some REAL dancing. That sounds like I'm dissing Broadway and/or Tyce, but I swear I'm not. Well, maybe a little. Couldn't he have given them something a little more challenging, something splashier, something that would really make them stand out above the rest of the pack?? I just want to see them do something special, and I worry they will accidentally end up in the bottom. That might make me scream.

Brittany & BluPrint - African Jazz (Sean Cheesman)
This was so much than I expected it to be, like, SO MUCH better. BluPrint, specifically. Really impressed. I was wrong to rank Jade ahead of him last week. I feel like Brittany could be this year's Tiffany (and I mean that mostly in the sense that she's great and people seem to love her but she doesn't really do anything for me personally).

Alexis & Nico - Hip-hop (Christopher Scott)
The judges- as they usually are- were right on with their gentle criticism. If they get voted through to next week, I have a feeling they will learn from this and really improve, but they might be out of luck. Sidenote: I used to find Christopher Scott a little creepy, but now I'm thinking maybe he was just really uncomfortable and nervous before? He is much more charming on screen these days.

Makenzie & Paul - Viennese Waltz (Jason Gilkison)
I'll admit it: I love that Avril song, "I'm With You." And it's beside the point, but I didn't like the arrangement. The dancing, though, was romantic and gorgeous, but I'm not convinced it's the kind of dance people rally for on the phones. It would be a shame, though, to see either of them land in the bottom six.

Jasmine H. & Aaron - Jazz (Sonya Tayeh)
First of all, I meant to say this last week, Aaron looks exactly like Bobby Cannavale. Also, Wayne Brady (my brain keeps wanting to call him Bruce Wayne, which is weird) gave his best critique of the night here, between trying not to sound like a dirty old man (right, Uncle Nigel?) and his Lil' C impression. Jasmine's legs are just ridiculous and Aaron looks committed and ready to take full advantage of his second-chance opportunity at the Top 20. 

Hayley & Curtis - Hip-hop (Christopher Scott)
It's funny how much an outfit can do for someone- Curtis didn't look like a little kid anymore. The two dorky dancers really pulled off the sexy choreography and were one of the bigger surprises of the night. Here's another Christopher Scott sidenote: did you know he choreographed the Microsoft Surface advertisements? Twitch and Alison are in the newest ad too. I learned this during the pre-previews for Monster's University.

Amy & Fik-Shun - Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh)
This was great, but one thing that really bothers me: why is Nigel labeling Amy "the beast" already? Over the Jasmines or Mariah or Jenna? I don't like them forcing us to love her and it makes me feel rebellious.

Favorite Performances:

  1. Jasmine H. & Aaron
  2. Brittany & BluPrint
  3. Hayley & Curtis

The Girls:
  1. Jasmine Harper (+7)
  2. Jasmine Mason (+1)
  3. Jenna Johnson (-1)
  4. Amy Yakima (0)
  5. Mariah Spears (-4)
  6. Malece Miller (-1)
  7. Hayley Erbert (0)
  8. Makenzie Dustman (+1)
  9. Brittany Cherry (+1)
  10. Alexis Juliano (-4)

The Boys:

  1. Aaron Turner (+8)
  2. Fik-Shun (+1)
  3. Carlos Garland (-2)
  4. BluPrint (+3)
  5. Tucker Knox (0)
  6. Alan Bersten (+2)
  7. Curtis Holland (-3)
  8. Paul Karmiryan (+2)
  9. Jade Zuberi (-7)
  10. Nico Greetham (-4)
The number next to their names indicates how they moved in my rankings compared to last week.

Who Should Go Home:
I'm operating under the belief that just one girl and one guy will be sent home next week, but I just realized that two girls and two guys were eliminated after the first week last year. That's not true again this year is it? I believe the bottom six will include Mariah, Malece, Alexis, Nico, Paul and Carlos. Alexis and Nico will be packing their bags.

SYTYCD Season 10: Ranking the Top 20!


YES! I'm so sorry I'm late on this. I'll try not to let it happen again.

Well, I was going to start off by saying that Cat Deeley looked like a disco ball (but at least a very pretty disco ball), but then Adam Shankman said basically the exact same thing, which ruins my joke but adds to why I love him so much. He's the best. I've said this before, and I'll probably say it every week, but I just do not understand how So You Think You Can Dance can have such incredible judges while American Idol is such a mess. GET A CLUE, Idol!

Here are my totally pointless, sure-to-change-next-week Top 20 rankings.

The Girls:

  1. Mariah Spears
  2. Jenna Johnson
  3. Jasmine Mason
  4. Amy Yakima
  5. Malece Miller
  6. Alexis Juliano
  7. Hayley Erbert
  8. Jasmine Harper
  9. Mackenzie Dustman
  10. Brittany Cherry


The Boys:

  1. Carlos Garland
  2. Jade Zuberi
  3. Fik-Shun
  4. Curtis Holland
  5. Tucker Knox
  6. Nico Greetham
  7. BluPrint
  8. Alan Bersten
  9. Aaron Turner
  10. Paul Karmiryan

Favorite Dance of the Night:

I was blown away by both the Top 10 Guys and Top 10 Girls numbers, but I'm going to pick from the other dances... and I'm going to cheat and pick two.

BluPrint & Jade

It's almost not fair to compare this performance to the others. How can anything short of magic happen when you put two animators of this caliber together and throw in Christopher Scott and some mannequins? Amazing.

Malece, Hayley & Carlos

I may have partly liked this so much because it reminded me of Mad Men, but I really didn't get the lukewarm reception it received from the judges. Carlos particularly stood out for me- I hadn't really noticed him before, but I loved his performance here, ESPECIALLY his final pose.

As of right now, Mariah and Jenna are my clear cut favorites, followed by Jasmine Mason. Nobody really jumps out of the pack of guys for me yet, but they look like a very, very good pack of guys, so that could change very quickly. And really, that goes for the girls too. You could really have the complete opposite rankings as I do, and I wouldn't question your judgment one bit (as long as you still have Mariah and Jenna at the top; if you don't, I would question your judgment just a little bit).

Who are your favorites?

Ben Cooper Costumes

A few months ago, a guy who owns a comics and collectibles shop- knowing that I'm always looking for She-ra items- pulled out this costume and mask set. I didn't know anything about Ben Cooper costumes at the time, and honestly, the mask creeped me out a little. So I passed on it.

After that, I started noticing more of these Ben Cooper costumes on eBay and other blogs and forums I read. Curiosity caught up with me, and a quick search of the interwebs taught me that the company (started by a theater costume and set designer by the name of, yes, Ben Cooper) starting making Halloween costumes in the 1930's and lasted into the late 1980's. At a time when Halloween costumes were mostly traditional characters- ghosts, witches, and the like- the company was quick to acquire licenses from popular culture and produced costumes of the most popular movies and television shows at the time. Smart!

I decided if the costume was still there the next time I went back to this shop, I would have to buy it- and fortunately, it was still there waiting for me. The shop owner said he had no doubt I would change my mind and be back for it. Here she is, the Princess of Power in Ben Cooper costume form:


No collector can have just one of anything, so I went straight to eBay and found this My Little Pony costume. I still find the mask creepy, but I just love the look of the classic ponies of my childhood.


All I need to find now is the Batgirl costume and mask set, and I'll be satisfied with my little Ben Cooper collection!

May Instagram Round-up!

Before we get too far into June, here are my favorite Instagram photos from the month of May!


I can't take credit for this photo- my dad took it. And I love everything about it. The hummingbirds, the ferry, the water... I feel five times calmer every time I look at this picture.



This photo might not be that exciting in itself, and you might not know even what this is a picture of, but I absolutely love it. The Batgirl figure on the right is part of Funko's DC Mystery Minis set. The figure on the left is a prototype; only a handful exist, none were sold online for this set (to my knowledge), and yet somehow I get to have one- thanks to a very generous friend who thought it would be a better fit in my collection than his own.



This photo is the result of hours and hours of meticulous work. I covered a Funko Pop figure with about a gazillion tiny rhinestones to create my own blinged out, sparkly, super awesome Batgirl. An avid fan of multitasking, I mostly worked on her while watching American Idol, which I found actually made this season much more bearable.

Follow me on Instagram! I can promise a lot more Funko and geeky goodness, and the occasional pretty scenic shot. But mostly the geeky goodness.