Resolutionary Challenge - Week 12

It's the last week! Here's the last chart!

American Idol - Top 11 Redux

Disclaimer - I'm late watching these shows again. I'm not going to watch the entire episode. For the remaining shows this season, I can only promise that I will watch Crystal, Michael and Siobhan. I really wish they'd cut everyone but those three and just finish the season early, but I'm not in charge. So I'll just suffer through the season until the top 3 show and hope they are the final 3 left.

If I can watch live, I'll twitter my comments and post them here. If I can't watch live, I'll write a short blog post. Cool? Ok!

And now, some notes from the performance show....

Dear Miley:

I'm pretty sure you don't get to criticize anyone's pitchyness. (New word! Whee!) Ever. Since I've never heard you sing well live. You're cute though. And you obviously have show biz savvy. But ease up on people's musicianship.

Thanks!

Macy

Dear America:

Paige Miles is ridiculously awful. Can't sing her way out of a wet paper bag. I can't think of a contestant in recent memory that was so pitchy. Please send her home.

Sincerely,

Macy

Dear Aaron:

You don't have a crush on Miley. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Sincerely,

Macy

Dear American Idol:

Entertainment Weekly had a really great article this week about how you can save your show. You should read it. I really loved two of the suggestions: 1) once a song has been sung two times on the show, it's out of the songbook for the Top 12. No one else can sing it. We're bored. I don't want to hear "Don't Want to Miss a Thing" or "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" again. And 2) Kill the swaybots. That's my favorite suggestion ever.

Sincerely,

Macy

Dear Crystal:

You're awesome. Thank you for trying out for this show. You're saving the season.

Love,

Macy

Dear Michael:

I LOVE you. Love your voice, love your personality, love your confidence. You are the bomb.com. Loved the orchestra on the stage. It actually fit.

Love,

Macy

Dear Glee:

Thank you for the new commercial. The fact that you'll be back three weeks from tonight makes me so happy today I can hardly stand it.

Love,

Macy

Dear America,

I really liked Katie Stevens at first, but she can go home too.

Thanks,

Macy

Dear American Idol:

Siobhan is not from Cape Cod, MA. Cape Cod is not a town. She's from Marston Mills.

Thanks,

Macy

Dear Siobhan,

You have one of the coolest voices I've ever heard, and I think you're awesome. Thanks for rocking out one of my favorite songs.

Love,

Macy

Results Show Notes -

Dear American Idol:

Please don't make me suffer through any more lip-synced group "performances." I have better ways to spend my time. Thank goodness I have a Tivo. Unfortunately, my two year old "likes the girls and the boys singing," so let's just take those group numbers away. Entertainment Weekly agrees with me.

Thanks,

Macy

Dear America:

Thanks for putting Tim and Paige in the bottom 3. Good call. It's too bad we only send one person home.

Thanks!

Macy

Dear Miley:

The onstage convulsions with your hair made me think you fell down while you were singing. (Yelling. Let's be real.) And I had to stop my Tivo, and I'm not happy about that. No more convulsing, okay?

Thanks,

Macy

Dear American Idol:

Is this Disney Channel night? What's happening here? Oldest Jonas Brother and one of those brunette Miley replacement girls? Why are you inflicting all of your tween stars on us in one night?

Not cool, American Idol. Not cool.

Macy

Dear America,

Good choice. Paige needed to go. Such bad singing. So annoyed that she was in the Top 12 instead of Katelyn.

Macy

Confession & Inspiration

I read a lot of blogs.

Let me rephrase that -

I have a lot of blogs in my Google Reader.

Most days, I take time to skim through them quickly, just because I really like to get rid of the numbers next to each category. It's like they're screaming at me when I have blogs there to read.

Most days, I don't have that many to read. I can get done in 30 minutes or so.

But I've been unable to read my blogs for the last couple of days, and the numbers have crept up.

I've read through my "Family", "Friends" and "Fun Reads" sections, and I have 302 blogs left to read.

It's a little overwhelming.

I came up with a great idea, and was going to declare Blog Reading Bankruptcy and mark all of them as read, but I decided to read just one more.

And I'm so glad I did. It might be on my list of top 10 favorite blog posts of all time.

Here's the link, if you are interested in checking it out. I'm inspired after reading it today.

CJane: Manifesto Female

American Idol - Top 12

Going to have to do the show and the results in the same night. I didn't get to watch the girls' results last week, and I was SO upset to see the girls that were left. I really liked both Lilly and Katelyn. Bugged.

Why is Kara borrowing Paula's wardrobe?

Michael - Love him. LOVE. A-

Didi - She has a fantastic voice, but I'm SO bored right now. No Grade. The judges liked her a lot. I think that was one of those performances that read well in the studio, but not so much through the TV.

Casey - I must be in a bad mood right now. I didn't like that either. C

Lacey - I'm slightly angry she's in the top 12. No Grade.

Andrew - I'm more and more disappointed in him every week. No Grade.

Katie - She's a little pitchy. Especially at the beginning. C

Tim - I really hated that. A lot. F.

Siobhan - She's amazing. Loved the beginning, loved when she went to uptempo. The end was a little screamy, but still amazing. A

Lee - This is literally the first time I've even noticed this guy. I liked the arrangement. He has a good voice. B+

Paige - That was decent. I haven't liked her at all until tonight, and I was irritated she made it through to the top 12. But I'm not upset about her. B

Aaron - He sang one note and I fast forwarded it. I just don't like him. No Grade. The judges liked him, but I was to irritated to stick around for it.

Crystal - Not sure about her entering through the big sliding screen, but I love this song for her. She's awesome. I love her twist on this song. A.

It's the Crystal and Siobhan show, as far as I'm concerned. With Michael sticking around for as long as possible.

Results:

Didn't miss the group number. It might be coming later, but I didn't miss it. I like David Cook.

New GLEE commercial!!! I literally could not be more excited about the show starting again.

That was a decent Ford commercial. I actually liked that one.

Bottom 3:

Paige

Tim

Lacey

Totally on board for those three.

We fast forwarded through all the performances.

Lacey is going home. Fantastic. Couldn't be more thrilled about that. And obviously, they aren't going to save her. Bye, Lacey!

I ♥ Faces - Week 11

This week's theme: All Bundled Up!

"Mom - why am I out here in a coat that's too small, with gloves that are too big? Is this supposed to be fun for me?"

Love it.

Head over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com to check out more "All Bundled Up" photos, or to submit your own!

Resolutionary Challenge - Week 10

Here's the chart for the week. Sorry I'm late getting it posted.

AI - Girls Top 8

We're almost to the Top 12! Almost to the big stage!!

Katie Stevens ("Breakaway") - Poor thing. She's trying so hard. And so mature in taking criticism. But vocally, a C.

Siobhan Magnus ("House of the Rising Sun") - Starting a'cappella! Atta kid! I think she's my favorite vocally. I don't love this song, but she was great. A.

Lacey Brown - (I don't know the song and I didn't want to rewind it or look it up to figure it out.) I can't stand her voice. Sounds like she's been sucking on helium, and she has sheep-bleat vibrato. I also don't think her voice matches her look. No Grade. The judges seem to be happy though.

Katelyn Epperley ("I Feel the Earth Move") - She's my second favorite. I think she's cute, and I love her voice. The judges are going to find something wrong though. B+.

Didi Benami ("Rhiannon") Love it. She has not been on my radar much, but I like the sound of this and love her performance too. And I did take the time to look up the name of this song, because I liked it. A-.

Paige Davis ("Smile") As a general rule, I don't think people should sing this song on American Idol. They don't usually have the chops or the stage presence to pull it off. She started too low, and she's kind of shaky. No grade. I boo-dooped her and checked back in to see if it got better, and it didn't. Got worse.

Crystal Bowersox ("Give Me One Reason to Stay Here") This is a perfect song choice for her. She has Simon tapping along - nice! I loved the second verse. Nothing like a good 12 bar blues song. Crystal is awesome. The end was great. A.

Lilly Scott ("I Fall to Pieces") Her little warbly vocal style sounds like she's out of tune to me. I'm still undecided on her. The studio audience seemed to like it. B.

I think Paige and Lacey are going home on Thursday.

I ♥ Faces - Week 10

This week's challenge is titled, "Jump For Joy!" I have a bunch of jumping pictures, but I loved this recent photo of G-Man the best:

Have a fun jumping photo? Head on over towww.iheartfaces.com and enter by Tuesday!

Resolutionary Challenge - Week 9

Here's the Week 9 chart! Best of luck!

Project 365 - Day 66

Rough day at church...

Project 365 - Day 65

Saturday morning cartoons at Five and Diner! And a new hat!

Project 365 - Day 64

New paint in the bedroom! Finally! Now we just need a headboard. We're getting there...

AI - Top 20 Results Show

Tonight's Group Song: "I Got a Feelin'" by the Black Eyed Peas.

This is going to be awful. I may not even be able to watch long enough to make fun of their lip synching. Seriously, people! Hold the microphone like you hold it when you are actually singing!

And I can't even talk about the "choreography." Why am I still watching this?

The one great thing about results shows at this point, is that I can basically watch the whole show on fast forward.

My friend Michael is safe. That's all I care about.

First eliminated: John Park

That's a good call. He was awful.

Does anyone else hate the way they make the parents of the eliminated contestants stand on the upstairs balcony and watch their child perform? Or is it just me?

Second eliminated: That Jermaine kid that wears the footie pajamas.

Danny Gokey! I like this song! Go Danny!

Third eliminated: Michelle Delamor

That's a good choice too. She was kind of boring.

And the last elimination of the night is between Lacey and Haeyleyeyey Homemade Headband.

Fourth eliminated: Haeyleyiei-ei-oh Vaughn

I was going to say something about her terrible, terrible extensions, but I wasn't sure they were extensions until the highlight reel they showed of the initial auditions and Hollywood week.

Um, they are extensions. And that is some terrible hair.

Sorry. That was catty. I really do feel sorry for her that she has to sing after crying through that highlight reel.

Yikes. Can't watch this.

What did you think? Did the right people go home? Is anyone out there reading this? :)

Project 365 - Day 63

Yup. I missed a day. March 3. So, I'm going to keep going in numerical order and will add a day on at the end.

This photo was posted on my photography blog. I love it. I'm so glad G-Man shook his hand.

AI - Top 20 Girls Performance Show

We're a day late, but here it is....

• Kara is awkward for me right now. And that ponytail is awful.

Singing: (Again, if I can't stand to listen to them through the end of the song, they get "No Grade" and I boo-doop boo-doop them. Which means I fast forward on the Tivo for those of you that are new around here.)

Crystal Bowersox - Clearly her illness wasn't vocal-related. Great rendition. A-

Haeley Vaughn - Clearly, if you have pitch problems, you should sing a Miley Cyrus song. No Grade.

Lacey Brown - I do not like anything about her voice. That was a pretty good choice, but she's got an awful sense of pitch and she's kind of boring. No Grade. And listening to the judges comments, I have to say if that is her tone they fell in love with, I'm questioning their ears.

Katie Stevens - Her shoes might be the cutest thing I've seen. I really like her. Sad she had that little crack at the end, but I thought it was a good performance and I don't love that song. B

Didi Benami - I like her a lot too. And she's connecting better with the audience instead of standing and singing pretty like last week. B+ Clearly the judges and I don't agree. Wow. It must sound bad in the studio tonight.

Michelle Delamor - If you're going to sing slowly at the beginning of a song, you should sing in tune. No Grade. When Randy compliments your outfit a'la Paula, you should worry.

Lily Scott - Pretty sure you shouldn't sing a song that Adam Lambert sang last season. I don't hate this, though. She sounds a little too much like Duffy and Estelle, but I don't hate it. B+

Katelyn Epperly - I really like listening to her. I'm kind of impressed. A-

Paige Miles - Dear Paige, please don't go Mariah Carey on us when you're that vocally tired. That falsetto run was painful. Sincerely, Macy C.

Siobhan Magnus - Aretha. Brave. And this little Cape Cod girl can SING! Wow. WOW! Holy cow! That ending!! A

P. S. I just read a plot spoiler about Neil Patrick Harris' (NPH) upcoming guest spot on Glee this May. It kind of made my day.

AI - Top 20 Guys Performance Show

• The judges are in a different seating order every week. It bugs. I need them to keep this arrangement. Randy, then the girls, then Simon.
• Dear Kara, the 1980s want that hairstyle back. And I'm annoyed she's acting like Paula.
• I really like Ellen.

Now, some singing:

(I'll be shortening comments and giving each performance a grade. Unless they bore me so much I can't make it past the first 20-30 seconds and I fast forward the performance. In that case, it will say "No Grade.")

Michael Lynche - Some pitch issues at the start, but I really like him. I thought he sang it well and it was a great performance. A-

John Park - I hate his hair. No Grade because I fast forwarded through the performance because I was bored.

Casey James - He's cute, but his guitar intro was too long. Dead eyes. Unnecessary vibrato. And, it isn't Guitar Idol. Though he plays really well. Ellen is right on with the stage presence stuff. C+

Alex Lambert - Ugh! I hate his hair too! I'm having a hard time getting past his hair to like and listen to his voice. More dead eyes. He does have a good voice though, so...B+

Todrick Hall - I think he's the best performer. So creative and I like him a lot, but he does too much with the songs. Boring performance at the beginning. No Grade.

Jermaine Sellers - I think it's weird that he wears a onesie. He needs to go. No Grade.

Andrew Garcia - WHY so many ballads tonight? Did they announce ballad night, and I missed it? This wasn't so good. Dead eyes. So pitchy. No Grade. Couldn't do it. I'm sad, because I really like him a lot.

Aaron Kelly - Pooka shell necklace? Really? He must get beat up at school every day. Okay. I'm glad isn't ballad night. His vibrato is a little machine-gunish, but he's got a good voice. And looks far more comfortable on stage tonight. Last week, he looked like he was going to vomit, so I guess anything is an improvement. B+

Tim Urban - I do not like his hair or his voice. No Grade.

Lee Dewyze - His voice is alright. Still pitchy. I really get annoyed when people can't sing live. Plus, there is a rumor that AI may have auto-tuned his performance last week...Since he looks like he's going to vomit, B-

Michael Lynche. All the way.

Who are you voting for?

Project 365 - Day 62

Date night! Confused as ever, but loving it!

Resolutionary Challenge - Week 8

Sorry the PDF is a bit late. I was waiting to hear on the wild card for this week.

Four more weeks!

Project 365 - Day 61

And so began "Flu Week." I think he was running a 101-degree temp at this point. Poor kid.