Hey folks,

You know what happens when I travel over to the US of A? Other than having a fantastic time (which is currently in progress), I happen to pick up new addictions. I suspect it's because I have more time to pay attention. Well this trip is no different. I have picked up a couple of new addictions. I'm way behind in "discovering" these two people but better late than never, right?

Some time ago I was channel surfing and it was the early morning. Caught a music act on morning tv (the tail end of it) and I was impressed. My first thought was that if this kid got rid of the weird getup she's got a great voice. I'm such a dummy sometimes. Who am I talking about? Lady Gaga. I saw her interview on Oprah over here and the young woman truly impressed me. She reminds me of the Kiwi songbird, Ladyhawke in the same shy persona. She's got her act together and I realised why she was wearing the funky outfits.

In my opinion she is the Generation X version of Madonna (with considerably more talent since she writes her own songs and Madonna doesn't have a shy bone in her body, Madonna doesn't even know how to spell "shy"). If you haven't caught the Lady Gaga fire...fire up youtube and check this out (forget the crazy outfits for a moment, listen to her voice...it is AMAZING.) Funky crazy outfits and weird video clips but what an incredible voice. Supreme talent.

and now to my next addiction. This actor is no stranger to many Xena fans. Her name? Crystal Chappell. Yes yes I am slow. For an actor to make any impression on me they have to make me forget that they are acting (naturally that is the goal, right? Well the majority (for me) can't do that but I sat up and took notice of Crystal.) Her role as Olivia Spencer in Guiding Light was quite surprising. I don't watch soaps. Soaps and reality tv are two things I avoid. The snarky, tough, no nonsense Olivia won me over; the sheer raw emotion Crystal portrayed as Olivia is just eye popping. I'm a Crystal fan for sure.

Check out Mesh's Crystal Chappell Site (for once I don't have to create something new, it's already done). Watching her work is a real treat.

So there you have it. :) Enjoy!