McCain’s choice has turned this election around. In contrast to Democrat Barack Obama, who picked a status quo, all talk no action, career politician to complement his platform for change–McCain has put forth proof of the pudding by giving us a woman who is not afraid to go against the big dogs. Finally…something to be glad of in this election. Count me as one voter who has come off the fence.

Reading between the lines, it could be that this is real and will be just a trial baloon to see how such a show would go over. It could be a farce. Regardless, we’ll keep looking for confirmation and elaboration. Here’s the release in full, from the eNews site:

THE WORLD’S GOT TALENT

A CELEBRATION OF THE ‘GOT TALENT’ PHENOMENON

The talent doesn’t stop with Australia! At the conclusion of the Australia’s Got Talent Grand Final on Tuesday 1 July WIN Television will celebrate the ‘Got Talent’ phenomenon with a premiere special event – WORLD’S GOT TALENT.

Watched by over 100 million people – ‘Got Talent is a global sensation. Over 14 countries, 55 judges and hundreds of thousands of contestants.

Judges across the globe including our very own Dannii Minogue, David ‘the Hoff’ Hasselhoff, Brandy and Simon Cowell all have one thing in common – they are armed with a dream ending buzzer.

From break dancing cows to fire eating clowns WORLD’S GOT TALENT will bring you the most exciting and entertaining talent from across the globe. What acts from Australia’s Got Talent will make the cut?

WORLD’S GOT TALENT is narrated by Americas Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan.

WORLD’S GOT TALENT

TUESDAY 1 JULY AT 8:30pm

NBC should be all smiles today. The third-season opener of “America’s Got Talent” more than held its own against what turned out to be the last game of the NBA Finals.

While the Boston Celtics were manhandling the Lakers out of a championship, “Talent” managed to pull a 3.6/10 rating among adults ages 18 to 49 and an average 12.8 million total viewers from 9 to 11 p.m. That’s off 15% from last year’s season bow (which did not go up against a major sporting event), but the haul is enough to give NBC the top premiere of the summer to date.

Judges for the American version of the show are Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff. Jerry Springer is slated to host. Simon Cowell is the executive producer. Here’s a blip from that interview session. For the rest, just click here.

Sharon, what does it mean to have talent in today’s entertainment world as compared to when Ozzy was starting out?

Sharon Osbourne: It’s a - but it’s a whole different world out there. We’re talking about, the difference of 40 years here. It’s a whole different world and today with TV, somebody can get catapulted from nothing to signing $100 million in Vegas overnight.

So today with talent, I mean, if you do have talent it’s instant fame. That’s the difference. Forty years ago, 20 years ago you had to pay your dues. You had to tour and tour. And now television one season, you could get $100 million.

Those Winter Sundays
by Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?

Connie, if you will remember, was initially promised a recording contract by Simon Cowell, who ended up withdrawing his bid, saying that Connie was “too young.” You gotta love it, though, because Connie went on to garner support for what amounts to a label designed for her, Rainbow Records, and doing a fair part of the recording in her auntie’s spare room. My guess it that Connie Talbot will be the kind of girl who shares the good fortune and helps to bring other young artists up through the ranks. Bully for you, Connie. You are a gem.

The (U.K.) Mirror put the video up on their site. Congratulations to the Mirror for not loading it down with ads to watch before you can see Connie. Here’s the link, just Click Here, scroll down to the end of the article, where you will see Connie and a couple of butterflies. Push play and you’re on your way. Go, Connie, go.

The most talented performer though was probably Faryl Smith…She makes Charlotte Church sound like a pub singer. Faryl sang a duet with Andrew Johnston (and wiped the floor with him, it has to be said…)

As for overall winner, George, the Daily Telegraph reported the following morning that he’s been given SAS protection to keep his female fans at bay. And frankly he needs it. I haven’t seen women so hysterical since I announced I was no longer single. Within moments of him taking to the stage, half the audience were screaming so loudly I thought someone had set off an air raid siren…

Okay, those are my favorite parts. Go read the entire post and pick your own at Mulled Whines.

Thank you, Phil. Congratulations on the soon-coming baby. I wish you and yours the very best.

This blog really isn’t the place to go on too much about the topic. Most of my readers are young and healthy. I post this for two reasons: First, if you or someone you love is facing an arthritis debility, I would welcome contact from you. We’re in this boat together. Write me. Let’s investigate the disease and see what can be done to fight it.

Secondly, if you or someone you love is facing a problem finding health insurance, here is a link to quotes for the Kaiser health plan. It seems to be one of the best ones out there. Don’t give in. Fight for your life, for the ability to live your life to the fullest.

(Andrew Johnston) is all smiles now after landing the deal with Cowell’s SyCo label, a subsidiary of music giant Sony BMG.

“I can’t believe it. I’m so excited. It’s a dream come true,” Andrew said.

A spokesperson for SyCo said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Andrew. He is incredibly talented and has huge potential.”

An insider said the multi-album deal is worth in the region of £1 million, although Andrew’s earning potential may be restricted by the fact that his voice will break in the next few years.

Good point about the voice dropping. He may end up still sounding “like an angel”, and he may end up sounding like a screech cat. We’ll see.

Now, I ask you. Does this mean that Andrew Johnston is going to be paid a million pounds (almost two million U.S. dollars) by Simon Cowell? The short-form answer to that question is “No.” What it means is that Simon Cowell’s company has agreed to invest up to a million pounds in the arduous task of producing records by Andrew Johnston. Any profits from the resulting product will go first to paying off Simon. Andrew may not make a dime–he may end up in debt to the record label.

I know, I haven’t seen the contract, and it could be that Simon Cowell is so generous that he is just going to give Andrew Johnston a cheque for a million pounds and take his chances on recovering the money. That could be, but it is more than unlikely; it is unheard of. True, established artists may get advances on their work, but Simon is not taking on Andrew as a step-child. He plans to recover his costs and add to his own stash of cash. That’s business.

Why has Faryl Smith not yet been signed? My guess is that her daddy understands these things and has enlisted the assistance of a good contract attorney to help work out the best deal for Faryl. With Father’s Day coming up, I say that he is giving her the gift of wise protection. Come to think of it Dads, let’s do the same. This year, instead of wondering whether we are going to ger that new recliner and big-screen television for Father’s Day, let’s reverse the deal and think of ways that we can honor our children. What say? Let’s do it!

Enter the Mutsy slider. There’s something special about a company that says, hey, “If you want to look chic with your baby THIS is the brand.” My wife’s Sarasota girlfriends would have fallen all over that one, but the Musty wasn’t around. Function? All Musty strollers include both bassinets and car seats. They are made to look great, but function with the best. Musty has mom in mind.

Check the Mutsy out at barebabies.com. Tell them Don sent you and give them this code, musty10off, for 10% right off the top. And don’t forget to kiss that baby for me.

Faryl Smith is loving her new gig, performing with the Britain’s Got Talent Live show. Today’s (U.K.) Evening Telegraph does a fine job of interviewing Faryl’s dad and giving us a look at how things are developing for the precocious young singer turned teen idol. Says Faryl’s father:

The people who have arranged the tour have described it as being like Beatlemania – the children are mobbed everywhere they go and they get people running after the bus after each show.

As to how Faryl is doing, It’s been crazy. She’s having the time of her life – she’s made for it, says her dad. And how about that duet she has been doing with Andrew Johnston?

Simon put it together and he feels that together maybe they could bring a record out – something at Christmas might be nice.