Posts about life, tech, TV, photos, internet video, etc.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Quickly: New Additions

Some new "parts" of the blog I wanted to point out. First, the sidebar. I have done a little reorganization and have decided to make a valiant attempt to centralize everything here. The original centralization effort was focused on my page on Google Pages, but considering that that is somewhat more difficult to update than Blogger, I have focused on this instead. Also, Blogger's ability to add feeds to the sidebar makes it extremely easy for things to auto-update. So, now there is a sidebar section for my photo albums which will always list my latest uploads to Picasa Web whether I remember to update Blogger or not (nice!). I also have my Tumblr feed in the sidebar so you can see my latest tumblelog posts. All posts here also get imported into Tumblr. Finally I have added a widget that gives my status in Twitter.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Bent Rim = Flat Tire

What luck I've been having. The check engine light is still on and now I have a flat.


Thursday, March 01, 2007

American Idol Reaction

Yeah, I'm that...well, whatever word you want to use. Anyway, I think I can sum up tonight's eliminations with one thought: Antonella and Sanjaya need to go home. Now. I can't believe that either of them is still around. Antonella seems to be the most blatantly artificial contestant on the show this year. She is a weak singer yet always manages to act superior. She is the exact opposite of the awesome Melinda Doolittle, who is my current favorite. And poor Sanjaya...he's an okay singer, I guess, but he just seems so awkward. And what was with the whispering thing on Tuesday? I could barely hear the guy. With that said, I'm sad to see Nick and Leslie go. I think they both had something unique to bring to the competition and I vastly prefer them to Antonella and Sanjaya. You know what? Maybe people just like their goofy names...

And while I'm on the topic, here's my top three of the final ten guys and girls. Note that they are unranked.

Top Three Guys:

  • Blake Lewis - Blake would be a unique choice. Not the strongest singer by far, Blake can throw down the beat-boxing, which is pretty cool all by itself. Also, Blake seems to somehow exude cool without it seeming at all forced or awkward. A definite plus.
  • Chris Richardson - A safer choice than Blake because I think he might have more mainstream appeal due to his strengths in hip-hop and R&B music. But, unlike Blake, sometimes his "cool" can seem just a bit forced. But, he's definitely better at it than Elliott Yamin who always managed to look awkward.
  • Phil Stacey - The safest choice of the guys by far. He has a strong voice and wide appeal because he seems so...normal. His military background is especially poignant at a time of war. So, in essence, what Simon calls "boring" I call "moldable." That's right, Phil can become whatever the record label wants him to be.
Top Three Girls:
  • Melinda Doolittle - Let's be honest: this girl can blow. I've already admitted that I think she's the frontrunner, or at least has a very very good chance to win. Simon is absolutely right about her in that her attitude is so refreshing. She is so unpretentious that's she's almost meek. The other girls probably run all over her...until she opens her mouth.
  • Lakisha Jones - She's the new Mandisa, and while I liked Mandisa, I like Lakisha even better. Maybe it's because she isn't lugging all that "gospel choir" baggage around with her. Or maybe she is and we just don't know about it yet. Time will tell, but for now she has an awesome voice.
  • Gina Glocksen - The dark horse front runner. I'm not sure what draws me to Gina. It may be her alliterative name, the fact that she's a local girl (from Naperville, IL), I'm not sure. But I think she has a big voice and a different style about her that is refreshing. She's also not pretentious either - she seems pretty confident about herself and her abilities but not overly so.
What do you think? Leave a comment if you disagree with my selections!