New Show Alert: Harper's Island

OK. I am so hype about this new show that is premiering on CBS on April 9th. This seems to be different from pretty much any show that is currently on TV which excites me.

Cast: I actually don't recognize any of the people in the cast list but that's okay. I like that they are using relatively unknown people.

Plot: The main plot of the story is that this is a murder mystery. A group of friends and family go to a secluded island off the coast of Seattle to celebrate a wedding. This island was the scene of a famous murder 7 years prior to the group's visit. Unfortunately for the wedding party there is a murderer among them who beings to murder them one by one.

The idea of playing along and trying to figure out who the murder is before the end of the season is going to be fun. I think I'll do a weekly feature of the show on my blog....

Are you going to watch?

American Idol - Top 11 Elimination Night

Ok this will be short since I didn't actually WATCH the show. I had to find out who got kicked off from one of my Twitter friends. It's funny when people say "do you tweet", that just sounds inappropriate, LOL.

I digress....

Alexis Grace got kicked off! I'm not THAT surprised because she didn't actually do that great last night but DANG. I was really hoping it would be Scott because currently he is my least favorite contestant. I would have thought that Megan would have gotten kicked off before Alexis even though I do like Megan more. I've only had a few minutes to process this information however here is why I think Alexis may have gotten the boot. Actually....no I'm not because I can't really think of a reason why she got put off over some of the other contestants.

I won't complain about it too much though because at least it was her and not one of my favs.

We'll see what happens next week...

American Idol - Top 11 Performance

Since no one was saved last week there will be only 11 performances tonight.



Theme: The Grand Ole Opry (Country Music)

-Randy Travis is "mentoring" the contestants



Contestant Performances:

-I will bold who I think is going home.



Michael Sarver: "Ain't Going Down Til the Sun Comes Up" by Garth Brooks - I thought he ended it well but I did not like the song in general because it just seemed like he was talk/singing the whole time. I didn't show his "vocal range" as the judges would say. The crowd likes him so I don't think he did too much damage with this one.



Allison Iraheta: "Blame It On Your Heart" by Patty Loveless - I hadn't heard this song before but she just made me want to find it on itunes. She sounded great and I like how she kind of softened up her look for this performance so she didn't look out of place singing a country song. I'm really starting to like her, she might become my favorite if she keeps it up.



Kris Allen: "To Make You Feel My Love" by Garth Brooks - I didn't actually know this song until recently but I like the song, not his version so much. He does that weird thing where he sings out of the side of his mouth which really bugs me. I think he appealed to some young girls that see him as a "heartthrob" so he'll be around next week. Wow, Simon liked it so that is a great thing for him.

Lil Rounds: "Independence Day" by Martina McBride - Out of all the country songs you could chose, this one?? Really?? I'm very confused by this song choice. Of course she sounds good but I'm not feeling this song. I hope it works out for her though because I'd hate to see her go home. I thought the end was a lot better than the beginning. It is always best to end strong.

Adam Lambert: "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash - I don't like this version of the GREAT Johnny Cash's song. He has just turned it into something very strange. This is very Emo and completely over the top. I would be quite okay with him going home but I can't deny that he is a very good singer and performer so he probably will stay. I take that back, please get him out of here. I don't care what the judges think about him.

Scott MacIntyre: "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride - Boring....I'm so over him. I just don't connect with him as an artist. Yes, he has a good voice but he just doesn't have that "star quality" in my opinion.

Alexis Grace: "Jolene" by Dolly Parton - What is with her doing these cheating man songs? I really like her and this song. She sounded great and I enjoyed her version of it. Apparently there were some pitch problems but I didn't hear them. I thought the song was fitting and I hope the audience keeps her around.

Danny Gokey: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood - A crowd handclap? LOL. I like this song but he did nothing with it. Come on Danny, you can give us more than just singing a song pretty much the same way the original artist did. I still love his voice and he was my second favorite of the night so far. I still think he could have done more with country week than he did.

Anoop Desai: "You Were Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson - What does he have on? I need wardrobe to not let him out there with a hoodie on. This is alot better than last week. If he slide by with that terrible performance last week then he should sail right into next week with no problems. That wonky eye is still troubling me.

Megan Corkrey: "Walking After Midnight" by Patsy Cline - I really like her despite what anyone has to say. I just love the tone of her voice and the things she does with it. I would buy her album (as long as the writing was good) just based on how I feel about her sound. I think she looks great and did a good job with the song.

Matt Giraud: "So Small" by Carrie Underwood - Sometimes I like him and sometimes I don't. I think he did his thing on the piano, way better than Scott. I just still don't know if he has what it takes to make it all the way to the top of this contest





Simon's Quotes:
-"On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 1.2"
-"Lil' which is short for Little"
-"It came off as if you were one of those girls at a wedding that was forced to sing a song that someone requested."



Tamara's Train of Thought:
-Wow, Paula can barely talk nowadays. Has it gotten THAT bad??
-Randy T. gave Allison some props which is pretty big.
-Randy T. is starting to look pretty old even though he has clearly had some work done. His face is crazy tight.
-Why does Simon always try to play Paula? He is wrong for that.
-Wow, why did I just realize that Adele covered "To Make You Feel My Love", her version is better than what Kris did (although I think he kinda bit her version).
-It means so much when Simon says something nice because he doesn't throw out compliments left and right like the other judges do.
-Shut up RANDY, I can't stand him and the way he calls everyone "Dog". UGH
-I am not feeling that lipstick Lil but that dress is very cute.
-Simon is crazy! He doesn't even care that he was jacking up Lil's name.
-LOL @ Randy T's comments about Adam, he clearly is not a fan.
-"I don't see men wearing nail polish that often" - HA.
-Wow, I really don't know who is going home tonight. I know who I WANT to go home but I doubt that they will.....
-I'm going to say that Scott will go home but we shall see.

Weekend Home Movies

I spent this rainy weekend in the house and on the couch. I wasn't feeling good and I didn't want to venture out into the bad weather so I thought I'd find something to do around the house. What I ended up doing is watching a bunch of movies on HBO/Showtime on Demand. Here's what I watched and what I thought.

Bee Movie (2007): "Cute for kids, somewhat entertaining for adults"
Starring - Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger
Plot - Barry the Bee is distressed over the idea of doing the same job over and over for the rest of his life. He decides to venture outside the hive where he meets a sweet woman who he develops a crush on. While out of the hive he learns that humans eat honey and goes on a crusade to stop them.
Tamara's Take - C- I'm not that into animated movies but some of the Pixar ones are pretty good. At least this movie is kid appropriate which is different from some of the other movies. I do wonder why they have Chris Rock playing the mosquito and was irritated by his character. The most interesting part of the movie to me was when the showed the inside of the hive. Other than that it was just kinda blah.

Evan Almighty (2007): "Stick to sitcoms please"
Starring - Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman and Wanda Sykes
Plot - Evan (Steve Carell) is called by God to build an ark. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Tamara's Take - C- I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't see the very end of the movie because I fell asleep, it was that bad. I love Steve Carell on the Office and his role in Bruce Almighty was great but this was pretty terrible. There are definitely some laughs but overall it is just stupid. Are times that hard Morgan that you have to settle for this? Wanda Sykes was the best part of the movie and she didn't get nearly enough air time. Somebody needs to give her a better movie role. And why does she always play the sassy assistant?? Well I guess because it is a role she is good at.

The Brave One (2007): "Touching while making you think"
Starring - Jodi Foster and Terrance Howard
Tagline - "How many wrongs to make it right?"
Plot - A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.
Tamara's Take - B+ I thought this movie was pretty good. I would have given it higher marks but I don't really like Terrance Howard, I think he is pretty much the same character in every movie. This movie really made me think about what I would do in her situation, probably not the same things as this woman but how do you really know what you would do? I like movies that make me connect with the characters and this one did that. I even shed a few tears. I wouldn't really recommend this movie if you are already in a bad mood though, it is somewhat depressing.

Mr. Brooks (2007): "Nothing special"
Starring - Kevin Costner and Demi Moore
Tagline - The man who has everything has everything to hide.
Plot - A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
Tamara's Take - B- I love a good thriller movie but I can't really say that this is one. It was fairly interesting and there were some nice twists and turns but overall it wasn't anything special. I wasn't super surprised by anything that happened in the movie but it did keep my interest.


Bottom Line: I don't highly recommend any of these movies. If you had to see just one then I'd go with "The Brave One". The others I would skip unless you were just extremely bored and nothing else was on TV.

American Idol - Top 13 Elimination Night

Tonight two people will be eliminated. I wonder if it will be the ones I predicted or not... So the judges can save a contestant?? This is somewhat strange but we shall see how it goes.

Group Performance: Medley of Jackson 5 Songs
This sounded better then the other group performances. Why in the hell did they let make Danny get up there and do that little dance which made him look extremely stupid. Who taught the blind guy the choreography and why is his dancing a lot better then a bunch of the other contestants?

Bottom Group:
-Jasmine: no surprise here, she will probably go home since her performance really wasn't that good.
-Megan: I'm not surprised since pretty much everyone I talked to about her performance said they didn't like it. I still think it was a great performance, I don't care what anyone else says!
-Anoop: Yeah...you sucked so you deserve to be in the bottom, you should go home based off that last performance.
-Jorge: I guess Puerto Rico didn't call in like they should have.

Who's Outta Here:
-Jasmine: And rightfully so, just didn't shine like she could have.
-Jorge: After listening to him sing that song again, he should have gone home. Although I still think Anoop did worse, he just has more staying power than Jorge.
*So I got one right.....

Tamara's Train of Thought:
-33 million votes....I wasn't one of them, LOL.
-This is the first time they've shown where the contestants live (at least not that I know of)
-These Ford commercials are terrible and always super corny, this is no exception.
-I'm not surprised that Allison and Michael are safe.
-I don't think that the judges should save Jasmine, she might need a few more years to work on her voice and then she'll be ready for the big time.
-I'm sooo happy Kanye cut that rodent off his head. He looks so much better with a fade.
-I will never be convinced that skinny jeans can be gangsta...NEVER!
-I knew Scott would be safe, even though I don't really like him.
-Awww, Anoop knew he was going to the center of the stage.
-I love Kelly Clarkson! Her outfit is cute.
-I wish more artists could really sing....that's why I like Idol
-I'm mad at the face Kara was making during Kelly's performance.
-I really didn't think that Anoop would make it through this episode.

American Idol - Top 13 Performance

Tonight is the Top 13 Performance. I am both excited and apprehensive about tonight due to the theme that has been chosen.

Theme: Michael Jackson Songs

Contestant Performances:
Lil Rounds: "The Way You Make Me Feel" - I'm not too sure about that outfit and I'm not feeling her singing this song. She has a great voice of course but I can't help but compare it to MJ and it has nothing on that. The judges like her so hopefully she'll stick around, I do really like her.

Scott MacIntyre: "Keep the Faith" - At least the let him have the piano, he does better there, doesn't look as awkward. He does have a nice voice but not someone I'd necessarily want to listen to on my ipod. Oh, I was unfamiliar with this song but it seemed fitting for him.

Danny Gokey: "P.Y.T." - *swoons* I love me some Danny, he did his THING on this song. Paula was really feeling it. He needs to work on his dancing though cause he looked kinda crazy.

Michael Sarver: "You Are Not Alone" - I just don't really like him that much. He has a strong voice that sounds nice but there was nothing special about his performance. He didn't even really change the song up that much. I think he'll stay though because he's cute to the girls will vote for him.

Jasmine Murray:"I'll Be There" - Why doe she keep doing this?? She might be outta here. I think that she can sing, actually I love her voice, but she is singing songs that are too old for her. She needs to "stay in her lane" and take the judges' advice about going for the young, Rihanna demographic. Oh, and I prefer the Mariah version of this song

Kris Allen: "Remember the Time" -Hmmm, this song and playing a guitar. He looks kinda odd but I guess he has that cute guy thing going on. There is something about his voice that I like but then there is also something about it that I don't really like. I'm just indifferent about him.

Allison Iraheta: "Give In to Me" - What is with these young girls singing these old songs. I like her look and her style but she doesn't sound THAT great to me. I like her voice but I don't know if it is going to work for her in this competition. I hope it does though because she is very talented, at least she's young so if it doesn't work here someone should still sign her.

Anoop Desai: "Beat It" - He is funny to me. LOL at his dancing. I really like his voice but the performance was just so-so. He seemed to falter a some parts. I think he may have forgotten some of the words or either he was out of breath, I couldn't really tell. I think he might be going home after this performance.

Jorge Nunez: "Never Can Say Goodbye" - There is no doubt that he can sing and he sounded good as usual. I didn't think there was anything special about this performance though, it was a bit boring to me.

Megan Corkrey: "Rockin' Robin" - I think she looks very cute and I'm loving her voice. I hadn't really been a fan of hers but I like the old school feel her voice has to it. This is one of my favorite performances of the night. Coulda done without that bird noise at the end though....kinda weird.

Adam Lambert: "Black and White" - I'm not really surprised that he would chose this song, it seems fitting for him. I haven't like him since auditions and I still don't. I think he too dramatic and should stick with Broadway. He does sound pretty good though so we shall see. Apparently Paula is in love with him.

Matt Giraud: "Human Nature" - He really won me over last week and I enjoyed this performance as well. I think he sounds great and I really hope he sticks around for a while. I still think he is similar to Justin Timberlake/Robin Thicke so I don't know how much room there is for him in the market but I'd like to see him there.

Alexis Middleton: "Dirty Diana" - OK, now this is my FAVORITE MJ song and I don't really think anyone else can even hum it, let alone sing it. That being said, I thought that she did a wonderful job and I actually really enjoyed her performance. It was one of the more interesting performances of the night. She looked great too.

Simon's Quotes:
"And I hate what you're wearing"
"It's a little bit, little girl trying to be a grown-up"
"It was sort of like a meat and potatoes good"
"Very over the top and probably not as good as you thought it was"

Who is Going Home??:
There are 2 people that are going home tomorrow. I think they will be Anoop and Jasmine. I don't want Anoop to go but his performance tonight was kinda bad. I'm actually pretty terrible at determining who is going to go home so I'll probably be completely wrong as usual.

Tamara's Train of Thought:
-I'm still not sure why they chose this theme, it just seems like a bad idea to me. These people don't even DESERVE to sing a Michael Jackson song, UGH!
-It doesn't eve seem fair to make them sing MJ songs.
-Why is Lil always trying to change up the lyrics around.
-What the hell does Paula have on???
-I think to successfully do a MJ song you have to completely change it up like David Cook did last season, otherwise we can't help but compare it to the original.
-WOW, did you notice how Paula said "that's all it takes" when Simon said he just needs five minutes, LMAO!
-Clearly this guy isn't going to put on any shades, I guess I'll just accept it.
-Why does everyone get mad when Simon tells the truth??
-What does being "safe" really mean when it comes to a performance?
-Paula: "Take it all in" - hahaha, That's what HE said!
-The dancing WAS terrible, thank you for admitting that.
-I think that Jasmine wears too much make-up for a 17 year old girl
-Paula talks in circles, she confuses me.
-Why would you help out the other contestants? I guess that makes you a good person, LOL.
-OK Paula, you've gotten in trouble messing around with a contestant before....
-HA! @ Simon saying to keep the wife hidden.
-LOL @ there being like 15 people at that store to see her sing
-Oh shizzznit, if Paula says something negative then that is very bad for you.
-Adam's performance just wasn't that amazing to me, did I miss something?
-Randy said pretty much the same thing I did...does this mean I could be a judge?

Rockin the Red Pump!

In honor of today a group of female bloggers are "Rockin the Red Pump"

Here are some interesting statistics:

HIV/AIDS & Women in the United States
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*There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. & almost 280,000 are women

*Among those who are HIV positive, 35% of women were tested for HIV late in their illness (diagnosed with AIDS within one year of testing positive)

*HIV is the 5th leading cause of death in women in the United States, ages 25-44

*High-risk heterosexual contact is the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections in women

HIV/AIDS & Minority Women
-----------------------------------
HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects minority women in the United States. According to the 2005 census, Black and Latina women represent 24% of all US women combined, but account for 82% of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for women in 2005.

HIV is:

*the leading cause of death for black women (including African American women) aged 25–34 years.

*The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women was approximately 23 times the rate for white women and 4 times the rate for Latina women

*In 2006, teen girls represented 39% of AIDS cases reported among 13–19 year-olds. Black teens represented 69% of cases reported among 13–19 year-olds; Latino teens represented 19%

These statistics were pulled from The Center for Disease Control's website and the Kaiser Family Foundation's Fact Sheets (which cited the CDC). Get more information about the effect of the epidemic from these sites.

For more information on National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Day, and to find out events going on in your area, go to http://www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/events/.