Idol Thursday - Judges pick too many.

Singer------Dave----Shan----Emily---
Jessie-------Y-------?--------Y-----
Matt---------N-------N--------N-----
Megan--------N-------N--------Y-----
Von----------N-------N--------N-----
Jasmine------Y-------Y--------Y-----
Ricky--------N-------?--------N-----
Tatiana------N-------N--------N-----
Anoop--------N-------?--------N-----

Jessie - I liked her a lot. Shan isn't so sure.
Matt - I am not a fan whatsoever. He killed that Jackson 5 song, and not in a good way.
Megan - I have to say no. shan said, "no, no, no, nonono, she's not the one for me!"
Von - Uh, slow falsetto. Can you spell Buh-Bye!?
Jasmine - I gave Jasmine a yes before she even got on stage. She is flat out awesome.
Ricky - Karaoke for me. He tried too hard to sound like he was not trying to sound like Stevie. Shan kinda liked him.
Tatiana - She just drives me nuts, and not in a good way. Ryan on his knees was hilarious! she can sing, though, and I hate that. I have to give her a yes, even though I can't stand it. Shan says "She can sing, but NO!" I didn't realize she had sung it before. I changed my answer to NO.
Anoop - Well, you know he is freaking because he already sang this before. He should get slammed for it too.

Shan picks: Anoop, Jasmine, Megan
Emily picks: Megan, Jasmine, Anoop
Dave picks: Jessie, Jasmine, Anoop (only because that's who will go through)

And the judges say:
Jasmine - Top 12!
Ricky - Not top 12
Megan - Top 12!
Tatiana - Not top 12 - it's all about Tatiana... Give me a break. Paula's right, she's certainly an actor.
Jessie - Not top 12
Von - Not top 12
Matt - Top 12 - Wow, that is an absolute shock.
Anoop - Top 13!? Okay... whatever. He who makes the rules can break the rules. Emily said it is the weirdest thing she has ever seen on American Idol.

Idol Wednesday - Really!

The results are in. Let's see how things go tonight:

Well, the opening number wasn't too bad. "Hot and Cold" is one of my favorite songs as of late.

Lil is the first one in right off the bat! That was a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. She has an excellent chance to go all the way.

Ariana - Not top 12 - Not surprising, but might get a wildcard.

Taylor - Not top 12 - I don't even remember her from last night.

Alex - Not Top 12 - Yeah, his performance was a little weird. I don't think we'll hear from him anymore.

Kendall - Not top 12 - We didn't go for her...

Scott - Top 12! - That is excellent! He's got a shot at top 5, I believe.

Nathaniel - Not top 12 - Thank the heavens above! I'm sure he's got a following, but I think we've seen the last of him.

Kristen - Not top 12 - Shan liked her. I didn't. I think she's done.

Von - Not top 12 - No big loss there.

Felicia - Not top 12 - Bummer. We liked her.

Ju'Not - Not top 12 - He might be a wildcard.

Jorge - Top 12 - What the heck? He cannot sing, people. Wake up.

---

Here are the wildcards:

Von - What!? That is not someone I would have picked. I was hoping he was outta here. Well, he won't be around long.
Jasmine - Now, that's a great choice. She has appeal, she can sing.
Ricky - I don't really remember him.
Megan - I think we liked her singing...
Tatiana - What the heck is in those Coke glasses? She is ridiculous. There are people who deserve this spot so much more.
Matt - Wow, yet another person we thought be disappear into the ether.
Jesse - We'll see how she does. I'm neither way with her.
Anoop - Oh brother.

Man, there are some talented folks that totally hosed in the wildcard round. Guess you gotta do something for ratings.

Well, it will certainly be a multicultural Idol this year. Maybe that will help push everyone to new levels!

American Idol Wednesday (er, Tuesday)

Okay, so I was a day ahead of myself when I made the title originally. It has been a S--L--O--W week!!

singer------dave-----shan----
Von----------N--------N------
Taylor-------?--------N------
Alex---------N--------N------
Arianna------N--------N------
Ju'Not-------N--------Y------
Kristen------N--------Y------
Nathaniel----N--------N------
Felicia------Y--------Y------
Scott--------Y--------Y------
Kendall------N--------N------
Jorge--------N--------N------
Lil----------Y--------Y------

Our Thoughts:

• Von - uh, what's with the whispering there, guy? Not happenin.
  
• Taylor - Not awful, but not great in my opinion. Wrong song or something.
  
• Alex - He's got a great personality. I'm a little mixed. He has too much affectation. Shan gave him a NO. Kind of weird karaoke in there.
  
• Arianna - ABBA!? Really? Way too old fashioned for me.
  
• Ju'Not - Yeah, i was right: Ju' *Not* the next American Idol. This nearly put me to sleep. If you're going to sing this, you should put a dance mix feel to it. Shan, on the other hand, gave him a Yes.
  
• Kristen - Kan you say Karaoke? Well, since she is a karaoke hostess, she has the right job.
  
• Nathaniel - He was given a NO before the show started. I just don't like him. Period.
  
• Felicia - Well, the competition finally starts tonight! Excellent job for her!
  
• Scott - I am a huge fan of his and I love "Mandolin Rain" and together, it's a total victory.
  
• Kendall - Not bad, not great. I don't think she'll get the votes.
  
• Jorge - Well, he's no Ricky Martin. My mother-in-law said she wasn't even voting in this and she gave him a NO.
  
• Lil Rounds - Shan gave her a YES before she even started singing. We are big fans of Lil! Let's see how she does. Man, she is good. She sounds like she has already won and had been invited back to perform.
  

For the record, we didn't listen to much of the judges comments. We needed to go to bed sometime tonight.

Not something you read every day...

According to The Business Insider, the New York Times could save $300 million per year by buying each of their subscribers a Kindle instead of printing the actual paper. (article here)

Now, if you haven't heard of The Kindle, it's a device developed for Amazon.com as a way to get you the periodicals, books, and other media without actually having the paper in your hand. It's electronic and uses cellular technology to deliver the goods.

This is a Kindle (version 1):

The thing was met with mixed reviews, mostly because it looks like a blocky, heavy, ugly thing. The controls were, evidently, not very user-friendly either.

Now, the Kindle II is being introduced:

Seriously? Maybe I'm too old school, but I just don't think this whole idea is going to fly. I'm not a huge reader as it is, but I sure don't want to carry THAT thing around unless I am forced to.

However, this is a discussion about the NYT saving money (and for all you peace-love-and-many-groovies people, trees). Seriously, if the New York Times could save 300 Million Dollars in printing by sending their subscribers one of these things, I think we are seriously looking at the beginning of the end of printed newspapers.

Oh, I know, the town criers have been shouting this for years, but the number one reason we still have papers to hold in our hands is because many of the readers of those papers grew up with paper. We like it. It feels good in our hands, we can easily turn to the page or section we want, we can read the comics in color.

Yes, the Kindle and Kindle2 offer no color screen. Many folks are wondering why we would need color if all we are reading is text... Because we LIKE color... We want to read our comics in color. It's a colorful world out there and we want to see it on our screens and in our hands.

But even color issues aside, the fact is, I would guess most newspaper readers in the country (perhaps the world) are NOT the Gen-X, Gen-Why, Gen-Me crowd. The readers are the same folks that like to do the crossword in pencil. I am in that category (though I like to do them in pen). I had a TabletPC for work. It was neat, still is cool. But, the fact is, I like my notebook full of paper and a pen to hold in my hand. I like to be able to open a book and close the book. Sure the Kindle has bookmarking, etc etc, but it's not the same.

Where does all of this lead? As I said, it is the beginning of the end of newspapers in print. As those of us that like paper get older and pass on, our children and grandchildren will not want the paper version. They love the gizmos and gadgets. They want to be able to mark this, turn it off and pick up some other gadget then come back to the 'e-reader.' One day, I would venture a guess at 15-20 years from now, paper media will be very hard to come by and electronic delivery will be the preferred (perhaps only) method. Newspapers, magazines, publishers who think otherwise have their heads buried far too deeply into the sands of time. Print media outlets had better come up for air soon, or they will find themselves buried.

Catching up on Idol action.

Shan's Mom's birthday was Wednesday, so we did not watch Idol until Thursday night. We watched Wednesday's show first, so what you are reading is our reactions to what we saw. I have no idea who has made it through or not while writing this...

American Idol, Week 2

Singer-------------Dave----Shan---Emily---
Jasmine Murray------N-------?-------Y-----
Matt Giraud---------N-------N-------N-----
Jeanine Vailes------?-------?-------?-----
Nick/Norman---------N-------N-------N-----
Allison Iraheta-----?-------?-------Y-----
Kris Allen----------Y-------Y-------Y-----
Megan Joy Corkey----?-------N-------X-----
Matt Breitzke-------Y-------Y-------X-----
Jesse Langseth------N-------N-------N-----
Kai Kalama----------N-------?-------X-----
Mishavonna Henson---?-------?-------Y-----
Adam Lambert--------N-------N-------N-----


Running notes made during the show:

• Whoa, okay Jasmine was WAY better during auditions and Hollywood week. I don't think she did well at all. Shan likes her, so she gave her a question mark.


• Matt needs to do something other than breathe into the microphone. We didn't like him.


• Jeanine is the strongest so far, but I think she was too many affectations or whatever you call those add-ons to the end of nearly every phrase she sings. Kinda gets annoying.


• Oh bother. I cannot stand the Nick/Norman guy. This is a joke, right? If he makes it through, it'll be only because America is playing a cruel joke. He could have been a real contestant, but he is taking the place of someone who genuinely should have made it through.


• Allison is one weird child judging by the pre-song interview. Let's see how she does. She is singing Heart... Can you say karaoke? Once she started rockin, it wasn't too bad, I guess.


• Kris sings "Man in the Mirror." Why do these folks start with songs that are too low for them? Well, he's not bad, actually. I forgot he was from Arkansas! Shan and Emily changed their vote after he appeared in a local news commercial.


• Megan Seemed okay, but what is up with the flailing arms!? Her voice is all over the place. I don't think I can give her a "yes"...


• We liked Matt during the auditions and Hollywood week. I think he did a good job with this song. I don't know if he was better than Kris or not though...


• Jesse does "Bette Davis Eyes." Man, that is a huge song. And, man did she blow it. What's with the weird accent going on?


• Okay, let's see if Kai does any better. Well, if K-Tel were putting out an oldies remake CD, he could sing on it. But, really, no thanks.


• Misha sings "Drops of Jupiter!" Man, I hope she does well. I love this song. Well, I'm disappointed. I think she could have done better with it. I like her voice, but it's not enough to save her, I'm afraid.


• Emily doesn't like Adam because he looks goth. She said, "I can tell you right now, he's a no." This was said as he started singing. It's easy to understand why he can't get no....

---

And now, we've made our picks and so we watched the results show:

We are whipping through this pretty quickly because no one on this show jumped out as a clear winner. I will say that if Nick would have dropped the dumb Norman thing, he might have had a decent shot at top 12. Of course, he may still get there. As I type this, they are doing the intro song. Of course, there are always the wild cards... I will say I think the first group did their song much better than these folks.

Allison - Top 12 - Of the three, I can see her making it, and she was probably the strongest woman.
Jesse - Not Top 12 - Not a surprise from here.
Matt B - Not top 12 - That's a bum deal, but he was not the strongest guy up there.
Megan - Not Top 12 - she is a STRONG contender for a wild card.
Kris - Top 12 - Wahoo! The boy from Arkansas makes it through! And with a Mijac song to boot! Awesome.
Matt G - Not Top 12 - That is no surprise to me at all.
Jeanine - Not top 12 - Not surprising after the other performances.


Wow, Brooke White! I liked her last year... She's got that soft, raspy voice that reminds me of Stevie Nicks or Bonnie Tyler. I like her first single. i don't think it'll be a mega hit, but it's a nice change from a lot of what's being put on the air these days.

Mishavonna - Not Top 12 - Wrong song sends her home, I guess.
Kai - Not Top 12 - He's done. He is not a wild card contender.
Nick - Not top 12 - Well, praise the lord!
Adam - Top 12 - Really? Are you serious, folks? Man, he should not have been through...
Jasmine - Not Top 12 - Not surprised based on her performance.