It's Easter? Already?

Easter is way too early this year. I feel like I just did all this holiday preparation stuff a few months ago.

I guess that's because I did. Back then it was called Christmas.



Here are some cookies that I made that were inspired by The Pioneer Woman (I say "inspired" because mine are no where near as nice as hers.). The Pioneer Woman's blog is a must read. She is extremely witty and lives a vastly more interesting life than I do. In fact, once you start reading her blog, you may not even bother to stop by here, so why don't we just forget that I mentioned it, shall we? Good.

It's that time again!

***Begin American Idol Mutterings***

What a disappointment Beatles Night: The Sequel turned out to be! So many missed opportunities. So many cringe worthy moments.

Oddly, I'm starting to like Michael Johns. Maybe it's because I felt bad for him after the whole "Is he? or isn't he?" wearing an ear monitor discussion. Maybe it's because all this charisma that the judges keep alluding to really comes out when he's interacting with the other contestants or making an off-the-cuff comment. However, when he performs, the spirit of Jim Morrison takes over and just consumes his credibility. He needs to drop the Jim Morrison act and just be. Trust me, I've given this advice to others, and it truly works.

I liked David Cook the best, even though the use of the talkbox was over the top (Or "indulgent," as Simon likes to say.). Interestingly, the talkbox is not present on the studio version.

I'm going to miss Amanda. True, she wasn't the best of singers. Most of the time, she was just channeling the spirit of Janis Joplin (Perhaps she and Micheal Johns could tour together? All they need is a Hendrix wannabe to complete the set.). But she brought something to the competition that is sorely lacking - self-awareness. She did her thing week after week knowing that she didn't have a snowman's chance in hell of winning. And I liked her for that.

And then there's Jason - where to start? I don't really care for the song Michelle to begin with, so Houston, we already have a problem. I truly believe that he got stuck with it, because given that silly performance, I refuse to believe that he willingly chose it. I think the producers are trying to mold him into some kind of teen idol, and it's sucking all the coolness out of him. IT MUST STOP NOW.

The Jason Moves! experiment was an utter failure, proving our assumption that he has no idea what do to with himself when he's not sitting. He is extremely lucky in that he isn't the only contestant that has this problem (See Brooke White). Mark my words - the guitar will be back next week.

Now, for the good. He deftly handled the French part of the song (**puffs with pride**). And I thought that his singing was a lot stronger this week. In fact, the studio version starts out beautifully, that is, until the horrific arrangement kicks in, complete with high hat cymbals and electric(!) guitar riffs. Just awful, but no fault of Jason's.

Next week's theme is Songs From the Year You Were Born. Since eight of ten contestants were born in the eighties, that means it's essentially eighties week again. Will these people ever get to sing something current?!

***End American Idol Mutterings***