ooh whoa whoa ~ Top 10 Boys 02.26.08

We've gone from 24 to 20: 10 men, 10 women. Let's hope those who can, bring it. Tonight is Songs from the 70s. This...


is American Idol.

~ Michael Johns - Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac. Ohhhh. Not doin' it for me, Dawg. He's very...bouncy. But not too impressive with the vocals tonight. He'll be around cuz he's hot. Simon agrees with me.

~ Jason Castro - Be Your Everything by Andy Gibb. Yes, I said Andy Gibb. Jason rocked Andy Gibb tonight. I liked it. Seriously, I did. Sorta sweet and sorta strange. I think singing with his guitar is some sort of protection thing...would like to see if his vocals get stronger without it.

~ Luke Mendard - Killer Queen by Queen. Interesting choice. He totally lacks the sass that Freddie has on the song (OK, yeah, it *is* Freddie...but still). Not doin' it for me, Dawg.

~ Robbie Carrico - Hot Blooded by Foreigner. He's not 'rocker.' Bo Bice and Chris Daughtry were 'rocker' ~ ooh, speak on it, Randy (he agrees with me). He looks like Justin Timberlake.

~ Danny Noriega - Superstar by the Carpenters. He really does look like Hannah Montana. Hard to hear this song because 1) Ruuuuben auditioned with it and killed it. Killed. And, 2) it's the Carpenters. *sigh* Anyway, not doin' it for me, Dawg.

~ David Hernandez - Papa Was a Rolling Stone by the Temptations. I really like this. He could use more grit...overall, I'm surprised by how much I like this.

~ Jason Yeager - Long Train Runnin' by the Doobie Bros. He makes the song sound lounge-y. Deanna from RockStar INXS did this song much better. Ohhh, you are not long for this competition, my dear. Not doin' it for me, Dawg. Damn, Simon - brutal.

~ Chikeze - I Believe to My Soul by Donny Hathaway. Another of my favorite songs! When Ryan teased 'Donny Hathaway' going into commercial, I was scared. Surprisingly, not scary at all! I like it. Get funky now! Sad that he let others bastardize his name when he was growing up...

~ David Cook - Alright Now by Free. He's rockin' it. This is how I expect Robbie and Jason to sound. He blew the lyrics throughout the whole song, no one called him on it. He should lose the guitar, engage the audience more. Don't think Simon likes David much - Simon blew David's retort out of proportion.

~ David Archuleta - Imagine by John Lennon. Very nice interpretation. Wow. That is doin' it for me, Dawg. :::chills:::

The girls sing tomorrow night ~ and I'm going to miss it, once again. Read Aimee Greeblemonkey's recap.

I'm thinkin' Jason Yeager, David Cook or DannyMontanny will be goin their own way...

ooh whoa whoa ~ Top 12 Boys 02.19.08

OMG! I am *soooo* excited!
I really love American Idol!
I really wish I had TiVo.
iTunes?! *sigh* It's all about the sponsorship, isn't it?

It's Music of the 60s night (I love theme nights!), so let's go:

• David Hernandez ~ In the Midnight Hour ~ I loved his rendition of "Love the One You're With" during Hollywood week, so I'm pretty excited to hear him tonight. Hmm - digg the gospel-esque start (complete with organ). I'm not connecting with him, though. Move, dude! Good singing, but I'm not engaged.
• Chikeze ~ More Today Than Yesterday ~ OMG! My favorite song of all time! And he's not doing it very well. He sings really well, he really does. But not this arrangement of the song. OK, Simon - you're just mean! (Calling him 'jacuzzi or whatever' and really, what does clothing have to do with singing? Nothing. Boooooo, Simon!)
• David Cook ~ Happy Together ~ another of my favorite songs of all time! I'm not on board. I don't know why. I get why RPS like it...I'm just not feelin' it, dawg.
• Jason Yeager ~ Moon River ~ He's sitting down. Facing the judges. Really? Hmm. Ooh, shaky bit right there in the middle. Ended fairly well. :::shoulder shrug:::
• Robbie Carrico ~ One ~ Eh. Okay. Not blown away. I really don't understand the judges and their 'logic' or whatever it is. (Sidebar: Robbie previously had a recording contract. Hmm...)
• David Archuleta ~ Shop Around ~ to paraphrase Kip Winger 'he's only seventeen' - he's so darling! The perfect song interpretation for this competition - fun, appealing. This kid'll go far this year...
• Danny Noriega ~ Jailhouse Rock ~ He looks like Hannah Montana with Zac Efron hair. Music is playing faster than he's singing. WTF is Paula talking about?! Eh. Not impressed.
• Luke Menard ~ Everybody's Talking At Me ~ Is it Rissa's Favorite Songs night? I think it is! ;) I love love love this song, from the movie Midnight Cowboy. I think Luke is totally hot. He's a bit too dressed 'down' for my taste - c'mon, he's on TV - but maybe he's relating to the movie? Anyway, it was nicely done singing-wise; but a bit flat.
• Colton Perry ~ Suspicious Minds ~ Who is this kid? Ugh.
• Garret Haley ~ Breaking Up is Hard to Do ~ What's American Idol without a Neil Sedaka-penned song? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing! This kid and David Archuleta will be fighting for the teens and tweens votes - they're dreamy. The song? Eh. Simon is brutal. Make him stop.
• Jason Castro ~ I forgot which song he sang. He's totally darling!
• Michael Johns ~ Light My Fire ~ another guy with a recording contract. Hmm. He's hot, he's shouting/trying too hard, but he'll get through.
• I'm guessing Chikeze, Blue Moon guy or Luke will be out tonight.

ooh whoa whoa ~ American Idol Top 24

50 kids to be whittled down to 24 ~ 12 boys, 12 girls...let's get it started:

• Yep. I am so done with Ryan Seacrest.
• I'm soooo nervous! :::squeal:::
• First guy in is the first rejection of the day. I'm sad.
• No.
• No.
• No.
• Irish/Scottish girl, Carly Smithson. Geez, Paula! Just effing tell her already! Good, Simon agreed with me. She's in! Yay :)
• OMG, I'm totally crying! Dorkus Maximus.
• David Cook - in!
• Oooh! The rocker nurse/Light My Fire/Grace Slick-esque chick, Amanda is in! Yay! :) :)
• And another one gone.
• And another one gone.
• Another one bites the dust.
• David Archuleta - he's 16. Good grief. Oh, good - he's in.
• commercial - 4 Idols (2 boys, 2 girls)
• Kristy Lee Cook? Who? She's in.
• ooh, Carole King singing girl, Brooke...she's crying in the waiting room...how nerve-wracking (for her, too)...she's in! Yay!
• I'm crying again.
• Danny, the kid with Zac Efron hair and sounds like Clay is in.
• a couple more are in - but WTF are they?!
• Ramiele (who?!) is in.
• Commercial break - oooh, ballroom dancing competition on PBS :)
• Australian rocker Michael Johns is in, of course. (Uhh, does it matter that this American Idol contestant isn't American?)
• Lost my voice girl who sang Chain of Fools and killed it (no, it's a good thing!) is in! Syesha...
• long hair rocker dude Robbie is in.
• Who?
• Who?
• Who?
• Who? Oh well, they're in.
• Girl with blue eye shadow who sang Mary J is in - yay!
• Yay - Love The One You're With dude, David, is in!
• Josiah. He dismissed the band in the final round. Paula said he had 'spirit' (yes he do, he got spirit, how 'bout you?). Not in. Damn - there goes our drinking game, Ash. Boo hoo.
• Shut up, Ryan. He's devastated. You're not helping.
• OK...I hate this: 2 slots left, 4 people left.
• For the guys - some dude I've never seen and the future President/Sanjaya version 2.0 are left. And, it's Colton Berry. Who?
• OK, Simon - got a bone to pick with you! If it isn't about having a good voice, you should have let more bad singers but better entertainers in the competition. Boooo to you Simon.
• OK - 2 girls, last spot. Who? Plus size model and a skinny girl. I was thinking skinny girl until the plus size girl started talking. She said she fell out of love with singing because of all the roadblocks she encountered in the 'business' due to her size. Simon looked at her and said out loud - oh, that shouldn't matter at all. WTF?! Simon, Simon, Simon. Hypocrite. What about all of the girls you've told to lose weight to make it in the competition? Tsk tsk tsk. I like you a little bit less.
• Whoa, wait a minute! Who's Luke? Who is this guy? Yowza!

America starts voting next week! :::squeal::: Thank you AT&T for unlimited text messaging plan :)

Rissa out.

ooh whoa whoa ~ Idol in Hollywood

Idol's in Hollywood this week! (Shh - it's really Pasadena)

My random thoughts on tonight's 2-hour show:

• I am so over Ryan Seacrest.
• Brooke ~ the 1st singer is very good! I love love love Carole King (after this, I'm off to iTunes to look for Tapestry)
• I love me some Simon. Is it just me or is he hotness? He's hotness.
• not sure I'm on baord with the instruments; it's distracting.
• Really? Drums? Where's Daughtry when ya need him...
• OK ~ I'm all aboard the Love the One You're With guy!
• I miss the 'ooh whoa whoa' vocal from Idol's first season theme intro
• totally digg the Rocker Nurse chick who sang the Doors ~ vocally reminiscent of Grace Slick; I agree with Simon that that could get old.
• Hooray for the 'forgotten lyrics' montage! It's a personal favorite. Would rather watch weeks of that than the poser 'singer' auditions.
• David with guitar singing Bryan Adams. Paula called it 'soothing.' Really? Was she listening?
• Oooh! "most vicious (cut) in Idol history!" Taking histrionics lessons from Chris Harrison and the Bachelor ;)
• ooooh! I love the tension before the cuts!
• No competition show is complete without the bitter contestants saying "blah blah blah people who don't deserve to be here" or "blah blah blah just wish I was given the same/fair chance like everybody else"
• OK - nerdy/someday I'll be President guy? If he makes it through, he's the Sanjaya of 2008.

Tomorrow's gonna be awesome!

A mommy blogger's "Top 10 Reasons to Barack The Vote"

An articulate list of reasons to vote for Obama that goes beyond the "he wants change" rigmarole.

read more | digg story

Top 10 Reasons to Barack the Vote

It's a political blog ~ Top 10 Reasons to Barack the Vote ~ brilliantly articulated and written by Amy Greeblemonkey.

Speak on it, Sister!

stop me oh oh oh stop me

Hi. My name is Reese. And I'm addicted to Yahoo! Graffiti.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

Do you know this game? It's basically 'Pictionary' on your computer. And it is crazy fun!

If you're lucky, you get on a table with people who actually draw - and not write out the answer [insert eyeroll]. 'Seating' up to 8 people per table, each person takes turns drawing a series of words and phrases (from R2D2 to hockey puck to bite) for the rest of the table to guess. You're given crayons, an eraser, a blank screen and a SKIP button to help you. Once you see the word, start drawing! However, using a mouse to draw, blows. I need to get one of those pen things. (Well, no; I really don't. But, I'm gonna.)

As you're drawing, the others type in guesses. Type in the correct word or phrase, you get points. If the guessers aren't getting it, the person drawing can click the guessed words in the scrolling screen to give hints as to the answer. Some of the answers are so off-the-wall! Which makes sense because some of the drawings are ridiculous as well!

I was up well past midnight playing Graffiti. And, as I sit here typing this, glancing at the clock, I'm seriously trying to figure out if I have time to play a 'quickie' before going to my lunch/meeting. (I don't have time. But, I could make time.)

Might as well face it, I'm addicted.

now is that gratitude? (homework assignment #1)

Creative Writing class homework assignment #1:
Gratitude - what am I grateful for? What is gratitude?

Now is that Gratitude?

I always thought 'being grateful' and 'being thankful' were synonymous. I used the words that way; interchangeable, really. Then, I saw Kevin Everett and realized the difference.

Kevin Everett was a player on the Buffalo Bills football team. On opening day, versus the Denver Broncos, Kevin went for a tackle and was hit by an opposing player. If you watch the tape of the play, you can see his body go limp. He fell to the ground, his body involuntarily convulsing, then stillness. After several minutes, Kevin was carted off the field. In those several minutes, his life was saved.

Team doctors and a specialist on the scene immediately injected Kevin with a saline solution to lower his body temperature. This would slow blood flow and swelling, ultimately saving Kevin's life.

Initial reports regarding Kevin's prognosis were dismal: likely to never walk again, may regain movement. However, within days, Kevin was able to move his hands and his fingers on his own. He was able to flex his foot, and, with help, bend his knees.

Today, Kevin Everett is able to walk on his own.

How can 'being thankful' be enough? 'Thank you' is so easy to say. Yet, in this case, it seems inadequate: 'Thank you' to the doctor on the scene who had the presence of mind to lower Kevin's body temperature? 'Thank you' to his family for modeling determination and perseverance? 'Thank you' to the doctors, to the fans, to his teammates? Gratitude is something much deeper, lacking definition.

I am thankful to have a roof over my head. I am grateful to have cheap rent.

I am thankful to no longer be in an abusive relationship. I am grateful to have been in one.

I am thankful to have such a great family and great friends. I am grateful to have such a great family and great friends.

(written 01/27/08 rmd)