rat pack night for american idol

I love the Rat Pack singers. I've been a Dean Martin fan for years and years, although I have to admit that Frank Sinatra first introduced me to many of the standards from that era. I love so many of those songs - some of my favorites are "Sway," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Volare," "You Belong to Me," "That's Amore," and "All the Way."

I also love the Rat Pack movies. About a year ago, my sister and I watched a special screening of Sergeants 3, one of the Rat Pack movies. It was filmed in Utah, and one of the extras in the film came and spoke before the screening. This actor was a Mormon, and he recalled one day when he walked onto the set and approached Dean (who was seated next to Frank and smoking a cigarette). When Dean saw this actor walk towards him, Dean said in his slow, sarcastic voice, "Here comes Brigham Young..."

I love that story. It makes me feel like Dean was the same sarcastic jokester, on and off of the screen.

I was excited that the Rat Pack music was the theme for American Idol tonight. I also was pleased that many of the contestants sung ballads; anyone who can sing a ballad well and convincingly has the markings of a true singer.

That being said, I really liked most of the performances tonight. Kris had a great arrangement and creative vocals (especially in the latter half, I didn't dig the first part of the song as much). I liked Allison. And I felt like the raspy, smoky texture of Danny's voice really worked well with his song. (Kara was right - he had a great Rat Pack swagger!)

Adam was great, but I have to admit that the ending was so unexpected and abrupt that I cried out "Whaaaat? "Whaaaaaat?" just like Jaime Foxx did in Adam's mentoring session. I almost didn't know what to think. But it was good. Mysterious, entertaining, and fun. And great vocals.

I didn't really like Matt's performance, though. I felt like it was good for him to lower the key so that he could belt that high note, but at the same time I felt like his lower notes were too unfocused. And did anyone else noticed that he had this strange enunciation when he sang in the lower register? It sounded like he was trying to put a jazz spin on his singing style, but it came across as if he was attacking the words. With the combination of the word attack, the unfocused lower notes, and some pauses between notes, Matt's voice reminded me a little of the robotic "Speak 'N Spell" voice. Yikes! Matt has always been one of my favorite contestants, but I didn't feel like I could vote for him tonight. I think he'll probably leave this week.

What do other people think of the performances from last night? What Rat Pack songs and movies do you like?

sam's first jam session

The boys had their first jam session last week. They clacked plastic blocks together for a good five minutes, which is quite a feat considering Sam's attention span. I was able to film the last couple seconds before Sam began to lose interest - you can see that he becomes more interested in getting us to cheer than in clacking. Still, we're sure that this is the first of many jam sessions for J and Sam.

"meh" books

I've been reading a lot lately. Unfortunately, I haven't read any books that I can wholeheartedly recommend. Over the past two months, I've been disappointed or felt rather "meh" about all of the books that have come my way. Here are some of my "meh" books:

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. My cousin Zillah recommended this book on her blog awhile ago, so I was really excited to read it. It was kinda-sorta interesting, and I have to admit that I liked some aspects of O'Brian's writing style. But I didn't like the barrage of naval and ship terms that were introduced for the first two hundred pages or so. O'Brian and ships = Melville and whales. Ugh. I know there was plot intermixed in there...somewhere. Sorry, Zillah. I usually like the books that you recommend. Perhaps the rest of the books in the series are more captivating...

Lilith by George MacDonald. My friend Phin lent me her copy of this book, along with a disclaimer that most of the story was really "weird" until the very end. She was right. I really like George MacDonald as an author, but this is one of the darkest and strangest books that he's written. It was alright, but I don't know if I would recommend it to most people.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Admittedly, I liked many things about this book. I even began to recommend it to people before I had gotten very far. However, I was disappointed and mildly offended by some things near the ending, so I don't feel like I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's really unfortunate, since there is some very beautiful writing in there. Has anyone else read it? At first, I really liked the interesting book design. However, as I started to read more, I felt like the design was a little bit too contrived and gimmicky, almost forcing an aesthetic response on the reader. Hmm. I'm still deciding what I think of about that.

The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser. I was very excited to read this new book since Boser announced that his book would reveal the two theives which snuck into the Gardner Museum about 20 years ago. However, this book wasn't as captivating and interesting; since there isn't a book's worth of information about the Gardner crime, Boser added a lot of filler material about art crime in general. That was boring to me, especially since I've read other books on art theft that contain the same information. The book was a disappointment. Even Boser's unveiling of the two theives was disappointing, since one thief is in jail and the other is dead.

So, onto new books. I'm especially interested in reading The Hemingses of Monticello (Annette Gordon-Reed) and How the States Got their Shapes (Mark Stein). Does anyone have any other good book recommendations?

American Idol 2009

Is there anyone out there who genuinely, truly believes that someone other than Adam Lambert will win the AI title this year?

disco skating

Ever since I heard that tonight's American Idol performances will follow a disco theme, I can't help but think about disco skating. Disco music and disco skating are two of my not-so-guilty pleasures. In fact, I'm rather proud of my disco skating skills. I'm not the best skater in the world (I've only mastered a handful of tricks), but I was very flattered that a recruiter once approached me on the roller rink and asked if I would be interested in joining a touring team. Sometimes I wish that I hadn't declined the offer. Then maybe I'd be better at my tight twirls.

I started disco skating when I was sixteen, and I bought a pair of "old school" quad skates about a year later. In high school, my friends and I used to go disco skating at least once a month. This picture is of me (with a younger, more agile body) doing the "sweeper" move - I am skating on one foot and keeping the rest of my body close to the floor, but not quite touching it.

If I had to pick some kind of Desmond-esque "constant" in my life, it might be disco skating at the roller rink in Salt Lake City. Things never change there. Any Saturday night, I know that the same people will be there: the guy in the white wifebeater that always sticks his chest out while skating, the man in black who always skates backwards in the middle of the rink, and the old man who tries to go around and skate with the fourteen year olds on the slow songs. The same music will be played, the same moves and tricks will be performed.

I haven't seen many books on disco skating, but I came across this one last year by accident (the books on "capoeira" were shelved next to the "disco" books in the Dance section of the library). It's not the best book in the world, but it categorizes some of the skating moves. Does anyone know of any other books about disco skating?

As for American Idol tonight, I hope that I get to hear something by the Bee Gees. "How Deep is Your Love" is one of my favorite songs from the disco era. I also like "Play that Funky Music," "Jungle Boogie," "Superstition," "Everlasting Love," the list goes on and on...

What disco/funk music do you like?

home again, home again

Sam and I are back home. Phew. It's nice to visit my family and I am glad to help out, but I can't deny that I love being home. I definitely feel more capable and in-control when I'm in my own space, and I can tell that Sam relaxes more too. There is just too much excitement at my family's house for Sam to truly relax and, you know, sleep.

He's finally sleeping now. And I am enjoying the silence.

So, I'll spend the next few days getting back into a normal routine. I also am trying to get a better variety of food into my husband's body, since J dined on refried beans and Caesar salad the whole time he was home alone. Sometimes I wonder what he would eat if he was still single...

Spring has finally come to Seattle, which has made it extra nice to be back home. Sam wants to be outside every moment that he's awake.

springtime + kaleidoscope = a happy baby

easter highlight

Sam laughed and laughed when people threw the bouncy balls that the Easter Bunny brought:

in utah

I have been in Utah for over a week, helping out my family while my mom recovers from surgery. The surgery went well and my mom is feeling better each day. I have been running around, watching my siblings (the youngest two are on Spring Break) and trying to cover all of my mom's duties. Needless to say, I'm getting tired. J was here for a while to help, and we got to spend Easter together (which was nice, since I was in Utah for last Christmas, our anniversary, New Year's Day, and Valentine's Day).

Sam loved Easter. I'll post a video of his favorite Easter activity soon.

sleepwalk with me

I haven't listened to all of Mike Birbiglia's comedy routines, but what I have heard is really funny. If you have ten minutes and need a good laugh, you should listen to this clip. Be careful, though, if you listen to this at work with headphones. J first listened to this at work and had to turn it off - he was crying from laughter and it was too hard to stifle his chuckles.

The last couple minutes of this clip are the best. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

american idol top 8

So, even before watching the show tonight, J and I decided that either Scott or Anoop will probably get voted off this week. I actually thought that Anoop did a pretty good job (a lot better than last week, eh?), but I'm ready for Scott to leave. I wouldn't be surprised if Lil is in danger too - she has had a really hard time picking songs and building up her image as an artist. I like her, but I don't feel like her voice and style are becoming identifiable to the audience. Unfortunately, she's becoming forgettable.

My favorites from the night were probably Matt and Adam. I've said this before, but the control in Adam's voice is quite remarkable. He is able to sustain his notes and phrases very well (even though for a split-second I thought that the final note in his song was shaky - but he quickly regained control). And if your DVR stopped recording the show before Adam performed, you can watch a clip of his performance here.

Who do you think will go?

russian ark

Last weekend J and I watched the film "Russian Ark." I was interested in watching this Russian film because it is comprised of one continuous, uninterrupted take. Since there are no cuts or breaks between scenes, I think that the cinematography is interesting and compelling. If you love art, Russian Ark is a must-see because it was filmed in the Hermitage (St. Petersburg). Here's a trailer for Russian Ark (although I don't think this trailer captures the mood of the film very well):



J and I aren't experts on Russian history, and we had a few lingering questions after the movie ended. This Wikipedia entry helped to clarify some of our questions.

Has anyone seen Russian Ark? I highly recommend it.