3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

No, these aren't lottery numbers. They're the first draft of a list of American Idol call-in numbers for, in order of appearance and by call-in number:

3 Elliott Yamin
4 Mandisa
7 Lisa Tucker
9 Katharine McPhee
10 Taylor Hicks
11 Paris Bennett
12 Chris Daughtry

This is when it gets more challenging. For the last three weeks, it was relatively easy. I'd just vote once for those people I didn't want to get voted off. In effect, voting against the ones I like least by voting for everyone except them. I could still do that, now that the Final 12 is here, but I feel like I should be more particular. That's why this first list is a draft: I'm trying to narrow it down to my favorite three, and then I'll cast votes. But I only have a little time.

First, let us all give props to the man behind tonight's theme -- Mr. Stevie Wonder. Love love love Stevie. Been a big fan for many years. My iPod is disproportionately Stevie-heavy, so I hear lots of him and that's just fine with me. At the beginning of the show, I predicted that the contestants would either do really well or not at all. I think I was close to the mark. Aren't I proud of myself?

Now, let's talk about who's not on my list. Ace "Yummy" Young tried hard but gave a weak, overly-rehearsed-looking rendition of "Do I Do." Bucky Covington gave, what I think was the best performance we've seen yet of everything they've shown him do this season. That said and despite his stylist-coerced new look, he is just not A.I. material. Kellie Pickler is really just as cute as a button, and her delivery tonight was even and clean but not noteworthy in the least. Kevin Covais warbled out "Part-Time Lover," a stunningly bad song for him. He continues to be stiff as a collar in a bath tub full of bleach, and cute banter and oh-so-pinchable cheeks aside, he has got to go. Melissa McGhee shows a glimmer of talent and a potentially edgy-in-a-cool-way voice every time she sings, but she hasn't yet hit it home.

Next step, let's talk about my choices. I think Elliott is cool. I may be overly influenced by his "Moody's Mood For Love," as his performance tonight wasn't stellar. Still he did a reasonably good job, and I'd like to see him at least a little longer in this competition. I think Mandisa is a natural talent. Her performance had eh spots and brilliant spots. There needs to be more of that brilliant. It was a tough call for me to put her on this list in the first place, judging solely by tonight's performances. That may make her an easy first elimination.

Lisa Tucker was the first person tonight, in my opinion, who really did the job. She combined her great voice with command of the song and obvious ability to perform. A strong contender. Katharine McPhee was nearly flawless. The first performance of the evening that gave me pause.

An aside. There are a couple tell-tale signs that indicate to me that any concerted attempt at the cognitive process to make a determination is pointless. The truly compelling performances cause one of three things to happen to me.

A. Chills, starting at my neck and most frequently extending across my back and down my arms. Room temperature has nothing to do with this.

B. Lump in throat, almost immediately followed by eyes welling up. Really good performances require tissues.

C. Tapping foot, dancing in chair, smiling uncontrollably. One might contend that the back-up band could be good enough to produce at least 2/3 of this effect, but it's the singer that pulls it all together.

Back to the examination of criteria.

Taylor Hicks. See Point C above. Tremendous. I've said it before, I'm not afraid to say it again, I'm just uplifted and happy watching him perform. For two and a half minutes, he makes my life better. How's that for a grand statement? Paris Bennett is another born performer. She did a tremendous job tonight, infusing her own style while being true to Stevie's song. Her sideways head slide thing got a little intense occasionally, but overall, she's a genuine talent.

Chris Daughtry. No, I don't think I'm jumping on the judges' bandwagon by saying he's great. Though I do agree with Simon's comment that he was able to put his own unique stamp on a song that already had two very distinct personalities. The only negative is that he had no idea "Higher Ground" was a Stevie Wonder song. OK, I know they're all young, but come on people. Stevie Wonder. Alas, I digress.

So which of the songs performed tonight has stuck in my head since the end of the show? "Livin' in the City" (performed by Taylor).

There is my commentary. I have 20 minutes to narrow this down to three votes so I can actually get them in. Here are my choices.

The Obvious: #10 Taylor Hicks
The Contender: #3 Elliott Yamin
The Dark Horse: #9 Katharine McPhee

Wow, I left Chris off the list. Why? A combination of reasons, I think. I'm rooting for the one that makes me happy and a couple potential-filled underdogs. Chris will be very safe with his votes from 20 million other viewers.

Now, if I had to guess who of the remaining nine will be voted off on tomorrow night's show, I'd say Kevin, Bucky, and Melissa are dangerously close. I don't know if Melissa has enough traction with the audience to hold on another week, unlike Kevin who probably will hold on longer than he should (and already has). Bucky's performance tonight might sway enough people to keep him on. It's a tough call.

Only time (about 21 hours) will tell.

romancing the stone

A few days ago, I held the rock in my hand. It's beautiful. Polished. Warm. Hefty -- figuratively, literally, and fiscally. Alas, it is an expensive stone (what is a 'stone' but a 'rock' with a steep price tag).

Still, whenever I stop focusing on the window long enough to have some actual brain activity, it is of this stone I'm thinking. Its magical properties induce reverie. The inner workings of my daydreams are like an MGM Technicolor musical starring Gene Kelly and Ginger Rogers (I know this was not a typical pairing, but it's my daydream and I want Gene and Ginger together, OK?).

Ah, stone, I'm working on it. I'll get you soon enough.

right, right, right, wrong

And now for something completely devoid of symbolism and generally irrelevant to life in general. American Idol! Down to the Final 12 tonight. Four had to be eliminated to create this group. Ayla Brown -- good decision, besides she'll probably be President some day. Kinnik Sky -- agreed she didn't quite cut it. Will Makar -- definitely had to go (if for no other reason that he looked creepily like Peter Brady). But Gedeon McKinney? What were you thinking, America?

This young man has talent, first and foremost. But more than that, he has passion for music, creativity, artistry, confidence, and stage presence. He wasn't perfect: the first note of last night's performance was not good. But he quickly redeemed himself and went on to an otherwise wonderful rendition of a well-chosen song. He has obvious ability, and at 17, lots of time to develop it.

As much as I can appreciate people's near-maternal instinct about Kevin Covais (whose female cohorts all rush to pinch his cheeks and dubbed him "Chicken Little" because of his physical resemblance to the cartoon), he is simply too green and too stiff to be a pop performer. His voice is nice, but interpretations lack any emotion whatsoever. He shakes and freezes and generally looks like he'd rather be hanging on the door of the bully's gym locker than on stage trying to become a famous singer.

Bucky's more subdued interest in singing and laid back attitude seem well suited to him, but he often looks intimidated and downright uncomfortable on stage. He's also been inconsistent through the whole process. Last night was probably the best of his performances, and the presence of an identical twin named Rocky upped the likeability ante. But he, too, lacks the spark that transforms a singer into a star.

I thought sure Kevin or Bucky would join Will on the way out. Actually, I thought Will might be left to compete while Kevin and Bucky were booted. Gedeon deserved another opportunity to prove his musical meddle. Oh well. What do I know?

Taylor Hicks just makes me happy. And man, he picks songs that work exactly for him. Mandisa is simply a force to be reckoned with. Makings of the next Aretha Franklin. Elliott Yamin has a surprising voice and the talent to utilize it well (his version of "Moody's Mood for Love" ranks as one of my favorite Idol performances, up there with Fantasia's "Summertime"). In the words of my friend, Rina, Ace Young is yummy (oh and yeah, he can really sing... it was brave to tackle "Butterflies" for a couple divergent reasons, but he transcended them both). Paris Bennett and Lisa Tucker definitely deserve to be watched. Each has had moments of crystalline brilliance. Chris Daughtry has 'arena rock god' written all over him. It almost feels like he just needed to get the right person's ear (Clive Davis, are you listening?). He doesn't need American Idol. Katharine McPhee's version of "Think" was smokin'.

Looks like a good competition this year. It would have been slightly more interesting with Gedeon in it, but such is life. Now, it's time for bed.

enough

Heavy-handed symbolism should be used in small doses, reserved for epic poetry and movies with messages. But I just can't stop talking about my window. It's dirty. It's in my way. I just have to break it. It's not easy, deciding whether or when to break it. It's downright hard. Still, a decision has to be made.

Interesting thing is that I seem to have proximity to a rock. An effective rock. The kind that would do a good job breaking the window thoroughly and with minimal shattering. It's now a matter of picking it up and heaving it.

All these vague, thinly-veiled-if-you-get-them or what-the-hell-is-she-talking-about-if-you-don't references will end eventually. Either I'll break the damnable window or I'll learn to accept it. Details will or won't follow.

68.5 + 4.5

This number means something, but I'm not going to say what. How intriguing. How mysterious. How annoying!

Yesterday was a frighteningly lazy day. I didn't shower (I know, TMI). I did no work of any sort, including housework. I napped three times. I didn't make any meals. I did leave the house twice -- once to get breakfast and once to get lunch. But I was in my loungewear when I did. By the way, "loungewear" = pajamas (I know, TMI again). At least I wore a trenchcoat and real shoes (though I was tempted to drive in my slippers), and I never left the car. I didn't eat dinner at all. I read a magazine, perused a few blogs and news sites, watched a movie I'd never seen before, and zipped through and deleted a bunch of TiVo'd "Clean Sweep" episodes. TiVo rocks. I pet lots of cats. No, that's not right. I pet four cats lots of times. Did I mention that I napped three times?

That about sums up the day. Pathetic, isn't it? Well, now it's time to pay the piper. Today, I tackle housework. Ted has generously offered to tackle it, too. Between the two of us, we should make some great progress. Personally, I'm thrilled that we figured out how to program the garage door opener in his car. Celebrate the little victories.

So, time to stop blogging about silly and annoying things and go get some more stuff done.

more cuteness

They've done it again. This is wonderful.


I'm not going to work today. That may sound like an obvious statement for a Saturday, but I've worked so many Saturdays that six-day work weeks are almost standard for me. I will be working tomorrow (too much to do not to go in at all this weekend), but for now, I'm chillin' with my own kitties (who never perform feats like the one above) and building up the motivation to do some Spring cleaning. Maybe I'll blog again later.

cute in a sometimes ugly world

Had a rough day? Life stressing you? Hate listening to all that bad news? Feel like pulling your hair out? I have the perfect remedy! It doesn't cost any money and the only side effect will be the uncontrollable urge to make cooing noises.

What is this miracle cure for Grumpyitis? Cute Overload! No seriously. It's a blog dedicated to showcasing amazingly cute pictures, usually of small and cuddly animals. Tell me that this picture doesn't make you smile.


I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! This is adorable!

ugh

I guess there were still some envelopes that needed to be addressed. Oops. Plus, because we've always printed the envelopes in the past, we are not in possession of return address labels. And so, that needed to be written onto each envelope. Ted did all that envelope work.

I wrote the messages. He stamped and sealed envelopes. Excepting a half hour break to eat dinner and the occasional pause to concentrate on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition or Olympic snowboarding, it took the two of us four and a half hours today alone just to finish these letters.

Apologies to future recipients of our next holiday newsletter, but we're reverting to using a printer.

By the way, the last report we heard, our town received 23" of snow. Shouldn't I be shoveling?

Good night.

the perfect excuse

I finished our Christmas newsletter before Christmas. Really, I did. It was actually about a week before Christmas, and I had all the copies printed, too. For some reason, I decided to write the envelopes insteading printing them. That turned out to be a bad idea: it took many, many hours and cramped my hand in a way it hasn't been cramped since college blue books.

Despite the timely preparation, the letters did not get mailed. There are a few additional steps I didn't complete (writing personal notes on each, folding, stuffing, and stamping), and so the components remain dormant on my desk. Well, today -- for the first time in a very long time -- I'm not occupied by work or social obligations on a weekend day. While that in itself may be reason to finish this project at long last, the real deciding factor is that we can't leave the house. For we are snowed in. The blizzard hit yesterday afternoon around 3:00pm, and it's still going strong nearly 24 hours later. We'reright about at the point where any portion of our car is visible. To the unknowing eye, it could just be any old snowbank.

It's quite pretty. Thick and fluffy. I'm glad we don't have to shovel. Time to get to work on those Valentine newsletters.

our grapes are not sour

I admit it. I've never really liked football all that much. It wasn't until Ted came into my life that I learned to have a greater appreciation of the sport, and then when our friends, Sam and Donna, came into our lives that I started watching it with any frequency. Even then, when we gathered for NFL Sunday Ticket (the only way East coast Seahawks fans can watch their games), I did more socializing than analyzing. Still, through mere osmosis (in combination with my husband's gentle-yet-insistent teachings), the important bits sank in.

That said, the SuperBowl was frustrating. It may be trite that the losing team's fans complain about the referees, but in this case, the officiating was genuinely bad. The Seahawks have said that they know what their mistakes were, and that they could have played better. They've been good sports about it, but they would be remiss not to acknowledge the influence of officiating. What makes us all feel better (how presumptuous of me to speak on behalf of the Seahawks and the horde of people who are collectively the 12th Man) is that we of the blue and green are not the only ones crying foul. The commentators during the game even mentioned it. And the post-game press has covered it thoroughly.

The Seahawks were robbed of a fair chance to win the SuperBowl.

So we move on. I, for one, think their season was great, and first trip to the SuperBowl well-deserved. But for now, we enjoy life for a while (and maybe some curling), and come fall, we'll be in prep mode for Miami.

non sequitur

Your Creature is ... THE CHICKEN! And not just chili-rubbed! Yes, the chicken is a misunderstood beast by most, but Colin's impression of them shows he understands them quite well - as apparently you do too! Just remember in times of trouble, as Colin himself found out - sometimes "only your chicken impression can save us now!"

What Colin Creature best represents you?
Brought to you by Dino Inside @ Colinmochrie.com
Click here to find your own Colin creature!

follow the bouncing ball

Everyone! Sing along!

I had to break the window
It just had to be.
Better that I break the window
Than him, or her, or me.

I had to break the window
It just had to be (it was in my way).
Better that I break the window
Than forget what I had to say
Or miss what I should see...