American Idol Season 7 Musings

Ok, you had to expect it. I love American Idol. It's my guilty indulgence. I actually once tried to give it up, like I was some kind of addict, but I failed. I know, weird. It's the whole music thing, even though a lot of times the performances can be quite lackluster or even downright terrible. With that being said, will you indulge me as I sum up a few thoughts from this season?

First off, this has been my favorite season so far. I didn't see the first two seasons because I was on my mission. In fact, my last companion was the one who told me about AI and how I would love it and needed to watch it when I got home, so I had to take her advice. The first couple of seasons I saw I only watched occasionally and never got super, super into it, but I enjoyed it. Once Season 5 hit though, I was hooked. Each season since then I've watched more and more. This season I think I only missed two weeks or so. Maybe that's why I liked it more, but I think it's mostly because I liked so many of the contestants. I loved David Cook since his audition and I was rooting for him (thus, happy with the outcome), but I also liked David Archuleta, Jason Castro, Brooke White, Carly Smithson, Michael Johns and Chikezie. I would possibly buy an album from each of them, although it would still depend on the genre they released.

Of all the seasons I've watched, I think this is the first season I feel America actually got it right. I wasn't a huge fan of Fantasia on season 3. I believe that was the season I was rooting for LaToya (sp?). With season 4 I only remember watching the finals, but I was for Bo all the way. He really did outsing Carrie. That girl was singing flat all over the place. Bo busted out with a completely a'cappella number that was absolutely brilliant and pitch perfect. I don't think Carrie deserved to win, but has since really become a star, of course not taking into account her hideous outfit last night. I was a Chris Daughtry fan for season 5 and thought he deserved the title, but I did like Taylor a lot too. He really is a great performer and has a lot of soul. I also really enjoyed Elliot, although his genre is not typically my type. Season 6 was a bit of a let down for me after season 5. Melinda was certainly the most talented, although again, I wasn't really into her singing style, but I didn't love anyone else that season. In fact, the only other two contestants I remember are Jordin and Blake since they were the finalists. So, as you can see, my picks have never won until this year.

Now, on to a few other observations. I know this has been talked about a lot, so let's talk about it some more, shall we? Simon totally declared David Archuleta the undisputed "knockout" on Tuesday night. Then, last night, he apologized saying it was a little over the top. Um, yeah! I think David A. did do a bit better job, but not by much. David C didn't bust out a "Hello" type of performance, but his performances were awesome too. However, I figure it was all part of the strategy. Let's be honest with ourselves. Do you think Archie or David C would sell more albums? My money's on David Cook. I think Simon wanted him to win because that means $. So, if Simon says David Cook is in trouble on Tuesday, it makes his already rabid fans a bit more rabid about voting to ensure he gets the win. I don't think Simon wanted to miss out on another opportunity like he did with Chris Daughtry, who is outselling anyone else from that season by a mile. However, before the results are in, he has to make sure he doesn't look like a complete jerk and throws in an apology. I do think Simon does sincerely think both are talented and nice, as he said, but he wanted to sign Cook. Simon's a clever business man. He knows how to play the manipulation game. I am not saying this is conspiracy. I want to believe they do actually use the real vote totals, but I think they do try to sway public opinion the way they want things to go. Sounds a bit like politics and the media, eh?

I am really happy Cook won because I think he was the best and most complete performer of the season, not by a mile or anything, but really ready to enter the music industry and take off. I would have been equally happy had it gone the other way though. David Archuleta is super talented and really seems like a great kid. I am glad he was so well-recognized for the being the good and talented person he is. And, as my friend Shannon observed earlier, it would have been nice for an Archuleta win for us Cook fans. Now DC has to record an album with all the AI strings attached, including the horribly cheesy American Idol song, which I perennially dislike. It would have been nice for him to be able to get out from under the Idol machine faster and release his own album, no strings attached. However, it was really touching to see DC's reaction when he got the title. I was a lot more moved than I expected to be about a reality TV competition. Yes, I did shed a couple of tears. How embarrassing to admit that, but hey, why not? You could tell it meant a lot to him to win.

I actually really liked the results show as a whole too. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to, excepting the ridiculous Love Guru part. I never love their show choir numbers, but it was fun to see all the Top 12 again. I really enjoyed Brooke singing with Graham Nash, DC singing with ZZ Top and especially DA singing with One Republic. If David Archuleta released an album of that sort I might consider purchasing it. The highlight for me though was George Michael. How freaking powerful was that performance? It made me think about trying to see his tour. I was totally moved, more so than when Carrie sang it on Idol Gives Back. Although I very much enjoyed her performance too.

That brings me to my final point (if you've born with me this long). One of the things I have liked most about this season is being introduced to a couple of really great songs I hadn't heard before, one being "Praying For Time" by George Michael. I am familiar with a number of GM songs, but I had never heard that one before Carrie sang it, and I just love it. What a beautiful song with powerful words. The other song I didn't know before was "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack. The only other RF song I knew was "Killing Me Softly", which is awesome (although I like the Fugees version best), but this song is just beautiful. I went and found Roberta's original on YouTube and it is really fantastic. I recommend you look for it too if you haven't listened to it before. I really enjoyed DC's version too, of course.

Well, there you have it. I am a very satisfied American Idol fan. I know a lot of people are getting tired of it. There are a lot of little controversial and dumb things about it, and let's face it, it's kind of ridiculous to get so wrapped up in reality TV. Sometimes I think I'll stop watching it when a new season arrives, but I doubt that will really happen. Come January of next year, I'll probably be just as glued as this time around.

Britain's Got Talent, actually no, they have big brother

So, check it: Britain's proposed big brother

I feel like I'm preaching to the choir on this one, but do people honestly think this is a good idea? I can't imagine anyone buying that this will make their country safer. The worst thing about it though, is the number of people saying "I don't do anything wrong. I have nothing to hide. So sure, go ahead and do it." It doesn't matter that you have nothing to hide, the government has no right to do that. Unless you believe that the government has to protect us from ourselves at all cost. Do people not see all the similarities to 1984, A Brave New World, The Giver, and similar sorts of books? Well, guess what? Step by step, it's becoming a reality. This article may be about Britain, but the funny thing is, I don't know that it's any better here in America. That's due in large part to our wonderful government policy to protect us from the "evil" of the world. If anyone feels like having the government track us is a fine idea, I'd like to hear your reasoning before recommending a good mental institution for you.

Social Security

Back by popular demand, more political blogging! So, I read something today that just made me shake my head. I preface this with the recognition that my grandparents have benefited greatly from Social Security. In typical Democrat rhetoric, Obama recently trumped up how Social Security needs help, and the rich are certainly the people to make sure that it happens. While none of this is unusual, I love his statement, he wants to "protect" senior citizens "who have earned the right to retire with dignity." I somehow missed the part of the constitution that guarantees that we can retire with dignity. Since when did retiring become a right?

"A secure retirement is no longer a guarantee for the middle class," he said -- "because Washington is not working to preserve this fundamental part of the American dream." Hold on, you're saying that founding fathers wanted to the people to depend on the government for their livelihood? No, I really doubt that. And the government has the best interest of the American public as their top priority?

He did say something I actually agree with. He said Social Security shouldn't be raided to pay for other stuff. Which comes down to having a responsible government who doesn't just blow all my future earnings today.

A Few Notes

I haven't felt in the blogging mood lately. I've actually thought a couple of dozen times about things I could post, just didn't feel like actually typing it. Wow, sounds like my journal-writing habits! Good thing Brett has been on top of keeping you all updated. What would you're lives be like if you were in the dark about ours!

Tuesday Adie threw up all over the kitchen as I was making dinner, the poor girl. She hadn't gotten sick for a while so I'll count my blessings, but come on, how many strains of flu can the girl get in a 5 month period? She started feeling better the last half of Wednesday so I was thinking it was a just 24-hour kind of thing. Unfortunately, I was incorrect in my assumption.

I started to feel a little off Thursday morning, but chose to ignore it because I had a lot to do. Besides, it was our anniversary (4 years!) and we had big plans for the evening. I wasn't about to let that get ruined. We went out to the Chef's Table (for those of you not familiar, this is fancy schmancy restaurant in Provo) for dinner. The food was excellent, the company even more excellent and the bill was quite high. We really wanted to do this for our anniversary though since we'll be moving our of here fairly soon and we'd never been. By the time dessert came, I was feeling rather stuffed and not so great, but of course, I still had to have a few tastes of our strawberries and amaretto.

Once we got home though, I crashed on the couch not wanting to move, and I barely did for the next three hours. After trying to rest my way back to health, I followed in Adie's footsteps and while in the bathroom I tried not to think about how much money we spent on the food I could not properly digest. Let's just say it will be a memorable anniversary for us. The rest of the night I did not fair much better.

Brett was such a sweetheart though and took the next day off of work and school to take care of Adie so I could rest up and feel better. Little did he know what he was getting himself into. Adie had been seeming just fine, but woke up Friday morning and decided she still wasn't. She presently began her puking fest (sorry, I know it's graphic). I think Brett changed her sheets at least three times. He didn't complain once. He was seriously such a lifesaver for me. I don't know what I would have done, feeling like I did, if I had had to take care of her myself. I am lucky to be married to this wonderful man. He's already proven his love for me time and time again throughout our four years of marriage, but this was just another instance when I could truly think how lucky and blessed I am to be married to him. Marriage is probably an adjustment for everyone, but I am glad it's been a good adjustment for me. I love being married to Brett! (Ok, enough of this cheesy stuff. I don't handle that well, which is probably why it took me fifteen minutes to find a suitable anniversary card for Brett. I really couldn't stomach most of them.)

Friday night I was feeling about 80% better, good enough to make some food for my MLM party the next day at my mom's new house up in SLC. Yes, I hosted a MLM party, and yes, Brett helped me make the food after going grocery shopping for me (more points for Brett!). This was my first time hosting a party of this variety. I don't think it's my thing though. I don't mind going to them every once in a while, especially because I get to hang out with friends, and it was great to see everyone who came (thank you for your support), but I just felt weird about it all. I'll probably never do it again, but I did get some pretty sweet deals on jewelry I really liked, so that was a plus.

Now we arrive at today. I only went to sacrament meeting because I am still skeptical Adie is all better. I haven't seen evidence that her digestive faculties are fully intact. Also, she had a runny nose that thought it was running the Boston Marathon. Every time I looked at her through the entire meeting she needed her nose wiped again. Neither Brett nor I wanted to miss sacrament meeting though because we knew our bishop was getting released and the ward boundaries were changing, so we brought Adie and sat in the back.

I will miss our old bishop. He is a sweet, wonderful man, but it is also really great to get to know new people, and I am sure our new bishop will be just as fantastic in different ways. Change is always so bittersweet though. Brett and I were talking about how it's a little more sad to say goodbye to a bishop in a student ward though because he doesn't actually live in your ward boundaries. In a normal family ward, you still can see your former bishop. He just has a different calling. In the student ward setting, he goes back to his old ward and you only see him occasionally if you're lucky. But, that's the way it works and change gives us opportunities to grow and have new and different experiences, and meet new people. All of those things are good.

The ward boundary changes will be pretty crazy. They were more drastic than those I had heard rumblings about. I think most of us were fairly shocked. At least we're all still neighbors, even if we're not in the same ward, but it won't be the same at activities, enrichment, etc. See my paragraph above to know I am ok with the change. I think things will be a little chaotic though since a lot of people in leadership callings will now be in other wards.

So, this last week or so has been eventful. I am sure you loved my play by play as usual. This is why I don't have the energy sometimes to post. I really stink at being succinct, so the rambling takes a long time to type. I hope you have all had a fabulous week and for those of you who are American Idol fans, enjoy Duel of the Davids, or whatever it is they are calling it!

McDonald's

Today was a special day at McDonald's. You could purchase a medium drink and get one of their new southern style chicken sandwiches for free! So, being a college age male, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for free food. So, we loaded up a car full of my coworkers and headed over to the golden arches. The chicken sandwich was actually somewhat disappointing. The sandwich was simply a bun, a piece of fried chicken, and two slices of pickles. Meat definitely makes the sandwich, but is not the only thing that makes the sandwich good. I would say that they should put on a piece of lettuce and a tomato. Oh, and of course, it was McDonald's, so it was greasy.

Adie, Basketball Superstar

This weekend we visited family, and Adie had the chance to show off some of her mad basketball skills. Here's a couple of pictures of her moves.

Employment part deux

Sabrina and I felt obligated to wait until we had shared our news with our family to announce that we've decided to accept the position with Raytheon and move to Tuscon (or Tucson, or however I want to spell it). We'll be moving whenever I finish my thesis (sometime between August and December, probably October).