It's 12+ hours later, and I'm still sickened by the results this week. SICKENED. Not just because my two main predictions were completely off (i.e. America got it wrong): Aaron and Paige live to tour America with the Top 12. Hopefully they grow into it, because they're certainly not showing the talent necessary to pull good press. No, not only that, but 2 of my favorite singers who should have been completely safe (i.e. America got it wrong) got ousted. Alex Lambert, my favorite male voice of the season, and Lilly Scott, the indie instrumentalist both got kicked off before they even reached the Top 12. This is probably the second biggest non-finale upset night in the history of Idol (after Chris Daughtry not making the Top 3 in season 5). A Yahoo! blogger says it's because the instrumentalists are splitting the vote amongst themselves, but it's probably lackadaisical voting from complacent fans, combined with people not understanding the styles presented. To add insult to injury, early favorite Todrick was cut, and arguably T12-worthy Katelyn left as well. I was shocked, appalled, upset, and any number of other adjectives about the night. I am just this side of giving up on Idol this season, but loyalty, obsession, and yes, hope keep me watching. The last, best hope for a decent season are Big Mike and Crystal. Some of the others are coming into their own, so we'll see where they go, but with some of the standouts of the season gone and no real polarizing force like last season, this might be a forgettable Idol year.
As for the rest of the night, Scott McIntyre and Matt Giraud were great - pairing the two piano experts was a stroke of genius, and while I am in no way at all interested in buying Scott's CD, I might be convincable if Scott and Matt team up on something. Maybe. And Rolling Stones week shows promise. Less so without Alex and Lilly, but promise nonetheless. Blow me away, Top 12, because right now I'm skeptical.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
american idol: top 16, guys night
I had low-ish hopes for Wednesday night, but the guys really brought it! Wow.
I really like the original "Fireflies". Too bad I don't really care for Lee. What's with everyone loving him so much? Anyway, he went flat on quite a few phrase-ending notes, but his interpretation was actually rather good. I could hear someone with more talent and rock vibe pulling off an arrangement like that really well. David Cook, maybe. Lee didn't really plead his case with me, but he will probably be safe. Also: Ellen, I love you, but you can't just dismiss every pitch problem every time. You have said that pitch problems weren't an issue far too often for our own good.
Interesting song choice for Alex. Kinda fun that the oft-repeated words "trouble" and "worry" show off his unique word endings. I really enjoyed the song, but he didn't really leave too much of a stamp on it. If he'd tweaked it just a *little* bit more, it could have been out of the park. He's probably my favorite guy, and not because he's Melinda Doolittle's favorite guy. His tone is great, he's not arrogant, and he's growing. Kara's right, though, he needs to let go a little bit. And I cannot believe that Ellen said "no one likes a cocky banana". YIKES. Also, I don't know if I'll be watching if Simon gets Randy in a bikini. Double yikes.
At first, I said, and I quote, "ohcrap, don't know if Tim Urban can pull off Hallelujah." In the end it wasn't bad! It was a bit faster than I've ever heard it, and it never had a floating note that I love on that song (see: kd lang), but he actually pulled it off. It wasn't pitchy, amazingly. It doesn't compare to the classic versions (Cohen, Buckley, Lang), nor does it quite measure up to Jason Castro's season 7 performance, but Kara might be right: he was about to go home, but he probably saved himself. Or at least, he would have if everyone didn't bring it this week.
Ryan said Andrew was doing a Christina song. I told my wife "As long as he doesn't do 'Genie in a Bottle' or 'What a Girl Wants'..." and here he did "Genie". It really did call back to his "Straight Up" performance, and it worked pretty well. It was definitely pitchy when he tried to reach down to the bottom notes, and it didn't get too interesting until the end. I'm with Ellen: the genie came out a bit too late. He should keep himself in the competition with this one, though. As long as he didn't alienate everyone too much the past two weeks.
Casey pulled off a solid performance. I'm still not jumping on that bandwagon, though. The song didn't leave him enough room to show off, so it was pretty safe even with the changes he made to the melody, but he sounded good and it fit him well.
Aaron completely blew the beginning of his song. Ugh. The hip swaying was embarrassing. He hit most of the big notes, but his runs were pretty contrived most of the time. The song was so boring for him to do, for me. He might not have completely offed himself, but he needs to go soon. I'm not won over.
Todrick just missed his high note. The run near the start was pretty, though. Overall the styling was good (if melodramatic) and I think he finally hit a good song after weeks of missing the mark, but his voice wasn't quite big enough for the song. He couldn't rock out the big notes like Freddie Mercury in the original, or like Elliot Yamin in season 5, but it was okay. Simon was kinda right: Todrick is American Idol the Broadway show. This was Todrick's week to go home, but he MIGHT have clawed himself out of those clutches. Maybe. He is Mandisa (season 5)'s favorite. :P
Mike didn't really take off for me. He did an older song last week, and I feel like he should have gone with a slightly different vibe this week. The middle/end was better than the beginning for sure, and the big note was big, and the ending was odd, and it must have done way more live than over the TV. I get the whole emotional connection thing, it was a great song for him to do, in particular, but...yeah. I'm sure he's safe (especially after the judges' raving), but it was still kinda weird for me.
So who the crap is going home?! I'm gonna have to say Aaron is in trouble, and either Tim or Todrick. Um...hrm. I guess I'll go with Tim? This is a tough week to predict. We might be surprised.
I really like the original "Fireflies". Too bad I don't really care for Lee. What's with everyone loving him so much? Anyway, he went flat on quite a few phrase-ending notes, but his interpretation was actually rather good. I could hear someone with more talent and rock vibe pulling off an arrangement like that really well. David Cook, maybe. Lee didn't really plead his case with me, but he will probably be safe. Also: Ellen, I love you, but you can't just dismiss every pitch problem every time. You have said that pitch problems weren't an issue far too often for our own good.
Interesting song choice for Alex. Kinda fun that the oft-repeated words "trouble" and "worry" show off his unique word endings. I really enjoyed the song, but he didn't really leave too much of a stamp on it. If he'd tweaked it just a *little* bit more, it could have been out of the park. He's probably my favorite guy, and not because he's Melinda Doolittle's favorite guy. His tone is great, he's not arrogant, and he's growing. Kara's right, though, he needs to let go a little bit. And I cannot believe that Ellen said "no one likes a cocky banana". YIKES. Also, I don't know if I'll be watching if Simon gets Randy in a bikini. Double yikes.
At first, I said, and I quote, "ohcrap, don't know if Tim Urban can pull off Hallelujah." In the end it wasn't bad! It was a bit faster than I've ever heard it, and it never had a floating note that I love on that song (see: kd lang), but he actually pulled it off. It wasn't pitchy, amazingly. It doesn't compare to the classic versions (Cohen, Buckley, Lang), nor does it quite measure up to Jason Castro's season 7 performance, but Kara might be right: he was about to go home, but he probably saved himself. Or at least, he would have if everyone didn't bring it this week.
Ryan said Andrew was doing a Christina song. I told my wife "As long as he doesn't do 'Genie in a Bottle' or 'What a Girl Wants'..." and here he did "Genie". It really did call back to his "Straight Up" performance, and it worked pretty well. It was definitely pitchy when he tried to reach down to the bottom notes, and it didn't get too interesting until the end. I'm with Ellen: the genie came out a bit too late. He should keep himself in the competition with this one, though. As long as he didn't alienate everyone too much the past two weeks.
Casey pulled off a solid performance. I'm still not jumping on that bandwagon, though. The song didn't leave him enough room to show off, so it was pretty safe even with the changes he made to the melody, but he sounded good and it fit him well.
Aaron completely blew the beginning of his song. Ugh. The hip swaying was embarrassing. He hit most of the big notes, but his runs were pretty contrived most of the time. The song was so boring for him to do, for me. He might not have completely offed himself, but he needs to go soon. I'm not won over.
Todrick just missed his high note. The run near the start was pretty, though. Overall the styling was good (if melodramatic) and I think he finally hit a good song after weeks of missing the mark, but his voice wasn't quite big enough for the song. He couldn't rock out the big notes like Freddie Mercury in the original, or like Elliot Yamin in season 5, but it was okay. Simon was kinda right: Todrick is American Idol the Broadway show. This was Todrick's week to go home, but he MIGHT have clawed himself out of those clutches. Maybe. He is Mandisa (season 5)'s favorite. :P
Mike didn't really take off for me. He did an older song last week, and I feel like he should have gone with a slightly different vibe this week. The middle/end was better than the beginning for sure, and the big note was big, and the ending was odd, and it must have done way more live than over the TV. I get the whole emotional connection thing, it was a great song for him to do, in particular, but...yeah. I'm sure he's safe (especially after the judges' raving), but it was still kinda weird for me.
So who the crap is going home?! I'm gonna have to say Aaron is in trouble, and either Tim or Todrick. Um...hrm. I guess I'll go with Tim? This is a tough week to predict. We might be surprised.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
american idol: top 16, girls night
Was very excited for Tuesday night. A one-hour show always seems to have more energy and urgency than a two-hour show (until we narrow the field). Plus, Ellen and Melinda Doolittle started following me on Twitter, so it was a good day. :P Seriously, though, Melinda is one of the most amazing "celebrities" out there. Watched her first ustream, and she was trying to remember everyone's names, and she sang us the ABCs and some other stuff, and was answering all manner of questions, and was just generally incredibly sweet. I will always have a special place in my Idol heart for her. (: Now, on to girls night.
Katie bombed for me. The song was pitched a bit too low for her so the chorus would fall in her sweet spot, but it meant that she was shaky throughout and pitchy the whole time. Her changes didn't work and were transparently put in to "make it her own", and the song probably wasn't right for her. Meh. Having her in the opening slot to boot, I think she's in trouble this week, which is sad. Her voice is fantastic and she has room to grow, but the judges' conflicting comments week to week have her confused.
"House of the Rising Sun" is an awesome song, and to my knowledge has never been covered on Idol. Siobhan pulled it off really well, and even though it wasn't a performance that would make anyone jump up and down about, I think it'll carry her through to the top 12. She's a unique voice on the show.
By the time Lacey showed up, it was apparent that the theme of the night was a more subdued, melancholy approach to music. Works for me; I LOVE melancholy music. Boring to some, completely awesome to me. Lacey was AMAZING. Perfect song choice, because it matched her style flawlessly, and she poured a lot of emotion in it. She moved through her vocal range with perfect breaks, there weren't any pitch problems, and it was just really good. This was her week to get booted, but her performance was reminiscent of Brooke White doing "Love is a Battlefield" in season 7 and pulling herself into the collective AI consciousness. I don't think anyone should forget Lacey now!
Katelyn was vocally good, but the song didn't go anywhere at all. Her pitch was good, the playing was nice, but the whole thing just...sat there. It was meh. That's it.
I really liked Didi's performance. Seriously, the melancholy vibe of the night made me SO HAPPY. Didi was way on, wasn't pitchy, and while she didn't change the notes of the song much, she spun the song with her tone. When you can do that right, you don't need to mess with the melodic line.; She was pretty much slated to go this week, too, and I hope she saved herself. Man, Lacey and Didi brought the heat this week. Also, Ellen's advice was sage: no matter what you do in the industry, you'll always be torn apart by somebody. Power through it.
I don't know if it was the range or the emotions, but Paige's voice was shaky from the very start and really showed on any held notes, her runs were everywhere but where she needed them to be, and the song didn't go anywhere. This is a classic (with a figurative capital C) exiting-the-show song, and it was Gina Glockson's swan song back in season 6. I think Paige'll be smiling her way off the show on Thursday. One the plus side, I learned something new: Charlie Chaplin wrote "Smile". Huh!
Crystal tore it up. A great night for her (again), a great song pick (though safe in that it fit her style already), a great performance, well-styled, changed up perfectly. Seriously, she mixed it up so well that it didn't sound changed up, it sounded completely natural, and like the song was written for her.
Lilly's song choice was kinda weird, and that's coming from someone who usually gets her (that's me, in case you missed it). The arrangement was a bit awkward (although showing off her mastery of multiple instruments was cool), her voice was a bit vulnerable (shaky-vulnerable, not the good kind) at the very beginning, and the song didn't really go far, but it was alright. Like Simon said, no wow factor.
Before my predictions, a rant about the judges. I have come to expect it from Randy, but Simon? Please. One million billion percent? You guys need to learn how percentages work. You can have a greater-than-100-percent increase, but you can't be, say, 200% in something (or one million billion percent, for that matter).
I'm thinking Paige goes this week, and either Katie or Katelyn probably deserve to take the sad second spot. That's assuming Didi and Lacey overcome the holes they dug themselves in past weeks. Forced to choose, I think Katie goes.
Katie bombed for me. The song was pitched a bit too low for her so the chorus would fall in her sweet spot, but it meant that she was shaky throughout and pitchy the whole time. Her changes didn't work and were transparently put in to "make it her own", and the song probably wasn't right for her. Meh. Having her in the opening slot to boot, I think she's in trouble this week, which is sad. Her voice is fantastic and she has room to grow, but the judges' conflicting comments week to week have her confused.
"House of the Rising Sun" is an awesome song, and to my knowledge has never been covered on Idol. Siobhan pulled it off really well, and even though it wasn't a performance that would make anyone jump up and down about, I think it'll carry her through to the top 12. She's a unique voice on the show.
By the time Lacey showed up, it was apparent that the theme of the night was a more subdued, melancholy approach to music. Works for me; I LOVE melancholy music. Boring to some, completely awesome to me. Lacey was AMAZING. Perfect song choice, because it matched her style flawlessly, and she poured a lot of emotion in it. She moved through her vocal range with perfect breaks, there weren't any pitch problems, and it was just really good. This was her week to get booted, but her performance was reminiscent of Brooke White doing "Love is a Battlefield" in season 7 and pulling herself into the collective AI consciousness. I don't think anyone should forget Lacey now!
Katelyn was vocally good, but the song didn't go anywhere at all. Her pitch was good, the playing was nice, but the whole thing just...sat there. It was meh. That's it.
I really liked Didi's performance. Seriously, the melancholy vibe of the night made me SO HAPPY. Didi was way on, wasn't pitchy, and while she didn't change the notes of the song much, she spun the song with her tone. When you can do that right, you don't need to mess with the melodic line.; She was pretty much slated to go this week, too, and I hope she saved herself. Man, Lacey and Didi brought the heat this week. Also, Ellen's advice was sage: no matter what you do in the industry, you'll always be torn apart by somebody. Power through it.
I don't know if it was the range or the emotions, but Paige's voice was shaky from the very start and really showed on any held notes, her runs were everywhere but where she needed them to be, and the song didn't go anywhere. This is a classic (with a figurative capital C) exiting-the-show song, and it was Gina Glockson's swan song back in season 6. I think Paige'll be smiling her way off the show on Thursday. One the plus side, I learned something new: Charlie Chaplin wrote "Smile". Huh!
Crystal tore it up. A great night for her (again), a great song pick (though safe in that it fit her style already), a great performance, well-styled, changed up perfectly. Seriously, she mixed it up so well that it didn't sound changed up, it sounded completely natural, and like the song was written for her.
Lilly's song choice was kinda weird, and that's coming from someone who usually gets her (that's me, in case you missed it). The arrangement was a bit awkward (although showing off her mastery of multiple instruments was cool), her voice was a bit vulnerable (shaky-vulnerable, not the good kind) at the very beginning, and the song didn't really go far, but it was alright. Like Simon said, no wow factor.
Before my predictions, a rant about the judges. I have come to expect it from Randy, but Simon? Please. One million billion percent? You guys need to learn how percentages work. You can have a greater-than-100-percent increase, but you can't be, say, 200% in something (or one million billion percent, for that matter).
I'm thinking Paige goes this week, and either Katie or Katelyn probably deserve to take the sad second spot. That's assuming Didi and Lacey overcome the holes they dug themselves in past weeks. Forced to choose, I think Katie goes.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
are you serious? lindsay lohan
Apparently Lindsay Lohan is the only person with the name "Lindsay". Otherwise the fact that she's suing E-Trade for their "milkaholic" commercial would be completely ludicrous, right? Right?
Her lawyer states that "Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit. They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."
Subliminal message? Are you serious? And if they used Susan, wouldn't Susan Sarandon or Susan Boyle have a mind to sue? What does Lindsay Lohan's lawyer have against the Susans of the world? And should all commercials use made-up names that don't yet exist? And if someone starts using it, retire the commercial? E-Trade says they "just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team." That sounds pretty reasonable. The unresonable party is a washed-up actress seeking $100 million in damages for a commercial saying her name. Sorry, Lindsay. Loved you in Mean Girls and you were decent in Freaky Friday, but really. Are you serious?
Her lawyer states that "Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit. They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."
Subliminal message? Are you serious? And if they used Susan, wouldn't Susan Sarandon or Susan Boyle have a mind to sue? What does Lindsay Lohan's lawyer have against the Susans of the world? And should all commercials use made-up names that don't yet exist? And if someone starts using it, retire the commercial? E-Trade says they "just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team." That sounds pretty reasonable. The unresonable party is a washed-up actress seeking $100 million in damages for a commercial saying her name. Sorry, Lindsay. Loved you in Mean Girls and you were decent in Freaky Friday, but really. Are you serious?
Monday, March 8, 2010
oscars: my reaction
The Oscars were great last night! I loved the opening number with Neil Patrick Harris, I loved the dancing (although Adam Shankman had promised we'd see So You Think You Can Dance dancers we know and love, but the shots were all so wide that I had a hard time picking anyone out), and much of the fashion was fantastic. Sandra Bullock in particular looked dazzling. Why did J-Lo wear packing sheets for her dress, though? And can someone please work on Miley Cyrus's posture?
I was mildly surprised that Kathryn Bigelow/The Hurt Locker won both Best Director and Best Picture. I had thought that she would split the categories with James Cameron/Avatar. I figured she'd take Best Director, but that voters couldn't overlook Avatar given that it is the highest grossing film ever. Oh, well. I was wrong. I'm happy that Bigelow won Best Director, though, because it is high time that a female broke into that boys' club, and she apparently deserved it (having never seen The Hurt Locker, I can only go off popular opinion, but that seems to be the consensus).
I was very happy for Sandra Bullock. While her performance may not have been the very best of the year, I think this is the Academy's apology for ignoring her because she sticks with romantic comedies most of the time (a genre oft-overlooked by Academy voters). With everyone touting the category as a showdown between Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock, there was a chance that voters would split between them and Gabourey Sidibe would sneak in and steal it from under them, but that didn't happen. Sandra Bullock impressed me with her acceptance speech - her tribute to her mother was especially touching, and I don't think anyone could help but feel happy she'd won.
Another plus of the night, I thought the co-star tribute bit to introduce the Best Actor and Best Actress categories was classy and emotional. Very well thought-out, and it allowed for some fantastically emotional (and sometimes hilarious) moments.
I had been worried about Mo'Nique's acceptance speech for Supporting Actress, given some of the things she said in her Barbara Walters interview. However, she was fantastic. Her shoutout to Hattie McDaniel (first African-American Oscar winner (Supporting Actress) for 1939's Gone With the Wind) was great. At the time, African-Americans in movies were pretty much relegated to servant roles, so that win was a big deal. Her giving credit to Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey was classy and well-spoken.
The James Taylor live-accompanied tribute to those who died in the past year was nice, but did anyone else notice the conspicuous absence of Farrah Fawcett? Looks like Michael Jackson overshadowed her all over again (he was in, what, The WIZ, and that's it, but he got a section?).
A few quabbles: if the same people are going to win for Sound Recording and Sound Mixing, why are they separate categories? I mean, I know people in sound recording technology, so I know the distrinction, but I would think that the nominees would differ, and the winner might, too. Also, why are so many winners so inconsiderate as to eat up all the time their co-winners would have for their acceptance speech? Too many times the first person ate up all the time, and they had to cut off the second person. It's obvious that they had a time limit that was well delineated (one of the guys started freaking out when they were warning him his time was up), so you would think they'd be more considerate. And with all of the ushering off and stuff, how did they go over by an entire half hour? Lastly, it's obvious that you shouldn't waltz up to the stage with a banner promoting your own cause, even if it's a good one. The guy from The Cove was pretty dumb doing that.
And in the end, a bunch of my favorite movies of the year hardly got blinked at, because that's not how the Oscars work. In fact, my wife hadn't even heard of half of the Best Picture noms. It's too bad so many movies get put together just to garner Oscars attention, and that it actually works. :P
That's about it.
I was mildly surprised that Kathryn Bigelow/The Hurt Locker won both Best Director and Best Picture. I had thought that she would split the categories with James Cameron/Avatar. I figured she'd take Best Director, but that voters couldn't overlook Avatar given that it is the highest grossing film ever. Oh, well. I was wrong. I'm happy that Bigelow won Best Director, though, because it is high time that a female broke into that boys' club, and she apparently deserved it (having never seen The Hurt Locker, I can only go off popular opinion, but that seems to be the consensus).
I was very happy for Sandra Bullock. While her performance may not have been the very best of the year, I think this is the Academy's apology for ignoring her because she sticks with romantic comedies most of the time (a genre oft-overlooked by Academy voters). With everyone touting the category as a showdown between Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock, there was a chance that voters would split between them and Gabourey Sidibe would sneak in and steal it from under them, but that didn't happen. Sandra Bullock impressed me with her acceptance speech - her tribute to her mother was especially touching, and I don't think anyone could help but feel happy she'd won.
Another plus of the night, I thought the co-star tribute bit to introduce the Best Actor and Best Actress categories was classy and emotional. Very well thought-out, and it allowed for some fantastically emotional (and sometimes hilarious) moments.
I had been worried about Mo'Nique's acceptance speech for Supporting Actress, given some of the things she said in her Barbara Walters interview. However, she was fantastic. Her shoutout to Hattie McDaniel (first African-American Oscar winner (Supporting Actress) for 1939's Gone With the Wind) was great. At the time, African-Americans in movies were pretty much relegated to servant roles, so that win was a big deal. Her giving credit to Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey was classy and well-spoken.
The James Taylor live-accompanied tribute to those who died in the past year was nice, but did anyone else notice the conspicuous absence of Farrah Fawcett? Looks like Michael Jackson overshadowed her all over again (he was in, what, The WIZ, and that's it, but he got a section?).
A few quabbles: if the same people are going to win for Sound Recording and Sound Mixing, why are they separate categories? I mean, I know people in sound recording technology, so I know the distrinction, but I would think that the nominees would differ, and the winner might, too. Also, why are so many winners so inconsiderate as to eat up all the time their co-winners would have for their acceptance speech? Too many times the first person ate up all the time, and they had to cut off the second person. It's obvious that they had a time limit that was well delineated (one of the guys started freaking out when they were warning him his time was up), so you would think they'd be more considerate. And with all of the ushering off and stuff, how did they go over by an entire half hour? Lastly, it's obvious that you shouldn't waltz up to the stage with a banner promoting your own cause, even if it's a good one. The guy from The Cove was pretty dumb doing that.
And in the end, a bunch of my favorite movies of the year hardly got blinked at, because that's not how the Oscars work. In fact, my wife hadn't even heard of half of the Best Picture noms. It's too bad so many movies get put together just to garner Oscars attention, and that it actually works. :P
That's about it.
Friday, March 5, 2010
american idol: top 20, results
I'm really pleased with how the results show went! The two that really deserved to go home, Haeley and Jermaine, went. Jermaine's reprise of his song was tolerable, though, and I wish he'd sung more like that on Tuesday. Maybe I wouldn't have hated him so much. I completely called Haeley and John leaving this week, and thought Michelle should go. I will admit that I was worried when it came down to Didi and Michelle, but luckily Didi gets another week to prove herself. Hopefully she can win over the public, because I like her style.
Y'know, I really was not a fan of Danny Gokey last season. Sorry, Gokey fans. He just really rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like that the producers pimped his sob story the whole time, and that he went along with it so willingly. He came across as rather pompous, as well. The country thing seems to be working for him, and I wish him well, but he annoyed me all over again with his mile-a-minute-Ryan-can't-get-a-word-in-edgewise-ness, and AGAIN pimping his widower sob story. Oi. So, good luck Danny Gokey, I hope you keep with the country route so I can more or less avoid you without much trouble.
Oh, and PS: Haeley has some measure of talent and promise, I just think she's too inexperienced and untrained right now. I don't know why the judges put her through over other singers--she would have been better served waiting a year or two. So best of luck to her as well, but I hope I don't hear anything about her for at least a year or two, or else she's moving too soon.
Y'know, I really was not a fan of Danny Gokey last season. Sorry, Gokey fans. He just really rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like that the producers pimped his sob story the whole time, and that he went along with it so willingly. He came across as rather pompous, as well. The country thing seems to be working for him, and I wish him well, but he annoyed me all over again with his mile-a-minute-Ryan-can't-get-a-word-in-edgewise-ness, and AGAIN pimping his widower sob story. Oi. So, good luck Danny Gokey, I hope you keep with the country route so I can more or less avoid you without much trouble.
Oh, and PS: Haeley has some measure of talent and promise, I just think she's too inexperienced and untrained right now. I don't know why the judges put her through over other singers--she would have been better served waiting a year or two. So best of luck to her as well, but I hope I don't hear anything about her for at least a year or two, or else she's moving too soon.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
kitchen adventures: stuffed peanut butter cookies
One of my friends linked to a blog from his Facebook, which had a recipe for stuffed peanut butter cookies. They sounded fantastic, so I gave them a whirl. They have a small amount of chocolate and a gooey sweet peanut butter in the middle, and when they're fresh out of the oven, they're heavenly (if a bit pb-heavy, according to me wife). They are a bit rich, so I can't eat too many at once, and once they're cold they lose the gooiness, but the stuffing helps them stay much more moist than most peanut butter cookies. I'll include the recipe here, and link to the original blog at the end.
First, make a normal peanut butter cookie dough.
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (I used salted butter and cut out the 1/2 tsp salt)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar, packed (I used a bit more than 1/2 cup light brown sugar, and used less granulated sugar)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky (less sweet peanut butters work best)(I used Skippy)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt (I cut this because of the butter)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups sifted flour —if you don’t sift, use 1 1/3 cup
As with most cookie recipes, mix the wet ingredients first (I mixed the peanut butter in as the last wet ingredient, after everything else was mixed), then mix in the pre-mixed dry ingredients.
Then, in a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of peanut butter (I used Jif) with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. It should look (and taste) like a drier, more crumbly, but sweeter version of peanut butter.
Then, chop up a couple big squares of dark chocolate into little bits (I used half dark chocolate chips and half milk chocolate chips, chopped).
Also, mix together 1 tsp cinnamon with 1/4 cup sugar in a separate bowl.
Now that your preparations are made, it's time to get serious. Start by washing your hands. Start with a little ball of dough, and smash it flat in your hand. Add some chopped chocolate in the middle, then a little glob of the peanut butter/sugar mixture, and wrap the edges around into a nice neat little package. Roll the whole thing in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on a cookie sheet for baking (I pushed them down a bit to make sure they spread).
Bake at 375 degrees for 7-12 minutes (mine baked for 10 minutes). I baked them on silicone mat-lined cookie sheets to prevent burning, and they ended up crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Yum.
Here's the link to the recipe where I found it: http://jensfavoritecookies.blogspot.com/2010/01/peanut-butter-stuffed.html
american idol: top 20, girls night
Overall, I think there were more good performances than bad, but the bad was really bad. I was planning on going to a jazz singers concert and missing Idol, but I didn't think my tweaked back would be able to handle sitting in the chairs that long. :/ Oh well.
Too bad my brother wasn't around to hear Crystal. He's a CCR fan. I really dug Crystal's song. I'm not sure it resonates with most of America (especially the younger, mass-voting contingent), but it was fantastic. She sounded great. Real powerhouse, making it through health issues and everything, then pulling out a great performance. But..."misunderestimated", Simon? Really? You underestimated her in the wrong way, or something?
I really didn't care for Haeley last week. This week, she continued to make me cringe. "The Climb" is a great, great song originally sung by a mediocre singer, but even Miley Cyrus connected with the message and showed emotion. Haeley was pitchy, her tone was shallow, and the whole thing was incredibly karaoke. She deserves to be cut tomorrow, and with the judges' comments, I wonder why she was put through this season. Better for her to have gained a year or two of experience and come back in a future season.
I did like Lacey last week, but I'm a fan of her vibe anyway, plus melancholy music makes me happy. "Kiss Me" for this week was pretty great, choice-wise. I disagree with Randy, because I think she changed things around just enough to put her stamp on it, but her version seemed a bit more subdued than the original, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, she didn't bring any real "wow" factor to the song, and the judges have been hating on her.
I love "Put Your Records On", but Megan Joy did a great job of it last year (tone-wise), so I felt myself missing that. Katie did some great things with the pitch in the second half, hitting some odd intervals that show off her ability. I'm a bit confused by Ellen's comments, because while her voice would be great on a younger-sounding song, I think she'd be compromising who she is. Kara's comments were really spot-on, though; put the key up a few steps to allow her voice to open up earlier, and pick a song that has room to switch up and personalize. I could see her pulling off a more serious Avril or P!nk song. Katie's good enough to keep around, even if I don't see her having much chance of winning.
Ah, Didi. I couldn't disagree with the judges more. I thought Didi had a fantastic performance. She was a bit breaky on a few notes, but I thought it fit the style really well. She put a few too many runs in there, possibly, but I really think there must be something different going on live vs. over the tv, because I really enjoyed the song. I hope America heard that, and didn't take the judges' word for it.
Michelle got off to a bit of a rocky, slow start. I'd have taken the beginning a bit faster, because when she sings slowly, it exposes her weaknesses. She's stronger when she's got embellishments going on. Her high notes were shallow and weak, and her interpretation kind of killed the thrust of the original. I'll be honest, I didn't really remember her from last week, and while she has the raw talent in spades, she might be in danger if she can't set herself apart.
I felt some real trepidation at the beginning of Lilly's song. Sam Cook is difficult, both to sing and to interpret, and any performance of "A Change Is Gonna Come" on American Idol will be compared to Adam Lambert of last season. Going into the song, I thought it was pretty iffy, style-wise, but it really picked up and was amazing until about 80% through, when it just sort of didn't go anywhere anymore. Still incredible, still amazing, but the last 20% lost focus for me.
I forgot about Katelyn, too, but "The Scientist" was fantastic for me. It was as intimate as she was going for, she really tried to connect through the camera, and I think she mostly pulled it off. I don't think it was too slow--my main complaint is that the big note at the end didn't match the subdued nature of the arrangement. I think I'll remember her this week, at least.
So Paige pulled off Kelly Clarkson, but she didn't amaze me. She didn't really break any new ground on it. I agree with what Randy said, that she should have picked a song to showcase her voice. Kara's insight to the song was fun--too bad we can't get that sort of thing more often. Paige's voice is good enough to keep her in, I think, but she has the same problem as Michelle, and has to set herself apart and define who she is, or she'll be swept away.
Siobhan's note was huge. Huge. She didn't change much up in the song, but she shouldn't have anyway. You don't mess with the big Aretha songs. She still throws me off with her Demi Lovato look and nasal tone, but the second half of the song was so incredible that I overlooked all of that this week. And no one else in the competition can hit a note like that. Bravo, Siobhan/Snuggie.
This week's predictions: Crystal, Lilly, Katelyn, and Siobhan are completely safe. Haeley is in danger for sure, and probably Didi and Lacey based on the judges' feedback. Which makes me sad, because I liked Didi and Lacey. I'd prefer for Michelle to go this week.
Too bad my brother wasn't around to hear Crystal. He's a CCR fan. I really dug Crystal's song. I'm not sure it resonates with most of America (especially the younger, mass-voting contingent), but it was fantastic. She sounded great. Real powerhouse, making it through health issues and everything, then pulling out a great performance. But..."misunderestimated", Simon? Really? You underestimated her in the wrong way, or something?
I really didn't care for Haeley last week. This week, she continued to make me cringe. "The Climb" is a great, great song originally sung by a mediocre singer, but even Miley Cyrus connected with the message and showed emotion. Haeley was pitchy, her tone was shallow, and the whole thing was incredibly karaoke. She deserves to be cut tomorrow, and with the judges' comments, I wonder why she was put through this season. Better for her to have gained a year or two of experience and come back in a future season.
I did like Lacey last week, but I'm a fan of her vibe anyway, plus melancholy music makes me happy. "Kiss Me" for this week was pretty great, choice-wise. I disagree with Randy, because I think she changed things around just enough to put her stamp on it, but her version seemed a bit more subdued than the original, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, she didn't bring any real "wow" factor to the song, and the judges have been hating on her.
I love "Put Your Records On", but Megan Joy did a great job of it last year (tone-wise), so I felt myself missing that. Katie did some great things with the pitch in the second half, hitting some odd intervals that show off her ability. I'm a bit confused by Ellen's comments, because while her voice would be great on a younger-sounding song, I think she'd be compromising who she is. Kara's comments were really spot-on, though; put the key up a few steps to allow her voice to open up earlier, and pick a song that has room to switch up and personalize. I could see her pulling off a more serious Avril or P!nk song. Katie's good enough to keep around, even if I don't see her having much chance of winning.
Ah, Didi. I couldn't disagree with the judges more. I thought Didi had a fantastic performance. She was a bit breaky on a few notes, but I thought it fit the style really well. She put a few too many runs in there, possibly, but I really think there must be something different going on live vs. over the tv, because I really enjoyed the song. I hope America heard that, and didn't take the judges' word for it.
Michelle got off to a bit of a rocky, slow start. I'd have taken the beginning a bit faster, because when she sings slowly, it exposes her weaknesses. She's stronger when she's got embellishments going on. Her high notes were shallow and weak, and her interpretation kind of killed the thrust of the original. I'll be honest, I didn't really remember her from last week, and while she has the raw talent in spades, she might be in danger if she can't set herself apart.
I felt some real trepidation at the beginning of Lilly's song. Sam Cook is difficult, both to sing and to interpret, and any performance of "A Change Is Gonna Come" on American Idol will be compared to Adam Lambert of last season. Going into the song, I thought it was pretty iffy, style-wise, but it really picked up and was amazing until about 80% through, when it just sort of didn't go anywhere anymore. Still incredible, still amazing, but the last 20% lost focus for me.
I forgot about Katelyn, too, but "The Scientist" was fantastic for me. It was as intimate as she was going for, she really tried to connect through the camera, and I think she mostly pulled it off. I don't think it was too slow--my main complaint is that the big note at the end didn't match the subdued nature of the arrangement. I think I'll remember her this week, at least.
So Paige pulled off Kelly Clarkson, but she didn't amaze me. She didn't really break any new ground on it. I agree with what Randy said, that she should have picked a song to showcase her voice. Kara's insight to the song was fun--too bad we can't get that sort of thing more often. Paige's voice is good enough to keep her in, I think, but she has the same problem as Michelle, and has to set herself apart and define who she is, or she'll be swept away.
Siobhan's note was huge. Huge. She didn't change much up in the song, but she shouldn't have anyway. You don't mess with the big Aretha songs. She still throws me off with her Demi Lovato look and nasal tone, but the second half of the song was so incredible that I overlooked all of that this week. And no one else in the competition can hit a note like that. Bravo, Siobhan/Snuggie.
This week's predictions: Crystal, Lilly, Katelyn, and Siobhan are completely safe. Haeley is in danger for sure, and probably Didi and Lacey based on the judges' feedback. Which makes me sad, because I liked Didi and Lacey. I'd prefer for Michelle to go this week.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
taste of my own medicine: nick jonas & the administration
I've berated people for having a closed mind about music. My brother-in-law would only listen to (or claim to listen to) country music a while back, and wouldn't entertain the idea of other music being worth listening to. My wife and I basically force-fed him some other music, and he admitted that we had a point. One of my favorite genres (although I'm not very up-to-date on it recently) is video game music - soundtracks from video games, usually role-playing games (with storylines and fleshed-out characters come character themes and more emotive music). I've been unjustly judged based on that preference many times before, but when most people hear my favorites, they admit that it isn't what they expected (I guess they think Pac-man is my idea of a good melody?).
I try to take my own advice whenever it occurs to me to do so, and so when the new album frontlined by Jonas Brother Nick Jonas came to my attention, I swallowed my pride and gave it a listen. While I'm still not a fan of the youngest Jonas's voice (it's nasal and whiny more often than not, which is popular but not my cup of tea), the kid is a songwriting juggernaut largely unheralded by those of my generation. The side project "Nick Jonas & the Administration" was started in a two-week Jonas Brothers break, and includes music that doesn't fit the Jonas Brothers sound. Many of the songs carry a Presidential motif, simultaneously citing Nick's interest in the office and allowing for dual-message lyrics. The rock roots of the music are strong, and much of the album carries an older feel hearkening back to music I heard growing up (ie music of my dad's generation). Many of the songs allow for instrumental solos and live improvisation/riffage, which you just don't hear in most mainstream music nowadays.
A little research made me more than a little jealous. At age 17, Nick Jonas is a member of two successful bands. He composes much of his own music and writes his own lyrics. He plays the guitar, drums, and piano (at least). He has appeared before Congress to speak for diabetes research. He has toured the world. He maintains a wholesome image, even with all the crap in the industry and despite the Disney pressure that has gotten to some of his contemporaries.
Anyway, I recommend his album to anyone who likes slightly more traditional rock. I am especially a fan of "Who I Am", "Stronger (Back on the Ground)", "Rose Garden", "Conspiracy Theory", and "In the End". His new live single, "Stay", is some great writing, but the nasal whine comes out in force on his high notes, so tread carefully.
I try to take my own advice whenever it occurs to me to do so, and so when the new album frontlined by Jonas Brother Nick Jonas came to my attention, I swallowed my pride and gave it a listen. While I'm still not a fan of the youngest Jonas's voice (it's nasal and whiny more often than not, which is popular but not my cup of tea), the kid is a songwriting juggernaut largely unheralded by those of my generation. The side project "Nick Jonas & the Administration" was started in a two-week Jonas Brothers break, and includes music that doesn't fit the Jonas Brothers sound. Many of the songs carry a Presidential motif, simultaneously citing Nick's interest in the office and allowing for dual-message lyrics. The rock roots of the music are strong, and much of the album carries an older feel hearkening back to music I heard growing up (ie music of my dad's generation). Many of the songs allow for instrumental solos and live improvisation/riffage, which you just don't hear in most mainstream music nowadays.
A little research made me more than a little jealous. At age 17, Nick Jonas is a member of two successful bands. He composes much of his own music and writes his own lyrics. He plays the guitar, drums, and piano (at least). He has appeared before Congress to speak for diabetes research. He has toured the world. He maintains a wholesome image, even with all the crap in the industry and despite the Disney pressure that has gotten to some of his contemporaries.
Anyway, I recommend his album to anyone who likes slightly more traditional rock. I am especially a fan of "Who I Am", "Stronger (Back on the Ground)", "Rose Garden", "Conspiracy Theory", and "In the End". His new live single, "Stay", is some great writing, but the nasal whine comes out in force on his high notes, so tread carefully.
american idol: top 20, guys night
Interesting little switcheroo with the boys singing Tuesday night, but we can cope. The added pressure/twist might show us budding promise in unlikely places.
Big Mike picked an older song--I'm not sure I'd ever heard the original, though James Brown is pretty legendary. Mike's vocals were incredible, but as the opening number, I hope people remembered him by the end. I certainly did; I'd put his performance as one of the top two of the night. The song showed off his flexibility and ornamentation, but the phrasing was a bit broken up (by design, mind you). Crossing my fingers for him.
John Park doing John Mayer. I suppose knowing he spent a large chunk of childhood in Korea excuses his gobbledegook last week (sort of). Nervousness probably brought it out of him. This week he brought a bit more smokiness to his voice, but sacrificed vowel shape for style, so held notes sounded awkward (and flat) more often than not. In the end, the vocals were alright, but the song never took off. It was boring and forgettable for me, and I think he's in danger. Simon's prediction about his group getting their lead back might be spot on.
Hrm, Casey. I'm still not jumping on the Casey bandwagon. He pulled off Gavin DeGraw alright, but he didn't really bring anything new, and he didn't dig in enough to match the instrumentation. At least he can pull off the guitar, but if you're going to shred, your vocals should do some shredding, too. I don't think it's entirely fair for Simon and Kara to say that he didn't have grit in his voice (although the grit vs. sand vs. dirt bit was amusing). The grit was there, he just didn't dig in. Wihle I don't really care for Casey, his was one of the better performances of the night.
Poor awkward Alex. I loved his voice last week and only actually watched (visually, I was still listening) part of his performance, so I missed the awkwardness. I love the timbre of his voice, and the endings of his words. The closure of his vowels sets him apart. I really liked his interpretation of John Legend today. Now we just need to ditch the mullet. Alex's performance was the other best song of the night for me. I hope that Kara's obvious pandering for him as the underdog story doesn't shoot him in the foot. There are still too many competitors to have a real underdog yet. I liked Simon's quip, "The only time you should be nervous is when you're useless." That rings fairly true, but it begs the question: should Paula Abdul have been nervous for the past few years? (I loves me some Paula, but she wasn't really doing much judging.)
Todrick didn't ever really solidly set his pitch, and the first part of the refrain really suffered for it. I liked the interpretation, and he's constantly showing his guts in that department. And once the song got moving so did he, but unfortunately once he got moving, the approach came across as more karaoke to me. Maybe he should just be consulting other artists on interpretation. :/ I'm not sure he'll ever be able to win over the judges. If he plays it straight, they'll tell him he played it too safe.
"Them judges was cutthroat." "They know what they's talkin' about." Really?! Oi. Jermaine. He's far and away my least favorite male contestant. I hated the synth. I almost fell asleep during the intro, even though his voice was more tolerable than last week. His pitch was better, but he still doesn't have the high strength he thinks he has. Yeah, I still don't like him. However, HOLY CRAP I figured it out. The widening eyes, the "definitely", asking questions over and over....He's Darrell from MadTV. Also, I'd TOTALLY watch Sunday School the New Docuseries with Simon going to church. But, Simon, you realize you're the antichrist, right? Either you or the church would burst into flames the moment you walked in. (justkiddingsimoniloveyou)
Andrew was doing some funky things with his vowels, and it wasn't working out for his pitch. The song didn't take off until about 70% through, and he'd almost completely lost me by then. He's one of my favorites, but between last week and this week, I'm losing a bit of my faith in him. It was weird, it was pitchy, and he didn't rock it. Ellen was completely right: we're still holding him to the high bar he set with "Straight Up", and he just hasn't been able to show the same brilliance.
Yikes, Aaron tried WAY too hard. Over-embellished, too many runs, you shouldn't match cute with cute, he couldn't really pull off the falsetto with his nervous shake, he pushed to try to come across as confident, and the last notes were blech. As much as he impressed me vocally last week, he really disappointed me this week. Apparently the sound in the studio came across differently than over the television, because the judges didn't lambast him the way I would have. We'll see if they amend anything once they watch back.
Tim Urban pulled off a too-smooth version of "Come On Get Higher". He didn't really break any new ground in his interpretation, and his voice lacked a lot of the break that makes the original powerful. It was an okay but forgettable performance. Ellen's right, though, he'd fit well on Glee. Maybe he'll get booted in time for the open auditions they're supposedly going to hold online.
Lee actually did well, in my mind. Good song choice, he didn't do a whole lot with it and had some weird vowel choices (faith-full doesn't rhyme with an-jell. match them, dangit!), but overall it was good. His tone overshadows a lot of his pitch problems. I don't think he has any chance to win (at least, he'd better not), but he's decent filler.
My projections: John Park is gone. I'd like for Jermaine to go, too, but Tim might be in danger instead.
Big Mike picked an older song--I'm not sure I'd ever heard the original, though James Brown is pretty legendary. Mike's vocals were incredible, but as the opening number, I hope people remembered him by the end. I certainly did; I'd put his performance as one of the top two of the night. The song showed off his flexibility and ornamentation, but the phrasing was a bit broken up (by design, mind you). Crossing my fingers for him.
John Park doing John Mayer. I suppose knowing he spent a large chunk of childhood in Korea excuses his gobbledegook last week (sort of). Nervousness probably brought it out of him. This week he brought a bit more smokiness to his voice, but sacrificed vowel shape for style, so held notes sounded awkward (and flat) more often than not. In the end, the vocals were alright, but the song never took off. It was boring and forgettable for me, and I think he's in danger. Simon's prediction about his group getting their lead back might be spot on.
Hrm, Casey. I'm still not jumping on the Casey bandwagon. He pulled off Gavin DeGraw alright, but he didn't really bring anything new, and he didn't dig in enough to match the instrumentation. At least he can pull off the guitar, but if you're going to shred, your vocals should do some shredding, too. I don't think it's entirely fair for Simon and Kara to say that he didn't have grit in his voice (although the grit vs. sand vs. dirt bit was amusing). The grit was there, he just didn't dig in. Wihle I don't really care for Casey, his was one of the better performances of the night.
Poor awkward Alex. I loved his voice last week and only actually watched (visually, I was still listening) part of his performance, so I missed the awkwardness. I love the timbre of his voice, and the endings of his words. The closure of his vowels sets him apart. I really liked his interpretation of John Legend today. Now we just need to ditch the mullet. Alex's performance was the other best song of the night for me. I hope that Kara's obvious pandering for him as the underdog story doesn't shoot him in the foot. There are still too many competitors to have a real underdog yet. I liked Simon's quip, "The only time you should be nervous is when you're useless." That rings fairly true, but it begs the question: should Paula Abdul have been nervous for the past few years? (I loves me some Paula, but she wasn't really doing much judging.)
Todrick didn't ever really solidly set his pitch, and the first part of the refrain really suffered for it. I liked the interpretation, and he's constantly showing his guts in that department. And once the song got moving so did he, but unfortunately once he got moving, the approach came across as more karaoke to me. Maybe he should just be consulting other artists on interpretation. :/ I'm not sure he'll ever be able to win over the judges. If he plays it straight, they'll tell him he played it too safe.
"Them judges was cutthroat." "They know what they's talkin' about." Really?! Oi. Jermaine. He's far and away my least favorite male contestant. I hated the synth. I almost fell asleep during the intro, even though his voice was more tolerable than last week. His pitch was better, but he still doesn't have the high strength he thinks he has. Yeah, I still don't like him. However, HOLY CRAP I figured it out. The widening eyes, the "definitely", asking questions over and over....He's Darrell from MadTV. Also, I'd TOTALLY watch Sunday School the New Docuseries with Simon going to church. But, Simon, you realize you're the antichrist, right? Either you or the church would burst into flames the moment you walked in. (justkiddingsimoniloveyou)
Andrew was doing some funky things with his vowels, and it wasn't working out for his pitch. The song didn't take off until about 70% through, and he'd almost completely lost me by then. He's one of my favorites, but between last week and this week, I'm losing a bit of my faith in him. It was weird, it was pitchy, and he didn't rock it. Ellen was completely right: we're still holding him to the high bar he set with "Straight Up", and he just hasn't been able to show the same brilliance.
Yikes, Aaron tried WAY too hard. Over-embellished, too many runs, you shouldn't match cute with cute, he couldn't really pull off the falsetto with his nervous shake, he pushed to try to come across as confident, and the last notes were blech. As much as he impressed me vocally last week, he really disappointed me this week. Apparently the sound in the studio came across differently than over the television, because the judges didn't lambast him the way I would have. We'll see if they amend anything once they watch back.
Tim Urban pulled off a too-smooth version of "Come On Get Higher". He didn't really break any new ground in his interpretation, and his voice lacked a lot of the break that makes the original powerful. It was an okay but forgettable performance. Ellen's right, though, he'd fit well on Glee. Maybe he'll get booted in time for the open auditions they're supposedly going to hold online.
Lee actually did well, in my mind. Good song choice, he didn't do a whole lot with it and had some weird vowel choices (faith-full doesn't rhyme with an-jell. match them, dangit!), but overall it was good. His tone overshadows a lot of his pitch problems. I don't think he has any chance to win (at least, he'd better not), but he's decent filler.
My projections: John Park is gone. I'd like for Jermaine to go, too, but Tim might be in danger instead.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
downfalls of a pc society
No, not Mac vs PC. Political correctness.
I fully support the concept driving political correctness. We should strive, in general, to not offend people, especially based on race, religion, orientation, handicap, or the like. That's all well and good. Our society has far overstepped the concept, though. We now live in a time where public figures have to watch every word they say, because a single slip results in people screaming for "justice" in the form of firings, boycotts, or similarly overbalanced punishments.
For example, look at Senator Reid, whose use of the word "Negro" set off a storm asking for him to step down as Senate Majority Leader. All Reid is guilty of is using outdated vernacular. Negro was the politically correct term at the beginning of his political career. Rahm Emanuel used the word "retarded" behind closed doors to describe liberals. While I agree with former governor Sarah Palin's campaign against using the word as an insult, that hasn't been accomplished yet. Calling for Emanuel to step down is ridiculous.
This happens all the time. What follows is that only the shock jocks and others who don't care about public opinion have the guts to speak their minds in a blunt or straitforward manner. We are so afraid of offending people with our opinions that we are reticent to share them at all. That is, of course, unless we dehumanize the people who disagree with us. As long as those who disagree are enemies whose opinions are worthless, we don't care what they think. That results in a polarized political atmosphere where each side has little to no respect for the other, unconsciously borne from the supposed necessity of self-protection.
Interestingly, political correctness only blankets a certain portion of the population. It's completely okay to denegrate Johnny Weir as gay because he's flamboyant and feminine, whereas such comments directed at, say, Neil Patrick Harris, would be met with the same backlash we've seen with aforementioned political figures.
Mostly I think we're just really messed up and need to get our priorities straight.
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