Lenses

This is what happens when I change lenses on the camera but forget to change the setting! haha

 

Top 11 American Idol Season 9 - Tues, Mar. 23, 2010

I'm changing up the format a little bit. Instead of listing the contestants in the order they performed, I will be listing them in alphabetical order and dropping the person who goes home each week. This will save tremendous amounts of time and energy that need not be wasted! :)

Re: the judges -- I wish they were rotating like they did last year, where Randy speaks first, then on the second contestant Ellen speaks first, and so on. I don't like hearing the same person start out the critiques every time. Also, I would like to hear Ellen's own opinion, not just an echo of what Randy says. It seems like more times than not, she just repeats what he says without the "it's too pitchy, dawg."

Also, I'm bringing back the Bottom 3 choices. I'll just be choosing who I would put in the B3. However, according to articles and blogs I've been reading, there shouldn't be too much of a difference! ha. ha. Feel free to add your choices!


Aaron Kelly "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" I thought he was one of the better performers last week, showing more comfortability than some of the other (older) contestants. Too bad he was sick this week because it did hurt his singing, but it shouldn't hurt his chances of advancing.

Andrew Garcia "Heard it Thru the Grapevine" I think the backup singers through him off for a second, but just for a second. I had Andrew as one of the better performers towards the beginning of the show, but there's just something missing. I think last week he promised he'd bring something new, bigger, better to the table this week but he didn't. As much as I loved "Straight Up," I hate that he sang it, especially so early on. What's up, btw, with contestants saying they're gonna hit it out of the park next week? They should be hitting it out of the park in the here and now.

Casey James "Power of Love" I like him, but it's hard not to compare him to Jonny Lang, because of his voice and the guitar. Having said that, he doesn't hold a candle to Jonny Lang. And don't believe everything you hear--he's not ready to make a record.

Crystal Bowersox "Me and Bobby McGee" Nothing terribly wrong with it, and as of last week, I would put Crystal and Siobhan as the ones to beat. What I didn't like about Crystal's performance tonight was this: when I think of Crystal, Janis Joplin comes to mind so I wish she had picked another song besides an actual Janis Joplin song. Having said that, I liked her carpet that she brought on stage.

Didi Bonami "You're No Good" I saw something completely different from what the judges saw, because I liked the performance. I thought maybe I should watch it again since they were all in agreement, but decided not to. I like Didi's voice and I'm glad she's not crying every time she gets on stage (in the beginning I thought she might), but I think she's got to show more strength when she's on the stage.

Katie Stevens "Big Girls Don't Cry" She annoys me. (Remember, she's one of the contestants that's still in high school so she meets the main qualification needed to annoy me.) For the first time, she impressed me last week. I thought it was cliche for her to sing "Wild Horses," but I thought it was a great song to showcase her voice. She had the crowd in her side tonight. It wasn't the best or her best in my opinion, and the song was a too big for her, but it wasn't awful.

Lee DeWyze "The Letter" Great way to start the show! He is definitely progressing from where he was a few weeks ago. I hope he continues to come out of his shell a little more and continues to build his confidence.

Michael Lynche "When a Man Loves a Woman" Big Mike is letting his head get too big. I'm liking him less each week. But he's got a great voice--no denying that.

Paige Mills "Against All Odds" Poor Paige...Miley told her it was a good thing that she was singing softly and not belting it out, and gave her the "benefit of the doubt" that her voice was still recovering from last week. And this is why 17-yr olds shouldn't be mentors.

Siobhan Magnus "Superstition" I have to get this out of the way first. If you watched last week and thought I missed the point where Kara compared Siobhan to Adam Lambert, don't worry--I didn't miss it. I would like to point out: 1)There ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. 2)I think Siobhan is doing just fine, doing her own thing week after week. 3)At this stage in last year's game, Kara still "didn't get" Adam, thought he was too "theatrical," and thought he needed to connect more with the songs. Tonight--good way to end the show.

Tim Urban "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Someone please put him on Broadway, or on the big screen in musicals. Also, can someone please tell the contestants not to reach out and high-five the girls screaming in the front row so early on in the competition? I actually agreed with Kara that he isn't established and it's not the time/place for that.

Bottom 3:
Paige
Tim
Andrew

As much as I would like to see Tim go so he can get started on his Broadway career, I think his fan base will vote to keep him alive. I think this is Paige's week to go.

How Adam Lambert and John Mayer Destroyed American Idol

I got to know the music of John Mayer sometime around 2002, approximately, rough-guessing. I'm honestly not sure how I found his music, because I did not like his song "No Such Thing" ... one of those songs that gets way too much airplay! But somehow I started to like his music. On his website, to make things even better and yes I mean better, he had a disclaimer of sorts, saying that he didn't care how his music got out, just that it got out. So I headed over to Limewire and got my hands on anything labeled "John Mayer." It was the exact style and type of music that I had been looking for at that time. One of the contributing factors that led to my crazy enjoyment of his music was that I was able to get a hold of live recordings, and he would perform the songs with added twists so that they were different than what they were on the record. I love that, because if I'm going to see someone in concert/live, I want to know that they know what they're doing and I want to get more out of the performances that what I would just by listening to the songs at home. Thanks for spoiling me for the past 8 years, Mr. Mayer!

Fast forward a few years to a little show called American Idol, specifically Season 8. I've tuned in enough each season to know who a lot of the contestants are. Not until Season 8 had I tuned in for the entirety. As the auditions came and went and Hollywood Week rolled around, this guy named Adam Lambert appeared. He sang Cher's "Believe" and it blew me away. As week passed by, he never disappointed. He set his bar high from week to week, but not so high that he wasn't able to jump it the next week (ahem, Andrew Garcia). And he made me want to tune in week after week, and more importantly, tell people to tune in. He proved himself week after week. And he excelled show after show. It was more than just a karaoke contest with him. He brought stage presence, energy and excitement. Thank you too, Mr. Lambert, for spoiling me! :)

This year, I'm uber-critical of the contestants, and they're just annoying me to no end for the most part. I especially enjoyed, and no I really don't mean enjoyed, the girls this week who sang what the judges told them to sing. (Lacey-"Kiss Me" and Katie-"Put Your Records On"). I'm going to take a break until the Top 10 (or 12, whichever it is this year) are narrowed down and hopefully come back with a better attitude. :) To those of you who are watching straight through............good luck! :)

Top 10 Girls American Idol - Tues, Mar. 3, 2010

I haven't even watched the results show yet, but here's what I remember:

Crystal was great, Lilly was good, Siobhan hit a crazy note, and Paige's hair looked a lot better than last week. That's all I've got.

Top 10 Boys American Idol - Wed, Mar. 2, 2010

I'm not sure why I'm watching this season. Nobody has stage presence this year, Oh well...I am tuning in and am trying to make it through. Tonight, I am almost bored to tears...4 guys in.

Michael Lynche "A Man's World' I didn't feel the stage presence that the judges raved about. He's one of the better guys imo, but not a good way to start the show. Slow and boring for me.

John Park "Gravity" I'm pretty sure I've told you before, but I can't even describe how big of a John Mayer fan I am so I won't get started. For your sake. :) When I heard that John Park would be singing this song I thought, "Oh no. Unless he's going to change it up it's not going to be good." This is a really great song and it's hard to top JMayer and his guitar. It's soulful. It's bluesy. It's not meant to be sung without feeling.

Casey James "I Don't Wanna Be" Aye...he's one of the better ones, too imo but I wasn't crazy about this one. He sounded flat and it didn't stand out to me.

Alex Lambert "Everybody Knows" I still like this guy's raspy voice, but imo he was trying to enunciate like John Legend enunciates.

Todrick Hall "What's Love Got to Do With It" The best of the night, up to this point IMO. The judges didn't like it, and I don't know what they want from him. I liked that he changed up the song a little bit.

Jermaine Sellers "What's Going On" I'm not sure what to make of this guy. I thought the arrangement wasn't too bad, but I got side-tracked while he was singing. I just know that the judges didn't like him.

Andrew Garcia "You Give Me Something" I would put him the group of boys that are good, and he did fine with this song, but he hasn't been able to top his version of "Straight Up" so I'm hoping he's able to pull something out of his pocket next week.

Aaron Kelly "My Girl" He definitely has a country singer's voice. He's not bad, but I'm not sold on him.

Tim Urban "Come on Get Higher" Love this song...it's a great song to be able to take and make your own. I agreed with Ellen that he'd probably be a great actor...the music stage doesn't seem to be his thing.

Lee DeWyze "Lips of An Angel" Since Andrew didn't blow everyone away last week, he lost his last place spot to this guy, the guy who came out of nowhere. I thought it was a good way to end the show.

All in all, nobody blow me out of the water. How about you?

Top 12 Boys American Idol - Feb. 24, 2010

After watching a lackluster night from the girls, I was hoping the guys would really bring it. Turns out that most of them didn't. Please excuse the late posting.



Todrick Hall Although I wasn't crazy about the arrangement and he didn't really sing, I give him mad props, dog, for taking it and putting his very own spin on it. Sadly, that's the only memorable part for me, b/c it didn't stick with me. [Remember him from the auditions]

Aaron Kelly When he was talking, he reminded me of David Archuleta. Then he sang, and I wasn't impressed. [Didn't remember him from the auditions]

Jermaine Sellers I didn't know the song, and I wasn't blown away. [Remember him from the auditions]

Tim Urban Sorry, but he just annoyed me. Actually, a lot of the guys did tonight. [Didn't remember him from the auditions]

Joe Munoz It's probably because he's Hispanic, but he reminded me of Jorge from last season. I liked Jorge, but wasn't so crazy about Joe. Sorry Joe! [Vaguely remember him from the auditions]

Tyler Grady Oh.my.goodness. He really loves the 70s apparently, and that's fine. But it'd be nice for him to make what he sings current. [Remember him from the auditions]

Lee DeWyze I had never seen him before, but he was the best up until this point. He changed the song up a little bit, and that's what I'm looking for. [Didn't remember him from the auditions]

John Park Not a good song choice, a bit indulgent (thanks for the word, Simon!) and I thought he was better in the auditions. [Remember him from the auditions]

Michael Lynche I don't mean this in a bad way, because there's nothing wrong with it but I am having a hard time getting past his physique. For me, he doesn't fit the singer profile. This is not a bad thing, but he is just a really big person! I think if I can get past the part where my brain is going, "What is this muscle man doing on stage?" I'll be able to actually listen to the music. From what I remember, though, he did pretty good. [Remember him from the auditions]

Alex Lambert I like his raspy vice. Can I just say that they shouldn't have put him through solely on the fact that his last name is Lambert and his first is four letters that begins with an "A"? :) [Vaguely remember him from the auditions]

Casey James Yes, I liked him. And no, it's not because he likes to take his shirt off. I think he's got raw talent. [Remember him from the auditions]

Andrew Garcia I thought he was the best of the night, for what it's worth. Having said that, if you saw him sing "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul in the auditions, it was nowhere near that. I agreed with Simon that it wasn't as original as it could have been. He should be around for a while. [Remember him from the auditions]

The guys were only slightly better than the girls, and I'm looking forward to the results show to see who goes home, not because I'm worried about who might go home. I'm heartless, I know. There's just a lot missing this season (besides my obvious favorite) that last year had. I'm still holding on to hope. :)

Top 12 Girls American Idol - Feb. 23, 2010

It's that time again...American Idol! This is the second season I've watched from the beginning (boring auditions and all), but it still can't beat last season....for me, anyway!

If you don't want to be tagged in this or future AI notes, let me know and I'll remove you!

I said after watching last season that I wasn't going to watch again, that there really was no point since Adam had been discovered. And since Paula would be gone. And since Kara would still be around. Also, I wasn't excited about Ellen being added to the panel. I love her and love her show, but I had seen her as a guest judge before and wasn't impressed. Somehow, even through all that, I got roped back in to watching the show.

So...here are my opinions from last night. Yes, I am very critical and judgmental of the contestants. It's what I do.

Judges Still not crazy about the 4-person panel (ie, mainly Kara) but Ellen gave some pretty good advice and criticisms. I think her being there will grow on me.

Paige Mills I thought she was lacking energy. Yes, I know she walked out onto the stage clapping her hands, but there was something missing. Also, there were a couple of spots where the backup singers were singing but she wasn't--there was too much "dead space" there. [Didn't remember her from the auditions]

Ashley Rodriguez She does have the commercial look, but after watching her audition again and then her performance, she seems like a really good karaoke singer. She sounds like the original artists. Not impressed with her. [Didn't remember her from the auditions]

Janell Wheeler She was a little better than the first two, but I still wasn't jumping out of my seat excited to see what else she has to offer. [Vaguely remember her from the auditions]

Lilly Scott She was closer to what I was looking for from the contestants, but I have to be honest and say that I don't know the song, so I don't have a point of reference. But, she didn't seem nervous and seemed confident and was fun to watch. [Remember her from the auditions]

Katelyn Epperly I liked her slightly less than Lilly Scott, but I did like her. Wasn't sure about the song choice. [Remember her from the auditions]

Haeley Vaughn As a general rule, the teenagers in high school that show up on this show really get on my nerves. I don't know why, they just do. However, she was the first contestant to take a song and make it her own and I enjoyed watching her. [Remember her from the auditions]

Lacey Brown I had high hopes for her, but I wasn't crazy about her or the song. [Remember her from the auditions]

Michelle DeLamor I wish the contestants wouldn't sing Alicia Keys or Leona Lewis. I love Alicia Keys' songs, but I love to hear AK perform them. For some reason, this contestant bored me. [Didn't remember her from the auditions]

Didi Benami I loved her from the auditions and liked her tonight. She has a unique voice, and she didn't stray too much from the original version of the song, but I liked it. [Remember her from the auditions]

Siobhan Magnus I wasn't crazy about this song. I remember her having a really strong voice, and I didn't see that her song selection reflected that. [Remember her from the auditions]

Crystal Bowersox I think she is a great artist, but her song sounded just like the original, and I thought she could have done a lot more with it. I think she'll be one to watch. [Remember her from the auditions]

Katie Stevens I didn't really dig her song. I remember her having a better voice, but they saved her for the very last so there must be something there. [Remember her from the auditions]

No one blew me away. I think most of the girls had a case of nerves on Tuesday's show, and hopefully that doesn't carry over all season. I didn't feel a lot of energy or excitement on the show and am hoping the guys can do better! :)

Little lambs

Things you see at a flea market...

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Project Curtain Call: Day 2

The curtain fabric and blackout fabric have all been measured, cut and washed. Now it's time for sewing! It is all steadily coming together...

Stayed tuned!

Project Curtain Call: Day 1 Pictures

The fabric and blackout material

 

The current curtains

 

Hey!

 

Done with measuring and cutting the curtain fabric!

 

Project Curtain Call: Day 1

I'm starting a new project this week: curtains for the windows. Our house faces south and gets tons of light from sun-up to sun-down. This is great for the later days of winter, because the house gets heated and we can save on the gas and electric bills. The rooms that get heated are the den, eating nook, and master bedroom. On 65-degree days, the house can warm up to 74-76 degrees in the house. Jump ahead to the good ol' summertime and things really heat up! We have blinds and some curtains, but we wanted more to keep the unwanted heat out.

We hit the fabric store a couple of Saturdays ago while they were having a great sale. Remember, the whole point of this project is practical and cost-cutting. We got blackout material and curtain material. The blackout was already on sale, so we had them cut that into 2-yd sections for us. However, the fabric for curtains was on sale with a coupon, and the coupon only allows for one (1) cut of fabric. This is where I'm starting today, dividing the one (1) cut of fabric in to 2-yd sections. We have 9 windows that need coverings and today is Day 1 of PCC.

45 minutes into the project (aaahhh!! English 101 flashback! Should I have spelled "45" since I'm starting the sentence with a number??) I have run into a slight problem. Not a bad one, but I have 14.5 inches of EXTRA fabric. I immediately think the fabric lady cut too much fabric (she seemed new and didn't really know a whole lot any time I asked her a question), but it could very easily be my measuring that's off.

Part of the project plan is to include pictures as I go along, and I took some before starting, but have not uploaded them yet as my batteries have died. I wil post them later today.

Time for a quick snack and back to measuring, cutting, and enjoying the lovely day!

Scanning

I've been having trouble with my scanner lately. Or maybe the trouble is that there is a total of 3 working computers in the house: a desktop, and two laptops. The scanner/printer/copier was bought the same time as the desktop, and beyond the (what I call normal) hiccups every now and then, it has always worked fine. If I want to print something from my laptop, I usually can just plug in the USB cord and type 'Ctrl+P' and I'm good to go. This used to work on Chris' laptop, too, but for some reason it doesn't recognize it anymore. No big deal, since we have 2 other sources if needed. What has really bugged me for some time now, is that the scanner doesn't work on my laptop. And it's frustrating, because I know for a fact that over a year ago it did work. Well, today I set forth on a mission to figure it out once and for all.

After hours of installing, uninstalling, starting, restarting, plugging in and unplugging, and reading message boards, the scanner finally works for me!! I read a few posts and thought, "These people are nuts! What does that have to do with anything?" Why did I think they were crazy? Because they mentioned that after installing a Wacom writing/drawing tablet, their HP scanning machine quit working. I had no clue why that would cause a scanner to stop scanning. And still don't. Turns out, when a Wacom tablet is installed, something is disabled in the secret inner workings of the computer and renders your scanner useless! Who'da thunk it? Not me! Anyway...I found a patch and installed it and now I'm a scanning queen!

Yay!

That's it...that's all I've got. Get back to your Monday night tv.

:)