Ameri Canidol

Jimmy Iovine is my name. Music is my game.

The Top Nine American Idol contestants were singing tonight to stay in the competition. These are my notes from the March 28, 2012 show.

Singer 1: Colton went from barely singing to cry-yelling (cryell). Don't like his pitchy singing. Score: 6

Singer 2: Skylar did OK but it seemed like just a good karaoke version of a country song. Score: 7

Singer 3: Heejun gave a seriously good performance and deserves to move on to the next round. Score: 8

Singer 4: Hollie is still my favorite and I would love to see her win it. Score: 8

Singer 5: Deandre should never sing falsetto again and stick with trusetto. Listening to that song was torture. Score: 6

Singer 6: Jessica sounded great singing a challenging song. Loved the simple harp to accompany her voice in the beginning. Score: 8

Singer 7: Phillip did a soulful blues version of a soulful Jonny Lang blues song. Score: 9

Singer 8: Joshua got good feedback from the judges but I hated his raspy yelling (raspyell). Score: 7

Singer 9: Elise took on Whole Lotta Love and definitely got the Led out. Score: 9

Bottom Three: Colton, Deandre, Joshua.

Going Home: Deandre.

Good Example

Coco is a very good listener

Our friend Coco sets a very good example for others to follow. Besides being a good listener, Coco never over-reacts to any situation, while many of us later regret our knee-jerk reactions. Coco agrees with Yogi Beera that you can observe a lot just by watching. If you have any questions for Coco, Coco will try to answer them on a first asked/first answered basis. What is your question for Coco?

Ten To Nine

Mr. American Idol: Ryan Seacrest

Long story short: We missed American Idol tonight. Johnnny played piano this evening. We set the show to record. The red light was on from 7-9 but nothing got recorded. Kit and Johnnny will have to read your comments to hear how the show went tonight. The Top Ten were going to perform and one person gets eliminated on Thursday night. What was the theme? Who did well? Who is going home?

First Robin

First robin sighting in Fargo: March 18, 2012

In 2011, we saw our first robin on March 27. This year, a flock of robins showed up on Sunday, March 18. They easily blew into town on a strong southernly wind, while temperatures neared 80 degrees F. With the muggy humidity, unusual warmth, outdoor grilling, and chirping robins, March 18 felt more like May 18. Instead of moving our clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Savings Time, it's like we moved our calendars ahead 2 months.

Snowflake Of The Week

St. Patrick's Day Snowflake

Arrested Development

Judge Randall Darius Jackson

American Idol notes for March 14, 2012
Top Group:
Phillip could contend for the crown.
Joshua really gave a great performance.
Hollie is still my favorite to win it.
Upper Middle Group:
Elise was surprisingly good this round.
Skylar deserves to keepon keepin on.
Colton's skunkhead wasn't all bad.
Lower Middle Group:
Jessica was not great this time.
Heejun is likeable but too breathy & pitchy.
Deandre can't win but is OK.
Erika was blandly karaokesque.
Bottom Group:
Shannon is the weakest link. Good-bye.
Jermaine (already gone, needed a-rrest).

Daffadown Dilly

I came upon this beauty in our daffodil room

I decided to take a walk-a-bout with a camera (a cam-a-bout) in our living room this morning and came upon this fine yellow fellow. Some folks used to call this a daffadown dilly but Kit just calls it a daffodil.

Narcissus loves to look at itself in the mirrors

Once we learned that their nickname is Narcissus, we put a mirror next to it and it started to thrive.

Top 13

There's always room for J-Lo

The Top 13 sang tonight. The guys did Stevie Wonder songs and the girls did Whitney. Here are my rankings from best to worst:

A:
Hollie Cavanagh - my personal favorite of all the contestants
Jessica Sanchez - did a great job and could win it

B:
Phillip Phillips - favorite guy, but too joe cocker-ish
Skylar Laine - one of my top 3 girls, makes country enjoyable

C:
Deandre Brackensick - master blaster was actually pretty good
Erika Van Pelt - ok, but not a fave
Colton Dixon - daniel boone hair did ok, liked it
Heejun Han - like him, but a little pitchy
Jeremy Rosado - ok, but cannot win it

D:
Jermaine Jones - wtf?
Elise Testone - should not be in the Top 10
Shannon Magrane - out of her league
Joshua Ledet - don't like the tone of his yelling

Chalkboard Art

Cribbage scoreboard on our garage wall

Snowflake Of The Week