The Voice

For many years I've been aware that people are often treated differently based on their looks.  Most of the time good-looking or attractive people are treated better than ugly or unattractive people.

A 'plain' woman with mousy brown hair and frumpy clothes won't get the time of day, while men and women will practically bend over backwards for a pretty blond woman in form-fitting clothes.  It is a fact, and although everyone thinks its unfair, most of us do it anyway without really thinking about it.

That's why I absolutely LOVE the show "The Voice".  Singers hoping to impress the judges must do so with only their voices because the judges can't see them.  The judges' backs are to the stage where the singers belt out their best so the judges CAN'T be influenced by the singers' appearance.  Its absolutely the most fair way to evaluate their singing.

I remember watching audition after audition on "American Idol" and being dumb-founded by the 'attractive' singers who progressed through the audition despite their pitch problems, while some really amazing singers were cut from the competition because they didn't "look like stars".  Oh please!  A Professional Stylist can make anyone "look like a star" but they've got to have the goods to back it up.

On this week's episode of "The Voice" there was this very attractive young man named Dez Duron who already looked like a star, with his fashionable hair and symmetrical good looks.  

Yet none of the 4 judges picked him based on his voice.  Once they saw him they all wished they could change their mind.  Christina kept smacking her button to choose him but it was too late.  That would NEVER have happened on "American Idol".

So I'm becoming more and more interested in the results of this new(er) show since it seems much more fair.  They aren't looking for a model, they're looking for a great singer.

American Idol

Tonight begins season 10 of American Idol. I've set my DVR since I don't plan to watch it live.

I written many times about my dislike for all the unnecessary talking from the judges. Some constructive feedback would be great, but it seems like there's only about 11 minutes of singing in an hour of this show. Honestly, I don't know how the judges even come up with so much NOTHING to say. Perhaps this season will be a little better since 2 out of the 3 judges are new. But I'm going to DVR the show and fast-forward through all the unnecessary talking. Last season we didn't have a DVR so I just avoided the show altogether.

Technically the real show doesn't start for a few more weeks. Tonight begins the casting episodes which I just can't force myself to watch because I know they are totally bogus. Several years ago a friend of mine tried out for American Idol and learned the truth. Singers are eliminated as they pass through about 5 levels of auditions before they ever see the judges. So, when you watch the casting episodes and you hear contestants who can't carry a tune if it were handed to them in a bushel basket singing in front of the judges, its fake. Its staged. The producers intentionally push these untalented people through to the judges just so they'll have something outrageous for the casting episodes. This really rubs me the wrong way so I boycott the casting episodes and will only start watching the DVR'd episodes once the contestants actually get to Hollywood.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

We went to see yet another condo on Wed. I was kinda feeling like I needed a day off anyway, so when this condo came available we decided to take the day off and meet our realtor to see it. Its in a great bldg with garage parking, controlled access, pool, and lots of other amenities. However, it is a short sale with a crazy-low asking price so we know there will be multiple offers and that it will take 3-4 months before the seller's lender will approve the short sale. We've been avoiding short sales until now, but because this bldg is very desirable (ie: will be easy to rent) and the unit is so large, we submitted an offer.

I really couldn't care less about American Idol anymore. I haven't watched this season at all. This seems odd to me because I am a singer and I used to be into AI big time. But the show has soured for me for a couple reasons. There's entirely too much talking from judges. This was true even when there were just 3 judges, but now with 4 its even worse. In an hour show there appears to be about 11 minutes worth of singing. Most people I know who still watch the show record it with their DVR so they can fast forward through everything but the singing, which is a good idea. Maybe next season.

Spouse & I are heading back to VA tonight. On Sat we are going to my cousin's daughter's wedding, which will be held outdoors. After a week of unseasonably cool temps, its supposed to be almost 90 degrees on Sat!! But it will be wonderful to see Sarah get married and to reconnect with my aunt and uncle (the bride's grandparents), my 2 cousins (the bride's mother and aunt), and my 2 cousin's children whom I haven't seen in years. I have no idea if any of my immediate family will be there.

We'll be celebrating Mothers Day this Sun, a week early. Since we'll be in town for the wedding, I suggested we celebrate Mother's Day with Spouse's mom and family a week early so we wouldn't have to make the trip back to VA 3 weekends in a row. (We're going back the weekend of the 15th for Spouse's brother's 50th birthday party.) To avoid last year's Mother's Day disaster, Spouse & I made reservations for Mother's Day dinner at the Taco House! This guarantees we'll have delicious food and wonderful service.

My friend Don sent me this video and story about a soldier and his buddies in Afghanistan who have made their own music video to the Lady Gaga/Beyounce song "Telephone". Its great!

Crush du Jour: Daniel Ross

Friday fragments

Retro drag
Recently I ran into one of my "mature" (read: retired) friends who appeared to be attempting to bring back a 'club look' from the 90s: denim shorts, yellow construction worker boots, and white socks. Remember this retro drag?
The site of him in this get-up made me involuntarily snicker, so to avoid hurting my friend's feelings, I covered my smiling face with my hand and pretended to cough. It really was amusing!

American Idol

I was rather surprised that Adam didn't win American Idol. I mean, come on! Whether you liked his guyliner and black polished nails or not, you have to admit that he was notably a better singer than Kris. With every genre of music they performed each week, Adam changed his appearance, singing style, and character to match. Kris just seemed to struggle with a few of the musical genres and never changed his appearance. Kris just doesn't have the 'star quality' that Adam has. But the people voted, supposedly. I was the least invested in this season of AI than any other.

Street update
There was more street work on Tues & Wed. Several dump trucks of gravel were delivered, spread, and smoothed. Wed afternoon my neighbor told us he had it on good authority that our street would be paved on Thurs! But Thurs came and no one showed up. Apparently there was some sort of 'paving emergency' and the crew was reassigned. (WTF?) This morning we received word that the paving of our street has been scheduled for next Tues, the 26th. I am keeping all appendages crossed for luck!

Susan Boyle
A friend sent me this which resulted in an involuntary eruption of laughter. One of these is Susan Boyle and the other is Matt Lucas (of Little Britain) imitating Susan Boyle. Can you figure out which is which?

Peekaboo
This week as I glanced out the window at the street reconstruction I saw a construction worker unbuckle his belt, unzip his pants, slip them down an inch or two, reach in and rearrange his 'junk', then pull his pants back up, zip up, and rebuckle his belt, on a public street. Unfortunately he was NOT hot. He looked like a retired member of ZZ Top.

Our neighbor on Oprah

I do not watch TV during the day because I'm working, but last Wed I made an exception. At 4:00 I turned on the Oprah show because I knew my neighbor was going to be on Oprah's "Heroes in Hard Times" episode. My friend and neighbor, Dale Dunning, is known as 'The Soup Lady' because she started Jusst Sooup Ministries 4 years ago, which serves delicious, homemade soup to those in need. From homeless people to those in transition, to those who just don't have anything to feed their families until payday, Dale serves them all. She is truly a beautiful person who works hard yet receives no pay. Her ministry is supported strictly by donations. Check out her site here and consider making a donation which you can feel confident 100% will be spent to help others.

Eruption
A friend sent me this, which also resulted in an eruption of laughter! (Click to enlarge.)

Looks like that elephant may be having an 'eruption' of his own!

Memorial Day weekend
This weekend will be our 1st Memorial Day weekend in years where we will not have company. But we aren't too broken up about it, as this will allow us to attend several local events that we would normally miss if we had company. Fri evening we have dinner with 'the usual suspects' and will celebrate Scott's birthday, Sat evening we're going to a potluck, Sun afternoon we're going to a barbecue, and Sun evening we're going to a cocktail party. These are all things we'd miss if we had company this weekend. We're expecting fairly decent weather so Spouse & I are planning to go to the beach on Sat & Mon.

Hair do
My company has announced early dismissal today in honor of the impending holiday weekend, so I scheduled myself a hair cut appointment at 4:00. Gotta get my hair did before our trip to NYC next week!

Here's wishing everyone a FUN and SAFE Memorial Day weekend!

Crush du Jour: Geronimo Frias

Short subjects

Okay, this is really getting weird. Last night after returning from my work out, showering, and eating dinner, Spouse & I sat down to watch "The Queen" and I began to feel my lip swelling up again. Sure enough, before the DVD was over I had another fat lip. Fortunately this time it wasn't huge, so I didn't look like Angelina Jolie or Amanda Lapore. I looked a little more like Goldie Hawn in "The First Wives Club". I had not taken any acetaminophen for a week, so now I know that wasn't the cause of the allergic reaction. But that makes it even more weird, because everything I had to eat Mon night just before my lip swelled up, was identical to what I ate on Sun night, when I had no reaction at all. We had Sunday's left overs for dinner on Mon! I also did a mental check to see if I'd changed any soap/shampoo/moisturizer products, but found no changes. I'm stumped as to what is causing these allergic reactions.

Monica came through! True to her promise, she sent me more Liqui-Sew and 2 travel 'pens' of Sew on the Go. If I carried a purse I'd stick one of those travel 'pens' in there for quick mends. Maybe I'll give one to a friend who carries a purse.

As I was putting away groceries the other day I suggested to Spouse that we think of some way to use the giant bag of mini-marshmallows (purchased just before Thanksgiving) that was taking up so much room in the cupboard. Spouse suggested making Rice Crispies treats. I reminded him that we didn't have any Rice Crispies cereal, to which he suggested substituting Golden Grahams and Blueberry Muffin cereal for the Rice Crispies. I told Spouse I thought the treats would be too sweet, since Rice Crispies are not pre-sweetened but both cereals we had are pre-sweetened. He decided to try it anyway. The Golden Grahams/Blueberry Muffin treats came out so incredibly sweet, just as I predicted, they almost made my teeth hurt. But we ate them anyway.

American Idol starts tonight. Although I'm a fan of the show, I'm not sure I'll watch all of it tonight, as they always start the series off by showing the auditions, which I'm not that interested in watching. I know for a fact that the American Idol contestants have to go through 5-6 levels of auditioning before getting to sing for Randy, Paula, and Simon. All of the "rejects" should be weeded out by then, but the fact that they show unqualified singers during these audition shows tells me they push them through to Randy, Paula, and Simon in order to have semi-amusing content for these audition shows. I'll probably start watching in earnest once they start with the Hollywood auditions.


Crush du Jour: Steve Callahan

American Idol

Okay, I admit it - I am addicted to American Idol. But, at least it makes sense for me to be addicted to this show. After all, I am a singer. And I was a 'Dominant'. (Kerry is smiling at that.)

When I was in high school I started singing in the Concert Choir. It seemed I had some talent, and when I'd go for All-County, Regional, Honors, and All-State choir auditions, I always made it. In fact, in my senior year I tied the record at All-State choir auditions by getting a score of 299 points out of a possible 300. But that's not what made me a 'Dominant'...

'The Dominants' was an award-winning vocal jazz/show choir from my high school. From the first time I heard them (as a freshmen) I knew I would one day be a member of this prestigious singing group. The name 'Dominants' is a play on words, referring to the 5th of a chord, or the dominant of the chord, as well as performers who dominate at competitions. And yes, there were competitions...

I will never forget in my junior year 'The Dominants' were enrolled for some vocal jazz and show choir workshops followed by a competition in Jersey City, NJ. We were a little scared that schools from New York would be there, as we imagined 'Fame' choirs putting us to shame. The workshops were from like 10 am to 4 pm, and the competitions were from 6-8 pm. Unfortunately for us, our County school bus broke down on the way, which delayed our arrival by several hours. We got to the auditorium just as the workshops were ending. Fortunately we arrived in time to have a quick dinner, change into our costumes and compete.

All of the high school groups were competing in either the vocal jazz OR the show choir divisions, except for 'The Dominants'. We had two different performances and were enrolled in both divisions. As we watched the groups who performed before us, we got more and more excited because we knew our songs were better and that we were simply more talented. But the proof was in the pudding... err, the performances.

First was the show choir division, which involves more choreography and less complicated vocal arrangements. We were like group 5 out of 10, I think. Then came the vocal jazz division, which involves very little choreography, but complicated tight harmonies. You can't fake a vocal jazz performance. We drew the coveted position of performing last. Remember, we were the only group to compete in both divisions, using 2 different sets of songs.

After a brief intermission for the judges' votes to be tallied, they reassembled everyone for the results.

"The trophy for best choreography goes to... The Dominants" followed by thunderous applause. "The trophy for best vocal solo goes to... The Dominants." More thunderous applause and whistles. "The trophy for best costume goes to... The Dominants." The audience was going crazy - even our competitors were happy for us. On and on, The Dominants won all of the trophies except for one: best instrumental solo. As I recall, one group had a fabulous trumpet solo that got duly recognized.

Then came the finale. "Best overall performance in the show choir division... The Dominants." We were all on our feet, screaming, jumping up and down and hugging each other. Then came the last one. "Best overall performance in the vocal jazz division... The Dominants!" We were all hysterical by that point. We were in such an excited frenzy you'd have thought we'd each won a hundred billion dollars. What a night! I'll never forget that as long as I live.

Then there was the vocal jazz competition where the volunteer student from the audio/visual club was practicing for the Emmies. Each time a group was named as a winner, he'd play a snippet of one of their songs as the choir director went up to the stage to accept the trophy. When we won first place there and our song was playing, I swear I felt like I was on an TV awards show! The entire 24-member choir charged up on stage to be photographed with our choir director and that big-ass trophy.

If I wasn't 41 years old now, I'd have auditioned for American Idol when they came to DC. But although I look younger than 41, I honestly don't think I could pass for 28, the cut-off age for American Idol. So instead, I will look at the photos taken with my fellow Dominants and I'll remember when...