American Idol has moved on to the stage where they begin to whittle down the Top 36 into the Top 12. This year, the actual elimination rounds are tougher than ever as idols compete in groups of 12 and only the top male and female vote-winners and the next highest vote-winner move on to the next round. Basically, what that means is 9 people are eliminated just like that. One chance. And what if you end up in a bad heat, so to speak? Where the very best three singers of the whole competition are in your group? Maybe you could have beaten people in the next group of 12, but this week, you're toast. Oh well, no one ever claimed Idol was fair.
This morning I want to talk a little bit about Danny Gokey, one of last night's top 3 moving on to the Top 12 round of the competition up on the big stage. Let me just preface this argument by saying Danny Gokey is extremely talented. There's no doubt the guy can sing.
With that being said, I still wonder if he's as good as the hype. This guy was going to be successful on Idol this year automatically. In fact, I think even if he had missed some words or notes in Tuesday night's performance, he would still be moving on even though singers like Anoop and Ricky were truly just as good.
Danny has two indisputable things going for him at this point.
Number 1. He has gotten an enormous amount of press in the pre-rounds of the competition. He's been featured and re-featured and photographed and held out in front of us like a little puppet. People will vote for him simply because they recognize him as someone they should vote for because the producers have put these subliminal messages into our brains about him. They basically spent weeks advertising him to us.
Number 2. (And this is where people may start hating me) His wife, Sophie, died just four weeks before his initial audition. I mean, the guy's what? 24 years old or something? And everyone watching AI up to this point knows the very sad story about how his wife, the absolute love of his life, died of some disease she'd had since childhood just before he auditioned. His friends convinced him to carry on to the audition, because that's what "Sophie would have wanted." Cry me a fucking river, okay? Yes, I feel bad for the guy. It's not fair for anyone to have their love taken from them so soon and so early in their life. On the other hand, the producers are milking it for all its worth. They have guilted Americans into thinking they pretty much have to vote for the guy because he deserves to go forward. Not simply because he's talented, but because he's been through a lot and needs our help to move on??? There's something wrong with that logic. American Idol is, after all, supposed to be about talent. Not pity.
And talk about being in a bad heat. How is anyone supposed to compete with this guy? I mean, it's a terrible way to say it, but it's almost like in some ways, he was fortunate to lose his wife when he did. It might just mean an American Idol win or at the very least, a recording deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Would he trade all that for a chance to be with his wife again? That's the question: is he real in his sorrow or is it just a game? No one knows that but Danny Gokey.
Danny Gokey, Real or Fake?
Rain
I got up this morning to let my dog out and it's raining. For some reason, I am happy to see the rain pouring down today. According to my little weather channel desktop, it's 90% chance it'll rain for the rest of the day. Sure, it'll be a messy day, but there can be something so cleansing about a day of rain also.
Of course, come 3:30 when I'm trying to get to a voice lesson, I'll probably wish it wasn't raining, but for now, it's comforting somehow. I think I'll probably open a window and work somewhere I can hear it. It's not a thunderstorm or a downpour, just a light rain. Feels like Spring is very near.
Reality TV Heaven
If you love watching Reality TV, then you know that right now, there are so many great shows starting up. Almost every single one of my favorite reality shows is either just starting or will start soon. Survivor started last Thursday and the cast seems to be mostly young and energetic. The Amazing Race just started last night, and even though I haven't actually watched it yet, I did record it and will probably watch it today sometime. American Idol began over a month ago, I think, but this week marks the first real week of America's votes. Up to now, it has just been auditions and Hollywood week episodes. I think there are a lot of really amazing voices in the competition this year, so it should be a good season. I like the new judge, kara, also.
Next week, there is a new season of America's Next Top Model starting. I haven't seen any news yet on whether Tyra Banks is still going to be leading it or not. The rumor last season was that she wouldn't be back. Guess we will find out! The Biggest Loser - another favorite. It's already quite a ways into the season, but there is still a ton to go. THat show makes me cry almost every single episode. It's so inspiring to watch people taking their lives into their own hands and making a difference. I think there is a new Apprentice starting too, which used to be one of my favorites. But it's another Celebrity Apprentice, and I could never really get into those as much. It's just a lot of rich people throwing around their weight and calling in favors, etc. I would much rather watch a group of real, average everyday people trying to get their dream job with The Trump. I probably won't watch that one, but all of the others are already programmed into my DVR. The only problem I'm going to have is finding time to watch it all.
The bad news? If you hate reality TV, you just might be in TV hell...
Survivor Recaps Starting up Again
Today I started posting on my Survivor Recap blog again if anyone is interested in the show. I hope to keep up with at least a short recap of each episode. Go to this link to check out more information on Survivor: Tocantins.
Hello Kitty Online
If you have been following my random blog, you know that I love to play Everquest 2. EQ2 is in MMORPG, which means Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe log in, make characters, and go on quests and adventures to raise their level, get equipment that will help them be stronger and better, and meet new friends. Yes, it is a game, but it's more than just a game. MMO's offer a social aspect to gaming that you can't find on a single-player or even a regular 2-4 multiplayer type game.
One of the latest MMORPG's to go into development is Hello Kitty Online! You make a character and do quests, go on adventures, build your own house, grow a farm, and harvest resources. I have only spent a small time playing it in Beta, but I really enjoyed it. This weekend there is a HKO Founders event (I am a founder) for Valentine's Day, so I am hoping to log in for a little while and check out the changes to the game since I last played. After this weekend, the game will go offline again while they tweak the problems and make the game better.
It's free to play, so if you're interested, check it out at the Hello Kitty Online Homepage. You might just be surprised at how much fun it is! Besides it might be a good way to keep you occupied on an otherwise depressing weekend. Haha!
Yaz and Me
Just about two weeks ago I started taking a new birth control. It's called Yaz. I am not sure when this particular pill came out on the market, but it is definitely one of the newer ones. Its two main claims to fame are 1.) You are only supposed to have a 4 day period due to there being 24 days of regular pills and only 4 placebos or whatever they call it, and 2.) Yaz is the first pill that treats PMDD, which is the crazy emotional rollercoaster some women, like me, go through around that time of the month.
Okay, so those are the main selling points for this particular pill. What is my experience so far? Well, I'm two weeks in and I've pretty much had an upset stomach every day. For me, this is pretty normal the first month or two of birth control pills. I started out taking the pills at lunch, but by the time dinner rolled around, I was sick. I changed the time and have started taking the pill at dinner, so now I think I am mostly sleeping through the sickness in the middle of the night, which is working out well so far.
The second problem? I started my freakin' period. Yes, cramps and all. I have 10 days left of pink pills in this pack, yet I am on my period. This completely sucks. I have heard that sometimes people experience breakthrough bleeding or spotting, but this is neither as far as I can tell. This is just normal, feel like complete shit, period. What I'm wondering now is how long it's going to last, and whether I'll start my period AGAIN in 10 days when the pink pills run out. Hopefully this is just a very temporary problem and next month, my body will have adjusted to the pill and the timing.
Excuses
If you think about it, most of us use some kind of excuse every day. We all make excuses for things we were supposed to do or things we planned to do, but didn't, or excuses to get out of things we just plain don't want to do. We make excuses to get ourselves out of trouble and to justify our laziness or our inability to perform. Sometimes, excuses are just to make us feel better about ourselves. If you can honestly get through a single day without using an excuse, either to someone else or to yourself, then you are a unique individual.
G and I were talking about it last night, and we decided to write a book about excuses and how they sometimes control our lives. It's just a project we will use to give the non-fiction genre / self-help genre a try to see if we are capable of writing a book together that might get published.
As for my own personal journey, I am going to do my best to not use any lame excuses today. :) We'll see how it goes.
