Confessions of a Pop Culture Vixen

Bush's View on Abortion

2006-01-23T23:38:00.000-08:00

Why should I be surprised?

Today (Jan 23) is the glorious celebration of the victorious Roe. v Wade. Such an important legal case for the rights of women in the United States. Roe v. Wade afforded women the ability to make their own decisions when it came to their bodies and to pregnancy. It allowed a woman who was carrying a fetus with grotesque abnormalities to be able to terminate the pregnancy without having to go through the agony of a birth only to discover the fetus would be born with half a head or other congenital anomaly. It also afforded women the ability for them to take birth control into their hands. Since women have the uterus, we should have the ability to decide what goes in, what stays in, and what goes out of that organ.

So why the rant? Because I read the asinine remarks of Pres. Bush to anti-abortion activists. He stated (and I summarize) that not to worry about abortion, because their way would become the only way soon. To me, thats a threat. To me, that's a terrorist threat. He is telling me that he and all the people with his same ideology will soon take over my cognitive abilities and dictate how my body will be used.

I think it's an egregious error of hubris on Bush's part to take such a declarative stance on a hot-bed issue such as abortion. Especially since he's a man and he will never be able to be pregnant, he will never be able to understand the stressors that pregnancy can cause and the medical reasoning why abortion must be legal.

Bush wants to persuade people to his view on abortion....sounds a little like Al-Queda telling people that they will 'persuade' them to see their POV only.

When Bush stole the election in 2000, I had a feeling that he would lead us into a steep slope of backwards ideology. Only I never thought he would turn out to be such a radical neoconservative. It is scary to think that the Nazi's, I mean the Republicans, have full power in D.C . Not only do they have the White House, but they have the Congress, and soon they have the Supreme Court.

If the case was reversed, and the Democrats had full power, the Republicans would try and do everything in their power to impeach every liberal on Capitol Hill. I can't wait for 2008. Maybe then the US can become a democracy again instead of a theocracy.

Supreme Court Disappointment

2005-07-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

Why should I be disappointed? I really shouldn't, I tell myself. But I, like the Broadway Musical South Pacific says, I'm a Cockeyed Optimist. And I absolutely detest the word cockeyed. But Optimist alone sounds so....old. Like a bunch of white men sitting in one of those lodges with a poor Moose's decapitated head while they chat about the "good old days"...or at least they pretend that the "good old days" were anything near good. Thus, I have to coerce myself to put the word cockeyed next to optimist, just for sound effect I think. But I digress.

Where was I before all this cock-eyed talk? Ah yes, the Supreme Court. I was rather shocked to hear that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor decided to retire. The wench. After all, I was betting that Rehnquist would be the first of the bunch to leave. Let's face it Bill, your time is limited. Not trying to be mean but it's true. You have thyroid cancer dude. And a quite bad case of it, just by hearing the gravely tone of your voice and the large goiter around your neck. Not to mention you wobble when you walk and you have the "cancer patient" color of puce when it comes to your skin hue.

Thyroid cancer is not so bad, it's actually quite treatable, unlike cancer of the pancreas of ovaries or even the kidney....by the time symptoms show, it's pretty much too late. Oncologists (cancer doctors) like to numerate everything, including how bad one's cancer is. They are usually Stage I to Stage IV, with Stage IV being terminal with only 1-3% chance of survival within 5 years of diagnosis. But miracles happen....either that or the doctor was wrong in his pathological diagnosis. Anyhow....despite the fact that thyroid cancer technically isn't the 'worst' of the cancer bunch....when an 80 year old man is diagnosed with it, the prognosis is hardly good.

Let's face it, he has already passed his expiration date just by the fact of the date of his birth. In 1925, the life expectancy for a man was around 60 years old (now its around 77, I believe). So already, based on the quantitative stats, he is 20 years past his expiration date. Now if he was milk, he would have curdled stuff on top of his head and he would have a not so pleasant aroma. Needless to say, I was very surprised that he did not step down from the Bench (Must be a "Chief Justice" male ego thing).

Which leads me to what surprised and worried me: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor decided she didn't want to play dress up any longer, thus she retired. O'Connor is a historic figure for the Supreme Court. She was the first woman appointed to the highest Court in the United States back during Reagan's era. Sad, but that was merely 24 years ago....And the Supreme Court has been around since the conception of the 3 branches of the US Government and it a female was not assigned to the Bench until 1981. Until that time, it was an all-boys club. Women were not thought to have the mental faculties to handle the position of a Supreme Court Judge (Despite the fact that many women already were judges in various district, appellate, county courts for awhile preceding the nomination of Sandy).

Sandy's departure saddens me for a couple reasons. 1) It sets us back 24 years because Bush decided to appoint John Roberts, a conservative (blech) to take the place of the iconic O'Connor. I knew it was coming. I knew Bush did not have the cojones to pick a woman (even a conservative one)...instead he went with the tradition: white male. What a surprise. Not. It took over 200 years for a President to deem a woman 'fit' to be a Supreme Court Justice. And when she quit, the present President decided to go back and undo all the progress made. 2) The appointee, Roberts, stated a couple years ago, that would love to overturn Roe V Wade. This disturbs me.

Roe V Wade is a historic case that did for women what Brown vs Board of Topeka did for the Civil Rights movement and African-Americans. The topic of abortion should not even be a political discussion board as it is a medical procedure performed by a doctor. It sickens me to see the so-called "Pro Life" people saying abortion is wrong and blah blah blah. Abortion is not about right or wrong. It's about a decision, in the majority of cases, that determines whether or not the mother is going to live or die.

See, a lot of people think the average woman who gets an abortion is in her late teens to early 20s, is promiscuous, and gets an abortion because it's a form of 'birth control'. Wrong. For one thing, the 'average' abortion patient is a woman in her 30s and it is not done out of frivolity. The main reason is due to the health of the woman or the health of the embryo/fetus. When an ultrasound is performed on a woman who is 4-5 months pregnant and they discover their are some gross abnormalities with the fetus, an abortion is performed. I am talking about fetuses that do not have a properly developed head, called ancephaly, where the head is either non existent or severely disfigured. Other instances are when the fetus' organs are developing in an odd manner, where the fetus actually dies in utero....where the mother develops severe toxemia and must have an abortion or she will die. Other times, abortions are performed because of financial difficulties. The woman in her 30s gets the abortion because she does not have the monetary resources to have a child grow up in her home for 18 years.....other times the woman's husband or boyfriend demands the abortion, slapping the pregnant woman around until she complies. This is why Roe V Wade is very important and to appoint a justice who believes in misconceptions (i.e. such as the whole 'partial birth abortion' which technically doesn't exist at all and is rarely performed, maybe 4 cases a year at most and is performed due to fetal abnormalities not because the pregnant woman decides at 8 or 9 months pregnant that she just does not want to carry to term).

Lastly, I am disappointed in Sandy because she is quitting. As the first woman Supreme Court Justice she has a duty and that duty is to be an exemplary star for all young girls looking to go into politics. Her job is to tell young girls that they can do it too, that it's not an all boys club any longer, that women are actually making strives in male-dominated careers.

Unfortunately, that bubble has burst. By her sudden departure, she is proving the stereotype about women in the workforce to be true....that they are flighty, and will not stay the course as their male counterparts. Not to compare her unfairly to Rehnquist....but he is battling Thyroid cancer, is 80 years old, and is not "giving in the towel"....but Sandy is. She basically is saying "It was a fun game, but I'm done"....all the progress briefly made since 1981 has diminshed.

Are we going to have to wait until century or two until there is another female appointed to the Supreme Court. Just because there is Ginsburg, doesn't mean that the President should not think that another woman (especially a woman of color) would not be an excellent choice for the job....to showcase that politics is not a white male sport that occaisionally allows a woman in as long as she is not there for a long period of time.

The lack of fledging in Humans, what a Shame.

2005-06-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

Baby birds go through two stages of development: nestling and fledging. Nestling stage is when the bird has just hatched out of its shell and lacks the fully developed feathers needed to be able to survive in their habitat. They reside in their parent’s nest at all times and are completely dependent on their parents for their food, shelter, and safety. Fledging occurs when the baby bird has the fully developed feathers. This is the time when the mother and father will push them out of the nest and watch from a distance as the babies learn to fly. Once the baby birds have taken flight and are steady, the parents will relinquish their parental duties and let their children go out into the world and start a life of their own.
Birds have it all worked out. If only humans can be so mature, to realize that there is a time when their child is not equipped to leave the nest, requiring the mother and father to teach them the life skills that will allow them to fly when they leave their own nest, such as college. But all too often, parents push their children out of the nest when the children are not ready to fly, and they end up floundering about, mildly flapping their underdeveloped wings as they go through life. This leads to a teen who goes to college and lacks the social-moral-academic compass needed to survive the next 4 years on their own. If you go to any college campus with dormitories, you will most certainly find students who are not fledging. They will be the ones who think the world revolves around their activities and does not understand the need for cooperation, maturity, and responsibility. Usually, these young adults who are unfledged, go through their adult life in this state, thinking the world is their oyster and they can demand any service at the snap of their fingers.
Why is it so natural for birds, a beautiful species, to know that they have to prepare their babies for the real world, and will push them out of the nest but keep a careful eye until their child gets both the courage and the ability to fly completely on their own. Yet humans, a supposedly “superior” species, are having the most difficult time in learning when to nestle their young and when to kick them out of the nest and watch them become full fledged adults. Maybe it’s time we reconsider the “superiority complex” we have and take a careful case study of how baby birds grow up. Perhaps then our younger generations will finally become mature and responsible, no matter how large their bank account or how small their stature. It’s not about size anymore, it’s about being a complete individual from the inside out.

Terri Schiavo...let her go

2005-03-23T04:12:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a very controversial post, but that is usually the crux of many pop culture situations.

I think most everyone is aware, in the US at least, of Terri Schiavo as her story has been in the news non-stop for the past couple weeks. At the heart of the matter....letting her "die" by removing the feeding tube as her husband insists Terri would want, or keeping the tube and allowing her body to receive water and food as her parents and siblings desire.

Poor Terri. Not because she is in a persistant vegetative state (I will explain this in a moment), but because she is caught in the middle of an unnecessary legal battle not only between her parents and her husband, but between Congress, the Courts, and public opinion. For the public and the media, and even the President, Terri is a sound-byte, a story, an object to discuss and debate. She is not a human being to anyone, but mainly a source of political power to divert the public's attention away from the millions of homelesss, uninsured, sick, dying people across the nation....why give all this special treatment to one person, and not give everyone else the same right? Politics as usual, no wonder people don't vote anymore.

Terri was a bulimic, an eating disorder characterized by binging by eating large amounts of food, and than purging (laxatives, vomiting, sweating, dehydration, etc) all the food immediately after consumption. She was only in her 20s when she suffered a heart attack as result of the bulimia, and the heart attack caused her brain to not receive oxygen....thus she went into a persistent vegetative state (PVS).

PVS, to many people, may be interchangable with a coma. It's not. PVS is when whatever part of the brain that becomes damaged, shuts off, causing the individual to literally not be able to function in life. They have little to no cognitive skills, meaning they can not talk, reason, logic. Can they think? Probably not, because medical science shows that with such severe brain damage like Terri's, the whole frontal cortex of the brain (where thinking and speech occurs) is like mush. Plus she can not vocalize words, she can not make meaningful statements, she can not address her concerns. That leads to a medical assumption that she has cognitive impairment. Terri was 'lucky' in the sense that the part of the brain that regulates breathing in the back of the brain, was not affected by the lack of oxygen (stroke). That is why she is not hooked up to 'artificial' life support. She can breathe on her own because breathing is a reflex, we don't have to consciously think in order to breathe because of our medulla (part of the brain) does it for us.

PVS patients are nothing more than a former shell of themselves, who are now slaves to their reflexes....both voluntary and involuntary. We all have reflexes, such as the knee-jerk reflex the doctor does or blinking...that's a reflex.

Unfortunately, people who are well-rounded when it comes to psychology and medical sciences, do not understand the true nature of PVS, and even certain "medical experts" who are prone to political parties that are dominant right now (conservatives) allow their own political view to get in the way of science, which is a shame.

Terri's mother and father, I feel for them, really I do....but she is not their little girl anymore. She is a 41 year old woman who is married (her husband has gotten way too much disrespect in the media). He will not divorce Terri because he wants to make sure that his wife's desires are met...to not be in a PVS. Unfortunately the couple never made a will or an advanced directive that would detail exactly what each individual would "want" to have in medical situations. But, her husband is her 'guardian" or next of kin, not her parents. We have to have faith in marriage, isn't that what the right-wingers spout? And now, because Terri's husband is speaking out against her parents wanting their daughter to be a vegetable....they are overriding their "sanctity of marriage" act they used to vilify gay marriage.

The husband, unless he specifically caused Terri's PVS, should have 100% authority in this case. He never abused her, nor wanted her dead. Why are we acting as if he is Scott Peterson? He is simply stating that this is exactly what his wife does NOT want. And the parents, being one part staunch catholics, and two parts never liking Terri's husband from the start, are using this "battle" to their favor.

I have followed this case for years and I have watched endless tapes....Terri does not have the ability to express emotions, to think, to speak, to move. She is literally a slave to her physical body, without the use of her consciousness, her awareness of self and life. The issue truly is Quality of Life.

It really bugs me that we take better care of our pets than we do our 'humans". We are allowed and expected to humanely euthanize our beloved cat or dog when they are dying, because we don't want them to go through agonizing terror of the dying process, so we euthanize them with an injection. It is the hardest act in the world to do....I recently (this past October), put to sleep by 15 year old cat (I had her since I was 8 years old, we grew up together) because she began to throw clots from her heart and was deteriorating. She had no quality of life becasue she lost all function in her back legs in a manner of 45 minutes. Two years prior, I had to euthanize my 9 year old cat because she had a cancer in her mouth that caused her to not be able to chew, and was incredibly painful. Both instances were gut wrenching...I didn't want to do it. I wanted to cling to the hope, like Terri's parents and husband, that the doctors are wrong, that my cat will pull through....but the doctors were right, and like Terri's husband, I knew the humane and moral responsible thing was to put both of them out, and they are now in Spirit now, peaceful and pain free.

Euthanizing our pets is a hard task, but it is looked upon, in the veterinary field and the field animal lovers, as a noble act, completely selfless act, allowing our pet, someone we love like a child, to end their suffering and move past their physical burdens. I believe the same needs to be applied to humans as well. Their are people everyday who are not clinically depressed, but are dying excruciating deaths as a result of AIDS, cancer, MS, scleroderma, etc. They have no rights, other than to live from one pain pill to the next, which never ends the physical pain of their condition. They are given a death sentence, they will not heal as a miracle. But we let them go for years, dying. And I think that is morally wrong.

We don't let that happen to Fluffy or Patches, but we let Grandma Betty or Uncle Ron to go through agony and pain of a slow death. I know this is unrelated angle of the Terri Schiavo case, but it does have some relatable tangents.

The idea goes back to quality of life....who would want a life where the only part of their brain that works is their medulla? In other words, you don't need to be hooked up to keep your heart and lungs going, but that's it. The rest you need help in. You can't move, speak, think, emote. I understand the parents in their emotional duress want to believe their daughter Terri is still the same woman she was before the heart attack. But she's not. This is not just a traumatic brain injury, its severe brain damage. They see her move, make grunts, and her face may make expression....they see this as positive sign, that she is "here"...but she really isn't. All of those are a mixture of involuntary and voluntary reflexes, and as humans we want to read so much into everything, so we feel better about the situation.

But suppose, she does 'think'....suppose she is 'communicating'....why do some people think she is communicating in agreement with keeping her life the way it is? Why do some people not think that maybe she is doing her darndest to make some gesture, who cares what it is, using every part of her 'being', taking as long as possible, to grunt, to move her facial muscles, as a sign to tell people "I don't want to live like this, my husband is right."

Unless we can tap into her mind and 'hear' whether or not she has thoughts, we can't distinguish anything.

But we have her husband's testimony. Yes he has a girlfriend and kids. I find nothing wrong with that. Many couples talk about the "what ifs" and they always tell the other to make sure they find someone else, to not stay alone. He has not left Terri, if anything he is fighting harder. He isn't saying "see ya. I dont care about you at all, I got my new girl and kids now". He is by Terri, fighting for Terri....while being in a committed relationship. To me, that speaks volumes about the veracity of his claims that Terri did not want to be in the condition that she is in. I believe him because there is no evidence to refute his claims.

In conclusion, ask yourself this....if something should ever happen to you, god forbid, and you end up like Terri Schiavo, would you want to spend the rest of your life this way? Or would you want to get out of that body and finally come to peace.

One more thing, its been mentioned that by removing her feeding tube is inhumane. It is not. Terri is not a functioning human being, meaning she does not know, she has no cognition, of whether she's sleepy, hungry, thirsty, etc. That part of her brain, the arousal part, is gone, its damaged. Meaning she would never feel thirsty or hungry because of the brain damage to that area. So by removing the feeding tube, we are not inhumanely treating her....we are doing her justice. When she was fed, she did not know it. She did not "feel full", her brain does not register satiety or hunger. Doctors would never dehydrate and 'starve' someone who was conscious, they would never do that if that part of the brain that is about arousal (not talking sexual, but arousal of appetites and sleep cycle) was not damaged.

It should also be mentioned, that terminally ill people have little to no hunger...its a symptom called anorexia. Not the eating disorder. Anorexia as a symptom is where literally the person has no hunger or thirst, they do not feel starved if they go a week without eating. If anything, eating makes them feel sicker. Our bodies know what to do, and when the feeding tube is removed, the body finally begins the process of shutting down. It does this by mechanisms in her liver, pancreas to conserve insulin, the body's sugar, and it will also release glucagon from the liver. The body 'feeds' itself during this process. So for all of you thinking this is a "horrible death", it isnt. A horrible death is that where the person is suffering of pain from an inoperable tumor and has months, years to go through dying, and the only thing they get is pain pills, which do nothing to get rid of the pain.

End of the Road for the Men

2005-03-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

This is it, the final frontier. The last bus stop. The last....well you get the idea, hopefully because I have run out of cute and witty puns.

Tonight signalled the last time the men (or boys, depending on their age) would sing in the Semifinal Round of American Idol 4. By Wednesday Night, we will know which 2 of the 8 men (boys) will go home and who will become finalists in American Idol.

So one would think that the men (boys...alright, this is getting old), knowing this is their final chance to revitalize their fan base and target audience, but to impress a new bunch of fans to vote for them to the final round. That would mean singing their cute little tight butts off (okay, this applies only to Mario and Travis who have cute little tight butts), showcasing their personality, and making it clear that they are an American Idol. That they are better than any other performer of American Idol past. This takes guts...or Cajones....maybe both. Definately both.

It should also be said that tonight was a "theme": astrology. That's right, we finally learned what each astrological sign each man fell under. Woohoo. Yippee. Who cares?

So without much fan fare, let's recap and analyze the men boys.

1) Scott Saval. Taurus
Not to be mean, but this guy totally creeped me out during the pre-semifinal rounds with his antisocial behavior. But rumor has it that he is far from being antisocial and is a great guy with a sparkling personality and keen wit. Same thing was said about Ted Bundy...
Anyhoo. It is no secret that Scott is the "White" version of Ruben Studdard. One does not expect a velvety voice to come out of the likes of Scott. He does not look like a Justin Timberlake guy....he's rotundish and baldish. But he sings near heavenly.
Tonight he sang "Can't Help Myself" and it was the perfect choice of song for a man with a voice for Motown. It was just a perfect, safe song choice. But it's that time of the game when singing safe songs is not cute anymore, it's lazy, it's a fear of being cut. We want to see all the sides of Scott, we know he has a soulfull voice, but he can bring forth that tone into all genres of music, if not...he is not a true musician, just a good singer.
Capable of much better, but it was a nice way to start the show.

2) Bo Bice. Scorpio
Bo came out with the song, "I'll Be" by rock-pop singer songwriter Edwin McCain. I swear these two men could be related, not only is their physical resemblence but vocally as well. If you closed your eyes, you wouldn't be able to distinguish one from the other. That's not the say this was a copy-cat performance. It was just that good.
Bo, like Scott, is a consistent performer. Each week he comes out, and you know what to expect: excellent purity of tone, clarity of voice, and a great performance. Where Bo differs from Scott is in his song selection. He takes risk.
I was worried a little at first because how can Bo top himself after last week's phenomenal performance? Truth be told, this week didn't top last week, but that's okay. It wasn't a bad performance at all.
He added his own style to the song, owning it, especially the bridge portion. Simon was right, this song, sung exactly like it was (live not recorded in a studio, manufactured) could be put on the radio and easily be a million dollar hit record.
Bo, you are definately making this competition harder....for the other men and women who will really have to work it, in order to out-do you. Excellent job.

3) Anthony Federov. Taurus
Anthony sang "I've Got You". Totally took me by surprise. A white Ukrainian male singing a Latin song. Doesn't get any better than that.
I hear via gossip that many people dislike Anthony as much as I dislike Constantine. This is really too bad, because Anthony has something Connie boy doesn't: talent.
I was worried the last two weeks with Tony because he kept singing 80s power ballads. Last week I urged him to not sing another 80s power ballad, get modern and up-tempo. He listened. Yippee.
He proved that he can sing slow, fast, latin, pop, 80s, etc. He has the natural raw ability and the vocal timbre and flexibility to sing any genre of sing without compromising his identity or his voice. This was a flawless performance. Tony definately made it to the finals (I hope).

4) Nikko Smith. Taurus
Nikko sang "Georgia On My Mind." I'm beginning to think that Nikko really is a risk taker. Singing a Ray Charles song is not for anybody. Ray is a legend, especially now the movie. And "Georgia" is one of my all-time fave songs. I was wondering whether he would do it justice or would Ray have to rise from the grave and teach this boy how to sing.
I still don't know the answer to that. I'm perplexed. Half of me thinks it was a good performance and Nikko did his best to own an incrediblly private song that is bigger than him. The other half of me thinks he failed to accomplish much, and just settled for a kareoke version of the song.
I feel like Nikko is lost. He doesn't know who he is in the competition, in the singing world. He picks songs that he thinks will sound good, will make him appear like a singer, but I don't get that hunger for music or the true desire that singers have for the craft.
All in all, I thought it was all right. But after, what 3 weeks?, of performing, I am torn as to whether or not Nikko should be in the finals, and if he is, he probably will be one of the first to leave.

5) Travis Tucker. Aries
Travis, Mr Cutie Patootie, sang "Every Little Step" by Bobby Brown. Hey, I hear the laughter.
Personally, as much as I adore Travis and find him alluring, cute, sexy, boyish, masculine, and everything a man should be....I think this was his undoing. He will be going home. Sniff, cry.
He just isn't good enough for this stage of the competition. His dancing is wonderful, very fluid. but the performance and the singing was dreadful. Why would anyone want to sing a Bobby Brown song on American Idol? That's like someone wanting to sing a song by Vanilla Ice.
He, like all the judges said, was WAY off pitch and in and out of various keys. I think because he was so busy concentrating on dancing and stage performance that he forgot he was in a singing competition...and what was with the whole beatbox thing? This isn't Missy Elliot's singing show.
He has a nice voice, but isn't a natural singer. With some vocal lessons, he could become very good, but he needs training. There are many men who have natural fluidity and talent and, unless he gets a large contigency of females, he will be going home.

6) Mario Vasquez. Gemini
Another Cutie Patootie. Mario switched gears. For two weeks we saw a playful, flirty side. Tonight it was different. He chose the song "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and he sang the song out of it.
Mario, like Anthony and Bo, are top-notch male performers and they knock my socks off with each performance. They make it look so easy and effortless. I completely disagree with Simon when he said that Mario was not one of the top male vocalists in the show.
Only advice I have for Mario's excellent performance...when singing a love song or any slow ballad, there is always a point when you want to put some power behind your voice....but you also need to put softness and vulnerability. Mario is so used to just powering his voice through faster songs, that he has yet to truly master how to express love songs in a gentle manner.

7) Constantine Maroulis. Virgo
I really do not want to waste much space or letters on this guy. I think he is the weakest singer on the show and I have no idea why he made it as far as he did. He comes across as a wanna be rocker, a phony. Tonight he sang, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by Sting.
Simon got it right, this was a bad impersonation of Sting singing the song.
Just horrible. I really hope tonight was Connie's last performance on AI.

8) Anwar Robinson. Taurus.
Anwar is another toss-up for me. Half of me thinks he is a genius. The other half thinks he is over-hyped and shouts rather than sings ( ala Celine Dion et.al). He took on a very ambitious song, "What A Wonderful World" by the legend Louis Armstrong.
Definately give him props for not making this a copy-cat performance or kareoke style. He definately put his own style and tone into it.
Anwar has the vocal ability and is able to technically be a great singer. But I think he is a better teacher than a singer. I just don't see the fire in his eyes for performing as a solo singer...but I do get the idea that he wants to teach music and singing, making it a passion for everyone.
The judges loved the performance and I thought it was good, but he tends to shout whenever he goes for the top notes of the song. And I'm not into that. I don't think that's considered singing. It's belting to the extreme.

I think the 2 men who will be eliminated will be Travis and Constantine.

Tomorrow, the girls perform and I will give you my report then.

Kareoke Version of Alicia Keys on AI

2005-03-02T04:47:00.000-08:00

Alright, so tonight (Tuesday) was the remaining 10 Ladies singing their all (or at least part of their all) in hopes that they will not be one of the 2 cut on the following night's show. Here is my brief recap.

1) Aloha Mischeaux, "You Don't Know My Name"
The show began with a rendition of a very popular Alicia Keys song. It should be stated that Alicia Keys is the best female vocalist on the market since Mariah Carey began back in 1989 (and MC's demise in the late 90s was a shame, on a side note). Aloha, obviousely an AK fan, thought she could work her own magic on the song, or at least imitate it.
She did neither. Aloha is this year's Jasmine Trias, she is an okay singer, but not a great one, and I hope she does not make it to the finals based on sympathy a la Jazzy. In tonight's performance, Aloha was very tight vocally and pinched off her higher notes at the end of each phrasing, causing the tone to sound awkward, not the the free soullful sound of the original song.
Her expression on her face was also off kilter, she knew she didn't hit the notes properly, and that only added to her making more mistakes. If Aloha is given another chance, I hope she learns to drop this "act" that she has on stage and just be her.
Overall: C+ to B-

2) Lindsey Cardinale, "I Try To Think About Elvis"
Okay, never ever heard this song, but it's a country one and Lindsey loves country...unfortunately this is American Idol, not Nashville Star. Didn't we have this problem in Cycle 2 with Josh Gracin?
The performance itself was lackluster, becasue the song seemed to be a novelty act, and how can one take a novelty song seriously in a talent competition? She is good on stage, just not cut out for American Idol.
Overall: Goodbye Lindsey.

3) Jessica Sierra, "A Broken Wing"
Last week's performance by Jessica was bad and I was wondering why the judges picked her in the auditions. She proved herself 1000% tonight. I never heard this song before, but she made me feel like I have heard it a thousand times and it was a favorite. Her vocal timbew is excellent and her tone is beautiful, full of passion and husky. She actually made me like a country ballad.
Jessica, as long as she keeps this up and doesn't let stage fright overcome her, definately is one of my top 4 favorite performers.
Overall: A+

4) Mikalah Gordon, "God Bless The Child"
It has been said that you either love Mikalah or you hate her. I LOVE her to death. She is a cross between a Fran Drescher and a Barbara Streisand but with her own cute spunky attitude. Last week wasn't so well for her, so I was worried that my fave girl would let me down this week and would be sent packing.
She didn't. She pulled a Fantasia, channeling the Idol's performance of Summertime that blew everyone away. It is incredibly difficult for the most trained vocalist to pull off anything song by the Goddess, Billie Holliday without sounding like a cheap bar or carabet act. But this little 17 year old sang the song, and I'm sure Billie would be so proud to know that her song transcends generations and was performed so well.
Mikalah's vivacious and outgoing personality was aptly subdued tonight for this performance, rather than put her personality and showmanship on stage, she left that behind her and allowed her vocal ability to do the work: and it worked. She had such control of her voice, so good for a young thing.
Overall: A+

5) Celena Rae, "When The Lights Go Down"
I feel a little bad for Celena, she had to come after 2 incredible acts: Jessica and Mikalah. But that is the nature of this competition, you have got to raise your game every week and make sure you blow us away so we can't remember who sang before you.
Celena didn't. She reminds me of a really bad Celine Dion impersonator. 2nd week in a row that I just dont see it in her. I think she is complacent in her vocal abilities and feels she doesn't have to go the extra mile to really sing and prove herself...but she does, because she is not singing for herself, she is singing to out-sing the other girls...she didn;t
Overall: B-

6) Nadia Turner, "My Love"
I like to dub Nadia the female version of Lenny Kravitz. She is a rocker with a sense of pop but without the sense of conformity that many pop singers feel. Last week's performance was different, unique. She is not the best vocally, but she has a spark in her that makes her stand out...or maybe its just the height of her hair.
But this week, her spark got lost in this song. It is a weird song, I never heard it and the arrangement of it was nothing but a chorus and a bunch of "woah's".
Overall: B

7) Janay Castiae, "Hit 'Em Up Style"
This is the perfect song for young Janay as she literally sounds like Blu Cantrell. She could pose for her vocal twin. However, the performance itself was lackluster. It was stiff and Janay sang the words but had no clue about emoting the song. She seemed like a deer caught in the headlights who just happens to know how to sing a song or two.
Overall: C+

8) Amanda Avila, "Turn the Beat Around"
As a devoted AI watcher, I would refrain from singing this song after last year's spectacular performance by Diana Degarmo's version. But you can never tell a vocalist what to do it seems.
Amanda is cute, she has something in her that makes you want to listen to her, her tone is overall not bad, its nice. But she got lost in the song, in between the heavy amount of percussion and the background vocals, it was hard at times to hear her sing. She is best singing songs that showcase her breathy tone, she doesn't have the belt quality that others have in the competition. I don't think this will cost her, her place in the competition, but if she doesn't learn from this mistake, she will definately leave next time.
Overall: B-

9) Carrie Underwood, "Piece of My Heart"
I was excited to listen to Carrie, ever since Auditions it is known that she is incredibly talented and has her own unique sound. But she is inconsistant. Last week was effortless and perfect...this week was a big "huh?!?"
This song just doesn't jive with Carrie at all, its like oil and water. I think, deep down, Carrie knew that, and yet sang it anyway as a way of trying to be risky and showing that she can sing a "rock" song....but she really needs to stick to her folk, county, pop style.
Hopefully people wont betray her and vote her off for this huge mistake.
Overall: B-

10) Vonzell Solomon, "If I Ain't Got You"
It seems fair, we started the night with a bad version of an Alicia Keys song, we shoud end the same way.
Please girls, stop singing Alicia, none of you have the voice to sing her songs...there's only one Alicia. Be yourself.
This was very poor, trying to literally copy every vocal nuance and run in the original song. Vonzell put no originality in this version at all, very much like a cover-band version in a kareoke bar. It was pitchy and awkward.
Overall: C+

That is my analysis, we will see tomorrow who goes home.

American Idol Semifinals: Men Round 2

2005-03-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

I am a HUGE American Idol fan and also an experienced vocal teacher. So it is with my pleasure that I plan to compose my own analysis of each episode of my favorite reality show, giving my opinions and asking y'all to give me feed back on this.

Okay, Monday Night, as per the usual way the Semifinals are run, the Dogpound were performing.

1) Mario Vazquez
I like to think of Mario as "Beret Boy" as he tends to wear those Frenchie designs on his cute little head of his. Except on this episode he left the Beret for a Bell-shaped white hat that complemented his white jacket. Although I wasn't feeling his clothing ensemble (yellow t-shirt with blue jeans and white jacket and hat...too boy bandish for this woman), I was totally feeling his music.
He sang "I Love Music" by the O'Jays, an unusual song choice because I do not the target audience demographic are familiar with both the song and the old-school band. Mario was a stand-out at the Audition Round, he had such a pure tone to his strong voice. Raw talent is my phrase for this year's competition. He really owned the song, giving it his own flavor and he is definately not afraid of interpreting a song to his style and his advantage. He has the genes to be an artist.
His posture was terrific, he perfectly set himself up so his diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and back muscles did all the work while leaving his laryngial muscles alone (causing glottal attacks, which happened alot tonight with some of the other boys). He has a lot of control in his voice, however this song showcased Mario's biggest weakness: his upper register is very weak. He doesn't know quite how to blend the head voice without it sounding strident or constricted.
Overall: Good, but not great. He is capable of so much vocally and he played it safe. I give him an A+ when it comes to stage presence and energy, a B- for song choice, and a B for delivery. Add that all up and he gets a B+.

2) Anwar Robinson
I may be one of the few individuals who was astounded when Anwar sang his rendition of Moon River last week. Such an unusual song choice, but he owned it and sang the heck out of it, making Audrey Hepburn's voice-over in Breakfast At Tiffany's very proud. I liked him all through the auditions, felt he had that something special, the "X" factor and I loved the fact that he taught music, making him an expert when it comes to vocal mechanics. But is that what's needed to be an American Idol?
Anwar sang "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye...he fell short. Marvin's performance was solid. Anwar seemed like he was trying too hard to make it Anwar and it came out rough and wobbly. He has such an excellent mid-range to his voice and he was able to own the stage and move around and have fun, making us at home get into the performance.
However, as much as he got into it, to me, he was stiff and a little boring like he was so relaxed that he had nothing to pull from to put a spark into the performance. Especially a charged song such as "What's Going On". I think he picked the wrong song. He is good at ballads and moderate tempo songs, but failed on this one for me.
Overall: I give him a solid B all the way around. If he keeps practicing, his tone will strengthen as long as he chooses songs that show his range the best.

3) Joe Murena
Joe sang "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green, one of my favorite soul songs. I didn't enjoy the performance from Joe. He is disconnected from the audience, stiff, and unnatural in front of the camera. It's as if he is singing to himself. No showmanship. He really had something to prove, at least vocally, this week based on last week's dreaded song.
He started off shaky in his lower register, giving me little hope that he even rehearsed in the one week he had. As the song went on, his tone improved and his pitch improved, but he made it sound country, had too many cry's in his voice, which tells me he is not using proper breathing techniques with his diaphragm nor is he utilizing his resonanting cavities in his head. He also needs to be more clear when he sings instead of closing off the words, making it mumbling. Joe would be perfect if it was AI season 1, but he is just not good enough for this season. He just needs training and I am sure he would make an excellent back-up singer or lounge singer, and I'm not trying to be nasty.
Overall: C+, it's too far in the game for him to be not up to par like in the auditions. He has some excellent, naturally gifted raw talented singers in this competition, and he's not one of them. Either 'shape up or get sent home'.

4) David Brown
David, the church-going N'Orleanean, decided to sing "All In Love Is Fair" by Stevie Wonder. Last week he did an alright job, but played it pretty safe for a talent show that is going on it's 4th cycle, looking for someone who is bigger and better than the previous winners. I thought the song was boring, honestly.
David has such a beautifully rich voice with a superb vibrato and excellent control of holding and sustaining his notes on target. But, like so many tonight, he started off flat with the low notes. David has such a nice voice but the song ruined it. Tonight he lacked the control, and either was flat or was sharp, especially on the higher notes when it became a bit painful to listen to.
Stage presence, for being in a choir he is used to blending in, and that's what he did tonight. He did not exude charisma, he was bland and there was no emotion. He had such a spark in the very beginning, but perhaps his stage fright is getting the best of him, taking away that wonderful voice he has. If he doesn't shape up quick, he won't make it to the final 6 boys. Which would be a shame.
Overall: Stage Presence was a C-, Song Choice was a B-, and Vocal Ability was a B. So he comes to a C+/B-

5) Constantine Maroulis
I am no fan of Constantine, let that be known, but I give everyone an equal shot. Last week, his rendition of Kiss from a Rose was terrible and I was shocked that he was not voted off. This week he decided to go with the rock song "Hard to Handle", imitating the Black Crowe's, but he doesn't realize that Otis Redding was the original singer of that song.
I will give him props when it comes to the stage and performing. He is good at it. He should be, he has been on Broadway productions. This makes it seem natural for him to get up there and do it, and not worry whether he makes a mistake or not. That's alright for Broadway, but it's not alright for AI, where we are looking for a pop singer who is near to or close to flawless in delivery.
Throughout the song he was either flat or he schreeched the top notes like a cat being run over, it was horrid. I felt like he thought he could "slide by" this week by choosing such a safe predictable song, that type of 'i wanna be a rock' song by the Black Crowes does fit his image of a wanna be rock star, without the vocal ability.
I am dismayed that the judges did not nail him for his bad singing, what were they drinking in their Coke's tonight? Sure it was better than last week's performance, anything is better than rock bottom.
Overall: Please be sent home. He got a D from me, it wasn't a complete failure because of his stage performance.

6) Scott Saval
He is like white chocolate. On outer appearance he looks kind of bland and unoriginal, but once you take a bite, it's creamy and rich and soulful. He has an amazingly soulful voice, which is unusual to find in a Caucausian male without sounding like you are imitating Justin Timberlake. Scott's rendition of Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much" was alright. Could be better though.
I think Scott is resting on his voice and not pushing it to the maximum like it should be. It was a safe song, I would love to hear him sing a song where he can just let loose and sing powerfully. He has the voice for it, I just hope he isn't being lazy and taking the easy way out.
Overall: Stage Performance: B+, he worked it. Vocally, a solid B.

7) Travis Tucker
Let it be known, I love Travis. I find his smile irresistable and he has a sexy cuteness about him. He decided to sing "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie. Travis is one of the weaker singers in the male bunch I am afraid to say. Maybe its nerves, but I dont think his voice has the caliber needed in the competition he is currently in. There are some powerhouses in this AI bunch that can plow Travis down. But his charisma, appearance, and dancing stage presence kind of cover up his weak singing ability. If he keeps this up, he might slide through to the finals.
Overall: B+ for stage presence, C for song

8) Nikko Smith
Nikko sang "Let's Get It On", the 2nd song of Marvin Gaye in tonight's AI Competition. I find this song an odd pick for a family show where young 16 year olds are competing with older 28 year olds. BUt since he didn't pull any R. Kelly moves and grind on the stage, it didn't come out too indecent.
Nikko has a nice voice and he knows it. It's solid, powerful, and has a bright tone to it that is perfect for the American Idol competition and I will be shocked if he is not in the final 12. His voice is smooth and he can transition nicely from the chest to the head voice. Only problem...he sounds a bit average in comparison to singers outside the AI competition in the music industry. Turn on BET and I bet you will find a male r&b singer who is comparable, if not identical to Nikko. If Nikko can distinguish himself, vocally and personally, he can make it.
Overall: I am tossed up....either a B or a B+, but he needs to improve more to get an A from me.

9) Anthony Fedorov
Here is what I'm talking about when I say 'natural raw talent'. Anthony has it. He is the best male singer in this competition and I will be shocked if he doesn't make it to the final 4. His version of Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is" was flawless and impeccable. He sang it better than the original. Rather than trying to imitate a well known power ballad from the 80s, he put his own spin on it and made it his.
What more can I say? He has "it", he's immensely talented. The only advice I have is hopefully he wont keep going in the direction of singing the 80s power ballads like Richard Marx, Foreigner....hopefully his next song will not be by Journey. I want to hear him sing something modern, at least something in the last 10 years and not a ballad....Don't play it safe Anthony, show us you can do up-tempo songs and keep our groove going.
Overall: A+

10) Bo Bice
Bo sang a song I have never heard, "Whipping Post" by the Altman Brothers. I give him mad props gor going outside the box and singing the song out of this song. I never cared much for Bo until tonight. He has a strong, solid, uniqueness and the tone of his voice is a nice blend of rock and pop that you don't hear today.
He is not fake nor he is trying to be "I"m a rock star" attitude like Constantine. Bo is Bo and he sings extremely well. And he learned from the week prior, he improved his stage presence and got into the song. I'm only concerned with his voice when he tries to be too strong, he cuts off the tone and makes a glottal attack, and this is very damaging to the voice.
Bo might very well be the "Sleeper" of American Idol 4.
Overall: A-, he has the X factor, now if he can just keep the vocals strong, he will be a top contender.

Well that's my analysis of the Men, I will give another analysis of the Ladies tomorrow night.

Who do I think will go home? I think Joe and Constantine will go home, but David isn't safe either. We will see.

Michael Jackson: Black or White or None of the Above?

2005-02-27T06:03:00.000-08:00

Did you know that if you type in the word “pedophile” in the search engine Yahoo, the 1st link that comes up is the official site to Michael Jackson’s website. Now this is either divine irony or karma. Perhaps they are one and the same. I am not saying that Mr. Jackson is guilty. In America every citizen accused of a crime is declared innocent until proven guilty. After all, it worked for O.J. Simpson…but somehow it did not work for Scott Peterson. During Simpson’s double-murder trial, the country was deeply divided among African-Americans and Caucasians when it came to public speculation about O.J Simpson. Majority of Caucasians believed the man to be guilty of murdering his ex wife Nicole Brown and the delivery boy caught tragically in the middle, Ron Goldman. The tension and the riff was so wide that many pundits believed a guilty verdict for Simpson would result in race riots like the Los Angeles riot in the earls 90s. But he was found innocent, and he vowed to find the real killer(s). All he had to do was look in a mirror, but I digress. Yes, that was a cheap shot, but I’m not sorry. I believe in the validity of DNA and that is as far as I will go. On to Scott Peterson, he was accused of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son Connor. A jury found him guilty of the crime despite a lack of forensic evidence and a case built on circumstantial. When the verdict was read, a crowd of people that mirrored the multitudes that Jesus fed fish and bread, shouted and cried happily. Like in the Simpson case, a vow was made to find the real killer. Simpson was voraciously declared innocent going into the trial despite the circus parade prior to, and declared innocent throughout the trial and post-trial. Peterson, on the other hand, was declared innocent for close to 30 seconds before the public, his peers, turned on him and said guilty until proven innocent. Even his girlfriend, who subsequently cashed in on the whole deal by writing ‘her’ story of sleeping with a man she met only hours later, failed to do as Tammy Wynette urged and stand by her man, even if he was married. To her, like the majority of Americans, felt he was guilty before proven innocent.

It’s a bit ironic, for lack of better term, that a circumstantial case is declared fully and reprehensibly guilty before trial and jury selection while a non-circumstantial and DNA based case was defended from the start. If O.J was white, would the case turn out the way it did? Or would the American public treat him like they treat Scott Peterson and demand him crucified before the jury pool is selected. If Scott Peterson was African-American, would it make any difference on his case? Would he have a solid backing behind him and, because of just reasons of racial bias and prejudice, have a case that started on the Constitutional presumption of innocent until proven guilty. Why all this useless speculation of two judicial homicidal cases that were held in the past? Well that goes back to my very first statement at the beginning of my stream-of-consciousness: Michael Jackson’s criminal trial. Granted he is not being charged with murder (other than, perhaps murdering his facial features, but that charge would be best given to the butcher, I mean plastic surgeon he keeps going to…maybe he is a plastic surgeon junkie…going from one surgeon to another, getting his fix each time). Jackson is being charged with child molestation, a road he is familiar with but never officially went down because he paid the Piper ten years ago. But to me, an act of sexuality against a child is worse than murder, it really is. Child sexual abuse destroys their soul, their mind, and their body. To do something so heinous to someone so young, I can not fathom. Anyhow, he hasn’t been charged with anything, it’s all just “allegations.” I’m sure young boys stricken with cancer make allegations about things all the time, it breaks up the monotony of wondering if today will be the day you die or not. Cancer, cancer, cancer…they gotta think of something else right? And what is the first thing you think of after your mind blanks out on children with cancer: extorting money from Michael Jackson. Exactly! Anyhow, the jury has been selected for Jackson’s trial and it is too soon to see what happens with the verdict. But here is a quandary. Which category will Jackson fall into: the OJ Simpson category or the Scott Peterson category. Will the African American community support his right to innocent until proven guilty like with OJ or will the vast majority of people in this country (irregardless of race) declare guilty before innocent. It’s hard to say because we first would have to figure out if Michael Jackson is a black man in a white man’s body or a white man in a bleached out version of a black man. I don’t even think the Pope could answer that….but he had a tracheotomy so he’s not fair to answer questions yet. Only time will tell whether Jackson is finally recognized in which ethnic category. I can’t wait. It’s more exciting and titillating than wondering how long Mr. Britney Spears will stay Mr. Britney Spears.

My First Blog

2005-01-27T04:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am a virgin...blogger. Never done it before, never known anyone who has done it. Yep, I'm truly as white as Jessica Simpson was when she first learned that having sex didn't involve a pre-existing father-daughter relationship.

But it seems natural to blog. Everyone's doing it. I mind as well do it too. After all, that very attitude is why I had take to that cream for 14 days straight because of a rash and itching.

So here it is, in all its simplistic form, as all first times are right...of short duration, a little bloody, and three minutes later you wonder if something indeed occured or did the taxi driver hit a speed bump without slowing down?

It actually feels natural to write this. After all, I am a writer by nature who is looking to get her book published, so this is only natural for an author and an outspoken critic of pop culture, right?

Yeah, sure.

Until tomorrow, or whenever I get the urge. They say that once you are popped from this virginal blog thing, you start to crave it....That there is an actual desire to blog. Sometimes people blog three or four times a day. But I think those bloggers must be in the honeymoon phase, because the average blogger is lucky to get a blog in once a week. Sometimes their poor little template doesn't get a nice blog in for 2-3 weeks.

So, precious bloggers and bloggettes...until my desires climax.