CI Etcetera

Sebastian has left the building, on a higher note than he might have done last week and the week before that.  But he was due.  Even if he was your absolute favourite, you knew that it was coming.  And Mark has made his first appearance in the bottom three – also something insanely overdue!  He is just so incredibly a fish out of water in this madly talented group.  And Mookie gets to be the third member of the bottom three once again.  Well, somebody had to stand there.  And it would have been even worse if it had been Amberly.  As a good friend of mine has stated, there are going to be some heart breaking eliminations in the next few weeks.

However, I won’t be around to see them.  I leave on Saturday for my island vacation.  That sounds so ’southern’, but the island is on the Winnipeg river, so it ain’t the tropics, baby.  And I won’t be back until the 24th of August.  Three weeks with no internet. Perhaps I’ll work on my mind quieting meditation stuff.  Or perhaps I’ll just hone my drinking skills.  It’s a hard choice, so maybe I’ll perfect some sort of combination of the two. 

The removal of the Scrabulous application from Facebook has all us addicts in a state of turmoil. The whole situation is extremely unfortunate.  Bad moves made on everyone’s part and no amicable settlement in sight.  But the boys from India will never say die.  Their Wordscraper app. will probably be huge.  I hope the Scrabble Beta people from Hasbro end up with a collosal flop.  Two wrongs don’t make a right, and all that blather.  I must admit, I am wondering where my actual board game has gone – did I take it to the island?  Calculating a score in my head is going to be BRUTAL after months of playing the internet version.

So Breathing Space is officially on hold for the next three weeks.  I will be writing down my more astounding thoughts with a pen on paper.  I’m finding more and more that I have to do some version or other of that process if I want to remember things – the available storage space in my head is shrinking at an alarming rate.  And I will have PICTURES!!  And a visit from my sister and her two lovely daughters in September!  Life is good.

A Popsicle Moment in Time

One of my beautiful grandaughters with one of her beautiful friends, sharing a beautiful popsicle moment.

Canadian Idol Top Eight

The unplugged week can be a killer for some performers, but everybody did well tonight! Or maybe, like Sass, I’m just in a super good mood and lovin’ everybody. Jake starts off the show with his usual blather about vulnerability and passion. Sass loves this theme cuz you get to see your favourite artist naked. WOOT!! Farley talks about an open window and unveiling, and Zack is looking for the off switch on his shirt.

Gavin Rossdale turns out to be a VERY astute mentor for these kids. And he looks pretty good in the shower, which is just a nice bonus.

Sebastian – Lucille. Gavin tells him to show us the pain, not the bravado. He says Sebastian keeps loading on the masks so there’s no emotional honesty. Dump the showmanship and you’ll be more interesting. Although it sounds like that could be completely out to lunch, turns out he’s exactly right. Sebastian sings it well, he plays a great harmonica, he has a cool jacket. Jake says he needed to do something really great this week and he did it. Sass agrees it’s the best he’s been in a long time. Farley welcomes him back to the music business and says his heart and soul were refreshing. Zack says being much better this week was not such a stretch; with any luck he’ll be going home tomorrow and we can all get on with the search for a Canadian Idol. If that is indeed Sebastian’s swan song, it’s a good one.

Earl – Two. (Ryan, not Brian) Gavin recognizes Earl’s very own vibe, his good natural instincts, the sensations he creates, and his emotion and his character. Earl agrees that’s what people seem to latch onto. Although I prefer a crazier Earl, this was another good, solid performance. Sass says OMG, Earl, that was really really really good. Really. Good. Really. If she said much else it was drowned out by the screaming crowd. Farley calls him Earl the Pearl. Zack says Earl has a John Hyatt kind of vocal, and he feels like he’s listening to the sound track of his life. It was emotional and touching, and ‘your show, bro.’ Jake says it’s hard to judge Earl, he’d rather just sit back and enjoy him.

Mark – Stay. (or ‘why don chew stay’) Gavin calls Mark funny and the opposite of jaded. He tells him to sing every line of this girl’s song as if it’s the only line in the song. Mark is stunned by how brilliantly simple this is. For a funny guy, he’s being very serious and angsty. Farley says this is what he is and what he does. Zack calls it very nice, much better than the giant grape and cod-cheeky stuff. Jake calls him a great singer and a great interpreter. Sass says I think I enjoyed that as your best yet – it suited you. Marks double chin gets a bit trembly.

Mitch – Oh Atlanta. Gavin talks about Mitch’s love of music and how he gets lost in it, but lets him know that the audience needs him to re-connect. A good way to do this is to pick out a person in the audience and sing to that person. This at least seems to have worked to keep Mitch’s eyes open for a larger percentage of his time on stage. I liked this song, which was kind of east-coast country. Zack thought for a minute maybe he’d tuned into some kind of weird PBS channel. Jake berates him for playing it safe and not taking risks. Time to step it up. Farley also wants him to get out of the safety zone and try something more vocally challenging. Sass thinks he kicked it as usual, and his charm transcends anything.

Amberly – The Way I Am. Gavin remarks on how mature this girl is, how she makes the emotional connection to her songs, how she understands what she’s doing; he says the show is richer for her being there. Amen to all of that. Jake says he’d much rather listen to her than to the original artist, Ingrid Michaelson. Me too, mostly because I don’t know who Ingrid is. Sass agrees, Amberly is lovely to listen to, because of her ease, grace and fantastic pitch. Farley says she looks stunning on tv and likes her hair off her face. I’m finding her eyebrows a little startling, but not so distracting that I can’t appreciate the big picture. Zack does a little mini rant about how ridiculous it is when some uptight viewers complain about how the judges are always telling the good ones they’re good. Well, yeah, that is pretty stupid. He says Amberly is one of 2 or 3 of their rarest finds, and if she’s not here next week, Canada will have jumped the shark.

Mookie – Ophelia. Gavin seems happy to just let Mookie be and to stand back and enjoy this rough diamond that is Mookie Morris. He likes how his voice mellows out at the end of the song, and suggests that by doing that he’s carving out more of a journey. Not sure what that means, but very sure that I LOVE the Band, I LOVE this song, and I am a Mookie fan for life. I also love the sign in the audience which lets us know that “Superman wears Mookie Underpants!” Sass is ecstatic as only Sass can be, and says he just gets better and better – unbelievably cool song, wicked performance. She loves the Mook too. Farley says he just eminates STAR. Zack likes the maturity of the song choice and says he sang the hell out of it. And Toronto should be embarrassed if they’re not all voting in droves for Mookie. Jake says it’s his best pure singing so far. Yeah, I like that too, but for me it’s more how Mookie looks all crossed eyed and mad at the mic.

Drew – Sunday Morning. Gavin thinks Drew’s versatility could be his downfall. He says it’s not a good idea to do someone else’s cover, because in the end you never get it quite right, and when it’s over no one really knows who you are. Well, Drew is just Drew, isn’t he? A little dreamy eyed guy saying ‘come on y’all’, singing his heart out with the band and having himself a real good time. The three male judges don’t get it. Farley says it was a good job but not a great one. Zack says ‘I’m the human disco ball, what the heck are you?’ Jake gets all anal about Drew’s clothes. Sass disagrees with all of them. She loves Drew – he looks good on tv, he sings great, and he’s the bomb. Unfortunately, all this doesn’t quite erase the slightly stunned look from Drew’s face.

Theo – Weak in the Knees. Gavin tells Theo to deep six the trilling. Music is pure emotion. Sing it from the heart. Theo already knows this, he just needed a friendly reminder. And he does sing it from the heart, with some serious head flopping around thrown in for emphasis. Zack says (among other superfluous things) that that was the performance of the night by Theo Tamms. Jake has run out of stuff to say, so he just agrees with Zack. Sass says, yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re great. Farley tells him he understands why he’s here, what he’s doing, and hasn’t made a mistake yet, buddy. Well done.

Well it was not the performance of the night for me, although it came close. The difference is that I don’t always like the mopey heart breaking guy-being-wimpy songs. Mookie is once again numero uno mostly just for being so damned much fun. Amberly joins him for my top two this week. Theo is number three.

Then there’s the also rans – Earl, Drew, Mitch; order not important.

And last AND least, Mark and Sebastian.

Missing M & M

Mom and Murray A. sharing a funny moment.   What a wonderful way to remember two beautiful, beautiful people.

Tiger Lilies and other stuff.

Three or four days since I last blathered away here??  Where the heck does the time go anyway?  I dug around this morning until I located my ‘camp log’ journal and was kind of amazed at the June 14, 2006 date.  Normally I would just purchase another book and start over, but in the interests of history and continuity, and also because the book is 9/10ths blank pages, I will continue on with this year’s camp holiday there.  And then when I get back I’ll re-live it here.  Almost like taking two holidays instead of one.  Departure date is fast approaching, so lots to do, but as usual, I have little ambition to actually do anything. 

Here’s my tiger lilies a couple of weeks ago, and here they are yesterday.

How amazing is that?  They don’t last long, but they are incredibly beautiful.

                         

The bird house that nobody lives in, the bird feeder that a squirrel thinks is his, and my frogs that got blown onto the concrete in a wind storm and smashed into many shards.  I KNEW there was a good reason for taking that picture.  Actually I still have the smiley one on the left.  He survived for some reason. 

So, do you think I’ve been alone for a TAD too long????  It’s been almost three months of doing whatever I please, which is basically dick all but living in the moment.  Maybe this is the way life is supposed to be lived.  Because like the frogs, you’re here one minute and the next one you’re not.

CI Top 9 Results

OF COURSE having Sebastien go home tonight would have been way too predictable and ultimately bad for the show’s ratings, so he once again dodges a bullet.  We won’t get into whether or not it’s a credible result.  But the two remaining girls ending up in the bottom three??  What??  The CI world has gone crazy this season. I mean, you know, more than the normal crazy we’ve come to love.

It’s not unexpected to see one of the Albertans in the bottom three, because it’s bound to happen when three people in the top ten are from the same place. But I thought it might be Earl or Theo making an appearance there first. Amberley did NOT deserve to be there based on her performance.  Based on her gender is another matter I suppose.  And even though Katherine wasn’t one of my favourites, I’m very sorry to see her go.

GOOD GAWD Mark was awful in the group number. And I lasted about 30 seconds into Jaydee’s thing – he’s way easier to digest on fast forward with no sound.

And suddenly our top eight consists of seven guys. Five of them can sing.  Two of them are there for all the wrong reasons.  And our one beautiful and ridiculously talented girl who must feel like her days are numbered. 

CI Top Nine

Okay, I’ve officially decided the theme title (Rock and Roll Heaven) was tacky in the extreme. There were way too many dead jokes which weren’t particularly funny. And the ‘rock and roll’ part was also supposed to be a joke I guess…….since it was okay to pick any song by any dead artist. Pretty wide open as far as themes go.

Theo – Bob Marley – No Woman No Cry. The little dutch boy from Alberta turns Jamaican on us. What could possibly be more fun than that? The hair is much improved tonight I’m very happy to say, to the point where Theo looks quite amazing on camera, and nothing so superficial as a bad hair day distracts from his incredibly beautiful pure voice.  Jake is glad he’s come out from behind the piano, but if he does it again, Jake will no doubt lament the fact that he isn’t behind the piano. We’ve learned to expect this kind of yo-yo thing from Jake. Sass says good job, Farley likes the Theo interpretation, and Zack calls it a ‘john legendy’ vocal. Which is apparently a good and cool thing.

Mitch – Jeff Healy – Angel Eyes. Mitch is just so SWEET doing this song, and so completely believable as some nerdy guy who cannot fathom why a beautiful girl wants him. Sass thinks Jeff would be happy with that. Farley thinks it’s a smart song choice. Tonight Zack find’s Mitch’s unique voice uniquely annoying. And so of course Jake LOVES the uniqueness. So there ya go. I’m still stuck way back there on sweet.

Earl – Light My Fire – Jim Morrison. I do not understand why, but I like Earl more every time I see and hear him. Maybe because he does such totally Earl versions of stuff. Farley calls the song choice beyond appropriate and calls him intelligent, smart, and charismatic. Zack likes how he combines the Doors, the Beasty Boys and Feliciano. Wow. Who knew that was even possible. Jake is content in the knowledge that Canada gets it and Earl is not making the judges look stupid. Sass likes best the look of surprise on Earl’s face when the crowd goes wild.

Sebastien – Elvis – Love Me. Sigh. I actually kind of enjoyed this performance, compared to his previous ones. He hit a few good notes, and looked heart-throbby. And it’s hard to be nasty to somebody who is fairly begging you to love him. Poor baby. But the judges are not fooled. Zack tells him he’s no Elvis. Jake and Sass say he was out of tune right off the top, but (comment of doom) he looks great!! Farley says ‘movie producers, yes; record deals, no.’ Seabstien stares meaningfully into the camera with his bedroom eyes.

Katherine – Janis Joplin – Move Over. How amazing that somebody can be shouty and smiley all at the same time! That was interesting, but ultimately not my thing, so it’s hard to be objective. Jake says she wasn’t angry enough. Sass calls it a brave effort and adds that she looks gorgeous. To me she’s still looking a bit like a kid playing dress up. Farley says she’s missing maturity. Zack wants her to run around the stage driving the heck out of her songs and calls her vocal fantastic.

Drew – Blind Melon – No Rain. What a stupid hat. How does that go with the nose ring and staggering around? Aw well, in the end it doesn’t matter. The boy can sing. The people love him. Sass says DW did it again! Farley thanks him for listening to their advice and being more animated. Zack tells him to throw even more groove into it. Jake says his voice is perfect for that song and he did an admirable job. I had forgotten how short Drew is and was contemplating that fact to the point where I almost missed Ben’s bee costume. How unfortunate would that have been. Hmmm.

Mookie – James Brown – I Feel Good. This kid has more guts than anyone I know, to take on that particular song by the Godfather of Soul. And to be awesomely amazing and make it look easy!! Incredible. The crowd goes NUTS after the final HEY! and Mookie falls flat on his back. For me, the absolute best performance of the night. Farley calls him the hardest working man in idoldom. Zack calls it cool, and exactly Mookie. Jake is impressed by how he hit the stage. But I think he was talking about the beginning, not the end. Well, who knows with Jake. And Sass yells ecstatically that the shy guy has kicked the door wide open! Mookie is looking quite a lot happier with himself this week.

Amberley – Bob Marley – Redemption Song. One of the reasons I like Amberley better than Katherine is because of the songs she sings. Like Zack says, she can be a very 60’s – Joan Baez kind of girl. The other reason is that her voice is so incredibly pure and clear. Zack calls her phenomenal. Jake loves how she emotes, her tone, her inflection, her phrasing….Sass butts in to add the word clarity, Farley calls it accurate and says he likes how she communicates. They’re falling all over themselves in an Amberley love fest. Which is nothing less than she deserves.

Mark – Luther Vandross – Dance with my Father. I had a blonde moment at the beginning of this one, thinking OMG, not another DANCE song…. This is the first time I’ve not been annoyed out of my mind by Mark. He plays it straight and shows us his beautiful voice. The teary moment at the end was a bit much, but hey. He’s an emotional guy. Jake says he showed his heart. Sass says beautiful job. Farley thinks he may have won himself two votes that are not from Newfoundland. Zack calls him loveable. He makes his mother weep. All these things will keep little Markie safe to sing another day.

So who should stay and who should go? It would be an even bigger shame this week if Sebastien is not the one to get the heave ho. And whoever else is in the bottom three, it’s going to be hard to take.  Because this is one amazing group.

It’s All Good

I’ve learned some interesting stuff this week.

1.  Coffee is good for you.  It can lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, colon cancer, cavities, liver cirrhosis and gallstones; it can manage asthma and control attacks when medication is unavailable, stop a headache, boost mood, enhance athletic endurance.  Coffee is loaded with antioxidants (chlorogenic acid and tocopherols) and minerals such as magnesium, all shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.  So YEAH!!  I’ve always known it, deep down, that coffee is magic medicine.  But like all good things, best not to overdose to the point of rapid heart beat, nervousness and hand trembling.  Stop short of the big jolt and pay attention to what your body can tolerate.  Moderation is the key.  So I suppose I’ll be sticking to brewing one twelve cup pot a day.  Hey, I only drink about four cups every morning….although the cups are damned BIG.  That must be why I’m so damned healthy.

2.  Weeds never give up.  Especially thistles. And their nasty prickles can penetrate some brands of gardening gloves (for example, the kind given away by Helman’s with the purchase of their mayonaise.)  Why are they doing that?  It’s just weird.

3 (a).  Some people’z monkeyz are way more fun than otherz.

   (b).  Placing a ‘z’ on the end of a plural word is infinitely more cool than using a plain old ’s’. 

4.  UFOlogy is a science.  There’s a research institute based in Winnipeg dedicated to it’s study.  And they’ve found that the most UFO sitings are coming from New Brunswick these days.  Possible reasons for this?  More UFO’s are flying around in that area.  More people in NB are feeling less inhibited about reporting such things.  The pubs there are open later.  I made that last one up – please forgive me serious Ufology research people.  And keep up the good work.

5.  Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog has a rather tragic ending.  But it’s SO worth seeing.  And listening to.  http://www.drhorrible.com/  Great fun.  They should make a full length movie.

È rifinito

**drum roll**  TAA DAAAA!!!!  **cymbols crashing**

I am sick to death of staring at little brown furry puzzle pieces.  But I must say the end result is satisfying. 

And in case anyone should think that’s ALL I’ve been doing, I submit this evidence of continued industriousness for no good reason:

This one was only 500 pieces and way more fun because of all the colors.  Instead of picking up a piece and saying WTF I was able to readily identify her skirt, the chair cushion, the purple mountains, skin, hair, etc.   It just all clicked together quite nicely with a minimum of stress.   

So.  I don’t know.  Is there something else I should be working on or doing or caring about?  Probably.  But this puzzle came in a box of FIVE completely different scenes for just $9.96!!   No one in their right mind could resist that, hey?? 

Other things I did yesterday included eating, napping, laundry and baiting ants (I feel guilty about that one, but our front lawn is just SO not a good place to live, you guys).  And since I don’t know how to entice you to move your little community elsewhere, I have to kill you.  Sigh.

Next I’m going to take pictures of my tiger lilies, which are blooming all huge and brilliant orange!  MAN.  It’s hard to keep up with me, isn’t it?

CI Top 10 Results

For the group number:  Theo, Adam and Sebastien sing first. Kind of an awkward little trio.  They’re followed by Amberley, Katherine and the boys from the east coast. That gives us a chance to compare the singing voices of the two girls – they’re both lovely.  And Mark gets teamed up with Mitch briefly, because where else does he fit in?   And finally we have Earl, Drew on drums, and Mookie;  and those three blow the rest of them right out of the water.  And that’s my take on that.

The order in which contestants leave the show is not all that important in the grand scheme of things, especially in the beginning, although certainly nobody wants to be remembered as the one who went first.  I never pictured Adam as the next Canadain Idol so for me it’s okay that he’s gone.  Adam or Sebastien – flip a coin.  Mark being declared safe for no apparent good reason is just something we’ll have to learn to live with for awhile.  I know, I need to stop picking on him.  He’s a nice guy.

But Mookie Morris in the bottom three??  Wow.  How’s that for a wake up call for Mookie and his fans?  Straighten up and fly right you guys.  Nobody is truly safe until he’s the last one standing.