A Magical Beginning

Collins Key appears to be just an everyday 16-year-old. But he's already a master at his craft despite the rejection he's received.

The teen showcased his amazing magic act on the big stage of America's Got Talent Tuesday night, performing a mind boggling trick. Take a look...

How does he do it? I guess we'll never know. Besides that, I find his story to be amazing. Although he doesn't go into detail, it's clear that Collins has gone through quite a bit of rejection in his life, tearing up while listening to the judges' rave reviews.

I can relate to this kind of story because I've had to deal with a fair amount of people criticizing and chastising me for numerous things - one being giving out my free opinions about things on social media, including this blog. Despite that, I still continue what I'm doing and I'm glad to see Collins is doing the same thing.

Just remember this:

You only have to answer to God and yourself. Live your life. Don't let anyone else (especially people you don't even know) control you. 

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NMM: Leann Rimes

Photo: LeAnn Rimes/MusicRow

This artist needs no introduction. The two-time Grammy winner is back with her first album in two years.

The album, entitled Spitfire, is one in which Rimes literally poured out her heart and soul. As you may know I was able to see her in concert a couple weeks ago. Leann performed quite a few of these new songs at the concert and told us that many were written based on events that had happened in her own life.

Rimes' life has been the subject of scrutiny by the press but that doesn't diminish her artistry. Everyone has good days and bad days. No doubt that she will always be one of the true great musicians of our time.

Check out one of these amazing songs - which should win her another Grammy in my humble opinion. This track is my personal favorite on the album.

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Super Regionals: The Untold Story

N.C. State's Doak Field and UNC's Boshamer Stadium | Photos: N.C. State and UNC Athletics

You'll never find this story on the news or really anywhere for that matter.

The story? How about the ticket situation at both N.C. State and UNC? Obviously there was a high demand for tickets since both of these teams made it to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

But both schools decided to give their donor clubs (The Wolfpack Club and The Rams Club, respectively) as well as their season ticket holders first dibs on tickets to the Super Regionals. Any leftover would go one sale to the general public hours after the fact.

As I expected both schools were completely sold out of tickets before the general public even got a chance to buy them. I'm also pretty sure N.C. State didn't even let students buy tickets like when the team was in the Regional round.

As you may or may not know, I'm a student at N.C. State but a UNC fan at heart, so this is double heartbreak for me. Of course, being more of a UNC fan, I wanted to go to that Super Regional but I guess it won't happen now.

Prepare for the rant.

You know I'm really getting sick and tired of this. With such high demand it's ridiculous that N.C. State and UNC would resort to this scheme. I mean, these donors and season ticket holders basically get everything handed to them on a silver platter as it is. No need for more.

I mean, it's becoming harder and harder for the general public to get football tickets and you can forget about season tickets for men's basketball. The list goes on. Even lower sections of the Smith Center are closed off for The Rams Club and other groups during Late Night With Roy - which is supposed to be a general admission event. It's become anything but.

Quite honestly, the general public supports the athletics program much more than the rich folks. I've been to many UNC games where Rams Club members would file out long before the game was over. This is especially true for basketball. 

All the while, many (if not all) of the "lowly" general public stay in the Smith Center until the final buzzer sounds, win or lose. Not to mention, the general public is there for team send offs, welcoming the teams back home in the wee hours of the morning and more. I'm sure not as many Rams Club members do that kind of stuff.

Let me lay out some of the things my family has done for UNC Athletics:

• My mom and I have bought tickets to countless games and sat through each one until the very end; even in the cold and rain sometimes for football.
• I've gone to numerous team send offs for the men's basketball team, often waiting hours on end. Even bringing my grandma (who's a Duke fan) to some of them. 
• My mom and I have gone to a few men's basketball awards banquets before they shunned the general public away from those.
• We've bought tons of merchandise, concessions, etc. throughout the years; most of which the funds go directly back to the university.
• Most recently my grandma, dad and I went to the UNC/Clemson ACC Baseball Tournament game that lasted 14 innings - and saw every minute of it - as well as the ACC Baseball Championship two days after. Both my grandma and dad are Duke fans at heart but were cheering just as loud for UNC as I was.

I, and the many others who are in the general public, can't help that we don't have enough money to join The Rams Club or be season ticket holders. Some only have enough money or time to go to a few select games. With my busy school schedule I feel like I can't fully commit to a season ticket plan. That's why I choose individual games to go to instead.

We shouldn't be punished all because we're not able to join The Rams Club - which is not what it's all cracked up to be by the way - or buy season tickets. What fun is it to watch the game on a manufactured television screen with annoying commentators? 

The Rams Club did tweet that StubHub could be an option for those who "missed out" on tickets. As of Wednesday night, no tickets had been posted for sale and the tickets always cost out the yin-yang for buyers anyway; a lot more than face value in fact. That shouldn't have to happen in the first place.

The even more heartbreaking thing about it is, I knew this would be the last time I could see this amazing UNC team play in person this season. Either the team will lose or go to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series and I knew for a fact I couldn't afford to go.

Plus, I know I'll always remember going to that UNC/Clemson game. Those memories are priceless. You can't make any memories from watching a game on television - well at least I can't. 

I'm definitely not alone in voicing my frustration - to put it nicely - over this. Many people have voiced the same opinions on The Rams Club's Twitter account as well as the UNC Ticket Office Facebook page. More could follow.

So it looks like, for now at least, I'll be watching on TV. I'm still not sure if I'll even watch the games now since this happened. 

As if we needed another reminder, this goes to show that money talks. If you ain't got it too bad! I, for one, am glad I'm not a rich snob.

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New Storm?

The new Carolina Hurricanes home and away jerseys | Photo: Carolina Hurricanes

I've prided myself on sticking to my boycott of the Carolina Hurricanes and NHL Hockey since the ridiculous lockout happened, which caused the season to be very short. 

I wasn't going to support these greedy, selfish players and owners after they showed no regard to the fans by locking out for the second time in just seven years. So I decided to conduct my own lockout - along with many other disgruntled fans I might add. I didn't watch a game, didn't buy any merchandise. Heck I didn't even play my NHL Hockey video game or buy the latest version, like I've done every year before.

I'm still in boycott mode and will probably never go back to the game of hockey. Despite that, I had to get out of boycott mode to talk about this...

The Carolina Hurricanes, fresh off yet another lackluster season, decided to "impress" its fans - who'll also see a hike in ticket prices this coming season - with the unveiling of new jerseys (pictured above).

It apparently took two whole years of creative brainiacs putting their heads together to arrive at this concept; unfortunately with the finished product looking like it was created in two minutes rather than two years.

The jerseys scream "we're a bland, ordinary team" everywhere you look. Luke DeCock of News & Observer wrote that the jerseys "sever a link" the team had with the Stanley Cup which it won in 2006.

The biggest change?

The classic, storm warning logo has been completely erased from the front of the jersey and is now stuffed inside the neckline where no one can see it. Other than that, there's just a lot of red, white and stripes. That's about it.

In fact, take away the colors and the fundamental jersey designs are completely different. The home jersey (pictured above, left) has two thick stripes arms and legs with that stupid tie thing on the neck from the Dark Ages of hockey. It looks like someone is trying to lace up a shoe without really tying it. 

The away jersey (above, right) has a series of two thin stripes and one thick stripe in the middle on the arms and legs with no tie thingy on the neck. The team said its current black, alternate jersey - which looks nothing like the two new ones - will remain in rotation but will rarely be worn. 

All I have to say is wow. I honestly didn't think the 'Canes could get any lower but they have. The new jerseys are horrible and, quite honestly, a disgrace to this so called "team" I used to love.

Most of my opinions as of late have been in the minority but not this time. From looking at Twitter and Facebook throughout the day of the unveil, the vast majority of people have voiced their displeasure with the change - but, of course, the 'Canes organization is completely oblivious to it. Just take a look at this conversation I found on Twitter last night:
  

@splattergrits Trending nationally and lots of debate is a great reaction. There will always be differing opinions!
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) June 4, 2013

@nhlcanes this isn't difference in opinion. Between twitter and fb it seems 70% are disappointed in the direction you chose.
— Chase Baldwin (@ChaseBaldw1n) June 4, 2013

This organization, with its fans clearly making their voices heard, has turned a deaf ear to it all. As far as I'm concerned these sucky jerseys match a sucky team! This relatively young franchise should have created two or three designs and let its fans choose which was best suited. Or, at the very least, let fans provide feedback before the "grand" unveil. 

The 'Canes encouraged fans to use the Twitter hashtag #NewStorm to voice reaction during the unveil. 

#NewStorm? I'd say more like #TropicalDepression - at best.

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'The Fosters' - Review

The Fosters cast: David Lambert, Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Jake T. Austin, Cierra Ramirez & Maia Mitchell      
Photo: TV.com/The Fosters

ABC Family is known for concocting some groundbreaking programs - ala Switched At Birth! - but The Fosters could be, perhaps, the most groundbreaking show ever produced by the network.

The show, created by Brad Bredeweg and Peter Paige and exec. produced by Jennifer Lopez, centers around a multicultural family mix of foster, adopted, and biological children being raised by a lesbian couple.

We meet the heroine, Callie (Maia Mitchell), in the pilot who's shown being beaten on her last day in juvenile detention. One half of our couple, the motherly Lena (Sherri Saum), decides without her partner, Stef (Teri Polo), to take Callie in as a foster child. 

Throughout the episode viewers find out - along with the family - of Callie's past and how she got into juvi in the first place. Callie confronts her past head on near the end of the episode - which makes for a pretty explosive ending I might add.

There have been gay couples on TV before - hello Modern Family and The New Normal - but this family is, by far, the most diverse and probably most risky for ABC Family to put out there.

You not only have a lesbian couple but an interracial lesbian couple. Just a few days ago, an interracial couple portrayed in a Cheerios commercial received a lot of backlash. To top it off, one son is from a previous marriage while the rest of the children have been adopted or are in foster care - all of which are diverse in their own right.

It was a huge risk for ABC Family - but it paid off.

The show won me over from the start with its very simple scenes and brilliant acting from all. Scenes such as at the end of the pilot where Stef and Lena discuss - while Stef grabs some string cheese and pulls off a piece - if they're pushing adopted twins Jesus (Jake T. Austin) and Marianna (Cierra Ramirez) too hard to meet their biological mother.

Albeit mundane, the string cheese moment shows this multicultural family being just that - a family. And that's what makes this show great.

Watch on ABC Family Mondays at 9/8c

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NMM: Dylan Holland

Photo: Dylan Holland

This week's spotlight - albeit long overdue - is on teen sensation Dylan Holland.

The 18-year singer/songwriter and YouTube star released a new song simply titled "Cry" back in April. The song is beautifully written and tells you a story - something that all great songs should do. 

With genius songs like this, Dylan is, without a doubt, an amazing artist to watch out for!

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Ridiculous Controversy

Cheerios is known for those cute, heartwarming commercials that tell viewers of the benefits they'll receive if they eat the cereal.

Well a new commercial, as innocent as the rest, has caused quite a controversy. Just watch and see for yourself...

Can you guess why? The family portrayed in the commercial is interracial.

Once posted on YouTube, the video caused such a stir that the comment section was turned off as many left racially charged responses.

Seriously?

I'm no dummy. Of course racism of all varieties still exists whether we accept it or not. Even though I know this I was still left dumbfounded that people would be so ignorant and childish as to do something like this.

Who are we to judge other people - whether actors or not - based on what their families look like? 

THIS IS 2013 NOT THE JIM CROW-ERA! WAKE UP PEOPLE! It's such a sad commentary on our nation that, even though its people say they're accepting, they're still trapped in the Dark Ages.

It's amazing that even in these "modern times" there are still plenty of bigots out there. 

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