This week...

Big Updates and News in our lives this week that we are excited about:

1. Laura had her second ultrasound this morning (they gave us one before by mistake, so this was the real one) and everything looks good according to them. We are excited and thankful! Our baby is up to a whopping 1/2 a pound, but she still is without a name. We have narrowed it down to a workable list, that still is perhaps not complete. In no particular order:

1. Lorien - My favorite. Lord of the Rings name from Lothlorien, one of the places that was really beautiful in the books. This is a tough sell to Laura since it is a Lord of the Rings name, but I think it's really pretty and not too strange. Thorin or Feanor would be a tough sell :).
2. Dora - From "Doron" which is Greek for gift. We both love this name, but that stinking explorer sort of is putting a negative light on things. We don't want our daughter being called "Dora the Explorer" her whole life. Haven't ruled it out yet though.
3. Olivia - One of Laura's favorites. There is another girl in our church with that name already, but it is a family name from deep back on my mother's side. I don't know, not real likely though probably.
4. Abigail - In consideration but not a front runner.
5. Rebecca - always loved this name. Never had anyone that sort of came to mind with it for a long time, but it has been less appealing in recent years. Probably won't happen.

Who knows how many more we will come up with though.

2. NFL Draft this weekend. I am so excited. Finally I won't be at Merlefest during it. Why do they have to schedule two such great things at the same time? Friends coming over. Lots of drama in the mix for the Draft itself. Should be very exciting.




3. American Idol Rant - I still lose respect each time I mention this I know. Thoughts on this week - this really shows that this competition is about winning votes not singing great. The next two to go should be Brooke and Jason Castro. How do you forget the words and sing horrible songs and stay on the show. As if you cared, my list of how I think it should finish:

1. David Cook or Syesha Mercado
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke White
4. Jason Castro

American Idol...Can't Help Myself

Alright, I'm about to lose all dignity if I ever had any, but I am actually going to post about American Idol. I have been inspired by Amanda's previous posts, and I feel the need to let my voice be heard...

Thoughts on April 15's Show:

I must begin by saying I completely disagree with the judges after last night. I don't understand the logic that "since you are a girl, you will be compared to Mariah Carey, and if you are a guy you can sound like crap and it's okay, even breathtaking."

A run down of each contestants performance:


David Archuleta - began the night with black leather pants singing a Mariah song that I have forgotten the title to. My impression: horrible rendition. Boring, pitchy (yea dawg). I brace myself for the poor kid to get put down mercilessly, and they tell him it was a great performance. What? Once again I brace myself, it's gonna be a weird night.






Carly Smithson - Sang "Can't Live" and did a decent job. I liked her rendition, thought it was very good, but not incredible. She definitely outdid David A. though, so I thought "Man, they are really going to compliment her." Nope, so begins the logic mentioned above. If you are a girl and sing good it doesn't matter, because it is Mariah night, so too bad you weren't born a guy, or you could sing terrible and everyone would think it was great.




Syesha Mercado - seems to be the one that the judges just can't quite appreciate. She sang "Vanishing" and it was AMAZING (best performance of the year in my opinion). Week after week Syesha seems to blow the rest of the competition out of the water, and just can't seem to get credit for it. I was floored at how good her performance was last night. She is the most talented person left in my opinion. Once again, stupid comparison logic (the closer you are to being as good as Mariah, the worse it is).



Brooke White - Sang "Hero", played the piano "shoes off" as usual. I liked Brooke's "singer/songwriter" (as Randy puts it) renditions in the beginning. Somewhere around the "Here Comes The Sun" times Brooke lost my support. I also don't understand why she feels like the judge evaluation time is conversation time that somehow includes her. She did an okay job with the song, but Simon was right on this one - she doesn't really have a big voice, so this night was tough for her.




Kristy Lee Cook - Every week I wonder why she is still here. Her main criticism is that she is forgettable. Week after week she has expected to go home and continues to stay here. I was starting to compare her to the red-haired Sinatra guy in Season 3 who kept expecting to leave but somehow stayed. There has not been a single week that I thought she deserved to stay, until this one. Laura's belief is that somehow the teenage guys of America are keeping her on board for her looks :). Last night, she had what I thought was the second best performance of the night. Big voice, wonderful rendition...she should stay this week. Once again though, the logic mentioned above was given to her. Unfair this week.

David Cook - Okay, I've been a fan of this guy. Thought he has had some great weeks. I am starting to get weary though of the "special David versions" of certain songs. Some of them were good, mostly the ones he used from other people. Last night, his version of "Always Be My Baby" seemed to me to be the worst performance of the year so far. It was laughable, except for the cool scream note in the middle. Parallel Universe Logic applies though, Randy says it is the best of the season, and the judges seemed to act like it was great. I honestly don't understand. I think David is very talented, but that was the worst performance in terms of how it sounded and was arranged I have seen all year.

Jason Castro - If it wasn't for David C., this would be the worst performance I have seen all year. He managed to borrow the Ukelali (no idea how to spell it) sound last week for Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but this week it was a disaster. Terrible in terms of compared to the other competition. Once again, rave reviews from the judges except from Randy, who must have woken from his coma just before the song. Unfortunately, Paula was still in her 24/7 coma, and whatever they slipped in Simon's coke before the show was still working. Simon signs off with "the guys won the night."

I can't believe I gave an American Idol blog post. Luckily my friends don't think very much of me. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to bash or support my opinions...

On the Clock...

I realize most people don't care about this, but I wanted to add in a quick note about my building excitement for the NFL Draft in a couple of weeks. The Jets have a high pick because (uh-hum) they stunk last year. Draft day is always fun for a Jets Fan, here are some of the GREAT picks they have made in previous years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZxNeFLuY98