American Idol

Since I opened my big mouth a few weeks ago just being all kinds of silly about American Idol's David Arculeta I have had a few people asking me what I think about the latest episodes and what I think about this person, or that person. Well, I am a big fan of the show...but, Tuesday nights I have to go to the young women activities at church since I am one of the young women leaders. So, I have been recording American Idol. Thanks to the time change I missed a huge portion of last week, and this week I accidentally set up to record on the wrong channel, so I missed about half of the show! (Maybe this is supposed to be a sign to me that I shouldn't be watching so much tv). But, luckily I have seen enough to talk about each of the contestants to some degree.


































































I love Brooke White. I think she is pure, beautiful, and her singing voice is gorgeous without being typical. I wish I had her hair!! I was a huge fan of her version of "Let it Be" and "You're So Vain." I hope that she will go very far. Perhaps I am a little biased towards Brooke because of her good girl lifestyle.
In contrast...I can't stand Amanda Overmyer! I don't like her voice one little bit. There are times where I think she is singing through clenched teeth and then when she really gets into it she doubles over and just uses the chewbaca voice. Every time she sings I think "oh yeah, Simon is really going to rip into her for that one!" But then, he praises her for her performance. Am I living in another dimension? Am I the only one that can't stand her? This feels like a throw back to Nicky McKibbon. Someone I can't stand, yet for some reason she stays on the show.
Ramiele Malubay won't last. She is cute and has an ok voice, but please...if you put her up against all the other contestants she just fades. So I don't have much to say about her. Its like I have forgotten that she is even in the competition.
Kristy Lee Cook is kind of the same in my opinion. The tiny recap of her song last night sounded way better than her horrific version of "8 Days a Week." What on earth was that by the way? Did someone actually say "Yes, this is a good idea and it sounds great! Let's do this on tv!" Groan...
Michael Johns is pretty good. I just don't think he is going to go all the way. I think that once all the girls get over his good looks and his Aussie accent they might get board with him. Its not that I think he is a bad singer, I don't, but I think that there are others that do so much better than him.
Jason Castro is slowly becoming a favorite. My friend Jennifer has pointed out some great performances on her blog page and I have to agree that his imperfections make him so charming. His facial expressions are kind of silly...he almost looks like a cartoon character! What I really like about him is that he keeps the songs simple. He doesn't ever go into these big belting notes, he just sings.
David Cook is also doing great. I missed last weeks performance which is apparently one of his best ones out there...however, I do enjoy his energy and his voice. I would much rather listen to him rocking out than Amanda!
Syesha Mercado is beautiful. I think she is a wonderful singer. I do enjoy listening to her. She has another very pure voice and she has the super star look!
Carly Smithson is wonderful! I must admit that something about her image is kind of interesting. I think it is weird that she got "7" tattooed on her finger to represent American Idol Season 7. She has a wonderful voice and I think that she will be going all the way to the end.
Now everyone knows what I think about David Archuleta, but I figured he was due for a poor performance, which happened last week. By the way...how can anyone in this world, especially those involved in music, not be familiar with the Beatles? And yes, Mike I did notice the video of David's dad wearing an undershirt on camera. Interesting. I think that he will do really well in the competition, but I am interested to see him do something different. I am quite impressed with his talent.
Chikeze...strange name, but I guess it is some ethnic name which everyone pronounces incorrectly. And I can't get past his short teeth, the guy needs to have some gum surgery to get rid of that gummy smile. Ok, his looks and name aside...he is just ok to me. (oh brother, I am sounding like Randy!!) Last night's episode he had a horrible country sounding version of a Beatles song. I was reminded of Kristy Lee's "8 Days a week" He is another contestant that I forget about, but again I missed last weeks performance which was apparently really good. So I am just judging him on seeing him only a couple of times.

I am not a singer, I like to sing but I am not blessed with the talent that any of these people have. I am quite impressed with most of them. I think that the final five will be: Brooke, Jason, David A., David C., and Carly. I hope that Amanda is kicked off soon, I can't stand much more of her! Who do you think the final five will be? I would love to hear some other opinions about American Idol!!

Any recommendations???

Hey to anyone and everyone, Matt and I want to take a trip up the coast of California after my graduation. It is only going to be for a couple of days, but it will be the weekend of our 6th wedding anniversary so we want to make it a special trip. I can always look online or get a travel book, but if anyone has any recommendations for sites to see or places to stay I would love some feedback! Our main plan so far is to drive up the coast on PCH, then just drive home on the 5.

Bikes and Harmonicas

So I saw a man riding his bike down the street today. He was playing a harmonica. I can't think of anything else to say about that...odd.

The Wretched Hive Show

Many of you know that Matt is a podcaster, previously he did "Mormoncast" which at this time the momentum of that has kind of fizzled. But, he has come up with another one, "The Wretched Hive Show." For you Star Wars fans out there, this is how Obi Wan described the Mos Eisley spaceport to Luke Skywalker (when they go to get a pilot to take them to Alderaan). The podcast will be a scene from inside the cantina in Mos Eisley, specifically in the booth where Han Solo and Greedo have their faceoff (Han shot first). The concept behind the podcast is going to be pretty funny, but to protect the show while it is in its early stages I will hold off on sharing the details, but I wanted to show you the set for the podcast.
Originally Matt was going to keep things pretty simple, but as you will be able to see from the photos, it became quite extensive.

This is Matt's original concept artwork...

This is an artist's interpretation of Matt's concept art:

This is the early version of the set, yes, the set is in my house

The walls of the new set go up

They poured boiling hot water on a long board in order to get it to curve like a ramp, I boiled the water...that was my contribution to the project

They used (I think) drywall to cover the entire thing

This is what they accomplished on day #1

Matt painting. The big orb in the upper left hand side of the picture is a huge Chinese lantern that Matt bought to add the correct "mood" lighting to the cantina when the other lights are off.

The final project...for now. It think they are going to be making a few more changes. Please note the burn mark on the wall from where Greedo tried to shoot Han Solo.

The scene from the movie, not too bad!

Vantage Point

I have been looking forward to "Vantage Point" for a couple of months now. I don't get to see a lot of movies because of my school schedule, but I happened to catch a trailer a couple of months ago and I thought "wow, big cast, great concept, looks great!" Yesterday Matt and I actually both had the afternoon off (a rare occurrence) so we went to go see the movie. Matt had other movies he wanted to see, but I was determined to see Vantage Point!

I already knew the concept of the movie. The assassination of the U.S. President was seen by many different people, and the movie was to be told through 8 different points of view to tell the whole story. The trailers actually revealed that it wasn't even the president that got shot, but in fact it was a double, so that isn't a spoiler.

We had Sigourney Weaver (where on earth has she been?), Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox (Jack from Lost), Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, and some other smaller names. Like I said, big cast, and the acting was really good. I would have really enjoyed it if the way the story was told didn't totally stink!!!!!

Ok, so I am officially giving this movie a C- or maybe even a D. I am so disappointed. :( In order to tell the stories of the individual points of view they would actually rewind through the 23 minutes of what you just saw and start over from about 1:00pm. It was kind of cheesy, and really annoying especially after like the 4th time (I stopped counting). Then, you couldn't piece together anything because as a person's point of view unfolded they would show you what they saw, and then sometimes only their reactions to what they saw...hmmm, not so helpful.

So the first hour of the movie (the movie is only 90 minutes long) was rewinding and seeing the same exact scene over and over. Then, the last 30 minutes we moved past the point of view thing and just into a really crazy action chase scene. I was reminded of the 2003 version of The Italian Job. Insane driving of small cars through the narrow and crowded streets of Spain. Impossible escapes and my oh my how those cars were able to crash into so many things with just a few scratches, and never getting slowed down.

There are a few personal stories to follow in the movie, some were interesting, some where not. Also, there are a few details that are never quite explained in the extremely fast wrap up at the end. Don't blink, you might miss it!

In the end, very disappointed that I waited so long to see this movie, and that we paid money to see it. If you can, just wait and put it on the bottom of your Netflix list so you forget that it is even there until it comes.

Hurry to the Liquitdation sale!

Yes, I misspelled Liquidation, but I did it on purpose. I was driving to school this morning and for a change I took surface streets instead of the freeway, and I found this little gem! (Click on the picture to get a better look)

Just to make sure I wasn't mistaken I googled "Liquitdation" and I actually came up with about 100 hits. So either I am crazy and there really is the word "liquitdation" OR about 100 other people don't know how to spell either. I am just sayin'

My new ring tone

This is for you Karli...
Yes, I downloaded this to be my new ring tone. I love it! "Word" (hee hee) to Seth Green and Donny Osmond for their cameos!