American Idol - Top Four

and then there were four. Then there will be two. David Archuleta and David Cook. Then there will be one. Archuleta. Then I will buy my first American Idol contestant album -- Cook's.

American Idol - bye Ramiele

As much as I am a fan of her voice, she never brought it. So she deserves to go. But I'm sure she will have a career in the Philippines if she wanted... hehehe

American Idol - Season 7 (Year You Were Born)

David Cook SHOULD win this whole competition. It is crystal clear that he deserves to win.

American Idol Season 7 - Week 5

Greatest band in the history of rock -- Beatles. And sooooo many forgettables.. geez. Kids.

Memorable:
David Archuleta - bravo!
David Cook - I thought it was pretty cool (didn't need the "other" mic though)
Carly Smithson - she sang one of my personal faves, and it was decent :)

Meh:
Amanda Overmyer - not bad... but sadly that's about the only song that could suit her...
Jason Castro - I actually thought Blackbird would have suited him better...
Ramiele Malubay - when is she gonna connect with me, c'mon Pinoy!!!
Brook White - flower child did it the best way she knew how.
Syesha Mercado - it was ok I suppose...

Forgettable:
Michael Johns - yikes, he couldn't hear himself.
Kristy Lee Cook - oh lordy, she needs to go.
Chikezie - stop stop stop... did not work for me!

American Idol Season 7 - Week 4 Elimination

See ya to the less appealing David... seems suspiciously convenient to have him out in lieu of his, um, interesting background... Should have been Kristy, but maybe she's getting the "country fans" vote??? She needs to go, people!

Not to sound un-PC here, but here's the reality:

Chikezie - split black vote
Syesha - split black vote
Amanda - who bikers and nostalgic Southern rock lovers vote for
Carly - who voice purists vote for
David C. - who musicians & bands vote for
David A. - who the tweens & grannies vote for
Jason - who the teen girls vote for
Michael - who the ladies vote for
Ramiele - the Asian vote (so that's 100% of the Filipino-American population + the karaoke crowd -- wait, that's redundant! *hehehe*)
Kristy - who teenage boys with mullets vote for
Brook - who everyone wants to vote for :)

American Idol Season 7 - Week 4

So the Top Twelve perform Lennon & McCartney songs.

Just from first Week on the big stage, it is clear that most of the finalists can actually become successful solo artists in their chosen musical style...

Memorable:
Chikezie - for the first time, I liked what he did.
Jason Castro - something so likeable about his singing style...
Carly Smithson - and she CAME TOGETHER, unbelievable vocalist!
Brook White - simple and beautiful, what's not to like about her???
David Cook - terrific job from the resident EMO boy!
Amanda Overmyer - bluesy chick did her thang!!!

Meh:
Syesha Mercado - boring.
Michael Johns - blttt.
David Archuleta - for the first time, didn't gel with me.

Forgettable:
David Hernandez - WTF. Did NOT suit him at all.
Ramiele Malubay - what's sad is that this would've done superbly well in the Philippines.
Kristy Lee Cook - Ick. She needed to go a long time ago. Big mistake: she said she hoped Simon would like it, but who's voting airhead???

One Broadway

Earlier this evening, I accompanied Erik, Randel, and Vince to a bar in Los Gatos located in downtown Los Gatos on the corner of Broadway & Santa Cruz -- 1 Broadway to be exact. The boys wanted to scout the venue and listen to a live band, since they're scheming to get da band back togedder.

Fortunately for us the band happened to be a REALLY GOOD live band who called themselves Joint Chiefs. They played some Motown, funk, and R&B. Guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist, and two saxophonists. The crowd was an older crowd, Los Gatans mostly in their 40's & 50's just kicking back. Not too many 30-somethingers like us, so I think we kinda stuck out a bit as "yer not from around here".

Very snappy music, and we actually got up to dance a couple times to songs that we could bop to. Los Gatans seem to be more congenial than Santa Clara County townies on the dance floor... tipsy Stepford wives falling over themselves, and Daddy Warbuckses trying to strut their stuff with their Blackberrys hooked to their belts. But all having a genuine good time :) Very amusing to watch, and I was surprised that we actually really enjoyed ourselves!

Looking forward to when the band starts gigging, 'coz I definitely like their setlist. Plus inspires me to explore more of the local music & bar scene, and put my dancing shoes on once in a while :) May not last for hours on end like I did when I was 25, but at least can still get my groove on with a few more rest periods along with sips of refreshing beer *hehe*

American Idol Season 7 - My Top Twelve

So I pegged 10/12 :)

Too bad about Asia'h, she was cute -- much more personable than Kristy! Vocally, the two girls were pretty much on par, though... nothing special... so I'm ok with America's Vote.

Danny, I wanted to keep around purely for his spunkiness, and give him a second chance to redeem himself since he actually does have a good voice. He seemed to be a likeable guy, too. He certainly wasn't BORING like Chikezie. TMTH.

American Idol Season 7 - Week 3 (Gals)

where's the big hair???

Memorable:
Amanda Overmyer - suited her, rocker chick!
Carly Smithson - hmm, not familiar with the song. But I think she sang it well anyway :)
Brook White - smart performer. We are young. Heartache to heartache, we stand.

Meh:
Asia'h Epperson - it was ok... can't touch (pre-crack) Whitney though.
Ramiele Malubay - nice. Has this big ol' voice, I'm just waiting for that BIG note...
Syesha Mercado - they need to have a no-Whitney rule.

Forgettable:
Kady Malloy - pffftt pfft.
Kristy Lee Cook - yawn.

American Idol Season 7 - Week 3 (Guys)

Ahhh, the 80's...

Memorable:
David Archuleta - this boy will win anyway.
David Cook - ok, I liked this. A lot. Eat your heart out, Lionel!
Jason Castro - sweetness, a Lord of Dogtown -- hallelujah :)

Meh:
Danny Noriega - for some reason, I actually thought this was a good song choice for him.. he is managing to crack me up.. I'm not a hater anymore :)
David Hernandez - he actually is like a male version of Celine Dion. Not bad.
Michael Johns - good, but I'm not jumping up and down.

Forgettable:
Luke Menard - He murdered one of my favorite Wham songs... can't touch George Michael.
Chikezie - brings nothing to the table.

Results of American Idol Week2

So all my "Memorable" folks are safe. Once again, all is right with the world. Though I thought it was too early an exit for Alexandrea, she had that TLC vibe...

American Idol Season 7 - Week 2 (Gals)

Struggled like the guys did on 70's songs, but did better I think...

Memorable:
Carly Smithson - Heart is hard to sing to... but she actually pulled it off!
Ramiele Malubay - Hated the song, but she still has that incredible voice :)
Brook White - Right on, sista.

Meh:
Syesha Mercado - her vibrato made me shudder, no more softies for her.
Alexandrea Lushington - didn't dig it. But she's spunky and hip. She's cool to have around.
Asia'h Epperson - made me remember how AWESOME Latoya London really was!
Kristy Lee Cook - MUCH better than last week, but no wow-factor.

Forgettable:
Amanda Overmyer - Eep, she sounded horrible... cringe.
Alaina Whitaker - shouted an Olivia Newton-John song that I love. Feh.
Kady Malloy - Needs to get voted off asap -- she's just filler, with an evil eye.

American Idol Season 7 - Week 2 (Guys)

I can't believe most everyone sucked this week. Thank goodness for the Davids...

Memorable:
David Hernandez - Dude's a belter. He gives me good shivers :)
David Archuleta - VERY nice. The run he did towards the end was amazing to my ear. Tremendous interpretive skills. This boy has the greatest potential of winning this competition right now. I would be happy if he won actually, much like I was for Jordin Sparks who just blossomed throughout the season last year...

Meh:
Michael Johns - Wrong song for him I think. Too high for his range. Better luck next week.
Jason Castro - I like the song actually, could've done something different with it.
Chikezie - Better than last week anyway. Still obnoxious.
Danny Noriega - Gives me the shivers (and not the good kind), but he can sing...

Forgettable:
Luke Menard - Interesting high voice, too Glee Club for me though.
Robbie Carrico - Does this guy think he's hot stuff??? You're not going to win. Deal with it.
Jason Yeager - Poor guy. He tries though.
David Cook - Too much 'tude. Thinks he's hot stuff, too. But better than Robbie.

You know you're no longer a spring chicken...

... when you get glued to a late night infomercial hosted by the Bionic Woman, go to a Select Comfort store, welcome a demo by a knowledgeable & enthusiastic saleslady named Heatherly, then actually end up purchasing a Sleep Number bed from her. Oh, and learn that your "sleep number" is 50 :)

Results of American Idol Week1

So all my "Memorable" folks are safe. All is right in the world. Thank goodness Vote For The Worst didn't impact the Amy vote-off :)

American Idol Season 7 - Week1 (Gals)

Here's how I rate the Top 12 Gals, based on their Week1 (60's genre) performance:

Memorable:
Amanda Overmyer - I liked her from the very start. Very unique. Not sure how she'll handle other genres though...
Asia'h Epperson - Won't win, but has an "it" factor.
Ramiele Malubay - VERY nice range. I put her in my Top Three from the very start. Go Pinoy!
Syesha Mercado - A belter, she has major lungs.
Carly Smithson - Big voice. Pure. My pick to win American Idol.

Meh:
Alaina Whitaker - Ordinary, she'll survive.
Brook White - A plain Jane, but different... actually has a nice tone in her voice.
Joanne Borgella - Need to hear if she can belt out something first...
Alexandrea Lushington - Cool. She has an interesting "falsetto", not sure if I dig it, maybe better suited for hip-hop... need to hear more.

Forgettable:
Kristy Lee Cook - Bored me to tears.
Kady Malloy - Can impersonate Britney, but can't impersonate a singing sensation.
Amy Davis - Who?

American Idol Season 7 - Week1 (Guys)

Looks like American Idol is off to a good start this season! Here's how I rate the Top 12 Guys, based on their Week1 (60's genre) performance:

My rating scale:
Memorable - wowwed me, a keeper.
Meh - didn't make me cringe, but didn't make me jump out of my seat either.
Forgettable - buh-bye!

Memorable:
Jason Castro - If I had to pick an early "dark horse", he'd be it.
David Archuleta - Cute little boy, likeable. Won't win the big prize, but will get enough votes.
David Hernandez - Has a powerful voice, quality upper range. Give him a George Michael song.
Michael Johns - From the auditions, I placed him in the Top Three. Just needs to avoid the Doors from now on.... would actually be interesting if he tried singing an INXS song, just for grins....

Meh:
Robbie Carrico - He'll survive.
David Cook - Sort of bores me right now, but has that Smashmouth potential...
Garrett Haley - I think he needs to be given a nice high song before I pass harsh judgment...
Jason Yeager - Old-fashioned voice, need to hear more first before I wave him off.

Forgettable:
Chikezie - A watered-down Ruben Studdard, a little too smart-ass for my taste.
Luke Menard - No star quality. Boring.
Danny Noriega - Annoyed me from Day One. The new Sanjaya. I had to fast-forward.
Colton Berry - No appeal. Pure filler. I prefer the guy with the glasses & tie, too.

Dwain

Just had dinner with my best friend from Motorola, Dwain Dixson! He was in town on business, for training actually, and each time he visits he reminds me of how much he and I have grown through all of these years :) I have known Dwain for 11 years now, and he is still with Motorola, but is now working with cell phones.

Dwain and I were part of a fortunate group of college grads who got hired by Uncle Mot (that's our endearing term for Motorola) right when a new program at AIEG was starting up. Usually a new hire with little or no experience gets placed into a mature program to learn the ropes -- perhaps do some sustaining work, documentation, CCARs, etc. Stuff deemed not much fun. And the more experienced engineers are assigned to the new stuff. But we were surrounded by folks who believed in us, and a manager who had great confidence in his team's abilities, that we were given the rarest of opportunities. Baptized by fire from the get-go!

Dwain, Seble, Jim, and I were pups who acquired a lot of important career skills early on, from the amazing experience we had on the Natural Gas design team. We all joined within a month of each other I think, and we were all in our early 20's (I was 21 when I joined). We of course had older and wiser team leads to keep us in line (Steve, Zach, Carl) -- even Uncle Mot wasn't THAT crazy to have a bunch of newbies run around without guidance *HEHEHE*. Overall, we got our feet wet in every phase of the program. From understanding a spec and generating design schematics, to reviewing layouts, to breadboarding, troubleshooting, to circuit analysis/simulations, developing benchtesters, writing test software, flying to Seguin for builds, DV/PV testing, FMEAs, writing reports, making presentations, etc. You name it, we saw our engine control modules to the end, every step of the way! Dwain worked with Zach on the 701, I worked with Steve on the 558, and Seble & Jim worked with Carl on the 700. Our three modules then tied together to run a big Cummins Engine! They were also stand-alone modules which could serve other applications, too, like running power grids!

We depended a lot on each other, and we were a very close knit team. And we quickly learned to be resourceful, and knock on the doors of more experienced engineers whenever we had questions. And everyone was more than happy to help us along the way. Folks like our manager Mark, who was a super duper EE turned program manager. Him, Betty, Ron, Stinkie, John B, Tim E, Zoran, Jim F, and many others who worked on the legacy Cummins products. I even knocked on the doors of gold badgers like Sam and Ralph, who were longtime Motorolans with patents galore. These were the experts who the technical specialists went to for advice :) And the Cummins group had two of the best technicians ever -- Joey and Dave.

We also shared a very sad moment, when our technician Joey passed away :( We all went together as a team to his grave to pay our respects. I remember it was just after Thanksgiving. And when we were given the news, I was speechless. Because just before the holiday break, Joey had even baked for each of us a delicious English muffin to take home. Joey was really cool, and I still think about him from time to time...

Dwain and I were lunch buddies who liked to hit the Boston Market, Chi-Chi's, Crawdaddy's, Burger King, etc, if he didn't bring his lunch. Most of the time we would eat in the cafeteria with the rest of the Cummins gang. At 11:30, folks would make noise that it's time for lunch, and around 3pm folks would make noise that it's time for a coffee break :) Then Dwain accepted a position at Seguin as a test engineer as our programs neared completion, and then he later moved back to Central Illinois.

We had such a good time at Motorola -- I have such fond memories of everyone and all the relationships I made, especially the one that has lasted the longest, with Dwain :)