Softball Playoff Predictions(First Round)

It's that most wonderful time of the year! Playoff time for the Marlboro Mens Softball league. Recently, we've had years where all the favorites advance and years where there were upsets after upsets. The truth is that when you're dealing with softball, almost anything can happen. That being said, the Pollock Power Rankings(see previous article on this blog site) were designed to accurately project exactly what will happen in the playoffs. Ok, well not exactly. I am hoping it at least predicts the winner of the Mesmer/Younger matchup. If you object to any of the predictions, well you should have done a better job in the regular season :)

Round One:

National League

Goldfarb vs. Sollazzo

This is where I have to remind the readers that I'm solely basing this preview on the numbers, so nothing personal. The bottom line is that Goldfarb has a run differential of +88 while Sollazzo's is -122. The one ray of hope for Sollazzo's squad is that they've kept the scores close lately. Two out of the last three losses were by a total of five runs. Meanwhile Goldfarb's last three games have all been relatively close. The bottom line,however, is that all signs are pointing towards a two game sweep.

Prediction:
Goldfarb in two


Carlin vs. Applebaum

For awhile there it looked like Carlin was losing all of its early season momentum. Not only are they entering the playoffs on a three game winning streak, but they are absolutely crushing their opponents. On the other side of the field, Team Applebaum has lost three of the past four games by 8,14, and 19 runs. They are also 1-6 in their last seven games. If any part of playoff success is based on momentum, then it looks like Carlin should win easily.

Prediction:
Carlin in two.


Spiegel vs. Granese:

These two teams are almost as evenly matched as you can get. In fact, The PPR(Pollock Power Rankings) has Spiegel ranked 8th and Granese 10th. There is also no clear sign of momentum although Granese won both regular season meetings. In the end, I'm going to stick with my power rankings and say Spiegel will squeak out a victory.

Prediction:
Spiegel in three


Beilis vs.Wallman

Wallman may be the 5 seed, but they should have the upper hand against a slumping Beilis team. Wallman's club has shown that they can crush the ball as well as any other team(unfortunately I know this first-hand). Wallman and Beilis might be #11 and 12 on the PPR, but the 25 points between the two scores indicates that the two teams are not really too close.

Prediction:
Wallman in two



American League:

Schefkind vs. Feldman

Team Schefkind enters the playoffs tied with the second best record in the league, but they haven't won back to back games since late June. Fortunately for them, they play a team that is only 4-14 since it's torrid 4-0 start. Despite their record and -83 run differential, Team Feldman can stay close against some of the top teams in the league. In fact, they beat Schefkind 14-8 in their last meeting. This may appear to be a very lopsided matchup, but I expect Feldman to give Shefkind a challenge. I'm thinking there will be an upset in one of the first two games and this will go to a third.

Prediction:
Schefkind in three


Lapine vs. Harris:

Like the Schefkind/Feldman pairing, these two teams split their regular season meetings despite being at the opposite ends of the regular season standings and the PPR In fact, both teams enter the playoffs winning two of their last three. In the end, I think a dominant Lapine team will only need the minimum to advance to the second round.

Prediction:
Lapine in two


Randell vs. Sarcona:

Upset alert. Despite the 3-6 matchup, Sarcona has been a powerhouse ever since its perplexing 0-8 start. Since then, they have a very impressive 10-4 record and even more importantly, a top 5 spot on the Pollock Power Rankings. At the same time, you can't dismiss a Randell team that's in the upper echelon of teams with a 12-9 record(and a decent 7th spot on the PPR). However, the bottom line is that this is a very dangerous Sarcona team. They are 4-1 in their last 5 games including wins by 12, 14, and 15 runs. In fact the 15 run victory was against Team Randell. If you're looking for a low seed to cause major havoc this year, Team Sarcona is your best bet.

Prediction:
Sarcona in three


Mesmer vs. Younger:

It's time for another reminder that all comments made here are solely based on the statistics. As I try to remain unbiased here, Team Mesmer should have the slight advantage in the first round. These two teams are very evenly matched. Take out the games played against each other, and both have a 10-10 record. However, the deciding factor should be that Mesmer won both regular season meetings.

Prediction:
Mesmer in three

Softball Power Rankings

These power rankings are based on how teams performed in 5 categories including Overall record, overall run differentials, record over the past seven games, run differential over the last seven games, record over last 3 games.

Each category was assigned a certain percentage. For instance, a team's overall record is more important than their record over the past 3 games. That being said, recent performance is important and therefore has a role in determining a team's overall value. The breakdown for each category's weight in the overall formulas is as follows:

Overall Record- 30%
Overall Run Differential- 30%
Record over the past seven games- 20%
Run Differential over the past seven games- 15%
Record over the past three games- 5%

Here are the Pollock's Power Rankings as of 8/27/10

1. Goldfarb- 149.5 points (out of a possible 160 points)
2. Lapine- 144.5
3. Carlin- 132.5
4. Schefkind-118.5
5. Sarcona- 102
6. Mesmer-98.5
7. Randell-98
8. Spiegel- 92.5
9. Younger- 85.5
10. Granese- 84.5
11. Wallman- 83
12. Beilis- 58
13. Harris- 55
14. Feldman-29
15. Applebaum-18.5
16. Sollazzo- 16.5



Coming Soon: Marlboro Softball playoff preview featuring a short breakdown of each series.

100 Greatest Characters of Last 20 Years

Entertainment Weekly came out with their 100 greatest characters of the last 20 years. As usual with any list, especially EW lists, there are a couple of choices that made me do a double take. Here is their top 10:


1) Homer Simpson
2) Harry Potter
3) Buffy
4) Tony Soprano
5) The Joker
6) Rachel Green
7) Edward Scissorhands
8) Hannibal Lecter
9) Carrie Bradshaw
10) Spongebob Squarepants

I don't think Edward Scissorhands belongs near the top 10. Rachel Green should also be a lot lower on this list. Not only has Friends not aged particularly that well, but there wasn't much about her to stand out as an individual. I could at least understand putting "Ross and Rachel" on the list instead. That would've been a copout, but the list DOES include some other pairings. Of course, the best thing about seeing a list like this is creating your own counter list. Here's my top 10 based on not just personal preference but also their place in pop culture:

The Final Episode of Lost

"And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.  But for them it was only the beginning of the real story.  All their life in this world and all their adventures [on the island] had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read:  which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before." ~ C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

“And love is not an easy thing, the only baggage you can bring, it’s all that you can’t leave behind.”  ~U2, “Walk On”

Yesterday we said farewell (or Namaste) to one of the greatest (and my favorite) television shows ever created.  There was much debate before the finale on whether it would live up to fan expectations.  Would the Lost writers be able to give the viewers a finale we were happy with?  Would “The End” be true to everything that has made this show remarkable?  Would it take the place among some of the most talked about endings in television history?  My opinion:  it certainly did.  “The End” was a wonderful, beautiful, moving tribute to characters that we have grown to love over the past six years.  It was a fitting end to the central themes of this show and while fans might not have received all the answers they wanted, we got moments between characters that beat any satisfaction those answers could have given.

Softball/MLB Averages- The Mystery Is Solved

Whenever I explained how batting under .500 in slow pitch softball isn't completely embarrassing, I told people how batting .500 is like batting .300 in the major leagues. I never knew if this was really true or not, but it seemed right. I was bored at work one day, so I decided to actually figure out how softball averages equate to MLB averages. I decided to create a chart of batting average conversions using last year’s softball statistics and the last 10 years of major league baseball averages. Here’s how it works:



Step One:

There are 208 players in the Marlboro Mens’ Softball league. We only have statistics on the 180 returning players. Since the 28 non returning players are considered unknown variables(since we don’t know if they overall had high averages or low averages), we’ll just assume that their data falls in line with the 180 players returning this year. Out of these 180 players:

73 batted .450
61 batted .475
30 batted .500
16 batted .525
8 batted .550
4 batted .575
2 batted .600

I turned each of these numbers into a ratio. For instance, since 30 out of 180 players batted .500, that’s 1 in 6. 16 out of 180 players batting .525 means that one in 11.25 players batted .525

American Idol Contest- Week 9 Standings

 If I analyzed the picks correctly, the only person who has a chance to beat Libre is Liz. Although Matt is in second place, the most he can outgain Libre by is 10 points. Since Liz predicted Casey to win, she pull off the upset. Will it happen? Stay tuned!


1. Libre Pollock- 95 points
2. Matt Pollock- 80 points
3. Sheila Pollock- 65 points
3. Liz Kaplan- 65 points
5. Ross Pollock- 55 points
6. Diana Lorenzo- 50 points
7. Ricarda Pollock- 45 points
7. Mike Podhorzer- 45 points
9. Justine Barbato- 40 points
9. Konstantina Barkas- 40 points
9. Mitch Pollock- 40 points
12. Kathy Dragonetti- 35 points
13. Christina Maffa- 30 points

American Idol Contest- Week 7 Results

1. Libre Pollock- 80 points
2. Matt Pollock- 70 points
3. Sheila Pollock- 60 points
4. Liz Kaplan- 50 points
5. Ross Pollock- 45 points
6. Diana Lorenzo- 40 points
6. Ricarda Pollock- 40 points
8. Justine Barbato- 35 points
8. Mike Podhorzer- 35 points
8. Konstantina Barkas- 35 points
11. Mitch Pollock- 30 points
11. Kathy Dragonetti- 30 points
13. Christina Maffa- 25 points

American Idol Contest- Top 6 Results

Well, I'm now officially done. This wasn't particularly surprising though. Siobhan really squandered all the momentum she had after a great semi finals and the first performance of the top 12. When was the last time someone faded as quickly as she did? I guess you can say it was Andrew Garcia! I was a little surprised that Aaron was in the top three and not Casey, assuming the bottom three does indeed indicate the three lowest vote getters. The buzz of a Crystal vs. Lee finals will not die down since they are the only two contestants never to land in the bottom three. Both Libre and Matt have these two as the last remaining, but only Matt still has his top 4 picks in tact. I also awarded 15 points to everyone who had Crystal as the top female finisher. The only ones who did not receive these 15 points were me, Jsutine, and Konstantinas.

1. Libre Pollock- 70 points
1. Matt Pollock- 70 points
3. Sheila Pollock- 60 points
4. Ross Pollock- 45 points
5. Liz Kaplan- 40 points
5. Diana Lorenzo- 40 points
7. Justine Barbato- 35 points
7. Mike Podhorzer- 35 points
7. Ricarda Pollock- 35 points
10. Mitch Pollock- 25 points
10. Christina Maffa- 25 points
12. Konstantina Barkas- 20 points
12. Kathy Dragonetti- 20 points

American Idol- Shania Week

Quick thoughts on what’s clearly becoming a subpar season of American Idol. What’s weird about tonight is that despite the lack of bad performances, the show still felt flat. Maybe this has to do with my personal indifference towards Shania Twain’s music. I think most of it, however, is owed to my lack of attachment to any contestant not named Crystal. I’ll break down tonight’s show by talking about the positives and the negatives:


Positives:

Casey, Aaron, and Michael sounded better than ever tonight. Again, I didn’t feel as much electricity from their performances as I thought I should have, but I thought they gave the three best performances of the night. In Casey and Aaron’s cases, this is exactly the kind of music that fits perfectly for them. I haven’t been the biggest Casey fan, but he was the best tonight.

American Idol Contest Update

Libre gains 5 points to keep up with Matt's move for first place. This week's biggest point getter was Mama Pollock! Defending champ, Justine, continues to stay in contention.

1. Libre Pollock- 45 points
2. Matt Pollock- 40 points
3. Justine Barbato- 35 points
3. Sheila Pollock- 35 points
5. Ross Pollock- 30 points
6. Mitch Pollock- 25 points
6. Diana Lorenzo- 25 points
8. Mike Podhorzer- 20 points
8. Ricarda Pollock- 20 points
8. Konstantina Barkas- 20 points
8. Liz Kaplan- 20 points
12. Christina Maffa- 10 points
13. Kathy Dragonetti- 5 points

American Idol- Top 7 Performances

I know I’ve been slacking on my American Idol posts, but does last night really deserve a lot of attention? You would think that getting rid of deadweight would result in a show jam packed with great performances. Ok, since we’re talking about Season 9, I would have been happy with mostly pleasant performances. Instead, I found myself covering my ears to Aaron and Tim, bored to tears by Casey, Siobhan, and Michael, and perplexed by the overreaction to Lee. Only Crystal delivered something positive last night. If it is possible to make up for six mild to horrible performances with one song, Crystal is the one to do it.

I’ll once again voice my disbelief that Siobhan has turned into a boring singer who tries to wow us with her technical skills instead of just delivering wow performances. Yes, she can hit notes others may not be able to hit. Yes, she can scream at the top of her lungs and occasionally make it sound like something we’d want to hear. But strangely she has lost almost all of the quirkiness that made her cool. Where did that punk girl go? Oh Siobhan, no.

Bottom three tonight can be anyone besides Crystal and Lee. I’m guessing it will consist of Aaron, Casey, and Michael. I’m thinking it’s the end of the road for Aaron.

My 20 Favorite Beatles Songs

I have so many childhood stories that somehow involve The Beatles. One such memory is brainstorming writing ideas for my 4th grade class. One of my favorite ideas was compiling a list of my 20 favorite Beatle songs. This is a significant memory. To my best recollection, this was the beginning of my love for making lists. The timeline makes perfect sense. It was around this time I was glued to the book Billboard’s Hot 100 which was just a collection of different music lists. This is where I learned that “Bette Davis Eyes” was the most successful song to mention a body part in its title. Anyway, the idea was to not only compile a list of my 20 favorite Beatle songs, but to redo the list several months later to see how the two lists compared. I wanted to track how my personal preferences changed over time; I’m still fascinated how “Greatest of all-time lists change over time to reflect a cultural shift. Sadly, I did not continue my list of 20 Beatles songs after the first edition. I’m going to begin rectifying this horrible mistake right now.

I’d love to see everyone else’s ranking of favorite Beatles songs. Here’s a huge confession: On two separate occasions, I set out to collect top 10 Beatle songs lists from 100 random people claiming to be Beatles fans. I would give each song a point value depending on how high it ranked on the list. Then I’d create the ultimate top 10 Beatles songs list based on these results. I was fascinated by how different these lists would be. Some lists consisted of only early Beatles songs; some others leaned heavily towards songs written by George Harrison (especially when I tried doing this after his death). The fact is The Beatles are one of the few artists who could invite such a variety of favorite songs.

Here is my list of my 20 favorite Beatles songs. I provided quick notes for a few of them. Some songs are obvious selections, some have always been personal favorites. When it comes to the Beatles, it’s hard to have a bad choice. The Beatles are so good that this is the type of list that can change constantly.

1. Hey Jude- The first half of the song is remarkable for McCartney’s compassionate, comforting vocals and the tightness of the band. The second half is incredible for its ability to hypnotize instead of bore. Some songs transcend analysis. This is one of them.

American Idol Contest- Double Elimination

Since Andrew was the first person sent home tonight, I'm going to assume he finished in 9th place, and Katie finished in 8th place. I didn't get to comment on last night's episode, but I keep thinking about how American Idol's Top 12 is like the baseball season. It's a marathon and not a sprint. The same way Blue Jays fans shouldn't get too excited after great Aprils, I shouldn't get too excited after great early performances from Siobhan Magnus. I can't believe I'm starting to like Tim Urban as much as I am. The more the show tries to sabatoge his credibility, the more I root for him. Ryan dancing with Michael Sarver during Tim's performance was distracting and rude. Thanks to the double elimination, there is plenty of movement in the contest. I wish I could change my Siobhan Magnus pick. It's nice to see the Pollocks dominating the standings!

1. Libre Pollock- 40 points
2. Matt Pollock- 35 points
3. Ross Pollock- 30 points
3. Justine Barbato- 30 points
5. Mitch Pollock- 25 points
5. Sheila Pollock- 25 points
7. Mike Podhorzer- 20 points
7. Ricarda Pollock- 20 points
7. Konstantina Barkas- 20 points
7. Liz Kaplan- 20 points
7. Diana Lorenzo- 20 points
12. Christina Maffa- 10 points
13. Kathy Dragonetti- 5 points

Lost Episode 12: Everybody Loves Hugo

Even though it usually take me a while to put up these posts, tonight I just feel like putting something up because the episode was so insane. What is going on?!

Lost Episode 11: Happily Ever After

Before I talk about this episode, one thing I just want to say about this season is that I love how the Lost writers are bringing back so many characters from past seasons who played even just minor roles.  Obviously it was wonderful to see Charlie and Daniel Faraday and Eloise Hawking, but it was also really cool to see George Minkowski come back.  He was the guy in “The Constant” who helped Desmond realize what was happening to him, and here he is helping Desmond again.  I’m looking forward to seeing who else is going to pop up throughout the rest of the episodes.

American Idol- Top 9 Performances

Here’s something you may not know about me. I really like the Beatles. Ok, that’s a bit of an understatement. I’m infatuated with them. So while part of me cringes at the thought of semi-talented singers covering some of the greatest songs ever, a larger part of me looks forward to hearing the greatest melodies ever created. That’s the beauty of the Beatles songs. It’s really hard to give a bad performance as long as you stick to the melody. That’s why Tim sounded strong tonight. He didn’t take a Lennon-McCartney song and turn it into a reggae performance. By sticking to the script and staying in tune, he proved that any average singer can sound good covering the Beatles.

American Idol Contest- Week 3

As I had a feeling yesterday, Didi sadly got voted off tonight. Not too many people saw this one coming before the top 12 started..

1. Matt Pollock- 20 points
1. Libre Pollock- 20 points
1. Justine Barbato- 20 points
4. Ross Pollock- 15 points
4. Mike Podhorzer- 15 points
4. Konstantina Barkas- 15 points
7. Diana Lorenzo- 10 points
7. Mitch Pollock- 10 points
7. Christina Maffa- 10 points
7. Liz Kaplan- 10 points
7. Sheila Pollock- 10 points
7. Ricarda Pollock- 10 points
13.Kathy Dragonetti- 5 points

Lost Episode 10: The Package

I’m enjoying some of these double and triple meaning titles that the writers of Lost are coming up with. Last night’s episode was titled, “The Package”. Now there were two clear references to a “package” in the episode. There was the package of money Jin was supposed to deliver to Keamy and never did, and there was the package being held on the ship which we find out to be Desmond. However there is also another possibly more important “package”. There has been speculation about which of the Kwon’s is the one written on the cave wall, signifying their candidacy. But maybe it isn’t one, maybe it’s both, maybe they’re a “package deal”. Kind of corny, but wouldn’t that make sense?

American Idol- Top Ten Performances

We’re headed for a very interesting results show tomorrow night. If Tim Urban survives, as Simon predicted tonight, then who will be sent home. We’re going to start seeing just how strong certain fan bases are. I’m also getting the feeling that the judges save will be put to use tomorrow night. Instead of giving my detailed reaction to tonight’s performances I’m going to just give each a letter grade along with their chances of getting the least amount of votes and the chances the judges will use a save on them.


Siobhan Magnus:
Tonight: C
Chance at being lowest vote getter: No chance
Will the judges use a save on her? Absolutely

Not a step in the right direction for Siobhan. Based on her reputation, there is no way she is going tonight even if she did get the lowest amount of votes.

Lost: Halfway through the Season

I know I’ve been slacking on my Lost posts, so instead of doing an episode post for the previous episode (and I’ll really try to take those up again starting this week), I’m going to assess where we are at the middle of the season.  While we have been presented with a few more glaring questions this season, last week’s episode, “Ab Aeterno” was instrumental in giving the season and the series purpose.

From what we saw in that episode, I believe the MIB is a devil-like figure, but not necessarily with the purpose to tempt people to do wrong—he tempts people to do his bidding, so he can get off the Island.  The Island is Hell in the sense that it is a holding place for the devil, but not in the sense that being there is a punishment.  In fact, as we’ve seen for many of the characters, being there was actually a blessing.  It gave them a chance to be better people, and most of them did—Jack, Sawyer, Sun and Jin, Charlie, even Ben (eventually). 

American Idol Contest- Week 2 Standings

The only mild surprise this week was Katie in the bottom three instead of Andrew. I'm surprised he still has a big enough following to keep him in the middle of the pack.

1. Matt Pollock- 20 points
1. Libre Pollock- 20 points
1. Justine Barbato- 20 points
4. Ross Pollock- 15 points
4. Mike Podhorzer- 15 points
6. Diana Lorenzo- 10 points
6. Mitch Pollock- 10 points
6. Christina Maffa- 10 points
6. Liz Kaplan- 10 points
6. Sheila Pollock- 10 points
11.Kathy Dragonetti- 5 points
11. Ricarda Pollock- 5 points
12. Konstantina Barkas- 0 points

American Idol- Top 11 Performances

Quick Thoughts on Tonight’s Top 11:


Lee Dewyze-“The Letter”: What a coincidecen that someone performs “The Letter” the same week Alex Chilton died. I don’t think it was done as a tribute since sadly, noone mentioned his passing on the show. I’m usually not a Lee Dewyze fan, but I thought he was very good this week. It was nice to see him tackle something different. Grade: B+

Paige Miles-“Against All Odds”: Have you ever heard Randy Jackson give such negative feedback? This was as awful as it can get at this stage in the season. I don’t know what Simon is remembering when he recalls a good Paige performance. Please let this be her last week. Grade: F

R.I.P. Alex Chilton (1950-2010)

I was always fascinated by just how diverse Alex Chilton’s contribution to music was. Most of the general public won’t recognize him by name. What they will recognize is his voice as the lead singer to the 60s group the Box Tops. His deep, soulful voice is cemented in many people’s minds thanks to “The Letter”. The first remarkable fact about Alex Chilton’s career is he was only 16 when this song was recorded. Here’s a teenager talking about flying back home to rekindle a relationship with an ex-girlfriend, and he sold just as well as any classic soul singer could have. If Alex Chilton never made another song after “The Letter”, his legacy would have been significant.


And yet it’s what Alex Chilton accomplished after The Box Tops that earns him a spot as being one of the most important figures in rock music. As leader of the power pop band Big Star, Alex influenced a whole generation of musicians. So much so that the Replacements even recorded a tribute song to him called fittingly, “Alex Chilton”. Big Star’s lack of popularity is one of the biggest shames in rock and roll. Unlike other alternative bands that came after and before, Big Star wanted to sell many records. Their group name wasn’t meant to be ironic. They truly wanted the fame and popularity. Big Star wasn’t a cult band by choice. Unfortunately, they arrived in the early 70s when a rock band built on Beatlesque melodies were a bit passé.

American Idol Contest- Week 1

The biggest disappointment for me is learning they brought back the judges' save. If Paige had been the one voted off, Simon would have probably wanted to use it immediately on her. I have tow issues with that. One, she isn't worth it. Two, it would have robbed 15 points from some of us who had her going home 12th! as it turns out, I get zero points anyway since I thought Lacey would stick around for awhile. If Tim can avoid being in the bottom two after last night's performance then he might be sticking around for a lot longer than most of us thought. Here are the standings after Week 1.

1. Mike Podhorzer- 10 points
1. Diana Lorenzo - 10 points
1. Justine Barbato- 10 points
1. Libre Pollock- 10 points
5. Matt Pollock- 5 points
5. Ross Pollock- 5 points
7. Mitch Pollock- 0 points
7. Kathy Dragonetti- 0 points
7. Christina Maffa- 0 points
7. Liz Kaplan- 0 points
7. Sheila Pollock- 0 points

American Idol Contest- Everybody's Picks

It looks like we have a lot of Bowersox fans! I'm sure we're going to look back at a lot of our picks at the end of the season and laugh. Here are everyone's picks...

American Idol- Top 12!

Quick thoughts on the top 12 since I have work that awaits me. Overall, I think this was a somewhat surprisingly good start to the final round. I’ll group contestants into categories based on tonight’s performances:



Top Of The Class:
Siobhan Magnus
Crystal Bowersox

I’ll post everyone’s Top 12 predictions tomorrow night, but for now I’ll just say I’m happy I have these two as #1 and 2 right now. I completely agree with Kara that Siobhan brought the Adam Lambert treatment to that song, and how that may not be a compliment for some people. I thought it made her stand out in a good way tonight. My one problem is with that high note towards the end. I kind of saw it as an overly calculated attempt to recreate her previous “moment”. When it happened on “Think” it felt natural. This time, it felt forced and actually sounded too much like a scream. Other than that, go Siobhan!

American Idol Contest

It's time for the second edition of the American Idol contest! It's free to join. The grand prize is bragging rights for a year.

Rules: Put the contestants in order of how you think they'll finish this year. Email picks to mitchpollock@aol.com, send me a message on facebook, or drop the sheet off in my school mailbox. I'll email Christina my list tomorrow to ensure I did not glance through everyone else's first!

Scoring:

25 points= picking the winner
15 points= picking the top male singer
15 points= picking the top female singer
15 points= predicting the exact finish of a contestant.
10 points= coming within one spot of predciting a contestant's finish (for example, if you think Crystal will finish in 8th place and she comes in 7th or 9th, you'll get 10 points)
5 points= coming within two spots of predicting a contestant's finish.

American Idol Semi-Finals: Cumulative Grades

Here’s how it works. I calculated a numeric grade for each contestant based on all the letter grades I’ve given over the three semi-final weeks. Since singers are supposed to improve each week, I progressively increased the value of each round. For instance, the first semi-final week is graded out of 20 points, the second is out of 25, the third is out of 30.This gives each singer a score that is out of 75 points. I came up with a scale to determine how many of the remaining 25 points each singer should earn so that the score is out of an even 100 points. For instance, if a singer earned anywhere between 59-61 points out of 75, they will be rewarded 20 points out of the 25 that was left to earn. I also gave an extra credit point to each performance I gave an A- or better. The complete number system will be included at the end of this article.
Final grades (out of 100)
Guys:
Alex Lambert- 88
Michael Lynche-85
Casey James-84.5
Lee Dewyze-81
Tim Urban- 81
Aaron Kelly-77
Andrew Garcia-76
Todrick Hall- 76

American Idol- Top 8 Guys Performances

What an exciting night of American Idol! It’s not that the performances were spectacular; in fact, most of them did not rise above the “good” rating. What’s interesting is that the two contestants who were set to make the final semi-final elimination night fairly predictable gave two of the best performances of the night. And while I agree that this should not be solely a what have you done for me lately competition, it certainly makes me rethink what Tim Urban and Todrick Hall are capable of doing on the show. I can’t believe I’m thinking about Tim Urban in such a positive way! What made this such a memorable night was also the worst performance of the night. In fact let’s start the recap with the once untouchable Andrew Garcia.


Andrew Garcia- Genie In A Bottle: We have a great American Idol tragedy in the making. A great, early front runner is in position to coast into the top 12 and beyond until the judges unfairly criticize him week after week because he can’t duplicate one of the finest performances ever in the 9 seasons of American Idol. At first, the comparison to Straight Up was only annoying. I didn’t think it would have any lasting effect on Andrew. Since then, the constant comparison has led Andrew on a quest to find another “moment”. It all culminated with tonight’s train wreck. To say Andrew was trying too hard is an understatement. Simon is quick to take all the credit for Tim Urban’s turnaround, but he’s even more responsible for Andrew’s collapse. I’m hoping there are a few more chapters to Andrew Garcia’s American Idol story. Grade: D

Lost Episode 7: Dr. Linus

Have I ever said how much I love Benjamin Linus/ Michael Emerson? Because I really do. The man is half of the reason I watch the show. This past episode was definitely my favorite of the season so far (although I did love the Locke one too). It’s the first episode where something positive has happened on the island since the Oceanic six returned last season. Island Benjamin Linus has actually shown a little bit of goodness and decency inside that character of manipulation and deceit. And seeing the characters joined together in the end gave me that feeling that, yay, everything isn’t hopeless on this island with crazy Mr. Smoke Monster ruining everything. The good guys are building their own army that’s going to beat him down!

American Idol- Top 8 Girls Performance Night

1. 

Welcome back to the competition, Lacey and Didi! Prior to tonight, I would not have cared too much if either of them were voted off. Thursday night will be interesting. I feel there are two clear cut choices for who should not make the top 12. But as we’ve seen many times on Idol, who should go home is not always who does go home.


Katie Stevens- Breakaway: Katie has had enough chances to give a wow performance or at least perform a song that gives me some idea that she’s somewhat close to being a star. This was just a safe song choice with a not so great vocal performance. Grade: C-

Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker

Usually the question “Which film deserves to win Best Picture?” is very easy to answer. Just pick the best movie. However, this year’s race between The Hurt Locker and Avatar raises a philosophical question that hasn’t had to been asked in a long time. Is there more to a Best Picture winner than the quality of the movie itself? The debate hinges on a presupposed notion. The Hurt Locker is the better movie, but Avatar is the highest grossing film of all-time and has a chance to completely alter the movie-going experience. Should this year’s race be determined by which was the better movie or which plays a more significant role in movie history?


One theory is that Avatar will win because it is the highest grossing movie of all-time. The Academy will reward its dominance over pop culture the same way the Academy crowned Titanic Best Picture of 1997. To see if this is true, let’s take a look at all the movies which previously held the “Highest grossing movie ever” title since 1939:

Gone With The Wind (1939)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws(1975)
Star Wars (1977)
E.T. (1982)
Titanic (1997)
Avatar (2009)

Lost Episode 6: Sundown

“We’re all mad here.” – Chesire Cat in Alice in Wonderland

Mad in the crazy sense.  It's kind of sad to watch.  All of the characters on this show are one by one crossing the border between sane and insane (at least on the island).  The Alice in Wonderland connections are becoming more and more relevant because the longer you stay in this world the crazier people get.   Claire, Locke, and now Sayid have all gone off the deep end (which all of the actors do a great job portraying).  Kate, Jin and Saywer are all cautiously but voluntarily following them. I wonder if this means that these characters won't end up survivng on the island.  Even though I have no clue where this is all going, this episode was entertaining to watch and I think the writers have recovered from that problematic third episode.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of this season.

American Idol- Girls' Top 10 Performances

As Christina said in her comment on last night’s show, the guys are so far behind the top four or five girls right now. And while there were some bum performances in the bunch, none of them reached the pitiful levels of John Park, Todrick Hall, and Jermaine Sellers. Last week, we started to get a glimpse at some potentially great singers who got little camera time in the ore-recorded part of the season. This week was about separating talented from the less talented. With that in mind, I’m going to do a recap based on tiers instead of chronological order.


Go Straight To The Finals:

Crystal Bowersox- “As Long as I Can See The Light”- Last week’s “Hand in My Pocket” was solid but predictable. This week Crystal proved she’s more than just a folksinger. What a great, powerful voice. Grade: A

American Idol- Top 10 Guys

Although tonight didn’t feature any outstanding performances, there were more hints that some of the male singers could get to that point during the season. They theme of this week (and last week) is nerves. It seems like more than any previous season, singers are visibly nervous on stage. It got to a point where Simon had to end the show by telling Lee to get over it. If you’re going to be a frontman, you’re going have to overcome it. While these types of feelings can be expected from a show whose goal is to take unseasoned singers and turn them into professionals, the inexperience can negatively affect the quality of the performances. I think the best singers tonight were the ones who started overcoming their anxiety issues. Here are my grades for the week:

Michael Lynche: “This Is A Man’s World”- This was definitely a “I’m going to go for it and show that I’m serious about winning” choice of song, and I think he did a very nice job with it. I disagree with the comment that he’s potentially a great artist, but I see him potentially being a good singer for awhile on American Idol. Grade: B+

A Look Back At Best Picture Races Part II

Here's a look at the Best Picture races over the last decade. Were there any particular years where you were extremely disappointed by the winner?

2000:

Gladiator
Chocolat
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger
Erin Brockovich
Traffic

Best Picture In Retrospect: Traffic
I did not see Gladiator but based on the general consensus, the Academy would like to have this one back. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a bigger critical success, but Traffic is the film that had the more realistic chance of winning. In fact, Gladiator’s win must have been a shock after Steven Soderbergh accepted his award for Best Director. Ralph Cifaretto must have fixed the votes this year.

A Look Back At Best Picture races

With most of the races this year seemingly settled before telecast (Jeff Bridges, Christoph Waltz, Monique are all considered locks), all the drama is rightfully placed on The Hurt Locker vs. Avatar for Best Picture. To celebrate the biggest award in the entertainment industry, I’m going to take a look back at all the Best Picture races since 1994. I figure this is a good place to start because it was the last time a Best Picture race symbolized the traditional vs. progressive ideologies of the industry. Will Hollywood embrace the future of the industry by voting for Avatar or will it go the traditional route the way it did for Forrest Gump in 1994? I’ll post 1994-1999 now and then 2000-2008 later tonight. I’ll list the movie that won the award first and in bold-faced.


1994:
Forrest Gump
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption

Best Picture in Retrospect: Pulp Fiction

American Idol Results- Semifinals Week 1

What a shocking elimination episode! none of the four singers I predicted went home so that means I have to sit through another Jermaine Sellers performance. We also lost our best looking contestent, Janell Wheeler. As she stated afterwards, maybe Janell should have used her guitar on Tuesday night. She may have given a very mediocre performance, but I thought she built up enough goodwill to withstand a bad first live week,.

The same can be said for Tyler Grady. Sure, on the authentic rocker scale he was starting to edge closer to Constantine Maroulis, but this was the first week the judges gave this criticm. In a very respectful way, Tyler blamed the judges for telling him way too late that he needs to update his 70s retro style. Even Simon agreed as he mouthed the words, "He's right" afterwards. I thought Tyler had a bigger following than he actually did.

Lost Episode 5: The Lighthouse

While I did like last night’s episode, more than “What Kate Does,” I feel like this show hasn’t moved very far since that first double episode. Last season, I was never bored with the show—there was always something engaging happening, or some difficult but interesting concept to try to wrap your mind around, and you knew what the characters’ objectives were—you had an idea where everything was leading. This season everyone’s just wandering aimlessly, and we don’t know what the purpose of being on this island is anymore.

American Idol: Top 24- Guys' first night

I’m going to keep this shorter than last night’s report. What a big disappointment.


Todrick Hall- “Since U Been Gone”- To change up a song or to not change up a song. That is the question. I was really looking forward to Todrick tonight, but I thought his version of Since U Been Gone was pretty bad. I still like his voice, but it would have been hard to enjoy anyone singing that song with that arrangement. Grade: C-

American Idol- Top 24 Girls' Night Week 1

And we’re live! A couple of things stood out for me tonight. I thought Randy and Kara were huge improvements over how they usually are. I really hope Randy doesn’t slip back into his Dawwg Pound routine once the guys perform. And second of all, The Beatles! I know they did two nights of Beatle songs last year, but that was when the contestants had to sing Beatle songs even if they didn’t want to. It was nice hearing a more obscure Beatle song choice like Fixin’ A Hole. Well, relatively speaking. How obscure can a Beatles song really be? Anyway, on to the performances:

5 favorite albums of the last 30 years

I have finally gotten around to writing about my 5 favorite albums of the last 30 years. My biggest motivation in publishing this list is to hear everyone else's personal list. I'd love to read about which albums you consider your favorites.

5. Guided By Voices- Bee Thousand- Lead singer and writer Robert Pollard was a school teacher who led Guided By Voices on the side. Since teachers can’t afford high production values when recording their music masterpieces, Bee Thousand sounds as if it was recorded directly onto a tape recorder. When a group has songs as catchy as these, there is no need for studio trickery. Bee Thousand consists of 20 songs in less than 40 minutes. In the tradition of Wire’s Pink Flag and The Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime, musical ideas never overstay their welcome with extended guitar solos or extraneous verses. The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory is the quitessential song on this album. It’s hard to imagine a song whose chorus hinges on this oddly name title to be as touching as it is. The lyrics don’t matter. It’s the passion behind the delivery and the insanely addicting melody that make me play the song on repeat almost every time.

American Idol- Final 24!

The final cut to 24 usually produces a few surprising moments. Tonight, I only counted one. I felt as confused as poor Thaddeus Johnson when he was sent home despite being told he didn’t do anything wrong during Hollywood Week. To his credit, Thaddeus didn’t whine to the judges like the annoying girl who ended last night’s episode.


I split the final 24 contestants into different tiers.

Lost Episode 4: The Substitute

There are certain people that carry this show, and I think, as we all know, Terry O’Quinn is certainly one of them.  While last week’s episode was criticized mainly because of its focus on Kate, I think this one will be praised mainly because of its focus on Locke.  I think it’s fascinating that Terry O’Quinn has had to play three different Locke characters throughout this series—the original Locke, Smoke Monster Locke and sideways timeline Locke—and  each one retains qualities of the others but also has its own differences.  I love it.  And I love this alternate timeline.  I don’t know where it’s going or what the purpose is, but I love that these characters finally have a better life. 

Lost Episode 3: What Kate Does

Not exactly the greatest episode of Lost. In fact, I was fairly disappointed that after the intense season premiere, this episode seemed to go nowhere. Also after watching all of season 1, and seeing how well the directors used to frame those flashback episodes, this one just didn’t seem to work well at all. Hopefully it's just setting up better episodes to come.

I thought the best scene was where we see Sawyer with the wedding ring he intended for Juliet. It was just a reminder of how amazing an actor Josh Holloway is. I also liked that we were reminded that Kate came back for Claire—that at least gave some connection to everything happening off the island.

Hollywood Week!

Hollywood Week is here! I actually like the way the show builds certain contestants up during the first round only to send them packing without much further airtime. I also like when I feel vastly overrated singers get a ticket to Hollywood only to be sent home when the judges come to the realization that they weren’t that good. Case in point for this was Vanessa Wolfe, the “authentic” country girl who turned into a deer in headlights on the Hollywood stage. American Idol rightly gets criticized for its overly sappy moments, so it was surprising to see Vanessa’s exit interview conclude with “ I took a risk, and it didn’t pay off.” So much for being better because of the experience.


My Top 5 Favorites:

1. Crystal Bowersox- She is the one who performed at the very end. I feel like the judges shortchanged her by giving most of the credit to her infectious personality. I had a different impression. I think the audience got so into her performance because of how great of a singer she is. Regardless, it looks like she has what it takes to make it very far this season. The same goes to…

2. Andrew Garcia- I thought it was funny choosing a Paula Abdul song to sing in honor of the former “judge”. There was nothing funny about a performance that was a hundred times better than the original. To alter a song like that so early in the competition shows supreme confidence. Usually the plan at this stage is to play it safe and not polarize the judges with bad song choices (see Maddy Curtis) or surprise arrangements (see Josia Leming from a few seasons ago). I hope he continues to be this brilliant.

Bored At Work? Atthemoviestv.com!

It's been a crazy week for me , and I have a feeling next week will be just a little bit move exciting. I think with the monolithic Lost premiere and the anticipation of Hollywood Week, everyone put American Idol on the back burner. I'll be watching in the hospital room next Tuesday. I can't wait to tell Baby Pollock that she was born on the same day that Ellen Degeneres made her triumphant debut on American Idol.

I still have to finish my favorite albums list, but I'm also working on a list of favorite tv shows over the past 20 years list. The one show I keep thinking about is Siskel and Ebert. I'll have a lot more to say about this show soon, but in the meantime I thought I'd share some of my favorite clips from the show. Luckily, many of the reviews from around 1986 to present are available at atthemoviestv.com. I think these reviews do a great job of showing just how entertaining the show was.

Cop And a Half & Broken Arrow- How can these two movies posibly be related? Watch these back to back to get the full effect. It's even funnier to think Broken Arrow came out three years after Cop And A Half.

LA X: The Season Premiere of Lost

“Well this is going to be awesome…”

It certainly was Hurley.  There was so much going on in that first episode, I’m not sure where to start.  We now know the answers to some of the questions, but are faced with three times as many questions to take their place!

Let’s start off with the biggest revelation:  Based on the events of last night, we see that Juliet setting off the bomb has created two separate time lines.  The first one we see supposes that the plane never crashed in 2004 because Juliet detonated the bomb that counteracted the electromagnetic energy of the Island resulting in the Swan Hatch never being built (which caused the crash in the first place).  I’m assuming the whole Island exploded (or sunk, I guess b/c it’s underwater) when the bomb went off.  So our beloved characters are now on a plane that actually lands at LA-X, and I’ll get to that in a minute.  The question is what happened to everyone on the Island at the time of the explosion (Dharma people, the Others, etc)?  Do they all die?  And do Jacob and the Man in Black know about this alternate timeline?

Our second timeline follows the explosion of the bomb.  Here’s where I’m more confused.  I don’t understand why none of the characters died.  Why did they jump to 2007? Did everyone else go with them? What happened to the bomb?  Did it disappear? 

Anyway, the writers have a lot more explaining to do.  However let’s get to what we have noticed. On the plane first:

Theories and Questions about the Big Ideas behind Lost

The night before the premiere!  Now there are some people out in Hawaii who have already seen the first episode (lucky), but I don’t know anything about it except the two minute preview that ABC has on their website.  So based on that and my ideas from the end of last season, here’s what I think this show is about and then the questions this leads to.  I had a hard time putting everything into words …but I tried.

Best Lost Episodes (so far)

This was really, really hard to do because there are so many episodes of this show that I love, and I had such a hard time limiting it to just 10. (I decided to only pick 2 of the season finales because almost all of them could go on here.) So after very careful deliberation here is what I came up with.

B&N Guessing Game- Saturday Night Edition!

Since I'm missing a game night because of Barnes And Noble, Let's make tonight's shift another guessing game. How many total customers will I have tonight? In order to count as one of my customers, they must purchase either a cd or dvd. I had six customers on Wednesday, but this time it's Saturday night! The place will be hopping. The winner will receive a prize.

Back to the Beginning: Revisiting Season 1 of Lost

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the primary writers of Lost, have stated that if there is one Season viewers should rewatch in preparation for the Series Finale, it’s the first season.  So being a good little Lost fan, I did just that.  I haven’t seen Season 1 since it was first aired 5 years ago, so the re-viewing experience was actually very beneficial because it reminded me of a lot that I had forgotten.  I was also struck by how perfect so many of the episodes of this show are.  The writers really know how to creatively and brilliantly tell a story.  Here are some thoughts and questions from Season one that might come into play for this final Season.

Leading up to Lost!

There is less than a week left until the premiere of Season 6 of Lost! I can’t contain my excitement anymore. Since I am insanely obsessed with this show, I’ve decided to post a couple of pre-season 6 musings. Favorite characters, favorite episodes, questions still left, etc. First is my favorite characters. One of the aspects of this show that I think is executed so well is character development. While the plot can sometimes be intricate and hard to follow, it is the characters that keep us drawn to the events and motivated to what the next episode even if we are completely lost. We may be stuck in a world where it’s hard to believe everything that happens, but these characters are real, believable people. These are my five favorites, the ones who have kept me invested the past five years.

American Idol Auditions: Dallas

A continuous topic for debate about this show is what makes it worth watching:  the contestants or the judges?  The judges (and specifically Simon Cowell) would argue that it’s supposed to be all about the contestants, and while yes, they are why we are ultimately watching the show, the judges play a big part in whether the show is enjoyable or not.  I think that was very clear tonight.  The contestants, thankfully, were better tonight than last night, but what made the show for me was that I really enjoyed watching Neil Patrick Harris.  He was entertaining, fun to watch arguing with Simon and had very constructive critical advice for the contestants.  Joe Jonas, on the other hand, what a waste of space.  And Kara—possibly becoming more annoying than Paula.  Maybe the good judges are the ones who aren’t in the music business themselves. 

So about the contestants:

Barnes And Noble Guessing Game

It's time for a little guessing game. Tonight I'll be working a 5 to close shift in the music/dvd section of Barnes and Noble. How many total customers will I have the entire night? This means they have to purchase something. Browsers do not count. If anyone guesses the exact amount, they will win a prize!

American Idol: An Episode That Doesn't Even Deserve A Photo

To commemorate the one week anniversary of perhaps the worst audition episode in American Idol history, Fox decided to air another candidate for that infamous title. I think I can say more about my ongoing dislike for Avril Lavigne and the obnoxious (but kind of funny) Katie Perry than I can about the quality of these performances. Of course Kara is a fan of the dramatic back stories that ruin our chance of seeing 75% of the people ho make it to Hollywood. So I’ll give a golden ticket to Katie for snapping at Kara by saying, “This is not a lifetime movie.” I was relieved to know I’m not the only one who thought Chris Golightly was overhyped. As Simon often says, Chris was very self-indulgent. Why can’t they just take a great song and sing it without ridiculous runs. Amazingly, 23 people made it to Hollywood despite the fact we saw around five of their performances. This criticism is nothing new, but it stands out even more after an episode that was mostly void of talent.

My Favorite Albums Of The Last 30 Years (#10-6)

I'm almost there! Here are my #10-6 favorite albums of the past 30 years. I should have my top 5 completed by this weekend. I'll mention this a lot more during my top 5 post, but it seems like favorite albums have a greater feeling of nostolgia than favorite films. Thinking about where I was when immersed by these albums was like looking at old photographs.

10. College Dropout- Kanye West


This was the album I listed to the most during me senior year of college in 2004. Funny enough, what I liked most about Kanye’s lyrics were that he was humble and self deprecating. Although he wasn’t the greatest rapper, he was the funniest. My two personal favorites are “She got a light-skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark-skinned friend, look Like Michael Jackson” and “She couldn’t afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis.” Kanye’s technique of speeding up soul tunes seems like a gimmick, but it works brilliantly. Back then he seemed so convincing as a down to Earth nice guy that I’m still holding out hoping that this arrogant side of him is just a façade he’s been showing for the past five years.

American Idol Auditions: Orlando

Orlando, Florida. Disney World. The place where wishes come true. Unfortunately based on the last two nights of auditions, I think most of us are wishing we can skip right to Hollywood week. I've had enough of the heartbreaking back stories (some of which are starting to border on ridiculous) and people who can win screeching contest not a singing contest.

The guest judges have for the most part been an improvement over Paula and last night was no exception. First let me say this about Kristen Chenoweth. The first time I saw her was as Glinda when Wicked first opened on Broadway in 2003. She was absolutely amazing then. The funny thing is now, I keep picking up on that perky kind of attitude, and it's a little annoying. However she did give some of the most constructive criticism out of any of the guest judges we've seen so far.

On to the singers worthy of mention in this post (of which there weren't many):

American Idol: Chicago

*Starting this week, Christina and I are going to attempt a back and forth discussion on the American Idol episodes. Instead of posting a separate blog, Christina will continue this blog with her comments. I will then do the same for her post on Wednesday's episode.


Well, this should be an easy one to talk about. In one of the worst audition shows ever, there were only a few contestants who really stood out as long term potentials.

First let's start with Shania Twain! I think she would fit perfectly as the new Paula. She's pretty, nice to the contestants, and doesn't make me want to fast forward my DVR the way Paula did. She may have not offered too many great critiques other than "nice bottom", but do you really expect that from the judges at this point? It's unfortunate that we had to sit through two hours of Victoria Beckham and only an hour of Shania. I think she should have made it to Hollywood.

Thoughts On The Golden Globes(and trying to think of more clever titles for posts)

I usually don't pay too much attention to the Golden Globes, but I thought it would be fun to see if researching the history of the awards can help predict the Academy Award nominations. I'll only concentrate on the Comedy/Musical side since everyone already knows Avatar will get an Academy nomination.


The immediate reaction is that The Hangover might be a surprise pick for a Best Picture nomination after winning Best Picture for a Comedy/Musical the G.G. Over the past 20 years, the Best ComedyMusical winner was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture 9 times (45%). What throws this statistic off is the fact that ten movies will be nominated for an Academy Award instead of five. This means that there is a better than 50% chance that The Hangover will be getting a Best Picture nomination.

American Idol- Georgia On My Mind

American Idol- Georgia On My Mind



As soon as we were introduced to Skibo Ski I was saying to myself, “Please be a decent singer, please be a decent singer.” There is always room for a flashy, hilarious, crazy, nonsensical singer. He’s only had one appearance on the show, yet he already has a list of moments that made me laugh. I don’t know which one is my favorite. I’ll have to go with when he compares himself to a dollar store by saying, “Even with the dollar store, you can have everything you want in that one package, and it only costs you a dollar.”

The day after I make fun of Randy for his repetitive “I was not expecting that” comment, I have to admit I was not expecting Holly Harden to be as good as she was. Usually the Halloween outfits are a signal that I can just fast forward the performance. I think she has a great soulful voice.

American Idol- Boston Auditions

I agree with Christina when she says the first audition episodes are the worst ones for American Idol. It annoys me how we have to sit through horrible singers and their creepy back stories while we miss the auditions of 17 people who made it to Hollywood. What I do find fascinating about the initial audition and Hollywood episodes are how certain singers who seem destined for the final 12 do so badly in the next round that they’re barely given screen time during Hollywood Week. One thing’s official based on last night: I do not miss Paula at all.


My favorite singers from last night:

Girls:

Ashley Rodriguez- I hate to sound like Kara, but it really seems Ashley has the total package. She has a great voice, she’s attractive, and seems to have a confidence that some other golden ticket recipients do not have.

American Idol: Boston

The first night of Season 9 of American Idol!  While I absolutley love this show, I'm not a big fan of audition weeks for two reasons: 1. I have no tolerance for hearing bad singing. My t.v. gets muted as soon as the first note comes out of their mouth. 2. I thinking hearing all the contestants backstories can get a little tedious after a while (however I have found they're extremely useful for identifying contestants).  I know those two aspects are part of the draw of these few weeks, but I would just rather hear more good singers.  Anyway, while I'm still anticipating the best part of this show to start, I do enjoy getting to see the occasional impressive voice and seeing moments such as the following:

Best moment of the night: Kara giving that arrogant kid an attitude.  "I am now angry at you who I do not like at all." I liked seeing that side of Kara; she has to start taking a side on people. (Although she's still using the word "authentic". Somebody please tell her to stop.)

But onto the more important part...