Watching Sitcoms

My husband and I were watching some random movie the other day. Don’t even ask me what it was, cause honestly, I don’t remember. Anyway, the mother of one of the character’s was familiar. My husband couldn’t name her, but right away, I recognized Louise Lasser.

I have fond memories from my youth of Louise Lasser as Mary Hartman in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I’m sure I was probably too young to watch it at the time, as it was considered quite racy because of the topics it dealt with and, even though it was a sitcom, it didn’t air until 11:30 pm. It was more like a soap opera than a sitcom, but that was the point. It was supposed to be a parody of soap operas, hence the double name . . . people always said things twice in soaps, or so Norman Lear felt. The show also aired every day, five days a week, with no repeats, and it had no live audience or laugh track.

Along with Lasser, MH2 (as it was sometimes known) also starred Greg Mullavey, Dody Goodman, Mary Kay Place, Graham Jarvis, Debralee Scott, Martin Mull, Dabney Coleman, Marian Mercer and Doris Roberts. Some of those names should also be familiar.

MH2 was only on the air from January of 1976 until May of 1977, but because it aired five episodes a week, there were hundreds of eps. You can order some of them here from Amazon or Deepdiscount.

Also, just so you can see the kind of strange, funny, weirdness that was Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, here’s a video of Mary and the Librarian:

Last night, I finally saw Hairspray. Call me cheap if you want, and it’s true, but I just don’t see the need to pay money to go see a movie in a theater, when I can just as easily wait a little while and see it for free on my big screen TV with surround sound, comfortably in my jammies. Beyond that, I am already paying for cable, and HBO, and Starz, and HBO on Demand, and Starz on Demand, and . . . you get the picture. So I just keep track of what’s coming to On Demand when and then I watch it. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is coming on June 23 and I’m very excited.

Anyway, back to Hairspray. I really liked it. My husband left about halfway through cause he couldn’t take any more singing. The wimp. But I’m a big fan of musicals. As a matter of fact, just last week we saw Grease (or at least I saw it; my husband does actually like Grease, but there was still too much singing) and The King and I (which my husband avoided at all costs). In any case, watching Grease and Hairspray, reminded me yet again why I like John Travolta so much. Not too long ago, I saw the first DVD of the first season of Welcome Back, Kotter. (You can buy them here from Amazon.) It was great. I keep meaning to get back to the library and get the rest of the eps. In any case, back then I was talking about John Travolta and how great he is at everything he does:

I’m always amazed at how many different genres in which he has performed and excelled. He’s been in comedies, dramas and musicals. He has sung and danced, delivered jokes and acted as the evil bad man, and he’s been believable. Plus, he’s been successful in both small and big screens . . . not many actors are versatile enough to do well on both TV and in movies.

. . . and now he’s proven that he makes a pretty good woman, too!

Am I the only person in the world who remembers that they just did an Incredible Hulk movie like 3 years ago? Seriously. The new Incredible Hulk movie is coming out on Friday, and I just can’t help wondering why someone thought it was a good idea, since the other movie was such a big hit. OK, for any slow students out there, that was sarcasm.

I didn’t actually hate the other movie, unlike so many other people, but then I’m a big comic book geek. Also, I loved Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in the series, which was pretty lame in retrospect. (By the way, if you are interested, you can get the DVDs for that series here.) But still, what is the reasoning behind making another movie? The same movie. I mean, I’m sure the movie will be different, but you’re starting with the same premise and working with all the same characters, right?

When I first saw the promos, I thought it was going to be sequel and I wondered why. Then I saw it was going to actually be another movie and I really wondered why.

So if there’s anyone out there who has a clue, please tell me. I mean it. I’ve read a little about it and its almost like no one is even acknowledging the previous movie. Like it never existed. This confuses me. I would expect people to at least comment on the first movie. To say why they think there’s another movie being made, or to explain it all away for someone like me. Cause I have an enquiring mind.

Since my last couple of posts have been about food, and since I have to keep thinking of stuff to write about, I started thinking about this movie I like, Christmas in Connecticut. I know its only June, but Christmas will come eventually. It does every year.

If you’ve never seen it, you should check it out this year. Its one of those movies I try to watch each year around the holidays. I’m talking about the 1945 version, by the way. And what, you ask, does that have to do with me and food? Well, the story is about a journalist, Elizabeth Lane (played by Barbara Stanwyck), who writes a famous home making column, where she talks all about her farmhouse home, her husband and baby, and what wonderful meals she has made. The thing is, Elizabeth doesn’t have any of those things, she’s single, she lives in an New York apartment, and she can’t cook.

Then her boss, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), invites himself and a returning war hero to spend Christmas with her family on their farm. In order to save her job, she has to think fast, and hilarity ensues. Elizabeth agrees to marry John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), a long time suitor she has consistently rejected. As it turns out, he owns a farm in Connecticut, and it seems like the perfect solution. The housekeeper there even watches babies for mothers working at a local factory. Elizabeth’s good friend, Felix (S.K. Sakall), a chef agrees to come and cook, as well.

Then Elizabeth meets Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan), the war hero, and things get really out of hand.

The difference is, I really can cook.

I need money, cause I’ve been off work so long. Well, maybe “need” is a strong word, but I want it. Then my sister tells me that she has direct deposit with the IRS, so she got her tax rebate check like two weeks ago. Apparently, if you trust the government with your bank account information, they reward you. I don’t trust the government, so I had to do some investigating to see when we’ll get ours. As it turns out, not soon enough.

The IRS site advises that the “economic stimulus payments” will be issued according to the last two-digits of the main filer’s Social Security number. For joint filers, the payments will go out based on the person listed first on the return. Payments will be made by either direct deposit or paper check, consistent with how people filed their 2007 tax return.

So here’s the schedule for DIRECT DEPOSIT:
Last two SSN digits: Payments will be transmitted
no later than (and received by
the end of the day of):
00 through 20 May 2
21 through 75 May 9
76 through 99 May 16

Which means, of course, that all those trusting people have already received and, possibly, spent their check. If you are like me, though, you are still waiting. Paper checks will also go out according to the last two-digits of the main filer’s Social Security number. But they didn’t even start to go out until all the direct deposit people had money. Why not, I wonder?

Anyway, here is the schedule for the PAPER CHECKS:

Last two SSN digits: Payments will be mailed
no later than (and received
a few days after):
00 through 09 May 16
10 through 18 May 23
19 through 25 May 30
26 through 38 June 6
39 through 51 June 13
52 through 63 June 20
64 through 75 June 27
76 through 87 July 4
88 through 99 July 11

You then need to allow some extra time for actual mail delivery, they say 3 to 5 days, but with our mail, it could be two weeks.

There was also some other info about people who didn’t file their 2007 taxes on time, and other reasons why you might not get your check according to the schedule. If you’re interested, you find it all at IRS.gov.

All I know is, I gotta wait at least another month to get my money. *sigh*

Food is my life. That’s gonna be the name of my cooking show, if I ever get a cooking show of my own. Which is doubtful. But if I did, I’d just cook all sorts of different stuff, both good for you and not so good for you. But all good. I just told my husband today, I’m too good of a cook to always cook healthy food. I made a cherry-apricot cobbler for dessert the other night and, on our diet, none of the ingredients would be legal. We are all always on a diet at my house, because we’re all overweight. But then, these days, who isn’t? I mean, am I right?

Anyway, I watch a few different cooking shows, and I never talk about them. One show I love is 30 Minute Meals. OK, Rachael Ray can be a bit much at times, but she’s good and she’s taught me a lot of shortcuts to use that do save time. I generally need more than 30 minutes, but still and all, I do cook faster than I used to, and I think I’ve become an even better cook. I’ve been cooking since I was really young, like 11 or 12 years old, cause it was just me and my mom and she worked really long hours. So I made dinner. At first, it was a lot of macaroni and cheese and stuff like that, but eventually, I learned.

Now, I usually cook with all fresh ingredients (no box mixes for me), and I generally don’t bother following recipes, cause I don’t really need them cramping my style.

Last night, I made this really great pasta dish that we all loved and which was perfectly legal on our eating plan. My husband said it was good enough to entertain with and it was super easy. If you’re interested, I’ll share it, but I warn you, I don’t measure anything.

It was Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta. I chopped and sauteed a small onion and four cloves of garlic in some chicken stock (I make my own, without salt), about a 1/2 cup of white wine, and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, and let the onions and garlic get all soft and mellow. I then added some crushed red pepper flake, fresh ground black pepper, parsley (fresh or not), and one can of artichokes (you could probably use frozen, too, but I had a can). I dumped the juice out and rinsed them off, and cut the hearts into quarters, first. Then I cleaned and thickly sliced a small package of white button mushrooms, but any kind would work, and added those. I’m a firm believer in using what I have.

Once all the veggies were looking good, I added some medium sized already cooked shrimp. I get the packages of frozen shrimp from Aldis and keep them in the freezer. Just dump them into a bowl with some cold water and they thaw out within a few minutes. I always de-tail them before adding them to anything I’m cooking, cause I hate having to deal with the tails when I’m eating, but you do what you want. After about 3 minutes, which is all the shrimp really need, I added about 2 or 3 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese (OK, this is not strictly legal, but its worth it!) to the sauce and it thickened right up.

In the meantime, I had cooked some rice pasta, any kind would work, but we had spaghetti. Then I threw the cooked pasta into the sauce and mixed it all around and we ate. And ate. It was really good and had no salt, wheat or fat.

Best of the West. Did I talk about this show before, or did I just think about it? I do that sometimes, I think the whole thing out, just in my head, and then never get a chance to write it down. Then I forget everything I thought out that was so witty. Or whatever. Then I either forget about it entirely, or just think I already did it. So, I’m not sure about Best of the West and I’m too lazy to go back and check.

Best of the West was a western comedy back in 1981. And look what I found on YouTube:

This is just a few minutes of one of the eps, but it gives you an idea of what the show was like, for those of you, unlike me, who don’t remember it very well. I remember it really well. That Meeno Peluce (he’s related to Punky Brewster, you know) was such a little cutie, and Tracey Walter, who played Frog, was just so hilarious.

One episode I remember particularly well was about the railroad coming into town. The man who determined where the railroad would go was very religious. Since they wanted the railroad, they decided to pretend they were religious, too. They converted the saloon into a church, and draped the dancing girls in sheets, stationing them along the stairway, to be the choir. They start to sing the hymn, Rock of Ages, but no one knows more than just the title, so they keep singing that over and over to the tune of the song, “rock of ages, cleft for me” pause, “rock of ages, cleft for me” and so on. For some reason, that struck my mother and I as very funny and whenever we hear that song, we always sing it that way. Just goes to show you how people remember silly things.

The writer of the show, Earl Pomerantz, has a series of posts in his blog, entitled “Story of a Writer,�? where he talks about Best of the West and how it came to be. He mentions another funny bit in one episode where the wife is sweeping the floor and complaining that she can’t get all the dirt up, when the husband points out that it’s a dirt floor. Again, silly, but one of those things you remember, even nearly 30 years later.

I also found this link, to someone who has created a DVD of the show and is selling it. I might just have to get those.

I’ve been sick. For a really, really long time now and it just sucks. Plus, I lost my job. Well, see, it was like this. It’s like I read once somewhere. I think it was Shirley Jackson, or maybe it was Erma Bombeck, one of them anyway, who wrote about how whenever anyone else in her home was sick, like her husband or one of her kids, it was like the end of the world. They got to be as sick as they wanted and she had to take care of them. But when she got sick, she just had to keep going and no one noticed. She said she used to fantasize that the doctor would stop in for some reason, take one look at her and say she was so sick she should be in the hospital and how dare they not take care of her. That kind of thing.

That’s what its been like for me. I knew I hadn’t been feeling well for a long time, months. Maybe longer. My neck was killing me and I’d lost my voice. Even before my mom had surgery and I’d spent the entire month of October being a nursemaid, while trying to do all the other stuff I needed to do, which included my very full-time job and teach our choir’s sopranos to sing a dozen Christmas songs, I wasn’t well. Going into November, I was exhausted. I kept trying to get a day off to rest, but it wasn’t happening. I asked to take off the week of Thanksgiving, just to have “me” day, but it was a no. I had, I think, something like 17 people here for dinner on Thanksgiving, so I asked if I could take off just Tuesday and Wednesday to get ready. Tuesday was a no. So I took off just Wednesday and spent the entire day running at full-tilt to get everything ready. It was actually on that Tuesday, November 20, that I started to lose my voice. But I just kept going. All though the crazy holidays.

But when I finally gave in and went to see the doctor in late January, it turns out I was actually sick. Apparently, parts of my neck are fused together. Also, that little nagging laryngitis issue I had had for over 10 weeks? Turns out I had a hemorrhage on my left vocal cord. So I had to go through voice therapy and the doctor put me on disability cause he didn’t think it was a good thing for me to talk too much. My job is all talking. I actually had to stop talking for like five full days at first. Completely. It was very hard.

I loved my job. But, honestly, I don’t think my boss believed I had to be off work, cause she knows how much I wanted to take off and she wouldn’t let me, for months, and she probably felt guilty and mad all at the same time. So when the doctor finally released me to go back to work in April, my boss was real strange about it, like she didn’t know what I was going to do. I found out later, that she had already given my desk away to someone else. She had locked me out of my email a while before that, and I started to worry then, but I still thought I’d have a job when I got better.

Well, I found another position, but only part-time, which was what the doctor recommended for the first little while. I was supposed to start this week.

Guess what? I’m sick again. This time I have a bacterial infection of some sort, all over my face. At first I thought it was shingles, and I had to go to the Emergency Clinic cause my doctor’s office was closed. They told me it was a sinus infection and a staph infection, and put me on an antibiotic. I was on it for about five days when I could get in to see my own doctor. My doctor said it was some sort of bacterial infection, but wasn’t sure what exactly. He sent me for some blood work and put me on another antibiotic. Now, I’m completely nauseous all the time, as well as being all itchy and red and swollen in the face. I’m absolutely miserable. And I’ve been sitting around off work for nearly 4 months now.

You’d think with all this free time I’d have been able to watch more sitcoms. But it just hasn’t happened.

Here we are, finally, at the finale of American Idol. Well, the first night of the finale. All these months of watching this show as it beat us up and dragged us around, are finally paying off.

Oh, puhlease. What is with the announcer guy and the boxing gloves? They didn’t do anything like this for Clay and Ruben, did they?

What’s with showing Chris Daughtry when speaking about the “title” and “superstars?” Did American Idol conveniently forget that Chris didn’t actually win the title?

So David A won the coin toss and chose to go second. Surprise, surprise. If I cared more, I’d go back and check to see how many who went second on this week won.

So they are paying homage to Clive Davis. I thought he was out of it this year.

David Cook
Clive’s Choice - I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, U2. This is one of my most fave songs. There’s a live version on Rattle and Hum with Chicago Mass Choir behind it and it would have been incredible if David Cook had done that version.

He didn’t, but if he had I’d have voted for him. Even so, he did a great job. He totally got the better song, so Clive must like Cook better than Archuleta.

David’s Choice (from songwriting competition) - Dream Big. I just noticed that David’s hair is sticking up tonight. No more badcombover look. This was a good pick for him, since we don’t know the song it’s a little hard to judge, but that was a good catchy tune and he did a good, if somewhat mumbly versed, job. My husband thought it had a little bit of a Van Halen feel to it.

Is it fair to change the competition at this point? I mean all this time they’ve been singing karaoke, and we’ve judged them based on songs we know, and now suddenly, we are supposed to be giving our opinions for songs we don’t know.

David’s Choice - The World We Know, Collective Soul. I love this song, too! Cook is just pulling the better songs for me. He did a great job. He just doesn’t have the strong vocals like Archie. But I will buy his CD.

David Archuleta
Clive’s Choice - Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me, Elton John. Also a good job. As it turns out, this song was great for his voice. But I still didn’t think he was better than David Cook. He did mostly keep his eyes open and I only saw him lick his lips once. My mom just called to say how wonderful David is. I think that’s what she said, cause she was very loud and excited and then she said goodbye and hung up.

David’s Choice (from songwriting competition) - In A Moment. Another nice, slow, boring ballad for David. It’s OK, but not even as good as his first song and still not as good as David Cook. Sure, his voice is smoother, but its just missing something, if you ask me. My sister just called me to be obnoxious and say how wonderful David is. She kept screaming into the phone. She also told me that she didn’t believe anything she heard about his dad, cause if his dad was so awful, how could David be so sweet? *puke*

David’s Choice - Imagine, John Lennon. Can he do that? Sing a song he already did? Laura says they do that every year. I guess I just don’t remember. Plus, I guess, I don’t really care. Well, it was as good as last time and maybe just a tad less gaspy than usual. Good job, David.

Its clear that the judges want Archie to win. I believe he was hand picked from day one to win. Either that or his dad paid them off for him to win. Whatever. Archie has the great vocal chops and he sounds good, my 80 year old mother and my 59 year old sister love him. They love him. But they won’t buy his CD and neither will I. I will be buying David Cook’s CD, though, no matter what Laura says, cause he’s more my style. Of course, when Jason Castro’s CD comes out, I’m all over that one, too.

Maybe it’s just cause I’m sick, or maybe its cause Jason Castrois gone, or possibly its because the pimping has been so obvious this year, but I find I just don’t care what happens tonight on American Idol. I mean, I really, really don’t care. I want to watch next week, for the finale, cause everyone will be back, and I’m happy about going to the concert, for the same reason (I guess I’m getting used to the awkward group numbers), but I couldn’t care less about watching tonight. Whatever. But, for you, I’ll do my recap anyway. Try to enjoy.

Ryan says there were 56 million votes deciding the fate of the Top 3 of the “best season ever.” Does that number seem low to you, too?

Unfortunately, I’m watching this live tonight, so I’m unable to fast forward through all the stupid stuff. This is really gonna suck. As the group number starts, my husband says, “this is gay” and then “look at that choreography, huh?” I have nothing to add. I see Amanda, Chickezie and David Hernandez in the audience and I begin to weep for what might have been.

Next comes the silly commercial. Sorry, but my idea of heaven is not a Ford Focus.

Then we have the recap so we can once again relive the judges beating up on Syesha Mercado and sharing love with David Archuleta and David Cook.

Fantasia comes out and my husband says, “she looks like a freak.” I’m thinking of letting him take over and write this blog, cause he seems to care more than I do. He keeps talking, “Ugh, gross.” I’m just gonna take a quick bathroom break. And maybe put the dogs out, too.

OK, I’m back. Is this show over yet? Do we have the two Davids all chosen and ready for their big showdown at the finale next week? No. Darn it, I came back too soon.

So Ryan starts “the drama” by calling David A out front. We get to live through David’s hometown visit with literally thousands of screaming teenies. He cries. Then we are forced get to see what would be David’s goodbye reel if he was leaving. Except Ruben’s not celebrating him home. Apparently, they have to fill this entire hour somehow.

We continue the drama with Syesha. The crowd doesn’t look quite as large for Syesha’s home visit. But then I’m reminded of Katharine McPhee and her home town visit, which was about 10 people in her parents’ driveway. Anyway, back to Syesha. At least she doesn’t cry. Oh, no, wait. She’s does. Now we sit through her goodbye reel, with Fantasia providing the background music. Did anyone else notice, right at the end, when they showed a young girl holding a sign that read, Live Your Dream, it was an Archuleta sign behind them, not a Mercado one. Just me then?

We are back to share the drama with David Cook. As Ryan starts to speak, David Cook’s stalkers scream out “We love you, David” from the audience. Then Ryan brings David’s younger brother Andrew up on stage so he can stand there looking uncomfortable for a few moments. David’s home visit is filled with lots of scary looking older women. The little teenies were cuter and less stalkery. My husband asks, “Do you think he’ll cry?” And yes, he does. And so does his brother. (Or is he just thinking, it could have been me?) David’s goodbye reel is accompanied by Daughtry, of course, cause they want to push that there’s a connection or similarity there. There isn’t.

OK, here it is. We get to hear the results. We are closing in on the finale of this, the best season ever, of American Idol.

Dim the lights. America has decided that the finale will be (drum roll please) . . . David Archuleta and David Cook. OK, so is anyone surprised by that?

I don’t feel so good tonight. Plus, I’m in a hotel room in Cleveland, watching American Idol all alone. And I’m stuck here, cause I’m sick and I have no vehicle. Of course, I have no where to go anyway, but still. My husband is at a Cleveland Indians game. He doesn’t even like baseball. But whatever.

I’ve already checked out the spoiler lists for the song titles and I’m not impressed. David Archuleta is singing, wait for it, three slow boring ballads. Surprise. Syesha Mercado is only singing one song I know and it’s a sassy 50’s song, very Broadway. Huh. I originally saw that David Cook was going to sing some Collective Soul, which would have been interesting, but no, interesting cannot ever happen on this show. Its forbidden.

I’m gonna give my impressions of all three songs for each contestant at one time, rather than breaking it down the way the show plays out. Does that make sense? As I mentioned, I don’t feel too good, I think I may even have a fever, so I might not make too much sense right now.

Ryan almost sounds like he believes all that crap he spouts about the final three being at our mercy. I beg to differ. But then no one cares what I think anyway. And yet I insist on writing this blog.

David Archuleta

Paula’s Choice: And So It Goes, Billy Joel. Typical boring David A crap song. Billy Joel has some amazing music, mostly upbeat, why pick this song Paula? He’s changed the melody only slightly (or maybe he just doesn’t know the song), but since it’s a lesser known song, probably no one will notice. I can’t get past his sucky breaths at the end of each line. They love this kid no matter what, and nothing I can say will mean anything at this point. I didn’t notice anything different about his performance without his dad helping him. He’s still boring and predictable.

David’s Choice: With You, Chris Brown. I don’t know this song, cause I’m not a pop music fan. So I found the original and listened to it. So boring. This type of song may lose David some of the grandma vote, cause they won’t care for this drivel either. But maybe David will do something to make it sound different. However, trying to sing a love song when you aren’t even old enough to understand it and feel it may also be a mistake, we’ll see. (Some people at 17 are old enough. David A. is not one of them.) I don’t know. I thought it was sorta sloppy and I didn’t understand a lot of the words. Maybe that was better. (My boo? What does that even mean??)

Producer’s Choice: Longer, Dan Fogelberg. I used to like this song when I was a little girl. I’m not sure why anymore. *snore* *sputter* Wha? I’m awake. I just dozed off for a sec. Really. Of course, the judges love him. They would.

Syesha Mercado

Randy’s Choice: If I Ain’t Got You, Alicia Keys. It was OK. I’m just not feeling it. Sorry. Why are these people so dull and boring and bland?? Aren’t they supposed to be the three best contestants left on the “best season ever” of American Idol?

Syesha’s Choice: Fever, Peggy Lee. She wants to work the chair. Well, let’s see how this works for her. Nope. I didn’t like it. Just not “on” enough. It always seemed like she was trying to catch up with the music. It should have been a bit more . . . I don’t know the right word . . . staccato comes to mind, but that’s not really what I mean. When I was younger, I was in an ensemble. Our director would have said she didn’t have the chops. I guess that’s what I mean. But it doesn’t matter, cause they are clearly done with Syesha and ready to move on to the David/David finale. This week is just a placeholder.

Producer’s Choice: Hit Me Up, Gia Farrell. Oh, yes, they want her gone. What was that mess? I can almost feel sorry for her having to sing, if I dare call that singing, this song. That is not a singer’s song, its a dance tune, possibly originally sung by someone chosen for their ability to dance. She is so, so, so gone. But then I’m not at all surprised.

David Cook

Simon’s Choice: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack. I feel sorry for David having to sing after all the Ryan/Simon gay banter. I’m just saying. Well, he does get the “this guy is a winner” fire-y background to help him out. It was very predictable; he didn’t really change it up at all. So far, it was the best, but that’s not saying much. Is this show over yet?

David’s Choice: Dare You To Move, Switchfoot. I think I’m just getting used to the robotic arm wavers, cause I barely notice them now. No wait, I still hate them. Never mind. It was OK. The song sounded too short, like it was all wind up and nothing else. The beginning seemed too low for him, too. He’ll still be around next week.

Producer’s Choice: I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing, Aerosmith. I think this might actually be a good choice for David. Hopefully, he does it some justice. Not bad at all. After all the other crap we’ve been served tonight, this one almost sounded amazing. I’m sure when I listen to it later, it won’t be as good, but right now, I’m so excited this show is over, that I think it was great. He was definitely the best of the night.

Its obvious that this thing is set up for the David/David finale we’ve all been promised. I don’t think there’s anything more to say.

The results are coming up. This is American Idol. I’m watching the results show a little later, since I’m usually not home to watch it live on Wednesdays. I know I could switch over to live right now and can just watch the last 15 minutes. But I’m not gonna do that. I’m gonna watch this thing from the beginning, all the way through. Except for the stupid parts that I always fast forward through.

So, Ryan tells Randy he was hard on Syesha. No mention of how they were so nasty to Jason.

Another awkward, uncomfortable group song. It’s making me think. What will the concert be like?

Ooh, Judge Judy is in the audience. I love her.

Now I fast forward through some commercials and the recap.

Here come the results:

David Archuleta is first up. Yes, David, you do want to be the next American Idol. That’s why you are here, remember? David is safe. Was there ever any doubt?

I feel that I want to fast forward through the Idol’s trip to Vegas, but I just can’t. I such a fan-girly, I want to see them. So someone grabbed Jason and kissed him. I don’t see that anyone did that to any of the others. I guess they’re right; Jason must suck worse than the others. (That’s sarcasm, in case it doesn’t come over well in print.)

Next up is David Cook. He’s the most original ever?? Randy, do you have any idea what you are talking about? He just finds covers done by other people who are original. David Cook is also safe. Well, color me surprised.

Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro now come out to center stage. But since we’re barely a third of the way through, I’d say we’re not gonna find out for a while.

We come from the commercials for the Ford commercial. Is Little David actually wearing purple? Poor kid. I fast forward through the audience questions. I cannot take them. At all.

I realize that its 9:58 pm and if I switch to live TV right now, I can see who has been kicked off. But I don’t.

I used to like Maroon 5. I think it was cause they had a kinda 80’s sound and I’m an 80’s music fan. Well, it was when I was young, so you always end up liking that music best, I think. Anyway, I don’t believe I like them anymore after that. I started fast forwarding about 45 seconds in.

I’m prepared for whatever happens. But I wish I wasn’t so anxious about it. I guess I just want it over with.

Now we have Bo Bice singing something or other. I actually like Bo. I felt really bad about his terrible first CD, cause he was good on the show. I remember that he broke his foot or became ill somehow or other during the tour and missed several shows. The show we went to was his first time back. He didn’t perform throughout the entire show, but just came on at the end as a surprise and did a few songs. Everyone was so excited. I remember what I liked about him. I may just buy this CD. I did not fast forward through his song, although I am, as previously mentioned, very anxious.

Well, this is it. *gulp* Jason and Syesha at center stage. *drum roll please* Jason is . . . . going home tonight. Well, that was not a surprise. As Ruben celebrates him home, I notice that they don’t show any of the nasty criticism, only the nice things everyone said. Well, this is American Idol.

So now we are down to it on American Idol. I have to live with the very real possibility that Jason Castro is going home tonight. I’ve been getting really involved when I honestly thought I didn’t care that much. I think I’ll be OK when he leaves, but it still makes me very angry. I think the real issue for me is how they have been treating everyone. The people they want to win they pimp, and the people they want to go home they don’t. It’s that simple. That’s always been the way they do it, but for some reason this year, it really makes me crazy. Maybe it’s just cause they are treating David Archuleta and David Cook like the second coming and treating other people, namely Jason, like they are crap. Honestly, I think if Little David pulled his pants down and peed on the judges they would still say he was amazing, (you, da bomb, dawg) and if angels suddenly appeared on the stage, surrounded Jason, and sang backup for him, they’d still hate him (I wasn’t feeling it).

What’s more, Jason just takes it. He has never really answered back to the judges, even though he has almost always received negative critique. As opposed to someone like Carly or Brooke, who more often received praise, and when they did get any negativity, they answered back. Part of that is that I think the judges don’t understand anyone who isn’t really a “pop” singer. That’s what they want and if someone isn’t really out there, like say, Blake Lewis, they just don’t get it. Jason is just who he is and that’s not what they want.

I have also been feeling a bit sorry for Little David. While his style isn’t for me, too slow and boring, I can admit that he isn’t terrible. He’s probably even good, if you like that, but he’s not for me. If they just wouldn’t pimp him so much. But I’m actually referring to his dad here. I’ve read all the conflicting reports about this guy, although none of them mention his scary resemblance to Danny Bonaduce, and I’m feeling pretty comfortable that he is one of those crazy stage dads. He probably does berate the poor kid if he doesn’t do well. I mean, Little David does still seem pretty amazed every time he gets positive feedback. That shouldn’t be surprising at this point, since its all he ever gets, so it makes me wonder if he’s used to only being beaten around (I’m talking verbally here) by daddy dearest. At first, I thought the modesty was just an act, and it still may be, since the kid has been singing as an amateur-professional since he was like 2 years old, but now I’m not sure anymore. Mostly, cause he just doesn’t seen smart enough to keep it up.

This morning, I read all the reviews I normally read, and I kinda feel a little bit better knowing that most of them agree with my point of view. Which is that Jason, whether good or bad, is getting thrown under the bus, and the two Davids are getting pimped. Syesha doesn’t seem to have any fan base that I can find, and yet she has made top four, so who knows. Its almost like no one even remembers she’s still on the show.

It was a foregone conclusion for me, from way back, that the two Davids would be the final two standing. It was time for another two man finale, we’ve had boy/girl finales for too long now. (Season 1 was boy/girl, Season 2 was boy/boy, Season 3 was girl/girl, Season 4 was boy/girl, Season 5 was boy/girl, Season 6 was boy/girl). Last Season, the number 4 person was Lakisha Jones. Another person out at number four was Chris Daughtry, who I was pretty sure was the pimped for that season and yet he didn’t win. In Season 4, dialidol predicted that the only person not safe was Vonzell Solomon, and yet Anthony Federov went home. So I guess anything can happen. There has never been a top three all the same sex, so it would be interesting. But I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

At this point, I’d like to think that David Cook would like to leave either this week or next. I doubt he wants to win, cause then he would be stuck in the 19 Entertainment contract and have to sing whatever stupid song they write for him (I’m Proud That This Is My Now) and record whatever they pick for him to record. Look at Bo Bice. His first album sucked, so you clearly don’t want to be second either at this point. I think third or fourth place is a good place to go out, but I also think that no matter what, no major label is gonna pick up someone like Jason, who although he has a rabid fan base, does not have the skill or the sales appeal of someone with a more pop sound.

A friend of mine had posted a list of firsts that Jason has pulled off on AI. I’m just gonna end this little rant with her list.

First person to ever play an instrument in competition on AI.
First person to ever make it to top 4 with absolutely no one even knowing his name before the thing started.
First person to play a ukulele on stage and be taken seriously.
First person on AI to break the Itunes top 100 list.
First person to have two of the songs he sang make number 1 on Itunes by the original artist in the days following his performance. Interestingly enough, both of those performers are deceased. He raised the dead for cripes sake!! What more do they want from him!!

Well, its time for American Idol yet again. Seems like I just watched it. Right, I did. In any case, I’m ready for the Top Four to blow me away with “Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.” But I’ve seen spoilers of what they are going to sing and I don’t have much hope of that. At least there’s only three weeks left of this torture, I guess I can handle that.

So here we go:

David Cook - Hungry Like the Wolf, Duran, Duran. I’ll be honest. The thought of anyone singing this song on AI scares me a little. More than a little. And I was right to be scared. It wasn’t too good. But it was great how he messed up the words, “mumble mumble wine, mumble, mumble wine.” My husband just asked me why with all the songs to choose from would he pick Duran, Duran.

Syesha Mercado - Proud Mary, Tina Turner. I was so busy looking up which came first, the Tina version or the CCR version, as my husband insisted, that I forgot to listen. I’d say Simon was probably right. She is usually screechy. My husband’s comment, “She’s hot. It wasn’t that good of a song, though.”

Then he said if it’s top three guys and the last girl is gone, they are gonna lose a lot of their audience. I told him that teenage girls don’t really care about Syesha and that women predominately make up AI’s audience.

Jason Castro - I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley. What was the guitar for? It didn’t look like he played it at all. I disagree with the judges, I thought he seemed very comfortable and happy singing. He knew the song and he just sang it the way he sings. I liked it. I was thinking Bob Marley, too. Also, I dislike how they always slam him every week and he just takes it.

David Archuleta - Stand By Me, Ben E. King. My mom keeps referencing Frank Sinatra as a young singer when she hears him for some reason. I don’t get it and I don’t get him. He looks like Eddie Munster and he’s kinda creepy overall. In any case, I was too busy being angry about the judges trashing Jason that I didn’t pay any attention, but I’m sure it wasn’t as good as the judges say. They want him to win and they want Jason to go home. It’s soooooo obvious and it makes me crazy. I wish they would be fair and honest in their critique instead of basing it on what is supposed to happen.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want Jason to win and get stuck in the stupid 19 Entertainment contract. But I want him to lose fairly not get pushed out for the pimped favorites.

David C. - Baba O’Reilly, The Who. Better than his first song, but still it wasn’t a good chop up of that song. I wanted it to do more than it did. Once again, the judges pimp who they want to win.

Syesha - Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke. She looks really good tonight. She ended it with the prerequisite glory notes, so the judges will probably like it. I thought it was a little dull and she sounds kinda screamy to me no matter what she sings. Laura was saying to me last week that Syesha is probably the least talented black female in all seven seasons. Think about it. She’s up against people like Latoya London, Lakisha Jones, Trenyce, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, and Kimberly Locke. I believe she should leave this week. The crying, however, is gonna get her some votes.

Jason - Mr. Tambourine Man, Bob Dylan (the Byrds probably did the more popularly known version). Poor Jason, he’s so nervous, he forgot the words. I thought it was good, but sorta sing-songy, which wasn’t what he needed. I still love him more than the others. His style is my style. I think that when you mess up it sometimes acts in your favor and might get him more votes.

David A. - Love Me Tender, Elvis. My husband thinks he’s excellent. My mother was being so obnoxious about Jason that we had a fight and she got up and left the room mad, slamming her door. I’m still so angry, I don’t care how he sounded. It’s fixed and David A. is gonna win, so there.

I don’t mind if Jason goes home this week. Really, I don’t. But I don’t want them to be mean to him and push him out whether or not he’s good. In all honesty, he didn’t have a great night, but it wasn’t as bad as they made it sound.

Since it seems obvious that they want Jason gone, I’m not even gonna try to guess what will happen tomorrow night.

Sorry there was no American Idol blog last week, or, you know, any other blog. I went out of town unexpectedly and had no computer access. Actually, I didn’t have much TV access either, so I didn’t get a chance to watch Idol. I knew I was DVRing it at home, though, so I wasn’t too worried. I did call Laura at exactly 10 pm on Wednesday just to find out who got the boot.

As a result of my lack of TV and computer, I missed out on all the controversy surrounding Paula’s comments and poor little Jason. I’m sure, by now, its apparent that Jason is my favorite and I’ll be so sad when he leaves. I’ve done some reading up on everything that happened, and it appears to me that Paula was just confused. I believe I’ve actually read somewhere that the judges do sit through the rehearsal and take their notes then. Since they weren’t supposed to comment on anyone until all the songs had been sung, Paula just forgot. Look, I’m not defending stupidity or anything like that, I’m just saying.

So, since it’s all over and there isn’t much more to say, I plan on saying stuff anyway. Here’s my, more or less concise, run down of what I thought.

Jason Castro - Forever in Blue Jeans and September Morn. I thought he did a good job on the first song, but that the second one was a little weak. I can make some allowances, obviously, as everyone seems to be doing, because of Paula’s craziness. It would be hard for anyone to go up there and do your best when you’ve just been told you suck. But overall, he should have done better. I also read about the remarks that Jason made, saying he’s “ready to go home.” I’d give that a re-read. Meaning, he probably means he’s “prepared” to go home, since it could happen at any time now. Jason is just a pretty laid back guy. At least that’s what I think.

At this point, since I’m not actually watching the show as I write this and didn’t take any notes while I watched, I realize that I don’t care enough about any of the rest of it to look up who sang what. So I may not have that information here.

Brooke White - I’m a Believer and I am I Said - Brooke just never hit her stride, if you ask me. Although maybe I was watching it knowing she was going home, but overall, I thought she was giving off that Carly-desperation vibe. As much as I liked her in the beginning, little by little, she’s been getting on my nerves, so I was happy to see the last of her.

David Cook - He sang two songs I really didn’t know. I think that’s really wise of him at this stage in the competition. Especially, since they are telling them to remake the songs in their own image. By picking lesser known songs, David can play around with the song without upsetting anyone who thinks that Neil Diamond songs shouldn’t be messed with. Plus, it sounds more original, since no one knows the song. Good job.

David Archuleta - Sweet Caroline and America, probably some of Neil’s more easily recognizable songs. It figures that the kid would get them. In any case, he did OK but I didn’t think he was that exciting.

Syesha Mercado - Hello Again and some other song. My husband really likes her, I can barely remember she’s in this competition.

And, as for chop night, can I just say that I’ve never heard group songs that are still, after this many weeks, so awkward and uncomfortable sounding and looking. My husband was not watching, he was in the other room, but just as the group song was ending, he walked into the room and said, “That was really bad.” I couldn’t agree more. I’m also noticing how they group them during the Ford commercial. David A is alone, David C and Syesha are together, and Brooke and Jason are together. Is it subliminal? Putting the people they want to go together and leaving the winner alone? Whatever.

As for Brooke’s meltdown, I could see that coming for weeks now. She’s been getting less and less easygoing and more overwhelmed and stressed as the weeks have passed. It’s probably much better for her to not have to deal with any of this anymore.