In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I came home from work very late tonight and in an extremely cranky, frustrated mood. We have a database that seems to be doing its best to explode and not being an IT type, I have no idea why or how to fix it. By 8pm tonight, I no longer cared. I just wanted to come home, see G. and the pups, eat something and watch me some Idol. So the contestants and you will have to forgive me if I seem overly grouchy.
Tonight's guest mentor was Gwen Stefani, which I thought was an interesting choice since Gwen doesn't sing so much as chant her way through most songs. I wasn't really sure how much she could contribute to the kids' vocal education and thankfully, she didn't really try. She limited her comments to "stay on the beat and sing the melody" which would be good advice coming from anyone. Hey, maybe I could be a mentor! She did look awfully cute though. Oh, and the theme this evening was songs by Gwen Stefani and the singers/bands that inspired her. Otherwise known as "sing anything you want" night.
LaKisha - "Last Dance" (Donna Summer) - The last couple of weeks I've been less than over the moon for LaKisha's vocal performances. There's nothing wrong with them per se, it just feels like she has fallen into the predictability rut. She's got a great voice, but so do lots of people (outside of this competition) and she's doing nothing we haven't heard before. In her defense however, she really worked the song and the audience responded well. Note to LaKisha: Way to rock the outfit. Killer sexy dress and boots. You go, girl!
Chris S. - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (The Police) - Something felt just a little not right about this and I couldn't put my finger on what it was until the judges started commenting. Oddly, they were exactly right. Chris was about 1/4 of a note behind the band for most of the song. It was just off enough to make the whole song sound slightly weird. The vocals though, were great. This song was just exactly in his register.
Gina - "I'll Stand By You" (The Pretenders) - Very impressive. Very. She had great control, a pretty tone, and lots of emotion in her voice tonight. Her best performance so far, and the best of the night. Note to Gina: Keep the funky boots, lose the shiny, horizontally striped mini-dress. It made you look squarer (is that a word? no?) than you are.
Sanjaya - "Bathwater" (No Doubt) - What in the hell was that? I'm not even sure the teeny-boppers can forgive the train wreck that was Sanjaya this week. The horrible song wasn't that bad compared to the hugely out of tune vocal, the forgotten words or OH. MY. GOD. 7 ponytailed faux-hawk. It had to be seen to be believed and really, I wish I hadn't.
Haley - "True Colors" (Cyndi Lauper) - She was a little pitchy in spots, but overall, it was a nice performance. She played with the melody a little but not enough to screw up the song. It wasn't exciting, but it wasn't bad either.
Phil - "Every Breath You Take" (The Police) - Phil really sounded great tonight. It was a little bit copycat, but the original is great and there really isn't a need to mess with it. Strong vocals and a solid performance. Note to Phil: I'm not sure which is better, crazy hat or not. No advice. I just had to say it.
Melinda - "Heaven Knows" (Donna Summer) - Surprisingly, I wasn't wild about her tonight. I mean I know she out sang everyone except possibly Gina, but I thought this song was a really safe choice for her and I would have liked her to sing something unexpected. Something NOT R&B or disco. Note to Melinda: Yeah for the color! Boo for the cut of the blouse. But keep trying. You'll get there.
Blake - "I Will Always Love You" (The Cure) - I though this was a little boring too. Wow, I must be cranky tonight because I never think Blake is boring! The vocal was simple and kinda sweet, but blah. I'm not familiar with this choice, was it the song?
Jordin - "Hey Baby" (No Doubt) - When they announced this song, I thought it was going to be great. Fun and peppy and adorable, just like Jordin. But I thought it fell really flat. It sounded as if she slowed it down just so she could keep up. And the beginning of the song was too low for her voice. I love her, but this just didn't work. Note to Jordin: When I come to raid your closet, I will not be taking this outfit. I can't imagine those proportions looking right on anyone.
Chris R. - "Don't Speak" (No Doubt) - This one's so obvious I can't even bring myself to make the joke. Flat, as usual. Nasal, as usual. Blech, as usual.
Bottom three: Sanjaya, Chris R. and Haley
Going home: Sanjaya (oh please, oh please, oh please....)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
American Idol Talk: Top 11 Results
And Stephanie is gone. Which is hardly the most interesting part of this show. In fact, pretty much every other part of this show was more interesting:
--Peter Noone seemed to be having a great time during his song, which was fun to watch.
--Lulu looks pretty freaking fabulous and she doesn't sound half bad, either.
--The Ford commercial cracked me up. I have no idea why, but Melinda doing back handsprings down a row of commercial washers was hysterical.
--Neither Gina nor Phil were in the bottom of the pack. Gina was terrible and should have been, while I get the distinct impression that Phil is just starting to get on people's nerves.
--Sanjaya didn't seem to be anywhere remotely close to the bottom tier this round. Lots of theories surround this phenomenon. 1) VFTW, 2) The asshole of all media telling listeners to go to VFTW, or 3)the call center in India is diverting other votes to Sanjaya. My personal opinion differs. I say never underestimate the power of raging teeny-bopper hormones.
--Chris R., despite the overly lavish praise of the judges, ended up in the bottom two. Now that was a surprise!
Stephanie being voted out - not so much.
--Peter Noone seemed to be having a great time during his song, which was fun to watch.
--Lulu looks pretty freaking fabulous and she doesn't sound half bad, either.
--The Ford commercial cracked me up. I have no idea why, but Melinda doing back handsprings down a row of commercial washers was hysterical.
--Neither Gina nor Phil were in the bottom of the pack. Gina was terrible and should have been, while I get the distinct impression that Phil is just starting to get on people's nerves.
--Sanjaya didn't seem to be anywhere remotely close to the bottom tier this round. Lots of theories surround this phenomenon. 1) VFTW, 2) The asshole of all media telling listeners to go to VFTW, or 3)the call center in India is diverting other votes to Sanjaya. My personal opinion differs. I say never underestimate the power of raging teeny-bopper hormones.
--Chris R., despite the overly lavish praise of the judges, ended up in the bottom two. Now that was a surprise!
Stephanie being voted out - not so much.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
American Idol Talk: I'm So Excited!
Didja hear? American Idol is actually a competition, not a spectacular one woman concert with some other people singing too? Tonight it seems, most of the rest of the cast figured this out (with the exceptions of La Doolittle and Sanjaya, neither of whom should be there, for vastly different reasons.)
It was British invasion/60's week, with guest mentors Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits fame) and Lulu (To Sir With Love). In direct contrast to Miss Ross, both provided constructive comments that were actually useful to the contestants and were quite funny. I take that back, Miss Ross was funny, but not in a good way.
On with the show!
Haley - "Tell Him" (?) - God help me, this was adorable. She was in tune and having fun. Sassy and flirty without being totally over the top about it. The song fit and this was easily her best performance yet. Note to Haley: I'm with the Fug girls on this. I don't care how great your legs are, stop with the formal shorts.
Chris R. - "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" (Gerry and the Pacemakers) A couple of weeks ago, Chris slowed down and sang a Keith Urban song all nasally and out of tune. He tried the same thing this time and it was better. At least it was in tune. If his voice appeals to you, this was probably a great performance. He works the song, the audience, and the arrangement. Ah, if only he could sing...
Stephanie - "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield) - Stephanie confuses me. Generally, I think she sings well but I don't seem to connect with either her or the songs she chooses. Tonight was just the opposite. Loved the song and thought her vocals were really shaky and weak. Huh??
Blake - "Time of the Season" (Zombies) - Now, aside from the weird dancing, this modernization of a classic really worked. Good vocals, great arrangement, and the minimal beat boxing fit right in seamlessly. Very nice.
LaKisha - "Diamonds Are Forever" (Shirley Bassey) - Don't get me wrong, it was good. It just wasn't LaKisha good. It wasn't outstanding, and since that is what everyone has come to expect, it was a bit of a disappointment.
Phil - "Tobacco Road"(The Nashville Teens) - I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I don't know the song, but it seemed a good fit for him. He certainly looked like he was having fun singing it. His range is much better than expected, who knew? I guess I liked it, but I may need to watch it again to be sure. Note to Phil: Dry cleaners can generally get stains out of shirts before national television appearances. Look into it.
Jordin - "I, Who Have Nothing" (Shirley Bassey) - Absolutely, the performance of the night. Pretty damn close to perfect vocals. Emotional delivery. Wistful and tender where called for with a great big finish. Amazing. Note to Jordin: That may have been the most perfect of all the perfect little black dresses ever. I will be over to raid your closet soon.
Sanjaya - "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks). This was the most wrong anything has ever been. And I mean ever in the history of history. I'm too traumatized to talk about the specifics of the performance. Dolly Parton once said "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." I don't think this was what she had in mind. G. summed it up even better. He said "I will eat shit out of the ass of your choice if Sanjaya makes it to the finals." Can't get much clearer than that.
Gina - "Paint It Black (Rolling Stones) - I wanted to like this. It's a great song and seemed like it would be a good fit for Gina. But apparently she suffers from Philitis, which now that I've said that out loud, sounds a little dirty. The softer parts of the song were horribly out of tune. Towards the end she improved, but it was still a quite shouty. Not good at all.
Chris S. - "She's Not There" (Zombies) - I wasn't as impressed with his voice as I usually am. It wasn't bad, but I would have liked it better if he had sung it a little lower. We've already got a couple of guys in this with thin, reedy voices and he really needs to distinguish himself from them. Also, I really think he ran out of air towards the end. Great song choice, though and overall a pretty good job.
Melinda - "As Long As He Needs Me" (from Oliver) - Gorgeous, flawless performance. There really isn't much else to say. Note to Melinda: More gray? Really? I thought we discussed this.
Bottom three: Phil, Stephanie, Gina
Going home: Stephanie
Should be going home but won't due to power voting by 12 year old girls much in need of therapy: Sanjaya
It was British invasion/60's week, with guest mentors Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits fame) and Lulu (To Sir With Love). In direct contrast to Miss Ross, both provided constructive comments that were actually useful to the contestants and were quite funny. I take that back, Miss Ross was funny, but not in a good way.
On with the show!
Haley - "Tell Him" (?) - God help me, this was adorable. She was in tune and having fun. Sassy and flirty without being totally over the top about it. The song fit and this was easily her best performance yet. Note to Haley: I'm with the Fug girls on this. I don't care how great your legs are, stop with the formal shorts.
Chris R. - "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" (Gerry and the Pacemakers) A couple of weeks ago, Chris slowed down and sang a Keith Urban song all nasally and out of tune. He tried the same thing this time and it was better. At least it was in tune. If his voice appeals to you, this was probably a great performance. He works the song, the audience, and the arrangement. Ah, if only he could sing...
Stephanie - "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield) - Stephanie confuses me. Generally, I think she sings well but I don't seem to connect with either her or the songs she chooses. Tonight was just the opposite. Loved the song and thought her vocals were really shaky and weak. Huh??
Blake - "Time of the Season" (Zombies) - Now, aside from the weird dancing, this modernization of a classic really worked. Good vocals, great arrangement, and the minimal beat boxing fit right in seamlessly. Very nice.
LaKisha - "Diamonds Are Forever" (Shirley Bassey) - Don't get me wrong, it was good. It just wasn't LaKisha good. It wasn't outstanding, and since that is what everyone has come to expect, it was a bit of a disappointment.
Phil - "Tobacco Road"(The Nashville Teens) - I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I don't know the song, but it seemed a good fit for him. He certainly looked like he was having fun singing it. His range is much better than expected, who knew? I guess I liked it, but I may need to watch it again to be sure. Note to Phil: Dry cleaners can generally get stains out of shirts before national television appearances. Look into it.
Jordin - "I, Who Have Nothing" (Shirley Bassey) - Absolutely, the performance of the night. Pretty damn close to perfect vocals. Emotional delivery. Wistful and tender where called for with a great big finish. Amazing. Note to Jordin: That may have been the most perfect of all the perfect little black dresses ever. I will be over to raid your closet soon.
Sanjaya - "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks). This was the most wrong anything has ever been. And I mean ever in the history of history. I'm too traumatized to talk about the specifics of the performance. Dolly Parton once said "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." I don't think this was what she had in mind. G. summed it up even better. He said "I will eat shit out of the ass of your choice if Sanjaya makes it to the finals." Can't get much clearer than that.
Gina - "Paint It Black (Rolling Stones) - I wanted to like this. It's a great song and seemed like it would be a good fit for Gina. But apparently she suffers from Philitis, which now that I've said that out loud, sounds a little dirty. The softer parts of the song were horribly out of tune. Towards the end she improved, but it was still a quite shouty. Not good at all.
Chris S. - "She's Not There" (Zombies) - I wasn't as impressed with his voice as I usually am. It wasn't bad, but I would have liked it better if he had sung it a little lower. We've already got a couple of guys in this with thin, reedy voices and he really needs to distinguish himself from them. Also, I really think he ran out of air towards the end. Great song choice, though and overall a pretty good job.
Melinda - "As Long As He Needs Me" (from Oliver) - Gorgeous, flawless performance. There really isn't much else to say. Note to Melinda: More gray? Really? I thought we discussed this.
Bottom three: Phil, Stephanie, Gina
Going home: Stephanie
Should be going home but won't due to power voting by 12 year old girls much in need of therapy: Sanjaya
Friday, March 16, 2007
American Idol Talk: Top 12 Results
I almost forgot to post that Brandon got the boot last night. I think that says it all.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
American Idol Talk: D(iva) Day
All right now. We're at that point of the competition where things usually start to heat up. The singing begins to dramatically improve, we get to know the contestants a little better and we get a chance to see who really has what it takes and who does not. The differences between the haves and the have nots was quite clear tonight, sometimes painfully so.
The "mentor" for this week was none other than one of the original Divas, Miss Diana Ross. While I'm sure it was a thrill for some of the kids to meet her, I didn't think that she offered much to them. Lots of the typical touchy-feely sort of advice like "feel the song", "connect with the audience" blah, blah, blah. She's a great singer and a great performer and I would have loved to hear her give more concrete, specific advice. God knows they could have used it.
Brandon - "Can't Hurry Love" - Wimpy and cliched about sums it up. Typical arrangement, typical performance and typical Brandon vocal with no oomph at all. Also, fewer words than generally necessary. But who's counting?
Melinda - "Home" - It wasn't the song I wanted to hear her sing, but since I don't know what I would have chosen for her instead, I'll just shut up about that. I don't think it really matters anyway, since she seems to be fantastic every time she opens her mouth. Note to Melinda: Please stop wearing grey and black. You are perfectly adorable and have every right to enjoy color as much as the rest of the world.
Chris S. - "Endless Love" - Apparently, he heard my plea for a ballad and then decided to play with my head. They announced his song choice and I went "Squeeee!". Then he ruined it. The vocal was good, but the song was almost unrecognizable. I hate it when people do that to perfectly beautiful melodies.
Gina - "Love Child" - Probably the most forgettable performance of the evening. The whole thing just lacked energy. However, she did "pronouciate" it well, per Miss Ross' instructions.
Sanjaya - "Ain't' No Mountain" - If this performance wasn't enough to take him out of the competition, I don't know what will be. It was so unbelievably like a high school talent show. I'm pretty sure he was mostly in tune, but I can't be positive because I couldn't hear him through most of it. He has so little power and presence that he just sort of faded into the background vocals and the band. Note to Sanjaya: Stop with the hair already. You've got lots. We get it.
Haley - "Missing You" - Poor kid was forced to sing a Diva song this week. Surprisingly, she managed to pick one she could handle. When she wasn't busy forgetting the words, she sounded quite nice. Also, I though she handled herself quite well in front of the judges, given the reaming she assumed they would give her. Note to Haley: Lose that dress. Why would you ever put your ass in a bubble on national television?
Phil - "I'm Going To Make You Love Me" - It's nice to be noticed. Phil seems to have read my humble advice from last week and taken it to heart. What do you know...the beginning of this song didn't suck. The rest sounded pretty OK as well. Still not terribly distinctive, but otherwise strong.
LaKisha - "God Bless the Child" - I wasn't as enthused about this performance as I though I would be. It didn't sound bad at all, but I think she over sang it a bit. I have fond memories of Bailey on Grey's Anatomy singing a very soft, tender version into the phone in an effort to comfort her baby from afar. She may have ruined me for any other interpretation.
Stephanie - "Love Hangover" - This week was one of her better, more engaging performances as far as I'm concerned. The judges blasted her for not singing the "good part" of the song, but since I don't know the song, to hell with them. She sounded good, as always, but the biggest difference was her stage presence. She was flirty and powerful and fun. Note to Stephanie: You looked awesome. Your dress was very flattering and a great nod to the disco era without going over the top.
Blake - "Keep Me Hangin' On" - Very disappointing. He, like Chris S., tried to make this classic more modern and it just ended up a big ol' mess. I applaud the effort, but not the outcome. The vocals were also uncharacteristically weak. On the more positive side, he sold the hell out of it. So much so, that I wasn't even sure I didn't like it at first. I had to go back and listen without watching to confirm.
Chris R. - "The Boss" - This performance did not improve my opinion of his talent in any way. Nasal and bobbleheaded, again. Still. His ability to schmooze with the audience can't distract me from the fact that he doesn't sing very well.
Jordan - "If We Hold On Together" - Everything about this performance was just lovely. The tone, the tender parts, the power vocals, everything. I love her more each week. Note to Jordan: Can I have that dress?
Should go home: Sanjaya. Two different contestants FORGOT THEIR WORDS, and he was still worse than they were.
Will go home: Haley. With Brandon and either Sanjaya or Chris S. filling out the bottom three.
The "mentor" for this week was none other than one of the original Divas, Miss Diana Ross. While I'm sure it was a thrill for some of the kids to meet her, I didn't think that she offered much to them. Lots of the typical touchy-feely sort of advice like "feel the song", "connect with the audience" blah, blah, blah. She's a great singer and a great performer and I would have loved to hear her give more concrete, specific advice. God knows they could have used it.
Brandon - "Can't Hurry Love" - Wimpy and cliched about sums it up. Typical arrangement, typical performance and typical Brandon vocal with no oomph at all. Also, fewer words than generally necessary. But who's counting?
Melinda - "Home" - It wasn't the song I wanted to hear her sing, but since I don't know what I would have chosen for her instead, I'll just shut up about that. I don't think it really matters anyway, since she seems to be fantastic every time she opens her mouth. Note to Melinda: Please stop wearing grey and black. You are perfectly adorable and have every right to enjoy color as much as the rest of the world.
Chris S. - "Endless Love" - Apparently, he heard my plea for a ballad and then decided to play with my head. They announced his song choice and I went "Squeeee!". Then he ruined it. The vocal was good, but the song was almost unrecognizable. I hate it when people do that to perfectly beautiful melodies.
Gina - "Love Child" - Probably the most forgettable performance of the evening. The whole thing just lacked energy. However, she did "pronouciate" it well, per Miss Ross' instructions.
Sanjaya - "Ain't' No Mountain" - If this performance wasn't enough to take him out of the competition, I don't know what will be. It was so unbelievably like a high school talent show. I'm pretty sure he was mostly in tune, but I can't be positive because I couldn't hear him through most of it. He has so little power and presence that he just sort of faded into the background vocals and the band. Note to Sanjaya: Stop with the hair already. You've got lots. We get it.
Haley - "Missing You" - Poor kid was forced to sing a Diva song this week. Surprisingly, she managed to pick one she could handle. When she wasn't busy forgetting the words, she sounded quite nice. Also, I though she handled herself quite well in front of the judges, given the reaming she assumed they would give her. Note to Haley: Lose that dress. Why would you ever put your ass in a bubble on national television?
Phil - "I'm Going To Make You Love Me" - It's nice to be noticed. Phil seems to have read my humble advice from last week and taken it to heart. What do you know...the beginning of this song didn't suck. The rest sounded pretty OK as well. Still not terribly distinctive, but otherwise strong.
LaKisha - "God Bless the Child" - I wasn't as enthused about this performance as I though I would be. It didn't sound bad at all, but I think she over sang it a bit. I have fond memories of Bailey on Grey's Anatomy singing a very soft, tender version into the phone in an effort to comfort her baby from afar. She may have ruined me for any other interpretation.
Stephanie - "Love Hangover" - This week was one of her better, more engaging performances as far as I'm concerned. The judges blasted her for not singing the "good part" of the song, but since I don't know the song, to hell with them. She sounded good, as always, but the biggest difference was her stage presence. She was flirty and powerful and fun. Note to Stephanie: You looked awesome. Your dress was very flattering and a great nod to the disco era without going over the top.
Blake - "Keep Me Hangin' On" - Very disappointing. He, like Chris S., tried to make this classic more modern and it just ended up a big ol' mess. I applaud the effort, but not the outcome. The vocals were also uncharacteristically weak. On the more positive side, he sold the hell out of it. So much so, that I wasn't even sure I didn't like it at first. I had to go back and listen without watching to confirm.
Chris R. - "The Boss" - This performance did not improve my opinion of his talent in any way. Nasal and bobbleheaded, again. Still. His ability to schmooze with the audience can't distract me from the fact that he doesn't sing very well.
Jordan - "If We Hold On Together" - Everything about this performance was just lovely. The tone, the tender parts, the power vocals, everything. I love her more each week. Note to Jordan: Can I have that dress?
Should go home: Sanjaya. Two different contestants FORGOT THEIR WORDS, and he was still worse than they were.
Will go home: Haley. With Brandon and either Sanjaya or Chris S. filling out the bottom three.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
American Idol Talk: 2/4 Again...Whatever
Since I'm quite late in posting this, you probably already know that Antonella, Sabrina, Jarred and Sundance got the boot this week.
Oddly, I'm neither terribly surprised or terribly dismayed. Of course, I'm wildly happy to see Antonella go, and reasonably pleased about Jarred's departure. Both were out of their respective leagues.
While I do think Haley is in over her head, Simon was awfully mean to the kid and that's always good for some sympathy votes. Oooh, there's a plan. Maybe the judges will be super sticky sweet to Sanjaya next week and America will take the bait and STOP VOTING FOR HIM ALREADY!
And although I'm not overly disappointed that Sundance is gone, I'm a little surprised at how much I don't really care. I started off really liking him, but he never delivered the goods in a consistent manner.
Oddly, I'm neither terribly surprised or terribly dismayed. Of course, I'm wildly happy to see Antonella go, and reasonably pleased about Jarred's departure. Both were out of their respective leagues.
While I do think Haley is in over her head, Simon was awfully mean to the kid and that's always good for some sympathy votes. Oooh, there's a plan. Maybe the judges will be super sticky sweet to Sanjaya next week and America will take the bait and STOP VOTING FOR HIM ALREADY!
And although I'm not overly disappointed that Sundance is gone, I'm a little surprised at how much I don't really care. I started off really liking him, but he never delivered the goods in a consistent manner.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
American Idol Talk: Girls Rule, Boys Drool
Which week is this? Top 16? Coulda fooled me. This week sounded suspiciously like the top 24. Generally, the guys sucked and the girls were pretty good with a few standouts. I think Paula was being generous when she said only 4 guys deserved to be in the top 12. By the way, is it just me or did Paula change her prescriptions somehow? Did she take something different? Stop taking something? Take everything all at once? She seemed especially coherent the last two nights. It's scaring me.
The Boys:
Blake - All Mixed Up (311) - Once again, Blake manages to pick a song I've never heard before by a band I've never heard of. And once again, I don't mind a bit. He's got a surprisingly pleasant voice, with a nicer lower register than I realized. I would love it if he would stop with the beatboxing though and just sing.
Sanjaya - Waiting on the World to Change (John Mayer) - I just don't know what to say about this kid anymore without being really mean (a little mean? I can live with that), which he doesn't deserve. It was closer to being in tune than ever before? He seemed to try to inject some life into the performance? For me, it was still very, very bad. He just doesn't have any energy. If this kid gets any more mellow, he's going to melt into a big puddle of goo.
Sundance - Jeremy (Pearl Jam) - Pretty soon he's going to make me stop liking him. I'm not a Pearl Jam fan, so I can't really compare this to the original. G. said it wasn't that bad, but all I could hear was yelling. How do you yell and mumble at the same time. Sigh.
Jarred - If You Really Love Me (Stevie Wonder) - Could this guy get any more predictable? However, I do have to give him points for being generally in tune. At the risk of sounding like Simon, I feel like I could hear this exact same performance from any decent wedding singer in the country. Meh.
Chris R. - Tonight I Want To Cry (Keith Urban) - Good and bad ran right smack into one another with this performance. The good: He sang something with an actual melody that allowed us to really hear his voice. The bad: his voice. Just as nasal as ever, and flat throughout. I don't get what the judges see in this kid.
Phil - I Need You (LeAnn Rimes) - Once again, Phil proves that he can't start a song well. It was really rough. Once again, Phil proves that once he gets going, he's got a decent voice. I think it's more a matter of learning to support his voice even when he's singing softly. It's easier to have good breath support when you are belting a note. The difficulty is learning to have the same control when singing quietly. Hopefully, he'll get a chance to learn this.
Brandon - I Just Want To Celebrate (Rare Earth) - It was upbeat and fun and he still sounds like a 14 year old boy who has yet to hit puberty. I want his voice to match his looks. I keep expecting a fuller, richer sound to exit his mouth and every week it doesn't happen. How old is Brandon? Maybe he can come back and try again after he starts shaving.
Chris S. - Wanna Be Loved (DC Talk) - What is with all of these songs I don't know? Best vocal of the night by a long shot. This is the type of voice I want Brandon to grow. A man's voice. I would love for him to sing a great ballad so I could swoon a bit.
The Girls:
Jordan - Heartbreaker (Pat Benetar) - Why don't more people sing Pat Benetar on this show? Anyway, Jordan is just adorable and it's really hard to say anything negative about her performance. She's very polished and she's almost always in tune. I liked it very much.
Sabrina - Don't Let Go (I have no idea?) - I can't deny that the girl's got a powerful voice. I'd actually like her not to use next time she sings. I want to see if she can. The screamy was back in full force tonight and it's starting to wear on me a bit. She's a good performer, though and I want to like her more than I do.
Antonella - Put Your Records On (Corrine Bailey Ray) - This was possibly the best Antonella has ever sounded. Much, much better than previous weeks. That ain't saying much considering how terrible she's been in weeks previous. Her higher register is sometimes really quite nice, but she refuses to stay in it. Also, she has absolutely no stage presence. She's gone farther than she should have and needs to leave.
Haley - If My Heart Had Wings (Faith Hill) - Possibly the dumbest contestant ever. I don't understand her obsessive need to sing songs that have already been sung by some of the best voices in the industry. She's not a bad singer and she didn't sound terrible tonight. Just completely out of her league.
Stephanie - ???? (????) - I don't know why she continues to not impress me, but she does. She was about half way through her song when I realized I wasn't listening anymore. At one point, Simon mentioned "LaKisha, Melinda and Stephanie" and G. and I both said "Stephanie who? I don't think there's anyone named Stephanie left." Oops. She's clearly a talented singer and a good performer, but everything she sings sounds the same to me.
LaKisha - I Have Nothing (Whitney Houston) - Remember all that I said about not singing songs by the Divas. LaKisha needs to come over here and smack me. She can sing anything she damn well pleases. This was a lovely, strong vocal accompanied by an emotional performance. Loved it.
Gina - Call Me When You're Sober (Evanescence) - I like that Gina was back to singing the songs she loves and clearly feels comfortable with. It's not my favorite genre of music, but she sounded pretty good and was obviously having some fun. Good for her.
Melinda - I'm A Woman (???) - Cute, meek little Melinda vamped it up tonight in fine form. Looked great, sounded great. She's proven she has power, versatility and great presence (I almost typed mad skillz, but then I remembered who I am). I love everything about her.
Who should go home: Sanjaya, Brandon, Antonella and Haley.
Who will go home: Jarred, Phil, Antonella and Haley.
The Boys:
Blake - All Mixed Up (311) - Once again, Blake manages to pick a song I've never heard before by a band I've never heard of. And once again, I don't mind a bit. He's got a surprisingly pleasant voice, with a nicer lower register than I realized. I would love it if he would stop with the beatboxing though and just sing.
Sanjaya - Waiting on the World to Change (John Mayer) - I just don't know what to say about this kid anymore without being really mean (a little mean? I can live with that), which he doesn't deserve. It was closer to being in tune than ever before? He seemed to try to inject some life into the performance? For me, it was still very, very bad. He just doesn't have any energy. If this kid gets any more mellow, he's going to melt into a big puddle of goo.
Sundance - Jeremy (Pearl Jam) - Pretty soon he's going to make me stop liking him. I'm not a Pearl Jam fan, so I can't really compare this to the original. G. said it wasn't that bad, but all I could hear was yelling. How do you yell and mumble at the same time. Sigh.
Jarred - If You Really Love Me (Stevie Wonder) - Could this guy get any more predictable? However, I do have to give him points for being generally in tune. At the risk of sounding like Simon, I feel like I could hear this exact same performance from any decent wedding singer in the country. Meh.
Chris R. - Tonight I Want To Cry (Keith Urban) - Good and bad ran right smack into one another with this performance. The good: He sang something with an actual melody that allowed us to really hear his voice. The bad: his voice. Just as nasal as ever, and flat throughout. I don't get what the judges see in this kid.
Phil - I Need You (LeAnn Rimes) - Once again, Phil proves that he can't start a song well. It was really rough. Once again, Phil proves that once he gets going, he's got a decent voice. I think it's more a matter of learning to support his voice even when he's singing softly. It's easier to have good breath support when you are belting a note. The difficulty is learning to have the same control when singing quietly. Hopefully, he'll get a chance to learn this.
Brandon - I Just Want To Celebrate (Rare Earth) - It was upbeat and fun and he still sounds like a 14 year old boy who has yet to hit puberty. I want his voice to match his looks. I keep expecting a fuller, richer sound to exit his mouth and every week it doesn't happen. How old is Brandon? Maybe he can come back and try again after he starts shaving.
Chris S. - Wanna Be Loved (DC Talk) - What is with all of these songs I don't know? Best vocal of the night by a long shot. This is the type of voice I want Brandon to grow. A man's voice. I would love for him to sing a great ballad so I could swoon a bit.
The Girls:
Jordan - Heartbreaker (Pat Benetar) - Why don't more people sing Pat Benetar on this show? Anyway, Jordan is just adorable and it's really hard to say anything negative about her performance. She's very polished and she's almost always in tune. I liked it very much.
Sabrina - Don't Let Go (I have no idea?) - I can't deny that the girl's got a powerful voice. I'd actually like her not to use next time she sings. I want to see if she can. The screamy was back in full force tonight and it's starting to wear on me a bit. She's a good performer, though and I want to like her more than I do.
Antonella - Put Your Records On (Corrine Bailey Ray) - This was possibly the best Antonella has ever sounded. Much, much better than previous weeks. That ain't saying much considering how terrible she's been in weeks previous. Her higher register is sometimes really quite nice, but she refuses to stay in it. Also, she has absolutely no stage presence. She's gone farther than she should have and needs to leave.
Haley - If My Heart Had Wings (Faith Hill) - Possibly the dumbest contestant ever. I don't understand her obsessive need to sing songs that have already been sung by some of the best voices in the industry. She's not a bad singer and she didn't sound terrible tonight. Just completely out of her league.
Stephanie - ???? (????) - I don't know why she continues to not impress me, but she does. She was about half way through her song when I realized I wasn't listening anymore. At one point, Simon mentioned "LaKisha, Melinda and Stephanie" and G. and I both said "Stephanie who? I don't think there's anyone named Stephanie left." Oops. She's clearly a talented singer and a good performer, but everything she sings sounds the same to me.
LaKisha - I Have Nothing (Whitney Houston) - Remember all that I said about not singing songs by the Divas. LaKisha needs to come over here and smack me. She can sing anything she damn well pleases. This was a lovely, strong vocal accompanied by an emotional performance. Loved it.
Gina - Call Me When You're Sober (Evanescence) - I like that Gina was back to singing the songs she loves and clearly feels comfortable with. It's not my favorite genre of music, but she sounded pretty good and was obviously having some fun. Good for her.
Melinda - I'm A Woman (???) - Cute, meek little Melinda vamped it up tonight in fine form. Looked great, sounded great. She's proven she has power, versatility and great presence (I almost typed mad skillz, but then I remembered who I am). I love everything about her.
Who should go home: Sanjaya, Brandon, Antonella and Haley.
Who will go home: Jarred, Phil, Antonella and Haley.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
One Sick Puppy
Tell me what to do. I know a bunch of you are dog lovers and I need your advice and help.
****Graphic icky dog poop post ahead. The squeamish should just click away now. ****
Everybody good? OK. Don't say you weren't warned.
Late last fall, Greta, our German Shorthaired Pointer, got very ill, very quickly. She's always had a bit of delicate intestinal tract, so diarrhea isn't that uncommon for her. We tend to watch her potty habits pretty carefully and act quickly when there is problem because she also tends to get dehydrated quickly. This time the problem developed, literally, overnight. Greg woke up to an awful smell and found her in the living room with blood coming out her ass. We rushed her to the e-vet who practically scared the shit out of us (pun intended) with a hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (or HGE) diagnosis. Later that day, our vet said no, it was coccidia. Two weeks, 2 days of IV fluids and antibiotics, 3 prescriptions and close to $1000 dollars later, we finally had it cleared up. Then, of course, Ollie had it. He of the iron constitution, was better in about 3 days.
Since then, they've both been fine. So imagine our surprise when Greta's routine stool sample came back positive for coccidia again on Saturday. Luckily, we caught this round before she really became symptomatic. Since it's highly contagious between dogs, we started them both on oral meds right away. They'll both be fine so I'm not worried about that. It's the recurrence that bothers me.
Our best theory is that she's eating rabbit poop out in the yard. Our neighborhood is lousy with rabbits and they come in and out of our chain link fenced yard at will. Our vet suggested we spray the entire yard with a bleach solution to kill the coccidia, I'm pretty sure that would just kill off the current infestation and our grass. We obviously are having very little luck getting her to stop snacking, and I don't think a "Don't Shit Here" sign is going to be terribly persuasive to the rabbits. Our only other viable solution seems to be to keep the little buggers out of the yard. How in the hell do you do that? We're going to try chicken wire around the bottom foot or two of the fence (I'm sure our neighbors will love us for this), but other than that, I'm at a loss.
Has anyone else ever encountered this problem? What did you do? Is there something we could spray on the yard that would 1) be safe for the dogs, 2) be safe for the grass and 3) be distasteful to the bunnies? Is a barrier the right plan? Should we just say fuck it and unroll the AstroTurf?
I need ideas here people!
Now, if you've made it through the grossfest, click here for your reward.
****Graphic icky dog poop post ahead. The squeamish should just click away now. ****
Everybody good? OK. Don't say you weren't warned.
Late last fall, Greta, our German Shorthaired Pointer, got very ill, very quickly. She's always had a bit of delicate intestinal tract, so diarrhea isn't that uncommon for her. We tend to watch her potty habits pretty carefully and act quickly when there is problem because she also tends to get dehydrated quickly. This time the problem developed, literally, overnight. Greg woke up to an awful smell and found her in the living room with blood coming out her ass. We rushed her to the e-vet who practically scared the shit out of us (pun intended) with a hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (or HGE) diagnosis. Later that day, our vet said no, it was coccidia. Two weeks, 2 days of IV fluids and antibiotics, 3 prescriptions and close to $1000 dollars later, we finally had it cleared up. Then, of course, Ollie had it. He of the iron constitution, was better in about 3 days.
Since then, they've both been fine. So imagine our surprise when Greta's routine stool sample came back positive for coccidia again on Saturday. Luckily, we caught this round before she really became symptomatic. Since it's highly contagious between dogs, we started them both on oral meds right away. They'll both be fine so I'm not worried about that. It's the recurrence that bothers me.
Our best theory is that she's eating rabbit poop out in the yard. Our neighborhood is lousy with rabbits and they come in and out of our chain link fenced yard at will. Our vet suggested we spray the entire yard with a bleach solution to kill the coccidia, I'm pretty sure that would just kill off the current infestation and our grass. We obviously are having very little luck getting her to stop snacking, and I don't think a "Don't Shit Here" sign is going to be terribly persuasive to the rabbits. Our only other viable solution seems to be to keep the little buggers out of the yard. How in the hell do you do that? We're going to try chicken wire around the bottom foot or two of the fence (I'm sure our neighbors will love us for this), but other than that, I'm at a loss.
Has anyone else ever encountered this problem? What did you do? Is there something we could spray on the yard that would 1) be safe for the dogs, 2) be safe for the grass and 3) be distasteful to the bunnies? Is a barrier the right plan? Should we just say fuck it and unroll the AstroTurf?
I need ideas here people!
Now, if you've made it through the grossfest, click here for your reward.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Idol Results: 2/4 But I Would Rather Be More Wrong
Say Goodbye to Nick, Alaina, AJ and Leslie.
Although I was right about Nick and Alaina, I was way off on the other two.
I don't understand the point of voting for people who can't sing in a singing competition. Do the folks that voted for Sanjaya and Antonella not have ears?
I realize that Sanjaya has the adorable puppy dog thing going for him, and in an adorable puppy dog look-a-like contest, he'd be the hands-down winner. I'd even vote for him there. But to choose him over AJ, who was really very good and quite likable this week, is just ludicrous.
Obviously, there are other forces at work keeping Antonella in this show. Maybe the boys are scared that if she goes away, so will the sleazy pictures? If that's the case then listen up fellas. Porn is not that hard to find. Most newsstands carry one magazine or the other, it's all over cable, and a simple Google search will get you all you will ever need or want. Just stop torturing the rest of us, would ya'?
Although I was right about Nick and Alaina, I was way off on the other two.
I don't understand the point of voting for people who can't sing in a singing competition. Do the folks that voted for Sanjaya and Antonella not have ears?
I realize that Sanjaya has the adorable puppy dog thing going for him, and in an adorable puppy dog look-a-like contest, he'd be the hands-down winner. I'd even vote for him there. But to choose him over AJ, who was really very good and quite likable this week, is just ludicrous.
Obviously, there are other forces at work keeping Antonella in this show. Maybe the boys are scared that if she goes away, so will the sleazy pictures? If that's the case then listen up fellas. Porn is not that hard to find. Most newsstands carry one magazine or the other, it's all over cable, and a simple Google search will get you all you will ever need or want. Just stop torturing the rest of us, would ya'?
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Idol Talk: Thank God for Better
Apparently, the boys got the snot scared out of them last week and decided that they would like to appear in the last six episodes of the show after all. Huge improvements, almost across the board. Almost, but we'll get to that.
The girls, on the other hand, were a bit of a mixed bag this week. A few were superb, while others fell painfully short.
On with the reviews:
Boys:
Phil - "Missing You" - I really like Phil and I really like the tone of his voice. He avoided the weak start he usually has and finished fairly strong. But like Simon, I'm not sure his voice is distinctive enough to make him a star. And I'm not sure that there's anything he can do about that.
Jared - "Let's Get It On" - His singing was SO much better than last week, so I was really quite pleasantly surprised. I think he overcompensated for last week's snooze fest in this performance, and in doing so might get a kickback from the Wisconsin cheese industry.
AJ - "Feeling Good" - I like this song. I like the Nina Simone version, and I even like the Michael Buble version. AJ sounded like neither...in a good way. He did some interesting things with the arrangement and aside from a couple of minor pitch issues, it worked.
Sanjaya - "Stepping Out" - Bad. Just very bad. The MJ outfit, the high school show choir dance steps, the much too mellow interpretation, the utter and complete lack of modulation. All bad.
Chris S. - "Trouble" - I didn't know this song, which usually makes it difficult for me to like a performance, but not in this case. Loved it. He may have the best male voice of the season. Rich and powerful and wonderful.
Nick - "Fever" - I like this song, too. His voice was a good fit for this song, and he managed to avoid cheesing it up, but I'm a little worried that it's not suited for many other genres. We may never know.
Blake - "Virtual Insanity" - I didn't like this song, but I can appreciate the technical skill required to sing it well, which Blake seems to have in abundance. Loved the high note in the middle of his scat and would love to see him tackle a real jazz standard that called for a great scat in the middle of some quality singing.
Brandon - "Time After Time" - Gotta give the boy credit for quick thinking. When he realized that Jarred had apparently lost his sponsorship from Serta, he jumped right in to take over. I don't understand how the judges failed to note that he was also about a half a note flat the entire song. It was painful.
Chris R. - "Geek In The Pink" - I don't know this one either and the title sounds like it might be a wee bit pornographic, doesn't it? I still don't know if it is or not because I couldn't understand a word the kid sang. I have to say it was much less nasal and bobbleheaded than last week, which can only be a good thing.
Sundance - "Mustang Sally" - There's the Sundance I've been waiting for. What the hell took him so long to show up? It was upbeat and fun and sounded really good. Now that he has gotten over his stage fright, he could be a real factor in this competition.
The Girls:
Gina - "Alone" - Girl's got game. Ann or Nancy Wilson has a terrific voice (I can never remember which one sings and which one married the director) and it requires no small amount of guts to take on a song that powerful. I applaud the effort.
Alaina - "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice" - Very meh. She's a very pretty Jennifer Anniston look-a-like with a very thin, weak voice. It started out not sounding terrible and I don't know how it turned out. I couldn't hear her over the band and the background singers. She couldn't even hear herself.
LaKisha - "Midnight Train to Georgia" - Not being heard is definitely not a problem for LaKisha. She's got a big, powerful voice and she knows how to use it. I would love to hear her on something a little more modern next time.
Melinda - "My Funny Valentine" - Wow. Wonderful phrasing, lots of emotion, fab vocals. This is a tough song to sing and it's been sung by a lot of great singers, Melinda now included. One note, I do wish she would dress less like she's attending a board meeting.
Antonella - "Because You Loved Me" - Please. If Aerosmith was "too big" for her, Celine Dion must be a great choice, right? It was better than last week but still not even close to good.
Jordan - "Who Is That Girl I See" - She got off to a shaky start, but finished up strong. She's got a lovely voice, good performance skills and seems very sweet. Definitely one to watch because I'm still not sure she's picked just the right song. When she does, watch out. And, I covet that dress.
Stephanie - "Dangerously In Love" - She's got some powerhouse vocals but I continue to dislike her song choices. For whatever reason, and in all fairness I can't put my finger on why, she just hasn't wowed me yet.
Leslie - "Feeling Good" - I really like her smokey, husky sound, but this was not her best showing. She, luckily, did a completely different, jazzier arrangement than AJ including A Capella intro and slightly awkward jazz scat near the end. She's just not a belter, which is what this show and it's audience mostly want.
Haley - "Queen of the Night" - Queen of the Stupid Song Choice is more like it. She's got a sweet, clear voice and insists on singing songs that are completely unsuited for her. Why on earth, after being told not to take on the Divas, would she pull out the Whitney? I don't hate her voice, but the girl has no sense at all.
Sabrina - "All The Man That I Need" - Poor Haley will suffer in comparison even more, since Sabrina really does have the vocals to tackle Whitney Houston. Really nice. A little bit screamy towards the end, but otherwise nice.
The Predictions:
Brandon and Nick are headed home. I stick my neck out and say Sanjaya, but he seems to have the "Chicken Little" factor working for him and will probably stick around one more week.
Antonella and Alaina - I don't think America can completely ignore the weak vocals again. At least I hope not.
The girls, on the other hand, were a bit of a mixed bag this week. A few were superb, while others fell painfully short.
On with the reviews:
Boys:
Phil - "Missing You" - I really like Phil and I really like the tone of his voice. He avoided the weak start he usually has and finished fairly strong. But like Simon, I'm not sure his voice is distinctive enough to make him a star. And I'm not sure that there's anything he can do about that.
Jared - "Let's Get It On" - His singing was SO much better than last week, so I was really quite pleasantly surprised. I think he overcompensated for last week's snooze fest in this performance, and in doing so might get a kickback from the Wisconsin cheese industry.
AJ - "Feeling Good" - I like this song. I like the Nina Simone version, and I even like the Michael Buble version. AJ sounded like neither...in a good way. He did some interesting things with the arrangement and aside from a couple of minor pitch issues, it worked.
Sanjaya - "Stepping Out" - Bad. Just very bad. The MJ outfit, the high school show choir dance steps, the much too mellow interpretation, the utter and complete lack of modulation. All bad.
Chris S. - "Trouble" - I didn't know this song, which usually makes it difficult for me to like a performance, but not in this case. Loved it. He may have the best male voice of the season. Rich and powerful and wonderful.
Nick - "Fever" - I like this song, too. His voice was a good fit for this song, and he managed to avoid cheesing it up, but I'm a little worried that it's not suited for many other genres. We may never know.
Blake - "Virtual Insanity" - I didn't like this song, but I can appreciate the technical skill required to sing it well, which Blake seems to have in abundance. Loved the high note in the middle of his scat and would love to see him tackle a real jazz standard that called for a great scat in the middle of some quality singing.
Brandon - "Time After Time" - Gotta give the boy credit for quick thinking. When he realized that Jarred had apparently lost his sponsorship from Serta, he jumped right in to take over. I don't understand how the judges failed to note that he was also about a half a note flat the entire song. It was painful.
Chris R. - "Geek In The Pink" - I don't know this one either and the title sounds like it might be a wee bit pornographic, doesn't it? I still don't know if it is or not because I couldn't understand a word the kid sang. I have to say it was much less nasal and bobbleheaded than last week, which can only be a good thing.
Sundance - "Mustang Sally" - There's the Sundance I've been waiting for. What the hell took him so long to show up? It was upbeat and fun and sounded really good. Now that he has gotten over his stage fright, he could be a real factor in this competition.
The Girls:
Gina - "Alone" - Girl's got game. Ann or Nancy Wilson has a terrific voice (I can never remember which one sings and which one married the director) and it requires no small amount of guts to take on a song that powerful. I applaud the effort.
Alaina - "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice" - Very meh. She's a very pretty Jennifer Anniston look-a-like with a very thin, weak voice. It started out not sounding terrible and I don't know how it turned out. I couldn't hear her over the band and the background singers. She couldn't even hear herself.
LaKisha - "Midnight Train to Georgia" - Not being heard is definitely not a problem for LaKisha. She's got a big, powerful voice and she knows how to use it. I would love to hear her on something a little more modern next time.
Melinda - "My Funny Valentine" - Wow. Wonderful phrasing, lots of emotion, fab vocals. This is a tough song to sing and it's been sung by a lot of great singers, Melinda now included. One note, I do wish she would dress less like she's attending a board meeting.
Antonella - "Because You Loved Me" - Please. If Aerosmith was "too big" for her, Celine Dion must be a great choice, right? It was better than last week but still not even close to good.
Jordan - "Who Is That Girl I See" - She got off to a shaky start, but finished up strong. She's got a lovely voice, good performance skills and seems very sweet. Definitely one to watch because I'm still not sure she's picked just the right song. When she does, watch out. And, I covet that dress.
Stephanie - "Dangerously In Love" - She's got some powerhouse vocals but I continue to dislike her song choices. For whatever reason, and in all fairness I can't put my finger on why, she just hasn't wowed me yet.
Leslie - "Feeling Good" - I really like her smokey, husky sound, but this was not her best showing. She, luckily, did a completely different, jazzier arrangement than AJ including A Capella intro and slightly awkward jazz scat near the end. She's just not a belter, which is what this show and it's audience mostly want.
Haley - "Queen of the Night" - Queen of the Stupid Song Choice is more like it. She's got a sweet, clear voice and insists on singing songs that are completely unsuited for her. Why on earth, after being told not to take on the Divas, would she pull out the Whitney? I don't hate her voice, but the girl has no sense at all.
Sabrina - "All The Man That I Need" - Poor Haley will suffer in comparison even more, since Sabrina really does have the vocals to tackle Whitney Houston. Really nice. A little bit screamy towards the end, but otherwise nice.
The Predictions:
Brandon and Nick are headed home. I stick my neck out and say Sanjaya, but he seems to have the "Chicken Little" factor working for him and will probably stick around one more week.
Antonella and Alaina - I don't think America can completely ignore the weak vocals again. At least I hope not.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Couldn't Have Been More Wrong
So far, I'm 0/4.
Rudy - I can live with this. His vocals were really alright, but I can stand not looking at him twitch anymore.
Paul - Sorry to see him leave so early. He didn't sound great, but he didn't sound awful either.
Neither one was nearly as bad as Sanjaya or nearly as boring as Jarred. I have to think America just couldn't stand the thought of Sanjaya crying. Oh wait, he did anyway.
Amy - I didn't think she sang poorly, just without a lot of presence.
Nicole - As much as I really didn't care for last night's performance (too screechy), she does have a very powerful voice. I would have liked to see her go further.
While Alaina and Amy were almost interchangeable, I can't believe Antonella was spared. Her performance was terribly out of tune and meek. She's a very pretty girl and her early exposure must have played a part in the voting.
Rudy - I can live with this. His vocals were really alright, but I can stand not looking at him twitch anymore.
Paul - Sorry to see him leave so early. He didn't sound great, but he didn't sound awful either.
Neither one was nearly as bad as Sanjaya or nearly as boring as Jarred. I have to think America just couldn't stand the thought of Sanjaya crying. Oh wait, he did anyway.
Amy - I didn't think she sang poorly, just without a lot of presence.
Nicole - As much as I really didn't care for last night's performance (too screechy), she does have a very powerful voice. I would have liked to see her go further.
While Alaina and Amy were almost interchangeable, I can't believe Antonella was spared. Her performance was terribly out of tune and meek. She's a very pretty girl and her early exposure must have played a part in the voting.
AI - The top? 24
Let's talk Idol folks. The sixth season is now well underway and other than my husband, none of my close friends outside of the computer watch this show. I have to have somebody to dish with. Every week, I'm going to try to give the down and dirty of how I thought the performances went and a prediction of who's going to get the boot. I'll try to post other stuff too, but really, from January to May, does anything else really happen?
The Boys
Generally, underwhelming with a few bright spots. They've got their work cut out for them though.
Rudy - his voice was OK, but can anyone say manic? Very cheesy and off-putting.
Brandon - meh. He looks good and sounds OK, but mostly I'm not impressed yet.
Sundance - ouch. That really, really wasn't good. Which is really unfortunate because he showed such a wonderful, rich voice in auditions. I think nerves are still getting to him. I still have hope that he will pull it together and wow us someday soon. Either that, or he will continue to choke and prove himself to be the world's best shower singer.
Paul - Loved the song, but his rendition? Out of tune and just weird.
Chris R. - I just couldn't get over all the nasal. And the bobbing. Hated it.
Nick - The boy is good looking and he has a decent voice. It's wasn't a horrible song for him. I'm not sure what went wrong here, but it was really boring.
Blake - He can sing!! Really well!!! Who knew?
Sanjaya - He's quite adorable, but way, way out of his league. I like him, but that was just terrible.
Chris S. - Love his voice. Love it.
Jarred - who? zzzzzzz
AJ - remember John Leguizamo in the movie about the drag queens? That's all I could think about during his performance. He didn't sound awful and he looked really happy to be there.
Phil - I really want to like him and the start of this performance had me really worried. Very rough. But then? He pulled his shit together and SANG! Very nice.
The Ladies
Overall, much more impressive. Only a couple of cringe worthy performances here. Several really great ones.
Stephanie - not too shabby. Nice voice, pretty girl, good performer. She didn't wow me though.
Amy - again with the meh.
Leslie - She had more of an edge than I would have thought. I liked her and I think she'll improve.
Sabrina - I didn't care for the song, but the girl has pipes! Her curls were making me dizzy though.
Antonella - again with the ouch. Every single note was out of tune and her lack of performance experience really showed. Very painful. Also, she just looked stunned and bewildered that the judges weren't fawning over her. Blech.
Jordan - wrong song, but I can't imagine anyone doing anything better with it. She is one to watch.
Nicole - everything about that was weird. Her facial expressions, the song, just...everything. I'd like to hear her sing something less Chaka Khan. I'm not sure I'd like it, but I'm interested enough to keep watching.
Haley - Sweet, clear voice, which I liked. Very bad song choice. Don't do Celine if you can't out-do Celine. That's all I'm saying.
Melinda - My god she's adorable. And she has a hell of a voice. And stage experience. And did I mention the adorable?
Alaina - breathy and out of tune.
Gina - I liked it. Remember what I said about Celine? Doesn't apply here. Mostly because I didn't even know that Celine had covered that Eric Carmen classic. She was a bit pitchy, but I'm looking forward to hearing more.
LaKisha - Wow. Just wow.
Going Home
Sanjaya and zzzzzz. Wha'? Oops, sorry I fell asleep typing his name. Jarred.
Also, if there is any justice in this world - Antonella and Alaina. But if Antonella goes home, Simon needs to put himself in witness protection. Her dad looked, shall we say, well connected.
The Boys
Generally, underwhelming with a few bright spots. They've got their work cut out for them though.
Rudy - his voice was OK, but can anyone say manic? Very cheesy and off-putting.
Brandon - meh. He looks good and sounds OK, but mostly I'm not impressed yet.
Sundance - ouch. That really, really wasn't good. Which is really unfortunate because he showed such a wonderful, rich voice in auditions. I think nerves are still getting to him. I still have hope that he will pull it together and wow us someday soon. Either that, or he will continue to choke and prove himself to be the world's best shower singer.
Paul - Loved the song, but his rendition? Out of tune and just weird.
Chris R. - I just couldn't get over all the nasal. And the bobbing. Hated it.
Nick - The boy is good looking and he has a decent voice. It's wasn't a horrible song for him. I'm not sure what went wrong here, but it was really boring.
Blake - He can sing!! Really well!!! Who knew?
Sanjaya - He's quite adorable, but way, way out of his league. I like him, but that was just terrible.
Chris S. - Love his voice. Love it.
Jarred - who? zzzzzzz
AJ - remember John Leguizamo in the movie about the drag queens? That's all I could think about during his performance. He didn't sound awful and he looked really happy to be there.
Phil - I really want to like him and the start of this performance had me really worried. Very rough. But then? He pulled his shit together and SANG! Very nice.
The Ladies
Overall, much more impressive. Only a couple of cringe worthy performances here. Several really great ones.
Stephanie - not too shabby. Nice voice, pretty girl, good performer. She didn't wow me though.
Amy - again with the meh.
Leslie - She had more of an edge than I would have thought. I liked her and I think she'll improve.
Sabrina - I didn't care for the song, but the girl has pipes! Her curls were making me dizzy though.
Antonella - again with the ouch. Every single note was out of tune and her lack of performance experience really showed. Very painful. Also, she just looked stunned and bewildered that the judges weren't fawning over her. Blech.
Jordan - wrong song, but I can't imagine anyone doing anything better with it. She is one to watch.
Nicole - everything about that was weird. Her facial expressions, the song, just...everything. I'd like to hear her sing something less Chaka Khan. I'm not sure I'd like it, but I'm interested enough to keep watching.
Haley - Sweet, clear voice, which I liked. Very bad song choice. Don't do Celine if you can't out-do Celine. That's all I'm saying.
Melinda - My god she's adorable. And she has a hell of a voice. And stage experience. And did I mention the adorable?
Alaina - breathy and out of tune.
Gina - I liked it. Remember what I said about Celine? Doesn't apply here. Mostly because I didn't even know that Celine had covered that Eric Carmen classic. She was a bit pitchy, but I'm looking forward to hearing more.
LaKisha - Wow. Just wow.
Going Home
Sanjaya and zzzzzz. Wha'? Oops, sorry I fell asleep typing his name. Jarred.
Also, if there is any justice in this world - Antonella and Alaina. But if Antonella goes home, Simon needs to put himself in witness protection. Her dad looked, shall we say, well connected.
Friday, February 09, 2007
I'd Like To Thank The Academy...
I've spent the last several months acting like there was a baby on the way. In fact, everyone I know who lives outside of the computer is convinced there will be an Annabelle at the end of this long road. We talk about when we travel, and when she gets here. They've seen me buying some baby clothes and they all seem to like the name we picked out. We've discussed some of the issues we learned while attending out waiting family meetings and in the adoption books I've read. They are convinced because I (we) convinced them.
And the Oscar goes to...me.
Actually, I never really belived it until last Friday.
And the Oscar goes to...me.
Actually, I never really belived it until last Friday.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Easing Back Into the Swing of Things
I really needed the break. Work, the holidays, and the wait were getting to me a bit more than I'd like to admit, and I was feeling overwhelmed by it all. Now that things have settled down a bit, and my head is a smidge clearer I really want to get back to blogging on at least a semi-regular basis. But, it's been so long I'm not sure I remember how this whole blogging thing works. So, I'm sticking the top portion of my big toe back in the shallowest end of the blogging waters with possibly the easiest meme ever. Melissa, the hostest with the mostest, over at Project Ni Hao tagged me with this one. If anyone is still reading and hasn't done this one yet, consider yourself "it."
**************************************
Told ya' I didn't remember how to blog. I saved the above as a draft so I could go find the links I needed and then hit publish before I finished the post. Second verse, same as the first...
1) Find the nearest book
2) Open to page 123
3) Type lines 6-8 of said book
4) Tag three others
1) Baby Bargins
2) Page 123 lands us smack in the middle of the handy-dandy chapter on bedding
3) "See the picture at right for an example of the correct way to use a blanket. Finally, one mom wrote to tell us about a scary incident in her nursery"
4) see above
Sorry to leave you in suspense about the scary nursery incident, but them's the rules. If you want to know how it all turned out, you'll just have to buy the book yourselves.
God, I need to get out more.
**************************************
Told ya' I didn't remember how to blog. I saved the above as a draft so I could go find the links I needed and then hit publish before I finished the post. Second verse, same as the first...
1) Find the nearest book
2) Open to page 123
3) Type lines 6-8 of said book
4) Tag three others
1) Baby Bargins
2) Page 123 lands us smack in the middle of the handy-dandy chapter on bedding
3) "See the picture at right for an example of the correct way to use a blanket. Finally, one mom wrote to tell us about a scary incident in her nursery"
4) see above
Sorry to leave you in suspense about the scary nursery incident, but them's the rules. If you want to know how it all turned out, you'll just have to buy the book yourselves.
God, I need to get out more.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Monday, November 06, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Funky Town
I've moved in, set up housekeeping, and I think I'm about to be elected mayor.
As you may have guessed, I am apparently the world's worst blogger. It's been over a month now, and I don't even have a decent excuse. I'm in a big funk right now, and just can't make myself do much of anything except watch Amazing Race re-runs. Funny, but not very productive.
There's the wait, and a bunch of other stuff as well. The wait for referrals from China, as you probably know, now threatens to go on for at least another year. It just doesn't seem possible that this adoption is ever going to happen. I know everyone says it will, but I can't help but think that the longer we have to wait, the better the chances that something will go wrong and everything will fall apart. Cheery, aren't I?
One of the little things weighing on me is the high probability that I will be out of town for a trial for pretty much all of January. In Tulsa. No offense to any of you in Tulsa (especially considering today's news about my fair city. It's bullshit, but it's out there.), but I can think of things I'd rather be doing and places I'd rather be doing them. Mostly, I'm nervous about the trial and being away from home for so long. I'm also pretty sure it's going to screw up my entire Christmas season since I'll be in crazy prep mode for most of December.
My lack of energy right now is also due to a round of bronchitis and a sinus infection for me (3 different antibiotics before they finally went away) and coccidia for both dogs. It's a disease mostly associated with puppies, so of course my 7 and 9 year old dogs came down with it. Why not? If you haven't dealt with this particular intestinal bug before, count yourself among the lucky. Despite what wikipedia says, it took close to a $1000 in emergency room visits, fluids, IV antibiotics and assorted medications to get them feeling pretty chipper again. I'm not sure how G. put up with the three of us.
More good news came our way when G.'s company decided to close up shop in this area with a whopping 3 days notice. Fuckers. We heard about from a friend who works for the competition before we heard about it from the company. He should have a really great position in a couple of months, but while we wait for that to come through he's working 2nd shift, which just throws our whole schedules out of whack. We don't see each other much unless I stay up way too late after he gets home. The new job can't come soon enough.
Also, I've been trying pretty hard to not deal with the first anniversary of my dad's death, which is most likely going to bitchslap me but good come this Friday. We are still dealing with getting the house squared away and how to get my mom settled. And I really, really miss him. And I still really, really hate that he and Annabelle will never know each other.
Now that I'm all whined out I feel obligated to point out the one thing I have managed to do today. Hear that? I figured out how to add music to this little corner of my world and found some of my very favorite songs. Allison Krauss is amazing isn't she? I Will is so sweet and gentle and exactly how I feel about Annabelle. The second song, Collin Raye's Love Remains, was played during the candle lighting ceremony of our wedding. We used this because we wanted to honor the love and loyalty of our families. I just loved the idea (and still do) that our family would be built, in part, because of the foundation of love that we had been given by our parents. And that one day, Annabelle's family would be built the same way. Love and hope being passed on through the generations like that still makes me all misty.
Well now. I seem to have rambled my way from funk to maudlin to complete marshmellowy sappiness. On that note (get it? note? I crack myself up sometimes), I really need to go to bed and get some rest to prepare for whatever emotion tomorrow should bring. I could really stand a little happy right now.
As you may have guessed, I am apparently the world's worst blogger. It's been over a month now, and I don't even have a decent excuse. I'm in a big funk right now, and just can't make myself do much of anything except watch Amazing Race re-runs. Funny, but not very productive.
There's the wait, and a bunch of other stuff as well. The wait for referrals from China, as you probably know, now threatens to go on for at least another year. It just doesn't seem possible that this adoption is ever going to happen. I know everyone says it will, but I can't help but think that the longer we have to wait, the better the chances that something will go wrong and everything will fall apart. Cheery, aren't I?
One of the little things weighing on me is the high probability that I will be out of town for a trial for pretty much all of January. In Tulsa. No offense to any of you in Tulsa (especially considering today's news about my fair city. It's bullshit, but it's out there.), but I can think of things I'd rather be doing and places I'd rather be doing them. Mostly, I'm nervous about the trial and being away from home for so long. I'm also pretty sure it's going to screw up my entire Christmas season since I'll be in crazy prep mode for most of December.
My lack of energy right now is also due to a round of bronchitis and a sinus infection for me (3 different antibiotics before they finally went away) and coccidia for both dogs. It's a disease mostly associated with puppies, so of course my 7 and 9 year old dogs came down with it. Why not? If you haven't dealt with this particular intestinal bug before, count yourself among the lucky. Despite what wikipedia says, it took close to a $1000 in emergency room visits, fluids, IV antibiotics and assorted medications to get them feeling pretty chipper again. I'm not sure how G. put up with the three of us.
More good news came our way when G.'s company decided to close up shop in this area with a whopping 3 days notice. Fuckers. We heard about from a friend who works for the competition before we heard about it from the company. He should have a really great position in a couple of months, but while we wait for that to come through he's working 2nd shift, which just throws our whole schedules out of whack. We don't see each other much unless I stay up way too late after he gets home. The new job can't come soon enough.
Also, I've been trying pretty hard to not deal with the first anniversary of my dad's death, which is most likely going to bitchslap me but good come this Friday. We are still dealing with getting the house squared away and how to get my mom settled. And I really, really miss him. And I still really, really hate that he and Annabelle will never know each other.
Now that I'm all whined out I feel obligated to point out the one thing I have managed to do today. Hear that? I figured out how to add music to this little corner of my world and found some of my very favorite songs. Allison Krauss is amazing isn't she? I Will is so sweet and gentle and exactly how I feel about Annabelle. The second song, Collin Raye's Love Remains, was played during the candle lighting ceremony of our wedding. We used this because we wanted to honor the love and loyalty of our families. I just loved the idea (and still do) that our family would be built, in part, because of the foundation of love that we had been given by our parents. And that one day, Annabelle's family would be built the same way. Love and hope being passed on through the generations like that still makes me all misty.
Well now. I seem to have rambled my way from funk to maudlin to complete marshmellowy sappiness. On that note (get it? note? I crack myself up sometimes), I really need to go to bed and get some rest to prepare for whatever emotion tomorrow should bring. I could really stand a little happy right now.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Happy Birthday!
I just wanted to give a shout out to one of my new favorite bloggers, SBird, on this, her 40th birthday. Click on over, have a good read, and wish her well. How can you not like someone who comes up with this little gem of pre-adoptive parent artwork?
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Business Before Pleasure
God, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted anything. I'm a bad, bad blogger. And as usual, I'll be using the "But I've been busy" excuse. Fortunately, this time, I have proof.
Business:
I got interested babywearing last year when several posters on APC (read at your own risk, you've been warned) mentioned taking strollers to China for their newly adopted babies, which in my opinion is the height of silliness. I don't have tons of experience with strollers, but I've folded and unfolded a few in my day and let's face it, the best of them are heavy and awkward and cumbersome. And that's here at home. Why would you want to lug one literally half-way 'round the world? Surely, there were better options, thought I. Some other posters on APC mentioned Snugglis and Baby Bjorns. So I started looking at these types of carriers at BRU, where the pickin's were slim and mostly ugly. They also were expensive and only carried babies up to 20lbs or so.
When I finally found www.thebabywearer.com, I was astounded at the huge variety of practical, beautiful options available for wearing babies and toddlers. And it occurred to that no one was telling the adoption community about these options and how babywearing could help adoptive parents bond with their children. This, I decided, would be my calling (and hopefully some extra money). So I researched, and sewed, and tried out a few designs, and pricked myself with needles (I've bled for you, people!), and sewed some more.
And now I am pleased and proud to announce the launching of Family Tais Baby Carriers - Creating the Tais That Bond. If I haven't totally bored you by now, please go take a look at www.FamilyTais.blogspot.com. I'd love to know what you think. I know a blog isn't the ideal spot for my business, but until someone gloriously more educated in web page design that I comes along, it will have to do. If that someone is you, let's chat!
Pleasure:
The last month has been a fairly pleasant one. No horrible news and I occasionally even felt a little bit at peace with the rumors and the extended wait for referral. I'm not sure why, but I'll take it. Anything is better than not sleeping and grinding my teeth while I am.
I was able to go back to volunteering at the pet rescue, which I truly love. It's hard to think the world is a bad place when you've got arms full of puppies. Try it sometime and you'll see what I mean. I dare you.
My beautiful niece just started high school (ACK! She's 14? When the hell did that happen!?!) and it's been fun helping her do her back to school shopping and trying to soothe her nerves. She's a bright, athletic girl and a smart ass to boot. My sister and her husband have obviously done something right.
I've managed to start back at the gym, which while not exactly enjoyable, does make me feel a bit productive.
To completely counteract the workouts, G. and I had a fabulous dim sum lunch on Sunday here and tried several new things including fried taro puffs and a sesame seed sweet stuffed with lotus flower bean paste. And Atomic Mama will be pleased to note that I recognized the turnip cake as they wheeled it past my overstuffed self. I was too full to try it, but there will be a next time.
I also scored some really kick-ass adorable wallpaper border on eBay for a great price. I've been lusting after this paper for years so imagine my dismay at finding it discontinued when I finally got around to purchasing it. After it was delivered, I discovered that the tiger-striped guy exactly matches the copper on my hand-painted by moi kitchen back splash. It's decorating fate, I tell you.
Told ya I've been busy!
edited to add: how funny is it that Blogger's dictionary doesn't recognize "blog" or "blogger"?
Business:
I got interested babywearing last year when several posters on APC (read at your own risk, you've been warned) mentioned taking strollers to China for their newly adopted babies, which in my opinion is the height of silliness. I don't have tons of experience with strollers, but I've folded and unfolded a few in my day and let's face it, the best of them are heavy and awkward and cumbersome. And that's here at home. Why would you want to lug one literally half-way 'round the world? Surely, there were better options, thought I. Some other posters on APC mentioned Snugglis and Baby Bjorns. So I started looking at these types of carriers at BRU, where the pickin's were slim and mostly ugly. They also were expensive and only carried babies up to 20lbs or so.
When I finally found www.thebabywearer.com, I was astounded at the huge variety of practical, beautiful options available for wearing babies and toddlers. And it occurred to that no one was telling the adoption community about these options and how babywearing could help adoptive parents bond with their children. This, I decided, would be my calling (and hopefully some extra money). So I researched, and sewed, and tried out a few designs, and pricked myself with needles (I've bled for you, people!), and sewed some more.
And now I am pleased and proud to announce the launching of Family Tais Baby Carriers - Creating the Tais That Bond. If I haven't totally bored you by now, please go take a look at www.FamilyTais.blogspot.com. I'd love to know what you think. I know a blog isn't the ideal spot for my business, but until someone gloriously more educated in web page design that I comes along, it will have to do. If that someone is you, let's chat!
Pleasure:
The last month has been a fairly pleasant one. No horrible news and I occasionally even felt a little bit at peace with the rumors and the extended wait for referral. I'm not sure why, but I'll take it. Anything is better than not sleeping and grinding my teeth while I am.
I was able to go back to volunteering at the pet rescue, which I truly love. It's hard to think the world is a bad place when you've got arms full of puppies. Try it sometime and you'll see what I mean. I dare you.
My beautiful niece just started high school (ACK! She's 14? When the hell did that happen!?!) and it's been fun helping her do her back to school shopping and trying to soothe her nerves. She's a bright, athletic girl and a smart ass to boot. My sister and her husband have obviously done something right.
I've managed to start back at the gym, which while not exactly enjoyable, does make me feel a bit productive.
To completely counteract the workouts, G. and I had a fabulous dim sum lunch on Sunday here and tried several new things including fried taro puffs and a sesame seed sweet stuffed with lotus flower bean paste. And Atomic Mama will be pleased to note that I recognized the turnip cake as they wheeled it past my overstuffed self. I was too full to try it, but there will be a next time.
I also scored some really kick-ass adorable wallpaper border on eBay for a great price. I've been lusting after this paper for years so imagine my dismay at finding it discontinued when I finally got around to purchasing it. After it was delivered, I discovered that the tiger-striped guy exactly matches the copper on my hand-painted by moi kitchen back splash. It's decorating fate, I tell you.
Told ya I've been busy!
edited to add: how funny is it that Blogger's dictionary doesn't recognize "blog" or "blogger"?
Sunday, July 30, 2006
The Dogs Ate My Homework, Part 2 (ha, ha, get it? Ate?)
This one is for RubyisComing, who following my meme, asked me to share my 5 favorite cookbooks. I really do have several hundred (counting all the grocery store pamphlet style ones, but not counting all the cooking magazines), so picking just 5 was hard. So hard, that I have to preface this by saying that these 5 are some of my favorites...right now.
With so many, I don't have the space to display them ALL all the time. I only wish I did. I have dreams of a custom kitchen with a huge island, just enough cabinets to store all my cooking utensils and food, and the walls lined with shelves and shelves and shelves of cookbooks. I dream of how I would organize them. By author? Nope, too many. By type of cuisine? Maybe, but then what to do with all the eclectic ones. And so on...and so on...and so on... God, I wish how to organize my cookbooks was my biggest worry. But it's fun to dream about.
Anyway, here are five of my current favs with a recipe from each (my comments in italics). Manga!
Hershey's Classic Recipes. A girl can never have too many chocolate recipes and these are, well, classics.
Hot Fudge pudding Cake - this makes an ooey, gooey hot fudge sauce right in the pan. Why would you want to resist??
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or more, more vanilla never hurt anything!)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
Whipped Topping (or even better, real whipped cream)
Heat oven to 350. Stir together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour batter into ungreased 9 inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 granulated sugar, brown sugar, and remaining 1/4 cocoa. Sprinkle mixture evenly over better. Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes. Spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of baking pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping or whipped cream.
Cooking for Comfort, by Marian Burros - These are recipes for the weekend. When you have time and really want to cook. They understand the soothing quality of making a meal by hand.
Mushroom Barley Soup - This soup is one of our favorites. It is hearty and rich and so worth the good mushrooms. I wish it were autumn so I could make it again. And it freezes really well.
1/2 cup dried mushrooms, such as porcini
1 cup hot water
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound white mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and coarsely cut
1/2 pound shitake, cremini, portobello, or other fresh mushrooms, washed, trimmed and coarsely cut (a mix of the all makes for wonderful texture)
1/2 cup pearled barley
6 cups good quality beef broth or stock
3 tablespoons dry sherry
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
Cover the dried mushrooms with the hot water and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop the mushrooms.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed deep pot. Saute the onion and carrot in the oil over medium heat until the onion begins to color. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the fresh mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften and begin to release their liquid.
Raise the heat, add the barley and saute until it begins to color slightly. Add the broth and the sherry. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a fine strainer (a coffee filter works just fine) and add to the pot along with the reconstituted mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the barley is tender. Stir in the wine vinegar, adjust the seasonings and serve.
Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook, by Francine Segan. I haven't actually made anything from this one yet (it was a recent gift from G.), but it is so beautiful and different I had to include it. All of the recipes are based on actual Renaissance food, with lots of interesting side notes by the author. Although most of the ingredients are ones we see every day, the flavor combinations are not. It's fascinating (at least to me, but I'm a food dork.)
Almond Saffron Chicken in Bread - I wish you could see this picture. So lovely. Ooh, you can. It's the recipe on the cover!
4 saffron threads
4 ounces almond oil
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons almond paste
salt and freshly milled black pepper
8 oz cooked chicken
12 almonds, chopped
2 cups finely chopped assorted fresh herbs and greens (sorrel, endive, flat-leaf parsley, baby spinach, mint, etc)
1/8 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp dried sage
pinch of cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup currants
2 tablespoons ground pistachios
1 round loaf of day old French sourdough country bread (about 10" in diameter)
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Soak the saffron threads in the almond oil for 30 minutes. Combine the egg yolk and the mustard in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the almond oil until a mayonnaise forms. Whisk in the almond paste, season with salt and combine with chicken and almonds.
Preheat over to 375. Cut a 4" circle in the top of the bread, remove the top circle of crust and scoop out the soft bread inside the loaf. Place the fresh herbs and greens, marjoram, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, currants and pistachios in a bowl and mix well. Spread the herb mixture in an even layer in the bottom and up the sides of the bread bowl, reserving about 1/2 cup for the top. Spoon the chicken mixture over the herbs, completely filling the cavity. Spread the reserved herb mixture over the top and replace the top crust of the bread. Spread the butter on the bottom of the bread, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes.
1000 Chocolate Baking and Dessert Recipes from Around the World, by Parragon Publishing - I know I already listed one chocolate cookbook. Sue me, sue me, what can you do me...(okay, I'm also a musical theatre dork)
Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf - I adore fresh banana bread, so when I found this recipe that added chocolate, I was in love. Plus, its an easy one to take to work for the endless birthday parties. I swear, I don't understand how the whole firm doesn't waddle.
4 oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 1 cup light brown sugar
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
5 tablespoons boiling water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
whipped cream or butter to serve
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a loaf pan. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a bowl and set aside. (I rarely bother to sift).
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together til light and fluffy. Beat in the bananas and then the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture, alternating it with the boiling water, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until well risen, golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Turn out to finish cooling. Serve in slices (or huge chunks if you are me) with whipped cream or butter.
The Internet - Really. You can find a recipe (or 300) for almost anything you want. You can read reviews on them, the way other people tweaked them to suit, get ideas other dishes to go with, sources for the odd ingredients, and more. A couple of my favorite sites are www.epicourious.com and www.allrecipes.com. Both offer daily or weekly email newsletters, and more. No recipes for this one. Go find your own and report back.
With so many, I don't have the space to display them ALL all the time. I only wish I did. I have dreams of a custom kitchen with a huge island, just enough cabinets to store all my cooking utensils and food, and the walls lined with shelves and shelves and shelves of cookbooks. I dream of how I would organize them. By author? Nope, too many. By type of cuisine? Maybe, but then what to do with all the eclectic ones. And so on...and so on...and so on... God, I wish how to organize my cookbooks was my biggest worry. But it's fun to dream about.
Anyway, here are five of my current favs with a recipe from each (my comments in italics). Manga!
Hershey's Classic Recipes. A girl can never have too many chocolate recipes and these are, well, classics.
Hot Fudge pudding Cake - this makes an ooey, gooey hot fudge sauce right in the pan. Why would you want to resist??
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or more, more vanilla never hurt anything!)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
Whipped Topping (or even better, real whipped cream)
Heat oven to 350. Stir together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour batter into ungreased 9 inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 granulated sugar, brown sugar, and remaining 1/4 cocoa. Sprinkle mixture evenly over better. Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes. Spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of baking pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping or whipped cream.
Cooking for Comfort, by Marian Burros - These are recipes for the weekend. When you have time and really want to cook. They understand the soothing quality of making a meal by hand.
Mushroom Barley Soup - This soup is one of our favorites. It is hearty and rich and so worth the good mushrooms. I wish it were autumn so I could make it again. And it freezes really well.
1/2 cup dried mushrooms, such as porcini
1 cup hot water
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound white mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and coarsely cut
1/2 pound shitake, cremini, portobello, or other fresh mushrooms, washed, trimmed and coarsely cut (a mix of the all makes for wonderful texture)
1/2 cup pearled barley
6 cups good quality beef broth or stock
3 tablespoons dry sherry
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
Cover the dried mushrooms with the hot water and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop the mushrooms.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed deep pot. Saute the onion and carrot in the oil over medium heat until the onion begins to color. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the fresh mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften and begin to release their liquid.
Raise the heat, add the barley and saute until it begins to color slightly. Add the broth and the sherry. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a fine strainer (a coffee filter works just fine) and add to the pot along with the reconstituted mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the barley is tender. Stir in the wine vinegar, adjust the seasonings and serve.
Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook, by Francine Segan. I haven't actually made anything from this one yet (it was a recent gift from G.), but it is so beautiful and different I had to include it. All of the recipes are based on actual Renaissance food, with lots of interesting side notes by the author. Although most of the ingredients are ones we see every day, the flavor combinations are not. It's fascinating (at least to me, but I'm a food dork.)
Almond Saffron Chicken in Bread - I wish you could see this picture. So lovely. Ooh, you can. It's the recipe on the cover!
4 saffron threads
4 ounces almond oil
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons almond paste
salt and freshly milled black pepper
8 oz cooked chicken
12 almonds, chopped
2 cups finely chopped assorted fresh herbs and greens (sorrel, endive, flat-leaf parsley, baby spinach, mint, etc)
1/8 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp dried sage
pinch of cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup currants
2 tablespoons ground pistachios
1 round loaf of day old French sourdough country bread (about 10" in diameter)
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Soak the saffron threads in the almond oil for 30 minutes. Combine the egg yolk and the mustard in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the almond oil until a mayonnaise forms. Whisk in the almond paste, season with salt and combine with chicken and almonds.
Preheat over to 375. Cut a 4" circle in the top of the bread, remove the top circle of crust and scoop out the soft bread inside the loaf. Place the fresh herbs and greens, marjoram, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, currants and pistachios in a bowl and mix well. Spread the herb mixture in an even layer in the bottom and up the sides of the bread bowl, reserving about 1/2 cup for the top. Spoon the chicken mixture over the herbs, completely filling the cavity. Spread the reserved herb mixture over the top and replace the top crust of the bread. Spread the butter on the bottom of the bread, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes.
1000 Chocolate Baking and Dessert Recipes from Around the World, by Parragon Publishing - I know I already listed one chocolate cookbook. Sue me, sue me, what can you do me...(okay, I'm also a musical theatre dork)
Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf - I adore fresh banana bread, so when I found this recipe that added chocolate, I was in love. Plus, its an easy one to take to work for the endless birthday parties. I swear, I don't understand how the whole firm doesn't waddle.
4 oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 1 cup light brown sugar
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
5 tablespoons boiling water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
whipped cream or butter to serve
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a loaf pan. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a bowl and set aside. (I rarely bother to sift).
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together til light and fluffy. Beat in the bananas and then the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture, alternating it with the boiling water, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until well risen, golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Turn out to finish cooling. Serve in slices (or huge chunks if you are me) with whipped cream or butter.
The Internet - Really. You can find a recipe (or 300) for almost anything you want. You can read reviews on them, the way other people tweaked them to suit, get ideas other dishes to go with, sources for the odd ingredients, and more. A couple of my favorite sites are www.epicourious.com and www.allrecipes.com. Both offer daily or weekly email newsletters, and more. No recipes for this one. Go find your own and report back.
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