I've been a little lax on the blogging...

Work has really picked up lately, and with that and some extracurricular activities, I haven't had much time to blog. I'm about to go watch the American Idol results, though, and I thought I'd make my predictions.

No commentary for this week, mainly because I don't have time, but also because I think last week's votes are going to decide the eliminations. For those of you who don't know, they didn't kick anyone off last week. Two people go home tonight.

My predictions for the bottom three: Blake, Chris, LaKisha

Going home: I can't decide! Definitely LaKisha. My guess is Chris, but I hope it's Blake instead, based off his decision to do "Imagine" and his bizarre version of "You Give Love a Bad Name."

American Idol 4/24

Idol Gives Back! It's finally here. That means we get to hear cheesy inspirational songs, and no mentor to speak of. Ryan Seacrest called Bono a mentor, but he must have meant for the charity, because we saw hide nor hair of the U2 frontman all night.

Chris Richardson - "Change the World"
Chris gives the Eric Clapton song his smooth vocals, and seems to charm the judges with it. Although the judges didn't criticize much of anyone tonight, he got some pretty good props, especially considering he went first. Randy thinks he's "in it to win it," the first time the show's cliche has been spoken to him, I believe.

Melinda Doolittle - "There Will Come A Day"
Don't forget to look to country music, if you want something cheesy and inspirational. That's what Melinda (and later, Phil) did with this Faith Hill number. I thought she was good, but she's just failing to wow me like she used to. Maybe just because she's not having to go through that typical "American Idol growing experience."

Blake Lewis - "Imagine"
You know that sound when you suck air in through your teeth? That's what I did when I realized Blake was doing this classic song. I guess, to me it's just untouchable. You just can't do it without sounding lounge-y and like a bad imitation of the original. I do believe he was sincere, but come on! Nobody will ever be John Lennon.

LaKisha Jones - "I Believe"
Dangerous territory, doing a Fantasia song. The judges loved her so much, and LaKisha didn't compare for them here. Plus, if I remember correctly, wasn't this the song Fantasia sang when she won the competition? Jumping the gun a bit, I think.

Phil Stacey - "The Change"
I think Simon hit the nail on the head when he said that Phil should have brought more of his country flavor with this one. I mean, it's a Garth Brooks song! But it was still a solid performance, and he's looking much better up there than he did a few weeks ago.

Jordin Sparks - "You'll Never Walk Alone"
Whoa, look out! Jordin shows off her insane talent with this old song I've never heard of. Once again, I think Simon was right when he said that she could record that. She sounded great. Jordin's doing the right thing here; she's looking better every week, and may eventually outshine Melinda if she keeps it up.

Bottom Three: Chris, LaKisha, Blake
Going Home: LaKisha

that's what I be doin'

Sometimes, I spend time on the internet at work to take my mind off the subject at hand, when I need a break or whatever. Today, my wanderings led me to the Williams-Sonoma website (a favorite of mine). Call me a goofball, but I think it's fun to see what crazy things I might want to put on personalized items. Here's one of my favorites:

American Idol Results 4/18

Well, Crazy Hair finally leaves us. Not much to say, except that things should be a little better next week. Interesting to see that Blake was in the bottom three. My guess? Voter complacency. It happens every year.

Bye, Sanjaya!

American Idol 4/17

Okay, it's time for the annual Country Week. This time, we have Martina McBride handing out the advice and compliments. She seems really nice, though the beginning was a little awkward when all the contestants stood in front of her and sang one of her own songs ("Independence Day"). She didn't seem to be of too much help, but she wasn't bad, either.

Phil Stacey - "Where the Blacktop Ends"
I'm not a big fan of most country music, but I thought Phil wasn't bad here. It was a good opening to the show, it showcased his strengths, and the judges loved it. He's still not an American Idol, but he's definitely not the worst of the night. I'd put him in the top three.

Jordin Sparks - "Broken Wing"
Picking a ballad in a genre she's not too comfortable with was totally the right way to go. She sounded so great here, and all the judges were blown away. Simon said for the first time, he could see her winning it all, and I can see it, too, if the voters stick with her.

Sanjaya Malakar - "Something to Talk About"
Eeek! What wasn't wrong about this performance? The bandanna, the hair, the vocals, the awkward, stiff choreography... enough said.

LaKisha Jones - "Jesus Take the Wheel"
I like Carrie Underwood, but not this song so much. LaKisha stretched, and didn't quite pull it off. I feel bad, because she chose the song for its "single mom" theme, but you can't just feel the music; you have to be able to sing it well, too. Unless you're an awkward 17 year old (see above).

Chris Richardson - "Mayberry"
I still like Chris, and he was wise to choose Rascal Flatts (he has the most similar vocals to them, I think). Not his best performance, though. I hope he gets to stay!

Melinda Doolittle - "Trouble Is a Woman"
The real Melinda is back this week, with a sassy, confident number. I couldn't find anything wrong with her performance this week, and neither could the judges. A+.

Blake Lewis - "When the Stars Go Blue"
At times, I heard the Tim McGraw version the show mentioned, and other times I heard the Ryan Adams version (the original?). Blake is smart to pick a song that's already been made over before (he's done this on "Lovesong", as well), and sounds just fine here. He's still the judges' favorite guy.

Bottom Three: Chris, LaKisha, Sanjaya
Going Home: LaKisha. I think it's going to be a shocker this week, no matter what. Unless it's Chris, at which point I will be sad, but it could happen. I have to put Sanjaya in the bottom three this week. He really deserves it.

fly and (if fly then hot) implies hot

Here is a great article from The Village Voice, breaking down Mims's "This Is Why I'm Hot."

Some of my favorite diagrams from the article:

Interesting stuff about being single

So, if you're from the South (like me), or the East, it's good to be a guy. Out West, it's great to be a girl. Why? The distribution of single people across the U.S.

Orange is for the ladies, and blue is for the dudes.

American Idol Results 4/11

Well, I guess it wasn't too hard to see that coming. Bye, Haley! You were probably the most fashionable contestant this year.

American Idol 4/10

Well, this week Jennifer Lopez herself graces us with her presence. She seems a lot nicer on the show than the primadonna tales I've heard. Maybe her third marriage has brought her down to earth a bit. Anyway, Mrs. Lo brings a little salsa into the mix for this week's theme.


Melinda Doolittle - "Sway"
I agree with Simon that this performance was forgettable. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because it certainly wasn't bad. It's just that nothing was really memorable about this performance. Plain black dress, calm melody and rhythm, but no mistakes, either.

LaKisha Jones - "Conga"
What in the world made this girl want to do a song she can't pronounce the name of? She admitted to stepping outside her comfort zone, and that certainly seems to be the case. I don't think she's cut out for high tempo pop or Latin music. LaKisha shines on slower songs and ballads, and this night confirmed that.

Chris Richardson - "Smooth"
Jennifer Lopez took the song a whole step up for Chris, and it almost seemed like they could have gone a little more. The song is so low, which worked for Rob Thomas, but not so much for Chris. Looking forward to seeing a little more classic pop out of this guy, if he makes it to next week.

Haley Scarnato - "Turn the Beat Around"
Haley may love to hear percussion, but I don't think I really love to hear Haley. Gloria Estefan does so much better on this song that I really think Haley may have done herself in here. The parts where she's talking about the rhythm and the drums (rat-tat-tat-tat, etc.), she seemed to lose the beat and the key all at the same time. She's beautiful, but it's time for her to go.

Phil Stacey - "Maria, Maria"
Pretty much an exact copy of the original, except not as good, and by a white guy. He wasn't the worst performance of the night, but a weird week like this can send anyone home. This isn't anyone's type of music that is in competition right now.

Jordin Sparks - "The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You"
You could definitely tell Jordin's having fun here. Not a big vocal stretch for her, but she should be safe. She picked an easy song on a night when everyone is learning a new style. Smart girl.

Blake Lewis - "I Need to Know"
I would have been scared to pick a song by the guest mentor's husband, but Blake did it and came through with a pretty good performance. I'm not a big fan of the song, but I think that Blake did the equivalent of what Jordan did. Not a terribly difficult song, but a good night to go that route.

Sanjaya Malakar - "Bésame Mucho"
This was probably my favorite performance from Sanjaya, which means I actually liked it. He was seated, which helped preclude any cheesy hand motions, and his voice came through pretty well. It's a simple, sweet sounding song, which works for his voice, and the only parts I thought he was too quiet were when the chorus kicked in. Not bad.


Bottom Three: Haley, Phil, Chris
Going Home: Haley. The other girls completely outshine her, and she doesn't have as much of a niche as the others.

American Idol Results 4/4

Well, once again I almost called the bottom three, but instead of Sanjaya going home, we say goodbye to Gina. Poor thing. She knew she wasn't going to win it, but I personally think it's a shame she's going before Phil, Haley, and Sanjaya. I think she was totally a top 5 or 6 contender. Not anymore.

American Idol 4/3

Okay, this week is was all about Tony Bennett, so the dudes and chicks sang The Classics. It was nice to hear some of them come out of their usual range. I'm kinda not super digging on the show right now because all the Sanjaya fever is turning me off, but I'd like to see it through, so here we go.

Blake Lewis - "Mack the Knife"
I can see why the judges like Blake, but for me, this performance wasn't as smooth as it needed to be. To me, this song has always been as smooth as silk. Blake's version had a few snags in it.

Phil Stacey - "Night and Day"
I think Tony was right in directing Phil to sing this one a little more choppy, instead of dragging it out into a dramatic ballad. Of course, Phil didn't take the advice. He hasn't been looking as good lately, but you never know.

Melinda Doolittle - "I Got Rhythm"
I read an article that said that Melinda's happy puppy act was getting a little old, and I tend to agree. She's still a great singer, though, and not having any trouble.

Chris Richardson - "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
I don't think I have ever heard this song before, but I still like Chris. I like the songs he picks, and his personality. I think the only thing that worries me is that I don't know if I would buy an album he puts out. I imagine they'll stick him in some r&b pigeonhole. Hmmm.

Jordin Sparks - "On a Clear Day"
She sounded a little forced on this one, but I think Jordin's still doing well. It sounds like none of these songs were tunes she knew. That's realistic for someone who was born around 1990.


Gina Glocksen - "Smile"
I liked Gina here. She had that old-school pinup makeup on, and the song suited her well. The judges liked it, too.

Sanjaya Malakar - "Cheek to Cheek"
This whole song sounded like pure cheese when Sayjaya sang it. It's supposed to be romantic, but I couldn't help feeling like I was on a retirement cruise or something (not to sound too much like Simon here). I really feel sorry for him.

Haley Scarnato - "Ain't Misbehavin'"
All I can say here, is it's pretty obvious someone is going for the male audience when the first thing you think about is, "she sure likes to show off her body!" Not to mention the "great legs" comment from Simon.

LaKisha Jones - "Stormy Weather"
I liked this song okay, but LaKisha doesn't really command my attention like some of the other contestants. Does it seem to anyone else like she's going through the motions a little?

Bottom Three: Haley, Phil, Sanjaya
Going Home: Phil. He's gotten worse every week, went earlier than the other two, and Howard Stern isn't asking anyone to vote for him.

American Idol Results 3/28

Oooh! My predictions were much more accurate this week, except for putting Sanjaya in the bottom three. All I can say about that is, WTF, mate? I don't think Phil deserved to be there, but he was safe, anyway.

Sorry to see Chris go, but I don't think he was going to win, anyway. And is it just me, or does Gwen Stefani sound almost nothing like her recordings when she sings live? I've never seen her or No Doubt in concert, so I can't say for sure.

On the musical horizon...

I found out about a new band the other day that I think you should check out. Chester French is an indie pop duo, not quite fresh out of Harvard (they're still seniors), that makes a sound everybody's comparing to somebody. It's hard to point a finger at just one influence, though. Some are saying Weezer, or Ween, while I hear a little bit of old-school synth and a voice that reminds me of Ben Folds. Either way, these guys are definitely on the rise, with their first album, Love the Future, in the works.

Check these guys out at their myspace if you get a chance. I've got their song "She Loves Everybody" on my profile right now.

American Idol 3/27

Gwen Stefani was kind enough to visit the contestants and help them out this week. Was it just me, or was she criticizing over half of them in their intros? Anyway, she pretty much told all of them to keep it simple, and stick with the melody. You could definitely tell she bonded with the girls much easier than the guys (maybe because most of the girls can sing).

LaKisha Jones - "The Last Dance"
LaKisha does well every week, and this was no exception. I like this song, I liked her outfit. It was all great. The only problem with her is that she's stopped impressing me so much because she's at the same level every week. Most of the previous American Idols have one or two "breakout" weeks. She should be safe, though.

Chris Sligh - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
Ew! I think I am officially out as a member of the Fro Patrol. Is it just me, or did he look kind of tired this week? I think he does better with the more serious material, anyway. I didn't see as many of the "Fro Patro" signs this week, so it's possible he may be in trouble.

Gina Glocksen - "I'll Stand By You"
This was a much better song choice for Gina. Still keeping a little bit of an edge by doing a Pretenders song instead of disco, but a little more universally appealing. I thought she sounded great, but I can't see her going all the way yet. I think she'll make it through at least a couple more weeks.

Sanjaya Malakar - "Bathwater"
Oh. My. God. Can we say "not even trying anymore"? I think we can. This kid looked ridiculous! Seven ponytails, mohawk-style, and I swear I kept waiting to hear him sing the line "my kind of man." (He did change "man" to "girl.") I'm not holding my breath for him to go anytime soon, but he's not even funny to watch. I feel bad for him.

Haley Scarnato - "True Colors"
I don't think this was the right song for Haley. I just think that this song was meant for someone who is deliberately off-key, like the Cyndi Lauper original. Haley looked like a Miss America contestant, which is great if you're in that contest, but people might find her a little too bland for their taste.

Phil Stacey - "Every Breath You Take"
Phil makes Chris look even worse with his version of a Police song. Not only did he do pretty well with the song, he actually kept with the beat and sounded very similar to Sting himself at some points. I liked it.

Melinda Doolittle - "Heaven Knows"
I found it interesting that the two biggest front runners, LaKisha and Melinda, both chose Donna Summer songs. Melinda did just fine on this one, even if Simon didn't like her outfit. Because we all know this is really "Fashion Idol." Not.

Blake Lewis - "Love Song"
They called this The Cure's "Love Song," but we all know Blake was doing the 311 version. Of course, since none of the judges have heard of 311, they can't really know that. Anyway. I thought his performance was okay, but not very exciting. I like the song, and didn't find any major problems with it. Just okay.

Jordin Sparks - "Hey Baby"
I think Jordin does a great job of appealing to the people that are her age. Singing this modern song was a great idea, because not only did she do well with it, but it was fun and up tempo on a night where everyone else could have put the audience to sleep. I think she's going to be around for awhile, if people don't assume she's safe and stop voting for her.

Chris Richardson - "Don't Speak"
I liked this performance okay, though not as much as last week. The judges weren't really that into it. I know Gwen Stefani didn't want him to sing it that way, with all the runs, but I agree with Randy: it's something he does well, so he should do it. He should finish better this week than last week, because he went right before the voting opened up.

Bottom Three: Haley, Sanjaya, Chris Sligh
Going Home: Chris. I think Sanjaya is getting too many votes to go yet, and Haley was better than him this week.

Cutest. Picture. Ever.

David Ortiz and his new puppy, Mikey.

American Idol Results 3/21

Well, my intuition turned out to be right. Other than that, how wrong was I?

There was only a bottom two, and it was Stephanie and Chris Richardson (oh no!). Stephanie went home. This seems to happen every year: a few really bad people get tons of votes because their fans don't want to see them go home, while some good people get the boot because they seem safe, especially if you listen to the judges. Pretty soon they'll start coming out with the reminders: "You have to vote every week, because it matters, blah, blah, blah."

So if you do vote, you may want to step it up a little. Unless you're voting for Sanjaya, in which case, he's safe. You don't have to vote. LOL.

Manny Ramirez sells his grill... sort of.

Earlier this morning, when I was getting my daily dose of Soxaholix, I was directed to a link on eBay for a grill Manny Ramirez was selling. I'd link to it, but it's gone. It had a couple of pictures of Manny standing next to the grill, and a high bid in the millions of dollars (fake bids, of course).

This is where it gets weird.

I was going to blog about the auction, because I thought that was interesting enough, but when I went back to the link, the auction had been taken down. A quick search for "Manny Ramirez grill" led me to this auction: Manny Ramirez: JENN-AIR Grill Tribute Auction. What? Oh yes, someone took the pictures and put up a tribute page/auction on eBay for it.

So go check out Manny's grill and the pictures of him standing barefoot in his garage.

American Idol 3/20

I really enjoyed the theme this week: British Invasion. Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, and Lulu were there helping the guys and gals get their 60s on. The good news is, nobody was horrible. On the flip side, that means Sanjaya could stay another week, as his performance was on caliber with a couple of other bottom-of-the-heap contestants.

Haley Scarnato - "Tell Him"
For me, this song wasn't that great for her. She was definitely trying to appeal to the audience, though, strutting around, wearing teeny shorts and a top with no back. She looked like she was going to go straight to the clubs after the show. I thought it was a great example of how she's just not as good as the other ladies she's up against.

Chris Richardson - "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
I like watching Chris sing. He seems genuinely serious about the competition and really trying to improve each week. He took Peter's advice to let the melody through, and I think it worked. It seems like he has to really stretch not to run it up and down on each line, but he managed to hold it to just a few times in this one. He has a great voice and stayed on key, which is more than I can say about half the people here.

Stephanie Edwards - "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"
This week, I thought Stephanie's performance just sounded like a bad Beyonce ripoff. Beyonce has that vibrato voice that makes her sound almost off key, and Stephanie sounded like that only she actually sounded off key to me (I refuse to say "pitchy"). Very iffy showing from someone who is outshined by two other women who sing the same kind of music.

Blake Lewis - "Time of the Season"
I'm just not really into the whole Blake gimmick. I understand he likes to beatbox, but it seems like if he wanted to modernize a song from the 60s, he would have picked one with a more universal message. A song about the Summer of Love isn't really something that translates well to modern day (though it is spring break time). I will give him this: it's not far off from the original "ch, ah!" in the song to the beatboxing he did, so it was a reasonable adaptation.

LaKisha Jones - "Diamonds Are Forever"
Wow. Okay, Lulu had suggested that LaKisha do another song over this one, and I really would have liked to see how she did that one. I thought she looked great, with the dress and diamonds and everything, but she honestly scared me a little. She sounded like an angry woman with vengeance on her mind, who is going to hole up in a little house with her diamonds. Plus, the song is a little creepy. Who wants to "caress and undress" their jewelry? She won't go home, but this performance just didn't do much for me.

Phil Stacey - "Tobacco Road"
I didn't like his arrangement of this song. It might have worked with the whole rock thing, had he not sped up the tempo so much. When he got to the part where he sings the title of the song, he had to slow it down so much, it sounded like two different songs glued together. Phil was in the bottom three last week, so he really should have put together something better than this.

Jordin Sparks - "I (Who Have Nothing)"
Jordin keeps climbing the charts with me every week. She's truly talented, and innocent enough to be likable. The judges are right, she does have an incredible amount of control with her voice. That first, quiet "I love you" in this performance just blew me away. She knows what to sing, and what to avoid oversinging. My favorite song of the night.

Sanjaya Malakar - "You Really Got Me"
I think this guy knows he's not going to win, so he's going to go out there and have fun. The great thing is, he turned in one of his best performances that way. His best is still not good enough to win, but it was nice to hear the judges being nice to him.

Gina Glocksen - "Paint It Black"
Saw this one coming. I'm worried that Gina is going to get pigeonholed into this goth/rocker role on the show, and not feel like she can do anything else. Come on, girl. You don't have to be Amy Lee every week. I like this song, but there was nothing spectacular about her version of it.

Chris Sligh - "She's Not There"
I still like Chris, but this wasn't my favorite from him. I think he lost a little bit of the vocal from wandering around the audience. I do like this song a lot, though, and I think he should be safe. I am a little tired of hearing about the Fro Patrol, but I guess that comes with the territory.

Melinda Doolittle - "As Long As He Needs Me"
Melinda likes the showtunes, huh? I actually liked Jordin's performance better, but still a very solid performance from the front runner.

Bottom Three: Haley, Phil, Sanjaya
Going Home: Haley

I have a sneaking suspicion Stephanie might knock one of these guys out of the bottom three, but I don't feel confident enough about it to predict that. We'll see.

Fantasy baseball is hard

I haven't been able to come up with much to write lately, because this has taken up most of my free time. We're doing our draft right now in fantasy, and it is taking forever (though, not as long as it is scheduled to take, which is nice).

I'm considering writing my chronicles as a fantasy baseball newbie (and as a woman playing a male-dominated game), but I haven't decided. I don't know if I have a real enough strategy to worry about giving it away yet. Most likely, I'll write about lessons I have learned and the experiences I have playing this season.

American Idol Results 3/14

Bottom Three: Brandon, Sanjaya, Phil

Sent Home: Brandon

No big surprises here, other than the fact that Sanjaya is still in the competition. Brandon was going to go home eventually, so he's just the first of the unworthy to fall. Also, was Diana Ross freaky looking, or what? Her voice isn't that great anymore, either, at least not live. I'll admit, I fast forwarded through almost the entire show.