oh man, i SO cannot wait for this!
HAHAHA! that's at least one thing i can get super excited about, since idol's just not doing it for me this year. i mean, "the rat pack?" what a crap theme. geez, it's no wonder i'm not crazy about this season of idol. fantastically crappy theme weeks, dull as doornails contestants (even the good ones), producers who can't get the show to end on time without cutting out segments, and three useless judges (and one who has to spend his time trying to explain his co-judges). lookit, it's already down to the top 5 and i don't even bother to post before the results show. bleh, i guess this is how most people watch idol though right? casually and not like a creep posting a comment about it every minute?
now i'm not a total hater, i think i just see the show from a wider perspective. i'm not totally on the "vote for the worst" bandwagon (by the way, that site is now my #1 for getting idol news, haha, for people trying to create absolute chaos on the show, they're very good about keeping up with idol news, even from former contestants!). or maybe it's just because i don't have a real strong favorite this year like i usually do. anyway, here's goes the comments:
1. kris allen - still my top pick. i hated the arrangement, it sounded awful when he went from slow to fast back to slow again, it sounded really off. but he sang the song well, for about the millionth time on idol. i mean, i gotta search for the good stuff in it though y'know? it's nothing that really grabs you, so that makes it kinda boring, but i still like him so... VOTE.
2. allison iraheta - i thought this was a great vocal for her. i thought the whole thing was a step too slow, like there was too much break between lines, but she showed a lot of vocal talent with this song. still, i completely agree with simon about how both allison and kris approached this week... they're not gonna make people stand up and notice them, but people who are already looking at them will be pleased... and i'm one of the latter, so... VOTE.
3. matt giraud - wow, he looks like such a dope (jamie foxx also looks like a dope, but that's a different story). great song, but he sounded kinda funky... like he was twisting some of the words around weirdly, like he was actually trying to be one of those old rat pack guys. anyway, you can totally tell now that he don't got the vocal skill to compare with the other top 4 so he can go home now... NO VOTE.
4. danny gokey - doesn't danny seem like kind of a douche? i'm not quite sure why, but i just think if i actually met him and hung around for awhile he might be a douchebag. anyway, the first part of the song was crapville, but the second was pretty great i gotta say, although a bit taylor hicks-like... still, he's not my fave... NO VOTE!
5. adam lambert - geez, what else do i gotta say about this guy? ugh. first of all, can we quit it with the man-cleavage already? i mean, a v-neck is one thing, but he's wearing like my aunty's old teacher crazy shirts with the good-luck cat kinda necks over there exposing way too much. barf. so would you really want to hear this song on the radio? i think not... really if this guy auditioned two/three years ago, they wouldn't have even put him past the first round, simon would call him "cabaret" and that'd be the end of it. i mean, i guess it's good that the show can change as opinions change (not my opinion, but obviously someone's opinion), but "oh the hypocracy," right? NO VOTE!
ps - paula absolutely had someone write her some lines before the show... and then she memorized them! wow! good job paula!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
#241 - phew
wow i was so worried allison was gonna be out, but i'm good with lil and anoop going home (although they both sounded pretty darn good during their final songs right?). just a quick thought though, could archuleta have picked a lamer/crappier/sappier song than "touch my hand?" barf. out of his whole cd i'd say that is my most hated song. man, do they purposely tell these past idol contestants to sing crappily whenever they come back? even david cook the other week sounded pretty bad. the only two contestants that ever came back and actually made me think "wow, now that's an american idol success story" was kelly clarkson (the first time when she sang "miss independent" and the second time during idol gives back one year when she sang "up to the mountain" with an already overstressed voice) and carrie underwood (ANYTIME she comes back). everyone besides those two come back and they either look too tired/stressed out, too fat, too skinny, or too horrifically magnificent (re: red-haired fantasia booty dancing... ewww.... bad memories).
okay, that's all i have to say about that.
okay, that's all i have to say about that.
#240 - think like a geek... i do
seriously, i can't get enough of this website. every once in awhile they send out a email of new products, and if the products themselves aren't spectacular, the little write-ups that come along with each item are little gems of fantastically geeky writing, i love it. anyway, a few weeks ago i was marvelling at this new item (and was even going to write a post about how awesome it was), until later on in the paper i read about the tauntaun sleeping bag and how so many people feel for the april fool's joke and actually ORDERED it that the good people at thinkgeek.com are actually going to try and make a reality!
so hilarious, if you wanna see all the other april fool's day items they've suckered people into buying just click here!
in case you don't want to do that (lazy), here are my top picks:
- USB george forman igrill
- shrinter
- personal soundtrack shirt, this one was so popular they turned it into a real thing!
- defendius labyrinth security lock
this is how i amuse myself...
so hilarious, if you wanna see all the other april fool's day items they've suckered people into buying just click here!
in case you don't want to do that (lazy), here are my top picks:
- USB george forman igrill
- shrinter
- personal soundtrack shirt, this one was so popular they turned it into a real thing!
- defendius labyrinth security lock
this is how i amuse myself...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
#239 - disco week
quick post again because i want some sleep!
1. lil rounds - EPIC FAIL! wow, okay so by now i expected the most generic song from her, but man she sounded awful! so i guess she stopped trying huh? i might too after all the crap the judges have been throwing at her, it was their own fault, they hyped her up so much and THAT was the mistake. ouch though, kara's "i'm not sure it was worth the wait" was kinda harsh. poor lil, let's all face it already, she just never really was that great (i thought so from the beginning, by the way). NO VOTE!
2. kris allen - man he picks some crappy songs, i mean, songs that i really really hate! which makes it hard for me to keep him as my front-runner, but i still like his style. aw damn it... i liked it. but see i still wouldn't buy it because i still don't like the song, i just like the way he performed it. can't you see it as a jason mraz-y coffeehouse acoustic performance? especially with the bongo drums and all and his voice is pretty smooth. oh man, i love simon's faces to paula's comments, and thank you to the producers for panning out when paula speaks so we can see simon's faces ('cause he's been doing it the whole season, we just didn't get to see it before). okay, he can stay as my top pick still... VOTE!
3. danny gokey - of course he would sing "september." bore me to death. of course, his voice sounds fine and that saves the song, but how vanilla. NO VOTE.
ps - kara needs to reach over and slap randy each and every single time he starts off with "dog, when i heard you picked [insert song title] this week i was like, i don't know dog, but you worked it out"
pps - why doesn't simon ever start off the judges' comment rotation? i mean, i don't blame him, he's in the pimp seat, milk it.
ppps - okay the producers need to slap paula whenever she starts predicting finals (especially more than a month until the final)
4. allison iraheta - sweet, this is the performance i've been waiting for from allison. i think her look is hideous (she totally looks exactly like miss piggy tonight), but her voice is rockin' (i apologize for the use of the word "rockin'"). VOTE!
5. adam lambert - okay, see, at the start he's singing like a normal person, and it sounds good. and then when he hits the chorus he starts doing the whiny/pained/girly voice, which sucks. wtf is up with paula, just put her out of her misery already. overall, i didn't think it was anything worth mentioning. NO VOTE!
6. matt giraud - ouch. man, he needs to stay away from those high notes that he can't hit. well, i guess this was kinda like his fun encore performance after being saved last week huh? well, i don't think he'll last one more week... NO VOTE!
7. anoop desai - what a sap-fest. anoop looks like he's gonna try and sell me a used mercedes. still, he sounded very good tonight (except for the last note), much better than in the past weeks, but still such a lame-ass performances, but i think he's got a big fan-base, so he might just edge ahead of lil and matt, hmm.... NO VOTE.
so, the verdict: lil rounds and matt giraud going home, anoop hanging on because his fans will only hear the good parts of his performance.
and my top 3: kris holds onto the top spot he held for the whole year, but allison is moving up to 2, and gokey to 3... but i still gotta say a kris vs. adam lambert (even though i don't like him and would never buy his music) finale would be the best way to go.
but we'll see... also, archuleta on the show tomorrow, ha, i still like that kid.
1. lil rounds - EPIC FAIL! wow, okay so by now i expected the most generic song from her, but man she sounded awful! so i guess she stopped trying huh? i might too after all the crap the judges have been throwing at her, it was their own fault, they hyped her up so much and THAT was the mistake. ouch though, kara's "i'm not sure it was worth the wait" was kinda harsh. poor lil, let's all face it already, she just never really was that great (i thought so from the beginning, by the way). NO VOTE!
2. kris allen - man he picks some crappy songs, i mean, songs that i really really hate! which makes it hard for me to keep him as my front-runner, but i still like his style. aw damn it... i liked it. but see i still wouldn't buy it because i still don't like the song, i just like the way he performed it. can't you see it as a jason mraz-y coffeehouse acoustic performance? especially with the bongo drums and all and his voice is pretty smooth. oh man, i love simon's faces to paula's comments, and thank you to the producers for panning out when paula speaks so we can see simon's faces ('cause he's been doing it the whole season, we just didn't get to see it before). okay, he can stay as my top pick still... VOTE!
3. danny gokey - of course he would sing "september." bore me to death. of course, his voice sounds fine and that saves the song, but how vanilla. NO VOTE.
ps - kara needs to reach over and slap randy each and every single time he starts off with "dog, when i heard you picked [insert song title] this week i was like, i don't know dog, but you worked it out"
pps - why doesn't simon ever start off the judges' comment rotation? i mean, i don't blame him, he's in the pimp seat, milk it.
ppps - okay the producers need to slap paula whenever she starts predicting finals (especially more than a month until the final)
4. allison iraheta - sweet, this is the performance i've been waiting for from allison. i think her look is hideous (she totally looks exactly like miss piggy tonight), but her voice is rockin' (i apologize for the use of the word "rockin'"). VOTE!
5. adam lambert - okay, see, at the start he's singing like a normal person, and it sounds good. and then when he hits the chorus he starts doing the whiny/pained/girly voice, which sucks. wtf is up with paula, just put her out of her misery already. overall, i didn't think it was anything worth mentioning. NO VOTE!
6. matt giraud - ouch. man, he needs to stay away from those high notes that he can't hit. well, i guess this was kinda like his fun encore performance after being saved last week huh? well, i don't think he'll last one more week... NO VOTE!
7. anoop desai - what a sap-fest. anoop looks like he's gonna try and sell me a used mercedes. still, he sounded very good tonight (except for the last note), much better than in the past weeks, but still such a lame-ass performances, but i think he's got a big fan-base, so he might just edge ahead of lil and matt, hmm.... NO VOTE.
so, the verdict: lil rounds and matt giraud going home, anoop hanging on because his fans will only hear the good parts of his performance.
and my top 3: kris holds onto the top spot he held for the whole year, but allison is moving up to 2, and gokey to 3... but i still gotta say a kris vs. adam lambert (even though i don't like him and would never buy his music) finale would be the best way to go.
but we'll see... also, archuleta on the show tomorrow, ha, i still like that kid.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
#238 - completionist
argh! this is just a rant... because i've realized that i'm a completionist. well, i always new that, i just never labeled myself as such. i have a very hard time leaving things unfinished. it's a bit of my OCD coming out, but at the end of the day i like everything to be in it's place (or, if it's not in it's place, at least have a good reason for being wherever it is). like at work, i leave everyday with everything cleared off my desk. the only reason why something might be left out is if i need it right away the next morning or if it's in a categorical place (like the "pending evals" box or "just waiting for the next meeting" box). at home i'm a little less OCD, but i do like to keep a clean house, with not a lot of things out all over the place, it clears the mind y'know?
anyway, so in the same manner that i keep my desk and house clear of extra stuff, i do the same thing in my head with things that i have to do or appointments i have to keep, etc. except in my second year of grad school i started to notice that i had a much harder time keeping things straight and i'd forget things. i like to use this little example... when i used to set the dinner table when i was a kid, i planned out (not in advance, but on the fly) what dishes i'd take in each trip (both to and from the dinner table) in order to make the least amount of trips possible (and therefore be the most efficient). however, at that time i started to notice that i would have to go back for things, like i'd forget a folder in a different clinic room or i'd have to make two trips to the store room to get my materials. at first i thought it was because one day i went surfing and wiped out and my longboard came down on my head (later on i went to get x-rays 'cause my sinuses were swelling and it was the first time i'd ever gone to the doctor for some kind of trauma, i was kinda proud) so i thought that i'd given myself a mini-tbi (i mean, i was studying all about traumatic brain injury so i had that on my mind all day). but eventually i realized that it's all just a part of growing older, i guess.
anyway, so as my short-term memory (and manipulation skills) have been slowly fading (i've also been trying to combat that with crossword puzzles and brain age, ha), i've become a little more reliant on my OCD tendencies toward completionism. one of the reasons why i don't read a lot of books is because i can't read a chapter, then put it down for a few days and read another chapter later. even if i'm just mildly interested in a book, i've gotta read until it's finished, that's when i feel comforted. i'm uncomfortable when my inbox has, not only unread mail, but unresponded to mail, or even mail period! i like to go through it all and respond and delete accordingly until it's completed. when my dvr still has recordings from a week ago all i can think about is watching and getting through the other programs so it can be blank again.
this is unhealthy yes? i mean, it's not a total compulsion (as i'm making it sound like one), but it does make me feel much much more relaxed when there are no loose ends to think about, it takes up brain space, like background programs running on the computer. and it's what robs me of sleep because i stay up doing things like deleting mail and writing posts like this until everything on my mental "to-do" list is complete.
argh. it's frustrating.
anyway, so in the same manner that i keep my desk and house clear of extra stuff, i do the same thing in my head with things that i have to do or appointments i have to keep, etc. except in my second year of grad school i started to notice that i had a much harder time keeping things straight and i'd forget things. i like to use this little example... when i used to set the dinner table when i was a kid, i planned out (not in advance, but on the fly) what dishes i'd take in each trip (both to and from the dinner table) in order to make the least amount of trips possible (and therefore be the most efficient). however, at that time i started to notice that i would have to go back for things, like i'd forget a folder in a different clinic room or i'd have to make two trips to the store room to get my materials. at first i thought it was because one day i went surfing and wiped out and my longboard came down on my head (later on i went to get x-rays 'cause my sinuses were swelling and it was the first time i'd ever gone to the doctor for some kind of trauma, i was kinda proud) so i thought that i'd given myself a mini-tbi (i mean, i was studying all about traumatic brain injury so i had that on my mind all day). but eventually i realized that it's all just a part of growing older, i guess.
anyway, so as my short-term memory (and manipulation skills) have been slowly fading (i've also been trying to combat that with crossword puzzles and brain age, ha), i've become a little more reliant on my OCD tendencies toward completionism. one of the reasons why i don't read a lot of books is because i can't read a chapter, then put it down for a few days and read another chapter later. even if i'm just mildly interested in a book, i've gotta read until it's finished, that's when i feel comforted. i'm uncomfortable when my inbox has, not only unread mail, but unresponded to mail, or even mail period! i like to go through it all and respond and delete accordingly until it's completed. when my dvr still has recordings from a week ago all i can think about is watching and getting through the other programs so it can be blank again.
this is unhealthy yes? i mean, it's not a total compulsion (as i'm making it sound like one), but it does make me feel much much more relaxed when there are no loose ends to think about, it takes up brain space, like background programs running on the computer. and it's what robs me of sleep because i stay up doing things like deleting mail and writing posts like this until everything on my mental "to-do" list is complete.
argh. it's frustrating.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
#237 - the save
first of all, let me say how shocked i am that kris allen has not been in the bottom 3 yet... could he be the fan's 3rd favorite (after gokey and adam)? i mean, i'm rooting for him, but i didn't think he had a big fan base.
and now... the save. so anoop, lil rounds, and matt giraud in the bottom 3. absolutely right on. anoop is safe? okay, fine, this adds a bit of drama (because really i think it was his time to go). so between lil rounds and matt giraud, i had a feeling that if lil was out they'd let her go (which leaves only one week left to use the save, and if anoop would've been out next week then they wouldn't use the save on him and then the save would go unused in it's first season). but the judges have been singing matt giraud's praises even during some crappy vocal performances so i had an inkling that they'd save him, which would make things very interesting. so, what did i really think about the save? let's go over this:
PROS:
- gotta use it sometime, it would've been pretty stupid if it never got used this season, and there's only one week left to use it, so why not keep the drama going
- i kinda like matt giraud, i liken him to elliot yamin in season 5, kinda cool in parts but at the end of the day he just don't got the stuff to be at the top
- keeps the drama alive for sure
CONS:
- really, he was never gonna win this competition anyway, if not this week or the next, he would've flubbed up and been gone
- next week is disco, are the judges gonna be kicking themselves if one of the real front-runners has an EPIC FAIL during a theme week that is know for epic failures?
- really... no one voted matt giraud in. he didn't make it the first time around, then the judges brought him back in the wild card show and they're the ones that put him through. he's also been in the bottom 3 a few times before, so who's really keeping him in?
all in all i'm gonna say i like the decision. definately keeps thing interesting, and let's see the idol producers get another shot at having a show with 7 contestants NOT run 4 minutes overtime (and please let all 4 judges speak, otherwise just cut right to simon). but, next year i definately think they should insert a commercial break after the "sing for your life" and the judges' decision, it's horrible when the contestant is giving it their all for the final sing and randy and simon have their back turned and kara and paula are standing and dancing like idiots. let them actually LISTEN to the performance, have a commercial break during which to discuss it, and then come back with their decision.
okay, but this makes next week's show good, two people leaving, disco night, ouch. can't wait.
and now... the save. so anoop, lil rounds, and matt giraud in the bottom 3. absolutely right on. anoop is safe? okay, fine, this adds a bit of drama (because really i think it was his time to go). so between lil rounds and matt giraud, i had a feeling that if lil was out they'd let her go (which leaves only one week left to use the save, and if anoop would've been out next week then they wouldn't use the save on him and then the save would go unused in it's first season). but the judges have been singing matt giraud's praises even during some crappy vocal performances so i had an inkling that they'd save him, which would make things very interesting. so, what did i really think about the save? let's go over this:
PROS:
- gotta use it sometime, it would've been pretty stupid if it never got used this season, and there's only one week left to use it, so why not keep the drama going
- i kinda like matt giraud, i liken him to elliot yamin in season 5, kinda cool in parts but at the end of the day he just don't got the stuff to be at the top
- keeps the drama alive for sure
CONS:
- really, he was never gonna win this competition anyway, if not this week or the next, he would've flubbed up and been gone
- next week is disco, are the judges gonna be kicking themselves if one of the real front-runners has an EPIC FAIL during a theme week that is know for epic failures?
- really... no one voted matt giraud in. he didn't make it the first time around, then the judges brought him back in the wild card show and they're the ones that put him through. he's also been in the bottom 3 a few times before, so who's really keeping him in?
all in all i'm gonna say i like the decision. definately keeps thing interesting, and let's see the idol producers get another shot at having a show with 7 contestants NOT run 4 minutes overtime (and please let all 4 judges speak, otherwise just cut right to simon). but, next year i definately think they should insert a commercial break after the "sing for your life" and the judges' decision, it's horrible when the contestant is giving it their all for the final sing and randy and simon have their back turned and kara and paula are standing and dancing like idiots. let them actually LISTEN to the performance, have a commercial break during which to discuss it, and then come back with their decision.
okay, but this makes next week's show good, two people leaving, disco night, ouch. can't wait.
#236 - rest and sleep, not the same
lately i haven't been sleeping well. more than "lately," i think, but i can't really remember when it started. part of it is because i've been busy, lots of things to fit into the day that some sleep gets sacrificed, but apart from that i've had a hard time staying asleep through the whole night and hardly ever wake up feeling "refreshed." granted, i think much of that can be due to my bedtime (consistently an hour later than i'd like each night), i average only about 7 hours of sleep a night instead of 8. but the frustrating thing is even when i do get to bed by 10:30 (so that i get a full 8 hours), i still wake up in the middle of the night and don't get the rest i need.
last week, for three consecutive nights i woke up literally dripping with sweat, it was so gross and weird. like, usually i wake up just to pee or i roll around and go right back to sleep, but i actually had to get out of bed to towel off because i was soaked. it was so strange. and one of those nights i got up a total of FOUR times in that way. it wasn't super hot or anything, and i didn't have a fever. once i thought that maybe it was because i was running out of oxygen in my bedroom so i opened up the window to let air in so i wouldn't suffocate in my sleep... but that can't happen right? i wonder about that, i mean, my window is pretty darn soundproof so that means it's not letting a lot of air in right? but then my bedroom door is open so that would give me enough air to breathe right? hmm... i wonder about that still.
anyway, so the point of all of this is that i'm not feeling rested, even when i do get some sleep. so i've been taking a break. a break from going to the gym. a break from my schedule of free time activities and letting myself couch potato it a little bit. not too much, because i've still got volleyball and tennis and all that, but i'm allowing myself to veg out a bit, like coming home right after work and couching it for awhile, then cooking dinner at home and staying in for the night. i think it's working... i feel like i've gotten myself to a good fitness level with all the weight training and yoga and whatever else i've been consistent with for the past few years and i can allow myself a little "off-season." and i think that's what this is, an "off-season."
if i can indulge for a little bit... if i wasn't me, meaning, if i was 17 again and went on mtv's MADE... i would really like to be made into a pro athelete. that life seems so simple. you do what you're body's meant to do, you train so that you can perform your best, and you get paid for it. but i'm not really that competitive, so maybe "pro" is taking it too far. okay, let's say there was an adult fantasy camp (like those rock star camps or basketball camps), i'd go to tennis fantasy camp and train to be a pro tennis player (or a volleyball camp, but realistically speaking, my height would not allow that, damn shortness). anyway, so when tennis players are on tour they've got a hectic schedule, gotta play matches, do publicity, practice for matches and all that. and what the tennis pro organizations have been complaining about is the lack of off-season. every sport gets an off-season, but for pro tennis the off-season is like only 6 weeks around december. that leaves them very little time for serious fitness training and game-tweaking (it's so hard to do those things in the middle of the tour when the pressure is on to perform every week). so one thing they did this year is they revamped both men's and women's calendars so that there's a longer off-season. i think it's a great thing. not only will it give players rest (especially since they're traveling all year, they can finally stay at home for more than a week), but it will give them time to train, fix parts of their game, and work on new strategies, etc. i think it'll raise the level of everyone's game.
anyway, relating back to my life, so i think i'm kind of at that point where i'm needing an off-season. not an "inactive" period because i've still got volleyball games to play and tennis matches, but right now i can't over-extend myself (maybe that's how i got shingles). instead, i'll do the things i love doing now and if i'm not feeling quite up to it i'll skip the workouts and save them for my "off-season." after all, in order to get the best of your exercise you need rest and recovery (and food) as well right? so today i'm skipping my weight training session and i'm gonna read a book, eat dinner at the parents', watch idol results and go to bed early. tomorrow is volleyball (so i'm gonna have to skip yoga anyway) so i'll just do that, go to bed early, and then maybe by then i'll be rested up enough to get back to the gym on friday. until then, rest and recovery!
ps - i was reading some article that talked about some researcher who created a scale to rate the bizarre-ness of his dreams. then he charted his ratings over a period of like, years, and found that his most bizarre dreams came around the time of the new moon (and not the full moon, as you might guess). weird huh? man i've been having way bizarre dreams, i should chart them too...
last week, for three consecutive nights i woke up literally dripping with sweat, it was so gross and weird. like, usually i wake up just to pee or i roll around and go right back to sleep, but i actually had to get out of bed to towel off because i was soaked. it was so strange. and one of those nights i got up a total of FOUR times in that way. it wasn't super hot or anything, and i didn't have a fever. once i thought that maybe it was because i was running out of oxygen in my bedroom so i opened up the window to let air in so i wouldn't suffocate in my sleep... but that can't happen right? i wonder about that, i mean, my window is pretty darn soundproof so that means it's not letting a lot of air in right? but then my bedroom door is open so that would give me enough air to breathe right? hmm... i wonder about that still.
anyway, so the point of all of this is that i'm not feeling rested, even when i do get some sleep. so i've been taking a break. a break from going to the gym. a break from my schedule of free time activities and letting myself couch potato it a little bit. not too much, because i've still got volleyball and tennis and all that, but i'm allowing myself to veg out a bit, like coming home right after work and couching it for awhile, then cooking dinner at home and staying in for the night. i think it's working... i feel like i've gotten myself to a good fitness level with all the weight training and yoga and whatever else i've been consistent with for the past few years and i can allow myself a little "off-season." and i think that's what this is, an "off-season."
if i can indulge for a little bit... if i wasn't me, meaning, if i was 17 again and went on mtv's MADE... i would really like to be made into a pro athelete. that life seems so simple. you do what you're body's meant to do, you train so that you can perform your best, and you get paid for it. but i'm not really that competitive, so maybe "pro" is taking it too far. okay, let's say there was an adult fantasy camp (like those rock star camps or basketball camps), i'd go to tennis fantasy camp and train to be a pro tennis player (or a volleyball camp, but realistically speaking, my height would not allow that, damn shortness). anyway, so when tennis players are on tour they've got a hectic schedule, gotta play matches, do publicity, practice for matches and all that. and what the tennis pro organizations have been complaining about is the lack of off-season. every sport gets an off-season, but for pro tennis the off-season is like only 6 weeks around december. that leaves them very little time for serious fitness training and game-tweaking (it's so hard to do those things in the middle of the tour when the pressure is on to perform every week). so one thing they did this year is they revamped both men's and women's calendars so that there's a longer off-season. i think it's a great thing. not only will it give players rest (especially since they're traveling all year, they can finally stay at home for more than a week), but it will give them time to train, fix parts of their game, and work on new strategies, etc. i think it'll raise the level of everyone's game.
anyway, relating back to my life, so i think i'm kind of at that point where i'm needing an off-season. not an "inactive" period because i've still got volleyball games to play and tennis matches, but right now i can't over-extend myself (maybe that's how i got shingles). instead, i'll do the things i love doing now and if i'm not feeling quite up to it i'll skip the workouts and save them for my "off-season." after all, in order to get the best of your exercise you need rest and recovery (and food) as well right? so today i'm skipping my weight training session and i'm gonna read a book, eat dinner at the parents', watch idol results and go to bed early. tomorrow is volleyball (so i'm gonna have to skip yoga anyway) so i'll just do that, go to bed early, and then maybe by then i'll be rested up enough to get back to the gym on friday. until then, rest and recovery!
ps - i was reading some article that talked about some researcher who created a scale to rate the bizarre-ness of his dreams. then he charted his ratings over a period of like, years, and found that his most bizarre dreams came around the time of the new moon (and not the full moon, as you might guess). weird huh? man i've been having way bizarre dreams, i should chart them too...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
#235 - songs from the movies
i like movie night on american idol because that means i'll probably know all the songs the contestants will sing. however, that also means they will sing completely generic and mind-numbingly boring karaoke versions of those songs. still... i'll know them.
anyway, gee it seems like my only posts the past several weeks have been about idol, i guess that means i'm busy... and i am too! that's a good thing, i've been keeping myself active with a lot of things... and come to think of it, i will save all this for a seperate post later.
so, back to idol, here we go:
1. allison iraheta - i've been very prone to stereotyping this year (perhaps because it's been so easy) and in this group of idols allison is definately the singing contest girl. she's the one that's been brought up singing on stage in talent competitions, picking songs she can wail on and pimp-slapping all her grade school competitors with her booming voice. i don't know if any of that is actually fact, but it seems like it should be huh? anyway, so again, she picked a generic, but awesome song that showed off her rockin' voice, but was anyone else waiting for her to get out of the low registers and belt the high notes? i mean, i'm all about advocating for the low notes (those are the ones that really show off your vocal skill), but it stayed down there for a really long time. anyway, she looks so comfortable singing on stage that it makes you want to believe she's really good, so whether she actually is or not is not that important. anyway, i still like her so... VOTE!
2. anoop desai - in my stereotype classification system, anoop is the wannabe singer. he can sing the notes, but he doesn't really have a "singing voice," y'know? so even if he's a little bit off (or even sometimes when he's on) it can sound pretty bad. on top of that he picked probably the epitome of movie karaoke songs (aside from "i will always love you") and tried to sing it painfully tortured, so it was all a bore for me, i think it's time for anoop to go... NO VOTE.
3. adam lambert - well this one's obvious, he's the gay broadway guy. but, to his credit, he's probably the most talented (skill-wise) gay broadway guy to come on the show. now, in my opinion, the only way this guy is gonna be salvagable (other than by taking a permanent spot on broadway as that gross guy from "the rocky horror picture show"), is if he fully embraces the glam-rock scene. i think that could work for him and it would make him a little more tolerable to me. i can't stand the over-the-top-ness of his performances, but i can see the merit in his voice if he does some kind of aerosmith/inxs kind of thing y'know? if he dropped the emo-ness and went into more of a wayne's world kinda wailing rock big hair power rock-ballad style. he's got the chops for it at least. but now here's my problem... i actually want him in the final two. "but matt," you might ask, "don't you hate that guy?" well, yes, i'd reply, i can't stand his girly voice and eye-liner and skinny pants but i can see the merit in his performances (even though i completely abhor them... is that the right way to use that word "abhor?" it seems like the right word to use because the word itself is spelled so disgustingly). right now it seems like the only two contestants actually worthy of going all the way to the end (based on the kind of work/thought/emotion or whatever they're putting into their choices and performances) are adam and kris... but still, NO VOTE!
4. matt giraud - now this guy doesn't have the chops to cut it. he's another wannabe singer, but unlike anoop, he's got a "singer's voice," just not enough to support all those notes he wants to be singing. i liked his choice of song here, and i really liked the very beginning of it, but didn't like it once it got into the mexican-trio part of the song y'know where i mean? i mean, i know that's how the song goes, but it totally didn't work on him and he massacred the bridge trying to hit those high notes anyway. too bad, i like him, but he don't got enough voice to win this thing. he's in trouble... NO VOTE.
5. danny gokey - boring church singer. can't you see him singing that song on stage of a high school cafeteria at some new hope service? not that i'm hating on those kinds of worship services, it's just that he looks like he's doing the exact same thing on the idol stage. the difference between him and anoop is that he's got that singer's voice that can carry the song through minor off-notes, and the difference between him and matt is that he's got the power to pull off the runs and hit the big notes. still, what a completely boring song... i had to rewind the dvr to remember what song he sang... NO VOTE.
6. kris allen - now this guy brings something new to the table, i think. he's got a singer's voice and even though i absolutely loathe that curling thing he does with his lip i can completely get behind his song choices and the way he styles his performances (again, in that early jason mraz kind of vibe). he picked a gorgeous song to sing tonight (even though i've never seen the movie and only heard the song for the first time when my friends sang it at karaoke, i think it's a fantastic song) that's never been sung on idol before. just like my very first picks at the beginning of the season, i'd like to see this guy in the final two... VOTE! also, this is the first song of the season that i'll actually consider buying on itunes, how about that?
7. lil rounds - ooh, she mad, she gon' cut someone. poor lil rounds, y'know if the judges hadn't been kissing her ginormous booty from the very first audition then they wouldn't have these problems with her now. face it, she just ain't that good. it's weird though, it's like she can't support her notes and everything held out more than one second comes out off-key, it's like when she sings she tries too hard to pull 10 millions notes out of every syllable, that's big pet peeve for me, when songwriters try and stuff too many notes slurred into each word/syllable, which is partly why i like relient k so much, they actually fill those notes with words)... NO VOTE.
so right now i'm liking kris and allison, and almost matt giraud, but i'll grant adam an "at least he keeps the show interesting."
man, how embarrassing is it that they can't bring the show in on time? i mean, embarrassing to the producers, the directors, whoever is in charge over there that they can't reign in all the talking to end the show in an hour. and so they had to cut down to only have two judges talk? retarded. just get rid of paula and that'll solves all your problems. geez. before i thought they were running overtime on purpose (in order to "lead in" to the next show so more people would watch that one), but this is just embarrassing for them.
anyway here are my ranking for how i WANT the SHOW to run (not my favorities, or who i THINK will win, just how i want to see the show progress):
1. kris allen
2. adam lambert
3. allison iraheta
4. danny gokey
5. matt giraud
6. lil rounds
7. anoop desai
but we'll see...
anyway, gee it seems like my only posts the past several weeks have been about idol, i guess that means i'm busy... and i am too! that's a good thing, i've been keeping myself active with a lot of things... and come to think of it, i will save all this for a seperate post later.
so, back to idol, here we go:
1. allison iraheta - i've been very prone to stereotyping this year (perhaps because it's been so easy) and in this group of idols allison is definately the singing contest girl. she's the one that's been brought up singing on stage in talent competitions, picking songs she can wail on and pimp-slapping all her grade school competitors with her booming voice. i don't know if any of that is actually fact, but it seems like it should be huh? anyway, so again, she picked a generic, but awesome song that showed off her rockin' voice, but was anyone else waiting for her to get out of the low registers and belt the high notes? i mean, i'm all about advocating for the low notes (those are the ones that really show off your vocal skill), but it stayed down there for a really long time. anyway, she looks so comfortable singing on stage that it makes you want to believe she's really good, so whether she actually is or not is not that important. anyway, i still like her so... VOTE!
2. anoop desai - in my stereotype classification system, anoop is the wannabe singer. he can sing the notes, but he doesn't really have a "singing voice," y'know? so even if he's a little bit off (or even sometimes when he's on) it can sound pretty bad. on top of that he picked probably the epitome of movie karaoke songs (aside from "i will always love you") and tried to sing it painfully tortured, so it was all a bore for me, i think it's time for anoop to go... NO VOTE.
3. adam lambert - well this one's obvious, he's the gay broadway guy. but, to his credit, he's probably the most talented (skill-wise) gay broadway guy to come on the show. now, in my opinion, the only way this guy is gonna be salvagable (other than by taking a permanent spot on broadway as that gross guy from "the rocky horror picture show"), is if he fully embraces the glam-rock scene. i think that could work for him and it would make him a little more tolerable to me. i can't stand the over-the-top-ness of his performances, but i can see the merit in his voice if he does some kind of aerosmith/inxs kind of thing y'know? if he dropped the emo-ness and went into more of a wayne's world kinda wailing rock big hair power rock-ballad style. he's got the chops for it at least. but now here's my problem... i actually want him in the final two. "but matt," you might ask, "don't you hate that guy?" well, yes, i'd reply, i can't stand his girly voice and eye-liner and skinny pants but i can see the merit in his performances (even though i completely abhor them... is that the right way to use that word "abhor?" it seems like the right word to use because the word itself is spelled so disgustingly). right now it seems like the only two contestants actually worthy of going all the way to the end (based on the kind of work/thought/emotion or whatever they're putting into their choices and performances) are adam and kris... but still, NO VOTE!
4. matt giraud - now this guy doesn't have the chops to cut it. he's another wannabe singer, but unlike anoop, he's got a "singer's voice," just not enough to support all those notes he wants to be singing. i liked his choice of song here, and i really liked the very beginning of it, but didn't like it once it got into the mexican-trio part of the song y'know where i mean? i mean, i know that's how the song goes, but it totally didn't work on him and he massacred the bridge trying to hit those high notes anyway. too bad, i like him, but he don't got enough voice to win this thing. he's in trouble... NO VOTE.
5. danny gokey - boring church singer. can't you see him singing that song on stage of a high school cafeteria at some new hope service? not that i'm hating on those kinds of worship services, it's just that he looks like he's doing the exact same thing on the idol stage. the difference between him and anoop is that he's got that singer's voice that can carry the song through minor off-notes, and the difference between him and matt is that he's got the power to pull off the runs and hit the big notes. still, what a completely boring song... i had to rewind the dvr to remember what song he sang... NO VOTE.
6. kris allen - now this guy brings something new to the table, i think. he's got a singer's voice and even though i absolutely loathe that curling thing he does with his lip i can completely get behind his song choices and the way he styles his performances (again, in that early jason mraz kind of vibe). he picked a gorgeous song to sing tonight (even though i've never seen the movie and only heard the song for the first time when my friends sang it at karaoke, i think it's a fantastic song) that's never been sung on idol before. just like my very first picks at the beginning of the season, i'd like to see this guy in the final two... VOTE! also, this is the first song of the season that i'll actually consider buying on itunes, how about that?
7. lil rounds - ooh, she mad, she gon' cut someone. poor lil rounds, y'know if the judges hadn't been kissing her ginormous booty from the very first audition then they wouldn't have these problems with her now. face it, she just ain't that good. it's weird though, it's like she can't support her notes and everything held out more than one second comes out off-key, it's like when she sings she tries too hard to pull 10 millions notes out of every syllable, that's big pet peeve for me, when songwriters try and stuff too many notes slurred into each word/syllable, which is partly why i like relient k so much, they actually fill those notes with words)... NO VOTE.
so right now i'm liking kris and allison, and almost matt giraud, but i'll grant adam an "at least he keeps the show interesting."
man, how embarrassing is it that they can't bring the show in on time? i mean, embarrassing to the producers, the directors, whoever is in charge over there that they can't reign in all the talking to end the show in an hour. and so they had to cut down to only have two judges talk? retarded. just get rid of paula and that'll solves all your problems. geez. before i thought they were running overtime on purpose (in order to "lead in" to the next show so more people would watch that one), but this is just embarrassing for them.
anyway here are my ranking for how i WANT the SHOW to run (not my favorities, or who i THINK will win, just how i want to see the show progress):
1. kris allen
2. adam lambert
3. allison iraheta
4. danny gokey
5. matt giraud
6. lil rounds
7. anoop desai
but we'll see...
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
#234 - the year you were born
quick post 'cause i gotta be up early and drive in to town for convention tomorrow...
what a crappy theme. might as well just call it 80's week. and what crappy songs, i wonder how big the pool is that they actually have to pick songs from, perhaps they don't have much choice? also, damn i'm getting old, all these guys are young, crap. anyway, here goes:
1. danny gokey - gokey's family totally creeps me the hell out. ouch, he's not sounding so great tonight, plus i thought it was super way cheesy. so why do the judges love him so much? his stock is dropping fast for me. generic song, generic performance, not so generic voice, but not great singing. i'm getting kinda bored of him, but that doesn't mean i think he needs to "change it up" as the judges say, he just needs to do what he does BETTER. NO VOTE!
2. kris allen - this guy's stock is going up. i still don't like his sideways mouth, and i still think he's picking crap of the crap songs, but i like his style. he's doing what gokey NEEDS to do, do what he does better each week. still i think that he is one of two people on this show not being overtaken by their songs, that's when it starts to sound "karaoke," like it seems like they could just be singing along to the radio and not taking control of the performance. for that he'll get my vote, even though the judges don't agree with me. VOTE!
3. lil rounds - ouch, for all the judges have been saying about her, too bad, she's not good. she had months to prove it and she hasn't. that means trouble... NO VOTE!
4. anoop desai - ryan's questioning at the beginning was right on, anoop has gone from very likeable to a bit pompous right? maybe it's because he's picking these crooning songs where he can look pained and stare deep into the camera, but either way it's doing nothing for him. i mean, true colors? geez, generic much? all of these contestants have the WORST song choices this season, man. anyway, i really like anoop in the more r&b style (not this "soul" thing kara's talking about). more like when he did "angel of mine" or whatever that first week. NO VOTE.
5. scott macintyre - y'know what i'm liking this guy more and more each week. not for his singing or performing, but he's fricken' hilarious! plus he does the dopey "special" look real well, and that's me saying that non-condescendingly (i hope), it works well for him, like i think he thinks he's hilarious and he'd laugh at himself too if he could. oh, but the guitar playing is bad, and the high notes are bad, and he didn't fall off the stage yet so... NO VOTE.
6. allison iraheta - much better song to pick, even though i think it's been sung on every idol season so far, and good performance. i'd like her voice on the radio i think, but nothing spectacular, still... VOTE.
7. matt giraud - could this guy be MORE in love with justin timberlake? haha, still, a pretty good performance, and at least he's got a little more life to him that these other bores on stage, so i'll vote for him again. wow, but why did the judges love it so much, i mean it was fine, but he had some wild notes in there right? anyway, VOTE.
8. adam lambert - see how normal he can look? still sings like a little girl, but so much more tolerable and even appreciable. still... doesn't mean i liked it. he sang very well though... doesn't mean i liked it. he created a performance worth watching (very unlike everyone else on this show)... doesn't mean i liked it. but i can, at least, appreciate it now that i'm not completely creeped out by his mascara and tight pants. NO VOTE.
so... in my opinion, every single contestant is faltering and fading week by week except for two... and unfortunately one of those is adam (the other is kris). but y'know what, at least that's interesting (and as long as he steers clear from the make-up and pulling faces and doing those little growls and other corny vocal grossness then i can actually watch his performances without getting completely creeped out), but would you really want to hear his voice on the radio? put him in a broadway musical sure but to have to listen to that girly voice while driving to work each morning? ugh.
what a crappy theme. might as well just call it 80's week. and what crappy songs, i wonder how big the pool is that they actually have to pick songs from, perhaps they don't have much choice? also, damn i'm getting old, all these guys are young, crap. anyway, here goes:
1. danny gokey - gokey's family totally creeps me the hell out. ouch, he's not sounding so great tonight, plus i thought it was super way cheesy. so why do the judges love him so much? his stock is dropping fast for me. generic song, generic performance, not so generic voice, but not great singing. i'm getting kinda bored of him, but that doesn't mean i think he needs to "change it up" as the judges say, he just needs to do what he does BETTER. NO VOTE!
2. kris allen - this guy's stock is going up. i still don't like his sideways mouth, and i still think he's picking crap of the crap songs, but i like his style. he's doing what gokey NEEDS to do, do what he does better each week. still i think that he is one of two people on this show not being overtaken by their songs, that's when it starts to sound "karaoke," like it seems like they could just be singing along to the radio and not taking control of the performance. for that he'll get my vote, even though the judges don't agree with me. VOTE!
3. lil rounds - ouch, for all the judges have been saying about her, too bad, she's not good. she had months to prove it and she hasn't. that means trouble... NO VOTE!
4. anoop desai - ryan's questioning at the beginning was right on, anoop has gone from very likeable to a bit pompous right? maybe it's because he's picking these crooning songs where he can look pained and stare deep into the camera, but either way it's doing nothing for him. i mean, true colors? geez, generic much? all of these contestants have the WORST song choices this season, man. anyway, i really like anoop in the more r&b style (not this "soul" thing kara's talking about). more like when he did "angel of mine" or whatever that first week. NO VOTE.
5. scott macintyre - y'know what i'm liking this guy more and more each week. not for his singing or performing, but he's fricken' hilarious! plus he does the dopey "special" look real well, and that's me saying that non-condescendingly (i hope), it works well for him, like i think he thinks he's hilarious and he'd laugh at himself too if he could. oh, but the guitar playing is bad, and the high notes are bad, and he didn't fall off the stage yet so... NO VOTE.
6. allison iraheta - much better song to pick, even though i think it's been sung on every idol season so far, and good performance. i'd like her voice on the radio i think, but nothing spectacular, still... VOTE.
7. matt giraud - could this guy be MORE in love with justin timberlake? haha, still, a pretty good performance, and at least he's got a little more life to him that these other bores on stage, so i'll vote for him again. wow, but why did the judges love it so much, i mean it was fine, but he had some wild notes in there right? anyway, VOTE.
8. adam lambert - see how normal he can look? still sings like a little girl, but so much more tolerable and even appreciable. still... doesn't mean i liked it. he sang very well though... doesn't mean i liked it. he created a performance worth watching (very unlike everyone else on this show)... doesn't mean i liked it. but i can, at least, appreciate it now that i'm not completely creeped out by his mascara and tight pants. NO VOTE.
so... in my opinion, every single contestant is faltering and fading week by week except for two... and unfortunately one of those is adam (the other is kris). but y'know what, at least that's interesting (and as long as he steers clear from the make-up and pulling faces and doing those little growls and other corny vocal grossness then i can actually watch his performances without getting completely creeped out), but would you really want to hear his voice on the radio? put him in a broadway musical sure but to have to listen to that girly voice while driving to work each morning? ugh.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
#233 - what life could mean
inevitably the end of vacation comes. this was a hectic one for me. weird because it went in waves of busy-ness (notice how i can't spell it "business" although i'd want too, so i guess "busy-ness" can't be a word huh? that sucks) and boredom. at the beginning of spring break i started off with that whale watching tour with my co-workers, and after a late afternoon/evening on the ocean (and after taking dramamine) i pretty much zonked out that night, then had to wake up early for my first tennis match the next morning (which i was super nervous about, but thankfully had an awesome partner so we won 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)) then zoomed home in time to shower and zoom back out for keane's wedding. then back to my place after that for some fun drunkeness and by the time sunday morning rolled around i was really to zonk out again. man, this is what it feels like to get old huh? don't recover as fast as i used too, that's depressing. but it didn't matter too much anyway because the beginning of the next week i was so bored! see?
da da dah dah! well, the problem was the weather... it was so cold, almost rainy, and super windy. so after sitting it out on monday (going to 24 hr instead), i forced myself to go surfing on tuesday... but it was crap. small waves, brutal winds, and whenever the sun actually did pop out, the wind took away whatever warmth it made so i was shivering the whole time. then i had to wake up early on wednesday to go in to work for a bit (sucked), and when i left work the sun was shining so i forced another attempt at the beach. but i went to ali'i instead of chun's and this time at least the clouds stayed mostly away, but it was still so windy that even when the sun was out it didn't warm up enough and on thursday i was sick! ugh, so thursday and friday were wasted spring break days (well, not all that wasted, because then i REALLY had a vacation, didn't allow myself to force myself to go work out or anything "just because" i had the time). so i did a little pixelblocking, as you can see:
haha, cool right? i think so at least... and that's all the matters... right? only junk thing is that it takes surprisingly more blocks than you think it would to make each thing so i end up running out of certain colors a lot, and then i have to destroy something i already made or start all over again with another color, ugh, but that's a problem for a nerdy couch potato to worry about and not me, luckily there was a day with sun this week so i got to go surfing again, and for the first time in sunny weather, and the waves were super clean at ali'i so that was sweet.then i got to fill up the rest of my time with volleyball, yoga, working out, and another tennis game today (had another awesome and fun parter, we won 6-1, 6-3). plus the sony ericsson open was on tv all week and even though roger didn't win (he lost to djokovic in the semifinals), he did do this:
awesome! i mean, the crowd boos him for it, but man it's good to see roger show some anger at the way he's been playing. if you watch tennis at all you know that roger is always the classiest champion and i've NEVER seen him ever do so much as hit a ball out of the stands, but he's been under tons of pressure the past two years with nadal and murray overtaking his game, so this was great to see him let loose a bit. i mean, even me and jeremy just as tv fans feel roger's frustration at not being able to win like he used to and jeremy said he thought it was great that he smashed his racket too. it wasn't a whimpy smash either, that was awesome, c'mon roger!
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