Whine & Cheese

Music, Music, Music

Pull up a chair... take a deep breath... and get yourself a beverage... it is yet another mega-entry!   As mentioned earlier today, Scott "tagged" me with the music challenge and the timing was good... today, my mindset is totally against doing anything truly productive.  Per usual, this entry is long-winded & out of hand... thanks, in advance, for your patience and endurance!

1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
Well, this is not terribly accurate.   I just switched to a new computer and have not moved my entire "collection" over.  This is my 3rd computer since mp3s and other music files entered into our lives.  On computer #1, I had tons of music.  This was back in the day when music collecting did not have much of a conscience (wink, wink).  Computer #2 had some of that stuff + some of my own "ripped" music + the emergence of legally purchased files... and that brings us to computer #3... right at this moment, I have 220 songs - 14 1/2 hours of music - 827mb...

2. The last CD you bought was:
Same as Scott - U2's How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.  I don't buy a lot of CDs these days.  The reason?  I don't listen to them all that much.  I don't drive a car all that much, so no real need for it there... and even the household stereo/CD player is feeling archaic of late.  Fortunately, we put my office in the back bedroom of the house that faces the swimming pool... so when we are out there, I just put the stereo speakers by the window and get the music going.  But getting back to the question, U2 is one of the few artists that I would consider buying a full CD instead of just purchasing a track or two online.

3. What song did you listen to just before reading this message?
Well, I am going to amend that and make it the last song that I listened to before starting this entry.  Trying to determine the answer to question #1, I opened up Windows Media Player and accidently started Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."  And once you hear the opening notes, there is no good reason NOT to listen to the rest of it.  It will also fit the forthcoming theme for question #4... all things hopelessly (helplessly?) romantic... "Let's, let's stay together/Lovin' you whether, whether/Times are good or bad, happy or sad"

4. Name 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you and tell why they mean so much:
This questions seems to the toughest for most of us in this blog exercise... not coming up with them, but narrowing them down to just five. If you asked me last week or would ask me again next week, the list would probably be different ... but this is the "now."   I often thing of myself as cynical and sarcastic (snarky!), but deep down there is a softie inside. I come from a family that does not express emotion often or in a carefree manner... and unfortunately that continues to be a dominant gene.   So while I hope that my man knows how I feel about him, when I thought about this question it ended up being an unexpected sort of "love letter" in a way...(ok, I see that eye rolling!)

Elton John "Your Song" - Simply put I think this is one of the best pop songs ever.  While there is no replacement for Elton's rendition, I also loved Ewan McGregor's take on it in Moulin Rouge.  The lyrics are so simple but incredibly eloquent... and an unabashed expression of love...totally what I was just saying above:
"You can tell everybody this is your song/It may be quite simple but now that it's done/I hope you don't mind/I hope you don't mind that I put down in words/How wonderful life is while you're in the world." 

Gladys Knight & The Pips "Midnight Train To Georgia" - Another piece of pop perfection in my humble opinion. While this song was terribly politically correct in the time of the women's lib movement in the 70s, it is still one of the best love songs ever.  We were fortunate enough to see Gladys Knight in Vegas last year and it was one of the musical highlights of my life to have her perform this song literally just a few feet from me.  What better expression of selfless love is there? 
"I'll be with him/On that midnight train to Georgia/I'd rather live in his world/Than live without him in mine" ultimately building to the emotionally packed "I got to go I got to go I got to go" climax. You go Gladys!

Rent Soundtrack "I'll Cover You" - This one did not immediately pop into my mind, but I think it holds a special place for me.  It is from the Broadway musical Rent -- it is heard first in the first act as a fairly bubbly and light-hearted love song and then re-prised in the second act as a "rip your heart out" tear-jerker.  I could be wrong, but it is probably the first (and only?!) gay love song (initially, is a two-man duet).  Since this selection is a tad more obscure, here is a lengthier set of lyrics:
"Live in my house/I'll be your shelter/Just pay me back with one thousand kisses/Be my lover/And I'll cover you/Open your door - I'll be your tenant/Don't got much baggage/To lay at your feet/But sweet kisses I've got to spare/I'll be there - I'll cover you/I think they meant it/When they said you can't buy love/Now I know you can rent it/A new lease on you were, my love, on life"

[Ok, this officially ends the sappy portion of question #4. ]

Annie Lennox "Why" - Now this list could have been filled up totally by Annie Lennox songs.  As Todd mentioned in his take on this blogger-cise, we had the great fortune of seeing her in concert a few years back (row 3!) and she was just incredible.  One of the purest voices out there today (ever!).  Annie's lyrics are usually emotionally scalding and I don't think there is a better example of that than "Why" ...
"This is the book I never read/These are the words I never said/This is the path I'll never tread/These are the dreams I'll dream instead/This is the joy that's seldom spread/These are the tears.../The tears we shed/This is the fear/This is the dread/These are the contents of my head/And these are the years that we have spent/And this what they represent/And this is how I feel/Do you know how I feel?/'Cause I don't think you know how I feel/I don't think you know how I feel/I don't think you know how I feel/You don't know what I feel"  One word... Wow!

Bruce Springsteen "My City of Ruins" - Agreeing with Todd on this one. While this song was written well before the actual day, it has become an anthem of 9/11.  While I was physically far removed from the tragedy of that day, the emotions can still be pretty raw.  It is hard not to an emotional reaction to this song... when Bruce pleads "Come on rise up! Come on rise up!" it never fails to send a shiver down my spine (and not so stoically a tear in the eye).  A somber, but ultimately an uplifting and powerful tune.  Springsteen morphs into some kind of rock & rolll faith minister, I dare say the spirituality of this song compares favorably to that of any "traditional" gospel song you could throw my way. 

Beyond this top 5, I thought I'd share some other "time travel" musical memories.  Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" takes me back to my high school days and Molly Ringwald teenage movies (of course it was the main song from the John Hughes' classic The Breakfast Club).  The movie soundtrack of Grease was also an early childhood influence... and would turn into college-time karaoke with a guys vs. girls version of "Summer Nights" though readily admit to indulging in some "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "Look At Me I'm (rest in peace) Sandra Dee" as well.  Also, another sing-a-long would be Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light."  Finally, there was our dive-bar classic ... The Georgia Satellites "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" ... at the end of the night (and too many drinks later) we would always play that one on the jukebox.

5. Who are you going to tag next? (3 persons) and why?
Ok, this is where I am going to be a very bad boy... but I have my reasons.  Looking at my blogroll on the right, if my memory serves me correctly the vast majority of them have already done it!!    I am also a shy, so if I haven't communicated with a person regularly... I feel funny asking.  So being pretty late to this particular "music" blog-around, I feel somewhat out of options.  If you are on my list and read this and haven't done it ... please volunteer in the comment section!!  I do have one person in mind, but I am going to keep it private for now... if she goes through with it I will definitely let you know and provide a link.  Sorry!

Ok, I will shut up... way too much posting today, I am sure I have stretched well-beyond my words per day quota!

UPDATE:  I can know reveal my secret "tag" ... it is JD over at What Makes Me Tick(ed), I have "known" JD for a long time online and had the chance to meet her a couple times... once in her hometown of DC and just recently in Vegas.  From her blog, I know she is knowledgeable and passionate about music, so I figured she would be a good person to pass this along to... as totally expected she blows everbody out of the water with her answer to question #1.  The link will take you to her music entry.  Thanks JD!

Vegas Feb '05 Trip Report

The Vegas trip was a whole lot of fun ... as expected the Friday night thru Sunday morning trip just flew by.  I am starting to think we are getting to old for this... can't quite do the late night/early morning (or should I say early morning/mid-morning?!) thing as well I used to.  So here is the rundown, I will try not to ramble... but I should know better than to promise that!

Friday
The Phoenix airport leg went pretty okay.  I still do not understand this whole thing about not being able to get a boarding pass online if you have a non-ticketless (how's that for a double negative) ticket.   The first shocker was that there was only a dozen or so people at the Southwest ticket counter -- very unusual since the airline is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) presence here in Phoenix.  So that went well, but they didn't ask us for any ID or anything else, before they gave us our boarding pass to ge through security.

The security line was also surprisingly short for a Friday evening -- again about a few dozen folks and we were through in about 5-10 minutes.  The gate areas were packed though and in typical Southwest fashion about an hour before the flight was set to leave, some idiot had to be first in the A/B/C boarding group lines.  Proving Pavlov right, this causes others to start lining up ... and then you have to get in line if you want any hopes of getting a decent seat. 

After a long queue to take off, we eventually got into the air and got to Vegas about a half hour later than expected.  The Vegas airport was packed and the taxi cab line was several hundred people long... but it moved quickly and within 20 minutes or so we were en route to Downtown and the Golden Nugget.  Check-in went smoothly, went up to the room and then headed back down....

The Nugget was pretty crowded so we headed over to some of the other Fremont Street hotels.  The Horseshoe was not crazy crowded so we made that our first stop.  Got a video poker machine and was on my way... within a few minutes a cocktail waitress came around and got my first rum and coke of the evening.  Cocktail service is usually pretty spotty in Vegas, so you definitely should grab a "free" (though you should tip the waitress) drink when you can.  Well, this waitress was coming around quite regularly... to make a long story short, we probably had 5 drinks within an hour or so (don't worry they are pretty small glasses w/ a fair amount of ice)... but it was more than enough to get a good buzz on.  It is a pretty thankless job being a cocktail waitress I would think... and a lot of people don't tip... so after the last drink, I told her she was "the best cocktail service ever" she seemed to genuinely appreciate the compliment.   

Gambling-wise the Horseshoe did not prove very successful, we lasted awhile and despite our increasingly alcohol-impaired mind we were still playing the video poker pretty darn well -- it did however impair our judgement and "will power," we both probably should have quit while we were ahead... which we were for a brief period.
We headed over the Las Vegas Club for awhile longer...again nothing ultimately succesful gambling-wise, but some good entertainment from some "live band"-backed kaoroke going on within ear's distance of the machines.   We ultimately crawled back to the room about 2am local time (thought thanks to the time difference it was 3am "our time").

Sorry this IS (!!) rambling... thank you for continuing to read... or just come back and read it in chunks!

Saturday
Met up for the very first time with one of my 'cyber friends' for breakfast/brunch about 10am.  By that time in the morning, most of the Vegas visitors are roused from their slumbers from their own late night... so it was fairly crowded at the food venues.  But the wait, wasn't too bad.  As expected, we clicked pretty quickly with this guy.  I have "known" him over a decade, so we had plenty to talk about and also learned a new thing or too along the way. 

This was his first ever time in Vegas... so we, being the Vegas veterans we are, we offered to show him around the Strip.   After figuring out what he had and hadn't seen thus far, we decided to show him a couple of the more impressive Strip hotels -- The Venetian and Caesar's Palace.  It was definitely fun seeing Vegas through his "new eyes" -- it is not that I am NOT impressed with all the Vegas attractions, but you do tend to get a little blase about it over time.  But I think he appreciated being shown around... and a least we were able to lead him in all the right directions... given the sheer vastness of these hotel casinos, it is sometimes hard to know where to go.  But I think we were good tour guides.

Fast-forwarding, the big "group event" of the weekend was a group dinner at the Great Moments Room at the Las Vegas Club.  Here were met up with our DC friends, some of their family members, and our friend from earlier in the day... so a group of 10, which was just about the right "socializing" size. 

It was great to see our DC friends again and we easily picked up where we left off when we visted them in their town almost 5 years ago.  Had great conversations -- ranging from tennis (our original tie) to television to politics (with a table full of raging liberals, the world was a good place again).  But it was a whole lot of fun... we all seem to be pretty geeky on these topics -- but it was nice to have some intellectually stimulating chatter with a group of people.   We laughed and laughed... granted we are all pretty darn witty, but the "hat trick" of alcohol helped as well... first was pre-dinner cocktails, then some wine with dinner, than after-dinner cordials.  So we were all pretty giddy by the time our dinner entered Hour 2, but it was great to cut loose. Oh, BTW the food was excellent as well!

After dinner, we headed out to the casinos.  First stop was the "full of character" El Cortez -- let's just say it is not the snazziest casino in Vegas ... but it has low table limits and good video poker.  The group split between craps and blackjack... and I headed over from some video poker and had one of the few gambling highlights of the weekend.  I turned $20 into $150 in about a half hour's time... I know quite impressive, but not quite enough to make up for the licks I had taken on Friday and the gambling I purposely did not write about earlier in the day on Saturday.  But it was nice to finally exhibit some will power and leave a machine coming out nicely ahead.

We checked out some other downtown casinos, but decided to call it a night since we had a 8:25 am flight in the morning... but again, it was a great time...

Sunday
Almost over... I promise!   The alarm went off way too early and we got our act together and were out the door by 6:30am... we then took the longest and slowest cab drive ever to the airport (definitely "taken"...the "from the airport" cost which included an extra airport 'pick-up' extra fee was $18, this trip cost us $30).  The airport was surprisingly busy.  Sunday is needless to say a big departure day at the Vegas airport, but I thought people would not be leaving this early.   

Again, we had to check-in at the ticket counter... the line was long, but moved quickly... but then we went upstairs and turned the corner for security and it was amazing... definitely hundreds (I would even maybe even say at least a thousand) of folks on line.  We had an hour and 15 minutes to our flight, but the line still made us a little nervous.... but again, things looked far worse than the were... took about 20 minutes to get through this time.  Again, had to deal with the joker starting the boarding line well before there was even a plane at the gate...and we were on our way back to Phoenix.

Whew... a great time, but really quite exhausting... again, I feel like age is starting to play into things.

If you haven't read enough from me already today ... I may post yet again... Scott was nice enough to have some "blog homework assignment" for me upon our return...haha!  I have given it some thought and am kind of ready... so will be posting my music files/faves/etc. sometime soon... stay tuned!

Baby, It Was Close

Well, we survived the trip to Vegas -- but more on that later today.  I am still on my first mug of coffee, so I figured I'd warm up with a post about the Oscars.

If you skip down a couple of posts, you will see that my Oscar predictions were pretty darn good.  I was 7 for 8... losing my perfect batting average on the last award of the night, Best Picture.  How disappointing!  That is from a predictions standpoint... I could care less about what film won (didn't see Aviator or Baby), but missing the "biggie" puts a damper on the rest of the picks.

I was this close (insert some appropriate finger visualization here) to picking Baby for Best Picture.  I was pretty certain that Scorsese would be denied again, but I figured his film would still take home the top prize.  Early in the evening it looked that way -- Aviator earned 5 (mostly technical/visual-type) awards.  But alas in the Oscar battle of Hollywood (Eastwood types) vs. NY (Scorsese, Woody Allen, etc), Hollywood usually wins.

Due to my still somewhat exhausted state of mind, I haven't seen/heard much reaction from last night's show... here are some random thoughts:

Chris Rock - from what little I have seen this morning, he seems to have been a success.  Truthfully, I did not like him all that much... have never been a huge fan and maybe last night in my already glazy head, he was just too loud... his "yell it" type delivery is just grating.  And while he was "out there" at times, it was obvious that he reigned himself in.

Awards on stage/aisles - They should now have the announcer say something like "We still have another hour to the next major award, so please welcome Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons to give out another award you don't really care about."  That was pretty much the subtext this new "time saving" technique.  I think it is insulting to the people in these categories.  The "on stage" was a far better approach than "in the aisle", but if they really want to shorten the awards why even air these categories in the first place?!

Fashion - Again was probably too tired to notice, but didn't really go for the Hillary Swank ensemble... while she has pretty impressive back muscles, it just looked like she put the dress on backwards.  Julia Roberts breasts (they're called boobs Ed) still runneth over thanks to the Hazel and Phin and Barbra Streisand looked like she was pregnant (not very flattering, maybe time to reconsider those Donna Karans Babs!).

Ok, back later with the Vegas trip post and more... that is, if work doesn't get nasty.  It is okay right now, but there are some things lurking about that could get troublesome...

The Disadvantages of Having An Actual Airline Ticket

Remember the days when folks were scared of "ticketless" travel on the airlines?  It was a risky proposition to have only a printed-out e-mail as your proof of travel.  Well, I guess those days are officially over.  Now, it is seems if you have a physical ticket you are at a disadvantage...

I was trying to check-in online for our flight to Vegas tonight, but it became quickly apparent that I would not be able to do that.  You must now have to have a boarding pass or a "security document" to get through security.  I totally get that, but what I don't understand is why you can not get either of those things if you have a physical ticket! 

Since we booked an air/hotel "vacation" (woo hoo! a whole 36 hours!) package, we did not have an option to go ticketless.  But I am still trying to figure out why a ticket isn't good enough to get you through security.  I guess you could lose your ticket and someone else can take it, but couldn't the same thing happen with a boarding pass? And don't need some other form of ID to get through anyhow?! 

So it is kind of frustrating, especially since this is one of those rare times when we do not have any luggage to check. I just called up Southwest and they confirmed that we have to check-in at either the sky-cap area or the ticket counter to get a boarding pass... and then head on up to the security line.  Oh well, so much for avoiding one of the long lines.

With that, let's go out with a little Rat Pack ditty:

Luck if you've been a lady to begin with
Luck be a lady tonight

And while you're at it... tomorrow too! 
Have a good weekend!  Look for a trip report next week...

Oscar Predictions

Thought I would go ahead and make my Oscar predictions.  These days it is rare that I have seen many (if any!) of the nominated movies and performances -- but that rarely hinders one's ability (especially if you read/watch all the entertainment related stuff I do!) to predict who will win (vs. the "should win") ...

Best Picture - The Aviator
Million Dollar Baby is gaining momentum by the day, but I think the Scorsese directed Hughes bio-pic will hang on... especially since...

Best Director - Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
I think this will be one of those rare split decisions between the picture and director categories.  Clint is a beloved Hollywood icon, Scorsese is not... also helping out  Eastwood was his nom for Mystic River last year, but being rolled-over by the LOTR sweep.

Best Actor - Jamie Foxx (Ray)
The only slam dunk of night... that is if Academy members have not tired of Foxx's overexposure in the past few weeks (though ballots were probably due before then).

Best Actress - Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
The only thing against Swank is that she is young and this win would make her 2 for 2 in this category.

Best Supporting Actor - Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby)
Clive Owen might sneak in (though w/out other major nominations for Closer, it seems less likely), Haden Church has been talked up for Sideways... but I think the Academy will ultimately give the now 4-time nominated, but yet to win, Freeman the nod for his "career" body of work.

Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.   Same story as supporting actor with Portman for Closer and Madsen for Sideways ... Blanchett seems well respected (though this is only her 2nd Oscar nom) -- it is another way to reward Aviator... and karma might help as she is playing one of the Academy's most honored actresses - Katherine Hepburn.

Original Screenplay - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Given its other noms, Aviator stands a chance, but the Academy does not seem to mind spreading the wealth when it comes to screenplays.

Adapted Screenplay - Sideways
Barring a Baby sweep, this will be Sideways' consolation prize for not winning in the four "bigger" categories (picture, director, supporting actor and actress).

Googling AI4 Contestants

Well, as expected since I have posted the full names of the American Idol contestants the search hits are starting to roll in.  Overall, Constantine is by far is "winning" this race.  But what I really love is when other "searched" words that are "hooked" up and lead to a hit to my site. 

Any blogger who checks their stats regularly, knows this phenomenon quite well.  You can be talking about "Joe Smith" in one post, innocently mention "jockstrap" in a post three weeks earlier and that will ultimately lead to a blog hit for "picture of Joe Smith in a jockstrap"

My most popular search "attach-ees" are "g-a-y" and "s-h-i-r-t-l-e-s-s."  These just drive in the hits ... and inevitably hooked up, however bizarre, with any famous person I mention.  So which Idol contestants are leading in these categories?

Well 5 of the 12 have already had the above 3-letter word attached to a search...
Mario, Constantine, Joseph, Anthony, and Jared

With only 2 guys making the "sans shirt" list thus far...and they score the double:
Mario & Constantine

Taking Stock

Just got back from dropping off my tax stuff at the accountant.  Since I became a "business owner" (still seems strange "hear" that), the tax situation just got way too complicated to do on my own.  So tax season is fairly easy for me, I pull together all my statements jot down some numbers in a booklet that the accountant provides... and that is pretty much it.

When we were going over things, we hit into a little snag.  There was one investment account that I really knew nothing about.  Well, I knew it existed it is just something that I don't keep track of or really know what is going on with.  When you say that to an accountant, the face is fairly predictable.  It is very similiar to the "you're not flossing" face from the dental hygienist.  Part of my ingorance with that the account got merged in with another major online broker and that is when I pretty much lost track of it.

So on the drive home, I decided not knowing was really unacceptable. I called up the company and embarrassingly had to ask for my account number...yes it was that bad.  After answering about 42 different questions, they gladly gave it to me. 

The account wasn't huge to start, just about $2k invested among 4 stocks.  My plan was to sell the individual stocks and consolidate it into an existing mutual fund at the investment company that I do all the rest of my investing with.  I was bracing myself for some heavy losses - the last time I checked (we could be talking years!) things were not looking so good.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised.  Since buying the stocks in 1999, the overall value of the portfolio increased about 40%. One stock is pretty much worthless (which I knew), one was down about 20% (again expected, but far better than I thought) - but then I had nice increases -- one was up 60% and then the real kicker, one up 335%.  I'll let you in on that one -- Starbucks!   Now I don't feel so bad about all those cappuccinos, vanilla lattes, and frappacinos I have bought over the years.

So what to do?  Anticipating losses, I figured this account was an easy deduction for my 2005 taxes - but now that is clearly not the case -- may have to re-think this sell decision... maybe I'll think about it over a nice and hot coffee beverage.

AI4: Semis First Round Eliminations

I am going to be a bit cryptic about the first American Idol elimination show.  Todd was away on a business trip and needs to catch up on the last two nights, so I don't want to be the spoiler (though I know he is saying, he really doesn't care!).

I wouldn't classify any of the eliminations as huge surprises... while I did not think that some of them would go in the first round, I am not sure if I any of them were Final 12 material. 

Whas was surprising was the first eliminated female contestant taking the show to task -- blaming her elimination on not being featured on the audition and "Hollywood" shows.  Hopefully the AI set is far away from Fox's 24, otherwise this poor girl is in some windowless room being tasered by AI producers for her insubordination.  You can bet the remaining contestants will be given strongly-worded "recommendations" on how to behave upon elimination.

But, AI is pro-torture.  I thought the methods used last night were particularly cruel, even more so than in past seasons (which is really saying something).  With the way he dishes out results, it is a good thing Seacrest went into show biz and not the medical field!  Mike.... you..... do.....  NOT have terminal cancer, John you have two months to live... care to sing us out?  (I know he has nothing to do with it, he is just following instructions).  This morning, I see there is already some backlash over how the show unfolded last night.  It will be interesting to see if they respond... I doubt it, caring about the "reality" contestants' feelings are rarely considered in lieu of "good tv."

I think the ousted contestant has a good point.  As much as the show tells us that the results are "in our hands," from Day 1 they not so subtley tells us who should stick around.  I think it takes a truly great performance (last season's LaToya London's "All By Myself" comes to mind) or a unique/original look (this year, the pretty much previously unseen Nadia is a good example) for someone without a backstory to survive the semis.

More Vegas Details

Ok, more about the upcoming quickie trip to Vegas this weekend.  I started a post about this a couple of days ago but then it devolved into some fuzzy monologue about meeting up with people you primarily/only know through the Internet.

This trip is going to be yet another new Vegas experience for us.  It is hard to believe that after over a dozen trips to Sin City over the past decade, something can still be "new" without it alluding to a new casino, show, or other attraction.  For the first time ever, we are staying downtown.  This was for a couple of reasons... first, the folks we are meeting are staying there and second, when I tried to book a room at our usual haunt (The Rio) they could not give me a preferred room rate (which kind of ticked me off since I have been pretty darn loyal... with a fair share of my gambling budget usually ends up in the coffers of Harrahs' owned casinos). 

We have visited downtown a few times... it is definitely a whole different atmosphere than the Strip... I imagine most folks would say it has "character"... translation: a little dumpy/run-down.  But it has all that great neon and other bright lights that pops into your mind when you think Vegas.  You definitely feel like you are stepping back into the past (which, in fact, you are! Nothing is made to "look old" here!)... but we have always had a  good time down there and we are staying at the nicest place downtown... the famed Golden Nugget.

I am sure the weekend will be a whirlwind... we arrive Friday night and leave fairly early on Sunday morning... so a little socializing, a little gambling, and a little drinking.  Vegas is all about excess... but I think the limited time won't allow us to over-indulge too much... but that is probably a good thing!

AI4: Girls Semis Round 1

Last night, we got our first real look at the girls on American Idol.   As with the boys, not too many downright awful performances (which there really shouldn't be at this point in the competition!) -- just a handful that were boring (or "safe" as we like to say in Idol-land).

Just based on one full performance, it seems like we already have our front-runners for the finals.  I definitely like this new semifinal format... we get to see everyone compete and there is no bad luck getting thrown into a strong group (remember when Clay was in the same semi group as Ruben and Kim Locke?)...

Here are my rankings from last night... once again for first to worst:

#1 Nadia Turner - If it is not already evident by her official AI photo, there was no doubt that Nadia has a look, style, and attitude that is all her own... and that is before she even opens her mouth.  Nadia is no cookie-cutter contestant and that is a very good thing. She simply rocked!  Is it time for another Turner to make it in the music biz... is Nadia Tina v2.0?

#2 Carrie Underwood - In talk show appearances, Simon has been talking up Carrie and based on this performance it was easy to see why -- she has strong and controlled vocals.  Although Randy dubbed another contestant the "next Kelly Clarkson," Carrie I think is more suited to that comparison.  She probably has the best female voice of this year's competition and the "girl next door" looks don't hurt either.

#3 Aloha Mischeaux - Have we seen any of Aloha before last night?  Doesn't seem like it... I guess the producers didn't think much of her chances to provide us with a lengthy backstory.  But after a fun and funky performance of "Work It Out" she has risen up the ranks.  In a night of too many white girls with good voices and little entertainment value, Aloha was a breath of fresh air. 

#4 Mikalah Gordon - And speaking of fresh air, how can one easily describe Mikalah... definitely a wild concoction - part drag queen, part Taylor Dayne (hmmm maybe that still counts as "part drag queen")...  a dose of Bette Midler crossed with Jennifer Coolidge (stole the Coolidge reference from Zap2It) and more than a hint of a Bronx/Jewish speaking voice!  She's spunky, has the voice and I like her... that said, I totally agree with Simon that the 17-year old is going to be one of those "love her/hate her" types.  While I would like to see her make the finals (though I don't think she has a chance to win), I would not be surprised if she doesn't make it to the Final 12.

#5 Lindsey Cardinale - I wasn't that impressed with her performance or song choice, but I really like her unique voice -- that is the only thing that saves her from being group with some of the girls below.

#6 Vonzell Solomon - Another song that should be banned from Idol is "Heat Wave" or at least it should not be pulled out until "Motown" night.  While Vonzell did a nice performance and has a good voice, the song is just too kitschy Sister Act/Vegas... but it was better than a drippy ballad.

#7 Jessica Sierra - I don't really get what all the fuss is with Jessica. Obviously I don't have her down at the bottom of the list, but the universal praise from the judges had me scratching my head.  I thought it was a good, but kind of "phoned in" take on "Against All Odds."  l

#8 Melinda Lira - Another case where I wondered if I was hearing the same thing the judges did... Randy said she had one of the best voices in the competition and made that "next Kelly Clarkson" reference.  I thought her rendition of "The Power of Love" was flat and shaky.  It is a bold, and usually bad, choice to sing a Celine Dion song... and after hearing Melinda I still believe that.

#9 Amanda Avila - Amanda didn't learn much from Joseph last night in selecting Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed To Live With You."  It is just too kitsch and I am not sure anyone can really do anything with that song.

#10 Sarah Mather - Ok, white girls probably shouldn't sing Smokey Robinson songs.  Sarah's "Get Ready" was pretty flat and once again had all the schmaltz of a tacky Vegas revue (not that there is anything wrong with that).  The song also did not seem to fit her voice or image.

#11 Celena Rae - Ok, I am sure Celena really did not do anything terribly wrong... she just had the bad luck of following Nadia.  After Nadia kicked some butt, we were just returned to the doldrums with another technically sound but generic early-round Idol-type performance.

#12 Janay Castine - Alas someone needs to be last.  As with Jared last night, there was little competition for my last slot with the girls.  While there were brief moments of good, but the nerves just sabotaged Janay's "I Wanna Love You Forever." It was really shaky throughout (both physically and vocally), but my biggest problem was her lack of enunciation.  There was a line or two that I seriously did not understand due to slurring.