B-B-B-B-Bonus!!

Well, we went to sign the lease for the new apartment, and the property manager was there. They were actually just finishing up cleaning up the apartment, so he asked if we wanted to move in that day! Now, we needed a money order for the prorated first month's partial rent, which I had already gotten, and I didn't want to pay extra to move in early, so I said, "Well... I only have the money order for the rent as of Wednesday." He waved me off and said, "I don't care about that." So he changed the move-in date on the lease, added a discount for the time between Saturday and Wednesday, and we got the key! Yay! So there's still a few things, like the move-in checklist, to take care of, but basically, we're in! WOO HOO!

So, we took over our first two carloads of schtuff last night. At my friend Katy's suggestion, I did a little video tour of the place. I'll do another one when we get everything moved in and it looks like an actual apartment. On a side note, upon loading the video to the computer and playing around a little, I found out Windows has a movie editor! So I was actually able to play around a little with the video, as you can see.

Non-Idol Update

Well, today is the first of a few big days. Today, we go to sign the lease for our apartment. We're hoping to get a walk-through, too, but it depends on whether they're done painting or not. The next big day is Wednesday (the 14th). That's our official move-in day, meaning that we get our keys. We won't actually be physically moving in until later. Not sure the exact day. It depends on how our moving goes. We're going to try to get most of the small stuff moved over the first week or so. Then, we have a truck rental booked for the 24th. That's when we'll move the big stuff. We're making decent progress on packing, but we're running out of space to put the boxes we pack!

In some sad news, my brother-in-law's father has recently been diagnosed with cancer. He has gone through a first initial round of chemo and is starting the second, agressive round next week. I believe he is otherwise very healthy (he's a doctor), so I am hoping his body will be strong enough to fight it off and withstand the chemo. Please add him to your list of people to keep in your thoughts and prayers.

Oh, more sad/odd news. Chrissy and I got an email on Thursday at work that our IT director had passed away! No one really knows yet what happened. I think he was in the low 40s and he seemed fairly healthy. I think he was out sick on Wednesday. Right now, it's mostly just rumor and conjecture.

Ok, I know this is supposed to be a non-Idol update, but I need something a little lighter after those last two paragraphs. I'll keep it brief. Sanjay and Haley have no business being in the top 12. Sabrina was robbed. Ok, that's it.

Not sure how frequently I will be able to blog over the next week or two. Not sure when the computer will be packed up at the old place and/or working at the new place. I'll try to keep up some at work. Wish us luck with the move!

The Ladies

Jordin started decent singing Pat Benetar. A few rough spots, but good performance, good energy. Same with Sabrina singing En Vogue. A few spots where her voice was a little screechy, but good overall. Antonella once again just showed how out of her league she is in this competition. Not a very good performance. She's hot and she's got a decent voice, but she's not the next American Idol. Same with Haley. Not bad, but just not in the same league as the other ladies, or even the same league as the better male performers. I kind of felt bad for Haley when Simon said he couldn't remember her name, because I thought to myself "Amy, right?" Bad song choice, too. Also a bad song choice for Stephanie, but a good performance. She needs to watch it, though, with these off-beat choices. She needs to pick more mainstream songs, or she'll lose the audience. Lakisha rocked the house singing Whitney Houston. She's a great performer. Loved the outfit, too. I think Simon's a little sweet on her. :-) Excellent choices for Gina. The outfit was good, performance was good. Evanescence was a great song choice. Gina reminds me a little of Melissa, from last season. She's a little rough, good voice, cute, not good enough to win, but works hard and gets better every week. She should have no problem going to the next round. Melinda had another great week singing W-O-M-A-N. She's getting much more comfortable on stage week after week. I could see the final two being Melinda and Lakisha. They're simply in another league above the other women and most of the men.

I was surprised Simon kinda-almost mentioned the Antonella scandal. For the most part, the entire show has kind of glossed over the whole thing, but he actually mentioned that she had gotten a lot of negative attention in the media. Again, though, I can't really argue with what he said to Antonella or Haley. I just don't think either of them has the chops to compete on the same level as the others. I think they're the ones going home tonight.

Idol

Wow. Another rough night for the guys. Blake started off rough singing 311. Not sure what his problem was. Maybe just an off-night. He'll be fine, though. Sanjaya struggled, as ususal. Sundance struggled through Pearl Jam. It could have been a great song for him, but he just seems to have lost his oomph. Chris R. did ok with Keith Urban. Good song choice for him. Jared had a very schitzo performance singing Stevie Wonder. Parts were great, but parts blew chunks. He needs to stick with the slower, soulful songs. Or as Paula said, "color" his performances. I about died when she told a black guy to put more color in his performance. Brandon definitely did much better than last week, but needs to keep it more contemporary. I didn't think Phil's song choice was that odd, but I did think the fashion choice was. Especially the hat. He did ok, though. Chris S. easily had the best performance of the night. He rocked it. Wasn't sure about the song choice, as I had never heard the song, but he nailed it nonetheless.

My prediction for tomorrow night, Sanjaya & Sundance are going home. Phil is in danger, but I think he'll make it one more week.

Surprised, but not Shocked

Well, I was right about Alaina. She was irritating me last night. I was glad she went. I was surprised at the other eliminations, but not shocked. I didn't think any of them would be in the top 5 or anything, but I definitely thought they'd make it one more week. My picks for the top 5 are Chris Sligh, BBB, Melinda, Lakisha and Stephanie.

I didn't care for Kellie Pickler's new look. Liked the singing, but didn't like the glam-whore look. Too Hollywood. Lost her small-town that was her appeal, and so the ditziness came off as an act. She definitely had a boob job. It also looked like she had something done on her face. Maybe around the bridge of the nose area.

Another Tough Night

This time, it was the ladies who struggled. The guys definitely did better this week. Gina started of singing Heart. Struggled at spots, but brought it together, did well. I didn't have any "confusion" over her identity, or whatever Simon was trying to say. I think Alaina was trying to make a statement to the judge's with her song choice, but it just came across as lacking. Try as she might, I just don't think she has the vocals to make it to the top. Lakisha, on the other hand looked and sounded great singing Gladys Knight! I did think the skirt was a little short, but I think she's lost a bit of weight since the auditions and she's probably dressing and performing with a little more confidence after Hollywood Week and the 1st week of finals. Melinda also wowed the judges with her performance of My Funny Valentine. I think she's head and shoulders above what she thinks she is and is starting to show a little more confidence. She needs to keep that up. I wish she would cut back a little on the vibrato, though. That's just my personal preference. Antonella did tons better than last week, no doubt, but still struggled singing Celine Dion. I think with the level of competition this year, she is simply outclassed (in more ways than one). Jordin didn't have her best performance of her run or of the night, and it's always tough for them when they choose Christina Aguilera songs, but I think her worst performance will still be better than Antonella's best. She's just got a naturally better voice. Stephanie sang what I guess was a Beyonce song, but it wasn't one that I knew and it reminded me of Nicole's performance last week. The difference was, even though it sounded at times like the band was playing music for a different song that what she was singing, Stephanie sounded like she nailed the vocals. Didn't like the song choice, but liked Stephanie. Leslie, on the other hand, still seems a bit awkward in this competition. She did much better than last week, and did well with the vocals, but didn't care much for the performance, the song (Nina Simone), or her outfit. I think she did well enough to go on one more week, though. Haley also did much better than last week, singing Whitney, but has the same problem vocally that Antonella does. She just doesn't have the pipes to make it to the end. Sabrina may not make it to the end either, and struggled a bit this week, but still has more talent in her hair than Alaina has in her whole body.

Overall, the guys ruled this week. The girls who struggled last week stepped up this week, but in the end, they just won't be able to keep up with the A-List. I think Alaina and Antonella will go home tonight.

Tough Night

Man, the guys really stepped it up this week. Everyone performed much better than they did last week. It's a tough call to say who's going to leave. Phil started with some John Waite. He did alright. Not great, but good. Not sure if I liked the song choice for him. I wouldn't be shocked to see him go this week, but I think he did well enough to go one more week. Jared rocked the house singing Marvin Gaye. Though I thought it was a little odd that he dedicated "Let's Get It On" to his parents. AJ did well with Feeling Good, but it's always tougher when it's not a real mainstream song. I actually disagreed with the judges on Sanjaya. Though at first, I thought the outfit was a bit odd and the song was too old school, he really pulled it off. I liked it. Chris did well with Trouble, but again, not a very mainstream song. I think he can do much better. (Side note - his wife was NOT what I expected. Hottie!). Nick did well with Fever - good choice of song for his style of voice. Blake had the best performance of the night! Excellent song choice for him. Loved the beat box and scat thrown in the middle. Very smooth transition, good arrangement. I agreed with Randy & Simon on Brandon, though. Boring. I also didn't like how he interrupted Randy to try to make excuses for why his performance wasn't up to par. At least, that's what it felt like. It's a shame, too, because I liked Brandon. If he does lose tomorrow night, it just goes to show that you got to bring your "A" game every week and do better than the previous week. I didn't know the song that Chris sang and didn't care for it, either. It reminded me of the Chaka Khan song that Nicole got booted for last week. Very odd choice and strange performance. Don't know why the judges were all up his butt. Sundance blew UP with Mustang Sally. That performance showed exactly why he was put through to Hollywood. Great performance!

Overall, I thought performances were good. Simon had a pole up his butt the whole night, though. He gets like that sometimes and no matter how well contestants do on those nights, they can't please him. I think Phil & AJ are on the cusp, but I think it will be Sanjaya and Brandon going home tomorrow night.

Wonder what will happen tonight. I noticed Antonella was still in the front row with the ladies. If she doesn't get booted by the show, I could actually see the whole "incident" working in her favor. The teenage boys could actually step up the voting to keep her in! We shall see...

Oscar Night

A few thoughts from last night's Acadamy Awards show:

1. I don't know if anyone actually likes the various musical performances and comedy sketches during various awards shows. Other than late night talk show hosts. It gives them something to make fun of. They should eliminate the extraneous and stick to the awards.
2. Ellen did a great job hosting. She was funny. She engaged the audience. She wasn't mean to anyone. She kept things moving. Excellent job. Hope she'll be back.
3. What the F- were those tumbling silhouette guys? Could have done without them.
4. Fashions were good overall. Reese Witherspoon looked fantastic. Abigail Breslin and Jaden Smith were adorable! Helen Mirren was gorgeous. Philip Seymour Hoffman needed to comb his hair, while Jack Nicholson looked odd without his. I'm guessing it has to do with the movie he's currently filming. No Bjork "what-the-hell-was-that??!?" moments. At least none that I remember or saw.
5. Was surprised, that Eddie Murphy didn't win Best Supporting, but that's fine. I like Alan Arkin. No one was surprised Helen Mirren won for Best Actress. I think I was the only one who was surprised Forest Whitaker won Best Actor. I thought for sure they'd give it to Peter O'Toole. Not necessarily because he deserved it more, but as sort of a cumulative Oscar for all the times he should have won, but didn't. Kind of like when Paul Newman won for The Color of Money. Especially since, if memory serves, a few years ago, they tried to give O'Toole an honorary Oscar, which almost refused saying that he still had time to win one on his own.
6. Good for Martin Scorsese! The Departed kicked ass! Though I'm still not sure why Mark Wahlberg got the Best Supporting nod, and not Matt Damon. I just re-watched the movie when I got the DVD, and the story is absolutely about the parallels of Leo & Matt's characters. Wahlberg didn't really do much, except act like a jerk. Damon had a much bigger part, more integral to the story, more nuanced/subtle, and played it better. Whatever. Guess I'm still sore from Hugh Laurie winning the Emmy and SAG awards over Michael C. Hall. Dex wuz robbed!
7. Next year, they should start earlier, cut the skits/interludes, and wrap it up on time.

New Idol Polls

If only I could figure out how to put these side by side...

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WTF?

Ok, the first eliminations (Paul and Amy), I did not predict, but did not shock me. The second eliminations, if you notice, each contained both of my predicted evictees. :-) The real shocker, though, came in the last 3 minutes of the show. When it was down to Rudy or Sanjaya for the second elimination, Ryan said one of them was eliminated, the other was in the top 4 for the guys. I'm not surprised Rudy was eliminated, but there is no friggin' way Sanjaya was in the top 4! That was just ridiculous! Even if you take the teenybopper vote into account, there's just no way. He was not good enough. The only way I figure it made sense, and I hate to say this, but just about every Indian person in America (and possibly elsewhere) must have voted for him, just because he's Indian. I could have accepted it if he was next to last or something like that. But to put him even in the top half of even just the guys? No way. There is some other force at work. It could be the same sort of group that was coordinating last year to keep the wife-beater (don't remember his name) in the finals, but I haven't heard any rumors. Usually when something like that takes place, you hear something about it...