Name:Carolyn Country:United States State:Ohio Metro:Springfield Birthday:4/14/1953 Gender:Female
Interests:Building a closer relationship to God; working on being a success at the expertises listed below; reading, movies,on T.V.: American Idol, & crying over Extreme Makeover-Home Edition!, music, computer, handcrafts, cooking, learning about other cultures, M.K.'s & their parents, the Philippines & India, and more. Expertise:Hopefully: Teaching, being a wife, mom, grandma, (etc.) and friend. Occupation:Education/training Industry:Education/Research
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
THIS WEEK'S BLAST FROM THE PAST:
Our first professionally-taken family picture
with all six of us in it.
Tristen's first Easter picture with her mommy.
I HAD A SURPRISE WAITING FOR ME (LEANING AGAINST MY FRONT DOOR IN A BIG BOX) WHEN I GOT HOME FROM SUPPER WITH MIKE THIS EVENING. (ORDERED FROM SHAUN IN KUWAIT!)
I TRIED TO GET MY WEBCAM TO GET THE PIX
AT VARIOUS ANGLES. THANKS, SHAUN!
AND FINALLY, A QUICKIE GOODBYE TO JASON FROM AI ~
I am sure that God has great things in store for him, as he uses his talents for the Lord. (Just not American Idol)!
This was not the best night for either David Cook or for Jason Castro. That being said, the difference between one of the best, andthe worst of the nightsays the rest... for there is no further similarity. I actually enjoyed Jason more than usual, but when he lost a whole line of lyrics (& did a bad job of covering it) on his second song, that should have made the end of his AI chances. However, I know there are some die-hard Jason fans who will try to keep him in for another week.
The top two inmybook were#1 David A.(and the opinion of all three judges, as well), and#2 Syesha. (the judges were split on David C. & Syesha -- as I said, it definitely wasn't his best night, but it was one of Syesha's better nights. Based on their overall ratings in the past, David C. no doubt edged her out - whether I feel she was better or not).
David Cook's song choices were rather surprising to me, in that they were not all that great considering that he had 50+ years worth of top rock & roll songs from which to pick. Randy's & Paula's comments indicated that they too were surprised with his song choice(s).
In his 1st: "Hungry Like the Wolves" (Duran/Duran - '82), only Paula gave him purely positive remarks. After all, I too believe that David Cook's worst, isn't bad... he still showed good energy, vocals, & interaction with his audience. Randy said it was an OK choice, solid, but not amazing. Simon said it was good, but a little copycat, and that David didn't make it his own.... yet, good enough to help him move on to the next week.
His second choice was "Baba O'Riley" by The Who - 1971. While it was better than the first song, I wasn't all that impressed with the song or how it was done. It was just "ok" for me. However, Randy thought it was "Great" - Paula wanted more, and said she was ". . . humbled by his soul; Thanks for sharing it." Simon said, "Welcome back, David Cook!" Syesha's first song was "Proud Mary." I loved her fun personality that came out as she did this song. She had great vocals, and did a really great job. Randy said she was "In the Zone; Nice going! Very nice!" Paula stated that Syesha "looks like a star. . . has a magnetic voice and package . . . made the magic happen." Simon said that it was a bad, shrieky version & impersonation of Tina Turner. Both of the other judges immediately disagreed vehemently with Simon's opinion.
Her next song was "I Was Born by the River" - a Sam Cooke - '65 hit. She researched the song, and it had to do with the civil rights movement. It touched her deeply, as she prepared for it, and as she sang it, she showed much depth of emotion.
I thought that she gave it beautiful energy, power, expression, vocals, etc.
Randy - said that he didn't love it as much as her 1st.
Paula gave Syesha a standing ovation. Some in the audience, followed suit. Then Paula stated that it was a superstar performance, which used everything that Paula could have wanted for Syesha to have. (This got Syesha crying . . . just wet eyes & quivering lips at first, but then tears flowing. Syesha has always been one of the least crying of the females.) Paula ended her accolades with another standing ovation.
Simon said: "Syesha, I have to be fair." (Syesha braced herself, and nodded.) "I have to agree with...(dramatic pause)...Paula. Randy is utterly wrong!
I thought it was really good!"
Ryan asked Syesha why all of the tears (which increased again after Simon's high praise). She said that it was the meaning of the song to her personally that caused her to be so emotional. She had cried when she had researched and practiced the song.
JASON's first choice was Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" ~ Interestingly, while he didn't do as well as the other singers, I didn't feel that he was as bad as what the judges thought. He showed more of his fun personality, he made it his own, & was creative with it... it was pleasant, I thought.
Randy said that it was "Real karaoke; nothing special." Even Paula said that she wasn't crazy about it. "But I am crazy about you. And you performed to the audience." Simon said, "Utterly ridiculous . . . it was like a 1st round audition massacre." After those comments, Ryan asked Paula to say something positive to Jason to help him feel better, as he went into the next round. Of course, she happily obliged; that is her gift.
Jason's second song was "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dillon. I again was pleased that he had more eye contact, and the song had a nice ending, but oh my gracious! -- He certainly blew it! He forgot an entire line of lyrics, and as I stated before, I thought sheesh- that was really bad!! Especially in the final four! (DH-Mike commented that it was "sick, poor" & was a much worse effect than when Brooke forgot lyrics and then restarted the whole song.
Randy said - "How do you think that you did, Jason?" And Jason said the obvious: "I lost lines." Randy stated: "You're not in your zone tonight." Paula made an understated: "You didn't blow us away." Simon said: "Pack your suitcase!" -- Ryan didn't even try to have Paula say anything to Jason this time.
David Archuleta's first song was "Stand By Me" from 1960 He said that he had many times sung that to himself, but had never sung it publicly. He was looking forward to doing so this evening. I felt that his vocals were excellent; nice interpretation & expression; he made it his own, & he sang it to the audience. It was great from the first note, all the way to the
wonderful ending.
Randy stated (it was the end of the first round of songs) - "I'm so happy that at least one of you is HOT!!" Paula said that I really admire the way you delivered it. You communicated your heart with your eyes. You are listening, and using the judges' criticisms."
Simon said: That was a very good choice. I felt that you struggled at the end." (The other judges, the audience, and I all disagreed with that!) "It was the best so far!"
David's second song was: Elvis's "Love Me Tender."
David said that he had never sung a love song on AI, and so he thought it would be good to sing a romantic love song. He hadn't been familiar with this song, and so he researched, and found several different versions, and picked one that he liked.
I really liked it. It was different from anything I'd heard before, but very nice; lots of expression! He sang it to the girls in the audience. I loved the simplicity of just having a piano accompaniment. The pitch was perfect, and the ending was again just what I could have wished for from him.
Randy: "Another great song. HOT!"
Paula: "One of my favorite of your songs. Tender. Beautiful."
Simon: "You crushed the competition!"
Well, tomorrow will tell who are the TOP THREE!!!
P.S.. - We had a wonderful, but exhausting 4 days with our Tristen. That report with pictures will be coming up later in the week. Hope all of you are doing well. I'll be back in touch later. Now... time to get all ready for school tomorrow. BYE!
THIS IS AN EARLY POST FOR THE WEEKEND, SINCE WE WILL BE PICKING UP OUR LITTLE "DANCING PRINCESS" FOR THE WEEKEND.
It has been another very busy week, so here is the farewell to A.I. contestant - Brooke White. Best of everything to Brooke and her husband, and her future career in music and entertainment. A BLAST FROM THE PAST . . .
(in honor of a little gal) JANUARY, 2006
& March, 2008
I have been reading and reviewing (or rememorizing), and meditating upon some verses from a favorite chapter of mine ~ Psalm 37 this week. I share it here with you as I close for the weekend. (So far I've memorized verses 3-4 this week, & will add on vs. 5 tomorrow.)
1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
NOW I WILL HAVE MY SPARE? MOMENTS TO VISIT WITH YOU IF/WHEN I'M NOT ENTERTAINING OR BEING ENTERTAINED . . . DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATHS THOUGH!
Tonight was devoted to singing the songs of the mentor Neil Diamond. Each of the contestants sang two songs. After the 2nd song was sung, the judges gave their comments to the singers about both of their songs. I am focusing on my own ratings tonight, with just a blurb about the 3 professional judges' opinions.
My favorites in order (overall tonight) are from top to bottom: #1 Syesha, #2 David A., #3 David C.,
#4 Brooke, & #5 Jason
#1(and #6) - Jason Castro
I thought that he was just ok (mediocre) on both of his songs. He sang "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morn." Jason is a nice person with a really nice voice. But there just is nothing about his presentation or singing that makes him outstanding in anyway. Yes, he is a professing Christian who has apparently an excellent witness, but that does not mean that he should go ahead of the obviously better singers/performers. He is again my choice for last place. All three of the judges felt that he was the least of the five (although Simon things that Syesha may be going.... even though he liked her singing & erformances better. Simon has had a blind spot against Syesha all season, however.)
#2(and #7) - David Cook
He sang "I'm Alive" and "All I Really Need Is You" ~ two not well-known songs, but he did a good job on them. I like his voice, he is full of energy, and I especially enjoyed the second song which showed off more of his versatility in the contrasting styles of the two parts of the song. He was most likely the overall favorite of the judges on both of his songs, I agreed with Simon when he said that the first song was "ok", but the second one was "brilliant!"
#3(and #8) - BrookeWhite
She sang "I'm a Believer" and "I Am, I Said" ~ singing the first one while she accompanied herself on the guitar, and the second one at the piano. The judges felt that she did a better job on the second one, than on the first. I enjoyed her take on "I'm A Believer" ~ it is nice seeing her have fun when she sings. The judges seem to only like her when she is showing her vulnerability and raw emotion which was more of what occurred in the second song. I liked the second one better, but felt that Simon was harsh and unfair when he said that the first one was "a mess" (OR some such phrase that he uses) - that he hated it.
#4(and #9) - David Archuleta
I liked David's take on "Sweet Caroline" ~ 'my song' ~ since I've been 'serenaded' over the years with that one! (LOL - ) At the beginning it was just - ok - and I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it. But on the chorus, he did a great job with the song. The second song that he did, "America" was excellent. He showed his peppier side, he demonstrated his ability to sing at great range, with real feeling, and had a great ending to a very well done rendition! The judges all felt that David did a superb job.
#5(and #10) - Syesha Mercado Syesha was my favorite of the first round of songs. She performed flawlessly, and with great expression and joy. She has such a great voice, and is really feeling a freedom now to be herself, and to have fun with the songs and the performances, and to make them her own. Her first song was "Hello, Again," and her second one was "Thank the Lord for the Night Time" ~ neither of which I was extremely familiar with - yet she made me like them just because of the way that she put herself into the songs. Of all of the singers, I feel that she is the best entertainer, and her delivery of the songs is just excellent.
The judges all felt that she pulled the songs off beautifully (although Simon - even after praising her, felt that she might be in trouble. When she asked why, he didn't give an answer - perhaps due to time, or ??? Why does he feel that way when he already had given Jason the worst rating? -- I feel he is extremely unfair to her most of the time.) And until the last couple of weeks, Randy has been just as unfair to her, too. She is really good, and is getting even better weekly, as she feels more comfortable on stage. If she does get voted off, I am sure that her career will take off big time anyway!
For all of you who are not American Idol fans, rejoice. There are only 3 more weeks of this program, and then things will be back to normal. (Though not as exciting for those of us who love AI!) Then what? Hmmm... the Olympics? Or if anyone is really desperate ~ more of the Democrats fighting up until the actual vote for President in November.
I thought that I would try making a weekly feature (as many of you already do) . . . something that wouldn't take too much time, since on weekends, I prefer to spend any Xanga-time I may have, visiting you.
So . . . since I love photos, I decided to have a weekly (Fri. night or Sat.) "BLAST from the PAST" photo or two each week. (I keep finding more of these, and want to scan them in each week so that my kids will have access to them).
AND ~ Since some of the devotionals that I read -- I love to reread and ponder over more, I decided to share excerpts that I could quickly locate (on my posts) and meditate upon again.
BROTHER'S POSING AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
(Note their Christmasy colors.) -- circa - 1983 or 84.
That would have made Tom 5 (or 6), & Shaun 2 or (3).
I'm leaning towards the earlier date.
and a few years later . . . Shaun hamming it up with Grimace.
When I feel God is the farthest away, He is often the nearest to me. "When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way" (Ps. 142:3). Do we know of another who shines brighter than the most radiant sunlight, who meets us in our room with the first waking light, who has an infinitely tender and compassionate watchfulness over us throughout our day, and who "knows the way that [we] take"? [Job 23:10a] --- J.R. Macduff, as excerpted from Streams in the Desert (see info re: book above post)
VIDEO of song (with lyrics) ~ "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" ~ sung by George Younce & Larry Ford
True
However, Randy thought it was "Great" - Paula wanted more, and said she was ". . . humbled by his soul; Thanks for sharing it." Simon said, "Welcome back, David Cook!"
Tonight was devoted to singing the songs of the mentor Neil Diamond. Each of the contestants sang two songs. After the 2nd song was sung, the judges gave their comments to the singers about both of their songs. I am focusing on my own ratings tonight, with just a blurb about the 3 professional judges' opinions.
Then what? Hmmm... the Olympics? Or if anyone is really desperate ~ 
more of the Democrats fighting up until the actual vote for President in November.
_____
