Sigh...

AI Season 12- Top 10 Elimination

Ryan walks down the line of frightened hopefuls, ending with Phil Phillips, who looks a whole lot healthier and happier than this time last year.

Mariah is wearing a plum one-shouldered prom dress with a long slit, which means she can stand up tonight if she is so moved. Nicki, here and on time, is in a lime green lace shorts suit with no blouse underneath, and the blonde wig with the side part and black roots. Randy and Keith are dressed just like Randy and Keith, respectively. Ryan is in a dark brown (or maybe gray) tweed suit.

Jimmy Iovine says that it's clear that the girls outsang the guys last night, as though the show didn't stack the deck for that exact result. He says that Curtis needs to change it up or he won't make it past Top 8, that Janelle is safe, that Devin is in danger, that Angie has real talent but wasn't her best last night, that Paul Jolley is pure pop and not country at all, that Candice is what music is supposed to sound like, that Lazaro has potential but needs work, that Kree knows herself, that Burnell is the best guy, and that Amber has charisma and the whole Star Package.

So we dive right in, Ryan has Devin (gray cardigan, gray shirt) stand and says that he got the most votes in Puerto Rico. Janelle (denim jacket, teal floaty long mullet skirt and subdued makeup) was first in Tennessee. Candice (pretty white tunic with black trim) got the most votes from South Carolina.

Ryan then says that one of them is in the Top 3. Janelle knows what's coming and pats Candice's arm. Candice is thrilled to find out that she's in the Top 3 (me too).

Yay! Group Sing! Tonight they're doing Shine Your Way from the new animated movie, The Croods. Devin begins the solo, joined by Burnell. All of the kids are sitting on stools while clips of the movie play in the background. Man, this movie looks awful. But the kids sound good together, though I have no idea how much of what I'm hearing is them singing live, and how much is backing track and backstage backup singers. But at least we get the Pointy Pose!

After the song, Ryan sends everyone back except Kree (in a very pretty red jacket over a black top and pants). Her huge hometown mayor (he towers over Ryan by at least a foot) gives Kree the key to the city. Better yet, Ryan sends her to join Candice in the Top 3. Yay again!

Jane Lynch is in the audience. She pulls Ryan onto her lap. And then Ryan sits on some random girl's lap to announce Bon Jovi.

Jon Bon Jovi is finally showing just a bit of age, but damn, he's still a fine looking fella. The whole band is dressed in black, and they're singing a new Bon Jovi song bonjovily. I am pretty sure that this performance was taped in advance because there are no shots of the judges wearing their rapt Listening to Peers faces.

I had forgotten that the #6 Boy and Girl from last week would get a shot to sing for the 11th slot on the tour. Ryan calls out Charlie Askew (which surprised me- I didn't think he ranked anywhere near that high). Charlie looks much less fragile than he did last week. Also cleaner. He's singing an original song about blue diamonds, sitting at a white piano. It's not a great song, and the lyrics are simple and repetitive, but he's singing it in a pure and sweet voice. If he'd done this last week, he'd still be in the competition.

Ryan then calls out Aubrey (knee length black dress with inappropriate transparent underboob panels, and sideswept hair). She's singing a soft and boring ballad with only the piano for backing.

Ryan says that online voters will get to decide which one goes on tour, and the winner will be announced next week. My guess is that tour attendees will be more entertained by Charlie and the possibility of onstage meltdowns, than by a generic pretty girl, but we'll see.

Phil Phillips is up next, singing his new song, Gone Gone Gone. He's wearing a plaid shirt and a bit of facial underbrush (in other words: a Phil Phillips costume). This is a good song and exactly of a piece with the music that won him last year's title. I love his little heel-clicking move. Afterwards, Randy joins Phil onstage to announce that Home is officially quadruple platinum.

Ryan now has Lazaro (black jacket, electric green shirt) and Angie (black pants and a black top with cut in shoulders and a studded yoke) stand. He draws out the non-existent tension before sending Angie to join Candice and Kree. Ryan explains that they won't be telling us the voting order of the Top 3, but that we'll find out the rest.

Forthwith:
4th Place: Lazaro! Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Neither did Lazaro.
5th Place: Amber (cuffed jeans, blood-splattered tee shirt, and very very tall shoes)
6th Place: Janelle, which is no surprise at all
7th Place: Burnell, also no surprise. I'm also glad.

Ryan tortures Devin, Curtis and Paul Jolley before naming Paul Jolley #8.  Wow, I thought he was going home.

So, it's down to Devin and Curtis (black and white spirograph print shirt). Keith likes Devin and Nicki declares that she will go home if Curtis does.

And 9th Place is.... Devin.... Well, I didn't see that one coming either.

Nicki gets up and pretends to stomp out. Nicki's boobs threaten to march off in an entirely different direction. But she and her chestular area sit back down for Curtis's final song so that the judges can decide whether to use their Save tonight and get it over with.

Curtis sings exactly the same song in exactly the same squinty way he sang it last night, and I dislike it exactly the same amount. The other kids look genuinely distressed- so I guess Curtis isn't as much of a jerk to them as he was to Charlie during Hollywood Week. I think that the judges are truly deliberating tonight (as opposed to the fake consultations they usually have up until the Top 5 Elimination, when they traditionally use it). But in the end, the vote wasn't unanimous and Curtis is going home.

Nicki is so shocked that she forgets to speak nonsense, and she uses her real speaking voice. Lazaro looks ill, and Curtis, to his credit, is taking it all very well.

He's played out with Phil's new song, and that's it for this week.

Thursday Tab- German Mothers and Daughters

This set was shared by our great paper doll friend Dottie- I know nothing about it except that it's German, and that the dolls are mother and daughter sets. From the style, I'd say late 30's. We lose a bit of some of the outfits, but the scans are still lovely. Thanks Dottie!

Note: I ran the title through a translation engine and it comes out: The Large and Small Girlfriends, so it's not Mother and Daughter.

AI Season 12- Top 10 Performance

We open with quick interviews of all ten kids, and clips of  previous AI Winners. Well, most of them. I'm used to the non-existence of Taylor Hicks, but the omission of Fantasia from this grouping is interesting.

Ryan Voice Over: The. Competition. Starts. Now.
Me: About. Damn. Time.

The stage opens and three of the judges walk out. Mariah is wearing a cream colored sparkly beige top and a short straight skirt, right out of Mad Men. Her hair has been messily back-combed. Randy is in a black windbreaker over a tee. Keith is wearing a black blazer over a print tee. Ryan, in a gray suit and a shorter pompadour than in previous weeks, says that Nicki is stuck in traffic and on her way. Methinks Nicki should head out to work a bit earlier from now on. You can be late to concerts when you're a headliner. But as one of four judges on a Live TV Show whose ratings are slipping? Not so much.

The Top 10 enter, lined up Boy/Girl/Boy/Girl down the row. Tonight they can sing music performed by any Idol on (or perhaps also off) the show, which leaves a pretty large list to choose from.

#1. Curtis wants to be Luther Vandross. Jimmy Iovine (from now on: JI) cautions that there is a difference between classic and retro. Curtis is wearing a blazer made from a red brocade hanky, and he's singing Fantasia's I Believe. Of course he is. Never one to sing one note when he can squeeze twelve into the same measure, this marriage of singer and song is entirely predictable.
K: talks more about how Curtis looks than how Curtis sounds
R: likes the clothes but wants to hear something different
M: likes the gospel-sound

#2. Janelle has much better makeup tonight- her face tends to disappear under the strong lights without it. She's wearing a sleeveless denim vest over a tank printed with a rearing horse, a very busy sparkly skirt, a big turquoise necklace, and boots. JI says that there are a lot of cute blonde country singers, so Janelle must be careful about song selection. She's singing Gone (which she pronounces *Gown*). There's a whole lot of head shakin' and foot stompin' and the audience stands up for her.
K- not one of the better performances, dings song choice
Nicki snuck in, wearing a long blonde wig with very blunt bangs, a black hoodie with the hood up, and very weird huge black sunglasses with built in hard plastic awnings: liked last week's song better
R: maybe not the right song
M: would have liked a ballad

#3. Devin is still sporting Tintin hair. He's wearing a blue brocade blazer with a blue plastic boutonniere. JI says that Devin can sing contemporary music, and advises him to do so. Devin is singing Temporary Home (Homebreaker? Homewrecker?). He starts out sitting on the Steps of Seriousness and then moves downstage (upstage? closer to the judges anyway). Devin has a nice voice but this is not at all exciting and I think he's missing some of the notes. He sang the entire song in English this time.
K: not one of his better performances, bad song choice
N (with the glasses off this time- sporting pale blue shiny eye shadow): disagrees with Keith
R: too safe
M: babble babble, enthusiastic babble

#4. Angie is in a black leather dress with cap sleeves. Her necklace is a heavyish chain that connects in the center front and then separates and drapes around both of her hips. Her hair, as always, is huge. JI trots out the P word, and Angie doesn't know what that means. She's singing I Surrender. She sounds good, but this entire performance is the definition of Pageanty. Angie's eyes constantly follow the camera and she never once connects to the song.
K: surrenders, and loves Angie's great range
N: compliments Angie's ability to walk well in heels (Me: a skill many do not possess)
R: Yo, Angie, An-gie... doubles up on cliches saying both that the competition starts now, and that Angie is in it to win it
M: stellar

#5. Paul Jolley is in a gray tweed blazer with black leather sleeves and lots of bronzer. JI mentions Paul Jolley's tendency to oversing. Paul Jolley is confused. He's singing Amazed, also sitting on the steps. I think Paul Jolley thinks that not oversinging means turning the volume down. This is just a quieter version of the disconnected, wide-eyed performance he always gives.
K: thinks Paul listened to Jimmy
N: felt Paul sexually for the first time
R: cannot stop giggling because Nicki said the word sexual
M: glad Paul listened to Jimmy, but cautions not to hold back.

#6. Candice is wearing an unfortunate black top with large keyhole sleeves, a low v-neck and silver sparkly trim, with tight black pants. Her hair and makeup are great though. JI says Candice's voice is fabulous. She's singing I Who Have Nothing, and it's dramatic, and perfect and effortless. Candice is the only one of these kids who can actually perform a song. She gets a Standing O from Keith, Nicki, and Randy.
K: love love love
N: it's in everyone's best interest for no one to sing that song again ever because it now belongs to Candice
R: greatest performance of the season
M: apologizes for not standing- her skirt is too tight, but was mesmerized and transfixed

#7. Lazaro is in a royal blue blazer, a narrow black tie, a white shirt with a small collar, shoes with built-in spats, and a very tall pompadour. JI is generally encouraging, which still somehow undercuts Lazaro's confidence. Lazaro is singing Breakaway, which is probably not a good idea. And nope, it's not great. Lazaro has moments, but his voice is just not that strong. I suspect he's made it this far because he's undeniably cute, seems like a nice kid, and let's face it, everyone loves an overcome-adversity story. I do think his voice would be fine in the studio, but live-performing is not his strong-suit.
K: asks Lazaro why he chose that song (Me: Keith Code for: why in the hell did you choose that song?). Lazaro struggles to answer
N: speaks more conversational Spanish, and says Lazaro looks like Ricky Ricardo (Me: he does),and cautions not to let anyone undermine his confidence
R: pitchy and the song was too big for Lazaro
M: says that people are in love with Lazaro's courage, which is not the same as saying people are in love with his voice

#8. Kree looks gorgeous tonight, with shiny hair and perfect makeup. She's wearing a really cute jacket with a white front and black back, and black pants and top. JI says Kree has a fabulous voice and range and tone, but cautions against oversinging. Kree is singing Crying, and since Iovine told her not to oversing, I think she's holding back. It's a very simple arrangement, but I don't love this performance, which makes me sad because I love Kree.
K: Kree can sing the phone book and does not need Idol
N: talks about breakfast waffles
R: makes him feel tingly all over
M: compliments Kree's obvious talent

#9. Burnell took the glasses off, and looks like a grownup again, rather than an 80's sitcom teenager. He's wearing a black windbreaker over a leopard print shirt, and a teeny mustache. JI says to mix it up a bit, and not sing ballads all the time. Burnell ignores that advice and chooses Ruben Studdard's Flying Without Wings. If Burnell was going to choose one of Ruben's songs, I wish he'd picked A Whole New World, which is one of my favorite AI performances ever. But no, he's doing this droning ballad, standing stock still at the microphone, with his hands in constant motion, just like always. Oh, there's lots of pink smoke on the stage, but otherwise, it's same old same old. Burnell does, however, have the best voice of all of the guys. He's just so darn boring.
K: loves the timbre of Burnell's voice
N: loved the song and the Burnell twist (Me: whatever that was, I missed it)
R: great song
M: teary again. some more. still

#10. Amber, once again in bright red lipstick, is wearing a studded black leather vest over a long floaty dress. A long, brown, print, floaty dress. It's a pretty weird combo. JI says that Amber is beautiful and talented and all but begs her to sing something uptempo. Amber chooses A Moment Like This, which is pretty much the opposite of what Iovine advised. Amber is surrounded by spotlights , and she gets the Wind Machine Treatment, and she consistently pronounces *this* as *these*. Amber has an amazing voice, and I like her, but this is Pageant through and through. But she gets a 3-Judge Standing O, and Mariah swivels her chair in appreciation.
K: loved it
N: best of the night, and would pay Amber to wear some pink lipstick
R: favorite Idol song
M: (direct quote) hashtag POW

The Best of everyone tonight: Candice (by a long way), Kree, Amber
The Best guy: Burnell
The Worst girl: Janelle
The Worst of everyone tonight: Curtis, Lazaro, Paul

I would love it if Curtis went home, but I don't think that'll happen. I think it'll be Paul. If we lose a girl, it'll be Janelle.

The Perfect Pint is Live!

Ever wonder why there are so many styles of beer glasses, and yet bars and restaurants only use one kind? Wonder no longer. Curtis Taylor's new eBook, The Perfect Pint will give you all the information you need to pair the perfect glass with the perfect beer!

This booklet has lots of great pictures, lots of great info, and it's funny. What more do you need?

 Yeah, I'm the author's mom, but dagnabbit, the kid knows his stuff. Go buy the book, it's only $2.99, and it's good!

Snow Cleanup

Let's be clear here, snow cleanup is like doing the dishes: the neatness only lasts until the next meal (or storm). Or, in our case, the next bit of wind, since our snow is highly mobile and we don't need new stuff to complicate our lives.

Though we weren't totally snowed in (The Hub got his pickup out), there was still no way that our car was going to plow the drifts. And no one in anything but a 4-wheel-drive vehicle was going to make it to our place. So The Hub revisited his Farm Boy Youth and borrowed some big equipment and made some paths.

 The snow was packed pretty firmly.

We could probably build an igloo with this stuff.

I love the white-on-white tracks

Mt. Taylor- a good 12' of snow piled there. 12' up, that is, the pile is probably 30' long

Looks like a glacier about to calve, doesn't it?

In case you don't know how big Big Machinery really is.

The view from inside the Payloader.

Are you impressed? I only drove it about 25' and turned it around. I didn't try to use the scoop, and, full disclosure: I squealed like a terrified little girl the whole time I drove it. But, by cracky, I drove it.

Too bad it's already drifting back in. Sigh.

Snow. Again. Some More. Still.

Winter... sigh...