I Should Be Working, But...

And the music plays on....

2010-05-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard-and it possible maybe you haven't-Nashville's been drowning for about four days, and while you'd think that might be worth some attention from the outside world....not so much, actually. And while other areas in Tennessee are affected too, Nashville is and has always been my home, so most of what I will point you to in this blog is local. Nashville is the capital city of Tennessee, densely populated, and a major economic hub for the entire state. The impact of this natural disaster will last for years. Here's what happened.

On Saturday, it started to rain. Early in the morning. And it didn't stop. I mean it. Literally nonstop rain-and not just a sprinkle, either, pouring rain-for nearly 48 hours. A massive storm moved right over our heads and just didn't move for two days. When it finally moved on Sunday evening, waters were rising at the riverbanks all over town. I don't think there was a neighborhood in Davidson County that didn't have flooding. From North to South, East to West, water stood in the streets and seeped into basements and homes. Over the interstates, trapping people in their cars to be rescued by boats. Water flowed into businesses. And major Music City landmarks, like the Opryland complex-Opryland Hotel (click link for pics), Opry Mills Mall, and the Grand 'Ole Opry house. The Farmer's Market, where local Tennessee farmers come to sell their crops-their livelihood. The arena where our hockey team plays and most of our concerts are held. The stadium our NFL team plays. The new Symphony hall-where the glorious organ has been lost. Our bus and train systems shut down. Schools closed indefinitely, as many sustained damage and others are being used as shelters. Because a lot of people have lost everything. Houses caught fire after being abandoned with the gas left on. The things I've seen on TV the past few days don't even seem real. These are places I know. Places I go. Places I've worked. Shopped. Had my prom. Made great memories.

The economic impact of this, for a city that relies heavily on tourism, and music production, is devastating. It is estimated to take months to get Opry Mills and the Opryland Hotel back open. But they will re-open. Because We Are Nashville. The show must go on. The music won't stop. In fact, the music in my head has been nonstop since this began (a sign that I'm a true Music City girl, I guess). I've had two songs go through my head over the last couple of days pretty continuously. One, "Rain" by Patty Griffin. Now, this song goes through my head almost every time it rains. It is one of my favorite songs of all time-so beautiful, and has helped me through many a bad (rainy-literally and emotionally) day. Now, of course the song is not literally about RAIN. But it is about surviving in the face of loss. We are "still alive, underneath this shroud."

The other has been, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" a country-gospel tune by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (among many others over the years). The first image that really broke my heart was the one of water filling the Opry House. In the center of the Opry stage is a circle. It is considered the highest honor to stand on that stage and sing in that circle, because it represents the history of the Opry and of country music in Nashville. When I saw that image, this song began filling my mind. Again, it describes the spirit and strength of our city-we will go on, we won't be broken by this disaster.

My home is ok. I do have friends and family with damage. The waters are just now beginning to recede enough for people to go home and assess their losses, and begin the long, painful, expensive process of recovery. Even though I don't have any personal property losses, I feel like I've lost part of my home. These places and neighborhoods have been my home for almost 30 years. I've driven these streets, sat in the seats at these beloved venues, lived and played in this city my entire life. It's been very emotional to see these images, and compare them to the ones in my memory of everything before Sunday. But we are Nashville, Tennessee-the Volunteer State. We have a great community, and we'll survive. If you can give, please give to the Middle TN Red Cross. Many have lost homes, cars, and all their possessions. Our community will provide support, but we will also desperately need the support of our other neighbors throughout the country. And please, come and see us. We depend on your visits to bring tourism tax dollars to our state, and we promise to show you a good time (but may not be able to take you to the Opryland Hotel this visit). At the very least, there will be music.

Money, Meet Mouth.

2010-04-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

You know that saying, "Put your money where your mouth is"? Well, for as much as I love A) Shopping and B) Voicing my opinion; I've never really been the type of consumer that really boycotts a store or brand because I don't like their business practices, marketing technique, or spokesperson. Not that I don't think I am influenced by those things to BUY products if I LIKE what I see-I'm sure I am-but I can't remember actively NOT buying a brand because I didn't like something I read or heard about them. But, I'm starting to be a little more conscious of these things, and I think it's time for my money and my mouth to coordinate a little better. I've seen a couple of things lately that have led me to decide I want to be better about which companies I choose to give my money too, and I think with that comes sharing why I've made those decisions (good or bad).

In case you didn't know, it is Earth Week. What commercial did I start seeing this week? A Kleenex brand commercial for "Hand Towels." Yes, disposable paper towels for your home bathroom. Now, I'll admit. I hate those hand dryers in public restrooms. I much prefer to have a paper towel in those situations. But I know the hand dryers are more eco-friendly, and the super-powered ones are kind of cool, and its nice to have a little mini-heater in the winter. But at home, I use cloth hand-towels in my bathrooms. I have never once wished I had paper hand towels at home. But Kleenex has devised a way for you to spend money on stocking your home-and your neighborhood landfill-with more paper towels. I think what irritates me the most is their ad slogan for it-"Your hands are only as clean as the towel used to dry them." Um, if I'm only using my hand towel to wipe my clean hands dry, what's the problem? I don't know why this product infuriates me so much, aside from how not-GREEN it is and what a waste of money it would be. But, it makes me want to switch to Puff's or Target brand kleenex for good!

Someone else who didn't get my business recently? Nike. See, I've recently begun a diet/exercise routine designed to A) get me into a bridesmaids dress I bought three years ago and B) start a healthier lifestyle so my doctor will lay off (yeah, yeah, I guess I want to lose weight and be healthier too). I hadn't bought a pair of athletic shoes in about 3 years, and really needed a new pair for my exercise routine. But they are expensive. And I didn't know where to start. I've bought Nikes in the past, but I've been really irritated with their support for their spokesmen who have engaged in some very offensive behavior. I think I've probably blogged in the past about how irritated I get with celebrities who screw up and don't "suffer" in their lifestyle at all, like the rest of us would if we engaged in such acts. So, the company's support of Tiger Woods, who humiliated his wife not to mention put her at risk for who knows what kind of diseases, and Ben Roethlisberger, who's now been accused of rape three times, doesn't really "speak to me" as a woman that this company shares my values. I know Tiger has apologized, and really, what else can he do at this point? But allowing him to represent your products, says in a clear tone: We don't care that he cheated on his wife with dozens of women because he sells. I know Ben hasn't been charged or convicted of anything, but as this article points out, Nike won't even speak up to say that in its defense (although a lot of sports writers-men I'm assuming-are defending(!) him). It says nothing, which says in a clear tone: Maybe he did, maybe he didn't-it doesn't matter to us either way. And overall, the company's choice of representatives for its brand says: We don't care about how men treat women, as long as they are good at their job. And I know some would argue, that's not Nike's job-they make shoes. Might be a valid point. But if they want me to buy their shoes, I need to think they care about me-not just my feet; and I need to feel good giving that company my hard earned money, or maybe there is a better choice. And they have a choice too, and the choice they've made to retain athletes of such questionable character reflects the character of the company, and that's not company I want to keep-or support.

And in case you are curious, I did buy a pair of shoes-Adidas Supernovas.

I need your help!

2010-03-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

OK friends....I need some help. Thanks to a sweet tooth and some bad genes, I find myself a little overweight these days. I had a few health issues over the summer, and they're all cleared up now, but I did vow to try and live a healthier lifestyle and lose some weight, and promised the doctor I'd start exercising with consistency, not just every once in awhile.

Another goal? Well, I bought this dress three years ago to be in a friend's wedding. The wedding got canceled. Now, it is back on for May. I bet you can guess where I am going with this: I was considerably thinner three years ago when I bought the dress. I had just come off a very successful (but pretty unhealthy) dieting plan. Since I really don't have an extra $100 in the budget to buy a new one, I have been trying to slim down to fit the dress for months now. I've made a lot of positive changes to my eating habits that I'm proud of-I'm definitely consuming more fruits, veggies, and fiber, and eating out much less. I cook at home and take my lunch to work most days, so I really am controlling what is going in to my body. I've lost about 10 lbs since December.

But the dress still doesn't fit. Not even close. Won't zip up, and to be honest, I am not sure how much more weight I need to lose for it to zip up, and if I can do it in the time I have left (about 10 weeks) at the pace at which I am losing weight. I've pretty steadily lost about 1/2 lb each week (give or take losing more some weeks, gaining some back around the holidays, and staying the same every now and then). At that rate I'll only lose about 5lbs between now and the wedding, and I am pretty sure that won't get me into the dress.

I don't want to crash diet or starve myself, and I really don't think I can manage working out for three hours a day 7 days a week, so I need some of your best weight loss tips!

Here's what I'm currently doing:
No coffee or soft drinks (this was what I gave up for Lent, thinking it would help me drink more water, although I really think it has just helped me drink more tea)
Exercise 3x/week-combination of Zumba, walking 2 miles, or a boot camp video, depending on what my schedule allows
No "sweets" except those 100 calorie packs of chocolate/cookies because I really can't live without it; and sugar free pudding packs which are like 60 calories (I have passed up cookies and cake like a champ! which then pisses me off when I get on the scale and I've barely lost)
Upping my intake of fruit and veggies, and fiber/whole grains

Examples of my meals might be something like this:

Breakfast-100 calorie bagel or English muffin, light and fit yogurt, and a piece of fruit; or cereal with milk (sometimes soy) and fruit-on the weekends I may have eggs and turkey bacon
Lunch-leftovers from the house or a weight watchers smart ones meal, usually subsidized with hummus and carrots or apple slices; I do eat out once or twice each week
Dinner-because I'm single I pretty much cook one night and have the same thing for three or four nights in a row-so that may be a problem in that I don't get much variety. Last week, I made whole wheat fettuccine w/ tomato sauce and sausage. This week, I have baked chicken and brown rice w/ side of broccoli.
Snacks-100 calorie packs/pudding if I need something sweet (which, honestly, is every day), apple slices, kashi bars, rice cakes (also 60 calories per serving), carrots or pita chips and hummus, strawberries, pears, bananas. Yogurt w/ high fiber cereal mixed in.

So, I'm not sure what is wrong with this picture-I feel like I am eating pretty healthy, and exercising three weeks straight now-do I need to give the exercise more time to pay off? Anyone see anything in my eating plan that I am not? Help me fit my bridesmaids dress in 10 weeks!

Back on the Blog Wagon

2010-03-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

I've been off of the blog-wagon yet again. Apologies!

I got a little wrapped up in the Olympics for a few weeks there. (Johnny Weir was ROBBED!) Not to mention good tv is back in full swing, with the Bachelor finale (UGH) and American Idol, which is majorly sucking this year. After last night, they are down to the Top 12, and three of the people eliminated last night were three of the best in the competition, so I think I am hanging up my hat on this season. I may watch if there is nothing else on, but I am going to wait it out for Simon Cowell's new show next year.

I don't really have anything exciting to discuss with you all today-I will toot my own horn for a second and say that I have worked out three days or more a week for three weeks running, so I am feeling a bit like a Rock Star. If you haven't heard, I have a bridesmaids dress to get into by May 23 that was bought about three years ago (wedding called off, now back on) but I was a bit (ok a lot) skinnier then, so I am on a major health and fitness kick at the moment. I've lost 10 lbs since December, but the dress still doesn't zip up, so we're in full on crisis mode at the moment. I'm thinking it will take another 10 to zip and another 5-10 to look good, so it is going to be a rough couple of months. I love to eat and hate to exercise. And I can't live without chocolate, so don't ask. I did give up coffee and sodas for Lent in the hopes that it would get me to drink more water, but so far I think I'm just drinking a lot more green tea. I guess that's still an improvement!

I don't like crazy crash dieting, so if anyone has any HEALTHY tips for shedding pounds pass them on!

Kitchen Must-Have List

2010-02-25T08:34:00.001-08:00

Once again I have been slacking on the blog....been busy at the office! Sorry about that.

Anyway, back with a vengeance to talk about one of my favorite topics: Cooking. More specifically, the "top ten" ingredients I must always have in my kitchen, in order to whip up a fab mealtime creation at a moment's notice. I'm also trying something new.....the McLinky. If you have a blog and want to link your "top ten" to mine, you can sign up and do it! There may be some technical difficulties this first time, so bear with me! All these great ideas are courtesy of my friend, neighbor, and fellow blogger Lora who always does these Top Ten lists and I decided to play along. Speaking of, she gave me a little award, and I'm not really sure how to display it here, so if you want to see it, please go here. Thanks bunches, Lora! And if you found me courtesy of linking from her site, welcome!

OK, on to the Top Ten....

1. Pasta. I buy this when it is half price at Publix usually and I have coupons, which usually makes it like a quarter a box (or less) so it is a CHEAP staple ingredient.
2. Canned soups-also something I stock up on when it is BOGO/half-price+ coupons. I have to have the Campbell's cream soups for sauces and casseroles, as well as some of the many varieties of Progresso for those nights I don't really feel like cooking.
3. Diced Tomatoes. I usually have fire-roasted, plain, and basil/oregano. Seriously, you can put canned tomatoes in everything!
4. Canned and/or frozen veggies. Canned to get dumped in soups, stews, and chilis that go in the crockpot, and frozen for casseroles and just plain steaming in the microwave. I love fresh, but cooking for 1, it is hard not to be wasteful so it is often easier to go the other route.
5. Chicken broth-again, you can use it for everything! I do buy the small cans of it when they are on sale, but I also get the giant packs of 6 cartons at Costco. It is a great deal, and it is the organic kind, too.
6. Eggs-I love baking, so eggs are a must....I ALSO love breakfast at dinner, so I love to make omelets, fritattas, and bagel sandwiches because they are quick, easy, and filling.
7. Frozen chicken breasts-again, a Costco staple-I get the big bags, and they are individually wrapped, which is GREAT when only cooking for one or two to just pull out what you need!
8. Canned tuna/salmon-easy way to get protein and not have to buy "fresh meat" LOL! I love salmon or tuna cakes, OR just putting it plain over some spinach in a nice salad.
9. Flour-Again, with the baking, I like to have regular flour, whole wheat, and cornmeal on hand for whatever I want to make. I also recently bought some oat flour, wheat germ, and flax seeds to try and incorporate into my baking for a little added health benefits! I'll let you know what I come up with.
9. Basil-it is my go-to spice. If I don't know what to put on something, I usually use basil, because I like it. I buy the large size from Costco, and in the summer I grow my own fresh.
10. Shredded cheese. I always have a few varieties-at minimum, sharp cheddar, parmesan, and maybe an Italian blend of some kind. Sliced cheese I may or may not have, but shredded is always in the fridge drawer!

OK, what ingredient can't you live without having in your kitchen! Link up with McLinky and let me know!

Time to Catch Up!

2010-02-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I blogged.

Figured I needed to jump back in! Lost started its final season last night, the Bachelor is almost OVER, American Idol is gearing up, and we're right in the middle of awards season, always a favorite of mine, so I need to get back in the habit of sharing my most pressing thoughts on the matter of television with you. But before I do that, I have a little "news junkie" topic to discuss.

So, we've been hearing a lot about two politicians and their extramarital activities over the last two months: John Edwards (unless you live under a rock, he was VP candidate in 2004 and Presidential hopeful in 2008) and Mark Sanford (Gov. of SC). Edwards, I'm sure you know, made headlines recently by finally admitting that in addition to cheating on his cancer-stricken wife WHILE running for President, he also fathered a child with his mistress. Sanford, you may remember, is the Governor that disappeared for several days and turned out to be in Argentina with his mistress-who he publicly called his soulmate. OUCH to his wife! She filed for divorce in December after initially seeming willing to forgive, if not forget.

Well, cut to present day, and they are both back in the news again, both because books are being released giving more information about their scandals. Edwards is by his former campaign staffer, Andrew Young, who covered for Edwards by saying he too had an affair with the same woman and he was the father of her child. The Gov's wife, Jenny, is authoring her own book about her life and the destruction of her marriage.

I was reading on the web about both of these men's infidelities and it really stuck me how little these men care about the women that married them and fathered their beautiful children. Again, I'm reminded of how stinkin' scary it is to be single and looking for a good one! SIGH.

Preview of Jenny's book-she admits there were other women and that her husband had the balls to ask her for advice on how to deal with the public when admitting the affair but not ask her how she was feeling. I would actually read this one. I think her perspective is interesting.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35205086/ns/today-today_books/?gt1=43001

Andrew Young's book, on the other hand, no thanks. I love this blog called "Eyes for Lies" by a "human lie detector." She is so interesting. Anyway, I had seen some of George Stephanopolous's interviews with Young and he really creeped me out. While I think John Edwards is a total rat, I don't think this guy is any better. Turns out, Eyes doesn't have a very favorable impression of him either.

http://eyesforlies.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-thoughts-on-andrew-young.html

So, with all that positive energy about love and relationships, who is watching the Bachelor, and why is that girl Vienna still on the show? What about the irony that last year, Jake was the one warning the Bachelorette that one of her suitors was not as nice as she thought and this year, he is completely ignoring all the girls who are telling him the same thing about Vienna? I bet he totally picks her and she dumps him because she just wants to be famous. Ugh.

I'm still digesting LOST from last night, but if anyone has a good theory so far I'm game to hear it!

And, my best friend's husband played bass on the Grammy's Album of the Year! And a guy I went to high school with won 2 Grammy's for producing it. Wow, 15 years ago he was charging me and his sister money to drive us around in an old gas-guzzling pick up truck, and now he has 2 Grammy Awards. I guess dreams really do come true! LOL. Never give up, folks, never give up.

Last Minute Gift Ideas...

2009-12-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.

- Oren Arnold
American editor and free-lance writer (1900-1980)

Cute Alert!

2009-12-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Before I redirect your attention to my next rant, please go see this video of the First Dog being all kinds of cute-and Michelle Obama and Oprah baby-talking to him. SQUEE!

http://jezebel.com/5425830/bo-reduces-michelle--oprah-to-baby-talk

Next up, because I just can't stop talking about this entitled, narcissistic twat-Chris Brown is going all anger-management-failure in a profanity-laced tirade on twitter (glad to see those mandatory classes are helping him control himself) because Walmart and whoever else doesn't want to carry his CD because he is a criminal and a bad role model. He is tweeting, quote:

“the[y] didnt even have my album in the back… not on shelves, saw for myself. im tired of this s—. major stores r blackballing my cd. not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. what the f— do i gotta do.”

Also: “im not biting my tongue about sh– else… the industry can kiss my ass.
WTF… yeah i said it and i aint retracting s–”

And finally: “we talked to the managers and the didnt even know anything. wow!!! but they had alicia keys album ready for release for this tuesday comin … the manager told me that when there are new releases its mandatory to put em on the shelves.. BUT NO SIGN OF #GRAFFITI. BS.”

Dear Chris Brown,

Perhaps people will be more likely to buy and/or sell your new CD when you stop being all "what the F- I gotta do" which basically translates to "I'm sorry yall are mad at me" rather than what you should be which is "I'm sorry for that awful thing I did." Maybe, at that point, you can actually grasp that actions have consequences. Even though your ass is not in jail where it belongs for your ACTIONS, some stores choosing not to sell your merchandise because they do not like your actions is what we in the real world call a consequence. Deal with it. And perhaps show a little understanding as to why less than a year later the public is not completely ready to forgive you and give you cash to support the lifestyle which more than likely turned you into an entitled brat and made you forget that it is bad to hit a girl. So get back to anger management and have them teach you how to act when someone tells you "no" and get back to us, OK?

Cause I'd really like to be able to put "Kiss, Kiss" back on my ipod in this decade, but I'm gonna need you to show a little remorse before that can happen.

http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/12/14/chris-brown-twitter-rage-graffiti/

Another one goes country!

2009-11-19T12:38:00.001-08:00

So last year I blogged about all the pop stars that were recording country albums. I had high hopes for Jewel and Darius Rucker (aka Hootie!) and my only hope for Jessica Simpson was that she would quickly fade away. Jewel disappointed, Darius has been awesome! And I was right on the money for blondie if I do say so myself.

Well, a new year, a new round of "gone country" rumors. Michelle Branch is supposed to (FINALLY) get her solo country album out next year (she did one as a duo-The Wreckers-which was AWESOME but there was some MAJOR drama between her and the other girl-nothing I can print here!) and I read today that Josh Kelley, aka Mr. Katherine Heigl aka Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy (aka namesake of my doggie) is up next to try his hand at country music. And like all the rest before him, he swears this isn't a fleeting fancy but his genre of choice forevermore. The snippet of his song in the link below is too short to judge, but he sounds NOTHING like he did in his pop music (he sang that song from around 2003-2004 or so called "Amazing" that was super catchy and I LOVED it at the time, but he never really had another huge hit-youtube here for a refresher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzBWIliVHc&feature=related

Anyway, his brother is Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, who are the hottest thing in country music not named Taylor Swift. And, he lived in Nashville for a long time right after he hit it big with Amazing, so maybe this isn't totally out of left field. But, I love Lady A, and I will certainly give him a shot to prove that he can be a country *STAH*. And that baby that he and Katherine Heigl adopted is super cute so anything that ups my chances of seeing playdates between her and Sunday Rose at Centennial Park is fine with me. Bring it on, Josh Kelley!

http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/11/19/josh-kelley-goes-country-exclusive-first-listen/

RIP JC Penney Big Book

2009-11-19T11:11:00.001-08:00

Aw, this one made me sad. This edition of the JC Penney "Big Book" catalog will be the last. I know it is better for the environment, more cost-effective, etc.-but I can so clearly remember getting the "Big Book" right before Christmas, thumbing endlessly through the toy section and circling all the items on my "Wish List" which would generally include all of the Barbies, Cabbage Patch dolls, or any other doll. Seriously-my Christmas list would have been ten pages of dolls.

I mean, what will the kids do now, bookmark the items they want online and send their parents an email? Ugh.

Anyway, makes me nostalgic for "they way things were." I might have officially just become OLD.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1390279&_blg=1,1390279

Total Savings-95%!!!

2009-11-11T07:05:00.001-08:00

Since I posted about the coupons last week I've had lots of people ask about how it works. Last week was a great week to stock up on groceries because Kroger was having one of their "Mega" events and Harris Teeter was doing triple coupons. Publix had a pretty good sale too!

So, I ended up having one of my best shopping trips EVER this weekend. I had been to Kroger earlier in the week to pick up a couple of things in the Mega Event, but I wanted to go back AFTER I had hit Harris Teeter for the triples and knew how much room was left in the cabinets/freezer (Answer=Not much). So I made a quick run on Saturday when I was out running around with my mom-what I love about Kroger (and there is not much, haha) is that they actually break down your PERCENT of savings on the receipt. The dollar amount saved is great and usually plenty of motivation for me, but seeing the total "percent off" like you see at other retail stores, but not usually grocery, is kind of neat. So, without further ado, I will summarize my Kroger receipt for you so you can "see how it's done."

-2 Birds Eye Voila Meals in a Bag-Reg. Price 8.29 each, on sale for 5.99 each
-4 I Can't Believe its Not Butter stick packs (yes, 16 total, holiday baking here I come!) Reg Price 2.29 each, On Sale for 1.49 each
2 Larabars (been wanting to try these) Reg Price 1.69 each on sale 1.25 each
1 Bumble Bee tuna pouch Reg 1.65, on sale for .99
4 Birds Eye Steamfresh Frozen Veggies Reg Price 2.49 each, on sale for 1.99 each
3 Frostings (1 Duncan Hines, 2 Betty Crocker) DH Reg. 1.99 each, BC REg 1.89 each, all on sale 3/$5

This would have come to 46.50 pre-tax (over 50 after tax) if I had bought it all at regular price.

So how did I walk out of the store paying only $4.33? (2.01 of that was my tax!)

As Monk would say, here's what happened-
I started by matching up SALES with COUPONS I already had. I had coupons for everything I bought except for the butter sticks. Those were a great price, so I wanted to stock up for holiday baking! Since this was a "Mega Event" Sale, that means that if you buy any 10 "mega" items, they take $5 off your total (which equals 50 cents off of each item). So, I got $5 off for that, I had a Cellfire coupon on my Kroger card for one of the frostings which took another .50 off. Those were my "Kroger" discounts. I had 2 coupons for .40 cents off a Larabar, which got doubled to .80 off each bar, making them .45 each. I had 4 coupons for .50 cents off each (kroger doubled) of the Birds Eye Veggies, making them .99 cents each. I had two coupons that were "Buy 2 Birds Eye Veggies, Get one Birds Eye Steamfresh Meal Free." The cashier made a little mistake, which I didn't realize until I got home looking at the receipt. He manually entered the Meals at 8.99, even though Kroger sells them for 8.29 and they were on sale for 5.99. So, that gave me an extra $6 discount OVER the meals being free. WOO-HOO! I had a $1 off a Bumble Bee tuna pouch, so that ended up being FREE. I had 2 fifty cent coupons for the 2 other frostings that both got doubled to $1, so those 3/$5 frostings ended up costing me 2.50 total after the Cellfire coupon listed above, making them .83 each. Did I mention I am baking for the holidays? Oh yes! And finally I got my 4 packs of butter for 1.49 each, no coupon, but after the frozen meal overage it is probably good that there was something I didn't have a coupon for! I wonder if they would have given me money back if I had come back in the negative?

Grand total of savings, per my Kroger receipt, was $23.38 in manufacturer's coupons, $3.80 in bonus coupons (that means the ones they doubled), 17.10 in Kroger Plus savings (the sales price discounts plus the $5 Mega Sale), giving me a grand total of 44.18 savings, or 95% off the regular prices off all that I bought. I spent 4.33 out of pocket, 2.01 was tax, so my actual food only rang up at 2.32 (you do usually have to pay tax on the point of sale price when you use coupons-each store varies a little).

Do you believe in coupons yet?

How to Buy Everything You Want and Still Have Money Left Over

2009-11-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

With cost of just about everything going up (just in time for the holidays! YAY!) I have really been good about using my coupons lately. Smart shopping is just the way I was raised. I love to shop. My mother loves to shop. But my mother always taught me that when you go into a store, the first thing you look at is the clearance rack. Then, you look at the normal sale rack. Then, and only then, do you look at the "regular price" stuff, and only to see what you need to watch for when it goes on sale. Occasionally I get a little good-natured ribbing from friends, family, and coworkers about my obsession with a good sale, but the majority of the time, I am not at all embarrassed to be frugal. So it should be a surprise to no one who knows my shopping philosophy that I have become a coupon lady. I love a good deal, and I work in nonprofit so obviously I am not bringing home the big bucks. And, I'm a Leo so I love to boast about trips to the store where I get $40 worth of groceries for less than $10. :) Recently, I have had several people ask me how I learned the secrets to my shopping strategy, so I thought I would make a little blog post and share.

One of the biggest ways to see the difference in sale/coupon shopping is with your groceries and household items, so that is the perspective I will use for this blog, though you can apply the same tips to anything (ex-I love Ann Taylor Loft, but only shop the extra % off clearances and/or use the coupons they send me in the mail). Here are my best tips if you would like to get started with "couponing":

1. Pick your favorite stores and product brands and sign up for their e-newsletters. They will send you the weekly circulars and coupons. This way, you can work on buying only what is on sale. Also, sign up at the printable coupon sites:
www.coupons.com
www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com
These "re-set" at the first of every month-this means, new coupons are available and previous offers will be available to you again if you already printed the allotted number of times on your computer (you can print each coupon 2-6 times each month depending on the site).

Also, get the Sunday paper for the coupons-CVS sells them for $1 so I get 2 copies each week which only costs me 25 cents more than buying 1 at the gas station like I used to do. Hard-core coupon ladies will tell you to buy 4-6 copies but being a one-woman household, I don't need THAT much stuff.

2. You have to have a plan. Since I am single, it is pretty easy for me to be more flexible about meals and cooking because I don't have to do it everyday, but I do try to go into the week with an idea of 2-3 dishes that I have the ingredients on hand to cook. If you have 2+ people in your home, do a weekly meal plan and make a list of everything you need, figure out what you already have, and what you need to get. When you are getting ready to go to the store, make your list based on the sale flyers for your store and go ahead and get your coupons ready. Try to create meals around what you have on hand and what is on sale at the store each week. Sticking to your list will help cut down on those evil "impulse" buys! You can be flexible; if you get to the store and there is a great deal on chicken and you were going to buy ground beef, maybe your beef tacos will become chicken tacos instead....you get the idea.

You do have to spend more time shopping, but since I enjoy it that is not a problem. I generally hit Publix, Harris Teeter, and CVS once every week to get the deals I need. I will throw in a Walgreens, Kroger and/or Target visit once every couple of weeks too. Some people go to every store 2-3 times a week to take advantage of a deal multiple times but my time is more valuable to me than that-I try to stick to my once per week shopping schedule, a lot of times over my lunch break. The Harris Teeter by my office has an elevator, a cart escalator, AND a Starbucks, and since I am easily amused shopping there feels like a weekly treat rather than a chore.....but if you are not like me, that's OK, you can hit your one favorite grocery store like you usually do and going in with coupons, a list and a plan will still save you some money.

3. Know your "rock-bottom price" for the items you buy the most. To get a good deal, you have to know what a good deal actually is on a certain product, and since the same item may have a different price at every store in your area, you need to know what you are willing to pay. When things hit "rock bottom" stock up. Buy as many as you have coupons/space for, and by the time you are out there will be another sale. If you end up with too much of something, consider donating the items to a food pantry or women's shelter. (I bought Target brand baby wipes with a coupon I got in the mail for$3 any target brand purchase-wipes ended up being about 10 cents a package. I donated them to a United Way drive going on at the office.)

Buy One, Get One or "BOGO" sales are usually a good starting point for finding items at "rock-bottom" prices. That's basically 50% off, and most stores ring each item up at half price so if you only need one, you get it half off. If you can get an item half off, plus a coupon (and bonus if you are at a store that doubles coupons!) you end up walking away with a great deal. Case in point-last week Publix had Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta (the whole wheat kind) BOGO. Coupons.com had the printable coupons for $1 off 2. They rang up at .60 each, plus I got $1 off every two I bought (I printed that coupon about 4 times) which made them .20 each. I got 8 boxes of pasta for a little over the cost of ONE at regular price. And I won't have to buy any more for MONTHS-and by the time I am getting low, I know there will be another sale. Which brings me to the next point.....

4. Combine coupons with store sales for the best value. Sometimes, you get things FREE this way! Or for pennies like my pasta example above. This is how you really create a difference in your budget. You will probably want to do a little research on each store's coupon policy before you get up to the register. Some stores will limit the number of coupons you can use, some won't accept competitor coupons but some will, etc.

5. Find a website that matches up the best deals in your area and sign up for their newsletter. If you live in Nashville, www.faithfulprovisions.com is a good local one. It covers all the stores I typically shop and shows which items are the best deal based on sale price + coupons. It also has some great resources if you are new to clipping coupons-my favorites are the coupon insert schedule, so I know when I need to buy the paper, and the "lingo" list so you can interpret the list of deals as they use all kinds of abbreviations.

6. Set a limit for how much you want to spend each week. Because really, there are so many good deals you won't be able to get them all. Prioritize-for example, even if pasta goes on sale again in the next month, I won't be buying any because I don't need it. I think the Faithful Provisions lady does $40/week, and I believe she feeds a family of four and that includes all household items like soap and cleaners, as well as personal care like razors and shampoo. I'm not that good! I aim for $30 week and it is just me! But I do buy a lot of fresh produce and there are not as many coupons for those so I really watch sales closely. And I am a product junkie-if there is a new hairspray/lipgloss/etc and I have a coupon I have to have it! If you can get a really good deal, I think it is ok to break the budget every once in awhile. But generally, have an overall monthly budget and even if you go over one week try to cut back a little the next.

A couple of other sites worth checking out/signing up for:
www.southernsavers.com They have a "best prices of all" section which is handy if you are looking for a good deal on a specific item

www.coupongal.net Has a separate section for Retail coupons and Restaurant coupons

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/10-days-to-become-a-krazy-coupon-lady-day-1/
A "10-Day" series on how to become a coupon king/queen-although you can scroll through all ten days in about 20 minutes. She has some GREAT tips on learning your rock bottom prices, how much to buy, what to only "buy" when its free, etc.

The first time you get a receipt where you saved more than you spent, you will love the satisfaction your get from saving money and getting great deals. Happy Saving!

DOH! My US Senators Make Me Proud Again....NOT

2009-10-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been a good blogger lately, but I've had so much TEEVEE to watch! So what unbelievable world event brought me back to you today? Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Titans 0-5? An actual living breathing Republican supporting health care reform?

Why no, it is the actions of my US Senate representation, both of whom voted AGAINST the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women earlier this year, and have now taken their hatred of my vagina to a new level. Yes folks, I try to keep this a "family" blog, but this is going to get ugly so take the children out of the room.

In 2005, a woman was working for Halliburton in Iraq and was drugged, gang raped by seven coworkers SO BRUTALLY that her vagina and anus were torn, she was bleeding, and her breast implants had ruptured. Upon, you know, TELLING, she was treated by a doctor and her rape kit was "lost" and then she was locked in a SHIPPING CONTAINER and held captive by armed guards without food or water. She was released only after her father approached the US Embassy for help. As if all that is not bad enough, she had a clause in her contract which prevented her from being able to sue.

So what does all that have to do with Senators Corker and Alexander? Well, they were 2 of the 30 Senators who voted against a bill that would not allow our government to contract with agencies who, like Halliburton and its subsidiaries, force their employees to agree not to sue if they are raped on the job. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THOSE 30 SENATORS? I have no idea if any of them are women. I'm guessing no. I guess that Corker and Alexander are going to look me in the face and tell me that if their wife and daughter were raped by coworkers, they wouldn't sue the pants off of the company that allowed it to happen. I guess they would also tell me that they would have no problem entering into a profitable business arrangement with the company after that happened because that is exactly what they think the government should do.

Why do we want to associate with companies that care SO LITTLE about their employees welfare? Why do my Senators want to condone that type of shady company policy rather than give my tax pennies to companies who value and protect their employees? Companies that are obviously corrupt. I mean, if you watch the Jon Stewart clip in the link below, the same folks who oppose ACORN by saying that taxpayers should not have to support agencies with corrupt and immoral practices are not supporting this bill. Because rape is OK? No, I am guessing that neither Corker or Alexander or any of the other 28 fools who opposed this bill condone rape, or drugs, but they are opposing this solely because it was introduced by a Democrat and for no other reason. I am so tired of these guys playing politics rather than voting for what is right and what makes sense! I mean, Corker, I totally expect, but Alexander will usually not go along with such nonsense so I am really disappointed in him in particular.

Off to write my weekly love note to the Senators' offices. Boy are they going to get an earful this week!

http://jezebel.com/5382655/republicans-defending-rape-victims-is-a-political-move

Again, what is the problem?

2009-09-17T07:35:00.001-07:00

Stephanopulos: So what's the problem with the public health option?

Landrieu: Well, many of us believe, George, that it will undermine the private insurance system.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/13/AR2009091301485.html

When a Democrat says something like that, I am starting to get really worried about this health care thing. Um, isn't the public option supposed to "undermine" in a sense, the private system? The one that is making millions (and giving their execs big bonuses while denying OUR claims) while the rest of us are out of jobs and losing our homes but giving them some fair competition is a bad idea? And wouldn't a public option CREATE jobs? I'm just dumbfounded that we can't get this together.

Next thing you know, people are going to be saying we should scrap the public school system because it's unfair to the private schools, and that we should really limit the power of the police in favor of more vigilante justice.

Things I Thought About While Waiting in Line at the County Clerk's Office

2009-08-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

1. WHO TOLD that there is a county clerk's office in Green Hills?

2. Does this line have anything to do with Cash for Clunkers?

3. That couple at the front of the line is VERY oddly matched.

4. Mattie, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

5. Wow, Grace's Plaza has great light. Wonder if anyone would say anything if I brought someone here for a photo shoot?

6. I really hope this doesn't take up my whole lunch break. I am RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Trader Joes's and I want to go!

7. They could at least put some chairs out here or play some elevator music.

8. I am going to Trader Joe's no matter what. I will take personal time if necessary. I AM GOING!

9. Too bad it would look funny if I started doing squats or lunges while I'm waiting. I HATE WAITING.....

10. Seriously, WHO TOLD?????

Apparently well-kept secrets never say that way!

Things That Made Me Smile This Morning....

2009-08-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

1. Bob Dylan is recording a Christmas album, scheduled for release Oct. 13th. Also, he's in talks to become the voice of your GPS. Mine is currently a bossy chick I named Roxie-I don't think you could convince me to give her up for Dylan, only because he doesn't enunciate very well. I will, however, consider buying that Christmas album!
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/08/27/2009-08-27_like_a_rolling_sleigh_bob_dylan_releases_art_drop_date_for_christmas_album.html

2. California is having a garage sale. On Ebay. You know, to get out of debt. The Governator is even autographing select items! Not a huge Arnie fan, but I will admit this is creative-I mean, I sell stuff on Ebay when I'm low on cash, so why shouldn't the government?
http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2009/08/26/california-unloads-on-ebay.aspx

3. Celebrating the life and work of Ellie Greenwich. Heard this on my way home yesterday as I was listening to NPR-Ms. Ellie was writer of all my favorite "girl group" songs that my daddy made me a mix tape of when I was a little girl, like "Leader of the Pack," "Da Do Ron Ron," and "Chapel of Love." She also wrote one of my favorite songs ever "Be My Baby" (you know, the one that plays at the beginning of Dirty Dancing?). Not only was she a songwriter, but also a producer, very uncommon for women at that time. He songs have been in tons of movies and TV shows-in other words, pop culture junkies like me owe a lot to Ellie Greenwich!

http://jezebel.com/5346348/legendary-girl-group-songwriter-ellie-greenwich-dies-at-age-68/gallery/
http://www.elliegreenwich.com/musicography.htm

Your Best Angles Only, I Promise!

2009-08-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, I have this little photography hobby that has actually turned into an extremely small business. After giving up retail as a second job after ten years last winter, I miss the money but not the work. So naturally, I'd like to make a little more money doing something I really enjoy!

I'm going to be doing some "Mini-Sessions" in September, which is a great way to get some portraits made for your Christmas cards, just for fun, or for someone special!!! I have details on my website, www.mattiecallahan.com, there is a tab at the top for the mini-session info.

I would love to take your photo, you and your sweetie's photo, your family's photo, your kid's photo, etc. and have you try out my work and see if my style is for you! These sessions are shorter and cheaper than my "regular" ones, plus you get a CD with selected prints included (not purchased separately as usual!) so please tell your friends! I would love to book a full day and then have to schedule another one!

Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

2009-07-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

So, have you seen the youtube video of Chris Brown apologizing for beating down his then-girlfriend Rihanna in February? I think this video "apology" pisses me off nearly as much as "the incident" as he calls it. What is wrong with the video? Let me count the ways.

1. I don't think he means it.
He "acts" sincere. While the body language is right, the words are just...okay. Sorry, regret, accept responsibility, let people down, yada yada. He's saying the right things. Why don't I believe him? Maybe its because I can't forget that he's party-hopped and cavorted around with a Rihanna look alike for the past six months. He hasn't been laying low like someone who was, say, EMBARRASSED AND ASHAMED of his actions would do. The actions and the words do not match up here, and it is a little disturbing.

2. What took ya so long?
It took him 6 freaking months to publicly apologize. I mean, did he just not think it needed to be said until now? He uses the ol' "my lawyer told me to shut it" excuse, but in the next breath says he's glad to finally "accept responsibility." Say what?

3. No responsibility has been accepted here.
He pleaded NOT GUILTY. Now, I know this is legal stuff here, that if he had pleaded guilty it probably would have been a straight shot to jail time, etc. SO??? He committed a crime. There is a penalty in our society for that. If you want to take responsibility, then you SHOULD do the time. PERIOD. Accepting responsibility also means accepting the consequences to your actions. He has not done that here.

4. He still manages to blame Rihanna.
He talks about wishing he could have handled the situation better, or something to that effect. Not wishing he could have controlled his temper, wishing he had made a better choice, no-he still insinuates that there was a "situation" that CAUSED him to react. Again, not taking responsibility for HIS action and HIS action alone. He still doesn't seem to understand the magnitude of what he did wrong.

5. He still wants to be a role model.
Excuse me? Ok, if this doesn't scream "I'm just trying to save my career" I don't know what does. Instead of saying he's going to take time to work on himself, do all this community service he's been court-ordered to do, he's basically finishing up with code for "I got a new record coming out so I need yall to trust me again so the little girls can buy my record." If he wanted to be a REAL role model, I can think of many ways to go about it. He could be donating money to domestic violence shelters, working on public service announcements, volunteering for women's causes. Nope. This guy is looking out for number 1. He's not going to jail. He's going to avoid associating himself with the issue as much as he can. If he made a mistake, which is never going to happen again, then he should have taken the punishment, come out a changed man, and made this his cause. To talk with other young men about how it happened, and how to make better decisions. Being a role model is not about being perfect-it is about learning from your mistakes and becoming a better person because of them. I don't see how he's really done either here. He's not been accountable-all he has learned is that if you have enough money and good lawyers you can break the law and get away with it. He's not shown how he's trying to become better-just this flimsy attempt at "I'm sorry about that incident I can't talk about which I'm ashamed of and want to take responsibility for except still blame my girlfriend and not get punished for it."

Maybe I'm just super cynical here....but I don't think he has learned a thing except how to hire a criminal defense lawyer. SIGH.

http://www.celebitchy.com/61243/chris_brown_releases_video_apology_what_i_did_was_inexcusable/

Psychology of Giving

2009-07-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday there was a featured article in the Tennessean about a "tent community" outside of Nashville in nearby Wilson County. Not exactly homeless people, but people living in tents and/or RV's on a campground (in which they do pay rent) instead of a house or apartment. They have community showers/bathrooms. Most are here because of lost jobs and houses due to the current economy. Today, there was a follow-up article on the outpouring of assistance that residents of this encampment, particularly the ones featured in the article, have received in the past 48 hours.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090714/NEWS01/907140355/Campground+residents++struggles+hit+home+with+readers

I used to work for a program that was often given positive press, which is always great because you definitely get a spike in donations and general community awareness of your cause. What always bothered me though, is that people were really insistent that they wanted to help the family that was featured in the article. We would get a few "general" donations of cash or material items, but most wanted to give specifically to the family. They'd call and ask for the kids' clothing sizes, donate Kroger cards, and many times write personal checks-made for hundreds or even thousands of dollars-directly to our client. They'd often include personal notes about how the story touched them in some way and they just felt like they needed to give. The good fortune of our agency choosing a family for the focus of an article literally could bring them more cash in a week than they'd make on their own in months. And the other hundreds of families we served, each as needy, each of their stories just as heartbreaking/inspiring, didn't get the same attention as they anonymously went about their lives, trying to make ends meet. At a point, I'd be instructed to try and gently steer people away from direct donations to a particular family and mention the many other families we could assist if a general contribution was made. I had people tell me that if they couldn't donate to the "featured" family directly, they wouldn't make a donation at all, despite being told that the family's current needs were all met but there were others they could help instead. What kind of logic is that? Because you don't have a visual of any of these other families, they are easy to ignore, but the one that you see that is in need you feel compelled to assist? Why we choose to give, and who we choose to give to, is fascinating to me.

It seems, based on this follow-up article today, that some of the same "psychology of giving" has affected this situation too. The article actually mentions someone that brought a photo from the paper of one of the residents in order to identify him and offer him employment. I mean, ultimately, that is good news, the guy may get a job, but for the residents of this community who weren't named and photographed for the article, will anyone reach out to them and offer employment to all? Now-I will note-the article does also mention donations of food, clothing, etc. that were made in general. But there were folks who offered to take one woman in particular to the store, doctor's appointments, etc due to her health problems. If another resident asks these same donors for a ride, will they agree to help?

I don't have a lot of money, but I'm the kind of person who thinks "every little bit helps" and you never know what your gift may mean to the person you are helping. How many of us have a friend or neighbor who might need a simple kindness every once in a while? Would it take an article in the Tennessean for us to feel bad enough about it to make an offer to give someone a ride, or offer to pick up extra groceries at the store? What a great reminder that not everyone in need will have a "help me" sign attached or be featured in the newspaper. Why not just offer help when you can give it, donate money or goods when you can, even if you don't have a photo you can look back on to say "look who I helped." Just because you can't see those who your donations or volunteer hours help doesn't make your assistance any less appreciated-or important.

Drop Your Stones

2009-07-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while. I went on vacation, and came back to a world that has been kind of nauseating these past couple of weeks, and I feel like I rode the Hangman at Opryland one too many times, and my head hurts a little bit from all the jarring against the headrest.

Last night I sat on my couch, watching the televised memorial service for Steve McNair. If you are not a Nashvillian and/or NFL fan, Steve was our Tennessee Titans quarterback from the time the team moved from Houston to Nashville until about three years ago, when we couldn't afford to keep him anymore and he played his last two seasons with our arch-rivals the Baltimore Ravens, who at the time seemed to be trying to snatch up all of our players one by one. Anyway, Steve and his family still maintained ties in Nashville and moved back here upon his retirement. He's probably the most famous and well-respected athlete our city has ever been able to claim, and the fact that he claimed us right back made him one of our most popular residents. You really never heard anything bad about him, even when he was arrested a couple of times for DUIs, most people criticized the police for "just wanting to say they arrested a famous person." If anything, stories of his good works around town were par for the course, how he'd just show up at a school or children's hospital, no press, no media coverage. It seemed he was actually a really nice guy, genuinely interested making a difference.

But on the 4th of July, my best friend and her husband showed up at my parent's cookout with bad news-Steve McNair had been fatally shot, along with a woman, in an apartment near downtown. It was surreal-my first thought was perhaps a drug deal gone bad, or maybe something involving a prostitute. I mean, for someone to kill STEVE MCNAIR, our golden boy, there had to be something really shady going on-he had such a great reputation, I knew it would be something shocking. They weren't naming the woman, which seemed strange. Soon after the coverage began, they identified the woman as not his wife, but still no name. They also began stating the McNair had been killed, and the other woman "found dead." Not killed. I said to family and friends around the table that the wording seemed like a read-between-the-lines way of saying, murder-suicide. After a few days, and many salacious details about an extramarital relationship with a girl still in her teens when it began, that theory I formed sadly proved to be true. At first I was kind of angry-not even at this "role model's" poor choices and colossal lapse in judgement that cost him everything (which did irk me-why would a guy who had everything be such an idiot?), but at all of his friends and former teammates that basically pulled the "guy code" card when asked if any of them ever talked to him about the choices he was making. Stay out of your friend/teammate's business. As a girl, I cannot understand that logic. Friends, take note: If I ever witness you engaging in self-destructive behavior, I will confront you about it.

While most in Nashville are shocked by the manner in which his life was taken, most fans and media have chosen to focus on his extensive community service and athletic accomplishments, and ignore the elephant in the room. Our local papers and news outlets have referred to the woman as Steve's "girlfriend" while ESPN, Fox Sports, and a local Baltimore paper in which I read some coverage all called her the "mistress." Some bloggers blasted McNair by saying that real leadership begins at home, not on the field or in the community, while locally papers have listed the many charities he was involved in. Others used his death and the circumstances leading up to it to chastise all American men who may provide their families with plenty of money to take care of them but are otherwise absent. In fact, we don't know how much time he was spending with his children in the months up to his death while he was involved with this girl, and all evidence we have doesn't point to a lot, but many assumptions have been made that we can't verify in order to make an "example" of Steve McNair. In the aftermath of the Michael Jackson death, where reaction has been similar, it is an interesting concept to ponder-is all forgiven when we die? Whatever mistakes we have made in our lives, has the good we have contributed to society enough to make everyone forget about our flaws? Is it unfair or inappropriate to "speak ill of the dead" even if it is true? On one hand, flaws are what make us human. In Steve's case, I think this was the major point of shock for many: Air McNair, the larger than life athlete with an infectious smile, who we'd put on a pedestal, was human. He made mistakes. Like WE ALL DO.

Last night, while watching Titan's coach Jeff Fisher, an assortment of teammates, and charity associates eulogize Steve McNair with stories of athletic triumph and personal generosity, none of them mentioned Steve's now-obvious flaws. But when McNair's pastor, Bishop Joseph Walker III, took the mic for his turn, he walked right up to the "elephant" in the room and basically climbed on for a ride. But his message was beautiful, fitting, and immediately dissipated my anger and frustration about the coverage of this event, and gave me a peace about a lot of the discomfort I've felt while reading coverage of the deaths of Steve McNair and Michael Jackson. Bishop Walker told the story of the woman caught in adultery, brought to Jesus by the religious leaders of the community who wanted to stone her, according to law. Of course, Jesus drew the line in the sand and gave us one of the most often quoted verses of Scripture ever, "Let ye who is without sin cast the first stone." Bishop Walker then called for us all to "Drop our Stones" when we think about this tragic event, or when we Twitter, blog, or chat with each other. We are a very judgemental society. I know I often judge people unfairly. I'm female! We pick each other apart! I am aware of this. I also try very hard to be compassionate, and to remember that I don't know what someone has been through, is going through, or may soon be facing. But, I'm not perfect and clearly like to get on my high horse just like most everyone else-but if you read this blog you know that already.

While I didn't know Steve McNair, his death has served as a reminder for me: Drop Your Stones. None of us are perfect, but God loves us all and has commanded us to show that love to one another-in good times, in bad times, when we make mistakes, and even when we hurt each other. Rest in Peace Steve, and I pray that your children and family find comfort.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090710/SPORTS01/907100377/Excerpts+from+McNair+memorial+service+in+Nashville

"I'm tired of charring my a** on your back burner. "

2009-06-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

That will make no sense if you did not see the season premiere of True Blood last night. But, even if you missed it, surely you will agree that it is one of the best tv quotes ever! Since I can't imagine when I will ever need to say it in real life, I thought I would say it here. Hee, hee.

I've been a neglectful blogger, but I've been a little overwhelmed. There was so much news in the past couple of weeks that would have been blog-worthy, but sometimes when it all hits at once I can't decide what to blog about and don't blog anything.

The good news today is that Nashville/Tennessee seems to have survived simultaneously hosting CMA Fest (aka the country music festival formerly known as Fan Fair) and Bonnaroo. As for me, I avoid the interstate and any event within a five mile radius of Broadway during this particular time of year. But all seems to have gone well, and ticket sales were up 7% despite this little recession we are in. While 4-day pass sales were down, single day tickets were up nearly 20%, so they assume the locals pitched in this year. Not me. While $30-$40 bucks for an evening with the superstars of country music is a GREAT deal (unlike the Fleetwood Mac concert this weekend I almost bought tickets to, until I found out they were nearly $100......yikes!) I just can't deal with the crowds.

We still have one more hurdle to get through...the CMT Awards are tomorrow night, and I hear that T-Pain will perform with Taylor Swift (huh?) and that Bill O'Reilly is a presenter (he knows that Nashville is a Blue City, right?). Stay tuned!

Too Much TV!

2009-05-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

With the abundance of season finales taking place this time of year, I've been spending way too much time in front of the TV lately! Not that the weather lent itself to me doing much else until this week came around, but I have been feeling like a bit of a couch potato and am beginning to wonder what I might do with all of this extra time once all of my "shows" are on hiatus.

Who else has been watching too much TV? Last week we had the season finale of LOST, Grey's, the Office, etc. This week-American Idol! The Mentalist! NCIS! (Nobody spoil me on that last one, I am a couple episodes behind). And if you haven't seen any of the aforementioned, and don't want to be spoiled, skip the rest of this post. I warned you!

Let's see...where to begin? How about LOST! OMG-deaths! fake death(s)?! Jacob is revealed! Who is the man in black? Did the losties really change history? If so, will they remember their little jaunt through time and space? Is Juliet really dead? Where the frak were Penny and Desmond? Better yet, what the frak ever happened to CLAIRE???? And how many boxes of Kleenex did you use crying over Juliet and Sawyer's tearful end? WHY IS KATE STILL ALIVE?So many questions....so few answers...so much room to speculate! So first off, I at first thought that maybe the bomb didn't really go off, that they just time traveled again, but now maybe I think it is a combination-Juliet did really set off Jughead, and as a result of all that energy colliding, and of course, the course of history changing and "course-correcting" everyone is set back into another time-I'm just not sure when. The present? Before the plane crashed? Have no idea how this will work! And did yall notice in the flashbacks where Jacob visited the losties at critical moments in their lives-he touched all of them? He also touched Ben at the end after he stabbed him. Something must happen when he touches you-it marks you in some way. Again, I have no idea how that works exactly. Another interesting development-apparently the visions of Christian, Claire, and other "dead" people are the Man in Black using their bodies to further his own mission-to kill Jacob. Apparently, dead is dead, and poor Locke was not resurrected but simply used as a vessel to create a "loophole" for MIB to be able to complete his plot against Jacob. Hmmmm. Must think more.

Grey's....well, I was hardcore about this show in the beginning, and lost a little interest as time went on and they kept changing the date/time the show came on. But, I have watched the last couple episodes, as I was interested in the Izzie/Alex wedding story and whether or not Iz would die. I mean, I did name my dog after the girl! Needed to see her through. But the more compelling storyline turned out to be a John Doe patient who was hit by a bus when he ran in front of it to push a woman out of the way, saving her life, but nearly ending his in the process. Badly burned and unidentifiable, unable to speak, the residents work to save his life. In the true OMG moment of the night, perhaps the whole series, the patient takes Meredith's hand and traces something into her palm: 007. George's nickname. Before Mer had even put it altogether, I had jumped up off the couch and gasped so loud it scared my dog. But, about that time, she also gets it and starts screaming "ITS GEORGE!!!!!" about the same time Izzie codes in Alex's arms after brain surgery and the team attempts to revive her despite the fact that she signed a DNR. Like, I thought I needed a Vicodin or something after this episode-I was a wreck. At the end, Iz and George meet on the elevator, him in a military uniform (he joined the army earlier that day, LOL) and her in her "prom dress"-the one she was wearing the night Denny died. Now, I think they both kicked the bucket big time, but apparently the blogosphere thought this was all ambiguous. Whatever, I think they are dead, and if not, I may actually be mad because I kind of cried and I don't like to cry if its not worth it. So they better be dead.

Office.....what can I say-Pam is pregnant! Can we say shotgun wedding next season?

And of course tonight-Idol crowns its winner. Didn't I tell yall to watch out for little Kris Allen? That's how those southern boys are-they sneak up on you with their charm and their quiet confidence. I knew early on he had a shot at the big prize-I believe I may have blogged so, but I am definitely too lazy to go back and look. So, will America prefer the subtle, laid back stylings of acoustic rocker Kris, or the in-your-face, dramatic stylings of glam rocker Adam Lambert? Folks have been calling this the Adam show from day one, but Kris obviously had a strong enough fan base to get him this far, so I would not totally count him out. Either way, they are both getting record deals at this point, and I will probably buy Kris's in a heartbeat, Adam's, not so much. Just not my type of music, but the boy can sing and I think he's a great role model-he's so comfortable in his own skin! That's always a good thing. They're both so different, and as long as Danny wasn't in the finals, I'm good with however it turns out. :)

So, after I catch up on some shows that I've missed (Gossip Girl, which I heard was underwhelming, and of course NCIS among them) I'll be done with TV and need a new hobby. Any suggestions?

Before and After

2009-05-04T12:32:00.001-07:00

So I know this is not my photo blog, but I can't resist posting a before and after of my brother cutting TEN INCHES of hair off this weekend! I'm still not sure he is happy he did it but he is sending it to Locks of Love, so at least his will grow back if he wants and someone else will benefit!

In other news, since I've kind of slacked from blogging lately, yes, I am still watching American Idol, although if it ends up being a Danny-Adam finale I don't think I'll be watching then. This top 4 would be ok if Danny had gone home instead of Matt (still want to punch Danny, still don't know why). Poor Matt-I think his nerves just got the best of him most of the time. I'll totally buy his album though. I think he's a star! I saw this video of him on Ellen-I'm not sure he EVER sounded that good on the show, which means that he is probably going to do really well on the tour this summer just singing for fun. LOLz at Ellen jumping on the piano! Hopefully Danny goes this week (could happen-he's never been in the bottom three BUT his fan base has also not been scared silly into power-voting for him like Kris's and Adam's will be after they were B3 last week). Ok, probably wishful thinking on my part. A girl can dream.

http://mjsbigblog.com/matt-giraud-the-ellen-degeneres-show-video.htm#more-7265

And I totally meant to do an "Obama's 100 days" post, but just didn't have the time! So for your political snack today, I have been Netflix-ing documentaries like crazy lately. Last night I watched one called "The Education of Shelby Knox" which was part of a PBS teen-issue series. It follows a virginity-pledged, Republican parented, average teenage girl in Lubbock, TX, home of the highest teen pregnancy/STD rate in the US, as she becomes an activist challenging the policy of teaching "abstinence only" in high schools and discovers that many of her long held religious and social beliefs don't actually make a lot of sense to her once she thinks logically about them (her parents are also an interesting part of the story, as her mom and dad clearly don't agree with all of her decisions but are supportive of her anyway, her mom even going with her to a protest about gay rights). The contrast of Shelby's evolution as her own beliefs were challenged with a town that clearly had no ability to evolve was unbelievably striking.

So today, I had to google Shelby Knox to see what became of her, as the final credits simply have her going off to college with aspirations of becoming President one day. And, my search did NOT disappoint-Miss Knox did go to college, move to New York City, and is a full time writer/activist/feminist doing all kinds of fancy functions with Gloria Steinem and Lily Ledbetter and other feminist pioneers. She also has a blog that I'll be checking in on from time to time now chronicling her experiences and "continued education." Watch out for this one folks! If you watch the film you will see-she takes NO crap and is not afraid to tell it like she sees it, but is charming at the same time (her telling one particular Pastor he had no right to tell her she was a bad Christian-yowza! pretty ballsy for a teenage girl)....and you will love watching her and her arch-nemesis on the youth council (a "young Republican" who plans to run for Mayor of Lubbock one day). Anyway, interesting and very entertaining, and worth seeing the early days of this lady who is certainly going to be making headlines for many years to come.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/shelbyknox/ About the film

http://shelbyknox.blogspot.com/ Shelby's blog

Miss California....sigh.

2009-04-21T13:16:00.001-07:00

So, I can't say that I watched Miss USA whenever it was it came on the teevee, but I have heard all about runner-up Miss California. Poor Miss North Carolina (the winner)! Miss C is stealing all her thunder-those pageant girls sure can be mean! No one is talking about her but everyone is talking about the feud between Miss Cali and blogger Perez Hilton. If you have somehow missed this whole debacle, Miss C's question came from Perez Hilton (if you are not familiar: snarky gay celebrity blogger who draws penises coming out of celebrities' mouths and white trails coming out of their noses, among other things), and was along the lines of: Vermont just became the 4th state to legalize gay marriage, do you think the rest of the states should do the same?

Now, Miss C answered like this (quote): "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

Now Miss California says that she believes her beliefs about gay marriage may have cost her the crown. And maybe she is right-I mean, talk about biting the hand that feeds you! Or in her case, did her hair, makeup, and designed her gown. But on the other hand, maybe, just maybe, she lost because her answer was incoherent and did not actually answer the question. I mean, "OPPOSITE" MARRIAGE? LOL! What is she talking about? And the whole point was that MOST people in this country DON'T have the choice-only four states do, but she stated that in this "land' everyone can choose. And "I think that I believe that" is totally bad grammar! If you are stating it, honey, we assume that these are your thoughts and your beliefs, you don't have to clarify that. And then, "No offense" is what you say when you know what you've said is offensive-basically a "sorry, but not really!" kind of thing. Thing is, Perez wasn't really asking her what her personal beliefs were-she offered them up freely! She could have said something like, "YES, since each state determines its own marriage laws, now is a great time to give the people of every state the opportunity to vote on this issue, like we did here in California." She could have left her views out of it, answered the question, and probably won.

Now, clearly she is proud of her stance, and has done many interviews defending her choice not to give a politically correct answer and stay true to her religious beliefs. To say that she lost because of it leaves out the fact that the answer was a rambling mess, regardless of the other implications. Her answer was simply ridiculous. So for her now to basically be saying that she was discriminated against because of her religious beliefs is completely ironic! Maybe if she had a hint of self-awareness she'd think, "hmm, it doesn't feel good when someone leaves you out because of the way you live your life," and connect the dots to see that is what she did when she told the people that fixed her hair, did her makeup, coached her, and were judging her that while they were good enough to give her highlights they weren't good enough to have what she has-the right to marry the person of their choice.

Oh, and to top it all off, this is the woman Michael Phelps is supposed to be "dating." I guess smoking pot and drinking are fine in this religion of hers. Oy!

It's Almost Tuesday...

2009-04-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Another Tuesday, another American Idol. Country week was pretty awesome, probably from low expectations, Motown week was a'aight, probably because Motown is awesome and as long as you sing in key its pretty hard to totally ruin it, although a couple of them tried (Megan-how could you do that to Stevie? And Danny Gokey-OMG-"Re-tay" is not a word, "Ready" is).

Then came last week. "Top Downloads." In other words: Sing whatever you want, we can't afford mentors every week in this economy. So this is the week they've been waiting for, the week they can be "current" and sing a song out of this decade, right? RIGHT? Sigh. NOT RIGHT. Only three contestants even picked songs sung in the last 10 years, and both got SLAMMED hard. Only one, Matt, picked a song out within the last year-and he got slammed hard-and didn't deserve it. Was it a little "soundalike" as one of the judges said? Sure. But Gokey's Rascal Flatt's cover didn't stray too far from the original either. (Side note: I really hope he is not trying to be a country singer.) Matt always looks so dejected when the judges criticize him. It makes me feel bad for him. It makes me mad that the judges only like him when he sings what they want him to sing. When he sings what he likes, they are mad because its not what they told him to do. Now, I know that (arguably) they are "professionals" and the kids should listen to them to a certain extent-after all, if they knew it all, they wouldn't have had to go on AI to try and get a record deal. BUT, if Matt wants to sing rock, they need to help him figure out how to mesh his abilities with that style. Note to Matt: Forget the Fray. (Love them, liked your in-the-round performance, but trying to keep you in the competition after multiple trips to the B3) Go listen to Amos Lee, Ray Lamontagne, James Morrison, and Ben Harper. Bluesy voices, making it work without having to sing R&B. That is your homework.

Anyway-someone who did knock it out of the park last week was little Kris Allen. Took an old song-one of the best songs EVER IMO-Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine-and made it current, playing the piano (we'd seen him on guitar or solo up to this point-man of many talents!), singing the H-E-C-K out of it, this kid didn't miss a note-and that is a HARD song. Best of all-he experimented with the phrasing and melody, so it wasn't "soundalike" (I think that is the new buzzword for this year). Loved.It.

And tomorrow is going to be "Songs from the Year you were Born" week (which brought us David Cook's "Billie Jean" moment last year) which is essentially 80's week, save for youngin' Allison, born in 1992. So, with everyone else being born between 1980 and '86, I think, here is what I think we could possibly hear come tomorrow night: Pat Benetar, George Michael/Wham, Prince (although I am not sure he clears his songs for Idol), Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie/Commodores, and maybe Bruce Springsteen. Its hard for me to think EARLY eighties because I was pretty young-I think Bon Jovi was probably a little past these folks birth date, but lots of AI peeps have done interesting Bon Jovi covers (the band themselves did an acoustic album of their eighties hits a few years ago). I can totally see Scott doing REO Speedwagon for some reason. LOL. Don't know why...anyway, I am sure I am way off but it is fun to guess!

I hope to NOT hear Phil Collins (or anyone else's version of True Colors for that matter), Chicago/Peter Cetera, Journey, Billy Joel, or Stevie Wonder. Nothing against any of them-love some of them very much-but folks had the chance to do Stevie last week, and the others are just WAY overdone on this show and unless you are going to change it up big time, it's probably not a good idea.

Anyway, I guess we'll see! And SHOUT OUT to the ladies of country music this week-despite country music long being a good ole boys club, the ladies DOMINATED the ACM Awards last night, with the biggest awards of the night going to two pretty young ladies-Carrie Underpants becoming the 7th woman ever to win Entertainer of the Year, and Taylor Swift winning album of the year for "Fearless." Now, I'm not a big Carrie fan, and I've seen her in concert and calling her a master entertainer is fine if you like people with the stage presence of a paper clip-but I am happy to see a lady win nonetheless. (Now Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland-that is an entertainer. But I digress.) And while Taylor Swift is pretty polarizing, you can't deny that selling a bajillion albums in four months doesn't deserve some kind of award, especially when we keep hearing how album sales are in the crapper and the music industry is dying. And I will admit that I am slightly biased, as my best friend's husband is one of Taylor's studio musicians AND I went to high school with that red-headed guy you saw on TV last night accepting the award (her producer). He used to charge me and his sister to drive us around in his old gas guzzling pickup truck. Anyway, happy to see people I know have success! Mazel Tov to the winners.

Nashville on the Big Stage!

2009-04-01T11:22:00.001-07:00

There is a lot going on around town this week-the annual songwriters festival, Tin Pan South, which will bring BIG STARS like Michael McDonald and Hanson to town, not to mention the MANY, MANY local peeps that are totally too many to name-not that I can be stopped: Amy Grant (and ex-hubby Gary Chapman, but not current Mr. Vince Gill, but who wants to bet he pops in between golf games?); Liz Rose (Taylor Swift's co-writer); Bill Lloyd (80s/90s country duo Foster and Lloyd); impossibly pretty Aussie Sherrie Austin; Dave Barnes, Landon Pigg, Shawn Mullins, Ashley Cleveland, Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer fame) and Mindy Smith, who are all some of my fave singer-songwriters; as well as a host of country artists like Lila McCann, Richie McDonald, Kix Brooks, Trent Tomlinson, Suzy Bogguss, and Jamie O'Neal, to name a few. And strangely enough, a girl from One Tree Hill, named Bethany Joy something, who I am guessing wants to sing now?

And the folks that write just about every song you have ever heard, at least on country radio but also beyond like Matraca Berg, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Gretchen Peters, Skip Ewing, Victoria Shaw, Brett James, Jim Lauderdale, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Mark Selby and Tia Sillers.

And, a couple of American Idol connections (because I keep trying to tell you-it always comes back around to Nashville, y'all): Regie Hamm, who wrote the Idol "coronation song" that went platinum for Mr. David Cook last year, "Time of My Life" and Josiah Leming, who auditioned a couple of years back, didn't make it very far-maybe not even past Hollywood? But he was the kid that was from Tennessee (I think) and living in his car, so they did feature him quite a bit.

So seriously, it might look like I named everyone that is going to be there, but I totally just gave you a taste-check out the website for more info! And check out some great shows this week if you have the time/money.

In addition to all that, apparently we are also hosting a soccer game of some kind at LP Field and some other kind of sporting event at the Sommet Center (women's basketball? Gymnastics? I can't remember) so with all of these tourists I am feeling a little fortunate to be leaving town for a couple of days on business......but if you are here, probably a great time to spot some stars around town. I saw Taylor Swift at the mall last week! Anything is possible kids....

http://www.tinpansouth.com/

Back in the Saddle....Again!

2009-03-17T19:36:00.001-07:00

Oh, America Idol, you heard my cries! Am I blinded by the country music theme week? Did you really not suck tonight? Ok, so I have to be out of the office all day tomorrow-I'll be rubbing elbows down at the Capitol in the morning for some advocacy work....so I thought I would go ahead and post my AI recap thoughts NOW, while I still remember, than wait until Thursday when it's all fuzzy. Let's see. Where to begin? Did I already say that I didn't totally hate it tonight? Was it low expectations allowing me to be suprised? Is it that I've seen these folks perform three times now, and I feel like I am starting to get a sense of what the contestants are really about and what they are capable of musically? Are my feelings all just a result of the awful Top 36 format they used this year? Anyway. On to the music.

First up...Michael. Garth Brooks! Score one for Mattie. I told yall someone would sing Garth! Bad song choice though. Michael, you have obviously never seen Garth perform this. His energy is cra-zazy when he does! Mikey was kind of like a limp noodle. He did appear to remember the gazillion words to this song, Ain't Goin Down, but he has no star quality. Really, we had to sacrifice Ricky Braddy for this guy?

Ok. I may not remember the exact order everyone went in. Who was next? I don't know. Let's just move on to Lil. She sang a Martina song. Score 2 for Mattie! Maybe I am better at this than I thought. I was sooo glad she did not sing IWALY a la Whitney. She actually tried to sing a country song! The judges HATE it. They told her she should have sung IWALY. WHAT? Judges clearly on drugs. Was it great? No. But that is because Lil is no as good as they have led us to believe. Not because of the song. What was with the Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend getup? That is what I thought she might sing based on the outfit. LOLz.

Oh, and Randy Travis is the mentor. Love me some Randy Travis! His "wife" is in the audience. *cough* sorry, couldn't resist. Anyway....Randy is pretty cute with the Idols, and acts like he actually has watched the show before. He tells every contestant that "Garth" or "Dolly" or whoever is REALLY going to like the Idol's version of their song. Its cute.

Back to singing. (This is what you get when I blog at night....I get a little ADD.) Kris! I told yall Kris would do well tonight. He sings...another Garth! To Make you Feel My Love. Ohmygosh I LOOOOVEEE this song! Its from Hope Floats. Trisha Yearwood has a version of it too, but Garth's is soooo pretty. Kris sings it, no guitar, changes up some melodies a little, and its quite pretty. I worried it might be a little too understated for the judges (they love ADAM, and if they love him how will they love something this simple?) but they ALSO loved it. Mattie is on FIRE with the predictions!

Allison....sings Patty Loveless's Blame it on Your Heart. Makes me think of my childhood! Not a great choice for her. She sang it fine, and I love Patty, but she should have toned it down a bit. She should have done Patty's You Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way). Its slower but not a ballad. I did not predict anyone singing Patty. Mattie's record begins to slide.

Let's see....I totally cannot remember when anyone sang. LOL. SVU is wierd tonight. Let's see...Scotty on the piano. He ALSO sang Martina-Wild Angels. Kind of strange. He rearranged it, but he's got to break out of the slow-piano inspirational sounding mode. Pianos can rock out too! OMG it is almost my bedtime. Best part of Scott's portion of the show was when he went rogue and told the judges as they were knocking his song choice that he "lost a lot of hat-draws" this week-indicating-ANOTHER POINT FOR MATTIE-that there was a lot of fighting over songs this week! I knew it! I wonder what he really wanted to sing. Hmmm. I bet ALways on my Mind.

Yep, Anoop redeemed himself this week. I knew he had it in him! He sang a lovely arrangement of Willie Nelson's Always On My Mind-so beautiful. Perfect choice. The judges adequately acknowledged his return to greatness, and Simon apologized for saying last week that he was sorry they put him through. Woo-hoo! More like this, please.

How have I written this much and not talked about ADAM yet? O.M.G. What the HELL did he do to Johnny Cash? He sang this bizarre-at best-version of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. Um, I think June is rolling over in her grave as she did not intend for that song to ever be abused like that. Adam had a major fall from grace this week. Simon hated it. Paula loves him. Kara is on the fence. Randy thought that if NIN covered Johnny Cash, that's what it would sound like. Um, no. Johnny covered NIN and there is no way that they would do that to his song in return. BAD. BAD. Might this not be a Gokey v. Theater Boy finale after all?

Speaking of Gokey. When I heard that Danny-boy was going to sing Carrie Underpants' Jesus Take the Wheel, I changed the channel. I did not need to see that. I did see a clip during the recap at the end of the show, and I was right-I did not need to see that. I don't know why I want to smack him. That jacket he had on was not cute. Aren't people dressing them?

Poor Megan. Who is apparently now Megan Joy, not Megan Joy Corkrey. She did Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight" (I am soooo psychic!) and actually did a god job! She looked pretty too-much better makeup this week. I haven't been "getting" her, but I did this week. And apparently she went to the hospital with the flu this week. Good for her! She really doesn't seem to feel well.

Matt....Matt did very well too-another Carrie Underpants song (if Jorge and Jasmine had been in, they were singing Carrie too-good grief, might as well have Carrie night next year) and Randy Travis told him he did not think it would be a good choice before Matt sang it for him. Randy changed his mind-Matt als changed it up, and since this is one of the few Carrie songs that I actually kind of like, I was happy. The judges loved it. He obviously got the pimp spot for a reason, they like to go out on a high note. Who have I forgotten? That's only ten.

Oh no-Simon was right! ALEXIS! He said that people would forget about that in ten minutes, and I totally did. Not good! She sang Jolene. It was just average. She wanted to show a softer side, but I don't think she went soft enough. Hello, listen to the lyrics. This is a desperate song. She lacked the emotion and relied on oversinging instead of interpreting Dolly (holla, another point for me!) She talked back when the judges criticized her. Is she getting a little "high school bitchy" to quote Tina Fey? She is rubbing me the wrong way tonight.

Ok...so overall, I was pleased. I will keep going into Motown week next week. *sigh* I wish I could quit you, AI. All of the judges' pets got ragged on, and that made me happy too. Of course, it could just all be part of the producer's diabolical plan....

I think Alexis or Allison will get sent home. They both underwhelmed tonight. A lot of the contestants got smart with the judges, and people don't like that. If Alexis makes it through, I hope she improves her attitude.

ps blogger won't let me spell check, so sorry for all the typos. lol

Flattery will get you EVERYWHERE....

2009-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I meant to tack this on to the Idol post, as it is music related.

Apparently Music Row's economy is JUST FINE as they are still throwing epic parties for the A-list country crowd. There was a recent party for Keith Urban to celebrate his album release (comes out today) and the fact that his song "Somebody Like You" has been played on the radio over 3 million times, which is apparently in the range of songs by artists like the Beatles. They showed a snippet of his thank you speech on the news this morning (yes, this kind of thing makes the NEWS in MUSIC CITY) he thanked his "muse" wife and fancy movie actress Nicole Kidman, but also thanked the city of Nashville for being "so damn good to me" and that he and his wife had been all over the world, they could live anywhere ya know, but they choose here because we are a beautiful city and let them live a normal life and they chose to raise their daughter here because we are AWESOME. I wonder what sales will be like for Keith's album in Nashville today? ;) I know people knock on Keith and Nicole, saying it won't last, but I think they are lovely and maybe I'm immune to the cynicism because of our mutual love of Nashville but I hope those two crazy kids make it, ya know? Anyway, now that I know they are in town I'm going to resume stalking all the Starbucks in Green Hills and trying to spot the Bentley!

And in other news....former AI winner Ruben Studdard filmed his most recent music video in Nashville yesterday. There is always a Nashville connection! I'll let yall know if I spot the Velvet Teddybear around town.

American Idol, this is your last chance!

2009-03-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

OK, so I said I'd tune in tonight for Grand Ole Opry Week, and then decide whether or not to finally stop flipping between AI and the Mentalist for the next several weeks and just tune in to CBS for that hot piece of man, Simon Baker. ;)

So I love trying to predict what people might sing on theme nights, and I'm pretty terrible at it (well, actually, I think I pick great songs for the contestants, they are the ones who make bad choices, lol). Take that back, I am terrible at predicting ACCURATELY, but they should totally sing what I tell them to! The problem this year is that so many of the contestants are so similar to each other-and not a one of them is a "country" artist this time around. I think there was probably A LOT of fighting for certain songs behind the scenes this week! So, based on that list I posted last week, here are a few predictions. I think that we will dfinitely hear someone sing a song by the following: Carrie Underpants, Garth Brooks, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, and Trisha Yearwood. Since most of them claim to not be very familiar with country, they are all going to pick something more "mainstream" or something that's been done as a pop/rock version at some point. Particular songs? Crazy by Patsy, How Do I Live by Trisha (I totally think Michael is going to do this-he does NOT want to be pegged as the country guy, so he will do a country-pop song). I am thinking that we may hear more than one Garth song. I read somewhere that Kris likes Garth, and I could see Danny and Adam also picking Garth songs. We may also get some Brad Paisley-he is going to be on the show Wednesday, and some of his bigger hits are relatively mainstream. I think Alexis and Lil will go the Martina/Trisha/Carrie route. I wish no one would sing Carrie, but she is also going to be on the show, and people LOVE to sing Carrie songs, even though they usually get slammed for it. I think Megan or Allison may pick a Patsy song-they are not afraid to go a little retro. And, a song like Crazy has been covered so many times in so many different ways, they could easily find a less "country" arrangement. Dolly's "Jolene" has also been covered a lot, so that might happen tonight as well. Anoop-I have NO IDEA. He has not shown a great amount of sense in his song selections, so I am scared. I think next week is Motown and I hope he sticks around for it. But tonight might be an epic fail for him if he can't pick a good song. As for our piano men, Scott and Matt, they could also get "Crazy" and do Patsy on the piano, and I think they will both do something reasonably "old school" country. You know, Ray Charles did several country albums, I don't think he was a member of the GOO and I am too lazy to go back and look at that list of song choices, but I bet there is at least ONE song on there that he covered that Matt could do to stay in the judges good graces or another week.

All I can say is, if Lil does I Will Always Love You Whitney style, or Danny does "The Dance" or anything that will remotely refer to the dead wife, I am turning OFF the tv. I feel like I have no idea what any of these people are capable of musically and I want some suprises this evening, or I am giving up. (Or maybe giving Motown week a shot....MAN I think I am going to have trouble letting go here!)

Cookie Time?

2009-03-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have to say that in spite of spending three years working for Girl Scouts, cookie time came and went this year and I never once encountered a cookie booth, or had any of my old contacts ring me up to buy cookies. So, for the first year in forever, I did not buy a single box of Girl Scout cookies. My mom gave me a box she bought, and a couple of people brought some into work, so I've EATEN a few, but it did get me wondering how someone so well-connected to the Girl Scout universe never got asked to buy. Then I saw this article online today-once again, accusing the GS (rightly so) of being "behind the times" and not living up to their claim that they are a progressive organization for young women.

The article is right on! It talks about a girl in North Carolina who made a You Tube video advertising that she was selling cookies. She did not exchange money via the Internet in any way-folks were simply able to contact her and she would take the order and deliver the cookies in person. GS does have a rule about "online sales"-the rule is that they are not allowed. The controversy here is whether or not what she did fell into the sales or advertising category, and whether it was "fair" Because not all girls have computers and what about the rural areas, etc. Well, she certainly wasn't taking customers from a rural resident who doesn't have a computer either, right? So that was kind of a dumb argument. Besides, competition does exist in the marketplace....get used to it! The other argument, and the more valid one here, at the center of the rule itself, is the safety of this kind of thing. I have not seen the video but I'm guessing as long as she did not give out her address via the WWW or anything, and her parents knew about it, its probably just as safe as going door to door. The child's parent makes a great point-you want my daughter to learn sales and marketing, but you don't want to allow her to use CURRENT methods? Come on-very few salespeople are "door to door" anymore. Most use the Internet, mass mailings, email, YOU TUBE, etc to get info out-I mean, look at the last presidential election for an example of using technology to spread a message and create "customers." Now, GS says the program is designed to teach "face to face" sales and marketing techniques, and I get that, but the girl WAS doing that to "close" her sales-she was just using the Internet as a tool for online advertising. I think she is super-savvy and we will see her as a CEO one day! GS has simply got to get with the times and allow girls to use technological resources-in a safe, responsible way-to carry out the cookie program. And they wonder why membership is on a steady decline.....
http://www.newsweek.com/id/188714?GT1=43002

Dear American Idol, Please don't make me dump you.

2009-03-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

OK, its that time again, and while I am still trying to emotionally recover from my last reality show abusive relationship with the Bachelor (What.A.Tool.) I've jumped into another one, with my old boyfriend American Idol. However, I may have to dump him, because he sucks. I have not blogged about the show so far-partially cause the Feds are visiting my office next week and I've been trying to make it appear that I know what I am doing at my job; and partially because I HATE HATE HATE this crappy Top 36 format where people only have one shot to get into the Top 12. There has been no time to get attached to any of the contestants, that is if you are like me and have not been blown away by the select few contestants who have been shoved down our throats by the producers (Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds). The ones that I LIKED from the Top 36 mostly did not make it through, particularly Ricky Braddy who went to Nashville's Belmont University (like Melinda Doolittle!). Seriously, that guy was certainly the best singer that we saw (sorry Gokey) and was pretty unceremoniously dumped on by all the judges but Paula for having "no personality." Ok, that ticks me off. Just because someone is reserved, conservative, shy, etc, does not mean they have NO PERSONALITY, or that they are "boring". That IS their personality. If that is not what the show is looking for, fine. Say that. Say, you're too shy for this show. But that's never what they say. They say the contestant is VOID of any personality simply because they are not over the top, loud, in your face unreasonably outgoing, or clinically insane (a la Tatiana del Crazy). I also liked Jesse Langseth (maybe this is because I knew she is Johnny Lang's sister and I luv him). The other Nashville contestants, Kristen McNamara and Anne Marie Boskovich, also failed to hit a home run with their ONE performance. Seriously, would David Cook have made it through with this format? His cover of "Hello" was his THIRD performance in the semi-finals.

So, I'm scared to get emotionally invested because it all just seems really contrived this year. It doesn't really matter who I like-Paula already gave us the spoiler on this week's show that its going to be a Danny vs. Adam finale. Where is the mystery? The suspense? The OMG will my favorite make it through? They've already told us they expect these two guys to be duking it out until the end, which just makes it a guessing game of what order the rest will fall. Its like it's your favorite scripted drama series (say, NCIS or something) but a major character gets killed off every week until there is no one left on the show at the end of the season and then they start over. Would you watch that? I wouldn't. And I may not watch this much longer either.

That being said...they are pulling out country week-make that Grand Ole Opry week, more specifically-very early this year. Its this coming week. Vote for the Worst has a list of songs it claims is the list that the Idols were given to choose from. Take a look here if you are so inclined.
http://www.votefortheworst.com/20090305/spoilers_upcoming_american_idol_8_theme_weeks
Apparently Randy Travis is the mentor. Which makes me scratch my head a little-considering that not one of the Top 13 this year was a "country" contestant, do any of them even know who Randy Travis is??? Anyway. Most people hate country week since usually there is only one country performer in the group. And, the rest of the group has to scramble to make something work. Last year's country week was specifically Dolly Parton week, and while that initially scared me to death, it ended up being pretty great. Most of the contestants did really original arrangements and it worked well. Of course, I have no idea if any of these years contestants possess the personal artistry or musical ability to pull that kind of musical makeover off since we've seen them perform, oh, all of twice so far. On the upside, that could make this performance-number 3-someones "Hello" of last season. My bet is on Kris Allen. I think he's the dark horse here-he's super cute, and while Simon never should have made the comment about hiding his wife (even though I think he was right), girls will like him and guys won't hate him (he's married, he's not a threat, lol). Plus, I was pissed that only Randy made any sort of reference to his arrangement on the song he sang last week for Jackson week. I think this may prove to be crash and burn week for quirky Megan, possibly Anoop (this would make me sad), and maybe even Allison "OMG she's just 16!" I think Kris and Gokey will be fine, as well as the JT lookalike Matt, and all have the best chance to do something nice musically with a recognizable song. This may even be Matt's breakout week if he picks the right song-I mean, country is really first cousins with blues, so he should be able to make this work easy. Sarver will be karaoke. Alexis and Lil are from Tennessee, albeit Memphis, so they've no doubt at least HEARD some country, and can likely pick a decent song (although if either one of them does I Will Always Love You I will HURL). I am hoping that Adam will tone it down about 14 notches this week and not scream at me and sing a nice ballad or Patsy Cline or something. Show those vocal chops that you have in a way that does not make me want to stuff my ears with cotton. And for the "blind guy" Scott-I think he's adorable but honestly not a good enough singer to last much longer. He'll be able to find a nice, message-y, piano country ballad and do fine, but I don't think Simon is going to be kind to him this week. Just a hunch.

Anyway, is it just me or does anyone else want to kick Idol to the curb this year?

Wow. Just Wow.

2009-03-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have been off of the wagon lately when it comes to being a good blogger-so many things to write about, so little time! But reading this article on the Tennessean's website a minute ago made me come straight over to blogger to have a little chat with yall.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090302/NEWS0201/903020340?GID=B+KEZk89r0NJXGCVWrjuYySW15uYg7FJsL9k6SaKODM%3D

Seriously, please read this article, all five pages of it. I know it is long, but my blood is STILL boiling. So that you know what I'm getting you into here, the article is about a law proposed by two State Representatives from Memphis-one Democrat and one Republican-to prohibit unmarried couples from adopting children from state custody in Tennessee. I have no idea where to even begin on how sad this is for children in state custody who are adoptable (over 300 at the end of January, according to the article, and over 7,000 in state custody period, who may eventually be adoptable). Here's the thing folks: I am very familiar from a variety of work experiences with children in foster care. Many of them have special needs-mental, physical, both-and people are not lining up begging to become their parents. These are the "hard to place" children. The ones that have been left behind-by their own parents/families, by other foster parents, by the educational system....you name it. But many of them are loving, bright, beautiful children that want to have a family, and I am willing to go out on a limb and say that they would not be that picky about what kind of family they got, as long as they were loved.

So if a stable, qualified adult wishes to give one of these children a permanent, loving, stable home-I DO NOT CARE if that person is black, white, gay, straight, Christian, Catholic, Jewish, married, living in "sin", living alone, living with 2 cats and a goldfish-I want that child to have a permanent home. PERMANENCY is what is best for children.

Apparently these crazies from Memphis only think that straight, married couples are qualified to be parents. OH MY GOD. Seriously? Are we STILL on that "traditional" family model being the "be all, end all"? Because half of marriages end in divorce, guys. And what are we saying to all the kids who are being raised by non-married couples-or, my gosh, gay couples???? That their family is WRONG? See, that is what I think this is really about. I mean, why else target "non-married" couples, other than to target the folks who can't legally be married in the eyes of the law? These two men want to prevent gays from adopting because somehow they think the kids will catch it or something. Like gay is a disease. SERIOUSLY? While I am sure that avoiding giving children to heterosexual couples who just don't want to get married for whatever reason is an added bonus to these fools, the crux of the matter is that they don't think gay people should be allowed to have kids, and this is step one in preventing that from happening.

But where are we going to draw the line here? Because what will happen is that straight or gay non-married couples will start filing for adoption as singles. So are we then going to decide that singles can't adopt? Well I am single. Does that make me categorically unqualified to raise a child? What about my friends that are single moms? Do they need to worry that the state is going to come take their child and give it to a married couple so that the child will be raised in an acceptable family? Does being married to someone of the opposite sex suddenly make you a better parent?

The good news is that DCS doesn't support this, the Tn. Commission on Children and Youth doesn't support this-anyone who has seen the heartbreak of a child who only wants to be loved by someone-ANYONE-and taken in to a permanent home, seems to be against this.

I would invite Reps. Crazy and Crazier to spend a day talking with a children in state custody. Look through the "notebook" of children who are available for adoption-all 300+ and then tell every one of them that they must stay in foster care, never knowing if they will have a permanent home base to come back to after they graduate high school. Wondering what will happen to them the day they turn 18 and no one is legally responsible for them anymore. Wondering why no one loved them enough to make them their child.

Then tell that child that there were people who wanted him/her, but unfortunately they weren't married and its against the law. See if that child gives a hoot.

The best part? Neither of them would talk to the reporter about this story-one even going to far as to say that if you wanted to know his reasons for introducing the legislation, you could call his office and he would take you into his office privately and tell you his reasons. What a cowardly jerk.

I can't say anything else about this without having a coronary.

Grammy Goodness

2009-02-09T12:41:00.001-08:00

So, did you watch the Grammy's last night? As you know, I live for awards shows, so of course I did. No fashion review today; Grammy fashion is pretty crappy. Singers can't really dress themselves.

So, the MAYJAH news from Grammy Night apparently didn't even happen at the show. Shortly before the show came on, word came trickling down that cutie Chris Brown was a suspect in a domestic battery case. And, he and girlfriend Rihanna both cancelled their Grammy appearances-him, you know, because he had to go down to the station, and her, because of a "car accident" in which she had some "facial bruises." SOOO anyone with two brain cells to rub together can figure this one out. Here's how it allegedly went down-Ri and Chris leave Clive Davis's legendary Grammy Pre-party. About 20 minutes later, Ri calls 911 and names Chris as her attacker. When the po-po arrive, Chris has split the scene and Ri goes to the hospital for treatment of "visible injuries."

So, innocent until proven guilty......but this looks bad. BAD. I mean, an assault occurred-she had visible injuries and called 911, so she HAD to be scared. Scared for her life? He is only 19-and has (had?) a very, very promising career ahead of him. Triple Threat-singer, dancer, actor. I mean-did yall see that Michael Jackson thing he did at the VMAs or some show a couple years ago? And while I'm not a huge Ri fan myself, apparently I am like, the only one. She's huge. So huge that she just keeps releasing the same album over and over with new remixes and stuff and people keep scooping it up like kitty litter.

So, what happens now? Chris's doublemint gum ads have been suspended (but ironically came on like 17 times during the show last night). No one has seen Ri since the incident. But what do we think? Was this the first time? Has he hit her before? What happens to them as a couple? Will she take him back? She'd better not. What happens to him? Can he recover? I think so. I mean, hello R. Kelly. Hello, Ike Turner. Sure, he will have to lay low for awhile, and he'll lose all these endorsements for now. But, he's probably got enough cash to get through for awhile, and he can take some small parts in films, gradually work his way back into the limelight, take a trip to rehab or something, work on his anger issues, and more than likely the public will forgive him. We love to see em fall, but we love to see em come back even more (Hello, Britney). But, to be accused of beating up your girlfriend at 19 years old, when you have money, fame, youth, talent, everything at your doorstep-its not a pretty picture. I hope he gets whatever help he needs, because life ain't gonna get any easier than this. And I hope she does too-because again, if being pretty, wealthy, and having hit records (sorry, I can't bring myself to say she is talented) ain't enough to give you enough confidence to get rid of a loser who hits you, you need some therapy.

Enough about that though-what about the SHOW! Ri was supposed to perform-can you guess who filled in? I kept watching every performance and trying to figure out who was the pinch-hitter. I couldn't. Know who it was? Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Keith Urban, and Boyz II Men. Who would have known? They did a great job filling in at the 11th hour. I enjoyed almost all of the performances, but I think my 2 favorites were Radiohead and the high school band (somewhere my little brother is trying to figure out how to go to THAT school) and the "Hip-Hop Summit" or whatever with Jay-Z and MIA. I don't really like hip hop, but oh my gosh, MIA in that ladybug get-up on her DUE DATE bouncing around, it was a wonder she did not bounce that baby right out. Totally over the top, with the baby belly and that getup, but I kind of loved it! I have no idea why. I just did. Also loved the Four Tops tribute. But I'm a Motown girl.

Oh, and Nashville was represented pretty well I thought-from Robert Plant saying that the "Nashville touch" felt good (my little brother spotted him at the mall a couple of weeks ago) to getting quite a bit of performance time-Kenny, Carrie, Alison and Robert, Keith in two ensembles. Also, Nashville rock band Kings of Leon apparently won an award before the televised show. And of course, Plant/Krauss pretty much cleaned up, also proving that Nashville is not just about country music (although we love our country too).

Good news for Tennessee/Women!

2009-02-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have become totally overwhelmed with topics to blog about-and therefore have not blogged at all-so I will try to develop a system and get back on track next week. But until then, Good news for Tennessee Sports Fans (and we could use some with our beloved Titans losing in the playoffs and then watching the Steelers-who we were TOTALLY better than win the Super Bowl)!

Lady Vols coach Pat Summit wins her 1,000th game, setting a new record in Division I college basketball!
http://msn.foxsports.com/wcbk/story/9186724/Summitt-gets-milestone-1,000th-win&MSNHPHCP&gt1=39002

I've had the pleasure of seeing Coach Summit speak at charity events and it is obvious that her passion for her players and developing them into successful women on and off the court is as strong as her passion for basketball. Go Lady Vols!

In more good news for women who may be worried about losing their jobs in this recession.....more than 80% of job losses have been men. This is mostly because of the type industries that have been laying off workers. Female-dominated fields like education and health care have not been impacted as much as manufacturing and general business, so for once, the women win!

So, with both of the Senators from TN voting against the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act last week, at least I am likely to keep my job even if they think its more important to protect the employer who discriminates against me for having a vagina than it is to ensure that I am treated fairly in the workplace.

I do not think that the Academy Made Clint Eastwood's Day today.

2009-01-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

So, I think I have seen more movies in the past month than I saw all of last year (at the theater at least). Partly due to the holidays and nothing else to do, partly because there happen to be a lot of great movies out, and partly because my dad and I resurrected our father-daughter movie dates. Since the Oscar nominations came out today-link below if you are interested-
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-01-22-oscar-nominations-list_N.htm

I thought I would also give my .02 (ok, probably more like a quarter, I have lots of opinions) about some of them (not all Oscar worthy, that is ok-its the MOVIES!).

So let's see....my best friend and I took our moms to see "Marley and Me"-a must for pet-lovers. Take hankies. But also, expect to laugh a lot. See, that is what makes a hankie movie worth it in the end....if its also funny. Anyway, the film will not be winning any prestigious awards, but it did make me want to go out and get the book (it's based on a true story).

I think the next one I saw was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" which I think is based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. I really liked this movie, and I know that despite being nominated for many awards and leading the Oscar noms (though so far not winning many/any?) it has gotten pretty mixed reviews. I think the story is intriguing, and the thought of aging in reverse, having all of the knowledge and life experience of a wise old man when you appear to be a young adult or child, is quite interesting, though maybe not fleshed out in the movie as much as I would like. I did like Brad Pitt in this, I don't think he is the greatest actor ever, but this was a good role for him. I did not like Cate Blanchett, something about her bugs/distracts me and I kept wishing they had cast Kate Winset instead. Anyway, I hope if the movie wins nothin else it wins for make-up/CGI or whatever technology was used to age Pitt's character Ben Button. Seemed pretty realistic, and the makeup used to age the other characters was also spectacular. I think this one would have a bigger impact seen on a big screen, so if you have been debating between whether its a renter or worth the $10 bucks, go to the theater.

One movie that while good, you can wait for the DVD, is "Doubt." I was really surprised that this movie not only managed a Best Picture nom for the Oscars, but also a Lead Actress nom, not Supporting, for Amy Adams. If you are not familiar with this one, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are nuns at a Catholic church/school and Philip Seymour Hoffman is the parish's priest, and he is accused by the two of an inappropriate relationship with the school's first black student (set in the 60's, obviously). Now, I liked this movie a lot, don't get me wrong, its a "thinker" and I thought it was really well done. I don't think Amy Adams deserved a Lead Actress nom-and honestly, maybe not a Supporting one either. I've only seen her play one type of character (naive, unworldly ingenue) and while she does it well, I'd be interested to see her try something else before I go off giving her any acting awards. Loved "Junebug", even sat through "Enchanted" with a 6 year old, and I think she's very pretty and good at those types of roles-but compared to Meryl Streep or Kate Winslet? Not even close. But, back to the movie, if you are at all interested in the inner workings of the Catholic Church or just religion in general, this movie will give you some things to think about.

And most recently, I saw "Gran Torino" and "Slumdog Millionaire" over the MLK weekend. Let's start with Slumdog. While you won't need your hankies for this one, it does highlight poverty, trafficking, and violence in India, heavy subplots for a film centered around a young man participating in India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and being accused of cheating. This is one of those "triumph of the human spirit" stories, and it is very, very well-crafted and the story is told in such an interesting way-mostly through flash backs, revealing his life story through the context of a tv game show. And the music-I love the music! I really hope there is a soundtrack to this because it makes me happy. And, please stay in your seat through the credits-the cast does a big, Bollywood dance at the end. I will be shocked if this film does not win Best Picture-it got no acting noms, and reminds me of a few years ago when "Crash" won seemingly to reward the ensemble cast of actors and film making people who did not get individually recognized. Oh, and I totally want to adopt a little Indian boy now. There were a couple outside the theater an I did consider snatching one, but there were too many people around. I soooo hope that the kids from this movie get to attend the Oscars.

Finally, "Gran Torino". Seriously, did no one from Hollywood watch this movie????? Completely shut out from the Oscars. I do not understand this world. I mean, I know America re-elected George Bush, but I expect more from my elite, liberal, Hollywood. Ok. So this one is about a bad-ass grumpy retired auto-worker (that would be the iconic Mr. Eastwood, who in addition to starring I believe also directed/produced this movie) living in an old neighborhood in Detroit. He has recently lost his wife, his neighborhood has been taken over by immigrant populations, and his family wants him to move to a retirement home. If you have ever seen a Clint Eastwood movie....well, you know he's not going ANYWHERE. So, an unlikely chain of events result in him befriending the teenage children of the Hmong family that lives next door. I don't want to be one of those movie reviewers who give you the WHOLE storyline, and I really want you to go see this one, so take it from me-the story that follows is powerful, thought-provoking, and challenges our stereotypes about racism, prejudice, community, and family. I'm sure this one hit me a little closer to home thanks to my current line of work with refugee populations, as well as the whole English-Only fiasco here in Nashville (that we voted on today and hopefully will be OVER if it doesn't pass, God help us if it does). All I will say is that Clint's character, Walt, doesn't really like ANYONE, and the friendship that he cultivates with the two teenagers in this movie is moving and extraordinary because it really is the most unlikely set of friends I can imagine. The character's progression was brilliant, and I'm sorry to Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman, but Clint's performance is so out of your league in this movie that I am flabbergasted that they were nominated and he was not (haven't seen any of the other nominees' performances so I won't judge). Anyway, if you can't tell, I loved this movie so much, and I am royally pissed that it got ignored. I might just get all Dirty Harry up in here....

So, despite all that, I will watch the Oscars and it Kate Winslet can finally win one I might-MIGHT-forgive them for the Clint thing. After all, he has lots of trophies, and probably doesn't really care. Oh, and I was quite surprised that "The Dark Knight" did not make the Best Picture or Best Director categories as expected. I know those type movies don't usually win, but thy typically throw one in the mix (think Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Carribean) for a little recognition and ratings.

If anyone has seen Revolutionary Road....I'd love to hear if it's good! I don't know if it is out here yet (I'm thinking maybe this weekend it is supposed to be here) but this was another one that got nearly shut out but looks interesting. Sean Penn irritates me on a personal level, so that's standing between me and Milk.

Ok, so its almost time to go home, thanks for helping me kill my last few minutes at work!

Oh Happy Day....

2009-01-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

Surely you didn't think I had no thoughts about the inauguration! Of course I do. But they are many, and you have a busy life. And I REALLY need to give you all some movie recommendations. So, in case you MISSED the inauguration, I will provide you some links to get you caught up and highlight my favorite moments for you.

THE PLACE for all things Obama, including his Inaugural Address:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

NYT Article that pretty much sums up most of my feelings about that address, accompanied by a sweet photo of the Bushes flying away as the folks lining the steps of the Capitol watch:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21assess.html?_r=2&hp

TIME Magazine's Photo Essay of the Events (for the non-readers out there, LOL):

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1872698_1827514,00.html

So, the inauguration itself-I was BLOWN AWAY by the images of the crowd. I definitely would have been claustrophobic! So what is this with Dick Cheney in a wheelchair because he hurt himself moving furniture or something? YEAH RIGHT. Um, like any of us believe that the VP of the US is moving his own furniture? Nice try. Don't know what is wrong with him, but not surprised at all that he chose to be a little less than truthful about it.

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned before how much I love that Obama was a Constitutional Law professor for many years. It showed yesterday when Justice Roberts flubbed the oath of office, and Obama KNEW he did and clearly did not know what to do about it! Such a human moment-then, Roberts realized he'd transposed the words and corrected himself, but by that time Obama had already rearranged the words in HIS head and still said it the wrong way. LOL. Thank goodness that oath is just ceremonial!

Also-HOW CUTE are the First Daughters? Little Sasha will be entertaining us quite a bit, I predict. She gave her dad the thumbs up right before he took the Oath of Office. And Malia is a girl after my own heart-never saw her without that camera in her hand! At one point when everyone had to stand, VP Biden was in front of her and she could not get her shot-she handed him the camera and made him take the photo, and ALSO inspected the photo when he handed her the camera back to make sure he got it! LOL. Love these girls-so poised and adorable.

The ADDRESS: I thought it was very, very good. Loved that George had to sit there and listen to Obama tell him he had failed to make tough choices (since George thinks that was his strong suit). I loved the part about our spirit being stronger than that of terrorists (THAT is the statement I wish I head heard post 9/11) and also the part about greatness having to be earned; and how power neither protects us nor entitles us. Overall, I think his remarks were pragmatic and hopeful, and I hope he can pull it off!

Since I am addicted to this type of stuff, you know I also watched coverage of the Balls last night. Can I tell you how much I LOVED Michelle's dress. If you read my Golden Globes fashion review, you know that Michelle covered a couple of trends with her dress by a young, relatively unknown fashion designer-a one shouldered, Ivory, flowing chiffon gown with little flower appliques and some silver sparkle. I would totally wear this dress-crazy feminine, yet modern, youthful and elegant, and no First Lady has ever worn anything like it. I've seen mixed reviews on the dress, but I say SCORE. The best photos I have found are here (not easy to photograph the detail in a white dress!) and also shows up close on the gown and up close of the accessories.

http://www.celebitchy.com/32019/inaugural_fashion_michelle_obamas_jason_wu_dress/

(If you go to this site, the pics are down at the bottom of the page-there are a couple at the top, but a whole bunch of great ones if you scroll down)

Anyway, glad that this new time for America is finally here.

Golden Globe Goodness!

2009-01-12T12:17:00.001-08:00

OK, I admit it, I am an awards show junkie. I love the speeches, the fancy dresses, and rolling my eyes at self-important celebrities crazy red-carpet interviews. So, I spent about 5 hours yesterday in front of the tv watching the show and red-carpet arrivals. It actually motivated me to clean my house because I was trying to get a list of chores done before it came on. Whatever works!

Before I get to the best part-the DRESSES-I must comment on Kate Winslet finally winning something! Seriously, I feel like she's nominated all the time, but never wins. I was afraid she was going to be the Susan Lucci of movie actresses or something. Anyway, after she won that first one for Best Supporting Actress, I just had this weird feeling that she would win the Best Actress one too. And she did! And she forgot Angelina Jolie! AWESOME. And, Tina Fey and 30 Rock continued to, well, Rock, winning Best Comedy and acting awards for Tina and Alec Baldwin. Best speeches of the night came from Tina telling all her online haters to suck it (Oh-and those haters are real people-I totally assumed she just made it up off the cuff-read all about it here: http://gawker.com/5129103/meet-the-haters-tina-fey-told-off), and then Tracy Morgan accepting for the show...you know, in the spirit of post-racial America. I'm sure you can You-Tube either clip if you missed it. I'm too lazy to do it for you.

And, while not a huge fan of either, kind of fun to see Bad-Boys-Gone-Good as a theme, with both Mickey Rourke and Colin Farrell cleaning up their acts and winning awards for acting and not being trainwrecks. Sobriety for the win!

So....on to the pretty! I could probably make this pretty lengthy, so I will try and reign it in. I'll pick a couple of trends and show you my fave/least fave from each trend. Here's a link to Popsugar which has a pretty comprehensive photo gallery of the evening if you want to see for yourself ones that I may mention but not upload a photo for (again, lazy, lo siento):

http://www.popsugar.com/2684431

BASIC BLACK

As usual, lots of ladies opted for slimming, always classy black. Kate Winslet, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Renee Zellweger, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey. You know, I would REALLY love for Tina Fey to NOT wear a black dress to an awards show for once. Love her, but why is she even bothering to wear different dress? Why not the same one over and over? Like a funeral dress!

OK, best black for me has to go to Kate Winslet here. Its just so classic and her hair and makeup were also perfect. Since she won, twice, she'll have to keep looking at these pics over and over for awhile, so its a good thing she looked good.

Worst black? Definitely Renee Zellweger! Tina gets a pass for laziness ONLY because Renee goofed up! What on earth is this? Renee usually does better.....tsk, tsk. PRETTY IN PURPLE

Lots of purple gowns, in various shades. Hayden Panettiere from Heroes, Olivia Wilde from House, Anna Paquin from True Blood, Rumer Willis of Demi and Bruce, all chose lovely shades of purple from lilac to deep grape. None of them were all that great to me, but Hayden's dress was VERY unflattering-it smooshed her chest and the straight neckline really did nothing for her. And it made her look short (so did Anna Paquin's dress). They both need to call Reese Witherspoon (who was not there-for shame)for style tips-both are petite and a little bit athletic in body types. If Hayden had picked, say, a knee-length fitted cocktail dress in the same shade, with a strapless sweetheart neckline, I think it would have been much better. Anna's wasn't as bad, but I wish she'd done something a little more daring, she's young and her dress was kind of old.

SHADES OF PALE

Pale shades of White, Cream, Pale Pink, Pale Gray, and Nude tones dominated the red carpet. Sandra Bullock, Kate Beckinsale, Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, Eva Mendes, that girl from Momma Mia (the daughter, not Meryl Streep), Miley Cyrus, America Ferrara, etc. Lots of pretty dresses for sure, but I was a little under-dazzled by the lack of color. Hoping that they are saving it for the Oscars.

I think my Fave Pale Dress girl was Sandra Bullock. You don't see her much anymore, and she looked very nice.

Worst? This is bad, but I really thought Eva Mendes looked like she was wearing a very fancily-folded napkin. Just didn't do it for me!
WORST HAIR-Drew Barrymore. ACK! Lovely dress, pretty makeup, all distracted by whatever is on her head.
BLUE RIBBON.....blue was also one of the few shades on the red carpet....Mary Louise Parker, who is on one of my favorite shows, Weeds, looked really pretty with natural flowing hair and a bright blue dress which looked awesome against her pale skin and dark hair.

January Jones of Mad Men-also AMAZING in a sky blue number-it was like nothing else on the red carpet and again, great color choice to go with her hair and skin. And it had POCKETS! Cool.Best that didn't fit into any of my other categories....Eva Longoria in a red number that had the coolest scalloped neckline. Don't really like her, but you have to admit she's got confidence!

Worst that didn't fit into any other categories.....Christina Applegate. Yellow, strapless, ball-gowney number. Love her, kept thinking she looked like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and could not get past that.

Go Preds!

2009-01-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

See, that's me, trying to look on the bright side after the Titans blew having the best record in the NFL this season, first week bye in the playoffs, AND home field advantage when they lost to arch-enemy the Ravens on Saturday. That's right, arch-enemy. Nearly this exact same scenario played out a few years ago when we lost to the Ravens in the playoffs. Only at that point, they didn't have half of our old players. LOL. I really had to think about it when someone would say Samari Rolle or Derrick Mason and remember that they are NOT on our team anymore!

But, alas, 3 turnovers do not a playoff game win. So, back to the drawing board. There's always next year? (me. bright side. one more time.)

The Holidays are Almost Over

2008-12-29T12:41:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! There are so many traditions that I love at this time of year. Mostly, getting lots of days off work. :)

My best friend and I started cooking Christmas dinner for our families the year after we graduated college, and each year we have a different theme. This year was Italian, so we made lasagna, fettucine alfredo, salad, cheese/garlic bread, and green beans and cheesecake....YUM YUM for the TUM TUM as my friend Vanessa likes to say!

We also go see the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life" on the big screen as the local art-house theater shows it every year. I have to say, every year I enjoy it more and more, and apparently it is catching on as when we used to go, there would be like ten people in the theater, and this year it was packed! Good for the Belcourt, but the annoying people texting in front of us were killing me! Anyway, I LOVE this movie, I love the moment where Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed's characters see each other at the party for the first time as "grown-ups" and Donna Reed looks so resplendent and who wouldn't fall in love with her? And the scene where they are talking on the phone together and the tension between them is CRAZY-I just love it. If you have not seen this movie, go now to Netflix and put it in your queue. Or I will let you borrow it. But you have to see it.

Did I mention lots of days off work? So today I am back for a three-day work week but I had three days off last week and two this week and I have watched all kinds of TV marathons-Some in the form of my own DVDs, some scheduled on tv.....I love watching TV shows in marathon format!

And even though the Titans lost yesterday-like, ugly lost-it didn't matter in the grand scheme and we might end up playing the Colts again if they beat the Broncos next week, and we will exact our revenge. It always comes around.....look at what happened to the Jets!

Also trying to get caught up on the photography website and blog....will be working on that this week. Since I only have one job now, I will be looking to kick up the photo biz a notch so if you have any photography needs, or have friends looking for a photographer, spread the word. If not, check out my website anyway.....

Merry Christmas Titans fans! (and everyone else too)

2008-12-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

It was an early Christmas present yesterday for Titans fans, as our team beat the Steelers, securing home-field advantage for the playoffs. We also got a nice stocking stuffer since Brett Favre and the Jets, who handed us our first loss of the season, lost to Seattle and might not even make the playoffs. AWWWW. So sad. Don't mess with the Titans!

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081222/SPORTS01/812220323

Also if you are looking for something to get you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps while sitting at your desk avoiding doing your actual work as I like to do, NPR has a diverse playlist of Christmas music-they are calling it "Jingle Jams" and you can stream it on a continuous loop. It should help you feel festive!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97778347

OUCH!

2008-12-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

It is a gloomy, rainy day here in Nashville, one of those days where we've already seen the hi temp and its all downhill from here. And there is an Ice Advisory, so by the time we're all ready to drive home from work its going to be sleeting and turning to ice....fabulous. Can I just tell you I am over the rain, cold, and gloom that hung around most of last week and looks to be more of the same this week? It HURTS me. Please sunshine, come back!

Anyway, Titans lost for the 2nd time to the freakin' TEXANS, but they deserved it because they all played like poop. Hopefully its a good kick in the you-know-where and they'll get it together in time to play the Steelers. Bad news is we may have lost Albert Haynesworth and we're already down Kyle Vanden Bosch, so we really have to be in the game next week. Everyone is blaming Fisher for going for it instead of kicking the field goal near the end of the game, but come on. We would not have had to rely on that kind of risk-taking call anyway had we played a better game for, oh, the first 3 quarters.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081215/SPORTS01/812150341

In political news, most are focusing on that crazy Governor from Illinois, and whether or not he'll step down today (in a word: NO). I never trust anyone named Rod. Just a helpful suggestion, Illinois. But I'm actually more amused by two other stories in the political news arena.

First, I am sure you've all seen the video of GWB ducking (pretty good reflexes, George!) as an Iraqi reporter throws shoes at him and calls him a dog (apparently that is the Iraqi version of giving him the finger). That's pretty amusing in and of itself. But the BEST part of this is when George tells the media that he's not insulted, and he thinks the guy just wanted to be on TV. Once again, GWB has no idea why loads of people, here and abroad, are disgusted with him, and proves his lack of self awareness, which, you know, is part of the disgust.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/BushLegacy/story?id=6460837&page=1

Second, John McCain was on This Week yesterday and totally threw Sarah Palin under the bus, saying while it was a pleasure to know her (KISS OFF!) there are a lot of good governors out there (QUALIFIED!) that will be shaping the future of the Republican party and he would not necessarily support her for President in the future (OVER HIS DEAD BODY!). He also defended Obama in relation to Governor-gate by refusing to join the criticisms of the RNC and said we should be talking about the economy instead.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/14/mccain.senate/index.html

Things I Hate...OK Just One Thing.

2008-12-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

I have never been able to stomach that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition show. I can't really get through an episode without being in tears, and I guess my social work background comes out because I always wonder what happens AFTER the family gets this great house-can they afford the mortgage? What about the electricity for all those fancy flat screen TVs and stuff? IS that really going to cure their cancer or help the blind dad see again? If someone really wanted to help the family, why not offer to pay their medical bills or something-why give them a fancy house and stuff they don't really need? It may make them feel good for awhile, but what happens when the camera crew leaves and the bills keep coming? We all know that more "Stuff" doesn't really solve your problems, it usually seems to create more....so lo and behold a headline on People Magazine's website about a family now unable to pay the mortgage on their dream house and has lots of medical bills too. I just get frustrated that the line of thinking on how to make someone's life easier or better is to give them nice things and a new house....and then leave them to deal with the aftermath, not to mention the new standard of living they will be accustomed to which they clearly would not have been able to enjoy otherwise. Now, I know in some cases they make wide hallways for wheelchair bound folks, and that is legitimate. But tearing down a whole house to do it? Probably not necessary. I'd rather see a show use mege-bucks to pay off someone's medical bills, assist folks who can't pay their bills due to catastrophic events, send kids with cancer to Disneyland or something.

I can't help it, the whole premise of this show has always bugged me, and now I feel justified knowing that I was right-the good times may not last for these families, and who's going to help them when they don't?

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20245129,00.html

Things I am Thankful for....a Top Ten List

2008-11-25T07:36:00.001-08:00

What's Thanksgiving without pondering what you are thankful for? Since I have not been a good blogger lately (sometimes, I do have actual work to do) I thought I would take this opportunity to catch up on some recent events and point out what I am most grateful for at this very moment.

10. Beyonce. Did you see the AMA's? Killed.It. http://pinkisthenewblog.com/home/2008/11/the-2008-american-music-awards/#more-14195

9. Titans take first loss, now 10-1. Oh yeah, I am thankful that they lost. Don't want to be like the Patriots now, and win them all only to lose THE.BIG.ONE. We needed to lose. Just one.

8. Candace Gingrich, for calling out the haters, even when they include her own brother. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/candace-gingrich/a-letter-to-my-brother-ne_b_145739.html

7. Coffee-How else could I get moving in the morning?

6. & 5. New music releases-Taylor Swift's sophomore release, Fearless, and David Cook's self-titled debut. Taylor's 2nd CD suprised me. It is quite a bit more mature, generally and musically than the first. But-she's still a teenager, so its still a bunch of songs written by a teenager. But this is definitely a slightly older, wiser, and more experienced teenager, and its very good. I fully expect her to sell 3 million copies of this one too. Wish they would stop releasing the "princess" themed songs as the singles, but seems to be working for her so what do I know.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27647943/

For an album that was written and recorded in probably 3-4 months, considering he only won American Idol in late May and then went on a 3 month tour, David Cook's CD is also good, but a tad generic. Its very 90's rock sounding to me, which may not appeal to everyone, but since that reminds me of my childhood and all, I'm happy with it. It is exactly the type of album I expected him to release-or at least be allowed to release, as the winner of American Idol. Again, I have to disagree with the single choices-I have yet to hear the first one, Light On, on the radio here-although I did see the video is #1 on VH1. And, if Saturday Night Live is to be any indication, it looks like Declaration will be the 2nd single, and while that one is OK, I think that Heroes or Life on the Moon are better-and Lie is the most surefire hit on there in my opinion, but I know they will not release a "ballad" type song until he's had a rock hit first (must establish the street cred). Anyway, I have two good new CDs to listen to at work, so I'm happy.
http://music.aol.com/video/lie-aol-sessions/david-cook/2329694

4. Twilight-the MOVIE. Yes, it is pure cheese. Yes, the special effects were bad. But to be able to enjoy the story without several hundred pages of Bella's annoying inner monologue? Fabulous. And, you know, that guy playing Edward was HOT. I am not above sitting in a movie for 2 hours for some eye candy. LONG LIVE TEENAGE DRAMA. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27874581/

3. Gas Prices. Honestly, I never thought I would see them below $2 again in my lifetime....and while I'm a little miffed since I think this is all GWB trying to make it look like gas is the same price now as it was when he took office, and hoping we will forget about all that mess in between, it took me less than $20 to fill up the other day, so I kind of don't care.

2. President-Elect Obama. Already pushing Bush to the side and Takin' Care of Business.

1. The health and safety of my family and friends.

Happy Thansgiving! What are YOU thankful for this year?

CMA Chatter and Fashion Review

2008-11-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

Did anyone watch the CMAs last night? It was heavy on the CM and lite on the A. Seriously-they could not have handed out 10 awards. I'm not unhappy to have seen all the performances, as I can't afford to see every concert that comes through town, but when I watch an awards show I usually expect some awards to be given out. I think they gave out three an hour. Crazy!

The best awards show I saw recently-was it the Grammys? Where they had all these neat performances of people that don't go together. Like Fergie and John Legend. Beyonce and Sugarland. That was cool. The CMAs should do that-more group/dual performances than all of the individuals-I mean, why not get Martina McBride to duet with Keith Urban? Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift? That would be worth tuning in for....some unexpected pairings. Because if they don't do something to change it up soon, no one is going to tune in next year to see Kenny-the-Second-Coming-of-Jimmy-Buffett-Chesney win Entertainer Trophy #5, Rascal Flatts win Group Trophy #215, and Carrie Underwood win Female Vocalist #4. Seriously-half of the winners won their category last year......where are the suprises? I mean, if the awards are so boring, we have to up the performances, and while some of them were good last night, some were atrocious, and the sound was bad across the board. So, I think this CMA ceremony gets a D from me. Major overhaul time, cowboys and cowgirls!

High points? Well, for me, Miranda, Hootie, Lady A, and Keith getting to perform twice. And the multiple shout outs to our 9-0 TENNESSEE TITANS! Can I get a Woo-WOO! (Sorry-I think I am starting to enjoy winning a little too much!)

Low? Kellie Pickler, Brooks and Dunn/Reba, and the general boringness. Even the much hyped "surprise" guest Shania Twain (which was no suprise as it was all over the internet beforehand) was a letdown-she looked great but the surprise would have been if she had performed!!!!!

So since the ceremony was a wash, all we have left is fashion. Let's discuss with visuals, shall we?

First up, our hostess Carrie changed about 5,012 times. This was the only one I really liked-and that I thought actually flattered her.

Julianne Hough of Dancing with the Stars/fledgling country music "artist"- I think you forgot to leave your costume on the dance floor! What IS this? One of three wardrobe choices for Jennifer of Sugarland, unfortunately this was the only one that was even remotely cute. I'd show you the others but it would hurt your eyes.

Eh, you don't actually need those eyes, do you? Oh Kellie, you just try WAY.TOO.HARD. This is too short, too low, too tight, too leather, and too slutty. I know the song you sang was all about what your boyfriend is now missing, but it looks to me like all he has to do to replace you is head on over to the strip club.

My Miranda was so close on this one. Can't show you the full length cause it pains me too much-the dress was not flattering or fitting on her lower half, and it was WRINLKLED. But the top half was good-great color for her, great corset bodice-she's a petite, curvy REAL looking girl, and she was so close to getting it right-if the fabric had been different, the bottom flowy-er, she would have gotten an A+. Next time!

Reese-ACK! What happened? I always count on you to look classy and chic-I think you got a LITTLE too excited about coming home to Nashville, and accidentally picked up Loretta Lynn's reject instead of that cute little number you were supposed to wear...right? Well, I can't hate you for too long, so please do me proud at the Oscar's, and we'll forget all about this one, OK?

Shania's Back! Shania's Back! And awfully tan and healthy looking to be coming from Canada-you go, girl! Kellie, take note-THIS is how to properly show a man what he's missing.

Taylor is looking nice here-very sparkly, which she is known for, and age-appropriate-she's eighteen now, so its sophisticated but still youthful looking. Eat her sequins, Joe Jonas!

And finally, this is not from the CMA's but from the Glamour Awards earlier in the week, but I like Nicole's dress much better here than the one she wore last night so I'm pretending that she wore this one and not that ugly spider-web one she actually had on.

Forks

2008-11-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

When you get to a fork in the road, take it.--Yogi Berra

Thank God this election is over, and thank God that I finally picked a winner! All of the statistics and figures that came out of this election were truly amazing. States that had not gone Republican in 30 years switching to Blue (Love ya, NC!); highest percentage of African American voters ever; and a candidate getting over 50% of the popular vote (52% to be exact, not that I am rubbing it in or anything) which even Clinton did not manage! Oh yes, Change is coming. The American People spoke loud and clear enough for even old John McCain to hear. (OK, that was mean. Did I mention I have never voted for a winner? Give me a moment here.)

After 8 years of a government controlled by the allegedly "fiscally conservative" party, our country is in 2 wars, we have a huge national debt, huge deficit, higher numbers of people without health insurance and living in poverty than we had 8 years ago, gas is anywhere from 1-3 dollars more than it was 8 years ago, food prices are going up BY THE MONTH, and people who have to work 5 jobs just to meet basic living expenses are declared national heroes on Good Morning America when we should all be screaming about the insanity of it all. So yeah, I think we reached a fork in the road of our country's future, and instead of going straight we finally veered to the left.

I'm a little amused/disturbed at the response of some of my Facebook "friends" regarding the results of the election. Now, I have friends and colleagues that voted for McCain and while disappointed (and I know how that feels) they aren't talking doom or gloom. But on facebook, some folks I went to college with, or church with, are updating their status with things like "praying for the swift return of the Lord" and "get ready for higher taxes" (because so many of us out of college are already making $250K a year I guess?) and "I'm so disappointed in my fellow Americans". Huh? Disappointed, I get. I've been there. Praying for the rapture? No so much. Because even though I disagreed with him almost all the time, I HOPED that one day Bush would do something that would make me proud, that would surprise me, that would set us on a better path. But all I got, day after day, was another fat deposit to the national debt and more soldiers killed in the Middle East. No real plan to change health care, education, poverty; no hint of the "compassionate conservatism" that was promised. There was little compassion OR conservatism in GWB's 8 years in office.

And people are sad over the fact that we kicked those policies to the curb last week???? Please, tell me, how GWB ever lifted his little pinky to abolish abortion or gay marriage. Because I know you didn't vote Republican because they are so fiscally conservative anymore. No, it was "social issues" which never even made it on his agenda. Did you really think McCain was going to go there either? Really, I want to understand this loyalty to a party who has given you nothing they promised, but you think somehow still has been chosen by God as the Christian party. They may talk the talk, but they have failed to walk the walk.

So I am trying not to let all this kill my buzz. I know my opinions aren't the only ones out there. But I don't think Obama won solely because he was not George Bush-if that were the reason, Kerry should have won 4 years ago. Obama had a clear vision for America, a message of hope and change for a better future, and has inspired people to dream of something better for their children. I'm glad for all the people of color who got to wake up and tell their kids last week that it is not foolish for them to hope to be President. I'm glad for those who have long been disenfranchised, that they finally had a candidate that looked like them and spoke to them-spoke to all of us-with a message of change, unity, and moving beyond the things that have divided our country-race, politics, religion, gender. That in spite of all of our differences, we have common values, and we can work together to form a better America. Ultimately, that is the message that connected with over 60 million voters last week and brought President-Elect Barack Obama to victory.

Now, all he has to do is not disappoint us. :) Good luck, Barack! We are a tough crowd!

BOO!

2008-10-31T12:08:00.001-07:00

Scared you, didn't I?

Happy Halloween!

7-0!

2008-10-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well, if I failed once again to pick a Presidential winner, perhaps I can be comforted by the fact that my hometown football team, the Tennesse Titans, are currently the only undefeated team in the league after beating the Colts 31-21 on Monday night!

Who would have ever thought TN would have the best record in the league? With our back-up quarterback moving into 1st string to boot? Looks like all of the Pacman bad karma is behind us and we are ready for another Superbowl season!

Trader Joe's is almost here!

2008-10-29T12:31:00.001-07:00

If you live in the Nashville area....our new Trader Joe's will be opening in the former Wild Oats Green Hills location next Friday, Nov. 7th! Can I get a WOOOO!

Unfortunately, I'll be in Knoxville for a site visit with work but I hear they are giving away lots of free stuff on opening day! I can't wait to check it out-I love Trader Joe's! If anyone checks it out before me please let me know so I can be jealous and listen to you tell me how great it was.

And I thought 2 jobs was bad...

2008-10-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

There was a story this morning about a single mom who works 5 jobs-FIVE-to support herself, her two children (one in college). Robin and Diane called her a hero. Someone making their kind of salaries would see it that way, I guess.

I was horrified. Sure, I admire the fact that she will do whatever it takes to stay afloat, but DAMN, life should not be that hard for anyone! 5 jobs and still living paycheck to paycheck-this is so wrong. So unfair.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6127217&page=1

Here you go.

2008-10-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

So, this post has been a long time coming, partly because I had a hard time figuring out where to even begin. I'm not sure I can find anything to say to endorse Barack Obama that hasn't already been said more eloquently by someone more famous (or perhaps Republican-thanks Colin!). In the interest of full disclosure, I do consider myself a Democrat, a Christian, and I voted for Hillary in the primary. I have voted for Republicans in the past, but not often. And, I’ve usually come to regret it, but that is another blog perhaps. Anyway, I voted on Saturday for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and now I would like to tell you why.

I could sit here and rattle off to you a list of Obama and Biden’s achievements, my support for their policy positions, or sum up the Democratic Party Platform. But you can look up all those things on the internet yourself. Perhaps I have even pointed some of them out in previous blogs. At this point, you either agree with that stuff or you don't. I could have rattled off those things 4 years ago when I voted for Kerry, or 8 years ago when I voted for Gore. But this vote is different for me. I am voting for Obama and Biden for their platform, for their accomplishments, and because I think their policies will better serve the majority of Americans. But I am also voting for Barack Obama and his running mate Joe Biden because they inspire me with their vision for what America can be and should become-something I've never felt before when casting my ballot.

This is my third presidential election to vote in. I’ve never picked a winner. Third time’s a charm, I hope. Back in 2000, Bush proclaimed himself a "uniter, not a divider" but ultimately divided our country bitterly for the better part of his 8 years in office. Bush did this by following his “gut” rather than the experience and intelligence of his own advisers, by lacking the intellectual curiosity to explore opinions other than his own and ignoring facts, and by acting impulsively rather than thoughtfully in foreign relations (thereby entangling us in two wars, one extremely unpopular). After 9/11, we had the sympathy and support of the world-if this could happen in America, it could happen anywhere, and certainly the world was willing to come to our defense, in part to defend themselves as well. But our choices as a nation eventually led this goodwill to sour.

“We’ve been in the mountain of war. We’ve been in the mountain of violence. We’ve been in the mountain of hatred long enough. It is necessary to move on now, but only by moving out of this mountain can we move to the promised land of justice and brotherhood and the Kingdom of God. It all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.” –Martin Luther King, Jr. (“Keep Moving from this Mountain” sermon, 1965 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlktempleisraelhollywood.htm)

It is time to move on. Republican or Democrat, most agree that change is essential. President Bush failed to meet his goals-we got distracted from Afghanistan by invading Iraq; education reform was implemented with No Child Left Behind, but not fully funded; 40 million people cannot afford health insurance; just to name a couple. I agree with Hillary Clinton when she said: “Choosing a Republican to clean up this mess is like asking an iceberg to save the Titanic." I respect John McCain’s military and public service; I always thought he was a pretty reasonable Republican up until a few months ago. But the type of campaign he has chosen to run (nasty); his complete flip flop on a host of issues, including tax breaks for the wealthy; and his selection of Sarah Palin, a skilled politician but clearly polarizing in her rhetoric and disturbing in her lack of interest/understanding in national and world issues; prove that he does not represent the type of change that America needs to restore its position in the world. The Presidency is not a reward for past service; it requires future-oriented qualifications. Leaders should be role models who symbolize what their nation can become.

Barack Obama is exactly what America needs. He also promises, much like GWB did in 200, to be a uniter. I believe he will be. I’ve had people argue with me on this-you know, the “talking point” that Obama has no history of reaching across the aisle (untrue; google Tom Coburn and see what you find) but here is why I am convinced that he will successfully unite Democrats, Republicans, and Independents: Obama understands that even when you disagree, you can acknowledge that the other side may have a point (he discusses this in his book The Audacity of Hope). He taught constitutional law for 10 years at the conservative University of Chicago law school, and the study of law is all about being able to see both sides of an issue clearly, and being prepared for the arguments of the other side-Obama won’t ignore dissenting opinions, he will seek to understand each side of an issue and make the best decision for our country as a whole. He has shown, through a nearly 2 year campaign, that he does not make impulsive decisions and that he is a careful, thoughtful decision maker. And as you saw if you watched the debates, he is a master of “disagreeing without being disagreeable” and keeping emotion and tension low are the keys to successful compromise.

I believe Obama is what America needs during these times of great turmoil. His election will not erase the damage done by eight years of neglect and reckless behavior. Our economy will still be in tatters, our civil liberties at risk, and out electorate deeply divided, and serious problems will remain in the Middle East and beyond. We need solutions. Not finger pointing. Obama has been a calm, steady leader, reassuring, and successful in giving Americans what they need most right now-HOPE that things can and will turn around, that we are better than the last 8 years, and that together, as one united country, we will be OK. We will find solutions. We can do it. We might have to make sacrifices (yeah, you, making 250K, you’re going to have to suck it up and pay a little more taxes; yeah, you, who doesn’t care about your carbon footprint, start conserving; yeah, you, who wants help to pay for college, you can have it, but you are going to have to do some volunteer work to earn it). But in a country as prosperous as ours, the disparities that exist in education, health care, employment opportunities, and housing are shameful and unjust. What hope can we give to future generations if we don’t try and improve upon these things RIGHT NOW? This is not socialism; it is ensuring that ALL Americans-regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, or anything else-each have the same chances, the same opportunities to make their own way or squander their chances. THAT is what I believe our Founding Fathers envisioned for America, it is what I envision for America, and what I believe Barack Obama envisions for America-each person getting an equal chance to make something of themselves, whether they grow up in a mansion in Bel-Air or public housing in the inner city. We must have that divine discontent that Dr. King spoke of, we must keep pressing on toward the goal of forming a more perfect union. We don’t have to settle for an Average America if we can be Great. Again, in the words of Dr. King:

“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.” MLK Jr. (Memphis 1968, I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Speech)

In the end a vote for President is more than a vote for a single person - it's a vote for the America we want to be: a choice between one that strives to be more inclusive, more just and more compassionate or one that celebrates the individual above all else and divides us into red and blue, city and country and, in the end, into winners and losers. I believe that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the right leaders for our country. I am prouder to have cast my vote for these two men than I am for any other vote I’ve ever made. It wasn’t a vote for a lesser of two evils, it was a vote for two candidates that I believe in, that I trust, and that I think will have the ability to transform our nation into something better than what we are right now.

One More Day....

2008-10-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

"Together, we cannot fail. Not now." -Barack Obama to a crowd of over 100,000 in Denver, CO

I've been working on it for a day or two, and tomorrow you will wait no more....my long promised "Why I Voted for Barack" blog will go live!!!!

P.S. Are yall going to be glad when I go back to talking about American Idol and country music or what??????

John McCain, Good Ol' Days

2008-10-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

There is a great YouTube compilation of John McCain opposing tax cuts for the wealthy over the last 8 years-at one point, he actually says, "When you reach a certain level of comfort, there is nothing wrong with paying somewhat more."

Fast forward 8 years, and the same principles are now "tenets of socialism" and "redistribution of wealth." This is why McCain is so hard to swallow these days....back in 2004, I believe he would have been called a flip-flopper.

It was nice to see the old JM, back when he had good sense. And more hair. WOW, he's aged these last few years. Just sayin'.

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/10/zomfg-john-mccain-is-a-sociali.html

2012

2008-10-22T13:22:00.001-07:00

SO you've heard those rumors that Sarah Palin doesn't really care if she and McCain lose this time around, as she's just getting ready for her OWN run for POTUS in 2012 (you know, one not dirtied by association with eight years of failed policies)? Well, considering she showed up at an event today wearing a scarf that says "Vote" and is covered in DONKEYS-she might be trying to tell us something. The scarf does not have ELEPHANTS on it, as a good Republican should be wearing, but donkeys-the symbol of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!!! (Presumably from her fancy new $150,000 wardrobe courtesty of the RNC-http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/but-wait-until.html)

Sarah Palin wants you to vote for Obama!!!! I don't know about yall but I do everything Sarah Palin tells me to......

The Home Stretch

2008-10-20T06:25:00.001-07:00

So here we are, 2 weeks and 1 day out from one of the most critical elections in our history. 2 wars, a stained reputation around the world, economy in crisis, health care costs growing 5 times faster than our wages, the number of uninsured Americans nearing 40 million, costs of essentials-gas, food, housing higher than ever, and 2 very different choices for President. Both promise change. But both are promising very different kinds of change. And I can hardly keep up with the rush of information these days!

So many things going on today! But for the news that made my life, yesterday Ret. Gen. Colin Powell (a Republican I would have voted for in a heartbeat should he ever have run for public office) endorsed Barack Obama on Meet the Press yesterday. Despite his longtime friendship with McCain, like so many Republicans, Powell is disappointed by the lack of judgment McCain showed in choosing Sarah Palin, his erratic handling of the economic crisis, and the nasty campaign that has been hateful and has no place in American politics. He has been impressed with the superior intelligence, calm and comforting demeanor which Barack has exhibited over the past several weeks and believes that he will best handle the mounting number of issues the next President will have to deal with, and you all know I totally agree! But if you missed MTP, PLEASE go read the transcript or watch the video-did I mention I love Colin Powell???? He made a simple, straightfoward, and thoughtful endoresement for Barack, and also for a return to better politics in general. It was LOVELY.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27266223/

So of course, the McCain campaign must try to minimize this.....remind everyone of the 4 former Sec's of State that DO support him (never mind that none of them are as relevant right now as CP), and generally try to make everyone forget about the mass number of Republicans who are jumping ship faster than you can say "DRILL BABY DRILL!" (a good list of Republican ship-jumpers is here: http://www.jedreport.com/shipjumpers) And the ones who are still willing to stay on the sinking ship are going to try and convince you that Powell has a grudge against the Republican Party, doesn't want to be tied to another awful administration, and/or is supporting Obama because they are both black. See case #1 here: http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/1008/The_Powell_move.html?showall

But others are acknowledging how important this endorsement is, and First Read has a roundup of the major newspapers thoughts here:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/20/1570501.aspx

And another scandal has emerged regarding Freddie Mac and sister company Fannie Mae, this one involves a secret plot to kill the regulation bill by REPUBLICAN lobbyists. This is interesting because John McCain regularly used his support-and Obama's lack of it-for the Fannie/Freddie regulation bill as evidence of the Republican party's superior economic intelligence-i.e., we knew it was going to crash and the Democrats killed our efforts to prevent this crisis. But this article at MSNBC today paints a very different picture of the Republican party's relationship with Fannie and Freddie, and it appears that they are just as culpable for this mess as anyone else (and includes evidence that John McCain also has major ties to F&F, even though he's tried to distance himself publicly from the troubled mortgage company) .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27266607/

And finally, Sarah Palin and her doppelganger, Tina Fey, came face to face briefly for the first, and I suspect only time, if Tina has her choice. Palin appeared on SNL Sat. night in two sketches and apparently got SNL its highest ratings in 14 years. I thought it was pretty lame. I'll take Tina's Sarah over Real Sarah any day. Judge for yourself.
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/

What YOU can do

2008-10-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today is "Blog Action Day" in the Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty, a campaign to cut poverty in half by 2020. While I'm not Catholic, I support this effort and got a little email today asking me to join with other bloggers in a unified voice to talk about poverty today.

37 million people in America live in poverty. What can you and I do to help cut this number in half in the next 12 years?

Get involved! Find an organization in your community that reaches out to those in poverty. Volunteer for events at the organization, to do office work, or sort donations. Donate old clothes, household items, and food to organizations that will distribute them to those in need. Many churches have food banks and clothing banks. Non-profit organizations like Catholic Charities often have "wish lists" posted on their websites of items they need. Your local newspaper may also have a community section where needed items are listed.

But perhaps you can help closer to home-you might have a friend or family member who you know has been struggling, due to loss of employment, health issues, or the general economic pinch we've all been in lately-buy a pack of diapers for a friend with a baby if you see them on sale. When Publix has buy one get one free sales, give your "free" items to a neighbor. Clean out your closet for a friend who is about the same size if she needs clothing for work.

In such uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever to make sure we are fighting to reduce the number of families living in poverty, rather than allowing more people to join the 37 million already in need of hope for a better future. If we each donate our unwanted goods, our time, our skills, and our compassion this campaign will succeed-but we have to work together.

If you'd like more information on how the campaign plans to accomplish its goals, check out this:
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=1029

If you'd like to read about other ways you can reduce poverty, check out this list here (including links to more facts and statistics about poverty):
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=571

What do you want to bet this guy is voting for "that one"?

2008-10-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Interesting tidbit from Oliver Clark, one of the question-askers at the debate...apparently a lot of folks reached out to him via his Facebook page (ah, the age of the internet) and asked him a few questions....click the link below to see all of his Debate Insider Q&A, but here he describes how he felt about Sen. McCain's response to his question....hehehe.

How did I feel about Sen. McCain stating “You probably never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac before this.”Well Senator, I actually did. I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent person. I have a bachelor degree in Political Science from Tennessee State, so I try to keep myself up to date with current affairs. I have a Master degree in Legal Studies from Southern Illinois University, a few years in law school, and I am currently pursuing a Master in Public Administration from the University of Memphis. In defense of the Senator from Arizona I would say he is an older guy, and may have made an underestimation of my age. Honest mistake. However, it could be because I am a young African-American male. Whatever the case may be it was somewhat condescending regardless of my age to make an assumption regarding whether I was knowledgeable about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/09/1523335.aspx

So I know I have not mentioned the debate.....it was fine, I thought Obama did well and that McCain did better than he did in the first one, but there were no game-changer moments on either side in my opinion. The "that one" comment sure didn't help McCain either-its obvious he despises Obama for ruining his last chance to be President, which has obviously been a lifelong ambition. The whole tone of the argument he was making when he said it was so childish too-he was acting like a 4-year old. Not very presidential, Johnny.

I thought Barack's strongest moment was when he was talking about health care. He was able to weave in more of his personal story and include his mother's experience with insurance companies when she was dying of cancer, and his statement that health care is a right made me want to cheer. I think a every uninsured American that heard that had to be happy! And who hasn't been screwed by an insurance company-so relatable. Plus, his plan is far superior to McCain's-his plan scares the bejesus out of me. I work in nonprofit and if my employer stops offering health care, I will have neither the time to go hunt my own NOR will I have the money as I don't think a $2500 tax credit is going to cover it, and I doubt my salary increase would make up the difference (in fact, I just heard on NPR this morning that health care premiums increased about 40% faster than salaries-so yes, your health care costs are rising and your salary can't keep up).

I don't think either candidate pulled too many undecideds to their side, but McCain didn't gain any momentum so I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

What Happened to "Raisin' McCain"?

2008-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Now he's made the Foo Fighters mad.

Add them to a list of artists including Heart, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, and Van Halen that have criticized John McCain for using their songs during his campaign without permission (and they all say that if they had been asked, the answer would be no anyway).

What I don't understand is why John's not using the song that Nashville's own John Rich wrote specifically to be his campaign song......you mean, the Foo's "My Hero" is better than "Raisin' McCain"? Poor John Rich.....no one in Nashville likes your music, and neither does John McCain.

On a related note, Rich did perform the snubbed song on CBS's the Early Show from Nashville yesterday, and a rabid Obama supporter jumped on stage and danced alongside him with her Obama sign. Hehe. Gotta love live TV....apparently they managed to edit most of it out with camera angles, but my coworker was there and said it was hysterical.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b33028_foos_fighting_with_mccain.html

Quote of the Day

2008-10-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another. –Bruce Springsteen

Anyone else think Obama-Springsteen would have been a fun ticket? (No offense to Joe Biden-really, no one can compete with the Boss. Nothing personal.)

Nashville is on FIRE

2008-10-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm not writing this from work, I'm writing this from home, but I have a meeting that will keep me actually WORKING for most of the day, and I wanted to make sure that I blogged about how awesome it is to be a Nashvillian right now!

Seriously, the stars have all aligned in our favor, Irish eyes are shining, and all of those tacky cliches-it is kind of magical around here right now.

Why are we smothered in fairy dust right now? Don't know, I guess God just loves us best.

But we'll take it-Our Titans are 5-0, for the first time EVER in franchise history, and Vanderbilt beat Auburn this weekend as well, ALSO going 5-0 in, well, the first time since the ice age, basically. (We won't talk UT, however-the obviously don't have the Nashville Magic on their side.)

And to top it all off, we are hosting a Presidential Debate at Belmont University's Curb Center (you know, the place where we have the Country Music Awards, too! We're soooo diverse!) and its been one big ball of energy and excitement around the city lately. Apparently, McCain already arrived about 45 minutes ago, not sure when Obama is scheduled to touch down in Music City.

Anyway, I'm super excited about the debate, and all the famous media who will be here-it will be so cool to watch all of the news channels have their shows live from Nashville! One of my coworkers is going to the CBS Early Show taping near Belmont in the morning-if you see a cute redhead, she works with me! I doubt I will see Katie Couric or Tom Brokaw just hobnobbing around town, but you never know....I do work within a pretty reasonable distance from Belmont, and I'm definitely not above stalking, so I will keep y'all posted!

Go Obama!

Taking Off the Gloves

2008-10-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

So, big news in politics over the weekend....McCain/Palin's campaign admits that it will fail if the focus remains on the economy, so instead, they'd like to make this campaign about character.

It is almost unbelievable-except, it is plastered all over the news. I'd never believe that John McCain, a respected Senator and Veteran, who pledged to run a respectful campaign, who condemned those during the democratic primaries who used Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein as a scare tactic to mislead voters about his religion, as well as those who tried to misconstrue comments made by Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright (See my old blog about that if you are not familiar) and condemn him for that association-that same man, John McCain, apparently did not give that memo to his running mate Sarah Palin. Guess he did not feel that strongly about running a clean campaign-or he would have told her to knock it off after she said the first time that Obama "pals around with terrorists." But then she repeated that claim-another association, proved during the primaries to be much ado about nothing-over FOUR times since first mentioning it on Saturday. WOW.

Not only that, she told commentator Bill Kristol that SHE thinks the Rev. Wright card should be played again. (Which makes sense, considering its obvious she paid no attention during the primaries or she would have known that these "associations" are old news, and the public has determined as much or nearly 20 million people would not have voted for him to be the nominee.)

Not only that, but John McCain, at a rally today, asked the crowd, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" When someone shouted out "Terrorist!" McCain raised his eyebrows. And he said....NOTHING. My friends, that is despicable. By saying nothing in response, John McCain has told me everything I need to know about his integrity.

I am truly outraged at what an ugly person John McCain has proved himself to be.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/06/1499935.aspx
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/06/1498235.aspx
http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/mccain-does-nothing-as-crowd-member.html

So in response, the Obama campaign has brought up one of Sen. McCain's less-than-desirable associations-one that the Obama campaign had previously insinuated they would not bring up as a campaign issue-the Keating 5 Scandal of the late 1980s. At first, I was a little upset that the campaign appeared to be participating in this little tit-for-tat game, because Obama has stated-repeatedly-that this campaign is about issues that affect Americans, not smear tactics. But, I also understand his need to defend his personal integrity, and I do remember that not fighting back to smear tactics is probably a large reason why John Kerry lost in 2004. Unfortunately, negative campaigning is a nasty part of politics, but everyone has the right to defend themselves. I certainly would!

The other side of this issue is that while Palin is trying to push a story with no merit, the Keating 5 scandal is actually a well-documented part of history, and almost derailed McCain's political career (he was a Representative, not a Senator, at the time). Cliff's notes version: McCain and 5 other Senators were investigated for their relationship with a corrupt businessman named Charles Keating (who gave over $100,000 to McCain's campaign alone, and paid for several McCain family vacations), who asked McCain and the other Senators for favors to get the feds off his back when his Savings and Loan bank crashed (costing the gov't around 2.5 billion-seems like small potatoes now, huh?) and while McCain was exonerated of any illegal activity (he attended 2 meetings, but did not act on Keating's behalf) he was declared to have shown "poor judgement," an assessment in which he AGREED with, and in 2002 in his autobiography called it "the worst mistake of my life" (apparently not his biggest regret-that, as we all know, is the "failure" of his first marriage, when he cheated on his wife repeatedly before meeting Cindy and then marrying HER 6 WEEKS after his divorce was finalized...yeah, sounds like he was real sorry about that).

What is most interesting about this scandal is that in short, McCain has led us to believe all these years that this was the turning point in his career-he felt so ashamed about his involvement-that he would dedicate himself to a mission of campaign finance reform as a form of penance to society, and hence the "maverick" was born out of this mess.

Problem with this NOW? Just today, McCain's lawyer said that the Keating 5 scandal was an attempt by the Democrats of the 1980's to smear McCain http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/mccain-now-saying-keating-five-scandal.html.

Um-excuse me? So now, nearly 30 years later, he is not only going back on everything he's ever said-that while he may have not done anything illegal, it was wrong to have been involved with Keating, that it was the "worst mistake of his life"-now he's saying none of that is true? He was either lying to us then, or he's lying to us now....either way, he's a liar. And if he is telling the truth NOW, then his whole "reformer" image has just gone down the drain.

I say...make up your minds on your own. Some recommended reading:
http://www.keatingeconomics.com/
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1989-11-29/news/mccain-the-most-reprehensible-of-the-keating-five/1 (A fascinating article....you could almost believe it was written today, and not in 1989)

Now...so no one can say I ignored this issue....the association that Palin is hell-bent on sticking Obama with is that of Bill Ayers. Look him up on wikipedia. Bill Ayers used to be a radical opponent of the Vietnam War, and committed a series of violent attacks as part of his protest and participation in a slew of anti-war groups. He was, at one point, labeled a domestic terrorist. Obama was 8 years old when these things happened.

Fast forward FORTY-40-count em-FORTY years into the future, Bill Ayers is not a respected member of the Chicago community, has raised three children, and is now a distinguished professor of education who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in early childhood education and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction. He and Obama have both been involved in community projects together and live three blocks away from each other. Are all of Ayers' students "palling around with terrorists?" Are the other professors who sit in staff or department meetings with Ayers "palling around with terrorists?" Is every single person who has served on a community board with him left-wing radicals who wish to do our country harm? OF COURSE NOT. Come on-this is a ridiculous attempt to distract from the real issues of the campaign, which McCain/Palin clearly don't have a clue how to handle.

Expectations of Excellence

2008-10-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

OK. So we moved offices last week and were without internet for a week, so y'all know I was going crazy not being able to keep up with the polls and stuff! But now I'm back up and running, and once again, not really sure where to start with SO many things going on that I could blog about. I mean, there's the economy crashing down around us, Sarah Palin's Katie Couric interview, the debates, and I keep promising to share with you all why I am voting for Obama-Biden in clear, sensical terms (you know, instead of pointing out the evils of McCain/Palin and their policies....actually sharing why Obama/Biden is better).

But before I get to all that, I want to mention that in all of the "my candidate is better, my candidate is smarter, more experienced, went to war, whatever" I think we are forgetting one thing. We are supposed to be electing the PRESIDENT and VP. The 2 people who are going to represent our country to the rest of the world. We should expect these folks to not only be able to deliver a great speech with a teleprompter and some prep time, but to be able to speak off the cuff, to be one of the smartest, most-well educated among us, since we are hiring them to speak for us. We want them to know what they are talking about it and to say it well. They don't have to be EXPERTS in every issue from economics, to foreign policy, to health care. But we expect that they have THOUGHT about it. We expect they have read about issues, or been briefed by experts in the field, that they have taken time to not just memorize talking points but to have thought about each issue in a critical way. We have a right to expect EXCELLENCE. We should demand it. It's part of the reason our country has been so divided the past few elections-because each party props up their candidate, the BEST they have to offer in theory, and the American people have been a little skeptical....really, this is the best we have? Which is why these issues of experience, character, personality, temperament, have all become front and center lately. Because we need to choose the best of the bunch. And more than a few people have noticed that one person in particular in this race is not on an even playing field with everyone else.

You know who I'm talking about. My favorite Moose Hunter, Sarah Palin.

So conservatives are even starting to question whether Sarah Palin is "qualified" to be Vice-President, much less President should the need arise (remember kiddos, 1 in 5 VP's has had to take over). To me, as I have said in previous blogs, comparing this person's experience to that person's when the experiences are different in nature, is kind of pointless. I think the point here is that through the limited exposure we have had to Sarah Palin, both through interviews like the ones with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, and reports coming out of Alaska regarding her record as Mayor of Wasilla, and her recent accomplishments 18 months into her role as Governor, we have learned that Sarah Palin has not shown much intellectual curiosity as far as knowing what is going on in the world, or heck, even the rest of the US, during her time as Mayor or Governor. She did not have a passport til last year. Up until last week, she had never met a world leader. Her interviews have proved that she does not COMPREHEND foreign policy issues-as well as several domestic issues-beyond the talking points she has memorized. Her expertise is in energy. Which is important, but the economy and all its problems will be handed over to the next president, and we are in two wars, our tense relations with countries like Russia, Georgia, Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea make the news almost daily, and she has NO experience with any of those issues. And hasn't really proved that she's ever had an interest either-even since coming into office. She has some pretty extreme beliefs on social issues-McCain can talk all he wants about how far to the left Obama is, but I think that Palin may well be even further to the right. We have learned that despite being in office only 18 months, she has already managed to come under investigation, along with her husband, for ethics charges for using her position and influence to benefit friends and hurt enemies. She took $400 million dollars for a bridge that is not going to be built. This is what we know.

Just as disturbing as her lack of knowledge about things outside of Alaska are her statements about women's issues. Besides telling Katie Couric that she believed that a 15 year old girl, raped and impregnated by her father, should be "counseled to choose life" and that while she did not "necessarily" think that the "morning after pill" should be illegal, she did indicate a personal belief that it was wrong as she believes life begins at conception. And then there is an issue that has been making its round on political blogs for weeks, and is now being picked up mainstream: that while Mayor of Wasilla, a small town in Alaska which boasts the highest number of rapes per population than ANY OTHER STATE, rape victims had to pay their own rape kit/exam fees (which is UNBELIEVABLE-someone breaks into your house and no one asks you to pay law enforcement to dust for fingerprints), a policy only changed when, after Ms. Palin was no longer Mayor, a law was passed by the then-governor outlawing such practices (and in part, to enable to state to receive federal funds, as a result of the Violence Against Women Act authored by Joe Biden in the 90's). Read on as she recently avoids admitting that she did nothing to change this shameful practice:

Q: During your tenure as mayor in 2000, then police chief Charlie Fannon commented in a May 23, 2000 Frontiersman article about legislation Gov. Tony Knowles signed protecting victims of sexual assault from being billed for rape kits collected by police as part of their investigations. Fannon revealed then that Knowles’ decision would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year, insinuating that the department’s policy was to bill victims for this testing. During your tenure as Mayor, what was the police department and city’s standard operating procedure in recovering costs of rape kits? Were any sexual assault victims ever charged for this testing while you were mayor?
A: The entire notion of making a victim of a crime pay for anything is crazy. I do not believe, nor have I ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test. As governor, I worked in a variety of ways to tackle the problem of sexual assault and rape, including making domestic violence a priority of my administration.

So while she doesn't condone it, she still allowed it to happen right under her nose. And, no one has shown one thing she did during her time as Governor so far to "tackle" rape or domestic violence-not ONE THING-despite saying it was a priority.

?????

This is not excellence. It is not even justifiable. As Barack Obama said in his DNC speech last month-America is better than these last 8 years.

We must expect excellence in our leaders. People make mistakes, of course. But we must begin to hold our leaders to a higher standard, if our country is going to in fact become better than we have been under the failed leadership of GWB. Time for CHANGE!

http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/why-is-sarah-palin-using-hedge-words.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/30/palin-rape/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/30/eveningnews/main4490788.shtml

Of course its up to the WOMEN!

2008-09-16T12:18:00.001-07:00

*** Wooing women: One of the biggest reasons for the dead-even presidential race: The Palin pick has cut into Obama’s lead among women. So the Obama camp has ramped up effort to woo women with increased women surrogates. As the Washington Post reports today, “It rolled out a women's outreach effort Monday, led by scores of prominent female entrepreneurs, athletes and politicians, including former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright, cosmetics entrepreneur Bobbi Brown and Yahoo! Inc. President Sue Decker. The women will act as surrogates for Obama, advocating his support for issues such as equal pay, expansion of family leave and reduction of health care costs. Prominent women also are flooding the airwaves on Obama's behalf, including Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Govs. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), a former Hillary Rodham Clinton backer." Obama getting women to come back to his side is probably the difference between winning and losing.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/

You can't make this stuff up.

2008-09-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

That is what I have felt like for the past two or three weeks, between watching the DNC and the RNC, watching the Sarah Palin effect sweep mainstream media coverage, and watching both Sarah and John McCain lie their faces off (and eventually be called out by media for doing so-thanks for upholding that promise for a dignified, respectful campaign John). Most of this political news is, yes, too sensational to make up.

Every day I almost start a blog about some happening in election politics, but honestly, things move too fast and furious for me to keep up, and there are plenty of professional bloggers out there who can keep pace.

What I am really enjoying (and at times, loathing) are the comments made on these blog postings. My favorite so far today, in regards to reports that Sarah Palin will meet with foreign leaders at a UN meeting next week:

Then after she goes to the UN for an hour to “meet foreign leaders” and establish her security/foreign policy credentials, McCain will take her to a hospital, so she can establish her “health care” credentials; then they will go out in the street and meet a whole bunch of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians to check off the “diversity” credentials; then they can ride the subway for one stop to clarify her “infrastructure” credentials; and then, finally, she can use her ATM card at a bank branch down on Wall Street so she can demonstrate her expertise on the financial markets. I swear you can’t make this up.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/

I agree, gentle reader, I agree. You just couldn't make this up.

Vince Young says he is fine

2008-09-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

In a follow up to a previous post, Titans QB Vince Young says his mother and the media overreacted and that reports he was depressed were overblown. In an interview with the Tennessean, Vince explains:

“It was my first time getting booed,’’ Young said. “I didn’t know how to handle that.’’ He said he didn’t refuse to go back into the game despite impressions raised during a sideline incident in the fourth quarter.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/SPORTS01/80911075

That may be fine and well, but Coach Jeff Fisher made it clear in this article that Vince will have to recover-physically and mentally-before the Titans will put him back in play. I'm happy to hear that-I do like Jeff Fisher and respect him for the way he treats his players, and I'm happy to hear that they realize that such an emotional reaction to being booed is not normal, and I'm glad they are encouraging his well being, in all areas.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/SPORTS01/809110362

For the Love of all things Nashville....

2008-09-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the nominations were announced for the 2008 Country Music Association Awards that will be given out in November.

Much noise is being made around town regarding the top prize category-Entertainer of the Year. One, is that for the first time in anyone's recent memory, there is a FEMALE in the category, Jennifer Nettles, as part of the duo Sugarland. Last woman to enter this category I am guessing may have been Reba in the late 80s or so-but I have not googled that so no one jump on me-I am willing to be corrected!

Second, the link below is to an article about Rascal Flatts, known for their giant record sales and massive concert tours (I once heard that they have over 13 buses and several trailers for their massive stage show), being omitted from the category this year.

http://musiccitytv.com/2008/09/10/do-what-rascal-flatts-gets-no-cma-entertainer-nom/#comments

To be honest, I'm not upset about this at all-I liked them much better when they first came on the scene ten years ago, I think they are a little full of themselves so I'm actually a little happy to see them get knocked down a peg and give someone else a chance to be nominated. I have seen Sugarland live, and they are VERY entertaining. They covered Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me the last time I saw them live, and it was awesome. Glad they are being recognized.

Also on the list: Brad Paisley, who I've seen many times as my friend Wendy LUVS him. He's also great live, and his tours consistently are among the top grossing in country.

The other nominees are George Straight (luv him too, but entertainer of the year? He stands there behind the mic with his guitar and doesn't move. Not the most exciting.....he is not deserving of this category. Give him awards for the music but not entertainment value); Kenny Chesney (never seen him live, of course he probably has THE most popular tour, and has held down this category for about 4-5 years now, so I'd like for someone else to win this year); and finally, Keith Urban. I have to say, my vote goes to Keith in this category this year. I also saw him live about over a year ago (Nov 07), and in a year where I saw Justin Timberlake twice, I think that Keith Urban was the best concert I went to that year. It just proved that you don't have to have a major "stage show" to be completely entertaining and crowd pleasing. We were in the very top nosebleed of the Sommet Center and everyone was standing up and rocking out the whole time. He was flawless. He deserves to be recognized for being a true talent and a great performer. Kenny may be more strobe lights and fireworks, but all Keith needed was a guitar and a microphone to entertain me for 2 hours.

Complete list of major nominees here:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880910019

And Kudos to Wendy for catching that they have changed the "Horizon Award" to "Best New Artist" and two of the nominees (Jason Aldean and Rodney Atkins) were nominated for the same award two years in a row...so clearly they are hardly new.

?????

A Reminder that No One has an Easy Life.....

2008-09-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in Nashville it was big news that our Titans QB, Vince Young, who had a rough game during the season opener against Jacksonville on Sunday, had gone missing for several hours and concerned friends and family had contacted the Titans organization, who in turn contacted the local police, to locate him due to concern about his "state of mind." Young suffered a knee injury in the 4th quarter, but before that was visibly inconsolable after throwing an interception, and reportedly had to be coaxed by Coach Jeff Fisher and Co. to even return to the game (the crowd booed when he through the interception).

Long story short for those of you hearing this for the first time, Vince was found, watching Monday Night Football with a friend, mental state intact. However, that is not the end of the story. Reports are coming out that Vince, in his 3rd year I believe as a pro, considered retiring last year, not sure that the expectations and the lifestyle of pro football were for him. His mother is interviewed in the Tennessean today calling her son "a young man that is hurting" and "needs prayers." A psychologist called on to talk to Young on Monday described him as "depressed." (SHOULDN'T THAT BE CONFIDENTIAL????)

It's hard to feel bad for a guy who, at 25, was a top draft pick out of college, makes millions a year, and should in theory "have it all." Sure, he had to follow in the footsteps of Steve McNair-a wildly popular AND super successful QB for the Titans. I heard an interview-can't remember where-that Vince questioned "whether the fans even want me here."

Part of me wants to tell him to suck it up, get OVER yourself, and realize that you play football, you did not make a mistake that people will die over. Get some perspective, buddy-you have a good life, you can ride this gravy train for a good long time.

But, having a degree in Psychology, another part of me is scared that we have another kid, thrust into fame, fortune, crushed under the weight of unrealistic expectations, that shuts down when the world becomes too much to deal with (Britney, anyone?). Because money won't make you happy, living your life under a microscope where people that don't know you are allowed to judge you in any way they see fit, and expecting yourself to live up to a legend who has several times the experience that you do would get to anyone.

So what happens to Vince? And my hometown team? Well, that pesky knee injury will keep him on the sidelines for 2-4 weeks. I say send him to a 30 day "rehab" type program. Whether he's a baby who just needs an attitude adjustment OR a young man showing signs of mental illness needing treatment, time away-and out of the spotlight-under the care of someone that can either way give him the skills to cope with disappointments in life and his career, has to be worth a shot (seems to be working for B-Spears). As for the Titans, Kerry Collins is in the hot seat indefinitely. And, we signed some other guy today as HIS backup-so it looks like the team is prepared to give Vince the time he needs to recover-physically and mentally-from the things that are troubling him.

Get well soon, Vince.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080910/COLUMNIST0202/809100450&s=d&page=4#pluckcomments

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080910/SPORTS01/809100426

Sometimes, a Pig is Just a Pig

2008-09-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

So, anyone that knows me knows that I love me some politics. I'm fascinated by the whole political process, even though it also frustrates me to the point of a mental meltdown most days.

Today, there's a "scandal" about Barack Obama using the phrase "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" while on the stump in Virginia, I believe. After Sarah Palin's memorable analogy that "what's the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick" McCain-Palin's camp immediately jumped on this, and Palin's spokesperson, along with a group called "Palin's Truth Squad" (irony?) both called the remark "offensive and disgraceful" and called for Obama to apologize.

The problems here? First, the "lipstick on a pig" phrase is an EXPRESSION. It is common in many regions, and especially in Washington. In fact, I remember visiting DC in high school and commenting on all of the "pig" propaganda in general-I think its kind of an inside joke among Washington insiders, actually. (Glad they have a sense of humor.) Not to mention, John McCain himself used the same phrase less than a year ago....in response to a question about then-rival Hillary Clinton's health care plan during the primaries. So, its OK for John McCain to be offensive and disgraceful, he needs to apologize to no one, and we should elect him president for this kind of verbal hypocrisy? If it wasn't sexist and offensive when he used it in relation to Hillary, I don't know why he thinks he can be judged at a different standard than Obama now.

Second, the remark was an analogy to illustrate the Obama-Biden message that we do not need 4 more years of failed Republican leadership and policies. It was not directed at Palin-at least in particular-but at the Republican policies in general, which yes, she proudly claims to support, and John McCain, who was actually mentioned in the sentence before the pig remark, NOT Palin. Here is the quote IN CONTEXT:

"John McCain says he’s about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is ‘Watch out George Bush -- except for economic policy, health-care policy, tax policy, education, policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove style politics -- we’re really going to shake things up in Washington.

"That's not change. That's just calling the same thing something different. But you know, you can ... put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change; it's still going to stink. After eight years, we've had enough of the same old thing. It's time to bring about real change to Washington."

So I think any level headed person could see that in context, he was not referring to Palin. Had she never made the remark about lipstick in the first place, we would not even be talking about this. I guess if you can't talk about the issues, you have to make a big election about little things like this.

So I'm getting very sick-very quickly-of the McCain camp constantly calling Obama on playing the "race card" when they have played the "gender card" at every angle. I'm sorry, if you get in to this sick, sorry game of politics, whether you are female, male, straight, gay, black, white or purple, you should be prepared for the fact that you will be judged; you will be held to a different standard; and you are going to have to have some THICK skin to make it out with your self-esteem in tact. Fortunately, most politicians have huge egos so that part is easy. You are what you are, female, black, old and white, and to act like people aren't going to care-or shouldn't- is just ignorant.

My opinion is that Palin has been treated with kid gloves by the media. People are scared to attack her because she's female, because she has cute kids and one with special needs and no one likes to attack a mom of a special needs baby. I get it, really. But she's not running to be elected "Mom of the Year" no one needs to attack her parenting skills (although I read the blogs, I know its out there). I think attacking her flimsy record is enough, but those things are just starting to trickle down from Alaska. Not to mention, Palin has not answered one question from a reporter or voter, she has not spoken unscripted AT ALL. So, what does she expect? If she's not talking, of course people are going to be talking about her....and reporting whatever they can find.

I've never hated John McCain. Really. He's generally been one of the more reasonable Republicans, even though I don't agree with his politics. But, running this type of campaign, twisting the truth in "offensive and disgraceful ways" as they like to call it, is making me really strongly dislike him. (But more on that in a future blog.) It is disgusting. Obama and Biden have run a classy campaign all the way so far, but in this country nice guys don't always finish first, so I think the gloves need to come off.

Because, a bully does not like to be called a bully. They only bully when they think that their target is not able or willing to fight back. So its time to end it. Come out swinging!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26640489/
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/09/1370479.aspx

An Open Letter to Sarah Palin

2008-09-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

I am voting for Barack Obama for President.

There are many reasons for this, and that is not what this blog is about. I could potentially write a novel between now and election day about all the thoughts I have concerning politics these days. But today, my thoughts are mostly about Sarah Palin.

I feel bad for her. And I also feel bad for feeling bad for her, because she's made it clear that she doesn't want my sympathy, she wants my vote. Because we both have vaginas, you know, so clearly because I supported Hillary in the primary I should now vote for her. Actually, SARAH, I voted for Hillary not because of her anatomy, but because she shares my position on a variety of issues and I thought she was smart and qualified to lead. I also liked Barack Obama, and am just as comfortable voting for him come November as I was voting for Hillary in February. But again, more about that in another blog.

Unfortunately, only a month ago admitted that she did not understand the role of a vice-president. And a month later, I am to believe that the woman who made the statement below now understands not only that role, but the inner workings of our governments design, has a complete command of foreign policy, and that my life and my country will be better when she is elected?

Palin replied: “As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question.”

See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9pnzQ96kWA

Well, Sarah, when I have applied for a job in the past, I have first made sure that I learn about the organization that I am applying to work for, I read the job description, and have questions prepared to ask at my interview. You know, I like to make sure that my experiences and interests are compatible with the position. But that's just me, and ordinary working American.

So, since you obviously didn't think preparing for applying for the 2nd highest job in the country was important, I did some of the work for you. I mean, of course its too late to ask questions of your potential employer, John McCain, so the fact that you both disagree on a few issues is just something you two will have to work out. But I did look into exactly what the VP is supposed to do, besides take over in case the president dies, resigns, or becomes medically unable to continue; and here is what I found out. You can thank me later. I know you have more important things to deal with right now.

Via wikipedia.org:
1. VP is President of the Senate: As President of the Senate, the Vice President has two primary duties: to cast a vote in the event of a Senate deadlock and to preside over and certify the official vote count of the U.S. Electoral College.

2. Chairman of the Board of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

3. Member of the board of the Smithsonian Institution

4. A symbol of American concern or support

5. Depending on the specific relationship between the President and the Vice President, formal and informal duties may vary, but often include drafter and spokesperson for the administration's policy, and an adviser to the president.

6. He or she may be assigned additional duties by the president but, as the Constitution assigns no executive powers to the vice president, in performing such duties he or she acts only as an agent of the president.

Ya hear that? NO EXECUTIVE POWERS. So, all of your year and a half's worth of "executive experience" that you keep bragging about is not really relative to the position. Exactly which of your experiences, from Mayor to Governor to Miss Alaska, have given you the qualifications to advise our president on foreign policy? To deal with the 45.3 million people in our country that do not have health insurance?

And let's see....you also want to convince me that after being Mayor or a town of somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000, you had enough "responsibilities" and "accomplishments" to prepare you for presiding over a country of more than 300 million people?

Barack Obama had more than 3.5 million people vote for him in his most recent election for public office as Senator of Illinois.

You had less than 120,000 votes when you were elected governor of the 4th smallest state in the union.

I do believe that comparing the experiences of Senator and Governor in terms of which makes you more prepared to be president is like apples and oranges. Unfortunately, Sarah, none of your political experience until a week ago was on a national stage. You have to admit, that SHOULD make people a little nervous. Especially since John McCain would be the oldest inaugurated President in history at 72, and its pretty obvious that the job is a stressful one.

And last night, you insulted the millions of Americans who work in nonprofit industries like myself. You mocked Barack Obama's early career experiences in the 1980s as a community organizer, but you were in fact competing in beauty pageants during those same years. You and Rudy Guiliani accused Barack Obama of "never leading anything" when in fact, while you were dreaming of being Miss Alaska, Obama was the DIRECTOR of the Developing Communities Project, which he grew from a staff of 1 to 13 in three years.

Then, in 1988, when you were working as a Sportscaster on the local news, Barack Obama attended Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. A full-time VOLUNTEER position, to which he was elected, a position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.

Obama directed Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers. This is the same year that you entered the political forum, being elected to the city council of a town of less than 7,000. So at that time, Barack Obama already had nearly 10 years more experience in law, politics, and community knowledge than you did.

So now I am up to 1992, and I have already proved you a liar three times, Sarah and Rudy. Barack Obama has been LEADING for the majority of his life. I am not trying in any way to diminish your achievements in politics Sarah, but to say that you led while Barack Obama wrote books is simply untrue.

Shame on you both. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have both spoken kindly and graciously of John McCain and Sarah Palin's accomplishments. I urge you, Sarah Palin, as nominee for Vice-President of the United States, that if you really want to prove yourself as a non-Washington insider, that you at least do your homework. You may find it helpful to understand how Washington government works, and to do your homework on your opponents, and to speak of your plans and beliefs rather than trashing someone else's.

Just a suggestion. After all, we get to make our own choices here in America, at least for now.

MIA....

2008-08-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Not that anyone has noticed but I have been MIA from the blogosphere for a few weeks! Started a new job, and while I WISH I could say that I was doing something productive, the stark reality of it is that I did not have a computer for most of the past few weeks; and while I guess I could have updated the blog from HOME, the idea of this blog was something for me to do...while I should be working instead.

So, things have calmed down a little with the new job, still don't have office space but getting closer all the time (a lease has been signed, hallelujah). I DO have a computer that is mine all mine, so hopefully random thoughts from Mattie will return with a vengeance.

Oh....Nashville Star.

2008-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am SOOOO disappointed with Nashville Star. I had never watched it before, but with it being summer and nothing good on, combined with my American Idol withdrawals, I figured I would give it a shot-but so far I have been less than impressed. For as arrogant as John Rich was before the show premiered about how much better his show is than Idol, I expected a lot better. And he keeps complaining about how half of them are not country-but didn't he hand pick them all for the show???? Is he really just now realizing they aren't country singers? How did they fool him for so long?

The show is just weird-they kick someone off at the end of every show, and call everyone in "random" order if they are safe until they get to the bottom 2. How mean is it to go through the entire show, realize in the last 20 minutes you have a 50% chance of going home, and still have to sing live after finding out that news. Which means you will inevitably suck from the pressure and nerves, so if you are the one that goes, it seems like the right thing, and if you stay, you did not give as good a performance as you might have if you were not under the gun to go home, which may affect your votes to stay around next week.

Most of the performances were not noteworthy-I usually like Ashlee, I think she has great raw talent but needs to work on performing, she seems inexperienced in this area but she gets better every week. Did not like her song choices last night. Gabe really showed personality last night, I LOVELOVELOVE Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" and it really worked as a country tune, when he threw the guitar over his back and came forward to work the crowd, I was so proud of him. His second mini-performance (gee, and I thought Idol's songs were too short-Star only let the contestants second song last about 30 seconds) of "Fireman" was cute too, he is very reminiscent of a young, Latin George Strait. Melissa actually sang country music this week-I love Martina's "This One's for the Girls" and she did a great job with it. I could totally see her doing the type of music that Martina does-a lot of inspirational-type ballads but also just fun, upbeat positive energy songs. She also reminds me a lot of Trisha Yearwood, and I think she's sound great covering some of her songs so I hope she will do that. Shawn was much better with Faith Hill's "Breathe" but I also think that if she could just get her confidence together, she could rock "Kerosene" by Miranda Lambert or something along those lines and really impress.

Middle of the road: Coffey was much better than last week, he really took Jewel's advice and picked good songs for him. John Rich told him he should be on Idol instead-um, actually he was a couple of years ago! So much for doing your homework John Rich! Pearl Heart-their main issue is the front woman-she's not convincing. So, the last 2 weeks, Jeffrey Steele has had them sing together more-and sing positioned closely together as a group. I'm not sure that is working so well either-mostly because their harmonies are not always on-when they are, they are very nice, but when they are not, its a little unpleasant. To be honest, the one sister that usually plays the mandolin or banjo or whatever it is-last night she had on the white ruffled shirt and tight black pencil skirt-I think she has the most stage presence, and I would try making her the lead on one song next week and see what happens. They did Restless Heart's "I'll Still Be Loving You" (why does Jeffrey Steele pick the songs for his people? Is that fair to everyone?) and says its a great song (agreed-not that I am prejudiced because I've known the band since I was a little girl or anything) but I thought it was odd that he wanted them to sing it from a place of loss (they delved into the fact that his son died two years ago, which has been big news around town this week because of an annual charity event in his memory) because this was one of the biggest "wedding songs" of the 80's and early 90's and I have NEVER heard it used as a "sad" song before. So I had a hard time getting past that. LOL.

BAD BAD: Laura and Sophie-still not sure how they made it onto this show-they were not ready-and I want them to quit dressing alike. They are not 4 years old. Alyson and her crazy eyes ("your eyeballs are back" Jewel said) finally went home after butchering one of my fave country songs ever-She's In Love With the Boy. Tommy-he was completely out of tune during the first song, and I think he did a bit better on the second but I was scared to uncover my ears. I like his personality, but as they love to say, this is a SINGING competition.

Next week-Billy Ray-worst host EVA-tells us that 2 people will be eliminated. I think L&S, Tommy, and Coffey should be worried.

My other gripe-Blake Shelton performed "Home" and his girlfriend, country goddess Miranda Lambert, a Nashville Star ALUM, who sings back up on the single was not there to back him up on the show! Someone missed a major marketing op there-I mean, she's probably the most successful alumni of the show, I know she did not win but has anyone heard from Erika Jo or Buddy Jewell lately????? Yeah me either. So why not bring Miranda back to show some credibility (which with this crop of contestants the show severely lacks at the moment)? I was downright pissed when she did not emerge from the wings to back up her man. I mean, they have crappy Dannity Kane to sing last week but we've yet to see them bring back any of their own? I know AI is not perfect, but at least they pimp their own to no end. I mean, they even let Fantasia trainwreck on national tv. Show some loyalty Nashville Star!

Basically, the only three folks who could win this show are Ashlee, Gabe, or Melissa. Shawn is OK, I don't think we've seen the best of her (she sounded great in her pre-taped rehearsal bit but not as good live-as the judges keep pointing out, these people have GOT to get over the nerves). I think she will make Top 4 or 5 but that is about as far as she can go with what she's shown us so far. I think she'll get signed though. She's pretty, she CAN sing, and she's NOT the typical blonde that is so pervasive right now in "young" country women singers so I think she would stand out. I hope she gets more consistent.

Is anyone else watching this mostly dreadful show?

ooh! 2 posts in 1 day!

2008-06-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

OK-Since I do love most things Idol and country music-had to put this out there-apparently people are ENRAGED that Kristy Lee Cook, who finished, oh, 7th or 8th I think on Idol this season, is the 3rd contestant to sign a deal (aside from the #1 and #2 Davids). I say good for her, I think others will get signed too-but we have to remember that 19 Management/All the SONY/BMG labels (Arista, Sony, Jive, to name a few in the group) have 3 months to decide who to sign after the show-basically until the tour is over. They have "1st dibs" basically to OFFER to sign any of the Idols. I may be wrong, but I dn't think the Idol necessarily has to accept their deal (unless they are the winner of course-that is part of the deal!). SOOOOO....lets not get our panties in a wad about how more "talented" (after all, that's subjective!) guys and gals are not signed yet-they may not WANT a deal with 19E/Sony, and they may very well be working with other labels but won't be able to officially sign/announce until the tour is completed in the fall.

The other thing I find funny is the comments section on this particular blog-there seems to be a misconception that country music is "easier" to break into than other fields-i.e., the standard is lower, expectations not as high. Um, hello! Country fans expect a good product-no matter who you are! I would actually think pop/hip hop is EASIEST to break into-I mean, when songs about lip gloss poppin', laffy taffy, and peanut butter and jelly become insta-hits in that genre, country is usually a little more profound (I said generally-for every laffy taffy there is a honky-tonk badonkadonk around the corner as well). You may not have LASTING success with that kind of gimmick, but you'll make a bit of money for it.

Plus, I live in Nashville, and there's ALWAYS a story about record labels folding, deals going under, and there are plenty of folks playing Fan Fair, dives around town, airing videos on CMT, that will never have commercial success-despite being talented. So much of it is industry politics, and the fact that it IS hard to break in, no matter how good you are. I mean, Tim McGraw had a dud of an album out before he released Indian Outlaw and Kenny Chesney also released a debut that lacked hits initially-it took quite a bit of time and a couple of albums for them to achieve major superstardom, and now record labels usually drop you if your first album is a stinker in sales. So, for people that get exposure on Idol, they already have some recognition, and record labels know that they won't have to invest as much to get the name out there. Its still no guarantee you'll be successful, but you have a leg up on the other guy.

So, I'm sure most of the top 8 or so will get signed, we just may not hear about it right away if they are going to go with a label and management co. outside of the Idol family.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008/06/kristy-lee-sign.html#uslPageReturn

More Music Thoughts...What Else?

2008-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

So, its been awhile since I blogged, mostly because we had a major office move AND I'm going to be starting a new position shortly, so I've actually had to WORK instead of play online. So sad. Anyway, Hopefully I'll do better...so here is another installment of my thoughts on music.

The Tennessean had a big front-page article in the Sunday paper this week about the Changing Face of the Music Industry-or something like that. Links below to the particular article and the special section on the paper's website.

Anyway, the article bugged me quite a bit, as a lot of it centered on digital music sales, and who makes money off of what. The songwriters, etc. claim to not be complaining about digital sales as it has positives and negatives for them, but in essence they are complaining. Really, what they should be complaining about, is the way the industry works, not digital sales. They cite this example:
It goes like this: By law, a songwriter is entitled to 9.1 cents for every song sold, giving him a starting point of $91,000 if an album sells a million copies. A publishing contract eats up half of that, reducing the figure to $45,500. That sum is typically split in half again because many artists won't cut a track on their album unless they receive a co-writing credit. That money is often used to pay back the initial investment made by a record company. That now leaves the songwriter with $22,750. But included in most standard record deals is a clause that pays co-writers only 75 percent of their congressionally mandated royalties, leaving a grand total of about $17,000 in a songwriter's pocket.

So basically to me, I think that the songwriter should be complaining (if they must complain....more on that in a minute) about their publishing contracts, the artist who is ALREADY MAKING ENOUGH MONEY to sing and perform and record insisting on eating up half their profit, the record company-geez, there are a hundred "middle men" in this process getting paid for the work that the writer did. Why can't songwriters just sell their songs straight to an artist? And what the heck is that 75% clause about? I mean, all this makes no sense to me. I mean, no hate to the songwriters, but even with all that, 17,000 for one song is not chump change-that's half of what I make in a year for sitting down and writing ONE SONG. If you write ten songs that get recorded in one year (selling a million copies each of course), you've made 170,000, and you're not curing cancer or solving the energy crisis, so I think that is MORE than fair. I go to work every day and I will never make that much. Plus, if your song sells as an individual download, that's more money in your pocket all the time.

A couple weeks ago Kid Rock made a You Tube video encouraging us folks to steal everything-and while I can't condone that, he makes the point that he'd rather have his fans burn his CDs and share them but pay to see him in concert, because he loves to perform and he's rich enough already. (which begs the question-why not have free shows too? But drugs are not so cheap I guess. Or perhaps he gives all that money to the band and the road crew.)

So I know, if we do that then we are cheating all of his writers out of their 9.1 cents. I mean, there is always going to be controversy-but I think the music insustry should just be glad that we are still dowloading, still going to see live music, when milk and gas are nearing $5 a gallon. Cause eventually, music might be a luxury, and that is quite a sad thought indeed.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/BUSINESS11/806290410/-1/TUNEIN0701
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=TUNEIN0701

2008-06-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

So...as I am still having American Idol withdrawals (actually, TV withdrawals in general-no more Lost, The Office, or any of my other favorite shows!) I was happy for the hometown Idol-wannabe show, Nashville Star, to arrive on my TV screen. My happiness was quickly replaced by disappointment. For myriad reasons. Let me give you a list.

1. The show is NASHVILLE STAR. Ya know, country music capital of the world and all. But half the songs the contestants chose were not even country! Now I would have been totally open to a country version of a pop song, but that is not what happened. Not that I did not enjoy some of the performances (most notable-the last woman, Melissa, blew everyone else away singing Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About") but I just felt like they should have been a little truer to the genre if they truly want to be COUNTRY singers-don't make it look like American Idol: Rejects or something.

2. The judges! Oh my gosh-so annoying. Blondie (not sure who the heck he is-apparently he is a singer/songwriter/musician but I seriously question his taste level based on some of his critiques) was too full of himself and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. John Rich-well, I've never been able to stand him, he's so arrogant and again, why? Can't sing, hokey songwriter, and needs a serious makeover. Porn 'stache-EW!
(see http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/john-rich-on-why-nashville-star-is-better-than-idol/) The only one I like is Jewel-for reasons previously discussed in this blog; I loved her calling out Rich when he told her she had pitch problems and she told him at least she had more than a one note range-LOL! (On a side note-finding out that Rich helped produce her album explains why I am not happy with that first single.) Also loved her trying not to "mock" pageant queen Alyson's awful faces and crazy eyes but still show her what she did wrong.

3. Charley getting sent home. I could not even watch Alyson and her crazy eyes, I don't think she will last much longer-but I think Charley could have done much better with a second chance. He sounded fine in the pre-taped "getting to know you" segment but came out trying to be an entertainer before a singer, and picked the wrong song. But he seemed like a genuine guy. What were the judges thinking? They all admitted Alyson had gone backwards-so clearly, they told her what to fix and she ignored them or let nerves get the best of her. John Rich's big thing on this show being superior is how they mentor and develop the contestants, but if they are not teachable, we're all wasting our time-and I think Alyson may not be able to change.

So the good? Well, its filmed in Nashville and tickets are free. I bet going to a taping would be fun, and I haven't been to the Roy Acuff Theater in years! I liked Coffey (and one of my coworkers met him on an airplane and said he was SUPER nice), Gabe, Melissa (see video of her performance here: http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/nashville-star-premiere-melissa-lawson-brings-down-the-house/), and the Navy guy-hope he chills out a bit but he had a nice voice. The two young girl groups (duo and a trio) were decent but they are young and need a LOT of help with stage presence and polish.

So, we'll see what happens. Its better than nothing I guess!

http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/nashville-star-premiere-melissa-lawson-brings-down-the-house/

Hardest Lost Quiz Ever

2008-05-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

http://darkufo.blogspot.com/2008/05/hardest-lost-quiz-ever.html?loc=interstitialskip

My final score is: 870 out of 3900

And those were just lucky guesses-this is crazy hard!

Gone Country

2008-05-28T07:13:00.001-07:00

Seems like everyone wants to "go country" these days, no? Or at least "go Nashville." Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow have both had country crossover success (together, and her as a solo artist) and even Bon Jovi recorded their last album here (though it failed to connect with country radio...or any radio much for that matter-but I think they will survive-they're BON JOVI). But there are a host of celebrities trying to make a name for themselves on contemporary country radio these days, and some of them may surprise you. I've found a couple of places to check out their music and of course...share with you my opinions!

First up...Jessica Simpson has been working on a country album for what seems like FOREVER. Not a big fan of hers to begin with, so I had LOW expectations for her take on country music, since I don't think she was ever that great at pop. However, I stumbled upon this in my daily perusing of the gossip rags, and much to my chagrin, it is....not that bad. I think the nature of this style of music may suit her because it keeps her from over-singing, one of the main problems I had with her pop music. Like I said, my expectations were low, but I don't hate it and actually think that if I heard it on the radio, it would be catchy and I might sing along. But don't tell anyone I think so. How uncool would it be to like Jessica Simpson?
http://www.usmagazine.com/Listen-to-Jessica-Simpsons-New-Country-Single

Next up...Darius Rucker. WHO is that you ask? No, HOO-TIE is the correct way to ask this question! HAHA. Ya'll know Darius, he's sold millions of records as Mr. Hootie himself-Hootie and the Blowfish, one of my FAVORITE bands in high school! So, for sheer nostalgia alone, and the fact that I lovelovelove his voice, and one of my high school boyfriends use to sing "Hold My Hand" to me in the car, expectations were much higher for Hootie-I mean, Darius Rucker. And I will say he has mostly delivered. To quote my dawg Randy Jackson (I'm having American Idol withdrawals, I'm sorry) he could sing the phone book and I would listen. I'm not knocked out by the first single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," but it has been getting quite a bit of airplay and covers thinkin', drinkin', and lost love, so he's totally proven that he can write a country song. It's certainly good enough to make me want to hear more from his album.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/darius-rucker-dont-think-i-dont-think-about-it/3712209678

Jewel. Oh, Jewel. Based on the first offering, I'm a little worried. I like Jewel. I even stuck through her with the razor-commercial-sellout thing she did a few years back. You know, girl's got to make a dollar to upkeep that ranch and all those horses she has. And I think she is a lovely singer-songwriter. Again, some high school nostalgia here as "You Were Meant for Me" I think was probably played at my prom or something. And, there's a great acoustic, stripped version of that song that gets played on the local radio here that will blow you away. (note to self-look for that on iTunes) So I know she's capable of greatness, but this first song, "Stronger Woman" just ain't great. I thought maybe it could grow on me, but it really hasn't. The good news for her is, country radio and video channels are playing it, so like me I think they want to accept her into this world, because she fits. But I'm waiting for greatness Jewel...you better deliver or back to product jingle songs you go.
http://www.jeweljk.com/

Even non-singers want in on the country goodness. Two time Dancing With the Stars champ Julianne Hough has ALSO just released a country album. She's a stunningly beautiful girl, but I think it may be hard for her to convince us to see her as something other than a dancer. It's hard for females to break into country-there was a great article in the paper about a year ago here about that topic. Sure, Carrie and Taylor Swift are two young blondes who have had record breaking success, but they are certainly the exception and not the rule. So as you can tell I am trying to be nice here, because I love her on the dancing show, but I am just not sure this is her cup of tea. Her first song is alright, and it's not that she can't sing, I just don't know-something is missing for me that I can't put my finger on. However, she did land the PLUM role of opening for Brad Paisley, something that the aforementioned young blonde country gals Carrie, Taylor, and not mentioned Kellie Pickler all have in common and its worked out for them. Is Brad the key to a lady's success in this biz? Hmmmmm. So....I'm going to give this one some time before I call it.
http://www.amazon.com/Julianne-Hough/dp/B0014DXYEQ

Cookie for the Win!

2008-05-22T13:50:00.001-07:00

Yay! I called it right this time....David Cook won American Idol last night, at the end of a 2-hour plus show filled with gaggles of guest stars, group musical numbers, and product placements/project promotions.

I thought that Cookie was so humble and gracious when he won, breaking down in tears more than once, and immediately hugging Archie and saying to the crowd, "David Archuleta everyone!" I think he is a total class act. His momma did good! Archie did not seem upset. Neither did Daddy, suprisingly. I think they both were truly happy to have made it so far.

If you missed it, head on over to http://www.idolstalker.com/ for links to the videos of the Top 5 moments of American Idol Season 7 Grand Finale....

5. Brooke White and Graham Nash duet on "Teach Your Children." Brooke was resplendent in a stunning blue dress and bare feet as the two sang and played guitar together. At the end, she simply said, "Wow!" I am sure it was a thrill for her and I can't wait to see what kind of album she will make now.

4. Davids Cookie and Archie duet on "Hero." I have to admit I loved this song when it came out a few years ago to go with the Spiderman movie! I actually liked them doing it-a good choice that fit both of them (rock sounding for Cookie, still somewhat of a "message" song for Archie). I heard it was Cookie's idea. He's so smart.

3. George Michael Medley, Top 12 together. The ladies started it off with "Faith," the guys came in for "Father Figure" and the whole gang did a rousing rendition of "Freedom" which had me dancing in my living room...and yall know I DON'T DANCE.

2. DC and ZZ Top, "Sharp-Dressed Man." HOT! To quote Randy Jackson! My dog started humping her pillow when this one started. She has good taste. IMO, the best performance of the night! Cookie WAS a rock star. The vocals, the electric guitar, that little chicken dance thing he did, AWE.SOME. He commanded the stage-pretty good, considering he was sharing it with rock legends!

1. THE GUITAR HERO COMMERCIAL! AAAAHHHHH! Cookie in tighty-whities doing Risky Business. I don't know who thought of that but THANK YOU!!!!! Archie's made me feel like that guy from Dateline might pop out at some point...you know, To Catch a Predator??? At least they let him wear boxers....I'm kind of suprised daddy allowed it! So I have no desire to see that again. But check out the extended version of Cookie's here:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/david-cooks-extended-guitar-hero-commercial/108755502

Honorable mentions....Simon apologizing to DC for being "borderline disrespectful" during his critiques Tuesday night, saying they both did well and it was not the knockout that the judges made it out to be. Robert Downey Jr. as a "Pip." Carly and Michael Johns singing a duet-I vote these two make a go of it together. The arrangement for "The Letter" was a little wonky but I saw them on Ellen doing the U2 w/ Mary J Blige version of "One" and it ROCKED.

And a couple of letdowns....

George Michael. He sang that slow song that Carrie U sang on "Idol Gives Back." I know he had a cold, but I wish he would have done one of the medley songs with the Idols instead of singing separately from them.

Why didn't Jason Castro get to duet with anyone? I was happy to see him get the only solo of the night besides Cookie's coronation song, and a reprise of "Hallelujah" was lovely, but why did he not get to sing with anyone? I was hoping Dolly would come back and duet with him on "Travellin' Thru"-I downloaded the iTunes on that one and its one of my favorites!!!

All the shilling for Love Guru (and the TOTALLY inappropriate jokes about Archie and puberty!!! GOSH!!!!) and other new albums/movies/products (although how cool was it that they both got new Ford Hybrid Escapes???)

All in all, a much more tolerable 2 hours than I expected, and even though the final song was total cheese (magic rainbows as an actual lyric and all) I think America got it right. Can't wait to see David Cook at the Sommet Center next year!

Boxing

2008-05-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have never been a fan of boxing. I'm not really sure why I even watched Million Dollar Baby. So I was really unimpressed with the boxing analogy that American Idol strung us along with for the David v. David "showdown" last night. I mean, really, is anyone happy with the thought of Big Brother David C. throwing Archie a right hook? Why all the violence? It's just a TV show!

So I am going to pretend like they did not do that. I am also going to pretend that the "humdinger" of a finale Simon predicted was just that. Because I wish it had been. My friend Wendy and I were hoping that Cookie would wipe the floor with the little Disney Moppett. Despite the judges crazy talk that it was the other way around, neither of them really had a "moment" in my opinion.

Why does anyone let Clive Davis talk anymore? Much less pick songs for people? I have to say I was impressed that he picked U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" for Cookie, less impressed that he chose "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" as I think he picked that for Bo Bice and maybe Clay Aiken-or at least, I have seen about 15 people perform this on Idol before so I kind of wish it would go on the banned list. Cookie did alright, I love the song, but it is not really a "climactic" type of song. Archie actually delivered a really good performance this round, but while Cookie was all over the stage, working the platform, and the audience, and Archie walked from the stairs to the middle of the stage. Where he stood. The entire time. And did some eye shutting and arm reaching. Sure, he sounded great, but I want to see him PERFORM.

Round 2-the crappy "This is my moment in your heaven I believe I can fly like this" songs. No comment. I think they both did fine considering the circumstance....but could not believe that Simon said David chose the better song-IMO they were both crappy songs/lyrics and this is a part of the competition that no one would miss. But Randy did use a new phrase this time for DC, telling him he did not like the song but that he "sang his face off" on it. He then also told Archie, for the zillionth time, that he can sing the molten-hot-lava-phone-book-in-the-zone.

Round 3-what a concept, they let the contestants choose what they wanted to sing from ANYTHING, something that has only been done....3 or 4 times this whole season? DC did a new song, Collective Soul's "The World I Know" which he was rumored to be doing last week when he did Switchfoot instead. I like this song, and I liked the acoustic part in the beginning, and I actually wish he would have just done it acoustic, as it would have allowed us to hear his sexy voice better, but I liked it anyway. Just a solid, consistent performance, which of course meant that the judges were mad he didn't "Cook" up something crazy for one last time, with Simon basically saying he liked it but that he should have reprised "Hello" or "Billie Jean." Then Archie comes around and does "Imagine" again, and while I must admit I fast-forwarded, I did stop to hear the judges comment about how he was the best and basically told him he had it in the bag. Funny, since most of what I read online said that is was not really as magical as the first time...which is wh I think DC stayed away from doing a reprise, since lightning don't strike twice in the same place. I'm totally OK with Archie re-doing "Imagine" I just wish he had done something new-like back himself up on piano-and maybe I would not have FF'd through.

Overall...I think Randy has been on Archie's dad's payroll since Day 1. There is no excuse for the ridonkulousness that is his love for Archie. I think Simon actually was using reverse psychology on us Cook fans. He's made it clear in multiple media interviews that he thinks DC should win. Yet he totally threw him under the bus last night. I think he wanted to make sure that DC's fans were worried enough to vote their tushies off. I bet it worked. (I have this theory that people rarely get voted off after a bad night-it motivates their fan base. Usually, they get voted off the next week after being back to a solid performance.)

The only other thing that bugged me last night-and the last few weeks really-is that when DC comes out and does a really good vocal and/or performance, Simon and Randy are SO hung up on arrangement with him that if he did not re-Cook an old pop song, they are just OK with it. Yet, Archie has only played with arrangments a little, and probably did not do a whole lot of it himself, and is always told how great he is when he just stands there. They have totally held Cookie to a different standard because they know he is capable of the whole package-vocal, originality, musicianship, and performance. They know Archie is capable of standing there, range of motion 2 feet, and singing his heart out. That is fine, but they never push him to stretch or get mad when he hasn't.

I don't think anyone made up their mind last night. Allegiances were already formed long before yesterday. I still think it is Cookie for the win!

Graduation 2008

2008-05-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

It has been 5 years and about 3 weeks since April 29, 2003, a pretty regular day for most East Nashville residents. As for me, I must have gotten up, gone on to work at my new job-the first in my chosen field of social services-after the drudgery of my first post-college job at an insurance company. For the Tuders family, living only about 5 or 6 streets over from me, it was also a typical morning-both Bo and Debra Tuders got up and went off to work, waking their youngest child, 13 year-old Tabitha, on their way out the door. Like they did each day.

But this typical spring day in East Nashville became a nightmare for the Tuders family. A great article ran in one of our local papers recently, if you are not familiar with this story and want to know more. But on April 29, 2003, Tabitha Tuders became a missing child.

The major criticism of this case is that she was not treated like a missing child. Despite never showing up for school that day, unusual for the straight-A student who volunteered at the library almost every day and was not the kind of girl to skip out, police had no physical evidence of an abduction and therefore did not issue an Amber Alert, and chastised the family for having no idea what kind of clothes she was wearing (despite the fact that they never saw what she left the house in), often blaming them for the investigations shortcomings.

Despite living within a stone's throw of a variety of sex offenders, police stereotyped her as a promiscuous, troubled girl who more than likely ran away with some older boyfriend the family did not know about-despite the fact that she left all the money she had, $20, and all her clothes and other possessions in her room. Despite the fact that she was a good student, did not even like talking to boys on the phone, and no one that knew this little girl could reconcile the persona that police assigned her with the Tabitha they knew.

Meanwhile, my roommate and I heard about her disappearance and talked about it often as it saturated local news coverage-and we often talked about the fact that so many things would have been different if this little girl had not lived in East Nashville, but West Nashville, or Belle Meade, or Green Hills. If her parents had been a doctor and a lawyer , and not a truck driver and a cafeteria worker. If she went to private school and not Bailey Middle. Would things have turned out differently if her parents had money to hire their own search party and investigators, when the police put of searching due to lack of evidence and poor weather.

And 5 years later, we still think of Tabitha Tuders, the girl that could have easily been me or my roommate a few years earlier. Gone missing from East Nashville, from a working class family, a good girl somehow assumed to be at fault in some way for hew own disappearance by those who are there to protect and serve-and that should mean everyone, no matter which side of the Cumberland you live on or how much money you have. Each time I hear her name on the news still, whether its an anniversary of her disappearance, or news of a possible new lead in her case, I struggle to keep the tears from coming. I did not know this girl or her family personally, but I know a lot of little girls just like her. I have walked or driven by her house many times in that neighborhood where I used to live.

Monday night, Tabitha would have graduated from high school. Stratford High School, where she never got the chance to attend, held a moment of silence in her honor. Her family attended. They still hold out hope that she may be out there, that she will come back home. I hope so, too.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/Cover_Story/2008/04/24/Tabitha_Tuders/

Touchy Touchy.....

2008-05-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

So apparently I pissed off a couple of people I don't even know with my country music blog. I don't know how they found my blog, but they took to insulting me PERSONALLY for my opinions when they don't even know me. One of them called me uneducated (I actually have a Master's degree, thank you, which I acquired while also working a full time and two part time jobs) AND close minded/"short-sighted" (I'm in Social Work, I work with all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs and quite successfully). Only one person commented respectfully with a difference of opinion. Did I say none of these people know me personally?

So, elvis and kayboulware, FYI, I actually love all kinds of music. I have lots of friends that are in the business, musicians and singer/songwriters, and their music is often some of my favorite. So there is no need for people who don't know me to judge my musical taste by one silly blog. I love discovering new artists. I did not say I hated Elvis Costello, nor that I would never give Robbie Fulks a listen-I probably will. As I mentioned, I love to hear new music. And in all honesty, I do not own any CDs by Tim McGraw, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and most of the other mainstream country artists mentioned. I think that each of us interpreted the EW article to mean something different-I took it as, If I wanted to convince a friend to listen to what country has to offer RIGHT NOW, to add a country radio station to their car presets, what would I tell them to listen to in order to get them to give it a try? And they ain't playin' Elvis Costello or even Johnny Cash on Top 40 country radio. And that does not make Elvis/Johnny/etc any less valuable to the music world as Carrie/Garth/Kenny. I just interpreted the concept differently...with no offense to anyone.

So coming from that perspective, I thought there should have been more mainstream country music on the list...not because it's my favorite (it's not), but because that is what you will hear if you turn on the radio and listen to a country station.

So lesson here...please don't judge a blogger by one silly blog. Because I don't think I am the one that came off looking small-minded here.

Yee-Haw

2008-05-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Entertainment Weekly has put out a list of 25 country albums everyone should hear-whether or not they like country. I think this list is seriously flawed. As a resident of THE Country Music Capital of the World, as we like to be called, no one asked for my opinion on this and I am a little miffed about it. Look, I know you are trying to appeal to folks who would not run out and buy Reba McEntire, but its also an insult to country fans to not include actual country music on the list. There is the requisite Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson, Dolly, Hank Williams-artists who everyone has heard of and already have mass crossover appeal in many genres.

I was psyched to see them include Miranda Lambert's Crazy Ex Girlfriend, which is AWESOME and I think she never gets enough credit. I don't know if its because she was discovered on Nashville Star or what, but I have loved her since she first came out and her second album is crazy good. I was just telling my friend and fellow country music lover Wendy how excited I was that her new single is getting played a little more around town lately. If you don't know what I am talking about, go download "Gunpowder and Lead" and see if you can stop yourself from rocking out. She's totally bad-ass.

But there is also an album by some guy I have never heard of....Robbie Fulks? Anyone? and there is also an Elvis Costello album on the list. Excuse me? Elvis Costello and no George Strait? or Garth Brooks?!?! Come on, you can't have country without those guys, and Garth had a ton of crossover success. But Country-Pop queen Shania Twain IS on the list, and while I know she is a country singer, if I was trying to encourage someone who did not like country to give us a whirl, I would never in a million years have this on my "essential" list. Guitar Town by Steve Earl IS on the list though, which is also one they got right.

At least they did not put Bon Jovi's "country" album on this list. I might have had to cancel my subscription.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20200473,00.html

Thoughts?

Jesus Christ is Not a Weapon

2008-05-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

End of the Week TV Highlights:

LOST
Best. Line. of the Night. on Lost went to Hurley's mom as he prepared to whack an intruder (actually a suprise birthday party crowd) with a statuette of the Savior.

Its going to kill me that we now have to wait two weeks for the season finale of Lost! Such a cruel thing to do! If you are not watching this show, AGAIN, Netflix it over the summer and get ready to have some fun. And hang in there through late season two/early season three. It all comes together.

The OFFICE
Season Finale-had a few WOW moments, particularly the anticipation that Jim and Pam both hoped to be engaged by the end of the going away party for Toby, only to have their moment stolen by Andy, who used Jim's set-up of fireworks to take the mic and publicly propose to Angela! GAAAAHHHH! And she said OK! And then got caught by Phyllis doing it in the office with Dwight!!! Oh the insanity. And can I just say I loved Jim trying to coach Michael on how to "court" the new HR girl in the office and take it slow....so cute.

TOP MODEL
So for the first time ever, a plus size-no, FULL FIGURED Tyra corrects all of us-model wins the show. Actually Tyra, she is real sized, much like you are these days, which is why methinks you are suddenly sensitive to the PLUS SIZE label. Whatever. Glad a "juicy booty" girl won (as Ms J called her) but still mad that she is considered abnormal in the modeling world when she has a better body than most women that I know! So-cheers and jeers on that one.

AMERICAN IDOL-No suprises here. We said ADIOS! to Syesha. Some guy named David is going to win!

The BACHELOR
So I only watched it a couple times, but I totally called the winner the first time I saw the show. Quite predictably, British Bachelor Matt (I think his name is Matt?) chose Shayne, daughter of Renegade star Lorenzo Lamas, to be his partner until the cold clammy hand of death parts them. Which is fine, but the bottle blonde ACTRESS got on my nerves by playing dumb ("do they have palm trees in London?") and the guy totally ate it all up. Like, seriously, he had women there with intelligence and careers and he sent them packing in favor of this? If that is what guys want, then clearly I now know why I am single! So frustrating to watch. Even though we all know if won't work out, maybe if the guy picked with his head instead of his you-know this show might have a better track record. Maybe not-it is a reality show.

And...the MOLE is coming back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My friend Jennifer and I used to LOVE this show when we were roomies. I totally wanted her to be on it-she would be an awesome Mole!

Oh-Oh-Oh-o-Oh!

2008-05-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Boys and girls, they day has finally arrived...New Kids on the Block have reunited and performed live for the first time in over a decade. *sigh* You can see every fabulous minute for yourself at:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20200747,00.html

Now, I have to give it to them-it appeared to be pouring rain in New York this morning but they went out there and did their thing! I'm not saying the new song, "Summertime" is going to win a Grammy or anything, but I was a little scared to hear it since my friend Wendy had told me it was awful. I did not think it was that bad, but I'm not rushing over to iTunes to buy it either. It reminds me of that old LFO tune "Summer Girls."

They had a few moments that I cringed...but also quite a few where I sat here in my office and squealed like a ten year-old girl. Yes, I still think that Joey Mac is cute, and when he busted out his trademark topless top hat to sing "Please Don't Go Girl" I had one of those moments.

Overall, not bad, I don't think they have anything to be embarrassed about here (really, the only person who needs to be embarassed is whoever wrote the craptastic lyrics from their big hits). I think they will have a decent reunion tour run, much like the Spice Girls, and then probably go back to their normal lives. And the good news is, no one will have to rush out and buy t-shirts and memorabilia because we can just recycle all the old stuff still in our basements!

Smart Cars and American Idol!

2008-05-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

OK, I wanted a lame excuse to put "smart" and "Americal Idol" in the same sentence, because let's face it, its not likely to happen any other way.

I saw a promo on tv this morning for the new "Smart Car" and I have to say I totally want one! They are so tiny and cute, awesome on gas, and can fit 7 big paper bags of Groceries in the trunk. Not that I ever have that many groceries at once, but maybe I have that many bags from a major mall shopping spree! Ok, I'm too poor for that too, but a girl can dream! I just like to have the option, ya know?

So onto my soon-to-be-over guilty pleasure. I have to say, Idol has been a let down lately. Probably since Mariah Carey week, its been a little stale. Last night could have been really good, but the judges and producers picked worse songs for the Idols than they typically choose for themselves! I find it REALLY hard to believe that the producers-who should have picked songs that could actually end up as hits for these kiddos-did the worst of the night in choosing good songs for the contestants. But more than anything, the judges are kind of driving me crazy-I feel like they should be COACHING more than critiquing-particularly since their opinions don't "count" as far as who stays and goes. If they are not going to try and help the kids improve, why don't we jsut get rid of them? I don't get how everyone dogs on Paula for not giving coherent critiques-as opposed to Randy-how are they supposed to get anything constructive out of "Dawg, that was molten hot lava! You rocked tonight!" At least Paula banters around real musical terms like "timbre" "lower/upper register" and "falsetto" which is more than we can say for Randy OR Simon on a typical night. I actually think that she knows what she is talking about more than anyone else! I think she is the most constructive and able to give advice that will be well-recieved because she does it in a pleasant way. I do think Simon tries to be helpful but the way it comes out is sometimes distracting from the fact that he is trying to help them improve(ex-when he told Carly "You need to have a word with whomoever is dressing you" people could not get past the fact that it sounded like he was telling her she looked bad, when actually he just meant that she should be looking more polished, like a STAR, and he was actually giving her advice to be more successful. I get him, but I get why a lot of people don't.

There is really not a lot to say about what they sang...mostly bad song choices, which was mostly not their fault since they only picked one out of 3. Which was another reason why the judges irritated me....they have no business knocking song choice at this point for the ones the Idols did not pick themselves. Sure, a good entertainer can make lemons out of lemonade (As David Cook did with the Roberta Flack song given to him by Simon and the AWFUL movie-theme "Don't Want to Miss a Thing" the producers picked) but with so little time to rearrange and "make it their own" its almost not fair to expect them to pull that off.

Cook faked us out because during his hometown visit he said he was going to do Collective Soul for his personal choice, but then ended up doing that Switchfoot song that was WAY overplayed on Nashville radio. And he was horribly off pitch almost the entire time. The good news was he did not disappoint on hooking up "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" with some awesome vocals and arrangement and even on the bad movie song-there was a whole violin/light show thing going on and he sang it really well.

Syesha's performances-especially her own pick of "Fever" was basically an open audition for Broadway. The judges criticized her all night for not showing what kind of recording artist she would be, but I thought it was a smart move. She probably WON'T be a successful recording artist, and I think the J-Hudson route is the best she can hope for at this point. I cannot even talk about the horrible songs they threw her under the bus with. So not fair.

And Archie-my little puppy dog-ready to face the world without Daddy's help for the first time. Again, song choices for him were SOOOO "gooey" to quote Simon-is that really the kind of music they want to have him put on an album? The only stations that play Billy Joel and Dan Fogelberg anymore are Easy Listening and Muzak elevator tunes. Actually, take that back-my Muzak at work is WAY more hip than anything Archie has sung during the entire show. For his own pick, he did attempt to join his age group for a moment, but AGAIN flubbed the lyrics which AGAIN went uncritiqued by the judges (WHHHAAATTTT?????), but at least they did address that while this is the TYPE of song he should start leaning toward (Paula) he was out of his league (Simon) and not really believable saying lines like "my boo" and "lil' mama" (Randy). And he wasn't-I mean, this kid is whiter than me! I have more street cred than Archie! I think he would have been better off doing, say, a Jonas Brothers tune or Jesse McCartney-would have appealed to a similar demographic, but been a little more white bread to fit his innocent puppy rep.

All in all, we are one step away from an expected Dueling David finale. Archie needs to lay off the old fogey sap and find a more youthful brand of cheese to force feed us, while Cookie needs to go back to rearranging pop into emo-rock or at least singer/songwriter. I saw this video online last week, and found it again on YouTube. I hope this is one of the songs he sings next week-it's a mellow, acoustic version of the Foo Fighters song "My Hero" and it's REALLY good! I like it better than the original.....and that is what we have come to love about DC. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coXK-sA4MBE&feature=related

This is HARD!

2008-05-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

If you are like me and should be working or doing something generally constructive, but don't want to, please see the following as a way to kill time and mostly frustrate yourself:

http://www.yetanotherdot.com/asp/80s.html

http://www.yetanotherdot.com/asp/90s.html

In case you are too lazy to just click and take my word for it, they are song lyric fill in the blank quizzes from the 80's and 90s. I did twice as good on the 80's one-what does that say about my musical tastes? Don't answer that.

Mazel Tov...and other Monday Musings

2008-05-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

I was trying to wait until the 2 week mark to make sure it was going to stick, but what the heck-I'm a romantic, and I am so sure these two are gonna make it at least six weeks so I will go ahead and Congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Nick Cannon on their recent nuptials (there was also the chance that if I waited any longer I might miss my chance all together). Sure, its a little weird that he is my age and she is pushing 40, but age is only a number, right? Can't wait to see the diamond-and Gucci covered babies they are sure to make.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20198292,00.html

Also...congrats to Jen Aniston, who is also gunning for a man half, I mean, 3/4, her age. I am having a hard time adjusting to seeing Jen macking on John "the Player" Mayer (have to give props to Page Six for that one). I mean, the guy has dated Jessica Simpson, so he is definitely dating up this time around, but other than the ego boost of dating a younger man I am not sure what is in it for her. But, they seem to be serious, at least by Hollywood Standards, so best of luck to them. Can't see them making babies or anything, but what do I know? Could be true lust.
http://popsugar.com/1620744

Jenna Bush got married in Texas this weekend. She's always been my favorite Bush. I love how she used to stick out her tongue at the paparazzi and send her Secret Service on a wild goose chase so she could go underage drink at the bars. And now, she's getting hitched in a small, intimate ceremony with just 14 bridesmaids on her family's ranch rather than a White House circus. I'm sure the Pres is less than pleased she wanted a private thing and he could not exploit the big day for approval ratings, but good for her.....it is her day after all. And clearly, she has a mind of her own. All kidding aside, it looked like a lovely wedding and I love that she did look natural and that it looked low-key. Pics in the link below. I'm only pissed that they won't show me the 14 bridesmaids dresses. That's the best part!
http://abcnews.go.com/US/Springtime/popup?id=4832462

Ok so clearly this is major news because even my mother heard it. Archie's stage dad has been banned from production at American Idol. He can still sit in the audience, but is no longer allowed to be a part of the backstage shenanigans. Of course, Archie lovers are furious at this portrayal of Jeff Archuleta as an evil stage dad, but I say where there is smoke, there is fire. Word on the street is that he insisted that Archie pimp out his version of Ben E. King's Stand By Me with a line from Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girls, which samples Stand By Me. Idol did not get legal clearance to use Kingston's lyrics, and when Archie sang it the way Daddy told him to it apparently cost lots of $$$ and caused a big legal mess. This is all fine, but I am way more concerned with the fact that Archie will crumble without Daddy coaching him. I mean, anytime they ask the kid an off-the cuff question, he can't answer coherently-like it he has not rehearsed it, he's not sure what he's allowed to say. Its like kids that are 5-6 years old and look at their parents when anyone asks them a question. But this one is 17. Jordin Sparks was 17 last year too, and she could answer a simple question. I'm just not sure he is ready for this yet, no matter how good a voice he has. I've heard they are considering lowering the age to participate in Idol and I think they need to do the opposite-raise it to 18, and they won't have to worry about parents being able to interfere.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-05-11-archuleta-dad-ban_N.htm

Finally....LOST! Oh, it's so good. If you don't watch go to your Netflix queue and start catching up over the summer. Last week was pretty awesome-Is Claire Dead? Drugged? What do you mean they have to move the island? Where to? Or should we say how...because I am betting they move the island THROUGH TIME and not geographically. Was Ben a poor man's Locke? Has Locke now arrived to claim what should have been his? What is the deal with this Island?

And how is Sayid going to get Jack, Kate, Sun, Jin, and HURLEY on that little blow up raft he is driving in to save everyone on? These last 2 episodes I am expecting nothing short of amazing. For a little spoiler info from the show's producers, see the link below (they don't give up a whole lot-don't worry).
http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=30ea40d8-c950-4ae6-af8e-3c7cd60d6384

Sick Days and Work Days

2008-05-08T07:31:00.001-07:00

So I took 3 sick days last week as my sinuses have been attacked by all the pollen in the air right now. Feeling much better now but still draining like crazy-seriously, where does all of the snot COME from? I am sure my office mate LOVES hearing me blow every 15 minutes. Gross. Not to mention all the drainage has been giving me crazy awful heatrburn. *sigh*

So, I've been trying to catch up at work AND prepare to move offices. AND keep up with all my reality TV addictions. Its a tough life.

So last night Jason Castro got the boot on IDOL, and deservedly so-he was the worst of the night, and despite the combo of his pretty fave and spacey charm (see: That 70's Show's Michael Kelso) being the least polished/experienced performer left worked to his disadvantage. He looked quite relieved and happy to be the one going, and I think he knew that making it this far was a pretty big deal considering he does not fit any previous Idol mold. I did not think he was as dreadful as the judges made it out to be-and forgetting the words, well, Brooke did it and Archie has done it THREE TIMES and its not the WORST crime. I mean, I've been to a lot of concerts and seen plenty of artists forget their own words! But he was the most underwhelming performer of the night so the little train that could Syesha keeps chugging along through the Bottom 2/3 right into the Top 3. David v. David in the finale here we come!

Next week is three song night-contestant choice, producer's choice, and judges choice. I wish they would do less songs and be able to do one or two full length choices. It really distracted me last week when after a minute and a half the performances abruptly ended, mostly when they were just starting to go somewhere. I mean let's face it, real songs are not that short, and I might like a lot of people if I only have to listen to them for 90 seconds. But no one asked me.

I was also excited to see Fatima continue on to the top 3 in America's Next Top Model! Wheeee for the Somali girl!

Tonight is LOST night and the Office! I have to confess Grey's Anatomy has lost some luster for me, although I hear its going to be getting good so I am going to have to catch up online. But the Office has been AWESOME so that is my must see TV along with LOST for the evening. I can't wait to see how they get off the island.....and why some people are left behind. Anyone got any good theories????

Diamond Night a Little Rough

2008-04-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

So, we are down to the final five on my guilty pleasure, American Idol. This week's theme/guest mentor, Neil Diamond, proved to be pretty dull. In fact, most of it bored me so much I don't even want to talk about it. Highlights: David Cook's 2nd song, All I Need is You (or something like that-if its not Sweet Caroline I don't know much Neil Diamond), and Brooke White's I Am, I Said which got her back on the right track after weeks of bad song choices and barely hanging on performances. Lowlights: Brooke White, who had the bad sense to choose the Monkees version of "I'm a Believer" probably the most well known song choice of the night, since its been covered in virtually every generation. It was so icky. And as much as I like him, Jason Castro's first song was OK but the second, September Morn, was another case of him having no connection to the song and I agreed with the judges that he has lost "who he is" the past couple of weeks and sadly, that is his moneymaker since his vocals are not as strong as some of the others.

I was mad at Archie for doing Sweet Caroline, because I LOVE that song and he was just so bland doing it. I was more upset with Randy for calling it da bomb because clearly he got paid to say that. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special either.

So overall I was disappointed. I think Brooke will go home because a) even though Jason probably deserves to, the ladies love him; and b) even though Brooke is more interesting than Syesha, Syesha is not a bad singer and manages to squeak by each week; and c) Brooke had her best night in several weeks (ignoring the Monkees fiasco) and people always leave when you think they are safe. That's what gets you the ratings! And lets face it-we all know neither of the Davids are going ANYWHERE.

So, I am way more interested in next week at this point. I hear they are doing Songs that influenced Rock, via the Top 500 list from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A lot of these songs have already been done this year by the Top 12 in other theme nights.

http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs/

Early song choice predictions-just by scanning the list-
Archie-My Girl-DUH! But really, I think anything in the genre of Everly Brothers, Drifters, Four Tops, etc is right up Archie's cheese-paved alley and he has gone more upbeat in the past couple weeks.

Cook-Who the heck knows? I think he could sing the phone book at this point and still make Top 2. I would like to see a modernized version of Cream's Sunshine of Your Love and a rock version of Ray Charles I Got a Woman. Of course, he could also take this opportunity to make me love him forever and do Johnny Cash. He is the only one who should attempt this. Hear that, Archie and Castro? You are not cool enough for JC.

Syesha-this will be her chance to pull out some Diana Ross/Supremes and Aretha Franklin but I would love to see her do the Crystals He's a Rebel or Da Doo Ron Ron just because I love those songs! I like her better when she is not overdoing a ballad anyway.

Brooke-if she survives, there is not a lot on this list that fits her that has not already been done so maybe Peter, Paul, and Mary If I had a Hammer? I bet she is now sad that she already did Carole King's You Got a Friend!!!! I could also see her trying Patsy Cline's I Fall to Pieces (maybe that's just me wishing for the irony of it all) but I don't think she has the pipes to do Patsy.

Jason-also tough-not a lot here that fits him and the judges clearly warned him that if he is back, he needs to get back to what he does best. Maybe the Allman Brothers Ramblin Man? Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On? There are Beach Boys songs on the list, but I think that is too obvious.

I must mention that there are also several Bob Dylan songs but I kind of hope that no one takes those on. I also hope Archie stays away from the Jackson 5 choices. And Stevie Wonder, since they always act like he is the 2nd coming of Stevie.

Anyway, if you care, check out the list and tell me what you think!

Oh My, Oh Miley....

2008-04-28T11:26:00.001-07:00

So unless you live under a rock, you are familiar with the mini-mogul that is Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus. She's 15, cute as a button, little girls love her. And for a while there, she had a pretty spotless repuation as Disney's little darling. However, in the last year or so, particularly the last few months when Britney has actually started flying under the radar, the paparazzi and entertainment media in general have taken up following Miley and her family around, trying to find the "dirt" that for awhile did not seem to exist. Might we actually have a good role model on our hands, an anti-Britney-Lindsay-Olsen Twins?

But lately some cracks have started to show. Various "scandalous" photos began cropping up on the internet-Miley in a bikini (because no one else wears those), having a sleepover with girlfriends (again, totally un-teenager-like activity), and more recently, showing us a peek of her green bra and laying up against a boy (they are both FULLY clothed). I do feel sorry for her, because she's 15, and when I was 15 I took stupid pictures with my friends (although, we used FILM back then and you did not really take photos that were too crazy because you know someone had to look at them at the photo lab-aaahhhh, the digital age has made us so much more free). I have defended Miley for awhile now, because my friend and I did randomly meet her in the mall one day and I was sooo impressed by how down to earth she was, how NORMAL she seemed for a 14 year old gazillionare, and by how well she carried herself as hysterical little girls followed her around. She was nice to everyone, from the sales associates to the moms and girls that came up to her asking for autographs or just to say hi as a fan. We did not approach her, she approached us to comment on my friends' bag; she was covered up, had on little makeup, and just seemed like such an average teenage girl. No way will this girl end up like Britney, I thought. She's just too well behaved. Not to mention, her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, has seen all sides of fame-the good, the bad, the mistakes, the comeback...surely they will be smart about this and keep her head on straight.

Cut to April 28, 2008. One of the leadoff stories on Good Morning America this morning as I am getting ready to leave the house-Miley Cyrus poses topless for "Vanity Fair" magazine. I heard that sound of the screeching record in my head. What? So naturally I run out of the bathroom to see what the heck is going on. Sure enough, my little Miley, our hometown Tennessee girl, so well behaved, is shown in a photo covered by a blanket, bare back showing, "smiling with her eyes" for all of you Top Model fans, into Annie Leibovitz's camera.

Miley pleads innocent, saying she was manipulated and tricked and is now embarrassed. "Vanity Fair" says that Miley and her parents approved of all the shots and thought they were "artistic."

I don't care how artistic they are-she is 15. And not almost 16. Or 18. She's 15, 3 years from being able to legally consent to do that kind of photoshoot on her own, so clearly her parents had to approve this. Trust me, no magazine-or reputable photographer like A.L.-is going to go foward with a photo shoot with an underage girl without a parent's signature. There are plenty of laws about that kind of thing. Obviously, Billy Ray and/or his wife approved of Miley taking her top off for the cameras. And that is my main concern here. What were her parents THINKING? Who thinks it is ok for their 15 year old to pose topless-or insinuating that she is topless, as some have suggested that she might have something on under that sheet? Well then why didn't she pose in whatever she was wearing underneath? This is not a case of snapshots that may or may not be intended for public consumption as some of the other photos, nor was this for a private family photo session to be hung on the wall at home-this was for a major magazine, to be seen all over the world. I am so disappointed in the lack of good taste here-on Miley's part, her parent's part, the magazine's part, and the photographer as well.

Now, on one hand, if you forget that she is UNDERAGE, the photo is not that bad. The only skin you see is her back, she is not overly made up, and its very natural. But, everyone involved should have known better-she is only 15 and a role model for girls as young as 4 years old. I know plenty of actresses have posed for "artistic nudes" for magazines-an adult Britney for one, Jen Aniston, Demi Moore, the list goes on. They are old enough to decide for themselves what kind of pictures they want to take. But Miley's parents failed to protect her by making a bad decision on her behalf, which may very well end up costing the entire family a lot in the long run. Disney is sticking by her for now. And judging by the folks calling in to the radio this morning, a lot of parents are pulling the "Hannah Montana" brand from their home for good.

Miley, get it together. You could have said no to taking those pictures. So while most of the blame should be laid on your parents, who could have refused to consent, you also should have stood up for yourself, thought about all those little girls who follow you around at the mall, and thought better of it.

I'm all for second chances, so don't screw this one up. You might not get another one.

Film Festival Part 2-Politics and Religion

2008-04-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

The next film we saw is called "Join Us" about a cult in South Carolina and several of the families who left the cult and their struggle to rehabilitate themselves after years of psychological torment, physical abuse, and financial abuse. What is so scary about stories like these is that we are all at risk for this type of thing. Most of us think that we would never get involved with anything crazy like that, but these people thought the same thing. They got invited to a new church-and, thinking that church is harmless, started to attend. Religion can be such a personal and passionate belief that people often don't realize when it starts to become extreme. Add mind control, along with every aspect of your life being controlled by the church-where you live, where you work, how you spend your money, how you raise your children-and you are no longer able to make any decisions on your own. It always seems to affect the women more deeply than the men-maybe it is just that women are more likely to open up about their feelings and experiences-but the women in this film were emotionally wrecked. Their guilt over the things they allowed to happen to their children drove most of them to suicidal thoughts. The children told of the disturbing ways that they were punished by the pastor when they were "rebellious."

I think what may have struck me the most about the movie was a little montage at the end that took one or two liners from various Pastors and church leaders about God or religion or something-all things that sounded totally crazy when just listened to as one line when you have no idea what the sermon may have been about. But, it makes you realize that most religious groups have the potential for crossing what is a very thin line between faith and extremism. It also made me think of the current "scandal" about Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and his "inflammatory" remarks from the pulpit. Since this story began, I have been in some ways defending him-not necessarily his exact remarks, but his freedom to speech as well as the fact that the context of most of these comments being pulled out and splashed across the media is not being presented as well. (I also think that there are some African-American church culture issues here that not everyone has taken into consideration.) So, they do seem extreme-but maybe some of the things my Pastor or yours has said during a passionate sermon would also seem extreme if you took out one line. But rather than supporting a man he obviously respected enough to attend church with for more than 20 years, Obama threw him under the bus in order to distance himself from what he knew would be bad PR. This disappointed me-because I don't expect him to agree with everything his Pastor says just as I certainly don't agree with everything my Pastor says. Unlike the families that are in these cults-I can think for myself make my own decisions. In my opinion, Obama's denouncement of Rev. Wright only seemed to make it look like he AGREES with those who are trying to say that Wright leads a cult-like congregation. I would have much rather Obama said that while he may not agree with all his Pastor's ideas, but that our country gives him the right to say what he thinks, that people attend this church voluntarily, and that many of the comments being reported may be taken out of context. I mean, he kept going to church there for years, so you know he was never that offended by anything the guy said! So come on-now all of the sudden we are supposed to believe that you were disturbed by his remarks? No...because either culturally or in the context of the day's lessons, the remarks either made more sense OR Obama felt he could disagree with the Pastor and the issue was not enough of a moral conflict to leave the church over. For example-one of Wright's comments was actually him quoting Ronald Reagan! Was he quoting him in agreement or quoting him to disagree? No one seems to want to take the time to find out. This is what is dangerous-whether in religion, politics, culture, etc.....people closing their minds to an idea or a person without first trying to understand what the big picture is.

So....Whether you agree or disagree with me on all of the political stuff, "Join Us" was a thought-provoking movie and quite relevant with current political stories and all of the FLDS/Texas child abuse stories in the news.

You can read all about the film, cults, mind control, and the families featured at:

http://www.joinusthemovie.com/all.php

Film Festival Part 1

2008-04-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

This past week was the Nashville Film Festival. I got to see a couple of good documentaries, which I will tell you about in 2 parts. The first one we saw was "Sons of Lwala" about two college students from Kenya who were sent to America to go to college from their little village of Lwala. The community's residents all sold property to raise money for the brothers, Fred and Milton Ocheing, to come to Dartmouth for college. After college, they both came to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt Medical School. They had a dream to build a medical clinic in their village, and after their father's death they were determined to see it through in his memory. The movie chronicles their journey as they try to raise the funds to build, supply, and staff the clinic. It really is amazing what communities can do together-and the people of Lwala get that in way you don't see a lot here in America. The brothers are so charming ans sweet, it's no wonder that as they traveled to churches, colleges, sporting events, etc. to promote their vision and raise money that people were fascinated by their story and their determination not to forget about where they came from. You can read more about them and their inspiring stories at

www.sonsoflwala.com and www.lwalacommunityalliance.org/

Adios Carly!

2008-04-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Carly was eliminated from American Idol-probably after one of her better performances and good comments from the judges. Brooke and Jason, the worst of the night, both escaped being in the bottom 2. But, I can't say I was shocked-the only thing that could shock me would be either of the Davids getting eliminated. So what went wrong for Carly? She probably was not going to win but she was a better singer than some of the others and had loads more personality than Syesha, who was also in the bottom 2.

My theory is two-part-first, I really think that all three of the boys left have large enough fan bases to save them no matter what they do. I think the girls all had pretty equal fan bases, so their votes were more split. Secondly, when a contestant does poorly, they rarely end up in the bottom because it rallies their fan base to vote and ensure their safety. Therefore, contestants who do well and may not have the largest fan base at this point (in my opinion, any of the girls) are in danger of elimination.

Anyone agree/disagree with my theory?

Idol Extra...

2008-04-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

So apparently Brooke was not the only one to flub lyrics-she was the only one who called attention to herself as she did it! I did not notice but Archie apparently screwed up the 2nd verse of "Think of Me" and Carly the first chorus of "JCS" but I don't know the songs well enough to notice-and probably most others won't either-so I guess that is good for them!

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20194264,00.html

Idol Thoughts

2008-04-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, of the three people that may actually read this blog, I am thinking maybe one of you watches American Idol, so for the rest, I am sorry. I am going to try and write about the two documentaries I watched but I wanted to put in something fun before I go serious. Its my blog...I can do what I want.

So, on to Idol! I had to tape it-which is really better because then I can fast-forward through Ryan Seacrest-it was Andrew Lloyd Webber night. I figured most of the remaining 6 would be OK, I was worried about Jason and Brooke, who are more of the singer/songwriter style, and my worries were totally justified. Here's what went down-

Syesha-She did some song about Rock and Roll that I had never heard. I liked that it was uptempo, I have only heard her do ballads and I was so sure she would do Memory from Cats or something from Phantom-so it was out of her box, and she did it well, I just still am not that interested in her. She's just does not have that star quality to me, even though she has a lovely voice and a pretty face. I could totally see her on Broadway though.

Jason-Oh no. JASON is doing Memory? I'm scared. Even more scared when he admits he knows no showtunes, and he had no idea that the song was sung by a Diva-Cat. Not only is the song out of his league, but if he can't connect to the song, it will be Mee-chelle my Bell all over again-and it was worse!!! I am a fan of his-he's totally cute and even when his vocals are not the best in the bunch, his emotional connection to the song usually saves him. I have a feeling he has the fan base to get him through, but he better be glad that he was only the 2nd-worst of the night.

Archie-I DO NOT get the judges over-praise of him. He sang "Think of Me" from Phantom. He's cute as a puppy, has a nice voice, and I know that they probably think they can mold him because he is young a la Jordin Sparks last year-but Randy said he was the one to beat after THAT performance? Simon, the voice of reason, put it in perspective-he's good, he's not going anywhere, but that was not stellar. For me, I did think it was the most "commercial" I have heard him sound-so maybe there is hope.

Brooke-OH BROOKE-My friend Wendy texted me and said it was a trainwreck-when she told me she sang "You Must Love Me" from Evita I knew it was BAD before i saw it. First of all, WRONG SONG. This was the song ALW wrote for Madonna in the movie version. Brooke just can't seem to handle the pressure. She sang the first line, forgot the words, and asked to start over. Which might have been OK-she has done this once before and delivered a good performance-but this time, her nerves were just shot and she warbled through looking like she might break down and run off the stage at any moment. On the radio this morning the DJ compared her to a fawn in the woods that needs to be taken care of, if she's a fawn, I think she is dying and we need to put her out of her misery! I like her but now its just painful-this is the 2nd or third week her nerves have been CLEARLY visible and affected her singing. I don't think she can handle it anymore.

Carly-After ALW told her that her first song choice, "All I Ask of You" from Phantom (one of my faves) was not right for her-he told her to try her 2nd choice-"Jesus Christ Superstar" and he was SO right. She does really well with uptempo songs and after weeks of ballads she came alive. Yay! I do like her and I think that holding up the t-shirt that said "Simon Likes Me (This Week) will get her personality points with those that vote!

David C-In the "Pimp Spot" as the last spot of the night is called-So my closet dream all week was that David C would sing Phantom's "Music of the Night" and just sing it-no crazy arrangements-because he can sing, but I think that is often overlooked because his musical arrangements are so unique. So lo and behold, my dreams come true! Apparently he has a background in musical theater (who knew?) and he just came out and belted it and it was lovely and mysterious and sexy. I was a little creeped out during the rehearsals when ALW asked David to sing it to him and pretend that ALW was a 17-year old chorus girl-WHAT??? But it was comical when DC said, "Hey Man, I'm 25...." The other thing-was David's hair dyed darker this week or was it just my TV?

So....I am hoping Brooke goes home for her mental stability. At this point, anything could happen though, and I am only confident that both Davids-Archie and Cookie-are moving on. Guess we will find out tonight!

Before and After

2008-04-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER