Spudlets
May 24, 2007
Idol Chatter 14-2007
While it's tempting to say "I told you so", it was not all that surprising for Jordin to claim the top spot based on her vocal talent and good looks. The American Idol producers are breathing a big sigh of relief, as Jordin should be a strong seller like Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson. Blake should also do well in selling albums, but he does not have Jordin's potential (or Melinda Dolittle's for that matter).
I just found out this morning that Jordin Sparks was backed by the Gospel Music Association, and had won the Overall Spotlight Winner at the 2004 GMA Academy (top prize in the Country/Southern Gospel category). She wasn't as "coming out of nowhere" as some (like me) may have thought. Melinda Doolittle was also backed by the GMA.
Another season is in the can, and now I won't have anything to watch on TV. Maybe I can catch up on that reading I keep threatening to do ... or maybe I'll just waste more time on the Net!
Highlights
- Blake's beatbox number with Doug E. Fresh.
- Carrie Underwood's first song.
- The African Children's Chorus. They should have had them go for a half hour, as it would have been far more entertaining than most of the other numbers.
- Melinda singing with Bebe and Cece Winans. More praise songs please!
- Smokey Robinson and the boys were "just aw-right".
- Bette Midler may not have as strong a voice as she used to have, but it was nice to see her performing.
- The two "buddies" getting the trophy and then finding out a bush-baby has been named after Simon.
Lowlights
- Sanjaya (of course).
- Ruben (he still can't sing all that well).
- Taylor (he may sing a little better than Ruben, but I still don't like the guy).
- The whole Beatle's number thing at the end (it was probably featured since they'll be doing that on the tour this summer). Maybe some psychedelic drugs would have helped when listening to Ruben singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Uggh.
- Kelly Clarkson and her lack of modesty. I guess she's showing off the "new Kelly".
- Tony Bennett trying to prove that he still has some pipes, but it didn't sound all that good.
- Both duets involving Jordin. While she sounded good in both, it seemed a little "icky" to see her singing love songs to Blake and Ruben.
- The song Green Day performed, while skillfully done, was a drag on the flow of the show.
- Gladys Knight being outsung by both Melinda and LaKisha, and the bangs blinding her yet she never brushed them away.
Posted by MarcV, 2:38 PM link
May 23, 2007
Forgive the stream of consciousness, but I want to get this down now while it's still fresh after the courthouse appearance. I knew the hearing was today to terminate parental rights for the birth mother (BM) of our two foster kids (girl-3, boy-4), and something was said about making an appearance in court. I got the call at 10:30 am that Kristal was heading to court, so I met her there a little after 11.
I was delayed for a few minutes at the entrance of the court, as a small screwdriver I keep in my pocket for working on computers was considered a weapon so I had to have it put in a locker. As I sat down next to Kristal, they were wrapping up testimony on BM's drug use and how her attorney thinks that she's making "progress". We then heard that the longest she's been sober has been about six weeks.
After that was done I got to give my testimony. It was the first time I have ever had to testify in a court room for an actual case. They asked me about the kids and how they were doing in the house. He then asked me how I felt about them and if I loved them. After a pause I said I was working on it, which was truthful but may have not been the best choice of words.
Kristal testified next and I could tell she was nervous (I don't think I was), but she did well, except she tried to get up early before the judge told her she could step down. She told BM that her kids loved her, and it seemed to affect her.
BM's mom (in from NJ) testified how she wanted to keep her grandkids with her, that she really loved them as her fleah-and-blood. She made an off-hand remark about not having to "work" on loving them. BM's attorney also made some remark about me "working" on loving them. DSS did testify that a case study of the Grandma and her house had been made and was rejected for custody.
When I was up on the stand I tried to choose my words carefully yet be truthful. As a foster dad I guard my heart, and I'm reserved to begin with, so it's a long process for me. It felt like I was not being "loving" enough, but part of that may have just been the defense trying to prop up the "lovingness" of BM.
She was the last one to the stand and gave her final testimony. She made a very moving plea for the judge not to terminate her rights, that she was on the road to recovery and the best place for her kids was to be with her. You see stuff on TV shows portraying emotional court scenes, but to be an actual part of it was something else. I'm still feeling a little numb about two hours later, and I'm just a bit player in this.
The judge ruled for terminating the rights, and BM didn't cry, make a scene or do much of anything besides whisper to her attorney. I can't imagine what she's going through, nor would I want to. When she talked I could see the 3 y.o. girl's face and voice inflections/pattern in her. It has been 2 years and for whatever reasons BM cannot seem to quit the drugs. I fear after this she will be lost, and I pray that the Lord will give her peace and put her into the right situation to start her life over again without the drugs.
While this clears the way for adoption, it will be many months until we have a better idea on when we can make the adoption final.
Posted by MarcV, 3:53 PM link
May 19, 2007
Welcome Redirected Ones!
Congrats to the hearty few who have made it back to the old digs. I finally figured out how to do a redirect (it's easy once you have an example in front of you). If you keep the link tuned to www.spudlets.com, then it will take you to wherever I happen to be living on the blogosphere. I'm tempted to open up another blog over at Wordpress, as that was what I had been using over at Netfirms, since they want more money in order to run PHP, while Wordpress is free.
Blogger has improved over the years, though I just like Wordpress better. Well, kids are yelling so it's time to take care of the screamin' meemies or whatever term of endearment fits.
Posted by MarcV, 2:16 PM link
May 16, 2007
Idol Chatter 13-2007
Missed commenting on last week due to blog chaos. Work chaos has taken precedence over the blog thang, so progress on the Spudlets site has been slow. Anywhozitz, I wasn't surprised to see LaKisha go, and neither was she. Big chubby women typically do not win popularity contests. It's unfortunate, but that's how the public works. She hit a low spot a few weeks ago, but seemed to have pulled herself up the last week or so, but not enough to avoid the axe.
The final 3 is one of the most awkward weeks of the show, as it literally is a third wheel hanging around, and usually the three are fairly evenly matched talent-wise. I thought Blake blew it with his first song, as a Sting/Police song is very difficult to pull off. Sting has a very distinctive voice and is not on the typical male vocal register. Blake did much better with his final two.
I think the choices for both Melinda and Jordin were not good. Melinda is no Tina Turner, nor a Whitney Houston. Jordin chose some not-so-well-known songs. She sang them OK, but there's the doubt factor of how well she performed them. I'm not quite sure what I would recommend for Melinda to choose.
Jordin missed a chance to sing the "princess" songs from some of the Disney movies. Don't be surprised to see her voice a young black female character for a Disney animated film in a few years (after she's done with Simon Cowell and Fox). I still think she's going to win it all next week.
As to who gets the boot, I thought it would be Blake, but he "wow'd" me during his brief bit with Sir Mix-a-Lot. While Melinda(r) gets Simon's vote, the girls may be splitting votes and allow Blake to get by, especially from the teenie-boppers who think he's cute. They're the ones with the cellphones casting the votes, so who knows?
I predicted this final 3 a few weeks ago, and I also predicted that Melinda would be the next to go, so I'll still stick with that.
Labels: Idol Chatter 13-2007
Posted by MarcV, 3:35 PM link
