Results night!
Ummm...Ryan? I Don't Mean a Thing? Try, "IT Don't Mean a Thing." You get paid to read a teleprompter, Seacrest. At least read it correctly.
On a happy note, we're singing live tonight and I'm enjoying this arrangement. I love Kris. I really hope Allison goes home. I would love to have these four boys as the top 4.
Video package of the kids making birthday cakes for Danny and Allison. It devolves quickly into a food fight - as you would expect. And I'll bet they didn't have to clean it up either.
Results:
All the kids are in the center of the stage and Ryan is sending them to the left and right of the stage to put them in different groups. Dial Idol has Allison, Kris and Matt as the bottom 3 with Matt going home. Ryan makes Adam choose which group he belongs in. Adam actually chooses, and chooses wrong. He's in the bottom with Matt and Kris. David Archuleta sitting down in the middle of the stage and refusing to choose last year when Seacrest pulled this (he does it every year) was my favorite. Danny and Allison are safe. Everyone's surprised that Adam is in the bottom, but it was going to happen at some point. He's a little divisive.
Natalie Cole is singing. She's a classy lady. Love her hair. Her voice doesn't sound great tonight on the high notes, but whatever. She's music royalty as far as I'm concerned and can do whatever she wants.
Taylor Hicks is back. He's got a lot of energy tonight. This is kind of loud for a blues/country song. And kind of boring. Boo-doop!
More Results:
They bring Kris, Adam and Matt out on stage. Kris is told he is safe. Adam and Matt are the bottom two. Interesting...
Championship mentor Jamie Foxx is performing. I hate when a song is allegedly popular and I've never heard it. It really does make me feel old and lame and out of touch. I hate that he has a filter on his microphone. It's a catchy little tune. Excellent hook in the chorus. Fun performance. He's a talented dude.
Final Results:
Seacrest tries to stir up controversy between the judges before announcing the results. And...Adam is safe. Matt is going home. I'll miss him.
I think Allison is next to go. Then, it gets a little tricky. If Kris goes out in third place, I think Danny will win. I don't think the people that vote for Kris will vote for Adam. If Adam goes out in third place, I think Kris might beat Danny. It's going to be interesting!
Rock & Roll next week with Slash as the mentor. Maybe Allison won't go home next week. The theme definitely favors Allison and Adam.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
American Idol - Top 5 Performance Show
Rat Pack/American standards tonight. Nice touch to have the band onstage. The kids don't know who the mentor is this week, and they're anxiously awaiting the mentor's arrival. It's Jamie Foxx. Not gonna lie - that's impressive.
Just saw the first commercial for So You Think You Can Dance! YAHOO!!!! I will admit, I get a little giddy every year when I see the first commercials. I'm kind of a dork. Not as big of a dork as my sister, but a dork nonetheless.
Kris Allen - The Way You Look Tonight
Jamie loves Kris! Me too! Me too! That was beautiful and fun and awesome. Good rendition of a song that is done an awful lot. FANTASTIC note at the end. Killer. Awww...he made his mommy cry. Cool article about Kris in USA Today earlier today. The judges like it. I'd like to thank Paula and Kara for dressing and doing their hair to match the theme. Love that Kris' dad rolled his eyes when they cut to his parents. 1-866-IDOLS-01 or 1-866-IDOLS-06
Allison Iraheta - Someone to Watch Over Me
Jamie is one of the better mentors I've seen. Actually giving useful vocal and performance advice. She's singing it well, but I'm feeling like her performance is a little affected. She's closing her eyes for no reason at times where it isn't necessary. The studio audience loved it though. Randy thought it was dope. I'm more with Simon - I think she's been in the bottom so much because she's tough to relate to.
Matt Giraud - My Funny Valentine
He looks nervous. I'd be nervous. This is a HARD song to sing. I wish he'd stood up earlier in the song. It gave him some energy that I think was missing from the first half of the performance. Excellent job on the big note Jamie said he should sing.
Danny Gokey - Come Rain or Come Shine
Seriously - Jamie Foxx is the best mentor I've ever seen work with these kids. Any season. I always like Danny, but he's much better than usual. He's not oversinging, and he's a lot more genuine than usual. Genuine may be the wrong word, but it's the only one I can come up with. Tha blues stuff at the end was ridiculous. Awesome. He looked like he had more fun tonight than he has all season. 1-866-IDOLS-04 or 1-866-IDOLS-09
Adam Lambert - "Feelin' Good"
Adam's rocking a white suit and using the stairs. I love the Michael Buble version of this song. Kind of sounds similar to that version, actually. The arrangement anyway. Adam has more rock timbre in his voice, obviously. THAT NOTE at the end! That is just impressive. The dude can sing his face off. He's just an outstanding performer. 1-866-IDOLS-05 or 1-866-IDOLS-10
Jamie Foxx for the win!
Just kidding. Kind of. I think this is a week where the mentor actually made a difference in the performances. That's not usually the case, in my opinion.
------------------
Here we go - favorite performance to least favorite performance:
1. Danny Gokey
Adam Lambert (it's a tie. I tried to choose. I couldn't.)
3. Kris Allen
4. Matt Giraud*
5. Allison Iraheta
*Vote for the Worst pick this week
I think it's Matt or Allison going home this week. Probably Allison. If it is, this will be the first all male top 4, I believe.
Just saw the first commercial for So You Think You Can Dance! YAHOO!!!! I will admit, I get a little giddy every year when I see the first commercials. I'm kind of a dork. Not as big of a dork as my sister, but a dork nonetheless.
Kris Allen - The Way You Look Tonight
Jamie loves Kris! Me too! Me too! That was beautiful and fun and awesome. Good rendition of a song that is done an awful lot. FANTASTIC note at the end. Killer. Awww...he made his mommy cry. Cool article about Kris in USA Today earlier today. The judges like it. I'd like to thank Paula and Kara for dressing and doing their hair to match the theme. Love that Kris' dad rolled his eyes when they cut to his parents. 1-866-IDOLS-01 or 1-866-IDOLS-06
Allison Iraheta - Someone to Watch Over Me
Jamie is one of the better mentors I've seen. Actually giving useful vocal and performance advice. She's singing it well, but I'm feeling like her performance is a little affected. She's closing her eyes for no reason at times where it isn't necessary. The studio audience loved it though. Randy thought it was dope. I'm more with Simon - I think she's been in the bottom so much because she's tough to relate to.
Matt Giraud - My Funny Valentine
He looks nervous. I'd be nervous. This is a HARD song to sing. I wish he'd stood up earlier in the song. It gave him some energy that I think was missing from the first half of the performance. Excellent job on the big note Jamie said he should sing.
Danny Gokey - Come Rain or Come Shine
Seriously - Jamie Foxx is the best mentor I've ever seen work with these kids. Any season. I always like Danny, but he's much better than usual. He's not oversinging, and he's a lot more genuine than usual. Genuine may be the wrong word, but it's the only one I can come up with. Tha blues stuff at the end was ridiculous. Awesome. He looked like he had more fun tonight than he has all season. 1-866-IDOLS-04 or 1-866-IDOLS-09
Adam Lambert - "Feelin' Good"
Adam's rocking a white suit and using the stairs. I love the Michael Buble version of this song. Kind of sounds similar to that version, actually. The arrangement anyway. Adam has more rock timbre in his voice, obviously. THAT NOTE at the end! That is just impressive. The dude can sing his face off. He's just an outstanding performer. 1-866-IDOLS-05 or 1-866-IDOLS-10
Jamie Foxx for the win!
Just kidding. Kind of. I think this is a week where the mentor actually made a difference in the performances. That's not usually the case, in my opinion.
------------------
Here we go - favorite performance to least favorite performance:
1. Danny Gokey
Adam Lambert (it's a tie. I tried to choose. I couldn't.)
3. Kris Allen
4. Matt Giraud*
5. Allison Iraheta
*Vote for the Worst pick this week
I think it's Matt or Allison going home this week. Probably Allison. If it is, this will be the first all male top 4, I believe.
Cherry Blossoms!
I'm sure they've all blown away by now, but we were lucky enough to go see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin with Emily and the boys. I was hoping to get some portraits of all the boys while we were there, but it was so cold and windy, we just took some pictures with the beautiful blossoms.
Poor little G-Man was in a coat that was a little too puffy and a little too tight. I snapped this shot with my iPhone. I giggled every time I looked at the poor little guy.
We had such an awesome walk, in spite of the chilly weather. The flowers were so beautiful and I was just thrilled to finally see the cherry blossoms. Even better, the chilly wind blew a lot of the clouds away and we got a totally different view of the flowers and the Tidal Basin as we walked back to the car.
Craziest memory of the day - we parked at Arlington Cemetery and walked over the river to get to the Tidal Basin. On the way to the Tidal Basin, the wind was at our backs. But on the way back, it was whipping right in our faces. And the boys' faces. Between the cars on the bridge and the wind, we could barely hear them or each other. We'd stop to ask if they were okay and they'd cry/whine even harder. We just decided to trudge on. We were going to eat some sandwiches Emily had packed when we got back to the car, but instead we just stopped under a pine tree right by the busy street and ate lunch. And I got to see G-Man eat a sandwich for the first time. Again, I thought it was hilarious and took a picture with my phone.
I took a lot of pictures when we were at the Tidal Basin, but as we were sitting at a stoplight, I had to take just one more.
But I like this one better.
Sorry to double post again, but there are more photos here on the photography blog and here in one of my SmugMug galleries.
Poor little G-Man was in a coat that was a little too puffy and a little too tight. I snapped this shot with my iPhone. I giggled every time I looked at the poor little guy.
We had such an awesome walk, in spite of the chilly weather. The flowers were so beautiful and I was just thrilled to finally see the cherry blossoms. Even better, the chilly wind blew a lot of the clouds away and we got a totally different view of the flowers and the Tidal Basin as we walked back to the car.
Craziest memory of the day - we parked at Arlington Cemetery and walked over the river to get to the Tidal Basin. On the way to the Tidal Basin, the wind was at our backs. But on the way back, it was whipping right in our faces. And the boys' faces. Between the cars on the bridge and the wind, we could barely hear them or each other. We'd stop to ask if they were okay and they'd cry/whine even harder. We just decided to trudge on. We were going to eat some sandwiches Emily had packed when we got back to the car, but instead we just stopped under a pine tree right by the busy street and ate lunch. And I got to see G-Man eat a sandwich for the first time. Again, I thought it was hilarious and took a picture with my phone.
I took a lot of pictures when we were at the Tidal Basin, but as we were sitting at a stoplight, I had to take just one more.
But I like this one better.
Sorry to double post again, but there are more photos here on the photography blog and here in one of my SmugMug galleries.
Monday, April 27, 2009
He Likes to Climb.
Luckily, he only dares go this high with help from Diggity.
Yes, he has a huge bump on his forehead and his cheeks are really red. The bump is from a run in with an older kid in nursery and the cheeks are red because he gets really red cheeks when he's tired and hasn't had a nap. I used to be able to get him to sleep before we left for church, but no more. So, red cheeks every Sunday.
He also likes to run everywhere he goes and he's started yelling a lot more.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Because I Said I Would...
All the pictures from my recent trip to the Washington DC temple are on the photography blog. By clicking here, you can see today's post as well as link to the other two posts. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments over on the photography blog or back here if you have time.
Have a wonderful weekend! We've got 80 degree weather all weekend and I am thrilled!
I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday #11
I had fun with this last week, so I'm back again. Here's the original picture everyone is working on:
I did some basic editing (all editing done in Photoshop CS3) first to get it to get it to this point:
After rotating the picture, I took these steps:
1. Pro Retouch (Totally Rad Actions)
2. Used the patch tool to get rid of the tiny little white bumps that Pro Retouch can't take care of. (Not because Pro Retouch isn't AWESOME, but because the bumps were too big.)
3. the eyes (Sesame Ellis)
4. just a tiny kick (Sesame Ellis)
5. basic midtones bump (Sesame Ellis)
6. Cropped some of the blanket out.
Then, I had some fun with the picture.
------------------------------
Edit 1 - Blur the Edges:
Steps:
1. Beer Goggles (Totally Rad Actions) with brush set at 50% Opacity and 59% Flow to bring back sharpness in face.
------------------------------
Edit 2 - Seventies:
Steps:
1. Seventies from Pioneer Woman Action Set 2
2. Snap (MCP)
------------------------------
Edit 3 - Boost & Smooth:
Steps:
1. Boost from Pioneer Woman Action Set 1
2. simple smoothing (Sesame Ellis)
------------------------------
Edit 4 - B&W
Steps:
1. Desaturate image
2. Fix levels to increase blacks and lighten photo a bit
3. Bitchin B&W (Totally Rad Actions)
4. Boutwell Magic Glasses at 30% (Totally Rad Actions)
------------------------------
And finally, Edit 5 - Cinnamon Toast
Steps:
Took B&W photo and added Cinnamon Toast (Totally Rad Actions) at 50%
If I'd had more time, I would have loved to make a birth announcement or something like that. If you have time, let me know which edit you like best in the comments, then go check out the other edits for ideas and inspiration at I ♥ Faces
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Birthday Recap
He had great fun with all the balloons...
...but wasn't so sure about the Elmo hats.
He thought the cake was cool at first...
...but then not so much.
One thing's for sure...
...we are definitely going to MISS these guys!
...but wasn't so sure about the Elmo hats.
He thought the cake was cool at first...
...but then not so much.
One thing's for sure...
...we are definitely going to MISS these guys!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
American Idol - Top 7 Become 5 Results Show
45 million votes last night. Double elimination tonight! David Archuleta is here!
Paula's choreographing the group number tonight and we get to see some behind the scenes moments at rehearsal. I like seeing her in her actual element. She seems smart and talented when she's dancing. And we're back to horrible lip-syncing. Someone please help them. Someone help the sound people to make the track not sound canned. Someone fix it! Paula almost had a wardrobe malfunction when she was thanking the Idols for her flowers in her short little dress. (Which is probably a shirt since Paula could fit in my pocket she's so tiny.)
The Ford commercial is awful. Stupid song, stupid editing, stupid.
Lil is up first. Ryan walks her to the other side of the stage, but hasn't yet said if she's in the bottom 3. Umm...she's out? Just like that? Holy cow. I thought he was playing some awful trick walking her to the side of the stage and then telling her she wasn't in the bottom three. Instead, she's going home. Huh.
Dial Idol said something completely different:
If you've never heard of it, Dial Idol has software that measures the busy signal on each contestant's phone line. The more busy signals = the more people are voting. It's not perfect, but it is usually a decent predictor. Not so much this year. My theory is that some contestants get far more text message votes than others.
Disco All-Stars? There are Disco All-Stars? I don't know who this poor first woman is, though I've heard this band of gold song on Idol before. And she sounds terrible because she WON'T STOP MOVING. Wow. Thelma Houston missed her cue from the band. She at least sounds decent. Diggity is in physical pain watching this. I can't believe he's still sitting here. I'm in pain because I chose to watch this show live thinking there would be nothing for me to fast forward through. KC from KC and the Sunshine band just came out. I'm not feeling any happiness or sunshine. Neither are his poor dancers. YEEEIKES. They just showed a wide shot and I spied Seacrest trying to dance. That's funny stuff.
I realize I'm typing a lot. No fast forwarding = lots of typing from me. Also, this new "Glee" show from Fox looks like my kind of programming.
Real Results:
Kris Allen - Safe!
Adam Lambert - Safe!
Danny Gokey - Safe!
Anoop Desai - Bottom 3. Again. I think this makes 3 weeks in a row.
Matt Giraud - Safe
Allison Iraheta - Bottom 3. Could we be sending two girls home tonight? She's been in the bottom 3 quite a few times as well.
David Archuleta is singing a song that I find a little lame. Though, if I were 15 I'm sure I would LOVE this song. And he's a little pitchy. He just took one of his ear monitors out and we're doing better now. He's so stinkin' cute.
And the second person going home is Anoop Desai. Sorry, Anoop. I'm sad for him, though I am thrilled with the 5 that are left. I don't think I've ever loved the entire top 5 before.
See you next week!
Paula's choreographing the group number tonight and we get to see some behind the scenes moments at rehearsal. I like seeing her in her actual element. She seems smart and talented when she's dancing. And we're back to horrible lip-syncing. Someone please help them. Someone help the sound people to make the track not sound canned. Someone fix it! Paula almost had a wardrobe malfunction when she was thanking the Idols for her flowers in her short little dress. (Which is probably a shirt since Paula could fit in my pocket she's so tiny.)
The Ford commercial is awful. Stupid song, stupid editing, stupid.
Lil is up first. Ryan walks her to the other side of the stage, but hasn't yet said if she's in the bottom 3. Umm...she's out? Just like that? Holy cow. I thought he was playing some awful trick walking her to the side of the stage and then telling her she wasn't in the bottom three. Instead, she's going home. Huh.
Dial Idol said something completely different:
If you've never heard of it, Dial Idol has software that measures the busy signal on each contestant's phone line. The more busy signals = the more people are voting. It's not perfect, but it is usually a decent predictor. Not so much this year. My theory is that some contestants get far more text message votes than others.Disco All-Stars? There are Disco All-Stars? I don't know who this poor first woman is, though I've heard this band of gold song on Idol before. And she sounds terrible because she WON'T STOP MOVING. Wow. Thelma Houston missed her cue from the band. She at least sounds decent. Diggity is in physical pain watching this. I can't believe he's still sitting here. I'm in pain because I chose to watch this show live thinking there would be nothing for me to fast forward through. KC from KC and the Sunshine band just came out. I'm not feeling any happiness or sunshine. Neither are his poor dancers. YEEEIKES. They just showed a wide shot and I spied Seacrest trying to dance. That's funny stuff.
I realize I'm typing a lot. No fast forwarding = lots of typing from me. Also, this new "Glee" show from Fox looks like my kind of programming.
Real Results:
Kris Allen - Safe!
Adam Lambert - Safe!
Danny Gokey - Safe!
Anoop Desai - Bottom 3. Again. I think this makes 3 weeks in a row.
Matt Giraud - Safe
Allison Iraheta - Bottom 3. Could we be sending two girls home tonight? She's been in the bottom 3 quite a few times as well.
David Archuleta is singing a song that I find a little lame. Though, if I were 15 I'm sure I would LOVE this song. And he's a little pitchy. He just took one of his ear monitors out and we're doing better now. He's so stinkin' cute.
And the second person going home is Anoop Desai. Sorry, Anoop. I'm sad for him, though I am thrilled with the 5 that are left. I don't think I've ever loved the entire top 5 before.
See you next week!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
American Idol - Top 7 Performance Show, Take 2
Disco night! And as Ryan must explain to us, THE STAKES ARE TREMENDOUSLY HUGE AND IMPORTANT THIS WEEK! Two people go home tomorrow night since the judges save was invoked last week.
No video packages this week? Hurray! Let's get to the music and try to actually finish on time!
Lil Rounds - "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan
She may have actually done it this week!! Picked a good song, trying to do her own thing with it. Not loving the bridge right now, but I liked it leading into the bridge. Whatever they say about her singing, they can't deny that her weave/wig is FABULOUS this week. Loving watching who I assume is her mom tell off the judges with every comment they make. It was pretty good. I think she may be done though.
Kris Allen - "She Works Hard for the Money" by Donna Summer
This is going to be cool. Because Kris is cool. I don't know if the judges will like this. I think it's awesome because I'm a total geek for changing up songs like this. BREAKDOWN with the drums! Nice. That was great!! Go Kris. Kara likes it. Paula likes it, though she uses a weird shopping analogy. Simon likes it. And Randy likes it. That was outstanding. I may buy that single from iTunes. 1-866-IDOLS-02
Danny Gokey - "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire
I LOVE this song. It doesn't sound like he's going to bring anything new to the arrangement. Never mind. He's bop bop bopping and changing the melody. His voice sounds great on this song. Cool little breakdown/song insertion after the bridge. He's also dancing much better than at the beginning of the season. Nicely done. Randy makes a good point on him changing the melody. 1-866-IDOLS-03
Allison Iraheta - "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer
Starting on the stairs and they are bright red. That's a new one. Good stage usage. Rocked out version of this song. Sounds like something Gwen Stefani would do. Evidently, Miley Cyrus is telling everyone on Twitter to vote for Allison. I'm sure that's a good thing on some level, right? She did a good job with this. Memorable, good vocals, fun performance. 1-866-IDOLS-04
Adam Lambert - "If I Can't Have You" by The Bee Gees
Didn't think I knew which song he was singing, but now that he's started, I know it. Adam suited up tonight and started out in falsetto. This is always a good thing. He's wearing a weird knuckle ring on his microphone hand. Going into rock sound on the chorus. Totally changed the melody in the chorus too. FANTASTIC! Nice, nice. Paula may start crying soon. Definitely buying this one. 1-866-IDOLS-05
Matt Giraud - "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees
R&B version of this song while rocking the Justin Timberlake hat. He's singing it well. Cool riffs on the melody. The judges may split on this one. This arrangement is okay, but not great. Rough following Adam here. He's having fun and sounds good. Much better than last week.
Aside - I think they're still letting Paula watch rehearsals. Her comments & analogies are way too thought out to be off the cuff coming from her. At least in my opinion.
Anoop Desai - "Dim All the Lights" by Donna Summer
Don't love it. Definitely does not deserve the pimp spot. When he was trying to get the audience clapping, he started clapping on the 1 & 3. Lame. He's slightly pitchy in some of the high stuff. Yeeouch at the end! Not good. I disagree a bit with the judges - except Simon. I'm right with him on most of it. Not Anoop's worst performance, but I really didn't love it.
--------------------------
Bold Predictions -
Disco Divas & Divos - Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert
Disco Wannabes - Matt Giraud
Get off the Dance Floor - Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai
Make sure you vote! Two people are going home tomorrow. I'm hopeful it's Lil and Anoop, but I think it will be Lil and Matt.
I'm a huge fan of the text voting. I texted my votes in while I watched this back on Tivo. It was awesome. Thanks, AT&T! :)
No video packages this week? Hurray! Let's get to the music and try to actually finish on time!
Lil Rounds - "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan
She may have actually done it this week!! Picked a good song, trying to do her own thing with it. Not loving the bridge right now, but I liked it leading into the bridge. Whatever they say about her singing, they can't deny that her weave/wig is FABULOUS this week. Loving watching who I assume is her mom tell off the judges with every comment they make. It was pretty good. I think she may be done though.
Kris Allen - "She Works Hard for the Money" by Donna Summer
This is going to be cool. Because Kris is cool. I don't know if the judges will like this. I think it's awesome because I'm a total geek for changing up songs like this. BREAKDOWN with the drums! Nice. That was great!! Go Kris. Kara likes it. Paula likes it, though she uses a weird shopping analogy. Simon likes it. And Randy likes it. That was outstanding. I may buy that single from iTunes. 1-866-IDOLS-02
Danny Gokey - "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire
I LOVE this song. It doesn't sound like he's going to bring anything new to the arrangement. Never mind. He's bop bop bopping and changing the melody. His voice sounds great on this song. Cool little breakdown/song insertion after the bridge. He's also dancing much better than at the beginning of the season. Nicely done. Randy makes a good point on him changing the melody. 1-866-IDOLS-03
Allison Iraheta - "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer
Starting on the stairs and they are bright red. That's a new one. Good stage usage. Rocked out version of this song. Sounds like something Gwen Stefani would do. Evidently, Miley Cyrus is telling everyone on Twitter to vote for Allison. I'm sure that's a good thing on some level, right? She did a good job with this. Memorable, good vocals, fun performance. 1-866-IDOLS-04
Adam Lambert - "If I Can't Have You" by The Bee Gees
Didn't think I knew which song he was singing, but now that he's started, I know it. Adam suited up tonight and started out in falsetto. This is always a good thing. He's wearing a weird knuckle ring on his microphone hand. Going into rock sound on the chorus. Totally changed the melody in the chorus too. FANTASTIC! Nice, nice. Paula may start crying soon. Definitely buying this one. 1-866-IDOLS-05
Matt Giraud - "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees
R&B version of this song while rocking the Justin Timberlake hat. He's singing it well. Cool riffs on the melody. The judges may split on this one. This arrangement is okay, but not great. Rough following Adam here. He's having fun and sounds good. Much better than last week.
Aside - I think they're still letting Paula watch rehearsals. Her comments & analogies are way too thought out to be off the cuff coming from her. At least in my opinion.
Anoop Desai - "Dim All the Lights" by Donna Summer
Don't love it. Definitely does not deserve the pimp spot. When he was trying to get the audience clapping, he started clapping on the 1 & 3. Lame. He's slightly pitchy in some of the high stuff. Yeeouch at the end! Not good. I disagree a bit with the judges - except Simon. I'm right with him on most of it. Not Anoop's worst performance, but I really didn't love it.
--------------------------
Bold Predictions -
Disco Divas & Divos - Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert
Disco Wannabes - Matt Giraud
Get off the Dance Floor - Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai
Make sure you vote! Two people are going home tomorrow. I'm hopeful it's Lil and Anoop, but I think it will be Lil and Matt.
I'm a huge fan of the text voting. I texted my votes in while I watched this back on Tivo. It was awesome. Thanks, AT&T! :)
I ♥ Faces - Self-Portrait
I'm not gonna lie - this week's assignment was tricky for me. My first inclination was to skip this week because I didn't want to take a self-portrait. On top of that, the rule that you had to hold the camera and couldn't use a tripod was even more reason skip this week.
But, I'm trying to do things that are hard for me, so I wrote "Take Self-Portrait" on my list of things to do today.
As I was watching G-Man play (destroy) in his room this morning, I knew I found my self-portrait opportunity:
I also took a cute one of the two of us cuddling, but it didn't accurately represent the reality of our lives today. :)
Head on over to I ♥ Faces to see the rest of the self-portraits this week. You might be inspired to take your own!
P.S. Do kids know when they turn two? I feel as though a little switch has been flipped in his brain and the need to destroy and cry and scream and laugh loudly are the most important things for him to do. It's hilarious most of the time...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
He's Two!
Two years ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed waiting for this little guy to show up. I can't believe it was two years ago. I don't remember much of the details of that day, other than being grateful and overwhelmed and thrilled that he was finally here. To say it's flown by would be an understatement. He's a delight and a blessing to have in our home. He's such a happy little boy and he brightens our days.
I don't want to stop him from growing up - it's too fun to watch him learn and grow. But I wouldn't mind if the whole process slowed down just a little bit. It's just happening way too fast.
Have a happy birthday buddy. I love you!
Mommy
P.S. Happy birthday to G-Man's cousin and birthday buddy, Baby Alice! We love you, Alice!
Friday, April 17, 2009
I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday #10
I decided to try something new at the I ♥ Faces blog today. Almost every Friday, Amy and Angie post a photo that needs some processing love. They have a group of contributors that take a swipe at the photo and then they provide the photo in their Flickr group so that anyone who wants to can try to edit it. So, I took a shot today.Here's the original:
I did two edits, a color and a B&W. Everything is done in Photoshop with actions that I have acquired. It was pretty fun to take a few minutes and edit like this again. When I started using Lightroom to process my photo shoots, I stopped using actions as much. I only use a few that I have downloaded and some that I have written to process stuff for display on the web. Going back to using actions exclusively - which is how I learned Photoshop - was fun. Here is the color version and the recipe (the actions I used and at what opacity levels) for creating it -
Edited in Photoshop CS3
1. Heavy Fog Fixer (MCP Actions) 100% opacity
2. Just a Tiny Kick (Sesame Ellis) 100% opacity
3. Contrast Bump (Sesame Ellis) 100% opacity
4. Yin & Yang (TRA) used to burn down the rocks and the trees behind the boy and some dodging to the boy's face and clothing.
5. Boutwell Magic Glasses (TRA) 75% opacity
6. Bring on the Eyes (Pioneer Woman Set 2) Brush set to 50% Opacity/48% Flow
Here's a color before & after:
I was planning just to do a color edit, but I couldn't help myself and did a B&W too. I also cropped the photo a bit, following the Rule of Thirds.
Edited in Photoshop CS3
1. Heavy Fog Fixer (MCP Actions) 100% opacity
2. + Contrast (TRA) 100% opacity
3. Bitchin' B&W (TRA) 100% opacity
4. + Contrast (TRA) 20% opacity
5. Burn Out (TRA) 60% opacity
6. EZ Burn (TRA) 20% opacity
7. Boutwell Magic Glasses (TRA) 60% opacity
8. Bring on the Eyes (Pioneer Woman Set 2) Brush set to 50% Opacity/48% Flow
-------------
I'm not sure if I prefer color or B&W. Any preferences? If you have any questions about what I did or why I did it or what actions I use, I'd be happy to answer them. Just leave me a comment below. Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
American Idol - Top 7 Results Show
That was a really lengthy opening video package. We are reminded that the judges' save is still in play. And that the Idols are going to be on tour. I just looked at Dial Idol. It looks like Danny Gokey is the only one that is definitely safe. Lil Rounds was near the top of the heap. The bottom three Dial Idol contestants were Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud and Kris Allen. We'll see how those predictions play out...
Another cool Ford commercial. The jumping between magazine covers was super sweet. Paula is touching Ryan's face and saying silly things. I think she's been drinking...Yup. She crawled under the table while the group number was going on. Definitely drinking.
The Idols are singing "Maniac." Fun song! And they're singing live! This is my favorite group performance so far! No lip synching! No awkward dancers! Excellent harmonies! I slightly enjoyed instead of completely despised that number!
The Idols went to the premiere of "17 Again" last night. Talk about knowing your audience...send the Idols to a Zac Efron movie? Yes, indeed! Zac Efron, you're so cute. Except lose that lame-o hat covering your greasy hair, please. Not cool.
RESULTS:
Allison Iraheta is...safe. That special sauce worked!
Adam Lambert is...safe! Hooray! When you have a moment, read this interesting story about Adam.
Anoop Desai is...in the bottom 3 again. Poor Anoop.
We're bringing back former Idols every week? I didn't realize. I guess that's true. This week it's Jennifer Hudson (JHud, as the kids call her.) I love JHud. What a way to come back to Idol! I didn't realize she hadn't been back since her elimination from the show. I find this song slightly boring, but she sings so well.
MORE RESULTS:
Kris Allen is getting some nice comments from Simon and Paula. He WAS brilliant. I'm worried he's in the bottom 3. HE'S NOT! He's safe! Woo hoo!
Lil Rounds is talking about her argument with the judges. I can see her frustration, but now that she's talking about it, I understand why she keeps getting it wrong. She's said when she sings like an artist they suggest they call her a copycat (see - Tina Turner song from birth year week) and when she picks an unexpected artist that is nothing like her, they tell her to sing like Mary J. Blige. That's the problem - she's choosing artists to sing, not songs. She needs to choose good SONGS and then sing them in her own way. Simon has said this to her a million times. Maybe she'll get it right next week.
Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud are vying for the bottom spot. It's obviously Matt. Though Ryan - you had me going for two seconds. That fake out was tricksy AND rude.
I agree with Kara - that was the definitely the bottom three, performance wise. I might have swapped Allison for Anoop, but it doesn't matter because Anoop is safe! Matt and Lil are the bottom two. I am almost positive they'll use the judges' save tonight. We'll see.
Miley Cyrus is singing in a bunch of fog. I'm giving her 30 seconds. She doesn't sound horrible yet. A little nasal, perhaps, but not yelling and pitchy yet. We're fast forwarding because Diggity can't handle it. He stopped to hear a high note, and now I can't handle it. Thanks, Tivo! You saved our ears and our sanity!
And the person being eliminated after the nationwide vote of 36 million is...Matt Giraud. Bummer! Sing, Matt, sing! His voice still sounds tired. Bummer! Kara must have been drinking with Paula before the show. They're cracking me up with their sway dancing.
But will they keep Matt around? I've never heard the audience chant before. It was definitely better than last night. YAY!!! They're keeping him!! Two people go home next week, but they're keeping him!! I don't think they would have saved Lil.
Disco week next week? Ouch. That's rough. If you're going to choose a week to start voting - next week is the week! It's pretty critical with two people going home! See you next week!
Another cool Ford commercial. The jumping between magazine covers was super sweet. Paula is touching Ryan's face and saying silly things. I think she's been drinking...Yup. She crawled under the table while the group number was going on. Definitely drinking.
The Idols are singing "Maniac." Fun song! And they're singing live! This is my favorite group performance so far! No lip synching! No awkward dancers! Excellent harmonies! I slightly enjoyed instead of completely despised that number!
The Idols went to the premiere of "17 Again" last night. Talk about knowing your audience...send the Idols to a Zac Efron movie? Yes, indeed! Zac Efron, you're so cute. Except lose that lame-o hat covering your greasy hair, please. Not cool.
RESULTS:
Allison Iraheta is...safe. That special sauce worked!
Adam Lambert is...safe! Hooray! When you have a moment, read this interesting story about Adam.
Anoop Desai is...in the bottom 3 again. Poor Anoop.
We're bringing back former Idols every week? I didn't realize. I guess that's true. This week it's Jennifer Hudson (JHud, as the kids call her.) I love JHud. What a way to come back to Idol! I didn't realize she hadn't been back since her elimination from the show. I find this song slightly boring, but she sings so well.
MORE RESULTS:
Kris Allen is getting some nice comments from Simon and Paula. He WAS brilliant. I'm worried he's in the bottom 3. HE'S NOT! He's safe! Woo hoo!
Lil Rounds is talking about her argument with the judges. I can see her frustration, but now that she's talking about it, I understand why she keeps getting it wrong. She's said when she sings like an artist they suggest they call her a copycat (see - Tina Turner song from birth year week) and when she picks an unexpected artist that is nothing like her, they tell her to sing like Mary J. Blige. That's the problem - she's choosing artists to sing, not songs. She needs to choose good SONGS and then sing them in her own way. Simon has said this to her a million times. Maybe she'll get it right next week.
Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud are vying for the bottom spot. It's obviously Matt. Though Ryan - you had me going for two seconds. That fake out was tricksy AND rude.
I agree with Kara - that was the definitely the bottom three, performance wise. I might have swapped Allison for Anoop, but it doesn't matter because Anoop is safe! Matt and Lil are the bottom two. I am almost positive they'll use the judges' save tonight. We'll see.
Miley Cyrus is singing in a bunch of fog. I'm giving her 30 seconds. She doesn't sound horrible yet. A little nasal, perhaps, but not yelling and pitchy yet. We're fast forwarding because Diggity can't handle it. He stopped to hear a high note, and now I can't handle it. Thanks, Tivo! You saved our ears and our sanity!
And the person being eliminated after the nationwide vote of 36 million is...Matt Giraud. Bummer! Sing, Matt, sing! His voice still sounds tired. Bummer! Kara must have been drinking with Paula before the show. They're cracking me up with their sway dancing.
But will they keep Matt around? I've never heard the audience chant before. It was definitely better than last night. YAY!!! They're keeping him!! Two people go home next week, but they're keeping him!! I don't think they would have saved Lil.
Disco week next week? Ouch. That's rough. If you're going to choose a week to start voting - next week is the week! It's pretty critical with two people going home! See you next week!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
American Idol - Top 7 Performance Show
The band is onstage. Ryan is making lame jokes. Paula looks awful as usual. What is that thing? I've never seen so many cubic zirconias in one place. Only two judges get to speak after each performance because they talked so much last week.
The theme tonight is music from the movies, and for some reason Quentin Tarantino is the mentor. I have never seen any of his movies, though I've seen clips and I know he uses great music in his movies. I also remember when he came to judge, but I'm not sure what he ads to the process this week.
Allison Iraheta - "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith
On stage strings for this one. Very fancy. Diggity comment: "Wow. She sounds like she's been smoking since she was in utero." This arrangement is so low for her. I don't love what she's doing to the melody. I don't think you need to mess that much with a Diane Warren (songwriter) melody. It was a good performance, but not my favorite from her. Paula and Simon are very enamored though.
I just heard that I'm going to have to listen to a song from "Robin Hood: Prince of Theives" after the break. I may quit watching right now. Or go stick forks in my eyes. Sorry. I react violently to most Kevin Costner movies and the music from those movies.
Anoop Desai - "Everything I Do, I Do it For You" by Bryan Adams
Okay. I won't get the forks out yet. I don't hate it. I do like the changes he's making to the melody. As Diggity pointed out, Anoop didn't really grind through the ending like Quentin suggested. But it was pretty good. I figure if you can take a song that I hate and make me watch the whole thing, that's a positive.
Adam Lambert - "Born to Be Wild"
I'm not ever sure what is going to happen with Adam. It's definitely his stamp on the song. He's making it his own, if you will. Whatever happens to him in the voting, he's having a blast and the band is having a great time playing with him. The background singers and the string players are clapping for him. Awesome. I do appreciate that Adam has enough sense to do this crazy rock stuff when it is appropriate and he mixes it in with other styles of performance the other weeks. Fortune favors the brave, Paula. Not rewards the brave. Simon likes last week's performance better. 1-866-IDOLS-03
Matt Giraud - "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman"
I'm a little worried about his voice. He sounds tired or pitchy or something. It was going well, but he completely cracked out a couple times in the bridge. Unfortunately, I agree with Randy and Kara. He was on the right track, but he didn't quite get it again.
Danny Gokey - "Endless Love"
I have hateful memories associated with this song. Gonna let that go. *cleansing breath* Good direction from Quentin putting the hands in the pockets to focus emotion coming from the face. Not sure how I feel about harp accompaniment. Seems like a good choice for a wedding, but not so much for American Idol. Danny really has a fabulous voice. Though, I agree with Simon on all points. Harp=bad. Arrangement=boring. Song=ridiculously hard for him to sing emotionally. So, well done. I guess.
Kris Allen - "Falling Slowly"
This is a great song. Might be too low for him though. Never mind. He needed to start low to be glorious in the chorus. That was fabulous. FABULOUS. Loved the flip to falsetto near the end. Randy's half right - it sounded pitchy at the beginning because it was so low. But not the whole song. I loved that. 1-866-IDOLS-06.
Lil Rounds - "The Rose"
I hope I don't hate this. They've got her in the pimp spot, so it must be okay. Bummer. It's just okay. I was hoping it would be better than okay. Maybe if she had more time to build to this gospel part. And the ending was kind of lame-o. Paula managed to critique her and didn't actually say anything about Lil's performance. Paula amazes me. Not in a good way.
---------
Bold Predictions -
Loved it - Adam Lambert, Kris Allen
Meh - Lil Rounds, Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta
Bottom 3 - Lil Rounds*, Matt Giraud, Kris Allen (*Vote for the Worst Pick)
Going Home - Lil Rounds or Matt Giraud
The theme tonight is music from the movies, and for some reason Quentin Tarantino is the mentor. I have never seen any of his movies, though I've seen clips and I know he uses great music in his movies. I also remember when he came to judge, but I'm not sure what he ads to the process this week.
Allison Iraheta - "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith
On stage strings for this one. Very fancy. Diggity comment: "Wow. She sounds like she's been smoking since she was in utero." This arrangement is so low for her. I don't love what she's doing to the melody. I don't think you need to mess that much with a Diane Warren (songwriter) melody. It was a good performance, but not my favorite from her. Paula and Simon are very enamored though.
I just heard that I'm going to have to listen to a song from "Robin Hood: Prince of Theives" after the break. I may quit watching right now. Or go stick forks in my eyes. Sorry. I react violently to most Kevin Costner movies and the music from those movies.
Anoop Desai - "Everything I Do, I Do it For You" by Bryan Adams
Okay. I won't get the forks out yet. I don't hate it. I do like the changes he's making to the melody. As Diggity pointed out, Anoop didn't really grind through the ending like Quentin suggested. But it was pretty good. I figure if you can take a song that I hate and make me watch the whole thing, that's a positive.
Adam Lambert - "Born to Be Wild"
I'm not ever sure what is going to happen with Adam. It's definitely his stamp on the song. He's making it his own, if you will. Whatever happens to him in the voting, he's having a blast and the band is having a great time playing with him. The background singers and the string players are clapping for him. Awesome. I do appreciate that Adam has enough sense to do this crazy rock stuff when it is appropriate and he mixes it in with other styles of performance the other weeks. Fortune favors the brave, Paula. Not rewards the brave. Simon likes last week's performance better. 1-866-IDOLS-03
Matt Giraud - "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman"
I'm a little worried about his voice. He sounds tired or pitchy or something. It was going well, but he completely cracked out a couple times in the bridge. Unfortunately, I agree with Randy and Kara. He was on the right track, but he didn't quite get it again.
Danny Gokey - "Endless Love"
I have hateful memories associated with this song. Gonna let that go. *cleansing breath* Good direction from Quentin putting the hands in the pockets to focus emotion coming from the face. Not sure how I feel about harp accompaniment. Seems like a good choice for a wedding, but not so much for American Idol. Danny really has a fabulous voice. Though, I agree with Simon on all points. Harp=bad. Arrangement=boring. Song=ridiculously hard for him to sing emotionally. So, well done. I guess.
Kris Allen - "Falling Slowly"
This is a great song. Might be too low for him though. Never mind. He needed to start low to be glorious in the chorus. That was fabulous. FABULOUS. Loved the flip to falsetto near the end. Randy's half right - it sounded pitchy at the beginning because it was so low. But not the whole song. I loved that. 1-866-IDOLS-06.
Lil Rounds - "The Rose"
I hope I don't hate this. They've got her in the pimp spot, so it must be okay. Bummer. It's just okay. I was hoping it would be better than okay. Maybe if she had more time to build to this gospel part. And the ending was kind of lame-o. Paula managed to critique her and didn't actually say anything about Lil's performance. Paula amazes me. Not in a good way.
---------
Bold Predictions -
Loved it - Adam Lambert, Kris Allen
Meh - Lil Rounds, Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta
Bottom 3 - Lil Rounds*, Matt Giraud, Kris Allen (*Vote for the Worst Pick)
Going Home - Lil Rounds or Matt Giraud
Monday, April 13, 2009
I ♥ Faces - Easter/Spring
I call this one, "Easter Overload."
He was loving the M&M's on Easter Morning. A little too much, maybe. Those pajamas will never be the same.
Do you ♥ faces too? Go enter this week's contest. You can enter the regular Kids category, or enter the special Amateur category this week.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Morning at Our House
We went a bit low key with Easter Morning for the G-Man. We weren't quite sure if he'd catch on to the candy/egg/Easter Bunny concept. He did. :)
Running down the hall to see if the "rabbit" brought G-Man any candy.
"Dora! Colors! Colors! Colors!"
He loved finding the eggs and candy that the Easter Bunny hid around our TV room.
This was my favorite thing - he started feeding "em ems" to his Monkey.
The boy really loves his M&M's. I know Grandma Yvonne is proud right now...
Thanks, Easter Bunny! (Bok! Bok!)
Running down the hall to see if the "rabbit" brought G-Man any candy.
"Dora! Colors! Colors! Colors!"
He loved finding the eggs and candy that the Easter Bunny hid around our TV room.
This was my favorite thing - he started feeding "em ems" to his Monkey.
The boy really loves his M&M's. I know Grandma Yvonne is proud right now...
Thanks, Easter Bunny! (Bok! Bok!)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Button, Button...
...I received another button! I took 7th in the I ♥ Faces photo contest this week in the kids division. I think it's such a fun website. Angie and Amy are really doing great things and it is fun watching the website grow every week. I was quite excited to have placed this week. There were over 300 entries in my division and I adore the work of this week's guest judge, Amy Wentzel. She's an amazing portrait photographer and graphic designer. Check out her work if you have some time.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Manhattan New York LDS Temple
I really appreciated all the kind responses I got to the pictures I took of the Boston Massachusetts LDS temple last month. I'll be heading back soon to take some more. I liked photographing the Boston Temple so much, I decided that whenever I'm near a temple, I'm going to make time to go make some pictures.
So, when I was in Manhattan last month, I lugged myself, my duffel bag and my camera bag uptown after riding the bus for 4+ hours. I'm not gonna lie - Times Square was a little rough to get through. I made it to the temple safely, I got some shots I really love, and I was within walking distance of the new Shake Shack on Columbus Avenue. A good night all around.
My favorite pictures and a little more info on how I shot them can be found on my photography blog. There's also a link to my online LDS Temple gallery if you want to see all the shots I've taken so far.
P.S. I also shot the Washington D.C. temple when I was visiting my brother's family. I'll let you know when those go up.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
American Idol - Top 8 Results Show
Ryan just did a weird gangsta' thing with his hand when he mentioned Flo Rida was going to be performing tonight. Ryan, that's not allowed. And Paula, don't wear gloves. Every time I think she's going to wear a normal outfit, she has some crazy accessory or thing stuck to her clothing.
Making fun of how old Simon and Paula are...blah, blah, blah...And out comes Frankie Avalon singing "Venus" in the same key he sang it when it was a hit. (1959) He looks great for his age, but the performance is not going well from a note-hitting perspective.
The Idols are singing live this week! Is someone on the production team reading my blog?! :) If they're going to sing live, they need ear monitors. There was a painfully pitchy moment in the second half of the song. Odd that there are only two girls left.
Ford Commercial. We get a behind the scenes look this week. Hilarious impression of Simon from Scott. Weird to hear this song without Britney's techno filter. I kind of like the techno filter better than hearing them sing it straight.
Results:
Adam is safe!
Kris is safe!
Anoop is in the bottom 3. Interesting. Kris is listed in last place on Dial Idol, but I'm assuming that Dial Idol can't measure the text messages.
Flo Rida is performing. I'm feeling old. I really need to start listening to Top 40 radio. I have never heard this song.
More Results:
Danny is safe!
Matt is safe!
Scott is in the bottom 3.
It's down to the two girls for the last spot. Allison is safe and Lil in the bottom 3.
I'm good with this bottom 3.
I'm not good with the fact that I just caught up with the Tivo and I have to watch Kellie Pickler. She has a great stylist now, so that's cool. Taylor Swift and Kellie are best friends and I really wish someone would grab them both and force them to take a voice lesson together. As I watch it on fast forward, she does seem to have more stage presence than she did on the show. She's just as cute as a bug. But I can't imagine a more painful concert to listen to. Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler? Ouch. (No offense if you love them. I think they're adorable and great songwriters. I just hate listening to them sing live. Especially Taylor. It's awful.)
Lil got sent back to the couches. I don't know if the judges will save Anoop. They definitely won't save Scott. I think they would have saved Lil though.
Scott has the lowest number of votes - Anoop is safe.
Scott sings to stay in the competition and after much painful deliberation, he's sent home. I really think they didn't save him - not because he didn't do well, but because of the people that were left in the competition. All the contestants left are pretty good, and there is a possibility that someone they really like could get voted off next week. We'll have to see what happens next week!
Making fun of how old Simon and Paula are...blah, blah, blah...And out comes Frankie Avalon singing "Venus" in the same key he sang it when it was a hit. (1959) He looks great for his age, but the performance is not going well from a note-hitting perspective.
The Idols are singing live this week! Is someone on the production team reading my blog?! :) If they're going to sing live, they need ear monitors. There was a painfully pitchy moment in the second half of the song. Odd that there are only two girls left.
Ford Commercial. We get a behind the scenes look this week. Hilarious impression of Simon from Scott. Weird to hear this song without Britney's techno filter. I kind of like the techno filter better than hearing them sing it straight.
Results:
Adam is safe!
Kris is safe!
Anoop is in the bottom 3. Interesting. Kris is listed in last place on Dial Idol, but I'm assuming that Dial Idol can't measure the text messages.
Flo Rida is performing. I'm feeling old. I really need to start listening to Top 40 radio. I have never heard this song.
More Results:
Danny is safe!
Matt is safe!
Scott is in the bottom 3.
It's down to the two girls for the last spot. Allison is safe and Lil in the bottom 3.
I'm good with this bottom 3.
I'm not good with the fact that I just caught up with the Tivo and I have to watch Kellie Pickler. She has a great stylist now, so that's cool. Taylor Swift and Kellie are best friends and I really wish someone would grab them both and force them to take a voice lesson together. As I watch it on fast forward, she does seem to have more stage presence than she did on the show. She's just as cute as a bug. But I can't imagine a more painful concert to listen to. Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler? Ouch. (No offense if you love them. I think they're adorable and great songwriters. I just hate listening to them sing live. Especially Taylor. It's awful.)
Lil got sent back to the couches. I don't know if the judges will save Anoop. They definitely won't save Scott. I think they would have saved Lil though.
Scott has the lowest number of votes - Anoop is safe.
Scott sings to stay in the competition and after much painful deliberation, he's sent home. I really think they didn't save him - not because he didn't do well, but because of the people that were left in the competition. All the contestants left are pretty good, and there is a possibility that someone they really like could get voted off next week. We'll have to see what happens next week!
Extreme Cuteness Overload
Take just a moment and click on the picture below. You'll get to see a video of G-Man and all the cute things he's doing now that he's almost 2. (His age has very little to do with the cute things in this video. I just can't believe he's almost 2.)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
American Idol - Top 8 Performance Show
Songs released in the year you were born! I would want to sing "Kung Fu Fighting," but I don't think that would be a good fit for me... :)
No more judges walking out from behind the stage with the lame announcer! Hooray!! Ryan still walks down the huge staircase, but I can live with that.
But we have to look at the baby photos of the judges. Not sure which is better. Though Simon's picture is HILARIOUS. Never mind. Ryan's is funnier.
Danny Gokey - Stand By Me
He's singing some arrangement that came out in 1980. It's a little weird, but I like him singing it. He seemed weirdly nervous at one point. I don't think Danny would normally be first, but they have to have him go first at some point to be fair, so tonight they are singing in "age order" and Danny goes first.
Kris Allen - All She Wants to Do is Dance
I admire what he's trying to do with this, but I'm not sure if I love this arrangement. I don't love that these poor kids have to play in the middle of the rhythmically challenged mosh pit. I didn't love it, but Simon's wrong - it certainly wasn't indulgent. Kris doesn't have an indulgent bone in his body.
Lil Rounds - What's Love Got to Do With It
On paper, this should be an amazing choice for her. She's a little behind the beat in the first verse into the chorus. Her low range is rough. And I don't think it was necessary to dress up Tina Turner and walk around on the stage like Tina does in the music video. MUCH better into the bridge and the last chorus. She's making it more her own and taking some cool liberties with the melody. The judges are rough on her, but they're absolutely spot on.
Aside - Since Kris was born in 1985 and Lil was born in 1984, we're not sticking to the age order thing, evidently. Just an excuse to have Danny go first since he's usually in the last third of the show.
Anoop Desai - True Colors
This could be ghastly. He's borrowing liberally from the Eva Cassidy version, so the arrangement is great. He messed up a pretty important lyric, but he got through it. Not sure if I like the R&B vibe he just turned on halfway through. It's growing on me. NICE falsetto at the end. That was great.
Scott MacIntyre - The Search is Over
Scott is on the guitar tonight. I don't think he should be playing the guitar on this song. The guitar kind of came out of no where. This song doesn't fit him. I don't think he should even be singing this song. That was rough vocally. They're going to really ream him on this one. Kara and Paula are being very polite. I don't think Simon will be so polite.
Allison Iraheta - I Can't Make You Love Me
Perfect song choice. I hate her dress, but as long as they don't do a full shot of her singing, I don't have to look at it. That was great.
Matt Giraud - Part Time Lovers
LOVED the video of his church play. Rockin' the Justin Timberlake hat! This song should have been in a little higher key. Some of the low stuff is a little rough for him. I'm not sure about this arrangement. I loved the scatting at the end.
Adam Lambert - Mad World
Adam Lambert didn't make it on my Tivo, so I had to go to alternative sources to find it. If you didn't get to see him, GO WATCH IT. Simon gave Adam a standing ovation. And it really was that good.
Favorites - Adam Lambert, Matt Giraud, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai
Kinda Liked It - Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds
Umm....Nope - Scott MacIntyre
Bottom 3 - Scott MacIntyre*, Lil Rounds, Allison Iraheta
*Scott is the new Vote For the Worst pick. Lil and Allison have been in the bottom a lot regardless of whether they sing well.
Eliminated - Scott (he may not be because of VFTW, but he should be based on performance)
If someone besides Scott is eliminated, they may end up using the judges' save this week. They only have three more weeks to use it, and I don't think they'll let anyone besides Scott go home. Just my opinion.
No more judges walking out from behind the stage with the lame announcer! Hooray!! Ryan still walks down the huge staircase, but I can live with that.
But we have to look at the baby photos of the judges. Not sure which is better. Though Simon's picture is HILARIOUS. Never mind. Ryan's is funnier.
Danny Gokey - Stand By Me
He's singing some arrangement that came out in 1980. It's a little weird, but I like him singing it. He seemed weirdly nervous at one point. I don't think Danny would normally be first, but they have to have him go first at some point to be fair, so tonight they are singing in "age order" and Danny goes first.
Kris Allen - All She Wants to Do is Dance
I admire what he's trying to do with this, but I'm not sure if I love this arrangement. I don't love that these poor kids have to play in the middle of the rhythmically challenged mosh pit. I didn't love it, but Simon's wrong - it certainly wasn't indulgent. Kris doesn't have an indulgent bone in his body.
Lil Rounds - What's Love Got to Do With It
On paper, this should be an amazing choice for her. She's a little behind the beat in the first verse into the chorus. Her low range is rough. And I don't think it was necessary to dress up Tina Turner and walk around on the stage like Tina does in the music video. MUCH better into the bridge and the last chorus. She's making it more her own and taking some cool liberties with the melody. The judges are rough on her, but they're absolutely spot on.
Aside - Since Kris was born in 1985 and Lil was born in 1984, we're not sticking to the age order thing, evidently. Just an excuse to have Danny go first since he's usually in the last third of the show.
Anoop Desai - True Colors
This could be ghastly. He's borrowing liberally from the Eva Cassidy version, so the arrangement is great. He messed up a pretty important lyric, but he got through it. Not sure if I like the R&B vibe he just turned on halfway through. It's growing on me. NICE falsetto at the end. That was great.
Scott MacIntyre - The Search is Over
Scott is on the guitar tonight. I don't think he should be playing the guitar on this song. The guitar kind of came out of no where. This song doesn't fit him. I don't think he should even be singing this song. That was rough vocally. They're going to really ream him on this one. Kara and Paula are being very polite. I don't think Simon will be so polite.
Allison Iraheta - I Can't Make You Love Me
Perfect song choice. I hate her dress, but as long as they don't do a full shot of her singing, I don't have to look at it. That was great.
Matt Giraud - Part Time Lovers
LOVED the video of his church play. Rockin' the Justin Timberlake hat! This song should have been in a little higher key. Some of the low stuff is a little rough for him. I'm not sure about this arrangement. I loved the scatting at the end.
Adam Lambert - Mad World
Adam Lambert didn't make it on my Tivo, so I had to go to alternative sources to find it. If you didn't get to see him, GO WATCH IT. Simon gave Adam a standing ovation. And it really was that good.
Favorites - Adam Lambert, Matt Giraud, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai
Kinda Liked It - Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds
Umm....Nope - Scott MacIntyre
Bottom 3 - Scott MacIntyre*, Lil Rounds, Allison Iraheta
*Scott is the new Vote For the Worst pick. Lil and Allison have been in the bottom a lot regardless of whether they sing well.
Eliminated - Scott (he may not be because of VFTW, but he should be based on performance)
If someone besides Scott is eliminated, they may end up using the judges' save this week. They only have three more weeks to use it, and I don't think they'll let anyone besides Scott go home. Just my opinion.
Pretty Much the Cutest Picture Ever
I took this on my iPhone when we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Marlborough last week. It's the wallpaper on my phone. It kills me every time I use my phone, I think it's so cute.
G-Man is getting way too big. He's almost 2, which is astounding to me. He is talking in little sentences and learns new words all the time. He's also getting quite a little attitude about what he does and doesn't want to do. Every day is so much fun with him.
Monday, April 6, 2009
I ♥ Faces - My Friend & I (Adults)
My Adult Entry:
I love this picture of Amanda and Chelsea. They had been running around the parking lot pushing this cart and they just had a near collision with a garbage can. I love their expressions - they're just laughing and having a good time playing around. Such fun girls.
Head over to I ♥ Faces so see more adorable pictures of friends!
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