Thursday, March 29, 2007

Jaya-san and the Wisdom of Pearls

Look: The Sanjaya phenomenon is easy to understand.

1. American Idol is a TV show.
2. TV shows rely on strong ratings to attract advertisers.
3. Ratings are based upon the number of people who watch the show.
4. Advertisers pay TV networks money to advertise their products on
shows with high ratings.


Are you with me so far?

5. If American Idol was really a talent competition, then the really talented would be competing.
6. If AI is not a talent show, then what is it? It is a fantasy wrapped in a competition skin.
7. Buzz is more important than substance - go back to #1 - 4.
8. Buzz keeps people coming back to the show. What will Simon say this week? What will Sanjaya do that's more outrageous than last week? How goofy will Paula be, and how low will her shirt go?
9. What Lakisha or Melinda will sing does not create buzz.

Just a little bit more.

10. Those who argue about AI's 'credibility' assume it's a talent competition.
See #5-7.

11. It's all about AUDIENCE AUDIENCE AUDIENCE
12. If Sanjaya can generate audience - SOMEONE WILL MAKE MONEY
FROM IT.


So don't worry about AI's image, or America's image or your own image. And don't worry about Simon's threat to quit the show if Sanjaya wins. He already knows #1 - 12.

All the producers are looking for is someone willing to open their wallets and the reason doesn't matter. The same will hold true for the recording industry when the winner is announced.

PS. I typed this in Wordpad first, and then pasted it here. :-)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Some Chalk and Cheese

Here's how it came down for me:

Chris Sligh could go after tonight. Sorry, he just didn't get it done.

Sanjaya's hair left me speechless. He'll stay.


Lakisha and Melinda, standard good, but neither excited me.


Missed Jordin due to a phone call. Did see her outfit, though, and I thought it made her look dumpy.


Haley and Chris R. were adequate, nothing spectacular. Of the two, I thought Haley's rendition of Cindy Lauper's True Colors was the better.

Blake does a good job contemporizing, however, I wasn't crazy about what he did with the Cure's Love Song despite what the Fab 3 said.

Phil and Gina are my faves for the night.

Gwen Stefani. OK, I get it. But she wasn't anywhere near the coach that Lulu, Noone or Ross were.

Anyone else notice that the Police were covered twice?


Cheers!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

It's All Good

Bye bye Stephanie.

Now you have the opportunity of moving onward with a musical career since you have shaken the bonds of the dadaistic American Idol. It provided what you needed to make a go of it: face time. You should be thankful for that.

On to other matters....

I see websites this morning talking about the little girl groupie support for Sanjaya keeping him bolstered in the competition. Ahem, I think I already mentioned that back around Feb 28?? Bandwagons take a while to fill.

The bottom anything, 2, 3 or 4 or whatever doesn't really matter week to week unless it becomes a pattern. Trends take place over time, not in just one showing. Chris R. may not be in the bottom group next week. He will again eventually, though, especially when it's time to go.

I like to go to Google, click on News and type in American Idol. You can see hundreds of links to click on, including betting sites and blogs. Every week there are gambling sites offering odds on which participant will be leaving.

You know you've made it big in this country when you are the focus of gambling sites.

Is it me, or does pop culture just seem to get sillier and sillier year over year??

Another thought just occurred to me. I wonder how many of the 30 million plus American Idol voters every week refuse to go to the November polls claiming that their one vote doesn't make any difference. Hmmm?

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Idol Up to the Bar

Not going to go into a person by person review this time.

So many are doing it in blogs and articles, how many do we really need, en?

Thought the show last night, overall, was quite good. I'm not a big fan of narrowly themed shows - like last week's Diana Ross theme. But being able to choose from the entire 60s, now that makes for good opportunities.

Just a few thoughts.

Blake Lewis doesn't do anything for me. Sorry about that. My youngest son (11) is a big fan; maybe it's a generational thing. I thought his Time of the Season was strange. Actually I thought the song was strange when it came out in the late 60s. Hearing it refurbbed with a beatbox replacing the odd rhythmic bump it had with the sigh sound, I dunno, seemed kind of like an acid trip. Judges loved it, and I'm in the same age range as them, so maybe I'm out of tune.

Jordin drives me nuts. I have to keep reminding myself she's only 17, she's only 17, and there are laws. I see nothing but upside for her as goes a singing career. She has a 'spark' now that's slowly becoming a flame in the competition. From a looks standpoint, she is hot and getting hotter. She sort of reminds me of Gloria Estefan for some reason, even though she is quite different vocally.

I actually liked Chris Richardson for the first time last night. His voice grates on me, but last night I found it quite smooth, and the performance was well staged.

Haley was a minx, and I can't really remember the song she sang. Just those shorts.

Sanjaya. SANJAYA!! Ha. What fun! If the kid goes out tonight, at least he will on a high note, and he should be proud of himself for it.

I remember seeing Peter Noone performing in the Pirates of Penzance in Boston back in the early 80s. I think it was at the Shubert Theater. Took my eye off him for 25 years and darn, look how he's aged. lol. I'm glad I'm not 25 years older since then.

I am thankful that we started the top 12 last week. Watching Idol three nights a week was getting a bit much. Till next time..... Cheers, Jeff



Friday, March 16, 2007

On Algorithms and Other Matters

al gore rhythm


glo-glo-glo-global

glo-glo-glo-global

warming..................

..................harming

warming..................

..................harming


ice cap .... melting
ice cap .... melting



Dr. Wibjorn Karlen, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden, says, "Some small areas in the Antarctic Peninsula have broken up recently, just like it has done back in time."

But Karlen states that the 'mass balance' of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, there is an increase in the 'calving' of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans.


you gotta get the rhythm
.... get the al gore rhythm



hotter
hotter
ho-ho-ho-ho
hotter

CO2-2-2-2
makin' us hotter
makin' us totter

to the edge --- of gettin' hotter

global, no bull


Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson says, "There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth's temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years. On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century's modest warming?"

you gotta get the rhythm
.... get the al gore rhythm



scientists .... experts
some of them agree

worldwide disaster
just you wait and see

models
mo-mo-mo-models

on the screen, all predict
a deeper, warmer sea

Tom Harris, Ottawa Director of High Park Group, writes "hundreds of highly qualified non-governmental, non-industry, non-lobby group climate experts who contest the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing significant global climate change. 'Climate experts' is the operative term here. Why? Because what Gore's 'majority of scientists' think is immaterial when only a very small fraction of them actually work in the climate field.

Even among that fraction, many focus their studies on the impacts of climate change; biologists, for example, who study everything from insects to polar bears to poison ivy. "While many are highly skilled researchers, they generally do not have special knowledge about the causes of global climate change," explains former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball. "They usually can tell us only about the effects of changes in the local environment where they conduct their studies."


you gotta get the rhythm
.... get the al gore rhythm


Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, in Australia gives this assessment: "Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

you gotta get in rhythm
you gotta get in rhythm
you gotta get in rhythm
with the al gore rhythm

or do you?


Algorithm:
An algorithm is a procedure (a finite set of well-defined instructions) for accomplishing some task which, given an initial state, will terminate in a defined end-state. The computational complexity and efficient implementation of the algorithm are important in computing, and this depends on suitable data structures.

Elements of this were reprinted without permission from a news article found on the internet.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

More On (moron?) Idol

Do you know what a blog is?

In all actuality, it is a form of self-aggrandizement.

The blogger assumes that he/she is interesting enough to read, that folks will read, so the blogger continues to.. ahhh, blog. (I know it's a shortened version of weblog, but it's still an odd word).

Blogs are for people who like to hear themselves talk. The bloggers that is.

American Idol this week. Down to 12.

Brandon sang "You Can't Hurry Love." He forgot some of the words in a fairly obvious manner. The judges panned it. I didn't think it was as bad as they made it out to be, but I don't think he stands a chance of making it to the end.

Melinda. Whew! She gave me chills listening to and watching her. Her start wasn't particularly strong - she seemed tentative with it. But she built on it and got into the performer role quickly. She emotes as well if not better than anyone else in the show and she knows how to phrase. I didn't know the song she sang, probably wouldn't even like it in its original incarnation. As an artist, however, Melinda was able to create something grand with it.

Chris Sligh sang "Endless Love." He contemporized it, and I think Randy was right when he compared it to a Coldplay sound. The judges hated it, thought he should have stayed traditional with it. I find it odd that they continually harp on people to make a song stand out, to make it their own, but when it happens, they aren't so supportive. I disagree with them. I thought it added an interest factor that the original couldn't create. Gotta remember, it was a duet with Lionel Ritchie back in the early 80s and typical, sort of sappy love song, in my opinion. Speaking of contemporizing, Blake Lewis did the same with "You Keep Me Hanging On." Judges said pretty much the same thing as with Chris. I was glad to see Blake didn't beatbox this one. I don't think it was a performance worthy of the top spot, but still strong enough to keep him around for a while longer.

It occurs to me that Blake's and Chris' renditions of their songs probably make good concert fare, but maybe not good CD listening. I liked the light visuals that went along with their performances. Had I simply heard just the audios, I may have wondered who butchered the songs.

Gina did "Love Child." Good song choice. I just don't think she commands a stage well and seemed rather small during the performance. It was difficult to differentiate her from the background music at times.

Sanjaya, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Randy said it was unlistenable. That about sums it up.

Haley sang "Missing You." She looked hot hot hot tonight. Unfortunately, her singing was not not not. Her vocals were just ok and she forgot some words.

Phil sang "Yes, I Will." His delivery is good; he has a strong voice. I thought he was much better tonight than last week. But he's a bit scary to look at.

Lakisha, strong performance with "God Bless the Child." Her advancing is a given, though I have to say I didn't particularly like the song she did. However, it seemed like a good choice for her, especially since it was a Billie Holiday piece. Very fitting.

Stephanie sang "Love Hangover." She does well, has stage presence. I don't think she belonged in the category of Melinda this week, but she'll hang for a while. She has a Beyonce thing going for her which is utterly foreign to me, but seems to connect well with a younger crowd.

Chris Richardson did "The Boss." Do you know who Chris is? He is this seasons' Elliot Yamin. He does an above average job, seems quite likable. I don't care for the tonal quality of his voice as I didnt' much care for Elliot's as well. I would find it torturous to try and listen to an entire CD of his music.

Jordin Sparks capped it all off with "If We Hold On Together." Fantastic voice, great presentation and all from a 17 year old. I think Randy was quite right when he said she moved into the Melinda/Lakisha category tonight.

I won't predict who will be booted this week, though the following have to be susceptible: Sanjaya, Haley, Brandon, possibly Gina, except she's the token rocker this year, so she'll probably stick around a while longer. Phil and Chris Richardson can't be far behind those.


Friday, March 9, 2007

The Sky is Fallling

Here we go again.

Remember Chicken Little?

Last year there was one fellow who kept NOT getting voted off Idol to the point where many were scratching their heads and wondering. Then one week he did get the boot and everyone sighed as the universe righted itself.

Same thing is happening this year.

Kevin Covais, Chicken Little, nicknamed so due to his similarity with a cartoon character of the same name (I always thought he looked birdlike anyway, as if he was going to peck the inside of the TV screen at any time), went beyond where he was expected to go in the competition.

Everyone blamed it on the blue-haired crowd, you know, those 70 and 80 year old ladies sitting there exclaiming, "What a wonderful young man!" as they dip melba toast into their tea. And then others mentioned the prepubescent girl segment who would stand at the edge of the stage and toss their underoos at him.

I think it's something else though.

Last year, the youth segment was represented by Paris Bennett, who could sing, and Kevin Covais, who wasn't so fun to watch.

This year, it's Jordin Sparks, who has the voice and lungs to blast it out, and Sanjaya Malakar, who isn't so fun to watch.

See the comparison?

Makes one wonder, doesn't it?

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

From the "I Really Need to Get a Life" File

Another week, another couple hours of life spent watching American Idol.

I frankly think the guys should pack it in. They are through. They are toast. There's not a one of them who can keep up with the top girls. Hey, just keepin' it real, dog.

Let's see, I missed Jordin, started with Sabrina. I like her. I think she reminds me of an old flame, except for the nose. Gina hammered it pretty hard, though I agree w/Simon that she needs to find a more melodic type rock style, perhaps some Pat Benatar?

Haley seems nice, but I thought she should have gone last week. A lot of people like Stephanie. She just doesn't do it for me though.

The train wreck known as Antonella would be pitiful if she wasn't so funny. She really seems to think that she is good for some reason. Votefortheworst - time for y'all to let go of her, imo.

That leaves Lakisha and Melinda. Lakisha is good. Melinda is a complete package, though. She has the pipes, the stage presence, the vocal talent. I think she should be declared the winner right now. However, I think she needs to stop looking so delightfully surprised and on the verge of tears with the compliments. She needs to realize that she has the stuff... or, in actuality, she is the stuff.

This is not to say she should become cocky. Just comfortable and confident.

Like when she sings.

Friday, March 2, 2007

More Idol Banter

If I ever labored under the illusion that a reality show was reality, then last night cured me of it. I have never watched a full season of American Idol before. In fact, last year was the first time I ever watched it at all, and there I came in, initially, during the semi-finals. You know, the night Chris Daughtry sang Hemorrhage by Fuel.

I've always prided myself on staying away from the 'reality' fare that makes up TV. For instance, I've never watched Survivor or any of its offshoots. Overall I don't even watch that much TV. But I took to Idol last year with a bit more passion than is normal for me, to the extent where I would talk about it at work the next day.

That's big.

That places it in the league of baseball or football games.

I know there is a site on the internet called votefortheworst.com that compels its readers to vote now and vote often to keep the less-than-able performers on as long as possible, ostensibly to discredit the show. They may have an effect on the voting - I just don't know.

Sanjaya should have been voted off last night, not AJ.

Antonella should have been one of the bottom two as well.

I'm not squishy, and I don't really care if it's cruel or not to keep Sanjaya or Antonella on any longer. Entertainment is a huge money-making business. It will eat whatever it can to stay alive. There has to be knowledge of this going in. It's economic Darwinism at its best.

So I will look at it from the point of view of me.

I simply don't want to hear them any more. I'm done with seeing if they can make it happen. After two tries in the semis, it's obvious to me they can't.

Yet, they are still here.

Something is not right about this show.

Not right.

And not reality.