Well, America, you finally did it. You voted in Kris Allen as your American Idol. Good for you.
Now look around. See the legion's of Adam Lambert fans who have taken to writing protests on the web. That says a lot. I don't think it is a matter of how many people voted, but a matter of how many TIMES people voted. I think Kris Allen had a lot of people who continually speed dialed his voting numbers for the entire four hour period. Myself, I voted ten times myself for Adam and then left the phone lines open so others could vote as well. What an idiot I am! I should have voted a thousand times like every one of Allen's fans did who continually speed dialed his voting numbers for the entire four hour period. Myself, I voted ten times myself for Adam and then left the phone lines open so others could vote as well. What an idiot I am! I should have voted a thousand times like every one of Allen's fans did.
The sad thing is, I actually like Kris Allen. I don’t have a problem with the guy. I just don’t think he even compares to either Danny Gokey or Adam Lambert. Both of those guys are in a league above Kris. He just doesn’t have the pipes or presence to compete with either one. Adam, for one, is a superstar in the making. The guy is a performer, period. He is not just a singer, he is an all around talent. He doesn’t just get up there and sing a song – he puts on a SHOW. That is the enormous difference between Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. Adam will go on to have a stellar career, that isn’t in question. What is in question is the fairness and equity of American Idol.
As for right now I’ll admit I’m on the fence. I’m not sure I’ll be watching another season. I stopped watching the show after Taylor Hicks won (gag!) then got suckered in to watching this season after I was repeatedly regaled with tales of this phenomenally talented singer who was on this year named Adam Lambert. I watched, loved it and “knew” that Adam was going to win. Boy was I wrong. Maybe it’s just sour grapes on my part, but something about Kris Allen winning just seems basically wrong.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Singing Campfire Songs - Keep it Reasonable!
I'm all for camping with family and friends. Group fun for everyone, right? Well, that's the theory anyway...
So this last weekend I’m up camping with a group of friends and their spouses. We had a great time chatting around the fire, making smores and generally goofing off. We all went to bed at a reasonably late hour, sometime around 11:00 PM. As I’m drifting off to sleep I hear the strains of a guitar not so gently strumming Kum Ba Yah and a whole group of well intentioned college kids singing along with the song. Now, mind you, it could be worse. Could be a group of crazy bikers listening to heavy metal music, yelling, carousing and drinking into the wee hours of the morning. But my point – When you come a public campground, are you just not thinking about the dozens of other campers around you and the noise you make? I mean, seriously, I thought 11PM was pretty late to be going to bed around the campfire. Playing guitar and singing at midnight is a little inconsiderate in my book, especially for those campers who have kids with them. This summer is going to be the golden age for camping too. There will be more people camping this summer than there ever has been before. The economy situation has driven people to the point where they are looking for any low cost alternative to taking a vacation. I’ve heard the word staycation being coined lately, where people are just staying home, but I think more likely than this will be taking the family outside to the great outdoors and experiencing a low cost vacation in the relative wilderness. If that is the case, then it is more important than ever to consider your fellow campers and be polite. Stop and think – if you were someone else, would you find the behavior you wish to engage in disturbing? If the answer is even a maybe, then don’t do it.
So this last weekend I’m up camping with a group of friends and their spouses. We had a great time chatting around the fire, making smores and generally goofing off. We all went to bed at a reasonably late hour, sometime around 11:00 PM. As I’m drifting off to sleep I hear the strains of a guitar not so gently strumming Kum Ba Yah and a whole group of well intentioned college kids singing along with the song. Now, mind you, it could be worse. Could be a group of crazy bikers listening to heavy metal music, yelling, carousing and drinking into the wee hours of the morning. But my point – When you come a public campground, are you just not thinking about the dozens of other campers around you and the noise you make? I mean, seriously, I thought 11PM was pretty late to be going to bed around the campfire. Playing guitar and singing at midnight is a little inconsiderate in my book, especially for those campers who have kids with them. This summer is going to be the golden age for camping too. There will be more people camping this summer than there ever has been before. The economy situation has driven people to the point where they are looking for any low cost alternative to taking a vacation. I’ve heard the word staycation being coined lately, where people are just staying home, but I think more likely than this will be taking the family outside to the great outdoors and experiencing a low cost vacation in the relative wilderness. If that is the case, then it is more important than ever to consider your fellow campers and be polite. Stop and think – if you were someone else, would you find the behavior you wish to engage in disturbing? If the answer is even a maybe, then don’t do it.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Driving
Lately I've had a enough of dumb driving habits.
I don't know if there is some kind of dumb driving habit club or maybe I'm just noticing it but I see dumb driving habits on the rise lately. I've seen people zoom ahead of me, cut someone off, then turn off the road onto a side street. Just yesterday I see this lady putting on her makeup, kids are not only NOT in car seats, they aren't even buckled in, and she's talking on a cell phone too, the phone balanced precariously between her ear and her shoulder. That is just insane. Last week some guy cuts me off in traffic, gets in my lane, and then slows down to a crawl. Why? I have no idea.
I don’t know about everyone else but I am acutely aware of the fact when I am driving in my vehicle that I am wrapped in two-ton machine that often has my family in it. Incredibly aware of the fact that a wrong move on my part could put my family at risk, other drivers and their passengers at risk and my own life at risk. I don’t see how anyone driving on today’s roads could be anything less than intensely aware of these simple facts, yet I see people doing dumb things constantly.
I’m almost to the point where I agree with the late George Carlin’s viewpoint on driving; we should all be issued paint guns with our driver’s license, and you get to peg anyone you catch doing something dumb. Once you cross a certain threshold of paintball hits the cops get to confiscate your license. Maybe then people would stop and think, “Am I doing something unsafe or foolish? How can I do this safer?” Or maybe just pay attention when you’re cutting me off with my family in my vehicle.
I don't know if there is some kind of dumb driving habit club or maybe I'm just noticing it but I see dumb driving habits on the rise lately. I've seen people zoom ahead of me, cut someone off, then turn off the road onto a side street. Just yesterday I see this lady putting on her makeup, kids are not only NOT in car seats, they aren't even buckled in, and she's talking on a cell phone too, the phone balanced precariously between her ear and her shoulder. That is just insane. Last week some guy cuts me off in traffic, gets in my lane, and then slows down to a crawl. Why? I have no idea.
I don’t know about everyone else but I am acutely aware of the fact when I am driving in my vehicle that I am wrapped in two-ton machine that often has my family in it. Incredibly aware of the fact that a wrong move on my part could put my family at risk, other drivers and their passengers at risk and my own life at risk. I don’t see how anyone driving on today’s roads could be anything less than intensely aware of these simple facts, yet I see people doing dumb things constantly.
I’m almost to the point where I agree with the late George Carlin’s viewpoint on driving; we should all be issued paint guns with our driver’s license, and you get to peg anyone you catch doing something dumb. Once you cross a certain threshold of paintball hits the cops get to confiscate your license. Maybe then people would stop and think, “Am I doing something unsafe or foolish? How can I do this safer?” Or maybe just pay attention when you’re cutting me off with my family in my vehicle.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Star Trek Movie Review
Star Trek – What a movie!
I took the plunge and went to the theater the other day to see Star Trek. I will admit I went into the theater skeptical, at best, about enjoying it. I wasn’t sure I was going to actually like it though I very much wanted to. I’ll admit, I absolutely love the director, J.J. Abrams. The man is a great storyteller as well as a wonderful director. So going in I knew it had a wonderful chance to succeed as a great story and superb bit of cinema. I wasn’t disappointed.
Star Trek ended up being a non-stop adrenaline rush. The story was moved forward in an expedited manner, leaving you breathless and on the edge of your seat, without leaving you confused and wondering what exactly was going on. It was comprehensible and did the original franchise proud by emulating what was best about the original series and eliminating anything that wasn’t relative to today’s audiences. I highly recommend the film, though it did have its share of gaffe’s and missteps. My assessment is as follows:
· Director – A
J.J. Abrams manages to squeeze the maximum amount of excitement out of this movie without resorting to terrible cliché’s
· Writers – B-
Though the character development was wonderful given the short amount of time for it; the story used some elderly science fiction plot devices that are a little stale and unimaginative.
· Acting – A -
The actors all did a great job developing the characters in their own way. Some parts felt a bit forced to me, mainly where they were attempting to pay homage to the original series.
· Special Affects – A+
At times you forget you aren’t watching real film but CGI sequences. This film cost $150,000,000 to make and you see all that and more on screen.
Overall, Star Trek was an exhilarating action/adventure that leaves you wanting more. While maintaining the strengths of the original series it breaks out of the stale Star Trek mold and manages to have broad appeal in the process. I believe this is destined to be one of the milestone movies of the 2009 summer blockbuster season.
I took the plunge and went to the theater the other day to see Star Trek. I will admit I went into the theater skeptical, at best, about enjoying it. I wasn’t sure I was going to actually like it though I very much wanted to. I’ll admit, I absolutely love the director, J.J. Abrams. The man is a great storyteller as well as a wonderful director. So going in I knew it had a wonderful chance to succeed as a great story and superb bit of cinema. I wasn’t disappointed.
Star Trek ended up being a non-stop adrenaline rush. The story was moved forward in an expedited manner, leaving you breathless and on the edge of your seat, without leaving you confused and wondering what exactly was going on. It was comprehensible and did the original franchise proud by emulating what was best about the original series and eliminating anything that wasn’t relative to today’s audiences. I highly recommend the film, though it did have its share of gaffe’s and missteps. My assessment is as follows:
· Director – A
J.J. Abrams manages to squeeze the maximum amount of excitement out of this movie without resorting to terrible cliché’s
· Writers – B-
Though the character development was wonderful given the short amount of time for it; the story used some elderly science fiction plot devices that are a little stale and unimaginative.
· Acting – A -
The actors all did a great job developing the characters in their own way. Some parts felt a bit forced to me, mainly where they were attempting to pay homage to the original series.
· Special Affects – A+
At times you forget you aren’t watching real film but CGI sequences. This film cost $150,000,000 to make and you see all that and more on screen.
Overall, Star Trek was an exhilarating action/adventure that leaves you wanting more. While maintaining the strengths of the original series it breaks out of the stale Star Trek mold and manages to have broad appeal in the process. I believe this is destined to be one of the milestone movies of the 2009 summer blockbuster season.
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